Magic: The Gathering,GO TEAM MS!

[InflatablePie]

Theros and Zendikar! Hell yeah.

[InflatablePie]

Food is worthless

the new Golden Goose of Paradise or whatever seems dece (deece? Do we spell it properly or phonetically? This is taking longer than just adding the extra syllable)

[InflatablePie]

the thing I like about this Standard 2020 event on Arena is that I've been playing with the same ~54/60 cards for the past few months anyway (4 lands, Cast Down and tryin out some fun-ofs - sideboard is all rotation-proof) so I don't have to bother tinkering with a super new deck. mana's actually not too bad, despite ~9 ETB-Tapped lands, since usually turns 3 and 4 are casting 2/3cmc cards anyway. drawing one of em on turn 5 with a Bolas in hand still sucks tho, as does us not getting better fixing in Eldraine.

went down to only one 3cmc Chandra because the flashback is most useful (as I rarely get to rush a Bolas ultimate nowadays with the loyalty-0) and I never really want to draw two in the same game. decided to run a miser Drawn For Dreams instead for some more mid/mid-lategame tempo as the deck can kinda flounder sometimes. running Angrath's Rampage in Ranked seemed to bring out all the Tamiyos and token decks but it's done work in this event so far. and I'm running two Shimmer over Anticipate (because Teferi) or Discovery/Dispersal (Surveil 2/Draw feels clunky compared to seeing 4 cards and I've cast Dispersal maybe once). sideboard has two Duress, another Negate, some Noxious Grasps and Frys, two Ashiok, two Unmoored Ego, and some number of Disfigure/Elderspell/Flame Sweep. Aether Gust is under consideration, as is a second Ugin (either in side or replacing Lili).

despite it turning on your opponent's removal, I wonder if Grixis wants to try an Amass strategy, with Widespread Brutality (1BRR Amass 2, deal damage to creatures = Army's power), Enter the God-Eternals (lifegain definitely helps Grixis), Commence the Endgame (probably too expensive) and Callous Dismissal (only really for enchantments, Grixis can deal with most everything else). Dreadhorde Invasion and Lazotep Plating (1U Amass 1, you and your permanents gain hexproof til EOT) for the control matchups?

[InflatablePie]

Bant was insane with the amount of ramp, Jund was also fun. couldn't get the hang of the Esper deck to save my life.

[InflatablePie]

Actually what do you guys think of my current deck list in general? I’m still looking to fine tune a little bit. I think shock is kind of weak in the deck among other things.

this is what I've been messing around with in the 2020 event as well

3cmc Chandra, as much as I love her, is weaker in a deck without many instant/sorceries. could be useful in the sideboard because it's good against control? Cloudkin Seers can still pressure PWs and provide card advantage, and works well with Risen Reef/Awakener. Scampering Scorcher has felt awful for me against things like 2/2 zombies from Field and Kasmina Wizard tokens when I've drawn it in my deck, how does running the full four feel in yours?

Neoform has done work for me. obviously feels bad in Bo1 against counterspells though. I was going full Pod and trying out one-ofs like Skatewing Spy and Zegana due to the amount of +1/+1 counters that are used in this deck, but sometimes you can't rely on 4-6 Omnaths for removal so I'm begrudgingly running

only

30 creatures. also considered Cavalier of Gales again but Risen Reef/Cloudkin draw so many cards already, I'd rather re-draw an Omnath/Spark Double/Chandra.

writing this post I realized that maybe I want the 4th Druid over 4th Trailblazer yeah?

[InflatablePie]

mine's more combo-aggro, I suppose

the deck's manabase can't afford colorless sources. shocks are too good to cut for tempo reasons, and the scrylands are just too good for setting up Risen Reef triggers and the like. even if its for stuff like gainlands and Gates. 2CCC needs 18 green sources and my deck runs 16, not counting the Leafkin Druids - if you count mana creatures as half-sources, it should be fine. plus druids can fix for GG pretty easily. plus sometimes it gets Neoformed for, although not often (unless I'm casting another Omnath anyway or something).

also Risen Reef seems pretty fully taken advantage of since you get a trigger for each Elemental and it seems that all of my creatures are

checks notes

Elementals. in FotD decks it sometimes cycles and eats a Shock, I'm more afraid of Circuitous Route unless they resolve two Reefs or something.


4 Druids/3 Trailblazer is working slightly better, especially since Trailblazers are more of a lategame boost/Awakener target (with a counter on it from Overgrowth/Omnath). [edit] doing math over manabases after checking the above article again, not sure if I wanna cut a dual for a basic. UR for G might be pushing it, but UG for R might be better. gonna cut a Temple of Mystery for Mountain for now

[InflatablePie]

having no trouble meeting people beyond the sense that they prefer to play w people who already know enough of the game for play to feel fun to play with
yeah i guess ill just have to accept ill make mistakes and keep going

if you're looking for more 'what can I do to get better at the game' type advice, since you mentioned 'happening to encounter' things to get better, I'd say just read up on some articles about general game advice and consume some MtG-related content in your off-time (Twitch streamers, podcasts, etc.) if you can

I've been a fan of Reid Duke for a while, and a quick google brought up this giant list of articles from a few years back. There's the classic Who's The Beatdown and the decade-later update. Frank Karsten's mana article is also great when you start tinkering with your first budget deck(s), the latest update is here.

for other MtG content, I can vouch for Limited Resources. Here's a buttload of episodes. Mostly based off draft and sealed, a lot of advice obviously carries over into general play. I highly, highly recommend the podcasts explaining

Rotty

and

Quadrant Theory

even if you don't plan on playing Draft or Sealed. The

CABS

episode is great specifically for Limited as well, and you can generally poke around from there. for more general content to absorb, I used to watch a lot of pro players (Reid Duke, LSV, Marshall Sutcliffe) draft Cubes and whatnot, and that helped me learn a lot over time even though formats like Cube can be a lot to take in when you're still learning a bit. and I'll always vouch for LoadingReadyRun - they just did a PRE-pre-release on Twitch for the next set coming out if you wanted specifically to look at the new cards for the new set. definitely recommend going to the prerelease coming up regardless.

depending on your LGS, I suggest netdecking a solid budget Standard deck in about a month from now once the new metagame forms post-set rotation, assuming your LGS has decent turnout, and then go from there. otherwise research budget options for the applicable format (Modern, Commander, Pauper, etc.). especially if they have a decent Standard crowd, you could draft in the meantime to build your collection. either way, once you win prizes, I suggest taking your rewards in store credit and buying singles instead of taking prize packs, if possible, and then everyone else said the other important stuff.

definitely save all your gold in Arena to draft the new set - two weeks after it comes out on Arena I think? you can also just straight up buy Eldraine packs to rush wildcards if you'd rather use Arena to practice Constructed, but even though I prefer Constructed, Limited really does teach you a ton about the game

[InflatablePie]

been jamming Grixis Fires and haven't had too many problems against FotD decks (although Game 1 is probably harder than post-sideboard), you just have to rush a Bolas/Lili ult game 1 - Circuitous Route is a preferred Thought Erasure target because you really don't have time to fuck around and can ignore Teferi/Krasis etc for the most part. postboard gets a lot better, but you're dead if you don't keep a hand with much interaction game 1 for sure, which is awkward when the deck wants to keep 4-land-hands and runs so many 5/6-drops.

