For the longest time, I've wanted to build a unique Spellbinder deck that didn't use the typical "Unblockable Creature + Spellbinder + Searing Wind/Savage Beating" combo. What's unique about this deck is how it abuses Magnetic Theft to attach your own equipment to your opponent's creatures to trigger Spellbinder. So the idea is to imprint something like Searing Wind onto Spellbinder, and then attach it to your opponent's creature at instant speed with Magnetic Theft! Obviously let the creature through to deal damage to you, and then BOOM! - Searing Wind at your opponent's face. It's the same thing with Elbrus, the Binding Blade - attach it to your opponent's creature at instant speed after the declared attackers phase, then watch your opponent's face drop as he gives you a 13/13 Flying Trample Intimidate. Crazy.
Using this method also gets around the drawback of typical Spellbinder decks where you normally need a creature to connect to the opponent. The insane thing about this is that your opponent will never worry about a lone Spellbinder as long as you have no creatures/evasion to connect with. Playing around with my opponent's head is my idea of "Theoretical Magic".
Deck Explanation:
So I designed this deck to also be able to take on the typical Spellbinder deck in case attaching to the opponent doesn't work out.
Augur of Bolas - Great 2 drop to search for the instant you need. Can carry Spellbinder if needed.
Nivix Guildmage - Another great 2 drop to help search for Spellbinder, or for copying Searing Wind! Theoretically I can end the game on Turn 5 this way with a good hand.
Godo, Bandit Warlord - Good card to search out equipment at the right time. By himself he can trigger Spellbinder twice if he connects.
Spellbinder/Elbrus, the Binding Blade - Although Magnetic Theft is used to attach to your opponent's creature, you can use it on your own as well if the opponent has not declared blockers on your attackers.
Thran Dynamo - This is in here to hardcast some cards in case the Spellbinder plan does not work out. The mana costs are perfect for this plan.
Lightning Bolt - No explanation needed. Good as normal removal or even attached on Spellbinder.
Izzet Charm - Amazing card that can protect Spellbinder, search for Spellbinder, or act as removal.
Chemister's Trick - After the first Spellbinder trick, your opponent is unlikely to fall for it again, so this card forces them to attack. The only downside is that for this trick to work an opponent's creature has to have 3+ power because 0 power does not deal combat damage and thus no Spellbinder trigger :-/. Still, this can be used as an early Fog against aggro so that's good.
Cunning Wish + Sideboard. Allows me to run some of the conditional spells which you typically don't want in the maindeck (i.e. multiple Searing Wind). Also great on Spellbinder itself. Sideboard is mostly removal.
I haven't tested this deck at all, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on the deck. Suggestions for other Instants would be great (Keep in mind that with Cunning Wish and Spellbinder, I can put any colored Instant on Spellbinder so suggest away!)
And please don't suggest adding White here as a 3rd color. I think the deck is fine as blue/red.
How I've missed you during your Hiatus. You rock at magic.
Now that I think of it, maybe (I'm sorry for this) splash a third color? Black and White both offer you tutors, but then again, I can can seehow that'd take away from the combo. But depending on how aggressive the other deck is, you might enjoy having either more removal or fog effects.
If you don't want to splash White, Fabricte is a great in color option for Blue.
I don't think you fully understand how this deck works. The cards you suggested can work, but are actually inferior to the cards already in the deck. Brass Squire is a slow 1/3 that is vulnerable to removal, not to mention that it doesn't allow me to equip to opponent's creatures. I can't even use it as a surprise tactic like Magnetic Theft, which the opponent will never see coming. The plan is made too obvious with Brass Squire. The same thing can be said for Puresteel Paladin - and there is no way this deck will fulfill Metalcraft.
Leonin Shikari is a good card, but only in a dedicated equipment deck that benefits from a lot of equipment shuffling around. It's pointless for Spellbinder which has an Equip cost of 4 mana.
Fabricate is way too slow for this deck. This is not the type of deck that can get away with spending 3-mana at sorcery speed. Not to mention it reveals your plan before you set it in motion - surprise is a big factor with this deck, and Fabricate does not have that.
How I've missed you during your Hiatus. You rock at magic.
Now that I think of it, maybe (I'm sorry for this) splash a third color? Black and White both offer you tutors, but then again, I can can seehow that'd take away from the combo. But depending on how aggressive the other deck is, you might enjoy having either more removal or fog effects.
I appreciate your sentiment . As for adding another color, I thought keeping it U/R would be best because it was already a real strain on the manabase. That and flavor wise Blue/Red Izzet made more sense.
