For me what it boils down to is this: do the benefits of having Lotus in your opener outweigh the disadvantage of drawing it later? (I assume in this post that the Lotus is being replaced by a land)

I'm sure we can all imagine the good hands with Lotus, that enabled a broken start sealing the game before it has even begun. But what does drawing it later mean?
Well first of all, late game when you are in top deck mode, it is obviously a dead draw. However pretty much any mana source isn't going to be of any use to you (again, assuming you replace the Lotus with a land), except maybe a Mishra's Factory. So I feel that in this scenario it's a toss up since your mana base is already developed and you need a threat not mana.
What about drawing it mid game, when you have pressure on your opponent and need additional pressure? There again it is a dead draw, but I'd argue that almost any other mana source would be just as useless once again (Factory possibly being a live draw).
The only time where I think a difference matters is when you are facing a mana denial deck and they waste your land. In that case drawing a Lotus is a horrible draw (due to Null Rod and/or spheres) and a land would have been a lot better.

However this scenario isn't enough for me to justify taking out the best mana acceleration in the game in favor of a land. The ability to steal games at such a low risk, leads me to think that Lotus should be included systematically.

I may be overlooking some scenarios, in which case someone will point them out I'm sure

Rather than Wee Dragonauts as additional Fiends, why not try Flamekin Habringer. I know it is still terrible, but better than the other option in my opinion.
If you want a dedicated Fiend deck, then Reckless Charge and Double Cleave is 20 damage, but then again I think that this route isn't optimal...For casual though, I am having a ton of fun with turn 3 kills 

Have you considered cutting a Negator for a robot? You are already running Tinker, and it would definitely help you in some match ups such as Beats, Fish and Workshop aggro. Most of these decks run Null Rod so you could probably cut the Jar to minimize the extra CC.

And thanks for the nice post

I like this deck a lot, but I have some questions I was hoping maybe Sean or Stephen could answer:

- Does the disynergy between Teeg and Chalice come up often enough that you would like to cut a number of one or the other? I understand you want to draw one asap, but drawing Chalice after Teeg is on the board is wasted...

- If you are trying to squeeze in the Duress effects, could they replace the ESGs? As I see it the ESGs are there to increase the number of turn one plays, so subbing them out for Duress which is also a great turn one play might work?

- If you do take out the ESGs, then the Mindcensors become quite expensive. Could you take them out for Chalice?

That way you end up with something like:

4 Tarmogoyf
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Dark Confidant
4 Gaddock Teeg

4 Thoughtseize
4 Duress
4 Null Rod
3 Chalice
4 Diabolic Edict
1 Demonic Consultation
1 Vampiric Tutor

23 mana sources.

If what I say is stupid or clearly won't work ignore this post

How often are you really going to go Land, Ritual, Negator if you have other turn one plays of say: Land, Duress.
Maybe I am playing the deck wrong, but I would rather get out of the gates with a turn 1 Duress/TS and stop any potential crazyness rather than gamble that my opponent doesn't do anything too broken.
I see Goyf/Negator do the same thing: clean up once you have disrupted your opponent enough. You need a fast clock to end the game, giving them the shortest possible window in which to come back in.

Against Fish, lets face it, you are most likely going to lose game one. That means that you need to win back to back games consistantly. That is the reason why I feel you need the whole package: Goyf + Bitterblossom + Jitte + Removal. You are going to play the control role, and Negator does a terrible job at that. Goyf on the other hand blocks other Goyfs, and is still an incredible beater against the rest of the field.

Storm, I don't see why adding Goyfs all of a sudden makes the deck "fishy". What you are basically doing is cutting Negator for a more efficient beater. If Negator isn't fishy I fail to see why Tarmogoyf is.
Goyf is a beast against Fish, and is substancially better against Tezz than Negator, especially post board if they bring in Pyroclasms.
Also I believe that the extra discard is better off as being something else that can answer top decks. I chose to use Seal of Primordium as a way to shut off the Time Vault combo and be versatile against Stax, however it does little against a top deck Will or Tinker (which is where Sadistic Sacrament would shine).

So basically I don't see the advantage of splashing Blue over Green as the latter gives you a huge answer to a problematic match up (fish), while Blue gives you some draw and Time Walk. Green also answers artifacts very efficiently which shores up the Stax match up.

