Deck Concept
Big Brother. All-powerful and watches you anywhere and everywhere. Neither you or anything you own is safe from its eyes. Here, I decided to take that kind of power and translate it into the fact that creatures or even spells are never safe, not in the battlefield, your hand, or even sometimes your graveyard or library itself.
I want this to be representative of a North Korea-esque, Big Brother style kind of totalitarian regime. As such, there are many components I considered when making the deck. I want to use other peoples' resources to my advantage and I want to deprive them of their own. Furthermore, I want to gain as much control of the board as possible. I don't necessarily want to discourage people from attacking me, as rebellions do happen in governments like these. Despite this, I want to maintain control over my opponents before and after this happens.
Notes on Flavor and Includes
My hand hate cards such as Duress, Castigate, and Thoughtseize all delve into the minds of my opponents and strategically remove their weapons of rebellion. Psychic Intrusion and Praetor's Grasp are two excellent cards for accomplishing this goal.
I have several cards in here that outright silence my opponents. Pithing Needle and Meddling Mage are great examples of silencing my opponents. I can shut down their commanders, or I can shut down something in their hands based on the intel I collect through my hand hate and Telepathy effects.
Of course I have my thought police in here, such as Vendilion Clique, but I also have significant creatures that I like to think lead are in my cabinet. For example, Linvala is a powerful creature who helps me oppress enemies who don't stay in line. Dragonlord Silumgar has his own lore: he wants power, which is a mindset that fits quite well in a deck like this. Plus, much like members of the Party in 1984, Silumgar lives in opulence. Sorin is another character who would fit right in with the Party. He has power, wealth, control, and lives life based on what he wants to do. He is not afraid to subjugate other if it gets him ahead. Elesh Norn manipulates her faction both in the story and in her card. She subtly sabotages the enemy while bolstering the true believers in my regime through an anthem effect. In New Phyrexia, white is the color of unity, and in a totalitarian regime, unity is everything.
I like to think that the Planeswalkers I've included are the top agents of my government. Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Jace, Unraveler of Secrets both mess with my opponents' stuff, whether it be on the board or in their decks. They also offer me intelligence through card advanteage (JtMS' Brainstorm and Unraveler's Scry). Karn, Ugin, and Liliana all deprive my opponents of resources while performing other tasks, and Sorin Markov is a control powerhouse. I've also managed to get my hands on a Sorin, Grim Nemesis who is a powerful card in and of himself, but also fits thematically. His plus ability gets me advantages at the cost of others, his minus X assassinates anyone who may threaten my authority, and his ult raises an army to keep my opponents in line. What's not to love?
Of course, the inspiration for this deck was the steal effects, so I have quite a few Mind Control effects in here in order to sway the minds of my opponents' creatures to bend to my will. Cards like Ghostly Prison and Propaganda reflect more oppressive policies of these regimes and allow me more board control in case something comes on the field that I do not have an immediate answer for. Finally, Cryptic Command was added for its incredible versatility. It counters spells, gives me card advantage, controls boards, and gets rid of threats. Plus, it fits flavor because it's a command I'm giving. Beautiful card.
Big Brother invades your mind so far that in a way, you are not even living your own life. That is why I've included a "steal your next turn" effect in the form of Mindslaver. Spellskite is an excellent example, as it allows the Triplets to protect themselves. Consecrated Sphinx is another good example, as it allows the Triplets to piggyback off of the resources of other players.
Finally, I like cards like Archangel of Tithes as after all, the citizens are the ones who pay for their own oppression.
The only card that I see breaking flavor is Karn Liberated, as his character is one that directly opposes the influence of the Phyrexians. However, I feel as though Karn's abilities more than make up for the flavor here.
How It Plays
When it comes to politics, I want to play this deck in a way that doesn't immediately paint a target on my back. Until someone explicitly targets me, I want to sit back and just watch. However, this is just an ideal situation, as being in Esper colors and playing Sen Triplets of all generals isn't particularly politically salient. That's why I loaded this deck up with defensive measures like hand control, Meddling Mage, graveyard manipulation, board wipes, taxes, etc.
In my first playtest, this deck did somewhat succeed in flying under the radar...until I Bribery'd an Avacyn from my opponent's deck. At that point I was unstoppable. Granted, not all games are going to go like this, but the fact that it can do this is very telling.
Budget Alternatives
This deck is far from a budget deck. However, there are definitely budget alternatives to many of these cards.
Telemin Performance is an excellent replacement for Bribery. It's less politically efficient, but it allows you to steal from your opponent's library at the same mana cost at a fraction of the price.
Thoughtseize can easily be replaced with any other Despise/Duress effect such as Ostracize.
Vendilion Clique and Spellskite could be replaced with Brain Maggot or Tidehollow Sculler, as both of those provide the function of hand hate and do so at a low mana cost.
Consecrated Sphinx is a tough one to replicate, but I feel like Rhystic Study would be a preferable budget option. Its low mana cost and good effect will net you at least some cards, but not guarantee you the same amount as the sphinx. Also, both will paint you a similarly-sized target on your head.
Elesh Norn could be taken out for an Angel of Despair for some good removal for the same mana cost. Or you could go with another boardwipe, as her effect basically hoses mana dorks and tokens.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor is one of a kind. It's hard to find a card that fills his role. However, I definitely feel that Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, Narset Transcendent, or Sorin, Lord of Innistrad are powerful enough to substitute him. Tamiyo provides control, Narset provides power at the same mana cost and a higher loyalty, and other Sorin provides blockers and his ult fits the theme of this deck.
Karn Liberated is another powerhouse that doesn't have any real equal. However, I feel that Void Winnower has a lot of potential in a deck like this. Both are colorless and around the same mana cost, and both are huge in loyalty and P/T. Both have hard-hitting abilities that punish opponents as well.
Cryptic Command can be replaced by the recently printed Mystic Confluence. It doesn't have as many modes, but I still think it's quite versatile and powerful at only one mana more. This may not be the standard definition of "budget", but it's like $20 less than Cryptic Command, which I think counts.
Archangel of Tithes can be replaced by a Koskun Falls for another Ghostly Prison effect.
Speaking of Ghostly Prison, that can be swapped for Crawlspace to prevent your opponents from attacking, or maybe even a Blazing Archon to prevent them from attacking YOU.
Treachery can be swapped with any other Mind Control effect like Persuasion or Confiscate.
The filter lands and Scars lands can be replaced with buddy lands or basics. The fetch lands can be replaced by the fetches found in Odyssey (such as Flood Plain).
Finally, feel free to replaceAcademy Ruins with whatever you want. I only put it in here because I had it lying around and it allows me to do a Mindslaver lock if I wanted.
Helm of Obedience can be replaced with either Acquire or Telemin Performance.
Things like Silence, Spy Network and Dimir Machinations are great general replacements IMO, especially for Top.
If you have any questions or suggestions, leave a comment below! :)
