General Jumpstarting your cube drafts

[Brad]

Doesn't look too narrow. Plays a lot like a regular red aggro deck. Key looks pretty slow and Pyro looks pretty high powered. I'd slant it to be a bit more aggressive and it'll be a fine red aggro deck with a unique angle to it, which I think is perfect. A kind of generic concept (red aggro) with a way to feel less generic will make the deck mash together more easily while still being interesting to play.

I like the idea of a Phoenix in there. Maybe the Ferocious one. The damage one mostly wants you to be more red, but the Ferocious one kind of wants your pair to be green or black.

 

[Nanonox]

I could see replacing Pyro with a Flamewake Phoenix. It could be recurred, but later in the game when you bring back one of the 2 drops from the grave or the Reckless Charge.

However, that would mean keeping Key around as a discard outlet and mana sink or finding some other way to dump cards in the GY.

 

[Nanonox]

I really like artifacts, so I'll be trying to brew a few different ones around them. The tricky part is not flooding the deck with artifacts as that would be too powerful and less interesting when mixing decks.

First up, mono black artifact control.

Spoiler: Mono black artifact control

Treasure Map and Phyrexian Scriptures might be a bit too much. The former because of how well it slots anywhere and the latter because of the power level. They do seem perfect for a control deck though!

Solemn Simulacrum would also be a great fit here, but it kind of feels like cheating to use him due to the ease of fixing when mixing decks. Am I off on this?

The Fortuitious Find might be too slow, but I wanted a way to recur Marionette Master in case it gets killed before you go off. Memorial of Folly could be an alternative and I could just jam another win condition like Herald of Anguish .

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I really like artifacts, so I'll be trying to brew a few different ones around them. The tricky part is not flooding the deck with artifacts as that would be too powerful and less interesting when mixing decks.

First up, mono black artifact control.

Spoiler: Mono black artifact control

Treasure Map and Phyrexian Scriptures might be a bit too much. The former because of how well it slots anywhere and the latter because of the power level. They do seem perfect for a control deck though!

The Fortuitious Find might be too slow, but I wanted a way to recur Marionette Master in case it gets killed before you go off. Memorial of Folly could be an alternative and I could just jam another win condition like Herald of Anguish .

I desperately miss artifacts with a dies trigger in this list! Where are my Perilous Myr, Filigree Familiar, and Solemn Simulacrum at? Heck, Cathodion, Junk Diver, and/or Myr Retriever could be cool even.

I've found Herald of Anguish to be quite the bomb, but I do miss a second finisher. How about Bloodsoaked Altar? That goes nicely with the sacrifice fodder above!

 

[Brad]

More fixing is better, likely. I'd jam Solemn.

Might want a second win condition, but maybe the other pile can supply that. Herald's pretty dang strong. Could do a colorless fatty.

This kind of looks like an artifact pile where I can't tell if it's attacking or not. Might be good to let the other pile decide, might be bad to lack that direction. Am I ramping off the myr? Am I swinging with Hoarder and Salvager? Am I grinding you out with Post and Scripture? Am I a sac combo with Salvager into Master?

 

[Onderzeeboot]

More fixing is better, likely. I'd jam Solemn.

Might want a second win condition, but maybe the other pile can supply that. Herald's pretty dang strong. Could do a colorless fatty.

This kind of looks like an artifact pile where I can't tell if it's attacking or not. Might be good to let the other pile decide, might be bad to lack that direction. Am I ramping off the myr? Am I swinging with Hoarder and Salvager? Am I grinding you out with Post and Scripture? Am I a sac combo with Salvager into Master?

The Hoarder, Treasure Map, and Puzzleknot would be easy cuts for me. I think the first two could easily form the start of a cool greed themed deck, but I think their spots in this particular shell are better served by those artifact sacrifice fodder cards I mentioned earlier. Phyrexian Tower would be pretty sweet here as well, as an additional sacrifice outlet!

 

[Nanonox]

100% with you on the die triggers. I was avoiding playing ubiquitous colorless cards (I added a Solemn Simulacrum edit before your post that applies to the other colorless cards) but perhaps that's just wrong.

If so, then ditch Dire Fleet Hoarder for Perilous Myr and maybe Weaponcraft Enthusiast for Solemn Simulacrum.

The Altar looks fun and definitely fits the theme. Probably cut the Find for it?

Now my favorite deck of all, the mono red artifacts. I have two in mind, the Welders and aggro.

Spoiler: Mono red welders

The deck is pretty classic, but it makes me happy. Dump things in the GY and reanimate.

You could swap out the high end for basically anything, but in an effort to keep things red, I went with these two.

Hangarback Walker would be amazing here (to weld out and as a Scrap Trawler target), but it feels too strong. I would switch it for Treasure Keeper (which could also be a Solemn Simulacrum/Filigree Familiar/Perilous Myr/Myr Retriever). I was actually really hesitating with the Retriever as a huge value chain, but I think the Keeper mixes better with other decks.

