I call it Judo Guardians, after the card Guardians of Meletis and the Judo-style play this deck has. It is very spell-heavy, and relies on your opponents using creatures, lands, spells, etc. to put pressure on you... and you take their momentum and redirect it right back at them. Given its lack of permanents and the commander, it's very easy to fly under the radar until your moment to strike. A well-timed Mirror Strike can give other players the impression that attacking you is a risky proposition, but even if they do fun things almost certainly ensue. The deck is a blast to play and play against. Some opponents call it the comeuppance.dec.
My philosophy for the deck is to lack any win condition unless that card is completely dependent on your opponents attempt to win the game. The result is a deck that I've won MOST games with, usually with surprising flair. There's a card in here that punishes all types of decks you could come up against, except for super friends (still working on that one weakness...). Also, the deck uses some "huggy" cards as a means to accelerate the game and allow opponents to pull off some crazy things. The deck WANTS your opponents to get out of control... so you can smack them down with the backhand of justice.
Initially, the deck was helmed by Ruhan of the Fomori and it's biggest weakness was mana acceleration and keeping a full grip of cards readily available to respond to opponents. When K&T was spoiled it was the PERFECT card that helped both of the deck's weaknesses AND added a fourth color. It's currently my favorite deck to play, as it's tuned to 75% and will only be as strong as the decks you're playing against.
The decklist I've posted has shifted a bit in the last few months, primarily to bring the mana curve down, but take a look at it and see what you think. The main cards are still there. It's very fun to play cards that most EDH players DO NOT see coming, or even know what they do until they read them.
EDIT: some of the new cards I've added are Berserk and Tempt with Discovery. Have fun with the crazy plays, and best of luck with the deck.
I want to give a shout out to my most competitive deck, Jazal Goldmane. Contrary to popular belief, mono-white is very strong on its own with plenty to ramp, draw, tutor, and recur. Play some key instant-speed token generators alongside your good-stuff cards and you've got a hell of an explosive commander, often knocking out every opponent in one swoop.
Anachronity's suggestions are pretty good, but as an additional qualifier, I'll add this: First, aim for cards that provide choices for the opponent instead of applying a random effect without a choice.
Comparison Example: Thieves' Auction vs. Scrambleverse
They both accomplish similar things, but one allows your opponents to make active decisions during resolution. That is more fun that the RNG God deciding one player should get shafted and given no useful permanents. That said, I disagree that Theives' Auction will resolve faster... I think adding the human element actually makes it take longer. My last comment on this effect is to be mindful of your playgroup... many players don't like to spread their expensive cards across the table to perfect strangers and will scoop as soon as you play this effect. Shouldn't be a problem for close friends though.
Bad Example: Possibility Storm
This card seems like the perfect example of random chaos and wackiness you'd want to bring into a casual EDH game... but beware! Once again, this card removes the ability for players to affect the game in a meaningful way, and it can be very frustrating to lose that amount of control. Omen Machine gives an affect that a player doesn't control, but they can still choose which cards to cast from their hands. Wild Evocation is a better choice than either of those two because it doesn't stop players from drawing cards, but still gives a random benefit - not a random drawback. It's your choice if you'd rather be more controlling or not...
Good Example: Teferi's Puzzle Box
Here, you generate a wacky effect for all the players that doesn't inhibit their ability to simply play the game. Yes, they need to make short-term plans instead of long-term ones, but the spells they cast actually have a chance to resolve. This has always been fun in my games and players wont get frustrated as easily.
So, when you play cards with global effects you want to make sure they don't inhibit your opponent's ability to play the game and make choices. Don't make them sacrifice tons of permanents, discard lots of cards, and lose the ability to target things with their spells... that's controlling and frustrating for them more than it is fun and wacky. BUT, it can be very fun for your opponents to watch YOU take the risks instead of them, such as with the great suggestions of Stitch in Time and Squee's Revenge.
Also, a great card in EDH that can make for some fun moments, depending on how you choose to play it, is Mirrorweave. Lots of shenanigans to be had there. Finally, I love the choice of Ruhan of the Fomori as your commander. Good luck with the deck!
