I'm thinking I want to try taking out Deal Broker for Bag of Holding and Tectonic Reformation for Chandra's Regulator. Deal Broker loots for no extra Mana, but he's a creature so I couldn't use him the turn he comes out. Bag I can play and tap for the same amount of Mana, and it'll still see use just from discarding to Jaya. Tectonic Reformation is REALLY good and even cycles itself, but I think Regulator may fit better just because it can cycle more than just lands.
So two potential monsters for Jaya just got spoiled today: Bag of Holding and Glint-Horn Buccaneer .
Bag of Holding I'm a little cautious about because it exiles my Phoenixes until I pay 4 to pop the bag, but if you can set it off you get all those cards back to your hand.
The Buccaneer I think is definitely worth a spot. We're discarding at least once a turn anyway, and I feel like that damage will add up.
I'm most interested in Mox Amber in your list. How often has that not tapped for anything? Even with Jaya using useless and/or situational cards, I try and avoid those where I can. Does having three Welder effects keep that useful even when you're not tapping for mana (ignoring that one of those effects turns it on).
The other one I'd be curious about is Command Beacon. Jaya's activated abilities are pretty mana hungry, so going down a land to recast more cheaply doesn't seem quite as useful here as in other lists until you get up to the third cast or so. Nonbasic lands are also one of the places I've had the most trouble fitting everything that I'd like to run, so those slots are kind of precious to me.
On the whole I like it a lot. It looks like there's a lot of explosive potential with the spell copying and the burn spells, which is a really fun place to be late in the game.
So far, Mox Amber hasn't screwed me over. I usually draw it late game when I'm already in a good spot, so it usually comes out to be an extra Mana.
The artifact recursion, I'm honestly not too sure about. There are definitely a lot in there, and it usually works out if I lose Lightning Greaves , but I usually end up discarding them to Jaya.
Command Beacon is great. I don't need to sac it until Jaya reaches 7+ Mana, and even then I can bring it back with Crucible of Worlds if I really need it.
Figured I'd share my recently-rebuilt Jaya deck since I'm definitely back in the mono-red groove again. It's pretty similar to Weebo's with a few changes that I think make a big difference. Also, By Force is in there instead of Shenanigans because the deck editor seems to think it's outside Jaya's color identity for some reason.
Thousand Year Elixir has been really helpful if I need to activate Jaya twice or give people less time to react to Magus of the Wheel.
Karn, Scion of Urza: I don't get how everyone is lukewarm on this guy. Sure the opponent chooses the worst of the two revealed cards, but it's more draw! For 4!
Happy to answer any questions you may have about specific cards. I finally got a playgroup together again so I've had the opportunity to playtests this deck pretty regularly.
I just recently rebuilt my Jaya deck, and I have to say Shenanigans is amazing. 1R to blow up an artifact isn't bad, and the Dredge makes it constantly useful. Lose it to a wheel? It comes back. Drawing from Wild Guess etc? Dredge one of those and it comes back. Absolutely in love with this card.
So some of the new cards really made me want to give this deck a try, I'm just having some trouble making cuts. Could anyone offer some suggestions of cards that should definitely be taken out?
Good to see another player picking up the deck and great insights on behalf of ISBPathfinder on your list.
I'd like to add that the deck is slightly different than my current itteration which is a little experimental since last week, but all list have one thing in common. They draw cards like crazy.
With that in mind i feel the extra card advantage Future Sight and Magus of the Future provide is negligible. To me, those would be pretty safe cuts.
Possibility Storm: This could very well be another's pet card, but i personally don't like it. I do see its synergy with the commander though so it has that going for it.
As Foretold: Good card only when played early. Terribly slow everywhere else.
With a higher curve deck like yours, this card gains value as the game progresses, but when you have a really low curve full of one mana cantrips like mine, returns on these cards actually diminish. Inclusion should depend on curve and could be cut as (and if) you tune lower in the future.
Both Curious Homunculus and Crackling Drake would be safe cuts aswell. The former can be easilly replaced by another rock. A category of which you run a little lean AND you run a very low land count. This also takes away some of Walking Atlas's ability to ramp.
The latter can actually be any cantrip. I do see potential in the body, but combat is not the way these decks usually win.
Savor the Moment. This extra turn spell is nice, but what is it to you if you can't untap? What is it i don't see?
All in all i've learned the deck runs better as you lower the curve and start drawing your deck every game. This also helps thining other categories since you are far more likely to draw into your wincons or answer cards. Try to get a feel for the deck by playing it, it's tons of fun and wins feel very well deserved because you really have to puzzle for them.
