Card/Deck Low Power Card Spotlight

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Karshtakavaar

I very much view it as an all-in sort of card - I would only play it if I was looking to get it out early with like, an Ancient Tomb or something, and was expecting to cast an extra two spells thanks to the cost reduction. Even then, I want to be in an artifact deck that's dumping its hand - so basically exactly shops or affinity. I mean maybe there's a deck where you use it to discount Talismans/Signets and then make a big non-artifact play?

On the other hand, the vulnerable creature-based 'acceleration' at 3 could be a Metalworker, which I would also be okay with in shops/affinity to dump my hand, but would also love to use to slam one big artifact like a Wurmcoil or whatever. Metalworker is much more explicit in wanting that density of artifacts - I don't think it needs more artifacts than Inspector, it's just more honest about it. Sure I have to wait a turn to get it off, but it's a massive dunk on the opponent and it lets you either go wide or go tall with your threat/s.

Or I could commit to UR artifacts as the "aggro artifact deck" and run Etherium Sculptor and Enthusiastic Mechanaut to get the effect faster - dumping my hand on turns 2 and 3, which seems a lot better than dumping my hand right about when my opponent is getting to 4 mana to stabilize.

Or you run literally all of them.

And Mycosynth Golem.

And Mystic Forge.

Commit.

Do it.

Edit:
Or like Eggs/Second Breakfast? If it's real low power level, there was a pretty fun deck in BFZ draft that might make an interesting model too using Molten Nursery/Nettle Drone + Herald of Kozilek, there's definitely an artifact version of that that's possible. Would definitely run Foundry Inspector in that, alongside the Wellsprings or w/e playable 'egg' effects there are.
 
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ravnic

ravnic

Your post tortures me, because it heavily intrigues me in that artifact-slinging deck, that almost feels like it could be the base for a crazy storm deck. But that very part also tells me that I'm probably going too far already ...

If my cube was essentially an artifact cube, I would go and try to make affinitystorm a thing.



I'd say there is a critical mass if anyone is crazy enough :p
I for one would love to play this but also probably would dislike having it in my cube for more than a couple drafts.
 
K

KlavierAchse

I've been trying to make this happen (with mixed success :p)
My thoughts on the topic can be found over here: https://cubecobra.com/cube/blog/blogpost/6373b6e7da7da60f6aa99de3

I had the chance to draft and play what must be one of the best versions of the deck in my cube:






Went 1-3 and the deck had a super hard time winning even when it did it's thing.
I got the impression that you need some powerful cards to really make it fly.
Maybe adding some of these would do the trick:

These are too expensive for me as I try not to proxy, so just theorycrafting.

But now I've moved on and my new love is
 
K

Karshtakavaar

I'm pretty high on Statuary but I don't think I'd run it in eggy/breakfasty decks. Lots of artifact spells, very few non-artifact spells with high generic mana requirements.

I love it with Clues, Food and Treasures. And Blood and Powerstones and Rocks and Scrap now too I guess.
Man they've gone heavy on artifact tokens as a thing in the past few years.

and Land Mines and Feathers and Tamiyo's Notebooks and Etherium Cells and Gold and Volo's Journal...
 
LadyMapi

LadyMapi

That's why you combine it with Paradoxical Outcome (or similar) — tap your eggs to pay for Paradoxical Outcome to pick up those eggs and replay them.

(I am, in fact, just describing the Kaladesh standard "storm" deck :p)
 
K

Karshtakavaar

Erik Twice said:
I wish Astral Slide and its modern housing were easy to slot in, it's such a cool effect
Click to expand...

I warped my entire cube around the power level of Astral Slide and it was worth it. It took less effort than you'd think - there's a lot of incidental overlap with *insert archetype that wants cards in graveyard* and *insert archetype that cares about ETBs*, not to mention *archetype that wants to stall out opponent while maintaining cards in hand*.

Not even joking though, it's really easy to find things that are happy being on the same Venn diagram of payoffs and enablers as Astral Slide. The "do X when you draw second card of turn" stuff that's been pushed recently is one that's surprised me fwiw.

safra said:
yeah, but they suck, so it doesn't matter
Click to expand...
*hits report button*
 
LadyMapi

LadyMapi

ravnic said:
I think it comes down to artifact synergies versus spell synergies.
Click to expand...

That's honestly what I was getting at... except one of those cards costs half as much to trigger the relevant synergies, which is a pretty big deal (there's a reason why "spells matter" decks run a bunch of cantrips and not, say, Jace's Ingenuity).

In general, unless you're Karshtakavaar, most of your "cycling" payoffs are actually going to be discard payoffs, like good ol' Drake Haven.
 
Rusje

Rusje

LadyMapi said:
That's honestly what I was getting at... except one of those cards costs half as much to trigger the relevant synergies, which is a pretty big deal (there's a reason why "spells matter" decks run a bunch of cantrips and not, say, Jace's Ingenuity).

In general, unless you're Karshtakavaar, most of your "cycling" payoffs are actually going to be discard payoffs, like good ol' Drake Haven.
Click to expand...
Well, you are probably not playing the sphere on turn 2. Yes it is easier to have only 2 mana open. But remember, if you play it in instalments the opponent can react. I guess it depends on what you want.
If your cycling enablers are powerful enough then choose the cycling one. If you have ensoul artifact then choose the sphere.
If you need artifacts to hit delirium choose the arrifact, similarly, if you need the instant choose that one.

being able to pay in instalments is nice. But both cards are either cycle/channel or late drop plays. If your best play is to play the sphere at turn 2 (ensoul styles not included) then your cube is even durdlier than mine.
 
Zoss

Zoss

Point of order, I don't think anyone says that playing the sphere on 2 is good, but the fact that you can do that at all and still make progress towards the draw 2 payoff means that it's a lot more forgiving than Hieroglyphics. That flexibility is the upgrade.
 
B

blacksmithy

LadyMapi said:
That's honestly what I was getting at... except one of those cards costs half as much to trigger the relevant synergies, which is a pretty big deal (there's a reason why "spells matter" decks run a bunch of cantrips and not, say, Jace's Ingenuity).

In general, unless you're Karshtakavaar, most of your "cycling" payoffs are actually going to be discard payoffs, like good ol' Drake Haven.
Click to expand...
“whenever you cycle” :wagg:
“whenever you discard” :swagg:
 
Rusje

Rusje

blacksmithy said:
“whenever you cycle” :wagg:
“whenever you discard” :swagg:
Click to expand...
I do take slight offensive against this. Getting duressed should only be be official if the duressed card has a defensive like
Otherwise, a whenever you discard invalidates a complete archetype, which I think is sad.

That said: why is there cycle and channel? Just make all channel cycle.

(oh, I know wizards needed a new keyword which was not new)
 
Onderzeeboot

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
Rusje said:
That said: why is there cycle and channel? Just make all channel cycle.
Click to expand...
Because channel (originally from 2005's Saviors of Kamigawa) is the more broad mechanic (discard this card to do something), but cycling was conceived years earlier (for 1998's Urza's Saga).

E.g.


The only other channel card (besides Mnemonic Sphere) that effectively has cycling is Reinforced Ronin. None of the other channel cards draw you a card for discarding the card with channel. There is no way to do cycling without cantripping, so if you want to do a self-discarding mechanic without putting "draw a card" on every mechanic with the card, you need a new mechanic.
 
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