Turn 2 Primeval Titan with a god hand sounds really fun.
Turn 1:
Land, Vigor
Turn 2:
Rav Dual Land (Return Land), Summer Bloom (allowing 3 more lands)
Rav Dual Land (Returning Other Dual land), tap for the 2 mana *repeat 3 times*
Primeval Titan
You just need 1 land, 2 rav dual lands, 1 summer bloom, 1 Primeval Titan. That's 5 out of the 8 cards you will have by turn 2.
I feel sukura tribe scout is weak in the deck. When i tested with it, it always seemed to just eat a bolt and provide 1-2 land drops tops. Decks that run creature removal usually run bolt, and often don't cut it(UWR, sometimes jund). I much prefer trinket mage. It allows you to grab amulet (acts as amulet 5-7), engineered explosives, chalice(amazing against burn, soul sisters and tron) and pithing needle. Another issue is since you need Green for Sakura, it runs against Serum visions, which is MUCH more important. Serum visions is often draw 3, shipping 2 lands to the bottom with a bunch of lands already in hand. Sakura just stresses the manabase even more. I feel it should fall more on the blue side.
Another card to consider for sideboard is seal of primordium. Reason being that it gives you an out against blood moon which is basically gg otherwise, can cast it when theyre tapped out and use it whenever its needed against twin/batterskull/pod. Really seems strong.
I also use Gifts to fetch out Hive mind/Titan often. The biggest problem with the deck is when fighting hate often you have turns where you just sit there making land drops. I feel gifts is a good mana sink at the 4 spot. Unsure how effective it is as a combo with E-witness/Noxious revival it may be a bit slow. For the record, both are fine cards to have in your hand, especially games 2/3. People will thoughtseize you, destroy your amulets, ghost quarter your bounce lands and revival and witness provide good value there.
I found garruk wildspeaker to be pointless, I would always rather have a Gifts that much is sure. Basically I want the deck to be better against hate, and have more ways of attacking. I think with just 4 amulets main, without it you are really hurting, since titan without amulet on turn 3/4 isn't that strong.
People know about this deck now. So non god hands need to be forgotten about. The question is how do you win with the bad hands. And i feel my version does that better then most im reading here with lots of cute tricks.
I also find the sakura scout to be weak. It's just too slow and frequently doesn't do anything. What chalice are you talking about exactly?
Trinket mage seems a bit slow too since he is 3 mana, I'd rather have more draw or control.
The seal of primordium idea seems good, i've lost to blood moon a few times and it's horrible.
What do you usually fetch with gifts? Hive mind, pact, titan and something else? Sounds good to me, I had forgotten gifts exists. Do you run 4 gifts? I'll try gifts if I can get some.
Garruk has been wonderful to me. He can protect, ramp and overrun so he is very versatile but I can see that gifts takes is place very easily
I also find the sakura scout to be weak. It's just too slow and frequently doesn't do anything. What chalice are you talking about exactly?
Trinket mage seems a bit slow too since he is 3 mana, I'd rather have more draw or control.
The seal of primordium idea seems good, i've lost to blood moon a few times and it's horrible.
What do you usually fetch with gifts? Hive mind, pact, titan and something else? Sounds good to me, I had forgotten gifts exists. Do you run 4 gifts? I'll try gifts if I can get some.
Garruk has been wonderful to me. He can protect, ramp and overrun so he is very versatile but I can see that gifts takes is place very easily
Honestly i drew garruk a handful of times and it never did what it was supposed to. I can certainly see why it works, but like you said the deck needs lots of draw. Right now im Running 2 gifts/2 hive mind. I usually board out 1 hive mind/few pacts/titans for my hate cards along with a serum vision or two.
With Gifts you can get Hive mind, Noxious Revival, Eternal witness and a pact. If you have a piece you can add a land to the pile, or a hate card like Boil(which destroys UWR btw. Insane against them) or explosives that they are unlikely to give you. You can also assure you get a titan with those as well if they are low on life, and an extra amulet is always nice as well.
I may try going up to 3 gifts and ditching the second hive mind. I have also considered trying Remand since its obviously great at buying time. As far as Chalice i mean Chalice of the void. Its great on 1 against tron,eggs and burn or on 2 against alot of other decks(though im not sure its worth getting in those situations).
