[Deck] Deep Blue (Affinity x Fairy Stompy's Lovechild)

[Kangaxx]

I am going to heartily disagree here. Bouncing Orb with Zoa requires you to replay it after skipping most of an untap or suffer the wrong end of 1 sided disruption. I think Esperzoa is best combined with a slew of viable artifacts as opposed to a single target. Each of these are fine candidates:


Seat of the Synod
Sigil of Distinction
Engineered Explosives
Tangle Wire
Chalice of the Void


as well as any cantripping/citp effect artifacts that a deck can support.

Wow, I'm dumb. I don't see anything wrong with running Tsabo's Web though. It shuts down so many lands in Legacy and is a very slept on card even with Esperzoa aside. Splashing another color and running Pentad Prism isn't too bad from my experience.

Hint: second color is black so that you can run The Abyss. :wink:

[Koby]

Been testing the deck more or less for a few days now and here's some thoughts:

Reference list:
4 Esperzoa
4 Master of Etherium
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Etherium Sculptor
2 Pilgrim's Eye

4 Thoughtcast

4 Chalice of the Void
3 Cranial Plating

3 Elsewhere Flask
4 Mox Diamond

4 Darksteel Citadel
3 City of Traitors
5 Island
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Wasteland

Sideboard
3 Pithing Needle
4 Propaganda
4 Tormod's Crypt
4 Trinisphere

Once again, I notice the really fast explosive starts with Sculptor and Cranial Plating; then I'm stuck with nothing but lands in hand while my opponents play all their bigger guys (or 2/x creatures that trade with Sculptor). Even with Thoughtcast and Elsewhere Flask, I still feel like I'm not seeing enough cards.

Pilgrim's Eye has been awesome. It's a perfect role, I'm bumping it up to 3 in my new list.

Elsewhere Flask is cute, but I'm really eager to try out the new Prism from ROE.

Some SB games with Trinisphere have proven more well controlled than pre-board w/o them. Mana was almost never an issue outside of outlier manascrew issues.

Specific Matchup:
Bear Rock is a tough matchup. I can't fight this deck at all (Qasali Pridemages, Gaddock Teeg, Tidehollow Sculler, Goyf, Swords, PtE, Edict, etc)

[1maarten1]

Ok, i was checking some SCG videos, when i saw an interview with the player of this deck:

EDIT: The videos:
p1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT_HLg7-Eus
p2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nF08kgF9Lg

// creatures
4#Lodestone Golem
4#Esperzoa
4#Etherium Sculptor
4#Master of Etherium
4#Trinket Mage
2#Faerie Mechanist

// spells
4#Force of Will

// artifacts
3#Tangle Wire
4#Chalice of the Void
1#Umezawa’s Jitte
2#Sword of Fire and Ice
1#Sigil of Distinction
3#Æther Vial

// lands
4#Seat of the Synod
4#Ancient Tomb
3#City of Traitors
5#Island
4#Wasteland

// sideboard
4#Hibernation
4#Propaganda
3#Relic of Progenitus
1#Tormod’s Crypt
3#Pithing Needle

I like this list alot, the creatures, the artifacts... Only thing is 3 aether vial? I understand why they are here, but arent there better 2 or 1 drops? someone has suggestions for this slot? Also the sideboard looks pretty nice. The deck plays pretty well, very consistent.

Suggestions anyone?

[frenchy-man]

can you post the link of the video please ?

[1maarten1]

look at the post for the links!

[frenchy-man]

thanks !

[tsabo_tavoc]

Ok, i was checking some SCG videos, when i saw an interview with the player of this deck:

EDIT: The videos:
p1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT_HLg7-Eus
p2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nF08kgF9Lg

/list/

I like this list alot, the creatures, the artifacts... Only thing is 3 aether vial? I understand why they are here, but arent there better 2 or 1 drops? someone has suggestions for this slot? Also the sideboard looks pretty nice. The deck plays pretty well, very consistent.

Suggestions anyone?