"The emergence of the Eldrazi isnt necessarily a bad thing, as long as you've already lived a fulfilling and complete life without regrets."
- Javad Nasrin, Ondu relic hunter
I come to you from before the Mending, before the Time of Dragons, before mana had diverged into constituents of "color," a time when planes were numbered and shaping into existence. I know the Eldrazi, and the Eldrazi know the multiverse. I've reached into the Blind Eternies to grasp their voracious, infinite power, and I bring them forth to aid them in their ends. My "command" is a symbiosis of infinite life, knowledge, and power. Do not cross me.
Ugin learned of the hedron's mysteries through my teachings, though only the Eldrazi mind thinks in the warped paths required to open the hedrons and tap the power within. Ugin has tricked himself, perhaps out of fear, into believing they can be controlled. He has much to learn, and Zendikar will surely pay the cost of that lesson a millennium in the making. He never trusted that I was responsible for breaking Alara. A fool, really.
His most recent stint on Zendikar was a bit of a nuisance, indeed, but what protege has never pestered his mentor with idealistic fantasies and half-witted ideals in the pursuit of "improving" that which cannot be improved? Still, he shows more potential than his borishly predictable and wholly unreliable counterpart, Bolas.
As for the modern planeswalkers... sad, pathetic mortals. They beg for madness, of which I'm happy to oblige.
"Infinite possibilities contained in a finite space."
"No matter how big your champion, theirs is bigger. No matter how great your numbers, theirs are greater. No matter how voracious your appetite, they are hungrier. That is why the Eldrazi will win." - Kalitas, thrall of Ulamog
Yes, this deck plays only Eldrazi creatures, and will only ever play Eldrazi creatures. Why? The Eldrazi are awesome, and powerful, and super weird. We've all thought about the possibility of making a great colorless Eldrazi deck, and this deck pulls it off with flair in a way that I haven't seen other players talking about on these forums.
The most pressing question on everyone's mind is typically, "What about all the insanely powerful annihilator cards?!" Yes, I know how much better the deck could be with their inclusion, but the cards just aren't fun for my opponents to play against, and this deck is about FUN! I am making a Vorthos deck, after all, and the intent is for my friends to enjoy the battle for their existence against the Blind Eternities! Also, when I sit down for a game against players I don't know well, I can usually avoid all the hate that's directed at colorless decks when I mention that it's "just a Vorthos Eldrazi deck without any annihilator above 2..." That usually means I won't be taken too seriously, which is unfortunate for the rest of the players, really.
The release of BFZ and OGW has helped the deck to lower it's mana curve considerably. Who would've thought we would see a 2cc Eldrazi make it to print? The deck runs much more smoothly now than it used to, especially since it was able to drop a lot of the weaker common Eldrazi I used to have to run.
Conduit of Ruin, Oblivion Sower, and Ulamog himself are the most powerful cards in this deck, and getting them on the board usually means your opponents will finally see how scary out-of-control a weakly Vorthos deck can get. Void Winnower's "you can't even" ability is a bit hit and miss, but typically demands an answer sooner rather than later. If your friends were enjoying watching all the flavor spill out of your deck in the first few turns, these guys are going to snap them back to the reality that you can be a formidable threat.
One interesting creature is our Spawnsire of Ulamog. Not only does it make tokens for whatever reasons you need (and there are a number of them), it has that neat little 20 ability. The way I play that ability (assuming your playgroup allows it) is that I can grab back any Eldrazi cards that have been exiled throughout the course of the game. It isn't broken, its worth the 20 mana, and it's super flavorful to be pulling Eldrazi out from the Blind Eternities back into the battlefield!
"For those without the Planeswalker spark, the merest touch of the Blind Eternities can kill." - Ugin, the Spirit Dragon"
The deck has a few non-permanent cards, though even fewer powerful ones. The actual inspiration of the deck was my All Is Dust that my friends brought back from Las Vegas, signed by a number of pro players and the good gentlemen on the Limited Resources podcast. I thought about using it in a colorless artifact deck... but the card was begging for a little something special. In fact, the deck was originally a Kozilek artifact deck that happened to be pretty degenerate.
