R/W Metal

[Alex]

New Phyrexia Game Day is coming up, and for once I'll actually be able to take part!

I want to play something fun and not too taxing, so I came up with a version of Robots! for Standard. I posted a U/R of this on Twitter a while ago, but this is the R/W version. The numbers are still in flux but this is roughly what I'll be playing on Saturday.

Lands (25)

3 Arid Mesa
1 Scalding Tarn
2 Tectonic Edge
11 Plains
7 Mountain
1 Island

Creatures (25)

4 Memnite
4 Signal Pest
4 Vault Skirge
4 Spellskite
3 Etched Champion
3 Phyrexian Metamorph
3 Jor Kadeen, The Prevailer

Spells (11)

4 Dispatch
4 Galvanic Blast
3 Tempered Steel

Sideboard

3 Mental Misstep
3 Hammer of Ruin
2 Crush
2 Remember the Fallen
5 other cards I haven't decided on yet!

There are a few Phyrexian mana creatures and abilities, which could hurt a bit, but the idea is that Vault Skirge can grab some life back, especially once Jor Kadeen or Tempered Steel hits play. It's also a 2cc card that plays for 1 mana, and so dodges Mental Misstep.

Jor Kadeen is a card I've really wanted to build with lately. A 5cc 5/4 first striker isn't bad for starters, but he also makes an impact as soon as he hits play. Every other creature in the deck is an artifact, so suddenly you have a 5/2 Etched Champion, or a 4/1 Vault Skirge, or even a 3/4 Spellskite. It's a criminally underrated card that I think has been overlooked because Standard is so much about CawBlade and, to a lesser extent, Exarch Twin right now.

The 1 Scalding Tarn is just so I can randomly grab an Island for Metamorph or Spellskite if I want to pay 1 life instead of 2. Might be significant, might not be. Also, there are only 3 instead of 4 Arid Mesa because the deck is painful enough!

In the sideboard, I have Hammer of Ruin because it's a bit of a "forgotten" (i.e. unexpected) card, and because Metamorph copying Stoneforge Mystic to get a Hammer, playing it, then equipping to something my opponent can't block and destroying their Sword/Batterskull/whatever will just be one of those cool plays.

Of course, this deck is extremely vulnerable to artifact hate, although having said that I don't think anyone will expect a deck with so many artifacts! (Then again, I don't know how many people at Richmond read this forum!). In any case, Remember the Fallen can help if someone does happen to have masses of arti hate (maybe expecting a Myr deck or something). I can use it to return two creatures because almost every creature is an artifact, so I get more value out of it.

Anyway, if you have any comments, throw them in! I'm not married to this exact list and feedback is welcome. Thanks!

[vikirosen]

Real awesome deck. I love it. I was trying to build something with Jor Kadeen myself, and came to roughly the same conclusion. Here are some points to be made.

1. Expect artifact hate. Batterskull is the worst thing in Standard right now, so instant speed artifact removal will be around.

2. Against Splinter Twin, don't forget that their, Deceiver Exarch taps something when it comes into play, so you need to leave up 2 mana for a Dispatch to deal with him (actualy, one is enough, and dispatch him when the ability to tap is on the stack, but I'd prefer to Dispatch in response to Splinter Twin being played; also, you may arbitrarily insert Galvanic Blast instead of Dispatch there).

3. If you think you can spare a few slots in the mana, try Inkmoth Nexus (works well with both Tempered Steel and Jor Kadeen) or, for a cheaper variant, Dread Statuary (same interactions as the other one).

4. As sideboard tech, maybe try Into the Roil (I understand people are playing it a lot nowadays), as well as Dispense Justice, since you can't remove creatures with Sword of War and Peace on them. With the amount of life you lose through Phyrexian mana and fetches, you can't afford the extra damage from Sword of War and Peace, so you MUST deal with it, or the creatures it equips (I saw 2 Crush in there, but I don't think it's enough, besides, the sword will be mainboard for most people, since they expect the mirror).

[@dtlerch]

Hello.

