[Deck] Death and Taxes

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Originally Posted by Miniscus

Have you got a list for your mardu list? I've been testing the list from the mtggoldfish 'This Week in Legacy' article ~1 month ago. I really like it, but found it heavy on the 3 drops. I agree with you completely on Thalia HC, found her to be much more impactful than Mirran Crusader (not to downplay MC, it still has its benefits). Can't believe I didn't think of Dark Confidants before...

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http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mardu-dnt-2017-1/

Yeah Dark Confidants are worth the slots in the deck, giving you way stronger mid-late game power like Stoneforge Mystic. Personally don't think Pia and Kiran Naalar and Alesha are worth it. The main characteristic of this deck isn't that it plays 3 colors but rather, it tries to proactively develop the board faster and safer with Sol Lands + Cavern, rather than reactively denying mana with lands. One strategy isn't necessary worse than the other; simply put, I'm just disappointed by the consistency of Port + Wasteland even with active vial.

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Originally Posted by grayryker

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mardu-dnt-2017-1/

Yeah Dark Confidants are worth the slots in the deck, giving you way stronger mid-late game power like Stoneforge Mystic. Personally don't think Pia and Kiran Naalar and Alesha are worth it. The main characteristic of this deck isn't that it plays 3 colors but rather, it tries to proactively develop the board faster and safer with Sol Lands + Cavern, rather than reactively denying mana with lands. One strategy isn't necessary worse than the other; simply put, I'm just disappointed by the consistency of Port + Wasteland even with active vial.

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Pia and Kiran has been ok when I've played it, but I don't often find myself really stretching for it or needing it to get out of a jam. Not tried Alesha so can't speak for that. I'm also heavier on the red splash for sideboard options against Delver and the like (quite big in my meta) so I'm at 1/3 split of scrublands/plateaus and not doing the sol lands. I can see the benefit of them for sure, and your point about essentially being uncounterable is pretty worthwhile. I like the 4 caverns also, especially since you've dropped port. I'm on 4 wasteland no port, mainly just because I want to go harder on the mana denial plan in some matchups with early wastelands/fast magus of the moon. Definitely going to try out the dark Confidants, as well as the warping wail in the side. Not got access to sol lands, but I recognize their benefit

So what's the over/under on the right number of Prelates to run? I've been on 2 forever and liked it, but lately I haven't been in love with it against Delver and other fair decks. What slot is it competing against for everyone else? I always find it competing for a second Crusader or the first Spirit of the Labyrinth. Is anyone really in love with Mirran Crusader right now? I'm not that afraid of the BUG decks being too prevalent any more.

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Originally Posted by WashableWater1

So what's the over/under on the right number of Prelates to run? I've been on 2 forever and liked it, but lately I haven't been in love with it against Delver and other fair decks. What slot is it competing against for everyone else? I always find it competing for a second Crusader or the first Spirit of the Labyrinth. Is anyone really in love with Mirran Crusader right now? I'm not that afraid of the BUG decks being too prevalent any more.

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My problem with Crusader is that a lot of bolt effects are going around (e.g 4 lightning bolts and kolaghan's command). You better have Mother of Runes on board to make it worthwhile. Spirit of the Labyrinth is okay but I never loved the card due to its fragility. I've went from 1 Prelate to 2 Prelates... I think its sheer power level and diversity makes it fine to have 2 copies. Sometimes when you're in control, you want to lock down any answers your opponent might have (e.g Abrupt Decay, Bolt, Toxic Deluge, Ensnaring Bridge, etc.). Not bad in the fair match-ups and an absolute necessity in the unfair ones.

Until something better comes along, Mirran Crusader will always be a minimum 1-of in my main as the best tutorable beater for this deck.

You may not be in love with Prelate, but it's pretty necessary, and I play 1/1 main/side split. I think it's still correct.

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Here's a list I will be running this weekend. I really hate recruiter of the guard. I hate drawing it. I Hate it in my opening hand. I hate that it's 3 mana. I Hate that it's slow. I hate casting it. I hate being unable to cast it. I hate that it does literally nothing by itself. I hate that it isn't an answer to a problem immediately. So I decided to drop it, and go back to playing the spell queller version I was playing right before he got printed, because that was the last time I had fun with this deck. Also, sideboard mulldrifter for funsies (when it should probably be something else, possibly back to basics and an e-tutor).

