Hi guys! My name is Jonathan and I live in Canada. I started playing mtg in 2011 and the only format I've ever played is Commander. This amazing format is the reason I got into magic and I don't think I'll move on to anything else in the foreseeable future. I play in several different playgroups, some more competitive than others. I consider myself to be half spike and half everything else. I like combos, I like hardcasting fatties, I also pay lots of attention to card arts and flavours. However as much as I like to win, I don't play very well because I haven't been playing for as long as others. I love deckbuilding, in fact I think I enjoy building decks more than playing them. This leads us the next section.
The Tri-colour Madness Deck Series:
As I've mentioned above, I really enjoy building decks and I see it as one of my creative outlets. I take pride in the decks I build and I enjoy seeing them being successful when played by me or others. So far I've built 10 decks, each of them features a unique tri-colour combo (yup, that's all of them!). On top of the the passion for deckbuilding, another reason for me to build so many decks is that I am relatively new to the game of mtg, and I want to try out all kinds of different decks.
You'll see a large variety of deck archetypes from this series including: timmy, theft/control, aikido(passive reactive control), ramp, rock/recursion, artifacts, mill/reanimation, tokens and voltron/aggro. For some decks, I decide on the archetype and general, then I search up all kinds of decklists online and from those I create my ideal list for that strategy(my spike side). For other decks, I just come up with an idea and dive into it blindly which results in decks that are 100% my own through extensive testing and modifying. All of my decks are built to be multiplayer oriented.
One problem that I came across when building these decks is that there are many card overlaps even though all of the decks utilize different strategies. I was unable to avoid including cards like primeval titan and consecrated sphinx in every deck of the appropriate colours. I've been trying my best to avoid this and limit the number of staples that go in all my decks. In the near future I will spend some time to focus specifically on cutting those staples from my decks.
The reason for me to post this series is that I want to share my passion with all of you, and at the same time receive some feedbacks and suggestions in order to help me further improve my decks. I'm sure this will be a great experience and help me and others in many different ways. Thanks in advance!
If I want to try out different deck archetypes, I definitely can't miss out on artifacts. Printed since the beginning of the game, artifacts are some of the strongest cards in all of magic. For the general, most people would automatically think of Sharuum the Hegemon. I almost wanted to go with Sen Triplets instead because Sharuum is often associated with degenerate infinite combos, which I'm not a fan of. After some testing, however, I realized that Sharuum is so much better than the triplets in terms of the synergies she has with the deck, even without infinite combos. Thanks to Sharuum, the deck is able to implement a recursion/reanimate subtheme, which allows the deck to be even more persistent.
Basic Land Art
I've been a huge fan of the basic land arts on magic cards ever since I started playing the game. In the beginning I loved the zendikar ones and filled my decks with them. Then they became a bit repetitive and boring. As a result my inner Vorthos pushed me to move on and search for some other land arts that fit well in my decks. I follow a few basic guidelines when searching for my lands. Obviously they must look good. They should also be on theme with the deck, and as a result of that, the lands in a deck are mostly from the same sets/blocks. Lastly, i try to keep my lands new-boardered, just because I like them better.
For Sharuum, we have:
For the alara generals, I try to avoid using the lands made for their shard. Partially because I don't want to be that predictable, but also because I think there are lands from other sets that can fit there themes just as well, if not better. For Esper however, I simply can not reject Chippy's brilliant artwork. I've also considered lands from sets like mirrodin darksteel and the new mirrodin block. However none of those were able to give me the feeling I had when I saw chippy's work. I would really love to hear which lands you think are the best for this deck!
How does this Function:
My intention is to make a powerful deck that utilizes the synergies between artifacts while avoid any of the typical infinite combos. I simply jammed in nothing but good artifacts and artifact support cards, along with tutors and card draws. There isn't really a core strategy to this deck. I can beat face with Sphinx of the Steel Wind and Cranial Plating, I can gain tons of life with Filigree Angel, I can also assemble a Nevinyrral's Disk + Darksteel Forge combo. The deck also has a recursion subtheme in the forms of Sharuum herself, Hanna, Ship's Navigator, Academy Ruins, and massive spells like Roar of Reclamation. Overall this is an attempt at a artifact good stuff deck to abuse this really powerful card type.
Cards that I will include with little persuasion. Please share your opinions on those!
Steel Hellkite: I'm not too sure about this card in my deck. It's expensive, but it's definitely a viable solution to most things, however it seems a bit low to activate. I'd really like to hear your opinions on this.
Etherium Sculptor: Again, I just simply don't have space in my deck for him. Please let me know if you think this card really desrves a spot.
