[Shop] BC MUD

This is my current MUD list, which I feel is very strong against the current metagame:

4 Mishra's Workshop
4 Wasteland
4 Buried Ruin
4 Ancient Tomb
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Strip Mine
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Opal
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Triskelion
2 Karn, Silver Golem
4 Tangle Wire
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Crucible of Worlds
3 Ratchet Bomb
1 Trinisphere

SB: 1 Crucible of Worlds
SB: 4 Grafdigger's Cage
SB: 4 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 3 Wurmcoil Engine
SB: 3 Sphere of Resistance

Some notes on the noticeable differences between this build and other common MUD lists:

No Sphere of Resistance main: I go back and forth on this, but I have found that Spheres slow down this deck almost as much as they slow down the opponent. Some stuff in this deck costs a lot of mana (Triskelion), and some of the lands are utility lands (Buried Ruin, Wasteland) rather than big mana producers like City of Traitors.

Triskelion: As a mentioned, it costs a lot, but it is really strong right now. Kills Bob, Delver, Welder, Clique, Revoker, Thalia, Hierarch, Kataki, etc. Can kill Lodestone, Trygon, Jace. Can do wacky awesome stuff against Dredge by stacking shots on Narcomoebas and Bloodghast, then killing itself to remove Bridges.

Ratchet Bomb: A little time intensive, but a good blanket removal spell. One of the only ways to kill an Oath. Good way to kill a bunch of zombie tokens. Not a bad move to just kill some Moxen on the play. Overall, I have been very happy with it.

Buried Ruin: I totally underestimated this card at first, but I am sold on it now. MUD generally doesn't have much of a draw engine unless you run Bottled Cloister or Trading Post. Buried Ruin gives you the ability to gain some card advantage by refilling your hand from your graveyard. Combine this with Crucible of Worlds, and it is a constant source of business.

Potential sideboarding strategies:

Blue-based control w/ not many creatures: -3 Ratchet Bomb, +3 Sphere

Blue-based decks w/ creatures (e.g., RUG Delver): Nothin'

Oath: -4 Revoker, -2 Karn, -1 Triskelion, +4 Grafdigger's Cage, +3 Sphere

Dredge: -4 Tangle Wire, -4 Revoker, -2 Karn, +4 Grafdigger's Cage, +4 Tormod's Crypt, +2 Sphere

Shops: -4 Chalice, +1 Crucible, +3 Wurmcoil Engine

Fish: -4 Chalice, +1 Crucible, +3 Wurmcoil Engine

Is there a reason that you don't run any City of Traitors given that you already have 3 Crucible? Is it really that much of a liability compared to the damage from Tomb? A 3-1 or 3-2 split of Tomb-City seems much safer, as I find that it's really annoying when I end up with multiple Tomb draws.

It's worth trying, I suppose. Maybe as a 1-of. Any more than that makes me nervous.

I'm actually surprised why you aren't running Smokestack for this deck. I do agree that Spheres work against this deck, and given the amount of creatures you're running even Thorn of Amethyst is workable. Smokestack provides the late-game advantage that you're looking to get after you've slowed the game down with Chalice and Tangle Wire. Hopefully enough to allow Karn & friends to attack. Smokestack being 4cmc also speeds up that clock too.

Yeah, I guess so... I do love Smokestack, but to me it belongs in Shop decks that have Welders. Without Welder, it isn't nearly as asymmetric of an effect. What would you cut if you were adding in Smokestack?

Personally, I would shave:
1 Mox Opal
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Phyrexian Metamorph

for 3 Smokestack.

Metamorph in multiple are atrocious in the opener. Mox Opal just never works out like you want it to - you're looking for the early mana and it can't provide that. Ratchet Bomb is a good choice against Dredge and Fish, but weaker against Control than Smokestack. You already have Karn to nuke Moxen. With Buried Ruin in the deck, you probably have more incentive to play Smokestack and remove superfluous pieces. Tangle Wire also provides extra fodder for Soot-sacs once its depleted.

I'm a huge fan of Triskelion (and have 3 copies of FBB 4th to play with :tongue:) and I agree with your assessment that it will be useful in the metagame you're expecting.

The 4th copy of Crucible in the SB seems weak too. It could be replaced with more Ratchet Bomb or the 4th Metamorph. Against Oath I also like Jester's Cap (nice with Buried Ruin) or Icy Manipulator (super spicy tech). Hope these help!

I'm going to give it some testing. For now I went:

-1 Opal
-1 Metamorph
-1 Revoker
-1 Ratchet

+1 City of Traitors
+3 Smokestack

We'll see how that goes.

