Finally went to an LGS for the first time in forever to play some EDH. Brand new playgroup, hopefully this one lasts.
I made some changes to the deck before going, just to test out how lowering the curve would feel:
In addition to me, the pod contained
Chainer, Dementia Master,
Marneus Calgar, and
Winota, Joiner of Forces that was really budget (as in, not even sleeved budget).
I opened with
Wrath of God,
Sol Ring,
Resculpt,
Irrigated Farmland,
Open the Armory, and a couple of fetchlands. Slow hand, but some good interaction. Winota had a slow start where they didn't have a relevant play until their Turn 3 (
Tibalt, Rakish Instigator). Marneus had
Urza's Saga and
Clown Car to start off quickly, with a
Sol Ring and
Skullclamp coming down soon after. Chainer began doing mono-black things including an early
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.
I used my
Resculpt on a
Platoon Dispenser Marneus played, as by this point I drew a
Generous Gift and
Unexpectedly Absent I was planning to use on Skullclamp, but Chainer put down an
Altar of Dementia and tutored for
Cabal Coffers which made me re-assess the board state. They played
Massacre Wurm to clean up Winota and Marneus' boards, and even tried to massively drain the table with
Gray Merchant of Asphodel but Winota's Tibalt was still there with one loyalty counter. I tutored for
Sword of Feast and Famine, played Isperia, and began hammering Chainer in the air. I used Gift on the Coffers, and then countered their
Caged Sun with
Stubborn Denial thanks to my equipped general, but their
Braids, Arisen Nightmare was beginning to draw them cards. Winota played an
Assemble the Legion to start generating advantage there. Marneus shifted to the defensive as well, trying to dig for interaction. They used an
Ertai Resurrected to stop a
Necromancy play from Chainer.
I drew a
Consecrated Sphinx off the top, and played it after an Isperia swing that tutored for a
Subtlety. There was no immediate answer from Winota or Marneus so I wound up with 10ish in hand. However, Marneus really wanted Sphinx off the table so they could continue to draw and swung at me for lethal. This prompted me to block with Sphinx to survive, which died to a
Vault of the Archangel activation. I used Subtlety on a
Blood Artist from Chainer that was threatening to kill me (I was at 2 life after Marneus' attacks).
The draws from Sphinx weren't the most helpful either, mostly lands, rocks, and a
Batterskull that was still being negated by Winota's Tibalt that somehow hadn't died yet. I used
Wrath of God to clear the board, and followed it up with a
Remorseful Cleric and equipped with Sword. But now Winota became a huge issue as their Assembled the Legion put in three soldiers that turned into
Goldnight Commander and
Angrath's Marauders off Winota triggers. Chainer found a
Toxic Deluge to go with the Blood Artist they recast, and wiped the board. They killed me in the process, and I pointed my Remorseful Cleric at their graveyard that at this point was full of Chainer fodder. Winota wound up rebuilding quickly and running away with the game.
All in all, happy with out the deck performed. I felt underpowered compared to the rest of the table but I was still able to make relevant plays, and given the whole idea behind the deck was to have a lower-powered control deck I would say mission accomplished. I don't think there's much I want to add from ONE;
Phyrexian Vindicator is the main one that caught my eye just as another efficient threat (and I opened the alternate art version too) so that might be worth considering in the future.