Sorin_Markov_1947 Deck Guide -

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I don't think Omen of the Hunt belongs here. It's just not a good card. You also probably want Yorion as a companion just because he synergizes so well with the Doom Foretold attitude. You'll also want more removal, like the fourth Binding the Old Gods and some spell removal like Heartless Act . Take a look at some of the other Abzan Doom decks around and see what works for them.

If you have a way to get expensive spells in the graveyard quickly and consistently, yes. I don't see that in the deck though, just Seize the Spoils discarding Magma Opus or Creative Outburst . So that's a three-card combo (Seize + Magma/Outburst + Draconic Intervention) to do a bit better than Storm's Wrath.

Probably just keep what you have.

I think having better removal will be more beneficial than a burn spell that can target face. It's pretty easy to get to a Goldspan or Sprite Dragon, which will finish people off pretty quickly. It's especially easy if you have cantrips like Crash Through or Opt , which, while not triggering Goldspan/Orvar, do let you dig for what you need and do trigger Sprite Dragon.

Shell Shield is a great protection spell. Seriously one of the best along with the protection from any color spells. Infuriate shortens your clock a lot of the time and can be used as a combat trick. Any one-mana spell creates mana for you if you have a Goldspan out, while two-mana spells are net 0. Cleansing Wildfire 's interaction with Orvar is something I missed, but it's still not enough reason to keep it in the deck, imo. If you have Orvar, you should be looking to kill your opponent within 2 turns. It's already late in the game, and Orvar looks scary so a lot of opponents will look to remove him ASAP. Cleansing Wildfire is net -1 mana (for that turn) +/-0 cards, but unlike the cantrips from before, it's not good without Orvar.

Yeah, I see the need for protection for sure, but that's why Shell Shield , Sejiri Shelter  ^Flip, and Feat of Resistance are maindeck.

Sprite Dragon is much much better than Goblin Arsonist . The targeting spells could be a lot better as well. Shatterskull Smashing  ^Flip is almost strictly better than Volcanic Geyser , Infuriate , Opt , Crash Through , Shell Shield , and Spell Strike are good cards to be using as triggers for your abilities.

Flicker of Fate . You don't really want to be bouncing tokens or things with counters on them, so this is a bad protection spell. Sejiri Shelter  ^Flip, Feat of Resistance , or the aforementioned Shell Shield are much better. Cleansing Wildfire and Go for Blood are too expensive and don't give any extra synergy. Go For Blood doesn't even replace itself. In general, focus on cheaper spells and less countermagic. You don't want to end up in a control-y game, you want to survive the first few turns, then explode with Goldspan/Sprite Dragon + Orvar.

It's worth noting that Season of Growth does not scry or draw cards off of copied spells created by Zada . Idk if you're counting on that.

My dude, proliferating every time a land enters the battlefield is the most reliable proliferation you'll ever see. I've had games where it carries my creatures from one counter each to more than five. Evolving Wilds is a budget Fabled Passage , btw.

Leyline Tyrant can work here. Just tap all your red mana sources at the end of each of your opponent's turns and you build up mana quite quickly.

I don't feel like Expressive Iteration is doing its best work here. It really works best when you can find something you can cast that turn with it, instead of in a deck with a bunch of big spells. I feel like you need more early things or more controlling things to last you through the early game. Storm's Wrath would do that, as would like Brazen Borrower to slow down your opponents.

Nice! I feel like you could cut white and go for more targetted spells though. Infuriate , Crash Through , Storm Strike , and Shell Shield would all work for that purpose. Well, not Crash Through, but it's a red cantrip. Cantrips just work well with Sprite Dragon.

Also, if you're all-in on Orvar, make him a four-of! He works well with most of your creatures.

Not bad! How do you deal with decks that have lots of removal? Also, what's your snow payoff? If you don't have one, it's better not to run snow lands just because of stray Reidanes  ^Flip.

Not a Standard deck.

If you're going for Peer + Underworld, make the deck about that. Don't mess with the black devotion/lifegain subtheme, just become a black control deck with a good wincon. There's another deck on TappedOut that keeps getting cycled like every hour (kinda annoying tbh). Dreams from the abyss. You might check that out.

Not a Standard deck.

The walls and Guildmage don't belong here. Evolution Sage is amazing, esp with Fabled Passage .

That makes sense. Orzhov lifegain is one of the best archetypes you can use just after color challenges.

Probably what you ran into with cards not being legal on here is that some of the cards you put in haven't been released in a proper set recently, but are cards that Arena gave you for the color challenges. Those cards, like Ajani's Pridemate, are only legal in bo1 Arena. It's confusing and shouldn't be allowed, but it's how they have the system.

