Eldrazi Taxes (Mardu) (Frontier)

Inspired by an article posted by Reid Duke over at channelfireball.com, I thought I'd take a crack at building my own Eldrazi taxes deck, but for Frontier.
Note: For anyone newer to MTG or simply unfamiliar with the term, taxes decks are decks that run efficient creatures and spells that punish the opponent, making it hard for them to cast their spells without paying some sort of price for it (taxing them).

Here is the step by step process I took in creating the deck:

(1) I want to play Thought-Knot Seer. Four copies. This will mean I have to be careful with my mana base as I will need a minimum of 8 sources that produce colorless mana, and preferably 10. TKS is just worth it. That kind of disruption on a 4/4 body is excellent. I'm sure the colorless mana will come into play elsewhere in the deck as well, so not such a big issue.

(2) Make a list of possible hatebears at each spot on the curve to help decide which colors I want to go into.
1cc- Hope of Ghirapur (a stretch, but applies)
2cc- Arashin Cleric (aggro), Selfless Spirit (removal), Tocatli Honor Guard (ETB), Dire Fleet Poisoner (sort of- creatures), Kitesail Freeboter (noncreature), Harsh Mentor (activated abilities), and Phyrexian Revoker (activated abilities).
3cc- Reflector Mage (creatures), Spell Queller (counterspell), Kambal Consul of Allocation (noncreature), Aven Mindcensor (searching libraries), Eldrazi Displacer (attacking), Hushwing Gyff (ETB), Thalia, Heretic Cathar (lands/creatures tapped), Vengeful rebel (creature), Rampaging Ferocidon (tokens and gaining life), and Wasteland Strangler (creatures).
4cc- Sand Strangler (creatures), Ravenous Chupacabra (creatures), Hostage Taker (creatures)

The first thing that jumps out is that Mardu has the colors of choice in the deck. The best creatures in the list are from those colors and the best removal options we will find are also in those colors.
There are not a lot of quality choices for 1cc creatures. This means that I will want to look for some things to do turn one as this deck does not want to waste a turn. Taplands and hand disruption are likely the cards of choice.

(3) Here is a list of the initial hatebear creatures added to the deck:

a) Harsh Mentor. 3 copies main, 1 sideboard. Punishing activated abilities is big in any format with fetch lands. The opponent has to remove this in any deck playing three or more colors or pay 3 life every time they play a fetch. This also punishes a large majority of the powerful creatures and artifacts in the format.

b) Kitesail Freebooter. 2 copies main, 2 copies sideboard. It will hit a target on turn 2 in nearly every matchup. Even the aggro decks play noncreature spells for either tokens or pump.

c) Eldrazi Displacer. 2 copies main. Displacer is seen, by some, as a flicker creature to abuse ETB triggers. It has some use in this deck for that purpose, however the most useful use of EP is as a defensive card to blink your opponents attackers in the midgame, removing them from combat.

d) Thalia, Heretic Cathar. 2 copies main. The card is probably our best creature. It slows down creature heavy decks, while frustrating control and midrange. It essentially puts the opponent a turn behind, every turn, from the point it hits the board. The other beautiful part of THC is that any ground attacker with toughness 3 or less dies to it and she stays around.

(4) Now I'm dedicating six slots to hand disruption spells. I want main board cards that hit targets in virtually every match-up. Here are the choices:

a) Transgress the Mind. 3 copies main. A catch all, with exile built in. A strong turn two play against almost any deck. Unless your opponent is playing very low to the ground aggro, you are catching something juicy.

b) Despise. 3 copies main. It gets a major threat in essentially every match-up.

(5) Next, I add in the initial removal suite. With six slots used on hand disruption already, I'm looking at 10 more total slots to dedicate. I want the choices to either be incredibly efficient or versatile. Another factor I am looking for is instant speed removal in the main board. Finally, I want cards that deal with regular creatures, evasive creatures, artifacts, planeswalkers, and mass removal. An added bonus would be if at least a few cards did direct damage to the opponent (since the deck is built around a lot of incidental damage). I think it is best to make a list of cards that fit these categories, and to do so by what they remove. *'s indicate cards that serve other purposes.

Creatures: Fatal Push, Magma Spray, Fiery impulse, Grasp of Darkness, Ultimate Price, Lightning Strike, Unlicensed Disintegration, Harnessed Lightning
Evasive: Blessed Alliance, To the Slaughter, Stasis Snare, Crackling Doom
Artifacts: Abrade, Kolaghan's Command, Nahiri the Harbinger
Planeswalkers: Vraska's Contempt, Cast Out, Anguished Unmaking
Mass: Settle the Wreckage

a) Fatal Push. 3 copies main. If playing black and playing fetches, then I'm playing three Fatal Push in the main.