Nihil Spellbomb: I probably should put this in. For now my playgroup isn't too heavey on graveyard recursion, but still, I will try to find space for this.
Brittle Effigy: Really nice card. The one mana cost is really nice for the trinket mage package. Maybe I should run this instead of path/swords to fit in better with the artifact theme.
The first thing that jumps out at me is that your curve is super-high. Like most new players, the first thing you probably thought of when you saw Sharuum was "cheat Inkwell Leviathans into play for cheap".
The problem with that strategy is that it's very fragile, and even the smallest disruption can set you way back. Everyone plays some kind of Wrath effect in this format, so the odds of your stuff surviving a full turn are not good, even if you have haste and hexproof and protection from all colors and whatnot.
You might want to check out Blackjack's Guide to EDH for some more helpful information.
Hey OCPunisher. Thanks for the comments. Indeed, mana curve is something I often overlook when building edh decks. Even though the format is more tolerant about that, doesn't mean I can just ignore it alltogether. I have read blackjack's guide and it helped me a lot, but I didn't find anything about mana curve in particular.
Do you have any suggestions for low mana artifacts to replace some of the higher ones. Thanks!
I feel like its almost impossible to avoid a high mana curve in a non-combo Sharuum build. Esper definitely has some fantastic cards with low mana costs, but to make the best use of Sharuum you're obviously going to use a lot of artifacts and the best ones have a high cmc. The best advice I can give you is to just run more artifact ramp and/or run more lands, if you still want to run a non-combo build and if your high mana curve is that much of a concern to you.
Now in terms of your current list, I personally like it a lot. Although you might want to consider running Dispeller's Capsule and/or Executioner's Capsule. Dispeller's Capsule is the more important one though if you had to choose.
What about having like 36 lands, 14 manartifacts and like 50 bigger spells, you'd have a lot of mana, and wouldn't have to wait until turn 7 to cast something like with 50 lands while also having something to do in the early turns. It is a bit fragile though.
What about having like 36 lands, 14 manartifacts and like 50 bigger spells, you'd have a lot of mana, and wouldn't have to wait until turn 7 to cast something like with 50 lands while also having something to do in the early turns. It is a bit fragile though.
Quick ramp/aggro is definitely a viable strategy for an artifact deck. However if I do that I'll have to change my deck completely and warp it around that strategy. I might give it a try in the future though!
I think maybe grixis colors might work better for it.
If I don't already have Thraximundar, I'd totally go for a Sedris all out aggro beat down deck. This idea seems so awesome I almost regret building thrax.
Hey OCPunisher. Thanks for the comments. Indeed, mana curve is something I often overlook when building edh decks. Even though the format is more tolerant about that, doesn't mean I can just ignore it alltogether. I have read blackjack's guide and it helped me a lot, but I didn't find anything about mana curve in particular.
Do you have any suggestions for low mana artifacts to replace some of the higher ones. Thanks!
Some mana rocks I don't see in your list: 3 Ravnica Signets, 2 Mirrodin Talismans, 2 Mirage Diamonds, Obelisk of Esper, Mind Stone, etc.
I would also remove a couple of the fatties that are just big idiots. For example, Inkwell Leviathan isn't nearly as good in this format as it is in others because you usually have multiple opponents with 30-40 life, not one opponent with only 20 life. Furthermore, all of those opponents could whip out an O-Stone. I'd cut Sphinx of the Steel Wind for the same reasons.
I'm also not a huge fan of Blightsteel Colossus in Sharuum because it will never stay in the yard to get reanimated, and it's really slow and expensive to cast.
Steel Hellkite was another card that I used to run, but eventually cut because it's too big and slow. In order for it to work, you have to wait until your next turn, untap with it, attack with it, make sure the defending player doesn't have any blockers, AND pay the mana to activate it. That's a lot of things that need to happen in order for it to work. Meanwhile, you could have just spent the same amount of mana on Spine of Ish Sah, which gets "accidentally" destroyed way more often than you might think, and just nuked the one big threat on the table right away. I'd cut Ethersworn Adjudicator for the same reasons as Steel Hellkite...too slow.
Another card I might cut is Platinum Angel. There are too many ways to get rid of it in this format, and not enough ways to protect it. It's just too risky.
I totally understand what you mean by big idiots. They don't generate any value until a turn after they come down and even then the beats aren't that heavy. However, a big problem my non-combo Sharuum faces is the lack of win cons. There are a lot of cute interactions between the artifacts however I often realize that when it comes to the time to finish my opponents, I can't come up with anything. The beaters are in there for that purpose alone. If I cut them, is there any other non-comboways to wrap up games with this deck?
