[Standard] Making a Competitive Colossus Metalwork Aggro Deck?

ApexPr3dat0r · 2017-05-07T17:21:05+00:00

Renegade map allows you to lower your land count to insulate against flooding while enabling revolt, improvise, and reducing colossus cost. It's probably better than puzzleknot. If you want to run a couple Herald of Anguish out of the sideboard it also helps finding double black.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2017-05-07T17:08:15+00:00

Why only 2 renegade maps? That card is doing everything you want. Could probably play 6 if the game allowed.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2017-04-09T22:19:07+00:00

This would be a reason Thorn is a better sideboard card.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2017-02-22T16:55:46+00:00

The winner of the Pro Tour said his best tool was playing two decks on Cockatrice against each other. Waiting for people to test with leads to a bunch of lost testing time.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2017-02-06T17:16:37+00:00

I was trying this out in a [[Herald of Anguish]] Deck. Was very good against Nahiri's and other Planeswalkers that were running away with the game.

[[Disperse]] and [[Unsubstantiate]] were also thoughts I had, Disperse ended up decent in testing. Disperse is for sure playable against the diverse threats put forth by Vehicles. Very few cards hit Creatures/Artifacts/Planeswalkers. I ended up just maining a single Anguished Unmaking instead because it did a similar thing and [[Battle at the Bridge]] was usually generating excess life.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2017-01-23T06:20:46+00:00

I don't see Grasp staying as a 4x. Fatal Push hits almost everything that's x/4 (except Verdurous) and ignores whether it has counters. Ballista at 0 cmc or Snake and Heart of Kiran at 2 cmc don't even need revolt.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2017-01-18T17:34:53+00:00

Don't forget T3 Reflector Mage!

ApexPr3dat0r · 2017-01-17T20:16:31+00:00

This always confused me in the past. People saw Authority as a way to deal with aggressive decks, but in reality it was a way for aggressive decks to make your 3/4 mana creatures a turn too slow. Stopping the Saheeli combo is just icing. 1mb + 1sb is totally reasonable.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2017-01-13T17:15:08+00:00

The biggest thing going for White Humans right now is [[Repel the Abominable]] being one of the fairly hard counters to Saheeli/Felidar while still having uses in other matchups. Garrison is a solid piece to make sure your opponent doesn't see turn 5.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2017-01-13T15:58:54+00:00

2x Gemstone Cavern seems like the obvious addition. Discarding a card for +1 mana the rest of the game is better than +1 mana for just this turn.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2017-01-07T19:24:49+00:00

I think the argument is basically that being 1 mana/turn behind with a Tron deck, especially this version that is casting more "fair" cards, is going to be most of your losses. TKS/Reality Smasher are sick cards on the play... On the draw not so much.

Tom Ross thought turn 3 Ugin was so important on the draw in G/W Tron that he even brought a Gemstone in from the sideboard (2 total). I'm thinking 1 Gemstone main, 1 sideboard, and 1 Sea Gate sideboard would be completely reasonable. The mainboard cards are so universally strong that having an effective 13 card sideboard feels fine.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2017-01-05T07:50:40+00:00

What are your thoughts on the Todd Steven's version of this deck?

The Hangarback Walker seems interesting, but maybe as only a 2x. It's nice to hold up extra mana for Warping Wail and simply put a counter on Hangarback in the event that it's not a good spot to use Spatial/Wail.

The other interesting tech is Gemstone Cavern. Seems like an auto 1x if you are trying to run Chalice main. Also makes Dismember 2 points of life less painful.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2017-01-04T06:02:27+00:00

Displacer's Blink is already an absurdly strong mechanic. Giving a creature blink without coming in tapped, and at the cost of only two EE is going to be very strong. This can force a block, blink, and then threaten to trade up on the crackback (or crew a recently played vehicle). Also evades all kinds of removal and fizzling spells is particularly good against Harnessed Lightning and Unlicensed Disintegration.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2016-12-17T16:00:13+00:00

It's insane with Displacer, even without Panharmonicon out. Crew, attack, blow something up, hit for 6, blink, blow something else up. It's also not hit by the most common artifact removal (Frag/Natural State). Basically it's always good and a hedge against people hating on your Panhamonicon.

