Trying out a new manabase at the suggestion of someone else in the Cockatrice Frontier League. Thanks Somnus!
From : To
1 : 1 Canopy Vista
4 : 4 Flooded Strand
1 : 1 Forest
3 : 0 Glacial Fortress
6 : 6 Island
3 : 4 Plains
3 : 1 Prairie Stream
3 : 4 Windswept Heath
0: 3 Botanical Sanctum
This will put less emphasis on what's on the field, make it easier to get Mausoleum Wanderers onto the field T1, and help smooth out my untapped sources in turns 2-4. Losing the Glacial Fortresses may put undue strain on my W but I'll have to test and see. I doubt it - I'll just end up fetching more plains with Windswept. Overall I suspect that, in exchange, fetching so narrowly will create problems as the deck drags into the midgame, and may end up reinstating some of the praerie streams if that's the case.
The big problem is consistency. Although the deck plays on a low curve, I often find myself either flooded or screwed, and most of that, I think, is due to my inability to seed my draws. A Ponder like effect would be ideal, but the closest solution is Anticipate, which in my experience, has always been "just okay." It doesn't affect the board, which is crucially important in the early-mid turns, and robs me of a t2 play. What I'd really love is a spirit which lets me scry. Still, it might be able to add some consistency, and to that end, I've made some final adjustments, cutting down a Thunderclap, moving the MB Dispel slot to the side, and cutting an unsub for 3 anticipates.
I expect that this will help stabilize my need for lands and make some bad hands keepable, but losing an unsubstantiate might hurt in some matches. The other two losses probably will not be felt, but I do worry that if I cut more thunderclaps I lose that end-game boost to win before the final Gearhulk swing or Liliana activation. Although I'm not expecting this to dramatically affect the overall power level of the deck, I am expecting it to FEEL like it's changed more than it has, simply because I now have more options which are overall less useful.
Other considerations include Farm // Market, Smuggler's Copter and Censor. Maybe Ponder or Brainstorm will get reprinted in Rivals, that'd be nice.
Also subbing out the dispels for Spell Pierces, and the Disallows for Essence Scatters. They're both pretty nearly strictly better. Dissallow was not being boarded, ever, and I think Essence Scatter will do a better job in the slot.