Steel Hellkite, ya I'll replace it with spine of ish shah as soon as I get one. Platinum angel is in there as a joke more than anything else, will be out soon.
Updated the deck, cut Ethersworn Adjudicator, Indomitable Archangel, and Steel Hellkite for Everflowing Chalice, Thran Dynamo, and Spine of Ish Sah.Platinum Angel is definitely cuttable, but it's kind of a pet card of mine and my entire play group. Will continue lower my avg cmc.
In wars of attrition, you can probably win if you are using land-destruction effects multiple times (Sundering Titan, Spine etc.). The downside is, if you get a rap for it in multiplayer games, other players will take the same strategy at you (terrastodon you for 3 lands), or 2 people will team up to take you out quickly. You definitely want to be careful when it comes to blowing up peoples lands. I wouldnt cut the SoSW personally, as a 6-power vigialant lifelinker can help keep you alive pretty easy. You also aren't running any sweepers yourself, which I think isn't a smart idea. You have disk and O-stone, but 1 requires untapping with it (unless u tezzeret/key the disk), and the other requires 5 open. Sometimes you just need a *** or Damnation.
Chaoswarp: The tenth deck is Kaalia of the Vast for now. I haven't posted the list yet because I am not certain I'm going to keep this deck together. For that colour combination, personally I don't really like any of the current generals too much. I built Kaalia simply because I felt the need to complete the 10, and with Avacyn Restored giving her some fancy angels and griselbrand. The Planechase set is going to include a cycle of new tri-colour generals. There is a chance that I'll end up liking that one more than Kaalia (which isn't too much to ask for) and build a deck with that instead. We'll see.
Adam: Sundering Titan manipulation is really strong in Sharuum, and like most powerful strategies, it draws you hate. However Sundering Titan does seem to be ever more extreme when it comes to that, since it goes straight for basic lands. I will be swapping this card in and out of the deck depending on the playgroup I play with. However my regular group is fine with LD, so I think i'll make a space for Sunder.
On average I include 3-5 boardwipes in each deck. For Sharuum I have Austere Command along with Oblivion Stone, Scourglass, Nevinyrral's Disk. I try to use mostly artifacts because that is the theme of the deck. However you've made a really good point, all of the artifact board wipes are not nearly as efficient as the sorcery ones, with higher cost or limited timing. I really don't see why wrath of god and damnation wouldn't fit in this deck. Will be searching for extra copies of those.
Thanks for the comments!!
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Sharuum the Hegemon
Introduction:
The Tri-colour Madness Deck Series:
You'll see a large variety of deck archetypes from this series including: timmy, theft/control, aikido(passive reactive control), ramp, rock/recursion, artifacts, mill/reanimation, tokens and voltron/aggro. For some decks, I decide on the archetype and general, then I search up all kinds of decklists online and from those I create my ideal list for that strategy(my spike side). For other decks, I just come up with an idea and dive into it blindly which results in decks that are 100% my own through extensive testing and modifying. All of my decks are built to be multiplayer oriented.
One problem that I came across when building these decks is that there are many card overlaps even though all of the decks utilize different strategies. I was unable to avoid including cards like primeval titan and consecrated sphinx in every deck of the appropriate colours. I've been trying my best to avoid this and limit the number of staples that go in all my decks. In the near future I will spend some time to focus specifically on cutting those staples from my decks.
The reason for me to post this series is that I want to share my passion with all of you, and at the same time receive some feedbacks and suggestions in order to help me further improve my decks. I'm sure this will be a great experience and help me and others in many different ways. Thanks in advance!
Here are deck lists that I've posted so far:
:symr::symu::symg: Riku's RUG Goodstuff Deck
:symb::symr::symg: Kresh's Ultimate Timmy Deck
:symw::symu::symb: Sharuum's Etherium Empire
:symu::symb::symr: Thraximundar!!! Theft Deck
:symg::symb::symu: The Mimeoplasm Mill/Reanimator
:symr::symw::symu: Zedruu's Defense/Sunforger Deck
:symb::symg::symw: Karador Rock/Recursion Deck
:symg::symw::symu: Rafiq of the 1HKO
:symr::symg::symw: Rith and Her Token Army
The Artificer: Sharuum the Hegemon
If I want to try out different deck archetypes, I definitely can't miss out on artifacts. Printed since the beginning of the game, artifacts are some of the strongest cards in all of magic. For the general, most people would automatically think of Sharuum the Hegemon. I almost wanted to go with Sen Triplets instead because Sharuum is often associated with degenerate infinite combos, which I'm not a fan of. After some testing, however, I realized that Sharuum is so much better than the triplets in terms of the synergies she has with the deck, even without infinite combos. Thanks to Sharuum, the deck is able to implement a recursion/reanimate subtheme, which allows the deck to be even more persistent.
