Hello all! I am Red, and I am a long time stalker of the MTGS forums. I have read a good deal of the Sharrum the Hegemon deck lists and slowly assembled one of my own. Given my play group, most do not have any form of defense or offense against Artifacts. Having such a sweet spot for Esper, Sharuum, and artifacts in general, forging this deck was a clear choice for me.
Please bear in mind that most of my Card decisions are based either on local availability or my play group. I am looking for recommendations and general feedback.
So far the deck has won every multiplayer encounter, did great in testing, and tanks hard in 1 on 1. Any suggestions to help balance this out are welcome.
Some card choices may not be clear, so how's about a fun explanation! Details of Certain Choices ---
Mirrorworks + Venser + Magister Sphinx - This combo came out rather organically. I was play testing against the deck, and the guy helping me had never played Esper before. He thows down mirrorworks and then Venser. Next thing I know he's throwing out Magister Sphinx and dropping my health to 10, then bouncing MS each turn and then just wipe up my remains. It is not intended as an immediate win scenario, however being able to drop several opponents, regardless of life totals, to 10 is dramatic unto itself.
Infinite Turn Combo pieces - If you played with my group, a bunch of guys with 1 on 1 EDH play styles whom are somewhat based on speed, throwing myself into infinite turns and watching them turn seven shades of red is one of the perks of playing.
CIPT lands and Amulet of Vigor - No shock, no delay, lands and utility. again, a PG decision, as they still play swap lands like Boros Garrison and Dimir Aqueducts.
Leyline of the void - While I admit that this card is eaily on the chopping block, I cannot help but have a sweet spot for it. It loves me, as in my extensive play testing, better than 60% of the time it's ended up in my opening hand.
Master of Etherium - I have a soft spot for him, honestly. Against decks where attacking is the point, I need something that helps. granted, he is not always needed, he is nice to have out. Deter's people from attacking me outright for some reason. maybe it's the baby he holds in his hands, like he's going to crush it.
> Previous verion - 1.0 ---
For the sake of, this can be version 1.0. I am a HUGE fan of ajacobik's The Hegemon Will See You Now thread and have followed his updates closely the last few months (or rather lack thereof). I have also sampled selections from google, tapped out, and other outlets.
I am R and U. I am both emotional and rational, valuing logic but following my gut when appropriate. At my best, I am intuitive and creative. At my worst, I am scattered and unpredictable.
I am working on a Sharuum deck as well and happened in here. This is a difficult general to comment on because she can work so many strategies in varrying degrees and does not need to go 'all in'. That being said, I think there are some clear upgrades which should be quite affordable and available.
Reshape: Its not as good as Transmute Artifact, but it doesn't cost 50usd and it's effect is still great for the deck.
Whispering Madness > Windfall: Its a mana cheaper (yes, relevant) and its not expensive to buy.
Disciple of the Vault > Blood Artist: It does the same thing more or less combo-wise, but it can also be used to punish or prevent opponent's recursive combos.
Teferi's Puzzle Box > Mind's Eye: The potential card advantage is mind boggling.
Brainstorm > Kuldotha Forgemaster: Any effect that allows you to tutor and put directly into play is worth nearly any game cost. I am actually not a big fan of brainstorm for EDH because its card advantage neutral and it places the cards back on top of the deck so it doesn't help cycle the deck.
Scourglass > Glassdust Hulk: Scourglass is slow and unresponsive. The Glassdust Hulk offers a good reanimation target and win condition. Also doubles as a great way to pop planeswalkers.
I have been making significant changes already today, picked up a quite a few cards. A few I wasn't expecting and some I was. Getting certain tutor's at my local shop can be a real pain, as soon as they come in, they're out again.
To respond more directly -
Reshape - I absolutely agree. I am working on a better list (above) and will update accordingly. I may know someone in my group that has one Transmute Artifact, but I will have to check and doubt he'll part with it easily.
