Mathematical MKIV / Ezuri (EDH / Commander)

This is the fourth iteration of my UG deck titled "Mathematical". With the release of Ezuri, Claw of Progress in Commander 2015, UG gets a really powerful general that hard-to-counter effect. Since experience counters can't be removed (aside from Karn, etc.), and because his effect triggers on the turn you play him, you get immediate value even if he is removed. Unlike Vorel of the Hull Clade, he cannot interact well with artifacts / lands--however, this makes the deck much tighter and more consistent.

Ramp package

Ramp is the way to victory. UG is a very volatile color combination. Green allows it to gather up mana very quickly. Blue gives you powerful answers to all variety of cards through counterspells and (later) other cards. The combination Blue/Green can also be very mana hungry, but is actually the source of the most powerful card draw in the game. So we'll need ramp to do what we want to do.

• Sol Ring is an auto-include.
• Cultivate, Kodama's Reach, Explosive Vegetation, and Skyshroud Claim help us get the explosive start we want.
• Gyre Sage and Viridian Joiner scale very well with Ezuri's ability and also trigger the EC.
• Exploration and Burgeoning are good cards to have in general. However, they scale much better with UG card draw.
• Oracle of Mul Daya is a goddess.

A card I am trying to make room for is Kruphix, God of Horizons. Boundless Realms may also appear later on.

Menagerie

After we gather up our mana, we also need to promote the growth of our experience counters. The creatures I've selected here synergize extremely well with Ezuri.

• Chasm Skulker, Hangarback Walker, and Hooded Hydra punish removal and make tokens small enough to trigger Ezuri.
• Mycoloth and Avenger of Zendikar, likewise, are here primarily for their token-generation. Mycoloth doubles up as a sacrifice outlet for the above three cards.
• (MVP) Lorescale Coatl and Chasm Skulker synergize with the extreme card draw you will eventually snowball into. These guys are true MVPs of this deck.
• Forgotten Ancient was very powerful in Vorel. It can probably be cut here, but I'll test further. You can use it as storage, or combo up with Hardened Scales / Doubling Season.
• Champion of Lambholt and Primordial Hydra are our primary snowball win-conditions.

Notable exclusions: Managorger Hydra -- This card is great, but we don't have room for it right now.

Card draw

The biggest benefit of playing UG is having access to card draw. Your main method of card draw is turning your +1/+1 counters into cards.

• Skullclamp was not as useful in Vorel. However, it synergizes well with the tokens in Ezuri.
• Sylvan Library and Rhystic Study are all-around good cards and synergize with Lorescale Coatl / Chasm Skulker.
• Zameck Guildmage and Sage of Fables are cheap, reusable ways to convert 2-mana into a card.
• Lifeblood Hydra, Prime Speaker Zegana, and Give//Take are your "explosive" card draw. These cards synergize extremely well with Lorescale Coatl.
• (MVP) Greater Good deserves a mention as the greatest card draw card in all of EDH. In UG colors, its power is magnified. You can use Lorescale Coatl / Chasm Skulker to double dip.

Production cards

Here are more ways to get stuff we need.

• Hardened Scales / Doubling Season synergize with every facet of this deck.
• (MVP) Inexorable Tide gets mention as an extremely powerful engine that can make EC on its own.
• Strionic Resonator is generally useful and takes the place of Illusionist's Bracers in Vorel.
• Gilder Bairn and Vorel of the Hull Clade return as ways to double counters. They may be able to be cut in the future.
• Master Biomancer nonbos with Ezuri, but can be used as a finisher with tokens.
• Seedborn Muse and Prophet of Kruphix are just good cards to have around.

Notable exclusions: Contagion Clasp, Contagion Engine. Does the list warrant these? Bloodspore Thrinax will probably find its way into this deck.

Protection

Ezuri is a magnet for removal, so we need a few ways to protect him. Generally, board-wipes will be ineffective because they will result in a lot of angry tokens on the backswing, so we focus on shroud / hexproof.

