{"ops":[{"insert":"This is a deck based around scry and +1/+1 counter synergies. Also this isn't a deck I intend to build on paper. I mostly play on digital so the cost of the cards was not taken into account when making the deck. This is a very low mana curve a crisp 2.31 average mana cost. Instead of focusing on a couple clear finishers or higher value plays, we will focus on constantly triggering scry and +1/+1 counter synergies to accumulate value over time, allowing us to slip under the radar and draw as little attention as possible, slowly building up a self-sufficient and robust boardstate that can protect itself and swing for decent amounts of damage to keep up pressure late game. This also means that rebuilding after a wipe or a heavy amount of focus is very doable, and that more often than not, we'll be able to find a different path to victory if the previous one did not work.\n\nGeneral gameplan and our Commander"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" \nOur commander is"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arwen Undómiel"}},{"insert":" . She's a 2/2 Noble Elf that costs {G}{U}. She's very cheap, and can be consistently brought in on turn 2 without issues. She helps kickstart the deck, and while her utility lessens in the mid to late game, her presence is very much welcome but not necessary past the midgame. She is our main way to get +1/+1 counters during the early game and kickstart synergies. Her main effect reads as: \"Whenever you scry, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.\" \n\nThis is very simple and very useful and benefits from having a high quantity of scry over having a good quality of scry. This deck has many turn 3 options for repeatable scry, setting up our +1/+1 counter engine and eventually our draw engine as well. But we'll talk about those in more detail later. \n\nOverall, Arwen is a key piece in getting this deck moving, but still not the sole piece making it work. For as long as she is not targeted and destroyed early game, by turn 5~6 your boardstate should've attained a certain ammount of self-sufficiency, making it so if Arwen is later removed, it doesn't bring the deck down with her. \n\nManabase and the first 3 turns"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThis deck is based on the scry mechanic, what gives us a lot of opportunities to manipulate the top of our deck and in consequence, facilitate better draws. Therefore, I have chosen to run 38 total lands. This gives us a very consistent 2~3 lands in our opening hands. The ideal opening hand contains three lands, but the amount of cheap filtering in this deck usually allows 2 land openers to quickly find their third land before or during turn 3. \n\nOur utility lands mostly consist of those that can scry for us when whe have no other method available (or for when we have nothing better to use our mana for) and is mostly focused on guaranteeing blue and green mana on turn two so we can summon our commander. Within the lands, some important ones to always look out for are "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rivendell"}},{"insert":" (2 mana for a Scry 2 is very useful, specially as a land) and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Path of Ancestry"}},{"insert":" (we have a couple nobles and elves in this deck, meaning that we can trigger the scry often). \n\nWhen it comes to our first turns, they will all be pretty similar each game. We focus on having blue and green mana available to summon Arwen on turn two. Turn 3 is when things get more interesting. \n\nOur third turn will dictate whether we'll have to lay low and careful, or if we will be allowed to push for more value early on. We have useful 1 drops, most of our ramp options are 3 drops and most of our scry engines are 3 drops, so we have quite the crowded turn. \n\nUsually, if we have no more land cards in our hand, it is advised to aim for one of the scry engines to ensure we do not miss a land drop on turn 4. Otherwise, if we have cheap filtering and scrying cards on hand (like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Opt"}},{"insert":" ), we can choose to play some ramp or to prepare our draw engines. \n\nSo in summary for this section: Our first two turns will always be pretty similar, and the biggest decision happens on turn 3, where we have to choose to either prepare scry engines, draw engines or ramp to set us up for the midgame. \n\nTurn 3 options"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Scry Engines"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nWe have many ways to get constant Scry triggers every turn, most of these will happen during our upkeep. While I will not cover all of them, I'll point you towards some of them and how we can use them: \n\nFirst we have "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Thassa, God of the Sea"}},{"insert":". She's simple enough, an enchantment that is indestructible and that scries for 1 during our upkeep. She specifically has the advantages of later becoming a 5/5. what gives us a good blocker and later a good attacker to close out games with. Her activated ability that makes creatures unblockable is also part of why she's good to have in the late game, as it will allow us to force through our creatures (that likely have a lot of +1/+1 counters on them). \n\nSecond we can point out at "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Princess Yue"}},{"insert":" . She's a 3/2 that when killed turns into a colorless land. But the main thing we like about Yue is that she can tap herself to scry 2. This is very useful specially during the mid to late game as we get more synergies on board that would enjoy being triggered during our