Thanks for the advices, I forgot about Mission Briefing...another funny thing would be to use Reins of Power to give my equiped creature to an opponent so he can attack with it. Knowing that I have his creatures to block with, he will most likely attack someone else ;P ...Reins is also a great defensive card if needed
I thought of a deck involving Colossus Hammer but I need your help because some of the cards are simply too expensive and I am looking for a substitute...here is the deck I thought about:
However, it would be more fun to have an ally attack with 2 creatures, give double-strike to the weakest one using Duelist's Heritage and then attach the hammer on it with Magnetic Theft...simply having the possibility to attach the hammer to my ally's creatures would be fun.
I was looking for ways to reuse Magnetic Theft...I thought about Isochron Scepter and Snapcaster Mage but the mages are too expensive for me and I'm not sure that I want to spend the ressources to get the scepters...they will most likely get disenchanted anyway.
Do you have any suggetions for this deck ? ...I was also looking for more ways to attach the hammer to my partner's creatures but didnt find anything that I could use. I also need more card draw or I will be stuck waiting for my next card most of the time.
I have a UW proliferate deck that is already focused on artifacts...I have 2 Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge laying in my binder that I would like to add to this deck but I dont want to add black just for this card and I'm not sure what to remove...I have a lot of great white cards that are focused on the proliferate mechanic. Here is the decklist:
Tossing some ideas...green could allow Concordant Crossroads to haste your army, Aura Shards for mass disenchanting and Druids' Repository to push that mana-generation even further ? ...green also allows to add some ramp if needed
Skittering Invasion: If you have 7, you have better cards to play. Endless One: It's a flexible card...but you have nothing to show for it if it dies to single target removal and it doesnt have trample or anihilator. Eldrazi Conscription: Your creatures are big enough already...you are better off with two big threats than with one crazy big threat. You will lose two cards when it dies to removal. Sol Ring: Make sure to confirm with your playgroup...I dont know anyone who would play with someone that runs more than 1 Sol Ring.
4 cards to add...
Kozilek, the Great Distortion: refilling your hands is already awesome...being able to Counterspell is even better...the fact that you also have a 12/12 beater is an added bonus. Lightning Greaves: You dont want to waste a turn before attacking...no matter what you are going to attack with. Duplicant: Decent card advantage...you remove a big threat and you gain one Staff of Domination: It does all that you need it to do.
1) Spawn lots of tokens
2) Play big Eldrazis
3) Kill your opponent
...I would try to skip either step #1 or step #2
Right now, your opponent can disrupt step #1 with minor damage spells like Pyroclasm or Arc Lightning and distrupt step #2 with targeted removal like Swords to Plowshares.
Also, the process before you end up killing your opponent is fairly long.
If you skip step 1 and go with a 12-post deck (Cloudpost and friends), an urza tron deck (Urza's Tower and friends) or you use some artifacts (Thran Dynamo, Basalt Monolith and similar) to have the mana to spawn the big Eldrazis, the ressources you need to spawn Eldrazis will be harder to deal with and wont die when the Eldrazis get spawned.
Otherwise, if you really want to stick to your current deck strategy, here are a couple of suggestions:
Steely Resolve: Make your big Eldrazis shroud...that way you won't have to worry about single target removal (Infernal Reckoning and friends) when you manage to play your Eldrazi. Druids' Repository: I assume this deck is made to play multiplayer games. In multiplayer games, there is always someone who has nearly no defense...you can attack that person with your tokens and bank up mana that you will later use to play your Eldrazis.
Choose Eldrazis that give a good benefit even if they die...It that Betrays, Bane of Bala Ged and Ulamog's Crusher look nice but if they die to single target removal, you have nothing to show for your efforts. The bigger Eldrazis (Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger and Kozilek, the Great Distortion) will give you a nice benefit even if they get countered or killed before you get to attack with them.
Amulet of Vigor speeds up the Cloudposts. With Primeval Titan, the lands come into play tapped and untap once for every amulet in play (yes, it stacks !)...3 amulets, Cloudpost untaps 3 times when coming into play...generating a lot of mana. You can use Phyrexian Metamorph to copy the amulets or the Thran Dynamo.
