Thirst for Knowledge

Instant

Draw three cards. Then discard two cards unless you discard an artifact card.

Discussion (51)

SideBae on Yuriko’s Ninja Tricks

1 week ago

So this deck is marked under 'help,' so I'll list my recommendations. Feel free to ignore any/all of them:

1. Some of your choices of countermagic seem questionable. Is there a reason you're running Withering Boon over something like Remove Soul or Essence Scatter? I guess the blue spells can be Pyroblast-ed, but I feel like not having to bolt yourself is worth it for the marginal added risk.

2. You may wish to consider running Preordain in addition to your Brainstorm and Ponder. Like in Legacy Delver decks, it isn't as good since you'd need to top both cards with the scry to guarantee a high CMC flip off Yuriko, but I feel like one-mana cantrips are likely good enough to run regardless.

3. There are some evasive creatures worth running in Yuriko because their ETB effects are good and ninjutsu bounces the creatures. I'm thinking of things like Baleful Strix, Snapcaster Mage (if you want to invest money), Trinket Mage (which can fetch Sensei's Divining Top, Sol Ring and any other 1-cmc artifacts you want to run), Spellseeker... If you want to go deep, Thalakos Seer works well with Ninjutsu, too...

4. You might also consider running Conspiracy or Arcane Adaptation. I like Arcane Adaptation a lot more (it costs less mana) but both are good, and if you need a third version Xenograft works. They'll make things like Gingerbrute trigger your Yuriko.

5. Some 4-cmc instant-speed card-draw seems alright; you leave up mana for a counter, and if you don't need it you get a draw. Consider things like Fact or Fiction, Chemister's Insight, Glimmer of Genius, Frantic Search, Gush, Thirst for Knowledge, Inspiration... They'll ding your opponents off a Yuriko flip and give you something to do with mana you don't need on their end steps.

6. Idk how competitive your meta is, but consider running Narset, Parter of Veils and/or Ashiok, Dream Render. These two hose card-draw and fetches/tutors, which are all very common as you go higher in deck power level. I especially like Narset, Parter of Veils with Windfall or Timetwister, but that'll depend on your particular moral compass.

7. Lastly, if you up the amount of artifact ramp in here you can lower the land count and make flipping a land off Yuriko less common. While it may be dangerous to go lower than 30 lands if you're not running things like Mana Crypt, Mox Diamond or Mox Opal (which you should run if your groups allows proxies), you may have luck running things like Talisman of Dominance, Arcane Signet or Fellwar Stone. If you don't land a turn-two general, these'll ramp you for the later game; and even if you do, flipping them off Yuriko's trigger is better than flipping a land.

Right. That's all I got -- let me know if you have any questions.

exalted_k1d on Kess Combo Storm

2 months ago

Isochron Scepter and Dramatic Reversal

Dualcaster Mage and Twinflame

more mana artifacts

Sol Ring Fellwar Stone Star Compass Sky Diamond Fire Diamond Charcoal Diamond , Mind Stone Arcane Signet Talisman of Creativity Talisman of Dominance Talisman of Indulgence

Aetherflux Reservoir

Search for Azcanta  ^Flip

also you should run atleast 9 counterspells

Arcane Denial Mystic Confluence Counterflux Muddle the Mixture Stifle Disallow Izzet Charm Counterspell Swan Song

Control Spells

Crosis's Charm Bedevil Rakdos Charm Vandalblast Chain of Smog

Board wipes

Blasphemous Act Sweltering Suns Starstorm

Should try to get tutors

Gamble Demonic Tutor Mystical Tutor Spellseeker Fabricate Tribute Mage

more draw spells

Thought Scour Ponder Preordain Serum Visions Dig Through Time Artificer's Epiphany Thirst for Knowledge Tragic Lesson Windfall Rhystic Study Mystic Remora

Narset, Parter of Veils Ashiok, Dream Render Jace, Wielder of Mysteries Chandra, Flamecaller Dack Fayden

SideBae on

4 months ago

Hey man! I got some suggestions. Feel free to ignore any/all of them:

1. There's a reason Ponder and Preordain are banned in Modern, and it's because they're good. I highly suggest running both in any blue deck -- they may not look like much, but being able to dig to what you need and past what you don't for one mana is a deal I'll take any day. You're running a good number of fetch lands, so Brainstorm is one you may want to add in there as well.

