Had an idea: Prototype Portal could be used as a mana sink to scale artifacts, including copies of Thousand-Year Elixir to untap them. (We'd also want ways to get the nontoken artifacts out of the graveyard when we reset the portals for computations)
Oh, but actually Thousand-Year Elixir targets Mirozel too cheaply, so we can't use it.
Artifact untappers like Voltaic key wouldn't work as they could untap Chrome Mox. Hmm.
Without TYE how would we tap the Nephalia Smuggler? There's Marchessa's Smuggler but that is too expensive as we need to pay another blue every time we lose Nephelia Smuggler, such as to hide it from a computation. Break through the line targets Mirozel too cheaply. There are a few things that give flying and haste, for which we'd hope to be able to avoid letting the opponent having flyers to block, but they can all be removed after declaring attackers to allow them to be blocked.
We could use Eldrazi Displacer if we could somehow convert blue mana into colourless mana 1-1.
Maybe the two smugglers could be used, as it would then always cost exactly two blue mana to reuse Mirozel (Marchessa's can bounce it but not retrieve it from exile). We would use the new Kinnan, Bonder Progidy to double up Chrome Mox mana, who is legendary so we can't have more than one. But then the higher up stage would also need two mana of its colour to work.
Edit: Ah, think I have a solution: Instead of Mirozel, we use Veil of Secrecy + a random Arcane spell that the Goblin or Volute casts. Then, Nephalia Smuggler can bounce itself and TYE can be used.
Edit: Ah, that doesn't work because of the Stern Proctor and also that other creatures could be made into copies of blue creatures to be bounced cheaply.
Edit: How about Fblthp, the Lost as an alternative to Mirozel? That only triggers on spells not abilities, making TYE safe.
Rally the Peasants is ok if there's no way to return to hand; but then the problem is that flashback spells are always exiled even if they are countered, and getting them out of exile is too expensive.
Ah; Lab Rats doesn't work since its a sorcery so along with Volute makes targeting Mirozel too cheap.
So we need the buyback spell to be an instant, not target creatures, not create creatures or otherwise intefere with computations, and not be of a colour used higher up. Hmm, seems like the only working option is Invulnerability, which cuts off white. Are there any other ways to turn mana into storm count?
Cogwork Assembler gives things haste allowing computations to be started using combat damage.
Edit: We already have an easier scaling mechanism: One Goblin Dark Dwellers trigger casts a lot of Artifial Evolutions. The Grip of Chaos allows them to target the miroel one at a time rather than all at once; so when rebuilding the stage the other resources can scale.
We don't need Ritual of Restoration because a Show and Tell can be left on the stack to replay Orrery. We also don't need Artful Dodge since a Smuggler activation also bounces the Mirozel just fine.
Mirrorweave needs to be cast multiple times during the initial setup and after every Worldpurge reset, and its out of range of the GDD, so maybe we need to use Volute just for that.
GDD can also cast Gerrard's Verdict but I don't think its an issue since it requires having resolved a worldpurge in order to be useful.
Oh, here's a problem: Beacon of Immortality can be countered by Caphallid Shrine or discarded by Gerrard's Verdict to go to the graveyard and then can be cast off of Volute.
Are there any alternatives? There's Approach of the second sun, but that would require Abyssal Persecutor which might allow the opponent's life total to go arbitrarily low by running an infinite computation without Chameleon Blur. Except, such a computation would actually be limited by our own life total, which if couldn't be increased during a computation would be fine. So that could work.
Another simpler possibility for life is creatures that gain life when they die, as we'd then need to resolve down to their Bloodbond March triggers to resue them. What was the issue previously with Silent-Chant Zubera?
Another issue is that Invulnerability can be pitched to Chrome Mox for white mana, then returned to hand using Goblin Dark Dwellers. Solution can be to use a buyback spell of a colour not in use - such as Lab Rats. (edit: or Sprout Swarm so the green mana it could produce is useful for Acorn Harvest (edit 2: nope, it's an instant that messes with computation))
Edit: Hmm, we're not actually scaling our artifacts between computations, as activating a Smuggler only scales with the number of Rings rather than with the storm count. How do we get around that?
Edit: Its fine, we can make a lot of rats with Lab Rats and then mirrorweave them into artifacts.
