THE GAMEPLAN
It's pretty straightforward. Find Sphinx's Tutelage, mill opponent, rinse and repeat. You're playing fast, almost like a burn deck but replacing the burn with draw. Every spell digs deeper through the library to make sure you find tutelage and ruin the fun of anyone unlucky enough to be paired against you. The sheer amount of card cycling this deck packs makes it incredibly consistent at finding the pieces it needs to secure a win.
THE DECKLIST
Vessel of Nascency - An odd choice but something I've had great success with. This card digs deep through our deck for Sphinx's Tutelage and with 39 of our 60 being legal targets, its rare to completely whiff on activation.
Unbridled Growth - The only card from Aether Revolt and something the deck desperately needed: A tutelage trigger that also fixes mana. Can be picked up by Vessel of Nascency.
Fog - A card that needs no introduction.
Commencement of Festivities
- Fogs 5-8. Only stops player damage, which is one reason no Jace has a home in this deck.
Take Inventory
- The preferred draw spell for those with OCD, you can never play this too many times.
Censor
- My initial thought is that this slot would be taken by Compelling Argument, but censor has proven to be very effective. An early game counter to slow aggression and cycles itself in the late game.
Sphinx's Tutelage - Duels most hated wincon. I play on IoS and can still hear audible sighs. Unless you really need a land, this is what you're picking up with Vessel of Nascency.
Kefnet the Mindful - Big dumb bird that does work. The earlier you can drop him the better he performs, although it will take some playing around him. As long as you keep your hand full, which is not hard, he's a hard to remove blocker, and if you have your Fogs in hand don't be afraid to swing in with this 4 turn clock. He also gets the
Azure Mage
ability, with the optional land bounce if you're short one in hand.
Imprisoned in the Moon - The only spell that isn't drawing more cards, it's in to use against problematic cards like Nahiri, the Harbinger, Sorin, Grim Nemesis, or anything that can damage us outside of combat. Another Vessel target.
Oath of Jace
- Just a 3 mana draw 3 in this deck, and the last of our Vessel targets.
Commit / Memory - On one side, assuming you have Sphinx's Tutelage out, this is straight up removal for any nonland permanent, and even acts as a counter against things like Reclamation Sage. On the flip side, you have a Hail Mary hand reset incase things aren't going your way. Maybe your opponent removed all your tutelages, maybe you decked yourself out more than them, maybe you're in desperate need of a Fog, as long as you can drag the game on long enough to play around 8-9 lands this can be a lifesaver and give you another shot at an otherwise unobtainable victory. It is slightly counterproductive to our goal, but is a necessary evil, and if you have tutelage out when you play it, you've already removed a minimum 14 cards, plus whatever permanents they have out, so stabilizing isn't as bad.
Pore Over the Pages - A little expensive, but being able to hold up Fog mana or cast another draw spell is absolutely worth it.
Pull from Tomorrow A godsend for the deck, it's like a reverse Pore Over the Pages. Instead of casting it and then holding up fog mana, you hold it all up, fog as needed, then turn the rest into EoT card advantage. A real finisher.
Questions? Suggestions? Death threats for making such a vile list? Leave them below! Thanks for reading all the way down here, now go ruin some good times!
