Tasigur: A Tale of Lands, Graveyards, and Forks

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Post by Mookie » 2 years ago

Kamigawa spoilers out, and there are some interesting options. I'll call out the legendary land cycle as something that definitely seems like a strong inclusion in this deck (assuming you can find space for it). This deck otherwise doesn't get much from the set's themes - it doesn't have any artifact or enchantments for those synergies, and it doesn't particularly support ninjas.
  • Junji, the Midnight Sky seems like a strong value creature - either reanimate something for value, or mess with your opponents' hands. This deck doesn't have any sac outlets to guarantee value (meaning it could be bounced or exiled), but still worth consideration.
  • Kura, the Boundless Sky seems like another solid value creature, for similar reasons. Fetching up three utility lands is... very strong, especially if you have some dedicated packages (ex: Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth + Cabal Coffers or Thespian's Stage + Dark Depths). Making a giant token isn't terrible either.
  • Shigeki, Jukai Visionary looks very interesting - ramps, fills the graveyard, and acts as a big recursion spell (at instant speed, even). No idea how good it will be (tap abilities are slow), but certainly seems fun.
  • Gloomshrieker and Colossal Skyturtle are mildly interesting as recursion effects.
  • Otawara, Soaring City, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, and Boseiju, Who Endures are all extremely powerful utility lands - they enter untapped if you need a land, or you can use them alongside land recursion effects for value. This deck doesn't have a bunch of legendary creatures to reduce their costs, but flexibility is still good.
Overall, nothing in the set that looks like a snap-include for this deck (other than the lands), but a few of the legends could be interesting to test. Kura goes up in value significantly if you have strong lands to fetch.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Streets of New Capenna spoilers out. As a shard-faction set, there is a bit of tension with this deck's wedge colors, but there are still some cards worth consideration. The main thing I'll call out is that the ub archetype in the set is '5+ mana values in graveyard', which is pretty easy for a dedicated graveyard deck to turn on. It isn't something I've focused on for my own build, but activating Tasigur a few times should make it easy to enable in the midgame.
  • Cemetery Tampering is somewhat interesting for a deck heavy on the mill theme - 20 cards is a lot, but getting a free spell out of the deal is nice.
  • Titan of Industry is a flexible threat that Tasigur can be Neoform'd into. Not the most impressive toolbox target, but it checks a lot of boxes - hard to kill, reach, Naturalizes something on ETB...
  • Bootleggers' Stash is a one-sided Upwelling that lets you bank mana for a later turn, which is definitely something this deck is interested in. Saving up for a massive Genesis Wave or other X-spell is definitely a thing, and having a pile of treasure that lives through a Death Cloud is also relevant. I'm intentionally not running artifacts in my own build, but it's certainly a tempting inclusion. I will note that Kruphix, God of Horizons fills a similar role though - a little more awkward if your opponents have spot removal (since Kruphix mana doesn't stick around, unlike treasure), but I expect artifact board wipes to be more common than targeted enchantment exile.
  • Topiary Stomper is a beefy Farhaven Elf that can't attack or block until later in the game. Still, not difficult to turn it on, and vigilance means it can actually provide decent pressure - I think in this deck, it would be better than Farhaven Elf, but a bit below Springbloom Druid.
  • Aven Heartstabber is an interesting twist on Baleful Strix and Ice-Fang Coatl. The delayed draw makes it a lot weaker though, as does the conditionality of its deathtouch.
  • Tainted Indulgence is a very efficient draw spell - drawing two cards for two mana at instant speed is pretty good. Again, you want to be able to fill your graveyard quickly to enable it... but you can also just discard a reanimation target or a land for Life from the Loam.
  • Waterfront District is a tapped dual that can be cycled in the lategame. I think it's a little too clunky to recur repeatedly, but not a terrible budget option.
  • Riveteers Overlook and the other members of it cycle are interesting - they're effectively an Evolving Wilds that can only get two colors, but the fact that they trigger on ETB make them an upgrade if they enter tapped off Splendid Reclamation. They're also a bit better if you grant them a mana ability with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth or Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth - you can tap them for mana in response to the trigger, meaning you don't lose any tempo. I'll probably try out one of them to start - they're obviously outclassed by actual fetchlands if you have them, but they seem like solid options for a budget Life from the Loam package. Hopefully they eventually complete the cycle and have a Sultai one.
Overall, I think Tainted Indulgence and Riveteer's Outlook (or another of the cycle) are the cards I'm most interested in running from the set. Bootlegger's Stash could also be extremely powerful.

I'll have a separate analysis of the SNC commander cards when they are fully revealed.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

New Capenna Commander spoilers out. Not much for this deck - shards and wedges don't mesh very well - but there are a few cards worth calling out.
  • Make an Example is a solid removal spell // board wipe. At the very least, it kills the best thing belonging to each opponent while ignoring hexproof / indestructible.
  • Writ of Return is an interesting reanimation effect. It may be difficult to get multiple triggers, but seems strong if you can. I'll note that you can cipher onto the reanimated creature... not that my own build has many evasive creatures to cipher onto.
  • Grime Gorger is an interesting beater that can chow down on your opponents' graveyards.
I could see myself running Make an Example, but will probably pass on the other options.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate spoilers out. As usual, there are a few interesting options. That said, the set's themes - dragons, dice rolling, backgrounds - don't mesh particularly well with this deck.

I'll call out initiative (and monarch) as something I think will generally be a negative for this deck, since it usually has a light board presence (and in particular, it lacks evasive creatures). As a result, I would avoid running initiative cards - it's too easy for an opponent to take the initiative and use it as a value engine, which goes against this deck's gameplan of grinding people down.

I'll also call out all the Gate support as something that may be worth investigating as a ramp package. At a high budget level, utility lands like Cabal Coffers and Field of the Dead are the best things to tutor for, but I could see there being a viable budget ramp package making use of Baldur's Gate and Gond Gate, using stuff like Open the Gates and Circuitous Route to fetch them out. I could see Maze's End being a legitimate win condition for this deck, backed up by a bunch of board wipes and other control elements. The fact that gates enter tapped without Gond Gate out is definitely a downside though.