The deck runs some unsavory cards in terms of power (I'm looking at you Skittering Invasion), but this deck wants to be flavorful! And if I can convince other players that I'm not much of a threat by playing these types of cards... all the better.
I'm still waiting for the day that I can cast a free Not of This World.
"Whatever the Eldrazi's purpose is, it has nothing to do with something so insignificant as us." - Nirthu, lone missionary
The deck needs to run some seemingly off-flavor non-creature permanents. The mana rocks required their own section, but let's examine my other choices...
First off, there are plenty of cards that make perfect sense for flavor reasons: Eldrazi Monument, Perilous Vault, and even Crucible of Worlds. These card are perfectly flavorful, and can even be very powerful at the right time. The deck does rely on mana rocks for a significant amount of it's ramping power, so Perious Vault can be harmful at times. However, in a pinch, the deck doesn't run too many board wipes and having it available is usually very helpful. Next, Crucible of Worlds is one of my favorite inclusions. Not only does it "accidentally" match the flavor of the Eldrazi threatening the existence of entire worlds, but it plays very well with Mirrorpool, Buried Ruin, Blasted Landscape, Wasteland, and Sanctum of Ugin. Additionally, Eye of Ugin quite often becomes the target of an opposing Strip Mine, so this card will help your premium land in play where it belongs.
What are Mind's Eye and Altar of Dementia doing here? First, the Eldrazi have a knack for ripping apart minds and perceptions just as easily as they rip of the earth. Kozilek is particularly skilled in this area, and Titan's Presence is proof of how intimidating and gut-wrenching the mere presence of these beings can have on your fragile opponents. These two cards also tie in thematically with Mind Stone and Thought Vessel to keep this idea moving. It's also worth noting that Altar of Dementia can be extremely powerful in this deck. It serves as a sacrifice outlet (which all EDH should be running) and lets you use and re-use Ulamog over and over again to keep exiling permanents. Because of Ulamog's attack trigger, you'll be eating CHUNKS of cards from every players library, and the Altar can help keep the milling going. I've actually won MORE games through milling out every opponent with Altar than I have with creatures or commander damage.
Aligned Hedron Network?! Why would I run a card that depicts my own commander being trapped? First, in the story, it wasn't final. He broke free! Second, it puts Ulamog back into the command zone - a very threatening place to be with his casting trigger! And third, the deck needs board wipes. I've talked about this.
The deck needs card draw since it doesn't play Kozilek, the Great Distortion as its commander (though, nothing is stopping you), so I slotted in a Coercive Portal. The coercive aspect is political, which is always fun, but it also suits the flavor of the Eldrazi playing with people's minds. As a portal, it relates to how the Eldrazi move between the planes through the Blind Eternities. Finally, if the board is eventually wiped , the Eldrazi are usually just fine with that outcome as well. Eldrazi Monument can protect them, and Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger protects himself
Finally, what on earth is a Trading Post doing here? One reason, and one reason only: baa-aa-aa-a-aa-a-aaa-a! Continue reading through the land portion where I explain it more thoroughly.
"Even a fragment of a powerstone contains within it not just energy, but space - vast dimensions trapped in a fragile crystal."
I've got a love-hate relationship with this portion of the deck... and there wont be any resolution until more Eldrazi/Zendikar-flavored mana sources are printed. Because of the exceptional need for mana that this deck has, and the lack of good mana rocks that are on flavor, I've been forced to play cards that just... don't.... thematically... fit... UGH! But alas, I've got some reasoning behind a few cards.
And finally, Ur-Golem's Eye and Thran Dynamo. They don't fit. They're just so necessary for the deck to reliably cast its spells. One day there will be better options
For extra spicy synergistic flavor, we have our all-star lands: Mirrorpool, Sanctum of Ugin, and Sea Gate Wreckage. These lands would have earned their spot even without the Vorthos restriction.
