[Deck] Affinity

[Draconicsteel]

Death and Taxes a terrible match-up? I'm inclined to disagree, Shawon. When I played in Chantilly, I played a few D&T decks, and the only game I lost was because of bad mulligan/bad keep. Otherwise, I felt entirely in control of every single game. I've never felt as powerful as when I went up against Death and Taxes. Maybe it was just the luck of the draw that day, but the opposition seemed very underwhelming.

Ensnaring Bridge, while not a game ender on the other side of the board, is not a good idea for our deck. Because Plating. And Ravager.

Also, I goldfished the Legacy build with Tangle Wire - I don't suggest it. Tangle Wire is AMAZING in the vintage version, but the vintage version is also an entirely different deck, solely because of one card: Skullclamp. Every time I had Tangle Wire in my hand, I wanted it to be something else. Granted, that was goldfishing and not playing an actual game, but still. Other cards have the better synergy, I think.

I would also be hesitant about Humility because of Champion, mainly, and potentially Master, if you run him (which I do). Champion is really the one card that a lot of decks are scared of, and I wouldn't want to lose that advantage.

On the Inkmoth Nexus vs. Ancient Tomb vs. Darksteel Citadel, I'm gonna go with Shawon on this one, and say Citadel. I've played with all three, and while I wasn't exactly disappointed in Inkmoth, I found that the "alternate" win con I thought I was packing in my deck wasn't really that. I was one infect short a lot, or they have the wasteland, or if it had been regular damage it would have been lethal, etc. And the in-constant Metalcraft is rough, too. Same with Ancient Den on the metalcraft, and it hurts even more when it gets Wastelanded. Citadel is much more consistent, adds to Metalcraft, can't be Wastelanded, and is a great target for Tezz, as Shawon pointed out. That being said, different decks will run any of the three, and neither of them are bad choices, but I prefer the Citadel, after having tried all three.

In response to Etched - I also am on the Stoneforge plan. I only run 2, but I really like it in the deck. Fetches up the Plating when you need it, and gives you access to stuff like Fire and Ice, Batterskull, Manriki-Gusari, Feast and Famine, etc. I currently run on Fire and Ice and one Manriki side.

[Shawon]

Admittedly, the D&T matchup is very difficult for me because I don't run any Masters. My main avenue of attack against D&T is striking with Etched Champion, but if they have Revoker, it's a huge roadblock because it's 2 power is enough to block and kill my Champion. The only surefire way I've ever beaten D&T is going value-Ravager on Etched Champion. I'm trying to run Manriki-Gusari and even Tower of the Magistrate to make the matchup better, but my work might be a lot easier if I just run Masters. I might do end up doing that.

[slave]

.....might be a lot easier if I just run Masters. I might do end up doing that.

Master of Etherium can be a house, but I've found it's also a massive magnet for removal of the exile kind in this matchup, and removal in every other matchup too.
I like 'em, but don't run them for this reason alone, as achieving 2U isn't really that hard.

I think Etched is probably the stronger option here given it'll have protection almost always. SFM grabs a sword and we swing...
Hell, a sword of light and shadow maybe?

[Shawon]

Oh yeah, Master does cost 3 mana, which isn't a sure thing to achieve when Death & Taxes can sometimes go Plan G: Griefing, and then lock you out from casting Master.

If my current tech of Tower + Manriki isn't enough, then I just might put 3 Dispatch in the sb instead of the Masters.

[Draconicsteel]

I use two Master and a playset of Champion and haven't been disappointed. Yeah master can get exiled which is why I only in two of him, but if he doesn't get responded to, then I usually win. He's just too much if a threat too ignore.


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[slave]

Oh yeah, Master does cost 3 mana, which isn't a sure thing to achieve when Death & Taxes can sometimes go Plan G: Griefing, and then lock you out from casting Master.

If my current tech of Tower + Manriki isn't enough, then I just might put 3 Dispatch in the sb instead of the Masters.

The conditional nature of dispatch is rarely a factor, but it still plays on my mind for some reason, compared to StP.

