I want to build a deck that is either mono red or red/blue. Of course, either can include colorless spells. Here's the general idea...and based on this, let me know what else I should consider (my group plays anything except silver-bordered cards):
Alternatively, I can exile those temporarily stolen creatures with Cold Storage or Synod Sanctum, and then control them permanently when I sacrifice the artifact used to exile them.
I'll have blue cards like Control Magic (unless I can go mono-red), though I'd like to run Reins of Power, which can be nasty in a multiplayer game.
I also want to run Dominus of Fealty. And I will have a disproportionate number of defenders that are low CMC but survivable because of their high toughness so that I can block long enough to put down lands and play the combos described above.
I'm also thinking about including Stolen Strategy - it goes along with the theme.
And I'd imagine Desperate Ritual would be super helpful here. Divination might also be helpful in this sort of deck that requires combos.
Conjurer's Closet and Ghostly Flicker are way better than [c]Nephalia Smuggler/c]. That one has never worked out for me, too costly, too fragile.
If you want to enhance Dominus of Fealty, you can try Paradox Haze to steal more permanents per turn. Or enchant it with Infinite Reflection to turn all your creatures into an army of 4/4 flying permanent stealing guys. (Note, that the creatures stay copies of the Dominus even if the original or the aura leave the battlefield.)
You may not have the cards or the mana to flicker the stolen stuff, so you should add some sac outlet to at least get rid of it before it goes back. Something that can sacrifice any permanent can be nasty with the Dominus, especially if you start taking their lands. Or turn stolen creatures into tokens with Spawning Pit, or into cards with Carnage Altar or Phyrexian Vault.
Desperate Ritual suffers in multiplayer like all Rituals. You want permanent mana accel, not a small 1-turn boost. Try Izzet Signet, Fellwar Stone, etc. Or if you can afford to play 3-mana rocks, Coalition Relic. Or go even bigger with Hedron Archive, Gilded Lotus, etc. That Lotus combines with Deadeye Navigator and Zealous Conscripts for a mana combo, if you want that. Plus, the Navigator is another "blink to permanently gain control card". (Take control of a creature, blink the DEN, pair it with the stolen creature, blink the stolen creature, then pair again with the Navigator, so that it has the blink ability to do all this again with the next creature.)
Insurrection costs a lot of mana, but can take out a player or two in a single turn. Molten Primordial is a scaled down version, but can still steal several things at once, plus you get your own 6/4 hasty guy.
Just had another idea, that you might like. I use the same principle in my own mono-U Puca's Mischief deck, that I posted around here quite a while ago. I'll see if I can find it if you want to take a look for some more inspiration. Anyway, the idea is to run Nucklavee. With that creature out, you can target it and whatever you stole with Ghostly Flicker to keep the creature and get the Flicker and the Act of Treason variant you used to grab it in the first place back.
You've given me quite a few combos to consider, thank you! The Paradox Haze and Infinite Reflection ones are nasty - I love it. Nucklavee is probably the final card I'll consider since it's CMC is high, but I wouldn't mind including that if it's doable.
Here's the deck I've got so far. What are your thoughts on it, and these notes in particular?
1) Perhaps I have too many cards to temporarily steal a creature? I'm thinking about getting rid of Traitorous Blood.
2) Do I have enough attack deterrents/defenders?
3) I plan to add Fblthp, the Lost to flicker it for card draws.
4) I'm keeping the 4 Ghostly Flickers, but think I should drop Nephalia Smuggler, as it costs more and does less.
5) Do I really need Mizzium Transreliquat?
6) Maybe I should choose one: Reins of Power or Insurrection. Or drop both and add Paradox Haze.
First, the lands. Anyone contemplating playing Guildgates without dedicated Gate synergies should rather play the life gaining counterparts if available in the format. So instead of Izzet Guildgate play Swiftwater Cliffs. Though any of the good multilands should be in if at all possile. Shocklands, filterlands, etc. Because they are just that good, even as singletons they significantly improve a deck of their colors. But you can of course run the Gates alongside the Cliffs. There's lots of budget multis out there. The problem with all of them is that ETB tapped clause, which can be really frustrating if you overdo it, needing just one more land and then having it enter tapped can cost you the game. And that will happen quite frequently. Hence why the rare multis are so good and sought after, they don't have that drawback but something less hindering instead.
1) Yes, this seems excessively much. I'd even cut more than just the singleton Traitorous Blood. Though if you can get your mana base to work, I'd add more of that and cut something else instead. The addition of trample to that effect is a considerable upgrade. I'd add a set of Izzet Signets anyway, to accelerate your mana. (Getting a Dominus on turn 4 for example, or setting up the Closet for earlier stealing shenanigans is worth it. It also gets you the mana needed for Insurrection.)
2) Crackling Drake would serve well for that, and is a significant threat for when the opponent just isn't putting anything out to steal. There are decks like that. Other than that, I think, a full set each of Fog Bank and Aether Membrane can keep the fort well enough.
3) Not worth it. That Crackling Drake I mentioned does this and more already.
4) Yes. The Smuggler is not worth it. The Flickers are essential for the deck, so a full set is the way to go.
5) No. It would really only serve as a fifth Closet, and you don't need that.
