Has anyone mentioned Psychosis Crawler?

@huntersmith878: Jace, the Mind Sculptor was cut from the deck. It's a good card, and I would call it a staple in most competitive/semicompetitive decks, but it falls in an awkward spot on the mana curve and is somewhat clunky in practice.

Wall of Roots is an interesting consideration, but I think I would sooner have a mana rock for that CMC. Something that has unlimited uses and doesn't die to sweepers. I'm open to hearing people's experience with it, though.

@Eiyros: I think the primer article on my profile page has the code in it. Just make sure that any buttons you create are obviously marked; don't trick anyone into upvoting your deck.

@JaysomeDecks: enpc's answer is on point. Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger used to be in this deck (a long time ago). It became more obvious over time, however, that Vorinclex just doesn't offer enough value outside of the combo. Much of this has to do with how difficult it is to actually get Vorinclex onto the battlefield. Given the high CMC, and the prevalence of workarounds (mana rocks) and removal, it's really not practical to run Vorinclex as a utility card. As far as the combo is concerned, there are cheaper and better pieces that could be swapped in or tutored up if necessary.

@Its_Johnny_Bravo: Psychosis Crawler doesn't really do a whole lot in this deck. The aim here isn't to go for damage over time; it's to build up to a combo that can one-shot the whole table. You generally don't end up drawing enough cards to get lethal damage, and life totals don't matter once you go infinite. Although some combo routes would enable you to win using damage from Psychosis Crawler, it's not really practical given Psychosis Crawler's lack of utility, high cost, and incompatibility with the deck's overarching strategy.

In non-combo Damia decks, however, Psychosis Crawler may certainly be worth including. It all depends on the strategy.

@ Epochalyptik

I agree with that. After reviewing more of what you have going on here it doesn't really fit the theme. Crawler might fit better in a creature heavy/defender style edh deck running this same commander.

I believe you've talked about it before, but what's the criteria for whether Krosan Grip makes inclusion? Is it a meta call (should I definitely be running it in a meta with Omni-Infinite?), where it sits on the curve, or are other options just better?

As well, I was thinking of trying Glen Elendra Archmage in my iteration of the deck, but wondered where it would sit in a high competitive meta like the one where this deck shines in; is the political deterrent and wonderful ability worth the CMC?

Thoughts?

@Silverf1sh: Krosan Grip is a meta call, yes. I generally don't run it because I don't think the split second is worth the extra compared to Nature's Claim, but if that effect matters in your meta, it's available.

I cut Glen Elendra Archmage because of its cost. If you find that your meta is slower and grinds games out, you could theoretically justify that cost in order to get a double-use counter effect.

You only have 17 cards that actually get cheaper from Baral (if we don't count hardcast FoW) and having cheaper spells that now cost mostly colored mana isn't necessarily great with the high number of colorless sources in your deck. It negates the effect of Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and similar stax cards partially, and it ramps towards Tooth and Nail (though not in form of extra lands, which you need in order to combo). The looting ability seems really sweet, and the combination of both effects does look attractive, but it's tough to evaluate without playtesting.

I wouldn't necessarily count as a downside the fact that the discount leaves me responsible the colored portions of mana costs since I would need to pay that anyway.

I'm more concerned with the fact that Baral doesn't do anything upon entry; I have to use it in conjunction with other cards. The cantrip is really what makes this a consideration, though. The question is whether a semi-reliable draw engine stapled to a reliable discount effect fills an important enough niche in the deck to warrant inclusion.

You're right, though. Not an auto-include; it would come down to testing.

Of course having colorless mana that you don't need to use on your spells isn't a disadvantage, i was just trying to say that the cost reduction also doesn't really matter in that case. The number of spells you get to cast in a turn might be more limited by your colored sources than by the total mana cost. Of course that doesn't happen all the time, it just factors into the evaluation of the cost reduction.
I also just noticed Baral's loot ability requires actual successful countering of a spell. If you are outmatched in a counterwar, he doesn't do anything and can't help to get you back into the game. Obviously, with the number of counters you are running, usually you should resolve a few of them, but Baral is certainly no Merfolk Looter that guarantees one activation per turn. But you can do some sweet things with redundant copies of Flusterstorm, targetting other copies and creating extra Baral triggers (if the Storm mechanic actually allows that, not entirely sure).

Epochalyptik: It may have been mentioned earlier, but digging through 114 pages of comments is rough. What's the overall opinion on Manabond keeping in mind Burgeoning and Exploration are in the deck.

