Lodestone Golem is a non-bo with all of your non-artifact blue creatures: Glint-Nest Crane, Chief Engineer, Grand Architect
I've been coming close to the lists floating in this thread as a budget challenge, but here lately I've dipped into a deck idea that is very much non-budget. Has excellent matchups across the board save for Jund and Grixis where I feel like K.Comm is just a house. Will probably jam this at GP Dallas if I can manage to borrow the missing pieces:
Welcome! I like some of the observations. One thing I would recommend is adding a turn one play to your deck, preferably a blue 1-drop that provides some sort of value like Sage of Epityr or Mausoleum Wanderer. Also if you are concerned about wrath effects, Hangarback Walker and Filigree Familiar are considerable solutions.
I find Lodestone Golem to be the secretly "broken" card in the deck. I have an easier time around him by playing Aether Vial. His taxing ability is severely underestimated imho.
It feels like you're just naming random things to do with your deck. Yeah let's play cards, cards do things, things are good....
1) How does your deck do if you mulligan to a low hand size? Do all of your low impact cards provide returns in those scenarios?
2) How does your deck interact with the opponent and metagame at large? Are you thinking about what you will do to both advance your gameplan against an opponent while trying to defend yourself from their plan? Or do you defer to thinking of the opponent as a training dummy with no autonomy, so that there isn't a force which keeps your deck composition honest? Do you just want to see yourself doing sweet things without being able to envision ways an opponent can interrupt you?
3) Of your card choices, which can be intermingled in a sequence of draws to render your plan useless? (This should be close to 0)
4) What are you expecting to lose to most often, and what are you expecting to beat most often? If the former is a less prevalent archetype than the latter, how are you expecting to string along multiple wins in a tournament?
I could probably think of more deckbuilding mistakes and throw them your way in a series of probing rhetorical questions, but I'll leave with this: if you are going to suggest things, they should be effective. Solemn Simulacrum does 'things' against Wrath effects, why not play him instead of Filigree Familiar? So does Kitchen finks, while we're at it. Why not him? The key in both cases, as is with Filigree Familiar, is that youre devoting a lot for something that doesn't guarantee you victories. I'd rather play Sprouting Thrinax in this format to beat Wrath effects, would be sweet with Garruk. Also, Hangarback Walker is cold to Path, which is consistently one of the most played cards in Modern. Your anti-Wrath plan is not going to follow up to win you any games that weren't otherwise there for the taking anyway. Lodestone Golem is supposed to be taxing people if you do whatever you want, by turn three or four? That's when combo tries to win if it hasn't already. How are you beating them on your next turn if you're on the play? Is that idea spoiled by the slightest of spot removal?
I don't want to come off like a sarcastic misanthrope, but I want to emphasize that unless you crack down on the flaws in your reasons for playing cards, you will not see much success in piloting a deck other than with the flavor of your card choices. The most egregious of the aforementioned flaws is that you don't seem to be concerned with all the scenarios in which your card choices become useless, you seem too fixed on potential situations where they are actually useful. This is the mark of someone hoping for a certain draw, when in Magic you should be able to operate on most of what you're given.
This sort of (surprisingly arrogant, condescendant and unwarranted) reply from a newcomer directed to someone who has been playing the deck for longer than you even knew chief enginneer existed does NOT deserve any other answer than this: you are not trying to help, you are not constructive, you will not take advices, you probably barely played the deck and your own deck is full of flaws (you should be able to see them since you know so much). Why are you even posting here?
This sort of (surprisingly arrogant, condescendant and unwarranted) reply from a newcomer directed to someone who has been playing the deck for longer than you even knew chief enginneer existed does NOT deserve any other answer than this: you are not trying to help, you are not constructive, you will not take advices, you probably barely played the deck and your own deck is full of flaws (you should be able to see them since you know so much). Why are you even posting here?
I'm not willing to humor every off-the-wall card suggestion that anyone might pull out of a hat, as there are dozens of thousands of Magic cards in print. It's easier to deconstruct why the ones which are faulty are faulty to begin with.
That said, I am willing to talk about any potential flaws in my deck, and any suggested builds you might have. Discuss.
(Or are all you just here to stroke your ego, and can't stand to be called out when you need to be? Don't lie to yourself, I'm not here to knock anyone down a peg)
VoodooKick, I honestly think that Lodestone Golem is a very important piece of this deck and could address the wrath issue that you brought up for your list. Keep in mind I don't play the aggro control lists that you are working off of, but rather the midrange Heartless Build so not all of my insight may translate.
In my experience Lodestone Golem has been a key piece of this deck. Yes it is a nonbo with several cards, but it slows down your opponent much more than it slows down you. And in the case where I get something like a Tezz stuck in my hand, I am happy to hold off playing it for a few turns while I have the stronger and more aggressive board state (depending on the matchup) and then dropping it as soon as I can pay the tax or Lodestone gets removed. Also notably, Lodestone is generally the card that wins me most of my games. Lodestone is also 1 of the ways I rely on for "interaction" with the opponent. You mentioned taxing the opponent by turn 3 to 4 which is exactly the point. Lodestone Golem taxes the combo players to push their win conditions back at least 1 turn while also applying pressure and threating to end the game quickly. Similarly, it is effective vs wrath effects because it does come down by turn 4 and pushes wraths back at least 1 turn while you continue to beat down.
I hope that gets across my thoughts on the Golem and I would be happy to pursue this further or any of your other questions (I think they are valid questions to ask) but I don't believe my lists to be similar enough to be very helpful on this thread.
VoodooKick, I honestly think that Lodestone Golem is a very important piece of this deck and could address the wrath issue that you brought up for your list. Keep in mind I don't play the aggro control lists that you are working off of, but rather the midrange Heartless Build so not all of my insight may translate.
In my experience Lodestone Golem has been a key piece of this deck. Yes it is a nonbo with several cards, but it slows down your opponent much more than it slows down you. And in the case where I get something like a Tezz stuck in my hand, I am happy to hold off playing it for a few turns while I have the stronger and more aggressive board state (depending on the matchup) and then dropping it as soon as I can pay the tax or Lodestone gets removed. Also notably, Lodestone is generally the card that wins me most of my games. Lodestone is also 1 of the ways I rely on for "interaction" with the opponent. You mentioned taxing the opponent by turn 3 to 4 which is exactly the point. Lodestone Golem taxes the combo players to push their win conditions back at least 1 turn while also applying pressure and threating to end the game quickly. Similarly, it is effective vs wrath effects because it does come down by turn 4 and pushes wraths back at least 1 turn while you continue to beat down.
I hope that gets across my thoughts on the Golem and I would be happy to pursue this further or any of your other questions (I think they are valid questions to ask) but I don't believe my lists to be similar enough to be very helpful on this thread.
I don't have any problems in a world where the Golems can be slammed one after the other unabated. By and large, multiples would be back breaking for a lot of your likely opponents. But Modern is no such place where I see this recurring line of plays, as people usually have an answer. Like I said before, if you mull to a low hand, and your enabler is shot down, how are you powering out numerous 4CMC cards? How do you fight through discard? You are spending 4 mana at a time compared to an opponent's Path to Exile at 1W and Ancient Grudge at 2R or 1G. It hardly seems like a favorable option when you look at the odds of being able to fight through all of the opposition's answers. Can you highlight a list that breaks him, instead of just featuring him in some Magical Christmas Land scenario?
