Cool, we can talk about MBS now! I know most players panned Shape Anew as a janky Polymorph, and perhaps they're still right. But now we have access to a sick target: Blightsteel Colossus. Now, I think that a W/U control deck would be a good place to start, and the combo doesn't require many pieces. Basically, one would cast Trinket Mage, search for some 0-drop, and sac it next turn with Shape Anew, essentially tutoring for the only other artifact in the deck, Blightsteel Colossus. I considered this before Besieged, but there simply wasn't a juicy enough target in Standard - Wurmcoil is a beast, but will not end the game for you when you attack. Colossus probably will. Here's a rough go at the list:
I included the Sunblast Angel/Sleep combo as a supporting strategy, but maybe that's too cute to be competitive. Maybe Jace the Mind Flayer in for Preordains? I hate him, but if you want to be competitive in today's Standard... :/ At any rate, I'm sure I've botched the W/U framework horribly, but does anyone think this could work?
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Standard GOverwhelming StompyG RUKiln ThiefUR WUGideon ControlUW BBSkinrender AggroBB RGLiquimetal Control (in development)GR
Cool, we can talk about MBS now! I know most players panned Shape Anew as a janky Polymorph, and perhaps they're still right. But now we have access to a sick target: Blightsteel Colossus. Now, I think that a W/U control deck would be a good place to start, and the combo doesn't require many pieces. Basically, one would cast Trinket Mage, search for some 0-drop, and sac it next turn with Shape Anew, essentially tutoring for the only other artifact in the deck, Blightsteel Colossus. I considered this before Besieged, but there simply wasn't a juicy enough target in Standard - Wurmcoil is a beast, but will not end the game for you when you attack. Colossus probably will. Here's a rough go at the list:
I included the Sunblast Angel/Sleep combo as a supporting strategy, but maybe that's too cute to be competitive. Maybe Jace the Mind Flayer in for Preordains? I hate him, but if you want to be competitive in today's Standard... :/ At any rate, I'm sure I've botched the W/U framework horribly, but does anyone think this could work?
Jace, the Mind Sculptor bounces the colossus, so no it won't work as you have your list set up now. If you put in Jace Beleren, and stick it before you Shape Anew something, then you've got a chance. But then there's still Into the Roil.
Also, I know you have 4 Trinket Mages to find the Everflowing Chalice, but I would rather have 0 chance of getting something other than the colossus if that's how I'm planning on winning.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor bounces the colossus, so no it won't work as you have your list set up now. If you put in Jace Beleren, and stick it before you Shape Anew something, then you've got a chance. But then there's still Into the Roil.
Also, I know you have 4 Trinket Mages to find the Everflowing Chalice, but I would rather have 0 chance of getting something other than the colossus if that's how I'm planning on winning.
Trinket Maging for something is a fine way to get an artifact, but if cast shape anew when you haven't pulled all your cheep artifacts you run the risk of missing. To run this deck, you need to treat it like a combo deck, just like polymorph and protect the combo. I would start with something like this. Lots of ways to stall and dig for your combo pieces. You are not going to kill with damage very often so you could cut the colonnades for some other land if need be. Would really be nice to have 1-2 more artifact sources, but there are not great options at the moment.
Trinket Maging for something is a fine way to get an artifact, but if cast shape anew when you haven't pulled all your cheep artifacts you run the risk of missing. To run this deck, you need to treat it like a combo deck, just like polymorph and protect the combo. I would start with something like this. Lots of ways to stall and dig for your combo pieces. You are not going to kill with damage very often so you could cut the colonnades for some other land if need be. Would really be nice to have 1-2 more artifact sources, but there are not great options at the moment.
Dread Statuary seems much worse than Inkmoth nexus.
Also, if they "Memoricide naming Blightsteel Colossus" you lose the game. Trinket Mage fetches for your Darksteel Axe, which is a 1 or 2-of, and it also taps for 2 with Grand Architect to simply hard-cast a Blightsteel (Or a turn 3 Wurmcoil Engine).
@mdilthey
As with most combo decks, you would use your side board to diversify your treat base. This is a valid strategy since there are very few decks running main deck memoricide and likely even fewer during the first few weeks of the rotation. If combo becomes popular and people react by adding memoricide to the main, then the finisher suite would have to change. That is called metagaming. To take the point further, as I said, when playing a deck like this you must protect the combo, so playing around cards like memoricide using your counter spells.
Statuary is a 9th shape anew target (after the 4 nexus and the 4 Master's call in the list). Careful reading leads to fewer silly comments. Statuary is not a good target but many control games go until 8 mana are in play, so it is not an irrelevant one either. As I said in the post, the deck would be better with a few more good targets like Master's call, but they aren't available at the moment so a statuary is the best thing available.
As for the axe... I said it about trinket mage targets, Phyrexian Doughnought backed me up on it. You really don't want to have your combo miss. It is hard enough to set up already.
Cards I do think are reasonable to discuss are ones like Sea gate oracle. I like them because they are a body against aggro which will be a tough matchup, but See Beyond is a very good card for this type of deck and might be a better choice for that slot. Also cards like Phyrexian Rebirth could be good since it is a sweeper and makes an artifact token. It is expensive but a card worth considering.
If people run Memoricide in the main, I will laugh at them and accept my free match wins. This isn't Kamigawa Block Constructed, and that card isn't good.
It's entirely possible to side out the entire Shape Anew combo and bring in a new strategy. In a UB Shape Anew deck, for example, you could:
-4 Shape Anew, -1 Blightsteel
+4 Grave Titan, + other cards
If you build your deck with a control base -- counters, discard, draw, etc. -- you now function like a regular UB control deck against an opponent bringing in anti-artifact hate cards.
