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Padeem the Assembler

Commander / EDH* Artifact Battlecruiser Combo Competitive Mono-Blue Multiplayer

Mahric

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Mana Ramp (10)

Counterspells (7)

Creatures - Vedalkens (6)

Finishers (4)

Creature Support (2)

Lands (38)

Tutors (9)

Tutors - Colourless (5)

Support - Infinite Mana (4)

Removal / Bounce (1)

Commander (1)

Commander: Padeem, Consul of Innovation

Creatures - Constructs (7)

Protection (6)

Tutors & Card Draw (3)

Maybeboard

Creatures - Beatdown (22)

Protection (7)

Mana Ramp (10)

Tutors & Card Draw (8)

Creatures - Support (6)

Land (1)

Counterspells & Bounce (8)

Support (9)

Other (7)

Removal (1)

This is a mono-blue artifact deck that ramps into an early Padeem, Consul of Innovation and quickly establishes a defensive board position with solid creatures and supporting artifacts. From there it can either try to control the game with it's powerful creatures, counterspells and recurring removal, or can switch to combo mode and win with infinite damage or a large alpha strike.

Essential Cards

This is primarily a combo deck that uses Basalt Monolith + Power Artifact or Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth to generate infinite mana, then finishes the game with Cogwork Assembler or Staff of Nin/Voltaic Key. We've chosen Padeem, Consul of Innovation as our Commander because she protects most of our combo pieces from targeted removal, and her card drawing ability helps to assemble the components more quickly. And of course, she's blue, so we have access to counterspells and some superb artifact tutors.

Commander

  • Padeem, Consul of Innovation
    Padeem has a symbiotic relationship with her artifacts. She's cheap to cast, and if you can get her down early and protect her, she gives your artifacts hexproof and provides a steady flow of card advantage. She is extremely flexible and creates a strong defensive platform around which to build an artifact-themed deck.

Infinite Mana

  • Basalt Monolith
    This is the lynchpin in the deck and always the first card we tutor for. It produces the same amount of mana as it costs to play (or costs to untap), so you can essentially play it for free. It can also tap and uptap itself using its own mana to pay the untap activation cost. This has some important implications if you can either reduce the cost to untap itself, or can copy the untap ability. Also note that Monolith can convert "artifact only" mana from cards such as Vedalken Engineer into regular colourless mana, with no penalty.
  • Power Artifact
    Combo piece, combines with Basalt Monolith to produce infinite mana. Tutor for it with Muddle the Mixture.
  • Rings of Brighthearth
    An alternative to Power Artifact, this also combines with Basalt Monolith to produce infinite mana. It's usually the better option because it's easier to tutor for and will have hexproof if Padeem is on the battlefield. It has other uses too - it can copy any activated ability, including those of Staff of Domination and Maze of Ith.

Win Conditions

  • Cogwork Assembler
    With infinite mana, this becomes our primary win condition. It replicates itself infinitely and each copy gains haste until the end of turn. But it also combines nicely with some of the other cards in the deck once you have enough mana to activate it ability: make copies of Mind Stone or Mindless Automaton and sacrifice them to draw cards, or copy Duplicant and Spine of Ish Sah to take out annoying permanents.
  • Walking Ballista
    Ballista converts infinite mana into infinite damage. It's more difficult to tutor than the Assembler as many of our tutors put the target directly into play, but that doesn't work for X/X creatures because X would be zero. You can still fetch this with cards like Fabricate and Trinket Mage that tutor to hand.

Support Cards

This deck uses a LOT of mana and needs ramp up quickly. We use "fast mana" artifacts that can be activated immediately upon entering battlefield, and support them with creatures that can bring them into play more quickly.

Artifacts

  • Thran Dynamo
    Solid source of colourless mana, helping to power out our more expensive artifacts. As with many of our mana rocks, it produces just one less mana than it costs, so you can often drop it into play and still cast the spell you'd originally planned to cast.
  • Voltaic Key
    A fantastic tool for untapping Basalt Monolith (or one of the large mana rocks). It's also good for untapping creatures after they've attacked.

