Last week’s Karador play-by-play generated a fair amount of interest in one of the decks featured in the article: Anthony’s Mishra, Artificer Prodigy deck. I posted a link to the list already, but thought that I’d bring it to you here in its full glory.

Over the last three years or so, Anthony has become the most regular Armada Games regular you’ve seen on these pages. He’s arranged his work schedule so that he can get to the shop most weeks and do battles with our extended group. We have similar views on the format, which he exemplifies in grasping the “build casually/play competitively” mantra. One of Anthony’s best moments (game-wise, at least) was killing me out of nowhere with Riku of Two Reflections. It was an innocuous attack: just Riku and Acidic Slime. I could block and kill only one. Knowing that he didn’t carry too much recursion in his deck, it seemed like getting rid of Acidic Slime now (before someone else could copy and do crazy stuff with it, or Anthony could drop Roaring Primadox or Stampeding Wildebeests or some such) was the right play. He was a little flooded with mana, which meant easily recasting Riku. Yep, killing Acidic Slime was the choice. Boy, was I wrong about that. He asked me twice how many non-basic lands I had in play. “Ten” was the answer. He cast Mercadia’s Downfall and copied it with Riku. Morte. Deader than krumping and US hopes at ever winning a World Cup. We still talk about it today (and he’s killed more than one person with the card since). Anthony has become more than just someone I play cards with on Thursdays, but a friend — which is why it pleases me to feature his deck. Here is the list:

Anthony's Mishra, Artificier Prodigy

Sheldon Menery

Test deck on 11-30--0001

Commander

Creatures (31)

Planeswalkers (2)

Lands (39)

The deck makes use of a commander you might not automatically think would be good in the format, given its singleton nature. You saw last week how he leveraged that, and we’ll talk about it a little more below. The deck is definitely a slow grind, takes some setup, and it relatively easily disrupted — all of which combine to make it a thrilling deck to play, because as the game progresses, you know you are always reasonably close to the edge of disaster. One of the other things I like about it is that it plays some cards which you might not think about otherwise playing, card which you don’t see too much of in the format — but they work nicely here with each other. Overall, it’s appropriate for an artifact deck, especially one that leans heavily on the latest Mirrodin block to have a bunch of small parts which function as part of a greater machine. Let’s get into the list.

Creatures

Arcbound Reclaimer: The deck gets mileage from recurring its artifacts. You see the Reclaimer, think it might have a full Arcbound suite, but then realize this is just to get things out of the graveyard, either to reuse right away or to save for some graveyard hate.

Arcum Dagsson: We’ve all seen Arcum Dagsson at the helm of a deck, and every time it’s oppressive, generally because of the types of things it brings with it. Here, it’s an inoffensive part of the 99 that’s good at setting up kill conditions or saving artifacts from getting exiled with Return to Dust and friends.

Burnished Hart: Grixis colors need lots of ramp help.

Chief Engineer: Couldn’t they make this art with something, anything, that’s a reference to Mr. Scott? There are plenty of artifact creatures in the deck that don’t turn sideways meaning they can be used for convoke, so Chief Engineer is effectively a reusable mana rock.

Etherium-Horn Sorcerer: When Planechase 2012 first came out, we saw a great deal of this creature. Then it fell to the wayside. Cascade is awesome enough that the card merits coming back into favor, especially since its CMC is high enough and you can bounce it back to your hand.

Goblin Welder: Goblin Welder is all about the graveyard trickery. People sometimes forget that it can target any player’s artifacts, meaning it can swap out something dangerous for something less so — like a potentially lethal attacking artifact creature.

Grand Architect: There aren’t enough blue creatures to take much advantage out of Grand Architect’s buffing ability, so Anthony has to rely on using the first activated ability. It seems a little more valuable to generate mana, but without blue creatures, it means spending one extra to make two (turning something blue first in order to tap it). This is a card I would consider replacing.

Hoarding Dragon: I like Hoarding Dragon because it creates an air of mystery. Do you want to block and/or kill it, or just let the artifact hang out in exile? It could be a dangerous card — or it could be all part of an elaborate bluff.

Inkwell Leviathan: A pretty straightforward attacker which doesn’t get hard cast too often. There are many islands in this format, so this thing is doing its seven repeatedly.

Junk Diver: One of those neat little engine cards which will continually do work over the course of a game.

Karn, Silver Golem: Oh, the classics. Sure, it can make a noncreature artifact into something battle-worthy, but my favorite use of the card is to turn Wrath of God into some artifact destruction.

Kuldotha Forgemaster: A big part of any combo engine, it not only fetches up whatever you want, but puts into the graveyard some other things you want to re-use from that zone.

Memnarch: Back in the format’s earlier days, Memnarch was something of a boogeyman. Creatures have gotten better, but it hasn’t lost any of its reputation as something you will want to deal with immediately or it will hurt you.

Mindless Automaton: I’ve loved his card since it came out in Exodus. I don’t have a Grixis deck dedicated to graveyard recursion anymore, but when I do again, Mindless Automaton will be a featured player (and still funnier than Taran Killam).

Moltensteel Dragon: Shortly after this card came out and I put it into a deck, I got killed when someone Mindslavered me. I’ve been twitchy about it ever since.

Muzzio, Visionary Architect: I’m pretty sure I have never seen Anthony whiff with this card. Even without a bunch of library control, in this deck you’ll be getting the goods.

Myr Battlesphere: Appropriately named, because it is probably the biggest part of Anthony’s red zone game. It provides fodder for many of the things which want you to sacrifice artifacts or just extra damage for attacking, especially if you have replayed it a few times.

Myr Retriever: Another tiny cog in the recursion machine.

Pentavus: When the deck starts putting things like Pentavus onto the battlefield without paying the full (or any) mana cost, you see how remarkably efficient it can be. Pentavites can be a huge part of that.

Phyrexian Metamorph: Certainly the first card I would have thought about putting into the deck, it’s one of the few cards which I would consider a staple in the list.

Scuttling Doom Engine: When it first came out, I thought it was okay. Having taken quite a bit of it to the face since then, I’m willing to give it a little more respect. Especially when it keeps doming me for six.

Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer: Another card which will do double duty — both in granting something indestructible and sacrificing something for later re-use. It is also a nice insurance policy. If someone casts Vandalblast, Anthony can at least save half of what he has.

Solemn Simulacrum: Dr. Who. Penny Dreadful. Is Billie Piper going to just do nerdcore shows the rest of her career? We can only hope so.

Soul of New Phyrexia: When another player has it on the battlefield, this is a card which will force you into less than desirable plays in order for it to not be devastating to you later.

Sphinx Summoner: Summoning Etherium-Horn Sorcerer, naturally.

Steel Hellkite: I’m not sure why, but my favorite thing to do with Steel Hellkite is to wipe out tokens.

Thada Adel, Acquisitor: Another dual-use card, Thada Adel can get you something to play with or it can just exile for good an important piece of someone else’s deck.

Trinket Mage: There are not too many things to get with this, but at the right time, they are all worth fetching. Early in the game, Sol Ring is the call. Later, Nihil Spellbomb gets more interesting.

Triskelion: Tricks, tricks, and more tricks, like putting counters on it from the Arcbound Reclaimer you just sacrificed to do something cool.

Workhorse: This was a big part of my first-ever Living Death deck, so I’m super happy to see it here. It’s another one that gives continually increasing value when it comes onto the battlefield from the graveyard.

Wurmcoil Engine: Straightforward and just good in nearly any deck, Wurmcoil Engine is another multiple-use card here, providing built-in value plus tokens to do tricks with.

Spells

Darksteel Ingot: Grixis has to have nonland ramp, so one that rarely leaves play is the right call.

Darksteel Plate: Given how cheap this is to cast and equip, I’m surprised we don’t see more of it in the format.

Elixir of Immortality: A card which Anthony has to be judicious in using, since he doesn’t want to shuffle away his recursion food. Of course, it’s a measure of protection against graveyard hate, so not pulling the trigger too quickly is the key.

Expedition Map: Academy Ruins, Arcane Lighthouse, and Bojuka Bog are the only lands I see worth getting. It’s also a cheap thing to cast and sacrifice to something else.

Gilded Lotus: Just once, I want to see Karn turn on a Gilded Lotus so that it can battle.

Lightning Greaves: Haste is a dangerous ability. There aren’t too many creatures in the deck that need shroud, although I suspect protecting Mishra might be reasonable.

Liquimetal Coating: A cheaper way to make something an artifact so that Memnarch can steal it. Perhaps also a bit of retribution if someone casts Shatterstorm.

Mana Vault: A great early-turn draw, since he can use it and then sacrifice it to something else before taking too much damage.

Mind Stone: Simple and useful, Mind Stone gets you there early or replaces itself later.

Mindslaver: There are multiple ways in this deck to keep running the Mindslaver, and I know Anthony agrees with me on the idea that one Mindslaver is fine, multiples are problematic — so it would be a rare case for him to use it. Like all of us, he enjoys winning; he also, like some of us, doesn’t want to be . To some extent it fills out the vigilante fantasy of being able to Mindslaver lock the player who is actually being that guy, but that sort of escalating arms race is the path to madness.

Mizzium Transreliquat: Outstanding flexibility in copying something either for the turn or for good. Just remember if you use the second ability, it loses the first.

Nihil Spellbomb: Simple graveyard control with some card draw tacked on.

Null Brooch: Since Anthony doesn’t mind playing out of his graveyard, he doesn’t mind pitching his hand. The deck can do quite a bit while living off the top. I remember the days when this got played alongside Ensnaring Bridge. Those weren’t the best days.

Relic of Progenitus: Another card to be careful with since your graveyard is valuable.

Ring of Three Wishes: Both cheaper to cast and activate than Planar Portal, there are tricks once it’s out of counters. Clever choice.

Sculpting Steel: With all the copying going on in the format, I find this card under-represented. There are so many good artifacts out there just waiting to be copied!

Slate of Ancestry: As we saw in that play-by-play, there are cool uses for this card. Especially if you don’t fear mass graveyard hate, Slate of Ancestry will get you elbows-deep in the deck’s engines.

Sol Ring: I have a Sol Ring which survived Hurricane Katrina. I’ll tell the whole story sometime.

Soul Conduit: There are few cards which can change the narrative of a game so quickly. Especially if Anthony has the mana to activate it, you won’t be attacking him. Even if you attack someone else, you’re at risk for getting their low life total so that he can kill you with Scuttling Doom Engine. And if you blow it up, it’s likely to come back.

Spine of Ish Sah: Perfect in a deck that likes to sacrifice artifacts. Like with Gilded Lotus, I want to see this thing attacking.

Swiftfoot Boots: I’m ambivalent about this card in this deck. On its own, it’s fine; it just doesn’t seem like it’s part of the Borg collective of the deck.

Trading Post: This conversation definitely happens:

“How’d you do that?”

“Um, Trading Post.”

“Yeah, that card is good.”

Wayfarer’s Bauble: Recurring ramp, helping Grixis keep up with the green decks.

Possibility Storm: Not just about the chaos, Possibility Storm is a good strategic call since Anthony can move lots of stuff in and out of the graveyard while everyone else wonders what’s coming up.

Daretti, Scrap Savant: I’ve never seen the ultimate go off, but I’ve seen Anthony use the +2 to put into the graveyard exactly the cards he want and then use the -2 to get that onto the battlefield.

Tezzeret the Seeker: I really want to see the -5 ability go off for a real March of the Machines.

Fabricate: One of the few non-permanents in the deck, it will get exactly the one you want.

Scrap Mastery: Living Death for artifacts, and you know who is coming out on the top of that pile.

Trash for Treasure: The big hit on this card has always been that it is a sorcery. I like instant speed sacrifice outlets, but there simply isn’t an instant that does this.

Anthony’s deck successfully embraces the chaos without resorting to a tired list of staples. This is exactly the type of deck that is very good for the format, good for our local group, and good for everybody. It shows that there is still plenty of room for innovation in Commander, solving the format’s great puzzle: the secret of Commander is in not breaking it.

This week’s Deck Without Comment is The Altar of Thraximundar:

The Altar Of Thraximundar

Sheldon Menery

Test deck on 11-30--0001

Commander

Creatures (33)

Lands (37)

Spells (29)

Check out our awesome Deck List Database for the last versions of all my decks:

ADUN’S TOOLBOX;
ANIMAR’S SWARM;
AURELIA GOES TO WAR;
CHILDREN of a LESSER GOD;
DEMONS OF KAALIA;
EREBOS and the HALLS OF THE DEAD;
GLISSA, GLISSA;
HELIOD, GOD OF ENCHANTMENTS;
DREAMING OF INTET;
FORGE OF PURPHOROS;
KARN, BEATDOWN GOLEM;
HALLOWEEN WITH KARADOR;
KARRTHUS, WHO RAINS FIRE FROM THE SKY;
KRESH INTO THE RED ZONE;
LAVINIA BLINKS;
LAZAV, SHAPESHIFTING MASTERMIND;
ZOMBIES OF TRESSERHORN;
MELEK’S MOLTEN MIND GRIND;
MERIEKE’S ESPER CONTROL;
THE MILL-MEOPLASM;
MIMEOPLASM DO-OVER;
NATH of the VALUE LEAF;
NYLEA OF THE WOODLAND REALM;
OBZEDAT, GHOST KILLER;
PURPLE HIPPOS and MARO SORCERERS;
ZEGANA and a DICE BAG;
RITH’S TOKENS;
YOU DID THIS TO YOURSELF;
RURIC THAR AND HIS BEASTLY FIGHT CLUB;
THASSA, GOD OF MERFOLK;
THE ALTAR of THRAXIMUNDAR;
TROSTANI and HER ANGELS;
THE THREAT OF YASOVA;
RUHAN DO-OVER;
KARADOR DO-OVER;
KARRTHUS DO-OVER

If you’d like to follow the adventures of my Monday Night RPG group (in a campaign that’s been alive since 1987 and is just now getting started with a new saga called “The Lost Cities of Nevinor”), ask for an invitation to the Facebook group “Sheldon Menery Monday Night Gamers.”

Other Peoples’ Decks: Anthony’s Mishra, Artificer Prodigy