My biggest problem seems to be Ghost quarter as i got absolutely wrecked by it last night. That and sowing salt. You basically get all of the Tron hate which is pretty popular right now. Considered adding a second basic for just that reason.
My biggest problem seems to be Ghost quarter as i got absolutely wrecked by it last night. That and sowing salt. You basically get all of the Tron hate which is pretty popular right now. Considered adding a second basic for just that reason.
I've run 3 Forests from the get go because green is the most important color of the deck (followed closely by Blue), and having a stable source is important for the deck to function correctly.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Vive, vale. Siquid novisti rectius istis,
candidus inperti; si nil, his utere mecum.
~~~~~
I've run 3 Forests from the get go because green is the most important color of the deck (followed closely by Blue), and having a stable source is important for the deck to function correctly.
I'm running a more blue based verison, with trinket mage and gifts. I am going to try a few more DE's. Misplays with this deck in competitive games are brutal, any wrong land drop, wrong fetched land could be game over 2-3 turns later. If it doesn't go better with a few changes i may switch it up and add something different.
I'm running a more blue based verison, with trinket mage and gifts. I am going to try a few more DE's. Misplays with this deck in competitive games are brutal, any wrong land drop, wrong fetched land could be game over 2-3 turns later. If it doesn't go better with a few changes i may switch it up and add something different.
I'd be very interested in seeing this list, care to share?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'm a control player, because I like to reserve the right to say no.
Very long and annoying to type the decklist out, so I will just post a screenshot. Good news is i went 3-1 and the deck performed great against t1/2 decks. http://imgur.com/6NsS2D1is the deck. Quick report time
R1 was against a gifts control deck. The deck wasn't really any problem g1, but relic of progenitus made it even tougher game 2, and i brought in pithing needle as well. 2-0
R2 was a against a black/red burn deck. I lost game 1, and won games 2/3 with 2 life left. Without a nut draw this is a difficult matchup. Brought in Chalice of the void, pyroclasms and relic since he has DRS and lavamancer. I proceed to opening hand chalice BOTH g2/3 which saves me as I had 2 life each time with a guide staring me down. Guide actually drew me the land i needed g3 to win it with Hive mind. 2-1
R3 was against a UWR splinter twin deck. G1 was the same problem i had last DE against a blue deck - didn't get to see what it was before i won. I sided in seal of primordium assuming blood moon, but forgot that had it been splinter twin its amazing there as well. Considering going up to 2 of them for this matchup and others(great all around). G2 i lose after being 1 turn off a hive mind kill not seeing the pestermite into splinter twin coming (he wear/teared my seal game 2 AND 3 to combo off). So while i lost 2-1 this round, i reasonably could have won had he not had the wear/tear both times. It seems like a close matchup with the combo kill, whereas other blue decks are mostly pushovers.
R4 was against RUG delver. Again another killer splash as ancient grudge destroys me hard. Molten rain in these matchups is brutal as well although i did win last DE after FOUR molten rain with a summer bloom into primeval titan. Again chalice of the void was the MVP, as G3 i chaliced on 1 after his serum visions. He sided in tarmo, but a Gifts for pact of negation land eternal witness and boil sealed it. Gifts/boil great in these blue matchups as inevitably they tap out to think twice/bolt/snapcaster/clique you. 2-1
Pretty happy with the deck. Still unsure if i want 2 Hive minds MD. Probably want a second seal in the board for Twin/Blood moon/others. Chalice is insane, although i nut drew it each game, and never trinket maged for it. Questionable how good trinket mage is over Fabricate. Fabricate can get you wurmcoil, or dampening matrix and maybe other in the SB. Also vs burn Kibira crossroads would have been very nice netting me 4-6 life so that is a card ive seen in MD's i missed in that matchup.
Possible cuts include inkmoth nexus for a Island/Forest or for Kibira crossroads. Loam seems good in alot of matchups too where they have tec edge/molten rain/ghost quarter. I got absolutely DESTROYED against assault loam all 4 games. Knight of the Reliquary into ghost quarters with loam is unbeatable.
