I don’t usually build mono-color decks; mixing and matching the strengths and weaknesses of colors is just too much fun! I decided that I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and try a mono-colored deck though. Mono-Red and Mono-Blue weren’t represented in my meta, and I ultimately went with Mono-Blue so I could use one of my first legendary creatures from back in the day: the classic, under-appreciated Barrin, Master Wizard. First, the other 99:
I only use the deck for 5-player “star” games, or team games, as it lacks the oomph to really handle FFA well. I’ll be making changes in the coming months to try and change that, and make it into a deck that can reasonable handle all comers, and not just fold in any particular situation. Any suggestions will be considered!
I tried a few variations of the deck, and this is kind of the middle ground between all of them. Other approaches included:
Heavy creatures – a smorgasbord of ETB silliness, leaning heavily on Equilibrium, Coastal Piracy and Day of Dragons as a wacky win condition. Day of Dragons was fun, but I lacked a mass-haste enabler (Akroma’s Memorial was claimed by another deck), so if mostly functioned as a flicker on my side of the board, and the majority of my creatures were simply outclassed by the creatures of… basically every other color.
Heavy spells – either lots of fun counterspells, or a bazillion cantrips. Talrand, Sky Summoner might have been made commander… but I decided to stick with Barrin, and eventually cut Talrand entirely. The cantrips are cool, but it was impossible to have a counter for everything, and with no threats of my own, and keeping mana always up for a counterspell, I got steamrolled when someone stuck a threat and decided to look my way.
Heavy artifacts – lots of mana rocks, some Voltaic Key action… I decided to shy away from that for now, as I lack Darksteel Forge and the other game-winning artifacts from the original trip to Mirrodin. Karn, Silver Golem may come in again though.
Palinchron – and the other “free creatures” that I loved so much from the Urza block (but mostly Palinchron). Enabled infinite mana and combo-wins, like group draw/mill, or just enable me to bounce all the creatures every turn and grind for the win with a random Sphinx or something. My meta dislikes instant win combos, and likes playing the game, so bouncing everything every turn seemed drastic.
Right now, despite their feebleness, heavy creatures/ETB abuse is probably the first direction I’ll test out once I get a few more games in and figure out what to start changing.
If anyone has comments or suggestions, make them known below! Thanks!
Changes:
11/6
- Island/ +Seat of the Synod (Cheap artifact to tutor up with Tezzeret, or do silly things with)
- Exclude/ +Void Stalker (I love exclude, but I want to test the Stalker)
- Equilibrium/ +Conjurer's Closet (So many decks are ETB-based that Equilibrium was hurting me, plus I had no way to recur it, even if it was awesome)
- Sharding Sphinx/ +Esperzoa (I really dig the potential of the Sphinx to get me some good tokens for fodder, but it's not there yet. I want to test out a few things, and then maybe go a little heavier in the artifact creature route using the Sphinx and something like Master of Etherium)
I've tried several times to make a Barrin, Master Wizard deck but never got past 40 or so cards that I liked. This list seems really good, though. I love small creatures in EDH and this deck makes excelent use of them. Good job.
Since your general is a sac outlet you may consider more Ray of Command/Seasinger effects. Also, Riptide Laboratory can help keep the value train rolling. If you do run the Lab, Aether Adept would be mechanically better than Man-o'-War, although Jellyfish > Wizard and Old Card Face > New Card Face.
Thanks! Like I said, it works ok, but it could definitely be better. And yeah, the Jellyfish had to get the slot over the Adept.
Theft was something I had originally featured more of, mostly through Rootwater Matriarch and a Launch shenanigans. If I go a little heavier on creatures, the first ones that I will look at is the theft ones. I hadn't seen Seasinger before, so thanks for that suggestion!
Back From the Brink is something to consider. Your guys are cheap, you have a way to put them in the graveyard, and you have endless need of expendable bodies.
Back From the Brink is something to consider. Your guys are cheap, you have a way to put them in the graveyard, and you have endless need of expendable bodies.
That IS something to consider.. I like it. I originally had Homarid Spawning Bed in the build, and that synergy would be nifty to get a bunch of fodder should I lean heavily on creatures again.
Hatching Plans showed in in EVERY Barrin deck I found online. While the synergy with Barrin is admittedly awesome, I had no way to really recur it, so it became a one-shot deal. Powerful still, but since my meta tends to go for long games, I cut it. I have a little card box that follows my EDH decks around, holding all the potential adds for my decks. Plans is still there, but again, without a way to reuse it, I thought I could do better. Lots of the other little synergies found in other Barrin decks (such as Ichor Wellspring, Mycosynth Wellspring) made the cut, since I can reuse them with Trading Post and Academy Ruins.
