Wild Flailing

When I make a hard pivot on a deck, it's always challenging to see what will or won't work anymore. This is one such time.

It's especially difficult because Brawl will win from out of nowhere: I lay the Pandemonium down, my opponent does things that don't kill me, passes and bam, I play a Saproling Burst and win. When Brawl doesn't do this, it's usually because I haven't been able to find the combo pieces.

So has the deck improved because of that hard pivot or not? Wins from out of nowhere do feel good.

One thing I finally noticed was: I am not running four copies of Saproling Burst. Why am I not doing that?? 

This is not a blue deck, so I do not have the luxury of sculpting every part of my hand or predicting my draws in order to maximize the odds that every turn four and five will work out the same way. Plus, I have fewer creatures to act as red shirts to give me time to get the combo.

I have to lean in to the numbers! So, let's get further into it and cut more deadwood out.

There's also been some good advice from friends: Herald of the Pantheon was recommended by two different people and is likely a way better choice than Centaur Safeguard and Venerable Monk.

Thraben Inspector has been a solid addition helping create a speedbump for my opponents while also giving me an extra card.

But it was Noah trying to come up with ways for me to tutor up the enchantments (while casting Counterspell on the Pandemonium or Saproling Burst I needed to win) that let me stumble upon what might be my best trick.

Replenish.

Now, I know that Replenish is the kind of card that one ideally wants in a self-mill deck; you run four copies of it and anything that dumps cards into your graveyard, cast it, and voila! you win the game because reasons.

But the card is just north of $40. However, I own two. How is this not a great backup plan? 

Let's find out, because there's no sense in letting good cards go to waste.