{"ops":[{"insert":"The standard mana curve is overrated; the literal inverse is where it's at. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Codie, Vociferous Codex"}},{"insert":" wants us to cast big spells, so we oblige, casting aside the weak and pathetic low-cost spells in the process.\n\nThe goal of the deck is to use Codie to cheat out big spells. Since most instants and sorceries in this deck are 5+ mana, that usually means we hit big. Unlike with a standard mana curve, the bigger the spell you play, the more likely you'll hit a bigger cascade. Play a 7+ drop with Codie, and you're almost guaranteed to get big value; do that enough times, and you win the game.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"The Lifelines:"},{"insert":"\nObviously, we can't just fill our deck with massive spells and hope we live, so there are a few cards that help make things more consistent without affecting the overall game plan.\n\nWe allow a few permanents, namely "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sol Ring"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mana Vault"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lightning Greaves"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Robe of Stars"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Darksteel Plate"}},{"insert":". The mana rocks are self-explanatory, but the equipment serves the sole purpose of keeping Codie alive, which is important. If we can't play any of these, then that means Codie is alive and well, and if we can, then they'll keep him alive or ramp hard; it's a win-win. We also can't cascade into them, so they don't hurt our main game plan.\n\nNext are the suspend cards. Suspend allows us to spend our early and extra mana on big spells. If we can cast them early, we're happy; if we cascade into them, we're also happy. The primary cards in this are "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Inevitable Betrayal"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Profane Tutor"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ancestral Vision"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Wheel of Fate"}},{"insert":". All of which we can suspend for cheap or play after casting any spell with Codie to skip the suspend timer. There are also the recurrent suspend spells: "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Chronomantic Escape"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Venture Forth"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Suspended Sentence"}},{"insert":". Unlike the previous suspend spells, these are easily the worst cards to cascade into, but their added value makes them better than most 2-3 cost spells that we could have put in, and they synergize well with our goal of staying alive long enough to play our heavy hitters.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Game Plan:"},{"insert":"\n\tTurn 0 - Take a hand with 3+ lands\n\tTurn 1 - If you're lucky, play "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sol Ring"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mana Vault"}},{"insert":", or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ancestral Vision"}},{"insert":" \n\tTurn 2 - If you're lucky, play "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lightning Greaves"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Robe of Stars"}},{"insert":", or suspend a card\n\tTurn 3 or 4 - Play "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Codie, Vociferous Codex"}},{"insert":" \n\tTurn 4 or 5 - Tap Codie, play a spell\n\tTurn 6+ - Keep playing bigger spells until you win\n\nPlaying your first spell if Codie is the real tipping point. The earliest you can play a spell with Codie is turn 4 with 5 mana. It's pretty easy to miss that, though, and it's much more likely to be playing a 6-drop on turn 5 or a 7-drop on turn 6. There are also outliers, of course, for when you draw cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sol Ring"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Crystal Vein"}},{"insert":", which speed things up dramatically.\n\nStarting with enough lands is the important part; you only need a single big spell to get the ball rolling, so taking a hand with 4 or even 5 lands isn't always a bad idea. Always muligan on 2 lands or fewer and only take 3-land hands if you have a decent spell to ramp into, which will probably be most 3-land hands. Afterwards, just keep playing big spells, with or without Codie (preferably with). The win condition is to play big spells until you win on attrition, or you find a finisher like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Approach of the Second Sun"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Time Stretch"}},{"insert":", or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Curse of the Cabal"}},{"insert":".\n\nBy the way, the best cards to search for with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bring to Light"}},{"insert":" is "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Decorum Dissertation"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Urban Evolution"}},{"insert":", or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Time Wipe"}},{"insert":" if you're in a pinch.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Budget Version:"},{"insert":"\nThere are a lot of expensive big spells that you need to make this deck work, but there is a fair amount of excess here as well. Obviously, you can cut down a bunch on the expensive lands and take more decent dual-lands and tri-lands. While this does reduce the consistency of the deck, it won't be by a huge amount.\n\nFor other cards, there are a few you can easily remove. Namely, the cards that have the least impact for their cost are: "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mana Vault"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Jeska's Will"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Robe of Stars"}},{"insert":". Although if you're cutting "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Robe of Stars"}},{"insert":" adding a few more ways to protect Codie is probably a good idea.\n\nThen, for the big spells, it doesn't really matter what they are, as long as they do something big. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Call Forth the Tempest"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rise of the Eldrazi"}},{"insert":" in particular can be replaced to massively cut costs. Pick your favorites and replace others with cheaper options, such as: "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Storm Herd"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Inspiring Refrain"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rousing Refrain"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Profane Transfusion"}},{"insert":", or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Great Intelligence's Plan"}},{"insert":". \n\n"}]}