opponent's turn. I'll go over some of these synergies later. But by herself, she's a decent body that doubles as ramp when killed and that can provide us with a free, repeatable scry from the safety of our lands. \n\nDraw Engines"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nWe have a couple options when it comes to drawing cards. We have a bunch of filtering and around 7 cards in this deck that can generate repeated draws. We will be looking at the ones that are, by far, the strongest and most consistent at it. \n\nFirst we have "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Pensive Professor"}},{"insert":". An absolute beast of a card for this deck. He can sometimes be a bit tricky to cast on turn 3 if you are unlucky and only get one source of blue mana, but the moment he hits the field he becomes a key part of your strategy for that game. His increment ability means that the first and sometimes the second card we play after him will replace themselves. But he truly explodes when we start scrying. Due to how many cheap scry cards we have, and the many options we have for repeatable scry, Arwen can put a lot of counters on him really fast, what translates into "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"a lot"},{"insert":" of card draw and a big body to block and attack with! His only weakness is that hebecomes a magnet for removal really quickly. But I can guarantee you that you can more often than not, get at least 4+ cards off of him before people start to consider removing him. \n\nSecond we have "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Matoya, Archon Elder"}},{"insert":". He's less explosive when compared to the Pensive Professor, but he's just as reliable and is much better at keeping a low profile. Another advantage he has over Pensive Professor (other than being less of a removal magnet) is that he doesn't need counters on him to draw cards. He doesn't hog the counters you get from Arwen and other sources, meaning that you can put those counters somewhere, where they can be more useful, and still keep drawing a lot of cards per turn. \n\nRamp"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nWe have Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Cultivate and similar, more standard ramp options. But we still have some very fun on-theme options to increase the amount of mana we have access to. And while this deck is more than capable of just playing on curve without any additional help, making good use of these is crucial to have a successful endgame. \n\nFirst, we look at "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Galadriel of Lothlórien"}},{"insert":". Her first ability is quite useless to us, but her second ability more than makes up for it. Her effect works like a charm when you are constantly scrying. It is not unreasonable to get 2 or 3 lands from her every turn during the midgame. It is hard to not get value out of pulling lands for free. And, since you (almost) always know what is at the top of your deck, you rarely have to reveal non-land cards to your opponents, getting all of the benefits of free lands while rarely ever running into the issue of giving free information to your opponents. \n\nSecond, we have "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Topiary Lecturer"}},{"insert":". She's pretty straightfoward. She has increment just like our Pensive Professor. The more counters we give her, the more mana she can be tapped for, pretty simple. She also has a couple neat synergies with the rest of the deck. With most costs barely ever being more than 2 mana, she can put in quite a bit of work before you even need to start tapping lands. She still suffers the same issue as the Pensive Professor, as in, she needs to be really big to give lots of mana, and that will make her a target pretty quick. If you can keep her around, she'll be more than capable of sustaining your mana needs. \n\nWhat does our midgame look like? "},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nUsually, by turn 4~7 you'll (ideally) have Arwen, a scry engine and at least either a draw or ramp engine to facilitate the late game. You should have access to at least 1 to 2 guaranteed scries per turn cycle, but reallistically you should be able to push for 3 to 4 instances of scry. At around this time, it would be wise (if you were to have them on hand) to leave some untapped blues in case something needs countering. Otherwise, just focus on keeping some bigger creatures untapped to deter attackers and prepare for setting up a win for the end-game. \n\nIn this section, I'll point out some neat interactions within this deck, so you can have a good idea of what to look for, and the types of synergies you can expect from this deck as you start building for the finale.\n\nFirst we have "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Galadriel of Lothlórien"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Retreat to Coralhelm"}},{"insert":". These two pair like a charm. Whenever you scry, Galadriel can pull a land from the top of your deck onto the battlefield. If you manage to do so, a land entering will allow you to tap or untap a creature (can be useful for getting more mana from "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Topiary Lecturer"}},{"insert":" or more cards from "},{"insert":{"card-link":"O'aka, Traveling Merchant"}},{"insert":") or you can scry again. If you scry again, you could possibly nab another land, and repeat over and over. It is a very simple, very fun combo that can allow you nab a lot of lands for nearly no resource expenditure at all. \n\nSecond, we have "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arwen Undómiel"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Aqueous