A few thoughts: Prophetic Prism takes away your need for an Island, smooths your draw and your mana, and is an artifact for metalcraft. Sounds pretty slick!

Tempered Steel is probably your most "powerful" effect, so I'd want to max out on 4. Same with Etched Champion. Spellskite is awesome, but since it's a 0/4 without help, I think you're fine cutting the 4th.

I'd be worried about your overall artifact count. Etched Champion and Jor-Kadeen are awesome with metalcraft, bland without. Due Respect is even more extreme.

Metamorph is incredible - I think you should play 4! And with the sheer number of Stoneforge Mystics out there, playing some number of equipment maindeck (which are fine when drawn naturally, are artifacts, etc. etc.) would be awesome. Plus, how cool is Etched Champion with a Sword of Anything and Anything Else on it?

Good luck!

Dylan

---

Also, I was brewing up a W/x metalcraft deck in my head the other day.

4 Etched Oracle
4 Stoneforge Mystic
X Awesome equipment
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Porcelain Legionnaire

And that's where I'm at. Seems like a solid start?

[Alex]

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

I've been goldfishing and messing around with the numbers and cards a bit, like adding and subtracting land, trying other cards and so on.

I tried 24 land, but never seemed to be able to draw the 5th land to play Jor Kadeen. 25 land feels right, so I'll probably keep it there.

On Twitter, bmemike suggested Porcelain Legionnaire (and I notice Dylan suggested it in this thread, too). I've replaced Spellskite with Legionnaire, and the deck does feel a lot more aggressive. Turn 1 Vault Skirge, turn 2 Legionnaire hurts (a LOT if you're also cracking fetches), but it's super aggressive and basically uses life as a resource to get ahead. Drop a Tempered Steel on turn 3 and it gets a bit silly. I do like Spellskite, though, because it protects stuff. It's a tough choice!

I've dropped to 3 Signal Pest because after all there are 3 cards (for a total of 11 copies) that can hit play on turn 1. Tempered Steel is still at 3 copies as is Jor Kadeen, which means that all the pump effects are at 3 copies. This also lets me play 4 Metamorphs which, as Dylan said, are awesome.

I'm trying to include Viki's suggestion of Dispense Justice in the sideboard, which is actually getting a bit crammed! I forgot to add Phyrexian Revoker to the board originally, so the sideboard cards, much like the maindeck, are all competing for inclusion.

Also, the Inkmoth Nexus suggestion is a good one. It provides an out against Soul Sisters (which someone will probably play) and can switch on Metalcraft in a pinch.

[vikirosen]

Update the list in the first post.

[Alex]

This is the list I eventually posted a 2-3 record with (I'd rather post it in a new post because I like to show the evolution of a deck).

Lands (24)

3 Arid Mesa
1 Scalding Tarn
2 Tectonic Edge
11 Plains
6 Mountain
1 Island

Creatures (24)

4 Memnite
4 Signal Pest
4 Vault Skirge
3 Porcelain Legionnaire
3 Etched Champion
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Jor Kadeen, The Prevailer

Spells (12)

4 Dispatch
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Tempered Steel

Sideboard (15)

3 Mental Misstep
2 Hammer of Ruin
2 Crush
2 Remember the Fallen
3 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Dispense Justice
1 Spellskite

It was only after handing in my list and seeing one person playing with Phyrexian Unlife did I realise I had no answers to enchantments! I was hoping to avoid that guy, and in the end I did.

I decided to max the Tempered Steels and drop a Mountain to accommodate them. Dylan's right, they're powerful, and in a couple of games I had double Steel on the table (and won). I also maxed the Signal Pests because they do get worse the fewer of them you play, so 4 Pests it was!

The card that gave people the most problems (apart from Tempered Steel) was Legionnaire. Seems that a 3/1 first striker on turn 2 is a bit a problem for certain decks hehe.

Jor Kadeen only hit play once. I rarely managed to find him (or had him in an opening hand that wasn't keepable). I still like the card, and wish I'd found it in one game where I was mana flooded!

I'll talk more about the tourney on show 102.