Blombo is a mono blue combo deck that uses Shape Anew to transform zero converted mana cost artifacts into very powerful and resilient win conditions. The deck answers most threats with permission, and generally combos off by turn 4 or 5. While the deck is Modern legal, it is surprisingly budget friendly and designed for kitchen table casual matches along with more semi-competitive games. The deck's name is a play on the words blue and combo. This deck is designed solely for versus matches and does not perform well in multiplayer games. If you are looking for a combo deck that is unique, requires decision making, and frustrates your opponent, Blombo may be for you.
These cards are the reason we are playing this deck. Darksteel Relic is a very resilient artifact with a casting cost of zero, it may not look like much, but it is a crucial part of this deck. Shape Anew allows us to turn our Darksteel Relic into one of two other artifacts in the deck. One of these threats is Blightsteel Colossus, an 11/11 with trample and infect that can OHKO. He's also immune to Wrath of God, Doom Blade, and so much more. Inkwell Leviathan is the other threat, which is immune to Path To Exile, Oblivion Ring, and Vapor Snag.
We run a serious permission suite to prevent our opponents from resolving anything until we are able to combo. Condescend is incredibly good early game and will often function as a counter that allows us scry towards setting up our combo. Mana Leak is arguably the most powerful counter in the format, and because we generally combo fairly early, Mana Leak will essentially function as Counterspell here. Dissolve[/CARD] is a new underrated gem that allows us to hard counter and scry towards the cards we need.
Consistency is key in any combo deck; these cards help us find our combo pieces. Trinket Mage is excellent because not only does it tutor for Darksteel Relic, but it also can chump block and swing in rare instances. Fabricate will function as a 5th and 6th Trinket Mage. Peer Through Depths is a great instant speed pseudo tutor that can dig for Fabricate, Shape Anew, or a counter you need in a pinch. See Beyond not only provides card advantage for 2 mana, but it allows us to shuffle back in Blightsteel Colossus or Inkwell Leviathan provided we draw them early. Even if we don't shuffle our win conditions back, because Blombo is so consistent, we seldom lose card advantage because we can always shuffle back in a second Fabricate, Trinket Mage, or an Island we don't need.
Disrupting our opponent's board state can be crucial. Spreading Seas disrupts greedy mana bases, ruins Tron, and allows Inkwell Leviathan to islandwalk over everything. Into the Roil bounces creatures, enchantments, planeswalkers and other threats that we can counter later. It also has the added benefit to being kicked mid to late game.
No fancy tricks with the land base here. Islands are self explanatory. Inkmoth Nexus provides an alternate win condition, potential chump blockers, and alternate targets for Shape Anew. Buried Ruincan recur Darksteel Relic provided it gets countered or in the graveyard some other way target.
There are certainly other options. Turn Aside protects our primary win conditions and other permanents like Spreading Seas and Inkmoth Nexus. Voyage's End is an alternative to Into The Roil that scrys towards the combo but it can't cantrip and can only bounce creatures. Not of This World protects our win conditions while allowing us to safely tap out. Darksteel Colossus another Shape Anew target, but seems inferior to both primary choices. Remand is a great tempo counter but is only a temporary fix. Augur of Bolas blocks and digs for answers, but can miss and doesn't synergize with Inkwell like Spreading Seas does. Cryptic Command does everything, but it always costs 4 to cast unlike Into The Roil and it has a triple blue in the cost which makes it difficult to reliably play on turn 4 or 5. Darksteel Citadel can be found with Trinket Mage and Fabricate, and allows for you to combo earlier, but we don't want to Shape Anew into it.
Thanks for taking the time to read over this deck. While this deck has provided great results for me, I would really appreciate some feedback on how I can make this deck stronger (without breaking the bank) along with what is good about the deck as it stands. Also please do not hesitate to ask any questions you have about the deck. I would imagine there are some cards I'm overlooking, so please mention anything that comes to mind, but please keep in mind I want to keep the deck with mono blue and Modern legal.
Original deck post, for historical reference
-ktkenshinx-
The story of this deck is really fusion of two: A friend of mine wanted to build a deck that turn Darksteel Relic into Blightsteel Colossus, but didn't like how insecure and feeble it was in the standard format at the time. Also, this same friend once built a control deck running the pieces that get The Unspeakable out for free. So, tired of a different friend of mine complaining that I only try out 'net-decks', I decided to build this:
As you can see, there are two combos in this deck:
1. Shape Anew Darksteel Relic into Blightsteel Colossus, then win the following turn, or
2. Use all the tools to put The Unspeakable into play for free (preferably on their turn).
The deck is able to Anew Blightsteel as quick as T4, and can be safe tapping out that turn with Not of This World. Being able to produce a T5-T6 6/7 flying trampler isn't too shabby either.
The added bonus is that Peer, Reach and Sift all also help to dig out either Darksteel Relic, Shape Anew, or whatever you may need at the given time. I also put in the Tron lands because it helps to hard-cast either Unspeakable or Blightsteel in case you draw into them. Inkmoth is there for both a Relic substitute and for an additional win-con, Ruins can bring back a countered or discarded Relic/Blightsteel, and Unspeakable actually can help you dig by returning it's tools to your hand.
So far, I think the synergy and ability this deck has is impressive, but I highly encourage any tips, comments, ideas to improve it's performance. I haven't tested it that much, so I may find further short-comings down the road. I'm working on the sideboard, but like I said, it hasn't been tested much. My greatest fear it that it may be weak in the same ways the Treasure Hunt-theme deck is, and I find that deck entirely too feeble.
There is one thing that can't change though: NO OTHER ARTIFACTS CAN BE INCLUDED! Things that turn permanents into artifacts (Argent Mutation) or things that become artifacts (Blinkmoth Nexus) are fine, but anything that is already an artifact risks the chance of blocking Anew from Blightsteel.
Times Tested - 21
-----
So I feel that The Unspeakable combo is a deck in itself, and this should just focus on Relic -> Blightsteel. Time to make this a Master of One trade instead of a practitioner of two.
I took out The Unspeakable, and all the digging cards associated with him. This makes more room for better things. I never got to the mana to pull off all 3 for a free Unspeakable: I was either already winning with Blight, or was already losing, so it feels too slow to keep in here. They have been replaced with 3 Careful Consideration, 3 Runeboggle, a fourth Remand, 3 Dissipate, 3 Blustersquall, and 3 Oona's Grace. Reasons for Blustersquall and Oona's are that I had problems with chump-blockers delaying the game until they could muster a win (and anything else is either too slow, single target, or effects myself), and I feel that the draw engine could be good if I'm forced into a long game.
I also changed the land base: Took out Tron and Ruins, and 4 Scalding Tarn, 4 Misty Rainforest, and 2 more Inkmoth. After some more tests, I realized the lack of blue mana was definitely an issue
Added 4 Trinket Mage, while cutting down to 2 Fabricate and gutting Tezz entirely. I agree he was too slow, for the deck and the format.
I took World to 3. I understand it's not the best counterspell out there, but it does allow me to tap out T4 for the combo without needing to hold back a turn more mana. It also counters abilities that target, as proving useful during a test run vs a token deck running Sarkhan Vol.
Cryptic Command doesn't really fit in a deck that runs 11 colorless lands. I tried goldfishing the deck a few times, and it needs more lands in general. Also, if you're looking to use Inkmoth Nexus as an alternative win, you'll need more than 2 of them.
Not of this World is cool, but you don't need 4 of them; cut 2 or 3 -- all of them, maybe -- and replace them with card draw/tutors. Trinket Mage is your go-to guy, and he can chump for you as an added bonus. Maybe cut a Fabricate or two for copies.
It's a very cute idea. I'd cut Tron entirely, without Expedition Map and other land searches, it's not even consistent. I'd go all Island, and maybe a full playset of Inkmoth Nexus for alternate win condition as well as potential chump blockers. Not of This World is more of sideboard material, but Turn Aside basically does the same thing and more.
I think this deck needs a whole host of counters. Mana Leak is one of the best counters in the format, and Condescend and Dissolve help us find our pieces while thwarting our opponent's answers. Spreading Seas disrupts greedy mana bases and allows Inkwell Leviathan to islandwalk over everything. Into The Roil bounces not only creatures to buy time, but also troublesome permanents like Oblivion Ring and pesky planeswalkers.
Telling Time could work here as well but See Beyond is probably mandatory in case you draw Blightsteel Colossus early. Like Japicx mentioned earlier, Trinket Mage works very well here not only to find Darksteel Relic but also to chump block and swing in rare instances. This doesn't mean we should ditch Fabricate entirely, it is absolutely crucial Darksteel Relic comes out every game. For this reason, I think a couple Fabricate are in order, and even a single Buried Ruin for the rare instance Darksteel Relic gets countered. Here's what I'm thinking:
Back after a ton of goldfishing with this list I posted earlier and I must say I'm pretty excited. Surprisingly very consistent to the point where having to mulligan is very rare. Several turn 4 Blightsteel Colossus or turn 4 Inkwell Leviathan. Plenty of counters to ensure opponent doesn't set up early game. Vast majority of games I get all the combo pieces by turn 5. Here are a couple examples if anyone is interested.
Foresaken M, your changes are interesting. I'm not entirely sure the fetches are necessary. They don't ensure consistency because we are mono colored (although they do make it less likely we will draw lands), but they also cause us to lose unnecessary life which combo often doesn't want to do against match ups like Burn and Zoo. Cutting Tezzeret the Seeker makes a lot of sense. Outside of the combo, I don't think anything should cost more than CMC 3. I'm not sold on Careful Consideration, but I'd have to test it. Dissolve seems better than Dissipate in this situation because finding the combo pieces is essential. For the same reason, I don't know if 4 Trinket Mage alone are enough to ensure Darksteel Relic makes it onto the field every game. Remand seems very smart here and in many scenarios a superior choice over Mana Leak.
