So we've got some really cool new cards from Aether Revolt. I'm here to talk about one per card of mine that seems to have fallen under the radar a little. This card, of course, is Hidden Stockpile. First of all, it's a token creating card digging machine that is amazing at creating incremental value as the game goes on.
It works especially well with Thopter Spy Network, another card that creates huge incremental value and seems to have fallen under the radar.
The two cards together produce immense amounts of card advantage and tokens.
It seems to me like this could warrant building an esper control shell around to test.
The one drop spot will never be cast on our opponent's end step if we're doing well.
Thing is, Zealous Persecution is really only good if you run lingering souls. I can see it in a meta full of x/1s but aside from that we should probably steer clear. I'd rather run some instant speed counterspells.
One, I completely agree with everyone on saying playing cards sorcery speed feels bad. It does, especially when you want to hold up counter magic. You could take out souls from the main and replace them with Esper Charms for card draw. That will make the deck much less tap-out.
Smuggler's Copter seems very promising, I like everything it does, and it seems criminally easy to crew. In a tap out shell with souls is where it seems like it would shine.
Another card to consider is Stitcher's Graft. It was brought up a while ago. It buffs up any creature considerably and provides a lot more pressure. You'll most likely be equipping it to souls tokens, so sacrifice them isn't a big deal.
You use smallpox to exhaust resources on both sides of the table.
They do completly different things.
I'm aware of this, but using smallpox to mainly deal with creatures seems like a underwhelming use of the card. Exhausting resources symmetrically is generally only good in very specific control decks that operate well on one land and with cards in their graveyard. The trick with cards like smallpox is not making its effects less relevant on you, but making them beneficial to you.
Control hates playing against smallpox because it makes it hard to stop pressure and respond to threats.
Decks that play smallpox are generally built around it, because it's a very powerful card but hard to make useful.
Preferably the turn after they play a creature, while they stil have one card in hand. Manadorks, goblin guide, taramagoyf, glistener elf. It really works quite well with all of them except lingering souls, kitchen finks and voice of resugerncy.
Inquesition can sett up a good play as well, and you get to know their hand.
Turn 1: Suspend Ancestral Vision, Inquesition or Fatal Push.
Turn 2: Brain in a Jar, Mycolot Wellspring, or smallpox if they have a creature.
As the game progresses you should be able to resolve an suspended ancestral vision, an acestral vision via yahennie's expertise, or one of the fuse cards off expertise or brain in the jar. From that point on you will likly be pulling away from the oponent through raw resources alone.
The way you describe smallpox, it seems like Fatal Push would just be better.
Smallpox is a very good card if they play creatures. Catch // release i smallpox 5-8, but if they do not run any non land permanents i get to kill 2 of their lands.
With 4 acestrasl visions and 4 beck call i should come out on topp on card advantage. The opponent should be burned to the ground and left with no resources.
When in the game would you normally be casting smallpox?
Realistically, how does smallpox help? It seems awfully symmetrical in your list. We're a control deck, so if we're playing smallpox, it's got to be in a list that doesn't care about its downsides.
Recently I've been watching the new cards and new interactions, and the new Expertise cycle reignited my interest in Brain in a Jar + Beck // Call. Just off a quick look over, I came up with this list.
I've found it to be awfully consistent with all the Cantrips and draw spells, and easy to keep the pressure off of your back with the new premier removal spell in Fatal Push. A lot of decks find it hard to overcome 7 1/1s and four cards late game. It can also happen as early as turn four, but Sram's Expertise is often the better card later.
How many counters do you run for Baral's Ability to be relevant ?
Getting a slight discount on a handful of spells doesn't seem to be worth a card imho.
As a non-spirit I don't think that he is better than Thalia in the deck.
Another cool synergy with Baral is with Kira. When she counters stuff you get a loot trigger.
Another upside to baral is the loot ability in general. It means you can ditch other copies of him, or more irrelevant cards, making sure you can keep looting. He fills your graveyard for moorland haunt
Just putting it out there, Baral Cheif of Compliance is very good in our deck. Yes, it isn't a Spirit, yes it won't trigger Mausoleum Wanderer or be affected by Drogskol Captain, but it's insane.
First of all, we get 1 Mana remands that loot. Second of all, we get full lingering souls for 3 Mana. Third of all, we get a loot effect off of Spell Queller and Mausoleum Wanderer.
It seems very beneficial to our deck.
I know, it doesn't effect a lot of spells in our deck, but the spells it does effect become broken, and the added loot off of creatures countering things seems really good.
Think about this, turn two Baral. Next turn you can play souls and hold up remand, or Spell Queller with a loot trigger. Seems VERY good.
First of all, I've changed my list to exclude serum visions. It wasn't really working for me. Instead, I've decided to run a full set of Inquisitions so I can always hit something turn one. I find a lot of games where I don't do anything disruptive or productive turn one and those are generally games I lose.
Second, I've decided to run two Mana Leak. I feel like some hard countermagic could help smooth things out.
I've removed Selfless Spirit from the main, it never really seemed impactful enough to me. It felt really bad playing it turn two. I'd rather leak their play.
Third, am I the only one hyped about Amonkhet as a potential spirit plane? It seems like it is one of the few planes where spirits could be an active force. I really hope wizards give us some more goodies. I'm especially hopeful after seeing the power level in Aether Revolt cards.