I have been testing the Green splash for Tarmogoyfs and Seal of Primordium, and I really like it so far. I am using the build I posted above but with:
-1 Life From the Loam
-1 Darkblast
-1 Swamp
for:
+1 Yawgmoth's Will
+1 Tendrils of Agony
+1 Necropotence

Most of my testing has been against Tezz (with Bobs). With Null Rod, Sacrement and Seal, I almost never get comboed out on. However the losses I take come from early tinkers, so I may need additionnal answers to it (Edict loses quite a bit of value when they have Inkwell + Bob on the board...).
The Seals also give me game against shops game one.

I have not tested against fish, yet but with 4 Putrefy, 3 Bitterblossom, 1 Jitte and the Jailers (plus the Goyfs + Edicts MD), it should make for some interesting games.

Like Storm, I see this in a Sui-black shell. However I would be splashing green, not blue:

4x Dark Confidant
4x Tarmogoyf

4x Null Rod
4x Duress
4x Thoughtseize
4x Seal of Primordium
3x Sadistic Sacrament
3x Diabolic Edict (or maybe Gatekeeper, will have to test)
1x Darkblast
1x Demonic Consultation
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Life from the Loam

4x Dark Ritual
1x Black Lotus
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Emerald
4x B/G Fetch
1x Polluted Delta
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Forest
3x Swamp
3x Bayou
4x Wasteland
1x Strip Mine

SB (rough lines):
4x Leyline of the Void
3x Yixlid Jailer
4x Putrefy
3x Bitterblossom
1x Umezawa's Jitte

So MD there are 11 cards to hate on Tez (Sadistic Sacrament, Null Rod, Seal). What I am hestitating about is including 1x Yawgmoth's Will and 1x Tendril's instead of the 1x Darkblast and 1x Life From the Loam. The life loss could become a problem if Bitterblossoms come in from the board against aggro. Maybe the 2/3 Flying, Lifelink, Deathtouch vampire for 1BB could be played instead of Edicts/Gatekeeper?

Anyways, as some are saying, results will prove what works and what doesn't

I do like these creatures, they offer nice mechanics, but for me if I am to play a creature who's only purpose is to beat down, it would have to be able to survive Pyroclasm which non of these can do
In my eyes these guys are too fragile to be worth running, although in a mono red build the Geopede might be decent.

TPS (and other combo) is indeed a very weak match up with the way I built the deck, but the reason is pretty simple: I don't face it. I would probably try to address it in the SB with some Canonists (as per your suggestion somewhere in this thread) as it works nicely with Vial. I would also bring in 4x Leyline of the Void which is part of the SB plan versus Ichorid, but works nicely against TPS.
Another option is Aven Mindcensor, but I don't like him very much games 2 and 3 because he is so easily killable. Any other versatile options vs TPS?

Trying to consitantly beat Tezz decks in my area I have come up with an unorthodox list. Before I post the list I just want to say a few things about my metagame.
90% of the decks use Dark Confidant and/or Goblin Welder. There is a ton of Fish/hate decks as well as a majority of Tezz decks. Almost all of the control decks use Platinum Angel, Triskelion and Sundering Titan as their Tinker targets. Also post board, you can expect 100% of the time 2-3 Pyroclasms and 2 Ingot Chewers to fight off Null Rod.

So with all this in mind here is what I have been testing with good succes so far:

Mana (21)
1x Mox Emerald
1x Mox Pearl
1x Mox Ruby
1x Black Lotus
1x Forest
1x Mountain
1x Plains
4x Wooded Foothills
4x Windswept Heath
2x Plateau
2x Savannah
2x Taiga

Creatures (23)
4x Mogg Fanatic
4x Wild Nactyl
4x Tarmogoyf
4x Qasali Pridemage
3x Gaddock Teeg
4x Burning-Tree Shaman (thanks Mike!)

Disruption/draw (15)
4x Ancient Grudge
2x Red Elemental Blast
2x Pyroblast
4x Aether Vial
3x Skull Clamp

I won't bother listing the SB as it isn't determined yet, but I know for sure that I want cards to fight Dredge and some 3CC artifact hate to get around Chalice.

So where is the Null Rod? I think with this approach it isn't needed, and here is why:
You have 8 (Pridemage + Grudge) ways to blow up artifacts, some you need to counter twice, and others that can be uncounterable (via Vial). Basically if you want to hit Time Vault to prevent them going off you can. What happens if I don't draw one of these guys? Well that's where the Burning-Tree Shaman comes in. He prevents them from taking too many turns. Since this is an aggressive deck by the time they manage to get Vault/Key together, they should be low on life.

