Since it has only a couple of targets right now (Sol Ring & Skullclamp) swapping Trinket Mage out for Phantasmal Image (which can also copy Nirkana Revenant and friends) might be workable.
Ulamog is currently in the decklist both for his Vindicate effect and as a defense agaisnt infinite mill combos which are something to worry about here. They can always mill be down to only Ulamog, but if I can cast / sacrifice him I get out of jail there.
Muddle the Mixture is an excellent suggestion, though Exsanguinate is in here as much to buy time against certain aggro decks (via the lifegain) as an infinite mana instant-win. What about removing Bitterblossom for it? Dire Undercurrents would be a possible choice, but I enjoy how I can force people to both exile their library and draw (via Oooa's tokens) before they get an untap step in to perhaps do something, as well as drawing cards for myself off a Vampiric or Mystical Tutor rather than waiting until next turn. I might end up getting more card advantage from Rhystic Study, as well as being cheaper though.
Not sure about Memnarch vs. Drake; Memnarch is in there as an alternate win-con if they lock out Oona with Pithing Needle or Darksteel Mutation, and similar ilk. Stealing all permanents after going infinite works rather well, and also serves as removal for Platinum Angel or hostile combo pieces.
I double-counted, and it looks like I have all 100 cards in the deck that there should be. The Proteus staff was put in mostly as tuck-based removal against a number of irksome recursion decks and secondarily as a way to get creatures from my deck cheaply.
Thoughts on swapping Carnage Altar for Altar of Dementia? I think I've got enough card draw that it might not be necessary, and doesn't require mana to fuel it if I need a bunch of Grave Pact triggers all of a sudden. As wonderful as it is, I don't own any copies of Snapcaster Mage and probably couldn't justify the cost of acquiring one, but I like the thought of Deadeye Navigator and Venser, Shaper Savant. What do you think of removing Magus of the Coffers (very hot removal target) and Black Market for those two creatures?
Is the near-complete lack of removal a problem? I usually like to put in something like Gilded Drake, Sever the Bloodline or Ashes to Ashes in case my opponents play a creature that I simply must answer.
After the recent joining of a couple new members in my EDH playgroup, the meta has gotten faster and the number of degenerate decks is on the rise with generals not previously played before. Consequentially, my more casual decks aren't always keeping up and I decided to try and build a combo deck of my own. My approach is fairly standard with a focus on mana combos to power out the general while ensuring I have enough board wipe & control to keep the game where I want it until I can combo out; the main concern is that the deck may be too slow (also considering building Sisay if this doesn't work) and not have enough early-game presence to keep aggressive token decks like Krenko, Mob Boss at bay.
I've not much experience building this sort of deck, but have taken a look around for ideas. Any critiques and comments are welcome, up to and including telling me that this is the wrong general for what I want to do:
Combos Present:
Bloodchief Ascenion / Mindcrank
Power Artifact / Grim Monolith
Leyline of the Void / Helm of Obedience
It That Betrays / Grave Pact
Even if I don't get any of those fun little combos in play, the mana generated by up to four cabal coffers triggers per turn should be significant enough to give me a quantity of Faeies which I can sacrifice to Ashnod's Altar to produce yet more. There is a lot of recursion in my meta, so the idea of exile-based mill is quite appealing.
Snap in particular is quite effective, since it allows me to both bounce the drake and flash it back in (allowing for nasty combat tricks) for a measly 2 mana. Don't underestimate the Leyline either, granting Flash increases his effectiveness dramatically.
That's something that according to Einstein's 1905 special theory of relativity — the famous E (equals) mc2 equation — just doesn't happen.
First off, I'd like to point out for common benefit that this data anomaly (it isn't an announced discovery which has a different meaning for scientists) has little to do with the energy-mass equivalence, but with the universal speed limit, c.