Thanks for posting this: I like the list and the videos. At my first sight on the list, 9 U producers hurt my eyes. I believe this is the reason for the Vials. In the video p2, the player commented that Faerie Mechanist was crap and should be replaced by some lower cc spells. He suggested Epochrasite, which was bad in my opinion (only good with Vial). I searched other 2cost artifact creatures and only found 2 decent ones: Arcbound Ravager and Painter's Servant. Ravager is not very powerful in this deck, which rarely wants to sacrifice artifacts. Painter seems out of place as well, but in a deck with Trinket Mage, 1 Grindstone can be added as an instant win (win more? The dissynergy with Chalice@1 is annoying.). At worst, 2 mana 1/3 is not too bad (generally better than Epochrasite and occasionally better than Ravager). Then, a decklist like this comes to mind:

4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Painter's Servant
4 Master of Etherium
4 Esperzoa
4 Trinket Mage
3 Lodestone Golem

4 Force of Will

4 Chalice of the Void
1 Sigil of Distinction
1 Grindstone
3 Æther Vial
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
3 Tangle Wire

4 Wasteland
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors
4 Seat of the Synod
6 Island

[lotriderm]

i've been playing around with this deck and it has a really hard time against zoo and merfolk, which is two of the more popular decks. The propaganda's in the SB aren't really that effective. What other SB options would be helpful?

[Vacrix]

What build are you playing? If you play with Trinket Mage (like the above build), EE doesn't look too bad.

EDIT
Llawan is also excellent against Merfolk.

[Zork]

Yeah I had actually cut propaganda ifrom the SB pretty darn fast for Llawan. She also punishes Progenitus and Inkwell Leviathan.

[tsabo_tavoc]

i've been playing around with this deck and it has a really hard time against zoo and merfolk, which is two of the more popular decks. The propaganda's in the SB aren't really that effective. What other SB options would be helpful?

Both are not favorable matchups, but neither desperate.

Against Zoo, it is all about dropping Chalice @1 which shuts off most of their annoying removals. Force of Will can be substituted by sideboard goodness (Nothing on top of mind, but Submerge suffers from the low island count.).

Merfolk is a better matchup and you want Vial to land your monsters that outclass theirs. Sideboard is a swap of Chalices to Llawan and other Trinket Mage targets.

Propaganda is not good enough for either matchup and does not even qualify a sideboard slot as the case of Faerie Stompy.

After figuring out Tangle Wire rarely does more than a threat, I am playing the list #257 with -3 Tangle Wire, +1 Lodestone Golem, +1 Jitte. The PainterStone combo is a blast to play. Moreover, they fit into the artifact theme and benefit from Sculptor, Vial and Mage.

[lotriderm]

Playing with Trinket Mage allows to run 1 Basilisk Collar, which really helps the Zoo matchup. Since equipping it on MoE, makes for a huge lifegain every turn.

[Wisp]

4 Seat of the Synod
4 Island
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Wasteland
3 City of Traitors
3 Ancient Tomb

4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Esperzoa
3 Lodestone Golem
3 Mulldrifter
4 Master of Etherium

4 Thoughtcast
4 Force of Will

4 Prophetic Prism
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Cranial Plating
2 Umezawa's Jitte

This is the build I'm currently testing. It isn't as consistent as i'd like but it's getting there. I'm thinking of testing trinket mage in the mulldrifter slot, but i'm not sure what atrifacts to add for it. Also i might cut one prophetic prism for something.

[lotriderm]

4 Seat of the Synod
4 Island
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Wasteland
3 City of Traitors
3 Ancient Tomb

4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Esperzoa
3 Lodestone Golem
3 Mulldrifter
4 Master of Etherium

4 Thoughtcast
4 Force of Will

4 Prophetic Prism
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Cranial Plating
2 Umezawa's Jitte

This is the build I'm currently testing. It isn't as consistent as i'd like but it's getting there. I'm thinking of testing trinket mage in the mulldrifter slot, but i'm not sure what atrifacts to add for it. Also i might cut one prophetic prism for something.

