Post-Ban UW Lotus

https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/december-4-2023-banned-and-restricted-announcement

Quite a bit to take in from this banning. There will be a lot of updates in the Discord for the cards I will be testing as well as VODs that I will be uploading when I think I have a good list going.

Decks I think will be most common at RC Atlanta:
Phoenix (Both UR and UB)
Rakdos Midrange/Sacrifice w/ Smuggler's Copter
Boros Convoke
Lotus Combo

Tale's End is horrible against all these matchups and now gets axed.

Less popular decks that will likely see some play:
UW Spirits
Boros Legends
5c Humans
Quintorius Combo
Amalia Life

List I will be testing out from now on:
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/8v7IrQpC_ky9QJYcipISYA

New cards to mention that I am testing:
Gates of Istfell: I like this card more than Restless Anchorage because of the card advantage it can provide. With the discounted cost from Sunken Citadel, this is not bad. I have clawed my way out of some games by just copying my Gates with Stage and saccing it for draws.

Scrabbling Claws: This is kind of like a weaker Lantern of the Lost but has the advantage of never exiliing your own graveyard. A lot of decks only really require you to exile one or two cards from the graveyard. The added bonus of being able to exile one card every turn is also better than Lantern, as you can control the graveyard more effectively, even against Rakdos Sacrifice, for example. However, this card needs testing and I'm not sure if I will stick to it.

Unwind: I really like this card. This is likely staying as a two-of. I have always like Rewind but found it too slow at times in the aggro matchups and so it lost its place in the mainbaord. This, however, is a great card that is played in the noncreature matchups, especially in the sideboard. It really turns the tempo around when your opponent tries to play on your end step and you untap all your lands, this is incredibly strong in the UW mirror and against Lotus Combo. These are also two matchups that are definitely loseable Game 1 because of the lack of countermagic.

Ashiok, Dream Render: I like this as a one-of to become a win-con against Phoenix (as they can easily mill out) and this also has the added benefit of being amazing against Lotus Combo.

Dream Trawler: With the rise of Rakdos after this ban, it is likely this card is necessary again.

Hullbreaker Horror: Great against Phoenix, Lotus Combo, UW Control. It is a great one-of in the grindier matchups.

Because the meta is likely not going to be solved by RC Atlanta, there will be a lot of random decks that can't be expected. Because of this, it is better to take a mainboard tap out approach as before with UW Lotus. The sideboard of course will be mostly instead speed. I think Rakdos adding Copter in the deck is actually a net positive for UW Lotus. This turns on the Whales so much more, even if they get a loot out of it. I don't think Copter will see as much play as people think in Rakdos, but it might see a lot of play in more aggro decks, maybe in spirits. 

Cards I have thought about:
Rewind
Elspeth's Smite
Portable Hole
More Lockdowns/Strict Proctor

These are all meta dependent cards though and will likely not make it to the final list I play in RC Atlanta unless something unexpected changes.