Sure, ETB effects gain you immediate benefit, but most ETB cards don't have built-in recurrability, whereas Trygon Predator does, in that he can just keep turning sideways until he's dealt with.
And in a lot of ways the fact that Trygon Predator has to be dealt with is a large part of the value. There are plenty of times where a Trygon Predator that hits the board and eats removal without killing a single enchantment or artifact is more valuable than a Harmonic Sliver hitting and taking something out. Not always of course, but there's value to be had in knowing that the creature you play is going to lure out a response. In a lot of ways the Predator should read "Whenever Trygon Predator deals combat damage to a player, you may destroy target artifact or enchantment or removal spell that player controls". There's value in that, and while I won't argue such a thing should/can replace ETB effects I do think they've got a strong place along side them for reasons I listed and others I haven't (Hushwing Gryph, Torpor Orb, etc).
I do agree with this for the most part. However, often times I might cast this when I already have a somewhat favorable board position in order to (hopefully) take out some opposing artifacts/enchantments and it will collateral dmg when my opponents wrath on their turn. If I casted this by itself it might singlehandly warrant a board wrath, which is fantastic, but that won't always be the case.
How does the community feel about Trygon Predator? In a format where ETB reigns supreme does he have a place in any deck? I like the potential reusable effect and the fact that he demands an answer all by himself.
If you draw your entire deck, your plan is to dump all permanents onto the batllefield, right? I'd suggest Concordant Crossroads to be able to send in the whole team immediately, plus, maybe, Craterhoof Behemoth for that extra punch.
If you draw your entire deck, your plan is to dump all permanents onto the batllefield, right? I'd suggest Concordant Crossroads to be able to send in the whole team immediately, plus, maybe, Craterhoof Behemoth for that extra punch.
I actually feel as though Dream Halls would be more at home in your deck than duck's. The reason I say this is because you run a fair amount of large splashy card draw spells. Dream Halls is perfect in this regard because you have a good chance of chaining these together; ultimately resulting in an extra (or multiple) extra turns. Most competitive decks run efficient card draw, i.e. engines and low cost/power ratio cards. They can't take advantage of Halls as much as you can when they're running stuff like Necropotene or Skullclamp. Many of the mono u decks run instant speed X cards which again are negligible with Halls out.
I've tested Halls extensively for the past week and it's been phenomenal every time. It enables a guarenteed Wanderer on t5 at minimum, and combined with other sources of ramp usually much earlier, say t3-4.
edit: It's also unlike Howling Mine in that you lose CA by playing it; allowing your opponents to benefit from it first. By casting Halls and discarding a card to cast Wanderer, you're down two cards which are replaced by the cascades + Wanderer.
Have you considered including Sensei's Divining Top? I get that it's not as great in decks that aren't as reactive but it can get us out of sticky situations or dry spells. It's also heinous with cards like Future Sight and Magus as well as Oracle of Mul Daya and the numerous fetch lands. I would also advocate the use of Karn Liberated as it's a versatile answer to just about anything your opponent's are doing and can come down quite early given all your ramp.
Any updates to the deck? I've recently added Timetwister in addition to Time Spiral and these cards have been phenomenal. Unlike Memory Jar (which I suggested earlier and agreed with your opinion that it enables gy shennanigans) and Wheel of Fortune they don't fill the gy; rather they can act as pseudo gy hate. The Twister has been especially brutal in an opening hand with a mana rock or two, often leading to a scoop a few turns later. Perhaps I'm late to the party but any deck with a high concentration with low cost ramp should definitely run this card.
Just going through your list I counted 18 sources of acceleration (probably missed a few). That's really high. You will empty your hand too quickly for you to be able to refill it. The best results I've gotten have draw to ramp ratios of around 1, maybe a little more.
Playing around with Derevi, I've become a huge fan of Prophet of Kruphix. Alchemist's Refuge + Seedborn Muse with a sac outlet, or Prophet with a sac outlet would enable you to go bonkers with Wanderer
I've included cards such as Memory Jar and Consecrated Sphinx now and it seems my draw woes have been answered. Jar in particular is fetchable with Tez and Fabricate and has been stellar every time its activated.
How has Scroll Rack been working for you? I really don't like cards that aren't proactive and streamlined for speed in Wanderer, but I found room for Jace and I know Rack is a heck of a card...
Scroll Rack enables me to maintain a somewhat consistent gameplan each game by filtering out the high cmc cards early in the game. I say consistently because of the numerous shuffle effects in the deck (including the 9 fetches). It has a cute synergy with cascade but that's a far cry from why I included it.
