Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Back at it with a larger list of swaps this time.
~~COLORLESS~~
Gonna start out with some colorless swaps this time 'round. A lot of added Artifact Creature Finishers.
Lotus Bloom -->
Ancient Stone Idol
Poor Storm, always the first to lose narrow pieces the moment I want to try something new with my list. This isn't Idol's first time in my list and I always found it to be a solid top-end finisher.
Aetherflux Reservoir -->
Sundering Titan
I already run
Bolas's Citadel and
Thousand-year Storm and felt I could lose one Storm enabling permanent. Sundering has always been more than good when in my list.
Emrakul, the Promised End -->
Myr Battlesphere
I have yet to run Battlesphere before, but it seems so generically strong that I cannot imagine it won't fit nicely within my list. Emrakul did nothing wrong outside of Planar annihilation, but unfortunately I value an Artifact more in this slot for now.
Coldsteel Heart -->
Noble's Purse
Obligatory time to shill Coldsnap Foils as some of the best in the business. OG Coldsteel Heart foil is one of the prettiest cards in the entire game. However, I am intrigued by Purse's ability to store mana for an explosive turn and want to see how it plays.
Altar of Dementia -->
Scion of Draco
Am I worried that losing one of the few sacrifice enablers I use at 540 is a terrible idea? Yes, absolutely. Do I want the funnie Domain Dragon instead? Yes, absolutely.
~~RED~~
The sudden addition of an Artifact Creature top-end probably spoils 90% of my changes in Red, but fuck it let's go.
Utvara Hellkite -->
Goblin Welder
So Utvara is a tough one. I really like the card both mechanically and aesthetically, but its somewhat too cute to stick around whenever push comes to shove and I make cuts. Sorry Hellkite, maybe someday I can get you to stick, but with the addition of Ancient Stone Idol you are simply outclassed and redundant. Welder probably needs no introduction. Red has always been a graveyard support color in my list so I think Welder and friends will find a home.
Gamble -->
Goblin Engineer
Golly, Gamble has actually been in my list forever. This cut stings, but everything else felt too important to cut instead. Engineer entombing an artifact is really neat, and I want to try to be crafty with some Stax friends like
Winter Orb and
Tangle Wire.
Squee, Goblin Nabob -->
Feldon of the Third Path
Squee has always been a bit underwhelming and has been a prospective cut for a while now. Still a bit of a softie for the card so hopefully I can find a spot for it someday. Feldon is both neat and seemingly super strong. Plays into reanimation in red very nicely.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance -->
Daretti, Scrap Savant
Generically good PW card begone. Honestly the hardest part of cutting Torch of Goodstuff was knowing how bad it would hurt
Dragonstorm and
Wildfire, but alas, it is what it is.
Soul-Scar Mage -->
Reinforced Ronin
I need to stop adding Soul-Scar. I just never really like him all that much. Ronin, however, checks a lot of boxes for me. Artifact, for one. But more than just that, I like how his self bounce prospectively plays with some fellas currently in my list. Both
Champion of the Parish and
Thalia's Lieutenant benefit from the recurrent bounce. He additionally can pump
Shrine of Burning Rage and
Runaway Steam-Kin repeatedly. Exciting stuff.
Keldon Marauders -->
Scrapwork Mutt
Damn, Marauders has been a mainstay forever now as well. I don't even know why, but I always just liked how he played as a generic aggro beater. Mutt plays nicely with a lot of my supported themes in Red while also being strong in aggro, so it takes the spot.
Rift Bolt -->
Tribal Flames
The 'Funnie Domain Dragon' from earlier was a precursor for things to come. I want to give Domain a shot.
Lava Dart -->
Hammer of Purphoros
I don't cut Lava Dart lightly, I really like the card and how it plays. At this time I want to try more haste enablers, and Hammer fits the bill pretty nicely. It is an artifact, creates artifacts, puts lands in the graveyard, and grants haste all in one.
~~BLUE~~
No big swaps to support artifacts here like in Red. I don't know why, but I have always liked blue to fall more into the "Generically Good" category and don't really have any desire to wedge anymore archetypal support in at this time.
Tidespout Tyrant -->
Evasive Action
Hunky Water-Man my beloved... we were not meant to last. Really quick, I just wanna say how much someday I want to pop off with a Storm Deck that includes Tidespout and Mind's Desire. With the increase of Colorless top-end options, I unfortunately needed to redux the amount of creature finishers in my color sections. Don't think one more Counterspell would be too many and trying to support Domain, so let's give Evasive a shot.
Treasure Cruise -->
Serum Visions
I run
Dig Through Time so I don't think I am gonna miss Cruise all too much. Just looking for a small increase in density of flexible cantrips.
~~WHITE~~
Nothing exciting going on here, unless you find Anthems to be the sickest type of card in Magic.
Akroma, Angel of Wrath -->
Spear of Heliod
Yada yada, reducing top-end, yada yada. Although a bit dated, Akroma still puts work in and her resiliency against some of the best removal colors in my list made her stick around to be a solid threat. I haven't cubed with anthems much at all, but Spear is the one that interested me the most out of all of them.
Force of Virtue was a close second. More curious to see how they play than anything.
Journey to Nowhere -->
Leyline Binding
D O M A I N (Also been watching Pioneer and Binding seems nasty)
~~BLACK~~
Just a couple o' swaperoonis.
Baleful Mastery -->
Shadow Prophecy
I wanted to keep the stronger instant speed removal in Black costing 3 or more. The reduced cost on Mastery was interesting but faster than what I was looking for in the end. Prophecy = Domain = Supported.
Vilis, Broker of Blood -->
Noxious Gearhulk
Black is one of the colors I am ok leaving more top-end creatures in since it is the primary reanimation color of my list. Gearhulk is a generically solid target that can interact with Welder so it takes the spot.
~~MULTICOLOR~~
-Simic:
Hydroid Krasis -->
Growth Spiral
I already run
Prime Speaker Zegana as a Simic top-end that refills the player's hand. Spiral was really fun to play during Standard and I think it can help Domain come online faster.