[Deck] Puresteel White

[FullMetal824]

Hi everybody! I'd just like to share to the interwebs a pet deck of mine that has been a lot of fun to put together and even better playing. This idea came from my need to break Puresteel Paladin (NP). So here's the list:

Creatures {20}:
Puresteel Paladin (NP) x4
Vault Skirge (NP) x4
Etched Champion (SoM) x2
Mother of Runes (UL) x3
Ornithopter (Chr.) x3
Stoneforge Mystic (WW) x4


Artifacts {18}:
Mox Opal (SoM) x2
AEther Vial (DS) x4
Sword of Fire and Ice (DS) x1
Sword of Feast and Famine (MBs) x1
Batterskull (NP) x1
Cranial Plating (FD) x4
Flayer Husk (MBs) x4
Umezawa's Jitte (BoK) x1

Spells {4}:
Swords to Plowshares (IA) x4

Land {18}:
Ancient Den (Md) x4
Marsh Flats (Zen) x4
Plains (Zen) x6
Wasteland (Tem) x4
---
SB:
Ethersworn Cannonist (SoA) x4
Phyrexian Revoker (MBs) x3
Pithing Needle (M10) x3
Manriki-Gusari (SoK) x1
Path to Exile (Con) x4

About the Deck

Puresteel Paladin:
(WW, 2/2. Whenever you cast an equipment spell, you draw a card. Metalcraft~ Equip costs :0: ) This guy is the star of the show. I pack 12/1 Equipment in this deck, which means at the worst they cantrip for me, and at the best they're a +3. Then I get to move equipment everywhere! The best is when you suit up a Voltron, turn it sideways for massive beats, then move it all to an untapped creature for blocks. This, and Stoneforge were a match made in heaven.

Stoneforge Mystic:
This should be an obvious choice. She does see a ton of legacy play these days, and this deck is none the better. She grabs your blades and Batterskull, and lets you put them into play uncounterable and cheap.

Ornithopter/Vault Skirge
They fly, they're cheap to play, and one of them has the added bonus of lifelink. They carry 6+ blades into battle like a champ!

Etched Champion/Mother of Runes:
They just get in there, and etched champ can tank your opponents any day of the week, plus he helps give himself metalcraft!

Mox Opal:
With this many artifacts, this is a reusable Lotus Petal. It allows you to play 2 1-drops or a 2-drop on turn 1, and then a sword on turn 2, and bashing on turn 3. Only 2 in here, since they do suck to keep running into, being legendary and all that...

AEther Vial:
Cheap artifact, and makes my creatures (especially stoneforge) uncounterable. It's a perfect fit for this deck. Usually stays at 2 counters

Swords of Fire and Ice & Feast and Famine/Umezawa's Jitte:
The Feast and Famine used to be a Light and Shadow, but in play testing, I figured i have enough alike creatures that having more mana after a successful attack was more valuable to me then getting creatures back from the dead. Fire and Ice is simply an advantage machine, and my favorite blade. Jitte wins you games against tribal and dredge very easily

Batterskull:
The reason they banned Stoneforge for its last half year in standard. This thing is a house when you get it out with its germ token, and insane when you suit it up with equipment. Usually means game over when you have a sword and a plating hooked up with whatever is holding this monstrosity

Flayer Husk:
Not a normal choice for equipment, but this thing equals cantrip and 1/1 when you have a puresteel out. They produce guys, and the +1/+1 booster isn't too bad when you got it hooked up to a vault skirge.

Cranial Plating:
WILL win you games. this deck is heavy with artifact, and will bring back memories of affinity when you attach this to your ornithopter, and swing for 15+

Swords to Plowshares:
Needed to throw a removal spell in there somehow. Preemptively gets rid of that Pridemage or Zealot that might be ruining your day.

Wasteland:
Gets those damn Maze of Iths outta the way, and I've been seeing tower of the magistrate floating around some sideboards, which can be stupid annoying for this deck.

Ancient den:
Might be a huge target for removal, but this is what accelerates your first turn plays.

SB
Cannonist/Revoker/Needle
They hose combo, lands, Jace, Elspeth, and everything in between.
Manriki-Gusari
When metalcraft is on, and puresteel is out, I can kill all of their equipments just by tapping down creatures. This thing is fun!
Path to Exile
Bites into Zoo and tribal decks, and tears away their heaviest hitters.

As for tourney reports, I dont have any current ones to post but I'll give you a summary of what has happened in the past:

VS Death and Taxes
As long as I can press down their mangaras and/or waste off Karakas, this is an easy bout. they will never catch up to you as long as your tempo is consistent. After game 1, dont be afraid to needle/revoke the AEther Vials if they're causing you any problems. Paths are ok, and manriki is pretty good against stoneforge builds of DnT

VS Merfolk
Once again, their Vials are dangerous to you, so do your best to sneak in a beats with Jitte, then just keep applying pressure. Paths are insanely good in this matchup, and you can throw in needles if youd like.

VS Goblins...
Yeah, my meta gets a little weird sometimes, and there will always be goblins everywhere. save your Champions and mothers for blocking pile drivers, and swords/path their cheiftains and warchiefs and you should have no problem winning

VS Natural Order varieties
You can win this easily, if you can put them off 4 mana long enough to get your creatures online with proper armaments. Sideboard options only involve the paths, which can take away their creature base so they can't fetch for Progenitus

VS ANT/TES
This is the worst matchup possible for this deck since it's faster and harder to poke for answers. I reccomend siding in cannonists and revokers and pray they don't wash you out with rebuild

VS Lands.dec
You can win this, but the odds are against you. Have more creatures then they can maze for game 1. and then side in needles for game 2. Throw swords out, as they are worthless in this matchup.

VS UW Stoneblade
This will be tough, but you shouldn't have any huge problems outside of Jace. Side in needles and revokers and dont overextend

Alright well thats what i have now, but ill be checking back in sometime soon to revisit my sideboard choices. Thanks!

[Darkenslight]

Suggestion?

Drop the Flayers for Mask of Avacyn: there is literally nothing worse than Voltroning your Puresteel, only to have it go Farming. Hexproof helps this a LOT. Alternatively, Swiftfoot Boots can fill those spots.

Another suggestion would be to have Loxodon Warhammer combined with Kor Duelist as the only nonPuresteel nonartifact creature.

[FullMetal824]

Suggestion?

Drop the Flayers for Mask of Avacyn: there is literally nothing worse than Voltroning your Puresteel, only to have it go Farming. Hexproof helps this a LOT. Alternatively, Swiftfoot Boots can fill those spots.

Another suggestion would be to have Loxodon Warhammer combined with Kor Duelist as the only nonPuresteel nonartifact creature.

Thanks for the suggestions Darkenslight

The only problem I have with that is that Flayer Husk is wayyyy too good for the deck on the grounds that it gives me a 1cc cantrip,a chump that blocks or I can suit it up if need be for some beats, and also proves a good strategy against Dredge decks taht I can't do much about in game 1, since unequipping my 0/0 germ will take care of any Bridge from Below. I did consider the boots though, since I don't have a great strategy against spot removal. The Masks will jump my curve too much in the 3cc, and this deck is all about cheap equipments and/or cheating them in with Stoneforge :wink:

Edit- As for the Warhammer/Duelist, that might not be a bad idea as a 1-2 of, but as for the Whammer, I have the Batterskull for bashing lifelink damage already, and trample doesn't really attract me since i have enough creatures with evasion as is :D

[Hanni]

When Puresteel was spoiled, I really wanted to make a deck based around him, but never got around to designing one. Seeing this thread rejuvenated my interest, and this is what I've come up with:

Mystic Puresteel

// Lands (16)
4 [UNH] Plains
4 [HOP] Ancient Den
4 [DS] Darksteel Citadel
4 [DS] Blinkmoth Nexus

// Creatures (22)
4 [MR] Ornithopter
2 [SOM] Memnite
4 [NPH] Vault Skirge
4 [UL] Mother of Runes
4 [WWK] Stoneforge Mystic
4 [NPH] Puresteel Paladin

// Spells (22)
4 [MBS] Flayer Husk
1 [NPH] Batterskull
4 [FD] Cranial Plating
1 [BOK] Umezawa's Jitte
1 [DS] Sword of Fire and Ice
1 [MBS] Sword of Feast and Famine
4 [FD] Paradise Mantle
2 [SOM] Mox Opal
4 [NPH] Dispatch

// Sideboard (15)
SB: 4 [ALA] Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 2 [FUT] Aven Mindcensor
SB: 2 [MBS] Phyrexian Revoker
SB: 3 [TE] Disenchant
SB: 3 [M12] Swiftfoot Boots
SB: 1 [SOK] Manriki-Gusari

Not 100% sold on the sideboard, but the maindeck feels very solid.

There really is no good reason to run Swords to Plowshares over Dispatch in this deck.

I think Paradise Mantle is much better than AEther Vial for various reasons:

First of all, Vial is at its best in a deck with a large creature density and a well rounded curve. This deck has a horrible Vial curve, and not enough creatures to really make the best use of it. This deck plays alot of equipments, which cannot be cast via Vial (obviously).

Secondly, Paradise Mantle is an equipment, so even during midgame where the deck wouldn't need the mana accel anymore, it's not dead with a Puresteel on the board (cantrip).

Thirdly, costing 0 mana vs 1 mana makes it easier to enable Metalcraft early for Mox Opal. Overall, it just makes more sense to me.

Also, I think Blinkmoth Nexus is better for this deck than Wasteland. While I agree that Wasteland would be really good, I think increasing the amount of fliers from 8 to 12 (and it being an artifact) makes Cranial Plating that much better. With a Puresteel out (and Metalcraft), re-equipping the Nexus every turn is a non-issue. However, I may switch the Citadel's to Wasteland's if I find myself not needing the extra artifact lands.

EDIT: Thinking I might need a few more white sources of mana. I'll test a few more games as is, but I may cut the Citadel's for more plains.

Also, I wanted to comment on some things discussed in this thread:


The only problem I have with that is that Flayer Husk is wayyyy too good for the deck

Agreed. It's a 1/1 for 1, which isn't spectacular, but it's solid for this deck. It's an artifact for Metalcraft/Plating, it's an equipment for Puresteel, and if the creature is dealt with, it still attaches for +1/+1. Basically, it ups the threat density while upping the equipment density.


Another suggestion would be to have Loxodon Warhammer combined with Kor Duelist as the only nonPuresteel nonartifact creature.

Kor Duelist sounds pretty good, considering that my list runs 16 equipment spells. I might consider fitting some in some how. As far Loxodon, it seems pretty bad. The deck has plenty of lifelink with Skirge and Batterskull, and doesn't need trample with all of the evasion. +3/+0 is pretty meh for the cost.


Drop the Flayers for Mask of Avacyn: there is literally nothing worse than Voltroning your Puresteel, only to have it go Farming. Hexproof helps this a LOT. Alternatively, Swiftfoot Boots can fill those spots.

Mask is crap. Swiftboots is much, much better. However, the deck runs mostly a bunch of inconsequential creatures that it doesn't really care if they die, for the most part. It's the equipment itself that turns the creatures into a threat, and the deck runs plenty of bodies (31 in my list if you count Nexus and Batterskull), plus the deck already has Mother of Runes for protection. Haste is pretty nice though.

Ultimately, I think Swiftboots is best left for the sideboard, to come in against removal heavy decks. That's my opinion, anyway.

[Hanni]

I know this is a double post, but I just wanted to say a few things...

First of all, this deck is a blast to play. It's so fun.

Anyway, I've logged about 30 or so games now on MWS (2/3 game sets, not counting the games with "Player Lost" after the first one). This deck is a beast. Reanimator has been an auto-loss so far, I'm sure combo in general is just as bad. I've actually changed my SB around a little bit to include some Tormod's Crypts, but haven't played against Reanimator yet since. Aside from that matchup, I've beaten just about everything else, with only a few losses here and there.

This deck seems to trump the current metagame. Any blue-based aggro/control deck just gets destroyed. Tribal aggro gets destroyed. Even control gets destroyed because of Swiftfoot Boots and the huge threat density (and the equipment makes everything a threat).

Here's what I'm rolling now:

Mystic Puresteel

// Lands (16)
4 [UNH] Plains
4 [HOP] Ancient Den
4 [DS] Darksteel Citadel
4 [DS] Blinkmoth Nexus

// Creatures (20)
4 [MR] Ornithopter
4 [NPH] Vault Skirge
4 [UL] Mother of Runes
4 [WWK] Stoneforge Mystic
4 [NPH] Puresteel Paladin

// Spells (24)
4 [MBS] Flayer Husk
1 [NPH] Batterskull
4 [FD] Cranial Plating
1 [M12] Swiftfoot Boots
1 [BOK] Umezawa's Jitte
1 [DS] Sword of Fire and Ice
1 [MBS] Sword of Feast and Famine
4 [FD] Paradise Mantle
3 [SOM] Mox Opal
4 [NPH] Dispatch

// Sideboard (15)
SB: 2 [M12] Swiftfoot Boots
SB: 1 [SOK] Manriki-Gusari
SB: 4 [ALA] Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 2 [MBS] Phyrexian Revoker
SB: 2 [TE] Disenchant
SB: 4 [DKA] Grafdigger's Cage

Vault Skirge + Cranial Plating is disgusting. Even without Skirge, I win like 90% of my games off the back of Cranial Plating.

If you take White Weenie and mix it with Affinity, this is the byproduct. The deck is vicious. Thanks for making the thread, FullMetal824 :smile:

EDIT: Actually, I'm gonna try Grafdigger's Cage instead of Tormod's Crypt. The decklist above has been changed to relfect this.

[Kich867]

Hanni, in that old thread you were talking about, you mentioned some interaction between Puresteel and Stoneforge Mystic (it was either Mystic or batterskull)--you said you needed to check whether it actually worked, I inquired about it but the thread sort of died.

Do you happen to remember what that interaction was / whether it was legal?

[Hanni]

Absolutely do not remember, sorry. Haven't run into too many interaction issues either. Puresteel and SFM interaction with Batterskull? Hmm... no idea.

[Kich867]

Ah, this was the post:


I love this new Paladin, and I hope that his wording doesn't change.

It didn't say what I thought it did, but I remember wondering why you were hoping that, I couldn't see anything in his wording that might be errata'd.

I was thinking maybe some kind of crazy Thopter Foundry combo, since it would be: "Pay 1 mana, draw 1 card, gain 1 life, put a token into play" by spamming sword of the meek out.

[Hanni]

That sounds pretty cool. Draw X cards, gain X life, make X 1/1 tokens, based on how much mana you have. Seems kinda overkill, though. The deck, as is, pretty much wins once it lands a Cranial Plating and a flier.

EDIT: Made a change to my sideboard. -1 Swiftboots, +1 Grafdigger.

[TheDarkshineKnight]

Weeeeeeellp, I was looking for an excuse to use my Puresteel Paladins and it looks like this is it. This looks absofrigginlutely spectacular. Having the Puresteel engine and Stoneforge toolbox in the same deck is just flat out wrong.

There is something I'm curious about, though, with regards to this deck. Is Flayer Husk under preforming or has it actually proven to be an effective use of 4 slots?

[Hanni]

Flayer Husk to this deck is what Arcbound Worker was to old Affinity lists. A 1/1 for 1 isn't spectacular, but it's exactly what the deck wants.

It's a cheap artifact creature to help enable Metalcraft early. It's a body to wear equipment. Once it's dealt with, it sticks around, able to attach to another creature for +1/+1. The pump may seem small and irrelevant, but it's noticeable when attached to a Vault Skirge, especially in multipes. Even after the token is dealt with, the Husk sticks around to maintain Metalcraft and boost the artifact count for Cranial Plating. Finally, it's an equipment, which is exactly what this deck wants. You really want as many equipments as possible to take full advantage of Puresteel Paladin. There's nothing better than chaining Flayer Husk's and Paradise Mantle's in the midgame for huge card advantage.

Basically, don't expect to be impressed by the guy; he's not the star of the show. However, you can definitely notice the difference without them. They make the deck run alot smoother.

[Bigface]

Why not run Inkmoth Nexus instead of Blinkmoth? With lots of equipments and Mother of Runes to protect it you can kill an opponent in a couple of attacks.

Also, could be nice to pack some overcosted Equipment, like Argentum Armor, since you can both cheat them into play and attach them for free.

[Hanni]

Why not run Inkmoth Nexus instead of Blinkmoth? With lots of equipments and Mother of Runes to protect it you can kill an opponent in a couple of attacks.


Because the rest of the deck deals damage, not poison counters. Some games the deck does incrimental damage, using lifelink here and there to seperate the life totals so that this deck can deal 20 before the opponent can deal 20+

Inkmoth Nexus doesn't contribute to the "deal 20 damage" plan. Instead, he does damage via poison counters. The deck won't always draw Mother of Runes for protection, and if Nexus is dealt with, even if the opponent is at 9 poison counters, the attacks become pointless when you go back to doing regular damage with something else.


Also, could be nice to pack some overcosted Equipment, like Argentum Armor, since you can both cheat them into play and attach them for free.

I have considered Argentum Armor on multiple occassions and have really wanted to run it, but it just seems too situational and win more. The only time it will ever realistically work is with a SFM and a Puresteel on the board. More often than not, grabbing a Cranial Plating will get the job done anyway, and the deck already has Batterskull as its big costed equipment, which happens to only be reliant on SFM. Don't get me wrong though, if you do get this thing down, it can easily blow the opponent out. I'm not saying that running a single copy instead of the Swiftfoot Boots is wrong. For me personally, though, I just don't think it's worth it.

[Beatusnox]

I have considered Argentum Armor on multiple occassions and have really wanted to run it, but it just seems too situational and win more. The only time it will ever realistically work is with a SFM and a Puresteel on the board. More often than not, grabbing a Cranial Plating will get the job done anyway, and the deck already has Batterskull as its big costed equipment, which happens to only be reliant on SFM. Don't get me wrong though, if you do get this thing down, it can easily blow the opponent out. I'm not saying that running a single copy instead of the Swiftfoot Boots is wrong. For me personally, though, I just don't think it's worth it.

The biggest difference between the Plating and the Armor is the Armor can get around problematic permanents, and with puresteel making it free to equip it seems like atleast a 1 to two of sideboard card that can be tutored for game 2-3 it gets around Mom giving protection to just keep chump blocking, or if you are playing against any kind of Show and tell type deck, it can blow up the Emrakul, I know these are corner cases, but still something to consider.

[cartoonist]

I like this idea a lot. Leonin Shikari (I really don't know how to use those card tags) might work here - free, instant-speed equips could help get the damage through. It might be too limited now since you can't stack damage, but I'd consider it.

[routlaw]

I played about a ten matches of games with this on MODO today and came away with some impressions, mostly very positive. I had a very good record versus anything remotely fair, and made some changes to the deck to help with at least the Reanimator matchup a bit with the maindeck Karakas.

One thing to keep in mind is that the way the deck is laid out, it is often correct to assume the control role in a matchup. You have a powerful draw and mana engine (free equips) that you can set up and have a set of threats that can easily trump what the opponents are bringing to the table. You are almost always favored to win versus the blue decks in the format. Only against things like Pox and Nic Fit and any combo matchup are you really best taking the aggro role.

I really liked the way that the deck is set up with very high threat density that accumulates and lots of really nice tricks to grind out games versus decks with near-infinite removal. The deck can present a pile of must-answer threats and is resilient to the kind of attrition game that can often easily grind out wins traditional affinity builds. There's at least a tier 2 deck to be built from this pile of cards.

My current build:

Mana:
4 Ancient Den
7 Plains
3 Darksteel Citadel
2 Karakas
3 Blinkmoth Nexus
3 Mox Opal

A note on the lands - This is a very mana-hungry deck. Puresteel isn't always around, and you need to have enough mana to play out your hand (and even that takes time). I kept adding in lands plus the three moxes until I was happy with my ability to play out my hand in the face of disruption from the tempo decks. The manlands are merely OK. Mishra's Factory would honestly be just about as good.

The Karakas help the Reanimator matchup somewhat and are sort of a freeroll since I am in mono-white already and have enough lands that get nuked by Wasteland that playing more basics isn't going to change that.

Creatures:
4 Mother of Runes
4 Puresteel Paladin
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Vault Skirge
3 Etched Champion
2 Spellskite

I consider the first 16 to be the reason why this deck is played. The Spellskites are basically two more Mother of Runes who have the ability to fight other Mother of Runes and blank Lightning Bolt and the first casting of Punishing Fire a turn, and have been excellent in the deck.

Notably missing are the Ornithopters, which I wasn't impressed with. This deck has plenty of evasion via the Skirges, Mother of Runes, and swords. You don't need the Ornithopters, and without Signal Pest from the faster affinity builds, they are much worse here than they are in the other build.

Etched Champion has never let me down if he resolves.

Equipment:
4 Flayer Husk
4 Cranial Plating
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
1 Basilisk Collar

The Basilisk Collar was added mostly for lifegain against burn and tempo decks, and it's the only "flex" spot in the equipment manifest above, everything else should be considered integral to the deck. I'm probably going to switch that out to Light and Shadow since a lot of my guys eat countermagic , and SOLS provides lifegain too. Basilisk Collar would be way better if I ran a mix of Flayer Husks and Mortarpods, but the deck is already chock full of two drops and Flayer Husk has been very good in the deck.

My spells:
4 Dispatch

- This card has been outstanding, but Swords to Plowshares may still be better. Even if you give them life, sometimes-especially on the draw and in the face of countermagic-Metalcraft can take a few turns. Swords is DEFINITELY better against Maverick since you really want to be able to hit their Mother of Runes right off the bat before it gets active.

SB is pretty standard:

2 Disenchant
4 Canonist
1 Manriki-Gusari
2 Revoker
4 Relic of Progenitus
2 Swiftfoot Boots

Swiftfoot, in multiple copies is 100% necessary to fight removal-heavy decks and anything runing cards like Tower of The Magistrate or Maze of Ith.


Things to try going forward:

- I will try out Hanni's suggestion of some numbers of Paradise Mantles instead of the higher land count.
- I would love to try out Lingering Souls instead of Etched Champion in the deck if I had the Paradise Mantles+Mox Opals to flash it back. Sometimes all the deck really wants is to make a lot of bodies to carry equipment, and that card does just that.
- I'd like to see just how much hate is needed to at least be 50/50 versus storm combo, since I am not sure even bothering with the Canonists is going to be worthwhile, where as beating Dredge and Reanimator is a much more reachable goal.
- I can't help but want some number of Ancient Tombs in the deck. It's so mana-hungry. Not a full set since you never want two, but I can see three being a right number.

[Hanni]

Routlaw, the Metalcraft for Dispatch early is not a big issue for my build. The 4th Darksteel Citadel, 4 Paradise Mantle, and 4 Ornithopter have alot to do with this. Cutting the Mantle's and Ornithopter's seems like a really bad idea, considering they enable Metalcraft early for Dispatch and Mox Opal. How often are you getting mana from Mox Opal on turn 1? Or even turn 2?

Also, I think you underestimate Ornithopter in general. This deck is basically: drop Cranial Plating, gg. Ornithopter makes that happen. I realize Mom can give evasion too, but Thopters carry Plating like a champ. With SFM, you essentially have 8 Cranial Plating in the deck, and you almost always want it attached to a Skirge or Thopter.

Spellskite seems unecessary.

Mortarpod sounds like a really good sideboard card. I may have to check that out.

I also seem to play the deck differently than you do. I go aggro in the majority of my matchups, and I only go control in a few of them.

Also, as far as Paradise Mantle is concerned, you definitely want them. With Puresteel, they basically turn every single creature into mana, so that you can chain equipments and drop your hand. They also cantrip for free with Puresteel, which makes chaining equipments even better. I've had a game where I had double Puresteel on the board with a Mantel and drew like 13 cards and overkilled my opponent with a triple-Plated Skirge.

[routlaw]

Opal is very reliable on turn two, same with Dispatch.

I haven't tried the full set of Ornithopters AND Paradise Mantles yet, so I'll give them a go and see how they fit in. I do really like where the deck is positioned, your worst matchup is combo and Nic Fit but the blue aggro-control decks relying on spot removal have a really rough time against the deck's accumulating advantage (similar to the way Maverick fights them, only you are way faster in doing so).

There's a solid argument for an Enlightened Tutor sideboard plan, I just have to play the deck more to see which cards are needed.

[Hanni]

The only times I have problems with Nic Fit is when they drop a Deed. If they don't find a Deed, I just fly overhead with a Plating for the win. Then again, I've only played the matchup twice, so I don't have enough experience to say that with any certainty. It could be pretty bad. I think BUG Control with Deed's is alot worse though. And yes, combo is not the best matchup. Good thing the meta is invested with blue everywhere to keep most combo decks in the lower tables (unless you're Bryant Cook).

I haven't considered an E Tutor sideboard, but the entire deck is basically artifacts, so it sounds good.

[FullMetal824]

@ Everybody: I am so happy to see such a great conversation so far! This deck was truely a labor of love, and the one original idea I had while playing this game that really worked.
When I put this thing together, about a year ago, the idea was to trounce W/U control and CAW-legacy decks, as well as hopefully barrel over the other meta, but with a very limited card-pool (as i didn't own any duals whatsoever). This build has enjoyed a few undefeateds/single-loss evenings at my local places. Since then, I have aquired a set of Bobs and Scrublands, and I'm cooking up a B/W build, with faster card advantage to supplement the paladin. Suggestions are always welcome! Thanks again!

[.Ix]

Has anyone considered Bone Saw? I cut 2 Ornithopters and 1 Paradise Mantle for 3 Bone Saws in Hanni's build and it's working great. It ups the equipment cantrip count without needing mana and actually helps with the aggro plan. I'm not a fan of the Ornithopters myself since they're dead without the Platings. Mantle is dead sometimes as well, so I cut one. It's RIDICULOUS with germs and Puresteel though!

[Vacrix]

I tried playing this deck because the concept impressed me. The various builds I tried, however, did not. The deck can do some crazy fucking shit, and other times it just plays a bunch of small dudes and waits patiently for something to turn the game around, which could easily eat a counterspell. I feel like it needs more library manipulation.

[.Ix]

Yeah, it bricks sometimes. I was also thinking of library manipulation and running this UW with some brainstorm or preordain, and then with U in the mix it could run the thopter-sword combo as well as Thoughtcast.

[Vacrix]

I think more shuffle effects and SDT seems like the right way to go. I'm going to try a few things and let you know.

[.Ix]

Also found a decklist that featured a Sunforger + Silence + Ethersworn Canonist lock. Sounds a little silly, but each card does something good on its own. Might be worth optimizing that version.

[Freggle]

I played with a Puresteel list in Standard, and I like where this is going.

I don't know where the list is now, but Aether Vial does not seem right. I'd play Grand Abolisher over it, but I don't think you even need to do that.

Do not overlook Glint Hawk in standard he was really good. He can bounce any living artifact to get you a germ back or T1 bounce a 0CC artifact for a 2/2 flying beater. Or if you have a Puresteel out you could bounce any equipment for additional draws. I would test the card until proven otherwise.

Mortarpod also makes a good finisher since you can equip for free once you have a Puresteel out and metalcraft for a suicide ping fest.

...and what could this deck do with Lingering Souls? You are already splashing black for Plating.

With the right eye this could quickly become like an enchantress-like caw blade riddled with combos that just win or cripple.

[.Ix]

I played this as a casual modern deck called Steel Sisters, which was a hilarious hybrid between this, Soul Sisters + pridemate, and the relic-warder/metamorph combo. It was actually pretty cool. The lifegain worked as a way of stalling until Puresteel came online. I used Glint Hawk in that deck (replaying husks for tokens + life + mortarpod ping + puresteel draw was too good). I should try to port it to legacy and see how it works.

Black isn't needed for Cranial Plating (you can equip it with :1:)

[Esper3k]

I've also been wanting to make Puresteel Paladin work in Legacy, but haven't gotten around to it!

Just wondering - have you guys considered Glint Hawk at all? Draw you another card, resets your living weapons like Flayer Husks, gives you another evasive attacker. Of course, the drawback is that it's not an artifact, so doesn't help with your Metalcrafting.

[DragoFireheart]

Wouldn't this deck sound better being called White Puresteel?

Should we try to get some double strikers in here? Mirran Crusader perhaps?

[DragoFireheart]

Puresteel Paladin
Thopter Foundry
Sword of the Meek


1: Draw a card, gain a life, and put a 1/1 blue thopter token onto the battefield.

The nice thing about this combination is that each separate piece is fine on it's own. The paladin gives us card advantage, while the thopter-sword will give us inevitability. SFM can fetch the SotM when we need it.

Thoughts?

Edit: NVM, someone already suggested this.

This might be a good deck to run Cavern of Souls in. You name either knight or kor to protect them from counter, forcing the opponent to use removal on them. It also makes colorless for your artifacts.

[Vacrix]

I don't see Cavern getting played here. Every creature type this deck plays is different so often its just going to be a land that produces colorless, though Mirran Crusader does look pretty cool. The deck is slow enough that it could probably play him.

[Ppa0]

I really like the deck idea and I think it has a good potential, it does have a bad MU versus combo but that shouldn't stop anyone from playing it. I just wanted to point out that there were 2 people that mentioned the Foundry + Meek + Palandin which is nice however if one has ever played U/W counterbalance or just about any deck that runs Foundry + Meek, one would know that there is no need for card draw, if the combo is out and the opponent doesn't stop it that turn, it's pretty much GG.

[DragoFireheart]

I really like the deck idea and I think it has a good potential, it does have a bad MU versus combo but that shouldn't stop anyone from playing it. I just wanted to point out that there were 2 people that mentioned the Foundry + Meek + Palandin which is nice however if one has ever played U/W counterbalance or just about any deck that runs Foundry + Meek, one would know that there is no need for card draw, if the combo is out and the opponent doesn't stop it that turn, it's pretty much GG.

Yeah, but I (and the other person) was making note of it's amazing synergy with the Paladin. You can fetch the SotM with the SFM, and the Foundry can eat other artifacts to give you more dudes if you don't have the SotM.

[Ppa0]

I think it has great synenergy too however isn't the deck mono white right now, this would mean adding a color or two. Maybe some sort of UWB version of this with slightly less creatures and some hate and/or disruption would make the deck fantastic... hmm.

[DragoFireheart]

I think it has great synenergy too however isn't the deck mono white right now, this would mean adding a color or two. Maybe some sort of UWB version of this with slightly less creatures and some hate and/or disruption would make the deck fantastic... hmm.

I think splashing a color shouldn't be too difficult. We have choices:

Tundra
Glimmervoid


We also run Mox Opal and Paradise Mantle already.

Anyways, I think maybe trying to run the Thopter-Sword combo would give us redundant threats that can win the game when resolved. Having our Knight killed/countered can slow us down a bit: the thopter-sword combo would be another layer of deadly threats for the opponent to deal with. I'll have a check list later.

[waSP]

Can someone post an updated list for this deck?

Cavern of Souls on Human would make sense with Mother of Runes, Puresteel Paladin, and Mirran Crusader as your creature package. You'd just have Stoneforge Mystic, significantly, and Etched Champion not getting any help. Your other critters should come down turn 1 no problem.

[Ppa0]

What about something like this;

4 Puresteel Paladin
4 Vault Skirge
2 Etched Champion
3 Mother of Runes
3 Ornithopter
4 Stoneforge Mystic

1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
4 Cranial Plating
1 Mortarpod
3 Sword of the Meek

4 Thopter Foundry
2 Mox Opal

4 Dispatch

4 Ancient Den
3 Seat of the Synod
4 flooded strand
3 Tundra
1 Plains
3 Glimmervoid

[CrazyMYKL]

With all those toolbox equips, could this be the deck to use Steelshaper's Gift?

(Probably not, but still a cool card.)

[Ppa0]

I was thinking that it could be useful with further testing as might Enlightened Tutor be.

[DragoFireheart]

With all those toolbox equips, could this be the deck to use Steelshaper's Gift?

(Probably not, but still a cool card.)

I think it warrants some testing. It's superior to Enlightened Tutor since you actually get to keep the card you pick and It grabs most of the artifacts you would want anyways.

[Avatar of Light]

Puresteel Paladin
Thopter Foundry
Sword of the Meek


1: Draw a card, gain a life, and put a 1/1 blue thopter token onto the battefield.



Throw in Paradise Mantle and you can go infinite. Mortarpod would give you infinite damage as well.

Lands (15)
4 Ancient Den
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
4 Darksteel Citadel
3 Glimmervoid

Creatures (20)
4 Puresteel Paladin
4 Vault Skirge
4 Mother of Runes
4 Ornithopter
4 Stoneforge Mystic

Equipment (15)
4 Cranial Plating
1 Mortarpod
4 Paradise Mantle
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
2 Sword of the Meek
1 Umezawa's Jitte

Other (10)
3 Thopter Foundry
3 Mox Opal
4 Dispatch

Batterskull was the last card I cut, but that might end up going back in place of the SoLS.

EDIT: Cut the Plains for 3 Glimmervoid and a pair of Swiftfoot Boots to allow for the (5 card) combo.

[DragoFireheart]

Throw in Paradise Mantle and you can go infinite!. Mortarpod would give you infinite damage as well.

Nah, they come into play without haste. You'd need a haste effect like Swiftfoot Boots to get infinite mana. And it's not truly infinite since you'll deck yourself at some point.

[Avatar of Light]

Nah, they come into play without haste. You'd need a haste effect like Swiftfoot Boots to get infinite mana. And it's not truly infinite since you'll deck yourself at some point.

*facepalm* Can't believe I forgot that Mantle is a tap ability. Puresteel Paladin's card draw is a may ability, so you can't really deck yourself unless you want to.

[DragoFireheart]

*facepalm* Can't believe I forgot that Mantle is a tap ability. Puresteel Paladin's card draw is a may ability, so you can't really deck yourself unless you want to.

*facepalm* now you aren't alone. I forgot that the draw is a may effect. HERP DERP... :laugh:

I think I might try and take this deck to a tournament at some point. I've played a partially completed version and it's a lot of fun.