Slobad - Self-Mill/Eggs (Competitive)

Commander / EDH Artifact Combo Competitive Infinite Combo Mono-Red Multiplayer

Gerst

Combo (7)

• 1x Basalt Monolith
• 1x Goblin Cannon
• 1x Krark-Clan Ironworks
• 1x Mesmeric Orb
• 1x Metalworker
• 1x Rings of Brighthearth
• 1x Staff of Domination

Discount (3)

• 1x Cloud Key
• 1x Helm of Awakening
• 1x Semblance Anvil

Draw (10)

• 1x Faithless Looting
• 1x Magmatic Insight
• 1x Magus of the Wheel
• 1x Memory Jar
• 1x Reforge the Soul
• 1x Sandstone Oracle
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Tormenting Voice
• 1x Wheel of Fortune
• 1x Wild Guess

Egg (6)

• 1x Chromatic Sphere
• 1x Chromatic Star
• 1x Conjurer's Bauble
• 1x Ichor Wellspring
• 1x Pyrite Spellbomb
• 1x Terrarion

Hate (3)

• 1x Blood Moon
• 1x Magus of the Moon
• 1x Ruination

Interaction (8)

• 1x Chaos Warp
• 1x Galvanic Blast
• 1x Lightning Bolt
• 1x Pyroblast
• 1x Pyroclasm
• 1x Red Elemental Blast
• 1x Tormod's Crypt
• 1x Vandalblast

Land (28)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Bazaar of Baghdad
• 1x Blinkmoth Nexus
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x City of Traitors
• 1x Crystal Vein
• 1x Darksteel Citadel
• 1x Great Furnace
• 1x Inkmoth Nexus
• 1x Mishra's Factory
• 1x Mishra's Workshop
• 10x Mountain
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Wasteland
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Ramp (11)

• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Grim Monolith
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Mox Opal
• 1x Prismatic Lens
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Thought Vessel

Recursion (9)

• 1x Daretti, Scrap Savant
• 1x Goblin Welder
• 1x Junk Diver
• 1x Myr Retriever
• 1x Past in Flames
• 1x Recoup
• 1x Salvaging Station
• 1x Scrap Mastery
• 1x Trash for Treasure

Ritual (4)

• 1x Lion's Eye Diamond
• 1x Lotus Petal
• 1x Seething Song
• 1x Treasonous Ogre

Tutor (3)

• 1x Gamble
• 1x Imperial Recruiter
• 1x Kuldotha Forgemaster

Utility (7)

• 1x Clock of Omens
• 1x Codex Shredder
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Scroll Rack
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Voltaic Key

Commander (1)

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Please note that this list has not been updated since the mulligan rule change on January 18, 2016. The removal of Partial Paris and the ability to mulligan for fast mana and wheels has likely crippled this list, as it was already lacking in consistency compared to other competitive lists. I do intend to come back to the deck at some point and attempt to make it viable under Vancouver mulligans, but I am working on other projects at the moment.

This is a competitive artifact combo deck, designed to rapidly dig through its library and abuse the graveyard as much as possible. It plays similarly to an eggs or self-mill deck, although it doesn't completely fall into either archetype. It averages a turn four kill, with turns two or three being possible on a good draw, and turns five or six being the absolute latest the deck will go off.

You might enjoy playing this deck if:

• You enjoy artifact-based combo
• You like taking fringe strategies and playing them competitively
• The idea of being the lone mono-red player in your competitive EDH playgroup appeals to you

You might not enjoy playing this deck if:

• You hate artifacts and/or infinite combos
• You don't like MLD or land hate
• You require all of your decks to play blue

This decklist has been in the making for over a year, and I'm quite proud of it. I am confident enough to say that I have never seen a Slobad list as competitive as my own. I strongly encourage anyone that enjoys mono-red artifacts and competitive EDH to give it a try.

If you like my deck, please show your appreciation with an upvote!

"Where a lesser mind sees junk, I see infinite potential."

Gameplay

When playing the deck, mulligan aggressively for fast mana and wheel effects. Do not keep eggs in your opener unless you're late in the mulligan process. The gameplan is to ramp hard, then draw lots of cards with wheel effects or eggs with recursion. Due to red's lack of great draw and tutors, we use the graveyard heavily as a resource. Milling cards is almost as good as drawing cards in this deck, due to the abundance of recursion.

Self-mill into Scrap Mastery (often flashed-back) is an extremely powerful effect that will usually win the game with any reasonable number of cards in the yard. You can also sacrifice your board to Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer or Krark-Clan Ironworks in order to get back everything. With enough rocks, this process easily becomes mana-positive, and can be looped repeatedly with flashback effects (Past in Flames or Recoup) or Codex Shredder.