Unmoored Ego is pretty decent if you can draw it before they drop a Field, but even if they do, with 3x Ritual of Soot, 3x Cry, and 2x Chandras in the 75 you can usually stall lategame til you ult a Lili or Bolas, since a sweeper lets you get off two planeswalker abilities even if a bunch come back next turn. Unmoored Ego is also great at hitting Agent post-sideboarding because it's particularly good against Fires decks, so it still does a decent job. Narsets help block off Hydroid Krasis/Growth Spiral/Teferi minus, Angrath's Rampage can choose sac an artifact to take out Golos, and I've even won off Bolas -> Elderspell targeting 2 PWs -> Bolas ult post-SB.

two spicy options I've considered are Role Reversal to steal FotD (meh. cute in the mirror though cuz Narset doesn't block Drawn from Dreams or other Narsets so you can trade your 1-loyalty ones for better things) or Revenge of Ravens (this one I'm seriously considering). not sure if making space for one in the 75 is better than adding a third Ashiok cuz honestly the mill plan is viable post-board if you keep the board clear and Narsets can lock down draw after threats are removed (Hydroid Krasis for 7 still dies to Murderous Rider and fastens the mill clock). each mills for 20 and you can usually keep them off pressuring it til it gets through each activation.

idk if it's a favored matchup or by how much, but I've rarely felt completely screwed when up against Field outside of nut draws game 1.

also Grixis Fires stumbles against RB aggro and gets dunked on by Simic Flash (which is a miserable matchup that I may have won once or twice) so there's that



my 75, two Unmoored Ego out of shot. also 1x Island needs to be a Castle Vantress or Fabled Passage #3. haven't decided which. probably Passage. I also fiddled with Cavalier of Gales as a fun-of again, because Brainstorm on a stick with those two lands is cute, but I don't think the deck needs it.

idk I think I can fiddle with like 5 slots here. Legion's End doesn't pull as much work as I want but it's good in many matchups, Aether Gust has been fine between other Fires decks/Gruul Aggro/etc, was running Mystical Dispute for Simic Flash but switching to Negate for now. counterspells are still great in these matchups but obviously they're awful post-Fires (but then again, so are sweepers in the mirror game 1, so idk).

[InflatablePie]

I also seem to have a great matchup against Jeskai Fires but Sarkhan can be annoying to deal with. also Teferi bouncing Fires. Fires mirrors are pretty fun regardless - my opponents on Arena always seem to concede in sideboarding tho. :(

I'm more depressed when dealing with Agent/Mass Manipulation for PWs and/or my Fires, or *gestures to the entirety of Simic Flash*

[InflatablePie]

Spoiler: @pops

-1 Colossus
-1 Henge
-1 Bontu
-2 Narset
+1 Archway Angel
+1 Teferi
+3 Prison Realm (or some # of Assassin's Trophy (2 Trophy/1 PRealm?) but that's a Rare so)

yes it's overall two more three-drops but you usually play your board wipe on turn 4 or 5 anyway. you draw enough cards with Guild Summit to not need Narset, Bontu/Henge seem unnecessary, and a 2nd Angel over 4th Colossus to help stabilize/still provide a threat. Teferi bounces your Summits, opponents' Fires, counters Simic Flash, replay Archway Angel... would definitely run a second. maybe third but idk (and also you're strapped for rares which is understandable)

I also think you can actually just go with two Prison Realms, cut Clarion (that lifelink is nice on big Colossus/Ram swings tho), and add two Gatebreaker Rams back for your threat suite (and Jace working as backup). gives you more to do in the midgame.

I also like four Grazer over Growth Spiral because it's less annoying on the mana, comes down a turn earlier which is important in Gates, is a solid blocker, and doesn't get countered by Narset if you auto-pilot mainphase cast it. buuut maybe 4 Spiral/3 Grazer is correct, I really don't know. I'm probably wrong here.

think after Field of the Dead ban (assuming) we're either gonna see an surge in Oko decks or aggressive decks (Adventures) so I'd hedge out of the lategame stuff as much and go for more early/midgame development, especially in Bo1

Spoiler: speaking of jank (edit - no one was speaking of jank)

not actually building this but I was bored and wanted to brew



Simic Ascendancy and Oko with X/Xs. seems silly. could maybe cut a land and Incubation Druid (or a Conjurant, I think 6 X/X artifact spells is fine) for 2x Nissa idk

and yes the deck loses to counterspells and Blightbeetle but who's actually playing those outside of me grinding Constructed Events on Arena with Simic Flash

[InflatablePie]

because the deck runs Ugin's Ascendant, Simic Ascendancy, Karn's Bastion and Shambling Suit


but yes that's fair

[InflatablePie]

fair points on the Colossi and Rams. I'd swap the two Narsets for Realms then, and would probably still go with 2nds of Angel/Teferi over Bontu/Henge. Teferi also lets you cast Gates Ablaze on EOT; I kinda forget the +1 does stuff sometimes


maybe a third Teferi if you have them tbh but idk what I'd cut - aside from a 4th Colossus just because you have enough card draw and it recurs itself, I'd imagine resolving one maybe two can close out a game.


[edit] I also have no idea how to build a Gates manabase :x

[InflatablePie]

-3 Boros Guildgate
-1 (-2) Breeding Pool
+1 Stomping Ground
+3 (+4) Gateway Plaza (common)

idk how often the extra one mana hurts when the deck's already slow but I feel like the mana fixing on Plaza is better than four Boros Gates and also I don't have the motivation to check this list against Frank Karsten's thing for mana (+1 Stomping Ground is a guess so you can for-sure turn 3 Ablaze against aggro a nonzero amount of times).

[pedit] Plaza technically makes T3feri 4 mana in a roundabout way

if we're getting singleton janky, does Angel and Plaza give you enough life to run a miser Command the Dreadhorde? or Agent of Treachery (with T3feri bounce). idk if they're good; might be too slow.

