So I'm working on a deck. The deck box is Discord and the creature type (or chosen creature type) of every card is Shapeshifter.
I want the deck to be so complicated that very few players could pilot it optimally, let alone get a pocket judge.
A cool aspect that also encouraged the land count is the Fibonacci Sequence, adding the previous two numbers to get the next one. (1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,etc.)
~~Lands~~
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Mutavault
2 Tomb of the Spirit Dragon
3 Unclaimed Territory (Always choose Shapeshifter)
5 Snow-Covered Island
8 Island
Primary Strategy: Lords and clones of lords. Make Cryptoplasm a Metallic Mimic and then clones of Cryptoplasm of Metallic Mimic until Adaptive Automaton comes online the jump shift to it on next upkeep. Mothdust Changeling flies over for the chunk swings. Tomb of the Spirit Dragon gives life equal to the number of lords you have plus any Universal Automatons.
Secondary Strategy: Lords to support 0/0 non-copied clones with Shapesharer and Amoeboid Changeling making creatures (without +1/+1 counters) into 0/0's, killing them as a state-based action. You could also just turn enemy units into 1/1 Mothdust Changelings when they declare blockers to your lorded versions, or just remove all creature types when fighting creature features.
Third Strategy: When fighting another creature feature deck, choose their creature type and make multiples of their most synergistic creature.
Fourth Strategy: Use Progenitor Mimic and have all previously made clones (using Cryptoplasm) become nontoken copies of Progenitor Mimic, furthering the tokens generated per upkeep.
Fifth Strategy: Make Progenitor Mimic without a copy effect and support it with Metallic Mimic, Adaptive Automaton, or whatever the enemy's running. Copies created with it start stacking "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature" effects by copying the most recently made Progenitor Mimic.
Fibonacci Sequence can be attained with the Fifth Strategy by having a Cryptoplasm become a copy of the most recently made token on upkeep.
1. Progenitor Mimic, Cryptoplasm. (1 Progenitor Mimic Total, Yuck.)
2. Crypto1, Token 2 (1 Token) (3 Prog Total)
3. Crypto2, Token 3 and 4 (2 Tokens) (5 Total)
4. Crypto4, Token 5, 6, 7 (3 Tokens) (8 Total)
5. Crypto7, Token 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (5 Tokens) (13 Total)
6. Crypto12, Token 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 (8 Tokens) (21 Total)
This is baseline multiplicative token output. Generation rates can be increased with multiple Cryptoplasm creatures (A Mirror Image copying Cryptoplasm prior to Progenitor Mimic coming out, for example.)
Additional upkeeps (Paradox Haze) would increase rate of growth. Shapesharer making something a Crypto creature before second upkeep would give the shared creature a chance to use its Crypto ability and break any "Until your next turn" effect. Clever Impersonator could enter as Paradox Haze or a 0/0, and any further clones could enter as additional copies of Clever Impersonator, then Paradox Haze.
Paradox Haze and Shapesharer could make CryptoProggies even more dangerous, with the second upkeep (and further) keeping inline with the Proggy count, doubling the number of tokens or Paradox Hazes each upkeep. Optimal Clever Haze usage is to keep the number of upkeeps close to the Proggy count. (If Proggy10 is up, work towards 10 Hazes.)
Vesuvan Shapeshifter could replace Cryptoplasm in a Progenitor Mimic chain, doubling the number of 0/0 creatures each upkeep.
("Token 2" Means that token has "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, create a token that's a copy of this creature" twice.)
1. Progenitor Mimic, Vesuvan Shapeshifter flips upside down. (1 Proggy Total)
2. Progenitor Mimic makes Token2, Vesuvan Shapeshifter flips as VesuProggy2. (3 Proggy Total)
3. Tokens 3, 4, 5. VesuProggy2 flips twice and becomes VesuProggy5. (6 Proggy Total)
4. Tokens 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. VesuProggy5 = VesuProggy11. (12 Proggy Total)
5. Tokens 12 - 23. VesuProggy11 = VP23 (24 Proggy Total)
6. T24-47. VP21=VP43. (48 Proggy Total)
Cryptoplasm can ride Vesuvan Shapeshifter for more Progenitor Mimic Multipliers by manipulating the stack.
