Wow cool deck idea! I've never considered alternative win methods like this before.

Since the goal of your deck is to win with either Azor's Elocutors or Approach of the Second Sun, I would add another of each. Some other excellent creatures to consider adding are: Council of the Absolute, Banisher Priest, and Trapjaw Tyrant.

I'm sure you've considered these other spells, but I'll point then out just in case: Pacifism, Bonds of Faith, Lyev Decree, Counterspell, Cancel, Mindstatic, Indestructibility, Captured by the Consulate, and Silence.

Anyway, looks great and I'd be nervous playing against this!

S1ayerMonkey

I am glad you enjoyed the deck!

Regarding your suggestions:

• I experimented with more copies of both win conditions, and ultimately found additional copies counterproductive. Neither card has significant utility outside of being a win condition--its only once the field is completely locked down that they become useful. Drawing them too early problematic on two fronts--it prevents me from drawing a necessary protection spell, and currently-unplayable card in-hand allows 1/1 creatures to slip past Ensnaring Bridge.

• Creatures are problematic--they are very easy to remove, meaning threats do not stay exiled as long as you would wish. Further, they tend to be over-costed for their ability, as you get a body in addition to the effect you want. Since having blockers is not necessary, the creatures that are run are chosen for their relatively unique attributes.

• Pacifism and its ilk can be helpful in some decks, but I do not think they work well here. I much prefer the utility of being able to target all non-creature permanents, and to shut down activated/passive abilities of creatures (which pacifism fails to hit).

• Counterspells are wonderful control tools, but I've found they have diminishing returns in longer games--in my playtesting so far, it is not uncommon for a game to last 18-25+ turns. A counterspell only deals with the first of their 4 copies of a spell. It is better to lock them out of casting any copy of the spell, or have a post hoc response if the spell has been allowed to resolve. (On a sidebar, Counterspell is not Modern-legal.

Absolutely in love with the deck's description.

Deck is cool too.

vryidr

Thanks! Glad you liked it.

Love this deck's premise - a good Elocutor deck for once, and the description is a thing of art.

TezzeretofCarmot21

Thank you. Alternate win conditions see very little love--I find it quite enjoyable to try and build semi-competitive decks around their shenanigans.

This is a very cool idea. However, I almost feel like you have too many win conditions, all of which are very slow; the fastest Approach can kill is turn 14, Elixir is incredibly slow, and Elocuters can't kill until turn 10. That could make you weak to fast aggro decks like Burn and Affinity, especially since they can get under your Bridges. I would add Path to Exile, and possibly some more early interaction, over one of your win conditions (probably Elixir). Great idea with the deck though!

filthyc4sual

Much to my own surprise, Aggro and Burn have not been this deck's biggest problems. Leyline of Sanctity puts burn in a pretty tough place, and it's easy enough to lock aggro out with Ghostly Prison, Runed Halo, and Ensnaring Bridge.

Path to Exile could probably replace Detention Sphere, but I've found the later a bit more useful in the later game. It shuts down tokens or several creatures simultaneously, and can target any non-land permanent you wish. As wonderful a card as Path to Exile is, it does not provide as much utility on turn 10 as I would like.

As for two many win conditions, I'm not sure where you got the idea Elixir is a win condition. It is a reusable supply of health, likely to be hit multiple times over the course of a single protected game.

As for the other options being slow... This deck is designed to filibuster, and filibuster it does.

Wow, amazing job with that description! Have you thought about Sorcerous Spyglass, maybe in place of a telepathy or two? It fulfills the role of peeking at their hand as well as locking down certain threats.

BlazingAbsol

Glad you enjoyed the description. I'll have to play around with Sorcerous Spyglass and see how it goes. At the very least, it seems like it would be a pretty strong sideboard card (if I ever get around to building one).

Thanks!

Have you tried Magus of the Moat ? I find it better than Ghostly Prison.

+1 for clever name, as I know absolutely nothing about Modern.

☻

Goofydat - Thank you for the suggestion! I did some playtesting with Magus of the Moat and found it a tad redundant with Ensnaring Bridge . Ghostly Prison might not completely stop the enemy, but it provides some respite on the early turns while awaiting an Ensnaring Bridge and empty hand. In my tests, I found Moat's redundancy with Bridge, its four-mana cost, and its susceptibility to creature removal just slightly put Ghostly Prison ahead.

Argy - Thanks! The film is one of my personal favourites.

good

Love it