Snip -- No Image leeching
*Taking Dub's skeleton for this thread*
Intro:
Unless you started playing since Innistrad, you definetely know what Tempered Steel is. Tempered Steel was a Tier 1 deck last year (along with Caw-Blade and Quest) so I'm sure it can make waves in Extended (or, at least, in casual).
Who I Play:
The people I play against with this deck are friends who agreed on the same banlist: we are only allowed to play cards from M10, M11, M12, SOA, ZEN, SOM, ISD and any duel-deck. One of my friends has a Vampires deck featuring Nocturnus, which can be quite annoying. My deck should be on par with it.
How it Plays:
Tempered Steel is an aggro deck, not much needs to be explained. Hope for the best opening hand and wreck as much havoc as possible.
Memnite and Ornithopter are great 0-drops, so having one or two in an opening hand can be an early advantage. Court Homunculus is a 1-drop that's pretty much ALWAYS a 2/2 thanks to its easy-to-trigger ability. Steel Overseer is the creature that rotated from M11, which made Tempered Steel suddenly unviable. It was a necessity. Boosting everyone, including itself, was really a powerful ability for a 2-drop. Glint Hawk Idol and Inkmoth Nexus are there for post-boardwipe matches.
The rest is pretty much self-explanatory. Dispatch is awesome removal. Vault Skirge is an evasive artifact attacker. Spellskite screws Onion Ring and the likes over. Signal Pest is Signal Pest.
What needs to be changed:
I do not know yet, but I feel like Master of Etherium and making this deck UW instead of WW could be really useful for consistency. Opinions are appreciated (and by appreciated, I mean I came here for those). Anyway, here's the decklist:
DISCLAIMER: I have never piloted Tempered Steel, so my advice is more "general Magic related," so you'll probably want a second opinion.
I wouldn't run four Spellskites. I see the purpose and I agree that they should be present, but I think two or three is enough, with the sideboard containing the rest (if your group uses sideboards). With a quick look through Gatherer, I might consider Porcelain Legionnaire, Ethersworn Canonist, or Etched Champion to take its place. From the looks of some Tempered Steel decklists, it seems that Spellskite is pretty much confined to the sideboard.
I'd also stay mono white; I don't think the added benefit of blue is worth the risk of consistency.
Again, I've never played Tempered Steel, myself. Other people probably have a better feel for the topic than I do. Also, if your meta dictates that Spellskite is a must, things may be different for you.
Thanks for the comments, I will answer them individually.
@Blind Piper
I admit having 4 Spellskites Main Board is not really useful. I feel like 2 Main Board and 2 Side Board (yes, we are allowed to play with a Side Board) are gonna be plenty. I currently have my eyes on all three cards you listed, but all three of them have their own weaknesses, which make it difficult to choose.
Porcelain Legionnaire: Toughness of 1. That's very vulnerable. Other decks also seem to love Vapor Snaging this card so I lose 4 life instead of 2.
Ethersworn Canonist: Also involves my spells. It's not much of a problem and the CMC is lovely. I think I'm gonna try this one out.
Etched Champion: Okay, I know this card is beast. Its only downfall is its CMC of 3. I could try it out too, but I'm not sure if it's gonna be fast enough for the deck. It should be, according to this guy's popularity in Standard.
@BakaGaijin34
Mox Opal... I tried it and I must say it helped a few times. There's only one thing I absolutely HATE about this card: it's Legendary. I feel like I'm drawing blanks after I put one into play. And it happens quite often. Sure, it speeds up the process... but it always slows me down after drawing a second or even a third one. Also, there is no space left for Mox Opal in this deck. Tell me what to get rid off and maybe I'll reconsider it. Etched Champion was already talked about earlier and Steel Overseer is already in the deck.
@Silex Flint
I haven't faced anyone playing Valakut Ramp, but I might face one someday. Anyway, I've taken the decision to MB 2 Spellskites and SB 2 in case of this matchup.
Thank you for taking the time to comment, I'll update the first post right away
I have a question about this. Your banlist says "and any duel-deck." Does this mean that cards reprinted in the decks that aren't in the other allowed sets can be played?
