When I first saw Zurgo Helmsmasher when it got spoiled, my first thought was, "Oh, he can hold a Sunforger and get to 11 power! That's really good!", but then I started thinking of all the disgusting interactions he had with Lethal Vapors and Magus of the Abyss, and this list came about.
I've wanted to play this color combination again for a while, but I don't want to play Kaalia of the Vast, so when I saw Zurgo, I knew I'd really enjoy playing him. He lets you play a myriad of destruction effects for your turn that don't actually destroy him, and then can grind people out of permanents very efficiently. In one game testing this, I won with the only permanent controlled by my four opponents was a Sword of War and Peace.
How does one play this deck?
Your goal is to slow down the fast, aggressive starts with a stall card like Tangle Wire or Winter Orb, then either get Zurgo out or start grinding the board out with things like Smokestack or Braids, Cabal Minion. Ideally, you want to be in a position where your cards aren't backfiring on you, and you're consistently removing the table's ability to answer your consistent grindy threats. You win by dealing 21 general damage almost every time, but the deal is sealed by the time you get to a position where your opponents won't be able to answer you, and they will concede long before Zurgo nutpunches them into oblivion.
Obligatory "Braids got banned and therefore I am sad" bit. Oh, well; $3 down the drain. No skin off my ass, really. She was great, and she'll be missed, but I think I wasted enough energy crying over Primeval Titan that any bans don't really affect me that much.
My manabase needed work, so I tweaked it. While it was powerful, it was dependent on itself, so I cut all the lands that depend on having its own sources do the work for it.
Dragons of Tarkir has a lot of interesting instant-speed options. I want to test them to see if they're worth keeping around. Radiant Purge in particular can be narrow sometimes, which I dislike, but it can hit some really saucy targets, which makes it worth the inclusion for now, imo.
I finally got my hands on another Enlightened Tutor! Now to get like two more!
I feel like whenever I play this deck, I draw too many cards that add mana, and not enough that actually do something. As a result, I'm cutting another land. If the lack of land proves to be an issue, I'll adjust accordingly, but right now I think the curve's low enough that 34 is acceptable.
I'm really looking to get feedback on this deck, as I feel the manabase and some of the spell slots are really iffy. I'd really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks in advance!
Really not sure about Rain of Gore. First, it's totally reactionary. If our opponent has no lifegain effects, it does absolutely nothing. Second, if we're trying to win through general damage, this doesn't help a whole lot.
I would suggest Æther Flash, but it stabs you in the back pretty hard, and I'm not sure that switching out all your creatures with 2 or less toughness is worth it. I've always liked Defiler of Souls too, but it doesn't fit your deck in its current state.
Since Zurgo is never going to block, Bedlam might be worthwhile.
Aether Flash would be wonderful and definitely something to consider if Braids, one of the deck's core creatures, didn't have 2 toughness. Rain of Gore is entirely a metagame call because I have a lot of Oloro in my meta, but I'll definitely consider subbing it out for the moment, because you're right, it doesn't particularly do a whole lot.
I like Bedlam, but I like my army of tokens being able to block threats. Usually, the attackers in my meta tend to be pretty large and lack trample, so having tokens to block with is extremely useful.
Tutors are nice but expensive, and just because my manabase looks nice, doesn't mean I'm not without a budget. First of all, finding any of those tutors is work in and of itself, and then affording them is another beast entirely. If I had those tutors, though, I'd probably run them.
Welder isn't particularly necessary, and while slow, Trading Post does what the Welder does just fine. All Welder would be doing in this deck is recurring Tangle Wire, anyway.
Nevermore is also not a problem card with an abundance of spot removal for it. If I need a win condition, I'll draw into Smokestack or Braids with Assemble the Legion and deny my opponents the ability to play the game.
I think that Bitterblossom would be good in this deck since it gives you dudes to sac to Smokestack and its ilk. Aven Mindcensor is always good as well.
I like you're list, mine's a tad different running sweeps instead of Stax but I think this style of play is the best way to run Zurgo. May I suggest Sheoldred, Whispering One? I know you only have 9 targets for yourself, but it does put pressure on your opponents. Mogis, God of Slaughter might be interesting too now that I think about it.
If you'd like to look at my current build, its on tapped out:
5 Zurgo Helmsmasher
Creatures
2 Reassembling Skeleton
3 Fleshbag Marauder
3 Goblin Rabblemaster
3 Liliana, Heretical Healer
3 Ophiomancer
3 Peacekeeper
4 Krenko, Mob Boss
4 Magus of the Abyss
4 Mindslicer
Sorceries
1 Vandalblast
2 Demonic Tutor
2 Diabolic Intent
3 Pox
4 Armageddon
4 Cataclysm
4 Day of Judgment
4 Diabolic Tutor
4 Wrath of God
Instants
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Vampiric Tutor
2 Diabolic Edict
2 Wear // Tear
3 Chaos Warp
3 Crackling Doom
3 Kolaghan's Command
3 Mortify
3 Orim's Thunder
Artifacts
1 Sol Ring
2 Boros Signet
2 Orzhov Signet
2 Rakdos Signet
2 Talisman of Indulgence
2 Torpor Orb
2 Winter Orb
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Coalition Relic
3 Crucible of Worlds
3 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Static Orb
3 Tangle Wire
3 Trinisphere
4 Smokestack
4 Trading Post
5 Gilded Lotus
2 Bitterblossom
2 Blind Obedience
3 Aura of Silence
3 Bottomless Pit
3 Contamination
3 Crackdown
3 Desolation
3 Ghostly Prison
3 Goblin Assault
3 Oppression
3 Phyrexian Arena
4 Humility
5 Assemble the Legion
5 Descent into Madness
5 Painful Quandary
5 Sphere of Safety
Planeswalkers
3 Liliana of the Veil
4 Ajani Vengeant
4 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Basic Lands
1 Mountain
5 Plains
5 Swamp
Nonbasic Lands
0 Ancient Tomb
0 Arid Mesa
0 Badlands
0 Blackcleave Cliffs
0 Blood Crypt
0 Bloodstained Mire
0 Bojuka Bog
0 Clifftop Retreat
0 Command Tower
0 Dragonskull Summit
0 Dust Bowl
0 Godless Shrine
0 Isolated Chapel
0 Kher Keep
0 Marsh Flats
0 Nomad Outpost
0 Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace
0 Sacred Foundry
0 Scrubland
0 Strip Mine
0 Tectonic Edge
0 Temple of Silence
0 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Why Zurgo Helmsmasher?
