This is designed to be a toolbox deck. Play Artificer's Intuition (preferably first turn using a land + Simian Spirit Guide) and start searching out responses to your opponent's deck. Once you have the game in your control, start searching out and funneling
Myr Servitor
's into your graveyard, search out a Signal Pest or two, and swing in for 8 damage every turn. If you get boardwiped, search out the Expedition Map, use it to search out Academy Ruins, and put a
Myr Servitor
on top of your library. Once you've drawn/played
Myr Servitor
, use Academy Ruins to put your Signal Pest on top of your library, play it the turn your
Myr Servitor
's return to play, and swing for 8 the following turn.
The deck is meant to be slow and steady, winning the game only when it feels most comfortable. If you enjoy toolbox decks, and enjoy winning the game on your terms, this deck is for you.
Muddle the Mixture + Transmute = Artificer's Intuition
Simian Spirit Guide + Any Land = Artificer's Intuition
Artificer's Intuition + Whatever Artifact Wrecks Your Opponent's Deck = Control
Artificer's Intuition + Expedition Map = Academy Ruins
Artificer's Intuition +
Myr Servitor
=
Myr Servitor
x4
Myr Servitor
x4 + Signal Pest and/or Master of Etherium = Win Condition
The Rack +
Necrogen Spellbomb
= Alternate Win Condition
Pyrite Spellbomb + Academy Ruins = Last Ditch Win Condition
Codex Shredder + Lantern of Insight = Sideboard in for more control
Testing Notes
-Salvage Titan feels weak. Was my backup win condition, but I think I may mainboard The Rack and a
Necrogen Spellbomb
instead (which means I'll need to swap out a Steam Vents for a Watery Grave.
-
Locket of Yesterdays
, while it is a cool card, also seems weak. Unfortunately, I just rarely have the luxury of being able to play it. I think I would rather have a mainboard Dispeller's Capsule.
-I feel like the deck doesn't have enough mana. I think some Simian Spirit Guide's may do the trick and speed the deck up as well, but I'm hesitant because that cuts back the amount of artifacts that I can use to search for other artifacts. All the same, there have been several games where it took me too long to find my second land, and this deck really needs to be able to get 2 lands on the field in order to begin the deckthinning that it relies so heavily on. I'm thinking I'll either add 3 lands, or add 3 Simian Spirit Guide's.
-If I cut
Locket of Yesterdays
, that defeats the purpose of
Rune Snag
, and makes Mana Leak just flat out better. I would also swap out the Essence Scatter's in the sideboard for
Psychic Barrier
.
-Pithing Needle, Pyrite Spellbomb, and Engineered Explosives have saved me so many times. On the flip side, Chalice of the Void, Brittle Effigy, and Sunbeam Spellbomb haven't been as useful as I had hoped. I feel like Brittle Effigy may find a better home in the sideboard, for decks with creatures I can't otherwise handle (like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn in an Urzatron deck). Chalice of the Void is tough to use with this deck, because I typically want to cast it with 1 or 2 charge counters on it, but that would wreck my own deck. I feel like I just haven't learned to play with it yet... as in, maybe what I need to do is set it to 1 after my
Myr Servitor
's have hit the field, or to 2 after my Artificer's Intuition has hit the field. Sunbeam Spellbomb is a good card that I think I will find some solid uses for, but I just haven't had learned when to use it yet.
-I have yet to test out the Codex Shredder / Lantern of Insight combo that I have in the sideboard... It seems strong, but I will have to see. Regardless, the more I play this deck, the more I feel that 2 of any one searchable card in the deck is pointless, as I'll just end up putting it back on top of my library with Academy Ruins after I search it out using Expedition Map... So I will likely cut 1 Lantern of Insight in the sideboard for something else... I'm sure not sure what I'd replace it with just yet.
-This deck fares extremely well vs Jeskai Ascendancy. Has a hard time vs Birthing Pod. Goes even with aggro decks.
-I've just discovered that in a situation where neither of you can win, Pyrite Spellbomb can function as a last resort win condition. Takes quite some time, but if you've successfully locked down the game and they have no way to win but won't concede, pull out Pyrite Spellbomb and slowly but surely wear their health down by bringing it back every turn with Academy Ruins.
-The deck stalls and controls very well. In that aspect, it plays just like a toolbox deck should. But it had no end game...
Myr Servitor
just isn't strong enough, and the fact that it is hit by literally any of the common boardwipe cards makes it too unreliable. The Rack works when they play down to 0 cards in hand, but only if I have the mana to search for and drop both The Rack and
Necrogen Spellbomb
in the same turn, which doesn't happen as often as I'd like. Pyrite Spellbomb works in a pinch, but is even slower than
Myr Servitor
or The Rack. I haven't done as much testing as I normally would before putting out another update, but I think that adding Master of Etherium or Steel Overseer to this deck would make a ton of sense, and I can easily fit them in without altering my changes in Update 1.
Update was just released, check back later!
Changelog
I believe these changes should add some consistency to the deck, and improve the overall ability of the deck to control the game. With the changes that this update brings, however, my biggest concern is the lack of a strong win condition (as Salvage Titan's have been cut).
Myr Servitor
's do the job if they stick, but with cards like
Electrickery
and Pyroclasm filling up people's sideboards, they are easily responded to, and it takes at least 3 more turns after one of those hits before I'm swinging in again. I just need a faster win condition... Suggestions appreciated.
-Swapped out 4
Rune Snag
for 4 Mana Leak
-Moved 1 Brittle Effigy to sideboard
-Removed 1
Locket of Yesterdays
-Removed 1 Signal Pest
-Removed 2 Salvage Titan
-Removed 2 Memnite
-Added 1 Watery Grave
-Added 3 Simian Spirit Guide
-Moved 1 Dispeller's Capsule to mainboard
-Moved 1 The Rack to mainboard
-Moved 1
Necrogen Spellbomb
to mainboard
-Swapped out 2 Essence Scatter for 2
Psychic Barrier
in the sideboard
-Added 2 Timely Reinforcements to the sideboard
The deck was really lacking a solid win condition, as I've stated several times. To remedy this, I'm thinking that borrowing some Affinity staples might make sense. This deck runs almost entirely artifacts, so there's no reason why Master of Etherium wouldn't work in this deck, and even though I can't search him out with Artificer's Intuition, I should be able to thin my deck down enough where I'm guaranteed to draw at least one of them. I still want to do more testing with Simian Spirit Guide, but if I end up still needing a stronger win condition, Steel Overseer could replace them. Additionally, Galvanic Blast just seems to make more sense than Lightning Bolt. To make room for these changes, I've moved some cards to the sideboard that seemed to make more sense there, given that I felt my sideboard had some unnecessary cards in it anyway.
Swapped out 3 Lightning Bolt for 3 Galvanic Blast
Moved 1 Tormod's Crypt to the sideboard
Moved 1 Ornithopter to the sideboard
Moved 1 Steel Wall to the sideboard
Removed 1 Signal Pest
Removed 1 Thoughtcast
Added 1 O-Naginata
Added 4 Master of Etherium
Removed 1 Lantern of Insight from sideboard
Removed 2
Necrogen Spellbomb
from sideboard