EDIT: I thought it was a 5/4 before re-inspecting it...at 5/3 it is MILES worse against the field, where you're going to see plenty of Lightning Bolts answer it for 1R. Let's not forget Kolaghan's Command is a card, as well.
As variousboots and I have been playing this deck for a few years together , I figure I can show you my list which lands lodestone golems turn 3. While lodestone is fragile, he still makes them use more resources on removing him rather which then leaves them with less resources to be removing other things such as Myr Superion. While yes all the removal options are things that we worry about, knowing something might get removed doesn't mean we shouldn't run it. Hell Goyf gets removed by several spells in the format but it doesn't mean you shouldn't run it. Lodestone golem is at the aggressive level of goyf for us as we can slam them and then copy them for 2 mana a piece with eitherHeartless summoning or Grand architect. Sure them removing it hurts but it cost them more mana and they are one less awnser away while we invested very little into the golem. I like to think of golem as our midgame plan, slowing our opponents down and forcing removal, while we set up for a Wurmcoil Engine or Batterskull which then typically will sweep the game for us.
I respect your thoughts on Golem and we can agree to disagree but please do it respectfully. Many on here this deck has been their baby for many years and based on your salvation history, you haven't been playing the deck as long. Now this doesn't mean you don't have valid points but please just remember many of us have played this deck through varying metas, times, and continue to play it for a reason. There are many gameplans for a Grand Architect Deck such as the weenie 1 drops into architect or Various boots and My Heartless version, and just because a card is great for ours doesn't mean its great for your and vice versa and I just want to remind you of that.
I don't have any problems in a world where the Golems can be slammed one after the other unabated. By and large, multiples would be back breaking for a lot of your likely opponents. But Modern is no such place where I see this recurring line of plays, as people usually have an answer. Like I said before, if you mull to a low hand, and your enabler is shot down, how are you powering out numerous 4CMC cards? How do you fight through discard? You are spending 4 mana at a time compared to an opponent's Path to Exile at 1W and Ancient Grudge at 2R or 1G. It hardly seems like a favorable option when you look at the odds of being able to fight through all of the opposition's answers. Can you highlight a list that breaks him, instead of just featuring him in some Magical Christmas Land scenario?
My list is similar to Ulka's list he posted above and I can confirm that multiple Lodestone Golems (or Metamorphed Lodestones) happen in a high percentage of games. Plenty of times you will be playing multiple in a turn and if they eat removal, then they worked as a timewalk + duress puling out a removal spell from the opponent's hand and then we get to drop either something like a wurmcoil or chain sphinxes. I don't know if you have played many games with Lodestone, but if you haven't I would recommend you try him out and see that the performance we are describing is not Magical Christmas Land scenarios (MCL scenarios are much much better than just slamming 2 Lodestones).
Also, I realize that KCommand is a card and as you pointed out in your earlier post, it is highly effective against decks of this style. I don't have much more to say on that other than its something you have to accept and be cognizant of when playing decks, like Jund, that are likely to be running it. When fighting discard, Dodecapods in the SB are great vs Lili and KCommand effects but otherwise you have to play through it just like any other combo or synergy based deck. I guess you could play Witchbane Orbs but that just seems bad...
I might add that if someone is path to exiling me when I'm trying to power out 4 cmc creatures, he's playing the game wrong and needs to go re-read the card. Do you really want to give the guy who is mana-screwed a land? I've seen Path to Exile get misplayed so much in modern it's ridiculous, and I don't even have a lot of time to go to FNM these days or modern night. I still think if I wanted to find ways to slow the game down I'd play Ethersworn Canonist alongside Authority of the Consuls and Lodestone Golem. Combine that with Chalice of the Void and now you've effectively taken the gas out of most aggro decks.
Not saying the above idea works in this deck largely because it takes too many slots, but those are some of the other options out there. I might try a pure artifact build with Foundry Inspector and Etherium Sculptor instead of Grand Architect. It might sound funny, but it feels like Wizards designed Grand Architect around the idea of Craterhoof Behemoth elfball. The card works best when you have other small blue creatures out that ramp, but unlike green, blue doesn't have any one cmc rampers. Maybe trying to add in Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and going mono-blue would help?
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
This deck is about 1 turn too slow for modern, all it has to do to win is to hold the opponent off for one turn, if that turn is them using a removale spell instead of killing us that is good for us. they spend one turn killing a lodestone then we get another into play that costs them another turn. plus metamorph can copy a out opponents as well.
With grand architect in play you can probably pay that 1 blue to get lodestone out of bolt range.
I played thoughtsieze in my sideboard, you could run inquisitions in the main, in the heartless version as interaction, again you only need to knock your opponent slightly off balance to give you time to turn on the lodestone lock.
Lodestone Golem is a non-bo with all of your non-artifact blue creatures: Glint-Nest Crane, Chief Engineer, Grand Architect
I mean, there's a reason that several people in this thread that have been playing this deck for years consider Lodestone to be MVP. It's fine to analyze and talk about things on paper if everybody is walking in unknown territory, but if you are to make claims about decks that have been tested in every kind of irrigation you better make sure that you've done plenty of testing with the cards yourself.
The non-bo you describe is marginal. Partly thanks to Vial but also because of the fact that the cards mentioned are always played out before Lodestone because they are used to power it out. Every redundant copy of the cards mentioned become slightly harder to cast, but they usually have close to 0 impact anyway and you usually have better things to do with your mana at that stage of the game.
I like your list though and I think that some of your reasoning is valid. I get that you're trying to make every card matter but by doing so you're removing some of the powerful synergies that make the deck tick. I do think you could play a Lodestone-less deck, but I don't think that you should play a list with 0 Mausoleum Wanderers. Chief Engineer is pretty underwhelming without it and the card is obnoxious with Grand Architect. Lupine Prototype is interesting since it's usually easy to Hellbent yourself. I don't know whether it's better than Ensoul Artifact, especially since you already run Darksteel Citadel and Opal.
I'll take a crack at building a grand architect deck tonight. My thoughts are ignore early artifacts and go simic to maximize the ramp while getting access to good one CMc combat tricks. The deck desperately needs that creature density to work for sure.
Private Mod Note
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
So this is my sideboard and the full deck is in the spoiler for reference but I'm really trying to figure out how to deal with the standard Modern meta. Do you guys think it hits most of the meta that we have issues with?
The toughest matchups for me are usually aggro decks (Burn) in particular and the various Tron variants.
For Tron I have Ceremonious Rejection (counters Karn, Wurmcoil, various Eldrazi, Ugin, O-stone etc), Disdainful Stroke and Crucible of Worlds.
For burn and aggro I have Elixir (can fetch with Trinket Mage).
Recall is for Affinity and sometimes works against Infect (for Inkmoth).
Silent Arbiter was there mainly for Twin, but I've left it in to deal with Merfolk, B/W Tokens etc.
Those are some differences I see in our sideboards, I think yours as is should cover most things in the meta.
Would recommend adding some disruption to the sideboard like IOK, Duress or Thoughtseize since you have access to black...
Mainboard looks great, hope you have fun and win some games!
