Next Up

Ed. note: this was posted out of order, but it's written up and I am trying to clear some of the back catalog so I can resume a schedule again. So I'm using it, instead of just blowing it up. Sorry!

I suppose it's time to get back on track! I'm going into the wayback machine for this one but: Last time we checked in, I was thinking that this deck needed some revision and  Tipsy and high, I wrote myself a note about what to do with my changes to the War Ensemble deck. 

Agent of the Fates could be in a deck that wants to blink its creatures-Grief, etc-and be happy. Mono B? Prob. no.

That's the note I wrote, anyway.

OK. Why did I mention Grief? Because of this deck that I stumbled across. It's a Modern deck and that's fine. I don't know that anything I'm thinking of would be Legacy deck per se, unless I added in lands that would only be legal in Legacy. 

Hm. Which, actually, might be worth considering, due to cards like Phyrexian Tower. How many copies of that card do I have? Three, as it turns out. I'm as surprised about this as anyone! But hey, I'm not upset to have copies of a $30 card. 

The next question is: Do I already have a deck that wants to work these themes? Because I'm not opposed to building a new deck but if you've followed this blog for awhile, you know that I've got a LOT of decks. Most of them are subpar. C grade wondering if they will ever get called up to the big leagues. 

Don't get me wrong, I like having fun with C grade decks. But I'm also trying to turn a corner and build decks that hew to their vision. Weird decks are fine, so long as they are focused. 

Which is why when my brain was asking: Hey, could this be a blink deck and use effects like Essence Flux? 

Which, let's face it: is cool. Blue is still an incredibly strong color. 

But the deck I'm taking inspiration from gains bonuses from dies triggers. 

So let's loop back. Do I have a deck that cares about dies triggers? If I do, is it worth updating or should I just start over? 

After a review of my decks, I recognized that there was a series of decks that did mine this theme: W/B. But my W/B decks went in particular directions: there was the Omnitell deck, the Enduring Renewal deck (storm), and the tribal cleric deck. All doing very different things.

Then there was this:

Abominus

3 Adarkar Valkyrie
3 Auramancer
3 Aven Riftwatcher
4 Capashen Unicorn
2 Herald of Serra
4 Pit Keeper
4 Shriekmaw
3 Sheoldred, Whispering One

3 Haunted Crossroads
4 Promise of Bunrei

3 Orzhov Basilica
8 Plains
8 Swamp
4 Isolated Chapel

4 Skulltap

Now we're talking.  

Abominus: Gestalt

Reflecting on the decklist I was one thing I can say that I'm pleased about is that it IS pretty focused. Multiple copies of cards, not a lot of filler, and I can tell that there is a theme that it wants to adhere to. 

And then there's Herald of Serra. 

In addition, Abominus wants to focus a recursion that is very mana intensive. Most of the cards want to bring creatures from the graveyard to my hand. While that isn't all bad, it doesn't mesh well with an Agent of the Fates concept. Cutting 10 cards and swapping 10 in isn't the way. Even if the themes are starting to cozy up.

So what to do?

Maybe something like this:

Abominus

2 Sheoldred, Whispering One
4 Grief
4 Solitude
4 Agent of the Fates
3 Doomed Traveler
3 Shambling Ghast
2 Adarkar Valkyrie
2 Martyr of Dusk

3 Feign Death
3 Undying Evil
3 Village Rites
1 Blessed Defiance
3 Path to Exile

3 Orzhov Basilica
7 Plains
6 Swamp
4 Isolated Chapel
3 Phyrexian Tower

That is quite a leap from the original. 

If you've been following a long for awhile and have a pretty good memory, you might see a resemblance between this and the B/W Scam deck I was running in March. That's because this was the template I built it off of.

(I'm trying to get caught up with some decks so apologies for some wayback machine moments.)

Since then, I've refined a few things and learned from the experience of being in tournaments. The deck looks like this now:

4 Grief

4 Solitude

4 Agent of the Fates

3 Shambling Ghast

3 Phalanx Leader

3 Hunted Witness

2 Flickerwisp

2 Massacre Girl

3 Feign Death

3 Undying Evil

3 Path to Exile

3 Ephemerate

3 Orzhov Basilica

7 Plains

6 Swamp

4 Isolated Chapel

3 Phyrexian Tower

This list also isn't quite accurate. I've been testing Drivnod, Carnage Dominus and a Liesa, Forgotten Archangel in the Flickerwisp slots. So far, it's been interesting, though Drivnod has mostly generated some rules questions than expected-but the 8/3 was also a body my opponent couldn't ignore. That didn't suck!

I like where it's at for now, with the acknowledgement that it's been a bit depowered. There's still a deck here, and I'm enjoying it.