Secondly, I'd like to make clear that we physicists have a great deal of evidence concerning the velocity of neutrinos, which is very great to be sure, but not greater than c by any stretch. Specifically, we have a lot of data concerning correlation between supernovae and increased neutrino flux; the neutrinos do arrive before the light does, but that is because the faster photons interact via the electric force (being composed of mutually inducing crossed E&B fields after all), so they get slowed down interacting with all the matter in the dying star, while the neutrinos interact via different forces. Simply put, if neutrinos exceeded the speed of light, we'd have warning months or years before supernovae based on increased neutrino flux, and that simply doesn't happen.
In my casual play, I usually warn people before I pull out anything with Wastelands or Forces, they tend to make newbies' jaws drop a bit, and not in a good way.
Basalt Monolith and Mesmeric Orb combo from the Four Horsemen deck would do quite well too. I like Thought Lash because it allows you to exile your graveyard during your upkeep OR right after playing it.
If you copy a mutavault that is activated (or anything like this) you get an mutavault that is not a creature, because it copies what is printed on the card, not what it's current status is.
Except for other copy effects, those also get copied. Other than that minor omission, he's correct. Anything other than another copy effect is completely ignored when copying objects.
/nitpick
But yes, Images would seem to be a liability in the mirror, as the Reejeray's triggered ability will happily kill them.
Wrong format, I think you were looking for the Legacy forums. If we want this format to grow, we need to stop comparing it to Legacy and wishing we had cards legal in Legacy.
I know very well what format I'm discussing, what I was implying was that perhaps some of the aforementioned cards could be reprinted for this format. There are very few playable instant-speed answers to Emrakul that are Constructed playable, Karakas is one. Against combo you have to both develop your own board and be able to disrupt their game, free counters let you do that. There is no real good mana base disruption in the format, the two lands I mentioned would make that possible, and I think that Cloudpost demonstrates the need to disrupt mana bases.
And Legacy is the only one of the three Eternal (yes, I know Modern is actually Constructed) formats with a healthy metagame right now. For a long while Wizards has been decreasing the power level of control cards, and carefully managing the amount of combo which is legal in Standard. With access to all of Modern, the one thing keeping combo in check (WotC being careful what they print in any given T2 environment) has been thrown out the window. Same with mana bases: they've been careful what manabases were available in T2 at any given time, and printed disruption adequate to deal with that, but the recently printed land destruction just can't cope with the entirety of the Modern mana options.
Wasteland and Force may not be 'fun' cards, but they're the type of cards which are essential to keeping Legacy healthy as a format, and Modern has no equivalents to them, but does suffer from the same problems which those types of cards solve.
Clearly, Torpor Orb would be sided in so Emrakul wouldn't gain the Time Walk effect as long as I manage to get it into play in time, I should have stated but that would be the plan
Uh, you do realize that Emrakul's extra turn ability triggers off of the Eldrazi simply being cast, not coming into play, right?. Emrakul doesn't have a Comes-into-play trigger, which is the only thing which Torpor Orb shuts down. If you want to shut down the timewalk, Trickbind / Voidslime is about your only choice in this format besides Time Stop, which will not only exile the extra turn trigger, but Emrakul as well.
@leh1982: As someone who's been playing Merfolk for a while, your land base seems a bit stingy. Seeing as you actually have to pay mana for your counterspells, I'd consider it dangerous to go below 22 lands with that sort of curve. Even Legacy Merfolk decks rarely go below 21, and we don't have to deal with the asymmetry of Ghost Quarter or the mana costs of counterspells.
I've got a casual version of this deck, and I've found the Hypnotic Specter, in addition to the Rack are great additions. Obviously in Modern the Hypnotic Specter moves from a 1-drop (gotta love Dark Ritual) to a 3-drop, but the random discard is very valuable. The deck runs out of steam if they stop discarding and just playing every card they draw, which is where The Rack comes in. Also rather sad that singing Hymns isn't going to work.
