I think he's a champ in most decks, but your deck seems to lack ETBs to abuse with him. A lot of his use for you seems to be just resetting clones (which can let you abuse enemy ETBs, but that doesn't seem as reliable). Have you considered ditching some of the less useful eldrazi like Pathrazer in order to get more ETB juice to use with deadeye?
Quite awful actually, I used to have more ETB effects that got marginalized for more cuttthroat cards. So Deadeye Navigator is likely to get cut in the next round.
That said, the card is way too broken to pass up so I created a budget version of this deck that is a few posts up. That deck had a decent Deadeye package. If you have any other cards to add to that list let me know.
Stormtide + Archetype of Imagination essentially locks everyone else out of attacking. I wouldn't cut that kind of interaction out of a budget deck (or a full priced version for that matter).
I'll mention Strionic Resonator again - it interacts with the commander and the Eldrazi very nicely.
*Edit* Just noticed you have resonator in the budget version.
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EDH playing competitive Magic cast away
Current Decks GTitania midrange RGThromok tokens/goodstuff | UB Grimgrin zombie tribal GW Sigarda enchantress | R Godo voltron U Braids aggro | WR Kalemne punisher RU Mizzix storm | BUG Mimeoplasm competitive reanimator | UG Ezuri infect
All cards in this short list were chosen because they would be good standing alone without Deadeye Navigator and also get rediculous with him.
For 1U:
Navigator protects from spot removal and protects blockers.
Venser gives bounce and counterspell
Chancellor copies any spell in opponents' graveyards. Diluvian Primordial is also a good choice, but Chancellor doesnt exile so you can abuse the same spell repeatedly.
Phyrexian Ingester and Duplicant serve the same purpose of exiling creatures, it is your preference whether you actually use both.
Palinchron provides infinite mana. This last one I was back and forth on, but I also run Caged Sun and Extraplanar Lens so I figure its ok. You can infinitely protect from spot removal and go infinite with one of the above.
Additional cards to consider: Rishadan Brigand is an edict effect on tapped out opponents. My favorite thing is that it hits all opponents. My only concern is that without Deadeye Navigator, this card is meh. Still a top contender for a slot! Draining Whelk is a really nice counter wall. Venser just does it better! Diluvian Primordial is mentioned above. You get several spells, but then each of them gets exiled. Still a great card and very likely going in anyways.
Not sure what to cut though. I'm going to do another post with my thoughts on Return to Zendikar and the new Eldrazi later.
So several sets have released and it's time to review the good, the bad, and the ugly. Ok we will really only look at the good!
We will be looking at the Khans/Tarkir block as well as the Return to Zendikar block. I will briefly look at Shadows over Innistrad, though Eldritch Moon has not been spoiled yet.
First I would like to discuss some general changes. I have wanted to bump up the power level of the counterspells in the deck. I am now considering running these as my main counterspell package.
I'd like to run around 6-7 counterspells. I like Force of Will, Swan Song, Stubborn Denial, and Flusterstorm for the low mana cost. I like Delay because it guarantees three turns of shut out. Lastly, I prefer Spell Rupture and Dispersal Shield to Counterspell due to the interaction with Sapphire Medallion. I will also be running Venser, Shaper Savant, but I am counting that as a combo card.
Tarkir Block Stubborn Denial a great new counterspell. It mixes Negate with Dispersal Shield but at mana cost of only U. I personally prefer Negate style counterspells as often times creatures are put into play for free anyways with Braids.
Mirror Mockery is a nice clone effect, you can enchant a creature with an ETB effect or use it to prevent an attack from an opponent's creature. Unfortunately, the attack clause limits this severely and honestly you'd rather just permanently clone or steal the creature anyway.
Negate - I currently have a textless Negate. I really like looking at the new art though. This one seems like it has a cool story, but I'm going to pass.
Clever Impersonator is a very powerful clone effect. I am already running Phyrexian Metamorph. What kills this card for me is the converted mana cost of 4.
