- Rowan
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Member for 13 years, 11 months, and 6 days
Last active Mon, Jun, 6 2016 18:19:20
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Jun 2, 2011Rowan posted a message on How to Build a Tasty Deck... NOM NOMSo after playtesting, guess what? This deck sucks :/ Mono black spirits are pretty darn weak... gonna try some adding more removal...Posted in: Rowan Blog
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Jun 2, 2011Rowan posted a message on Super Bad Luck.LOL, maybe you should quit while your ahead? ... I like the sensation of opening new packs too, but I learned long ago that I have bad luck with them... still haven't pulled anything really nice yet. SO, I just go to drafts where I can enter in for $10 and get 3 packs... I then get to choose which cards to keep... plus I can have the experience of battling it out for a chance to win more packs as prizes... It just seems like a better investment to me. :/ Just my 2cPosted in: Matt Blog
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May 29, 2011Rowan posted a message on [DECK] Mono-Blue Air ControlYeah, it seems pretty darn good. I like decks where you can easily tell what it's trying to do. I think those are the most effective and fun to play. Unfortunately, those kinds of decks are vulnerable to things like surgical extraction and memoricide taking out your key cards.Posted in: darkspellcards Blog
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May 29, 2011Volt Charge seems like a really good option for this deck, what do you think? Proliferating chalices and spheres at the same time as removing your opponent's early attackers seems really viable. I really don't like that's it's a phyrexian card though.Posted in: Rowan Blog
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May 29, 2011I really like your suggestion of Hellkite Charger. I think he might go in instead of the Phoenixes. As much as a I like them they feel a little awkward with the mana "curve" which is actually more of a boxy shape, lol. I'm not sure what else I would swap charger for. A good reason to swap Charger for Phoenix is that phoenix just doesn't have the damage potential that Charger does. We HAVE the mana for it, so it's probably best to use it. Plus he's got haste, which means he can attack on turn three for 5 dmg.Posted in: Rowan Blog
Bogardan Hellkite is awesome too, but not standard. Maybe they will reprint him. -
May 29, 2011You don't need pyretic ritual to attack with hellkite igniter on turn 3, just an iron myr or a sphere on turn two, then geosurge on turn three. You CAN use it INSTEAD of the iron myr or the sphere though, and actually it might better to have 4 Ritual and 4 Sphere, and ditch the iron myr all together - maybe a sideboard card? As much as they help with metalcraft and Igniter, the myr are too easily removed by contagion clasp, bolt, etc... HOWEVER, the lack of a permanent mana source is a little bit of a letdown for the dragons. That's what everflowing chalice is for though. The only other option is get land out more than once per turn, but I don't think that's doable in mono red.Posted in: Rowan Blog
The reason I opted for dragons over battleshperes is primarily for the flying, and also the ability to pump them. Steel Hellkite is just a beast, I love him immensely for his ability to board wipe and the fact that he gets around colored protection (swords).
Battleshperes are great especially if you are running any myr already. Probably a worthy addition to the arsenal. Not sure if I would rather have a battlesphere or an igniter though. Haste has allowed me to do damage when I would otherwise not have been able to.
Chimeric mass is definitely something to consider. I don't like the fact that it takes 1 to turn it into a creature though. It does have pseudo haste though, which I like, and you can pour as little or as much mana as you want into it. However, it works A LOT better in a proliferate deck. It's immunity to sorceries is very noteworthy though... ultimately I think I'd have to playtest it to determine if I really want to use it.
I don't have any koth or titans, so I'm not using them yet, but they are good for this deck without a doubt.
Red Sun's Zenith or Fireball is very necessary for this deck to work well. If your creatures get countered or locked down again and again, you still have the ability to do direct damage with all that mana you've ramped up to. NOT too mention that "shuffle back into your library" thing. Crystal ball helps to dig them out. It shouldn't be uncommon to do two RSZ in a row, later in the game when you have more than one ball out. Not to mention the exile thing is useful for MANY creatures.
I'm curious why you chose bolts instead of galvanic blast, or actually why you're using them at all. I swapped my blasts for RSZ because of the scalability. Whipflare should deal with rush type decks quite nicely.
