I used to have those combos but they take a while to assemble so I opted for ones I can easily and consistently play on turn 4-6. The current combos in the deck are also a lot more resilient so i'm pretty happy with how the deck runs right now.

Do you guys think the deck can still make room for cards like Spell Pierce and Gush? I can't help but nitpick the number and choice of counterspells I currently use.

I meant Daze, not Gush.

I would cut Halimar Depths and possibly Forbidden Orchard (you have more than enough mana fixing, you don't run Massacre Wurm and other than necro, none of your spells need more than double black) for Islands and then run Foil over Daze. I think Spell Pierce is good in a control heavy meta, but if you're going against more creature heavy decks I would prefer a different counterspell. I'm not sure how much I like Disrupting Shoal.

Interesting points. I kinda' like Halimar Depths especially if I get to play it early. Replacing Forbidden Orchard with an Island sounds logical. I was also thinking of Seat of the Synod. It helps with the Mox but not with Foil or Daze.

You really think Foil is better than Daze? I see it more as a mid to late game counterspell while Daze can be quite useful the first 5 to 6 turns.

You're right about Disrupting Shoal. I might replace it with Spell Pierce although Split Decision is also under consideration since I can't cast it for free.

I guess the biggest question is should I be cutting counterspells for counterspells or are there other cards in the deck (aside from Heartless Summoning) that I can cut?

Btw, Dispel is also another card I am thinking of getting back intothe deck.

Halimar Depths is ok on turn one, ut if you draw it late game it feels underwhelming. Maybe I'm just being greedy in what I want but the fact that it only rearranges makes me feel sad.

I'm on the fence about Seat of the Synod. A lot of people play Aura Shards and I k ow how annoying it is to lose a Dryad Arbor to a wrath. Its basically the same thing going on here. It's an ok risk I guess, are you considering adding Darksteel Citadel and Vault of Whispers too?

As for Foil vs Daze - Foil scales better late game, doesn't slow your mana down and on top of that, there are a lot of times even turn 3 where I'm not tapping out to play a spell. I really so think Foil is the better play.

Also yeah, cut Split Decision for Spell Pierce / Dispel. I like both of them better than Split. I really am on the fence about it as a counterspell. I know it's good but it has the potential to bite you in the arse and I dont like that. The last thing I want to do as a control player is hand over control (especially of my cards) to the other players.

The problem I have with Foil is that I need to have 2 cards to pitch to it. I doubt I will be able to use it the same turn I cast Insidious Dreams to storm combo which is turning out to be my most reliable combo in the deck.

I'm not sure if I should add more artifact lands than Seat of the Synod for the same reason you're on the fence about it. But if I were to, i'd probably replace Academy Ruins with Vault of Whispers. It sounds like a bad idea but I haven't had the need to use Academy Ruins for a very long time.

I'm probably going with Dispel over Spell Pierce because it is a hard counter and I hardly ever counter spells unless it is to protect my combo. I would love to have both but it seems the deck is already too tight.

• Muddle the Mixture - good additional tutor, and counterspell in one card
• Mana Drain - expensive but effective
• Snapcaster Mage

+1, I love decks like this

Add Painter's Servant maybe for sweet interactions with oona?

Matrixxx999, I once had Muddle the Mixture but it felt too slow. I also don't have that many 2 cmc cards that are worth using the transmute ability on.

I wish I had the budget to buy Mana Drain. Would definitely run it here.

Snapcaster Mage is nice. I just can't seem to find a slot for it.

Mahna, Painter's Servant is banned in commander. Besides, I hardly ever cast Oona unless I already have infinite mana.

Well in that case I stand corrected xD

Thanks for the suggestions though. I always take all of them into consideration.

Do you guys think Demonic Consultation is worth a try? I'm thinking of replacing Diabolic Tutor with it.

WAy too risky. You don't want to exile you stuff except for a few corner cases. Just run Beseech the Queen or the Dark Petition.

Or just run Dig Through Time / Treasure Cruise. I have been really impressed with dig in a control deck though.

