Looks like a pretty sweet deck. I tried to come up with a similar list, but I think I tried to pack in too much removal ie. anger and shock.

I wish I could find a nice place for Sparkmage. I think he needs to be surrounded by other removal to extend their reach with the bonus of being able to hit the face when no threats are present. In my experience he might as well say "deal 1 damage to your opponent. They discard a card."

I'm glad you fit Vengevine back in, I think he is underrated.

How have you fared against faster piles?

Yes, Wayfinders and Cultivates are amazing at mana-fixing and hitting drops consistently. I haven't needed Kozilek, though, because as you say the power level is already quite high; I could definitely cut here. I'm actually not a huge fan of Stormbreath because he just beats face, but you're probably right.

I think I need Anger of the Gods in here, but that early is a pain and it's a huge nonbo with Vengevine and Tormentor. Hrrm.

-1 Vengevine
-2 Indulgent Tormentor
-1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

+2 Anger of the Gods
+1 Stormbreath Dragon
+1 Rescue from the Underworld

Plus assorted manabase changes. OP updated.

I'm not saying that you can't reach 8/10 mana. I'm asking how often that happens and you aren't just winning. Wouldn't be better to just win like 3 turns earlier with your hasty Dragon of hell? Beating faces wins games. That's why we play Baneslayer in White decks.

I would cut Kozilek, Griselbrand and Vengevine for Dragon and the pair of Angers.

Close to what I did, but I cut Tormentors because adding Anger makes them bad. Griselbrand has to stay, he's just too good for any deck that can cast him.

Poorly, I just lost to Boros tokens and had zero outs to the board; Anger has been added.

Makes sense. I still think you can win with this deck before Griselbrand matters. Let me know what Dragon is doing for you. That card is grossly underplayed here on these forums and it might be one of the best things in the entire pool.

Dragon just won me a game, actually.

About Griselbrand, I get what you're saying but he's just too strong to exclude for any deck capable of casting him and this one can.

I'm actually on the fence about the Graveborn Muses, they really haven't mattered since I added the Ragers. I have twelve creatures at three mana or less that all replace themselves, so I think I may just jam in a pair of Terra Stompers. I'm also thinking about a singleton Suffer the Past somewhere in the list, but that's probably too cute. A singleton Treasured Find is also on my Radar. Any suggestions for these two slots?

I'll just say, I'm strongly against Suffer the Past in any deck that's not milling your opponent. I've had people cast it on me for 1 and 2, since I only had 1-2 cards in the yard, when lots of other cards might have won the game for them.

Yeah, I was just looking for a bit of reach but I know it's too cute.

You want reach, play Volcanic Geyser. Also, Genesis Hydra.

I was looking at Hydra and Geyser as I spun through the Editor, but I also noticed Hunter's Prowess and Soul of Zendikar. I think the Soul is definitely in because 6/6 reach for six is great, it's a mana sink, and it has graveyard synergy. Prowess grants trample and restocks your hand, so it fills two roles in the deck and is definitely worth a slot.

Right now it's:

-2 Graveborn Muse

+1 Hunter's Prowess
+1 Soul of Zendikaer

I will definitely keep Genesis Hydra in mind, though. The second copy of Rescue from the Underworld is on my list of things to consider replacing.

I didn't even noticed you weren't playing Soul there. Why you left so many great cards out of your deck?

Because I'm terrible at this game, haven't you heard?

How do you feel about 2x Rescue from the Underworld, and do you think Hunter's Prowess is worth a slot? I really want a Hydra in here.....

I think hunters prowess in a deck that aims to trade resources is very strong, I am think rescue can be a 1 of.

I love the Hydra, but the bug gets on my nerves every single time I see Blue mana open. If my opponent were fair dudes and let the ability resolve before countering it, but no, they have to exploit Stainless lack of patches.

/rant
(And yes, I am aware that most people don't know about the bug)

I'm not a big fan of Rescue in decks not made to support it. I hear people saying how awesome it is to tutor for it with RSD (I think it's you, not sure), but it feels meh to me. What if your 'yard just has small dudes? Are you going to do it just to recycle RSD's EtB? Why didn't you get another threat in the first place? I think the card can go either way. I probably wouldn't run it.

I love the concept of Prowess, even though you have to be very careful with the card. Problem is... It feels like win more on a fattie. I'm not sure how often do you have a weenie hanging around, and how often that happens and you're not facing a barrage of disposable creatures to mitigate your card draw. It's good, but situational. Would probably try a singleton.

What are the matchups that you need to draw more cards? Control decks packed with removal? Have you tried Triumph there?

To be fair, the control players who counter the Hydra would counter it anyway; it's not the same as killing a Bushwhacker with the trigger on the stack, it's making a play that you would have made anyway. but I agree that it sucks.

I understand the hesitation on Rescue, but with the Wayfinders and so many EtB creatures it has a lot of value here. Like I said, though, I'm certainly open to just a single copy. The allure of tutoring through RSD is that if you untap with the Demon then you can sacrifice it to grab a card from your 'yard and another from your library, essentially doubling its tutoring power.

Prowess is mainly on my radar as a finisher, but I haven't needed it; I think I'd rather have a Hydra, despite how poorly it interacts with Rescue. Another bomb (Hydra) is probably better than a win-more card that requires a bomb to operate (Prowess).

I'm not asking them to not counter the card. I'm just asking them to let the ability resolve first. It would be esssentialy what happens without the bug.

I didn't think it was possible, but you're right; as a control player you can let the ability resolve and still counter the spell. I'll make sure to keep this in mind.

I don't know how I missed this post.

Based on my current list (up to date), would you drop one copy of Rescue for a Prowess? I think I like it because it becomes more of a toolbox deck. Mobius would be proud.

Actually, it's probably correct to shoot for the toolbox. Since there has been a lot of activity, here is the updated decklist:

EDIT - After testing, Prowess wasn't needed to force through damage so I added Treasured Find instead.

4 x Gruul Guildgate
4 x Golgari Guildgate
4 x Rakdos Guildgate
6 x Forest
3 x Swamp
3 x Mountain

4 x Elvish Visionary
4 x Satyr Wayfinder
3 x Ground Assault
1 x Genesis Hydra
1 x Treasured Find

4 x Cultivate
4 x Phyrexian Rager
2 x Anger of the Gods

2 x Arbor Colossus
1 x Shadowborn Demon
1 x Stormbreath Dragon
1 x Rescue from the Underworld

1 x Soul of Zendikar
1 x Inferno Titan

3 x Pelakka Wurm
2 x Rune-Scarred Demon

1 x Griselbrand


Thoughts?

I'd be very concerned about the mana requirements... Are you usually able to play all of your cards?

E.g. Enough green to play Arbor Colossus, enough Red for Anger, etc....