Whispering Madness and Windfall - Truthfully, I like them both. And I do not mind the additional 1 black to make the ability available after the turn via creature attack. Windfall is on my list, but another one that's tough to find among my group. I could easily see keeping WM sideboarded in a 1v1 match up, then switching out for multiplayer. All around still an excellent recommendation!
Blood Artist - While not the biggest fan of Vampires, I defiantly see all the potential here. He should be fairly easy to come across, either at the shops or through my group. The added bonus of gaining some life is nice, especially with the amount of board wipes in general. In multiplayer he could really save my skin, and in 1v1 still retains utility. Another Solid recommendation indeed!
Teferi's Puzzle Box / Mind's Eye / Scroll Rack + Land Tax - Okay, so allow me a moment to explain this one - I do like the Puzzle box. I always have. Mind's eye, brilliant card. Truthfully, I want to run the scroll rack / land tax combo here. I would intentionally cut items like brainstorm, Gilded lotus, and some of the non-basic lands in order to run this. The benefits of getting this out, and early, especially in Multiplayer is very good, given my group. Part of the reason I mention this here is because I am thinking of the card cycling abilities it plays on. Plus, my group does very little against artifacts and enchantments. anything in this position is fairly safe. I admit, when I picked up the puzzle box, it was more so as a place holder due to the fact that I could not locate rack or tax in my adventures.
I do like your recommendation. I'm just leaving it open at the moment.
Kuldotha Forgemaster - I had it, and have already gotten rid of it in trade for other items. I am not the biggest fan due to having removed the secondary sacking/recover outlet in Salvaging station. I am also not a fan of trading post, so thanks for not mentioning that. And as I said above, I am more than willing to cut Brainstorm, just do not have a suitable substitute at present.
Scourglass and Glassdust Hulk - Scourglass has already been cut, when I saw I was at 100 cards and not 99. After obtaining the N-Disk and DS-Forge every-turn=wiping-the-board, it's utterly pointless. I completely agree. Glassdust was in the early iteration of this deck, and I do still have it floating around my bulk commons/uncommons box. I am sure I can find a good place for him. Thoughts?
All in all, I think these are all great recommendation. Almost all of them can be implemented easily or already have been. I also ask that anyone please review my spoiler fields above for the updated changelog, deck listing, and now trade/buy list.
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I am R and U. I am both emotional and rational, valuing logic but following my gut when appropriate. At my best, I am intuitive and creative. At my worst, I am scattered and unpredictable.
I will have to track these down, as Bitter Ordeal is a tough cookie to get ones hands on, at least in my area.
For those, I'll probably take the reanimation targets down a few notches.
Play Update:
So i took this to group again last night (above list) and managed to hammer through the multiplayer Emperor game rather quickly. The combo just came into place, and I used Artificer's Intuition to dump Phyrexian Metamorph into the graveyard to assist with the combo. And I commonly did it early enough that people forget that I've dumped it into my graveyard.
Popped off quite nicely. But I definitely see the point of being able to recurs that combo. The next game, I couldn't be emperor again, and thus had a giant bull's eye painted on my forehead. I was gunned down quickly by a team running two sliver overlord decks. Plus the guys were kind of hurt from the previous game. It was quite rough. And I had *most* of the combo pieces, but never disciple of the vault or Extractor Demon. I think that Between the above items and the two tutors I am missing, this deck would rock more consistently. Though right now my MP record with the deck is 5 wins and 1 loss. Not too bad, and that's the current iteration.
I also think I am going to include the Blood Artist. My only thing is that I may want to add in something to help protect him, as the win cons are a touch more breakable that my artifacts. It's a shame there isn't a win-con artifact that would work for this.
All in all, it was really nice to listen to the other team plan 5-6 turns ahead, knowing that on my next turn they were all done... That was a really great feeling.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I am R and U. I am both emotional and rational, valuing logic but following my gut when appropriate. At my best, I am intuitive and creative. At my worst, I am scattered and unpredictable.
