What could be better that searching for cryptids in a fantasy world? Probably finding those creatures in your opponent's library. Join Lonis in his investigation, finding way too many clues and discovering creatures Ravnica could only dream of! After seeing Lonis, I knew I had to try building a deck with clues being a main resource. It focuses mainly on flickers and bounces to get ahead while generating clues, then using those clues to fuel various strategies.
Lonis and Investigations
From a young age, Lonis always believed that strange, mysterious creatures dwelled in Ravnica, out of sight of everyday life: the noxbur shroom, the owlipedosaur, the lamplight crab. Years of research and exploration have yielded nothing, but Lonis remains undaunted. Others might mock him and consider his research a joke, but Lonis knows that Ravnica still holds mysteries that have yet to be discovered. Lonis believes that as long as he has patience and persists, one day he'll uncover the truth. - Emily Teng "The New Legends of Modern Horizons 2"
Lonis, Cryptozoologist, being the inspiration for the deck, essentially lays out our main plan for all to see; we gain clues off nontoken creatures ETB then we sac those clues to dig through other decks. The more clues we sac the deeper we dig and the better stuff we can steal. On the surface this doesn't do much on its own, but it does do a few convenient things, namely, adding value to every creature hitting the board, providing info on future threats, denying opponents their crucial pieces, and potentially rounding out the edges of our deck with those pieces. Backing up Lonis is around 18-ish Investigation cards and 14-ish cards that benefit off of the use of those clues. More info about those uses is listed below.
Junk Winder taps down an opponent's permanent whenever one of our tokens, mainly clues, hits the board. Good for delaying big swings and removing potential blockers.
Lonis, Flickers, and Bounces
Since Lonis' first ability triggers off of nontoken creatures, I had to be sure there was a way to take advantage of this. That way was having a sort of janky package of 11 different flickers and bounces, and a variety of useful ETB creatures (and Glen Elendra Archmage) that can be the targets. Those creatures function as additional interaction, ramp, and recursion. It also allows us to dodge the Evoke downside on Foundation Breaker and Wavesifter.
Flickers
Bounces
Other Notable Cards
I've also included a few practical cards that can push the deck a little further, given the opportunity. These either provide greater returns, allow the deck to endure for longer, or create big situations for opponents to deal with.
Doublers
Depending on which doublers you have access to, you can add as many or as few as you like. It's worth noting there are two kinds of doublers, both with similar but different uses. The token doublers include Adrix and Nev, Twincasters, Doubling Season, and Second Harvest, and the ability doublers include Virtue of Knowledge, Strionic Resonator, and Illusionist's Bracers. Erdwal Illuminator is also technically a doubler, but only for the first Investigate trigger.
Unique Inclusions
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Primordial Mist allows us to temporarily use the top card of our library, regardless of what it is, as a creature. At the beginning of the end step, manifest the top card to create a 2/2 creature. From there you have the option to flip it if it's a creature, flicker it if it's a permanent in general, or bounce it to our hand if it's a socery/instant.
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Yedora, Grave Gardener is an interesting addition I stumbled on. On her own she turns creatures we control into forests when they die. The two key parts of the ability are "may" and "you control". This means it won't forcibly muck with any running plans and it can turn creatures we've stolen from opponents into forests should they be removed, which renders anything like Homeward Path essentially useless. When combined with Living Lands it becomes a way to infinitely recur creatures, as lands of course, giving the deck a way to dig in if the game gets drawn out.
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Esix, Fractal Bloom is probably pretty self explanatory. If a really good creature gets stolen, you get a chance each turn to make new tokens into copies. Bonus if you can abuse the legend rule to your benefit.
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Innocuous Researcher is not only a source of info, it also comes with potential for clues and will allow us to go into future turns with full access to our lands at the cost of not being able to cast spells, although activated abilities are still accessible.
Closing out the game
Now, with the knowledge that theft decks have been known to durdle with no real inherent wincon, I tried my best to include relevant ways to win the game. To get it out of the way, the main way of winning is, of course, the good ol combat damage to the face method. I'll list the details of the main and alt wincons below if you want to see them, otherwise, they'll pop up quite naturally as you play.
I'll be adding any further wincons not included for whatever reason. Swap out any you feel works better for you!
So that's it, that's all. Maybe eventually there'll be enough clues for Lonis to discover some new species? Hopefully you find this deck an interesting concept and find exciting ways to personalize it or make it stronger. Thanks for checking it out!
