[Article] Affinity Metamorphosis

[Bigface]

An article written by me. Hope you enjoy the read. Thanks to RaNDoMxGeSTuReS for the edit. Going to complete this analisys soon.

Affinity’s story is brief in Magic history. It was born when Mirrodin Block lead to one of the most tragic Type 2 and Block seasons, with a single deck running rampant in almost every metagame until artifact lands and Disciple of the Vault were banned.

When Mirrodin Block rotated out of Standard, it had mixed results in Extended. It was outmatched as an aggro deck by Goblins and Zoo. It was bashed by BG/x Rock due to Pernicious Deed. And before it rotated out of Extended, it was outclassed by Domain Zoo.

Affinity’s last stand resides in Legacy. Due to Legacy's nature, the all-in form of Affinity made it nothing more than a Tier 2 deck. Zoo, Ichorid and Goblin are much faster. Decks like Merfolk are way more consistent.

Vial Affinity is changing because of recent sets, which include Shards of Alara, M11 and Scars of Mirrodin.

SOA
Master of Etherium
Ethersworn Canonist

M11
Steel Overseer

SOM
Mox Opal
Menite
Galvanic Blast
Etched Champion
Vedalken Certarch

Affinity has changed, as many players try to give the deck the consistency it needs to win in Legacy.

Recent lists have dropped Aether Vial. It was considered a key spell to accelerate and play through counterspells, but is now too slow.

The removal of Aether Vial was also due to the deck's new 0-drop accelerator, Mox Opal.

This leaves a choice between AetherVial and Springleaf Drum. Current lists are cutting Aether Vial for Mox Opal to add explosiveness. Common configurations are 4/2-3 split between Springleaf Drum and Mox Opal. The lists choose speed over the ability to play through counterspells.

Many lists have also dropped Myr Enforcer and added Dark Confidant. Bob is considered one of the best draw engine in Legacy. The New Affinity's mana curve is low enough to support Bob. Older lists suffter more due to high cost spells. Bob can still hit Master of Etherium, Frogmite or Thoughcast, but they are a vital to the deck's structure.

The addition of control-oriented cards give New Affinity late game. Steel Overseer and Vedalken Certarch allow shenanigans with 0-drop artifacts (Memnite and Ornithopter.) They can be pumped and/or used to tap down relevant threats. This allows the deck to play big threats without being overly dependant on Master of Etherium and Cranial Plating. But the player must live long enough to reap the benefits.

There's also the aggro/sligh approach with Galvanic Blast. People are calling it a "conditional bolt," but metalcraft isn't a problem with Affinity. It's 4 damage for R. It destroys Bobs, small Tarmogoyfs or an early Knight of the Reliquary. Galvanic Blast also serves as a backup with Shrapnel Blast to get rid of bigger fatties.

We are given three solutions to the problems with Affinity's viability.

1.) Build a classic aggro-based deck. This is done by adding Memnite, Mox Opal and Galvanic Blast. The deck gains speed while keeping consistency. You dump your hand and pray your opponent doesn't have an answer. This version is more subject to removal.

2.) Built a UW or UB control variant without Arcbound Ravager, Disciple of the Vault and burn spells. Add Steel Overseer, Vedalken Certarch and Etched Champion. These lists focus on the mid game by playing lock pieces like Winter Orb and Vedalken Certarch while growing critters with Steel Overseer. Black gives us Bob and white gives us Ethersworn Canonist. The manabase includes a mana denial package via Rishadan Port. These lists trade speed for consistency. Since these lists are slow in nature, Aether Vial is used to beat counters. The problem - other aggro decks will outrace you.

3.) Build something that trades speed for consistency without relying on control cards like Vedalken Certarch. Since Affinity is outraced by other aggro decks, it needs something to stem the problem. This is where Etched Champion is a godsend. It chumpblocks any aggro creature into oblivion or kills them. It’s a powerhouse against Goblins. They can’t get through it. And while being less effective against control, it's totally useless against combo. This version could represent a classic shell with the addition of Bob as a main draw engine, Etched Champion as a threat against aggro and control. The finishers are Arcbound Ravager, Master of Etherium and Crainal Plating. The accelerators are Memnite, Ornithopter and Mox Opal.

There are many nostalgic Affinity players (I'm one of them) that liked Affinity's simple and yet effective plan of burning and stomping your way to victory. But our current Legacy metagame is very different from the most recent Extended metagame. Affinity has to evolve in order to make it into Legacy and rise from its borderline condition.

