My artifact deck has been fluid since the day I built it, working in new combos and fun tricks. It started out as a Sen Triplets deck, but was flawed against red/green deck loving opponents. I attempted to rebuild it as an Arcum Dagsson tinker deck, but I didn't have the better combo cards at the time. Lastly it became a Sydri, Galvanic Genius deck, but it lost a lot of its finesse.
Introducing my Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy deck, a hybrid of multiple common artifact playstyles interwoven into one. Is it perfect? Oh god no! It's vulnerable to control, but it is unpredictable, wacky and fun. It has multiple potential wincons, tonnes of card interactions and combos, and plays a different game every time. If you want a one-dimensional, combo-tutoring artifact deck with consistent gameplay, try Sharuum because this is not the deck for you.
Here's a brief rundown of each playstyle:
Tinker
Tinker is a broken, nasty, filthy card, hiding in dark alleyways and luring unsuspecting victims in with promises of candy and combos. And as a more conditional Tinker on legs, Arcum Dagsson can be almost as cruel.
The concept of tinkering is taking something seemingly ordinary and making it extraordinary. Besides Arcum there are a few other notable tinkeresque cards in this deck, including Goblin Welder, Master Transmuter and Kuldotha Forgemaster. As with other artifact decks, tinkering in this deck is primarily about sacrificing artifact token fodder, and manufacturing monolithic obelisks of power such as Darksteel Forge and Planar Portal. Try not to get too attached to the myrs, thopters and golems, they are merely another resource.
Tailoring is the art of making fine clothes, so that one might alter their appearance or hide their shame. Obviously I haven't filled the deck with cards that actually make clothes, so I'll be stretching the definition a little with this one.
Thanks to trees, Reaper King can now also forcibly strip search opponents with the horrendously broken Rite of Replication interaction. Don't particularly think I would want a sentient reaper as a tailor.
Soldier
Everyone loves combat, that's what magic is all about these days right? Turning creatures sideways? Well this is not an aggro artifacts deck, and it is relatively weak on offense. Combat is generally defensive, but can benefit from the likes of Sharding Sphinx.
Now, what would an army be without artillery firing from the background? Well, to that effect we have salvos from Lux Cannon, Legacy Weapon and Reaper King. After all, get that b*tch a cannon, b*tches love cannons.
Spy
Oh, you have a sneaky combo you're setting up over there? Just tutored a wincon into your hand? It would be a pity if someone were to... steal it!
My thought with rush of knowledge is it draws you 10 with your general out. rite of replication targeting reaper king well give you 25 vindicate triggers. Also goblin welder would probably do week here.
After some extensive playtesting over the past few days, I've made some major changes to the deck. The primary change was to remove a lot of the offensive cards in favour of combo cards. The deck was already slow, and generally unsuited for aggro-friendly cards. None-the-less, an army of tokens with Jor Kadeen at the helm is nothing to sneeze at, and can still be used as a potential wincon.
Possessed Portal -> Ugin's Nexus: Enables a LOT of infinite turn combos. Who cares about your opponents permanents if it's never their turn. Power Artifact -> Blasting Station: Needed another wincon, just in case. Power Artifact is an amazing card, but it underperforms in this particular deck. Plains -> Defense Grid: Wanted some counterspell protection while setting up combos. Grand Abolisher is inarguably better, but Defense Grid is easier to find/hide/protect/resurrect in this deck. Play tested with/without the plains, and it didn't feel like a loss to swap it out.
Also added a list of as many infinite combos as I could identify in this deck. There are likely to be a lot more.
I ******* love this thank you for posting this I will be building some weird ass version of it, I keep forgetting that Reaper is a an artifact and machine strategies are my favorite and my mono blue Jin artifacts was getting stale.
My artifact deck has been fluid since the day I built it, working in new combos and fun tricks. It started out as a Sen Triplets deck, but was flawed against red/green deck loving opponents. I attempted to rebuild it as an Arcum Dagsson tinker deck, but I didn't have the better combo cards at the time. Lastly it became a Sydri, Galvanic Genius deck, but it lost a lot of its finesse.
