This deck started off as a cool combat trick heavy switcheroo infect deck and now it turned into a discussion about formatting and that is pretty lame. You had a clever deck idea but all the bells and whistles you put on here pretty much robbed you of any constructive criticism you would receive on the actual deck.

Well, I've got some thoughts about the deck, but I figured that his version is the way it is for a reason, given that he seems to have put a lot of work into it.

@GlistenerAgent –

Sure! I have my deck linked to an external stylesheet that i put on Dropbox. In case you or anyone else reading this doesn't know how to do this, here is how i linked to it:

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://dl.dropbox.com/s/lszsuhla6p09z7b/tappedout.css" />

You will need to put that code in the very top of your deck description. Also, you will probably (hopefully) want to use your own stylesheet and not mine, so you will need to make your own, host it on Dropbox/puush/wherever, and change the link part to whatever link your own stylesheet has. Also, this feature might only be available for upgraded accounts.

I centered the image by using the outdated center tag, because i found it in a tappedout tutorial somewhere. You would probably want to use something like this instead:

<div style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://example.com/image.png" /></div>

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Hello! I once was hidden but now i am not.
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===panel:Introduction
I like big butts and i cannot lie
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Only the good stuff for my deck!
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Yes, you can put standard HTML in the panel title!
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===panel:Introduction
I like big butts and i cannot lie
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===panel:Cards
Only the good stuff for my deck!
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Also, thanks for the support!

@Felixlives –

Are you just jealous because i figured out how to do rainbow text? If so, then i can give you the CSS for it so you can put it in your deck, too. ;-3

If you don't like the fact that the conversation has changed, you have one of two options: #1) post something relevant to the actual deck itself instead of whining about it, or #2) go away.

I put a lot of time and energy into coding this deck (using my phone, i might add, which is a pain to do), so it would have that "WOW!" factor when you click on it. It's meant to capture your attention and be aesthetically appealing, so you have an easier time looking at the cards and commenting, etc. Also, i take pride in my presentation of my most developed deck, much like how other players would foil their commander or commision alternate art for their Force of Will. All my alterations are in the public domain, and i am more than willing to share my "secrets". I personally do not mind the discussion at all; i actually encourage it. If you do mind, then feel free to make your own awesome deck, keep the default gray/brown styles, and put in your description that you don't want anyone posting about how pretty your deck is.

why would you put so much wow factor into a deck you don't even own?

@bah-bammmm – Because i can, and because i want to.

what the guy is saying is that your "wow factor" has distracted people from improving the deck and making constructive criticism. pimping out a tappedout deck you don't own is like buying sleeves and a fancy box for a deck you do not own.

@bah-bammmm – And i just said that i don't give a damn. Like i said before, if you don't like this, then go away and have a conversation elsewhere. So far, the conversation with you, me, and Felixlives about not liking discussion of formatting has taken up more comments, space, and time than my conversation with GlistenerAgent about actual formatting itself. Quite frankly, i enjoy talking about code and formatting just as much as i enjoy talking about cards; what i hate doing is babying people on internet ettiquette. If you were really worried about diluting the conversation, then you would stop whining right now and actually post a constructive comment. As a courteous warning, i am about to just start deleting stupid comments instead of responding to them.

Regarding your list:

I like moving the Temple Garden to the main, and cutting a Breeding Pool. Island should be the eighth fetchland (you never want to search for it off of Path, and Blood Moon isn't prominent enough to warrant playing it). I like the Dryad Arbor in the main over Gemstone Mine, otherwise I'd add a 9th fetch.

Become Immense should be a 3-4 of here. It's super powerful, often your best topdeck. Additionally, some number of Might of Old Krosa work well for me. Rancor and Distortion Strike are too high in numbers for my liking, and I've found that a maximum of 2 between these cards is sufficient.

Since you are in white, Path to Exile is practically necessary, and very good for obvious reasons.

I don't see a reason not to play Spellskite. It works very well with your strategy, and is randomly great against plenty of decks.

Feel free to check out the deck on my profile, that's rather close to the list I play and I am very happy with it. Perhaps you can take something from looking at it.

All though it may be true that it may distract people, that's the way he wants it. I don't have any of my decks, yet I do this exact same thing. I honestly love TappedOut because of the enormous community so I can show off. I love helping people do this kind of thing and have made 5 different user's profile pages. That's the way I like it, and that's the way crexalbo likes it. So I guess we can all drop the issue.

i wouldn't suggest Might of Old Krosa because this guy refuses to put it in.

Ah, gross. Didn't read the declined suggestions part. My apologies.

I would only add Might of Old Krosa once he has 4x of Groundswell. And even then I think he's good.

It's not quite that simple. Might is better in certain metagames, Groundswell is better in others.

I kinda figured for complete T2 infect decks, but that's not so much the case here.

no he wants a longer midrange deck or something along those lines.

@The_Dragonmaster – I agree wholeheartedly. Thank you!

@GlistenerAgent –

I've tried Become Immense multiple times in the past. It doesn't agree with my strategy too well... i don't run any cantrips besides Gitaxian Probe, and due to my focus on permanent cards, i don't usually have enough fuel in the 'yard. However... with your other suggestions, i see that it works very well. That extra fetch would boost my average 'yard size. I think i will take your suggestion and eliminate an Island in favor of another fetch, and see if these advantages would be worth not being able to grab that Island for Distortion Strike and the like.

