Needs a board wipe and ways to slow RDW.

I think you might be better off with Spell Pierce over negate, also I like your use of vraska and mechanized production. You'll definitely want Yahenni's Expertise and maybe even Bontu's Last Reckoning as well.

I think you are Straddling two good methods for the deck, the first being all instants and sorceries for control, and an alternate wincon by throwing mech production on a gearhulk, whether torrential, verdurous, or noxious. The second method would be pirates! Arg!

@Qolorful:

Thank you for your suggestions! I'm not sure why I didn't think of Yahenni's Expertise, it's really good against some of the top-tier decks. I want to keep Negate mainboard because I feel like it and Censor are more consistent, and I would sideboard in Duress and Spell Pierce if it was called for. I also like the idea of a Noxious Gearhulk being copied every upkeep, I might give that a try. Currently I have a 1-of of a Vraska serving as a backup wincon/treasure producer/flavor win. Those menace pirates you get on your way to her -10 are good at getting through when they've only got 1 life left.

Have you had any good experiences with censor? I really haven't liked how it plays. it usually feels like I payed 2 mana to make them pay 1, and the whole cycling thing never made up for it for me. I'm personally not a fan of using it at all

For me it's good for stopping early-game spells when they can't pay the , then you can cycle it in the late game so it's not a dead draw.

I love this deck! If you're trying to maximize value from Revel, I'd swap out Vraska's Contempt for more "destroy" things, since exile isn't a "dies" trigger. With the amount of Vehicles/Gearhulks sure to be running around, you could splash G for that, or just add more Pushes and Battle@Bridge.

I like the Rebuke, Herald, and Noxious Gearhulk in this deck, too. It looks pretty versatile overall! If you need cuts, I would cut the Production, because artifact/enchantment hate is sure to be high, and also because it telegraphs your intentions. You probably have enough Treasure-makers to ensure that you reach 10 eventually. Good luck!

I just made a version of this deck before looking at the front page and seeing this. Here it is: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/pirate-buisnessmen/. You should definitely run Reverse Engineer and Metallic Rebuke. Also, many of the cards in your deck will rotate out as soon as ixalan becomes standard.

My deck doesn't produce treasures very quickly, they're more a slight bonus on most of the cards I'm playing. I don't actually produce that many, they just build up slowly over time. Those cards seem better for your deck than mine. Also, everything here will stay when Ixalan comes in. The blocks rotating are Shadows Over Innistrad and Battle for Zendikar. My deck consists entirely of Kaladesh block, Amonkhet block, and Ixalan.

I played an improvise deck for quite some time and can only say good things about Herald of Anguish, but it all depends how early you can play him (preferable turn 4 or 5).

I looked at your decklist and you will always come too late with him cause you can't drop artifacts fast enough. In your deck he'll probably only be a follow up the turn after you play a Spell Swindle .If you really consider playing him, I'd recommend playing only 1 for an eventual late game.

Advice:

1.Metallic Rebuke

Pros:

-You are an artifact deck

-Almost always a sure counter spell for 1 blue mana.:)

Cons:

-3 to cast if you don't have artifacts around

-good up to turns 7 or 8

2.Tezzeret the Schemer

Pros:

-Useless artifacts becomes a 5/5 creature (3rd skill)

-More treasures = removal (2nd ability)

-pseudo treasure (etherium cell), that triggers scry for Contraband Kingpin

Cons:

-no artifact = stupid card

3.Marionette Master

Pros:

-sac a treasure/etherium cell = opponent loses life.:)

-alternate win condition if you have 7 treasures. Just sac them to win.:)

Cons:

-6 to cast

-dies to abrade/lightning strike on ETB (no worries, you got counterspells).

4.Battle at the Bridge

Pros:

-removal + lifegain

Cons:

-sorcery speed

Hope this helps.:)

Hi

Marionette Master can be deadly with treasures...

... with The Scarab God

I've been considering Marionette Master for a while, as sacrificing 5 treasures to deal 4 damage apiece is quite nice. I think I'm going to give it a try, and because prereleases and trades have been good to me I can start playtesting with physical copies shortly. Tezzeret has also stood out to me and I might run 1-2 of him if I can. I've also considered swapping the Vraska for a Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh. Thoughts?