It's risky indeed. There is always that chance i'll end up exiling my entire library.

The issue I have with Diabolic Tutor is its cost. This puts Dark Petition and Beseech the Queen on the same boat. DTT and TC are good draw cards but what I really need is a better tutor.

Tainted Pact is another card I am considering.

So then just drop the however much it is for Grim Tutor or the three to six time however much it is for Imperial Seal. Or be happy with Diabolic Tutor.

The problem is though that the cards you're looking at are not what you want. They're cheaper CMC wise sure, and that's why they caught your attention. But they belong in a different kind of combo deck or you would have been running them already. I mean, you could always Laboratory Maniac / eldrazi processor up your deck but I don't think you want that.

I mean, you could look into Diabolic Intent, but you do need a creature to sacrifice, so it makes it a bit trickier. But you run a bunch of graveyard stuff so it might be doable. That or play Oona outside of combo to make a creature to sac.

I dunno. Just rattling some thoughts around.

Your're right. Too bad I really don't have the money to burn to get those tutors.

Tainted Pact sounds like a good option though. It allows me to choose whether or not to exile the card or put it to my hand. There's that chance that I won't get the exact card I want but it does get me out of situations wherein I might get stuck drawing cards I don't need for several turns. Truth is, I don't get to cast Diabolic Tutor that much. It often gets discarded to Insidious Dreams unless the game goes longer than it normally does. Its cost, plus it being a sorcery causes a lot of timing issues. (or maybe i'm just trying to combo off too aggressively? lol)

Diabolic Intent requires too much effort to set up for it to be dependable.

Nice deck Megalomania + 1 from me.

I've written a EDH Stax primer and I was wondering if I could use your deck as an example of / control.

Have you considered the new Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger?

Thanks and sure thing, buddy. You must understand I do very little control, though. I tend to allow people to play their game and reserve most of my counterspells to ensure I successfully combo off.

I like the new Ulamog but I don't see what purpose he will have in the deck. Besides, I doubt I will ever be able to cast it outside infinite mana in which case means I would have already won anyways.

So I built this deck a few days ago (used a ton of proxies). I was able to play a good number of games and I must say this is quite fun to use. Also got a third-turn win courtesy of a first turn Sol Ring and a second turn Insidious Dreams.

People never understood what was happening with Insidious Dreams until after the fourth time I won using it.

Gave the deck a +1 but I think it is bound to get too much hate. I never won a game after they started ganging up on me.

You should consider slowing it down. Maybe add cards like Propaganda or more control.

Thanks! You are absolutely right. The deck gets hated on a lot but i've gotten used to it.

I could play control but that's the harder route. Going up against 3 to 4 players means going up against 3 to 4 hands. I chose to outspeed them instead.

It doesn't always work but i'm quite comfortable knowing it took that much effort on their part to take me out.

nah, should totally take the slow play route and use stuff like Smokestack instead. Everybody loves stax amirite?

Coincidentally, a couple of guys in my group decided to go the stax route. We got Mogis, God of Slaughter stax, Grand Arbiter Augustin IV stax and a Brago deck which is somewhat stax-ish as well. They are such a pain to play against.

Tangle Wire and Winter Orb have now become one of my most hated cards. I am having a hard time adjusting.

Unfortunately the colors outside of your color pool are the ones with counters to stax :/ green and white usually have some tools to get around the effects that those cards have with stuff like dumb ramp, Tajuru Preserver, Sacred Ground and Awakening. I would suggest maybe making a pet deck in the other colors that run by something like Kataki, War's Wage, Gaddock Teeg, or Sigarda, Host of Herons if there is too much stax in your meta. Fill that deck with plenty of enchantment and artifact removal like Aura Shards, Calming Verse, Creeping Corrosion, and Bane of Progress and they shouldn't last too long. Considering that Stax is a hate based strategy (Hatred on creatures, resources, and hands) you may need a hate deck to deal with them. Another strategy is you could simply convince one of your friends to play Sigarda, Host of Herons or a stax hate deck and start cloning / stealing