Here we go with my second casual mono-colored deck. Ixidor is my blue pick for various reasons, I hesitated a long time before deciding to build around him and the release of new really good blue morph creatures in Khans helped a lot to actually pull the trigger and make a list.
So the main objective of this deck is to play morph creatures (is that really surprising?). There are actually quite a lot of good ones. Some people will remember the good old days of Brine Elemental and Vesuvan Shapeshifter in Standard. Playing with Morph requires some basics about magic rulings. First of all, Morph is a special action. It's not an activated ability nor a triggered ability, it doesn't use the stack and can't be responded to. You can morph Mischievous Quanar in response to your opponent's Sudden Spoiling. That said, every player will receive priority after you morphed a creature. And most (but not all) morph creatures have triggered abilities that trigger when they are turned face-up; those can be responded to as normal. Also, Vesuvan Shapeshifter is a really particular case, since if you copy a face-up morph creature while turning him face-up, it will trigger that turned-face-up-triggered-ability. Since Vesuvan Shapeshifter uses a replacement effect (like most clones), its effect replaces how it's turned face up.
Also, if you bounce a face-down creature, you have to reveal it. If you turn a face-up creature face-down, you must let your opponents keep track of which one is which. At the end of the game, you must reveal any face-down permanents. Those rules are really important since it's to prevent cheating. Note that if you bounce multiple of your face-down creatures and recast one of them, your opponents won't be able to know which one you played.
The most well-known morph in Commander is definitely Vesuvan Shapeshifter, followed nearly by Willbender. But when you look at every blue or colorless morph, you will see that there are plenty of good ones. Ixidron is also well-known for its ability to pseudo-wrath the field, which is kinda rare in mono-blue. It also resets your morph creatures and you will (most likely) be the only one being able to ever turn your creatures face-up again. Finally, looking at blue morph creatures, you will notice that nearly all of them are Wizards. This is why you will see a strong Wizard subtheme in my deck.
Finally, before the list, I want to tell you a little bit about myself and my playstyle. I'm playing Norin the Wary since a few years already and always loved the surprise factor when I'm playing in new playgroups that never saw Norin before. They read the card and wonder why I'm playing a dead general. Well... I'm not. With Ixidor, it's a little bit different, your opponents will expect you to play morph creatures. But I'm playing with over 20 morph creatures, so whenever your opponent tries to Lightning Bolt that beautiful face-down Zoetic Cavern that you have in play, you will certainly have a good laugh. I'm trying to make decks that are strong enough to have a good enough win-percentage in a casual environment, but I also want a deck that my opponents will actually enjoy losing against. And I don't mind losing either.
Because I play both 1v1 and multiplayer games - but mostly multiplayer games, all of my casual decks are legal in both the official banlist and the French Duel banlist. It does mean that you won't see Sol Ring in my list although it would definitely be good in the deck. But I don't want to get an unfair advantage while playing 1v1 against another casual deck by having a better draw because of Sol Ring or Mana Crypt. You are obviously free to play those cards since they are really good with morph creatures, since you play face-down creatures for colorless mana.
First of all, out of the 38 lands, you have to remove the non-mana producing Maze of Ith. Also, Zoetic Cavern doubles up as a creature. It's kind of a bluff, and you will see that there are a lot of bluff in this deck (no Scornful Egotist though).
Vedalken Æthermage actually finds nearly any card in the deck, including Trinket Mage that can tutor up Expedition Map and then every land. Tezzeret does a really good job at getting key artifacts like Vedalken Shackles (always a good card to have in mono-blue), Phyrexian Metamorph, Torpor Orb or just a land. Note the inclusion of Torpor Orb here. It does affect only 2 cards in this deck and this is awesome since it shuts down so many decks and it defends pretty well against artifact removal that is mostly... creature-based. Also, besides Trinket Mage, the other affected card is Vedalken Æthermage. If you ever find a situation where you cast this guy (I personally did just to block and draw a card with Azami) AND make his ETB triggered ability relevant... congrats! If you are playing against Slivers, well, it's definitely good. If not... you probably want to learn every changeling dudes played in the format, since there aren't many (Mirror Entity probably being the most played one).
All Is Dust is a real bomb in a deck where you play 18+ artifacts and 22+ morph creatures, since face-down creatures are colorless. You will also see a lot of bouncing. You want to bluff. You want to bounce that beautiful face-up Kheru Spellsnatcher that your opponent knows about just to play Willbender when they thing you replayed Kheru. You want to tutor up Disruptive Pitmage with the wizardcycler just to bluff your opponent when you are playing Fathom Seer instead. Also note how good is Riptide Survivor when you have no cards in hand.
Luckily for us, morph creatures aren't that bad at removing creatures. You have the usual Echo Tracer, but you would be surprised how many times Shaper Parasite is relevant. Don't forget Thousand Winds when your opponent swings with his full army. Fledgling Mawcor is also relevant in a format where 1-thoughness creatures are Goblin Welder and Mother of Runes. If something is so good that you would like to steal it, try Chromeshell Crab.
This deck is just a lot of fun overall, every game is different and you will get a good laugh when your opponents will be trying to decide which morph to target. There is no infinite combo (actually, there are some but it takes 3-4 cards, nearly infinite mana and some help of your opponents) and the deck is not winning quickly, but if you like to turn creatures sideway, you will like it. I try to stay on-theme as much as possible, so you won't see me playing Jace the Mind Sculptor just because I don't feel like he's particularly good in this deck and because I don't thing it's much of a casual card anyway. Tezzeret, on the other hand, has 3 relevant abilities. His ultimate should be a game-ender, his -X is really powerful and his +1 can give you a little bit more mana when you need to.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
I played a few games tonight with 90 cards. Important missing pieces were Shackles, Equilibrium and Thran Dynamo.
Overall, I think the deck is a little bit slow. I played in multiplayer but I had to take my time building up my mana base before actually casting face-down creatures. I had a lot of fun though with Vesuvan Shapeshifter, Mischievous Quanar and Stroke of Genius, but Caged Sun got killed instantly and with only ~10 mana, I want to keep mana for morph and not overextend too much, so it's kind of hard to find a balance.
I will have to consider Extraplanar Lens with a snow land package, or maybe simply Gauntlet of Power. The mana doublers really help the deck going. While Extraplar Lens is really bad on turn 3 when your opponents destroy it, I think it's really good late game when you have 8-9 Island. Just have to use 3 and then the 5-6 remaining Islands produce 10-12, so you get some kind of benefit the same turn at least (in the case it gets destroyed). Plus, it works with Tezzeret.
