First, thanks for the added info. I appreciate the assistance.
Regarding events prior to Dovin Baan requesting the Gatewatch to Kaladesh: I didn't include them except where we ran into them because it fault like part of a whole separate storyline. Judging by Maro's article talking about this storyline as a 3 year arc, I feel like that's probably a good delineation. Is there any evidence that Ugin or the Sorin/Nahiri Eldrazi conflict will be particularly relevant to the War?
The Blackblade has killed an Elder Dragon? Didn't know that. Gideon acquiring that on Dominaria would seem to be rather important then.
Regarding Events on Ravnica and the planeswalkers Bolas has manipulated, here's what I'm seeing as Bolas's handiwork
Vraska: Fetched the Immortal Sun, and killed Isperia destabilizing Azorius
Dovin: Ascended to void created by Vraska in Azorius, not sure what he's doing with that?
Kaya: Upended power structure of Orzhov, increased tithe's to the point of destabilizing society
Domri: Determined to bring the "End-Raze", basically, actively causing chaos and marauding through further disrupting society
Ral: Manipulated previously existing tech (Project Lightning Bug - something he created for Niv about planeswalkers for Dragons Maze storyline stuff) to create a Beacon to planeswalkers.
So Chaos and a Planeswalker beacon, with none of the planeswalker guildmasters loyal to Bolas, although they may have done work for him.
I don't regularly read the story boards. I came to the board to figure out what happened. I was hoping there was something that made it clear. There wasn't. The current active thread doesn't really have an overview. The Wiki, which the pinned threads said to check, doesn't have an overview.
So I tried to create an overview. For two reasons: First, I assumed I can't be the only one excited by the new set trailer who wants a better idea of whats going on. And second, because despite my attempts to piece together the narrative, I still have huge gaps.
Still not sure what the storyline of whats happened on Ravnica is. I assume Domri's been elevated to cause chaos (hence the card being named "Chaos Bringer" but why Bolas has aided or how he has manipulated the other planeswalkers (excluding Vraska) is unclear. Is there anything that informed people know is important that I didn't mention?
I made a post because I wanted to know more as well as be helpful to others. If the only response to that is "Why are you telling us what everyone here already knows?" then the logical conclusion is that I am either unwelcome or don't belong here. Sorry for confusing you with an unnecessary post, I guess.
So the trailer for War of the Spark is awesome, but I was trying to find a quick overview (a 'sparknotes' if you will) of how we got here. After reading the General Discussion thread and checking the Wiki, I couldn't seem to figure out quite whats going on, so I figured I'd make a post.
So here's a quick rundown of where we are (thats relevant) and how we got here, as far as I can tell:
Mending of Dominaria:
Prior this, planeswalkers were practically gods. Afterwards, they are not. Nicol Bolas is pissed about his downgrade in power, and is scheming to be more powerful.
Gatewatch exists, with the goal of protecting the multiverse-
Gideon, Jace, Nissa, Chandra, Liliana
Kaladesh:
Gatewatch gets requested here by Dovin Baan, and originally refuses, as his concerns are small. Ends up going as a result of it being Chandra's home and Tezzeret being involved.
There's an inventors fair, an uprising led by Chandra's mom, and plenty of other stuff. What matters is that a Planar Bridge is invented, allowing more than individuals to move through planes. Tezzeret steals it, working for Bolas (we know that, right?). Ajani joins the Gatewatch, and the Gatewatch decides to go after Bolas, heading to Amonkhet.
Amonkhet:
Bolas has warped the plane. Turns out, he's created an entire system to kill off the best warriors through a series of trials. They are to be reanimated as his Eternals (specially made to be able to survive travel through the Planar Bridge). He shows up, claims his army, and beats the Gatewatch. Showing up to the fight without a plan was a bad plan. Gatewatch is scattered, Jace's mind is wiped.
Ixalan: (whoops, originally mislabeled this plane)
Jace is here, and gets picked up by Vraska. Vraska is on a mission from Bolas to find something. They work together, become close, and end up finding the Eternal Sun, which is something that locks planeswalkers on a plane. Vraska helps Jace recover his memories, and they realize she's being played by Bolas (he offered to help her make the Golgari powerful), but fears she is screwed. She and Jace decide to play along, so Jace wipes her memories of him and she delivered the Eternal Sun to Bolas.
