Have you ever asked yourself and of these questions:
1. "How good would a control deck be if you didn't have to waste space on win condition?"
2. "I like 2-3 hour games, does that make me weird?"
3. The people I play with hate ANY strategy that keeps them from winning. Can I help them all by keeping anything from happening?"
4. "Azami is one of THREE 0 power Legends in the game. How do I break that?"
5. "How passive-aggressive can an EDH deck be?"
If so, this might be the deck for you.
I wanted a deck that could not win no matter what. And, as far as I can tell the only way to win with this deck is for people to draw their decks, Karn's Ultimate, or beat with Azami 21 times when Caged Sun is out. While this deck started as something of a joke, it's been a lot of fun to play and has become my pet deck for the last few months. Why in God's name would you actually play this?!!?
1. It always has a way to interact with the game. Nobody ever has the game "in the bag" even though it might look like it.
2. Other people get stuck in games where they go through the motions but their deck is stabbing them in the back. This deck keeps that from happening by playing a little bit of Group Hug Draw, but it also acts as the local Sheriff by preventing combat against weaker players. So, even though it looks like nobody can do anything, they are in fact ALL doing something.
3. People on these forums complain about a lot of things and it always seems to be loosely connected to this idea of a 2-3 hour game. I started timing my games and 45-60 minutes is average for a 4 person game. Do we just play fast or are we doing it wrong? It turns out we play fast, but I started thinking, "hey, what if we could play 2-3 hour games too???" I play this deck because I like Magic like my theater; in three acts. This deck does a great job of ensuring we have all three complete with inciting incident (usually my own Quicksilver Fountain or Back to Basics), Plot Points, and Climax. Too many games end when someone ramps into an entwined Tooth and Nail - completely missing the plot development and jumping right to the climax... lame.
Remember kids, it's not about winning - It's about sitting around talking about who has the ugliest girlfriend or wife!!
You are playing Monoblue, so there are some combos right?
...but not really as many as there should be in monoblue Azami Academy Ruins + Tormod's Crypt = One of the most reliable win conditions but more importantly it keeps a lot of people from combo'ing off and ending the table's night.
Proteus Staff + Mnemonic Wall = Stack my deck the way I want since it's the only creature in the deck. Proteus Staff + Torpor Orb = Your awesome General just got turned into a creature you played because of its Enter the Battlefield effect... How's that feel? And you can't play it again until you dig it out, eh?
This is a real man's deck. When people ask, "What's your wincon?" you should respond with "Reito Lantern." I suppose you could also chain Time Stops at the end of people's draw phases with Eye of the Storm and force them to deck that way. Either way, that should get you some RESPECT.
Do you think Stasis has a place in here, or am I just out of line?
This is a real man's deck. When people ask, "What's your wincon?" you should respond with "Reito Lantern." I suppose you could also chain Time Stops at the end of people's draw phases with Eye of the Storm and force them to deck that way. Either way, that should get you some RESPECT.
Do you think Stasis has a place in here, or am I just out of line?
Stasis, Rising Waters, Storm Cauldron, and Winter Orb could all be in there, but I don't want to be TOO obnoxious. I really want to play the Referee and keep people from ending games too quickly.
I live by the motto "I play to play, not to win" and this pile of crap has done pretty well so far
If any of you want a deck that sucks the fun out of games and can completely control a game without making things fun, this is the deck for you!
3.5 hours after we started I gave up when he Loaming Shaman'd his graveyard back into his deck with only 3 cards left. My Font of Mythos and Howling Mine would have beem lethal if it weren't for that.
Conclusion: Not fun. AND... you can make a Mono-blue deck with absolutely no way of winning and it will still come close to taking out a table of 5.
This is scary seeing as I made a "Blue Popo" deck a few months ago. And while it's true it does kinda take the fun out of the game, you can do some hilarious shenanigans. Throw in a Time Spiral to wash everything back in, have an Academy Ruins for artifact recursion (it comes in handy), Crawlspace (b/c I might see a problem with creature-based decks), and you could probably toss out any and all counterspells for more artifacts or creature steal. My Blue Popo deck has not one counter, yet it has never needed one. Try it out and see how that works.
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Ha! I like this. I especially like Shimmer, which I haven't seen in a deck in ages!
Maybe you could try out Shared Fate? I'd probably cut Turnabout for it just to see how it works. If they don't have the answer immediately, you may be looking at a win since you have no real win condition in your deck that they can benefit from. If you've already got Reito Lantern out on your side, even better...
