[EDH Deck] Wrexial, the risen beastly kraken of ultimate destruction and fun

[mmmetaphor]

Hello all. This is a break down of my multiplayer EDH deck that I have a ton o fun playing. Feed back is welcome and encouraged. I will try to keep it updated as I make periodic changes. I chose Wrexial for several reasons. He's blue/black and those are some of my favorite colors to play along with his cool ability to steal spells from graveyards. This ability is powerful but not completely broken and allows for each game to vary greatly depending on opponents. I've chosen to play my version of Wrexial as a control variant and not focus on milling cards into opponents graveyards as some other builds do.

Anyway, here's the deck...

General
1 Wrexial, the Risen Deep

Creatures
1 Sphinx of Magosi
1 Stormtide Leviathan
1 Sakashima the Impostor
1 Platinum Angel
1 Avatar of Woe
1 Dimir Doppelganger
1 Dominating Licid
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Ghastlord of Fugue
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Mindleech Mass

Enchantments
1 Future Sight
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Treachery
1 Leyline of Anticipation
1 Telepathy

Sorcery
1 All is Dust
1 Damnation
1 Decree of Pain
1 Bribery
1 Acquire
1 Time Stretch
1 Rite of Replication
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Relearn
1 Call to Mind
1 Fabricate

Instants
1 Hinder
1 Forbid
1 Cryptic Command
1 Rewind
1 Pact of Negation
1 Force of Will
1 Desertion
1 Commandeer
1 Traumatic Vision
1 Time Stop
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Impulse
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Opportunity
1 Spin into Myth
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Evacuation
1 Lim-Dul's Vault
1 Memory Plunder
1 Capsize
1 Twincast

Artifacts
1 Expedition Map
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Mirror Universe
1 Dimir Signet
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Sol Ring
1 Coalition Relic
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Mind's Eye

Land
4 Swamp
10 Island
1 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Dust Bowl
1 Academy Ruins
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Polluted Delta
1 Tolaria West
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Dreadship Reef
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Underground River
1 Watery Grave
1 Vesuva
1 Sunken Ruins
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Thawing Glaciers



Good cards that are currently "On the bench" but remain on the radar and may yet be included in future updates:

1 Time Warp
1 Myojin of Night's Reach
1 Thirst for Knowledge Overall artifact count woud need to go up to include this
1 Knowledge Exploitation Slightly to mana intesive for my tastes, even in EDH
1 Mindbreak Trap
1 Crucible of Worlds This is banned in most play groups but I'll gladly sub it in if its ever allowed.
1 Spelljack Would like to find a spot for this in the maindeck somewhere, haven't tersted it alot yet.
1 Draining Whelk
1 Exsanguinate Seems broken in multi
1 Recall
1 Blatant Thievery Great card but pretty much makes the entire table target you...
1 Reins of Power Really need to find a spot for this in the main deck.. can be absolutely game breaking in multi
1 Wipe Away

Wishlist.. cards I don't own but would include if I had:

1 Mana Drain
1 Underground Sea

And that's about it. General strategy is to mana ramp, sweep the board and drop Wrexial. If they don't have swamps/islands, totur up Urborg or Stormtide Leviathan. The deck seems to fair well in 1v1 and multiplayer... in multiplayer the key is to lay low, play defensively and protect yourself while building up mana and resources. Politics is key, as it is during all multiplayer games regardless of the deck you're piloting.

[SpikeyMikey]

Why no Mind's Eye? It's busted.

[mmmetaphor]

Why no Mind's Eye? It's busted.

A fine suggestion. I think I'll give it a shot as soon as I can locate one. Also, thinking of adding Rhystic Study.

[Brushwagg]

Mindleech Mass seems like you want to play this.

[Aggro_zombies]

A fine suggestion. I think I'll give it a shot as soon as I can locate one. Also, thinking of adding Rhystic Study.
Study is not that great without some sort of concentrated mana denial strategy. It usually ends up being a minor annoyance to your opponents, and they'll always pay for it if they feel bad things would happen if they didn't.

In other words, it may not be so hot here.

[mmmetaphor]

Study is not that great without some sort of concentrated mana denial strategy. It usually ends up being a minor annoyance to your opponents, and they'll always pay for it if they feel bad things would happen if they didn't.

In other words, it may not be so hot here.

Good points. Appreciate the input... makes sense that they would most likely always pay for it.


Brushwagg:
Mindleech Mass is a nice suggestion. I want to remain somewhat creature lite but he does seem worthy of a shot. I'll get a copy and give him some testing.

[mmmetaphor]

Updated list.

Added:
Mindleech Mass
Mind's Eye
Telepathy

Removed:
Counterspell
Dissipate
Faerie Trickery

Dropping a few of the more vanilla counterspells doesn't seem like it will hurt the deck too much. Added Telepathy mostly because its just a blast to play and I like it. Its card disadvantage and we'll have to see how bad it annoys people... if it turns me into a target, I'll end up removing it.

[mmmetaphor]

Played quite a few (7?) games 1v1 against Wort, Boggart Auntie and faired quite well winning 6 of 7. My deck is built for multi but it's good to know it can stand its own 1v1 also, especially against aggro gobbies.

Also dueled vs a strong Wort, the Raidmother deck and went 2-2.

No major changes I would make aside from possible upping the land count by +2 or so. The high cost of many of the spells means I can't risk stalling early.

Thinking of adding Steel Hellkite, Wurmcoil Engine if I can find them. Also considering Thada Adel, Acquisitor to assist with ramp or for just stealing fun artifacts in general.

Thoughts?

[TheArchitect]

I'd pass on the Steel Hellkite and Wurmcoil Engine, unless you really need some more creatures in the deck. They aren't really game breaking and don't have much synergy in the deck.

But no Rhystic Study? It's like an auto-include in blue. In 1v1 like you were testing, it might not be so ridiculous but in anything with more than 3 players it's incredible. Most people won't slow themselves down and play less spells just so they have the mana open to pay for the 1 every time. So if there are 4 players, at the very least you generally end drawing a card or two before it comes back to your turn.

[mmmetaphor]

I was more interested in Steel Hellkite for its sweeper ability than anything.. though it might be difficult to connect with at times.

Rhystic Study seems like it would make me a hate magnet although, admittedly I've never tested it. I'll try to get a copy and see how it does.

[mmmetaphor]

Removed Wipe Away to bring the card back down to 100 cards including general.

What do people think about running Traumatic Vision in place of a land? So far I've used it's landcycle ability everytime I've drawn it but its late game versatility seems good in theory.