Has anyone worked out a sideboarding guide? I've been playing this deck for a few weeks and I feel like I don't really want to cut anything when I go to sideboard. What's the first cut for you - and do we ever take the combo out?
With not as much cutthroat aggro in my local metagame, I'm trying this tomorrow and for game day weekend (unless it goes awful) - replacing Sunscourge Champion with Wharf Infiltrator. I think the Infiltrator is pretty interesting and opens some avenues with itself and Champion of Wits vs midrange decks.
I feel like adding 4x Shefet Dunes (and some number of Desert of the True if you were previously running Cycling lands with Aviary Mechanic) is a very low-impact but potentially strong improvement to the deck.
I'm surprised Pacifism isn't standard-legal in a Welcome Deck. If it was, it might help solve the two-mana removal problem. Declaration in Stone might just be the best option.
Swarthy Spellsword(U/R)
Creature — Human Pirate Wizard {U}
Play with a card in your hand revealed. When you reveal a land card this way, sacrifice Swarthy Spellsword. Don't let him lose interest.
2/2
Your disease is reasonable, but quite slow. Maybe it could have had more coloured symbols and a lower overall cost? I dunno, it just seems wanting. Not bad, though.
Your cure is nice, but complicated. It is obviously Rare because of that, but I feel like I'd be unhappy to crack this in a pack. Also feels like it could cost 2 or be Disenchant, or maybe even both.
Your disease is VERY strong. Slows down a game considerably. Unless it was an extremely aggro-dominated format needing a pressure valve, this is probably too cheap. I like it though, the design is nice.
Your cure has some cringeworthy flavour text, but it gets my inner Johnny's engine running. Keen to use it with some of the new Inspired cards. It's quite nice.
Your disease is weaker due to giving the opponent the choice, and seems schizophrenic; it feels like it's sweet against control decks, but the point where they have their one creature threat on board is when they probably don't need to draw any more cards. At 2BB, it probably could have put a counter on EACH creature they control.
Your cure is interesting. It's very hard to evaluate, but it feels like it simultaneously does nothing and breaks the game, which is a pretty unique spot to be in.
I'm pretty sure your disease doesn't function as you intended it; "creatures opponents control" is a fancy way of saying "all players", as everyone is someone else's opponent, except in some unimaginably broken casual format. You probably meant "creatures your opponents control". However, the (unintentional?) downside makes this actually balanced, as three mana for forcing your opponents to attack and having a stream of blockers forever is WAY too cheap. With the downside it's a very compelling card, but should have been worded "all creatures must attack each turn if able."
Your cure is a VERY nice way to "cure" your disease, and it's perhaps my favourite this round; tapped creatures can't attack, and meditating at this magic crystal may be pretty good for your brain. I don't see why it makes them stronger, though; Looting as a colourless lord effect is REALLY strong already.
Both your cards should have been proofread a bit better; you missed capital letters on "Artifact" and "Enchantment", "Illusionists" doesn't need an apostrophe, the comma in "Arch Scholar,Nethal" should have a space after it, and you introduced an unintended downside to Schizophrenia.
Your "disease" is an interesting imagining of a magic blizzard, though it should say "At the beginning of each upkeep". I don't get why it's a Snow Enchantment that costs Snow mana that makes a non-Snow token - it seems like a missed opportunity.
Your "cure" is interesting, but it just doesn't work - so many Equipment read horribly once this has been activated. Maybe it should cost a little bit less, and only affect itself, maybe for an activation of 3?
I like that your monster hates on the snow. Your spell is pretty clunky for a common, but it's acceptably complex. It's nice, though.
Your monster is a good way to do the activated fight mechanic, and the pump separates it from previous iterations. Nice. Your spell is a more parasitic evacuation, but it's not the worst.
I don't see why your monster bounces the blocker at end of combat. There's no reason it can't be done in the combat damage step, and in fact the delayed trigger is much more complex than doing it immediately. Your spell is nice, but Flurry suffers from the same problems as Buyback and Flashback, and that's that it results in repetitive gameplay and unintuitive deckbuilding. It does good things for the drafting process, though. Deeper though, it's just Buyback that you can only pay 3 times.
I feel like your monster just a strictly better Furnace Whelp. It's not very threatening to your round 1 monster, either. Not bad, though. Should be "first strike, trample or haste" if I recall correctly. I'd like your spell more if you could pay 1 snow and 1 nonsnow and get both effects.
It's around here in the judging that the word "snow" is beginning to seem like not actually a real one. Your monster is pretty good, and has lots of knobs for an Uncommon. I love your spell, though. It's super sweet. Should be Rare for limited though; Mind Control isn't at Uncommon anymore.
