I wasn't able to find any posts about an Affinity list that was piloted at a local event a month ago. The list looks really solid to me, and he finished 3rd as well.
To me, it looks like he integrated the new powerfull cards from SoM very well. Any thoughts?
My list is essentially the same with the following changes:
-4 Arcbound Worker
-1 Frogmite
+1 Disciple of the Vault
+1 Ornithopter
+2 Galvanic Blast
+1 Springleaf Drum
If you're going to run DoTV, it's 4 or none. Blasts should be 4 ofs as well. 22 Mana sources (3 Mox, 3 Drum, 16 land). 4 Thopters are essential since they are our only evasive beaters.
So this is the list me and my friend want to run at the next legacy event, it runs really well. what changes would you make if any?
Another question for you guys is with the sideboard were thinking of running what would you take out for game 2? Everything just seems so good in this deck.
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Disciple of the Vault
4 Arcbound Ravager
3 Master of Etherium
4 Frogmite
4 Mox Opal
3 Springleaf Drum
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Thoughtcast
2 Shrapnel Blast
4 Cranial Plating
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Ancient Den
So this is the list me and my friend want to run at the next legacy event, it runs really well. what changes would you make if any?
Another question for you guys is with the sideboard were thinking of running what would you take out for game 2? Everything just seems so good in this deck.
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Disciple of the Vault
4 Arcbound Ravager
3 Master of Etherium
4 Frogmite
4 Mox Opal
3 Springleaf Drum
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Thoughtcast
2 Shrapnel Blast
4 Cranial Plating
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Ancient Den
this list is beautiful. some critiques, though not many.
2 etched champion seems strange, you are not running enough for the the post board games to really matter because ur never gonna hit them. if you want to run them in the board (which is a good idea, they are not good enough to run main but work wonders against zoo and the like) then try to fit 3 or 4 in.
you gy hate setup is beautiful as well, dredge cant board against that.
you may also want to mainboard an ethersworn cannonist, but thats not that big a deal.
So this is the list me and my friend want to run at the next legacy event, it runs really well. what changes would you make if any?
Another question for you guys is with the sideboard were thinking of running what would you take out for game 2? Everything just seems so good in this deck.
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Disciple of the Vault
4 Arcbound Ravager
3 Master of Etherium
4 Frogmite
4 Mox Opal
3 Springleaf Drum
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Thoughtcast
2 Shrapnel Blast
4 Cranial Plating
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Ancient Den
I still regard 4 opal as too many. Even with sac outlets you want opal early before you get the outlets and then multiples are dead. I would sooner run the 4th drum or something like darksteel citadel which is wastelands proof. Even with the acceleration you do want to lay a land every single turn. Your also rocking like 3 colors so a singleton glimmervoid could be good as well, which will also help you with your white sideboard cards.
As for the SB, i think that the 2/1/1 split for GY hate might be a bit much. I would just pick the 2 that work best and go 2/2 instead. For you i would think it would be crypt and spellbomb.
Not sure I like the 2 etched either. In matches where they come into the main deck, 2 is not enough to get them reliably. Either you should go up to at least 3 and drop something, or go with more perish. Perish is great for the zoo/rock/evagreen match up and I kinda think engineered plague would server you better against fish and goblins than etched. So were it my call i would probably go:
And i think main decking one Pithing needle might not be the wrong play either. at the worse it ravager fodder that is free mana for your affinity spells which can come out after boarding. Its not so hard in legacy to see 1 turn from your opponent and know exactly what card to call with needle, and your opponent is not going to expect one maindeck.
I'm a fan of 15 land 4 moxen and 4 drums personally; maybe 16 land but it comes to preference. I see no need to slow ourselves down with vial the card is glacially slow compared to drum and mox. You ALWAYS want a mox in your opening hand which is why you run 4; the card can make you explode not to mention it colorfixes like a champion and late game with a disciple onboard can read 0 sack this and the mox in play to shock the opponent or give ravager some counters. Vialing in MoE at the end of turn 4 is late game and not likely to matter much. Vial is used in merfolk and goblins because they typically don't win on turn 3 or turn 4 so they can abuse it more because both decks are aggro control with the occasional turn 3 win from goblins and merfolk can win at the earliest on turn 4.
