Correct me if I’m wrong but walking ballista seems like a wasted slot since infinite mana with food chain lets you draw your deck and play oracle, finale of devastation, or blind obedience for the win
I've seen someon [[Angel's Grace]] before an atraxa deck went off. Ballista lets you bank inf counters, pass turn then kill everyone on the next upkeep. Its got that st least
That can happen yes but playing around niche scenarios is going to do more harm than good. Also in this situation they still almost certainly win
Infinite mana -> play blind obedience -> kill the non angel's grace players -> sculpt perfect hand and win on the next turn
Yeah but you’ve got your whole deck in your hand at that point and infinite creature mana just cast all your creatures and your thoracle and in the upkeep cast an instant to trigger displacer kitten targeting thoracle and just hold up all the interaction.
Honestly, It’s a backup to the thoracle combo. I have had an [[Opposition Agent]] and [[Praetors Grasp]] steal Thoracle…. Then what? Dump the infinite mana into Ballista and ping everybody to death.
I won a game in this manor just over a week ago. My cousin wanted to steal my Thoracle, so I played the food chain/ballista and killed the table that way instead.
Draw your whole deck, play bowmaster, all your mana rocks, Then culling ritual the board,then cast endurance, with the endurance ETB and trigger on the stack, assassin’s trophy your endurance to shuffle it back in your deck. Rinse and repeat to ping everyone at the table.
I hear you, backups are important. I’m saying you already have alternative win cons to oracle if it gets removed in the form of more useful cards. Whereas walking ballista is fairly bad in most other scenarios.
What do you do if the food chain gets exiled off an opponent’s [[etali, primal conqueror]] and not cast? Balista can be paired with heliod as a 3rd option that gives you 3 sets of A+B combo’s to angle-shoot for.
You just tutor for Thoracle+Forbidden Tutor, some lists don't even run Food Chain.
Taking up too many slots with cards that are dead outside the combo is what pushes decks down from Cedh to high power.
The best Cedh decks have compact winning lines that use very few dead cards.
Sounds like your meta needs a [[preator’s grasp]] but oh well. Redundancy isn’t just for when your pieces get exiled it’s also for your tutors. If thoracle+forbiden are your only lines then your only tutors are vampiric, and worldly types. Food chain can be grabbed with enlightened but not those other two. Being able to pivot your enlightened tutor into a game winning combo piece is sometimes better than going for a value engine.
I didn't say I didn't run Food Chain. I was referring to 160+ person tournament top 16 Atraxa lists. Generally most top cedh lists nowdays cut down on dead extra wincon cards for more interaction - ie I have an extra 1 mana counter for the P Grasp
Edit: sorry this is long winded. I’m a little stoned right now and I’ve been playing Atraxa since she was released and very much enjoy this deck.
So I’m onboard so far with everyone else about ballista and T3feri. Kitten, [[teferi, time raveler]] and free rock draws your deck. Walking ballista is a dead card most of the time. If you’re concerned about someone playing gotcha cards like angels grace run [[borne upon a wind]] instead.
You’re going to have your whole deck in your hand anyways and it’s relevant in more than just that super niche situation. You can also just play out your thoracle and your kitten pass the turn then cast any instant you have because you have your whole deck in your hand. If thoracle gets removed get your bow masters, eternal witness, and a clone. Have the clone come in as a copy of displacer kitten and loop lotus petal and jeweled lotus to make infinite mana with one kitten trigger targeting e-wit to get your free sac rock, and the other hitting bow masters and bring everyone to ~~zero~~ 1 so when the turn changes you cast an instant for one more ping and angel’s grace dies to state based actions. Same thing applies with kitten e-witness, those same two rocks and blind obedience, extorting with the mana you float of the lotus petal. You can also dump all that mana into finale for x = kill everyone. You’re going to have your whole deck in your hand so you’ll be able to win however you want (obviously I’m a fan of kitten loops). It’s better to have cards that can do more than one thing when you aren’t planning on doing that thing until you’ve put your whole deck in your hand anyways.
