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Main » Articles » Magic the Classroom – Metalmania

Magic the Classroom – Metalmania

Dan Eckstein
Posted on October 22, 2010
 Reddit

In last week's class I discussed the value of Metalcraft when compared to cards of old. While I did like the articles premise and felt my numbers were pretty fair there was something lacking in that piece. It really needed a better conclusion. The intro and set up were there but where was the beef? Hopefully this week has more meat for you to chew on.

What I would like to do this week is give you some decks that build around Metalcraft. These deck ideas are based on having fun with the mechanic. Not to be considered Tier One by any stretch. I only say this because there is a possibility that some of you might be reading me for the first time. Loyal readers know that when it comes to deck lists I "put the U in Casual".

There are so many possible ways to include the Metalcraft mechanic into a deck that I had to limit myself in some fashion. So I decided to go Mono colored only. I still have a plethora of lists possible so let's get to it.

Green

Green's Metalcraft list has only two cards available. Ezuri's Brigade and Carapace Forger. In my California/ Kansas analogy Green comes out even / +2. So that means the cards play the same without Metalcraft as comparable cards. With Metalcraft active they're ahead of the curve by 2 cmc. Because of this even factor I looked to run a Green Metalcraft deck first.

About two or three months ago I brought you a deck called "I'm Hungry". It focused on using Spawn tokens to create a Devour smorgasbord. Devour is out now so I had to fill slots with something. In stepped Metalcraft. Overrun had to be replaced as well but Overwhelming Stampede performs that task. I would rather have the consistent +3/+3 instead of the variable +X/+X. Since the times I go higher than three it's just a win more effect and when I don't get three it's not worth it.

In order to have enough artifacts I had to cut the Mana Dorks out. This exchange was surprisingly acceptable. I thought at first it would considerably slow the deck down but the extra benefits from having 3 artifacts is equivalent to using dorks to get there faster. I do miss the Turn 2 Awakening Zone, Turn 3 Monument.

I do have a cool story with this deck. In testing the deck out Online I got the fortune to misclick and play in a Classic Format game against another writer. He asked me not to use his name but he's a deck tinkerer for a different site. As for which site let's just say it's based closer to the source. On turn four he played a Stormcaller's Boon Cascading into a Hypergenesis. I'm pretty sure he took it easy on me since all that he put into play was a Bloodbraid Elf and an Enlisted Wurm and still had 4 cards in hand. My turn 5 was an Overwhelming Stampede boosting 2 Ornithopters, a Memnite, and an Ezuri's Brigade.

"Hungry for Metal"

Red

In red there are only two Metalcraft cards I would consider playing. In fact they're probably my two favorite Metalcraft cards in the whole set. Kuldotha Phoenix and Galvanic Blast are both even without Metalcraft but they're way ahead if you achieve Metalcraft. In order to make the Blast effective you would want to get Metalcraft pretty early before anything with a 5 toughness can hit the table but the Phoenix can Metal up a little slower and still provide the reach you need for the late game.

As for the rest of the deck I stalled for direction for awhile. Do I focus on fast Artifacts for the Blast or play control for the Phoenix. It wasn't until I opened a Kuldotha Rebirth in a Pack War that I found my focus. Goblins! I jotted down this list but I can't claim any real testing as I still am hunting a couple of cards. I've Apprenticed it up and theoretically it works better than the Green.

Some notes about the list. First, it is sometimes difficult to choose between having 3 Goblins or 1 Artifact if sacing the artifact makes us lose Metalcraft. I realize that these concepts can be diametric opposites. However this also makes for a diversification of win conditions. If they remove artifacts I can still win the day with goblins and if they remove the goblins I can still win the day with Metalcraft. Second, the number of equipment vs. number of artifact creatures needs some serious testing. Also how many of each equipment is flexible.

"Slobad’s Metal"

Black

My first impulse when writing this article was to scrap black altogether. After all there is only one Black Metalcraft card. Bleak Coven Vampires future is pretty bleak. Even with Metalcraft in play they don't really make a win condition. However I did build a deck that uses them. The idea stemmed from morris, a reader who commented that they're really only good with a Mimic Vat in play. This is a fine two card combo. How it works is you have your Vamps die with Mimic Vat in play. For the rest of the game you can pay three mana and have your opponent lose 4 and you gain 4 life and swing with a 4/3 as well.

So ultimately this deck is really a Mimic Vat deck. So I started looking for cards that go good with Mimic Vat in black. Let's just mention a few; Grave Titan, Gravedigger, Howling Banshee, Skinrender, Moriok Replica, Myr Battlesphere, and Precursor Golem. There are more I'm sure but that's the ones I had in my notebook. I also had written down some that I thought were good like Blistergrub until I realized the tokens were exiled at EOT not sacrificed. Graveyard abilities would not trigger. Just a lesson on why you should ALWAYS READ THE CARD.

The rest of the deck I filled with removal in order to survive until I can get Mimic Vat online. The major problem is the fact that this deck is ultimately a Single Card Strategy. Destroy the Vat and the deck really has issues. Or worse yet your opponent doesn't destroy your Vat, you just don't draw it.

"Mimic This"

White

In the Plains we have a lot of choices for Metalcraft cards. Many of them are playable without the craft and extreme with. I look at the list and find it fall into two categories. So I'm going to run with two Rule of Nine type decks.

The first deck plays very White Weenie like. Cards like Auriok Edgewright and Auriok Sunchaser when combined with Metalcraft are very efficient Power/Toughness for the mana. To accelerate into Metalcraft early is a must so the Ornithopter/ Memnite package goes in. To help augment our metal count and beef up our early drops we'll add some cheap equipment. I'll use Journey to Nowhere and Pacifism to get rid of those pesky blockers. With so many artifacts that are so cheap to cast we must include Glint Hawk.

"Steely Dan"

The other white Metalcraft cards that I would play with lean more to the control side of the game. The more I play with and think about Dispense Justice the more I love the card. Of Indomitable Angel is a major portion of the muscle in the deck. The real addition from Scars though is Sunblast Angel. Couple a playset of these in with Day of Judgment and we have some solid board wipe occurring. The artifacts used to facilitate Metalcraft serve one of two roles. They either serve as accelerants like Mox Opal, Everflowing Chalice, and Gold Myr. Or they serve as quasi creatures that avoid the pitfalls of playing a Day of Judgment like Chimeric Mass, Glint Hawk Idol, and Golem Foundry.

"Metal Wipers"

Bell Time

To be honest I haven't even toyed with Blue. Mostly that is because in an honest moment I don't like playing the Draw/Go mentality. With cards like Vedalken Certarch, Stoic Rebuttal, and Argent Sphinx there is probably a good counter control deck available. I just haven't extended myself into an island vacation. If Vedalken Shackles was still around I would be all over it though. Maybe they'll reprint it. LOL.

That's the class for today. I would love to hear what you think of these prototypes.

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