{"ops":[{"insert":"*It is my current contention that this deck is a HIGH3 or LOW4 in terms of bracket strength. In many cases it does not run staples, and would likely lose in the face of a good 4 deck. The argument that it is a 4 rests on the combos possible with Dualcaster mage. If that presents a problem for opponents, swapping that card out almost definitely makes it a 3* \n\nThe focus of this deck is to control and/or deflect all opponents until you can shoot them all with a massive space laser. It revolved around "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hinata, Dawn-Crowned"}},{"insert":" 's cost-reduction abilities to out-value everyone else at the table. This deck is EXTREMELY pip-heavy. To play it successfully, you want to be able to produce multiples of any of your three color pips at any given time. Rainbow lands are important, and so are duals. Pay attention to what lands you are tapping and when; it WILL be important. \n\nPlay this deck if you: \nenjoy reading and learning all of your opponents cards as they are still on the stack"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Like interacting or having the ability to interact with most things, whether on the stack or battlefield "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Like casting big splashy spells"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"enjoy politicking "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nIn your opening hand you ideally want all three of your colors, a way to draw cards, and some sort of interaction/protection for Hinata. Hinata is"},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"bold":true},"insert":" KILL ON SIGHT! "},{"insert":"If your opponents have any experience playing against Hinata, they will likely focus you down as soon as they can. For this reason, the deck plays a lot of protection pieces in addition to counter spells (more on this later). Do not play Hinata unless you will immediately be able to protect it. Getting set back and having to recast your commander for 6 will be a problem. This also means that you want to reduce people's hatred for Hinata as much as possible. Play reactively until you have the win secured. This deck doesn't function optimally without Hinata on the board, and most of the costs and combos I will discuss implicitly assume you have Hinata securely on the battlefield.\n\nCard draw engines: "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mystic Remora"}},{"insert":" "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Whirlwind of Thought"}},{"insert":" "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Voracious Bibliophile"}},{"insert":" some of the more powerful ones. Mystic Remora is dependent on your opponents playing a lot of noncreature spells, but if they do you will draw a lot. Voracious Bibliophile is an essential piece of the deck. It not only turns all of your counterspells into cantrips, but it also means that a "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Distorting Wake"}},{"insert":" can draw you a card for every permanent you remove from the board. Be careful not to accidentally deck yourself with it though. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Trouble in Pairs"}},{"insert":" puts in the WORK. People don't look at it like a game changer, but if anyone is doing anything multiple times in a turn, you draw. It refills your hand easily. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Soulfire Eruption"}},{"insert":" can impulse draw a high amount of cards for 3 red mana (if you have enough targets).\n\nMana explosion: This deck only really works if you can generate huge amounts of mana at will. Hinata's cost reduction gives you a leg up on casting spells, but it can't automatically win you the game. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Jeska's Will"}},{"insert":" produces a lot of mana (only if your opponents have a lot of cards in hand though) and impulse draws 3. If you have your commander out, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Reality Spasm"}},{"insert":" untaps all of your mana-producers for 2 mana at instant speed. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mana Geyser"}},{"insert":" helps if your opponents are tapped out. Both Geyser and Jeska's only produce red mana, but luckily most of the win-cons require a lot of red mana. Just be sure you are leaving other colors open when you cast either card. All three of these cards can go infinite with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Soulfire Grand Master"}},{"insert":" . If you have SGM and Hinata out, Reality Spasm goes infinite with 7 mana sources. Geyser and Jeska's depend on opponent information to determine how easily you go infinite with them (if at all). "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Kozilek's Command"}},{"insert":" deserves to be played in every Hinata deck. It requires double colorless, but that requirement isn't impossible to achieve with pain and filter lands, the talismans, and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sol Ring"}},{"insert":" . With Hinata out, Kozilek's Command turns every card in ANY graveyard into 1 colorless mana in the form of an eldrazi spawn. For only the cost of 2 colorless, you can produce absurd amounts of generic mana at instant speed. The graveyard cost pays for the whole rest of the card, whether you are making a ton of spawn tokens, exiling a creature, or effectively "},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"italic":true,"bold":true},"insert":"SETTING YOUR DECK"},{"insert":" by scrying for a number equal to the number of cards in graveyard you exile. If you didn't have a win before, you should have one after casting KC. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Resonating Lute"}},{"insert":" is a new addition that helps out a ton with mana production. Most of your spells are going to be instants and sorceries , and you are already ramping hard with artifacts to pay for Hinata and your other high-cost enchantments. Even if Hinata gets removed to oblivion, Lute can keep you in the game. It also presents the hilarious scenario of you tapping a mountain or plains to pay for a counterspell. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Battlefield Thaumaturge"}},{"insert":" is Hinata jr. It only reduces costs based on creature targets, but if you have both it and Hinata out, your "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Aurelia's Fury"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Comet Storm"}},{"insert":" suddenly deal more damage for each creature they target. In a pinch, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Irenicus's Vile Duplication"}},{"insert":" gives you another Hinata or Thaumaturge to almost entirely eliminate colorless costs on your spells that target. \n\nUsing your mana: Once you have generated absurd amounts of mana and reduced your costs into the ground, the time has come to spend it. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Crackle with Power"}},{"insert":" is your go-to, but "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Jaya's Immolating Inferno"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Comet Storm"}},{"insert":" both work if you really do have infinite mana (or life totals are low). "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Drown in Dreams"}},{"insert":" can also effectively kill 2 players at once (drawing one out and milling the other), again if you have produced enough mana to make it happen. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Return the Favor"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Dualcaster Mage"}},{"insert":" both kick your win-cons into high gear, doubling their effect for 2 and 3 mana respectively. Dualcaster also presents infinite combos with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Irenicus's Vile Duplication"}},{"insert":" , "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sublime Epiphany"}},{"insert":" , and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Three Steps Ahead"}},{"insert":" . IVD and TSA both produce infinite Dualcasters, and Sublime Epiphany can do that as well as draw an opponent to death (recommended only if opponents are tapped out and you can respond in the face of potential free interaction). \n\nProtection: Hinata is integral to the function of this deck. Because of this, protection is paramount. Unfortunately this potentially reduces the deck's capacity for other interaction and function, so the goal is to be as efficient as possible. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Apostle's Blessing"}},{"insert":" represents free protection for Hinata, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Shelter"}},{"insert":" gives protection and replaces itself for 1 mana, and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sejiri Shelter // Sejiri Glacier"}},{"insert":" is a tapped land that can be a 1 mana protection if you draw it later in the game. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Valorous Stance"}},{"insert":" is the most limited protection spell offered, but doubling as removal for big creatures means it can sit in hand and fulfill either role when you need it to. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"March of Swirling Mist"}},{"insert":" "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Change of Plans"}},{"insert":" "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Disorder in the Court"}},{"insert":" are the optimal protection pieces for Hinata. Cast very cheaply (thanks to Hinata's cost reduction), these spells deny all possibilities of Hinata being removed from the board because you are temporarily removing it instead. Be careful though, whenever Hinata is phased or temporarily exiled you will lose your cost reductions; plan accordingly. \n\nCounterspells: If you need them to (and you will), counterspells can play the roll of protection pieces for Hinata. The reason for their inclusion, however, is to protect your win. Cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcane Denial"}},{"insert":" , "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Stubborn Denial"}},{"insert":" , "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Delay"}},{"insert":" ,"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Negate"}},{"insert":" , and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Spider-Sense"}},{"insert":" can be cast for 1 blue, protecting your combo from counterspells or stopping an opponent's win from resolving. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mindbreak Trap"}},{"insert":" is currently the only free spell in the deck (and it's conditionally free) but can be cast for 2 blue if you are exiling multiple spells from the stack. Notably, it gets around \"can't be countered\" cards and is the ultimate stop for any storm cards (and works well in the face of cascade). I've already talked about Three Steps and Sublime Epiphany as combo pieces, but they are also just good value when cast with Hinata on the battlefield. The same can be said for "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mystic Confluence"}},{"insert":" , which provides some modal adaptability to the situation. \n\nTutors: This deck is heavy on tutors. It's weak on the battlefield (10 creatures including Hinata) and should get attacked down quickly if opponents know what they're doing. The tutors are included because this deck is first and foremost built to \"do the thing\" (win). Many of them can be easily and happily removed and replaced with card draw or interaction. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Gifts Ungiven"}},{"insert":" gives you the opportunity to ask your opponents how they would like to lose. Hinata reduces its cost, and if you have a "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mavinda, Students' Advocate"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lier, Disciple of the Drowned"}},{"insert":" on the battlefield or a "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Change the Equation"}},{"insert":" in hand, it scarcely matters which cards they choose to put into the graveyard. The only combo-piece that can't be recurred is Dualcaster Mage. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mystical Tutor"}},{"insert":" only gets you one thing, but it's probably the only thing you're missing or an otherwise board-destabilizing piece. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Solve the Equation"}},{"insert":" is its more fair cousin. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Muddle the Mixture"}},{"insert":" tutors for many of the combo pieces and also much of the mass-removal present in the deck. It's the reason the deck runs "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Red Sun's Twilight"}},{"insert":" instead of By Force, which would otherwise probably be a better card for the slot. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Step Through"}},{"insert":" cycles to tutor for Dualcaster or Lier (or Archmage Emeritus, but there are very few scenarios where that's the optimal tutor). With enough cards in graveyard, Kozilek's Command can effectively become a tutor that also sets the rest of your deck. \n\nPowerful inclusions: "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Feather, the Redeemed"}},{"insert":" recurs all of your protection spells and can also recur multi-target removal if necessary. With Feather, Hinata, and one protection spell you become very difficult to interact with. It also locks the board down when combined with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Disorder in the Court"}},{"insert":" , "},{"insert":{"card-link":"March of Swirling Mist"}},{"insert":", or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Reality Spasm"}},{"insert":" . \n\nSome interesting things: \n\t"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Aurelia's Fury"}},{"insert":" can tap down any number of creatures for WR if Hinata is on the battlefield. For the same cost it also serves as pseudo-Silence jr, although only preventing noncreature spells. If you have multiple cost reducers out, as stated above, you can use each targeted creature to deal extra damage to another target source. Or just deal more than 1 damage for free to each creature, or a combination of the two depending on the context\n\t"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Comet Storm"}},{"insert":" can be an asymmetrical board-wipe if necessary, although this is still mana-intensive even with Hinata out. Usually if you need to wipe the board then you'll use "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Distorting Wake"}},{"insert":" \n\t"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lier, Disciple of the Drowned"}},{"insert":" protects your wincons and gives you really good graveyard recursion, but you sacrifice the ability to counter opponent spells except for your single copy of "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mindbreak Trap"}},{"insert":" and now "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ertai's Meddling"}},{"insert":" \n\tIf you have "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lier, Disciple of the Drowned"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mavinda, Students' Advocate"}},{"insert":" out and you use either you cast a spell targeting one of your own creatures "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Feather, the Redeemed"}},{"insert":" can cause the spell to return to your hand at the next end step REGARDLESS of Lier and Mavinda saying the card will be exiled. \n\t"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Magma Opus"}},{"insert":" is really just a draw 2 spell that gets to tap down 2 things. You will rarely have the mana to be able to concentrate the damage onto fewer than 4 targets. \n\t[Currently not in the deck but still interesting: The hope is that "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Decoy Gambit"}},{"insert":" is a 1-mana draw 3 spell. If you have Hinata out and there are creatures that people want to keep on the battlefield, great. It seems like it will be SUPER situationally dependent, both on the decks opponents are running and the board state at the time of casting.]\n\tThe Landbase is currently suboptimal, but it's been functional. No real Fetches or Surveil Lands, but the amount of passable rainbow lands and filter lands has been fine so far. \n\t"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Divergent Equation"}},{"insert":" gets reduced by X by Hinata, so it can return a huge amount of spells from the graveyard. \n\nDISCLAIMER: This deck can easily become oppressive - if you want to prevent people from getting upset with you, table politics are very important. Play reactively, remove or counter powerful things but don't get excited and start spamming removal just because you can. It's also likely in your best interest to refrain from resetting the whole board when given the opportunity (this will paint an enormous target on you). Remove engines and power pieces and let the table fight between each other while you search for your death laser from space (crackle with power). If you are able to politic until a 1v1 the game is probably yours. That isn't always necessary, though, as there are plenty of ways for this deck to combo-kill 2 or 3 opponents at once.\n"}]}