I wish we could do simulations with these decks... like battle it out to see which build works the best consistently. -
May 29, 2011Hey do you mind posting your deck list, I'd be curious to see how it differs. Originally, I did use Iron Myr, but I switched them for Sphere of the Suns. Creature ramp wasn't working out for me because they always got pinged.Posted in: Rowan Blog
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May 29, 2011Rowan posted a message on As Many First Blogs Go, This Won't.*applause*Posted in: Lantern Blog
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May 29, 2011Rowan posted a message on [DECK] Mono-Blue Air ControlI might sideboard the bounce cards in favor for Guard Gomazoa Another great flying creature that can be buffed by gravitational shift.Posted in: darkspellcards Blog
I know it doesn't have flying, but Æther Adept might be useful in place of your 1 for 1 bounce. Combo with Æther Tradewinds.
Wind Zendikon Is also a good card to play on that first turn. It's in keeping with your air theme, and might help swing the game in your favor earlier. A 4/2 flyer for U aint bad (after you get gravitational shift onto the battlefield).
I might trade the Gitaxian probe for Preordain. I don't think you want to be paying life with this deck, although knowing what's in your opponents hand can be useful... I haven't played with it, so I can't speak from experience.
Dissipation Field might help you against aggro.
Redirect? Useful against burn decks.
Have you considered Sphinx of Magosi? Amazing card draw, gets ridiculous with training grounds, but I can see you aren't going the activated ability route.
How about something like Volition Reins or Mind Control?
Twisted Image might be an interesting card alongside your Gravitational Shift, protecting your own creatures and possibly killing your opponent's? Also, kills anything with 0 attack like ornithopter, wall of omens, spellskite, etc... possible sideboard?
That's about all I got for ya. I hope at least some of that is useful.
Oh, and btw, here are a few cards I made that I thought you might like:
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May 29, 2011Rowan posted a message on ANGELFIRE - Boros CasualHey, thanks for the comment. I hadn't seen either of those before now either. Wojek Embermage hoses token decks, but that's about all. Brightflame does a better job I think. Leave no trace is interesting, but obviously only good against enchantress decks, which I HAVE played against. So, I'll side board it when I play against him again. Mwahahaha!Posted in: Rowan Blog
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May 28, 2011Rowan posted a message on TUMBLEBLASTActually I hadn't even though about it. That's pretty epic though, and I will definitely see if I can procure one or two of him. It fits the theme quite nicely. Thanks for the suggestion!!Posted in: Rowan Blog
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May 28, 2011Rowan posted a message on UW Venser ControlHey! This is another deck that I've been mulling over for a while.Posted in: yarpus Blog
Æther Tradewinds might also be good. Gives you a second chance to counter whatever it is you target.
Mine is a lot different than yours and is mono white, but here ya go, Tumbleblast:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/blog.php?b=5445
It uses Glimmerpoint stag instead of Venser, and focuses a lot more on wiping out their side of the battlefield with sunblast angel, utilizing white's tap capabilities. From the looks of your deck, glimmerpoint might not be a bad addition to back up venser. -
May 28, 2011Rowan posted a message on G/B Rock-ggroWhat about something like Reassembling Skeleton?Posted in: Decks
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May 28, 2011Rowan posted a message on Price of Progress: Mono U InfectFirst off, I'm totally with you on the flavor - my aim is to build decks that sit well with me "aesthetically" while still being pretty competitive. This means no mirran phyrexian mingling! I'm leery about multicolored decks too unless they have an overarching theme flavor-wise.Posted in: yarpus Blog
That said, I've been trying to come up with a mono blue infect for a while now... mine's a little different though and focuses a little more on card draw for psychosis crawler which is a card I like a lot.
My fear though is that it just doesn't fit into a deck that's also trying to do infect. I'm thinking about taking out cards that only do infect in favor of ones that help out psychosis crawler also. I just feel like using proliferate without infect would be a waste.
Cards that I thought might fit in somehow with this are
Mitotic Manipulation - to help with ramp, maybe get a second chalice out earlier or a proliferate engine.
Culling Dais - proliferated card draw
Corrupted Conscience - helpful infect + removal
Oculus - sack to culling dais
Vivisection - awesomely evil flavor - but in practice not as useful as I'd like.