This is scary seeing as I made a "Blue Popo" deck a few months ago. And while it's true it does kinda take the fun out of the game, you can do some hilarious shenanigans. Throw in a Time Spiral to wash everything back in, have an Academy Ruins for artifact recursion (it comes in handy), Crawlspace (b/c I might see a problem with creature-based decks), and you could probably toss out any and all counterspells for more artifacts or creature steal. My Blue Popo deck has not one counter, yet it has never needed one. Try it out and see how that works.
It seems like the counters were necessary to keep some of the game winning shenanigans from going off. But the counters would be on the list of things to cut if I could find other things to squeeze in. The problem I had was that no matter what I had in the deck I could find a way for it to win. Time Spiral and those are great because they take away from the Mill Win as long as there aren't too many Bojuka Bog effects flying around.
Ha! I like this. I especially like Shimmer, which I haven't seen in a deck in ages!
Maybe you could try out Shared Fate? I'd probably cut Turnabout for it just to see how it works. If they don't have the answer immediately, you may be looking at a win since you have no real win condition in your deck that they can benefit from. If you've already got Reito Lantern out on your side, even better...
Shimmer is the funniest card pretty much ever printed. And, when a lot of people are running duals, shocks, and basics it actually does a good job of doing what it's supposed to do.... slllllllooooooowwwwwwwwww the game. People scoop to mass land destruction, but when it's bouncing in and out they keep on it. Shared Fate would be fun, but that would give me access to win-conditons, so no. Turnabout has been an MVP in any deck I run it in. With this deck it is usually a defensive card to keep combo guy from going off by casting it on him during his upkeep. In any case it is such a utile card that it can't go
I really don't want to put too much into the deck though. I actually like the guys in my group and like playing 3-4 games a night instead of 1.
Edit: Hive MInd + Pact of Negation means someone is usually gonna die.... Bye bye Pact.
I put together a KotCM EDH deck here that can win by Ascension + Time Stop + Reito Lantern. If there was ever a deck that could abuse Archmage Ascension, this is it.
I put together a KotCM EDH deck here that can win by Ascension + Time Stop + Reito Lantern. If there was ever a deck that could abuse Archmage Ascension, this is it.
I think you misunderstand the purpose of this deck Sphinx is theoretically a win condition because of his 4 power and with the way the deck has been playing, that is a relatively fast clock. I do love the idea of Archmage Ascension though - being able to tutor for my graveyard shufflers seems pretty good. I can take out Pact of negation for that.
I think Karn would be a good addition to this deck. You can restart the game and continue to be completely obnoxious.
I haven't even THOUGHT about this deck since April, so Karn wasn't even an option. BUT, I love it! I think Karn is pretty bad because his first two abilities aren't worth it, but in the grieferiest deck I have that ultimate seems pretty awesome. I'll just exile my own basic lands to power him up so I start with nothing threatening, but a good position to do it all over again.
It's a lot of fun to play! I need ideas for more "amazing control cards that you would add if only you had a 120 card deck." Since I have take out all potential win conditions, I have that room.
Next in: Mnemonic Nexus, Faerie Trickey, and Dissapate. I need some serious RFG action in there!
I put together a KotCM EDH deck here that can win by Ascension + Time Stop + Reito Lantern. If there was ever a deck that could abuse Archmage Ascension, this is it.
There is an issue with Time Stop, it exiles itself if im not mistaken.... so how does that combo work?
I got a few new cards for the deck and still get to play it once in a while. Invoke Prejudice in a deck pack two creatures total seems like it should slow things down a ton. Using Torpor Orb and Proteus Staff should be good to, yeah?
Are there any other cards that can make a game drag on forever that I am a) missing, and b) can't win me the game?
I'm a huge fan of Telepathy in my do nothing decks. The idea is that your opponents all have decks that do stuff so they'll be holding cards that do stuff. Since your deck doesn't do anything it's almost always in their best interests to attack each other because they can visibly see cards that do things. Plus it usually lets me hold onto my spells when other people have answers. Player A has a counterspell and player B is casting something that will win them the game? No reason to use your counterspell then, just pass priority to player A.
However, I'd suggest one creature since it's like a reset button for me Kederekt Leviathan . This guy has saved my a$$ so many times.
I also have an Azami deck, but I play bunch of wizards, you know. However, eventhough I play over 20 creatures Im always digging for a way to WIN the game.
However, I'd suggest one creature since it's like a reset button for me Kederekt Leviathan . This guy has saved my a$$ so many times.
I also have an Azami deck, but I play bunch of wizards, you know. However, eventhough I play over 20 creatures Im always digging for a way to WIN the game.
