A new way to feed your desire to play bad cards

[Kowal]

Pre-Introduction:  This deck isn't particularly sweet, but it is hilarious and it does just win some games.  I think with testing it could be strong, but not top tier.  It's pretty metagame specific.

Introduction:  Deed is no longer in Tog maindecks, and usually not in the sideboard.  People are running amok with decks of nothing but blue spells and some duresses and will, as well as big fat artifact d00ds and to top it all off, crap like Spiketail Hatchling.  As fun as keeper is, it was always more fun when it was a pile of seemingly random one-ofs from every color, and though Carl already went in this direction with Revenge of '97, I decided to go the route that was not only hilarious, but also slightly competitive.

The Engine and Kill-
3x Isochron Scepter
1x Darksteel Colossus
1x Crucible of Worlds
1x Decree of Justice

This is my starting point.  My reference to the lack of deed is relevant because Tog no longer has an answer to my multiple moxen, academy, and isochron scepters.  They need to wish for one-of or two-of artifact removal to answer a sub-par card that often, I cast with nothing to imprint just to draw out counters.  Darksteel Colossus is just enormous, and I figured with my increased artifact count, running Tinker and Academy is a lot more realistic.  Both of those cards make Colossus hitting play fairly simple to set up (and I can do it under a blood moon too )  Crucible is something I've been testing.  It looks strong on paper with the wastes, but that's actually its weakest usage.  In testing with Wuaffiliate, I found it to be much more useful to get back my fetchlands or my titan0wned duals.  That's why I'm comfortable running the manabase outlined below, which would otherwise be complete trash.  Lastly, Decree of Justice is uncounterable, makes lots of good chumps, and works under standstill.  I also really like having a win condition I can mystical for (note I have two now )

The Protection-
4x Force of Will
4x Mana Drain
1x Misdirection

I found myself tapping out to play and use scepters far too often to run the usual (fairly anorexic) Keeper and Tog counterbase.  Adding Misdirection defends my scepters better, as well as allows me to mise Ancestral or totally own a Mind Twist.  Anything else it does is just gravy.

Draw Engine-
1x Future Sight
1x Sylvan Library
1x Ancestral Recall

It's like old Keeper again!  Sylvan Library was included because this deck hits two mana on turn one like that's it's job (and it is.)  Future Sight is just absolutely nuts.  With Crucible, making your lands stick is simple, and it also gives you free shuffle effects if your cards on top totally suck.

Tutorage and Library Manipulation-
3x Cunning Wish
3x Brainstorm
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Tinker
1x Mystical Tutor

Being able to find your bad cards is key, because only a single bad card will do the job.  I use a lot of Cunning Wishes because I have no problem ramping to three early, and they help me find the optimal Scepter imprints.  I've only been able to run three brainstorms, because Sylvan Library is the 4th.  Tinker is pretty much why I built the deck;  I figured, if Control Slaver can randomly tinker and win, I should be able to as well!  I run a LOT of artifacts now, so having one around is never an issue.

Broken and Utility-
2x Fire/Ice
1x Balance
1x Mind Twist
1x Yawgmoth's Will
1x Time Walk
1x Copy Artifact

These are mostly no brainers.  Multiple Fire/Ice over plow is key because I run Isochron Scepter, thus turning potentially dead cards in to powerful draw engines at the cost of being weaker against Dragon and 7/10.  But hey, they're stronger against Fish, so shut up.  Copy Artifact is the only other no-brainer.  It's cute with Isochron Scepter if you have a second instant, and with Darksteel Colossus it can cause some major headaches.  Coincidentally, it might as well be removal against large artifact laden decks, and in a pinch is always more artifact mana for you, as well as increasing Tolarian Academy's usefulness.

Tinker Food!-
1x Black Lotus
1x Sol Ring
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Pearl
1x Mox Ruby
1x Mox Emerald

I run the full set, because I need them to tinker and drop first turn scepters and libraries.  Also, they make Academy useful, which is always good.

And of course...

The terrible manabase!-
4x Flooded Strand
1x Polluted Delta
3x City of Brass
2x Tundra
1x Tropical Island
1x Volcanic Island
1x Underground Sea
1x Strip Mine
1x Library of Alexandria
1x Tolarian Academy
3x Wasteland



The sideboard of such an ugly deck leaves lots of room for cuteness.  Keep the wish targets high, because you run a lot of wishes.  Here's what I'm using.

4x Red Elemental Blast
3x Swords to Plowshares
2x Exalted Angel
1x Fire/Ice
1x Artifact Mutation
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Reclaim
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Disenchant


Why on Earth would you play this deck?  Well, there's always nostalgia, but more importantly, it kicks the crap out of the new wave of large artifact based decks (despite the glaring weakness of the manabase) and can hold its own against most control decks in the environment.  The bad news is, it's extra weak against Null Rod and takes it up the anus from Food Chain Joblins.  In addition, though the most common form of Psychatog isn't a terrible matchup, the three color build with Back to Basics is far more irritating.