I don't see why chump blockers would be a problem when Blightsteel Colossus tramples over everything and Inkmoth Nexus also deals infect damage. I don't think we'll be drawing enough land (especially with fetches) for Oona's Grace to be worthwhile. What's your current list exactly. If you aren't running See Beyond, what do you do if you draw Blightsteel Colossus early?
It's a very cute idea. I'd cut Tron entirely, without Expedition Map and other land searches, it's not even consistent. I'd go all Island, and maybe a full playset of Inkmoth Nexus for alternate win condition as well as potential chump blockers. Not of This World is more of sideboard material, but Turn Aside basically does the same thing and more.
I think this deck needs a whole host of counters. Mana Leak is one of the best counters in the format, and Condescend and Dissolve help us find our pieces while thwarting our opponent's answers. Spreading Seas disrupts greedy mana bases and allows Inkwell Leviathan to islandwalk over everything. Into The Roil bounces not only creatures to buy time, but also troublesome permanents like Oblivion Ring and pesky planeswalkers.
Telling Time could work here as well but See Beyond is probably mandatory in case you draw Blightsteel Colossus early.Like Japicx mentioned earlier, Trinket Mage works very well here not only to find Darksteel Relic but also to chump block and swing in rare instances. This doesn't mean we should ditch Fabricate entirely, it is absolutely crucial Darksteel Relic comes out every game. For this reason, I think a couple Fabricate are in order, and even a single Buried Ruin for the rare instance Darksteel Relic gets countered. Here's what I'm thinking:
I feel like this is good and getting somewhere, and will test this, but I feel it falls off in a few areas (all pre-test assumptions)
The counterspells here can fall off late game, as well as possibly using unnecessary mana and they only setup the deck. While it is better put Blight on the bottom rather than draw him, it's just putting something on the bottom or keeping it on top while hoping what's next is better/worse than what you saw. Roil can only single target, and makes it 2UU if you want to draw off it.
Inkwell Leviathan is a very good choice, but I feel like having to swing twice opens up the time window for your opponent to have an answer. If we Anew into Inkwell, and swing our next turn, what happens when the wipe? Especially in the case of Supreme Verdict, it would seem that we end up either digging for Buried Ruin, or delaying until we have enough mana to hard-cast Blightsteel. Since Anew is basically random at this point, it would be easier to counter a Path to Exile for Blightsteel than to delay after Inkwell gets wiped.
As for what you think of my list, I will be flat-out honest: I do not play control-themed decks that often. I'm used to facing them, and their gameplay is simple: either they throw you off your tempo and they dominate the late game, or they sit there while you smash their face to bits because the can't prevent it. Your list looks like it prevents the opponent from having an early game, and since the deck can go off T4/T5, that's still quick enough for the Modern format. I built my list expecting that the opponent will sustain some sort of board presence regardless, but it seems that this deck will often not have a problem going off early if the early-early game is spent preventing your opponent from doing anything relevant.
Like I said, I will play both and see how it goes. As of now, I have them named 'Puck Into Buck' and "Anew Perspective'
Your analysis is pretty spot on for what I was going for, preventing the opponent early to mid game, and then comboing off mid game.
I think your new list is better, but you have to run See Beyond, or at the bare minimum run another win condition. I don't see what you are going to do if the first card you draw in a game is Blightsteel Colossus. Blustersquall seems very odd and out of place, Vapor Snag sets the opponent back further, pings them, and still eliminates a blocker. Sleep is also pretty cool, but I don't think either of these are necessary. Runeboggle seems like an inferior Condescend the majority of the time. Peer Through Depths seems mandatory because it digs for Shape Anew which is fundamental. It's a bummer Repulse isn't Modern legal.
By the way, I like the name Anew Perspective, haha. It beats what I was calling it... Blombo (blue combo).
See beyond is just really bad outside of shuffling in blightsteel. You can just discard it (it gets shuffled in again) from careful consideration or thirst for knowledge, which dig deeper and are instant speed.
I'd suggest putting in 1 runechanter's pike to power up the nexi for a surprise win. You can find it with fabricate and it should be huge with all the dig and counters.
This seems likely to not be good, but polymorph might be worth playing as well. If you do that, you may want one other fatty that is hard/impossible for Path to beat.
I don't think See Beyond is really bad outside shuffling Blightsteel and Inkwell. Because this is a combo deck, there are many cards we don't want to see several times that we wouldn't mind shuffling in like Fabricate or Shape Anew. What's good about See Beyond is it can shuffle in threats that don't shuffle back in via discard, it also only costs two which means you can play it, but still keep mana open for counters.
What I like about this deck that I don't like about Polymorph is it is more consistent because removing Darksteel Relic is much harder than removing a crappy token.
Edit: If you are really paranoid about stuff like Path To Exile, than take Foresaken M's advice and run Not of This World, or Turn Aside. The former is a free counter whenever something attempts to target our major win conditions while the latter costs 1 and protects other stuff like Inkmoth Nexus and Darksteel Relic in addition to protecting the big creatures.
I just had a match-up against a deck I never saw before: Mono-Green ramping it's heart out to dominate the game early on. I tested both versions, and with the one I have listed, I lost 1/2. With Basquiat's version, I lost 0/2. I got lucky with my version and Anew'd a Inkmoth into Blight while Relic was still in the deck.
So, this doesn't seem like a mainboard problem, but a sideboard. The deck needs to be able to handle fast-paced decks that do not care if things are returned to their hand or if you counter the second spell they play. You have to counter the first spell, or they will overwhelm you. I feel as though Swan Song and Spell Snare, while having the extra two Spreading Seas will fit the bill when you need to be a little be quicker at applying the pressure.
Whatever works, because I don't wanna be stuck in another Cloudstone Curio loop ever again.
I don't know what mono green ramping can do that can be much faster than turn 4 Blightsteel Colossus. You do have to counter the first spell, but that isn't that hard with the amount of counters we are running. Going second does hurt, and Spell Snare certainly deserves testing. Maybe Remand isn't the best idea after all because it only delays the inevitable.
I've been doing some testing with my version, mainly against Soul Sisters and Fish. Soul Sisters is pretty easy to race, and countering their turn 2 Ajani's Pridemate is amazing but Path To Exile can hurt against Blightsteel sometimes. Oblivion Ring can be answered with Into The Roil. Inkwell works wonders in that match up though.
Merfolk is more difficult, especially if we don't go first. Turn 1 Cursecatcher stops us from countering their turn 2 play and that's assuming they aren't playing Aether Vial on turn one. They can also Vapor Snag our Blightsteel. On the bright side, if you can play around their counters, we can race them. Inkwell walks over everything.
I tested against mono white Emeria control, a much easier match up. Decks that don't run exile effects, like mono black control are much easier. The discard really isn't that big of a deal because the deck is so consistent and we can counter the very powerful plays.
What I do think is interesting about this deck is it's not quite so derp derp for a combo deck. It's taken me some time to learn how to play, there certainly is decision making. That being said, I'm getting great results from testing. Some of my friends are saying "why not play blue Tron" but I tell them that this deck is more creative, costs less money, and can be just as fast and consistent.
I don't think Cryptic Command is a good fit for this deck, I think counters like Spell Snare, Mana Leak, Rune Snag, Swan Song, etc. are much better because the deck only runs ~22 lands, and the deck ideally wants to combo off by turn 4 or 5, so Cryptic Command seems too high for the curve. Not of This World is a sideboard card because it is dead against so many fundamental decks like RDW, any Infect deck, mono black control, Tron, etc.
Alright, so the deck has seen a major overhaul, and I'd like to discuss why.
After a few more matches today (and losing them all, :/), I met up with someone running a deck that also digs heavily until it finds what it needs. We talked afterward, and I told him how the deck works, and he liked the idea (he never got to see it happen in real time...T-T). So, after so chatting and ideas flying around, this is the result we came up with:
He agreed that the version Basquait made was the better of the two (which I realized myself after multiple tests), but that it didn't have enough dig and what dig it had wasn't quick enough. The counterspell also didn't take full advantage of all the options and cantrips, so it was adjusted accordingly to balance both removal, counterspell and cantrips.
Mana Leak provides some of that good-old early-game stopping power, Telling Time allows you card advantage while helping you in not drawing a wincon, and bothRemand and Condescend provide you with a little of both. Peer Through Depths has made a return (or never left, depending on which version you were using), as it can fetch you Anew or that counterspell you need, and See Beyond stays in with it's excellent cantrip that shuffles the wincon/un-needed card back in where you want it (perfect for those opening hands that have multiples or are game-winning...if it wasn't for Blightsteel being in hand. >.<). A single Boomerang has been added in case you REALLY need to make something go away, and the Into the Roils have been cut: with what has been added to the sideboard (yes, there is a sideboard now!), it's just a Disperse that more than not never cantrips because you have something else better you need to cast.
When facing Modern aggro (boy, that was a big 'awakening zone' for me, lol) it turns out that Trinket Mage alone doesn't cut it for chump blocking. Enter Augur of Bolas, the 1/3 for 2 that also let's you...you guessed it, Dig (we're practically moles here!)! He doesn't pass the Bolt-test, but it seems lightning tends to strike to highest thing, which is more often than not your life total. He makes the perfect addition to the deck win you just couldn't counter that 1-Drop (Kird Ape is NOT YOUR FRIEND!).
Most notable of changes might be the mana-base: Running an Academy Ruins over a singleton Buried Ruin seems much better for repeated use and putting that destroyed Inkwell back ontop, then Peer or Telling it to the bottom on your upkeep. Also, all Islands are enjoying the current season in conjunction with [card]Scrying Sheets[/cards]. This allows us to make sure those pesky lands don't get in the way of us drawing what we need while also helping us decide what spells to cast by getting a sneak preview of what's to come.