• (MVP) Spike Weaver is an all-around good card that synergizes much better with Ezuri. If we snowball too hard, we will become targets. This guy prevents that. His other ability synergizes with a lot of things.
• Plaxcaster Frogling and Sporeback Troll are good cards that protect our creatures.
• Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots grant protection and haste for the random win. Be careful, as Lightning Greaves will prevent Ezuri from putting counters on the equipped creature.
• Whispersilk Cloak doubles up as a win-enabler.

Notable exclusions: Asceticism

Goodstuff

Here is a section of counterspells, targeted removal, and clones. Their inclusion varies from case to case, so read below.

• (MVP) Glen Elendra Archmage is disgusting. In Ezuri, she is even better than she was in Vorel. She synergizes very well with Master Biomancer / Sage of Fables / Forgotten Ancient, and any number of cards that generate +1/+1 counters.
• Mystic Snake and Draining Whelk are counterspells that also generate EC.
• Dissipate is a good counterspell.
• (MVP) Forbid is the counterspell we rely on when we have combo'd out and drawn our entire library. This card will secure the win 80% of times.
• Plasm Capture is an irresistible counterspell in UG.
• Curse of the Swine is all-around removal, but it also allows us to upgrade our 1/1 tokens and generate EC on our own creatures if needed.
• (MVP) Ixidron is a real sleeper card. It wipes the board to 2/2s, but does not affect the +1/+1 counter density. It doesn't send things to the graveyard, and generally traps troublesome creatures. It also cannot be Stifled, due to how morph works. Minor synergy with Hooded Hydra (not anything to call home about, but it's there).
• The rest are just generally good as well.

Notable exclusions: Faerie Trickery was cut to make room. I do not have a copy of Voidslime yet. Trygon Predator may make a comeback, since he synergizes well with Ezuri. Venser, Shaper Savant can be a powerful creature that can be used as a 4-mana repeatable EC.

Abuse

These are the cards that don't really do anything by themselves and really need Ezuri to function. Their effects can be truly explosive, so do not underestimate them.

• (MVP) Sage of Hours is an obvious inclusion. Once you reach 5 EC, you just win the game with him out. This is similar to what Magistrate's Scepter did in Vorel. Cut this card or limit yourself to only one extra turn per cycle if you think it's too cheap.
• Cold-Eyed Selkie and Cephalid Constable are two cards that have good effects. Cephalid Constable is downright cheap if you can get him to stick, as it removes one opponent from the game entirely.
• Feed the Pack and Fable of Wolf and Owl are temporary cards to test. Their use should be fairly self-explanatory. In the end, they may be cut for one of the below cards.

Notable exclusions: Blighted Agent / Invisible Stalker. These may be added later, but right now I don't feel like they need a slot. They are extremely aggressive cards and can be downright oppressive if they stick. They are really auto-includes, but I'll make my decision on a later date. Blighted Agent's role right now is also mirrored in Inkmoth Nexus.

Shrieking Drake should also be mentioned, since it gives 1 EC per blue mana with Ezuri out.

Lands

Our land choice is crucial, since it allows us to fill in gaps in our strategy.

• (MVP) Reliquary Tower lets us draw lots of cards and not worry about losing them.
• Homeward Path helps us not die to Mind Control. Seriously. It's embarrassing. You work so hard to make a 50000/50000 creature, only to die because of it.
• High Market is a sacrifice outlet to abuse our token swarmers and dodge troublesome spells.
• Rogue's Passage enables the win in a land slot. Soaring Seacliff is a one-shot version of this, but it makes colored mana.
• Alchemist's Refuge is an auto-include in UG, since it lets us play the control game and grants us pseudo-haste.
• Inkmoth Nexus and Lumbering Falls are good with Ezuri, since they dodge sorcery speed creature removal spells.
• Everything else should be self-explanatory.