Well, it's been a long time coming since you've heard me fix someone's deck.  Part of me feels like I owe you all some sort of apology or explanation as to why I've been gone so long.  Another part says that if I have any readers left after all this time, they probably aren't interested in reading excuses.  Still another part hopes that my fan base will realize that the extent of my absence syncs up nicely with the fall semester at most colleges.

 

At any rate, I've just felt terrible that I haven't been doing my duty here, and now that I finally have some time to devote to it, I intend to make up for lost time.  I especially want to thank BeJose, whose new arrival at the Deck Garage kept Pojo's customers satisfied in the wake of my lapse in productivity.

 

Without further ado, here's a deck from Tim that's long overdue to be fixed.

 

> Hey there. I wanted to throw out an idea for a U/W control deck. The

> main combo here is Wheel of Sun and Moon and Energy field.

> Play the Wheel on yourself, and, if Energy Field is in play,?you

> become immune to all damage from sources you don't control. After

> that, just sit back and wait for a big beater to come up, like Tidal

> Kraken, Oversoul of Dusk, or Ghastlord of Fugue. Here is the deck I'm

> working on, which isn't complete yet. This deck is for casual play, so

> there aren't any block or tournament restrictions. As far as cost

> goes, almost anything outside of dual or Onslaught fetch?lands is an

> option.

>

> 4 Flood Plains

> 6 plains

> 6 islands

> 4 coastal towers

> 1 Ardakar Wastes

>

> 4 Energy Field

> 4 Wheel of Sun and Moon

> 4 Enlightened Tutor

> 2 Idyllic Tutor

> 4 Counterspell

> 4 Cancell

> 4 Mana Leak

> 4 Steel Wall ( I'm thinking of cutting these for more beaters)

> 2 Guile

>

> And 1 each of the following

>

> Tidal Kraken

> Deep-Sea Kraken

> Oversoul of Dusk

> Forbid

> Rewind

> Deathrender

>

> At this point, I have two concerns. One is aggro.?I'll only have?3-4

> turns to get both of my key enchantments into play.

> Tutors help, but that's still a very?narrow window, and this deck is

> slow.?I'm hoping that I can at least pull up an Energy Field by then.

> Second (and more worrisome) is the lack of big beaters. I'm looker for

> creatures that are big, difficult/impossible to block, and preferably

> have protections. If I could my hands on Akroma, Angel of Wrath, I

> would have at least 2 in here. I only have 5 big creatures, though I

> should have enough counter magic to protect even one for several

> turns, and putting deathrender on anything says I-dare-you-to-kill-it.

>

> As far as a sideboard goes, the only card I'm sold on is 4 Greater

> Auramancy, which will make my enchantment combo almost impossible to

> remove (And even if someone tries, there's plenty of counter-magic). I

> could certainly main-deck an Auramancy or two, to tutor up later, but

> then I don't know what to cut.

>

> ?

>

> Thanks!!

>

> Tim

 

 

Ah, enchantment combos. They never get old, and Red/Black decks never have an answer.  Green, White, and Blue, however, might give you trouble.  And as you said yourself, any color might have a shot at beating you out before you draw your combo.  The tutors are a step in the right direction, but there's more you can do.  My personal favorite way to accelerate combo is to add card drawing power.  Even figuring 4 of each of the key enchantments plus 6 cards that count as whichever combo piece you need more, and taking into consideration that you don't want to have to play Energy Field until Wheel of Sun and Moon is in play, you can't count on having this combo set up by turn four-- and that's when most aggro decks aim to end their game.

 

Looking over your deck, it actually looks like you're short of 60 cards by about 3.  Add in three Ancestral Visions, or Ponder if you can't find/afford the Visions.  That'll give you a little turn-one punch to help put the combo together.

 

Meanwhile, I'm not sold on your selection of countermagic.  Counterspell is good of course, but Cancel in a deck with access to any counterspell from sets past?  There's so much else out there for you.  Sifting through it all, my two favorite candidates for your deck are Remand and Complicate.  Remand was renowned in Ravnica for slowing down opponents by a turn, which was usually all the Remand player needed, while digging you a card deeper to find whatever it was you needed to buy time for.  And Complicate, out of Onslaught block, functions as Mana Leak or cantripping Force Spike to suit the occasion.  Remember, if you cycle it, you're not playing it and therefore it can't be countered except by Stifle or the like.

 

Also, Deathrender can be left behind here.  The Golden Rule of Equipment: Make sure your deck has plenty of potential targets to wear it.

 

Now then, as for big beaters.  If you're pulling the Steel Walls for them, you'll have room for four more.  Trouble is, white and blue aren't known for their big creatures.  Alas, we'll think of something.  The first suggestion to come to mind is Oona, Queen of the Fae.  She's big, she has flying and is therefore hard to block, and she's hard to "answer" since if you get off a good use of her ability, you get a squad of 1/1 flyers to pester with in the event of Oona's demise.  Yosei and Keiga, the Morning and Tide Stars respectively are also good choices, also being 5/5 fliers that give something back when they die, but they're quite pricey and I don't expect you to have to shell out for them.  You might do better with Spirit of the Hearth, another big flier with a protection ability.  The thing is, this one protects you, not itself.  If you're more interested in untouchable beaters, blue has a wealth of Djinni and Drakes with shroud or the like to look

 up.

 

Finally, since you're building your deck to find enchantment cards, have you considered an enchantment as a beater?  I'm talking about Mobilization, that you might flood your field with Soldier tokens and overwhelm your opponent.  After all, once the combo is up, all you need to do is protect it.  Do you really want to tap out on your own turn to play a monster just to have your opponent grab the opportunity and Naturalize Wheel of Sun and Moon?  Or would you rather sit back and build your offense one end-of-turn step at a time?

 

Good luck,

 

~BMoor