whats the ideal opening hand in this deck and why?

@helluween What I'd consider the ideal starting hand against most matchups is Arbor Elf , two Gatecreeper Vine s, Axebane Guardian , Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker , one Forest, and one of any land. Turn 1: Forest, Arbor Elf; turn 2: land, Axebane; turn 3: Gatecreeper, land, Gatecreeper, tap Axebane for something if you want; turn 4: land, Nicol Bolas. Proceed to hope they don't just Dreadbore him.

Against Control, it's a bit different. I think I'd prefer to draw both Syncopate s, an Arbor Elf , a Forest, an Island or Hinterland Harbor , a Swamp, and an Increasing Ambition . Play carefully and tutor as soon as it's safe. Save your counters for either their counters on things you care about (mostly just Door or Nicol Bolas, maybe Chromatic Lantern) or their win conditions.

Galvanic Alchemist ??

@Frozensun07 While it is amusing to go infinite with Galvanic Alchemist , I feel it's unnecessary, because I only need 10 mana and no more. Were I running Increasing Confusion or some such, I would almost certainly have it in the deck list, but that'd add another level of complexity and force me to drop some cards that I need in order to stop my opponents, who would just beat me down while I get the infinite mana set up.

It is also difficult against many matchups to keep that many creatures on the field. I'd need Axebane Guardian , 3 other defenders, and Galvanic Alchemist, and, while this is possible against some matchups, against any sort of control deck I actually tend to just have Axebane out as a distraction, because he's bound to get Oblivion Ring ed or Detention Sphere ed.

i see what you mean, very well thought out deck. +1

If only you could work your way to a second Ludevic. Other than that, +1 Love it :)

As far as i can tell, it seems to me that Syncopate is primarily used to stop potential opponent's interruption spells. This sounds slightly "noobish" but might i recommend Dispel in place of Syncopate ?

Thoughts?

Dispel is better sideboarded Keiithy. Reason for that is Syncopate doesn't restrict what kind of spell you can counter. All they have to do is play a sorcery spell that can kill your win condition or you, and Dispel can't stop it.

@Keiithy I've used the Syncopate s for a bunch of things, including planeswalkers and such. However, I've mostly only added the Dissipate s in the sideboard in to counter other counterspells. I think I will replace them, as well as the card:Faith's Rewards, with Dispel s.

I have to admit, I love this and the overall idea. It's fairly easy to build too, which is awesome. I might try this out. +1

+1 Door to Nothingness +1 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker , seriously only having 1x of each will be too easy to remove.

I like this, but there's so much more that can be done with this and that makes me sad.

@Sniper There are only 2 instant speed artifact removal spells in standard right now, Naturalize and Rakdos Charm . Both are counterable. If I suspect that my opponent may be holding one back, I can easily save the mana for a Syncopate . As for Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker , he has most often simply been used for distracting an opponent or getting rid of a single threat. What I'd actually prefer is at least one alternate win condition in color, because right now, Slaughter Games naming Chromatic Lantern simply wins against me if I don't already have one out. I'm considering Tamiyo, the Moon Sage and Primordial Hydra for that role.

@Belias22 How so? I'm still taking feedback for the deck, so mentioning anything you think can be done would be appreciated.

Apparently haven't heard of the following: Ancient Grudge Crushing Vines Natural End Smelt Sundering Growth

You've got four different sources of mana, mid game you'll have so much mana, its just a shame not to do something more active with it...Bonfire of the Damned would be an incredible addition with so much mana available.

That plus maybe a card:Devil's Play or two

card:Devil's Play might actually be a better choice than Bonfire of the Damned in some situations.

@Sniper I should have specified "only 2 instant speed artifact removal spells in standard right now that are seeing any play", but I do admit that I completely forgot about Sundering Growth .

@Belias22 You're right, I could easily throw out a five damage Bonfire of the Damned mid-late game while paying the non-miracle cost, but the issue with that is price. I'd only need one, but it would still set me back $30, which is a lot considering that the most expensive card in the deck now (not including dual lands) is Chromatic Lantern . I'd have the same issue with Tamiyo, the Moon Sage , except that a friend of mine has it, and I'd be able to trade him. card:Devil's Play definitely isn't out of the question, though, and I'd be able to add a single Mountain that I could tutor for with Gatecreeper Vine and use it as an early removal spell, then flash it back later for direct damage.

There's a lot of potential to sideboard against Slaughter Games . You're in blue/green which is the perfect colour set for Turbofog. Take out door, lantern and add in either Doorkeeper s or Stern Mentor s, etc. It's not perfect, but it's an option.

Cool deck idea deffs bgonna try it out. I think im going to add a couple more doors and maybe another planeswalker just oncase they get dedtroyed. +1

I feel like this deck has gone from a focused DtN deck to a Defender Control deck. Which is fine and all but I like the DtN focus, because it makes the deck funnier.

Hopefully Gatecrash will bring the rest of the tools needed to allow this deck to shine once more.

@thebeardedshuffler You're right, but I feel that, in order to be truly competitive, the deck has to be more control-oriented, with multiple win conditions. I still play DtN as the primary win condition, and a played-at-the-end-of-your-turn, activated-during-my-upkeep DtN is definitely one of my favorite ways to end a game, but there need to be other wincons in case a player has an answer to it.

I am also looking forward to Gatecrash, a UG defender with a cool ability might end up helping this deck out a bunch.

This is a deck I'm definitely going to give a go.

Galvanic Alchemist + Axebane Guardian + 3 other defenders = infinite multicolored mana. Have fun!

@Bababad I've been aware of that since Axebane Guardian was spoiled, and it's been suggested before, but it's unnecessary in this deck. I've had very few problems getting to 10 mana when playtesting, and that is all that's needed, no more. If I relied more on winning with card:Devil's Play, I might decide to add Galvanic Alchemist , but I don't, so I won't.