Fall 2003, Wizards release a set known as Mirrodin. The entire block was to take place on the plane of the same name, the theme was artifacts. This set was the debut for the deck known as Affinity/Raffinity/Vial Affinity. The deck abused the mechanic known as Affinity which rewarded players for dumping artifacts onto the field. Naturally, players exploited this. It got to the point that the artifact lands were banned from standard tournament as well as arcbound ravager and disciple of the vault, and soon this deck gave the entire block the infamy that it now holds.
Modern affinity evolved out of old school vial affinity when the new mirrodin set was released, with the inclusion of new creatures such as signal pest vial affinity evolved into modern affinity shaking off many key cards which kept old school affinity alive
Old school affinity (for nostalgia sake)
The core
(Artifact) Lands – While this fit the theme of an artifact plane, these made affinity essentially one of the more broken decks. There are six artifact lands in the block: Seat of Synod, Vault of Whispers, Great Furnace, Tree of Tales, Ancient Den, Darksteel Citadel. These differ from basic lands as there is a cap on how many of each you can have (four) but on the upside each of them have the artifact subtype which is vital for this deck.
Seat of Synod – This deck needs a playset of synods; Master of etherium and thoughtcast both require blue to play.
Vault of Whisper – Another essential land in this deck. This one being one of the more important ones; it open the route for disciple of the vault (to combo with ravager) and for instant speed attaching with plating
Great Furnace – Not really useful unless you run a pauper deck in which case galvanic blast and atog kinda need to be in it
Tree of Tales – Some interesting green hate cards have popped up, this should be considered but not a playset
Ancient Den – Some builds run Canonist and other shenanigans but this really shouldn’t be in the deck when springleaf drums/opals are often used and other color fixing options are available
Darksteel Citadel – The indestructible deters those LD decks, should be a playset as well
Creatures – Affinity is an aggro-combo deck. It takes advantage of cheap/free artifacts to fuel the mechanic Affinity which deducts from casting cost depending on the amount of artifacts you control. Then it rushes in with a crowd of artifact creatures followed by a Disciple-Ravager combo
Frogmite – 2/2 for 4 seems bad, but 2/2 for 0 is practically broken. With frogmite, 90% of the time it is a 2/2 for 0 and 10% of the time it is 2/2 for 1. This guy is early aggro. Frogmite also holds the artifact type so it’s fuel for affinity and the Disciple-Ravager combo
Myr enforcer – Frogmite on steroids. It’s a 4/4 for 7 but like frogmite it should be a 4/4 for 0 or 1 most of the time. This dominates when it hits the field. Like Frogmite, hold the artifact type so it has more than one function.
Ornithopter – It’s free, it flies, and it wins games. Dropping this in the beginning gives you so many options; Tap it with springleaf drum for extra mana, or you can equip a cranial plating and let it go through for some serious damage. This card has stood the test of time and is still used today in modern affinity (arguably the only creature card to remain in the deck since inception of affinity)
Disciple of the vault – The main combo in this deck revolves around Disicple and Ravager. Though it has its fault (not an artifact) it is irreplaceable. The more of these you lay out, the better the combo gets. However, if you have multiple copies of this in your opening hand you are better off using a mulligan. The most this could serve in early beginning is small aggro and sac outlet for clamp.
Arcbound worker – Looks very unassuming: no affinity, just modular 1. However this guy has many roles to assume. He can play early aggro, and even if he dies it's a guarantee that he transfers his counter at least once, if not more depending on the amount of modular creatures in the deck. He can be sacced to skullclamp for card advantage, he can play early aggro with cranial plating, and he can be tapped by springleaf drum for mana. Yeah, this guy rocks.
Master of Etherium – artifact lord + built in cranial plating. This thing can be monstrous. This guy will tower over tarmogoyf and you will be laughing at those who spent forty dollars more on that card. A must if you run a swarm approach
Non-creature Artifacts – Non-creature artifacts in affinity decks should be cheap, 1 and 0 cmc dominating the mix so the choices are rather limited. The core should be color fixers that make up for the lack of consistency in land and cranial platting is a class on its own.
Springleaf drum – Rather new card in the mix, it was quickly added in for its ability to produce mana extremely quickly. It turns that ornithopter into a T1 birds of paradise with haste and taps that (sometimes) useless disciple of the vault for a mana of any color
Cranial plating – the aggro shenanigans suddenly got serious. This card makes any creature in this deck a serious threat. Sometimes this card alone can help win the game without the use of the Ravager-Disciple combo.
Other spells
In this deck, I see only one card that stands out that is not an artifact type or creature type
Thoughtcast – 5 to draw 2, sounds bad doesn’t it? With affinity this should be 2 cards for one mana. This deck runs out of steam very quickly without proper CA, throwing all cards onto the field leaves your hand empty and this along with clamp serves to fill it up again. It is essentially 2/3 of an ancestral recall.
Core Sideboard – tough time trying to define what makes a card budget/competitive but this should serve as a middle ground
Krosan grip – not too pricey, could be both competitive and budget in a sense, nukes artifacts and enchantments with split second so your opponent can’t do anything while that is happening
Pithing needle – self explanatory sideboard material. Whip it out when you need to take a key card out of the picture. Should be both a budget/competitive option but it leans towards the competitive
Tormod’s crypt – does wonders against dredge, affordable enough to be consider a core sideboard option
Dispatch - Relatively new (NPH new) The creature removal card of your choice, works perfectly well in tandem with affinity and unlike StP or PtE, the opponent gets nothing out of it
Ethersworn Canonist – Destroys combos, artifact type, decent in terms of aggro, and not too heavy on the wallet. A must.
Engineer Plague - Anti-tribal, more specifically, anti-elf and anti-goblin as those two are the only two tribal decks that give affinity a run for it's money
The competitive/serious route
Most cards in this section are $$$ so depending on how much you got, this might be the section for you to check out.