Every other land choice is not particularly powerful, but they bring in the flavor of ruined landscapes, abandoned temples, and mana ties I've created with Zendikar during our Titan heroes' nappy time. The one questionable land is Springjack Pasture: Yes, the deck includes a small goat subtheme. The gods must be appeased! Eldrazi Monument begs for a sacrifice, and what better animal than our lovable goats (art courtesy of the wonderful Terese Nielsen, of course). And because the deck sacrifices goats to appease the gods, I included the Trading Post under artifacts. Gotta have dem goats.
And there's the deck in all of its Vorthosian glory. I'd love to hear what you all think, especially if you've got some card suggestions for me that tie in some more flavor, or even if you have your own Vorthos deck you're having fun with!
Problem is probably trying to always make highly competitive decks instead of having fun Personally, I tire easily of the "good stuff" decks that I started the format out with. And combo can be very repetitive for the one playing it, and especially so for your opponents. Try to use pet cards that don't see a lot of play. Pick a theme and stick to it. Try to make a deck that creates fun scenarios instead of pushing for the win at all costs.
I've built a Vorthos Eldrazi deck where I only include cards that are on theme of world-devouring Eldrazi and wont play any non-Eldrazi creature spells, regardless of how good a card is. I'm also trying to build a Ruhan of the Fomori Judo-type deck that just redirects all my opponents aggression back onto themselves for the hilarity of it all. Neither deck is very competitive, but they're a ton of fun for myself and my friends. Also, by playing a weaker deck you'll often be ignored when opponents are worried about the "big baddy" at the table. Multiplayer has that fallback built into the format where decks that are running at 75% power are typically the decks that end up winning once the OP decks have expended their resources going after the bigger threats at the table.
It was labelled "Hatebear" but it's pretty strictly mono-W D&T. This list was actually posted by one of our own many pages ago, and his comments mentioned that he was sad he left out a Flickerwisp, and thought that Anafenza and Flagstones was pretty unnecessary. I've used that list as a jumping off point for my own paper build myself. It's been great
Just want to get a "Hoo-rah!" from all my fellow D&T players
I played on Cockatrice tonight against someone testing a Ur Vedalken Shackles deck. It's interesting to see our D&T do so well against a home brew that we don't expect to face when our entire deck strategy targets the stronger Tier 1/2 decks in the format. It reminds me of how much power we're actually packing despite our list being so unassuming.
Game 1 he drops 2 Shackles and has six mana available. I fight through the Shackles and multiple Cryptics with a Thalia, Mangara (targeting Shackles, of course), three 3/3 Students, and a Serra Avenger (which he had taken in order to prevent death in the air). Easy win despite the godly anti-aggro artifact and lacking any form of land destruction.
I sideboard -3 Mindcensors, -2 Paths, +1 Thalia, +1 Canonist (3 total), and +3 Grunt.
He plays another Shackle while I have an Arbiter and Canonist on the field. I GQ an island away, then Flicker his 2nd Island during EOT. He can't pay for Shackle activation, and he can't pay to get a third Island with a fetch land. Eventually he's succumbs, knowing if he activates his Shackles I can simply GQ another land and counter the ability, or Flicker my creature right back to me.
I understand why Pro's don't play this deck more frequently because it can be very skill intensive and punishes misplays very harshly. When they have so much to test and prepare for this deck can be very unappealing and quite the chore to practice and master. I am glad I've been playing it so long and feel so comfortable with it. It's really a very satisfying deck to pilot correctly
Tried Avenger, wasn't that keen on it, I often don't get either Aether Vial or Avenger and then she's just a touch disappointing.
Play Grunt. It did nothing yesterday, the only deck that interacted with the graveyard was persist. Grunt doesn't stop that, nor does it hose the strategy.
Thalia wouldn't have helped in 4 of my 5 matches yesterday. And the one it would have worked in I still would have died to Phyrexian Crusader. Thalia wouldn't have helped in the Pod matchup, was too slow for the hexproof matchup, would have made no difference in the Esper control rogue deck I faced, and the last deck played a whole 7 noncreature spells.
So, I was correct, Thalia does nothing in my Meta.