The theory behind the UW build is that you value tempii over everything. This makes you a lot weaker when you don't play tight, and don't stick to a tempo oriented gameplan. Luckily Death and Taxes is quite good at generating tempi. Because you can eventually get to a point where you are ahead or even in tempo, flickerwisp in conjunction with spell queller allows you to actually beat the cards that kill you regardless of your acquired tempi (TNN, Jitte, Punishing Fire, Toxic Deluge). Your opponent can't win the game if the card they want to use is exiled.

Also sideboard mulldrifter is super cute (in against anything grindy like grixis, lands, BUGx). Casting it off of cavern of souls naming elemental is so satisfying :P. It also has a super fun interaction, since you can decide how the triggers stack. What you do is you evoke it, put evoke on the stack first, and then put the draw cards trigger on the stack. You then draw 2 cards. If one of them was a flickerwisp, you can flicker mulldrifter while evoke is still on the stack. Congrats, you just netted 4 cards.

// 60 Maindeck
// 7 Artifact
4 Aether Vial
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull

// 26 Creature
3 Spell Queller
3 Flickerwisp
1 Mirran Crusader
4 Mother of Runes
3 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Spellskite
2 Meddling Mage
1 Sanctum Prelate

// 4 Instant
4 Swords to Plowshares

// 23 Land
2 Tundra
3 Flooded Strand
3 Karakas
4 Wasteland
2 Cavern of Souls
4 Rishadan Port
4 Plains
1 Island


// 15 Sideboard
// 1 Artifact
SB: 1 Pithing Needle

// 5 Creature
SB: 1 Sanctum Prelate
SB: 2 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 2 Mulldrifter

// 2 Enchantment
SB: 2 Rest in Peace

// 5 Instant
SB: 1 Path to Exile
SB: 2 Spell Pierce
SB: 1 Blessed Alliance
SB: 1 Disenchant

// 1 Planeswalker
SB: 1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

// 1 Sorcery
SB: 1 Council's Judgment

I have a question - what do you do with all of the tempi that you generate? I understand that generating tempi is good, but tempi alone is not going to win a game because even though tempi is an important part of the game tempi isn't the only thing magic is about. I feel like it is easy to overrate tempi because so often we play a game that was all about tempi and we think "Damn, tempi is awesome, all I really need is tempi, I'm going to play more tempi cards (to generate more tempi)." But sometimes you have so much tempi that you don't even have anything to do with it. You get flooded...in tempi.

I intend to attack their faces with said tempii? All I need is for my opponents to not resulve deluge or get punishing fire online, and that usually is enough time for me to kill them.

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Originally Posted by monovfox

I intend to attack their faces with said tempii? All I need is for my opponents to not resolve deluge or get punishing fire online, and that usually is enough time for me to kill them.

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The problem with Death & Taxes is it's not that great as a pure tempo deck. The ideal tempo play is turn 1 Aether Vial and have Wasteland/ Ports to (hopefully) mana screw them while cheating in Thalia. When you don't have this tempo play, it can be very slow and you have to rely heavily on hatebears / Flickerwisps and Stoneforge Mystic to carry the late game. In essence, the deck is half tempo and half good stuff (prison or card quality).

You're running things like Spell Queller which seems like a great tempo card but you run into a lot of problems (e.g not getting to 3 lands, going through aether vial is too slow, gets killed and instead gives your opponent the tempo, etc.). In Modern it's actually pretty good because (a) you can combine it with other disruptive 1-2 mana spirits and (b) in Jeskai builds, you generate tempo with the sheer number of removals since Modern is a creature-centric format, allowing you to make an impactful turn 3 Queller.

The creatures I would add from other colors would involve giving this deck either (a) card advantage/ card filtering or (b) superior lockdown power. When you creatures/ land base don't align well with your opponent's, you want more universal threats on the board (this is why Thalia and Stoneforge are staples).

Added 4 Chalice of the Void back into the main. Here is my reasoning:

(1) Against Delver decks, yes having Swords to Plowshare is great. But the deck's consistency with cantrips and 'free' counterspells means their average draw is going to be way better than yours. Chalice of the Void shuts off all their future cantrips, their own removal spells against us, things like Dread of Night, and every one of their 1-cmc threats which are not only good in the early game but also dangerous in the late game (e.g Deathrite Shaman).

As a result, I took out the Swords to Plowshares. In the side, I run Blessed Alliance and Warping Wail instead. Still keeping some Mother of Runes as you can cast it through 4 Cavern of Souls and 4 Aether Vials.