I would love a morph that flips for extra turns. Maybe in the next set?
Dig Through Time is really good, it's an instant response when your opponent cast some kind of graveyard shenanigans like Diluvian Primordial.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Cloud Key is the card going out for Extraplanar Lens. I replaced the 24 Island with Snow-Covered Island and I'm also replacing Buried Ruin with 1 more Snow-Covered Island. Buried Ruin always feels like a bad Academy Ruins to me, even though I get the artifact right now, the deck has plenty of ways to draw cards anyway.
I don't feel like Scrying Sheets is worth running either because I have better ways of drawing cards than spend 3 mana for conditional draw 1. It is important to have the highest count of Islands possible both for Extraplanar Lens and Vedalken Shackles, and blue producing mana for Caged Sun.
About Cloud Key, it's just not as good as Sky Diamond for example in most situations. I have a lot of artifact tutoring in the deck, so I feel like keeping either Cloud Key or Dream Chisel is more than enough, and Dream Chisel comes on turn 2 to allow playing 2 morph creatures on turn 3, it's also way more flavorful and cheaper. I would recommend Cloud Key however if you decide to go with a more combo-ish version with Future Sight and Sensei's Divining Top for example (where you can name artifact instead of creature).
Temple of the False God is what I am considering now but it would probably take Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx spot. I'm really not impressed by Nykthos so far, with only my general it takes 3 mana to produce UU, so I need something else like Azami, but I rarely have both on the battlefield and if I do, I'm probably already winning. I usually don't like Temple since it's usually bad in opening hands, but sometimes I just don't know what to tutor up with Expedition Map, I don't always need to get Maze of Ith (especially early on) although it's REALLY good in the deck to make my opponents attacking each others while I'm building my mana base.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
I'm gonna try the deck probably next weekend with my group of friends! I will need to change something to adapt to my game style and my metagame, but I love the list so far!
I'm happy that you like it!
We should get some surprises in January with the new set. I expect some new morph or cards that interact with morph. Hopefully we get something colorless or blue (Ugin the PW could be colorless and interact with face-down permanents).
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
The deck performed really well tonight. Vesuvan Shapeshifter is just so good, especially in combination with Glen Elandra. I flipped it a couple of times, I used the persist triggers and it came back as a copy of my opponent's Ætherling so that I could blink it to remove that -1/-1 counters.
Patron Wizard won me a game too and Chromeshell Crab, although being a little bit expansive (especially without Ixidor), does a really good job too with Vesuvan Shapeshifter. Nice surprise effect at instant speed and pretty good when your opponent is all in with Chaos Warp on it (or how to get 3-for-1'd).
Vedalken Shackles and All is Dust is perfect with the number of tutors in the deck. I could be considering Muddle the Mixture just to add a little bit to the tutor package (it can get the Wizardcycler, which can then get Trinket Mage or just Azami). I'm not adding it yet, but it's definitely a consideration.
Extraplanar Lens did the job too, just don't play it on turn 3 and it's fine.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Pithing Needle now considered in the Trinket Mage package. With the new Planeswalker generals, it is really good. I could remove a land for that, probably an artifact land. Seat of Synod is often needed as a blue source when casting Fabricate or Tezzeret to cast another spell, so I would probably remove Darksteel Citadel.
Also, Master of the Veil is really underwhelming compared to (for example) Weaver of Lies, except for the fact that it is a Wizard. I don't think I need both, Vesuvan Shapeshifter can pretty much do half the job there too. The deck could do fine with a lower count of morph too, although I do like the fact that I always have some kind of bluff to play, having at least another morph in my hand when I tutor or bounce one. Hopefully Fate Reforged will bring us a few new morph or at least cards that do interact with face-down permanents (I'm looking at you, Ugin!).
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Meekstone is also interesting with morph creatures, and Azami and Patron Wizard also have less than 3 power each. Really depend on the meta, but it's definitely good and easy to tutor. Infiltration Lens is interesting too. The fact that I play so many creatures tend to make equipments good, especially one that cost 1 because of Trinket Mage and the wizardcycler.
Skullclamp isn't bad either but I think blue has better and more reliable ways of drawing cards; also, I'm already playing that card in my mono-red deck where it suits de strategy better (lots of creature sac), so I prefer to stay away from it in this mono-blue deck to play different cards when possible.
At the moment, the only card I would really like to add is Pithing Needle. I think 37 mana-producing lands is the perfect number though, with 36 I statistically miss more land drops after turn 3-4 and this deck never wants to miss land drops. So it's kind of a coin toss between the weaker morph which are Weaver of Lies, Master of the Veil and Aphetto Alchemist. Alchemist can ramp (kinda) and is a wizard. And between the other 2, well... I honestly never needed any of the 2 yet. Being able to tutor up the later is good, or just being able to use Azami/Patron with it. Also cheaper. Altough I was saying it's underwhelming compared to the big Beast, I actually never used its triggered ability on more than one creature. So yeah, Weaver is out, Needle is in.
I won 2 multiplayer games this afternoob, most notably countering Sudden Spoiling with Voidmage Apprentice and the second game, turning Willbender face-up when my opponent (playing Darreti) casted Word of Seizing to steal my other opponent's (playing Nahiri) Avacyn that was going to kill the Darreti player. I redirected the target of Word of Seizing to one of his own card so that he died from Avacyn combat damage, and then I casted All is Dust on my turn. That's the way to play politics: let the Avacyn player kill the dude with Darreti's emblem and 20 artifacts in play that you can't deal with, then cast All is Dust and win the game the turn after with 10 morph creatures in play, Azami and Patron.
OP updated, new deck curve officially 3.25 (altough morph creatures aren't really representative of the overall CMC, but that's still one less 7-cmc card with a high morph cost).
Last thing I'm really considering is replacing Torpor Orb. It is REALLY great against a lot of decks, but it did make me lose one game today because of the black player going crazy and me tutoring up Trinket Mage and completely forgetting about Torpor Orb being on the battlefield. I was pretty frustrated by the situation and thought that Archaeomancer would probably do a better job. That or Snapcaster Mage, the only real difference being that Snap is less good with Cyclonic Rift or maybe the X spells but even then... tutorable at instant speed with the wizardcycler for some crazy shenanigans. Out of the 12 targets, BSZ and Spell Crumple have to be removed. Also note that delve on Dig Through Time still works with flashback (that's pretty amazing). 9-10 spells are still enough for Snapcaster I think. I will see if I can get my hands on one since it's a little bit more pricier right now because of the competitive play it sees.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Well, that's funny! I won a game on Saturday almost in the same way, using Willbender on the Sudden Spoiling!