The primary issue with this idea is using Esperzoa. It's a similar situation to using Smothering Abomination in that the card can quickly backfire against some more aggressive strategies that leave you with nothing to sacrifice or return but the creature. Because of that the lightning bolt test becomes more important to the analysis and it's also very easy to remove in modern without some kind of protection. I could have sworn there was a more controllable version of Esperzoa out there, but the only thing that sort of does what I'm thinking of is Eldrazi Displacer with a Training Grounds, and that only works on creatures. You could probably use Master Transmuter for the purpose, but that is definitely not optimal.
Maybe consider Metallurgeon as a sideboard to help against burn? Reusable artifact regeneration is an often overlooked avenue. I need to stop by the affinity thread and some other ones to see what they are packing as well. Picking strong cards is a necessity in the modern format sometimes and throwing a little money to buy up some spellskite may help your deck list a lot. Another card to get is Academy Ruins, which I had hoped would have seen a reprint in C16 but the (expletives censored for the sake of humanity) company decided brilliantly that what we really need is more useless come into play tapped lands and a partial reprint of a pain land cycle, so now we got a nice big several month period before we even know if they reprint the darn thing.
Also, as a quick update I've switched to mono-blue devotion instead of simic. Simic sounded good since there are ways to get a lot of mana out of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx in green with cards like Khalni Hydra, but in the end splitting the colors just made the entire experience watered down and it really felt like putting too many eggs in one basket, especially with Blood Moon and Ghost Quarter running amok.
What makes making this deck so hard is that when it comes right down to it, if your expected meta is going to be T1 decks I just am not finding a way to compete with them in esper artifacts. What makes those decks T1 is that they are the epitome of what they do and excel at: Dredge / Affinity are basically the paragons of fast linear aggro in many ways, and the paragon of mid-range is basically Jund with it's deck crammed full of overpriced good stuff. Then there is my all time favorite Merfolk, which tends to bend more towards aggro as it uses a glut of lords and the OP as balls Aether vial to power out threats rapidly.
The two limitations that make Grand Architect hard to work with:
1) It buffs blue creatures and needs blue creatures to get the best value, otherwise it's mana dork with an artifact limitation and buffs other creatures if they happen to be blue.
2) The card really wants to do something like artifact elf ball. If we had a few more cards that help enable this strategy and potentially a big artifact creature that does a craterhoof behemoth impression we'd be set, but the designers didn't do that so we have this odd ball lord card sitting out in the sidelines that looks amazing on paper, but just doesn't have a good home yet. So instead, we are trying to find a way to just power out a single big artifact creature that wins the game on it's own without any synergy or back up plan if that one point of failure happens to fail.
So in a nut shell, to really build a Grand Architect deck we need more ways to bring the big guys into play, and ideally ways that aren't as vulnerable to creature removal. So that leaves basically two routes in my own mind...
1) Mono-blue devotion that tries to make use of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to produce obsurd amounts of mana as plan B.
2) Mono-blue energy theme that Grand Architect slots brilliantly into and make use of Aetherworks Marvel.
3) Do both!
Thrown together really fast so I didn't have time to organize this listing...
This deck is basically all in on getting the bomb artifact of choice onto the field, so in a way it really plays a bit like tron. The primary reason I chose Inkwell Leviathan as my bomb of choice in this deck is that Spreading Seas is a really good card in a format that wants to play so many different colors, so in effect it acts as land denial and makes the leviathan effectively unblockable. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is there for the obvious reason that by turn 3 we likely will have at least 3-4 blue creatures on the board against decks that want to play their own game, but against removal heavy decks I'd greatly recommend siding it out down to two and picking a different utility land. Of course, against removal heavy decks the land is a lot less useful, but that's why we got Aetherworks Marvel and so many energy based cards. Basically, you don't really give two hicks if they blow up Energy Turtle or our durdly Minister of Inquiries. Heck, they can kill Grand Architect if they want as they can't stop Aetherworks Marvel without artifact removal at instant speed. Regardless, objective is insane amounts of mana turn 3-4 or just enough energy to fire off the marvel and pray to the seven heavens it hits. Yes, we all bow before the RNG gods.
Energy really is a broken mechanic, by the way. It's only going to take about one card that does something really insane to make the otherwise worthless energy cards good and Modern has zero ways to interact with the mechanic due to it being so insular. That and I finally got to play Commandeer against a Tron deck and took control of Karn Liberated. That was a fun moment.
Edit: Got a few more games in and am not liking Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx as much as I thought. It does help when we have at least 3 creatures down, though, and that often is pretty important when trying to get to big creature bombs. Also, the early drops are surprisingly good at slowing down some of the small creature aggro decks in modern. Not quite as good against Jund, though.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
The primary issue with this idea is using Esperzoa. It's a similar situation to using Smothering Abomination in that the card can quickly backfire against some more aggressive strategies that leave you with nothing to sacrifice or return but the creature. Because of that the lightning bolt test becomes more important to the analysis and it's also very easy to remove in modern without some kind of protection. I could have sworn there was a more controllable version of Esperzoa out there, but the only thing that sort of does what I'm thinking of is Eldrazi Displacer with a Training Grounds, and that only works on creatures. You could probably use Master Transmuter for the purpose, but that is definitely not optimal.
Maybe consider Metallurgeon as a sideboard to help against burn? Reusable artifact regeneration is an often overlooked avenue. I need to stop by the affinity thread and some other ones to see what they are packing as well. Picking strong cards is a necessity in the modern format sometimes and throwing a little money to buy up some spellskite may help your deck list a lot. Another card to get is Academy Ruins, which I had hoped would have seen a reprint in C16 but the (expletives censored for the sake of humanity) company decided brilliantly that what we really need is more useless come into play tapped lands and a partial reprint of a pain land cycle, so now we got a nice big several month period before we even know if they reprint the darn thing.
yes, i felt negative some times with esperzoa when a badluck to drawn a prisma, but do a great snowball when take the pieces. a card havent see a mention is Master of Etherium. we have some slot for he maybe ? Spellskite and academy is a old dream, will see that
So in a nut shell, to really build a Grand Architect deck we need more ways to bring the big guys into play, and ideally ways that aren't as vulnerable to creature removal. So that leaves basically two routes in my own mind...
1) Mono-blue devotion that tries to make use of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to produce obsurd amounts of mana as plan B.
2) Mono-blue energy theme that Grand Architect slots brilliantly into and make use of Aetherworks Marvel.
3) Do both!
Thrown together really fast so I didn't have time to organize this listing...
You missed Heartless Summoning on that list of options I am a firm believer in the power of the enchantment. It dodges all common removal aside from Abrupt Decay and Kolaghan's Command (yeah Jund is a rough matchup) and sure it does have a drawback, but it is fairly simple to build/play around and also provides some crazily explosive plays.
As far as your list goes, it is intriguing and worth investigating but I am hesitant. Energy does have potential to be broken but it isn't yet. As it currently stands, the mechanic forces you to play a lot of subpar cards for finicky pay off. Magic already has enough luck involved in it and I don't want to add more reliance on luck for cards like Aetherworks Marvel. I also disagree that the "all in for a bomb" is the way to go. In my opinion, one of the most powerful aspects of the Heartless and MUD Architect decks is the wide variety in possible lines of play. An aggro or midrange deck with many options is much more resilient in this unforgiving format and isn't forced to rely on 1 interaction (in this case dropping a leviathan) that doesn't immediately win the game.
So in a nut shell, to really build a Grand Architect deck we need more ways to bring the big guys into play, and ideally ways that aren't as vulnerable to creature removal. So that leaves basically two routes in my own mind...
