Try to shoot for 10-15 cards for ramp. 2cmc mana rocks are your friends here

That is a lot of lands that will or very can be coming in tapped...

@Snap157: I've been playing commander since like 2011 and I have never had that many mana rocks/ramp in my decks and haven't seemed to have any issues. What would you recommend be put in and what would you remove for it?

@Themysteriousone: Valid point. I removed a few in favor of mana that doesn't come in tapped. There are still 5 and the 4 modal flip cards if you count those but I really like all the ones I kept. What would you change about the mana base and what would you add or remove to do it?

I would think how many non-basics you really need. In a two color deck you really don't need that many unless you're playing some type of Hermit Druid self mill type deck.

I don't know what your playgroup looks like, but all it would take is one good Blood Moon or Back to Basics to really shut you down.

@Themysteriousone: Blood Moon and Back to Basics pretty much shuts all my decks down except my mono color decks. In my Meren deck I have 6 basics and in my Malfegor deck I have 7 basics and in Ishkanah I have 8. My Ruric Thar deck has 20 basics and that's the most of any multi color decks I have. My 3 color decks run between 3-9 basics and my 5 color deck has 8.

That is bold. I don't know the logic for it, don't see any reason to have so many non-basics for two colored decks, unless again you're doing Hermit Druid self mill.

Themysteriousone is better mana fixing when most lands tap for either color. Also I use a lot of utility lands like Cavern of Souls or Homeward Path in a lot of my decks.

I see no reason to have Castle Locthwain or Castle Vantress both I doubt you would ever use their abilities much, and more than likely they will just come in tapped since a lot of non-basic lands are just that lands and don't have swamp or island on their card discription...

Themysteriousone you're probably right, good suggestion, I swapped them for basics.

Trust me it'll work better, the less mana that comes in the better. Also consider cards like Brainstorm and Ponder and even Dream Cache that will help you manipulate the top of your library and give you draw as well.

Things like Fellwar Stone, Sol Ring, Prismatic Lens, Fractured Powerstone, Worn Powerstone, Wayfarer's Bauble, Talisman of Dominance, Dimir Signet, Arcane Signet, Thought Vessel, and Mind Stone would make a great ramp package here. I know you already have some here but I would take out Mirrorpool, Ravenous Chupacabra, Rise of the Dark Realms, Thassa's Oracle (if you dont have a way to instantly mill yourself), Conjurer's Closet, Sire of Stagnation and Crush of Tentacles. These are your lower impact higher cmc cards, and this will lower your average cmc so your deck will run smoother.

Additionally, I feel like there are some draw staples that are missing, such as Rhystic Study, Mystic Remora, Necropotence, Phyrexian Arena, Visions of Beyond (if you lean into the mill strat), Sign in Blood/Night's Whisper, and things like Brainstorm, Preordain, Ponder, and Read the Bones. Think about the higher cmc in your advantage section to replace for a few of these, I usually shoot for 10. hope this helps!

@Snap157 great feedback. I have every card mentioned so I will be making a few of these suggested changes. Let me explain a few of these choices as well.

I'll be keeping:

• Mirrorpool for now, I may take it out but a land that can clone Gyruda sounds fun.
• Sire of Stagnation because I feel like landfall strategies are going to become more common after Zen Rising and I have a foil one and I love the art.
• Crush of Tentacles is in the deck for flavor reasons, I put it in instead of Cyclonic Rift.
• Rise of the Dark Realms just because I love big flashy plays that do dumb stuff.

Cards I'll be swapping out

• Ravenous Chupacabra, it's a single target so maybe I'll swap him for Slum Reaper, I don't know for sure yet.
• Thassa's Oracle, I had Doomsday in here but I took it out because I don't like ending games early. I play for fun and love long, grindy games. Maybe I'll add in a fail-safe like Dread so I don't kill myself with my own commander.

I'm still figuring out what to swap out for some other suggestions but I plan on adding Rhystic Study and probably Thought Vessel. I am currently running Thorn of the Black Rose instead of Phyrexian Arena because I could get her off a Gyruda trigger.

I really appreciate the feedback!

Sire of Stagnation is a good card draw but if you want to replace him Kokusho, the Evening Star can easily become a win-con for you if you keep copying it. I would suggest getting rid of Helm of the Host just too much mana to play and equip to Gyruda. Think about adding Nightmare Shepherd and Mikaeus, the Unhallowed to help recur creatures.

@Themysteriousone, most excellent feedback! I made a few changes and added in Nightmare Shepherd and Kokusho. I would love to add in Mikaeus but I only have one and he is in my Meren deck. Thanks for the feedback!

Yeah, no problem. Honestly don't think Sire of Stagnation is a bad card at all, and if you can get it out early gives you good card advantage. I would suggest taking out Tidal Barracuda that one just doesn't fit in.

@Themysteriousone I know but I love the art and I like having a card that helps the table out. It is definitely possible it could backfire but it also stops counterterspells and removal during my turn so it's not all bad. Definitely the first card I'll cut if it doesn't work out.

Alright Themysteriousone and Snap157, I finally got to play the deck and it did really well but I thought I'd see if you two could help me tune this deck up a little.

I played two, four player games and won the first and almost won the second. Both games were 3 versus 1 since I was quickly the biggest threat. The first game Tidal Barracuda won me the game. The Niv-Mizzet, Parun player let it resolve because it helped him but it also let me cast Rise of the Dark Realms late game after I already milled over 3/4 of my opponents decks and get a ton of creatures for a stupid flashy win.

The second game I continued to mill and get value but just couldn't close out the game, I came close to milling everyone out but I would also have milled myself out before I could get the final player since I drew quit a few cards during the game. The game ended up almost being determined by cards in the library since the player who won only had like 3 cards lefts before he would have decked but he was able to kill the last opponent instead.

What I came to realize is that during the game as my library was dwindling down to almost nothing I began getting increasingly nervous because I was on the verge of milling only myself to death. I don't have a way to do much of anything without cards in my library and I don't have a way to replace my draw to avoid losing to having 0 cards in my library. What would you recommend adding in the deck to help mitigate this? I was thinking of adding Snapcaster Mage and maybe Gravepurge or something that will let me shuffle in select cards to my library. Any help is appreciated.

If milling yourself doesn't seem to be a hurdle, perhaps Laboratory Maniac could work in your favor? Additionally, a particularly nasty way to prevent milling yourself is Nexus of Fate. It will always be the last card in your deck, and you get infinite turns once you are guaranteed to draw it each turn. Nexus also stops a mill player in their tracks, so I'd include it for any mirror matches. It has my vote over lab man in this deck. Congrats on the win!

thassa's oracle works great with Gyruda since she is a even numbered creature so easy to fetch, and later you can blink or clone it when you need it.