Got some new stuff today, and a handful of items on order. Will update the list here shortly.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I am R and U. I am both emotional and rational, valuing logic but following my gut when appropriate. At my best, I am intuitive and creative. At my worst, I am scattered and unpredictable.
I am R and U. I am both emotional and rational, valuing logic but following my gut when appropriate. At my best, I am intuitive and creative. At my worst, I am scattered and unpredictable.
Updated Deck with new cards, adjusted formatting of post a bit.
Before I make too many more edits, I need to play test a bit. will update with how it goes.
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I am R and U. I am both emotional and rational, valuing logic but following my gut when appropriate. At my best, I am intuitive and creative. At my worst, I am scattered and unpredictable.
Shameless bump. Looking at redoing this thread. Plus I've got a Sen Triplets deck and an upcoming Oloro, Ageless Ascetic deck.
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I am R and U. I am both emotional and rational, valuing logic but following my gut when appropriate. At my best, I am intuitive and creative. At my worst, I am scattered and unpredictable.
Please bear in mind that most of my Card decisions are based either on local availability or my play group. I am looking for recommendations and general feedback.
So far the deck has won every multiplayer encounter, did great in testing, and tanks hard in 1 on 1. Any suggestions to help balance this out are welcome.
Decklist ---
06 Sharuum the Hegemon
Infinite Win Combo Pieces: x9
01 Disciple of the Vault
02 Blood Artist
02 Copy Artifact
03 Phantasmal Image
03 Bitter Ordeal
03 Sculpting Steel
04 Phyrexian Metamorph
05 Dire Undercurrents
06 Extractor Demon
Planeswalkers: x4
04 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
05 Tezzeret the Seeker
05 Venser, the Sojourner
07 Karn Liberated
Digging/Tutor: x13
01 Brainstorm
01 Enlightened Tutor
01 Mystical Tutor
01 Ponder
01 Preordain
02 Artificer's Intuition
02 Demonic Tutor
03 Thirst for Knowledge
03 Trinket Mage
03 Fabricate
04 Teferi's Puzzle Box
04 Whispering Madness
05 Memory Jar
Infinite Turn Combo Pieces: x3
02 Sword of the Meek
02 Thopter Foundry
02 Time Sieve
00 Lotus Bloom
00 Mox Opal
01 Expedition Map
01 Mana Vault
01 Sol Ring
03 Chromatic Lantern
03 Darksteel Ingot
04 Solemn Simulacrum
05 Gilded Lotus
Board Control: x12
00 Pact of Negation
01 Dispatch
01 Path to Exile
01 Swords to Plowshares
02 Remand
03 Detention Sphere
03 Mortify
03 Oblivion Ring
04 Day of Judgment
04 Nevinyrral's Disk
04 Supreme Verdict
04 Wrath of God
Reanimator Targets: x7
03 Master of Etherium
05 Karn, Silver Golemn
06 Steel Hellkite
07 Magister Sphinx
08 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
09 Darksteel Forge
09 Inkwell Leviathan
Utility: x6
01 Elixer of Immortality
01 Nihil Spellbomb
02 Ethersworn Canonist
05 Mirrorworks
06 Unburial Rites
07 Open the Vaults
00 Academy Ruins
00 Ancient Den
00 Arcane Sanctum
00 Bojuka Bog
00 Buried Ruin
00 Cephalid Coliseum
00 City of Brass
00 Darksteel Citadel
00 Glacial Foretress
00 Glimmervoid
00 Godless Shrine
00 Hallowed Fountain
00 Halimar Depths
00 Inkmoth Nexus
00 Reliquary Tower
00 Temple of the False God
00 Thespian's Stage
00 Vault of the Archangel
00 Vault of Whispers
00 Watery Grave
00 Island x7
00 Plains x5
00 Swamp x4
Infinite Turn Combo pieces - If you played with my group, a bunch of guys with 1 on 1 EDH play styles whom are somewhat based on speed, throwing myself into infinite turns and watching them turn seven shades of red is one of the perks of playing.
