This deck can hit hard, fast and can draw a ton of cards.
It's built around a one mana Equipment Bloodforged Battle-Axe that can replicate itself for free and that can be attached for free.
Its ideal carrier is Fervent Champion.
Just one mana with Haste and First Strike and (in essence) a free equip-ability.
He can make a killing strike at any time, picking up ALL equipment in play before combat and hit home for a huge/killing blow.
A reliable opening play is
T1 Champion
T2 Steelshaper's Gift for the Axe, play Axe, equip for free and hit for 3 with First strike. (with a Lotus Petal, Axe and Champion in hand this can be a T1 play)
That's usually either a creature kill or another Axe in play, which can (again) be equipped for free.
This effect can snowball out of control quickly with axes possibly multiplying every turn.(1,2,4,8,...)
The other ideal creature is Puresteel Paladin.
A possible T1 play, though not that often, with the help of artifact land, Lotus Petal and Mox Opal.
Every new Axe that's generated triggers the Paladin and gives you card draw.
This is another effect that can snowball quickly with additional axes entering play or with a second paladin in play.
The deck performs reliably thanks to Steelshaper's Gift.
Nettlecyst can grow quickly/huge with the increasing number of axes on top of all the other artifacts in play and can be equipped for free by Champion and Paladin should the germ be removed.
Last but not least, Esper Sentinel blends in perfectly.
Being a T1 artifact creature he helps enable Metalcraft and with a Paladin in play he can also be equipped for free increasing his power to make him a very reliable card draw off opposing non-creature spells.
The Champion, Paladin and Sentinel all have the subtype Human which allows the deck to run Cavern of Souls and circumvent any Chalices and counterspells.
It also enables T1 red mana and T2 double white if needed.
Urza's Saga can produce a bigger than average construct and put another Axe or Shadowspear in play.
Edit : added Paradise Mantle ( as per reeplcheep's suggestion )
//CC0 - 9
4 Mox Opal
4 Lotus Petal
1 Paradise Mantle
//CC1 - 23
4 Steelshaper's Gift
4 Fervent Champion
4 Esper Sentinel
4 Bloodforged Battle-Axe
3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Prismatic Ending
1 Shadowspear
//CC2 - 5
4 Puresteel Paladin
1 Umezawa's Jitte
//CC3 - 5
3 Nettlecyst
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
//Lands - 18
4 Plateau
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Ancient Den
2 Urza's Saga
2 Arid Mesa
1 Sunbaked Canyon
1 Inspiring Vantage
//Sideboard - 13 WIP
2 Soul-Guide Lantern
2 Pyroblast
2 Hydroblast
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Prismatic Ending
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Blue Elemental Blast
Last edited by Borg; 11-16-2021 at 12:54 PM.
paradise mantle seems like an auto-include. With fervent champion it is just a mox, and it turns on opal for more explosive t1s.
Is steelshapers gift worth the 1 less mana than SFM?
Why are we playing the expensive gods/swords over Sram, Senior Edificier
That's a great suggestion.paradise mantle seems like an auto-include. With fervent champion it is just a mox, and it turns on opal for more explosive t1s.
Can replace the god/sword.
The god/sword was in there to provide first/double strike ( survivability ) to the paladin and Sentinel who lack it otherwise but also for the sword who can send destroyed creatures back to your hand ( another form of survivability ).
The deck has plenty of card draw as it is. Sram doesn't add something the deck lacks and he can't be equipped without paying the costs, unless Paladin is in play ... at which point we don't need Sram anymore.
Multiple times YES.Is steelshapers gift worth the 1 less mana than SFM?
With Steelshaper's Gift you need only 3 mana for an explosive T1 turn, with SFM you need 4 mana.
T2 you only need 2 mana to get and cast the Axe, with SFM it's 3 mana.
T2 you only need 3 mana instead of 4 for a Jitte.
T2 Only 4 mana for a Sword of F&I/L&S instead of 5.
Without Batterskull and Kaldra there's no need for SFM.
The deck seems well thought out then. Paradise mantle should make the deck extremely fast and all the cards are “1 card comboes”. The deck seems sweet and I hope you have few meltdowns in your future.