Oko's +1 should be a -1 or 0 at best so maybe WotC doesn't have the best track record with 3cmc walkers lately. at least Chandra's gr8

[InflatablePie]

Spoiler: grixis fires, minor updates

7853 has the original list, update is here:



-1 Fires
-1 Cry
-1 Narset
-2 Angrath's Rampage
+2 Tyrant's Scorn
+2 Bedevil
+1 Bedeck//Bedazzle

-1 Island // +1 Castle Vantress (yay pulled a 3rd - this is probably better than the 3rd Fabled Passage I was considering tbh)

Angrath's Rampage isn't as good as I'd hoped, although it

is

useful in some matchups. Tyrant's Scorn is worse against control but I've been seeing less of that and am confident enough in my winrate to hedge there. Overall just added more spot removal - including a spicy tech in Bedazzle against FotD game 1 (and casting Bedeck at other times, fairly often). I kinda want a second instead of Scorn #2 but don't feel like crafting it in case FotD gets banhammered. Also running a Bedevil/Rider split because the life loss sucks against some decks and bedevil hits random Henges and Ovens.

Drawing multiple Fires sucks ass and Grixis works fine without it if you don't draw it or if it gets removed. Narset, while also great, is also iffy in multiples against creature decks (and it's not always castable t3 anyway). And then I found that 5 boardwipes main was unnecessary, but I still like Cry so I'm running a single main.

SB:
-1 Legion's End
-1 Aether Gust
-2 Negate
+1 Cry
+2 Lava Coil
+1 Ashiok

Negate and Aether Gust weren't doing enough and I haven't missed Legion's End since I have enough spot removal, can handle FotD zombies, and have rarely ever procced the extra effect. Lava Coil is great against G/R Aggro and such, exiles random Arclight Phoenixes, generally comes in when I need even more interaction. Ashiok is great as a backup plan in the control mirror and dunks on Golos. And another Cry (from the main) to further shore up aggro.

Deck still folds to Simic Flash tho.

I also think Fae of Wishes is overrated and unnecessary but maybe that's why I'm still only in Platinum
/shrug

[InflatablePie]

oh I'll definitely give it a spin once I get another Fae or two on Arena, Planewide Celebration can also win with Bolas out of nowhere

I imagine it's better in Bo1, depends how much space you dedicate to a wishboard in Bo3 though.

[InflatablePie]

and there's the Field ban

also Astrolabe in Pauper

[InflatablePie]

still tweaking Fires a bit, probably dropping my Bedeck//Bedazzle and Cry mainboard, then the sideboard needs work. Ego and Ashiok are less necessary, probably replacing with a Cry and Noxious Grasp, another Duress, then idk. could also use ~5 slots for a Wishboard and try two Fae of Wishes main. Angrath's Rampage gets slightly better main now too I suppose.


meanwhile til the ban goes through on Arena I'm pivoting to the other deck I was working on upgrading - Flash

as no Simic Flash player seems to jam the same 75, here's my take:

Spoiler: Simic Flash

one Unsummon over two because I've rarely found it to be ultra useful (but is nice to have), three Sailors/Borrowers because in some matchups you really don't need to draw or cast 2-3, and only two Preservers due to the previous creature cuts. 2 Opt/2 OUaT feels right, and I've always played with 3 Frilled Mystic and been fine.

counterspell suite is a meta call - Gruul Aggro/Simic Midrange/Fires Control (and the mirror tbh) are what I'm expecting to see a lot of after the MC. two Negate for Oko/3cmc Domri/Teferi, and only running three Quench to make room for two MB Mystical Dispute (for the same, minus Domri). full four sabotage, and then two Essence Scatter main to hedge against Cavalcade/Knights/mono-Black/Stompy and such.

for lands I'm getting greedy and trying a Vantress over the 8th Island. I don't want a third Fabled Passage (2 is great for hitting your fourth land - as I've learned from Grixis Fires) but haven't run into enough long games where I need a Vantress to risk

that

coming into play tapped in other matchups from bad draws. plus Passage has marginal value with resetting Opt/Temple/OUaT scrys.

sideboard's pretty straightforward, access to four Negate/Capture/Dispute in the 75, Veil for counterspells/removal protection, Aether Gust for mono-Red and Oko decks alike, and Shifting Ceratops which is key in the mirror.

I'm also gonna try out dropping the Essence Scatters main for the 4th Quench and 3rd UOaT if the meta pans out that way. then swap a Negate for a 3rd Scatter in the board I think - you have cheaper protection in Dispute and Veil for counters etc, and color hate for noncreature threats, but aggressive creature matchups suck a little more when you've shaved off 3-4 creatures from your stock '9x4+24 land' list.

These swaps are probably better for Best of 3 and I'll probably switch over that way, but I think the main 60 is great for Bo1/Standard Events where you need to hedge against Cavalcade etc.

[InflatablePie]

is it the cat oven matchup

because that one irrationally annoys me

[InflatablePie]

oh whoops <_< I was thinking Grixis Fires and that it dodges Cry and I don't see the deck enough to really sideboard for it but it's a pain in the ass

[InflatablePie]

You get censor, quench, disallow, dovin's veto, and sinister sabotage as real countermagic.

You get thoughtseize, collective brutality, and duress as real discard.

You get assassin's trophy, abrupt decay, fatal push, and murderous rider as real kill spells.

You get supreme verdict, settle the wreckage, and languish as some real sweepers.

monastery swiftspear, skullcrack, bomat courier, eidolon of the great revel, soul-scar mage as real mono-red cards

honorable mention to boros charm (and atarka's command)

[InflatablePie]

got to mythic with Simic Flash heck yeah

[InflatablePie]

Opened Arena for the first time in many months over the weekend. Been making my way up the ladder with temur reclamation.

Spoiler:

two players played Temur Reclamation in the recent fandom legends if you wanted ideas of how to upgrade/brew

this one uses Irencrag Pyromancer and seems dope tbh

this one uses Adventure creatures and Escape to the Wilds


very tempted to netdeck that Pyromancer list on Thursday after the FotD 4x wildcard refund cuz all I'd need to craft are 3x Expansion/Explosion and 2x Fabled Passage (idk how but I've pulled 4 Pyromancers) so that's really not a huge waste of wildcards tbh

or if I pull an Oko or Questing Beast I can craft Simic Food but that seems boring

[edit] I also have 4x Escape to the Wilds. huh. no Bonecrusher Giants though. still...

[InflatablePie]

said screw it and joined a game with a tweaked Pyromancer list to try it out: 2x Temple of Mystery over 2x Passage and 2x Escape to the Wild over the 4th Exp/Exp (will craft on Thursday) and the Once and Future

also went -1 Mystical Dispute, -2 Aether Gust, +3 Shock. sideboard is -3 Lovestruck Beast (I have them but what matchup is that for?), +2 Dispute (4 in the 75), +1 Aether Gust

Spoiler: I'm already sold

idk if you're supposed to leave these guys in against Oko or not btw, oops.