(2) Chalice is also universally powerful. I often want it on both x=0 and x=1, which is why I'm running the full set. It's ironically better than a removal spell against some creature decks.

(3) It provides the lockdown and tempo advantage this deck wants on TURN 1-2. In my opening hand, there are two cards that I want to see every game: Thalia and Aether Vial (assuming I have no idea what the match-up is). Why? Because they're universally versatile. Chalice of the Void also meets this criteria. More importantly, it's a valid turn 1 play in a deck with 6 Sol Lands and quite fine as a turn 2 play as well.

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Originally Posted by grayryker

The problem with Death & Taxes is it's not that great as a pure tempo deck. The ideal tempo play is turn 1 Aether Vial and have Wasteland/ Ports to (hopefully) mana screw them while cheating in Thalia. When you don't have this tempo play, it can be very slow and you have to rely heavily on hatebears / Flickerwisps and Stoneforge Mystic to carry the late game. In essence, the deck is half tempo and half good stuff (prison or card quality).

You're running things like Spell Queller which seems like a great tempo card but you run into a lot of problems (e.g not getting to 3 lands, going through aether vial is too slow, gets killed and instead gives your opponent the tempo, etc.). In Modern it's actually pretty good because (a) you can combine it with other disruptive 1-2 mana spirits and (b) in Jeskai builds, you generate tempo with the sheer number of removals since Modern is a creature-centric format, allowing you to make an impactful turn 3 Queller.

The creatures I would add from other colors would involve giving this deck either (a) card advantage/ card filtering or (b) superior lockdown power. When you creatures/ land base don't align well with your opponent's, you want more universal threats on the board (this is why Thalia and Stoneforge are staples).

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Yes. I understand. I've also been playing the deck with 6-7 years at this point. I understand that other colors provide other things. I played way before we had recruiter or any of this fancy stuff.. We won by playing the tempo game. Blue provides better tempo. The issue I have with the "value cards" is that they don't win me the game against the cards I'm actually scared of. Recruiter of the guard -> mirran crusader is just a request to get blown out by a toxic deluge or removal spell + liliana (etc, etc, etc).

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Originally Posted by monovfox

Yes. I understand. I've also been playing the deck with 6-7 years at this point. I understand that other colors provide other things. I played way before we had recruiter or any of this fancy stuff.. We won by playing the tempo game. Blue provides better tempo. The issue I have with the "value cards" is that they don't win me the game against the cards I'm actually scared of. Recruiter of the guard -> mirran crusader is just a request to get blown out by a toxic deluge or removal spell + liliana (etc, etc, etc).

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I agree with you Recruiter can be quite slow. I think it's a mistake to play more than 2, even in my deck where I can play it on turn 2.

But what must be discussed is whether you think this situational tempo advantage is worth integrating blue into the mana base. When I think of the best tempo cards, I think of being able to cheat things in for almost no cost. Aether vial, Daze, and Force of Will are what comes to mind. A 3-mana tempo card is almost an oxymoron, especially in Legacy. Spell queller is very inconsistent without vial in play. It's a card that's meant to operate largely in instant-speed-decks, as you will have to consider "do I keep 3 mana open or do I play my bears/ equipment?" I think with blue, things like Daze seem more reasonable but requires significant deck constraints. Overall, these are all just food for thought, rather than a rejection of the blue splash concept.

It's been a pretty big gap between semi-major events for me lately, so I've been experimenting (really close to just messing around) with different, or old-school mono W lists to varying success.

Here's an oldschool 'aggro' list

Code:

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// MB
10 Plains
2 Cavern of Souls
4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
3 Karakas

4 Mother of Runes
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Serra Avenger
4 Flickerwisp
4 Mirran Crusader

4 Aether Vial
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Fire & Ice

4 Swords to Plowshares

//SB
2 Armageddon
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Rest in Peace
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Council's Judgement
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Sword of War & Peace
1 Holy Light
1 Pithing Needle
1 Path to Exile

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Last week had me swapping Serra Avengers for Spirit of the Labyrinths, and going to a 2/2 split Mirran Crusader/Brimaz.
I have to say, being back at playing 4 mirran crusaders really felt good against a lot of decks, especially with the Geddon out of the board.

Does anyone have some suggestions for some wilder things to test as I'm on this fun streak? I have a lot of stuff in my maybeboard I'm working through, next week I think its the 24 land 2 Restoration Angel & Dustbowl.