If you use your 4 mana to cast a dynamo, then tap the dynamo for 3 to copy it with Phyrexian Metamorph and tap the dynamo copy to copy it again with another Phyrexian Metamorph, you went straight from 4 mana to 13 mana in one turn.
I used to play Staff of Domination in this deck but I moved them to another deck since this one is already very strong even without the staff.
The Steely Resolve prevents my opponents from taking control of my Eldrazis and make then harder to deal with.
Overall, the deck idea is that all my creatures are so puny that no opponent bothers with killing them so I always have at least 2-3 creatures in play.
Druids' Repository increases my amount of mana quickly, allowing me to do an early Martial Coup that can wipe out any early game threat while also building me an army.
Skullclamp makes you draw a lot to ensure that you always have a full hand.
Secure the Wastes and Raise the Alarm allow you to spawn tokens at the end of your opponent's turn to be ready to attack with them on your turn or to quickly recover from a Wrath of God effect. Always keep a decently full hand to make sure that you can recover to board wipes. If you empty your hand and forget to clamp your creatures, it can take a long time to recover from a board wipe.
Knight-Captain of Eos allow you to Fog whenever needed to have some more defense. Even when they kill your knight, you still have the tokens you spawned.
The Eldrazi Spawn of Nest Invader can provide mana in case you are stuck but since all the cards cost 5 or less, you are never mana short with this deck.
In my playgroup, it has been working nicely and it has been winning most of the games that I played with it. Since the overall synergy between all the cards is very strong and none of the cards is absolutely vital to the deck (except maybe Beastmaster Ascension), it ends up that the deck always finds a way to survive and usually ends up winning the game.
I hope you see a thing or two that will help your token deck.
Also, Animate Dead is a clear upgrade over Raise Dead...your creature gets directly into play and you can animate creatures in your opponent's graveyard. Necromancy is another very interesting option.
Your whole deck idea seems to revolve around the magic idea that Marchesa, the Black Rose will be remain alive for a long time on your board. That will most likely not be the case. Your deck entirely revolves around her so your opponent will be quick to kill her and your entire deck is one Swords to Plowshares away from being slowed down dramatically. You should play Marchesa but she shouldnt be your only way to abuse your deck...there are other ways to abuse undying creatures (Retribution of the Ancients is quite good at keeping your undying creatures alive, Purphoros, god of the forge would deal heavy damage since you have a lot of creature come into play triggers, Impact Tremors does something similar, sacrifice outlets Helm of Possession, Altar of Dementia, etc...can also be interesting to abuse) and you should play other cards as well
Swarm of Bloodflies costs way too much for the benefit it brings to your deck. Rot Shambler or Rockslide Elemental do the same work but cost much less. If you are looking to play something expensive for this role, Algae Gharial would be much easier to keep alive since it has shroud.
Soul net is useless...gaining life won't prevent you from losing the game...it will only make it last a bit longer before you die...dont waste your mana on this. Zulaport Cutthroat will make a better job in your deck.
Demonic Tutor or Mastermind's Acquisition allow you to look for other cards if Marchesa isnt what you need at the time. Acquisition even allow you to build a sideboard full of options that could be good for you.
Consulate Skygate isnt good in your deck. You have tons of small creatures so you have no reason to fear for your early game defense. You should add some creature removal if you want ways to deal with flying creatures.
Ion storm is costy to activate, Retribution of the Ancients will run much more smoothly...especially if you run some Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to ensure that you have black mana. It can also save more than one creature with just one black mana.
Since we are in the "multiplayer" section, let me tell you that your mana would be better fixed with some good multiplayer lands (Exotic Orchard, lands from Battlebond (Morphic Pool, Luxury Suite, etc...)
You can search for Zedruu commander decks to have a lot of ideas on what to give to your opponents.
