[EDH] Yennett, Cryptic Soverign

[Davran]

My first thought about Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign was "huh, neat". I built Aminatou, the Fateshifter instead. Then someone else in my group built an Aminatou deck with many of the same cards, and I went back to the drawing board. I read Yennett again, and it sort of clicked. She doesn't look like much at first, but there's just something about casting Ulamog for free that does it for me. Enter the list:

Commander:
Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign

Creatures:
Weathered Wayfarer
Snapcaster Mage
Man-o'-War
Plaguecrafter
Bastion Protector
Burnished Hart
Archaeomancer
Twilight Prophet
Cloudblazer
Prognostic Sphinx
Mulldrifter
Master of Predicaments
Sun Titan
Sphinx of Uthuun
Angel of Despair
Nezahal, Primal Tide
Sphinx Ambassador
Void Winnower
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre

Instants:
Enlightened Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Brainstorm
Swords to Plowshares
Path to Exile
Lim-Dul's Vault
Anguished Unmaking
Hero's Downfall
Dismantling Blow
Esper Charm
Fact or Fiction
Insidious Will
Mystic Confluence

Sorcery:
Ponder
Notion Rain
Toxic Deluge
Supreme Verdict
Hallowed Burial
Bribery
Tragic Arrogance
Blatant Thievery
Brilliant Ultimatum

Artifacts:
Sol Ring
Sensei's Divining Top
Explorer's Scope
Scroll Rack
Dimir Signet
Azorius Signet
Orzhov Signet
Talisman of Progress
Talisman of Dominance
Chromatic Lantern
Crystal Ball
Whispersilk Cloak

Enchantments:
Land Tax
Haunted Crossroads
Detention Sphere
Ghostly Prison
Treachery
Mind's Dilation
Debtors' Knell

Planeswalkers:
Aminatou, the Fateshifter
Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Lands:
Watery Grave
Hallowed Fountain
Godless Shrine
Sunken Hollow
Prarie Stream
Fetid Pools
Irrigated Farmland
Flooded Strand
Polluted Delta
Marsh Flats
Temple of Deceit
Temple of Silence
Temple of Enlightenment
Mystic Gate
Sunken Ruins
Fetid Heath
Command Tower
Volrath's Stronghold
Maze of Ith
Reliquary Tower
Bojuka Bog
Strip Mine
Isolated Watchtower
5 Island
4 Swamp
5 Plains


A lot of lists I've seen go all-in on the whole odd CMC thing. I thought about that route, but decided against it since there's lots of useful stuff for the deck that happens to have an even CMC. Also, 0 is an even number in this context, so no matter what you do all of the lands are a "miss" for her ability anyway. As it stands, the list is currently skewed slightly toward even CMC (52 to 48), mostly because of lands. The ratio improves as things like Land Tax do their work.

Another thing a lot of people tend to be doing is the whole Time Walk plan since most of the extra turn effects happen to have an odd CMC. I've never been particularly inspired by decks that try to take as many turns as possible, so I didn't include any of that stuff in the list.

I considered a sort of "reanimator" list, where things like Haunted Crossroads, Volrath's Stronghold and Golgari Thug put large creatures with odd CMC back on top of my library in response to Yennett triggers. I haven't gone too far down that path yet, but that might change. Speaking of, I'm not sure the suite of big fat dudes is right. I'd like to get Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite in there somewhere at the very least.