The point of his deck though is he doesn't want to win the game. He just wants to be the guy to control the game and stall it out and have fun with it. He built it with literally no winconditions on purpose.
EDIT: ehhhh trolling people with a karn reset would be so annoying lol. However he could theoretically be a wincon if you are hitting other player's hands then reset.
The point of his deck though is he doesn't want to win the game. He just wants to be the guy to control the game and stall it out and have fun with it. He built it with literally no winconditions on purpose.
EDIT: ehhhh trolling people with a karn reset would be so annoying lol. However he could theoretically be a wincon if you are hitting other player's hands then reset.
I know He built it that way. I was just commenting on my wincon and how close my deck is to his eventhough I play tons of creatures.
About the Leviathan, I think It'd be a great add to the list; But not as a beater but as a great reset button...He's great when you are dealing with resolved permanets that are undestructable or shrouded.
I love your deck idea! Shows a great deal of creativity, something that I wish the EDH community had more of. Double thumbs up.
In some ways, this would fall under a 'griefer' style deck, no? Seems like any game that has this deck running in it could very well end up taking several hours to conclude...
I love your deck idea! Shows a great deal of creativity, something that I wish the EDH community had more of. Double thumbs up.
In some ways, this would fall under a 'griefer' style deck, no? Seems like any game that has this deck running in it could very well end up taking several hours to conclude...
It's a mono-blue lock down, but not Stax. I haven't had the pleasure to play against it, but our friends had. Yay 2-3 hour games where Andy made it really tough to win!
It's a mono-blue lock down, but not Stax. I haven't had the pleasure to play against it, but our friends had. Yay 2-3 hour games where Andy made it really tough to win!
Calling in "lock down" doesn't seem quite right since everyone gets to play things - although not as quickly as they might like - and the games moves forward and progresses like a normal game. It just takes a lot longer and I feel like a DM that lets things happen or not. Oddly I am never the first person to die and if I didn't absolutely suck at Magic I think it could mill out the table.
(You losing 25 life to your own Bitterblossom was sorta my fault wasn't it?)
I haven't needed the removal lately. So it's gone. I have wanted to get rid of as many non-basic lands as possible and think I have as little as the deck can stand. There's a Jhoira guy... so Clockspinning is in.
And the biggest addition since the deck was started: Dread Statuary. People keep saying, "Wouldn't it be funny if you beat someone with...." I wanted to add Conseil des færies but Back to Basics would make that a bit hard. Dread Statuary becomes an artifact creature so I can use Voltaic Key to untap it. Yes, it is the most convoluted and stupid way to win, but it's more than I had before. I thought about adding a creature, but it would really screw up the whole Mnemonic Wall/Proteus Staff combo.
A couple posts ago I explain the addition, but have actually taken it out. It just felt so dirty being in the deck. I really like having:
Untap.
Upkeep.
Draw.
Main Phase.
End Phase.
Go.
So it got cut for Telepathy or something.
1. "How good would a control deck be if you didn't have to waste space on win condition?"
2. "I like 2-3 hour games, does that make me weird?"
3. The people I play with hate ANY strategy that keeps them from winning. Can I help them all by keeping anything from happening?"
4. "Azami is one of THREE 0 power Legends in the game. How do I break that?"
5. "How passive-aggressive can an EDH deck be?"
If so, this might be the deck for you.
1. It always has a way to interact with the game. Nobody ever has the game "in the bag" even though it might look like it.
2. Other people get stuck in games where they go through the motions but their deck is stabbing them in the back. This deck keeps that from happening by playing a little bit of Group Hug Draw, but it also acts as the local Sheriff by preventing combat against weaker players. So, even though it looks like nobody can do anything, they are in fact ALL doing something.
3. People on these forums complain about a lot of things and it always seems to be loosely connected to this idea of a 2-3 hour game. I started timing my games and 45-60 minutes is average for a 4 person game. Do we just play fast or are we doing it wrong? It turns out we play fast, but I started thinking, "hey, what if we could play 2-3 hour games too???" I play this deck because I like Magic like my theater; in three acts. This deck does a great job of ensuring we have all three complete with inciting incident (usually my own Quicksilver Fountain or Back to Basics), Plot Points, and Climax. Too many games end when someone ramps into an entwined Tooth and Nail - completely missing the plot development and jumping right to the climax... lame.
Remember kids, it's not about winning - It's about sitting around talking about who has the ugliest girlfriend or wife!!