An issue: Currently, setting up a computation requires sequences involving playing Vedalken Orrery, then responding to its Mirrorworks trigger by bouncing it again. However, doing this requires activating Nephalia Smuggler again, spending extra blue mana.
A solution could be to just allow the real Orrery to die, and later get it out of the graveyard with a creature ETB or a cheap spell.
So to start a computation we use a Rings of Brighthearth trigger to flicker Stern Proctor, bouncing the nontoken Orrery. There are also some more Stern Proctor triggers due to Panharmonicon. We then play it, get a Mirrorworks trigger, and respond to that with Day of the Dragons, March of the Machines, and Death Pit Offering.
The computation happens, then the mirrorworks trigger resolves for an Orrery, then a Stern Proctor trigger resolves bouncing Day of the Dragons getting back our creatures. One of them is Goblin Dark-Dwellers which casts Ritual of Restoration returning the nontoken orrery to hand. So this works.
Then, the start is a little different as we can't use Black Lotus - but starting Mana CryptIslandShow and Tell works.
Is it an issue for Goblin Dark-Dwellers to be able to cast Show and Tell? I don't think so since all it really does play out lands, which aren't cheaply recycled. It also allows the opponent to play out their lands but there's nothing they can use them on.
Edit: Actually, we don't need to make changes:
We flicker Stern Proctor bouncing nontoken Orrery and keeping an extra trigger, then flicker GDD casting Show and Tell, and in response start the computation. Then we resolve Show and Tell putting down the Orrery, then resolve a Stern Proctor trigger to get the creatures back.
Ok, cool.
The issue with cheap sorceries is that they cast the instants cheaply which bounce the Mirozel. But Goblin Dark Dwellers could work instead of Spellweaver Volute.
So we'd activate the Smuggler, get a ton of Rings of Brighthearth triggers, then we can use them to run computations by flickering the GDD for instants as well as flickering other things; and getting back the Mirozel for blue mana would require resolving a BBM trigger. So this works as a stage.
Does freeing up Volute allow potential for a megastage?
Seems good.
How exactly does the Mirozel stage work now? Are there supposed to be a lot of Bloodbond March triggers? There currently aren't since there's no way to copy enchantments a large number of times.
Is it a problem or is it intended that the only way to get the Mirozel out of exile from a Chrome Mox is to resolve a Pull From Eternity that gets cast off of an Artful Dodge? This makes it not possible to get back blue mana that gets spent on a Smuggler.
Is this an infinite?
- Have at least 2 Bloodbond Marches (using a copy enchantment)
- Repeatedly play and bounce Mirozel until almost out of red/colourless mana; for lots of BBM triggers
- Exile Mirozel to a Chrome Mox for a blue mana
- Cast Artful Dodge, triggering a few copies of Spellweaver Volute (using more copy enchantments)
- Set up and run a computation from the instants, netting lots of red mana
- Have Pull From Eternity resolve after the computation, getting back the instants and the mirozel
- Resolve a BBM trigger to get Mirozel back onto the battlefield
- Bounce and replay Mirozel, repeat this process for infinite BBM triggers.
Another issue: Since Cytoshape doesn't target the thing that it copies, other creatures can be turned into Mirozel and thus bounced cheaply. I think Mirrorweave is fine; we can give the opponent Coat of arms and then remove March of the Machines to give them necromancers.
This also prevents a potential issue in which the opponent could be given an Eldrazi Displacer, though it's not actually an issue if there's no way to give them mana to use it. Show and Tell lets them play one Wastes; then Marble Diamond could give them more mana but that's broken anyway. But with Mirrorweave they can't have necromancers and Displacers at the same time avoiding the issue altogether.
Nyxbloom Ancient can get extra mana from our chrome mox which is bad.
How does the Reality Spasm thing work? Does Psychic Battle allow for redirecting targets that get chosen automatically by Precursor Golem? Or do we need Grip of Chaos for that?
Is it even worth a layer? It seems like the number of copies we get from Golems is around the same as the number of copies we get from TYS.
Oh, in fact the Marble Diamond could be Cytoshaped onto an untapped thing generating too much white mana early.
How exactly does repeating a computation work?
