Dandan (AKA: Forgetful Fish)

This is a typical deck for the Forgetful Fish format.

In this format, 2 players share the same 80-card library and graveyard. The only way to do damage is though the creature card Dandân (a 4/1 with islandhome - it can only attack if the opponent controls an island, and is sacrificed if you ever do not control an island), though a player can also lose if they are forced to draw a card while there are 0 cards left in the communal library. Spells that can alter islandhome to another land-type can effectively kill Dandâns, but beware of having your spells countered by Memory Lapse, as your opponent may get to draw the very spell you just tried to use!

Strategy

Forgetful Fish teaches the strategy of waiting for opportune moments, interacting with your opponent's cards, and how to respond to such interaction. It also teaches a deeper strategy of trying to control your opponent; if you can master control of who draws what when, then you will have the upper hand.

Don't neglect the graveyard! The only red mana used in the deck is for the flashback cost of Mystic Retrieval, which can get you back any card from the graveyard. Accumulated Knowledge also gets better the more times it has been cast. Diminishing Returns can reset the graveyard and library, but at the cost of exiling a large portion of the deck.

Additional Rules

• Before shuffling the deck, deal 2 islands to each player. After shuffling, deal an additional 5 cards to each player. There is no mulligan in this format. Mulligans can be used to effectively spy on the contents of the deck and make educated guesses as to what is in your opponent's hand; this rule is to prevent this behavior.

• For all purposes, a spell's "owner" is the person who cast it - this is a rule that allows shared-deck formats like this one to exist.

• Always give your opponent a chance to respond. While there may be fringe cases where you want to hold priority and respond to your own action, you should not resolve any effect until your opponent has had a moment to consider the action you are taking. This is a teaching format after all. :-)

Variations

Tidal Fish: In this variation, the second player starts the game with 2 copies of Tidal Influence in play. These enchantments have shroud for the rest of the game. The enchantments gain counters at the same time on the upkeep of the second player; the number of counters on one of them should always remain the same as the number of counters on the other. This variant puts an even greater emphasis on the concept of timing, as 25% of the time all Dandâns will have 0 power, and 25% of the time they will have double the power (becoming 8/1 creatures)!

Card Selection - Building Your Own Deck: Several common alternative cards are on the Maybeboard, but you are not limited to these alterations. While considering what cards to include in your deck, keep the core tenants of Forgetful Fish in mind:

• Damage and life gain/loss should always be in multiples of 4. This keeps the game simple enough that a six-sided die can be used to track life (5 fish-hits equals 20 life).
• Limit creatures to just the Dandân, as its islandhome ability and 1 toughness allows for some creative interaction.
• No tutors. Searching the entire deck lets you know your opponent's hand by process of elimination.
• Cards that make a player think about their potential use are the best.