|
|
Post by ZephyrPhantom on Aug 17, 2020 23:48:17 GMT
Please remember: You're not allowed to vote for yourselves.
 |
{Comments}
So, as a preface, I am 99.99999% sure that 5 of the 6 Spectral Chaos cards I used would absolutely be banned in every format (save for vintage, where they would be restricted) were it a real set. Those antimana cards can pretty much double your mana for no cost. However, it is not a real set and no cards in it are banned, so yeah, I used them anyway.
The idea of the deck is pretty simple: Make a crapload of mana and kill with obscenely large X spells. This is significantly helped along by the Antimana cycle I mentioned earlier. To fuel those cards, the mana base does a couple things:
1) Fetches and Command Tower are the only lands that lack basic land types
2) Nonblue Shocks are omitted in favor of triomes, which each count for all but one Antimana, and in fact count twice for two of them.
Additionally, the Antimana cycle has color indicators, meaning that they each put 2 +1/+1 counters on our commander, Ramos, to make even more mana should we want/need it.
We do include a single set of plain ol' basics, should we encounter Blood Moon or Path to Exile type stuff. (Note that if we do encounter Blood Moon, we can use the Blue-Red or Red-White Antimana to make a crapload of Blue or White mana, respectively.)
The main wincons, of course, are the X spells: Exsanguinate, Torment of Hailfire, and Debt to the Deathless. To get there, we have a couple infinite mana combos: Grim/Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth and Dramatic Scepter. Going more complex, with enough tapped lands of the appropriate types, we can make infinite mana using Voltaic Key / Aphetto Alchemist, Rings, and an Antimana exiled on the Scepter (because the key and the alchemist can both target themselves). Alternatively, we can potentially use the Antimana cycle to effectively double our lands. Note that they count each land type separately, so lands that are both types count twice, potentially increasing our mana even further.
Another wincon we have is the Citadel-Top-Aetherflux combo to draw the deck and win with Labman. Labman can also win us the game with a large enough BSZ.
Ramos is the commander to make even more mana, obviously. We can use him to cast a couple spells off of Fist of the Suns, to drop down the couple Bringers in the list or for even more non-infinite mana for X spells as noted above.
The list also includes several Ultimatums. Notable exclusions: We don't really do a lot of graveyard things, so Eerie Ultimatum was ditched in favor of Expropriate shenanigans. Similarly, Cruel and Inspired Ultimatum did not feel impactful, and were passed over for deck size and Nexus of Fate.
We do have a pretty standard suite of tutors and counterspells to round out the list. On other boring notes, the standard mana rocks, and Nature's Lore / Three Visits / Farseek for some land-based ramp. |
|
 |
{Comments} "From the depth of Kederekt, a false sun shall scorch all."    Solar Flares on Kederekt {Breakdown}    Thoughtseize, Kolghan's Command, Lightning Helix...all the mainstays you'd typically expect of a Mardu Control deck. Sometimes, this is all the opponent can and should ever see in a game - a somewhat permanent light Mardu Control deck that is looking to one-for-one and control the opponent out.  ....That is, until Solar Flare comes down. Combined with Kederekt Parasite, we have the ability to burn our opponent for 10 out of nowhere with the massive amount of cards flowing into their hand. Since Solar Flare is a red permanent, it works perfectly with Kederekt's Parasite, allowing us to turn what would normally be an overly expensive Fate Unraveler combo into an instant kill on turn 3.   However, we won't always draw our Parasites, which is where Runeflare Trap comes in. Combined with Simian Spirit Guide and a bit of luck, we can often pull the remaining 10 or 20 damage we'll need out of an instant slamdown of a Solar Flare on the table. Not necessarily the most consistent or efficient of kills, but can be great for the reaction on your opponent's face if you nail it. A variation of this build could go more all-in on the surprise combo kill with cards like Faithless Looting and Street Wraith to better filter our draws, but I went with this version because I prefer making decks that can function even without their risky combo plan firing off. It also ups the surprise element because you can make it look like you are playing Mardu control with some janky party-game tier cards from a set no one's ever heard of, until they put the pieces together when you're burning them for 10 or 20. Happy oneshotting! |
|
 |
{Comments} It's utterjank, and not terribly good, but...  Shall We Dance?   {"The Strategy"}The actual strategy is pretty simple - ramp into an absolutely massive Torment of Hailfire. We achieve this through some gratuitous self-mill - Graveyard Waltz lets us cast an instant or sorcery from our graveyard instead of drawing our first card, so we can use our graveyard as an extended hand. The Wild Joker and the Anti-Mana are dumb cards that break this strategy in a pretty nasty way. Sadly, I feel like it's too janky to be a consistent deck - there just aren't enough cards in  " style="max-width:100%;"] that care about things other than lands or creatures. |
| |
|
|