With Hurkyl's Recall everywhere now, it isn't hard for them to bounce a Null Rod and win. Same story post board with Ingot Chewers. Hence why I think that with enough artifact removal, you can get away without Null Rod.

Since I lose the Mana denial aspect from not running Null Rod, I don't think Wastelands have their place in the deck either. The absence of Null Rod also allows you to play Aether Vial which is a beating against control and is very nice against Shops as well. It also allows me to run a draw engine, which these colors lack: Skull Clamp.

The other weakness these decks tend to have is Tinker. Here you can either counter it with 4x Blasts, race it if they are low, or just plain destroy it with your artifact hate (keep in mind the decks I face do not have DSC or Inkwell or Sphinx...this might make the deck obsolete elsewhere unless you run Tariffs or something).

Finally a word about the creatures: 12 of them survive Pyroclasm making it a weaker card to bring in for them. The fanatics are here against Welders and Bobs and do a great job at it. The Nactyls could be Figure of Destiny, but I need to test that (I don't like the fact that Figure can be Darkblast or Fire/Iced).

Anyways just looking for some feedback, and trying to say that playing aggro without Null Rods is possible, you just have to pack more artifact hate (and shamans! ) to make it work.

I was recently testing Bitterblossom against aggro decks, and have been pleased with the results. It wasn't in BUG fish, so take that with a grain of salt.
I like the fact that it can stall until you find what you need, it is hard to handle, and can finish the game in the air if there is a ground stand off.

Good luck testing

Mantis:

As I said the Null Rods are in the board depending on what you expect to face the most. If you expect to see more Tezz and Combo than anything then it clearly is the right call to have them main deck.
Regarding Sculpting Steel: when you have a Null Rod out, more often than not, it forces them to adopt "plan B" which is the Tinker plan. Therefore if you do run Null Rod (and you should since it shuts down their insta-win) they will resort to Tinker -> Leviathan. So you have to have an answer to it. Maybe you can get away with only 3 Karn because of the Tops that allow you to do some searching, but for me 3 answers with no tutoring or draw available doesn't cut it. So while I totally agree that this isn't a Tangle Wire that locks the opponent down, it gives you outs to something that is bound to happen. Not being prepared for the Tinker plan is not very bright in my eyes.
I agree that currently, Magus is mediocre at best. However (and this may be where I am wrong) I predict that there will be alot of decks trying to use the new unrestricted cards. That means that a lot of Strip Mines and Bazaars are going to show up, and Magus is a nice answer to them. It also hits Fish and Oath (which is a terrible match up).
And finally about the new land, I will have to test it out. I'm not a fan of running a random one of unless it's a restricted bomb since I can't tutor for it. So for consistancy's sake, maybe Ancient Tombs are better...

Darkenslight:
Problem with Platinum Angel is that it gets bounced just the same as all your artifacts against a H. Recall / Rebuild

Vegeta2711:
As I said to Mantis, I agree that Sculpting Steel isn't a great card, however I don't see one better than it at stopping Tinker. You need to be able to answer Tinker because with Null Rods shutting down the Time Vault route to victory they will tutor for Tinker. If you see a better answer to Leviathan I'm all ears.
You are right that the deck struggles if the opponent has a heavy counter draw. However you have quite a lot of tools to stop that. Thorns, Chalices, Wastelands are all very powerfull if you go first. If on the draw, it is not uncommon to slip a Welder or a Juggernaut under their counter wall. That being said, if they have Force + Drain and some gas left in their hand, I probably lose. If they run out of gas, then it's a top deck war most likely and it can go either way.

I have to admit that I haven't tested him out. However he is competing with Juggernauts, Razormane Masticores and Karns. He is worse than Juggernaut, and I would rather have creatures with abilities in the other slots, as Masticore is a huge pain for aggro decks and Karn is mana denial and Tinker protection.

But you are right, got to rethink some older cards!