Profaner of the Dead is a surprisingly powerful bounce effect. It requires sacrificing a powerful creature, but the mana cost is cheap. I love this card for my Warp World deck, but I'm still unsure for Braids.
Ugin's Nexus is a nice soft lock card. I am putting together a list for a soft lock Braids soon that will discuss this card in more detail.
Clone Legion reminds me of a blue Insurrection. I like this card, but it doesn't seem to fit with the strategy of a few good beaters.
In summary, none of the mono blue or colorless creatures are very exciting from this block, and the few we have rely on prowess to be be decent. There are some nice support spells, but keeping cost down is very important for the deck. Most exciting card: Stubborn Denial.
Return to Zendikar Block Wastes is the big reveal from this set. Do we need C? Do we need it as a basic land? I think it is still too early to know. For now we will consider nonbasic lands that produce C, but also have additional abilities
Mirrorpool fits the bill of nonbasic land that has a powerful ability. I'm going to give this land a shot. The high activated cost is the only barrier to full adoption.
Sanctum of Ugin is another colorless land, I am not a fan of the when you cast clause. Hardcasting a 7 mana creature doesn't usually happen until turn 7+.
Eldrazi Mimic I really wish this became a copy of the creature like Renegade Doppelganger does. Even then, I don't run the Renegade any more. It is just a vanilla beater and that's only until end of turn.
Negate - another nice artwork to replace my textless version. I am waiting to see what this looks like in foil before replacing.
Aligned Hedron Network is not good for us. It's BAD, very bad for us. Thankfully, I don't see it getting huge adoption in the EDH community.
Hedron Archive is Mindstone x2. I don't think that fits our curve, but it makes a good budget inclusion.
Conduit of Ruin is actually a nice playable choice. it will either do one of two things for this deck. First, get cheated into play so we may hard cast a big creature for the ETB effect. Or second, we cast this, then tutor up that big eldrazi to hardcast or drop next turn.
Deepfathom Skulker I don't like this card for the main Braids, but for budget, this card is fantastic. He keeps the gas going with card draw and provides unblocakable.
Endbringer Another good budget option, card draw, damage, attack phase control. With this much C, we may have to maindeck
Oblivion Sower has come down in price significantly and this is warranted because the card is really only so-so. He has nice P/T, and even if you get a really nice pull of 4+ lands, it's still only lands. Maybe a splurge option for "budget", but not worth the main deck.
Bane of Bala Ged is the sleeper dark horse of the set. This is the best card out of Zendikar 2.0. Compare this to Ulamog's Crusher. Now notice that the ability says EXILE. I know, it's not that big of a difference, but this guy has a strict upgrade on annihilator. This card vies for a slot in the main deck for having a slightly lower cost, albeit a lower toughness too. Notably it does not interact with It That Betrays.
Deceiver of Form really wants me to break it. I love the solid 8/8 stats, but it needs more. I wish Deceiver could also become a copy until end of turn. I like that the option to pt the card on the bottom is completely independent of what the card is and how you use it, essentially a free scry. It can turn Braids into a house for a turn and she can deal some commander damage.
Sphinx of the Final Word "I said, NO!" If you really want to make sure your stuff sticks, possibly good in a soft lock deck.
Breaker of Armies isn't that great; he will always get blocked and needs backup to deal damage, he won't kill that annoying creature that taps, and will most likely die to group block.
Void Winnower is odd. He doesn't even care that he is standing in the crater of of a former volcano! Well this card is amazing and probably the main reason we have critical mass on making a soft lock version of Braids. I am going to talk about this card loads more in a later post.
In summary, lots of great new cards, especially for the budget Braids build. Sadly neither of the two legendary Eldrazi make the cut, both suffered from major power reductions that do little affect the board as much as annihilator. Most exciting cards: Bane of Bala Ged, Void Winnower, and Conduit of Ruin.
Quite awful actually, I used to have more ETB effects that got marginalized for more cuttthroat cards. So Deadeye Navigator is likely to get cut in the next round.
