Still my favorite deck on here.

So much so; I refuse to build it.

Rock on.

BrandonJamesCAC haha thank you very much! Much appreciated :D

JacobAGrossman Hi there. The deck looks absolutely fantastic, kudos to you for having thought of it and having spent the time and effort to make it better and better over the years.

I have 2 questions:

1. Is this deck actually more effective than the classical Counters Company deck? Because on the one hand this deck has tons more way to combo for the win, and being less straightforward I guess makes it tougher for the opponent to interact with, given the numerous outs this deck has at any single moment; on the other hand, having multiple combos instead of just one seems like it makes the midrange game less effective, whereas Counters Company is basically all in into infinite mana + Walking Ballista or Duskwatch Recruiter  ^Flip, with only a very minor investment of cards into infinite life. So you know, when you cannot combo for the win and you have to grind your opponent out, classic Counters Company seems better placed than this deck. So it seems to me (and please correct me if I'm wrong) like there is sort of a tradeoff: is it a positive sum game, all in all? Not talking about the fun aspect here, because it must be just amazing to pilot this deck, feeling all these options just at a Glittering Wish 's tutoring away, whereas Counters Company is certainly less varied.

2. I've read that you've tweaked the deck to make the Blood Moon matchup better (i.e., less bad): what did you put in extactly? And, more importantly, how are you supposed to play against a deck that may have Blood Moon? You fetch basics, rely on Birds of Paradise, and hope they don't draw it?

Anyways, thanks for putting this masterpiece out there for all of us to see :)

Hey, LucaMassone,thanks for the kind words! Always appreciate the feedback. So here we go:

1. Yes, yes it is. For so, so many reasons. Having a less straightforward deck means there are no straight up bad matches or bad scenarios. If the opponent has a Sorcerous Spyglass or a Pithing Needle, i highly doubt they have enough for all of the different ways I have to win the game. If they have graveyard hate, I have the Devoted Druid combos and the Heliod, Sun-Crowned combos. If they can survive through me gaining infinite life, I can also do infinite damage or attack for infinite damage, depending on if they've given themselves heatproof or if they have Ensnaring Bridge or whatever it is. This is the most versatile deck ever. On top of that, with Glittering Wish, I have access to every silver bullet I want from the sideboard for game one. Also, they can remove or destroy all the copies of my main combo in my deck, but they can't get rid of the one of each piece i have on the side. And in regards to mid and late game, dont forget, all of these pieces are creatures, and attacking with a bunch of cheap creatures can be quite the game-winning strategy. On top of that, I have plenty of preparation for those moments, with beefier threats like Hexdrinker, Fiend Artisan, Steel Leaf Champion, and Spellskite. It's just so much more well rounded, so much more confident. I wouldn't do it any other way.

2. Blood Moon is a jerk. Im much more confident with the fetching for basics strategy, but it's not 100%. It's a hard match-up for a lot of tri color decks that don't already have control or mid range strategies built in. I'd be open to suggestions actually haha, but most of the time it hasn't been too much of a burden. But when it hits, oh boy does it hit lol =P

Yeah I mean, I guess being aware of it is the best thing one can do, you know? Those ponza-style decks usually have some tells T1 and T2, so that even on game 1 one may sort of know Blood Moon might be coming. But of course it's super dependant on coin toss: on the play, even if they've got ramp (w/ Utopia Sprawl or whatever elf the're playing) you usually get 3 turns to set up your mana; on the draw, you may only have 1 or 2 turns, so it's super sketchy. Of course, adding x4 Noble Hierarch would help immensely, but you'd have to tear the creature package to pieces and it's not worth it.

Leaving the Blood Moon dilemma aside, I've got a few more questions for you if you don't mind:

1. What is the worst hand you'd keep? How many pieces of a combo do you need to see in your opener? I imagine this deck has so many winning combinations that you're never too far away from a combo, but still.

2. Do you sideboard at all? Take Vexing Shusher against an opponent with tons of counterspells, for example: have you got better access to the Vexing Shusher when it's in your sideboard through Glittering Wish, of when it's in your main deck through drawing + Chord of Calling? And in this example you don't really want to rely on Fiend Artisan's ability, because by that time you've likely been countered out of existence. To be fair, if you add the Vexing Shusher to the deck you can still get it w/ Glittering Wish, wishing for Eladamri's Call: but you're really susceptible to having this whole sequence countered.

3. What the hell do you do against a faster combo deck like storm? You can try and shut Past in Flames w/ Wheel of Sun and Moon, but that's not going to be enough is it? So, how do you win that matchup?