1. Progenitor Mimic makes Proggy 2. Cryptoplasm wants to become a copy of Vesuvan Shapeshifter, which flips face down at upkeep then turns face up as VesuProggy2 and Cryptoplasm becomes Crypto(Vesu)Proggy2.
2. Progenitor Mimic makes Proggy 3, the token (And all thereafter) gaining Crypto (And Vesu, but it's useless unless you really want a 2/2 with no creature types that can't flip back) from Crypto(Vesu)Proggy2. Crypto(Vesu)Proggy2 and VesuProggy2 both make CryptoToken(Vesu)Proggies 4, 5, 6, and 7. Crypto(Vesu)Proggy2 wants to become a copy of VesuProggy2, which flips at upkeep and flips back to being CryptoVesuProggy7. Crypto(Vesu)Proggy becomes Crypto(Vesu)Proggy7.
CVP67 is CryptoVesuProggy67. That means it's a 0/0 Progenitor Mimic with "At the beginning of your upkeep, you may have [this creature] become a copy of another target creature. If you do, [this creature] gains this ability.", and it has "At the beginning of your upkeep, you may turn this creature face down." and it has "You may have [this creature] enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature on the battlefield except it gains "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature." and lastly it has "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature."... 67 times.
If CVP67 is a token, it simply turns into the coolest creature at the next upkeep using Cryptoplasm's ability. If it's a nontoken creature... It makes tokens.
Thespian's Stage could become a copy of Mutavault. Then make a clone of MutaStage as a creature for more lands that could become more lands. Proggy = Multiple lands that could become creatures, further fueling Tomb of the Spirit Dragon for more life gain. This also enables non-blue activated abilities to be cast.
Mercurial Pretender (Clone Self, but gains "Pay 2UU, return to owner's hand.") could be useful in tandem with Shapesharer to allow you to recycle static clones if you needed to lay down Mirror Images before they could become Cryptoplasms.
I want the deck to be so complicated that very few players could pilot it optimally, let alone get a pocket judge.
A cool aspect that also encouraged the land count is the Fibonacci Sequence, adding the previous two numbers to get the next one. (1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,etc.)
~~Lands~~
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Mutavault
2 Tomb of the Spirit Dragon
3 Unclaimed Territory (Always choose Shapeshifter)
5 Snow-Covered Island
8 Island
~~Creatures~~
4 Mothdust Changeling
4 Universal Automaton
4 Metallic Mimic (Usually choose Shapeshifter)
4 Amoeboid Changeling
4 Shapesharer
4 Cryptoplasm (Play ASAP)
4 Mirror Image
4 Adaptive Automaton (Usually choose Shapeshifter)
2 Clever Impersonator
4 Vesuvan Shapeshifter (2 Paradox Haze) (2 Mercurial Pretender)
2 Progenitor Mimic
Primary Strategy: Lords and clones of lords. Make Cryptoplasm a Metallic Mimic and then clones of Cryptoplasm of Metallic Mimic until Adaptive Automaton comes online the jump shift to it on next upkeep. Mothdust Changeling flies over for the chunk swings. Tomb of the Spirit Dragon gives life equal to the number of lords you have plus any Universal Automatons.
Secondary Strategy: Lords to support 0/0 non-copied clones with Shapesharer and Amoeboid Changeling making creatures (without +1/+1 counters) into 0/0's, killing them as a state-based action. You could also just turn enemy units into 1/1 Mothdust Changelings when they declare blockers to your lorded versions, or just remove all creature types when fighting creature features.
Third Strategy: When fighting another creature feature deck, choose their creature type and make multiples of their most synergistic creature.
Fourth Strategy: Use Progenitor Mimic and have all previously made clones (using Cryptoplasm) become nontoken copies of Progenitor Mimic, furthering the tokens generated per upkeep.
Fifth Strategy: Make Progenitor Mimic without a copy effect and support it with Metallic Mimic, Adaptive Automaton, or whatever the enemy's running. Copies created with it start stacking "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature" effects by copying the most recently made Progenitor Mimic.
Fibonacci Sequence can be attained with the Fifth Strategy by having a Cryptoplasm become a copy of the most recently made token on upkeep.
