[Deck] Super Fish!

[Vegeta2711]

So for a while now I've been mildly annoyed that UB Fish was just worse than UW Fish due to the lack of good maiindeck answers to DSC, not to mention the whole 'WTF MATE' of not having Jotun Grunt. Eventually I gave up on that and decided just to splash for the best 2 cards black had to offer and came up with this.

//NAME: Super Fish!
// Lands (19)
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Island
1 Plains
4 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
// Mana (2)
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Pearl
// Counters (4)
4 Force of Will
// Disruption (12)
4 Null Rod
3 Stifle
3 Duress
2 Swords to Plowshares
// Other (6)
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Brainstorm
// Creatures (17)
2 Azorius Guildmage (Previously 2 Daze)
3 Jotun Grunt
4 Dark Confidant
4 Meddling Mage
2 Savannah Lions
2 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
// SB
SB: 4 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 3 Orim's Chant
SB: 3 Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
SB: 3 Umezawa's Jitte
SB: 1 Swords to Plowshares
SB: 1 Duress (Could be 4th Chant or Tundra as well)

All of the card choices are pretty obvious, so I'll just give basic reasoning behind the deck.

I wanted a version that maximized the mana denial theme, hence the 4 Stifle in addition to strips and rod. Duress was also superior to just about any secondary blue counter I wanted to play in the Drain or Combo matches. The mana base looks a little silly, but it was created on the same principles as BDW was in Extended, maximize mana options and always have double colors available in a pinch. I kind of want the 8th fetchland, but I can't figure out what to cut. :SadPanda: 

My post-board plan against opposing combo is pretty simple, bring in Orim's Chant and make them try to fight through infinite bullshit to actually win the game.

I'm actually most happy with the Fish mirror. Not only do I draw more cards than them usually, but Guildmage is the best maindeck tool I have to beat them in a long game. Post-board I've completely ignored the 'steal threats' or 'kill the other guy' plan and simply chose cards that completely invalidate my opponents deck. 8 1/2 Tails means I get to cheat in all fights, my men don't die to plow and I can make stuff like Threads and opposing Jitte fall off other creatures if I need too. Meanwhile I run my own set of Jitte, as it's by far the best card to have active in the aggro match.

Generally this deck shares many of UW's matches, but gains a slightly higher edge in Drain and combo matches by having better options. The one major match I totally skimped on was Stax and it shows. Honestly if I actually had reason to care about the match, I'd board 4 Kataki, but I don't. if your metagame is different, I suggest you make that change and find room for the 8th fetchland.

I've been kicking the deck around for a while now, but I have nowhere to play it until summer. So enjoy.

EDIT: Fixed my stupid fucking typoing lying list.

[LotusHead]

I know 3 color deck have pretty tight mana bases, but why 1 Island, and no Mox Sappire? Or at least why Pearl over Sapphire? As you know, I'm not exactly a Fish player, but I'd assume that Fish ran at least 2 islands.

[Vegeta2711]

Simply a matter of the white cards being infinitely more valuable than the blue ones. Hence Pearl > Sapphire. Past that, I've never needed 2 Island for anything. I much rather fetch colored mana nearly all the time.

[brianpk80]

I see some problems with the mana base and a few card choices.  Azorius Guildmage is a bit obsolete now that Gifts has moved onto Empty the Warrens in favor of Colossus and Oath is slowly evolving towards more and more Tyrant builds or simply incorporating SSS to get around tap-Wizards.  With only 8 renewable colored mana sources in the entire deck, I have a hard time seeing 2U or 2W being reliably open to use its ability, without compromising your ability to Waste, Stifle, and cast spells during your own turn.  If you're set on using the Mage and 8.5 + Jitte in the sideboard, I think you would benefit from a maindeck or sideboarded Sol Ring.  After playing a build with maindeck Jittes and 8.5's a long time ago, I found they were almost always too slow without acceleration and dropped them altogether when Sol Ring didn't make the cut.  Further, hardcasting 8.5 Tails detracts from his purpose a lot.  I found his best use to be generating card advantage by AEther Vialing him into play in response to an opponent's targeted ability.  Without a Vial @ 2 in play, I almost always found he was a dead draw and a gratuitous waste of mana. 

At 17 colored land, 1 Lotus, 3 Moxen, 1 Petal, and 4 Vials I still had more mana screw and color screw than I would have liked to see.  Is your mana base reliable?

4 Tormod's Crypts in the sideboard is excessive, especially since you're running Null Rods maindeck. If Ichorid is your target, Leyline seems strictly superior.  If Gifts/Long is your target, I think you would want both graveyard removal and Null Rods so again Leyline appears to be the better choice.  Same goes for Dragon and Bomberman who may run some combination of Needles, Stifles, or Explosives to counteract the Crypts.     

Some suggestions:
Swords to Plowshares -> Echoing Truth
Azorious Guildmage -> Ninja of the Deep Hours or True Believer
Eight and a Half Tails -> Serra Avenger (why play Fish games when you can just fly over FTW)
+1 Mox Sapphire or Underground Sea
Tormod's Crypt -> Leyline of the Void or something entirely different

-BPK