1 Azami, Lady of Scrolls
1 Academy Ruins
33 Island
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Strip Mine
Artifacts - 22
1 Anvil of Bogardan
1 Caged Sun
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Font of Mythos
1 Forcefield
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Howling Mine
1 Mana Vault
1 Phyrexian Furnace
1 Proteus Staff
1 Quicksilver Fountain
1 Scrabbling Claws
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sky Diamond
1 Sol Ring
1 Soul Conduit
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Torpor Orb
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Back to Basics
1 Decree of Silence
1 Invoke Prejudice
1 In the Eye of Chaos
1 Meishin, the Mind Cage
1 Propaganda
1 Rhystic Study
1 Shimmer
1 Telepathy
Creatures - 1
1 Mnemonic Wall
Instants - 23
1 Capsize
1 Counterspell
1 Cryptic Command
1 Dismiss
1 Dissipate
1 Evacuation
1 Faerie Trickery
1 Flusterstorm
1 Forbid
1 Hinder
1 Mnemonic Nexus
1 Mystic Tutor
1 Pact of Negation
1 Remand
1 Rewind
1 Spell Crumple
1 Spin into Myth
1 Squelch
1 Sunder
1 Time Stop
1 Trickbind
1 Turnabout
1 Wheel and Deal
1 Call to Mind
1 Diminishing Returns
1 Fabricate
1 Recurring Insight
1 Time Reversal
1 Time Spiral
1 Windfall
...but not really as many as there should be in monoblue Azami
Academy Ruins + Tormod's Crypt = One of the most reliable win conditions but more importantly it keeps a lot of people from combo'ing off and ending the table's night.
Clockspinning + U3 + Mind Unbound = Draw lots of cards.
Clockspinning + U3 + Decree of Silence = Counter everything forever... or until you decide to let people play stuff.
Meishin, the Mind Cage + Time Reversal, Time Spiral, Windfall, Jace Beleren, Mind Unbound, Recurring Insight, Azami, etc. = Creature need to be astonishingly huge to punch any damage through.
Proteus Staff + Mnemonic Wall = Stack my deck the way I want since it's the only creature in the deck.
Proteus Staff + Torpor Orb = Your awesome General just got turned into a creature you played because of its Enter the Battlefield effect... How's that feel? And you can't play it again until you dig it out, eh?
Quicksilver Fountain + People Taking Turns = Good times.
Quicksilver Fountain + People Taking Turns + Shimmer = Great times.
Shimmer + Your Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth = Epic Great times.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
Do you think Stasis has a place in here, or am I just out of line?
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
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Stasis, Rising Waters, Storm Cauldron, and Winter Orb could all be in there, but I don't want to be TOO obnoxious. I really want to play the Referee and keep people from ending games too quickly.
I live by the motto "I play to play, not to win" and this pile of crap has done pretty well so far
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
3.5 hours after we started I gave up when he Loaming Shaman'd his graveyard back into his deck with only 3 cards left. My Font of Mythos and Howling Mine would have beem lethal if it weren't for that.
Conclusion: Not fun. AND... you can make a Mono-blue deck with absolutely no way of winning and it will still come close to taking out a table of 5.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
Maybe you could try out Shared Fate? I'd probably cut Turnabout for it just to see how it works. If they don't have the answer immediately, you may be looking at a win since you have no real win condition in your deck that they can benefit from. If you've already got Reito Lantern out on your side, even better...
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It seems like the counters were necessary to keep some of the game winning shenanigans from going off. But the counters would be on the list of things to cut if I could find other things to squeeze in. The problem I had was that no matter what I had in the deck I could find a way for it to win. Time Spiral and those are great because they take away from the Mill Win as long as there aren't too many Bojuka Bog effects flying around.
Shimmer is the funniest card pretty much ever printed. And, when a lot of people are running duals, shocks, and basics it actually does a good job of doing what it's supposed to do.... slllllllooooooowwwwwwwwww the game. People scoop to mass land destruction, but when it's bouncing in and out they keep on it. Shared Fate would be fun, but that would give me access to win-conditons, so no. Turnabout has been an MVP in any deck I run it in. With this deck it is usually a defensive card to keep combo guy from going off by casting it on him during his upkeep. In any case it is such a utile card that it can't go
I really don't want to put too much into the deck though. I actually like the guys in my group and like playing 3-4 games a night instead of 1.
Edit: Hive MInd + Pact of Negation means someone is usually gonna die.... Bye bye Pact.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
I put together a KotCM EDH deck here that can win by Ascension + Time Stop + Reito Lantern. If there was ever a deck that could abuse Archmage Ascension, this is it.
