Once It Was Human

Casual Aggro Casual Mono-Blue Theme/Gimmick Wizards

MagicMarc

Creature (19)

• 3x Aberrant Researcher  ^Flip
• 2x Alchemist's Apprentice
• 2x Civilized Scholar  ^Flip
• 4x Delver of Secrets  ^Flip
• 2x Docent of Perfection  ^Flip
• 4x Ludevic's Test Subject  ^Flip
• 2x Sage of Epityr

Instant (13)

• 2x Capsize
• 3x Echoing Truth
• 4x Rapid Hybridization
• 2x Scour the Laboratory
• 2x Supplant Form

Land (24)

• 22x Island
• 2x Rogue's Passage

Sorcery (2)

• 2x Amass the Components

Artifact (2)

• 2x Brain in a Jar

---

This deck is a fun casual one I made to showcase...

Delver of Secrets   is an homage to the 1958 film classic The Fly which was a science fiction horror film about a scientist's experiments gone wrong. During experimentation with matter disintegration and re-integration he unknowingly has his atoms mingled with that of a common fly.

So I gathered the cards in the cycle; Delver of Secrets  , Aberrant Researcher   and Docent of Perfection   and surrounded them with things appropriate to a mad scientist and his quest for knowledge.

Lastly, I leave you with a quote from the end of the movie...

Andre died doing the most dangerous act for humanity, but also the most important: "the search for the truth".

The goal of the deck is to get out your Lizards, Wizards and Insects and then control the game with your bounce, removal and card advantage. Once you meet requirements to flip your cards your enemies will be put on a fast clock. So it runs like aggro but with mid-range gameplay. The card breakdown is as follows:

The Creatures:

Delver of Secrets  : The inspired card that led to this deck build. This card is a potential turn 2 3/2 flyer. This immediately puts a lot of pressure on your enemy and needs to be answered or this card alone can run away with the game. 15 cards in the deck gives a pretty good chance of an early flip.
Aberrant Researcher  : The next card in the Fly Cycle. This card has a mill-trigger for it's flip and if you hit it you get a huge 5/4 flyer. It is almost as if your Delvers are evolving into something greater...
Docent of Perfection  : The last form the Fly Cycle takes. Every time you cast an instant or sorcery this card produces a 1/1 wizard token. Combine that with the other 8 wizards in the deck and it will not be long before you flip this card and reveal the final iteration of your Fly Cycle. On the flip you get an immense 6/5 flying lord who boosts all of your wizards +2/+1 and grant them all flying. And it retains it's wizard production ability. This card is amazing and if protected and/or left alone will overrun the battlefield with little flying wizard things.
Alchemist's Apprentice: Following the Mad Scientist theme we have an apprentice for you. This card is to help your tempo a little bit as well as get a wizard keyword into play for your Docents. An early speedbump that in mid game can net you a card on the sacrifice.
Civilized Scholar  : This card is great. It is in theme as a mad scientist already. For those not in the know, this card is a homage to the story "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" by the famous author Robert Louis Stevenson. It embodies the transformation between humble doctor and brutish alter ego. This is mechanically delivered on the flip if you meet its requirements. On the flip you get a giant homicidal brute who can brutalize your foes. Especially once you get your repeatable bounce online. So it is in flavor, is also a flip card and it is best utilized in a deck that removes blockers from play. Perfect for this deck.
Ludevic's Test Subject  : Another card perfectly on theme and deck mechanic. This one is a great early drop that helps chump block and helps engineer the inevitability of the deck. All you need is mana to get the flip on this card. Once you do you get a colossal lizard horror that is 13/13 with trample. Not much to say past this point. If your enemies do not kill it with fire the game is basically over.
Sage of Epityr: Another wizard who lets you rummage around in the top of your library. Good for setting up your later turns as well as helping the Docent's flip requirement.

The Other Spells:

Capsize: This card is amazing in any blue deck. Once you meet it's cost including buyback you will slowly grind out your opponents. It can bounce any permanent it can target. And returns to your hand to do it again. This repeatable spell has great synergy with your Docent of Perfection   and will assure a spell cast every turn. And it happens at instant speed so is perfect as an opponent's end of turn play.
Echoing Truth: Remember the theme of the deck is the Fly Cycle? It was also a result of Andre's "the search for the truth". This card embodies this ideal. Even better, it is more instant speed removal. Better than that it is also a perfect answer for other deck's you may face that produce crazy numbers of creatures or tokens.
Rapid Hybridization: A perfect card to reflect runaway scientific experimentation. As well as serving as a great removal spell. And the token they get can be permanently removed via Capsize or your other bounce.
Scour the Laboratory: Of course we have a lab! And if I can only find what I am looking for...This card can refill your hand when you stall or just add some gas to your game.
Supplant Form: Another good example of manipulating things. But this time, this card can add a creature to your army. And it does not matter if it targets something you or your enemy controls. This can even be used defensively if someone uses removal on one of your creatures. Bounce it to your hand and get a free copy of it.
Amass the Components: The first part of any experiment or research is putting together everything you need. This card is an excellent way to setup your hand as well as bury something you do not want to see again.
Brain in a Jar: And no Mad Scientist's lab would be complete without one of these on a shelf. Besides being fun for the deck it is also quite useful in conserving your mana when you cast spells. And it can also be used to setup future draws with it's scry component. Finally, every time I see the card I can't help but remember that great scene from Young Frankenstein

The Lands:

Rogue's Passage: This card is a perfect way to get your Homicidal Brutes or Lizard Horrors into your enemies faces. Sometimes the fact it is in play passes under the radar until it is too late for someone.
Island: The deck has 22 of these to help do what the deck does. So play them when you see them and tap them whenever you need !

That is it for this deck. If you have comments or suggestions please feel free to post them here.

Date added	7 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is Casual legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Rares 17 - 0 Uncommons 11 - 0 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.72
Tokens	Copy Clone, Frog Lizard 3/3 G, Human Wizard 1/1 U
Folders	My Decks, Casual and Fun Deck Ideas, Magic Marc Cards