Dowsing Dagger stuck out as an odd choice to me. How is it performing for you?

TheChrisWaits: Oh, man, it’s been amazing (in multiplayer). Give the plants to Player A, swing at Player B (often with a snake they don’t want to block), get Lost Vale untapped?? I usually manage to play, equip, and flip in the same turn. The ramp is great, and the plants are convenient places to stick -1 counters when my opponents don’t have creatures.

Seems good so far I was debating will Helm of the Host work well in this deck?

Cause A. Clone hapatra = Snakes all day x 2

or B. Clone -1/-1/ maker = Snakes all day x 2

Sorry for the delay Daedalus19876, I had written this last night but didn't click post.

Oh man, the mechanics in here are ridiculous. The infinite combos you listed look pretty fun to sequence out and it seems like there'd always be things for you to do. Wild.

I was wondering about Cryptolith Rite as a good addition for mana ramping, but I see it was already recommended. Why not?

Maybe Pitiless Plunderer with all the dying?

Black Market—the Growing Rites of Itlimoc  ^Flip for —could be huge, especially it's when ANY creature dies... though perhaps it's to high a mana cost judging by the curve you're currently running; it looks like your in a pretty fast metta. I've got it in a Ghave deck and it's nuts.

I've got Archfiend of Ifnir in a madness/discard strategy I'm working on and he's a keystone power card in there with all my discards and cycling each turn. The combo with Generous Patron is fantastic. Unfortunately the madness deck is; are there other scenarios you really find him performing big in this deck?

I love the idea of Ifnir Deadlands but I'm not too sure about Exotic Orchard since that's best in 3 colors and above. I think I'd rather have the four fetches honestly. :v

gdm1989: Honestly, it's just not worth the 9 mana to me; one copy of Hapatra is enough to go infinite ;)

goldlion: Thank you for the comment! I'm glad the deck seems interesting :D

In answer to your questions: Cryptolith Rite is one of the many cards on the maybeboard at the moment...I own a foil copy, and I know it would be fantastic in the deck, but I'm not sure what to cut for it...Any ideas? ;)

Pitiless Plunderer is an interesting thought, I hadn't considered that previously. I'll think on it! Black Market is probably too slow, I'm afraid, and honestly this deck doesn't have many good mana sinks for it (very low CMC curve overall, since I have ways to cheat in high-cost things like Craterhoof). Archfiend of Ifnir has proven to be pretty good, albeit somewhat conditional. Luckily, I can cycle him away if I don't have Survival of the Fittest or Generous Patron, so he never hangs out in my hand being useless. Thanks for your thoughts!

OptimalGreen: Full disclosure - while Exotic Orchard IS a good card, and fantastic-looking in foil, I accidentally forgot to order my fourth fetch. It's on its way now >.< and Ifnir Deadlands is...so-so, in my testing so far. The issue is that many times I want a basic Swamp for Earthcraft, and the 5 mana to get the 2 counters is pretty rough. Though, to be fair, I do like the cute synergy with Scavenger Grounds :3

So I have a question: How well does this deck interact with +1/+1 counters being placed on creatures? Or having -1/-1 counters removed before the creatures die?

Also, a lists of cards that could be useful (unknown if you already knew about these or play tested them)(would still want to hear your thoughts on them within a deck):

Plaguemaw Beast (sac-a-snake, make-a-nest)

Poison-Tip Archer (redundant win-con is redundant)

Driven Despair (aggro?)

Rishkar, Peema Renegade (any counter counts)

Quillspike (known combo piece)

Flourishing Defenses (see "aggro?")

Harbinger of Night (recommend pair with Melira, Sylvok Outcast )

Blight Sickle (once again, aggro?)

Hex Parasite (political tool)

TheRedGoat: Thanks for the thoughts/suggestions! The only pieces that care about -1 counters being on the creature when they die are Necroskitter and Blowfly Infestation - the former may get cut, and the latter mostly sticks stuff on my own creatures (so it's not a problem really). The deck mostly cares about the -1 placement itself :)

And regarding your suggestions - Plaguemaw Beast is interesting, but I'm not super convinced that it's worth the 5 mana and waiting for summoning sickness to wear off... Poison-Tip Archer isn't really worth the 4 mana to me, though I could see it fitting into my sideboard for the additional usefulness of having reach (this deck struggles with fliers). Driven / Despair is actually something I want to fit back into the deck when I find space for it (it may replace Necroskitter)! Rishkar, Peema Renegade just seems like a less good version of Cryptolith Rite here, another card I'm trying to fit in (too few slots, bleh). Quillspike recently got cut because he was too fragile, dies from a single counter, and is only really useful with Devoted Druid. Flourishing Defenses is just too much mana for its effect, unfortunately. Harbinger of Night just got cut - he was just too slow and tended to cause problems. Blight Sickle is not efficient enough, in my opinion (I'd rather run Glistening Oil, ANOTHER possible inclusion), and while Hex Parasite is cute against opposing PWs and maybe could find a home in the sideboard, he doesn't advance my game plan enough to put him in the main deck.

Thank you again for the suggestions! :)

Excellent question on what to drop, Daedalus19876. I usually find the idea "When in doubt, drop a land" to be good practice....

Juuuuuust joking! Maybe doable with the ramp Cryptolith Rite and Pitiless Plunderer offer, but you're already at 34... we need those lands in the opening hand!

Do you find yourself short on mana, or having to wait a turn longer than you hoped for game changing plays? I guess that's the big question, followed by what cards do you find not being so game changing providing good effects in low instances? Archfiend of Ifnir perhaps, if he's just been "pretty good"? It seems like the mana that Cryptolith Rite and Pitiless Plunderer could provide you in a deck with these mechanics could be pretty significant, all the time... but then again, the mass snakes that Archfiend could give you.... hmmm.

goldlion: Honestly, the most likely cuts for Cryptolith Rite, Driven / Despair, and Glistening Oil are Necroskitter, Midnight Banshee, and Exotic Orchard. But that drives my creature count even lower, making Survival of the Fittest a less and less good card... It’s hard to balance things.

Odd question but if you could either get the Masterpiece of Chrome Mox or Lightning Greaves which would you get? I got some early Christmas money and I'm having a hard time choosing. Both are Commander staples so it's a hard choice.

OptimalGreen: Art's better on Chrome Mox IMO. I prefer pack foil for the Lightning Greaves ;)

So true, Daedalus19876. The value of one card is determined by the value of 3-4 others and taking one of those out starts to make the other(s) more useless. When a deck gets this tuned in synergy, it's hard for an outside to know. Or hard for you to know if 4 out and 4 in would make it a little better or not.

Have you considered the card Cinderhaze Wretch? I run it in my list as a backup Devoted Druid. Even though it’s strictly worse in pretty much every situation, Devoted Druid is such an integral combo piece that it’s nice to have a backup in the deck in case it gets exiled or I don’t have any reanimator effects in hand.

BlueAutomatic: I have, but...I run enough tutors to usually find reanimation or a different combo? Long story short, Cinderhaze Wretch is on my list of cards I want to add but not at the top of that list.

goldlion: I tested Cryptolith Rite and it didn't do as much as I wanted (since it does not have the same immediacy of Earthcraft, the times I needed the mana were when I had to rebuild after a board wipe, where it specifically could not help). Guess that one's staying out for the moment!

So I was looking through my Modern binder for extra fetches to put into this and turns out I have extras of everything listed except Polluted Delta but I do have an extra Verdant Catacombs lol. I got a set in a trade last year from a dude for like all of Modern Merfolk

Just wanted to say that I love the deck! Also I was wondering if you had thought of putting Toxic Deluge in somewhere? I feel like it would be a good addition to the deck.

killbobbuilder: Thanks for the suggestion, and I'm glad you like the deck! I've considered it? But honestly, the deck runs a lot of things with low-toughness, and really needs to keep its creatures on the battlefield to execute its plans... so for now, I don't think it fits well. Remember that it doesn't count as -1 counter placement :)

I love your build of this deck and I reference this list often for ideas as I have a very similar hapatra build of my own. I see that since I was last here you added a couple more lands which I think was a solid choice. I was looking at my own deck and thinking about revisions as well as what to remove. Making choices on what to cut is always difficult so I thought Id share my ideas because I have only benefited from you sharing yours.