Current EDH Decks:
G Multani, Maro-Sorcerer
B Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed
GU Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
I think you misunderstand the purpose of this deck
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
I haven't even THOUGHT about this deck since April, so Karn wasn't even an option. BUT, I love it! I think Karn is pretty bad because his first two abilities aren't worth it, but in the grieferiest deck I have that ultimate seems pretty awesome. I'll just exile my own basic lands to power him up so I start with nothing threatening, but a good position to do it all over again.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
Next in: Mnemonic Nexus, Faerie Trickey, and Dissapate. I need some serious RFG action in there!
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
There is an issue with Time Stop, it exiles itself if im not mistaken.... so how does that combo work?
540 Peasant cube- Gold EditionSomething SpicyI'm a huge fan of Telepathy in my do nothing decks. The idea is that your opponents all have decks that do stuff so they'll be holding cards that do stuff. Since your deck doesn't do anything it's almost always in their best interests to attack each other because they can visibly see cards that do things. Plus it usually lets me hold onto my spells when other people have answers. Player A has a counterspell and player B is casting something that will win them the game? No reason to use your counterspell then, just pass priority to player A.
Portcullis can also slow the game down.
BRGWTana and TymnaBRGW
RTeneb, the EternalR
UBRNekusar, Mind RazerUBR
BGWGhave, Guru of SporesBGW
BDrana, Kalastria BloodchiefB
WBROros, the AvengerWBR
However, I'd suggest one creature since it's like a reset button for me Kederekt Leviathan . This guy has saved my a$$ so many times.
I also have an Azami deck, but I play bunch of wizards, you know. However, eventhough I play over 20 creatures Im always digging for a way to WIN the game.
My fav one is Empyrial Plate equipped to Azami, or to the newest addition: Blightsteel Colossuss
The point of his deck though is he doesn't want to win the game. He just wants to be the guy to control the game and stall it out and have fun with it. He built it with literally no winconditions on purpose.
EDIT: ehhhh trolling people with a karn reset would be so annoying lol. However he could theoretically be a wincon if you are hitting other player's hands then reset.
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I know He built it that way. I was just commenting on my wincon and how close my deck is to his eventhough I play tons of creatures.
About the Leviathan, I think It'd be a great add to the list; But not as a beater but as a great reset button...He's great when you are dealing with resolved permanets that are undestructable or shrouded.
In some ways, this would fall under a 'griefer' style deck, no? Seems like any game that has this deck running in it could very well end up taking several hours to conclude...
| B Erebos, God of VampiresB | GYeva SmashG | RBosh ArtifactsR | GURAnimar +1 BeatsGUR | RBVial's Secret Hot SauceRB | UBRNekusar, Draw if you DareUBR | RGBDarigaaz'z DragonsRGB | GBSlimeFEETGB | UBOn-Hit LazavUB | URBrudiclad's Artificer InventionsUR | GUBMuldrotha's ElementalsGUB | WUGKestia's EnchantmentsWUG | GUTatyova - Draw, Land, Go!GU | WGArahbo's EquipmentWG | BUWVarina's ZOMBIE HORDESBUW | WLyra's Angelic SalvationW | WBChurch of TeysaWB | UAzami...WizardsU
It's a mono-blue lock down, but not Stax. I haven't had the pleasure to play against it, but our friends had. Yay 2-3 hour games where Andy made it really tough to win!
EDH
BWG Doran Suicide Tempo BWG
BUW Sharuum Midrange Control BUW
Calling in "lock down" doesn't seem quite right since everyone gets to play things - although not as quickly as they might like - and the games moves forward and progresses like a normal game. It just takes a lot longer and I feel like a DM that lets things happen or not. Oddly I am never the first person to die and if I didn't absolutely suck at Magic I think it could mill out the table.
(You losing 25 life to your own Bitterblossom was sorta my fault wasn't it?)
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
And the biggest addition since the deck was started: Dread Statuary. People keep saying, "Wouldn't it be funny if you beat someone with...." I wanted to add Conseil des færies but Back to Basics would make that a bit hard. Dread Statuary becomes an artifact creature so I can use Voltaic Key to untap it. Yes, it is the most convoluted and stupid way to win, but it's more than I had before. I thought about adding a creature, but it would really screw up the whole Mnemonic Wall/Proteus Staff combo.
Took out:
Added:
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
A couple posts ago I explain the addition, but have actually taken it out. It just felt so dirty being in the deck. I really like having:
Untap.
Upkeep.
Draw.
Main Phase.
End Phase.
Go.
So it got cut for Telepathy or something.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.