I usually transition into another combo. Even if Palinchron gets exiled or something, I can still get the infinite turn combo off. It'll be hard because I'll have to race against my opponents while resetting, but it's doable. A lot of the combos in this deck share pieces to begin with, so losing one makes for an easier reset than some other decks can achieve.

So does that make Oona, Queen of the Fae decks a hard match-up?

I've never played against Oona, so I can't say one way or the other.

Really? The whole, exile all your win conditions thing can be annoying.

I feel like Oona will have a tough time racing me. UB has decent artifact ramp, but I have the advantage of green ramp spells fueling my early-game draw and control setups. A resolved Oona can quickly become a problem, though.

this deck looks horribly unfriendly... i guess Spikes don't tend to factor in politics when it comes to multiplayer formats...

i was wondering why you're not running Vedalken Orrery then i noticed the clause on Teferi about your opponents casting stuff on their turns only...

Does your meta run enough permanents under 3cmc to warrant Abrupt Decay as a card for consideration?

seeing as a lot of combos are reliant on triggered abilities were Stifle and Trickbind serious considerations for the deck at some point?

i'm considering changing my Wrexial deck to some BUG commander, though not on as much of a competitive level as yours.

Voidslime does the same as Stifle and Trickbind , with the extra utility of being a counter spell if needed.

ah yes, but with the card and effect being a one-of in a 100 card deck... it must be pretty hard to get without all the information brokery and tutors once... let alone twice i guess something like Eternal Witness really holds the deck together...

My brand of politicking is killing everyone who isn't me just to get some money. I'm essentially the MTG incarnation of America.

Vedalken Orrery was cut a while ago because I found the redundancy with Leyline of Anticipation unnecessary.

Abrupt Decay is certainly a good card, but it just isn't relevant enough in combo-control. I'd take another tutor over a limited removal spell.

Stifle and Trickbind are pretty limited in their applications. Voidslime is my go-to solution to abilities, and it makes the list for being one of the best all-around counterspells in existence.

BUG is probably the strongest color combination in EDH, but it needs to be played carefully. It's best for combo-control, so if you aren't going that route, then you have some pretty limited options. Reanimator is a good choice, although WBG is arguably better in that capacity.

Abilities aren't really as prevalent as you think. I usually just counter the source card before it can become a threat. After counterspells, I have a few hard removal spells. If I still need an ability counter after that, then I turn to Voidslime .

i can certainly relate to those politics, though it would render you a target by your playgroup the next time you guys play, and i'm not a quick enough thinker to deal with everyone ganging up on me, hence my need to run some form of group-hug play whenever i play multiplayer :P

any bad matchups for this deck?

I haven't yet encountered a bad matchup. This deck can even beat Ertai, the Corrupted . It isn't designed for 1v1s, though, so I imagine it would get outclassed by the dominant duel EDH decks.

did you ever think about using the Cavern of Souls for illusion. auto secures the combo can't get countered.

I thought about the benefits of each creature type when I added it, but I probably won't name Illusions unless I have the combo in hand as I play Cavern of Souls .

Besides, the combo itself rarely gets countered. Most players choose to counter the spell I play with the infinite mana, even though I always have countermagic ready to protect it. Most of the time I Tooth and Nail into Palinchron and Deadeye Navigator , so I'm not even casting any Illusions anyway.

I haven't had the chance to playtest this deck in a while. I don't even have a Cavern of Souls yet.

I wish I could play against this deck. I have a solid but not quite top tier duelist deck, Merieke Stealz.

If my deck was slightly better I think I could take you 1 on 1 more often than not. Right now it feels like more of a toss up. I'm missing powerful counters right now. I don't own a Force of Will and definitely not a Mana Drain lol.

It's a really impressive deck though. I don't want to come off arrogant, it just gets my competitive blood boiling haha.

+1

The deck isn't optimized for 1v1s, so you may do better than you think. It's meant to take down competitive pods in tournament settings.

Great deck! +1! I would say this deck could use Time Warp and maybe even Time Reversal or Karn Liberated ... Also could you take a look at my Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter EDH: deck:braveheart it would be much appreciated... Thanks!

I don't think Time Reversal is really beneficial here, but a lot of other BUG players seem to like Time Warp and the other extra turn spells. I don't really think they're necessary, though.

Karn Liberated is a bit slow, unfortunately. As a 7-drop, he comes out about when I'd be comboing off, and his abilities don't have a huge impact on the game given the environment in which this deck operates.

Thanks for the inspiration through your decks and sorry for posting on the wrong place :p

I finally had another opportunity to playtest this deck, and I have mixed feelings about it. While the list is certainly powerful, it's kind of slow. I spoke in person with the codesigner with whom I discuss many potential additions and cuts, and I have come to the conclusion that there need to be some changes. He runs a variant that heavily favors low-cost ramp, sometimes in the form of mana dorks. I personally don't like depending on mana dorks for ramp because the format is full of sweepers. However, I would like to cut some of the slower and less applicable cards for more ramp or cheaper substitutes.

Mana Web , Bribery , and Mystic Snake are highest on my list of cards to go. My topmost update explains why. I also think I might end up cutting Cryptic Command , Fact or Fiction , and Leyline of Anticipation .

I want to add Three Visits (it depresses me how expensive this card is for no reason other than its unavailability). I'm also considering cheaper counterspells. Although I have traditionally not liked Arcane Denial and Remand in EDH, my friend raised the valid point that they're not as disadvantageous as I thought them to be. They can effectively protect combos on my winning turn for less mana than other counterspells, and their mana costs aren't as demanding.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

I also cut the filter lands for basics, as my friend suggested. He pointed out filters aren't always ideal. I started a game with two of them in hand, and I actually wished they were basics because it was difficult to work without easy access to colored mana. On top of that, the basics play better with the nine fetches, especially since those fetches can be recurred with Crucible of Worlds .

i personally don't believe that the deck is slow, (i consistently win turn 6 with it). with Remand i personally don't like it but it can protect your combo if need be. personally, i prefer the filters because they give more choices but if you prefer the basic lands more, then that's you. i'm aware that Pernicious Deed is a good board wipe, but how many times have you found a use for it? CHEERS

also, have you thought of the vivid lands?

The deck isn't slow, per se, but it is slower than it could be.

Every time I've played Pernicious Deed , it's been useful. However, there have been a number of times when I've held it in hand because it wasn't relevant at the time I drew it. I'll add it to the list of potential drops.

The vivid lands are too slow for this build. Although they're decent color fixers, I need immediate access to mana. I would run basics before vivids because the basics can be fetched and don't ETB tapped.