UWRasputin Dreamweaver Blink/RampUW Reality is Broken
Have you ever had a dream that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?
If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain
Do you think that's air you're breathing now?
Try to tell me this isn't the greatest banner ever! Many thanks to the artistic genius of Ace5301 over at "Ace of Spades" Studio.
Deck History:
This deck is the evolution of a long-time favorite of mine, my Grand Arbiter Augustin IV Blink Deck. I enjoyed being a little different with GAAIV, but I've finally given in to the overwhelming power and synergy in this deck with Rasputin Dreamweaver at the helm.
How does it play/win?
The deck is a very "slippery" hybrid of Ramp, and Blink with Mini-Combos.
It uses creatures with powerful ETB/LTB abilities, and abuses these abilities with blink effects, creating amazing synergies, mini-combos, and all out game winning combos if you wish. All the while it's doing this, there is a bit of mana-ramp going on. When Rasputin finally hits the board, you can use his abilities to further ramp into game-winning fatties and reset his counters repeatedly with the blink effects you have in hand or on board and ready by now.
There is a fairly strong control element to the deck, bouncing other players' creatures/permanents, counterspelling, killing, and stealing.
All my decks try to adhere to these guidelines:
1) Be able to win.
2) Be mostly true to a flavor and a theme.
3) Be fun to pilot or to play against and interactive.
4) Have multiple paths to victory.
5) Have lots of cool interactions and synergy.
6) Play out differently every game to keep it fun over a long time.
7) Be streamlined and fast to play without excessive upkeep, time-consuming play or overcomplicated boardstates.
8) Integrate the Commanders abilities into the strategy at least a little, but be able to win without ever playing the commander.
*** note - When you see the term "slow blink", it's my way of abbreviating "remove from game, return at eot".
Much more will be added to this section as the deck is still new.
The "Bounce Engines":
Any of Crystal Shard, Equilibrium, and Cloudstone Curio along with one of several key creatures enable a devastating series of plays, and there are a couple ways to tutor for them and recur them when they get killed.
Once you've got a bounce engine in place, you can start re-using/abusing your creatures etb/ltb abilities to a sometimes staggering level.
Fairly common and powerful plays like - Play Gilded Drake which steals a fatty and triggers Cloudstone Curio returning Flickerwisp to my hand. Re-play Flickerwisp which slow blinks the Drake. Drake returns at eot stealing another creature, triggering Cloudstone and sending Flickerwisp back to hand to repeat the whole thing again next turn. And stealing the two best creatures on the table only cost you 5 mana in total. That's a fairly basic example, at times the interactions get extremely complicated. All the pieces are interchangeable with other cards in the deck with varying effects. Continually bouncing Sun Titan, Reveillark, Karmic Guide, Mnemonic Wall, and others can be really amazing. Other cards like Mimic Vat can work in place of a bounce engine and abuse etb/ltb in much the same way.
-------------------------------------------------- Why I've settled on certain blink cards:
At first glance, cards like Glimmerpoint Stag and Flickerwisp may seem less than powerful, and cards like Momentary Blink which is somewhat repeatable might seem like a better choice than one-shot cards like Otherworldly Journey or Flicker. The reason I've gone with these choices is strictly due to the power of Gilded Drake. I think it's important for as many blink/bounce effects as possible to be able to target ANY creature, not just ones that I control. That way, after I use Drake to steal something and my opponent controls him, I can still get him back and repeat his steal effect (and Journey has the added benefit of re-setting a Glen Elendra Archmage).
Riptide Shapeshifter
He's not the best tutor in the world, but I don't have anything else to fetch a Drake. He can be simply amazing at times. Just make sure if you use him, to build your deck with creature types in mind and make sure that key creatures don't share creature types with others. When you sac him, you want to know that he'll fetch exactly what you're looking for.
His favorite targets:
Type Named - Fetches
Drake - Gilded Drake
Eldrazi - Gets either Ulamog or Kozilek, either way the fatty requirement is met.
Djinn - Tidespout Tyrant
Rogue - Sakashima the Imposter (when I need a copy of something)
Elk - Glimmerpoint Stag (when I need to blink something)
Shapeshifter - Phyrexian Metamorph (note he does not have changeling)
Angel - Karmic Guide (when I need something out of a graveyard)
Illusion - Draining Whelk (for instantly tutoring and using a counterspell)
Faerie - Glen Elendra Archmage (another counterspell option)
Giant - Sun Titan to recur something from the graveyard
Gargoyle - Stonecloaker to blink something or hate out a graveyard card
There are other options, but those are usually the most useful.