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7) It isn't redundant in multiples. Ravager can eat them, allowing you to cast extra copies from your hand, sometimes even generating extra mana for you to abuse. At it's worse, you can cast a copy to destroy another one with the Legendary rule to deal two damage with Disciple.
Have been playtesting a lot today, and would have to say from personal experience that an opening hand having 2 Opals, 1 artifact land, and a ravager is usually ok. Just feed an opal to ravager, cast 2nd opal and use the mana it produces to cast something useful (galvanic blast for example).
I agree that this is a very good list, in fact I think it's close to the optimal list that can be played at the moment. The only thing I would do is add some Myr Enforcers over Shrapnel Blast. Galvanic is enough burn imo.
The sb is also okay, but I'd also try to fit one or two additional Champions. 4 pieces of grave hate is okay, but you don't have to split that much. Just run what you consider best. The times when dredge ran Needles to battle grave hate are far gone, now they'll have Ancient Grudges. And those don't care how much you split.
myr enforcer isnt good any more. including him means you are not including other cards that are arguably better. having 4 galvanic blasts and 2 shrapnel blasts seems to be the agreed upon optimal list. take this recent top 8 decklist for example. '
Enforcer not good anymore? Has MTGS finally gone insane? People are talking about cutting Ravager, Disciple, Ornithopter, Thoughtcast, Frogmite (yeah, I started that...sorry), and Myr Enforcer. Seriously?
It's a FREE 4/4 artifact, which also gets the boost from Master. It survives bolt, and is often big enough early enough to go through opposing goyfs. And even in the late-game, they can't just ignore a 4/4.
myr enforcer isnt good any more. including him means you are not including other cards that are arguably better. having 4 galvanic blasts and 2 shrapnel blasts seems to be the agreed upon optimal list. take this recent top 8 decklist for example. '
Another can of worms already opened and spilled. If ravager talk wasn't distracting enough past few days.
By the way What happened to all the talk about making a variant that used tempered steel?
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Another can of worms already opened and spilled. If ravager talk wasn't distracting enough past few days.
By the way What happened to all the talk about making a variant that used tempered steel?
Isn't it far too slow and mana intensive for the deck? I'd much rather play Master Of Etherium as a 3 CC spell, which is far easier to cast and gives me affinity bonus anyway.
Isn't it far too slow and mana intensive for the deck? I'd much rather play Master Of Etherium as a 3 CC spell, which is far easier to cast and gives me affinity bonus anyway.
tempered steel requires its own build of affinity, quite different from the regular "fast affinity" variant. i've yet to see an optimal list for it though.
null rods unfortunately one of those cards you run into that just shuts every artifact ability down including the mana producers. Hopefully you can play around by swarming with creatures, but unfortunately it shuts the artifact lands down so not spell support.
If your playing black version hope cabal therapy hits it.
really it if comes down turn 2 your screwed in a lot of ways.
If you know its comming in the match up maybe make the meta call to put in extracts.
board glimmervoids so you have some mana to use thats not compremised.
blue white for meddling mage maybe?
those are some possibilities. hard to say anything is going to be able to stop a null rod used on us.
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null rod is an exceptionally bad card for this deck, even more so than shattering spree. it's not really that good against the rest of the field though and affinity isn't dominant enough in legacy so you won't see it in tournaments and such. if worse comes to worse, you can board in nature's claim to deal with it early.
if he ran into null rod I'm speculating it was a reanimator match up?
least thats the last deck I knew that was sideboarding null rod for the purpose of shutting down artifact grave hate. (less vengevine players wised up and got in on the null rod act!)
