I had one in there in the original build, but took him out when I was trying to bring the mana-curve down. It's still too high for my liking, but if I start wanting more 'Pact effects he'd definitely come back.
Yea, they were mentioned earlier. I'd be much more likely to use Spawning Pit than the 'Station since it can be rapidly re-used. But like I mentioned earlier, I think I'd run Altar of Dementia in that spot since I actually have one of them in my collection at this point.
I started playing Magic in the spring of 1998, right in the middle of Tempest block. My first ever purchase was a 5th Edition starter and two packs of Weatherlight. To this day, I have a soft spot for Weatherlight, a set that is not regarded as particularly powerful or noteworthy.
As strong as that attachment is, I have a much, much stronger bond to Odyssey block. The Torment prerelease in 2002 was my first sanctioned tournament, and set me on the path of (semi-)competitive play. A few months later, I won my first FNM (Odyssey-Odyssey-Torment draft), and was truly hooked. I drafted more Odyssey than any other block since, as evidenced by the stacks of Chainflingers and Cephalid Looters in my bulk boxes.
Anyone who played Standard during this era knows that the format was largely defined by two fundamentally "Odyssey" decks: U/G Madness and Psychatog. While I was certainly more of an U/G Madness player at the time, I think it is Psychatog that most clearly encapsulates that particular moment in Magic history.
I've thought about building a pauper EDH list around ol' Dr. Teeth, sure I have. However, I was hesitant, mostly because I already have a pauper deck (Child of Alara, a modified version of d0su's venerable list) and I wasn't sure about the idea of a uncommon, non-legendary general gaining acceptance at my local store.
And then the decision was taken out of my hands. You see, one of my best friends came down to NJ this past weekend and he brought me a little something. Calling this guy one of my best friends is something of an understatement. Back in 6th grade, just more than half my life ago, he was one of the kids I first saw playing this neat little card game called Magic: The Gathering. Well, what did he bring me? A signed DCI foil Psychatog.
Below is the rough sketch that I came up for a control-oriented 1v1 pauper Psychatog build. As a ground rule, I build under the belief that if a card has ever been printed as a common, it counts as a common: Scrivener, for example.
The general idea is to play a controlling game, with permission, discard and spot removal. I know that discard is usually considered a fool's errand in EDH due to the multitude of ways to exploit the graveyard, but the few discard spells I've included seem too powerful to exclude.
The goal is to grind out card advantage/quality with the abundance of recursion spells and utility creatures, while filling up the graveyard.
Eventually, you'll aim to kill with a Shadow Rifted or Distortion Striked Psychatog. As a back up plan, Consume Spirit/Drain life double as spot-removal and alternate win conditions, especially if you get the recursive Mnemonic Wall action going.
Obviously, you're going to more or less roll to heavy graveyard hate, but when can you do?
I'm very eager to get feedback/suggestions. Understand that this deck is more a labor of love than anything that I think will be exceptionally strong.
Okay. The other thing I might consider is Armillary Sphere. I'd also probably put in a Halimar Depths and consider the Saga/Onslaught cycling lands in the appropriate colors.
Just as a note, you posted this in the Peasant sub-forum. The Peasant format is a constructed format with deckbuilding restrictions stipulating that a deck cannot have any rares/mythics and no more than 5 uncommons in it. You might get more feedback on your decklist in the general Casual Magic forum.
I actually prefer Compulsion over Frantic Search, for the reason that Compulsion helps you to use your mana more efficiently over a number of turns. It is a great card to have on the board when you've got a grip of meaningless land and no good use for your mana.
Shroud.
Do you think that Altar of Dementia is the call? I'd think that Ashnod's Altar would be more useful.
Yeah, that is reasonable. If you're not going to play Attrition though, perhaps Butcher of Malakir for some Grave Pact redundancy?
The following are all ~$1: The Shards tri-lands, Hedron Crab, Vampire Nighthawk, Ancient Ziggurat, Wall of Denial.
