Major Update 7th November 2009
I have made 17 changes from the original list. I’m having a lot of fun tuning this deck and I still don’t think I’m close to an ‘optimal’ list (if such a thing exists).
The changes I have made are an attempt to streamline the deck and cut the chaff. I removed the Thopter Foundry/Sword of the Meek combo because it seemed unnecessary and I didn’t find it as effective as the Sculpting Steel combo. Also, finally switched the Disciple of the Vault out for Bitter Ordeal. Am thinking of sticking Disciple back in though as a lower mana cost option (although far easier to disrupt).
I made a bunch of changes to the mana base, including removing 3 lands but adding rituals and Lotus Bloom. 32 is running fine but I am sure there is plenty of tweaking still to be done. The Ice Age pain lands are running fine, but not sure if they are better than the lands I removed. I feel the balance between lands and artifact mana is the biggest challenge with this deck.
I am still proxying the Mishra’s Workshop and the 2 Portal tutors but I feel they are must-includes so I will bite the bullet and get them soon. The Timetwister is also a proxy and is testing very well. The shuffle effect is easier to work around than I imagined. Bit of a bugger – I was hoping it wouldn’t make the cut so I don’t have to try and get one!
Weakest slots at this stage: Mystical Tutor, Artificer’s Intuition, Careful Consideration, Skeletal Scrying, Cabal Ritual (although this has been nice a couple times with Yawgmoth’s Will), the Signets, Gemstone Caverns (only had it opening hand once – at least it’s not useless since it still taps for a colourless).
Also not sure I’ve got the mix right with the removal – Swords is great but Vindicate, Chain of Vapor, Executioner’s Capsule could easily be Echoing Truth, Rushing River, Aether Spellbomb.
Other cards on the fringe of inclusion:
Mind Stone, Mortify, Time Spiral, Seat of the Synod (as well as all the cards I have cut!)
This has been a bit of an unorganised ramble, but the last big consideration is the amount of counterspells I’m running. I’ve leaned heavily on the few I have and have used tutors to find them on occasion. Am thinking of trimming the tutors/card draw a bit and adding another few counters.
Interesting approach to Sharuum 1v1. It looks like your gameplan is suicide combo.
I would cut the Time Sieve combo completely and instead run the some of the following to combo with Sculpting Steel:
Extractor Demon - graveyard friendly
Bitter Ordeal - counter spell proof and if they disrupt your 'steel loop you can still cast it to some effect or hold on to it to go off later.
Glassduct Hulk - cycle it early, recurrable and fabricatable.
Thank you both for the feedback. Was thinking about sticking in the power artifact and also a basalt monolith. Will try it out. My alternative to Stroke of Genius was Skeletal Scrying but I guess Stroke is an alternate win condition with the infinite mana combo.
I like the Extractor Demon idea! Hadn't even thought of that one. Cheers. The Hulk seems good too since I can just cycle him.
This looks closer to my Sharuum build and strategy than any deck I've ever seen. I'm amazed how few people embrace the full-on combo strategy in Sharuum. It's far better than any of the sophomoric reanimator stuff people throw around. Only two recommendations:
Ad Nauseam is very, very good. Try it, and you'll find yourself demonic tutoring for it remarkably often. It usually just hits 4-5 lands and 3-4 tutors and utility cards for 10 life or so. What's 10 life in EDH? Nothing, that's what.
Good luck. Glad to see another Sharuum brother out there fighting the good fight.
Edit: Sorry, two more: Artificer's Intuition and Lotus Bloom. Artificer's Intuition is just useful: fetch sol ring or pithing needle or whatever, and get back whatever you pitch with Sharuum.
Lotus bloom is another story. The trick is: don't suspend it. Get in in the yard with Artificer's intuition (or just intuition or whatever), also get sculpting steel in the yard by similar means. Then combo off with sharuum/steel. Even if you have no win con on the board, end with sharuum's ability targeting lotus bloom, then sac it for BBB to cast bitter ordeal. Your huge combo now can be pulled of in one turn for 3WUB (and the only part of it they can counter is Sharuum).