I was thinking natures claim as well but the issue is null rod isn't a legal target until its on the field by then you can't tap mox, or artifact lands for green mana. If the opponent using it has half a brain they will wait till we tap out mana sources before dropping the rod.
By then its too late.
running some non artifact mana sources would be a good idea if its a problem in your meta.
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im not really worried about it, i didnt spend a cent making the deck, minus the null rod situation it plays pretty well, and glimmervoid is a good plan plus perhaps some other non artifact sources along with it. i play with just a couple friends, a meta of less then 10 decks and i was building a sb for my b/r goblins, saw null rod and threw it in not realizing it totally destroys affinity.
all things considered, could the deck not go more controllish with meddling mage as suggested, you're rarely going to face diverse hate an i could see an application for him once you get a read on the opponent or particularly in my case where i know all my opponents. M.M. naming FoW, Stifle,Null Rod,Shattering spree, rack and ruin. hell vs dredge you can go dread return. i THINK you can get him off turn one. also, i know MoE is good, but he's my first look as to what to cut. if i thought i could fit FoW in here i'd think twice but since i doubt theres that much space, i wonder if i can drop him. maybe mage as a sb card? i dunno.
Don't overlook the power of Spell Snare, it's cheap and will annihilate a lot of threats imposed on Affinity like Kataki, War's Wage as well as Null Rod.
EDIT:
Come to think of it, I just really don't like your list much. Memnite is unnecessary here. Memnite doesn't add much to the deck and really, you're going to get shut down by a lot of metagame choices, a 0 costed 1/1 doesn't really stand up to Frogmite, which is essentially a 0 costed 2/2, which is more Affinity's par.
If you're going aggro Ravager Affinity, which it looks like you are, then you should be running Disciple of the Vault because your numbers will never add up fast enough with your provided list. Try running an Ancient Tomb or two to help drop Master of Etherium and/or Cranial Plating on turn 2.
Fatal Frenzy sucked in Affinity, but Berserk doesn't. If you wanted to be real evil, how about running Shrapnel Blast to make it more aggro? But that's not the evil part, the evil part with the extra red you're running is to run Blood Moon. Seems like a bad idea to reduce yourself to red mana, right? Well the artifact lands may become mountains, but they're still artifact lands, which add to Affinity, ravager, master of etherium, etc. And helps screw over your opponent.
Then again, I would also like to take this time to point out that you should run fewer Ravagers. How often is Ravager the clincher? If he is, then add Disciples of the Vault, but if he isn't (which I've found to the be the case a lot) he works counter-intuitively against your Galvanic Blasts, Mox Opals, Platings and Master of Etherium, which all are great kills. Why would you put so much stock in a chump like him? Running 2 or 3 is ok, but 4 is way too redundant for something that doesn't really pave your way to victory. I realize he has uses in the deck, but you have to admit, he doesn't really do what you hope he will.
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Don't overlook the power of Spell Snare, it's cheap and will annihilate a lot of threats imposed on Affinity like Kataki, War's Wage as well as Null Rod.
EDIT:
Come to think of it, I just really don't like your list much. Memnite is unnecessary here. Memnite doesn't add much to the deck and really, you're going to get shut down by a lot of metagame choices, a 0 costed 1/1 doesn't really stand up to Frogmite, which is essentially a 0 costed 2/2, which is more Affinity's par.
If you're going aggro Ravager Affinity, which it looks like you are, then you should be running Disciple of the Vault because your numbers will never add up fast enough with your provided list. Try running an Ancient Tomb or two to help drop Master of Etherium and/or Cranial Plating on turn 2.
Fatal Frenzy sucked in Affinity, but Berserk doesn't. If you wanted to be real evil, how about running Shrapnel Blast to make it more aggro? But that's not the evil part, the evil part with the extra red you're running is to run Blood Moon. Seems like a bad idea to reduce yourself to red mana, right? Well the artifact lands may become mountains, but they're still artifact lands, which add to Affinity, ravager, master of etherium, etc. And helps screw over your opponent.