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Originally Posted by J ♥ 5

It's been a pretty big gap between semi-major events for me lately, so I've been experimenting (really close to just messing around) with different, or old-school mono W lists to varying success.

Here's an oldschool 'aggro' list

Code:

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// MB
10 Plains
2 Cavern of Souls
4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
3 Karakas

4 Mother of Runes
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Serra Avenger
4 Flickerwisp
4 Mirran Crusader

4 Aether Vial
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Fire & Ice

4 Swords to Plowshares

//SB
2 Armageddon
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Rest in Peace
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Council's Judgement
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Sword of War & Peace
1 Holy Light
1 Pithing Needle
1 Path to Exile

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Last week had me swapping Serra Avengers for Spirit of the Labyrinths, and going to a 2/2 split Mirran Crusader/Brimaz.
I have to say, being back at playing 4 mirran crusaders really felt good against a lot of decks, especially with the Geddon out of the board.

Does anyone have some suggestions for some wilder things to test as I'm on this fun streak? I have a lot of stuff in my maybeboard I'm working through, next week I think its the 24 land 2 Restoration Angel & Dustbowl.

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I've been wanting to play around with Eldrazi Displacer and Aven Mindcensor, but I think I would probably go to 3 Crusaders 1 Brimaz. I also really love 4 Revokers or at least 1 Spirit in that lists because your 2 slot is a little slim (Avenger doesn't count as a 2 for the purposes of curving out)

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Originally Posted by WashableWater1

I've been wanting to play around with Eldrazi Displacer and Aven Mindcensor, but I think I would probably go to 3 Crusaders 1 Brimaz. I also really love 4 Revokers or at least 1 Spirit in that lists because your 2 slot is a little slim (Avenger doesn't count as a 2 for the purposes of curving out)

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Yeah I'm thinking if I was re-doing it I'd go 4 revokers and 2 avengers, I'm not really a fan of Spirit even given a blowout last week.
Brimaz was something I haven't touched in years and it felt so good against the bolt matchups, but I don't think its good enough in general at the moment to justify.

I like the idea of displacer, might try a build with like 3 port 2 eldrazi temples, or I guess maybe just 2 ancient tombs

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Originally Posted by J ♥ 5

Yeah I'm thinking if I was re-doing it I'd go 4 revokers and 2 avengers, I'm not really a fan of Spirit even given a blowout last week.
Brimaz was something I haven't touched in years and it felt so good against the bolt matchups, but I don't think its good enough in general at the moment to justify.

I like the idea of displacer, might try a build with like 3 port 2 eldrazi temples, or I guess maybe just 2 ancient tombs

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I figure if you want to go Dustbowl, try Displacer and 2 Recruiters. Displacers can do a lot with the cards you already run, they're just slow

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Originally Posted by WashableWater1

So what's the over/under on the right number of Prelates to run? I've been on 2 forever and liked it, but lately I haven't been in love with it against Delver and other fair decks. What slot is it competing against for everyone else? I always find it competing for a second Crusader or the first Spirit of the Labyrinth. Is anyone really in love with Mirran Crusader right now? I'm not that afraid of the BUG decks being too prevalent any more.

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I went down to one a while back in favor of SotL in the main. The best feeling in the world is Vial into SotL in response to a Brainstorm. Makes me smile every time

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Originally Posted by Cringe

The best feeling in the world is Vial into SotL in response to a Brainstorm. Makes me smile every time

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Everyone loves Spirit in response to Brainstorm, but plenty don't play it precisely because it only happens once in a blue moon. I guess another question is what's the conventional wisdom on that single maindeck Spirit?

Dust Bowl and Flagstones of Trokair is good times.

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Originally Posted by kirbysdl

Everyone loves Spirit in response to Brainstorm, but plenty don't play it precisely because it only happens once in a blue moon. I guess another question is what's the conventional wisdom on that single maindeck Spirit?

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It's sort of like Thalia #5 for me. It attacks a lot worse, but being able to come down turn 2 and shut down cantrips while attacking is nice. It's a tempo card that also counteracts Leovold, so I've been happy enough with it.

It also turns off Griselbrand.

I play one where a 4th Revoker or a 1st Vryn Wingmare would normally be.

I like it, but it could also be something else and I would probably be just as happy.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kirbysdl

Everyone loves Spirit in response to Brainstorm, but plenty don't play it precisely because it only happens once in a blue moon. I guess another question is what's the conventional wisdom on that single maindeck Spirit?

