Update after close to 10 months. Havent quite had the luxury to indulge in mtg recently. There are quite alot of cuts i'm looking to replace but havent found too many replacements as of yet. Let's get on with it.
Cards on the cutting board - Liliana of the Veil: Like Spiritmonger has mentioned, it dosent have sufficient impact when it is played, and the main reason it was added to the deck was the ultimate, which to date i've not managed to pull off. Past in Flames: I gave it a fair shake. Overall it feels too clunky considering it's at least 4 mana upfront before you actually pay even more to cast what you wanted to. I feel that Mizzix Mastery is the superior replacement to Past in Flames for the deck and only one of them is needed. Read the Bones/Sign in Blood: While i still like the cards, i would like to try replacing them with the red looters like Cathartic Reunion and Tormenting Voice to see if it synergizes more with rez effects.
The rest of the cards are pretty much Demons which i feel are underperforming in the deck. Not sure if i should pull back from the demon tribal abit or otherwise.
Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
Phyrexian Obliterator
Defiler of Souls
Archfiend of Depravity
Kothoped, Soul Hoarder: It's always either too much or too little.
Reaper from the Abyss
That said, not all the cards are going to be cut right away, and there havent been much from the newer sets that have grasped my interests.
please reconsider cutting chaos warp. it's one of the few effects that can remove enchantments in red/artifacts, i doubled up with a pyroblast just for this effect.
DO you feel like that the amount of Enchantment removal you run is insufficient with just cards like Oblivion Stone and such or are they too broad an effect for your needs? From my experience thus far, it feels like Norin usually has the most threatening enchantments on the board most of the time when compared to other decks. In recent games, the only enchantment that has given me problems would likely be Survival of the Fittest. I'm just not entirely convinced yet that Chaos Warp is going to be worth a slot for those fringe cases, especially since it is a non-permanent.
For Kaladesh changes, I replaced Monkey Cage with Whirlermaker. Cage is a powerful combo card but it very often sits in my hand being completely useless and I feel it's too unreliable. At least Whirlermaker is a reliable mana sink. Could probably change it for an older card that does the same thing better but I don't know which one. I also might consider Hangarback Walker.
I agree with your assessment on monkey cage. I really wish the card worked on Norin due to how cool it is, but it's really just too convoluted to get working with our commander. I'm currently pondering on what to replace it with. If you are looking for mana sinks, Snake Basket, Pentavus and even the pyrohemia are all pretty decent when compared to Whirlermaker.
Selvala is most excellent, but a word to the wise: woodland bellower specifically says non legendary. It's almost like they knew selvala was coming or something....
Oh god, you're right. Woe be me...If only Kalametra's Acolyte was costed at 3cmc instead hah. Thanks for correcting me =)
Changelog:
- Forest
+ Dryad Arbor: I made this change awhile back to test out the potential of DA, and am totally sold on it's addition. The turn one GSZ->Dryad Arbor play is awfully satisfying.
- Lurking Predators: The playstyle of the card just dosen't mesh well with how the rest of the deck is in the current iteration. Without the topdeck manipulation it whiffs pretty often and usually has no immediate impact.
- Brutalizer Exarch: I already have sufficient non-creature removals on a stick and it's 3/3 body is neither here nor there in regards to synergy with other cards.
- Gyre Sage: The mana production on Gyre Sage is too convoluted and overall slow compared to the other manadorks in the deck. It's coming out because i have a better replacement finally.
+ Selvala, Heart of the Wilds: Remember how upset i was when i had to cut Rofellos from the deck? Well i'm over that now. Selvala is everything i wanted from Rofellos and more. It's costed perfectly at 3cmc allowing it to be fetched with Woodland Bellower. It pumps out ridiculous amounts of mana on average and gets even crazier when paired with creatures like Worldspine Wurm and Primalcrux. And the cherry on top is the occasional card draw from her first ability. Perfect.
+ Ulvenwald Observer: Testing this out as additional card draw. Not as reliable as the traditional etb effect, but i figure it still has a place in the deck.
+ Regal Behemoth: Testing it out as a potential Vorinclex no. 2 and also as a Monarch enabler.
Other Notable cards.
Selvala's Stampede: This card is almost certainly going into the deck as an additional Genesis Wave/Eureka effect. It's mana cost is on a the high side and it only really works well in 4 player or more pods though. It is likely going to take the spot of either the Ulvenwald Observer or the Regal Behemoth, but i wish to test out those cards first before excluding them.