Grunt doesn't hose strategies unless their dedicated GY decks like Living End. However, he slows down decks that run a lot of spells, decks with Snapcaster hate him. His purpose is to come down around turns 4-6 and tuck away the Path, Spell Snare, or Dark Blast you don't want to deal with a second time. Once he tucks away annoying cards he absolutely dominates combat.
Avenger doesn't need to be Vialed in to be good. Our deck loves cheap threats even if they come down Turn 4 because it leaves mana up for LD or Paths. Vialing it in is a perk, but even on her own I find that she is often the first creature removed in aggro match ups because of how large a threat she poses.
Regarding Thalia: A Turn 2 Pod is very common, Thalia makes sure that it doesn't come down until Turn 3 or 4 which is more significant than you might think. I know from first hand experience that Thalia hoses Esper Control, drop it ASAP and they'll be scrambling to get rid of it. At the very least they'll be tapped out for a few turns as they try to play around it. Pair Thalia up with Arbiter and you've pretty much sealed the deal assuming they're running fetch lands.
Given everything I and the rest of the forum are saying (play this, play that, you had a run of bad luck, etc.) if you can't get this deck to perform well, then choose a different deck for your meta. Clearly it's not winning enough for you, and that may be because your opponents are very well prepared to face D&T, who knows? Our suggestions come from months (13 months in my case) of play testing various creatures and as far as the D&T strategy goes... these are the best suggestions we have for you.
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I call it Judo Guardians, after the card Guardians of Meletis and the Judo-style play this deck has. It is very spell-heavy, and relies on your opponents using creatures, lands, spells, etc. to put pressure on you... and you take their momentum and redirect it right back at them. Given its lack of permanents and the commander, it's very easy to fly under the radar until your moment to strike. A well-timed Mirror Strike can give other players the impression that attacking you is a risky proposition, but even if they do fun things almost certainly ensue. The deck is a blast to play and play against. Some opponents call it the comeuppance.dec.
My philosophy for the deck is to lack any win condition unless that card is completely dependent on your opponents attempt to win the game. The result is a deck that I've won MOST games with, usually with surprising flair. There's a card in here that punishes all types of decks you could come up against, except for super friends (still working on that one weakness...). Also, the deck uses some "huggy" cards as a means to accelerate the game and allow opponents to pull off some crazy things. The deck WANTS your opponents to get out of control... so you can smack them down with the backhand of justice.
Initially, the deck was helmed by Ruhan of the Fomori and it's biggest weakness was mana acceleration and keeping a full grip of cards readily available to respond to opponents. When K&T was spoiled it was the PERFECT card that helped both of the deck's weaknesses AND added a fourth color. It's currently my favorite deck to play, as it's tuned to 75% and will only be as strong as the decks you're playing against.
The decklist I've posted has shifted a bit in the last few months, primarily to bring the mana curve down, but take a look at it and see what you think. The main cards are still there. It's very fun to play cards that most EDH players DO NOT see coming, or even know what they do until they read them.
EDIT: some of the new cards I've added are Berserk and Tempt with Discovery. Have fun with the crazy plays, and best of luck with the deck.
1
1
Comparison Example: Thieves' Auction vs. Scrambleverse
They both accomplish similar things, but one allows your opponents to make active decisions during resolution. That is more fun that the RNG God deciding one player should get shafted and given no useful permanents. That said, I disagree that Theives' Auction will resolve faster... I think adding the human element actually makes it take longer. My last comment on this effect is to be mindful of your playgroup... many players don't like to spread their expensive cards across the table to perfect strangers and will scoop as soon as you play this effect. Shouldn't be a problem for close friends though.
Bad Example: Possibility Storm
This card seems like the perfect example of random chaos and wackiness you'd want to bring into a casual EDH game... but beware! Once again, this card removes the ability for players to affect the game in a meaningful way, and it can be very frustrating to lose that amount of control. Omen Machine gives an affect that a player doesn't control, but they can still choose which cards to cast from their hands. Wild Evocation is a better choice than either of those two because it doesn't stop players from drawing cards, but still gives a random benefit - not a random drawback. It's your choice if you'd rather be more controlling or not...