Introducing my Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy deck, a hybrid of multiple common artifact playstyles interwoven into one. Is it perfect? Oh god no! It's vulnerable to control, but it is unpredictable, wacky and fun. It has multiple potential wincons, tonnes of card interactions and combos, and plays a different game every time. If you want a one-dimensional, combo-tutoring artifact deck with consistent gameplay, try Sharuum because this is not the deck for you.
Here's a brief rundown of each playstyle:
Tinker
Tinker is a broken, nasty, filthy card, hiding in dark alleyways and luring unsuspecting victims in with promises of candy and combos. And as a more conditional Tinker on legs, Arcum Dagsson can be almost as cruel.
The concept of tinkering is taking something seemingly ordinary and making it extraordinary. Besides Arcum there are a few other notable tinkeresque cards in this deck, including Goblin Welder, Master Transmuter and Kuldotha Forgemaster. As with other artifact decks, tinkering in this deck is primarily about sacrificing artifact token fodder, and manufacturing monolithic obelisks of power such as Darksteel Forge and Planar Portal. Try not to get too attached to the myrs, thopters and golems, they are merely another resource.
Arcum Dagsson is probably the most consistent path to victory in this deck, capable to summoning protection (e.g. Mycosynth Lattice + Darksteel Forge) and combo pieces (e.g. Thopter Foundry + Sword of the Meek).
Tailor
Tailoring is the art of making fine clothes, so that one might alter their appearance or hide their shame. Obviously I haven't filled the deck with cards that actually make clothes, so I'll be stretching the definition a little with this one.
In this deck, "clothes" are used to alter the appearance of permanents. Notable costumes include Mycosynth Lattice, Xenograft and Conspiracy. This allows the tailors to work their magic, Scarecrone and Reaper King. Even Memnarch and Liquimetal Coating can dress up permanents.
Thanks to trees, Reaper King can now also forcibly strip search opponents with the horrendously broken Rite of Replication interaction. Don't particularly think I would want a sentient reaper as a tailor.
Soldier
Everyone loves combat, that's what magic is all about these days right? Turning creatures sideways? Well this is not an aggro artifacts deck, and it is relatively weak on offense. Combat is generally defensive, but can benefit from the likes of Sharding Sphinx.
In this deck, Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer is our military expert. Notable battle-hardened lieutenants amongst the throng of myrs, thopters and golems include Thopter Assembly and Master of Etherium, with buffs provided by Steel Overseer
Now, what would an army be without artillery firing from the background? Well, to that effect we have salvos from Lux Cannon, Legacy Weapon and Reaper King. After all, get that b*tch a cannon, b*tches love cannons.
Spy
Oh, you have a sneaky combo you're setting up over there? Just tutored a wincon into your hand? It would be a pity if someone were to... steal it!
The resident spies in this deck are the illustrious Sen Triplets, significantly more potent in a 5-colour deck, Memnarch, which interacts nicely with Mycosynth Lattice, and Hellkite Tyrant, who doubles as an alternate wincon. Notable mentions to Muzzio, Visionary Architect, Tezzeret and Tezzeret, who will happily spy on your own deck for you.
As a note here, Muzzio is wickedly powerful, especially in a deck that frequently has a 10CMC Reaper King out. Pair it with Rings of Brighthearth, Sensei's Divining Top and Scroll Rack for hilarious fun.