Has anyone thought of running black on this deck? Black enables this deck to run thoughseizes and Null Profusion. With a way to repeatedly put cards from your Graveyard (green has lots of ways to do this) to your library, "Cast Summer Bloom. Play 3 land . Draw 3 Card." X infinity is possible.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
On the works: Leyline Deck Wins
:symbu:Null 'n Void:symbu:
Decks built:
:symg::symb::symr::symw::symu:ChangelingsUWRBG
:symru:16 land Ignite Memories Combo:symru:
:symbu:Hunted Singularity:symbu:
Has anyone thought of running black on this deck? Black enables this deck to run thoughseizes and Null Profusion. With a way to repeatedly put cards from your Graveyard (green has lots of ways to do this) to your library, "Cast Summer Bloom. Play 3 land . Draw 3 Card." X infinity is possible.
Thoughtseize would be useful, but because of the different color requirements, having turn 1 black man might not always happen. Also, with the nut draws (christmas land mind you) you dont have the opportunity to cast it. Null profusion doesn't provide an actual way to victory. The deck is capable of producing 6 mana rather quick. Titan and hive mind both provide "win conditions" once 6 mana is hit. Null profusion would require a lot more investment or even an untap step, and still, no way to equal a win.
Thoughtseize would be useful, but because of the different color requirements, having turn 1 black man might not always happen. Also, with the nut draws (christmas land mind you) you dont have the opportunity to cast it. Null profusion doesn't provide an actual way to victory. The deck is capable of producing 6 mana rather quick. Titan and hive mind both provide "win conditions" once 6 mana is hit. Null profusion would require a lot more investment or even an untap step, and still, no way to equal a win.
Now that I think about it, you might be right on profusion. But still, I think that incorporating black would greatly help the deck. The way it is right now, it's still looks glass cannon-y even with Hivemind.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
On the works: Leyline Deck Wins
:symbu:Null 'n Void:symbu:
Decks built:
:symg::symb::symr::symw::symu:ChangelingsUWRBG
:symru:16 land Ignite Memories Combo:symru:
:symbu:Hunted Singularity:symbu:
It is weird this deck is still in deck creation. The reason it is still in deck creation is because nobody is playing it I guess, but it feels weird to have this in between the frog tribal decks and decks that try to abuse Wood Elemental.
I think the reason why this is in deck creation is because of that and because this isn't a primer. Speaking of, someone should make a primer for this. I am considering getting the deck online, but not knowing what its matchups are, how it plays, and the reasoning behind card choices, I really don't want to do that.
Has anyone thought of running black on this deck? Black enables this deck to run thoughseizes and Null Profusion. With a way to repeatedly put cards from your Graveyard (green has lots of ways to do this) to your library, "Cast Summer Bloom. Play 3 land . Draw 3 Card." X infinity is possible.
I've been considering this. With the talk of running Gifts Ungiven to fetch the Hive Mind combo, I was thinking of using the Life from the Loam/Raven's Crime combo. And if the manabase could support being 3 colors (4 colors if possible), I think a Hive Mind/Kangaroo/4C Gifts hybrid would be pretty cool.
Just as a heads up: This deck has officially placed in 6+ dailies over the past 20 or so days, so it's already heading to Established when January 28 rolls around (the next ban announcement). So in preparation for this, someone needs to write a primer for the deck. Message me if interested!
Wow. So the Hideaway land trick is pretty awesome.
Beside Emrakul and Time Warp being the cards to try to hit off of Hideaway, anyone consider Time Stretch ? Or is Time Warp better simply because you can cast it if need be?
Several lists of this deck have ranked in the dailies this week. Im gonna post them now. This deck needs its thread to be revitalized.
Also, TCGPlayer featured the deck in an article a couple of days ago here (scroll to the bottom)
Has Hive Mind turned into plan B for the deck? If so, how has it been working?
Does 7 Pacts justify it as a way to win?
Im just starting to build and test the deck, but so far the answer is yes. Up to a point, it can be as fast as the titan path and even your plan A in some matchups (Living End, RG tron, tokens)
Your seven (or six with a summoner's pact): Rainbow land, karoo land, vigor, hive mind, summer bloom, random pact is a t2 win that can't be disrupted by removal (T1 land, amulet. T2, karoo bounce itself, bloom, play and bounce three times making 6, play hive mind, play pact, GG). Same path as t2 titan but more difficult to disrupt. Also, once it's in play, it disrupts many of the games rules. Counters are useless, removal becomes painful for them and so on.
