[Deck] Death and Taxes

Never thought THC wasn't good against Miracles, I think Miracles and Elves are where she's best. Anything legendary is automatically good against Miracles, I'd side in Soraya the Falconer if I had one.

I generally find Mentor lists easier to beat than non-Mentor lists because our maindecks run many ways to deal with an early Mentor, whereas an early Jace or a lucky Entreat are harder to answer. Real issue is figuring out how many Mentors their list is running and sideboarding properly. Prelate actually seems great against Mentor because landing Prelate on 1 effectively shuts down any sort of engine and they'll be forced to awkwardly Terminus if they want to get your Chalice off the table.

I'd play a Relic-Warder main if I wanted to hedge against non-blue decks, since the best not-wrecked-by-Prelate decks are either Chalice or Jitte decks (or both) and having a Disenchant main helps a lot. Aluren is also a growing presence and is not a fantastic matchup. Overall I think it's probably better to have a list that just absolutely wrecks Brainstorm decks g1 and to spend more of your sb on the non-blue decks.

I think a one-of Mangara is solid and I'd always rather have one in my 75 than not, it's generally just a space issue. I think in hard control builds of DnT, he's always good. Mangara-lock is a pretty good insurance policy for that wide world of fringe decks, which are also often gonna be Prelate-is-bad matchups.

@Luca Grease
I assume you meant recruiter and not mentor since adding to the miracles discussion was clearly not your intention.

As for the discussion in this thread it is largely the reason I have been absent in discussion for a while. I've been here and reading what people are writing but it's been real bad lately. A lot of wasted discussion calling THC "Frank" as some joke while not providing reasoning why you don't like the card. A lot of anecdotal evidence about personal experience, which can be important but isn't an end all be all argument. A lot of continuing argument about cards that it is clear there is just a fundamental disagreement and conflict of style about, and yet the arguing isn't about reasons it's often just "this card sucks." Or "card is great. Played it and my opponent lost." And then of course there is the discussion about cards that are just not good or playable, but that's at least considering cards or trying to solve a problem the deck has so I'm not so against that.

Overall we're at a time with DnT that is incredible. 2 amazing cards have been added that change everything about the deck and make us rethink everything and all numbers that we have ever had. And yet we're wasting our time on silly discussions and arguments when we need to be trying to find a core list to work from, not just for us, but for new players of DnT. Heck I still don't know if I even am in love with recruiter (definitely like prelate though)! Let's just refocus the discussion, stop concerning ourselves with inside jokes and personal bias (not saying we can't joke just saying it went on a little too long), and instead work towards finding a core list to work from and determine how many recruiters are good or not good in an unknown meta. That seems to be one of the main things we could work on nailing down.

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Originally Posted by iatee

Prelate actually seems great against Mentor because landing Prelate on 1 effectively shuts down any sort of engine and they'll be forced to awkwardly Terminus if they want to get your Chalice off the table.

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Yes, people were talking about how you need to have Banisher Priest against Miracles to get rid of Mentor since Prelate on 1 will shut down your own plows, but as I said previously, Prelate on 1 means that their Mentor is little more than a Pearled Unicorn. In fact, I don't like Banisher Priest against Miracles because so many of their creatures have ETB effects/haste, increasing the blowout risk already represented by sweepers. I'd rather leave a couple of swords in and possibly Judgement.

As an aside, I have been able to blow out a miracles player trying to shut down my vials with Containment Priest by Flickerwisping his Mentor. This has happened more than once now, and, considering we now run multiple Caverns, and that they'll often try to fight us by bringing in creatures, there's a pretty good chance that CP will turn into a double-edged sword for them.

@ Marungo: I did, in fact, mean Prelate, and not Recruiter. I'm not sure I understand your comment... :eyebrow:

Yeah, Banisher Priest is bad vs Mentor. You want to punish them for the awkwardness between Terminus and Mentor, not make their Terminuses even better.

