The deck is at least operational now... able to get defenses and combos up okay. I'm looking for more versatile win conditions other than just Avacyn, Angel of Hope , hopefully fun ones that aren't instant-wins (for example Repay in Kind isn't fun at all)...

I've been brainstorming in the "maybeboard" for a bit. I've thought about making it more like stax (Smokestack , Descent into Madness , Braids, Cabal Minion , etc) just to crank up the insanity level of the game. thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

Considering taking out the alt-invulnerability combo of Forsaken Wastes and Transcendence and instead putting in some more power with Psychosis Crawler and Empyrial Armor /Empyrial Plate because you draw so much stuff in some of these combos (so maybe not the walker cause its no fun to insta-win). Also considering putting Bitterblossom back in for chump blockers and to have fuel to sacrifice to some cards like Diabolic Intent (tokens don't work with Lich ). (Maybe some Smokestack ?)

trying out Remove Enchantments instead of Erase to save me from losing the game if someone targets Lich .

Decided that Psychosis Crawler would probably be too powerful for this deck, With just one of my life engines and Lich this would win me the game the turn it comes on the battlefield even if everyone were at 40 life. I prefer Sanguine Bond because it only targets 1 player at a time rather than each opponent, making it powerful but not winning the game completely.

However, Empyrial Armor and Empyrial Plate need to find places in here I think

Been trying to consider ways to turn my eventually rediculous hand size to my advantage. Of course this is making my maybeboard grow ridiculously... but its helping me keep track of my ideas.

here's the list:

• Grimoire of the Dead (my fav atm)
• Icatian Crier (use hand to make white weenies)
• Instigator ( ... interesting idea could be usefull)
• Mageta the Lion (hand = wrath of god)
• Mortiphobia (hand = graveyard hate)
• Skirge Familiar (hand = mana)
• Devout Witness (hand = disenchant)

and obviously there's still Empyrial Armor that isn't in the deck yet. but Empyrial Plate is there so... yeah.

Temporarily replacing Vindicate with Mangara of Corondor to lower the cost of the deck. Although, Mangara of Corondor may prove to be more useful as I can potentially exile Lich to save myself from losing the game. Which is too bad since Vindicate is incredible... But wow... One of the priciest removal spells I've ever seen...

I personally think winning by being at negative life with Repay in Kind would be unspeakably cool. And definitely takes enough opportunity cost to pull off that it's pretty unreasonable to call "competitive." Or anything even beginning to resemble competitive.

This is such an original deck idea...I love it! Have you thought about playing Lich's Mirror as another backup survival card?

Anyone who makes a deck around Lich is a true friend of mine. Lich is by far my favorite magic card, seeing this deck made my day. Thank you <3 +1

I just noticed, you list cards like erase and oblation to avoid losing the game, but lich's last triggered ability is "when lich leaves the battlefield, you lose the game," so unless I'm missing something, those won't help :c

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone! This is quickly becoming my favorite project and I am thinking of new ideas for it all the time (hence the maybeboard). Right now its way high on the defensive side, and I'm hoping to maybe cut out some things after testing it more and figuring out what ideas work best and are consistent enough (possibly Entangler will be first to go). So I want to address some comments because, as you can tell from my description's length, I am very wordy and like to write so sorry if this one is a bit long...

@BinkyBoo: I have, and it was on my maybe board for a while. Unfortunately, after some testing, it has only prolonged the inevitable rather than actually saving me. When my opponents see me with no cards on the field and only at 20 life at the start of their turns, they almost always ally themselves and want me out of the game for good (especially after seeing all that Lich gives me), resulting in them collectively taking me out in their next turns with ease. So I've worked in more "back-up" plans and been more successful with those.

@metalevolence I'm gonna address your second comment first because I think it is much more important. The tappedout oracle on Lich is actually outdated and incorrect. If you look at Wizards' official oracle (click here to see it at the gatherer), it actually reads "When Lich is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you lose the game." So Oblation , Tel-Jilad Stylus , and Erase will all still work to keep me from losing. I'd mention this in my description, but its long enough as it is.

As for your first comment. I LOVE Repay in Kind as a win con... and I agree it may not be as competitive because of cost and since it would be the clear target of a counter. However, there are 2 specific reasons why its not in there. Firstly, only one guy in my local play group actually runs counterspells let alone blue atm (surprising I know), making it a 1 spell win almost every time. With this deck I pretty much put my whole library in my hand as it is so its almost guaranteed that I will be able to play it each game if its in here. Thus, for ME it is too competitive right now, but I plan on turning on boss-mode once I've finished testing some things and Repay in Kind will most likely be in here then. Which leads me to my second reason. I am primarily testing specific things in the deck right now, (how well do my defense combos actually hold up? Is stax control viable for Lich? How can I make this more fun? etc etc). So yes. This deck is a work in progress and you can count on changes to be made in the future.

btw... that "local play group" is actually just who I play with most often. I play in like, 5 different stores in my area so I get a lot of testing in since each one is totally different.

