MTG Salvation

Note: It's pronounced "Soon Chen" (approximately)

So this deck is obviously not your typical blue deck. The control elements are only in place to accelerate and get a giant army of fishbeastoctopuskrakens onto the battlefield, put them on horses, and swing for massive unblockable damage.

I need a Mana Drain, I know. Any other mono-blue-viable massive mana-accel would be nice but this is all I've got right now. Suggestions welcome! No, encouraged! This deck is tons of fun to play but I know it needs some serious tuning.

Editing 2012/07/09:
Out - Higure the Still Wind, Ninja of Deep Hours, Seat of the Synod, Back from the Brink, Clock Spinning
In - Sakashima's Student, Peregrine Drake, Halimar Depths, Minamo, School at Water's Edge, Sculpting Steel

Peregrine Drake went in and immediately won me a game, so it gets to chill at least until I get a Great Whale.
Seat does nothing except get searched out by Trinket, which is mostly pointless. Clock Spinning wasn't as much fun as a niche tech as I hoped. Ninjas were always underwhelming, even with all three in at once for a bit. Back from the Brink is just not good enough. Sculpting Steel if fun with all my mana-doublers. A couple good non-basics seem smart. Realized the land count was a tad low too (Thanks, Tarasco.)

So I'm adding a card or two from M13 when it's released. Specifically (and obviously) Omniscience. That thing just seems so crazy broken, especially with what this deck already does. I intend to cut a couple of the rampier things, and I'm going to add Treachery and Great Whale (If I can find one), probably replacing my only two counters in the deck (Draining Whelk and Counterlash).

Sakashima's Student seems pretty good, especially if you're running Higure.

If you can find them, Snow Islands are recommended. That way only other Snow Islands get pumped with Extraplanar Lens.

Your land count seems pretty low, especially if you're running 9 guys who cost 9 to cast. Quicksilver Amulet is great, but it's not always going to be there. If you rely on it a lot you might want to add Fabricate.

You have some interesting shapeshifters in here. But for something like Shifty Doppelganger, you want some form of recursion, or at least Elixir of Immortality or Time Spiral. As a matter of fact you do seem pretty low on card draw, and Blue has a lot to choose from.

No Academy Ruins?

Looks fun, but how does it play?

Quote from Tarasco

Sakashima's Student seems pretty good, especially if you're running Higure.

If you can find them, Snow Islands are recommended. That way only other Snow Islands get pumped with Extraplanar Lens.

Your land count seems pretty low, especially if you're running 9 guys who cost 9 to cast. Quicksilver Amulet is great, but it's not always going to be there. If you rely on it a lot you might want to add Fabricate.

You have some interesting shapeshifters in here. But for something like Shifty Doppelganger, you want some form of recursion, or at least Elixir of Immortality or Time Spiral. As a matter of fact you do seem pretty low on card draw, and Blue has a lot to choose from.

No Academy Ruins?

Looks fun, but how does it play?

Student was definitely a good call, but Higure just couldn't keep up with the rest of the deck so he got cut. Kinda sad, but I feel it made the deck better.

I'd go with Snow-Covered Islands and Rimefeather Owl if I had a full set of the lands. I'll probably do that eventually.

My land count WAS a tiny bit low! Thanks for pointing that out. I upped it by one, which doesn't seem like much but it seems to work better now. As for your point about Quicksilver Amulet, I very rarely rely on it. I treat it almost like a mana-doubling effect, as if I draw it it usually lets me play roughly the same way.

It is fun. It plays in a pretty unique manner for the most part. Unlike most of the decks I've been seeing lately it really feels like a different game every time (mostly due to the lack of reliance on tutors). It's best in a three to four player game, as it does take a couple of turns to get off the ground, but very quickly gets out of hand. Actually feels a bit like playing a slower Azusa deck, where your ramp spells are replaced by Extraplanar Lens and Hightide shenanigans, and your beasts and wurms are replaced by shapeshifters and leviathans.

This is definitely one of my favourite decks. Its always got a trick or two up its sleeve, it seems.

edit: As for Academy Ruins...meh. It's rare that the artifacts get into my graveyard, and when they do usually they get exiled. If I had something that abused it, sure. Might come back to this another time.