Of those guys, the only ones I find appealing are Balefire Dragon and Volcanic Fallout. The problem I face is that Edric is too fast to rely on the expensive answers, and Volcanic Fallout costs :symr::symr:, which I do not want to have to have access to by turn three.
Balefire doesn't answer the initial wave, but is a repeatable effect. He may well find his way back in. I plan to at least retest him. Inferno Titan is reusable, but underwhelming and doesn't address hexproof, so it seems a bit too narrow for a 6cmc creature.
Given the shift in my meta to accommodate for the low-cmc powerful generals, all the dicks are running Rapid Hybridization and Pongify, all the decks run Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile, they all run tutors, the all run rocks, the decks have their spot removal suite... so the Wildfire option is not great for my meta. People will always have an answer. And since Thada is prevalent, she will be chilling with up to 3 mana rocks by the time I plan to go off... it's not an attractive option.
I kinda just try to let the other decks worry about stopping each other in the early game, and worry about things I can control when I can control them.
Inferno Titan is an incredible creature, even moreso against weenie decks. With various artifact/land accel it's not uncommon to cast him t3-t4. I've never been disappointed with him in hand and he always does good things when he's in play.
Have either of you (duck or coupon) considered Memory Jar? I've been testing it the past week and it has been pretty good. If you run a lot of mana rocks it's even better. I'm generally able to cast half the cards I draw off the jar.
I do agree with this for the most part. However, often times I might cast this when I already have a somewhat favorable board position in order to (hopefully) take out some opposing artifacts/enchantments and it will collateral dmg when my opponents wrath on their turn. If I casted this by itself it might singlehandly warrant a board wrath, which is fantastic, but that won't always be the case.
Added Seedborn Muse, not quite sure if it's worth it yet but I suppose it's worth a shot. Cut Wasteland for Alchemist's Refuge.
Still want to eventually try and fit in Avenger of Zendikar and Craterhoof Behemoth.
edit: Maybe Capsize is worth a slot?
While it's cute with Zegana, I don't think it offers enough to warrant a spot in the deck, especially as it only taps for colorless by itself.
All good. I welcome all feedback.
It is. This deck doesn't usually use the red zone to win. With infinite mana and your deck in hand you can do a number of things to win. Deadeye Navigator and Eternal Witness or Venser, Shaper Savant will end the game, as will Venser + Riptide Laboratory (via infinite land untaps with Palinchron. Alternatively you can simply Braingeyser each opponent and recur it.
1 Prime Speaker Zegana
Creatures:
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Eternal Witness
1 Gilded Drake
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Mystic Snake
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Palinchron
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Progenitor Mimic
1 Prophet of Kruphix
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Terastodon
1 Trinket Mage
1 Trygon Predator
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
1 Wickerbough Elder
1 Wood Elves
1 Birthing Pod
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
Enchantments:
1 Exploration
1 Sylvan Library
Instants:
1 Beast Within
1 Chord of Calling
1 Counterspell
1 Crop Rotation
1 Cryptic Command
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Force of Will
1 Hinder
1 Mana Drain
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Pact of Negation
1 Swan Song
1 Worldly Tutor
Sorceries:
1 Bribery
1 Cultivate
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Natural Order
1 Nature's Lore
1 Regrowth
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Temporal Manipulation
1 Time Warp
1 Three Visits
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Jace, the mind Sculptor
Lands:
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Breeding Pool
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Command Tower
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Flooded Grove
1 Flooded Strand
5 Forest
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Hinterland Harbor
5 Island
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Polluted Delta
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Strip Mine
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Tolaria West
1 Tropical Island
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
I've tested Halls extensively for the past week and it's been phenomenal every time. It enables a guarenteed Wanderer on t5 at minimum, and combined with other sources of ramp usually much earlier, say t3-4.
edit: It's also unlike Howling Mine in that you lose CA by playing it; allowing your opponents to benefit from it first. By casting Halls and discarding a card to cast Wanderer, you're down two cards which are replaced by the cascades + Wanderer.
I've included cards such as Memory Jar and Consecrated Sphinx now and it seems my draw woes have been answered. Jar in particular is fetchable with Tez and Fabricate and has been stellar every time its activated.
Scroll Rack enables me to maintain a somewhat consistent gameplan each game by filtering out the high cmc cards early in the game. I say consistently because of the numerous shuffle effects in the deck (including the 9 fetches). It has a cute synergy with cascade but that's a far cry from why I included it.
Inferno Titan is an incredible creature, even moreso against weenie decks. With various artifact/land accel it's not uncommon to cast him t3-t4. I've never been disappointed with him in hand and he always does good things when he's in play.
Combined with cards such as Rite of Replication and Stolen Identity he is a powerhouse and can quickly end a game.