Kykar, Wind’s Fury

[WizardMN]

The "protecting something other than Kykar" aspect isn't a huge deal I don't think. That is, I doubt there is much at all that needs protecting as much as Kykar does and if it takes some of the heat off Kykar, even if it is miniscule, that isn't a bad thing. I think you make a good point about Kindred Discovery but being 2 mana less and on a body has some advantages over Discovery.

Honestly, I like your comparison to Ephara though. Obviously Ephara is better but that is probably a better comparison. It does give the card right away which is relevant. I am not interested in finding room for it at this moment, but you are right that it does seem fun and seems to basically be doing things other parts of the deck are doing and redundancy is not a bad thing here.

[WizardMN]

Here are my thoughts on new cards from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty:

White Cards

The Restoration of Eiganjo - This isn't as good in this deck though it does help ensure a 4th land for Kykar. The second ability can be useful but there are not many permanents in this deck with mana value 2 or less (beyond lands, so it can still potentially ramp). However, I like the back side a lot. Since it creates tokens on attacking or blocking, and those tokens are Spirits, it can really accelerate the game with Kykar out. I doubt we get much more than 1 or 2 spirits a turn cycle but even then, that is pretty good. And I think we will almost always have someone to attack to get a Spirit.

Blue Cards

Discover the Impossible - Not a bad effect. We get to see 5 cards and potentially cast something for free. And with the curve in the deck being fairly low, it seems likely to get a free spell. It also can trigger Kykar twice thanks to that. I am not sure there is a great fit for it in the deck as 3 mana is still questionable, but I like the effect.

March of Swirling Mist - Another "protection" spell but one that can save a few more creatures than just one and allows it to be cast close to "free". Importantly, it can also be used to phase out opponent's creatures so it allows for some shield's down moments on their part even if they didn't intend it. I wouldn't bank on that too much but if all we need to do it get in with a couple fliers and they only have one flying blocker, it could be good. I might slot this in over something I have as protection just because of that flexibility.

Red Cards

Invoke Calamity - 5 mana is a lot for this deck, but this does allow for not only getting some spells back for a second try, but also giving Sorceries Flash in a way. I am not entirely sure this really fits the deck, but I sort of want to try it out anyway. I likely won't be able to find the room for it but it looks like a fun card.

[WizardMN]

Here are my thoughts on cards from Streets of New Capenna:

White Cards

Halo Fountain - This provides a way to untap Kykar if necessary as well as creating extra tokens for blocking (sadly they don't work with Kykar's ability though). I am thinking it is a bit too slow for the deck, and I am not sure I really need much more card draw. But, it is also a way to just outright win if the game goes on long enough which might be good. Of course, the last ability isn't the most fun and I am generally not a fan of those types of things. Especially for one that seems, on the surface, to be so easy (relatively).

Blue Cards

A Little Chat - This seems like an interesting card for the deck. It is a 2 mana draw 1 which isn't great but typically there are enough tokens that copying the spell isn't hard to do. Which means that this essentially turns into a 3 mana draw 2 (the token being sacrificed for this instead of mana but effectively being the same thing) which isn't awful either. Especially since I do get to pick the best of two cards twice. Not sure it is that powerful, but I like the card either way.

An Offer You Can't Refuse - A more versatile Swan Song but at the cost of ramping them instead of giving them a creature. That is a pretty big tradeoff and one that I am not sure is worth it. But it might be. 1 mana counters are pretty good for this deck so I think I might try it out.

Slip Out the Back - A 1 mana protection spell that protects against basically everything seems solid. I don't know that I need to add more but this looks like something I could slot in over some other protection spell I might still have in the deck somewhere. I will have to see as I have been lowering the number of those effects as it is so most others might do more than a single creature. This is also good offensively by getting rid of a blocker or targeting something to get rid of an important creature an opponent controls. At least temporarily. I think the added function of being able to mess with opponents' stuff might also raise its stock a bit.

[WizardMN]

Since Baldur's Gate previews have concluded, here are my thoughts on some of the cards from the set that might work in this deck as well as some lands from the previous set I missed.

Red Cards

Wild Magic Surge - Not really that great of a card. Highly versatile for sure, but far less good than Chaos Warp and White and Blue can already shore up Red's weaknesses as it is. As such, I don't think I want to include this here.

Colorless and Land Cards

Sundown Pass, Deserted Beach, Stormcarved Coast - These are all pretty good lands. While they aren't the best on Turn 2 and maybe turn 1, they are great from turn 3 onwards. They seem pretty solid in terms of fixing in all but the most aggressive decks and, even then, seem still worthwhile as they are very unlikely to be the only land one keeps.

[Arebennian]

I would have thought Displacer Kitten would have been worth a look at? I know it is a creature but it essentially makes Kykar immune to pinpoint removal if you have mana open. Also works particularly well with Archaeomancer's Map (which you removed for paper vs, online reasons... right?)

[WizardMN]

That is probably a good point. I have moved away from a fully non-creature build anyway (though, I am still waiting for certain cards online to go further into that) so I am not opposed to Displacer Kitten.

I think it ends up being a fairly solid include even just to protect Kykar. My biggest issue with it ends up being that protecting Kykar is really its only use. Sure, I can get some added use out of Ephara and Purphoros for example but there isn't really much else that benefits from blinking stuff. Map would be a good one if I was playing it but I moved away from it for now due to not being online.

I will have to think on it some more to see what I want to do with it.

[Arebennian]

I would imagine Harmonic Prodigy is likely one of the best cards in the deck. Have you considered Step Through?

