Standard Rogue: From Warp World to Mass Polymorph

I found the rumor season for M11 a bit sad, as it revealed that Warp World would not be included for next year. This once again leaves me without a deck concept to move forward with. I turn in desperation to the clear replacement to Warp World, the new blue spell Mass Polymorph.

The concept seems pretty clear. By controlling the creatures in the deck, I can hit specific targets and effects off the Mass Polymorph. In looking at my Warp World deck, the first thing that jumps out is I need to add blue to the mana base, which means I should probably drop a color. Since Mass Polymorph only effects creatures, and not lands, my prior win condition (Ob Nix) is pretty much out, so I have little need for black. The lack of land fall triggers also removes the need for most of card advantage tricks. In fact the only thing resembling a win condition from the original deck, is the Hellkites.

Getting all four Hellkites out in one hit for a win condition is pretty tough, because I have to cheat out 4 token creatures to do it. In preliminary testing, I find that I'm having to use a turn to get my 4th creature, when I really want to be going into a Mass Polymorph. I worry that extra turn will cost the deck games. I pulled the deck back off the shelf, when I stumbled across an article by Dave Meeson. His use of Magister Sphinx is just the tech I needed. By  stacking the triggers properly you can get the same effect from a Magister Sphinx, and 2 Hellkites.

With any combo deck, you have to look at what you have left if things go wrong. In this case, what happens if you can't hit all 3 creatures when you go off? The worst one to lose is the sphinx, but even then you have dealt 10 damage, and have 2 5/5 fliers ready to go. Not a bad place to be in! The forum hivemind for the article also recommended See Beyond, as a way to dimish the likely hood of hitting your worst case, and improving card draw and selection. Based on these sources, and my own prior work, I developed the following list.

1 Magister Sphinx
2 Bogardan Hellkite

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Mana Leak
4 See Beyond
4 Spawning Breath
1 Banefire
4 Dragon Fodder
4 Growth Spasm
4 Mass Polymorph
4 Preordain

4 Forest
5 Island
3 Mountain
2 Rootbound Crag
4 Halimar Depths
4 Khalni Garden
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Scalding Tarn

Best part about this deck, is because of my existing collection, it is super budget friendly. I only need a sphinx, and 2 Mass Polymorphs for a grand total under $4. Hooray for fun budget decks!