Karn
Although I find Karn a blast to play and certainly powerful, is extremely susceptible to land disruption and lacks pure power and fixing that UWB give us.
Memnarch
This may be one of the more powerful options for artifact EDH, but many players have developed an intense hate for Memnarch, and just piloting him and immediately make you the target. You are also limited to only blue, which does not have the versatility that UWB does.
Muzzio
While possibly my favorite of the above four options, just doesn't have the power of a Memnarch or Karn and is still limited only to U
Sydri
With Sydri, we have access to the power of black (tutors, draw, removal, etc.), blue (tutors, draw, counter magic, etc.) and white (tutors, removal, recursion, etc.). She doesn't carry the hate/stigma of a general like Memnarch, and doesn't rely solely on non-basics and colorless mana like Karn (Blood Moon, Magus of the Moon, Anathemancer are common-place in many Highlander metas). For these reasons, along with Sydri's low mana cost and powerful abilities, I recommend piloting Sydri over Karn, Memnarch and Muzzio.
You'll like Sydri if...
1. You like playing with artifacts (LOTS of artifacts!)
2. You enjoy explosive early turns
3. You enjoy winning through fun combos and synergies
You might not like Sydri if...
1. You're not a fan of artifacts
2. You don't like combos (Sydri is very combo-friendly and easily lends herself to combo wincons)
3. You'd prefer to accelerate with less-vulnerable spells (i.e. Explosive Vegetation) instead of more-vulnerable mana rocks (i.e. Gilded Lotus)
How We Win Planar Portal + Sydri, Galvanic Genius with infinite mana of any color = search your deck for any cards and put them into play
NOTE: with infinite colorless mana, simply search for Gilded Lotus first and create infinite mana of any color
Krark-Clan Ironworks/Ashnod's Altar - either of these allow us to create infinite colorless mana with Thopter Foundry/Sword of the Meek, or help us get closer to a wincon/combo. I see Krark-Clan Ironworks as the preferred card, as our creature count is low and our artifact count is high.
Helm of Awakening - Helm allows us to combo out faster, assists Etherium Sculptor, Cloud Key, etc. to get out our artifacts faster, and is seen as a good political move in many metas.
I first started playing Magic in 2003. I remember going to my first tournament with a mono-red goblins deck, but from then to now, 11 years later, feels like a blur.
I played mostly standard until Time Spiral block, when Extended and Legacy became popular in my area. I did some traveling over the years, competing at PTQs, GPs, etc. in several formats, but never doing better than a Top 8 finish. Most of my enjoyment came from the vendors (I'm looking at you Dan Bock! ), trading, selling, etc. I really enjoyed the overall experience of the tournaments, if not the actual tournament itself.
In the middle of all that, years ago, I was at FNM at one of my LGS's and I saw two guys playing a side game with "huge" decks. I stopped and asked what they were doing, and they told me that they were playing a new game called Highlander. They explained the naming and how it worked and I remember being so intrigued at not having to have four of every card, getting to play all sorts of unplayed & crazy things (or at least things that I thought were crazy at the time) and it was so relaxed. I showed up next week not wanting to play my newest standard brew or test out for a legacy tournament, but to sit down, relax and play some 100 card Highlander. I haven't looked back since.
Up! Commander Options, Combos & Synergies & Other Considerations added.
EDIT
Something worth noting in recent testing: although Muzzio, Visionary Architect is a very new addition to the deck (4 games with him as of 6/9/14), I am finding that both he and Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas 'often' cause more issues than they solve. I have "whiffed" on multiple occasions with Tezzeret (sometimes being forced to put key pieces like Enlightened Tutor or Fabricate to the bottom), and Muzzio doesn't seem to be doing me much better (putting Vedalken Archmage and others to the bottom and getting my Dimir Signet on the battlefield was the coup de grâce).
I don't feel like this is something I must act on yet, but I have obviously noted it and will keep an eye on both Tezzeret AOB & Muzzio.