Let's get into it again! I like these questions, I am happy to answer any and all of them :D

1. In regards to hands, it's based on two things. I usually try to keep one with at least two or three mana. The hand would have to be especially crazy for me to keep it with just one. And four is definitely just too much. In regards to the cards, there just needs to be a direction. As long as there's cards that lead to some sort of play or strategy, or an idea can form of what to do from the get go, I'm good. There are some clunky hands for sure, if its just spells, or too many different creatures of different strategies that don't work well together, I'll mulligan. But those are actually pretty rare, which is awesome.

2. I rarely sideboard these days. I used to try to keep all the sideboard cards as creatures, so I could use them game two main if I needed them, but it just limited the power of the cards I could have so badly it wasn't worth it. The shusher is the main sideboard target, and it is definitely worth putting it in the main in the counterspell heavy matchups. I can reach it with Chord, Collected, or reach for the Wish combo, as well as just top decking it. Makes it much more consistent. Also, the Artisan is actually amazing against counterspell matchups, because all the countered cards beef up its body like Goyf.

3. Against a fast deck, like Storm, Scapeshift, Ad Naseum, etc., it's a race. They want to race to the win, so will I. And most of the time, I'm actually way faster. I have so many ways to suddenly win, theyre usually not prepared for which one it's going to be, either. And if they don't have removal ready, I can just win on turn 3. Those are actually usually my favorite matches.

Been away from MTG for about a year now and hopped onto Arena with all the Covid going around. Not enjoying it as much since the archetypes aren't my style and I found myself coming back here since I found this deck 4 years ago. This is still my most favorite and most played deck of all time, truly awesome to see you're still updating it! I hope you're having a great day man and thanks again for making this masterpiece!! Love from Japan

Wow, unclaimedpants, that's super high praise! Thanks :D. Yeah, I can't help but agree with you, this is still my favorite and most played deck as well haha. I think the archetypes have gotten a little spicier these days, people are still trying out new things every now and again that surprise and excite me. But this deck is just so much fun and is in such a great place. It feels so right to be able to both pepper down people's health with cheap creatures, and then suddenly win the game instantly in a bunch of different ways. With the sideboard being available all game, it just feels so strong to removal and so resilient against most strategies. Appreciate you keeping tabs all these years, it feels great to keep it relevant and know that people are still getting something out of it. Much love from California!

Hello ! I have following this deck for a while and seen many different versions of it but I don't understand some of the more recent changes. Can you explain the inclusions of Steel Leaf Champion, Skyclave Apparition and Polukranos, Unchained ?

Also, has Fiend Artisan been working well so far ? It feels like he would fit better with some Voice of Resurgence.

Hey, Ursaromg! I can definitely do that :D. What I've begun to notice in the deck, is it can be helpful to have a baddie on the board every now and again, because sometimes the combo does end up getting broken up too much by control, especially in game 1. Steel Leaf Champion is super annoying to deal with, and is well worth it's mana cost for how much of a threat it is the moment it lands. Gives me enough of a reprieve to get to the combo, or can just win on it's own sometimes.

Same with Polukranos, Unchained. Sometimes, by the time I get a Glittering Wish, I have nothing going on the board. Being able to reach for a big bad with a Wish has become a move I realize I need, and Treasured Find wasn't really the power bomb that I thought it was. I changed that slot from passive to aggressive, and it has been awesome. Polukranos, Unchained can exist as a giant body on the board not once but twice. But also, if I've gotten behind in creature power, it can sweep the whole board, not one but twice.

Skyclave Apparition is the card I've always been looking for in this deck. I have tried so many less versions of what this can can do, with things like Leonin Relic-Warder, Kitesail Freebooter, Tidehollow Sculler, and Fairgrounds Warden. None of them end up being that particularly effective, because the opponent gets their card right back most of the time. Skyclave Apparition doesn't give them their stuff back ever, and is more like Spell Queller or Thought-Knot Seer, which are amazing. Skyclave is so good it is being used across all formats. It can get rid of any threat on the board, from creature, to artifact, to planeswalker, or enchantment. That token isn't much to worry about either with the amount of creatures I play throughout the game. Plus, it's only 4/4 at the most.

Fiend Artisan is an all-star. Just like Ggoyf, I wait until I have 3 creatures in the graveyard until I first play him, so he can survive the initial Bolt. Its ability reigns supreme as Birthing Pod on a stick, which is incredibly useful after it survives its summoning sickness. Plus, the passive ability triggers Rhonas the Indomitable, it can be tapped for Chord of Calling, it's never not useful.

I've always had an eye on Voice of Resurgence, since it was first printed. But it seems better as a set of 4, and I don't have room for that at this point. Plus, just a little bit underpowered compared to cards like Kambal, Consul of Allocation, Vexing Shusher, and Grand Abolisher, which tingle my giblets just a bit more.

Thanks for asking! I really appreciate you and others having kept up with and encouraged me over all this years, it's definitely what helps keep this deck firmly my favorite deck in all of Magic.