Black
  • Ancient Brass Dragon is a big evasive beater that can generate a bunch of value if it connects. It also seems like it would be a bit too slow, but could be fun if you're doing a reanimator subtheme. Sepulchral Primordial is probably easier to use though.
  • Blood Money is a very interesting board wipe option. I've enjoyed running Decree of Pain in the past, and turning the extra card draw into a pile of treasure definitely has some interesting implications - this deck can definitely make use of the extra mana.
  • Elder Brain is another expensive beater. Again, probably too slow, but it does seem fun.
  • Eldritch Pact is expensive, but potentially a very powerful draw spell. I'd probably stick to something cheaper though.
  • Cloudkill is mildly interesting as a bigger Languish - -6/-6 is usually enough to kill most things, but six mana is more than I would want to pay for a board wipe.
Green
  • Majestic Genesis is a powerful value card - it's much better than spending eight mana on a Genesis Wave for five, since a lot of the best hits in this deck are 6+ mana. It doesn't have as high of a ceiling, but much more reasonable to cast in the midgame.
  • Jaheira's Respite is interesting as a Fog variant / ramp spell. It won't take over the game like Constant Mists can, but the tempo boost of 'cancel attack, then ramp a bunch for next turn' definitely seems promising.
  • Erinis, Gloom Stalker is mildly interesting as a ramp option. I think I prefer Ramunap Excavator in a vacuum, but could be good if you want to be a bit more aggressive.
  • Explore the Underdark is interesting as a piece of support if you want to do a gate build. Outclassed by Hour of Promise otherwise though.
  • Seize the Spoils is mildly interesting as a recursion effect, but giving your opponents the final choice seems pretty bad.
Gold + Colorless
  • Nine-Fingers Keene is a very powerful enabler if you're looking to build a gate deck, and probably the most logical option for the command zone. Painful to kill, ramps, and represents a ton of card advantage if you ever get nine gates out.
  • Fraying Line is an interesting board wipe option mostly because black doesn't have a lot of board wipes that exile. That said, giving your opponents options makes it significantly riskier to use than something more predictable.
  • Baldur's Gate is the primary payoff for building a gate deck - an easy-to-fetch Cabal Coffers seems quite solid. You do need to put in a fair amount of work to make it good though, unlike Cabal Coffers being turbocharged by Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth by itself. Still, the fact that there are so many gate tutors makes me think it's a viable budget ramp strategy.
  • Gond Gate, as mentioned, is the other big payoff for a gate deck - making all your gates into untapped dual lands is quite strong.
  • Basilisk Gate, Heap Gate, Sea Gate, Manor Gate, and Black Dragon Gate round out the gate options.
Overall, I would say that Blood Money and Majestic Genesis are the two cards I would be most excited to run in this deck. Ancient Brass Dragon and Elder Brain are both probably a bit too clunky, but could be fun reanimation targets. If I still had a copy of Maze's End, I would consider trying out all the gate stuff, but I can't quite justify making the shift without one. Could definitely be fun though.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Following up on CL2, we have the associated Commander precons. Fewer new cards than normal, but still some interesting stuff. I'll call out that the UB precon has a (self) mill subtheme, which has some overlap with this deck.
  • From the Catacombs is a recursive recursion spell. As previously mentioned, I think adding initiative to the game is probably bad for this deck, but we certainly have ways to fuel the escape cost.
  • Black Market Connections is a pricier (in terms of life) but more versatile Phyrexian Arena.
  • Brainstealer Dragon is a fun topend threat / reanimation target. I've been wanting to test out a Neoform package for a while, but held off because all the 'best' targets are $$$. This looks to be fairly cheap, so might finally give it a shot.
  • Venture Forth looks sweet. It's obviously much slower / less efficient than more traditional ramp spells, but it has potential if you're aiming for a longer game. I'll also note that because it can hit any land, it's still useful in the lategame (unlike many ramp spells that only fetch basics), and the fact that it re-suspends itself means opponents won't give it back with Tasigur.
  • Green Slime is interesting. I think I would usually prefer a more direct kill effect (like Reclamation Sage, or whatever), but flash is certainly relevant.
I'll probably test out Venture Forth (and then eventually cut it due to being too slow). Might also try Brainstealer Dragon.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Dominaria United spoilers out, and it brings a few new options, as usual.
  • Silverback Elder is sweet, but probably a miss for this deck - not enough creatures. Still, a repeatable Rampant Growth // Naturalize engine is quite nice, and the incidental lifegain isn't bad either.
  • Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is an amusing lifegain / drain engine. This deck usually doesn't care that much about pressuring opponents' life totals (and it also doesn't draw many extra cards), but not bad.
  • The World Spell looks somewhat overpriced at seven mana, but if you're putting a few expensive permanents into play (and potentially drawing some cards), then it looks better.
  • The Cruelty of Gix is alright. Grim Tutor + Zombify is a nice bit of value, although I'll call out The Eldest Reborn as an already-existing option. It depends how highly you value the tutor, I suppose.
  • Braids, Arisen Nightmare is mildly interesting as a draw engine - this deck doesn't have many expendable tokens... but lands are something it's more comfortable throwing away (assuming you have a way to recur them), and I would be surprised if our opponents were willing to do the same. Hmmm... I don't know if I would actually run Braids in this deck, but it does seem like a strong inclusion in some similar decks (like The Gitrog Monster and Lord Windgrace).
  • Tear Asunder looks like a very nice piece of interaction - instant speed exile is great, and the ability to pay a bit extra to hit creatures and planeswalkers is also nice. I think the primary draw is that this deck currently doesn't have many sources of exile, which can be awkward against indestructible creatures. Otherwise, it competes with other flexible removal spells like Maelstrom Pulse and Windgrace's Judgment. Hmmm....
  • Slimefoot's Survey is a little expensive at five mana (compared to the usual four mana), but fetching nonbasics and providing a bit of card selection is certainly nice.
  • Urborg Repossession is a nice little piece of value.
  • Shadow Prophecy is an interesting card draw option, although I don't quite think it makes the cut outside 5C decks.
  • Ertai Resurrected is a very flexible piece of interaction. Letting your opponent draw a card is certainly a significant downside, but the flexibility is definitely worth paying a bit extra for.
  • Nemata, Primeval Warden is mildly interesting as a piece of grave hate. I would usually favor Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet or another option for this effect though.
  • Contaminated Aquifer, Haunted Mire, and Tangled Islet are all worth calling out as additional budget fixing options that can be fetched off Nature's Lore / Skyshroud Claim. This deck doesn't have any particular 'land type matters' cards that I can think of, but I could see including them if you have something like Cabal Coffers or Dread Presence.
Overall, I think Tear Asunder and Ertai Resurrected are the cards I would be most interested in testing out for this deck. I don't think either of them are must-haves, but I do appreciate their versatility. Tear Asunder in particular seems like a nice upgrade over Putrefy. Braids could also be fun to test out, although I'm not sure I have enough land recursion to want to sacrifice them that aggressively.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Two updates here. Firstly, I'm tweaking my manabase a little (-2 Forest, +Riveteers Overlook, +Brokers Hideout) to test out the New Capenna ETB fetches - I've been wanting to improve my support for Life from the Loam and my other land recursion, which have historically felt a little underpowered due to me not running a full fetchland manabase. Hopefully this should help a bit. I'm probably going to have another, more substantial update sometime in the near future, but I want to do a bit of additional testing first.