Good Example: Teferi's Puzzle Box
Here, you generate a wacky effect for all the players that doesn't inhibit their ability to simply play the game. Yes, they need to make short-term plans instead of long-term ones, but the spells they cast actually have a chance to resolve. This has always been fun in my games and players wont get frustrated as easily.
So, when you play cards with global effects you want to make sure they don't inhibit your opponent's ability to play the game and make choices. Don't make them sacrifice tons of permanents, discard lots of cards, and lose the ability to target things with their spells... that's controlling and frustrating for them more than it is fun and wacky. BUT, it can be very fun for your opponents to watch YOU take the risks instead of them, such as with the great suggestions of Stitch in Time and Squee's Revenge.
Also, a great card in EDH that can make for some fun moments, depending on how you choose to play it, is Mirrorweave. Lots of shenanigans to be had there. Finally, I love the choice of Ruhan of the Fomori as your commander. Good luck with the deck!
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Cavern of Souls to cover your tribal decks, or even just your commander.
2
Ugin learned of the hedron's mysteries through my teachings, though only the Eldrazi mind thinks in the warped paths required to open the hedrons and tap the power within. Ugin has tricked himself, perhaps out of fear, into believing they can be controlled. He has much to learn, and Zendikar will surely pay the cost of that lesson a millennium in the making. He never trusted that I was responsible for breaking Alara. A fool, really.
His most recent stint on Zendikar was a bit of a nuisance, indeed, but what protege has never pestered his mentor with idealistic fantasies and half-witted ideals in the pursuit of "improving" that which cannot be improved? Still, he shows more potential than his borishly predictable and wholly unreliable counterpart, Bolas.
As for the modern planeswalkers... sad, pathetic mortals. They beg for madness, of which I'm happy to oblige.
10 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
Creatures
0 Endless One
2 Eldrazi Mimic
3 Matter Reshaper
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Warden of Geometries
5 Blight Herder
5 Kozilek's Channeler
5 Reality Smasher
5 Walker of the Wastes
6 Conduit of Ruin
6 Deathless Behemoth
6 Endbringer
6 Kozilek’s Pathfinder
6 Oblivion Sower
7 Bane of Bala Ged
7 Deceiver of Form
7 Ruin Processor
8 Breaker of Armies
9 Artisan of Kozilek
9 Void Winnower
10 Desolation Twin
10 Kozilek, the Great Distortion
10 Spawnsire of Ulamog
12 It That Betrays
Planeswalkers
8 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Instants/Sorceries
2 Spatial Contortion
2 Warping Wail
3 Titan’s Presence
6 Gruesome Slaughter
7 All Is Dust
7 Not of This World
7 Scour from Existence
7 Skittering Invasion
1 Expedition Map
2 Altar of Dementia
3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Aligned Hedron Network
4 Coercive Portal
4 Perilous Vault
4 Seer’s Sundial
4 Trading Post
5 Mind’s Eye
5 Eldrazi Monument
Mana Rocks
0 Everflowing Chalice
0 Astral Cornucopia
1 Sol Ring
2 Doubling Cube
2 Fellwar Stone
2 Grim Monolith
2 Mind Stone
2 Thought Vessel
3 Seer’s Lantern
3 Unstable Obelisk
3 Worn Powerstone
4 Hedron Archive
4 Khalni Gem
4 Thran Dynamo
4 Ur-Golem’s Eye
5 Gilded Lotus
6 Dreamstone Hedron
Lands
0 Blasted Landscape
0 Buried Ruin
0 Corrupted Crossroads
0 Crumbling Vestige
0 Crystal Vein
0 Deserted Temple
0 Dread Statuary
0 Eldrazi Temple
0 Encroaching Wastes
0 Eye of Ugin
0 Mirrorpool
0 Petrified Field
0 Ruins of Oran-Rief
0 Sanctum of Ugin
0 Sea Gate Wreckage
0 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
0 Spawning Bed
0 Springjack Pasture
0 Tectonic Edge
0 Temple of the False God
0 Unknown Shores
0 Wasteland
17x Wastes
And there's the deck in all of its Vorthosian glory. I'd love to hear what you all think, especially if you've got some card suggestions for me that tie in some more flavor, or even if you have your own Vorthos deck you're having fun with!