I would replace a mana rock (perhaps talisman) for worn powerstone. Turn 4 rasputin is very strong. I would try and test Omniscience. I think you need some more removal for enchantments and artifacts. Maybe return to dust, or leonin relic warder?
If you want you can check out my list in my sig.
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DCI Level 1 Judge-
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane for the awesome Sig.
I would replace a mana rock (perhaps talisman) for worn powerstone. Turn 4 rasputin is very strong. I would try and test Omniscience. I think you need some more removal for enchantments and artifacts. Maybe return to dust, or leonin relic warder?
If you want you can check out my list in my sig.
Thanks for the tips, will check out your list tonight. Dust is already in there, I like the other recommends.
I really love Trinket Mage and Treasure Mage in this type of deck. Trinket Mage is just amazing really. Its probably my favorite card in my deck, I run a lot more targets though. Treasure Mage is a personal choice but it is something to think about.
Ghostway is another favorite of mine. Its awesome with the creatures that recur instants and sorceries.
Have you considered Sphinx of Uthunn? I find it to be one of the strongest cards in blink decks. It creates immediate value on resolution and when combined with flicker its just dumb.
Definitely going to order Worn Powerstone and Omniscience. I was feeling like the deck needs another ramp spell or two.
Trinket Mage should probably go in. I've got 3 ramp targets for it. I don't have anything for his big brother though.
Palinchron - I haven't had a chance to play him out in this deck yet, too new. I was playing around with him in this decks previous life with Grand Arbiter, and... eh, I don't know. He could probably go. I'll give him a little while to prove himself.
Ghostway - I like it, I've used it before, but I try to choose only blink/bounce that will give me back a Gilded Drake that I've already traded control of with someone. That said, Ghostway is always a possible re-include. I'm thinking of taking out Cloudstone Curio in favor of another blinker since it doesn't hit drake.
Have to do some thinking on Sphinx of Uthuun. Definitely powerful.
You pretty much have to run Academy Rector now right?
Oh man... I don't know. I can imagine the groans I'd get if I dropped Omniscience using Rector on turn 3 or 4, lol. Have to think about that one a bit.
Ah well its best to try not to make them angry too often. It might not even be that good anyway. I don't see any sac outlets in the deck and there are so few targets for it.
I like Restoration Angel in my build. Its a great body and is pretty nice card advantage later on. There are times where its a little winmore though. I want to put some swords of x and ys in though to make it and other things better.
I do have one sac outlet for Rector - High Market
I probably won't put him in for lack of sac outlets, lack of many target enchants, and the "groan factor".
Restoration Angel is right on theme, any reason its not in the deck or atleast considered?
Resto Angel looks good. I put her on the possibles list. I've spent way too much money on new decks lately, so she'll have to wait a while
I'm a little behind on the cards from the last few sets. I was crazy busy for most of the last year and unable to play any mtg. But I'm catchin' back up now.
unearthing this old thread because I'm building a very similar deck.
have you tried nim deathmantle in this deck? Seems like a good way to keep your creatures alive, when raspy can supply the 4 mana activation, plus you can throw in on him and you have a general with fear swinging for 6.
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Reality is Broken
Have you ever had a dream that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?
If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain
Do you think that's air you're breathing now?
Try to tell me this isn't the greatest banner ever! Many thanks to the artistic genius of Ace5301 over at "Ace of Spades" Studio.
Deck History:
This deck is the evolution of a long-time favorite of mine, my Grand Arbiter Augustin IV Blink Deck. I enjoyed being a little different with GAAIV, but I've finally given in to the overwhelming power and synergy in this deck with Rasputin Dreamweaver at the helm.
How does it play/win?
The deck is a very "slippery" hybrid of Ramp, and Blink with Mini-Combos.
It uses creatures with powerful ETB/LTB abilities, and abuses these abilities with blink effects, creating amazing synergies, mini-combos, and all out game winning combos if you wish. All the while it's doing this, there is a bit of mana-ramp going on. When Rasputin finally hits the board, you can use his abilities to further ramp into game-winning fatties and reset his counters repeatedly with the blink effects you have in hand or on board and ready by now.
There is a fairly strong control element to the deck, bouncing other players' creatures/permanents, counterspelling, killing, and stealing.
All my decks try to adhere to these guidelines:
1) Be able to win.
2) Be mostly true to a flavor and a theme.
