I've had mirrorpool copy a clutch Open the Vaults after it had been countered. You can also combo off with it. I think that it's a fine addition to the deck.
Don't forget that this is multiplayer. Being at ten health really puts a player on the back-foot as they have to play defensively. It may not always be relevant to your board state, but that red green agro deck will be licking it's lips.
I've also used it a few times for life gain. In a tight match, ten life is better than six.
I disagree that Ensnaring Bridge is a trap because it is easily removed - it's a tool that shuts off combat and is a huge pain in the ass for attack-trigger generals that just want to swing on as early a turn as possible.
It may still be a trap because it is both too difficult and not profitable enough to empty one's hand quickly enough for it to matter. I have to have 1 or 0 cards in hand by possibly turn 3 to stop Kaalia? No thank you, I'll instantly lose after a sweep.
I still prefer it over Deluge for now, but if you have issues with it I completely understand.
As for Tamiyo's Journal - it reminds me a lot of Lux Cannon, and at least we can untap the Cannon. Not worth 5 mana. If I wanted to be rewarded on upkeep I'd cast a Thopter Assembly.
Perhaps trap is too strong of a word. More, I've gotten so that I just don't trust it to protect me. Sometimes it does, even for a long time. However, I've had far more experiences with it getting blown up the moment it inconveniences the agro player.
As for Journal, it caught my eye more for the ability to put artifact tokens into play which we can use to power a number of effects such as Forgemaster or Time Seive. You're right that it's probably just too slow.
In my experience, Ensnaring Bridge is a trap. Any deck that's actually a threat to us runs enough removal that they can attack when they're ready to.
On another note, Tamiyo's Journal has my attention. It's just a little slow, but I like the option of slowly massing artifact tokens which have a self-sacrifice clause, or that can be traded in for a tutor.
I thought about Caged Sun / Gauntlet of Power, and they were in my original list, but im not sure that im going down the big mana road and I need to make cuts for more cards. I'll circle back around them.
Rather than anthems - I was more thinking about equipment. Swords of stuff and Junk would be good, and Helm of the Gods might work out well too as she will get +2 if she's a creature. I've been thinking about Silent Arbiter, Tidal Force.
I would also like a good plan-b strategy; since I was already planning to add Mind over Matter, I could combo with Otherworld Atlas as a mill out strategy.
The fundamental idea with this deck is to keep the table under control long enough for Thassa to turn into a creature and then use her own ability to make her unblockable for commander damage. The deck is far from complete at this point, with some space to fill out still. I am posting this in hopes that others have experimented down this path before and may have some insight or suggestions for me.
If I were to add another board wipe it would either be Cyclonic Rift or Merciless Eviction. The former for instant speed stack interaction, the later for decisive exile. Wipe Away would also be on my watch list for split second.
Sorry,
I just realized that I hadn't answered the question about utter end. I use it over Vindicate for two reasons. 1) Instant speed, most of my deck is played from hand as permanents or sorcery speed. Sometimes having removal from hand really throws people off. Additionally, it allows me to interact with the stack. 2) Exile is more permanent than destroy. All we have to do is look to our own decks to realize just how meaningless destroy is.
Most of my interactions and removal are targeted, so being able to cut through Shroud and Hexproof have shown to be an invaluable option. I've even struck deals with other players over it's interaction. It and Mirrorpool are 90/10 cards with a low opportunity cost. At this point they would need to print a better version of Arcane Lighthouse before I removed it from any similar deck. Mirrorpool is also a house. When you rings of brighthearth Mirrorpool's clone ability on your own Blightsteel Colossus, folks pay attention.
Sorry about being so quiet. Work has been a thing recently. So I've been tuning Sharuum like most of you as a result of the mulligan changes, and it's really forced me to make some hard choices. I dont have the time to post a full list now, but I've been doing quite well with my current incarnation. I have several larger strategies to play in to, any many forking beyond that. There are the normal Sharuum mechanics, I've added Altar of the Brood and Glassdust Hulk to also feed off of her. Then I can go with an 'Eggs' type of play with a sac outlet, Open the Vaults, and Codex Shredder. I've also gone deeper in the red zone with Blightsteel Colossus. Karn and Salvaging station packages are still in the deck for value and interaction, but greatly tightened. There are no longer any pure defensive cards such as Ensnaring Bridge or Baleful Strix.
I know everyone's deck is really tight - flex spots are a luxury. That being said, I wanted to bring the conversation back to Reshape. I know it's inferior to Transmute Artifact, but it's still going to let you tutor a card directly into play. Has anyone considered running it in addition to TA?
Pithing Needle is an excellent piece of meta which is almost certain to find a use. That being said, it's not advancing to your win condition - just delaying your opponent.
I haven't discovered magical chrismasland of drawing or anything, I'm just running the usual suspects. Windfall and company, Memory Jar, Mind's Eye. I'm focusing on reaching a certain amount of density so that by the time I've spent my current hand, I'm likely to have found something else. I still think that Mind's eye is fine. Running one out early after an ejection of mana rocks and trinkets can be great.