2. I don't know what your meta is like, but in general people need to draw a bunch of cards to win the game. Narset, Parter of Veils brings back thoughts of when Leovold, Emissary of Trest was legal... I think almost any blue deck should run her, especially since if you run Windfall (I think you should), she can win you the game. Or your Wheel of Fortune .

3. I don't know how this deck plays, but I suspect you'll have at least one or two creatures out at a time. If you do, Azra Oddsmaker can be a good source of card-advantage; Edric, Spymaster of Trest is similar, though better if you have dorks (see (5)). Painful Truths is another favorite of mine, as are Treasure Cruise , Dark Confidant , Dig Through Time and Thirst for Knowledge . Faithless Looting can also be pretty good.

4. A lot of decks run a lot of artifact ramp. Dack Fayden is a great way to capitalize on that, and if you run Notion Thief (which also pairs with your Windfall ), targeting your opponent with Dack's +1 can produce a four card swing.

5. Dorks. You're in green, so you have access to the best ramp in the game, aside from Sol Ring (which I think you should run). I highly suggest including any/all of the following in addition to your Deathrite Shaman : Birds of Paradise , Elves of Deep Shadow , Orcish Lumberjack , Llanowar Elves , Fyndhorn Elves , Elvish Mystic , Bloom Tender , Arbor Elf ... Though they may not be 'dork'-ramp, I've also been impressed with Utopia Sprawl and Wild Growth , not least because these double the mana from Arbor Elf . If you end up running Edric, Spymaster of Trest , the dorks will draw you cards when you're not using them for mana.

6. If you're looking for the best way to generate infinite mana with your general, I think Isochron Scepter with Dramatic Reversal is the best way. You'd need to run either artifact ramp or dorks (I highly advise the latter), but it's a pretty busted combo and I think you should put some ramp in anyway. This lets you draw your deck with Thrasios, Triton Hero and then win through Torment of Hailfire or the like.

7. Another way to win, if you do end up running dorks, is Craterhoof Behemoth . Pair this with Natural Order for instant fun.

8. Green Sun's Zenith can grab your Azusa, Lost but Seeking and your Ramunap Excavator , as well as Dryad Arbor on turn one (if you end up running Dryad Arbor ).

9. Reflecting Pool is an often-chromatic land you may wish to consider, and Exotic Orchard is frequently at least a tri-land. I may be missing something, but running Strip Mine and Wasteland to pair with your Crucible of Worlds and Ramunap Excavator seems... good.

10. You're running two artifacts (three, if you run the aforementioned Sol Ring ): You should give strong consideration to things like Collector Ouphe (if you don't like the Isochron Scepter loop) or even a janky Energy Flux . These'll make sure opponents don't do nasty things with their own Isochron Scepter while hardly touching you. Also, things like Ancient Grudge or By Force are powerful magic cards.

11. Spell Snare is a counterspell you may want to consider, as it counters a wide range of frequently played cards in EDH like Demonic Tutor , Cyclonic Rift (overloaded or not), Winter Orb , all the talismans/signets, Counterspell , Mana Drain , Arcane Denial , Sylvan Library , Chains of Mephistopheles , Abeyance , Baleful Strix , Nature's Lore ... Also, if you're in an Ad Nauseam -heavy meta (I sure as hell am), consider things like Dispel to keep those decks in check.

12. Lim-Dul's Vault , Dark Petition and Mystical Tutor are some tutors you may wish to consider.

13. If your meta is blue-heavy (most are), consider some second-order countermagic. Things like Veil of Summer and Vexing Shusher can both make sure your spells resolve. Similarly, Carpet of Flowers is a good way to get free mana from blue opponents, and Pyroblast tends to be good as well.

14. Personally, I've found Mystic Remora to be better than Rhystic Study , if only because it is one mana. People are way less likely to pay four mana than one, and in less experienced metas people tend to let you pull off an Ancestral Recall or two in two-ish turn cycles. In more experienced metas, Mystic Remora slows the game down as your opponents wait for it to go away and you just make sure you hit your land-drops.