• Duress. 2 copies sideboard. Great versus decks that Push are not.
• Anguished Unmaking. 1 copy sideboard. If Push isin't good then yhe opponents deck is likely slow and the life loss will not matter.

b) Crackling Doom. 3 copies main. It catches the target you want better than any other card. Gets around pretty much all evasion you will face. It also slips in two damage just for the hell of it.

c) Settle the Wreckage. 2 copies main. Excellent stall card that also exiles evasive threats. I'm not worried about the opponent getting additional lands. More time means more incidental damage that is inflicted on the opponent.

• Kambal, Consul of Allocation. 2 copies in sideboard. Against noncreature decks it is nice to have another body, especially one that punishes every card they cast.

d) Lightning Strike. 2 copies main. Normally I play Abrade here, however I want to be able to do 3 damage to the face. The deck needs a few cards that can push through a few extra damage when needed.

• Abrade. 2 copies sideboard. If playing against decks built around an artifact or many (vehicles) then this is your play.

(6) Seven total main deck slots remaining. From these remaining cards I have to add some card draw. There needs to be more hatebears added into the main board so we can fully tax our opponents, it would be best if they prevent our opponents from casting spells easily or cause life loss.

a) Aven Mindcensor. 2 copies. I just want to punish greed, greed in the form of playing fetch lands. There are some other bonuses too as Traverse the Ulvenwald becomes weaker as well.

b) Firebrand Archer. 2 copies. Not taxing, but instead just some incidental damage to add as the game wears along.

c) Sign in Blood. 2 copies. I weighed this against Cathartic Reunion. I'd rather pay double black then risk getting three for one'd by a counterspell.

1 slot remaining in the main board.

d) Harsh Mentor. 1 copy moved from sideboard to the main. Best upside of any creature I can play.

(7) Six slots left for the sideboard. There is a lot already covered by the current sideboard choices. From here I want to sure up games versus Collected Company, Saheeli, graveyard manipulation, Aetherworks Marvel, and aggro. I'd like any sideboard choices I make to be playable versus at least two of these decks.

a) Authority of the Counsuls. 2 copies sideboard. The obvious benefit is against aggro, but it really shines versus Saheeli. Not only do all the copies enter tapped, but you gain 1 life for each one. Also, a bonus that it is an enchantment (hard to remove) and comes down on turn one before it can be countered.

b) Sorcerous Spyglass. 2 copies sideboard. Name Saheeli Rai, Aetherworks Marvel, The Scarab God, any other planeswalker, or vehicle. Shuts them down cold. I considered Phyrexian Revoker, however being a creature works against it as it can be removed by creature hate so easily.

c) Sentinel Totem. 2 copies sideboard. I always played Tormod's Crypt, but you have to be able to remove your own graveyard too with The Scarab God running around. Although this is a narrow sideboard card, it basically helps against anything playing blue as you face delve, baby Jace, and Azcanta.

*Decided against sideboard hate for Collected Company. I considered Hallowed Moonlight, which is good against multiple decks, however I have to trust that the hand disruption in the main and side board is enough to combat it. If they topdeck it after you have already taken a shot or two at their hand then that is all you can do.

(8) Mana base construction. Nothing too difficult to cast in the deck. The two main concerns are being able to play black immediately on turn 1 untapped and being able to produce colorless mana by turn 4. Here's how it shook out:

a) Polluted Delta. 4 copies. Gives us access to all three colors.
b) Wooded Foothills. 4 copies. Gives us access to all three colors.

c) Battle lands. 2 copies Smoldering Marsh, 1 copy Prairie Stream, and 1 copy Canopy Vista. These are lands to go with the fetches.

d) Swamp and Mountains. 2 copies each. Go with the fetches.

Now there are 8 lands remaining. All eight must be able to produce colorless mana for Thought Knot Seer and Eldrazi Displacer.
Current color count is black-12, red-12 white-10. So I want 4 black sources, 2 red sources, and four white sources.

e) Field of Ruin. 2 copies. I want to keep up the disruption plan, especially if i can do it with my lands.

f) Plains. 1 copy. Does not produce colorless, but I'm willing to go to 7 now that I have Field of Ruin in the deck.

g) Evolving Wilds. 2 copies. Produces all three colors, and grabs colorless.

h) Wastes. 1 copy. Goes along with Evolving Wilds.

i) Caves of Koilos. 2 copies. Produces white, black, and colorless. Does not enter tapped.

Final Thoughts

(1) The deck is still a few solid creatures off of being competitive. It's not a bad deck, it just really needs another good 2cc creature to go along side Harsh Mentor.

(2) The deck is not my play style. It's not aggressive or controlling. The deck just requires that you be really patient and wait for your opponent to kill themselves. I either want to have my foot on the gas or feel like I'm the control deck. Here, you are a bit of both while being neither.

(3) Building this deck did give me an idea for another deck that is a spin-off of this one. I will be calling it "Taxes Burn". The idea is still start out the game by Taxing your opponent (hand disruption and taxing creatures), but midgame put your foot on the gas pedal and burn the opponent out. The early game does coincidental damage while tearing apart their hand, then you burn them for the rest. I will leave a link for the deck below.