Here are the top 5 decks, with some analysis. The original post, for reference, but basically I asked people to submit the strongest deck they could using Skyler’s powered cube, found in the tool bar above.

#5 – Brandon Ullom

CMC 0

[mtg_card]Mox Emerald[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Jet[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Pearl[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Ruby[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Sapphire[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Black Lotus[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Force of Will[/mtg_card]

CMC 1

[mtg_card]Ancestral Recall[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Brainstorm[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Path to Exile[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Swords to Plowshares[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Vampiric Tutor[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Sol Ring[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mystical Tutor[/mtg_card]

CMC 2

[mtg_card]Balance[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Demonic Tutor[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Counterspell[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mana Drain[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mana Leak[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Miscalculation[/mtg_card]

CMC 3

[mtg_card]Detention Sphere[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Liliana of the Veil[/mtg_card]

CMC 4

[mtg_card]Moat[/mtg_card]

CMC 5

[mtg_card]Jace, Memory Adept[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Baneslayer Angel[/mtg_card]

CMC X

[mtg_card]Mind Twist[/mtg_card]

Lands

[mtg_card]Flooded Strand[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Library of Alexandria[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Marsh Flats[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Polluted Delta[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Strip Mine[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Tundra[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Underground Sea[/mtg_card] 5 [mtg_card]Island[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Plains[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Swamp[/mtg_card]

This was probably my favorite of the decks because of how all-in and crazy the win cons are, relying on the strong variety of counterspells to fight against just about everything. The deck has a sweet core, maindecking a [mtg_card]moat[/mtg_card] to crush so many decks and running power houses like [mtg_card]Balance[/mtg_card] with only one creature and [mtg_card]mind twist[/mtg_card] which you easily find with demonic and [mtg_card]vampiric tutor[/mtg_card]. There is a large suite of counters to protect its threats, and some spot removal to deal with problematic opposing threats as well.

The deck starts to untangle though with the win cons and lack of other cards. Relying on [mtg_card]Jace, Memory Adept[/mtg_card] seems suspect, as there are certainly decks that want to win off the graveyard and you really have to wait a long time to get to a point where you’re comfortable casting him. If you’re facing a deck that decided to play with Kozilek, then you actually only have one win condition, which is [mtg_card]Baneslayer Angel[/mtg_card]. Of all the creatures to choose, Baneslayer Angel seems like an extremely odd choice. Baneslayer dies to so much, is pretty expensive relatively to other threats, and if she does die then you’ve effectively eaten a piece of removal. In magical Christmas land where your counters protect against Baneslayer every time, she does end the game in 4 turns or less, but I have a hard time believe she is the best choice. Why even use a creature? Why not Elspeth if you wanted fliers? And how does this deck not run [mtg_card]Jace, the Mind Sculptor[/mtg_card] but it runs Memory Adept? There just seems to be much easier ways to go over the top.

Then there is [mtg_card]Time Walk[/mtg_card] missing, which seems really wrong. With Jace, you could be 1 turn off from winning and losing in so many games. Time Walk with 3 tutors for it lets you take that extra turn when you need to seal the door, closing the door on your opponents. You can also play your Baneslayer against a tapped out board, Time Walk, and then potentially have 2+ counters up instead of the usual scenario I imagine this deck falls into where there’s only 1 and maybe a [mtg_card]Force of Will[/mtg_card] too if you’re lucky. You could take out one of the pieces of spot removal, since you’re mostly stopping their game with counters and anything that does resolve can be found with so many of your cards. [mtg_card]Enlightened Tutor[/mtg_card] might’ve been a nice inclusion here as well since both [mtg_card]Detention Sphere[/mtg_card] and [mtg_card]Moat[/mtg_card] are great pick ups along with all the power rocks, but that’s a tougher card to find room for. Maybe cut a land or two? 14 lands + 5 moxen, [mtg_card]Sol Ring[/mtg_card] and [mtg_card]Black Lotus[/mtg_card] seems like more than necessary for mana sources, and I’m cutting basics before moxen.