1) Mono-blue devotion that tries to make use of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to produce obsurd amounts of mana as plan B.
2) Mono-blue energy theme that Grand Architect slots brilliantly into and make use of Aetherworks Marvel.
3) Do both!
Thrown together really fast so I didn't have time to organize this listing...
You missed Heartless Summoning on that list of options I am a firm believer in the power of the enchantment. It dodges all common removal aside from Abrupt Decay and Kolaghan's Command (yeah Jund is a rough matchup) and sure it does have a drawback, but it is fairly simple to build/play around and also provides some crazily explosive plays.
As far as your list goes, it is intriguing and worth investigating but I am hesitant. Energy does have potential to be broken but it isn't yet. As it currently stands, the mechanic forces you to play a lot of subpar cards for finicky pay off. Magic already has enough luck involved in it and I don't want to add more reliance on luck for cards like Aetherworks Marvel. I also disagree that the "all in for a bomb" is the way to go. In my opinion, one of the most powerful aspects of the Heartless and MUD Architect decks is the wide variety in possible lines of play. An aggro or midrange deck with many options is much more resilient in this unforgiving format and isn't forced to rely on 1 interaction (in this case dropping a leviathan) that doesn't immediately win the game.
The deck above doesn't rely on Aetherworks Marvel at all. It's using it as one option to get the leviathan out, but if it can't the other option is to burn the energy on card draw and scry to get Grand Architect and/or nykthos online. In the end it plays better than it looks and while the list just has leviathan at the end, it's not hard to switch things up with different cards.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Sorry for the late tournament report. So I ended placing 9th by .2 points so I was mildly salty by the end of the tournament but it gave our deck very strong publicity. This was a $1.1K tournament at a new store in the Cities in Minnesota called Lodestone Coffee and Games. So its very aptly named that Lodestone Golem was probably #1 performer in my games. The tournament had 68 players so we played 6 rounds of swiss.
I did change up my decklist right before the games and i also messed with the sidebaord prior. here is what I ran:
Game two:
I don’t remember what happened game two other than he slammed a doubling season turn 3 via dorks and then dropped a nahri, the Harbinger which ulted into an Emerkul on turn 4.
Game three:
Game three was fantastic for me. Turn 1 Serum visioned a Crane to the top and then dropped the Chalice of the Void onto the field for X=1 killing his dorks and Nissa’s oath. I then Proceeded to drop a crane to grab a lodestone. Then I dropped an architect next turn and slowly beat him down with my crane as he had plant tokens to block for days.
Game 3: He ended up mulling to 4 as he said he didn’t get lands. I proceeded to land a turn 2 Heartless Summoning into 2 Myr Superions and a Spellskite. I proceeded to land a lodestone and that secured the win.
Round 3: Grixis Delver 2-0
Game 1: So I don’t remember these games very well so I apologize. All I remember was getting a sphinx chain going via Grand Architect wrecking his insectile aberration.
Game 2: Had to mull to 4 but couldn’t deal with a turn 3 lodestone golem into metamorph copy of golem. He scooped on turn 3.
Round 5: Infect: 1-2
Game 1: He landed a forest into Glistener elf. I follow up with a visions into a 3rd land for hand and then got to put a crand and architect on top. I dropped a heartless summoning into Spellskite. He dropped a Noble Hierarch and a Inkmoth Nexus. I blocked his glistener with skite bringing him to a 0/1. Next turn I was able to drop the architect and pump out a Myr Superion. He dropped a blighted agent and hit me for 2 infect from the Inkmoth Nexus. I followed that up with a Tezzeret turning my skite into 2/2 rather than the 0/1. And I beat in for 5 which was surprising to me. I got slammed with more infect next turn putting me to 4 infect. Next turn I got to use Tezz’s +1 putting a lodestone into my hand. I dropped a heartless summoningand then landed Crane into a metamorph into 2 lodestones via the metamorph and beat in for more damage and ended taking the game from there.
Game 3: I drew all lands but my opener was 3 lands 2 skites, myr superion, and heartless summoning. He had both his nature’s claims and his Viridian corrupter to clean me out on turn 5.
Round 6: American Delver 0-2
Started with the hand of 2 lands, heartless summoning, spellskite, 1 superion and a tezzeret. I proceed watch my opponent bolt my spell skite and hit me with 3 flipped delvers while I drew no lands.
Round 2: So when I get mana screwed you’d think after shuffling Id get a decent time. Nope and ended up drawing all lands while he used 3 Path to exiles to clean out my Myr Superions and then I proceeded to just draw lands.
So I ended the tournament with 13 points with a 60% win rate and got 9th by a .2% winrate… That means I lost by one match in game 1…
Anywho my overall notes:
Glint-Nest Crane: I love this card. I think I’m going to try getting 4 in the main deck and keep 3 serum visons as I wound they both helped my consistency but I rathered seeing a glint-nest crane in my hand turn 1 than a serum visions as it allowed me to save some life or play a come into play tapped land turn 1 so I could stay on curve.
I felt that the manabase was reliable but I didn’t shuffle enough towards the end. I should have been pile shuffling between each game. The last few games were an issue with the mana base but the rest of the tourney was fantastic.
The sideboard was decent. I missed having my thorn of Amethysts for delver matchups but Chalice of the Void has been very strong replacement. I feel like I may add a 3rd Trinket Mage to the sideboard so I can search out the 1 cmc or less artifacts that clean up the opposing decks.
Weaponsmith came to me again, with a second possibility .. he do mor alone then sculptor ? the second ability maybe can have a utility when you flooded, maybe ?
After testing Ulka's U/B version, I was inspired to try my own version of a Grand Architect deck and ended up with this U/W list.This can be particullary useful in a grindy match, though the Sword of Feast and Famine has been the least impressive one...
Glint-Nest Crane has been amazing so far, whether on turn 2 or t7, it has been overperforming so far. This creature helps us to find our equipment, disruption, blocks, attacks with/without a sword, it has been almost always fantastic. I think every list can play at least 3 copies of it...
Yea, Glint-Nest Crane can do a good Stoneforge Mystic impersonation, atleast the "search" part if you run enough equipment...it definitely carries them well.
I've been trying Skeleton Key as a piece of draw equipment, could give it a try if you are looking for something to replace Sword of Feast and Famine.
A common theme of most Grand Architect decks seems to be the mana disruption via Lodestone Golem.
To expand on this theme, I added Mausleum Wanderer and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben (main reason for the white splash) to the list.
Not only do these cards disrupt, they can also help to protect the Grand Architect and also fit nicely in the curve. Mausleum Wanderer works very well with both Grand Architect and the equipments, since his power increases with both of them (excluding Mortarpod), making actually relevant in the late game (a big upgrade to Jugde's Familiar).
Thalia does not have the best synergies with the deck (non-blue creature for Grand Architect, increasing equipment mana cost), the drawbacks are not that bad, since we gain more than enough mana to cast our artifacts with our engine. So far, her disruption is effective enough to earn a spot in a U/w list, since she buys us a lot of time against very fast decks.
I mainly used the swords as equipment, since they allow our creatures to be protected from certain colors and make any creature a threat, especially the flying ones.
This can be particullary useful in a grindy match, though the Sword of Feast and Famine has been the least impressive one.
I think the swords are more playable compared to the past, where Kolaghan's Command and/or Abrupt Decay were more popular.