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Originally Posted by Luca Grease

Yes, people were talking about how you need to have Banisher Priest against Miracles to get rid of Mentor since Prelate on 1 will shut down your own plows, but as I said previously, Prelate on 1 means that their Mentor is little more than a Pearled Unicorn. In fact, I don't like Banisher Priest against Miracles because so many of their creatures have ETB effects/haste, increasing the blowout risk already represented by sweepers. I'd rather leave a couple of swords in and possibly Judgement.

As an aside, I have been able to blow out a miracles player trying to shut down my vials with Containment Priest by Flickerwisping his Mentor. This has happened more than once now, and, considering we now run multiple Caverns, and that they'll often try to fight us by bringing in creatures, there's a pretty good chance that CP will turn into a double-edged sword for them.

@ Marungo: I did, in fact, mean Prelate, and not Recruiter. I'm not sure I understand your comment... :eyebrow:

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Oh sorry. I wasn't sure if you were talking about recruiter or prelate. I knew you weren't talking about mentor so I figured you were talking about one of our 3 drops and said mentor since you were talking about miracles, but I wasn't sure which 3 you were talking about and just wanted to clarify

Personally I usually get a SoFi or Jitte going if I need to answer some number of Monastery Mentor, as they match up well to hit it on your turn when it is less likely for prowess to happen. To be safe I also only board out a small number of swords to plowshares. Lately I really don't mind the miracles match up. New Thalia, Recruiter and Prelate are all great against it as they disrupt Miracles heavily in different ways.

I have gone back up to 2 Mangara given the fact that the format has somewhat slowed down. Mangara was the reason I got into Death and Taxes in the first place and I feel that it is great for the Miracles match up which can be long and grindy to reduce their lands counts. Should we get the lock on then we are less likely to get blown out or beaten by a random Entreat x=4 which will likely just beat us.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/488932#online

This list went 7-0 in the latest Legacy challenge (lost in the quarters, though) and 5-0'ed a league afterwards. Most notable are 2x MD Gideon, 24 lands and 3x Armageddon in the SB.

No Recruiter or Prelate yet as they only get released next month via treasure chests. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Barook

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/488932#online

This list went 7-0 in the latest Legacy challenge (lost in the quarters, though) and 5-0'ed a league afterwards. Most notable are 2x MD Gideon, 24 lands and 3x Armageddon in the SB.

No Recruiter or Prelate yet as they only get released next month via treasure chests. :rolleyes:

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-I actually 5-0'd the league first and then 7-0'd the swiss rounds of the legacy challenge, so I got up to 12-0 before I lost to Miracles in the quarters.
-In the swiss rounds, I beat RW Painter, Miracles x3, Storm, Shardless BUG, RUG Delver, and lost to Miracles in the quarter finals.
-The deck very much wants an MD source of card advantage against Miracles and Shardless BUG and MD Gideon does just that.
-Armageddon is the best card against Miracles; Mentor and CounterTop are terrible when they don't have any lands. Cataclysm isn't good enough, it's too easy for them to rebuild with 1 land and top.
-In the quarters, Game 1, my opponent quickly assembled CounterTop, Terminus'd the board, then resolved Mentor (protected by CounterTop). Game 2, I kept a loose 6, Jitte, SoFI, Gideon and 3 lands. On turn 4, I jammed a peeled Phyrexian Revoker since my opponent had Top in play instead of jamming Gideon. My opponent answered the Revoker easily and had the FoW for Gideon next turn after Brainstorming. Definitely should have just jammed Gideon turn 4 or mulled to 5.
-I 4-1'd a few leagues before getting these results. The deck has been crushing the Miracles meta on MODO for me.

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Originally Posted by BKclassic

-I actually 5-0'd the league first and then 7-0'd the swiss rounds of the legacy challenge, so I got up to 12-0 before I lost to Miracles in the quarters.
-In the swiss rounds, I beat RW Painter, Miracles x3, Storm, Shardless BUG, RUG Delver, and lost to Miracles in the quarter finals.
-The deck very much wants an MD source of card advantage against Miracles and Shardless BUG and MD Gideon does just that.
-Armageddon is the best card against Miracles; Mentor and CounterTop are terrible when they don't have any lands. Cataclysm isn't good enough, it's too easy for them to rebuild with 1 land and top.
-In the quarters, Game 1, my opponent quickly assembled CounterTop, Terminus'd the board, then resolved Mentor (protected by CounterTop). Game 2, I kept a loose 6, Jitte, SoFI, Gideon and 3 lands. On turn 4, I jammed a peeled Phyrexian Revoker since my opponent had Top in play instead of jamming Gideon. My opponent answered the Revoker easily and had the FoW for Gideon next turn after Brainstorming. Definitely should have just jammed Gideon turn 4 or mulled to 5.
-I 4-1'd a few leagues before getting these results. The deck has been crushing the Miracles meta on MODO for me.

