This is an ARTISAN (uncommon/common only) deck I put together, because I wanted to flesh out some underutilized cards in Magic: The Gathering. In the set Zendikar Rising we've got the “Kicker” keyword/mechanic gives us benefits for paying extra mana and I wanted to do something with my cardboard at home. Thus came this deck list to life.

MAIN:

Lullmage's Familiar is the draft signature card for the said mechanic and this creature will give us mana, give us life and a pretty good body on top of that. As much as I've played in the past days, I've never seen a creature get this much hate. It's slow, it doesn't do much on turn3 and it's not like it's putting OP on a clock or anything, but almost every game, this poor fella gets the removal right at its face! The 2 life per kicked spell is gravy on the mashed potatoes.

Roost of Drakes is the lonely MVP of the deck. Make sure to mulligan to 6 if the first 7 are not a blast. (Don't go to 5, not worth it, unless the 2nd 6 cards were also bad). Playing this card feels good almost on every turn and it's what makes the “win”. Without it, it's going to be an up-hill battle.

Vine Gecko Is a cool creature. Be aware, only the FIRST KICKED spell on a turn will get the discount, but boy does it grow fast. It acts like the first mana rock in the deck for the following turns.

Bubble Snare won't do much on it's own. For one mana it requires an “already tapped” creature and kicking this spell without Roost of Drakes feels underwhelming, however works best against huge beefy creatures.

Into the Roil On the other hand feels great every time. Bouncing problematic creatures, drawing a card, tempo play at it's finest. Works pretty well with the Sproutling.

Decisive Denial I put in the deck, because, like always, blue green decks lack removal! ESPECIALLY in a deck, that does not contain any rares/mythics. You WILL lose because of that fact and you better be mentally prepared for it!

Field Research is also sorely needed. I've flooded so many times and lost count, often enough, the three extra cards got me out of the sticky situation

Murasa Sproutling is the hidden monster. Getting back ANY kicker-card is what pushes this deck to the point, where I feel comfortable enough to write about it in the first place. Bouncing the Sproutling, drawing a card, creating a drake and then re-playing the Sproutling to get back the Roil and REPEAT the whole process for more drake is satisfying to say the least.

Reclaim the Wastes Is in the deck for early land gathering. Being able to fetch for a blue land and then turn 2 play the Roost is exactly what this decks needs.

Vastwood Surge Great finisher for the deck. Getting to put two +1/+1 counters one each drake will make for the alpha strike a turn earlier.

CHEAT SHEET:

- 12 sources of each mana should give us 86% chance of turn 1 mana. Do NOT waste the opportunity to get an island with Reclaim the Wastes. Blue mana is more important than the green.

KNOW THY STRENGTH:

Hyper aggressive decks will beat the crap out of this deck, I've lost so many times vs. goblins or mono white (but then again, I didn't play any rares/mythics), but nonetheless, be aware. Life gain decks will out-value this deck and can pressure with a huge beat stick if unchecked! However, control decks are hilariously funny, when they realize their removal doesn't add up with the amount of drakes this deck can produce.

FUTURE SIGHT:

I will be building several flavourful 60 card artisan decks, with mechanics I deem fun enough to built around. Keep an eye out for the next one.

Thank you for reading!