Secondly, I've been brewing an ultra-budget, no banlist build. Obviously not legal to play in normal EDH, but I'm also taking it as an opportunity to test out a few cards / packages in it that I haven't had the chance to play with yet. (also, NeoformSylvan Primordial is too sweet to not run)
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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Unfinity spoilers have begun, which means it is time to review the 40k precons! Yeah, they really didn't have any break in spoiler season this time.
  • The War in Heaven is an interesting value card - draw some cards, fill the graveyard, then do some reanimation. Nothing particularly splashy (and I don't think this deck has enough creatures for the third chapter to be consistently good), but it's a lot of value.
  • Nurgle's Conscription is an interesting piece of interaction - steal a creature, then provide some grave hate. Five mana is a bit clunky, but at least it's an instant.
  • Primaris Eliminator is mildly interesting as a Nekrataal variant - killing a bunch of tokens or other small creatures can certainly be relevant.
  • Blight Grenade is probably the superior option though, since you get to both kill a thing and wipe the board of small things. No body though.
  • Necron Deathmark is yet another Nekrataal variant, this time with flash and mill.
  • Callidus Assassin is another Nekrataal. Six mana, but you get flash and a clone.
  • Tomb Fortress looks somewhat inferior to the other options we have for reanimation-on-a-land, but it is a bit cheaper to activate. Exiling itself it a bummer though.
  • Nexos is more of a Zaxara, the Exemplary card, but I will note its existence.
  • Sporocyst amuses me, and is a nice way to turn a bunch of mana into even more mana. Boundless Realms is obviously better in the lategame, but the fact that you can play it on 3 or 5 give it some nice flexibility.
Overall, nothing in the precons I would call an autoinclude, but there are some interesting options. Callidus Assassin and Sporocyst are probably the two that interest me the most.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

A brief followup for Unfinity to note the existence of Pair o' Dice Lost, which I'm pretty optimistic about. It's a bit difficult to evaluate due to the randomness and the fact that it is graveyard-dependent - if you have a bunch of cheap spells in the graveyard and roll high, it could be recurring 4+ cards... but if you roll low, you may not be able to recur anything useful at all. Obviously, it goes up in value a bit if you have a low curve and can recur 1 or 2-mana spells. That said, the specific reason I'm optimistic about it is that it doesn't specify 'nonland', which means you use it to recur all the lands in your graveyard, which has some interesting implications if you have Exploration or some other source of extra land drops. Obviously not as direct as Splendid Reclamation or World Shaper, but it is a nice bit of redundancy.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Brothers War spoilers out, so time to evaluate. The set has a bunch of artifact synergies, which are obviously a miss for this deck... but powerstones are actually sort of okay because their mana can be dumped into Tasigur activations. Beyond that, there are some interesting options for land synergies, particularly in the supplemental cards.

Black
  • Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor is an interesting take on Edric, Spymaster of Trest. This deck doesn't have enough creatures to take advantage of the card draw ability (although opponents attacking each other instead of us is sort of nice), but the second ability is lets you Villainous Wealth someone for X = cards in hand. I've been sort of down on Villainous Wealth recently - my heuristic is that it needs X=30 or so to actually win - but the math in terms of efficiency changes a bit if you're spending cards instead of mana. This deck can definitely put more cards in hand than it can feasibly spend mana on (particularly if you're activating Tasigur a bunch), so turning those into your opponent's cards for no additional mana cost after the initial investment is certainly interesting.
  • Hostile Negotiation isn't quite Fact or Fiction, but it's closer than you may think. I'd evaluate it roughly as 'draw 3, mill 3', which is pretty solid.
  • Gix's Command is a flexible piece of interaction. I'd generally lean towards an actual board wipe, but commands and other modal cards tend to overperform.
  • Gnawing Vermin probably isn't quite for this deck, but I will call it as a nice option for self-mill decks.
  • Overwhelming Remorse is another nice option for self-mill decks. I don't think this deck quite has enough creatures to get the full discount, but there are definitely some decks out there that can run it as a black Swords to Plowshares.
Green
  • Awaken the Woods is... interesting. It's a very powerful ramp tool and landfall enabler, but the tokens are also a bit soft to board wipes, so I'm not entirely sold on it over, say, Boundless Realms. Still, a very powerful option if you get to untap with the tokens - at the very least, they're a bunch of chump blockers.
  • Titania, Voice of Gaea looks quite solid. I'm not that excited just by the front side (although the incremental lifegain and reach are both relevant), but flipping to give a giant beater and a Splendid Reclamation is quite nice.
  • Titania's Command is a powerful option if you're running strong utility lands. It does compete with Hour of Promise, but the optional grave hate / tokens are a nice perk that may be worth the extra mana.
Gold, Artifacts and Lands
  • Deathbloom Ritualist works better in creature-heavy decks, but it can produce a lot of mana when properly supported.
  • Cityscape Leveler is a powerful creature to ramp into. It competes with Eldrazi like Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, but the unearth ability adds some nice utility.
  • Portal to Phyrexia is another silly card to ramp into.
  • Perennial Behemoth is a little expensive, but it's an option if you want another Ramunap Excavator effect.
  • Haywire Mite is a nice piece of cheap interaction. Green doesn't actually have that many artifact / enchantment exile effects, so not bad to have another option.
  • Hall of Tagsin is mildly interesting as a utility land. The powerstones aren't amazing, but banking mana for future Tasigur / etc activations isn't bad.
  • Argoth, Sanctum of Nature is an interesting utility land. Sorcery speed activation is a bit clunky, and it will usually enter tapped, but melding into big Titania is a relevant upside (and massive style points).
  • Demolition Field looks excellent, both in this deck and elsewhere. I've been wanting to run a Strip Mine effect for a while, but I've been a bit hesitant to do so because this deck really wants to keep as much mana as possible. The fact that Demolition Field replaces itself (and doesn't ramp opponents, unlike Field of Ruin) is a big plus in my book.
Commander / Set Booster cards Overall, lots of interesting options despite this deck's lack of artifact synergies. The various Titanias excite me the most (although how good they actually are is a bit hard to evaluate), and Demolition Field seems like a strong inclusion. If you have a higher budget, there are also some solid options for supporting utility land strategies.

edit: from the Jumpstart cards, I'll note that Zask, Skittering Swarmlord exists if you're looking for another Ramunap Excavator effect. There aren't that many insects I would consider worth running, but I suppose Hornet Queen and Grist, the Hunger Tide exist.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Had a game tonight where I resolved Early Harvest three times with a Mana Reflection out. Good times. It's not quite Turnabout + High Tide, but it certainly does a solid impression.