Seeing the absurdly combo-filled meta from the PT has really killed my interest in Modern to be honest; coin flips to determine who gets a head start in "race to the combo" aren't my kind of magic.
I'll go back to where I can use my Forces, Dazes and Missteps to prey on combo, with Wastelands and Ports to rip through mana bases. I honestly believe that Modern would be a much healthier format if they reprinted those four cards, which are all conveniently off the Reserve list. Force & Daze keep early-game combo in check, and Wasteland / Port do the same for many-colour decks resting upon shaky manabases and tons of fetch lands without basics.
Ulamog is currently in the decklist both for his Vindicate effect and as a defense agaisnt infinite mill combos which are something to worry about here. They can always mill be down to only Ulamog, but if I can cast / sacrifice him I get out of jail there.
Muddle the Mixture is an excellent suggestion, though Exsanguinate is in here as much to buy time against certain aggro decks (via the lifegain) as an infinite mana instant-win. What about removing Bitterblossom for it? Dire Undercurrents would be a possible choice, but I enjoy how I can force people to both exile their library and draw (via Oooa's tokens) before they get an untap step in to perhaps do something, as well as drawing cards for myself off a Vampiric or Mystical Tutor rather than waiting until next turn. I might end up getting more card advantage from Rhystic Study, as well as being cheaper though.
Not sure about Memnarch vs. Drake; Memnarch is in there as an alternate win-con if they lock out Oona with Pithing Needle or Darksteel Mutation, and similar ilk. Stealing all permanents after going infinite works rather well, and also serves as removal for Platinum Angel or hostile combo pieces.
What about Lim-Dûl's Vault in over It That Betrays?
Agreed on Arcanis for Glen-Elendra Archmage, the extra counter options will help, as would swapping Everflowing Chalice for Grim Monolith.
Thoughts on swapping Carnage Altar for Altar of Dementia? I think I've got enough card draw that it might not be necessary, and doesn't require mana to fuel it if I need a bunch of Grave Pact triggers all of a sudden. As wonderful as it is, I don't own any copies of Snapcaster Mage and probably couldn't justify the cost of acquiring one, but I like the thought of Deadeye Navigator and Venser, Shaper Savant. What do you think of removing Magus of the Coffers (very hot removal target) and Black Market for those two creatures?
Not sure what could be cut for Lim-Dûl's Vault or Rhystic Study, though I appreciate how helpful they would be.
Is the near-complete lack of removal a problem? I usually like to put in something like Gilded Drake, Sever the Bloodline or Ashes to Ashes in case my opponents play a creature that I simply must answer.
I've not much experience building this sort of deck, but have taken a look around for ideas. Any critiques and comments are welcome, up to and including telling me that this is the wrong general for what I want to do:
1 Oona, Queen of the Fae
Creatures
1 Butcher of Malakir
1 Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Burnished Hart
1 Crypt Ghast
1 Nirkana Revenant
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Trinket Mage
1 Palinchron
1 Memnarch
1 Glen-Elendra Archmage
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
1 It That Betrays
1 Scion of Oona
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
Enchantments
1 Dictate of Erebos
1 Leyline of the Void
1 Bloodchief Ascension
1 Dire Undercurrents
1 Power Artifact
1 Grave Pact
1 Cryptic Command
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Desertion
1 Sudden Spoiling
1 Force of Will
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Dissipate
1 Faerie Trickery
Tutors
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Diabolic Revelation
1 Liliana Vess
1 Beseech the Queen
Sorceries
1 Exsanguinate
Board Wipe
1 Damnation
1 Decree of Pain
1 Evacuation
1 Black Sun's Zenith
Artifacts
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Skullclamp
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Altar of Dementia
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Helm of Obedience
1 Mindcrank
1 Proteus Staff
1 Sol Ring
1 Basalt Monolith
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Dimir Signet
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Grim Monolith
1 Expedition Map
1 Caged Sun
Lands
13 Island
12 Swamp
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Thespian Stage
1 Vesuva
1 Command Tower
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Watery Grave
1 Deserted Temple
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Tolaria West
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Reliquary Tower
Combos Present:
Bloodchief Ascenion / Mindcrank
Power Artifact / Grim Monolith
Leyline of the Void / Helm of Obedience
It That Betrays / Grave Pact
Even if I don't get any of those fun little combos in play, the mana generated by up to four cabal coffers triggers per turn should be significant enough to give me a quantity of Faeies which I can sacrifice to Ashnod's Altar to produce yet more. There is a lot of recursion in my meta, so the idea of exile-based mill is quite appealing.
