Bon Voyage - Cosima//Omenkeel

[Signe]

I've been having a hard time! Blue is one of my favorite colors, maybe even my favorite these days, but I always feel so bad just slapping down hard-control or mill. I wanted to do something with it that felt a little more unique while still incorporating the elements of control and mill that I enjoy, and that's how I found Cosima! Vehicles seem like a really fun way to play, and I love managing all of the different power ranges to pay Crew costs. This deck has been doing decently for me in my group of players, although I have a pretty tough time against R/G mid-range sometimes.

I'd love advice on improving (especially in regards to out-speeding R/x decks) and I will also continuously make changes and updates as I play it more, find more cards, and get more data. I will also be starting to take notes on some of my match ups to write up how the deck performs, and what priorities are, against each of them.

Bon Voyage

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Artifact (23)

1 Cloud Key

1 Conqueror's Galleon Flip

1 Cultivator's Caravan

1 Darksteel Forge

1 Dermotaxi

1 Extraplanar Lens

1 Fleetwheel Cruiser

1 Forsaken Monument

1 Funeral Longboat

1 Lightning Greaves

1 Meekstone

1 Mobile Garrison

1 Prototype Portal

1 Raiders' Karve

1 Sculpting Steel

1 Sensei's Divining Top

1 Silent Submersible

1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship

1 Smuggler's Copter

1 Sol Ring

1 Sol Talisman

1 Untethered Express

1 Weatherlight

Instant (10)

1 Blue Sun's Zenith

1 Brainstorm

1 Capsize

1 Counterspell

1 Cryptic Command

1 Cyclonic Rift

1 Faerie Trickery

1 Mana Leak

1 Pongify

1 Trickbind

Sorcery (6)

1 Baral's Expertise

1 Echo Storm

1 Preordain

1 Ravenform

1 Sleep

1 Tezzeret's Gambit

Planeswalker (3)

1 Karn, the Great Creator

1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage

1 Tezzeret, Artifice Master

Land (36)

1 Academy Ruins

1 Access Tunnel

1 Arcane Lighthouse

1 Blinkmoth Nexus

1 Castle Vantress

1 Faceless Haven

1 Frostwalk Bastion

1 Ghost Quarter

1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea

1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge

1 Mutavault

1 Reliquary Tower

1 Rogue's Passage

17 Snow-Covered Island

1 Temple of the False God

1 Thespian's Stage

1 Urza's Mine

1 Urza's Power Plant

1 Urza's Saga

1 Urza's Tower

Creature (18)

1 Cosima, God of the Voyage // The Omenkeel

1 Daring Thief

1 Deadeye Quartermaster

1 Foundry Inspector

1 Ixidron

1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror

1 Padeem, Consul of Innovation

1 Phyrexian Metamorph

1 Roil Elemental

1 Sai, Master Thopterist

1 Scaretiller

1 Snapcaster Mage

1 Surgespanner

1 Thassa, God of the Sea

1 Tribute Mage

1 Trophy Mage

1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre

1 Whirler Rogue

Enchantment (4)

1 Mechanized Production

1 Mirrodin Besieged

1 Retreat to Coralhelm

1 Thopter Spy Network

Approximate Total Cost:

Honestly, most of the deck's strength comes from the ramp The Omenkeel provides. I can keep options off of the board for folk, and I can get those sweet sweet landfalls for Roil Elemental and Retreat to Coralhelm. The fact that this forces them to engage with my board is no smal lthing, either. Omenkeel creates an existential threat in the form of multiple damages coming at you at once, while not actually needing to rely on itself. It reminds me in a way of Teror of the Peaks as it provides a passive benefit but also draws the targe tto itself instead of the rest of your board.

I know most people run Ghirapur Orrery, and while I would absolutely normally suggest it, there are too many decks in my play group that run landfall and lands etb effects for me t ofee lsafe running it. I would rather move a little sloweer but have more control over the flow of the board, than give that up for what I consider to be a small advantage.

My playgroup is a bit small right now, but of the decks I have been able to test against:

Basic idea of my matchups so far

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R/G Xenagos Terror of the Peaks + ETB effects:
Honestly this one kills me the most, it's super difficult for me to get that Terror to stop just killing me with that ETB damage. I get Pyroblasted pretty often, but if I have the fortune of having a counter + removal in hand, I can deal with it. It really is just the one card in the deck that kills me! I'd give myself like a 20/80 against this deck right now.

W/B Teysa, Orzhov Scion Token Swarm + Life Drain
Honestly, as long as they don't get their Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond out, I win this pretty handily in 1v1 matches. Thankfully, there is so much bounce in here that tokens don't much matter, and I even occasioanlly swap in a Steel Hellkite to make them completely irrelevant. I easily sit at like 70/30 against this deck right now, thankfully they haven't started using curses.

G Yeva, Nature's Herald Craterhoof Behemoth Creature Spam
This is actually one of my own decks tha ta friend likes to use. I can mostly deal with it, though I occasionally have to swap out something for Aetherize on days where I am not feeling lucky. This is the main reason I don't include Ghirapur Orrery in my personal list, because this deck benefits so massively from dropping extra lands every turn. This one is closer t o50/50, Green is actually a problem for me sometimes.

R Zo-Zu the Punisher
I mean, it's Zo-Zu. He's a tough fight but honestly I hardly need my lands by the turn he drops, so I just try and avoid taking his damage and slowly beat the player down. They run several planeswealkers, so I actually used to run Sword of Sinew and Steel. This player usually only jumps in for our 4 player games, so it's hard for me to gauge my winrate against them.

