[Deck] Affinity

[luckme10]

Today's spoiler:



Think it's worth going back to red splash? Maybe alongside shrapnel blasts for a nice burn effect.

[sporenfrosch1411]

I think Galvanic Blast is worth the red-splash in Affinity. Together with Shrapnel Blast you have not only a nice pack of removal, but also a win-option. Metalcraft is absolutely no problem in Affinity (obviously) so i am really looking forward to this. I think with Mox Opal too, it should be no problem to "re-integrate" red here :)
Also it should be pointed out, that this blast is an Instant - it's just great in my opinion.

[Oiolosse]

Affinity seems to be a tight list as is and this doesn't compare to Shrapnel Blast. Although, it's def. worth a test. We could rely a bit less on creatures and a bit more on direct damage.

I am def. on board with Mox Opal. I think as a 4 of is even okay. I run 4 Shrapnel blasts no matter what anyway.

[Tao]

- Mox Opal is stone cold nuts in Affinity. 90% of the time it is just a 5 color Mox with no drawback. It will push the deck a little bit to becoming competitive again, the correct number is either 3 or 4. I would think 3 because Affinity really doesn't like it to be unable to play a card but 4 might be correct too, especially with Shrapnel Blast.
- Memnite is not good in Affinity. 3-4 Ornithopter are all the free spells you want. If you play more your draws will become inconsistent and Thopter is better than Memnite because Affinity needs the Evasion for Plating or Ravager All-Ins.
- The new Bolt is cute, nothing to get too excited about. It usually still won't kill Goyf, but it gets the War Monk. With blue being 100% in the deck because of Master of tEtherium and Thoughtcast you have to think about the secondary color. I prefer the non-red version of the deck because Disciple of the Vault is insane and a slightly upgraded Bolt is not enough to pull me into Red. But if you play Red you certainly want it play it of course. Not sure if a nonblue version with Disciple and a lot of Burn would work.

[Cenarius]

Guys, what do you think about:

Painsmith
Whenever you cast an artifact spell, you may have target creature get +2/+0 and gain deathtouch until end of turn.
I think this is what the deck needed. A good lord ability (with Deathtouch) that will make u faster and more of a threath. Though, it should have been an artifact itself :(.

Probably the Bolt is good enough too. 4 Damage is insane. To either creature or player. Run it with scrapnel blast and u got a burn range of 8 with 2 different cards.

[Oiolosse]

Do you guys play two or three colors? I run U/r/b. I also use Paradise Mantle for color fixing. Try it before you diss it. The only black I run is Disciple of the Vault (and plating). Red is just Shrapnel Blast. What about you guys?

[Libeck]

Funny thing with Mox Opal besides it's speedy awesomenes is that, in multiples it's a free shock to the dome with Desiple in play =)

[Tao]

Three colors and two colors are both fine options. The deck has only Artifact lands as monocolored Mana, the rest produces either colorless or all 5 colors, so that's no problem. Playing Darksteel Citadel over the third playset of Artifact lands is only a minor advantage that I would easily give up if I felt that 3 colors were significantly stronger.

[Infinitium]

With the recent printing of Mox Opal and several new cards vying for space in the list.. is it time to consider ditching Aether Vial altogether? It seems slow in comparison to lists running a 6+ mana accelerants (which simultaneously fixes color for the non-creature spells), and the curve for it will be even worse if Arcbound Worker is replaced by Memnite. Just saying.

Also, Galvanic Blast is freaking insane and should be an automatic 4-of, possibly backing it up with Shrapnel Blast (albeit with Disciple and Thoughtcast the non-artifact slots are wearing thin).

[Justin]

With the recent printing of Mox Opal and several new cards vying for space in the list.. is it time to consider ditching Aether Vial altogether? It seems slow in comparison to lists running a 6+ mana accelerants (which simultaneously fixes color for the non-creature spells), and the curve for it will be even worse if Arcbound Worker is replaced by Memnite. Just saying.

Also, Galvanic Blast is freaking insane and should be an automatic 4-of, possibly backing it up with Shrapnel Blast (albeit with Disciple and Thoughtcast the non-artifact slots are wearing thin).

I was thinking the same thing about Aether Vial. I do hesitate to cut it because it is a way to cheat in important creatures, while dodging countermagic. Vial can be quite useful in matchups against blue permission decks (and there is no shortage of those in Legacy). The problem with Vial is that it's slow for this deck. Affinity has a better chance to win if it gets explosive starts, which Springleaf Drum and Mox Opal provide better than Vial.

[4eak]

I think Galvanic Blast is cool. Non-permanents almost never deserve space in the deck, thoughtcast being the exception to that rule (and almost exclusively because it translates into putting more permanents into play). I'm not convinced Galvanic Blast is worth playing (even if alongside other interesting burn cards, including Shrapnel Blast, Bolt, or even Fling). I still prefer Green (or even White) to Red as the tertiary color.

Mox Opal is also interesting, but may not even be worth playing. Affinity desperately seeks to make sure its mana sources are not conditional. The conditons of not having a Mox in play as well Metalcraft's condition is 1 too many conditions in my opinion. At best, Legendary status makes this a 2-of; I'd stick with Artifact lands or even Aether Vial/Drum #4 before this card though.

