I finally got the deck together and was able to play test it last night. Everything went amazingly, and I'm very happy with my decision to switch from Sharuum to Sen Triplets.
It was like having the ultimate form of card advantage sitting in your command zone. I had lots of answers but I spent a lot of the game using my friends' instead, and by the end of the game my general was up to 17 mana. When my friends eventually switched to generals outside my colors the deck preformed just as well. I only ended up winning one game, but I was no means a pushover.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If combo should die before I wake I'll slide a Smokestack in every deck I play, roll in every shop wreck the Spirit of EDH.
I've made the deck a little more serious/competitive, and its been playing really well.
I'm still new to control, and I have a hard time keeping track of all the triggers, but I think I'm getting better.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If combo should die before I wake I'll slide a Smokestack in every deck I play, roll in every shop wreck the Spirit of EDH.
Had to change my general, Triplets just wan't working for me. I would get in a position where I was dominating the board, but I couldn't end the game (At least without grinding away with combat damage.) They also ended up becoming more of a lightning rod than anything.
I think a major problem I found with using them as a general, was that I was expecting to use her to answer problems. This is really ironic now that I think about it, because if the control guy had away to blow her up he would, and if he didn't there would be no removal for me to steal.
I made a few minor tweaks and now the deck doesn't just lock down the board, it comes through with the win. I just went 2/2 with Sharuum today, the second game consisting of entirely control players.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If combo should die before I wake I'll slide a Smokestack in every deck I play, roll in every shop wreck the Spirit of EDH.
You can also do the combo with any clone now, so you can make the combo much more redundant.
I have been very tempted to pull my Sharuum out of mothballs as of late, keep running into Zur/Teeg stax decks that make my creature based deck not do anything.
You can also do the combo with any clone now, so you can make the combo much more redundant.
I have been very tempted to pull my Sharuum out of mothballs as of late, keep running into Zur/Teeg stax decks that make my creature based deck not do anything.
++
Oh wow, I hadn't thought of that. Thank you!
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If combo should die before I wake I'll slide a Smokestack in every deck I play, roll in every shop wreck the Spirit of EDH.
Disclaimer: I don't know how competitive your meta is; it could be that you're playing in a more casual group, at which point you might not want to make your deck stupid strong, but when I see my opponent putting Sharuum in the Command Zone I'm usually expecting to play against hypercompetitive combo Sharuum.
That said, Sharuum is hands-down more competitive than Sen Triplets. The Triplets might offer a more entertaining, interactive game with their fun and powerful ability, but ultimately having a game-winning combo piece in your command zone is just better in a cutthroat environment.
No Sword/Foundry/Sieve combo? It's right in esper WUB, each piece is cheap to cast and easy to tutor, and it wins the game on the spot (infinite 1/1 flyers with Sword and Foundry alone, throw in Sieve for infinite turns since infinite 1/1s doesn't always get the job done, eg Ensnaring Bridge lock, any Propaganda effect, Tabernacle, and so forth). I see the combo in literally every single competitive Sharuum list I go up against.
Speaking of tutors, you're missing a few really good ones I'd recommend if you can afford them:
Unless they're "pet cards" that you're really in love with, I'd cut some of those cards that don't really synergize with artifact combo and are just big, fat Bribery targets for your opponents, like It That Betrays, Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, Consuming Aberration, and so forth.
Disclaimer: I don't know how competitive your meta is; it could be that you're playing in a more casual group, at which point you might not want to make your deck stupid strong, but when I see my opponent putting Sharuum in the Command Zone I'm usually expecting to play against hypercompetitive combo Sharuum.
My meta is not very competitive. I try to build my decks so they are able to kill the table, but limit how consistent they are. I guess I really just want every game to play out differently.
No Sword/Foundry/Sieve combo? It's right in esper WUB, each piece is cheap to cast and easy to tutor, and it wins the game on the spot (infinite 1/1 flyers with Sword and Foundry alone, throw in Sieve for infinite turns since infinite 1/1s doesn't always get the job done, eg Ensnaring Bridge lock, any Propaganda effect, Tabernacle, and so forth). I see the combo in literally every single competitive Sharuum list I go up against
I have nothing against infinite turns, I like land destruction, resource denial, and all kinds of stuff.
But, the idea of winning with infinite turns has always seemed so anticlimatic to me.