Spoiler: Mono red artifact aggro

I know, another red aggressive deck, but I really like aggro! Curse might not be needed since the curve is low, but there are a bunch of mana sinks, so I think it still makes sense. The artifacts also pump Plating and act as fodder for a bunch of abilities.

Embercleave + Cranial Plating might be an issue. Likewise, Shrapnel Blast might be too much damage at too little cost.

 

[Brad]

Onder, your post didn't show up when I commented, but I definitely like taking the black deck down a sac/dies route.

The red lists are pretty classic, solid designs.

You could totally do 1-2 artifact lands in every single deck (break singleton) if you wanted an artifact heavy JS experience.

 

[inscho]

100% with you on the die triggers. I was avoiding playing ubiquitous colorless cards (I added a Solemn Simulacrum edit before your post that applies to the other colorless cards) but perhaps that's just wrong.

If so, then ditch Dire Fleet Hoarder for Perilous Myr and maybe Weaponcraft Enthusiast for Solemn Simulacrum.

The Altar looks fun and definitely fits the theme. Probably cut the Find for it?

Now my favorite deck of all, the mono red artifacts. I have two in mind, the Welders and aggro.

Spoiler: Mono red welders

The deck is pretty classic, but it makes me happy. Dump things in the GY and reanimate.

You could swap out the high end for basically anything, but in an effort to keep things red, I went with these two.

Hangarback Walker would be amazing here (to weld out and as a Scrap Trawler target), but it feels too strong. I would switch it for Treasure Keeper (which could also be a Solemn Simulacrum/Filigree Familiar/Perilous Myr/Myr Retriever). I was actually really hesitating with the Retriever as a huge value chain, but I think the Keeper mixes better with other decks.

Spoiler: Mono red artifact aggro

I know, another red aggressive deck, but I really like aggro! Curse might not be needed since the curve is low, but there are a bunch of mana sinks, so I think it still makes sense. The artifacts also pump Plating and act as fodder for a bunch of abilities.

Embercleave + Cranial Plating might be an issue. Likewise, Shrapnel Blast might be too much damage at too little cost.

I'd add something like Lightning Axe over Thrill of Possibility in that Red Welder list. I imagine you'd want one piece of removal that can hit something large. Or maybe a Duplicant instead of something else.

Mishra's Factory would be cool in either of those lists

 

[Nanonox]

The Hoarder, Treasure Map, and Puzzleknot would be easy cuts for me. I think the first two could easily form the start of a cool greed themed deck, but I think their spots in this particular shell are better served by those artifact sacrifice fodder cards I mentioned earlier. Phyrexian Tower would be pretty sweet here as well, as an additional sacrifice outlet!

100% on board for Hoarder and Puzzleknot. I'm not sure about cutting the Map though. It has played out very well in the past for me, acting as a draw smoother that eventually becomes a ramp card or a card advantage engine. Plus the treasures work well with the Marionette Master.

More fixing is better, likely. I'd jam Solemn.

Might want a second win condition, but maybe the other pile can supply that. Herald's pretty dang strong. Could do a colorless fatty.

This kind of looks like an artifact pile where I can't tell if it's attacking or not. Might be good to let the other pile decide, might be bad to lack that direction. Am I ramping off the myr? Am I swinging with Hoarder and Salvager? Am I grinding you out with Post and Scripture? Am I a sac combo with Salvager into Master?

I like the idea of a colorless fatty. would be a nice fit I think. The way I see the deck playing out is stalling/ramping into the Master, then going for a combo finish. The deck looks quite different now with all your suggestions:

Spoiler: Mono black artifact control

I'd add something like Lightning Axe over Thrill of Possibility in that Red Welder list. I imagine you'd want one piece of removal that can hit something large. Or maybe a Duplicant instead of something else.

Mishra's Factory would be cool in either of those lists

Both great suggestions, thanks! My first thought was of Duplicant as another welder target, but I was unsure about universally powerful artifacts.

Speaking of which, am I the only one who has reservations about including generically strong artifacts in these JS lists? I feel they take away from the uniqueness, but at the same time (especially in these artifact themes) they really contribute to the game plan.

 

[Chris Taylor]

I just wanna say that this thread probably has more basic lands per capita in the card images than any other, and I'm kinda happy M21 has those cool planeswalker themed basics. Makes looking at all these lists all the cooler.
I love me a good alternate frame

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I like that mono black artifact list!

 

[blacksmithy]

To answer the question about putting artifacts into your Jumpstarts: i am looking at a way to do a small “artifact pack” and “land pack” draft after passing out jumpstarts, so that you can draft artifacts and lands that fit your deck rather than taking up valuable jumpstart slots with stuff that could feasibly go into many of the lists. not sure yet exactly how it’ll play.