Creatures

  • Vedalken Engineer and Renowned Weaponsmith
    Although not artifacts themselves, these two artificers have proven to be quite useful. You can play them on turn two followed by an mana rock on turn three and still have enough mana to play Padeem. Use them to pay the activation cost for Rings of Brighthearth or to help to power out some of our more expensive artifacts.
  • Grand Architect
    Grand Architect is a super star, turning all our blue creatures into sol rings and can be activated immediately upon entering the battlefield. While it is vulnerable to removal, if it can survive for a few turns, it would have done its job.

In addition to running multiple copies of the same or similar effects, this deck includes a large number of tutors to ensure that we can set up our combos or find the answers we need.

Tutors

  • Expedition Map
    Very useful card, can tutor for any of our utility lands. Fetch Academy Ruins then put this back on top of your library, or fetch Inventors' Fair and sacrifice it to find any artifact in your library using only colourless mana. Frequently used with infinite mana to tutor up a win condition.
  • Transmute Artifact
    Sacrifice an artifact and fetches ANY artifact, putting it directly into play. The cost of X is reduced by the cost of the artifact that was sacrificed. For example, you can sacrifice Solemn Simulacrum to put Basalt Monolith directly into play. Unfortunately this is quite an expensive card, but Reshape would be a decent alternative.
  • Fabricate
    Very versatile, fetches ANY artifact.
  • Drift of Phantasms
    The transmute ability can fetch any of our key combo cards: Basalt Monolith, Rings of Brighthearth, Staff of Domination and Cogwork Assembler all cost 3 mana.
  • Trophy Mage
    Always happy to see this. It can fetch any of our key combo cards, combines with Grand Architect to produce mana and can be used as an early blocker.
  • Trinket Mage
    Fetches Mana Crypt, Ashnod's Transmogrant, Exploration Map and Voltaic Key.
  • Treasure Mage
    Less useful than the other mages, this can't be used to find any of our combo components, but it can pick up a Wurmcoil Engine, Colossus of Akros, Akroma's Memorial and Darksteel Forge.
  • Whir of Invention
    It's an Instant and can be played at the end of your opponent's turn, and you can tap any of your artifact creatures to pay the mana cost. Fetches any artifact and puts it directly into play.
  • Tezzeret the Seeker
    Superb planeswalker, finds one of our combo pieces and puts it directly into play. It can also uptap mana rocks or fetch artifact lands at zero cost.

Card Drawing

  • Staff of Domination
    Utility card that can tap down large threats, untap our own creatures, and with infinite mana can draw the entire deck to find a win condition.
  • Impulse
    Helps to dig through the library to find early lands and ramp, or late game combo pieces.
  • Pull from Tomorrow
    This deck produces a lot of mana and X draw instant spells are very effective. And with infinite mana you can draw your entire library to find a finisher.
  • Stroke of Genius
    Much the same as Pull from Tomorrow, but only costs one mana. With so much mana acceleration, it's not difficult to cast a large X draw instant at the end of the opponent's turn and start the next turn with 8-10 new cards.

The deck includes a strong set of artifacts and artifact creatures to provide early board presence and an alternative route to victory. Artifact creatures gain hexproof from Padeem, and if we can get a Darksteel Forge into play they become indestructible too.

Creatures

  • Mindless Automaton
    Early blocker that can replace itself by drawing cards in response to removal. Use it to convert unwanted cards into +1 counters, possibly after a large Stroke of Genius. Combines with Cogwork Assembler and infinite mana to draw your library.
  • Solemn Simulacrum
    Another early blocker that fetches a basic land, and draws a card when it dies. Always happy to see this.
  • Phyrexian Metamorph
    Comes into play as a copy of any creature or artifact on the battlefield. It's frequently used to copy Padeem (sending the original back to the command zone and keeping the copy, which will have hexproof), but it can also copy Tutor Mages to search for a specific card, or Duplicant and Spine of Ish Sah for additional removal.
  • Master of Etherium and Darksteel Juggernaut
    Battlecruisers that power up the more artifacts we have in play. The Juggernaut is indestructible, which combined with Padeem's hexproof, makes it extremely difficult to remove.
  • Manor Gargoyle
    Indestructible blocker, can be used to attack if necessary.
  • Self-Assembler
    Decent blocker that tutors for Cogwork Assembler. One of only two ways (the other is Exploration Map -> Inventors' Fair) to tutor a win condition using only colourless mana.
  • Steel Hellkite
    Great card, especially with infinite mana. Potential finisher, and can remove tricky permanents (on a successful attack).
  • Wurmcoil Engine
    No surprise here. A great blocker with deathtouch and lifelink, that creates two new creatures when it dies.
  • Mage-Ring Responder
    This is a lot of fun, dealing damage to target creature when it attacks. It doesn't wait for combat damage, so we can use Maze of Ith to remove it from combat either before damage is dealt or during the end-of combat step. Voltaic Key and Unwinding Clock can also be used to untap it. If you don't like this card, you may want to consider running Platinum Emperion in this slot.
  • Colossus of Akros
    This is a monster! Indestructible 10/10 that can easily be powered up to to a 20/20 with trample. It's the ultimate blocker and a formiddable damage dealer, immune to almost all removal.