Anyway, swapping around some stuff, mostly in the interest of testing new cards.
Adds Cuts
  • Burgeoning - a card I've been underwhelmed by recently - this deck doesn't have that many large draw spells or other ways to put extra lands into hand (note that Tasigur only returns nonlands). As a result, while it is a powerful card in the early game, it falls off in value pretty quickly. Exploration at least works with Ramunap Excavator effects. I suppose the addition of Nylea's Intervention and stuff like Pair o' Dice Lost means it goes up in value a bit, but I'm not quite willing to run it just for 2-3 synergistic cards.
  • Witherbloom Command - it's fine, and definitely makes sense in faster metas, but it hasn't particularly excited me.
  • Putrefy
  • Hostage Taker - a little awkward with board wipes. It does enable some shenanigans (like hitting your own Eternal Witness to reset it), but killing all the artifacts / creatures directly is usually easier.
  • Whiptongue Hydra - this card has massively overperformed due to the presence of various angel / dragon tribal decks, but the addition of Ulvenwald Hydra and Kura means I have a little more anti-air tech.
  • Lochmere Serpent - it's been okay, and sacrificing lands to kill planeswalkers has occasionally been relevant, but I don't think I've ever used its graveyard ability.
  • Brokers Hideout - I've been happy with Riveteers Overlook, but the fact that it can't get both green and black means it hasn't justified its tapped fixing slot.
  • Port of Karfell - I have yet to activate it, plus this deck doesn't have that many creatures to recur.
  • Blighted Woodland - I sort of like it, but it's a little too expensive to justify activating more than once.
edit: Villainous WealthMultani, Yavimaya's Avatar. I'm finally pulling the trigger on cutting Villainous Wealth, after the last game in which I cast it for X=5... and hit five lands. The card has unfortunately disappointed me every time I've cast it in recent memory - it simply scales worse than the other X spells in the deck. My general heuristic is that Death Cloud wins with X=7 and Genesis Wave wins at 21 (blackjack!), but Villainous Wealth usually needs 30+, which is... not a realistic amount to pay until the extreme lategame, at which point just activating Tasigur 7+ times is probably good enough anyway.

On the flip side, I sort of want another recursive spell, and Multani fits. Not entirely convinced it will perform better than Lochmere Serpent, but it has a bigger body and can be recurred at instant speed.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

ONE spoilers out, so time to review stuff. BG has a toxic / poison theme in the set, which doesn't really mesh with what this deck is doing, but there are still some individually powerful cards worth consideration. I will note the the set has a lot of solid proliferate effects, which has implications if you're running a lot of planeswalkers. I could definitely see a superfriends (supervillains?) build of Tasigur, leaning into Pernicious Deed, Death Cloud, and other board wipes to keep them around. In that build, all the proliferate stuff goes way up in value.

Black
  • Black Sun's Twilight is a fine piece of removal // instant-speed reanimation.
  • Sheoldred's Edict is a flexible piece of removal, and one of the better edicts available. It's not quite targeted, but it does dodge the common edict problem of hitting an expendable token.
  • Vraska, Betrayal's Sting is a fine value 'walker. Roughly comparable to Ob Nixilis Reignited, but she can use her (-2) twice in a row and her (0) has synergies with other planeswalkers if you have them.
Green
  • Armored Scrapgorger is a nice combination of mana dork and grave hate. It's not quite as flexible as Scavenging Ooze, but I like the extra utility.
  • Cankerbloom is a reasonable Reclamation Sage / Naturalize variant.
  • Conduit of Worlds makes me reconsider my 'no artifacts' restriction. Extra Crucible of Worlds effects are always appreciated, but the ability to recast something from the graveyard every turn sends it over the top. I suppose I've played Muldrotha, the Gravetide in the past and found it to be a bit clunky, but four mana is much more affordable (and I've added more fetchlands to the deck since then).
  • Green Sun's Twilight is fine, but it depends somewhat on how many creatures you're playing in your deck and how expensive they are - if you can cast it for X=5 and hit a fatty plus a land, great. If you miss, it looks pretty bad. Overall, a bit weaker than Green Sun's Zenith, but I suppose it isn't restricted to green creatures either.
  • Nissa, Ascended Animist is a terrifying topend walker - pumping out a 4/6/8-power token every turn can represent a massive board presence, and downticking for Naturalize isn't bad either. The ultimate is a bit less relevant (since this deck doesn't go that wide), but the fact that she can ultimate immediately off seven mana can represent a lot of burst damage, particularly if you're running lots of forests (or Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth).
Gold + Colorless
  • Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres isn't that exciting in most normal builds, but double-proliferate (+card draw) makes it quite nice in superfriends builds.
  • Glissa Sunslayer is a very efficient creature - first strike + deathtouch make her a pain to attack into, and she has multiple nice triggers if you choose to get aggressive. Lots of good stuff.
  • Argentum Masticore gives a free Maelstrom Pulse every turn, which is pretty sweet. This deck has many expensive cards to feed it.
  • Mirran Safehouse is interesting - as a baseline, it's a slightly conditional Manalith, but it goes up in value if you have interesting utility lands to copy.
  • Monument to Perfection is mildly interesting - I think Thaumatic Compass // Spires of Orazca is better in control decks, but could be worth consideration if their are spheres or loci you want to fetch.
  • The Dross Pits, The Hunter Maze, and The Surgical Bay are all fine utility lands that can cantrip for value if you have enough mana (or, more likely, you have a land recursion engine going).
Overall, I would say that Conduit of Worlds looks like the single strongest inclusion for this deck. Glissa also looks like a lot of fun, while Nissa is a scary topend threat. Alternatively, one could lean into the proliferate / superfriends theme with cards like Ezuri and Vraska. I'd probably run Carth the Lion over Tasigur if I wanted to go that route, but planeswalkers are definitely a reasonable direction for this deck to go.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Two minor swaps: As previously mentioned, I wanted to try out Venture Forth before cutting it. I've come to the conclusion that this deck can't keep an opening hand without at least one piece of early ramp, and Venture Forth felt too slow even when I suspended it on turn 2. It also felt a bit awkward when it flipped into a tapped land, since it meant I was missing out on its ability to put the land in untapped.

