Goals: I'm looking to make this more of a beatdown-oriented deck with all the sweet colourless tech that most people don't know about. I'm not sure I'm reaching this goal effectively, if at all. This is the first draft of the deck and still very much in it's infancy, changes and suggestions are not only welcome, but paramount to the deck's proper evolution to it's final form. Though it's very early in the deck's life cycle, I am posting this now for reference in the soon to debut "random deck of the week" experiment. All discussion is not only encouraged, but immensely sought after. Let's talk about artifacts!
So, those of you whom know me, know I'm an avid pro wrestling fan/historian. If you follow the independent scene of that, you'll know that reference is to "the machine" Brian Cage. And even if you don't get into it hardcorre and just casually enjoy that show on Monday or Tuesday night, I urge you to do some searches for Cage. He's truly a freak of an athlete and there's no logical conclusion that can even try to explain how a man of his stature can do half of what he does. Well, except that rules of man don't apply to him...because he's a machine haha!
Why did I decide to build this? So, you know I'm the "Shrine to Mardu" guy, the Kaalia guy, the Alesha guy, and the Tibalt fanboy. Traxos, more specifically colourless, is none of these things. Well, this has always been a hobby of mine, this fascination with colourless only. Yes, I could have done Karn but I believe that's a little too comboriffic and as I already have Kaalia, I didn't want another combo deck. I could have done Kozilek, and while knowing I have a draw4 in the CZ at all times is powerful, I didn't want to be the guy showing up to a table with the annihilator deck. That's a real bad look. It also didn't help that until recently, you had a manabase that was thoroughly routed by Back to Basics and Dwarven Miner and would lose sharply to a Price of Progress with no response from you. All of these things forced this idea on the back burner. Still more, the idea of having no colour to me, bred the challenge to build into it and just see what I could maximize without going to the brainless "Karn or Null Rod + Lattice your lands lolz" route.
Then we got Wastes. This was a huge point of traction to the deck's coming alive point, but what really put me over the top was the printing of Traxos himself in Dominaria. Let's look at him. He boasts of SEVEN power for just four mana, with in-built evasion (trample). He does have a drawback, but in a dedicated deck that is nothing to untap him effortlessly, giving him a sort of pseudo vigilance. He kills in three hits, but can kill in two hits in a number of ways to bring that up to a 2 turn kill (hi, Batterskull).
Now, what are our strengths? We don't get but a couple of instants and sorceries, and our draw plus removal is typically overcosted to pay for the premium of not being colour related. A lot of our cards are straight forward because of this. Not to worry though, because the one constant we get (and it's a big one), is mana production. And there's some really good mana production at that. And tutours. You'd be surprised to learn there's quite a few tutours available (and I'm not talking about Eye of Ugin )...they're just high mana. This makes them typically unplayable for most decks, but in a deck that specializes in big mana like none other? Well, what better of a payoff could you possibly ask for, than universal, unrestricted, non-revealing tutours!
There's also quite the suite of mass removal to work with, and a number of great planeswalkers with which to split your assault on forked fronts, and hey, token generation too! Don't believe me? Then look below.
Note: I don't like Oblivion Stone . Hate. Hate is a better word. It's expensive to use, it's bad versus Stifle, it hits our own walkers, and it's harder to abuse. I have one (the new art even), I just can't stand it. Prove me wrong that it actually does belong in here. Do not suggest Mycosynth Lattice . It doesn't do anything except combo in the same way as any other colourless deck, Sharuum deck, or Dagsson deck, and I won't turn this into one of those. It's bad outside the [obvious] combo. I won't do it. Last note, yes, I play Sword of Dungeons and Dragons. If you can't accept that as a reasonable card (and yes, it is far worse than the other Swords), then I'm glad I don't play in your cEDH pod. Let's not forget this is still an unsanctioned format with nothing on the line, and even if that ever changed, there are far, far worse things you can do than create a 4/4 flyer with a 5% chance (1/20) of creating another 4/4 flyer.
Always happy to see unlikely commander choices - especially ones i've built myself!