3) Be fun to pilot or to play against and interactive.
4) Have multiple paths to victory.
5) Have lots of cool interactions and synergy.
6) Play out differently every game to keep it fun over a long time.
7) Be streamlined and fast to play without excessive upkeep, time-consuming play or overcomplicated boardstates.
8) Integrate the Commanders abilities into the strategy at least a little, but be able to win without ever playing the commander.
Approx:
Deckstats Value = $368
Average CMC = 4.24
The Decklist:
1 Rasputin Dreamweaver
Mana Lands:
7 Island
6 Plains
1 Azorius Guildgate
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Command Tower
1 Flooded Strand
1 Coastal Tower
1 Boreal Shelf
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Mystic Gate
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Skycloud Expanse
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Sejiri Refuge
1 Seachrome Coast
1 Nimbus Maze
1 Eldrazi Temple
Utility Lands:
1 Kor Haven
1 Eye of Ugin
1 Strip Mine
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Tolaria West (Tutor)
1 Reliquary Tower
1 High Market
1 Buried Ruin
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Flagstones of Trokair
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Solemn Simulacrum (plus draw)
1 Azorius Signet
1 Sol Ring
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Coalition Relic
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Talisman of Progress
1 Pilgrim's Eye
1 Palinchron
Planeswalkers:
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor (Bounce, Card Filter)
1 Venser, the Sojourner (Bounce, Unblockable)
Recursion:
1 Archaeomancer
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Reveillark
1 Karmic Guide
1 Mnemonic Wall
1 Sun Titan (+ Beater)
Blink/Bounce:
1 Riftwing Cloudskate
1 Glimmerpoint Stag
1 Flickerwisp
1 Stonecloaker (+ Graveyard Hate)
1 Capsize
1 Flicker
1 Crystal Shard
1 Equilibrium
1 Conjurer's Closet
1 Otherworldly Journey
1 Evacuation
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Venser, Shaper Savant (+ Countermagic)
1 Cloudstone Curio
1 Tidespout Tyrant (Insane Bounce)
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Kederekt Leviathan (Mass Bounce)
1 Rite of Replication
1 Omniscience
Theft:
1 Gilded Drake
Tutors:
1 Riptide Shapeshifter
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Expedition Map
Additional Draw:
1 Mulldrifter
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Recurring Insight
Countermagic:
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Hinder
1 Cryptic Command (+ Bounce, Draw, Finishing Swing)
1 Counterspell
1 Overwhelming Intellect (+ draw)
1 Muddle the Mixture (+ Tutor)
Removal:
1 Faith's Fetters (+ Lifegain)
1 Return to Dust
1 Austere Command
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Duplicant (+ about anything)
Misc:
1 Sakashima the Impostor (does anything)
1 Wall of Denial (defensive)
1 Phyrexian Metamorph (does anything)
1 Sundial of the Infinite (tricks)
Going In With Next Card Order:
.
Wishlist:
- Mana Drain
- Force of Will
..
Chopping Block:
- Return to Dust
- Faith's Fetters
- Mnemonic Wall
..
Thinking About/Testing:
- Restoration Angel
- Trinket Mage
- Azorius Keyrune
- Fabricate
- Sphinx's Revelation
- Vanish Into Memory
- Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
- Everflowing Chalice
- Artisan of Kozilek
- Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
- Ghostway
- Condemn
- Dance of Many
- Cloud Cover
- Fiend Hunter
- Academy Ruins
- Erratic Portal
- Land Tax
- Knight of the White Orchid
- Mistmeadow Witch
- Academy Rector
- Spin into Myth
- Blasting Station (lark/guide combo)
- Sanctum Gargoyle
- Spell Crumple
- Body Double
- Spine of Ish Sah
- Spelljack
- Take Possession
- Phantasmal Image
- Commandeer
Guile + Dovescape Combo?.
Changelog:
Too new for that
Tips, Tricks, Combos, and just General Nastiness:
*** note - When you see the term "slow blink", it's my way of abbreviating "remove from game, return at eot".
Much more will be added to this section as the deck is still new.
The "Bounce Engines":
Any of Crystal Shard, Equilibrium, and Cloudstone Curio along with one of several key creatures enable a devastating series of plays, and there are a couple ways to tutor for them and recur them when they get killed.
Once you've got a bounce engine in place, you can start re-using/abusing your creatures etb/ltb abilities to a sometimes staggering level.