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Its also a 3rd Ethersworn Canonist pre-boarded in the maindeck. Except instead of being an Arcane Lab effect (except in the case vs Elves), it just makes virtual card advantage instead. Its also run as a 3/1 body oddly enough which makes it a light hedge for the Eldrazi MU where you often 2-for-1 yourself during combat transactions and that three power helps with combat permutations.

I cant say I am in love with Spirit either, but the card hasnt been bad. You do feel pretty good when you turn off a Griselbrand activation without having planned for it, and then proceed to durdle with a Mom and Wisp.

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Originally Posted by gh0st_b1rd

Its also a 3rd Ethersworn Canonist pre-boarded in the maindeck. Except instead of being an Arcane Lab effect (except in the case vs Elves), it just makes virtual card advantage instead. Its also run as a 3/1 body oddly enough which makes it a light hedge for the Eldrazi MU where you often 2-for-1 yourself during combat transactions and that three power helps with combat permutations.

I cant say I am in love with Spirit either, but the card hasnt been bad. You do feel pretty good when you turn off a Griselbrand activation without having planned for it, and then proceed to durdle with a Mom and Wisp.

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I'm way more happy to play a main deck canonist :cool:

I tried it, didn't like it in the metas I play in as there are lots of blue, noncombo decks where they can profitably play around the inconvenience until they find a removal spell or win the game.

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Originally Posted by J ♥ 5

I'm way more happy to play a main deck canonist :cool:

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If you think about having a maindeck Canonist vs, say, a Sneak and Show deck, the Canonist is infinitely worse than the Spirit.

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Originally Posted by gh0st_b1rd

If you think about having a maindeck Canonist vs, say, a Sneak and Show deck, the Canonist is infinitely worse than the Spirit.

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I dunno, canonist vs omniscience is pretty solid assuming they don't have Grisslebrand/Emrakul immediately in hand (in which case spirit is pretty poor too)

Unless that is relevant to you at a local level, I find that argument weak. SnS lists only run 2, and that's mostly in the board. Obviously there are omnisneak players, but that version is less popular. I can't imagine this is relevant for a discussion of one slot in a deck with no card selection to speak of.

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Originally Posted by Secretly.A.Bee

Unless that is relevant to you at a local level, I find that argument weak. SnS lists only run 2, and that's mostly in the board. Obviously there are omnisneak players, but that version is less popular. I can't imagine this is relevant for a discussion of one slot in a deck with no card selection to speak of.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

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I can definitely agree that this isn't part of a groundbreaking or worthwhile discussion :)

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Originally Posted by J ♥ 5

I'm way more happy to play a main deck canonist :cool:

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As do I. The nice aspect of main decking Canonist is it almost auto-wins a lot of your bad match-ups (e.g infect, elves, tes, etc.). It's not bad at all in your fair matches either, being a notable nuisance that can buy you a turn or 2. Being able to slow down cabal therapy is nice for instance. Vialing in a SotL is kind of a magic christmas land move but must admit it is quite beautiful to behold.

Generically, I don't think Canonist is a good maindeck card unless the stars align in the metagame. I ran one or two main when both Elves and ANT were everywhere about two months ago. Now that Elves has taken a back seat to everything else, I don't think this is the time. I don't want too many "bad at combat" things in my deck.

New article on D&T and Maverick.

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Originally Posted by Medea_

Generically, I don't think Canonist is a good maindeck card unless the stars align in the metagame. I ran one or two main when both Elves and ANT were everywhere about two months ago. Now that Elves has taken a back seat to everything else, I don't think this is the time. I don't want too many "bad at combat" things in my deck.

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That's fair. Sometimes I run into a bunch of delver and maverick decks and I want things like serra avenger. For me, the toughest part of constructing this deck is in balancing the cards good in the fair matches and the unfair ones.

What is your opinion on Recruiter of the Guards? Obviously it's a great card but sometimes I just wonder if it couldn't have been more copies of something else. Paying 3 mana for a tutor effect, albeit a body that can be wisped, feels way too slow sometimes.

On a side note, I'm realizing mirran crusader is way better with chalice of the void builds. Before you needed a mom to protect him from bolts and plowshares but 4 chalice almost ensures his survival.

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Originally Posted by grayryker

That's fair. Sometimes I run into a bunch of delver and maverick decks and I want things like serra avenger. For me, the toughest part of constructing this deck is in balancing the cards good in the fair matches and the unfair ones.