As you can probably tell, it's no long Puck, but it's still a Relic: Darksteel Relic as been replaced by Relic of Progenitus. What we lose here in CMC and staying power we gain in graveyard hate (which we all know is a heavily-relied-upon resource in Modern) and keep in ability to tutor (both for it and for wincon). I've long since passed on the idea of going off ASAP and accepted the fact that this deck is meant to go off later than T4, but also more secure.
Also new is a complete Sideboard, filled with goodies to switch in vs those decks that just refuse to crumble beneath Blightsteel's oil-ridden feet. We've got Thassa, God of the Sea (I feel it should be Goddess, but it's w/e), Repeal and Cryptic Command, the latter of the two are good vs one of our arch-nemesi, Aggro (Wild Nactyl hacked our Facebook page once. We reported them, and WotC un-friended them.). All three find their place vs Mid-Range, or that deck that will cause an inevitably long game and demands a board presence.
We also have Spreading Seas in case we need land denial (because Tron decks are a thing), a single Hurkyl's Recall for those silly Robots, and Kami of the Crescent Moon in a attempt to...counter...Jund...yeah, we don't like them either (but we respect them, unlike Aggro). If you can think of something better, I'm all ears.
All in all, I think this is a significant improvement. I really wanna fit Serum Visions somewhere, but at sorcery speed I just don't think it fits the bill. I will be updating the original post, and will soon be working on match ups soon!
I like your list a lot Forsaken M along with your analysis. Augur of Bolas makes a lot of sense, I don't know why that card slipped my mind. Telling Time is also a great card that I have been testing, I really want to run it, but I don't know what to cut to fit it. I want to cut Spreading Seas and move it to the sideboard, but I really like the islandwalk it brings to Inkwell Leviathan along with the disruption of manlands and greedy mana bases.
I strongly disagree with substituting Darksteel Relic with Relic of Progenitus. This isn't just because you can play Darksteel Relic for free which allows the deck to combo faster, but also because numerous decks run artifact destruction in their respective sideboards and we simply can't afford not to have an artifact to sacrifice to Shape Anew.
I also think speed in a combo deck is incredibly important. This is another reason I don't like Relic of Progenitus and also Scying Sheets. For the most part, all combo decks that are able to be competitive in Modern have something in common; they all can win fairly consistently by turn 5. Speed is essential. It's why Buried Ruin is better than Academy Ruins, because the amount of games where you need to reoccur an artifact multiple times are far fewer than the amount of games where you'd rather have the artifact in your hand now rather than having to wait a turn to draw it.
Into The Roil may often function just as a Disperse, but the kicker can be relevant, especially when trying to find Shape Anew midgame. Having some type of bounce I feel is important, not just to buy time against certain creatures, but also for temporarily dealing with enchantments, artifacts, and planeswalkers. Boomerang seems better because it can bounce lands, but this deck runs enough colorless lands where casting double blue, especially on turn 2, can be difficult. Repeal is alright, but not consistent enough.
Kami of the Cresent Moon seems like a poor choice for sideboard. Thassa, God of the Sea also seems very out of place. I think earlier you were onto something with Not of This World. I think to counter aggro, perhaps cards like Sleep and Gigadrowse deserve a spot in the board. I'll spend some time thinking about a sideboard and try to share a draft for one sometime tomorrow.
I'll do some more testing, but my inclination is that if we shoot for a turn 4 or 5 win, and we are able to counter about two spells before turn 5, then we should be able to outpace most decks and win. However, while your deck may be slower and focus more on digging, I think both decks are similar and seem consistent so I'm quite eager to hear how this new version of your deck will perform and I'm also looking forward to hearing about more alternate versions from other people following this thread.
I like your list a lot Forsaken M along with your analysis. Augur of Bolas makes a lot of sense, I don't know why that card slipped my mind. Telling Time is also a great card that I have been testing, I really want to run it, but I don't know what to cut to fit it. I want to cut Spreading Seas and move it to the sideboard, but I really like the islandwalk it brings to Inkwell Leviathan along with the disruption of manlands and greedy mana bases.
I strongly disagree with substituting Darksteel Relic with Relic of Progenitus. This isn't just because you can play Darksteel Relic for free which allows the deck to combo faster, but also because numerous decks run artifact destruction in their respective sideboards and we simply can't afford not to have an artifact to sacrifice to Shape Anew.
I also think speed in a combo deck is incredibly important. This is another reason I don't like Relic of Progenitus and also Scying Sheets. For the most part, all combo decks that are able to be competitive in Modern have something in common; they all can win fairly consistently by turn 5. Speed is essential. It's why Buried Ruin is better than Academy Ruins, because the amount of games where you need to reoccur an artifact multiple times are far fewer than the amount of games where you'd rather have the artifact in your hand now rather than having to wait a turn to draw it.
Into The Roil may often function just as a Disperse, but the kicker can be relevant, especially when trying to find Shape Anew midgame. Having some type of bounce I feel is important, not just to buy time against certain creatures, but also for temporarily dealing with enchantments, artifacts, and planeswalkers. Boomerang seems better because it can bounce lands, but this deck runs enough colorless lands where casting double blue, especially on turn 2, can be difficult. Repeal is alright, but not consistent enough.
Kami of the Cresent Moon seems like a poor choice for sideboard. Thassa, God of the Sea also seems very out of place. I think earlier you were onto something with Not of This World. I think to counter aggro, perhaps cards like Sleep and Gigadrowse deserve a spot in the board. I'll spend some time thinking about a sideboard and try to share a draft for one sometime tomorrow.
I'll do some more testing, but my inclination is that if we shoot for a turn 4 or 5 win, and we are able to counter about two spells before turn 5, then we should be able to outpace most decks and win. However, while your deck may be slower and focus more on digging, I think both decks are similar and seem consistent so I'm quite eager to hear how this new version of your deck will perform and I'm also looking forward to hearing about more alternate versions from other people following this thread.
Every time I see someone post here, I can't help but think about how happy it makes me and how thankful I am for all the input I get. So thank you everyone for any and all input I've been given and will receive in the future.
As for my reasons for the changes:
I cut Spreading because it just wasn't useful enough. Sure, turning their first land into something they can't use is great, but it's not reliable enough to keep in the main. Add to the fact that my personal meta consists of either Jund or some version of control/combo, and Spreading is dead vs 50% of my meta. This also means that Inkwell is likely to get through anyway (if they don't wipe), and I feel Spreading was always more of a 'winmore' card than a 'win' card: sure, it can make Inkwell unblockable, but he's already a 7/11 trample shroud, and if that's not good enough Idk what is.
Darksteel Relic was a fine stepping stone, and if I find I'm getting massive hate in the artifact removal department, I'll consider him once again. Relic of Progenitus gives us a much-needed edge against a lot of decks in the format, and I feel as though we will always win pre-game 2 off the fact that no one has any idea what's about to happen. Also, let us not forget Inkmoth Nexus too quickly: not only is it a secondary wincon, but it's also a secondary means to the primary wincon.
As for your Buried vs Academy reasoning (lol, Battle of the Ruins), I can see what you mean by that, but I would much rather have an Academy as it helps much more than Buried when it comes to Inkwell and Blightsteel. It also gets more than one use, and has a low activation cost, which can allow us to cast something else afterward.
Out of all the times I tested this deck, I only ever cast Roil twice for the kicker: both times in the same game, and it was to target Spreading to draw even more cards. Why? Because I had already dominated my opponent and they couldn't recover, but I couldn't hit the combo pieces. By this time I was already falling behind again, and since I couldn't dig well enough, I lost in the end. This was a common trend for me, and even though I only got to test the deck once after it's makeover (and I lost), they deck felt dramatically improved. I feel the deck is more about only letting minor things resolve, counter the rest, then combo and crush your helpless opponent. Repeal cantrips, Cryptic cantrips, but they don't cost extra to get it done. As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather of had Cryptic in hand than Roil at that moment: the mana cost isn't that different, I ended up tapping the same mana anyway, and I would have had more options available.
I agree that Kami is bad, and that there are better choices, but whatever the choice is it needs to hit Jund hard. Not of This World was cute and a perfect fit...for rushing the combo T4. If I didn't go off T4, it was a dead card. If I didn't go off, it was a dead card. If I went off T4 without it in hand, I ran the risk of losing. Two of the three of these facts change if I wait a turn or so and make sure I can cover my wincon with counters, and I have an easier time digging for them and casting them they way I have it now. As for aggro, Thassa and Cryptic are my answers. Can't stop the aggro fast enough? Cryptic. Opponent decides to hold back a turn to chump-block? Cryptic. Cryptic gets countered? Thassa ability. She also mildly helps with getting you what you need, and she'll never be the target of creature-based removal unless you get some weird combination of the 8 small creatures and Inkwell (and in such a case, she can target herself with her own ability, making herself entirely useful without any drawbacks. Only one other God can claim that...).
Speaking of Inkwell, yes Thassa has dis-synergism with him...but that's not Thassa's fault. Thassa isn't to be held responsible for Inkwell having a outdated keyword when a much better one has replaced it. It's not her fault Inkwell hasn't caught up with the times, maybe Inkwell is the one with the problem? (Hopefully my drift has been caught, more on that later, I need some rest.)
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Nothing tears up a family faster than a game of Monopoly." ~ John Branyan
"Nothing tears up a group of friends faster than a session of Mario Party." ~ ForsakenM~
Extra Info:
Current Preferred Formats:
EDH, Modern, Anything with Planechase
Inkmoth Nexus as a secondary win condition is fine if you are using them as attackers, but sacrificing a land to Shape Anew should be a last resort. Running Darksteel Relic not only is far more resilient, but also faster, and again, speed is crucial in a competitive combo deck.
