About This Deck:
I built this deck specifically because I was playing against a lot of decks with large, nasty targets - and because many of those I was facing either cycle to the library when they hit the graveyard (such as Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, etc.), are Indestructible, (such as Impervious Greatwurm, Dark Depths, any # of God-type Creatures, etc.) or trigger some other Effect (such as Token-creation or Library-searching), Exile was my only real viable option for dealing with them long-term throughout a game.
The deck as a whole is a bit slow on win conditions, but it nevertheless does consistently well on average and also does an excellent job of upsetting other decks win conditions. It just won't be winning any speed records (by a long shot) in doing so.
Favorite Synergy Additions:
I like Midnight Charm because of the options it affords, particularly because (if needed) I can use it to blast High Priest of Penance -- who is, in my opinion, perhaps the most evil chump-blocker ever conceived. This makes for a pretty devastating 1-mana instant-speed non-land permanent destruction effect. Paired with "Little Teysa's" effect (see above) and/or Athreos, God of Passage, this combo becomes even nastier.
And of course, Crawlspace is one of my all-time favorite cards from the Urza Block. It's really a nice fit with the rest of the attrition in this deck. Between that, Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts, and Engineered Plague, it can really put a wrench into the plans of any kind of token or tribal swarm deck. #shutdown
Strategy/Methodology:
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Utilize deterrent cards like High Priest of Penance, Crawlspace, Sudden Spoiling, and the cheap exile options from Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares to keep the opponent at bay until you can utilize Dark Ritual and Orzhov Basilica to play "Big Teysa" (see above). Sudden Spoiling is also great mid/late-game as a combo breaker.
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All 3 versions of Teysa combo extremely well with one another: For instance, "Big Teysa" also pairs quite nicely with "Little Teysa" (see above), creating tokens (when attacked by an opponent) which can then be sacrificed using Little Teysa and then the new resulting Tokens (via "Little Teysa"s ability trigger) re-sacrificed to quickly obliterate the opponent's board state. "Medium Teysa" (see above) doubles the Sacrifice ability on "Little Teysa", and helps make the existing Token Creatures even more of a threat.
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Don't pick 'Humans' for Engineered Plague, as all of the creatures in the deck save for Athreos, God of Passage and Vampire of the Dire Moon, share that type. Fortunately, the Human creature type typically comes with a second qualifying creature type like Rogue, Soldier, Warrior, etc that one can use to work around this. ('Advisor' is another vulnerable creature type to pick for this deck, with about half of my creature choices qualifying, but it is a much less common creature type to run across, especially in a tribal capacity - and certainly not one with tokens or swarm mechanics.)
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Depending on the deck I'm playing against, 2x Engineered Plague in play will turn Sudden Spoiling into a pseudo-boardwipe, which has been a fairly neat mechanic more than once against Token swarm decks.
What I'm Looking For:
I've switched out Pilfering Imp to the Sideboard in favor of Vampire of the Dire Moon since I feel he's a fairly solid 1-drop and also that his utility is a bit more diverse in holding off the Opponent early-on. Deathtouch is a great deterrent early-game, and in the event opposing creatures aren't yet a factor, Lifelink can pull out a few extra life. Unless somehow playing Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares becomes relevant on my first Turn (unlikely), I don't have any other solid 1-drop cards. I'd be interested to hear anyone's insights as to possible weak points and recommendations for Sideboard options.
Maybeboard:
- I'd like to swap my 3x Engineered Plague for 3x Plague Engineer, but as this is an actual (Physical) Deck & the singles are a bit expensive, these may have to wait a while.
- I've been thinking about adding in a few Riders of Gavony given the number of Human creatures that I run in this deck (all 3 Teysas plus High Priest of Penance and Kambal, Consul of Allocation on the Sideboard). This itself would probably be more of a Sideboard addition for use when I'm up against a Tribal deck. I'm also not sure what I'd drop to add them in just yet, but I'd be interested to hear input on this if anyone has some thoughts on the matter.
As always: Comments, Suggestions, and Up-Votes are highly appreciated!
