I am basically down with this, and I hope it works. I think that some of the exact counts might be a little off, but in a format where t2 land destruction is rare, using two cards which can do it is something worth trying, at the least.
As a riff on Dennis' comment above, I think that Collective Brutality might help you save slots, because two of its modes are weaker versions of Inquisition of Kozilek/Fatal Push while providing some of the yard filling of Faithless Looting. My inclination would then be to up the threat density, but you're the one who's been running the thing, you probably have a better idea of what's missing.
Another possible slot-saver is Gatekeeper of Malakir, which has no particular synergy other than both being a threat and destroying stuff. BBB puts it at the top of your curve, though.
With more land slots, could you use Field of Ruin as a quasi-fetch and a way to target problematic lands?
So you want a third of Gideon's abilities to literally to nothing unless you've ultimated him? That seems like a really really bad design. At least make him stay a creature until your next turn. As is, this reads as a Saga pretending to be a Planeswalker.
Funny you mention it, I went back and forth on that several times. I wanted to keep the "Prevent damage dealt to Gideon while he's a creature" clause from all his other iterations, but making it last until your next turn makes him impossible to fruitfully attack. Granted, you're not getting anything out of it other than a wall, and his ultimate is not exactly winning the game for you. You talked me into it; it should probably be until your next turn.
So with the spoiling of Arcades, the Strategist, it occurred to me that the "Creatures with defender can attack" could get spread around even more. I feel like the following would be an interesting way to do it:
Gideon, Who Guards the Wall -- 1WW -- 3 Loyalty
Legendary Planeswalker - Gideon
+1: Until your next turn, creatures you control gain +0/+2, defender and reach. Activate this ability only during your pre-combat main phase.
+0: Until end of turn, Gideon, Who Guards the Wall becomes a 0/6 Human Soldier creature with defender that's still a planeswalker. Prevent all damage that would be dealt to him until end of turn.
-4: You gain an emblem with, "Each creature you control with defender assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power and can attack as though it didn't have defender."
I could be argued with on the ultimate cost. For a cost of -4, you skip one attack and lose Gideon, or skip two and keep him. That feels about right. It also means he's (with no acceleration) an attacking 6/6 on turn 6, right in line with other versions of Gideon.
I was looking at it, but I don't love it. Because so much of the deck's power comes from the equipment, I think Captain's Claws is a better call, and that card is a little borderline itself.
If you're going to run Clock of Omens with this engine, I think your best bet for abusing it is Grinding Station. The problem is, that card is not good at a lot other than untapping, unless you want to go for the mill kill. As suggested earlier, Battered Golem is basically the same thing, other than having a body, with the various pros and cons associated with that.
Enter Ghirapur AEther Grid. Until you get an engine going, it gives you a way to keep the board under control with all of the random artifacts in play. Pyrite Spellbomb helps this plan, because it's control when you need it, taps to Clock or Grid, and digs. You can also copy it with the Portal as a win condition.
The only other card I'd look at if you are going to use Clock and/or Grid is Howling Mine. The ability to tap it whenever breaks the symmetry. I've noodled with it for this, and 4 is probably wrong, but it's a nice trick to have.
On Surge Node: It's a bit faster, because you get that first counter a turn earlier. You're also more likely to get at least one counter, and it plays well with Voltaic Key.
On Board the Weatherlight: Maybe cut one Fall, one Mox? It'll dig for both, and the second one of either does you no good. That feels like a weird answer, though.
One for-sure thing to try: 4xGemstone Mine for 4xPlains. You have so many rocks the downside is unlikely to matter, and it's more food for Power Conduit. I suspect this will be pure upside.
As early defense and potential win mechanic, Hangarback Walker might also be useful. It's a similar slot as Walking Ballista which Dennis suggested.
Quicksmith Spy is SWEET with Howling Mine. I doubt that that's powerful enough for modern though. Pili-Pala is the only artifact with the untap mechanic right?
Kind of.