Voyage's End is a card that is worth mentioning by the way, I'm considering running it over Into The Roil, but I still am worried about having to bounce noncreature permanents.
Anyway, I'll continue to keep tabs on this thread, I am hoping others become as interested in this deck as I am. I recently ordered the deck, I'd expect for all of it to arrive by next Thursday, so by then or the following weekend I'll have a lot to report.
Inkmoth Nexus as a secondary win condition is fine if you are using them as attackers, but sacrificing a land to Shape Anew should be a last resort. Running Darksteel Relic not only is far more resilient, but also faster, and again, speed is crucial in a competitive combo deck.
Voyage's End is a card that is worth mentioning by the way, I'm considering running it over Into The Roil, but I still am worried about having to bounce noncreature permanents.
Anyway, I'll continue to keep tabs on this thread, I am hoping others become as interested in this deck as I am. I recently ordered the deck, I'd expect for all of it to arrive by next Thursday, so by then or the following weekend I'll have a lot to report.
It still is a last resort: this is if all else has failed, including attempts to recur the artifact of choice. I never meant it as the first option, good lord no. Mana is important (even though it's colorless), it's I'd would would definitely first try to win swinging with it before sacrificing it. I'm just simply pointing out the other options available in case something doesn't go according to plan.
Voyage's isn't bad, but I feel like we can dominate the game with counters, enough so that we do not need to worry much about returning things to their hand. After all, that's just delaying, not a preventive measure.
I'm glad you find this deck so intriguing, as this helps me gather necessary data to improve the deck.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Nothing tears up a family faster than a game of Monopoly." ~ John Branyan
"Nothing tears up a group of friends faster than a session of Mario Party." ~ ForsakenM~
Extra Info:
Current Preferred Formats:
EDH, Modern, Anything with Planechase
Sorry for the double post, but I'm here to address my earlier comment of Inkwell Leviathan 'being the problem.' Blightsteel of course has his weaknesses, but his are minuscule, and Inkwell isn't that bad of an option. Yes, he has Shroud, but that also means we can't target him either. If the opponent isn't running blue, he can be chump-blocked all day, and he only hits for 7 IF all his damage gets through. Where Blightsteel can end it in one turn, even at his best Inkwell needs 3. I feel this is plenty of time for an opponent (especially blue, and even MORE especially if they are allied with another color) to find an answer for him. So while he is a good options, I think it doesn't hurt to take a look at what else we have at our disposal.
Here are some other options I found, in order of how useful I found them:
Darksteel Colossus: The older, less corrupted brother of Blightsteel. Has all the same benefits as Blightsteel save for Infect, but as opposed to Inkwell, he only has to swing twice (ideally).
Platinum Emperion: When this guy hits the field, burn has an immediate new target. You don't have to worry about aggro, Emperion will never have to block, and while he's much squishier than Blightsteel, Darksteel, or Inkwell we can save our countermagic to keep him alive. Also, since the Modern meta loves fetches and shocks, there's a good chance he'll only have to swing twice! I feel like he would be a board-in, though, as an opponent who wins via a non-damaging combo or Infect gets right by him.
Wurmcoil Engine/Sundering Titan: I can't decide which of these is more useful in the meta. Wurmcoil kills nearly anything he touches, prolongs the game with life gain, and continues his legacy if he were to die. He's also not that bad of a cost to hard-cast, but Path is prevalent in the meta, and he has to swing 4 times (which is worse then Inkwell).
On the same level, Sundering Titan looks like he could come in T4 and keep himself alive by the land destruction, but what if your opponent only has fetches/nonbasics he can't target? What if they aren't running blue and you have to target your own Island, or worse; they aren't running blue AND you had to sac Inkmoth to fetch him? :/ That, and he takes 3 swings to win.
Steel Hellkite: Has evasion, can win faster than 4 turns, and can clear your opponent's board of threats, AND is easy to cast. Stony Silence shuts off his abilities, and for any other reason you can't buff him, he takes four turns. Also has no protection.
Mind Slaver: This card is a thing, and has it's own deck set towards not only preventing your opponent from playing magic, but also playing it for them. We can perform the combo, but at 12 mana to loop it's quite costly and would slow down our game tremendously. We would also have to change up the deck a bit to suit just one card and with no guarantee we could pull it off or that doing so wins us the game. Still worth some thought, though.
Myr Battlesphere: Produces attackers/blockers, can win quicker than 5 turns (and supplies itself the means to do so), tokens can be used as a stepping stone to our other wincon, is easy to cast, cycles well if destroyed. Has no protection or evasion, and without other Myr it takes 5 turns.
Phyrexian Colossus: Takes 2-3 turns to swing for win and has his own form of evasion. Has no protection, kills us before we can win, we run no combos to untap him for free. Another cards we would have to change up the deck for.
I'm here to address my earlier comment of Inkwell Leviathan 'being the problem.' Blightsteel of course has his weaknesses, but his are minuscule, and Inkwell isn't that bad of an option. Yes, he has Shroud, but that also means we can't target him either. If the opponent isn't running blue, he can be chump-blocked all day, and he only hits for 7 IF all his damage gets through. Where Blightsteel can end it in one turn, even at his best Inkwell needs 3. I feel this is plenty of time for an opponent (especially blue, and even MORE especially if they are allied with another color) to find an answer for him. So while he is a good options, I think it doesn't hurt to take a look at what else we have at our disposal.
The threats that can hit Blightsteel I wouldn't call minuscule. Path To Exile is literally the most common removal in the format. Oblivion Ring and Detention Sphere are also pretty common. There's also Vapor Snag and Cryptic Command. This isn't to say that Blightsteel isn't a good choice, there are many decks that don't run those removal spells, or if they do, they don't run the full playsets. We also can protect Blightsteel with counters. Inkwell on the other hand doesn't get hit by any of those threats. It doesn't get chump blocked all day because it has trample, and it can islandwalk over numerous tier 1 decks even without Spreading Seas. Inkwell doesn't win as fast as Blightsteel, but it is a very difficult card to answer and outside of edict effects like Geth's Verdict (which are unpopular) and board wipes like Wrath of God (which few really powerful decks run) it's virtually unstoppable.
I feel like we can dominate the game with counters, enough so that we do not need to worry much about returning things to their hand. After all, that's just delaying, not a preventive measure.
I would say that delaying is exactly what a combo deck wants to do. Delay until you can combo off. Remand is one of the best delaying cards of all time, which is why you are running it and if it were in my budget, I'd run it over Dissolve. Hell, come to think of it, Delay might not be a that bad idea here.
Here are some other options I found, in order of how useful I found them:
As for the list of alternate options you provided, virtually all of them are quite terrible and not worth mentioning. The honorable mentions are hardly honorable at all (really, Witchbane Orb and Phyrexian Juggernaut). Blightsteel and Inkwell are the best choices. Sundering Titan is worth mentioning, and just wrecks certain decks, but is not consistently amazing. Steel Hellkite is way too slow. It doesn't make sense cheat something in that dies to any removal spell and takes 4 turns to win the game. Darksteel Colossus is good, but worse than Blightsteel Colossus. Platinum Emperion has no evasion, and protecting him the turn he comes out seems impossible without Not of This World and because he doesn't have trample or flying, we'd have to protect him for many turns until he'd be able to actually win. For what it's worth, Sphinx of the Steel Wind is a card you didn't mention that wouldn't be terrible, and if it had a little more evasion it certainly could be a contender.
The threats that can hit Blightsteel I wouldn't call minuscule. Path To Exile is literally the most common removal in the format. Oblivion Ring and Detention Sphere are also pretty common. There's also Vapor Snag and Cryptic Command. This isn't to say that Blightsteel isn't a good choice, there are many decks that don't run those removal spells, or if they do, they don't run the full playsets. We also can protect Blightsteel with counters. Inkwell on the other hand doesn't get hit by any of those threats. It doesn't get chump blocked all day because it has trample, and it can islandwalk over numerous tier 1 decks even without Spreading Seas. Inkwell doesn't win as fast as Blightsteel, but it is a very difficult card to answer and outside of edict effects like Geth's Verdict (which are unpopular) and board wipes like Wrath of God (which few really powerful decks run) it's virtually unstoppable.
Like I mentioned before, my meta is either some version of combo/control, or Jund. There is little to no variation to that. Therefore, Liliana of the Veil is VERY, VERY prevalent. I mean, I hear people talking about her in casual conversation (it almost feels like that's all they talk about). So, when we combo off with Leak in hand, and they drop Lili and just pay the extra...buh-bye Inkwell. At least Wurmcoil would give us tokens! Inkwell just goes straight to the yard and sits their until we manage to return him to the deck/hand or Deathrite Shaman/Scavenging Ooze take care of him for us. I never see O-ring or D-Sphere outside of Cockatrice, I never EVER see Vapor, and Cryptic would also tap Inkwell...so it's just good against us in general. My meta has a a lot of 'Merica Control runners, so Supreme Verdict is always something I just expect. And for the record, I have had Inkwell chump-blocked: a Junk deck chumped with a Goyf, then immediately proceeded to immortal servitude and take control off the game.
I would say that delaying is exactly what a combo deck wants to do. Delay until you can combo off. Remand is one of the best delaying cards of all time, which is why you are running it and if it were in my budget, I'd run it over Dissolve. Hell, come to think of it, Delay might not be a that bad idea here.
I actually read Delay already, and it seems like it could work better than remand besides the fact that we cantrip off it. If we counter it, they can't cast it again, and have to wait. Meanwhile, if it was on their turn, that gives us 4 turns without worry about said spell.