That said, the card is way too broken to pass up so I created a budget version of this deck that is a few posts up. That deck had a decent Deadeye package. If you have any other cards to add to that list let me know.
Slithermuse
Chancellor of the Spires
Scourge of Fleets (I'd actually run this one over Stormtide Leviathan)
Sphinx of Uthun
Palinchron
Snapcaster Mage
Venser, Shaper Savant
Draining Whelk
I'd consider any of these worth replacing
Pathrazer of Ulamog
Ulamog's Crusher
Stormtide Leviathan
Keiga, the Tide Star
I'll mention Strionic Resonator again - it interacts with the commander and the Eldrazi very nicely.
*Edit* Just noticed you have resonator in the budget version.
Current Decks
GTitania midrange
RGThromok tokens/goodstuff | UB Grimgrin zombie tribal
GW Sigarda enchantress | R Godo voltron
U Braids aggro | WR Kalemne punisher
RU Mizzix storm | BUG Mimeoplasm competitive reanimator | UG Ezuri infect
Edit: Table of contents anchor links are working. Budget build is now in the main post. Going to add some details and changes to budget soon (today).
Also, next round of add/cuts coming soon. Thanks so far to everyone who is contributing!
All cards in this short list were chosen because they would be good standing alone without Deadeye Navigator and also get rediculous with him.
For 1U:
Navigator protects from spot removal and protects blockers.
Venser gives bounce and counterspell
Chancellor copies any spell in opponents' graveyards. Diluvian Primordial is also a good choice, but Chancellor doesnt exile so you can abuse the same spell repeatedly.
Phyrexian Ingester and Duplicant serve the same purpose of exiling creatures, it is your preference whether you actually use both.
Palinchron provides infinite mana. This last one I was back and forth on, but I also run Caged Sun and Extraplanar Lens so I figure its ok. You can infinitely protect from spot removal and go infinite with one of the above.
Additional cards to consider:
Rishadan Brigand is an edict effect on tapped out opponents. My favorite thing is that it hits all opponents. My only concern is that without Deadeye Navigator, this card is meh. Still a top contender for a slot!
Draining Whelk is a really nice counter wall. Venser just does it better!
Diluvian Primordial is mentioned above. You get several spells, but then each of them gets exiled. Still a great card and very likely going in anyways.
Not sure what to cut though. I'm going to do another post with my thoughts on Return to Zendikar and the new Eldrazi later.
We will be looking at the Khans/Tarkir block as well as the Return to Zendikar block. I will briefly look at Shadows over Innistrad, though Eldritch Moon has not been spoiled yet.
First I would like to discuss some general changes. I have wanted to bump up the power level of the counterspells in the deck. I am now considering running these as my main counterspell package.
- Swan Song
- Delay
- Negate
- Force of Will
I am planning on using these as well:I'd like to run around 6-7 counterspells. I like Force of Will, Swan Song, Stubborn Denial, and Flusterstorm for the low mana cost. I like Delay because it guarantees three turns of shut out. Lastly, I prefer Spell Rupture and Dispersal Shield to Counterspell due to the interaction with Sapphire Medallion. I will also be running Venser, Shaper Savant, but I am counting that as a combo card.
Tarkir Block
Stubborn Denial a great new counterspell. It mixes Negate with Dispersal Shield but at mana cost of only U. I personally prefer Negate style counterspells as often times creatures are put into play for free anyways with Braids.
Mirror Mockery is a nice clone effect, you can enchant a creature with an ETB effect or use it to prevent an attack from an opponent's creature. Unfortunately, the attack clause limits this severely and honestly you'd rather just permanently clone or steal the creature anyway.
Negate - I currently have a textless Negate. I really like looking at the new art though. This one seems like it has a cool story, but I'm going to pass.
Clever Impersonator is a very powerful clone effect. I am already running Phyrexian Metamorph. What kills this card for me is the converted mana cost of 4.
