Instant (11)
Sorcery (19)
Sideboard
Artifact (1)
Instant (14)
Maybeboard
Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.
-- William Penn
The newer, terriblebler Eggs. I plan to make this list competitive and even took it to a PTQ this past July, so all help is very much appreciated.
A deck from well-known brewer Farf (I think). Strategy behind the deck is to get a few card draw engines online early on, then start chaining Time Walk effects to take ~infinite turns. With 11 Walks in the deck, 4 cantrips, 6 card draw engines, and 8 counterspell + draw a card effects (does that count as a cantrip?), it becomes difficult to start missing Walks. After taking 15+ turns in a row, the deck wins by hardcasting Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or a double ultimate on Jace Beleren to mill 40. So let's take a look at the cards, shall we?
Mainboard:
Walks:
Time Warp: The cheapest Walk in the deck, but pretty vanilla otherwise. Let's me start the combo turn 5, which is the earliest possible without relying on a miracle casting of Temporal Mastery.
Temporal Mastery: 7 mana to hard cast, but is worth it for the potential miracle cost. With scry from Serum Visions, I can even set up a miracle cast as early as turn 3. Pretty big downside of this one is that it gets exiled, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn won't reshuffle them.
Walk the Aeons: Awesome. 6 mana for an extra turn is just fine by me, and if I'm going for the Jace kill, then once I start in on several turns in a row I can afford to sacrifice some Snow-Covered Islands to ensure I keep the combo going.
Draw Engines:
Jace Beleren: Also our secondary wincon. Gets high loyalty fast, making him tough to just Lightning Bolt away, and gives +1 to card draw for the rest of the game. I usually like to put out the other engines first, only dropping Baby Jace when I've started the combo to avoid removal spells like Abrupt Decay.
Dictate of Kruphix: Costs 3 mana, and is thus a bit more awkward than things like Howling Mine, but has a few notable benefits. It's an enchantment, so no Shattering Spree or Hurkyl's Recall, and the Flash lets me leave counterspell mana open AND get the first extra draw.
Countermagic:
Cryptic Command: All-star of the deck. Is useful in almost all points of the game (when it's cast-able), and can even function as another Time Walk against aggro decks. Counter a spell, tap all your creatures, there goes your turn. Lets me bounce celestial-collonade in the control matchups as well, which is neat. The card draw is an added plus, both for when I only need one mode or I've started the combo and need to make sure I hit more Walks. NOTE: If the combo ever falters and misses drawing a Walk, it is important to have a Cryptic Command and mana open for when I pass turn. They'll likely only get one turn to either go for the kill or wreck my resources enough to get some more turns, and a Cryptic Command halts any plan in its tracks.
Remand: I typically like having Mana Leak a bit more in most decks, but the card draw is absolutely necessary for this combo deck. It's also important to note that in the extra turns phase, a Serum Visions or Gigadrowse can turn Remand into a meh 3 mana cycling effect when a Walk needs to be hit soon.
Cantrips:
Serum Visions: Very important to setting up the combo or trying to dig for a Walk. Serum Visions has the added plus of being able to set up a miracle for Temporal Mastery, and it's important to be able to put cards on the bottom of the deck to ensure that Emrakul, the Aeons Torn isn't my last draw.
Telling Time: This used to be in the deck, and is still on the list because of how suspiciously well it fits with the flavor, but for now is instead Exhaustions.
Other:
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn: Our primary win condition. He can be used to reshuffle when I'm close to milling myself, and can win the game easy if I happen to have him in my hand around turn 15. He is also the only way to win against Tron decks unless they happen to have all their Eldrazi already in their hand, which is possible, but tedious.
Gigadrowse : Works amazingly well. Can tap down an aggro player's board to save me for another turn (and if done during combat strip them off all their mana for their 2nd main) or can force a control player to tap all their mana during their turn, protecting my combo from counterspells. Is also incredibly difficult to counter, unless they Trickbind the replicate trigger or Counterflux them away. And if they do, they still tap lands, which is the point anyway. Win-win.
Exhaustion: While this card wasn't in the original list, it has proved itself very valuable against almost any deck. Stops Splinter Twin from combo-ing off on turn 4, buys me a turn against aggro, messes with the tempo of Midrange, and protects from mid-game sorcery speed disruption.
Mikokoro, Center of the Sea: Easy to run in a mono-colored deck, and can function as another Dictate of Kruphix when needed.
Snow-Covered Island: Taps for blue, sometimes makes my opponent play around Extraplanar Lens when I don't even run it. That's it. Might cut for regular Islands depending on my mood.
Sideboard:
AEtherize: An extra copy of Cryptic Command against aggro decks, without any of the reasons that Cryptic Command is great. It does bounce though, giving me an extra turn; like a quasi-Time Walk! In fact, you'll find that many of the sideboard cards are match-specific tempo disruption.
Echoing Truth: Pretty good tech against any Twin combo, or it can just come in against any deck that has big fat threatening permanents.
elixir-of-immortalty: For the deck that has access to Slaughter Games, Stain the Mind, Surgical Extraction etc. When they name Big Noodle Monster, I can still mill them with Jace without milling myself.
Hurkyl's Recall: For the Affinity matchup; acts, once again, like a Time Walk by setting them 2-3 turns behind in production. Also lets me not die immediately, which is nice.
Rapid Hybridization: For problem creatures or combo creatures. It's ok against Glen Elendra Archmage, the bane of this deck, and can pop a Deceiver Exarch when Twin goes for the combo. All off of one mana.
Spell Pierce: All-around efficient counterspell against a fair number of decks. Can, however be a dead draw against aggro Zoo or whatnot, so can't eat up mainboard space.
Spell Snare: Another cheap, efficient counterspell for the deck that has Tarmogoyf, Dark Confidant, Eidolon of the Great Revel, or whatever may need stopping on turn 2.
Swan Song: Another efficient counterspell, especially for Splinter Twin decks. The 2/2 bird usually doesn't make a difference in the long run, especially since Swan Song mostly comes in for combo matchups.
Twisted Image: Something I'm testing out based on a suggestion in the comments. Comes in mostly against Pod to hit Birds of Paradise, Noble Hierarch, and Wall of Roots. Can also hit Ornithopter and Signal Pest (which is a HUGE problem) in the Affinity matchup.
So that's the deck! Thanks for checking it out. A lot of care and revision has gone into it. I'm always open to testing and tweaks though. Let me know your suggestions, and show your support by dropping a comment or a +1!
As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.
-- Henry David Thoreau, Walden
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| Date added | 10 years |
| Last updated | 9 years |
| Legality | This deck is Modern legal. |
| Rarity (main - side) | 6 - 0 Mythic Rares 13 - 4 Rares 12 - 8 Uncommons 7 - 3 Commons |
| Cards | 60 |
| Avg. CMC | 3.81 |
| Tokens | Bird 2/2 U, Frog Lizard 3/3 G |
| Folders | cool deck ideas, Mono-blues, yes, Neat decks by others, decks, Decks, idea decks , Interesting, Interesting Stuff, #005 Modern: Cool |
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