Alright, so this control-style deck is all about employing a single win condition which is based on this combo: Archetype of Imagination + Stormtide Leviathan
. I discovered this by chance and haven't gotten to use it yet, though my Archetypes are in the mail as I type this. Basically it puts an unblockable, flying 8/8 on the board. To add to the madness, the enemies can't attack unless they are flying, and even the cards with the word "flying" printed on them won't be flying because of the Archetype of Imagination.
The whole rest of the deck is in place to make sure that the opponent can't do much while I wait to acquire the resources to deliver this win condition.
COUNTERS AND REMOVAL
Obviously the end goal is to deliver the combo above, but at best that can happen at my eighth turn, with death happening at best on my second turn after the combo is in place. So the rest of the deck is based around using counter magic (such as Cancel and Negate) and removal magic for the spells that they land (such as Sandblast, Solemn Offering, Force Away and Whelming Wave).
MANA
There is a good selection of land which should allow me to have the mana I need. I also have a tiny bit of health gain in some of the lands (such as Tranquil Cove and Swiftwater Cliffs) which will help stay in decent shape for longer. I am considering removing maybe a couple of the plains in favor of islands, or removing some Mystic Monastery copies for some islands, but I will have to playtest to get a feel for that. There really isn't much in the deck that calls for red mana. I also included 2 Evolving Wilds in case I need to fish for a Mountain or adjust my mana. Once I get out Stormtide Leviathan, however, my mana will be totally fixed as far as blue goes.
CARD ADVANTAGE
I have also included a couple cards that let me draw and get that sweet, sweet card advantage going. Jace's Ingenuity is in there because it's an instant, which of course allows me to leave my mana untapped until my opponent's upkeep (which threatens counter magic). I also have two copies of Quiet Contemplation, which could get me more of anything that I had a deficit in (lands, counter magic, etc.) Finally, two copies of Pressure Point allow me to stall until I draw a proper removal spell.
I would love suggestions from more experienced players, does this look like it could hold up? A similar deck that I have been using held up pretty well in the last FNM, as well as against some of my other buddies. I don't have much of a side boarding plan, those are just some cards that look like they could help in certain situations.
I would love some constructive criticism on this deck! Let me know what you think.