CIPT lands and Amulet of Vigor - No shock, no delay, lands and utility. again, a PG decision, as they still play swap lands like Boros Garrison and Dimir Aqueducts.
Leyline of the void - While I admit that this card is eaily on the chopping block, I cannot help but have a sweet spot for it. It loves me, as in my extensive play testing, better than 60% of the time it's ended up in my opening hand.
Master of Etherium - I have a soft spot for him, honestly. Against decks where attacking is the point, I need something that helps. granted, he is not always needed, he is nice to have out. Deter's people from attacking me outright for some reason. maybe it's the baby he holds in his hands, like he's going to crush it.
>Revision 1.3
>> Cards added ---
+ Bitter Ordeal
+ Dire Undercurrents
+ Mystical Tutor
+ Phantasmal Image
>> Cards removed ---
- Amulet of Vigor
- Darksteel Colossus
- Forbidden Alchemey
- Skeleton Shard
>Revision 1.2
>> Cards Added ---
+ Blood Artist
+ Fabriacte
>> Cards Remvoed ---
- Diabolic Tutor
- Wurmcoil Engine
>Revision 1.1 -
>> Cards Added ---
+ Mox Opal
+ Solemn Simulacrum
+ Path to Exile
+ Swords to Plowshares
+ Remand
+ Mortify
+ City of Brass
+ Thespian's Stage
[/DECK]
>> Cards Removed ---
- Tormod's Crypt
- AEther Spellbomb
- Dispeller's Capsule
- Executioner's Capsule
- Leonin Abunas
- Leyline of the Void
- Salvaging Station
- Seat of the Synod
> Previous verion - 1.0 ---
For the sake of, this can be version 1.0. I am a HUGE fan of ajacobik's The Hegemon Will See You Now thread and have followed his updates closely the last few months (or rather lack thereof). I have also sampled selections from google, tapped out, and other outlets.
~ Sun Titan
~ Frost Titan
~ Oblivion Stone
~ Lim-Dul's Vault
~ All is dust
~ Jace, The Mind Sculptor
$ Scroll Rack -> (-) Teferi's Puzzle Box
$ Land Tax -> (-) Brainstorm
$ Reshape -> (-) Fabricate
$ Vindicate -> (-) ???
$ Mind's Eye -> (-) Ethersworn Canonist
Thank you in advance for any and all feed back!
Reshape: Its not as good as Transmute Artifact, but it doesn't cost 50usd and it's effect is still great for the deck.
Whispering Madness > Windfall: Its a mana cheaper (yes, relevant) and its not expensive to buy.
Disciple of the Vault > Blood Artist: It does the same thing more or less combo-wise, but it can also be used to punish or prevent opponent's recursive combos.
Teferi's Puzzle Box > Mind's Eye: The potential card advantage is mind boggling.
Brainstorm > Kuldotha Forgemaster: Any effect that allows you to tutor and put directly into play is worth nearly any game cost. I am actually not a big fan of brainstorm for EDH because its card advantage neutral and it places the cards back on top of the deck so it doesn't help cycle the deck.
Scourglass > Glassdust Hulk: Scourglass is slow and unresponsive. The Glassdust Hulk offers a good reanimation target and win condition. Also doubles as a great way to pop planeswalkers.
I have been making significant changes already today, picked up a quite a few cards. A few I wasn't expecting and some I was. Getting certain tutor's at my local shop can be a real pain, as soon as they come in, they're out again.
To respond more directly -
Reshape - I absolutely agree. I am working on a better list (above) and will update accordingly. I may know someone in my group that has one Transmute Artifact, but I will have to check and doubt he'll part with it easily.
Whispering Madness and Windfall - Truthfully, I like them both. And I do not mind the additional 1 black to make the ability available after the turn via creature attack. Windfall is on my list, but another one that's tough to find among my group. I could easily see keeping WM sideboarded in a 1v1 match up, then switching out for multiplayer. All around still an excellent recommendation!
