Tired of playing the same deck over and over again? I made this deck to ensure no two EDH games will ever be the same, because you'll be playing as many of the opponent's cards as possible! This is a very mean deck, and can be "unfun" to play against, so I have teched it such that combo pieces should always be there, but it's very easy to disrupt.
Your main objective is to break Merieke to control the board. Untaps are how you accomplish this. Activate MRB's ability, activate an untap in response, MRB becomes untapped before you take control of the target, and you can take another target. After her abilities resolve, the next time MRB is untapped, all of the creatures you took will be destroyed, unless you can give them Indestructible or "Cloudshift" them to create new entities. Coffin Queen allows similar antics, but doesn't work with indestructible.
Note: "Cloudshift" effects (if there is a real name for these please let me know) are EXTREMELY important to this build. They are slightly different from Flicker effects, which do not work for what we are trying to accomplish. The only Cloudshift effect I have knowingly excluded from the deck is Day of the Dragons, which is too clunky to work in the deck. If you know of any other Cloudshift-style cards in UBW, please please please please let me know!
You won't be able to hold onto every creature you steal. Some will have to be sacrificed to MRB and some will die organically to combat or removal. Reanimator effects let you get those creatures back.
Eventually, your opponents are going to catch on. They're going to stop playing creatures. No problemo. This is when you start stealing spells, with both Take Control and Reanimator effects for spells. Reanimator in general is very powerful in this situation.
Pretty simple and straight-forward strategy. Be prepared for your opponents to gang up on you, but don't worry too much, because the deck can handle it.
My apologies in advance for the lack of card links in the description. One of these days I'll get around to it.
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--DECK BREAKDOWN-- (or sort by Custom Categories - page seems to refuse to default to CC)
GAIN CONTROL - 10 Spells:
Merieke Ri Berit, Coffin Queen, Memnarch, Empress Galina, Silent-Blade Oni, It That Betrays, Blatant Thievery, Spelljack, Aethersnatch, Commandeer
UNTAP - 15 Spells, 1 Land:
Kytheon Hero of Akros, Aphetto Alchemist, Magewright's Stone, Vizier of Tumbling Sands, Pemmin's Aura, Freed from the Real, Thousand-Year Elixir, Tideforce Elemental, Niblis of the Breath, Puppeteer, Captain of the Mists, Norritt, Fatestitcher, Unbender Tine, Tidewater Minion, Minamo School at Water's Edge
CLOUDSHIFT EFFECTS - 8 Spells:
Cloudshift, Nephalia Smuggler, Conjurer's Closet, Deadeye Navigator, Synod Sanctum, Cold Storage, Restoration Angel, Ghostly Flicker
INDESTRUCTIBLE - 4 Spells:
Eldrazi Monument, That Which Was Taken, Soul of New Phyrexia, Avacyn Angel of Hope
*Kytheon's Gideon also gives a single-target indestructible, but the theme here is team-wide indestructibility.
REANIMATOR - 10 Spells, 1 Land:
Adarkar Valkyrie, Fool's Demise, Debtor's Knell, Geth Lord of the Vault, Lim-Dul the Necromancer, Sepulchral Primordial, Diluvian Primordial, Order of Whiteclay, Hanna Ship's Navigator, Memory Plunder, Volrath's Stronghold
MISCELLANEOUS - 13 Cards:
Tutors - 5 Spells:
Mystical Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Diabolic Tutor, Increasing Ambition, Rune-Scarred Demon
Board-Wipes - 2 Spells:
Austere Command, Merciless Eviction
Mana Dorks & Rocks - 4 Spells:
Sol Ring, Witch Engine, Palladium Myr, Crystalline Crawler
Card Advantage - 2 Spells:
Skullclamp, Triad of Fates
LAND - 40 Cards - I like cycling lands sue me
Favorite Tutor Targets: Skullclamp for insane card advantage. Pemmin's Aura for optimal untapping. Deadeye Navigator for shenannigans. Soul of New Phyrexia or Eldrazi Monument for permanent hate or lack of cloudshift. Order of Whiteclay for Merieke hate.
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Cards that I want to include but that are too damn mean:
Bribery - Searching out an opponent's best creature is unnecessary.
Treachery - We can accomplish the same thing without seeming so cheap.
Expropriate - Basically Blatant Thievery + an extra turn. Too far.
Mind's Dilation - Want to sit alone at a table? This is how you sit alone at a table.
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Next on the Chopping Block:
Captain of the Mists: Our only 2-mana untap left in the deck, but untaps permanents.
Empress Galina: Still haven't decided if this card is fair or not.
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Change Log since deck has been public
In: Kytheon, Hero of Akros | Out: Stoneybrook Angler
Two mana untap -> 0 mana untap + indestructible. Yes please. Flipping Kytheon shouldn't be a problem.
In: Eldrazi Monument | Out: Darksteel Plate
One target indestructible at a time -> any # of targets. Easy upgrade. Sacrificing shouldn't be a problem.
In: Palladium Myr | Out: Basalt Monolith
We have way more creature untaps than artifact untaps. Easily worth sacrificing the 1 mana per tap.
In: Witch Engine | Out: Preacher
Preacher didn't quite fit the build, and I wanted more mana rocks.I found this Witch Engine card with an absurd tap ability that this deck can abuse like Merieke. I'm really excited to try it out. Activate Witch Engine -> Untap in response -> Activate Witch Engine in response to untap resolving -> get 8 or 12 or 16 mana -> ship the Witch Engine to an opponent -> immediately take it back from them. I can't wait to pull this combo off in a game. Checked with judges and it does work; opponent doesn't get any of the mana. If this card is too clunky it will be replaced with Kozilek's Channeler.
In: Crystalline Crawler | Out: Desertion
Desertion, like Preacher, just doesn't quite meet my standards for the build. In comes another mana dork. This is another creature that our deck can abuse quite nicely.
In: Avacyn, Angel of Hope | Out: Deathless Angel
Limited targets to unlimited targets for indestructible. Obvious upgrade.
In: Marsh Flats & Volrath's Stronghold | Out: Spelltwine & Kheru Spellsnatcher
Deck needs more lands and these two cards are too clunky.
In: Irrigated Farmland, Fetid Pools | Out: Reanimate, Blasted Landscape
Reanimate was one of the last single-target spells in the deck. Very cool card, but it didn't quite fit what I wanted and the deck still needs more land. Colorless cycling land gets upgraded to a dual.
In: Vizier of Tumbling Sands | Out: Crab Umbra
Crab Umbra is cool, but the untap effect is expensive and the card goes against the ultra-fragile glass cannon theme I want. It gets replaced by an untap target permanent effect.
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If you're still reading, I'd like to sincerely thank you. This deck isn't the most expensive or flashy thing, but I've been working on it for over five years, and I don't get to actually play Magic very often anymore, so it means a lot that people get to see it and (hopefully) appreciate it. Cheers