Form"}},{"insert":". This is a very subtle combination that very quickly becomes deadly. The main reason is commander damage. If Arwen can't be blocked, and a Scry happens whenever she attacks, it means that she always hits a little harder every time she attacks. This forces people to deal with her quickly, otherwhise she will be attacking for 5+ damage in no time, and since our deck only gets better at putting counters as time goes on, catching an opponent lacking (by starting this when removal has been expenderd, or by having counters ready for said removal) you can really steal a victory or two as you do a lot of commander damage that can't be easily stopped. This can also help you put attention away from your other value pieces. Arwen can be easily brought back in, but our engines are a bit harder to replace. \n\nLastly, a neat option for explosive ramp is "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ordeal of Nylea"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Khalni Heart Expedition"}},{"insert":". If Khalni has at least one counter on it, sacrificing Ordeal of Nylea will bring in two more lands, which will be enough to then sacrifice Khalni for another 2, netting you 4 basics in one turn and a creature with at least three +1/+1 counters on it, what more likely than not, means is a decent attacker. \n\nHow to end the game? "},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nWell, if you have a good understanding of the game, you will have likely noticed how the combinations I gave previously also work really well with the other combinations. For example: "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Galadriel of Lothlórien"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Retreat to Coralhelm"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Khalni Heart Expedition"}},{"insert":". If you put a land down, you scry, then if lucky, put another land down, so you scry again. then if you can put another land down, you will scry again, and regardless of whether you snatch another land or not, Khalni will bring two more lands, which are two more scry triggers, what could lead to even more lands. If you then add, let's say "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arwen Undómiel"}},{"insert":" onto the mix, every single scry will also drop a counter, so not only are you getting insane amounts of mana all the time, you are also getting stronger creatures for no additional cost! \n\nBy the late game, your objective is to have accumulated enough of these synergies and triggers to overwhelm your opponent. For example: "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Elvish Mariner"}},{"insert":". Just having this fella out means that every scry will tap enemy creatures. This means that with enough upkeep scry triggers, you can tap an entire enemy board (if it doesn't have hexproof of course) for free damage, then during your opponents turn, if you have enough off-turn scry (like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mystic Speculation"}},{"insert":" or untapped "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Princess Yue"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Crystal Ball"}},{"insert":") you can usually tap the entire board "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"again"},{"insert":" to prevent any retaliation from your foes. You can also put this a step further with the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Thirteenth Doctor"}},{"insert":". She will untap all of your creatures during your end step, giving your attacking creatures pseudo-vigilance and refreshing some of your utilities like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Topiary Lecturer"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"O'aka, Traveling Merchant"}},{"insert":". \n\nDuring the late game you should also have good access to mana, what makes "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Loch Mare"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Glen Elendra Guardian"}},{"insert":" shine the most. These two are very powerfull interaction engines. Loch can work as a draw engine if needed be, but it works much better as a disabler. Tap and put stun counters on useful creatures to slow your opponents down, or put enough counters on Elendra so that you can use her ability to counter as many things that could threaten your board. Once either of these are out and with a reliable supply of counters, they really help take control of the board and only work to even better accentuate the strengths of this deck. \n\nThis deck is extremely synergistic and it is rare for you to not find something that works during a game. You should always get at least one engine of some kind going and constantly benefit from it. And all of this topdeck manipulation just allows for even more consistency, so do not be surprised if you can reliably get certain cards most games, that's the beauty of scry! \n\nAnd we are finished!"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThank you for reading, this has been quite the project for me. I wanted a bracket 2 deck that was very fun and non-deterministic. I've put great care into making sure every single card has a purpose and that it can be used with something else. Almost everthing works with everything and the only set in stone parts of this deck are its first few turns, with the rest of the game always relying on your capability of using these synergies to reach something great. It is not a deck you can play on auto-pilot, and that is something I personally find extremely stimulating. \n\nOnce again, thank you for considering my deck and I hope it serves you as well as it serves me!\n\n\n\n"}]}