Batterskull has also been performing well.
Glint-Nest Crane has been amazing so far, whether on turn 2 or t7, it has been overperforming so far. This creature helps us to find our equipment, disruption, blocks, attacks with/without a sword, it has been almost always fantastic. I think every list can play at least 3 copies of it.
Myr Superion has not been added to the list, since I don't like it being stuck in my hand. I don't really like running Etherium Sculptor and using only Grand Architect and Chief Engineer as a possible mana source seems to risky for me. Even in Ulka's U/B version, it got stuck in my hand multiple times. (Though casting multiple copies on T2 with Heartless Summoning feels great)
So far, the list has been great. The matches I lost always felt winnable, or at least not completely hopeless, which motivated to write this post. Hope it can be of some use.
P.S.: During my testing, I noticed in a match against a Doran/Assault Formation deck that a U/g version can actually make good use of the enchantment, since most creatures are x/3.
Here is a quick decklist with the idea:
In the only test match against Mardu Nahiri (2-0 win), Assault Formation has been great. I would like to include Sidisi's Faithful and another Assault Formation in the list, but I don't know what to change. Maybe drop Lodestone Golem for a more aggressive approach?
Hey Gunford,
Im glad to hear you are trying this out. A couple notes I have that are more pertenant to the U/B list are with 10 sources of discounting for the Myr Superion which makes him viable. Sure he might seem to be stuck in hand at some points in the game but he makes for that lousy topdeck of a etherium Sculptor or Heartless summoning to turn into a very explosive play which can close out a game very quickly.
Im sad to see in your Assault formation list that you cut Lodestone golem. While the deck inst named after him, I feel he is the 2nd most important card after Grand Architect.
@streetmage: Thanks for the suggestion, I'll keep it mind, though I am honestly more interested in testing Smuggler's Copter.
How have been your experience with Skeleton Key?
Its been good so far in testing, its virtually Smuggler's Copter in equipment form. Its provides evasion via skulk and can be found with Trinket Mage.
I find Lodestone Golem to be the secretly "broken" card in the deck. I have an easier time around him by playing Aether Vial. His taxing ability is severely underestimated imho.
Twitch: gamerchamp
Modern: UGrand Architect, UBTezzeret Control, UBWRG Bridge From Below (Dredge)
Legacy: UWGTrue-Name Bant
1) How does your deck do if you mulligan to a low hand size? Do all of your low impact cards provide returns in those scenarios?
2) How does your deck interact with the opponent and metagame at large? Are you thinking about what you will do to both advance your gameplan against an opponent while trying to defend yourself from their plan? Or do you defer to thinking of the opponent as a training dummy with no autonomy, so that there isn't a force which keeps your deck composition honest? Do you just want to see yourself doing sweet things without being able to envision ways an opponent can interrupt you?
3) Of your card choices, which can be intermingled in a sequence of draws to render your plan useless? (This should be close to 0)
4) What are you expecting to lose to most often, and what are you expecting to beat most often? If the former is a less prevalent archetype than the latter, how are you expecting to string along multiple wins in a tournament?
I could probably think of more deckbuilding mistakes and throw them your way in a series of probing rhetorical questions, but I'll leave with this: if you are going to suggest things, they should be effective. Solemn Simulacrum does 'things' against Wrath effects, why not play him instead of Filigree Familiar? So does Kitchen finks, while we're at it. Why not him? The key in both cases, as is with Filigree Familiar, is that youre devoting a lot for something that doesn't guarantee you victories. I'd rather play Sprouting Thrinax in this format to beat Wrath effects, would be sweet with Garruk. Also, Hangarback Walker is cold to Path, which is consistently one of the most played cards in Modern. Your anti-Wrath plan is not going to follow up to win you any games that weren't otherwise there for the taking anyway. Lodestone Golem is supposed to be taxing people if you do whatever you want, by turn three or four? That's when combo tries to win if it hasn't already. How are you beating them on your next turn if you're on the play? Is that idea spoiled by the slightest of spot removal?
I don't want to come off like a sarcastic misanthrope, but I want to emphasize that unless you crack down on the flaws in your reasons for playing cards, you will not see much success in piloting a deck other than with the flavor of your card choices. The most egregious of the aforementioned flaws is that you don't seem to be concerned with all the scenarios in which your card choices become useless, you seem too fixed on potential situations where they are actually useful. This is the mark of someone hoping for a certain draw, when in Magic you should be able to operate on most of what you're given.
I'm not willing to humor every off-the-wall card suggestion that anyone might pull out of a hat, as there are dozens of thousands of Magic cards in print. It's easier to deconstruct why the ones which are faulty are faulty to begin with.
That said, I am willing to talk about any potential flaws in my deck, and any suggested builds you might have. Discuss.
(Or are all you just here to stroke your ego, and can't stand to be called out when you need to be? Don't lie to yourself, I'm not here to knock anyone down a peg)
In my experience Lodestone Golem has been a key piece of this deck. Yes it is a nonbo with several cards, but it slows down your opponent much more than it slows down you. And in the case where I get something like a Tezz stuck in my hand, I am happy to hold off playing it for a few turns while I have the stronger and more aggressive board state (depending on the matchup) and then dropping it as soon as I can pay the tax or Lodestone gets removed. Also notably, Lodestone is generally the card that wins me most of my games. Lodestone is also 1 of the ways I rely on for "interaction" with the opponent. You mentioned taxing the opponent by turn 3 to 4 which is exactly the point. Lodestone Golem taxes the combo players to push their win conditions back at least 1 turn while also applying pressure and threating to end the game quickly. Similarly, it is effective vs wrath effects because it does come down by turn 4 and pushes wraths back at least 1 turn while you continue to beat down.
I hope that gets across my thoughts on the Golem and I would be happy to pursue this further or any of your other questions (I think they are valid questions to ask) but I don't believe my lists to be similar enough to be very helpful on this thread.
I don't have any problems in a world where the Golems can be slammed one after the other unabated. By and large, multiples would be back breaking for a lot of your likely opponents. But Modern is no such place where I see this recurring line of plays, as people usually have an answer. Like I said before, if you mull to a low hand, and your enabler is shot down, how are you powering out numerous 4CMC cards? How do you fight through discard? You are spending 4 mana at a time compared to an opponent's Path to Exile at 1W and Ancient Grudge at 2R or 1G. It hardly seems like a favorable option when you look at the odds of being able to fight through all of the opposition's answers. Can you highlight a list that breaks him, instead of just featuring him in some Magical Christmas Land scenario?
EDIT: I thought it was a 5/4 before re-inspecting it...at 5/3 it is MILES worse against the field, where you're going to see plenty of Lightning Bolts answer it for 1R. Let's not forget Kolaghan's Command is a card, as well.
I respect your thoughts on Golem and we can agree to disagree but please do it respectfully. Many on here this deck has been their baby for many years and based on your salvation history, you haven't been playing the deck as long. Now this doesn't mean you don't have valid points but please just remember many of us have played this deck through varying metas, times, and continue to play it for a reason. There are many gameplans for a Grand Architect Deck such as the weenie 1 drops into architect or Various boots and My Heartless version, and just because a card is great for ours doesn't mean its great for your and vice versa and I just want to remind you of that.
