Last week, I talked about almost every relevant artifact in Standard. After some more testing, I came up with a few unique archetypes that could become legitimate additions to the Standard metagame. One of the first decks I naturally looked into when I started my artificial deckbuilding spree was the Esperzoa-motivated aggro deck…
Creatures (21)
- 4 Etherium Sculptor
- 4 Master of Etherium
- 4 Tidehollow Sculler
- 4 Court Homunculus
- 3 Esperzoa
- 2 Ethersworn Adjudicator
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (22)
Spells (15)
Sideboard
The discard suite of Tidehollow Sculler, Thoughtseize, and Esper Charm is the disruption and removal for this deck, while Master of Etherium, Ethersworn Adjudicator, Court Homunculus, and Esperzoa handle the beatdown portion.
Path to Exile was one of my first inclusions in the deck, to lead to a sicker Springleaf Drum curve alongside Thoughtseize. Turn 2 Sculptor into Drum into Thoughtseize/Path/Homunculus is quite a potent play, but there weren’t many situations where I’d want to Path that early, and past turn 3 I’m usually sitting with a bunch of lands open.
This list could probably be developed a little more to increase the overall potency, for example by adding Scourglass to the starting sixty, but the threats in this deck were just too fragile for me to actually win. The only games I won were off of multiple Tidehollow Scullers and multiple Master of Etheriums..
Which led to this adjustment…
Creatures (23)
- 4 Etherium Sculptor
- 4 Master of Etherium
- 3 Glaze Fiend
- 4 Tidehollow Sculler
- 4 Court Homunculus
- 4 Esperzoa
Lands (22)
Spells (15)
Sideboard
This one has a much more dedicated aggressive route. Sculpting Steel gives me extra Scullers and Masters, and can be pretty tricky with Esperzoa. Glaze Fiend isn’t my idea of a reliable two-drop, but he gets in for pretty big chunks, but really only compliments the fast draws. Cutting him for some Adjudicator’s or Esper Charm might be the smarter choice down the line. Drawing two of them sure does hurt sometimes.
Still, this one is much more fun to play that the one before it, and it played better against Red decks and Faeries thanks to the consistency added by Sculpting Steel. You could make the point that Steel isn’t actually a spell, and requires something to make it tick, making it an extremely fragile play into untapped mana. But when you’re looking to do degenerate things, often it brings some of the game’s most obscure cards out of the woodwork.
The mana in this one is painful, which was my reason for excluding Esper Charm from the maindeck, but it’s not as much trouble as you might assume, since you either win quick or lose slow. My main issue with the deck lies in its consistency. With 22 lands and 4 Sculptor plus 4 Springleaf Drum, there are quite a few times when the deck clogs up with mana sources. There’s no clear fix for this at the moment… I even tried Etherium Astroglobe, but that card seemed more suited for a March of the Machines deck as the backbone of the card draw engine with Kaleidostones and Elsewhere Flasks.
The base for the March deck was sound…
4 March of the Machines
4 Etherium Astroglobe
4 Kaleidostone
4 Elsewhere Flask
The cycling nature of all these cards seems like it would give me a solid core for a card draw engine to keep the spells flowing fluidly to my hand, but it actually just sucks. In the end game, when you cast March, you’ll likely have a horde of fierce 2/2s. Minus the fierce part. The most frustrating part was wanting to play board sweepers to ensure the late game gets there, but post-March all of those removal spells like Wrath are useless. Another artifact strategy that could never get off the ground.
Discouraged, I turned to the control decks.
Creatures (7)
Planeswalkers (6)
Lands (24)
Spells (23)
This is a pretty hot one.
First and foremost is the Tezzeret engine:
1 Executioner’s Capsule
2 Pithing Needle
4 Mind Stone
2 Courier’s Capsule
1 Trip Noose
1 Scepter of Dominance
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Sculpting Steel
1 Cumber Stone
2 Sphinx Summoner
These are all the likely candidates that are up for grabs whenever Tezzeret makes his entrance. At the one-slot, Executioner’s Capsule and Pithing Needle are the cheap option-removal spells, handling everything from Figure of Destiny and Rhox War Monk to Scepter of Fugue, Mulldrifter, and Hellspark Elemental/Hell’s Thunder/Shambling Remains.
At two, Mind Stone looks to accelerate to Wrath of God and the other expensive four- and five-drops in here. But more importantly is that it turns into Courier’s Capsule with Rings of Brighthearth in the late stages. Courier’s Capsule turns into Opportunity, while Trip Noose makes a perfect search for two to handle any busty beaters that are strapped for titillating attacks.
Scepter of Dominance was there as a three-of for a long time before the Trip Noose addition, which split it 2-1, and at that point I just wanted to make room for another utility spell. It can be a pretty big role-player. When Rings is out, it’s a pretty common play to use Sculpting Steel to double up on activated abilities, which makes the deck go nutter butter crazy. Courier’s Capsule draws six for six, Mind Stone draws three for five, Scepter taps down half their mana, and all of a sudden Tezzeret is searching out three artifacts at a time.
To accomplish such a Ring-tastic feat, Cumber Stone, Wrath of God, and Feudkiller’s Verdict are in place to ensure the long game is attainable. Cumber Stone in particular is a backbreaker in the format right now, especially if you’re in the situation in which you can Sculpting Steel it.
There is a light Sphinx Summoner package, which was one of the highlights of the deck from initial play-testing, but over time their removal kept catching up on me. They would be holding their Path to Exiles and other nonsense for the entire game, waiting for me to play a big critter, and when I tapped six for my Sharuum or seven for my Magister, they kept turning into basic lands. This led to a Sphinx-less version below, but I believe both have their merit depending on metagame.
For instance, if there is a huge amount of Red in your area, this deck is a better fit; however, if those Boat Brew and other Reveillark Esper decks are popular, Path to Exile will be running rampant and will be a tough card to face every round.
Ethersworn Adjudicator is an obviously powerful card, but Magister Sphinx isn’t getting the kind of love I think he deserves. He’s an extremely impactful late-game finisher that will usually have some kind of effect on the game after resolving. Whether putting them on a very quick clock or putting me out of burn range, I’ve grown quite fond of the Magister after playing with him this past week. Plus, there are quite a few discard decks popping up, and if he gets discarded early, Sharuum becomes a one-turn clock since you’ll be able to get Magister back, put them on 10, and have 10 flying power to seal the deal next turn.
The rest of the deck is mostly card draw in the form of Esper Charm and Jace. It became very apparent early on that, given the singleton nature of this deck and how some of the singles can be dead in some matches, having a good amount of card draw would be essential to winning games. Charm used to be an awesome way to handle the Red decks, commonly saving seven by nabbing Incinerate and Flame Javelin. With all the quality unearth creatures running riot, it puts a slight damper on Esper Charm’s efficiency, if only for that matchup. Esper Charm is still clearly one of the best cards in Standard, since it provides a host of profitable uses.
I still needed some way to “protect” Tezzeret, so a couple of Vendilion Clique joined the renaissance. After all, he is the main kill condition in here. You’d be surprised how few answers there are to five or six 5/5s swinging at your dome out of nowhere. I’d often use the first Tezzy to get a Rings of Brighthearth, then follow it up with some card drawing to find another Tezzy. From there I’d play him and use the +1 to set up the kill on the following turn.
Still, as I mentioned earlier, having my creatures removed put a damper in Sharuum’s plans. It was also pretty demoralizing to have my five-, six-, and seven-mana creatures taken out for a measly one mana every time I cast them, so the next step was pretty simple.
Creatures (3)
Planeswalkers (6)
Lands (24)
Spells (27)
Now this is my kind of deck, and my likely choice for the upcoming Standard season.
Cutting the critters left some slots open with which to play around. I wanted to have a versatile kill condition rather than relying on Tezzeret’s -5 loyalty. A third Vendilion Clique, the underrated Marble Chalice, Martial Coup, and a fourth Esper Charm were the additions for the dissolved Sphinx toolbox.
Marble Chalice is surprisingly effective. With a Rings or two out, it’s not uncommon to gain four life a turn, especially when Tezzeret’s untapping is involved. This is really all you need to do to dethrone the viciously fast Red decks that are sure to run rampant.
Martial Coup is another spectacular addition, filling the role of late-game board sweeper and kill condition in one neat package. I had a lot of fun with the Coup after demolishing my prerelease with it, but I’m still not sure how to pronounce it. Is it a silent “p”…? Or am I right in putting the obnoxious sounding “puh” at the end… maybe its “coop” like poop? There have been heated discussions on both sides, so I’m just looking to set the record straight. [Pretty sure it’s pronounced “coo” — Craig.]
