Monday MtG: Kami of the Crescent Moon

Kami of the Crescent Moon 

I built Kami as a gift for my niece.  She fell away from Magic when she went off to college, so I never got around to actually giving her the deck.  If there is a gift for proper use of Blue countermagic, she has it, to my regular chagrin.

Anyhow, I recently found the deckbox (a gift deck deserves a proper deckbox) in my games closet (in contrast to my kids' games closet), so here it is. (decklist)

The Trinket Mage package contains mana and answers, and with all the bounce in the deck, it is likely to fetch several artifacts by game end.  

Sometimes, I consider Temple of the False God a trap or at least a player skill check; yes it provides 2 colorless when tapped, but only with five or more lands already in play.  There are several games through the years where Temple was the fourth land and I stalled on it, staring at an effectively useless land.  Browsing proven decklists shows that Temple, despite its 2 mana, is rarely an inclusion.  Maybe I should take a hint.

As the deck is no longer going where intended, I could ramp up its game by adding Laboratory Maniac, Arcane Denial, Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, and Narset, Parter of Veils, among other cards.  Honestly, I am surprised that Arcane Denial isn't already in there.  Howling Mine and the like, as well as the Blue Wheels might be pushing it, though.  Rhystic Study is a shoe-in, if I have a spare - because buying one is not in the cards due to its average $30 price tag, a price driven by how Rhystic Study fits in any blue deck and is also another player skill check.  

Better players always pay the Rhystic Study tax, because letting opponents have free cards is bad.  I am not a better player, because I rarely, if ever pay.  Part of that is because not every deck running Rhystic Study is full of game-winning cards (although in my main meta, that is the way to bet - so I should start paying the tax), but most of it is that perhaps my decks don't ramp hard enough or because I want to play MY cards now, not next turn or later.

For more proof of my not being a better player, I always take the land with Tempting Discovery (often for Strip Mine or the like), and my piles for Fact or Fiction and its cousins are terrible.  Although not quite 'pile of 0 cards and pile of 5 cards' terrible.  

I broke down and ordered more singles, to include some additions/improvements for this deck. In addition, my Tatyova deck is coming apart, so I can add Lab Man and Jace to this deck. Between these two sources, this deck should improve a bit.  If nothing else, Temple of the False God is assuredly on its way out.  

In short, this is a commander deck that I maintain, despite my finding it difficult to win with.  If I were a better player, I would use it to teach myself how to run countermagic properly.