#4 – Bob Baker

CMC 0

[mtg_card]Mox Emerald[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Jet[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Pearl[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Ruby[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Sapphire[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mana Crypt[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Black Lotus[/mtg_card]

CMC 1

[mtg_card]Mana Vault[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Sol Ring[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Ancestral Recall[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Brainstorm[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Ponder[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Preordain[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Vampiric Tutor[/mtg_card]

CMC 2

[mtg_card]Lightning Greaves[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mind Stone[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Grim Monolith[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Demonic Tutor[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Impulse[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Time Walk[/mtg_card]

CMC 3

[mtg_card]Psychatog[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Tinker[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Thirst for Knowledge[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Timetwister[/mtg_card]

CMC 4

[mtg_card]Jace, the Mind Sculptor[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Fact or Fiction[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Thran Dynamo[/mtg_card]

CMC 5

[mtg_card]Gilded Lotus[/mtg_card]

CMC 6

[mtg_card]Upheaval[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Time Spiral[/mtg_card]

Lands

4 [mtg_card]Island[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Underground Sea[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Watery Grave[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Scalding Tarn[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Polluted Delta[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Flooded Strand[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Ancient Tomb[/mtg_card]

This is the deck that could’ve won if it included 1) more win conditions, or 2) ways to protect its win condition. The idea of the deck is really cool: play [mtg_card]Psychatog[/mtg_card], draw 7 a million times or [mtg_card]Upheaval[/mtg_card] to attack for lethal, do this with haste with [mtg_card]Lightning Greaves[/mtg_card] if possible. With multiple tutors and tons of card draw, finding both pieces of the combo (that combo being psychatog + lightning greaves/upheaval) can be achieved with consistency.

And then there’s a game where you go to equip Psychatog and he gets [mtg_card]Swords to Plowshares[/mtg_card]d. This is a massive issue because there is no way to stop this from happening, and if it does then the game is pretty much over. So what if you Upheaval for a trillion mana—you also need that Jace to do anything as well, and he’s even less of a reliable win condition than Psychatog as he’ll get destroyed by an [mtg_card]Oblivion Ring[/mtg_card]. I get that the idea is that if Psychatog doesn’t die it wins the game and you can “rebuy” it back with the [mtg_card]Timetwister[/mtg_card]/[mtg_card]Time Spiral[/mtg_card] combination, but what if it does get exiled? Then you’re in deep shit, that’s what. This deck needed one more win condition, a [mtg_card]Force of Will[/mtg_card] even, any way to ensure a resolved Psychatog stays resolved beyond hoping they don’t have a counter. That seems extremely risky to me.

#3 – Michael Heup

CMC 0

[mtg_card]Black Lotus[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mana Crypt[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Emerald[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Jet[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Pearl[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Ruby[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Sapphire[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Force of Will[/mtg_card]

CMC 1

[mtg_card]Sol Ring[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Sensei’s Diving Top[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Ancestral Recall[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Brainstorm[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Preordain[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Ponder[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Thoughtseize[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Vampiric Tutor[/mtg_card]

CMC 2

[mtg_card]Snapcaster Mage[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mana Drain[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Time Walk[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Balance[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Demonic Tutor[/mtg_card]

CMC 3

[mtg_card]Thirst for Knowledge[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Tinker[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Tangle Wire[/mtg_card]

CMC 4

[mtg_card]Jace, the Mind Sculptor[/mtg_card]

CMC 6

[mtg_card]Upheaval[/mtg_card]

CMC 7

[mtg_card]Myr Battlesphere[/mtg_card]

CMC 8

[mtg_card]Sundering Titan[/mtg_card]

CMC x

[mtg_card]Mind Twist[/mtg_card]

Lands

[mtg_card]Marsh Flats[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Polluted Delta[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Scalding Tarn[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Flooded Strand[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Underground Sea[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Island[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Tundra[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Scrubland[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Rishadan Port[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Strip Mine[/mtg_card]

This deck is pretty neat, attacking the opponent with a couple [mtg_card]Tinker[/mtg_card] options that end the game quick. With a million card draw spells and tutors, you can find the Tinker and an artifact with ease, landing either the [mtg_card]Sundering Titan[/mtg_card] or [mtg_card]Myr Battlesphere[/mtg_card]. I like that both are here because it lets you choose the right one for the situation. Do you need to attack mana, or hit for a higher amount of damage/larger army? With all the moxen you can conceivably Tinker off of an [mtg_card]Upheaval[/mtg_card], which seems pretty bonkers, and if that doesn’t work you lean on ol’ Jace, the Mindsculptor to take the game away. There aren’t a ton of counters, but [mtg_card]Mana Drain[/mtg_card] and [mtg_card]Force of Will[/mtg_card] are both stellar, and [mtg_card]Snapcaster Mage[/mtg_card] can buy you another drain along with copying so many other effects.

