{"ops":[{"insert":"Deck's description"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThis deck plans to leverage having a 2 mana dork in the command zone in order to ramp for 2 or more mana on turn 3 and get to 8 mana on turn 4. From there, the deck aims to drop big bomb after big bomb to overwhelm and control the table while building a big board or some sort of engine that will end the game.\n\nHow does this deck generate value?"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nCard Advantage"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThe commander comes with a rummage ability, which gives you some ability to hand-sculpt a bit early on. From there, card draw tends to come in the form of engines, like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Shantotto, Tactician Magician"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Tanufel Rimespeaker"}},{"insert":", or big draw spells like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Will of the Temur"}},{"insert":". Deck also has some ways to generate virtual card draw, like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Inspired Skypainter // Maestro's Gift"}},{"insert":" or alternate casting costs that lets us reuse cards from the graveyard, like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ignite the Future"}},{"insert":".\n\nSince the deck only gets to play a single land per turn, if you start drawing a lot, your hand will inevitably start getting filled with more lands than you know what to do with. Due to this, the discard effects the deck runs are almost always best used by discarding a land in order to get something else. This includes the commander, which can be flipped back in order to cycle lands away (note that you first get the mana from the backside and then flip, so you are only losing 1 mana this turn and 1 mana the following turn to flip back by doing this). Albeit not a discard effect per se, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Valakut Awakening // Valakut Stoneforge"}},{"insert":" is probably the best effect for this, since it puts all those extra lands in the bottom of the library in one fell swoop and the deck has almost no built in way to shuffle.\n\nRamp"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nAs explained earlier, the whole idea the deck revolves around is dropping the commander on turn 2, flipping it on turn 3 and playing a 4 mana ramp spell and thus get to 8 mana on turn 4. For this to work, you need to be careful with your lands. Not only you need to get to 4 by turn 4, but also you need to make sure that on turn 2 you have one land that can tap for red and another that can tap for blue. Without that, we cannot cast the commander and flip it the following turn.\n\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Big Score"}},{"insert":" and the likes can work as a temporary replacement for a mana rock that allows you to move the deck a bit and also get to 8 mana on turn 4. They are also much better top decks later on, so think of them as glue that keeps the deck together.\n\nNon-legendary clone effects like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Irenicus's Vile Duplication"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Spark Double"}},{"insert":" can also act as ramp in turn 4 by copying the commander's backside, while also being much, much more useful later on.\n\nThe deck also runs a lot of effects that mana cheat in some capacity, like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Aminatou's Augury"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sunbird's Invocation"}},{"insert":", or generate big amounts of mana, like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Neheb, the Eternal"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Goldspan Dragon"}},{"insert":", that helps us with chaining a lot of these big spells back to back.\n\nThanks to a mix of all of this, it is not rare to end up casting 40 mana worth of spells in a single turn later on. The only moment this deck is really weak to a counterspell effect or to spot removal is in turns 4 and 5, past that, you just don't care much unless the counterspell somehow disrupts the flow of cards and leave you with an empty hand. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mana Sculpt"}},{"insert":" in particular is great to have early on, since it is enabled by the commander's backside and it opens up very explosive turns once you get all that mana back the following turn.\n\nHow does this deck interact and stay alive?"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nOne of the strongest things this deck can do is dropping an asymmetrical boardwipe, like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Call Forth the Tempest"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Disaster Radius"}},{"insert":" on turns 4 or 5 in order to regain all the tempo lost ramping.\n\nThe most delicate turns for this deck are turns 4 and 5, were you are dropping your first big spells. Getting countered there or eating a removal hurts a lot (way more than getting your commander removed early), so not using all the mana available and leaving one to three mana open is always a good choice. The deck runs a healthy amount of redirects and counterspells and gets to draw a lot, so you will probably see at least two of them in a game.\n\nThis deck gets to run a lot of removal engines, cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Tyrant's Familiar"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Cityscape Leveler"}},{"insert":", that can slow down the game a lot for the opponents and control the table quite well, specially when you start cloning them.