My philosophy behind choosing cards for this build is heavily based around cost effectiveness (CMC).
Find what I want to do and figure out how cheaply it can be done, if it's cheap enough and does the task efficiently and my wallet can afford it, then it gets a place to stand with Atraxa on the battlefield.
The reason for this is to try to keep Atraxa fit and ready for action as often as possible. So you can almost always have the chance to leave some mana up for interactive plays or ramp for next turn (or usually countering instant/sorcery kill spells).
Update We've increased the possibility for us to have mana up by adding Sword of Feast and Famine. This gives the same untap abilities as Bear Umbra. Just imagine have them both equipped Phyrexian Drool with Greed to make use of the first untap from Bear Umbra then Well of Lost Dreams to make use of the second untap after damage by Sword of Feast and Famine. We plan to draw a tun and play a tun in this deck! But always make sure you save some mana to play with after drawing a tun and hold up some mana for some counter fun!
Atraxa is essentially to many a 'kill on sight' so what you want to do is have her out on the battlefield as early as possibly before most decks can have a response and hopefully by then you would have had the chance to draw into some protection, counter magic or at least have done some serious damage before she leaves the board only to return again for another round.
Instants
- Anguished Unmaking - Cheap exile at any target at instant speed.
- Arcane Denial - Good cheap counter with replacement draw (shame it gives your opponent draw aswell, but small price to pay to add a cheap counter to the gang)
- Brainstorm - Amazing Blue draw and draw fixing allowing you to plan ahead for cheap! Couple this with Alhammarret's Archive and you're laughing.
- Counterspell - Cheap counter.
- Cyclonic Rift - Our "boardwipe"- just too good to pass up the ability to reset the board completely. Powerful ability against all the decks I've played against.
- Dispel - We are a 'counter to keep Atraxa alive' & 'Stop the opponent from winning' type of counter build. In that respect a 1 mana counter spell to protect Atraxa against cards like Swords to Plowshares is a must. Update Unfortunately this had to go to make space for other pieces.
- Eladamri's Call - Nice option to grab half of our Archangel of Thune + Spike Feeder combo if we have the other half, or if we're in desperate need of ramp Weathered Wayfarer. Or if we already have Wayfarer, then grab Azusa, Lost but Seeking, or if we can finish the game Vizkopa Guildmage, or if we need mana Crystalline Crawler, draw Fathom Mage...you get the idea.
- Enlightened Tutor - This badboi is a new addition. This was added to grab artifact protection like Swiftfoot Boots or if we've already got protection...we can grab many of the enchantments and artifacts we have for different scenarios (I'd just grab Unspeakable Symbol as soon as I can)
- Krosan Grip - Cheap removal. Key words 'Split second'.
- Naturalize - Cheap removal.
- Nature's Claim - Cheap removal.
- Negate - Cheap counter. We usually only care about non creature spells effecting our game.
- Shadow of Doubt - Stop people searching up answers for Atraxa or more annoyingly trying to search your deck.
- Stubborn Denial - Omg...Should say in flavour text something like 'Nothing will save you from my (Atraxa's) wrath!'
- Swan Song - Beautyfully cheap counter.
- Swords to Plowshares - Cheap removal. Keyword 'Exile'.
- Vampiric Tutor - Super cheap tutor.
- Void Shatter - Not the cheapest, but keyword 'Exile'.
Artifacts
- Aetherflux Reservoir - Nuke! Once we've attained a tun of life, which we usually do. Couple this with Exquisite Blood and with over 50 life we can do this infinitely.
- Alhammarret's Archive - An expensive piece but this piece amplifies 2 abilities we most definitely want amplifying! Card draw gets crazy with Sylvan Library (draw 4 + 1 for turn and return 2), Brainstorm (Draw 6! return 2) etc. All getting x2 cards instead of x1 and life gain doubling gets crazy with Duelist's Heritage, Vizkopa Guildmage doing some major damage. A small mana tribute of 4 to pay for Debt to the Deathless turns into a quicker win than it normally would with the ability of Vizkopa Guildmage activated. eg. You're playing against 3 opponents. They each loose 2x4=8 each that's 24 total damage, you then gain 24x2 because of Alhammarret's Archive and with Vizkopa Guildmage ability...you just nuked everyone for 48 damage. Update Debt to the Deathless has been relegated to the maybe pile!
- Amulet of Vigor - This works beautifully with Weathered Wayfarer + Azusa, Lost but Seeking because of the bounce land options we stacked the deck with. Eg. Simic Growth Chamber Along with all the other lands that we pay for to come in on-tapped Breeding Pool. You can ramp really well when these cards come together. You can go from a 2 land start to having 6 mana down by turn 3. Update Weathered Wayfarer has been relegated to the sideboard.
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Astral Cornucopia - Amazing with Atraxa's proliferate ability, you only ever need to pay for this card as Atraxa usually comes in by next turn making it 2 by the turn after. This is the dream artifact start:
Turn 1 - Play any land that comes in untapped. Play Sol Ring for Everflowing Chalice for Amulet of Vigor
Turn 2 - Play any land (could even be a bounce land). Sol Ring + Everflowing Chalice to play Astral Cornucopia
Turn 3 - Play any land once again. (obviously always considering the colours Atraxa needs). All 3 lands + Astral Cornucopia to cast Atraxa. And if we're super lucky we would have played Chromatic Lantern using Sol Ring + Everflowing Chalice
Phyrexian Drool!
