Lookout's Dispersal

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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy Legal
Arena Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Custom Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Gladiator Legal
Highlander Legal
Historic Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Pioneer Legal
Planechase Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Lookout's Dispersal

Instant

This spell costs less to cast if you control a Pirate.

Counter target spell unless its controller pays .

multimedia on Pirates a'hoyyyyyyy

2 years ago

Hey, nice version, but where's Glint-Horn Buccaneer? I saw your deck in the featured decks ad.

You can improve on balancing card quality since you have some amazing cards here, but also quite a few lackluster ones that are much lower on power level compared to the others. An example is Scalding Tarn which is excellent, but not playing a dual land that Tarn can search for... Steam Vents could replace Izzet Guildgate and Volatile Fjord could replace Highland Lake. Other Izzet dual lands to add in place of some basic lands to improve color fixing from lands: Training Center, Cascade Bluffs, Sulfur Falls, Stormcarved Coast and Frostboil Snarl.

I don't think I've even seen Armillary Sphere in the same deck before that also has Mana Drain, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Jeweled Lotus, Dockside Extortionist, Goldspan Dragon, Jeska's Will and Urza's Saga. Sphere is really out of place power wise. Consider cutting Sphere for Arcane Signet? The Diamonds are also subpar, considering cutting both of them for Talisman of Creativity and Izzet Signet? These are not expensive changes, but can make a big improvements on ramp.

Another example of card quality balance are the counterspells. Mana Drain, Counterspell, Pact of Negation, Negate are great thus you don't also need to play Hornswoggle, Admiral's Order and even Lookout's Dispersal because these are not as good.


Some more one drop/two drop flying Pirates and unblockable Pirates can more easily trigger Malcolm and Breeches. Spectral Sailor, Warkite Marauder, Departed Deckhand could replace some higher mana cost Pirates such as Captain Ripley Vance, Deadeye Quartermaster, Prosperous Pirates and Sailor of Means. You have Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Dockside Extortionist, Goldspan Dragon and Corsair Captain which are all excellent thus you don't really need to play other Pirates that create treasures when they ETB because those cards are not as good.

Wonder and Anger are powerful with Pirates, but they need help to get them into your graveyard because you don't want to ever cast them. Expanding with more loot can help to draw/discard them that also adds more draw to your deck. Faithless Looting, Windfall, Mask of Memory and Frantic Search could replace Mutiny, Hornswoggle, Dowsing Dagger  Flip and Admiral's Order. These changes are also not expensive and improve card quality.

Good luck with your deck.

tiffanyann on Unique Commanders

2 years ago

Oh God here we go.

Aethertide Whale

Brineborn Cutthroat

Brine Hag  WTF IS THIS

Arcane Adaptation

Daring Saboteur

Deadeye Plunderers

Denizen of the Deep

Diabolic Edict

Dire Fleet Ravager YES.