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Given the dominance of Miracles on MTGO, it seems like a list is well-metagamed for that. What changes would you make to the list once Recruiter and Prelate arrive? Recruiter/Flickerwisp seems like a great way to generate CA similiar to Gideon (although weak to StP in response).

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Originally Posted by Barook

Given the dominance of Miracles on MTGO, it seems like a list is well-metagamed for that. What changes would you make to the list once Recruiter and Prelate arrive? Recruiter/Flickerwisp seems like a great way to generate CA similiar to Gideon (although weak to StP in response).

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I only play online right now, so I haven't played a game with Prelate. With that said, I will start with:

-2 Gideon, -1 Land
+3 Recruiter of the Guard

-I would include some Caverns in the mana base once Recruiter is released.
-I honestly don't know what Prelate is supposed to be good against. I suppose Prelate and Mom are a good combo against Miracles, but Mom is otherwise strategically terrible against Miracles and Recruiter is already going to make G1 favorable. Post board, I just want to cast Armageddon.

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Originally Posted by mykatdied

I have gone back up to 2 Mangara given the fact that the format has somewhat slowed down.

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Even the most nostalgic and enthusiastic proponents of Mangara seem to agree that it should be a 1-of now that we have Recruiter. It is not a card you need to jam on turn 3, and it is legendary. That slot is better spent elsewhere.

One of the reasons I've decided to put Mangara back in the main is that it constitutes a catch-all answer that can fill both Banisher Priest and Leonin Relic Warder roles. Obviously, there are times where it will be too slow/vulnerable to act as an effective substitute, but the higher versatility and potential (via lock) make him my preferred choice when I only have 1 maindeck slot...

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Originally Posted by Luca Grease

Even the most nostalgic and enthusiastic proponents of Mangara seem to agree that it should be a 1-of now that we have Recruiter. It is not a card you need to jam on turn 3, and it is legendary. That slot is better spent elsewhere.

One of the reasons I've decided to put Mangara back in the main is that it constitutes a catch-all answer that can fill both Banisher Priest and Leonin Relic Warder roles. Obviously, there are times where it will be too slow/vulnerable to act as an effective substitute, but the higher versatility and potential (via lock) make him my preferred choice when I only have 1 maindeck slot...

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I run 2 since occasionally 1 gets answered or you need to activate without any way to bounce. That's just my personal preference. I also generally prefer to use recruiter for other cards like both thalias, flickerwisp or revoker.

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Originally Posted by Marungo

Oh sorry. I wasn't sure if you were talking about recruiter or prelate. I knew you weren't talking about mentor so I figured you were talking about one of our 3 drops and said mentor since you were talking about miracles, but I wasn't sure which 3 you were talking about and just wanted to clarify

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Oh yes, I do seem to get Prelate and Mentor mixed up all the time for some reason. Probably cause they're both overpowered white 2/2s for 3 with a religious/monastic theme...

I see there being a lot of debate on THC.

I've played her in only about ten rounds of play (as a 3 of or 2 of once I had recruiter). With the small sample size in mind, I maintain the card has been great for me. Vs tribal and other creature decks, she's a game changer (goblins, merfolks, mirror) allowing you to attack into vials and slowing down development. Vs control decks she acts as another threat with karakas, living through -1/-1 effects and severely hampering lands decks. I should add that the only combo deck I've played against has been elves, where she let me steal a match.

I beat SnT with her. It should be noted it was the omni hybrid list and got insanely lucky that he put out Sneak Attack with SnT instead. Literally any other permanent I was cold to.