Because if so, there are some cards that should definitely considered:
Frogmite Mishra's Factory Thoughtcast if you are willing to splash Swords to Plowshares the best removal spell in white (maybe the best in the game). Infinitely better than dispatch because you won't always have metalcraft, especially after a sweeper.
Mox Opal... I tried it and I must say it helped a few times. There's only one thing I absolutely HATE about this card: it's Legendary. I feel like I'm drawing blanks after I put one into play. And it happens quite often. Sure, it speeds up the process... but it always slows me down after drawing a second or even a third one. Also, there is no space left for Mox Opal in this deck. Tell me what to get rid off and maybe I'll reconsider it. Etched Champion was already talked about earlier and Steel Overseer is already in the deck.
While mox opal is a dead draw in multiples, I think that the acceleration it gives warrants at least a 2 of. You could probably afford to drop a Glint Hawk Idol and either a Vault Skirge or Court Homunculus for it.
I have a question about this. Your banlist says "and any duel-deck." Does this mean that cards reprinted in the decks that aren't in the other allowed sets can be played?
Because if so, there are some cards that should definitely considered:
Frogmite Mishra's Factory Thoughtcast if you are willing to splash Swords to Plowshares the best removal spell in white (maybe the best in the game). Infinitely better than dispatch because you won't always have metalcraft, especially after a sweeper.
While mox opal is a dead draw in multiples, I think that the acceleration it gives warrants at least a 2 of. You could probably afford to drop a Glint Hawk Idol and either a Vault Skirge or Court Homunculus for it.
That is correct: any duel-deck includes the "illegal" reprinted cards. So the cards you listed are allowed.
Frogmite: Hmm this looks pretty neat, but isn't it a little bit outclassed by Court Homunculus? Just a thought...
Mishra's Factory: This looks like a bad Inkmoth Nexus lol, what makes it good in my deck? Inkmoth Nexus's main niche is having Infect, providing a back-up plan. I'm writing this down for the "to consider" cards, however.
Swords to Plowshares: I've heard of this card and your description is far from being an exageration. I really want this card in my deck, now that I have seen it. What do I remove and what do I take out for its place? Also... are you sure having 8 removal spells isn't too much? It might slow me down a little...
And okay for the Mox Opals, I'll update the first post in order to reflect this change.
Now... should I splash blue? I feel like I should include two different decklists in the first post: WW and UW. How does that sound? I'll choose the better once either of the decks looks perfect (or as close as perfect).
Quote from Silex Flint »
I'm curious as to what your friends play.
If you have mox opals replace plains for them, they are very good at exceleration and avoiding losing life from vault skirge and spellskite
One of my friends plays mono-black Vampires (including Vampire Nocturnus). It's a difficult matchup because he packs 4 Black Sun's Zeniths against faster aggro decks than his. Once everything is cleared out, he sends out stuff like Vampire Nighthawk followed by Vampire Nocturnus and starts wrecking havok.
Another friend plays mono-white Knights/Angels. This deck is usually slow and I usually have no problem against it (until Day of Judgement). They have some serious hate against fast aggro decks.
Frogmite: Hmm this looks pretty neat, but isn't it a little bit outclassed by Court Homunculus? Just a thought...
This entirely depends on how you build. The main difference is that after turn 1-2 this guy will be free. Depending on how many colorless lands you run, the extra white mana can be a life-saver (drop frogmite and tempered steel turn 3 instead of waiting, for instance.
Mishra's Factory: This looks like a bad Inkmoth Nexus lol, what makes it good in my deck? Inkmoth Nexus's main niche is having Infect, providing a back-up plan. I'm writing this down for the "to consider" cards, however.
The main advantage of Mishra's Factory over Inkmoth Nexus is that it can survive 1/x's. If the opponent has a 1/1 creature attacking or blocking, I'd rather swing through or kill the blocker than trade a land. To be perfectly honest, I would run both.