What is your opinion on Recruiter of the Guards? Obviously it's a great card but sometimes I just wonder if it couldn't have been more copies of something else. Paying 3 mana for a tutor effect, albeit a body that can be wisped, feels way too slow sometimes.

On a side note, I'm realizing mirran crusader is way better with chalice of the void builds. Before you needed a mom to protect him from bolts and plowshares but 4 chalice almost ensures his survival.

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If the deck existed in a world without flickerwisp I think recruiter would be way worse.
But the ability to 'army in a can', or simply tutor for what you need, then later flicker him for value is the closest this deck is really going to come to card advantage and selection.

I have been having success with my oldschool builds I've been messing around with with no recruiters, but you definitely give up a lot of flexability in favour of a consistent 'one dimensional' plan

For fun, thoughts on Sword of Dungeons and Dragons if it were Legacy legal?

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Originally Posted by J ♥ 5

If the deck existed in a world without flickerwisp I think recruiter would be way worse.
But the ability to 'army in a can', or simply tutor for what you need, then later flicker him for value is the closest this deck is really going to come to card advantage and selection.

I have been having success with my oldschool builds I've been messing around with with no recruiters, but you definitely give up a lot of flexability in favour of a consistent 'one dimensional' plan

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True but if I'm searching for Flickerwisp, I'm usually doing this to flicker something else. Usually I just don't have the time or luxury to get a little bit of extra value.

I think I'll start goldfish testing various hands to see if the Recruiters won't just be better of being something else.

For my non-Flickerwisp build I've been testing Restoration Angel. Really powerful card in the Delver match-up...

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Originally Posted by ManyCookies

For fun, thoughts on Sword of Dungeons and Dragons if it were Legacy legal?

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It's a very offense oriented card which makes it worse than the more balanced Jitte or Swords. The thing about those two equipment is it's easier to meet their damage requirements and better at saving you on defense.

I think it's perfectly viable to play old school, very aggressive D&T (4 Crusader, 3 Avenger) without Recruiters and be just fine. That being said, Recruiter for various things, especially Prelate locks up a ton of matches like Lands that otherwise are a pain.

After top 8ing an 81 player event yesterday, I think I'm finally ready to cut Spirit of the Labyrinth. Are there any other good 2 drops that you can reasonably run?

Other 2017 commander decks spoiled as Grixis Wizards and Mardu Vampires.

Since Wizards can't print a supplemental set without giving us 1-2 goodies, whats your bet on for gifts for mono-w D&T - GW Cats or Mardu Vamps?

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mardu...type&sort=cost

Chalice of the Void has overperformed for me. It gives the deck a strong control element against blue tempo/midrange decks and combo. Because Abrupt Decay is on the decline after the top ban, I find it to be stronger in the meta than before. Having another potential turn 1 play aside from Aether Vial has improved the deck significantly.

Dark Confidant winning me games as usual. Ancient tomb also doesn't deserve further comment than what I had before but I would add that I hate drawing multiples and could potentially cut one for another City of Traitors. Due to the popularity of Stifle-Delver decks, I think this deck is quite strong due to its resistance to counterspell (Tomb + Cavern + Vial) and Chalice of the Void to lock cantrips, stifle, cabal therapy, removals, delver, deathrite, etc. Actually I just took a look at a Delver list and they have 32 cards on average at 1-cmc. Wasteland and Port don't contribute as much as they used to when half your opponents operate on 1-2 mana with deathrite shaman and cantrips. On the other hand, their wasteland is quite good against your own and Port.

In other words, Death Taxes should lean a lot less on tempo and more on lockdown cards.



Restoration Angel is a card I've recently tested. It's too early to sound totally conclusive. But her defensive ability and the ease with which this deck can cast her makes her phenomenal. Unlike Flickerwisp, she does not need an Aether Vial to be flashed in. Her toughness makes her a +1 against Delver decks. She lacks the vigilance of Serra Avenger but at the price of being bolt, decay, and push proof. Will keep 2 copies of her for now.

I've taken out Recruiter of the Guards for now. Instead, I just raised the number of copies of cards I'd normally search for: Mirran Crusader and Sanctum Prelate. The problem with Recruiter is I have too many important cards in the deck to reserve a space for it.

Have 2 Blessed Alliance in the side. Provides additional answers to True-Name Nemesis and also some life gain. Not bad at all.

@greyryker

Let us know if you put up any meaningful results with it. I'm pretty skeptical personally.