Psychatog is a slow deck that cannot control the board as it used to. Legacy has become too fast for this kind of deck. That being said, the deck is fun to play with and can give your opponents a lot of trouble if played correctly. Playing without fetch lands and Intuition, it is a lot harder to achieve anything with the deck. But that doesn't mean it can't.
The way I see it, some cards just can't be played in this deck unless you have a really good mana base.
For example, you play Duress. You want to be able to cast it on the first turn. Therefore, you need to have a black mana source on turn one.
This decks is more blue than black, and on a budget I believe it will be rare when you get to play Duress on the first turn.
Also, if you play against aggro decks, Duress can be suboptimal. If you want to keep a discard effect in the deck, you might consider Inquisition of Kozilek instead.
On the other hand, you also play Boomerang and counterspell. You want to be able to cast either on turn two, but you need two blue mana sources on turn two in order to cast them.
Echoing Truth is almost as good as Boomerang and can actually be better against certain decks. I'd definitely consider it.
However, psychatog really needs counterspell. You are definitely going to play mid-games and late-games more often than not. Counterspell can't be replaced with a mana leak effect.
If you take Duress out, you can increase the island count, thus making a turn 2 counterspell more viable.
Although the difference is small, Mana Leak is a slightly better card than Rune Snag in this particular deck. If you play your tog, you are likely to end up with zero copies of rune snag on your graveyard. Also, opponents are very likely to use graveyard hate against this deck.
Accumulated Knowledge is a great card. But Psychatog decks already get screwed pretty bad by Tormod's Crypt and similar effects. If you have no AK in the graveyard, playing AK is worse than lots of cards. (If only you had Intuitions...)Anyways, whether you should play it or not, that's something only playtests will tell.
You should also consider another win condition. If someone plays pithing needle naming psychatog, your chances of winning the match are very small.
Once Psychatog is on the table, Fact or Fiction is the best card you could draw. It fills both your hand and graveyard for that alpha strike. On a budget, Fathom Seer can also be used for this purpose, though it seems rather slow in legacy.
I probably have more suggestions, but for now that's all I could think of.
I find it very difficult to attain control, and keep it simply on the back of counters in multiplayer. Much better to play a card that both helps your board and functions as a counterspell.
Also, why is Fact or Fiction better than Flow of Ideas? I usually draw 4 cards at minimum with Flow of Ideas, more often than not it's much higher. I also don't often need to refill my hand that early in the game since I tend to wait out the first few rounds before I feel the need to begin bouncing threats to defend myself.
How about the fact that one is an instant and the other is a sorcery?
Mono blue control plays on the opponent's turn. If he plays a spell, you counter it. If he does not play a spell, you draw cards.
While both combos are ridiculously awesome my local casual playgroup frowns on infinite combos.
Are you serious? The whole point of playing casual is so you can actually play infinite combos, or other fun stuff, and not be called uncompetitive.
I think the real problem with Training Grounds is that it really does not do anything if you have two of them on the table. For that reason, it should not be a 4 of. If it is not a 4 of, then it cannot be the basis of a deck because you can't depend on something that has roughly 5.6% chance of being in your opening hand...
On second thought, if you use some kind of multi-use tutor, the deck could definitely be viable.
I'd look into cards with the Transmute ability, or if you plan on using white, Enlightened Tutor.
Tog in standard never used any sort of evasion-granting card because the deck runs on the thought of inevitability..
Actually, it ran 1 Wonder.
Also, don't forget to run Fact or Fiction because it really helps to end a game, besides being pure CA.
If your playgroup does not allow Gush, an option would be Fathom Seer.
I problem is, I think the deck needed an extra UMPH and Compulsive Research if anything set the deck back so I scratched those and now I'm looking for a replacement.
I'm currently testing Upheaval but currently, I don't like it. Seems to slow and doesn't necessarily "end games".
Any ideas on what I can do? thanks.