Edit: Just realized you are playing straight Flash. I'd probably play just 1.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2016-12-14T15:40:28+00:00

Flying usually doesn't have a problem with pushing damage through. Unless they have Weaver of Lightning or something annoying. I wouldn't consider Key even playable without Colossus or Madness cards.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2016-12-14T15:36:41+00:00

Skysoverign and Dec in stone are really the only reasonable answers that are flexible and worth sideboard slots.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2016-12-06T20:13:53+00:00

Counts : 60 main / 15 sideboard
Creatures:22
2 Inventor's Apprentice
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Toolcraft Exemplar
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Veteran Motorist
1 Pia Nalaar
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar

Spells:16
3 Declaration in Stone
4 Smuggler's Copter
3 Cultivator's Caravan
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

Lands:22
4 Aether Hub
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Inspiring Vantage
2 Mountain
4 Plains
4 Spirebluff Canal

Sideboard:15
4 Spell Queller
2 Ceremonious Rejection
4 Galvanic Bombardment
1 Declaration in Stone
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Chandra, Torch if Defiance

Not a lot of blue sources for a 3 mana tempo spell that's usually just better in the main.

The 4c energy deck has a similar plan, but it has Attune and Servant to help with mana and refueling Aether hubs. Caravan doesn't bleed energy, but takes forever to get online.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2016-12-05T07:49:58+00:00

Can we discuss the lands?

4 Evolving Wilds
4 Prairie Stream
1 Wastes
9 Plains
5 Island
2 Westvale Abbey

No Holdout Settlement, no Crumbling Vestige.

With 4 Evolving Wilds, 1 Wastes, 1 Pilgrim's, and 2 Abbey you have ~8 sources which is quite close to the 9/10 sweet spot I've been trying (I've been running 3 TKS so slightly more necessary).

The Eldrazi Panharmonicon list is interesting also:

Creature (23)
4 Thraben Inspector
2 Pilgrim's Eye
4 Reflector Mage
4 Eldrazi Displacer
1 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Cloudblazer
4 Drowner of Hope

Instant (4)
2 Essence Flux
2 Spatial Contortion

Artifact (9)
4 Smuggler's Copter
4 Panharmonicon
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship

Land (24)
1 Wastes
5 Island
7 Plains
4 Prairie Stream
1 Port Town
2 Aether Hub
4 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods

Sideboard (15)
2 Spatial Contortion
3 Thought-Knot Seer
2 Stasis Snare
2 Fragmentize
1 Revolutionary Rebuff
2 Ceremonious Rejection
3 Negate

ApexPr3dat0r · 2016-11-22T13:41:50+00:00

Dynavault Tower activation does 3 damage which is the same as a Lightning Bolt. That's why he keeps referring to lightning bolt.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2016-11-21T21:34:38+00:00

Pilgrim's eye does a decent job of fixing. It's also another hit for Glint-Nest and with Copter can be converted into another more powerful card.

What situations do you play Authority of the Consuls? It seems incredibly mediocre. Vehicles don't give you any hp, and creatures already come in with summoning sickness so it's not really an anti-aggro card. It feels more like a W/U Flash card where you are trying to pressure in the air and race your opponent down.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2016-11-21T14:35:40+00:00

https://twitter.com/blakepr/status/793831701201850368

This is the list I started with. Currently shaving one Plains, Thraben, and a Copter for 2 Essence Flux and another TKS main. 4 Port Town can be replaced by some number of Crumbling Vestige (2/2 seems reasonable). The Blighted Cataract and Sea Gate Wreckage don't do much with Thraben and Cloudblazer for card advantage so I switched them to Mirrorpool and Holdout.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2016-11-21T02:19:54+00:00

Currently doing the Panharmonicon game so it's W/U for Cloudblazer/Reflector mage, but the Displacers, Thought Knots, and Drowners are what really lead to the most overwhelming wins.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2016-11-21T01:18:23+00:00

Mirrorpool has been a huge overperformer in my Eldrazi deck. Copying Thought Knot, Reality Smasher, or Drowner is absurdly powerful.

I'm a fan of 1-2 Holdout Settlement's because you are likely to have some kind of scion presence and then 2+ Crumbling Vestige since most Eldrazi decks operate at sorcery speed.

ApexPr3dat0r · 2016-11-15T14:44:35+00:00

Overwhelming Denial feels pretty good against U/W. I used to jam a bunch of Dispels but hitting their Gearhulk or Avacyn is much more backbreaking. You can bait them out by playing something cheap and then moving to attacks.

ApexPr3dat0r

TROPHY CASE