Card advantage - if you like this, then you will love this deck!
Another thing I really like about this deck is that there are only 9 spells we will be casting in our turn (3 of which are Curator of Mysteries which can by cycled at instant speed). Casting instant speed spells feel's great and we can hold up removal or cycle our spare lands/spells if we have excess mana.
This is the deck I will be playing and tuning in standard. Have been testing on MTGO and quite a few people have rage quit as the deck takes a while to win sometimes lol my bad. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Obviously this is a slow control deck, grinding out wins through Drake Haven.
Win Cons
Drake Haven - the namesake of the deck. Provides great advantage through providing those pesky Drake tokens every time you cycle.
Curator of Mysteries - An excellent creature for this deck. Early game or late game I find myself cycling him to find answers for opponents threats. The card advantage that he provides once on the battlefield along side a Drake Haven when cycling is amazing also.
Torrential Gearhulk - Our bomb threat. So many times people have scooped to this bad boy being cast. Having him flashback a Hieroglyphic Illumination or Anguished Unmaking provides excellent card advantage. I have really enjoyed him as a sneaky one-of, instead of the 3 or 4 that other control decks will run.
Control Cards
Anguished Unmaking and Cast Out - these are our "catch all" answers. Being able to deal with planeswalkers, the new indestructible Gods along with any random threats we need to deal with. Excellent cards. You will find a second Anguished Unmaking in the sideboard.
Censor - I have been amazed by this card only after a few games. Just the threat it provides by making people play one turn slower is ridiculous. As well as being able to cycle for one blue in the late game pumping out a drake at the same time.
Essence Scatter - I'm so happy this card has been reprinted! One of the reasons I have come back to standard. Needs no explanation. Stop their creatures.
Disallow - A sneaky one-of catch all counter spell. Never a dead card. Plenty of activated abilities to stop and spells to counter.
Immolating Glare
- I wasn't sure on this card or Declaration in Stone. I prefer the instant speed removal, but they have to attack before I can kill them. And exile on Declaration in Stone can be important. I might be switching between the two.
Renewed Faith - Gaining life is essential to this deck to keep us alive long enough before we can drop a Drake Haven or a Fumigate to start pulling ahead.
Fumigate - Unfortunately not a 4CMC sweeper like Supreme Verdict but it does the job. The life gain really helps against the aggro decks and is needed to keep us going long enough to set up a Drake Haven.
Forsake the Worldly - Excellent as a one-of in the main, could possibly bring this to two if there are more enchantments and artifacts being played. Also, never a dead card as it cycles! You will find another two in the sideboard.
Card Advantage
Pull from Tomorrow - is excellent in this deck. Being able to draw 4 cards in the mid game and then discarding one to make a drake token - the synergies are real.
Hieroglyphic Illumination - I really want to run 4 in this deck, but I just don't know what to cut. I could possibly drop a land and go to 24. Being able to cycle this card early game and then cast again off a Torrential Gearhulk provides amazing card advantage.
Commit / Memory - only in the last few days I have been trialling this card. I have not been let down. Being able to bounce or "counter" a threat in the midgame for a tempo swing is great. I have noticed that I can get very low on cards as well, so being able to cast the Memory side late game to shuffle in my graveyard and draw another seven cards is ridiculous.
Geier Reach Sanitarium - Another card I have been trialling only recently. Does amazing work in this deck. As everytime you discard with it, you make a drake! I do not regret this addition.
My sideboard might need a bit of help and tuning. I haven't really played any standard in the past year, so any advice here would be greatly appreciated.
Sideboard
Anguished Unmaking - As mentioned earlier. A great catch all card for those difficult to remove threats.
Approach of the Second Sun - A sneaky one of I want to run against control decks and other slow decks, might give me a faster win con.
Archfiend of Ifnir - Bringing this in against the creature heavy decks and Gods. Doesn't take long to accrue a number of -1-1 counters on their threats.
Collective Brutality - An excellent sideboard card, very versatile. I bring in against Control and Aggro. Also, the discard when you escalate helps Drake Haven.
Dispel - For control mirrors. Counter those counter spells and stop their card draw spells.
Essence Scatter - As mentioned earlier, a great counter spell to stop those pesky creatures.
Faith of the Devoted - An additional Drake Haven for the midrange and control games.
Forsake the Worldly - An excellent artifact and enchantment removal spell.
Negate - For those control match ups and any planeswalker heavy decks.
Yahenni's Expertise - I have been liking this card out of the board. Bringing in against the faster decks as a 4CMC board wipe and then casting a Drake Haven off it.
Please give me any constructive criticism you have and I will consider all appropriate recommendations. Thanks for your time on reading this.