Basic Land Art
I've been a huge fan of the basic land arts on magic cards ever since I started playing the game. In the beginning I loved the zendikar ones and filled my decks with them. Then they became a bit repetitive and boring. As a result my inner Vorthos pushed me to move on and search for some other land arts that fit well in my decks. I follow a few basic guidelines when searching for my lands. Obviously they must look good. They should also be on theme with the deck, and as a result of that, the lands in a deck are mostly from the same sets/blocks. Lastly, i try to keep my lands new-boardered, just because I like them better.
For Sharuum, we have:
For the alara generals, I try to avoid using the lands made for their shard. Partially because I don't want to be that predictable, but also because I think there are lands from other sets that can fit there themes just as well, if not better. For Esper however, I simply can not reject Chippy's brilliant artwork. I've also considered lands from sets like mirrodin darksteel and the new mirrodin block. However none of those were able to give me the feeling I had when I saw chippy's work. I would really love to hear which lands you think are the best for this deck!
How does this Function:
Decklist
1x Sharuum the Hegemon
Power Artifacts
1x Blightsteel Colossus
1x Cranial Plating
1x Darksteel Forge
1x Filigree Angel
1x Karn, Silver Golem
1x Myr Battlesphere
1x Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1x Thopter Assembly
1x Wurmcoil Engine
1x MindSlaver
Utility Artifacts
1x Baleful Strix
1x Duplicant
1x Ethersworn Canonist
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Master Transmuter
1x Mirrorworks
1x Mycosynth Lattice
1x Nevinyrral's Disk
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Spine of Ish Sah
1x Scourglass
1x Sculpting Steel
1x Shimmer Myr
1x Trading Post
1x Unwinding Clock
1x Voltaic Key
1x Nihil Spellbomb
1x Oblivion Stone
Mana Ramp/Fixing
1x Coalition Relic
1x Grim Monolith
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Land Tax
1x Mana Vault
1x Sol Ring
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Consecrated Sphinx
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Recurring Insight
1x Rhystic Study
1x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1x Thirst for Knowledge
1x Sensei's Divining Top
Tutor
1x Arcum Dagsson
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Entomb
1x Fabricate
1x Intuition
1x Kuldotha Forgemaster
1x Sphinx Summoner
1x Tezzeret the Seeker
1x Trinket Mage
Other Utility Creatures/Spells
1x Austere Command
1x Copy Artifact
1x Karn Liberated
1x Open the Vaults
1x Path to Exile
1x Roar of Reclamation
1x Swords to Plowshares
Lands
1x Fetid Heath
1x Mystic Gate
1x Sunken Ruins
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Glacial Fortress
1x Isolated Chapel
1x Watery Grave
1x Godless Shrine
1x Marsh Flats
1x Polluted Delta
1x Flooded Strand
1x Ancient Den
1x Seat of the Synod
1x Vault of Whispers
1x Darksteel Citadel
4x Island
4x Plains
4x Swamp
1x Buried Ruin
1x Command Tower
1x Arcane Sanctum
1x Glimmervoid
1x Bojuka Bog
1x Temple of the False God
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Phyrexia's Core
1x Vault of the Archangel
1x Academy Ruins
Deckstats:
Creatures: 27
Non-Creature Artifacts: 18
Instants: 7
Sorceries: 6
Enchantments: 3
Planeswalkers: 2
Lands: 37
Watch List:
Cards that I will include with little persuasion. Please share your opinions on those!
Steel Hellkite: I'm not too sure about this card in my deck. It's expensive, but it's definitely a viable solution to most things, however it seems a bit low to activate. I'd really like to hear your opinions on this.
Etherium Sculptor: Again, I just simply don't have space in my deck for him. Please let me know if you think this card really desrves a spot.
Sundering Titan: A little bit too mean.
Nihil Spellbomb: I probably should put this in. For now my playgroup isn't too heavey on graveyard recursion, but still, I will try to find space for this.
Brittle Effigy: Really nice card. The one mana cost is really nice for the trinket mage package. Maybe I should run this instead of path/swords to fit in better with the artifact theme.
Indomitable Archangel: Cool effect, but the shroud has ruined my plans a few times.