I've actually been reducing and narrowing my deck a bit. Cards like Rings of Brighthearth and Mindslaver are getting cut in favor of redundancy, reduced casting costs, and keeping the hand full. I am also facing another problem; more an more players are getting hexproof or shroud themselves, protecting them from the normal combos.
I've also used it a few times for life gain. In a tight match, ten life is better than six.
Perhaps trap is too strong of a word. More, I've gotten so that I just don't trust it to protect me. Sometimes it does, even for a long time. However, I've had far more experiences with it getting blown up the moment it inconveniences the agro player.
As for Journal, it caught my eye more for the ability to put artifact tokens into play which we can use to power a number of effects such as Forgemaster or Time Seive. You're right that it's probably just too slow.
On another note, Tamiyo's Journal has my attention. It's just a little slow, but I like the option of slowly massing artifact tokens which have a self-sacrifice clause, or that can be traded in for a tutor.
Rather than anthems - I was more thinking about equipment. Swords of stuff and Junk would be good, and Helm of the Gods might work out well too as she will get +2 if she's a creature. I've been thinking about Silent Arbiter, Tidal Force.
I would also like a good plan-b strategy; since I was already planning to add Mind over Matter, I could combo with Otherworld Atlas as a mill out strategy.
1x Batterskull
1x Fellwar Stone
1x Mana Web
1x Mind Stone
1x Mox Diamond
1x Mox Opal
1x Orb of Dreams
1x Sapphire Medallion
1x Sol Ring
1x Sphere of Resistance
1x Static Orb
1x Strata Scythe
1x Thought Vessel
1x Torpor Orb
1x Winter Orb
1x AEther Barrier
1x Back to Basics
1x Frozen AEther
1x Invoke Prejudice
1x Land Equilibrium
1x Mana Breach
1x Mana Vortex
1x Mystic Remora
1x Overburden
1x Pendrell Mists
1x Propaganda
1x Rhystic Study
1x Rising Waters
1x Standstill
1x Stasis
1x Windfall
Instant (11)
1x AEtherize
1x Arcane Denial
1x Counterspell
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Dissipate
1x Evacuation
1x Faerie Trickery
1x Intellectual Offering
1x Mana Leak
1x Sunder
1x Void Shatter
The fundamental idea with this deck is to keep the table under control long enough for Thassa to turn into a creature and then use her own ability to make her unblockable for commander damage. The deck is far from complete at this point, with some space to fill out still. I am posting this in hopes that others have experimented down this path before and may have some insight or suggestions for me.
I just realized that I hadn't answered the question about utter end. I use it over Vindicate for two reasons. 1) Instant speed, most of my deck is played from hand as permanents or sorcery speed. Sometimes having removal from hand really throws people off. Additionally, it allows me to interact with the stack. 2) Exile is more permanent than destroy. All we have to do is look to our own decks to realize just how meaningless destroy is.
1x Academy Ruins
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Arcane Lighthouse
1x Cavern of Souls
1x City of Brass
1x Command Tower
1x Darksteel Citadel
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Fetid Heath
1x Flooded Strand
1x Forbidden Orchard
1x Glacial Fortress
1x Glimmervoid
1x Godless Shrine
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Inkmoth Nexus
3x Island
1x Isolated Chapel
1x Mana Confluence
1x Marsh Flats
1x Mirrorpool
1x Mystic Gate
2x Plains
1x Polluted Delta
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Scrubland
1x Strip Mine
1x Sunken Ruins
2x Swamp
1x Tolaria West
1x Tundra
1x Underground Sea
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Watery Grave
1x Artificer's Intuition
Artifact (32)
1x Aether Spellbomb
1x Altar of the Brood
1x Basalt Monolith
1x Codex Shredder
1x Cranial Plating
1x Crucible of Worlds
1x Darksteel Ingot
1x Dispeller's Capsule
1x Executioner's Capsule
1x Expedition Map
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Krark-Clan Ironworks
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mana Vault
1x Memory Jar
1x Mind's Eye
1x Mox Opal
1x Nihil Spellbomb
1x Rings of Brighthearth
1x Salvaging Station
1x Sculpting Steel
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Sol Ring
1x Sword of the Meek
1x Talisman of Dominance
1x Talisman of Progress
1x Tawnos's Coffin
1x Thopter Foundry
1x Time Sieve
1x Voltaic Key
1x Voyager Staff
1x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1x Tezzeret the Seeker
Creature (11)
1x Blightsteel Colossus
1x Glassdust Hulk
1x Karn, Silver Golem
1x Kuldotha Forgemaster
1x Magister Sphinx
1x Master Transmuter
1x Myr Battlesphere
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Sandstone Oracle
1x Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1x Wurmcoil Engine
Sorcery (9)
1x All Is Dust
1x Bitter Ordeal
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Open the Vaults
1x Roar of Reclamation
1x Transmute Artifact
1x Unburial Rites
1x Whispering Madness
1x Windfall
Instant (6)
1x Entomb
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Intuition
1x Thirst for Knowledge
1x Utter End
1x Vampiric Tutor
I know everyone's deck is really tight - flex spots are a luxury. That being said, I wanted to bring the conversation back to Reshape. I know it's inferior to Transmute Artifact, but it's still going to let you tutor a card directly into play. Has anyone considered running it in addition to TA?