So, I started out building a Big Red/Artifact deck with Bosh as the commander, and about halfway through, the concept kind of got away from me, and I ended up with three different decks built off the same shell: the Red one, a Blue Memnarch one, and a Mono-Brown Karn deck. All 3 decks share 41 cards at this point, with any combination of two of them sharing about a dozen more. The plan is to put the deck(s) together, swapping the different card packages in and out as the mood to play a different Commander/color strikes.
And last, but certainly not least, Karn, the golem who proved silver was good for more than tacky mock-Celtic jewlery and irritating Werewolves. This deck is a serious throwback for me, to the first EDH deck I made when I first learned about the format almost 4 years ago, and a lot of the card choices reflect that. Artifacts have always been my favorite card type, and Karn has been one of my favorite characters since his introduction, so a mono-Brown (or Silver, nowadays) deck is right up my alley. That said, there are obvious complications, like the tricky land base and the lack of (m)any non-permanents to compliment the artifacts (changed slightly with the printing of the delicious All is Dust in Rise). But, what fun is it without a challenge?
Karn wins by virtue of his ability the vast majority of the time. Boasting a solid A-squad of heavy hitters including Darksteel Forge, Akroma's Memorial, and Mycosynth Lattice, it also has a compliment of legimate artifact creature threats like Wurmcoil Engine and Lodestone Myr that can't wait to mix it up in the red zone. Add to that the presence of those much-maligned Lovecraftian knock-offs, the Eldrazi, and the hits just keep on coming.
This is the most linear deck of the three, and what I call my 'grinder' deck. Despite some fun synergies, there's no real 'I win' combo present (except for infinite turns off Magistrate's Scepter, if people scoop to it), it's just 'Play threats, use threats, repeat until the table is clear'. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I haven't done any recent testing with this deck, but it is based on an old classic that I used to play fairly regularly, so I know how it behaves. The question will come in matching it against the new hotness of the day. But I have faith that my Silver can take the heat.
I'm posting this mainly just to have a semi-permanent record of the deck, as well as a potential sounding board for when new sets come out and I look to upgrade, not because I'm specifically wanting to make any changes at the moment. That said, critiques and suggestions are always appreciated. Thanks for checking it out.
6/12/11: -1 Unwinding Clock, +1 Spine of Ish Sah
Editors note: The term infinite, as used in this post, can be read as: "Enough to accomplish whatever I want", or NI.
1 Karn, Silver Golem
Creatures:
2 Arcbound Crusher
3 Arcbound Ravager
4 Arcbound Reclaimer
5 Artisan of Kozilek
6 Copper Gnomes
7 Darksteel Juggernaut
8 Duplicant
9 Grim Poppet
10 It that Betrays
11 Junk Diver
12 Lodestone Myr
13 Mycosynth Golem
14 Myr Retriever
15 Platinum Angel
16 Scarecrone
17 Steel Hellkite
18 Steel Overseer
19 Sundering Titan
20 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
21 Voltaic Construct
22 Wurmcoil Engine
Artifacts:
23 Akroma's Memorial
24 Amber Prison
25 Basalt Monolith
26 Crucible of Worlds
27 Darksteel Forge
28 Dreamstone Hedron
29 Erratic Portal
30 Everflowing Chalice
31 Expedition Map
32 Heartseeker
33 Jester's Cap
34 Lightning Greaves
35 Magistrate's Scepter
36 Mana Crypt
37 Mana Vault
38 Mind's Eye
39 Mishra's Helix
40 Mycosynth Lattice
41 Nevinyrral's Disk
42 Oblivion Stone
43 Phyrexian Furnace
44 Phyrexian Processor
45 Planar Portal
46 Portcullis
47 Predator, Flagship
48 Prototype Portal
49 Reito Lantern
50 Rings of Brighthearth
51 Sculpting Steel
52 Sensei's Divining Top
53 Serum Tank
54 Skyship Weatherlight
55 Sol Ring
56 Spawning Pit
57 Temporal Aperture
58 Thran Dynamo
59 Tormod's Crypt
60 Tower of Fortunes
61 Spine of Ish Sah
62 Vedalken Orrery
63 Voltaic Key
64 All Is Dust
65 Karn Liberated
Lands:
66 Blinkmoth Nexus
67 Blinkmoth Well
68 City of Traitors
69 Dark Depths
70 Darksteel Citadel
71 Desert
72 Deserted Temple
73 Dust Bowl
74 Eldrazi Temple
75 Eye of Ugin
76 Ghost Town
77 High Market
78 Maze of Ith
79 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
80 Miren, the Moaning Well
81 Mishra's Factory
82 Mishra's Workshop
83 Mutavault
84 Petrified Field
85 Reliquary Tower
86 Rishadan Port
87 Scorched Ruins
88 Springjack Pasture
89 Stalking Stones
90 Strip Mine
91 Temple of the False God
92 Tower of the Magistrate
93 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
94 Urza's Factory
95 Urza's Mine
96 Urza's Power Plant
97 Urza's Tower
98 Vesuva
99 Wasteland
100 Zoetic Cavern
So, I started out building a Big Red/Artifact deck with Bosh as the commander, and about halfway through, the concept kind of got away from me, and I ended up with three different decks built off the same shell: the Red one, a Blue Memnarch one, and a Mono-Brown Karn deck. All 3 decks share 41 cards at this point, with any combination of two of them sharing about a dozen more. The plan is to put the deck(s) together, swapping the different card packages in and out as the mood to play a different Commander/color strikes.
And last, but certainly not least, Karn, the golem who proved silver was good for more than tacky mock-Celtic jewlery and irritating Werewolves. This deck is a serious throwback for me, to the first EDH deck I made when I first learned about the format almost 4 years ago, and a lot of the card choices reflect that. Artifacts have always been my favorite card type, and Karn has been one of my favorite characters since his introduction, so a mono-Brown (or Silver, nowadays) deck is right up my alley. That said, there are obvious complications, like the tricky land base and the lack of (m)any non-permanents to compliment the artifacts (changed slightly with the printing of the delicious All is Dust in Rise). But, what fun is it without a challenge?
Karn wins by virtue of his ability the vast majority of the time. Boasting a solid A-squad of heavy hitters including Darksteel Forge, Akroma's Memorial, and Mycosynth Lattice, it also has a compliment of legimate artifact creature threats like Wurmcoil Engine and Lodestone Myr that can't wait to mix it up in the red zone. Add to that the presence of those much-maligned Lovecraftian knock-offs, the Eldrazi, and the hits just keep on coming.
This is the most linear deck of the three, and what I call my 'grinder' deck. Despite some fun synergies, there's no real 'I win' combo present (except for infinite turns off Magistrate's Scepter, if people scoop to it), it's just 'Play threats, use threats, repeat until the table is clear'. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I haven't done any recent testing with this deck, but it is based on an old classic that I used to play fairly regularly, so I know how it behaves. The question will come in matching it against the new hotness of the day. But I have faith that my Silver can take the heat.
I'm posting this mainly just to have a semi-permanent record of the deck, as well as a potential sounding board for when new sets come out and I look to upgrade, not because I'm specifically wanting to make any changes at the moment. That said, critiques and suggestions are always appreciated. Thanks for checking it out.
Editors note: The term infinite, as used in this post, can be read as: "Enough to accomplish whatever I want", or NI.