Unfortunately I didn't tested enough to make any change, but I liked the deck so far. Maybe a little too slow in the Early Stage, but I do not really know how to ramp faster...
Yeah, it's certainly not fast, but it's perfect for multiplayer. There are some equipments that can put lands into play but we still need to attack, which usually doesn't happen before turn 4. Sol Ring and Mana Crypt are definitely really good in more competitive metas where people don't mind the French banlist. I'm playing most of the good rocks apart from these 2.
For 1v1, I was able to win a couple of games too but I was playing against weaker decks a little bit.
I'm now trying Snapcaster Mage instead of Torpor Orb and Muddle the Mixture instead of Spell Crumple. You probably want to play more counterspells if your meta is more competitive, but I personally don't like to run too many since it doesn't really fit the playstyle of this deck (or I want to do with this deck).
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
The deck is still going really well, I'm really starting to figure out what to search for with all the tutors. experience helps a lot, knowing the right time to get Maze of Ith and the right way to do it. If you have a lot of mana and top deck Merchant Scroll against a Sword of Fire and Ice, you want Maze, but instead of just searching for Fabricate and Expedition Maze and Maze, you get better value going for Mudle, Vedalken AEthermage, Trinket Mage, Map and Maze since you have a creature in play and a Wizard. Also, it's only 5 more mana (assuming you just don't care).
A lot of possibilities in short but once you figured out how good are Shackles and Bident of Thassa... you are good to go.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
The new Ugin spoiled this morning finally has some synergy for colorless decks with his -X. His +2 is OK too. He's definitely not an auto-include but more synergic than Karn for sure and he's gonna be cheaper to buy eventually (not in January though).
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Really not sure what to remove though, probably a creature but I don't know which one. I will wait for the rest of the set to see if there is any other interesting morph creatures printed.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
One change after toying with the deck a little bit more this weekend. I realized that having Wash Out every turn is good. The problem with Snapcaster is the exile clause of flashback. For that reason, Archaeomancer is added to the list instead of Snapcaster Mage. That gives me Wash Out for blue every turn if needed, or Wash Out for anything if I can bounce the Archaeomancer (Crystal Shard, Equilibrium and Riptide Laboratory). Also, it's worth the 2 mana and the sorcery speed IMO.
Also, that brings the deck total value below $250, which is pretty good for such a mono-blue deck based on strong synergies and with a good win-percentage both in 1v1 and multiplayer (in a non-competitive meta obviously but still).
Still planning on adding Ugin. Clever Impersonator is probably the card that will get replaced (that's also assuming that no other amazing mono U morph creatures are printed). Couple of reasons for that: first, I feel like Metamorph is better because it can be played for 3, can be tutored with all the artifact tutors and Easier to recur with Academy Ruins. Second reason is that I don't see any reason to play any other clones anyway, why play Clever but not Sakashima for example? There's no real reason since I just shouldn't be playing Clever in the first place since it doesn't really fit what the deck is doing. Metamorph can do pretty much the same anyway.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Manifest is the new mechanic spoiled today with Fated Reforge. I'm not sure how it's gonna work since it puts any unknown card face-down into play as a 2/2 creature, but we still need to be able to see the difference with morph creatures because the face-down creatures put on the battlefield with manifest can be flipped face-up for their CMC. I guess this is why we had morph tokens in Khans, we will probably get Manifest tokens in this set.
With that said, it's an interesting mechanic with Ixidor. What happens if a sorcery is face-down on the battlefield? Ixidor will probably receive an errata. Really interesting.
EDIT: Manifest token spoiled. Ixidor can't turn a sorcery face-up, you just reveal it and it stays face-down. We will have to wait if there is any blue/colorless card with the Manifest ability that are interesting enough to make the deck. What's fun is that you can either use Morph or the ability granted by Manifest and it will trigger any relevant "turned face-up" trigger on that card or any other card (Unblinking Bleb). Also, having a face-down Island is just another bluff that I'd love to pull on.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Definitely playable but I expect a better card. It's not a Wizard and it has to deal combat damage. The problem with it is the conditional unblockable. I understand they didn't want that card to be abused since you could just turn it back face-up every turn to Manifest a new card from your library but still.
I do like the bluff thing though. I mean, if it's the only Manifest card we get, I might play it, but I would definitely like something a little bit better, maybe a Wizard, or an actual Morph that can Manifest when it's turned face-up (that'd be awesome).
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Ethereal Ambush would be the best card spoiled yet for Ixidor if it was mono-blue.
I guess it's some more arguments to turn this deck UG and go with Kruphix, God of Horizons. That God pseudo-ramps and is definitely something that would hit the battlefield more often than Ixidor.
The problem is that I would like to stick with mono-blue for a couple of reasons. First, mono-color is cheaper. I like to run what I call "the perfect list", with every card being the best at what it's doing (exception made to what I call non-casual cards like Wasteland). Going UG means running 7 fetch lands, one original dual land... and that's already a lot more money (more than the whole deck price right now). Also, I have proven (at least to myself and my opponents) that mono-U has enough good morph creatures to make a deck. There are obviously better creatures when going UG (what not to like from Icefeather Aven compared to Echo Tracer) but still...
I don't know, I will wait for the complete set before decided what do to, I might even wait for the 3rd set in this block since there could still be something interesting there. I would like to get a general more suited to this deck since Ixidor doesn't hit the battlefield as often as I'd like to.
I did look into some UG lists though and the support that green adds to the deck is actually really disappointing. Except for the God and Prophet of Kruphix and 2 or 3 additional morph creatures, we don't get to see a lot of green in the deck.
One card I completely forgot it Aphetto Runecaster. It's a Wizard and should be on my list. I don't think I will add Jeskai Infiltrator, not good enough sadly.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
I don't know if I could maintain the discipline needed to keep an Animar deck morph-based, with Palinchron out there.
I mean, going 3 colors is probably the last thing I would do there. The UG God doesn't feel as broken at least. Animar is a combo general, with or without morph. It's pretty easy to abuse even more soft locks like Vesuvan+Brine with Animar as the general.