Edit:
Rip Apart is a sidegrade to ending that could be ok here. Mostly if you are having problems with opposing jaces or sagas.
Only 2 saga is definitely incorrect imo. Your deck is only 2 colour with 8 (12) moxen. You have a ton of artifacts and it gets you a combo piece.
I think you want 1 Retrofitter foundry or Bomat Courier. With all this equipment and only 12-17 creatures you may have draws where you have nothing to equip to.
This looks a lot more streamlined (cutting the weaker LWs) and fast!
A few minor suggestions:
4 StP + 2 Ending might be better than 3-3 split. You can supplement with some Rip Apart SB. I preferred Ending in the 3-4 color builds, but this is 2-color with 6 colorless lands.
Is it worth playing 1-of Colossus Hammer over one of the Swords? You can find it with either Steelshaper's Gift or Urza's Saga (6-8 cheap tutors), then draw a card and swing for 12. There's a lot of explosive potential for just 1 card slot in the deck. The Swords are a bit slow for Legacy without SFM to reduce cost and drop them uncounterably at EOT. You don't see non-SFM decks playing them anymore (e.g. Dragon Stompy used to before, but not now).
I would also go up to 4 Saga.
Edit: Cranial Plating is also a card, maybe worth 1 slot.
I second getting some Hammer action in there. Also getting 4 Sagas is a must, plus something like a Retrofitter Foundry to be able to grind, if necessary.
Masterwork of Ingenuity could help you getting a critical mass of Bloodforged Battle-Axes faster. Copying something like Nettlecyst is also possible for big scaling. Or just dropping Hammer + Masterwork when Puresteel Paladin is in play for giant gibs out of nowhere. Being fetchable with both Saga and Gift also helps. The deck should run enough equipment + tutors for it to be rarely dead.
Edit: Since you run Gifts as tutor, could Swiftfoot Boots be a choice in the 75 against removal-heavy decks?
Colossus Hammer was tried but quickly discarded because without a Paladin with Metalcraft in play the Hammer is pretty much a dead card.Is it worth playing 1-of Colossus Hammer over one of the Swords? You can find it with either Steelshaper's Gift or Urza's Saga (6-8 cheap tutors), then draw a card and swing for 12.
Also, when tutoring for 1CC equipment you'll usually always want an Axe first because it ramps up your damage output and card drawing ability, followed by Shadowspear ( to get Trample and trigger the axes). With 2 or 3 mana available I prefer getting the Jitte or one of the Swords over a Hammer.
Swiftfoot Boots in the SB is a possibility.Since you run Gifts as tutor, could Swiftfoot Boots be a choice in the 75 against removal-heavy decks?
I took it out of the MD because I felt it didn't carry enough weight while the deck already has two swords that (together) provide protection against Red, Blue, Black and White.
The reason I replaced the 4th StP with a 3rd Ending is simply Chalice of the Void.4 StP + 2 Ending might be better than 3-3 split. You can supplement with some Rip Apart SB. I preferred Ending in the 3-4 color builds, but this is 2-color with 6 colorless lands.
Any Chalice in play has to go asap as we can't have our Axes or Gifts blocked for too long.
A 3rd and 4th Urza's saga can help here.
But what do I take out to put those in ?
2 Arid Mesa ? Then I have only 10 red sources left for the Champion ( + 4 petals - but I don't want to crack these unless I can play an Axe at the same time. )
Counterable : yes, but they seem anything but slow in this deck.The Swords are a bit slow for Legacy without SFM to reduce cost and drop them uncounterably at EOT. You don't see non-SFM decks playing them anymore (e.g. Dragon Stompy used to before, but not now).
It's not uncommon to have
T1 Champion
T2 Petal + Sword + Equip = hit hard, gain protection vs 2 colors and take control.
SoF&I can control the board
SoL&S can get your Champions & Paladins back from the GY
Cranial Plating was quickly replaced by a third Nettlecyst.Edit: Cranial Plating is also a card, maybe worth 1 slot.
I think Nettlecyst = Cranial Plating on legs + better Toughness.
That's a legit consideration.I think you want 1 Retrofitter foundry or Bomat Courier. With all this equipment and only 12-17 creatures you may have draws where you have nothing to equip to.
