Returning to the discussion we've had regarding Sol Ring, since you've replaced some of the cards that could be substituted, what is the best candidate for it right now?

Great changes, by the way! It's amazing to see this deck becoming even more perfect as the time passes.

Just had a game with this deck with exactly the same build which has drastically increased my respect for it:

The entirety of the game I'd been struggling with mana and couldn't get any black (apart from Chromatic Lantern which got removed by a boardwipe as soon as I played it). I've basically played with only 4 mana total for around 12+ turns. None of my permanents had the chance to stick around long enough to do anything significant. I even Burning Wish'ed an Hour of Revelation at one point but it didn't do terribly much. One of the opponents got the monarch as well. The aforementioned opponent had ramped out of control, with lots of land and around 9 white creatures (angels/humans) of various strengths. He also had Shaman of Forgotten Ways out and was ready to activate it next turn. Since neither me nor anybody else had many (or any) creatures, he was 100% convinced he had won the game, as the other players were already starting to scoop. I was the only one to continue. I had some black, unplayable cards and a few fogs in my hand that had been stopping his advances, but nothing too meaningful. Then, the turn he is activating the shaman, I play Teferi's Protection , which, of course, saves me and puts him at 9 life. A little surprised, he ends the turn as he had somehow already managed to spend all his mana. Next, my turn comes, I activate Acidic Soil and win the game, as I still had around 32 life.

He was dumbfounded, but took the loss pretty well. This was one of the closest game I've ever had in magic, where winning with 4 lands and without black mana was actually possible versus an overwhelming opponent. This isn't my first win with this deck, but it's definitely the one I'll remember.

That is the amazing thing about this deck as that games are always exciting and very rewarding to win, lately my play group has got into Kingdoms and it's Expanded version and this deck plays amazingly as it's a game running around politics and clever plays. We had a player go near infinite with a tooth and nail copied 3 times with Riku. He was going off on how great his deck is and nobody beats it ever. We dropped selfless squire, put it up to an arbitrarily large number (past 500 when we gave up counting) and just used key to the city to make it unblockable ran a full 12 hours of games and it was the most fun I've had in a single night of magic. Everything about the kingdoms game mode plays into this deck and if you can get 6 people willing to play I strongly recommend it

Hey, back again! I don't know if you've looked at this card already, but Sudden Spoiling has a metric ton of utility, works as a pseudo fog a lot of the time, and as a bonus, has split second!

Yeah, I go back and forth about Sudden Spoiling. Great card, a lot of utility, split second is huge. It could replace just about any fog in the deck. It had been in the deck before, it may be in it in the future, and I totally understand any version of the deck that runs it.

I love how other people are playing the deck, either exactly as listed or a variation of their own. Other people weighing in with their experiences is super helpful because I get to learn from them, and people can see that it isnt just me being a zealot for the deck or my meta being a uniquely safe place for it. These comments are awesome.

I've got a few questions regarding the current list:

1) Sol Ring, since you've replaced some of the cards that could be substituted, what is the best candidate for it right now? Would it be Mind Stone or something else?

2) Can you elaborate on why you have included Twilight Prophet? Doesn't it go against the nature of the deck, where dropping such a big threat makes you a target? Also, since its effect is applied only while it's present on the battlefield, wouldn't it be very easy for the opponents to simply remove it immediately, making it gain almost no value?

It also shows cards to everybody before drawing them, revealing your strategy, which is crucial to winning with this deck.

3) What do you think of including Cruel Entertainment?

SurpriZe, I wasnt meaning to ignore your question earlier, sorry. Here goes.

1. Sol ring could replace any of your rocks, to be honest. Probably the weakest are Mind Stone and Talisman of Indulgence.

