Balancing Act is some sort of strange Five Color Control Deck that actually wins via 15 damage nuke and only now uses Balancing Act as a side plan if things start going badly for you. This usually does fairly well against Fair Decks mainly because they cannot recover as fast as I can as well as being a rogue deck. Also a bunch of neat tricks that this deck can do via Burning Wish/Bring to Light with 5 Colors. And for some reason my Legacy Balancing act only has 1 Balancing Act (and 1 in SB too), but I guess that is like Legacy Pox now having 0 pox in the deck.
Win Conditions:
Right now there are Three ways to win:
1) Balancing Act + Gurmag Angler(s) set up by Insidious Dreams.
2) Balancing Act + Bitter Ordeal which strips out all their lands/damage.
3) Insidious Dreams into Erratic Explosion w/ Emrakul (15 dmg).
Bonus) Show and Tell in Emrakul, cheesy.
Emrakul + Burning Wish -> Show and Tell = 3UR (5 mana)
Bring to Light -> Insidious Dreams (Emrakul) + Burning Wish -> Erratic Explosion = 6UGRR (10 mana)
Bring to Light -> Balancing Act + Burning Wish -> Bitter Ordeal = 6UGRB (10 mana)
Bitter Ordeal + Burning Wish -> Balancing Act = 5BWWR (9 mana)
Bring to Light -> Insidious Dreams (w/ Terrarion) -> Balancing Act + Gurmag Angler (+ Gurmag Angler) = 5WWUGB(B) (10/11 mana)
Bring to Light -> Balancing Act + Gurmag Angler = 3UGB (6 mana)
and right now the core of the deck is the awkward mana base (22 lands), Spells that whittle down your opponent to 15 (12 spells with direct damage, Artifacts/Creatures for mana base altering / Blood Moon Defence (6), and Explosion Spells Via Tutor Effects in the form of Burning Wish, Bring to Light and Insidious Dreams (7).
I am also Playing this deck with a Focus on more of the Red + Black/Blue Cards to not get locked out of a game Vs. Blood Moon, focus on a wish board to get out of any situation and Burn spells to crowd control or get opponent to 15 life (really just focus 2-3 colors)
Red Cards
Magma Jet, Magma Jet is quite amazing merely because I can kill creatures with X/2; But on top of that you get to Scry(2) in order to look at any of the other cards that are coming up to help you get that Obliterate or land searching or w/e you need at the time. I would save this until you have a Turn of Dire need for it, but I would still use it to pop creatures ASAP.
Fire, Fire//Ice is pretty much the same as Magma Jet except it has the added benefit of Ice. It shoots down the same creatures, or 2 weaklings and you can poke your opponent and say pew pew. Ice is strictly better but once again it is there if creatures need killing.
Collective Defiance, so far I am liking it alot as a 1-of, kills buffer creatures, can refill my hand and hits the opponent in the face.
Exquisite Firecraft, 3cc for 4 damage that has a good chance of not being countered, sure 1 copy is ok and I've been liking it.
Burning Wish, THIS CARD. Thats all I have to say about it; it literally does everything as it is a problem solver: OMG you need to bait a counter? You need a win condition for after Balancing Act? You NEED a Bring to Light to set up your win? You have Emrakul in Hand and S&T is your victory? But OP, I got 3 Wishes in my starting hand and I am not sure what to do! Ill tell you what to do, you win.
Erratic Explosion, SB, Lol! This is now one of three main win conditions; once your opponent is at 15, you win as long as you have an Insidious Dreams for the set up; otherwise You can kill the opponent with other spells.
Cave-In, SB, It is a 0cc Pyroclasm for removing a red card which you have tons of, sounds good to me.
Red Lands
Geothermal Crevice: Tap for R, Sac for BG. Useful for Life from the Loam.
Dwarven Ruins: Tap for R, Sac for RR. Useful for Obliterate?
Sandstone Needle: This boss of a land; adds RR twice, meaning after you play it the next turn you can Magma Jet, Fire, Burning Wish, Pardic Dragon Win OR use that last RR for Obliterate? Yes please Ill take 3-4.
Black Cards
Insidious Dreams, Its such a bad card; but it is named perfectly. This card enables you to literally stack your deck with anything that you want at the cost of 3B (Normally 3UB with Bring to Light) and some cards in your hand. It really does go hand in hand with Balancing Act + Land + Gurmag Angler or Emmy + Erratic Explosion.
Collective Brutality, so far I have been really liking this card, makes all match-ups a bit better, hits combo decks in the hand, kills X/2 creatures and you can always discard another card and poke the person for 2; which gets them to 15 even faster.
Extirpate, Makes the combo/control matches a bit better and you can always use it on wastelands and you get info, it's just a 1 of!
Gurmag Angler, The fish is main kill Creature Card right now; Its a 1cc 5/5 after an Act that I can set up after Insidious Dreams, It does the job pretty well!
Cabal Ritual, A tutor that always net you 3 more Black Mana as you will have threshold if you play this card. Mostly used when you are "going off" or Hardcasting Emrakul or something.
Yahenni's Expertise, So far it has been alright to help stop creature decks without having to sacrifice too many lands via Bring to Light. Best when used if you have Guided Passage in hand.
Bitter Ordeal, SB, One of three win conditions VIA Burning Wish, only good to use after Balancing Act (or clutch Dredge Win).
Reanimate, SB, an amazing clutch Win Condition against decks with Fat Creatures, also very surprising to the enemy 12Post / Reanimator Player.
Innocent Blood, SB, It kill's a guy just in case you need to kill a guy, so its alright. Mostly for Marit Lage Tokens.