Darkslick Drake - sack to the dais, also decent body for defense and attack
Plague Myr - ramp and possible early infect?
Thrummingbird - great little beast. that is all.
Grafted Exoskeleton - goes onto thrummingbird or other big threats
Mana Leak - very decent counter - when are they going to have 3 extra mana left to counter your counter?
Phyrexian Metamorph - Copy your biggies for only three?
Viral Drake - pretty neat card, probably will include him eventually
Gitaxian Probe - perfect for the deck flavor wise but idk if it's worth a card slot.
Phyrexian Ingester - NOM NOM
I'm curious though how you fared with so few land. Did it work out alright?
My hope is that the two of us can spread the enlightenment that is phyrexia! mwahahaha! - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Dark Petition is likely going in because Spell Mastery should be pretty easy to get in a self mill deck. That's about it I think. Been taking a break from the game for a few months now.
I recently removed it from the Primer because it's too mana intensive for a deck this competitive. Cards like Recoup or Call to Mind are better draws 90% of the time. The kind of big flashy things that Past or Flames enables tend to be win-more in my experience. It would probably be fine in a slower/less competitive meta.
UUUU is a bit hard to manage even with all the duals. It's a bad draw early game. In general I don't really like the infinite combos that rely on Niv to work because creature removal is common.
Ulamog and Kozilek are definitely not worth the slots. Terrible early topdecks. We don't really want our graveyard shuffled anyway because we have the recursion stuff going on. Because our primary win con is Inner Fire + Comet Storm we don't require infinite draw off Curiosity.
I don't think they justify a whole slot in fast competitive combo build. Yes, they make the deck better. Yes, they work awesome with hand-cycling and counterspells... but in the end this is a combo deck, not a control deck. The counterspells are there for combo insurance as well as anti-combo hate. I want something like Quicken that cantrips but that I can get a bit more use out of. If it had Flashback or even Retrace I would definitely run it.
Thanks for your interest folks! I've been on a bit of a hiatus from MtG these last few months. I'd really like to delve back in and take give some of these new cards a test run.
Alhammarret's Archive appears to be a clear-cut upgrade from Thought Reflection For 2 less and no colors I think I can forgive it for not giving me an extra card on my draw step. While this is certainly no life-gain deck the first ability rarely hurts.
Day's Undoing - I will most likely be running this one. A draw 7 for 3 cmc is excellent. What's funny is that in combo with something like Leyine of Anticipation this is an exiling counterspell.
I too have been considering unsleeving Mindmoil. I almost never drop it now unless I'm comboing off and at that point I could also be winning with Inner Fire/Comet Storm. I just like having a few different ways to combo off (some insurance against Jester's Cap effects).
I will probably be running Memory Jar over Mindmoil or Reforge the Soul.
I like Hero of Oxid Ridge a lot but I think he is a little outclassed by Odric, Master Tactician, whome I am not overly impressed with anyway. Battlecry is nice but not that effective in multiplayer. For the most part I'm going voltron with Aurelia and the tokens are fuel for skullclamp, while enabling Sublime Archangel and Breath of Fury.
Academy Rector does have some solid targets in here, and is probably worth slotting in.
We can set up a miracle casting of RtS pretty reliably - therefore it's a nice tutor target in the early game - both Personal Tutor and Mystical Tutor can grab it. It can be recurred with our instant/sorcery recursion spells if needed.
Memory Jar can be tutored for directly to hand with Fabricate and recurred indefinitely with Academy Ruins. The nice thing about Jar is that it gives us unfair card advantage because our opponents don't get to keep their hands. This is pretty huge now that Leyline of Anticipation is out. It is however targetable by artifact removal. You might say you can just tap in response, but a lot of the time, you won't have enough mana to use the cards you get until your next turn.
What's your verdict?
While we're on the subject of artifacts, I'm thinking about swapping in Tezzeret the Seeker again in place of Fabricate. While at 5cmc the planeswalker is significantly slower, the ability to get out multiple ramp pieces is pretty great. And now that Grim Monolith and Mana Vault are both maindecked, the untapping is very attractive.
