Whiskerbiscuit says... #2
I'd forgotten about its evoke.. Hmm.. I'll definitely consider it. Thing is, so far in playtesting, getting counters on Ezuri hasn't been the issue, so I'm wary to include it for only the counter reason and the card draw, I'd much rather find another sylvan library-esque card that allows consistent card draw. Any suggestions for that?
June 23, 2016 11:23 a.m.
MartialArt says... #3
Use more draw spells is my suggestion for this color pie. You won't find another unless you count Sensei's Divining Top as one. If you use some draw spells you will get to the things you want better and more constant. Use the blue in your color pie.
June 23, 2016 12:05 p.m.
One sustainable draw combo is Prime Speaker Zegana+Conjurer's Closet or Prime Speaker Zegana+Crystal Shard\Erratic Portal
June 23, 2016 1:48 p.m.
Craterhoof Behemoth and Pathbreaker Ibex are both insane ways to finish the game, other than that it looks good, I have a deck very similar to this one except I've gone more elf tribal. Also if you're looking to be a really bad person get Chord of Calling, Worldly Tutor and once you can get you're hands on one an Eldritch Evolution because tutoring Sage of Hours tends to make people... less than pleased XD.
July 19, 2016 7:47 a.m.
Whiskerbiscuit says... #7
Thanks for the suggestions! After a bit of playtesting, I actually ended up removing both pathbreaker ibex and craterhoof behemoth because honestly, they weren't necessary. This deck pumps like crazy, and you want like 2 creatures bare minimum that don't come out and pump Ezuri's EXP counters. Also, as far as tutors, there's a few cards in here that allow multiple tutors over the life of the card in play, so I leaned towards them rather than the 1-offs. Thanks again!
July 19, 2016 10:44 p.m.
Deadeye Navigator paired with Mystic Snake and Seedborn Muse makes for basically infinite counter spells and rapidly accumulating experience counters. I've seen it run in a Kruphix deck, but of course, it's almost as shitty as someone doing the Sorin combo on you. When that pops up in a game, my first reaction is, "I shuffled my deck for this?" You could also do Deadeye with Cloud of Faeries for infinite experience counters, but that too is kinda lame to be on the receiving end of. Regardless, I may end up using those in my Ezuri deck for home games (I just picked up Swell the Host and am checking out decks for ideas).
January 7, 2017 7:34 a.m.
Whiskerbiscuit says... #9
Thanks for the input! With this deck I'm aiming away from infinite combos however. If I make it competitive, I'll absolutely throw several in.
January 11, 2017 11:09 p.m.
Have you considered Cephalid Constable? I know it dosen't make tokens but it can take a player out of the game entirely if you dump enough +1/+1 counters on him.
January 18, 2017 1:02 a.m.
Whiskerbiscuit says... #11
I've tossed Cephalid around a few times, the hard part is getting both that card and something to give him trample out together, especially at the expense of taking cards out of the deck. At this point. Virtually every creature in this deck has a job specifically for this deck. The non-creature spells are really what I'm working on now. Thank you for your input!
January 18, 2017 6:29 p.m.
HaunterHunter says... #12
Plaxcaster Frogling is much better than Sylvan Safekeeper
Blighted Agent or Viral Drake might be a good idea.
Master Biomancer and Bloodspore Thrinax might also be a good idea.
Sakura-Tribe Elder is a must have in this deck.
Plasm Capture is a good idea if you're going to put more counters in, Rewind and Fuel for the Cause are a good idea as well.
If you're willing to spend the money, Golgari Grave-Troll is an amazing card.
Coiling Oracle is a good ramp + ezuri trigger.
Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury and Nissa, Voice of Zendikar are ezri triggering planeswalkers with draw and destruction prowess.
Spike Feeder over Essence Warden if you're looking for life gain
February 18, 2017 5:34 p.m.
Whiskerbiscuit says... #13
Thanks for the suggestions! So I used to run Plaxcaster Frogling, but switched it for Sylvan Safekeeper for a few reasons, it triggers Ezuri, and I often have no mana up when I would need to shield one of my creatures with shroud. Sacrificing a land is a heavy price to pay, but it's been worthwhile in playtesting.
As far as infect goes, I'm thinking that I need to clone this deck into casual and competitive decks, because infect wins aren't satisfying, and they leave a bad taste in people's mouths during kitchen table. Same reason I don't include Sage of Hours in my deck. It's not fun to go infinite.
Master Biomancer makes creatures coming into the battlefield not trigger Ezuri's passive, since they EoB with the counters on them. Same with Bloodspore.
Sakura Tribe-Elder seems like a must have, but from extensive playtesting, I've been nothing but disappointed when I draw it. There's enough land pulled to get by, and out of 30ish games played with this deck, he's never been useful once, so out he went.
As far as counters go, I'm actually going to be removing all of them soon. They don't pay out enough to justify keeping in the deck. There's much more value in another creature for Ezuri's passive that also has some badass effects, believe me there's a waiting list.
Grave Troll might not triggle ezuri, depending, and it's high CMC when there's no other dredge in the deck. The regen ability doesn't quite measure up to the team effects I'm looking for.
Coiling Oracle came in the prefab, but I removed it because it just doesn't do enough. Every creature in this deck needs to be a powerhouse.
Nissa, Voice of Zendikar is a good addition to the deck for the Ezuri triggers, and I'll toss around the idea of adding her in. Freyalise just doesn't generate them fast enough to be worth the CMC, whereas Nissa has the +1/+1 function too.
As for the reason I went with Essence Warden over Spike Feeder, I don't want to pay for my life gain. Warden costs two less, while not charging me to gain life. It's also just small enough amounts each turn to go mostly unnoticed by other players, or at least not justify someone using removal on her. This deck focuses heavily on building token balloons like Chasm Skulker or Hooded Hydra, dropping a token doubler, and popping the balloon. When all the sudden, 46 squids appear, that's a shit load of life you get for free, and it happens pretty often.
Thank you for your input! I didn't want to sound like I'm shutting down your suggestions! I just happened to have already extensively playtested them, aside from Nissa. Thanks again!
February 28, 2017 5:33 p.m.
SynergyBuild says... #14
Never gonna beble to pronounce that title, but a +1 for coming up with it!
Song of Freyalise might deserve a spot here, don't you think!
July 21, 2018 4:56 p.m.
Whiskerbiscuit says... #15
I think Song could work out great! I'll playtest it a bit. Thanks for the suggestion!
MartialArt says... #1
I second the inclusion of Mulldrifter. It's really good. Not because it costs 5 mana. Because it is a 3 mana spell that gives you 2 cards and in your deck even a EXP counter on the top AND if you have the mana you can even cast in so it stays in the game. The letter is the optional way for this card not the Evoke. Evoke is the main way Mulldrifter is used.
And I am against Arachnogenesis. As I mentioned before it has too many maybes in it. Better use sth more stable.
Greets MA
June 23, 2016 7:17 a.m.