Hive Mind is a much more effective win than Primeval Titan because it doesn't lose to removal or really even to countermagic.
I have started testing this deck idea, with Temple of Mystery making my cut because it taps for both relevant colors and the scry is quite nice for a combo deck that wants to set up its draws (also works well with Oracle of Mul Daya, Vesuva, and bouncelands).
So far I've gotten a bit of a feel for what hands I can keep and what hands I can't. I've tested against a RG build and against UR Delver with positive results from both matchups.
4 Selesnya Sanctuary
4 Simic Growth Chamber
3 Tendo Ice Bridge
3 Gemstone Mine
2 Tolaria West
1 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Gruul Turf
1 Vesuva
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Forest
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Boros Garrison
1 Khalni Garden
1 Kabira Crossroads
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Slayers' Stronghold
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
4 Primeval Titan
3 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
3 Sakura-Tribe Scout
14 INSTANTS and SORCERIES
4 Summoner's Pact
4 Summer Bloom
3 Serum Visions
2 Pact of Negation
1 Slaughter Pact
8 OTHER SPELLS
4 Amulet of Vigor
2 Hive Mind
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Pithing Needle
2 Pyroclasm
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Fabricate
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Creeping Corrosion
2 Damping Matrix
2 Boil
2 Beast Within
1 Engineered Explosives
LINK: http://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=5716&d=233156
Turn 2 Primeval Titan with a god hand sounds really fun.
Turn 1:
Land, Vigor
Turn 2:
Rav Dual Land (Return Land), Summer Bloom (allowing 3 more lands)
Rav Dual Land (Returning Other Dual land), tap for the 2 mana *repeat 3 times*
Primeval Titan
You just need 1 land, 2 rav dual lands, 1 summer bloom, 1 Primeval Titan. That's 5 out of the 8 cards you will have by turn 2.
Another card to consider for sideboard is seal of primordium. Reason being that it gives you an out against blood moon which is basically gg otherwise, can cast it when theyre tapped out and use it whenever its needed against twin/batterskull/pod. Really seems strong.
I also use Gifts to fetch out Hive mind/Titan often. The biggest problem with the deck is when fighting hate often you have turns where you just sit there making land drops. I feel gifts is a good mana sink at the 4 spot. Unsure how effective it is as a combo with E-witness/Noxious revival it may be a bit slow. For the record, both are fine cards to have in your hand, especially games 2/3. People will thoughtseize you, destroy your amulets, ghost quarter your bounce lands and revival and witness provide good value there.
I found garruk wildspeaker to be pointless, I would always rather have a Gifts that much is sure. Basically I want the deck to be better against hate, and have more ways of attacking. I think with just 4 amulets main, without it you are really hurting, since titan without amulet on turn 3/4 isn't that strong.
People know about this deck now. So non god hands need to be forgotten about. The question is how do you win with the bad hands. And i feel my version does that better then most im reading here with lots of cute tricks.
Trinket mage seems a bit slow too since he is 3 mana, I'd rather have more draw or control.
The seal of primordium idea seems good, i've lost to blood moon a few times and it's horrible.
What do you usually fetch with gifts? Hive mind, pact, titan and something else? Sounds good to me, I had forgotten gifts exists. Do you run 4 gifts? I'll try gifts if I can get some.
Garruk has been wonderful to me. He can protect, ramp and overrun so he is very versatile but I can see that gifts takes is place very easily
Honestly i drew garruk a handful of times and it never did what it was supposed to. I can certainly see why it works, but like you said the deck needs lots of draw. Right now im Running 2 gifts/2 hive mind. I usually board out 1 hive mind/few pacts/titans for my hate cards along with a serum vision or two.
With Gifts you can get Hive mind, Noxious Revival, Eternal witness and a pact. If you have a piece you can add a land to the pile, or a hate card like Boil(which destroys UWR btw. Insane against them) or explosives that they are unlikely to give you. You can also assure you get a titan with those as well if they are low on life, and an extra amulet is always nice as well.
