Those cards don't actually work like you think they do, they are designed to slow down things like Summer BloomOracle of Mul DayaExploration, Land find spells are not effected by them or effects that put lands into play which Aurora is.
I guess the one upside to unbanning Upheaval is that the small group that complains about things like Cyclonic Rift would understand why it is not banned.
I am probably not going to go the creature route, if only because Jolrael is much to slow, she and the enchantment versions also make this much more visible before it happens.
I would probably hold it to the spells and then if they come up the deck moves in that direction in flow and if they do not it goes one of the other directions.
I run Pod in my Wort, The Raidmother deck although there is only 13 creatures and Pod isn't a chain it is more of a specific tutor based on who is currently on board.
I have a big question and I can't decide the path on, I had a Eureka moment when it comes to Zada and how he interacts with Green.
I was looking for other cards like Early Harvest and I picked up Rude Awakening and my mind at first overlook the animate land mode. Then thinking about it that opens entire new splicing directions for Zada.
So the big question is do I go down the animating lands route for more creatures.
I understand the Tooth and Nail impulse kinda, but still the most important 2 parts and why that card isn't banned, the mana cost and it is a sorcery.
I think what people do is they never look at Tooth And Nail as an individual card and only ever look at it as a card that comes out of a deck who has been controlling the game the whole time anyway.
But they didn't play it on Turn 9 and they also didn't play it at sorcery speed are the usual responses to looking at the mechanics of the card itself, and that just means what while playing you and the other players who were not the T&N person made the decisions to deal with other things on the board or to try and further your own position.
Got to the local shop with cards did some trading did some rooting through boxes for Quarter cards and it is inching closer to finality.
Out: Ranger's Path - replaced with cards that can a) find mountains b) interact better with other parts of deck Mana Flare - ManaMore Slate of Ancestry - Too slow Mark of Mutiny - lackluster Boiling Blood - replaced with strictly better version Ashnod's Altar - don't actually need both and have bigger better ways to generate colorless Gelatinous Genesis - the double X puts me off Reap and Sow - Replaced with better
1 Land - down to 34 feels risky as ***** but it is working so far and not even paris-ing have gotten a workable hand without going below 6 cards.
In: Shamanic Revelation - even with just Wort and her tokens this card is a 1 more mana Harmonize (it is usually not that small) Ant Queen - interacts nicely with Mana Echoes and plays nice with the untaps of Seedborn Muse Far Wanderings - The threshold on this thing + conspire is RIDICULOUS Crimson Wisps - the best Zada target in the world, also can hit a Krenko if just need some more bodies to fuel something. Vedalken Orrery - as soon as Seedborn Muse was put into deck it was only a matter of time.
Arcane Cards Kodama's Reach - good ramp card that get hilarious with some goblins and some splicing Rending Vines - sadly does not go insane with Zada but is removal that draws me a card so I will take it Overblaze - mostly there for its targetted splice but also if Purphoros, God of the Forgee is a creature WATCH OUT Kodama's Might targetted arcane that can also splice for cheap cheap cheap
Got to play a single game with it after making those changes and this is what happened, 3 player.
turn 2 Edgewalker (with rock) into turn 3 Thrumming Stone with one or 2 of them in hand results in all 30 of them on field usually.
Conspiracy calling demons let you fish anything out of your deck. Alternatively calling clerics + a sac outlet makes Rotlung infinite triggers of whatever the sac outlet gives.
The reason Athreos is secretly the best commander choice is because no one wants to take 18 damage for bull***** Apostles so you usually just get them back to hand.
As someone who tried to make exactly that, all the double damage things that were not Wound Reflection were cut VERY QUICKLY and replaced with more creature removal that also hurts like Inferno and Slagstorm
We don't have much land destruction here in our LGS, but for me, MLD is acceptable if it will follow-up a win on the next turn. However, if after MLD and opponent will just toy around you, I find it irritating. TLD is fine since there are problematic lands that needs to go.
I hope you actually mean the opponent has a large advantage over their opponents in board state.
IE. a Kemba deck equipped with a few pieces of equipment and mana rocks that casts Armageddon obviously can not win on the next turn, however the numerical advantage to doing that when they do is obvious.
My position on MLD hasn't really changed since I have been playing the game, since the game of Magic has never stopped being a game of resource denial.
Yeah that is the point.
If people have mana they have ways to interact, if you remove that interaction you win the game. Counterspells go for the card MLD goes for the fuel for that card. It is no different both of the options win the game. If I have a Krenko who will be able to make enough goblins a turn from now and win the game then I am going to use the 7 mana to deny everyone else the resources to stop me from doing that. You also don't need fetches or top or library to make better use of MLD, those 3 types of cards tend to make EVERY commander deck better and I would use them if I had them.
MLD is just a more brutal form of control, from two colors who are generally more excessive and blunt than the rest. These spells used correctly end the game just as fast as any other method that ends the game it just does it slightly different.
Colors without countermagic tend to find their own methods to get around it or break right through it.
The problem as I have found comes from people don't like being told they can not do things in a game and being told to not overextend is one of those things.