Changelog:
- Ethersworn Adjudicator + Everflowing Chalice (OCU Punisher)
- Steel Hellkite + Spine of Ish Sah (OCU Punisher)
- Indomitable Archangel + Thran Dynamo
Thanks for reading my deck tech, please leave your comments! Also check my other lists in the series if you're interested!
The problem with that strategy is that it's very fragile, and even the smallest disruption can set you way back. Everyone plays some kind of Wrath effect in this format, so the odds of your stuff surviving a full turn are not good, even if you have haste and hexproof and protection from all colors and whatnot.
You might want to check out Blackjack's Guide to EDH for some more helpful information.
Yeva (88/92 foils)
Raff
Scarab
Rakdos
Wort ($50 budget, 94/97 foils)
Trostani
Do you have any suggestions for low mana artifacts to replace some of the higher ones. Thanks!
Now in terms of your current list, I personally like it a lot. Although you might want to consider running Dispeller's Capsule and/or Executioner's Capsule. Dispeller's Capsule is the more important one though if you had to choose.
UWU/W BlinkUW
BMono-Black ControlB
Commander:
GWUJenaraGWU
BGeth MBCB
RGXenagosRG
WUBSharuumWUB (retired)
Modern:
xAffinityx (starting)
Standard:
Ha! That's a good one.
Quick ramp/aggro is definitely a viable strategy for an artifact deck. However if I do that I'll have to change my deck completely and warp it around that strategy. I might give it a try in the future though!
If I don't already have Thraximundar, I'd totally go for a Sedris all out aggro beat down deck. This idea seems so awesome I almost regret building thrax.
Some mana rocks I don't see in your list: 3 Ravnica Signets, 2 Mirrodin Talismans, 2 Mirage Diamonds, Obelisk of Esper, Mind Stone, etc.
I would also remove a couple of the fatties that are just big idiots. For example, Inkwell Leviathan isn't nearly as good in this format as it is in others because you usually have multiple opponents with 30-40 life, not one opponent with only 20 life. Furthermore, all of those opponents could whip out an O-Stone. I'd cut Sphinx of the Steel Wind for the same reasons.
I'm also not a huge fan of Blightsteel Colossus in Sharuum because it will never stay in the yard to get reanimated, and it's really slow and expensive to cast.
Steel Hellkite was another card that I used to run, but eventually cut because it's too big and slow. In order for it to work, you have to wait until your next turn, untap with it, attack with it, make sure the defending player doesn't have any blockers, AND pay the mana to activate it. That's a lot of things that need to happen in order for it to work. Meanwhile, you could have just spent the same amount of mana on Spine of Ish Sah, which gets "accidentally" destroyed way more often than you might think, and just nuked the one big threat on the table right away. I'd cut Ethersworn Adjudicator for the same reasons as Steel Hellkite...too slow.
Another card I might cut is Platinum Angel. There are too many ways to get rid of it in this format, and not enough ways to protect it. It's just too risky.
Yeva (88/92 foils)
Raff
Scarab
Rakdos
Wort ($50 budget, 94/97 foils)
Trostani
I totally understand what you mean by big idiots. They don't generate any value until a turn after they come down and even then the beats aren't that heavy. However, a big problem my non-combo Sharuum faces is the lack of win cons. There are a lot of cute interactions between the artifacts however I often realize that when it comes to the time to finish my opponents, I can't come up with anything. The beaters are in there for that purpose alone. If I cut them, is there any other non-comboways to wrap up games with this deck?
Steel Hellkite, ya I'll replace it with spine of ish shah as soon as I get one. Platinum angel is in there as a joke more than anything else, will be out soon.
Appreciate the comments!!
ChaosWarp: the only combination left is WBR.
WBG Karador GBW
R Daretti R
RG Omnath GR
WRG Modern Burn GRW
WB Modern Tokens BW
DCI Rules Advisor as of 5/18/2015
Adam: Sundering Titan manipulation is really strong in Sharuum, and like most powerful strategies, it draws you hate. However Sundering Titan does seem to be ever more extreme when it comes to that, since it goes straight for basic lands. I will be swapping this card in and out of the deck depending on the playgroup I play with. However my regular group is fine with LD, so I think i'll make a space for Sunder.
On average I include 3-5 boardwipes in each deck. For Sharuum I have Austere Command along with Oblivion Stone, Scourglass, Nevinyrral's Disk. I try to use mostly artifacts because that is the theme of the deck. However you've made a really good point, all of the artifact board wipes are not nearly as efficient as the sorcery ones, with higher cost or limited timing. I really don't see why wrath of god and damnation wouldn't fit in this deck. Will be searching for extra copies of those.
Thanks for the comments!!