Creatures
Arcbound Ravager – It is more or less the star of this deck. A 2 cmc artifact creature that can insta-sac any artifact makes it fearsome in conjunction with Disciple of the vault. Plus to top it all off, he grows with every artifact he sacs also has a failsafe as well with built in modular. Be wary of stifle however. This guy is probably the most expensive card in the deck
Non-creature Artifacts
Aether Vial – some people have named the deck after this card (vial affinity), they aren’t without fault. This card is pretty darn cheap. A 1 cmc artifact that laughs in the face of counterspells. This card is pretty much an auto include without a second thought. On a side note, vial states that you MAY put a counter. It’s best to leave 1-2 counters for ravager and 1 cmc artifacts/creatures. Be warn, some playgroups are not fine with it
Skullclamp – Who doesn’t love this card? It is extremely versatile in any given situation. The only kind of deck this wouldn’t help is non-creature. In this deck it helps out the aggro and fuels some combos. The creatures in this deck (save worker and disciple) can live with skullclamp and increase the aggro. It also gives you a backup plan if your opponent chooses to kill off the creature with skullclamp attached. For one mana, it readily provides CA, so when your hand is running low, consider saccing that archbound worker. It’s practically begging you to. Be warn, like Vial, this card might cause some bad feelings to run in your playgroup. Also banned in multiple formats
Sideboard (competitive)
Chalice of the void – seems counterproductive but the truth is, affinity loses to those combo decks that win earlier, this should be the key to shutting them down
Thoughtseize – expensive version of duress. Takes out two life in exchange for looking for creatures/non-creatures.
Cabal therapy – like thoughtseize except you have to know beforehand what you want to take out. The good news, you can activate flashback and screw your opponent over.
Casual and/or budget route
Lands
Blinkmoth nexus – A land that can become an artifact, serves as early defense if needed. Quite frankly it would be better just having more artifact lands or even a glimmervoid.
Creatures
Atog – Replaces Ravager of course in both budget and pauper. You would need a couple of great furnaces to go along with atog
Etherium sculptor – it lowers the cost of artifacts even more. It is also an artifact. The bad news is that it requires blue to play and it isn’t exactly an aggro styled card
Somber Hoverguard - 3/2 flying for one is nice. But it goes in casual/budget because it isn't fuel for affinity and requires blue to play
Glaze fiend - Moves affinity from aggro to more combo oriented, definitly a fun card to build around, suggestive kiln fiend/wee dragonaut effect that rewards you for dumping artifacts onto the field. Building around glaze fiend requires more 0 cmc artifacts. Looks fun in conjunction with lightning greaves
Archbound Crusher - Has trample so it runs over chump blockers and it grows permanently for each artifact you throw on the field. Plus its got modular so it leaves a lasting impression when it leaves play. The problem is that the cost is rather hefty and wrecks the curve a bit =/
Non-creature Artifacts
Welding jar – Pretty nice card, it regenerates an artifact and is free like ornithopter, it could save an artifact land or cranial plating from artifact-hate. Did I forget to mention it’s free?
Chromatic sphere – nothing fancy here, color fixes and lets you draw. Sac when you need the spare card or that right color.
Other Spells
Fabricate – artifact tutor, but at sorcery speed. Also is rather expensive so it screws the speed of the deck over considerably.
Steelshaper’s gift – It goes slow but it is 1 cmc so it shouldn’t wreck the speed too much. Find the plating is what it pretty much reads.
Budget sideboard
Duress/Inquisition of Kozilek – Duress takes out the combo enabler, nough said. Inquisition is the budget thoughtseize that restricts what you can discard in terms of cost and does not knock out 2 life
Rituals of restoration – it gets you a card back. Could be useful if your opponent packs a lot of artifact hate
Tel-jilad justice – artifact hate at instant speed, pack some tree of tales if you use it. Scry 2 is pretty useful too
Naturalize – artifact and enchantment hate at instant speed. Likewise with tel jilad justice, pack some tree of tales.
Ancient Grudge - Tel-Jilad Justice without the scry and with flashback, it needs both green and red so be careful with the land base if included
Debatable/subpar/too OP section
Broodstar - Largely overshadowed by Master of Etherium, run it if you really, really need the flying
Assert Authority – This is basically saying control, this deck isn’t control. Simple as that.
Mana Vault - a 1 cmc artifact that lets you add 3 mana. The downside is that it requires alternatives to untap it, but you can't doubt the boost. The only reason this card is here is because it's banned in multiple formats and your playgroup will not be happy to see this
Shrapnel blast – This is debatable, some people run it. Some don't because 1. It isn't an artifact 2. Requires you to sac an artifact 3. It requires red.
Mycosynth golem – this belongs to other decks simply because this is too slow for affinity to function. The game should be over by the time this hits the field
Lightning greaves - Gives haste and shroud and after the initial payment, equipping is free. This card is crazy when that M.o.E hits the field. A little too expensive on the wallet to be included in casual budget
Tezzeret the seeker – Planeswalker for artifacts. It leans towards the budget/fun side because the cost is simply too expensive for it to be aggro. But it does tutor artifacts and untaps artifacts. Ok sideboard material
Glimmervoid– Feel free to argue with me on this one. I feel this one shouldn’t be here because it isn’t an artifact and the deck itself has color fixers. But the good news is that the downside of this card will never occur. The release of Mox Opal should replace glimmervoid in most competitive deck. Glimmervoid should be considered as backup if your oppponent sideboards artifact hate but we don't see it to be the case in casual where SB and hate are next to non-existent
Umezawa’s jitte – Cranial plating is better in this case. And this thing is pretty darn expensive too.
Tarmogoyf – No, this deck doesn’t need tarmogoyf (there’s always that one person that yells MOOR GOYF) M.o.E actually beats it so yes in this case, tarmogoyf is subpar
Infiltration lens - in my mind this looks like a weaker version of skullclamp. In this deck, it might serve well sometimes. More of a sideboard option because it depends on the opponent, running high creature count will make this card usable and running decks like burn will screw this card over.
Mishra's factory - a powerful manland that can become a artifact creature to boot. Certainly helps out the aggro. The trade off is slowing your tempo down considerably
Tolarian Academy - This card speaks for itself. Grants you an ENORMOUS boost of mana. It is important though to note that this is a legendary land. Fairly pricey as well and banned in multiple formats
Stoneforge mystic - So good he was banned during his tenure in standard, the walking steelshaper's gift allows you to draw up that plating, but stoneforge is hardly aggressive and does deviate from aggro even more in modern. If you get him, do yourself a favor and add singleton copies of batterskull and umezawa's jitte
Modern (legacy) Affinity
As explained in intro, the release of scars block gave affinity a more diverse cardpool to work from, some cards were already explained in the core and introduction but i feel a new section should be written for modern affinity.
