Quest for the Holy Relic?

[Top Deck]

there's an explosive standard deck that has been going around and can consistently go off if the quest for the holy relic is in the starting hand. i was thinking perhaps it would be a good idea to adapt this idea to legacy?
the idea of the deck is to quickly cast 5 creatures with quest out and using many 0 drop creatures along with the bounce effect of glint to get a turn 2 quest sacing and equipping the argentum armor on an able body attacker.


http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/deck.php?id=5486&iddeck=39715

Black splash and placed 1st in a 45 player tournament.

for those of you who don't want to click on the link here's the decklist:


1 Memnite
2 Soltari Priest
3 Kor Outfitter
4 Dark Confidant
4 Glint Hawk
4 Mother of Runes
4 Ornithopter
4 Stoneforge Mystic

4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Quest for the Holy Relic
1 Argentum Armor
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
2 Umezawa's Jitte

1 Arid Mesa
3 Scrubland
3 Windswept Heath
4 Marsh Flats
9 Plains


Sideboard
=========

1 Absolute Law
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Engineered Plague
2 Enlightened Tutor
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Perish
1 Pithing Needle
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Tormod's Crypt


i think the creator is on to something here. this deck could be pushed for even better results possibly.

another possibility could be combining quest with glimpse affinity. this is the current build i am thinking:

4 Seat of the Synod
4 Tree of Tales
4 Ancient Den
3 Glimmervoid
1 Mox Opal
4 Springleaf Drum

4 Ornithopter
4 Memnite
4 Glint Hawk
4 Frogmite
4 Arcbound Ravager
3 Master of Etherium
4 Steel Overseer

4 Quest for the Holy Relic
4 Thoughtcast

1 Sword of Fire and Ice
2 Cranial Plating
1 Argentum Armor
1 Sword of Body and Mind


the logic here is affinity is very explosive with creature drops and with draws, but it lacks real removal which argentum armor and quest could patch up or it can get you the more damaging cranial plating faster for lethal far, far quicker.

[Secretly.A.Bee]

4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Glint Hawk (this guy is pretty cool, time will tell if he's better than Suntail Hawk)
4 Mother of Runes
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Kor Outfitter

4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Path to Exile
4 Quest for the Holy Relic
2 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of Body and Mind

10 Plains
3 Flagstones of Trokair
4 Wasteland
1 Flooded Strand
1 Arid Mesa
1 Marsh Flats

SB:

3x Oblivion Ring/Disenchant
2x PtE
4x Orim's Chant
Xx Ghostly Prison

That's what I can come up with off the top of my head. 24 creatures is enough imo, I like the mana base, might even want an amount of ports for more disruption. Chants in the board as they are pretty much your only out against combo, that's a hard matchup for you, use Jitte counters wisely, they can do extra damage when you need it, but also can gain you life in response to a tendrils. WWE is back lol!

Maybe this is good, maybe not. Idk. Was bored, and this was fun.

--ABC

[ZeroStride]

I play this in standard.

Firstly: -4 Kor Dualist, +4 Student of Warfare -- Dualist gets you next to nothing, Student gets under control (in T2) and is a solid beater.

Secondly: -4 Journey to Nowhere, +4 Squadron Hawk -- Squadron Hawk is the understated MVP of this deck. Do not cut him under any circumstances. Main-decking non-creature utility spells is a very poor choice.

Thirdly: Time will tell if Glint Hawk is better? He's phenomenal in this deck; as is Kor Skyfisher. Do not cut Skyfisher.

Fourthly: The point of this deck is to power-out Argentum Armor -- it's not a toolbox. Stuffing the deck with Swords/Jitte is a dilution of the deck.

Lastly: I would never play this deck in Legacy. Given a great hand, you could win Game 1; but that would be the only game you'd win. The success of this deck is almost entirely due to the limited card-pool of Type-2. It would fold to Krosan Grip and/or any other of the standard SB cards in Legacy (don't blow the grip on Quest; kill the equip at the end of main phase), and you are left with a non-synergistic White deck with crap creatures.