If Muzzio and Tezzeret are typically generating card advantage you shouldn't cut them. Sometimes you might be forced to put good stuff on the bottom of your library, but most of the time you'll be burying trash. Don't get emotional over what the top cards of your library could have been. Also, why no Mycosynth Lattice? You're already running forge and disk and your general lets you animate artifacts, I see zero reason why it shouldn't be in this list.
If Muzzio and Tezzeret are typically generating card advantage you shouldn't cut them. Sometimes you might be forced to put good stuff on the bottom of your library, but most of the time you'll be burying trash. Don't get emotional over what the top cards of your library could have been. Also, why no Mycosynth Lattice? You're already running forge and disk and your general lets you animate artifacts, I see zero reason why it shouldn't be in this list.
Fair points, and I appreciate the feedback. I agree with what you say about Tezz/Muzzio... and yes, I do often bury trash.
Mycosynth Lattice was a purposeful cut, it places a huge target on your head (even if we're not using it to kill lands). However, if it was not for political reasons, I also see no reason not to include it. It's synergy with our deck (Clock of Omens & Arcum Dagsson quickly come to mind) is pretty incredible when you evaluate it. Maybe you're right and it's just something that *must* be included. I'll add it for testing again this week and see what comes of it.
Thanks again for your suggestions!
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Quote from Galspanic »
If someone is playing Icy Manipulator against you, you've already won.
I like the list a lot and plan on building something similar.
One question, why aren't you running Basalt Monolith or Rings of Brighthearth? Basalt Monlith is awesome when you have Unwinding Clock and Voltaic Key. Rings of Brighthearth gives you so much bonus potential. Returning 2 artifacts by sacrificing 1 creature to Trading Post is just one of the many awesome synergies this card supplies. Also, both of the suggested cards combo together for infinite mana.
I like the list a lot and plan on building something similar.
One question, why aren't you running Basalt Monolith or Rings of Brighthearth? Basalt Monlith is awesome when you have Unwinding Clock and Voltaic Key. Rings of Brighthearth gives you so much bonus potential. Returning 2 artifacts by sacrificing 1 creature to Trading Post is just one of the many awesome synergies this card supplies. Also, both of the suggested cards combo together for infinite mana.
Hey, thanks for the suggestions! Basalt Monolith and Rings of Brighthearth fell into those cards that I wanted to play, I just didn't find anything I wanted to cut for them. Definitely cards that need to be tested in this build though. Great suggestion!
Any ideas from anyone on things to cut or re-evaluate? One idea I've been looking at is Courrier's Capsule. It's not tutorable with Trinket Mage like the other capsules and certainly isn't a windfall in CA. I do like that I can utilize it for Clock of Omens, but there has to be something better.... right?
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Quote from Galspanic »
If someone is playing Icy Manipulator against you, you've already won.
If you don't mind losing some speed, it might be worth cutting Mana Vault for Basalt Monolith. While you're loosing some early turn 1 speed, you have enough turn 2 mana rocks to make up for it. Etherium Sculptor could be replaced for Rings of Brighthearth. While making artifacts cheaper is awesome, you have a lot of mana rocks so I feel like it's a bit irrelevant. Also, the reason I'm saying you should pitch Sculptor instead of Cloud Key is because Sculptor is much more susceptible to removal.
Not entirely sure how fast or cutthroat your meta is, but in mine pulling ahead the quickest tends to paint a target on your head, regardless if you have any actual threats. I'd rather be a turn or two slower but be more resilient and interactive later.
If you don't mind losing some speed, it might be worth cutting Mana Vault for Basalt Monolith. While you're loosing some early turn 1 speed, you have enough turn 2 mana rocks to make up for it. Etherium Sculptor could be replaced for Rings of Brighthearth. While making artifacts cheaper is awesome, you have a lot of mana rocks so I feel like it's a bit irrelevant. Also, the reason I'm saying you should pitch Sculptor instead of Cloud Key is because Sculptor is much more susceptible to removal.
