It's mainly an Equipment-focused Akiri voltron deck, with Silas there mostly for access to blue artifact-matters cards and cranial plating.(And to a much-lesser extent, as an always-accessible artifact to play and pump Akiri by 1). I'm open to other feedback, but mainly looking for help with the mana base.
It's tricky because I want to be able to ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS play Akiri on turn 2, and likely again and again, as she gets killed often (if the opponents are smart). But other than her, there isn't much red in the deck (only 5 cards), and there's a good amount of blue (7 cards, some of which have UUU or UU in their costs.) There are only 4 black cards too (not counting cranial plating, where black is nice, but optional), but they are all removal, so I want the black to be there when I need it, and I do want the option to cast Silas if possible. (White has the lion's share with 18 cards, including 3 with WW) Thankfully the bulk of the deck is artifacts, so that loosens the rest of the mana requirements a bit.
For non-land mana-fixing, I've got a Chromatic Lantern, 4 cogs that search for land (Twig, Amulet, Bauble, Map) (all of which can be recursed with Silas), 2 signets (Azorius and Boros), Tithe (which can get dual lands and shock lands that are plains), Mycosynth Lattice, a Fellwar Stone, and a Mox Opal. In a pinch I can also use one of the artifact tutors to get the lantern, lattice or opal. If I've already got RW and need U or B, Sunforger can get the Tithe or Enlightened Tutor.
So, what lands should I be playing? I need at least one of each of the 4 basics so I can search for them with the Twig/Amulet/Bauble. I've got 5 of the 6 possible dual lands. (I skipped Badlands because RB are my 2 least-needed colors). I'd love to run all five allowable Artifact lands to pump Akiri, but could only find room for 3. (though maybe I should switch the Darksteel Citadel out for Great Furnace.) The only colorless lands I have are that Citadel, Academy Ruins (seems like a must), Dust Bowl (this is almost an auto-include for me. And Mazes can ruin Akiri's day), Kor Haven (hard to pass up), Inventors' Fair, Rogue's Passage (what blockers?), and the ubiquitous Temple of the False God.
As for the rest... it's as many good "any color" producing lands I could find, some shock lands (more tithe targets), a few extra basic plains and islands, and a random Azorius Chancery.
As you may have guessed from the Dual lands, budget isn't much of an issue, I can get or borrow most cards if needed.
Cut away the Temple and Kor Haven. Neither advance your gameplan enough. Also ditch Mirrodin's Core and the Bouncelands. Way too slow. Swap the Darksteel Citadel out for Great Furnace. More importantly: FETCHES. Run EVERY Red and White fetch you can run. Yes, that includes the GW and GR ones. I'd also run Badlands as a "strictly better" Mountain in this deck.
The 1-mana-baubles don't do much for you, honestly. Wayfarer's Bauble and Expedition Map are good enough, the rest...really aren't. Instead focus on 2-mana artifacts that work for you. The various signets are all good, of course, and a Coldsteel Heart might also not be a bad choice to patch up whichever colour you're blanking on.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Depending how nuts you want to get, Tendo Ice Bridge, Gemstone Mine, or Mox Diamond might work. I tend(o) to think they work better with land-matters/recursion decks that feature green, though.
points taken on the temple and the bounce land. It's an aggro deck, so I've avoided ETBT lands completely except for the Chancery, and it and the Temple can't help me on turns 1 and 2, which is what I really need my lands to do. So out they go.
I like Rugged Prairie as an include... I'm actually tempted to put in Mystic Gate too (to help with the UU and UUU) but it wouldn't let me play Akiri if I had just the Gate and 1 other land, so I guess not.
On Mirrodin's Core and Kor Haven, I respectfully disagree. I only need the colored mana when I need it. Most of the time Mirrodin's Core is fine. And if it's in my first 2 lands, I can drop it turn 1 and charge it, then use it turn 2 with my other land to drop Akiri. So I miss a 1-drop, boo-hoo. Slightly later in the game, I can leave it as my last land I use, and if I don't use it, charge it. Then it's there if I need it. As for Kor Haven, I agree it doesn't fit the game plan, but I like to have a bit of a plan B. Answers are always good to have, and Kor Haven is a really good one. For the small risk it adds, I'm willing to take it.