Ishio: Usually discarding your hand at the end of your turn is bad when you're a control deck. You could potentially generate a bit of value if Damia is in play but then you'd have no means of protecting her and she probably wouldn't survive.

enpc: I completely understand. I'm now thinking, even if it was a beginning of the game card, it'd be a dead slot in the 99 if not drawn in the early game. Thank you.

The newly spoiled Illusionist's Stratagem is more powerful than Ghostly Flicker since it allows you to draw your deck when comboing, any thoughts if that is worth one extra mana?

I doubt the new flicker will work, in going infinite you HAVE to draw your deck and then some. The card draw is not a "may".

By the time you've drawn your deck, you'll have enough mana to cast the rest of the combo pieces. That's not the issue. The issue is that outside of combo it's not as good as Ghostly Flicker. It only hits creatures, meaning you lose some good interactions with cards like Top or Cradle. Not to mention the extra mana makes it harder to cast.

For those looking for a little more budget friendly ramp, consider Utopia Sprawl / Wild Growth / Voyaging Satyr. They synergize with Arbor Elf / Kiora's Follower. Cheers.

Your land count is pretty high for competitive EDH. Have you considered dropping it down to the 31-33 range? If you do, you can also cut cards like Azusa and Burgeoning to add more control and diversify your wincons. Paradox Engine ramps pretty hard with cantrips and mana rocks, and it's an easy win if you get it out with Aetherflux Reservoir. Also, you should consider Leovold, Emissary of Trest and Windfall, and possibly Timetwister if you can get your hands on one.

ooop333 This deck uses Palinchron to win, so it really needs a good number of lands on the battlefield. With only 3 or 4 lands it's difficult to combo, that's why the land count has to be so high and why cards like Azusa are required.

Emzed still, you should consider Leovold and wheel effects. alternatively, you can flash in Notion Thief the turn before you wheel if you'd rather hold mana for counterspells.

@ooop333: This deck is designed to operate on a lands-matter win condition, where it needs a sufficient number of lands in play in order to make Palinchron or Peregrine Drake functional. Therefore, the deck leverages additional land plays and includes more lands than other competitive decks. I don't think it's productive enough to cut cards like Azusa, Lost but Seeking or Burgeoning given that focus. I haven't had great luck running a leaner land base, either, but I suppose it could be worth testing again.

For cards like Paradox Engine and Aetherflux Reservoir, consider the points I outline in the "Criteria for card selection" chapter of the primer. These cards are expensive and don't offer much to the deck in light of their costs. Paradox Engine is hard to fit into the deck's curve (the CMC 4-5 range is actually very difficult to play around) and its usefulness is only directly proportional to the number of mana rocks and land/permanent untappers I have on the field. Aetherflux Reservoir doesn't do anything particularly useful; it would only be viable as a win condition (as opposed to a utility card), and it isn't nearly as strong as the other win conditions in the deck.

Leovold, Emissary of Trest is a possible substitute commander. I'm less sure if it would be part of the 99; I have no experience using the card. If you have experience with it, please share what you've found.

I generally don't like cards like Windfall or Timetwister in this deck. There's a reasonable amount of draw power available, and I'm able to keep my hand full (or close to it) most of the time. I hesitate to spend at sorcery speed to refill my opponents' hands.

@Emzed: Regarding Illusionist's Stratagem (from an earlier comment), I think the limited targeting options and the extra cost outweigh the cantrip effect. I'm comfortable enough with the redundancy in the deck and with Ghostly Flicker's ability to fulfill its role that I can justify not including Illusionist's Stratagem. Others' mileage may vary, though; it's an interesting alternative/insurance policy for those who find themselves in need of one.

Has Foil been suggested? I feel a competitive, low curve deck like this would dream of having as many zero cost counter spells as possible. Also, this commander in particular is excellent at drawing the cards needed.

I'm not sure if it's been considered before, but given the low count of Islands in this deck, I don't think there's enough support to make it work.

Epochalyptik I don't know about you, but my competitive playgroup is almost completely made up of storm and combo decks that want to draw most of their deck in a single turn. Leovold is an include in pretty much any deck I make that uses the colors because he hoses their draw, works with wheel effects to twist their hands away, and replaces himself if removal is used on him.

Epoch, when playing blue sun's for utility, what's the most you draw for? Do you simply leave open the room for counterspells in hand and go in, or do you have a set plan in mind?

Epoch, when playing blue sun's for utility, what's the most you draw for? Do you simply leave open the room for counterspells in hand and go in, or do you have a set plan in mind?

Epoch, honest opinion on seedborn muse? I have this deck card for card, and i took out green sun's for Villainous Wealth, but thinking about adding seedborn and re-adding green sun's, what do you think?