Infinite 1/1s are also cool, but I have another deck that wins with tokens. I know, I am way to picky.
This is one of the things I mean when I say I want games to play differently. I try to limit how many tutors I use so I'm not comboing out too consistently.
Unless they're "pet cards" that you're really in love with, I'd cut some of those cards that don't really synergize with artifact combo and are just big, fat Bribery targets for your opponents, like It That Betrays, Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, Consuming Aberration, and so forth.
I am not afraid of Bribery by any means, it just means I get to steal, clone, or reanimate whatever they took.
I do think some of my creatures need to go though. Dread Cacodemon and It that Betrays have been just terrible, and are way to expensive.
Thank you for the critique, I have some cuts to make.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If combo should die before I wake I'll slide a Smokestack in every deck I play, roll in every shop wreck the Spirit of EDH.
Well in that case most of what I said in my post doesn't apply. Like I said, when I see Sharuum, it's always the degenerate combo-off-on-t6 hypercompetitive Sharuum. She carries that reputation, like Azami and Arcum and Zur do.
Which, as a brief aside, is something you should keep in mind if you're ever playing in a group who isn't familiar with your deck--though your friends might know that you play a more mellow Sharuum, other people who haven't seen your deck before might assume it's the competitive type of Sharuum and prioritize you as a huge threat just because she has a harsh reputation.
Removed some good stuff.
I like Death Cloud a lot but I dislike how ramp players always come out ahead so I cut it for Catastrophe.
Added Signets and Scry Lands.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If combo should die before I wake I'll slide a Smokestack in every deck I play, roll in every shop wreck the Spirit of EDH.
Trying to make it more consistent, but still appropriate for my group.
Moved my reanimation theme to another deck, it was terrible here.
Token decks have been kind of a pain in the ass recently and I've spent more time wiping the board than playing threats.
So looking at your list, I feel like it's a little unfocused. You've got a very top-heavy curve, with relatively few mana rocks. Instead of trying to make several different combos semi-reliable, just have one or two in your deck. Bitter-steel is a great and consistent combo who's pieces are great outside of it. Sun Titan/Blasting Station/Angelic Renewal seems like a really hard to put together combo, with 1/3 of your pieces being an artifact.
I would cut a few of the higher CMC cards for smaller utility cards. In my Sharuum deck, I've got a 0-1 drop artifact package that works great:
These really drop the CMC and allow you to take a more control stance on the board instead of being 'that guy' always trying to combo out super fast. I only bring this up because your curve is super, super high and while I happen to have a number of high CMC cards, the majority of them are really cheap, allowing for huge tempo gains.
Also, some considerations for "beaters", my favourites for Sharuum are:
Sphinx and Myr are big enough on their own to be qualified as beaters and Sphinx herself is always an MVP in any game she shows up in. Battlesphere can annihilate planeswalkers without even needing to connect with them. Very few 'walkers can ultimate through taking 4+ damage/turn and people will generally just -1 or -2 them to try and get some semblance of value out of them before they're killed next turn.
Arcbound is a great card in this deck as the only things that Sharuum typically fears are exile (from battle or graveyard) and having sac outlets to respond to a Merciless Eviction or Terminus with Ravager can be the difference between continuing to play and just durdling around. It's also a great card with Sharuum, blightsteel Colossus, inkmoth nexus, Sphinx of the Steel Wind or on it's own. Being able to use Karn to animate a massive artifact army is its own win-con. If the game is long you can easily win like that. Especially fun to use Ravager with Karn to make Darksteel Ingot or the like a 10/10 which goes back to an artifact with 7 +1/+1's which can't be touched by your opponents.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Currently Playing: R8whackR WUBGAtraxa Stax-Superfriends *Under Construction*WUBG
So looking at your list, I feel like it's a little unfocused. You've got a very top-heavy curve, with relatively few mana rocks.
You are correct, this has actually been a problem. I guess I put it to the back of my mind because consistency was the biggest problem at the time.
Keep in mind, the deck is always going to be unfocused and janky because it's not tuned. I don't as many tutors as I should, and I play way too many creatures.
One of the problems is that a lot of the creatures that I want to play with the bounce theme are really expensive.
Instead of trying to make several different combos semi-reliable, just have one or two in your deck. Bitter-steel is a great and consistent combo who's pieces are great outside of it. Sun Titan/Blasting Station/Angelic Renewal seems like a really hard to put together combo, with 1/3 of your pieces being an artifact.