*I didn't want to necro the old thread, but if it is appropriate, I will delete this and post on the old thread*

With the new rules and the new metagame, I think it is time to look at this deck and maybe bring some modifications. I will post the deck I am testing with good results and then discuss some choises:


Mana (27)

4x Wasteland
1x Strip Mine
7x Mountain
4x Mishra's Workshop
2x Ancient Tomb
1x Tolarian Academy
5x Moxes
1x Black Lotus
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Crypt

Creatures (18)

4x Goblin Welder
4x Juggernaut
4x Razormane Masticore
2x Karn, Silver Golem
2x Gorilla Shaman
2x Magus of the Moon

Spells (15)

1x Trinisphere
4x Thorn of Amethyst
4x Chalice of the Void
2x Crucible of Worlds
4x Sculpting Steel

SB

2x Magus of the Moon
2x Lava Dart
4x Null Rod
4x Tormod's Crypt
3x Viashino Heretic

First of all, you will see that there are no Solemn Simulacrums. While I really appreciate their mana fixing abilities, I feel that they don't provide enough of a clock to fit the deck. Losing the ability to stack their damage then weld them out makes them also less attractive in my eyes. To compensate, I have added an extra Mountain to the mana base, and I am pleased with the results. Color screw does happen, but not nearly enough to make me go back to using these guys.

You will also notice the lack of Triskelions. These are probably the most hurt with the combat changes and lose a lot of power. Which is why I replaced all four with Razormane Masticores. These guys hit as hard, don't care about the new rules and cost less to boot. You do lose some Welder pinging tricks, but you can also gain some others via the upkeep cost. And to top it all off they are unaffected by Null Rod which I have in the board (can be main too, more on this later) and which other aggro decks are bound to have against you as well.

This leads me to another card that is missing from traditionnal lists: Sword of Fire and Ice. Although I love the card, I don't think it fits in this deck (especially since I replaced some of the smaller creatures for bigger ones: Solemns -> Juggernauts). It is the most usefull against aggro decks, but then again you aren't even sure that you will be able to equip it because of Null Rod. That said it does enhance Welders, Shamans and Magus but combined with all the disruption, I think they are not needed.

Also in the creature base are 2 Karns and 2 Gorilla Shamans. I absolutly love the Shamans as their effect really goes well with your strategy. It slows down the opponent (and shuts off Time Vault with 5 mana) while your beaters get the job done. Combined with the other disruption it can steal a lot of games. Karn serves the same role, but can beat as well and holds back Inkwell Leviathan all day. I have considered playing more Shamans, but opted not to since I already have quite a few Red spells and they don't do much in multiples. So I think a 2/2 mix is right.

Finally Magus of the Moon. Recently I have relegated this guy to the SB because he just doesn't do enough against the field I am up against. However with Crop Rotation unrestricted, I expect a lot of Strip Mines to be present, as well as possibly more Dragon, Cerebral Assassin or other decks abusing the GY. So this guy becomes more interesting as it basically shuts down Strip Mine and Bazaar. On top of that he is golden against Dredge, Oath, Fish so I think it should be played again. I only have two though because against Drains he is mediocre. They frequently have 3 Islands MD so it hurts the effectiveness of the Magus. That is the reason I have the other 2 in the SB.

Speaking of Drains, with Thirst restricted, I believe most players will now adopt Inkwell. Since Tinker -> robot is a problem for this deck, I included Sculpting Steel (SS) as an answer. The beauty of SS is that not only does it answer Leviathan, but it also puts the opposing player in serious trouble. Thats not even counting when you copy it twice (totally overkill, but lots of fun ). Should the opponent play another robot, no problem, SS answers them all. If your opponent doesn't play Tinker, well then SS isn't even dead since you play artifacts. The most common cards that I copy are Juggernaut and Thorn of Amethyst. Even if you don't like SS, I think you need an answer to Tinker main, be it more Karns or whatever else.

Thorn and Chalice is what makes the deck great. Thorn is most often a Time Walk allowing you to bypass Drain, and Chalice all together shuts down Drains. And is usefull against everything.

Then there are the 2 Crucibles. These two slots are open, but I think with Crop Rotation here now, that an answer to Strip Mine is important. It also helps lock down an opponent via your Wastes.

Null Rod absent from the MD. I am not sure that this is the right call, especially since only the artifact mana and Karns are affected by it. I am currently testing:
-2 Magus of the Moon (moved to SB)
-2 Crucible (moved to SB)
+4 Null Rod

It definatly improves the Tezz match up as well as TPS, but weakens Stax, Ichorid, Fish, Oath...So I guess it comes down to what you are expecting to face. Either way, I wouldn't play this deck right now without 4 Null Rod and 4 Magus of the Moon (MD or SB).