10 Reaper King
Tinkers
1 Goblin Welder
3 Master Transmuter
4 Arcum Dagsson
4 Daretti, Scrap Savant
5 Kuldotha Forgemaster
Tailors
2 Liquimetal Coating
3 Adaptive Automaton
6 Mycosynth Lattice
7 Memnarch
Soldiers
2 Steel Overseer
3 Master of Etherium
5 Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer
6 Sharding Sphinx
Spies
4 Muzzio, Visionary Architect
5 Sen Triplets
6 Hellkite Tyrant
Utility Creatures
2 Reckless Fireweaver
2 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Metalworker
4 Voltaic Construct
6 Duplicant
Planeswalkers
3 Saheeli Rai
3 Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast
4 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
5 Tezzeret the Seeker
Tailor/Utility Enchantments
2 Cryptolith Rite
3 Aura Shards
5 Xenograft
5 Conspiracy
Card Draw
1 Skullclamp
3 Vedalken Archmage
3 Scarecrone
4 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
1 Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter
2 Thopter Foundry
3 Master Trinketeer
4 Riptide Replicator
4 Thopter Spy Network
5 Thopter Assembly
Mana Rocks
0 Mox Opal
1 Sol Ring
3 Basalt Monolith
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Coalition Relic
4 Thran Dynamo
Utility Artifacts
1 Voltaic Key
2 Sword of the Meek
2 Time Sieve
2 Blade of Selves
3 Blasting Station
3 Staff of Domination
3 Semblance Anvil
3 Rings of Brighthearth
3 Mimic Vat
4 Nevinyrral's Disk
4 Lux Cannon
4 Unwinding Clock
4 Prototype Portal
4 Krark-Clan Ironworks
4 Panharmonicon
6 Planar Portal
7 Legacy Weapon
9 Darksteel Forge
Sorceries
3 Fabricate
4 Rite of Replication
5 Scrap Mastery
1 Command Tower
1 Temple of the False God
1 Ancient Den
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Vault of Whispers
1 Great Furnace
1 Tree of Tales
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Academy Ruins
1 Inventors' Fair
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Glimmervoid
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Rupture Spire
1 Mirrodin's Core
1 Grand Coliseum
1 City of Brass
1 Crystal Quarry
1 Urza's Factory
1 Arcane Lighthouse
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Arcane Sanctum
1 Mystic Monastery
1 Opulent Palace
1 Frontier Bivouac
1 Crumbling Necropolis
1 Seaside Citadel
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Seachrome Coast
1 Spirebluff Canal
1 Swiftwater Cliffs
1 Island
Combos
Infinite Mana:
Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth
Metalworker + Voltaic Construct (2 Artifacts in hand)
Metalworker + Rings of Brighthearth + Voltaic Key (2 Artifacts in hand)
Metalworker + Staff of Domination (3 Artifacts in hand)
Infinite Mana + Tokens + Life:
Thopter Foundry + Sword of the Meek + Krark-Clan Ironworks
Infinite Artifact and/or Creature Untaps:
Any Infinite Mana Combo + Voltaic Key/Voltaic Construct/Staff of Domination
+ Planar Portal = Infinite Tutor
+ Lux Cannon = Infinite Destroy Permanent
+ Steel Overseer = Infinite +1/+1 Counters
+ Scarecrone = Infinite Artifact Resurrection
+ Riptide Replicator = Infinite X/X Creature Tokens (Usually Colourless Scarecrow)
+ Mimic Vat = Infinite Creature Tokens
+ Prototype Portal = Infinite Artifacts
+ Mox Opal/Chromatic Lantern/Coalition Relic/Coloured Artifact Lands = Infinite Mana of any Colour
+ Land of Any Colour + Mycosynth Lattice = Infinite Mana of any Colour
Infinite Turns (excluding mana upkeep costs):
Time Sieve + Thopter Assembly (or any Mass/Infinite Token Generator)
Infinite Tinkers:
Arcum Dagsson(Library)/Goblin Welder(Graveyard) + Staff of Domination + Any Infinite Mana Combo + Any Infinite Token Combo
Kuldotha Forgemaster(Library) + Voltaic Construct + Any Infinite Mana Combo + Any Infinite Token Combo
Infinite Damage:
Blasting Station + Any Infinite Creature Token Combo
Reckless Fireweaver + Any Infinite Artifact Token Combo
Infinite Board Wipe:
Mycosynth Lattice + Darksteel Forge + Nevinyrral's Disk + Any Infinite Untap Combo + Any Infinite Mana Combo (Or even just Unwinding Clock and an artifact land for a wipe every turn)
Infinite Life + Creature Untap + Creature Tap + Draw:
Staff of Domination + Any Infinite Mana Combo
Infinite Draw:
Skull Clamp + Any Infinite Mana Combo + Any Infinite 1/1 or 0/1 Token Combo
Infinite Destroy Permanent:
Reaper King + Xenograft/Conspiracy + Any Infinite Creature Token Combo
Reaper King + Riptide Replicator + Any Infinite Mana Combo + Any Infinite Artifact Untap Combo
Legacy Weapon + Infinite Mana of each Colour (see above)
And there are many more that come up during play.