Blood Artist - While not the biggest fan of Vampires, I defiantly see all the potential here. He should be fairly easy to come across, either at the shops or through my group. The added bonus of gaining some life is nice, especially with the amount of board wipes in general. In multiplayer he could really save my skin, and in 1v1 still retains utility. Another Solid recommendation indeed!
Teferi's Puzzle Box / Mind's Eye / Scroll Rack + Land Tax - Okay, so allow me a moment to explain this one - I do like the Puzzle box. I always have. Mind's eye, brilliant card. Truthfully, I want to run the scroll rack / land tax combo here. I would intentionally cut items like brainstorm, Gilded lotus, and some of the non-basic lands in order to run this. The benefits of getting this out, and early, especially in Multiplayer is very good, given my group. Part of the reason I mention this here is because I am thinking of the card cycling abilities it plays on. Plus, my group does very little against artifacts and enchantments. anything in this position is fairly safe. I admit, when I picked up the puzzle box, it was more so as a place holder due to the fact that I could not locate rack or tax in my adventures.
I do like your recommendation. I'm just leaving it open at the moment.
Kuldotha Forgemaster - I had it, and have already gotten rid of it in trade for other items. I am not the biggest fan due to having removed the secondary sacking/recover outlet in Salvaging station. I am also not a fan of trading post, so thanks for not mentioning that. And as I said above, I am more than willing to cut Brainstorm, just do not have a suitable substitute at present.
Scourglass and Glassdust Hulk - Scourglass has already been cut, when I saw I was at 100 cards and not 99. After obtaining the N-Disk and DS-Forge every-turn=wiping-the-board, it's utterly pointless. I completely agree. Glassdust was in the early iteration of this deck, and I do still have it floating around my bulk commons/uncommons box. I am sure I can find a good place for him. Thoughts?
All in all, I think these are all great recommendation. Almost all of them can be implemented easily or already have been. I also ask that anyone please review my spoiler fields above for the updated changelog, deck listing, and now trade/buy list.
Items to be added:
+ Phantasmal Image
+ Bitter Ordeal
+ Dire Undercurrents
I will have to track these down, as Bitter Ordeal is a tough cookie to get ones hands on, at least in my area.
For those, I'll probably take the reanimation targets down a few notches.
Play Update:
So i took this to group again last night (above list) and managed to hammer through the multiplayer Emperor game rather quickly. The combo just came into place, and I used Artificer's Intuition to dump Phyrexian Metamorph into the graveyard to assist with the combo. And I commonly did it early enough that people forget that I've dumped it into my graveyard.
Popped off quite nicely. But I definitely see the point of being able to recurs that combo. The next game, I couldn't be emperor again, and thus had a giant bull's eye painted on my forehead. I was gunned down quickly by a team running two sliver overlord decks. Plus the guys were kind of hurt from the previous game. It was quite rough. And I had *most* of the combo pieces, but never disciple of the vault or Extractor Demon. I think that Between the above items and the two tutors I am missing, this deck would rock more consistently. Though right now my MP record with the deck is 5 wins and 1 loss. Not too bad, and that's the current iteration.
I also think I am going to include the Blood Artist. My only thing is that I may want to add in something to help protect him, as the win cons are a touch more breakable that my artifacts. It's a shame there isn't a win-con artifact that would work for this.
All in all, it was really nice to listen to the other team plan 5-6 turns ahead, knowing that on my next turn they were all done... That was a really great feeling.
Wanna drop both Karn Silver Golem and Karn Liberated. PW Karn dies too fast and Silver Golem more often than not seems like a dead draw.
Will drop Silver Golem and one if not two Reanimator pieces for the above ordered combo pieces.
Will drop Karn Liberated for Jace the mind sculptor, when I have the spare cash just lying around....
Any thoughts or further ideas are welcome.
Before I make too many more edits, I need to play test a bit. will update with how it goes.