I may try going up to 3 gifts and ditching the second hive mind. I have also considered trying Remand since its obviously great at buying time. As far as Chalice i mean Chalice of the void. Its great on 1 against tron,eggs and burn or on 2 against alot of other decks(though im not sure its worth getting in those situations).
My biggest problem seems to be Ghost quarter as i got absolutely wrecked by it last night. That and sowing salt. You basically get all of the Tron hate which is pretty popular right now. Considered adding a second basic for just that reason.
I've run 3 Forests from the get go because green is the most important color of the deck (followed closely by Blue), and having a stable source is important for the deck to function correctly.
candidus inperti; si nil, his utere mecum.
~~~~~
I'm running a more blue based verison, with trinket mage and gifts. I am going to try a few more DE's. Misplays with this deck in competitive games are brutal, any wrong land drop, wrong fetched land could be game over 2-3 turns later. If it doesn't go better with a few changes i may switch it up and add something different.
I'd be very interested in seeing this list, care to share?
http://imgur.com/6NsS2D1is the deck. Quick report time
R1 was against a gifts control deck. The deck wasn't really any problem g1, but relic of progenitus made it even tougher game 2, and i brought in pithing needle as well. 2-0
R2 was a against a black/red burn deck. I lost game 1, and won games 2/3 with 2 life left. Without a nut draw this is a difficult matchup. Brought in Chalice of the void, pyroclasms and relic since he has DRS and lavamancer. I proceed to opening hand chalice BOTH g2/3 which saves me as I had 2 life each time with a guide staring me down. Guide actually drew me the land i needed g3 to win it with Hive mind. 2-1
R3 was against a UWR splinter twin deck. G1 was the same problem i had last DE against a blue deck - didn't get to see what it was before i won. I sided in seal of primordium assuming blood moon, but forgot that had it been splinter twin its amazing there as well. Considering going up to 2 of them for this matchup and others(great all around). G2 i lose after being 1 turn off a hive mind kill not seeing the pestermite into splinter twin coming (he wear/teared my seal game 2 AND 3 to combo off). So while i lost 2-1 this round, i reasonably could have won had he not had the wear/tear both times. It seems like a close matchup with the combo kill, whereas other blue decks are mostly pushovers.
R4 was against RUG delver. Again another killer splash as ancient grudge destroys me hard. Molten rain in these matchups is brutal as well although i did win last DE after FOUR molten rain with a summer bloom into primeval titan. Again chalice of the void was the MVP, as G3 i chaliced on 1 after his serum visions. He sided in tarmo, but a Gifts for pact of negation land eternal witness and boil sealed it. Gifts/boil great in these blue matchups as inevitably they tap out to think twice/bolt/snapcaster/clique you. 2-1
Pretty happy with the deck. Still unsure if i want 2 Hive minds MD. Probably want a second seal in the board for Twin/Blood moon/others. Chalice is insane, although i nut drew it each game, and never trinket maged for it. Questionable how good trinket mage is over Fabricate. Fabricate can get you wurmcoil, or dampening matrix and maybe other in the SB. Also vs burn Kibira crossroads would have been very nice netting me 4-6 life so that is a card ive seen in MD's i missed in that matchup.
Possible cuts include inkmoth nexus for a Island/Forest or for Kibira crossroads. Loam seems good in alot of matchups too where they have tec edge/molten rain/ghost quarter. I got absolutely DESTROYED against assault loam all 4 games. Knight of the Reliquary into ghost quarters with loam is unbeatable.
On the works:
Leyline Deck Wins:symbu:Null 'n Void:symbu:
Decks built:
:symg::symb::symr::symw::symu:ChangelingsUWRBG
:symru:16 land Ignite Memories Combo:symru:
:symbu:Hunted Singularity:symbu:
Thoughtseize would be useful, but because of the different color requirements, having turn 1 black man might not always happen. Also, with the nut draws (christmas land mind you) you dont have the opportunity to cast it. Null profusion doesn't provide an actual way to victory. The deck is capable of producing 6 mana rather quick. Titan and hive mind both provide "win conditions" once 6 mana is hit. Null profusion would require a lot more investment or even an untap step, and still, no way to equal a win.