Not entirely sure how fast or cutthroat your meta is, but in mine pulling ahead the quickest tends to paint a target on your head, regardless if you have any actual threats. I'd rather be a turn or two slower but be more resilient and interactive later.
I would hate to cut out acceleration, but you are definitely correct about Etherium Sculptor's survivability. I'll have to evaluate how much acceleration I have and if it may be too much, especially considering how tight the 99 feels.
Rings of Brighthearth did not test well last night. Without Basalt Monolith, it didn't feel as powerful as I thought it might. And Monolith without Rings made me miss Mana Vault every time.
Alright, after more testing, I'm considering the following cuts:
Kuldotha Forgemaster
I find that I rarely have three artifacts that I *want* to sacrifice and it is very susceptible to removal. That said, the effect is nuts and cutting anything that puts an artifact into play is pretty hard. Maybe Muzzio, Visionary Architect takes this slot?
Etherium Sculptor
This is a very hard cut for me, as Etherium Sculptor is one of my personal favorites for any artifact-based deck. However, auspiciousTactician made a good point about how easily it is removed, compared to Cloud Key and Semblance Anvil. I've had a few games where it dies by board wipe or other affects before I can abuse it. Obviously it is great early game, allowing you to drop "insert any awesome 1CMC artifact here" for free, but as the game goes on, its value plummets... and we're about the long game in multiplayer EDH.
I'm also considering going to 36 land, probably cutting 1 Swamp. With the amount of mana rocks we run, I don't know that the 37th is needed. I'm considering:
-1 Swamp
+1 Solemn Simulacrum
Thoughts? Thanks for the suggestions so far guys!
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Quote from Galspanic »
If someone is playing Icy Manipulator against you, you've already won.
I got in a few games of testing last night and have to recant my previous statement about Kuldotha Forgemaster. If you can get it to stay on the board until your next upkeep, you should win the game. Even in an extremely slow game last night, I still had enough to sac three signets (floating 4 mana off of them and one colorless land), tap the Forgemaster to search for Voltaic Construct, put Construct into play and untap the Forgemaster with floating mana, sac three more artifacts (including Forgemaster in this game) for a Gilded Lotus and infinite mana is yours.
So, after waking up and noticing that interaction, I'll be keeping Forgemaster in the 99.
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Quote from Galspanic »
If someone is playing Icy Manipulator against you, you've already won.
I've been playtesting this deck versus Prossh, Animar, Nekusar, Grimgrin, and Grenzo. I die pretty much every game just to Prossh. I will usually be hit in the air for commander damage. Sometimes, I'm just run over due to my combo being disrupted, or never coming together to begin with. I have difficulty swinging back and gaining life, because he can just block with a token and sacrifice it. Am I playing wrong? How exactly does this deck deal with Aggro?
Most of time, I end up with a ton of mana rocks, and nothing to do with the all excess mana.
I also have a lot of difficulty drawing cards. I'm always hellbent.
simple all you need to do is buy stax cards look at the stax primer for some inspiration Jesper is the best color combo for stax. he will not be able to play magic this is also a solution to most combo and agree decks.
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[center][color=Blue]
U/R Delver
Edric Spy and die
Azami the lady of the draw
Naya Zoo
Past decks
Orloro
sharuum the hegemond
Mono black control
splinter twin
Well, I could change the deck completely, but I wanted to know from Mr. Buu about his experience dealing with Prossh and other aggressive commanders that use tokens and sacrifice effects.
I got in a few games of testing last night and have to recant my previous statement about Kuldotha Forgemaster. If you can get it to stay on the board until your next upkeep, you should win the game. Even in an extremely slow game last night, I still had enough to sac three signets (floating 4 mana off of them and one colorless land), tap the Forgemaster to search for Voltaic Construct, put Construct into play and untap the Forgemaster with floating mana, sac three more artifacts (including Forgemaster in this game) for a Gilded Lotus and infinite mana is yours.