2. I always have a couple of card slots that I use for exploring new cards. Twilight Prophet is in one of them. I have yet to draw it, but I have reservations the same as you. I dont think it is as intimidating as you make it out, but the problems you point out are definitely there. It is definitely a potential that it gets rotated out for something. Before you even brought it up, I have had three other cards in mind for replacements. That is the nature of this deck. Keep a core list, but try new things.

3. I never liked Cruel Entertainment. The entire effect can be eliminated if they just agree to work together. I think any good playgroup would potentially make that card useless, and it is very unsubtle. I feel like it has a similar play feel to Sen Triplets. That level of controlling has a tendency to make enemies. A card that expensive should really just about hand you the game, with not much ability to wiggle out of it.

It's something I would never have thought of otherwise, but a reddit comment about a Queen Marchesa deck involved the use of Glorious End to steal the game away from a player that had gone off and wiped the rest of the table. Glorious end is obviously a ridiculous card, but it does seem to fit in the game plan of the deck, where next turn you could throw down your wincons against the remaining player. It can also be grabbed with Sunforger and is unlikely to be expected in a deck that doesn't run blue, much like the white counterspell effects you've chosen to run. Am I insane for thinking it could work?

Thanks for the answers, precociousapprentice! I truly appreciate the effort you put into making this deck and maintaining insightful discussions.

Just wanted to say this is probably the best deck description I've read on here

NotEaster, I am still considering your suggestion regarding Glorious End. I have a feeling that it is not quite right. Glorious End should work best with a deck built with tons of offense. It is best if you need another untap and another combat phase. It is not a defensive card, and so it may seem like you could derail an attack and then retaliate in the turn after you play it and before you lose, but playing this is desperate unless you already have the means to win, and then it is less of a defensive reaction and more of an offensive reach card. It is definitely surprising, but not exactly the card I would usually want, and if it was, I should win anyway. Glorious End seems like a strange combination of Final Fortune and Time Stop. All of these cards are pretty amazing, and can be total game changers in the right deck, but I am unsure that this deck is really set up to overcome the significant drawback or the "lose the game" clause. I think a more aggressive deck is needed to make that clause not matter as much.

Cheesegod and SurpriZe, I really do appreciate the feedback. It has been a lot of work, but it truly is a labor of love. The deck speaks for itself, for those who are open to it.

Yeah, I think I have to agree with your comments on glorious end. Aside from the extra untap step, there's nothing it would enable the deck to do that it couldn't already, since the deck is optimized to attack on other people's turns regardless. It's a shame, because I think it's a hilarious card and it's on my list of wincons I want to successfully pull off some day, along with Maze's End.

I've been doing some online playtesting and I'm probably going to move to proxy testing at the end of the weekend (the deck is a big investment for me so I want to get it right before I buy), and the deck is working really well. Frankly, I'm concerned it might be a bit unfair (one guy in an online match conceded when he saw how my Solitary Confinement worked). I might look into powering it down if the proxy stage doesn't go right.

I'd also like to weigh in on the discussion of Twilight Prophet I noticed in the comments, as I've drawn the card. Not only does it essentially function as a Phyrexian Arena with lifegain, it can bring the table down to assassination range for the endgame if brought out early. I have yet to see it draw hate. It worked really well with Solitary Confinement in the aforementioned game to put me in a secure situation. I don't think I can say I know it's a good choice yet, but it definitely merits remaining in the deck for me right now.

I am finally thinking of playtesting Acidic Soil and Price of Progress. A couple questions about your experience with them:

1) if I can only make room for 1 of them, which one generally do you prefer? I am leaning towards price of Progress because of instant speed and slightly lower CMC

2) how often are they dead cards for you? I am worried about being in a situation too often when they cause more harm to me than opponents if I cast them. how often do you find yourself unable to cast them for this reason?

Thanks!

Price of Progress for sure. Instant that can be searched for by Sunforger or used to wipe someone out unexpectedly as a reaction to evolving events that happen on other players' turns, slightly lower CMC, double the damage in most cases. It is better.