Staff of Domination has a cheap untap ability, making it the same effective cost to draw as Pili-Pala.
The "Station" cards from Fifth Dawn also have something similar to the untap mechanic which is theoretically 0cc: Blasting Station, Grinding Station, Summoning Station, Salvaging Station. The first two look like the best bets, as they can come down earlier. Grinding in particular has a lot of potential fuel, if you wanted to play something Cheerios-esque.
It feels a little weird that describing the chain of actions is not equivalent to taking the actions. It allows the player to benefit by proposing a shortcut rather than running through it once, then saying, "...repeat times a million."
A related second-order question: If you respond to the proposal by saying, "I'm going to need to see that once," and the opponent does so, have they taken the actions or not?
Grace can't be responded to or removed. The only thing that would remove Angel's Grace is something like Lost Legacy or Memoricide, and similar cards. As a 1 of it actually makes a lot of sense to me.
This is somewhat beside the point, but I believe it can still be countered by Counterbalance and Chalice of the Void at 1, as those are triggered abilities. Relevant mostly because some of these lists are running Chalice.
... Instead I'd probably vote for Gonti, Lord of Luxury (who keeps making me think he is like Gandi's nemesis or something ). That card is under valued heavily right now because there are so many strong 4 drops, but it's actually quite good. You're basically fixing the opponents next four turns and taking away one of the strongest cards they have available in those 4 turns. Even if they kill him the damage is done. It wont help against answers they may already have, but at this point in modern that hand of theirs should have been hit by Thoughtseize, Inquisition of Kozilek, and potentially Transgress the Mind, let alone other cards like Vendilion Clique.
Worth mentioning that the cards you look at with Gonti go to the bottom of the graveyard rather than the top. To my mind, you're not fixing the next four turns. This is not to say that Gonti is bad, just not profoundly broken.
Hey I skimmed the forum and didn't see any talk on mox opal. The addition would force you to most likely increase dark steel citadel to 4 copies, but in theory it could speed the deck up.
Also, what about monastery mentor? He is very slow for what this deck is trying to do, but he would help with removal spell weakness of the deck and could easily end the game if you I tap with him. The tokens also work nicely with mortar pod.
I have no experience with the deck, just some thoughts
The deck you're probably looking for is Cheeri0s. It is also a cool deck. They are running Opal, and some versions have used Mentor. They may have moved past Mentor, I don't know the currently accepted best practices. This is not to say that Puresteel aggro cannot ever run these cards, but that a deck which uses them best will probably look more like Cheeri0s.
What are you guys' thoughts on Blessed Alliance? The card made some serious waves in white decks during the modern GPs this weekend. Could it fit here too?
Based on no testing, it seems like a bad fit to me. Let me go through my reasoning, understanding that I am interested in counter-arguments, because...no testing.
1.) It competes for a very limited number of maindeck slots with two very good cards, Path to Exile and Strength of Arms. The sacrifice and untap modes of Blessed Alliance are essentially worse replications of those two cards, conditionally destroying creatures and altering combat math, respectively. This means that replacing copies of PtE and SoA is mostly bad, unless you deem the life mode exceptionally useful or you expect to see a lot of Bogles.
2.) The Escalate feature is much better for decks that run themselves out of gas and need to trade untapped lands for position. This deck is built around two aggressive draw mechanics, in Puresteel Paladin and Stone Haven Outfitter.
3.) Blessed Alliance competes with other better options in the sideboard, in Dispatch and Kor Firewalker which are better control and anti-burn cards, respectively.
4.) As a corollary to #1, the creature and equipment slots in this deck are probably tight enough that you don't want this in place of either. If the untap mode created a token, that would make a big difference in my mind.
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@PorousBoat: Much love for the work you've done on this deck and thread. I am looking at your matchup spreadsheet, and it looks to me like something is off with the counters at the bottom. The coding looks fine, but the numbers aren't right. Thought you would want to know.