Artifacts

  • Ashnod's Transmogrant
    Cheap and simple, easy to tutor, this turns Padeem into an artifact, giving her hexproof (and a small +1/+1 bonus). Tutor with Trinket Mage.
  • Basilisk Collar
    Turn any creature into a Wurmcoil Engine. Deathtouch is a useful "rattlesnake" effect, and the lifelink could come in handy too.
  • Crawlspace
    No more than two creatures can attack YOU each combat. It doesn't stop Commanders, but is great against token armies. And significantly, doesn't stop your opponents from attacking each other.
  • Akroma's Memorial
    All-round creature boost. None of our creatures have flying; first strike and Vigilance are also useful in this deck.

While Padeem does a great job of protecting artifacts from targeted removal, we are quite vulnerable to mass removal. A few counterspells provide some defense against board sweeps and help to protect our combo pieces.

Counterspells

  • Dispel
    Counter target instant spell, protects combo from disruption.
  • Swan Song
    Cheap counterspell, deals with just about everything we're worried about.
  • Mana Drain
    Strictly better than Counterspell. It doesn't come cheap but there are low-cost alternatives, like Negate.
  • Muddle the Mixture
    Primarily used to tutor for Power Artifact or Cyclonic Rift, this is still a decent counterspell and can deal with most mass removal spells.
  • Supreme Will
    Flexible card slot, can be used as a Mana Leak or Impulse depending on the situation.
  • Mystic Confluence
    This has been is an absolute star - most commonly used to draw cards, it can also serve as a counterspell or removal. Drawing 2 cards and returning Trophy Mage to hand is quite a common play.

Mass Removal

  • Cyclonic Rift
    Bounce all your opponents' permanents - at instant speed! A backup win condition, that can be fetched by Muddle the Mixture.
  • Aether Gale
    Returns SIX different non-land permanents to their owners' hands. Like Mystic Confluence it can bounce a Trinket or Trophy Mage at the same time as targeting your opponents' permanents.

Targeted Removal

  • Chain of Vapor
    Deceptively powerful, bounce any targetable permanent. Remove troublesome pieces when you need to combo off, or bounce your own permanents to reuse them (e.g. mana rocks or tutor mages).
  • Duplicant
    Exiles non-token creatures, it's never going to be short of targets. Combines well with Cogworth Assembler.
  • Spine of Ish Sah
    Destroy target permanent. With infinite mana, Cogworth Assembler can make infinite copies of Spine, each one triggering as it enters the battlefield.

Basic Lands

  • 34x Islands
    This deck needs to make it's early land drops, and because we run a lot of tutors with double-blue in the mana cost, we try to have at least four mana sources within the first four or five turns.

Utility Lands

  • Seat of the Synod
    Artifact land that p[roduces blue mana. Nice synergy with Padeem and interacts well with other cards in the deck. Can tutor this for free with Tezzeret.
  • Academy Ruins
    Return artifacts from graveyard to the top of our library. Academy Ruins combines well with Exploration Map.
  • Ancient Tomb
    Don't worry about the damage, this is essentially another Mana Crypt and allows for some explosive starts.
  • Inventors' Fair
    Very useful because it doesn't require mana. Frequently used to find Staff of Domination or Cogwork Assembler after the infinite mana engine has been established.
  • Maze of Ith
    It doesn't produce mana, but provides some defense against Voltron Commanders (without shroud/hexproof) and large beaters. Can also be use to untap your own creatures during the combat end step. Combines well with Mage-Ring Responder.