Also, Animar just means combo to me, big threat, first player to die in a more casual meta. And going 3 colors is a $600 investment (9 fetch, 3 dual, 3 filter and 3 shock) because I don't like CIPT lands or clunky mana base.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
To be honest, I think Kruphix might be better. You do give up able to be able to flip on command, you do get access to green which provides better ramp and Kruphix who holds up all the mana for you. Green has been getting very nice manifest cards. Hell UW just got an enchanteu that manifests on command.
Private Mod Note
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To the people that say that a card needs to be a higher rarity because of Limited... I hate you guys so much. I present to you with this.
I think he's better over Animar, but I like what I'm doing so far with the deck being mono blue. I only hope for a better legend (one that would use Manifest maybe) but I will stick with Ixidor for now.
Some interesting spoilers today, the card that exile a creature and Manifest and the other one that scry/Manifest. I would really love to make some use of that mechanic in Ixidor and will probably try to include that last one.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Write into Being is probably the card I was looking about when I was talking about a good simple Manifest card. It's not great but it's good enough I think. Just some more bluff and surprise factor. Can ramp with Islands the same way Zoetic Cavern does, but you will need Ixidor to actually turn up an Island since it doesn't have a mana cost.
Curse of the Swine should be in my list, I will need to make room for that. So I need to remove 3 cards to also include Runecaster. Really though decisions. That's probably why I don't want to go UG or UGR, I already have trouble removing cards in mono-blue...
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
I do give you props to sticking with this. I like this deck a lot. I been looking for a non threatening blue commander but can still pull some lolzy plays.
Perhaps some scrying action and top deck manipulation would be in order for manifest. Being able to know what's coming then manifest some big noncreature permanent like Ugin or Karn seems pretty cool.
Hopefully we get better mono blue manifest. We still need the blue form that manifests.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To the people that say that a card needs to be a higher rarity because of Limited... I hate you guys so much. I present to you with this.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
I need to remove 4 cards. Runecaster is 4 mana and Azami is definitely better, it makes it a little bit harder to find something worth removing since I don't want to lower the morph count either. I don't think I can completely drop the Wizards theme, both Azami and Patron Wizard are really strong wins right now, and Glen Elendra Archmage, Trinket Mage and the wizardcycling creature are definitely nice to have.
Bident of Thassa, being blue, could probably be removed, but it's the best way to draw cards when I get Fabricate or Tezzeret, so it's a little bit complicated. Pithing Needle is better suited for 1v1. And there's still Torpor Orb is I ever decide to remove Trinket Mage.
One card I'm definitely removing is Clever Impersonator. It doesn't do anything with my morph creatures, it doesn't do anything with legends and I never really have something I want to copy when I draw it (Bident of Thassa is even a legend). My opponents rarely have something that much relevant for my deck, so that's an easy card to remove for me. I can still rely on Phyrexian Metamorph.
Playing both BSZ and Stroke might be a little redundant. I will need to think a little bit more about it. Also, it's probably better when the spell gets shuffled back into my library, so that's an argument for BSZ and Spell Crumple that I removed for Hinder because of recursion (currently Archaeomancer). I will need to think a little bit more about that, but with Muddle the Mixture, Merchant Scroll and Mystical Tutor that all can find eventually BSZ, I don't think I really need redundancy.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Spells that shuffle themselves are better in my mind with the number of tutors I have (in my library). I can always recur the tutors, but I don't want Crumple/BSZ to get exiled.
With that said, redundancy isn't as needed as I thought, Stroke+BSZ is just too me, playing one usually gets me to draw the other one, which isn't exactly what I want. Moreover, BSZ shuffles itself back too, so it's already like having more than 1, except that I will naturally draw either of the 2 less often, but as I said, enough tutors out there to help if I really need to draw cards quickly. Thus, Crumple gets in instead of Hinder.
Dream Chisel is getting replaced by Leyline of Anticipation. Both cards are card disadvantage by itself, no added value on the battlefield, but I think Leyline adds more to the deck. The goal is a little bit the same: keep mana open to morph my creatures. By playing face-down creatures at the end of my opponent's turn, they need instant speed removal if they really want to get rid of a face-down creature. Also, instant speed face-down Willbender to morph it sounds good to me. I prefer Leyline over Vedalken Orrery because of the ability to put it into play from my opening hand. I don't think I would really waste a tutor for it if it was an artifact anyway, and having it before my turn 1 is awesome.
Clever Impersonator never did much in the deck, I don't really have many permanents that I want to copy myself since my permanents are either face-down or legendary. I will rely on Metamorph when I really need a clone. At 4 mana, Invoke Prejudice gets in the deck instead. This card is pretty stupid with colorless (facedown) creatures, and if your opponents don't play blue, you don't even care about playing blue creatures. I mean... you play this on your turn 4 on the play and your opponents will need 8 mana to cast Solemn Simulacrum. Pretty stupid if you ask me, while not completely broken, your opponents can play around it or destroy it but that should slow them down.
The 4 last cards I remove are 2-cmc mana rocks (Bubble is a little bit different but it's a 3-mana investment), because it's always awkward to play my turn 3 with 4 mana, not being able to really play a face-down creature and protect it (or be able to morph it face-up).
About Cloudform, I just want to say that with Ixidor, we can turn any permanent face-up, so the only real cards that have no value with Cloudform are the 1 instants/sorceries, which isn't a lot. It still means that I will blank 10% of the times, but that's well worth the bluff, even if Write into Being usually avoids that completely by looking at 2 cards (the odds of having 2 out of 11 instants/sorceries on the top 2 cards of a 99-card deck are pretty low). As much as I would like to never whiff, it's still a 2/2 flying hexproof for 3 mana with some kind of bluff either way. Also, Trinket Mage, Archaeomancer and the Wizardcycler are probably worse than non-permanents since you really don't want to turn them face-up, but it's all part of the fun of this deck.
Finally, we will definitely have more in the next set (Dragons of Tarkir), hopefully we get 2-3 really good cards again that could fit in the deck.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
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Here we go with my second casual mono-colored deck. Ixidor is my blue pick for various reasons, I hesitated a long time before deciding to build around him and the release of new really good blue morph creatures in Khans helped a lot to actually pull the trigger and make a list.