Artifacts of relevance to Legacy may still be printed that are not too powerful for (perhaps for a lack of synergy with the other cards available to) Standard. However, given how beloved Urza and Mirrodin were (*cough), I generally doubt we'll see future cards of a power-level impressive enough to bring this deck back. Goblins are generally better against the metagame (and far more versatile in deck construction) -- in fact, I don't think there is a metagame in which a tailored Affinity deck is actually stronger than a tailored Goblins deck (again, due to the versatility of Goblin construction).



peace,
4eak

[Mystical_Jackass]

Turn1: Play Land. Play Drum, Ornithopter, Memnite, Mox Opal, MoE. 1 card, "go"
Turn2: Play Land, Cranial Plating. Equip, Swing for 17. Prolly wouldn't happen much >.>

I will say, I'm seeing some new potential explosiveness for Affinity... and the set isn't even half way spoiled. It'll be interesting to see what the deck evolves from there.

[4eak]

Turn1: Play Land. Play Drum, Ornithopter, Memnite, Mox Opal, MoE. 1 card, "go"

This doesn't work. I assume you are thinking that Memnite is somehow necessary in this sequence to get MoE into play? Springleaf Drum must be tapped to be activated (assuming Ornithopter is being tapped for Drum, Memnite plays no role here). You cannot drop MoE on turn one as you've described.



peace,
4eak

[Tao]

@4eak: Saying that Mox Opal might not be worth playing is flat out wrong. There is no discussion that any Affinity list will run at least 2-3 Mox Opals, the card is perfect for Affinity and I suggest goldfishing with it.

@Aether Vial: It should be considered to be cut, not sure on it though.

[kicks_422]

You guys keep on saying add this, add that. What would you take out from the current lists? The thought of taking out so much for non-artifact cards (Metalcraft Shock, Metalcraft bear, etc.), a 1/1, and a mana source is kind of hard to grasp without a working list.

Has anyone thought of cutting Disciple/Ravager? I'm just very frustrated with Ravager ever since the combat rules changes.

[Justin]

You guys keep on saying add this, add that. What would you take out from the current lists? The thought of taking out so much for non-artifact cards (Metalcraft Shock, Metalcraft bear, etc.), a 1/1, and a mana source is kind of hard to grasp without a working list.

Has anyone thought of cutting Disciple/Ravager? I'm just very frustrated with Ravager ever since the combat rules changes.

I agree that Ravager is not what he once was (and he will get weaker still if we swap out Workers for Memnites), but there is nothing that can replace him right now. Maybe if a new 2cc artifact creatures is printed during the new Mirrodin block that is superior to Ravager, we could cut him. Until that happens, Ravager is an auto-four of. The Ravager/Disciple combo can still help you win games, and it can help you get around cards that keep your team from attacking (Blazing Archon, Ensnaring Bridge, etc.).

I think this deck should keep its artifact creature count very high. I would not play the Metalcraft bear because it does not have good synergy with Master or Plating. If I wanted to play a 2cc non-artifact creature, I would go with Atog because of its explosiveness and because it plays nicely with Disciple. But I don't think Atog makes the cut anymore.

I'm probably in the minority, but I like splashing green (instead of red) for Berserk. That card can end the game for you very quickly if you target a creature with Plating, a Master, or a creature with a bunch of +1/+1 counters on it. I like the strategy of making Affinity exposive and goldfishing a turn earlier. With Mox Opal and Memnite allowing for more explosive starts, I think Berserk becomes a better option.

[4eak]

@ Tao

@4eak: Saying that Mox Opal might not be worth playing is flat out wrong. There is no discussion that any Affinity list will run at least 2-3 Mox Opals, the card is perfect for Affinity and I suggest goldfishing with it.

Why shouldn't there be a discussion on whether or not the card is worth playing? Your opinion isn't obviously true (no matter how strongly you feel). Of course, the card could possibly end up deserving 4x, but I'm not convinced it actually will.

I did proxy the card up, and I wasn't as deeply impressed as you were. If you want to appeal to experience, let me be even clearer: I'm very experienced using (other) Moxen in this deck, and I do think I'm justified in questioning conditional (drawback-based) mana sources. It is very easy to see where the card can add to the explosive nature of the deck, but I think it isn't as easy for people to see where the card can detract from the explosiveness or consistency of the deck.

For my benefit, give me your list (perhaps I haven't understood the card as well as you have). I will be happy to test it.



peace,
4eak

[Mystical_Jackass]

This doesn't work. I assume you are thinking that Memnite is somehow necessary in this sequence to get MoE into play? Springleaf Drum must be tapped to be activated (assuming Ornithopter is being tapped for Drum, Memnite plays no role here). You cannot drop MoE on turn one as you've described.



peace,
4eak

Ah! You're right, damnit lol. I'm definitely not experienced with Affinity but I've always been a bit of a fan; now that Mirrodin's coming back it's sorta sparked my interest.

I guess I'll ask you then. What does Affinity need to beat decks like Goblins? Does it need to be faster, just win before decks have the chance to setup; or does it need more resilience, or does it need more power in terms of beaters (MoE)?

[Shawon]

Has anyone thought of cutting Disciple/Ravager? I'm just very frustrated with Ravager ever since the combat rules changes.

Just chiming in here: What about cutting Frogmite? Memnite doesn't need Affinity to come down turn 1, and it's only +1/+1 more than Memnite. Is Frogmite still better than Memnite? When you're running Arcbound Ravager and Cranial Plating, I don't really see how the +1/+1 weighs more than the speed you'll gain running Memnite over Frogmite.

[mans0011]

Ravager needs resilience in order to win.

So many cards just wreck it. Most of its strategy involves pushing its position 'all in,' as it were. Hurkyl's Recall, Rebuild, Pernicious Deed, Trygon Predator, and a ton of other cards just spell doom for this deck. It's not fast or resilient enough for what it does.