15. Multi-for-ones are pretty important in a format with three opponents. Fire Covenant has been a favorite piece of removal in my meta since it'll clear out opponents' creatures while leaving yours untouched. Hull Breach and Decimate are also good, although it is important to bare in mind that Decimate requires a bunch of different targets in order to be castable. Windgrace's Judgment and even Casualties of War are also good.

16. If you want to go deep into magic history, there's another way to make infinite mana in your colors in addition to (6): Worldgorger Dragon . Entomb , Buried Alive or Faithless Looting to the graveyard this mo-fo, then cast Animate Dead , Necromancy or Dance of the Dead targeting him, and BOOM you win. (In case you aren't familiar with the combo, Animate Dead returns Worldgorger Dragon to the battlefield, and then Worldgorger Dragon triggers to exile Animate Dead . Animate Dead leaving then makes you sacrifice Worldgorger Dragon , bringing back Animate Dead and then Worldgorger Dragon ... rinse and repeat. Tapping your lands for mana in between each exile trigger yields infinite mana. WARNINGS: 1. You need a second creature in a graveyard to end the loop, or the game is a draw; 2. If someone Nature's Claim s your Animate Dead while the Worldgorger Dragon is entering the battlefield, you lose everything and you're boned. So make sure either your opponents are out of mana/counterspells or you've got your own protective backup.)

I think that's all I got. Good luck!

IzzetFanatic on Blue-Tron: Urza's Control

5 months ago

So I have struggled to justify running Relic of Progenitus for the longest while, despite wanting to. It cuts off Academy Ruins to get back discarded artifacts (maybe from Thirst for Knowledge ) and can shut off Mindslaver . that and you run the Gearhulk. Idk. if I like it. Here are my two take's on the deck. If you hate people... Play this deck and Friendless Blue Tron. Let me know what you think about either one. And let me know how relic is working out for you. Best, izzetfanatic

SideBae on Aminatou in Progress

5 months ago

1. So Preordain is awesome for the same reasons your Brainstorm and Ponder are... I suggest running it.

2. Narset, Parter of Veils is a great way to limit your competitive opponents. Especially if you pair her with a well-timed Windfall . Ashiok, Dream Render happens to be another way to punish people for playing tutor-tribal kinds of strategies.

3. Another hallmark of competitive decks is their ramp, especially zero and two-mana. In your description, you say you want to stay budget -- unfortunately, that rules out about all of the good zero mana ramp. ( Mox Tantalite is bad, and Mox Amber is hardly better most of the time.) So I suggest increasing your two-mana ramp, and maybe including Ancient Tomb if at all possible to speed up their presence on the board. Some to consider: Talisman of Progress , Talisman of Hierarchy , Talisman of Dominance , Coldsteel Heart , Fellwar Stone , Mind Stone , Everflowing Chalice , Prismatic Lens , etc. None of these should be more than a few bucks.

4. Concerning your lands: I think you're running too many, especially if you add some of the ramp mentioned in (3). I'd cut four-ish, maybe five. Generally, once you have a few (3 - 4) lands, you'd rather have a rock and a land in hand than just two lands, since you can cast the rock without using your land-drop. I'm not sure HOW budget you want to keep this deck, but Mana Confluence and City of Brass are each around $10, and they're great in any three or more color deck. Pain lands ( Caves of Koilos , Adarkar Wastes and Underground River ) are better than your tapped lands like Sejiri Refuge , as far as I can tell.

5. I think a reanimation package is probably better than running Show and Tell . Show and Tell is symmetrical, and is often actively dangerous to resolve in EDH, when everyone is trying to do busted stuff. I'm much more a fan of Buried Alive and Entomb to get your fatties in the bin, and then using Animate Dead , Dance of the Dead , Reanimate and/or Necromancy (which is $$$ for some reason) to get them back.

6. Tutors like your Demonic Tutor are good, but like zero mana rocks they tend to be pricy (see Vampiric Tutor and Enlightened Tutor ). One I do suggest is Lim-Dul's Vault , which is only a couple dollars these days. It also happens to be instant speed, which is kinda dumb-powerful, if you ask me.