Is Vial Affinity becoming less and less Vial Affinity?
Yes.
Is it a good thing?
Probably.
Is it necessary for this deck?
At the moment, absolutely yes.

Feel free to comment. Suggestions, correction, thoughts, insults, etc. are gladly accepted.

[Silent Requiem]

Better formatting (such as separating paragraphs) would help your article. As would roll-over card info, because many people will not bother to look up a card they are unfamiliar with if it has not been linked.

Also, try having more of an opinion. You ask "which Affinity variant will rise up as the best"?, but then don't provide an answer. By all means point out the uncertainty, but at least make an educated guess. If we are reading your article it is because we want to know your views on a subject. All the earlier stuff about what did or is happening is only scene setting for your prediction of what will happen.

Finally, sample deck lists (especially for those not very familiar with Affinity) would have been useful.

-Silent Requiem

Edit: Here is a more readable version of your opening post, though I only added some of the card links as a demo.



[Article] Affinity Metamorphosis

An article written by me. Hope you enjoy the read.

Ancient History

Affinity’s story is quite brief in Magic’s history. It is born when the Mirrodin block comes out, leading to one of the most tragic T2 and Block seasons in Magic’s history, with a single deck running rampant in almost every metagame until artifact lands and Disciple of the Vault got banned.

Since it cycled out of Standard, it had a season of mixed results in Extended, being outamtched as an Aggro deck by Goblin first and Zoo then, also being bashed by BGx Rock decks due to Pernicious Deed , until last year, when it cycled out of Extended too after years of Domain Zoo dominion as THE aggro deck in T1.x.

Affinity’s last stand is Legacy. Due to this format’s own nature, the all-in form of Affinity made it nothing more than a Tier 2 deck; Zoo, Ichorid and Goblin are plain faster, decks like Merfolk are way more consistent.

Recent Changes

With the recent releases of Shards of Alara ( Master of Etherium, Ethersworn Canonist ), Magic 2011 (Steel Overseer) and Scars of Mirrodin ( Mox Opal, Memnite, Galvanic Blast, Etched Champion, Vedalken Certarch ) Affinity has changed, as many players try to give the deck the consistency it needs to win in Legacy. Vial Affinity is therefore becoming less and less Vial Affinity.

First of all, recent lists stopped using AEther Vial. Considered a key spell both as an accelerator and a counterspell countermeasure, it is today considered as too slow. The addition of a CC0 accelerator as Mox Opal to our card pool heavily influenced this choice: in a deck with 6-7 slots reserved to accel artifacts, a card had to be cut out to make space for Mox. Choosing between Vial and Springleaf Drum , people cut out the slower one in order to add explosiveness. Many current lists therefore run 4x Drum and 2-3x Mox, choosing speed over the possibility to play through counterspells.

The second changing factor is the more and more frequent addition of Dark Confidant. Bob is considered one of the best draw engines in Legacy; removing Myr Enforcer, Affinity has a low enough mana curve to support it, even though more traditional lists can suffer a lot from it. After all, Affinity still plays 12 CC3+ spells (Master of Etherium, Frogmite, Thoughtcast ) which are part of the basic structure of the deck.

Last one, the release of more control-oriented cards. Those are Steel Overseer and Vedalken Certarch. The first one allows turn 2-3 sheningans with CC0 guys (Memnite and Ornithopter) and pumps artifact creatures so that one can play big threats in a few turns even without Master of Etherium or Cranial Plating; as a downside, though, it needs to stay alive long enough to start pumping your creatures (a 1/1 for 2 is quite fragile) and is horrible by itself. Vedalken Certarch is a walking nuisance for your opponent. It taps fat guys, it taps the lands you need, it can even be used to play around Trinisphere (and also makes Winter Orb a one-sided card) for U; it’s also very fragile though and implies a more control-ish game plan, since as an aggro creature it basically sucks.

There’s also a pro-aggro card that has been printed though: Galvanic Blast. People called it a “conditional Bolt”, but achieving metalcraft in Affinity is way easier than in many other decks around. It’s 4 damage for R. Not half bad, huh? It takes off many menaces (Goyfs, Bobs, early Knights, etc) and also serves as a backup plan in case your creatures can’t blow up your opponent’s defences in combination with Shrapnel Blast.

Finally, the Disciple of the Vault question. The guy is nuts when facing lots of removals. It makes your opponent trade removal for life: against a fast aggro that creates big guys in 2-3 turns it’s a relevant factor. Also it works great with Arcbound Ravager, saccing small dudes/removal targets and creating a fat beater while your opponent loses life. Still, with some lists removing Arcbound Ravager and others taking out black altogether, Disciple’s role seems to lose importance in modern Affinity’s game plan.