Dominaria:
Liliana, Chandra, Nissa, and Gideon arrive here. Nissa feels used that the Gatewatch is just killing demons to get Liliana out of her contract, leaves the Gatewatch and peaces out. The other 3 work together and with the Weatherlight crew and protect the plane, killing Lili's last demon. Turns out her contract defaults to Nicol Bolas (oops), and she has no choice but to leave with him. Teferi is restored as a planeswalker and joins up with the Gatewatch.
Ravnica:
There's plenty of chaos as the guildpact (Jace) has been absent. 5 Guilds, led by planeswalkers, are being manipulated behind the scenes by Bolas.
Vraska is working with him because the Golgari are downtrodden.
Dovin Baan found him from investigating Tezz, and he agreed to help him rise in the Azorius.
Kaya has taken over the Orzhov to free them from ghosts.
Ral Zarek is building something with the Izzet.
Domri is now in charge of the Gruul.
Summary:
Bolas has an undead army, a portal to move them, a way to trap planeswalkers, and control of Liliana who has to work for him.
Most of the remaining Gatewatch is together, with Jace the most informed off on his own.
Bolas has worked to prepare Ravnica for his next move.
What did I miss? What else do we need to know before the events of the War of the Spark?
I'd be interested in what the actual usage of an unbanned Gifts Ungiven would look like.
It's obviously a very dangerous card. But being dangerous is not enough, in a format where Hermit Druid is legal. The comparisons to things like Tooth and Nail aren't exactly accurate, as that would likely be banned if it was a 4 mana instant.
Suggestions that it is going to be tutoring for things like Spined Wurm are ridiculous, but how is it going to be played? If you just slot it into decks where it might be strong (Izzet spell decks, Graveyard shenanigans decks like Sharuum or Mimeoplasm), what happens? I mean, obviously, people can build it into an "I win" card if they want, but without making other changes to relevant good decks, do you have to actively try not to win when you resolve Gifts?
Also, while the political aspect of the card should be a cool wrinkle, it does have the possibility of causing Trade Secrets-like feel bads moments, where an ally just gives you what you want.
I suspect the problem with Gifts is that while things like Protean Hulk and Hermit Druid become ridiculous instant win machines when you build around them and are just fun value things when you don't, Gifts is something where you have to actively try not to win as a result of casting it. And if that's the case, it's probably better on the list, even if it would be fine at a significantly higher casting cost.
fwiw, unbanning a card does in and of itself add to the format. Some player out there is going to "get to play" with a new card.
When it comes to Coalition Victory, at least, you know it's not pushing anything else out of the format. No one is going to be scrambling to build a new 5-color deck because of this card. Maybe it's a nice thing for that the casual player with that Atogatog deck to get a new toy.
Alternate win-cons are relatively tough to pull-off in EDH. I don't see how this one wouldn't be the same.
I don't think the problem with Coalition Victory is how easy it is to pull off.
I think the problem with Coalition Victory is how it forces players to interact with any deck that has a 5 color general. I think Coalition Victory being legal will ruin plenty of games where it's not in a single deck.
As people have made perfectly clear, it's not that Coalition Victory is a big splashy spell that ends the game, we have plenty of those. I don't particularly think that it's one of the more powerful ones, although the fact that it can't be used to do other fun things (like Tooth and Nail can) certainly doesn't work in its favor.
If Coalition Victory is legal, my entire gameplay calculus changes when my opponent sits down with a 5 color general. I don't have to watch if they are setting up for it, because simply by playing the game they are doing so. I am incentivized to keep their general off the board, and attack their manabase - even if it's not the best use of my resources to do so. It's not fun for me, nor is it fun for the 5 color player, who may not even be playing Coalition Victory.
You say it may be nice for the guy with the casual Atogatog deck to get a new toy. And maybe it would be. I just think the format is better because the guy can play a casual Atogatog deck without a massive target on his head because Coalition Victory is legal.
I currently run 4 lands per 2 color pair, with duals, fetches and shocks being the first 3, and the fourth being whatever fits the color combination the best.
If I was going to make the 4th a member of an otherwise unrepresented cycle, I'd go with:
Evaluating Planeswalkers as if their ultimate is a given, even if it only takes 1 turn to get there, will lead to a lot of disappointment as the card will not live up to that evaluation.
