{"ops":[{"insert":"Introduction"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Welcome to Bant blink, if you like the idea of having a deck that doesn't rely on its commander, has answers for almost anything and takes up all the time at the table then this is the place for you. There are plenty of options for blink decks which you can use to keep your deck fresh and unique, and there is no shortage of ETB effects being printed so every new set will bring new and exciting toys that you can wrack your brain about what to cut to make space for. \nThis particular list is my pet deck that I have been gradually optimizing and blinging out within certain parameters. There are a few expensive cards (One Ring, Rhystic Study etc) that are by no means essential but I pulled them myself so had to include them. There are also cards like Perplexing Chimera or Portal Manipulator that most of the time sit there doing nothing, but the potential for shenanigans is too alluring for me to cut them. \nThe list is marked as Bracket 4 due to MLD and some reasonably early 2 card combos, however due to not having any tutors the deck is more likely a high 3. When goldfishing, the deck generally reaches an insurmountable board state by turns 7-8 on average. \n\nWhy Roon? "},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Simply put, Roon is a Interdimensional, time travelling Rhino Wizard. While he has been power crept there is still some fun interactions he can enable that makes it worth putting down a 4/4 for 5, however, for the most part you won't usually need to cast Roon, he just sits there looking majestic from the command zone. \nThe main reason to play Roon is that he gives you a way to flicker a creature on demand as opposed to the other Bant options which require other pieces to actually do the blinking/flickering. Roon also allows you to flicker opponents creatures at instant speed. Jumbo Cactuar coming at you for lethal? Nope. Game ending creature trigger about to happen when the next phase starts? Maybe next turn if they are lucky. Perplexing Chimera (or Gilded Drake if you're rich or proxying) making its way around the table? I'll take it back, thanks. \nThe return effect can also be stifled or exiled from the stack, if you are that kind of person you can add a few 'end the turn' effects like Sundial of the infinite to the deck and use them in response to the return trigger to permanently remove the creature from the game. It will probably only work once per pod but that does include commanders, which will functionally turn Roon's ability into 'Two mana, return target commander to the command zone'. \nIf you wanted the deck to be more focused on using Roon's effect you could look to add more cards that let you untap him (Kiora's Follower) or double up his activated ability (Illusionists Bracers) but I don't personally think they are worth their spot in the deck.\n\nAlternative commanders"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"If you want to get a bit more bang for your buck from your commander there are 3 other Bant options I recommend that you can look at to lead your deck.\nLagrella, the Magpie"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Lagrella may be a confusing wall of text but its pretty straight forward, exile up to one creature from each players board, when Lagrella leaves they come back and yours is a bit stronger. Lagrella allows you to lock down the biggest threats at the table while also protecting your creatures. When Lagrella is blinked your creature comes back, its ETB triggers, then it gets put back under Lagrella. If they want to remove the value piece you are using they have to remove Lagrella first or do it at instant speed between blinks. Lagrella also fuels her own infinite with Felidar Guardian, allowing you to get infinite ETB effects by using the Felidar trigger on Lagrella. \nIf you were to swap Lagrella in there aren't really any cards you would need to change, Roons spot could easily be taken by any other ETB or blink/flicker effect or you could just leave him in the 99 for style points. \nAang, at the Crossroads"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Probably the strongest of the alternative commanders, Aang when built different is CEDH viable. CEDH lists run a ton of clone effects to try to chain Aang triggers until they have assembled their combos or have most of their deck on the field. They would also not run any CMC 5+ creatures to avoid whiffing with Aang. \nEven without optimizing for him, Aang can be a ton of fun to switch in. Most of the creatures in the deck are 4 cmc or less so there are no shortage of targets, and if you hit the right cards you can chain a few triggers together which feels awesome. If you were to swap in Aang but didnt wanted to keep it bracket 3/4 I would take out the more expensive creatures and replace them with clones or other blink ETBs like Restoration Angel, the Virtue of Knowledge would also be changed to Katara the Fearless or Roaming Throne if you have the disposable income.\nGaladriel, Light of Valinor"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The most popular Bant blink commander according to EDHrec is Galadriel. The mana and scry/draw options she provides make the game feel buttery smooth once she comes down and if you can flicker her each mode can be activated multiple times per turn. If you were to play Galadriel you would want to add more early ramp options to get her out as soon as possible and probably more green payoffs to make better use of her 3 green mana trigger. \n\nBlink vs Flicker"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"A Blink effect is one that brings the creature back immediately (e.g. Ephemerate, Emiel the blessed, Momentary Blink) while a Flicker effect is one that returns the creature at the end of the turn (e.g. Roon of the hidden realm, Parting Gust, Charming Prince)\n\nHow does it win?"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Infinite Mana"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The first step of winning the game is getting your infinite mana engine online. This is done in a few ways but the main way is to have a land un-tapper (Peregrine Drake or Cloud of Faeries) out, then blinking it with a repeatable blink effect (Emiel the blessed, Deadeye Navigator, Eldrazi Displacer) to net yourself mana on each blink. \nNote that for Cloud of Faeries to net you mana you will either need to have an ETB doubler or 1-2 bounce lands on the field, otherwise it will end up mana neutral\n\nDraw your deck"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Once you have your mana sorted you can use your repeatable blink effects to dump that mana into card draw ETBs to draw until you find one of your game enders. \n\nActually winning"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"There are two main win conditions in the deck - Resource Denial and Token swarm. \nIf you have your infinite mana engine online you can blink Agent of Treachery to steal all of your opponents permanents or use Venser, Shaper Savant to bounce them all back to your opponents hands. Similarly Aether Channeler, Solitude and Preston, the Vanisher can bounce or exile all creatures but will leave other permanents on board. Usually at this point if you can present the loop, explain the combo and show off the counter spells you have in hand to protect it you will convince your opponents to concede and shuffle up again. \nThe other option you can lean into is Token swarm. Aether Channeler, Astral Dragon and Blessed Sanctuary can all create infinite token creatures which assuming you can survive another turn cycle will close out the game. Soulherder can also become infinitely big and one tap your opponents if need be. \nThe final win condition is blinking White plume adventurer to journey into the undercity infinitely. This lets you deal 5 damage per go around to a player which will eventually kill the table. \n"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Mulligans"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"When it comes to mulligans you want to have at least 1-2 early game plays and the mana required to play those. 