I will have to clarify your dead card comment. They are a card that I love to see every game. They often win games for me, or at least often wipe out another player or two. They are amazing. But in most games that I get them, there are at least a few turns that I hold them instead of playing them. They are a card that needs to be played at the optimal time, so you don't often just draw them and play them. But even with this in mind, they are cards that will be played every time you draw them, you just want to wait to play them at the right time. Similar to Exsanguinate, you usually like to see them, especially later in the game, but you don't just fire them off immediately. When I draw them, I usually think, "OK. With this, I know I can win. Now I just need to go about making sure I can't lose."

I guess you've already considered Word of Command but disregarded it as a glorified preemptive damage reflection spell?

Yeah, and while I haven't played it, I have a hard time seeing how Word of Command can consistently be productive. There are too many types of spells that don't give me any advantage when they are played by someone else, even when I make all the decisions. I think it would be great in some situations, but basically worthless in all of the others. I would like for all those types of spells to basically win the game when played, and I can't see Word of Command working that way.

i love this deck and have been playing it at the local shop for about a month now, and was curious if there were any high dollar cards you left out of the deck list or anything i could replace to make this deck even better. my current meta at the shop is turn 3 combo players.

Off hand, the only high dollar cards that I have not included are Moat, Grim Tutor, and Imperial Seal. Not sure if I would actually include Moat due to the fact that it is a sort of nombo with the theme of encouraging strife at the table, and I am not sure that Imperial Seal is that amazing that I would really include it, but I could see going Grim Tutor over Cruel Tutor and possibly Imperial Seal over Shred Memory. That is about $1.4k right there. There are probably others, but those are some obvious examples.

thank you for the reply, and what would you recommend for my meta? if i loose its usually to a turn 1-3 combo like hermit druid. i added in bojesu due to the fact we have a guy that play mono blue cop and likes to help the combo decks win.

Hexekk, you crack me up. Many people are asking me about budget options, and you are all, "Meh... I want more ways to destroy my finances. Can you do that?" I think that your meta may have better ways to stop early combo that are not necessarily budget breaking. To be honest, tutors are great for that, but also, think about how those decks win. Build in the capability to either counter or stop that method of winning, or better yet, build in something to beat them with the resources or methods that they use to try to win. Again, tutors are great, since they build consistency and in some ways, speed, but that is not the only way to stop excess. This deck is about using other people's resources, especially resources that are built in excess, to beat them. It really sounds like your meta has some serious excess if they can consistently win on turn 3. Find the heart of that excess and kill it at the heart.

@precociousapprentice, by the way, since you are using Mastermind's Acquisition now, what about adding Rest in Peace to the sideboard as a way to completely shut down all the recursion based decks?

Actually SurpriZe, I have on my to-do list the idea of expanding beyond sorceries in my Wishboard. Rest in Peace would be a fantastic addition. Also, Hexekk, that should be one of the first cards to put in your main board to combat graveyard based combo like Hermit Druid and Ad Nauseam combo.

i do currently run Rest in Peace and i also run stony silence in my because the other combo decks in my meta rely a lot on artifacts. and mainly the reason i'm asking if there are any things to destroy my finances is due to the people playing 3,000$ turn one combo decks in my meta that are infuriating to the casual players at my shop. this deck does do an amazing job dealing with a lot of them most of the time. and they hate being at my table because they know i wont let them combo off. also might i recommend mind twist for a sideboard option. its currently not banned in the commander format and is super budget and can potentially set a combo player back multiple turns.

I ran Mind Twist in the Wishboard for a while for that reason. I actually changed to targeted combo hate in the form of Slaughter Games because I can ensure that I get the combo no matter where it is. It is also budget and can't be countered.

Do you run Leyline of the Void?

i looked at a the white and black leylines and had originally thought about dropping Ophiomancer for it and now that you bring it up i feel that would work very well in my meta. and Slaughter Games is an amazing card i do agree.