The Way Forward

We are therefore given three choices. First, insisting on classic aggro-based Affinity. By adding Memnite, Mox Opal and Galvanic Blast the deck gains in speed, while keeping its old consistency. This version plays as Affinity always did, trying to empty your hand ASAP by landing menaces that your opponent has to answer not to die, therefore being more subject to removal and counters: in a meta where CounterTop is a Tier1 archetype, lots of blue-based deck are around and Qasali Pridemage is a MD choice, it seems like there’s no place for Old Affinity to be really competitive.

Second, a more control-oriented version, usually Uw or Ub, taking out Ravager, Disciple and burn spells and adding Steel Overseer, Vedalken Certarch and Etched Champion. Those lists focus more on mid-game than early-game by playing lock pieces like Winter Orb + Certarch and growing stuff up with Steel Overseer rather than going all-in. Black gives us Bob, White gives us Ethersworn Canonist. Also the manabase icludes cards like Rishadan Port to add more land disruption. This version trades speed with consistency, preferring to let your menaces grow rather than throwing them at your opponent’s face: this also allows to play Vial again, as you need your creatures to be counterspell-proof more than fast. It has its downsides: it’s generally slower than Old Affinity, meaning that most aggro decks can outrace you (Zoo and Goblins in particular, also Merfolk) and control decks have more time to handle your threats.

Third and last, a mixed solution. Something that trades speed for consistency without relying on control-ish cards like Vedalken Certarch, retaining its aggro nature but playing more solid threats. Perhaps that’s what Affinity needs: since it can’t outrace pure aggro decks, it must stop trying to do so and focus on being able to stop them while pulling out a win. Etched Champion seems a godsend in this regard, as it chumpblocks any aggro creature into oblivion or kills them. It’s a powerhouse against Goblin: they can’t get through it. And while being less effective against control (it still avoids removal) and totally useless vs combo (as most of the deck is anyway) it still works in aggro and aggro-control match-ups. The deck could present a classic shell with the addition of Bob as a main draw engine, Etched Champion as an aggro and aggro-control countermeasure, Ravager, MoE and Plating as game-ending spells, Memnite and Ornithopter as CC0 creatures and Drum and Mox as accel.

My View

There are many nostalgic Affinity players (I'm one of them) that liked Affinity's simple and yet effective plan of burning and stomping your way to victory. But our current Legacy metagame is very different from the late Exteded metagame. Affinity has to evolve in order to make it into Legacy and rise from its borderline Tier 2-3 condition. Is Vial Affinity becoming less and less Vial Affinity? Yes. Is it a good thing? Probably. Is it necessary for this deck? At the moment, absolutely yes.

Only time will tell which Affinity variant will rise up as the best in today’s meta. Will it be pure aggro, or have an aggro-control strategy? Which one is the best in your opinion, and how will this deck change in the future?

Feel free to comment. Suggestions, correction, thoughts, insults, etc. are gladly accepted.

[jazzykat]

As SR said: "What next?", what would you work on, hope to see happen.

[kiblast]

Vedalken certarch is broken.
I think affinity should rely on 2 creatures basically:

vedalken certarch
dark confidant.

relying on creatures often is risky. You can get around counters by playing aether vial, and to reach early metalcraft you should use a combination of memnites and ornithopters.
Vedalken certarch can be used as a whipcorder, and as a rishadan port. If you concentrate on the second option, you should really add 4x wasteland, and 4x stifle, because stifle both protects your artifacts land, does denial while protecting you from pernicious deed and EE, wich are a nightmare for affinity. Playing waste stifle and aether vial makes me think of standstill, too. If we can support it, even Fow could be viable, as well as spell pierce of course.
A beautiful win con could be etched champion+ steel overseer, or steel overseer alone with a lot of 0cc creatures, or simply a master of etherium.

rough list that i would play is:

4x seat of synod
4x vault of whispers
4x glimmervoid
4x wasteland
2x rishadan port

4x dark confidant
4x vedalken certarch
4x ornithopters
4x memnite
3x etched champion
3x master of etherium

4x stifle
4x spell pierce (because we need some answer to mass removal)
3x standstill / thoughtcast
2x mox opal
4x aether vial
3x lock pieces/permission (in the form of winter orb as you suggested)
maybe smokestack as we haveloads of 0cc drop and we can vomit our hand pretty faster than our opponent.
maybe Fow if we can support it.