Now that I think about it, you might be right on profusion. But still, I think that incorporating black would greatly help the deck. The way it is right now, it's still looks glass cannon-y even with Hivemind.
On the works:
Leyline Deck Wins:symbu:Null 'n Void:symbu:
Decks built:
:symg::symb::symr::symw::symu:ChangelingsUWRBG
:symru:16 land Ignite Memories Combo:symru:
:symbu:Hunted Singularity:symbu:
I think the reason why this is in deck creation is because of that and because this isn't a primer. Speaking of, someone should make a primer for this. I am considering getting the deck online, but not knowing what its matchups are, how it plays, and the reasoning behind card choices, I really don't want to do that.
I've been considering this. With the talk of running Gifts Ungiven to fetch the Hive Mind combo, I was thinking of using the Life from the Loam/Raven's Crime combo. And if the manabase could support being 3 colors (4 colors if possible), I think a Hive Mind/Kangaroo/4C Gifts hybrid would be pretty cool.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
Congratulations on your finishes guys!
Beside Emrakul and Time Warp being the cards to try to hit off of Hideaway, anyone consider Time Stretch ? Or is Time Warp better simply because you can cast it if need be?
"There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job'." -Terrance Fletcher, Whiplash (2014)
Also, TCGPlayer featured the deck in an article a couple of days ago here (scroll to the bottom)
Lands
1 Boros Garrison
4 Breeding Pool
1 Forest
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Selesnya Sanctuary
4 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Slayers' Stronghold
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
3 Tendo Ice Bridge
2 Tolaria West
1 Vesuva
Stuff
4 Amulet of Vigor
3 Ancient Stirrings
4 Explore
3 Hive Mind
2 Pact of Negation
4 Serum Visions
4 Summer Bloom
4 Summoner's Pact
2 Telling Time
1 Intervention Pact
3 Leyline of Sanctity
4 Nature's Claim
1 Pact of Negation
3 Remand
3 Slaughter Pact
Lands
1 Boros Garrison
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Forest
3 Gemstone Mine
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Gruul Turf
1 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Kabira Crossroads
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Khalni Garden
4 Selesnya Sanctuary
4 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Slayers' Stronghold
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
3 Tendo Ice Bridge
2 Tolaria West
1 Vesuva
2 Oracle of Mul Daya
4 Primeval Titan
Stuff
4 Amulet of Vigor
2 Compulsive Research
2 Hive Mind
2 Pact of Negation
4 Serum Visions
1 Slaughter Pact
4 Summer Bloom
4 Summoner's Pact
1 Acidic Slime
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Creeping Corrosion
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Ethereal Usher
1 Fabricate
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Harmonic Sliver
1 Pithing Needle
2 Pyroclasm
1 Trinket Mage
1 Wurmcoil Engine
BRG Living End
UGWRB Titan Bloom (40% complete)
Does 7 Pacts justify it as a way to win?
"There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job'." -Terrance Fletcher, Whiplash (2014)
Im just starting to build and test the deck, but so far the answer is yes. Up to a point, it can be as fast as the titan path and even your plan A in some matchups (Living End, RG tron, tokens)
Your seven (or six with a summoner's pact): Rainbow land, karoo land, vigor, hive mind, summer bloom, random pact is a t2 win that can't be disrupted by removal (T1 land, amulet. T2, karoo bounce itself, bloom, play and bounce three times making 6, play hive mind, play pact, GG). Same path as t2 titan but more difficult to disrupt. Also, once it's in play, it disrupts many of the games rules. Counters are useless, removal becomes painful for them and so on.
BRG Living End
UGWRB Titan Bloom (40% complete)
I have started testing this deck idea, with Temple of Mystery making my cut because it taps for both relevant colors and the scry is quite nice for a combo deck that wants to set up its draws (also works well with Oracle of Mul Daya, Vesuva, and bouncelands).
So far I've gotten a bit of a feel for what hands I can keep and what hands I can't. I've tested against a RG build and against UR Delver with positive results from both matchups.
I stream Modern events semi-regularly at http://www.twitch.tv/nezeru
And yes Hive mind wins probably half of your games.