I've done a heap of testing with Darksteel, Inkmoth, Tomb > results and percentages are always conditional on how you shuffle and the rest of your list so I won't bother to bore you all with T1 chances of metalcraft etc.
Lesson learned;
Turn 1 plays are our goal, and Citadel is the best (obviously, like... *duh*)
Inkmoth felt a little win-more, a little more of an all-in feel, in what is already an all-in deck. Inkmoth was serviceable, but had a few weaknesses, namely copping creature removal and we lose a mana source, and needing us to sink mana into it constantly. If we're up against land-D, having the spare mana each turn for it will not always be straight forward...
I didn't really see a definite reason for Tomb unless we're playing Batterskull.
So after all those hands and mulligans etc., Citadel was the clear winner.
I'll be probably running a single Inkmoth, and 3 Citadel's, just for a bit of variation if little else.

[Draconicsteel]

Academy Ruins is another great one of land I think. Get back the crucial Plating or the one if equipment you run. I believe Tomb is mainly used for the Chalice plan, so if you aren't running Chalice, there's less of a reason to use Tomb.


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[Etched]

How many of you guys are just running straight Anderson's list? Which other lists have you guys been doing well with? I've got a somewhat big tourney coming up, and I'm trying to figure out which version to play against an unknown meta.

[Windmill]

Hi guys,

I'm running Merfolk in legacy. In my local meta, we usually get 16-20 people for each legacy tournament. Well, affinity is easily my worst match-up, even worse than Goblins. Usually there are 1-2 decks per tournament, and they absolutely wreck me. Can you please help me?

I'm going to dedicate 4 slots of SB hate to it this time. I'm trying to decide between 4 x Null Rod, or 4 x Energy Flux. Which is more horrific? Energy Flux hits swarms, but Null Rod lands faster. Keep in mind, I'll almost certainly lose the first game. So I'll need to win Game 2 and 3, and only get to start once. I'm also going to side in 3 Jittes, with the goal being to hit with it by T4.

Sorry to make you aid the enemy, but I'd very much appreciate your help, your deck is nasty.

[Shawon]

Energy Flux is probably the most effective hate against Affinity. Null Rod shuts off Aether Vial, and your Equipment if you run any, which I don't think you want. Also, Null Rod doesn't do much against fliers already Equipped.

Hurkyl's Recall is another good hate card, but you can't just rely on it alone. I got beat recently by Merfolk packing Recall and Manriki-Gusari, which is a good combination because Manriki-Gusari takes care of Plating and Recall curbs any attempt to alpha strike.

[Etched]

Did pretty badly in a local tourney recently, as I went up against alot of Delver decks, which my meta is filled with. Pondering running Chalice main to combat Delver/Miracles/Metagame.

[Etched]

What do you folks think? Trying out the Stoneforge package+Masters. Sideboard is dedicated to my specific meta, which is mostly Delver/Miracles, and quite a bit of Storm and Dredge which have been popping up lately.

4 Seat of the Synod
4 Ancient Den
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Ancient Tomb
1 Academy Ruins

4 Ornithopter
4 Memnite
4 Vault Skirge
4 Etched Champion
3 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Master of Etherium

4 Thoughtcast

4 Cranial Plating
4 Mox Opal
3 Tezzeret Agent of Bolas
4 Springleaf Drum
1 Umezawa's Jitte

SB:
4 Ethersworn Canonist
4 Tormod's Crypt
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Mindbreak Trap

[Climax]

Pretty short report of the Legacy Championship at GP Vienna and some notes to my list.
Played the following 60+15:


4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Vault Skirge
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Etched Champion
4 Master of Etherium

4 Springleaf Drum
4 Mox Opal
4 Cranial Plating
4 Thoughtcast
3 Tezzeret Agent of Bolas

4 Ancient Tomb
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Ancient Den
4 Vault of Whispers
1 Glimmervoid

SB: 4 Rest in Peace
SB: 4 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 4 Chalice of the Void
SB: 3 Specter's Shroud

Normally I'm a combo player by heart but too less sleep led me to Affinity.
The only change was from Signal Pest to Master of Etherium. The reason is pretty simple: I wanted more threats than my opponents can handle.
Miracles are pretty much everywhere in Europe and Signal Pest forces you to overcommit which can not be the best plan against that deck.
Therefore it had to go.

