[Deck] Deep Blue (Affinity x Fairy Stompy's Lovechild)

[Hanni]

With the Blinkmoth's, I run 22 creatures. That's over 1/3 of my deck. Why would that not be enough?

[lotriderm]

Maybe I'm just unlucky lol. I prefer a higher creature count personally since for some reason I can't draw creatures.

[nedleeds]

In your build, do you ever feel like you don't have enough creatures or have a hard time finding one? Because when I was playing with 20ish creatures, sometimes I had a difficulty finding a creature.

I might try to fit 2 Esperzoa in there, perhaps a little less equipment. Maybe adding Darksteel Citadel (which as you suggest is good vs. wasteland, good w/ Metalworker) and makes 8 Esp-Bounce free to replay targets.

Esperzoa can also be a (slow) draw engine with Mechanist, and of course it evades and beats like a drum.

[eq.firemind]

Hey, why no action in this thread? There are lots of new awesome dudes in latest sets!

Steel Overseer - Lord for colorless mana. Slower than usual lords, but we have lots of ways to cast it on turn 1 and his effect is cumulative.
Etched Champion - This one has perfect cost, protection from Grip StP and most huge attackers and carries equips into opp's face through every blocker. Obv. awesome!
Memnite + Ornithopter + Mox Opal - Yeah, Mox without card disadvantage in Legacy.
dudes are great equip carriers and can become threats with 8 lords (plus Overseer's permanent pump) in very short time. Also, this combination of cards perfectly supports Thoughtcast.
I guess theese newcomers are huge power boost for the deck and the whole Affinity+5/3 idea becomes more clear and pure.

Here's the raw list wich (I hope) has a future:

Steel Blue
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
2 Glimmervoid
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Mox Opal

4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Steel Overseer
4 Etched Champion
4 Master of Etherium
4 Lodestone Golem

4 Chalice of the Void
2 Thirst for Knowledge
4 Sword of Fire and Ice
4 Thoughtcast

Sideboard
3 Silent Arbiter
2 Winter Orb
4 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Tormod's Crypt
3 Pithing Needle

The most debatable slots are Thirst for Knowledge. Only if there was more usefull way to get rid of uneeded moxes...

[nedleeds]

I like Thirst better than Thoughtcast. 4 Opals is too much, especially if you aren't running anything to either eat artifacts or bounce (Esperzoa). 8 zeros that do nothing seems excessive also.

[Meekrab]

The most debatable slots are 0 Cranial Plating

Fixed your post. Srsly, play 4 please.

[lotriderm]

With Scars, I would probably play 3 (maybe 4) Mox Opal and maybe a couple Etched Champions. I think Semblance Anvil would replace Etherium Sculptor so my list would probably look like this:

4 Seat of the Synod
5 Island
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 City of Traitors
4 Ancient Tomb
3 Mox Opal

4 Semblance Anvil
4 Esperzoa
4 Etched Champion
4 Trinket Mage
4 Master of Etherium
3 Faerie Mechanist
2 Razormane Masticore

4 Chalice of the Void
2 Cranial Plating
2 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Sigil of Distinction
1 Sword of Fire and Ice (could be anything really)

4 Chalice of the Void
2 Cranial Plating
2 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Sigil of Distinction

I haven't tested this list at all but on paper it seems okay. Semblance Anvil seems strong because it can help power out most of the deck faster and it is harder to destroy than Metalworker/Etherium Sculptor. I will test this list out when I have time.


Edit: Tested the list with Semblance Anvil. It is SICKKKKKKK! Allows me to drop my whole hand. The only time it wasn't as impressive was when I had to mull down to 5. But if Semblance Anvil was Metalworker or Etherium Scultor, it wouldn't have made a difference.

Etched Champion was really strong because it helped out against the aggro MU, which I feel is one of the weaker MUs we have.

[eq.firemind]

I like Thirst better than Thoughtcast. 4 Opals is too much, especially if you aren't running anything to either eat artifacts or bounce (Esperzoa). 8 zeros that do nothing seems excessive also.

Thirst was pretty bad in testing 'cause 3 mana is too much for such effect in this deck.
I think Riddlesmith will be better 'cause he can also beat ass and carry equips and all artifacts will be able to
enable Smith and feed it.
Thoughtcast on the other hand was one of the best cards in the deck. Draw 2 for is just awesome.
8 dudes were almost OK, but I'll test 7 (6 were not enough to power out new Mox)

Fixed your post. Srsly, play 4 Cranial Plating please.

I tried 4 platings and found myself missing the power of more expensive equips. 2/2 SoFaI/Plating split should be fine.

