Noetic Scales could be quite good with Court of Ambition as additional Ensnaring Bridges as well. Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage for an additional Liliana of the Veil and The Rack effect. And Waste Not for excellent value.
Basically a deck less focused on land destruction and fully focused on discard synergies, creatureless (except for Mishra's Factory).
Maindeck Karn to let you beat down with Bridges and Scales and search out utility artifacts like Noetic Scales, Trinisphere, Lattice or even something like Phyrexian Totem is also an option.
The main issue is that we lose our artifacts to Oko decks :(
Brainstorm Realist
I close my eyes and sink within myself, relive the gift of precious memories, in need of a fix called innocence. - Chuck Shuldiner
The problem with all those rack effects is that it jams your hand while your opp beats down or combos. And when with this enchantment you are trying to keep Monarch, you will just end up losing it to beatdown and your opp will now be drawing extra bolts or delvers or whatever. I think this enchantment, lily, and some hymns/seizes is far far enough. I would fill up on creature kill/wipes instead of racks.
That sounds really sexy, actually. I think Ensnaring Bridge is generally going to be a better all-around card for most Pox decks, without needing a white splash, but white offers a lot of options. Considering we will likely want a win condition outside of combat, that means we might be able to cut some number of Factories to make the mana work. Honestly, I think it might even be worth playing Snow basics and Astrolabe. Astrolabe provides more artifacts for Mox Opal (which I'm playing), helps settle mana and makes the lands bullet-proof, and gives much needed velocity. Solitary Confinement could really pull all that together. I mean, we could even play Swords to Plowshares. I have to be honest, this is looking spicy as hell. I think I need to pick up some cards, lol.
Brainstorm Realist
I close my eyes and sink within myself, relive the gift of precious memories, in need of a fix called innocence. - Chuck Shuldiner
A 4 turn clock on hellbent? But Creatures must not touch you? 3 Turns if a Big Pox resolves?! I'm game. Packing bridge is a requirement. But I'd include 3 Drown in Sorrow along side our 6+ sac effects. Noetic Scales is a damn good option next to the Bridge. This Prison looks nasty & the Monarch Mechanic throws away the key.
Three Lilianas to rule them all. One Pox to find them. Smallpox to bring them all and in the Sinkhole bind them!
Ensnaring Bridge, Lily OTV, Lily TLH, and.... Plague Reaver? Seem good?
Plague Reaver?
Plague Reaver {2}{B}
Creature — Beast
At the beginning of your end step, sacrifice each other creature you control.
Discard two cards, Sacrifice Plague Reaver: Choose target opponent. Return Plague Reaver to the battlefield under that player's control at the beginning of their next upkeep.
6/5
?? That's something to be weary of. If you're bridge gets dealt with, and you have no sac effects, that's a lot of pain, if you gave it to your foe. However, if we're running expendable creatures, it's a monster of a wincon. I'd just smash them with this guy instead. No fancy strategies needed.
Three Lilianas to rule them all. One Pox to find them. Smallpox to bring them all and in the Sinkhole bind them!
I think Plague Reaver could be very strong in a version of the deck that emphasizes Loam
- Loam lets you refill your hand to discard cards to this
- In a Loam deck you probably have tutors for lands (whether Entomb or Crop Rotation or whatever) which is useful because this card is highly synergistic with Maze of Ith or Homeward Path
- I would probably avoid trying to combo this with Ensnaring Bridge because with a bridge in play you have already shut out the opponent's creatures and it stops you from attacking with your own 6/5
Three Lilianas to rule them all. One Pox to find them. Smallpox to bring them all and in the Sinkhole bind them!
Court of Ambition works great with Ensnaring Bridge. Thats the reason we are discussing Bridge/Noetic Scales.
Adding creatures to a Bridge/Scales deck doesnt make sense.
I would recommend discussing other cards that work well with Bridge/Scales such as Liliana and Bottled Clostier instead.
A board wipe that costs you 2 additional cards & at minimum 6 life seems a lot worse than toxic deluge at first glance.
That seems like a lot more work than The Abyss. Generally with bridge you have time, not 2 cards in your hand to discard.
I don't really like Plague Reaver, not in a deck playing Smallpox. It makes sequencing awkward, especially given that you can't predict the many turns in the future what your opponent will be drawing. This gets exacerbated with the cantrips because they will see a ton of cards to not only answer your Bridge but also possibly just beat your face in with a 6/5.
I think the more exciting approach is with Court of Ambition. It's a 4-mana play that is exactly what you want, and it affects the game in the way you want. It provides card advantage (monarch) while disrupting your opponents (discard.) If you can get your opponent's to zero cards (Hymn, Smallpox, Liliana OTV) then it becomes a clock, and a fast one at that. I think it reliably ends the game in 3 turns once your opponent is hellbent. The one thing that could possibly be a sticking point is actually having too many cards in hand once you have the Monarch, especially if you don't have a Liliana. I think something like a singleton Raven's Crime could be a good mana/card sink that supports Court of Ambition nicely.
Brainstorm Realist
I close my eyes and sink within myself, relive the gift of precious memories, in need of a fix called innocence. - Chuck Shuldiner
Yes. Reaver needs to be a "cute combo". I mentioned Rotting Regisaur not as a recurring board wiper but as a huge beater that will wipe someone who won't block for 3 turns.
The Court is best under Liliana of the Veil, Ensnaring Bridge, & Liliana the Last Hope. Getting the 2nd Card for Hope's Emblem to overrun your foes is made faster as a Monarch through the Bridge. It also makes Cursed Scroll awkward making it the obvious cut unless the deck has only 1-3 mana spells so you can use everything you draw easily. The Bottled Cloister idea is epic but is probably too mana intensive when Monarch is enough. I see that it allows you to keep a huge hand under the Bridge if given time.
Three Lilianas to rule them all. One Pox to find them. Smallpox to bring them all and in the Sinkhole bind them!
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