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16 Island
4 Quicksand
4 Stalking Stones

Su Casa.

Description of deck by Jay Moldenhaurer-Sakazar @ www.wizards.com (quoted):
The games with this deck come in two halves. In the first half, I'm playing a combo deck. I do care a little about what my opponent is doing on her side of the table thanks to my Quicksands and eight counterspells, but mostly I'm trying to dig through my deck in order to "go off." Going off in this case means a) finding a copy of Eternal Dominion, and b) having the mana to cast it. The usual way I achieve (a) is through spinning Sensei's Divining Top, scry, and Thirst for Knowledge. The usual way I achieve (b) is through Krark-Clan Ironworks. This was Zed's original idea and it works beautifully. Thanks to the Ironworks, I've cast a Turn 4 Eternal Dominion several times. I have no hesitation about sacrificing my Tops, Ingots, Baubles, or even Steel Walls if I can successfully cast a Dominion.

After Eternal Dominion has resolved, it's time for the second half of the game. In this half, I can no longer cast anything except one of my opponent's best spells each turn. Quicksand and Stalking Stones help me cheat the epic rule a little. If I have any Fellwar Stones or Darksteel Ingots around, they can help me with activated abilities of things like Arc-Slogger or Eight-and-a-Half-Tails.

This second half of the game is strategically really difficult. It's often hard to decide which card is going to most slant the game in my favor, especially knowing it's my only non-land card of the turn. It's difficult to know when to focus on defense versus offense. Weenie decks with no real game-altering creatures are probably the toughest to win, but each deck has its own challenges. On the plus side, every game with this deck is different, and it's an incredibly fun challenge to win with my opponent's cards.

What the deck loses from Mirrodin... I'm not going to lie, the deck hinges on Krark-Clan Ironworks. Without it, Blue's only hope of massive mana-acceleration involves the Urza cycle of lands in 9th Edition. This is a fine strategy, but it's a lot less explosive than the Ironworks and isn't ever going to result in a fourth-turn Eternal Dominion. The combolicious first half of the game evaporates without Krark-Clan Ironworks, which means any deck post-Ravnica is going to need an entirely different strategy.

The other losses are severe, but not quite as devastating. Apart from the Ironworks, the two hardest cards to lose are Wayfarer's Bauble and Steel Wall. Stalking Stones is again gone, which is probably just as well if the deck is using Quicksand and the Urza lands to power out a spell. Darksteel Ingot is out, but Fellwar Stone was better anyway. Condescend and Thirst for Knowledge are both terrific diggers, but Blue has lots of ways to sift through my library. All of these losses are tough, but none so tough as losing the primary mana engine of a very mana-hungry deck.

What the deck gains from Ravnica... The relatively minor stuff can be replaced. Either Compulsive Research or Telling Time fits in Thirst for Knowledge's spot, never mind things like Sift in 9th Edition. Remand isn't quite as sexy as Condescend but would probably do in a pinch. Lurking Informant might be a non-counter way to search for Eternal Dominion, and I wouldn't be surprised if a Tunnel Vision or two made its way into the deck.

Unfortunately, there is no replacement for Krark-Clan Ironworks. The Signets are fine. Spectral Searchlight is a fair proxy for Darksteel Ingot. Terrarion is an okay boost for the deck, but otherwise I think the Monoblue answer is to focus on defense. Drift of Phantasms and Junktroller are some worthy defenders, with the latter serving as a way to keep myself from running out of cards if the game goes long. Minamo Scrollkeeper also probably makes sense from Saviors of Kamigawa. Even with the defense, the deck starts to feel like Urza lands or bust.

If I can figure out the mana, I think the other big question is what place, if any, Eye of the Storm has for my deck. Adding Eye changes the focus quite a bit, of course, but I'm interested if a "Big Blue" deck using expensive spells like Eternal Dominion and Eye of the Storm has a shot at survival in the new world of Standard.

The Verdict... It's a different deck without Krark-Clan Ironworks, plain and simple. It's also not nearly as fast. Without Ironworks, the deck is less about combo to get out Eternal Dominion and more about generating as much mana through conventional means as possible while staying alive. The Urza lands, as I've said several times, seem to be the only real means of explosive mana open to Blue, and without the Ironworks the deck loses its reliance on artifacts. Thus any new Eternal Dominion deck is either going to play very defensively in the early game or is going to add Green for its explosive mana. Neither feels like Su Casa reincarnated so much as a way of making a viable Eternal Dominion deck. This deck is the one deck today devastated by the new Standard.

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by Zed @ www.magicthegathering.com (deck reviewed by Jay Moldenhauer-Salazar)

S.C.S.: Eternal Dominion