Driven - I am looking at cutting this card mainly because it's too conditional. It really only benefits me when I have a wide army to swing with. Getting in with one unblocked creature for one card draw is fine, but I think we can do better. This is just one of those cards that doesnt help us at all in a vacuum. Its a "win-more" sort of card, and when my board is empty is when I am most likely to need that hand refill, which this card does not provide.
Deathreap Ritual - Same as before, the card draw is conditional. Yes creatures die often, but do they die enough to justify the 4 cmc? Many times I face decks with creatures that are protected from destruction. I see a lot more exile and bounce. Even on a board wipe, this card doesn't draw for each death, just one no matter the count. I do have sac outlets in my deck (even more than you have in your current list) but I dont see it happening enough to really justify the slot for deathreap.
Defense of the Heart - This was a tough one because it's effect is so powerful. But really, it's an effect players can see coming from a mile away. When this enchantment is on the table, players will either kill it or just not play creatures. Waiting for the upkeep trigger is never a good thing for obvious reasons. I dont know how often you get to benefit from this card but I rarely get to see it go off.

cleandeceit: Thanks, I'm so glad this has been helpful! Regarding your suggestions...

Driven / Despair is a newer addition, so it may well come out if it doesn't perform well (haven't had a chance to test it yet). But I feel like both halves of it would be helpful here, and I feel like the ceiling on the card is very powerful (especially since I usually have 3+ Snakes sitting around).

Deathreap Ritual has been passable, honestly? It's one of the potential cuts here, I think, but I would want to replace it with other draw - any suggestions for what would be better?

Defense of the Heart often does eat removal, true, but that's less removal for my other wincons. I'm comfortable baiting removal with it, and it often manages to lock opponents out of playing their creatures if they can't find removal (not to mention times where I play it after someone already has 3). It's pulled its weight when I've drawn it.

Thanks for your thoughts! Is there anything important you feel I'm missing?

Well as far as additions are concerned, I dont know if I have what you are looking for, but here are a few cards I can make a strong argument for.

Read the Bones - Not the same ceiling as a card like Driven, but definitely a higher floor. I dont know how fast your metta is, but if you are like me, when you want to draw cards, you want to draw cards now and not sit around waiting for upkeep or other conditions to be met. I think of Read the bones as a better version of Harmonize. I know for sure it deserves a spot in your 99 more than Deathreap Ritual and I would argue it more valuable than Phyrexian Arena too. With a 2 cmc commander, you do often have 7 cards in hand on turn 3, so casting Read the Bones on curve might not be that desirable, but if you are in a pinch, I feel it's still worth it to bin one card in order to get whatever peace you need. If you haven't used this card before, run some playtests with it, I am never disappointed to have Read the Bones in hand.

Mask of Memory or Skeleton Key - I personally haven't tried these two out yet but I was strongly considering them for the synergy with Archfiend of Ifnir. I was thinking that equipping the Mask to a snake would be a good way have the opponent not block, but that plan might not always work. The Key is a little more likely to connect could possibly help Hapatra get in but I'm not sure its worth it. Along the same line you could also consider Keen Sense or the slightly worse Sixth Sense. Warriors' Lesson is interesting in that you could use it on your opponents creatures.

Memory Jar and Bazaar of Baghdad both have synergy with Archfiend of Ifnir again but are useful all by themselves. And if you are going to be discarding more often why not think about Skeletal Scrying (which is also helpful with all those fetchlands you have).