Modern affinity splits into two distinct metas, the fast all in swarm approach and the more mid range affinity that has a more aggro-control feel to it.
the new cards that make their debut in modern affinity:
Tezzeret, agent of bolas - 4 cmc and colors that work with colors already focused in this deck, this card is a blast. Aside from the no artifact type it readily makes up for that with diverse usage. It can scry 4 for an artifact once a turn or it can turn useless topdecks into a 5/5 artifact critter and the last ability is a disciple esque ability forcing your opponent to lose life equal to the number of artifacts x2 you have, it also lets you gain that much life. As the most cost intensive card in the deck, it won't make it past game one if you play 2/3 simply because too many people see this coming
Memnite - Faster than worker but not necessarily better, people seem to prefer speed over longevity
Galvanic blast - Situational card but a good one, it is a strictly better lightning bolt in this deck and does aim for both creatures and players. The bad news is that its not an artifact and color maybe a problem. As modern affinity continues to establish itself, this card was dropped largely in favor of creatures that can possibly deal more on a more consistent level
Etched champion - 3 cmc creature contending for the slot against MoE, i feel both should be included because both have their merits, while EC is untouchable and unblockable 90% of the time, it has small body so it only deals small bits of damage at a time unless you have a cranial plating out or sacced ravager to transfer counters (if you haven't already on a vault skirge). MoE on the other hand absorbs removal too easily but with the lord ability and the built in cranial platting it is a solid aggro card (and the biggest card in the deck hands down). I run both personally but some people run just EC over MoE
signal pest - pseudo evasion gives this card the ability to freely attack, but at 0/1 what does it do? The ability is what makes this card so good, it gives a +1/0 boost to all attacking creatures. Let me rephrase that again, ALL ATTACKING CREATURES. The main idea of this deck is to swarm with multiple creatures already so in reality, it becomes a massive boost, it gets even sillier when you have multiple copies out. another friendly hint: COUGHcranialplattingCOUGH
Mox opal - a staple in modern affinity (provided you have $$$) no matter mid range or pure aggro, it provides a tremendous boost acting almost like a mox. This bad boy is a legendary though but DO NOT FEAR, arcbound ravager ensures multiple copies do not just sleep in your hand
Vault Skirge - The only good card for affinity Neil Patri...New Phyrexia gave us, this card i believe is situational because it depends on what you're taking out for it. Some people took out frogmite for skirge switching from swarm to a more midrange effect. More evasion is nice and lifelink replaces the life lost to cost very quickly. The interactions between this card and ravager allows you to nullify burn decks as well as gain equal if not greater footing than decks that have a faster aggressive clock than affinity
the inclusion of these new cards also kicked some old cards out such as
aether vial - counters don't hurt this deck anymore, nearly every card in itself is useless and wastes the opponent's counters but when combined with others on the field...
arcbound worker - just don't see this on lists anymore, but having your opponent deal with the same +1/+1 counters 2+ times still makes this a solid budget/alternative choice
myr enforcer - used to be the "fattie" of the deck, MoE now holds this ranking, still this makes a solid card for budget/casual and is still a good old school option. Still a staple in pauper however
Disciple of the vault - still remains a popular option but tournament decks do not play him and modern has shook him off for either more aggro, more artifacts, or Tez which has a disciple-esque ability
Ok so here it is, my take on affinity. Feel free to post your suggestions and I will add to my list as I see fit. Hopefully this primer will help you out when trying to learn this deck for casual. Some special thanks is in order as well
Xero_17 – I had to refer to your primer at times especially for sideboard options
Death Incarnate – formatting issues were solved with your help
DrDrum – your primer guide shed some light on the matter and on formatting
perv90210 - making that awesome banner for this primer =)
Yeah I definitely like Mox Opal over other color fixing lands. But i'l keep it in the metalcraft section until the last of metalcraft from the scars block. But it would most certainly fit in competitive
Imo, Ravager should at least be mentioned independently in the core section, if only with a 'see competitive section' note. It is just so central to the Affinity deck.
Imo, Ravager should at least be mentioned independently in the core section, if only with a 'see competitive section' note. It is just so central to the Affinity deck.
It is but it is replaceable in a sense so I had it listed in competitive. If there was no replacement, I would have it in both core and competitive
This isn't a STRAIGHT affinity deck, but it's something I've been running casually for years. I love it. It's not perfect in any way, but it's a very fast, straightforward deck. It incorporates both Modular and Affinity for artifacts, which are the staple abilities from Mirrodin.
This deck is really awkwardly laid out because it's made with cards I just had laying around. So it's missing really "huge" important cards like Darksteel Forge and Master of Etherium.
The reason I posed this is to highlight a few cards that I think shine in Affinity decks that you didn't post in your primer.
I noticed you didn't have Archbound Crusher, which I would say is probably one of the biggest and most important cards to just about any straight artifact deck. He gains a +1/+1 each time an artifact comes into play, and as he only costs 4, you can get him out early and as you continue to play our your deck, he naturally grows stronger and stronger. He gets destroyed? Oh, well you still retain all of your +1/+1s via Modular. (Unless you get withered or Shrapnel/etc'd down to 0/0) The fact that he is so synergistic with everything in the deck, even with your lands (Gets counters when you play your artifact lands as well.) he is pretty much a huge threat regardless of the flow of the game.
Myr Servitor is also an amazingly useful card. It's basically unlimited block fodder, and they're so cheap to cast that it is almost stupid to not run them. They are your primary defensive myrs, and they play very well into affinity because of how hard they are to completely remove from the field.
@Gweivyth - doesn't have the affinity feel to it. Energy chamber is a more combo/control oriented artifact and so is everflowing chalice. Though I will add arcbound crusher into the casual selection
@TheEnd - Glaze fiend definitely works well in this deck. A good casual feel with a suggestive kiln fiend/wee dragonaut feel to it
Lately, many players've opted to replace Vial with Opal (I personally run three Drums and three Opals); I think it greatly improves the deck's explosiveness. Definitely the most useful of the new cards. I do miss all the cool tricks you could do with Vial (an instantly-resolved Ravager eating your own creature before it can die to removal, for example).
Etched Champion - Too expensive and not that great. Enforcer's lots more efficient, and Cranial Plating on an Ornithopter fills this guy's role better/faster.
Galvanic Blast - Most people don't play Lightning Bolts / Fling / Shrapnel Blast anyway.
Memnite - hmm.. idk. Has potential. Like turn 1 Artifact Land, Ornithopter/Memnite x3, Frogmite, Drum, Enforcer or something. Four more first-turn accelerants with Drum is just insane - seems enough to offset the loss of modular.