[InflatablePie]

just play Karn it turns off Marvel

while you're playing artifacts though, how about some copies of Marvel. and t3feri to help and bounce Rogue Refiners. and while we're casting spells for free, let's talk about our friend Golos...

or splash blue in monored for Treasure Cruise

[InflatablePie]

delays t2 Oko on the play and counters Fires if you have protection for it... with God's Willing in the format, I'd keep an eye on it if Theros brings back any sort of Heroic deck by chance


here's my Omnath Brawl deck I threw together, suggestions welcome (especially commons/uncommons cuz I got a pile of those wildcards sitting around right now)

[InflatablePie]

whoops fixed

with 6 Elementals, Omnath usually grows itself. could make some cuts for more. ten targets for Guildmage Forum - maybe cut the Merfolk Skydiver and/or Stonecoil Serpent? also could throw in a Neoform potentially. may make room for Biogenic Ooze cuz that seems like it could get out of control.

had a bunch of stuff for a wishboard for Vivien til I realized it's not explicitly allowed in Commander formats. she's still solid with the counters and fight abilities given the theme.

[InflatablePie]

Theros: Beyond Death (major) spoilers

I actually gasped when I saw the basics for this set. if there's any of this set that I buy in paper it's these beauties:

Spoiler:

also WotC announced 5 new Commander precons with the new set Ikoria (tied to the plane a la Eldraine/Brawl precons), two more in Zendikar Rising, and a draftable Commander set called "Commander Legends"


tangentially related because I mentioned Brawl, BW Sorin is really fun. Charming Prince drives the lifegain bus to valuetown (Angel of Vitality, Twinblade Paladin, Ajani's Pridemate/Bloodthirsty Aerialist), with minor stops throughout Spiritville (Afterlife triggers, Teysa, Ethereal Absolution) and Angelburg (Bishop of Wings, Seraph of the Scales, Divine Visitation). then just add all the good removal and sweepers and go from there.

[InflatablePie]

artisan event on Arena is pretty fun, was brewing around with a few different things until I settled on this

Spoiler:

this deck is dumb enjoy your free wins

[InflatablePie]

it'd be more fun in Bo3 with sideboarding imo

fiddling with that list, thinking you can also run -1 Spectral Sailor, -1 God's Willing // +1 Unsummon, +1 Elite Guardmage; Sailor only really gives you game against control whereas another Guardmage is more flexible (Cloudkin's really great on 3 in lieu of Eagles or else I'd run 2 Seer/4 Guardmage) and a single Unsummon is close enough to God's Willing with upside of bouncing random tokens/your own Seers/Guardmages(/Miscreants??). Healer's Hawk is also fine, could run some amount in the main by going to 2-3 Loyal Pegasus, but the deck overall just wants to race to a big Rally the Wings swing as the main game plan so I'd rather run other 1-drops. seeing Dovin pop up too which I'm not sure is worth it but could be interesting

[InflatablePie]

speaking of Pioneer bans, also Veil of Summer

Made rank 625 in standard for Arena last month.

Played Esper Dance which arguably might be even worse now with so many people main decking veil of summer and noxious grasp. I'll probably be able switch my deck up tho before the qualifier.

next level them and mainboard Duress

[InflatablePie]

Temur Reclamation wasn't quite ticking the right boxes for me (fun though! Escape From the Wilds is actually a decent one/two-of after all btw) and DN mentioning Dance was getting me in a combo deck mood

then I found this:

Spoiler: GB Clover Knights

Deck guide here on reddit, I've made some changes to this person's current list here and they seem to be going well in mid-Diamond:

-1 Find // Finality || +1 Assassin's Trophy [MB]

F/F seemed pretty win-more aside from it being an out for GW Adventures etc. ATrophy is just a catch-all answer, never been unhappy to draw it

-2 Duress, -2 Reave Soul || +1 Assassin's Trophy, +2 Questing Beast, +1 Harvest Fear/Reaper of Night [SB]

with one ATrophy mainboard, the second comes in against aggro with Massacre Girls and the Reave Souls just aren't necessary. so I'm shoring up the Fires/Reclamation matchup. Duress is great at plucking one combo piece but Harvest Fear off a Clover or two is amazing if you can pull it off so that's how I'm spending the 5 discard slots. could maybe run 3/2 Duress though. Questing Beast comes in against Fires or if I need a big dude/threat to quickly turn the corner with. maybe once Oko's banned I'll trim one Noxious Grasp for a Legion's End or something.

it took a solid number of matches to figure out how to play this deck but once it clicks it's a blast

[InflatablePie]

given that Incubation isn't only Innkeepers/Adventures/etc numbers 5&6, it's also effectively OuaT 5&6, you're not wrong

[InflatablePie]

it does have a second card attached too, but don't think it's worth splashing blue for because the card gets sided out pretty often

Spoiler: 18W-5L over 4 Bo3 Standard Events later

MTGGoldfish

+1 Temple over Forest hasn't been tested yet, it should be fine (don't always need Innkeeper t1). same with the 3rd Paragon.

went with -1 Midnight Reaper / +1 Assassin's Trophy main to free up another sideboard slot. it's great against control but you have so many other card draw options, midrange it can block things like Bonecrusher Giant (or chump Questing Beast), but overall it's not an Adventure and I couldn't justify any other cut. did consider cutting an Order of Midnight, but I'm not opting for Find/Finality so decided not to cut my recursion engine. and Incubation can actually be useful in some matchups, but especially game 1s where you need to Storm off quickly with Curry Favors or I'd trim one, though it's usually sided out.

back to only 2 Reaper of Knight side even though I love the 4-6 for ones with Clovers (went back up to 3 Duress, although I think 2 could be acceptable depending on meta/sideboard slots post-Oko ban**), and a single Legion's End - mostly for another slot against red and black aggro since you can't use Noxious Grasps, but it's relevant against Innkeeper decks too. Questing Beast has been fine in testing but since cuts are really tight when sideboarding I don't always want two; unless they Lava Coil it (Fires, monoRed - it should get at least one hit in against UW control), you can get it back with Orders/Alter Fate.

think post-Oko ban** I'm cutting a Noxious Grasp for either a 4th Paragon (most useful in R and/or B Aggro, Flash, Gruul Aggro, Control), 2nd Legion's End (against other Innkeeper decks, decent against R/B aggro decks), 2nd Questing Beast (Grixis/Jeskai PW Fires, UR Draw-2), or back to 3 Reaper of Night (Jeskai Fires with Cavaliers, Temur Reclamation).

**it's gonna happen.

[InflatablePie]

arena event giving everything Cascade coming up soon

so I'm just running Temur Elementals

seems appropriate and also decent?

