This deck contains a whopping 15 cards that either punish the opponent for searching their library or prevent them from searching altogether, then abuses the hell out of them with Ghost Quarters, Path to Exiles, and the namesake of the deck: Weird Harvest! You can win by milling with Hedron Crab and Archive Trap, by attacking with Jace's Phantasm and Cosi's Trickster, or completely out of nowhere with the Knightfall combo.
This is not intended to ever be a tier-level deck, merely a darkhorse meta option. If you want a consistent winner, you're better off going with regular Knightfall. That being said, I welcome suggestions for improvement. What do you think?
With 12 cards in the deck that can be cast from exile, Serum Powder suddenly becomes amazing. Starting with 8+ available cards is not uncommon. The printings of Lost Legacy and Scrapheap Scrounger in Kaladesh are, I hope, enough to put this deck over the top.
So what do you think? Is this deck fast enough to compete? Do you see room for improvement? Let me know!
Want to see Master of Waves in here despite the green, think he can provide some defense while getting combo pieces together? Also, I know the Kiora's Follower combo, and i see the Thassa's Ire combo; whats the win con? Mill with Dakra Mystic? I love me some combo, this looks fun
Got it in one. Mill with Dakra Mystic until you find Psychic Spiral, and that should do it. I put Biomass Mutation in the SB to keep the deck functional if Mystic gets targeted.
All keyword actions instruct a player to do something. The problem with assembling, and the likely reason that it hasn't seen print yet, is that it is a keyword action which instructs a creature to do something.
This is unprecedented, and it's hard to figure out how to make it work.
Right, forgot to mention that bit. In my formulation, "a creature assembles" is shorthand for "an ability of a creature causes a player to assemble". Any other approach causes way too much confusion (esp. w.r.t. token ownership).
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Trying to fill in this mechanic is like designing a planeswalker that makes both sweep and radiance out to be well conceived ability words. AKA, it's absurd.
Completely granted. For me, assemble was a puzzle that begged for a solution, absurdity notwithstanding.
What do we know about assembling that must hold true?
Assemble is a keyword action: it is something that is either performed upon, or produces, Contraptions.
Contraption is an Artifact type, and therefore not part of the keyword. Other types of cards should make sense (e.g. "assemble a Thopter").
Assembling is an action that can be duplicated; it cannot be limited to affecting or producing a single permanent.
No special abilities are provided or implied for Contraptions, so either the effect that assembles them provides custom abilities, their abilities are taken from cards already in play, or they have no abilities at all. (Given the type name, this last option seems unlikely.)
Further, what do we want assembling to accomplish?
Assembling should not cause card disadvantage.
Assembled products should be allowed to have complex effects.
Cards that assemble stuff shouldn't be too wordy. The effect itself should be easy to grok.
Assembling should not be overly linear. The fewer specific cards required to perform an assembly, the better.
Lastly, assembling should not simply replace a phrase of similar length (e.g. "Put a token into play"). We've been waiting for this effect for years, and it needs to pay off.
Here's my idea.
Pop Top Shop - 2
Artifact — Blueprints Factory 2, T: Assemble Pop Top from this card. (To assemble, if the reverse side of this card is named Pop Top, put a token into play that's a copy of it.)
---- Pop Top
Artifact Creature — Contraption T: You may tap two untapped creatures you control. If you do, untap target creature.
1/1
Notes:
Assemble is always written as "assemble (a) X from Y", where X is a card name or card type, and Y is a card in play. When referring to an assemble action that is already taking place, this can be shortened to "assemble (a) X", or simply "assemble", and the missing words will match those of the original action.
Cards do not have to assemble themselves. A Rigger in this hypothetical set could have the ability "Assemble a Contraption from target Blueprints", which could then be applied to Pop Top Shop.
Due to the nature of this card, Pop Top Shop can be transformed into a Pop Top with Moonmist, assuming you turned it into a Human beforehand. Likewise, a sufficiently generic Assemble ability can be applied to Innistrad's werewolves.
And no, this doesn't work with the rules as written, since the reverse side of cards is currently not something that can be referred to. I feel the advantages of this approach outweigh the rules complications.
And of course, assembly need not be limited to artifacts:
Unyaro Hive - 3GG
Creature — Insect Progenitor
Defender T: Assemble Unyaro Wasp from this card.
1/3
---- Unyaro Wasp
(G) Creature — Insect Offspring
Flying, deathtouch, first strike
1/1
One card to seriously consider including is Zoetic Cavern, as it allows you to play a creature without missing your land drop.