1 Barrin, Master Wizard!
Land
28 Islands
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Terrain Generator
1 Phyrexia's Core
1 Academy Ruins
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Halimar Depths
Planeswalker
1 Tezzeret, The Seeker
Creatures
1 Gilded Drake
1 Myr Retriever
1 Void Stalker
1 Junk Diver
1 Grand Architect
1 Pilgrim's Eye
1 Esperoza
1 Man-o'-War
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Trinket Mage
1 Treasure Mage
1 Archaeomancer
1 Aura Thief
1 Floodgate
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Magus of the Future
1 Mulldrifter
1 Mnemonic Wall
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Duplicant
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Chancellor of the Spires
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
1 Myr Battlesphere
1 Stormtide Leviathan
1 Launch
1 Reality Acid
1 Spellweaver Volute
Artifacts
1 Sol Ring
1 Flayer Husk
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Expedition map
1 Journeyer's Kite
1 Sapphire Medalion
1 Ichor Wellspring
1 Mycosynth Wellspring
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Trading Post
1 Conjurer's Closet
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Caged Sun
1 Salvaging Station
1 Spine of Ish Sah
Instants/Sorceries
1 Brainstorm
1 Preordain
1 Ponder
1 Visions of Beyond
1 Truth of Tale
1 Twincast
1 Telling Time
1 Impulse
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Fabricate
1 Hinder
1 Spell Crumple
1 Wash Out
1 Rite of Replication
1 Reins of Power
1 Turnabout
1 Evacuation
1 Tunnel Vision
1 Capsize
I only use the deck for 5-player “star” games, or team games, as it lacks the oomph to really handle FFA well. I’ll be making changes in the coming months to try and change that, and make it into a deck that can reasonable handle all comers, and not just fold in any particular situation. Any suggestions will be considered!
I tried a few variations of the deck, and this is kind of the middle ground between all of them. Other approaches included:
Heavy creatures – a smorgasbord of ETB silliness, leaning heavily on Equilibrium, Coastal Piracy and Day of Dragons as a wacky win condition. Day of Dragons was fun, but I lacked a mass-haste enabler (Akroma’s Memorial was claimed by another deck), so if mostly functioned as a flicker on my side of the board, and the majority of my creatures were simply outclassed by the creatures of… basically every other color.
Heavy spells – either lots of fun counterspells, or a bazillion cantrips. Talrand, Sky Summoner might have been made commander… but I decided to stick with Barrin, and eventually cut Talrand entirely. The cantrips are cool, but it was impossible to have a counter for everything, and with no threats of my own, and keeping mana always up for a counterspell, I got steamrolled when someone stuck a threat and decided to look my way.
Heavy artifacts – lots of mana rocks, some Voltaic Key action… I decided to shy away from that for now, as I lack Darksteel Forge and the other game-winning artifacts from the original trip to Mirrodin. Karn, Silver Golem may come in again though.
Palinchron – and the other “free creatures” that I loved so much from the Urza block (but mostly Palinchron). Enabled infinite mana and combo-wins, like group draw/mill, or just enable me to bounce all the creatures every turn and grind for the win with a random Sphinx or something. My meta dislikes instant win combos, and likes playing the game, so bouncing everything every turn seemed drastic.
Right now, despite their feebleness, heavy creatures/ETB abuse is probably the first direction I’ll test out once I get a few more games in and figure out what to start changing.
If anyone has comments or suggestions, make them known below! Thanks!
Changes:
11/6
- Island/ +Seat of the Synod (Cheap artifact to tutor up with Tezzeret, or do silly things with)
- Exclude/ +Void Stalker (I love exclude, but I want to test the Stalker)
- Equilibrium/ +Conjurer's Closet (So many decks are ETB-based that Equilibrium was hurting me, plus I had no way to recur it, even if it was awesome)
- Sharding Sphinx/ +Esperzoa (I really dig the potential of the Sphinx to get me some good tokens for fodder, but it's not there yet. I want to test out a few things, and then maybe go a little heavier in the artifact creature route using the Sphinx and something like Master of Etherium)
Phelddagrif - Hippopolitics!
Barrin, Master Wizard counts as a Wizard
Radha, Heir to Fun
To be posted soon....
Ulasht, the Hate Seed
Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper
Vaevictis Asmadi (Pauper)
Since your general is a sac outlet you may consider more Ray of Command/Seasinger effects. Also, Riptide Laboratory can help keep the value train rolling. If you do run the Lab, Aether Adept would be mechanically better than Man-o'-War, although Jellyfish > Wizard and Old Card Face > New Card Face.
Theft was something I had originally featured more of, mostly through Rootwater Matriarch and a Launch shenanigans. If I go a little heavier on creatures, the first ones that I will look at is the theft ones. I hadn't seen Seasinger before, so thanks for that suggestion!
Phelddagrif - Hippopolitics!
Barrin, Master Wizard counts as a Wizard
Radha, Heir to Fun
To be posted soon....
Ulasht, the Hate Seed
Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper
Vaevictis Asmadi (Pauper)
Oh! Hatching Plans!
That IS something to consider.. I like it. I originally had Homarid Spawning Bed in the build, and that synergy would be nifty to get a bunch of fodder should I lean heavily on creatures again.
Hatching Plans showed in in EVERY Barrin deck I found online. While the synergy with Barrin is admittedly awesome, I had no way to really recur it, so it became a one-shot deal. Powerful still, but since my meta tends to go for long games, I cut it. I have a little card box that follows my EDH decks around, holding all the potential adds for my decks. Plans is still there, but again, without a way to reuse it, I thought I could do better. Lots of the other little synergies found in other Barrin decks (such as Ichor Wellspring, Mycosynth Wellspring) made the cut, since I can reuse them with Trading Post and Academy Ruins.
Phelddagrif - Hippopolitics!
Barrin, Master Wizard counts as a Wizard
Radha, Heir to Fun
To be posted soon....
Ulasht, the Hate Seed
Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper
Vaevictis Asmadi (Pauper)