I would think aether vial is irreplaceable in this deck I'd take out a enforcer and drum for 2 opals. Btw isn't 3 opals pushing it? it is a legendary after all
Well champion is just an option to consider. Built in protection is bomb
Yeah, I'm still playing around with the numbers for Drums and Opals, along with seeing how much I miss Vial. Some say it's an essential part of the deck, while other people say it's too slow and Affinity needs those quick wins from free drops. I think it's much better in the mid-game and if you have a higher curve, but if you're looking for the fastest clock possible, then 2-3 Opals in their place seem the way to go.
You can safely run 3 Opals simply because Ravager can eat the copies, and you definitely WANT Opal in your opening hand. Memnite is a lot better than Worker IMO. I'd rather get an explosive first turn start than a +1/+1 counter. Ideally, you'd play land, Opal, Drum, Orni/Memnite, Frogmite, Disciple. At that point you'll be able to pump out a turn 1 Plating, Master of the Etherium, Ravager, or Myr Enforcer, to which you're opponent will say "gg"
You can safely run 3 Opals simply because Ravager can eat the copies, and you definitely WANT Opal in your opening hand. Memnite is a lot better than Worker IMO. I'd rather get an explosive first turn start than a +1/+1 counter. Ideally, you'd play land, Opal, Drum, Orni/Memnite, Frogmite, Disciple. At that point you'll be able to pump out a turn 1 Plating, Master of the Etherium, Ravager, or Myr Enforcer, to which you're opponent will say "gg"
we'll see how the newer versions of affinity play out in legacy tournaments. I want to see results before I do some major editing
Maybe add a section about Erayo affinity? It's mostly the same as normal affinity, but its focus shifts slightly to getting a pseudo-lock out on top of beating face.
I play this in both casual and legacy. Being a legacy deck, it can be on the more pricey side, but it's still pretty cheap compared to some legacy decks. On the other end, with the ravagers and co. it may not be as budget friendly as some affinity variants, but it is still pretty reasonable.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
EDH: It's like a pillow fight, except occasionally someone pulls out a chainsaw.
If you suggest a card to add to a deck, suggest one to take out as well.
Maybe add a section about Erayo affinity? It's mostly the same as normal affinity, but its focus shifts slightly to getting a pseudo-lock out on top of beating face.
I play this in both casual and legacy. Being a legacy deck, it can be on the more pricey side, but it's still pretty cheap compared to some legacy decks. On the other end, with the ravagers and co. it may not be as budget friendly as some affinity variants, but it is still pretty reasonable.
Never really heard of Erayo affinity until now, it looks sidetracked from affinity though. Chalice of the void maybe?
no he states clearly he whips sick turn 2 wins lol. Pretty sure he isn't confusing 2 tezzeret for turn 2 win
Oh woops, now that I read it he does state turn 2 wins. My guess would be some sort of combo with Disciple, Skullclamping stuff to death, backed by retarded amounts of mana from Mana Vault. I'd think it'd be very inconsistent, but you could potentially sift through half your deck on turn two with a Skullclamp in play and Mana Vaults in hand.
Never really heard of Erayo affinity until now, it looks sidetracked from affinity though. Chalice of the void maybe?
Chalice is actually in my tourney sideboard. I saw decklists as far back as Kami/Mirrodin T2, but it's taken more of a backseat since there wasn't really enough viable free artifacts to make the flip easier until Scars.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
EDH: It's like a pillow fight, except occasionally someone pulls out a chainsaw.
If you suggest a card to add to a deck, suggest one to take out as well.
Chalice is actually in my tourney sideboard. I saw decklists as far back as Kami/Mirrodin T2, but it's taken more of a backseat since there wasn't really enough viable free artifacts to make the flip easier until Scars.
I see the gist of your argument. It does make sense but i feel it still deviates from the overall aggro-combo feel of affinity. I'm pretty sure affinity never stood well in multiplayer anyways.
I feel chalice is better just because it knocks out combos in the second/third round which is really the only threat that stands against affinity, that and FoW but that is only one for one and affinity has alot more than just one. That and chalice is an artifact
Hello all! I just started getting back into magic and plays mostly with friends thus the casual deck. I had an affinity deck but was wondering if there were any possible way of fixing it. We play both 1v1 and multiplayer games.
Basically the deck feeds atog and swings with fatal frenzy. Disciple of the Vault chips away while atog gets bigger. I'm not too sure if the storage matrix is worth keeping. Any advice is appreciated but I am on a budget. Thanks for all the help in advance!
I would find a way to incorporate Icy Manipulator or another artifact that can tap Storage Matrix for you at the end of your opponents turn to properly abuse it. Drop the Hoverguards for Broodstar, add another Frogmite and drop the Enforcers for Master of Etherium if you can afford them. Paradise Mantle is a good mana fixer in conjunction with ornithopter or disciple. Memnite is good if you get the Masters too. If you run into mana problems with only 16 lands in the deck, add in one or the other artifact land. Tree of Tales/Ancient Den
Reasonably solid affinity deck for 1vs1, but Fatal Frenzy and saccing your artifacts is not going to play well in multiplayer. You might be able to kill one person at the table but your going to be left as a sitting duck out there for anyone to be able to easily mop up. Any suggestions I make are going to slow down the 1 on 1 speed of the deck so maybe you should consider breaking it down into 2 different decks?
For the more focused multiplayer deck Icy Manipulator and Master of Etherium are starts in the right direction, but something like Skeleton Shard would allow you to rebuild your position after saccing several creatures. While 4 Myr Servitor would give you fodder for your sacrifices and allow you to keep at least a chump blocker around for defense. But there are many routes to explore with this color combination.
Seems like I should go find some Master of Etherium and Icy Manipulator. I started to look for Master of Etherium and they seem pricey (for me). Would there be anything that can replace them for now?
Also, since I play both 1v1 and multiplayer, would it be possible to sideboard things so I can just play with one deck or would that not be reasonable?
Working on finding those Broodstars but I was wondering if running an Atog would be beneficial now. Broodstar and Cranial Plating bother require artifacts so would it be wise to have something that eats my artifacts?
Since Fatal Frenzy kills my creature, would Soul's Fire be a decent alternative? I thought of using Fling before Fatal Frenzy but Fatal Frenzy seemed to get in more damage when I tested my deck.