7. Cumulative upkeep was designed to make powerful effects transient; however, Aminatou, the Fateshifter sorta changes that equation with her -1. Consider cards like Mystic Remora , which you can blink to keep around relatively indefinitely. Similar cards to consider are: Musician , Phyrexian Etchings , Tidal Control and Infernal Darkness (if you're particularly mean).

8. Divining Witch is interesting -- I'd actually never seen that card before. If you're trying to exile your deck and win with your Jace, Wielder of Mysteries , I think Demonic Consultation is probably a better way... though you might want to keep both. Another method (that I think is worse) is to use the card Doomsday , which is only a few dollars. The problem is that if you run Doomsday , you'd likely want to run a Doomsday -package, so you could win by just casting it and drawing into your top card... For that, I'd suggest talking to someone smarter than me, as I've never been able to get the hang of what the hell is going on with that strategy. All I know is that the package usually has something like Gitaxian Probe and Lotus Petal and ends with me being dead.

9. You may have good luck with card draw spells. Repeatable effects, like Phyrexian Arena and/or Dark Confidant , tend to be expensive; luckily, the spell versions are often decidedly less so. I suggest running a few or more of the following: Painful Truths , Night's Whisper , Treasure Cruise or Dig Through Time (running both can be tough since delve can get in its own way), Fact or Fiction , Thirst for Knowledge , Concentrate , Chemister's Insight , Oona's Grace (questionable, due to the high mana requirement), Ancient Excavation (good with the reanimation mentioned in (5)), Archmage's Charm , Chart a Course , Syphon Mind , Deep Analysis and/or Words of Wisdom -- pay extra attention to the instants you can cast on an opponents end step. Another way to do this is simply to steal your opponents' card draw with Notion Thief or Plagiarize .

10. Lastly, I know its around $11 these days, but I think Counterbalance would be dumb in this deck. Using your general's +1 will let you stack whatever you want on top, which can be especially devastating if you can keep an opponent's general off the board that way.

Good luck man! Love this deck.

SideBae on Urza EDH Deck

5 months ago

Hey man! I have a few suggestions; feel free to ignore any/all of them.

1. In Vintage, there's an idea called 'Xerox.' This refers to replacing a small portion of your land-base with low-cost cantrips, which can help you find lands if you need them, or dig you past them if you don't. The best ones currently available are Ponder , Preordain and Brainstorm ; I suggest you at least run Ponder and Preordain instead of two Snow-Covered Island s. The reason I'm not so adamant about Brainstorm is that, sans land-based shuffle effects, you're very likely to get stuck with cards you don't want on top of your deck a good amount of the time. If you want to run it, I suggest running at least four fetch lands (like Prismatic Vista or Flooded Strand ). Other cantrips to consider are: Sleight of Hand , Impulse , Serum Visions , Opt , etc.

2. I don't know how this deck plays, but I do not think the Urza's lands are very good in EDH. It takes some effort to assemble tron in a four-of, sixty card format like modern; in EDH, getting all three of these specific lands can be a huge amount more trouble than it's worth. I suggest just running basic Island s instead, since these produce blue mana and don't die to your own Back to Basics or an opposing Blood Moon / Ruination / Wasteland .

3. I don't know what the budget on this deck is, but since you're running Power Artifact , I assume it's high. I suggest running Grim Monolith in addition to your Basalt Monolith -- the Power Artifact -combo still works, and this one has the advantage of being mana-positive if you cast it early game.

4. Mox Opal is really good. It's about $100, but in an artifact deck it is always an all star. If able, run it; if you can't but your group allows proxies, print one out.

5. I don't think the Darksteel Forge -with- Nevinyrral's Disk combo is very good. It's a lot of mana to get online, and your opponents will have a turn to react (since Nevinyrral's Disk ETBs tapped). I think more mana rocks, like Mind Stone or Everflowing Chalice , are probably better. Especially since you already have Cyclonic Rift with a Mystical Tutor to get it.