Haven't been able to give priority to mtg over the past few months. A mate recently decided to buy a box of Kaladesh which resulted in me discovering Panharmonicon. Basically that was sufficient to reignite my passion and get started on updating my decks to the latest set.
Alright, lets get started.
Changelog:
- Outpost Siege: Siege was a card that i had hopes for as a mini Norin Engine. Most times i draw the card though, i find the Khans option more worthwhile than the meager damage that Dragons puts out before the game ends.
+ Chandra, Torch of Defiance: Taking the spot of Outpost Siege is Chandra. Her first ability is am improved version of Outpost Siege's Khan option. Her second ability gives us some mini accel, amounting to a lesser effect to Koth's at the upside of being usuable each turn. The -3 ability is somewhat costly, but 4 damage is still reasonably useful as spot removal. I'm not sure how often she will be able to use the ultimate so i'm not going to take that into account for now. My main interest in the card comes from the two +1 abilities.
- Chaos Warp: I feel that Chaos Warp shined brightest when it was able to remove problematic commanders by shuffling them into the library. With the rule change, i'm finding that the warp hasn't been giving me as much value as i've been accustomed to the past few years. Therefore this is an opportunity to finally cut down on my number of non-permanents in the deck.
+ Panharmonicon: Ah what to say. It was love at first sight. I don't believe i need to state why this card is amazing. Auto-included.
- Tuktuk Scrapper: No particular reason for this removal. Making space for Smuggler's Copter, but realized that i had already removed Rummaging Goblin earlier to test out Commune with Lava. While i was tempted to remove Commune for the Copter, i havent tested it out sufficiently yet.
+ Smuggler's Copter: To me, this was intended to be an upgrade to Rummaging Goblin. My expectations for this card are as follows. 1)Provide an early game presence. Norin usually lacks an early game presence due to our commander's cowardly nature. The copter has a solid 3/3 body for 2 mana and should deter early game attacks from heading out way. 2)Flying/Evasion. One of the deck's weaknesses lie in it's ability to deal with or block flying weenies. Since the copter has flying it will be able to prevent us from getting attacked by opportunistic fliers. At the same time, having flying gives it sufficient evasion to trigger it's looting effect somewhat consistently. 3) Improved loot effect. Rummager's loot requires us to discard first then draw. Copter on the other hand allows us to draw first then discard, increasing our options and thus card quality.
- Mountain
+ Inventors' Fair: Tutors are extremely rare in momo red. Gaining access to an artifact tutor in an artifact heavy mono-red deck on a land is hard to pass up. Furthermore, the lifegain ability on the land is also oddly relevant as it helps to partially negate the burn from mana crypt.
Cards that might be removed in the near future:
Sculpting Steel: Sculpting steel is so good. It just bugs me that it's a nonbo with Warp World.
Monkey Cage: The opposite problem from Sculpting Steel. The card is so insane on the back of a Warp World. But it's a complete nonbo in normal circumstances where it gets triggered by our measly commander.
Commune With Lava: This thing is just such a huge mana drain when compared to other options like Wheel of Fortune. I'm not sold either way and need more time to evaluate it's usefulness.
Mogg Infestation: I still really like the card. My two issues with it are the fact that it only hits one opponent and the fact that it is a sorcery. Since i'm always looking to reduce my non-permanent count, this on KIV.
Other cards of interest:
Reckless Fireweaver: I'm noting this card down for the possibility that the deck eventually shifts towards more artifact creatures. At that time, this could function is an additional copy of Impact Tremors.
Thoughts on Geier Reach Sanitarium? I am obviously not huge on benefiting opponents but the idea of filtering situational cards or setting up our graveyard for a rez does sound decent to me.
Seems passable as a loot effect. Personally i'm not keen on replacing a swamp with a colorless mana source just for a symmetrical loot effect. But that is mainly because i run Lashwrithe and such. It could be considered if the deck has issues casting warping wail i suppose, but i havent been able to form thoughts on that card yet.
For now I also leave Sneak Attack in the deck. Have to test it though to give some opinion on that.
@Silenciaco, you said that you are dropping Necropotence from the list (it's still there though). I have been thinking to include Disciple of Bolas to sacrifice reanimated demon. This will allow putting it into a grave instead of exiling it. What about more reanimation? Maybe we could squeeze in Necromancy or Animate Dead? You said you included them, but I can't see them on the list.
Maybe we could add a copy of Vampiric Tutor since the deck relies hardly on combo/explosive plays. EOT tutor would surely ease putting all the pieces of the puzzle together.