However, if I were to splash for White or Black, what cards would I put in and substitute? White has Steelshaper's Gift, which is nice, and would also allow me to run Lightning Helix and possibly Odds//Ends.
As for black tutors, unfortunately besides Vampiric Tutor none of them seem really great for this deck. What else would be great in here from Black? Again, manabase issues really complicate the splash option...
pretty cool indeed. Don't know what to suggest other than something that forces attack without giving -2-0.
Also your landbase looks like it got a lot of tapped lands.
Unfortunately the alternative "forcing attack" cards are rather limited. The only other viable option IMO is Siren's Call, but is it better than Chemister's Trick? Although the -2/-0 can be a potential drawback, I think early on it could be good in holding back aggro and possibly letting my creatures survive if they were to block.
As for lands...yeah 8 CIPT lands is a lot. I typically run ~6 (25%), but unfortunately the U/R lands are so expensive! After Shivan Reef the prices all jump to +$10 per piece...(i.e. Cascade Bluffs, Sulfur Falls, Steam Vents, Scalding Tarn...) I wish they were cheaper
If I had more money I could make this into a U/R/W deck, but unfortunately with the money constraints I think U/R will have to do for now...
The deck would love Stoneforge Mystic. To be fair, most equip decks love her.
My RW Stoneforge/Sunforger deck has Puresteel Paladin with 8 Artifact lands and 5 equips and hits Metalcraft pretty consistently (turns 4-5, aka around the time you get your combo going), so it's not that far-fetched. The main problem with the Paladin is getting WW in a 3-color deck, which won't happen unless you twist your whole manabase.
I also think that you could maybe use more creatures. 8 isn't a lot, especially since you don't have any way to protect them against removal and they aren't as re-usable like Squadron Hawk + Mistveil Plains. Snapcaster Mage would be great, but any other small cheap flyer with a decent ability would help a lot (since you do have to connect with Spellbinder to get it's effect, unless your counting on throwing the binder on your opponent's guys?). I have a soft spot for Spiketail Hatchling, but Etched Champion is also pretty good if you decide to go artifact-heavy.
The deck would love Stoneforge Mystic. To be fair, most equip decks love her.
My RW Stoneforge/Sunforger deck has Puresteel Paladin with 8 Artifact lands and 5 equips and hits Metalcraft pretty consistently (turns 4-5, aka around the time you get your combo going), so it's not that far-fetched. The main problem with the Paladin is getting WW in a 3-color deck, which won't happen unless you twist your whole manabase.
I also think that you could maybe use more creatures. 8 isn't a lot, especially since you don't have any way to protect them against removal and they aren't as re-usable like Squadron Hawk + Mistveil Plains. Snapcaster Mage would be great, but any other small cheap flyer with a decent ability would help a lot (since you do have to connect with Spellbinder to get it's effect, unless your counting on throwing the binder on your opponent's guys?). I have a soft spot for Spiketail Hatchling, but Etched Champion is also pretty good if you decide to go artifact-heavy.
The whole plan of the deck is to attach Spellbinder to my opponent's creatures. As I explained in the original post, a common weakness of Spellbinder decks is properly balancing the creature/spell ratio. This deck ignores all of that. However, I put in 12 creatures (including Faerie Conclave) as a backup so I can attack with my own if need be, but I have no need to protect them.
Stoneforge Mystic is banned for a good reason. She opens up all kinds of degenerate plans and makes this deck lose focus. If I'm running Stoneforge, then there are better options to search for than Spellbinder, like Batterskull. More importantly, an infamous card like that takes away the uniqueness of the deck - something I'd like to avoid at all costs.
As for Puresteel Paladin, let's hypothetically say I could somehow fit in WW and even get Metalcraft. Even if I could do all that, I still don't see the benefit of the Paladin. I'm barely going to draw cards off it, and the Equip 0 is hardly an improvement over Magnetic Theft which only requires 1 mana and does it at Instant speed. The instant speed is absolutely key here. Therefore Puresteel Paladin is not worth it at all.
I really wish I had Snapcaster Mage but that's not happening at $20 per pop. Again, I don't need many creatures for this deck.
Isochron Scepter works, but the deck only has 15 eligible spells. And again it takes away focus from the deck by opening up too many degenerate plans like permanent Counterspell.