As for the list of alternate options you provided, virtually all of them are quite terrible and not worth mentioning. The honorable mentions are hardly honorable at all (really, Witchbane Orb and Phyrexian Juggernaut). Blightsteel and Inkwell are the best choices. Sundering Titan is worth mentioning, and just wrecks certain decks, but is not consistently amazing. Steel Hellkite is way too slow. It doesn't make sense cheat something in that dies to any removal spell and takes 4 turns to win the game. Darksteel Colossus is good, but worse than Blightsteel Colossus. Platinum Emperion has no evasion, and protecting him the turn he comes out seems impossible without Not of This World and because he doesn't have trample or flying, we'd have to protect him for many turns until he'd be able to actually win. For what it's worth, Sphinx of the Steel Wind is a card you didn't mention that wouldn't be terrible, and if it had a little more evasion it certainly could be a contender.
I knew that going into it, I just felt all the other bases should be covered in case someone else decided to look into it. Darksteel is obviously the best choice out of all those I listed, I already acknowledged that, but I think Emperion has it's place vs aggro and burn/damage combo. That's why I said it could be a board card, as all we would have to do is save mana to counter a spell or two targeting him and the rest is just chipping away.
To be fair, I never looked into anything outside of blue or colorless, because I already was thinking about either getting it bounced or having to hard-cast for whatever reason. Steel Wind is pretty strong, and I think it would fit better vs aggro and creature-heavy decks than Emperion. The flying is plenty of evasion, and it already gets passed anything red or green that could stop it after that. Add life gain, hitting first, can attack and still block, AND it's a 3/4-turn clock? Seems pretty good to me, better board replacement than Emperion. I think it's perfect vs a deck that does T3-T4 Prime Time.
These cards are the reason we are playing this deck. Darksteel Relic is a very resilient artifact with a casting cost of zero, it may not look like much, but it is a crucial part of this deck. Shape Anew allows us to turn our Darksteel Relic into one of two other artifacts in the deck. One of these threats is Blightsteel Colossus, an 11/11 with trample and infect that can OHKO. He's also immune to Wrath of God, Doom Blade, and so much more. Inkwell Leviathan is the other threat, which is immune to Path To Exile, Oblivion Ring, and Vapor Snag.
We run a serious permission suite to prevent our opponents from resolving anything until we are able to combo. Condescend is incredibly good early game and will often function as a counter that allows us scry towards setting up our combo. Mana Leak is arguably the most powerful counter in the format, and because we generally combo fairly early, Mana Leak will essentially function as Counterspell here. Dissolve[/CARD] is a new underrated gem that allows us to hard counter and scry towards the cards we need.
Consistency is key in any combo deck; these cards help us find our combo pieces. Trinket Mage is excellent because not only does it tutor for Darksteel Relic, but it also can chump block and swing in rare instances. Fabricate will function as a 5th and 6th Trinket Mage. Peer Through Depths is a great instant speed pseudo tutor that can dig for Fabricate, Shape Anew, or a counter you need in a pinch. See Beyond not only provides card advantage for 2 mana, but it allows us to shuffle back in Blightsteel Colossus or Inkwell Leviathan provided we draw them early. Even if we don't shuffle our win conditions back, because Blombo is so consistent, we seldom lose card advantage because we can always shuffle back in a second Fabricate, Trinket Mage, or an Island we don't need.
Disrupting our opponent's board state can be crucial. Spreading Seas disrupts greedy mana bases, ruins Tron, and allows Inkwell Leviathan to islandwalk over everything. Into the Roil bounces creatures, enchantments, planeswalkers and other threats that we can counter later. It also has the added benefit to being kicked mid to late game.
No fancy tricks with the land base here. Islands are self explanatory. Inkmoth Nexus provides an alternate win condition, potential chump blockers, and alternate targets for Shape Anew. Buried Ruincan recur Darksteel Relic provided it gets countered or in the graveyard some other way target.
There are certainly other options. Turn Aside protects our primary win conditions and other permanents like Spreading Seas and Inkmoth Nexus. Voyage's End is an alternative to Into The Roil that scrys towards the combo but it can't cantrip and can only bounce creatures. Not of This World protects our win conditions while allowing us to safely tap out. Darksteel Colossus another Shape Anew target, but seems inferior to both primary choices. Remand is a great tempo counter but is only a temporary fix. Augur of Bolas blocks and digs for answers, but can miss and doesn't synergize with Inkwell like Spreading Seas does. Cryptic Command does everything, but it always costs 4 to cast unlike Into The Roil and it has a triple blue in the cost which makes it difficult to reliably play on turn 4 or 5. Darksteel Citadel can be found with Trinket Mage and Fabricate, and allows for you to combo earlier, but we don't want to Shape Anew into it.
How the deck plays (analysis coming soon)
Sample Goldfish 1:
Opening Hand: Shape Anew, Peer Through Depths, Condescend, Trinket Mage, Into The Roil, Island, Island
Turn 1: Play Island.
Turn 2: Draw and play Island and Condescend hypothetical turn 2 play by opponent, scry into Buried Ruin and Condescend, keep Buried Ruin on top, put Condescend on bottom.
Turn 3: Draw See Beyond. Play Buried Ruin and Trinket Mage, search for Darksteel Relic and cast it.
Turn 4: Draw and play Inkmoth Nexus. Cast Shape Anew, reveal and play Blightsteel Colossus.
Turn 5: Draw Spreading Seas. Into The Roil one of their permanents and swing with Blightsteel Colossus.
Sample Goldfish 2:
Opening Hand:
Condescend, See Beyond, Mana Leak. Into the Roil, Island, Island, Island
Turn 1: Play Island.
Turn 2: Draw Blightsteel Colossus. Play Island. Condescend hypothetical turn 2 play by opponent, scry into Fabricate and Island. Keep both on top.
Turn 3: Draw Fabricate. Play Island. Mana Leak opponent's hypotethical turn 3 play.
Turn 4: Draw and play Island. Cast See Beyond drawing Trinket Mage and Shape Anew and shuffling Blightsteel Colossus back into the deck. Into The Roil their hypothetical turn 4 play without kicker.
Turn 5: Draw and play Island. Cast Trinket Mage, search for Darksteel Relic and cast it.
Turn 6: Draw See Beyond. Cast Shape Anew, reveal and play Inkwell Leviathan.
Turn 7: Draw Mana Leak. Cast See Beyond drawing Spreading Seas and Condescend shuffling Fabricate back into the deck. Cast Spreading Seas drawing Trinket Mage. Swing with Inkwell Leviathan.
Decklist
4 Shape Anew
1 Darksteel Relic
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Inkwell Leviathan
4 Mana Leak
4 Condescend
2 Dissolve
4 See Beyond
4 Trinket Mage
2 Fabricate
4 Into The Roil
2 Spreading Seas
4 Inkmoth Nexus (Alternate Win Condition)
1 Buried Ruin
Thanks for taking the time to read over this deck. While this deck has provided great results for me, I would really appreciate some feedback on how I can make this deck stronger (without breaking the bank) along with what is good about the deck as it stands. Also please do not hesitate to ask any questions you have about the deck. I would imagine there are some cards I'm overlooking, so please mention anything that comes to mind, but please keep in mind I want to keep the deck with mono blue and Modern legal.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
-ktkenshinx-
The story of this deck is really fusion of two: A friend of mine wanted to build a deck that turn Darksteel Relic into Blightsteel Colossus, but didn't like how insecure and feeble it was in the standard format at the time. Also, this same friend once built a control deck running the pieces that get The Unspeakable out for free. So, tired of a different friend of mine complaining that I only try out 'net-decks', I decided to build this:
1 Relic of Progenitus
Creatures:
4 Augur of Bolas
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 Blightsteel Colossus
4 Trinket Mage
Instants:
1 Boomerang
3 Condescend
3 Remand
3 Mana Leak
4 Peer Through Depths
3 Telling Time
2 Fabricate
4 Shape Anew
4 See Beyond
Lands:
4 Inkmoth Nexus
2 Scying Sheets
1 Academy Ruins
15 Snow-Covered Island
2 Kami of the Crescent Moon
3 Thassa, God of the Sea
3 Spreading Seas
1 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Repeal
3 Cryptic Command
As you can see, there are two combos in this deck:
1. Shape Anew Darksteel Relic into Blightsteel Colossus, then win the following turn, or
2. Use all the tools to put The Unspeakable into play for free (preferably on their turn).
The deck is able to Anew Blightsteel as quick as T4, and can be safe tapping out that turn with Not of This World. Being able to produce a T5-T6 6/7 flying trampler isn't too shabby either.
The added bonus is that Peer, Reach and Sift all also help to dig out either Darksteel Relic, Shape Anew, or whatever you may need at the given time. I also put in the Tron lands because it helps to hard-cast either Unspeakable or Blightsteel in case you draw into them. Inkmoth is there for both a Relic substitute and for an additional win-con, Ruins can bring back a countered or discarded Relic/Blightsteel, and Unspeakable actually can help you dig by returning it's tools to your hand.
So far, I think the synergy and ability this deck has is impressive, but I highly encourage any tips, comments, ideas to improve it's performance. I haven't tested it that much, so I may find further short-comings down the road. I'm working on the sideboard, but like I said, it hasn't been tested much. My greatest fear it that it may be weak in the same ways the Treasure Hunt-theme deck is, and I find that deck entirely too feeble.
There is one thing that can't change though: NO OTHER ARTIFACTS CAN BE INCLUDED! Things that turn permanents into artifacts (Argent Mutation) or things that become artifacts (Blinkmoth Nexus) are fine, but anything that is already an artifact risks the chance of blocking Anew from Blightsteel.
Times Tested - 21
-----
So I feel that The Unspeakable combo is a deck in itself, and this should just focus on Relic -> Blightsteel. Time to make this a Master of One trade instead of a practitioner of two.
