This deck looks reasonably strong. There are some cards I'm not a fan of:
Arc Lightning is really dead in some mathups. I'd put them in the sideboard. Is Seismic Strike too janky?
Chandra seems like she will have trouble protecting herself. I'd play something else; Sarkhan, Stormbreath, or Scuttlign Death Engine all seem fine.
With no pump and a somewhat high curve, PS doesn't seem that good. I honestly feel that Hordeling Outburst might be better since it creates a lot of chumps. As a plus, it protects your Planeswalkers.
Finally, you could consider playing white other than blue. There's nothing wrong with blue, but white gives you Chained to the Rocks and Elspeth.
These decks look competitive. The only concern I would have is that you might have trouble finishing the game; any black deck, for example, is going to run 4 Hero's Downfalls and some number of discard spells. It might take more than 50 minutes to win two games.
If you're counting Caryatid as a red source for Anger of the Gods, well.. you see the problem. And Caryatid often does not force people to overextend, especially if you intend to use it for mana; Satyr, Boon of Erebos, Brimaz, Rabblemaster, Fleecemane, Anafenza..
First, let's evaluate how many sources of each color you have:
Red: 16
Black: 17
Blue: 12
White: 12
12 sources of each color will let you cast your Charms reliably.
You want 19 sources to cast Anger of the Gods/Hero's Downfall consistently on turn 3. 18 is okay, I wouldn't really recommend 17. We can solve this by cutting Urborg and adding two Temple of Malice. Hopefully you have them; if not, you can go
1 Plains
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Mountain
4 Evolving Wilds
-1 Urborg
-2 Temple of Epiphany
-2 Scoured Barrens
-2 Temple of Deceit
Of course, you need to cut a nonland card. I'd suggest Steam Augury; in a deck like this, your opponent will frequently get the chance to give you cards you can't even cast.
I'm sorry to say that your manabase can't reliably support Dig Through Time, Elspeth or Empty the Pits at this point. Cutting them is one option; the alternatives are to play 3 Astral Cornucopia, or simply accept that your mana is going to kill you now and then. Certainly, you can exchange Dig Through Time with Treasure Cruise.
But yeah man, playing 4 colors is difficult, especially when none of them are green. If $300 is a lot to you and you're serious about making this deck competitive, I'd consider cutting blue and waiting until the metagame is more stabilized.
The mana dorks seem like the weak link here; Caryatid is great, but if you fail to draw it I can see this deck struggling against decks with instant-speed removal.
I think I like Tormod's Crypt better than Cornucopia, or maybe run a mix of them. That way if you draw multiples you can use the Crypt against graveyard decks.
You're both underestimating how difficult the manabase is. To consistently cast a 1GG (or 1BB or 1RR) spell on turn 3, you need 19 sources of that color. 14 untapped sources to cast Elvish Mystic turn 1.
As for the decks themselves, having mana producers + Anger of the Gods is pretty harsh. Maybe cut the Mystics and play Drown in Sorrow instead?
You're not playing enough sources of any of your colors. To cast Courser reliably (90% of the time) on turn 3, you need 19 sources of green. Bile Blight on turn 2 requires 20 sources of black, and Wingmate Roc on turn 5 needs 16 sources of white. Sylvan Caryatid helps this to some extent, but you should still play less basics and more multilands.
My issue with Phyrexian Revoker is that it's going to be the first creature your opponent blocks, every single time. Which makes it's ability very unreliable.
Bring Caves of Koilos and Temple of Silence up to 4 of each.
Take out 1 Urborg; the ability doesn't really benefit you and if you draw 2, it could be very sad.
Finally, it would be good to include some Mogis' Marauder or Herald of Torment in order to finish off your opponent.
Good luck!
Arc Lightning is really dead in some mathups. I'd put them in the sideboard. Is Seismic Strike too janky?
Chandra seems like she will have trouble protecting herself. I'd play something else; Sarkhan, Stormbreath, or Scuttlign Death Engine all seem fine.
With no pump and a somewhat high curve, PS doesn't seem that good. I honestly feel that Hordeling Outburst might be better since it creates a lot of chumps. As a plus, it protects your Planeswalkers.
Finally, you could consider playing white other than blue. There's nothing wrong with blue, but white gives you Chained to the Rocks and Elspeth.
First, let's evaluate how many sources of each color you have:
Red: 16
Black: 17
Blue: 12
White: 12
12 sources of each color will let you cast your Charms reliably.
You want 19 sources to cast Anger of the Gods/Hero's Downfall consistently on turn 3. 18 is okay, I wouldn't really recommend 17. We can solve this by cutting Urborg and adding two Temple of Malice. Hopefully you have them; if not, you can go
1 Plains
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Mountain
4 Evolving Wilds
-1 Urborg
-2 Temple of Epiphany
-2 Scoured Barrens
-2 Temple of Deceit
Of course, you need to cut a nonland card. I'd suggest Steam Augury; in a deck like this, your opponent will frequently get the chance to give you cards you can't even cast.
I'm sorry to say that your manabase can't reliably support Dig Through Time, Elspeth or Empty the Pits at this point. Cutting them is one option; the alternatives are to play 3 Astral Cornucopia, or simply accept that your mana is going to kill you now and then. Certainly, you can exchange Dig Through Time with Treasure Cruise.
But yeah man, playing 4 colors is difficult, especially when none of them are green. If $300 is a lot to you and you're serious about making this deck competitive, I'd consider cutting blue and waiting until the metagame is more stabilized.
Good luck,
-Ben
I think I like Tormod's Crypt better than Cornucopia, or maybe run a mix of them. That way if you draw multiples you can use the Crypt against graveyard decks.
As for the decks themselves, having mana producers + Anger of the Gods is pretty harsh. Maybe cut the Mystics and play Drown in Sorrow instead?
You're not playing enough sources of any of your colors. To cast Courser reliably (90% of the time) on turn 3, you need 19 sources of green. Bile Blight on turn 2 requires 20 sources of black, and Wingmate Roc on turn 5 needs 16 sources of white. Sylvan Caryatid helps this to some extent, but you should still play less basics and more multilands.
My issue with Phyrexian Revoker is that it's going to be the first creature your opponent blocks, every single time. Which makes it's ability very unreliable.
4 Welkin Tern
4 Vaporkin
4 Heir of the wilds
4 Hornet Nest
3 Hour of Need
3 Triton Tactics
4 Titanic Growth
4 Disdainful Stroke
9 Island
4 Yavimaya Coast
9 Forest
4 Coral barrier
4 Omenspeaker
4 Negate
1 Triton Tactics
2 Singing Bell Strike
1/3 is a good value to be at against aggro. Shuts down the vast majority of 1-drops, although War-Name Aspirant is a problem.
playing cards that cost 1GG or 1UU is a bit risky given the manabase.
I wish I could play more than 4 DS..