Hi bitterroot. Thanks for your post. I just had a look at your decklist and I like the look of it. I also much prefer the combo route instead of just beating with fat creatures. Although Magister Sphinx is the one fantastically good exception :).
Thanks for the kind words, Sancho. My list has changed a little since I've posted it, but the strategy has remained essentially the same.
I've often thought of reintroducing Magister Sphinx to my build. Maybe I'll give him another try in your honor. By the same token, your deck has given me a lot of ideas, and reminded me of some cards I'd been meaning to include. I'll be getting a hold of: Tainted Pact Enlightened Tutor Transmute Artifact Brainstorm Windfall Entomb Misdirection
2 Sculpting Steel
3 Bitter Ordeal
4 Mindslaver
5 Magister Sphinx
Tutors
6 Vampiric Tutor
7 Imperial Seal
8 Entomb
9 Demonic Tutor
10 Tainted Pact
11 Grim Tutor
12 Enlightened Tutor
13 Mystical Tutor
14 Intuition
15 Fabricate
16 Transmute Artifact
17 Trinket Mage
18 Tezzeret the Seeker
19 Lim-Dul’s Vault
20 Artificer’s Intuition
Card Draw
21 Brainstorm
22 Ponder
23 Strategic Planning
24 Impulse
25 Night’s Whisper
26 Frantic Search
27 Thirst for Knowledge
28 Compulsive Research
29 Windfall
30 Timetwister
31 Fact or Fiction
32 Careful Consideration
33 Ad Nauseam
34 Skeletal Scrying
35 Sensei’s Divining Top
36 Memory Jar
37 Thoughtseize
38 Duress
39 Mind Twist
40 Orim’s Chant
41 Mana Drain
42 Force of Will
43 Misdirection
44 Pact of Negation
Utility/Removal
45 Swords to Plowshares
46 Chain of Vapor
47 Vindicate
48 Yawgmoth’s Will
49 Crucible of Worlds
50 Expedition Map
51 Candelabra of Tawnos
52 Voltaic Key
53 Executioner’s Capsule
Mana Acceleration
54 Dark Ritual
55 Cabal Ritual
56 Lotus Petal
57 Mox Diamond
58 Chrome Mox
59 Mana Crypt
60 Lotus Bloom
61 Sol Ring
62 Mana Vault
63 Grim Monolith
64 Talisman of Dominance
65 Talisman of Progress
66 Dimir Signet
67 Azorius Signet
68 Orzhov Signet
Utility Lands
69 Gemstone Caverns
70 Ancient Tomb
71 City of Traitors
72 Crystal Vein
73 Tolarian Academy
74 Mishra’s Workshop
75 Academy Ruins
76 Strip Mine
77 Wasteland
78 Tolaria West
79 City of Brass
80 Underground River
81 Adarkar Wastes
82 Caves of Koilos
83 Polluted Delta
84 Flooded Strand
85 Bloodstained Mire
86 Windswept Heath
87 Scalding Tarn
88 Misty Rainforest
89 Marsh Flats
90 Verdant Catacombs
91 Arid Mesa
92 Underground Sea
93 Tundra
94 Scrubland
95 Watery Grave
96 Hallowed Fountain
97 Godless Shrine
98 Island
99 Swamp
100 Plains
Major Update 7th November 2009
I have made 17 changes from the original list. I’m having a lot of fun tuning this deck and I still don’t think I’m close to an ‘optimal’ list (if such a thing exists).
Removed:
Added:
The changes I have made are an attempt to streamline the deck and cut the chaff. I removed the Thopter Foundry/Sword of the Meek combo because it seemed unnecessary and I didn’t find it as effective as the Sculpting Steel combo. Also, finally switched the Disciple of the Vault out for Bitter Ordeal. Am thinking of sticking Disciple back in though as a lower mana cost option (although far easier to disrupt).