There are Obliterates I have cast and lost because the player opposite me was holding extra lands because he was at his curve and his board didn't need extra mana.
I am probably not going to go the creature route, if only because Jolrael is much to slow, she and the enchantment versions also make this much more visible before it happens.
I would probably hold it to the spells and then if they come up the deck moves in that direction in flow and if they do not it goes one of the other directions.
For example tapping Krenko, Mob Boss for tokens and then podding him into a Skullmulcher for draw.
I was looking for other cards like Early Harvest and I picked up Rude Awakening and my mind at first overlook the animate land mode. Then thinking about it that opens entire new splicing directions for Zada.
So the big question is do I go down the animating lands route for more creatures.
Which would include
Natural Affinity (if I include Radiate as a global sized Zada this becomes all the more fun)
Rude Awakening
Vitalize
It is possible for the splicing too because the splice cards I am using will not kill my board.
Thragtusk being a good example.
I think what people do is they never look at Tooth And Nail as an individual card and only ever look at it as a card that comes out of a deck who has been controlling the game the whole time anyway.
But they didn't play it on Turn 9 and they also didn't play it at sorcery speed are the usual responses to looking at the mechanics of the card itself, and that just means what while playing you and the other players who were not the T&N person made the decisions to deal with other things on the board or to try and further your own position.
Out:
Ranger's Path - replaced with cards that can a) find mountains b) interact better with other parts of deck
Mana Flare - ManaMore
Slate of Ancestry - Too slow
Mark of Mutiny - lackluster
Boiling Blood - replaced with strictly better version
Ashnod's Altar - don't actually need both and have bigger better ways to generate colorless
Gelatinous Genesis - the double X puts me off
Reap and Sow - Replaced with better
1 Land - down to 34 feels risky as ***** but it is working so far and not even paris-ing have gotten a workable hand without going below 6 cards.
In:
Shamanic Revelation - even with just Wort and her tokens this card is a 1 more mana Harmonize (it is usually not that small)
Ant Queen - interacts nicely with Mana Echoes and plays nice with the untaps of Seedborn Muse
Far Wanderings - The threshold on this thing + conspire is RIDICULOUS
Crimson Wisps - the best Zada target in the world, also can hit a Krenko if just need some more bodies to fuel something.
Vedalken Orrery - as soon as Seedborn Muse was put into deck it was only a matter of time.
Arcane Cards
Kodama's Reach - good ramp card that get hilarious with some goblins and some splicing
Rending Vines - sadly does not go insane with Zada but is removal that draws me a card so I will take it
Overblaze - mostly there for its targetted splice but also if Purphoros, God of the Forgee is a creature WATCH OUT
Kodama's Might targetted arcane that can also splice for cheap cheap cheap
Got to play a single game with it after making those changes and this is what happened, 3 player.
Turn 6, on seven lands(harrow) basics + false god, Wort is out and survived around the board.
Early Harvest
Dualcaster Mage
8 Mana floating
Conspired Tormenting Voice 4 cards
Conspired Manamorphose 2 cards
Birthing Pod
Dualcaster Mage becomes Krenko, Mob Boss
Pass turn with all my mana untapped because didn't hit a draw spell.
Remarkably my board survives around to my turn.
Zada, Hedron Grinder
Crimson Wisps (draw for turn)
Tap Krenko, Mob Boss in response
Draw 10
Conspired Inner Fire 26 mana
Phyrexian Altar (sac 2 goblins for green)
Mana Echoes
Avenger of Zendikar (still 7 lands) (49 colorless mana)
Conspired Tempt with Vengeance for (15 Elementals) x 2
Both playing it safe choose to not take the tempts
At this point if I did not already have The Great Aurora in my hand I could have podded Krenko to get Skullmulcher to draw some more cards.
But I did so The Great Aurora for 58 still with 40+ mana floating
Hit a mess of lands
Vexing Shusher (uncounterable)
Wort, The Raidmother (uncounterable)
Conspired (extra super insurance) Comet Storm for lethal (uncounterable)
I think I like this deck enough to put the real work into the opening post and really spruce it up.
Also Starlit Sanctum + Daru Spiritualist + Lightning Greaves + 1 More cleric is Infinite Life
turn 2 Edgewalker (with rock) into turn 3 Thrumming Stone with one or 2 of them in hand results in all 30 of them on field usually.
Conspiracy calling demons let you fish anything out of your deck. Alternatively calling clerics + a sac outlet makes Rotlung infinite triggers of whatever the sac outlet gives.
The reason Athreos is secretly the best commander choice is because no one wants to take 18 damage for bull***** Apostles so you usually just get them back to hand.
I hope you actually mean the opponent has a large advantage over their opponents in board state.
IE. a Kemba deck equipped with a few pieces of equipment and mana rocks that casts Armageddon obviously can not win on the next turn, however the numerical advantage to doing that when they do is obvious.
My position on MLD hasn't really changed since I have been playing the game, since the game of Magic has never stopped being a game of resource denial.
The problem as I have found comes from people don't like being told they can not do things in a game and being told to not overextend is one of those things.
There are Obliterates I have cast and lost because the player opposite me was holding extra lands because he was at his curve and his board didn't need extra mana.