[SCD] Grim Monolith

[RexFTW]

This is a pretty exciting card to unban. It makes cards that cost more than 4 mana playable in the format. Nobody has been able to break metalworker yet, possibly because of his drawback of being a feeble crittter. You can make some interesting plays with the grim monolith such as:

Turn 2/3 Tezzeret, untap seat of synod or mox and grim, play another spell
Turn 2 Jace
Turn 3 Eldrazi spells
Turn 3 Wildfire with buckets of artifact mana still around
Turn 3 vedalken shackles + activate

It may also make bomb spells in the 5-7 range more easily playable. ie dovescape, enduring ideal, mirari's wake, treachary.

It may also power up gifts ungiven by providing enough mana to blow someone out after a gifts by playing both the spells they give you on the same turn.

It will also probably show up in new storm decks. (Thus the banning of mystical, to be replacede with a new breed of grim storm).

There is the obviously poor sorcery speed infinate mana provided by power artifact.

What are everyone's ideas on this?

[anonymos]

I honestly don't think that they are going to be amazingly overpowered like a lot of people are thinking they are.

I do believe that they may give 'geddon Stax decks enough speed to be feasible with the slowing of combo decks at the same time. This thought remains to be proven though.

[Vacrix]

It could be hilarious if someone gets Mind Over Matter + Grim Monolith to be playable again.

Otherwise, I think its rather underwhelming.

You expect it to see play in storm? What build? I don't see where it could fit.

[rufus]

You expect it to see play in storm? What build? I don't see where it could fit.
Belcher, Servant/Grinder, Stax, and Affinity are the obvious places where it will see testing. Empty the Warrens is the primary storm card which can use :3:.

Theoretically, Dragonstorm could take advantage of it, but I think the format still doesn't offer enough in the way of engine cards to make that viable.

[jrsthethird]

You expect it to see play in storm? What build? I don't see where it could fit.

Belcher, although it's not a dedicated Storm Combo deck, like ANT or TES. Casting/activating Belcher requires only colorless mana, while several spells (Seething Song, Manamorphose, ETW, Burning Wish, etc.) require 1 or more colorless mana, so with proper mana management it could provide a boost.

[coraz86]

I honestly see it being more useful for MUC, much like the Accelerated Blue builds of once upon a time, where they use it to make it easier to play a threat and keep protective mana up for countermagic. See the top 8 of Worlds 2000 for a couple ideas.

I don't think that will be format warping, but people who play blue may be happy to know that they no longer have to choose between playing around Wasteland and praying to not see Zoo.

[RexFTW]

Not good in combo? play grim monolith then go off next turn!!! It covers the three mana needed to cunning wish for adnauseum! (of course you must supply the blue and get 1 colorless left over but it is the correct AMOUNT of mana). Not to mention it makes adnausem ridiculously easy to cast on turn 3... swamp swamp grim ADN.

Combo is the reason grim was banned to begin with.

[Gheizen64]

Sadly, i don't think this will see play at all. I've tested a bit with it, and basically all prison/artifact deck suffer from the fact that aggro is so much faster now. Wildfire now is too slow for zoo and aggro. Accellerated blue kind of decks has the same problem. Prison decks can't block spells AND creatures at the same times. Monolith do little for them. Also, basically the only combo that could us is Belcher, and Belcher doesn't need more fast mana, it need resiliency.

However, if i'm proven wrong and this get played, i expect this to power up Tezzeret-based decks.

[Brushwagg]

I don't think it will find a home in storm but a heavy artifact deck that can do dumb stuff with the mana could go broken fast. Turn 1 Trinisphere seems bad for every deck in the format.

I mean a deck that starts like this

4x Metalworker
4x Grim Monolith
4x Voltaic Key
4x Power Artifact

seems pretty good. Thanks alot Wizards.

[Eldariel]

Power Artifact/Grim is pretty bad. The manacosts are hugely incompatible in that Grim wants a deck full of colorless spells it can accelerate into and lands that tap for lots of colorless, while Power Artifact requires UU. Some Big Blue (Bigger Than FS) might work, but that's pretty niché case as far as Grim Monolith-decks go. And having the combo still doesn't do anything drastic unless you have an X-spell to cast off them.

I'd start looking at the Urza-era Monolith-decks like Wildfire and Tinker (that deck looks to be a solid shell in spite of lacking its namesake) as a baseline; they tend to be excellent at abusing Monolith, particularly in conjuction with Voltaic Key, while still functioning fine without them. Of course, as has been mentioned, cards like Stroke, Braingeyser, Fact or Fiction, Tezzeret and company are also excellent with Grim so...there's another path to consider.

[Finn]

You know, Basalt Monolith and Power Artifact have worked like this for years, and nothing. In fact, Basalt Monlith and Wake Thrasher is a nifty kill combo. And lemme tell ya. There is nothing there. Nothing.

