Sharuum has been my long running EDH project for the past couple of months. I'm very new to EDH; I dabbled in it a couple of years ago when Avacyn Restored released and I played a Gisela beats deck. Dropped it because I was sick of having my collection spread thin. Now that I've had a couple years to build up my collection, I decided to come back to it because some close friends began a play group at my local game shop. Now, these guys don't play competitively most of the time, but I chose Sharuum because she has the capacity to do degenerate things but can still play in an interactive game that wins off fun synergies. So here's my list; it's far from optimized or the ideal list, but I've tailored it for some multiplayer concessions and for that reason you won't see a lot of things you might see in a more straightforward, 1v1 EDH list.
The way games normally play out is I start ramping up in the beginning, then play really juicy value threats or interact with the board state. Considering a lot of my friends don't play really whacky combo's and prefer to beat down the fair way, I often won't rush comboing off unless I'm being pressured, someone else is doing degenerate things, or I just natural draw into all the pieces.
Lands: Just the best in color fixing and utility. Phyrexia's Core allows me to sac things to put them in the grave to recur later, or get around something my opponent is doing. Buried Ruin is a slow but still usable recursion effect. Manlands are slow beats but still good and do their part on fixing; I don't see a lot of lists run them but I'm fond of them. Artifact lands are tutorable with Trinket Mage and Tezzeret, and all around useful for random things like Reshape, Time Sieve, etc. I don't have filter lands yet or I'd run one each of the appropriate colors over basics.
Mana Rocks: When I first started EDH I grossly underestimated the usefulness of mana rocks- especially for a deck like this. The ramp you, synergize miscellaneously with random cards, etc. So the short of it is I run a fair bit of them. Basalt Monolith over Grim Monolith for now because I can't find/ afford Grim Monolith. Unwinding Clock fits in here because it's largely here to give me gross amounts of mana on my opponent's turns and free Monolith untaps.
Removal: My playgroup has a lot of people doing creature things. I employ a large amount of board wipes for diplomatic power and because once I get going, I'm often targeted, so reset buttons are nice. That's really all that can be said on the matter.
Card Draw/ Dig: I feel like if any section needs beefing up, it's this one. I would really enjoy having Articifer's Intuition over Compulsion, but Compulsion does a fine job of dropping things in the grave and drawing cards. Everything else follows a similar plan of dumping to the grave+drawing cards. Except for Brainstorm, but Brainstorm is Brainstorm.
Tutor: This is how I find cards that are fun or combo pieces. Muddle and Perplex are also viable interaction options.
Toolbox: Random cards that are tutorable with Trinket Mage (and Articifer's Intuiton once I have it). Trading Post fits in here because it does lots of fun and helpful things!
Goodstuff: Random just good cards that accentuate various synergies. Solemn will be pretty decent until I finally trade out all my basics for non-basics. Magister Sphinx allows me to reset someone who's run away with the game or gained a ton of life. Unburial Rites and Obzedat's Aid are solid recursion cards. Sun Titan gets nutty with my previous Toolbox section since so many of them are cracked to get their effect. Don't get me started on Sun Titan> Phantasmal Image shenanigans. Consecrated Sphinx just draws soooo many cards. Sphinx of the Steel Wind allows me to stonewall GR decks and is a decent beater. Duplicant is removal on top of a decent body (most of the time.) Spine of Ish Sah with Phyrexia's Core or Sharuum or clone effects are pretty boss. I was going to have an interaction section but I realized that I pulled a lot of my interactive counterspells and that Muddle and Perplex were more often being used as tutors, so I just lumped in Spell Crumple into this section.
Planeswalkers: I really wish this section was bigger, but both of these guys are good at what they do; Venser is value town with ETB's and Tezz tutors for and untaps mana rocks or wincons.
Combo Pieces: Here it is: the awesome things you can do with Sharuum. You can make people lose by life lose with Disciple or Blood Artist, exile their library with Bitter Ordeal, or be on the back up plan of infinite turns with Time Sieve. I include Myr Battlesphere here because although it's just a good beater in its own right, it makes five bodies immediately for Time Sieve.
Wishlist:
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas (great at digging, makes random things threats)
Grim Monolith (better than Basalt Monolith a lot of the time)
Open the Vaults (ALL THE RECURSION)
Articifer's Intuition (advantage outlet that's sooo much better than Trinket Mage and Compulsion)
Salvaging Station (goes really well with the tool box-y 1-drops)
Jace, the Mind Sculptor (it's Jace TMS)*
Mox Opal (amazing mana rock, easily tutorable)*
(the *'d things are things I want but probably won't get for a looong time)
So yeah, that's my list in its entirety. If there are any cards you'd like to suggest please do so, and what you would exchange them for. I appreciate any and all criticism!
The way games normally play out is I start ramping up in the beginning, then play really juicy value threats or interact with the board state. Considering a lot of my friends don't play really whacky combo's and prefer to beat down the fair way, I often won't rush comboing off unless I'm being pressured, someone else is doing degenerate things, or I just natural draw into all the pieces.
