Although today's deck is named after the card Skygames, it does not actually contain any copies of the land-centric aura. However, the deck was partly inspired by the card and did initially include a few copies before they were ultimately replaced. You may wonder why the deck still bears its name, though. The reason is simple: I like it! Really rolls off the tongue, ya know? Plus, I feel like it partially explains the deck's main strategy. How does the deck work, and what kind of insane deck would incorporate the Skygames card, or something like it? For that answer, my friend, you must read on!

Simic Skygames | Casual | James Heslip

• Creatures (22)
• 3 Mischievous Catgeist // Catlike Curiosity
• 3 Riptide Pilferer
• 4 Ana Disciple
• 4 Femeref Archers
• 4 Guild Thief
• 4 Wind Dancer

• Instants (10)
• 2 Tangletrap
• 4 Opt
• 4 Plummet

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Atraxa's Fall

• Lands (22)
• 6 Forest
• 8 Island
• 4 Tangled Islet
• 4 Vineglimmer Snarl

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Cost: $11 at the time of publication

The Core

The Backup

Ana Disciple is a 1-drop whose activated ability only costs a single Blue mana. So, it helps make our early mana curve more fluid, while also filling the same role as Dancer. Though I did not include any Black sources of mana, you might be able to justify including some just to have the option of activating his power-reducing ability.

Zephyr Charge is another permanent that bestows flying on any creature we want. It's a bit more expensive to activate than its counterparts, but it makes up for this by dodging creature removal. Importantly, it can also be activated at instant speed (relevant for Archers), unlike Skygames itself.

Looking at anti-air cards available, Green doesn't play around. Plummet will straight up kill any legal target, regardless of its size. This is incredibly important as a means of removing any threats that are too large for Archers to shoot down. Though at sorcery speed, Atraxa's Fall does the same with an added bonus. It and Tangletrap can also be used to destroy other types of pesky permanents besides just creatures! They provide the deck with options and answers that not a lot of other strategies can replicate.

Opt smooths out the deck's early turns and gives some level of card selection. Our primary method of obtaining card advantage is through the repeated use of our creature destruction combo, but it's always good to have some sort of early card sorting just in case.

Looking at cards that fit the third role of benefitting from an empty board, we have Guild Thief, Mischievous Catgeist // Catlike Curiosity, and Riptide Pilferer. Looking at each, it should be clear what we're going for: all three have triggered abilities when they deal combat damage to an opponent. Guild Thief grows, becoming a more and more dangerous threat as time goes on. This also makes him our primary finisher. Catgeist and Pilferer both give card advantage in their own way, drawing us more cards and forcing the opponent to discard theirs respectively.

Tips and Tricks

• Though we hope that our opponent will simply have no creatures available to block our Blue 2-drop threats, that won't always be the case. In these situations, we can always use Wind Dancer and the other flying-gifters as they were originally intended, donating evasion and enabling combat triggers!
• Mischievous Catgeist's Disturb ability shouldn't be forgotten. Our best target is probably Guild Thief, but Wind Dancer comes with flying already. So if you don't see yourself activating her in the near future, consider enchanting her with a kitty companion and attacking for some extra card draw.
• When possible, save your spells that straight up kill enemy fliers for the really big threats. Femeref Archers and Tangletrap are limited by their damage, so they should be used on the smaller creatures you are put up against.

Additional Options | James Heslip

• Creatures (16)
• 1 Arashi, the Sky Asunder
• 1 Caller of Gales
• 1 Ettercap
• 1 Ezuri's Archers
• 1 Headhunter
• 1 Hoard Robber
• 1 Initiate's Companion
• 1 Jagged-Scar Archers
• 1 Kraul Harpooner
• 1 Longtusk Cub
• 1 Lys Alana Bowmaster
• 1 Matsu-Tribe Sniper
• 1 Merrow Levitator
• 1 Venomspout Brackus
• 1 Windcaller Aven
• 1 Wingshield Agent

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Vivien Reid

• Instants (7)
• 1 Collision // Colossus
• 1 Crushing Canopy
• 1 Flourishing Strike
• 1 Forced Landing
• 1 Lofty Denial
• 1 Run Afoul
• 1 Stinging Shot

• Sorceries (5)
• 1 Carnivorous Canopy
• 1 Gust of Wind
• 1 Take Down
• 1 Whirlwind
• 1 Winged Words

• Enchantments (4)
• 1 Ongoing Investigation
• 1 Raking Canopy
• 1 Skygames
• 1 Storm Front

• Artifacts (3)
• 1 Bloodforged Battle-Axe
• 1 Mystery Key
• 1 Specter's Shroud

• Lands (1)
• 1 Soaring Seacliff

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Most of the alternatives presented are Green cards that destroy or damage flying creatures in one way or another. Of them, you might consider Take Down as an additional one-drop for the list. I also like the idea of maxing out our multi-target options with Broken Wings. Just gives us that much more game against anything that uses those permanent types, and we don't lose much of anything by including it.

Raking Canopy is a little pricey compared to the rest of the deck, but it fits right in, and would certainly cause opponents to reconsider their attacks. Vivien Reid is also a bit higher not only in actual price, but also in mana value. Still, she acts as yet another repeatable form of removal. Her +1 is not quite as relevant as it would be in other more creature-focused strategies, but I could still see justification for her inclusion.

Finally, we have the option of empowering our combat-trigger creatures. There are a ton of options out there, especially if you simply want to improve damage. For additional card-advantage-focused options, though, you have cards like Specter's Shroud and Mystery Key. These equipment more or less allow any creature to mimic Catgeist and Pilferer, making hits that much more relevant.