Looks like i edited the changelog on the OP, but forgot to change the decklist itself. Thanks for the headsup. Tutors can always be added into the deck for additional consistency. They also tend to make games play out similarly each time if the same cards are always being tutored for. I tend to start on the low side in terms of tutor count and add them in if i am disappointed in the consistency of the deck.
EMN Spoilers:
Succumb to Temptation: could find it's way into the deck as yet another card draw. Blood Mist: Not too sure how i feel about this card yet. On one hand, gaining double strike is a pretty powerful effect, especially so on Rakdos and a couple other demons. On the other hand, 4 mana for a single creature gaining double strike each turn may not be all that mana efficient. It's also an enchantment that might likely be sacced sooner or later. Shred of Sanity: Pretty cool instant/sorcery recursion effect. Hanweir Battlements: Hasety land? Awesome. No colored mana? Sadface.
I'll update the decklist on my next round of changes to the deck. I've got a few cuts and additions in mind.
Nothing really strikes my fancy from the upcoming EMN.
Succumb to Temptation: Decent instant speed card draw, something that we don't quite really need currently. Voldaren Pariah: Potential 'sac engine' of sorts. Not all that good at that either.
Just looked through the EMN Spoilers.
Only one card seems like it could be decent in the deck as it is currently.
Curious Homunculus/Voracious Reader: Early on it could function as a mana accel card specific to instants/sorceries. If we flip if before the combo finish, it could possibly save us quite abit of mana on the blowout turn as well. I'm gonna just keep it in mind whenever i draw one of the other mana accel creatures to see if this could be a better fit.
How has the reanimation theme been working out for you? Your build seems to be pretty creature-lite, and i remember my Toshiro deck requiring about 16 or so creatures before they were no longer dead cards during certain games. If you are looking to delve deeper into the flashback and reanimation themes, that deck might be able to give you some ideas.
As for cards like Night of the Souls' Betrayal, you may want to consider Echoing Decay or Bile Blight to handle token heavy metas. You'd be able to get double use out of them if needed with Dralnu.
What issues are you facing at the moment? It would be easier to give suggestions once we know what problems need to be solved.
Ah yeah, Necrotic Ooze is just an all-round amazing card. I've been looking for a home for this card for a really long time, but simply couldn't fit it into any of my other decks and that was a big part of the reason for creating a Dralnu build. It so happens to have excellent synergy with Dralnu and Morality Shift which were the initial brainstorming point for the eventual deck. Necrotic Ooze also has the potential to be possibly the most obscene non-infinite combos in EDH.
Turn 1:
Land -> Dark Ritual -> Sol Ring -> Buried Alive (Necrotic Ooze/Phyrexian Devourer/Triskelion) -> Reanimate the Ooze
Ooze gets the Phyrexian Devourer's ability to exile cards from the library to add +1/+1 counters equal to each card's cmc to itself with no downside.
Triskelion allows it to remove those counters to for 1 damage per +1/+1 counter. With the decks avg cmc of 3.77, that comes out to a potential total damage of over 350+ damage.
I'm not sure if your list is able to support it, but it certainly gets my recommendation. Even excluding the combo, it oozes of fun with all the quirky activation effects you can find in U/B.
I'm glad to see Dralnu get some more love. My list is more control/reanimator but he has a ton of combo potential. He's one of my favorite commanders and I'm surprised more people don't play him. I think people get turned off by his downside. I've found that it's not as bad as it sounds since there's so little burn in commander. However, it does look like you intend to keep Dralnu on the table so you might want some protection. I've seen some people run things like Magebane Armor and lots of sac outlets but since you're a dedicated combo list, you might not want to find room for those. I don't run Magebane, but I have had a lot of success with land-based sac outlets, specifically High Market and Phyrexian Tower. Being lands, it should be easy to find room for them and it's nice knowing you have an out if someone casts Blasphemous Act.
I'm not thinking much about protection nor disruption at the moment. I'll need to square away the main focus of the deck before i sweat at the smaller stuff. The downside dosen't seem too bad in all honesty. Saccing 1-4 permanents to some random burn every few games dosen't seem like the end of the world. More often than not i'll be happy to sac Dralnu himself so that i can abuse his ability with Necrotic Ooze instead without any downside. Dralnu is usually played the turn before i combo off, so the window of opportunity to take advantage of his downside is fairly limited. And on the off chance that someone gets a Blasphemous Act out when i have Dralnu on the board without counterspell support, it seems like a genuinely fun moment at the EDH table that i shouldn't be shying against. I'll consider some protection if the downside becomes a bigger issue than i'm anticipating.