On first sight, comparing it to my own list (which has a different approach), i miss a few things: + Blackblade Reforged & Strata Scythe: I included both of these after suggestions on here myself and they enable for some very early lethal swings. Not as great, but still good: Fireshrieker. + Lightning Greaves & Swiftfoot Boots: Haste and protection are both crucial for Voltron decks, a swing more can make a huge difference. + Sculpting Steel: I think this one would be even better in your deck than it already is in mine. + Sensei's Divining Tops: Smooths out draws and is a cheap untapping effect. + Thran Dynamo:3 for 4 with no downside as a C deck. You have enough untaps to break this. + Tormod's Crypt, Scavenger Grounds et al: A meta call, but i'd include at the very least one graveyard hate card. + Umezawa's Jitte: Buff, removal and lifeline all in one. Flawless. + Silent Arbiter: Opponents better have big blockers or removal ready or you start killing players quickly. + Inventors' Fair: Your deck is already tutor heavy, but this would slot right in. + Rogue's Passage: Never been a big fan of this card, but it just works in this deck.
- Darksteel Forge: Outside of Mycosynth Lattice combos i rarely felt this is worth its mana cost. Most of the time cheap spot removal solves it, which is a feel bad situation, for sure. - Helm of Kaldra: Are you playing this as a keyword spender? If so i'm unsure if this isn't worse than, say, Haunted Cloak. If not, how often were you able to assemble all three? - Salvaging Station: Right now you only have 6 artifacts you could recurr with this: Codex Shredder, Expedition Map, Mox Diamond, Thran Turbine, Voltaic Key & Wayfarer's Bauble. Of these only 3 sac themselves. I'd propably free up that slot for something else. - Shield of Kaldra: Idk if this effect is worth 8 total in a format that has a lot of exile, tuck and force-sac removal. Again, if you'd like to assemble Kaldra it's fair game. 0 Sword of Kaldra: Of the 3 Kaldra Equipments i like this one the best. Costs a s**t ton of mana, yet it allows you to hit hard. Opponents will not want to block this - at all. - Temple of the False God: I really came to dislike this card completely. It's just never at its best, ever. I'd play Shrine of the Forsaken Gods or Crystal Vein over it. 0 Thran Turbine: You have ~25 cards that can make use of this, with lots of them being one-time uses only (without other moving parts). While i totally love this card in my Lazav, the Multifarious deck, i'm unsure if it's worth it here though, especially with the timing restriction. - Urza's Blueprints: Love the flavor, hate the mana cost. I've only seen this go nuts with a ton of untaps. How does it feel in paper?
Anyways, i'm curious to see how your take turns out. Keep brewin'!
There's a ton of things I completely derped on (sculpting steel is the worst offender of my derping). Funny, considering this is the only deck I have where I actually run a Workshop. God I am bad. Looking over your post.
edit: I know I had inventor's fair in , must have gotten misplaced in my box. That was probably the primary reason I had crucible of worlds in at first, with the four fetches I get (terramorphic/evolving/moraine/landscape).
I really don't like False God either, but I like it more than Shrine of Forsaken Gods which is online after the fact. In a colourless deck I think it's a fairly safe include, and I do have Glaciers to help get it online even with the negative synergy with scorched ruins.
Yes, Kaldra-tron is a plan! Originally it was just the sword I wanted because it makes our boy a two turn clock, but with the shield being a reasonable defensive option (albeit strictly worse than darksteel plate). Helm is definitely the worse of the pack, but since at this point I'm on 2/3 of Kaldra-tron anyway...you get the idea.
I really don't see the appeal in Blackblade Reforged. I see it all over. But I just...it looks like a usually worse Empyrial Plate. I think Strata Scythe could be good if I weren't on Batterskull/Argentum Armor - I have quite a few nonbasics which will hurt it's overall boost (it needs to consistently add +4 power to be worthwhile, which means I've seen a minimum of 5 Wastes. That's a hard sell).
Station can be cut (I had lotus bloom at one point because reusable loti are good I hear). I'm always shoving it in, but it takes a lot of slots and it's better in XU anyway because of artificer's intuition. I'd like some more untap effects, but it's likely I have the good ones and blueprints will just be awkward and unwieldy. It needs to be in a Daretti or similar deck where you can Weld it in and out to abuse the echo cost. I can't do that here. I'd like to get some proliferate going on. C-Engine and Throne of Geth at a minimum, but C-Clasp would be great too.
I love and hate Forge. I hate that 9, though numbers are fairly arbitrary to colourless. I love dropping it with Temporal Gateway or that time I surprise deployed it off Planar Bridge. That was a riot, ha. It also combos with Nev Disk, so there's that.
Seems I completely glossed over ring/crypt, so that's an easy fix.
How many lands should I really be shooting for? I always start at 40 but is that too much? Mox Diamond could be a cut then if I'm shaving lands. I'm suspicious some of my nonbasics are suspect and would be better served as Wastes?
inventor's fair, thran dynamo and sculpting steel definitely need including. Paradox Engine needs adding in any colourless deck. You can ramp so hard. rogue's passage can guarantee your damage goes through, same with suspicious bookcase (can’t believe I actually suggested a bookcase) and they can be used to sneak opponent’s creatures through as well as traxos. sword of the animist would be a good way to thin your deck so your draws are more consistent.