Being excited about Serra's ultimate, when it mimics a card which sees very little play, seems silly as well.
Is Serra better than Worship if you want the Worship/Emblem effect?
Well, let's ignore the fact that you'd almost certainly run both for redundancy. With that out of the way, probably not.
The need to meet extra conditions to get the emblem is huge.
The most commonly played cards with Worship (per EDHREC) indicate it is played in Enchantress decks. Meaning it's easier to search for, has more benefits upon being cast, easier to recur if needed. Basically, enchantment synergy > planeswalker synergy, in ways that likely outweigh the untouchability of an emblem.
But like I said, focusing on the Worship emblem is the wrong way to look as it.
Serra is a bad anthem for flier heavy decks that can also provide fliers if needed, with Worship as a bonus.
Serra is a better Serra Angel that can often replace/clone itself over a few turns that also pumps fliers and may eventually give you the Worship emblem in rare cases.
The card seems fine. In decks with lots of fliers where a card like Serra Angel would not be out of place, I could see playing it. It's much better than the Serra Angel, as a 1 mana cheaper token Serra Angel and virtually nothing else is this cards worst case scenario. And the Worship emblem is a nice option.
But playing this card as a Worship emblem on a 1 turn delay (provided an opponent can't disrupt that) is pretty bad, and not worth doing.
Sparring Construct is just a low power card. It's weak. While it does have synergies with the other cards in the deck, it doesn't have enough synergies, nor does it do enough on it's own. Now, if you had a reliable way to have it die when you wanted it to, I might reconsider my position. But relying on your opponent killing it or giving you the opportunity to chump block with it, means you can't reliably get it to put a counter on something, and it's just not good enough.
Incubation Druid is a powerful card. Forget all other synergies within the deck, it's simply a strong card. It's a mana critter early. Decent, nothing overly powerful, but a fine early mana critter. Late, it evolves and either provides big mana, or solid beats. Once you factor in the synergy of the familiar letting it evolve for cheap and multiple times, it's even better.
If you are so concerned about ways to cheat counters onto your evolve critters without evolving them, there are only a few options that aren't really weak. The one that stands out as the strongest is Hadana's Climb. I could absolutely see running 2 of that in this deck (over the Zegana and something else).
Negate vs Unwind is close. It probably barely matters, and personal preference is a big determinant. The plus side of unwind is clear, and I certainly see why it appeals. The reason I chose negate is because I was less concerned with the situations where I have a developed board, and am using mana to adapt, and more concerned with the situations where I am still developing my board (casting creatures main phase) and have to leave mana up after that. In those situations, the 1 difference in the CMC matters. In situations where you are doing well, Unwind is stronger. In situations where you are on less stable footing, I think Negate is better. It's more important to me to make the difference where you are turning a loss into a win, vs a situation where you are turning a win into a bigger win, so I picked Negate. But the difference is small, and either works.
Warrant doesn't seem particularly good for you. Although, I suppose once you are running the Incubation Druid, you can cast the Warden half if need be. Besides, while using a spell to bounce a creature to the top of the library is fine,the ability to use Sharktocrab to lock down that creature (and beat face) seems much better.
Dryad Greenseeker isn't a bad card, but I don't think it's what you want to be doing. It's powerlevel is a little low. Besides, Benthic Biomancer and Shapers of Nature are better for you at digging through your deck and generating card advantage.
You are playing some underpowered cards (The scry creatures - although the sphinx may be fine) and not using the Familiar enough
Benthic Biomancer - Will help you dig to find the familiar, like the scry creatures do. Once you have it, get's huge and cycles through your deck making sure you hit nothing but gas.
Sharktocrab - With this and the familiar, other creature decks don't stand a chance.
Exotic orchard and CT are top 30, sure, but top 5?!?! When I can play strip mine and volrath's stronghold? Taiga, tundra, etc?
No way, get real.
The ABU dual flex isn't very helpful, not everyone can afford to include them. If you think ABU duals are standard for Commander, YOU need to get real.
Either I was not clear enough with my statement or you are reading too much into it. Either way, my apologies. When I talked about Command Tower being the best, it was not to say that it was the best card in general, or the most powerful land. I was more to say that Command Tower is the best land for providing color in a 3+ color commander deck. It has no drawbacks, no contingencies, no issues. In a commander deck, it simply taps for the colors you need, no questions asked. No sacrifices, however small, required.