[InflatablePie]

yeah OuaT seems busted in this event

the GB deck I've been running is probably better with tweaks (OuaT into Innkeeper seems gr8) but I haven't fiddled with Elementals since rotation so this seems like the best time unless it gets neat stuff in TBD

[InflatablePie]

spoilers: RW Knights (feat. Tajic/Aurelia/Venerated Loxodon/Embercleave) performed way better than either


also OuaT ban (aww), Oko ban, and Veil ban in Standard

[InflatablePie]

I've been a fan of Reid Duke for a while

and just lost to him in Diamond 1

my Gruul Adventures list (can post later, still working out the sideboard) versus his Golgari Clover deck. lost 1:2, kept a slow hand game 2 and turns out doubled Beanstalk Giant is brutal

was probably one of the best games of Magic I've played in a while though

[InflatablePie]

been jamming Temur Clover for a little while now

went up against Seth Manfield and his UG Flash deck from Mythic Champs

and he was streaming!

[InflatablePie]

thanks!! I was like "huh this person is rank 33 I wonder if they have an mtggoldfish account or anything"

*googles username + mtg arena*

"... oh. and he's streaming.

...

well I'm glad I got those Clover/Innkeeper styles today"


simic flash is such a good matchup tho so it was fine. his sideboard was correct for game 3, idk what he was running Kenrith's Transformation for. I'm running a full wishboard, some lists run extra Disputes/Negates/Return to Nature

can post a list and quick rundown sometime tomorrow if anyone isn't familiar w the deck; it's another ~70/75 stolen off a reddit post and usually wins via Beanstalk Giant and Fling

[InflatablePie]

AffinityForPie#91573

Also I just beat crokeyz on RB Aggro with Clover on stream but apparently the vods are only available to subs so you can't see me go t2 Clover into his Angrath's Rampage two games in a row (and holding it til turn 4 game three - and he Rampages the Fae I played t2 instead), so settle for a screenshot


am I a skilled MTG player yet

[edit] also I thought I was gonna lose game 2 cuz math is hard and I'm still having coffee (why you gotta pin me against pros first thing, Arena?) but I Wished for a Flame Sweep when he had 2x Midnight Reaper and 3 other creatures and was at 10 life and that was so satisfying

[edit2] I put a 4 instead of For in my tag, again; coffee

[edit3] ~10pmish, he came back for Round Two

[InflatablePie]

also I never posted my list but my untapped.gg is here

fiddling with some changes today (notably 3ish sideboard changes, going down to 3 Innkeeper, and adding Nissas as haymakers) but it's a hybrid between the Innkeeper version I first saw on r/spikes and the version on mtggoldfish/brought to Mythic Champs

[InflatablePie]

Spoiler: Historic Artisan

haven't seen anyone else running Vampires and this deck is stupid tbh, turns out having two lords and token generators in a format with significantly less removal is great, who knew. also Adanto Vanguard being a pain + Forerunner/Zealot giving you good game against any control decks. basically just set up a board, some lords, then Cruel Celebrant/Vindictive Vamp for protection and the final damage push.

could maybe cut 1-2 token gen card(s)/1 4-drop lord/1 Dusk Legion Zealot/1 Dire Moon for flex slots. deck is pretty tight on mana and might want a 23rd land. the Ascend flying guy could be decent but deaththouch+lifelink on the black one-drop is too good especially since that's our only removal aside from two Cast Down. Inspiring Cleric and Pitiless Pontiff didn't do enough IMO (the former would be great SB in Bo3 for this format). maybe make some number of cuts for 2-3 Bloodthirsty Aerialist as a flier that'll usually be at least a 3/4.

anyway feel free to steal and tinker with if anyone's playin the event, lmk how it does

Spoiler: importable list with 23 land + 2 Aerialists cuz I'm too lazy to change back

Deck
6 Plains (XLN) 260
9 Swamp (DAR) 259
4 Unclaimed Territory (XLN) 258
4 Scoured Barrens (M20) 251

3 Vampire of the Dire Moon (M20) 120
4 Cruel Celebrant (WAR) 188
4 Adanto Vanguard (XLN) 1
4 Legion Lieutenant (RIX) 163
3 Dusk Legion Zealot (RIX) 70
2 Cast Down (DAR) 81

4 Forerunner of the Legion (RIX) 9
3 Queen's Commission (XLN) 29
2 Bloodthirsty Aerialist (M20) 91
2 Vindictive Vampire (RNA) 90
3 Call to the Feast (XLN) 219
3 Thirsting Bloodlord (M20) 293

pick your own basics if you care but I think these are gr8

[InflatablePie]

ebwop: wait unclaimed territory is a card, oops

[InflatablePie]

mono-B is comin' back y'all

4x Yarok's Fenlurker
4x Ayara
4x Murderous Rider
4x Dread Presence
4x Deathless Knight
4x Gary

~12 more cards with some number of Cavalier of Night and Castle Lochtwain seems like a stock start before we get more Theros spoilers. Oathsworn Knight maybe for pips but idk. Probably some Rankles? Lilianas? Midnight Reapers?

[edit] maybe the other 4-drop hybrid creature but that's weird for the curve and Rankle is prob just better as a card

[InflatablePie]

well I pulled an Erebos and two Nightmare Shepard from the 2x Sealed and rewards I got to do, so let's do this

Spoiler: MonoB Devotion

sideboard is just a pile since I haven't really done Bo3 with this deck yet; I blame my recent purchase of Stardew Valley and also the sets been out for like a day [edit] cut the 3x Leylines for another Remorse and 2x Epic Downfall

anyway

4x Knight of the Ebon Legion - so I've seen some early monoB lists going Cat-Combo with the deck, and it's cute but also takes up 8 slots in the deck. wasn't running a one-drop for a while and found that it was just too slow, so it was this or Gutterbones. Gutterbones could be cute with its recursion but the Knight is just too strong a card just on its own.

3x Tymaret, 3x Yarok's Fenlurker - Tymaret is dope and I'd play 4 except you don't want too many copies stuck in your hand while he sits there gaining toughness. the Fenlurker has been medium but the pips kinda help and he usually gets a card off Ayara/Reaper, definitely don't want 4 though.

2x Drag to the Underworld, 4x Murderous Rider - Drag has been medium for me, but you want enough killspells in the deck, and it's usually costing BB which is fine. tempted to cut a Murderous Rider but that's probably wrong. not playing Eat to Extinction only because the 4-drop slot is heavy at the moment.

3x Ayara, 3x Midnight Reaper - in my defense of 3-ofs, some of these are legendary. for Reaper, I just couldn't find a cut to justify a fourth. either way, both of these are great card draw engines and have amazing synergy with our premier 4-drop:

1x Rankle, Master of Prankles - nah jk but this guy is too fun to cut from the 75 and sometimes really pulls his weight. I almost never want to see more than one though and he's easily cuttable in boarding

4x Nightmare Shepard - you had me at 4/4 Flier for 2BB. you can go off with Ayara or just smash in, or both. run four, this guy's great.

2x Erebos - this guy hasn't shown up a lot for me in games for some reason, thanks RNG, but you run at least one, right?

1x Deathless Knight - I don't know if this is good, but I'm trying it. Ayara, Gary, and attacking with our Lifelink Knights can trigger it, good against boardwipes, recurring chumpblocker in some long matchups... 4 pips of devotion, I can't not be tempted.

