Tormented Soul is a good 1 drop that can carry Hands of Binding the next turn, and has synergy with Orzhov Charm. Dutiful Thrull also works with the charm nicely but also regenerates so the only real answer would be Terminus. It could quite powerful if you added in Artful Dodge (another good spell for extorting). Also, Shadow Slice is a nice card that speeds up the process. Good start!

I like the idea of Tormented Soul. I think I'd add that over Dutiful Thrull + Artful Dodge because they're two cards that really work best together, and as I learned from my other deck, I want to run cards that work really well alone. I hope that makes sense...

I considered Shadow Slice but its high CMC threw me off. If it was damage to a creature or player, I'd definitely be running it.

For now I think I want to try to add Tormented Soul. Do you have any comments on cards that appear to be weak links in the deck that I could remove?

Mutilate. you'll definitely need to find a card to replace that. you will almost always have 4 swamps which will kill all of your creatures. it was part of the reason why i suggested Dutiful Thrull but its up to you. also, i believe you added in Treasury Thrull because it would return Invisible Stalker if it ever died since its a target once you get it out. but once it dies, the spell won't be encoded anymore so the creature might as well stay in the graveyard. keeping your creature alive when its encoded is really important otherwise the opponent can 2 for 1 you. yet another reason why i suggested Dutiful Thrull. hopefully you're getting my message...

Yup, got it now :P

Treasury Thrull was also for a creature that could block and still live. Plus, it extorts, and can bring back my creatures. For now I'd like to try to keep it, but I could be persuaded otherwise.

I will drop the Mutilate for Dutiful Thrull. What else could I drop for more of those and some Artful Dodges? I guess I could drop the Treasury Thrulls and maybe Last Thoughts?

So dropping Mutilate, Treasury Thrull, and Last Thoughts would leave me with 7 spots. I'd like to add one more Azorius Charm, and then 3 Dutiful Thrull and 3 Artful Dodges? Or 4-2? I'm just trying to not drop too many cipher and extort cards that the deck loses focus.

before i help you with numbers, here are some more suggestions. a good replacement for Mutilate as a sweep is Cyclonic Rift. it guarantees that your opponent's creatures return since it doesn't target and that your creatures stay on. overloading shouldn't be a problem since you have Crypt Ghast to generate mana. another suggestion in Evernight Shade. it has undying to stay alive and you can use Thrull Parasite to retrigger undying and it provides an outlet for your mana. the only downside is that it will lose the encoded spells. its still a great attacker and blocker. attacker especially if you add in Artful Dodge. i will help you fix the numbers once you have decided what to add.

Let's see:

1. Cyclonic Rift -- big fan of this card, and its' overload cost will definitely be easier with Crypt Ghast - I think I'd like to add it.
2. Evernight Shade -- Would this be added in place of Dutiful Thrull? I like it more, but I'd have to remove something of equal or great CMC. - I'd like to add it, in place of Dutiful Thrull

no, if anything, Dutiful Thrull is better. it doesn't require 2 mana to keep it alive and it doesn't lose encoded spells and it holds Hands of Binding better. it fits your theme better as well as make your deck a little faster. if you want to make this deck mid-range, then go for the Evernight Shade. but you should win by turn 5ish. otherwise control deck will destroy.

I'm clearly not thinking today... I was playing a game versus a friend on Cockatrice and I easily could've won, but didn't realize it. I just had to attack while he was tapped out. Dutiful Thrull it is. Ok final list of additions I think is:

Dutiful Thrull, Artful Dodge, Cyclonic Rift, and potentially an additional Azorius Charm.

why do suggestions keep coming after i post?? if you're going to board wipe then Shadow Slice is really important to get your opponent's life down while he tries to recover. what do you use Azorius Charm for? also, if you want to keep Treasury Thrull, you could add the keyrunes. particularly Azorius Keyrune and Dimir Keyrune since both have evasion and are protected against sorcery creature removal. another possibility. sorry :P

Aren't we planning on dropping the board wipes? I also don't like the high CMC of Shadow Slice, so I'm not too inclined to add it.

I use Azorius Charm for the draw power and the last ability. I find it very helpful.

I think it'll be better without the Treasury Thrull and Keyrunes :P

Sorry for taking so long to reply, haven't had much time.

The only real flaw (maybe) is Undercity Plague. I'm not sure if it does that much for you for 6 mana.

