The Whir build felt more disruptable. Unlike Whir in Lantern, where you're bringing in an answer every cast, in KCI, you're bringing in a combo piece. Ironically, Whir would be better if the piece went into your hand. Also, UUU is less useful for this deck than some Darksteels. Maybe build Tezzerator with them? (unless that's what you mean by Thopter-Sword)
2) Most shave a bauble for another removal. You need main-deck removal to deal with non-combat threats. There are too many things like opposing Pithing Needles, EE, Ratchetbomb, Aether Grid, etc. that you need to deal with to not have SOME removal. Lantern is a toolbox deck as much as it is a prison deck.
3) The deck HAS to have 3 mana on T2/T3 against aggressive decks. You also have plenty of card filtering once you're set up, so lands are seldom an issue.
I can see running the fetches, but why not run the snow-covered for emergency Gifts packages? Seems like a tiny thing, but it's 0 cost to run, and has a non-0 chance of mattering.
I don't know if it's a "good" matchup for us. It is a race to establish a HARD Lantern lock before they have 4 mana available. Once they get to Cryptic mana, it's nearly impossible to lock them down.
I run Aetherflux Reservoir on MTGO to speed it up. It does mean that I have to keep an open Inventors' Fair a lot of the time to tutor it up. The deck is definitely worse on MODO than on paper. You also can't look with an Opal on MODO like you can in paper.
I agree it needs testing. It seemed dismissed instantly, though (not necessarily by you). I'm running a 1/1 split with Retriever, and I've already seen 5-0 lists that ran a single Retriever, so tutoring Retriever with Inventors' Faire still works. The really interesting line (that I'm not sure is good) is Altar of the Brood. Testing it in Forge and MODO, it interacts really oddly. Specifically, if you have a Replicator out and cast something, you get a 2nd for 1, then if you cast a spell, you get 2 for 2. This makes mill happen REALLY fast.
My thoughts: it gets through Leyline, but not Stony. It makes the RiP matchup easier with Grid (cast 1 artifact, get a second, cast a second, get 2 more, so assuming the 5 mana to cast it, if you untap with it and grid, that 5 mana turns into 6 artifacts, which on the Grid plan is basically virtual card advantage).
It DOES require Trawler to get something back, but I have definitely run in to a LOT of situations where I have to go off earlier than I'd like and Trawler + Retriever is easier to fizzle.
It also lets you play around Relic easier. E.g. Relic (or Crypt, or Scooze, or whatever) on the field, you can cast a few artifacts to get several extra Replicators on the field, then when you go off, you can respond to their triggers with additional sacs. Sacs that can get anything back that you need.
There are also some strange lines you can do with it. For instance, I used Spellbomb to blow up a copy of it to get back the KCI that have been Claimed. Sure, Retriever can do that, but that uses up Retriever, and again, I have both.
5 seems expensive, but we're seldom having mana issues when going off. And the ability to cast a 1-drop and us that to get backa 2-drop with no cards lost sounds powerful. I will admit that it needs a LOT more testing. But I am hoping to convince others to test it too. I'm also one of the people pushing the Bird in Cheerios, but I can't get to GPs, PPTQs, SCGs, etc., so I need to get others to help test new tech.
Cons:
it's expensive
it doesn't do anything alone
Pros:
it goes infinite with 1 fewer card
it is a win-con in itself
it's virtual card advantage
it's less picky about the cards it needs to go infinite
To me, it's the fact that Replicator is both a Retriever and a Mox as far as the combo is concerned. It can infinitely recur a single egg without needing a Mox. Retriever needs a Mox to go infinite. So KCI, Trawler, Retriever, Egg, Mox vs. KCI, Trawler, Replicator, Egg. It is quite literally 2 cards in 1 when you go off, until you start needing to ping them, anyway. And with Grid or Aetherflux, you never need anything else. Hell, with Grid or Aetherflux, you don't even need an actual egg. Pyrite with no red mana, or a Mox with no Egg/Pyrite gets you there. Could also run Altar of the Brood to have a non-targeting kill.
I just had a match where they T0 Leyline, T2 Stony. I won. I got the Self replicator out, then spent 2 turns casting 1's and 0's and creating replicators, then used Grid and beats to win.
Scooze
Thalia
Flickerwisp in response to Displacer.
Blighted Agent pumped to 10 T2.
2 of those could have been game enders, the other 2 severe hurdles.
2) Most shave a bauble for another removal. You need main-deck removal to deal with non-combat threats. There are too many things like opposing Pithing Needles, EE, Ratchetbomb, Aether Grid, etc. that you need to deal with to not have SOME removal. Lantern is a toolbox deck as much as it is a prison deck.
3) The deck HAS to have 3 mana on T2/T3 against aggressive decks. You also have plenty of card filtering once you're set up, so lands are seldom an issue.
Likely... lol. It always amazes me. It's like Green decks that run all Elvish Mystics instead of splitting with Llanowar Elves
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1131596#paper
But, yes. You'd track it like storm count.
My thoughts: it gets through Leyline, but not Stony. It makes the RiP matchup easier with Grid (cast 1 artifact, get a second, cast a second, get 2 more, so assuming the 5 mana to cast it, if you untap with it and grid, that 5 mana turns into 6 artifacts, which on the Grid plan is basically virtual card advantage).
It DOES require Trawler to get something back, but I have definitely run in to a LOT of situations where I have to go off earlier than I'd like and Trawler + Retriever is easier to fizzle.
It also lets you play around Relic easier. E.g. Relic (or Crypt, or Scooze, or whatever) on the field, you can cast a few artifacts to get several extra Replicators on the field, then when you go off, you can respond to their triggers with additional sacs. Sacs that can get anything back that you need.
There are also some strange lines you can do with it. For instance, I used Spellbomb to blow up a copy of it to get back the KCI that have been Claimed. Sure, Retriever can do that, but that uses up Retriever, and again, I have both.
5 seems expensive, but we're seldom having mana issues when going off. And the ability to cast a 1-drop and us that to get backa 2-drop with no cards lost sounds powerful. I will admit that it needs a LOT more testing. But I am hoping to convince others to test it too. I'm also one of the people pushing the Bird in Cheerios, but I can't get to GPs, PPTQs, SCGs, etc., so I need to get others to help test new tech.
Cons:
it's expensive
it doesn't do anything alone
Pros:
it goes infinite with 1 fewer card
it is a win-con in itself
it's virtual card advantage
it's less picky about the cards it needs to go infinite
Also, it's in the winning list from SCG Columbia: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/scg-modern-iq-columbia-2018-05-13#paper