[Top Deck]

okay for your consideration, i give you W/G quest for legacy.


4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Glint Hawk
3 Noble Hierarch
4 Fauna Shaman
4 Squadron Hawk

1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Kor Outfitter
1 Silhana Ledgewalker
1 Troll Ascetic
4 Vengevine
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender

4 Quest for the Holy Relic
2 Argentum Armor
2 Sword of Fire and Ice

4 Plains
4 Sunpetal Grove
1 Forest
4 Windswept Heath
4 Savannah
3 Wasteland

[paeng4983]

this deck has the same fun factor with that of the soul sister's deck when being
played in a competitive field (especially if it managed to sneaked into top8).

[ZeroStride]

I dunno. I don't think I'd run this deck, though I do enjoy it in Type-2. It just seems very vulnerable. It is vulnerable to Wasteland, Pithing Needle, removal of Fauna Shaman (it's not Survival-lite), and the core of the deck is still creatures which can't stand on their own without equipment. This is a problem in Type-2, as well.

That's just speculation, though.

[blaat]

Played something legacy casual with Quest for the Holy Relic and Stoneforge Mystic.
I used Deathrender to fetch along with jitte.
As fatty package I used 4x Grozoth with Carrion Feeder and Claws of Gix to fetch Iona/Inkwell Levithan and had Kuro, Pitlord for even more fun.
This would end in stupid cycles of:

Search deathrender and attach to weenie.
sac weenie, play grozoth, grab everything you need.
sac grozoth, play Kuro pitlord and wipe every creature your opponent has.
sac pitlord, play iona/inkwell with +2+2 ftw.
Could then also equip to Children of Korlis to regain the life lost with Kuro pitlord and play a 2nd iona/inkwell (can also be random weenie since you have a sac outlet).

Really fun and the fatties can enter T3.
Stoneforge is a bit slower, but you can play deathrender uncounterable with it and cheaper.

Fun, but not really good against tier1 decks I Think.
Krosan Grip is a b!tch.

[Top Deck]

what about merging quest for the holy relic with an affinity type of deck?


4 Seat of the Synod
4 Tree of Tales
4 Ancient Den
2 Glimmervoid

4 Ornithopter
4 Memnite
4 Glint Hawk
4 Frogmite
4 Arcbound Ravager
2 Myr Enforcer

4 Quest for the Holy Relic
4 Mox Opal
4 Springleaf Drum
2 Cranial Plating
2 Argentum Armor
4 Thoughtcast
4 Glimpse of Nature

[Watcher487]

What about running Steel Overseer over Ravager?

I do like the idea of merging Affin and Quest together as a speedier version of the deck.

[Top Deck]

What about running Steel Overseer over Ravager?

I do like the idea of merging Affin and Quest together as a speedier version of the deck.

both are definitely usable. Ravager would make mox opals more useful though.

[Secretly.A.Bee]

-2x Argentium Armor, +2 Umezawa's Jitte at the very least on that G/W list a few posts up. Argentium armor isn't worth playing in this metagame. If you can't afford Jittes, use Sword of Fire and Ice's. Armor doesn't cut it in Legacy.

--ABC

[Gojjin]

I think this deck would make great use of brainstorm for digging, also Shrieking Drake seems pretty strong as glint hawks 5-8.....

[Hireax]

How about adding 4 Enlightened Tutors to make you play a virtual 8 Quests.

I've been thinking a lot about this deck as well. The list combining Affinity with Quest seems the best option out there due to the advantage in speed it has over the non Affinity one

[dsck]

http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/deck.php?id=5486&iddeck=39715

Black splash and placed 1st in a 45 player tournament.

