I have one question, why Ambush Viper? The rest of the kinds gave me kind of an, "Okay that makes sense," sort of feel, but that card stood out to me as out of place.

I had a typo in that first message. The second sentence should read "the rest of the CARDS"

@ PhyresianAssimilator It is just generally good for unexpected removal. I usually keep it in my hand to use when they try to attack me when I'm all tapped out, or with something that I don't want to block with anything else. And it usually dies, giving me another creature in my graveyard.

And even if it's on the field and I attack with it, it could be an additional surprise if I do something like, say, Spidery Grasp. I may put less of them in the main, however, because they are likely something that will be switched out quickly when I need to side.

Okay, I assume by "all tapped out" you mean your creatures, not your land? Sorry, I'm mainly a control player, so when I hear all tapped out I immediately think lands.

Okay, so, as I see it, you have summed the card up as this:

1. Decent combat trick. In the best of circumstances, it can 1-for-1 an attacking enemy creature, granted they don't have evasion or any response to your play.
2. Can block stuff you don't want to block with anything else. Okay, that's fine, because it's made for blocking anyway, in the best-case scenario. Most of the time, if this thing is allowed to block, it will 1-for-1 instead of chump. So this card has some decent defensive capabilities.
3. When used with other combat tricks, it can overpower an unwary opponent. This is where the card starts to become bad. Though it is fun to Spidery Grasp your Ambush Viper, doing so will result in you using two cards to take out only one of the opponent's cards, giving them card advantage. At this point the card has become victim of what is called fancy play: decisions made in game that are the result of over-thinking.

Mirran Crusader or Sword of Feast and Famine) or a card that you actually have to play around to not give your opponent card advantage.

All in all, I remain unconvinced that this card belongs in your deck. I would recommend Viridian Emissary for a same-CMC creature, or Ulvenwald Tracker If you're set on having a creature that can double as disposal. Maybe run some instant or sorcery speed disposal instead. I noticed you don't run Mana Leak. That would be a superb replacement for Ambush Viper.

Alright, thanks a ton. I will be taking at least a few of them out for sure now. I'm not too sure about Viridian Emissary since the real point of making this deck was to have it prepped for when Mirrodin gets cycled out, but Mana Leak definitely sounds like a good idea. I really need some more of those types of cards, even though I hate to reduce my creature count if I can help it.

And if it's no trouble, what do you think about my sideboard?

Oh right, I forgot this version was made in preparation for Mirrodin rotating. Then Mana Leak is what gets my vote (assuming they reprint it in M13- fingers crossed!).

No it's no trouble to look at the sideboard... at first glance, the cards I like are . They fill the same purpose (Tappin' and token producin'), plus being planeswalkers and having access to even more abilities.

HOWEVER, take this all with a grain of salt. Your sideboard should be determined by the decks you play against, also known as your meta-game. What is your meta-game like? If you have a shop you normally play at, for example, what are the decks you commonly see?

Wait... Spidery Grasp does token producing? I'm not sure you are thinking of the same card here...

And as much as I would love them, I think planeswalkers are mostly out of my budget at the moment. I might be able to trade for a few, but my friend and I have made a vow to not get any planeswalkers until we pull one... I know it's silly, but what can I say? Any other suggestions for Ghostly Touch, or something else that would be nice in this sideboard?

Another thing that makes sideboarding difficult is that I have never been to any shops to play with anyone off my current school campus. Boarding schools are frustrating. So as you can imagine, I don't really have any metagame to speak of, so I just try to combat what seems to be popular in standard.

Oh Sorry! I was thinking of with a Sword of War and Peace equipped? As for Beast Within, it gives your opponent a 3/3, but you have creatures big enough to block and kill it or put your opponents on a shorter clock. Either are good options, its really up to preference.

Well, I haven't BEEN to a shop, but I plan on doing it this summer (FNM mainly), and thus, this deck. xD

I definitely like the look of Dismember, and I may put in something like Abundant Growth so that I might not have to pay the life. Even though, that's a bit of an unreliable scenario. Maybe [[Shimmering Grotto] or something instead.

However, both Dismember and Beast Within are going to cycle out as well. xD but I may be able to make some exceptions.

I realized that last night a while after I had posted, that both of Dismember and Beast Within are going to be rotating. Curses! I really hope they print some green creature disposal in M13 or Return to Ravnica. That is setting my hopes a bit high though...

Planning to hit FNMs is a great idea, you should definitely go if you can. Also check out Limited formats such as Booster Draft and Sealed Deck. They are an enormous amount of fun and a great way to mix up your Magic experience.