I really like Brainstorm, [mtg_card]Sensei’s Diving Top[/mtg_card], and [mtg_card]Tangle Wire[/mtg_card]. [mtg_card]Brainstorm[/mtg_card] is at its best when you can throw back Tinker targets and shuffle away unnecessary cards with a full set of the blue fetches. With all the fetches Brainstorm resembles the power level it enjoys in legacy moreso than the usual out of place awkwardness Brainstorm can result in without the shuffling. Top also benefits from the shuffling, giving you an actual new 3 cards to look at over and over. Often top is a mana sink, risking leaving you a mana short or a turn late when you try and make plans. Mana is so important, so you really need to refresh Top often for it not to get crushed by decks that can pump out quick starts. If you’re facing a deck with a Tinker’d out threat, is Topping going to save you? Most of the time no. [mtg_card]Tangle Wire[/mtg_card] is the last key, and I think it works really well. You can drop it after a Tinker’d out threat, letting you close out the game, and if you’re still short of permanents to tap with it you can get Battlesphere and tap the 1/1 Myr tokens. You can Tinker to get the Tangle Wire too, shutting down the game from another direction.

The thing that really got this deck is that the 1st and 2nd just outperformed it. One deck was way more broken than this, and the other had way more ways to deal with your opponents while still having relative same level of broken plays. This deck kind of muddles in between, living with powerful plays but in comparison lacking.

#2 – Zac Elsik

CMC 0

[mtg_card]Mana Crypt[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Emerald[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Jet[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Pearl[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Ruby[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Sapphire[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Black Lotus[/mtg_card]

CMC 1

[mtg_card]Ancestral Recall[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Brainstorm[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Ponder[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Preordain[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Thoughtseize[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Entomb[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Reanimate[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Dark Ritual[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mystical Tutor[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Vampiric Tutor[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Sol Ring[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mana Vault[/mtg_card]

CMC 2

[mtg_card]Exhume[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Demonic Tutor[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Channel[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Time Walk[/mtg_card]

CMC 3

[mtg_card]Tinker[/mtg_card]

CMC 6

[mtg_card]Mindslaver[/mtg_card]

CMC 7

[mtg_card]Karn Liberated[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Myr Battlesphere[/mtg_card]

CMC 8

[mtg_card]Griselbrand[/mtg_card]

CMC x

[mtg_card]Mind Twist[/mtg_card]

Lands

[mtg_card]Misty Rainforest[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Polluted Delta[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Verdant Catacombs[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Flooded Strand[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Scalding Tarn[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Tropical Island[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Underground Sea[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Breeding Pool[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Ancient Tomb[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]City of Brass[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Strip Mine[/mtg_card]

This is the “cheat to win” deck, and there are multiple avenues. For starters, this is the only reanimator deck we received, and it goes all out. Using [mtg_card]reanimator[/mtg_card] with [mtg_card]entomb[/mtg_card] helps justify [mtg_card]Dark Ritual[/mtg_card] too, since Dark Rit + entomb + reanimation spell will spell out many turn 1 wins. The Tinker has a variety of targets, from creatures to living weapons and even a [mtg_card]Mindslaver[/mtg_card] as one of the few actual pieces of interaction. [mtg_card]Channel[/mtg_card] finds its way onto this list as well, letting you potentially power out two massive colorless spells on the first turn. Pumping out a [mtg_card]Myr Battlesphere[/mtg_card] and [mtg_card]Karn Liberated[/mtg_card] seems like a pretty nice play.

I love the variety of cheat effects because it insures so many different openers with busted starts. In a lot of the other decks, you’re either hoping to draw multiple pieces of power rocks or hoping to draw either the tutors or the actual Tinker/busted effect. This deck has so many different directions to break the game open, and each one is powerful and crushing.