Swords to Plowshares: I've heard of this card and your description is far from being an exageration. I really want this card in my deck, now that I have seen it. What do I remove and what do I take out for its place? Also... are you sure having 8 removal spells isn't too much? It might slow me down a little...
I'd suggest dropping the dispatches entirely for the StP. It's a better card in most cases. At least a split if you want to keep dispatch.
You may want to look at the affinity deck Tzu-Ching Kuo ran in modern. This was a very aggro deck that took 1st at the player's championship. I always tell people net-deck whenever you can first. You don't have to copy anything card for card but pay attention to the mechanics of the decks and why they work. Then make your changes to the deck. Even just look at the land that they run and why they run it. This sill help you more than almost anything else.
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*Taking Dub's skeleton for this thread*
Intro:
Unless you started playing since Innistrad, you definetely know what Tempered Steel is. Tempered Steel was a Tier 1 deck last year (along with Caw-Blade and Quest) so I'm sure it can make waves in Extended (or, at least, in casual).
Who I Play:
The people I play against with this deck are friends who agreed on the same banlist: we are only allowed to play cards from M10, M11, M12, SOA, ZEN, SOM, ISD and any duel-deck. One of my friends has a Vampires deck featuring Nocturnus, which can be quite annoying. My deck should be on par with it.
How it Plays:
Tempered Steel is an aggro deck, not much needs to be explained. Hope for the best opening hand and wreck as much havoc as possible.
Memnite and Ornithopter are great 0-drops, so having one or two in an opening hand can be an early advantage.
Court Homunculus is a 1-drop that's pretty much ALWAYS a 2/2 thanks to its easy-to-trigger ability.
Steel Overseer is the creature that rotated from M11, which made Tempered Steel suddenly unviable. It was a necessity. Boosting everyone, including itself, was really a powerful ability for a 2-drop.
Glint Hawk Idol and Inkmoth Nexus are there for post-boardwipe matches.
The rest is pretty much self-explanatory.
Dispatch is awesome removal.
Vault Skirge is an evasive artifact attacker.
Spellskite screws Onion Ring and the likes over.
Signal Pest is Signal Pest.
What needs to be changed:
I do not know yet, but I feel like Master of Etherium and making this deck UW instead of WW could be really useful for consistency. Opinions are appreciated (and by appreciated, I mean I came here for those). Anyway, here's the decklist:
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Signal Pest
4 Court Homunculus
4 Vault Skirge
4 Steel Overseer
4 Spellskite
4 Tempered Steel
4 Dispatch
4 Glint Hawk Idol
LAND (20)
16 Plains
4 Inkmoth Nexus
EDITS
#1: -2 Spellskite, +2 Ethersworn Canonist
#2: -2 Plains, +2 Mox Opal
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Signal Pest
4 Court Homunculus
4 Vault Skirge
4 Steel Overseer
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Spellskite
4 Tempered Steel
4 Dispatch
4 Glint Hawk Idol
2 Mox Opal
14 Plains
4 Inkmoth Nexus
I wouldn't run four Spellskites. I see the purpose and I agree that they should be present, but I think two or three is enough, with the sideboard containing the rest (if your group uses sideboards). With a quick look through Gatherer, I might consider Porcelain Legionnaire, Ethersworn Canonist, or Etched Champion to take its place. From the looks of some Tempered Steel decklists, it seems that Spellskite is pretty much confined to the sideboard.
I'd also stay mono white; I don't think the added benefit of blue is worth the risk of consistency.
Again, I've never played Tempered Steel, myself. Other people probably have a better feel for the topic than I do. Also, if your meta dictates that Spellskite is a must, things may be different for you.
The Modal Cube is also on Cube Tutor!
GWEDH Asmira's WrathGW
If you are going extended take a look at steel overseer, used to be a bread and butter card for TS.
@Blind Piper
I admit having 4 Spellskites Main Board is not really useful. I feel like 2 Main Board and 2 Side Board (yes, we are allowed to play with a Side Board) are gonna be plenty. I currently have my eyes on all three cards you listed, but all three of them have their own weaknesses, which make it difficult to choose.