In my build, I'm playing with 4 Trinket Mages. I also have 2 Sigil of Distinctions and 1 Basilisk Collar. Yes, i know it can clash with COTV @ 1, but rarely has that happen and if my COTV does resolve and stays on the table at 1, I usually don't need the Basilisk Collar.

[Wisp]

Does sigil usually end up bigger than cranial plating in your deck?

[lotriderm]

Does sigil usually end up bigger than cranial plating in your deck?

Not really, but the Sigil allows me to play defense with my equipped guy while a Plate'd guy will only trade with an attacker. Usually, Sigil is equipped at +3/+3 and that makes my guy at least 4/5 (with Sculptor being the smallest). Being able to block and living to tell the tale helps against the aggro matchups, which is a huge problem.

My deck is currently:

4 Seat of the Synod
7 Island
4 Darksteel Citadel
3 City of Traitors
4 Ancient Tomb

4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Esperzoa
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Trinket Mage
4 Master of Etherium
2 Faerie Mechanist
1 Razormane Masticore *testing*
1 Duplicant *testing*

3 Prophetic Prism
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Cranial Plating
2 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Sigil of Distinction
1 Basilisk Collar

I'm having a bit of trouble against aggro, so I'm currently testing out the masticore and Duplicant. Also, how are you liking Lodestone Golem? I've tried him for a while and it doesn't seem that strong unless played with more lock pieces such as Thorn of Amethyst, Sphere of Resistance, and/or Tangle Wire. I tried that version but didn't like it since it was really slow and clunky. That version of MUD is more suited for Vintage since it has Mishra's Workshop.

In place of Lodestone Golem, I was considering Serendib Efreet since it costs 3 mana, flies, and is 3/4, which I like better than 5/3. The downside is that I'm taking a lot of damage from the Ancient Tombs, so I'll have to see how that works.

[Wisp]

I've been testing a trinket mage version of the deck with sigil, collar and relic in the main and it has been really good and much more solid against aggro. I've even been able to get 20 blue spells in the main to pitch to FOW (not including FOW itself, which bring it to 24). I know exactly what you mean about the lodestone golems. Your list inspired to start testing this:

3 City of Traitors
3 Ancient Tomb
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Wasteland
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Island

4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Esperzoa
4 Master of Etherium
4 Trinket Mage
2 Razormane Masticore

4 Force of Will
4 Thoughtcast

3 Prophetic Prism
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sigil of Distinction
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Basilisk Collar

I'm testing Razormane masticore as well to try and improve the aggro match-up, and i'm going to try duplicant as well. I wish i had more fliers in here but serendib efreet doesn't fit what i'm looking for.

EDIT: Also, the clash between chalice and trinket mage is rather annoying.

[lotriderm]

Before I was running the Trinket Mage package, I had a hard time finding blue cards to pitch to FOW. Now with increased blue count, I'm going to try out the FOWs again. With wastelands in the deck and only 11 sources of blue, do you ever get blue screwed on mana?

Also, my deck is more Faerie Stompy-like with the 7 equipment and trying to fit in more fliers. That's why I was considering the Efreet. The Duplicant was pretty cool with Esperzoa out, but without Etherium Sculptor I have a hard time consistently casting it, so I might just cut that for another Razormane Masticore.

@ Chalice and Trinket Mage

Before I had 1 Pithing Needle and 1 Relic in the main for the toolbox approach, but that was really bad. So, I just have the singleton Basilisk Collar in there now.

[Wisp]

Ugh my computer just ate my reply =\

I'm not writing it again but i'm testing -1 relic -1 wasteland +2 island.

[Al-ucard]

What about 1 Aether Spellbomb in trinket mage version, I tested it yesterday and I'm too satisfied with the results.

[lotriderm]

I try to avoid playing some many 1 cc in the main since it clashes with my COTV @ 1. I currently have 1 Basilisk Collar in the main and that's it.

[Wisp]

Yeah i think so too, as i found with relic of progenitus, 1 cost artifacts don't work out too well if you play chalice. Since they are searchable 1 offs, they almost never come down before chalice.

