Via Tolarian Community College:
“Playing control in multiplayer is actually an interactive political experience, you can’t stop everyone, at least at first, so you have to pick your battles and stay under the radar until it’s time to make your move.”
HOW AND WHY TO PLAY THIS DECK
This is a focused-to-semi-competitive UW deck with a heavy 'pillow fort' theme. Disruption pieces in the form of artifacts and enchantments serve to stop almost all combo game-plans. There are no creatures in the deck, so the disruption doesn't affect the pilot. After a grindy game, this deck wins via Luminarch's Ascension, or major graveyard recursion with Dance of the Manse, or Replenish
(this was previously a Hanna, Ship's Navigator deck, but I rarely cast her and almost never had the mana up to use her ability. Especially now that I'm main-decking Cursed Totem, Lavinia, Azorius Renegade makes more sense. Her ability can stop storm players, and at the very least will protect our early engines from FoWs, etc.)
Solemnity is in the deck to stop infect and experience counters, but also serves to help with a few of our own cards. It shuts down time counters on Glacial Chasm and Mystic Remora, and turns Delaying Shield into a powerhouse. Additionally, it turns into a game-winning stax piece with Decree of Silence, countering all your opponent's spells (but i've taken this combo out as it pissed people off).
A rare possible win can be set up by drawing a huge hand with cards like Sphinx's Revelation, casting Angel's Grace and casting Windfall, forcing all players to draw they're entire remaining deck. Angel's Grace will prevent you from losing, where other players might.
Changelog
1/3/16 -Fabricate +Fact or Fiction
After a lot of changes, Fabricate only gets two mana rocks and Torpor Orb - just not enough to
warrant its inclusion anymore. Over the past few weeks the one thing I’ve noticed is a lack of
ability to draw a few cards at instant speed when I need them. Fact or Fiction, which was in the
deck originally, has now been placed back in. I am toying around with the idea of cutting a board wipe for even more card draw...
1/15/16 -Island Sanctuary +Solitary Confinement
Both spells prevent your draw, but Solitary Confinement gives your shroud as well as negating
attacks. And [Island Sanctuary] doesn’t technically prevent attacks altogether, or damage from
spells for that matter. The idea here is to fail to pay the upkeep cost of Solitary Confinement,
getting a full round of shroud and damage shield for free, and simply get the enchantment back
with Hanna, recasting it.
The sanctuary and Mystic Decree almost never assembled. In the end, preventing all damage
(ie from Purphoros) and having shroud was a much better way to spend your draw step. I
thought the upkeep cost would have been too much, but there are just so many ways to recur
Solitary Confinement, it’s one of the best pillow-forts in the game for a Hanna deck.
-Rout +Planar Collapse
I have been experiencing many games where I have Hanna out and need to get a board-wipe. Planar Collapse is a perfect way to do this: 2 mana, recurrable board wiping. The only arguable upside of [Rout] is the instant-speed casting, but with Leyline of Anticipation out, any of the deck’s board-wipes can come out as a surprise.
Collapse can be tutored, and recurred with multiple cards in the deck. It’s also way more
interesting.
5/7/16 -Sun Titan +Steel Hellkite,-Azorius Signet +Lightning Greaves, -Mystic Decree
+Elixer of Immortality, -Dissipate +Redirect
Steel Hellkite is a much more threatening creature to end a game with than Sun Titan.
Additionally, it is an artifact. I may return to the titan if I get a Dance of Many.
Azorius Signet has been clunky and not helped me ever. Lightning Greaves sits in the same
mana slot and makes Hanna a lot better.
Mystic Decree is nearly useless without Island Sanctuary, or Moat.
The exile from Dissipate has failed to be useful ever. Trying out Redirect in that slot.
5/23/16 - Spell Burst + Dissipate
Needed Spell Burst for another de, and rarely had enough mana to break it.
9/10/16 - Dispeller's Capsule + Aura of Silence
After trying this out in a game I can say it was a good idea! I never tutored up the capsule with
Trinket Mage (the only plus the card had over Aura). Additionally, the Aura cost other players at
the table around 20 mana. Also, being able to blow something up when tapped out was
useful
- Hatching Plans + Future Sight
If you are able to play lands off the top, cast cheap spells, or modify the top of your deck, the power of Future Sight is unparalleled! On some turns I cycled 3 cards into my deck. The fact that it gives others info makes it less of a target. Quite simply, it can draw you 1-3 cards every single turn!
7/28/17 - Spreading Seas + Delaying Shield
I have been looking for Delaying Shield for a long time. It is a nuts way to prevent all damage
with Claws of Gix and can also completely shut down infect. Simply being able to last until your
upkeep might give you the extra chance to cast spells that could spell a win, even if you take 100x lethal damage!
9/2/17 - Pithing Needle + Stifle
It’s not tutorable with Trinket Mage, but Stifle has the ability to solve bigger problems at
instant speed, especially with new, more powerful generals coming out. I don’t recall tutoring
or using the needle all that much
- Render Silent + Rewind
Render Silent has never given me value from the ‘no-cast’ clause. Rewind, works very well in
some of my other decks, especially in counterspell wars. Trying it out.
- Thopter Spy Network + Sphinx's Revelation
One of the biggest problems with this deck lately is no card-draw when it is needed. In addition to
not being usable card-draw immediately when cast, the Spy-Network was middling at best as a
win-con, and I never recall having more than 2-3 thopters or drawing 2-3 cards. Rev seems like a no-brainer and the life-gain may help.
- Lightning Greaves + Solemnity
As soon as Solemnity was announced I knew I needed it. It prevents poison counters deaths, and combos so powerfully with Delaying Shield, Decree of Silence, and Mystic Remora. The equipment was only valuable for the general, which I rarely cast nowadays. Not enough value.