The land suggestions are solid. I'll keep them in mind for when i start to tweak the mana base.
Got a decent primary list up. Removed some superfluous cards out which were detracting from the base function of the deck. Decided to add in a couple of mana accel creatures such as Soldevi Adnate, Basal Thrull, Blood Vassal and Deranged Assistant to speed up the deck and add additional functions to Necrotic Ooze.
The land base is still a work a progress. Whether i decide to keep Amulet of Vigor or not might influence whether i might be in favor of adding more utility cipt lands such as the scry land in the future. The ratio of islands and swamps will also have to be worked out with more experience with the deck.
I'm also debating about adding in a few removal spells like Damnation. Currently they do not seem too necessary and might even detract away from the build, but potentially not having an answer when you are in the appropriate colors of U/B could be bad as well. I'm also unsure of the 2 current counterspells in the deck. They are mainly there to protect the combo somehow, but the double U cost is unlikely to be tenable early game. I might want to replace them with 1U counter effects or even just remove them altogether.
EMN seems to have quite a few interesting cards in the works. It's been awhile since i've seen something that could work as a Mishra enabler. The mana cost is steep but it seems like it could be worthwhile for multiplayer matchups especially.
Cards on the cutting board -
Liliana of the Veil: Like Spiritmonger has mentioned, it dosent have sufficient impact when it is played, and the main reason it was added to the deck was the ultimate, which to date i've not managed to pull off.
Past in Flames: I gave it a fair shake. Overall it feels too clunky considering it's at least 4 mana upfront before you actually pay even more to cast what you wanted to. I feel that Mizzix Mastery is the superior replacement to Past in Flames for the deck and only one of them is needed.
Read the Bones/Sign in Blood: While i still like the cards, i would like to try replacing them with the red looters like Cathartic Reunion and Tormenting Voice to see if it synergizes more with rez effects.
The rest of the cards are pretty much Demons which i feel are underperforming in the deck. Not sure if i should pull back from the demon tribal abit or otherwise.
Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
Phyrexian Obliterator
Defiler of Souls
Archfiend of Depravity
Kothoped, Soul Hoarder: It's always either too much or too little.
Reaper from the Abyss
That said, not all the cards are going to be cut right away, and there havent been much from the newer sets that have grasped my interests.
Changelog:
-Liliana of the Veil +Geier Reach Sanitarium
-Read the Bones + Cathartic Reunion
-Sign in Blood + Tormenting Voice
-Past in Flames + Razaketh, the Foulblooded
-Sneak Attack + Torment of Hailfire
Let me know if i missed out anything. I'll update the OP sometime tomorrow.
DO you feel like that the amount of Enchantment removal you run is insufficient with just cards like Oblivion Stone and such or are they too broad an effect for your needs? From my experience thus far, it feels like Norin usually has the most threatening enchantments on the board most of the time when compared to other decks. In recent games, the only enchantment that has given me problems would likely be Survival of the Fittest. I'm just not entirely convinced yet that Chaos Warp is going to be worth a slot for those fringe cases, especially since it is a non-permanent.
I agree with your assessment on monkey cage. I really wish the card worked on Norin due to how cool it is, but it's really just too convoluted to get working with our commander. I'm currently pondering on what to replace it with. If you are looking for mana sinks, Snake Basket, Pentavus and even the pyrohemia are all pretty decent when compared to Whirlermaker.
Oh god, you're right. Woe be me...If only Kalametra's Acolyte was costed at 3cmc instead hah. Thanks for correcting me =)
Changelog:
- Remand + Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
- Stolen Goods + Gonti, Lord of Luxury
- Temple of the False God + Inventors' Fair
- Sensei's Divining Top + Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast
- Scroll Rack + Metalwork Colossus
- Mind's Eye + Mind's Dilation
Under Consideration:
Saheeli Rai
Padeem, Consul of Innovation
Madcap Experiment
- Forest
+ Dryad Arbor: I made this change awhile back to test out the potential of DA, and am totally sold on it's addition. The turn one GSZ->Dryad Arbor play is awfully satisfying.
- Lurking Predators: The playstyle of the card just dosen't mesh well with how the rest of the deck is in the current iteration. Without the topdeck manipulation it whiffs pretty often and usually has no immediate impact.
- Brutalizer Exarch: I already have sufficient non-creature removals on a stick and it's 3/3 body is neither here nor there in regards to synergy with other cards.
