xhuggels Before I playtest this, I'd like a little help.

The deck is so complicated that having clear notes will help to understand it better.

A lot of the cards you mention in your Description aren't linked, which means I have to go up to the deck list to see what they do, and then back to the point you are making about them.

It all gets a bit tricky to keep all the points in place.

You probably haven't written the card names in the right way, so TappedOut can't find them.

Could you go through and fix all those links?

I have played Arristocrats before, but that was back in the Battle for Zendikar block.

I'd like to get this deck clear in my mind, so I can playtest it properly.

Ruthless Knave and Settle the Wreckage seem to have that problem. i have no idea why. tried to fix it multiple times already.

Oh i figured it out! you have to space before and after you enter the name for some reason. have no idea why its only like that with those cards though...Will get it up and running soon.

Kay its fixed. Fixed the links and added a card description section, which can be skipped if you see the interactions.

A few initial thoughts before I start testing.

I like Concealed Courtyard better than Forsaken Sanctuary as it's superior in the early game. Four would help out a lot.

Spire of Industry will speed up your game. You could put two in and take out two basic lands. The life loss won't hit you much after the first couple of Turns.

Profane Procession  ^Flip may be a decent two of in the Sideboard. I could see it being useful in games that go long, where your Opponent starts to build up too much of a board presence.

Just want to check that you are aware that Settle the Wreckage won't allow you to gain Treasure through Revel in Riches as the Creatures don't die, they go into Exile.

They must go into the Graveyard to be considered dead.

If you thought you were killing Creatures with that spell, you might want to use Fumigate instead. You don't need your Opponent to attack, and you gain back the life you lost earlier in the game.

I used to be an English High School teacher, so forgive me for this.

The phrase is actually, "be all and end all".

People have started saying it incorrectly, and it bugs me.

Excellent notes.

Right, here I go with my first playtest.

I will do so against Stompy Whompy Dinos, as I want to see this work against big Creatures.

OK first playtest done.

Stompy Whompy Dinos has a lot of removal, and you only got two Settle the Wreckage in hand to deal with its big Creatures.

You needed much more removal. There might be extra in the Sideboard. I haven't played Game 2 yet.

After the first Settle the Wreckage came down the Opponent started to attack a bit more conservatively, rather than using everything. Which meant the second Settle the Wreckage wasn't as effective.

Their 12/12 with Trample came down and fought the only Ruthless Knave you got into hand all game, before it attacked for 13/13.

You did get a heap of Treasures out of it first, though, as you had Anointed Procession on the field at the same time.

Unfortunately no Torment of Hailfire came to hand.

The Opponent had a whole heap of other removal cards that picked away at your Creatures on the field.

You got the life back next go with Oketra's Last Mercy, but the 13/13 was too big and hit again.

Ruthless Knave NEEDS to be on the field. I would consider adding some Mastermind's Acquisition (or Diabolic Tutor) to the deck, to give you more chance of seeing it.

Fumigate gives you more flexibility as to when to board wipe your Opponent, and they can't play around it like they can with Settle the Wreckage. I would consider subbing it.

hmmm, a play-set really didnt get a torment the whole game? that makes me sad lol. I really just dont like tutor cards at all, but i think the one thing that appeals to me with Mastermind's Acquisition is that you can use it for some side-board shenanigans if you happen to have enough Ruthless Knave and Torment of Hailfire. Other than that, this deck is supposed to be cycle-proof, hence no Kaladesh stuff by nature. Dusk / Dawn was my play against conservative play after Settle the Wreckage.Tbh i really just wouldnt know what to add and what to remove. I feel like i need everything i got there.

havent really worked too hard on side-board yet. most of it is just Disallow bait

Profane Procession seems like a really neat way to deal with creatures, and also as a secondary win-con since you can steal all their sub-par creature win-cons. thanks for that tip. I might add a 1 of in this deck, and maybe a 1 of or 2 of Mastermind's Acquisition. what would you suggest i swap in for it?

I agree that the deck is well-balanced.

This is the trouble I have when changing my decks, but they MUST be changed to be made more effective.

I was surprised not to get any Torment of Hailfire. That's Magic for ya. Stupid game! lol

To me it seems that the best replacement would be Mastermind's Acquisition for Martyr of Dusk. It's the only Creature that doesn't drop Treasure.

If you put in 2x Mastermind's Acquisition you might consider taking the remaining Martyr of Dusk out for Sacred Cat.

It can make another copy of itself, once it is sacced, and gives you a chance at a Turn 1 play.

I know Fumigate will rotate one day, but they will probably make another 5CMC spell to replace it. If that is your worry.

It may be cost that is putting you off. Unfortunately, I think you need it to make this deck unbeatable.

I'll keep testing.

These are suggestions. Only you can tell if they might work.

If I were you I'd run lots of playtests against these decks, a lot of which are popular right now:

Rivals of Ixalan decks to playtest

One last thought.

Given its usefulness I'm a little bit surprised that you don't have one more Anointed Procession in the deck.

i was thinking about having another Anointed Procession, but the main reason i dont want a 3 of is by itself it doesnt do anything, and again, ill have to swap it out for something.

I completely overlooked Sacred Cat. It is a turn 1 play and i can time it with a later Anointed Procession drop to get an extra token, where i cant do that with Martyr of Dusk.

At the Mastermind's Acquisition/Martyr of Dusk swap, dont you think it makes my creature-line too thin?

Im thinking put Revel in Riches in the sideboard along with 1 copy of Profane Procession, and drop 1 Martyr of Dusk for the 2 copies of Mastermind's Acquisition. Then i drop the other 2 Martyr of Dusk for 2 Sacred Cat. How does that sound? Fumigates price doesnt put me off, Settle the Wreckage is more expensive, but it i really really dont wanna go into kaladesh, as im perfectly find playing my current Kaladesh block Aristocrat build. Im just looking for something i can replace it with once the cycle comes closer, so i cant do Kaladesh block stuff at all in this. my current build is Aetherborn Master Artifacts, and i quite enjoy the Marionette Master win-con. Also Syndicate Trafficker is probably my favorite card ever printed.

kay so after looking at these two cards, im torn over which one is better. Lets compare Martyr of Dusk to Sacred Cat. Martyr of Dusk has 1 damage extra, costs 1 manna more, and drops a free token upon death. can be brought back with Dusk / DawnSacred Cat has 1 damage less, but has lifelink which makes up for it, costs 1 manna less, which is great, and does not drop a free token. you get to choose when to play said token, but the card gets exiled so you can only do it once. In the long-run i think Martyr of Dusk is better at least in this deck, but Sacred Cat can help me get to the long-run more reliably as i can time the token for an anointed procession if i have the room.

Play-tested against GPG and that Rakdos pirate deck in that list. Both times Oketra's Last Mercy saved my butt, and both times Ixalan's Binding and Start / Finish played a huge role. in one of the games the Anointed Procession into Sacred Cat embalm worked nicely. In both games Ruthless Knave was focused down within 2 turns of landing, and in both games Torment of Hailfire turned the tide of the game. In the GPG game,i had enough stuff to focus down the GPG buffed Angel of Invention, and could chump the rest efficiently, which left me with...lots of treasures even without the Ruthless Knave. Both games ended on turn 13. The in the GPG game i put 26 manna behind Torment of Hailfire, leaving GPG with 3 life, no cards, no lands and 1 GPG buffed Champion of Wits, with only 1 Pitiless Plunderer on my side. I had the luck of exiling their first GPG buffed Angel of Invention with Ixalan's Binding after it hit me once. I think the key is knowing what ur up against. you gotta use Ixalan's Binding on the very largest threat in the deck. It definitely takes some gamesense and a good draw to play this. you cant just use your removal as freely as you can in other decks. As for removal, i think between Ixalan's Binding, Settle the Wreckage, Dusk / Dawn and Start / Finish, there is enough to deal with anything i cant block or chump. thats 9 spells total. Any more would start hurting what the deck wants to do. One might argue for 1 more Start / Finish as it does more than just kill though.

Working on the side-board a little. im intrigued by the idea of Mastermind's Acquisitions usage in regards to it. im also intrigued by messing with peoples minds with different colors i pay for through treasures. is that a good idea? any suggestions in that regard?

with 2 Mastermind's Acquisition in play, it brings up my chances of finding a Torment of Hailfire to 6/60, but i really don't like the creature i gave up for it. I'm thinking, since it finds stuff in the side-board as well, would be be decent putting 1 Torment of Hailfire in the sideboard, and bringing in 1 more Start / Finish for added token generation? That card just seems to do so much for this build. That's an extra 2-4 creatures and a kill-spell in my hand that is a good play early on, where-as Torment of Hailfire only needs to be found by turn 5-6. 5/60 chance of doing that should be enough shouldn't it? I don't like that the tutor slows me down a turn, but if i use the side-board in adjacent to it properly it may be worth while.

I can't really answer all the questions you have.

It's basically just a case of you playtesting to find out.

One issue with playtesting against yourself is that you often play your deck as though it makes no mistakes, but your Opponent's deck as though it does.

Once you have played Settle the Wreckage once your Opponent will play around it, and only attack with some of their Creatures.

Putting a copy of Torment of Hailfire in the Sideboard sounds like a good idea, but it is effectively leaving you with only five chances to hit Torment of Hailfire in the Main, instead of six.

It might work. I haven't tested it.

I think Revel in Riches in the Sideboard makes a lot of sense.

For off-colour spells I think you definitely need Negate. Exiling your Creatures is what hurts you the most, coz they don't drop anything on the way out the door.

If you're playing against something like Flame-Chained your Opponent can not only Exile a lot of your stuff, but their Angrath, the Flame-Chained Can start making you discard cards.