As spoiler season for Kaladesh began, I was on the fence about whether I was going to like the set. That all changed, however, when I saw Panharmonicon. This was the most exciting rare I Wizards had printed in years. So much potential, so many possibilities. I knew that there needed to be a deck built around this.
When I sit down to build a deck, the first thing I ask myself is "How can I get the most value out of each card", almost immediately followed by "How much distress can I cause my opponent?" I pulled up Gatherer and set the search flags for ETB effects. Right there, on the third page, was Reflector Mage, and only a few cards away was Thought-Knot Seer. Those two cards set my colors. The hand attack value of Thought-Knot with Panharmonicon is insane. Exiling two threats from an opponent's hand, and even should they still top-deck removal, they only draw one card off it leaving the battlefield. Thought-Knot synergizes especially well with Reflector Mage, allowing for the Reflector Mage's bounce effect to become more permanent removal when the Thought-Knot exiles from their hand. This brings us to another star player in the deck, the Eldrazi Displacer. If the deck is all about "enters the battlefield" value, why settle for each creature entering only once? A doubled Thought-Knot ETB on command will close out almost any game.
This deck's primary engine, the Panharmonicon, is a 4-drop that does not itself affect my board state, meaning that this deck was going to need to be control. As with last week's Burning the Madness Oil (http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/burning-the-madness-oil/), a 4 drop like this is very difficult to fit in an aggro shell. I needed to be able to outlast the opponent. Thraben Inspector would bring early game blockers to eat 1/1's, and provide draw to give the deck gas. In the late game, I would still be happy to see it, because of the Panarmonicon value. Cloudblazer, a new 5 drop from Kaladesh, provides more of the same. Four cards and 4 life for 5 mana is a bargain, let alone also bringing a flying body. The Cataclysmic Gearhulk is a late game beater, stapled to a Tragic Arrogance style wrath, allowing us to turn the corner in matches where out opponent has a commanding board state. Declaration in Stone is one of the few hard-removal options available to us in these colors, and the remainder are other value ETB effects.
Our sideboard is primarily set up to help us deal with our toughest foes: aggro and vehicles. Authority of the Consuls slows down aggro decks, and gives us life gainfor some breathing room. The fact that creatures enter tapped is also very potent against Vehicle lists. Our only instant-speed removal isn't online until Eldrazi Displacer and Reflector Mage or Fairgrounds Warden are both on the field, so slowing our opponents down for that turn is vital to our control setup. Fragmentize is a response for vehicle lists, and as solid value given the number of artifacts in the current standard. The ever-humble Wall of Resurgence is secret deck-tech that I cannot claim credit for, it was an idea from my cowriter. Coming in at 3 mana, it brings a huge butt to put in front of aggro decks, and a 3/3 to eat the smaller creatures. After Panharmonicon is out, the Wall brings a 6/6 haste land creature that can close out the game on an unwary opponent.
Having brought this list to several FNM's, I can say that a weakness of this deck is Planeswalkers. This deck does not put out a lot of damage early, meaning a turn 3 Liliana, the Last Hope is a real danger of having to deal with her ultimate. This deck has room to grow, but it is a blast to play. The look on someone's face when you land a tripled Thought-Knot makes everything else worth it.
~~~~Pure Jank~~~~
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