The most notable thing is probably that I have dropped Wurmcoil Engine, Sphinx Summoner, and Noxious Gearhulk from the list. The idea here is lowering the curve. The meta has been speeding up considerably. According to MtgGoldfish, of the 10 decks that hold a meta share of >3%, the only non-aggro decks are Jund, GW Tron, and Lantern Control. This list was an attempt to lower our higher-than-average curve and add a little more interaction with quick decks.
I opted for faster removal and shackles split between the MB and the SB in place of Gearhulk, because he only almost always comes down too late and if we are playing the hulk, then we are either already going to win or in a long grindy board stall and there are better things we could have doing with the rest of the game.
Scrapheap Scrounger has been performing surprisingly well. Yes, I am hoping for a good replacement, but the robot is aggressive and it also plays out nicely in several scenarios where I drop it turn 2 and then tap it with either Architect or Engineer for a powerful turn 3. That being said, there are several matchups where I side them out immediately.
I have been liking Academy Ruins less and less the more I play with this deck. It shines in grindy board stalls which we can find ourselves in vs BGx and control decks, but i feel like we would rather be going underneath them instead of playing their own game.
I miss chaining sphinxes and tutoring answers, but I think a lot of time they come down a turn too late in the current meta. If it ever swings more towards control, i think I would want them more. But for now I am trying out a list without them.
Wurmcoil Engine was the hardest cut to make. This is just a test to see how the deck performs on a significantly lower curve and with engineer I am finding more scenarios where I can play it turn 3, but more often than not it comes down turn 4-6 and does not help us in the early turns at all which are the most critical to our survival. If Aether Revolt gives us a really aggresive 1-3 drop artifact, then I could definitely see tabling Wurmocoil completely.
Yahenni's Expertise is awesome! A board wipe that lets us drop a Myr Superion is going to be really good. As you said, it works as a great catch-all versus aggro and helps us to play a controlling role in those matchups while also applying pressure. I wouldn’t go as far as to drop all instant speed removal (Dismember and co.) from the 75, because this does not answer infect very well and I don’t want to be caught without an instant speed kill spell for turn 3. This does little to nothing against most of the midrange/control decks in the format aside from the bonus of removing Lingering Souls tokens, but I am looking forward to having serious game against merfolk. Those matches were always painful.
Trophy Mage has some sweet implications for the SB that you have covered pretty well. I would just like to add the thought of tutoring that 1of Staff of Domination for when you have Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas and Grand Architect in play and you feel like you would enjoy infinite life, infinite mana, and want to draw your deck
Scrap Trawler is intriguing but I don’t think it’s what we want in the 3 cmc slot. They unfortunately shot down the combo potential by adding the “lesser converted mana cost” clause. But it could still be a power house in some sort of grindy sacrifice engine. This + Smuggler’s Copter may make me reconsider my old janky Disciple of Deceit toolbox brew that I have always been tempted to try out….
So overall, I am by far the most excited for Yahenni’s Expertise because it 100% has a place as at least a 2of in the 75 and will significantly improve several bad matchups. Trophy Mage will be very fun to play with and I will gladly pick up a playset of the promos to add to my collection of other fancy artifactwizards.
After a rough morning of running Architect online I have a few thoughts.
First of all, I have had several games where mana was an issue. Several times I was stuck with too many colorless sources (I only run 4 so maybe I'm unlucky), one case where an early Blood Moon blanked my fetches so I was stuck on only 1 island and could not cast the three Grand Architects in my hand, and a few cases where I awkwardly drew Sunken Hollow without the 2 basics on board and that cost me a turn. For now, I'm bringing Hollows down to 2 and am strongly considering adding another Island so I am running 23 lands. I don’t think I would want to increase my colorless land count. If anything I would drop Academy Ruins for another Ghost Quarter or Darksteel Citadel. My current mana base is:
MVPs of testing lately have been Glint-Nest Crane and Spellskite. Skite is relevant in every matchup and I can’t see any reason to not run 4 Skites in the MB, afterall I end up bringing my 4th in from the side every single time anyway. Glint-Nest Crane is an amazing blocker, evasive attacker, and keeps our hand fueled with beaters and helps us dig for SB cards. I am going to start playing 4 of these as well.
I understand choosing to play more Etherium Sculptors in place of Chief Engineers to try maxxing out our artifact count for crane but engineer is just too much better in my mind because it can cast Myr Superion so much more easily than sculptor. Artifact loading is not worth getting myrs stuck in your hand in my mind and honestly I have very rarely wiffed as is. I am going to stick with my 2/2 split.