Enjoy and please let us know how you did in your next games.
I really appreciate the help! I definitely want this deck to have a lower curve, so cutting most of the beefier cards makes sense.
Possibility Storm is mostly in there for the potential of turning one of those one-drop cantrips into something better. This is also why I skimped on counterspells, because Possibility Storm doesn't really work with counterspells. Dropping that and some of the bigger cards and replacing them with more counterspells might be the better choice for a lower avg CMC?
So some of the new cards really made me want to give this deck a try, I'm just having some trouble making cuts. Could anyone offer some suggestions of cards that should definitely be taken out?
It looks similar to my own list so I suppose I should give some feedback on some of the cards you have in there that I don't have in my list anymore or passed on myself.
Thermo-Alchemist - I might have been overly paranoid but the fact that he needs to tap for his ability gives him a turn before he is active. I really didn't care for that one turn wait. Curious Homunculus - colorless mana for spells and colorless cost reduction tend to make more of a difference for more 2-3 mana spells. I opted to run more one mana spells myself. I also wonder if it would be more relivant to just run Sapphire Medallion over this or even resort to Jace's Sanctum. I found myself gravitating more towards running cheaper spells than relying on cost reduction. If you want to run cost reduction I think it adjusts the cards you want to run to be more of the 2-3 mana spells and the consistency of cost reduction will want to go up. I just think its maybe an effect that you want to go deeper into or not really involve yourself with. Niblis of Frost - I think its a fun card but its kind of situational as to if it helps. Its also mostly defensive and its hard to do work against hexproof voltron or token decks. Its like..... ok vs combat related decks but it still has a lot of holes in my mind as to what it helps against. I found that I was often offensive with the number of tokens I make rather than trying to be reactive which is why I opted to pass on it. Metallurgic Summonings - it is actually a fairly solid card but I found that it was a 5 mana enabler that was mostly making 1/1s without flying for me. It is a NIGHTMARE to track the stats of all of these tokens too lol. I think its probably fine but I figured I would mention why I put my copy away for the time being. I found the lack of flying and the fact that I was paying 5 mana to make 1/1s without flying kind of underwhelming in the face of most of the other token creators. As Foretold I go back and forth on this card. Let me know how it does if you run it. I think its really cool but it also has sort of a spinup time making it worse to draw as the game goes on and much better earlier in the game. If I draw it and I already have 10+ lands its very underwhelming but you could say the same thing about a lot of mana stones ultimately so maybe I am just making a fuss for no reason. Let me know how it does for you if you run it. Aetherflux Reservoir - I think this card fits here well, I don't run it myself because I really hate the feels bad moment of when I activate its ability but I think its a good card for a deck like this. In general most turns I don't go past 2-4 spells cast in a turn but I know there are turns I could quote where I cast like 6-12 spells. Chaos Wand - I think this is a little unpredictable and expensive. I don't generally like relying on my opponents and what they are running not to mention a little RNG on what I get. Mission Briefing - I passed on most of the Snapcaster Mage effects because the consistency of the deck is high and I didn't really want to pay the extra mana to snap back a cantrip. That said, this is better than snapcaster in this deck in my mind because you get 2x spellcasts and the topdeck manipulation really isn't bad. I think its fine to run I just thought I would mention why I don't run it myself. Mystic Retrieval - I think the mana cost for what it does is too high. Its also sorcery speed. I really don't care for it even though I think the effect is cool.
Hey thanks a lot for the help! I wasn't even thinking about the fact that Thermo-Alchemist needs to wait a turn before tapping. That totally makes sense and he's an easy cut. Your input on Homunculus and Niblis make sense as well. I'd like to keep my CMC as low and fast as possible, and that makes Homunculus less useful.
Metallurgic I'd like to try, but I'll keep my eye on it. 5CMC is expensive, but the tokens and the recursion ability seem really useful.
As Foretold is another one I'd really like to try out. Sure it does nothing turn 1, but it's three Mana and a turn, and now I get a free Opt/Peek/Etc every turn.
Chaos Wand is dumb and janky, but I think it's just fun.
Aetherflux Reservoir and Mystic Retrieval seem like sensible cuts. I really appreciate the help. I can't wait to try this deck out!
So some of the new cards really made me want to give this deck a try, I'm just having some trouble making cuts. Could anyone offer some suggestions of cards that should definitely be taken out?