So the main objective of this deck is to play morph creatures (is that really surprising?). There are actually quite a lot of good ones. Some people will remember the good old days of Brine Elemental and Vesuvan Shapeshifter in Standard. Playing with Morph requires some basics about magic rulings. First of all, Morph is a special action. It's not an activated ability nor a triggered ability, it doesn't use the stack and can't be responded to. You can morph Mischievous Quanar in response to your opponent's Sudden Spoiling. That said, every player will receive priority after you morphed a creature. And most (but not all) morph creatures have triggered abilities that trigger when they are turned face-up; those can be responded to as normal. Also, Vesuvan Shapeshifter is a really particular case, since if you copy a face-up morph creature while turning him face-up, it will trigger that turned-face-up-triggered-ability. Since Vesuvan Shapeshifter uses a replacement effect (like most clones), its effect replaces how it's turned face up.
Also, if you bounce a face-down creature, you have to reveal it. If you turn a face-up creature face-down, you must let your opponents keep track of which one is which. At the end of the game, you must reveal any face-down permanents. Those rules are really important since it's to prevent cheating. Note that if you bounce multiple of your face-down creatures and recast one of them, your opponents won't be able to know which one you played.
The most well-known morph in Commander is definitely Vesuvan Shapeshifter, followed nearly by Willbender. But when you look at every blue or colorless morph, you will see that there are plenty of good ones. Ixidron is also well-known for its ability to pseudo-wrath the field, which is kinda rare in mono-blue. It also resets your morph creatures and you will (most likely) be the only one being able to ever turn your creatures face-up again. Finally, looking at blue morph creatures, you will notice that nearly all of them are Wizards. This is why you will see a strong Wizard subtheme in my deck.
Finally, before the list, I want to tell you a little bit about myself and my playstyle. I'm playing Norin the Wary since a few years already and always loved the surprise factor when I'm playing in new playgroups that never saw Norin before. They read the card and wonder why I'm playing a dead general. Well... I'm not. With Ixidor, it's a little bit different, your opponents will expect you to play morph creatures. But I'm playing with over 20 morph creatures, so whenever your opponent tries to Lightning Bolt that beautiful face-down Zoetic Cavern that you have in play, you will certainly have a good laugh. I'm trying to make decks that are strong enough to have a good enough win-percentage in a casual environment, but I also want a deck that my opponents will actually enjoy losing against. And I don't mind losing either.
Because I play both 1v1 and multiplayer games - but mostly multiplayer games, all of my casual decks are legal in both the official banlist and the French Duel banlist. It does mean that you won't see Sol Ring in my list although it would definitely be good in the deck. But I don't want to get an unfair advantage while playing 1v1 against another casual deck by having a better draw because of Sol Ring or Mana Crypt. You are obviously free to play those cards since they are really good with morph creatures, since you play face-down creatures for colorless mana.
Here's the list:
1 Ixidor, Reality Sculptor
Creatures: 32
1 Fathom Seer
1 Stratus Dancer
1 Vedalken Æthermage
1 Voidmage Apprentice
1 Voidmage Prodigy
1 Willbender
1 Disruptive Pitmage
1 Dulcet Sirens
1 Echo Tracer
1 Patron Wizard
1 Riptide Entrancer
1 Riptide Survivor
1 Shaper Parasite
1 Trinket Mage
1 Aphetto Runecaster
1 Fledgling Mawcor
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Kheru Spellsnatcher
1 Master of the Veil
1 Mistfire Weaver
1 Monastery Loremaster
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Unblinking Bleb
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Azami, Lady of Scrolls
1 Chromeshell Crab
1 Ixidron
1 Mischievous Quanar
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
1 Brine Elemental
1 Thousand Winds
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Expedition Map
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Crystal Shard
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Perilous Vault
1 Thran Dynamo
Sorceries: 5
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Fabricate
1 Write into Being
1 Wash Out
1 All Is Dust
Instants: 7
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
1 Cryptic Command
1 Evacuation
1 Pact of Negation
Enchantments: 4
1 Cloudform
1 Equilibrium
1 Invoke Prejudice
1 Leyline of the Anticipation
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Teferi, Temporal Archmage
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Lands: 37
1 Academy Ruins
1 Buried Ruin
1 Darksteel Citadel
25 Snow-Covered Island
1 Mutavault
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Tolaria West
1 Wasteland
1 Zoetic Cavern
First of all, out of the 38 lands, you have to remove the non-mana producing Maze of Ith. Also, Zoetic Cavern doubles up as a creature. It's kind of a bluff, and you will see that there are a lot of bluff in this deck (no Scornful Egotist though).
I have 22 morph in the deck (21 creatures and Zoetic Cavern). You will see a lot of Wizards and this is why I added Vedalken Æthermage, Trinket Mage, Glen Elendra Archmage, Patron Wizard and Azami, Lady of Scrolls. The only hard counterspells that I play (besides the creatures) are Spell Crumple and Hinder. Blue has a lot of ways to draw cards, Stroke of Genius and his brother Blue Sun's Zenith being amongst the best.
Vedalken Æthermage actually finds nearly any card in the deck, including Trinket Mage that can tutor up Expedition Map and then every land. Tezzeret does a really good job at getting key artifacts like Vedalken Shackles (always a good card to have in mono-blue), Phyrexian Metamorph, Torpor Orb or just a land. Note the inclusion of Torpor Orb here. It does affect only 2 cards in this deck and this is awesome since it shuts down so many decks and it defends pretty well against artifact removal that is mostly... creature-based. Also, besides Trinket Mage, the other affected card is Vedalken Æthermage. If you ever find a situation where you cast this guy (I personally did just to block and draw a card with Azami) AND make his ETB triggered ability relevant... congrats! If you are playing against Slivers, well, it's definitely good. If not... you probably want to learn every changeling dudes played in the format, since there aren't many (Mirror Entity probably being the most played one).
All Is Dust is a real bomb in a deck where you play 18+ artifacts and 22+ morph creatures, since face-down creatures are colorless. You will also see a lot of bouncing. You want to bluff. You want to bounce that beautiful face-up Kheru Spellsnatcher that your opponent knows about just to play Willbender when they thing you replayed Kheru. You want to tutor up Disruptive Pitmage with the wizardcycler just to bluff your opponent when you are playing Fathom Seer instead. Also note how good is Riptide Survivor when you have no cards in hand.