8 Mountain
4 Island
4 Shivan Reef
2 Izzet Guildgate
2 Halimar Depths
4 Faerie Conclave
Creatures 8
3 Augur of Bolas
4 Nivix Guildmage
1 Godo, Bandit Warlord
4 Spellbinder
1 Elbrus, the Binding Blade
2 Thran Dynamo
Spells 21
3 Magnetic Theft
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Izzet Charm
4 Chemister's Trick
1 Firemind's Foresight
1 Searing Wind
4 Cunning Wish
1 Noxious Revival
1 Magnetic Theft
1 Inferno Trap
1 Permafrost Trap
1 Whiplash Trap
1 Submerge
1 Fireblast
1 Swerve
1 Pulse of the Forge
1 Memory Plunder
1 Hidetsugu's Second Rite
1 Reins of Power
1 Grab the Reins
1 Savage Beating
1 Searing Wind
Using this method also gets around the drawback of typical Spellbinder decks where you normally need a creature to connect to the opponent. The insane thing about this is that your opponent will never worry about a lone Spellbinder as long as you have no creatures/evasion to connect with. Playing around with my opponent's head is my idea of "Theoretical Magic".
Deck Explanation:
Augur of Bolas - Great 2 drop to search for the instant you need. Can carry Spellbinder if needed.
Nivix Guildmage - Another great 2 drop to help search for Spellbinder, or for copying Searing Wind! Theoretically I can end the game on Turn 5 this way with a good hand.
Godo, Bandit Warlord - Good card to search out equipment at the right time. By himself he can trigger Spellbinder twice if he connects.
Spellbinder/Elbrus, the Binding Blade - Although Magnetic Theft is used to attach to your opponent's creature, you can use it on your own as well if the opponent has not declared blockers on your attackers.
Thran Dynamo - This is in here to hardcast some cards in case the Spellbinder plan does not work out. The mana costs are perfect for this plan.
Lightning Bolt - No explanation needed. Good as normal removal or even attached on Spellbinder.
Izzet Charm - Amazing card that can protect Spellbinder, search for Spellbinder, or act as removal.
Chemister's Trick - After the first Spellbinder trick, your opponent is unlikely to fall for it again, so this card forces them to attack. The only downside is that for this trick to work an opponent's creature has to have 3+ power because 0 power does not deal combat damage and thus no Spellbinder trigger :-/. Still, this can be used as an early Fog against aggro so that's good.
Firemind's Foresight - I thought this might be an interesting addition as it allows you to search up Magnetic Theft, Chemister's Trick and Cunning Wish. Just pure card advantage and great on Spellbinder.
Searing Wind - Win Condition. Amazing if you can copy it with Nivix Guildmage off a Spellbinder.
Cunning Wish + Sideboard. Allows me to run some of the conditional spells which you typically don't want in the maindeck (i.e. multiple Searing Wind). Also great on Spellbinder itself. Sideboard is mostly removal.
Faerie Conclave - Evasion creature that can hit with Spellbinder.
And please don't suggest adding White here as a 3rd color. I think the deck is fine as blue/red.
R: Copypasta Sauce {Browbeat}
UR: Mana Cache , One Spell to Bind them All {Magnetic Theft}
UG: Epic Struggle , All-In-Poison {Metamorphosis}
UW: Planar Overlay , Decree of the Bailiff {Saprazzan Bailiff}
BG: Thought Gorger , Dark Chroma {Umbra Stalker}
UBR: Dwarven Shrine
WUBRG: Dissipation Field , Maelstrom Nexus
Brass Squire or Puresteel Paladin ensure an easy equip for your equipment.
Leonin Shikari gives you instant speed equip.
If you don't want to splash White, Fabricte is a great in color option for Blue.
Servien
Chaos' Realm
Escalation of Chaos
Tales of Cahdaria
Enigmatic Distrubance
Celestial Unveiling
Now that I think of it, maybe (I'm sorry for this) splash a third color? Black and White both offer you tutors, but then again, I can can seehow that'd take away from the combo. But depending on how aggressive the other deck is, you might enjoy having either more removal or fog effects.
I don't think you fully understand how this deck works. The cards you suggested can work, but are actually inferior to the cards already in the deck. Brass Squire is a slow 1/3 that is vulnerable to removal, not to mention that it doesn't allow me to equip to opponent's creatures. I can't even use it as a surprise tactic like Magnetic Theft, which the opponent will never see coming. The plan is made too obvious with Brass Squire. The same thing can be said for Puresteel Paladin - and there is no way this deck will fulfill Metalcraft.
Leonin Shikari is a good card, but only in a dedicated equipment deck that benefits from a lot of equipment shuffling around. It's pointless for Spellbinder which has an Equip cost of 4 mana.
