@imarockyou: Because I can't miss the opportunity to use this response: it's largely intuitive. Sometimes I use it to find three free counterspells. Sometimes I find three tutors. It depends largely on the situation.

That's part of why redundancy is such a big deal in this deck. Redundancy increases resilience and allows me to take advantage of Intuition .

How about Submerge ? In my meta, there is usually one other opponent that plays forests. In response to a fetch or a tutor, it can be fired on a general or large opposing creature threat, causing em to shuffle it into the deck.

@Broliver: Submerge isn't without its applications, but I have my doubts about its strength. I wonder whether the effect is really necessary.

Part of the problem with not being able to regularly playtest is that I have a harder time telling what is and isn't viable anymore.

@Epochalyptik: Submerge doesn't have to get rid of creatures. You can save an important combo creature and just draw it again and combo off the next turn.

Is it your job to win before the Reanimator player sets up his/her combo? I'm asking this because i do not see a Scavenging Ooze

imarockyou he can tutor up DS

I don't often find myself in need of graveyard hate. Counterspells serve as a general-purpose answer to many strategies, including reanimator. They won't catch everything, but they're more flexible then running answers to single strategies.

My stance might be different if I were exposed to reanimator-heavy metas, but you also have to account for the fact that counterspells make up a significant portion of the deck and are therefore a widely available answer to multiple kinds of threats.

In your description, you mention Time Stretch, but it appears to be cut from the deck.

Good catch. I recently removed Time Stretch from this list in favor of some other cards.

You going to play Sultai Charm?

Probably not. It's too expensive for what it does.

Lol, every time a good card comes out, i'll have to ask, You going to play Utter End?

Utter End isn't even in my colors.

Lol, Oops sorry, How do you respond so quickly?

Trade secret.

Damia, Sage of Stone is one of my favorite Generals. I actually found this deck list and built it and have only lost less than a handful of times with it. This deck, probably more than anything else, influenced me to begin playing EDH over any other format. In essence, you're my mentor. Thanks for all you do Epochalyptik!

@bellator_sine_metuThats a cool story, i'm building the deck myself, somehow just in time with conspiracy and fetch reprints. How did u get Imperial Seal and other 100+ cards?

My advice is to acquire the cards in the order of relevance. For example, worry about the three on-color fetches,the shocks, and the ABUR duals before you splurge on the rest of the duals. Imperial Seal should be one of the final cards you acquire; the deck can operate without it, so focus on the necessities first.

ABUR duals are going to be very expensive for my blood, maybe when i get a job it'll be easier

so a no to Phyrexian Arena ? good draw engine for a low cost

@Asher18: Phyrexian Arena is just too slow. Although it may seem like a low cost for most EDH decks, the competitve meta is all about speed. You want to be playing 2-drops, not 3-drops. It's a good, consistent engine for casual and tuned decks, but it doesn't make the cut in this environment.

CMC 3 and 4 are also awkward for this deck. They don't fit extraordinarily well into an actual in-game strategy.

What does Yawgmoth's Will Exactly do for the deck?

@imarockyou: It lets you win.

I guess the more serious answer is that it allows you to recast ramp, tutors, counterspells, or even combo pieces during a crucial turn. Sometimes I'll Tooth and Nail into my combo, use Yawgmoth's Will to recast Tooth and Nail , and win that way. I've also used it to get extra landfall triggers for Lotus Cobra off of an Exploration effect. It's a situational card, so the applications naturally vary.

I'll be watching Murderous Cut.