2 Vedalken Shackles
Artifact Creature (19)
2 Filigree Familiar
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Myr Superion
1 Noxious Gearhulk
3 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Spellskite
1 Sphinx Summoner
2 Wurmcoil Engine
Creature (6)
2 Chief Engineer
4 Grand Architect
Enchantment (3)
3 Heartless Summoning
2 Dismember
Planeswalker (2)
2 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Sorcery (4)
4 Serum Visions
Land (22)
1 Academy Ruins
1 Darksteel Citadel
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Inventors' Fair
7 Island
4 Polluted Delta
2 Sunken Hollow
1 Swamp
3 Watery Grave
1 Basilisk Collar
2 Dodecapod
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Pithing Needle
1 Spellskite
1 Sphinx Summoner
2 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Trinket Mage
My list is similar to Ulka's list he posted above and I can confirm that multiple Lodestone Golems (or Metamorphed Lodestones) happen in a high percentage of games. Plenty of times you will be playing multiple in a turn and if they eat removal, then they worked as a timewalk + duress puling out a removal spell from the opponent's hand and then we get to drop either something like a wurmcoil or chain sphinxes. I don't know if you have played many games with Lodestone, but if you haven't I would recommend you try him out and see that the performance we are describing is not Magical Christmas Land scenarios (MCL scenarios are much much better than just slamming 2 Lodestones).
Also, I realize that KCommand is a card and as you pointed out in your earlier post, it is highly effective against decks of this style. I don't have much more to say on that other than its something you have to accept and be cognizant of when playing decks, like Jund, that are likely to be running it. When fighting discard, Dodecapods in the SB are great vs Lili and KCommand effects but otherwise you have to play through it just like any other combo or synergy based deck. I guess you could play Witchbane Orbs but that just seems bad...
Not saying the above idea works in this deck largely because it takes too many slots, but those are some of the other options out there. I might try a pure artifact build with Foundry Inspector and Etherium Sculptor instead of Grand Architect. It might sound funny, but it feels like Wizards designed Grand Architect around the idea of Craterhoof Behemoth elfball. The card works best when you have other small blue creatures out that ramp, but unlike green, blue doesn't have any one cmc rampers. Maybe trying to add in Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and going mono-blue would help?
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I play U tron, (I took my GA deck apart to play it when I obtained Tron lands), my opponent crumble to dust on Urza's Tower.. then proceeded to path to exile my threats, thought-knot seer, wurmcoil engine, until I just cast Ugin wiped his board and won.
This deck is about 1 turn too slow for modern, all it has to do to win is to hold the opponent off for one turn, if that turn is them using a removale spell instead of killing us that is good for us. they spend one turn killing a lodestone then we get another into play that costs them another turn. plus metamorph can copy a out opponents as well.
With grand architect in play you can probably pay that 1 blue to get lodestone out of bolt range.
I played thoughtsieze in my sideboard, you could run inquisitions in the main, in the heartless version as interaction, again you only need to knock your opponent slightly off balance to give you time to turn on the lodestone lock.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
I mean, there's a reason that several people in this thread that have been playing this deck for years consider Lodestone to be MVP. It's fine to analyze and talk about things on paper if everybody is walking in unknown territory, but if you are to make claims about decks that have been tested in every kind of irrigation you better make sure that you've done plenty of testing with the cards yourself.
The non-bo you describe is marginal. Partly thanks to Vial but also because of the fact that the cards mentioned are always played out before Lodestone because they are used to power it out. Every redundant copy of the cards mentioned become slightly harder to cast, but they usually have close to 0 impact anyway and you usually have better things to do with your mana at that stage of the game.
I like your list though and I think that some of your reasoning is valid. I get that you're trying to make every card matter but by doing so you're removing some of the powerful synergies that make the deck tick. I do think you could play a Lodestone-less deck, but I don't think that you should play a list with 0 Mausoleum Wanderers. Chief Engineer is pretty underwhelming without it and the card is obnoxious with Grand Architect. Lupine Prototype is interesting since it's usually easy to Hellbent yourself. I don't know whether it's better than
Ensoul Artifact, especially since you already run Darksteel Citadel and Opal.
1x Blightsteel Colossus
3x Esperzoa
3x Etherium Sculptor
2x Ethersworn Canonist
4x Grand Architect
4x Master Transmuter
1x Platinum Angel
1x Sharuum the Hegemon
1x Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1x Sphinx Summoner
2x Treasure Mage
4x Drowned Catacomb
4x Glacial Fortress
2x Inventors' Fair
6x Island
2x Plains
4x Swamp
//Instant
3x Esper Charm
//Planeswalker
2x Tezzeret the Seeker
2x Ensnaring Bridge
2x Panharmonicon
3x Prophetic Prism
1x Spine of Ish Sah
2x Thousand-Year Elixir
Try to ramp, take advantage with Esperzoa + Prophetic Prism, put de Ensnaring Bridge and take control of game.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
2 Vedalken Shackles
Artifact Creature (19)
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Myr Superion
1 Noxious Gearhulk
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
3 Spellskite
1 Sphinx Summoner
2 Wurmcoil Engine
Creature (6)
2 Chief Engineer
4 Grand Architect
Enchantment (3)
3 Heartless Summoning
Instant (2)
2 Dismember
2 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Sorcery (4)
4 Serum Visions
Land (22)
1 Academy Ruins
1 Darksteel Citadel
2 Flooded Strand
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Inventors' Fair
6 Island
3 Polluted Delta
2 Sunken Hollow
1 Swamp
3 Watery Grave
1 Chalice of the Void
2 Dodecapod
2 Filigree Familiar
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Pithing Needle
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Trinket Mage
1 Chalice of the Void
2 Dodecapod
2 Filigree Familiar
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Pithing Needle
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Trinket Mage
So this is my sideboard and the full deck is in the spoiler for reference but I'm really trying to figure out how to deal with the standard Modern meta. Do you guys think it hits most of the meta that we have issues with?
@Ulka, first, hope you do well!
Here is my sideboard below, its in constant flux btw...:
2 Filigree Familiar
1 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Spellskite
1 Spell Pierce
1 Echoing Truth
1 Silent Arbiter
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Pithing Needle
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Crucible of Worlds
The toughest matchups for me are usually aggro decks (Burn) in particular and the various Tron variants.
For Tron I have Ceremonious Rejection (counters Karn, Wurmcoil, various Eldrazi, Ugin, O-stone etc), Disdainful Stroke and Crucible of Worlds.
For burn and aggro I have Elixir (can fetch with Trinket Mage).
Recall is for Affinity and sometimes works against Infect (for Inkmoth).
Silent Arbiter was there mainly for Twin, but I've left it in to deal with Merfolk, B/W Tokens etc.
Those are some differences I see in our sideboards, I think yours as is should cover most things in the meta.
Would recommend adding some disruption to the sideboard like IOK, Duress or Thoughtseize since you have access to black...
Mainboard looks great, hope you have fun and win some games!
Twitch: gamerchamp
Modern: UGrand Architect, UBTezzeret Control, UBWRG Bridge From Below (Dredge)
Legacy: UWGTrue-Name Bant
The primary issue with this idea is using Esperzoa. It's a similar situation to using Smothering Abomination in that the card can quickly backfire against some more aggressive strategies that leave you with nothing to sacrifice or return but the creature. Because of that the lightning bolt test becomes more important to the analysis and it's also very easy to remove in modern without some kind of protection. I could have sworn there was a more controllable version of Esperzoa out there, but the only thing that sort of does what I'm thinking of is Eldrazi Displacer with a Training Grounds, and that only works on creatures. You could probably use Master Transmuter for the purpose, but that is definitely not optimal.