Again, thank you for the responses. They are intuitive and helpful. Thanks!
Fall 2003, Wizards release a set known as Mirrodin. The entire block was to take place on the plane of the same name, the theme was artifacts. This set was the debut for the deck known as Affinity/Raffinity/Vial Affinity. The deck abused the mechanic known as Affinity which rewarded players for dumping artifacts onto the field. Naturally, players exploited this. It got to the point that the artifact lands were banned from standard tournament as well as arcbound ravager and disciple of the vault, and soon this deck gave the entire block the infamy that it now holds.
Modern affinity evolved out of old school vial affinity when the new mirrodin set was released, with the inclusion of new creatures such as signal pest vial affinity evolved into modern affinity shaking off many key cards which kept old school affinity alive
Old school affinity (for nostalgia sake)
The core
Seat of Synod – This deck needs a playset of synods; Master of etherium and thoughtcast both require blue to play.
Vault of Whisper – Another essential land in this deck. This one being one of the more important ones; it open the route for disciple of the vault (to combo with ravager) and for instant speed attaching with plating
Great Furnace – Not really useful unless you run a pauper deck in which case galvanic blast and atog kinda need to be in it
Tree of Tales – Some interesting green hate cards have popped up, this should be considered but not a playset
Ancient Den – Some builds run Canonist and other shenanigans but this really shouldn’t be in the deck when springleaf drums/opals are often used and other color fixing options are available
Darksteel Citadel – The indestructible deters those LD decks, should be a playset as well
Creatures – Affinity is an aggro-combo deck. It takes advantage of cheap/free artifacts to fuel the mechanic Affinity which deducts from casting cost depending on the amount of artifacts you control. Then it rushes in with a crowd of artifact creatures followed by a Disciple-Ravager combo
Frogmite – 2/2 for 4 seems bad, but 2/2 for 0 is practically broken. With frogmite, 90% of the time it is a 2/2 for 0 and 10% of the time it is 2/2 for 1. This guy is early aggro. Frogmite also holds the artifact type so it’s fuel for affinity and the Disciple-Ravager combo
Myr enforcer – Frogmite on steroids. It’s a 4/4 for 7 but like frogmite it should be a 4/4 for 0 or 1 most of the time. This dominates when it hits the field. Like Frogmite, hold the artifact type so it has more than one function.
Ornithopter – It’s free, it flies, and it wins games. Dropping this in the beginning gives you so many options; Tap it with springleaf drum for extra mana, or you can equip a cranial plating and let it go through for some serious damage. This card has stood the test of time and is still used today in modern affinity (arguably the only creature card to remain in the deck since inception of affinity)
Disciple of the vault – The main combo in this deck revolves around Disicple and Ravager. Though it has its fault (not an artifact) it is irreplaceable. The more of these you lay out, the better the combo gets. However, if you have multiple copies of this in your opening hand you are better off using a mulligan. The most this could serve in early beginning is small aggro and sac outlet for clamp.
Arcbound worker – Looks very unassuming: no affinity, just modular 1. However this guy has many roles to assume. He can play early aggro, and even if he dies it's a guarantee that he transfers his counter at least once, if not more depending on the amount of modular creatures in the deck. He can be sacced to skullclamp for card advantage, he can play early aggro with cranial plating, and he can be tapped by springleaf drum for mana. Yeah, this guy rocks.
Master of Etherium – artifact lord + built in cranial plating. This thing can be monstrous. This guy will tower over tarmogoyf and you will be laughing at those who spent forty dollars more on that card. A must if you run a swarm approach
Non-creature Artifacts – Non-creature artifacts in affinity decks should be cheap, 1 and 0 cmc dominating the mix so the choices are rather limited. The core should be color fixers that make up for the lack of consistency in land and cranial platting is a class on its own.
Springleaf drum – Rather new card in the mix, it was quickly added in for its ability to produce mana extremely quickly. It turns that ornithopter into a T1 birds of paradise with haste and taps that (sometimes) useless disciple of the vault for a mana of any color
Cranial plating – the aggro shenanigans suddenly got serious. This card makes any creature in this deck a serious threat. Sometimes this card alone can help win the game without the use of the Ravager-Disciple combo.
Other spells
In this deck, I see only one card that stands out that is not an artifact type or creature type
Thoughtcast – 5 to draw 2, sounds bad doesn’t it? With affinity this should be 2 cards for one mana. This deck runs out of steam very quickly without proper CA, throwing all cards onto the field leaves your hand empty and this along with clamp serves to fill it up again. It is essentially 2/3 of an ancestral recall.
Core Sideboard – tough time trying to define what makes a card budget/competitive but this should serve as a middle ground
Krosan grip – not too pricey, could be both competitive and budget in a sense, nukes artifacts and enchantments with split second so your opponent can’t do anything while that is happening
Pithing needle – self explanatory sideboard material. Whip it out when you need to take a key card out of the picture. Should be both a budget/competitive option but it leans towards the competitive
Tormod’s crypt – does wonders against dredge, affordable enough to be consider a core sideboard option
Dispatch - Relatively new (NPH new) The creature removal card of your choice, works perfectly well in tandem with affinity and unlike StP or PtE, the opponent gets nothing out of it
Ethersworn Canonist – Destroys combos, artifact type, decent in terms of aggro, and not too heavy on the wallet. A must.
Engineer Plague - Anti-tribal, more specifically, anti-elf and anti-goblin as those two are the only two tribal decks that give affinity a run for it's money
The competitive/serious route
Creatures
Arcbound Ravager – It is more or less the star of this deck. A 2 cmc artifact creature that can insta-sac any artifact makes it fearsome in conjunction with Disciple of the vault. Plus to top it all off, he grows with every artifact he sacs also has a failsafe as well with built in modular. Be wary of stifle however. This guy is probably the most expensive card in the deck
Non-creature Artifacts
Aether Vial – some people have named the deck after this card (vial affinity), they aren’t without fault. This card is pretty darn cheap. A 1 cmc artifact that laughs in the face of counterspells. This card is pretty much an auto include without a second thought. On a side note, vial states that you MAY put a counter. It’s best to leave 1-2 counters for ravager and 1 cmc artifacts/creatures. Be warn, some playgroups are not fine with it
Skullclamp – Who doesn’t love this card? It is extremely versatile in any given situation. The only kind of deck this wouldn’t help is non-creature. In this deck it helps out the aggro and fuels some combos. The creatures in this deck (save worker and disciple) can live with skullclamp and increase the aggro. It also gives you a backup plan if your opponent chooses to kill off the creature with skullclamp attached. For one mana, it readily provides CA, so when your hand is running low, consider saccing that archbound worker. It’s practically begging you to. Be warn, like Vial, this card might cause some bad feelings to run in your playgroup. Also banned in multiple formats
Sideboard (competitive)
Chalice of the void – seems counterproductive but the truth is, affinity loses to those combo decks that win earlier, this should be the key to shutting them down
Thoughtseize – expensive version of duress. Takes out two life in exchange for looking for creatures/non-creatures.