I took out The Unspeakable, and all the digging cards associated with him. This makes more room for better things. I never got to the mana to pull off all 3 for a free Unspeakable: I was either already winning with Blight, or was already losing, so it feels too slow to keep in here. They have been replaced with 3 Careful Consideration, 3 Runeboggle, a fourth Remand, 3 Dissipate, 3 Blustersquall, and 3 Oona's Grace. Reasons for Blustersquall and Oona's are that I had problems with chump-blockers delaying the game until they could muster a win (and anything else is either too slow, single target, or effects myself), and I feel that the draw engine could be good if I'm forced into a long game.
I also changed the land base: Took out Tron and Ruins, and 4 Scalding Tarn, 4 Misty Rainforest, and 2 more Inkmoth. After some more tests, I realized the lack of blue mana was definitely an issue
Added 4 Trinket Mage, while cutting down to 2 Fabricate and gutting Tezz entirely. I agree he was too slow, for the deck and the format.
I took World to 3. I understand it's not the best counterspell out there, but it does allow me to tap out T4 for the combo without needing to hold back a turn more mana. It also counters abilities that target, as proving useful during a test run vs a token deck running Sarkhan Vol.
"Nothing tears up a group of friends faster than a session of Mario Party." ~ ForsakenM~
Extra Info:
EDH, Modern, Anything with Planechase
Cockatrice Name: ForsakenM
Not of this World is cool, but you don't need 4 of them; cut 2 or 3 -- all of them, maybe -- and replace them with card draw/tutors. Trinket Mage is your go-to guy, and he can chump for you as an added bonus. Maybe cut a Fabricate or two for copies.
Not sure if I'm sold on The Unspeakable as an alternate win condition, maybe a single Inkwell Leviathan though, it would function as something else you can Shape Anew into, in case Blightsteel Colossus gets hit by Path To Exile.
I think this deck needs a whole host of counters. Mana Leak is one of the best counters in the format, and Condescend and Dissolve help us find our pieces while thwarting our opponent's answers. Spreading Seas disrupts greedy mana bases and allows Inkwell Leviathan to islandwalk over everything. Into The Roil bounces not only creatures to buy time, but also troublesome permanents like Oblivion Ring and pesky planeswalkers.
Telling Time could work here as well but See Beyond is probably mandatory in case you draw Blightsteel Colossus early. Like Japicx mentioned earlier, Trinket Mage works very well here not only to find Darksteel Relic but also to chump block and swing in rare instances. This doesn't mean we should ditch Fabricate entirely, it is absolutely crucial Darksteel Relic comes out every game. For this reason, I think a couple Fabricate are in order, and even a single Buried Ruin for the rare instance Darksteel Relic gets countered. Here's what I'm thinking:
4 Shape Anew
1 Darksteel Relic
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Inkwell Leviathan
4 Mana Leak
4 Condescend
2 Dissolve
4 See Beyond
4 Trinket Mage
2 Fabricate
4 Into The Roil (Budget Cryptic Command)
2 Spreading Seas
4 Inkmoth Nexus (Alternate Win Condition)
1 Buried Ruin
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
Sample Goldfish 1:
Opening Hand: Shape Anew, Peer Through Depths, Condescend, Trinket Mage, Into The Roil, Island, Island
Turn 1: Play Island.
Turn 2: Draw and play Island and Condescend hypothetical turn 2 play by opponent, scry into Buried Ruin and Condescend, keep Buried Ruin on top, put Condescend on bottom.
Turn 3: Draw See Beyond. Play Buried Ruin and Trinket Mage, search for Darksteel Relic and cast it.
Turn 4: Draw and play Inkmoth Nexus. Cast Shape Anew, reveal and play Blightsteel Colossus.
Turn 5: Draw Spreading Seas. Into The Roil one of their permanents and swing with Blightsteel Colossus.
Sample Goldfish 2:
Opening Hand:
Condescend, See Beyond, Mana Leak. Into the Roil, Island, Island, Island
Turn 1: Play Island.
Turn 2: Draw Blightsteel Colossus. Play Island. Condescend hypothetical turn 2 play by opponent, scry into Fabricate and Island. Keep both on top.
Turn 3: Draw Fabricate. Play Island. Mana Leak opponent's hypotethical turn 3 play.
Turn 4: Draw and play Island. Cast See Beyond drawing Trinket Mage and Shape Anew and shuffling Blightsteel Colossus back into the deck. Into The Roil their hypothetical turn 4 play without kicker.
Turn 5: Draw and play Island. Cast Trinket Mage, search for Darksteel Relic and cast it.
Turn 6: Draw See Beyond. Cast Shape Anew, reveal and play Inkwell Leviathan.
Turn 7: Draw Mana Leak. Cast See Beyond drawing Spreading Seas and Condescend shuffling Fabricate back into the deck. Cast Spreading Seas drawing Trinket Mage. Swing with Inkwell Leviathan.
Here's the deck list I was testing for reference:
4 Shape Anew
1 Darksteel Relic
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Inkwell Leviathan
4 Mana Leak
4 Condescend
2 Dissolve
4 See Beyond
4 Trinket Mage
2 Fabricate
4 Into The Roil (Budget Cryptic Command)
2 Spreading Seas
4 Inkmoth Nexus (Alternate Win Condition)
1 Buried Ruin
Foresaken M, your changes are interesting. I'm not entirely sure the fetches are necessary. They don't ensure consistency because we are mono colored (although they do make it less likely we will draw lands), but they also cause us to lose unnecessary life which combo often doesn't want to do against match ups like Burn and Zoo. Cutting Tezzeret the Seeker makes a lot of sense. Outside of the combo, I don't think anything should cost more than CMC 3. I'm not sold on Careful Consideration, but I'd have to test it. Dissolve seems better than Dissipate in this situation because finding the combo pieces is essential. For the same reason, I don't know if 4 Trinket Mage alone are enough to ensure Darksteel Relic makes it onto the field every game. Remand seems very smart here and in many scenarios a superior choice over Mana Leak.
I don't see why chump blockers would be a problem when Blightsteel Colossus tramples over everything and Inkmoth Nexus also deals infect damage. I don't think we'll be drawing enough land (especially with fetches) for Oona's Grace to be worthwhile. What's your current list exactly. If you aren't running See Beyond, what do you do if you draw Blightsteel Colossus early?
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
I feel like this is good and getting somewhere, and will test this, but I feel it falls off in a few areas (all pre-test assumptions)
The counterspells here can fall off late game, as well as possibly using unnecessary mana and they only setup the deck. While it is better put Blight on the bottom rather than draw him, it's just putting something on the bottom or keeping it on top while hoping what's next is better/worse than what you saw. Roil can only single target, and makes it 2UU if you want to draw off it.
Inkwell Leviathan is a very good choice, but I feel like having to swing twice opens up the time window for your opponent to have an answer. If we Anew into Inkwell, and swing our next turn, what happens when the wipe? Especially in the case of Supreme Verdict, it would seem that we end up either digging for Buried Ruin, or delaying until we have enough mana to hard-cast Blightsteel. Since Anew is basically random at this point, it would be easier to counter a Path to Exile for Blightsteel than to delay after Inkwell gets wiped.
As for what you think of my list, I will be flat-out honest: I do not play control-themed decks that often. I'm used to facing them, and their gameplay is simple: either they throw you off your tempo and they dominate the late game, or they sit there while you smash their face to bits because the can't prevent it. Your list looks like it prevents the opponent from having an early game, and since the deck can go off T4/T5, that's still quick enough for the Modern format. I built my list expecting that the opponent will sustain some sort of board presence regardless, but it seems that this deck will often not have a problem going off early if the early-early game is spent preventing your opponent from doing anything relevant.
Like I said, I will play both and see how it goes. As of now, I have them named 'Puck Into Buck' and "Anew Perspective'
"Nothing tears up a group of friends faster than a session of Mario Party." ~ ForsakenM~
Extra Info:
EDH, Modern, Anything with Planechase
Cockatrice Name: ForsakenM
Your analysis is pretty spot on for what I was going for, preventing the opponent early to mid game, and then comboing off mid game.
I think your new list is better, but you have to run See Beyond, or at the bare minimum run another win condition. I don't see what you are going to do if the first card you draw in a game is Blightsteel Colossus. Blustersquall seems very odd and out of place, Vapor Snag sets the opponent back further, pings them, and still eliminates a blocker. Sleep is also pretty cool, but I don't think either of these are necessary. Runeboggle seems like an inferior Condescend the majority of the time. Peer Through Depths seems mandatory because it digs for Shape Anew which is fundamental. It's a bummer Repulse isn't Modern legal.
By the way, I like the name Anew Perspective, haha. It beats what I was calling it... Blombo (blue combo).
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
I'd suggest putting in 1 runechanter's pike to power up the nexi for a surprise win. You can find it with fabricate and it should be huge with all the dig and counters.
I like Runechanter's Pike, but I don't like potentially playing Shape Anew and hitting it instead of a fatty, especially without Inkmoth Nexus in play.
What I like about this deck that I don't like about Polymorph is it is more consistent because removing Darksteel Relic is much harder than removing a crappy token.
Edit: If you are really paranoid about stuff like Path To Exile, than take Foresaken M's advice and run Not of This World, or Turn Aside. The former is a free counter whenever something attempts to target our major win conditions while the latter costs 1 and protects other stuff like Inkmoth Nexus and Darksteel Relic in addition to protecting the big creatures.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
So, this doesn't seem like a mainboard problem, but a sideboard. The deck needs to be able to handle fast-paced decks that do not care if things are returned to their hand or if you counter the second spell they play. You have to counter the first spell, or they will overwhelm you. I feel as though Swan Song and Spell Snare, while having the extra two Spreading Seas will fit the bill when you need to be a little be quicker at applying the pressure.