In my own list I also run Whispersilk Cloak just for Hapatra but that doesn't have anything to do with card draw.

Underrealm Lich and Izoni, Thousand-Eyed are higher on the mana dump but either one is worth considering and obviously they work well together. I know these two suggestions are kinda out there at first glance, but I think if you really consider their potential, they have value. It may require to much of a direction change for the deck right now, but good to keep these cards in mind.

Concordant Crossroads - This is another card I'm surprised you dont run already. When your combo lands endless tokens, this can be a finisher for one mana.

Viridian Corrupter - Because we tutor for creatures so often, I feel like this dude is worth including. If there is an artifact you really need to take out, why not overlap with some infect potential? Every deck has artifacts in it and no one wants to start taking poison counters, especially when they know you can proliferate, but that's just the threat, the real value is in the snakes he nets you when they block or attack (and they will attack if you are blowing up their nice things).

Fauna Shaman - the budget version of Survival of the Fittest, why not run both? More tutor means more combo and more discard means more synergy for the Archfiend of Ifnir as well as other cards I mentioned like Skeletal Scrying or Izoni, Thousand-Eyed.

Vedalken Orrery - Now I know this can be less helpful in the faster metta, but if you have the time to deploy it, it is very powerful. Many of the combos in your deck are creature baised, this protects them. It also helps set up that "Defense of the Heart.

Bear Umbra - I dont know if you are in the market for more ramp but I like the idea of keeping Hapatra on the table as long as possible. And because the untap trigger doesn't require you to deal damage I would argue this is even better than Sword of Feast and Famine.

Viridian Longbow - this one I wanted to throw in just for fun. It basically gives you another Ulvenwald Tracker tracker effect and could be very useful.

Well I bet you have considered many of these cards already but sometimes the value of a card can change from the first time we see it. Sometimes its helpful to go back with a fresh perspective and decide if now is the time to shake things up. I hope my ideas here are useful, even if the cards I listed dont make it into your deck, it may help you get those brewer's juices flowing for your own ideas and help make sure the deck keeps evolving the way you want it to. I know I'll be coming back to see what updates you have in the future. Maybe Ravnica Alliance will give us something spicy :)

I mean this deck isn't graveyard based so Underrealm Lich isn't a great pick. That card was specifically made for graveyard based strategies like Meren or Muldrotha. Vraska does what Izoni does for less mana although she can be attacked but usually the only thing going for her are flyers because if you have enough snakes no one will swing at her.

Memory Jar and Bazaar seem far too excessive even though they create multiple triggers for Archfiend and thus Hapatra. Really ditching two cards with Survival is more than enough to give you an amount of snakes to where you can than stomp your opponents with Craterhoof and Triumph of the Hordes. Also Bazaar is $1200+ and dropping that kind of dosh on a commander that's not even competitive seems like a bad financial decision to me.

Fauna Shaman might be neat but the deck runs 18 creatures so she might also be redundant. I use her in Ruric Thar but Ruric Thar decks use a lot more creatures even land destruction ones. Also her being an elf is a bonus for Priest of Titania. Still might be neat.

Concordant Crossroads could be cool for Earthcraft + Squirrel's Nest but I feel like that might be a bit narrow. Usually when you're spawning infinite snakes your doing Blood Artist shenanigans. Also I feel like a consistent source of card draw is more valuable in this deck than a one and done deal.

Don't know about the rest but I thought I'd comment on those ones.

Also I've been looking at other G/B/x lists and a good chunk run Ad Nauseam for card draw but with a cmc of 2.8 it might be tougher but I still think it's something to consider especially since we have access to Sylvan Library which could let us stack our deck with a few lands to draw for free with it.

Forgot to add that since you've seemed not so happy with Ifnir Deadlands why not replace it with Phyrexian Tower? Saccing a snake, insect, or squirrel for two black mana sounds pretty good. It just got reprinted so now would be the time to strike. Could also sacc creatures like Eternal Witness, Soul Snuffers, or Channeler Initiate that have already done their jobs.