The thing about the Sun Titan combo is that all of the pieces are good by themselves.
Blasting Station can be used to combo out with Sharuum, Sun Titan is amazing by himself, and Angelic Renewal works well with ETB creatures.
These really drop the CMC and allow you to take a more control stance on the board instead of being 'that guy' always trying to combo out super fast.
I tried out Salvaging Station and found that I durdled way too much with it.
My meta plays mostly threats, with very few answers. If I try to answer everything I eventually run out of steam and die. This leaves me with two options really:
I can tune my deck to as fast as possible (causing my group to hate me) or increase the number of combo cards in the deck rather than ways to tutor individual pieces and play creatures.
These are all cool beaters, the problem is that with the exception of Sphinx of the Steel Wind they lack evasion.
My meta is creature heavy and I need creatures that are able to get through and connect.
Swords have been very helpful, but they limit me to attacking people I have protection against.
I really like Sphinx of the Steel Wind, but as you have said: my CMC is already very high.
Thank you very much, your post was very helpful and I enjoyed reading it!
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If combo should die before I wake I'll slide a Smokestack in every deck I play, roll in every shop wreck the Spirit of EDH.
You are correct, this has actually been a problem. I guess I put it to the back of my mind because consistency was the biggest problem at the time.
Keep in mind, the deck is always going to be unfocused and janky because it's not tuned. I don't as many tutors as I should, and I play way too many creatures.
One of the problems is that a lot of the creatures that I want to play with the bounce theme are really expensive.
Yeah, I get what you're saying for sure. My meta is a lot like that, where I'm willing to bet that there may be one single person who could tell me what a mana curve is, but that's it. I mention the 0-1 Artifact Package as more of a suggestion that Sharuum can abuse these types of artifacts. They always printed with the idea that they're one use and being able to recur them really easily creates absurd values engines that rival splashier effects like Wrath of Gods and Recurring Insight over the course of a game.
I am coming at this from the stance of a long game style control build. That's how I play Sharuum, typically. I can agree that Salvaging Station can get durdly, but I typically use it to draw extra cards, produce tons of mana, or get tons of effects out of various cards. Then those extra cards and mana go into something non-durdly.
The thing about the Sun Titan combo is that all of the pieces are good by themselves.
Blasting Station can be used to combo out with Sharuum, Sun Titan is amazing by himself, and Angelic Renewal works well with ETB creatures.
That's fair. I have to agree that Sun Titan is amazing, and I like that Sun Titan/Angelic Renewal could engage the Bitter Ordeal Combo all on their own, which is interesting.
My meta plays mostly threats, with very few answers. If I try to answer everything I eventually run out of steam and die. This leaves me with two options really:
I can tune my deck to as fast as possible (causing my group to hate me) or increase the number of combo cards in the deck rather than ways to tutor individual pieces and play creatures
.
Yeah, this is how my meta is as well. As such, I basically just went far left and built a Draw-Go 5 colour Horde of Notions deck, where you're playing a lot of removal, counters, and a finisher or two (because Horde is basically it's own Win-Con). So I definitely get where you're coming from, I built my Sharuum list based around Jostin123's list where the focus was less on speed and more on consistently comboing out (with something). The deck is designed to make sure you get into the late game, as opposed to racing aggro decks. I would suggest possibly trying out that route. I'll post both my Horde deck and Sharuum later so you can see what I mean, if you're interested.
These are all cool beaters, the problem is that with the exception of Sphinx of the Steel Wind they lack evasion.
My meta is creature heavy and I need creatures that are able to get through and connect.
Swords have been very helpful, but they limit me to attacking people I have protection against.
I really like Sphinx of the Steel Wind, but as you have said: my CMC is already very high.
That's fair. I made the suggestions as more to replace another beater, or if you wanted something that could beat face while also having some good utility abilities. I know Sphinx is expensive as hell, but I'd definitely give it a test run. First strike, Prot red & green, lifelink and vigilance are all very relevant for combat. For karn, I'd say that the "evasion" is more along the lines of the way that tokens have evasion. Just sending in tons of artifacts late game (or super early) can get around lots of blockers.
And here's my 5 Colour deck. I'll try to have my Sharuum list up tonight.