4 Kor Duelist
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Trinket Mage
Artifacts (9)
1 Sol Ring
4 Colossus Hammer
1 Swiftfoot Boots
3 Isochron Scepter
3 Sigarda's Aid
3 Duelist's Heritage
Spells (9)
4 Magnetic Theft
3 Counterspell
2 Orim's Thunder
Lands (22)
4 Sea of Clouds
2 Cascade Bluffs
2 Mystic Gate
5 Plains
5 Island
4 Mountain
Kor Duelist + Colossus Hammer + Sigarda's Aid or Magnetic Theft deals a lot of damage.
However, it would be more fun to have an ally attack with 2 creatures, give double-strike to the weakest one using Duelist's Heritage and then attach the hammer on it with Magnetic Theft...simply having the possibility to attach the hammer to my ally's creatures would be fun.
I was looking for ways to reuse Magnetic Theft...I thought about Isochron Scepter and Snapcaster Mage but the mages are too expensive for me and I'm not sure that I want to spend the ressources to get the scepters...they will most likely get disenchanted anyway.
Do you have any suggetions for this deck ? ...I was also looking for more ways to attach the hammer to my partner's creatures but didnt find anything that I could use. I also need more card draw or I will be stuck waiting for my next card most of the time.
Thanks for your help,
EDIT: Maybe Dreadhorde Arcanist could be a decent substitute to Snapcaster Mage but I would need more instant with 1 mana cost to cast from my graveyard...Swords to Plowshares or similar
Kain
Sphinx's Tutelage isnt as good as corrosion but can mill 4 cards of the same player for 1 card drawn.
God-Eternal Kefnet - Soooo good, got 4 of them so far, cant have too many. Playing them in decks that have a lot of spells
Flux Channeler - Proliferate deck has almost no creature so it's a lot of triggers
Bolas's Citadel - Too good, especially with Sensei's Divining top
The Elderspell - New addition to my sideboard, my 5 colors deck plays Mastermind's Acquisition
Finale of Eternity - Mono black Cabal Coffers deck and UB Commander deck
Liliana's Triumph - Awesome in multiplayer games
Finale of Devastation - My mono green deck already won once with this. I spent 12 to bring in Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger with +10/+10 and haste.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn - Good card to search for in a Bring to Light deck
Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord - Interesting effects...the lifelink alone is worth it for decks that are not too subtle and only want to beat.
Dovin, Hand of Control - Nice addition to my Sun Titan deck since it costs 3
Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner - Nice addition to my Sun Titan deck since it costs 3
God-Pharaoh's Statue - Turn 2: Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, turn 3: this, Turn 4: having to find a new playgroup to play with ;P
Blast Zone - My proliferate deck is very artifact oriented so it doesnt care that much about mana color...nice fit !
Karn's Bastion - Same as Blast zone
Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge - Havent found a way to play him yet but I sure am trying ;P
I have a UW proliferate deck that is already focused on artifacts...I have 2 Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge laying in my binder that I would like to add to this deck but I dont want to add black just for this card and I'm not sure what to remove...I have a lot of great white cards that are focused on the proliferate mechanic. Here is the decklist:
2 Flux Channeler
Artifacts (14)
2 Mox Opal
4 Everflowing Chalice
1 Sol Ring
4 Ichor Wellspring
2 Throne of Geth
1 Contagion Engine
Enchantment (7)
4 Luminarch Ascension
3 Parallax Wave
4 Dispatch
1 Balance
2 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Wrath of God
4 Thoughtcast
1 Expropriate
Planeswalkers (4)
2 Teferi, Temporal Archmage
2 Karn Liberated
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Ancient Den
4 Plains
3 Island
1 Academy Ruins
1 Blast Zone
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Kor Haven
Thanks for your suggestions
Skittering Invasion: If you have 7, you have better cards to play.
Endless One: It's a flexible card...but you have nothing to show for it if it dies to single target removal and it doesnt have trample or anihilator.
Eldrazi Conscription: Your creatures are big enough already...you are better off with two big threats than with one crazy big threat. You will lose two cards when it dies to removal.
Sol Ring: Make sure to confirm with your playgroup...I dont know anyone who would play with someone that runs more than 1 Sol Ring.