[morgan_coke]

Tezzeret Staxish big blue seems like by far the best option for this card, but I'd be lying if said I knew whether or not that was a good deck. In the spirit of being bad at everything, maybe a list like:

14x Island
4x Ancient Tomb
4x Seat of the Synod (or Mox Diamond)
4x Wasteland
4x Grim Monolith

4x Tezzeret the Seeker
4x Jace the Mind Sculptor
4x Thirst for Knowledge
2x Intuition

4x Crucible of Worlds
4x Propaganda
4x Chalice of the Void
4x Force of Will

I'm sure thats a terrible list, but it might be the kind of direction people would want to take a grim monolith deck. Or not. And maybe Forbid should be in there to get paired with Jace2, or maybe Treasure Hunt. Or both. Or Academy Ruins. etc. etc.

[Jon Stewart]

I don't think it will find a home in storm but a heavy artifact deck that can do dumb stuff with the mana could go broken fast. Turn 1 Trinisphere seems bad for every deck in the format.

I mean a deck that starts like this

4x Metalworker
4x Grim Monolith
4x Voltaic Key
4x Power Artifact

seems pretty good. Thanks alot Wizards.

I would much rather play...

4 Sundering Titan
4 Metalworker
4 Grim Monolith
4 Thran Dynamo
4 Voltaic Key
4 Trinisphere
2 Karn, Silver Golem
2 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
2 All is Dust

Maybe Chalice because the card is just that good. But otherwise, the shell seems really strong.

[Tog]

Theoretically, Dragonstorm could take advantage of it, but I think the format still doesn't offer enough in the way of engine cards to make that viable.

Reaching 9 mana for casting Dragonstorm is rather unrealistic but the namesake deck has gained another valuable tool with the release of the Alara Block. A Dragonstorm for two can tutor up a Karthas and Bogardan Hellkite to hit for 17. Of course there are some holes in the game plan but it is a rather strong play for a small storm count.

[Jon Stewart]

Reaching 9 mana for casting Dragonstorm is rather unrealistic but the namesake deck has gained another valuable tool with the release of the Alara Block. A Dragonstorm for two can tutor up a Karthas and Bogardan Hellkite to hit for 17. Of course there are some holes in the game plan but it is a rather strong play for a small storm count.

What the heck is Karthas. A google search turns up nothing.

Reaching 9 mana isn't difficult with a shell like what I posted directly above your post. But at that point, is Dragonstorm worth it over simply playing Sundering Titan?

If so, then yeah, a shell like this might not be half bad...

14 Mountain
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
4 Goblin Welder
4 Seething Song
4 Dragonstorm
4 Sundering Titan
4 Metalworker
4 Grim Monolith
4 Thran Dynamo
4 Voltaic Key
2 Trinisphere
2 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Bogardan Hellkite
1 Krathas??

[Rico Suave]

Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund (http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=180587)

[jrsthethird]

Please use Source card tags: Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund

[ cards ] [ /cards ], without the spaces.

[dahcmai]

Makes you want to rebuild Obliterate decks, but even in that case, they still kinda blow.

[Ozymandias]

Dragon Stompy can get up to the critical 16+ artifacts needed to run Covetous Dragon, and replace seething song with the "bankable" monolith if it does so.

[rufus]

Reaching 9 mana for casting Dragonstorm is rather unrealistic but the namesake deck has gained another valuable tool with the release of the Alara Block. A Dragonstorm for two can tutor up a Karthas and Bogardan Hellkite to hit for 17. Of course there are some holes in the game plan but it is a rather strong play for a small storm count.

You can use Dragon Tyrant to make it 19 damage and for an extra :r: that 21.

Getting to 9-11 mana isn't quite that bad since you can use stuff like Orcish Lumberjack,Tinder Wall, and Natural Balance along with Grim Monolith that allow for mana banking, but it ends up being quite fragile.

[Steino]

I don’t understand why people think this card will be great. Sure it has potential, but if it becomes too powerful Null Rod is a suitable answer. Unless the deck runs Voltaic Key or Tezzeret this is just another Cabal Ritual. There are enough other decks to keep this card at bay. Thus the DCI probably felt it no longer deserved to be banned. It’s nothing special just one less card on the banned list.

[RexFTW]

I don’t understand why people think this card will be great. Sure it has potential, but if it becomes too powerful Null Rod is a suitable answer. Unless the deck runs Voltaic Key or Tezzeret this is just another Cabal Ritual. There are enough other decks to keep this card at bay. Thus the DCI probably felt it no longer deserved to be banned. It’s nothing special just one less card on the banned list.

There are only 15 cards in a sideboard! Mind you it is only slightly worse than mana vault, which is restricted in vintage. It is also probably the best mana bank availiable in legacy now.


You can use Dragon Tyrant to make it 19 19 should be good enough. go go fetchlands!