Hi Restless! I've been a fan of yours for a while now, and I have a couple questions about this here Karn deck, as I'm building my own:
Would it be feasible to get a list of the combos and how they work?
Would you mind giving a brief rundown on how the deck plays in multiplayer (if possible)?
Thanks for your help, I greatly appreciate it!
PS: I almost forgot! How do you deal with Aura of Silence? It has repeatedly screwed me before...
Yeah, but I don't play Phelddagrif. I play Taniwha. 'cuz Taniwha is just funnier. Still need any available criticism on the Doomsday Device deck (posted above). Anything's appreciated.
From left to right:
Ashnod's Altar -> Myr Retriever -> Clock of Omens -> Genesis Chamber -> Doom Cannon
And on the bottom just have "DOOM CANNON!" with "(7-Card-Combo)" under it and about half the size.Other than that, feel free to take some liberty with it.
If you guys have any questions, feel free to message me. I'll get it fairly quickly.
EDIT: Actually, how about the flavor text from the M10 Fabricate? I think that fits what I'm going for much better.
I think I'm gonna stay away from standard for a while as a result, and will probably do a little drafting here and there.
In other news, I found a 6-card combo that wins with DOOM CANNON! I know it's not an efficient combo, and is easily outclassed, but I'm building a deck around it to play with a new meta that isn't particularly 'good'. This deck'll likely be one of the better ones at the table. I'll post a decklist:
1 Ashnod's Altar (Possibly using Krark-Clan Ironworks instead)
2 Myr Retriever
1 Genesis Chamber
1 DOOM CANNON
1 Clock of Omens
Tutoring/Draw - 29
1 Staff of Domination
4 Reshape (I hope to replace with Tinker in the future)
4 Fabricate
4 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Brainstorm
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
4 Mishra's Bauble
4 Urza's Bauble
4 Expedition Map
4 Dreamstone Hedron
Land - 21
4 Urza's Power Plant
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Tower
1 Academy Ruins
8 Islands (I hope to replace with Seat of the Synod and Darksteel Citadel)
I haven't gotten to test this deck yet, and likely won't be able to until much later, but it looks pretty fun to play, as I get to shout "DOOM CANNON" somewhat often. The combo is also pretty sneaky, as each piece is extremely non-threatening. I figure this deck'll win mostly by surprise, then by forcing through the combo later in the game if need be. I don't predict that there will be much in the way of artifact hate in my meta, so that's not a big concern (if there is I can deal with it), graveyard hate is actually more worrisome, as at least one of the decks I know of runs Jund Charm as at least a one-of.
Thoughts?
I've noticed the same, but I guess I'm just lucky because I've never been stuck on CIPT lands a full game. If I can hit a land drop with relative consistency, it doesn't really matter what they are, in my experience. I'm predicting I will have a control and Morph heavy meta, so my first few land drops aren't what matters. It's having the right colors in the late game.
The only real reasons I'm not running Marsh Flats over Terramorphic is because they can't get blue (I know, I know). It doesn't seem like it would matter much, but in the testing I've done with Marsh Flats, I've gotten Blue screwed something awful, but that may just be the luck of the draw. The fact that the lands come into play untapped doesn't really do anything for me in the meta I'm looking at. It's the fact that I can get U screwed that worries me.
I appreciate your concern, but I just think that in a meta like mine, I just need that 1-2 mana open on those crucial turns against morph, and as far as I can tell, Turns 3 and onward is where a tempo hit could hurt, so I'm not terribly worried. I'll continue testing, though, and let you guys know what I find.
6 Plains
5 Island
3 Swamp
3 terramorphic expanse
4 evolving wilds
1 creeping tar pit
Creatures 18
4 Glassdust Hulk
4 Architects of Will
3 Pilgrim's Eye
3 Sphinx of Lost Truths
2 Filigree Angel
2 Sharuum the Hegemon
2 Esper Charm
1 Courier's Capsule
2 Executioner's Capsule
4 Path to Exile
3 Into the Roil
2 Journey to Nowhere
3 Day of Judgment
3 Open the Vaults
3 Negate
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Celestial Purge
2 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Pithing Needle
1 Sanguine Bond
I don't expect much Jund in the future, frankly. It'll probably stick around, but it won't be as dominant. You are probably wrong about the draw actually, if you count ItR, I have just about as much draw as before. I agree about the ETBT lands, though, and will likely cut them down to about 6. I've just been having issues with color screw, so I may have overreacted. thanks for the advice.