 

[Brad]

To answer the question about putting artifacts into your Jumpstarts: i am looking at a way to do a small “artifact pack” and “land pack” draft after passing out jumpstarts, so that you can draft artifacts and lands that fit your deck rather than taking up valuable jumpstart slots with stuff that could feasibly go into many of the lists. not sure yet exactly how it’ll play.

Probably adds a lot more setup time and is less targeted than my "25 card packs, cut 10 cards down to 40" idea.

 

[TrainmasterGT]

Let's try a couple using multiples of the same card:

Spoiler: Adventure Time

Let's use this Plains:

Here, we use multiple copies of the same adventure cards to reach a critical mass to make our adventure payoffs function correctly. I also doubled Lucky Clover for fun in this deck.

Spoiler: Live Streaming

Let's use this non-full art Zendikar Island:

Stream of Thought decks were a very interesting way for WOTC to implement a mill strategy into Modern Horizons. I thought the same thing might be true for a Jumpstart Pile.

 

[Nanonox]

Here is an attempt at the white artifact themed deck.

Spoiler: White artifact combo counters

This one was a pain to construct and I firmly believe this isn't even close to the best version, but I wanted feedback because I am stuck.

I just wanted to put the Heliod combo in there and then work with counters and artifacts. I chose to not go all out with tutors (Enlightened Tutor is an easy include), because I want the combo to be an "Oops I win" thing more than an all out combo. This also lets you explore the +1/+1 counter theme.

I could see adding Scrapyard Recombiner instead of the Ranger-Captain because of counters and artifacts, but I think it is less likely to fit other JS decks. Recruiter of the Guard is another solid pick for this slot. It is less aggressive, but gets a lot more targets.

Contagion Clasp is a filler slot. I'm not sure what I wanted, so I put something that does things. Collective Effort is another removal/pump spell that can work, I just chose to prioritize artifacts to stick with the theme.

 

[Brad]

Spoiler: Hand Vomit

Trying to capture that old school Ravager Affinity feeling where you'd often dump your entire hand in the first couple of turns. MIght need One with the Machine as a reload, but it seems a little slow. Barricade Breaker might be too slow, as well. Chart a Course also seems good. Not sure. This is a 25 card list intended to be cut down when mashed up.

Quite possibly needs additional 1 drops. The deck also changes color very easily, as not many cards are colored in it. Thoughtcast is the main important colored card. Court Homunculus is appealing. Could go Icehide Golem, but I feel weird about snowing one deck for one card.

Cornucopia is a nice 3cmc fixer that you can also play for 0 if you need affinity count badly.

 

[Velrun]

Nanonox
As of right now your white artifact themes deck has no other artifact payoff other than Ethersworn Canonist which almost hurts ‘you’ as much as it hurts the opponent since this white artifact deck is running non-artifact cards, since this deck will be shuffled with another 20 card deck and since opponent will probably also have a few artifacts in their deck.

In my opinion you need an artifact payoff. Otherwise the cards are just artifacts but without any synergy.

I really like the idea of putting a combo in there. I wouldn’t object to have multiple Jumpstart decks have a combo in their deck.

I feel like this deck is doing too many things though. Maybe you should cut the artifact part of it and make it a lifegain deck with the combo. Then you can make another white artifact themed deck as well seperate from the combo. Or vice versa.

 

[sigh]

For Nanonox, Teshar might be a good consideration, as there are tons of historic triggers and recursion targets (including Heliod!)

 

[Nanonox]

Velrun, you make a great point about the artifact theme. I got lost in the combo and lost sight of what I wanted to do!

If I were to try to salvage that particular one, I would add Scrapyard Recombiner and Steel Overseer for Ranger-Captain of Eos and Mikaeus, the Lunarch. Both care about artifacts and work well together.

I like your idea of a life gain theme including the combo. I'll try that out. It also makes me want to try a stupid combo one with the likes of

Spoiler: Mono white combos

I could have added Reveillark + Karmic Guide and Auriok Salvagers + Lion's Eye Diamond too

For Nanonox, Teshar might be a good consideration, as there are tons of historic triggers and recursion targets (including Heliod!)

Love it. Somehow forgot Teshar which is easily one of my favorites.

 

[Brad]

Spoiler: Eternal Epiphany

25 cards, designed to be cut down. Pretty open to changes in the list. Went for blue control with the loop as a potential finisher. Quite a few options for self bounce.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I have a feeling there should be a Ghostly Flicker in there...

 

[Brad]

I considered it, but I feel like I don't have many targets. Maybe it's worth it to Archaeo-flicker with whatever the paired deck may be, and the user can cut it if it's low targets?

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Maybe replace the Borrower and the Bond of Insight with something that can be flickered for profit? Borrower doesn't seem particularly synergistic with the deck, and you already run 4 other effect that return an instant or sorcery, plus Bond exiles itself.

 

[Brad]

Bond was one of the earlier additions to the deck, so it can probably go. Borrower, too, as I knew I wanted a flash threat to apply some early pressure and it comes with value. Have any midpower flicker targets for me? Don't personally run blink.