Questing Beast

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• Skullclamp - A great card draw staple. I think I didn't initially consider this one mostly because I currently have ~8 creatures with 1 toughness, & don't really make small 1/1 tokens besides Preacher of the Schism. High likelihood for revisiting & inclusion.

• Sakura-Tribe Elder/Rampant Growth - I could see Steve slotting in over Farseek. I have Farseek in here as a means of grabbing Overgrown Tomb for quick fixing.

• Viridian Longbow - This was also suggested by UltimateRoxas40. Definitely a kind of cheeky include. I used to run it in an early version of my Prosper, Tome-Bound deck. The higher concentration of Deathtouch in this deck raises its ceiling. I don't play with equipment much beyond Skullclamp, Lightning Greaves, & Swiftfoot Boots, but might consider swapping one of the instant/sorcery removal spells depending on how first irl playthroughs go.

• Academy Manufactor - I considered this for the deck initially, but it turns out it would be a non-bo with Vraska, the Silencer. Her wording reads "Whenever a nontoken creature an opponent controls dies, you may pay . If you do, return that card to the battlefield tapped under your control. It's a Treasure artifact" Manufactor only makes its plethora of tokens whenever an effect creates a Treasure, Food, or Clue token. Currently, Deadly Dispute, Tireless Provisioner, & Revel in Riches are my only cards that make treasure tokens.

• Mastermind Plum - He has replaced Preacher of the Schism in a couple of my other decks already, so I guess I might as well continue the trend. I think I picked Preacher mostly because I have copies on hand, & my Mastermind Plum is already in another deck.

• Infectious Bite - Forgot about this card & must have overlooked it in my initial brewing. Will likely swap out with Bite Down.

• Bootleggers' Stash/Parallel Lives - Ehhhhh, I kinda like Revel in Riches as my awkward value 5 drop more than Bootlegger's Stash. I don't think I'd consider Parallel Lives for similar reasons listed as Academy Manufactor.

Regarding all the anti-token stuff you mentioned, I agree that Pernicious Deed is what I'm most likely to include. I had it in the initial draft of this deck, but swapped it for some other removal.

• Liquimetal Torque - Definitely a case of "I know I have this on hand". I was also considering Fellwar Stone for this slot. As cool as Jet & Emerald Medallion are, I don't have a copy of either yet. I usually try to focus on what I have initially, then save stuff like the medallions for future upgrades if I like a deck enough to continue investing in it.

• Kura, the Boundless Sky - I typically play against a Kangee, Sky Warden deck quite frequently in my meta. My friend that pilots the deck will frequently go after decks that don't have flying defenses up, & tends to avoid swinging at boards that will stop the flyers. So Kura is here to play mind games with him & deter aggro as a deathtouch flyer, but also is just a bigger body that can help soar over defenses & chip people for 4 damage until they can do something about it. Once he does die, I will pick the land option.

• Saryth, the Viper's Fang - I feel like I tend to see 1-2 wipes per game, but much more targeted removal. Wipes are inevitable, so I don't really worry about them. I'd rather dissuade targeted removal, or at least speedbump folks by offering Saryth up as the bottleneck to the rest of my board without a wipe. If she is too redundant, this could be a potential swap out.

• Questing Beast - I like it for being a haste-y body that also blocks well against aggro crack back. More importantly it helps negate the occasional Fog effect. Because of my main meta being more aggro, I'd rather have bodies on board than to a certain extent than a higher volume of kill spells. The deck started off with more instant & sorcery speed removal, but felt anemic for board presence.

• Guardian Project - Don't think I've ever encountered anyone killing creatures in response to the trigger for denial. Maybe it's happened once or twice, but I don't think it's happened with any kind of consistency to make me worried about it.

• As for the 3 X finishers, this is definitely another case of "I have these on hand". Most of the time Damnable Pact will be a draw spell for myself, but does have that corner case potential to finish off someone that's low enough. I've seen Exsanguinate enough in my meta, & if it hasn't acted as a finisher, it helps its caster stabilize enough to attrition everyone else out. I think I'd rather include Rise of the Dark Realms over Finale, mostly for budget purposes.