- Flood + Glacial Chasm
Flood isn’t a bad card, but was the worst card left to cut for another turtling card. Glacial Chasm is exactly the character of this deck, and works so well with Solemnity.
- Isochron Scepter + Temple of the False God
Isochron Scepter is powerful, but about 80% of the time it became a nice 2-for-1 for my
opponents. This deck has struggled with hitting land drops, and TotFG works in every EDH deck.
9/9/17 - Ghostly Prison, Volition Reins, Dissipate, Thassa, God of the Sea, Recurring Insight, Oblivion Ring, Austere Command, Dictate of Kruphix, Plains, Island,
Marsh Flats
+ Norn's Annex, Chromatic Lantern, Snapcaster Mage, Soothsaying, Dance of Many,
Sun’s Titan, Imprisoned in the Moon, Thirst for Knowledge, Mind Stone, Flooded Strand, Reflecting Pool
Part of the major revamp, this was an attempt to speed the deck up and get rid of chaff. I am
trying to self-mill/loot more, making Thirst and Snaps good, get some more recurrable card draw
like Mind Stone, add Dance of Many combos (like Sun Titan), and get more efficient lands etc.
Cards like Volition Reins, Recurring Insight, and Austere Command have been
underperforming nowadays, and sat dead in my hand a lot. In general I want to be more proactive
than board-wipey now.
9/10/17 - Island, Island, Island, Plains, Seachrome Coast + Polluted Delta, Marsh Flats,
Arid Mesa, Scalding Tarn, Mana Confluence
After watching a Tolarian Community College video, I realized that I should be running more
fetches to enable shuffles, especially since I am now running Soothsaying and may run Top.
Additionally, Seachrome Coast has come into play tapped for me about 90% of the time.
- Redirect, Torpor Orb + Ghostly Prison, Dictate of Kruphix
The orb was a non-bo with some of the new creatures included in this build
20/11/17 -Polluted Delta +Island
Fetch needed for another deck
28/8/18 Continuing to revamp the deck into a sleeker combo shell with Tunnel Vision. This
means more card draw, bottom-of-deck manipulation, and versatile survival tools
-
Reflecting Pool + Nimbus Maze, - Temple of the False God + Ancient Tomb,
Needed Reflecting Pool for another deck and didn’t need the 5 colors.
-
Basalt Monolith + Lotus Petal, - Mana Vault + Mana Crypt
Trying to speed up the deck vs offering ramp, plus I’m not going infinite with monolith
-
Dictate of Kruphix + Peer Through Depths, - Rewind + Preordain,
Preordain and Peer help set up the bottom of the deck for Replenish / Tunnel Vision Combo while getting us tools to survive in the short term
-
Imprisoned in the Moon + Condemn, - Steel Hellkite + Mystical Tutor,
More synergy with using and finding Tunnel Vision. The deck is turning into more of
a Tunnel Vision combo deck so the Hellkite seemed too ‘fair’ of a gameplan
-
Stifle + Disallow, - Dance of Many + Duplicant,
Dance was too cute. Otherwise, strict upgrades
-
Norn's Annex + Protective Sphere,
Changing of the Commander rules to permit creating mana of any color made Norn's Annex way worse, and Protective Sphere really good with Chromatic Lantern out
-
Paralax Tide + Vedalkan Orrery,
The tide was just too dickish of a card, even if it helped spot remove lands
11/30/18
More streamlining of the deck - adding more card draw and some new Enchantments...
OUT:
Duplicant,
Soothsaying,
Disallow,
Protective Sphere,
Peer Through Depths,
Chromatic Lantern,
Future Sight,
Sphere of Safety,
Planar Collapse,
Second Chance,
IN:
Reality Shift,
Cursed Totem,
Overburden,
Swan Song,
Authority of the Consuls,
Chain of Vapor,
Frantic Search,
Impulse,
Ponder,
Mission Briefing
2/2/19
-Ponder + Dig Through Time,
-Detention Sphere + Smothering Tithe,
-Copy Enchantment + Sensei's Divining Top,
1/15/20
Another Major overhaul: No longer a Hanna, Ship's Navigator deck - I've shifted to Lavinia, Azorius Renegade. I never really cast or activated Hanna, anyways. Doubling down on the theme, though, of pillows, disruption, and a big, flashy Replenish win.
-Fact or Fiction + Seal of Cleansing,
-Witching Well + Isochron Scepter,
-Tormod's Crypt + Dramatic Reversal,
-Open the Vaults + Dance of the Manse,
-Elixir of Immortality + Azorius Signet,
-Mystic Speculation + Flash of Insight,
-Mission Briefing + Grafdigger's Cage,
(strangely enough Grafdigger's doesn't shut down any card in our deck)
-Settle the Wreckage + Generous Gift,
-Leyline of Anticipation + Zur's Weirding,
-Overburden + Silence (Overburden was a nombo with Torpor Orb, so it's out as the orb is way more important)
1/18/20
- Null Chamber + AEtherize
This deck needed at least 1 more instant-speed board wipe, and Null Chamber is too cute for the current playgroup. Might put it back in if established near-cedh decks start to become expected
1/23/20
Another major overhaul, removing the Tunnel Vision package as it just plain never happened, and putting in some better counterspells.
Plan A is now Luminarch's Ascension,so turtle up and tutor it when you're ready.
- -Expedition Map +Chrome Mox
- -Visions of Beyond +Verity Circle
- -Dig Through Time +Pact of Negation
- -Hinder +Delay
- -Spell Crumple +Force of Negation
- -Tunnel Vision +Angel's Grace
- -Blue Sun's Zenith +Dovin, Hand of Control
- -Condemn +Gossamer Chains
- -Dramatic Reversal +Planar Collapse