I'm working on a budget build of this deck right now. Since you rarely want to cast Treasure Hunt on turn 2 (unless you got lucky and drew a Reliquary Tower), ETBT lands have a much smaller drawback than normal, and allow a fairly strong build for under $20.
Artifact - Vehicle (R)
Deathtouch
Whenever Plague Ship deals combat damage to a player, exile it, then return it to the battlefield transformed under that player's control.
Crew—Sacrifice an untapped creature.
2/7
----
Scourge of the Living
(B) Legendary Enchantment
Shroud (This permanent can't be the target of spells or abilities.)
At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 2 life and put a -1/-1 counter on each creature you control.
Creatures you control have deathtouch.
4 Path to Exile
2 Retreat to Coralhelm
4 Shadow of Doubt
3 Weird Harvest
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Birds of Paradise
4 Cosi's Trickster
1 Hedron Crab
1 Jace's Phantasm
1 Knight of the Reliquary
2 Meddling Mage
3 Noble Hierarch
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Spellskite
2 Flooded Strand
2 Forest
4 Ghost Quarter
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Plains
2 Temple Garden
2 Windswept Heath
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Eternal Witness
1 Grand Abolisher
3 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Qasali Pridemage
4 Rest in Peace
1 Selfless Spirit
3 Stony Silence
This deck contains a whopping 15 cards that either punish the opponent for searching their library or prevent them from searching altogether, then abuses the hell out of them with Ghost Quarters, Path to Exiles, and the namesake of the deck: Weird Harvest! You can win by milling with Hedron Crab and Archive Trap, by attacking with Jace's Phantasm and Cosi's Trickster, or completely out of nowhere with the Knightfall combo.
This is not intended to ever be a tier-level deck, merely a darkhorse meta option. If you want a consistent winner, you're better off going with regular Knightfall. That being said, I welcome suggestions for improvement. What do you think?
4 Eternal Scourge
4 Misthollow Griffin
4 Torrent Elemental
Exile Enablers
4 Lost Legacy
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Serum Powder
Flex Slots
4 Dismember
4 Mana Leak
4 Thoughtseize
3 Creeping Tar Pit
3 Gemstone Caverns
3 Ghost Quarter
4 Island
4 Polluted Delta
3 Swamp
4 Watery Grave
3 Bojuka Bog (swaps with Gemstone Caverns)
4 Countersquall
4 Engineered Explosives
4 Hurkyl's Recall
With 12 cards in the deck that can be cast from exile, Serum Powder suddenly becomes amazing. Starting with 8+ available cards is not uncommon. The printings of Lost Legacy and Scrapheap Scrounger in Kaladesh are, I hope, enough to put this deck over the top.
So what do you think? Is this deck fast enough to compete? Do you see room for improvement? Let me know!
Yeah, the Bracers are there to help Nykthos go infinite; the Follower combo is just a nice bonus.
Got it in one. Mill with Dakra Mystic until you find Psychic Spiral, and that should do it. I put Biomass Mutation in the SB to keep the deck functional if Mystic gets targeted.
2 Forest
6 Island
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Temple of Mystery
4 Dakra Mystic
2 Frostburn Weird
4 Judge's Familiar
4 Kiora's Follower
4 Nightveil Specter
4 Tidebinder Mage
4 Voyaging Satyr
4 Illusionist's Bracers
2 Psychic Spiral
4 Thassa's Ire
2 Biomass Mutation
4 Gainsay
I'm not too familiar with the Standard meta, so fine-tuning would be appreciated.
Right, forgot to mention that bit. In my formulation, "a creature assembles" is shorthand for "an ability of a creature causes a player to assemble". Any other approach causes way too much confusion (esp. w.r.t. token ownership).
Completely granted. For me, assemble was a puzzle that begged for a solution, absurdity notwithstanding.
What do we know about assembling that must hold true?
Further, what do we want assembling to accomplish?
Here's my idea.
Notes:
And of course, assembly need not be limited to artifacts:
What do you guys think?
I'm working on a budget build of this deck right now. Since you rarely want to cast Treasure Hunt on turn 2 (unless you got lucky and drew a Reliquary Tower), ETBT lands have a much smaller drawback than normal, and allow a fairly strong build for under $20.
Feedback appreciated.
8 Island
8 Mountain
2 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
4 Crumbling Necropolis
4 Desolate Lighthouse
2 Gargoyle Castle
4 Ghitu Encampment
4 Halimar Depths
4 Izzet Guildgate
2 Kher Keep
4 Reliquary Tower
4 Tolaria West
4 Zoetic Cavern
2 Lightning Storm
4 Treasure Hunt
1 Bojuka Bog
4 Jwar Isle Refuge
4 Spawning Pool
4 Swamp
2 Zombie Infestation