Tangled Up In Blue - Talrand Polymorph

Commander / EDH Combo Counters Infinite Combo Mono-Blue

hosshughes

Cantrips (14)

• 1x Anticipate
• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Frantic Search
• 1x Gitaxian Probe
• 1x Impulse
• 1x Mission Briefing
• 1x Opt
• 1x Peer Through Depths
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Portent
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Quicken
• 1x Serum Visions
• 1x Sleight of Hand

Combo (8)

• 1x Archaeomancer
• 1x Deadeye Navigator
• 1x Ghostly Flicker
• 1x High Tide
• 1x Mass Polymorph
• 1x Palinchron
• 1x Synthetic Destiny
• 1x Turnabout

Utility (5)

• 1x Ancestral Knowledge
• 1x As Foretold
• 1x Isochron Scepter
• 1x Meekstone
• 1x Polymorphist's Jest

Recursion (3)

• 1x Day's Undoing
• 1x Recall
• 1x Time Reversal

Counters (10)

• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Commandeer
• 1x Foil
• 1x Misdirection
• 1x Muddle the Mixture
• 1x Pact of Negation
• 1x Remand
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Tale's End
• 1x Thwart

CardDraw (9)

• 1x Blue Sun's Zenith
• 1x Day's Undoing
• 1x Dig Through Time
• 1x Pull from Tomorrow
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Stroke of Genius
• 1x Tolarian Winds
• 1x Treasure Cruise
• 1x Windfall

Ramp (7)

• 1x Coldsteel Heart
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Sapphire Medallion
• 1x Sky Diamond
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Thought Vessel

Tokens (3)

• 1x Lazotep Plating
• 1x Metallurgic Summonings
• 1x Primordial Mist

Commander (1)

ManaBase (33)

• 1x Coral Atoll
• 1x Faerie Conclave
• 1x Halimar Depths
• 25x Island
• 1x Lonely Sandbar
• 1x Mystic Sanctuary
• 1x Remote Isle
• 1x Riptide Laboratory
• 1x Soldevi Excavations

Tutors (5)

• 1x Cunning Wish
• 1x Long-Term Plans
• 1x Merchant Scroll
• 1x Muddle the Mixture
• 1x Mystical Tutor

Removal (4)

• 1x Capsize
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Pongify
• 1x Snap

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** PLAY VIDEO TO MAXIMIZE YOUR DECK VIEWING EXPERIENCE **

I have been tinkering with this deck for a long time. I first built a Counterspell deck that was dominant in 1v1 but really suffered in multiplayer which is what I play most. I switched it to be a cantrip deck and just did not have a good win con to rely on if my drake production got interrupted. I then switched it to a morph deck that relied on Proteus Staff bringing out things like Consecrated Sphinx and Stormtide Leviathan but it was neither fast enough nor consistent enough because the creatures that came out rarely fit the need of the situation.

I then thought, "Why not limit the number of creatures so that I'm guaranteed to get something great? And while I'm at it, just make them combo creatures." Thus, I have arrived at the deck in its present form. To my knowledge, it's the only Talrand deck that uses this type of engine (morphing your whole board into your infinite combo).

If you like what you see, UPVOTE! . If not, let me know what you'd change.

The Strategy

Step 1 = Play Talrand, Sky Summoner

Your playgroup and opposing decks will determine when you can take this step. Take note of the situation you are in. Sometimes tapping out on turn 3 or 4 to get him on the battlefield is okay, sometimes it isn't. You may need to wait until you have a enough mana to protect him or at least get some drake value out of him first.

Step 2 = Cycle/tutor for Synthetic Destiny / Mass Polymorph while creating tokens

Flip through your deck as fast as you can to get one of these 2 cards or something you can use to tutor them.

Step 3 = Play Synthetic Destiny / Mass Polymorph to morph your tokens and get infinite mana

Obviously, the sooner we can do this the better, but people will know this is your primary path to victory after playing you a couple of times. I've included Commandeer , Thwart , Foil and As Foretold for when you tap out.