I've been testing 1 engineered explosives inplace of either 1 prophetic prism or 1 chalice. It's been great but i don't want to cut 1 of either of those.

[nedleeds]

New here just finding this thread, I've played around with something similar once Grim Monolith was unbanned. It's a good deck if you resolve Chalice for 1, but sometimes slips mid game and fails against odd ball stuff like Diabolic Edict, Smother, etc..

// Draw
3 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Thoughtcast
// Men who are also artifacts
3 Faerie Mechanist
3 Lodestone Golem
4 Master of Etherium
4 Esperzoa
// Artifacts
2 Crucible of Worlds
2 Basilisk Collar
2 Cranial Plating
4 Grim Monolith
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Mox Diamond
// Lands
2 Island
4 City of Traitors
4 Wasteland
4 Underground Sea
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Seat of the Synod

Other cards I've tinkered with are Fact or Fiction (off a Grimmie it's not too tough), Trinket Mage (with no FoW it's not super useful), Sapphire Medallion (when it's good it's good when it's bad it's a crappy mind stone). I've also fiddled with Transmute artifact which pairs well with Grim Monolith ... but UU is tough to find in this deck.

[lotriderm]

@ Wisp

Before when people were playing with Mox Diamond in their builds, EE was pretty strong. But in my version and yours, we don't run the Mox, so we can only EE for 1. When you tested it, how effective was it? Because the only time it seems to work is against Zoo, and that's only if you're lucky and they have mostly Nacatls, Lavamancers, and Lynxs.

@ nedleeds

I think the Black splash is completely unnecessary since the only use of it in the maindeck is to fast equip the Plating. At first look, your list seems to have very high cc's, so it seems pretty slow. Also, with only 14 creatures, it's going to be hard to win through opponent's removal. Before I was running about 20 creatures and it didn't seem enough. I haven't tested your list so if you could tell me about some of your matchups that'll be great.

[nedleeds]

@ nedleeds

I think the Black splash is completely unnecessary since the only use of it in the maindeck is to fast equip the Plating. At first look, your list seems to have very high cc's, so it seems pretty slow. Also, with only 14 creatures, it's going to be hard to win through opponent's removal. Before I was running about 20 creatures and it didn't seem enough. I haven't tested your list so if you could tell me about some of your matchups that'll be great.

Gives you more artifact lands as well. Sorry I didn't post the sideboard but the black inclusion is also about being able to board in plagues, capsules and graveyard hate.

The low critter count is an issue though by the 2nd turn I hope to have seen more cards via draw. Perhaps what I am toying around with is more similar to something like this:

http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?18061-Blue-5-3-(Artifact-Aggro)

Perhaps ditching TfK and relying on just 4 thoughtcast is sufficient. That frees up room for lodestone #4 and mechanic #4.

[lotriderm]

I run Darksteel Citadel so that gives me the same amount of artifact land (plus it is wasteland-proof). I do see the value in having black for Executioner's Capsule since I lack removal (thats why I play Razormane Masticore). I think the capsule is better served in the main than on the side.

@ Blue 5/3 (Artifact Aggro) deck

I think my deck is more Faerie Stompy-like (with the high amoutn of fliers and equipment), whereas the other deck is more MUD-like (with more prison cards, such as Trinisphere, Lodestone Golem, and Thorns of Amethyst).

[Hanni]

Since it is possible that some people may look at this thread, but not at my Blue 5/3 Artifact Aggro thread, I suppose I'll post my decklist here:

// Lands
4 [UNH] Island
4 [MR] Seat of the Synod
4 [TE] Ancient Tomb
4 [EX] City of Traitors
4 [TE] Wasteland
4 [DS] Blinkmoth Nexus

// Creatures
4 [UD] Metalworker
4 [ALA] Master of Etherium
4 [WWK] Lodestone Golem
4 [CFX] Faerie Mechanist
2 [FD] Razormane Masticore

// Spells
4 [MR] Chalice of the Void
4 [DS] Trinisphere
4 [DS] Sword of Fire and Ice
2 [DS] Sword of Light and Shadow
4 [SH] Mox Diamond


@ Blue 5/3 (Artifact Aggro) deck

I think my deck is more Faerie Stompy-like (with the high amoutn of fliers and equipment), whereas the other deck is more MUD-like (with more prison cards, such as Trinisphere, Lodestone Golem, and Thorns of Amethyst).