0 Ancient Den
0 Arcane Sanctum
0 Buried Ruin
0 Celestial Colonnade
0 Command Tower
0 Creeping Tar Pit
0 Darkslick Shores
0 Darksteel Citadel
0 Drowned Catacomb
0 Glacial Fortress
0 Glimmervoid
0 Godless Shrine
0 Hallowed Fountain
3x Islands
0 Isolated Chapel
0 Phyrexia's Core
2x Plains
0 Reflecting Pool
0 Reliquary Tower
0 Seachrome Coast
0 Seat of the Synod
3x Swamp
0 Temple of Deceit
0 Temple of Enlightenment
0 Temple of Silence
0 Temple of the False God
0 Vault of Whispers
0 Watery Grave
12 Mana Rocks
1 Sol Ring
2 Azorius Signet
2 Dimir Signet
2 Fellwar Stone
2 Orzhov Signet
2 Talisman of Dominance
2 Talisman of Progress
3 Basalt Monolith
3 Darksteel Ingot
4 Thran Dynamo
4 Unwinding Clock
5 Gilded Lotus
2 Cyclonic Rift
3 Detention Sphere
3 Oblivion Ring
4 Day of Judgment
4 Supreme Verdict
4 Wrath of God
5 AEtherspouts
6 Terminus
5 Card Draw/ Dig
1 Brainstorm
2 Compulsion
3 Forbidden Alchemy
3 Thirst for Knowledge
4 Fact or Fiction
10 Tutors
1 Enlightened Tutor
2 Demonic Tutor
2 Lim-Dul's Vault
2 Muddle the Mixture
2 Reshape
3 Fabricate
3 Perplex
3 Trinket Mage
5 Kuldotha Forgemaster
7 Rune-Scarred Demon
8 Toolbox
1 AEther Spellbomb
1 Dispeller's Capsule
1 Elixer of Immortality
1 Executioner's Spellbomb
1 Expedition Map
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Voltaic Key
4 Trading Post
3 Spell Crumple
4 Solemn Simulacrum
5 Obzedat's Aid
5 Unburial Rites
6 Consecrated Sphinx
6 Duplicant
6 Sun Titan
7 Magister Sphinx
7 Spine of Ish Sah
8 Sphinx of the Steel Winds
2 Planeswalkers
5 Tezzeret the Seeker
5 Venser, the Sojourner
11 Combo Pieces
1 Disciple of the Vault
2 Blood Artist
2 Phantasmal Image
2 Sword of the Meek
2 Thopter Foundry
2 Time Sieve
3 Bitter Ordeal
3 Sculpting Steel
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
6 Thopter Assembly
7 Myr Battlesphere
-Explanation by grouping-
Lands: Just the best in color fixing and utility. Phyrexia's Core allows me to sac things to put them in the grave to recur later, or get around something my opponent is doing. Buried Ruin is a slow but still usable recursion effect. Manlands are slow beats but still good and do their part on fixing; I don't see a lot of lists run them but I'm fond of them. Artifact lands are tutorable with Trinket Mage and Tezzeret, and all around useful for random things like Reshape, Time Sieve, etc. I don't have filter lands yet or I'd run one each of the appropriate colors over basics.
Mana Rocks: When I first started EDH I grossly underestimated the usefulness of mana rocks- especially for a deck like this. The ramp you, synergize miscellaneously with random cards, etc. So the short of it is I run a fair bit of them. Basalt Monolith over Grim Monolith for now because I can't find/ afford Grim Monolith. Unwinding Clock fits in here because it's largely here to give me gross amounts of mana on my opponent's turns and free Monolith untaps.
Removal: My playgroup has a lot of people doing creature things. I employ a large amount of board wipes for diplomatic power and because once I get going, I'm often targeted, so reset buttons are nice. That's really all that can be said on the matter.
Card Draw/ Dig: I feel like if any section needs beefing up, it's this one. I would really enjoy having Articifer's Intuition over Compulsion, but Compulsion does a fine job of dropping things in the grave and drawing cards. Everything else follows a similar plan of dumping to the grave+drawing cards. Except for Brainstorm, but Brainstorm is Brainstorm.
Tutor: This is how I find cards that are fun or combo pieces. Muddle and Perplex are also viable interaction options.
Toolbox: Random cards that are tutorable with Trinket Mage (and Articifer's Intuiton once I have it). Trading Post fits in here because it does lots of fun and helpful things!
Goodstuff: Random just good cards that accentuate various synergies. Solemn will be pretty decent until I finally trade out all my basics for non-basics. Magister Sphinx allows me to reset someone who's run away with the game or gained a ton of life. Unburial Rites and Obzedat's Aid are solid recursion cards. Sun Titan gets nutty with my previous Toolbox section since so many of them are cracked to get their effect. Don't get me started on Sun Titan> Phantasmal Image shenanigans. Consecrated Sphinx just draws soooo many cards. Sphinx of the Steel Wind allows me to stonewall GR decks and is a decent beater. Duplicant is removal on top of a decent body (most of the time.) Spine of Ish Sah with Phyrexia's Core or Sharuum or clone effects are pretty boss. I was going to have an interaction section but I realized that I pulled a lot of my interactive counterspells and that Muddle and Perplex were more often being used as tutors, so I just lumped in Spell Crumple into this section.
Planeswalkers: I really wish this section was bigger, but both of these guys are good at what they do; Venser is value town with ETB's and Tezz tutors for and untaps mana rocks or wincons.
Combo Pieces: Here it is: the awesome things you can do with Sharuum. You can make people lose by life lose with Disciple or Blood Artist, exile their library with Bitter Ordeal, or be on the back up plan of infinite turns with Time Sieve. I include Myr Battlesphere here because although it's just a good beater in its own right, it makes five bodies immediately for Time Sieve.
Wishlist:
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas (great at digging, makes random things threats)
Grim Monolith (better than Basalt Monolith a lot of the time)
Open the Vaults (ALL THE RECURSION)
Articifer's Intuition (advantage outlet that's sooo much better than Trinket Mage and Compulsion)
Salvaging Station (goes really well with the tool box-y 1-drops)
Jace, the Mind Sculptor (it's Jace TMS)*
Mox Opal (amazing mana rock, easily tutorable)*
(the *'d things are things I want but probably won't get for a looong time)
So yeah, that's my list in its entirety. If there are any cards you'd like to suggest please do so, and what you would exchange them for. I appreciate any and all criticism!