Yarus, Roar of the Old GodsI was mostly inspired to build this by the Over/Under article on EDHRec hyperfocusing on Yarus's second ability and not saying a word about his third.
After playing several games with this deck it's pretty clear that that is the main draw of Yarus, as you have a million other ways to get cards. Is someone running
Grave Pact or dropping
Fleshbag Marauder variants? Well thanks for the flip. Board wipes? Thanks for the flip. Swinging in at me or try blocking? You got it, thanks for the flip.
The deck runs both
Blasphemous Act and
Showstopping Surprise specifically to turn things face up if people aren't doing the job for you, and
Marauding Raptor accomplishes the same while also dropping the cost.
Sac outlets allow for cheap or even free flips, so
Evolutionary Leap and
Perilous Forays allow me to get even more long term advantage without actually losing anything in exchange.
The
Marauding Raptor, along with Yarus and the
Ashcloud Phoenix form a usually game ending combo, with
Fortune Thief and
Pyrotechnic Performer allowing you to tip the odds of survival in your favor while the various +1/+1 triggers allow for a way to shut the loop off if it would kill you first while still allowing you to drop everyone into an easy kill range.
The main issue, that I can see, is that the list of viable cards for Yarus is just so shallow that there's not much room for variation. That said I am wondering if anyone sees ways I can improve this even more. The cards that are currently in the maybeboard are ones I'm either lacking but want, just don't know how to fit in, or am just generally on the fence about.