Cabal therapy – like thoughtseize except you have to know beforehand what you want to take out. The good news, you can activate flashback and screw your opponent over.
Blinkmoth nexus – A land that can become an artifact, serves as early defense if needed. Quite frankly it would be better just having more artifact lands or even a glimmervoid.
Creatures
Atog – Replaces Ravager of course in both budget and pauper. You would need a couple of great furnaces to go along with atog
Etherium sculptor – it lowers the cost of artifacts even more. It is also an artifact. The bad news is that it requires blue to play and it isn’t exactly an aggro styled card
Somber Hoverguard - 3/2 flying for one is nice. But it goes in casual/budget because it isn't fuel for affinity and requires blue to play
Glaze fiend - Moves affinity from aggro to more combo oriented, definitly a fun card to build around, suggestive kiln fiend/wee dragonaut effect that rewards you for dumping artifacts onto the field. Building around glaze fiend requires more 0 cmc artifacts. Looks fun in conjunction with lightning greaves
Archbound Crusher - Has trample so it runs over chump blockers and it grows permanently for each artifact you throw on the field. Plus its got modular so it leaves a lasting impression when it leaves play. The problem is that the cost is rather hefty and wrecks the curve a bit =/
Non-creature Artifacts
Welding jar – Pretty nice card, it regenerates an artifact and is free like ornithopter, it could save an artifact land or cranial plating from artifact-hate. Did I forget to mention it’s free?
Chromatic sphere – nothing fancy here, color fixes and lets you draw. Sac when you need the spare card or that right color.
Other Spells
Fabricate – artifact tutor, but at sorcery speed. Also is rather expensive so it screws the speed of the deck over considerably.
Steelshaper’s gift – It goes slow but it is 1 cmc so it shouldn’t wreck the speed too much. Find the plating is what it pretty much reads.
Budget sideboard
Duress/Inquisition of Kozilek – Duress takes out the combo enabler, nough said. Inquisition is the budget thoughtseize that restricts what you can discard in terms of cost and does not knock out 2 life
Rituals of restoration – it gets you a card back. Could be useful if your opponent packs a lot of artifact hate
Tel-jilad justice – artifact hate at instant speed, pack some tree of tales if you use it. Scry 2 is pretty useful too
Naturalize – artifact and enchantment hate at instant speed. Likewise with tel jilad justice, pack some tree of tales.
Ancient Grudge - Tel-Jilad Justice without the scry and with flashback, it needs both green and red so be careful with the land base if included
Assert Authority – This is basically saying control, this deck isn’t control. Simple as that.
Mana Vault - a 1 cmc artifact that lets you add 3 mana. The downside is that it requires alternatives to untap it, but you can't doubt the boost. The only reason this card is here is because it's banned in multiple formats and your playgroup will not be happy to see this
Shrapnel blast – This is debatable, some people run it. Some don't because 1. It isn't an artifact 2. Requires you to sac an artifact 3. It requires red.
Mycosynth golem – this belongs to other decks simply because this is too slow for affinity to function. The game should be over by the time this hits the field
Lightning greaves - Gives haste and shroud and after the initial payment, equipping is free. This card is crazy when that M.o.E hits the field. A little too expensive on the wallet to be included in casual budget
Tezzeret the seeker – Planeswalker for artifacts. It leans towards the budget/fun side because the cost is simply too expensive for it to be aggro. But it does tutor artifacts and untaps artifacts. Ok sideboard material
Glimmervoid– Feel free to argue with me on this one. I feel this one shouldn’t be here because it isn’t an artifact and the deck itself has color fixers. But the good news is that the downside of this card will never occur. The release of Mox Opal should replace glimmervoid in most competitive deck. Glimmervoid should be considered as backup if your oppponent sideboards artifact hate but we don't see it to be the case in casual where SB and hate are next to non-existent
Umezawa’s jitte – Cranial plating is better in this case. And this thing is pretty darn expensive too.
Tarmogoyf – No, this deck doesn’t need tarmogoyf (there’s always that one person that yells MOOR GOYF) M.o.E actually beats it so yes in this case, tarmogoyf is subpar
Infiltration lens - in my mind this looks like a weaker version of skullclamp. In this deck, it might serve well sometimes. More of a sideboard option because it depends on the opponent, running high creature count will make this card usable and running decks like burn will screw this card over.
Mishra's factory - a powerful manland that can become a artifact creature to boot. Certainly helps out the aggro. The trade off is slowing your tempo down considerably
Tolarian Academy - This card speaks for itself. Grants you an ENORMOUS boost of mana. It is important though to note that this is a legendary land. Fairly pricey as well and banned in multiple formats
Stoneforge mystic - So good he was banned during his tenure in standard, the walking steelshaper's gift allows you to draw up that plating, but stoneforge is hardly aggressive and does deviate from aggro even more in modern. If you get him, do yourself a favor and add singleton copies of batterskull and umezawa's jitte
Modern (legacy) Affinity
As explained in intro, the release of scars block gave affinity a more diverse cardpool to work from, some cards were already explained in the core and introduction but i feel a new section should be written for modern affinity.