I went down to 1 main, 1 board. That's where it will stay until I test a Mindcensor in its slot as a 1-of. This seems decent against the mirror and Delver, which I am trying to gain percentage points against, and there is splash damage against Combo.

I went 3-3 at the event. I had a hard time in the mirror, but it was my 5th round ever with the deck. He played manriki and got ahead of me that way.

Played against Infect twice, 2-0ing the first guy and got 0-2ed by the second. I needed to play tighter.

I went 2-1 vs. Miracles. I love this deck. I had 2x Prelate (1, 6), 2x Mom, 4 port in game 3. Hilarious. Won by a mile.

Edit: have any of you tested a luminthread field?

Lumithread Field is the actual name of the card (it took me a few tries to find it). Weird stuff! I had no idea that it existed. What's particularly cool about it is that it even works thru Sulfur Elemental's split second :laugh:

That's two people I have read writing how effective THC is against Sneak Attack. She is not, actually. Sneak Attack is worded weird in that they can wait a turn and then use it during your End of Turn step as soon as you pass priority if memory serves. Then they just untap as normal and the creature sticks around for their turn.

THC is still the bees knees.

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Originally Posted by Finn

That's two people I have read writing how effective THC is against Sneak Attack. She is not, actually. Sneak Attack is worded weird in that they can wait a turn and then use it during your End of Turn step as soon as you pass priority if memory serves. Then they just untap as normal and the creature sticks around for their turn.

THC is still the bees knees.

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What's your current list Finn? I can't compromise playing prelate, recruiter, and THC so I'm wondering what you got going on.

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Originally Posted by Finn

That's two people I have read writing how effective THC is against Sneak Attack. She is not, actually. Sneak Attack is worded weird in that they can wait a turn and then use it during your End of Turn step as soon as you pass priority if memory serves. Then they just untap as normal and the creature sticks around for their turn.

THC is still the bees knees.

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This also means that karakas is actually a way you can fight against sneak attack whereas usually they could just put 1 in and then do it again once karakas is tapped.

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Originally Posted by Finn

That's two people I have read writing how effective THC is against Sneak Attack. She is not, actually. Sneak Attack is worded weird in that they can wait a turn and then use it during your End of Turn step as soon as you pass priority if memory serves. Then they just untap as normal and the creature sticks around for their turn.

THC is still the bees knees.

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I'm curious as to why you guys think she (Thalia 2.0) is so good against Miracles. She is not very good against lots of basics and flash creatures as far as I can tell, and an eot Entreat doesn't give a fuck. She's only so-so against mentor, I would prefer to Prelate on one instead.

Also, earlier someone said they were going to play 4 Cavern. This feels terrible. I lost an otherwise winnable game on Sunday because I couldn't find a white source to activate my SFM, but I did draw 2 Caverns. I wouldn't play more than 3 (currently playing 3), and more testing will show if I play less.

And she isn't my knees, bro. [emoji41]

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Originally Posted by Secretly.A.Bee

I'm curious as to why you guys think she (Thalia 2.0) is so good against Miracles. She is not very good against lots of basics and flash creatures as far as I can tell, and an eot Entreat doesn't give a fuck. She's only so-so against mentor, I would prefer to Prelate on one instead.

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She helps stop the "surprise" blockers that Mentor can generate from instant spells. It helped me win a game once, but I was already pretty far ahead. Prelate on 1 would likely have a similar - if not better - effect on token generation in general, anyways, as it is beneficial in each player's turn for us.

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Originally Posted by Secretly.A.Bee

I'm curious as to why you guys think she (Thalia 2.0) is so good against Miracles. She is not very good against lots of basics and flash creatures as far as I can tell, and an eot Entreat doesn't give a fuck. She's only so-so against mentor, I would prefer to Prelate on one instead.

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Because Miracles wants to use their flash creatures (including angels token from an entreat during your attack phase) to surprise block your creatures. Also, Miracles is a mana hungry deck that plays a lot of fetchlands, which it will use to shuffle their library to get fresh looks with top. Also, being able to protect it with Karakas is the shizzles. So yea, Thalia 2.0 is quite good against Miracles.

