Shadowhand, mana is fairly easy to come by with the Shefet Monitors and Vizier of Tumbling Sands. Even if I tap out to cast New Perspectives I can still acquire enough mana to end the game without passing the turn. No need to cycle on opponents turn, unless it is to help ramp or pull into New Perspectives.

Once New Perspectives is out, it is important to get the other basic lands on the battlefield with the Shefet Monitors first. If I have two or more in hand I'll cycle the first, triggering the land search ability, and before the cycle resolves to draw, I put another on the stack. That way I can pull the lands out of the deck, not leaving them to a possible cycle draw. (You wouldn't believe how often I drew a basic land after cycling a Shefet Monitor before I started stacking them like this.) Any basic land in hand, if I already did my land drop for the turn, while going off with New Perspectives, is a dead card. They are better suited on the battlefield. Once I pull all the basic lands from the deck (I run 10) or if I run out of Shefet Monitors, I use Vizier of Tumbling Sands to untapped lands. They are best used on a land enchanted with Weirding Wood though so I try to save them for that as much as possible.

If all the Shefet Monitors have been cycled or the library has run out of basic lands, and all the Vizier of Tumbling Sands are already cycled too, I play Shadow of the Grave to bring them back to hand and keep the mana flowing. I'm just careful to make sure I have the mana to cast Shadow of the Grave at all times when going off. I don't want to fizzle out of cyclers without mana to get my graveyard cyclers back.

The real trick I've found is deciding what direction to go for the win, Faith of the Devoted or Approach of the Second Sun. They are both very viable but it is important to weigh variables such as: life totals, counter magic possibilities, how quickly I can get my mana to fulfill the win con, and how many cards I have left in my library, before committing to one.

I like Faith of the Devoted because it costs less mana overall if my opponent hasn't had any life gain. With a full health opponent, it takes 13 mana (outside the costs of Shadow of the Grave) to win. It takes 14 mana with Approach of the Second Sun. With Horror of the Broken Lands and Fling, it only really takes 7 mana.

There are pros & cons to all three. If the opponent has any life gain that'll raise the overall cost of a Faith of the Devoted kill. But it can be cast in the early game before going off with New Perspectives and can have early benefits by keeping me alive. I also run three so it is more resilient to counter magic. Approach of the Second Sun works great but it is more mana intensive with no early game use. Since there is only one in the deck it is highly susceptible to counter magic.The Horror of the Broken Lands and Fling combo is the cheapest to use and can have some pre-New Perspectives play use/buffering. But it is susceptible to removal. Counter magic on the Fling can be devastating.

One big problem I've run into is decking myself. I think it has been just from sloppy play, not keeping an eye on my library count and not planning ahead. Each time I cycle a Shefet Monitor or Vizier of Tumbling Sands for mana it eats away at the library. Sometimes that is good, like when Im hunting for a win con or more mana production, but other times it is bad, like when I realize I cycled my last Vizier of Tumbling Sands, with no cards left in the library, and I still need one more mana to win. (Happened to me in play testing today)

It is really important to know how instant speed timing on the stack works with this deck. If the opponent is at 20 life and I have a Faith of the Devoted on the battlefield, 10 mana in my mana pool, 10 cycle cards in hand, and 0 cards left in the library...it is still possible to win as long as Im careful with how I resolve triggers and add new ones to the stack.

I have found it best to get all the mana Ill need in my mana pool before pulling the trigger on a win con. Sometimes I get a bad draw order, even with cycling, and I don't have enough mana to win in a particular way. For this I am considering Curator of Mysteries. It will really help in getting the cards I need to the top of the library, and the ones I don't to the bottom. It will also have some early, pre-New Perspectives use with buffering attacks. Still have to do more play testing though.

I started using 5 mana color specific d12s to keep track of my mana pool. It helps a lot since I have to tap and untap the land with Weirding Wood a lot by way of Vizier of Tumbling Sands. Keeping a healthy mix of black and white mana, and red if a Fling is an option, in my mana pool will be important when pulling the win con trigger, whatever it might be. Having some blue available with a Censor or two in hand is good for added protection.

This deck is complicated. It requires a lot of practice to really get all the ins and outs of it. I hope to play it on Game Day this weekend but I think I need a lot more practice. I learn something new about it, or a new trick or tactic, after nearly ever play testing session.

It can be a lot of fun to play if you like a challenge or figuring out puzzles. Not so much fun for the opponent as they will often just sit there while you flip through your library for 5-10 minutes finding a way to kill them.

might run a second approach in the main, while the effect still counts as a cast if it gets countered, it goes to your gy instead of back into your deck.