The deck was alright, but not super fun to play, so I decided to try to mix things up a bit. It turned out I was going to mix things up a lot..
My brainstorm started with the idea that I wanted to make playing Johan a rewarding option more often. Exert isn't that bad of a synergy, but it just didn't feel good enough. I actually think the way to get the most out of Johan is to play a deck with plenty of cretures, so that you can give the vigilance-like effect to more cards at the same time. But that immediately sounds like a human tribal deck, and I don't like to play tribal. So ultimately I wanted to keep playing voltron.
In voltron, Johan is valuable to play when you feel like your voltron creature needs vigilance. So first of all, there shouldn't be any other vigilance effects in the deck (if you want to force yourself to spend the stupid cost of 6CMC every time you want vigilance). Second, you need to know for sure that your voltron can handle blocking whatever comes at it. This is where I stumbled upon Spirit Mantle and cards alike it. This is a really cool vigilance voltron card because it allows you to attack unblockably, and then block whatever (single) large creature is attacking you. Sadly there aren't enough protection from creatures effects to viably make this a main strategy. But, there are also indestructible effects and regeneration effects which also lets your voltron block more or less anything. But then again, indestructible effects are $ expensive and regeneration has a negative synergy with exert.
This whole ordeal made me realize how little impressed I've been with exert. It is terrible in edh, and not even fun at all.. So what else can you play as voltron targets? Well, I looked at all sorts of creatures to change with the exert creatures, and I realized that I can get creatures with hexproof included, and drop the whole goose hunt for hexproof auras / equipments! Not just that, but I could get large hexproof creatures, so that I wouldn't need half as many auras / equips to make the voltron a threat. This is the moment when it dawned on me that I've been sitting for way to many games with creatures that has like 4 auras on it, but is only like 9/9 and has two times trample and lifelink. Which is quite the waste if you ask me. It would be much more fun to spend those auras to get like a 9/9 with first strike, deathtouch, lifelink, AND trample. Now were talking about a creature that is fit to get vigilance from Johan and block whatever comes at it.
I did not want to keep playing the voltron board wipes either (the keep one creature wrath of gods), cause this would keep detering me from playing Johan. So to be able to output the same effect (on one player), I decided to make it my goal to assemble the perfect board wiping creature: the big, hexproof, deathtouch, lure, first striker. Such a creature can make every enemy creature block it and assign 1 deathtouch damage to it WITH first strike, and kill somewhere in the range of 10 creatures without being hit from a single one of them. I believe that this, in combination with the occational trample, lifelink, and regeneration, is the recipe for a good time playing voltron.
So for the new strucutre of the deck:
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I kept the best recursion, aura / equip tutor, and removal cards;
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I added loot spells to be able to recycle aura / equip effects I have two of (you wont need double trample);
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I added ramp to be able to cast a large voltron creature as soon as possible;
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I added creature tutors to increase the drop rate of large voltron creatures;
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I added three of each prioritized effect - lure, first strike, and deathtouch;
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I added two of each secondary effect - regeneration, trample, lifelink, and x/x boost;
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I added a pair of draw effects.
