When I first started playing Standard, Kamigawa block was new. One of the biggest cards was Umezawa's Jitte. If you aren't familiar with it, it was (and still is) arguably the most powerful equipment card ever printed. It was in almost every competitive deck. I hated that card. It seemed way overpowered. So, as an admittedly futile protest, I refused to run the card. Ever. I still have never used that card. While I have had some decks that would undoubtedly run better with it, I was happier not running it.

Today, one of the most fun decks I play from time to time is a casual deck aimed at getting out huge creatures with drawbacks and trading them to my opponent so they have to deal with the baggage. It’s not a particularly efficient or reliable deck, but when it works, it’s a lot of fun! 

One of the great things about Magic is that you can build a deck that's entirely your own. You can refuse to run a card or cards simply because you don't like them. You can build a deck that is designed to win at all costs. You can build a deck that's only purpose is to mess with other people. You can build a deck with only Jellyfish creatures (yes, I've seen it). You can build a deck with only cards done by one artist. It's a game - you can do whatever you want that makes the game more fun for you. 

When I first read the submission by today's reader, I wasn't sure if he was for real, or just trolling. In fact, I'm still not. But either way, it's a deck that has some unusual requirements, and I thought it would be a fun challenge to see what we can do within the guidelines with which I was presented. 

 Ok, first thing i want to say is i know this deck is kind of sort of poorly made. I'm just very particular about how i play and what cards i use. I wanted a life gaining/card drawing deck with more emphasis on Def than Atk. I'll list the cards real quick, 

Land: 25

Island: 8
Forest: 7
Plains: 6
Bant Panorama: 4

Creatures: 21

Noble Hierarch: 3
Goldenglow Moth: 3
Seacoast Drake: 2
Galvanic Alchemist: 1
Wall of Frost: 1
Messenger Falcons: 2
Talrand, Sky Summoner: 1
Armored Cancrix: 2
Messenger Drake: 2
Aerie Mystics: 1
Air Servant: 1
Jaddi Lifestrider: 1
Skyward Eye Prophets: 1

Spells: 20

Ponder: 3
Redirect: 4
Explore: 2
Revive: 3
Naturalize: 2
Reality Spasm: 1
Momentous Fall: 1
Wargate: 1
Bountiful Harvest: 1
Temporal Mastery: 2

Artifacts: 2

Elixir of Immortality: 1
Staff of the Wild Magus: 1

Enchantments: 14

Abundant Growth: 2
Zephyr Charge: 1
Favorable Winds: 1
Quest for Renewal: 1
Terra Eternal: 1
Leyline of Anticipation: 1
Leyline of Vitality: 1
Leyline of Sanctity: 1
Builder’s Blessing: 1
Conclave’s Blessing: 1
Finest Hour: 1
Mind Unbound: 1
Omniscience: 1

Call me a noob if you have to but it relies mostly on either omniscience/mind unbound combo to overwhelm or Staff of the wild Magus/Revive Combo for infinite life. in theory it should work, with Elixir of Immortality to refresh my library, a few protective enchantments that i probably wouldn't get anywhere without, and a few counter spells. Sorry if i seem incredibly noobish right now. 

Anyway, before i can even get any of the key components out, i'm usually already overrun by the opponent's creatures. I thought about putting a few Kraken Hatchlings in to get a good start in defense but you know how i said im particular? i want to have exactly 82 cards in the deck and if possible i want to keep Omniscience, Temporal Mastery, Skyward Eye Prophets, Seacoast Drakes, and all three Leylines. I dont think i need a full deck fix unless you cant help yourself over how horrible this one is made, but i would appreciate some suggestions about what cards i can leave out or put in for extra defense. And i don't like using any 'destroy creature' cards. and i want to keep artifacts at a minimum. and i love enchantments but i dont like auras. and dont tell me to drop a color. and i love the zendikar block but even though an Eldrazi would be perfect for this deck, i dont want one. speaking of, i dont like any land destroying spells. and i dont like the Mesa Enchantress. Shes ugly. thanks 

~Seth

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Well, Seth, I will do the best I can to improve this deck, keeping with your desired theme. As requested, I won’t do a full fix with a new decklist, but I will spell out several thoughts. 

First, let’s recap our restrictions: 

“ i want to have exactly 82 cards in the deck” – Normally this is not a recipe for a good deck, as 60 card decks are going to run more efficiently and reliably, but it’s your deck, so you can do as you wish! 

“if possible i want to keep Omniscience, Temporal Mastery, Skyward Eye Prophets, Seacoast Drakes, and all three Leylines” – alright, we can do that. You probably want to run multiples of these if they are important cards to you. 

“And i don't like using any 'destroy creature' cards” – that puts us at a disadvantage making a defensive deck, but we’ll do what we can. 

“ i want to keep artifacts at a minimum” – Considering you mentioned two artifacts in your key cards, this is confusing. Still, we will not add any new artifacts. 

“i love enchantments but i dont like auras” – Ok, I think we can find some non-aura enchantments. 

“and dont tell me to drop a color” – Three color decks do present a challenge, but we’ll do what we can. 

“and i love the zendikar block but even though an Eldrazi would be perfect for this deck, i dont want one.” – I bet we can find some more non-Eldrazi Zendikar cards to put in here. 

“i dont like any land destroying spells.” – Me neither. We won’t go there. 

“ and i dont like the Mesa Enchantress. Shes ugly.” – This made me chuckle. We won’t use her. 

So, where to start? First off, we need more land. With an 82 card deck including 3 colors and some high mana costs, I would recommend about 33 lands. If you can get some of the Theros block scry lands, these would be my first choice, followed by Ravnica block shock lands or guildgates. 

Secondly, I have to mention that Revive and Staff of the Wild Magus doesn’t make a combo for infinite life. You can gain a couple life by playing Revive (1 life) and playing the green card you returned (1 life), but that’s not exactly a recipe for infinite life. Remember also, that gaining life doesn’t win you the game – taking away life from your opponent does. Make sure you’ve got enough cards to do that. 

Next, let’s look at some cards that don’t seem to fit what you are trying to do. Galvanic Alchemist is a fun combo piece, but you don’t have a lot to combo it with. I think he could go. Zephyr Charge is subpar, especially since most of your creatures are already flying. Terra Eternal, unless your opponents run a LOT of land destruction doesn’t make much sense.  Conclave’s Blessing – an aura- is something that doesn’t provide a big enough effect.  Armored Cancrix doesn’t do much and is too expensive! 

How about some cards that might fit your theme? You might consider something like Angelic Accord that helps turn your lifegain into 4/4 flying angels. You could play the Hondens from Kamigawa. Honden of Cleansing Fire gains you life every upkeep.  Honden of Life’s Web gives you little creatures to help block, and Honden of Seeing Wings draws you cards. These all build upon each other and fit in your enchantment theme. Speaking of enchantments, why not Eidolon of Blossoms (very much like the enchantress, but not as ugly!) which draws a card every time you play an enchantment? Nyx-Fleece Ram (an enchantment creature) seems like your kind of card – an 0/5 for 2 mana that gains you life every turn! Keeping with your preference for life gain, enchantments, and Zendikar block, you could play Sunrising Expedition for a cheap 8 life. Also, Blunt the Assault prevents combat damage and gains you life. 

There’s a lot more I could do with this deck, but as you mentioned, you are very particular, so I will stop here for my suggestions and let you decide what you want to do. As you continue to play your deck, make note of what cards show up and help you win, and what cards sit there and don’t do much. Learn from each game you play. The bottom line is that you’re in the game to have fun, so I hope this gives you some ideas to make it more fun!