I made a bunch of changes to the mana base, including removing 3 lands but adding rituals and Lotus Bloom. 32 is running fine but I am sure there is plenty of tweaking still to be done. The Ice Age pain lands are running fine, but not sure if they are better than the lands I removed. I feel the balance between lands and artifact mana is the biggest challenge with this deck.
I am still proxying the Mishra’s Workshop and the 2 Portal tutors but I feel they are must-includes so I will bite the bullet and get them soon. The Timetwister is also a proxy and is testing very well. The shuffle effect is easier to work around than I imagined. Bit of a bugger – I was hoping it wouldn’t make the cut so I don’t have to try and get one!
Weakest slots at this stage: Mystical Tutor, Artificer’s Intuition, Careful Consideration, Skeletal Scrying, Cabal Ritual (although this has been nice a couple times with Yawgmoth’s Will), the Signets, Gemstone Caverns (only had it opening hand once – at least it’s not useless since it still taps for a colourless).
Also not sure I’ve got the mix right with the removal – Swords is great but Vindicate, Chain of Vapor, Executioner’s Capsule could easily be Echoing Truth, Rushing River, Aether Spellbomb.
Other cards on the fringe of inclusion:
Mind Stone, Mortify, Time Spiral, Seat of the Synod (as well as all the cards I have cut!)
This has been a bit of an unorganised ramble, but the last big consideration is the amount of counterspells I’m running. I’ve leaned heavily on the few I have and have used tutors to find them on occasion. Am thinking of trimming the tutors/card draw a bit and adding another few counters.
As always, suggestions and insight are welcome!
However i think there are few cards that you could include:
- Stroke of genius
- Reshape
- Voltaic Key
- Power Artifact
(Tons of Mana with Grim Monolith)I would cut the Time Sieve combo completely and instead run the some of the following to combo with Sculpting Steel:
Extractor Demon - graveyard friendly
Bitter Ordeal - counter spell proof and if they disrupt your 'steel loop you can still cast it to some effect or hold on to it to go off later.
Glassduct Hulk - cycle it early, recurrable and fabricatable.
I like the Extractor Demon idea! Hadn't even thought of that one. Cheers. The Hulk seems good too since I can just cycle him.
Bitter Ordeal is the strongest Sharuum win con, period. Consider running perplex, drift of phantasms, and dimir machinations to fetch ordeal, sculpting steel, or intuition.
Ad Nauseam is very, very good. Try it, and you'll find yourself demonic tutoring for it remarkably often. It usually just hits 4-5 lands and 3-4 tutors and utility cards for 10 life or so. What's 10 life in EDH? Nothing, that's what.
Good luck. Glad to see another Sharuum brother out there fighting the good fight.
Edit: Sorry, two more: Artificer's Intuition and Lotus Bloom. Artificer's Intuition is just useful: fetch sol ring or pithing needle or whatever, and get back whatever you pitch with Sharuum.
Lotus bloom is another story. The trick is: don't suspend it. Get in in the yard with Artificer's intuition (or just intuition or whatever), also get sculpting steel in the yard by similar means. Then combo off with sharuum/steel. Even if you have no win con on the board, end with sharuum's ability targeting lotus bloom, then sac it for BBB to cast bitter ordeal. Your huge combo now can be pulled of in one turn for 3WUB (and the only part of it they can counter is Sharuum).
I'm going to start by trying out Bitter Ordeal and Lotus Bloom. That seems like a fair more resilient way to combo out. The Ad Nauseum should also slot nicely in the deck in place of Careful Consideration.
I've often thought of reintroducing Magister Sphinx to my build. Maybe I'll give him another try in your honor. By the same token, your deck has given me a lot of ideas, and reminded me of some cards I'd been meaning to include. I'll be getting a hold of:
Tainted Pact
Enlightened Tutor
Transmute Artifact
Brainstorm
Windfall
Entomb
Misdirection
And maybe once I graduate law school :
Grim Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Imperial Seal
Force of Will
Mishra's Workshop
Tolarian Academy
Mana Crypt
I'm also thinking of including the foundry/sword combo as a backup plan. I'll see what I think of it in playtesting.