Porcelain Legionnaire: Toughness of 1. That's very vulnerable. Other decks also seem to love Vapor Snaging this card so I lose 4 life instead of 2.
Ethersworn Canonist: Also involves my spells. It's not much of a problem and the CMC is lovely. I think I'm gonna try this one out.
Etched Champion: Okay, I know this card is beast. Its only downfall is its CMC of 3. I could try it out too, but I'm not sure if it's gonna be fast enough for the deck. It should be, according to this guy's popularity in Standard.
@BakaGaijin34
Mox Opal... I tried it and I must say it helped a few times. There's only one thing I absolutely HATE about this card: it's Legendary. I feel like I'm drawing blanks after I put one into play. And it happens quite often. Sure, it speeds up the process... but it always slows me down after drawing a second or even a third one. Also, there is no space left for Mox Opal in this deck. Tell me what to get rid off and maybe I'll reconsider it. Etched Champion was already talked about earlier and Steel Overseer is already in the deck.
@Silex Flint
I haven't faced anyone playing Valakut Ramp, but I might face one someday. Anyway, I've taken the decision to MB 2 Spellskites and SB 2 in case of this matchup.
Thank you for taking the time to comment, I'll update the first post right away
Because if so, there are some cards that should definitely considered:
Frogmite
Mishra's Factory
Thoughtcast if you are willing to splash
Swords to Plowshares the best removal spell in white (maybe the best in the game). Infinitely better than dispatch because you won't always have metalcraft, especially after a sweeper.
While mox opal is a dead draw in multiples, I think that the acceleration it gives warrants at least a 2 of. You could probably afford to drop a Glint Hawk Idol and either a Vault Skirge or Court Homunculus for it.
Modern: B/W Tokens
I am a DCI rules advisor.
That is correct: any duel-deck includes the "illegal" reprinted cards. So the cards you listed are allowed.
Frogmite: Hmm this looks pretty neat, but isn't it a little bit outclassed by Court Homunculus? Just a thought...
Mishra's Factory: This looks like a bad Inkmoth Nexus lol, what makes it good in my deck? Inkmoth Nexus's main niche is having Infect, providing a back-up plan. I'm writing this down for the "to consider" cards, however.
Swords to Plowshares: I've heard of this card and your description is far from being an exageration. I really want this card in my deck, now that I have seen it. What do I remove and what do I take out for its place? Also... are you sure having 8 removal spells isn't too much? It might slow me down a little...
And okay for the Mox Opals, I'll update the first post in order to reflect this change.
Now... should I splash blue? I feel like I should include two different decklists in the first post: WW and UW. How does that sound? I'll choose the better once either of the decks looks perfect (or as close as perfect).
One of my friends plays mono-black Vampires (including Vampire Nocturnus). It's a difficult matchup because he packs 4 Black Sun's Zeniths against faster aggro decks than his. Once everything is cleared out, he sends out stuff like Vampire Nighthawk followed by Vampire Nocturnus and starts wrecking havok.
Another friend plays mono-white Knights/Angels. This deck is usually slow and I usually have no problem against it (until Day of Judgement). They have some serious hate against fast aggro decks.
Another one plays Haunted Humans (without Geist).
This entirely depends on how you build. The main difference is that after turn 1-2 this guy will be free. Depending on how many colorless lands you run, the extra white mana can be a life-saver (drop frogmite and tempered steel turn 3 instead of waiting, for instance.
The main advantage of Mishra's Factory over Inkmoth Nexus is that it can survive 1/x's. If the opponent has a 1/1 creature attacking or blocking, I'd rather swing through or kill the blocker than trade a land. To be perfectly honest, I would run both.
I'd suggest dropping the dispatches entirely for the StP. It's a better card in most cases. At least a split if you want to keep dispatch.
Another possible card to run is Darksteel Citadel. Would help with frogmite, and your Court Homunculus, will always be pumped.
Modern: B/W Tokens
I am a DCI rules advisor.
Modern: B/W Tokens
I am a DCI rules advisor.