This deck is all about Pillowfort and seeing things through the match. The deck can use either Sen Triplets or Lady Evangela, depending on how you choose it.
Why Sen Triplets?
The most important part of her ability is that she REVEALS an opponents hand. She provides information to everyone. She gets people to be aware of someone holding something like Avacyn, Ulamog, Omniscience, etc.
We reveal hands. We have the choice to take their cards. But that doesn't necessarily mean we have too.
I almost never take cards from a revealed hand unless it is absolutely necessary OR when it's down to the last two standing. People may not believe you if you choose to declare that out loud, but that's okay. If they kill Sen, they kill Sen. Just means we can make buddies with someone else.
Why Lady Evangela?
A different direction with the Lady is that she is incredibly low profile compared to the Triplets. Her ability just fogs a single creature. Big deal, right? Well, if you're facing a table with Xenagos, or Mayeal in the helm, you'd want to use her more to deter attacks coming at you. She also synergizes quite well with Propaganda effects since not a lot will come at you behind a wall of taxing.
How does this deck win?
By keeping watch and setting the stage. By Pillowforting hard and having a handy set of Instants to punish people for having a specific board state. We have Phithisis for that guy who has a giant creature, we have Mirror Strike for said creature, we have Batwing Brume for that jerk who Kiki-Combos, we have Comeuppance for the guy who wants to Earthquake to death. Finally, we have my favorite pet card Angel of the Dire Hour. People will feel confident in attacking with Avacyn and her army, and this will make them regret it.
When we are down as the last two standing, our typical win conditions are Debt to the Deathless or evasive beaters like the Sphinxes and Angels.
Wait, no Counterspells?
Nope. We want people to play their cards. We're not here to restrict anyone from anything. We're here to keep watch and pull out punishing spells.
Whether or not you choose to tell the table you have no counterspells is up to your own definition of psychological tactics, or something.
Also, Misdirection is technically a counterspell, but I define it as a "punisher" spell much like the above mentioned cards. Sometimes you really don't want a Banefire for a million at your face.
So, is this a Group Hug deck then?
Kind of.
We're looking to make friends and make bargains. We're looking to give people some leeway. There are some symmetrical effects like Exhume, Baby Jace, Mikokoro, Duskmantle Seer. And then we have the cards likes Standstill, the Offerings, the Vows, the Hunted, and the Advocates.
So, who do I know is a friend or enemy? How do I tell which one to Sen Triplets first?
You can always just go with chance.
No, seriously, rolling a die is the most passive move you could make. It ensures the table that you're not out for someone in particular. You don't want to provoke people so early on in the game, nor do you want to look like a jerk for going after one person.
In terms of Hunted Tokens, Offerings, Vows, etc, I typically give them to the person who's "falling behind". Giving them small gifts is a way to assure them that you're looking out for them. Even the table will think it's in fair sport.
Sometimes though, you're going to have to be the adjudicator. The one who points out the threat.
If you're pitted with a table who has you, a couple casual decks, and that "one deck" be it Zur, Azami, Kaalia, etc, then you know you're not going to put up with that. You will have to be a thorn on their side. You may not win, but you're going to at least make them work for it while the other two take notice. You do this by giving Hunted tokens to the other two, Offerings to the other two, and Sen Triplets the "one deck"s hand to warn the other players "Look, this is what you're going up against".
Cards Excluded
Not a whole lot, but I want to at least point out something in particular:
Magister Sphinx
- Run this at your own risk. It's tempting, but the fact that it can backfire on you is quite easy to happen. The sheer sight of someone seeing that it's even in your hand--be it by sitting next to the person and he catches a glimpse of it, or if your hand is revealed, or if you get Bribery'd. People will be alarmed by you and your whole image will take a complete 180'. If you do run him, you'd generally save it for someone getting out of hand with life OR when it's down to you and the other person.
As for Sorin v.1, same thing.
Conclusion
This deck has been inspired by many builds, and this is pretty much my own take at a political pillowfort deck. You can do away with a deck similar to this in Mardu or Bant colors (Tariel and Angus respectively), but I think Esper has the right amount of spells to get by. Blue has a lot of political cards that are too good to pass up. Black/White having a good amount of punishment.
If you're interested in trying this deck out, go for it.