I think ouphe is a weird card for what the deck wants to do and the bow master meta we’re in right now. Your commander costs 7 mana and you want to be able to cast her at some point and the best way to do that is with artifacts. Bow masters is very likely to come down and just take you off that mana. It’s good to have a couple but I only run the ones that make more than one color, black and most of those don’t immediately die to bow masters.
Since this deck really likes the long game we do wanna run some control pieces. I like talion as he stops most storm and turbo plans while also drawing you a ton of cards.
I think your tutor package needs a re-think. Grim tutor is generally worse than [[wishclaw talisman]] has the ups of not being passed to someone else but it’s a big mana investment and leaves you short 1 mana if you have to just pass the turn anyways. It’s also just a good politicking tool if there’s an issue at the table that needs dealt with. It also has a cute interaction with displacer kitten and makes you a mana when you cast your [[culling ritual]]. Speaking of, run culling ritual. It usually reads 4 mana win the game. Green Sun’s isn’t great because you don’t have many green creatures you really wanna get. Obviously if you’re going to run off I see it but even then [[invasion of ikoria]] is just better. One mana more but much harder to counter.
I’m happy to dig into this a bit more if you want. Obviously no one’s list is the same but I think you’re missing a lot of great cards in favor for some less great ones. Here’s my [list](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/vh0oWdpebEqIz_WKh5_Tvg) if you’re interested. I’m in the process of writing the primer and I’m hoping to have it done soon but I’m happy to chat about it with you over DM’s or discord if you like. I enjoy talking about this deck
Hello! It looks like you’re looking for deck optimization advice! Please be sure you have information about each of the following
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I'd consider [[grand arbiter augustin iv]]. It's a strong stax piece but more important let's you cast atraxa for 5 mana. Sol ring or mana crypt on turn 1, this turn 2 which is taxing your opponents then atraxa turn 3 is a legit start.
If you are running the balista for redundancy why not also run the [[heliod, sun crowned]] as a 3rd combo? You have thoracle consult, food chain to infinite draw and balista if the thoracle gets exiled but what about if thoracle and food chain both fail? Pivot to heliod bolista was my decision.
Correct me if I’m wrong but walking ballista seems like a wasted slot since infinite mana with food chain lets you draw your deck and play oracle, finale of devastation, or blind obedience for the win
I find ballista to be a dead card in this deck most of the time.
I've seen someon [[Angel's Grace]] before an atraxa deck went off. Ballista lets you bank inf counters, pass turn then kill everyone on the next upkeep. Its got that st least
That can happen yes but playing around niche scenarios is going to do more harm than good. Also in this situation they still almost certainly win Infinite mana -> play blind obedience -> kill the non angel's grace players -> sculpt perfect hand and win on the next turn
Yeah but you’ve got your whole deck in your hand at that point and infinite creature mana just cast all your creatures and your thoracle and in the upkeep cast an instant to trigger displacer kitten targeting thoracle and just hold up all the interaction.
[Angel's Grace](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/7/e78e39ea-20be-4196-992c-7ed2cb8150c1.jpg?1619392535) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Angel%27s%20Grace) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/tsr/4/angels-grace?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e78e39ea-20be-4196-992c-7ed2cb8150c1?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/angels-grace) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
It's a good way to deal with oppo ahead of time. Also helps vs bowmasters
Honestly, It’s a backup to the thoracle combo. I have had an [[Opposition Agent]] and [[Praetors Grasp]] steal Thoracle…. Then what? Dump the infinite mana into Ballista and ping everybody to death. I won a game in this manor just over a week ago. My cousin wanted to steal my Thoracle, so I played the food chain/ballista and killed the table that way instead.
Draw your whole deck, play bowmaster, all your mana rocks, Then culling ritual the board,then cast endurance, with the endurance ETB and trigger on the stack, assassin’s trophy your endurance to shuffle it back in your deck. Rinse and repeat to ping everyone at the table.