As strong as that attachment is, I have a much, much stronger bond to Odyssey block. The Torment prerelease in 2002 was my first sanctioned tournament, and set me on the path of (semi-)competitive play. A few months later, I won my first FNM (Odyssey-Odyssey-Torment draft), and was truly hooked. I drafted more Odyssey than any other block since, as evidenced by the stacks of Chainflingers and Cephalid Looters in my bulk boxes.
Anyone who played Standard during this era knows that the format was largely defined by two fundamentally "Odyssey" decks: U/G Madness and Psychatog. While I was certainly more of an U/G Madness player at the time, I think it is Psychatog that most clearly encapsulates that particular moment in Magic history.
I've thought about building a pauper EDH list around ol' Dr. Teeth, sure I have. However, I was hesitant, mostly because I already have a pauper deck (Child of Alara, a modified version of d0su's venerable list) and I wasn't sure about the idea of a uncommon, non-legendary general gaining acceptance at my local store.
And then the decision was taken out of my hands. You see, one of my best friends came down to NJ this past weekend and he brought me a little something. Calling this guy one of my best friends is something of an understatement. Back in 6th grade, just more than half my life ago, he was one of the kids I first saw playing this neat little card game called Magic: The Gathering. Well, what did he bring me? A signed DCI foil Psychatog.
Below is the rough sketch that I came up for a control-oriented 1v1 pauper Psychatog build. As a ground rule, I build under the belief that if a card has ever been printed as a common, it counts as a common: Scrivener, for example.
1 Psychatog
Lands:
1 Barren Moor
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Command Tower
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Dimir Guildgate
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Halimar Depths
1 Haunted Fengraf
14 Island
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Polluted Mire
1 Remote Isle
12 Swamp
1 Terramorphic Expanse
Creatures:
1 Aether Adept
1 Archaeomancer
1 Cadaver Imp
1 Cavern Harpy
1 Chittering Rats
1 Crypt Rats
1 Drift of Phantasms
1 Gravedigger
1 Grave Scrabbler
1 Liliana's Specter
1 Looter il-Kor
1 Merfolk Looter
1 Mnemonic Wall
1 Mulldrifter
1 Nightscape Familiar
1 Scrivener
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Stinkweed Imp
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Dimir Cluestone
1 Expedition Map
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Whispersilk Cloak
Enchantments:
1 Flood
1 Rhystic Study
1 Tortured Existence
Instants and Sorceries:
1 Bone to Ash
1 Brainstorm
1 Cancel
1 Capsize
1 Careful Study
1 Condescend
1 Counterspell
1 Death Denied
1 Deep Analysis
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Distortion Strike
1 Disturbed Burial
1 Divination
1 Drain Life
1 Exclude
1 Eyeblight's Ending
1 Faerie Trickery
1 Forbidden Alchemy
1 Frantic Search
1 Ghastly Demise
1 Ghostly Flicker
1 Grim Harvest
1 Gush
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Perplex
1 Pilfered Plans
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Probe
1 Recoil
1 Shadow Rift
1 Soul Manipulation
1 Tainted Strike
Notes:
The general idea is to play a controlling game, with permission, discard and spot removal. I know that discard is usually considered a fool's errand in EDH due to the multitude of ways to exploit the graveyard, but the few discard spells I've included seem too powerful to exclude.
The goal is to grind out card advantage/quality with the abundance of recursion spells and utility creatures, while filling up the graveyard.
Eventually, you'll aim to kill with a Shadow Rifted or Distortion Striked Psychatog. As a back up plan, Consume Spirit/Drain life double as spot-removal and alternate win conditions, especially if you get the recursive Mnemonic Wall action going.
Obviously, you're going to more or less roll to heavy graveyard hate, but when can you do?
I'm very eager to get feedback/suggestions. Understand that this deck is more a labor of love than anything that I think will be exceptionally strong.
He also has tasty stuff like Luminarch Ascension and Sigil of the Empty Throne.