Modern affinity splits into two distinct metas, the fast all in swarm approach and the more mid range affinity that has a more aggro-control feel to it.
the new cards that make their debut in modern affinity:
Tezzeret, agent of bolas - 4 cmc and colors that work with colors already focused in this deck, this card is a blast. Aside from the no artifact type it readily makes up for that with diverse usage. It can scry 4 for an artifact once a turn or it can turn useless topdecks into a 5/5 artifact critter and the last ability is a disciple esque ability forcing your opponent to lose life equal to the number of artifacts x2 you have, it also lets you gain that much life. As the most cost intensive card in the deck, it won't make it past game one if you play 2/3 simply because too many people see this coming
Memnite - Faster than worker but not necessarily better, people seem to prefer speed over longevity
Galvanic blast - Situational card but a good one, it is a strictly better lightning bolt in this deck and does aim for both creatures and players. The bad news is that its not an artifact and color maybe a problem. As modern affinity continues to establish itself, this card was dropped largely in favor of creatures that can possibly deal more on a more consistent level
Etched champion - 3 cmc creature contending for the slot against MoE, i feel both should be included because both have their merits, while EC is untouchable and unblockable 90% of the time, it has small body so it only deals small bits of damage at a time unless you have a cranial plating out or sacced ravager to transfer counters (if you haven't already on a vault skirge). MoE on the other hand absorbs removal too easily but with the lord ability and the built in cranial platting it is a solid aggro card (and the biggest card in the deck hands down). I run both personally but some people run just EC over MoE
signal pest - pseudo evasion gives this card the ability to freely attack, but at 0/1 what does it do? The ability is what makes this card so good, it gives a +1/0 boost to all attacking creatures. Let me rephrase that again, ALL ATTACKING CREATURES. The main idea of this deck is to swarm with multiple creatures already so in reality, it becomes a massive boost, it gets even sillier when you have multiple copies out. another friendly hint: COUGHcranialplattingCOUGH
Mox opal - a staple in modern affinity (provided you have $$$) no matter mid range or pure aggro, it provides a tremendous boost acting almost like a mox. This bad boy is a legendary though but DO NOT FEAR, arcbound ravager ensures multiple copies do not just sleep in your hand
Vault Skirge - The only good card for affinity Neil Patri...New Phyrexia gave us, this card i believe is situational because it depends on what you're taking out for it. Some people took out frogmite for skirge switching from swarm to a more midrange effect. More evasion is nice and lifelink replaces the life lost to cost very quickly. The interactions between this card and ravager allows you to nullify burn decks as well as gain equal if not greater footing than decks that have a faster aggressive clock than affinity
the inclusion of these new cards also kicked some old cards out such as
aether vial - counters don't hurt this deck anymore, nearly every card in itself is useless and wastes the opponent's counters but when combined with others on the field...
arcbound worker - just don't see this on lists anymore, but having your opponent deal with the same +1/+1 counters 2+ times still makes this a solid budget/alternative choice
myr enforcer - used to be the "fattie" of the deck, MoE now holds this ranking, still this makes a solid card for budget/casual and is still a good old school option. Still a staple in pauper however
Disciple of the vault - still remains a popular option but tournament decks do not play him and modern has shook him off for either more aggro, more artifacts, or Tez which has a disciple-esque ability
Sample Decklists
Some old school options to choose from
4x Frogmite
2x Myr Enforcer
4x Arcbound Worker
4x Arcbound Ravager
3x Master of Etherium
4x Disciple of the Vault
4x Aether Vial
4x Springleaf Drum
3x Cranial Plating
3x Cabal Therapy
4x Thoughtcast
4x Darksteel Citadel
3x Glimmervoid
4x Seat of the Synod
4x Vault of Whispers
3x Krosan Grip
3x Smother
1x Cabal Therapy
3x Pithing Needle
3x Tormod's Crypt
2x Umezawa's Jitte
2x Arcbound Ravager
2x Broodstar
4x Ornithopter
4x Disciple of the Vault
4x Myr Enforcer
4x Frogmite
4x Arcbound Worker
4x Skullclamp
4x Cranial Plating
4x Shrapnel Blast
4x Thoughtcast
Land: 20
4x Darksteel Citadel
4x Vault of Whispers
4x Seat of the Synod
4x Great Furnace
2x Island
2x Swamp
4x Ornithopter
4x Arcbound Worker
4x Disciple of the Vault
4x Frogmite
4x Master of Etherium
4x Myr Enforcer
4x Galvanic Blast
4x Thoughtcast
Artifacts
4x Cranial Plating
4x Springleaf Drum
Lands
4x Seat of the Synod
4x Vault of Whispers
4x Darksteel Citadel
4x Great Furnace
1x Ancient Den
3x Glimmervoid
Ok so here it is, my take on affinity. Feel free to post your suggestions and I will add to my list as I see fit. Hopefully this primer will help you out when trying to learn this deck for casual. Some special thanks is in order as well
Xero_17 – I had to refer to your primer at times especially for sideboard options
Death Incarnate – formatting issues were solved with your help
DrDrum – your primer guide shed some light on the matter and on formatting
perv90210 - making that awesome banner for this primer =)
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Great Furnace
2 Mox Opal
4 Disciple of the Vault
4 Ornithopter
4 Memnite
2 Frogmite
4 Myr Enforcer
4 Master of Etherium
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Skullclamp
4 Cranial Plating
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Springleaf Drum
You can easily make it legal in Legacy by replacing the Skullclamp with Thoughtcast. Some people would opt to go:
-1 Springleaf Drum
+1 Mox Opal
Since Ravager can eat the Opal, it is recommended if you have the money. You can also replace Darksteel Citadel with Ancient Den for an Ethersworn Canonist splash, and Etched Champion should definitely be in the build if your playgroup has heavy aggro decks. In this case, it should be replacing Master of Etherium or, for more casual groups, swapped in for Frogmite or Myr Enforcer.
Budget Affinity:
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Great Furnace
4 Disciple of the Vault
4 Atog
4 Ornithopter
4 Memnite
4 Frogmite
4 Myr Enforcer
4 Thoughtcast
4 Cranial Plating
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Shrapnel Blast
4 Springleaf Drum
Somber Hoverguard or Broodstar can replace Shrapnel Blast if you want to go more aggro and less burn.
It is but it is replaceable in a sense so I had it listed in competitive. If there was no replacement, I would have it in both core and competitive
This deck is really awkwardly laid out because it's made with cards I just had laying around. So it's missing really "huge" important cards like Darksteel Forge and Master of Etherium.
2 Archbound Hybrid
4 Archbound Stinger
2 Archbound Bruiser
2 Mephitic Ooze
4 Leaden Myr
2 Iron Myr
4 Archbound Crusher
4 Myr Enforcer
2 Frogmite
3 Myr Servitor
2 Pentavus
1 Archbound Worker
2 Megatog
4 Energy Chamber
Mana Sources (22)
4 Den of Ancients
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Great Furnace
4 Tree of Tales
2 Everflowing Chalice
The reason I posed this is to highlight a few cards that I think shine in Affinity decks that you didn't post in your primer.
