Originally Posted by
Clark Kant
Is a mox even needed? Mox made sense when the deck played many 3cc and 5cc cards. It's not needed if the deck plays mostly 2cc (2 for 2/1 flyer, 3/1 first strike and 2/1 piting needle, jitte, cranial plating, chalice, ankh of mishra?) and 4cc stuff (new dragon, lodestone golem, masticore). Crystal Vein makes more sense with those cards.
Maybe playing more of these cheap artifact flying equipment carriers (1 for 1/1 flying lifelink that evades chalice at 1, 2 for 2/1 flyer, 3/1 first strike and 2/1 piting needle) and Crystal Vein makes more sense. Both Chrome Mox and Mox Diamond are inherent card disadvantage. Metalworker is not).
To your fundamental question is mud with blood moon/magus better than either mud or dragon stony, I actually lean to yes!
Priest is better the more equipments the deck runs and the fewer 5cc creatures it runs. Molten Dragon is really powerful, ending games in just one attack if you have enough life, it basically as a psuedohatred built into it, along with evasion.
Priest is solid with blood moon and magus. Turn one equipment, turn two priest + moon seems solid.
The Dragon works really well with Priest. I think the right move is to cut 5cc cards and seething songs out completely and run these newer faster guys instead.
If we cut out all spells that need double red, we can do without priest and we can cut back slightly on the number of red sources we run as well. With all the strong artifacts including lodestone golem, chrome mox is losing it's luster though while opal is looking better and better. Yes this brings the deck closer to MUD, but surely, if that is the stronger approach, it's worth testing.