2x Cavalier of Knight - this deck wants some nice midgame threats and Gary is more of a finisher card here. I've been a fan of this card in certain RB Aggro matchups, and have been satisfied with its performance in the 75 so far here.

3x Gary - not playing four??

blasphemy

. but as much as you want to see Gary every game, I've won a few games without him, some games you lose because they can deal with your devotion and then you're just playing a 2/4, and you have enough card draw in the deck to see one per game. obviously two is gravy.

25 Land, 3x Castle, 1x Witch's Cottage - played with 24 for a while and got stuck on lands, you have so many various manasinks and card draw and awkward casting costs for lategame, and 25 feels right. trying out a third Castle cuz I haven't seen it with 2 (but also haven't needed it that often, to be fair) and thus am running just one Witch's Cottage. which has been fine, but I wouldn't run two with the third Castle due to awkward-mana-sequencing paranoia. Mobilized District/Blast Zone are tempting but again, don't wanna risk not being able to cast Ayara (or Underworld Dreams out the side)

still feeling out the list but this seems like a solid start for anyone wanting to try the deck

[InflatablePie]

Spoiler: monoB devotion notes from mid-Platinum

- still think Cat-Combo is a waste of slots for the deck and as long as Tymaret sticks around and you keep Ayara and/or Shep off the board I've won the mirror pretty handily
- speaking of Tymaret, think I'm still sticking with 3 but I can see an argument for the third in the sideboard.
- the deck actually has a solid matchup against Simic Ramp and is decent against Esper Manse/Control
- Cavalier of Night is great but I don't think I necessarily want two main so one's in the side. Rankle and Deathless Knight were cute but ultimately I wanted to make cuts for consistency
- changed most of the sideboard - Ugin and Lili were too pricey and Leylines aren't necessary
- Underworld Dreams is an amazing card, especially against monoB and Simic. good reprint.
- cut the Witch's Cottage even though I kinda still want one? considering a Field of Ruin or something but it's a slight nonbo with Ayara/Dreams
- mulligan tip - I'd rather ship a land back on six with 5 lands, than keep a two-lander, especially on the play. deck really wants to hit 4.

currently testing out 4x Fenlurkers and 3x Agonizing Remorse main, with a 4th Remorse in the side and cut Duress. the deck doesn't care much about the mana difference and exile is relevant with the gods/Cavalier of Thorns/various recursion abound. it basically just needs another early-mana play besides Knight/Fenlurker/Tymaret, and since I'm not running Cats my options are limited.

3x Noxious Grasp for Simic decks, 2x Underworld Dreams (3rd is tempting but not necessary), 2x Epic Downfall for Cavaliers/Gods/various death trigger creatures, 1x Cavalier for aggro/midrange/long games, 2x Massacre Girl/2x Legion's End for sweepers, and have two flex slots to work with from there - dunno what to run quite yet.

back to 24 lands as well since I've cut some 4-drops and 6s from the side, but perhaps that's wrong - I blame a slew of flood games including one where I double Castle Lochtwain'd three turns in a row and still couldn't draw answers. still iffy on 2 Erebos main, it's probably right but maybe I can cut one. Eat to Extinction might fit as a one-of since I trimmed a land and some 4-drops, gives a better g1 answer to Cavalier of Thorns/gods and I usually side out a Drag when I bring in Grasps/Downfalls anyway.

list if anyone wants, with the two flex SB slots missing (Duress, Ashiok, Regisaur, Spawn of Mayhem, maybe something like Sorin's Thirst for aggro):

Deck
4 Knight of the Ebon Legion (M20) 105
3 Tymaret, Chosen from Death (THB) 119
4 Yarok's Fenlurker (M20) 123
4 Murderous Rider (ELD) 97
4 Midnight Reaper (GRN) 77
3 Ayara, First of Locthwain (ELD) 75
1 Erebos, Bleak-Hearted (THB) 93
4 Nightmare Shepherd (THB) 108
3 Gray Merchant of Asphodel (THB) 99
1 Cavalier of Night (M20) 94
1 Drag to the Underworld (THB) 89
4 Agonizing Remorse (THB) 83
3 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241
21 Swamp (ELD) 258

Sideboard
2 Epic Downfall (ELD) 85
2 Legion's End (M20) 106
3 Noxious Grasp (M20) 110
1 Massacre Girl (WAR) 99
1 Cavalier of Night (M20) 94
2 Underworld Dreams (THB) 121
2 Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage (WAR) 83
2 Pharika's Libation (THB) 111


[monday morning edit] running into a lot of UW Control but I still really don't like Duress as a sideboard option. 2x might be correct but I'm feeling stubborn on this one. this format feels defined by your turns 3 and 4, and I hate having completely-dead draws lategame with all the discard I'm already running. that said - I cut a Drag and Erebos main for another Midnight Reaper and moved the fourth

Thoughtseize

Remorse to the main, and cut a Massacre Girl since I never really want two tbh. The four flex slots are now 2x Davriel, for both control and grindy midrange games (curves nicely after t2 discard as well) and I think I'm gonna test 2x Pharika's Libation. general enchantment removal could be nifty and I fucking

hate

Dream Trawler.
[edit2] okay, 4th Midnight Reaper is a 25th land. Reaper's good against control and the mirror sure, but bad against Simic (your stuff gets blocked rather than die because they can't interact with your board as much; main win path here is through discard and devotion) and aggro.

[InflatablePie]

finally able to mostly craft something Esper

Spoiler: Esper Doom

the 3rd Temple of Silence should be a 4th Godless Shrine and could maybe use a third Oath of Kaya or second Elspeth Conquers Death or a Shatter the Sky over Time Wipe but I'm out of rare wildcards for a bit. think 2 Dance is fine but could maybe go up to 3.