Maybe consider Metallurgeon as a sideboard to help against burn? Reusable artifact regeneration is an often overlooked avenue. I need to stop by the affinity thread and some other ones to see what they are packing as well. Picking strong cards is a necessity in the modern format sometimes and throwing a little money to buy up some spellskite may help your deck list a lot. Another card to get is Academy Ruins, which I had hoped would have seen a reprint in C16 but the (expletives censored for the sake of humanity) company decided brilliantly that what we really need is more useless come into play tapped lands and a partial reprint of a pain land cycle, so now we got a nice big several month period before we even know if they reprint the darn thing.
Also, as a quick update I've switched to mono-blue devotion instead of simic. Simic sounded good since there are ways to get a lot of mana out of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx in green with cards like Khalni Hydra, but in the end splitting the colors just made the entire experience watered down and it really felt like putting too many eggs in one basket, especially with Blood Moon and Ghost Quarter running amok.
What makes making this deck so hard is that when it comes right down to it, if your expected meta is going to be T1 decks I just am not finding a way to compete with them in esper artifacts. What makes those decks T1 is that they are the epitome of what they do and excel at: Dredge / Affinity are basically the paragons of fast linear aggro in many ways, and the paragon of mid-range is basically Jund with it's deck crammed full of overpriced good stuff. Then there is my all time favorite Merfolk, which tends to bend more towards aggro as it uses a glut of lords and the OP as balls Aether vial to power out threats rapidly.
The two limitations that make Grand Architect hard to work with:
1) It buffs blue creatures and needs blue creatures to get the best value, otherwise it's mana dork with an artifact limitation and buffs other creatures if they happen to be blue.
2) The card really wants to do something like artifact elf ball. If we had a few more cards that help enable this strategy and potentially a big artifact creature that does a craterhoof behemoth impression we'd be set, but the designers didn't do that so we have this odd ball lord card sitting out in the sidelines that looks amazing on paper, but just doesn't have a good home yet. So instead, we are trying to find a way to just power out a single big artifact creature that wins the game on it's own without any synergy or back up plan if that one point of failure happens to fail.
So in a nut shell, to really build a Grand Architect deck we need more ways to bring the big guys into play, and ideally ways that aren't as vulnerable to creature removal. So that leaves basically two routes in my own mind...
1) Mono-blue devotion that tries to make use of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to produce obsurd amounts of mana as plan B.
2) Mono-blue energy theme that Grand Architect slots brilliantly into and make use of Aetherworks Marvel.
3) Do both!
Thrown together really fast so I didn't have time to organize this listing...
4 Aether Hub
4 Aether Meltdown
4 Aether Theorist
4 Aetherworks Marvel
2 Era of Innovation
2 Glassblower's Puzzleknot
4 Grand Architect
2 Hedron Archive
3 Inkwell Leviathan
2 Inventors' Fair
14 Island
2 Minister of Inquiries
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Spreading Seas
4 Thriving Turtle
This deck is basically all in on getting the bomb artifact of choice onto the field, so in a way it really plays a bit like tron. The primary reason I chose Inkwell Leviathan as my bomb of choice in this deck is that Spreading Seas is a really good card in a format that wants to play so many different colors, so in effect it acts as land denial and makes the leviathan effectively unblockable. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is there for the obvious reason that by turn 3 we likely will have at least 3-4 blue creatures on the board against decks that want to play their own game, but against removal heavy decks I'd greatly recommend siding it out down to two and picking a different utility land. Of course, against removal heavy decks the land is a lot less useful, but that's why we got Aetherworks Marvel and so many energy based cards. Basically, you don't really give two hicks if they blow up Energy Turtle or our durdly Minister of Inquiries. Heck, they can kill Grand Architect if they want as they can't stop Aetherworks Marvel without artifact removal at instant speed. Regardless, objective is insane amounts of mana turn 3-4 or just enough energy to fire off the marvel and pray to the seven heavens it hits. Yes, we all bow before the RNG gods.
Energy really is a broken mechanic, by the way. It's only going to take about one card that does something really insane to make the otherwise worthless energy cards good and Modern has zero ways to interact with the mechanic due to it being so insular. That and I finally got to play Commandeer against a Tron deck and took control of Karn Liberated. That was a fun moment.
Edit: Got a few more games in and am not liking Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx as much as I thought. It does help when we have at least 3 creatures down, though, and that often is pretty important when trying to get to big creature bombs. Also, the early drops are surprisingly good at slowing down some of the small creature aggro decks in modern. Not quite as good against Jund, though.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
yes, i felt negative some times with esperzoa when a badluck to drawn a prisma, but do a great snowball when take the pieces. a card havent see a mention is Master of Etherium. we have some slot for he maybe ? Spellskite and academy is a old dream, will see that
You missed Heartless Summoning on that list of options I am a firm believer in the power of the enchantment. It dodges all common removal aside from Abrupt Decay and Kolaghan's Command (yeah Jund is a rough matchup) and sure it does have a drawback, but it is fairly simple to build/play around and also provides some crazily explosive plays.
As far as your list goes, it is intriguing and worth investigating but I am hesitant. Energy does have potential to be broken but it isn't yet. As it currently stands, the mechanic forces you to play a lot of subpar cards for finicky pay off. Magic already has enough luck involved in it and I don't want to add more reliance on luck for cards like Aetherworks Marvel. I also disagree that the "all in for a bomb" is the way to go. In my opinion, one of the most powerful aspects of the Heartless and MUD Architect decks is the wide variety in possible lines of play. An aggro or midrange deck with many options is much more resilient in this unforgiving format and isn't forced to rely on 1 interaction (in this case dropping a leviathan) that doesn't immediately win the game.
The deck above doesn't rely on Aetherworks Marvel at all. It's using it as one option to get the leviathan out, but if it can't the other option is to burn the energy on card draw and scry to get Grand Architect and/or nykthos online. In the end it plays better than it looks and while the list just has leviathan at the end, it's not hard to switch things up with different cards.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I did change up my decklist right before the games and i also messed with the sidebaord prior. here is what I ran:
3 Etherium Sculptor
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Myr Superion
1 Noxious Gearhulk
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
3 Spellskite
1 Sphinx Summoner
2 Wurmcoil Engine
Creature (6)
2 Glint-Nest Crane
4 Grand Architect
Enchantment (3)
3 Heartless Summoning
Instant (2)
2 Dismember
2 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Sorcery (3)
3 Serum Visions
Land (22)
1 Academy Ruins
1 Darksteel Citadel
2 Flooded Strand
3 Ghost Quarter
1 Hallowed Fountain
5 Island
3 Polluted Delta
2 Sunken Hollow
1 Swamp
3 Watery Grave
1 Chalice of the Void
2 Dodecapod
1 Elixir of Immortality
2 Filigree Familiar
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Pithing Needle
2 Trinket Mage
2 Vedalken Shackles
Round 1: Naya (Bant?) Walkers 2-1
Game one:
So the first few turns were him spamming Arbor elf, Noble Hierarch, and Birds of paradise while I just got my colors by turn 2 and dropped a Glint-nest Crane. The crane ended up hitting a Lodestone. I then on turn 3 slammed Grand Architect followed by a Lodestone Golem . Next turn he landed Tamiyo, field Researcher and started to beat in with a 3/3 Arbor elf that drew him cards when it hit. I finally landed 2 more lodestones via Phyrexian metamorphs and then took the game from there.