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Champion's Helm - Need that protection for Atraxa and this is one of the best in magic! If Atraxa dies to a boardwipe the helm sticks around to be re-equipped when she returns.
- Chromatic Lantern - One of the best colour fixing in the business.
- Everflowing Chalice - No brainer with Atraxa. Goes from being casted for and capable of tapping for to ramping you for the next turn with Atraxa's proliferate and every turn thereafter!
- Horn of Greed - We need draw like mad! Only downside is everyone else gets the benefit, but we usually have a greater benefit as we have Azusa, Lost but Seeking Burgeoning & Exploration & mad if we have Alhammarret's Archive out.
- Pentad Prism - Also a no brainer with Atraxa! With this Atraxa can easily be cast by turn 3 by removing 1 counter after playing your third land, then proliferate it back to 2 counters for next turn and every turn thereafter.
- Sol Ring - Enables some quick plays, for early ramp by turn 2 with Cultivate or playing Everflowing Chalice early or get that Swiftfoot Boots out ready for Atraxa to swing with by turn 4.
- Swiftfoot Boots - Best protection + haste you can find for the mana cost! Get Atraxa swinging earliest turn 4.
- Umezawa's Jitte - I was slow to get used to this card as I heard it was really good. I kept forgetting to add 2 counters on the damage trigger, but always remembered to proliferate it at end of turn. What I should have been doing (which is what I do now) is once Atraxa has attacked with it and gained it's 2 counters then proliferates for its 3rd; for the next turn's combat remove all the counters giving Atraxa +6/+6 making her a 10/10. You do this during combat as a combat trick and the Jitte will once again gain 2 counters and proliferate by the end of the turn. Rinse and repeat, unless you need to remove a troublesome piece Erebos, God of the Dead off the board and you need to build up some counters.
I never truly unlocked the potential of Umezawa's Jitte till I added Duelist's Heritage...Need I say more? (I will anyways!) +4 counters instead of +2 and couple that with Winding Constrictor makes it +6 counters once damage resolves, then proliferates to 7 by the end of turn. That gives you a tun to do with next turn making Atraxa 20/20 or more...or even kill some creatures at instant speed! Because of double strike you can even remove the counters from Jitte after first damage step and make Atraxa bigger in the second damage step if you really needed to!
Sorcery
- Cultivate - We have access to some of the best ramp in magic in green and this is one of them! Best because it's cheap for the ability it gives.
- Kodama's Reach - Same as Cultivate...literally.
- Debt to the Deathless - Update This bad boi has been relegated to the maybe pile. I barely ever had the mana available to cast it and when I did cast it, it's not usually the kill all I would like it to be unless I can really pump it, but it's a real game ender coupled with Vizkopa Guildmage, but just too mana intensive needing a whopping & usually playing both in the same turn isn't possibly unless we have Chromatic Lantern out. But time to move on.
- Demonic Tutor - When in black! Can't get better than this super cheap tutor to your hand!
- Increasing Savagery - Update This has been relegated to the maybe pile. It was a fine piece! Playing Atraxa, then next turn playing this, then have your opponents freak out at the possibility of flashing it back all in the same turn! Beautiful. Unfortunately it just didn't stand the test of time as better pieces took its place.
- Nature's Lore - Update Relegated to the maybe pile. Great piece for fast ramp, but we're very capable of getting our lands untapped Bear Umbra or having them come in untapped Amulet of Vigor. The 2 main benefits of this card is to grab any forest we want to fix our colours and use it on the turn by shocking ourselves for 2 when it comes in so it comes in untapped. We can grab 2 lands with Kodama's Reach ramping us by 1 land for the next turn or with the above mentioned untapping capabilities we can have 2 lands in that turn untapped. So this was replaced by Kodama's Reach.
- Ponder - Beautiful blue draw here and draw fixing. Can't ask for better for cheaper. (well you can...Brainstorm, but that's why we have both)
- Skyshroud Claim - Oooh wee! Grab Breeding Pool Temple Garden or Overgrown Tomb and shock yourself for 4 when they come in so they come in untapped. Small price to pay for that kind of ramp!
- Tooth and Nail - This is the bad boi! This will grab our combo pieces Archangel of Thune + Spike Feeder and drop them onto the battlefield at the same time! MAD! All for ! Archangel + Spike total CMC cost is . You basically get to tutor those 2 creatures for . And with that you just went infinite! With infinite +1 counters on all your creatures and infinite life. Now if you can copy Tooth and Nail with Mirrorpool then it's game over. You then grab Crystalline Crawler + Fathom Mage if you wanna draw your library and pick the way you would like to end your opponents or if you're afraid your opponent may have a response. Being able to grab the deck and say NO is comforting. Or you could simply grab Vizkopa Guildmage + either Crystalline Crawler or Fathom Mage and activate his ability...and while you gain life from the combo, everyone dies! We would love to be able to grab Grand Abolisher aswell, but I'm working on it. Hard to fit him in atm.
Enchantments
Creatures
