MTG Salvation

Feel bad for the cut but it feels right: Haven't even taken Neheb out for a spin, but he's the one I cut. This effectively means I pushed my average CMC up by one, as Neheb replaced Kraum, Ludevic's Opus. Any other choices didn't feel like the right cut or were too costly of a CMC increase. Neheb gave me draw and mana, Bolas gives draw and by paying life to cast spells it effectively allows me to skirt around mana costs. I hope to bring Neheb back, but I don't know what doesn't feel right yet.

I don't have time to flip boats: Trying out Disinformation Campaign as a draw and prison with Estrid's Invocation.

Resurrecting this to have another fun casual deck. Since I'm going about an ineffective way, I've decided to add more wincons: Simic Ascendancy and Sage of Hours are two ways to finish the game out. Explosive Vegetatio is Ramp that isn't in a three slot Viral Drake can kill between the Experience, Poison and +1/+1 counters. Nissa is more Ramp and Draw, she's good enough to be included in the Morph Casting Slot. Dryad Arbor is just another way to get free Experience and a land, Karn's Bastion helps Proliferate all of the counters the deck runs.

Solemn is kind of crappy Ramp, Sabertooth also didn't impress me. Swan Song is solid, but the problem is that Bird trades with most of my beaters. Galleon requires a lot of hoops to jump through, ones I'm willing. Compass is good, just trying something new. Two Basics out for the two Nonbasics.

After seeing a Bolas's Citadel in action, I definitely want to test it. Just didn't put in my first wave of considerations.

So... I've found out that I've been playing Desecrated Tomb incorrectly, the correct way has only just been pointed out to me. I thought that Marchesa's delayed trigger that returns Creatures did that all at the same time. i.e. Three Creatures died with +1/+1 counters, the three come back at the same time and create one Bat. That's not the case. They would each resolve the return trigger individually, meaning I would get three Bats. I already thought the card was amazing, this brings it up to a whole new level of ridiculous.

Deconstructed Daxos, again. It was a simple matter that at least one player would play Aggro at the table, as we tried to keep a mix of Aggro vs. Control so that we don't end up in those 2+ hour long drag out fights because all four of us decided to play Control. This meant that at least one player would target my deck early, often and aggressively as they knew they couldn't win in the long run. I tried to add a whole suite of "Do Not Attack Me" but the defences wouldn't come up in time or wouldn't be a deterrent. My options were to dissolve Daxos or make him more competitive, I like derping around with him and didn't want to spoil that fun. Annoyed that no one would let me play my deck, the as de-fanged as possible version, I knew my next deck would be a control deck and I recall the misery of Zur's Slide. Won't let me play my happy fun times? OK, I'll play something that can defend itself.

Between the original list, here's a massive amount of changes: I tend to not want to tap out unless it is a giant boon or the object protects itself. My other high costs, previously in the deck, got axed because they weren't worth the cost. I am not testing the Chimera, I can use its trigger to gain control of spells that would ruin my day, such as anything Exiling Astral Slide. Then, if there isn't anything happen, Slide it out and have it return under my control to guide further spells. I axed Hostage Taker and Ravenous Chupacabra because they felt like the least contributory to the deck's effort, I also upped my land count to 40. At the very least, I want the Hostage Taker to make a comeback.

Out of Enchantments, I cut D-Sphere for space, Search because I had traded it and Cast Out for ditto. I do think Cast Out should return, as it flashes in as a solution, cycles if it doesn't and is an Enchantment which should make it easy to return with both of my Enchantment Returning Monk/Clerics. Estrid's Invocation goes in as another Copy Enchantment, though I am tempting to add a bunch of ETB Enchantments to abuse this. I've been on opposing Disinformation Campaigns or Oath of Liliana, both of which Zur can fetch. Smothering Tithe goes in because it is absolutely bonkers.

I cut a few of the fast mana rocks for what I think are more expensive but worthwhile choices. Conqueror's Galleon gives me a Loot to trigger my Drakes and Drains, plus it can return a card back to my hand, it's ramp by transforming, it easily is crewed with two Drakes, dodges most removal when transformed and also does a plain card draw if need be. Dowsing Dagger is another flip land that due to most of my forces flight will easily find a sucker to make it transform. The deck hates tapping out, Victory Chimes helps with that.