Just got back from GP Portland, and I was able to pick up some sweet swag for the deck. I was able to get my Bloodforged Battle-Axe altered, and I'm way too pleased with the results. Military Intelligence got a nice signature over it. In addition, I'm probably dropping in a Mutavault as just an Island replacement. The ability to trigger Prowl, and a few other abilities is really nice. Finally the big change, I was able to snag a copy of one of M:tG's most infamous cards. Invoke Prejudice is going in, and is currently replacing Tezzeret, Artifice Master.
Changes:
Island->Mutavault: Just a minor change. I want to see how it plays out, I've got a couple more decks that it might be played in, but I want to see it here first. Ideally, it'll just allow us some extra card draw with some additional synergy with Master of Waves and Prowl triggers. Tezzeret, Artifice Master->Invoke Prejudice: Tezzeret has been consistently underwhelming, and my recent acquisition of a copy of a infamous terrible, terrible card has made the swap over easy.
Gameplay Report:
Finally, I was able to get 2 games in at the GP, non-events if you're curious, I went 1-1 with the deck. I'm really pleased with the results too.
The first game I tried to slow roll the table to get a feeling for everyone, and it didn't go so well. I was up against Muldrotha, Aurelia, and Arjun. I became an early target as the Mono-U player, and the fact I stole the opposing Muldrotha after he cracked L.E.D. I tried to politic the table to defer the aggression, but it didn't work for long. I really tried to be nice, and discarded some of my more potent hate pieces as I didn't want to come off as rude to a new playgroup. In the end, I lost but had a great time in this game.
Second game though, I crushed the table. I was against a Kaalia, Riku, and another deck which I can't remember. I was able to establish a good draw engine early, and began to gain some card advantage, in addition to some early mana ramp. The Kaalia player swung early against me, dropping an early Avacyn. Turns cycle around, and I was able to use the combination of Vendilion Clique and Equilibrium to get rid of the Avacyn. They come back with tutoring Avacyn into hand and drop it again. Meanwhile, the Riku player copies Avacyn with a Dack's Duplicate, other player clones the Duplicate Avacyn. I bite my lip as I'm really close to being knocked out of the game facing 3 Avacyn's. It comes back to my turn, and I'm able to, with all of my draw effects, get roughly 16 cards off of my deck. I pull a Notorious Throng and Master of Waves which eventually chained into a Expropriate, and a Mission Briefing-powered Throng for the win.
Lately, this deck has been a blast to play, and I'm hoping the updates don't stop for awhile. If anyone has any suggestion be sure to pop-in with them. I'm always up for some discussion.
This really makes me happy to read. I always saw Tetsuko as a janky, underpowered pet project, but seeing you were actually able to win a game against competitive decks really makes me want to work on getting some better cards for my own deck.
I figured I'd share a deck with all of you that ACTUALLY works, rather than another half-completed weird idea...
This is probably my favorite, and most-successful out of all the decks I've made. I originally made it out of an interest in Oblivion Ring type effects, and ended up expanding into general Artifact/Enchantment control. There are a lot of Hanna Artifacts and Hanna Enchantress decks out there, but I'm trying to keep a mostly even split between Artifacts and Enchantments. This deck is really slow, and works best to reacting to whatever is the biggest threat on the board. Drawing cards was the deck's biggest issue for a while, but I think I have that mostly resolved. For now, the deck mostly lacks a reliable way to close games.
So I'm thinking about trying this build with Adeliz, the Cinder Wind as the commander. Jori-En is great but lacks a win condition. Adeliz trades draw for a reliable wincon, and I feel like is still pretty low threat?
I've got my own Sram deck that I really like playing, and there are some cards - Equipment, specifically - that I think you really need in order to keep the deck fast and consistent.
0-cost Equipment: Bone Saw, Accorder's Shield, Kite Shield. The effects of these cards are nigh-useless, but with Sram out they are a free draw. Absolutely, totally worth it.
Bonesplitter family: Bonesplitter , Darksteel Axe, Trusty Machete. Cheap to play, cheap to equip. These are dumb-yet-solid cards that do really well in Stam.
I'd recommend taking out equipment you have with equip costs higher than 3. Unless they have an amazing effect, they're usually too slow to be of any use. O-Naginata and Sigiled Sword of Valeron can afford to be ditched, and personally I prefer one of the three above cards to Blade of the Bloodcheif
I honestly think Niv would give the deck too much attention. Nobody cares about Jori in my experience, which gives you plenty of time to vomit cantrips.
Bag of Holding I'm a little cautious about because it exiles my Phoenixes until I pay 4 to pop the bag, but if you can set it off you get all those cards back to your hand.