[Top Deck]

http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/deck.php?id=5486&iddeck=39715

Black splash and placed 1st in a 45 player tournament.

for those of you who don't want to click on the link here's the decklist:


1 Memnite
2 Soltari Priest
3 Kor Outfitter
4 Dark Confidant
4 Glint Hawk
4 Mother of Runes
4 Ornithopter
4 Stoneforge Mystic

4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Quest for the Holy Relic
1 Argentum Armor
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
2 Umezawa's Jitte

1 Arid Mesa
3 Scrubland
3 Windswept Heath
4 Marsh Flats
9 Plains


Sideboard
=========

1 Absolute Law
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Engineered Plague
2 Enlightened Tutor
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Perish
1 Pithing Needle
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Tormod's Crypt


i think the creator is on to something here. this deck could be pushed for even better results possibly.

[Hireax]

How do you feel about the +6/+6 armor?

To me it seems as if this could be replaced by a second SoFaI or something?

I am also trying to figure out what the best strategy against combo would be. It seems that it is impossible to rush it, All the one and two offs in the side seems like it is exposed to top-deck luck.

[Philipp2293]

The main target for Quest is Argentum Armor, so replacing it is a bad idea.
@SB: You also have the E. Tutors to search for your hatepieces.

[rufus]

I don't see that much in the way of possibly compelling equipment that would outperform Argentum Armor. Possibbly Sunforger if you need some kind of counter card and are splashing red, but why win later when you can win now. Ogre's Cleaver if you're playing with equip-manipulators or are worried about Bob damage, but Stoneforge Mystic -> Ogre's Cleaver + Kor Outfitter is probably too slow for legacy (and Magnetic Theft is terrible.) That leaves the usual suspects Cranial Plating, Umezawa's Jitte and the swords.

[Pastorofmuppets]

You know, a lot of people in T2 are running more flying dudes and Grafted Exoskeleton now.

[Top Deck]

You know, a lot of people in T2 are running more flying dudes and Grafted Exoskeleton now.

grafted exosekeleton does look promising. i think part of the appeal of armor is the fact you get a vindicate effect which is very strong in legacy. there are a lot of cards like moat, humility, elephant grass, ghostly prison, the tabernacle at pendrell vale etc. which can hamper your strategy and have to be removed. while armor can't always blast away the said card it could be used in conjunction with other removal like vindicate which would make the deck even more consistent.

[rufus]

grafted exosekeleton does look promising. i think part of the appeal of armor is the fact you get a vindicate effect which is very strong in legacy. there are a lot of cards like moat, humility, elephant grass, ghostly prison, the tabernacle at pendrell vale etc. which can hamper your strategy and have to be removed. while armor can't always blast away the said card it could be used in conjunction with other removal like vindicate which would make the deck even more consistent.

I suppose that's true, though most of the cards you've listed are really insignificant by the time Argentum Armor is equipped and swung with. The removal is probably more significant against decks that drop blockers or want to race with bodies. I had Sunforger above precisely because it provides a toolbox.

[Top Deck]

I suppose that's true, though most of the cards you've listed are really insignificant by the time Argentum Armor is equipped and swung with. The removal is probably more significant against decks that drop blockers or want to race with bodies. I had Sunforger above precisely because it provides a toolbox.

the thing is you don't need more than 1 armor in the deck for the legacy version.

sunforger is a great card. i would be interested in seeing what type of deck list you would have involved around it. i suppose you would have the disenchant, plow shares, and maybe a bolt? obviously we wouldn't want too many utility cards since we already have 4 slots used up with quest and we need probably at least 16 creatures i am assuming.

[ZeroStride]

The black splash looks good. I would be slightly concerned about running Glint Hawk without more Memnites. It could be good to replace him with Skyfisher, but that would bump that creature slot up to CMC2. I would not run all 3 swords maindeck.

I'm back-and-forth on only 1-of the Armor. Turning over an armor with Confidant would suck, but any time you draw the armor it sucks.

I totally disagree about Vindicate adding more consistency to the deck. It's not that Vindicate is bad -- it's awesome, it's that in Quest, consistency means getting off a Quest, or Mystic/Outfitter ASAP, and that means creatures. Might I suggest one of the evoke creatures instead, like Shriekmaw. That still triggers quest with the evoke, and provides some additional utility. I realize it's not Vindicate, very few things are, but I would be very wary of cutting creature count in this deck.

My perspective on this deck, however, is limited to Type-2.

I would make these changes:
-1 Sword of Body and Mind, +1 Memnite
-2 Soltari Priest, +2 Shriekmaw or Kor Skyfisher
-4 Plains, +4 Ancient Den (This is debatable, not positive about this)

Edit: Regarding Grafted Exoskeleton, it is my personal opinion that this is not needed. As a Quest target, it's a 4-turn clock (on a 1/1) whereas Armor is a 3-turn clock (on a 1/1). Armor has several other advantages, and especially in Legacy, Poison is non-synergistic with the opponents life-loss from fetchlands etc. That's not to say Poison isn't viable, but it is a different deck.

[Top Deck]

The black splash looks good. I would be slightly concerned about running Glint Hawk without more Memnites. It could be good to replace him with Skyfisher, but that would bump that creature slot up to CMC2. I would not run all 3 swords maindeck.

I'm back-and-forth on only 1-of the Armor. Turning over an armor with Confidant would suck, but any time you draw the armor it sucks.

I totally disagree about Vindicate adding more consistency to the deck. It's not that Vindicate is bad -- it's awesome, it's that in Quest, consistency means getting off a Quest, or Mystic/Outfitter ASAP, and that means creatures. Might I suggest one of the evoke creatures instead, like Shriekmaw. That still triggers quest with the evoke, and provides some additional utility. I realize it's not Vindicate, very few things are, but I would be very wary of cutting creature count in this deck.

My perspective on this deck, however, is limited to Type-2.

I would make these changes:
-1 Sword of Body and Mind, +1 Memnite
-2 Soltari Priest, +2 Shriekmaw or Kor Skyfisher
-4 Plains, +4 Ancient Den (This is debatable, not positive about this)

Edit: Regarding Grafted Exoskeleton, it is my personal opinion that this is not needed. As a Quest target, it's a 4-turn clock (on a 1/1) whereas Armor is a 3-turn clock (on a 1/1). Armor has several other advantages, and especially in Legacy, Poison is non-synergistic with the opponents life-loss from fetchlands etc. That's not to say Poison isn't viable, but it is a different deck.

i don't think you can say the deck is only limited to standard/type 2. it just took 1st in a fairly large legacy tourney (45+ players). glint hawk is a must since the deck's 2 drops will re-equip and drawing the armor isn't an issue when you have mystic/outfitter.

[ZeroStride]

I said my perspective is limited to Type-2 -- meaning I haven't played it outside Type-2 so the way I think about the interactions are limited by the card pool and pace of Type-2.

I don't understand what you just said about Glint Hawk. Complete thoughts would be nice.

Drawing the armor isn't an issue when you have Mystic/outfitter...on paper. In reality, it is a disadvantage. In any situation which you could use Mystic/Outfitter, you can search for the armor (Mystic). The only advantage you will have is searching out a different equipment so that your opponent doesn't know you are holding the Armor. This will (should) cause them to assume that you don't have the Outfitter in hand either, otherwise you would have searched for the armor.

You have an impressive number of opinions on a deck you've clearly never played.

[Top Deck]

i play tested this affinity quest list against countertop and merfolk yesterday and the affinity list had very favorable matchups vs. both decks. turn 1 he has to counter quest if it is in my opening hand or just loses. i would opt to fetch sword of fire and ice.

here's the list i was testing:

4 Seat of the Synod
4 Tree of Tales
4 Ancient Den
3 Glimmervoid
1 Mox Opal
4 Springleaf Drum

4 Ornithopter
4 Memnite
4 Glint Hawk
4 Frogmite
4 Arcbound Ravager
3 Master of Etherium
4 Steel Overseer

4 Quest for the Holy Relic
4 Thoughtcast

1 Sword of Fire and Ice
2 Cranial Plating
1 Argentum Armor
1 Sword of Body and Mind


even without quest i have enough lords like steel overeers and masters of etherium to take advantage of the general lack of mass removal in legacy to win. the rest of the affinity shell doesn't need much explaining.