Hallow Burial was originally in the deck to combat all of the Angry Omnaths running around. The meta has cooled on that, so I'm going with a reliable, uncounterable Wrath.

Lastly, I added a bunch of basics. This is to increase the utility of Solemn Simulacrum and Sword of the Animist. I tried versions with less basics, but didn't like it. Also, basics tend to be punished less. I did decide to add Thespian's Stage as a way to copy any ridiculous land; Urborg for Black fixing, Vault of the Archangel for lifegain and deathtouch trades; and, Volrath's Stronghold for its ability to recur my Creatures. I salivate at the idea of cycling Nimble Obstructionist, in response to the draw have the Stronghold put him on top of my deck. Oh, look at that, I countered your trigger or activated ability and it didn't cost me anything. I also may have made Drakes or Drains out of this. Plus the deck does have problems with decking, Volrath's Stronghold will make that slightly more difficult for myself.

Removing a meta-call for general goodness: I had Suffer the Past in a way to surprise kill a player, gain life and/or remove key cards from a graveyard in response to a Regrow effect which are abundant in my Meta. Suffer has done it's job and it's been... OK. Not sure if that's how this type of answer is supposed to feel, I'm not exactly underwhelmed but with the amount of people thinking the card is bad, I'm willing to test something else in its slot. Heroic is quite good and will help me protect my board from various disruption. Let's see if I miss Suffer.

Since I've added two ways to Proliferate, this is my 'Proliferate Package'. Cards that synergize or do well with +1/+1 counters or are the Planeswalkers. I cut what I felt like what was glut. I was missing Land Drops due to not having enough draw, so I cut the Vizier for Realm Seekers who should help me land those Land Drops plus he's big. Inspiring Call is another way to draw. Xenagos gives me mana or a body, he Ults pretty quickly and that could set me ahead far ahead. Nissa makes a body to protect Planeswalkers, her minus beefs up my team to enjoy the Proliferation.

Well, since Vigilance protects Planeswalkers and Planeswalkers like Proliferate, War updates were easy: Combat Celebrant wasn't really pulling its own weight. With the addition of these two Proliferate cards, I'm thinking I should probably add some kind of +1/+1 Counter subtheme.

Simple swap from War: I value Bolt Bend costing one more than the life gain from Heal the Scars. I also also hijack other Target spells instead of protecting Ruric Thar. That versatility is another plus in its favour.

Ruric Thar made it to Page 2, good job lil' guy.

War of the Spark changes: Krenko puts a +1/+1 counter on himself, allowing for Dethroneless comebacks if I'm ahead on life. He also will make tokens and then deck loves going wide, as Marchesa also makes them tall. Being Goblins also synergizes with [c]Goblin Rabblemaster[/b], as he gets quite large on offence when swinging with all of his Goblinoid buddies. Prophetic Flamespeaker was already marked as a cut.

Mayhem Devil was a little hard to consider, as I already have so many pingers. I thought of cutting Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, Judith, the Scourge Diva and Hissing Iguanar. Zulaport and Blood Artist gain me life, plus they're lower on the CMC. Judith's +1/+0 is just too good to pass up, even if she stipulates nontoken deaths. So I looked at the Iguanar, he procs anytime another Creature dies, which is fairly similar to Mayhem Devil but I think it will come up more often. Let's go with an abundance of threats to ping people to death, so I started looking at other cards. Dross Harvester is good but he is a little awkward, I'm willing to test Mayhem Devil in its place.

Remembering my lessons from my Edgar Markov deck, I know that Grave Pact is powerful but it is giving my opponents a turn of breathing free. They then proceed to collapse on me until I am dead. Hell, the deck has a reputation that people will kill it even if I'm clearly behind because they don't want it to spring back and get them. I think that Grave Pact is a card that helps me win games I'm winning and does nothing for games I am losing, the question is how much it does in the middle? Enter Spark Double, a Creature that can create infinites or just be a backup Marchesa. The deck does fold if Marchesa gets hated out, so this extra layer of resiliency is good.