Luckily for us, morph creatures aren't that bad at removing creatures. You have the usual Echo Tracer, but you would be surprised how many times Shaper Parasite is relevant. Don't forget Thousand Winds when your opponent swings with his full army. Fledgling Mawcor is also relevant in a format where 1-thoughness creatures are Goblin Welder and Mother of Runes. If something is so good that you would like to steal it, try Chromeshell Crab.
This deck is just a lot of fun overall, every game is different and you will get a good laugh when your opponents will be trying to decide which morph to target. There is no infinite combo (actually, there are some but it takes 3-4 cards, nearly infinite mana and some help of your opponents) and the deck is not winning quickly, but if you like to turn creatures sideway, you will like it. I try to stay on-theme as much as possible, so you won't see me playing Jace the Mind Sculptor just because I don't feel like he's particularly good in this deck and because I don't thing it's much of a casual card anyway. Tezzeret, on the other hand, has 3 relevant abilities. His ultimate should be a game-ender, his -X is really powerful and his +1 can give you a little bit more mana when you need to.
Any suggestions are welcomed.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Overall, I think the deck is a little bit slow. I played in multiplayer but I had to take my time building up my mana base before actually casting face-down creatures. I had a lot of fun though with Vesuvan Shapeshifter, Mischievous Quanar and Stroke of Genius, but Caged Sun got killed instantly and with only ~10 mana, I want to keep mana for morph and not overextend too much, so it's kind of hard to find a balance.
I will have to consider Extraplanar Lens with a snow land package, or maybe simply Gauntlet of Power. The mana doublers really help the deck going. While Extraplar Lens is really bad on turn 3 when your opponents destroy it, I think it's really good late game when you have 8-9 Island. Just have to use 3 and then the 5-6 remaining Islands produce 10-12, so you get some kind of benefit the same turn at least (in the case it gets destroyed). Plus, it works with Tezzeret.
I would love a morph that flips for extra turns. Maybe in the next set?
Dig Through Time is really good, it's an instant response when your opponent cast some kind of graveyard shenanigans like Diluvian Primordial.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
I don't feel like Scrying Sheets is worth running either because I have better ways of drawing cards than spend 3 mana for conditional draw 1. It is important to have the highest count of Islands possible both for Extraplanar Lens and Vedalken Shackles, and blue producing mana for Caged Sun.
About Cloud Key, it's just not as good as Sky Diamond for example in most situations. I have a lot of artifact tutoring in the deck, so I feel like keeping either Cloud Key or Dream Chisel is more than enough, and Dream Chisel comes on turn 2 to allow playing 2 morph creatures on turn 3, it's also way more flavorful and cheaper. I would recommend Cloud Key however if you decide to go with a more combo-ish version with Future Sight and Sensei's Divining Top for example (where you can name artifact instead of creature).
Mutavault has been really great, Myriad Landscape too. Terrain Generator is okay, Reliquary Tower proved to be really great and Tolaria West can find all of these and Everflowing Chalice.
Temple of the False God is what I am considering now but it would probably take Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx spot. I'm really not impressed by Nykthos so far, with only my general it takes 3 mana to produce UU, so I need something else like Azami, but I rarely have both on the battlefield and if I do, I'm probably already winning. I usually don't like Temple since it's usually bad in opening hands, but sometimes I just don't know what to tutor up with Expedition Map, I don't always need to get Maze of Ith (especially early on) although it's REALLY good in the deck to make my opponents attacking each others while I'm building my mana base.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
I'm gonna try the deck probably next weekend with my group of friends! I will need to change something to adapt to my game style and my metagame, but I love the list so far!
We should get some surprises in January with the new set. I expect some new morph or cards that interact with morph. Hopefully we get something colorless or blue (Ugin the PW could be colorless and interact with face-down permanents).
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Patron Wizard won me a game too and Chromeshell Crab, although being a little bit expansive (especially without Ixidor), does a really good job too with Vesuvan Shapeshifter. Nice surprise effect at instant speed and pretty good when your opponent is all in with Chaos Warp on it (or how to get 3-for-1'd).
Vedalken Shackles and All is Dust is perfect with the number of tutors in the deck. I could be considering Muddle the Mixture just to add a little bit to the tutor package (it can get the Wizardcycler, which can then get Trinket Mage or just Azami). I'm not adding it yet, but it's definitely a consideration.
Extraplanar Lens did the job too, just don't play it on turn 3 and it's fine.
Seriously, I really like the deck. Only 4 cards missing now in the deck (I'm playing with 96 cards) which are Equilibrium, Raven Guild Master, Phyrexian Metamorph and Academy Ruins. I will order the first 2 and try to trade for the other 2.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Also, Master of the Veil is really underwhelming compared to (for example) Weaver of Lies, except for the fact that it is a Wizard. I don't think I need both, Vesuvan Shapeshifter can pretty much do half the job there too. The deck could do fine with a lower count of morph too, although I do like the fact that I always have some kind of bluff to play, having at least another morph in my hand when I tutor or bounce one. Hopefully Fate Reforged will bring us a few new morph or at least cards that do interact with face-down permanents (I'm looking at you, Ugin!).
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Skullclamp isn't bad either but I think blue has better and more reliable ways of drawing cards; also, I'm already playing that card in my mono-red deck where it suits de strategy better (lots of creature sac), so I prefer to stay away from it in this mono-blue deck to play different cards when possible.
Infiltration Lens is good with Raven Guild Master and Riptide Entrancer. And morph creatures in general.
At the moment, the only card I would really like to add is Pithing Needle. I think 37 mana-producing lands is the perfect number though, with 36 I statistically miss more land drops after turn 3-4 and this deck never wants to miss land drops. So it's kind of a coin toss between the weaker morph which are Weaver of Lies, Master of the Veil and Aphetto Alchemist. Alchemist can ramp (kinda) and is a wizard. And between the other 2, well... I honestly never needed any of the 2 yet. Being able to tutor up the later is good, or just being able to use Azami/Patron with it. Also cheaper. Altough I was saying it's underwhelming compared to the big Beast, I actually never used its triggered ability on more than one creature. So yeah, Weaver is out, Needle is in.
