[Article] In the Lab - Brainstorming Legacy Affinity

[JACO]

Since the printing of Mirrodin and Darksteel enterprising mages have been brainstorming the best ways to break the Affinity mechanic. Effects that multiply anything (see: Berserk, Fork, the Storm mechanic) have traditionally been very powerful, and the DCI has treaded very carefully with those effects. The Affinity strategy proved sound enough to thoroughly dominate Standard and get all of the good cards banned in Extended, but hasn’t had the kind of strength or staying power in Legacy to keep it in Tier 1 or Tier 2 status.

The recent printings of more powerful and useful artifacts in Shards of Alara, M11, and Scars of Mirrodin have given the Affinity archetype even more toys, and with the remaining portion of the new Mirrodin block on the horizon there are potentially even more goodies that can be added to the pool of playable options. So let’s jump in and take a long hard look at most of the relevant cards to Affinity and Legacy as it stands in 20104Q, in our latest In the Lab article. (check it out after the jump!)

http://www.eternal-central.com/?p=1228


Please let us know your thoughts and comments on the article. What did you like, dislike, and what would you have liked to see that was missing? Holla!

[Gheizen64]

Nice article, always good to see something different from the usual "ban Survival". Still, i'm surprised Ravager is considered a must in affinity. With the new combat rules and with the main removal being StP/PtE i feel this card has lost a lot and need 4-5 sacrificed artifacts to overcome a single Goyf/Knight. Imho Ravager is obsoleted in current legacy and it require far too much investment to be good. Disciple also become a lot worse without Ravager, but it's still playable as a sb card.
Dunno what to play in their place. Etched Champion is a card i've come to appreciate a lot lately since it is an impenetrable wall for most decks (merfolk, gob, Goyf/Knight) and carry equipment like a champ, even if it is a bit slow. Another under appreciated Gem is sculpting steel, but that's good in decks that tend to play more 4+ mana costs cards, still, it's bonker when you copy a Master of Etherium or a Cranial.

Thx for the article anyway, i'm going draft a list asap.

EDIT: on second thoughts, basically the only creature you want in affinity is master. All other creature usually sucks in term of putting a clock (except maybe enforcer) and are way too small to overcome goyfs and such. This also suck because they can chumpblock master a lot it being the only fat creature in the deck. Dunno, Affinity seems just bad to me in this format.

[JACO]

Nice article, always good to see something different from the usual "ban Survival". Still, i'm surprised Ravager is considered a must in affinity. With the new combat rules and with the main removal being StP/PtE i feel this card has lost a lot and need 4-5 sacrificed artifacts to overcome a single Goyf/Knight. Imho Ravager is obsoleted in current legacy and it require far too much investment to be good. Disciple also become a lot worse without Ravager, but it's still playable as a sb card.
Dunno what to play in their place. Etched Champion is a card i've come to appreciate a lot lately since it is an impenetrable wall for most decks (merfolk, gob, Goyf/Knight) and carry equipment like a champ, even if it is a bit slow. Another under appreciated Gem is sculpting steel, but that's good in decks that tend to play more 4+ mana costs cards, still, it's bonker when you copy a Master of Etherium or a Cranial. Thanks for reading and for your comments. I consider Ravager still pretty awesome in Legacy because it's bigger than everything in Merfolk and it singlehandedly causes opponents to slow their attacks for fear of dying to Ravager. If they have a Swords they basically have to use it on Ravager or Master of Etherium, or whatever Cranial Plating is attached to. It's basically just better than most other artifact creatures, and many creatures in general based on the synergy with the rest of the deck. Affinity is a deck that is usually greater than the sum of its parts.

A reader on EC brought up the synergy with Etched Champion and Cranial Plating, which I had touched on but probably didn't empasize enough. Champion is basically untouchable and unblockable, and if equipped with Plating will kill the opponent in 2-3 swings, so perhaps it's time to slip Champion in one of the other slots. I smell a new brew coming...

[Aggro_zombies]

Thanks for reading and for your comments. I consider Ravager still pretty awesome in Legacy because it's bigger than everything in Merfolk and it singlehandedly causes opponents to slow their attacks for fear of dying to Ravager. If they have a Swords they basically have to use it on Ravager or Master of Etherium, or whatever Cranial Plating is attached to. It's basically just better than most other artifact creatures, and many creatures in general based on the synergy with the rest of the deck. Affinity is a deck that is usually greater than the sum of its parts.
I think the thing that many advocates of Ravager overlook is that it requires you to sacrifice your board to it for it to actually be bigger than a 0/0 with a +1/+1 counter. I would consider you four-for-one-ing yourself to be a fair trade for my attacking Tarmogoyf, for example.