Cards that might be fun:
Thanks to any and all who can help me tune this deck a bit. It'll usually be played in 4-6 play games, so keep that in mind.
4x Counterspell
4x Brainstorm
4x Boomerang
4x Snap
4x Gilded Drake
4x Etherium Sculptor
3x Ghastlord of Fugue
4x Isochron Scepter
2x Crystal Ball
Enchantments:
4x Leyline of Anticipation
23x Island
Snap in particular is quite effective, since it allows me to both bounce the drake and flash it back in (allowing for nasty combat tricks) for a measly 2 mana. Don't underestimate the Leyline either, granting Flash increases his effectiveness dramatically.
Secondly, I'd like to make clear that we physicists have a great deal of evidence concerning the velocity of neutrinos, which is very great to be sure, but not greater than c by any stretch. Specifically, we have a lot of data concerning correlation between supernovae and increased neutrino flux; the neutrinos do arrive before the light does, but that is because the faster photons interact via the electric force (being composed of mutually inducing crossed E&B fields after all), so they get slowed down interacting with all the matter in the dying star, while the neutrinos interact via different forces. Simply put, if neutrinos exceeded the speed of light, we'd have warning months or years before supernovae based on increased neutrino flux, and that simply doesn't happen.
They could tweak them mechanically to fit more into the modern Black colour pie, but its a bit of nice flavour that I feel has been lost.
Basalt Monolith and Mesmeric Orb combo from the Four Horsemen deck would do quite well too. I like Thought Lash because it allows you to exile your graveyard during your upkeep OR right after playing it.
/nitpick
But yes, Images would seem to be a liability in the mirror, as the Reejeray's triggered ability will happily kill them.
And Legacy is the only one of the three Eternal (yes, I know Modern is actually Constructed) formats with a healthy metagame right now. For a long while Wizards has been decreasing the power level of control cards, and carefully managing the amount of combo which is legal in Standard. With access to all of Modern, the one thing keeping combo in check (WotC being careful what they print in any given T2 environment) has been thrown out the window. Same with mana bases: they've been careful what manabases were available in T2 at any given time, and printed disruption adequate to deal with that, but the recently printed land destruction just can't cope with the entirety of the Modern mana options.
Wasteland and Force may not be 'fun' cards, but they're the type of cards which are essential to keeping Legacy healthy as a format, and Modern has no equivalents to them, but does suffer from the same problems which those types of cards solve.
?
I think quite a few of the problems with twelve-post and combo could be fixed with just this short list.
@leh1982: As someone who's been playing Merfolk for a while, your land base seems a bit stingy. Seeing as you actually have to pay mana for your counterspells, I'd consider it dangerous to go below 22 lands with that sort of curve. Even Legacy Merfolk decks rarely go below 21, and we don't have to deal with the asymmetry of Ghost Quarter or the mana costs of counterspells.
I'll go back to where I can use my Forces, Dazes and Missteps to prey on combo, with Wastelands and Ports to rip through mana bases. I honestly believe that Modern would be a much healthier format if they reprinted those four cards, which are all conveniently off the Reserve list. Force & Daze keep early-game combo in check, and Wasteland / Port do the same for many-colour decks resting upon shaky manabases and tons of fetch lands without basics.