I'm cutting Traverse for similar reasons, since it isn't technically ramp. I also don't think this deck is particularly well suited to turning on delirium. I've been impressed by Tireless Provisioner elsewhere, so giving it a shot (although I do have some concern that I don't have enough fetchlands in this deck to let it really shine).

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Post by Mookie » 11 months ago

New set! March of the Machine brings a lot of interesting new cards. The biggest new thing in the set is definitely all the Battles, which are... interesting in the context of this deck. Historically, I've been low on Monarch and other combat-focused mechanics for this deck, since it tends to be light on creatures (and particularly light on evasive creatures). It is possible to run battles alongside evasive beaters like Lochmere Serpent, but that isn't a thing this deck is set up to do. Still, could be interesting. I will note that Vampire Hexmage is a card that exists (and a Dark Depths + Thespian's Stage package is not a bad idea for this deck).

Anyway, as for new cards...

Black

  • Sheoldred is a sweet value card and a great stabilization tool - it kills your opponents' stuff, then kills more stuff, shreds apart some hands, and eventually serves as a win condition. Eight cards in graveyard to flip can be challenging in the early game, but shouldn't be too difficult to pull off in the long game.
  • Archpriest of Shadows is cool. It's better in decks that have cheap aggressive creatures, since the goal is definitely to use the backup ability to reanimate a thing eventually, but a 5/5 deathtouch isn't a bad fail case.
  • Breach the Multiverse is a cool take on Sepulchral Primordial - I've noticed that opponents often lack good creatures to steal, and milling 10 before reanimating makes it much more likely to get something good.
  • Invasion of Fiora is a bit clunky as a board wipe, but can be very strong - give it to an opponent with no legends, wipe the board of nonlegendary creatures, then attack it with Tasigur and flip it immediately. Again, it's better in decks with evasive creatures (and missing opposing commanders can be awkward), but seems reasonable.
  • Unseal the Necropolis is mildly interesting as a Death Denied variant that can fill the graveyard.
From the commander precons:
  • Blight Titan is a compleated Grave Titan. It's not quite as good at stabilizing (since you need to pay extra to transform the tokens), but the tokens can be scary threats in the lategame.
  • Infernal Sovereign is a strong draw engine, particularly if you have many ways to play extra lands.

Green

  • Vorinclex is an big body that brings along a few lands. Reach makes it much better on defense, while trample lets it pressure battles or planeswalkers. I think the flip is a bit clunky - eight mana is a lot, and this deck is too light on creatures to make the first chapter be consistently worth it. Still, could be good in a more creature-heavy build.
  • Invasion of Shandalar recurs three (permanent) cards, then lets you cheat stuff out if you can flip it. Seems okay if you're looking for another recursion effect, although the permanent-only restriction does limit it significantly.
  • Wrenn and Realmbreaker has a very strong emblem, but is otherwise not particularly exciting.
  • Glistening Dawn can represent two massive beaters.
  • Deeproot Wayfinder is sort of fun as a cheap ramp engine, but a lack of evasion makes it look pretty inconsistent.
  • Invasion of Ikoria is an alright variant on Finale of Devastation. I think Finale is a bit better (since its pump effect lets it serve as a win condition), but the flip side is a cool beater if you can flip it.
  • Doomskar Warrior is an alright backup card that can generate some value.
  • Invasion of Zendikar is a fine Explosive Vegetation variant, but I think it's generally outclassed by other ramp options unless you can flip it consistently.
  • Portent Tracker is a bit weaker than Voyaging Satyr and other land untappers in a vacuum, but could be interesting with battles.
From the commander precons:

Gold & Colorless

  • Zimone and Dina lets you cash in creatures to Explore. This deck isn't really set up to generate expendable creatures (and also doesn't draw many cards to trigger the first ability), but seems like a fun card in other decks.
  • Glissa, Herald of Predation is alright - spend a few turns generating incubator tokens, then flip them for free. Probably needs a more dedicated deck though, since she seems slow in a vacuum.
  • Hidetsugu and Kairi can cheat out some big spells, but also needs support - either topdeck manipulation or a sac outlet.
  • Yargle and Multani is amazing.
  • Inga and Esika is alright, but needs a more creature-centric deck.
  • Halo Forager does a decent Snapcaster Mage impression - no flash, but you can hit something from an opponent's graveyard. Could be interesting.
  • Invasion of Amonkhet is an alright value card.
  • Realmbreaker, the Invasion Tree is a very durdley ramp engine - two mana to steal a land every turn can be quite sweet, although it is a bit inconsistent.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I like MOM as a set, but it's a bit of a miss for this deck - the only cards I'm particularly excited for this deck are Sheoldred and maybe Invasion of Fiora, plus possibly Realmbreaker, the Invasion Tree (if not for my no-artifact restriction). That said, there are a lot of interesting options if you enjoy combat or are running a more aggressive build - backup and battles are two mechanics that strongly encourage committing creatures to the board and beating down with them.

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Post by Mookie » 11 months ago

Aftermath spoilers are out. It's a small set, so not many cards to go through.

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Post by Mookie » 9 months ago

Lord of the Rings spoilers out, so time to evaluate stuff.

Black

  • Orcish Bowmasters is a powerful hate card - like Hullbreacher, if it just killed people instead of making them miserable. At the very least, it's a potent way to control the board and deal with small creatures, and it has some political implications.
  • Witch-King of Angmar is an interesting rattlesnake, and a hard-to-kill evasive body. Could be worth consideration if you're looking to run Dread or No Mercy.

Green

  • Entish Restoration is an excellent ramp spell - with Tasigur out, you get +2 lands, which is quite nice. They enter tapped, so it doesn't quite directly outclass Harrow, but otherwise a very nice option.
  • Last March of the Ents is quite silly. This deck isn't that creature-heavy, but it can be an absurd amount of value if you have Ulvenwald Hydra or Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar out.
  • Radagast the Brown is a nice value engine for non-tribal creature decks.
  • The Ring Goes South can be a nice ramp spell - you usually won't be playing it on turn 4, but it can get multiple nonbasics if you have Tasigur and another creature out. A bit inconsistent though.
  • Travel Through Caradhras is a bit expensive, but it's a nice value card. Your opponents are unlikely to vote the way you want, but both lands and recursion are usually useful for this deck. It is a bit soft to grave hate though.