How does one play this deck?
Changes Log
Krenko, Mob Boss
Descent into Madness
Strip Mine
Dust Bowl
Tectonic Edge
2 Swamps
3 Plains
-Removed:
Braids, Cabal Minion
Erebos, God of the Dead
Rain of Gore
Exotic Orchard
Fetid Heath
Graven Cairns
Reflecting Pool
Shadowblood Ridge
Tainted Field
Tainted Peak
Obligatory "Braids got banned and therefore I am sad" bit. Oh, well; $3 down the drain. No skin off my ass, really. She was great, and she'll be missed, but I think I wasted enough energy crying over Primeval Titan that any bans don't really affect me that much.
My manabase needed work, so I tweaked it. While it was powerful, it was dependent on itself, so I cut all the lands that depend on having its own sources do the work for it.
10/14/2014:
Jokulhaups
Sphere of Safety
Impending Disaster
Retribution of the Meek
Austere Command
-Removed:
Static Orb
Lightmine Field
Luminarch Ascension
Skullclamp
Porphyry Nodes
10/16/2014:
Teysa, Orzhov Scion
Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace
Ensnaring Bridge
Humility
Goblin Rabblemaster
Reassembling Skeleton
Waste Not
Static Orb
Gilded Lotus
-Removed:
Caves of Koilos
Plains
Grand Abolisher
Retribution of the Meek
Rakdos Charm
Lethal Vapors
Austere Command
Stranglehold
10/25/2014:
Bitterblossom
Liliana of the Veil
Contamination
-Removed:
Oblation
Jokulhaups
Karmic Justice
12/02/2014:
Demonic Tutor
Crucible of Worlds
-Removed:
Teysa, Orzhov Scion
Waste Not
1/16/2015:
Peacekeeper
-Removed:
Necrogen Mists
2/2/2015:
Diabolic Intent
-Removed:
Plains
3/17/2015:
Radiant Purge
Kolaghan's Command
-Removed:
Impending Disaster
Price of Glory
Dragons of Tarkir has a lot of interesting instant-speed options. I want to test them to see if they're worth keeping around. Radiant Purge in particular can be narrow sometimes, which I dislike, but it can hit some really saucy targets, which makes it worth the inclusion for now, imo.
3/28/2014:
Enlightened Tutor
-Removed:
Mountain
I finally got my hands on another Enlightened Tutor! Now to get like two more!
I feel like whenever I play this deck, I draw too many cards that add mana, and not enough that actually do something. As a result, I'm cutting another land. If the lack of land proves to be an issue, I'll adjust accordingly, but right now I think the curve's low enough that 34 is acceptable.
3/31/2015:
Night of Souls' Betrayal
-Removed:
Radiant Purge
4/8/2015:
Trinisphere
Blackcleave Cliffs
-Removed:
Night of Souls' Betrayal
Battlefield Forge
7/7/2015:
Liliana, Heretical Healer
Vampiric Tutor
-Removed:
Hokori, Dust Drinker
Portcullis
I'm really looking to get feedback on this deck, as I feel the manabase and some of the spell slots are really iffy. I'd really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks in advance!
I would suggest Æther Flash, but it stabs you in the back pretty hard, and I'm not sure that switching out all your creatures with 2 or less toughness is worth it. I've always liked Defiler of Souls too, but it doesn't fit your deck in its current state.
Since Zurgo is never going to block, Bedlam might be worthwhile.
I like Bedlam, but I like my army of tokens being able to block threats. Usually, the attackers in my meta tend to be pretty large and lack trample, so having tokens to block with is extremely useful.
Tutors are nice but expensive, and just because my manabase looks nice, doesn't mean I'm not without a budget. First of all, finding any of those tutors is work in and of itself, and then affording them is another beast entirely. If I had those tutors, though, I'd probably run them.
Welder isn't particularly necessary, and while slow, Trading Post does what the Welder does just fine. All Welder would be doing in this deck is recurring Tangle Wire, anyway.
Nevermore is also not a problem card with an abundance of spot removal for it. If I need a win condition, I'll draw into Smokestack or Braids with Assemble the Legion and deny my opponents the ability to play the game.
Thraximundar Control voltron
Darien, King of Dudes The swarm
Karador, Ghost ChieftainJunk graveyard
Erebos, God of the DeadMy BIG BLACK.......deck
Zedruu the kindhearted My take on Pristaxcontrombmodruu!
Roon of the Hidden Realm Bounce house
I like you're list, mine's a tad different running sweeps instead of Stax but I think this style of play is the best way to run Zurgo. May I suggest Sheoldred, Whispering One? I know you only have 9 targets for yourself, but it does put pressure on your opponents. Mogis, God of Slaughter might be interesting too now that I think about it.
If you'd like to look at my current build, its on tapped out:
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/cmr-hells-bells/