I'm archiving this part of the primer which was written to discuss the core of the deck, common card choices and recent evolution of the deck.

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Common and a few not so common core cards of the deck (by decreased order of frequency in decklists, subjectively)

Post 2020 approach:
I will describe here my personal development in deck building strategy for MOST or 4c/3c Vial. Some still play something very close to the earlier versions.
In early 2018 I started using the Recruiter of the Guard and Flickerwisp combination of cards from Death and Taxes to get a card advantage aspect while also having a lot of utility and the tutor function. I basically cut 1-2 copies of Fauna Shaman and added Recruiters. It's a less powerful tutor effect, but it's harder for the opponent to interact with and leaves a body and if you flicker that body you get another tutor effect for free (which is a great advantage).

When Esper Vial first appeared in the reports of MTGO results using Soulherder (probably with this list: Jeff Lin's Esper Solution later Esper Vial), it seemed clear that the combination of creatures with etb abilities that could translate into card advantage especially with Soulherder could be a powerful approach. This made me reevaluate creatures that don't provide card advantage, especially the manadorks. Well, another reason to reevaluate using manadorks was that I noticed that Jeff was using more lands and no mana creatures to ramp with, Esper doesn't have them, offering a slower start but a more stable mana development. I figured I'd try the same, being less explosive but more reliable. And it seemed good. I think Delighted Halfling might be worth building with, however, and Dryad Arbor is good if running a GSZ heavy list. As of late 2024, the meta has become very aggressive and so GSZ may have an advantage over Recruiter in that it can accellerate your manadevelopment in the first two turns.

With the printing of Orcish Bowmasters, the deck takes another turn as it forces you to reevaluate all your creatures and how you play.

I will discuss here some cards that are good in a WUBG version of the deck. However, all cards with draw effects need to be reeavaluated in a format where Orcish Bowmasters is a popular card, which it probably will be as long as Brainstorm is a good card.

Examples of good cards for a WUBG version:
Yorion, Sky Nomad
Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd
Nadu, Winged Wisdom
Psychic Frog
Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student
Endurance
Force of Will
Brainstorm
Abundant Growth
Once Upon a Time
Swords to Plowshares
Abrupt Decay
Prismatic Ending
Orcish Bowmasters
Recruiter of the Guard
Green Sun's Zenith
Spellseeker
Solitude
Lagrella, the Magpie
Leovold, Emissary of Trest
Baleful Strix
Ice-Fang Coatl
Gilded Drake
Gaddock Teeg
Meddling Mage
Lavinia, Azorious Renegade
Plague Engineer
Skyclave Apparition
Knight of Autumn
Samwise the Stouthearted
Haywire Mite
Witch Enchanger
Stoneforge Mystic
Knight of the Reliquary


Abundant Growth makes a good Arcum's Astrolabe-imitation, it helps smooth out the mana requirements, let you operate more easily on fetching basic lands and gives you a chance to play through a Blood Moon. It also makes Yorion a better follow-up, and it helps letting Phelia attack while growing and drawing cards. When building a deck in 2024, you need to consider how an opposing Orcish Bowmasters will change theh value of Baleful Strix, Ice-Fang Coatl and Abundant Growth; I prefer Coatl because having flash lets you sometime play around your opponent's Bowmasters.

Examples of good cards for a WURG version, red additions:
Imperial Recruiter
Fury
Broadside Bombardiers
Mawloc
Magus of the Moon
Minsc & Boo
Pyroblast
Flame of Anor
Omnath, Locus of Creation
Punishing Fire
Dack Fayden
Shaman of the Great Hunt

Pre 2020 approach (for a 60 card maindeck, Yorion not yet printed):
• Lands: 14-18 cards

1 Forest
0-1 Plains
1-3 Savannah
1-2 Tropical Island
1-2 Bayou
0-1 Tundra
0-1 Underground Sea
0-1 Taiga
6-8 Fetches for Forest type cards
Not counting Dryad Arbor among the lands.