Gold, Colorless, and Lands

  • Rise of the Witch King is a bit weak as an edict effect, but interesting as a recursion effect - sacrifice a random creature to recur something big (or just a land) while disrupting your opponents? Seems reasonable.
  • Sauron's Ransom is a three mana Fact or Fiction. You don't have quite as much control over it (due to the hidden information), but that isn't as much of an issue when you have lots of recursion.
  • Shelob, Child of Ungoliant is hilarious and sort of makes me want to retool this deck into spider tribal. This deck originally had Sisters of Stone Death as the commander, and I could see myself swapping to Shelob if I wanted to go back to the combat / Lure theme.
  • Sméagol, Helpful Guide is another fun build-around legend that doesn't quite fit in this deck. Seems good in aristocrats decks like Baba Lysaga, Night Witch though.
  • The One Ring and Palantír of Orthanc are powerful artifact draw engines.
  • Barad-dûr is a bit conditional (and expensive) to activate, but it is a powerful mana sink in the lategame.
  • Shire Terrace is a reasonable budget fetchland that works well with Ramunap Excavator and friends. I prefer it to Ash Barrens, since it's easier to recur multiple times.
  • Grima, Saruman's Footman is a random but interesting value engine. I've been underwhelmed by Chaos Wand in the past though.
  • Sail into the West is interesting - probably a miss for this deck, but both recursion and card draw (at instant speed) are relevant abilities.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I think Entish Restoration is the one snap-include for this deck, but I expect Orcish Bowmasters to also see a ton of play (both in decks like this and elsewhere). Travel Through Caradhras and Sauron's Ransom could also be worth consideration, as could Shire Terrace in budget decks.

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Post by Mookie » 7 months ago

Swapping around a few cards, mostly direct upgrades or sidegrades.
  • Death CloudMassacre Girl - I love Death Cloud. The other people in my meta do not. I do think it's an incredibly powerful build-around (my win rate when resolving it for 7+ is 100%, with a surprisingly large sample size)... but I've also 'done the thing' enough times. Meanwhile, I apparently intended to add Massacre Girl to the deck several years ago, but added my only copy to my Kess deck instead and never picked up a second one. She's overperformed in Kess, so adding her in here too.
  • Mythos of BrokkosInvasion of Shandalar // Leyline Surge - Mythos's tutor effect is sort of meh in this deck, since it isn't really designed to toolbox. On the flip side, flipping Invasion with Tasigur and getting a bunch of free tempo from Leyline Surge seems sweet. I'd like to test out Invasion of Fiora // Marchesa, Resolute Monarch in this deck too, but I haven't found space for it yet.
  • Maelstrom PulseTear Asunder - mostly a straight upgrade, since instant speed exile > sorcery speed destroy. That said, the Maelstrom Pulse's ability to wipe out tokens has come up a few times.
  • Nylea's InterventionOpen the Way - testing. The main targets for Intervention are stuff like Reliquary Tower and Alchemist's Refuge, which are... significantly weaker than premium targets like Cabal Coffers / Gaea's Cradle. It may return if I find myself wanting some more anti-flyer tech (or if I upgrade my manabase).
  • Kura, the Boundless SkyJaheira's Respite - testing. Again, I think my utility lands are a bit underpowered, and I feel like my lack of sac outlets means I'm underutilizing Kura in general. I'm not sure how good Jaheira's Respite is, but seems like it could be fun. Otherwise, I may bring back Kura if I want more anti-flyer tech (or if I upgrade my manabase).

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Post by Mookie » 7 months ago

Wilds of Eldraine set review time! The main themes in the set for this deck's colors are food, faeries, and bargains (sacrificing artifacts / enchantments / tokens), none of which really make sense for this deck. Still, there are a few new cards worth noting.

Black

  • Virtue of Persistence is a reasonable piece of soft removal that can double as a win condition in the lategame. Seems good from a quadrant theory perspective.
  • Cruel Somnophage // Can't Wake Up is a reasonable beater that can fill the graveyard.
  • Rankle's Prank is a bit clunky as a board wipe, but okay if you're also interested in some hand disruption.

Green

  • Blossoming Tortoise looks like an interesting sidegrade to World Shaper - you trade in mass recursion on death for more immediate incremental value, which is probably a net plus overall. It also reduces the cost to activate land abilities and pumps up land creatures, which is niche but occasionally useful.
  • Virtue of Strength is a mana tripler. It does require a high basic count for full value, unlike Nyxbloom Ancient, but that's still a lot of mana. It can also recur a fetchland or other milled creature in the early / midgame, which is nice.
  • Bramble Familiar is mildly interesting as a mana dork that can provide some lategame value, but I don't think the adventure will hit something useful with high enough consistency.
  • Mosswood Dreadknight is mildly interesting as a recursive body, but that's not really what this deck is about.
  • Up the Beanstalk is mildly interesting as a draw engine if your curve is high enough.
  • Stormkeld Vanguard // Bear Down is an interesting take on Reclamation Sage, trading in the early body for something more respectable in the lategame. You don't get the removal if you reanimate it though, which can be relevant.
  • Loamcrafter Faun is somewhat interesting interesting alongside Life from the Loam, but I think it's usually a miss - this deck values its land drops pretty highly, and it isn't that great at putting extra lands into hand without an active Loam.

Gold & Colorless

  • Talion, the Kindly Lord is an interesting draw engine, although a bit weak as a punisher effect.
  • The Goose Mother is an evasive beater that can double as a slow draw engine or lifegain. I think Hydroid Krasis is generally better though.
  • Likeness Looter is an interesting looter for reanimation-focused decks.
  • Troyan, Gutsy Explorer is mildly interesting as a mana dork that can provide some extra card filtering. That said, I don't think this deck has a high enough density of things to spend the mana on.
  • Restless Cottage and Restless Vinestalk are both reasonable manlands, although they're a bit expensive to activate. I think Hissing Quagmire is a bit better than Restless Cottage due to deathtouch's defensive attributes, but Vinestalk looks like an upgrade over Lumbering Falls if you're running it.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I think the set is a bit of a miss for this deck - its themes don't really mesh with the current build of the deck. That said, Blossoming Tortoise does look like a nice inclusion, and I could also see the Virtues being fun to test out.

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Post by Mookie » 5 months ago

Spoilers for the Doctor Who set are out, and while I don't plan to pick up any of the decks myself, I'll call out some highlights for those that are interested in them.
  • Doomsday Confluence is a bit inefficient as a kill spell compared to Exsanguinate and friends, but it is flexible - wipe the board, shred your opponents' hands, or generate your own army.
  • Duggan, Private Detective is an alright value engine.
  • The Foretold Soldier is mildly interesting as a recursive (albeit slow) removal spell. If one of your opponents lacks a way to deal with it and can't block a 6/6, it could give them quite a headache.
  • Death in Heaven is an alright piece of grave hate // token producer.
  • Blink is another interesting piece of removal. Tuck two creatures, plus make two blockers.
  • Great Intelligence's Plan is an alright draw spell, although the fact that it is a punisher effect means you'll rarely get full value from it. The fact that the cards you draw are hidden information does help though, and getting a free spell can be a nice tempo boost.
  • Displaced Dinosaurs are a very silly finisher to grab off Neoform. This deck doesn't have many historic permanents in it, but could be interesting alongside something like The Goose Mother to generate a bunch of artifact tokens.
I'll note that there are a number of nice reprints, such as Snuff Out and Carpet of Flowers.