Neheb and Kraum are very similar as bulky card draw engines with evasion. Kraum does have Haste in his corner, but the rest of his flaws when compared to Neheb made me make the change. Kraum costs more and this deck is trying to be low to the ground. Kraum doesn't guarantee card draw, especially if we're entering the midgame and people are playing their one big spell. Neheb, on the other hand, lets us dig for better options and he generates mana at the same time. That seems fairly absurd to me, so I'm giving him a whirl to see if my gut is correct.

Left Impaler Shrike out of considerations for cuts because I've yet to see it in action.

Adding utility: Batterskull is asking for a lot of up-front mana and it isn't like Thar is getting the full benefit. I do have enough life gain now that he isn't getting bowled over, so Batterskull hasn't been impressive lately. With the amount of mana this deck generates, I can definitely use the utility of the Mirage Mirror for interesting shenanigans. Without even considering my opponent's permanents, this would let me increase my mana doublers by copying Zendikar Resurgent and Regal Behemoth. Or if someone is willing to take 12 because I have Angrath's Marauders or Gratuitous Violence, I can suddenly jackknife that up to 24 by the Mirror copying them. Once we introduce permanents by opponents might have for abuse, well, it just gets more interesting.

Swapping Wincons: Revel requires a lot of hoops to jump through, even with Smothering Tithe. The deck already wants to gain life, so the Reservoir will help with that. There's inherit synergies between the Reservoir and Archangel of Thune. The deck also repeatedly goes above 50, so it should be easy to laser people, and with Razaketh, the Foulblooded and Dragonlord Dromoka it should be easy to setup and protect the Reservoir.

Wow, this War of the Spark has a ton of goodies I'm going to want to test.

Spark Double can be a second copy of Marchesa, thereby protecting my board even more. Double Dethrone is a nice bonus. It also goes infinite with Glen Elendra Archmage, a Sac Outlet and some way to deal damage. Goblin Bombardment fulfills both of those, but I could always use Blood Artist and co. with any Sac Outlet.

Bolas's Citadel is a top end draw engine I should probably test. The deck wants to lose life, it wants to play out lots of threats and the Citadel also can let me Sac my board for protection or reach. I think it might not make the cut but I'm willing to test it to see. A lot of noncreatures give my opponents breathing room, as I play that instead of another threat, but the Citadel lets me churn out threats the turn it comes down.

Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin does what this deck wants. Protects itself with a +1/+1 counter, poops out tokens to go wide and it also goes tall to put pressure on my opponent for blocks.

Dreadhorde Butcher looked attractive until Mayhem Devil was spoiled. Might still need to test it, but as far as I'm concerned, Mayhem Devil is a slam dunk. So many people sacrifice all sorts of permanents, such as Fetches or Steves, and that's without my Grave Pact out. There's also plenty of Aristocrat-style decks running around that I could easily take advantage of that. With the Devil dealing damage to any target, this means that the deck can easily take out Planeswalkers without needing to send a guy at them.

It's unlikely that War will print other cards I would want at this point, but I'm willing to be pleasantly surprised. This is already enough goodies that is making me go "How will they all fit?!"

Upping my 'End the Game' Suite: Courser was a draw piece, allowing me to play Lands off of the top, so that I could setup a more impressive Asmadi trigger. It's decent. Scroll Rack, in comparison, is insane. This deck has a few shuffling effects, allowing me to throw away chaff and draw a new set. It sets up Asmadi and is all around amazing. I also have a sneaking suspicion that it will astronomically spike soon, so it was pretty much now or never.

Rubblehulk helps me end the game but is garbage if it ever gets cheated into play. Xenagos turns Asmadi into a Two Turn Clock, gives Haste to speed that up, perfectly curves into Asmadi as a five to six drop, is resilient to removal and is cheaper if I do want to cast it compared to Rubblehulk. The swap is practically night and day.

Journey to Eternity was probably the most hoops I would need to jump through to get some value; with my desire to improve my end game, Aggravated Assault seems like a much better way to spend my hoop jumping. I'm adding the infinite with the Sword and Umbra.

With the pinpoint removal the deck packs, Dictate's indiscriminate matter doesn't go well. It also completely hoses my chance of using the diplomatic approach. Hour of Promise is probably the best Ramp spell in the game but it is a Sorcery when this deck likes Permanents. Bear Umbra will act as pseudo-Ramp, so I'll just have to take consolation in that and it protects my Commander with the Totem Armour. I think I will somehow manage.