Originally I had 1 Nahiri, Heir of the Ancients in the deck for this purpose.
That's 4 mana once and a creature + equip ( axe ) for free every turn after that. ( free 3/1 creatures are "good", correct ? )
I think if this deck would get into a "Retrofitter scenario" we're losing.
Am I missing something here ?
I tried a few games with the OP build. Then made some changes and tried a few more like this:
//Creatures: 12
4 Fervent Champion
4 Esper Sentinel
4 Puresteel Paladin
//Spells: 10
4 Steelshaper's Gift
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Prismatic Ending
//Equipment: 11
4 Bloodforged Battle-Axe
1 Shadowspear
1 Colossus Hammer
1 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Nettlecyst
//Other Artifacts: 9
4 Lotus Petal
4 Mox Opal
1 Retrofitter Foundry
//Lands: 18
4 Urza's Saga
4 Ancient Den
4 Plateau
4 Sunbaked Canyon
2 Cavern of Souls
I found the original build light on creatures. If opponent has some removal, you can run out of threats. So I added Retrofitter and went up to 4 Saga + 4 Nettlecyst. That seemed to work well. You could also try other things like Bomat Courier.
I also got flooded a bit at first, so I went up to 4 Sunbaked Canyons.
I tried 1-of Hammer and so far it was never dead. Chances of drawing it naturally are low, and it still adds to artifact count (better than dead card). If you have Paladin then you can get it very cheaply and go explosive out of nowhere.
T1 Paladin, T2 Steelshaper -> Hammer -> draw a card, attack for 12
In another game I had Urza's Saga go off with Paladin on board and Hammer was by far the biggest impact I could get. Bloodforged would get me killed it combat (4/2 dies to blockers easily). With Hammer I got to "T: opponent sacrifices a creature", then equip to Esper Sentinel for an 11/11 blocker and unpayable tax.
No other equipment is as explosive in that position. Bloodforged Battle Axe takes longer to get momentum, especially if they have blockers. Jitte and Sword take more mana and are grindy but less explosive. It was nice to have 1 cheap explosive option to tutor up.
In other games I found the main plan of Battleaxe+Fervent was foiled by blockers. Shadowspear did a lot of work to help trample through. Maybe Mother of Runes to grant protection too?
Plating helped for cheap explosive Fervent attacks, but without first strike it's easily blocked. The cheaper equip cost was good for moving onto an untapped Servo/Esper Sentinel after combat. Otherwise yeah, Nettlecyst is better most times. I had Plating as Nettlecyst#5 (and cheaper option if manascrewed), but maybe it could be cut for Jitte.
I didn't miss SwordofXanY. Maybe good in the SB. Sometimes you get protections from the wrong colors or you get chumped and miss the triggers. It's also 4-6 mana to go Gift->Sword->Equip in one turn, so you can get blown out on tempo by disruption. If I had Fervent, I would just get Axe/Shadowspear. If I had Puresteel I got Colossus Hammer. If I lacked bodies or just had Esper Sentinel, I got Nettlecyst/Plating. Those were all still explosive plays and risked less tempo blowout than Sword would. Sword probably gets better in G2/G3 when you know opponent's relevant colors. Might come down to playstyle too.
-1 Plating
+1 Jitte seems reasonable too
Last edited by FTW; 11-10-2021 at 07:23 PM.
The problem is the Sword in hand is unlikely to have the right colors of protections if you just run 1-of each. You're as likely to draw the wrong one, just get +2/+2, get blocked and miss the triggers.Originally Posted by Borg
Even if it does have the right protections, opponent could kill you with removal in response to Equip. Then opponent has spent 1 mana (Bolt, StP, Push) to cancel your whole T1 and T2 while you spent 4 mana and 3 cards (Champion + Sword + Petal), huge tempo blowout.
If you have to use Gift to find the right Sword, it costs 1 more mana (e.g 1 turn slower or needs 1 more Petal/Mox). Instead you could go Gift -> Battleaxe/Shadowspear -> equip and attack. That's still explosive but costs less mana (no Petals) so you don't get blown out as badly if they have removal.
I think Sword looks better in the SB for some matchups, but personal choice.