Why drop Cyclonic Rift? You have the mana for Shadow Slice though especially since you have 4 Crypt Ghast. For now, here's what I would add/drop:

Drop:

• 2 Mutilate
• 2 Treasury Thrull
• 2 Undercity Plague
• 1 plains
• 1 island

Add:

• 3 Cyclonic Rift
• 3 Dutiful Thrull
• 2 Artful Dodge

I think that this deck needs a reliable 1 drop. Something like Jace's Phantasm but for extort.

I would also drop a few Last Thoughts for something, it's 4 cmc for 1 card! You can do more with Thought Scour!

I agree. Drop the 3 Last Thoughts for 2 more Azorius Charm and whatever ou think you're lacking.

So I've made some changes, but I'm a little concerned about a few things:

• Is there too few lands?
• I seem to be diverging from the extort-cipher win condition. I am currently running four cipher cards. I'm not sure if I like that..
• All of my creatures are either 2/2 or 1/1 -- mostly the latter. Maybe it'll work with all of the control, but I'm hesitant.

My reasoning for Last Thoughts was that it would be extremely easy to cast with Crypt Ghast out, and I was almost guaranteed a card each turn. Also, should I be considering Rogue's Passage in place of Artful Dodge?

Call of the Nightwing can cipher it onto the token it made if that helps. Shadow Slice is a cipher card that also bring down their life total so your dependent on your 1/1s and 2/2s. I used Stolen Identity to copy Crypt Ghast for more mana and extortion. Artful Dodge is just a cheap card that you can extort buy either is fine since Rogue's Passage also provides you with mana if you are worrying about your land count.

I'm really wavering on what to do here, I'd like to add in more cipher cards, but I'm unsure on what to remove. I'm pretty terrible with decisions for this deck, aren't I? :P

Well, in all honesty, all the cipher cards suck except for Hands of Binding. So if you can hold off until you drop something like Shadow Slice. then go ahead.

I couldn't agree more, but that is part of my goal with these Perfection decks. I want to try to introduce something into standard competitive MTG that wasn't thought possible. Out of the cipher cards, Hands of Binding is by far the best. For this deck, Stolen Identity and Shadow Slice seem like decent options, although not the best cards. I think the deck currently runs enough control that it can hold off for a high CMC card. Undercity Plague isn't terrible either, but again just costs a lot.

I only see 11 extort sources, and I don't think that's nearly enough given that extorting is your win condition. I would cut the dubious benefit of Artful Dodge and add in another cheap extorter; perhaps Basilica Screecher.

Artful Dodge was in the running to get cut, but I was thinking to go more with another cipher card. I wanted to try to combine cipher with extort, and it theory it sounds like a good combination. But, as buffy mentioned, all of them suck really except for Hands of Binding. Do you think I should be adding more cipher cards, or more extort cards? And what's your opinion on Treasury Thrull? The creatures in this deck are pretty whimpy...

Thanks for commenting!

the problem i see is that extort is really a slow mechanism. you need to play a fairly decent game, dropping a lot of mediocre threats, but slowly in turn adding up and extorting to slowly kill htem. the problem here is taht Treasury Thrull and Dutiful Thrull wont do anything unless you get lucky for two turns. theyll just sit there. id look atKingpin's Pet a solid flyer that can get in some decent damage and provide extortions. good midsize threat to hold the game. even can cipher. i like the idea of Undercity Plague, but Stolen Identity is a much more powerful card immediately, while th eplague can have some devastating long term effects. and yes on Basilica Screecher. perfect. and when your runnning a deck like this you need a lot more control. id say more counters and kill spells

nvm Treasury Thrull i meant Thrull Parasite

@ ThEdUnCeCaP -- While all reasonable suggestions, most of which I agree with, my main problem is removing cards from the deck to add other cards. I'd like to add Kingpin's Pet over Basilica Screecher, and possibly an Undercity Plague or two.

I think I'll drop Artful Dodge for 3x Kingpin's Pet and a Cyclonic Rift and Thrull Parasite for 2x of either Undercity Plague or Stolen Identity. Thoughts?

Woops. I thought Basilica Screecher was 1/1, not 1/2. Is the one extra W in Kingpin's Pet's cost worth an marginally increased power? Man I thought I was bad at decisions, but not this bad..