There's a Colossus Within the Fog

I like the idea. Ivory Mask should definitely be a sideboarded card imo and Tangle fits in perfectly so playing 4 of those doesn't seem like a horrible idea. Concordant Crossroads can make elvish piper much more deadly. I'm not so sure about the usefulness of draw power that the artifacts give, and if it wouldn't just be better to run Harmonize , since it seems like you will need to wait at least 5 turns anyway to use Elvish Piper so mana is the more limiting factor. I think Ghostly Prison is better than card:Norn's Annex for almost any purpose but others have disagreed with me. good luck!

July 9, 2012 1:30 a.m.

Maybe a couple of Cavern of Souls to mess with blue decks.

July 9, 2012 12:37 p.m.

I agree with gp3333 On tangle and sideboarding Ivory Mask Or at least keep it but wouldnt you prefer Leyline of Sanctity ?

July 9, 2012 5:26 p.m.

Thanks for your replies, here is what I am thinking about changing.

-4 Undergrowth -2 Font of Mythos -3 Ivory Mask -3 Howling Mine

+4 Harmonize +4 Leyline of Sanctity +4 Tangle

I would use Cavern of Souls , but I don't have enough creatures for it to be effective I believe. Would 4 Harmonize be enough to compensate removing Font of Mythos and Howling Mine . I like howling mine, because it only costs 2 mana. If I ran Leyline of Sanctity in my mainboard, would 4 be too many? If I ran a sideboard are there any suggestions for cards that could be sideboarded in, but I would really prefer to not use a sideboard - I've never used a sideboard and don't want to remove the wrong cards right before a match. Would Concordant Crossroads be a sideboarded card?

July 9, 2012 7:23 p.m.

I forgot to mention -2 card:Norn's Annex +2 Ghostly Prison

July 9, 2012 7:54 p.m.

The sideboard usually gets done by itself. Its not there for you to adapt to the first match, its there for you to adapt to te second and hopefully a third. Helps you counter your weaknesses before next rematch. (so you shouldnt be removing cards "right before a match")

For example if you fear direct damage may it be from red or black. Or Milling from blue Leyline of Sanctity helps you a LOT. But yeah 4 may be to much for the main deck. Have 2 of them and if you still lose against those decks (or you encounter one and want more chances of getting the leyline), you can add 2 more from your sideboard for the rematch.

As an another example.. One day you lost agaisnt a artifact deck, and lost again another day, so you add Naturalize to your side deck.. next time after first encounter with a artifact deck you add those naturalize and be ready to put up a better fight

July 10, 2012 12:32 a.m.

Thanks, that makes sense. So it is kind of like an evolving board. I can make my sideboard as I get a few matches done, right? Do you have any suggestions on the changes that I posted?

July 10, 2012 12:54 a.m.

Asceticism seems like another viable option, at least for a sideboard.

July 10, 2012 12:57 a.m.

Festival could be a good option. Especially on Isochron Scepter .

July 13, 2012 12:14 a.m.

Worldly Tutor , Sylvan Library , and card:Sensei's Divining Top are all great tutor cards too, btw.

July 13, 2012 12:16 a.m.

Another good option. Thanks. My only question is what is the real difference between Festival and cards such as Fog ?

July 13, 2012 12:19 a.m.

Nice. 3 more good suggestions. I really like Sylvan Library and card:Sensei's Divining Top Thanks again.

July 13, 2012 12:22 a.m.

Festival is worse than Fog

When you cast festival you avoid him having an attack pahse, so he NEVER attacks (maybe he didnt want to) and never TAPS

Fog allow you to wait for him to attack, makes him tap his creatures and THEN you avoid the damage. Using it on the rigth moment and leaving him untapped.

July 13, 2012 1:36 a.m.

Ah good thinking. That makes perfect since. Leaves a better chance for me being open for a deadly attack with my Blightsteel Colossus . I think that this deck is close to being fully functional. Any other ideas?

July 13, 2012 1:43 a.m.

Festival would be good if you didn't have a Fog or one imprinted on an Isochron Scepter . True that the opponent's creatures wouldn't be tapped, but facing an army of 2/2 Zombies swinging for 36 life would lose you the game... But you do have Ghostly Prison , which is great tech. So ignore Festival lol.

Silence is also great white control. Especially against traditional control decks.

Since you're running Elvish Piper , why not Emrakul, the Aeons Torn ? Just a thought. You would need to offer Elvish Piper some protection as it has a target printed on it's forehead. Lightning Greaves would be great as you could also equip it to Blightsteel Colossus and swing for the win when you drop him.

I would up the Leyline of Sanctity to 4x copies. Hoses Red Deck Wins or Red Burn and any black spells like card:Geth's Verdict. Having 4x increases your chances of getting it out 1st turn. It could always be sideboarded out.

I definitely think that Sylvan Library and card:Sensei's Divining Top would be better than Howling Mine and Font of Mythos . Giving your opponent card advantage by allowing them to draw cards is a bad idea.

You definitely need a sideboard. For Dredge, card:Tormod's Crypt, Relic of Progenitus , etc. Silence and Summoning Trap for Control. Just think if someone counters your Elvish Piper and you can bring out Blightsteel Colossus or Emrakul for free lol. Creeping Corrosion for Affinity. Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile for really nasty creatures. Beast Within or Creeping Mold for Planeswalkers or nasty lands.