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I've built a Vorthos Eldrazi deck where I only include cards that are on theme of world-devouring Eldrazi and wont play any non-Eldrazi creature spells, regardless of how good a card is. I'm also trying to build a Ruhan of the Fomori Judo-type deck that just redirects all my opponents aggression back onto themselves for the hilarity of it all. Neither deck is very competitive, but they're a ton of fun for myself and my friends. Also, by playing a weaker deck you'll often be ignored when opponents are worried about the "big baddy" at the table. Multiplayer has that fallback built into the format where decks that are running at 75% power are typically the decks that end up winning once the OP decks have expended their resources going after the bigger threats at the table.
1
It was labelled "Hatebear" but it's pretty strictly mono-W D&T. This list was actually posted by one of our own many pages ago, and his comments mentioned that he was sad he left out a Flickerwisp, and thought that Anafenza and Flagstones was pretty unnecessary. I've used that list as a jumping off point for my own paper build myself. It's been great
1
I played on Cockatrice tonight against someone testing a Ur Vedalken Shackles deck. It's interesting to see our D&T do so well against a home brew that we don't expect to face when our entire deck strategy targets the stronger Tier 1/2 decks in the format. It reminds me of how much power we're actually packing despite our list being so unassuming.
Game 1 he drops 2 Shackles and has six mana available. I fight through the Shackles and multiple Cryptics with a Thalia, Mangara (targeting Shackles, of course), three 3/3 Students, and a Serra Avenger (which he had taken in order to prevent death in the air). Easy win despite the godly anti-aggro artifact and lacking any form of land destruction.
I sideboard -3 Mindcensors, -2 Paths, +1 Thalia, +1 Canonist (3 total), and +3 Grunt.
He plays another Shackle while I have an Arbiter and Canonist on the field. I GQ an island away, then Flicker his 2nd Island during EOT. He can't pay for Shackle activation, and he can't pay to get a third Island with a fetch land. Eventually he's succumbs, knowing if he activates his Shackles I can simply GQ another land and counter the ability, or Flicker my creature right back to me.
I understand why Pro's don't play this deck more frequently because it can be very skill intensive and punishes misplays very harshly. When they have so much to test and prepare for this deck can be very unappealing and quite the chore to practice and master. I am glad I've been playing it so long and feel so comfortable with it. It's really a very satisfying deck to pilot correctly
Hoo-rah?
1
Grunt doesn't hose strategies unless their dedicated GY decks like Living End. However, he slows down decks that run a lot of spells, decks with Snapcaster hate him. His purpose is to come down around turns 4-6 and tuck away the Path, Spell Snare, or Dark Blast you don't want to deal with a second time. Once he tucks away annoying cards he absolutely dominates combat.
Avenger doesn't need to be Vialed in to be good. Our deck loves cheap threats even if they come down Turn 4 because it leaves mana up for LD or Paths. Vialing it in is a perk, but even on her own I find that she is often the first creature removed in aggro match ups because of how large a threat she poses.
Regarding Thalia: A Turn 2 Pod is very common, Thalia makes sure that it doesn't come down until Turn 3 or 4 which is more significant than you might think. I know from first hand experience that Thalia hoses Esper Control, drop it ASAP and they'll be scrambling to get rid of it. At the very least they'll be tapped out for a few turns as they try to play around it. Pair Thalia up with Arbiter and you've pretty much sealed the deal assuming they're running fetch lands.
Given everything I and the rest of the forum are saying (play this, play that, you had a run of bad luck, etc.) if you can't get this deck to perform well, then choose a different deck for your meta. Clearly it's not winning enough for you, and that may be because your opponents are very well prepared to face D&T, who knows? Our suggestions come from months (13 months in my case) of play testing various creatures and as far as the D&T strategy goes... these are the best suggestions we have for you.