Actually, I run 8 flyers and 6 equipment. Not a big deal or anything, but just sayin. Your assessment of the deck being more like MUD is correct. I think my approach is the way to go, because it focuses on the decks synergies much better. 40 cards in my deck are artifacts, which makes Faerie Mechanist stronger. More artifacts also makes Master of Etherium stronger, and makes Lodestone Golem 100% asymmetrical. It also enables Metalworker, who is absolutely insane. Metalworker is the only reason to play this deck over Faerie Stompy, IMO.

[lotriderm]

I haven't tested your version yet but just looking through the decklist if your Metalworker gets countered/destroyed, does your hand get really clogged up due to all the high CC stuff?

[Hanni]

I haven't tested your version yet but just looking through the decklist if your Metalworker gets countered/destroyed, does your hand get really clogged up due to all the high CC stuff?

No, my hand doesn't get clogged up. I run 4 Ancient Tomb, 4 City of Traitors, and 4 Mox Diamond as additional acceleration. If they answer my Metalworker, I can't go broken and drop my entire hand, but rarely does that prevent me from dropping bomb after bomb every turn.

Another important aspect of synergy in my deck that I forgot to mention in my last post, is that I run no 1cc or 2cc spells, which makes Chalice completely asymmetrical too.

[lotriderm]

In your build, do you ever feel like you don't have enough creatures or have a hard time finding one? Because when I was playing with 20ish creatures, sometimes I had a difficulty finding a creature.

[Hanni]

With the Blinkmoth's, I run 22 creatures. That's over 1/3 of my deck. Why would that not be enough?

[lotriderm]

Maybe I'm just unlucky lol. I prefer a higher creature count personally since for some reason I can't draw creatures.

[nedleeds]

In your build, do you ever feel like you don't have enough creatures or have a hard time finding one? Because when I was playing with 20ish creatures, sometimes I had a difficulty finding a creature.

I might try to fit 2 Esperzoa in there, perhaps a little less equipment. Maybe adding Darksteel Citadel (which as you suggest is good vs. wasteland, good w/ Metalworker) and makes 8 Esp-Bounce free to replay targets.

Esperzoa can also be a (slow) draw engine with Mechanist, and of course it evades and beats like a drum.

[eq.firemind]

Hey, why no action in this thread? There are lots of new awesome dudes in latest sets!

Steel Overseer - Lord for :2: colorless mana. Slower than usual lords, but we have lots of ways to cast it on turn 1 and his effect is cumulative.
Etched Champion - This one has perfect cost, protection from Grip StP and most huge attackers and carries equips into opp's face through every blocker. Obv. awesome!
Memnite + Ornithopter + Mox Opal - Yeah, Mox without card disadvantage in Legacy.
:0: dudes are great equip carriers and can become threats with 8 lords (plus Overseer's permanent pump) in very short time. Also, this combination of cards perfectly supports Thoughtcast.
I guess theese newcomers are huge power boost for the deck and the whole Affinity+5/3 idea becomes more clear and pure.

Here's the raw list wich (I hope) has a future:

Steel Blue
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
2 Glimmervoid
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Mox Opal

4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Steel Overseer
4 Etched Champion
4 Master of Etherium
4 Lodestone Golem

4 Chalice of the Void
2 Thirst for Knowledge
4 Sword of Fire and Ice
4 Thoughtcast

Sideboard
3 Silent Arbiter
2 Winter Orb
4 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Tormod's Crypt
3 Pithing Needle

The most debatable slots are Thirst for Knowledge. Only if there was more usefull way to get rid of uneeded moxes...

[nedleeds]

I like Thirst better than Thoughtcast. 4 Opals is too much, especially if you aren't running anything to either eat artifacts or bounce (Esperzoa). 8 zeros that do nothing seems excessive also.