Because i like the older versions, this is what i've come up with, let me know what you think:
(DECK)
I've been thinking of cutting the green in the deck, but it just seems wrong to cut the card that gave the deck its name haha
I'd say to go ahead and cut the green. Temple Bell can fill in for Rites of Flourishing since you don't really need the mana. Ethereal Haze is better than Fog (or Holy Day), and Dawn Charm is better than Druid's Deliverance in your list.
I think you might need something to deal with burn. Leyline of Sanctity is standard, but there are budget options, e.g., Ivory Mask. You should have room; 20 "Fogs" (when you include Supreme Verdict) is probably overkill.
1.) Thoughts on Faithless Looting? It's a way to get rid of extra copies of Reveler (or whatever) and it retains some value in the yard. I've put it in similar lists and I've found that you can run another land or two for consistency without as much risk of flooding.
2.) Another creature worth considering is Nivmagus Elemental, in spite of what seems like a lack of synergy. Costing 1 vs. 2 is a big deal in your plan, where you would like to play something T1 and lay the smack T2. Running it as value (as opposed to part of a combo) also means that you can sink one card into it to save it from a Bolt, ditch a dead Vapor Snag, or respond to negative events by "countering" your own spells. The latter might mean that you can get something out of a lost counter battle, but it could also mean responding to a Glistener Elf-saving Vines of Vastwood by exiling your own Bolt.
As a riff on Dennis' comment above, I think that Collective Brutality might help you save slots, because two of its modes are weaker versions of Inquisition of Kozilek/Fatal Push while providing some of the yard filling of Faithless Looting. My inclination would then be to up the threat density, but you're the one who's been running the thing, you probably have a better idea of what's missing.
Another possible slot-saver is Gatekeeper of Malakir, which has no particular synergy other than both being a threat and destroying stuff. BBB puts it at the top of your curve, though.
With more land slots, could you use Field of Ruin as a quasi-fetch and a way to target problematic lands?
Funny you mention it, I went back and forth on that several times. I wanted to keep the "Prevent damage dealt to Gideon while he's a creature" clause from all his other iterations, but making it last until your next turn makes him impossible to fruitfully attack. Granted, you're not getting anything out of it other than a wall, and his ultimate is not exactly winning the game for you. You talked me into it; it should probably be until your next turn.
Gideon, Who Guards the Wall -- 1WW -- 3 Loyalty
Legendary Planeswalker - Gideon
+1: Until your next turn, creatures you control gain +0/+2, defender and reach. Activate this ability only during your pre-combat main phase.
+0: Until end of turn, Gideon, Who Guards the Wall becomes a 0/6 Human Soldier creature with defender that's still a planeswalker. Prevent all damage that would be dealt to him until end of turn.
-4: You gain an emblem with, "Each creature you control with defender assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power and can attack as though it didn't have defender."
I could be argued with on the ultimate cost. For a cost of -4, you skip one attack and lose Gideon, or skip two and keep him. That feels about right. It also means he's (with no acceleration) an attacking 6/6 on turn 6, right in line with other versions of Gideon.
Also just leaked: Novice Knight. Seems interesting.
Enter Ghirapur AEther Grid. Until you get an engine going, it gives you a way to keep the board under control with all of the random artifacts in play. Pyrite Spellbomb helps this plan, because it's control when you need it, taps to Clock or Grid, and digs. You can also copy it with the Portal as a win condition.
The only other card I'd look at if you are going to use Clock and/or Grid is Howling Mine. The ability to tap it whenever breaks the symmetry. I've noodled with it for this, and 4 is probably wrong, but it's a nice trick to have.
On Board the Weatherlight: Maybe cut one Fall, one Mox? It'll dig for both, and the second one of either does you no good. That feels like a weird answer, though.
One for-sure thing to try: 4xGemstone Mine for 4xPlains. You have so many rocks the downside is unlikely to matter, and it's more food for Power Conduit. I suspect this will be pure upside.
As early defense and potential win mechanic, Hangarback Walker might also be useful. It's a similar slot as Walking Ballista which Dennis suggested.
