After multiple report were coming back that the foiling process for Kaladesh was actually good, I had to see for myself. I bought one, saw for myself, and then gobbled up all the rest (with mostly no regrets). I've been waiting for foil cards that looked good and didn't warp ever since Urza's Legacy. After looking at the 30 inventions introduced in Kaladesh, it was pretty obvious what I had to do next: make a Glissa deck with only inventions for artifacts.
Restrictions - It's so incredibly easy to make a busted EDH deck. Almost all of my decks have some kind of thematic restriction. Limiting myself to inventions does a lot to exclude many of the Glissa staples like Executioner's Capsule, Viridian Longbow, Myr Battlesphere, Akroma's Memorial, and many other equipment/baubles. On the other hand, the 30 Kaladesh inventions include a lot of what's needed to make the deck work: mana rocks, Lightning Greaves, and the bare minimum amount of quality artifact creatures.
Cost - This is not a budget deck, and I'm not just talking about the inventions. Between the swords, Sculpting Steel, Chromatic Lantern, and Crucible of Worlds, Mishra's Workshop almost feels mandatory (especially with Crop Rotation). Without access to multiple cheap, bauble-type artifacts (with built-in sacrifice effects), it's a little harder to ensure an artifact in your graveyard at all times to get full value out of Glissa. This means I was forced to include many other discard effects like Survival of the Fittest, Greater Good, and Bazaar of Baghdad.
Aesthetics - It's kind of fun to play when every single card in your graveyard has the exactly same shiny, unique border which really pops visually. This also applies to cards in hand which can be cast with Mishra's Workshop. (I'll add pics later. The deck really is kind of beautiful.)
Kaladeshi Design
More than anything else, I did my best to let the available inventions inform design. Here are some examples:
Hangarback Walker / Steel Overseer - Together with Verdurous Gearhulk, +1/+1 counters are a main sub-theme for the deck. Steel Overseer is also the main reason why Blinkmoth Nexus, Inkmoth Nexus, and Marionette Master are in the deck. (There really aren't too many ways to create artifact creatures with no-nartifacts.)
Chromatic Lantern - Together with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, it makes it very easy for this deck to handle a lot of otherwise awkward nonbasic lands. (Turn 1 Mishra's Workshop + Chromatic Lantern might be my favorite opening.)
Crucible of Worlds - This deck leans heavily into a land theme. Bazaar of Baghdad, cycle lands, Strip Mine, Inventor's Fair, Greater Good, Explore, Exploration, and Dryad Arbor all benefit from the Crucible. Dryad Arbor also doubles down with both Recurring Nightmare and Green Sun's Zenith. Also, it's a little bit of a stretch, but I intentionally included both Crucible of Worlds, Forgotten Ancient, and Waste Not as "You Make the Card" creations.
Mana Vault - It might seems weird, but the vault is the main reason Seedborn Muse is in the deck. Hangarback Walker, Steel Overseer, and Avatar of Woe are always fun, but there really aren't too many other things that abuse the extra untaps.
******
This deck is a WIP. It's not even going to be a complete 100 card list until Aether Revolt is released. I'll include pics later. The deck really is kind of beautiful. Can't wait until Aether Revolt inventions are announced, but the truth is that this deck doesn't even need additional artifacts it to be complete. The available selection already make it very playable.
If I could choose Aether Revolt inventions for this deck, I'm hoping for:
I've already gone all-in.
1 Glissa, the Traitor
Inventions (18)
1 Chrome Mox
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Opal
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Steel Overseer
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Sculpting Steel
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Mind's Eye
1 Verdurous Gearhulk
1 Noxious Gearhulk
1 Hangarback Walker
Creature (13)
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Sakura Tribe-Elder
1 Eternal Witness
1 Uktabi Orangutan
1 Forgotten Ancient
1 Spike Weaver
1 Acidic Slime
1 Lord of Extinction
1 Seedborn Muse
1 Thragtusk
1 Marionette Master
1 Avatar of Woe
1 Terastodon
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Explore
1 Life from the Loam
1 Mulch
1 Night's Whisper
1 Regrowth
1 Green Sun's Zenith
Instant (4)
1 Crop Rotation
1 Dark Ritual
1 Grisly Salvage
1 Beast Within
Enchantment (4)
1 Exploration
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Recurring Nightmare
1 Greater Good
Nonbasic Land (16)
1 Barren Moor
1 Bayou
1 Bazaar of Baghdad
1 Blinkmoth Nexus
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Inventors' Fair
1 Island of Wak-Wak
1 Maze of Ith
1 Mishra's Workshop
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Polluted Delta
1 Slippery Karst
1 Strip Mine
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacomb
Inventions: 3 Things
Kaladeshi Design
More than anything else, I did my best to let the available inventions inform design. Here are some examples:
******
This deck is a WIP. It's not even going to be a complete 100 card list until Aether Revolt is released. I'll include pics later. The deck really is kind of beautiful. Can't wait until Aether Revolt inventions are announced, but the truth is that this deck doesn't even need additional artifacts it to be complete. The available selection already make it very playable.
If I could choose Aether Revolt inventions for this deck, I'm hoping for:
Scroll Rack is barely not good enough to include Revenge of the Hunted (or is it?).
Top would definitely put it over the edge.
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