4 cards to add...
Kozilek, the Great Distortion: refilling your hands is already awesome...being able to Counterspell is even better...the fact that you also have a 12/12 beater is an added bonus.
Lightning Greaves: You dont want to waste a turn before attacking...no matter what you are going to attack with.
Duplicant: Decent card advantage...you remove a big threat and you gain one
Staff of Domination: It does all that you need it to do.
I hope the suggestions help.
1) Spawn lots of tokens
2) Play big Eldrazis
3) Kill your opponent
...I would try to skip either step #1 or step #2
Right now, your opponent can disrupt step #1 with minor damage spells like Pyroclasm or Arc Lightning and distrupt step #2 with targeted removal like Swords to Plowshares.
Also, the process before you end up killing your opponent is fairly long.
If you skip step 1 and go with a 12-post deck (Cloudpost and friends), an urza tron deck (Urza's Tower and friends) or you use some artifacts (Thran Dynamo, Basalt Monolith and similar) to have the mana to spawn the big Eldrazis, the ressources you need to spawn Eldrazis will be harder to deal with and wont die when the Eldrazis get spawned.
If you skip step #2, there are quite a bit of cards that can make your tokens a real pain for your opponents (Beastmaster Ascension, Eldrazi Monument, Glare of Subdual, Aura Shards,Overrun, Windbrisk Heights, etc...) and you can end up killing your opponent with these tokens.
Otherwise, if you really want to stick to your current deck strategy, here are a couple of suggestions:
Steely Resolve: Make your big Eldrazis shroud...that way you won't have to worry about single target removal (Infernal Reckoning and friends) when you manage to play your Eldrazi.
Druids' Repository: I assume this deck is made to play multiplayer games. In multiplayer games, there is always someone who has nearly no defense...you can attack that person with your tokens and bank up mana that you will later use to play your Eldrazis.
Choose Eldrazis that give a good benefit even if they die...It that Betrays, Bane of Bala Ged and Ulamog's Crusher look nice but if they die to single target removal, you have nothing to show for your efforts. The bigger Eldrazis (Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger and Kozilek, the Great Distortion) will give you a nice benefit even if they get countered or killed before you get to attack with them.
I have a deck that is similar to the one you are trying to build. It's very hard to beat and it can probably give you ideas:
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Primeval Titan
2 Duplicant
2 Artisan of Kozilek
4 Kozilek, the Great Distortion
2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Artifacts (14)
4 Amulet of Vigor
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
2 Tower of Fortunes
4 Thran Dynamo
2 Mind's Eye
1 Fastbond
2 Steely Resolve
Spells (1)
1 All is Dust
Planeswalkers (1)
1 Karn Liberated
Lands (22)
4 Cloudpost
4 Glimmerpost
4 Vesuva
4 Simic Growth Chamber
4 Gruul Turf
1 Eye of Ugin
1 Maze of Ith
Amulet of Vigor speeds up the Cloudposts. With Primeval Titan, the lands come into play tapped and untap once for every amulet in play (yes, it stacks !)...3 amulets, Cloudpost untaps 3 times when coming into play...generating a lot of mana. You can use Phyrexian Metamorph to copy the amulets or the Thran Dynamo.
If you use your 4 mana to cast a dynamo, then tap the dynamo for 3 to copy it with Phyrexian Metamorph and tap the dynamo copy to copy it again with another Phyrexian Metamorph, you went straight from 4 mana to 13 mana in one turn.
I used to play Staff of Domination in this deck but I moved them to another deck since this one is already very strong even without the staff.
The Steely Resolve prevents my opponents from taking control of my Eldrazis and make then harder to deal with.