Noxious Gearhulk is awesome, but only if you can play it and then only if it has good targets. This is a low enough number of matchups that I’m moving mine to the SB and conveniently also lowering my curve.
Filligree Familiar… Lots of mixed feelings here and I know that Ulka has been expressing some dislike for the cute little fox. There are some matchups where the fox is awesome and others that are a little lackluster. I am never disappointed with drawing it, but in most cases it could be something better. It is clearly the best vs great in being a value beater vs grixis control and has an important place vs Jund because their removal only ends up giving us a new card. But the problem is that in a lot of other scenarios I either want it to be a cheap artifact creature that has some sort of removal or bounce ETB effect or a Myr Superion analogue to push the speed of the deck. The possible replacements I can think of are:
The only one on this list I really see any chance of playing is Scrapheap Scrounger and even then the inability to block seems pretty bad. I think I’ll give a shot testing out 2 scroungers in the main and 2 Filligree Familiars in the side, but my guess is that familiar will hold onto that flex spot until we get a better option printed.
One of my favorite things about this deck lately is how often you can survive an Emrakul attack and then come back and win the game.
But for more constructive conversation. I have been a little hesitant ever since I started running Superions again but they have been performing so well and they give us an edge in so many matchups.
Also I am considering running a third Tezz. The card draw engine alone is already pretty good and he frequently is the main force keeping me ahead of my opponents, especially in grindy matches.
Master of Etherium is a good card but it is made for a deck that wants to play a lot of smaller artifacts, like Affinity. Your gameplan is to cheat out 1 or 2 big artifacts and win the game with those, so I think Etherium would often not be more than like a 3/3 or a 4/4 and wouldn't be pumping others much. I think it would serve better as a different card
No I don't think 3 Spellskite is too many. It does a lot in this deck. It stands in the way of fast decks, it protects your threats and Transmuter, it acts as mainboard hate against decks like Infect and Death's Shadow, and it is a cheap artifact that you can bounce with Transmuter.
I don't know if Padeem would be good or not, he seems too slow for Modern. But I do think that Lightning Greaves is better than Elixir, because Elixir does give Transmuter's ability haste, but it doesn't give haste to what ever fatty you are dropping out of your hand. Also the Shroud means your opponent only has 1 time they can respond with removal and that is a very small window.
I like your reasoning about including Tezz the Seeker. I think the tutoring ability is very strong here. But I do think you should also try out Tezz, Agent of Bolas. Yes, the filtering only digs down 5 cards but think of it more as drawing an extra card every turn and you get to choose that card. Also his Ultimate is really strong. It is easy to pull off and frequently wins games.
Sorry you barely missed top 8 there, but you still made a good showing with the deck and just had some bad luck in the last two rounds. I can't wait to get back to the Land o' Lakes and take my own trip to the Lodestone mecca.
First of all, I think you forgot to list one card in the SB. Engineered Explosives maybe?
My main question is how do you feel about doing a 4/1 split between metamorph and sphinx? I have been also allotting 5 slots to them, but with a 3/2 split for a more reliable tutoring and consistent sphinx chains.
Secondly, would you consider playing Expedition Map in the side to help find GQs and AR when you need them?
Also, I am 100% going to start testing out GLint-Nest Cranes in place of Visions. They really seem to do everything we want in digging and being blue.
I saw your list over in the Grand Architect thread and was going to comment but everything has gotten very bogged down over there in the last few days. So I am glad you posted over here and this thread should be more helpful for the playstyle you are shooting for anyway.
I have never actually played with Master Transmuter but it is a very cool card. One thing I have frequently seen suggested is Lightning Greaves so Transmuter and the bomb you drop can be activated/attack the turn they come into play and get protected on the side. Cards like Umbral Mantle and Voltaic Construct could be fun for multiple activations of Transmuter in a turn (who doesn't want to machine gun an opponent's board with Spine of Ish Sah or nuke their lands with Sundering Titan). I would also advise you to streamline your bombs. I am probably way too big of a fan of toolbox packages in decks, but it is also important to know what the best options are and have multiple copies of those.
So in a nut shell, to really build a Grand Architect deck we need more ways to bring the big guys into play, and ideally ways that aren't as vulnerable to creature removal. So that leaves basically two routes in my own mind...
1) Mono-blue devotion that tries to make use of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to produce obsurd amounts of mana as plan B.
2) Mono-blue energy theme that Grand Architect slots brilliantly into and make use of Aetherworks Marvel.
3) Do both!
Thrown together really fast so I didn't have time to organize this listing...
You missed Heartless Summoning on that list of options I am a firm believer in the power of the enchantment. It dodges all common removal aside from Abrupt Decay and Kolaghan's Command (yeah Jund is a rough matchup) and sure it does have a drawback, but it is fairly simple to build/play around and also provides some crazily explosive plays.
As far as your list goes, it is intriguing and worth investigating but I am hesitant. Energy does have potential to be broken but it isn't yet. As it currently stands, the mechanic forces you to play a lot of subpar cards for finicky pay off. Magic already has enough luck involved in it and I don't want to add more reliance on luck for cards like Aetherworks Marvel. I also disagree that the "all in for a bomb" is the way to go. In my opinion, one of the most powerful aspects of the Heartless and MUD Architect decks is the wide variety in possible lines of play. An aggro or midrange deck with many options is much more resilient in this unforgiving format and isn't forced to rely on 1 interaction (in this case dropping a leviathan) that doesn't immediately win the game.
I don't have any problems in a world where the Golems can be slammed one after the other unabated. By and large, multiples would be back breaking for a lot of your likely opponents. But Modern is no such place where I see this recurring line of plays, as people usually have an answer. Like I said before, if you mull to a low hand, and your enabler is shot down, how are you powering out numerous 4CMC cards? How do you fight through discard? You are spending 4 mana at a time compared to an opponent's Path to Exile at 1W and Ancient Grudge at 2R or 1G. It hardly seems like a favorable option when you look at the odds of being able to fight through all of the opposition's answers. Can you highlight a list that breaks him, instead of just featuring him in some Magical Christmas Land scenario?
My list is similar to Ulka's list he posted above and I can confirm that multiple Lodestone Golems (or Metamorphed Lodestones) happen in a high percentage of games. Plenty of times you will be playing multiple in a turn and if they eat removal, then they worked as a timewalk + duress puling out a removal spell from the opponent's hand and then we get to drop either something like a wurmcoil or chain sphinxes. I don't know if you have played many games with Lodestone, but if you haven't I would recommend you try him out and see that the performance we are describing is not Magical Christmas Land scenarios (MCL scenarios are much much better than just slamming 2 Lodestones).
Also, I realize that KCommand is a card and as you pointed out in your earlier post, it is highly effective against decks of this style. I don't have much more to say on that other than its something you have to accept and be cognizant of when playing decks, like Jund, that are likely to be running it. When fighting discard, Dodecapods in the SB are great vs Lili and KCommand effects but otherwise you have to play through it just like any other combo or synergy based deck. I guess you could play Witchbane Orbs but that just seems bad...
VoodooKick, I honestly think that Lodestone Golem is a very important piece of this deck and could address the wrath issue that you brought up for your list. Keep in mind I don't play the aggro control lists that you are working off of, but rather the midrange Heartless Build so not all of my insight may translate.
In my experience Lodestone Golem has been a key piece of this deck. Yes it is a nonbo with several cards, but it slows down your opponent much more than it slows down you. And in the case where I get something like a Tezz stuck in my hand, I am happy to hold off playing it for a few turns while I have the stronger and more aggressive board state (depending on the matchup) and then dropping it as soon as I can pay the tax or Lodestone gets removed. Also notably, Lodestone is generally the card that wins me most of my games. Lodestone is also 1 of the ways I rely on for "interaction" with the opponent. You mentioned taxing the opponent by turn 3 to 4 which is exactly the point. Lodestone Golem taxes the combo players to push their win conditions back at least 1 turn while also applying pressure and threating to end the game quickly. Similarly, it is effective vs wrath effects because it does come down by turn 4 and pushes wraths back at least 1 turn while you continue to beat down.
I hope that gets across my thoughts on the Golem and I would be happy to pursue this further or any of your other questions (I think they are valid questions to ask) but I don't believe my lists to be similar enough to be very helpful on this thread.
I put together a draft from what has worked for me and some ideas on this thread. I tried using the Trinket Mage package, but it didn’t seem like the deck had space for it.
King crab is one my friend has used regularly to shut people down.
This friend would be me. I have had Blind Seer together as my casual deck for a couple years now and I can guarantee it’s fun to cast cards like King Crab that most people have never seen before and then completely wreck them with it. I have never been a big EDH player, so I have never attempted to make this list competitive, but it sounds like a fun project so I think we should give it a shot.
As has been pointed out, Blind Seer is pretty janky and can be incredibly mana intensive. But it has synergies with a lot of cards that you would probably never see played aside from fringe sideboard use. It has been a lot of fun for me to pilot and you will almost always at least get style points even if the game doesn’t go according to plan.
I don’t have a complete list together at the moment because I did recently gut some of it for another deck, but I’ve compiled a list of stuff that has worked for me:
Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast are the most obvious includes in Seer but their little brother, Flash Flood, is frequently forgotten. Hibernation, Wash Out, and Inundate are all good sweepers. Llawan, Cephalid Empress also can sweep the field and prevent many creatures from coming back down if you color hack her ability. Ether Well and the aforementioned King Crab make for some good bounce. Wrath of Marit Lage can be tailored to shut down any opponent(s) of your choice and on a smaller scale; Tidebinder Mage shuts down a single creature. Well-Laid Plans is fun because you can play God and control the outcomes of everyone’s combat steps. Douse forces everyone to ask permission for each spell they want to cast. *Warning: this one may cause you to lose friends* Flashfreeze and Jaded Response are both unconditional counterspells that cost between 2-4 mana depending on the situation. Cowardice, Dismiss into Dream, and Willbreaker are not “color matters” cards, but are extremely powerful alongside Blind Seer and frequently serve as win conditions.
Urza may be a masterful artist, but I don’t like relying on only the old Seer. Plus he doesn’t have any hacking skills.
I chose to focus on creatures with color protection to keep myself alive (one of the hardest tasks with this deck unless your opponents overlook you as a threat). Most of these creatures have very inefficient CMCs, but they do make it not worth it to attack into and are invulnerable to most removal.
2 Chief Engineer
2 Etherium Sculptor
3 Heartless Summoning
4 Grand Architect
Creatures (21)
4 Myr Superion
4 Spellskite
2 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Glint-Nest Crane
3 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Lodestone Golem
2 Serum Visions
1 Slaughter Pact
1 Dismember
2 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Land (22)
1 Academy Ruins
1 Darksteel Citadel
2 Ghost Quarter
4 Polluted delta
4 Watery Grave
2 Sunken Hollow
7 Island
1 Dismember
2 Trinket Mage
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Chalice of the Void
2 Pithing Needle
2 Filigree Familiar
2 Vedalken Shackles
2 Dodecapod
The most notable thing is probably that I have dropped Wurmcoil Engine, Sphinx Summoner, and Noxious Gearhulk from the list. The idea here is lowering the curve. The meta has been speeding up considerably. According to MtgGoldfish, of the 10 decks that hold a meta share of >3%, the only non-aggro decks are Jund, GW Tron, and Lantern Control. This list was an attempt to lower our higher-than-average curve and add a little more interaction with quick decks.
I opted for faster removal and shackles split between the MB and the SB in place of Gearhulk, because he only almost always comes down too late and if we are playing the hulk, then we are either already going to win or in a long grindy board stall and there are better things we could have doing with the rest of the game.
Scrapheap Scrounger has been performing surprisingly well. Yes, I am hoping for a good replacement, but the robot is aggressive and it also plays out nicely in several scenarios where I drop it turn 2 and then tap it with either Architect or Engineer for a powerful turn 3. That being said, there are several matchups where I side them out immediately.
I have been liking Academy Ruins less and less the more I play with this deck. It shines in grindy board stalls which we can find ourselves in vs BGx and control decks, but i feel like we would rather be going underneath them instead of playing their own game.
I miss chaining sphinxes and tutoring answers, but I think a lot of time they come down a turn too late in the current meta. If it ever swings more towards control, i think I would want them more. But for now I am trying out a list without them.
Wurmcoil Engine was the hardest cut to make. This is just a test to see how the deck performs on a significantly lower curve and with engineer I am finding more scenarios where I can play it turn 3, but more often than not it comes down turn 4-6 and does not help us in the early turns at all which are the most critical to our survival. If Aether Revolt gives us a really aggresive 1-3 drop artifact, then I could definitely see tabling Wurmocoil completely.