3-4 lands is ideal, 2 is passable if you have multiple good 2 drops and will be able to cast them such as Coiling Oracle, Helpful Hunter or Charming Prince. \nIdeally early game you will have a ramp piece, a draw piece and a repeatable blink effect with the lands to cast them. \nSurveils or Fetches into surveils are ideal lands since they will give you slightly more control over what you will be drawing in the early turns. \nA god hand could theoretically go infinite on turn 3-4 however you don't want to keep a greedy combo hand with only 1-2 off colour lands\n\nWhy I chose certain cards"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Flexibility is king"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Given that there are so many options for blink decks a card needs to be particularly strong to make the cut. \nAether channeler being removal, card draw and a token swarm win con is busted. \nCharming prince giving a scry 2 early or a flicker later (or both with an ETB doubler) means it always feels good to draw. \nWhile there are many panharmonicon effects I went with Starfield Vocalist and Virtue of Knowledge because they have their 2 mana alternate options that have their own use cases. \nParting Gust can either be removal or a flicker for your own creature. \nAstral Dragon lets you copy any non-creature permanent, not just your own.\nPerplexing Chimera lets you steal the best things your opponents cast and return it to your side of the board. We can then return it to our side of the board by using Roon, The Eternal Wanderer or Eldrazi Displacers abilities, or in very specific circumstances you can target it when you blink Flickerwisp or Charming Prince. \nMDFCs are always strong but Glasspool Mimic being able to copy any of your own ETBs is chefs kiss (be careful of the legend rule though)\n\nDraw without drawing"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Drawing a ton of cards is nice, but drawing lands when you have already made your land drop feels pretty rough. Coiling Oracle, Risen Reef, Clifftop Lookout and Ignis Scientia give you a way to comb through your entire deck and put any lands directly on to the battlefield. Eventually you will hit your reliquary tower and can safely pass the turn without discarding. \nIn a similar fashion Aang at the crossroads will let you cycle through your entire deck selectively choosing which creatures to put onto the battlefield without worrying about decking out. \n\nPet cards"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"As mentioned above there are a few cards that simply will not be cut under any circumstance. Are they the best? Hell no. Are they fun? Hell yes. \nPortal Manipulator is a card I will jam in any deck that runs Azorius colours. If an opponent full swings you can force all those creatures to whoever else you choose, bonus points if you send them at a player they were making deals with to take you down. Be careful though because it requires you to target creatures so hexproof/shroud will screw you.\nPerplexing Chimera simply existing on the board will completely warp how the game is played. Outside of a boardwipe, or sac outlet there isn't much stopping it as long as Roon is out too. Take whatever you think is the best option each turn cycle, convince the table to steal each others stuff, then when its almost your turn again flicker it and it will come back under your control. \nBlessed Sanctuary is mainly there to create infinite unicorns which annoyingly don't have an official token, the no non-combat damage effect is icing on the cake if you have a lot of burn in your meta however it won't stop loss of life effects. 5 mana is pretty pricey though. \nStonehorn Dignitary is a solid card in any blink control deck however aside from preventing your opponents winning it doesn't necessarily further your own game plan. That said its a fellow Rhino Solider so hes in there for the long haul\n\nWhere are the tutors?"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Being in green means you have no shortage of tutors to choose from to get all of your combo pieces much earlier. I prefer not using tutors as I believe it will make the deck feel stale if I am just using them to maximize the efficiency of getting the same couple of cards every game. If you are more focused on winning quickly or want to play in a higher power pod, go nuts on the tutors. \nOne exception I am looking to slot in is Wargate since it is very on flavor for Roon and is the most flexible single tutor if you can get the pips for it. \n\nLand Base"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Colours"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The deck is pretty pip intensive so multi-coloured lands are important. On a budget you could look to remove some of the cards with multiple coloured pips or put in more tap lands and just play a turn behind. Something to note is that the Eldrazi Displacer requires a colourless pip to activate its ability, so to make it go infinite with a Peregrine drake combo you must have at least 2 lands that tap for colourless mana unless you have an ETB doubler on board. \nEven though there are less overall green pips in the deck a large amount of the decks ramp relies on green pips so having them early will be important to being able to ramp effectively. \nBounce lands are important for Cloud of Faeries to act as an infinite mana engine, however be aware that if you have Virtue of Knowledge or Starfield Vocalist out you will need to bounce 2 lands to hand\n\nUtility Lands"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Theres a lot of lands you could swap in to the deck to make it stronger. The key utility lands I'm currently running include:\nArcane Lighthouse - Prevents hexproof and shroud which are the biggest issues for the deck \nAlchemist's Refuge - Lets you cast stuff at instant speed, the mana cost is pretty steep normally but when you have infinite mana at instant speed anyway its a no brainer\nReliquary Tower - You will regularly be drawing most of your deck, theres a little recursion but not much so better to just have no max hand size \n"}]}