The final product:

4x Force of Will
4x Mana Drain
3x Brainstorm
3x Cunning Wish
1x Misdirection
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Ancestral Recall
1x Time Walk
1x Tinker
1x Copy Artifact
1x Future Sight

1x Demonic Tutor
1x Mind Twist
1x Yawgmoth's Will

1x Balance
1x Decree of Justice

1x Sylvan Library

2x Fire/Ice

3x Isochron Scepter
1x Darksteel Colossus
1x Crucible of Worlds

1x Black Lotus
1x Sol Ring
1x Mox Pearl
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Ruby
1x Mox Emerald

1x Library of Alexandria
1x Tolarian Academy
1x Strip Mine
3x Wasteland
3x City of Brass
4x Flooded Strand
1x Polluted Delta
2x Tundra
1x Tropical Island
1x Underground Sea
1x Volcanic Island


Questions and comments are obviously welcome.  Feel free to PM me with questions if you're afraid of being ridiculed for them on the boards.

EDIT:  Added the complete list at the end for easier viewing.

[Toad]

How is this better than ReapLace?

[Kasuras]

Nice deck, but does it have a name? I think we should call it "predator" since the predator is the ultimate ninja. I've been saving that name for my own deck, but a prison deck cannot hunt so you get the name. Be proud or die.

Why aren't you running regrowth? If there is any reason to run green; its regrowth. I'm not sure if its good enough, but it seems to be quite fine since you can return even more stuff, instead of just lands or random stuff with will.

Sylvan library and citys, but no angels mainboard. Does this work?

You lack skeletal scrying, but it might be good enough to play one. Even the people still playing with morphling play at least 1.

What is the reason of running only 3 brainstorm instead of 4?

[Kowal]

Sylvan Library pretty much is Brainstorm #4.

Regrowth was tested and deemed too weak.  It's bad enough I run a million two cost sorcery speed spells already- I don't need to spend four to try another one.  Misdirection was just better there.

Angel was also tested, but I found Colossus to be more efficient for this deck.  Though Angel allows you to win the long game in 4cc with big Scryings and multiple city usage, I intend to just tutor up a giant d00d and kill someone with him immediately.

Skeletal Scrying was too big of a liability since I already run a million Cities.  It got cut for Future Sight, which took the deck in a much better direction.

[rozetta]

Forget Regrowth, man, you gotta play All Sun's Dawn.

Okay, so that wasn't funny.


Actually, what I was wondering was if maybe a good old Merchant Scroll would be somehow good in this deck, since it allows you to dig for Ancestral, Wish, something nice to go on a Scepter or even a counter. I know the card has fallen out of favour since it became Type 2 legal, but I still always try to fit one in keeper-esque control decks (normally because I forgot it's not in vogue anymore) and it always does me proud.

[TrixR4Kidz]

Does it run two fire/ice main, cuz in the finish product I don't see it on the list, other then that the deck looks hilarious, I am so timmy when it comes to darksteel, he's hilarious and his artwork is badass, niceee

[whitepanther]

How is this better than ReapLace?

But in all seriousness, that deck looks like it would be an incredibly fun monster to play. It appears as though it can actually win a game or two, despite it's inherent ability to suck.

Does the deck beat Suicide Black though?

[Kowal]

Actually, most aggro is really, REALLY easy, especially post board.

Consider that in game two, I'm running three plows, three fire/ice, three scepters to put em on, Balance, two angels, and a three cost spell that says you lose the game (tinker)

Even fish is a snap when you can just force through tinker and win.

[CrazyCarl]

OK.

Brainstorms?

NO SIR.

And Revenge HAS All Sun's Dawn in it.  In the board to Wish for.

pwned.

You have been tested, and you have been found wanting.

[rvs]

A deck like this MUST run the KrOathen combo. Also, what about Mirari? It's pretty sweet in control mirrors

[Seifyk]

CrazyCarl:
You have been tested, and you have been found wanting.

knightstaleowned

As for cities and library.  The deck just boards Angels in against decks that your life total matters against, amirite?

[PittSoothSayer]

CrazyCarl:
You have been tested, and you have been found wanting.

knightstaleowned

A Knight's Tale does rock, but I'm pretty sure the actual quote is "You have been weighed; you have been measured, and you have been found wanting."

Also, a question about the deck.  Why do you run 3 CoB over more Duals.  It just seems to me at first glance that 5 Fetches and only 5 Fetchable lands isn't exactly stellar.  If your one Trop/Volc/Sea gets wasted you have to rely on drawing into CoB/Mox and hope the other guy doesn't have Waste #2/Shaman.  It just doesn't sound very reliable to me.