Fairly common and powerful plays like - Play Gilded Drake which steals a fatty and triggers Cloudstone Curio returning Flickerwisp to my hand. Re-play Flickerwisp which slow blinks the Drake. Drake returns at eot stealing another creature, triggering Cloudstone and sending Flickerwisp back to hand to repeat the whole thing again next turn. And stealing the two best creatures on the table only cost you 5 mana in total. That's a fairly basic example, at times the interactions get extremely complicated. All the pieces are interchangeable with other cards in the deck with varying effects. Continually bouncing Sun Titan, Reveillark, Karmic Guide, Mnemonic Wall, and others can be really amazing. Other cards like Mimic Vat can work in place of a bounce engine and abuse etb/ltb in much the same way.
--------------------------------------------------
Why I've settled on certain blink cards:
At first glance, cards like Glimmerpoint Stag and Flickerwisp may seem less than powerful, and cards like Momentary Blink which is somewhat repeatable might seem like a better choice than one-shot cards like Otherworldly Journey or Flicker. The reason I've gone with these choices is strictly due to the power of Gilded Drake. I think it's important for as many blink/bounce effects as possible to be able to target ANY creature, not just ones that I control. That way, after I use Drake to steal something and my opponent controls him, I can still get him back and repeat his steal effect (and Journey has the added benefit of re-setting a Glen Elendra Archmage).
--------------------------------------------------
Using Riptide Shapeshifter:
Riptide Shapeshifter
He's not the best tutor in the world, but I don't have anything else to fetch a Drake. He can be simply amazing at times. Just make sure if you use him, to build your deck with creature types in mind and make sure that key creatures don't share creature types with others. When you sac him, you want to know that he'll fetch exactly what you're looking for.
His favorite targets:
Type Named - Fetches
Drake - Gilded Drake
Eldrazi - Gets either Ulamog or Kozilek, either way the fatty requirement is met.
Djinn - Tidespout Tyrant
Rogue - Sakashima the Imposter (when I need a copy of something)
Elk - Glimmerpoint Stag (when I need to blink something)
Shapeshifter - Phyrexian Metamorph (note he does not have changeling)
Angel - Karmic Guide (when I need something out of a graveyard)
Illusion - Draining Whelk (for instantly tutoring and using a counterspell)
Faerie - Glen Elendra Archmage (another counterspell option)
Giant - Sun Titan to recur something from the graveyard
Gargoyle - Stonecloaker to blink something or hate out a graveyard card
There are other options, but those are usually the most useful.
--------------------------------------------------
Recommended Playlist:
"Dreamweaver" by Gary Wright
"The Matrix" Soundtrack
"Welcome To My Nightmare" by Alice Cooper
Banner by Nakamura, Thanks!
EDH Math
EDH Decks:
Ghost Council: The Magic Mafia of Orzhova
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
Rasputin: Reality is Broken
Vish Kal Bleeder: Bloody Kisses
Teysa, Orzhov Dominatrix
Stonebrow: Breaking Things
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Grimgrin: Dead Reckoning
If you want you can check out my list in my sig.
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane for the awesome Sig.
Currently Playing- EDH
GGGOmnath, Locus of the LifestreamGGG
BBBShirei, Lord of PoniesBBB
UWRasputin Dreamweaver, Russia's Greatest Love MachineUW
UBWZur, Killer of FunUBW
UGWTreva, Princess of CanterlotUGW
RWTajic, Master of the Reverse BladeRW
RRRZirilan, How to Train Your DragonRRR
PDH Decks
Gelectrode
Ascended Lawmage
Blaze Commando
Thanks for the tips, will check out your list tonight. Dust is already in there, I like the other recommends.
Banner by Nakamura, Thanks!
EDH Math
EDH Decks:
Ghost Council: The Magic Mafia of Orzhova
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
Rasputin: Reality is Broken
Vish Kal Bleeder: Bloody Kisses
Teysa, Orzhov Dominatrix
Stonebrow: Breaking Things
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Grimgrin: Dead Reckoning
I read that as All is Dust haha.
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane for the awesome Sig.
Currently Playing- EDH
GGGOmnath, Locus of the LifestreamGGG
BBBShirei, Lord of PoniesBBB
UWRasputin Dreamweaver, Russia's Greatest Love MachineUW
UBWZur, Killer of FunUBW
UGWTreva, Princess of CanterlotUGW
RWTajic, Master of the Reverse BladeRW
RRRZirilan, How to Train Your DragonRRR
PDH Decks
Gelectrode
Ascended Lawmage
Blaze Commando
Ghostway is another favorite of mine. Its awesome with the creatures that recur instants and sorceries.