I noticed you didn't have Archbound Crusher, which I would say is probably one of the biggest and most important cards to just about any straight artifact deck. He gains a +1/+1 each time an artifact comes into play, and as he only costs 4, you can get him out early and as you continue to play our your deck, he naturally grows stronger and stronger. He gets destroyed? Oh, well you still retain all of your +1/+1s via Modular. (Unless you get withered or Shrapnel/etc'd down to 0/0) The fact that he is so synergistic with everything in the deck, even with your lands (Gets counters when you play your artifact lands as well.) he is pretty much a huge threat regardless of the flow of the game.
Energy Chamber is also a pretty important card. You can use it for some really gimmicky stuff involving Everflowing Chalice and Pentavus, or you can just use it to buff up Archbound Crusher or Master of Etherium.
Myr Servitor is also an amazingly useful card. It's basically unlimited block fodder, and they're so cheap to cast that it is almost stupid to not run them. They are your primary defensive myrs, and they play very well into affinity because of how hard they are to completely remove from the field.
Hope this helps.
Because we care about facts.
It's very casual and fun...
@TheEnd - Glaze fiend definitely works well in this deck. A good casual feel with a suggestive kiln fiend/wee dragonaut feel to it
Some cards to add on the list
Ancient grudge
Arcbound crusher
Glaze fiend
Somber Hoverguard
Inquisition of kozilek
Just some opinions and topics for discussion:
Lately, many players've opted to replace Vial with Opal (I personally run three Drums and three Opals); I think it greatly improves the deck's explosiveness. Definitely the most useful of the new cards. I do miss all the cool tricks you could do with Vial (an instantly-resolved Ravager eating your own creature before it can die to removal, for example).
Etched Champion - Too expensive and not that great. Enforcer's lots more efficient, and Cranial Plating on an Ornithopter fills this guy's role better/faster.
Galvanic Blast - Most people don't play Lightning Bolts / Fling / Shrapnel Blast anyway.
Memnite - hmm.. idk. Has potential. Like turn 1 Artifact Land, Ornithopter/Memnite x3, Frogmite, Drum, Enforcer or something. Four more first-turn accelerants with Drum is just insane - seems enough to offset the loss of modular.
Legacy Gobbyboogers R
Well champion is just an option to consider. Built in protection is bomb
Its true. Burn has largely phased out of affinity
Yeah, I'm still playing around with the numbers for Drums and Opals, along with seeing how much I miss Vial. Some say it's an essential part of the deck, while other people say it's too slow and Affinity needs those quick wins from free drops. I think it's much better in the mid-game and if you have a higher curve, but if you're looking for the fastest clock possible, then 2-3 Opals in their place seem the way to go.
Legacy Gobbyboogers R
we'll see how the newer versions of affinity play out in legacy tournaments. I want to see results before I do some major editing
4x Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
3x Ethersworn Canonist
4x Arcbound Ravager
4x Memnite
4x Ornithopter
4x Frogmite
4x Myr Enforcer
3x Master of Etherium
4x Brainstorm
4x Thoughtcast
3x Mox Opal
Land:
4x Seat of the Synod
4x Ancient Den
4x Darksteel Citadel
3x Glimmervoid
4x (basically any dual land)
I play this in both casual and legacy. Being a legacy deck, it can be on the more pricey side, but it's still pretty cheap compared to some legacy decks. On the other end, with the ravagers and co. it may not be as budget friendly as some affinity variants, but it is still pretty reasonable.
If you suggest a card to add to a deck, suggest one to take out as well.
Never really heard of Erayo affinity until now, it looks sidetracked from affinity though. Chalice of the void maybe?
I'm pretty sure he just meant he ran two Tezzerets for multiplayer, not that his deck won turn two.
no he states clearly he whips sick turn 2 wins lol. Pretty sure he isn't confusing 2 tezzeret for turn 2 win
Oh woops, now that I read it he does state turn 2 wins. My guess would be some sort of combo with Disciple, Skullclamping stuff to death, backed by retarded amounts of mana from Mana Vault. I'd think it'd be very inconsistent, but you could potentially sift through half your deck on turn two with a Skullclamp in play and Mana Vaults in hand.
Chalice is actually in my tourney sideboard. I saw decklists as far back as Kami/Mirrodin T2, but it's taken more of a backseat since there wasn't really enough viable free artifacts to make the flip easier until Scars.
If you suggest a card to add to a deck, suggest one to take out as well.
I see the gist of your argument. It does make sense but i feel it still deviates from the overall aggro-combo feel of affinity. I'm pretty sure affinity never stood well in multiplayer anyways.
I feel chalice is better just because it knocks out combos in the second/third round which is really the only threat that stands against affinity, that and FoW but that is only one for one and affinity has alot more than just one. That and chalice is an artifact
4 Ornithopter
4 Arcbound Worker
3 Frogmite
2 Myr Enforcer
4 Disciple of the Vault
2 Somber Hoverguard
3 Atog
4 Chromatic Star (Mana Fixer)
4 Cranial Plating
4 Springleaf Drum (Mana Fixer)
3 Storage Matrix (Control)
Other Spells
4 Thoughtcast
3 Fatal Frenzy
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Darksteel Citadels
Basically the deck feeds atog and swings with fatal frenzy. Disciple of the Vault chips away while atog gets bigger. I'm not too sure if the storage matrix is worth keeping. Any advice is appreciated but I am on a budget. Thanks for all the help in advance!
For the more focused multiplayer deck Icy Manipulator and Master of Etherium are starts in the right direction, but something like Skeleton Shard would allow you to rebuild your position after saccing several creatures. While 4 Myr Servitor would give you fodder for your sacrifices and allow you to keep at least a chump blocker around for defense. But there are many routes to explore with this color combination.
Have fun.
Also, since I play both 1v1 and multiplayer, would it be possible to sideboard things so I can just play with one deck or would that not be reasonable?
Working on finding those Broodstars but I was wondering if running an Atog would be beneficial now. Broodstar and Cranial Plating bother require artifacts so would it be wise to have something that eats my artifacts?
Since Fatal Frenzy kills my creature, would Soul's Fire be a decent alternative? I thought of using Fling before Fatal Frenzy but Fatal Frenzy seemed to get in more damage when I tested my deck.
Again, thank you for the responses. They are intuitive and helpful. Thanks!