The Buccaneer I think is definitely worth a spot. We're discarding at least once a turn anyway, and I feel like that damage will add up.
So far, Mox Amber hasn't screwed me over. I usually draw it late game when I'm already in a good spot, so it usually comes out to be an extra Mana.
The artifact recursion, I'm honestly not too sure about. There are definitely a lot in there, and it usually works out if I lose Lightning Greaves , but I usually end up discarding them to Jaya.
Command Beacon is great. I don't need to sac it until Jaya reaches 7+ Mana, and even then I can bring it back with Crucible of Worlds if I really need it.
1 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
Creature
1 Goblin Welder
1 Goblin Engineer
1 Magus of the Moon
1 Dire Fleet Daredevil
1 Anger
1 Magma Phoenix
1 Godo, Bandit Warlord
1 Skarrgan Firebird
1 Magus of the Wheel
1 Treasure Nabber
1 Kumano, Master Yamabushi
1 Hoarding Dragon
Enchantment
1 Repercussion
1 Braid of Fire
1 Gratuitous Violence
1 Experimental Frenzy
1 Tectonic Reformation
Land
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 Kher Keep
1 Wasteland
1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
1 Inventors' Fair
1 Buried Ruin
1 Terrain Generator
1 Command Beacon
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Thespian's Stage
25 Mountain
1 Akroma's Memorial
1 Coercive Portal
1 Caged Sun
1 Expedition Map
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Thaumatic Compass
1 Memory Jar
1 Staff of Nin
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Thousand-Year Elixir
1 Sol Ring
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Mox Amber
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Mind's Eye
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Endless Atlas
1 Sword of Sinew and Steel
1 Deal Broker
1 Steel Hellkite
Instant
1 Reverberate
1 Wild Ricochet
1 Commune with Lava
1 Price of Progress
1 Chaos Warp
1 Comet Storm
1 Wild Guess
1 Magmatic Insight
1 Vandalblast
1 By Force
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Past in Flames
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Tormenting Voice
1 Gamble
1 All is Dust
1 Faithless Looting
1 Light Up the Stage
Planeswalker
1 Chandra Ablaze
1 Chandra, Flamecaller
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Daretti, Scrap Savant
1 Karn, Scion of Urza
1 Ugin, the Ineffable
Figured I'd share my recently-rebuilt Jaya deck since I'm definitely back in the mono-red groove again. It's pretty similar to Weebo's with a few changes that I think make a big difference. Also, By Force is in there instead of Shenanigans because the deck editor seems to think it's outside Jaya's color identity for some reason.
Braid of Fire has been nuts. It takes a bit to set up, but I've used it to kill someone with Comet Storm, cast Commune with Lava, or activate Jaya in an emergency.
Thousand Year Elixir has been really helpful if I need to activate Jaya twice or give people less time to react to Magus of the Wheel.
Karn, Scion of Urza: I don't get how everyone is lukewarm on this guy. Sure the opponent chooses the worst of the two revealed cards, but it's more draw! For 4!
Happy to answer any questions you may have about specific cards. I finally got a playgroup together again so I've had the opportunity to playtests this deck pretty regularly.
I really appreciate the help! I definitely want this deck to have a lower curve, so cutting most of the beefier cards makes sense.
Possibility Storm is mostly in there for the potential of turning one of those one-drop cantrips into something better. This is also why I skimped on counterspells, because Possibility Storm doesn't really work with counterspells. Dropping that and some of the bigger cards and replacing them with more counterspells might be the better choice for a lower avg CMC?
Hey thanks a lot for the help! I wasn't even thinking about the fact that Thermo-Alchemist needs to wait a turn before tapping. That totally makes sense and he's an easy cut. Your input on Homunculus and Niblis make sense as well. I'd like to keep my CMC as low and fast as possible, and that makes Homunculus less useful.
Metallurgic I'd like to try, but I'll keep my eye on it. 5CMC is expensive, but the tokens and the recursion ability seem really useful.
As Foretold is another one I'd really like to try out. Sure it does nothing turn 1, but it's three Mana and a turn, and now I get a free Opt/Peek/Etc every turn.
Chaos Wand is dumb and janky, but I think it's just fun.
Aetherflux Reservoir and Mystic Retrieval seem like sensible cuts. I really appreciate the help. I can't wait to try this deck out!
