Both of these lands give me a lot more mana per land drop and this deck is all over its land drops. I've decided to put these in because I've removed all of the nonbasic land hate cards.
I value Bolt Bend costing one more than the life gain from Heal the Scars. I also also hijack other Target spells instead of protecting Ruric Thar. That versatility is another plus in its favour.
Batterskull is asking for a lot of up-front mana and it isn't like Thar is getting the full benefit. I do have enough life gain now that he isn't getting bowled over, so Batterskull hasn't been impressive lately. With the amount of mana this deck generates, I can definitely use the utility of the Mirage Mirror for interesting shenanigans. Without even considering my opponent's permanents, this would let me increase my mana doublers by copying Zendikar Resurgent and Regal Behemoth. Or if someone is willing to take 12 because I have Angrath's Marauders or Gratuitous Violence, I can suddenly jackknife that up to 24 by the Mirror copying them. Once we introduce permanents by opponents might have for abuse, well, it just gets more interesting.
The deck makes a lot of mana but not much Red, which is why I couldn't run Obsidian Fireheart but the Captivating Crew don't require much Red, only a lot of mana. They can certainly end the game if left unmolested, also they have an immediate impact unlike the Fireheart or Occultist. I knew the Occultist was weak, more of a flex slot, and so it gets the axe.
Primal Order has put me in a pickle a few times, such as knowing it will kill me before I can kill the table. Also, some decks just don't really take a lot of damage from it. In its place, another 'win the game' card in the form of Mob Rule. Also, an immediate impact and a large enough one that I think it's worth Thar's temper, especially if I snag some life gain Creatures.
The deck has been leaning a little more Red for awhile now, so swapping one Basic.
Obsidian Fireheart would require the deck to go much more Red for me to reliably use it which is disappointing. I would love to light lands on fire but I don't have enough mana of the correct colour to cast or use the Fireheart regularly. In its stead, Yeva goes in to give my deck a bit more interactivity. I don't need to tap out on my turn when I play my fatties, which is nice. This means I can suddenly flash in another support card that my opponents weren't expecting to ruin their lives; such as Spellbreaker Behemoth for Counter backup or Spearbreaker Behemoth to quickly make Ruric Thar indestructible.
I've lost too many games where I couldn't punch in and lost Ruric Thar to his 'must attack' clause. Considering the deck has various ways to pump him, he can even be a two or three turn clock, but only if he gets in. Rogue's Passage goes in as a low opportunity cost to provide unblockability and I think it's potential utility passes the Primal Order test of taking 1 each turn for it.
[/spoiler]Fauna Shaman will help tutor up Creatures I need. Skullclamp got axed because it wasn't drawing me cards anymore, it was an artifact of when the deck had a lot of X/1s that probably Ramped me on ETB.
I lived the dream and got a Helm of the Hose on Ruric Thar, turns out dreams can be nightmares. The game came to screeching halt as I couldn't get in anywhere and no one could cast spells lest they take 6 Ruric Thar triggers. One Ruric Thar is enough, it makes people need to answer him with Noncreature Spells and he punishes them. This is why I'm dropping in a lot of draw with this update. I want to be drawing so many cards, making plenty of land drops that my opponents must cast spells instead of sit there to the hostage of death. With that in mind, I cut Helm and Godo who tutors for it.
Garruk's Packleader goes in as he triggers off of most of the Creatures. I've put in Stormkirk Occultist as a way to punch in with a small trampler who triggers the Packleader. I've found that this deck doesn't really care if something 'good' gets Exiled from Outpost Siege, as the idea is to keep churning out threats so my opponents cast spells which Ruric Thar punishes them for doing that. Occultist is another way to get those extra land drops and other spells.
I think I have enough lifegain in the deck, so I added even more draw with Guardian Project.
If I want to Ramp, I should have Terrain Generator. I think its potential makes it pass the Phyrexian Arena test.
I need to get to Big Mana before I get the sinks, talking it over with a friend and I realized that getting a ton of mana involves making more land drops. This also means I need a better draw suite, so I can keep making those land drops. In the place of Cultivate and Kodama's Reach are Creatures that give additional land drops. Regal Behemoth replaces Slagwurm just because the Slagwurm has a really high cost, the Behemoth's mana doubling will help with the big mana plan.
As for draw, Genesis no longer had a reliable way to get in the Graveyard via Birthing Pod so it involved way too many hoops to set up. With the dissolution of my Sidisi, my Sylvan Library got freed up. Burning Earth didn't ding people as hard as I wanted, they found ways to play around it with either mana rocks or being patient and waiting for someone else to take care of it. In its place, Outpost Siege comes in. I'm using the Outpost because it will let me play lands, unlike the majority of other Impulsive Draw effects that are in the game.
I'm cutting Wave because I actually want nonbasics in play for Primal Order and Burning Earth to do work. Hopefully it'll put the pressure on my opponents: the nonbasics have increased in the last few weeks.