Also, I'd like to hear your opinion on Sword of the Animist and Sunforger. How they play pattern, what advantages they provide over equivalent cards, etc.

[WizardMN]

Prodigy likely is one of the better creature cards in the deck. I am not sure I would say it is one of the better ones overall but still good. Step Through seems interesting. Not much can get a Wizard to my hand so there is an argument for including it. A 2 mana tutor is pretty good though it would only be here for a single card which I am not a fan of. If I ever get around to adding other Wizards, it might not be a bad include.

Sunforger I think is the better of the two just by virtue of being able to get quite a bit of the deck. I am not sure on Sword as the way the deck is set up, it is pretty easy to hit land drops and there isn't a huge need for ramp. Ramp is always good of course, but both end up with the problem of needing to go shields down in some aspects to use them. I probably would actually think about cutting Sword if I need to make room for new cards at some point. But Sunforger likely remains a mainstay for now. It pumps up Kykar and helps protect him. It is really slow but is a decent mid to late game card.

[WizardMN]

I have made the following changes to the deck:

6/12/2022

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

CUTS

3 Plains

ADDS

1 Deserted Beach

1 Stormcarved Coast

1 Sundown Pass

Approximate Total Cost:

I went through the mana base and I am starting to realize just how spoiled we are really getting on lands. I expected to go through the list and just start cutting lands that enter tapped but the only one I would really want to is Gates of Istfell. But that has some decent uses and I don't have a ton of ETB tapped lands as it is. It might make sense to cut the Pathways here, but cutting 3 Plains still leaves me with 5 basics total. I might get to the point of cutting the Pathways or even something like Prairie Stream or Irrigated Farmland but being fetchable is still important enough to keep them around.

I am still thinking on some of the other cards recently discussed, but nothing I want to add quite yet. I am starting to think Sword of the Animist would be an easy cut here. With the card draw and filtering, and the overall low curve, spending time and mana to ramp with Sword might not be as powerful or impactful as I once thought it was.

[Arebennian]

How do you feel about 2 mana, draw 2 sorcery (with some conditions that seem fairly easy to meet in the deck)?

Winged Words
Chart a Course

Obviously you want to play at instant speed but 2 mana draw two probably competes with the instant speed Impulse?
Is the card selection worth more than the raw cards?

[WizardMN]

I think Chart a Course could be argued to be added but Winged Words is a little tougher in my opinion. Part of the reason for having the cheap draw spells is to ensure the deck actually gets going early on. Granted, the other part is to fuel Kykar in which case Words is 2 mana but I don't like the idea of Words sitting in my hand for an extra turn before Kykar comes down when I need it to get that fourth land (or whatever).

The other nice thing about Instants, at least in my particular build, is that I play a pretty reactive game. Chart is fine early on, even with having to discard a card, but later on I would much rather be able to hold up that mana for a counter spell or something and then spend it on Chart when I know I have nothing else to do with it.

Regarding the comparison to Impulse specifically though, I feel Impulse is still the superior card. While I will admit that early on it might be fine to just get 2 cards (even with discarding potentially) but in almost every case I would still rather see 4 cards and take 1 than see 2 cards and not get what I want out of it. Sometimes I just want an answer, or a land, or something which Impulse better allows for.

As I said though, I could absolutely see the argument for slotting in Chart over something else already in the deck but I wouldn't expect it to take the spot of Impulse. Losing out on the Instant timing is detrimental but for 2 mana it is not detrimental enough to say it is objectively wrong to include.

[RxPhantom]

I'm kinda down on Pathways lately. I double sleeve most of my decks, and frankly, I don't find them good enough to be worth the hassle. Perhaps I'd like them if we didn't have so many other options, including Stormcarved Coast and friends, which you mentioned earlier.

[WizardMN]

I have sort of started thinking about their worth, though less in terms of the hassle of changing sides. Granted, I don't play in paper often right now so the physical "problems" are less of an issue right now. But while I like them for getting the "right" color of mana at the time, other lands give me more than one color which can also be important. I like the idea of them for sure but having so many options out there starts to diminish the value the Pathways have.

I don't have a plan to change much more with the mana base in this deck as I think the current mana base works out fairly well. But it is likely Pathways get to the point of being on the chopping block if other good lands get printed.

[Arebennian]

Hey, I was listening to a podcast and found an ace uncommon for the deck:

Irenicus's Vile Duplication

Sorcery version of Spark Double. Could be a straight swap or an additional effect.

[pokken]

Man do I most sincerely hate the "damn my commander is annoying let's find ways to copy it!" Stuff that is going on these days. If I never see another sakashima copying something stupid then making token copies of it I'll be fine .

Please don't be that guy making 4 copies of Kykar as a strategy

[WizardMN]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there is a real possibility this deck ends up getting dismantled for a number of reasons so I am not sure how much more I will invest into the deck in the future.

However, for a deck so reliant on its commander, I don't really see the problem with trying to make a few copies of Kykar to keep the deck going. I will admit that it can get a little annoying. I don't even think Kykar himself is all that annoying, though as the pilot I am sure I have some bias there At the very least, my list isn't Storm oriented which changes things a little, even though people don't really like playing against control either.

In the end, I like the idea of trying to really go all out with Kykar even with the risks that entails and Irenicus's Vile Duplication seems like a pretty good card for the deck. I might actually think of that for Volrath if I am being honest. It is tough to slot into decks as most of my lists are pretty tuned. At least, "tuned" to do what I want them to do, not necessarily tuned for optimization/win rate. But I like the card and like what it allows for. Here it is almost solely for Kykar but at least in Volrath it has broader applications.