Fabricate is way too slow for this deck. This is not the type of deck that can get away with spending 3-mana at sorcery speed. Not to mention it reveals your plan before you set it in motion - surprise is a big factor with this deck, and Fabricate does not have that.
I appreciate your sentiment . As for adding another color, I thought keeping it U/R would be best because it was already a real strain on the manabase. That and flavor wise Blue/Red Izzet made more sense.
However, if I were to splash for White or Black, what cards would I put in and substitute? White has Steelshaper's Gift, which is nice, and would also allow me to run Lightning Helix and possibly Odds//Ends.
As for black tutors, unfortunately besides Vampiric Tutor none of them seem really great for this deck. What else would be great in here from Black? Again, manabase issues really complicate the splash option...
Unfortunately the alternative "forcing attack" cards are rather limited. The only other viable option IMO is Siren's Call, but is it better than Chemister's Trick? Although the -2/-0 can be a potential drawback, I think early on it could be good in holding back aggro and possibly letting my creatures survive if they were to block.
As for lands...yeah 8 CIPT lands is a lot. I typically run ~6 (25%), but unfortunately the U/R lands are so expensive! After Shivan Reef the prices all jump to +$10 per piece...(i.e. Cascade Bluffs, Sulfur Falls, Steam Vents, Scalding Tarn...) I wish they were cheaper
If I had more money I could make this into a U/R/W deck, but unfortunately with the money constraints I think U/R will have to do for now...
R: Copypasta Sauce {Browbeat}
UR: Mana Cache , One Spell to Bind them All {Magnetic Theft}
UG: Epic Struggle , All-In-Poison {Metamorphosis}
UW: Planar Overlay , Decree of the Bailiff {Saprazzan Bailiff}
BG: Thought Gorger , Dark Chroma {Umbra Stalker}
UBR: Dwarven Shrine
WUBRG: Dissipation Field , Maelstrom Nexus
My RW Stoneforge/Sunforger deck has Puresteel Paladin with 8 Artifact lands and 5 equips and hits Metalcraft pretty consistently (turns 4-5, aka around the time you get your combo going), so it's not that far-fetched. The main problem with the Paladin is getting WW in a 3-color deck, which won't happen unless you twist your whole manabase.
I also think that you could maybe use more creatures. 8 isn't a lot, especially since you don't have any way to protect them against removal and they aren't as re-usable like Squadron Hawk + Mistveil Plains. Snapcaster Mage would be great, but any other small cheap flyer with a decent ability would help a lot (since you do have to connect with Spellbinder to get it's effect, unless your counting on throwing the binder on your opponent's guys?). I have a soft spot for Spiketail Hatchling, but Etched Champion is also pretty good if you decide to go artifact-heavy.
Isocron Scepter as a one of?
The whole plan of the deck is to attach Spellbinder to my opponent's creatures. As I explained in the original post, a common weakness of Spellbinder decks is properly balancing the creature/spell ratio. This deck ignores all of that. However, I put in 12 creatures (including Faerie Conclave) as a backup so I can attack with my own if need be, but I have no need to protect them.
Stoneforge Mystic is banned for a good reason. She opens up all kinds of degenerate plans and makes this deck lose focus. If I'm running Stoneforge, then there are better options to search for than Spellbinder, like Batterskull. More importantly, an infamous card like that takes away the uniqueness of the deck - something I'd like to avoid at all costs.
As for Puresteel Paladin, let's hypothetically say I could somehow fit in WW and even get Metalcraft. Even if I could do all that, I still don't see the benefit of the Paladin. I'm barely going to draw cards off it, and the Equip 0 is hardly an improvement over Magnetic Theft which only requires 1 mana and does it at Instant speed. The instant speed is absolutely key here. Therefore Puresteel Paladin is not worth it at all.
I really wish I had Snapcaster Mage but that's not happening at $20 per pop. Again, I don't need many creatures for this deck.
Isochron Scepter works, but the deck only has 15 eligible spells. And again it takes away focus from the deck by opening up too many degenerate plans like permanent Counterspell.
R: Copypasta Sauce {Browbeat}
UR: Mana Cache , One Spell to Bind them All {Magnetic Theft}
UG: Epic Struggle , All-In-Poison {Metamorphosis}
UW: Planar Overlay , Decree of the Bailiff {Saprazzan Bailiff}
BG: Thought Gorger , Dark Chroma {Umbra Stalker}
UBR: Dwarven Shrine
WUBRG: Dissipation Field , Maelstrom Nexus