One thing I've really struggled with in this deck is finding good token producers. Hero of Bladehold is kind of the ideal. Preference is given to creatures because they can be equipped, sacced, etc... so stuff like Elspeth Tirel, Rise of the Hobgoblins, Militia's Pride, Assemble the Legion are less than ideal / pretty slow in my book. And without any real creature tutors, we need the redundancy.
One thing the enchantment based token producers have going for them is that I CAN tutor for them, so maybe I can maindeck one. Out of the above, Militia's Pride would be the most likely candidate because it's cheap, makes tokens with pseudo haste, and can make more than one token per turn. Assemble the Legion is nice if I can drop it turn 2 or 3, but later than that it's a dead draw. It works nice with land destruction though, so maybe worth a try as well.
Mind's Eye - while a bit high on the cmc, this is the kind of draw engine I've been looking for to complement Skullclamp. I think overall I'm going to like it a lot. A close second was Mask of Memory which still might go in.
Goblin Welder - This little guy's got a lot of utility for just R. When cards can be used both offensively and defensively it makes me happy. I'm running this over stuff like Indomitable Archangel.
Pearl Medallion - All of my higher costed spells are white. This makes things like Sun Titan, Austere Command, and Stonehewer Giant that much easier to cast.
Martial Coup - I really like my sweepers to be selective or at least flexible. This one has a lot of potential here, so I'm going to give it a test run. Is it preferable to a Terminus or Wrath of God? We'll see.
Sublime Archangel - This came in for Hellrider. I think this one's really going to shine here as a face smasher.
Oblivion Ring - This came in for Chaos Warp mostly because of the ability to tutor for it with Idyllic and Enlightened as well as recur it with Sun Titan.
What came out:
Rakka Mar - I was never that excited to see her. Compared to Hero of Bladehold, she's pretty underpowered even with haste.
Hellrider - I just never found myself casting him.
Signal Pest, Akroan Hoplite - In multiplayer, beats just don't quite cut it unless they are HUGE! I want to shift my focus a bit more toward voltron.
Gamble - This is an high dollar tutor that in my experience often fails outside of a deck that really draws a ton of cards (cough cough - Niv-Mizzet)
Keldon Firebombers - While the redundancy is nice, this was often a dead draw. 4cmc is really the sweet spot for land hate.
Chaos Warp - O-Ring is slightly better in here because of the reasons stated above.
Angelic Renewal - This was a pretty mediocre draw 90% of the time. We need big effects at efficient costs.
On the horizon:
Sunforger has been in and out. It's horrendously mana intensive, and I want to see it less than the other equipment I've already got. HOWEVER a tutor is a tutor. IF Puresteel Paladin is in play and active. Sunforger becomes amazing, but that's hard to do, especially without an Imperial Recruiter actually in my paper deck. I'd say that if I get an Recruiter, Sunforger might go back in.
Mother of Runes - I'm going to say right now that I'm going to find space for her. She's amazing. But what to cut?
Paradise Mantle and Explorer's Scope - Puresteel Paladin is simply amazing in this deck. The issue is that I so rarely get him into play. A Recruiter would make that happen more often. In that case, both of these equipment could be really nice early game. Maybe better drops than Coldsteel Heart or Wayfarer's Bauble.
Boros Charm - I've been on the fence with this one. A lot of my wraths are made to either leave my own stuff alone, or downright sacrifice instead of destroy, so the indestructibility is often irrelevant. However, this is something that could be built around, especially if I end up adding Sunforger to tutor for the charm. The ability to give Aurelia doubstrike is really nice though.
Ashnod's Altar - off theme, but still a really powerful ramper. This would help make Aurelia's Fury a lot more attractive.
Oath of Lieges - I still really dig this card and might run it over Kor Cartographer. I like the political aspect of it and the ability to catch up with G a little. I just don't think it would play that well with land destruction. I've already got Land Tax.
Mask of Memory - this is still on my radar. Might go in for Faithless Looting but IDK. Again, it's better with Puresteel Paladin but can I get him into play?
Concerted Effort - I can see this being pretty awesome.
Mistveil Plains - This is a killer combo with Sunforger, and generally any tutoring effect since recursions options in Boros are slim.