Lodestone Golem was mediocre. Crucible of Worlds+Wasteland is the next thing I want to try for disruption.
The deck's curve is lower than general, so the number of City of Traitors will be decreased (or even cut down to zero)
Here's the final list I'm going to test this evening:
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Darksteel Citadel (maybe 2 City of Traitors instead of 2 Citadels)
2 Glimmervoid
4 Wasteland
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Mox Opal

4 Ornithopter
3 Memnite
4 Steel Overseer
4 Riddlesmith
4 Etched Champion
4 Master of Etherium

4 Chalice of the Void
2 Cranial Plating
2 Sword of Fire and Ice
3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Thoughtcast

[jazzykat]

I think that if you guys play Mox Opal then Esperzoa is a no brainer. Combo with Riddlesmith and hillarity ensues.

[HAL]

I would go for a 2/2 split between mox opal and mox diamond.
Also, Vedalken Certarch is really, really, really good.
LIke, really, really, really, really, really good.

[jrsthethird]

I'm trying to fit FOW so if I trade Esperzoa for Etched Champion, Certarch seems solid to keep up the U count.

I tried Riddlesmith in goldfishing but if I wasn't pitching an extra Mox Opal I was generally sad, especially when dropping the last card in your hand means you mill one.

Also, I want to try out Grand Architect but getting UU consistently seems very difficult. Opal helps but if we're trading Mox Diamond for it, not so much. Maybe Chromatic Star has a place in that plan?

[Koby]

Haven't revisited this archetype since August, but I'm really excited about Mox Opal for this deck. This means we can drop the curve and reduce the amount of lands in the deck to make it more aggressive. I am going to testagain with Opals and report back in about 2 weeks with my results.

I'm still a afan of Lodestone Golem in the deck, and if nothing else Etherium Sculptor is a dude that equips. This gets the nod over SemblenceAnvil.

[jrsthethird]

Card tags for new cards please!!! Semblance Anvil

Wow, Anvil seems strong. In a FOW build, Sculptor would make the cut, but without, it's a toss-up. Anvil also helps to get rid of extra Opals, and serves the same purpose as Grand Architect. I'm gonna be doing some retooling tonight, there's a local Legacy event on Sunday so hopefully I'll be able to test against real people then.

[Koby]

A bit of a necro, but I've found a very interesting synergy that has been working for this deck. Keep in mind this is a rough draft of the idea, but so far it's hyper-explosive and can get out of hand very fast.

4 Darksteel Citadel
2 Island
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Wasteland
4 Seat of the Synod

3 Voltaic Key (bomb! may want 4)
4 Mox Opal
4 Grim Monolith

3 Vedalken Archmage (test slot, difficult to cast)
4 Etherium Sculptor
3 Etched Champion
4 Steel Overseer
4 Master of Etherium

4 Pithing Needle (disruption, very iffy)
3 Cranial Plating
3 Sensei's Divining Top

3 Thoughtcast

Sideboard
1 Molten-Tail Masticore
4 Mindbreak Trap
4 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Myr Battlesphere
4 Relic of Progenitus

At first, I was trying to go for the Sensei-Sensei combo using the Deep Blue idea; but then things starting to click with Key, Monolith, and Overseer. So far, I like how it plays out. SDT provides filtering since this deck has weak topdecks. Changing around some of the iffy slots can streamline the deck, but having enough cheap artifacts to trigger Mox is necessary.

One key change I would propose is to swap Pithing Needle with Memnite to enable turn 1 Monolith off a Mox Opal.

EDIT: after testing the above list, I can for sure say that the Archmage is mostly trash. Pithing Needle ended up being somewhat useful vs Vial decks, but that slot would be better served with Memnites to enable turn 1 Etched Champion off of Mox + Monolith. Even turn 2 Champion is nut high. I'll continue testing a newer version and report back within a couple of days.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

I've been moving this in a very different direction from what I see other people posting.

While I'm sure that the possibilities of going straight aggro are exciting, this seems like a simple retinkering of Raffinity; and I don't know if that strategy benefits any from Chalice and Force. The other direction I've seen a lot of is the old mana denial route, with cards like Wasteland/Crucible, Lodestone Golem, Trinisphere, Tangle Wire, etc., etc..

I avoided that route for a few reasons. I think that other colors like white can do it better, and I don't think there are that many decks in Legacy that have such incredibly vulnerable manabases anyway. My experience with playing Stax like decks is that I hate it, my opponent hates it and I end up losing anyway.