Lets see... Brainstorm + Lorescale Coatl... it's fun, but not always functional. It gets better if you have fetch lands though. Fathom Seer - It might seem slow, but if you use its morphing ability, you have 4 extra cards in your hand. It might just be enough to have you Wild Mongrel kill that tarmogoyf on the other side of the table. Looter Il-kor - Works great with Umezawa's Jitte, but does not enable madness on your opponent's turn.
I'd use any of them over Vexing Sphinx because the Sphinx really sux.
You really should playtest Brainstorm because it pumps the coatl by 3 and it is a fun card. Just make sure you have enough shuffling effects to go with it.
I would cut the following cards from the list:
4 Electrolyze
4 Incinerate
4 Brainstorm
2 Izzet Boilerworks
Reasons:
-Fire/Ice is already on the list and it is better than Electrolyze. You don't need both of them in your deck.
-Lightning Bolt is already on the list and it is better than Incinerate. You don't need both of them in your deck.
-You need real card advantage to keep up with fast aggro decks. Also, you don't have enough shuffling effects to make Brainstorm worth being in the deck.
-You can't afford the slowness of having more than 1 Izzet Boilerworks in your opening hand. In fact, you should have the minimum amount possible of lands that enter the battlefield tapped. I am not a fan of Terramorphic Expanses either...
You definitely need more draw spells.
+4 Accumulated Knowledge
+3 Fact or Fiction (if you can afford them).
If you can't afford FoF, try Prophetic Bolt. No card advantage, but it gives you card filtering while causing 4 damage.
Try Roar of the Wurm.
Also, Arrogant Wurm works great with this deck because it can be played in instant speed. You wait to see if your opponent will play an important spell and if not, you play a 4/4 trample beater. It is also a great surprise blocker.
You could use Gigadrowse the turn before you combo to tap your opponent's lands.
I just feel bad for you wasting 6 slots with useless artifacts such as Ornithopter and Memnite.
The way I see it, some cards just can't be played in this deck unless you have a really good mana base.
For example, you play Duress. You want to be able to cast it on the first turn. Therefore, you need to have a black mana source on turn one.
This decks is more blue than black, and on a budget I believe it will be rare when you get to play Duress on the first turn.
Also, if you play against aggro decks, Duress can be suboptimal. If you want to keep a discard effect in the deck, you might consider Inquisition of Kozilek instead.
On the other hand, you also play Boomerang and counterspell. You want to be able to cast either on turn two, but you need two blue mana sources on turn two in order to cast them.
Echoing Truth is almost as good as Boomerang and can actually be better against certain decks. I'd definitely consider it.
However, psychatog really needs counterspell. You are definitely going to play mid-games and late-games more often than not. Counterspell can't be replaced with a mana leak effect.
If you take Duress out, you can increase the island count, thus making a turn 2 counterspell more viable.
Although the difference is small, Mana Leak is a slightly better card than Rune Snag in this particular deck. If you play your tog, you are likely to end up with zero copies of rune snag on your graveyard. Also, opponents are very likely to use graveyard hate against this deck.
Accumulated Knowledge is a great card. But Psychatog decks already get screwed pretty bad by Tormod's Crypt and similar effects. If you have no AK in the graveyard, playing AK is worse than lots of cards. (If only you had Intuitions...)Anyways, whether you should play it or not, that's something only playtests will tell.
You should also consider another win condition. If someone plays pithing needle naming psychatog, your chances of winning the match are very small.
Once Psychatog is on the table, Fact or Fiction is the best card you could draw. It fills both your hand and graveyard for that alpha strike. On a budget, Fathom Seer can also be used for this purpose, though it seems rather slow in legacy.
I probably have more suggestions, but for now that's all I could think of.
How about the fact that one is an instant and the other is a sorcery?
Mono blue control plays on the opponent's turn. If he plays a spell, you counter it. If he does not play a spell, you draw cards.
Also, fetch lands are Brainstorm's best friends.
Are you serious? The whole point of playing casual is so you can actually play infinite combos, or other fun stuff, and not be called uncompetitive.
I think the real problem with Training Grounds is that it really does not do anything if you have two of them on the table. For that reason, it should not be a 4 of. If it is not a 4 of, then it cannot be the basis of a deck because you can't depend on something that has roughly 5.6% chance of being in your opening hand...