No Memory Jar: with Null Rod I don't think it is the right call to play it, however it is just so explosive...I could very well be wrong on this.
No Sensei's Divining Top: These smooth out your draws a lot, however this version is pretty aggressive and the loss of Solemns means no more shuffle effects. And it gets hit by Null Rod...Not worth the space in my opinion.
No Mishra's Factory: I have tested these, and they are really great, however with 4 Magus of the Moon, their value declines. Also the fact that I want to be able to power out Juggernauts, Masticores and Chalices early, so Ancient Tomb got the nod.

Final note about the SB:
No REBs: they can really be gamebreaking, however too often I find myself having to decide between playing a threat or doing nothing and holding back mana to play this. I don't think that it fits the deck's strategy and there is not much synergy with Thorns and Chalice (which I often play @ 1 vs combo, which is where REBs shine at stopping Rebuids).
Tormod's Crypt: I am debating using Leylines instead as I find myself too often caught with a Chalice @ 0 played by the Ichorid player shutting me down. However Leylines cannot be welded back in...Thoughts?
Lava Dart: Great against opposing Welders, Confidants, Hierarchs, Selkies, Gorilla Shaman, and the list goes on...

So if you have other opinions, suggestions or anything else, post away!

You are right in the sense that if I have the first turn Duress and that I have a way to get the Swamp then it can be a problem. However looking at the list you have:
8 Duress (so I very often have one first turn)
5 "Swamps" (1 basic + 4 Mires)

So odds are I will have a Duress, but it is harder to get a Swamp. So maybe I should just make up my mind as to what I want to do instead of doing two things half way. I need the Swamp versus control as a lot of my better elements are Black, but against the rest, the other two colors are probably more usefull.

I did try Sculler (and it was good) but when I tested him, Welders were in the majority of the Tezz lists. So if he ended up in the grave somehow, they would have a free out to Null Rod. It happened a little too much to my liking. But with Thirst gone, I doubt the Tezz builds will be keeping their Welders, so that is probably a moot point now Last point on Sculler, if I do use him, that means that I need to devote at least 3 SB slots to Teeg. He is just a beast against combo and control.

Actually non basic hate shows up quite a lot. However this is mostly via the SB in the form of Back to Basics, Blood Moon and the occasionnal Magus. There are also some Wastes obviously. This is why I include a basic Forest and Plains in the SB. I am currently testing -1 Scrubland +1 Plains, since I like being to have more SB space.
The trouble is that in order to be able to fetch each basic, I need at least 4 of the right color Fetchs. So 4 Black, and 4 White/Green. If they had enemy color fetchs, it would make a world of difference...
I really want to have access to a basic Swamp (Duress, TS, Confidant, Edicts, ...) are all essential to my control match up, and the other 2 colors help a lot against Fish and Stax. If you have a better mana base or suggestions I am all ears

With the way things are shaping up, I believe that running some main deck Extirpates could be worthwhile. If AKs, Crop Rotations and Entombs show up in big numbers, then Extirpate will hurt all three cards pretty good (or badly depending on which side ).

I would probably do something like this:
// Lands
    4  Wasteland
    1  Strip Mine
    4  Bloodstained Mire
    4 Windswept Heath
    3  Scrubland
    2  Bayou
    1  Swamp
    1  Black Lotus
    1  Mox Jet
    1  Mox Emerald
    1  Mox Pearl

// Creatures
    4 Dark Confidant
    4 Tarmogoyf
    4 Qasali Pridemage
    3 Gaddock Teeg
    4 Aven Mindcensor

// Spells
    4  Duress
    3  Thoughtseize
    3  Extirpate
    4  Null Rod
    4  Diabolic Edict

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks for the feedback. I agree with you on some points but not on everything:

First of all, ESG. Where I play, non basic hate is pretty rampant. So fetching out a turn 1 Swamp to be able to Duress and not lose a land (via Wasteland, Magus of the Moon, Blood Moon or Back to Basics, etc.) is important. Therefore that means that I need a turn 2 play that needs one black mana (Bob or Null Rod). I want the ESG slot to be something I can cast reliably on turn 2. I had Tidehollow Sculler in that slot because it is nice disruption and it fits the 1 black mana criteria. However what I didn't like about him was the fact that if he gets countered or removed, then my Null Rod would be vulnerable to Welders (which also sees alot of play here). So I opted for the ESG in order to be able play my Teegs or Pridemages turn 2 even if I fetch a basic Swamp first turn.
However I could use 1 Mox Emerald and 1 Mox Pearl instead of them. Which would actually be a good idea
The last ESG slot could be a 4th Teeg or maybe a Demonic Consultation.

