@ w999 -- I think I'll try to fix that once I look at the DGM cards :P

@ bcoots -- Blind Obedience immediately comes to mind when asked that. What to remove ultimately comes down to what type of decks you generally play against, so that'll have to be through testing. The use of the card is also conditional, regarding the decks you face. The only other thing I can think of is expanding the mana base to include shocks and duals. Maybe browse through older comments to see if there's anything else?

Online I run across A LOT of aggro. And when I say a lot.. I mean a lot. The second most is Control. Then the normal B/G, some tokens, etc etc

So figuring out the aggro issue would probably be the most important.

I respect your Dragon's Maze holdout for your box openings. But I can't to talk my deck and your deck out after it drops.

@ bcoots -- With a heavy presence of aggro, Blind Obedience is probably worth it. Watch out for the messed up curve though, it's very heavy on 2-CMC cards. I actually will probably be avoiding DGM card discussions until May 18th haha... With AP exams the next two weeks, that's when my friends and I have time for something big like this (~8 people with 2 boxes is going to take some time to draft/do a tourney or something).

lol. take your time?

I'm so tempted to look at the cards online, but I think seeing them for the first time through opening a pack or getting blasted by them in a draft game would be worth the fun. But yup, taking my time :P

well, after they launch.. I may have to adopt w999 to help me with my deck lol....

You in w999?

at your service

Alright! I got a player!

Check out the stockpile of cards I've composed and let's talk this joker out.

Redneck Extortion

hey. any discussion on this deck? or should we initiate it ourselves? anyhow, i think Pontiff of Blight definitely deserves a spot in here. it opens up a lot of possibilities for the deck and doesn't restrict you to cards like Syndic of Tithes

@ tempest -- I agree about Pontiff of Blight . I will write up an initiation to the discussion in an hour or so.

Dragons Maze Discussion

I ultimately wanted to wait to view the DGM cards until after I had played with them in person. However, waiting for the past few weeks has been painful, and with a date for me to even get some of the cards still waiting to be determined, I have decided to go ahead with and initiate the DGM discussion on this deck. Below I will list the cards that might have a place in the deck (and those that I dont think have a place), discuss what I like/dont like about them, and possible replacements off the top of my head. I hope that these additions will only solidify the deck. I appreciate any input, and hope to hear any suggestions. Without further ado, let the discussion begin!

• Blood Baron of Vizkopa -- A reprint of Divinity of Pride ??? I really, REALLY like this card. Sadly, due to the decks budget restraints, I will not be adding it though.
• Blood Scrivener -- The draw power already comes from Drogskol Reaver , and its more conditional. Probably not.
• Debt to the Deathless -- If I were running Crypt Ghast , this card would be in here in heartbeat. However, I am not, and therefore do not see much use in it.
• Profit / Loss -- A nice kill card and allows me to buff my creatures if they were to die. Its a possibility.
• Maw of the Obzedat -- Anyone creeped out by the picture like I am? Anyways, Im not really producing any creatures to willingly sacrifice, so I dont think so.
• Obzedat's Aid -- Great for a reanimator deck, but not so much for this one
• Pontiff of Blight -- I hope nobody argues with me on this, but Im almost positive that hell be at least a 2-of.
• Renounce the Guilds -- This deck is running too many multicolored permanents for it to be effective when I need it to be.
• Sin Collector -- Not a big fan, doesnt really do much for this deck. Nope.
• Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts -- Ill be running too many high-CMC for her to be included.
• Tithe Drinker -- Adios Syndic of Tithes .
• Ready / Willing -- Hmm Im not too sure about this one. Thoughts?
• Hidden Strings -- If I dont end up adding this on its own, itll at least replace Hands of Binding .
• Render Silent -- It seems to be too mana-intensive for this deck
• AEtherling -- If it wasnt such a high-CMC, it would be great with unblockable.

Have I forgotten anything? I think right now, Tithe Drinker is a definite replacement for Syndic of Tithes , and Pontiff of Blight would be amazing. What do I remove for him though? Im open to ANY suggestions and/or comments!

Hidden Strings isn't really comparable to Hands of Binding . Hands will keep one threat locked down for good, but Hidden Strings will not.

@ zandl -- Wow, I'm stupid. I completely forgot about that part of Hands of Binding . Thank you for pointing that out! Do you think Hidden Strings is even worth it then? Tapping permanents on my turn, after combat, is not very effective in most situations...

That's why I don't like that card. You need to hit your opponent to use, but you'd have to get through blockers first. And after combat, what is there to really tap? You can't even ramp with it unless you float mana during your combat phase, untap your own lands, and then tap those for more mana and cast an Instant.

@ zandl -- I've been having some good success with ciphering onto Invisible Stalker , so getting through usually isn't a problem. However, as you said, Hidden Strings doesn't have any real use, so I don't think I'll be adding it. Again, thank you for pointing out my stupidity.

On a side note, does dropping Shadow Slice for Pontiff of Blight sound like a good change?

I've never been a Cipher to begin with. The Pontiff is okay, but aren't there better finisher in Standard, like AEtherling ?

@ zandl -- I'm going to assume that you mean that you've never liked cipher? I can completely see that - I wanted to try to incorporate something that most people wouldn't expect me to use though. And I do like AEtherling over Pontiff of Blight , but from a budget standpoint, the Pontiff is more appealing. I was hoping to keep this deck under $50 using the TCG mid-range prices.

What's making your Budget over 50 right now?

@ tempest -- The sideboard is :P I've deleted it for now.

Oh... My goal is for the mainboard to be under $50.... I think AEtherling might have just found a spot.

Have some reading to do, I'll be back on this in ~1 hour

Yeah. AEtherling is only about $4 right now.

@ zandl -- Definitely finding a spot for it. Should I drop the Shadow Slice s for it? I'm also considering changing the Basilica Screecher s out for Kingpin's Pet , just to even out the curve a little. Thoughts?

Shadow Slice is just win-more. If you can Cipher that powerful of a spell onto a creature and connect to your opponent, aren't you already winning the game?

I don't really have any qualms with changing the Pet to the Bat, ... but wouldn't Blind Obedience just be better than both?

@ zandl -- Very true - I take that as Shadow Slice isn't all that necessary? I'm going to change out the Bat for the Pet to even out the mana curve. Right now it's extremely heavy on two-drops. That, and the price of Blind Obedience both contribute to why I have not added it - in my playgroup, it is more of a luxury to have out than a necessity.

But it's just $3.

... or is that still too much?

If it is, then Basilica Screecher is alright.