I think this deck lacks identity. From what you've said, you're trying to be an Orzhov lifegain deck, but there are so many cards that don't fit with that plan and/or don't bring a lot of value to the table. We should also probably just make this a Clerics deck (with Angel of Destiny), as that fits the lifegain build and packs extra synergy.

First, I think Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose should be a four-of in the deck. He's just so good in a lifegain deck. Righteous Valkyrie should probably be in here as well, as it helps gain life and provides a buff when you do. Speaker of the Heavens should also be a four-of, as it gains some small life and when you hit 27 starts really giving value! If we're going Clerics, Orah, Skyclave Hierophant is a good idea.

As for cards that don't give a lot of value, Dream Devourer , Firja, Judge of Valor , Giant Killer , Skemfar Shadowsage , Invoke the Divine , Light of Hope , Revitalize , Poison the Cup , and Pacifism all probably need to go. There are better options for what most of them do, and the rest you don't need the effects of. Doomskar too, because you're a deck that likes a full boardstate (lots of creatures) so you don't want to be wiping the board almost ever.

There were several removal options in what I pointed out. Bloodchief's Thirst and Heartless Act are good replacements, but you don't want too much removal, you should be focused on your own board most of the time.

Don't forget as well that having a list of mainly 1-2x cards won't make for a consistent deck. Ideally, you have as many of your good cards as possible.

Those are my initial thoughts. There's some value lost in the list even after those edits, but it's a good start, I think.

Nobody really plays Necromentia (or similar) so that shouldn't be a concern. And if they do, you still have 56 cards to kill them with. You're hampering your deck in a major way to counter only a very very small amount of players, and a small effect of those players' decks at that.

The value in having multiples of a card is in consistency. Put it this way, would you rather be drawing Goldspan Dragon or Gods' Hall Guardian ? If you take out Guardian for another Goldspan Dragon, you will get Goldspan Dragon twice as often. That's a 4/4 with big upside for 5 mana when you would've been playing a much worse card for more mana! You don't want to be playing low-value cards, you want your best pieces and your best combo. There's a reason Commander decks are slow and don't win against regular Constructed decks.

Consistency is crucial in Magic, so for cards that are essential to your gameplan, you want as many as possible. If I have a 60-card deck and I win as soon as I draw one specific card, if I only have one of that card, on average I'll win on turn 27. If I have 4 of that card, on average I'll win on turn 8 (if my math is correct). That's a very big difference!

I just noticed you only have effectively 18 land sources (it's hard to tell when the decklist is organized like this). That is not nearly enough for a 60-card deck. Most decks have between 22 and 28. Yours should probably have 25 or 26.

Why all one-ofs except 2 Cosmos Chargers? If this is a deck dedicated to that combo, focus on the combo!! Don't have them as one-ofs!

Pretty plain Esper Control list. Most of your cards are pretty low in power though.

Unsubstantiate is pretty weak counterspell/bounce. Saw It Coming is better 9/10 times.

Solve the Equation , The Birth of Meletis , Professor Onyx , Archmage Emeritus , even ECD (depending on the matchup) are all pretty slow. Esper lists in Standard right now have a lot of value packed into them. Most of them use Yorion, Sky Nomad as a companion and love to blink things like Omen of the Sea , Treacherous Blessing , ECD, and Sad Robot . Skyclave Apparition is usually pretty good too, as it removes things much earlier than other exile effects.

Speaking of removal, let's work on that. Murderous Rider is not a good rate anymore. Bloodchief's Thirst , Heartless Act , or Eliminate are the removal of choice usually, and Shadows' Verdict the sweeper.

I'd even probably take out the 4x Neutralize for some combination of Disdainful Stroke , Essence Scatter , and Negate .

With Strixhaven coming, I expect Elite Spellbinder to be a good addition to control. It blocks well and disrupts your opponent's curve.

In the sideboard, with the prevalence of control, 4x Mystical Dispute is a necessity. You'll also want something for the mono-red aggro matchup, probably more Shadows' Verdict s. Against mono-white aggro, you want Shadow's Verdicts and maybe some Ravenform . Shark Typhoon is also good in the control matchup (hint: you'll almost never cast it, but cycling can't be countered and gives you a card back). Disdainful Stroke should also add up to 4x between mainboard and sideboard, as the control deck of choice at the moment loves to run big spells. Unfortunately, this deck will fold to Dimir Rogues and I can't think of a sideboard plan that would change that. Their fish tactics are just too good against dedicated control decks.

Not a Standard deck

DanMcSharp The rules say you're right, but not for that reason. I could just as easily argue that One with the Stars demonstrates that extra text is needed to remove types, after all.

Perhaps apply your own arguments to your own side before being condescending to others, particularly experienced Magic players.

Not a Standard deck