Sideboard


In the reflection, she saw the rough shell of the world sloughing away, revealing the truth shining underneath.

Introduction
Many players believe the goal of Magic is to win. This ideology is great for constructing decks with strong strategies but leaves such players open to an inevitable outcome: Eventually you will not win and when that happens you end up losing.

This is the drawback of a "Wins are key" mentality and can cause new players to become frustrated with their deck building ideas. Indeed, it is even a flaw in game theory itself to assume that winning is the only goal.

What do you do when building a deck solely to win no longer helps? You build a deck that doesn't lose! If you think that not losing is the same as winning then I implore you to reconsider; building decks to not lose is much stronger than simply building to win.

Surviving the Ante
The prime directive for Diplomatic Immunity is to not lose. Before even starting the game, if you know anything about your opponent's deck check your sideboard for counterplay. Mainly, if your opponent has a particular distaste for a specific spell, trade that spell down to 2 copies and replace them (or trade the spell out entirely and keep them waiting).


Opening Hand
With the addition of Gemstone Caverns and a second copy of Providence it is now preferable to play second. Remember this in tournament games as you have to decide who goes first before seeing your opening hand. If you would find yourself with both cards in your opening hand you can reveal Providence first to gain 6 life before the game starts, and then reveal The Caverns and exile Providence to get your Luck Counter.
Your opening hand should contain at least three lands and:

  • At least one piece of the Cat-Cannon
  • Any two or three spells from Divine Providence
  • Any one spell from Righteous Benediction



Negotiations
During the game you will want to keep notes on your opponent. The rules allow for you to have written notes as long as you don't keep them between games. You will want to remember your opponent's spells that give you trouble as well as which spells your opponent is wary of.
Check your notes at the end of each game and trade out spells your opponent hates and replace them with counterplay or the additional copies of support spells in the sideboard.


Avoiding Counterplay
The main complaint about this deck is that, allegedly it's vulnerable to permissions. This is true for some players but it can be entirely avoided with some good posture.
For opponents with heavy removal, it's best to employ notes as mentioned above. Against heavy counterspell decks you may have to wait for an opening. In the beginning of the game it's easier as your opponent will have to decide whether to save for a counterspell or play something else. In the middle game it's best to play removal to bait counterspelling before playing key spells and usually if the opponent stops countering removal then they are simply losing out on whatever you remove.


Ending Conflict
Diplomatic Immunity's endgame is sudden and leaves all players feeling hopelessly non-aggressive (be certain that you are okay with receiving that kind of attention).

To win: With Ajani's Chosen + Blasting Station on the battlefield, play Enchanted Evening. The Chosen will now begin producing cat Enchantment-Creatures, each of which resets Ajani's Chosen and untaps Blasting Station for repeated damage that won't stop until it's interrupted or your opponent leaves the game.
If Ajani's chosen is played last then you can start the Canon by playing a land which will enter the battlefield as an enchantment-land.


To draw: Playing Ajani's Chosen + Enchanted Evening without blasting station will draw the game unless a player can remove either card.
Otherwise, play Stuffy Doll, choose yourself when it enters play and then cast Pariah targeting the doll. Then you can draw the game any time either you or the doll would receive damage.

Aside from the Win and Draw combos detailed above there are several tactics that can grant you an intolerable advantage against your opponents.


Common
Spike Feeder + Sunbond : Mainly this combination employs Spike Feeder's third ability to gain as much life as you wish, however if you need a strong attack you can spend some Mana to improve your other creatures (if your opponent likes to kill creatures then wait for their attack-spell to hit the stack before removing the first +1/1 counter).


Echoing Calm + Enchanted Evening : While this combination is usually a trade in, it is very safe to play it as a mainstay tactic. Target a basic land with the latter spell to remove all of that type (be cautious of Target-changing spells).


Pariah + Stuffy Doll : Yes, this is mentioned as a draw tactic, but if you don't need a draw you can choose your opponent for the Doll's first ability.


Uncommon
Providence + Sunbond : When Providence sets your life total to 26, if your life total is lower, then mechanically you gain the difference, which means you also will place that difference in +1/1 counters on the targeted creature. If you have Angel's Grace handy then you can maximise this benefit guaranteed for 25 counters!


Enchanted Evening + Scour : This one is a heartbreaker; Exile all of your opponent's basic lands. If you want to show some mercy, you don't have to "find" every copy in a hidden zone (library and hand). If you want to be hated then play with all three Scour and all four Echoing Calm.


Rare
Ajani's Chosen + Oblivion Ring : With the Chosen and at least one Oblivion Ring on the battlefield, play two more Oblivion Ring and use them to exile each other until you are satisfied. The best part of this combination is that when you are done, you can use the next Ring to exile whatever was under the original Ring.

Introduction:

When Anise was a young girl, she had a natural talent for White Maguery. Her body itself was infused with a long-forgotten deity that even she was not aware of; this hidden power allowed her moments of precognitive insight and an impunitive force of will which deterred many would-be hassles from disrupting the simple happiness of her day-to-day Life.

Although she was a commoner, all that lived in Anise's hometown knew of and loved her. The girl's intense expression and sharp mentality was a beacon of Hope to her friends and neighbors.

Then, all at once, happiness left the small town. A ruthless consul arrived claiming to represent the Queen and began imposing draconian taxes and laws upon the people. Anise watched this man slowly wrap his tentacles around her beloved home and wring the prosperity out of it like a dirty rag, leaving it in as similar a state.

A dark flower began to bloom in the poor girl's heart. With her divine resolve at it's limit, Anise's mind broke away and she inadvertently created Ashley, a Homunculus with terrifying intelligence. Ashley then taught Anise how to construct a deadly totem that she could ensnare her own lifeforce within, and showed her a rite of bloody sacrifice.

Anise fashioned the doll in her image, bestowed it with her sins and confronted the Consul. In the ensuing battle, the girl was drained of her vital essence, but managed to trick the Consul into stabbing her which drew the vile consul into a time-loop wherein he would continuously stab at the doll. This method of freezing the Consul in his tracks for a perceived eternity forced him to escape back to his Queen.

Having restored proper order to the town, Anise's community asked her to step in to provide leadership. She knew that the Queen would send her military, and so she asked Ashley for help once again.

The homunculus told Anise of a possibility for relief from the coming battles. "Hone your mind's eye and focus your talents on stripping away your opponent's enhancements.

"Search for the truth of this world, as well as a faithful ally in the Foothills. The safety of your city depends upon it."

Updates Add

I just checked up on this today and see that I hit the #1 spot for Modern Enchantment and Modern Infinite Combo this year!

It makes me so happy that the community enjoys this deck that I put much of my time, money and research into over the past five years. I haven't been at a legitimate tournament in a long while but knowing that someone is out there using the tools I discovered both IRL and online warms my heart. As a thank you I'm planning to get back on the story of the deck soon. It's been a long time since I composed the first chapter and there were so many developments that have to be reflected in the lore; it makes me excited for MtG again so see all the support here.

Again, thank you all so much <3 <3 <3

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Top Ranked
Date added 8 years
Last updated 3 years
Key combos
Legality

This deck is Modern legal.

Rarity (main - side)

24 - 2 Rares

12 - 7 Uncommons

4 - 4 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 3.50
Tokens Cat 2/2 W, Clue
Folders Interesting Decks, Interesting Build, Modern Decks, Random Ideas, Yasss, fun modern decks, Cool ideas I saw, funny ideas, lessons, Decks to look at
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