Yes, if you want to be argumentative, being a nonbasic land is a drawback, as it opens you up to hate cards. Of course, lands having a basic land type is always talked about being a benefit, but can also be a drawback as cards like Boil or Flashfires exist.
It's a land which can't be tapped for mana on turn 1 if you go first.
It's a land you cannot guarantee will tap for the color you want.
While it will usually be very good for you, especially in a 3 color deck, it won't always. Having your mana be outside of your control is generally not what you want when building your mana base.
You take a risk in how good Exotic Orchard will be. Now, the cost of the risk is small, but the pay-off, when compared to the alternatives, is also small. People tend to value certainty, which means people tend to dislike Exotic Orchard.
It's a fine card. It's definitely not the second best land after Command Tower.
I don't think a ban works. Eventually you get to the best card you left off the list and people just find a way to abuse it.
I think you make a rule that changes the way tutors function. Something like if there was always a modified Aven Mindcensor in play.
Instead of searching your library, you search the top 4 cards (or more than 4 if you don't want to be too punitive). Also, with conditional tutors, you might want to make it so they reveal until they encounter the card type, so that they can't miss (although that does open the exploit of search for an artifact with only 1 artifact in the deck).
The added benefit of a house rule changing the function of tutors, as opposed to a house ban on tutors, is no ones deck is suddenly illegal. If a new player shows up, they can have the rule explained, and rather than needing to change their deck, it's still playable.
If planeswalkers had been legal from day 1 people would not be debating this, they would just accept them as they do creatures
Ironic, given that planeswalkers were not legal from day one and yet people won't stop debating this despite the fact that the format is built around legendary creatures.
Well, the format was originally built around the Elder Dragon legends. It was expanded to include all legendary creatures. Conceptually, planeswalkers should be commanders. The format was built around the biggest characters in magic as deck-defining lynchpins. As the game as evolved, the biggest, most important characters in the game are now planeswalkers. From a concept-focused standpoint, updating the format to evolve as the game has makes sense.
I don't know that it improves gameplay, or how it makes things better from a practical standpoint. I'm not advocating for (or against, really) changing the rules. But people make that argument because it makes sense.
Do not buy fakes.
I repeat, do not buy fakes.
It's damaging to the game, and the hobby that we all love.
I'm kind of appalled both that you would ask, and the fact that no one here has forcefully condemned the practice.
Regarding events prior to Dovin Baan requesting the Gatewatch to Kaladesh: I didn't include them except where we ran into them because it fault like part of a whole separate storyline. Judging by Maro's article talking about this storyline as a 3 year arc, I feel like that's probably a good delineation. Is there any evidence that Ugin or the Sorin/Nahiri Eldrazi conflict will be particularly relevant to the War?
The Blackblade has killed an Elder Dragon? Didn't know that. Gideon acquiring that on Dominaria would seem to be rather important then.
Regarding Events on Ravnica and the planeswalkers Bolas has manipulated, here's what I'm seeing as Bolas's handiwork
Vraska: Fetched the Immortal Sun, and killed Isperia destabilizing Azorius
Dovin: Ascended to void created by Vraska in Azorius, not sure what he's doing with that?
Kaya: Upended power structure of Orzhov, increased tithe's to the point of destabilizing society
Domri: Determined to bring the "End-Raze", basically, actively causing chaos and marauding through further disrupting society
Ral: Manipulated previously existing tech (Project Lightning Bug - something he created for Niv about planeswalkers for Dragons Maze storyline stuff) to create a Beacon to planeswalkers.
So Chaos and a Planeswalker beacon, with none of the planeswalker guildmasters loyal to Bolas, although they may have done work for him.
I think.
So I tried to create an overview. For two reasons: First, I assumed I can't be the only one excited by the new set trailer who wants a better idea of whats going on. And second, because despite my attempts to piece together the narrative, I still have huge gaps.
Still not sure what the storyline of whats happened on Ravnica is. I assume Domri's been elevated to cause chaos (hence the card being named "Chaos Bringer" but why Bolas has aided or how he has manipulated the other planeswalkers (excluding Vraska) is unclear. Is there anything that informed people know is important that I didn't mention?