Maybe crawlspace as a way to mitigate the incoming attacks? gorgon's head as a way to make traxos incredibly hard to block?
Batterskull is both a threat on it's own, and still makes our man into a 2 hit wonder. I think it stays. I suspect the Armor is fine for the same reasons, and it also offers a hard removal option. I'm certainly not married to it, but I suspect it's a necessity. The last slot is the sword, which while comparable to the suggested Scythe and Blackblade is highly lethal (you can't chump Traxos anyway), it offers a static boost that would take the latter five turns at least to hit (more for Scythe) while Sword only needs the mana (GREAT via scorched ruins). The con being it "steals" an extra card slot because, while Scythe or Blackblade would only ask me to play DS Plate, Sword asks me to play the strictly worse Shield and then the Helm of Kaldra. But none of these are contingent on my lands in play, so I think this is an acceptable trade off.
Tutours Inventor's Fair Ring of Three Wishes Planar Portal Planar Bridge
These are the only tutours we get access to, so I think we're locked in here. I wonder if the existence of the Bridge is enough to justify Blightsteel Colossus' inclusion. It doesn't really synergize with the deck though, so probably not. Same for Kozilek, and the other eldrazi titans. But the ability to jump behind you and yell "surprise!" and make one of these bombs appear on your end step is satisfying.
Maybe go for everflowing chalice too? It's as good as and decent mana rock and can combo with traxos and unwinding Clock as you cast artifacts. Any draw engine means you can continuously draw if you're able to cast them.
I find chalice to be worse than powerstone for the mana invested and worse than archive for the same cost. It's like astral cornucopia, it's good in decks that can proliferate (where it's exceptional) and subpar everywhere else. By this logic, my idea of mana men is likely also a bad one. But I definitely need more bodies so I'm not just cold to edicts, alternative beats, something more than mana rocks. Hmm.
everflowing chalice scales amazingly.
You can turn 2 it like a mind stone, 4 it like a ur golem's eye, 6 it like a dreamstone hedron...and upwards.
In deck that require colour it's not great but in colourless it is very good because its ramp at whatever level you need it.
No it doesn't have the seconds draw abilities of the cards listed but it really is very good. Any rock that costs 2 and taps for 1 is good if you're looking to ramp in colourless.
I'm pretty happy with Everflowing Chalice in all my decks, but especially here. Having only C mana isn't a downside here, i can enable a turn 3 Traxos, Scourge of Kroog and is a free untap when i'm in dire need or have more than enough mana already.
In a deck that has to move forward from the start i'd play 2 mana rocks over Hedron Archive and Worn Powerstone anytime. I'm playing Traxos, Scourge of Kroog ever since the Prerelease of Dominaria around a year ago and 3 lands, a 2 mana rock plus anything that isn't necissarily a land is as good as a starting hand gets. (especially with my own deck curving out at 6)
everflowing chalice scales amazingly.
You can turn 2 it like a mind stone, 4 it like a ur golem's eye, 6 it like a dreamstone hedron...and upwards.
In deck that require colour it's not great but in colourless it is very good because its ramp at whatever level you need it.
No it doesn't have the seconds draw abilities of the cards listed but it really is very good. Any rock that costs 2 and taps for 1 is good if you're looking to ramp in colourless.
But a strictly worse mind stone, and ur-golem's eye/sisay's ring and dreamstone hedron aren't good. Still, a two drop rock here with a four drop commander, much like my forays with Kaalia, is gonna be premium here so on that reasoning it should take precedence. I suppose there's totally worse things I've played before haha. And since I do want some proliferate, there's always that added bonus to hang my hat on. I need to remember Thought Vessel too. I have one of those $8 buggers lying around here somewhere.
I'm not sure Thopter Assembly, though good, is doing it here in this deck with it's needing to wait a full turn cycle but Battlesphere of course is amazing and the turbine has it's uses, if a bit anti-climatic of a five drop.
I'm pretty happy with Everflowing Chalice in all my decks, but especially here. Having only C mana isn't a downside here, i can enable a turn 3 Traxos, Scourge of Kroog and is a free untap when i'm in dire need or have more than enough mana already.
In a deck that has to move forward from the start i'd play 2 mana rocks over Hedron Archive and Worn Powerstone anytime. I'm playing Traxos, Scourge of Kroog ever since the Prerelease of Dominaria around a year ago and 3 lands, a 2 mana rock plus anything that isn't necissarily a land is as good as a starting hand gets. (especially with my own deck curving out at 6)
What do you do for alternative threats to draw attention away from the big guy (if that were possible lol)? Do we just deal and rebuild because we have all the mana? Do we play more sphere effects to slsow them deck while we power through (I can't see a reason to not play 3sphere in this deck)? Should the two orbs make the cut here?
What do you do for alternative threats to draw attention away from the big guy (if that were possible lol)? Do we just deal and rebuild because we have all the mana?
I can only speak for my own all out Voltron deck. I've tried the alternative threats route in the beginning - with Armory Automaton and some others - but never got comfortable with it. You'd have to run a suite of threats, to draw into them over the course of a game reliably and by that you'd loose valuable slots in the deck. Realizing that i commited myself to my commander and its nature of being a fragile, yet entertaining one trick pony.
Since it's virtually impossible to mislead opponents playing a Voltron deck i added in several cost reduction, protection and evasion options. Being able to drop the commander over and over again, getting in early swings is the best my build can do.
One more thing i was wondering about was your lack of LD. In my playgroup Maze of Ith is a common and for this commander lethal sight. Aside from hexproof/shroud enablers i added Encroaching Wastes, Field of Ruin, Ghost Quarter and Tectonic Edge just to come prepared. Sooner or later Strip Mine and maybe even Wasteland are supposed to follow.
I wanted to include as many Wastes as possible though, because i really like using them. If not here, where else then?
I strongly recommend you don’t run semblance anvil.
It’s a remove on sight artifact and when it gets destroyed you’re two cards down.
I used to run it in my butcher of truth deck but it was a bit of a liability!
I was thinking something smaller end cmc, like some steel overseer (+ hangarback walker!) and myr retrievers, to go with that chief of the foundry kind of stuff. But it seems like I'm trying to mesh voltron with big mana and early game which obviously isn't going to work. I should just pick a strat and stick with that rather than diluting what I'm up to. I think that I don't want to go voltron because it's too all-in for my taste, rather he should be a stand alone threat that detracts from the rest of the deck. Since the LGS' current league is doing 2HG, I suspect I should have emphasis on going wide above all else.
Have you considered Hope of Ghirapur? It's cheap, and a way to avoid disturbances from a specific opponent for a while. It also has evasion so it can carry equipments well.
Have you considered Hope of Ghirapur? It's cheap, and a way to avoid disturbances from a specific opponent for a while. It also has evasion so it can carry equipments well.
For one turn. From one opponent, that HoG damaged. But I do actually like him as the commander rather than in the 99 here. I'm fairly confident that Defense Grid does this guy's job better.
Have you considered Hope of Ghirapur? It's cheap, and a way to avoid disturbances from a specific opponent for a while. It also has evasion so it can carry equipments well.
For one turn. From one opponent, that HoG damaged. But I do actually like him as the commander rather than in the 99 here. I'm fairly confident that Defense Grid does this guy's job better.
It might not sound like much but it can buy you the turn needed to hit your opponent off with Traxos.
If people are sick of reading about stuff just stop taking part. You have 100% control over what you read. Simic Ascendancy isn't going to get banned just because you didn't tell someone to shut up on the internet.
Goals: I'm looking to make this more of a beatdown-oriented deck with all the sweet colourless tech that most people don't know about. I'm not sure I'm reaching this goal effectively, if at all. This is the first draft of the deck and still very much in it's infancy, changes and suggestions are not only welcome, but paramount to the deck's proper evolution to it's final form. Though it's very early in the deck's life cycle, I am posting this now for reference in the soon to debut "random deck of the week" experiment. All discussion is not only encouraged, but immensely sought after. Let's talk about artifacts!
So, those of you whom know me, know I'm an avid pro wrestling fan/historian. If you follow the independent scene of that, you'll know that reference is to "the machine" Brian Cage. And even if you don't get into it hardcorre and just casually enjoy that show on Monday or Tuesday night, I urge you to do some searches for Cage. He's truly a freak of an athlete and there's no logical conclusion that can even try to explain how a man of his stature can do half of what he does. Well, except that rules of man don't apply to him...because he's a machine haha!
Why did I decide to build this? So, you know I'm the "Shrine to Mardu" guy, the Kaalia guy, the Alesha guy, and the Tibalt fanboy. Traxos, more specifically colourless, is none of these things. Well, this has always been a hobby of mine, this fascination with colourless only. Yes, I could have done Karn but I believe that's a little too comboriffic and as I already have Kaalia, I didn't want another combo deck. I could have done Kozilek, and while knowing I have a draw4 in the CZ at all times is powerful, I didn't want to be the guy showing up to a table with the annihilator deck. That's a real bad look. It also didn't help that until recently, you had a manabase that was thoroughly routed by Back to Basics and Dwarven Miner and would lose sharply to a Price of Progress with no response from you. All of these things forced this idea on the back burner. Still more, the idea of having no colour to me, bred the challenge to build into it and just see what I could maximize without going to the brainless "Karn or Null Rod + Lattice your lands lolz" route.
Then we got Wastes. This was a huge point of traction to the deck's coming alive point, but what really put me over the top was the printing of Traxos himself in Dominaria. Let's look at him. He boasts of SEVEN power for just four mana, with in-built evasion (trample). He does have a drawback, but in a dedicated deck that is nothing to untap him effortlessly, giving him a sort of pseudo vigilance. He kills in three hits, but can kill in two hits in a number of ways to bring that up to a 2 turn kill (hi, Batterskull).
Now, what are our strengths? We don't get but a couple of instants and sorceries, and our draw plus removal is typically overcosted to pay for the premium of not being colour related. A lot of our cards are straight forward because of this. Not to worry though, because the one constant we get (and it's a big one), is mana production. And there's some really good mana production at that. And tutours. You'd be surprised to learn there's quite a few tutours available (and I'm not talking about Eye of Ugin )...they're just high mana. This makes them typically unplayable for most decks, but in a deck that specializes in big mana like none other? Well, what better of a payoff could you possibly ask for, than universal, unrestricted, non-revealing tutours!
There's also quite the suite of mass removal to work with, and a number of great planeswalkers with which to split your assault on forked fronts, and hey, token generation too! Don't believe me? Then look below.
Note: I don't like Oblivion Stone . Hate. Hate is a better word. It's expensive to use, it's bad versus Stifle, it hits our own walkers, and it's harder to abuse. I have one (the new art even), I just can't stand it. Prove me wrong that it actually does belong in here. Do not suggest Mycosynth Lattice . It doesn't do anything except combo in the same way as any other colourless deck, Sharuum deck, or Dagsson deck, and I won't turn this into one of those. It's bad outside the [obvious] combo. I won't do it. Last note, yes, I play Sword of Dungeons and Dragons. If you can't accept that as a reasonable card (and yes, it is far worse than the other Swords), then I'm glad I don't play in your cEDH pod. Let's not forget this is still an unsanctioned format with nothing on the line, and even if that ever changed, there are far, far worse things you can do than create a 4/4 flyer with a 5% chance (1/20) of creating another 4/4 flyer.
1x Argentum Armor
1x Batterskull
1x Brittle Effigy
1x Clock of Omens
1x Contagion Clasp
1x Contagion Engine
1x Darksteel Plate
1x Defense Grid
1x Endless Atlas
1x Expedition Map
1x Grim Monolith
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Mana Crypt
1x Memory Jar
1x Mind Stone
1x Mind's Eye
1x Mirage Mirror
1x Mirrorworks
1x Mox Opal
1x Nevinyrral's Disk
1x Phyrexian Furnace
1x Planar Bridge
1x Planar Portal
1x Ring of Three Wishes
1x Rings of Brighthearth
1x Scrabbling Claws
1x Sculpting Steel
1x Sol Ring
1x Staff of Domination
1x Staff of Nin
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Thought Vessel
1x Thran Temporal Gateway
1x Trading Post
1x Transmogrifying Wand
1x Umezawa's Jitte
1x Unwinding Clock
1x Voltaic Key
1x Weatherlight
1x Blasted Landscape
1x Buried Ruin
1x Darksteel Citadel
1x Homeward Path
1x Inventors' Fair
1x Maze of Ith
1x Mishra's Factory
1x Mishra's Workshop
1x Mutavault
1x Mystifying Maze
1x Phyrexia's Core
1x Scavenger Grounds
1x Scorched Ruins
1x Strip Mine
1x Thawing Glaciers
1x Vesuva
1x Wasteland
18x Wastes
1x Zhalfirin Void
1x Not of This World
1x Scour from Existence
1x Spatial Contortion
1x Warping Wail
1x Karn Liberated
1x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
1x Bane of Bala Ged
1x Brass Squire
1x Endbringer
1x Etched Champion
1x Golden Guardian
1x Kuldotha Forgemaster
1x Lodestone Golem
1x Metalworker
1x Meteor Golem
1x Myr Retriever
1x Reality Smasher
1x Scrap Trawler
1x Shimmer Myr
1x Skyscanner
1x Steel Hellkite
1x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Argentum Armor
1x Basalt Monolith
1x Batterskull
1x Blinkmoth Urn
1x Clock of Omens
1x Codex Shredder
1x Darksteel Forge
1x Endless Atlas
1x Expedition Map
1x Extraplanar Lens
1x Grim Monolith
1x Helm of Kaldra
1x Mind Stone
1x Mind's Eye
1x Mirage Mirror
1x Mirrorworks
1x Mox Diamond
1x Nevinyrral's Disk
1x Planar Bridge
1x Planar Portal
1x Ring of Three Wishes
1x Rings of Brighthearth
1x Salvaging Station
1x Shield of Kaldra
1x Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
1x Sphere of Resistance
1x Staff of Nin
1x Sword of Dungeons & Dragons
1x Sword of Kaldra
1x Thran Turbine
1x Trading Post
1x Transmogrifying Wand
1x Unstable Obelisk
1x Unwinding Clock
1x Urza's Blueprints
1x Voltaic Key
1x Wayfarer's Bauble
1x Weatherlight
1x Blasted Landscape
1x Blinkmoth Nexus
1x Buried Ruin
1x Darksteel Citadel
1x Dread Statuary
1x Inkmoth Nexus
1x Mage-Ring Network
1x Mishra's Factory
1x Mishra's Workshop
1x Mutavault
1x Mystifying Maze
1x Phyrexia's Core
1x Ruins of Oran-Rief
1x Scorched Ruins
1x Strip Mine
1x Temple of the False God
1x Thawing Glaciers
1x Wasteland
20x Wastes
1x Zhalfirin Void
1x Not of This World
1x Spatial Contortion
1x Warping Wail
1x All Is Dust
1x Darksteel Juggernaut
1x Duplicant
1x Endbringer
1x Foundry Inspector
1x Golden Guardian Flip
1x Lodestone Golem
1x Metalworker
1x Meteor Golem
1x Mishra's Self-Replicator
1x Myr Retriever
1x Scrap Trawler
1x Shimmer Myr
1x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Karn, Scion of Urza
1x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Link for visual reference as well as statistical analysis: https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/traxos-hes-not-a-man-hes-a-machine/
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
On first sight, comparing it to my own list (which has a different approach), i miss a few things:
+ Blackblade Reforged & Strata Scythe: I included both of these after suggestions on here myself and they enable for some very early lethal swings. Not as great, but still good: Fireshrieker.
+ Lightning Greaves & Swiftfoot Boots: Haste and protection are both crucial for Voltron decks, a swing more can make a huge difference.
+ Sculpting Steel: I think this one would be even better in your deck than it already is in mine.
+ Sensei's Divining Tops: Smooths out draws and is a cheap untapping effect.
+ Thran Dynamo: 3 for 4 with no downside as a C deck. You have enough untaps to break this.
+ Tormod's Crypt, Scavenger Grounds et al: A meta call, but i'd include at the very least one graveyard hate card.
+ Umezawa's Jitte: Buff, removal and lifeline all in one. Flawless.
+ Silent Arbiter: Opponents better have big blockers or removal ready or you start killing players quickly.
+ Inventors' Fair: Your deck is already tutor heavy, but this would slot right in.
+ Rogue's Passage: Never been a big fan of this card, but it just works in this deck.
- Helm of Kaldra: Are you playing this as a keyword spender? If so i'm unsure if this isn't worse than, say, Haunted Cloak. If not, how often were you able to assemble all three?
- Salvaging Station: Right now you only have 6 artifacts you could recurr with this: Codex Shredder, Expedition Map, Mox Diamond, Thran Turbine, Voltaic Key & Wayfarer's Bauble. Of these only 3 sac themselves. I'd propably free up that slot for something else.
- Shield of Kaldra: Idk if this effect is worth 8 total in a format that has a lot of exile, tuck and force-sac removal. Again, if you'd like to assemble Kaldra it's fair game.
0 Sword of Kaldra: Of the 3 Kaldra Equipments i like this one the best. Costs a s**t ton of mana, yet it allows you to hit hard. Opponents will not want to block this - at all.
- Temple of the False God: I really came to dislike this card completely. It's just never at its best, ever. I'd play Shrine of the Forsaken Gods or Crystal Vein over it.
0 Thran Turbine: You have ~25 cards that can make use of this, with lots of them being one-time uses only (without other moving parts). While i totally love this card in my Lazav, the Multifarious deck, i'm unsure if it's worth it here though, especially with the timing restriction.
- Urza's Blueprints: Love the flavor, hate the mana cost. I've only seen this go nuts with a ton of untaps. How does it feel in paper?
edit: I know I had inventor's fair in , must have gotten misplaced in my box. That was probably the primary reason I had crucible of worlds in at first, with the four fetches I get (terramorphic/evolving/moraine/landscape).
I really don't like False God either, but I like it more than Shrine of Forsaken Gods which is online after the fact. In a colourless deck I think it's a fairly safe include, and I do have Glaciers to help get it online even with the negative synergy with scorched ruins.
Yes, Kaldra-tron is a plan! Originally it was just the sword I wanted because it makes our boy a two turn clock, but with the shield being a reasonable defensive option (albeit strictly worse than darksteel plate). Helm is definitely the worse of the pack, but since at this point I'm on 2/3 of Kaldra-tron anyway...you get the idea.
I really don't see the appeal in Blackblade Reforged. I see it all over. But I just...it looks like a usually worse Empyrial Plate. I think Strata Scythe could be good if I weren't on Batterskull/Argentum Armor - I have quite a few nonbasics which will hurt it's overall boost (it needs to consistently add +4 power to be worthwhile, which means I've seen a minimum of 5 Wastes. That's a hard sell).
Station can be cut (I had lotus bloom at one point because reusable loti are good I hear). I'm always shoving it in, but it takes a lot of slots and it's better in XU anyway because of artificer's intuition. I'd like some more untap effects, but it's likely I have the good ones and blueprints will just be awkward and unwieldy. It needs to be in a Daretti or similar deck where you can Weld it in and out to abuse the echo cost. I can't do that here. I'd like to get some proliferate going on. C-Engine and Throne of Geth at a minimum, but C-Clasp would be great too.
I love and hate Forge. I hate that 9, though numbers are fairly arbitrary to colourless. I love dropping it with Temporal Gateway or that time I surprise deployed it off Planar Bridge. That was a riot, ha. It also combos with Nev Disk, so there's that.
Seems I completely glossed over ring/crypt, so that's an easy fix.
How many lands should I really be shooting for? I always start at 40 but is that too much? Mox Diamond could be a cut then if I'm shaving lands. I'm suspicious some of my nonbasics are suspect and would be better served as Wastes?
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Paradox Engine needs adding in any colourless deck. You can ramp so hard.
rogue's passage can guarantee your damage goes through, same with suspicious bookcase (can’t believe I actually suggested a bookcase) and they can be used to sneak opponent’s creatures through as well as traxos.
sword of the animist would be a good way to thin your deck so your draws are more consistent.
Maybe crawlspace as a way to mitigate the incoming attacks?
gorgon's head as a way to make traxos incredibly hard to block?
EDH:
[Primer]C Kozilek, Butcher of Truth C
RGNikya of the Old WaysGR
Traxos - the man himself.
- Rogue's Passage
- Helm of Kaldra
- Shield of Kaldra
- Sword of Kaldra
- Batterskull
- Argentum Armor
Batterskull is both a threat on it's own, and still makes our man into a 2 hit wonder. I think it stays. I suspect the Armor is fine for the same reasons, and it also offers a hard removal option. I'm certainly not married to it, but I suspect it's a necessity. The last slot is the sword, which while comparable to the suggested Scythe and Blackblade is highly lethal (you can't chump Traxos anyway), it offers a static boost that would take the latter five turns at least to hit (more for Scythe) while Sword only needs the mana (GREAT via scorched ruins). The con being it "steals" an extra card slot because, while Scythe or Blackblade would only ask me to play DS Plate, Sword asks me to play the strictly worse Shield and then the Helm of Kaldra. But none of these are contingent on my lands in play, so I think this is an acceptable trade off.Tutours
Inventor's Fair
Ring of Three Wishes
Planar Portal
Planar Bridge
These are the only tutours we get access to, so I think we're locked in here. I wonder if the existence of the Bridge is enough to justify Blightsteel Colossus' inclusion. It doesn't really synergize with the deck though, so probably not. Same for Kozilek, and the other eldrazi titans. But the ability to jump behind you and yell "surprise!" and make one of these bombs appear on your end step is satisfying.
Mana
Lotus Bloom
Expedition Map
Mana Crypt
Sol Ring
Mana Vault
Thran Turbine
Wayfarer's Bauble
Grim Monolith
Mind Stone
Sword of the Animist
Thought Vessel
Basalt Monolith
Extraplanar Lens
Metalworker
Unstable Obelisk
Worn Powerstone?
Golden Guardian
Hedron Archive?
Thran Dynamo
Blinkmoth Urn
Mana Men? (Can play double duty as attacks or ramp over the less dubious rocks)
Hedron Crawler
Manakin
Plague Myr
Palladium Myr
Protection
Lightning Greaves
Swiftfoot Boots
Shield of Kaldra
Not Of This World
Darksteel Forge
Flash
Shimmer Myr
Thran Temporal Gateway
Removal
Brittle Effigy
Spatial Contortion
Warping Wail
Oblivion Stone? (Prove to me this card belongs)Transmogrifying Wand
Nevinyrral's Disk
Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
Argentum Armor
Duplicant
All Is Dust
Meteor Golem
Draw Power
Sensei's Divining Top
Endless Atlas
Weatherlight
Mind's Eye
Endbringer
Staff of Nin
Good Stuff
Basilisk Collar
Voltaic Key
Umezawa's Jitte
Brass Squire
Helm of Kaldra
Mirage Mirror
Sculpting Steel
Scrap Trawler
Sword of Dungeons & Dragons
Clock of Omens
Trading Post
Karn, Scion of Urza
Mirrorworks
Karn Liberated
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Beats
Lodestone Golem
Darksteel Juggernaut
Wurmcoil Engine
Okay...what'd I miss? I count 68 nonlands and I don't think Paradox Engine is adding anything here.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Yes and yes to hedron archive and worn powerstone
skyship weatherlight is a tutor provided you only search for one card.
I also don't like oblivion stone!
EDH:
[Primer]C Kozilek, Butcher of Truth C
RGNikya of the Old WaysGR
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
You can turn 2 it like a mind stone, 4 it like a ur golem's eye, 6 it like a dreamstone hedron...and upwards.
In deck that require colour it's not great but in colourless it is very good because its ramp at whatever level you need it.
No it doesn't have the seconds draw abilities of the cards listed but it really is very good. Any rock that costs 2 and taps for 1 is good if you're looking to ramp in colourless.
myr turbine, myr battlesphere and thopter assembly can print a ton of blockers. Synergises with kuldotha forgemaster too.
EDH:
[Primer]C Kozilek, Butcher of Truth C
RGNikya of the Old WaysGR
In a deck that has to move forward from the start i'd play 2 mana rocks over Hedron Archive and Worn Powerstone anytime. I'm playing Traxos, Scourge of Kroog ever since the Prerelease of Dominaria around a year ago and 3 lands, a 2 mana rock plus anything that isn't necissarily a land is as good as a starting hand gets. (especially with my own deck curving out at 6)
But a strictly worse mind stone, and ur-golem's eye/sisay's ring and dreamstone hedron aren't good. Still, a two drop rock here with a four drop commander, much like my forays with Kaalia, is gonna be premium here so on that reasoning it should take precedence. I suppose there's totally worse things I've played before haha. And since I do want some proliferate, there's always that added bonus to hang my hat on. I need to remember Thought Vessel too. I have one of those $8 buggers lying around here somewhere.
I'm not sure Thopter Assembly, though good, is doing it here in this deck with it's needing to wait a full turn cycle but Battlesphere of course is amazing and the turbine has it's uses, if a bit anti-climatic of a five drop.
What do you do for alternative threats to draw attention away from the big guy (if that were possible lol)? Do we just deal and rebuild because we have all the mana? Do we play more sphere effects to slsow them deck while we power through (I can't see a reason to not play 3sphere in this deck)? Should the two orbs make the cut here?
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Since it's virtually impossible to mislead opponents playing a Voltron deck i added in several cost reduction, protection and evasion options. Being able to drop the commander over and over again, getting in early swings is the best my build can do.
I wanted to include as many Wastes as possible though, because i really like using them. If not here, where else then?
It’s a remove on sight artifact and when it gets destroyed you’re two cards down.
I used to run it in my butcher of truth deck but it was a bit of a liability!
EDH:
[Primer]C Kozilek, Butcher of Truth C
RGNikya of the Old WaysGR
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
For one turn. From one opponent, that HoG damaged. But I do actually like him as the commander rather than in the 99 here. I'm fairly confident that Defense Grid does this guy's job better.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
It might not sound like much but it can buy you the turn needed to hit your opponent off with Traxos.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Better than Jayamade Tome, strictly so, but still not good enough. Compare to Endless Atlas, or with untaps, Urza's Blueprints.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.