Profaner of the Dead is a surprisingly powerful bounce effect. It requires sacrificing a powerful creature, but the mana cost is cheap. I love this card for my Warp World deck, but I'm still unsure for Braids.
Ugin's Nexus is a nice soft lock card. I am putting together a list for a soft lock Braids soon that will discuss this card in more detail.
Clone Legion reminds me of a blue Insurrection. I like this card, but it doesn't seem to fit with the strategy of a few good beaters.
In summary, none of the mono blue or colorless creatures are very exciting from this block, and the few we have rely on prowess to be be decent. There are some nice support spells, but keeping cost down is very important for the deck. Most exciting card: Stubborn Denial.
Return to Zendikar Block
Wastes is the big reveal from this set. Do we need C? Do we need it as a basic land? I think it is still too early to know. For now we will consider nonbasic lands that produce C, but also have additional abilities
Mirrorpool fits the bill of nonbasic land that has a powerful ability. I'm going to give this land a shot. The high activated cost is the only barrier to full adoption.
Sanctum of Ugin is another colorless land, I am not a fan of the when you cast clause. Hardcasting a 7 mana creature doesn't usually happen until turn 7+.
Eldrazi Mimic I really wish this became a copy of the creature like Renegade Doppelganger does. Even then, I don't run the Renegade any more. It is just a vanilla beater and that's only until end of turn.
Negate - another nice artwork to replace my textless version. I am waiting to see what this looks like in foil before replacing.
Aligned Hedron Network is not good for us. It's BAD, very bad for us. Thankfully, I don't see it getting huge adoption in the EDH community.
Hedron Archive is Mindstone x2. I don't think that fits our curve, but it makes a good budget inclusion.
Conduit of Ruin is actually a nice playable choice. it will either do one of two things for this deck. First, get cheated into play so we may hard cast a big creature for the ETB effect. Or second, we cast this, then tutor up that big eldrazi to hardcast or drop next turn.
Crush of Tentacles nice bounce spell, and one I could conceivably imagine paying the surge cost. Could replace Kederekt Leviathan...
Deepfathom Skulker I don't like this card for the main Braids, but for budget, this card is fantastic. He keeps the gas going with card draw and provides unblocakable.
Endbringer Another good budget option, card draw, damage, attack phase control. With this much C, we may have to maindeck
Wastes.
Oblivion Sower has come down in price significantly and this is warranted because the card is really only so-so. He has nice P/T, and even if you get a really nice pull of 4+ lands, it's still only lands. Maybe a splurge option for "budget", but not worth the main deck.
Bane of Bala Ged is the sleeper dark horse of the set. This is the best card out of Zendikar 2.0. Compare this to Ulamog's Crusher. Now notice that the ability says EXILE. I know, it's not that big of a difference, but this guy has a strict upgrade on annihilator. This card vies for a slot in the main deck for having a slightly lower cost, albeit a lower toughness too. Notably it does not interact with It That Betrays.
Deceiver of Form really wants me to break it. I love the solid 8/8 stats, but it needs more. I wish Deceiver could also become a copy until end of turn. I like that the option to pt the card on the bottom is completely independent of what the card is and how you use it, essentially a free scry. It can turn Braids into a house for a turn and she can deal some commander damage.
Sphinx of the Final Word "I said, NO!" If you really want to make sure your stuff sticks, possibly good in a soft lock deck.
Breaker of Armies isn't that great; he will always get blocked and needs backup to deal damage, he won't kill that annoying creature that taps, and will most likely die to group block.
Void Winnower is odd. He doesn't even care that he is standing in the crater of of a former volcano! Well this card is amazing and probably the main reason we have critical mass on making a soft lock version of Braids. I am going to talk about this card loads more in a later post.
In summary, lots of great new cards, especially for the budget Braids build. Sadly neither of the two legendary Eldrazi make the cut, both suffered from major power reductions that do little affect the board as much as annihilator. Most exciting cards: Bane of Bala Ged, Void Winnower, and Conduit of Ruin.