2 Blightsteel Colossus
4 Trinket Mage
3 Sunblast Angel
4 Wall of Omens
3 Sea Gate Oracle
3 Sleep
1 Everflowing Chalice
3 Mana Leak
3 Negate
2 Spell Pierce
4 Preordain
2 Seachrome Coast
2 Celestial Colonnade
I included the Sunblast Angel/Sleep combo as a supporting strategy, but maybe that's too cute to be competitive. Maybe Jace the Mind Flayer in for Preordains? I hate him, but if you want to be competitive in today's Standard... :/ At any rate, I'm sure I've botched the W/U framework horribly, but does anyone think this could work?
Standard
GOverwhelming StompyG
RUKiln ThiefUR
WUGideon ControlUW
BBSkinrender AggroBB
RGLiquimetal Control (in development)GR
Extended
WUBEsper AggroBUW
Jace, the Mind Sculptor bounces the colossus, so no it won't work as you have your list set up now. If you put in Jace Beleren, and stick it before you Shape Anew something, then you've got a chance. But then there's still Into the Roil.
Also, I know you have 4 Trinket Mages to find the Everflowing Chalice, but I would rather have 0 chance of getting something other than the colossus if that's how I'm planning on winning.
And Unsummon, Brittle Effigy, Condemn, Journey to Nowhere, Memoricide, Sadistic Sacarment, Vensor, Aether Adept, Kor Hookmaster, Frost Titan, and other infect creatures and spells, as well as Annihalaitor. I know this looks promising but he's not as good as one might think, U/W and U/B may have you beat. Nevertheless good luck, I know some who are considering this deck while I'm sceming on how to rip it to shreads.
2x Blightsteel Colossus
1x Myr Battlesphere
3x Wurmcoil Engine
4x Grand Architect
4x Augury Owl
4x Trinket Mage
Other:
4x Shape Anew
2x Time Reversal
2x Darksteel Axe
4x Journey to Nowhere
3x Master's Call
3x Elspeth Tirel
Land:
4x Inkmoth nexus
4x Celestial Colonnade
4x Glacial Fortress
4x Seachrome Coast
2x Tectonic Edge
4x Island
2x Halimar Depths
1x Platinum Emperion
4x Spell Pierce
2x Mindbreak Trap
4x Spreading Seas
1x Darksteel Plate
3x Luminarch Ascension
There's also a neat Proliferate deck that tables Blightsteels at a slightly slower rate, but with many more win conditions:
4x Grand Architect
4x Augury Owl
4x Trinket Mage
2x Treasure Mage
2x Blightsteel Colossus
3x Wurmcoil Engine
2x Lighthouse Chronologist
Other:
4x Everflowing Chalice
2x Contagion Clasp
1x Contagion Engine
4x Stoic Rebuttal
4x Jace Beleren
Land:
4x Inkmoth Nexus
2x Tectonic Edge
3x Halimar Depths
15x Island
1x Platinum Emperion
1x Stormtide Leviathin
4x Spreading Seas
4x Turn Aside
2x Negate
3x Lux Cannon
2 Blightsteel Colossus
2 Sea Gate Oracle
4 Wall of Omens
Spells (27)
4 Shape Anew
3 Mana Leak
4 Spell Pierce
4 Preordain
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Master's Call
4 spreading seas
4 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Celestial Colonnade
1 arid mesa
2 scalding tarn
1 Dread Statuary
3 island
2 plains
Edit: Had 62 cards by accident. Now corrected
Dread Statuary seems much worse than Inkmoth nexus.
Also, if they "Memoricide naming Blightsteel Colossus" you lose the game. Trinket Mage fetches for your Darksteel Axe, which is a 1 or 2-of, and it also taps for 2 with Grand Architect to simply hard-cast a Blightsteel (Or a turn 3 Wurmcoil Engine).
Controlling your "cascade" is the key to "breaking" cards like this and Polymorph.
Edit: Oh, hey, Modern is a format.
As with most combo decks, you would use your side board to diversify your treat base. This is a valid strategy since there are very few decks running main deck memoricide and likely even fewer during the first few weeks of the rotation. If combo becomes popular and people react by adding memoricide to the main, then the finisher suite would have to change. That is called metagaming. To take the point further, as I said, when playing a deck like this you must protect the combo, so playing around cards like memoricide using your counter spells.
Statuary is a 9th shape anew target (after the 4 nexus and the 4 Master's call in the list). Careful reading leads to fewer silly comments. Statuary is not a good target but many control games go until 8 mana are in play, so it is not an irrelevant one either. As I said in the post, the deck would be better with a few more good targets like Master's call, but they aren't available at the moment so a statuary is the best thing available.
As for the axe... I said it about trinket mage targets, Phyrexian Doughnought backed me up on it. You really don't want to have your combo miss. It is hard enough to set up already.
Cards I do think are reasonable to discuss are ones like Sea gate oracle. I like them because they are a body against aggro which will be a tough matchup, but See Beyond is a very good card for this type of deck and might be a better choice for that slot. Also cards like Phyrexian Rebirth could be good since it is a sweeper and makes an artifact token. It is expensive but a card worth considering.
Sideboards exist, and using them is "tech".
It's entirely possible to side out the entire Shape Anew combo and bring in a new strategy. In a UB Shape Anew deck, for example, you could:
-4 Shape Anew, -1 Blightsteel
+4 Grave Titan, + other cards
If you build your deck with a control base -- counters, discard, draw, etc. -- you now function like a regular UB control deck against an opponent bringing in anti-artifact hate cards.
Edit: Oh, hey, Modern is a format.