There are a number of cards I plan on replacing, but I'm quite happy with it. Also, I'd like to add that Myr Battlesphere's evasion from the fact that he deals damage to the face when declared as an attacker. He's good on his own for this, but becomes "an evasive beater" after blinking him a few times to tap a dozen Myr for 12 damage and a 16/5 attacker.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Currently Playing: R8whackR WUBGAtraxa Stax-Superfriends *Under Construction*WUBG
Added Ixidron.
The deck is playing pretty well, although sometimes I find the amount of concentration required to play control frustrating. People will start talking and I'll miss triggers, or I'll get caught up in the sheer volume of decision trees and miss an obvious play. I think I am getting better at thinking ahead in terms of what other people are doing though. Telepathy has been a godsend.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If combo should die before I wake I'll slide a Smokestack in every deck I play, roll in every shop wreck the Spirit of EDH.
If telepathy is good thought seize is probably good. Windfall is good in sharum and nasty with Theif.
Thought Seize seems really good, I have a hard time against other control players. Windfall also may be good, I've been thinking about cutting Capsize for a draw spell. At one point I was playing Whispering Madness but I disliked having to discard combo pieces (Other than Sculpting and Metamorph obviouslly.) Muddle the Mixture is looking kind of good too.
Deck Name: GRIEVER
Notes:
This deck was inspired by Jack_from_NC's Sharuum the Hegemon.
1. Sharuum the Hegemon + Clone + Bitter Ordeal
Infinite Damage:
1. Sharuum the Hegemon + Artifact Clone + Blasting Station
Infinite Life Loss:
1. Sharuum the Hegemon + Clone + Disciple of the Vault
2. Sharuum the Hegemon + Clone + Blood Artist
6 Sharuum the Hegemon
Mana Utility
0 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
2 Azorius Signet
2 Orzhov Signet
2 Dimir Signet
3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Krark-Clan Ironworks
Draw & Disruption
1 Telepathy
3 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Frantic Search
4 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
4 Notion Thief
4 Whispering Madness
4 Kaya, Ghost Assassin
5 Memory Jar
6 Recurring Insight
6 Tezzeret, Master of Metal
7 Sphinx of Uthuun
Tutors
0 Inventors' Fair
1 Entomb
3 Intuition
5 Tezzeret the Seeker
5 Kuldotha Forgemaster
Cogs, Wheels,
& Recursion
0 Academy Ruins
0 High Market
3 Sydri, Galvanic Genius
4 Trading Post
6 Sun Titan
6 Salvaging Station
Target Removal
& Counter
1 Path to Exile
1 Dispeller's Capsule
1 Executioner's Capsule
1 Æther Spellbomb
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Voyager Staff
2 Mana Drain
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Voidmage Prodigy
3 Capsize
3 Anguished Unmaking
3 Spell Crumple
3 Render Silent
3 Detention Sphere
4 Mindbreak Trap
4 Glen Elendra Archmage
5 Force of Will
6 Noxious Gearhulk
3 Oblivion Stone
6 Catastrophe
6 Austere Command
6 Terminus
Clones
2 Copy Artifact
2 Phantasmal Image
3 Sculpting Steel
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
Shenanigans
4 Mirror Strike
5 Chromeshell Crab
5 Perplexing Chimera
5 Mystic Barrier
Win Conditions
1 Disciple of the Vault
1 Altar of the Brood
3 Bitter Ordeal
3 Blasting Station
5 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
6 Mindslaver
12 Blightsteel Colossus
Other Lands
1 Command Tower
1 Mana Confluence
1 Watery Grave
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Godless Shrine
1 Kor Haven
1 Temple of Deceit
1 Temple of Silence
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Underground River
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Isolated Chapel
3 Swamp
3 Plains
3 Island
1 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Ancient Den
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Vault of Whispers
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Tundra
1 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
I am still in the process of assembling everything, and I'm sure it will change again before it's even at 100 cards.
I also updated the OP to explain how to combo out with Enter the Infinite.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
It was like having the ultimate form of card advantage sitting in your command zone. I had lots of answers but I spent a lot of the game using my friends' instead, and by the end of the game my general was up to 17 mana. When my friends eventually switched to generals outside my colors the deck preformed just as well. I only ended up winning one game, but I was no means a pushover.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
I'm still new to control, and I have a hard time keeping track of all the triggers, but I think I'm getting better.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
Had to change my general, Triplets just wan't working for me. I would get in a position where I was dominating the board, but I couldn't end the game (At least without grinding away with combat damage.) They also ended up becoming more of a lightning rod than anything.
