{"ops":[{"insert":"This deck has been a bit of a pet project for me. I'm writing this out so i can see where it started and where it's at now, but this is also for anyone else that is looking at the deck and trying to determine if it's something they may want to pursue. \n\nCurrent win rate is 13/18 as of 3.20.2025. This deck also has a way of sitting back and being less of a threat, so people tend to be less salty than playing against an arch enemy deck like ur-dragon or eldrazi. \n\nAvg mana is 2.74. 3.20.2025. I'll continue to test with lower avg mana values like adding opt and other cantrips etc. \n\nCurrently 33 spells are instants/sorcs 3.20.2025. I might need to add more instants and sorcs to proc further and draw through the deck more. I'll continue to test if 33 is enough or too few. \n\nIf you are on a budget, sort by price and drop the expensive cards. You can get bones of this deck for less than $200 and probably around $125-150 with some choice decisions. It'll still run effectively. Start cheap and build up from there. I've purchased too many cards for this to try and not been happy with the results. \n\nNotes \n\nI swapped out thousand year storm for arcane bombardment. The thousand year storm is really cool, but very seldom could i pop off enough spells to justify the mana. Tried grapeshot in here too but wasn't able to do enough damage and not all of the pingers proc on copied spells, only non-creature and casted sorcs/instants."},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true},"insert":" Don't get caught up in the copied spells, they don't proc the pingers"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Arcane bombardment is similar to river song's diary imo. But river song's diary can also collect other opponents spells pretty quicky and give you a cheap easy proc, think paths, swords, doom blade, etc"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true},"insert":"Boardwipes - i don't play any of them because this deck will run out of steam the longer the game goes."},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":" "},{"insert":"If we're sitting around with 10-12 mana, the game has gone on too long. A game should be 45-60 minutes, any longer and your play group is too slow. I love politics and i don't care about winning, so i'll let the table know that i don't have an answer to major threats. So i politic with the other players and hope that they do the dirty work if there is a major threat. And if we lose, we run it back or i grab a deck more appropriate for the pod. "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The premise is to get veyran out, chain off a bunch of cantrip spells that will trigger the pingers for non-combat damage. This gets around pillow forts with ghostly prison, propaganda, or decks that have a lot of blockers "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true},"insert":"Tried dualcaster mage"},{"insert":". It's mana hungry if you plan on casting it to copy your spells. If you're using it as defensive, it might counter a counter spell, but at that point you might as well counter a counter spell with a cheaper counter spell than dualcaster mage CMC. The spells that you'd want to copy from an opponent are far and few between and if it's cards like Teferi's protection, those opponents are most likely running way more expensive decks. "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true},"insert":"There are 7 pingers, i'd run more if i could justify it ( thermo alchemist etc)"},{"insert":". I've run less, but then i don't have those creatures on the field to ping the opponents. 7 is kind of my sweet spot. Within 7 draws, i have 41% chance of drawing one of them. But i also have over 20 draw spells. So the likelihood of pulling them only increases as i cast more cards to draw. I tried running cackling counterpart to trigger veyran and the other pingers, but i felt that being confined to only my creatures was difficult when looking at big creatures on my opponents control. That lead me to heat shimmer so i can copy a big baddie and swing in for lethal. Rite of replication is really cool, but too slow for what i want to achieve with this deck"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true},"insert":"Tried running both Niv-Mizzets in the 99."},{"insert":" They were too slow. I wanted to get the avg cost of the deck lower. Tried pink horror, only one target. Too slow. "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I had pyretic ritual and seething song but time after time i'd draw into this additional mana but have very few targets to dump the mana into them, so i opted out for cheaper cantrip spells. Mana geyser and rousing refrain are other cards where the mana is great, but i didn't have enough outlets to capitalize on the mana. Currently running seething song so i can try to get out a big enchantment on turn 3/4 but i don't feel compelled to run anymore mana ramps. "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I had haughty djinn in the deck but for double blue, it was easier to opt in for ral, stormcatch mentor, primal amulet (if it flips, it lets you copy spells, do you like to gamble???) archmage of runes (kind of slow but the card draw is worth it imo). A lot of my spells also don't have colorless mana in the CMC, "},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true},"insert":"so the stax reducers weren't as effective"},{"insert":", so i kept the deck at only 4 rather than having more. "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Playing around with virtue of courage for additional card draw to dig deep on multiple pings. This is on the short list of cards to cut. "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true},"insert":"Neheb "},{"insert":"has been surprisingly fun to play with because having the extra mana and a big 4/6 makes things a little more tricky when a 5/5 can't get through from the opponents"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I struggle with propaganda because i want the all gas no brakes, but time and time again i see the value in the card in casual formats and i think that it belongs in the 99. "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true},"insert":"I started with 38 mana, currently running 35"},{"insert":" with one being double sided. With the lower avg mana cost, i think that this is fine. Avg mana is 2.74 as i write this. Initially it was above 3. "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Card draw is the life blood of this deck, so the cheap cantrips or any other spells like curiosity or ophidian eye on a pinger causes massive card draw. "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Lightining greaves is the only major protection because there isn't much countermagic. This deck wants to sit in 3rd or 4th place until you have 7 mana and then you pop off. "},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true},"insert":"Be patient"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Boardwipes can kill this deck, so play like your foot is on the opponents throat, but don't cast your whole hand unless you're looking for the killing blow, thus swinging for the fences and possibly striking out. "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"There are three recursion cards in this deck "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Cards that i will add in time, ghyrson to pair with the single damage. With veyran on the field, a pinger will hit for 1 damage. Ghyrson will do an additional 2 damage. Veyran will trigger with the cast or copying of a spell, causing an additional 1 damage from the pinger, triggering ghyrson again. So it will ping 6 damage to each opponent. Ordered arcance signet to either add or replace felwar stone. Ordered harmonic prodigy to trigger the wizards (similar to roaming throne which is in the deck for that very reason). Birgi is in the mail and will be added to the deck for additional mana procs to continue pressure. I have aetherflux but haven't tried it out in the deck yet. My personal opinion is that it doesn't fit well with the deck because it's the only way of gaining life. So more often than not you won't have the 50 life to spend. Need to order narset's revival. 3.20.2025"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I'll work on a slower grindy version of this deck with boardwipes and higher CMC cards if i get around to it. But i prefer to play more games in the three hours that i play than 1-2 long grindy games. Mind splice, saruman, niv mizzets, wizards of thay, etc. "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n\n"}]}