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Post by Mookie » 4 months ago

New set, new stuff! Caverns of Ixalan looks to have a lot of interesting stuff in it. There's a heavy 'permanents in graveyard' theme in the set, which has some tension with this deck's relatively high percentage of instants and sorceries... but it's definitely easy to lean in and play more permanents. At the very least, Tasigur and fetchlands are great ways to trigger descend.

Black

  • Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal // Temple of the Dead is a sweet value creature - good body, disrupts opponents, occasionally makes tokens or draw cards. If it dies, you get a land. Nothing particularly synergistic with this deck, but reasonable in a vacuum.
  • Starving Revenant is a reasonable value creature - draw two cards or fill the graveyard, and it can eventually drain opponents.
  • Terror Tide is an alright board wipe. It's not great in the early game without some heavy support from self-mill though.
  • Bitter Triumph is an alright piece of removal, although I think there are better options in these colors.

Green

Gold and Lands

  • The Ancient One is a cheap and massive beater... if you can fill your graveyard for it. Using the second ability as a mill engine is also somewhat interesting.
  • The Mycotyrant is an interesting token producer - again, seems good if you can fill your graveyard.
  • Deepfathom Echo is interesting. I'm not sure what I would want to copy, but free explore triggers seems nice.
  • Wail of the Forgotten is underwhelming if you only get one mode, but a nice pile of value if you have enough stuff in your graveyard.
  • Squirming Emergence is a bit high-variance, but an efficient way to potentially recur something expensive in the lategame. There aren't that many ways to reanimate Mana Reflection or other enchantments.
  • Nicanzil, Current Conductor is a build-around if you have lots of explore.
  • Sunken Citadel is interesting - it's less synergistic than Evolving Wilds or another fetchland, but it does tap for two mana if you have interesting land abilities to activate.
  • Echoing Deeps is interesting as a way to pseudo-recur milled lands.
  • Pit of Offerings is weak grave hate and weak fixing, but can be good occasionally.
  • Volatile Fault is generally a downgrade from Field of Ruin, but it is cheaper to activate.
  • Restless Reef looks like a solid manland - deathtouch and self-mill are both relevant upsides. Not quite as good as Creeping Tar Pit at sniping planeswalkers though, and more expensive to activate as a blocker than Hissing Quagmire.
  • Hidden Cataract, Hidden Necropolis, and Hidden Nursery are all nice lands to sac or recur for value in the lategame.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I think the set is a bit of a miss for this deck - descend initially seemed pretty promising, but I'm not sure if there are any cards I would actually want to play. That said, I do like Spelunking a lot, and I could see Ojer Kaslem, Deepest Growth // Temple of Cultivation or Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal // Temple of the Dead going in the deck for value. There are also some other interesting cards, like Squirming Emergence and Hulking Raptor.

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Post by Mookie » 2 months ago

Swapping around a few cards, mostly in the interest of testing some new stuff.

Adds

Cuts

Thoughts

  • With the presence of Genesis Wave and the recent addition of Invasion of Shandalar // Leyline Surge, I've felt like I want a few more permanents in the deck.
  • I think I have been activating Tasigur less recently, which means fewer lands in my graveyard for Life from the Loam and Splendid Reclamation. I also don't have that many lands that end up in my graveyard naturally, which makes them a bit weaker. Would obviously be better if I were playing a full fetchland suite and Glacial Chasm / Strip Mine / etc. (in which case I would probably also be keeping Pir's Whim and running more land tutors). I still have several ways to recur lands from my graveyard (both individually and en masse), so we'll see how things feel and whether I want more recursion.
  • Jaheira's Respite → Obscuring Haze is mostly a strict improvement, IMO. The latter and Entish Restoration are both slight nudges for me to play Tasigur earlier, which is probably a good thing.
  • I was debating between Invasion of Fiora and Blood Money, which I would like to test. I think adding two more board wipes is a bit too much (and I'm quite happy with the ones I'm currently running), but may try to squeeze in the latter at some point. Invasion got the nod due to my previously-mentioned bias towards more permanents. I thought about Ezuri's Predation also, but killing things bigger than a 4/4 (such as large flyers) is pretty important to me.
  • The extra manlands are a nod to the two battles I'm running, plus I'd like a way to steal monarch occasionally (which this deck is otherwise somewhat poor at doing).

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Post by Mookie » 2 months ago

Murders at Karlov Manor spoilers are almost done, so time to review! This set has a number of interesting new options. The Golgari cards in particular have a heavy graveyard theme headlined by the 'collect evidence' mechanic. It powers up cards if you're willing to exile expensive stuff from your graveyard, which is definitely something this deck is capable of doing.

Black

  • Outrageous Robbery is somewhat interesting as an instant-speed draw X spell in mono-black. It doesn't even cost life, unlike Skeletal Scrying / Damnable Pact and most other black options. That said, random cards from opponents' decks tend to mesh poorly with this deck's gameplan (and if you really want this effect, you can just run blue draw anyway).
  • Deadly Cover-Up is a five mana unconditional board wipe. I don't have much else to add to that, other than the fact that the only other one black has at under six mana is Damnation. I'm not sure if I like it over my current options, but seems good if you're looking for another option.
  • Soul Enervation isn't great for my own build, but does seem interesting for decks that run more creature recursion. There are lots of ways to recur creatures repeatedly, from Tortured Existence to more exotic loops.
  • Persuasive Interrogators is an interesting alternate win condition if you somehow have a bunch of clues (probably from Tireless Tracker).
  • Long Goodbye is mildly interesting in more competitive environments due to the 'can't be countered' clause. Outclassed by Abrupt Decay though.
  • Charnel Serenade is an interesting long-term value card. I've found Venture Forth too slow in the past though.