As for Sneak Attack, making them wait a turn is often good enough. Plus, as someone else pointed out, a Karakas will seal the deal.

Well karakas doesn't seal the deal. But if we can at least stop emrakul from getting in we're usually fine. End of turn emrakul plus Griselbrand could be tough since we have to make emrakul not attack and board wipe us, plus hopefully find a way to answer Griselbrand before it attacks. My main concern against sneak and show these days is omniscience especially if they have emrakul in habd.

My main concern with SnS is 'Not getting paired vs it often enough.'

I agree iatee. I went down to 1 main, 1 board because of this, adding a single copy of Aven Mindcensor. I play against Delver more than Miracles, though. Only one person plays SnS here, and again, it's the omni hybrid, so it's also worse than normal. I think the best thing to do for this particular matchup is sanctum on 3 and Revoker on sneak attack.

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Originally Posted by mykatdied

Well karakas doesn't seal the deal. But if we can at least stop emrakul from getting in we're usually fine. End of turn emrakul plus Griselbrand could be tough since we have to make emrakul not attack and board wipe us, plus hopefully find a way to answer Griselbrand before it attacks. My main concern against sneak and show these days is omniscience especially if they have emrakul in habd.

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I'm assuming we are talking about Omni-Sneak here because regular Sneak and Show can draw all the cards it wants, it' still not beating Thalia 2.0 + Karakas, at least in game 1. Even then, for Sneak Attack to do something against THC + Karakas that requires: resolve sneak attack -> pass. Untap, leave 2 red mana up (pretty hard) -> pass. At your eot, deploy Emmy and Grizzy, untap, Emmy gets bounced, swing in with Grizzy, draw into SnT + Omniscience (or whatever they were missing), combo out. All with their fetches, volcs and sol lands entering the battlefield tapped. It would literally take you to have nothing for that to work, I guess...

But yea, between Canonist, Prelate, mana denial, and most of our other creatures doing at least something against them, Omni-Sneak is not a matchup I particularly mind...

I don't play Containment Priest due to the dissynergy of it and vial. It feels bad. Maybe if I played a version that ran multiple Displacers, but then I think I would just play Thalia stompy.

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I don't generally mind it either, unless they have "the nuts" like turn 1 or 2 show and tell into omni cast emrakul. If they have that there really isn't much we can do. That's when I have begun to dislike the match up.

@Bkclassic
That list is sick. I'd be tempted to try to run something similar this weekend for EE, given the huge prevalence of Lands in the region.

Link?

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Originally Posted by Secretly.A.Bee

Link?

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http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=13685&d=280621&f=LE

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Originally Posted by Marungo

What's your current list Finn? I can't compromise playing prelate, recruiter, and THC so I'm wondering what you got going on.

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Marungo, my list is on the OP. I have been largely satisfied with it. I grumble about the slowness of Recruiter at times. I lament only having two Revokers in the main. And I am constantly questioning if the single Banisher Priest is better off as Mangara of Corondor. Mangara is a potential brilliant tutor-for answer as you can imagine. But I have found that the slowdown of the deck tends to require answers NOW. And Mangara requires an extra untap. This is annoying because obviously he is the stronger card. I would like very much to improve this, and I consider the next big advantage card for D+T to be something like a white Llanowar Elf or better yet, an Eldrazi Temple for white creatures or humans or something like that. With such a card, we could profitably include a variety of stronger turn 2 and 3 control cards because we would not be trying to control from behind.

On another note, I have an idea I have been kicking around. I want to make a simple chart that shows how highly we, the community value particular cards in a particular matchup. When completed, it should be a valuable tool for sideboarding decisions, and we may each learn some things. At the minimum, it should be fun for us. One thing, and this is important; if you are not actually experienced with a particular card/matchup, please do not post a number. Other comments are fine, but I will be tallying numbers for an average. The specific point of the exercise is to get some metrics. Conversation is the strong point of these threads, while real numbers are hard to come by. As soon as we get speculation, it is ruined. So again...

If you are not experienced with a particular card/matchup, do not post a number.