Black Lands
Sulfur Vent: Tap for B, Sac for UR. Useful for Fire/Ice, Burn, etc.
Peat Bog: I like that it adds BB, which means Gurmag x2 only needs 9 cards in the Graveyard to summon them.
Ebon Stronghold: Tap for B, Sac for BB, not amazing unless you playing lots of black cards.
Blue Cards
Ice, Other part of Fire/Ice. You get to tap a permanent and draw a card? OK. that 1 untapped land, Isochron Scepter (if anyone even plays this anymore), Batterskull attacking you, Aethervial, Trinisphere? etc.
Unsubstantiate, Helps buy time for the deck by stopping the opponent's progress.
Failure, Worse than Unsubstantiate, It counters a spell and sends it back to their hand to hopefully buy me time to deal with it next turn. I like using it with Comply to buy more time or help "Go Off"
Impulse, I have been using it to dig for Business Spells/Threats, It's kinda like: Scry 4, Draw a Card. It's a good 1-of.
Show and Tell, SB, lets you play Emrakul if you happen to draw him, lol.
Void Snare, SB, Mostly for Marit Lage Token or other issues to deal with (Blood Moon).
Blue Lands
Ancient Spring: Taps for U. Sac for BW. I use it for that Swan Song that I am always hoping to draw if I play this 1st turn.
Svyelunite Temple: Taps for U. Sac for UU, Swan Song tapping mana, otherwise its pretty useless
Saprazzan Skerry: add UU and the deck has been leaning blue these days.
White Cards; Not a fan of white in this deck..
Balancing Act, THE NAME SAKE OF THE DECK! This is the card youre playing around to cripple the opponent if you cannot win VIA damage, it wrecks boards AND HANDS! but is also super easy to counter; otherwise it will wreck everyone playing not FoW. But Insidious Dreams + This = BFFs. Also a copy in SB.
Comply, Stops a counter/counters or stops the opponents from progressing more.
Leyline of Sanctity, SB, Only thing I have to play against Burn or Discard Decks for added protection. other than possibly Gilded Light/Counters/Discard; Not sure what else will Compliment this.
Morningtide, SB: Burning Wish List for Vs. Dredge or Lands.
Oketra's Last Mercy, SB: Help against Burn Decks for just 2RWW!
White Lands
Irrigation Ditch: Taps for W, Sac for UG. Which is nice for Bring to Light.
Remote Farm: WW, Great for Act!
Ruins of Trokair: Taps for W, Sac for WW. Thats mana for Act!
Green Cards
No pure green cards in the deck.
Green Lands
Tinder Farm: Tap for G, Sac for RW. Just Wow.. White and Red? Thats just amazing!
Hickory Woodlot: Tap for GG? Sweet, thats mana for stuff!
Havenwood Battleground: Tap for G, Sac for GG. I guess? Thats all the green you could ever want.
Colorless Spells
Terrarion, You are playing 5 color with nonbasic lands that give you the most random assortment of mana colors. This straightens it out for you as well as being able to play other colors if they drop Blood Moon effects. Super Useful. Opens up Insidious Dreams -> Balancing Act -> Gurmag Angler wins.
Expedition Map, I have currently been using 1 of them in the Main as they help search for the right colors for my spells. Might as well just be 2: Search for Ancient Spring half the time.
Emrakul TET, Because as a one-of hell yeah: 15 Damage with Erratic Explosion as the main Win Condition, Cannot be Painter Combo'd, Hardcastable sometimes, Show and Tell 'target'. It does everything wherever it is.
Colorless Lands
Crystal Vein, It comes into play untapped? Wuuut nice.
Thespian's Stage, as a 1-of can be used to add mana when I need to and can transform to color fix my lands for me! I like it.
Gemstone Mine: it adds any color you want, and dies after its 3rd use? Maybe.. just maybe...
Archeological Dig: It comes into play untapped? Wuuu- oh nvm adds only 1 of anything when you sac it. Merely ok.
Multicolor cards! Hard to Play but If you wish to focus on 2 colors:
Bring to Light: as a 2-of in the deck and 1 in SB, it allows you to search to answers that you need to win the game. Usually setting up Insidious Dreams for 15 DMG Erratic Explosion, a Balancing Act, Yahenni's to nuke the creatures, It solves problems.
Saheeli Rai, It fills a slot that allows me to look at more cards, deal direct damage, perhaps add mana (-2 Wild Cantor copy). Also blue/red are easy colors in the deck to obtain so she is worth it.
Wild Cantor, AMAZING CARD! Sacrifice to add any color I want, with 4x this and 4x Terrarions = I really cannot get Blood Moon Locked; but playing both at 3 as I never want to draw all of them.
Guided Passage, This card is just really, really random as it's kind of like Realms Uncharted but the opponent gives me 4 Cards from my deck that they have no idea what I want currently for 3 mana, which is really nice.
I also have gone through a great deal of Ruling with this deck that I can help with.
Ex: Discarding Emrakul to Insidious Dreams, you get to shuffle your graveyard back in 1st, then you search for w/e you want.
TL/DR: Right now I am just using tappedout.net as a place to mess around with the graphs and just have a place to load my deck and mess around with it; other then that its just open for the public.
Currently I have played this deck in small tourney's and haven't done amazing mostly because of misplays by myself; otherwise I could have won more of my matches... but this deck is somewhat consistent and can stand up to just about everything and anything. The more practice you get with this deck the better; but that goes for every deck.. If I had more time to play I would be practicing more but for now this is by far one of my favorite decks to play with.