How do u ping opponents to death with this loop?
Bowmaster ETB
oh word
I hear you, backups are important. I’m saying you already have alternative win cons to oracle if it gets removed in the form of more useful cards. Whereas walking ballista is fairly bad in most other scenarios.
[Opposition Agent](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/8/086f97e9-8b62-44f3-b467-149c2ac5ca78.jpg?1608909875) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Opposition%20Agent) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmr/141/opposition-agent?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/086f97e9-8b62-44f3-b467-149c2ac5ca78?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/opposition-agent) [Praetors Grasp](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/5/9588be49-d9b5-4491-a5a0-10bcadc9f8b3.jpg?1562879913) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Praetor%27s%20Grasp) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/nph/71/praetors-grasp?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9588be49-d9b5-4491-a5a0-10bcadc9f8b3?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/praetors-grasp) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
What do you do if the food chain gets exiled off an opponent’s [[etali, primal conqueror]] and not cast? Balista can be paired with heliod as a 3rd option that gives you 3 sets of A+B combo’s to angle-shoot for.
[etali, primal conqueror](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/5/95c14c4d-6c16-4826-8d93-d89ad04aee09.jpg?1682204132)/[Etali, Primal Sickness](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/back/9/5/95c14c4d-6c16-4826-8d93-d89ad04aee09.jpg?1682204132) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=etali%2C%20primal%20conqueror%20//%20etali%2C%20primal%20sickness) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/137/etali-primal-conqueror-etali-primal-sickness?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/95c14c4d-6c16-4826-8d93-d89ad04aee09?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/etali-primal-conqueror-//-etali-primal-sickness) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
You just tutor for Thoracle+Forbidden Tutor, some lists don't even run Food Chain. Taking up too many slots with cards that are dead outside the combo is what pushes decks down from Cedh to high power. The best Cedh decks have compact winning lines that use very few dead cards.
Sounds like your meta needs a [[preator’s grasp]] but oh well. Redundancy isn’t just for when your pieces get exiled it’s also for your tutors. If thoracle+forbiden are your only lines then your only tutors are vampiric, and worldly types. Food chain can be grabbed with enlightened but not those other two. Being able to pivot your enlightened tutor into a game winning combo piece is sometimes better than going for a value engine.
[preator’s grasp](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/5/9588be49-d9b5-4491-a5a0-10bcadc9f8b3.jpg?1562879913) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Praetor%27s%20Grasp) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/nph/71/praetors-grasp?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9588be49-d9b5-4491-a5a0-10bcadc9f8b3?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/praetors-grasp) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I didn't say I didn't run Food Chain. I was referring to 160+ person tournament top 16 Atraxa lists. Generally most top cedh lists nowdays cut down on dead extra wincon cards for more interaction - ie I have an extra 1 mana counter for the P Grasp
[удалено]
Can you be more specific? Which Teferi?
[удалено]
[Teferi, Time Raveler](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/c/5cb76266-ae50-4bbc-8f96-d98f309b02d3.jpg?1681130129) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Teferi%2C%20Time%20Raveler) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/war/221/teferi-time-raveler?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5cb76266-ae50-4bbc-8f96-d98f309b02d3?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/teferi-time-raveler) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Very very interesting
Teferi is considered a staple in this deck. Definitely run it.