So, after waking up and noticing that interaction, I'll be keeping Forgemaster in the 99.
I noticed that when doing this play, "infinite mana is yours" an entire turn later. You can't make Gilded Lotus a creature and start using it's ability on the same turn because once it is a creature, it has summoning sickness. The most you could do is tap it for mana, then use 1 blue to make it a creature and 2 blue to untap it. Then, it can't tap again.
Why Play Sydri?
Commander Options
There are four commanders that you could easily consider for an artifact-based EDH similar to this build:
1. Karn, Silver Golem;
2. Memnarch;
3. Muzzio, Visionary Architect; and of course
4. Sydri, Galvanic Genius
Karn
Although I find Karn a blast to play and certainly powerful, is extremely susceptible to land disruption and lacks pure power and fixing that UWB give us.
Memnarch
This may be one of the more powerful options for artifact EDH, but many players have developed an intense hate for Memnarch, and just piloting him and immediately make you the target. You are also limited to only blue, which does not have the versatility that UWB does.
Muzzio
While possibly my favorite of the above four options, just doesn't have the power of a Memnarch or Karn and is still limited only to U
Sydri
With Sydri, we have access to the power of black (tutors, draw, removal, etc.), blue (tutors, draw, counter magic, etc.) and white (tutors, removal, recursion, etc.). She doesn't carry the hate/stigma of a general like Memnarch, and doesn't rely solely on non-basics and colorless mana like Karn (Blood Moon, Magus of the Moon, Anathemancer are common-place in many Highlander metas). For these reasons, along with Sydri's low mana cost and powerful abilities, I recommend piloting Sydri over Karn, Memnarch and Muzzio.
You'll like Sydri if...
1. You like playing with artifacts (LOTS of artifacts!)
2. You enjoy explosive early turns
3. You enjoy winning through fun combos and synergies
You might not like Sydri if...
1. You're not a fan of artifacts
2. You don't like combos (Sydri is very combo-friendly and easily lends herself to combo wincons)
3. You'd prefer to accelerate with less-vulnerable spells (i.e. Explosive Vegetation) instead of more-vulnerable mana rocks (i.e. Gilded Lotus)
Synergies & Combos
Synergies
Sydri, Galvanic Genius + Caltrops = kill all attacking creatures and gain 1 life for each of those creatures
Sydri, Galvanic Genius + Staff of Nin = kill target creature and gain 1 life
Combos
Sydri, Galvanic Genius + Voltaic Construct + Gilded Lotus = infinite mana of any color
Sydri, Galvanic Genius + Voltaic Construct + Thran Dynamo/Mana Vault = infinite colorless mana
Thopter Foundry + Sword of the Meek + Clock of Omens + Gilded Lotus = infinite mana of any color
Thopter Foundry + Sword of the Meek + Clock of Omens + Thran Dynamo/Mana Vault = infinite colorless mana
How We Win
Planar Portal + Sydri, Galvanic Genius with infinite mana of any color = search your deck for any cards and put them into play
NOTE: with infinite colorless mana, simply search for Gilded Lotus first and create infinite mana of any color
Staff of Nin + Sydri, Galvanic Genius with colorless or colored infinite mana = infinite damage
1 Sydri, Galvanic Genius
Creature [16]
1 Arcum Dagsson
1 Duplicant
1 Etherium Sculptor
1 Kuldotha Forgemaster
1 Muzzio, Visionary Architect
1 Myr Retriever
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Sun Titan
1 Treasure Mage
1 Trinket Mage
1 Triskelion
1 Vedalken Archmage
1 Voltaic Construct
1 Wurmcoil Engine
Planeswalker [2]
1 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
Instant [6]
1 Arcane Denial
1 Counterspell
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Thirst for Knowledge
Sorcery [5]
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Fabricate
1 Merciless Eviction
1 Open the Vaults
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Azorius Signet
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Dimir Signet
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Talisman of Progress
1 Caltrops
1 Clock of Omens
1 Semblance Anvil
1 Cloud Key
1 Darksteel Forge
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Courier's Capsule
1 Dispeller's Capsule