Game two:
I don’t remember what happened game two other than he slammed a doubling season turn 3 via dorks and then dropped a nahri, the Harbinger which ulted into an Emerkul on turn 4.
Game three:
Game three was fantastic for me. Turn 1 Serum visioned a Crane to the top and then dropped the Chalice of the Void onto the field for X=1 killing his dorks and Nissa’s oath. I then Proceeded to drop a crane to grab a lodestone. Then I dropped an architect next turn and slowly beat him down with my crane as he had plant tokens to block for days.
Round 2: Eldrazi Death and Taxes 2-1
Game one: As I am typing this up I remember losing this game to the fact he landed an Aether vial turn one and a Eldrazi Displacer turn 2 which lead to a Path to exile to clean Myr superion of the field leaving only my Grand Architect which ate a Wasteland Stranger . He proceeded to just overvalue me to defeat.
Game 2: What I can say about this game was Phyrexian metamorphing both his Thought-knot seer and his Flickerwisp I proceeded to turn them blue and wreck the opposing originals. I then just wrecked in with a Wurmcoil Engine.
Game 3: He ended up mulling to 4 as he said he didn’t get lands. I proceeded to land a turn 2 Heartless Summoning into 2 Myr Superions and a Spellskite. I proceeded to land a lodestone and that secured the win.
Round 3: Grixis Delver 2-0
Game 1: So I don’t remember these games very well so I apologize. All I remember was getting a sphinx chain going via Grand Architect wrecking his insectile aberration.
Game 2: So I landed a turn 2 Chalice for 1 after he dropped 2 Delver of secrets and Gitaxian Probed. I then landed a turn 3 Grand Architect into a Myr superion. I slowed his grind with the delvers and proceeded to win via beating with the myr and the 5/5 Darksteel citadel via a tezzeret, agent of bolas’s -1.
Round 4: Dredge 2-0
Game 1: a very typical turn 2 Glint-nest Crane facing down a Narcomeba and Prized Amalgam. I proceeded to block the narc and took 3. But then turn 3 landed a Heartless Summoning and a Myr Superion. The dredge player wiffed on a Cathartic Reunion with dredging a Life from the Loam and a Golgari-Grave troll . I then dropped a Wurmcoil engine and then took the game very quickly from there.
Game 2: Had to mull to 4 but couldn’t deal with a turn 3 lodestone golem into metamorph copy of golem. He scooped on turn 3.
Round 5: Infect: 1-2
Game 1: He landed a forest into Glistener elf. I follow up with a visions into a 3rd land for hand and then got to put a crand and architect on top. I dropped a heartless summoning into Spellskite. He dropped a Noble Hierarch and a Inkmoth Nexus. I blocked his glistener with skite bringing him to a 0/1. Next turn I was able to drop the architect and pump out a Myr Superion. He dropped a blighted agent and hit me for 2 infect from the Inkmoth Nexus. I followed that up with a Tezzeret turning my skite into 2/2 rather than the 0/1. And I beat in for 5 which was surprising to me. I got slammed with more infect next turn putting me to 4 infect. Next turn I got to use Tezz’s +1 putting a lodestone into my hand. I dropped a heartless summoningand then landed Crane into a metamorph into 2 lodestones via the metamorph and beat in for more damage and ended taking the game from there.
Game 2: the infect player landed a turn 1 glissener and slammed my for 1 infect before I land my Grand Architect into spellskite. He Nature’s Claimed the skite and then used the mutagenic growth into become immense on the turn 2 Blighted agent to clean up game 2.
Game 3: I drew all lands but my opener was 3 lands 2 skites, myr superion, and heartless summoning. He had both his nature’s claims and his Viridian corrupter to clean me out on turn 5.
Round 6: American Delver 0-2
Started with the hand of 2 lands, heartless summoning, spellskite, 1 superion and a tezzeret. I proceed watch my opponent bolt my spell skite and hit me with 3 flipped delvers while I drew no lands.
Round 2: So when I get mana screwed you’d think after shuffling Id get a decent time. Nope and ended up drawing all lands while he used 3 Path to exiles to clean out my Myr Superions and then I proceeded to just draw lands.
So I ended the tournament with 13 points with a 60% win rate and got 9th by a .2% winrate… That means I lost by one match in game 1…
Anywho my overall notes:
Glint-Nest Crane: I love this card. I think I’m going to try getting 4 in the main deck and keep 3 serum visons as I wound they both helped my consistency but I rathered seeing a glint-nest crane in my hand turn 1 than a serum visions as it allowed me to save some life or play a come into play tapped land turn 1 so I could stay on curve.
I felt that the manabase was reliable but I didn’t shuffle enough towards the end. I should have been pile shuffling between each game. The last few games were an issue with the mana base but the rest of the tourney was fantastic.
The sideboard was decent. I missed having my thorn of Amethysts for delver matchups but Chalice of the Void has been very strong replacement. I feel like I may add a 3rd Trinket Mage to the sideboard so I can search out the 1 cmc or less artifacts that clean up the opposing decks.
3x Spellskite
1x Blightsteel Colossus
3x Etherium Sculptor
2x Ethersworn Canonist
4x Grand Architect
4x Master Transmuter
1x Platinum Angel
1x Sharuum the Hegemon
1x Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1x Wurmcoil Engine
3x Treasure Mage
3x Glint-Nest Crane
3x Esper Charm
Lands
4x Drowned Catacomb
4x Glacial Fortress
2x Inventors' Fair
6x Island
2x Plains
4x Swamp
Planeswalker
1x Tezzeret, Agent of bolas
1x Tezzeret the Seeker
3x Lightning Greaves
2x Ensnaring Bridge
1x Spine of Ish Sah
And more doubts came to me:
Renowned Weaponsmith vs Etherium Sculptor vs Mind Stone
Weaponsmith came to me again, with a second possibility .. he do mor alone then sculptor ? the second ability maybe can have a utility when you flooded, maybe ?
twisted my mind.
and Harsh Scrutiny, considering few drop 1.
I've been trying Skeleton Key as a piece of draw equipment, could give it a try if you are looking for something to replace Sword of Feast and Famine.
Twitch: gamerchamp
Modern: UGrand Architect, UBTezzeret Control, UBWRG Bridge From Below (Dredge)
Legacy: UWGTrue-Name Bant
Hey Gunford,
Im glad to hear you are trying this out. A couple notes I have that are more pertenant to the U/B list are with 10 sources of discounting for the Myr Superion which makes him viable. Sure he might seem to be stuck in hand at some points in the game but he makes for that lousy topdeck of a etherium Sculptor or Heartless summoning to turn into a very explosive play which can close out a game very quickly.
Im sad to see in your Assault formation list that you cut Lodestone golem. While the deck inst named after him, I feel he is the 2nd most important card after Grand Architect.
If you were to keep white and blue a few cards that might help are Ethersworn canonist and Glassdust Hulk.
Twitch: gamerchamp
Modern: UGrand Architect, UBTezzeret Control, UBWRG Bridge From Below (Dredge)
Legacy: UWGTrue-Name Bant