Mercedes

Ha, you edited as I was typing. :) Isolation Cell is awesome, good choice.

... How are you playing the O-rings with no white mana sources?

If you cut those, the Hydras and the Primeval Titans, you could slide Torpor Orbs in there and slow down all those pesky combo decks. :) OR -- Acidic Slime! Does almost the same thing as Bramblecrush (minus the ability the destroy Planeswalkers) plus you get a 2/2 Deathtouch for 1 more mana!

Also, I would switch the Naturalizes to your sideboard (you're already running 8 destruction) and save them for when you need fast artifact removal. Replace it with either more ramp/land search (Dungroves get larger faster, you can get the removal spells off sooner and more often) or maybe run something like Ambush Viper for the Surprise!Death effect.

As it stands right now, this looks more like an aggro deck with some destruction slipped in. Not saying it's not GOOD, because it IS solid. But it could be crazy. :D

After reading through the comments again, I FINALLY noticed the dates on the early ones. Meaning, the tournament was, what, a month ago? How did that go?

Switch the Cancels for Dissipates once Innistrad comes out. :) What format this deck is supposed to be for? Modern? Casual/non-sanctioned? That's important to know since it's hard to determine your card pool otherwise. I assume not Legacy or Vintage, but...

You know Counterspell isn't legal in Modern or Extended, right? Knock those out and you'll hit Modern. Remove Guile (Lorwyn) and you'll hit Extended. :)

As you've pointed out, you're wavering between Illusions and Merfolk. Here's a thought: Illusions are more about blue aggro. They're cheap and fast, but they don't really do much of anything for control. Merfolk can be aggressive, but their strength is in fast draw/control. If you're going tribal focused, pick Merfolk. However, he best control isn't necessarily tribal focused at all.

Tower of Calamities really needs to go. It's not worth the one-of and you can be doing a lot more with eight mana than killing off a single creature. On the flip side, Chronologist is worth a second copy, IMO.

So, there's some stuff to think about. You really need to decide what direction you're going with this deck. If control, take out the Illusions and focus your early game on controlling the board until you can get the heavy hitters like Æther Figment, Frost Titan, or maybe one of the better Sphinxes out. If aggro, cut a good deal of the expensive control and focus on fast creatures and evasion (and anything with unblockable/hexproof/shroud).

An alternate win-con would definitely be required sideboard tech. While Glacial Chasm protects you from damage, you're pretty screwed if anyone stops you from casting your recursion spells or exiles your graveyard/hand/anything. I guess I would have to see it played, but it really doesn't seem as reliable as it could be. :/

I take it you haven't narrowed down your sideboard yet? 21 cards is a little high. :)

I don't see why you have Dread Statuary in there over, say, Celestial Colonnade. If it's just because the land doesn't come into play tapped, then you would be better served by adding another copy or two or the Crusaders or Heroes. Other than that blip, this looks solid. :)

Hey, any help would be cool. :D I technically haven't even playtested this, yet since Innistrad has distracted most of the local EDH players.

I... never even though of Marrow Shards. O.o Against RDW, that WOULD be crazy, wouldn't it? And thinking about it, what with RDW relying on hastey creatures, Due Respect would put a great big Yield sign there.

Thanks for the compliment, I'm actually having more fun altering the deck and cataloging results than I am playing it. XD It's been an interesting learning process, figuring out what works and what doesn't. Once Innistrad is in the databases here, I'm going to post the update as a new deck so that it avoids all the clutter on this one. I'm kind of amused by the fact that I have as many -- if not more -- posts on this deck as other people do.

Thanks for commenting!

I need some sort of counter in here and Mana Leak is currently the most reliable. Frost Breath replacing Sleep is pretty much a guarantee at this point, considering what's cycling out.

Hmm... As awesome as Solemn's are, they're a 4 drop and I need mana earlier. What about Traveler's Amulet?

Sunblast is a BOMB when it hits. So long as I play it right, it eats their board and I really can't get rid of that. Frosty is a bit more targeted, but he also seems to die more often than I'd like. Possible replacement slot there.

Everyone keeps telling me that Preordain should always be taken over Ponder. Does it really matter that much? I would think it's the ability to put the cards on the bottom of the deck.

With M11 and Zen going to the wayside, I'll be losing a few cards: Narcolepsy, Sleep, Tec Edge and Celestial Colonnade. The Edges will likely get replaced with Ghost Quarters and the Colonnade, sadly, with basic land. Innistrade isn't providing much for this deck directly, so I might have to fall back to further control. The only one of the four that REALLY hurts is losing Narco. That card fuels the Avengers with such a reassuring steadiness that it's going to be rough losing it. In the mean time, though, possible cards that will be heading in:

Frost Breath: likely replacing Sleep. Not quite as amazing, BUT cheaper and instant speed.
Feeling of Dread: Cheap, fast, reoccurring. Pretty much a guaranteed MUST.
-add a 4th Tumble Magnet
-Contagion Clasp for kill/Proliferate?
-Tezzeret's Gambit?

Why the new Lili? I'll admit, she's amazing, but I'm twitchy about forcing myself to discard. A risk worth taking?

Looking at it... Serum Visions probably ought to be replaced with Preordain. Or, actually... there's my slot for Arcane Denial.

I might try that. And yeah, I do know. :/ Curve is a bit temperamental and if I don't get the right starting hand, I tend to fumble around for a few turns. I still really enjoy the IDEA of the deck, but it still feels a bit unwieldy. Maybe there will be something magical in Innistrad to smooth it out? O.o

...Doubtful, but I can hope.

I drafted last Friday, so no record for there. The FNM before that, while I don't remember my exact match ups, I did finally decide on one thing: green decks eat me alive. I had zero defense against them and I couldn't keep up with the ramp. Even vampires aren't as bad as having Gaea's Vengeance hit the field turn 4-5. So! Into the SB go two SoFF. Might even trade Dispel for Flashfreeze since that'll be around longer.

One Dismember and one Leak? I would assume more Dismembers, at least, go into the SB, right?

Taking into account that the Vault counts Phyrexian mana casts as two instead of one (they need to fix that) your curve looks good and as long as you can keep the Puresteels protected.

I'm curious to see what Innistrad brings to the build. It might be worth SBing Torches against all the Vamp and Zombie decks that are likely to make an even stronger showing than they have now. O.o

A guy who goes to our local store placed 9th at the GPT, literally one point away from top 8. He was running Caw as well, so it makes me really curious as to the differences between his deck and yours.

Did you know you're at 61 cards now? ^.^; Other than that, solid build.

But can you get past all the control and kill all eight? :D

Ha! Elf Storm -- what an unexpected deck! XD

Aw, Teddy! *gets mauled*

Seriously, bears are historically Magic's most vanilla of vanilla creatures, but this is TOTALLY the way to have fun with them. :D I just have one thing to say ---

Bear Umbra = OP.

Stall effects: Norn's Annex, Ghostly Prison, Propaganda, Windborn Muse. And because it's in every blue control EDH (or should be), Memnarch.

I was just about to mention that. XD

Yeah, newman, you might want to fix that. I assume you meant to put in something else?