6. Since I've never played with this list, I don't know exactly how the games will go. However, if you find them going long frequently enough (maybe around 50% of the time), you may have some luck with Muddle the Mixture as a tutor. Normally, I dislike this card, as the transmute ability is only sorcery speed and three mana can be a lot to pay. However, it gets so many pieces of your combos, I think it may be worth including; it can fetch up Isochron Scepter , Dramatic Reversal , Power Artifact and (if you should choose to run it) Grim Monolith . It also can get non-combo cards like Cyclonic Rift in a pinch.

7. There're some cool U artifact tutors to consider. If you want cards on par with your Power Artifact , Transmute Artifact is a pretty busted card that'll grab your combo pieces when you need them. (Side note: Basalt Monolith also goes infinite with Rings of Brighthearth ; idk if you want to run it, but I figured I'd mention it.) Reshape can be a redundant, if significantly less powerful, Whir of Invention .

8. You may benefit from two or three more mass card-draw effects. I think you should run either Treasure Cruise or Dig Through Time (but not both, since delve can get in its own way), as well as one or two other spells like Fact or Fiction , Thirst for Knowledge , Chemister's Insight , etc. Notice that, except for Treasure Cruise , these are all instants.

9. I think you may have overlooked Spell Snare as a counterspell. I think this card is, in general, highly underrated in EDH; however, I think it would be especially good here. It is a hard counter for a very frequent CMC, and can easily get rid of an unwanted Demonic Tutor , Sylvan Library or Cyclonic Rift . Better yet, it counters Null Rod , Collector Ouphe , Stony Silence , Kataki, War's Wage , Gaddock Teeg , Thorn of Amethyst and Lavinia, Azorius Renegade . It's cheap enough that leaving up mana for it isn't a problem, and it can keep you from getting hosed pretty well.

Good luck!

SideBae on Subjective Reality Modded

6 months ago

Couple suggestions:

You're running too many lands. Running forty-two is generally only appropriate in Azusa, Lost but Seeking -style landfall decks; I suggest running thirty-five at MOST, and ideally around thirty-three.

The way you can get away with thirty-three lands is with mana rocks. I'm a fan of your Azorius Signet and similar, but there are other rocks you should consider. Mana Crypt and Mox Diamond are the gold-standard, though those are approximately a million dollars these days. More affordable options include: Talisman of Progress , Talisman of Hierarchy , Talisman of Dominance , Coldsteel Heart , Fellwar Stone and the soon-to-release Arcane Signet . Note that all the suggestions I gave were two-mana mana-rocks, as these are vastly superior to three-mana mana-rocks. One reason for this is that if you choose to run Ancient Tomb or similar, you can land them turn one. Depending on your meta and how long your games tend to go, Gilded Lotus might be worth running.

Your mana base can use some tuning, too. City of Brass and Mana Confluence are generally good in three-color decks, and Reflecting Pool or Forbidden Orchard are also very good. Shock lands like Watery Grave , Godless Shrine and Hallowed Fountain are also good. Caves of Koilos , Underground River and Adarkar Wastes are all good too.

You have some good Xerox pieces; you're running Ponder and Portent , and that's good. You could probably use some more shuffle effects to go with your Brainstorm . Ideally, you should run Zendikar and Onslaught fetches -- however, these are also expensive AF. Slow fetches like Bad River and Flood Plain are way more affordable, and can also fetch things like a Watery Grave if you choose to run them. These will allow you to avoid getting stuck with two cards you don't want on top of your library. Preordain is an excellent Xerox-piece/cantrip to consider.

Mass card-draw is good in EDH. I highly recommend Windfall , and it's especially good with your Narset, Parter of Veils . Fact or Fiction , Painful Truths , Thirst for Knowledge and Jace's Archivist are also good. Mystic Remora , in an inexperienced meta, can easily be several Ancestral Recall s. Night's Whisper and Phyrexian Arena are good.

Tutors are great. Demonic Tutor , Vampiric Tutor and Enlightened Tutor are the gold-standard, and as such they're really expensive. Other options include your already-in-there Scheming Symmetry , Diabolic Tutor , Lim-Dul's Vault , Mystical Tutor and Dark Petition .