[Meekrab]

The most debatable slots are 0 Cranial Plating
Fixed your post. Srsly, play 4 please.

[lotriderm]

With Scars, I would probably play 3 (maybe 4) Mox Opal and maybe a couple Etched Champions. I think Semblance Anvil would replace Etherium Sculptor so my list would probably look like this:

4 Seat of the Synod
5 Island
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 City of Traitors
4 Ancient Tomb
3 Mox Opal

4 Semblance Anvil
4 Esperzoa
4 Etched Champion
4 Trinket Mage
4 Master of Etherium
3 Faerie Mechanist
2 Razormane Masticore

4 Chalice of the Void
2 Cranial Plating
2 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Sigil of Distinction
1 Sword of Fire and Ice (could be anything really)

4 Chalice of the Void
2 Cranial Plating
2 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Sigil of Distinction

I haven't tested this list at all but on paper it seems okay. Semblance Anvil seems strong because it can help power out most of the deck faster and it is harder to destroy than Metalworker/Etherium Sculptor. I will test this list out when I have time.


Edit: Tested the list with Semblance Anvil. It is SICKKKKKKK! Allows me to drop my whole hand. The only time it wasn't as impressive was when I had to mull down to 5. But if Semblance Anvil was Metalworker or Etherium Scultor, it wouldn't have made a difference.

Etched Champion was really strong because it helped out against the aggro MU, which I feel is one of the weaker MUs we have.

[eq.firemind]

I like Thirst better than Thoughtcast. 4 Opals is too much, especially if you aren't running anything to either eat artifacts or bounce (Esperzoa). 8 zeros that do nothing seems excessive also.
Thirst was pretty bad in testing 'cause 3 mana is too much for such effect in this deck.
I think Riddlesmith will be better 'cause he can also beat ass and carry equips and all :0: artifacts will be able to
enable Smith and feed it.
Thoughtcast on the other hand was one of the best cards in the deck. Draw 2 for :u: is just awesome.
8 :0: dudes were almost OK, but I'll test 7 (6 were not enough to power out new Mox)


Fixed your post. Srsly, play 4 Cranial Plating please.
I tried 4 platings and found myself missing the power of more expensive equips. 2/2 SoFaI/Plating split should be fine.

Lodestone Golem was mediocre. Crucible of Worlds+Wasteland is the next thing I want to try for disruption.
The deck's curve is lower than general, so the number of City of Traitors will be decreased (or even cut down to zero)
Here's the final list I'm going to test this evening:
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Darksteel Citadel (maybe 2 City of Traitors instead of 2 Citadels)
2 Glimmervoid
4 Wasteland
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Mox Opal

4 Ornithopter
3 Memnite
4 Steel Overseer
4 Riddlesmith
4 Etched Champion
4 Master of Etherium

4 Chalice of the Void
2 Cranial Plating
2 Sword of Fire and Ice
3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Thoughtcast

[jazzykat]

I think that if you guys play Mox Opal then Esperzoa is a no brainer. Combo with Riddlesmith and hillarity ensues.

[HAL]

I would go for a 2/2 split between mox opal and mox diamond.
Also, Vedalken Certarch is really, really, really good.
LIke, really, really, really, really, really good.

[jrsthethird]

I'm trying to fit FOW so if I trade Esperzoa for Etched Champion, Certarch seems solid to keep up the U count.

I tried Riddlesmith in goldfishing but if I wasn't pitching an extra Mox Opal I was generally sad, especially when dropping the last card in your hand means you mill one.

Also, I want to try out Grand Architect but getting UU consistently seems very difficult. Opal helps but if we're trading Mox Diamond for it, not so much. Maybe Chromatic Star has a place in that plan?

[Koby]

Haven't revisited this archetype since August, but I'm really excited about Mox Opal for this deck. This means we can drop the curve and reduce the amount of lands in the deck to make it more aggressive. I am going to testagain with Opals and report back in about 2 weeks with my results.