AFAIK we need to set things up such that a Vedalken Orrery or equivalent gets returned after a computation, and then cast a sorcery to trigger the instants and adjust creature numbers, and then get our artifacts/enchantments back. Does the current deck do all that?
Our plan to destroy all our artifacts also removes the Coat of arms. Is there a way to give one to the opponent without them losing their necromancers? Cytoshape might be safe.
Oh, but actually Thousand-Year Elixir targets Mirozel too cheaply, so we can't use it.
Artifact untappers like Voltaic key wouldn't work as they could untap Chrome Mox. Hmm.
Without TYE how would we tap the Nephalia Smuggler? There's Marchessa's Smuggler but that is too expensive as we need to pay another blue every time we lose Nephelia Smuggler, such as to hide it from a computation. Break through the line targets Mirozel too cheaply. There are a few things that give flying and haste, for which we'd hope to be able to avoid letting the opponent having flyers to block, but they can all be removed after declaring attackers to allow them to be blocked.
We could use Eldrazi Displacer if we could somehow convert blue mana into colourless mana 1-1.
Maybe the two smugglers could be used, as it would then always cost exactly two blue mana to reuse Mirozel (Marchessa's can bounce it but not retrieve it from exile). We would use the new Kinnan, Bonder Progidy to double up Chrome Mox mana, who is legendary so we can't have more than one. But then the higher up stage would also need two mana of its colour to work.
Edit: Ah, think I have a solution: Instead of Mirozel, we use Veil of Secrecy + a random Arcane spell that the Goblin or Volute casts. Then, Nephalia Smuggler can bounce itself and TYE can be used.
Edit: Ah, that doesn't work because of the Stern Proctor and also that other creatures could be made into copies of blue creatures to be bounced cheaply.
Edit: How about Fblthp, the Lost as an alternative to Mirozel? That only triggers on spells not abilities, making TYE safe.
So we need the buyback spell to be an instant, not target creatures, not create creatures or otherwise intefere with computations, and not be of a colour used higher up. Hmm, seems like the only working option is Invulnerability, which cuts off white. Are there any other ways to turn mana into storm count?
Edit: We already have an easier scaling mechanism: One Goblin Dark Dwellers trigger casts a lot of Artifial Evolutions. The Grip of Chaos allows them to target the miroel one at a time rather than all at once; so when rebuilding the stage the other resources can scale.
Mirrorweave needs to be cast multiple times during the initial setup and after every Worldpurge reset, and its out of range of the GDD, so maybe we need to use Volute just for that.
GDD can cast Flash of Defiance which is an issue, but it can be replaced by other flashback for life spells such as Acorn Harvest, along with some green filtering/production. There's also Deep Analysis but that would mess up the Bloated Toad/Beacon of Immortality stage.
GDD can also cast Gerrard's Verdict but I don't think its an issue since it requires having resolved a worldpurge in order to be useful.
Oh, here's a problem: Beacon of Immortality can be countered by Caphallid Shrine or discarded by Gerrard's Verdict to go to the graveyard and then can be cast off of Volute.
Are there any alternatives? There's Approach of the second sun, but that would require Abyssal Persecutor which might allow the opponent's life total to go arbitrarily low by running an infinite computation without Chameleon Blur. Except, such a computation would actually be limited by our own life total, which if couldn't be increased during a computation would be fine. So that could work.
Another simpler possibility for life is creatures that gain life when they die, as we'd then need to resolve down to their Bloodbond March triggers to resue them. What was the issue previously with Silent-Chant Zubera?
Another issue is that Invulnerability can be pitched to Chrome Mox for white mana, then returned to hand using Goblin Dark Dwellers. Solution can be to use a buyback spell of a colour not in use - such as Lab Rats. (edit: or Sprout Swarm so the green mana it could produce is useful for Acorn Harvest (edit 2: nope, it's an instant that messes with computation))
Edit: Hmm, we're not actually scaling our artifacts between computations, as activating a Smuggler only scales with the number of Rings rather than with the storm count. How do we get around that?
Edit: Its fine, we can make a lot of rats with Lab Rats and then mirrorweave them into artifacts.
A solution could be to just allow the real Orrery to die, and later get it out of the graveyard with a creature ETB or a cheap spell.