Ashiok's been great as an alternate wincon with the single ECD, trying a 1/1 split with a Narset and Kaya main and seconds in the side as each has incredibly good matchups, but I think those cards and the 3rd Devout Decree are flex slots depending on your 75. also maybe 3 Veto is fine but I like 4 because fuck Flash and UW Control (which I will probably craft once a meta list settles + I get all those rare WCs).

tried Birth of Meletis and it was mediocre, Medomai's Prophecy was okay, don't think I need a second Vantress with all the scry from Omens, would be interested in trying out Banishing Light despite nonbos, or a fun-of Treacherous Blessing (too many PWs in my list for Thirst to not feel clunky).

should also revisit Grixis once I get more of the scrylands, Ashiok is dope.

also ran into two interesting decks the last few days. one was mono-U with Corridor Monitor and Kiora to untap Nyx Lotus, then stuff like Arcanist Owl, Thassa, Agent of Treachery... was neat and I got bodied on mono-B

the other also used Corridor Monitor with Vannifar and the new 3-drop green dude that untaps someone to Pod off into... I don't know because I was running boardwipes but I was tempted to see how the deck went off tbh

[InflatablePie]

sealed was super fun from what I got to play of it, excited to draft it on Arena once it's up for non-Gems

new format as a whole has felt super sweet so far. Esper Stax is fun but I got dunked on from Plat 1 to low 4 so moving on from ranked play on that for a bit. still kinda want a third Oath of Kaya but did pull a Treacherous Blessing and really like the sideboard choices:

Spoiler: stax

Deck

4 Omen of the Sea (THB) 58
4 Golden Egg (ELD) 220
3 The Birth of Meletis (THB) 5

1 Treacherous Blessing (THB) 117
2 Banishing Light (THB) 4
2 Oath of Kaya (WAR) 209
4 Kaya's Wrath (RNA) 187
4 Teferi, Time Raveler (WAR) 221

4 Doom Foretold (ELD) 187

1 Cavalier of Dawn (M20) 10
1 Elspeth Conquers Death (THB) 13
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Muse (THB) 208
1 Planar Cleansing (M20) 33

2 Dance of the Manse (ELD) 186


2 Swamp (DAR) 261
4 Plains (XLN) 260
1 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241
3 Temple of Silence (M20) 256
2 Temple of Deceit (THB) 245
2 Temple of Enlightenment (THB) 246
4 Hallowed Fountain (RNA) 251
4 Watery Grave (GRN) 259
3 Godless Shrine (RNA) 248

Sideboard
2 Noxious Grasp (M20) 110
2 Despark (WAR) 190
1 Kaya, Orzhov Usurper (RNA) 186
2 Devout Decree (M20) 13
3 Dovin's Veto (WAR) 193
1 Planar Cleansing (M20) 33
2 Rule of Law (M20) 35
2 Disdainful Stroke (GRN) 37

back on Birth of Meletis despite not running into much aggro in Plat, solely to up the enchantment count and hitting land drops does help more than I thought. Cavalier of Dawn/ECD/Ashioks provide a very nice backup plan, and I've been impressed with testing Banishing Light provided you sequence your plays correctly. and I need a Godless Shrine, but also I've been liking Castle Lochtwain in this deck more than I liked Vantress, and I'm not running Fabled Passage and BoM with 6 basics.

I liked Kaya a lot but she's really sideboard material after all, and I could still see squeezing a copy in depending on the meta. third Veto/Planar Cleansing are flex slots I think. could run the third Oath here once I get it. Rule of Law I've been impressed with - it helps manage Simic, in theory, and pulled real work against UW Control paired with Teferi. but I haven't tested it for long

mono-B though has been performing much better and I've made some changes:

Spoiler: Devotion

Deck
4 Knight of the Ebon Legion (M20) 105
2 Gutterbones (RNA) 76
2 Tymaret, Chosen from Death (THB) 119
4 Agonizing Remorse (THB) 83
4 Yarok's Fenlurker (M20) 123

4 Murderous Rider (ELD) 97
3 Ayara, First of Locthwain (ELD) 75
3 Midnight Reaper (GRN) 77
2 Woe Strider (THB) 123

4 Nightmare Shepherd (THB) 108
3 Gray Merchant of Asphodel (THB) 99

3 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241
22 Swamp (ROE) 237


Sideboard
2 Noxious Grasp (M20) 110
2 Epic Downfall (ELD) 85
2 Legion's End (M20) 106
1 Tymaret, Chosen from Death (THB) 119
2 Underworld Dreams (THB) 121
2 Pharika's Libation (THB) 111
1 Massacre Girl (WAR) 99
2 Cavalier of Night (M20) 94
1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General (WAR) 97


so I was reading a post on reddit about Cat-Oven providing an alternate game plan, and I've seen lists with Woe Strider popping up as well. I think Rakdos is the correct shell for these cards, but there are some synergies here with Nightmare Shepherd/Gray Merchant, and Ayara

is

legendary so I decided to try it out and it's been working great so far. the scry is nice when you're trying to combo off game one, and provides a free non-summoning-sick sac option for Shepherd shenanigans, and there's also lines with stuff like Cavalier of Night returning a creature for you post-board.

trimmed some space including Cavalier to the side completely, Tymaret and a Midnight Reaper - although maybe a Fenlurker is the cut, I do find myself trimming Reapers often when sideboarding - to also include two Gutterbones. not useful in every matchup, but it's a nice combo with Ayara/early play and helps the deck against control, where you need an alternate game plan to your Garys. it does need some more testing, but it feels alright so far. Erebos ended up feeling too slow, Epic Downfall and Despark and etc get boarded in against you anyway, and Woe Strider provides a sac outlet for free instead of two mana.

still concerning that I'm not seeing more Underworld Dreams in monoB sideboards. again, it's great against UW Control, Simic, the mirror, and I've even played it against RB Sacrifice after they've resolved a Midnight Reaper. that was hilarious. at least if it catches on I have Pharika's Libation for that and Shep :)

Liliana's the new test option for certain matchups plus a third answer to Dream Trawler to side in. still like the third Tymaret because you end up boarding it in for more matchups than you'd think, either for the exile or huge toughness. Davriel disappointed me and didn't make the cut. the other options seem pretty locked in for me.

[InflatablePie]

after testing stax, Devotion, Simic Ramp (sans Thassa), Gruul, and Temur Clover (which was fine! testing with 2x Purphoros' Intervention in the flex slots and it was great), it looks like we're back to Esper because I discovered I had four copies of Hero of Precinct One just hangin out

also because with 5 basics/9 non-golds in the 75, it's a very pretty deck

Spoiler: Esper Hero

basically I want to both play control and play a deck that has a great game one against UW, and Esper Hero has the potential to do both. Oath is bad, Tyrant's Scorn is medium (but hits Borrower/Gadwick, or Walls/Ardenvale tokens in a pinch, but is just generally used for protection), and you don't necessarily wanna tap out for an Ashiok that probably won't resolve, but those cards can just pitch to Dream Trawler. just save your Kaya's Wraths and have a plan for tapping down Trawler otherwise; the match gets much better postboard. maybe one Ashiok could be a Liliana.


the manabase is actually fine because I like 5 basics/2 Passage + 8 Temples here but I guess you can add the 4th Godless Shrine. speaking of needing wildcards, the two Elite Guardmage should probably be two more Atris. you could also run two Atris total and add a third Oath/Mortify. ashiok's been medium in the shell surprisingly so you could also drop one; overall there's 2-3 flex slots in the main I think. the Guardmages are also fine though - they dodge Flame Sweep/Bonecrusher-Stomp and can block Borrowers and are generally better versus aggro. I tried Basillica Bell-Haunt but didn't like it that much, and Thief of Sanity seemed too iffy in the current meta. two Oath has also been fine after all, with all the UW Control where it's awful and Simic where it's medium. miser Mortify has been great, tried two but I really like the permission angle of 3x Absorb and had to make cuts somewhere. I'm a fan of the UUBB Hexproof/Flying/Deathtouch thing in theory but it's too hard on the manabase I think.


sideboard is, as always, a work in progress, but I like it so far. time wipe and deputy of detention were tried out but seemed mediocre. Unmoored Egos over Agonizing Remorses just because we have access to it so why not (hits Fires/Kenrith, Agent of Treachery, etc), Desparks because they hit most of the same targets as Noxious Grasp plus stuff like Embercleave/Shepherd/etc, an extra Veto and some Disputes for control/flash, and two more Wraths for aggro. Kaya's my pet sideboard card and gives the deck a proper answer to Ovens plus is a decent side against any monoR/monoW/mono1-drops deck, and Kunoros is a new flexible test option that provides more graveyard coverage against cats and some lifegain for the aggro matchups.

