mtg red land destruction cards I know is frowned upon because it can slow down the game, but is this card a bit less mean? It just punishes my opponent for not diversifying, right? why does red not destroy

With Thrumming Stone, Marrow-Gnawer, and tight removal it can push into higher-power pods, though its not a cEDH staple

Sure, you'd prefer your big five- and six-drops at this point, but really anything would help turn this great start into a victory

Aretopolis Plane Kephalai When you planeswalk to Aretopolis and at the beginning of your upkeep, put a scroll counter on Aretopolis, then you gain life equal to the number of scroll counters on it

The blue half of the color in particular has the best benefits from artifacts with cards like Valkyrie Aerial Unit and Rook Turret both being solid payoffs for playing artifacts