Pithing Needle definitely seems pretty effective against most of our matchups that look problematic, with the exclusion of Polymorph (as I gather, it appears to be rising in popularity, so it's likely an important matchup for us.). Not sure I like Duress as the hate here, as Sculler not only fits the slot almost as well, it has the whole dying problem, but it's an artifact that can bounce back off OTV and give us that extra bear for a lethal alpha strike. I dunno, I'm just kinda thinking out loud here. ItR seems extremely good for this deck, but again, I'm just musing. Also, what's the third card you're boarding out against Boss Naya?
MD Needles are indeed tempting. But it is a meta call. If Poly (maybe Tap-Out) ends up being the new deck-to-beat, it'll certainly be less effective. Again, I'm bringing up Sculler once more, he's definitely got the Duress feel, but he's not almost dead late game.
Instant-speed removal seems like the best answer to Poly (kill the Poly target in response, thus countering the Poly), and Path to Exile is about as solid as solid gets. I support it, and it hasn't failed me yet. You'd be surprised how effective even leaving that Plains untapped turn 3-4 against Poly is, once they know you have it. Executioner's Cap seems another good choice here, as it does stop Poly and discourage BOTH usual Poly results (Iona and Emmy). ItR needs mentioning in this matchup as well, obviously, it counters Poly and can draw that counter outta their hand for a "protected" Path.
On the topic of draw, I think Esper Charm may be the way to go here, as the utility and potential of the card seem to outclass the difficulty in casting it.
WoO seems weak in a Standard format that's slowing down and becoming less dominated by Aggro.
Pilgrim's Eye almost seems a little subpar here. Chump-Blocking at this point doesn't seem likely, and getting rid of it would easily open 3-4 slots for removal/tech.
Here's the list I'm still working on (with possible updates):
4 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Evolving Wilds
1 Creeping Tar Pit
13 Basics (Still sorting out the mana-base)
//Instant Speed Removal - 9
4 Path to Exile
3 Into the Roil
2 Executioner's Capsule
//Sorcery Speed Removal - 2
2 Day of Judgment (Hits Jwar-Jwar & Emmy)
4 Esper Charm
3 Sphinx of Lost Truths
4 Glassdust Hulk
4 Architects of Will
//OTV - 5
2 Filigree Angel
3 Open the Vaults
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Pithing Needle
1 Sanguine Bond
4 Flashfreeze
4 Celestial Purge
2 Day of Judgment
1 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Pithing Needle
3 Negate
What I'm thinking is this: WU Tap-Out, Gladiators and Polymorph are probably on the rise, so building to beat them seems important. I'm running 3 Needles mainboard here because they simply obliterate Gladiators and WU Control's Manlands and 'Walkers. Sculler is pretty sweet against all of the above as well, with the additional bonus of being highly effective against Poly. Flashfreeze is in against Jund, RDW, Boss Naya, and perhaps Mythic. Purge is in against Vamps (shows up every now and then at my LGS), Jund, and RDW. Day is in against Vamps, Mythic, Boss Naya, and is utility against Jwar-Jwar and Emmy if I need it. 4th Sculler is in the board in case I need it against WU Control, Poly, or Gladiators, even. 4th Needle is for the Gladiators matchup, and possibly WU Control. Negate is in against Poly and WU Control.
Any suggestions and constructive criticism are welcome, but please keep it civil.
I don't. But that's because I prefer Swerve!
With you on "[The Izzet] Pay Two Mana for Emrakul".
Though I get the feeling "[The Izzet] Pay 2 For Emrakul" would look better.
I'm (hopefully) going to start playing standard a bit more soon, running OTV, and so far I've got the decklist down pat. Thinking about losing my Glacial Fortresses (proxied) for Plains, and bindering my Drowned Catacombs for an Island and a Swamp. So far the deck has worked wonders, and the only matchup I'm worried about is the Planeswalker deck, but I'm hoping I can get some chances to test against it and learn what I need to to better prepare for it.
I finally got a close friend of mine into EDH, so that'll make my weekends even more interesting. He's decided to play Treva, and he still needs to take some time to learn how to pilot it better. Though we're still building it.
I'll post more when I know more.
So far, I've tested against Venser, Sen Triplets, and Ashling the Pilgrim. I lost all three times :sweat:. Though I've since updated the deck and changed some stuff out. Venser beat me like Clique does without Tunnel Vision, Sen Triplets won by spamming wizards and countering every thing I tried to do, and Ashling beat me cuz I missed so many land drops I ended up dying to an Orcish Settlers pumped by Sword of Fire and Ice and Gauntets of Might and Power. So I cut some lands, and added a miniscule amount of draw (Arcanis, Opportunity, and Tidings). And now it appears to perform much more smoothly.
In other news: My best friend's birthday is tomorrow, so I bought him a new Jareth (I lost the old one like the dumbass I am sometimes), and I realized something: Jareth looks absolutely nutty in EDH. Am I mistaken?
On a (slightly) related note:
I got back into EDH recently, and have decided to build one of the least threatening Generals I've ever seen: Taniwha.
Instead of going a more obvious route, I'm going with the blatantly ridiculous: I'm going to beat you to death with a creature that has Phasing. As such, the deck is mostly comprised of equipment that aid in my quest of pwning face with one of the least efficient serpents ever. The best thing is, as it stands, the deck is going to cost me $19.75. Yeah, it's sick. Though I already own a lot of stuff which I'm not counting toward, like Loxodon Warhammer.
Maybe, but as a four-of, it shows up too often and doesn't do enough. As a two-of, I always see at least one (so far), and it gets discarded to SoLT as intended. Four just seems excessive when I'd rather see removal or a cycler/Pilgrim's Eye.
@Standard: that brilliant ultimatum deck seems ridiculous...
My OTV deck has been performing marginally well. I got to test against Vamps on Friday. We played like 6-8 casual games w/ sideboard for me. My op (who I have nicknamed 'That Guy') beat me every time but once, where I dug myself to like 6 cards left in deck. I killed four Nocturni with Celestial Purges and Days, and won following an Open the Vaults for most of my graveyard and gaining like 30 or so life off Filigree Angel. I won the game and learned a valuable piloting lesson: Against Vamps, my best chance lies in answering every 3+ power guy he has and wiping the field whenever he has 2+ creatures. If he drops Nighthawk, I absolutely MUST kill it. And Journey to Nowhere is my absolute best friend ever.
My sideboard swaps:
• -2 Executioner's Capsule
•-1 Architects of Will
•-1 OTV
•+4 Celestial Purge
I realized some problems I had been having with the deck, and have modified it accordingly:
4 Plains
4 Island
3 Swamp
4 Evolving Wilds
2 Glacial Fortress (I still need these, if you are willing to trade, PM me)
2 Drowned Catacomb
Creatures - 21
3 Wall of Omens
3 Sphinx of Lost Truths
4 Glassdust Hulk
2 Filigree Angel
4 Architects of Will
2 Sharuum the Hegemon
3 Pilgrim's Eye
3 Journey to Nowhere
3 Courier's Capsule
2 Executioner's Capsule
3 Everflowing Chalice
Instants & Sorceries - 10
4 Path to Exile
3 Day of Judgment
3 Open the Vaults
4 Celestial Purge
4 Flashfreeze
4 Negate
3 Consume the Meek
I'm still tweaking card quantities, but there are a few things I won't budge on: Wall of Omens won't go below 3. Pilgrim's Eye won't go below 3. Journey won't go below 3. Path stays at 4. Chalice won't go below 3. SoLT stays at 3.
Maybe, I'm too lazy to look for the thread though, and I've already bought the OtV deck. Besides, it's been performing fine enough for me, it's got the surprise factor going for it, and it's pretty fun to play. So I guess I may stick with this one for now. Besides, running like 19 land is hilarious.