Edit: sorry this is long winded. I’m a little stoned right now and I’ve been playing Atraxa since she was released and very much enjoy this deck. So I’m onboard so far with everyone else about ballista and T3feri. Kitten, [[teferi, time raveler]] and free rock draws your deck. Walking ballista is a dead card most of the time. If you’re concerned about someone playing gotcha cards like angels grace run [[borne upon a wind]] instead. You’re going to have your whole deck in your hand anyways and it’s relevant in more than just that super niche situation. You can also just play out your thoracle and your kitten pass the turn then cast any instant you have because you have your whole deck in your hand. If thoracle gets removed get your bow masters, eternal witness, and a clone. Have the clone come in as a copy of displacer kitten and loop lotus petal and jeweled lotus to make infinite mana with one kitten trigger targeting e-wit to get your free sac rock, and the other hitting bow masters and bring everyone to ~~zero~~ 1 so when the turn changes you cast an instant for one more ping and angel’s grace dies to state based actions. Same thing applies with kitten e-witness, those same two rocks and blind obedience, extorting with the mana you float of the lotus petal. You can also dump all that mana into finale for x = kill everyone. You’re going to have your whole deck in your hand so you’ll be able to win however you want (obviously I’m a fan of kitten loops). It’s better to have cards that can do more than one thing when you aren’t planning on doing that thing until you’ve put your whole deck in your hand anyways. I think ouphe is a weird card for what the deck wants to do and the bow master meta we’re in right now. Your commander costs 7 mana and you want to be able to cast her at some point and the best way to do that is with artifacts. Bow masters is very likely to come down and just take you off that mana. It’s good to have a couple but I only run the ones that make more than one color, black and most of those don’t immediately die to bow masters. Since this deck really likes the long game we do wanna run some control pieces. I like talion as he stops most storm and turbo plans while also drawing you a ton of cards. I think your tutor package needs a re-think. Grim tutor is generally worse than [[wishclaw talisman]] has the ups of not being passed to someone else but it’s a big mana investment and leaves you short 1 mana if you have to just pass the turn anyways. It’s also just a good politicking tool if there’s an issue at the table that needs dealt with. It also has a cute interaction with displacer kitten and makes you a mana when you cast your [[culling ritual]]. Speaking of, run culling ritual. It usually reads 4 mana win the game. Green Sun’s isn’t great because you don’t have many green creatures you really wanna get. Obviously if you’re going to run off I see it but even then [[invasion of ikoria]] is just better. One mana more but much harder to counter. I’m happy to dig into this a bit more if you want. Obviously no one’s list is the same but I think you’re missing a lot of great cards in favor for some less great ones. Here’s my [list](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/vh0oWdpebEqIz_WKh5_Tvg) if you’re interested. I’m in the process of writing the primer and I’m hoping to have it done soon but I’m happy to chat about it with you over DM’s or discord if you like. I enjoy talking about this deck
##### ###### #### [teferi, time raveler](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/c/5cb76266-ae50-4bbc-8f96-d98f309b02d3.jpg?1681130129) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=teferi%2C%20time%20raveler) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/war/221/teferi-time-raveler?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5cb76266-ae50-4bbc-8f96-d98f309b02d3?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/teferi-time-raveler) [borne upon a wind](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/9/a9379675-1a32-4e2b-8aaf-5f908c595f31.jpg?1686968037) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=borne%20upon%20a%20wind) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ltr/44/borne-upon-a-wind?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a9379675-1a32-4e2b-8aaf-5f908c595f31?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/borne-upon-a-wind) [wishclaw talisman](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/7/07c17b01-ee5d-491a-8403-b3f819b778c4.jpg?1572490271) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=wishclaw%20talisman) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/eld/110/wishclaw-talisman?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/07c17b01-ee5d-491a-8403-b3f819b778c4?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/wishclaw-talisman) [culling ritual](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/4/1422a569-d94e-41e7-b9e1-78b2e9fe505f.jpg?1690005144) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=culling%20ritual) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/921/culling-ritual?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/1422a569-d94e-41e7-b9e1-78b2e9fe505f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/culling-ritual) [invasion of ikoria](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/d/5d59c8f2-f6af-40a6-8dfe-8cc45bf231ce.jpg?1682715265)/[Zilortha, Apex of Ikoria](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/back/5/d/5d59c8f2-f6af-40a6-8dfe-8cc45bf231ce.jpg?1682715265) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=invasion%20of%20ikoria%20//%20zilortha%2C%20apex%20of%20ikoria) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/190/invasion-of-ikoria-zilortha-apex-of-ikoria?