1 Jori En, Ruin Diver
Creature
1 Crackling Drake
1 Electrostatic Field
1 Thermo-Alchemist
1 Curious Homunculus
1 Murmuring Mystic
1 Magus of the Future
1 Melek, Izzet Paragon
1 Firebrand Archer
1 Jori En, Ruin Diver
1 Guttersnipe
1 Talrand, Sky Summoner
1 Young Pyromancer
1 Niblis of Frost
1 Arclight Phoenix
1 The Locust God
1 Docent of Perfection
1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
Enchantment
1 Possibility Storm
1 Metallurgic Summonings
1 As Foretold
1 Future Sight
1 Firemind's Research
Land
1 Wasteland
1 Command Tower
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Steam Vents
18 Island
9 Mountain
1 Aetherflux Reservoir
1 Primal Amulet
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Sword of the Animist
1 Commander's Sphere
1 Sol Ring
1 Chaos Wand
1 Walking Atlas
Instant
1 Peek
1 Pongify
1 Echoing Truth
1 Rapid Hybridization
1 Izzet Charm
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Abrade
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Chaos Warp
1 Reality Shift
1 Thought Scour
1 Quicken
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Arcane Denial
1 Blink of an Eye
1 Opt
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Brainstorm
1 Impulse
1 Expansion // Explosion
1 Mission Briefing
1 Visions of Beyond
1 Frantic Search
1 Think Twice
1 Narset's Reversal
1 Portent
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Savor the Moment
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Mizzium Mortars
1 By Force
1 Expropriate
1 Serum Visions
1 Past in Flames
1 Pore Over the Pages
1 Wash Out
1 Faithless Looting
1 Mystic Retrieval
1 Sleight of Hand
1 Role Reversal
1 Finale of Promise
Planeswalker
1 Ral, Storm Conduit
1 Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
This really makes me happy to read. I always saw Tetsuko as a janky, underpowered pet project, but seeing you were actually able to win a game against competitive decks really makes me want to work on getting some better cards for my own deck.
This is probably my favorite, and most-successful out of all the decks I've made. I originally made it out of an interest in Oblivion Ring type effects, and ended up expanding into general Artifact/Enchantment control. There are a lot of Hanna Artifacts and Hanna Enchantress decks out there, but I'm trying to keep a mostly even split between Artifacts and Enchantments. This deck is really slow, and works best to reacting to whatever is the biggest threat on the board. Drawing cards was the deck's biggest issue for a while, but I think I have that mostly resolved. For now, the deck mostly lacks a reliable way to close games.
1 Hanna, Ship's Navigator
Creature
1 Mesa Enchantress
1 Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
1 Sun Titan
Enchantment
1 Mystic Remora
1 Planar Collapse
1 Parallax Wave
1 Compulsion
1 Copy Enchantment
1 Leyline of Anticipation
1 Detention Sphere
1 Rhystic Study
1 Standstill
1 Starfield of Nyx
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Grasp of Fate
1 Aura of Silence
1 Karmic Justice
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Imprisoned in the Moon
1 Cast Out
1 As Foretold
1 Search for Azcanta
1 Sphere of Safety
1 Blind Obedience
1 Propaganda
1 Control Magic
1 Darksteel Mutation
1 Luminarch Ascension
1 Curator's Ward
1 Metamorphic Alteration
1 Mystic Gate
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Phyrexia's Core
1 Flooded Strand
1 Prairie Stream
1 Inventors' Fair
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Nimbus Maze
1 Command Tower
1 Reliquary Tower
10 Plains
9 Island
Artifact
1 Claws of Gix
1 Ancient Den
1 Torpor Orb
1 Vedalken Orrery
1 Aligned Hedron Network
1 Pithing Needle
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Mirage Mirror
1 Thaumatic Compass
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Dispeller's Capsule
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Sol Ring
1 Mind Stone
1 Damping Sphere
1 Chaos Wand
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Spellskite
1 Hope of Ghirapur
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Duplicant
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Whir of Invention
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Arcane Denial
1 Counterspell
Sorcery
1 Replenish
1 Tunnel Vision
1 Idyllic Tutor
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Open the Vaults
1 Terminus
Planeswalker
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
0-cost Equipment: Bone Saw, Accorder's Shield, Kite Shield. The effects of these cards are nigh-useless, but with Sram out they are a free draw. Absolutely, totally worth it.
Bonesplitter family: Bonesplitter , Darksteel Axe, Trusty Machete. Cheap to play, cheap to equip. These are dumb-yet-solid cards that do really well in Stam.
I'd recommend taking out equipment you have with equip costs higher than 3. Unless they have an amazing effect, they're usually too slow to be of any use. O-Naginata and Sigiled Sword of Valeron can afford to be ditched, and personally I prefer one of the three above cards to Blade of the Bloodcheif