I think a major problem I found with using them as a general, was that I was expecting to use her to answer problems. This is really ironic now that I think about it, because if the control guy had away to blow her up he would, and if he didn't there would be no removal for me to steal.
I made a few minor tweaks and now the deck doesn't just lock down the board, it comes through with the win. I just went 2/2 with Sharuum today, the second game consisting of entirely control players.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
You can also do the combo with any clone now, so you can make the combo much more redundant.
I have been very tempted to pull my Sharuum out of mothballs as of late, keep running into Zur/Teeg stax decks that make my creature based deck not do anything.
++
Azusa - Derevi - Glissa - Mizzix - Sharuum - Wanderer - Wort
Oh wow, I hadn't thought of that. Thank you!
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
That said, Sharuum is hands-down more competitive than Sen Triplets. The Triplets might offer a more entertaining, interactive game with their fun and powerful ability, but ultimately having a game-winning combo piece in your command zone is just better in a cutthroat environment.
No Sword/Foundry/Sieve combo? It's right in esper WUB, each piece is cheap to cast and easy to tutor, and it wins the game on the spot (infinite 1/1 flyers with Sword and Foundry alone, throw in Sieve for infinite turns since infinite 1/1s doesn't always get the job done, eg Ensnaring Bridge lock, any Propaganda effect, Tabernacle, and so forth). I see the combo in literally every single competitive Sharuum list I go up against.
Speaking of tutors, you're missing a few really good ones I'd recommend if you can afford them:
Unless they're "pet cards" that you're really in love with, I'd cut some of those cards that don't really synergize with artifact combo and are just big, fat Bribery targets for your opponents, like It That Betrays, Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, Consuming Aberration, and so forth.
Legacy: GWR Enchantress <--That's my banner! (lol tinypic removed it)
Casual: WB [[Primer]]Clerics Tribal; BU Affinity
EDH: ...U [[Primer]]Arcum Dagsson; BG Legal Stax; B Illegal Stax
Proxy: .WX TriniStax
Other stuff: [[Official]]Shuffling, Truth + Maths
My meta is not very competitive. I try to build my decks so they are able to kill the table, but limit how consistent they are. I guess I really just want every game to play out differently.
I have nothing against infinite turns, I like land destruction, resource denial, and all kinds of stuff.
But, the idea of winning with infinite turns has always seemed so anticlimatic to me.
Infinite 1/1s are also cool, but I have another deck that wins with tokens. I know, I am way to picky.
This is one of the things I mean when I say I want games to play differently. I try to limit how many tutors I use so I'm not comboing out too consistently.
I am not afraid of Bribery by any means, it just means I get to steal, clone, or reanimate whatever they took.
I do think some of my creatures need to go though. Dread Cacodemon and It that Betrays have been just terrible, and are way to expensive.
Thank you for the critique, I have some cuts to make.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
Well in that case most of what I said in my post doesn't apply. Like I said, when I see Sharuum, it's always the degenerate combo-off-on-t6 hypercompetitive Sharuum. She carries that reputation, like Azami and Arcum and Zur do.
Which, as a brief aside, is something you should keep in mind if you're ever playing in a group who isn't familiar with your deck--though your friends might know that you play a more mellow Sharuum, other people who haven't seen your deck before might assume it's the competitive type of Sharuum and prioritize you as a huge threat just because she has a harsh reputation.
Legacy: GWR Enchantress <--That's my banner! (lol tinypic removed it)
Casual: WB [[Primer]]Clerics Tribal; BU Affinity
EDH: ...U [[Primer]]Arcum Dagsson; BG Legal Stax; B Illegal Stax
Proxy: .WX TriniStax
Other stuff: [[Official]]Shuffling, Truth + Maths
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
Removed some good stuff.
I like Death Cloud a lot but I dislike how ramp players always come out ahead so I cut it for Catastrophe.
Added Signets and Scry Lands.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
Forget everything I cut.
Added:
Mind Grind
Mind Crank
Vengeful Pharaoh
Duplicant
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
Trying to make it more consistent, but still appropriate for my group.