Anyway, my thoughts are a bit scattered right now but I would love advice on the list. Cost isn't really a factor, but I am trying not to lose the identity of the deck i npursuit of victory. I would rather lose half of my games than turn this into another Palinchron + Caged Sun/Gauntlet of Power/Extraplanar Lens combo deck like I did for 9 years with Ambassador Laquatus. I'm trying to also reach out to folk to play with to get better testing, and once I can get to a local game store safely, I'll start playing with the groups there. I realy do love this deck and want t osee it grow, while still keeping the Vehicle identity.

Thanks everyone! Please don't be scared to question my choices and such, I've been out of the game for a while, and so I am essentially re-learning, so I need any and all advice!

[Ruiner]

Since the gimmick of this deck seems to be utilizing vehicles, have you considered cards like Evacuation and Engulf the Shore, to put everyone else behind while leaving you less affected?

Copy Artifact or some more other clone effects may be useful to double up on your better vehicles. Clone can copy a vehicle once it has been crewed (but will be uncrewed).

March of the Machines maybe as a way to turn vehicles into creatures without a crew?

I'd usually look at Rapid Hybridization over Raven form, unless the exile is important?

Urza Lands are tough to use in a singleton format. Do you reliably turn these on? I'd think basic Islands, or anything else, would probably be better.

[Signe]

Since the gimmick of this deck seems to be utilizing vehicles, have you considered cards like Evacuation and Engulf the Shore, to put everyone else behind while leaving you less affected?

I could! I have a few board returns and have been trying to be careful, but honestly since I only really need a couple of tokens to work, this feels reasonable!

Copy Artifact or some more other clone effects may be useful to double up on your better vehicles. Clone can copy a vehicle once it has been crewed (but will be uncrewed).

I hadn't thought of clone that way!

March of the Machines maybe as a way to turn vehicles into creatures without a crew?

Honestly just not sure what I would pull out!

I'd usually look at Rapid Hybridization over Raven form, unless the exile is important?

I actually forgot this was a card. Great idea!

Urza Lands are tough to use in a singleton format. Do you reliably turn these on? I'd think basic Islands, or anything else, would probably be better.

Not usually, I just have em so I like to throw em in haha

[Legend]

These could be useful.
Rise and Shine
Mishra's Workshop
The Antiquities War
Tezzeret the Seeker

[Tevesh]

You seem to be going all-in on the Boat side, which is the same as I'm doing, in which case I found Meloku the Clouded Mirror to be lacklustre. Dermotaxi was another dud, at least in my playgroup. You're probably going to want to have more token producers spewing out to help Crew your Vehicles, like Nadir Kraken. I don't think Funeral Longboat would get you much, evasion is pretty valuable to ensure you keep making those Land Drops, like Sky Skiff. Another thing to consider is just large and in charge, such as Irontread Crusher.

I also found that Temple of the False God was too risky. We're running a few lands short than most decks because we're going to steal those Land Drops, and as a consequence, Temple really hurts the majority of the time. Field of the Dead would be a big help powering out Boats, but there's other Manlands like Mishra's Factory and Faerie Conclave. Not too sure how pinched you are on mana, but I don't think Mono Blue needs to run Mikokoro, Center of the Sea, especially since War Room exists.

I find Mana Leak to be an odd choice when there's plenty of solid two drop Counters, such as Suspend or Arcane Denial. Hell, I run Lazotep Plating because it stops targetting nonsense and then gives me a token to start powering up my Vehicles.

Out of your 'Crew Suite', I noticed Fallowsage is missing, though that's an easy fix compared to my problem finding a Surgespanner.

I've been playin the Boat for a few weeks and that's what really jumped out at me looking over your list.

[Signe]

You seem to be going all-in on the Boat side, which is the same as I'm doing, in which case I found Meloku the Clouded Mirror to be lacklustre. Dermotaxi was another dud, at least in my playgroup. You're probably going to want to have more token producers spewing out to help Crew your Vehicles, like Nadir Kraken. I don't think Funeral Longboat would get you much, evasion is pretty valuable to ensure you keep making those Land Drops, like Sky Skiff. Another thing to consider is just large and in charge, such as Irontread Crusher.

I also found that Temple of the False God was too risky. We're running a few lands short than most decks because we're going to steal those Land Drops, and as a consequence, Temple really hurts the majority of the time. Field of the Dead would be a big help powering out Boats, but there's other Manlands like Mishra's Factory and Faerie Conclave. Not too sure how pinched you are on mana, but I don't think Mono Blue needs to run Mikokoro, Center of the Sea, especially since War Room exists.

I find Mana Leak to be an odd choice when there's plenty of solid two drop Counters, such as Suspend or Arcane Denial. Hell, I run Lazotep Plating because it stops targetting nonsense and then gives me a token to start powering up my Vehicles.

Out of your 'Crew Suite', I noticed Fallowsage is missing, though that's an easy fix compared to my problem finding a Surgespanner.

I've been playin the Boat for a few weeks and that's what really jumped out at me looking over your list.

Thank yo ufor all of this!! I actually did see your thread but I wasn't sure how long ago a response was considered necroing, I'm so happy t osee another Omenkeel player! I'll take thsi advice into account!

As for Mana Leak honestly it's just that I don't play a lot of countermagic and kinda just play what I know my group doesn't get annoyed with tbh