I'm still a afan of Lodestone Golem in the deck, and if nothing else Etherium Sculptor is a dude that equips. This gets the nod over SemblenceAnvil.

[jrsthethird]

Card tags for new cards please!!! Semblance Anvil

Wow, Anvil seems strong. In a FOW build, Sculptor would make the cut, but without, it's a toss-up. Anvil also helps to get rid of extra Opals, and serves the same purpose as Grand Architect. I'm gonna be doing some retooling tonight, there's a local Legacy event on Sunday so hopefully I'll be able to test against real people then.

[Koby]

A bit of a necro, but I've found a very interesting synergy that has been working for this deck. Keep in mind this is a rough draft of the idea, but so far it's hyper-explosive and can get out of hand very fast.

4 Darksteel Citadel
2 Island
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Wasteland
4 Seat of the Synod

3 Voltaic Key (bomb! may want 4)
4 Mox Opal
4 Grim Monolith

3 Vedalken Archmage (test slot, difficult to cast)
4 Etherium Sculptor
3 Etched Champion
4 Steel Overseer
4 Master of Etherium

4 Pithing Needle (disruption, very iffy)
3 Cranial Plating
3 Sensei's Divining Top

3 Thoughtcast

Sideboard
1 Molten-Tail Masticore
4 Mindbreak Trap
4 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Myr Battlesphere
4 Relic of Progenitus

At first, I was trying to go for the Sensei-Sensei combo using the Deep Blue idea; but then things starting to click with Key, Monolith, and Overseer. So far, I like how it plays out. SDT provides filtering since this deck has weak topdecks. Changing around some of the iffy slots can streamline the deck, but having enough cheap artifacts to trigger Mox is necessary.

One key change I would propose is to swap Pithing Needle with Memnite to enable turn 1 Monolith off a Mox Opal.

EDIT: after testing the above list, I can for sure say that the Archmage is mostly trash. Pithing Needle ended up being somewhat useful vs Vial decks, but that slot would be better served with Memnites to enable turn 1 Etched Champion off of Mox + Monolith. Even turn 2 Champion is nut high. I'll continue testing a newer version and report back within a couple of days.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

I've been moving this in a very different direction from what I see other people posting.

While I'm sure that the possibilities of going straight aggro are exciting, this seems like a simple retinkering of Raffinity; and I don't know if that strategy benefits any from Chalice and Force. The other direction I've seen a lot of is the old mana denial route, with cards like Wasteland/Crucible, Lodestone Golem, Trinisphere, Tangle Wire, etc., etc..

I avoided that route for a few reasons. I think that other colors like white can do it better, and I don't think there are that many decks in Legacy that have such incredibly vulnerable manabases anyway. My experience with playing Stax like decks is that I hate it, my opponent hates it and I end up losing anyway.

So the current list I have actually plays a lot more like a traditional midrange deck, complete with honest-to-God creature removal and everything;


4 Tree of Tales
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Seat of the Synod
2 Darksteel Citadel
4 Mishra's Factory
1 Tendo Ice Bridge

3 Masticore
4 Master of Etherium
4 Trinket Mage

3 Mox Opal
4 Mox Diamond
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Thoughtcast
4 Force of Will
3 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Sigil of Distinction
3 Engineered Explosives

Sideboard:
1 Cursed Scroll
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Pithing Needle
3 Tormod's Crypt
3 Krosan Grip
4 Engineered Plague

EE and Masticore cover a lot of bases; generally Masticore is your go-to-guy against Swarm/Tribal decks, whereas EE will deal with your Goyfs and Knights of the Reliquary and whatnot. Basically it plays a lot like a midrange deck with Chalice built in to shut down opposing strategies; and it can function as easily with Chalice at 2 as at 1. 7 Moxen and Ancient Tomb give it speed, although you have to mulligan sometimes when you have dissynergistic elements of your manabase. Be conservative with Force; it's there to stop shit that's going to end games, not to throw away your card drawing and Masters countering every Wild Nacatl.