As for a source of black mana for Dismember, what about Birds of Paradise? It is better than Abundant Growth in almost every way except that the bird is susceptible to creature disposal. I like that you get to draw with Abundant Growth, but it only fixes mana, while Birds of Paradise fixes and lets you ramp for the same cost.

Also I have a question... are you completely set on playing this kind of deck? Are you not worried about a sideboarded Nihil Spellbomb and to a lesser extent, Surgical Extraction?

Sorry, ignore that last paragraph, those two cards are rotating as well :p

Whoo, thank goodness Nihil Spellbomb is going out. I have been super worried about that card showing up, because when it does, I'm pretty much done for, especially in late game. But yeah, rotation.

But if I were to use a card for black mana (which I probably won't), I think I would prefer Abundant Growth over the Birds. I mean, yeah you aren't GAINING another mana producer... but at that point, you are paying G to draw a card, which is better than Think Twice, sans flashback. However, Birds is another creature to throw in the grave...

Also... I'm wondering if I should go Thought Scour or Dream Twist. I think I'm leaning towards Dream Twist, because I can still use it if it's in the graveyard.

I'd actually lean the other way, toward Thought Scour, because you get to draw at instant speed as well as deck yourself a little. That was a good point too about Abundant Growth being only G to draw a card, hell, I might play the card if that was the only text!

Abundant Growth-G

Sorcery

Draw a card.

Yeah, I could see myself putting that in a deck. However, now that you've brought up Thought Scour, I feel like that is the more advantageous by far.

That doesn't mean you have to shy away from Dream Twist, either. I see you already have some Thought Scours in your deck, maybe try a couple Dream Twist in place of Increasing Confusion. It's much better early game and late game when you might deck your self with a too-zealous Increasing Confusion.

But the thing about Increasing Confusion is that I can mill how ever much I want to, up to what I can pay for. I was actually considering something along the lines of Mirror-Mad Phantasm instead, but I find that one to be a bit too much a risk of eventually milling myself out, or my opponent milling me out if they are running blue(I think it works that way...).

With Abundant Growth, why is it necessarily bad for something to have an additional effect? I mean, you get to draw, and you also get the bonus of turning your land into a less vulnerable, cheap Manalith.

Are you asking if they are able to activate Mirror-Mad Phantasm's ability? They cannot. Only the controller of the creature can activate its abilities.

And I believe we have a small misunderstanding due to inflection. When I said "hell, I'd play it even if [draw a card] was the only text!" I just meant it would be a good card even if it were neutered. In other words, I was alluding to the fact that the extra effect is great as an added bonus on top on an already solid effect.

The reason I like Dream Twist over Increasing Confusion is that Dream Twist is essentially 2B for "mill six cards," whereas milling six with Increasing Confusion would cost 6B. How often are you going to be playing that large of an Increasing Confusion, and when you are, you'd probably rather be paying four less. If you're regularly casting Increasing Confusion where x is 7 or higher, then by all means, keep it in. Otherwise, Dream Twist is simply quicker and cheaper.

Hmm... I definitely hadn't thought of that about Dream Twist. Damn... I just ordered two of them off of ebay. xDSo, you think I should take out Thought Scour and Increasing Confusion in exchange for 4 Dream Twist? Or should I leave that room for something else? More Ghoultree maybe?

Ghoultree is powerful in this deck, no doubt about it. However, I would probably rather drop one of your creatures, like 1x Boneyard Wurm, instead of dropping Thought Scour. Thought Scour is an awesome cantrip in this deck, and I'd want to run as many of them as possible. Definitely take out Increasing Confusion for Dream Twist, however.

To be honest, due to the large amount of 2-ofs in your deck, the list could use a little bit of streamlining. If you would like, I can show you how I would build the deck, and break down each step and card choice. I warn you, it will probably be an extensive comment, but if you're interested in that, I would be happy to oblige.

Otherwise, I can give a couple quick comments about streamlining right off the bat. First, you need to identify what purpose each card is fulfilling in your deck. Does the card finish games? Does it give card advantage? Is it a board wipe, spot removal, or other form of disruption? Finally, is it a utility card that works toward the overall focus of the deck (like the self-mill cards in this deck)?

Once you've done that you need to identify the most powerful cards of each category. This takes experience, and is not something easily learned, so there are less hard and fast rules for it. Try to think of what cards influence the game the most on their own, then which cards have the best interactions that influence the game. The power of card is all about, again, it's influence on the game state, whether it's giving you card advantage, board presence, or disrupting the opponent's board presence.