Birthing Pod was axed because I couldn't find another 5 drop and it triggered my default problem: I get stupid and greedy. With it gone, Hoarding Dragon could leave. I have been feeling like I've been low on draw lately, which is why I added Woodland Bellower (to tutor for Nissa, Vastwood Seer or Tireless Tracker), Realm Seekers, Evolutionary Leap and Soul of the Harvest. I frequently end my turns with a bit of mana open, so Leap and Seekers should do some work.
I've cut Nissa's Renewal and Explosive Vegetation for repeatable Ramp between Silverglade Pathfinder, Frontier Guide and Sword of the Animist. I have a lot of things that like lands that come into play, so getting more of them into play will be excellent. Sword also comes down under Thar, even if Renewal made me life positive by 1 if it resolved.
Cutting Asceticism means I won't have to jump through a bunch of hoops, such as worrying about it coming down under Thar or holding mana open the turn I cast it. Frequently, I want my opponent to attempt to remove Thar because when they decide to pull the trigger, they tend to do a flurry of spellwork afterwards. This means that I'm left alone until they're ready to get Thar, which means I can pressure them more on board. With the 7 Instants I have to protect Thar, I find that taking 6 from him to protect him when someone attempts to remove him is very rewarding: suddenly their entire plan is shot and they still have a bunch of spells in hand that are going to hurt. It's something counter-intuitive that I noticed, let's test this theory.
Colossal Majesty always came out awkwardly. Genesis is a five drop for Birthing Pod and when it lands in the Graveyard it can be a consistent card advantage engine.
Spearbreaker has a high CMC so that's why I went with the Sun's Avatar so I don't go even more top heavy than I already have. This should protect Thar and other big Creatures from effects that will try to get rid of him.
Venser's Journal is fairly weak, it's not like this deck is going to be gaining 10+ life from my grip and the infinite hand size doesn't interest this deck. Roots of Life is fantastic but too fiddly for me. If I find that I'm taking too much, which I don't think is the case as I've removed most of the self inflicted damage, it might come back fiddliness be damned.
The pain just hurt too much in conjunction of Thar and my opponents, so here are pain options that don't really hit me as much.
Burning-Tree is a body and hurts all of those Activated decks, same with Harsh Mentor. I got rid of Zo-Zu and Ahnk as they hurt me too much.
Engling Slagwurm is a big body to help me win games but also blocks magnificently, helping me gain a lot of life. Cutting Burning Earth was painful, as it is one of the pain aspects that doesn't really hurt me. Unfortunately, when I looked at it with Thar out I didn't want to pay 6.
Overabudance tended to rocket my opponents' gamesplans forward, they didn't care that each land now hits for one when they got two mana. Managorger Hydra should punish spellslinging.
Tunneling Geopede and Invader Parasite are ways to interact with lands in a way that isn't painful to myself. I've cut Spellshock and Citadel of Pain, though Citadel didn't bother me as much as others. I needed to make room somehow. If I get my CMC up, I might revisit the Spellshock-like effect of Pyrostatic Pillar.
Dualcaster is a Creature and more importantly, he does't Casts but Copies the spell he targets. This means Thar won't be punching me in the face. Viseling feels a little weak, so that's what I've decided to cut.
1 Temple of the False God
1 Gruul Turf
1 Forest
1 Mountain
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Bolt Bend
1 Heal the Scars
Ruric Thar made it to Page 2, good job lil' guy.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Mirage Mirror
1 Batterskull
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Captivating Crew
1 Mob Rule
1 Mountain
1 Stromkirk Occultist
1 Primal Order
1 Forest
Primal Order has put me in a pickle a few times, such as knowing it will kill me before I can kill the table. Also, some decks just don't really take a lot of damage from it. In its place, another 'win the game' card in the form of Mob Rule. Also, an immediate impact and a large enough one that I think it's worth Thar's temper, especially if I snag some life gain Creatures.
The deck has been leaning a little more Red for awhile now, so swapping one Basic.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Yeva, Nature's Herald
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Obsidian Fireheart
1 Rogue's Passage
I've lost too many games where I couldn't punch in and lost Ruric Thar to his 'must attack' clause. Considering the deck has various ways to pump him, he can even be a two or three turn clock, but only if he gets in. Rogue's Passage goes in as a low opportunity cost to provide unblockability and I think it's potential utility passes the Primal Order test of taking 1 each turn for it.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Stromkirk Occultist
1 Garruk's Packleader
1 Guardian Project
1 Terrain Generator
1 Skullclamp
1 Godo, Bandit Warlord
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Helm of the Host
1 Forest
I lived the dream and got a Helm of the Hose on Ruric Thar, turns out dreams can be nightmares. The game came to screeching halt as I couldn't get in anywhere and no one could cast spells lest they take 6 Ruric Thar triggers. One Ruric Thar is enough, it makes people need to answer him with Noncreature Spells and he punishes them. This is why I'm dropping in a lot of draw with this update. I want to be drawing so many cards, making plenty of land drops that my opponents must cast spells instead of sit there to the hostage of death. With that in mind, I cut Helm and Godo who tutors for it.