EDIT: Not to mention, Ravager is pretty shitty when drawn in multiples.

[Dark Ritual]

Ravager is pretty sweet when his counters get moved onto etched champion...and drawing multiples, you can sometimes dodge swords by sacking the targeted ravager to the other ravager, giving it 2 or more counters because of modular. The point of affinity is that it is sick synergy that lives off of its synergy. You rely on getting a turn 3 win via extreme beats via moxen, lots of artifacts, and free creatures. Plating is the best card in the deck, hands down though. Makes every creature a monster and with BB open wins you the game generally.

And if you sack your board to ravager to block and kill a goyf, woohoo you just got extreme card disadvantage there. Good luck winning if the opponent has a swords/bolt/chain lightning/pte and you don't have another artifact creature...

Plating + champion FTW though. Such a house.

[Nessaja]

In your first list, Heap Doll over Steel Overseer, why? I get it, survival is hot. Heap Doll won't stop that. You're already running mainboard Pithing Needles and Ethersworn Canonist, this just seems excessive and unneccesary. Affinity has enough speed to match Survival.

[JACO]

In your first list, Heap Doll over Steel Overseer, why? I get it, survival is hot. Heap Doll won't stop that. You're already running mainboard Pithing Needles and Ethersworn Canonist, this just seems excessive and unneccesary. Affinity has enough speed to match Survival.Heap Doll is basically an experiment in the 1 slot in place of Arcbound Worker, which is basically useless right now. If you think you can beat Survival without it then by all means bust out something else. Heap Doll isn't bad at all though, and literally every little bit helps against Survival (remove a Vengevine, remove the threat of Wonder, shut off the Loyal Retainers plan, etc.).

I am a fan of Steel Overseer, but just not in any of these builds. I am thinking Steel Overseer's best use actually isn't even in a normal Affinity deck, but rather with ThopterSword (hint: a new article may be coming on this soon, as I haven't seen anybody else investigate this seriously).

[Tammit67]

Heap Doll is basically an experiment in the 1 slot in place of Arcbound Worker, which is basically useless right now. If you think you can beat Survival without it then by all means bust out something else. Heap Doll isn't bad at all though, and literally every little bit helps against Survival (remove a Vengevine, remove the threat of Wonder, shut off the Loyal Retainers plan, etc.).

I am a fan of Steel Overseer, but just not in any of these builds. I am thinking Steel Overseer's best use actually isn't even in a normal Affinity deck, but rather with ThopterSword (hint: a new article may be coming on this soon, as I haven't seen anybody else investigate this seriously).

Do you mean more of a creature based thoptersword list? B/c that could be very interesting

[JACO]

Do you mean more of a creature based thoptersword list? B/c that could be very interestingI'm not sure yet. I didn't really think of the interaction until I was finished writing this Affinity article (hence no mention), but I think it could be pretty interesting. I'm not sure if it's necessary or not because ThopterSword already will usually just win you the game on it's own if you assemble it, so the Steel Overseer might not be relevant. But in a list with 4 Stoneforge Mystic it could be very easy to find your 1-3x Sword of the Meek, or your Cranial Plating, or whatever else. It would probably require ditching Master of Etherium (doesn't combo well with ThopterSword), but that would in turn open up room for other stuff. Alternatively if you don't want White (Stoneforge and Enlightened Tutor) you could roll with strictly Blue/Black and run more cantrips and Force, or something like Transmute Artifact to help dig for combo pieces.

If Black is in there Confidant would be a natural fit as well, and the life loss would be mitigated by Thopter. What else do you think would be good in that kind of version? If you have artifacts going to the graveyard (sacrificing with Thopter Foundry) that makes Disciple of the Vault relevant, but what other cards should I be pondering in a version like that?

[luckme10]

I think Glimmervoid, Shrapnel Blast and Berserk are all worth mentioning as part of the tools arsenal. Especially considering the tendency for decks to use galvanic blast and the red splash.

[godryk]

I'm not sure yet. I didn't really think of the interaction until I was finished writing this Affinity article (hence no mention), but I think it could be pretty interesting. I'm not sure if it's necessary or not because ThopterSword already will usually just win you the game on it's own if you assemble it, so the Steel Overseer might not be relevant. But in a list with 4 Stoneforge Mystic it could be very easy to find your 1-3x Sword of the Meek, or your Cranial Plating, or whatever else. It would probably require ditching Master of Etherium (doesn't combo well with ThopterSword), but that would in turn open up room for other stuff. Alternatively if you don't want White (Stoneforge and Enlightened Tutor) you could roll with strictly Blue/Black and run more cantrips and Force, or something like Transmute Artifact to help dig for combo pieces.

