Additions: Mindcrank, Dark Deal, Fleet Swallower, Diabolic Tutor, Dreamborn Muse, Aura Flux, Trepanation Blade, Diluvian Primordial, Mana Leak, Decree of Pain, Mystic Remora, Boneyard Parley
Removals: Ponder, Altar of the Brood, Life's Finale, Corrupted Conscience, Psychic Intrusion, Increasing Ambition, Snuff Out, Portent, Swan Song, Dance of the Dead, Tainted Isle, Preordain
Wow, I can't believe it's been a year since I last "formally" updated this deck! There are so many changes with the deck that I don't even know where to start. I'll try and summarize the changes as briefly as I can.
Removals:
Ponder, Altar of the Brood, Swan Song, Dance of the Dead, Tainted Isle, Life's Finale, and Preordain -- All of these cards went over $2. If not playing 2DH I highly recommend running every single one of these cards with possible exception to Life's Finale.
Corrupted Conscience -- Usually wasn't able to get decent value out of the creature I stole; or worse, they destroy the enchantment and get their creature back.
Psychic Intrusion -- The mana cost of playing this spell AND playing the stolen card is just too much. Usually spent most (if not all) of my turn essentially doing nothing.
Increasing Ambition -- I rarely found myself casting this card from my graveyard. Without using the flashback ability it's basically a more expensive Diabolic Tutor.
Snuff Out -- Too many decks in my meta playing black. Still love the card and consider adding it back in, but can't justify it at the moment.
Portent -- Thrown in as an alternative to Ponder and Preordain but didn't quite fit what I needed. Definite consideration to be put back into the deck, especially if I put in Precognition Field from Dominaria.
Additions:
Mindcrank -- An absolute no-brainer of an addition. I nearly made this deck non-2DH forever ago just because I wanted to add this into the deck. With its recent reprint in Iconic Masters, it is safely in the 2DH format and secures a permanent position in this deck.
Dark Deal -- Honestly thought this card was already in the deck. This deck loves wheels and this is a cheap wheel. Sold.
Fleet Swallower -- Not sure if this is a good addition yet, still just playtesting. Definitely great if it gets to attack, but it's hard to feel too good about a 7 drop without an ETB ability or haste.
Diabolic Tutor -- Replacing Increasing Ambition for reasons mentioned earlier (might end up having both).
Dreamborn Muse -- Another card I thought was already in the deck. Not sure if it's impactful enough to keep, but testing it out for now and I love it so far.
Aura Flux -- Most experimental card on the list. Blue/Black has an awful time dealing with enchantments so I thought I'd give this a try to help with that weakness. Also this deck runs very few enchantments so it ends up feeling pretty one-sided most of the time. Still unsure about keeping it in the deck.
Trepanation Blade -- Helps with both the milling strategy and pushing commander damage. Used to be in the deck, fell out of love with it, fell back in love.
Diluvian Primordial -- Yet another card that I thought was already in the deck. Remember what I said earlier about 7 drops with no ETB effects? Well this 7 drop has an ETB effect that synergizes perfectly with the deck; don't see this card leaving the deck anytime soon.
Mana Leak -- I've come to realize that this deck loves counterspells. The loss of Swan Song was a big hit, so I'm trying out Mana Leak to try and fill that gap. Also might add in Arcane Denial, Negate, and Essence Scatter; but not sure yet.
Decree of Pain -- With the loss of Life's Finale in 2DH, decent board wipes for black/blue are running thin. Even though boardwipes kind of go against the theme of the deck (since you want Lazav on the field to copy the creatures that go to graveyard), they're just so good in EDH that you have to have a couple. Still looking for better ones, but Decree of Pain will make due for now.
Mystic Remora -- Amazing card, I run it in every blue deck. I feel like very few (non cEDH) decks don't want a copy of this card.
Boneyard Parley -- Mill their best cards and make them choose fact-or-fiction-style between which ones I get onto my battlefield? Might not be the "best" card, but I feel like it deserves a place in this deck.
Hope this helps! Enjoy the breakdown and I'll see you in another year (just kidding... I hope)!