1. Progenitor Mimic, Cryptoplasm. (1 Progenitor Mimic Total, Yuck.)
2. Crypto1, Token 2 (1 Token) (3 Prog Total)
3. Crypto2, Token 3 and 4 (2 Tokens) (5 Total)
4. Crypto4, Token 5, 6, 7 (3 Tokens) (8 Total)
5. Crypto7, Token 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (5 Tokens) (13 Total)
6. Crypto12, Token 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 (8 Tokens) (21 Total)
This is baseline multiplicative token output. Generation rates can be increased with multiple Cryptoplasm creatures (A Mirror Image copying Cryptoplasm prior to Progenitor Mimic coming out, for example.)
Additional upkeeps (Paradox Haze) would increase rate of growth. Shapesharer making something a Crypto creature before second upkeep would give the shared creature a chance to use its Crypto ability and break any "Until your next turn" effect. Clever Impersonator could enter as Paradox Haze or a 0/0, and any further clones could enter as additional copies of Clever Impersonator, then Paradox Haze.
Paradox Haze and Shapesharer could make CryptoProggies even more dangerous, with the second upkeep (and further) keeping inline with the Proggy count, doubling the number of tokens or Paradox Hazes each upkeep. Optimal Clever Haze usage is to keep the number of upkeeps close to the Proggy count. (If Proggy10 is up, work towards 10 Hazes.)
Vesuvan Shapeshifter could replace Cryptoplasm in a Progenitor Mimic chain, doubling the number of 0/0 creatures each upkeep.
("Token 2" Means that token has "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, create a token that's a copy of this creature" twice.)
1. Progenitor Mimic, Vesuvan Shapeshifter flips upside down. (1 Proggy Total)
2. Progenitor Mimic makes Token2, Vesuvan Shapeshifter flips as VesuProggy2. (3 Proggy Total)
3. Tokens 3, 4, 5. VesuProggy2 flips twice and becomes VesuProggy5. (6 Proggy Total)
4. Tokens 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. VesuProggy5 = VesuProggy11. (12 Proggy Total)
5. Tokens 12 - 23. VesuProggy11 = VP23 (24 Proggy Total)
6. T24-47. VP21=VP43. (48 Proggy Total)
Cryptoplasm can ride Vesuvan Shapeshifter for more Progenitor Mimic Multipliers by manipulating the stack.
1. Progenitor Mimic makes Proggy 2. Cryptoplasm wants to become a copy of Vesuvan Shapeshifter, which flips face down at upkeep then turns face up as VesuProggy2 and Cryptoplasm becomes Crypto(Vesu)Proggy2.
2. Progenitor Mimic makes Proggy 3, the token (And all thereafter) gaining Crypto (And Vesu, but it's useless unless you really want a 2/2 with no creature types that can't flip back) from Crypto(Vesu)Proggy2. Crypto(Vesu)Proggy2 and VesuProggy2 both make CryptoToken(Vesu)Proggies 4, 5, 6, and 7. Crypto(Vesu)Proggy2 wants to become a copy of VesuProggy2, which flips at upkeep and flips back to being CryptoVesuProggy7. Crypto(Vesu)Proggy becomes Crypto(Vesu)Proggy7.
3. Progenitor Mimic makes CVP8. CP7 & VP7 >> CVP9-22. CP7 = VP7 = CVP22.
4. P > 23. CP22 > 24-45. VP22 > 46-67. CP22 = VP22 = CVP67.
CVP67 is CryptoVesuProggy67. That means it's a 0/0 Progenitor Mimic with "At the beginning of your upkeep, you may have [this creature] become a copy of another target creature. If you do, [this creature] gains this ability.", and it has "At the beginning of your upkeep, you may turn this creature face down." and it has "You may have [this creature] enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature on the battlefield except it gains "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature." and lastly it has "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature."... 67 times.
If CVP67 is a token, it simply turns into the coolest creature at the next upkeep using Cryptoplasm's ability. If it's a nontoken creature... It makes tokens.
Thespian's Stage could become a copy of Mutavault. Then make a clone of MutaStage as a creature for more lands that could become more lands. Proggy = Multiple lands that could become creatures, further fueling Tomb of the Spirit Dragon for more life gain. This also enables non-blue activated abilities to be cast.
Mercurial Pretender (Clone Self, but gains "Pay 2UU, return to owner's hand.") could be useful in tandem with Shapesharer to allow you to recycle static clones if you needed to lay down Mirror Images before they could become Cryptoplasms.