1 Executioner's Capsule
1 Expedition Map
1 Sol Ring
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Mana Vault
1 Memory Jar
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Staff of Nin
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Planar Portal
1 Spine of Ish Sah
1 Sword of the Meek
1 Thopter Foundry
1 Trading Post
1 Unwinding Clock
1 Voltaic Key
1 Rhystic Study
Land [37]
1 Command Tower
1 Arcane Sanctum
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Watery Grave
1 Godless Shrine
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Underground River
1 River of Tears
1 Nimbus Maze
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Vault of Whispers
1 Ancient Den
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Academy Ruins
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Urza's Tower
1 Urza's Power Plant
1 Urza's Mine
1 Phyrexia's Core
1 Buried Ruin
1 Darksteel Citadel
6 Island
4 Plains
3 Swamp
Other Considerations
Krark-Clan Ironworks/Ashnod's Altar - either of these allow us to create infinite colorless mana with Thopter Foundry/Sword of the Meek, or help us get closer to a wincon/combo. I see Krark-Clan Ironworks as the preferred card, as our creature count is low and our artifact count is high.
Helm of Awakening - Helm allows us to combo out faster, assists Etherium Sculptor, Cloud Key, etc. to get out our artifacts faster, and is seen as a good political move in many metas.
Change Log
6/7/14
-1 Solemn Simulacrum
+1 Muzzio, Visionary Architect
Test Log
Currently testing or planning to test the following:
Mycosynth Lattice
Rings of Brighthearth
Basalt Monolith
Personal Bio
I first started playing Magic in 2003. I remember going to my first tournament with a mono-red goblins deck, but from then to now, 11 years later, feels like a blur.
I played mostly standard until Time Spiral block, when Extended and Legacy became popular in my area. I did some traveling over the years, competing at PTQs, GPs, etc. in several formats, but never doing better than a Top 8 finish. Most of my enjoyment came from the vendors (I'm looking at you Dan Bock! ), trading, selling, etc. I really enjoyed the overall experience of the tournaments, if not the actual tournament itself.
In the middle of all that, years ago, I was at FNM at one of my LGS's and I saw two guys playing a side game with "huge" decks. I stopped and asked what they were doing, and they told me that they were playing a new game called Highlander. They explained the naming and how it worked and I remember being so intrigued at not having to have four of every card, getting to play all sorts of unplayed & crazy things (or at least things that I thought were crazy at the time) and it was so relaxed. I showed up next week not wanting to play my newest standard brew or test out for a legacy tournament, but to sit down, relax and play some 100 card Highlander. I haven't looked back since.
EDIT
Something worth noting in recent testing: although Muzzio, Visionary Architect is a very new addition to the deck (4 games with him as of 6/9/14), I am finding that both he and Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas 'often' cause more issues than they solve. I have "whiffed" on multiple occasions with Tezzeret (sometimes being forced to put key pieces like Enlightened Tutor or Fabricate to the bottom), and Muzzio doesn't seem to be doing me much better (putting Vedalken Archmage and others to the bottom and getting my Dimir Signet on the battlefield was the coup de grâce).
I don't feel like this is something I must act on yet, but I have obviously noted it and will keep an eye on both Tezzeret AOB & Muzzio.
Fair points, and I appreciate the feedback. I agree with what you say about Tezz/Muzzio... and yes, I do often bury trash.
Mycosynth Lattice was a purposeful cut, it places a huge target on your head (even if we're not using it to kill lands). However, if it was not for political reasons, I also see no reason not to include it. It's synergy with our deck (Clock of Omens & Arcum Dagsson quickly come to mind) is pretty incredible when you evaluate it. Maybe you're right and it's just something that *must* be included. I'll add it for testing again this week and see what comes of it.