4 Nest Invader
4 Knight-Captain of Eos
Artifacts (7)
1 Sol Ring
4 Skullclamp
2 Eldrazi Monument
Enchantments (14)
2 Reconnaissance
1 Sterling Grove
2 Aura Shards
3 Druids' Repository
4 Beastmaster Ascension
2 Glare of Subdual
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Path to Exile
2 Secure the Wastes
1 Raise the Alarm
2 Martial Coup
2 Sram's Expertise
Planeswalkers (2)
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
Lands (20)
1 Kor Haven
2 Wooded Bastion
4 Selesnya Sanctuary
4 Khalni Garden
4 Windbrisk Heights
2 Plains
3 Forest
Overall, the deck idea is that all my creatures are so puny that no opponent bothers with killing them so I always have at least 2-3 creatures in play.
Khalni Garden and Nest Invader allow me to quickly have some tokens early in the game.
Druids' Repository increases my amount of mana quickly, allowing me to do an early Martial Coup that can wipe out any early game threat while also building me an army.
Garruk Wildspeaker also helps to increase my mana base, especially when I can untap Selesnya Sanctuary.
Reconnaissance allow me to attack with all my creatures every turn without losing any, allowing me to put counters on Druids' Repository and Beastmaster Ascension and also allows me to untap my creatures after combat to use Glare of Subdual for defense.
Windbrisk Heights speeds up the deck even more by allowing me to cast a card for free when attacking.
Selesnya Sanctuary allows to repeat the ability of Khalni Garden or Windbrisk Heights.
Skullclamp makes you draw a lot to ensure that you always have a full hand.
Secure the Wastes and Raise the Alarm allow you to spawn tokens at the end of your opponent's turn to be ready to attack with them on your turn or to quickly recover from a Wrath of God effect. Always keep a decently full hand to make sure that you can recover to board wipes. If you empty your hand and forget to clamp your creatures, it can take a long time to recover from a board wipe.
Knight-Captain of Eos allow you to Fog whenever needed to have some more defense. Even when they kill your knight, you still have the tokens you spawned.
The Eldrazi Spawn of Nest Invader can provide mana in case you are stuck but since all the cards cost 5 or less, you are never mana short with this deck.
In my playgroup, it has been working nicely and it has been winning most of the games that I played with it. Since the overall synergy between all the cards is very strong and none of the cards is absolutely vital to the deck (except maybe Beastmaster Ascension), it ends up that the deck always finds a way to survive and usually ends up winning the game.
I hope you see a thing or two that will help your token deck.
Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
Skullclamp
Fires of Yavimaya or Lightning Greaves
Mountain
Wall of Roots
Joraga Treespeaker
Green Sun's Zenith
Greenwarden of Murasa
Tooth and Nail
All is Dust
Sandwurm Convergence
Elvish Visionary
The GGG of your Vorapede will be very hard to reach if you do not play filter lands (Twilight Mire, Fire-Lit Thicket, etc...)
Swarm of Bloodflies costs way too much for the benefit it brings to your deck. Rot Shambler or Rockslide Elemental do the same work but cost much less. If you are looking to play something expensive for this role, Algae Gharial would be much easier to keep alive since it has shroud.
Soul net is useless...gaining life won't prevent you from losing the game...it will only make it last a bit longer before you die...dont waste your mana on this. Zulaport Cutthroat will make a better job in your deck.
Demonic Tutor or Mastermind's Acquisition allow you to look for other cards if Marchesa isnt what you need at the time. Acquisition even allow you to build a sideboard full of options that could be good for you.
Consulate Skygate isnt good in your deck. You have tons of small creatures so you have no reason to fear for your early game defense. You should add some creature removal if you want ways to deal with flying creatures.
Ion storm is costy to activate, Retribution of the Ancients will run much more smoothly...especially if you run some Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to ensure that you have black mana. It can also save more than one creature with just one black mana.
Unbridled Growth does not increase your total of mana...go with Sakura-Tribe Elder instead if you fear for your mana colors.
Bone Splinters and Plummet are bad removal cards. Upgrade to stronger stuff. Hero's Downfall, Maelstrom Pulse, Putrefy, Blasphemous Act, etc...
Add at least 1 Island to search for in your deck.
Since we are in the "multiplayer" section, let me tell you that your mana would be better fixed with some good multiplayer lands (Exotic Orchard, lands from Battlebond (Morphic Pool, Luxury Suite, etc...)