[Hireax]

I'll be looking into a list that is sort of like this one, but I'll splash black into it.

Here's my basic idea:

Mana [19]
4 Ancient Den
3 Vault of Whispers
4 Seat of the Synod
3 Glimmervoid
2 Plains
1 Island
2 Mox Opal

Creatures [22]
4 Ornithopter
4 Memnite
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Frogmite
3 Arcbound Ravager
4 Steel OVerseer

Spells [14]
4 Thoughtcast
4 Quest for the Holy Relic
4 Brainstorm
2 Ponder

Equips [5]
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Grafted Exoskeleton
1 Argentum Armor

I think it gives me some more speed due to the card advantage obtained by Brainstorm/Thoughtcast/Ponder

[Top Deck]

I'll be looking into a list that is sort of like this one, but I'll splash black into it.

Here's my basic idea:

Mana [19]
4 Ancient Den
3 Vault of Whispers
4 Seat of the Synod
3 Glimmervoid
2 Plains
1 Island
2 Mox Opal

Creatures [22]
4 Ornithopter
4 Memnite
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Frogmite
3 Arcbound Ravager
4 Steel OVerseer

Spells [14]
4 Thoughtcast
4 Quest for the Holy Relic
4 Brainstorm
2 Ponder

Equips [5]
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Grafted Exoskeleton
1 Argentum Armor

I think it gives me some more speed due to the card advantage obtained by Brainstorm/Thoughtcast/Ponder

in my opinion mystic isn't needed and if you want to run dark confidant i would cut the frogmites and replace them with phyrexian walkers.


4 Ancient Den
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Seat of the Synod
3 Glimmervoid
2 Mox Opal

4 Ornithopter
4 Memnite
4 Glint Hawk
3 Phyrexian Walker
3 Arcbound Ravager
4 Steel Overseer
4 Dark Confidant

3 Springleaf Drum
4 Thoughtcast
4 Quest for the Holy Relic
1 Ponder

1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Grafted Exoskeleton
1 Argentum Armor

[Hireax]

Yeah I've been editting the post and now its screwed, but this list looks like it is worth playing :D.

Are the springleaf drums really necessary?

[Top Deck]

Yeah I've been editting the post and now its screwed, but this list looks like it is worth playing :D.

Are the springleaf drums really necessary?

i would say spring leaf drums are vital because more often than not you will have 1 creature + 1 drum over having a mox opal and metal craft in the starting hand. and drawing more drums is better than drawing more opals. both are needed since you need to have access to any color hence for the inclusion of glimervoid.

[Hireax]

Right that seems fair. I guess this is a list that I will be testing for the forthcoming time. I'll let you know about what I did with this :D

[Maëlig]

I think a creature that can bounce itself (such as kor skyfisher or stonecloaker) would be a nice addition to the deck, to make sure you always have enough creatures to trigger the quest (if you draw it later on in the game for eg).

[Mosesthecoot]

My original list had Whitemane Lion just for the casting cost being cheaper than Stonecloaker and the fact you could cast it multiple times at the end of your opponent's turn. I think the smart move would to be running stonecloaker over Lion anyways just because it's a creature with evasion, loves equipment, and shrinks goyf, removes any pieces out of GY etc.

[PhantomOtter]

Long time reader, First time poster...

First of all, I think that you all have good ideas and directions for this deck type.

I use a "Standard" list with no Duelist but Whitemane Lions in place of them.

I use the various swords in side. Jitte does not really help with the deck. Dont get me wrong, it's a great equipment but does not really sway the game into your favor when it hits. I know the deck doesnt sound that powerful but 2/2 flyers turn 1 and/or 2 really are quite effective.

Just my take on the deck...

[TheSleeper]

Does Signal Pest get a look in here?

[Top Deck]

Does Signal Pest get a look in here?

looks like a great addition since it has that effective evasion. what would a deck list with signal pest look like though?