I built this deck trying to find a great way to stall and virtually guarantee no loss of game by gaining life at every opportunity possible; with life being gained constantly, it's only fitting I gain more than just life with each turn, hopefully providing a wincon with creatures too big to ignore. I'm not the biggest control player, but I tried to add an element of it in this deck as well; after all, with all the time gained from lifegain, it is only right to use it to contemplate and secure an advantage; thus Dragonlord Dromaka perfectly describes the goals of this deck. Now down to the nitty gritty:
Lifegain cards:
Blossoming Sands, Tranquil Cove, and Thornwood Falls give a life when dropped, useful in this deck as well as adding diverse mana to cast spells. Heroes' Reunion provides a quick 7 life for just 2 mana. Nyx-Fleece Ram proves to be a decent defender and gives you one life each turn, vital to the strategy. Augury Adept gives a conditional draw advantage that gives you more life when successfully landing hits to your opponent. Fiendslayer Paladin is a great offensive creature that has some protection and lifelink. Heliod, Sun-Crowned can give a creature lifelink if it doesn't already have it, but is really here for its passive ability, giving other creatures a +1/+1 counter. Beacon of Immortality is a nice little extra in here that can be used in moments of desperation to bounce your life total back up, or annoyingly put yourself in a position in which damage dealt to you doesn't really give much of an impact; best part is that it goes back to your deck! The ultimate lifegain related card in here has to Archangel of Thune since it bumps all the creatures with +1/+1 counters each time you gain life, and with the multiple instances it can happen with this deck it becomes very useful in maintaining a dominant board presence. The last creature in this deck is Dragonlord Dromaka, earning two slots because of it's lifelink and controlling passive ability that keeps you and your permanents safe on your own turns; this card is the perfect segway into the next aspect of this deck.
Control based cards:
Important to note the use of the Theros block scry lands, Temple of Enlightenment, Temple of Mystery, and Temple of Plenty since they help you try to get the cards you need next. Also included are a playset of Absorb to counter and gain life, and Path to Exile as a form of removal. Nissa, Voice of Zendikar's ultimate is similar to Sphinx's Revelation, but it is really included in here for it's token spawning of expendable plants, though her -2 just adds to Archangel of Thune's effect which can give more life from creatures with lifelink. Tamiyo, Field Researcher provides card advantage with her +1, board control with her -2, and her ultimate can help cast heavier costing cards easily (though reaching the ultimate with any planeswalker is never a guarantee in MTG). There are three different Ajani's in this deck, being: Ajani, the Greathearted providing some additional life and counters, Ajani, Strength of the Pride for more lifegain and an Ajani Pridemate token, and Ajani, Mentor of Heroes bump creatures with one of his +1 abilities, the other giving card advantage, and the extra perk of gaining 100 life through his ultimate.
Other cards:
Unexpected Results gives an easy way of constantly casting things for free or getting an extra land out. The Shock lands in this deck, Hallowed Fountain, Temple Garden, and Breeding Pool can pretty much come out untapped in this deck since life isn't really ever an issue with this deck.
With that, the deck is a synergy of constant lifegain and board control for overall advantage. I'm still pretty bad at sideboard building, so feel free to give any suggestions. Thanks for reading my description!
