ALRIGHT, CHUMS. It's flipping 2020 and I think I finally did it.
At first I tried a list that aimed to ramp into Endless Horizons + Goblin Charbelcher
. Wasn't good.
Then I tried pillow-forting myself to combo... also not good.
BUT. At this very moment I have been running a list that I genuinely think is good.
It is focused on value and a bit of control.
Now let me walk you through this deck.
First, land-base wise. Plains. I tried using Mistveil Plains, but it comes tapped and that makes a HUGE difference and also it doesn't really synergize with so many colorless cards.
Ramp-wise, we got Wayfarer's Bauble and Solemn Simulacrum. Both ramp 1 and that is big since we have heavy cards. And Simulacrum is a high value card (ramp + draw + 2/2 body).
Also ramp-like, there is Thaumatic Compass
. Although it doesn't directly ramp one, it tutors a land. But the real reason it is in the deck is because it becomes ALMOST a Maze of Ith. Legacy players will understand how big of an effect that is. Also it is kind of easy to transform it.
For protection there is Wrath of God and Path to Exile. I don't really think this needs explanation.
Kitchen Finks is in the deck because it is a big card. It has a good value. First because the 2 life makes a huge difference against burn and aggro. And the persist, oh boy.
Batterskull is a "joker" card. It works as a good defense or as a beater.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon is both an "I win" card against some decks and a defense since it can deal with enchantments MainBoard.
Finally, the combo. Endless Horizons will thin the deck of all lands and Goblin Charbelcher will, in most cases, deal around 22-28 damage. And, even if it doesn't, 2 activations would sufice to kill the opponent.
So, playing the deck:
-
defend yourself from mass boards with Wrath of God (that might come as early as turn-3 with Wayfarer's Bauble on turn-1)
-
deal with troublesome creatures with Path to Exile
-
ramp with Wayfarer's Bauble and Solemn Simulacrum
-
use your creatures to defend yourself until the combo or use them as a beatdown if you have to
-
Batterskull is a nice defense for your ugin, good against aggro, has self-protection and can end games
-
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon can turn the tables with a simple -X activation (and it doesn't hit many of our permanents)
-
use Thaumatic Compass
/Spires of Orazca to protect your ugin or yourself
-
if Endless Horizons + Goblin Charbelcher
fails, remember you got 4 Batterskulls MainBoard as an alternate wincon
-
be smart when you use Endless Horizons (sometimes exile 100% of your lands isn't smart - sometimes you leave 1 or 2 when dealing against Paths or possible hate for Endless Horizons)
-
have fun
I like this version a lot more because with many high-quality cards the deck is able to perform impactful stuff even if you don't combo. And with 4 of each piece, you will draw them eventually (also you're thinning the deck with ramp).
This means the opponent will have to deal not only with your combo, but also with Batterskulls, Finks, Simulacrums and Ugins. And the defenses are pretty high if you manage to gain some life with Finks/Batterskull and you got a couple Spires up.
Also Finks can eat 2 removals or trade with 2 creatures and Batterskull is self-recursive if the opponent keeps killing the token or you need to Wrath the board (also a Finks survives that too).
Anyways, I think right now the deck is pretty legit :D