- Gyre Sage: The mana production on Gyre Sage is too convoluted and overall slow compared to the other manadorks in the deck. It's coming out because i have a better replacement finally.
+ Selvala, Heart of the Wilds: Remember how upset i was when i had to cut Rofellos from the deck? Well i'm over that now. Selvala is everything i wanted from Rofellos and more. It's costed perfectly at 3cmc allowing it to be fetched with Woodland Bellower. It pumps out ridiculous amounts of mana on average and gets even crazier when paired with creatures like Worldspine Wurm and Primalcrux. And the cherry on top is the occasional card draw from her first ability. Perfect.
+ Ulvenwald Observer: Testing this out as additional card draw. Not as reliable as the traditional etb effect, but i figure it still has a place in the deck.
+ Regal Behemoth: Testing it out as a potential Vorinclex no. 2 and also as a Monarch enabler.
Other Notable cards.
Selvala's Stampede: This card is almost certainly going into the deck as an additional Genesis Wave/Eureka effect. It's mana cost is on a the high side and it only really works well in 4 player or more pods though. It is likely going to take the spot of either the Ulvenwald Observer or the Regal Behemoth, but i wish to test out those cards first before excluding them.
Alright, lets get started.
Changelog:
- Outpost Siege: Siege was a card that i had hopes for as a mini Norin Engine. Most times i draw the card though, i find the Khans option more worthwhile than the meager damage that Dragons puts out before the game ends.
+ Chandra, Torch of Defiance: Taking the spot of Outpost Siege is Chandra. Her first ability is am improved version of Outpost Siege's Khan option. Her second ability gives us some mini accel, amounting to a lesser effect to Koth's at the upside of being usuable each turn. The -3 ability is somewhat costly, but 4 damage is still reasonably useful as spot removal. I'm not sure how often she will be able to use the ultimate so i'm not going to take that into account for now. My main interest in the card comes from the two +1 abilities.
- Chaos Warp: I feel that Chaos Warp shined brightest when it was able to remove problematic commanders by shuffling them into the library. With the rule change, i'm finding that the warp hasn't been giving me as much value as i've been accustomed to the past few years. Therefore this is an opportunity to finally cut down on my number of non-permanents in the deck.
+ Panharmonicon: Ah what to say. It was love at first sight. I don't believe i need to state why this card is amazing. Auto-included.
- Tuktuk Scrapper: No particular reason for this removal. Making space for Smuggler's Copter, but realized that i had already removed Rummaging Goblin earlier to test out Commune with Lava. While i was tempted to remove Commune for the Copter, i havent tested it out sufficiently yet.
+ Smuggler's Copter: To me, this was intended to be an upgrade to Rummaging Goblin. My expectations for this card are as follows. 1)Provide an early game presence. Norin usually lacks an early game presence due to our commander's cowardly nature. The copter has a solid 3/3 body for 2 mana and should deter early game attacks from heading out way. 2)Flying/Evasion. One of the deck's weaknesses lie in it's ability to deal with or block flying weenies. Since the copter has flying it will be able to prevent us from getting attacked by opportunistic fliers. At the same time, having flying gives it sufficient evasion to trigger it's looting effect somewhat consistently. 3) Improved loot effect. Rummager's loot requires us to discard first then draw. Copter on the other hand allows us to draw first then discard, increasing our options and thus card quality.
- Mountain
+ Inventors' Fair: Tutors are extremely rare in momo red. Gaining access to an artifact tutor in an artifact heavy mono-red deck on a land is hard to pass up. Furthermore, the lifegain ability on the land is also oddly relevant as it helps to partially negate the burn from mana crypt.
Cards that might be removed in the near future:
Sculpting Steel: Sculpting steel is so good. It just bugs me that it's a nonbo with Warp World.
Monkey Cage: The opposite problem from Sculpting Steel. The card is so insane on the back of a Warp World. But it's a complete nonbo in normal circumstances where it gets triggered by our measly commander.
Commune With Lava: This thing is just such a huge mana drain when compared to other options like Wheel of Fortune. I'm not sold either way and need more time to evaluate it's usefulness.
Mogg Infestation: I still really like the card. My two issues with it are the fact that it only hits one opponent and the fact that it is a sorcery. Since i'm always looking to reduce my non-permanent count, this on KIV.
Other cards of interest:
Reckless Fireweaver: I'm noting this card down for the possibility that the deck eventually shifts towards more artifact creatures. At that time, this could function is an additional copy of Impact Tremors.