To participate, just give a number from 1-10, (ten being the best) for how "good" a card tends to be in a particular matchup. "Good" is a terribly subjective word, so think about these adjectives to help you formalize your opinion:

instrumental
effective
potent
useful
applicable
powerful
convenient
practical
serviceable

-or possibly even-

overtaking
game-changing
pwnage

...etc.

You may even be faced with situations like cards being excellent in matchups sometimes and nearly useless at others. Just do your best to aggregate these ideas into a number. Feel free to discuss the reasons for your rating, too. You may even decide to change your number after your peers have had a crack at your reasoning, but try not to be swayed by the conversation at large - only the conversation pertaining to your rating. The numbers are supposed to be complementary to the conversation, not be an extension of it.

So, without further ado, I will begin with an easy one:

Aether Vial vs. Miracles - 10
Aether Vial occasionally feels like a worse land when drawn late in any matchup, but landing that on turn one against Miracles basically pushes that game solidly in your favor like no other matchup. I have had Miracles hit it on turn 3 with Council's Judgement...typically when a player spends three mana on a sorcery for spot removal on something I have had for several turns already, I feel like it is one of those tiny victories that this deck thrives on. But Vial is so good in this matchup (and Judgment is their only answer), that I actually lament losing the vial that way. I will even happily take two of them.

A playable one mana white mana dork would be a complete break with the colorpie, someone would probably have to actually kill Maro. They don't even like giving green them anymore due to the effect it has on standard.

Another playable Sol land is also extremely unlikely. The most recent Sol lands (Eldrazi) were never meant to be fast early game mana, they were late game mana for casting your 10 drops - they only became fast mana accidentally. Sol lands (and fast mana in general) are horrible mistakes and Wizards knows not to make them anymore - the last time they purposely made a Sol land was what, 10 years ago? Most of the mistakes they make these days come from mana-replacement mechanics (Aether Vial, Phyrexian Mana, Delve) rather than giving us actual fast mana cards.

New cards for the deck that could actually get printed in the next few years are a RIP style bear and a better disenchant bear. Maybe another good Flicker effect on a creature.

@BKclassic
Indeed, sweet list, nice meta call.

@Medea_
Prolly see you there this weekend. I am as combo-proofed as I can get and I expect a lot of the mirror early. Miracles is, well, Miracles. It will come down to skill vs. skill, but we are much better positioned than previously.

I am most worried about the various Eldrazi builds, especially the new Mono-W replacing Kavu with Skysovereign, Consul Flagship, since it passes right through Mom and is a much better beater (since it's ability target creature opponent controls, not any creature, each time it attacks, not just when it enters, and it can't die to Containment Priest, since it does not enter as a creature even if you blink it as a creature with Displacer. It literally is just a machine-gun. A 6/5, flying machine-gun.

Dunno if I was clear on my intention. I am seeking a rating by all of you, starting with Aether Vial vs. miracles.

EDIT: Iatee, Deathrite Shaman is an example of a mana creature for black. They may do it as a gimmick as a hybrid card like that. We have had this conversation a few times in the past about Imperial Recruiter for white. Some people felt it was outside the color pie. Forever is a long time. I can wait.

10. I think that Vial is a little less important if you also play multiple Caverns, but end of their turning your creatures for quasi haste is pretty good.

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Originally Posted by Finn

Dunno if I was clear on my intention. I am seeking a rating by all of you, starting with Aether Vial vs. miracles.

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Thanks, I was honestly a bit confused.

I think we should still establish a description of what each number represents - for some, a 10 will be a card that basically win the game single-handedly if unanswered (see Thalia vs Storm), others will be more generous with their ratings, assigning top marks to any card that should never be sided out in that particular matchup, and so on...