The Shrouds in the board were a test. And the failed horribly. For the next time I will try Winter Orbs instead. You can play pretty much anything in that 3 slots.

The tournament went pretty well:

2:0 Canadian
2:1 Death&Taxes
2:1 BGW Junk
2:0 Canadian
2:0 Miracles
0:2 Elves (I conceeded to him so we come in 1st and 2nd cuz he was at 4: 0: 1 that point)

Everything was working out quite well, besides the Shrouds, so I will play it again in case of hangover or anything like that...

br

[Shawon]

Normally I'm a combo player by heart but too less sleep led me to Affinity.
The only change was from Signal Pest to Master of Etherium. The reason is pretty simple: I wanted more threats than my opponents can handle.
Miracles are pretty much everywhere in Europe and Signal Pest forces you to overcommit which can not be the best plan against that deck.
Therefore it had to go.

The Shrouds in the board were a test. And the failed horribly. For the next time I will try Winter Orbs instead. You can play pretty much anything in that 3 slots.

That's good reasoning against Miracles. Good job, by the way. I found Specter's Shroud to be mediore as well.

What do you folks think? Trying out the Stoneforge package+Masters. Sideboard is dedicated to my specific meta, which is mostly Delver/Miracles, and quite a bit of Storm and Dredge which have been popping up lately.

4 Seat of the Synod
4 Ancient Den
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Ancient Tomb
1 Academy Ruins

4 Ornithopter
4 Memnite
4 Vault Skirge
4 Etched Champion
3 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Master of Etherium

4 Thoughtcast

4 Cranial Plating
4 Mox Opal
3 Tezzeret Agent of Bolas
4 Springleaf Drum
1 Umezawa's Jitte

SB:
4 Ethersworn Canonist
4 Tormod's Crypt
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Mindbreak Trap

It's a nice start. I think if you're going to use Jitte MD, you need additional aggro like Signal Pest or Frogmite to make the option of windmilling Jitte on turn 2 more useful. I ran into many situations where I could get a turn 1 Jitte, but only Ornithopter on the table -_- If you insist on keeping the creature base as it is, I would advise you run Sword of Fire and Ice in Jitte's stead.

I think having one additional colored mana source is more important than having Ruins. I've found Paradise Mantle to be insane with SFM, but Glimmervoid is also acceptable. That 9th rainbow mana source is something you need.

[Shawon]

Earlier in March, I took a break from playing my Legacy Affinity list and played Modern Affinity for two weeks. Playing Modern Affinity opened my eyes to new insights and new ideas, and coming back into Legacy, I feel more compelled to continue innovating Affinity.

After porting my Legacy Affinity into Modern, I decided to take back a little bit of Modern with me and tried to make a direct port into Legacy. Also, I really wanted to play with Blood Moon and Whipflare considering in CT, where I live, I need to be able to confidently beat 12Post and Elves.

Red (or Grixis) Affinity

Mana
12 Artifact Lands
4 Drum
4 Opal
1 Glimmervoid
4 Inkmoth

Critters
8 Cheeri0s
4 Pest
4 Skirge
4 Ravager
3 Master
3 Overseer

4 Plating
2 Thoughtcast
2 Galvanic Blast
1 FLING

SB:
3 Blood Moon
3 Whipflare
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Karakas
3 Tezz
3 Flex

I learned a lot of things from playing Modern, too many to share right now before I go to sleep, so I might expound later. The craziest idea in that Red list that I've ever tried, aside from Fling LOL, is the 2 Thoughtcast seeing as how it's usually regarded as the best spell in Affinity, which to be honest, I don't agree with anymore. It's undoubtedly a good card, but I decided that I needed to make some room for other cards, such as keeping my creature/threat count to where it is or making room for the 3 burn spells.