I won 2 multiplayer games this afternoob, most notably countering Sudden Spoiling with Voidmage Apprentice and the second game, turning Willbender face-up when my opponent (playing Darreti) casted Word of Seizing to steal my other opponent's (playing Nahiri) Avacyn that was going to kill the Darreti player. I redirected the target of Word of Seizing to one of his own card so that he died from Avacyn combat damage, and then I casted All is Dust on my turn. That's the way to play politics: let the Avacyn player kill the dude with Darreti's emblem and 20 artifacts in play that you can't deal with, then cast All is Dust and win the game the turn after with 10 morph creatures in play, Azami and Patron.
OP updated, new deck curve officially 3.25 (altough morph creatures aren't really representative of the overall CMC, but that's still one less 7-cmc card with a high morph cost).
Last thing I'm really considering is replacing Torpor Orb. It is REALLY great against a lot of decks, but it did make me lose one game today because of the black player going crazy and me tutoring up Trinket Mage and completely forgetting about Torpor Orb being on the battlefield. I was pretty frustrated by the situation and thought that Archaeomancer would probably do a better job. That or Snapcaster Mage, the only real difference being that Snap is less good with Cyclonic Rift or maybe the X spells but even then... tutorable at instant speed with the wizardcycler for some crazy shenanigans. Out of the 12 targets, BSZ and Spell Crumple have to be removed. Also note that delve on Dig Through Time still works with flashback (that's pretty amazing). 9-10 spells are still enough for Snapcaster I think. I will see if I can get my hands on one since it's a little bit more pricier right now because of the competitive play it sees.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Well, that's funny! I won a game on Saturday almost in the same way, using Willbender on the Sudden Spoiling!
Unfortunately I didn't tested enough to make any change, but I liked the deck so far. Maybe a little too slow in the Early Stage, but I do not really know how to ramp faster...
Sol Ring and Mana Crypt are definitely really good in more competitive metas where people don't mind the French banlist. I'm playing most of the good rocks apart from these 2.
For 1v1, I was able to win a couple of games too but I was playing against weaker decks a little bit.
I'm now trying Snapcaster Mage instead of Torpor Orb and Muddle the Mixture instead of Spell Crumple. You probably want to play more counterspells if your meta is more competitive, but I personally don't like to run too many since it doesn't really fit the playstyle of this deck (or I want to do with this deck).
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
A lot of possibilities in short but once you figured out how good are Shackles and Bident of Thassa... you are good to go.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
The new Ugin spoiled this morning finally has some synergy for colorless decks with his -X. His +2 is OK too. He's definitely not an auto-include but more synergic than Karn for sure and he's gonna be cheaper to buy eventually (not in January though).
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Really not sure what to remove though, probably a creature but I don't know which one. I will wait for the rest of the set to see if there is any other interesting morph creatures printed.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Also, that brings the deck total value below $250, which is pretty good for such a mono-blue deck based on strong synergies and with a good win-percentage both in 1v1 and multiplayer (in a non-competitive meta obviously but still).
Still planning on adding Ugin. Clever Impersonator is probably the card that will get replaced (that's also assuming that no other amazing mono U morph creatures are printed). Couple of reasons for that: first, I feel like Metamorph is better because it can be played for 3, can be tutored with all the artifact tutors and Easier to recur with Academy Ruins. Second reason is that I don't see any reason to play any other clones anyway, why play Clever but not Sakashima for example? There's no real reason since I just shouldn't be playing Clever in the first place since it doesn't really fit what the deck is doing. Metamorph can do pretty much the same anyway.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
With that said, it's an interesting mechanic with Ixidor. What happens if a sorcery is face-down on the battlefield? Ixidor will probably receive an errata. Really interesting.
EDIT: Manifest token spoiled. Ixidor can't turn a sorcery face-up, you just reveal it and it stays face-down. We will have to wait if there is any blue/colorless card with the Manifest ability that are interesting enough to make the deck. What's fun is that you can either use Morph or the ability granted by Manifest and it will trigger any relevant "turned face-up" trigger on that card or any other card (Unblinking Bleb). Also, having a face-down Island is just another bluff that I'd love to pull on.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Definitely playable but I expect a better card. It's not a Wizard and it has to deal combat damage. The problem with it is the conditional unblockable. I understand they didn't want that card to be abused since you could just turn it back face-up every turn to Manifest a new card from your library but still.
I do like the bluff thing though. I mean, if it's the only Manifest card we get, I might play it, but I would definitely like something a little bit better, maybe a Wizard, or an actual Morph that can Manifest when it's turned face-up (that'd be awesome).
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
I guess it's some more arguments to turn this deck UG and go with Kruphix, God of Horizons. That God pseudo-ramps and is definitely something that would hit the battlefield more often than Ixidor.
The problem is that I would like to stick with mono-blue for a couple of reasons. First, mono-color is cheaper. I like to run what I call "the perfect list", with every card being the best at what it's doing (exception made to what I call non-casual cards like Wasteland). Going UG means running 7 fetch lands, one original dual land... and that's already a lot more money (more than the whole deck price right now). Also, I have proven (at least to myself and my opponents) that mono-U has enough good morph creatures to make a deck. There are obviously better creatures when going UG (what not to like from Icefeather Aven compared to Echo Tracer) but still...
I don't know, I will wait for the complete set before decided what do to, I might even wait for the 3rd set in this block since there could still be something interesting there. I would like to get a general more suited to this deck since Ixidor doesn't hit the battlefield as often as I'd like to.
I did look into some UG lists though and the support that green adds to the deck is actually really disappointing. Except for the God and Prophet of Kruphix and 2 or 3 additional morph creatures, we don't get to see a lot of green in the deck.
One card I completely forgot it Aphetto Runecaster. It's a Wizard and should be on my list. I don't think I will add Jeskai Infiltrator, not good enough sadly.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
I mean, going 3 colors is probably the last thing I would do there. The UG God doesn't feel as broken at least. Animar is a combo general, with or without morph. It's pretty easy to abuse even more soft locks like Vesuvan+Brine with Animar as the general.
Also, Animar just means combo to me, big threat, first player to die in a more casual meta. And going 3 colors is a $600 investment (9 fetch, 3 dual, 3 filter and 3 shock) because I don't like CIPT lands or clunky mana base.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY8h2vp5Xis
Some interesting spoilers today, the card that exile a creature and Manifest and the other one that scry/Manifest. I would really love to make some use of that mechanic in Ixidor and will probably try to include that last one.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Curse of the Swine should be in my list, I will need to make room for that. So I need to remove 3 cards to also include Runecaster. Really though decisions. That's probably why I don't want to go UG or UGR, I already have trouble removing cards in mono-blue...