Whatever works, because I don't wanna be stuck in another Cloudstone Curio loop ever again.
"Nothing tears up a group of friends faster than a session of Mario Party." ~ ForsakenM~
Extra Info:
EDH, Modern, Anything with Planechase
Cockatrice Name: ForsakenM
I've been doing some testing with my version, mainly against Soul Sisters and Fish. Soul Sisters is pretty easy to race, and countering their turn 2 Ajani's Pridemate is amazing but Path To Exile can hurt against Blightsteel sometimes. Oblivion Ring can be answered with Into The Roil. Inkwell works wonders in that match up though.
Merfolk is more difficult, especially if we don't go first. Turn 1 Cursecatcher stops us from countering their turn 2 play and that's assuming they aren't playing Aether Vial on turn one. They can also Vapor Snag our Blightsteel. On the bright side, if you can play around their counters, we can race them. Inkwell walks over everything.
I tested against mono white Emeria control, a much easier match up. Decks that don't run exile effects, like mono black control are much easier. The discard really isn't that big of a deal because the deck is so consistent and we can counter the very powerful plays.
What I do think is interesting about this deck is it's not quite so derp derp for a combo deck. It's taken me some time to learn how to play, there certainly is decision making. That being said, I'm getting great results from testing. Some of my friends are saying "why not play blue Tron" but I tell them that this deck is more creative, costs less money, and can be just as fast and consistent.
I don't think Cryptic Command is a good fit for this deck, I think counters like Spell Snare, Mana Leak, Rune Snag, Swan Song, etc. are much better because the deck only runs ~22 lands, and the deck ideally wants to combo off by turn 4 or 5, so Cryptic Command seems too high for the curve. Not of This World is a sideboard card because it is dead against so many fundamental decks like RDW, any Infect deck, mono black control, Tron, etc.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
After a few more matches today (and losing them all, :/), I met up with someone running a deck that also digs heavily until it finds what it needs. We talked afterward, and I told him how the deck works, and he liked the idea (he never got to see it happen in real time...T-T). So, after so chatting and ideas flying around, this is the result we came up with:
1 Relic of Progenitus
Creatures:
4 Augur of Bolas
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 Blightsteel Colossus
4 Trinket Mage
Instants:
1 Boomerang
3 Condescend
3 Remand
3 Mana Leak
4 Peer Through Depths
3 Telling Time
2 Fabricate
4 Shape Anew
4 See Beyond
Lands:
4 Inkmoth Nexus
2 Scying Sheets
1 Academy Ruins
15 Snow-Covered Island
2 Kami of the Crescent Moon
3 Thassa, God of the Sea
3 Spreading Seas
1 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Repeal
3 Cryptic Command
He agreed that the version Basquait made was the better of the two (which I realized myself after multiple tests), but that it didn't have enough dig and what dig it had wasn't quick enough. The counterspell also didn't take full advantage of all the options and cantrips, so it was adjusted accordingly to balance both removal, counterspell and cantrips.
Mana Leak provides some of that good-old early-game stopping power, Telling Time allows you card advantage while helping you in not drawing a wincon, and bothRemand and Condescend provide you with a little of both. Peer Through Depths has made a return (or never left, depending on which version you were using), as it can fetch you Anew or that counterspell you need, and See Beyond stays in with it's excellent cantrip that shuffles the wincon/un-needed card back in where you want it (perfect for those opening hands that have multiples or are game-winning...if it wasn't for Blightsteel being in hand. >.<). A single Boomerang has been added in case you REALLY need to make something go away, and the Into the Roils have been cut: with what has been added to the sideboard (yes, there is a sideboard now!), it's just a Disperse that more than not never cantrips because you have something else better you need to cast.
When facing Modern aggro (boy, that was a big 'awakening zone' for me, lol) it turns out that Trinket Mage alone doesn't cut it for chump blocking. Enter Augur of Bolas, the 1/3 for 2 that also let's you...you guessed it, Dig (we're practically moles here!)! He doesn't pass the Bolt-test, but it seems lightning tends to strike to highest thing, which is more often than not your life total. He makes the perfect addition to the deck win you just couldn't counter that 1-Drop (Kird Ape is NOT YOUR FRIEND!).
Most notable of changes might be the mana-base: Running an Academy Ruins over a singleton Buried Ruin seems much better for repeated use and putting that destroyed Inkwell back ontop, then Peer or Telling it to the bottom on your upkeep. Also, all Islands are enjoying the current season in conjunction with [card]Scrying Sheets[/cards]. This allows us to make sure those pesky lands don't get in the way of us drawing what we need while also helping us decide what spells to cast by getting a sneak preview of what's to come.
As you can probably tell, it's no long Puck, but it's still a Relic: Darksteel Relic as been replaced by Relic of Progenitus. What we lose here in CMC and staying power we gain in graveyard hate (which we all know is a heavily-relied-upon resource in Modern) and keep in ability to tutor (both for it and for wincon). I've long since passed on the idea of going off ASAP and accepted the fact that this deck is meant to go off later than T4, but also more secure.
Also new is a complete Sideboard, filled with goodies to switch in vs those decks that just refuse to crumble beneath Blightsteel's oil-ridden feet. We've got Thassa, God of the Sea (I feel it should be Goddess, but it's w/e), Repeal and Cryptic Command, the latter of the two are good vs one of our arch-nemesi, Aggro (Wild Nactyl hacked our Facebook page once. We reported them, and WotC un-friended them.). All three find their place vs Mid-Range, or that deck that will cause an inevitably long game and demands a board presence.
We also have Spreading Seas in case we need land denial (because Tron decks are a thing), a single Hurkyl's Recall for those silly Robots, and Kami of the Crescent Moon in a attempt to...counter...Jund...yeah, we don't like them either (but we respect them, unlike Aggro). If you can think of something better, I'm all ears.
All in all, I think this is a significant improvement. I really wanna fit Serum Visions somewhere, but at sorcery speed I just don't think it fits the bill. I will be updating the original post, and will soon be working on match ups soon!
"Nothing tears up a group of friends faster than a session of Mario Party." ~ ForsakenM~
Extra Info:
EDH, Modern, Anything with Planechase
Cockatrice Name: ForsakenM
I strongly disagree with substituting Darksteel Relic with Relic of Progenitus. This isn't just because you can play Darksteel Relic for free which allows the deck to combo faster, but also because numerous decks run artifact destruction in their respective sideboards and we simply can't afford not to have an artifact to sacrifice to Shape Anew.
I also think speed in a combo deck is incredibly important. This is another reason I don't like Relic of Progenitus and also Scying Sheets. For the most part, all combo decks that are able to be competitive in Modern have something in common; they all can win fairly consistently by turn 5. Speed is essential. It's why Buried Ruin is better than Academy Ruins, because the amount of games where you need to reoccur an artifact multiple times are far fewer than the amount of games where you'd rather have the artifact in your hand now rather than having to wait a turn to draw it.
Into The Roil may often function just as a Disperse, but the kicker can be relevant, especially when trying to find Shape Anew midgame. Having some type of bounce I feel is important, not just to buy time against certain creatures, but also for temporarily dealing with enchantments, artifacts, and planeswalkers. Boomerang seems better because it can bounce lands, but this deck runs enough colorless lands where casting double blue, especially on turn 2, can be difficult. Repeal is alright, but not consistent enough.
Kami of the Cresent Moon seems like a poor choice for sideboard. Thassa, God of the Sea also seems very out of place. I think earlier you were onto something with Not of This World. I think to counter aggro, perhaps cards like Sleep and Gigadrowse deserve a spot in the board. I'll spend some time thinking about a sideboard and try to share a draft for one sometime tomorrow.
I'll do some more testing, but my inclination is that if we shoot for a turn 4 or 5 win, and we are able to counter about two spells before turn 5, then we should be able to outpace most decks and win. However, while your deck may be slower and focus more on digging, I think both decks are similar and seem consistent so I'm quite eager to hear how this new version of your deck will perform and I'm also looking forward to hearing about more alternate versions from other people following this thread.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
Every time I see someone post here, I can't help but think about how happy it makes me and how thankful I am for all the input I get. So thank you everyone for any and all input I've been given and will receive in the future.
As for my reasons for the changes:
I cut Spreading because it just wasn't useful enough. Sure, turning their first land into something they can't use is great, but it's not reliable enough to keep in the main. Add to the fact that my personal meta consists of either Jund or some version of control/combo, and Spreading is dead vs 50% of my meta. This also means that Inkwell is likely to get through anyway (if they don't wipe), and I feel Spreading was always more of a 'winmore' card than a 'win' card: sure, it can make Inkwell unblockable, but he's already a 7/11 trample shroud, and if that's not good enough Idk what is.
Darksteel Relic was a fine stepping stone, and if I find I'm getting massive hate in the artifact removal department, I'll consider him once again. Relic of Progenitus gives us a much-needed edge against a lot of decks in the format, and I feel as though we will always win pre-game 2 off the fact that no one has any idea what's about to happen. Also, let us not forget Inkmoth Nexus too quickly: not only is it a secondary wincon, but it's also a secondary means to the primary wincon.
As for your Buried vs Academy reasoning (lol, Battle of the Ruins), I can see what you mean by that, but I would much rather have an Academy as it helps much more than Buried when it comes to Inkwell and Blightsteel. It also gets more than one use, and has a low activation cost, which can allow us to cast something else afterward.
