EDIT: Since the rise of Prismatic Ending and March of Otherworldly Light, this deck has become generally much worse. Also Lurrus of the Dream-Den got banned, so I need to completely rework it. I plan to continue working on it when I have the time, but for now it's not in a great place versus white decks.
An aggressive UB artifact deck, looking to turn small, useful artifacts into big creatures (with a small indestructibility theme). I've been playing this at FNM for several years now, making adjustments, and have really enjoyed it!
I've seriously overhauled this deck after MH2, with the primary additions being Urza's Saga, Rise and Shine, and Lurrus of the Dream-Den as a companion. These changes have required a lot of reworking to increase the number of noncreature artifacts and remove permanents with mana value>3.
Ensoul Artifact, Rise and Shine The heart of the deck. Play a 1-drop artifact on turn one, attack with a 4/4 or 5/5 on turn two. If you use Rise and Shine first, you can use Ensoul Artifact (Or the Blackstaff) on top of it to make a 9/9!
The Blackstaff of Waterdeep Not as good as the other animation cards, but it's reusable and is itself an artifact, which warrants running two copies despite being legendary.
Urza's Saga This card is busted. Lets you fetch whatever tool you need in the moment, and makes beefy creatures (that you can pump with Ensoul Artifact).
Darksteel Axe You almost always want to animate these first. Indestructibility is very handy, and if you don't have anything else to do you can equip them to your other creatures. Ever seen an axe dual-wielding identical axes?
Darksteel Citadel The hardiest artifact in the deck. In addition to being indestructible, it's immune to removal for nonland permanents.
Witching Well Another one-drop that enables early aggression. The deck's reliance on combining two types of cards together makes the scrying very helpful, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game.
Smuggler's Copter Does so many things. It flies, filters cards, and dodges board wipes. If you put counters on it with Rise and Shine, you can crew it with another creature (or even itself!) to bump up its power and toughness until end of turn.
Pithing Needle A classic hate piece.
Nihil Spellbomb Mainboard graveyard hate often comes in handy, but even if you just use it as a creature, you can still draw a card when it dies.
Hex Parasite Kills planeswalkers and any of those 0/0 artifact creatures with counters, and if you've got mana and time you can remove counters from Urza's Saga to keep pumping out constructs indefinitely.
Hangarback Walker A small, high-value creature that can be pumped by ensoul or blackstaff.
Gingerbrute The unblockable ability becomes much more powerful when he’s a 4/4. Can also be fetched by Urza’s saga, or eaten for some life.
Basilisk Collar, Shadowspear These add valuable life gain to the deck, and can be animated themselves in a pinch. Shadowspear's other ability can completely counter some decks.
Inquisition of Kozilek, Stubborn Denial The nature of the deck makes two-for-ones a significant risk. These disrupt your opponent and protect your stuff from disruption. Stubborn Denial usually becomes a one-mana negate by turn two or three.
Fatal Push Your creatures are pretty robust, but sometimes you still need to get rid of a pesky flier or combo piece.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth lets your Sagas and Citadels tap for black.
The deck's combination of speed, versatility, and disruption give it a decent matchup against almost any archetype...though this sometimes comes at the cost of consistency. The creatures are also especially vulnerable to bounce and exile, so knowing your opponent's deck and playing around disruption are extra important. One of the best parts of the deck is how fun and interesting it is to play and to play against; games are rarely boring for either side. I plan to continue refining it as time passes and new cards are made. Thanks for checking out my deck!
