This whole idea came together as I was looking for old cool build-around-me cards. I had just been looking at the legacy Tezzeret lists and weighing the pros and cons of building a legacy deck.
That's when I ran into Mishra, Artificer Prodigy. I had seen the card before when glossing through Legendary creatures for commander and near immediately forgotten him.
This is my stab at a list, and I hope people can help me improve it. I truly believe a refined version of this list could actually become a very competitive modern deck.
Strengths (Haven't played so this is all reasoned)
Mishra, Artificer Prodigy seems insane. Its a 4/4 for 4 which is respectable, and its text is just pure value.
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas is a powerful engine. Being able to sift through your deck at 6 cards a turn (minimum) is unheard of. Creating 5/5 creatures out of mana rocks is good. Getting a 20 life swing for having 5 artifacts in play is gamebreaking.
Have ya thought about Mox Opal? Could be very useful for getting all colors of mana without killing yaself with the Talisman. Academy Ruins could be useful for getting back something that got blown up and can be used to created a stupidly long drawn out combo with Ensnaring Bridge, Mox Opal and Thopter Foundry. Ensnaring Bridge might be a good idea? I like the list and wish ya the best of luck with it!
Riddlesmith seems like he could be helpful card draw here. I agree on ensnaring bridge being able to help you and mox opal for color fixing. You can use some of the other mana fixing and cantrip artifacts to make a rush style deck. Just considerations. I like this idea tho.
Riddlesmith is an interesting idea, I agree. However, this deck is just begging to use chromatic sphere and chromatic star, in my opinion. Sacrificing to draw cards and fix mana is pretty powerful. Combine that with mishra and you're looking an extremely powerful draw engine.
I agree you need mana acceleration in a major way. Your deck is very heavily reliant upon hitting 4 mana as early as possible. Have you considered running even more signets/talismans? Mox opal is good early, but bad in multiples and this deck is trying for multiples.
You point out that it is a control deck, and early on, I agree it's trying to avoid dying. However, I think it's more of a combo deck. Once you get either or both cmc 4 things online, then you start exploding. I think counters like Remand are most helpful towards achieving your draw goal and stabilizing. If, however, you actually do wish to play control, then you'll need white for dispatch because metalcraft is ridiculously easy to do in such a deck.
Master of Etherium for a nice, big body and the +1/1 to artifacts would help out pretty much everything on the board. He could also be used to stall, or eat removal before you get to bigger stuff.
Springleaf Drum could also be used to get the mana colors or acceleration that you need, and could fit even better if you ran some Ornithopters.
I really like the idea of this deck - very cool, over all. Hope some of this helped.
I like the ideas guys. I'll just rattle off a few responses here
Mox Opal: I think the card isn't for this deck because it actually doesn't help me fix much until I already have all the mana I need. Its also not a great topdeck later, but perhaps it would be fine as a 1-of to potentially pull out with Tezzeret.
Academy Ruins: Could be for this deck as a 1-of. I haven't been able to really test this much so I'm not sure if the mana is good enough to allow me to play another colourless land. Chances are it is and the card will make it in.
Ensnaring Bridge: I like the card, but I wonder if it will be all that good considering I will often be holding 2-4 cards in hand I think. Maybe I'm just undervaluing the card and I would have to play with it to see.
Riddlesmith: I don't know if I like this one because I feel it interferes with the plan of land, signet/talisman and t4 something impactful.
Chromatic Star/Chromatic Sphere: I like it, but I wonder if it is too cute. I really like the idea of how much card advantage I get out of it with Mishra out. Maybe I cut back on Thirsts and play a 4th Mishra and use these to get my advantage.
Remand: I really don't think this deck is a combo deck, I think it is a control deck with a potential combo finish. I feel like this pushes it to rely on Tezzeret's ultimate a bit more and I think I want to go more towards using Tezzeret as a very good engine to support everything else going on.
Dispatch/Tidehollow Sculler: I feel like going 4 colour might be a stretch, but I can certainly see how doubling a Sculler can really lock down a game, and I can see Dispatch as a very powerful removal spell, but I don't think I'm hitting Metalcraft until Turn 5 or 6 (although I should have it on t4 or 6 very consistently).
Coalition Relic: is very interesting because it opens up the t4 Wurmcoil plan which seems insane. I'm just afraid of putting too much emphasis on ramp and not having enough/right answers to things.
Thanks for the input so far. I'll just leave the list on the first post the same as an inspiration for more lists like it, but I would love to see other people's stabs at this kind of deck. I really do think this list can go somewhere because Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas and Mishra, Artificer Prodigy are two cards that provide a lot of value that other decks in modern can't keep up with.
Why tezze's ultimate? Mishra can barf out so many artifacts it's not even funny. The reason I suggest the chromatic sphere/stars is because Mishra ALSO reanimates them or brings a second one onto the battlefield from your hand. Care to guess what happens when you've got an academy ruins online??
If you're going to run control in an artifact deck, it's pretty much begging for engineered explosives. You can blow up a lot of permanents with this ability and you're already in three colors, which means it hits most everything you care about while not hitting your main guys.
Pyrite spellbomb gives you an earlier creature kill condition for non black guys and another win con.
Expedition map finds mana, hits early, and later on turns into a 5/5 attacker if needed.
If you did decide on a combo kill, this deck can do horrible things with grinding station.
If early aggro is a problem, then bottle gnomes will keep you alive for a long time until you can reach the late game.
I'm actually starting to see two, at least, possible ways to play this deck, which is really cool.
I'm seeing the potential for a ramp style / combo kill deck, as well as more of a control / midrange style build such as what the OP originally built. Right now I'm trying to draft up a proper list of each, but I'm liking the almost tron style ramp version. Could also focus on card advantage.
I certainly agree that the Sphere/Star is really good once you start reanimating them, I'm just worried that they are on the side of win more because I really don't have a reason to play them other than their synergy with Mishra himself. I think having 1 mana cantrips which have amazing value late sounds awesome, I'm just afraid to cut back from having a mass of early removal even though they provide insane value late.
Pyrite Spellbomb is a card I had forgotten, and I really like it here because it seems like it is the kind of card I want to be playing. It gives me removal early and possible card advantage late. 2 damage may be just a bit too low, but I think it is definitely worth consideration.
I think I actually do just cut the Thirst for Knowledge and add Chromatic Stars. It seems like they probably do quite a bit more in the deck.
Baleful Strix seems like almost a strict upgrade to tidehollow. I can't imagine you are getting there with him anyway, and it already has deathtouch.
How do you not just auto-lose to any kind of combo? It seems like you are playing too fair. Similarly, excessively fast aggro like affinity seems like it would cause you substantial problems. You don't really interact very much early?
Baleful Strix seems like almost a strict upgrade to tidehollow. I can't imagine you are getting there with him anyway, and it already has deathtouch.
How do you not just auto-lose to any kind of combo? It seems like you are playing too fair. Similarly, excessively fast aggro like affinity seems like it would cause you substantial problems. You don't really interact very much early?
Baleful Strix is Legacy legal, but not Modern Legal.
He is running counterspells, so combo is not as much of a problem as you might think.
That's when I ran into Mishra, Artificer Prodigy. I had seen the card before when glossing through Legendary creatures for commander and near immediately forgotten him.
That when I mashed 4 Mishra, Artificer Prodigy and 4 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas into a deck and started building.
1x Blood Crypt
4x Darkslick Shores
2x Darksteel Citadel
2x Island
3x Marsh Flats
1x Mountain
4x Scalding Tarn
2x Steam Vents
2x Swamp
2x Watery Grave
Instants
2x Mana Leak
3x Spell Snare
1x Terminate
3x Thirst for Knowledge
1x Chalice of the Void
2x Dimir Signet
3x Executioner's Capsule
2x Ratchet Bomb
4x Talisman of Dominance
1x Thopter Foundry
Creatures
3x Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
2x Solemn Simulacrum
4x Tidehollow Strix
2x Wurmcoil Engine
Planeswalkers
4x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
2x Vendilion Clique
2x Damnation
4x Duress
2x Pyroclasm
3x Blood Moon
2x Relic of Progenitus
This is my stab at a list, and I hope people can help me improve it. I truly believe a refined version of this list could actually become a very competitive modern deck.
Strengths (Haven't played so this is all reasoned)
Weaknesses
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I agree you need mana acceleration in a major way. Your deck is very heavily reliant upon hitting 4 mana as early as possible. Have you considered running even more signets/talismans? Mox opal is good early, but bad in multiples and this deck is trying for multiples.
You point out that it is a control deck, and early on, I agree it's trying to avoid dying. However, I think it's more of a combo deck. Once you get either or both cmc 4 things online, then you start exploding. I think counters like Remand are most helpful towards achieving your draw goal and stabilizing. If, however, you actually do wish to play control, then you'll need white for dispatch because metalcraft is ridiculously easy to do in such a deck.
Credit to DolZero for this awesome sig!
Tidehollow Sculler for card advantage, potentially.
Master of Etherium for a nice, big body and the +1/1 to artifacts would help out pretty much everything on the board. He could also be used to stall, or eat removal before you get to bigger stuff.
Springleaf Drum could also be used to get the mana colors or acceleration that you need, and could fit even better if you ran some Ornithopters.
I really like the idea of this deck - very cool, over all. Hope some of this helped.
EDIT: Just realized, Serum Visions and Manamorphose could both be great in this deck as well.
:symr:RG Karn Tron:symg:
:symu:UR Storm:symr:
It's an updated version of Brawl into an epic, new game.
Mox Opal: I think the card isn't for this deck because it actually doesn't help me fix much until I already have all the mana I need. Its also not a great topdeck later, but perhaps it would be fine as a 1-of to potentially pull out with Tezzeret.
Academy Ruins: Could be for this deck as a 1-of. I haven't been able to really test this much so I'm not sure if the mana is good enough to allow me to play another colourless land. Chances are it is and the card will make it in.
Ensnaring Bridge: I like the card, but I wonder if it will be all that good considering I will often be holding 2-4 cards in hand I think. Maybe I'm just undervaluing the card and I would have to play with it to see.
Riddlesmith: I don't know if I like this one because I feel it interferes with the plan of land, signet/talisman and t4 something impactful.
Chromatic Star/Chromatic Sphere: I like it, but I wonder if it is too cute. I really like the idea of how much card advantage I get out of it with Mishra out. Maybe I cut back on Thirsts and play a 4th Mishra and use these to get my advantage.
Remand: I really don't think this deck is a combo deck, I think it is a control deck with a potential combo finish. I feel like this pushes it to rely on Tezzeret's ultimate a bit more and I think I want to go more towards using Tezzeret as a very good engine to support everything else going on.
Dispatch/Tidehollow Sculler: I feel like going 4 colour might be a stretch, but I can certainly see how doubling a Sculler can really lock down a game, and I can see Dispatch as a very powerful removal spell, but I don't think I'm hitting Metalcraft until Turn 5 or 6 (although I should have it on t4 or 6 very consistently).
Coalition Relic: is very interesting because it opens up the t4 Wurmcoil plan which seems insane. I'm just afraid of putting too much emphasis on ramp and not having enough/right answers to things.
Thanks for the input so far. I'll just leave the list on the first post the same as an inspiration for more lists like it, but I would love to see other people's stabs at this kind of deck. I really do think this list can go somewhere because Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas and Mishra, Artificer Prodigy are two cards that provide a lot of value that other decks in modern can't keep up with.
If you're going to run control in an artifact deck, it's pretty much begging for engineered explosives. You can blow up a lot of permanents with this ability and you're already in three colors, which means it hits most everything you care about while not hitting your main guys.
Pyrite spellbomb gives you an earlier creature kill condition for non black guys and another win con.
Expedition map finds mana, hits early, and later on turns into a 5/5 attacker if needed.
If you did decide on a combo kill, this deck can do horrible things with grinding station.
If early aggro is a problem, then bottle gnomes will keep you alive for a long time until you can reach the late game.
Credit to DolZero for this awesome sig!
I'm seeing the potential for a ramp style / combo kill deck, as well as more of a control / midrange style build such as what the OP originally built. Right now I'm trying to draft up a proper list of each, but I'm liking the almost tron style ramp version. Could also focus on card advantage.
:symr:RG Karn Tron:symg:
:symu:UR Storm:symr:
I do believe Academy Ruins belongs in the deck.
I certainly agree that the Sphere/Star is really good once you start reanimating them, I'm just worried that they are on the side of win more because I really don't have a reason to play them other than their synergy with Mishra himself. I think having 1 mana cantrips which have amazing value late sounds awesome, I'm just afraid to cut back from having a mass of early removal even though they provide insane value late.
Pyrite Spellbomb is a card I had forgotten, and I really like it here because it seems like it is the kind of card I want to be playing. It gives me removal early and possible card advantage late. 2 damage may be just a bit too low, but I think it is definitely worth consideration.
I think I actually do just cut the Thirst for Knowledge and add Chromatic Stars. It seems like they probably do quite a bit more in the deck.
Current Iteration:
1x Academy Ruins
1x Blood Crypt
3x Darkslick Shores
2x Darksteel Citadel
2x Island
3x Marsh Flats
1x Mountain
4x Scalding Tarn
2x Steam Vents
2x Swamp
2x Watery Grave
2x Mana Leak
2x Spell Snare
Planeswalker (4)
4x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Artifact (17)
1x Chalice of the Void
4x Chromatic Star
2x Dimir Signet
1x Engineered Explosives
2x Executioner's Capsule
2x Ratchet Bomb
4x Talisman of Dominance
1x Thopter Foundry
3x Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
2x Solemn Simulacrum
4x Tidehollow Strix
1x Trinket Mage
2x Wurmcoil Engine
Chromatic Star is an all star. How did I ever doubt you.
How do you not just auto-lose to any kind of combo? It seems like you are playing too fair. Similarly, excessively fast aggro like affinity seems like it would cause you substantial problems. You don't really interact very much early?
Baleful Strix is Legacy legal, but not Modern Legal.
He is running counterspells, so combo is not as much of a problem as you might think.
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