One of the biggest strengths of the deck is that it is difficult for opponents to interact with. Artifact destruction is less potent than usual thanks to Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer's ability. Additionally, counterspells don't do a whole lot against our artifacts, since we can just recur them. However, getting Wheel of Fortune effects counterspelled can hurt a lot, so try to hold up protection for them if possible (Red Elemental Blast or Pyroblast). If they do go to the graveyard, hopefully you have a way to recur them. Somewhat surprisingly, the deck is also reasonably resilient against graveyard hate. Although it definitely hurts and slows us down, it does not cripple us completely. Frequently you can still recur a key artifact in response to getting your graveyard exiled. The deck also plays a decent "fair" game without its graveyard.

Combos

This is not an exhaustive list of combos, as there are many different ways to accomplish these effects in the deck. However, these are the main ones that we will aim to assemble in any given game, with the cleanest and most common being one of the first three in the list to make infinite mana, followed by Goblin Cannon for the kill. Pyrite Spellbomb and Codex Shredder are backup win conditions.

• Rings of Brighthearth + Basalt Monolith + = infinite mana

• Metalworker + Staff of Domination + 3 artifacts in hand = infinite mana, infinite life and infinite draw

• Salvaging Station + Krark-Clan Ironworks + Voltaic Key = infinite mana

• Myr Retriever + Junk Diver + Krark-Clan Ironworks + Helm of Awakening/Cloud Key/Semblance Anvil = infinite mana

• Voltaic Key + Rings of Brighthearth + infinite mana = infinite untaps

• Clock of Omens + Basalt Monolith + Grim Monolith + infinite mana = infinite untaps

• Mesmeric Orb + Basalt Monolith = infinite self-mill

• Mesmeric Orb + Grim Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth + = infinite self-mill

• Sensei's Divining Top + Rings of Brighthearth + infinite mana = infinite draw

Analysis

This deck's greatest strengths are its resilience and how difficult it is for opponents to interact with. Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer provides inherent protection against Vandalblast effects at an efficient cost. Additionally, the list runs large amounts of recursion and redundant effects, which means that even if spells get countered, we usually have additional options. The list also plays reasonably well through certain types of stax effects (Winter Orb and Tangle Wire don't do much), which can grant an edge over certain other combo decks.

This deck's greatest weaknesses are the classic mono-red lack of interaction and consistency. The deck is currently playing a small amount of aggressively costed interaction. In general, the game plan is to outrace most other decks at the table while providing some amount of inevitability due to heavy recursion. When it comes to consistency, pretty much every playable piece of red or colorless draw/filtering is in the deck. It's worth noting that this list actually plays much better when at a table with other competitive blue or red combo decks that are casting Wheel of Fortune/Timetwister effects. I'd estimate that someone else wheeling speeds the combo up by a full turn when compared to a pure goldfish scenario.

FAQ

How competitive is this deck really?

Some people like to use a tier system in order to talk about competitive EDH decks. I find that frequently people have varying definitions of tiers, so I'll first say that my personal definition of T1 (tier one) EDH decks is that they are well-known, established lists that are the "decks to beat" for one reason or another. T2 decks would include anything that has some amount of game against T1 decks, and that will take its fair share of wins in a competitive pod. I am not a fan of half-tiers, so I will simply classify this deck as T2. It is fairly fast and difficult to interact with, though still slower than the fastest combo decks. However, it is lacking in consistency and stack interaction, which are the main factors separating it from T1 decks.

When it comes down to it, I regularly play in competitive EDH pods with decks like Grixis Storm, Esper Doomsday, and Food Chain Prossh, and I still manage to take a reasonable share of wins. There are definitely other factors (there's sometimes an Alesha stax deck that sort of acts like a kingmaker for mine), but the fact of the matter is that this list is absolutely competitive.

Why not use Daretti as your commander?

Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer's use as a free artifact sac outlet is extremely relevant in this deck. Daretti, Scrap Savant costs twice as much and can only be used for this purpose once per turn. Slobad can be used to sacrifice all or part of our board before casting Scrap Mastery, a very powerful effect that Daretti is incapable of. Fundamentally, this particular deck is better served by the sac outlet and protection against artifact destruction. Daretti is really best fit for a different style of deck, one more focused on cheating individual powerful artifacts into play (usually in a stax shell).

How can this deck interact with the table?

Pyroclasm is great against Prossh or Derevi, while Lightning Bolt and Galvanic Blast can remove problem creatures like Gaddock Teeg, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Laboratory Maniac, Notion Thief, or Hermit Druid. Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast effects give us a small amount of stack interaction. Chaos Warp is catch-all removal, and gives us an out to Stony Silence (though it still hoses the deck most of the time). Vandalblast is great in a meta filled with mana rocks, and Tormod's Crypt is great in a meta filled with graveyard combo and recursion. Lastly, the list contains the best red non-basic land hate in Blood Moon, Magus of the Moon, and Ruination. All in all, there isn't a lot of interaction, but what is there is aggressively costed and fairly effective.