That looks pretty streamlined already. How fast can it goldfish? Because this doesn't look too hot against combo during G1 with its lack of disruption. While we don't know if Ragavan is still going to be around much longer after Eternal Weekend, let's assume it is - could it be a potential fit for the deck? It's cheap, it can accel, carry equipment and generate artifact tokens for Metalcraft/Saga tokens/Nettlecyst.
Also, what about the SB? With a good chunk of accel, both Containment Priest and Ethersworn Canonist could be attractive options as they can double as equipment carriers (and are Humans to boot for Cavern). The deck, as it stands, also has no way to deal with problematic lands (e.g. Maze of Ith). Karakas could also be thrown into the 75 for some extra utility.
Good questions.
Ragavan could be good and add speed.
Goldfish speed was high-variance. Some hands are explosive, others are grindier. Maybe I could have mulliganned more aggressively into more explosive turn 1s. But the grind is the reason to play something like this over pure combo. It did pretty well vs UR just by running out more threats than they can answer with Bolts and FoWs. 8 Murktides beats 4!
Yeah combo is probably 10-90 in G1. With a very explosive start it can race on T2-T3, but usually slower. SB will need a lot of cheap hate. Some number of Curse of Silence and Ethersworn Canonist seem good. Maindeck Canonist may even be worth it.
For GY decks you can run the full mix of Tormod's Crypt, Relic of Progenitus and Grafdigger's Cage (tutorable with Saga) and round it out with 1-2 Containment Priest to play around SB artifact kill.
Against fair decks, it needs a plan against Null Rod/Collector Ouphe/Karn, the Great Creator. Maybe some Rip Aparts.
Alpine Moon could help against problem lands (Maze, Depths, Wasteland).
I would concur on the main deck Canonist.
It might be worth it against more "fair" decks since it stops the cantrip train.
You also can't run Chalice.
You don't have too many creatures which are easy to equip and very little card draw.
Any hand that doesn't have a combination of 2 Champion/Paladin struggles vs 1 removal spell or counter.
Cavern on humans might be worth it since a lot is colorless.
I would also look into [cards]Apostle's Blessing[\cards] or [cards]Gods Willing[\cards] type cards to make them stick.
Upside is they could also break through with lethal.
Mom works even better with Cavern.
In general, most what Barook already wrote and I was only reading while writing this :)
@FTW Glad to hear the Hammer worked out for you.
I got him a couple of times without the Paladin and it felt "bad", so I ditched him but maybe I was just unlucky there and should give him another chance.
There sure is plenty of upside WITH a Metalcraft Paladin in play.
I also keep coming back to this Chalice of the Void fear.
With only 2 Endings and 2 Caverns do you think that is enough vs Chalice ?
The deck probably doesn't need the total package of 4 Caverns but I would feel a lot more secure with 3 copies than 2.
Sunbaked Canyon, opposite sentiment.
Maybe 4 copies is one too many ? No ?
I really wouldn't like to start off with a Canyon and hurt myself multiple times while that could be a Cavern.
I'd probably opt for the 3/3 split.
About the 4/2 or 3/3 split Plow/Ending I use a similar reasoning.
Chalice is an omnipresent card that can wreck you, so I like to be prepared for it without handicapping the deck for it.
So I think that by replacing the 4th plow for a 3rd ending you gain more in chalice matchups than what you lose in non-chalice matchups.
Thoughts on that argument ?
Ragavan fits the deck but I like(d) Sentinel better as Sentinel helps the deck in more ways imo.
Mother ( theoretically ) could also be a nice addition ( though I didn't try that out ) but what would you take out ?
There's no room for 4 mothers imo and 1 or 2 copies may just not be worth it due to not seeing them enough to warrant their inclusion.
Jitte is just too good to pass up imo.
One of the simplest possible openings of the deck, T1 Champion, T2 Jitte, attack.
It is so hard for the opponent to get creatures onto the board after that since the Jitte always triggers, block or no block.