Moved my reanimation theme to another deck, it was terrible here.
Token decks have been kind of a pain in the ass recently and I've spent more time wiping the board than playing threats.
Token & Clone Hate:
Leyline of Singularity (Also Stops Kiki-Jiki)
Detention Sphere
Anti Cascade & Storm:
Render Silent
Mindbreak Trap
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
I would cut a few of the higher CMC cards for smaller utility cards. In my Sharuum deck, I've got a 0-1 drop artifact package that works great:
Plus:
These really drop the CMC and allow you to take a more control stance on the board instead of being 'that guy' always trying to combo out super fast. I only bring this up because your curve is super, super high and while I happen to have a number of high CMC cards, the majority of them are really cheap, allowing for huge tempo gains.
Also, some considerations for "beaters", my favourites for Sharuum are:
Sphinx and Myr are big enough on their own to be qualified as beaters and Sphinx herself is always an MVP in any game she shows up in. Battlesphere can annihilate planeswalkers without even needing to connect with them. Very few 'walkers can ultimate through taking 4+ damage/turn and people will generally just -1 or -2 them to try and get some semblance of value out of them before they're killed next turn.
Arcbound is a great card in this deck as the only things that Sharuum typically fears are exile (from battle or graveyard) and having sac outlets to respond to a Merciless Eviction or Terminus with Ravager can be the difference between continuing to play and just durdling around. It's also a great card with Sharuum, blightsteel Colossus, inkmoth nexus, Sphinx of the Steel Wind or on it's own. Being able to use Karn to animate a massive artifact army is its own win-con. If the game is long you can easily win like that. Especially fun to use Ravager with Karn to make Darksteel Ingot or the like a 10/10 which goes back to an artifact with 7 +1/+1's which can't be touched by your opponents.
R8whackR
WUBGAtraxa Stax-Superfriends *Under Construction*WUBG
You are correct, this has actually been a problem. I guess I put it to the back of my mind because consistency was the biggest problem at the time.
Keep in mind, the deck is always going to be unfocused and janky because it's not tuned. I don't as many tutors as I should, and I play way too many creatures.
One of the problems is that a lot of the creatures that I want to play with the bounce theme are really expensive.
My meta is very casual; I try to push the envelope a little but I only have too much room. And, I like playing big stupid things sometimes.
That being said, my curve is pretty outrageous, even for my meta.
I cut Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur, Time Stop, and Gather Specimens. I added Talisman of Progress, Talisman of Dominance, Blind Obedience.
The thing about the Sun Titan combo is that all of the pieces are good by themselves.
Blasting Station can be used to combo out with Sharuum, Sun Titan is amazing by himself, and Angelic Renewal works well with ETB creatures.
I tried out Salvaging Station and found that I durdled way too much with it.
My meta plays mostly threats, with very few answers. If I try to answer everything I eventually run out of steam and die. This leaves me with two options really:
I can tune my deck to as fast as possible (causing my group to hate me) or increase the number of combo cards in the deck rather than ways to tutor individual pieces and play creatures.
These are all cool beaters, the problem is that with the exception of Sphinx of the Steel Wind they lack evasion.
My meta is creature heavy and I need creatures that are able to get through and connect.
Swords have been very helpful, but they limit me to attacking people I have protection against.
I really like Sphinx of the Steel Wind, but as you have said: my CMC is already very high.
Thank you very much, your post was very helpful and I enjoyed reading it!
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
Yeah, I get what you're saying for sure. My meta is a lot like that, where I'm willing to bet that there may be one single person who could tell me what a mana curve is, but that's it. I mention the 0-1 Artifact Package as more of a suggestion that Sharuum can abuse these types of artifacts. They always printed with the idea that they're one use and being able to recur them really easily creates absurd values engines that rival splashier effects like Wrath of Gods and Recurring Insight over the course of a game.
I am coming at this from the stance of a long game style control build. That's how I play Sharuum, typically. I can agree that Salvaging Station can get durdly, but I typically use it to draw extra cards, produce tons of mana, or get tons of effects out of various cards. Then those extra cards and mana go into something non-durdly.
That's fair. I have to agree that Sun Titan is amazing, and I like that Sun Titan/Angelic Renewal could engage the Bitter Ordeal Combo all on their own, which is interesting.
.
