Varina, Lich Queen

[pokken]

That new mini fof Sauron's ransom seems likely much better than truths a lot of times. And fun.

Hostile negotiations also very good rate.

[WizardMN]

I think those can be good options. I like Ransom mostly because it is an Instant and the Ring tempting me seems like it could be useful. Not enough to include things just for it, but it is an additional effect that isn't altogether worthless. Hostile Negotiations is one that I got a while back and never did anything with so it might make sense to give it a try here. 3 cards in hand and 3 in the grave seems pretty good in this style of deck.

[WizardMN]

Here are my thoughts regarding Lord of the Rings and the LOTR Commander set:

Multicolor Cards

Sauron's Ransom - This looks like a pretty good card overall for this deck. A Fact or Fiction variant that also has the Ring Tempt me isn't awful. And at least the opponent chooses with one pile blind which makes it somewhat decent.

[WizardMN]

I am going to try out this change:

7/5/2023

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

CUTS

1 Empty the Laboratory

ADDS

1 Sauron's Ransom

Approximate Total Cost:

I am not sure what really to cut here so I went with Laboratory as I have never cast it and the times I had it in hand, I didn't have a good opportunity to fire it off. I like the card but I guess I like the rest better right now

[WizardMN]

I may have missed something but I was unable to find anything in Wilds of Eldraine or the Commander decks that I felt would be a good fit for this deck. Hopefully the next set offers something.

[WizardMN]

Here are my thoughts regarding Lost Caverns of Ixalan, Murder at Karlov Manor, their Commander Decks, and the Doctor Who Commander set. I know I have not been keeping up so hopefully this covers all the sets I have missed:

White Cards

Unexplained Absence - 4 mana instant to exile up to 3 permanents (most likely wouldn't exile anything I control in most cases) seems like a pretty good rate. I realize they get a 2/2 back, and possibly bigger depending on what is face down, but I still like the versatility of dealing with multiple threats at once. I think I might give this a try in a couple decks.

Blue Cards

Reverse the Polarity - The "counter all other spells" mode probably isn't going to do much beyond what a normal counterspell would do. After all, if I am in a counter war, I don't want to also counter my own stuff. The "creatures can't be blocked" mode though seems like it could be pretty good. This deck is wanting to build up a pretty good board presence and then swing out so creatures being unable to be blocked could just end the game. It might be worth a slot here.

Black Cards

Bitter Triumph - This is a pretty good removal spell. The mana cost is right and it is versatile. 3 life is sort of a lot but could be worth it. I will probably pick some up and then see where they fit.

Colorless and Land Cards

New dual typed lands - More fetchable lands is always good and I don' think these are too bad. However, I am wary about the effect entering tapped all the time would have. I will probably pick some up but I am not sure I will ever get to the point of actually playing them considering all the better alternatives.

[pokken]

I think you want the blue black one but not any of the white ones, in this deck. Just my opinion though.

[WizardMN]

That's fair. I know Surveil can be useful but I am just cautious about how much an always ETB land is going to affect the curve. And I like the Bicycle and Tricycle lands above this since drawing a card is better than Surveiling. Of course, with these we get the land *and* the Surveil whereas with the cyclers we have to choose.

If I was running any cyclers I might give it a try over them but I am not sure what to cut for it. Maybe Sea of Clouds.

[pokken]

If you're still running terrain generator I'd cut that.

Turn one fetch for the ub dual is going to be right a huge amount of the time. It smooths your draw and is painless.

I could surely be wrong but I'm pretty confident most decks with solid but casual mana bases will want one of these as a turn one play if they're running fetches or similar. I believe you're on a low fetch count but still solid

I always have found temples to make hands much smoother and this gives an added filling of the bin however small.

Again it's a small edge and could cost you as a top deck too. So I see the potential downsides too. These days though games feel so short I tend to prioritize turns 1-4. :D

[WizardMN]

That is a fair point. I can certainly be wrong on them as well as a whole. Fetchable alone provides a lot of utility. I suppose if I am going to try them out anywhere, I might as well start here and see how Undercity Sewers works out. From there I can determine where I want to go with other decks.

Terrain Generator is a pretty reasonable cut for it at the moment. It is slow and generates colorless and isn't something I really want to be taking time out to activate. I will give that a try.

2/19/2024

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

CUTS

1 Terrain Generator

ADDS

1 Undercity Sewers

Approximate Total Cost:

[Dunadain]

Lol, I was just hyping up the surveil lands in the unreleased and new card thread, I think they're phenomenal, even better than triomes and certainly better than the bicycle lands but try them for yourself.

Notably though, they have diminishing returns, so probably just start with one and take note off how often you wish you had a second one to grab.

[yeti1069]

I'll note that I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've cycled a tricycle or bicycle land, so I view them as ETBT fetchable fixing lands and ignore the cycling as a benefit.

The surveil lands should be very good in any deck that makes any use of the yard, especially if you have some fetches.

[WizardMN]

Lol, I was just hyping up the surveil lands in the unreleased and new card thread, I think they're phenomenal, even better than triomes and certainly better than the bicycle lands but try them for yourself.

Notably though, they have diminishing returns, so probably just start with one and take note off how often you wish you had a second one to grab.

Interestingly, the first game I played (just goldfishing) I fetched out the Surveil land on turn 1 and wished I had the Black/White one. This is because I had a Land Tax in hand (which I couldn't have cast anyway) but no access to white mana. Normally I likely wouldn't have fetched the Surveil land in that case but I was trying to give it as fair a shake as possible.

I'll note that I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've cycled a tricycle or bicycle land, so I view them as ETBT fetchable fixing lands and ignore the cycling as a benefit.

The surveil lands should be very good in any deck that makes any use of the yard, especially if you have some fetches.

To be honest, I thought about that as well when I was typing my response to @pokken. I think I have cycled them, across all my decks, less than 10 times total. It just doesn't happen often enough. As someone else mentioned in the Unreleased thread, they are a little high right now which makes them harder to just pick up and try. But, trying them online is easy enough so I might try that out in a few different decks.

So, after reading responses here and in the other thread, I think I am warming on them quite a bit. I do think they are hard to fit into every deck though. For example, this deck doesn't run any cyclers so it isn't a simple matter of a straight swap. If I do want to add the Black/White one, I would have to cut a different land which might end up being a basic as I don't think it is necessarily better than anything else in the deck.

And I think this contention is going to happen in things like Karador or even Lord Windgrace as they have a lot of utility lands and want a decent number of basics. But, if I take the time to actually evaluate things I might be able to find room for them in other decks. I will see how things work in this deck first.