This is my rendition of affinity for pioneer. I have decided to take the deck into a very aggressive build, running both
Ensoul Artifact
and
All That Glitters
.
Mainboard breakdown:
Stonecoil Serpent
: This X costed beast of a beat stick is my main win con and a tough card to beat. The fact that it comes down with counters to determine its toughness makes it very good with ensoul artifact. The main play I want to do is turn one; land, stonecoil for 1, into turn 2; land, ensoul swing for 6. With that much power on turn 2 I don't fear Oko. Not to mention stonecoil has protection from multi-colour which means it can blank a lot of good removal like abrupt decay and assassins torphy. Trample is the cherry on top though, the deck doesn't have a lot of evasion other than flying and having trample means that early mana chumps usually won't choose to block only 1 damage.
Gingerbrute
: Death by cookies is a common way to die in the deck as it can usually get underneath most other decks that don't run hasty creatures of there own. The fact that ensoul doesn't change the rules text on the artifact means it can still make itself unblockable for 1 and can hit hard with the auras. The second ability isn't something you should forget. There have been some close games I won on the gingerbrute lifegain. It's a cheap and hasty creature that wants to go face and has his own way to dodge exile, definitely one of my haymakers.
Bomat Courier
: Not one of my main aura carriers but can work just on the hast alone. I tend to want to use it for chip damage or using my drum if will be blocked. That being said getting on the attack trigger then sacking it before damage is a good idea as you can usually pick up 3 cards before its invalidated my your opponents strategy.
Steel Overseer
: He isn't the main win con but definitely annoying for my opponent. It tends to draw removal early if you don't have an enchanted creature down. He combos well with ornithopter as he can turn a 0 costed creature into a threat in a few turns. Don't forget that you can hold him for his own enchantment to make him more durable. He swings hard later in the game if left unchecked and will definitely keep you the game if you lose your early aura carriers.
Ornithopter
: The baseline 0 drop in the deck enables most of how the deck works. Being both a good aura carrier with flying and a creature to use with the drum early on. Don't go crazy on your opening hand! They aren't good if you have more than 2 and without the support, they will do nothing.
Emry, Lurker of the Loch
: My main form of recursion allows me to get a lot of use of the more smaller threats like steel overseer and stoncoil early. She will get back couriers as well to keep your card draw going. The only thing I don't like is that she doesn't get my auras back and she does get darksteel citadel back. That being said, while she isn't a combo piece, she adds a lot of redundant threats to my board will being very cheap.
Springleaf Drum
: a nice piece to have as it turns any of my 1 and 0 drops into mana chumps. It can easily allow me to keep 1 land opening hands as long as I have an ornithopter or some other 1 drop. I don't tend to want to put ensoul on it but in order to diversify threats; ie don't put more than 1 enchantment on a creature, it will work. This card also works as my preferred sacrificed artifact for shrapnel blast as I will still have threats down if my opponent counters it or plays Dramoka's command.
Metallic Rebuke
: I haven't played too much with this card but it seems good in the mainboard as a general answer to your opponent's threats. Main thing I want to counter is any disruption and a bigger beater than what I have.
All That Glitters
: I saw the use of this card when it got leaked and I'm so happy I was right. Having cranial plating in pioneer is crazy good for this deck as it means i can hit hard on turn 2 with only a few other permanents. Truly this a great card and it can really capitalize on an ensouled artifact for the finisher.
Ensoul Artifact
: The namesake of the deck my power. Having the ability to through down 5/5s on turn 2 is crazy good and it means you can run down your opponents in only a few turns. Ideally, you want to see one of these in your opening hand in order to force your opponent on the defensive. Not even burn can hit quite as hard as these cards allows you to hit.
Shrapnel Blast
: My favorite finisher can end the game on turn 3 with a strong first few turns. It allows you to catch your opponent off guard when they tap out for removal as you can essentially fling your artifacts at your opponent. The blast can hit any target so you can use it for general removal if your opponent has an equally good start but I generally like to use it for burn damage rather than removal. Truely Shrapnel blast is a hell of a card.
Karn, Scion of Urza
: While I haven't played with the card as of yet it can hit work well as you can downtick twice for two artifacts that are going to be pretty big, likely 4/4 or 5/5 on turn 3 or 4. He is colourless so he is gentle on your mana base, hence I don't feel like he is a huge cost for the deck. I'm only running 1 right now because I'm sure if you will have thee finishing power that I want him to if he doesn't stick in the deck I will simply put another metallic rebuke in the main.
Sideboard Breakdown:
Flame Sweep
: I like it against aggro decks like mono B or mono W. I mainly board it in against ramp decks that want to have their elves and geese in order to shut down there later threats.
Wild Slash
: Good against nexus and other fog decks simply because getting fogged more than once usually means you will lose momentum. Not to mention its good removal against small creatures like swiftspear.
Stubborn Denial
: Comes in handy against control decks with an abundance of removal spells as it only costs one. You can usually catch your opponent off guard with it even if you don't have ferocious, typically good when they may try and get some early removal down and can't afford the 1 extra mana.
Phyrexian Revoker
: Pretty good against any activated ability type decks like pummeler or superfriends. While you don't get to look at your opponent's hand like you would with spyglass you can still hit people with the revoker, this means that you don't have to ensoul before going to put all that glitters on it.
Grafdigger's Cage
: I used to run rest in peace in place of this card but I have opted for an artifact that will do a similar job will still advancing the win condition. Typically if I have to board the cage in against any phoenix deck or dredgeless dredge I will take out Ermy as she will likely be doing nothing with if you have both on the field.
Damping Sphere
: Good against other UR decks that want to cast lots of spells, it can work to turn off other aggressive decks like bogles as it can make it hard to get 2-3 enchantments down on the pivotal turn in the aggro matchup. Being an artifact and good hate it has a nice spot in the deck.
Glass Casket
: A solid piece of removal against indestructible targets or creatures that get to big to trample through. Rhonas comes to mind when thinking about how to use it. While still needing while it's a good piece of removal and once again, it's an artifact that can be used to further the win-con without having to sacrifice too much of the deck's potential.
December 7th Update: I just got through an 18 man tourney at my LGS. I Went 6-2 for second place. Ensoul artifact targeting darksteel citadel is very strong against control. Gadwick, the Wizened is a good card against this deck.
December 21st Update: I didn't do as well as I did a few weeks ago. I ended up getting 6th place. A top 8 but no real prize to be had. Notes wise hardened scales has a good matchup against ensoul. With its ability to create thopters and have mass counters, they can go wider faster than we can go tall.