After giving Red Affinity a spin, I wanted to revisit my Esper build with new eyes. I'll post it later, though, too tired :/

[BBG|Scott-Spain]

Earlier in March, I took a break from playing my Legacy Affinity list and played Modern Affinity for two weeks. Playing Modern Affinity opened my eyes to new insights and new ideas, and coming back into Legacy, I feel more compelled to continue innovating Affinity.

After porting my Legacy Affinity into Modern, I decided to take back a little bit of Modern with me and tried to make a direct port into Legacy. Also, I really wanted to play with Blood Moon and Whipflare considering in CT, where I live, I need to be able to confidently beat 12Post and Elves.

Red (or Grixis) Affinity

Mana
12 Artifact Lands
4 Drum
4 Opal
1 Glimmervoid
4 Inkmoth

Critters
8 Cheeri0s
4 Pest
4 Skirge
4 Ravager
3 Master
3 Overseer

4 Plating
2 Thoughtcast
2 Galvanic Blast
1 FLING

SB:
3 Blood Moon
3 Whipflare
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Karakas
3 Tezz
3 Flex

I learned a lot of things from playing Modern, too many to share right now before I go to sleep, so I might expound later. The craziest idea in that Red list that I've ever tried, aside from Fling LOL, is the 2 Thoughtcast seeing as how it's usually regarded as the best spell in Affinity, which to be honest, I don't agree with anymore. It's undoubtedly a good card, but I decided that I needed to make some room for other cards, such as keeping my creature/threat count to where it is or making room for the 3 burn spells.

After giving Red Affinity a spin, I wanted to revisit my Esper build with new eyes. I'll post it later, though, too tired :/

I'm going to give your list a shot in a little bit, especially since I don't like using Tomb (even though I acknowledge how darn good it is). I'm interested in seeing what else you have to say about this deck also.

[Draconicsteel]

I would advise against underestimating card advantage. It's the reason why in this deck Fire and Ice I think is better than Jitte.

Also, I tried a few Overseers after playing Vintage Affinity but found that for Legacy it was too slow and clunky. I was usually wishing they were something else. I think the reason they're good in vintage is because that deck generates a crapload of tokens, so even using Overseer once is massive. In Legacy we don't have that capability so the card is more lukewarm.

Also also, Galvanic Blast seems good, but honestly Dispatch is just better. This deck doesn't need burn to the face because it's already overwhelming aggressive most of the time.

That's my two cents at least. I'll be curious to see what you think after play testing.


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[Shawon]

I would advise against underestimating card advantage. It's the reason why in this deck Fire and Ice I think is better than Jitte.

Also, I tried a few Overseers after playing Vintage Affinity but found that for Legacy it was too slow and clunky. I was usually wishing they were something else. I think the reason they're good in vintage is because that deck generates a crapload of tokens, so even using Overseer once is massive. In Legacy we don't have that capability so the card is more lukewarm.

Also also, Galvanic Blast seems good, but honestly Dispatch is just better. This deck doesn't need burn to the face because it's already overwhelming aggressive most of the time.

That's my two cents at least. I'll be curious to see what you think after play testing.


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Steel Overseer is a lot better if you're running Signal Pest + Ravager + Inkmoth. Ravager still uses the counters from Overseer when it dies and triggers Modular. It definitely does have its disadvantages since it can easily be taken out, but like Master, if left unchecked, it becomes a problem.

The main reason for using Galvanic Blast over Dispatch is simply the red splash for Blood Moon/Whipflare in the sb. However, I'm also working on a white build specifically aimed at using Dispatch MD; I'm trying to figure out what hate in I can run in place of Moon/Whipflare. I'm thinking about trying Aven Mindcensor against Cloudpost lol, and Plague against Elves, as possible substitutes. Or, if I'm going back to running Darksteel Citadels, Armageddon would be in the sb.

[Draconicsteel]

I started thinking about Dispatch because Dark depths is popular in my area, but I found that Pithing Needle works just as well and is more versatile against more decks. So there's another option.


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[Shawon]

Forgot to mention, but I'm also using Dispatch because Reanimator is in my area.