So I tried to build a deck around Elbrus, the Binding Blade. I think there is a general theme throughout, but the synergy needs to be tighter.Let me know what you think! I did want to include Glissa, the Traitor but I ended up wanting to keep green out of it so far.
If you are building a deck aroud Elbrus, the Binding Blade, you should have more cards that interract with the blade. Right now, you have very few interractions. Let's see how you can improve that...
1) For the blade to flip, you need to damage an opponent with a creature wearing the blade. The equip cost is 1 so you dont need anything to reduce the equip cost (Sorry Kor Outfitter and Magnetic Theft ...maybe next time). However, you need ways to have a creature easily deal combat damage to an opponent. Unblockable creatures are best for this. Invisible Stalker comes to mind...it's unblockable and hard to deal with.
2) Next, the blade costs 7 to play and is hidden somewhere in your deck...you need cards to cheat it into play or reduce it's mana cost and to find it for you in your deck. Stoneforge Mystic is an obvious fit in your deck since it does both of these AND it cost very little to play. Relic Seeker and other similar cards can also be used.
I'm not a bid fan of Aqueous Form...if you lose the enchanted creature, you will lose 2 cards (creature and enchantment)...if you have no creature, the enchantment is useless. You are better off running more unblockable creatures...there are nice Shadow creatures that you can use out there...Soltary Visionary deals with enchantments and Thalakos Seer makes you draw when it dies...these are the best ones for your deck imo.
I dont think it's a good idea to splash black only for Adjudicator....you will be looking for your colors instead of winning the game.
I assume you dont want to play Stoneforge Mystic because of it's price...I dont blame you...it's pretty expensive. There are other, cheaper, cards that allow you to sneak your equipment into play...Nahiri, the Lithomancer, Stonehewer Giant, Quest for the Holy Relic (the card is bad but it could be playable if you run a lot of creatures in your deck and you are desperate for a way to sneak your equipment in play).
Ethersworn Adjudicator looks very nice but it costs a lot of mana to abuse the card and you dont have a deck that generates a lot of mana...the card is not aligned with what you want your deck to do and the extra color will cause you extra problems.
Every card in the deck should be very affordable (Elbrus, the Binding Blade at 3.60$ is the most expensive card, I believe)...it's mostly centered on Open the Armory (which allows for a lot of options) and it also uses the fact that you are running many rogues by using Notorious Throng as a possible finisher.
Yeah, this looks great! I am too easily suckered still by what looks very nice haha. But yeah your suggestion definitely tightens it up a bit, and I like the added rogue synergy. The equipment allows all the 1/1s to pack a little more punch as well. I will say Skullclamp will work best with Slither Blade or Thalakos Seer, particularly if I want want a double card draw, but it will kill of other things not paired with equipment.
Skullclamp gives you the choice of drawing 2 cards or having a creature in play. If your hand is 3 cards or less, it's too risky to keep the creature...and you will probably draw one from the clamp anyway. If your hand is full, keep the creature in play. Slither Blade is obviously the best scenario...where you can have both.
You dont want to be stuck with 2 Elbrus, the Binding Blade in your starting hand...they will be useless until the late game. I centered the deck around Open the Armory because it gives options. If you have the money to get them, you can also add 4 Steelshaper's Gift and focus more on the equipments.
You have many scenarios open to you...based on the cards you have in your starting hand.
Other paths could also be interesting. I would have added Eldrazi Conscription if it wasn't so expensive. There were other nice equipment choices like Bonehoard and Sword of the Animist but I eventually had to make choices.
Cool just one more thought. What about the Trepanation blade? I just thought it my be a good finisher combo with the Notorious Throng. It's also another distracting scary equipment card.
People ususllay run a little bit above 1/3rd of their cards as lands...meaning that the most probable outcome is that you will reveal 3 cards...the next most probable outcome is revealing 2 cards...giving your creature +3/+0 or +2/+0 (of course, there are exceptions to this (fetch lands, Primeval Titan, etc...)...so Trepanation Blade is a Loxodon Warhammer without lifelink most of the time. You dont have that much defense so I would rather go lifelink and race the opponent for the win.
Trepanation blade is only really good if the mill means something. Its competing with some of the strongest equipment's in the game for the 3cmc/2equip slot and ends up being very hard to justify over sword of body and mind, let alone the other swords that provide different effects. Trepblade does have a nice impact of always hitting a land, which can affect your opponents draws a bit, but thats not enough of a reason to run it unless you need the mill for a specific reason.
