Tools N' Titans

[Laser Brains]

Hey guys! IMHO, this deck is really cool. Have only played it a few times but I will be getting some games in day after tomorrow and will post the results.

This is a take on the old Vintage deck Tools n' Tubbies which used Goblin Welder, beefy artifact creatures and artifact soft lock disruption to smash your opponent. I wanna say that deck was pretty much the top Vintage deck back in 2000 but many of it's cards aren't legal in Legacy. MH2 has brought a bunch of juicy goodies.

The goal is to essentially gain tempo by taxing your opponent with cards like Trinisphere, Tangle Wire and Lodestone Golem and then smashing them to death with Nettlecyst germs, Constructs, Golems, etc.. The Welder goblins are here to circumvent the mana costs of spells by swapping these artifacts in an out of the graveyard. There is a ton of neat tricks and synergies. So far from goldfishing it feels incredibly disruptive and fast. My Nettlecyst germs can get really huge by turn 4. It just cranks out huge dudes. Often I've got 14/14 germs and constructs and multiples of them at once with a live Trinisphere and/or Tangle Wire in play. I did play it online on Untap.in I won 1 game and the second game my opponent scooped by turn 3. I'm not sure what he was playing but I think it was Death & Taxes (I didn't get to see much of his deck but I saw some Vials).

Here's my current list, I've been working on it for the better part of a month:

[EDIT]: Updated the deck. 7/21/21
Tools N' Titans: 60 cards

Welders: 9
4x Goblin Welder
4x Goblin Engineer
1x Daretti, Scrap Savant

Tools: 11
2x Servo Schematic
2x The Underworld Cookbook
1x Ichor Wellspring
1x Retrofitter Foundry
1x Pithing Needle
4x Faithless Looting

Titans: 11 (counting Urza's Saga. Don't forget Servo token swarms and occasional Welder jabs)
4x Lodestone Golem
4x Nettlecyst

Lock / Disruption: 11 (counting Lodestone)
4x Tangle Wire
3x Trinisphere

Mana: 25
4x Mox Opal
3x Urza's Saga
4x Ancient Tomb
4x City of Traitors
4x Great Furnace
6x Mountain

EDIT: Updated sideboard
Sideboard: 15
1x Pithing Needle
1x Hex Parasite
1x Tormod's Crypt
1x Winter Orb
2x Orcish Vandal
3x Stingscourger
1x Defense Grid
1x Pyrite Spellbomb
2x Smokestack
1x O-Naginata
1x Black Vise

The shell I'm using is based on my old Welder Stax deck. That deck is actually really good! With all of the research I put into that deck I feel like I've really hammered out what works and what doesn't as far as lock / tempo / disruption cards are concerned. This deck imho, looks much stronger. Why lock em out and drag on the game when you can just smash their face and get it over with?

Here's some card explanations:

Welders: These guys are pretty obvious. Cheat threats into play by swapping artifact lock pieces and fatties in and out of the graveyard. The deck actually works fine without them so if they get countered it's no big deal. They do speed up the deck considerably and assuming they get countered or removed then there's that many less removal spells and counters I have to deal with when plopping down Trinisphere, Golems and Nettlecysts. One of my favorite tactics is to swap dead Tangle Wires in and out of the graveyard thus resetting their counters. Also drawing cards off of Ichor Wellspring and creating tons of tokens with Servo Schematic.

The Underworld Cookbook. There are a ton of tricks with this card. First of all it can activate my Mox Opals turn one by using it's ability and creating a food. In the same vein it gives me extra permanents to tap to Tangle Wire. It turns all of my late game dead cards like extra un-needed lands into artifact foods which pumps my constructs and germs and the foods can later be used to gain life in a pinch. The best part however is it's synergy with Welders. It not only pitches juicy artifacts to the yard, it creates an artifact token for me to sac to the Welder to get them into play. It can also be searched out with Urza's Saga. Love this card!

Servo Schematic is super good here too. First of all it single handedly activates my Mox Opals. It also gives me extra permanents to tap to Tangle Wire. It pumps my Nettlecyst germs and constructs and best of all it creates tons of servo tokens when swapped in and out of the yard with Welders pumping my germs and constructs even more.

Ichor Wellspring is pretty much self explanatory here. It's my draw engine with Welders and pumps my dudes and taps to Tangle Wire.

Retrofitter Foundry has a ton of utility in this deck. I don't even need to explain all of the cool synergies it has. And of course can be tutored up with Saga. I really like that I can equip my flying thopters with Nettlecyst!

Sojourner's Companion is literally what this deck needed. When I was building Welder Stax I was looking for a fatty that I could just pitch to the yard from my hand so that it could be Welded out. This guy does that but also finds me an artifact land which retroactively fixes my mana, gives me artifacts to sac to Welders, pumps my dudes.

The rest of the deck I'm sure you guys can figure out. Faithless Looting digs and pitches stuff to the yard for Welders. Tangle Wires and Trinisphere to choke opponent's mana. Lodestone to do the same but also for slapping my opponent for 5. Nettlecyst for smashing face. Note that Nettlecyst does give you two permanents which is also good with Tangle Wire.

Questions, comments, thoughts?

[Vacrix]

Perhaps this is the danger-of-cool-things, but Myr Servitor fits into multiple synergies here.

Weld Myr Servitor out for something more useful, then you have more to Weld later without having to get rid of mana sources if you draw another Servitor or a Goblin Engineer. Multiples sinks the Tanglewire to break symmetry. It seems like it would be even better with Smokestack actually.

You can find one with Urza’s Saga as well if that’s the line, or Goblin Engineer.

Myr Servitor pitches to Faithless Looting or Underworld Cookbook.

My only problem with Myr Servitor is that it’s relatively useless if you only have 1, tho it still costs a single mana and you could always find another one. The virtual card advantage (the recursion of a Servitor) could be comparable to something like Ichor Wellspring since that gets welded out anyway.

The interaction between Hex Parasite and Urza’s Saga is worth exploring since it’s a 1 drop tutorable via Urza’s Saga. Sacrifice after 3 means you can tutor up Hex Parasite on the 3rd chapter and instead of making tokens (if this is the preferred line), secure the board position with more lock pieces, like a singleton Chalice of the Void, Tormod’s Crypt, Pithing Needle, etc whatever is most appropriate for a situation when the game isn’t already locked down. Hex Parasite can also shoot counter’s off Aether Vial, which gets around Tanglewire, Trinisphere, and Lodestone Golem. You can shoot counters off your own Smokestack EOT, or move Chalice of the Void from 1 to 0. It can shoot Gemstone Mine and Wishclaw Talsiman as well.

Aside, this would be better in a black stax list, but Death’s Shadow and Hex Parasite have a bit of synergy since you can sink life with Hex Parasite to make a huge Shadow to get there quick once you have a lock. Also stax takes a lot of damage from lands like Ancient Tomb.

Lodestone Golem seems underwhelming. It’s a win condition and a soft lock piece but I feel like Engineer and Saga gets you close enough. Perhaps Smokestack or another lock piece in that slot?

Gamble seems alright as well with so many Welder effects.

Underworld Cookbook is a fantastic idea by the way. Lots of synergy. Asmora as a tutor for it suggests cards like Gamble or Mox Diamond to maximize the discard effect. I forgot when testing the card that you only need to discard something to cast it. Street Wraith, Mox Diamond, even Faerie Macabre all enable her. Sojourner’s Companion does as well when you cycle it.

[Laser Brains]

Perhaps this is the danger-of-cool-things, but Myr Servitor fits into multiple synergies here.

Weld Myr Servitor out for something more useful, then you have more to Weld later without having to get rid of mana sources if you draw another Servitor or a Goblin Engineer. Multiples sinks the Tanglewire to break symmetry. It seems like it would be even better with Smokestack actually.

You can find one with Urza’s Saga as well if that’s the line, or Goblin Engineer.

Myr Servitor pitches to Faithless Looting or Underworld Cookbook.

My only problem with Myr Servitor is that it’s relatively useless if you only have 1, tho it still costs a single mana and you could always find another one. The virtual card advantage (the recursion of a Servitor) could be comparable to something like Ichor Wellspring since that gets welded out anyway.

Thanks Vacrix! Myr Servitor looks awesome! I didn't know that it existed. I'll have to test it out. Not sure what I'd cut to test it. I was running Smokestack in my old Stax deck. It did win me a lot of games and that deck is really good. It did feel slow and my opponents HATED playing against that deck. Perhaps it should at least be on the sideboard though. The Myr Servitor idea is great btw!

The interaction between Hex Parasite and Urza’s Saga is worth exploring since it’s a 1 drop tutorable via Urza’s Saga. Sacrifice after 3 means you can tutor up Hex Parasite on the 3rd chapter and instead of making tokens (if this is the preferred line), secure the board position with more lock pieces, like a singleton Chalice of the Void, Tormod’s Crypt, Pithing Needle, etc whatever is most appropriate for a situation when the game isn’t already locked down. Hex Parasite can also shoot counter’s off Aether Vial, which gets around Tanglewire, Trinisphere, and Lodestone Golem. You can shoot counters off your own Smokestack EOT, or move Chalice of the Void from 1 to 0. It can shoot Gemstone Mine and Wishclaw Talsiman as well.

I actually had Hex Parasite in the original list along with Tormod's Crypt to tutor up with Saga. Another card I toyed with was Expedition Map (since you can just tutor up another Saga with it). I didn't even think about using Hex Parasite to shrink Saga counters though. That's genius. Some of the other uses I had overlooked too. I had a couple of flex slots open where Retrofitter Foundry and Sojourner's Companion are. Some of the cards I tested were Trash for Treasure, Daretti, Scrap Savant, Pithing Needle, Pyrite Spellbomb, Hex Parasite etc.. All look pretty good. Retrofitter Foundry really fits this slot the best. Hex Parasite might better than Pithing Needle on the sideboard though. Maybe cut one or two Pithing Needle and add it there.

Lodestone Golem seems underwhelming. It’s a win condition and a soft lock piece but I feel like Engineer and Saga gets you close enough. Perhaps Smokestack or another lock piece in that slot?

I actually feel like Lodestone Golem is one of the very best cards in the deck. The static tax ability doesn't affect cards in my deck hardly at all but can really cripple my opponent especially when Tangle Wire and/or Trinisphere are online. Plus he slaps 5. Welder can plop him into play for free. I've tested cards such as Sphere of Resistance and Thorn of Amethyst and they just tax me too much. In my opinion and from what I've discovered one of the best "lock piece" suites for Stax is:

4x Lodestone Golem
4x Tangle Wire
3x Trinisphere
2x Winter Orb.

This set up, especially with either Lodestone or Trinisphere in play is a near hard lock with Winter Orb. I am open to suggestions though.

Gamble seems alright as well with so many Welder effects.

Yes I agree. I have this in my "maybe" list. Would love to test it out.

Underworld Cookbook is a fantastic idea by the way. Lots of synergy. Asmora as a tutor for it suggests cards like Gamble or Mox Diamond to maximize the discard effect. I forgot when testing the card that you only need to discard something to cast it. Street Wraith, Mox Diamond, even Faerie Macabre all enable her. Sojourner’s Companion does as well when you cycle it.

Thank you! Yeah, Cookbook is nuts! It's one of the best synergies in the deck. Asmora could fit quite well. I looked at it before but then just focused on Cookbook synergies. It does certainly fit the aggro bill as a 3/3 for 1 mana. This deck actually creates tempo with Tangle Wire and I could see slipping this guy into play early and slapping around your opponent while searching for Cookbook. I'm already running 4x Faithless Looting, 2x Sojourner's Companion and 2x Cookbooks. That's eight discard slots to get him into play. Not sure what I'd cut though.

Thank you for the suggestions!

[Laser Brains]

Updated the sideboard:

Lots of 0-1 cc stuff to search for with Saga. Lots of artifacts to tutor with Engineer.

x Pithing Needle
1x Hex Parasite
2x Tormod's Crypt
1x Winter Orb
2x Orcish Vandal
2x Stingscourger
1x Defense Grid
1x Winter Orb
1x Pyrite Spellbomb
1x Smokestack
1x Meteor Golem
1x Black Vise

[Laser Brains]

Updated the sideboard:

Lots of 0-1 cc stuff to search for with Saga. Lots of artifacts to tutor with Engineer.

1x Pithing Needle
1x Hex Parasite
2x Tormod's Crypt
1x Winter Orb
2x Orcish Vandal
2x Stingscourger
1x Defense Grid
1x Winter Orb
1x Pyrite Spellbomb
1x Smokestack
1x Meteor Golem
1x Black Vise[

[Vacrix]

It would be a black splash, which seems doable particularly with multiple Welder effects and Mox Opal, but Wishclaw Talisman can be activated, respond by Welding it out for something else, Weld it back in next turn for one more Demonic tutor. Since it’s a tutor, one can cut down on some redundant pieces an just Tutor for them instead. Then you can play multiple tutors via Goblin Engineer, Urza’s Saga and Wishclaw Talisman. Perhaps even just a singleton Urza’s Saga since you can find it when it’s good instead of drawing it when you’re staring down Wastelands. Goblin Engineer can find Wishclaw as well suggests you may only want a singleton Wishclaw, though the synergy seems strong enough to test multiple copies and find the right number. Hex Parasite if you run it has a minor synergy with Wishclaw as well if you want to remove the counters if Welder gets got. With fewer MD copies of Urza’s Saga though, Hex Parasite seems harder to justify in the MD.

Another interesting interaction I discovered recently was an old, expensive, unplayed card, Guardian Beast and Wishclaw Talsiman. With both Guardian Beast and Wishclaw, the opponent cannot gain control of the Wishclaw which means you get 3 demonic tutors instead! On top of that, your artifacts cannot be destroyed is relevant to stopping removal since they must remove the Guardian Beast first. Doesn’t protect artifact creatures tho like Lodestone Golem, only noncreature artifacts. However, it suggests to me that one can play it with something like Powder Keg or Engineered Explosives without losing your own artifacts. 3B isn’t hard for stax. I’m guessing it suggests a more build around black stax list tho than the one your building but I thought I would mention it since you’re into Stax variants.

On the subject of Urza’s Saga, it can fetch Candelabra of Tawnos which seems like it could be a nice weld in and out target for making lots of mana. Probably more relevant in 12 post but it’s an artifact.

[Laser Brains]

Just went:
4-0 against Sharkstill
3-0 against Bant Control

[Borg]

I've always considered Wurmcoil Engine an auto-include in a Welder deck.
Curious to know why you don't use them.
I can see them at least split 2/2 with the Nettlecysts.