Here is a deck with 5 proxy power in it that might be something that you could consider playing it has more disruption and can combo out quicker and more consistent i would think

17 blue card count can support FOW survival can fetch blue cards as well
unearth is a fun card in this deck and can surprise ppl for fast wins
duress can be played as therapy if you prefer
maybe less birds more ESG would be better
tog can help fix your GY if you run into probs
sideboard can contain the useful utility creatures and brought in when needed

4 Survival of the Fittest
4 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
2 Unearth

4 Force of Will
4 Duress

4 Volrath's Shapeshifter
1 Gilded Drake
1 Cephalid Inkshrouder
1 Tradewind Rider
1 Psychatog
4 Birds of Paradise
1 Squee, goblin nabob
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
2 Phage, the Untouchable
2 Elvish Spirit Guide

1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Saphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Black Lotus
3 Windswept Heath
2 Wooded Foothills
4 Tropical Island
4 Bayou
2 City of Brass
2 Forest

This is just an idea of a welder for a color that could use help and it is an area white specializes in anyway enchantments. Kind of a welder meets quirion ranger for enchantments

White Welder (you get the idea)
WW
1/1
Return a plains to your hand: Target player exchanges target enchantment in their graveyard for target enchantment in play. This can only be done once a turn.

Double white and requiring plains would help keep it out of the wrong decks hopefully. It would work well with land tax. Maybe it would be too strong with fade counter enchantments but it would be fun. And it could easily protected with a first turn mother of ruins.

I like the idea of having the wizards in the mono blue deck, I played the merfolk version and I found I was spending a lot of mana to give my creatures evasion.
I also like the ability for voidmage to add more counters but I am concerned with the firewalkers casting cost. I was wondering if anyone had considered other wizards which are not only less mana to bring into play but less blue mana such as.

Tolarian Entrancer
1U - Wizard
1 / 1
Whenever Tolarian Entrancer is blocked by any creature, gain control of that creature at end of combat.
 
Escape Artist
1U - Wizard
1 / 1
Escape Artist is unblockable.
U, Discard a card from your hand: Return Escape Artist to its owner`s hand.

The entrancer will likely not be blocked which makes it a good curiosity target and if it is you don’t loose out much as you get their creature at end of combat to help cover your loss.

The artist is a good curiosity target as well (unblockable). If push comes to shove he might even be able to slow an attacker like a blinking spirit until you can find a better solution. Or he can dodge creature kill if needed.

I don’t know if anyone has done testing of these guys or are they just regarded as inferior to the firewalker.

one more thing on cycling, the cards that cycle for a land.
such as Forestcycling do you get to fetch a forest and still draw a card? Or are Landcycling and cycling a bit different

thanks

Hi I have some questions about how these scenarios work I have read some things and I just want to be sure of what the rules are for certain.
If it is possible could you explain to me in detail if and how some of these things interact as my local scene has become more sophisticated and I want to make sure I am prepared in the future.

How does madness and graveyard removal work can I deny them their madness spell with it?

More on madness can I stifle a madness card?

Academy rector can I remove her from the graveyard before my opponent can use her ability?

More on rector can I stifle her ability?

How does stifle and illusionary mask interact, can I do anything to interfere with the mask player or the face down creatures?

As well do you draw a card from every card that has cycling or only the ones that actually say draw a card?

Thanks in advance for anyone who can explain these to me I appreciate it.

I just wanted to check on something, is it possible to stifle the removeing of mask counters to flip the card over, so it would be left a face down 0/1 permenatly?

Show and tell/tinker and Darksteel Colossus sounds like a fun deck.
The boomerang slots seem questionable if you want to be able to handle what gets dropped on the board I thought Pernicious Deed might be fun seeing as you could Deed for up to 10 and the Colossus would still be around to smash people with.
just a thought

swarms are nice because people around here swords to plowshares and diabolic edicts are often played. It is a mostly aggro meta so people tend to run full complements of creature removal. so the swarm would either shut that off or take one for the team allowing you hopefully to go through unmolested, aswell as give the control around here a harder time.

these arn't the only cards the swarm will help versus some of the aggro, the white decks all pack disenchant aswell maybe not as a 4 of but coupled with swords could be annoying. Most of the green aggro run naturalise too because artifacts like isochron scepter have become trendy.

I am expecting more people actually to start playing more control like decks because of the scepter making it easier for budget control. Duress might be a better choice but often a chump blocker would be more helpful then duressing them when there hand is empty or only has land and creatures. But I could be totally wrong in my assumptions.

Good idea i will try the caller of the claw seems like it would be better.

I think i will also take out the 4 duress for the 4 therapy and give it a try. If im really in a pinch I could therapy myself to get a WGD in the GY to atleast draw a game and the instant ability of the caller of the claw might even make one of those draws become a win, although that is a little far fetched it "could" happen.

My meta has very few fire/ice most of the decks are budget aggro like WW/Sui/Sligh. Control is not often seen and if it is it would be a powerless deck and combo is practically non-existent.

I have been working on a budget dragon deck as well and I liked the way the BG looked. I think survival is a good card for the budget deck. I have a list that goes like this.

19
4 elvish spirit guide
4 birds of paradise
4 xantid swarm
4 worldgorger dragon
1 squee, goblin nabob
1 ambassador laquatus
1 sliver queen

23
4 survival of the fittest
4 buried alive
3 animate dead
3 dance of the dead
3 necromancy
1 demonic tutor
1 vampiric tutor
4 duress

18
4 bayou
4 polluted delta
4 llanlowar wastes
4 forest
2 swamp

This is very close to the other BG build suggested except I choose to run the xantids main deck.  This accomplishes two things it allows a higher creature count a nice thing in a survival deck and when survival is in play you can go search for a xantid before you combo to make sure everything is clear, you cant tutor up a therapy as easy.  Also a swarm one turn one must be removed otherwise it has an impact over the entire game, and can be a chump blocker if you require some time versus aggro.

It is true this deck is more likely to win on turn 3 which some people may consider too slow but I think in a relatively un-powered Meta this could be a strong deck. Another benefit of survival builds is you can side board some one-of-utility creatures to deal with enchantments and artifacts which could free up other sideboard slots.
What it comes down to I don’t think this is any slower then un-powered BU (bazaar less) and I think survival is a more dangerous permanent to all decks compared to compulsion.

But on another note this deck kind of reminds me of FEB which I enjoy playing so maybe this is why I think the BG version is interesting.