In this way we become more of a U/B/w deck that doesn't need white on the first turn. We can opt for UB fast lands so we don't have to fetch-shock every game on turn 1. However this is just like the version I'm running at the moment only PtE = Fatal Push and Remand got switched out for IoK. I feel that in an unknown meta, at such a large tournament some form of hand disruption / intel gathering is very useful
If you already have Vials and Mausoleum Wanderer, a playset of Inquisition is a little unnecessary. Especially since vials and Inquisitions present conflicting gameplans.
You really want to land either of them on turn one, and they both get much worse later, so you might want to have at most 2 Inquisitions.
It works especially well with Thopter Spy Network, another card that creates huge incremental value and seems to have fallen under the radar.
The two cards together produce immense amounts of card advantage and tokens.
It seems to me like this could warrant building an esper control shell around to test.
Thing is, Zealous Persecution is really only good if you run lingering souls. I can see it in a meta full of x/1s but aside from that we should probably steer clear. I'd rather run some instant speed counterspells.
And hey, Alley evasion seems pretty cool, maybe worth trying out.
One, I completely agree with everyone on saying playing cards sorcery speed feels bad. It does, especially when you want to hold up counter magic. You could take out souls from the main and replace them with Esper Charms for card draw. That will make the deck much less tap-out.
Smuggler's Copter seems very promising, I like everything it does, and it seems criminally easy to crew. In a tap out shell with souls is where it seems like it would shine.
Another card to consider is Stitcher's Graft. It was brought up a while ago. It buffs up any creature considerably and provides a lot more pressure. You'll most likely be equipping it to souls tokens, so sacrifice them isn't a big deal.
I'm aware of this, but using smallpox to mainly deal with creatures seems like a underwhelming use of the card. Exhausting resources symmetrically is generally only good in very specific control decks that operate well on one land and with cards in their graveyard. The trick with cards like smallpox is not making its effects less relevant on you, but making them beneficial to you.
Control hates playing against smallpox because it makes it hard to stop pressure and respond to threats.
Decks that play smallpox are generally built around it, because it's a very powerful card but hard to make useful.
The way you describe smallpox, it seems like Fatal Push would just be better.
When in the game would you normally be casting smallpox?
3 Remand
3 Mana Leak
Draw/Cantrips:
4 Serum Visions
2 Esper Charm
Removal:
4 Fatal Push
2 Path to Exile
2 Far // Away
Boardwipe:
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Yahenni's Expertise
4 Brain in a Jar
4 Beck // Call
4 Sram's Expertise
Permission:
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
Lands:
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Watery Grave
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Shambling Vent
1 Concealed Courtyard
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Seachrome Coast
2 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
I've found it to be awfully consistent with all the Cantrips and draw spells, and easy to keep the pressure off of your back with the new premier removal spell in Fatal Push. A lot of decks find it hard to overcome 7 1/1s and four cards late game. It can also happen as early as turn four, but Sram's Expertise is often the better card later.
Creatures:
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Rattlechains
3 Baral, Cheif of Compliance
4 Spell Queller
2 Kira, Great Glass Spinner
Instants:
4 Remand
3 Fatal Push
2 Path to Exile
2 Mana Leak
1 Spell Pierce
1 Ojutai's Command
Sorceries:
4 Lingering Souls
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
Lands:
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Watery Grave
1 Godless Shrine
2 Darkslick Shores
1 Seachrome Coast
3 Island
1 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Moorland Haunt
Very expiremental, but I have high hopes.
Mimic doesn't receive benefits from Rattlechains, and isn't a 2/2.
Aside from that, it's much easier to cast, it affects tokens, it gets buffs from your other creatures, and it isn't legendary so it can stack.
Thalia is better by far in a Vial list. In my list, Thalia would be extremely detrimental.
My current list (not posted) for reference has:
4 Remand
2 Mana Leak
2 Kira Great Glass Spinner
1 Spell Pierce
4 Lingering Souls
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
All of which synergize with Baral.
And I'm thinking of taking out worship for Ojutai's Command for more counters, draws, and a way to get Baral back.
It seems to me like enough to merit an inclusion.
Edit:
Another cool synergy with Baral is with Kira. When she counters stuff you get a loot trigger.
Another upside to baral is the loot ability in general. It means you can ditch other copies of him, or more irrelevant cards, making sure you can keep looting. He fills your graveyard for moorland haunt
First of all, we get 1 Mana remands that loot. Second of all, we get full lingering souls for 3 Mana. Third of all, we get a loot effect off of Spell Queller and Mausoleum Wanderer.
It seems very beneficial to our deck.
I know, it doesn't effect a lot of spells in our deck, but the spells it does effect become broken, and the added loot off of creatures countering things seems really good.
Think about this, turn two Baral. Next turn you can play souls and hold up remand, or Spell Queller with a loot trigger. Seems VERY good.
Second, I've decided to run two Mana Leak. I feel like some hard countermagic could help smooth things out.
I've removed Selfless Spirit from the main, it never really seemed impactful enough to me. It felt really bad playing it turn two. I'd rather leak their play.
Third, am I the only one hyped about Amonkhet as a potential spirit plane? It seems like it is one of the few planes where spirits could be an active force. I really hope wizards give us some more goodies. I'm especially hopeful after seeing the power level in Aether Revolt cards.
If you already have Vials and Mausoleum Wanderer, a playset of Inquisition is a little unnecessary. Especially since vials and Inquisitions present conflicting gameplans.
You really want to land either of them on turn one, and they both get much worse later, so you might want to have at most 2 Inquisitions.