Hi guys!
I wanted to share a new deck I’ve been brewing. It’s a ton of fun and a bit of a break from the current meta decks. I haven’t gotten many games in with it, but the power level feels about right—I certainly could use the feedback as well!
The deck: Silas and Akiri-Ghost Pepper (Sans Green)
Deck Archetype & Goal:
A midrange deck that seeks to utilize artifact-based stax/control elements to prevent fast combo from getting underneath it, while utilizing several engines to grind out value until it can create an overwhelming boardstate. There are several, compact combos that can quickly be achieved, but generally the deck looks to establish a foothold before going all-in.
The gameplan generally is to get a artifact-based ramp opener with a draw spell to replenish or a stax piece to slow the game. If there are no eggs in your hand, then getting Akiri into play is usually the start as it a) turns on Mox amber b) is a nice blocker for Tymna decks and/or our planeswalkers and c) can present a nice clock as early as T3. Once you have stablished a mana base/disruption pieces, you should try to assemble either the consultation line or thopter sword Urza (all below).
Commander/Color Selection:
The deck started as both an experiment to utilize currently unused commanders (also something different than Thrasios/Tymna) as well as a way to abuse a semi-popular modern combo: Thopter Foundry +Sword of the Meek + Urza, Lord High Artificer in order to produce infinite life, thopters and mana. That deck featured the addition of Goblin Engineer to fetch either half of the combo and “weld” it into play. Hence our name from Thopter Foundry (an Esper-colored artifact, the “ghost”) with red (the “peppers”)-- “Ghost Peppers.”
After establishing the main combo, the deck needed to look at what commanders not only provided Esper-Red color identity, but had an artifact synergy to them. Breya, or course fits that bill. However, in my experience, she is quite difficult to cast at 4 mana in a sans green deck and eschews card advantage for her ability to control the board. That leaves partner commanders. Silas Ren looks innocuous, and while he doesn’t provide the raw CA that Thrasios or Tymna provide, in a deck with artifact-based draw he can provide a steady stream of cards by reusing “eggs” or playing hate pieces from the gy such as repeated engineered explosives. Akiri was chosen over Bruse Tarl as she can actually provide a significant clock when backed up by many artifacts for only 2 mana while advancing the boardstate and preventing opponents from advancing theirs.
Combos and Synergy:
1) Thopter Foundry + Sword of the Meek.
Having a Thopter Foundry in play allows you to sacrifice a nontoken artifact to gain a life and create a 1/1 flying Thopter. If Sword of the Meek is in your graveyard (being sacrificed to the Foundry or there for another reason), it will trigger time ETB and attach to the Thopter. So, for each mana you spend, you can gain a Thopter and a life. Urza, Lord High Artificer turned this combo on its head by allowing you to tap both the newly created Thopter and the Sword after it ETB for 2 U mana. One goes into a repeated activation netting you a U mana (and one Thopter/life) each cycle. With infinite mana Urza’s ability allows you to exile and cast your entire deck.
2) Jace, Wielder of Mysteries + Demonic Consultation.
With Jace in play, cast consultation naming a card not in the deck (Paradox Engine :( ). Your entire library will be exiled. Then activate Jace’s +1 to attempt to draw. His static ability will allow you to win the game. Note, this can also be achieved via above with infinite mana + Urza to exile the deck.
3) Narset, Parter of Veils/Notion Thief + Timetwister/Wheel of Fortune
Casting a mass draw spell with Narset or Thief in plan forces your opponents to discard their hands and either just draw one (Narset) or draw nothing while you draw 14-28 cards (Thief).
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4) Silas/Emry + Chromatic Star/Sphere
This effectively allows you to draw a card each turn with their abilities.
5) Wishclaw Talisman Tricks
Don’t laugh...we never actually plan to let the talisman leave our board. Goblin Engineer and Thopter Foundry keep it with us without any of the downside. The engineer itself is a tutor for the talisman. Once it is in play, activating the talisman then, while holding priority, sacrificing it to the goblin or foundry will prevent it from transferring to an opponent. The engineer is particularly spicy as he can continuously weld it back into play to DT every other turn. It gets even better if the other artifact is ichor wellspring or chromatic star. Silas and Emry allow you to just cast it every turn after it being sacrificed. Another trick is to just tutor for Karn, netting you a powerful hate piece while giving them another useless artifact.