Green

  • Undergrowth Recon is a very strong card when supported. With one fetchland, you can recur it every other turn, and two mean you ramp every turn. You do need to wait two turn cycles before you get your first mana, but it adds up over time. I think it's too slow if you're only running a few fetchlands and hope to draw them naturally - I would stick to Cultivate and other ramp. If you're running a full suite of fetchlands or other self-mill (or even better, Strip Mine / Glacial Chasm / other utility lands), then it goes way up in value.
  • Archdruid's Charm is another card whose power level is dependent on your budget - the better your land suite, the better it will be. Instant-speed Bojuka Bog or Glacial Chasm seems really nice - if you're running Crop Rotation to grab them (or other lands), this seems like an easy addition. It also has a ton of other modes! Exiling a problem artifact / enchantment, tutoring a creature, a bit of spot removal... very flexible, not too expensive to cast, and all the modes are good. Triple green can be awkward though.
  • Case of the Locked Hothouse looks like an upgraded Oracle of Mul Daya - you don't reveal what you draw, it doesn't die as easily, and you can also get creatures and enchantments off the top, which significantly increases the hit rate. You do need to reach 7+ lands though.
  • Analyze the Pollen reminds me of Traverse the Ulvenwald - instead of needing specific card types in the graveyard, you just need expensive stuff. Seems more consistent to turn on in the mid/lategame.
  • Aftermath Analyst is a bit expensive, but it's another piece of redundancy for Splendid Reclamation and World Shaper. The more fetches and self-mill you have, the better it will be.
  • Chalk Outline in another option for decks with lots of creature recursion... or lots of collect evidence. Not something for this deck, but there are definitely Golgari decks out there that want it.
  • They Went This Way is a Cultivate variant if you squint - ramps, plus provides some card advantage.
  • Slime Against Humanity... exists. Could be a silly meme build - mill a bunch of them, delve them away with Tasigur, then use activations to make more slime.
  • Pick Your Poison is a cheap and flexible piece of interaction. Sacrifice effects can be a bit awkward if your opponents have multiple things, but this looks very efficient.
  • On the Trail is a bit awkward with Tasigur (since he doesn't draw cards), but it is another cheap Exploration for some decks.
  • Innocuous Researcher is another copy of Wilderness Reclamation. It doesn't let you cast spells (which is a hefty restriction), but pumping mana into Tasigur activations is still good.

Gold and Lands

  • Urgent Necropsy is hard to evaluate. Worst-case scenario, an opponent has a Rest in Peace out and you can't ever cast it. Best-case scenario, you get a two mana discount on an instant-speed Casualties of War, at the cost of a chunk of your graveyard. I think the variance makes it a miss, but could be good if you have enough self-mill.
  • Izoni, Center of the Web does a decent Grave Titan impression combined with a sac outlet for extra value. Not really for this deck, but could be fun.
  • Kellan, Inquisitive Prodigy looks solid - Tail the Suspect is slower than Growth Spiral or Explore, but Kellan himself is a reasonable creature.
  • Dopplegang - friendship ended with Villainous Wealth. Now Dopplegang is my favorite xgu finisher. Slightly weaker than Rite of Replication at 5 or 8 mana, but you can hit any permanent, not just creatures. Once you get into bigger numbers, it becomes pretty nutty... and potentially mana-positive, if you copy lands. Looping it with Eternal Witness is a very real win condition.
  • Assassin's Trophy is a nice reprint, and a flexible removal spell.
  • Insidious Roots is another option for the collect evidence deck.
  • Repulsive Mutation is a conditional counterspell, but it can also grow Tasigur (or any other creature) into a big threat.
  • Flotsam // Jetsam looks very strong for an uncommon, and a lot of fun. I've been impressed by Breach the Multiverse in another deck, and this trades in the extra mill and the ability to grab something from your graveyard for the ability to hit any card type instead of just creatures. That adds a lot of flexibility, and Flotsam isn't a bad fail case in the early game either.
  • Undercity Sewers, Underground Mortuary, Hedge Maze - fetchable lands that also surveil. These seem very strong - at the bare minimum, they let you filter with Nature's Lore and other ramp spells that can fetch nonbasics, and with fetchlands. They also make it easier to enable Cabal Coffers and other cards that care about land types. Plus, they fill the graveyard! Lots of good stuff. I don't know if they go in optimized builds, but I do like them over Fetid Pools and other cycling lands... especially since we somehow still lack the enemy-colored ones.
  • Escape Tunnel is a strictly better Evolving Wilds / Terramorphic Expanse for budget builds.
  • Counterpoint is an expensive counterspell, but potentially a strong tempo play if you have something good to recur.
  • Amzu, Swarm's Hunger is another card for the collect evidence deck - and arguably its strongest commander.
  • Sludge Titan is a strong source of card advantage and self-mill. Seems like a good value engine.

Overall Thoughts

This set brings a lot of interesting options for this deck - not necessarily from the collect evidence cards, but from all the graveyard support cards surrounding them. Undergrowth Recon and Archdruid's Charm are both very strong for land-based strategies... assuming you have the land suite to support them. Case of the Locked Hothouse and Kellan, Inquisitive Prodigy look like nice value cards. Flotsam // Jetsam and Dopplegang look like strong win conditions. Plus the surveil lands all seem excellent.

Overall, lots of good stuff in the set for this deck - of all the sets in recent memory, MKM has introduced the most new cards I'm excited for by a significant margin.

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Post by Mookie » 1 month ago

Small update - I picked up a copy of Dopplegang from the prerelease, so testing it over Pair o' Dice Lost. I'm hoping to pick up the other land synergy cards at some point.

edit: played one game with Doppelgang. My opponents let me untap with 13 lands, a Greenwarden of Murasa, and a Mana Reflection. Shenanigans ensued.

Unfortunately, while it was fun once, I'm going to cut it for now and put it in the 'retired with honor' pile with Death Cloud. It's certainly true that this was the dream scenario, but I don't really want this deck to have a combo finish available to it. Definitely worth consideration in higher-powered metas though.

Swapping Splendid Reclamation back in its place. I'm also swapping in Escape Tunnel as another fetch over Hissing Quagmire, which I consider the weakest tapped land currently in the deck.

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Post by Dunadain » 1 month ago

I know that you're avoiding artifacts and enchantments to play around your own Bane of Progress. But Training Grounds puts Sol Ring to shame in a deck like this.


Edit, nvm, it's mono U
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Post by Mookie » 1 month ago

Dunadain wrote:
1 month ago
I know that you're avoiding artifacts and enchantments to play around your own Bane of Progress. But Training Grounds puts Sol Ring to shame in a deck like this.
I have two deckbuilding restrictions for my list: no artifacts and no monoblue cards, which means no Sol Ring and no Training Grounds, respectively. Otherwise, yes, it's a solid inclusion (especially since the reprint brought its price down). Biomancer's Familiar is an option I have considered though. It's more vulnerable to board wipes and other removal, but probably worth testing.

(edit: you edited your post while I was typing this)

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