6) That is up to you. As 1-ofs they can add that feeling of awe to satisfy your inner Timmy. But if you need the card slots, cutting them is the way to go, you can add some copies later when the deck is shaping up and you have the leisure to experiment. Right now, the first draft should be to get the deck working at its core, to figure out that core.
You may want to add some counterspells, and you may need some hard removal, too.
Thanks, good points, especially the hard removal. In full transparency, I was going with the guildgate because I already owned them, but yes, those cliffs are better.
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I'd use red sorcery cards such as Act of Treason to steal a creature temporarily. Then control it permanently with Conjurer's Closet - or control two permanently at the same time with Ghostly Flickr or Nephalia Smuggler.
Alternatively, I can exile those temporarily stolen creatures with Cold Storage or Synod Sanctum, and then control them permanently when I sacrifice the artifact used to exile them.
I'll have blue cards like Control Magic (unless I can go mono-red), though I'd like to run Reins of Power, which can be nasty in a multiplayer game.
I also want to run Dominus of Fealty. And I will have a disproportionate number of defenders that are low CMC but survivable because of their high toughness so that I can block long enough to put down lands and play the combos described above.
I'm also thinking about including Stolen Strategy - it goes along with the theme.
And I'd imagine Desperate Ritual would be super helpful here. Divination might also be helpful in this sort of deck that requires combos.
Conjurer's Closet and Ghostly Flicker are way better than [c]Nephalia Smuggler/c]. That one has never worked out for me, too costly, too fragile.
If you want to enhance Dominus of Fealty, you can try Paradox Haze to steal more permanents per turn. Or enchant it with Infinite Reflection to turn all your creatures into an army of 4/4 flying permanent stealing guys. (Note, that the creatures stay copies of the Dominus even if the original or the aura leave the battlefield.)
You may not have the cards or the mana to flicker the stolen stuff, so you should add some sac outlet to at least get rid of it before it goes back. Something that can sacrifice any permanent can be nasty with the Dominus, especially if you start taking their lands. Or turn stolen creatures into tokens with Spawning Pit, or into cards with Carnage Altar or Phyrexian Vault.
Desperate Ritual suffers in multiplayer like all Rituals. You want permanent mana accel, not a small 1-turn boost. Try Izzet Signet, Fellwar Stone, etc. Or if you can afford to play 3-mana rocks, Coalition Relic. Or go even bigger with Hedron Archive, Gilded Lotus, etc. That Lotus combines with Deadeye Navigator and Zealous Conscripts for a mana combo, if you want that. Plus, the Navigator is another "blink to permanently gain control card". (Take control of a creature, blink the DEN, pair it with the stolen creature, blink the stolen creature, then pair again with the Navigator, so that it has the blink ability to do all this again with the next creature.)
Insurrection costs a lot of mana, but can take out a player or two in a single turn. Molten Primordial is a scaled down version, but can still steal several things at once, plus you get your own 6/4 hasty guy.
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
Found it:
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/casual-multiplayer-formats/755689-mono-u-stealing-stuff-with-pucas-mischief
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
1) Perhaps I have too many cards to temporarily steal a creature? I'm thinking about getting rid of Traitorous Blood.
2) Do I have enough attack deterrents/defenders?
3) I plan to add Fblthp, the Lost to flicker it for card draws.
4) I'm keeping the 4 Ghostly Flickers, but think I should drop Nephalia Smuggler, as it costs more and does less.
5) Do I really need Mizzium Transreliquat?
6) Maybe I should choose one: Reins of Power or Insurrection. Or drop both and add Paradox Haze.
1 Nephalia Smuggler
1 Grixis Illusionist
2 Wall of Runes
4 Fog Bank
1 Spellheart Chimera
1 Aether Membrane
1 Clone
4 Dominus of Fealty
1 Deadeye Navigator
4 Control Magic
1 Sol Ring
1 Mizzium Transreliquat
4 Conjurer's Closet
Sorcery
1 Wrangle
1 Traitorous Blood
4 Act of Treason
3 Besmirch
2 Divination
1 Insurrection
1 Reins of Power
4 Ghostly Flicker
Land
4 Izzet Guildgate
9 Mountain
10 Island
1) Yes, this seems excessively much. I'd even cut more than just the singleton Traitorous Blood. Though if you can get your mana base to work, I'd add more of that and cut something else instead. The addition of trample to that effect is a considerable upgrade. I'd add a set of Izzet Signets anyway, to accelerate your mana. (Getting a Dominus on turn 4 for example, or setting up the Closet for earlier stealing shenanigans is worth it. It also gets you the mana needed for Insurrection.)
2) Crackling Drake would serve well for that, and is a significant threat for when the opponent just isn't putting anything out to steal. There are decks like that. Other than that, I think, a full set each of Fog Bank and Aether Membrane can keep the fort well enough.
3) Not worth it. That Crackling Drake I mentioned does this and more already.
4) Yes. The Smuggler is not worth it. The Flickers are essential for the deck, so a full set is the way to go.
5) No. It would really only serve as a fifth Closet, and you don't need that.
6) That is up to you. As 1-ofs they can add that feeling of awe to satisfy your inner Timmy. But if you need the card slots, cutting them is the way to go, you can add some copies later when the deck is shaping up and you have the leisure to experiment. Right now, the first draft should be to get the deck working at its core, to figure out that core.
You may want to add some counterspells, and you may need some hard removal, too.
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)