6) A word on Akiri
As this deck is artifact-based and has several strong artifact-producing engines (Thopter/Sword and smothering tithe) it is not uncommon to get Akiri up to a 6-7 power creature. With Vigilance and First Strike not only can she suppress opposing Tymna-esque strategies, but she presents a very real clock for only two mana.
Permanent-Based Disruption (Stax):
1) Grafdigger’s Cage. With flash-hulk in the format, this powerful hate piece is a must. Notably, it does NOT stop the Goblin Engineer synergy or Thopter Foundry. It will stop Silas or Emry, however.
2) Engineered Explosives. With Silas/Emry, this becomes a repeatable source of disruption. Blowing up your own artifacts isn’t as big of a deal with all the recursion we have.
3) Cursed Totem. No dorks, no problem! An incredibly powerful hate piece that also stops the likes of Thrasios and Najeela’s ability Only hurts Engineer.
4)Damping Sphere. The deck uses artifact mana and not land-based ramp (cradle). Additionally, there are usually ways to get around the incremental tax by swapping things into play.
5)Ethersworn Canonist. Very powerful and can be largely asymmetric allowing you to play an important artifact and protect it with a counterspell.
Additional Card Selections:
Planeswalkers:
Planeswalkers have always been on the negative spectrum in cEDH. Usually hard to protect, they typically are harder to cast and don’t last a turn cycle. I’m, however, pretty in favor of walkers (maybe it’s the Timmy in me). With the printing of WAR, we have several VERY powerful enchantment-esque walkers that not only have relevant abilities, but also serve as great stax/disruptive pieces. The walkers chosen here are either stax based walkers or help to further the artifact-centric gameplan.
*Ashiok, Dream Render—With an outrageous static ability for cEDH, Askioh has a decently high loyalty, repeatedly (and asymmetrically) remove graveyards from ONLY OPPONENTS, and have the opportunity to mill over a win FoN and exile it.
*Daretti, Scrap Savant—Once helming a cEDH deck in his own right, this gobbo walker is here for the ability to weld artifacts and provide pseudo CA with the rummaging ability. Adding Silas and Emry turn his ability into pure CA.
*Jace Wielder of Mysteries—Ok for card CA but is a combo with consultation
*Karn, the Great Creator—A one sided null rod effect that can also blow up opposing moxen is awesome. As mentioned above, is nice to grab off of Wishclaw Talisman. Can also grab exiled artifacts of yours.
*Narset, Parter of Veils—Probably needs no explanation. Just an incredile hate piece attached to a double impulse.
*Teferi, Time Raveler—Just an insane card that is at the top of multiple formats. The static ability blanks all opposing counterspells, the +1 can be used to turn Demonic Tutor into Tainted Pact without downside and the -1 not only can reset artifacts like Tangle Wire, it can bounce opposing stony silences, is insane with ichor wellspring and draws a card to boot!
*Tezzeret the Seeker—Likely the best walker in the deck. Can tutor for rocks, all the hate pieces (notably the canonist, winter orb and tangle wire) wisclaw talisman to tutor and both halfes of the thopter-sword combo.
Lands: Pretty straightforward 4c mana base, though I will note I’ve been usually tutoring for white and black more often. Scrubland is in at this time and may consider a plateau.
Enchantments: Pretty standard card advantage in Remora and Study; Smothering Tithe goes well with the mana denial part of the deck and supercharges Akiri.
Instants: Also pretty standard. Stoic Rebuttal is essentially another countersepll here. Consultation for the combo.
Sorceries: Card draw, tutoring and some creature wipes.
Artifacts: Mana rocks and hate pieces as above. One other notable inclusdion is the etherium astrolabe. Marginally playable, its in a flex slot. Having flash helps immensely, while Silas/Emry make it incredibly powerful.
Creatures: As mentioned above, hate pieces, draw and combo.
Cards for consideration:
-Supreme Verdit
-Linvala, Keeper of Silence
-Nahiri, the Harbinger
-Grim Monolith
-Mana Vault
-Dispeller’s Capsule
-Divergent Transformations (cutting creatures and focusing on Urza)
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Anyway, thanks for reading guys and sorry for the wall of text. I will likely be adding to the card selection and testing out cards, but wanted to share this super fun (and hopefully competitive) deck!
