Historic Bo1 Sultai Ramp (With Updates) (Historic)

This is a controlling ramp deck for historic.

-Very strong ramp pieces.
-Great removal package, including many mass removal cards.
-Strong wincons.
-Decent lifegain.
-Card draw.

I've found that the Bo1 environment in the low-mid tiers is a very high concentration of aggro decks. You have to be able to get 2+ for ones on your removal because the decks are going so wide. I'm not a pure control player at heart, but I'm faced with having to play sweepers to combat these decks. My conclusion is to ramp early, drop the sweeper, and then drop bombs that out value the opponent and are difficult to remove.

Update 1:

*After playing a few games with the deck I realized some obvious changes were needed. At this point I had played against a ton of aggro and tempo decks.

Cuts: Extinction Event, Voracious Hydra, x1 Explore

A) Extinction Event
-was too inconsistent. The threats were often split to often between odd and even and the pace was to quick to only deal with half the pressing issues.

B)Voracious Hydra
-was too slow of a removal spell to kill just one target.

C) x1 Explore
-Three Explore was too much ramp. I'd often ramp and then nothing.

Adds: x2 Ritual of Soot, x1 Elder Gargaroth

A) Ritual of Soot.
-Killed nearly everything that needs killing before I stabilize.

B) Elder Gargaroth
-I wanted to play a threat that could come down right after I ramp. I wish it had ETB's though because it sucks up removal pretty quick.
-If left on the board it does exactly what the deck needs to stabilze (draw cards and gain life) and a creature generator is pretty signifcant to close out top deck games.

Update 2:

*After 20+ games I've noticed a few issues:

1) I was playing Blast Zone wrong at first. I actually thought of it as a token defense card. Nope. I never read the card well enough obviously. Read the cards, usually a good starting point. Entirely on me here. This does however make the card way better against heavy 1cmc creature decks.

2) I suffer a lot of self-inflicted life loss early in games.
-I often would play turn 1 Shock Land into Thoughtseize. Starting at 16 against aggro is pretty much game over a lot of times (especially if you need to shock again turn 2 for Growth Spiral). Now, when on the play especially, I turn 2 Thoughtseize saving the 2 life (and if I suspect aggro often skip the Thoughtseize and play a ramp card turn 2).

3) I lose a lot of self-inflicted life in general.
-Thoughtseize and 12 shock lands are a lot of life loss.
-Uro and Krasis are great life gain tools, but not always going to get you back in it versus aggro.
-Some mana base edits are needed.

4) The mirror match is very common.
-I get matched up a lot against other Nissa decks. These are very long and dragged out games. I find Casualties of War is often my ace in the whole in the mirror.

5) the deck needs a card draw explosion in the midgame. Hydroid Krasis blows the game open late, but the deck needs a way to refill immediately after ramping. Nothing worse then ramping and sweeping to be in total control but not having any threats to capitalize.

6) Massacre Girl is good and bad. Sometimes it misses entirely since I'm not playing a 1 toughness creature to start the ball rolling. When it works though, total scoop moment.

7) You can't play Hagra's Mauling off of Uro or Growth Spiral. You have to play it as your land per turn, which causes issues sometimes. Not a land in your hand apparently.

8) Languish and Ritual of Soot are often not great cards to draw late.
-Languish kills our land creatures. Ouchy poo there.
-Ritual of Soot kills Uro and Hydroid Krasis. Super ouchy poo.
-They do however save our bacon against Goblins, Elves, and other horrible aggro decks people insist on playing. Aggro is gross people.

Changes:

Mainboard
A) +2 Fae of Wishes
-Opens up an entire arsenal of answers and threats out of the sideboard.
-I considered Mastermind's Acquisition as it searches library and sideboard for any card, however it is bad, bad, bad versus aggressive decks. Dead.

• The 1/4 flying blocker makes Fae a solid option in your opening hand versus aggro.

B) Elder Gargaroth
-I've been finding it a solid alternate to having Nissa after ramping. i want Nissa, but Galgaroth has been useful as well.

C) +7 check lands, +2 Castle Vantress
-Check Lands add consistent dual lands that won't enter tapped. With 12 Shock Lands and the 4 Triome (and x2 Forest) it is very rare that they will enter tapped.
-Castle Vantress will also enter untapped most the time. The deck plays 12 "Islands".
-Castle Vantress provides some much top deck manipulation for stale boards.

Cuts:

A) x1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
-moved to sideboard.

B) x2 Casualties of War
-moved to sideboard

C) x1 Hagra's Mauling
-moved to sideboard

D) Lands: x4 Fabled Passage, x1 Island, x2 Swamp, x1 Forest
-Swamp on turns 1 or 2 can be a major headache for Growth Spiral. And if I'm cutting the Swamps, then why run Fabled Passage.
-the deck doesn't run any cards that benefit from having a double land entry from Fabled Passage.

New Sideboard:
*test it out and find out the hard way what cards are missing and make adjustments.

Removal
a) Bloodchief's Thirst (versatile or cheap)
b) Epic Downfall (Exile big threats)
c) Return to Nature (Hard to remove threats)
d) Disdainful Stroke (bomb counter)

hate
e) Thoughtseize (self-explanatory)
f) Ashiok, Dream Render (graveyard)
g) Narset, Parter of the Veils (card draw)

Mass Removal
h) Witch's Vengeance (Goblins, Elves, Elementals,...)
i) Extinction Event (situational blowout)
j) Casualties of War (scoop worthy blowouts)

Lands
k) Hagra Mauling // Hagra Broodpit (in a pinch removal)
l) Bala Ged Recovery // Bala Ged Sanctuary (grave return)

Bombs

M) Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
-wipe the board, my 3/3 elementals and bombs stay
-scoop-inducer

N) Mass Manipulation
-I don't know anything more lethal you can do with Nissa in this format.
-This is an I win button, no scoop required.

O) Emergent Ultimatum
-trying it out since you grab Nissa, Galgaroth, and Carnage Tyrant.
-Might be more playable if the deck main-decked Mass Manipulation.