On second thought, if you use some kind of multi-use tutor, the deck could definitely be viable.
I'd look into cards with the Transmute ability, or if you plan on using white, Enlightened Tutor.
Actually, it ran 1 Wonder.
Also, don't forget to run Fact or Fiction because it really helps to end a game, besides being pure CA.
If your playgroup does not allow Gush, an option would be Fathom Seer.
Lets see...
Brainstorm + Lorescale Coatl... it's fun, but not always functional. It gets better if you have fetch lands though.
Fathom Seer - It might seem slow, but if you use its morphing ability, you have 4 extra cards in your hand. It might just be enough to have you Wild Mongrel kill that tarmogoyf on the other side of the table.
Looter Il-kor - Works great with Umezawa's Jitte, but does not enable madness on your opponent's turn.
I'd use any of them over Vexing Sphinx because the Sphinx really sux.
Actually, FoF is not expensive anymore... You can get 3-4 copies for $10 quiet easily.
I would cut the following cards from the list:
4 Electrolyze
4 Incinerate
4 Brainstorm
2 Izzet Boilerworks
Reasons:
-Fire/Ice is already on the list and it is better than Electrolyze. You don't need both of them in your deck.
-Lightning Bolt is already on the list and it is better than Incinerate. You don't need both of them in your deck.
-You need real card advantage to keep up with fast aggro decks. Also, you don't have enough shuffling effects to make Brainstorm worth being in the deck.
-You can't afford the slowness of having more than 1 Izzet Boilerworks in your opening hand. In fact, you should have the minimum amount possible of lands that enter the battlefield tapped. I am not a fan of Terramorphic Expanses either...
You definitely need more draw spells.
+4 Accumulated Knowledge
+3 Fact or Fiction (if you can afford them).
If you can't afford FoF, try Prophetic Bolt. No card advantage, but it gives you card filtering while causing 4 damage.
Also, you need more counter spell effects.
Summarizing:
-4 Electrolyze
-4 Incinerate
-4 Brainstorm
-2 Izzet Boilerworks
+1 Island
+1 Mountain
+4 Accumulated Knowledge
+3 Fact or Fiction or Prophetic Bolt
+3 Flametongue Kavu
+2 or 3 Condescend or Forbid
I would also consider the following minor improvements:
-1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
+1 Call the Skybreaker
-1 Echoing Truth
+1 Capsize
I like Earthquake better than Firespout, but that is personal preference.
3 Flametongue Kavu
2 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
1 Call the Skybreaker
Other Spells: 31
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rune Snag
4 Counterspell
2 Forbid
4 Fire // Ice
4 Accumulated Knowledge
3 Fact or Fiction
3 Firespout
2 Echoing Truth
1 Capsize
2 Izzet Boilerworks
4 Terramorphic Expanse
10 Island
7 Mountain
Also, Arrogant Wurm works great with this deck because it can be played in instant speed. You wait to see if your opponent will play an important spell and if not, you play a 4/4 trample beater. It is also a great surprise blocker.
4 Forsaken City
1 Undiscovered Paradise
17 Island
Creatures
1 Chronatog
Spells
4 Force of Will
4 Stasis
4 Howling Mine
4 Daze
3 Propaganda
3 Ensnare
3 Chain of Vapor
3 Tangle Wire
2 Frozen Æther
2 Thwart
2 Foil
1 Feldon's Cane
1 Tel-Jilad Stylus
1 Iron Maiden
4 Chill
3 Relic of Progenitus
3 Misdirection
2 Threads of Disloyalty
2 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Hydroblast
*Sub Iron Maiden for Black Vise if you are playing casual*
**Sub Force of Will for Power Sink or Counterspell if you are on a budget**
***Undiscovered Paradise is not necessary.
-3 Terrarion
-2 Broodstar
-1 chromatic sphere
+4 Springleaf Drum
+1 Disciple of the Vault
+1 Cranial Platting
Looks good to me.