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4 Disciple of the Vault
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Ethersworn Adjudicator
2 Steel Hellkite
2 Vedalken Archmage
2 Vedalken Ghoul
4 Fabricate
2 Tinker
Planeswalker (1)
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
Artifacts (13)
1 Bident of Thassa
4 Elbrus, the Binding Blade
1 Sol Ring
2 Sword of the Animist
4 Voltaic Key
1 Whispersilk Cloak
2 Azorius Chancery
4 Buried Ruin
4 Dimir Aqueduct
6 Island
6 Swamp
1) For the blade to flip, you need to damage an opponent with a creature wearing the blade. The equip cost is 1 so you dont need anything to reduce the equip cost (Sorry Kor Outfitter and Magnetic Theft ...maybe next time). However, you need ways to have a creature easily deal combat damage to an opponent. Unblockable creatures are best for this. Invisible Stalker comes to mind...it's unblockable and hard to deal with.
2) Next, the blade costs 7 to play and is hidden somewhere in your deck...you need cards to cheat it into play or reduce it's mana cost and to find it for you in your deck. Stoneforge Mystic is an obvious fit in your deck since it does both of these AND it cost very little to play. Relic Seeker and other similar cards can also be used.
You can then add other unblockable creatures (Blighted Agent), other equipments that benefit from you having unblockable creatures (any "sword of"...like Sword of Fire and Ice) and other cards that interact with equipments (Sram, Senior Edificer, Puresteel Paladin)
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Ethersworn Adjudicator
4 Invisible Stalker
4 Relic Seeker
2 Steel Hellkite
2 Vedalken Archmage
4 Fabricate
4 Open the Armory
Artifacts (6)
4 Elbrus, the binding blade
1 Sol Ring
1 Voltaic Key
4 Aqueous Form
Lands (22)
4 Azorius Chancery
4 Buried Ruin
4 Dimir Aqueduct
6 Island
4 Plains
I dont think it's a good idea to splash black only for Adjudicator....you will be looking for your colors instead of winning the game.
I assume you dont want to play Stoneforge Mystic because of it's price...I dont blame you...it's pretty expensive. There are other, cheaper, cards that allow you to sneak your equipment into play...Nahiri, the Lithomancer, Stonehewer Giant, Quest for the Holy Relic (the card is bad but it could be playable if you run a lot of creatures in your deck and you are desperate for a way to sneak your equipment in play).
Etherium Sculptor needs more artifacts to be worth it.
Ethersworn Adjudicator looks very nice but it costs a lot of mana to abuse the card and you dont have a deck that generates a lot of mana...the card is not aligned with what you want your deck to do and the extra color will cause you extra problems.
You should add more equipments...to give you choices of cards you can get to help you depending on what you are facing...Argentum Armor, Lightning Greaves, Loxodon Warhammer, Bonehoard, Dowsing Dagger (provides mana to play the blade), Skullclamp, Explorer's Scope (provides mana to play the blade), Grafted Wargear, Mask of Memory, Sword of the Animist (provides mana to play the blade) and Worldslayer are budget equipment choices that would give you many options when you tutor for an equipment...you dont need to run 4 of them...just 1 of them would give you an option. Your Open the Armory can also look for enchantments...
Here is what I suggest...
4 Triton Shorestalker
4 Slither Blade
4 Invisible Stalker
2 Thalakos Seer
3 Wall of Denial
Artifacts (11)
1 Sol Ring
3 Skullclamp
2 Dowsing Dagger
1 Mask of Memory
1 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Grafted Wargear
2 Elbrus, the Binding Blade
1 Weight of Conscience
2 Empyrial Armor
1 Battle Mastery
Spells (6)
4 Open the Armory
1 Balance
1 Notorious Throng
Lands (22)
4 Glacial Fortress
2 Buried Ruin
8 Island
8 Plains
Every card in the deck should be very affordable (Elbrus, the Binding Blade at 3.60$ is the most expensive card, I believe)...it's mostly centered on Open the Armory (which allows for a lot of options) and it also uses the fact that you are running many rogues by using Notorious Throng as a possible finisher.
Turn 1: Unblockable creature
Turn 2: Open the Armory
Turn 3 Empyrial Armor
Could hurt pretty bad.
You have many scenarios open to you...based on the cards you have in your starting hand.
You can go:
1. Unblockable creature, Open the Armory, Empyrial Armor, Battle Mastery, Skullclamp
2. Unblockable creature, Open the Armory, Dowsing Dagger, Elbrus, the Binding Blade
Other paths could also be interesting. I would have added Eldrazi Conscription if it wasn't so expensive. There were other nice equipment choices like Bonehoard and Sword of the Animist but I eventually had to make choices.