So the current list I have actually plays a lot more like a traditional midrange deck, complete with honest-to-God creature removal and everything;


4 Tree of Tales
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Seat of the Synod
2 Darksteel Citadel
4 Mishra's Factory
1 Tendo Ice Bridge

3 Masticore
4 Master of Etherium
4 Trinket Mage

3 Mox Opal
4 Mox Diamond
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Thoughtcast
4 Force of Will
3 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Sigil of Distinction
3 Engineered Explosives

Sideboard:
1 Cursed Scroll
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Pithing Needle
3 Tormod's Crypt
3 Krosan Grip
4 Engineered Plague

EE and Masticore cover a lot of bases; generally Masticore is your go-to-guy against Swarm/Tribal decks, whereas EE will deal with your Goyfs and Knights of the Reliquary and whatnot. Basically it plays a lot like a midrange deck with Chalice built in to shut down opposing strategies; and it can function as easily with Chalice at 2 as at 1. 7 Moxen and Ancient Tomb give it speed, although you have to mulligan sometimes when you have dissynergistic elements of your manabase. Be conservative with Force; it's there to stop shit that's going to end games, not to throw away your card drawing and Masters countering every Wild Nacatl.

I'm pretty pleased with this list, but it still needs some polishing. I've changed the list too often to give exact matchup percentages, but the general gist would be things that are running Qasali Pridemage or Aether Vial are shaky matchups, and everything else is pretty decent.

[Karhumies]

I've been moving this in a very different direction from what I see other people posting.

- -

So the current list I have actually plays a lot more like a traditional midrange deck, complete with honest-to-God creature removal and everything;

I would like to offer you some of the same advice which has been previously discussed in the UWx Metalcraft control thread:

SB Trickbind may be more useful than SB Engineered Plague, because Trickbind can stop opposing EE @ 0 and Pernicious Deed activation. 4x FoW + 3x Pithing Needle might not be enough against those, especially if the opponent is also running a counter-suite. I have found the Split Second mechanic to help the post-SB performance significantly. While Krosan Grip also works, Trickbind has a cheaper mana cost, is on-color to pitch for FoW and can make the opponent to spend more mana for attempted activation = "time walk" in your favor.

MD Arcane Denial may fulfill a similar role with Thirst for Knowledge for 1U instead of 2U: getting rid of redundant Mox Opal/Mox Diamond/Chalice of the Void for 3 fresh cards. Arcane Denial has the added benefit of relevant interaction with the opponent, but the downsides are waiting for 1 turn to get the cards and potentially destroying your Mox Opal (or resolving Chalice @ 0) if the opponent counters your Arcane Denial. You need to playtest the card yourself to form a personal opinion about it.

Also, is there a good reason for you to run Tendo Ice Bridge over Gemstone Mine (or City of Brass)?

Furthermore, I would like to see a flyer or a damage outlet somewhere in the MD so that you do not scoop G1 to a resolved Moat (well, theoretically you can EE @ 4 but that can be difficult to resolve at times). Have you considered running Thopter Foundry or Blinkmoth Nexus for this purpose?

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

Trickbind might be a good card in the sideboard, but it's not really in the same role as Engineered Plague. It's nowhere near as good against Merfolk and Goblins on a general basis. That said it's something I'll keep in mind as an option, I'm just not sure why you suggested it in that slot in particular.

Using Arcane Denial interactively seems a lot like shooting yourself in the foot, and generally the deck is built to be able to drop Chalice at 1 and 2

I ruled out City of Brass since Ancient Tomb and Force already do enough damage to your own life total, and Gemstone Mine just seemed to have a bigger drawback with how the deck functions. Usually I only need one colored activation off of it, and after that I can find whatever color I need.

EE at 4 is actually pretty easy to cast, although they could always be running counters. Foundry I don't think would be worth it without the full combo, which would make it difficult to run Chalice out at 2 and would generally be better suited to a different deck I think. Nexus is an idea over Factory, maybe, but it's worse on defense, and I don't know if an anemic 1-2 damage a turn is going to be the answer you want to Moat. The deck does have an air weakness, though; a resolved Tombstalker would be a nightmare.

[Koby]

Is this the bone we've been asking for R&D to throw for us? It solves 2 problems:
1) Threat Density
2) Answer to big creatures (Hi there Clone!)

Being a blue creature also matters for FoW, and it's also effectively only 3 mana. Cloning a Master of Etherium is pretty hot, as is Lodestone Golem.

[Clark Kant]

I really like this deck idea and the new set just leaked.

Porcelain Legionaire, Phyrexian Metamorph and Moltensteel Dragon are all exactly the kick in the pants this deck needed. Metamorph duplicates your Dragons, Wurmcoils and your opponents Dreadnoughts, Tombstalkers, Progenitus and Emrakuls.

Legionnaire is a fantastic two drop due to the first strike.

Moltentail is a solid 4 drop artifact dragon since it flies and you can trade your life to pump it and do the last bit of damage.

Moltensteel Dragon 4PP
Artifact Creature - Dragon
4/4
(P) can be paid with R or 2 life
Flying
P: Moltensteel Dragon gets +1/+0 until end of turn.

Replace the crappier cards with these and this deck is ready to fly.