You and Raikou get bonus points for not shoehorning the word "snow" onto your cards. Your monster should be "dealt damage last turn" for complexity's sake, but it's cool. Your spell is clunky by virtue of targeting twice, and should be "X is the discarded card's converted mana cost." For NWO's sake maybe make it non-land so that people don't get shafted by misunderstanding it.
You and Clear get bonus points for not shoehorning the word "snow" onto your cards. Valukar is a pretty sweet Mythic, but feels like he should have mana costs on his abilities, just to stop broken combos. Impound is my favourite card this round - clean, elegant, and very UW. Well done
1. Raikou Rider
2. ClearwaterStilts
3. herbert west
He's very similar in function to Desecration Demon, and fills the same slot in the curve. He'll have to be enough better than the demon to take its place in BR decks.
I doubt he'll take the mainboard slot unless the metagame shifts towards Control, but he's definitely a sideboard in for the Demon against those control decks that do show up. He's pretty obviously pegged for that purpose.
I think the demi god's devotion is going to be a different type of devotion that looks at the graveyard. It would make the 1RRR burn spell make much more sense if the Mogis turned into a guy when you had 7 or more red and black mana symbols in the graveyard.
Nefarious Burn costs 1RRR because it would be ridiculous at anything less, not because devotion is going to head to the graveyard.
4x Minister of Inquiries
4x Thraben Inspector
CMC2
4x Wharf Infiltrator
4x Strategic Planning
CMC3
4x Gate to the Afterlife
4x Champion of Wits
CMC4
4x Refurbish
3x Cataclysmic Gearhulk
3x Angel of Invention
3x God-Pharaoh’s Gift
Land
2x Hostile Desert
4x Port Town
4x Prairie Stream
4x Irrigated Farmland
5x Island
4x Plains
4x Authority of the Consuls
4x Mausoleum Wanderer
2x Hope of Ghirapur
1x Cataclysmic Gearhulk
2x Fragmentize
2x Declaration in Stone
I'm surprised Pacifism isn't standard-legal in a Welcome Deck. If it was, it might help solve the two-mana removal problem. Declaration in Stone might just be the best option.
Creature — Human Pirate Wizard {U}
Play with a card in your hand revealed. When you reveal a land card this way, sacrifice Swarthy Spellsword.
Don't let him lose interest.
2/2
IIW: Off-colour activated abilities.
Your cure is nice, but complicated. It is obviously Rare because of that, but I feel like I'd be unhappy to crack this in a pack. Also feels like it could cost 2 or be Disenchant, or maybe even both.
Your cure has some cringeworthy flavour text, but it gets my inner Johnny's engine running. Keen to use it with some of the new Inspired cards. It's quite nice.
Your cure is interesting. It's very hard to evaluate, but it feels like it simultaneously does nothing and breaks the game, which is a pretty unique spot to be in.
Your cure is a VERY nice way to "cure" your disease, and it's perhaps my favourite this round; tapped creatures can't attack, and meditating at this magic crystal may be pretty good for your brain. I don't see why it makes them stronger, though; Looting as a colourless lord effect is REALLY strong already.
Both your cards should have been proofread a bit better; you missed capital letters on "Artifact" and "Enchantment", "Illusionists" doesn't need an apostrophe, the comma in "Arch Scholar,Nethal" should have a space after it, and you introduced an unintended downside to Schizophrenia.
Your "cure" is interesting, but it just doesn't work - so many Equipment read horribly once this has been activated. Maybe it should cost a little bit less, and only affect itself, maybe for an activation of 3?
2. Eskimo_Rage
3. drewdageek
: Add to your mana pool.
: Put a -1/-1 counter on target non-Zombie creature. That creature becomes a black Zombie.
A survivor from a frozen town afflicted with a horrible disease... life.
When Paragon of Frost dies, return all cards you own exiled with it to your hand.
"All should fear the ever-hungry chill of winter."
—Kure, Lord of the Dead
A sudden and crippling case of conscience.
Life has an uncanny tendency to not want to die.
Equip 2
"The pure poison from its pages destroys all it touches."
2. ClearwaterStilts
3. herbert west
: Add to your mana pool.
: Put a -1/-1 counter on target non-Zombie creature. That creature becomes a black Zombie.
A survivor from a frozen town afflicted with a horrible disease... life.
When Paragon of Frost dies, return all cards you own exiled with it to your hand.
"All should fear the ever-hungry chill of winter."
—Kure, Lord of the Dead
A sudden and crippling case of conscience.
I doubt he'll take the mainboard slot unless the metagame shifts towards Control, but he's definitely a sideboard in for the Demon against those control decks that do show up. He's pretty obviously pegged for that purpose.
Nefarious Burn costs 1RRR because it would be ridiculous at anything less, not because devotion is going to head to the graveyard.