Kind of.
Staff of Domination has a cheap untap ability, making it the same effective cost to draw as Pili-Pala.
The "Station" cards from Fifth Dawn also have something similar to the untap mechanic which is theoretically 0cc: Blasting Station, Grinding Station, Summoning Station, Salvaging Station. The first two look like the best bets, as they can come down earlier. Grinding in particular has a lot of potential fuel, if you wanted to play something Cheerios-esque.
It feels a little weird that describing the chain of actions is not equivalent to taking the actions. It allows the player to benefit by proposing a shortcut rather than running through it once, then saying, "...repeat times a million."
A related second-order question: If you respond to the proposal by saying, "I'm going to need to see that once," and the opponent does so, have they taken the actions or not?
This is somewhat beside the point, but I believe it can still be countered by Counterbalance and Chalice of the Void at 1, as those are triggered abilities. Relevant mostly because some of these lists are running Chalice.
Worth mentioning that the cards you look at with Gonti go to the bottom of the graveyard rather than the top. To my mind, you're not fixing the next four turns. This is not to say that Gonti is bad, just not profoundly broken.
The deck you're probably looking for is Cheeri0s. It is also a cool deck. They are running Opal, and some versions have used Mentor. They may have moved past Mentor, I don't know the currently accepted best practices. This is not to say that Puresteel aggro cannot ever run these cards, but that a deck which uses them best will probably look more like Cheeri0s.
Based on no testing, it seems like a bad fit to me. Let me go through my reasoning, understanding that I am interested in counter-arguments, because...no testing.
1.) It competes for a very limited number of maindeck slots with two very good cards, Path to Exile and Strength of Arms. The sacrifice and untap modes of Blessed Alliance are essentially worse replications of those two cards, conditionally destroying creatures and altering combat math, respectively. This means that replacing copies of PtE and SoA is mostly bad, unless you deem the life mode exceptionally useful or you expect to see a lot of Bogles.
2.) The Escalate feature is much better for decks that run themselves out of gas and need to trade untapped lands for position. This deck is built around two aggressive draw mechanics, in Puresteel Paladin and Stone Haven Outfitter.
3.) Blessed Alliance competes with other better options in the sideboard, in Dispatch and Kor Firewalker which are better control and anti-burn cards, respectively.
4.) As a corollary to #1, the creature and equipment slots in this deck are probably tight enough that you don't want this in place of either. If the untap mode created a token, that would make a big difference in my mind.
--------------------
@PorousBoat: Much love for the work you've done on this deck and thread. I am looking at your matchup spreadsheet, and it looks to me like something is off with the counters at the bottom. The coding looks fine, but the numbers aren't right. Thought you would want to know.
I'd say to go ahead and cut the green. Temple Bell can fill in for Rites of Flourishing since you don't really need the mana. Ethereal Haze is better than Fog (or Holy Day), and Dawn Charm is better than Druid's Deliverance in your list.
I think you might need something to deal with burn. Leyline of Sanctity is standard, but there are budget options, e.g., Ivory Mask. You should have room; 20 "Fogs" (when you include Supreme Verdict) is probably overkill.
1.) Thoughts on Faithless Looting? It's a way to get rid of extra copies of Reveler (or whatever) and it retains some value in the yard. I've put it in similar lists and I've found that you can run another land or two for consistency without as much risk of flooding.
2.) Another creature worth considering is Nivmagus Elemental, in spite of what seems like a lack of synergy. Costing 1 vs. 2 is a big deal in your plan, where you would like to play something T1 and lay the smack T2. Running it as value (as opposed to part of a combo) also means that you can sink one card into it to save it from a Bolt, ditch a dead Vapor Snag, or respond to negative events by "countering" your own spells. The latter might mean that you can get something out of a lost counter battle, but it could also mean responding to a Glistener Elf-saving Vines of Vastwood by exiling your own Bolt.
3.) Dismember in the board might be useful.