Binary Brutality

I got to play a few games with Matt and he was messing around with a couple new decks. I got beat pretty good; they were combo decks using Creative Technique and Maelstrom Wanderer, the other Sunbird's Invocation, Panantir of Orthanc and Approach of the Second Sun. 

What I learned from those games was that my sideboards wasn't quite where it needed to be. If I was going to deal with Storm decks like this, I needed Mindbreak Trap to help. And I know that the cards listed don't say Storm on them, but they work the same way and I believe if I am able to remove spells from the stack, that should put a big monkeywrench into the plans. 

But I will say that the Urza's Saga addition has been great, and Lavaspur Boots a very helpful addition to the deck. With those changes, I got some games against Fuz and the deck did very well. 

Here's the list:

2 Mishra's Bauble
4 Urza's Bauble
1 Aether Spellbomb
3 Barbed Spike}
1 Lavaspur Boots

3 Sai, Master Thopterist
3 Emry, Lurker of the Loch
2 Master of Etherium
4 Ethersworn Canonist
4 Patchwork Automaton
3 Kappa Cannoneer
2 Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender

3 Dispatch
1 Swords to Plowshares

3 Seat of the Synod
3 Ancient Den
4 Razortide Bridge
1 Plains
2 Island
1 Otawara, Soaring City
4 Mystic Gate
4 Urza's Saga

2 Thoughtcast

15 Sideboard|
SB: 4 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 1 Pithing Needle
SB: 1 Sunbeam Spellbomb
SB: 2 Hydroblast
SB: 1 Swords to Plowshares
SB: 2 Blue Elemental Blast
SB: 2 Metallic Rebuke
SB: 2 Archive Trap

Finally, I'm going to be on the road this weekend so no Tuesday post, but hopefully I'll have some cool things to talk about on Thursday. Cheers!

Compiling

Noah pointed out to me that Tezzeret, Artifice Master was a 5 mana card that if I didn't have protection just generated 1/1 thopters. "It's great when you draw two cards, " he said. 

And this is a very good point. By the time Tezzeret arrives, I am probably in a 'win more' situation or one where I really need to stabilize and Tezzeret doesn't help stabalize. Kappa Cannoneers are now $6. Let's give those a shot.

2 Mishra's Bauble
4 Urza's Bauble
1 Aether Spellbomb
1 Sunbeam Spellbomb
3 Barbed Spike

3 Sai, Master Thopterist
3 Emry, Lurker of the Loch
2 Master of Etherium
4 Ethersworn Canonist
4 Patchwork Automaton
3 Kappa Cannoneer|
2 Akal Pakal, First Among Equals

3 Dispatch
1 Swords to Plowshares

3 Seat of the Synod
3 Ancient Den
4 Razortide Bridge
3 Plains
4 Island
1 Otawara, Soaring City
4 Mystic Gate

2 Thoughtcast

Going through my cards one day, I realized that I had extra Thoughtcasts in my binder. Why should they sit there? This deck wants card draw! 

I'm also looking at Akal Pakal to see if that is good. I never really liked Riddlesmith, and I'm hoping the 1/5 body on Akal will make it a little more sturdy. 

I'm also thinking of a sideboard now, and with Lavaspur Boots starting to get some attention, maybe I'll put the Sunbeam Spellbomb there, maindeck the Boots and have a side that goes:

4 Hydroblast
2 Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender
4 Tormod's Crypt
1 Pithing Needle
1 Dispatch
2 Torpor Orb
1 Sunbeam Spellbomb

I'm considering running Syr Ginger maindeck too: the card seems like fun and the appropriate amount of silly. But for now: Hydroblast to stop Red artifact removal, Tormod's Crypt for the graveyard strategies, Pithing Needle as a catch all, Dispatch for extra removal and Torpor Orb as another good stopgap.

Data Dump

Well...it was sorta fun!

The wall I kept running into was this; cards that boosted or made my artifacts weren't artifacts. Which meant that there was a time when I'd be taking a turn off to cast Tempered Steel and not generating more tokens. That meant NOT pressing the board, and if I didn't already have an artifact creature on the table then it would amount to very little. 

Also I see that Riddlesmith has gotten some star power as a way to dig through the deck, and Ingenious Smith has come along to act as Patchwork Automatons 5-8. With Master of Etherium as a way to replace Tempered Steel, maybe I've got something? 

Plus, Kappa Cannoneers has come down in price, so that card is back in the mix. 

I'm trying this for now:

2 Mishra's Bauble

4 Urza's Bauble

1 Aether Spellbomb

1 Sunbeam Spellbomb

3 Sai, Master Thopterist

3 Emry, Lurker of the Loch

2 Master of Etherium

4 Ethersworn Canonist

4 Patchwork Automaton

3 Ingenious Smith

3 Riddlesmith

3 Dispatch

1 Swords to Plowshares

3 Seat of the Synod

3 Ancient Den

4 Razortide Bridge

4 Plains

4 Island

1 Otawara, Soaring City

4 Mystic Gate

3 Tezzeret, Artifice Master

The Wrath Of Code

The Wrath of Code, named after a song by the excellent Dan Terminus, is my turn on the Thopter decks. I know, this is where Kappa Cannoneer has found a home but Cannoneers are spendy! Why pay for those, when I can swarm the air with tokens?

2 Mishra's Bauble

3 Urza's Bauble

1 Aether Spellbomb

1 Sunbeam Spellbomb

4 Sai, Master Thopterist

3 Emry, Lurker of the Loch

2 Master of Etherium

4 Ethersworn Canonist

2 Esperoza

3 Thopter Spy Network

4 Tempered Steel

3 Dispatch

2 Metallic Rebuke

3 Seat of the Synod

3 Ancient Den

4 Razortide Bridge

4 Plains

4 Island

1 Otawara, Soaring City

4 Mystic Gate

3 Tezzeret, Artifice Master

This should be a lot of fun.