I agree on the fetches. The problem is I'm running out of room. I'm not sure what to take out for them. I'm at 9 basics. 4 of them (1 of each) I need to keep. The rest are there as Twig/Amulet targets if I need them for a WW or UUU spell. Maybe with that in mind, I cut down to 3 islands and 2 plains, as that's the maximum I'd ever need. The mountain has to stay, as a Badlands isn't strictly better if I need R and my the only mana fixing I've drawn only gets basics.
Speaking of the Twig and Amulet, I disagree again that they don't do much. In this deck, they are dual-purpose. Like a pump aura with basic landcycling. Usually they sit around adding to the artifact count for Akiri and hopefully Cranial Plating, and get me to Metalcraft quickly for the Mox and Paladin. I only pop them if I really need a land, or if Silas is about to connect and there's nothing better in the GY to recur. If I'm lucky, they trigger Veldalken Archmage, or can be picked up for another +1/+0 if bludgeon brawl is out, or serve as fodder for Goblin Welder to get something better back or for Daretti to kill something or for Ghirapur AEther Grid. The baubles aren't all-stars, sure. But they serve the deck. (better than a land would)
More signets and a coldsteel heart would be swell, and would do all the same good work that the baubles do, but with Vedalken Archmage or Magus of the Future on board, cheaper is better, even if it's 2 vs. 1. More cards played means more cards "drawn", means more beats with Akiri. (Notice that only 8 cards in the deck cost more that 3. This is why.). So I'd rather keep the Twig and Amulet.
Tendo (or Aether Hub) is tempting, but I often need to cast Akiri more than once. I don't want to have to cast her a second time for 2RW, and be sitting on a plains, a sol ring, and a spent Tendo. Gemstone Mine is a bit better in that respect, except I really wish it had T: add C. I don't want to avoid using it at all to conserve counters for when I need them. And Mox Diamond is out... my land count is already low, and I'm not looking for acceleration that puts me down a card. (but thanks for the idea for my Gitrog Monster deck!)
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/equip-a-palooza/
(Sideboard is stuff that's come out. Maybeboard is stuff that might go in.)
It's mainly an Equipment-focused Akiri voltron deck, with Silas there mostly for access to blue artifact-matters cards and cranial plating.(And to a much-lesser extent, as an always-accessible artifact to play and pump Akiri by 1). I'm open to other feedback, but mainly looking for help with the mana base.
It's tricky because I want to be able to ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS play Akiri on turn 2, and likely again and again, as she gets killed often (if the opponents are smart). But other than her, there isn't much red in the deck (only 5 cards), and there's a good amount of blue (7 cards, some of which have UUU or UU in their costs.) There are only 4 black cards too (not counting cranial plating, where black is nice, but optional), but they are all removal, so I want the black to be there when I need it, and I do want the option to cast Silas if possible. (White has the lion's share with 18 cards, including 3 with WW) Thankfully the bulk of the deck is artifacts, so that loosens the rest of the mana requirements a bit.
For non-land mana-fixing, I've got a Chromatic Lantern, 4 cogs that search for land (Twig, Amulet, Bauble, Map) (all of which can be recursed with Silas), 2 signets (Azorius and Boros), Tithe (which can get dual lands and shock lands that are plains), Mycosynth Lattice, a Fellwar Stone, and a Mox Opal. In a pinch I can also use one of the artifact tutors to get the lantern, lattice or opal. If I've already got RW and need U or B, Sunforger can get the Tithe or Enlightened Tutor.
So, what lands should I be playing? I need at least one of each of the 4 basics so I can search for them with the Twig/Amulet/Bauble. I've got 5 of the 6 possible dual lands. (I skipped Badlands because RB are my 2 least-needed colors). I'd love to run all five allowable Artifact lands to pump Akiri, but could only find room for 3. (though maybe I should switch the Darksteel Citadel out for Great Furnace.) The only colorless lands I have are that Citadel, Academy Ruins (seems like a must), Dust Bowl (this is almost an auto-include for me. And Mazes can ruin Akiri's day), Kor Haven (hard to pass up), Inventors' Fair, Rogue's Passage (what blockers?), and the ubiquitous Temple of the False God.
As for the rest... it's as many good "any color" producing lands I could find, some shock lands (more tithe targets), a few extra basic plains and islands, and a random Azorius Chancery.
As you may have guessed from the Dual lands, budget isn't much of an issue, I can get or borrow most cards if needed.
Any thoughts?
I'd add Rugged Prairie since that's the focus you want, and your manabase has enough duals to support getting that WR, I think.
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
The 1-mana-baubles don't do much for you, honestly. Wayfarer's Bauble and Expedition Map are good enough, the rest...really aren't. Instead focus on 2-mana artifacts that work for you. The various signets are all good, of course, and a Coldsteel Heart might also not be a bad choice to patch up whichever colour you're blanking on.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
Hmm...
points taken on the temple and the bounce land. It's an aggro deck, so I've avoided ETBT lands completely except for the Chancery, and it and the Temple can't help me on turns 1 and 2, which is what I really need my lands to do. So out they go.
I like Rugged Prairie as an include... I'm actually tempted to put in Mystic Gate too (to help with the UU and UUU) but it wouldn't let me play Akiri if I had just the Gate and 1 other land, so I guess not.
On Mirrodin's Core and Kor Haven, I respectfully disagree. I only need the colored mana when I need it. Most of the time Mirrodin's Core is fine. And if it's in my first 2 lands, I can drop it turn 1 and charge it, then use it turn 2 with my other land to drop Akiri. So I miss a 1-drop, boo-hoo. Slightly later in the game, I can leave it as my last land I use, and if I don't use it, charge it. Then it's there if I need it. As for Kor Haven, I agree it doesn't fit the game plan, but I like to have a bit of a plan B. Answers are always good to have, and Kor Haven is a really good one. For the small risk it adds, I'm willing to take it.
I agree on the fetches. The problem is I'm running out of room. I'm not sure what to take out for them. I'm at 9 basics. 4 of them (1 of each) I need to keep. The rest are there as Twig/Amulet targets if I need them for a WW or UUU spell. Maybe with that in mind, I cut down to 3 islands and 2 plains, as that's the maximum I'd ever need. The mountain has to stay, as a Badlands isn't strictly better if I need R and my the only mana fixing I've drawn only gets basics.
Speaking of the Twig and Amulet, I disagree again that they don't do much. In this deck, they are dual-purpose. Like a pump aura with basic landcycling. Usually they sit around adding to the artifact count for Akiri and hopefully Cranial Plating, and get me to Metalcraft quickly for the Mox and Paladin. I only pop them if I really need a land, or if Silas is about to connect and there's nothing better in the GY to recur. If I'm lucky, they trigger Veldalken Archmage, or can be picked up for another +1/+0 if bludgeon brawl is out, or serve as fodder for Goblin Welder to get something better back or for Daretti to kill something or for Ghirapur AEther Grid. The baubles aren't all-stars, sure. But they serve the deck. (better than a land would)
More signets and a coldsteel heart would be swell, and would do all the same good work that the baubles do, but with Vedalken Archmage or Magus of the Future on board, cheaper is better, even if it's 2 vs. 1. More cards played means more cards "drawn", means more beats with Akiri. (Notice that only 8 cards in the deck cost more that 3. This is why.). So I'd rather keep the Twig and Amulet.
Tendo (or Aether Hub) is tempting, but I often need to cast Akiri more than once. I don't want to have to cast her a second time for 2RW, and be sitting on a plains, a sol ring, and a spent Tendo. Gemstone Mine is a bit better in that respect, except I really wish it had T: add C. I don't want to avoid using it at all to conserve counters for when I need them. And Mox Diamond is out... my land count is already low, and I'm not looking for acceleration that puts me down a card. (but thanks for the idea for my Gitrog Monster deck!)
So thoughts so far:
OUT: Temple of the False God, Azorius Chancery, Darksteel Citadel, 2 plains?
IN: Great Furnace, Rugged Prairie, Vault of Whispers, 2 fetches (Arid Mesa and Flooded Strand, I guess?)