Simic Manipulator is the dictator of pussy, the fuehrer of sweet ass, the harbinger of fourth reich...The reich of big booty hoes. Alright, though I used my incredible secondary education to entice you with a thrilling "grabber" statement, let's cut to brass tax, shall we?
The synergy in this deck is quite nice. Let's highlight some of the best combos here: most obviously, we have Simic Manipulator working in tangent with Agoraphobia, Sensory Deprivation, and the repeated playing of higher level monsters so as to activate his evolve and special ability to steal your opponent's stuff. To go along with that, Burst of Strength is a way to put a counter on the manipulator and potentially give you a chance to tap him for another steal. We have some counter and "no" spells in Simic Charm, Dissolve, and Negate.
Other creatures: we have Courser of Kruphix to rifle through the pesky land and gain some life and we have mystic for mana if it is needed. Now are you ready to see how Scourge of Skola Vale can actually not totally worthless. Let's say your opponent is packing a threatening creature. You can place a nerfing enchantment on it(i.e. Agoraphobia), take it, pay mana to return agoraphobia to your hand, sacrifice and feed the creature to scourge thus making it stronger, and attack your opponent. You get to have their creatures, and eat it, too!
Also, here was one playtest scenario with a friend. I had a scourge out and my friend let me play a ravager and he paid the tribute so I had a nice old 12/12. I fed it to scourge and made him a 14/14 trampler. Next turn, I won with the scourge. So whether he is eating your opponents things, or eating your own things, he is a hungry, hungry hydra that is sure to be a moderately effective win con if used right.
Granted, not every game will go like that but I figured I might as well share a compelling allegory since I am already long winded as hell. Also, Kalonian Hydra can literally double the counters on everything. Himself, the manipulator, and more... So, friends and strangers. Let me know what you think. I am struggling for a sideboard for this deck. Please leave comments and helpful advice if you aren't a big smelly willy. If you love tickling peoples' goody holes with sweet combos in magic, then leave a fun story in a comment, share a good combo or deck, leave a plus one, refer me to new strategy and I will check it out!