Tithe - This would be mostly to grab Mistveil and/or Sacred Foundry. I just don't like that it doesn't ramp me.
Restoration Angel - I've got a fair amount of ETB abilities going here that would be pretty great to abuse.
Godo, Bandit Warlord - 6 is really too much I'm thinking for this deck, but still a neat card.
Aggravated Assault, Waves of Agression - mana intensive, but still powerful. Assault goes infinite with Sword of Feast and Famine.
Taj-Nar Swordsmith - this is really inefficient next to the other equipment tutors already in the deck, but it's on my radar.
Reveillark or Karmic Guide - 5cmc is steep, but I like these. I think there's an infinite combo involving Purphoros, God of the Forge
Splinter Twin - I like Breath of Fury better for its combo potential and flavor, but at least one more infinite combo wouldn't hurt at all.
Self mill and recursion is proving to be incredibly powerful in this deck.
Because of the Worldgorger combo and my other reanimation shenanigans, this list tends to fare rather well in multiplayer as long as the other decks are on par. I really shy away from casting Kaalia without being able to haste her.
First batch of edits:
NOTE: You'll notice I nuked all of the discussion. Too much of it was out of date, so I wanted to start again clean.
Serra Ascendant - this is actually pretty gimmicky and doesn't help with your long term strategy.
Leonin Abunas - a lot of the time people are going to be using mass artifact wipes. If target artifact removal is a real problem, then use it but even then 4cmc is high for this deck.
Solemn Simulacrum - I'm running Kor Cartographer because it can fetch our Sacred Foundry
Urabrask the Hidden - I like Ogre Battledriver better because it's cheaper and buffs my tokens but I cut even that in favor of more equipment tutors. Lightning Greaves is just the bomb.
That's all I've got time for right now, but I'll be back. Here's a few more thoughts:
Mind's Eye, Mentor of the Meek, and Mask of Memory are all decent draw engines but Skullclamp is on a whole 'nother level. However, it needs to be built around using token producers such as Hero of Bladehold, Brimaz, King of Oreskos, and Krenko Mob Boss which happen to be pretty beast when Aurelia hits the table. You'll find my Aurelia build in my sig. It's called Warclamp
Overall, I would reconsider anything that costs 5cmc and above. That's a lot of mana for boros. We want to be coming out of the gates fast and hitting hard. It sucks to have high cmc cards in your opening hand with this deck.
Also, I'm sure how you feel about land destruction or lockdown, but I've found that's one of the only ways RW can stay competitive. It's optional, but high powered if done correctly - i.e involving Boros Charm, Sun Titan, or Crucible of Worlds.
And another thing. Infinite combos is hard NOT to resort to, especially in a competitive multiplayer environment. Breath of Fury is the card I've chosen to go infinite with since I've already got the pieces to make it work and it's on theme.
I'm not really a fan of Kiki toolboxing in this deck because I feel it departs too much from our central strategy. I abuse ETB effects with reanimation instead.
Generally speaking your deck will win faster if you lower your curve, increase ramp and tutors and take out anything extraneous to your central strategy. In my opinion MCR's list is the hyper competitive version of the deck but you don't have to go quite that far. His is a little too glass-cannonish for my playstyle.
Prossh enables Grave Pact so well that I think it's worth running as a removal engine. Besides the synergy with Prossh it means that people will think twice about attacking into our blockers and removing our key creatures.
Some cards that you should consider:
Birthing Pod is incredibly good in this deck. For example you can sac Prossh to grab Chancellor of the Forge, then sac Forge to get Craterhoof.
Disciple of Bolas - Creature based versions of most effects are preferable because they can be recurred, tutored for, and sacced where as other non-creature versions cannot. Disciple gives me so much value, I can't see not running it.
Hermit Druid - when I realized how powerful Hermit Druid was, reanimation and recursion became a huge part of my build. It's very very competitive.
Decimate - This card wins games on its own if recurred. Compare to Violent Ultimatum.
Fierce Empath - Budget friendly abusable, skullclampable tutor for Craterhoof
Cards I don't like in your list:
Zealous Conscripts - what is this really doing for you?