Onto the rest, where I mostly agree with you:
Needles are good. However I already run 3 in the SB. But the Darkblasts are pretty insane against decks packing Welders, Confidants and the like which do see play. This slot could however be used for more solid removal such as Swords to Plowshares. Better against straight aggro decks, but worst against decks packing counters obviously.

I will be trying out Krosan Grip instead of the Seals. However my biggest concern is not being able to cast it reliably early enough. If I weren't playing Wastelands then it would be alot easier.

You are probably right about the Crypts, I just wanted some decent GY removal. Can you elaborate as to why Leylines are better (considering I probably won't be bringing them in vs Welder decks as there isn't much to take out)?

I said it in another blue workshop thread, and I will say it here again, but I really believe Mindlock Orb to have a place in this type of deck. It is blue, playable off a Workshop and if you get it out early enough, will wreck a whole lot of decks. Just like Aven Mindcensor is popular right now in Fish variants that run white, I think this card should be run. Yes it does shout down your Tinker, but theirs also, plus their fetchs, tutors. You have 2 free slots, think about it

Using this list:

// Lands
    4  Wasteland
    1  Strip Mine
    4  Bloodstained Mire
    4 Windswept Heath
    3  Scrubland
    2  Bayou
    1  Swamp
    1  Black Lotus
    1  Mox Jet
    1  Lotus Petal

// Creatures
    4 Dark Confidant
    4 Tarmogoyf
    4 Qasali Pridemage
    3 Gaddock Teeg
    4 Aven Mindcensor
    3 Elvish Spirit Guide

// Spells
    4  Duress
    4  Thoughtseize
    4  Null Rod
    4  Diabolic Edict <- Cruel Edict better?

I am looking for a SB. I mostly expect to face blue based control (be it Tezz, Tezz with Welders, Control Slaver, Random Legacy Control, ...) and then a mixture of Combo and Fish. There are a few Stax and Dredge players, but not many. The non basic hate is pretty high, so I need basics from the board.
A few words about the list: it is pretty stable and getting access to the right colored lands isn't all that bad. I dropped the Scullers because I am a bit slow and realised what I was using them for (a consistant 2 drop) can be answered by ESG, and it allows you to get better disruption out. It also creates more turn 1 plays which is always good. I hate going: land, go.

Right now what I have is this:
1 Forest
1 Plains
3 Darkblast
3 Pithing Needle
4 Tormod's Crypt
3 Seal of Primordium

The basics come in against Fish, Stax and most blue based control decks that pack Blood Moon. The 3 Darkblasts are here to take care of Welders which are a pain. The seals are against Stax mostly although this might be better off as Oxidize (I am not a huge fan of Krosan Grip in that match up, since the mana cost is pretty steep with spheres and Wastelands) Chalice doesn't see much (if any) play. The Needles are for that match up as well as Ichorid and other random decks  that may show up. Finally the Crypts are for Ichorid, but I am not sure which would be best between that and Extirpate. I would like to run Choke or another type of hate card against blue, but I can't figure out what to cut for it since the main deck is pretty much geared to beat blue decks anyways.

So yeah...Comments and suggestions welcome!

If you really want to lock out the opponent from the game, wouldn't Mindlock Orb be a good candidate?
Blue so pitches to FoW, castable via a Workshop and you are unaffected by it except for the lone Tinker.
I would try and squeeze 3 in. Maybe going:
-1 Jar
-1 Trike?

ok, so fitting three is tough

Oops, my bad: Twilight Shepherd!!!

This deck is supposed to serve as a multi-purpose deck: duel and multiplayer. I agree that as a duel deck it is slow, as nothing of consequence happens before turn 3. However with the players I am facing, this isn't really a problem, as no combo decks exist. So this basically means a turn 4 Wrath is a fine play.
While I do like the Tax/Rack combo, I feel that it just takes up too much space in the deck. If I want to draw them consistantly that is devoting 8 slots.

About the Shepherds I find them usefull for ramping a Smokestack pretty high and not affecting me too much. Between Crucible/Persist dudes and this guy, I can keep a Smokestack with quite a few counters for at least 3 turns without hurting me too much. Plus he beats decently.
Hoofprint seems fine for a duel but weak for multiplayer. I know I should probably just make two seperate decks one for each "format", but that's not going to happen.