Why not are you not playing a certain card?

Odds are that if you're thinking of a card that should be in the list, I've already considered it and chosen a different option. With that said, I am more than happy to discuss card choices in the comments, so please feel free to open a dialogue.

I have easily spent hundreds of hours brainstorming, tuning, and testing this list, and the number one reason for cards not being played is that they are too slow. I play in a competitive meta filled with fast combo decks, so I need to be as fast as possible myself.

I know that a few of the card choices in this list may seem suboptimal at first glance, but a few concessions were necessary due to the mono-red nature of the deck. Cards like Magus of the Wheel are quite slow (counter to what I just said above), but they really are necessary, since mono-red gets few options for draw or consistency.

Card Choices

Lands

Ancient Tomb, City of Traitors, Crystal Vein, Mishra's Workshop

These lands allow us to accelerate more quickly at the expense of some downsides, which are negligible.

Arid Mesa, Bloodstained Mire, Scalding Tarn, Wooded Foothills

Fetch lands grant a small amount of deck thinning as well as a shuffle effect for Sensei's Divining Top and Scroll Rack. The one life isn't an issue.

Bazaar of Baghdad

The looting is great in a deck starved for card draw and consistency. Digging a bit deeper into the deck at the cost of a card from hand is usually worth it.

Blinkmoth Nexus, Inkmoth Nexus, Mishra's Factory

The artifact manlands are an odd include in the deck, but the colorless downside is minimal and they can serve as sac fodder, allowing recursion via Goblin Welder effects, mana via Krark-Clan Ironworks, card draw via Skullclamp, or untaps for Salvaging Station.

Boseiju, Who Shelters All

Although slow, this land grants a way to guarantee the resolution of Scrap Mastery or Wheel of Fortune effects in the face of heavy countermagic.

Buried Ruin

The extra recursion is great, and the colorless downside is mostly irrelevant.

Darksteel Citadel, Great Furnace

Similar to the artifact manlands above, these serve as sac fodder, though only as artifacts rather than artifact creatures.

Strip Mine, Wasteland

These lands are included to deal with problems like Gaea's Cradle, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, or that pesky High Tide player's Underground Sea.

Mountain

Mountains are great! They don't die to Ruination or get hit by Back to Basics! Love your mountains, people.

Artifacts

Basalt Monolith

This is both a mana rock and a primary combo piece.

Chromatic Sphere, Chromatic Star, Conjurer's Bauble, Ichor Wellspring, Terrarion

These eggs provide draw and the filtering of colorless mana. They can also serve as sac fodder. In conjunction with Salvaging Station and a board wipe, they can be used to draw a bunch of cards.

Chrome Mox, Fellwar Stone, Grim Monolith, Mana Crypt, Mana Vault, Mind Stone, Mox Diamond, Mox Opal, Prismatic Lens, Sol Ring, Thought Vessel

The mana rocks of choice for our deck. We need to be fast, and these help us do that. In conjunction with cost reducers or Krark-Clan Ironworks they can serve as rituals during our combo turn.

Clock of Omens

This card is a piece in a few combos, and also gets additional value out of the artifacts with tap abilities. It's on the expensive side, and is currently on the chopping block, but I haven't found an option I like more yet.

Cloud Key, Helm of Awakening, Semblance Anvil

With forty-four artifacts in the deck, these cost reducers do a lot of work and can allow us to cycle through our deck very rapidly. The card disadvantage from Semblance Anvil is usually worth it, considering that it makes the average artifact free to cast.

Codex Shredder

The only piece of unconditional recursion in the deck. This can form infinite loops with Scrap Mastery and enough artifacts to produce mana. The incremental self-mill can be marginally useful, and it is also an alternative infinite mill win condition. It can also be used to hose your opponents' top-of-deck tutors.

Goblin Cannon

The deck's primary win condition. It's not a good card on its own, but having a single card to serve as a game-winning infinite mana outlet is necessary.

Krark-Clan Ironworks

One of the most powerful cards in the deck. This allows us to generate as much mana as we'll ever need, and also serves as a combo piece.

Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots

These haste enablers are for the creatures with tap abilities, as well as protection. They are somewhat awkward, and are under consideration for cutting. However, they have won me their fair share of games in which I otherwise would have needed to pass the turn, so they remain for now.

Lion's Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal

These accelerators provide additional mana during our combo, especially with Salvaging Station. LED should mainly be used with the deck's Wheel of Fortune effects.

Memory Jar

An artifact version of Wheel of Fortune that (mostly) doesn't help your opponents. Very powerful and one of the main targets for recursion during our combo.

Mesmeric Orb

Half of the deck's infinite self-mill engine, which usually allows us to combo as soon as it is assembled. Also useful as incremental self-mill during the early turns of the game.

Pyrite Spellbomb

Another piece of interaction, as well as an egg (with a cost), and an alternate win condition.

Rings of Brighthearth

Primarily used as a combo piece, sometimes also copies Goblin Welder, Kuldotha Forgemaster, or Daretti, Scrap Savant activations.

Salvaging Station

Another powerhouse in this list. With eighteen potential targets, this card can generate so much mana and card advantage that it must be dealt with. It also serves as a combo piece.

Scroll Rack

A pseudo-draw engine that plays well with fetchlands or other tutors. A necessity due to lack of good draw/filtering in mono-red.

Sensei's Divining Top

Similar to above, a great source of card filtering. Can be sacrificed after its activation to draw without putting it on top of the library, which can be great with Salvaging Station. Also part of an infinite draw combo.

Skullclamp

Although this deck doesn't play a lot of creatures, it has enough that running this card is worth it (given the lack of other good draw).

Staff of Domination

A great infinite mana outlet. Sometimes needed as an intermediate step while finding Goblin Cannon. Can also just be used to untap creatures for value or as an infinite mana producer itself with Metalworker.

Tormod's Crypt

A fantastic piece of grave hate, enough said.

Voltaic Key

Great utility and value, as well as a combo piece.

Enchantments

Blood Moon

Hoses a bunch of decks. Super good.

Creatures

Goblin Welder

An extremely powerful little guy that is usually cheating combo pieces or powerhouse artifacts into play.

Imperial Recruiter

Tutors most of the creatures in the deck and gets Skullclamped.

Junk Diver, Myr Retriever

Recursion pieces that get a ton of value, and can occasionally go infinite.

Kuldotha Forgemaster

Activating this once usually wins the game, so it's a major threat that must be dealt with.

Magus of the Moon

Blood Moon is great. Let's have another.

Magus of the Wheel

Pretty slow, but the extra wheel effect is too necessary to pass up. I'm hoping WOTC will print something new that can replace this guy, but my hopes aren't high.

Metalworker

Makes a ton of mana and goes infinite. Enough said.

Sandstone Oracle

I was initially skeptical about this one, but it has turned out to be great. With all of the cost reducers and Goblin Welder effects in the deck, I'm rarely paying full price, or I'm simply cheating it into play. It also has great synergy with Lion's Eye Diamond, and has generally proven to be straight gas.

Treasonous Ogre

Red's equivalent of Ad Nauseam (kind of). Great in a combo deck like this one.

Planeswalkers

Daretti, Scrap Savant

This guy can provide card advantage in grindier games, and is especially great against stax. He also frequently gets used as a one-shot Trash for Treasure on my combo turn.

Sorceries

Faithless Looting, Magmatic Insight, Tormenting Voice, Wild Guess

Red's meager imitations of Ponder, Preordain, and Brainstorm. Not great, but a necessity.

Gamble

An unconditional tutor with fairly substantial downside. It's usually still worth it though. It can also be intentionally used as sorcery-speed Entomb while hellbent in conjunction with recursion.

Past in Flames, Recoup

These flashback spells enable this deck to go off from the graveyard with wheels or Scrap Mastery. They are expensive, but still an important component.

Pyroclasm

A great little wipe that can really hurt decks like Derevi or Prossh.

Reforge the Soul, Wheel of Fortune

Powerful draw spells that we hope to see every game.

Ruination

Another great non-basic land hoser.

Scrap Mastery

Resolving this usually wins the game, because by the time we have the mana to cast it, we usually have plenty of stuff to recur.

Trash for Treasure

One-shot Goblin Welder is pretty decent.

Vandalblast

Most competitive EDH decks are running lots of mana rocks, and this is a great way to mess up their mana.

Instants

Chaos Warp

Catch-all removal that is also our only out to enchantments (notably Stony Silence). A bit expensive, but necessary.

Galvanic Blast, Lightning Bolt

Usually used for problem creature removal. I've won at least a few games by going face though, usually on greedy AdNaus/Doomsday players.

Pyroblast, Red Elemental Blast

Extremely powerful and cheap stack interaction and removal.

Seething Song

The most recent addition to the deck, and a trial card. Allows ramp and acceleration early, additional mana while comboing, and plays well with Past in Flames.

Top Ranked	Achieved #7 position overall 8 years ago
Date added	10 years
Last updated	7 years
Exclude colors	WUBG
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	7 - 0 Mythic Rares 36 - 0 Rares 33 - 0 Uncommons 14 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.22
Tokens	Emblem Daretti, Scrap Savant
Folders	interesting decks, EDH, Reference Decks, Decks I Like, dank decks, Decks, EDH, EDH decks, Decks that I like and I want to look at again sometime, stuff i might build