The deck didn’t win for a reason though, and it’s really frustrating how little this deck does to protects its plays. If you blow out your whole hand and they do something like [mtg_card]Balance[/mtg_card] or O-Ring your planeswalker, you have actual nothing. These broken plays are all-or-nothing completely, and there isn’t even a [mtg_card]Force of Will[/mtg_card] to ensure that the insanely broken threats will resolve. There are some pretty awkward cards here in Channel and Karn that could be taken out. Channel is good but reanimator and tinker are safer strategies that yield as high of a reward. It’s not like we’re hardcasting Eldrazis, so the Channel needs to be protected to make it OK. If we’re taking out Channel, Karn has to go next since he can’t be cheated out by either the reanimation effects or tinker. I like Karn, but if you’re going to go full-out broken, you should be adding another Reanimation spell or some kind of disruption or protection.

#1 – Thomas Chappelear

CMC 0

[mtg_card]Black Lotus[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Emerald[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Jet[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Pearl[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Ruby[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mox Sapphire[/mtg_card]

CMC 1

[mtg_card]Mana Vault[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Sol Ring[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Ancestral Recall[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mystical Tutor[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Path to Exile[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Swords to Plowshares[/mtg_card]

CMC 2

[mtg_card]Grim Monolith[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Time Walk[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Balance[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Mana Drain[/mtg_card]

CMC 3

[mtg_card]Tinker[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Oblivion Ring[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]True-Name Nemesis[/mtg_card]

CMC 4

[mtg_card]Jace, the Mind Sculptor[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Wrath of God[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Supreme Verdict[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Armageddon[/mtg_card]

CMC 5

[mtg_card]Batterskull[/mtg_card]

CMC 6

[mtg_card]Aetherling[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Wurmcoil Engine[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Upheaval[/mtg_card]

CMC 7

[mtg_card]Karn Liberated[/mtg_card]

CMC 8

[mtg_card]Sundering Titan[/mtg_card]

Lands

[mtg_card]Library of Alexandria[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Tundra[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Flooded Strand[/mtg_card] [mtg_card]Hallowed Fountain[/mtg_card] 4x [mtg_card]Island[/mtg_card] 3x [mtg_card]Plains[/mtg_card]

Originally this was my #2, and I think that both of these decks are really close, but I ended up picking Tom’s. There are some weird choices in this deck, but I feel that they work pretty well for what’s trying to happen, and this deck has the best chance to blow out an opposing deck early while having enough play and interaction to grind into the late game. [mtg_card]Armageddon[/mtg_card] is a unique choice from most of the other lists and is insanely strong against some boards on the draw with a turn one mox, mox, mox land Armageddon; you’re only knocking out one land, but if they don’t have a busted play then it could be a [mtg_card]strip mine[/mtg_card] of its own, and you can sand bag your own mox until they play 2 or 3 land to crush them. You can win off an early [mtg_card]True-Name Nemesis[/mtg_card], card advantage from jace, or a Tinker that can grab either a solid finisher, one that destroys lands on a massive body, or a weapon that rides on Nemesis.

I also love that this deck was able to include removal without compromising power and broken starts. You can balance with your finisher facing theirs, and then have the Swords or Path ready to clear the way. Against another broken blue deck you have [mtg_card]Supreme Verdict[/mtg_card]—which is certainly a castable card early in the game—to make sure that their threat(s) is gone. O-Ring is nice too, since I feel that the multiple-targets facet of [mtg_card]Detention Sphere[/mtg_card] is nice but not enough to pick the harder to cast card, thought both are easily castable. I don’t think we need all five in this deck, but I imagine that having them gives this deck more game against a variety of fair and unfair decks alike.

I don’t think this deck needs both [mtg_card]Aetherling[/mtg_card] and Karn. They’re both good, and when they resolve they definitely take the game over, but you can’t cheat either in which makes them worse than so many other finishers you could run. Heavily mox-and-rock hands will pump them out, sure, but you could replace them with counters or card draw to make sure the deck is more consistent, perhaps even [mtg_card]Enlightened Tutor[/mtg_card] since this deck also has the Oblivion Ring to play with too. This may sound like Im repeating myself, but this deck needs [mtg_card]Force of Will[/mtg_card] too. There will be hands where you need to tap out to protect your big stuff, and Force of Will is that protection. It may cost you another card, but that card should be irrelevant when you’re resolving you win condition or keeping it alive. There are not a ton of other blue cards, but if you added Force + 2-3 other card draw/counter spells, this deck would be a lot harder to fight through.

Congratulations Tom for the win, and thank you everyone else for participating. Sorry if your deck was not featured—there were no bad decks entered, and they were all super powerful. Thanks for reading!