Acidic Slime - disregard what I said about creature versions of effects when it comes to this guy. VERY inefficient IMO
Your utility section could all get cut with the exception of Regrowth and Crucible. I'd slot in more tutors for the things we really want in play like Food Chain and Craterhoof. The transmute cards such as Shred Memory and Dimir Machinations are budget friendly and effective.
Sidisi, Undead Vizier - Five mana for a Demonic Tutor is too much. I'd run Fauna Shaman, Summoner's Pact, Defense of the Heart (Tooth and Nail #2), or Buried Alive over it.
Braids, Cabal Minion - I don't really think she has a place here. I'm running Grave Pact. Dictate of Erebos is another good one. Sheoldred, Whispering One is pretty amazing as well.
Your signets should get cut for creature based ramp, specifically the one drops. Fyndhorn Elves, Elvish Mystic, Llanowar Elves, Elves of Deep Shadow. They grant you so much more value than the signets because they can be sacced, skullclamped, reanimated, etc...
I'll copy and paste my list here for you. I'm really happy with where it's at right now, but there are still improvements to be made. Check out the thread in my sig. You can also do a search here on the forums for Prossh lists to see what other people have come up with. In addition to the Primer, I'd take a look at MCR's list here.
RAAAAMMP
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Elves of Deep Shadow
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Priest of Titania
1 Silverglade Pathfinder
1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1 Wood Elves
1 Somberwald Sage
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Food Chain
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
LANDS (35)
Any Color
1 Command Tower
1 Mana Confluence
1 City of Brass
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Forbidden Orchard
Duals
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Graven Cairns
1 Blood Crypt
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Stomping Ground
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Twilight Mire
1 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Verdant Catacombs
Utility Lands
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Strip Mine
1 Dryad Arbor
Cycling Lands
1 Barren Moor
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Forgotten Cave
Basic Lands
2 Forest
2 Swamp
2 Mountain
DRAW/CARD QUALITY
1 Skullclamp
1 Faithless Looting
1 Disciple of Bolas
1 Greater Good
1 Fecundity
REMOVAL/CONTROL
1 Chaos Warp
1 Beast Within
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Krosan Grip
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Helm of Possession
1 Decimate
1 Grave Pact
1 Decree of Pain
TUTORS
1 Entomb
1 Crop Rotation
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Hermit Druid
1 Buried Alive
1 Diabolic Intent
1 Fierce Empath
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Defense of the Heart
1 Birthing Pod
1 Natural Order
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Chord of Calling
1 Reanimate
1 Life // Death
1 Regrowth
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Eternal Witness
1 Ill-Gotten Gains
1 Dread Return
1 Living Death
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
HASTE ENABLERS
1 Anger
1 Urabrask the Hidden
TOKEN MAKERS
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Chancellor of the Forge
GAME ENDERS
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
For sweep, I recommend making Retribution of the Meek work for you. Yes, it destroys but it should be one sided. And it's hella efficient.
As for draw, I'm gonna say that Skullclamp can't be beat, and you've already got the tutors to make it consistent. It's one of the main things that keeps my list competitive. I can't imagine playing without it. But you need the token producers to fuel it effectively. Fortunately, that strategy works great with stuff like Sublime Archangel.
In these colors we don't have the creature tutors to make creature based draw reliable. I like my draw engine to be reliable.
Oblivion Ring might indeed go in for Chaos Warp now that tucking commanders is no longer a thing. I've just never liked the fact that my opponents can simply hit the enchantment and get back their thing. Tutorability is indeed a huge plus though - both Idyllic and Enlightened can grab it. I missed the Sun Titan interaction. I like that a lot as well. Thanks for the suggestion!
I run Return to Dust for the exile and in my experience the 2 for 1 is actually quite nice, but I get your logic for Orim's Thunder. I'll try it out.
My preference for ramp is the 3 for 2 since that allows a turn 4 Aurelia by itself. Even if I've got a 2 for 1 on turn 2 such as Fellwar Stone or Mind Stone, that's still only turn 4 aurelia in combo with the 3 for 2, if you get me. Grim Monolith, Basalt Monolith and Mana Vault are a little higher on my list than the former for this reason.
Stuff that I really like that's not in my list currently: