[Deck] Salvager Game (Golden Grahams)

Except that Crypt and Relic keep Gamekeeper from going off. Deed them away before dealing with them.

I don't like Infernal Tutor in this deck, I'll be the first to say. I think a hybrid of Living Wish, Night's Whisper, and Eladamri's Call is the way to go.

Or, if you want to be really screwball, Tainted Pact is still incredibly underrated in this deck, given how few things you need to run duplicates of. Here's my really randomass Tainted Pact list:

1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Flooded Strand
1 Bayou
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Savannah
1 Scrubland
1 Forest
1 Swamp
1 Plains
1 Snow-Covered Forest
1 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Pendelhaven
1 Urborg
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 City of Brass
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Dark Ritual
1 Lotus Petal
3 Gamekeeper
2 Auriok Salvagers
3 Lion's Eye Diamond
1 Chromatic Star
1 Chromatic Sphere
1 Sungrass Egg
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
4 Living Wish
4 Tainted Pact
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Innocent Blood
1 Night's Whisper
1 Eladamri's Call
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Thoughtseize
1 Duress
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Vindicate

SB:
1 Scrubland
1 Gamekeeper
1 Auriok Salvagers
1 Harmonic Sliver
1 Kjeldoran Dead
1 Shriekmaw
1 Maga, Traitor to Mortals
1 Eternal Witness
1 Faerie Macabre
2 Progenitus
2 Duress
2 Krosan Grip

Eladamri's Call had crossed my mind when building the deck. I was thinking at on point i could make a long wish toolbox in the side board then use Eladamri's Call in the md to tutor for any of them game 2.

I was thinking of squeezing in a recoup as a second kill in the md in the long fight against graveyard hate.

taco why are you emphisising the legends so much with all the legend boosting land? isn't Shizo, Death's Storehouse enough to get maga through on the attack? less you have more legends to use u didn't list.

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Originally Posted by Mr. Fix it

taco why are you emphisising the legends so much with all the legend boosting land? isn't Shizo, Death's Storehouse enough to get maga through on the attack? less you have more legends to use u didn't list.

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I'm not. I'm just using them as green and black mana producers that don't have a drawback apart from being vulnerable to wasteland. It's designed to where I can't ever crap out on a Tainted Pact from hitting lands.

That's the TP list though. My regular list uses 2 Calls and more redundant board control.

what few times i've seen this deck in action i notice a lot of living wish stack then LED sacrificing do you guys have any good 5 mana 'stompy" beaters you would side in as a non graveyard related back up plan?

you COULD use LED for massive mana then draw out with a Conjurer's Bauble, LED for red, Bauble at a Grapeshot to bottom library (aka top of library at that point) and storm count:holy bejesus for the win

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Originally Posted by Pastorofmuppets

you COULD use LED for massive mana then draw out with a Conjurer's Bauble, LED for red, Bauble at a Grapeshot to bottom library (aka top of library at that point) and storm count:holy bejesus for the win

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true this deck can certainly power out some huge storm counts if played that way. but heck with the bauble and grapeshot just recoup a tendrils.

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speaking of storm i lost to ad naseum, all i could think of was beat them to death with big creatures game 2, course my deck stalled out and they didn't make it to the battlefield. whats the right play against such a deck? getting there life total down seems to be the best defense when i think hard. my only other thought was to maybe work in orims chant as this would benefit the deck in general and stall ad naseum from going off.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr. Fix it

true this deck can certainly power out some huge storm counts if played that way. but heck with the bauble and grapeshot just recoup a tendrils.

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speaking of storm i lost to ad naseum, all i could think of was beat them to death with big creatures game 2, course my deck stalled out and they didn't make it to the battlefield. whats the right play against such a deck? getting there life total down seems to be the best defense when i think hard. my only other thought was to maybe work in orims chant as this would benefit the deck in general and stall ad naseum from going off.

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Angel's Grace? once your combo goes off its infinite damage, right? Also, all of yout pieces are artifacts so Ethersworn Canonist is a possibility

thats not a bad idea to use cannonist in the side board as a wish target. I only see her being a problem is if you cast a non artifact spell for some reason then are unable to follow it up by killing cannonist with a cabal therapy flashback in the same turn, because the first non artifact spell put you in a better board position. i think her wording will make it impossible to even use the flashback much less as a means to killing off her/him.

i thought canonist an idea at first but all it is, is just a answer to ad nauseum. which if that is in the meta its good to have in the sideboard other wise its a wasted spot.

I'm not sure weather to go with deed or with the new malestrom pulse.

this is my current list.

i did splash red.
i do use jund charm over infest though


3 jund charm
4 cabal therapy
4 duress
4 living wish
4 nights wisper
3 infernal tutor
4 dark ritual
1 recoup

3 pernicious deed/malestrom pulse (change from tournament to tournament)

2 auriok salvagers
3 game keepers

2 diving top
4 chromatic sphere
4 lion's eye diamond
1 pyrite spellbomb

4 windswept heath
2 bloodstained mire
1 badlands
1 taiga
4 bayou
2 scrub land
1 forest
1 plains

sideboard

1 game keeper
1 salvager
1 fleshbag maurader
2 quasi pridemage
1 traitor to mortals
4 krosan grips
1 tabernacle

the last 4 slots pend on the meta. I'm going to continue to experiment with a canonist if nauseum is around. can't help but think running orims chant might be the better idea only problem is our wish's don't fetch it.

i do need a back up plan encase of being graveyard hated out of the game, I wish i could say the +1/+1 counters from jund charm were the back up plan but it just doesn't seem to be enough. urami tomb looked interesting as a suicide play though, mostly just for the flying and it can be wished for.

NECRO.

Is this deck viable anymore?
It didn't really get anything recently, but maybe it can abuse Unearth...

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Originally Posted by lorddotm

NECRO.

Is this deck viable anymore?
It didn't really get anything recently, but maybe it can abuse Unearth...

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not quiet sure what you mean by abuse unearth. (the key creatures cost more than 3 CC)

but i took it into a tournament today to see what it could do. I was playing the infernal tutor version. It performs great against merfolk, and b/u aggro (some home brew) but had a rough match up against suicide black and i had a rough time with a ichorid that sided in leyline and forces.

it needs some dusting off but its still a strong deck.

In my person experience i wasn't sure weather the right call was the infernals or some other type of tutor. (gifts/ intuition was on my mind after losing)

This deck is so unique. I feel like it will always be a viable option despite all the hate that's around to ruin it's day. It's shifty, and it has a lot of answers.

Now that Zendikar's out, I think the manabase has improved. Verdant Catacombs lets you get your basic Forests and Swamps, making you less vulnerable to Wasteland (though, I suppose, just as vulnerable to Stifle). I know this seems like a small thing, but one of the deck's vulnerabilities was its shaky manabase.

Ravenous Trap and Mindbreak Trap seem like a real headache, but I actually don't think they're a big deal. They aren't permanents that you have to deal with like Needle and Meddling Mage, so they can be Thoughtseized or Therapied easily before going off.

Summoner's Trap? I guess with so few copies of your creatures you're not guaranteed to get something out of it, but against blue-based decks it could deal out some serious pain. You bait them with a seemingly important setup card for your combo like a Living Wish or a Tainted Pact, they counter, and you go off in their face. Good synergy with Sylvan Library, too.

No new tutors or anything to suddenly break the deck open again, but I was thinking...what about Vines of the Vastwood in the sideboard? I guess there's nothing it can solve that your 8 discard spells can't, but it's a thought.

I hope this thread doesn't die, because I feel like if Wizards prints even one card that fits this deck well--a nifty artifact, a sweet 1-cc discard spell, or a new tutor--it could be an amazing option. Who knows, they might make a green spell that's versatile and usable on the level of Krosan Grip. I've got my fingers crossed.

I thought about this deck recently too. I wonder why nobody plays it anymore. Back in 2005 it was the second best combo deck after Solidarity, wasn't it? AFAIK it has consistent turn 4 wins.

Would Progenitus help the deck as alternative win condition, which doesn't rely on the graveyard? Similar like in the currently hyped Dream Halls deck?
Or maybe Smallpox + Loam engine?

the deck is pretty resilient to GY hate, and most players i know that play it use progenitus in the main or side. More often I think cranking out a Iona through the gamekeeper is probably the stronger play, than comboing with gamekeepers. Plus LED's are hard for people to get and if there gunna use them in a deck there probably gunna lean towards something with a more recent and solid track record like ichorid and it countless incarnations or even ad nauseum. This deck is just so under played these days that it hardly has a track record.

On a side note what in the current meta what is its worst match ups if anyone would wager some suggestions with thoughts on why?

I wanna wager aggro will always be in the decks favor as we want to kill creatures various incarnations pack board sweepers for killing gamekeeper. plus aggro has a hard time when having to swing into gamekeeper that might set the combo off.

Something worth noting is either form of tabernacle is strong in this deck (living wish target) for both blocking and mana tying, even gives ichorid a bad day.

What would the current decklist look like?

Probably something that relies less on gamekeeper, and more on entomb and acceleration. With entomb there's no worry about "wiffing" with gamekeeper...

I'll take a shot in the dark with it.
Something thats still BGW
(5
3 gamekeeper
2 salvagers

4 living wish
4 hymn to tourach
4 cabal therapy
1 recoup
2 damnation

4 tainted pact (could be something better)
4 dark ritual

2 pernicious deed

4 lion's eye diamond
3 sensei divining top
2 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 pyrite spellbomb
3 chromatic sphere

3 catacombs (not putting too much detail in the land spread yet.)
3 marshes
2 forest
3 plains
8 swamp

i like the wish boards so heres my take on the proposed spread

1 gamekeepe
1 salvagers
1 maga traitor to mortals
1 trinket mage (fetches bomb or sphere, might not be necesary based on the main board design)
1-2 pridemages
3/4 pithing needles (to fight crypt and relic)

otherside board options

Orhav guildmage (might be better than maga, matter of opinion)
vendillion clique (a good sudo discard for a led and a wish, then 3/1 beat stick)
1 magus of the tabernacle (i think hes really got potential in a lot of games if wished for)
1 iona -(Both for a aggro twist after game one if necesary.)
1 progenitus --^


I'm kind of stuck with disk vs deed, both have there ups and downs, disk may cost more but I like the idea of just blowing everything on the field up as in a lot of cases we don't need anything on the field due to this being a gy combo.

hymn is very strong at slowing most stuff down

recoup i believe is necesary because sometimes you won't hit a chromatic sphere to draw the whole deck and you might have dumped a living wish, long as you have the infinite mana going you got yourself another means to kill with maga.

The other guy above suggested entombs but As far as those go i'm just not feelin it, if your gunna go that rought might as well play salvager in a UWB bomberman. The reason I say that is the goal of using gamekeeper is to dumb combo components into the yard. if your dumping through intuiton or entomb then the whole idea of gamekeeper is just gunna conflict. I'm not saying that putting it in is completely bad but it is somewhat counter purposeful in my opinion.

Necro.

2 Auriok Salvagers
3 Gamekeeper
4 Living Wish
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Aether Spellbomb
2 Chromatic Sphere
4 Dark Ritual
4 Thoughtseize
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Ponder
3 Lim-Dul's Vault
2 Gifts Ungiven
4 Innocent Blood
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Bayou
4 Underground Sea
1 Tropical Island
1 Scrubland
1 Forest
1 Swamp

SB:
1 Gamekeeper
1 Auriok Salvagers
1 Harmonic Sliver
1 Orzhov Guildmage
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Karakas
4 Krosan Grip
2 Engineered Explosives
3 Pithing Needle

My only concerns involve the Engineered Explosives in the sideboard. Unless someone can point out what they're perfect against, right now they seem like a placeholder. The slots could belong to 2x Perish, Infest, Spell Pierce, Extirpate, or a 1-1 split of more utility creatures for Living Wish.

Also, what to sideboard out. I've been trying to come up with sideboard plans, and most of them involve taking out cards that I later realize shouldn't come out. Innocent Blood comes to mind. It seems like something easy to side out against Countertop since it's a control matchup, but then you only have 4x Cabal Therapy and Living Wish + Phyrexian Tower as a means of killing Gamekeeper.

Thoughts?

I just love that you are using tainted pact. Its amazing and This deck is great just need to get lion's eye diamonds

EE is for Pithing Needles especially, because Dark Ritual = EE for 1 and pop.

Obviously, there are other uses, and their flexibility is one reason why they rock so hard, but needles are the big reason that EE is still relevant years after they were first added.

Also, EE + Salvagers = no tokens for YOUUUUUUUUUUUU. Liek, evars. Srsly. :P