mcflyguy

I thought of the same problem, but Duress/Ap for Brains would give you the best chance to avoid those pitfalls. To be fair this deck has many holes against things like aggro. Luckily Immortal Servitude cures the boardwipe ills.

Seems like a lot of funny to play. If only they bring back ripple...

Yeah, that would be funny.

I went back and forth with Sign in Blood. At this point I'll just stick with this and then adjust accordingly. Thanks for the suggestion.

Thanks and I have no idea how competitive this will be.

I am in the process of changing the main and side board to accommodate an all around game. The foundation will be the same, just an upgrade at the 4 and 5 cmc to keep blockers and sac-ables around.

The only thing I can agree with is the fact that Breaking is essentially the same cost and mill as Mind Sculpt. I've taken a look at Nephalia Drownyard, but if I was to put a 2 mill for 4 cmc card in this deck it would be the Dimir guild mage. I guess the 'direct' removal isn't here, however this is hardly devoid of removal, there are 13 instances of removal with an additional 5 in the SB that would be considered board wipes. The only spot removal I refuse to use is Murder, not going to add another 3 drop that does not deal with either Hexproof or Indestructible. Thanks for you input, I do wish mill had more instant cards, they would make Elite Arcanist boss.

I had to retool this deck to accommodate the lack of survivability, especially in the case of Exava. Her 4 cost kills any real threat to give things haste. I could see her being part of a mid range deck and allowing a Thragtusk to have haste or whatever.

In that case you could just swap Vraska for Garrurk, Primal Hunter for the added draw effect which would in theory provide all the elements scavenge would need.

There are much easier methods to get Vraska's assassins through, first thing that comes to mind is Gruul Charm, with that said a Rancor or Kessig Wolf Run would do the trick as well.

I would think of Falkenrath Aristocrat but there are too many 4 cost in the deck. It is either Aristocrat over Olivia or over Exava. Since Exava is a required piece in my eyes it comes down to Olivia and Olivia can certainly give herself haste should 6 mana be availible. The final blow to Aristocrat is how I'm not looking to sac things to win, assuming this plays out right both Aristocrat and Olivia play minor finishing roles with Olivia being able to do a little spot removal. No on Vexing Devil out of how useless it is to develop a board state with a great creature just to see him sac for 4. Love Varolz, but not in this setup, not enough sac engines to make him a multifaceted threat.

Sure, makes sense. This was something I threw together haphazardly when DM released. In reality I updated another decklist which ran quite well at FNM, but is to antiquated for today's decklists.

She would easliy be switched out in favor of those Sphinx's Rev in those drawn out protacted matches or even a mirror match which would allow me a huge card advantage in those situations. The other reason she exists is to escape any sac effects which appears to be the most to fear against SB removal.

You are right about Thalia. I can see your point on both Sigarda and Shinx's Rev, however I'm going to assume Sigarda is going to act as Bant's version of Thundermaw Hellkite. Once she hits the board it's practically over.

Craterhoof Behemoth and Grislebrand are the first that come to mind, then Thragtusk and Sylvan Primordial. I would probably say going Jund would provide better options like Sire of Insanity, Master of Cruelties, and Desecration Demon maybe.

Go with 4 Lotleth Troll and think about using 3-4 Veilborn Ghoul to allow for a synergized pitch cycle with Lotleth Troll. I would probably main board both Rot Farm Skeleton to keep your Deadbridge Chant going. Also consider using spells that will thin out your graveyard to your advantage with things like Militant Dryad, Cremate, and Vile Rebirth. With that being said, I would diversify your creatures with some heavier hitters, take your pick of any huge Green or Demon creatures, otherwise Deadbridge Chant won't have the desired effect of free creatures on the battlefield.

While Epic Experiment is nice, it really only deserves 2 slots, otherwise you'll stumble over another while casting another. I would consider either Nivix Cyclops or Fluxcharger over both Izzit Staticaster and Nivix Guildmage. Cluestones are garbage, you would be better off with think twice or Azorius Charm. Consider Syncopate over an other counterspell since G Mancer provides free mana for the X cost. Blast of Genius is not a very good card at all, would be better off mining for cards. Mystic Revival has no place in this deck, you do not discard cards enough for this to have an impact. Should you include more draw discard effects then I would say this would be worth a couple slots.

Just so everyone knows this deck was modified from it's original version to accomadate Dragon's Maze.

So...Heartless Summoning is probably the best card you could possibly use here. Since Master of Cruelties doesn't have to deal damage to reduce a player's life to 1 the universal -1/-1 won't matter, but it will allow you to cast him turn 3. Add in a couple of burn spells instead of Spell Rupture and Soul Ransom and you may have something that could work. Please dump Lobbying Crew, I understand why you put it in here, but really that card is poop.

Couple of things; one, put in a couple of basic lands if for anthing to just be able to put in a land without paying 2 or being force to play with buddy lands, but more importantly you won't be susceptable to Ghost Quarter. Two, Judges Familar is poop and serves only as a blocker and maybe a turn 2 counter, if your opponent is a moron, use this slot for something else more productive like searing spear or clone. Three, drop Shinx's Revelation to 2 which is really all you need. Mizzium Mortars is nice and all...in the sideboard, this should be your Searing Spear or Pillar of Flame. I'm a fan of Swift Justice, but consider Runechanter's Pike as a replacement with added benefits. Also, deck like this are running Aurelia, the Warleader/Gisela, Blade of Goldnight for obvious reasons, 2 minimum. Replace D-Sphere with Supreme Verdict. You also consider Melek, Izzet Paragon, allowing for double casts especially things like azorius/izzit/boros charms. Then either Augur of Bolas or Uncovered Clues.