I made a post because I wanted to know more as well as be helpful to others. If the only response to that is "Why are you telling us what everyone here already knows?" then the logical conclusion is that I am either unwelcome or don't belong here. Sorry for confusing you with an unnecessary post, I guess.
So here's a quick rundown of where we are (thats relevant) and how we got here, as far as I can tell:
Mending of Dominaria:
Prior this, planeswalkers were practically gods. Afterwards, they are not. Nicol Bolas is pissed about his downgrade in power, and is scheming to be more powerful.
Gatewatch exists, with the goal of protecting the multiverse-
Gideon, Jace, Nissa, Chandra, Liliana
Kaladesh:
Gatewatch gets requested here by Dovin Baan, and originally refuses, as his concerns are small. Ends up going as a result of it being Chandra's home and Tezzeret being involved.
There's an inventors fair, an uprising led by Chandra's mom, and plenty of other stuff. What matters is that a Planar Bridge is invented, allowing more than individuals to move through planes. Tezzeret steals it, working for Bolas (we know that, right?). Ajani joins the Gatewatch, and the Gatewatch decides to go after Bolas, heading to Amonkhet.
Amonkhet:
Bolas has warped the plane. Turns out, he's created an entire system to kill off the best warriors through a series of trials. They are to be reanimated as his Eternals (specially made to be able to survive travel through the Planar Bridge). He shows up, claims his army, and beats the Gatewatch. Showing up to the fight without a plan was a bad plan. Gatewatch is scattered, Jace's mind is wiped.
Ixalan: (whoops, originally mislabeled this plane)
Jace is here, and gets picked up by Vraska. Vraska is on a mission from Bolas to find something. They work together, become close, and end up finding the Eternal Sun, which is something that locks planeswalkers on a plane. Vraska helps Jace recover his memories, and they realize she's being played by Bolas (he offered to help her make the Golgari powerful), but fears she is screwed. She and Jace decide to play along, so Jace wipes her memories of him and she delivered the Eternal Sun to Bolas.
Dominaria:
Liliana, Chandra, Nissa, and Gideon arrive here. Nissa feels used that the Gatewatch is just killing demons to get Liliana out of her contract, leaves the Gatewatch and peaces out. The other 3 work together and with the Weatherlight crew and protect the plane, killing Lili's last demon. Turns out her contract defaults to Nicol Bolas (oops), and she has no choice but to leave with him. Teferi is restored as a planeswalker and joins up with the Gatewatch.
Ravnica:
There's plenty of chaos as the guildpact (Jace) has been absent. 5 Guilds, led by planeswalkers, are being manipulated behind the scenes by Bolas.
Vraska is working with him because the Golgari are downtrodden.
Dovin Baan found him from investigating Tezz, and he agreed to help him rise in the Azorius.
Kaya has taken over the Orzhov to free them from ghosts.
Ral Zarek is building something with the Izzet.
Domri is now in charge of the Gruul.
Summary:
Bolas has an undead army, a portal to move them, a way to trap planeswalkers, and control of Liliana who has to work for him.
Most of the remaining Gatewatch is together, with Jace the most informed off on his own.
Bolas has worked to prepare Ravnica for his next move.
What did I miss? What else do we need to know before the events of the War of the Spark?
It's obviously a very dangerous card. But being dangerous is not enough, in a format where Hermit Druid is legal. The comparisons to things like Tooth and Nail aren't exactly accurate, as that would likely be banned if it was a 4 mana instant.
Suggestions that it is going to be tutoring for things like Spined Wurm are ridiculous, but how is it going to be played? If you just slot it into decks where it might be strong (Izzet spell decks, Graveyard shenanigans decks like Sharuum or Mimeoplasm), what happens? I mean, obviously, people can build it into an "I win" card if they want, but without making other changes to relevant good decks, do you have to actively try not to win when you resolve Gifts?
Also, while the political aspect of the card should be a cool wrinkle, it does have the possibility of causing Trade Secrets-like feel bads moments, where an ally just gives you what you want.
I suspect the problem with Gifts is that while things like Protean Hulk and Hermit Druid become ridiculous instant win machines when you build around them and are just fun value things when you don't, Gifts is something where you have to actively try not to win as a result of casting it. And if that's the case, it's probably better on the list, even if it would be fine at a significantly higher casting cost.