This deck is officially frustrating to play against. Beware. :rolleyes:

This deck is the real deal! B.C. is in the Top 4 at Vintage Champs right now!

And now in the Finals! Go Blaine!

Take it down man!

Looks like he lost in the finals. :frown:
Here are the Top 8 decklists.

Congrats BC! How did the Smokestacks work out? Would you keep them for the next run with the deck?

Thanks! I had a great weekend. I also got 13th in Legacy Champs. I was 7-1, playing the last round for a top 8 spot, when I got crushed by Maverick.

The Smokestacks were... good? They weren't fantastic or anything, but they were solid. I would definitely play them again. If I were playing this deck in a Vintage tournament tomorrow, I would probably go with the same list.

I posted a big ass Gencon tournament report on the Mana Drain:

http://www.themanadrain.com/index.ph...9724#msg609724

OK, you convinced to me to give the full 4 Buried Ruin a shot. Gonna try out Serrated Arrows too, since it's a little faster than Trike (obv weaker against Jace).

Interestingly, I strongly considered Serrated Arrows as a removal card prior to settling on Triskelion. It's good against a lot of the same things. The three cards that eventually made me settle on Trike were Jace, Trygon, and Lodestone Golem.

My current MUD List. Similar to what I've been running in events but changed slightly since last event.
Current record-
Won Ancestral Recall @ Gnome Games
4-2 drop Gencon Prelim
Top 4 Gencon Prelim
One game out of top 8 @ Gencon Vintage Worlds (lost to MUD Mirror and in last round he went on to top 4 I finished just out of top 16)


// Lands
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 City of Traitors
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
4 Ancient Tomb
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Mishra's Factory

// Creatures
3 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Lodestone Golem
2 Precursor Golem
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
3 Phyrexian Revoker

// Spells
2 Crucible of Worlds
1 Mox Emerald
4 Tangle Wire
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Jet
1 Mana Crypt
1 Trinisphere
2 Sphere of Resistance
1 Black Lotus

// Sideboard
SB: 4 Grafdigger's Cage
SB: 4 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 2 Maze of Ith
SB: 1 Pithing Needle
SB: 2 Duplicant
SB: 2 The Tabernacle At Pendrell Vale



Slightly more aggro than the go to MUD lists to be certain. In my experience so far it's good to close out games ASAP after getting a soft lock down. So many decks are soft to Chalice @ 1 or a couple Spheres and then you finish them off with beats before they have a chance to climb back in it.

Any Unorthodox Choices
3x Wurmcoil - In this day and age many decks are just soft to a WCE especially early in the game. It keeps you alive, wins the game, and is hard to remove. Houses vs. Fish or any deck that wants to win through creatures, doesn't fold to Trygon, and shines in the mirror (though it sucks to get it Metamorphed).
2x Precursor Golem - Yes, it's a potential Nombo with Lodestone, that said don't put yourself in a position to get blown out with it. Again trumps Trygon and Jace finishes the game with a quickness. 2 Swings typically seals the deal, so if you can get a quick advantage you can really press hard with this guy.
3x Revoker - Yeah, not a controversial pick for sure, but you need him bad in the mirror if they plan on going Forgemaster or Metalworker or even something stupid like Welder. Again he shines vs. Jace and puts a damper on Time Vault combo or Bomberman.
2x Crucible - Preboard vs. LD, can be crucial in mirror, and can really turn a Sphere into a hard lock vs. a lot of decks. Also allows recursion on Factories.

SB- IMO the major matchups we are worried about are the MUD mirror, Dredge, and Oath. SB made with this in mind.
Cage - Oath and Dredge are the worst matchups by far, so we board heavily for that. In MUD mirrors where they plan on using Forgemasters you can also bring them in as we have so many cards that come out here.
Crypt - Dredge is a bitch. Don't even THINK about running Relic here unless you think drawing a card is > winning vs. Dredge, trust me on this one.
Maze - Good in the Mirror, good at blanking Trygon, great at stopping a BSC (most decks that Tinker Blightsteel don't run Wastelands)
Pithing Needle - Random Dredge hate/Jace hate/Whatever hate slot. Seems bad but is actually pretty solid.
Duplicant - Mirror breaker and playable vs. Oath.
Tabernacle - A new test slot. In theory a blowout vs. Dredge and good vs. random fish decks.

Was just playing the deck online for a few minutes it is real good. Smokestacks is a great addition in my opinion.