Garruk's Packleader goes in as he triggers off of most of the Creatures. I've put in Stormkirk Occultist as a way to punch in with a small trampler who triggers the Packleader. I've found that this deck doesn't really care if something 'good' gets Exiled from Outpost Siege, as the idea is to keep churning out threats so my opponents cast spells which Ruric Thar punishes them for doing that. Occultist is another way to get those extra land drops and other spells.
I think I have enough lifegain in the deck, so I added even more draw with Guardian Project.
If I want to Ramp, I should have Terrain Generator. I think its potential makes it pass the Phyrexian Arena test.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Wayward Swordtooth
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Regal Behemoth
1 Sylvan Library
1 Outpost Siege
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Cultivate
1 Engulfing Slagwurm
1 Genesis
1 Burning Earth
As for draw, Genesis no longer had a reliable way to get in the Graveyard via Birthing Pod so it involved way too many hoops to set up. With the dissolution of my Sidisi, my Sylvan Library got freed up. Burning Earth didn't ding people as hard as I wanted, they found ways to play around it with either mana rocks or being patient and waiting for someone else to take care of it. In its place, Outpost Siege comes in. I'm using the Outpost because it will let me play lands, unlike the majority of other Impulsive Draw effects that are in the game.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Silverglade Pathfinder
1 Frontier Guide
1 Woodland Bellower
1 Soul of the Harvest
1 Realm Seekers
1 Evolutionary Leap
1 Primal Order
1 Burning Earth
1 Sword of the Animist
1 Birthing Pod
1 Asceticism
1 Wave of Vitriol
1 Explosive Vegetation
1 Nissa's Renewal
1 Ondu Giant
1 Wild Wanderer
1 Elvish Rejuvenator
1 Hoarding Dragon
Birthing Pod was axed because I couldn't find another 5 drop and it triggered my default problem: I get stupid and greedy. With it gone, Hoarding Dragon could leave. I have been feeling like I've been low on draw lately, which is why I added Woodland Bellower (to tutor for Nissa, Vastwood Seer or Tireless Tracker), Realm Seekers, Evolutionary Leap and Soul of the Harvest. I frequently end my turns with a bit of mana open, so Leap and Seekers should do some work.
I've cut Nissa's Renewal and Explosive Vegetation for repeatable Ramp between Silverglade Pathfinder, Frontier Guide and Sword of the Animist. I have a lot of things that like lands that come into play, so getting more of them into play will be excellent. Sword also comes down under Thar, even if Renewal made me life positive by 1 if it resolved.
Cutting Asceticism means I won't have to jump through a bunch of hoops, such as worrying about it coming down under Thar or holding mana open the turn I cast it. Frequently, I want my opponent to attempt to remove Thar because when they decide to pull the trigger, they tend to do a flurry of spellwork afterwards. This means that I'm left alone until they're ready to get Thar, which means I can pressure them more on board. With the 7 Instants I have to protect Thar, I find that taking 6 from him to protect him when someone attempts to remove him is very rewarding: suddenly their entire plan is shot and they still have a bunch of spells in hand that are going to hurt. It's something counter-intuitive that I noticed, let's test this theory.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Wave of Vitriol
1 Bane of Progress
1 Meteor Golem
1 Acidic Slime
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Genesis
1 Colossal Majesty
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Spearbreaker Behemoth
1 Verdant Sun's Avatar
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Spellbreaker Behemoth
1 Vexing Shusher
1 Venser's Journal
1 Roots of Life
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Insist
1 Savage Summoning
1 Hapatra's Mark
1 Blossoming Defense
1 Withstand Death
1 Ranger's Guile
1 Harsh Mentor
1 Invader Parasite
1 Tunneling Geopede
1 Managorger Hydra
1 Burning-Tree Shaman
1 Crimson Honor Guard
1 Primal Order
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Burning-Tree Shaman
1 Harsh Mentor
1 Engulfing Slagwurm
1 Managorger Hydra
1 Tunnelling Geopede
1 Invader Parasite
1 Anhk of Mishra
1 Zo-Zu the Punisher
1 Burning Earth
1 Overabundance
1 Spellshock
1 Citadel of Pain
Burning-Tree is a body and hurts all of those Activated decks, same with Harsh Mentor. I got rid of Zo-Zu and Ahnk as they hurt me too much.
Engling Slagwurm is a big body to help me win games but also blocks magnificently, helping me gain a lot of life. Cutting Burning Earth was painful, as it is one of the pain aspects that doesn't really hurt me. Unfortunately, when I looked at it with Thar out I didn't want to pay 6.
Overabudance tended to rocket my opponents' gamesplans forward, they didn't care that each land now hits for one when they got two mana. Managorger Hydra should punish spellslinging.
Tunneling Geopede and Invader Parasite are ways to interact with lands in a way that isn't painful to myself. I've cut Spellshock and Citadel of Pain, though Citadel didn't bother me as much as others. I needed to make room somehow. If I get my CMC up, I might revisit the Spellshock-like effect of Pyrostatic Pillar.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Dualcaster Mage
1 Viseling
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs