[JT] CGC: Magic: the Blendering 2

I sat here for 12.5 hours watching Pro Tour - Return to Ravnica today.  As round 15 wraps up and the top 8 were announced, I realized: Crap!  I haven't written anything for my post yet! >.<  So here I am, not sure what to write about.  My original idea was to do a deck discuss about my pride and joy of an EDH deck, but that deserves a larger post that has more time spent talking about it, so that will come later.  What I always do when I want to post something but can't formulate a topic?  I Blend[er] together multiple!

Pulse 1) Innistrad BLOCK Draft

So I get to my local game shop last night for FNM, and I get greeted with the information that they are out of Return to Ravnica (>.<).  Because of that, they decided to do an Innistrad block draft.  That means one pack of Avacyn Restored, one pack of Dark Ascension, and one pack of Innistrad.  For those of you that don't know this, the three blocks were not designed to be drafted together!  So the entire thing was a huge clusterfu- ...   a huge mess.  I ended up at 2-1 with a blue-black zombie deck with a Blood Artist and Diregraf Captain, only losing to a deck that was just a little bit quicker than mine.



Pulse 2) Load file: LINK

I'm constantly looking for ways to tweak decks, especially if it has something to do with the flavor.  If you all recall, I have an EDH deck based around The Legend of Zelda.  I have just this week decided to make two 'groups' of changes.

If you recall, before deciding that (despite her lack of a legendary super-type) Dawnray Archer makes the best Zelda in the deck, I was debating between Thada Adel, Inquisitor and Elspeth, Knight-Errant.  I'm bringing this up because Elspeth has been re-introduced to the deck, along with Tamiyo, the Moon Sage and Nissa Revane (yes... Nissa).  Why these three?  Well...  we have a courageous knight, a wise moonfolk, and a ... powerful... elf...?  Ok, the last one needs a bit more explaining, but I'll get to that in a second.  For those of you familiar with the origins of the Tri-Force, you know that it was created by three goddess: Farore, Goddess of Courage, Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom, and Din, Goddess of Power.






I wanted to include Elspeth because she powers up Link/Rafiq so well, but I had to find a way to make her fit the flavor.  The fact that she's a planeswalker makes her a unique being in the universe.  From there my brain slowly came to the thought of "what if the planeswalkers were confused for gods?  Hmmm... what gods are in the LoZ unive-OH MY GOD!"  From there it because a snap decision to include Elspeth and Tamiyo, two perfect embodiments of Courage and Wisdom (yes, Tamiyo... not Jace.  They're goddesses don't forget)...  and then I got to Power... with the only female green planeswalker... Nissa... Revane.  *sigh*







>.>  <.<  >.>  Ok...  has everyone who hates Nissa and think she's totally useless left?  Good.  If you're still here, then you win the prize and get to see how I reasoned my way into a new found appreciation for this elf-chick.  I wasn't too happy with it at first, but then I thought about it... and thought about... and realized how she embodies Power is by giving you a creature every turn, searching out her Chosen (2/2 that puts itself on the bottom of your library whenever he dies, so you can search him out again), and then Limit Breaking out into multiple creatures.  In my "world view" of Hyrule that I created, Power deals with creature power (and toughness), so she actually fits perfectly.

The other big change in flavor is I have finally found my "four" (actually three) giants from the Majora's Mask game.  I'll back up for a second though to talk about something else: the Fierce-Diety Mask.  This item was chosen for me by a member of The Mana Pool forums.  Eldrazi Conscription is an aura that SCREAMS Fierce-Diety Mask, and if you look closely, it is actually a Tribal Enchantment - Eldrazi.  I kick myself for not realizing it before, but that was perfect.  The Eldrazi have the scale and awe needed for giants that can [spoiler (highlight to read)]hold up the moon[/spoiler].








Pulse 3) Game Day

I'm skipping FNM next week to hit a haunted theme park with Jas (Casual Daze maybe?).  However, Saturday is Game Day, so my CGC next week will be a look at how my Deadeye Control deck does after making some tweaks to it (assuming I can make it to the tournament)


Ok.  I think that's enough.  I spent a lot more space/time on the Link EDH flavor than I was expecting, but you know how I get with flavor.  It excites me and I just can't stop once I get started.  I'm exhausted though, so I am going to leave it at this.  Next weeks CGC will be up on Saturday or Sunday (i.e. definitely not Friday night like I have been trying to do), so I will see you then, if not sooner.

-JT

[JT] CGC: Navigating the New Standard

Welcome back to my forte, the CGC.  No (poor attempts at a) witty intro this time.  I'm just going to get right down to business because I am so excited...

As you may recall, I discussed in my last CGC my new standard deck, which is based around using Deadeye Navigator to machine gun ETB effects.  Here is the build:

-Creatures (16):
Deadeye Navigator x4
Angel of Serenity x2
Lyev Skynight x4
Fiend Hunter x2
Dungeon Geist x2 (new, subbing in for x2 Fiend Hunter)
New Prahv Guildmage x2

-Planeswalkers (2)
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage x2

-Spells (17):
Detention Sphere x3
Oblivion Ring x1 (subbing in for one Sphere that was MIA for the week)
Feeling of Dread x4
Azorius Charm x4
Sphinx's Revelation x2
Think Twice x3

-Artifacts (2):
Azorius Keyrune x2

-Lands (23):
Hallowed Fountain x4
Glacial Fortress x4
Plains and Island x15

Side:
Redirect x3
Negate x2
Azor's Elocuters x2
Staff of Nin x1
Purify the Grave x2
Oblivion Ring x1
Ghost Quarter x2
Fiend Hunter x1
Dungeon Geist



I went into FNM tonight excited to give the deck a try.  While I wasn't expecting it to top or anything, I figured I would have a good match up against a variety of decks.  My only concern was my sideboard.  I'm not sure what to put into it yet since I'm not sure what I need to answer with it.  That is going to be an ongoing process.  Here's how it ended up...

Round 1 versus RUW Miracles.  Wouldn't you know it, round 1 I get paired against a control deck.  He obviously had a different twist on things, using red and miracles, but it was still a long drawn match;  We went to turns at the end of game 2.  Both games, I lost to Entreat the Angels.  Game 1, he knocked me out relatively quick (considering we were both playing control).  Game 2 was a board stall and a half for most of the game.  He Entreated me twice (not miracled), and I was able to stall with Tamiyo and Feeling of Dread.  We're at the point where I'm sitting at 2 life and no creatures (after having two of them D-Sphere'd) and he has an angel and a few other threats... at under 5 life.  I just could not draw anything to get me out of it.  An O-ring would have been amazing.  After this match, I felt a few Snapcasters would be a really good addition to the deck (late to the party, I know...), just for the simple use of flashing back Azorius Charm.  It also would have helped because, even though I sided in my Negate's for game 2, the one I drew into had to be used earlier, so I couldn't hold onto it for his Entreat.  But alas...  Lose, 2-0

Was going to show Armada Wurm, but I didn't want to censer it.

Round 2 versus GUB ramp.  Game 1 was brilliant.  We were in an grinding stall for a good 5 turns each.  He ramped out to Armada Wurm and the like, while sitting on a Vault of the Archangel.  I would tap down a majority of his creatures with Feeling of Dread.  He would get in for ~3 damage, gaining him back some life until I began tapping it down with Tamiyo.  On my turn I would swing in with my Skyknight and Geists, hitting for 6-9.  I had him at 1 life, and he shot back up to 8 with the Vault (creatures had become a Tamiyo priority).  Eventually I just run out of tricks and flood out.  Game 2 was such a disappointment after the epicness that was Game 1, just for the fact that I had to mulligan down to 5 and was just overrun.  Loss, 2-0 (small ego note: this guy is arguably the best player there, and I overheard him talking about my deck after round 3, and the praise he had for it made me feel really good about it).

Round 3 versus mono red.  My opponent this round was brand new to standard play.  He actually showed up with Scars block cards in his deck round 1.  As such, I sort of took it easy on him (helping him out a bit and coaching him when I could).  Not much to say about this round though.  Win, 2-0

Round 4 versus Wolf Run Jund.  Yes yes... big boy Jund.  This was another fun match.  Game 1 went relatively quick, with my O-rings and D-Spheres taking care of his threats while my fliers got in for lethal.  Game 2 was loooooooong.  Constant stalling from me by tapping down his four creatures that weren't exiled with a Ring/Sphere, and tapping down his Kessig Wolf Run with Tamiyo.  I was at 12 mana before he was able to grind me out thanks to Olivia Voldaren just before I was able to draw into my Angel of Serenity.  Game 2 lasted so long that my 3rd turn of game 3 was turn 1 of turns (turn turn turn turn turn...).  We ended up drawing out, but if things would have kept up the pace we were going at, it looked like we were in store for what could have been another long grinder.  Tie, 1-1-1.

So I went 1-2-1 over all.  Not a particularly stellar performance, but I just had SO much fun playing the deck that there is no way I won't be playing it again.  Add in the fact that this was the first time I got a chance to pilot it, and I am extremely happy with how things turned out.  Feeling of Dread put in a lot more work than I was expecting.  I knew there was a reason I loved that card.

I obviously need to tweak it though.  So here is what I was thinking I want to add in:
Dungeon Geist x2 (will probably sub in for the other two Fiend Hunter's until I can get...)
Geist of Saint Traft x2
Jace, Memory Adept x2 (side?) (See below)
Supreme Verdict x2-4 (side?  So far D-Sphere's have taken care of any swarms I would want these for)
Snapcaster Mage x4

It'll be two weeks before I play standard again, so in the mean time, I will be working on these tweaks.  I cannot wait to pilot this again though, and I really want to hear your thoughts!  Any tweaks you want to suggest are more than welcomed.

That leads me into my last notion: With the popularity of Jace, Architect of Thought, especially in control, Memory Adept might be deadspace in the side, since I wouldn't get a chance to use his ability (dropping a Jace, MA would just planeswalker-uniqueness-rule my opponents Jace, AoT).  I would love to hear your thoughts on this.  Leave a comment and tell me if MA is worth it.

OK.  That's it for this week.  How much time is left in the round?
-JT

[JT] I'm Ba-ack! Now with more CGC goodness!

Well, after a few weeks' hiatus due to lack of laptop, I'm back with another CGC.  Hope you didn't miss me too much ;)  This week I think I'll stick to the Blender format just because I'm covering so much.  Are you ready for some smooth goodness?

Pulse 1) Return to Ravnica: Pre-Release

In my absence, we saw the dawning of RtR (and don't forget the rotation of Scars out of standard).  I attended the pre-release, and let me just tell you: it was a blast!

... ahem... <official/Azor-tone> The party of the first party (from here on, referred to as "me" or "I") filled in for her high honorable, Isperia during the days events. Upon opening the guildpack, found with in the contraband, were my bretheren, the Azor Elocuters, who joined my side, as well as a few other gold clad scrolls.

It was also discovered that the Dracogenius, Niv-Mizzet, was among those present, and was promptly incarcerated within the Azorius cell. The Izzet League did try thrice to reclaim their leader. After their initial wave, we of the Senate regrouped, and repelled their next two advances. Unfortunately, we were blind sided on our flank by two waves of unleased Rakdos Cultists.

I was, however, able to detain a member of the Golgari Swarm upon our retreat from the establishment, a shaman of the Deathrites.

In summary, detainees of the day:
Ash Zealot
Niv-Mizzet
Deathrite Shaman
Various scrolls of the lower class.

JT
Authority-runed by the office of Supreme Judge Isperia
Copies filed at the archive of Azor, New Prav, Tenth District, Ravnica </Azor>

No seriously, R1: I almost Fillibustered an Izzet played, but Guttersnipe kept me from it.
R2: Ran out of Detain before I could get my Archon out against Rakdos
R3: Beat Izzet
R4: The most fun I had all day. Game one, my opponent plays the Conjured Currency and exchanges it with my tapped Archon. I Dramatic Rescue it at the end of his turn, Conjured Currency his untapped Hypersonic Dragon, and swing with it and one other flyer for lethal. Game 2, he tries to burn out my Lyev Skyknight, and I give it Hexproof with Mizzium Skin. He then swings with his Hypersonic, looking to kill the knight or banking that I wouldn't let it die and just letting the dragon through. I block, and give my knight Swift Justice (+1/+0, First Strike, Lifelink). Swing for game next turn.
R5: Kept a few hands I shouldn't have against Rakdos, but it was a close game. Game 3 I had him down to 5 life and I was at 20 or so. I ran out of Detain again and he was just able to overrun me (Chaos Imps can block. Who knew?). In hindsight I might have made a few wrong choices in blocks, but oh well.

Won two packs, which held Mana Bloom and Deathrite Shaman

I cannot wait to do the GateCrash pre-release...

Pulse 2) A First Draft

At FNM this week, we drafted RtR for the first time.  Pack one, I open up Rakdos Ragemutt, and nothing else really compared to it, so I picked it.  From there on, I was able to stick to Rakdos almost exclusively, and ended up with a pretty sic deck.  The Ragemutt put in some serious work over the three rounds, and was great for stabilizing when my unleashed creatures were crashing in every turn and I was open to the backswing

R1: I played the Rakdos mirror match... and we ended just as they were calling turns!  How does that happen?!  Anyway, I had the better removal (and maybe the better understanding of the guild as a whole) and won, 2-1.

R2: I played a Golgari/Selesnya mash-up that just could not stand up to my constant assault and life gain from the Ragemutt. Win, 2-0.

R3: Now THIS was fun.  The enemy had a Selesnya/Azorius mash up.  I'm on a steady pace of attack and life gain, until he drops a freaking Trostani, Selesnya's Voice and started gaining his life back.  We seriously dealt each other ~40 points of damage each before his tokens just swarmed me.  Game 2, I side in an extra removal spell, since there was no way for me deal with Trostani with Unleased creature once he put a Knightly Valor on her.  Game 2 and 3, a combination of Stab Wound and burn spells helped knock out Trostani, and without her life gain, his populate just could not keep up with the unleashed fury of the Cult of Rakdos. Win, 2-1.

Yes, readers.  For the first time since my very first draft, I won my draft pod!  On a less self-congratulatory note, RtR seems like SO much fun to draft, and I can't wait until the next one.  Unfortunately that will have to wait two weeks because next week I will be starting...



Pulse 3) The New Standard

As you know, we put a dear friend to rest this week.  On October 5th, 2012, Venser, the Sojourner passed and is no longer with us in standard.  I remember him fondly.  We laughed together, cried together, got destroyed by zombies together.  He will be missed....

...especially now with all the amazing Azorius cards with "Enters the Battlefield" (ETB) triggers!  It's such a shame, but at the same time it's a good thing; I would have hated to see Venser turn into a meta-game staple.  I just wish he was here to see all the great things he could have done, but I believe his spirit lives on.  What's that?  You want to know how I figure?  I'm glad you asked...

Ever since Avacyn Restored, I have been in love with Deadeye Navigator (if marrying a spirit was legal in my state, I would).  I tried out a Soulbond deck when Avacyn first came out, but decided to devote Scars-block's twilight months to Tempered Steel and Venser.  Now is the time for Navigator to have his day in the sun.  Here is my "Deadeye Control" deck (or is it "Dead Lock"? ...  Either way, it's neo-Venser.)

-Creatures (16):
Deadeye Navigator x4
Angel of Serenity x2
Lyev Skynight x4
Fiend Hunter x4
New Prahv Guildmage x2

-Planeswalkers (2)
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage x2

-Spells (18):
Detention Sphere x4
Feeling of Dread x4
Azorius Charm x4
Sphinx's Revelation x2
Think Twice x3

-Artifacts (2):
Azorius Keyrune x2

-Lands (23):
Hallowed Fountain x4
Glacial Fortress x4
Plains and Island x15

Side:
Redirect x3
Dissipate x3
Azor's Elocuters or Staff of Nin x2 (for a control mirror)
Purify the Grave x3
Oblivion Ring x2
Ghost Quarter x2


What I want to add:
Dungeon Geist x2-4
Jace, Memory Adept x2 (side?)
Geist of Saint Traft x2
Supreme Verdict x2-3 (side?)
Azorius Keyrune x2

So the main goal behind the deck is to Soulbond Deadeye Navigator to something with an ETB trigger and just machine gun the effect.  Being able to permanently exile a creature with Fiend Hunter soulbonded to Navigator sounds BEAUTIFUL (for those of you that don't know, if Fiend Hunter leaves the battlefield before his ETB trigger resolves, the targeted creature will be exiled permanently.  Once he leaves the field, his second ability triggers, and will resolve with no creature being exiled.  Then his ETB trigger resolves, exiling the creature)!  But wait... there's more...

Imagine the look on my face and the skip in my step when I was reading the RtR spoiler one night and find the ULTIMATE Deadeye Navigator partner...

She Fiend Hunter's three creatures???  And from graveyards as well???  Be still my beating heart...

Some other cards of note that I included are:

New Prahv Guildmage.  His second ability is just another way for me to lockdown what my opponent is doing, obviously.  The real reason I included him though was that he can give my Fiend Hunter flying so I can block with him, or my Navigator flying to beat face with.









Tamiyo, the Moon Sage.  I have plenty of ways to deal with creatures and other permanents in the deck, but as someone on The Mana Pool forums pointed out to me, utility lands (i.e. Kessig Wolf Run) might give me some trouble.  That is where Tamiyo comes in.  Not only will her plus ability lock down any permanent I need her to, but with all of the creature control, I might be able to get her to her ultimate, keeping my hand full of answers.




I will be taking this build, or as close to this build as I can (I might be short a Hallowed Fountain or something) to FNM this week, and will let you know how it does.  In the mean time though, feel free to give me suggestions, especially on the side board!  


Mmmmm... delicious.  Ok.  I'm going to end things here.  Next week I'll talk about how Deadeye Navigator performs.  I'll also hopefully have a new Group Therapy for you all.  I'm just waiting for Nyxiie to spill her guts (get on her about that, everyone!).  So, until then, sit back and sip the smooth concoction I just made.  It's Magically delicious.

-JT

[JT] CGC: Rotating Steel - UW Tempered Steel v2.0

Standard rotation can be a double-edged sword.  On the one hand, standard is the premiere M:tG format, so if you want to play at FNM-level tournaments and beyond, you will most likely have to have at least one standard deck at all times.  The problem is though that since standard is the flagship format, the value of cards that rock the format might be utter garbage in other formats.  Once the card rotates out, that value will plummet.  This is why I started playing budget decks.  I don't see the point in investing all of my money into cards that will eventually depreciate in value, especially since I only play standard for fun and focus on sealed play.

On the other hand, however, budget players like myself do get a form of a last laugh.  Remember when Seachrome Coast was $20+ a piece?  With rotation looming ever closer, I recently was able to pick up an entire play set for $20.  Remember how Sword of Feast and Famine and Sword of War and Peace were ~$35 and ~$40 a piece?  They're now down to ~$15.  Yes.  I only get about a month or so to use them, but do you want to know something?  I only play standard every other week or so anyway, and I only trade for them (not buy), because I am considering turning the deck into a Modern deck post-rotation.

So, speaking of the deck, here's the build I used tonight:

Creatures (25):
Riddlesmith x4
Treasure Mage x1
Spined Thopter x3
Porcelain Legionnaire x3
Grand Architect x4
Etched Champion x4
Phyrexian Metamorph x2
Steel Hellkite x2
Myr Battlesphere x2

Planeswalker (2):
Venser, the Sojourner x2

Spells (11):
Mox Opal
Vapor Snag x3
Dispatch x3
Tempered Steel x2
Sword of Feast and Famine
Sword of Body and Mind

Lands (22):
Seachrome Coast x4
Glacial Fortress x4
Buried Ruin x3
Inkmoth Nexus x3
Island x8

Side (15):
Stoic Rebuttal x2
Oblivion Ring x2
Flashfreeze x2
Celestial Purge x2
Redirect x3
Staff of Nin x2
Tormod's Crypt x2

If you recall from my previous deck discuss on v1.0, there were three things I considering when going into my retweaks: (1) removal of the Tempered Steel's all together.  (2) Blue Sun's Zenith alone just was not enough draw power, and (3) No turn 1 plays.  I addressed these concerns by:

(1) Swapping 2x Tempered Steel with 2x Phyrexian Metamorph.  The Metamorphs gave me more artifacts to make my Metalcraft live, as well as more versatility in what artifacts I have and how many of them are in the deck (in a sense).  They also play well with Venser.  I wanted to keep the other two Tempered Steels in though because I have too many artifact creatures to not.

(2)  I took out the two Blue Sun's Zenith's as well as the Unwinding Clock and a Treasure Mage for 4x Riddlesmith's.  These 2-drops alone help me rifle through the deck incredibly fast; much faster than the Zeniths.

(3)  While they were not intended for this, 3x Inkmoth Nexus's allows for a turn 1 play at least part of the time.  They were originally intended to be three more artifacts to activate Metalcraft that just so happened to fit into my mana base instead of my spell base.  The Nexi are another reason I was set on leaving in a few of the Tempered Steels.

Among the other adjustments I made were the inclusion of two swords.  Why only two?  And why THOSE two?  Because they're the only ones I have ; P

So how did it perform?  Round one I played... Boros (RW).  That's about all I can say from it.  I won 2-0 and never really saw anything come together for the deck.  I want to say it was some kind of ultra aggressive build, but I poisoned him before he was able to really get anything going.  The highlight of this match was in game two, he sided in Combusts, and took out all my early guys.  He even Day of Judgment'ed me when all I had was a lone Etched Champion.  He did that to keep me with no creatures (except twin Nexi) so that he could drop a Thundermaw Hellkite that would not get caught in the DoJ crossfire.  The Hellkite (sadly for my opponent) didn't even see the battlefield because of the Flashfreeze in my hand.




















 Round two was against suicide-black zombies, which just out raced me, resulting in a 0-2 loss.  Now, I love this deck.  Maybe not this particular build, but the archetype in general.  If there was anything I took away from the match, though, it was my biggest misplay of the night.  He Killing Wave'ed for 1 with three Blood Artist on the field (two copies via Phyrexian Metamorph).  I had two creatures, and rather than just paying the two life to keep both of them, I kept one... and promptly lost 3 life for the other one thanks to the Artists -_-.

Round three I lost 0-2 to Red Deck Wins.  He just kept burning my creatures before I could activate Etched Champion's Metalcraft.  That in addition to the mana flood I was in game one, and just out racing me in game two was just the end of me.

Round four was such a disappointment.  Don't get me wrong; I won the match.  Just not how I should have.  I was playing against RG Werewolves (not sure if it was a Wolf Run or not.  I didn't see much in the way of ramp though), and game one I won pretty much outright: bouncing his transformed wolves and crashing with a Porcelain Legionnaire with Tempered Steel out.  Game two, I was not able to keep my Champions metalcrafted long enough to survive against the (what felt like) suite of Ancient Grudges he had for me.  He was two turns away from finishing me off for a game three when my opponent looks at his watch and saws "Awe crap.  I scoop."  Apparently, he had a date and was just forfeiting the match to me.  It felt terrible because that was not how I wanted to win, especially when we were having such a great match.

So, at the end of it, I ended up 2-2, with three packs in prizes (maybe four, but I left before round four was over on the condition that if my ranking went up high enough after everyone reports, I will just get my fourth pack next week).  One contained a Liliana of the Veil.  So hey.  I'm happy.  I have a few things to consider for the next time I run the deck, the biggest of which breaks my heart (ironically).  Venser has not been doing me any good.  On paper he looks great and can do all kinds of stuff with my deck.  In execution though, I haven't cast Venser in any of the eight matches I have played with this deck.  I think it is time for him to go.  We'll see though. 

There you have it.  I think I might possibly get one more standard FNM in with this deck before Return to Ravnica hits and Scars of Mirrodin block (I.e. my entire deck) rotates out.  Speaking of which, as you all know (or at least I am assuming if you are reading this, you know) PAX this past weekend marked the start of RtR previews.  I've seen some really cool things so far (and a few things that pissed me off a little more than they should have), and I think I will be sticking with the Azorius guild in standard as I have from the very beginning.  The question will come down to what kind of deck though? 

I have a quasi-Delver build in mind.  Yes yes... I know I ranted against Delver and that's what made me play the deck you see above.  I did, however, state that I had a build in mind that I would not mind trying.  It's still in the planning stages, but I might give it a try once I see the rest of RtR.  Perhaps I'll have you choose the deck I use.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some forms I need to fill out and send off to it's honor, Isperia.

-JT

[JT] CGC: Eroding Metal - Budget UW Tempered Steel Deck Discuss

I.  HATE.  Delver of Secrets.  The card is done to death and back in every format that he is legal.  I understand that he is powerful.  Hell!  He even fits in with a play style I really like (hit early and then control the tempo from then on out).  I even have a build in mind with him in it that I wouldn't mind trying out.  However, when it comes right down to it, I just don't think he is fun to play; so I don't!  I prefer limited play, so when I play standard, it's for fun.  If the deck isn't fun, I won't play it.  Two weeks ago I was scrambling to build a standard deck since I didn't know what format FNM would be, and ended up with a UW Delver build that I was just dreading (imagine how happy I was when I found it it was draft week).  I knew I needed to come up with something new to use; which brings me to this week's deck: UW Tempered Steel.

I had a mono-U Grand Architect build that I used a few weeks ago that was honestly one of the most fun decks I had ever piloted.  Why I dismantled it I have no idea.  For the second go around I decided to add in some W and Tempered Steel.  Here is the build I took to FNM tonight:

Creatures (21): 
Treasure Mage x2 
Spined Thopter x4 
Porcelain Legionnaire x3 
Grand Architect x4 
Etched Champion x4  
Steel Hellkite x2 
Myr Battlesphere x2

Planeswalker (2): 
Venser, the Sojourner x2

Spells (15): 
Vapor Snag x4 
Dispatch x4 
Tempered Steel x4 
Blue Sun's Zenith x2 
Unwinding Clock x1

Lands (22): 
Seachrome Coast x4 
Glacial Fortress x4 
Buried Ruin x3
Island x11

Side (15):  
Stoic Rebuttal x2 
Oblivion Ring x2 
Flashfreeze x2 
Celestial Purge x2 
Sword of Body and Mind
Redirect x2 
Staff of Nin x2 
Tormod's Crypt x2

As the title of this post suggest, it is a budget build.  Since I only play standard for fun, I don't want to dump a lot of money into high priced cards.  If I can get my hands on them through trading, then sure; I will use it, but I will not go out of my way for them.  That's why there are no Wurmcoil Engines or Swords besides the BaM in the side (although having three Etched Champions on the field, each with a different sword, sounds SO bad ass when I imagine the image).

One of the things I love about this deck is it utilizes my favorite planeswalker, Venser, for a few shenanigans with Treasure Mage and Myr Battlesphere.  This is a very big point for me when it comes to play this deck.  With rotation coming up soon, this is the last time I will get to use these cards in standard.  I'm 99% sure this will be my deck until rotation.  I just love it that much, but how did it perform?



IT GOT DESTROYED!!!! XD  Haha.  In round 1, I made a few misplays and ended up losing to a 5-color re-animator.   Round 2 I faced Wolf Run Ramp and just could not get out my acceleration before he did.  Round 3 I had the bye, and round 4 I just got overwhelmed by BR Vamps.  Obviously I am going back to the drawing board on this one.

Here are my thoughts going into the adjustments...

1)  I might remove the Tempered Steel's all together.  This will free up room for a few other artifacts.  Perhaps a few Phyrexian Metamoph's if I can get a hold of them.  I might try and keep the W in the deck without the Steel's anyway for Venser and Dispatch.

-4 Tempered Steel
+2 Phyrexian Metamoprh
+2 Oblivion Ring

maybe?  This also allows for more Venser shenaniganery, and honestly, who doesn't like that?

2) The Blue Sun's Zenith's do not feel like enough draw power by themselves.  I will be trying to get up to four copies of Riddlesmith into the deck.  They were there in the mono-U version, and you can just rifle through your deck with it.  The Buried Ruins help get back any artifacts you loot away as well.

3) I have NO turn 1 play.  Vedalken Certarch or Spellbombs would change this.  The Certarch helps with the Grand Architect as well.  Turn 3 Steel Hellkite sounds DELICIOUS!  Memnite's would also help this as well.

There are other things, but those are the first three points I want to tackle.

So there you have it.  This was my Tempered Steel version 1.0.  Once I make changes and get another chance to test it, I will bring you another CGC with version 2.0.  I think I am going to make this a little project and see just how far I can bring this deck before it rotates out.  Naturally I'll bring you guys along for the ride.  I would LOVE to hear your thoughts and suggestions.  Nothing gets me more amped up than having really good discussions about decks, so please, give me every critique and criticism you have on this.

Now if you'll excuse me,  I need to go and work on adapting this into an EDH deck as well...

...What's that you say?  How can I make this into an EDH deck without a legendary creature (without using Hanna, Ship's Navigator)?  Well I am not going to tell you, but I will say to watch out later this week for a new project I am tackling for the CGC where I can turn this Tempered Steel deck into an EDH deck.  I'll give you a little hint how this is possible though...

-JT


*All card arts from Gatherer.



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