[InflatablePie]

think the jankiest deck I built was this pile in SOM -> AVR standard (aka when I started)

Primal Surge flips the whole deck and you stack draw card triggers in some order. rune-scarred demon to grab Surge, Lab Maniac's the win condition protected by Asceticism and Avacyn

I think the 3 Soul of the Harvest were budget subs for more sad robots, idfk what the shrine of boundless growth are in that board for. I don't know what half of that board is for actually. [e] my best guess is there was a plan to side out the combo and actually be able to cast cards, hence all the ramp? more land-search creatures because Caged Suns were decent alt wincons in a pinch? I dunno. beast tracker doesn't even grab anything good.

[InflatablePie]

dumped some WCs into Historic to grind out gold for draft and went with the classic Izzet Blitz.

and people keep just... not blocking my Kiln Fiends? surprisingly it hasn't gotten old yet.

every time I can hear, "sure I'll take one or two. why block? I mean, what if they have a combat trick?"

I also crafted monoR Storm which is a fantastic pile of nonsense that sometimes wins a game

lots of clicking though

[InflatablePie]

if I was on a budget I'd probably jam Silverquill Aggro tbh
if you have a chunk of Uncommon wildcards or a few dece pulls so far

off the top of my head I'd goldfish something like this and see how it feels:

Creatures (22)
4x Clever Luminancer - 0/1 Magecraft +2/+2
4x Eyetwitch - Flying 1/1 Learn-on-Death
4x Thunderous Orator - copies most keywords
4x Killian, Ink Duelist - Lifelink Menace 2/2
4x Shadewing Laureate - Flying 2/3 cares about fliers
2x Elite Spellbinder (R) - Flying 3/1, hand disruption

Leonin Lightscribe is dece at Rare (2/2, Magecraft give ur creatures +1/+1) but I think Thunderous Orator is fine given all the keywords.


I/S (16)
2x Professor's Warning - indestructible at instant speed
2x Vanishing Verse (R) - removal for non-gold-cards
4x Humiliate - turn 2 hand disruption + put a counter on your one-drop
2x Study Break - take out pesky blockers
3x Umbral Juke - removal for slower decks or a 2/1 Flying that still triggers Magecraft.
3x Silverquill Command (R) [if you pick the target creature option, Killian makes this WB instead of 2WB]

could also run Lash of Malice as a Shock or way to push more damage w Luminancer/Shadewing Laureate/most other creatures after 1 Counter.
I prefer Study Break for better game against midrange decks and easier Learn triggers (you have Menace/Flying on most things sans Luminancer tho)
and Professor's Warning to protect your creatures seems better than Lash to remove theirs

but there's also other options:
you could also run Mage Hunters Onslaught for BB Sorcery Removal w Killian out
Closing Statement at Uncommon (1WB with Killian or during End Step, plus a counter!)
or Baleful Mastery at Rare (1B Removal but opponent draws a card... or 1B Removal w Killian Out... at Instant, too)

there's 2-3 flex slots on the spells. feel free to fiddle.


Land (22) - as many rarelands as you wanna craft, maybe a Campus or an Access Tunnel. (but low curve means tapland/colorless land is less good)


Lesson Plan (7) [Eyetwitch death trigger, Study Break]:
Inkling Summoning (bonus flier)
Reduce to Memory, Necrotic Fumes (removal w downsides?)
2x Expanded Anatomy (this costs 1 w Killian out)
2x Introduction to Prophecy (for when games go long)

Pest Summoning is fine and Into to Annihilation is a bit pricey but also fine. think seconds of Anatomy/Prophecy are probably better than 2x Inkling Summoning?

---

but yeah something close to like, 54 of this 60 is what I'd run


just remember it's 50 gold for 3 Uncommons going 3Win/2Loss, 200 Gold for 3 Uncommons at 2W/2L, 100 Gold Profit at 4W/0-1L
before you get too into tossing Rare wildcards in case there's some broken deck no one thought of because Block Constructed
(hence why there's only like 7 Rares here and why I tried to look for the better Constructed rares)

[InflatablePie]

if it's Bo3 not Bo1 then add 2 Fracture (removes artifacts/enchantments) just in case
the Lashes if you don't run em maindeck (like, 2-3)
then 3-4 cards to fill the sideboard

Go Blank can work; Mind Rot is fine in Block plus GY exile upside
Beaming Defiance for more protection or if you'd rather have Hexproof over Professor's Warning Indestructible
Academic Probation is a good miser Lesson if you have one, too.

[InflatablePie]

"sure I'll take one or two. why block? I mean, what if they have a combat trick?"

jesus christ people just block the goddamn kiln fiend

[InflatablePie]

welp time for the occasional set that ropes me back into Magic

I feel like RB, GB, and UR all seem strong, but for limited it really depends on the commons.

lots of pretty solid multicolor uncommons though; if anyone else has been wanting to make a Peasant cube for years like me, here's some decent power coming IMO. Sacred Fire, Hungry for More, Fleshtaker, Faithful Looting, Arcane Infusion, and Join the Dance, among others.

Bladestitched Skaab and Vampire Socialite are also pretty neat for Tribal synergies


we have Delver

and

Thermo-Alchemist in Standard coming so definitely looking at brewing something janky/budget there

Spoiler: there's a new UG Commander that has some neat combos

and then we also have our usual Innistrad creepy art blue cards like Grafted Identity or Curse of Surveillance

at least we don't have Sensory Deprevation at common to constantly see. -shudders-

[InflatablePie]

i got to mythic playing delverr

grats!

... ... list? :3

[InflatablePie]

wait, blue

green

delver???

oh

now

you've got me

real

interested

[InflatablePie]

wait, blue

green

delver???

oh

now

you've got me

real

interested

might try something more like:
-3 Disdainful Stroke // +2 Saw it Coming
-1 You Find The Villain's Lair // +2 Snakeskin Veil
-1 Spectral Adversary // +1 Behold the Multiverse