Story time: it's July 2013, and Magic 2014 just got released. I'd opened a handful of packs, but nothing really great was in them. I didn't get any Mutavaults or Scavenging Oozes, and although I was stoked about Strionic Resonator and Young Pyromancer, not a lot else was really there to get excited for. However, I did get two interesting pulls: Warden of Evos Isle and Windreader Sphinx. There are just some cards out there that yell "BUILD AROUND ME!" and these two are both lovely examples that happen to work very nicely with one another.
It occurred to me that, since I typically end up playing low creature count decks, I really never committed to a deck all about flying before. In retrospect, it seems like such a simple premise that surely everyone does something like that when they're first learning the game, but I never really got around to it. Well, here we go: Tribal Flying!
So, we know the end goal: make a deck that likes everything that flies and hates everything that doesn't. Step 1: who do we want as a general?
Blue is a no brainer: first of all, the earlier build around cards are blue, and secondly most of the awesome fliers in Magic's history are blue: Consecrated Sphinx, Keiga, the Tide Star, and Sphinx of Uthuun to name a few. And don't forget Mulldrifter, Draining Whelk, and Djinn of Wishes! There are too many exciting blue flying dudes to skip this one.
White is another standout here: Angels and WU Sphinxes are pretty solid. Baneslayer Angel, Karmic Guide, Restoration Angel... list goes on and on. Plus, white is a great backup color for removal such as Kirtar's Wrath (heh, it makes fliers) and Path to Exile.
Green also spoke to me. There aren't many mono-green flyers to speak of (with a notable exception of Birds of Paradise), but Sigarda, Host of Herons and Jenara, Asura of War seemed like strong options for inclusion. In fact, Jenara would make a pretty solid general for this.
... However, Jenara doesn't really care about flying - she just has flying. I really wanted a general that made flying matter, and could push the deck over the edge. That's when I remembered good 'ol Isperia the Inscrutable. Yet another excellent build around card - seemed like the perfect direction to go for this deck. But, it meant I had a new step to construction: finding ways to make her trigger reliable. Step 2: how do we know what's in my opponent's hand?
There are a few easy ways to know what your opponents are holding. First, Telepathy does the job quite nicely. You don't have to remember anything, and you only have to play it once while keeping the information free always. Second, you've got one-time effects, like Gitaxian Probe and Peek. Peek, in particular, is a card I typically revile against, but it actually does work here - something I highly admire about themed EDH decks. Finally, you can have some real fun by playing bounce effects, FORCING the card in their hand to be there: Echoing Truth, Cyclonic Rift, and Capsize work like a charm here. Special mention to Reality Strobe for finally making the cut of a deck - yet another underdog winning a victory in the unusual deck! For a little more fun, tossing in Medomai The Ageless and Fireshrieker means that Isperia gets to hit twice in a row, basically guaranteeing you'll know the cards in your opponent's hand at least once.
With that, here's my current decklist:
Thank you! Here's the list thus far: