This is a build of Dredge that retains alot of it's older brother's power plays, but at a fraction of the cost. Don't let the low price fool you, this build of Dredge is still extremely fast and powerful, and can often end games on turn 3-4. This is due to some of Dredge's key pieces (Amalgum, Cathartic, Neonate, Stinkweed, etc) being so cheap. Because of that, it allows you to make a budget build that still has the speed of its older brother. And the Cairns reprint fixed alot of consistency for the mana base.
Pretty budget version of reanimator. Has a lot of powerful and dumb interactions, such as Veteran Explorer + Razaketh or Victimize. Has the potential to turn 1 kill your opponent's hand while bringing out Griselbrand to replenish yours. Has control elements with Git Probe and Cabal Therapy, which has synergy with the Vet Explorer engine. I've won many Legacy locals with this hot pile of garbage, so I figured I'd share. See attached image for decklist.
I've tested Springleaf Drum, and I just always found it to be a wasted draw. If anything, I'd rather (eventually) get a couple Mox Opals instead. I prefer Bident and Spear because they work better with what the deck is trying to do.
What I did do, however, is drop the Glint Hawk Idols for a pair of Crystal Balls, which has greatly improved the consistency of the deck by smoothing out draws.
If I run red instead of white, it won't be Tempered Steel anymore. Ensoul Artifact was actually pretty horrendous in testing because I got 2-for-1'd all the time.
Eventually, I'll probably drop a pair of Vault Skirges or a Skirge and a Champion for a pair of Master of Etheriums. I agree that the card is too good, I just don't have any.
Glacial Fortress is always an option for a budget dual. The deck runs pretty consistently for me though, so I've never had the need for a dual. But should I choose to, I'd go for Fortress.
Ensoul Artifact is a pretty sweet card. I could probly pop out a couple cards for a pair of em.
Trust me dude, Military Intelligence and Bident of Thassa are just the draw power cards the deck needs. Especially to compete against the other decks in the format like Pod, Burn, Affinity, etc. If you're gonna be swinging anyway (and you should be), cards that give you draws for doing what your deck does best is a no-brainer. Its one of those things that you have to test it for yourself to see just how truly powerful they are.
Theoretically, I could run Open The Vaults as a stabilizer in case of a board wipe. Though at cmc 6, it would be a 1-2 of (more than likely 1, though).
Sideboard (15): {This may change depending on your local meta. My local meta has alot of burn}
4 Golem's Heart (Burn)
4 Apostle's Blessing (Good utility)
4 Mana Leak (Good against a multitude of decks, especially Delver, Faeries, and MBC)
2 Holy Day (Aggro)
1 Tormod's Crypt (Grave-based decks)
Card choices:
Master's Call: Much like Lingering Souls, Raise The Alarm, or Hive Stirrings, this card just works so well with the deck. Since they are in fact Artifact Creatures, they get the boost from Tempered Steel, and you can put some quick bodies on the board in a pinch since its an instant.
Dispatch: Though its a no-brainer, some people are still surprised by my choice of this over Path or Swords. Though it does have the metalcraft clause, exactly how difficult is that to achieve? This "downside" is much better than giving my opponent land or life.
Military Intelligence: Initially, I WAS running Thoughtcast. It just didn't seem to do enough. After cracking a pack of M15, I came across this gem and thought to myself "Holy crap, I've found my Arena!" Being that Tempered Steel is a complete aggro deck, you are ALWAYS going to attack with at least two creatures (Signal Pest + whatever else), so getting an extra draw every turn just for beating face is pretty awesome. And like Arena, they stack
Bident of Thassa: A 5th Intelligence, but its a card for every creature that hits, which is friggin awesome
Crystal Ball: This is one of those cards that doesn't seem like much at first glance. But what it does is it sets up and smooths out your draws off of Military Intelligence, Bident of Thassa, your draw phase, or any combination of. Scry 2 for 1 mana is pretty damn powerful, and setting up your draws can be the difference between drawing an unneeded land or hitting that clutch Dispatch or Etched Champion. Love it
I've had lots of fun with this deck and it has proven to be extremely powerful. It is powerful in a different way from Affinity in that this is a more beatdown-focused build and your just pumping up your guys, having some quick spot removal thanks to Dispatch, and plowing your way to victory. Burn and any kind of Blue Control are your two hardest matchups, but with proper sideboarding and plays, you should be able to come through!
Nooooo! Jin, Sheoldred, and Urabrask were killed by Norn. Anyways Urabrask really didn't care what happened. The plane is no longer Mirrodin, it's New Phyrexia. And some of these cards need serious adjustments, their power is insanely gross. Also last I checked, the creatures that had phyrexian mana in their cmc were artifacts.
Like Mix Master said, Norn didnt actually kill Jin, Sheoldred, and Urabrask. Just their forces. You are correct, the plane is New Phyrexia, but to Karn, Melira, Koth, and the other Mirran survivors, it is still Mirrodin. In the words of Jor Kadeen, "If there is still a blade in my hand, there is still hope for Mirrodin." (more or less) And yes, Artifact Creatures were usually the ones with the Phrexian mana costs, and they still will be. The newly designed Praetors are the lone exception to this, as I wanted to make them feel different from their old versions, but still retain the ferocity of the old ones. And which cards do you think are the insanely broken ones? This way I can try to fix them.
And if you're interested, my thread for the new block is here, including new designs for the Praetors (as a series) and a series called the Protectors, Avatars that go hand-in-hand with the Praetors.
Flavour-wise, Venser gave his spark to Karn, so even if he was resurrected by Phyrexia, he would no longer be a planeswalker (Melira didn't have a spark in the first place, but I'll roll with it).
Venser's 0 ability seems a bit weak for a 5-mana walker; maybe make it a +1 instead? Nice ultimate
I like that you've given Karn some of his old abilities, but the -2 strikes me as overpowered for a 4-mana walker. "Exile target (nonland) permanent" is a -3 on a 7-mana walker; that's the kind of power level I'm comfortable with.
Melira's neat, but I have an issue with mixing +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters in the same block. Also, the ultimate could probably safely be -6 instead.
Kicked Phyrexian Annihilator seems very strong in mono-black. I'd be wary of putting first strike and deathtouch together often.
I like Phyrexian Doomknight - the only problem I have with it is that as a four-drop in an infect deck, if your opponent doesn't already have at least one poison counter by the time you get him out, you're doing something wrong
Morbid Bargain and Soul Shatter are very powerful removal spells. Morbid Bargain is extremely good early-game when the drawback isn't as high; in addition, the lifegain might not be relevant in an infect-heavy block. Soul Shatter needs an extra 1 in its cost IMO.
Fleshflayer is the new Batterskull, I take it. A four colourless mana 3/3 with first strike, deathtouch, and lifelink is very strong - I'm not sure whether I'd put both first strike and deathtouch on such a splashable card.
In my story, flavorwise, before returning to Mirrodin, Melira bargained with Erebos to get Elspeth's spark, as Elspeth would end up ascending to Godhood to overthrow Heliod. And if I'm not mistaken, Venser SWITCHED his spark with Karn's, because I thought Karn was always a Planeswalker, even during the Urza saga (I mean didn't he have Memnarch watch Mirrodin while he searched other Planes?)
Yea, I wanted Venser's ultimate to just ooze flavor. I guess his 0 could be a +1, or make it 2 or 3 cards or something?
So should I make Karn's -2 a -3 instead?
Melira's one +1 is meant to cancel out -1/-1 counters (because a +1/+1 counter cancels out a -1/-1 counter and vice-versa).
Maybe make Annihilator's kick BBBB? And I did the First Strike and Deathtouch to make him powerful like Obliterator, but not just make him another Obliterator. I wanted him to have his own purpose, being able to annihilate virtually any creature (hence the name).
So just make Doomknight a 4/4 Infect?
Soul Shatter as 1UB then?
Again, I wanted to make Fleshflayer feel a bit different from Batterskull. I wanted my opponent to actually fear Fleshflayer rather than just deal with it like Batterskull. Maybe take off the Lifelink? But I want to keep First Strike / Deathtouch to make it feared, so maybe make it +2/+2?
Since Scars of Mirrodin is my favorite block ever, I wanted to revisit it and make new cards. Here are some of my designs.
Venser, The Will of New Phyrexia 3BU
Planeswalker - Venser < 5 > (M)
[+2] Exile target permanent you control. At the beginning of the next end step, return it to the battlefield untapped.
[0] Exile the top card of your library face-down. At the beginning of the next end step, add the exiled card to your hand.
[-8] Venser is no longer a Planeswalker and becomes a 5/5 Human Horror Legendary Creature with Trample, Deathtouch, Indestructible, and Hexproof, and has "Whenever Venser deals combat damage to an opponent, that opponent exiles that many permanents."
[+1] Tap target nonland permanent. Until your next upkeep, it becomes an artifact creature with a base power and toughness of 0/1 and loses all abilities.
[0] Target noncreature artifact becomes an artifact creature. Its power and toughness are equal to its converted mana cost.
[-2] Exile target nonland permanent.
[-7] Each player exiles the top ten cards of his or her library. For each player, you may cast any one spell from among them without paying their mana costs.
Melira, Sylvok Hero 2GG
Planeswalker - Melira < 3 > (M)
[+1] Put two +1/+1 counters on each creature you control.
[+1] Remove all counters from target permanent or player.
[-7] You get an emblem with "You cannot get counters or emblems from spells, abilities, and permanents your opponents control and permanents you control cannot have counters placed on them from spells, abilities, or permanents your opponents control."
Was working on a new Mirrodin block (to reclaim Mirrodin from New Phyrexia), and I came up with this card, which I thought was pretty sweet artifact support, so I wanted to share it.
[THE HEART OF MIRRODIN] - [WAR OF THE PRAETORS] - [MIRRODIN PURE]
The story so far:
[THE HEART OF MIRRODIN]
After the death of Elspeth on Theros, Karn, Melira (now a planeswalker with Elspeth's spark), and Koth decide to take what reinforcements they can get and return to their home plane of Mirrodin in an attempt to remove the Phyrexians who overtook their world. Reuniting with the refugees still lingering in the Furnace, they rally all their forces and head to the surface to try to reclaim Mirrodin. Urabrask is intrigued by this action, and even more intrigued as to why the Mirrans didn't start by attacking the Furnace. Eager to see how they do, Urabrask keeps quiet and decrees once more to let the Mirrans be.
SET SIZE: 180 Cards
SET BREAKDOWN: 16 Mythic Rares (Done), 36 Rares, 50 Uncommons, 58 Commons, 20 Basic Lands (four interconnecting artworks of each land)
Series of the set is the Protectors. And I guess technically the Praetors, as well.
[+1] Tap target nonland permanent. Until your next upkeep, it becomes an artifact creature with a base power and toughness of 0/1 and loses all abilities.
[+1] Until end of turn, target noncreature artifact becomes an artifact creature. Its power and toughness are equal to its converted mana cost.
[0] Until end of turn, Karn becomes a 4/4 Golem artifact creature that's still a Planeswalker. Prevent all damage that would be dealt to Karn this turn.
[-7] All other noncreature permanents you control become 3/3 artifact creatures with Flying and are Indestructible. Lands affected by this ability are still lands.
2. WHITE
Elesh Norn of the Machine Orthodoxy 5WW
Legendary Creature - Praetor (M)
4/7
First Strike, Vigilance
When Elesh Norn enters or leaves the battlefield, creatures your opponents control get -2/-2 until end of turn.
: Until end of turn, other creatures you control get +2/+2 and have First Strike and Vigilance. Activate this ability only once each turn. ( can be paid with either W or 2 life.)
Protector of Norn 4WW
Legendary Creature - Avatar (M)
4/4
: Until end of turn, Protector of Norn gets +2/+2 and has Lifelink. Gain 1 life. ( can be paid with either W or 2 life.)
Genocide Wave 4WWWW
Sorcery R
Exile all nonland permanents.
"Purge their imperfection! Every last one of them!"
-Izathel, Machine Orthodoxy High Chancellor
Flesh and Bone
Instant (R)
( can be paid with either W or 2 life.)
Exile target attacking or blocking creature.
"These pitiful Mirrans are still trying to fight back? How amusing."
-Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobyte
3. BLUE
Jin-Gitaxias of the Progress Engine 5UU
Legendary Creature - Praetor (M)
5/4
Flash
When Jin-Gitaxias enters or leaves the battlefield, each opponent discards his or her hand, then each opponent draws 1 card.
: Draw seven cards. Activate this ability only once each turn. ( can be paid with either U or 2 life.)
Protector of Gitaxias 4UU
Legendary Creature - Avatar (M)
4/4
: Until end of turn, Protector of Gitaxias gets +2/+2 and has Flying. Draw a card. ( can be paid with either U or 2 life.)
Mindlash 2
Instant (R)
( can be paid with either U or 2 life.)
Counter target spell.
"Some creations are best left unmade."
-Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
Thoughts Become Cages UUU
Enchantment - Aura (R)
Enchant target nonland permanent.
Tap enchanted permanent. It doesn't untap during its controller's untap step and its abilities can't be activated.
When Thoughts Become Cages enters or leaves the battlefield, draw a card.
4. BLACK
Sheoldred of the Steel Thanes 5BB
Legendary Creature - Praetor (M)
6/6
Swampwalk, Deathtouch
When Sheoldred enters or leaves the battlefield, each opponent sacrifices two creatures, discards two cards, and loses 2 life.
: Return target creature from a graveyard to the battlefield under your control. Activate this ability only once each turn. ( can be paid with either B or 2 life.)
Protector of Sheoldred 4BB
Legendary Creature - Avatar (M)
4/4
: Until end of turn, Protector of Sheoldred gets +2/+2 and has Deathtouch. Target opponent discards a card. ( can be paid with either B or 2 life.)
Infect (This creature deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.)
When the dead rise, the infection spreads.
Contagion Mite B
Creature - Insect Horror (U)
1/1
Infect (This creature deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.)
Contagion Strike BBB
Sorcery (R)
Target player gets a poison counter, then proliferate. (You choose any number of permanents and/or players with counters on them, then give each another counter of a kind already there.)
Death's Cold Embrace xBB
Sorcery R
Kicker: BB(You may pay an additional BB as you cast this spell.)
All creatures get -X/-X until end of turn. Then, if Death's Cold Embrace was kicked, each opponent loses X life and you gain X life.
Death is only the beginning.
Morbid Bargain B
Instant (R)
Destroy target creature. Its controller gains life equal to its toughness and you lose life equal to its power.
"Let this be an example of what happens to those who do not wish to attain compleation."
-Sheoldred, Whispering One
Horrify
Instant (R)
( can be paid with either B or 2 life.)
Destroy target creature. Its controller gets three 1/1 black Insect Horror creature tokens with Infect.
"Strip them of their flesh and let every cavity ooze with glorious perfection!"
-Sheoldred, Whispering One
5. RED
Urabrask of the Quiet Furnace 5RR
Legendary Creature - Praetor (M)
4/4
Urabrask and other creatures you control have Haste.
When Urabrask enters or leaves the battlefield, Urabrask deals 2 damage to each opponent and each creature you don't control.
: Urabrask deals 3 damage to target creature or player. A creature dealt damage by this ability becomes tapped. Activate this ability only once each turn. ( can be paid with either R or 2 life.)
Protector of Urabrask 4RR
Legendary Creature - Avatar (M)
4/4
: Until end of turn, Protector of Urabrask gets +2/+2 and has Haste. Protector of Urabrask deals 2 damage to target creature or player. ( can be paid with either R or 2 life.)
Koth Enraged RRR
Planeswalker - Koth < 3 > (M)
[+1] Add R to your mana pool for each mountain you control.
[-2] Untap up to three mountains you control. Until end of turn, they become 1/1 red elemental creatures with haste and have " : Deal 1 damage to target creature or player." They're still lands.
[-6] Koth deals 10 damage to all opponents and all creatures and planeswalkers you don't control.
Rain of Fire RRR
Sorcery (R)
Rain of Fire deals 3 damage to each opponent and to each creature you don't control.
"Destruction purifies. The furnaces cleanse. Words can always be twisted, but the fire cannot."
—Urabrask the Hidden
6. GREEN
Vorinclex of the Vicious Swarm 5GG
Legendary Creature - Praetor (M)
7/6
Trample, Reach
When Vorinclex enters or leaves the battlefield, tap all untapped lands each opponent controls. They don't untap during their controller's next untap step.
: This turn, whenever you tap a land for mana, add an additional one mana of any color to your mana pool. Activate this ability only once each turn. ( can be paid with either G or 2 life.)
Protector of Vorinclex 4GG
Legendary Creature - Avatar (M)
4/4
: Until end of turn, Protector of Vorinclex gets +2/+2 and has Reach. Add 2 to your mana pool. ( can be paid with either G or 2 life.)
Melira, Mirran Hero 2GG
Planeswalker - Melira < 3 > (M)
[+1] Place a cure counter on each of up to two target creatures. Creatures with cure counters lose all -1/-1 counters and can't have -1/-1 counters placed on them.
[+1] Remove all counters from target permanent or player.
[-6] You get an emblem with "You cannot get counters or emblems from spells, abilities, and permanents your opponents control and permanents you control cannot have counters placed on them from spells, abilities, or permanents your opponents control."
Whispers of the Wild GGG
Sorcery R
Kicker: GGG(You may pay an additional GGG as you cast this spell.)
Search your library for up to three basic forests and add them to your hand, then shuffle your library. If Whispers of the Wild was kicked, you may put them onto the battlefield tapped instead.
Draw a card.
Contagion Strength
Instant (U)
( can be paid with either G or 2 life.)
Target creature you control gets +5/+5 until end of turn. You get two poison counters.
7. Multicolored
Venser, The Will of New Phyrexia 3BU
Planeswalker - Venser < 5 > (M)
[+2] Exile target permanent you control. At the beginning of the next end step, return it to the battlefield untapped.
[0] Exile the top three cards of your library face-down. You may look at the exiled cards. At the beginning of the next end step, add one of them to your hand and put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
[-8] Venser is no longer a Planeswalker and becomes a 5/5 Human Horror Legendary Creature with Trample, Deathtouch, Indestructible, and Hexproof, and has "Whenever Venser deals combat damage to an opponent, that opponent exiles that many permanents."
Soul Shatter UB
Instant (M)
Soul Shatter can't be countered.
Destroy target creature. It can't be regenerated.
"One blade. A thousand ways to maim."
-Kara Vrist, Neurok Survivor
8. Artifacts
Fleshflayer 4
Artifact - Equipment (M)
Living Weapon (When this Equipment enters the battlefield, put a 0/0 black Germ creature token onto the battlefield, then attach this to it.)
Equipped creature gets +3/+3 and has First Strike and Deathtouch.
: Return Fleshflayer to its owner's hand. ( can be paid with either B or 2 life.)
Equip:
Bloodreaper 6
Artifact - Equipment R
Living Weapon (When this Equipment enters the battlefield, put a 0/0 black Germ creature token onto the battlefield, then attach this to it.)
Equipped creature gets +3/+3 and has Trample and Lifelink. Whenever the equipped creature deals combat damage to a creature or player, put a +1/+1 counter on it.
1, remove two +1/+1 counters from equipped creature: Bloodreaper deals 3 damage to target creature or player and you gain 3 life.
Infect (This creature deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.)
Blightsteel Sentinel is Indestructible. (Damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy this creature. If its toughness is 0 or less, it's still put into its owner's graveyard.)
9. LANDS
Hall of Legends
Land R
: Add 1 to your mana pool. : Add two mana of any color to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast a Legendary creature.
Id drop the Hex Mages to the side. And your side should also contain additional killspells and hand control to sub in if your mainboard ones arent good/your sideboard ones are better for your matchup. Some disruption would be good too, like Pithing Needle and Elixer of Immortality.
1 Grave Titan
1 Thragtusk
4 Siege Rhino
4 Restoration Angel
4 Blade Splicer
4 Satyr Wayfinder
Spells
4 Lingering Souls
4 Unburial Rites
4 Grisly Salvage
2 Abzan Charm
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Dismember
1 Murderous Cut
2 Duress
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Shambling Vent
1 Hissing Quagmire
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Woodland Cemetery
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Llanowar Wastes
2 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Forest
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Demon of Dark Schemes
2 Acidic Slime
2 Golgari Charm
2 Hero's Downfall
2 Lost Legacy
2 Duress
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Nihil Spellbomb
4 Golgari Thug
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Narcomoeba
4 Insolent Neonate
4 Prized Amalgam
4 Reassembling Skeleton
2 Haunted Dead
2 Scourge Devil
2 Conflagrate
2 Darkblast
4 Cathartic Reunion
4 Faithless Looting
Lands
4 Dakmor Salvage
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Graven Cairns
8 Mountain
3 Rakdos Charm
3 Terminate
2 Lost Legacy
4 Duress
3 Ratchet Bomb
This is a build of Dredge that retains alot of it's older brother's power plays, but at a fraction of the cost. Don't let the low price fool you, this build of Dredge is still extremely fast and powerful, and can often end games on turn 3-4. This is due to some of Dredge's key pieces (Amalgum, Cathartic, Neonate, Stinkweed, etc) being so cheap. Because of that, it allows you to make a budget build that still has the speed of its older brother. And the Cairns reprint fixed alot of consistency for the mana base.
What I did do, however, is drop the Glint Hawk Idols for a pair of Crystal Balls, which has greatly improved the consistency of the deck by smoothing out draws.
If I run red instead of white, it won't be Tempered Steel anymore. Ensoul Artifact was actually pretty horrendous in testing because I got 2-for-1'd all the time.
Return to the Ranks is an interesting idea. I'll have to test that.
Eventually, I'll probably drop a pair of Vault Skirges or a Skirge and a Champion for a pair of Master of Etheriums. I agree that the card is too good, I just don't have any.
Glad to see people like the Military Intelligence idea though
Ensoul Artifact is a pretty sweet card. I could probly pop out a couple cards for a pair of em.
Trust me dude, Military Intelligence and Bident of Thassa are just the draw power cards the deck needs. Especially to compete against the other decks in the format like Pod, Burn, Affinity, etc. If you're gonna be swinging anyway (and you should be), cards that give you draws for doing what your deck does best is a no-brainer. Its one of those things that you have to test it for yourself to see just how truly powerful they are.
Theoretically, I could run Open The Vaults as a stabilizer in case of a board wipe. Though at cmc 6, it would be a 1-2 of (more than likely 1, though).
Thanks for the input
Creatures (20):
4 Etched Champion (The only semi-expensive card in the deck at about $6 a piece. You can use Porcelain Legionnaire if you don't want to shell out for the Champions, though the deck takes a significant power cut.)
4 Vault Skirge
4 Signal Pest
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
Spells (8):
4 Master's Call
4 Dispatch
Enchantments (8):
4 Tempered Steel
4 Military Intelligence
Artifacts (4):
1 Spear of Heliod
1 Bident of Thassa
2 Crystal Ball
Lands (20):
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Glacial Fortress
6 Island
6 Plains
Sideboard (15): {This may change depending on your local meta. My local meta has alot of burn}
4 Golem's Heart (Burn)
4 Apostle's Blessing (Good utility)
4 Mana Leak (Good against a multitude of decks, especially Delver, Faeries, and MBC)
2 Holy Day (Aggro)
1 Tormod's Crypt (Grave-based decks)
Card choices:
Master's Call: Much like Lingering Souls, Raise The Alarm, or Hive Stirrings, this card just works so well with the deck. Since they are in fact Artifact Creatures, they get the boost from Tempered Steel, and you can put some quick bodies on the board in a pinch since its an instant.
Dispatch: Though its a no-brainer, some people are still surprised by my choice of this over Path or Swords. Though it does have the metalcraft clause, exactly how difficult is that to achieve? This "downside" is much better than giving my opponent land or life.
Military Intelligence: Initially, I WAS running Thoughtcast. It just didn't seem to do enough. After cracking a pack of M15, I came across this gem and thought to myself "Holy crap, I've found my Arena!" Being that Tempered Steel is a complete aggro deck, you are ALWAYS going to attack with at least two creatures (Signal Pest + whatever else), so getting an extra draw every turn just for beating face is pretty awesome. And like Arena, they stack
Bident of Thassa: A 5th Intelligence, but its a card for every creature that hits, which is friggin awesome
Spear of Heliod: A 5th Tempered Steel, with a built in spot removal effect if needed.
Crystal Ball: This is one of those cards that doesn't seem like much at first glance. But what it does is it sets up and smooths out your draws off of Military Intelligence, Bident of Thassa, your draw phase, or any combination of. Scry 2 for 1 mana is pretty damn powerful, and setting up your draws can be the difference between drawing an unneeded land or hitting that clutch Dispatch or Etched Champion. Love it
I've had lots of fun with this deck and it has proven to be extremely powerful. It is powerful in a different way from Affinity in that this is a more beatdown-focused build and your just pumping up your guys, having some quick spot removal thanks to Dispatch, and plowing your way to victory. Burn and any kind of Blue Control are your two hardest matchups, but with proper sideboarding and plays, you should be able to come through!
Let me know what you guys think
Like Mix Master said, Norn didnt actually kill Jin, Sheoldred, and Urabrask. Just their forces. You are correct, the plane is New Phyrexia, but to Karn, Melira, Koth, and the other Mirran survivors, it is still Mirrodin. In the words of Jor Kadeen, "If there is still a blade in my hand, there is still hope for Mirrodin." (more or less) And yes, Artifact Creatures were usually the ones with the Phrexian mana costs, and they still will be. The newly designed Praetors are the lone exception to this, as I wanted to make them feel different from their old versions, but still retain the ferocity of the old ones. And which cards do you think are the insanely broken ones? This way I can try to fix them.
In my story, flavorwise, before returning to Mirrodin, Melira bargained with Erebos to get Elspeth's spark, as Elspeth would end up ascending to Godhood to overthrow Heliod. And if I'm not mistaken, Venser SWITCHED his spark with Karn's, because I thought Karn was always a Planeswalker, even during the Urza saga (I mean didn't he have Memnarch watch Mirrodin while he searched other Planes?)
Yea, I wanted Venser's ultimate to just ooze flavor. I guess his 0 could be a +1, or make it 2 or 3 cards or something?
So should I make Karn's -2 a -3 instead?
Melira's one +1 is meant to cancel out -1/-1 counters (because a +1/+1 counter cancels out a -1/-1 counter and vice-versa).
Maybe make Annihilator's kick BBBB? And I did the First Strike and Deathtouch to make him powerful like Obliterator, but not just make him another Obliterator. I wanted him to have his own purpose, being able to annihilate virtually any creature (hence the name).
So just make Doomknight a 4/4 Infect?
Soul Shatter as 1UB then?
Again, I wanted to make Fleshflayer feel a bit different from Batterskull. I wanted my opponent to actually fear Fleshflayer rather than just deal with it like Batterskull. Maybe take off the Lifelink? But I want to keep First Strike / Deathtouch to make it feared, so maybe make it +2/+2?
The story so far:
[THE HEART OF MIRRODIN]
After the death of Elspeth on Theros, Karn, Melira (now a planeswalker with Elspeth's spark), and Koth decide to take what reinforcements they can get and return to their home plane of Mirrodin in an attempt to remove the Phyrexians who overtook their world. Reuniting with the refugees still lingering in the Furnace, they rally all their forces and head to the surface to try to reclaim Mirrodin. Urabrask is intrigued by this action, and even more intrigued as to why the Mirrans didn't start by attacking the Furnace. Eager to see how they do, Urabrask keeps quiet and decrees once more to let the Mirrans be.
SET SIZE: 180 Cards
SET BREAKDOWN: 16 Mythic Rares (Done), 36 Rares, 50 Uncommons, 58 Commons, 20 Basic Lands (four interconnecting artworks of each land)
Series of the set is the Protectors. And I guess technically the Praetors, as well.
1. COLORLESS:
2. WHITE
3. BLUE
4. BLACK
5. RED
6. GREEN
7. Multicolored
8. Artifacts
9. LANDS
1 Sorin Markov
Creatures (24):
4 Vampire Nocturnus
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Guul Draz Assassin
4 Guul Draz Vampire
4 Pluse Tracker
4 Go For The Throat
2 Ultimate Price
2 Tragic Slip
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Sign In Blood
21 Swamp