Then again, I would also like to take this time to point out that you should run fewer Ravagers. How often is Ravager the clincher? If he is, then add Disciples of the Vault, but if he isn't (which I've found to the be the case a lot) he works counter-intuitively against your Galvanic Blasts, Mox Opals, Platings and Master of Etherium, which all are great kills. Why would you put so much stock in a chump like him? Running 2 or 3 is ok, but 4 is way too redundant for something that doesn't really pave your way to victory. I realize he has uses in the deck, but you have to admit, he doesn't really do what you hope he will.
spell snare is gnarly. i disagree on everything else. ravager is what makes the deck tick, period. id sooner drop MoE then rav.
i could see dropping memnite for phyrexian walker though.
Come to think of it, I just really don't like your list much. Memnite is unnecessary here. Memnite doesn't add much to the deck and really, you're going to get shut down by a lot of metagame choices, a 0 costed 1/1 doesn't really stand up to Frogmite, which is essentially a 0 costed 2/2, which is more Affinity's par.
memnite is a staple for this deck now as much as anything. it replaced arcbound worker which was a 1/1 that wasn't free. the point of memnite in affinity isn't its body. the point is that it is a free artifact that can ping on an empty board even without a plating (unlike thopter) and that it can help enable metalcraft/frogmite on turn 1.
If you're going aggro Ravager Affinity, which it looks like you are, then you should be running Disciple of the Vault because your numbers will never add up fast enough with your provided list. Try running an Ancient Tomb or two to help drop Master of Etherium and/or Cranial Plating on turn 2.
while i don't disagree with running DotV, running ancient tomb is a different matter. it isn't an artifact, doesn't help with the color requirements of the deck, and plainly isn't needed. since mox opal and memnite came out, a ravager or plating on turn 1 isn't uncommon. there's no need to run a card with little synergy with the rest of the deck for that.
Then again, I would also like to take this time to point out that you should run fewer Ravagers. How often is Ravager the clincher? If he is, then add Disciples of the Vault, but if he isn't (which I've found to the be the case a lot) he works counter-intuitively against your Galvanic Blasts, Mox Opals, Platings and Master of Etherium, which all are great kills. Why would you put so much stock in a chump like him? Running 2 or 3 is ok, but 4 is way too redundant for something that doesn't really pave your way to victory. I realize he has uses in the deck, but you have to admit, he doesn't really do what you hope he will.
i'm really at a loss for words on how to answer this nicely. ravager is a staple in RAVAGER affinity. MoE and plating are just alternate win conditions to spread the kill conditions around. metalcraft isn't even a concern because this deck runs 40-50 artifacts. the way you described it also tells me that you don't know how to use ravager properly, else you wouldn't be viewing it as a hindrance to the rest of the deck. ravager is an even greater threat in multiples. he is a 4 of in affinity, no questions asked.
Would like to fit in diabolic edict to handle progenitus and friends, but my Sideboard can't lose any cards. I have toyed around with the idea of Berserk, I think I might try it out sometime.
For mana artifacts, I find 3x Mox and 3x Drum is the sweet spot.
Noone should ever even THINK about cutting myr enforcer. Ravager Affinity is the house that Myr Enforcer built for Ravager, enforcer eats merfolk all day and can kill or block Tarmogoyf (if he cant kill it, then side in relic of progenitus :D).
Some oddities you may see in my list:
MD Canonist - I run a 52 Artifact build, canonist provides a tempo advantage against decks that could have a faster clock than me (NO Elves, Goblins, etc.)
Path To Exile - Any matchup where my enforcer cannot take out their creatures I will generally board in path. Path is the way to go (instead of Swords to Plowshares) because the lifegain from swords is counter productive in any creature standoff situation.
Nature's Claim - Null rod, Survival of the Fittest, Humility, take your pick.