I'm pretty pleased with this list, but it still needs some polishing. I've changed the list too often to give exact matchup percentages, but the general gist would be things that are running Qasali Pridemage or Aether Vial are shaky matchups, and everything else is pretty decent.

[Karhumies]

I've been moving this in a very different direction from what I see other people posting.

- -

So the current list I have actually plays a lot more like a traditional midrange deck, complete with honest-to-God creature removal and everything;


I would like to offer you some of the same advice which has been previously discussed in the UWx Metalcraft control thread (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?19573-UWx-Metalcraft-Control):

SB Trickbind may be more useful than SB Engineered Plague, because Trickbind can stop opposing EE @ 0 and Pernicious Deed activation. 4x FoW + 3x Pithing Needle might not be enough against those, especially if the opponent is also running a counter-suite. I have found the Split Second mechanic to help the post-SB performance significantly. While Krosan Grip also works, Trickbind has a cheaper mana cost, is on-color to pitch for FoW and can make the opponent to spend more mana for attempted activation = "time walk" in your favor.

MD Arcane Denial may fulfill a similar role with Thirst for Knowledge for 1U instead of 2U: getting rid of redundant Mox Opal/Mox Diamond/Chalice of the Void for 3 fresh cards. Arcane Denial has the added benefit of relevant interaction with the opponent, but the downsides are waiting for 1 turn to get the cards and potentially destroying your Mox Opal (or resolving Chalice @ 0) if the opponent counters your Arcane Denial. You need to playtest the card yourself to form a personal opinion about it.

Also, is there a good reason for you to run Tendo Ice Bridge over Gemstone Mine (or City of Brass)?

Furthermore, I would like to see a flyer or a damage outlet somewhere in the MD so that you do not scoop G1 to a resolved Moat (well, theoretically you can EE @ 4 but that can be difficult to resolve at times). Have you considered running Thopter Foundry or Blinkmoth Nexus for this purpose?

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

Trickbind might be a good card in the sideboard, but it's not really in the same role as Engineered Plague. It's nowhere near as good against Merfolk and Goblins on a general basis. That said it's something I'll keep in mind as an option, I'm just not sure why you suggested it in that slot in particular.

Using Arcane Denial interactively seems a lot like shooting yourself in the foot, and generally the deck is built to be able to drop Chalice at 1 and 2

I ruled out City of Brass since Ancient Tomb and Force already do enough damage to your own life total, and Gemstone Mine just seemed to have a bigger drawback with how the deck functions. Usually I only need one colored activation off of it, and after that I can find whatever color I need.

EE at 4 is actually pretty easy to cast, although they could always be running counters. Foundry I don't think would be worth it without the full combo, which would make it difficult to run Chalice out at 2 and would generally be better suited to a different deck I think. Nexus is an idea over Factory, maybe, but it's worse on defense, and I don't know if an anemic 1-2 damage a turn is going to be the answer you want to Moat. The deck does have an air weakness, though; a resolved Tombstalker would be a nightmare.

[Koby]

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=117417&d=1303185738

Is this the bone we've been asking for R&D to throw for us? It solves 2 problems:
1) Threat Density
2) Answer to big creatures (Hi there Clone!)

Being a blue creature also matters for FoW, and it's also effectively only 3 mana. Cloning a Master of Etherium is pretty hot, as is Lodestone Golem.

[Clark Kant]

I really like this deck idea and the new set just leaked.

Porcelain Legionaire, Phyrexian Metamorph and Moltensteel Dragon are all exactly the kick in the pants this deck needed. Metamorph duplicates your Dragons, Wurmcoils and your opponents Dreadnoughts, Tombstalkers, Progenitus and Emrakuls.

Legionnaire is a fantastic two drop due to the first strike.

Moltentail is a solid 4 drop artifact dragon since it flies and you can trade your life to pump it and do the last bit of damage.

Moltensteel Dragon 4PP
Artifact Creature - Dragon
4/4
(P) can be paid with R or 2 life
Flying
P: Moltensteel Dragon gets +1/+0 until end of turn.

Replace the crappier cards with these and this deck is ready to fly.