Testing out Pulse of the Fields over Convalescent Care since I can trigger it more than once in a turn if I want and I don't have to worry that I'll accidentally draw myself out. Testing out Psychosis Crawler and Kagemaro, First to Suffer too.

Also considering Rain of Filth +Planar Birth to generate tons of mana before dropping a Death Cloud or Exsanguinate ...

New changes:

• took out Erase for Vigilant Martyr (this is a trial run, but the martyr may prove more useful since i can get him back easily)
• took out Hoofprints of the Stag for Soul Conduit (hoofprints was going too slowly, and tough to use if I don't have it before I draw my whole deck. As for the conduit, while I'm still dancing around the idea of actually unleashing Repay in Kind on my meta, this option seems like it gives my opponents more opportunities to fight back, possibly making it more fun. It also kills 1 at a time as opposed to laying waste to everyone)
• took out Smokestack for Rain of Filth (stax was fun for a while, but ultimately didn't fit in the deck. Rain of Filth is useful for making a really big turn possible. Planar Birth may follow suit later if it proves to be very successful)

New consideration : Avarice Totem - By activating the ability twice while it is in your control, it would be possible to exchange permanents with an opponent at instant speed, allowing me to essentially Donate my Lich to someone if they try to destroy it, causing them to lose the game either with me or instead of me. Don't have room for this yet, but I want to try as soon as I get one and find a way to fit it in.

Brought back Convalescent Care and Purity (meaning that Pulse of the Fields is stepping out for now). Also, I'm trying a switch out of Feldon's Cane for Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre as a means to recycle my graveyard into the deck with more ease and the ability to do it repeatedly... Also the alternate scenario of being able to play Ulamog is pretty boss.

got frustrated with my low land count and took out both the cards I put in in the last comment (Convalescent Care and Purity ) for 2 lands. Its already helped the deck run much smoother. looking forward to testing it more...

+1 adventure time :D

I also really love this deck! Ever considered Lost Auramancers ?

Liliana's spot would definitely be better as a solid mana producer or a solid removal spell. Or just any good card. Unless she's just in because you think it's a cool card.

@plax77 - I have, and it was once a part of this deck. it was usually being blasted away before the vanishing counters run out. I know you can add cards to speed that up but I don't want to work too much around this one card (already the whole deck is full of Lich-Love... alteration ftw)

@metalevolence she's definitely an experiment. One time I went ultimate with her which pretty much sealed the deal for my win with all the mana I was making. I have hung on to her for a while since that. I like how I get to grab Scrubland and Godless Shrine too. But you may be right... I'll think about it for sure. (Gilded Lotus maybe? Once I can afford one, I was planning on putting in a Vindicate too... I think I need the mana more right now though)

Oh, I just thought the more cards that pulled the lich out the better. My bad. You ever feel like you need more mana in this deck? You could consider Crypt Ghast or Liliana of the Dark Realms

@plax77 Liliana is in there right now. Just not sure if she is "mana-potent" enough. The above discussion was about replacing her. Crypt Ghast certainly makes me happy, but would be better if I were keeping liliana as well. but making a new slot is hard to do.

Love it. +1

Took out Library of Leng and put a Spellbook . Library is a little more redundant now that I can just discard Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre to get my stuff back. Now spellbook does the job of fixing the handsize the turn I play Lich and crack both Children of Korlis and Tainted Sigil ... don't need to worry about not playing a land so I can play Reliquary Tower (which is staying btw) or leaving 1 mana open for the Library.

The deck now is much more stable and hella fun to play! One thought, it takes a bit to get set up still, but so far that hasn't been an issue. Opponents wonder what I'm doing and why I don't care that they damage me until I play Lich and they realize my life total never mattered in the first place... well, it matters after I play it... doesn't it Death's Shadow ? Maniacal Laugh

Love the idea. +1

This looks amazing!

Looks fun to pilot and to play against. Great concept pulled off extremely well.

However, beware the rogue Confusion in the Ranks , as that sucker in particular can strip you of your protective Greater Auramancy and Fountain Watch pretty fast.
Working on a chaos deck, and so got chaos on the brain.

Seems fun as hell, like EDH should be, and the style points from becoming a lich in B/W? Icing on the cake. +10