I don't think the problem with Coalition Victory is how easy it is to pull off.
I think the problem with Coalition Victory is how it forces players to interact with any deck that has a 5 color general. I think Coalition Victory being legal will ruin plenty of games where it's not in a single deck.
As people have made perfectly clear, it's not that Coalition Victory is a big splashy spell that ends the game, we have plenty of those. I don't particularly think that it's one of the more powerful ones, although the fact that it can't be used to do other fun things (like Tooth and Nail can) certainly doesn't work in its favor.
If Coalition Victory is legal, my entire gameplay calculus changes when my opponent sits down with a 5 color general. I don't have to watch if they are setting up for it, because simply by playing the game they are doing so. I am incentivized to keep their general off the board, and attack their manabase - even if it's not the best use of my resources to do so. It's not fun for me, nor is it fun for the 5 color player, who may not even be playing Coalition Victory.
You say it may be nice for the guy with the casual Atogatog deck to get a new toy. And maybe it would be. I just think the format is better because the guy can play a casual Atogatog deck without a massive target on his head because Coalition Victory is legal.
If I was going to make the 4th a member of an otherwise unrepresented cycle, I'd go with:
Azorius: Celestial Colonnade
Boros: Battlefield Forge
Dimir: Fetid Pools
Golgari: Temple of Malady
Gruul: Cinder Glade
Izzet: Cascade Bluffs
Orzhov: Tainted Field
Rakdos: Blackcleave Cliffs
Selesnya: Horizon Canopy
Simic: Hinterland Harbor
If you were going to go by best, I'd probably change:
Boros: Battlefield Forge -> Inspiring Vantage
Dimir: Fetid Pools -> Creeping Tar Pit
Orzhov: Tainted Field -> Temple of Silence or Shambling Vent
Gruul: Cinder Glade -> Raging Ravine (maybe?)
Simic: Hinterland Harbor -> Flooded Grove or Temple of Mystery
Being excited about Serra's ultimate, when it mimics a card which sees very little play, seems silly as well.
Is Serra better than Worship if you want the Worship/Emblem effect?
Well, let's ignore the fact that you'd almost certainly run both for redundancy. With that out of the way, probably not.
The need to meet extra conditions to get the emblem is huge.
The most commonly played cards with Worship (per EDHREC) indicate it is played in Enchantress decks. Meaning it's easier to search for, has more benefits upon being cast, easier to recur if needed. Basically, enchantment synergy > planeswalker synergy, in ways that likely outweigh the untouchability of an emblem.
But like I said, focusing on the Worship emblem is the wrong way to look as it.
Serra is a bad anthem for flier heavy decks that can also provide fliers if needed, with Worship as a bonus.
Serra is a better Serra Angel that can often replace/clone itself over a few turns that also pumps fliers and may eventually give you the Worship emblem in rare cases.
The card seems fine. In decks with lots of fliers where a card like Serra Angel would not be out of place, I could see playing it. It's much better than the Serra Angel, as a 1 mana cheaper token Serra Angel and virtually nothing else is this cards worst case scenario. And the Worship emblem is a nice option.
But playing this card as a Worship emblem on a 1 turn delay (provided an opponent can't disrupt that) is pretty bad, and not worth doing.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
"fair card"
Yeah, it's not. Like, not at all.
Incubation Druid is a powerful card. Forget all other synergies within the deck, it's simply a strong card. It's a mana critter early. Decent, nothing overly powerful, but a fine early mana critter. Late, it evolves and either provides big mana, or solid beats. Once you factor in the synergy of the familiar letting it evolve for cheap and multiple times, it's even better.
If you are so concerned about ways to cheat counters onto your evolve critters without evolving them, there are only a few options that aren't really weak. The one that stands out as the strongest is Hadana's Climb. I could absolutely see running 2 of that in this deck (over the Zegana and something else).
Negate vs Unwind is close. It probably barely matters, and personal preference is a big determinant. The plus side of unwind is clear, and I certainly see why it appeals. The reason I chose negate is because I was less concerned with the situations where I have a developed board, and am using mana to adapt, and more concerned with the situations where I am still developing my board (casting creatures main phase) and have to leave mana up after that. In those situations, the 1 difference in the CMC matters. In situations where you are doing well, Unwind is stronger. In situations where you are on less stable footing, I think Negate is better. It's more important to me to make the difference where you are turning a loss into a win, vs a situation where you are turning a win into a bigger win, so I picked Negate. But the difference is small, and either works.