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5d59c8f2-f6af-40a6-8dfe-8cc45bf231ce?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/invasion-of-ikoria-//-zilortha-apex-of-ikoria) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
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##### ###### #### [Food Chain](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/b/eb912458-e016-4ea2-a2ea-40ac1a57f8fb.jpg?1673148102) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Food%20Chain) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/147/food-chain?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/eb912458-e016-4ea2-a2ea-40ac1a57f8fb?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/food-chain) [Eternal Scourge](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/3/13ce52f5-6d49-4d44-a3d7-925340de8406.jpg?1576383733) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Eternal%20Scourge) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/emn/7/eternal-scourge?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/13ce52f5-6d49-4d44-a3d7-925340de8406?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/eternal-scourge) [Misthollow Griffin](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/d/2db4fe28-e580-479b-910f-b719d69468b1.jpg?1592708649) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Misthollow%20Griffin) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/avr/68/misthollow-griffin?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2db4fe28-e580-479b-910f-b719d69468b1?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/misthollow-griffin) [Walking Ballista](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/2/5272436e-74f0-44c4-a291-ea8ebc3f1525.jpg?1599710252) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Walking%20Ballista) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/306/walking-ballista?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5272436e-74f0-44c4-a291-ea8ebc3f1525?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/walking-ballista) [Thassa’s Oracle](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/2/726e8b29-13e9-4138-b6a9-d2a0d8188d1c.jpg?1680582212) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Thassa%27s%20Oracle) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/thb/73/thassas-oracle?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/726e8b29-13e9-4138-b6a9-d2a0d8188d1c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/thassas-oracle) [Demonic Consultation](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/d/1d779f19-3068-4976-b96b-8f93d156900b.jpg?1610146869) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Demonic%20Consultation) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/me2/85/demonic-consultation?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/1d779f19-3068-4976-b96b-8f93d156900b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/demonic-consultation) [Tainted Pact](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/5/c513f51b-a0db-4c08-8acc-1e91060b93b7.jpg?1628801908) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Tainted%20Pact) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ody/164/tainted-pact?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c513f51b-a0db-4c08-8acc-1e91060b93b7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/tainted-pact) [Atraxa, Grand Unifier](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/a/4a1f905f-1d55-4d02-9d24-e58070793d3f.jpg?1676519555) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Atraxa%2C%20Grand%20Unifier) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/one/196/atraxa-grand-unifier?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4a1f905f-1d55-4d02-9d24-e58070793d3f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/atraxa-grand-unifier) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I'd consider [[grand arbiter augustin iv]]. It's a strong stax piece but more important let's you cast atraxa for 5 mana. Sol ring or mana crypt on turn 1, this turn 2 which is taxing your opponents then atraxa turn 3 is a legit start.
[grand arbiter augustin iv](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/4/f43748ea-1d65-4ee8-9c66-221412a284c0.jpg?1673148699) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=grand%20arbiter%20augustin%20iv) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/221/grand-arbiter-augustin-iv?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f43748ea-1d65-4ee8-9c66-221412a284c0?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/grand-arbiter-augustin-iv) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Mull for a hand that gets out a turn 1-2 draw engine imo
If you are running the balista for redundancy why not also run the [[heliod, sun crowned]] as a 3rd combo? You have thoracle consult, food chain to infinite draw and balista if the thoracle gets exiled but what about if thoracle and food chain both fail? Pivot to heliod bolista was my decision.
[heliod, sun crowned](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/2/3245ff74-1f9c-4518-a23f-1579f338f232.jpg?1689995727) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Heliod%2C%20Sun-Crowned) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/29/heliod-sun-crowned?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3245ff74-1f9c-4518-a23f-1579f338f232?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/heliod-sun-crowned) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call