\n\nOne very strong line the deck has once you are left in a 1vs1 or once the opponents are low enough on resources is using "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Pinnacle Monk // Mystic Peak"}},{"insert":" to reccur "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Season of Weaving"}},{"insert":" over and over. You can do this by either copying the Monk and using the etb from the copy to bring it back, or by bouncing back the original and replaying it, which lets you copy something else. Cloning mana rocks can help you get to the critical amount of mana needed to play an actual threat and start cloning it over and over while still bouncing back everything else.\n\nHow does this deck win?"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThis deck wins by slowing down the game enough that a bunch of big fliers or some burn effects get to close down the game.\n\nCloning is one of the best ways this deck has of getting a critical mass of threatening game pieces. The best card to ever do it is "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Storm of Saruman"}},{"insert":", that acts as a clone engine for the deck and even gets to create clones of legendary creatures. It can also copy non-creature permanents, which can lead to very fun boardstates."},{"insert":{"card-link":"Inspired Skypainter // Maestro's Gift"}},{"insert":" is also amazing in this regard, since you can make a copy of itself first, attack with it so both re-prepare, and then start dumping mana in copying big creatures instead of casting.\n\nThe best dedicated finishers this deck runs are:\n\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ovika, Enigma Goliath"}},{"insert":" generates so many 1/1s that you can overwhelm any table after a few turns. Since it functionally has hexproof, it is not that hard to convert casting it into a win a couple of turns later."},{"attributes":{"list":"true"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"This only works against dedicated artifact decks, but"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hellkite Tyrant"}},{"insert":" can steal a win out of nowhere. The deck also runs a lot of treasure gen and several artifacts, so you don't even need to steal the whole 20 to get there."},{"attributes":{"list":"true"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Magmatic Force"}},{"insert":" doubles down as a removal engine and a threat that can slowly grind down games. This is also one of the best clone targets the deck runs."},{"attributes":{"list":"true"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hullbreaker Horror"}},{"insert":" once copied once or twice just bans non-lands for your opponents."},{"attributes":{"list":"true"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Thor, God of Thunder"}},{"insert":" on its own is a worse Magmatic Force when it comes to finishing down the game, but once you have "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Irenicus's Vile Duplication"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Multiversal Recruitment"}},{"insert":", either in hand or in the graveyard, it becomes one of the fastest threats the deck has. The newly created clone can exile the clone effect you just casted, so by dumping all the mana, you get to have 1 Thor for every 4 mana you have, and each Thor deals 4 damage each time you cast the clone effect."},{"attributes":{"list":"true"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Surge to Victory"}},{"insert":" with 5 or so fliers can functionally end the game if you have a big enough spell in the graveyard, something like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Aminatou's Augury"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Blatant Thievery"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Call Forth the Tempest"}},{"insert":"."},{"attributes":{"list":"true"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Normally, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Tellah, Great Sage"}},{"insert":" is there to draw, but with"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Shatterskull Smashing // Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass"}},{"insert":"it can blow every opponent at once, specially if you also combine it with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Neheb, the Eternal"}},{"insert":"."},{"attributes":{"list":"true"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nNotable exclusions"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nExtra turn spells: They are too explosive with this deck, and chaining them is quite easy with the deck as is."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Game-changers: In order for this deck to fit with the power level my usual playgroup is at, I decided to not include any. If I had to, the only one that is an obvious upgrade is "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Fierce Guardianship"}},{"insert":". The rest are either mediocre, fast mana options that I don't think belong in B3, or would require some actual changes to the deck in order to make them fit. Even though it isn't a game-changer."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Other free interaction: Mainly "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Deflecting Swat"}},{"insert":". Same issue FG has. They are also both very expensive."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Ways of gaining life: I like that the deck is weak to burn. The deck can be a bit frustrating sometimes when it opens up strong, that every point of damage matters helps with that a bit."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"}]}