Thanks for the help so far

I have a casual mono white deck, and I was looking for some suggestions. The deck is performing well, but I'd like other opinions in case I missed some obvious card(s).

4x Oblivion Ring
4x Wrath of God
4x Martial Coup
4x Smokestack
3x Crucible of Worlds
1x Balance

4x Kitchen Finks
3x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Heartmender
4x Twilight Shepherd
2x Eternal Dragon

1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Vault
4x Mindstone
4x Mishra's Factory
2x Dustbowl
4x Flagstones of Troikar
10x Plains

Basic idea is to put pressure on the opponent(s) with Smokestack while minimizing the effect on yourself. Smokestack @ 1 is a joke, even @ 2 it is manageable for a long time. In my eyes there are 4 slots that are the most debatable: 3 Solemns + 1 Heartmender. I like the fact that Solemns gives me more permanents for Smokestack and he even replaces himself. Heartmender is nice due to the fact that he goes really well with the other creatures, but he is more or less usefull without the artifact. Maybe an Ajani Goldmane could go here?
I am not sure about Balance being optimal here, but this is a casual deck and I just love that card and the fact it can get you out of some situations where no other card could
Maybe an Enlightened Tutor could be used as it seems great at getting Crucible, Smokestack, O. Ring.

Anyways, any and all suggestions/comments welcome

I have a few questions smasher

Tutors:
Would the 2 tutors you are using be better off as maybe another Edict and another REB or Gorilla Shaman? This would also allow you to cut the 1 Extirpate. I just find tutors rather slow as they generally cost you a turn instead of just casting another threat.

4 Grunts:
Do you have problems keeping these guys active? Especially with a Canonist limiting the amount of spells played, do the Grunts tend to accumulate in your hand?

Yixlid Jailer:
Are these guys really necessary in the SB? You already have so much Ichorid hate, that it seems like overkill.

One thing I am not convinced about is the fact that you are including basic Swamps for the Stax match up...Post board against that deck, your Duress effects will most likely not be in your deck anymore meaning that the only true black threats will be: Confidants and Edicts. Edicts not being that great in the match up.
So if you really want to combat Stax, you need either white or green mana.

I know this might not be what you want to hear, but Qasali Pridemage fits the bill perfectly here. He can sacrifice himself against Dredge and is obviously relevant against Stax. I will look for other solutions, but they probably won't be in black.
About the Ghost Quarters, I think they could be nice, however the deck requires quite a lot of colored sources, so I don't think it is the way to go. It also pushes you to 24 mana sources which I find to be too much in a deck such as this with such a low curve. The other Moxen should be played, I agree with that, but maybe not the Lotus Petal. I think another fetchland would be better in that slot (giving you more chances to get that basic Swamp early).

Guli:

The mana base I included in the list does have a basic Swamp. You have 5 fetches + Swamp + Jet/Lotus/Petal = 9 ways to "safely" get a black mana, where as I have 8 (only 4 black fetches). I wanted to include 4 Windswept Heath because depending on the match up, a basic Forest and Plains would come in (especially against match ups where Duress effects are less needed, or where Wastelands are present).

If the list could get away without fetching a basic Swamp early, I'm pretty sure I would switch the Scullers for ESGs in order to have added acceleration. But you may be right that Seal of Primordium is the way to go (as much as I love Qasali Pridemage). I wouldn't cut the Teegs though. But you have 4 open slots, so that is where they would come in

Seeing your decklist, I would really incorporate 4 ESGs. Be it in the Thorn of Amethyst slot or the Hierarch (which I really don't like in this build ). Just so that you can actually get to cast some disruption first turn. If you are on the draw with no mox, then you are giving them two turns unmolested. That can't be good!

And you are totally right about the Duress effects hurting the mana base, it is the decks biggest weakness in my eyes However against drain decks which do not run Wastelands, I think the build is solid. It does suffer against fish decks for example though, since your best beaters are in white and green...

I posted what I believe is a nice BGW list in the improvement forum, so I won't repeat it here. But looking at that list you are totally right about the tutors. Inkwell wasn'T printed yet, hence the STPs and the Canonists shouldn't be in these colors, I don't know what I was thinking I see Canonist in a build using red, as Canonist + REB or Mindcensor is a very good out to Tinker