Seems passable as a loot effect. Personally i'm not keen on replacing a swamp with a colorless mana source just for a symmetrical loot effect. But that is mainly because i run Lashwrithe and such. It could be considered if the deck has issues casting warping wail i suppose, but i havent been able to form thoughts on that card yet.
Looks like i edited the changelog on the OP, but forgot to change the decklist itself. Thanks for the headsup. Tutors can always be added into the deck for additional consistency. They also tend to make games play out similarly each time if the same cards are always being tutored for. I tend to start on the low side in terms of tutor count and add them in if i am disappointed in the consistency of the deck.
EMN Spoilers:
Succumb to Temptation: could find it's way into the deck as yet another card draw.
Blood Mist: Not too sure how i feel about this card yet. On one hand, gaining double strike is a pretty powerful effect, especially so on Rakdos and a couple other demons. On the other hand, 4 mana for a single creature gaining double strike each turn may not be all that mana efficient. It's also an enchantment that might likely be sacced sooner or later.
Shred of Sanity: Pretty cool instant/sorcery recursion effect.
Hanweir Battlements: Hasety land? Awesome. No colored mana? Sadface.
I'll update the decklist on my next round of changes to the deck. I've got a few cuts and additions in mind.
Nothing really strikes my fancy from the upcoming EMN.
Succumb to Temptation: Decent instant speed card draw, something that we don't quite really need currently.
Voldaren Pariah: Potential 'sac engine' of sorts. Not all that good at that either.
Overall not too excited with the upcoming set.
Only one card seems like it could be decent in the deck as it is currently.
Curious Homunculus/Voracious Reader: Early on it could function as a mana accel card specific to instants/sorceries. If we flip if before the combo finish, it could possibly save us quite abit of mana on the blowout turn as well. I'm gonna just keep it in mind whenever i draw one of the other mana accel creatures to see if this could be a better fit.
As for cards like Night of the Souls' Betrayal, you may want to consider Echoing Decay or Bile Blight to handle token heavy metas. You'd be able to get double use out of them if needed with Dralnu.
What issues are you facing at the moment? It would be easier to give suggestions once we know what problems need to be solved.
Turn 1:
Land -> Dark Ritual -> Sol Ring -> Buried Alive (Necrotic Ooze/Phyrexian Devourer/Triskelion) -> Reanimate the Ooze
Ooze gets the Phyrexian Devourer's ability to exile cards from the library to add +1/+1 counters equal to each card's cmc to itself with no downside.
Triskelion allows it to remove those counters to for 1 damage per +1/+1 counter. With the decks avg cmc of 3.77, that comes out to a potential total damage of over 350+ damage.
I'm not sure if your list is able to support it, but it certainly gets my recommendation. Even excluding the combo, it oozes of fun with all the quirky activation effects you can find in U/B.
I'm not thinking much about protection nor disruption at the moment. I'll need to square away the main focus of the deck before i sweat at the smaller stuff. The downside dosen't seem too bad in all honesty. Saccing 1-4 permanents to some random burn every few games dosen't seem like the end of the world. More often than not i'll be happy to sac Dralnu himself so that i can abuse his ability with Necrotic Ooze instead without any downside. Dralnu is usually played the turn before i combo off, so the window of opportunity to take advantage of his downside is fairly limited. And on the off chance that someone gets a Blasphemous Act out when i have Dralnu on the board without counterspell support, it seems like a genuinely fun moment at the EDH table that i shouldn't be shying against. I'll consider some protection if the downside becomes a bigger issue than i'm anticipating.
The land suggestions are solid. I'll keep them in mind for when i start to tweak the mana base.
The land base is still a work a progress. Whether i decide to keep Amulet of Vigor or not might influence whether i might be in favor of adding more utility cipt lands such as the scry land in the future. The ratio of islands and swamps will also have to be worked out with more experience with the deck.
I'm also debating about adding in a few removal spells like Damnation. Currently they do not seem too necessary and might even detract away from the build, but potentially not having an answer when you are in the appropriate colors of U/B could be bad as well. I'm also unsure of the 2 current counterspells in the deck. They are mainly there to protect the combo somehow, but the double U cost is unlikely to be tenable early game. I might want to replace them with 1U counter effects or even just remove them altogether.
EMN seems to have quite a few interesting cards in the works. It's been awhile since i've seen something that could work as a Mishra enabler. The mana cost is steep but it seems like it could be worthwhile for multiplayer matchups especially.