Yeah, this is how my meta is as well. As such, I basically just went far left and built a Draw-Go 5 colour Horde of Notions deck, where you're playing a lot of removal, counters, and a finisher or two (because Horde is basically it's own Win-Con). So I definitely get where you're coming from, I built my Sharuum list based around Jostin123's list where the focus was less on speed and more on consistently comboing out (with something). The deck is designed to make sure you get into the late game, as opposed to racing aggro decks. I would suggest possibly trying out that route. I'll post both my Horde deck and Sharuum later so you can see what I mean, if you're interested.
That's fair. I made the suggestions as more to replace another beater, or if you wanted something that could beat face while also having some good utility abilities. I know Sphinx is expensive as hell, but I'd definitely give it a test run. First strike, Prot red & green, lifelink and vigilance are all very relevant for combat. For karn, I'd say that the "evasion" is more along the lines of the way that tokens have evasion. Just sending in tons of artifacts late game (or super early) can get around lots of blockers.
And here's my 5 Colour deck. I'll try to have my Sharuum list up tonight.
Horde of Notions - Chromatic Control
R8whackR
WUBGAtraxa Stax-Superfriends *Under Construction*WUBG
0 Cephalid Coliseum
1 Brainstorm
1 Aether Spellbomb
2 Ichor Wellspring
2 Train of Thought
2 Scroll Rack
3 Windfall
3 Thirst for Knowledge
4 Trading Post
5 Memory Jar
0 Lotus Petal
0 Mox Diamond
0 Lotus Bloom
0 Mox Opal
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
3 Basalt Monolith
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Darksteel Ingot
5 Gilded Lotus
1 Voltaic Key
4 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
5 Tezzeret the Seeker
5 Venser, the Sojourner
7 Karn Liberated
0 Bojuka Bog
0 Strip Mine
0 Ghost Quarter
0 Tormod's Crypt
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Voyager Staff
1 Pithing Needle
1 Executioner's Capsule
1 Dispeller's Capsule
3 Oblivion Stone
3 Bitter Ordeal
6 Duplicant
7 All is Dust
1 Expedition Map
2 Muddle the Mixture
2 Lim-Dul's Vault
2 Demonic Tutor
2 Artificer's Intuition
3 Fabricate
5 Kuldotha Forgemaster
0 Petrified Field
1 Codex Shredder
2 Animate Dead
3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Tawno's Coffin
6 Open the Vaults
2 Liquimetal Coating
5 Karn, Silver Golem
6 Mycosynth Lattice
2 Thopter Foundry
2 Sword of the Meek
2 Time Sieve
6 Thopter Assembly
3 Sculpting Steel
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
0 Academy Ruins
6 Mindslaver
0 Inkmoth Nexus
2 Arcbound Ravager
7 Myr Battlesphere
8 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
12 Blightsteel Colossus
0 Vault of the Archangel
0 Phyrexia's Core
3 Rings of Brighthearth
3 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Aven Mindcensor
6 Salvaging Station
7 Sphinx of Uthuun
7 Island
3 Plains
3 Swamp
1 Orzhov Basilica
1 Tainted Isle
1 Dromar's Cavern
1 Dimir Guildgate
1 Azorius Guildgate
1 Ancient Den
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Darksteel Citadel
There are a number of cards I plan on replacing, but I'm quite happy with it. Also, I'd like to add that Myr Battlesphere's evasion from the fact that he deals damage to the face when declared as an attacker. He's good on his own for this, but becomes "an evasive beater" after blinking him a few times to tap a dozen Myr for 12 damage and a 16/5 attacker.
R8whackR
WUBGAtraxa Stax-Superfriends *Under Construction*WUBG
The deck is playing pretty well, although sometimes I find the amount of concentration required to play control frustrating. People will start talking and I'll miss triggers, or I'll get caught up in the sheer volume of decision trees and miss an obvious play. I think I am getting better at thinking ahead in terms of what other people are doing though. Telepathy has been a godsend.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
Damia http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=410191
DDFT Legacyhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=505247
Domain Zoo http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10212429#post10212429
Thought Seize seems really good, I have a hard time against other control players. Windfall also may be good, I've been thinking about cutting Capsize for a draw spell. At one point I was playing Whispering Madness but I disliked having to discard combo pieces (Other than Sculpting and Metamorph obviouslly.) Muddle the Mixture is looking kind of good too.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master