MTG Salvation

So far I haven't figured out a better combination with my cards, and I already know of cards such as Master Transmuter, and Show and Tell. I just want opinions or at least a way to almost always get turn one wins with Blightsteel Colossus. I just have no idea if sol ring should be replaced, and if so by what. The mana seems to be covered so I guess im looking for something to ensure Blightsteel can swing on turn one.
My Favorite
Freedom of a Casual Player
(I put this deck on Deck Stats for testing)
http://deckstats.net/decks/21851/127369-the-best-mtg-deck/en

Well, since you are playing a format with no ban list, and 4 of every card known...

Run 4 Mox Emerald and Crop Rotation to ensure you have Tolarian Academy on board. Take out the islands for 4 Tropical Islands and 2 Breeding Pools. Use Concordant Crossroads instead of Lightning Greaves.

I really like Concordant Crossroads. Thanks for the advice, and im gonna try it out.
So let me see if I have this correctly though:
+ 4 Mox Emerald
- 4 Sol Ring
- 6 island
+ 4 Tropical Island
+ 2 Breeding Pool
- 2 Lightning Greaves
+ 2 Concordant Crossroads
I did not find much room for Crop Rotation, but if it is needed I could replace Platinum Angel.

I have been testing it out, and it seems to stay where it was with at most a slight diffrence on opening turn if you have certain cards, but I think it works about the same amount of times because I usually have to wait for Tinker or Mystic Tutor just like before. Still an improvement.

Quote from WonderGaurd »

I just want opinions or at least a way to almost always get turn one wins with Blightsteel Colossus.

Does the win always must include Blightsteel Colossus? If not, you can add a Time Vault + Voltaic Key (+Tezzeret the Seeker) kill in here easily. You can also add a Goblin Charbelcher kill if you cut all the lands except for 1x Tolarian Academy + 4x Expedition Map.

The cards I would cut first are:

• Inkwell Leviathan - It only has 7 power; it doesn't kill in 1 turn
• Shield Sphere - This could just be off-color moxen/other artifacts instead. I don't think you'll need edict protection in a 1 turn format
• Platinum Angel - If you win on turn 1 consistently, you don't need to worry about losing. If your opponent is killing you on turn 0, Platinum Angel can't save you anyways unless you can get it out on turn 0.

Play 4x Mental Misstep. There will be a lot of relevant 1-CMC cards to counter in a 1 turn format. These are also extra U cards to pitch to Force of Will so they are never dead cards.

If your opponent is also using Blightsteel Colossus, you can just use Hurkyl's Recall or Steel Sabotage to bounce it

The Time Vault + Voltaic Key + Tezzeret the Seeker combo seems very situational, but I really like Goblin Charbelcher, and the only thing I don't like with this strategy is I won't be able to go for blightsteel Colossus as easily, and only relying on Black Lotus, Mox Sapphire or Tolarian Academy. I may include Mental Misstep though.
Thanks for the advice, and ill accept any that is given.

Why is Tezzeret necessary for Time Vault + Voltaic Key? Its a 4 mana 2 card infinite turn combo. If you have a tinker in your opening hand with no combo pieces, or with a lightning greaves, you grab blightsteel. If you have a key or time vault, you go for the missing piece.

Timetwister is one of the best cards in super-broken-Magic world with no restricted list. You can vomit out Moxen, put it on top of your library with Mystical Tutor, then draw it with a cantrip.

Also, Mana Crypt is better than Sol Ring and you should run off colour Moxen.

Ok I have made this deck with the suggestions you guys have made, but it seems to be lacking still in at least a few ways. I just want to know what you think of it now, and when I had the other artifact creatures they were really there just in case I was drawing terribly, and needed defense.

Quote from Kumlekar »

Why is Tezzeret necessary for Time Vault + Voltaic Key?

You're absolutely right, Tezzeret the Seeker is not necessary for the Time Vault + Voltaic Key combo. Tezzeret the Seeker probably won't be very useful here as there are 4x Tinker, which is why I only mentioned Tezzeret the Seeker in brackets.

Tezzeret the Seeker would be more useful in decks with access to only 1x Tinker, and in formats lasting more than 1 turn. Tezzeret the Seeker can potentially assemble a win on his own (over multiple turns) and his 3 different abilities are all relevant in this type of deck. His +1 ability is Voltaic Key, his -X ability can tutor for either piece of the Vault-Key combo, and his -5 is an alternate win-con.

Can someone just take the deck, and build it so it would win on turn one. I have tried to make the perfect deck to where if it does not win turn one there are other options for keeping the game in your favor such as lightning greaves equiped on platinum angel, and the shield sphere were just to sacrifice if needed while also being able to block. I anticipate a lot of targeting so that's why inkwell leviathan was included.