The sideboard has a mixture of options to outmaneuver the opponent. I was looking for a non-artifact alternate kill condition for awhile, but I’m not sure it needs it. If they board in Austere Command, Shatterstorm, or Fracturing Gust, I’m just screwed, and I don’t think another Martial Coup or Battlegrace Angel will do much to help.
As for the matchups, I’ve had positive testing results opposite Red, Kithkin, Boat Brew, and even Five-Color Control. Faeries is a tough one, but once Countersquall and Scepter of Fugue comes in to protect the important spells it’s pretty hard for them to win barring an early Bitterblossom. In those situations, I’d better have an Esper Charm handy.
The Red matchup is just a matter of gaining as much life as possible. Feudkiller’s Verdict and Marble Chalice plus Rings of Brighthearth will both usually end the game, despite how awkwardly clumsy they appear. Trip Noose and Scepter of Dominance are also great role-players, since several of their dudes die at the end of turn.
It might look like a pile, but give it a try. I’m pretty sure it’s the best possible deck you could ever hope to construct in this Standard format.
Heh.
But there were still other avenues to be explored. Painter’s Servant plus Chaotic Backlash much?
Creatures (5)
Planeswalkers (10)
Lands (24)
Spells (21)
Painter’s Servant’s artifact status meant that I wouldn’t have to try hard to sneak one in play. On top of that, given the slow game-plan, it seemed like the perfect fit to splash a combo kill, much like Magister Sphinx plus Sharuum.
This deck didn’t even get to the sideboard phase… it just stinks. It plays the exact same game-plan as the White version, except it utilizes Volcanic Fallout as the board sweeper of choice. The main difference here is the lack of life gain, which makes the aggro matchups much more difficult. However, it’s very hard to lose to Faeries with this deck. You just sit there, they just sit there, and eventually, after you’ve expended their counters and drawn half your deck, you’ll tap seven and kill them.
Chandra was the one redeeming aspect of the deck, and copying her ultimate with Rings inspired this more consistent Paint-free version.
Creatures (3)
Planeswalkers (11)
Lands (24)
Spells (21)
- 1 Sculpting Steel
- 4 Mind Stone
- 3 Pithing Needle
- 1 Moonglove Extract
- 1 Rings of Brighthearth
- 2 Trip Noose
- 3 Courier's Capsule
- 1 Executioner's Capsule
- 1 Cumber Stone
- 4 Volcanic Fallout
Sideboard
Ha! Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker found his first home!
Okay, maybe his second or third home. Those Planeswalker decks with their Fertile Ground and Garruks have surely been experimenting with the card thus far, and I’m sure some of you Cruel Control fanatics have added a singleton because it looks cute.
One big problem this deck has is Doran. It has absolutely no answer to Doran, aside from Chandra or a Vendilion trigger. I’m not sure how big the mighty Treefolk will be, but if they show up in Forests near me I’ll be sure to squeeze some Inside Out in the sideboard.
The deck pretty much speaks for itself, with a very slow and controlling game plan. Much like the Planeswalker deck, you lean on the card advantage monsters to buy enough time to get the artificial plots underway. Tezzeret is still the main kill condition, which is something people keep forgetting, but Chandra comes in a close second.
I wanted an extra Pithing Needle in this list as compared to the previous because there really isn’t much removal in here, and throwing some Needles at cards like Mulldrifter and Figure of Destiny are key plays to prolong the game.
The sideboard here is actually fairly well tested. I fell in love with Sedraxis Specter, which became the non-artifact sideboard threat to which White didn’t have access. It’s an awesome weapon against pretty much every deck except Burn, but it really only shines if they board out their Path to Exiles.
This is the second-best list of the article, but I’m much more likely to play the more controlling White version to have better catch-up cards, which are the ones that make up for the slow nature of all these Artifact decks. Feudkiller’s Verdict plus Wrath of God is much more appealing than Volcanic Fallout plus Chandra Nalaar. Fallout/Chandra has a decisive advantage opposite Faeries, while the Wrath/Verdict makes a much more potent play opposite Red decks of all variety.
A few things are for sure: the Artifact Control decks are legit, and the Artifact Aggro decks don’t have it… yet. The problem with Artifact Aggro lies in the surrounding format. There is a lot more creature removal running around with Conflux. The Unearth creatures will have a deep impact on how we analyze what removal we play, while Path to Exile will redefine what we want our creatures to do before they are removed forever.
Thanks for reading.
Kyle