Thanks again for your suggestions!
One question, why aren't you running Basalt Monolith or Rings of Brighthearth? Basalt Monlith is awesome when you have Unwinding Clock and Voltaic Key. Rings of Brighthearth gives you so much bonus potential. Returning 2 artifacts by sacrificing 1 creature to Trading Post is just one of the many awesome synergies this card supplies. Also, both of the suggested cards combo together for infinite mana.
Hey, thanks for the suggestions! Basalt Monolith and Rings of Brighthearth fell into those cards that I wanted to play, I just didn't find anything I wanted to cut for them. Definitely cards that need to be tested in this build though. Great suggestion!
Any ideas from anyone on things to cut or re-evaluate? One idea I've been looking at is Courrier's Capsule. It's not tutorable with Trinket Mage like the other capsules and certainly isn't a windfall in CA. I do like that I can utilize it for Clock of Omens, but there has to be something better.... right?
I'll be starting testing with Mycosynth Lattice, Rings of Brighthearth and Basalt Monolith tonight. Still not 100% sure what to cut... would love some suggestions!
Not entirely sure how fast or cutthroat your meta is, but in mine pulling ahead the quickest tends to paint a target on your head, regardless if you have any actual threats. I'd rather be a turn or two slower but be more resilient and interactive later.
I would hate to cut out acceleration, but you are definitely correct about Etherium Sculptor's survivability. I'll have to evaluate how much acceleration I have and if it may be too much, especially considering how tight the 99 feels.
Rings of Brighthearth did not test well last night. Without Basalt Monolith, it didn't feel as powerful as I thought it might. And Monolith without Rings made me miss Mana Vault every time.
Unfortunately, the only time I saw Mycosynth Lattice was when an opponent Acquired it.
I'll continue testing this week and hopefully I have better experiences with all three. That's for the feedback guys!
EDIT: updates
Kuldotha Forgemaster
I find that I rarely have three artifacts that I *want* to sacrifice and it is very susceptible to removal. That said, the effect is nuts and cutting anything that puts an artifact into play is pretty hard. Maybe Muzzio, Visionary Architect takes this slot?
Etherium Sculptor
This is a very hard cut for me, as Etherium Sculptor is one of my personal favorites for any artifact-based deck. However, auspiciousTactician made a good point about how easily it is removed, compared to Cloud Key and Semblance Anvil. I've had a few games where it dies by board wipe or other affects before I can abuse it. Obviously it is great early game, allowing you to drop "insert any awesome 1CMC artifact here" for free, but as the game goes on, its value plummets... and we're about the long game in multiplayer EDH.
I'm also considering going to 36 land, probably cutting 1 Swamp. With the amount of mana rocks we run, I don't know that the 37th is needed. I'm considering:
-1 Swamp
+1 Solemn Simulacrum
Thoughts? Thanks for the suggestions so far guys!
So, after waking up and noticing that interaction, I'll be keeping Forgemaster in the 99.
Most of time, I end up with a ton of mana rocks, and nothing to do with the all excess mana.
I also have a lot of difficulty drawing cards. I'm always hellbent.
[center][color=Blue]
Edric Spy and die
Azami the lady of the draw
Naya Zoo
Past decks
Orloro
sharuum the hegemond
Mono black control
splinter twin
(Sits in the corner and beings to cry)
[center][color=Blue]
Edric Spy and die
Azami the lady of the draw
Naya Zoo
Past decks
Orloro
sharuum the hegemond
Mono black control
splinter twin
I noticed that when doing this play, "infinite mana is yours" an entire turn later. You can't make Gilded Lotus a creature and start using it's ability on the same turn because once it is a creature, it has summoning sickness. The most you could do is tap it for mana, then use 1 blue to make it a creature and 2 blue to untap it. Then, it can't tap again.
RGWMayael the AnimaRGW
UBRMarchesa, the Black RoseUBR
Modern Decks
RGWNaya BurnRGW