I have tested this Blightsteel Colossus deck, and it wins on turn 1 or 2 most of the time, but it can also block on turn 1 half the time with Force of Will. The deck has left over mana so it can block most counter spells on turn one besides another force of will of course, but I have blocked someones force of will with another force of will.
This is how I have kept the deck so far, but it might be better with one extra Blightsteel Colossus, but that is debatable.
http://deckstats.net/decks/21851/127369-the-best-mtg-deck/en


Note:I get very competitive in most card games, and as most people in my play group do as well, but I like to take my playing to the level of exploitation, and find what is after that. Imagine what they will say to a turn one win with these ultra broken magic cards.

If I ever played against someone playing this deck, if money were no object, I would have to build with fast mana, more lands, and then a turn 1 Null rod or Trinisphere as 4ofs.

Then start laying down the stax pieces.

Back when Shandalar was the coolest MTG thing you could do on your computer (and with the state of MODO it still might be), a deck like this was about the best thing you could build:

4 Ancestral Recall
4 Timetwister
4 Wheel of Fortune
3 Yawgmoth's Bargain
4 Time Walk
4 Gitaxian Probe
1 Blightsteel Colossus
4 Windfall
4 Hurkyl's Recall


4 Tolarian Academy
4 Black Lotus
20 Moxen



They didn't have a 60 card limit, so the subpar cards (e.g. Windfall, Gitaxian Probe, etc) weren't necessary - or even available. But basically you just loop Timetwister over and over and filter out all of the Moxen from your library and then go infinite turns with looping timetwister + time walk. You can use anything as the Win-con so Blightsteel works fine, but I think bee sting would be awesome because flavor.

If I was to go second which would be by chance since my play group is fair when it comes to position then it is possible that someone sets up a defense against tinkering Blightsteel Colossus, but yes a deck could easily beat most other decks if the conditions are in their favor, and also they counter each way for them to possibly win. If Trinisphere was to be played on round one I would have an incredibly hard time winning if I couldn't get my land cards, and I had a really bad card disadvantage. I understand things such as this could take out my deck, but I have that chance that Force of Will is in my hand to save me from most counter decks. The odds for the majority of the time should be in my favor to win on Turn 1 or at least 2.

It is on Deck stats
http://deckstats.net/decks/21851/127369-the-best-mtg-deck/en
Note:I haven't found a way to increase my decks win ratio since I last posted about it.

If you are set on winning turn 1, pact of negation might be better than force. Obviously it does not work with hands that plan on dropping blightsteel and then waiting till the next turn to swing.

I was planning on making the perfect Blightsteel Colossus deck, and that is why I need to know all the weaknesses before I go and buy the missing cards. I know this deck would win most of the time on turn 1, but in the even t it doesn't I need a set of cards to help. I am still looking at this forum to gather opinions so when I go to play with my cards again it will be an impossible deck to beat. I just need more turn 1 winning options, and since winning with Blightsteel Colossus has become so efficient I would like to keep that as part of the strategy.

I think its about as good as you're going to get without extensive playtesting. That said, tinker + blightsteel is probably stronger as a side gameplan in another deck than as a core. Plays that you're scared of include aven mindcensor in response to tinker, swords to plowshares targeting blightsteel, and krosan grip targeting time vault/key/greaves. These cards are significantly weaker if you are playing those options as additional win conditions instead of primary.

So I would like your opinion on how to make it better since like you said there are obvious ways to counter this type of turn one win deck, but if you were to use Tinker as a second option then I would love to know the primary win condition if there is one better.

If you want a high turn 1 win rate, you shouldn't have more than 10 lands. 10 might be pushing it. Lands are basically dead cards because you can only play 1. Artifact mana sources are your friend.

Also, since you are monoblue, I would max out on Tolarian Academies, esp with the new legend rule.



Maybe -1 Greaves +1 Memory Jar just to make Tinker more versatile.

Perhaps Time Spiral should be Windfall. The reason for Spiral is simply that untapping Academy is bonkers.

I think Mystical Tutor is unnecessary. It sets you up for a turn 2-3 win more often than a turn 1 win. With 4 Tinker + 7 draw 7s and Ancestrals, the probability of you hitting a a Tinker on turn 1 is very high without running bad tutors. More draw 7s before topdeck tutors IMO.

Mana Vault over Sol Ring because it is +2 on initial turn, which nets more mana for turn 1 wins. Sol Ring has worse mana on initial turn than an off color moxen (since mox also nets 1 colorless but can be played when you have nothing in the pool).