I've tried both Dryad Arbor and Temple Garden in the main, and i found that i kept running into them far more often than i would have liked. I simply cannot afford the tempo loss inherent in a Dryad Arbor play unless i am absolutely going to be able to keep and use that attached body. Then again, they eat up sideboard room... room i could be using on the Spellskites you mentioned. Is the occasional loss of life and tempo worth the extra power in the sideboard?

I don't wanna use Path to Exile because i really, really do not want to ramp my opponent. I would play Condemn before i played Path to Exile. I chose Vapor Snag (and still am playtesting with both Unsummon and Simic Charm, i haven't forgotten) because it is in one of my main colors (white is only a very small splash, and i try to keep it to a minimum), because it does not ramp my opponent like Path to Exile would, and because it doesn't interfere with my backup beatdown plan like Condemn would. If you think that the ramp would justify Path to Exile's raw power, then let me know and i will test with it instead of Vapor Snag!

I run lots of Distortion Strike and Rancor because i face decks with lots of creatures. My #1 problem i had a couple years back when i first got into infect was trying to play around blockers. Arcbound Ravager, Eidolon of the Great Revel, Dark Confidant, Vendilion Clique, Raise the Alarm, Wurmcoil Engine, Cursecatcher, Ornithopter, Soul Warden... The list is literally hundreds long, and i see loads of creatures every game. I have those cards as additional insurance against blockers; i mainboard them and side them out when needed, instead of sideboarding them and bringing them in like most infect lists. Now this might just be because i play (win) against lots of Tier 2 and non-competitive decks, so i sadly don't have much experience against the best of the best. Once i am able to play against those kinds of decks, then i probably will drop the evasion in favor of more pump, and i just might even bring in Might of Old Krosa.

i feel like Might of Old Krosa is more midrange than Groundswell

But look at his sideboard. He has lands in there which can be very beneficial to Groundswell when he sides in higher CMC cards.

@GlistenerAgent – I am perfectly okay with you suggesting Might of Old Krosa. I only put that in the declined suggestions area because a couple of users started getting pissy because "Might of Old Krosa is clearly better" without actually saying why or in what context. I do like the way both you and The_Dragonmaster put it, though. It works extremely well in the turn-2 combo strategy, but not so much here. If/when this deck changes, and Might of Old Krosa starts looking favorable again, then i'll take a look at it.

I am grateful to both of you for your insightful comments and constructive criticism! Thank you for taking the time and energy to critique my build.

I like Dryad Arbor main, especially if you are going for longer games (I tend to sway towards conservatism when playing this deck as well). If the game grinds out, you can fetch for it and start winning through normal damage as your opponent was reckless with their fetches and shocks in the earlier part of the game. Arbor also supplements the Geist plan postboard nicely. Temple Garden seems fine to keep in the sideboard if you think it's awkward, but certainly test it main and don't play more than 21 lands in the 75.

If you don't like Path, play Dismember instead. Regardless, I think you really need a hard removal spell. Vapor Snag won't necessarily cut it unless you plan to kill your opponent on the same turn, so I prefer having a no-questions-asked removal spell.

I can see playing 3-ish Rancor/Strike in a Zoo-heavy metagame, but I don't think 6 is warranted. Four of your guys are unblockable, 4 fly over Burn/Jund/most of Affinity/most of Twin, and 3 are difficult to block profitably. Pendelhaven and exalted do a good job at beating Affinity blockers as well. I haven't had too many issues with beating blockers in my appreciable time playing the deck, save for Lingering Souls. If you see a lot of that, Strike is certainly worth it.

@GlistenerAgent –

You certainly have multiple solid points.

I am sold on the inclusion of Dryad Arbor. I have been in too many grindy games where i needed any creature to win, and having a fetchable one with which to have a game 1 beatdown backup plan is worth it. In games where i draw it and do not need it, i will just play it last. I'll probably raise my land count to 21 to reflect this change, and remove either one Rancor or one Distortion Strike as per your other suggestion.

Once again, you are correct about Vapor Snag. I was so busy thinking about the tempo advantage i just gained that i completely forgot they can just recast that Spellskite next turn and waste my removal. I think i will put in Path to Exile in the sideboard as a replacement for Vapor Snag.

I will also re-evaluate my distribution of evasion spells. Looking at you lay out the numbers like that, i believe you are correct, and i could go down to at most four slots split between Rancor and Distortion Strike. I think i will try four for now, and keep your advice in mind to see if i can afford fewer.

I will make these changes as soon as i reasonably can. Thank you for the remarks!

his sideboard does nothing to feed groundswell.

Looking through your description, I just wanted to point out a couple of things:

The last hand (described as horrible) would be a snap keep if Island was the fetchland that you added. Dawn Charm should probably be either Dispel or Fog, I prefer an easier and cheaper to cast card than a slight increase in versatility. Finally, I recommend some number of Twisted Image in the 75 to kill Spellskite.

GlistenerAgent I actually disagree on the Dawn Charm, versatility can both help save sideboard slots, and give you slots against decks that you wouldn't usually side for. For example, if you need slots for both aggro and control, then Dawn Charm does both. If you just need one, now you have the added bonus of a sideboard option for the other.

i do not see the issue of mana, because he has Noble Hierarch. he has enough mana, and this deck is supposedly "midrange" or whatever. as a person who played a tier 1 infect deck, infect is perfectly fine on mana as long as you have the hierarchs. since this deck is "midrange", you want versatility, especially when you are topdecking.