Swords to Plowshares is a GREAT card; it's one of the only one-for-ones I advise 98% of the time in EDH; Despark is another. Grasp of Fate is another form of spot-removal. Cyclonic Rift , Wrath of God , Supreme Verdict and Toxic Deluge are all good boardwipes to consider. If, later in your deck building, you end up with fewer creatures and your meta is filled with X/1s, Night of Souls' Betrayal can be a powerhouse. Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust are other two-for-ones to consider.

Counter magic is real powerful. Counterspell , Swan Song , Spell Snare , Spell Pierce , Dovin's Veto , Countersquall , Negate , Archmage's Charm and Disallow are good.

Depending on your meta, you can use some Legacy Miracles pieces. Aminatou is synergistic with Counterbalance , and if you run Sensei's Divining Top you can use the pair to control the game without spending card-advantage. Ashiok, Dream Render is great in EDH as a Stax piece, as shutting down other players' tutors and exiling graveyards is one of the most annoying things you can do in EDH. Hostage Taker is good as removal, and it can also get you some threats.

Gilded Drake is $70-ish, but each time you flicker it you get a new creature. Cheaper, flickering Sower of Temptation gets you to steal a different creature each time. Flickering Solemn Simulacrum allows you to ramp real fast. Cloudblazer , Ravenous Chupacabra , Duplicant , Wall of Omens and Baleful Strix too. Wall of Omens has the added bonus of working real nice with Words of Wind , if you choose to run it.

No Mercy is a good way to discourage attacks; so are Ghostly Prison and Propaganda .

Good luck!

SideBae on Taigam Control Remastered

6 months ago

Fact or Fiction and Thirst for Knowledge are two cards I recommend, right off the bat. Chart a Course is good when you're already attacking. Windfall is great, especially since you're already running Narset, Parter of Veils . Compulsive Research and Archmage's Charm are good if paired with Taigam, Ojutai Master 's rebound ability. Similarly, the less-common one-mana cantrips may be much better if they're rebounding. Consider Serum Visions , Sleight of Hand , Gitaxian Probe and Opt . Similarly, casting Leap or Shadow Rift will give your general two turns worth of evasion, all while netting you a card.

Including Search for Azcanta  ^Flip can give you some card-selection on your extra turns.

If you're looking for more repeated sources of card advantage, planeswalkers may be your best bet. Teferi, Hero of Dominaria is an excellent card in EDH, and I've had good success with it. Jace, the Mind Sculptor is a card that a lot of people s--- on in EDH, saying it's just a Brainstorm a turn. This is true enough, but a Brainstorm a turn is excellent if you pair it with your fetch lands. Windswept Heath , Marsh Flats and Arid Mesa are also worth adding, simply for the shuffle-effect and the deck-thinning; I see you're not running any basic Plains , but that can be changed. Narset Transcendent is great. Jace Beleren is alright, as is Jace's Archivist .

I cannot recommend cutting Path to Exile enough. In Modern it's alright, but in EDH, where everyone is doing big, dangerous things, ramping your opponents is outright dangerous. Adding something like Supreme Verdict or Wrath of God may be better.

Consider more two-mana rocks: Casting one of these turn two means your general likely comes down turn three. Azorius Signet , Mind Stone , Thought Vessel , Fellwar Stone and the soon-to-release Arcane Signet are all good ideas for inclusion.

Depending on your meta, Retribution of the Meek may be a good idea. It kills most fatty blockers your opponents might have, and leaves Taigam, Ojutai Master on the board. But if your meta is similar to mine (Storm/Combo, Stax, and not much else), it may just end up being a dead card.

I suggest cutting Swiftfoot Boots . Often, just having either it or Lightning Greaves (not both) is enough, and I find that Lightning Greaves is simply the better card.

It strikes me that your general incentivizes you to use your mana during your main phase, unlike most blue generals. Playing at instant speed is still pretty powerful, though, and I see you've included Mana Drain , Counterspell and friends. Consider running As Foretold , which allows you to cast counter magic for free on your opponents' turns as well while tapping out. Currently, you'd need either Force of Will or Pact of Negation to do that.

Good luck with deck building!