Disciple of the Vault - I have chosen to replace Disciple with Galvanic blast. I will admit that Disciple can win games, he can create pressure, and many other wonderful things. My problem with Disciple is the fact that he is not a consistent winner. Galvanic blast will always do what you want it to do, and it does it does it efficiently and at instant speed.
A question for the thinktank: Stoneforge Mystic... 8 copies of cranial plating? For games where I am being disrupted, my ravagers, MOE's and Enforcers being ripped to shreds I always am wanting a cranial plating so that my thoptor or memnite can swing in for the kill. I have thought about removing galvanic blast and tossing in 3 stoneforge and a jitte. In any aggro matchup that I face, I will usually be able to replace any of my mans that fall in battle while still killing theres. However, if they have a jitte on the field it can really cheese battles in their direction. Running a jitte MD would A) offer me a very solid late game force (if and when we get there) and B) it offers me a maindeck answer to a common threat that hoses me badly.
Just an idea, what do you guys think of a stoneforge package in affinity?
I cannot go back to Disciple. I can't play a card that is focused on me losing creatures rather than gaining them, it goes against the will of the rest of the deck (though I can and will admit, Disciple is a great card). It goes from a waste of mana to a bomb once we get a ravager out, but until then it is a completely idle threat.
You should not build an aggro deck around a card that is based on LOSING board position.
It is like planning a blitz in football (american) but assigning half your guys to cover recievers. It is a conflict of interest that has, until now, made sense.
Unless you are making the gamewinning kill, sacrificing things to ravager (and disciple in turn) is a LOSS OF BOARD PRESENCE. Ravager is scarily susceptible to removal, and placing all of those cards into one or two pieces on the board is terrible strategy, because your opponents 1for1 removal spell suddenly becomes a 5for1.
The only times I will ever put anything into a ravager are:
when said artifact is on its way to the grave
when Ravager is/has lethal damage on it
as a combat trick to destroy blockers otherwise impossible to destroy
You should never sacrifice things to ravager for no reason, even if you have no cards in hand and the opponent has no blockers.
A question for the thinktank: Stoneforge Mystic... 8 copies of cranial plating? For games where I am being disrupted, my ravagers, MOE's and Enforcers being ripped to shreds I always am wanting a cranial plating so that my thoptor or memnite can swing in for the kill. I have thought about removing galvanic blast and tossing in 3 stoneforge and a jitte. In any aggro matchup that I face, I will usually be able to replace any of my mans that fall in battle while still killing theres. However, if they have a jitte on the field it can really cheese battles in their direction. Running a jitte MD would A) offer me a very solid late game force (if and when we get there) and B) it offers me a maindeck answer to a common threat that hoses me badly.
Just an idea, what do you guys think of a stoneforge package in affinity?
My deck has 3 Disciples, and I took them out to get 3 Mystics in.
Still in the process of testing it. So far, it's been effective against decks which rely on countering spells like Merfolk. If I resolve the mystic, they can't counter the plating anymore.
Before discussing the fact that Stoneforge is not an artifact and only a 1/2 for 2 mana, which slows us down considerably, I think it will suffice to consider the following:
If we see Mystic as our Platings number 5-8, which I think is appropriate, we have to ask ourselves if we would actually want to play 8 Platings if we could. Personally, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't. 4 Equipments is the right number, I don't think we could run 8. So the question about Stoneforge Mystic is kind of unnecessary imo.
I do agree about the slow down. But I only own 3 platings, so I'm trying if 3 mystics will be good.
Will probably cut down to 1 mystic if she slows down the deck too much.
14-18 lands
3-4 Mox Opals
3-4 Springleaf Drums
0-4 AEther Vials
There's no way you can run all of these at their max values.
I am thinking a split of 3-3-2 between Vials, Opals, and Drums, and staying at 16-17 lands.