Similarly, to maximize turn 1 shenanigans, you don't really need lands beyond 4 Tolarian Academy + 4 Seat of the Synod. Beyond that, Mox Opal and Lotus Petal make better initial mana sources than lands. And maybe even off-color moxen over lands. Heck, maybe even some over some copies of Seat of the Synod.

Of course these changes open you up more to disruption, but this strategy is already going to completely fold to disruption (and is banned in every format), so presumably you were making this as a theoretical exercise in best Blightsteel deck... in which case might as well maximize the turn 1 win goldfish rate.

I am intrigued by the new ruling of legend cards, and I could do so many things knowing that. I may improve the deck by including 2 more Tolarian Academy, and also 4 Mox Opal. Time spiral may cost just a little to much for it's use, but it is noted. If the deck does play well enough then I would agree that the tutor is not needed as well, but ill test it first. I am gonna try and revise it with the land suggestions included, and post later.
The Concordant Crossroads strategy works well enough, but Lightning Greaves may still be useful.

Quote from WonderGaurd »

I am intrigued by the new ruling of legend cards, and I could do so many things knowing that. I may improve the deck by including 2 more Tolarian Academy, and also 4 Mox Opal. Time spiral may cost just a little to much for it's use, but it is noted. If the deck does play well enough then I would agree that the tutor is not needed as well, but ill test it first. I am gonna try and revise it with the land suggestions included, and post later.
The Concordant Crossroads strategy works well enough, but Lightning Greaves may still be useful.

Cool. Yeah, with the new legend rule, there is basically no drawback to running redundant copies of broken legendary mana sources.

Crossroads seems good too. Only reason I included Greaves was because with the turn 1 plan and fewer lands, 2 colorless seemed easier to produce than green mana. But if you can still consistently get the green, Crossroads seems fine.

I made 2 versions for this deck so far, and the first is using Concordant Crossroads, and I could make that deck better by having more legends. The second is one that I built with your suggestions mostly, and you can look at deck stats to test it.
http://deckstats.net/decks/21851/250801-mana-exploit?saved=1&lng=en


You can test the difference in decks with this from deck-stats which uses Concordant Crossroads
http://deckstats.net/decks/21851/127369-the-best-mtg-deck/en

After trying out version 2, observations:
1) Seat of the Synod is basically a mulligan
2) FoW is not helpful since this is just a glass cannon anyway
3) Time Spiral is terrible without Tolarian Academy and pretty bad even with it in an opener.
4) Apparently 7 draw 7s + 4 Tinker doesn't give you even 80% chance of seeing one in the opener. Needs more draw 7s or tutors.
5) Leaving Gitaxian Probe out was a good call, since it leads to awkward mulligan decisions
6) I've hardcast Blightsteel a non-negligible proportion of the games

-4 Force of Will
-3 Time Spiral
-4 Seat of the Synod
-2 Time Walk
+4 Mox Ruby
+4 Wheel of Fortune
+3 Windfall
+2 Reckless Charge (testing this, with red in the deck, b/c helps trample over blockers, enables haste for cheaper and can be flashed back off Wheel/Windfall discard)

After testing both versions, I have to say that I like the Concordant Crossroads version, but:

1) It seems to have a much higher chance of winning on turn 2 instead of turn 1 (either not finding the Haste/Time Walk or needing to wait a turn after Mystical Tutor to draw Tinker)

2) I'm drawing too many lands, which might as well be Lord of the Pit because I'm never playing them anyway.

3) I found hands with both Mystical Tutor and Timetwister (but no Crossroads or Ancestral or Time Walk) awkward. Do I take the bird in hand (Tutor for Tinker), accepting a turn 3 win, or trying to Timetwister into a better hand to win faster? In this build, the probability of Timetwistering into a dud hand is pretty high, so I found this a tough choice.

4) Time Walk is much stronger in your build than mine. It helps make up for less explosive mana hands (so you can play a 2nd land and/or untap sources), it gives you a turn to draw your Tutored Tinker, and it doubles as a Concordant Crossroads effect. In mine it's pretty much just a Reckless Charge off Academy blue mana.

5) Force of Will isn't helping the goldfishing. And often I wouldn't have another expendable blue card to support it, so in a game it'd either be dead or you wouldn't have enough gas to go off anyway. Realistically, even with FoW and a blue card, you're probably losing to disruption, so I don't see FoW adding much value personally.

To optimize your build, I would lower the land count for more artifact mana and maybe add another Crossroads. And then either cut Force or add more blue cantrips (to pitch to Force and/or help you draw Tutored Tinkers) or replace FoW with Pact of Negation.

For my build, I'm enjoying a higher turn 1 win rate with something like this: