MTG Salvation

Normal rules. No bickering. No budget discussion. Etc...

Glad to see the thread stickied...ill be the first to post my new list W/b

Huzzah, Tempered Steel is moving up in the world! Took a RW version to FNM last night going 3-1 and taking second (my final match, me and my opponent were the only undefeated people). My deck looks like this:



Round 1 vs Big Red (won 2-1): Game 1 he got stuck on one Mountain. Game 2 he played removal damn near every turn and landed a turn 4 Inferno Titan ftw. Game 3 I was just too fast for him.

Round 2 vs Vamps (won 2-0): This match basically came down to me seeing more removal then my opponent. It helped that he was mono-black so I didn't have to worry about arc trail. Whipflare as a one-sided sweeper was also pretty rad.

Round 3 vs RUG Fauna + Twin Combo (won 2-0): Well timed removal plus main deck Spellskite and Revoker sealed the deal. He never got to untap with a Fauna Shaman or Lotus Cobra and Dispatch deals with Vengevine just fine (especially when he is hard casting them one at a time).

Round 4 vs UW Control (lost 0-2): Game 1 I learned how much of a beating Blade Splicer can be, as well as the synergy that card has with Sun Titan (I was just glad I didn't see Venser, lol). Game 2 I was mana flooded and quickly floundered, never seeing any of my anti-sweeper tech.

pretty sure this deck needs more draw power like divination or gambit

Not really, as you have Contested War Zone to sink your extra mana into. Don't overextend, spend mana on CWZ instead of dropping more creatures to avoid getting blown out when DoJ hits.

I play a mono-W version with only 2 Glint Hawk Idol, since T2 Idol into T3 Tempered Steel is very slow for an aggro deck.

Quote from Mcpatches

pretty sure this deck needs more draw power like divination or gambit

Both are way to slow for this deck. About the only thing that has worked successfully was preordain.

I think CWZ is a sideboard card, bring it in against control matchups, and bring out two Inkmoth Nexus's. Inkmoth needs to be in this deck, it gives the deck some extra reach, and it gets pumped easily in this deck, but against control I like having every +1 matter.

The deck I plan on running next week, tested well at the release party this weekend, before the tournament started.




Still working on my board, any suggestions?

2 tops in SCG Cincy, and LSV himself is saying it could be good

Im pumped. So is the UW list better or the mono-white the best??

Quote from DXI-Edge

2 tops in SCG Cincy, and LSV himself is saying it could be good

Im pumped. So is the UW list better or the mono-white the best??

I think UW is better but apparently the lists that top eighted were mono-white?

Anyways it's great this finally has a developing competitive thread..I'm glad I jumped on the bandwagon around NPH!

So these are the decks that recently top 8'd at the SCG Open in Cincinnati and 2011 Japan Nationals:










It seems that the mono-white list is doing the best so far but I wonder if that many more people are running mono-white so its appearance over UW is skewed. Personally, I'm still an advocate of RW but no one seems to agree with me, lol.

Note that I have serious doubts about the following, but I find it interesting anyway. This is an attempt to build the deck around Adaptive Automaton, with Constructs being the best choice I could find:



Scrabbler and Servitor are the obvious wtf additions. They're the only two-drops that fit, and constructs are the only non-myr legion big enough to make automaton a real lord. The whole idea is quite sketchy. (>.<)

EDIT: Removed Hedron Scrabbler, added Chimeric Mass.

I have been going the GW route. Only decks I ever had an issue with was Caw-Blade and BR Vamps.

I've had great success with this list. It is very resilient and has a decent late game thanks to the ammount of critters and Lead the Stampede. This deck is not afraid of sweepers. T1 Legionaire followed by T2 T-Steel is a pretty nasty thing to deal with early in the game. Don't know the exact record I have with this list, but I do know it has WAY more wins than losses.

Quote from Sir LRB

I'm still an advocate of RW but no one seems to agree with me, lol.

I like RW Steel. Galvanic Blast is amazing. The red provides that extra burn to finish off the game/remove blockers. It's a very all-in strategy-- the way aggro should be!

Quote from Rush_Clasic

Note that I have serious doubts about the following, but I find it interesting anyway. This is an attempt to build the deck around Adaptive Automaton, with Constructs being the best choice I could find:

Steel ConstructsMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Creatures (27) 4 Memnite 4 Ornithopter 4 Signal Pest 4 Hedron Scrabbler 4 Runed Servitor 4 Steel Overseer 4 Adaptive Automaton 3 Phyrexian Metamorph	Other Spells (8) 4 Dispatch 4 Tempered Steel Mana Sources (21) 4 Mox Opal 4 Arid Mesa 4 Marsh Flats 9 Plains

Scrabbler and Servitor are the obvious wtf additions. They're the only two-drops that fit, and constructs are the only non-myr legion big enough to make automaton a real lord. The whole idea is quite sketchy. (>.<)

Chimeric Mass is a construct with definite synergy and sweeper protection.

It really is interesting having the tier of this deck bump up.

• 2 Glint Hawk
  
• 4 Memnite
  
• 4 Ornithopter
  
• 3 Porcelain Legionnaire
  
• 4 Signal Pest
  
• 3 Steel Overseer
  
• 4 Vault Skirge
  
• 1 Spellskite
  
• 4 Dispatch
  
• 4 Glint Hawk Idol
  
• 1 Dismember
  
• 2 Mox Opal
  
• 4 Tempered Steel
  
• 2 Inkmoth Nexus
  
• 18 Plains
  
• SIDEBOARD
  
• 4 Celestial Purge
  
• 2 Refraction Trap
  
• 3 Hex Parasite
  
• 2 Contested War zone
  
• 4 Shrine of Loyal Legions

Here is mine for now:



Sideboard:


What are people's thoughts on:

Origin Spellbomb?
Hero of Bladehold?
SB Phyrexian Revoker?
SB Phyrexian Metamorph?
Tech of the Mirror?
New Cards from M12?

I'm currently getting the cards together for a pretty stock list. A card I'm really considering for the SB is Phyrexian Unlife. At worst, it's essentially 2W "Gain 10 Life" which I would, without a doubt play against RDW, and probably Vampires, but it's actually a bit better with cards like Vault Skirge, Kor Firewalker, and other little bits of Lifegain. If I remember correctly, you life total stays negative if you take more than lethal damage, but say you're at 7, and your opponent plays a Koth and alongside a couple other bodies swings in for 8. You go to -1 life and Unlife kicks on...you swing with a Steel'd Vault Skirge and go back to 2 life...now if they swing for another 8, you still have that 10 life back-up.

It could also buy you that 1 extra turn against Valakut if you need it for a strong crack-back.

Maybe I'm giving it too much credit, but for 2W, it seems alot better positioned for this deck than Leyline Of Sanctity @ 2WW. Also, I'll be rocking a set of Preordains in my list like some of the other blue splashers to smooth draws etc.

Thoughts on that?

As for mirror matches...Ajani Goldmane from the SB seems to be the only decent think I can think of, but he seems really relevant there.

Quote from TheNidhogg

Chimeric Mass is a construct with definite synergy and sweeper protection.

Oooo, good catch. Loads better than at least one of the two-drops.

Am I alone or does anyone else feel like Mox Opal is almost useless in this deck. I understand the purpose for it. But so many times, it does absolutely nothing for me. I hardly ever get full potential out of it and I think that its slot can be used for some better cards.

But that might just be me, I'm definitely going to test it more with and without it and see what happens. I want to hear is anyone else feels the same way though.

Having Mox Opal lets you get the nut draws with this deck. Look at this starting hand for example:

2x Memnite
1x Mox Opal
2x land
1x Steel Overseer
1x Tempered Steel

T1: Memnite, Memnite, Opal, Land, Overseer
T2: Land, Tempered Steel -> swing for 8/9 (depending on if you use Overseer to pump)

Not to mention that Opal makes it easier to splash blue for counterspells and dig cards or red for Galvanic Blast and Whipflare.

I've been pretty unimpressed by the blue splash so far. I feel Glacial Fortress really slows the deck down if you don't have any Plains to go with it. I'm going to keep testing it but I'm leaning toward the mono-white version.

Quote from DXI-Edge

What are people's thoughts on:

Origin Spellbomb?
Hero of Bladehold?
SB Phyrexian Revoker?
SB Phyrexian Metamorph?
Tech of the Mirror?
New Cards from M12?

I was running Origin Spellbomb when I played Tempered Steel in block, but I never really liked it once I realized it was 3 mana for a dude and a card. It's especially awkward on a hand with the nuts, but no second land. I think that even a guy like Porcelain Legionnaire is better in this slot, especially if you're splashing blue for digging.

Hero of Bladehold is still a super card, a must answer threat that I do really like coming out of the sideboard, especially if they've sided out their GfT or brought out removal for artifact hate.

Phyrexian Revoker is a fine choice if you can fit him into your sideboard, but what would you board him out for? Idk. Seems good though.

Never played with Metamorph, assume it's insane with overseer but meh with anything else besides bladehold.

As always, the challenge with this deck is to not get blown out completely by wrath effects, and whether your strategy going forward with that is to say screw it, I'm dumping my hand and we'll race with inkmoths after DoJ, or you run tech against it.

The anti-wrath options in my mind:

Non-creature beats - Glint Hawk Idol / Chimeric Mass
Of course, Inkmoth Nexus is in this category as our Plan B.

Draw more gas - Lead the Stampede was mentioned as GW tech, seems nasty. UW gets preordain, anyone could run Gambit if they wanted it - which seems like comboland with overseers as an added bonus.

Counterspells - Bring Mana Leaks out of the side, though the Japan Nationals Semi-finals had this gem

He cast Cultivate, but Ikawa had a card waiting - Unified Will!

Now THAT's why you play blue boys and girls...

Unified Will is a pretty nutty sideboard card... might have to give that a whirl, but the Japan list that ended up winning was Mono-W Legionnaire edition.

Thoughts on Indomitable Archangel? Was pretty sweet in block as a SB card, but what about in standard?

EDIT: Forgot my last possible tech against sweepers- especially against a DoJ, if you're running CWZ or sided it in, Squadron Hawk can really get there with some Battle Cry action. I found this out while testing my WW Quest deck.

This is what I'll be playing on friday I think.

Quote from DXI-Edge

What are people's thoughts on:

Origin Spellbomb?
Hero of Bladehold?
SB Phyrexian Revoker?
SB Phyrexian Metamorph?
Tech of the Mirror?
New Cards from M12?

Origin Spellbomb - Mediocre. Your best case scenario is to pull them after you already have a Tempered Steel out, so you get a 3/3 and cantrip for 2W. The extra card draw is really nice, but if that's why you're running them you're better off putting that mana into a Tezzeret's Gambit anyways.

Hero of Bladehold - Personally I don't like it. The extra attackers die way too easily, and you'll get at best one attack out of her before your opponent focuses all their removal on her. But a lot of people like it, so who knows.

Phyrexian Revoker - Depends on your meta, but I'd say they're very good, especially for hosing planeswalkers.

Phyrexian Metamorph - I mainboard two and have never been sad to see one. Hmm yes nice 6/6 Titan, I think I'll just drop my own 8/8 titan for half the cost.

Oh, I've never run spellbombs before so I'm going to run 4 of them to see what's up. Fireball ran 4 at Nagoya and people are still placing with them in their lists so I thought I'd try them.

I still not understand why there're no Oblivion Ring in decklists.
It kills Gideon (and other troublesome PW) and let you swing for the win. It kills Birthing Pods. It can also destroy Tempered Steel or Lords in mirror match. There're so many things that dismember/dispatch can't answer.

And Phyrexian Metamorph is so good against the fatty meta. It buys you a chance against ramp/control even opponent resolves a fatty. It's the tech against Emrakul if they summoning trap/Quicksilver Amluet in response to your attack - Legendary Rule, bye bye.