How has Palinchron played out for you?
Have you considered Sphinx of Uthunn? I find it to be one of the strongest cards in blink decks. It creates immediate value on resolution and when combined with flicker its just dumb.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
I agree with this. And I'm working on my Trinket Mage package. (Possibly expanding my Ranger of EoS package as well)
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane for the awesome Sig.
Currently Playing- EDH
GGGOmnath, Locus of the LifestreamGGG
BBBShirei, Lord of PoniesBBB
UWRasputin Dreamweaver, Russia's Greatest Love MachineUW
UBWZur, Killer of FunUBW
UGWTreva, Princess of CanterlotUGW
RWTajic, Master of the Reverse BladeRW
RRRZirilan, How to Train Your DragonRRR
PDH Decks
Gelectrode
Ascended Lawmage
Blaze Commando
Trinket Mage should probably go in. I've got 3 ramp targets for it. I don't have anything for his big brother though.
Palinchron - I haven't had a chance to play him out in this deck yet, too new. I was playing around with him in this decks previous life with Grand Arbiter, and... eh, I don't know. He could probably go. I'll give him a little while to prove himself.
Ghostway - I like it, I've used it before, but I try to choose only blink/bounce that will give me back a Gilded Drake that I've already traded control of with someone. That said, Ghostway is always a possible re-include. I'm thinking of taking out Cloudstone Curio in favor of another blinker since it doesn't hit drake.
Have to do some thinking on Sphinx of Uthuun. Definitely powerful.
Too Many Options, Brain Hurts !!
Banner by Nakamura, Thanks!
EDH Math
EDH Decks:
Ghost Council: The Magic Mafia of Orzhova
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
Rasputin: Reality is Broken
Vish Kal Bleeder: Bloody Kisses
Teysa, Orzhov Dominatrix
Stonebrow: Breaking Things
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Grimgrin: Dead Reckoning
It can also get Voyager Staff which can be recurred by Sun Titan.
It can grab dispellor's capsule for removal.
And Expedition Map for finding Riptide Laboratory.
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane for the awesome Sig.
Currently Playing- EDH
GGGOmnath, Locus of the LifestreamGGG
BBBShirei, Lord of PoniesBBB
UWRasputin Dreamweaver, Russia's Greatest Love MachineUW
UBWZur, Killer of FunUBW
UGWTreva, Princess of CanterlotUGW
RWTajic, Master of the Reverse BladeRW
RRRZirilan, How to Train Your DragonRRR
PDH Decks
Gelectrode
Ascended Lawmage
Blaze Commando
Draining Whelk
In:
Omniscience
Banner by Nakamura, Thanks!
EDH Math
EDH Decks:
Ghost Council: The Magic Mafia of Orzhova
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
Rasputin: Reality is Broken
Vish Kal Bleeder: Bloody Kisses
Teysa, Orzhov Dominatrix
Stonebrow: Breaking Things
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Grimgrin: Dead Reckoning
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Oh man... I don't know. I can imagine the groans I'd get if I dropped Omniscience using Rector on turn 3 or 4, lol. Have to think about that one a bit.
Banner by Nakamura, Thanks!
EDH Math
EDH Decks:
Ghost Council: The Magic Mafia of Orzhova
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
Rasputin: Reality is Broken
Vish Kal Bleeder: Bloody Kisses
Teysa, Orzhov Dominatrix
Stonebrow: Breaking Things
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Grimgrin: Dead Reckoning
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Augustin, Rasputin, Bruna, Brago, Ojutai
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
I probably won't put him in for lack of sac outlets, lack of many target enchants, and the "groan factor".
Resto Angel looks good. I put her on the possibles list. I've spent way too much money on new decks lately, so she'll have to wait a while
I'm a little behind on the cards from the last few sets. I was crazy busy for most of the last year and unable to play any mtg. But I'm catchin' back up now.
Banner by Nakamura, Thanks!
EDH Math
EDH Decks:
Ghost Council: The Magic Mafia of Orzhova
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
Rasputin: Reality is Broken
Vish Kal Bleeder: Bloody Kisses
Teysa, Orzhov Dominatrix
Stonebrow: Breaking Things
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Grimgrin: Dead Reckoning
have you tried nim deathmantle in this deck? Seems like a good way to keep your creatures alive, when raspy can supply the 4 mana activation, plus you can throw in on him and you have a general with fear swinging for 6.