Oathparfait v1.0

[jaeppel]

Hello all.  I would like to share with the comunity a pile of überjank with which i have toyed for some time now.  The basic concept is setting up a churning recursion engine with the Oath rather than going straight for the throat with big fatties, while at the same time Tax/scrolling to maintain a hand full of silverbullets. 

The options for win condition are two fold.  While it is possible to beat the opponent down to 0 life, the critters arising from the Oaths are aimed more at setting up and holding the "Parfait-Lock" of endless chanting, abeying, and walking.  And with infinite time comes infinite life (possibly).  Thus the second win possibility:  Not losing, i.e. Test of Endurance.

So as you may have guessed the deck begins with the good old oath engine. 
4x Oath of Druids
2x Gaea's Blessing
1x Eternal Witness
1x Ancient Hydra
The four oaths are an autoinclude.  The witness turns the oath into a tutor/draw engine; Hydra acts as a bug-zapper, possible win condition, and a way to dump the Witness back in response to Blessing.  There are two blessings here, as I want the library to reset with nearly every oath activation, having the advantage of leaving very few cards that must survive grave-hate.

But now for the parfait section.  Just grabbing the best card dropped in the yard from the oath is nice, but i want more.  Who doesnt want an ancestral every upkeep?  Thus the tried and true:
4x Land Tax
3x Scrollrack
2x Sensei's Top

2x Ivory Tower
1x Zuran Orb

I have found the Top has so many great synergies with the draw engine, and so many times 4 Racks are just too many, but running the top as rack four and five helps smooth out subpar draws and get all of the pieces in place.  The Tower and Orb are what you 'do' with all of these lands and cards.  Once upon a time they were the only restricted life gaining cards....

Running these two engines side by side places certain serious constraints on the mana-base.  Basic lands only please, says the Tax, but oath wants the doodmachine online.  And both want moxen.  So four orchards, 9 basics, 7 artifact mana, and 3 bonus lands:

4x Forbidden Orchard
6x Plains
2x Forest
1x Island
1x Lotus
1x Pearl
1x Emerald
1x Sapphire
1x Diamond
1x Solring
1x Mana Crypt
1x Library of Alexandria
1x Stripmine
1x Wasteland

The remainder of the deck must be given over to those cards which will actually win the game.  White control must deal with things retroactively.  While blue can counter everything all day, white must let it resolve, and then blow it up later.  This of course, as many may have already thought, is the reason this deck is inferior to blue-x-oath.  I just thought i would point that out, as someone is sure to reply to this post with just that point.  Hence, the improvement forum.

In any case, there remain now sixteen slots for business spells. I begin with the obvious:
4x Orim's Chant
2x Abeyance
2x STP
2x Abolish
1x Balance
1x ancestral
1x Timewalk
1x Enlightened tutor
1x Crop rotation
1x Test of Endurance
1x Gerrard's Wisdom

So then, I look forward to hearing what others here might have to say.  I agree it looks like a jank-a-tron at first sight, but it can do surpisingly well at times.  Firing chant/walk/Abeyance etc every turn creates an ever so slow tempo advantage that eventually just doesn't lose, and thus wins, thanks to test.

chiao for now...

[rmn]

This is an awesome deck idea.  It's kinda ridiculous, but you already know that, so I'll just hit a suggestion.

Really, the first thing I noticed was that your deck is less focused on enchantments than the original Parfait.  I'd personally try to go back in that direction a little, throwing in 1- or 2-ofs like Rule of Law, etc.  That's not a reason in itself, but then you could justify running 2-3 Replenish.  Again, not a reason in itself, but consider the following:

Upkeep, Oath up Witness, recur Replenish
Main phase, cast Replenish, return to play Pandemonium and Saproling Burst.

That's a turn 2-3 win right there, and you already have the machinery in place to do it, especially with Scroll Racks.

-

[jaeppel]

Replenish-Pandemonium-Saproling burst sounds like a funny deck.  but now you speak of an entirely different deck from the original post.

but in all due seiousness, Replenish has no place here.  you NEVER have stuff in the yard except for that one breif moment the Witness grabs her card.  Replenish decks are interesting, but there are already too many machineries in place here to make room for anything that does not acieve the goal at hand.... either hydraing to death or reaching 50 life.