Notes

There are a few cards that look like they really should be in the deck, but sadly didn't work out well in testing.

  • Metalworker
    Easy to tutor and goes infinite with either Staff of Domination or Cogwork Assembler. The problem is that this deck needs to ramp quickly and likes to play it's cards, while Metalworker wants you to hold back and keep artifacts in hand. Also it can't be activated immediately due to summoning sickness.
  • Master Transmuter
    Superb card and looks like an automatic inclusion, what with Duplicant and Spine of Ish Sah in the deck, but it doesn't seem to play as well in a a singleton format. If I was guaranteed to draw it every game, I could build around it, but I generally have better things to tutor and when I do draw it, it's often a dead card.
  • Force of Will
    Free counterspell to protect our combo, the blue card in hand shouldn't be a problem with Padeem's draw ability ... but actually it is. We don't have that many blue cards sitting around waiting to be cast. In fact it's more common to extra Islands and I'd be more inclined to include Foil than Force of Will.
  • Mycosynth Lattice
    This turns ALL permanents into artifacts instantly giving Padeem hexproof, as well as all our lands and enchantments. It allows EVERYONE to spend mana as though it were mana of any colour, which is great for you casting coloured spells with infinite mana ... but it can help your opponents too. And Vandalblast is basically an instant win for whoever casts it first. Lattice is definitely is an option, but I've been a little reluctant to include it.

I have a few rather expensive cards in the deck, some of these are more important than others. There are a few simple changes that could significantly lower the cost of the deck, and while they may slow things down a little, would not make a significant difference.

Mana Ramp

  • Mana Crypt --> Sky Diamond
    There's no obvious replacement for Mana Crypt, but any semi-decent mana rock can fill this slot. Sky Diamond is a good option, but Commander's Sphere and Worn Powerstone could work too.

Tutors

  • Staff of Domination --> Trading Post
    Staff of Domination converts infinite mana into infinite draw, but since we also have Stroke of Genius and Pull from Tomorrow to do the same thing, this isn't essential. Trading Post is another utility artifact that has good synergy with the rest of the deck.

Creatures

  • Wurmcoil Engine --> Soul of New Phyrexia
    The Wurmcoil Engine isn't important to the game plan. Steel Hellkite is a great replacement, otherwise something more defensive like Manor Gargoyle could work too.

Counterspells & Removal

  • Pact of Negation --> Spell Pierce
    Free counterspells help to protect the combo. Any low cost counterspell can work here, Spell Pierce is a good choice.
  • Mana Drain --> Negate
    A straight swap. Negate may even be the better option in certain situations due to the single blue mana cost.
  • Cyclonic Rift --> Wash Out
    Mass bounce that doesn't affect your creatures. Cyclonic Rift is very much a blue staple, but Wash Out is a decent replacement. Otherwise some spot removal like Chain of Vapor or Into the Roil could go here.

Lands

  • Ancient Tomb --> Arch of Orazca
    Ancient Tomb is a luxury. Any utility land could fit in here, maybe Arch of Orazca to provide some mid/late-game draw.
  • Academy Ruins --> Buried Ruin
    Academy Ruins is nice, but not essential. Buried Ruin will return Basalt Monolith to hand if it happens to get destroyed.

Other

  • Power Artifact --> ??
    While Rings of Brighthearth is essential to our infinite mana game plan, Power Artifact is more of a backup option. There's really no replacement, so this would be a flexible slot. I'd probably run some additional card draw/manipulation, like Preordain or Anticipate.

Sol Ring Love this image, credit to whomever made it.

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92% Casual

Competitive

Date added 7 years
Last updated 3 years
Key combos
Legality

This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)

11 - 0 Mythic Rares

29 - 0 Rares

19 - 0 Uncommons

14 - 0 Commons
Cards 103
Avg. CMC 3.18
Tokens Bird 2/2 U, Construct 0/0 C, Copy Clone
Folders Thoughts
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