When you've got a rough idea of the power level of each card in each category, start putting the most powerful ones in as four-ofs. There are exceptions to this rule of course, like if the most powerful card costs 8 or it's a legendary creature; then, you're better off running 2 or 3. Anyway, continue down the power ladder like that, putting in less of the cards that aren't as powerful. Try and have as many 4 or 3-ofs as possible, not so many 2-ofs, and almost no singletons.

Okay, cool. And thanks so much for all the help.

I would definitely like to see your take on this deck as a whole. You don't necessarily have to explain so much (as I might likely be able to see the reasons behind your choices) but seeing how you would streamline it would be great.

Okay well, the best place to start is to look at your finishers. These are cards that, if your game plan goes right, should be ending the game around the time they hit.

Finishers:Kessig CagebreakersSplinterfrightGhoultreeBoneyard Wurm

Listed in order of highest power to lowest. Kessig Cagebreakers is an absolute powerhouse in this deck; people often say that Hero of Bladehold will win a game if unchecked, and Kessig Cagebreakers acts like a more powerful version of her. Splinterfright is also very powerful in this deck, first because of it's trample ability, and also because it slowly mills you/pumps itself. Ghoultree, in my opinion, is better than Boneyard Wurm when considered solely as a finisher. With six creatures in the graveyard(an easy feat), Ghoultree costs the same as Boneyard Wurm but has four more power and toughness.

This may seem obvious to you, because I know you already have 4x Kessig Cagebreakers and Splinterfrights.

Final Selection:4x Kessig Cagebreakers4x Splinterfright3x Ghoultree

We will hold off on Boneyard Wurm for now. He may be better when considered as an early game utility card instead of a finisher.

Next, we'll look at the cards that let you mill yourself.

Self-mill:MulchDream TwistForbidden AlchemyThought ScourDeranged AssistantArmored Skaab

These are also in order of highest to lowest power, except Deranged Assistant. It's about as powerful as Thought Scour, so imagine them on the same level. Mulch is an awesome card in this deck, pretty much guaranteed to dump creatures with the bonus of mana fixing. Dream Twist is cheap and an instant, meaning you play land-go the first couple of turns, and either react to the opponent or slowly build up power by casting it, Thought Scour, or Forbidden Alchemy instead. Coincidentally, the cards that are giving you card advantage also fall into this category, so we can sum this up as utility spells. Deranged Assistant is pretty powerful in this deck as well, not that you're really ramping into anything, but extra mana is always welcome. Armored Skaab I'm not sold on, but if we have any slots left, he may be good for redundancy.

Utility Spells Final Selection:4x Mulch4x Thought Scour3x Dream Twist2x Armored Skaab

After looking at your mana and seeing no black, I realized if you're not flashing back Forbidden Alchemy, Armored Skaab is probably the better option. Just like Boneyard Wurm, we're going to hold off on Deranged Assistant for now. It's obviously powerful, but the ramp may just be unnecessary in the end.

Now that the core of your deck is built, it's time to add some disruption. It's guaranteed that the opponent is going to try and mess up your plans, so you need to give them a taste of their own medicine. I'll list what you currently have, then I'll list any additional spells that fit the category, if necessary.

What you have in terms of Disruption/Removal:Mana LeakDissipateGnaw to the BoneAmbush Viper

Stuff that could be added:Fog/similar spellsDungeon GeistsDevastation TideBramblecrush

With Cavern of Souls running rampant, counter magic is on the decline, but this should not mean that it shouldn't be run. It should just be run in smaller numbers. Gnaw to the Bone seems to be there to stop quick aggro from getting your life too low. Due to the possibility of the lifegain being paltry in early game before your graveyard is stacked, I wonder if Fog or something similar might fill this purpose better. You know my distaste for Ambush Viper, so we wont get into that. In your deck at the moment, you don't have any targeted removal. That's what Dungeon Geists would be for. Shut down any titan or fattie, no problem. You also aren't very good at taking out tokens. Devastation Tide works wonders for that. Finally, you have no way to take care of an opponent's planeswalker. That's where Bramblecrush comes in.

Final Selection:3x Mana Leak3x Dungeon Geists2x Devastation Tide2x Bramblecrush

What the deck looks like at this point:4x Kessig Cagebreakers4x Splinterfright3x Ghoultree4x Mulch4x Thought Scour3x Dream Twist2x Armored Skaab3x Mana Leak3x Dungeon Geists2x Devastation Tide2x Bramblecrush

34 cards. With only 17 creatures, we're a little tight. Looks like we'll be cutting Bramblecrush from the mainboard.