So to start a computation we use a Rings of Brighthearth trigger to flicker Stern Proctor, bouncing the nontoken Orrery. There are also some more Stern Proctor triggers due to Panharmonicon. We then play it, get a Mirrorworks trigger, and respond to that with Day of the Dragons, March of the Machines, and Death Pit Offering.
The computation happens, then the mirrorworks trigger resolves for an Orrery, then a Stern Proctor trigger resolves bouncing Day of the Dragons getting back our creatures. One of them is Goblin Dark-Dwellers which casts Ritual of Restoration returning the nontoken orrery to hand. So this works.
Then, the start is a little different as we can't use Black Lotus - but starting Mana Crypt Island Show and Tell works.
Is it an issue for Goblin Dark-Dwellers to be able to cast Show and Tell? I don't think so since all it really does play out lands, which aren't cheaply recycled. It also allows the opponent to play out their lands but there's nothing they can use them on.
Edit: Actually, we don't need to make changes:
We flicker Stern Proctor bouncing nontoken Orrery and keeping an extra trigger, then flicker GDD casting Show and Tell, and in response start the computation. Then we resolve Show and Tell putting down the Orrery, then resolve a Stern Proctor trigger to get the creatures back.
The issue with cheap sorceries is that they cast the instants cheaply which bounce the Mirozel. But Goblin Dark Dwellers could work instead of Spellweaver Volute.
So we'd activate the Smuggler, get a ton of Rings of Brighthearth triggers, then we can use them to run computations by flickering the GDD for instants as well as flickering other things; and getting back the Mirozel for blue mana would require resolving a BBM trigger. So this works as a stage.
Does freeing up Volute allow potential for a megastage?
How exactly does the Mirozel stage work now? Are there supposed to be a lot of Bloodbond March triggers? There currently aren't since there's no way to copy enchantments a large number of times.
Is it a problem or is it intended that the only way to get the Mirozel out of exile from a Chrome Mox is to resolve a Pull From Eternity that gets cast off of an Artful Dodge? This makes it not possible to get back blue mana that gets spent on a Smuggler.
- Have at least 2 Bloodbond Marches (using a copy enchantment)
- Repeatedly play and bounce Mirozel until almost out of red/colourless mana; for lots of BBM triggers
- Exile Mirozel to a Chrome Mox for a blue mana
- Cast Artful Dodge, triggering a few copies of Spellweaver Volute (using more copy enchantments)
- Set up and run a computation from the instants, netting lots of red mana
- Have Pull From Eternity resolve after the computation, getting back the instants and the mirozel
- Resolve a BBM trigger to get Mirozel back onto the battlefield
- Bounce and replay Mirozel, repeat this process for infinite BBM triggers.
Another issue: Since Cytoshape doesn't target the thing that it copies, other creatures can be turned into Mirozel and thus bounced cheaply. I think Mirrorweave is fine; we can give the opponent Coat of arms and then remove March of the Machines to give them necromancers.
This also prevents a potential issue in which the opponent could be given an Eldrazi Displacer, though it's not actually an issue if there's no way to give them mana to use it. Show and Tell lets them play one Wastes; then Marble Diamond could give them more mana but that's broken anyway. But with Mirrorweave they can't have necromancers and Displacers at the same time avoiding the issue altogether.
Also, Eldrazi Displacer requires colourless mana; how are we generating that? Mana Echoes wouldn't work as that triggers from resolving a Bloodbond March trigger for Mirozel which are cheap to get.
Nyxbloom Ancient can get extra mana from our chrome mox which is bad.
How does the Reality Spasm thing work? Does Psychic Battle allow for redirecting targets that get chosen automatically by Precursor Golem? Or do we need Grip of Chaos for that?
Is it even worth a layer? It seems like the number of copies we get from Golems is around the same as the number of copies we get from TYS.
Oh, in fact the Marble Diamond could be Cytoshaped onto an untapped thing generating too much white mana early.
AFAIK we need to set things up such that a Vedalken Orrery or equivalent gets returned after a computation, and then cast a sorcery to trigger the instants and adjust creature numbers, and then get our artifacts/enchantments back. Does the current deck do all that?
Our plan to destroy all our artifacts also removes the Coat of arms. Is there a way to give one to the opponent without them losing their necromancers? Cytoshape might be safe.