My list is essentially the same with the following changes:
-4 Arcbound Worker
-1 Frogmite
+1 Disciple of the Vault
+1 Ornithopter
+2 Galvanic Blast
+1 Springleaf Drum
If you're going to run DoTV, it's 4 or none. Blasts should be 4 ofs as well. 22 Mana sources (3 Mox, 3 Drum, 16 land). 4 Thopters are essential since they are our only evasive beaters.
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Another question for you guys is with the sideboard were thinking of running what would you take out for game 2? Everything just seems so good in this deck.
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Disciple of the Vault
4 Arcbound Ravager
3 Master of Etherium
4 Frogmite
4 Mox Opal
3 Springleaf Drum
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Thoughtcast
2 Shrapnel Blast
4 Cranial Plating
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Ancient Den
4 Ethersworn Cannonist
2 Perish
3 Pithing Needle
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Etched Champion
this list is beautiful. some critiques, though not many.
2 etched champion seems strange, you are not running enough for the the post board games to really matter because ur never gonna hit them. if you want to run them in the board (which is a good idea, they are not good enough to run main but work wonders against zoo and the like) then try to fit 3 or 4 in.
you gy hate setup is beautiful as well, dredge cant board against that.
you may also want to mainboard an ethersworn cannonist, but thats not that big a deal.
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I still regard 4 opal as too many. Even with sac outlets you want opal early before you get the outlets and then multiples are dead. I would sooner run the 4th drum or something like darksteel citadel which is wastelands proof. Even with the acceleration you do want to lay a land every single turn. Your also rocking like 3 colors so a singleton glimmervoid could be good as well, which will also help you with your white sideboard cards.
As for the SB, i think that the 2/1/1 split for GY hate might be a bit much. I would just pick the 2 that work best and go 2/2 instead. For you i would think it would be crypt and spellbomb.
Not sure I like the 2 etched either. In matches where they come into the main deck, 2 is not enough to get them reliably. Either you should go up to at least 3 and drop something, or go with more perish. Perish is great for the zoo/rock/evagreen match up and I kinda think engineered plague would server you better against fish and goblins than etched. So were it my call i would probably go:
3 Ethersworn cannonist
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Pithing Needle
3 Perish
3 Engineered Plague
And i think main decking one Pithing needle might not be the wrong play either. at the worse it ravager fodder that is free mana for your affinity spells which can come out after boarding. Its not so hard in legacy to see 1 turn from your opponent and know exactly what card to call with needle, and your opponent is not going to expect one maindeck.
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Have been playtesting a lot today, and would have to say from personal experience that an opening hand having 2 Opals, 1 artifact land, and a ravager is usually ok. Just feed an opal to ravager, cast 2nd opal and use the mana it produces to cast something useful (galvanic blast for example).
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myr enforcer isnt good any more. including him means you are not including other cards that are arguably better. having 4 galvanic blasts and 2 shrapnel blasts seems to be the agreed upon optimal list. take this recent top 8 decklist for example. '
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It's a FREE 4/4 artifact, which also gets the boost from Master. It survives bolt, and is often big enough early enough to go through opposing goyfs. And even in the late-game, they can't just ignore a 4/4.
this was already discussed quite lengthily a few pages back. enforcer is a staple as a 3 of at the very least.
By the way What happened to all the talk about making a variant that used tempered steel?
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Isn't it far too slow and mana intensive for the deck? I'd much rather play Master Of Etherium as a 3 CC spell, which is far easier to cast and gives me affinity bonus anyway.
tempered steel requires its own build of affinity, quite different from the regular "fast affinity" variant. i've yet to see an optimal list for it though.
If your playing black version hope cabal therapy hits it.
really it if comes down turn 2 your screwed in a lot of ways.
If you know its comming in the match up maybe make the meta call to put in extracts.
board glimmervoids so you have some mana to use thats not compremised.
blue white for meddling mage maybe?
those are some possibilities. hard to say anything is going to be able to stop a null rod used on us.
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least thats the last deck I knew that was sideboarding null rod for the purpose of shutting down artifact grave hate.
