Hi guys,

Long time fan of decks that win with the depths combo. I have been playing around with a version that is a little less focused on the combo and a little more focused on utility. (to be honest, I am not even sure if this is where I should be posting it-- If not, guide me in the right direction please ).


4 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Vampire Hexmage
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Dryad Arbor

4 Mox Diamond
2 Sylvan Library
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Green Sun's Zenith
3 Life from the Loam
4 Living Wish
3 Punishing Fire
3 Crop Rotation



1 Bayou
1 Forest
1 Swamp
1 Barren Moor
2 Savannah
2 Thespian's Stage
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Wasteland
1 Karakas
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Dark Depths
1 Tranquil Thicket
2 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Maze of Ith
1 Taiga
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Horizon Canopy




SB: 1 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 1 Phyrexian Revoker
SB: 1 Qasali Pridemage
SB: 1 Vampire Hexmage
SB: 1 Thalia
SB: 1 Sejiri Steppe
SB: 1 Bojuka Bog
SB: 1 Dark Depths
SB: 1 Thespian's Stage
SB: 3 Sphere of Resistance
SB: 1 Grove of the Burnwillows
SB: 1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
SB: 1 Deathrite Shaman


A few things to note about my deck:

1). I have a GSZ package for grabbing creatures from CMC 1 to 3 (dryad, DRS, gaddock teeg, and knight). I feel the redundancy is great for the grindy matches while also giving me what I need in the moment. GSZ is great for stopping FOW, Turnabout, Natural order, entreat, jace, dread return, and many others that make him worth the inclusion. Yes there may be a slight bit of anti-syngery if you draw another GSZ but I think the utility is well worth it. I have been testing a 1 of DRS lately and I really like it for mirror matches or getting him down early against a deck wanting to abuse treasure cruise. GSZ acts as Knight 5-6 as well. And GSZ on turn 1 for dryad has been a great tempo boost.



2) I am using the living wish board to make the combo more consistent while also giving myself some silver bullets.

3) I utilize MD crop rotation for adding particular lands to my MD for games 2-3. Examples of these would be Sejiri steppe (not so great as a wish target, but there have been a few times where it has allowed me to push through my 20/20 past a delver, strix, or angel token), bojuka bog, and tabernacle while siding out lands I don't need. The rest are meant as strictly being wish targets. While this can be risky (drawing a wish when you SB'd in the land you need) I feel the benefit of instant speed crop rotation without cluttering the MD with the silver bullets helps the consistency.

4) I play a fourth color for 3 punishing fires MD and 2 groves. I play a third grove in the SB as a wish target.





The benefit of not being so reliant on the depths combo is that I don't need to MD pithing needle meaning I can play my own wastelands as disruption as well. I feel that having more lines gives you a better chance of winning when someone does draw into a hate piece for the combo. An example of this would be the last game I just played vs miracles. I made at least 4 20/20's that all died to swords to plowshares and terminus. I eventually top decked a knight who won the game for me as a 16/16.




Any thoughts?