If Black is in there Confidant would be a natural fit as well, and the life loss would be mitigated by Thopter. What else do you think would be good in that kind of version? If you have artifacts going to the graveyard (sacrificing with Thopter Foundry) that makes Disciple of the Vault relevant, but what other cards should I be pondering in a version like that?

After reading this I just decided to try the idea, I picked your Haterator Affinity list and just did (quick change, just to feel it on MWS):
-4 Master of Eterium
-4 Heap Doll
+4 Thopter Foundry
+3 Transmute Artifact
+1 Sword of the Meek

It was just a quick change, the quantites above could be tweaked or you could change anything in the deck. Thopter Foundry seems like a very good card in an Affinity Shell. I've already seen lists running it, as it can perform some functions of Ravager, like sacking destroyed/blocked/blocking artifacts or excesive lands to get some power, and also making sure you get something to attach to your Plating. You double your sacking outlets making Disciple twice as good and you can get some life which is relevant considering the lifeloss and the reduced speed compared to a pure aggro approach.

[Barook]

Wouldn't Stoneforge Mystic go very well with Etched Champion? I kinda missed that interaction in the third list.

Champion could a quite brutal carrier for all kinds of equipment you want to fetch.

[voltron00x]

Affinity has begun to show up on MTGO daily events for Legacy. While those events don't exactly mirror real-life Legacy, they are still interesting to watch. The one common factor among those successful Affinity decks is Etched Champion. Best guy to equip with Plating, best guy to hit with Ravager counters. Card is much better than it sounds like it would be at first, when you actually play with the deck.

[JACO]

I think Glimmervoid, Shrapnel Blast and Berserk are all worth mentioning as part of the tools arsenal. Especially considering the tendency for decks to use galvanic blast and the red splash.I can't believe I forgot to include Berserk and Glimmervoid! I have actually gone back right now and updated the article to include them in the options, and the reasoning behind each card. Thanks for the heads up.


After reading this I just decided to try the idea, I picked your Haterator Affinity list and just did (quick change, just to feel it on MWS):
-4 Master of Eterium
-4 Heap Doll
+4 Thopter Foundry
+3 Transmute Artifact
+1 Sword of the Meek

It was just a quick change, the quantites above could be tweaked or you could change anything in the deck. Thopter Foundry seems like a very good card in an Affinity Shell. I've already seen lists running it, as it can perform some functions of Ravager, like sacking destroyed/blocked/blocking artifacts or excesive lands to get some power, and also making sure you get something to attach to your Plating. You double your sacking outlets making Disciple twice as good and you can get some life which is relevant considering the lifeloss and the reduced speed compared to a pure aggro approach.I am now playing around with some Thopter Affinity lists, and they all include Stoneforge Mystic and a few Enlightend Tutors. There are a lot of options, which is why Affinity is so intriguing to me (even if the individual cards aren't all that powerful).


Affinity has begun to show up on MTGO daily events for Legacy. While those events don't exactly mirror real-life Legacy, they are still interesting to watch. The one common factor among those successful Affinity decks is Etched Champion. Best guy to equip with Plating, best guy to hit with Ravager counters. Card is much better than it sounds like it would be at first, when you actually play with the deck.Yeah I've been noticing this too. The issues with Etched Champion (casting cost/slow, not good for Vialing in) seem to be outweighed by the pro-everything factor. I'm thinking it's going to continue to see play in a lot of builds.

[GGoober]

I posted a list on the 5/3 blue mud stompy thread. My philosophy for the build was to run a blue-based affinity with the sole purpose that the best beater/defense in the deck is Champion.

Cards like: Master of Etherium, Cranial Plating, Steel Overseer, Jitte, Ravager all make Etched Champion more powerful than the printed depiction of the card. Etched Champion by himself isn't too impressive, but when slapped with either of the cards mentioned, becomes very very dangerous.

The list I was interested in testing was:

4 Chalice
3 Trinisphere

4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Steel Overseer
4 Master of Etherium
4 Etched Champion

4 Cranial Plating
3 Jitte

4 Tombs
4 City
4 Seats
4-8 Manlands (makes a top-decked Seer very powerful).

Other slots include stuff that I'm not sure what to fill in: Grim Monolith, Metalworker, Lodestone Golem, Crucible, or leaning more towards an affinity shell etc. But the idea was to build around Etched Champion. As terrible as Ravager is post board, he's still a beast if your opponents don't happen to have that sword.

[Draener]

I have tested a list with stoneforge and etched champion. It works amazing when you pull it off, but it was pretty easy to be kept off either 3 mana, or not be able to find a white source for mystic. Solved this with vial, but that slows down the deck. The deck definitely got a lot closer to the upper tiers since the printing of scars, and gave the deck plenty of different directions to go. Now the fun part if figuring which version is the most broken for our current meta.