(less vengevine players wised up and got in on the null rod act!)
I was thinking natures claim as well but the issue is null rod isn't a legal target until its on the field by then you can't tap mox, or artifact lands for green mana. If the opponent using it has half a brain they will wait till we tap out mana sources before dropping the rod.
By then its too late.
running some non artifact mana sources would be a good idea if its a problem in your meta.
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all things considered, could the deck not go more controllish with meddling mage as suggested, you're rarely going to face diverse hate an i could see an application for him once you get a read on the opponent or particularly in my case where i know all my opponents. M.M. naming FoW, Stifle,Null Rod,Shattering spree, rack and ruin. hell vs dredge you can go dread return. i THINK you can get him off turn one. also, i know MoE is good, but he's my first look as to what to cut. if i thought i could fit FoW in here i'd think twice but since i doubt theres that much space, i wonder if i can drop him. maybe mage as a sb card? i dunno.
EDIT:
Come to think of it, I just really don't like your list much. Memnite is unnecessary here. Memnite doesn't add much to the deck and really, you're going to get shut down by a lot of metagame choices, a 0 costed 1/1 doesn't really stand up to Frogmite, which is essentially a 0 costed 2/2, which is more Affinity's par.
If you're going aggro Ravager Affinity, which it looks like you are, then you should be running Disciple of the Vault because your numbers will never add up fast enough with your provided list. Try running an Ancient Tomb or two to help drop Master of Etherium and/or Cranial Plating on turn 2.
Fatal Frenzy sucked in Affinity, but Berserk doesn't. If you wanted to be real evil, how about running Shrapnel Blast to make it more aggro? But that's not the evil part, the evil part with the extra red you're running is to run Blood Moon. Seems like a bad idea to reduce yourself to red mana, right? Well the artifact lands may become mountains, but they're still artifact lands, which add to Affinity, ravager, master of etherium, etc. And helps screw over your opponent.
Then again, I would also like to take this time to point out that you should run fewer Ravagers. How often is Ravager the clincher? If he is, then add Disciples of the Vault, but if he isn't (which I've found to the be the case a lot) he works counter-intuitively against your Galvanic Blasts, Mox Opals, Platings and Master of Etherium, which all are great kills. Why would you put so much stock in a chump like him? Running 2 or 3 is ok, but 4 is way too redundant for something that doesn't really pave your way to victory. I realize he has uses in the deck, but you have to admit, he doesn't really do what you hope he will.
B Infect
BW Death & Taxes
UBR Affinity
R Burn
UBR Sac Land Tendrils
UBRG Oops, All Spells
WUG Phelddagrif
GGG Omnath, Locus of Mana
BBB Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed
RRR Ashling, the Pilgrim
BBW Teysa, Scion of Orzhov
UUU Talrand, Sky Summoner
UUB Vela the Night-Clad
GGB Vhati il-Dal
RUW Ruhan of the Fomori
spell snare is gnarly. i disagree on everything else. ravager is what makes the deck tick, period. id sooner drop MoE then rav.
i could see dropping memnite for phyrexian walker though.
memnite is a staple for this deck now as much as anything. it replaced arcbound worker which was a 1/1 that wasn't free. the point of memnite in affinity isn't its body. the point is that it is a free artifact that can ping on an empty board even without a plating (unlike thopter) and that it can help enable metalcraft/frogmite on turn 1.
while i don't disagree with running DotV, running ancient tomb is a different matter. it isn't an artifact, doesn't help with the color requirements of the deck, and plainly isn't needed. since mox opal and memnite came out, a ravager or plating on turn 1 isn't uncommon. there's no need to run a card with little synergy with the rest of the deck for that.
i'm really at a loss for words on how to answer this nicely. ravager is a staple in RAVAGER affinity. MoE and plating are just alternate win conditions to spread the kill conditions around. metalcraft isn't even a concern because this deck runs 40-50 artifacts. the way you described it also tells me that you don't know how to use ravager properly, else you wouldn't be viewing it as a hindrance to the rest of the deck. ravager is an even greater threat in multiples. he is a 4 of in affinity, no questions asked.