Dusk Legion Dreadnought

Elaborate Firecannon MUST INCLUDE

Fatal Push

Fathom Fleet ANYTHING

Fell Flagship

Fleet Swallower

Forerunner of the Coalition COP DFR

Ghost of Ramirez DePietro

Ghost Ship

Grasping Scoundrel

Gust of Wind

Gyruda, Doom of Depths SHOULD WE DO ALL EVEN HAHA NO

High Tide

Hostage Taker

Icebreaker Kraken

Inga Rune-Eyes

Interdict

Jace, Cunning Castaway

Killer Whale

Kraken of the Straits

Lingering Mirage

Lookout's Dispersal

Merchant Raiders

Merchant Scroll

Merchant Ship

Merfolk Assassin

Merfolk of the Pearl Trident

Nadir Kraken

Nameless One

Nezahal, Primal Tide

Phantasmal Dreadmaw

Phantasmal Terrain

Phantom Warrior

Piracy

Pirate Ship

Queen's Bay Soldier

Raiders' Karve

Raiders' Wake

Reef Pirates

Rescue from the Underworld

Return Upon the Tide

Rise from the Tides

Rishadan Dockhand

River Serpent

Run Aground

Run Ashore

Ruthless Knave

Saprazzan Cove

Saprazzan Outrigger

Scourge of Fleets

Sea God's Revenge

Sea Serpent

Serpent of the Endless Sea

Shadowed Caravel

Shipbreaker Kraken

Siren Stormtamer

Skulduggery

Skymarch Bloodletter

Sleek Schooner

Slipstream Eel

Sorcerous Spyglass

Spectral Sailor

Spined Megalodon

Steam Frigate

Stormsurge Kraken

Stormtide Leviathan

Thassa's Ire

Thing from the Deep

Thing in the Ice  Flip

Tidal Wave

Unknown Shores

Vampire Revenant

Vanquish the Weak

Vexing Scuttler

Waker of Waves

Walk the Plank

War-Wing Siren

Watery Grave

Wavecrash Triton

Wu Longbowman

Pursued Whale

Jrm99 on Treasures of Ixalan

5 years ago

Marionette Master is another good win condition. Looks like you’re staying away from counters but Lookout's Dispersal is a great counter for pirates, Spell Swindle and Hornswoggle are also good counters that also create treasure.

Marchiali on Help me create a pirate …

5 years ago

So back when pirates of ixalan were released no one really played them because of the mana base, at least not in Grixis. Right now the mana base is solid enough to technically make them work.

What I am trying to do right now is creating a deck where all cards fit into the pirate theme while still staying somewhat competitive. It doesn't have to win all the time but having a chance against burn and Teferi would be nice.

It... hasn't really worked out so far. Is such a deck even possible?

The most success I had so far was basically Tempo Blue with some splashing for Grixis so your flying pirates benefit from effects like Dire Fleet Neckbreaker and Fell Flagship .

With cards like Siren's Ruse , Lookout's Dispersal and of course Siren Stormtamer you have decent disruption, I have even been experimenting with adding more discard like Duress or Heartless Pillage . The latter is pretty great as far as discard spells go since it is effectively CMC 2. Cancel , Hornswoggle , Admiral's Order and Spell Swindle are pirate themed but not worth including in my opinion.

As for Lifegain your choices in a pirate theme deck are basically limited to Fountain of Renewal and Navigator's Compass . Compass is actually not that bad since it let's you fix your mana base without handing aggro decks a free 2 damage. (I am making an exception to the theme rule for Shocklands)

Admiral Becket Brass is a great flavor card but usually when you can hit your opponent with 3 pirates they are either dead or would be if you had dropped a Dire Fleet Neckbreaker instead of the Admiral.

The real problem with pirates seems to be that they want to go fast since their late game sucks but they have basically no advantage over mono red or blue other than tribal synergies. And their tribal synergies aren't that great, most of them are not even available until turn 4 or 5.

For Removal there are some options: Walk the Plank is great flavor although a bit hard to cast. Hostage Taker and the Admiral are decent for dealing with Teferi but not that amazing. Lightning Strike , Makeshift Munitions (bombarding your opponent with treasures is hilarious) and Fiery Cannonade are your go-to burn spells.

There are some good red combat tricks as well as Dire Fleet Poisoner but I am kinda on the edge concerning those. Buccaneer's Bravado on an unblocked creature with decent power can close out games.

Card Draw can be provided by Curious Obsession (a bit tricky when you are also running Siren's Ruse), Chart a Course and maybe Treasure Map  Flip and Dead Man's Chest . March of the Drowned could also be very valuable since it only costs 1 mana.

Like I said the best creatures seem to be the pirates that either have very good tribal synergy or flying. I am considering Fathom Fleet Captain and Forerunner of the Coalition but they both seem to be too slow. When you have a lot of treasures getting the city's blessing for an early extra turn via Timestream Navigator isn't too hard but I haven't really profited from it that much.

Revel in Riches is an interesting wincon but just too slow. Maybe an option for a more control-based approach. But when you have lots of treasures out it seems to be more viable to cast Mnemonic Betrayal , which technically isn't a pirate spell but looks like one. Or use overpriced Cards like Pirate's Prize that create more treasures.

With all that knowledge I still can't figure out a decent pirate deck, am I missing something? I am aware that you got to concentrate on some mechanics to make them work but I am not sure on which ones.

I really want to make pirates work before they rotate out and possibly never return to Standard.

EDIT: Just noticed there is also a token-based approach with Fathom Fleet Captain and Vraska, Relic Seeker

Hexaflexagon on

5 years ago

Ok then. Instead of Lookout's Dispersal you could add Sinister Sabotage. Moment of Craving could go mainboard instead of Dive Down.

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