Lastly, some fetch lands like Arid Mesa or Verdant Catacombs to get the land you need alongside Sunpetal Grove . Sunpetal Grove is at around $3.00 a piece, so a playset should be affordable, and highly beneficial. It should replace Selesnya Sanctuary as it ETB tapped. If you can afford them, Temple Garden s are awesome.

July 13, 2012 3:26 p.m.

card:Orim's Chant? It's one of the most popular fog effects EVER.

July 17, 2012 6:12 p.m.

have you tried running some copies of Silence to further lock them down? might help your deck be even better. really love the idea.

July 17, 2012 6:12 p.m.

I will make a sideboard containing either Silence or card:Orim's Chant as well as some of the other suggestions that have been made. I like this deck especially against creature-filled decks. I haven't tried against a burn deck yet.

Thanks for the suggestions. I enjoy the help.

July 17, 2012 6:47 p.m.

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn would be a good idea, but it is legendary. It is a possibility though. Summoning Trap is another great card. It gives me a second chance at getting my Blightsteel Colossus back onto the battlefield.

My idea behind using the Howling Mine and Font of Mythos cards is so I can get to the cards that I need the most at the time. I like the long post aeonstoremyliver. That's almost a completed sideboard in one post lol.

So Sunpetal Grove > Selesnya Sanctuary ? I liked the use of the sanctuary in this deck, because I could play it and the next turn, I would have one extra mana compared to Sunpetal Grove . I use a card similar to sunpetal grove in my G/U pump infect deck and it works great.

July 17, 2012 7:11 p.m.

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn would definitely be an alternate win condition... and Summoning Trap is an awesome sideboard card. Some guys run it mainboard.

Think of it this way, if you drop Howling Mine or Font of Mythos , you won't see the benefit until your next draw phase, whereas your opponent will see the benefit the next turn. With Sylvan Library and card:Sensei's Divining Top your opponent will see no benefit whereas you will. In tandem, the cards are awesome, especially if you sideboarded Summoning Trap .

Yes, Sunpetal Grove > Selesnya Sanctuary . The Sanctuary ETB tapped and you have to put a land back into your hand, essentially losing a turn. If you think about it, you'll still have the same mana available next turn. The Grove ETB tapped unless you control a Forest or Plains, chances are you'll have one out. Again, an Arid Mesa or Verdant Catacombs or two would definitely be beneficial.

The comments about card:Orim's Chant and Silence I agree with. card:Orim's Chant is about $12.00-$14.00 a piece, whereas Silence is $1.00. The Chant is awesome on the Isochron Scepter though.

July 18, 2012 10:23 a.m.

I just thought of some great sideboard cards: Blazing Archon is great against Dredge, 12 Post (Eldrazi), and great in general. Sigarda, Host of Herons hoses Eldrazi's Annihilator ability.

July 18, 2012 11:19 a.m.

Should I run 2 of Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or Sigarda, Host of Herons in my mainboard or should they be sideboarded? If I used card:Orim's Chant with my Isochron Scepter would it automatically get the kicker? Is there a card like Arid Mesa that can get a forest or plains? I will work on my sideboard today as well as swapping out the Font of Mythos and Howling Mine .

July 18, 2012 2:51 p.m.

I'd say 2x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn in place of 2x Blightsteel Colossus . Sideboard Sigarda.

If you Imprint card:Orim's Chant onto Isochron Scepter , you copy the spell w/o paying it's mana cost thus can pay the W Kicker for the Chant.

The best you can do is add Temple Garden so Arid Mesa or Verdant Catacombs could search for it, as the Garden counts as both a Plains and a Forest.

Definitely consider some Haste/protection for your dudes. You really want to use them the first turn you drop them. Lightning Greaves goes a long way, as would Concordant Crossroads . To protect against removal ala Path to Exile , Journey to Nowhere , Oblivion Ring , and everything else out there, card:Apostle's Blessing is good, as is Sheltering Word . The latter wouldn't work for Emrakul, but Lightning Greaves would To add the Greaves, you could sideboard or take out Congregation at Dawn for the 2x Greaves. Also, mayhap Worldly Tutor would be better than card:Eladamri's Call because it has a cheaper CMC. Con is that Tutor puts the card on top of your library rather than in your hand. You'll begin to see some funky and awesome synergy happen with the Top, Library, and your tutoring stuff...lol. All in all, it's your deck and your decisions to make; I'm only trying to help. I have my own playstyle...

I have a similar deck as yours, in Modern, called: What is thy bidding, my Master?

July 18, 2012 4:58 p.m.

I made a few more changes. My only concern about using Emrakul, the Aeons Torn would be that I would have 2 creatures to deal health damage and 2 to deal poison counters. Wouldn't that be a bad thing?

July 18, 2012 8:16 p.m.

Dude, Emrakul swings and they sac six permanents... Plus he's flying and really hard to deal with. Blightsteel has Trample and Infect. I'd say you're merely expanding your win condition. You could always sideboard Emrakul and pop him in game 2. Especially if the opponent has a ton of weenie tokens. Either way, they won't be expecting to see Emrakul (I'm partial to that dude; see my SN). Anywho, do what you like and what you think is best. Playtest against others and tweak your deck to your satisfaction and liking. Do what works and make it as consistent as possible.

July 19, 2012 3:28 a.m.

If your gonna surprise with the big creatures I would add a Quicksilver Amulet to have somehing BESIDES the Elvish Piper to play the big guys.

besides creatures usually suffer from easier removal than artifacts

July 20, 2012 10:05 a.m.