RRRSlobad, Goblin TinkererRRR
GUBSnapcaster GushBUG
GUBWRx5c ShopsxGUBWR
I'd definitely consider finding a slot for Rite of Replication again, especially after I just thought of a hilarious combo with it and Karn or Sydri.
Rush of Knowledge isn't a terrible card, but it doesn't scream out for a slot in this deck I don't think.
RRRSlobad, Goblin TinkererRRR
GUBSnapcaster GushBUG
GUBWRx5c ShopsxGUBWR
Replaced:
Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer -> Krark-Clan Ironworks: Slobad is better for aggro, Ironworks for combo.
Broodstar -> Planar Portal: Extra tutor. Very sad to cut Broodstar, one of my favourite cards.
Phyrexian Metamorph -> Mimic Vat: Repeatable token generation is better in this deck.
Tempered Steel -> Ensnaring Bridge: Switch from offense to defense.
Bottled Cloister -> Deal Broker: Can fuel graveyard for recursion, as well as drawing.
Golem Foundry -> Nuisance Engine: Interacts with Skullclamp.
Conversion Chamber -> Thopter Foundry: Infinite combo.
Parallel Lives -> Sword of the Meek: Infinite combo.
Mana Vault -> Thran Dynamo: This deck prefers reliable mana over quick ramp.
Blinkmoth Urn -> Solemn Simulacrum: Needed more card draw and mana fixing.
Illusionist’s Bracers -> Voltaic Key: More interactions are possible with the Key.
Energy Chamber -> Coretapper: This should be an obvious upgrade.
Liquimetal Coating -> Grinding Station: Infinite combo.
Sculpting Steel -> Rite of Replication: Destroy 25 permanents with Reaper King. That's hot.
Bow of Nylea -> Exotic Orchard: Offense disarmament.
Smokestack -> Magistrate's Scepter: Combo with Coretapper and Mimic Vat.
Mirrorworks -> Staff of Domination: Versatile mana dump, can go infinite.
Beacon of Unrest -> Goblin Welder: Repeatable recursion.
Urza’s Tower -> Tolaria West: Tutor for another land, or Mox Opal.
Urza’s Powerplant -> Mishra's Factory: Sac-able artifact in a pinch.
Urza’s Mine -> Kher Keep: Interacts with Skullclamp.
Vault of the Archangel -> Springjack Pasture: Interacts with Trading Post and Skullclamp.
Eiganjo Castle -> Phyrexia's Core: Additional sac enabler.
Shizo, Death’s Storehouse -> Inkmoth Nexus: Sac-able artifact in a pinch, interacts with Skullclamp.
Power Artifact -> Blasting Station: Needed another wincon, just in case. Power Artifact is an amazing card, but it underperforms in this particular deck.
Plains -> Defense Grid: Wanted some counterspell protection while setting up combos. Grand Abolisher is inarguably better, but Defense Grid is easier to find/hide/protect/resurrect in this deck. Play tested with/without the plains, and it didn't feel like a loss to swap it out.
Also added a list of as many infinite combos as I could identify in this deck. There are likely to be a lot more.