To really appreciate this opening/combination you should play AGAINST it sometimes and experience what a PITA it is :)
Taking into consideration the comments we've had so far the deck would optimally look like this :
//CC0 - 8
4 Mox Opal
4 Lotus Petal
//CC1 - 25
4 Steelshaper's Gift
4 Fervent Champion
4 Esper Sentinel
4 Bloodforged Battle-Axe
4/3 Swords to Plowshares
2/3 Prismatic Ending
1 Shadowspear
1 Retrofitter Foundry
1 Colossus Hammer
//CC2 - 5
4 Puresteel Paladin
1 Umezawa's Jitte
//CC3 - 4
4 Nettlecyst
//Lands - 18
4 Urza's Saga
4 Plateau
4 Ancient Den
3/4 Sunbaked Canyon
3/2 Cavern of Souls
Another trick that could work with equip cost reduction is Sunforger,4x Manamorphose and some utility 1-ofs, but it's probably too mana intensive for this deck.
Yeah, I added Jitte back and it was great.
Luckily going up to 4 Nettlecyst + 4 Saga helps win through Chalice. There's also Caverns and Prismatic Ending. So it's not unwinnable. Post-board you can bring in 3 Rip Apart: 5 answers to Chalice + 10 ways to win through it. Rip Apart is also strong against other problems (Null Rod, Karn TGC, Collector Ouphe, Ensnaring Bridge, Energy Flux, Suppression Field) so it has to be the SB anyway.
I'm more worried about T1 Blood Moon.
I found the deck was weak to big flyers (Murktide Regent, Marit Lage, Griselbrand). The deck can't block them and is forced to race. StP is the only answer. I think Marit Lage is more common than Chalice (and Murktide definitely is), so that's a big reason for StP.
For example, in one game vs UR Delver I thought I had them. They stabilized at 13 life tapping out for 8/8 Murktide (with untapped Ragavan and tapped DRC). I made a Servo and attacked with two 9/9s. I thought they'd have to trade Murktide+Ragavan for a 9/9, take a lot of damage, then lose next turn to the other Construct. Instead they just chumped with Ragavan and dropped to 4. Then they attacked with Murktide+DRC+2 Bolts = 17 damage with reach (over my useless Servos)!! Even with superior board presence we are dead in the water to chump block + big flyer. StP seems important.
You're right that Chalice @ 1 is a risk, but I think the SB can make up for that. Also, Prismatic Ending is a bit worse in 2 color than in 3-4 color.
I might be wrong here. This could use more testing.
Cavern often casts 1 creature and then no spells. Canyon can cast anything or draw a card. Cavern can't cast StP or Prismatic Ending or SB cards. It's basically a colorless land that makes colored mana once or twice. Playing against Wasteland decks, I appreciated having more lands that could tap for any color and found multiple Caverns awkward. They aren't going to FoW a 1/1 anyway.
If you draw too many copies of Canyon, you can sacrifice to draw a card. If it was Mana Confluence it would be much worse. The card draw does a lot.
Last edited by FTW; 11-12-2021 at 05:03 PM.
This looks great, well done!
"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think they will sing to me." -T.S. Eliot
RIP Ari
Legacy UGB River Rock primer Click here to comment
Sunforger combos were discussed in an older thread. But I don't think this deck has room for that, even if the utility would be nice.
Yeah, that's a different deck. There isn't room. To get value out of Sunforger you need a toolbox of high-value 2-4 cmc targets to cast. Using it as extra copies of StP (only instant in this deck) isn't that great, especially since Prismatic Ending and Solitude were printed. It would take major changes to the engine to make room.
I am sure there is a good reason for not considering Kor Duelist like the card is not good enough on its own, but it seems that axe and jitte are REALLY good with double strike, so I'd like to hear your reasoning for not trying it.
Kor Duelist was considered.
The problem is he's too slow for this deck and costs too much to equip ( without an active Paladin ) to be really effective.
What you lose with no free equips and no haste hurt more than what you gain with double strike.
Consider :
T1 Kor Duelist.
To attack with an equipped Duelist on T2 you need at least 3 mana AND an Axe or Shadowspear already in hand. Champion does this for 2 mana.
If you have to use Steelshaper's Gift on T2 you even need 4 mana to attack with an equipped Duelist. Champion does this for 2 mana.
Also, if you pay any equip costs for him and your opponent removes him in response for 1 mana, you lose tempo big time.
Simply put, Champion, Paladin, Sentinel and Nettlecyst are all better creatures for this deck than Duelist and there simply is no room left beyond them.
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