Warrant doesn't seem particularly good for you. Although, I suppose once you are running the Incubation Druid, you can cast the Warden half if need be. Besides, while using a spell to bounce a creature to the top of the library is fine,the ability to use Sharktocrab to lock down that creature (and beat face) seems much better.
Dryad Greenseeker isn't a bad card, but I don't think it's what you want to be doing. It's powerlevel is a little low. Besides, Benthic Biomancer and Shapers of Nature are better for you at digging through your deck and generating card advantage.
You are playing some underpowered cards (The scry creatures - although the sphinx may be fine) and not using the Familiar enough
Benthic Biomancer - Will help you dig to find the familiar, like the scry creatures do. Once you have it, get's huge and cycles through your deck making sure you hit nothing but gas.
Sharktocrab - With this and the familiar, other creature decks don't stand a chance.
Incubation Druid - Your deck is mana intensive. This guy helps.
Sparring Construct seems terrible, and should absolutely by llanowar elves.
Goreclaw only reduces the cost of your Sphinx's, which hardly seems worth it.
Unwind seems like a bad Negate.
My thoughts
4 Biomancer's Familiar - Key Card
4 Incubation // Incongruity - Finds your key card (also, removal if necessary)
4 Growth-Chamber Guardian - Best Adapt Creature
4 Benthic Biomancer - Probably second best Adapt Creature (and digs, to help find key stuff)
3 Sharktocrab - Adapt creature that provides board Dominance
1 Zegana, Utopian Speaker - Just because
2 Shapers of Nature - If your deck is functioning, this card is insane
4 Llanowar Elves - Your deck wants to spend lots of mana
3 Incubation Druid - More mana, and functions very well with what you are doing
4 Negate - No Sweepers
2 Dive Down - Protect the familiar
1 Frilled Mystic - More saying no
4 Breeding Pool
4 Hinterland Harbor
2 Simic Guildgate
8 Forest
6 Island
Either I was not clear enough with my statement or you are reading too much into it. Either way, my apologies. When I talked about Command Tower being the best, it was not to say that it was the best card in general, or the most powerful land. I was more to say that Command Tower is the best land for providing color in a 3+ color commander deck. It has no drawbacks, no contingencies, no issues. In a commander deck, it simply taps for the colors you need, no questions asked. No sacrifices, however small, required.
Yes, if you want to be argumentative, being a nonbasic land is a drawback, as it opens you up to hate cards. Of course, lands having a basic land type is always talked about being a benefit, but can also be a drawback as cards like Boil or Flashfires exist.
It's a land you cannot guarantee will tap for the color you want.
While it will usually be very good for you, especially in a 3 color deck, it won't always. Having your mana be outside of your control is generally not what you want when building your mana base.
You take a risk in how good Exotic Orchard will be. Now, the cost of the risk is small, but the pay-off, when compared to the alternatives, is also small. People tend to value certainty, which means people tend to dislike Exotic Orchard.
It's a fine card. It's definitely not the second best land after Command Tower.
I think you make a rule that changes the way tutors function. Something like if there was always a modified Aven Mindcensor in play.
Instead of searching your library, you search the top 4 cards (or more than 4 if you don't want to be too punitive). Also, with conditional tutors, you might want to make it so they reveal until they encounter the card type, so that they can't miss (although that does open the exploit of search for an artifact with only 1 artifact in the deck).
The added benefit of a house rule changing the function of tutors, as opposed to a house ban on tutors, is no ones deck is suddenly illegal. If a new player shows up, they can have the rule explained, and rather than needing to change their deck, it's still playable.
Well, the format was originally built around the Elder Dragon legends. It was expanded to include all legendary creatures. Conceptually, planeswalkers should be commanders. The format was built around the biggest characters in magic as deck-defining lynchpins. As the game as evolved, the biggest, most important characters in the game are now planeswalkers. From a concept-focused standpoint, updating the format to evolve as the game has makes sense.
I don't know that it improves gameplay, or how it makes things better from a practical standpoint. I'm not advocating for (or against, really) changing the rules. But people make that argument because it makes sense.