The Infinite Mana Combos

Archaeomancer + Ghostly Flicker + Palinchron

Archaeomancer + Deadeye Navigator + Turnabout

Archaeomancer + High Tide + Snap

Archaeomancer + Coral Atoll + Turnabout

Archaeomancer + Soldevi Excavations + Turnabout

Deadeye Navigator + Palinchron

High Tide + Palinchron

The Win Cons

Archaeomancer + Deadeye Navigator = Recur all spells in your gy

Capsize = Bounce every opponent permanent

Blue Sun's Zenith / Stroke of Genius = Mill opponent or draw yourself a bunch of cards

Talrand, Sky Summoner + Capsize / Mystic Speculation = infinite drakes

Mystic Speculation = Find the perfect card you need as long as you have a draw spell to grab it

The Nut Draw

Infinite mana on turn 3:

Turn 1 = Land, Sol Ring , any other mana rock

Turn 2 = Land, Talrand, Sky Summoner , any cantrip that costs

Turn 3 = Land, Mass Polymorph / Synthetic Destiny

Alternatives for Budget/Non-budget

If you're going cheap:

Switch out Palinchron for Peregrine Drake . You lose additional combo methods but it could still work. You can also replace non-basic lands like Winding Canyons with Islands and go with cheaper cantrip/counterspell packages. You can easily put this together for under $100.

If money is no object:

Beefing up the counterspell package is the most obvious place to upgrade. Things like Force of Will and Pact of Negation are always good.

$40 Budget Decks

I love the challenge of building really cheap decks. This is how the majority of my real life decks start out and then I improve them over time.

Army - Agrus Kos $40 Budget Soldiers - #1 Agrus Kos deck on TappedOut

Super Metroid - Akiri & Silas $40 Budget Voltron - #2 Akiri & Silas deck on TappedOut

Do A Baral Roll - Baral $40 Budget Counterspells - #1 Baral deck on TappedOut

Blinded By The Light - Seer $40 Budget Colors - #1 Blind Seer deck on TappedOut

Baby, Come Back - Brago $40 Budget Blink

deck:big-bottoms-braids-40-budget-beaters - #3 Braids deck on TappedOut

The Thrull Is Gone - Endrek $40 Budget Control - #1 Endrek Sahr deck on TappedOut

Turn Down For What - Ixidor $40 Budget Mystery

I Put A Spell On You - Jeleva $40 Budget Spells - #3 Jeleva deck on TappedOut

Black Water - Korlash $40 Budget Voltron - #1 Korlash deck on TappedOut

The Godfather - Krenko $40 Budget Goblins

Where Is My Mina? - Mina/Denn $40 Budget Landfall - #4 Mina & Denn deck on TappedOut

We're Going To Be Friends - Munda $40 Budget Ally - #1 Munda deck on TappedOut

I Am A Rock - Noyan Dar $40 Budget Man Lands - #3 Noyan Dar deck on TappedOut

Spirit In The Sky - Oyobi $40 Budget Spirits - #1 Oyobi deck on TappedOut

One Plus One Is One - Rishkar $40 Budget Counters - #2 Rishkar deck on TappedOut

deck:let-my-love-open-the-door-sidar-kraum-40-budg

Stone Free - Sisters $40 Budget Thievery - #1 Sisters deck on TappedOut

Bugs - Thriss $40 Budget Infectious Insects - #1 Thriss deck on TappedOut

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Uril $40 Budget - #2 Uril deck on TappedOut

Beds Are Burning - Vial & Thrasios $40 Budget

Whoomp! Zur It Is - Zur $40 Budget Enchantments

My Current Decks

deck:re-stacks-brago-stax

deck:the-funeral-chainer-reanimator

Grey Ice Water - Kozilek Eldrazi

A Whiter Shade of Pale - Michiko Budget Lifegain - #1 Michiko Konda deck on TappedOut

Paint It Black - Mikaeus Budget Combo

deck:turn-turn-turn-narset-budget-creatureless

Hurt - Nekusar Wheels

Bein' Green - Omnath Elves

deck:one-thing-leads-to-another-sidisi-combo-control

deck:tangled-up-in-blue-talrand-morph

deck:red-right-hand-zada-budget-aggro

Date added	8 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	4 - 0 Mythic Rares 26 - 0 Rares 18 - 0 Uncommons 27 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.75
Tokens	Ape 3/3 G, Bird 2/2 U, Construct */* C, Drake 2/2 U, Manifest 2/2 C, Zombie Army 0/0 B
Folders	Commander, 5 color god, My Current Decks, Commander Ideas, Commander, EDH, Current choice, EDH Prime, OP wigga shiet, COMMAND