MTG Salvation

With the release of Oath of the Gatewatch and all its colorless goodies, I've sort of rediscovered my affinity (tee hee) for artifacts and colorless Magic. I know that colorless generals are a thing in multiplayer EDH---a format where you have a lot more time to durdle around and set stuff up and where the colorless ramp is a lot more efficient---but I was wondering if the same thing were possible in 1v1 Duel Commander.

Of the colorless generals, the ones that appeal to me most are the Eldrazi. Karn, Silver Golem is cool and all, but he doesn't exile, destroy, or draw cards on cast. I like doing all those things, and I don't like not doing those things, so I decided against him. In the end, I was most interested in Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, inspired mostly by Jewdah's list in this thread: http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/multiplayer-commander-decklists/477463-kozilek-butcher-with-juice

My question for you: If I were to build Kozilek in 1v1, would it be worth it to go full-on ramp, despite the pitiful ramp in 1v1 Duel Commander? Or would you recommend a different path? Or, of the other big-mana colorless generals, which do you think is the best, and how would you build it?

Bear in mind: I play in a pretty casual group (no tier-one DC decks in my meta. I play against Meren, Alesha, Jenara, Elfball and then some variation of tier way-down-there control).

@Soujids Thanks for the list! I'll write up my own and post it in here as soon as I have the time.

@Bal There are a number of reasons why I like Kozilek, Butcher of Truth over Kozilek, the Great Distortion. The biggest is probably indestructibility, which severely limits the type of removal that the opponent can use to get him off the board. The second is the fact that you can use Strionic Resonator with both his relevant triggered abilities (draw 4 cards and annihilator). That being said, I do think that it cold be possible to build a list that involves a lot more disruption, which would make new Kozilek's activated ability that much more appealing.

Yeah got him confused with Ulamog. Oops!

Okay so I finally put together a list to try out. I'm easing off a little bit on the ramp in favor of mana denial/a little stax. In the end, I decided to go with Kozilek, the Great Distortion because the card is more versatile, but we'll see. Here's the list:



Comments and criticisms welcome! A few specific things I'm wondering about:
- Is Strionic Resonator still worth it without guaranteed triggered abilities?
- Am I missing any critical colorless lands?

Thanks!

Good call on Mishra's Factory. I may add other creature lands like Blinkmoth Nexus as well.

I haven't had a chance to get any games with this yet, but the thought of destroying all my mana rocks seems really, really painful. My group does have some pretty quick aggro lists, so it may be worth it in that case. Also thinking Maze of Ith should be in here, but not sure what to cut.

Coercive Portal I could see due to its lower casting cost. But I wouldn't want to double this effect, simply because Kozilek will be doing the heavy lifting when it comes to card draw. I agree with Spine of Ish Sah + Trading Post being better than Scour from Existence, especially since I'm also running Defense Grid which makes Scour hard to cast on the opponent's turn.

I considered Lodestone Golem, but for some reason didn't include it. I think it was because of its fragility. In retrospect, and especially if I include Trading Post, I think it's a worthwhile inclusion. I'll probably replace Artisan of Kozilek, simply because there's not much for it to grab from the graveyard.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Ok I played Kozilek, Butcher with Juice several times in French Commander FNMs. Here is my latest list (pre-OGW):

This could definitely need some changes, like adding Thought-Knot Seer and Endbringer for sure, and at least 2 Wastes with a Myriad Landscape included. The new Kozilek, the Great Distortion should perhaps go in there, too. But I don't like new Kozilek as the Commander, because of the worse combo-including (can't draw my Library for sure with his "draw until 7 in hand" without a discard-outlet).
So far, so well.

Greetings

I'm guessing that Thopter Foundry was supposed to be Thopter Assembly? Also, I'd consider Thought Vessel over either Sphere of the Suns or Chromatic Lantern.

That is for sure the assembly, corrected that. And yes, Thought Vessel is great, it just wasn't in my pool when I last built this deck. I also had a Forcefield in there somewhere..