thanks for the suggestions. Apex of Power looks hilarious, i might give that a shot.
the chandras are indeed good in this type of deck - however, aside from wiping the board every so often, the deck has very few ways to protect them. i was originally running Chandra, Torch of Defiance instead of Jaya, Fiery Negotiator, but i settled on jaya since she can protect herself and the tokens provide additional value with Jaheira.
Arcane Bombardment seems good at first glance, but i cut it from the list early on since copies of spells aren't cast, so they don't trigger Passionate Archaeologist (see rule 707.10).
Act on Impulse has been sitting in the maybeboard since i threw the first version of the list together. unfortunately, for less mana, i could run You Find Some Prisoners instead, or something like Laelia, the Blade Reforged for the same amount of mana that provides consistent value as opposed to a one-time thing. Act being an "until end of turn" effect instead of "until the end of your next turn" really kills the card, imo.
if your deck is reliant on the commander to function, Lightning Greaves and/or Swiftfoot Boots are usually solid includes. what are you running the command zone?
Vanishing is also a cool card. It can also pull double duty by repeatedly phasing out one of your opponents' key creatures.
that aside, i agree with shakes, countermagic is generally the best protection you're gonna get in U/R.
looking for some tips, tricks, and obscure cards that might help make this deck better. it's tuned for mid-power tables, lacking tutors entirely and having just one infinite combo that i discovered on accident (Temur Sabertooth + Dockside Extortionist).
the general strategy with this list is to abuse artifact tokens - mostly treasures - to ramp hard and fast into bigger spells. the deck wins by burning players out via archaeologist triggers, enabled mostly by cascade and an abundance of impulse draw spells, though it also triggers off of Etali, Primal Storm, foretelling a Delayed Blast Fireball, hideaway lands, and Containment Construct.
the win condition is any of the three damage doublers in the deck, getting lucky with Apex Devastator by casting it from exile and/or cascading into high-cmc spells, or by keeping Possibility Storm on the battlefield for more than a turn cycle or two.
if you're interested in a more detailed breakdown, the description @ the archidekt link in my signature has one.
the chandras are indeed good in this type of deck - however, aside from wiping the board every so often, the deck has very few ways to protect them. i was originally running Chandra, Torch of Defiance instead of Jaya, Fiery Negotiator, but i settled on jaya since she can protect herself and the tokens provide additional value with Jaheira.
Arcane Bombardment seems good at first glance, but i cut it from the list early on since copies of spells aren't cast, so they don't trigger Passionate Archaeologist (see rule 707.10).
Act on Impulse has been sitting in the maybeboard since i threw the first version of the list together. unfortunately, for less mana, i could run You Find Some Prisoners instead, or something like Laelia, the Blade Reforged for the same amount of mana that provides consistent value as opposed to a one-time thing. Act being an "until end of turn" effect instead of "until the end of your next turn" really kills the card, imo.
Vanishing is also a cool card. It can also pull double duty by repeatedly phasing out one of your opponents' key creatures.
that aside, i agree with shakes, countermagic is generally the best protection you're gonna get in U/R.
here's the list:
1 Jaheira, Friend of the Forest
1 Passionate Archaeologist
Instant
1 Abrade
1 Artifact Mutation
1 Beast Within
1 Big Score
1 Chaos Warp
1 Commune with Lava
1 Delayed Blast Fireball
1 Krosan Grip
1 March of Reckless Joy
1 Natural Reclamation
1 Nature's Claim
1 Unexpected Windfall
Creature
1 Apex Devastator
1 Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty
1 Breya's Apprentice
1 Chandra's Incinerator
1 Containment Construct
1 Dark Apostle
1 Dockside Extortionist
1 Etali, Primal Storm
1 Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald
1 Gilded Goose
1 Goblin Goliath
1 Kibo, Uktabi Prince
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Loyal Apprentice
1 Magmatic Channeler
1 Solphim, Mayhem Dominus
1 Storm-Kiln Artist
1 Temur Sabertooth
1 Urabrask, Heretic Praetor
1 Wild-Magic Sorcerer
1 Arcane Signet
1 Chaos Wand
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Currency Converter
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Gruul Signet
1 Mishra's Research Desk
1 Sol Ring
1 Talisman of Impulse
Sorcery
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Burn Down the House
1 Chatterstorm
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Escape to the Wilds
1 Ignite the Future
1 Immolating Gyre
1 Inspired Tinkering
1 Jeska's Will
1 Let the Galaxy Burn
1 Light Up the Stage
1 Mizzium Mortars
1 Pirate's Pillage
1 Reckless Impulse
1 Seize the Spoils
1 Strike It Rich
1 Throes of Chaos
1 Volcanic Torrent
Enchantment
1 Furnace of Rath
1 Outpost Siege
1 Possibility Storm
1 Rain of Riches
1 Jaya, Fiery Negotiator
1 Cinder Glade
1 Command Tower
1 Cragcrown Pathway // Timbercrown Pathway
1 Dwarven Mine
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
2 Forest
1 Game Trail
1 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Karplusan Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Kher Keep
1 Mosswort Bridge
13 Mountain
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Spinerock Knoll
1 Spire Garden
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple of Abandon
1 Treasure Vault
1 Wooded Foothills
the general strategy with this list is to abuse artifact tokens - mostly treasures - to ramp hard and fast into bigger spells. the deck wins by burning players out via archaeologist triggers, enabled mostly by cascade and an abundance of impulse draw spells, though it also triggers off of Etali, Primal Storm, foretelling a Delayed Blast Fireball, hideaway lands, and Containment Construct.
the win condition is any of the three damage doublers in the deck, getting lucky with Apex Devastator by casting it from exile and/or cascading into high-cmc spells, or by keeping Possibility Storm on the battlefield for more than a turn cycle or two.
if you're interested in a more detailed breakdown, the description @ the archidekt link in my signature has one.