This is a theory for the partner commanders Vial Smasher and Thrasios. General idea is to get Vial Smasher out and do as much damage with his a possible while playing a control game. Thrasios is here in case we run out of gas or desperately need ramp. Our back up win condition is Dead Eye/Peregrine Drake/Red Sun's/Thrasios.
Card Choices
I went with 34 lands and 15 ramp cards. In my experience 34 lands is about as little as I can get away with in a meta that uses the Vancouver mulligan. We are playing as few lands as we can since the decks curve is deceptively low (most of the bigger spells have cheat-able mana costs,) we really don't want to be in top deck mode ever, and the ramp spells either shock or bolt a random opponent in the face.
Lands: I'm not quite sure what a four color land base should look like I've given it a stab. I'm on a moderate budget so no Zendikar fetches. I have included the on color slow fetches from Mirage since in many ways they are similar to four color comes in to play tapped lands. We are playing all six shock lands since original duals are for rich folks. I've added in underground river as the only pain land since the deck leans black and blue. We have included the 4 three-color lands we can play to further fix mana and continues the budget theme. This brings our total tap lands to seven which while obviously not ideal is still fine. We are playing four lands that make all 4 of our colors, and 3 utility lands. I would consider cutting temple of the false gods (obviously ancient tomb is better but we are on a budget,) but I'm not sure what I would replace it with. We have a lot of draw power in the deck so Reliquary Tower is a no brainer, and Alchemist Refuge is a core part of our plan (in fact we run crop rotation just for Alchemist Refuge.)
Ramp: I am also quite uncertain of my ramp package. Ideally I want good turn one ramp that allows me to cast Smashapotamus on turn 2, but a lot of the one mana ramp cards do not help with the color fixing I need. I'm not convinced that Burgeoning is good in the deck but I am giving it a try. Birds and Deathrite are here to hopefully give us a turn 2 Smasha and with all our fetch lands I think it is very likely that we can use the Deathrite reliably. I've gone with a mix of the talismans and signets as well as some color fixing ramp cards like Lantern and Cultivate.
Draw: The idea is to play the best once shot draw spells in the game so we can zap opponents with Lady Smasher while still drawing. The exception is Nercopotence. Necropotence is the best draw spell in black and it is hard for me to leave behind while playing in the color. The less optimal draw in the deck is here because it cheats mana cost which allows Vial Smasher to hit harder than she should. Things like evoking a Mulldrifter, rebounding Recurring Insight, or flashing back a Deep Analysis.
Removal: We are trying to play as much removal as we can possibly justify since with Ms. Smasher they are also burn spells. Since the damage is based on the CMC of the spell we are avoiding the one mana options so no Pongify/Swan Song here we need the burn to count. I have also tried to make as much of it as possible instant speed. The exceptions are either mana cost cheating (Spitebellows) or really versatile spells (Dreadbore.)
Counter Magic: Not much to say here Arcane Denial and Counterspell are probably the best 2 pieces of counter magic in the format. We are also trying out Power Sink since it seems to synergize well with the commander formally known as Smasher. I am also considering Logic Knot for its delve.
Recursion: We are playing Regrowth for recurring a specific answer. Tasigur is a great option for us here getting us back much needed answers and he delves out for cheap. I might replace Tasigur since he is very similar to Thrasios but acts as an alternative if Thasios gets to expensive.
Combo: I am a firm believer that every deck should have at least one way to win on the spot; just to avoid the very painful three hour game of commander where know one can seem to win. We play 2 one for each general Thrasios has Isochron/Dramatic Reversal/And 3 mana worth of mana rocks/Red Sun's this seems like too large of a combo but keep in mind we really don't need the Red Sun's since infinite allows Thrasios to draw our deck. We could use Blue Sun's instead or Red Sun's, but I think this is more in keeping with the deck's theme. And for Vial Smasher we have Isochron/Mystical Tutor/go find Beacon of Tomorrows. This combo provides infinite turns and Smasher deals damage every turn.
Tutors: I have intentionally gone light on the tutors. While goldfishing the deck I have found that I use the tutors almost exclusively to grab the combo and win. So we have moved the toward cards that tutor specific things. Crop Rotation for Alchemist Refuge, fabricate is for Vedalken Orrery (but can also grab protection or Isochron.) I am considering adding Clutch of the Undercity to grab Leyline or Orrery.
Cards in the maybe pile: There are quite a few cards that I have identified as being good in the deck, but are not perfect fits so I have put them in the maybe pile and may try to work them in. The two time walks (Temporal Mastery and Temptress) both have cheat-able mana costs which makes them great with the honorable Smasher, but I'm not sure that I want to be a player that takes extra turns and doesn't win the game. I have only 2 wraths in the deck that are just mass bounce spells. I need to test the deck to find out if this is sufficient.