Out of all the times I tested this deck, I only ever cast Roil twice for the kicker: both times in the same game, and it was to target Spreading to draw even more cards. Why? Because I had already dominated my opponent and they couldn't recover, but I couldn't hit the combo pieces. By this time I was already falling behind again, and since I couldn't dig well enough, I lost in the end. This was a common trend for me, and even though I only got to test the deck once after it's makeover (and I lost), they deck felt dramatically improved. I feel the deck is more about only letting minor things resolve, counter the rest, then combo and crush your helpless opponent. Repeal cantrips, Cryptic cantrips, but they don't cost extra to get it done. As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather of had Cryptic in hand than Roil at that moment: the mana cost isn't that different, I ended up tapping the same mana anyway, and I would have had more options available.
I agree that Kami is bad, and that there are better choices, but whatever the choice is it needs to hit Jund hard. Not of This World was cute and a perfect fit...for rushing the combo T4. If I didn't go off T4, it was a dead card. If I didn't go off, it was a dead card. If I went off T4 without it in hand, I ran the risk of losing. Two of the three of these facts change if I wait a turn or so and make sure I can cover my wincon with counters, and I have an easier time digging for them and casting them they way I have it now. As for aggro, Thassa and Cryptic are my answers. Can't stop the aggro fast enough? Cryptic. Opponent decides to hold back a turn to chump-block? Cryptic. Cryptic gets countered? Thassa ability. She also mildly helps with getting you what you need, and she'll never be the target of creature-based removal unless you get some weird combination of the 8 small creatures and Inkwell (and in such a case, she can target herself with her own ability, making herself entirely useful without any drawbacks. Only one other God can claim that...).
Speaking of Inkwell, yes Thassa has dis-synergism with him...but that's not Thassa's fault. Thassa isn't to be held responsible for Inkwell having a outdated keyword when a much better one has replaced it. It's not her fault Inkwell hasn't caught up with the times, maybe Inkwell is the one with the problem? (Hopefully my drift has been caught, more on that later, I need some rest.)
"Nothing tears up a group of friends faster than a session of Mario Party." ~ ForsakenM~
Extra Info:
EDH, Modern, Anything with Planechase
Cockatrice Name: ForsakenM
Voyage's End is a card that is worth mentioning by the way, I'm considering running it over Into The Roil, but I still am worried about having to bounce noncreature permanents.
Anyway, I'll continue to keep tabs on this thread, I am hoping others become as interested in this deck as I am. I recently ordered the deck, I'd expect for all of it to arrive by next Thursday, so by then or the following weekend I'll have a lot to report.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
It still is a last resort: this is if all else has failed, including attempts to recur the artifact of choice. I never meant it as the first option, good lord no. Mana is important (even though it's colorless), it's I'd would would definitely first try to win swinging with it before sacrificing it. I'm just simply pointing out the other options available in case something doesn't go according to plan.
Voyage's isn't bad, but I feel like we can dominate the game with counters, enough so that we do not need to worry much about returning things to their hand. After all, that's just delaying, not a preventive measure.
I'm glad you find this deck so intriguing, as this helps me gather necessary data to improve the deck.
"Nothing tears up a group of friends faster than a session of Mario Party." ~ ForsakenM~
Extra Info:
EDH, Modern, Anything with Planechase
Cockatrice Name: ForsakenM
Here are some other options I found, in order of how useful I found them:
Darksteel Colossus: The older, less corrupted brother of Blightsteel. Has all the same benefits as Blightsteel save for Infect, but as opposed to Inkwell, he only has to swing twice (ideally).
Platinum Emperion: When this guy hits the field, burn has an immediate new target. You don't have to worry about aggro, Emperion will never have to block, and while he's much squishier than Blightsteel, Darksteel, or Inkwell we can save our countermagic to keep him alive. Also, since the Modern meta loves fetches and shocks, there's a good chance he'll only have to swing twice! I feel like he would be a board-in, though, as an opponent who wins via a non-damaging combo or Infect gets right by him.
Wurmcoil Engine/Sundering Titan: I can't decide which of these is more useful in the meta. Wurmcoil kills nearly anything he touches, prolongs the game with life gain, and continues his legacy if he were to die. He's also not that bad of a cost to hard-cast, but Path is prevalent in the meta, and he has to swing 4 times (which is worse then Inkwell).
On the same level, Sundering Titan looks like he could come in T4 and keep himself alive by the land destruction, but what if your opponent only has fetches/nonbasics he can't target? What if they aren't running blue and you have to target your own Island, or worse; they aren't running blue AND you had to sac Inkmoth to fetch him? :/ That, and he takes 3 swings to win.
Steel Hellkite: Has evasion, can win faster than 4 turns, and can clear your opponent's board of threats, AND is easy to cast. Stony Silence shuts off his abilities, and for any other reason you can't buff him, he takes four turns. Also has no protection.
Mind Slaver: This card is a thing, and has it's own deck set towards not only preventing your opponent from playing magic, but also playing it for them. We can perform the combo, but at 12 mana to loop it's quite costly and would slow down our game tremendously. We would also have to change up the deck a bit to suit just one card and with no guarantee we could pull it off or that doing so wins us the game. Still worth some thought, though.
Myr Battlesphere: Produces attackers/blockers, can win quicker than 5 turns (and supplies itself the means to do so), tokens can be used as a stepping stone to our other wincon, is easy to cast, cycles well if destroyed. Has no protection or evasion, and without other Myr it takes 5 turns.
Phyrexian Colossus: Takes 2-3 turns to swing for win and has his own form of evasion. Has no protection, kills us before we can win, we run no combos to untap him for free. Another cards we would have to change up the deck for.
Honorable Mentions:
I'm not sure which of these, if any of these, is the better choice. Out of all of them, Darksteel, Emperion, and Hellkite stand out the most to me.
"Nothing tears up a group of friends faster than a session of Mario Party." ~ ForsakenM~
Extra Info:
EDH, Modern, Anything with Planechase
Cockatrice Name: ForsakenM
The threats that can hit Blightsteel I wouldn't call minuscule. Path To Exile is literally the most common removal in the format. Oblivion Ring and Detention Sphere are also pretty common. There's also Vapor Snag and Cryptic Command. This isn't to say that Blightsteel isn't a good choice, there are many decks that don't run those removal spells, or if they do, they don't run the full playsets. We also can protect Blightsteel with counters. Inkwell on the other hand doesn't get hit by any of those threats. It doesn't get chump blocked all day because it has trample, and it can islandwalk over numerous tier 1 decks even without Spreading Seas. Inkwell doesn't win as fast as Blightsteel, but it is a very difficult card to answer and outside of edict effects like Geth's Verdict (which are unpopular) and board wipes like Wrath of God (which few really powerful decks run) it's virtually unstoppable.
I would say that delaying is exactly what a combo deck wants to do. Delay until you can combo off. Remand is one of the best delaying cards of all time, which is why you are running it and if it were in my budget, I'd run it over Dissolve. Hell, come to think of it, Delay might not be a that bad idea here.
As for the list of alternate options you provided, virtually all of them are quite terrible and not worth mentioning. The honorable mentions are hardly honorable at all (really, Witchbane Orb and Phyrexian Juggernaut). Blightsteel and Inkwell are the best choices. Sundering Titan is worth mentioning, and just wrecks certain decks, but is not consistently amazing. Steel Hellkite is way too slow. It doesn't make sense cheat something in that dies to any removal spell and takes 4 turns to win the game. Darksteel Colossus is good, but worse than Blightsteel Colossus. Platinum Emperion has no evasion, and protecting him the turn he comes out seems impossible without Not of This World and because he doesn't have trample or flying, we'd have to protect him for many turns until he'd be able to actually win. For what it's worth, Sphinx of the Steel Wind is a card you didn't mention that wouldn't be terrible, and if it had a little more evasion it certainly could be a contender.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
Like I mentioned before, my meta is either some version of combo/control, or Jund. There is little to no variation to that. Therefore, Liliana of the Veil is VERY, VERY prevalent. I mean, I hear people talking about her in casual conversation (it almost feels like that's all they talk about). So, when we combo off with Leak in hand, and they drop Lili and just pay the extra...buh-bye Inkwell. At least Wurmcoil would give us tokens! Inkwell just goes straight to the yard and sits their until we manage to return him to the deck/hand or Deathrite Shaman/Scavenging Ooze take care of him for us. I never see O-ring or D-Sphere outside of Cockatrice, I never EVER see Vapor, and Cryptic would also tap Inkwell...so it's just good against us in general. My meta has a a lot of 'Merica Control runners, so Supreme Verdict is always something I just expect. And for the record, I have had Inkwell chump-blocked: a Junk deck chumped with a Goyf, then immediately proceeded to immortal servitude and take control off the game.
I actually read Delay already, and it seems like it could work better than remand besides the fact that we cantrip off it. If we counter it, they can't cast it again, and have to wait. Meanwhile, if it was on their turn, that gives us 4 turns without worry about said spell.
I knew that going into it, I just felt all the other bases should be covered in case someone else decided to look into it. Darksteel is obviously the best choice out of all those I listed, I already acknowledged that, but I think Emperion has it's place vs aggro and burn/damage combo. That's why I said it could be a board card, as all we would have to do is save mana to counter a spell or two targeting him and the rest is just chipping away.
To be fair, I never looked into anything outside of blue or colorless, because I already was thinking about either getting it bounced or having to hard-cast for whatever reason. Steel Wind is pretty strong, and I think it would fit better vs aggro and creature-heavy decks than Emperion. The flying is plenty of evasion, and it already gets passed anything red or green that could stop it after that. Add life gain, hitting first, can attack and still block, AND it's a 3/4-turn clock? Seems pretty good to me, better board replacement than Emperion. I think it's perfect vs a deck that does T3-T4 Prime Time.
"Nothing tears up a group of friends faster than a session of Mario Party." ~ ForsakenM~
Extra Info:
EDH, Modern, Anything with Planechase
Cockatrice Name: ForsakenM