I loaned a deck to a kid for a tournament this Friday. He had a choice of a good or a fun deck and as he chose a good one I gave him sandsapoise.
4 sands of time
4 equipoise
4 Mox diamond
4 Enlightened tutor
4 swords to plowshares
14 various counterspells
2 millstones
2 fountain of youths
2 capsizes
6 Islands
18 lands of Telfari's Islands, gemstone mine, Ghost town,Lotus Vale, Sheltered Vale, Soldevi Excavations, and Syvelunite Temple
Pulling this deck out reminded me of what attracted me to magic in the first place. This is a deck made around phasing and using cards which just happen to work together. I had to discover this combination and work out the deck. Playing it was fun but I loved finding the odd effect cards and making them work.
Unfortunately there are almost no cards like equipoise made anymore. Now the effects are all cleverly worked out by the designers who know every use. Further decks that create hostile environments and slow down play are verbotten by the Wizards brain trust. Most do not miss decks like reap, sandsapoise, secret force, or natures revolt humility, but for those of us that do every new set is hoped to bring us new cards. When the set is revealed though we are left disappointed as there never seem to be any cards for us.