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Perhaps some scrying action and top deck manipulation would be in order for manifest. Being able to know what's coming then manifest some big noncreature permanent like Ugin or Karn seems pretty cool.
Hopefully we get better mono blue manifest. We still need the blue form that manifests.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY8h2vp5Xis
I might drop completely the Wizard subtheme, I don't know.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Cards I would like to add:
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, it's just good (I won't add Curse of the Swine though)
Cloudform (I think it's better than Write Into Being, I wanted one card to Manifest, this one for the same cost gives it flying and hexproof)
Monastery Siege (giving Frost Titan ability to all permanents I control AND myself is huge while not seen as much as a threat as Rhystic Study)
Aphetto Runecaster (obvious omission)
I need to remove 4 cards. Runecaster is 4 mana and Azami is definitely better, it makes it a little bit harder to find something worth removing since I don't want to lower the morph count either. I don't think I can completely drop the Wizards theme, both Azami and Patron Wizard are really strong wins right now, and Glen Elendra Archmage, Trinket Mage and the wizardcycling creature are definitely nice to have.
Bident of Thassa, being blue, could probably be removed, but it's the best way to draw cards when I get Fabricate or Tezzeret, so it's a little bit complicated. Pithing Needle is better suited for 1v1. And there's still Torpor Orb is I ever decide to remove Trinket Mage.
One card I'm definitely removing is Clever Impersonator. It doesn't do anything with my morph creatures, it doesn't do anything with legends and I never really have something I want to copy when I draw it (Bident of Thassa is even a legend). My opponents rarely have something that much relevant for my deck, so that's an easy card to remove for me. I can still rely on Phyrexian Metamorph.
Playing both BSZ and Stroke might be a little redundant. I will need to think a little bit more about it. Also, it's probably better when the spell gets shuffled back into my library, so that's an argument for BSZ and Spell Crumple that I removed for Hinder because of recursion (currently Archaeomancer). I will need to think a little bit more about that, but with Muddle the Mixture, Merchant Scroll and Mystical Tutor that all can find eventually BSZ, I don't think I really need redundancy.
Mana rocks: Thran Dynamo and Everflowing Chalice into a face-down creature are good. Dream Chisel is barely fine. Mind Stone and Sky Diamond? Not really good to be honest.
I will think a little bit more about it tonight and will get back with a final version with Fated Reforge inclusions before the end of the weekend.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
+ Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
+ Cloudform
+ Monastery Siege
+ Aphetto Runecaster
+ Leyline of Anticipation
+ Spell Crumple
+ Invoke Prejudice
+ Teferi, Temporal Archmage
- Dream Chisel
- Sky Diamond
- Coldsteel Heart
- Stroke of Genius
- Wayfarer's Bubble
- Mind Stone
- Hinder
- Clever Impersonator
Spells that shuffle themselves are better in my mind with the number of tutors I have (in my library). I can always recur the tutors, but I don't want Crumple/BSZ to get exiled.
With that said, redundancy isn't as needed as I thought, Stroke+BSZ is just too me, playing one usually gets me to draw the other one, which isn't exactly what I want. Moreover, BSZ shuffles itself back too, so it's already like having more than 1, except that I will naturally draw either of the 2 less often, but as I said, enough tutors out there to help if I really need to draw cards quickly. Thus, Crumple gets in instead of Hinder.
Dream Chisel is getting replaced by Leyline of Anticipation. Both cards are card disadvantage by itself, no added value on the battlefield, but I think Leyline adds more to the deck. The goal is a little bit the same: keep mana open to morph my creatures. By playing face-down creatures at the end of my opponent's turn, they need instant speed removal if they really want to get rid of a face-down creature. Also, instant speed face-down Willbender to morph it sounds good to me. I prefer Leyline over Vedalken Orrery because of the ability to put it into play from my opening hand. I don't think I would really waste a tutor for it if it was an artifact anyway, and having it before my turn 1 is awesome.
Clever Impersonator never did much in the deck, I don't really have many permanents that I want to copy myself since my permanents are either face-down or legendary. I will rely on Metamorph when I really need a clone. At 4 mana, Invoke Prejudice gets in the deck instead. This card is pretty stupid with colorless (facedown) creatures, and if your opponents don't play blue, you don't even care about playing blue creatures. I mean... you play this on your turn 4 on the play and your opponents will need 8 mana to cast Solemn Simulacrum. Pretty stupid if you ask me, while not completely broken, your opponents can play around it or destroy it but that should slow them down.
The 4 last cards I remove are 2-cmc mana rocks (Bubble is a little bit different but it's a 3-mana investment), because it's always awkward to play my turn 3 with 4 mana, not being able to really play a face-down creature and protect it (or be able to morph it face-up).
I'm editing the OP right now.
Other legal (blue/colorless) morph that could be considered:
Quicksilver Dragon (expansive morph cost)
Whetwheel (just for the laugh)
Nameless One (can get big)
Proteus Machine (another weird cheap useless bluff)
Dulcet Sirens (that one only works in multiplayer but it's really good when it works)
Dermoplasm (only good with a couple of creatures like Vesuvan or Voidmage Prodigy, and it can't be Zoetic Cavern)
Riptide Pilferer (annoying but better suited for 1v1)
Dragon'S Eye Savants (better suited for 1v1)
Coral Trickster (looks worse than Aphetto Alchemist to me)
Backslide (pretty sure there is something to do with that one but it's kind of conditional; the good news is the cycling ability)
And finally... Land Equilibrium, but I don't think it's nearly as strong as Invoke Prejudice.
About Cloudform, I just want to say that with Ixidor, we can turn any permanent face-up, so the only real cards that have no value with Cloudform are the 1 instants/sorceries, which isn't a lot. It still means that I will blank 10% of the times, but that's well worth the bluff, even if Write into Being usually avoids that completely by looking at 2 cards (the odds of having 2 out of 11 instants/sorceries on the top 2 cards of a 99-card deck are pretty low). As much as I would like to never whiff, it's still a 2/2 flying hexproof for 3 mana with some kind of bluff either way. Also, Trinket Mage, Archaeomancer and the Wizardcycler are probably worse than non-permanents since you really don't want to turn them face-up, but it's all part of the fun of this deck.
Finally, we will definitely have more in the next set (Dragons of Tarkir), hopefully we get 2-3 really good cards again that could fit in the deck.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.