You want to explain some of your new card choices and edit decisions? Assassin’s Trophy is a nonbo w/ Rune Snag, though I agree that it’s slight and probably worth it for the sheer power and versatility it brings...dropping Loam altogether seems like a mistake, and in the board ensnaring bridge just seems terrible...not sure what the spider is doing in the list either and I’m not 100% sold on trinket mage over other options

Sk0oMa

Yeah I can explain!

I haven’t been able to test assassins trophy yet (obviously lol) but this is just the list that I think I’m going to try out first when it comes out. The nombo with Rune Snag isn’t as bad as you would think. If I have Snag in hand I’m always going to play that before a trophy. Then if I trophy and they ramp off it. The second Rune Snag is still just a mana leak (pay 4 mana minus the 1 land that I gave them with trophy = pay 3 mana) if that makes sense. Late game Rune snags when none are in the grave are always bad regardless of trophy giving extra mana. But they are still better than discard spells in my opinion and can be discarded to collective brutality.

Ishkanah has actually been pretty good in my games with my friends (haven’t got to play it in a FNM or anything). I was really looking for a late game creature that can end the game fast (5 power spread across 4 permanents) and that can also help stabilize a game and buy me time to get some Azcanta activations. Or take a turn to pulse of Murasa back a witness and then play it the following turn and stuff like that. It blocks the air also, so helps vs lingering souls and mantis riders. Rebuying with lily last hope over and over again is also very hard to out grind.

Trinket mage has been very good for me. It’s extra copies of explosives, Spellbomb, e-capsule, and hangarback walker all in one. It allows me to turn traverses into graveyard hate and removal. Turn 5 trinket mage into hangarback for 1 is also nice to kinda muck up the board and allow engines to get online. Also it makes a second copy of graf diggers cage out of the board and maybe pithing needle the nights I side that.

Ensnaring bridge is something that I haven’t really got to test yet. But I was thinking that I want to find a “wincon” that doesn’t rely on graveyard. Humans can’t beat a bridge if they didn’t side rec sage in or something like that. Against the Aggro decks side out the gifts, counters and then have ensnaring bridge to never get attacked again to me just seemed worth the testing (which I still have to do more of). Then you just win with ishkanah activations or Lilly ultimate plus draw for turn and a Azcanta activation and swing with a million zombie. Or just mill your opponent out because you have academy ruins to never mill out. (Drownyard was for control matchups and also to be sided in with the bridges to win with a mill plan but I think I’m cutting it)

Dropping loam hasn’t been tested yet. But whenever I sided in my crucible of worlds, it just seemed so much better than loam. I don’t have to waste my draw step to get lands from loam. And it opened a sideboard slot which I really liked. And I still have the gift pile to get the academy lock: Artifact of choice Witness Crucible Academy ruins

Let me know if you have anymore questions!

A lot of your points make sense in theory...I’ll start at the bottom and work my way up...I think it’s smarter to have BOTH Loam and Crucible, Incase one gets removed, but perhaps having crucible main IS the correct choice, provided you stick with ensnaring bridge plan...however you could alternatively run more collective brutality and be able to pitch the extra lands drawn off Loam...still, I think you are devoting a lot of sub par pieces to a plan that isn’t that great with bridge and drownyard etc...and bridge would just be better with lili of the veil and discard which changes the deck pretty drastically.

I totally overlooked hangerback w/ trinket mage, so I agree that’s a worthy inclusion.

Still not feeling ishkana

Wurmcoil Engine is a MUCH better choice, recursion with ruins, life gain for stabilizing, hard to get through so great for blocking multiple turns...easier to cast...way better

Hey, mind updating the description to replace Life from the Loam with Crucible of Worlds? Also, I have had a lot of use replacing the Loams with Crucible since I saw it here, getting Eternal Witness, Academy Ruins, and Crucible of Worlds, along with either Executioner's Capsule, Walking Ballista, Nihil Spellbomb, Hangarback Walker or Pulse of Murasa.

I have found great luck with Tasigur, the Golden Fang over Ishkanah, Grafwidow, having similar beat-down finisher capabilities while also being a decent beater if you need it, while also being a great early blocker, stonewalling most aggro decks. I understand Reach is useful, and the extra spidy-spider are nice, but Tasigur's ability is pretty great for the deck.

I do sideboard the big Momma Spider, but Tasi-G is my goto in that slot, thoughts?

SynergyBuild

Tasigur has been on my radar and I have put him in and "goldfished" with him and he seemed pretty sweet to traverse and cast him all for 2 mana. What drew me away from him is the delving can sometimes hurt me. taking out rune snags or fetches or potential witness/snap targets was just scary to me. But I may try him out when I get less busy.

Yeah I haven't updated this description yet lol. I plan to do that sometime after assassin's trophy comes out and I find the numbers that I like.

So have you been playing the deck in paper or online? What matchups have you found trouble with? I don't get a lot of time to play lately so I really am building this off theories and thoughts. lol Any feedback helps.

Sk0oMa

I use to look at ensnaring bridge and think you need to empty your hand as fast as possible like in lantern control. In my deck all the cards that are in my hand may cost more than lantern control but they also deal with the board. I may be slower at emptying my hand but I am taking out things as I do and then also not dying. Then the last card being bridge is just the nail in the coffin. Also helps vs bogles, bant decks, and pretty much any creature decks. As you said collective brutality does help empty the hand also. But there may be better options like you said also.

I do like wurmcoil....I have had people on here suggest it before and 6 mana just scares me sometimes. But you are right that it does stabilize the board with the life link. I think the thing that keeps me coming back to Ishkana is with all these control decks with path to exile Ishkana seems a little better vs that. (they are both bad vs terminus though) I have thought about the synergy with academy ruins. I will have to try that out when I get the chance!

thanks for the suggestions!

Paper, and Tron was originally my nightmare, paying for my Rune Snags and still obliterating my loops, but I sleeved up a pair of Field of Ruins for the mainboard and a Ghost Quarter sideboard in case of Scapeshift, which I only know one person plays at my LGS.

Otherwise, Jeskai contol is a bit of a game of luck, and my matchup against aggro is, favored me, but still rough, my best matchup are the decks like Abzan and Jund, the real midrangy decks that a good loop with Academy Ruins will grind to death.

Affinity and Lantern Control are a lot of fun. I have a white splash for Dispeller's Capsule for a lock against them, blowing up their mana, creatures, equipment, the whole thing. Making it 4-color is actually pretty good, sinc ewhite has the best sideboard options IMO. Path to Exile is a good addition too.

I’ll say one more thing in regards to the Crucible VS Loam thing...Loam also acts as fuel for the deck, turns on Traverse, digs deeper into the deck thus speeding up our game plan and making our gifts much stronger, gives more versatility to our Snapcaster sand witnesses and pulse etc...sure, Loam is probably way better in an actual dredging deck with some lingering souls etc, and any graveyard hate is scary, but graveyard hate is going to suck for us either way so I’d rather run Loam and speed things up by digging deeer and finding answers sooner...