4x Great Furnace
4x Ancient Den
4x Seat of the Synod
4x Tree of Tales
3x Mox Opal
3x Springleaf Drum
//Creatures:
4x Arcbound Ravager
4x Master of Etherium
4x Frogmite
4x Ornithopter
4x Memnite
4x Myr Enforcer
2x Ethersworn Canonist
4x Cranial Plating
4x Thoughtcast
4x Galvanic Blast
2x Ethersworn Cannonist
3x Pithing Needle
3x Nature's Claim
3x Path to Exile
4x Relic of Progenitus
Would like to fit in diabolic edict to handle progenitus and friends, but my Sideboard can't lose any cards. I have toyed around with the idea of Berserk, I think I might try it out sometime.
For mana artifacts, I find 3x Mox and 3x Drum is the sweet spot.
Noone should ever even THINK about cutting myr enforcer. Ravager Affinity is the house that Myr Enforcer built for Ravager, enforcer eats merfolk all day and can kill or block Tarmogoyf (if he cant kill it, then side in relic of progenitus :D).
Some oddities you may see in my list:
MD Canonist - I run a 52 Artifact build, canonist provides a tempo advantage against decks that could have a faster clock than me (NO Elves, Goblins, etc.)
Path To Exile - Any matchup where my enforcer cannot take out their creatures I will generally board in path. Path is the way to go (instead of Swords to Plowshares) because the lifegain from swords is counter productive in any creature standoff situation.
Nature's Claim - Null rod, Survival of the Fittest, Humility, take your pick.
Disciple of the Vault - I have chosen to replace Disciple with Galvanic blast. I will admit that Disciple can win games, he can create pressure, and many other wonderful things. My problem with Disciple is the fact that he is not a consistent winner. Galvanic blast will always do what you want it to do, and it does it does it efficiently and at instant speed.
A question for the thinktank: Stoneforge Mystic... 8 copies of cranial plating? For games where I am being disrupted, my ravagers, MOE's and Enforcers being ripped to shreds I always am wanting a cranial plating so that my thoptor or memnite can swing in for the kill. I have thought about removing galvanic blast and tossing in 3 stoneforge and a jitte. In any aggro matchup that I face, I will usually be able to replace any of my mans that fall in battle while still killing theres. However, if they have a jitte on the field it can really cheese battles in their direction. Running a jitte MD would A) offer me a very solid late game force (if and when we get there) and B) it offers me a maindeck answer to a common threat that hoses me badly.
Just an idea, what do you guys think of a stoneforge package in affinity?
You should not build an aggro deck around a card that is based on LOSING board position.
It is like planning a blitz in football (american) but assigning half your guys to cover recievers. It is a conflict of interest that has, until now, made sense.
Unless you are making the gamewinning kill, sacrificing things to ravager (and disciple in turn) is a LOSS OF BOARD PRESENCE. Ravager is scarily susceptible to removal, and placing all of those cards into one or two pieces on the board is terrible strategy, because your opponents 1for1 removal spell suddenly becomes a 5for1.
The only times I will ever put anything into a ravager are:
when said artifact is on its way to the grave
when Ravager is/has lethal damage on it
as a combat trick to destroy blockers otherwise impossible to destroy
You should never sacrifice things to ravager for no reason, even if you have no cards in hand and the opponent has no blockers.
Anyways, I will write about Canonist later.
My deck has 3 Disciples, and I took them out to get 3 Mystics in.
Still in the process of testing it. So far, it's been effective against decks which rely on countering spells like Merfolk. If I resolve the mystic, they can't counter the plating anymore.
I do agree about the slow down. But I only own 3 platings, so I'm trying if 3 mystics will be good.
Will probably cut down to 1 mystic if she slows down the deck too much.
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