I'd suggest something like (on a 5-points scale cause I'm lazy):

5 - This card is an all-star in this match-up, you should NEVER side it out, and should bring in any additional copies you might have. You don't mind seeing it in multiples, either cause it stacks or because you are usually winning as long as one copy sticks/resolves.
4 - This card is very strong in the MU, and you probably shouldn't side out any copies. It will almost never be dead and it is unlikely to be neutered by sideboard hate that also hits a large portion of your deck.
3 - This card has its applications in the MU, but it requires certain conditions to be good. Post side, it might not match particularly well against their expected sideboarding plan, and should be considered as a side-out option.
2 - Although this card is not completely dead, it does very little, and matches up poorly against their general strategy. Its usefulness does not improve post-board, and should be sided out if possible.
1 - This card does nothing. You should have something to side in for this.

Obviously, this is only a rough draft, but hopefully it will give the general idea. If deemed necessary, we might expand the list with up to 10 ratings.

Anyway, Aether Vial against Miracles:10

Not much to add to what Finn said here. Everything about this card is good against Miracles: the uncounterability, the mana cheating (allowing you to use your lands to attack their mana), the instant speed deployment (for tricks and surprise attacks). They will try to get rid of it anyway they can, and it should speak volumes about the power of the card in this MU that most prominent Miracle pilots will dedicate most of their anti-DnT sideboard slots to cards that can deal with it.

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Originally Posted by Finn

Dunno if I was clear on my intention. I am seeking a rating by all of you, starting with Aether Vial vs. miracles.

EDIT: Iatee, Deathrite Shaman is an example of a mana creature for black. They may do it as a gimmick as a hybrid card like that. We have had this conversation a few times in the past about Imperial Recruiter for white. Some people felt it was outside the color pie. Forever is a long time. I can wait.

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As an open ended creature tutor, Imperial Recruiter was out of the colorpie for *red* not for white. That's one of the reasons Imperial Recruiter was so powerful for a red deck like Painter. White has a lot of tutor effects on bodies, so this wasn't some radical new type of card, just a fairly pushed one.

DRS is a B/G manadork, but you can play it with a very light investment in green. That's one of the reasons why it's the most powerful 1 drop in legacy, single-handedly disrupted the format, and was ban-worthy in modern (the format Wizards care about more.) I don't think we can expect more Deathrite Shamans. The Modern banlist is a pretty good indicator for cards they don't want to make. If you're willing to splash green, Noble Hierarch is a very pushed manadork that produces white. Maybe one day they'll print a G/W dork that's more powerful than Noble Hierarch and doesn't actually require G, but...I would be willing to bet against it.

On the other hand, they'll reprint pretty much any artifact/enchantment we want as a 2/2. Think up some good ones and you'll get them eventually.

Re: Deathrite Shaman being allowed to generate mana in Black. Because it generates mana utilizing resources in the graveyard, it's not a color pie break, but a very clever bend. If WotC could find a white way to justify mana generation, then it could work. The closest thing I can think of is Weathered Wayfarer.

In my local meta, I'm seeing a lot of Maverick and I don't know what to do. Sometimes it feels like they're just a stronger version of our deck. They have a lot of things that blow up equipment and vials. Which cards are strong against Maverick? How do I play this matchup? What do I board in?

Maverick is basically a worse version of DnT, not a better one. But you can get midranged-out by fair decks if you don't draw enough grindy fair cards.

Play lots of Mirran Crusaders, Revokers in main. More Removal/Disenchant/Needle effects out of the board. I don't love RiP since it doesn't completely shut down their deck and they have lots of disenchant effects anyway if they do need to get rid of it.

Board out all Thalias, especially Thalia 1.0, since they play Karakas, ramp, and are creature-based. Prelates aren't going to be amazing either, though Prelate on 2 stops a lot of their scariest cards post-board (Zealous, Decay.) Try to get them to use their removal and disenchant effects on the wrong things (e.g. Batterskull not Jitte) since they're guaranteed to be drawing into a certain number. They have at most one flyer in the deck, so Flickerwisps (and any other flyers you play) are essentially unblockable. Save your removal for KotR if possible.

Keep Sofi in even though the protections don't do anything, the games are grindy, you might need to Revoker Jitte and you want as many ways to grind out an advantage as possible.

Try to figure out if they're playing Dark Depths just so you don't lose to it out of nowhere. But the variant that does is probably a better matchup, since we have so many ways to interact with the combo and it means their manabase is worse.