Trophy Mage has some sweet implications for the SB that you have covered pretty well. I would just like to add the thought of tutoring that 1of Staff of Domination for when you have Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas and Grand Architect in play and you feel like you would enjoy infinite life, infinite mana, and want to draw your deck
Scrap Trawler is intriguing but I don’t think it’s what we want in the 3 cmc slot. They unfortunately shot down the combo potential by adding the “lesser converted mana cost” clause. But it could still be a power house in some sort of grindy sacrifice engine. This + Smuggler’s Copter may make me reconsider my old janky Disciple of Deceit toolbox brew that I have always been tempted to try out….
So overall, I am by far the most excited for Yahenni’s Expertise because it 100% has a place as at least a 2of in the 75 and will significantly improve several bad matchups. Trophy Mage will be very fun to play with and I will gladly pick up a playset of the promos to add to my collection of other fancy artifact wizards.
PS: I use a different username on this forum
First of all, I have had several games where mana was an issue. Several times I was stuck with too many colorless sources (I only run 4 so maybe I'm unlucky), one case where an early Blood Moon blanked my fetches so I was stuck on only 1 island and could not cast the three Grand Architects in my hand, and a few cases where I awkwardly drew Sunken Hollow without the 2 basics on board and that cost me a turn. For now, I'm bringing Hollows down to 2 and am strongly considering adding another Island so I am running 23 lands. I don’t think I would want to increase my colorless land count. If anything I would drop Academy Ruins for another Ghost Quarter or Darksteel Citadel. My current mana base is:
1 Darksteel Citadel
2 Ghost Quarter
7 Island
1 Swamp
4 Polluted Delta
4 Watery Grave
2 Sunken Hollow
MVPs of testing lately have been Glint-Nest Crane and Spellskite. Skite is relevant in every matchup and I can’t see any reason to not run 4 Skites in the MB, afterall I end up bringing my 4th in from the side every single time anyway. Glint-Nest Crane is an amazing blocker, evasive attacker, and keeps our hand fueled with beaters and helps us dig for SB cards. I am going to start playing 4 of these as well.
I understand choosing to play more Etherium Sculptors in place of Chief Engineers to try maxxing out our artifact count for crane but engineer is just too much better in my mind because it can cast Myr Superion so much more easily than sculptor. Artifact loading is not worth getting myrs stuck in your hand in my mind and honestly I have very rarely wiffed as is. I am going to stick with my 2/2 split.
Noxious Gearhulk is awesome, but only if you can play it and then only if it has good targets. This is a low enough number of matchups that I’m moving mine to the SB and conveniently also lowering my curve.
Filligree Familiar… Lots of mixed feelings here and I know that Ulka has been expressing some dislike for the cute little fox. There are some matchups where the fox is awesome and others that are a little lackluster. I am never disappointed with drawing it, but in most cases it could be something better. It is clearly the best vs great in being a value beater vs grixis control and has an important place vs Jund because their removal only ends up giving us a new card. But the problem is that in a lot of other scenarios I either want it to be a cheap artifact creature that has some sort of removal or bounce ETB effect or a Myr Superion analogue to push the speed of the deck. The possible replacements I can think of are:
The only one on this list I really see any chance of playing is Scrapheap Scrounger and even then the inability to block seems pretty bad. I think I’ll give a shot testing out 2 scroungers in the main and 2 Filligree Familiars in the side, but my guess is that familiar will hold onto that flex spot until we get a better option printed.
But for more constructive conversation. I have been a little hesitant ever since I started running Superions again but they have been performing so well and they give us an edge in so many matchups.
Also I am considering running a third Tezz. The card draw engine alone is already pretty good and he frequently is the main force keeping me ahead of my opponents, especially in grindy matches.
I don't know if Padeem would be good or not, he seems too slow for Modern. But I do think that Lightning Greaves is better than Elixir, because Elixir does give Transmuter's ability haste, but it doesn't give haste to what ever fatty you are dropping out of your hand. Also the Shroud means your opponent only has 1 time they can respond with removal and that is a very small window.
I like your reasoning about including Tezz the Seeker. I think the tutoring ability is very strong here. But I do think you should also try out Tezz, Agent of Bolas. Yes, the filtering only digs down 5 cards but think of it more as drawing an extra card every turn and you get to choose that card. Also his Ultimate is really strong. It is easy to pull off and frequently wins games.
Can you post an updated list?
First of all, I think you forgot to list one card in the SB. Engineered Explosives maybe?
My main question is how do you feel about doing a 4/1 split between metamorph and sphinx? I have been also allotting 5 slots to them, but with a 3/2 split for a more reliable tutoring and consistent sphinx chains.
Secondly, would you consider playing Expedition Map in the side to help find GQs and AR when you need them?
Also, I am 100% going to start testing out GLint-Nest Cranes in place of Visions. They really seem to do everything we want in digging and being blue.
I saw your list over in the Grand Architect thread and was going to comment but everything has gotten very bogged down over there in the last few days. So I am glad you posted over here and this thread should be more helpful for the playstyle you are shooting for anyway.
I have never actually played with Master Transmuter but it is a very cool card. One thing I have frequently seen suggested is Lightning Greaves so Transmuter and the bomb you drop can be activated/attack the turn they come into play and get protected on the side. Cards like Umbral Mantle and Voltaic Construct could be fun for multiple activations of Transmuter in a turn (who doesn't want to machine gun an opponent's board with Spine of Ish Sah or nuke their lands with Sundering Titan). I would also advise you to streamline your bombs. I am probably way too big of a fan of toolbox packages in decks, but it is also important to know what the best options are and have multiple copies of those.
Lastly, I don't know if you are trying to stay on a budget. But if you are willing to spend more money on this, I think several Spellskite, Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas + Darksteel Citadel, and more Blightsteel Colossus are a must add.
Edit: I am currently testing out Glint-Nest Crane in my Heartless Architect list and I think it could work very well for this archetype as well.
You missed Heartless Summoning on that list of options I am a firm believer in the power of the enchantment. It dodges all common removal aside from Abrupt Decay and Kolaghan's Command (yeah Jund is a rough matchup) and sure it does have a drawback, but it is fairly simple to build/play around and also provides some crazily explosive plays.
As far as your list goes, it is intriguing and worth investigating but I am hesitant. Energy does have potential to be broken but it isn't yet. As it currently stands, the mechanic forces you to play a lot of subpar cards for finicky pay off. Magic already has enough luck involved in it and I don't want to add more reliance on luck for cards like Aetherworks Marvel. I also disagree that the "all in for a bomb" is the way to go. In my opinion, one of the most powerful aspects of the Heartless and MUD Architect decks is the wide variety in possible lines of play. An aggro or midrange deck with many options is much more resilient in this unforgiving format and isn't forced to rely on 1 interaction (in this case dropping a leviathan) that doesn't immediately win the game.
My list is similar to Ulka's list he posted above and I can confirm that multiple Lodestone Golems (or Metamorphed Lodestones) happen in a high percentage of games. Plenty of times you will be playing multiple in a turn and if they eat removal, then they worked as a timewalk + duress puling out a removal spell from the opponent's hand and then we get to drop either something like a wurmcoil or chain sphinxes. I don't know if you have played many games with Lodestone, but if you haven't I would recommend you try him out and see that the performance we are describing is not Magical Christmas Land scenarios (MCL scenarios are much much better than just slamming 2 Lodestones).
Also, I realize that KCommand is a card and as you pointed out in your earlier post, it is highly effective against decks of this style. I don't have much more to say on that other than its something you have to accept and be cognizant of when playing decks, like Jund, that are likely to be running it. When fighting discard, Dodecapods in the SB are great vs Lili and KCommand effects but otherwise you have to play through it just like any other combo or synergy based deck. I guess you could play Witchbane Orbs but that just seems bad...
In my experience Lodestone Golem has been a key piece of this deck. Yes it is a nonbo with several cards, but it slows down your opponent much more than it slows down you. And in the case where I get something like a Tezz stuck in my hand, I am happy to hold off playing it for a few turns while I have the stronger and more aggressive board state (depending on the matchup) and then dropping it as soon as I can pay the tax or Lodestone gets removed. Also notably, Lodestone is generally the card that wins me most of my games. Lodestone is also 1 of the ways I rely on for "interaction" with the opponent. You mentioned taxing the opponent by turn 3 to 4 which is exactly the point. Lodestone Golem taxes the combo players to push their win conditions back at least 1 turn while also applying pressure and threating to end the game quickly. Similarly, it is effective vs wrath effects because it does come down by turn 4 and pushes wraths back at least 1 turn while you continue to beat down.
I hope that gets across my thoughts on the Golem and I would be happy to pursue this further or any of your other questions (I think they are valid questions to ask) but I don't believe my lists to be similar enough to be very helpful on this thread.
2 Tidebinder Mage
2 Sea Sprite
2 Coast Watcher
3 Weatherseed Faeries
4 Aven Smokeweaver
4 Llawan, Cephalid Empress
4 Master of Waves
4 Narwhal
4 Oraxid
4 Treetop Sentinel
5 Hunting Drake
6 King Crab
1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Hydroblast
1 Flash Flood
2 Flash Freeze
2 Jaded Response
3 Hibernation
4 Ether Well
4 Wash Out
6 Inundate
3 Well-Laid Plans
3 Douse
3 Sword of Feast and Famine
3 Sword of Light and Shadow
5 Wrath of Marit Lage
7 Akroma’s Memorial
8 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
2 Tidal Visionary
1 Whim of Volrath
2 Alter Reality
2 Glamerdye
2 Spectral Shift
2 Sway of Illusion
2 Distorting Lens
3 Shifting Sky
4 Swirl the Mists
Targeting Board Control
3 Vedalken Shackles
5 Willbreaker
5 Cowardice
7 Dismiss into Dream
Instants Package
2 Isochron Scepter
4 Elite Arcanist
2 Snapcaster Mage
5 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
6 Torrential Gearhulk
1 Dizzy Spell
1 Pongify
2 Reality Shift
2 Counterspell
2 Delay
2 Muddle the Mixture
2 Cyclonic Rift
8 Dig Through Time
0 Chrome Mox
1 Sol Ring
1 Expedition Map
1 Wayfarer’s Bauble
5 Gauntlet of Power
6 Caged Sun
1 Training Grounds
Lands
0 Academy Ruins
0 Ancient Tomb
0 Arcane Lighthouse
0 Faerie Conclave
0 Ghost Quarter
0 Strip Mine
0 Myriad Landscape
0 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
0 Tolaria West
29 Island
This friend would be me. I have had Blind Seer together as my casual deck for a couple years now and I can guarantee it’s fun to cast cards like King Crab that most people have never seen before and then completely wreck them with it. I have never been a big EDH player, so I have never attempted to make this list competitive, but it sounds like a fun project so I think we should give it a shot.
As has been pointed out, Blind Seer is pretty janky and can be incredibly mana intensive. But it has synergies with a lot of cards that you would probably never see played aside from fringe sideboard use. It has been a lot of fun for me to pilot and you will almost always at least get style points even if the game doesn’t go according to plan.
I don’t have a complete list together at the moment because I did recently gut some of it for another deck, but I’ve compiled a list of stuff that has worked for me:
Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast are the most obvious includes in Seer but their little brother, Flash Flood, is frequently forgotten.
Hibernation, Wash Out, and Inundate are all good sweepers. Llawan, Cephalid Empress also can sweep the field and prevent many creatures from coming back down if you color hack her ability.
Ether Well and the aforementioned King Crab make for some good bounce.
Wrath of Marit Lage can be tailored to shut down any opponent(s) of your choice and on a smaller scale; Tidebinder Mage shuts down a single creature.
Well-Laid Plans is fun because you can play God and control the outcomes of everyone’s combat steps.
Douse forces everyone to ask permission for each spell they want to cast. *Warning: this one may cause you to lose friends*
Flashfreeze and Jaded Response are both unconditional counterspells that cost between 2-4 mana depending on the situation.
Cowardice, Dismiss into Dream, and Willbreaker are not “color matters” cards, but are extremely powerful alongside Blind Seer and frequently serve as win conditions.
Urza may be a masterful artist, but I don’t like relying on only the old Seer. Plus he doesn’t have any hacking skills.
Shifting Sky
Prismatic Lace
Vodalian Mystic
Tidal Visionary
Distorting Lens
Tidal Visionary
Sway of Illusion
Prismwake Merrow
Sleight of Mind
Spectral Shift
Whim of Volrath
Alter Reality
Glamerdye
Swirl the Mists
Master of Waves
Jodah’s Avenger
Narwhal
Sea Sprite
Oraxid
Weatherseed Faeries
Aven Smokeweaver
Treetop Sentinel
Coast Watcher
Cerulean Wyvern
Akroma’s Memorial -> Not a creature but I think it speaks for itself.
You also seem to have a pretty good red devotion shell going on here so Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx could help ramp into early Wildfires.
You may also want to check out the Death Cloud lists. They have a fairly similar game plan.