-2 Bramblecrush

That leaves us with 32 cards. This deck isn't too mana intensive, but I would never want to have less than five mana with a Kessig Cagebreakers in hand late game. For that reason, I'm going with 24 lands. That leaves us four card slots open.

Here's where Boneyard Wurm and Deranged Assistant come in. Their creatures, boosting our count, while also adding to the focus of the deck. Since I feel like their power level is about the same, two of each should do nicely. That brings the creature count up to a respectable 21.

+2 Boneyard Wurm+2 Deranged Assistant

Now the only thing left to work out is the mana base. You're Obviously going to want four Hinterland Harbor. I'm wondering if a two of Alchemist's Refuge might have a home here as well; Splinterfrights and Ghoultrees would love to be flashed in at the end of an opponent's turn to avoid sorcery-speed removal. Also, since the deck isn't too mana-intensive, two Ghost Quarter might fit nicely.

Final Selection:4x Hinterland Harbor2x Alchemist's Refuge2x Ghost Quarter10x Island6x Forest

The final decklist:4x Kessig Cagebreakers4x Splinterfright3x Ghoultree4x Mulch4x Thought Scour3x Dream Twist2x Armored Skaab3x Mana Leak3x Dungeon Geists2x Devastation Tide4x Hinterland Harbor2x Alchemist's Refuge2x Ghost Quarter10x Island6x Forest

Sorry if that was too much explanation. This is a positively massive series of comments. That is the main reason I won't go on to do a sideboard... at least for now.

Thanks so much. I definitely like most of your changes, especially involving the creatures.

However I feel like Dungeon Geists and Devastation Tide are more sideboard cards than main deck cards. I see how they would both help me out in a pinch, but they seem to be at their best vs. certain kinds of decks (i.e. Fatties and Tokens). Tokens are extremely viable right now though. However, with Kessig, I may also lose some tokens as well.

Do you think I could run 2x Woodland Cemetery instead of Ghost Quarter, and keep in Forbidden Alchemy?

Also, what is your opinion on Memory's Journey for this deck?

And what about something like Claustrophobia instead of Dungeon Geists? Less prone to creature removal, and costs less, even though it doesn't give me a creature.

At this point most of those changes are preference. Dungeon Geists is good against any threat, but yes, it is vulnerable to creature removal. Claustrophobia is definitely not a bad idea, as you said, it's harder to remove, and has the same effect. I would test with it; see what is more powerful, the 3/3 flying body, or the staying power.

Devastation Tide I have to back up, however. The important thing to remember is that is card is NOT Day of Judgment; it will not take care of the opponent's creature's (or yours) permanently. This is one of the reasons it is good against tokens, as you have observed, because tokens will be removed by the effect. Back on topic: since it returns the non-land permanents to their hand, this card can be good or bad for you depending on when you play it:

If your opponent has enough mana to re-cast all of the creatures they have in play next turn, Devastation Tide is bad. If your opponent has a Planeswalker with less counters than they come into play with, the card is bad. If your opponent has creatures with a bunch of powerful ETB effects, the card is bad.

However, if the opponent has little enough mana so they can't just re-dump their hand next turn, this card is superb. If the opponent has a Planeswalker that is about to go ultimate, this card is good. If the opponent is packing tokens, this card is good.

The less you invest into the board at a time, this card gets better. The only thing is that when you're drawing with Thought Scour and Mulch, and self-milling with a bunch of other stuff, you can pretty much count on never miracle-ing this card. Imagine like it only had its 3UU cost.

The main reason I picked the card is because it is a board wipe, and there are no other (I think...) board wipe options in those colors in standard.

If I were to run Forbidden Alchemy, I'd probably want four sources of black. It would probably be best to do something like -2 Ghost Quarter, -2 Island, +4 Drowned Catacomb, because you have more islands and there for the catacombs will come in untapped more often.

Memory's Journey is okay, but I feel like if this deck is working at it's top capacity, it is unnecessary. Great to pull back stuff you lost and keep your deck count up if the game stretches out, but not a big enough change in game state to me.

Oh, and I realized I hadn't responded to your thanks yet, so you're welcome. I quite enjoy deck building, so I'm enjoying myself every moment I type. Thank you for letting me help and being so receptive! It's also nice that you dispute my points. It makes me think hard about advice before I give it, and you have a lot of nice ideas (like Claustrophobia, for example). You're gonna have to let me know how the deck does this summer when you hit some FNMs.