Tezzeret seems good enough. You don't need a bolas tbh. Just go all in with the combo kill.:).

I think I need to add or splash a third color for more sweepers. Do I go red for Hour of Devestation or white for Fumigate? Fumigate doesn't hit planeswalkers and Hour doesn't hit Carnage Tyrant.

No need for a splash. Bontu's Last Reckoning is enough. kill creatures with it and you still get mana via treasures with Revel in Riches.

Regarding walkers, there's Never//Return or Vraska's Contempt to deal with it if it ever resolve with your bunch of counter spells.

I also made a deck like this yesterday since you gave me an idea to what deck should i be playing besides BG energy.=D.

U/B Tezzeret, the Treasurer

I think this will need tuning as well lol. Have been focusing on my BG for quite some time.

Thank you for posting this, and thank you to everyone who's provided good advise for helping this type of deck develop. With the release of Ixalan I'll be plunging into standard for the first time, and this deck has made me the most excited to get started right away!

Now, I'm currently leaning heavily towards the three-color splash for my own build, as Esper is one of my favorite combinations. I want to make it work really badly, but I don't want to sacrifice viability to do so. I'll try to compare running WUB over just UB, since Grixis isn't the current direction I want to take. (Though, I'm certain someone else could make a compelling argument for it.)

Debates to Support:

• Fumigate, Failure / Comply, Settle the Wreckage (additional sidenote on this card below), Cast Out/Ixalan's Binding, etc.

• Excellent pool of SB options which include better answers against artifacts/enchantments, plus Authority of the Consuls/Kinjalli's Sunwing to provide further stabilization against aggro, and Consulate Crackdown/Hour of Revelation to check against mirror matches/similar decks.

Debates to Oppose

• Three colors instead of two. Color balancing will be necessary. (Treasure and Etherium help to rectify this con.)

• Greater risk of inconsistency.

• UB already provides everything needed to control the board (except for when enchantments/artifacts manage to get past counterspells and resolve).

• Too many options to choose from and not enough space to squeeze into 75.

Tldr; am I hyping myself up too much for esper when I shouldn't try to change what isn't broken, or do you truly believe it could still make for a viable build?

Additionally, I'm all for Mechanized Production being included at least in SB for faster and more consistent wins. I was thinking a 2:3 split between it and RiR somewhere in the 75; especially if any Gearhulks are being used.

Again, thank you for posting this and thank you for your time! I plan on buying cards within the next couple of days, so if you get any updates let me know! I'll also post my deck when it's created and keep updates with it.

Let me know if you'd like any advise on specific cards you're debating over! I'll give my (admittedly naive) input if requested. Cheers, and good luck!

@Hexcimal:

I have considered white and red for a while. I think red is better suited to an aggressive Grixis pirates shell with cards like Captain Lannery Storm and Trove of Temptation. Overall red doesn't seem particularly worthwhile. White, on the other hand, offers cards like Anointed Procession, Fumigate, Farm / Market and so on. The reason I'm not running white is mainly two reasons:

1. It doesn't offer enough that can't be acheived through (albeit worse) means in black and blue. As you mentioned above, The inconsistency could be an issue and doesn't seem worth it to me.

2. I am a budget player. I'm not interested in sinking very much money into standard, especially because I am new to it. Having a 3-color landbase could be fairly expensive and more than I'm willing to spend.

My opinion on Mechanized Production is somewhat mixed. While it only requires 7 treasures on upkeep (Gives you one then checks for 8), it is much more vulnerable to other control decks. It is vulnerable to artifact removal, and if the artifact it is on gets bounced, it is gone permanently. The lower CMC is pretty much irrelevant because I'd most likely be casting it or RiR when I've reached their treasure threshold so I only need to protect them for a turn.

I've been considering 2-3 Field of Ruin as a means of getting rid of the new flip lands. Some of them are quite powerful and require answers that my deck doesn't have right now.

Merchant's Dockhand is a card I forgot existed. It doesn't strike me as a bad card in this deck, so I might try playtesting with it. It seems to have a similar effect as Search for azcanta 's flip, which is quite powerful.

Thank you for the suggestions and support!

Hey ThoAlmighty love the deck!!!

I have a $15 ULTRA BUDGET version of this exact deck!

I will leave a detailed comment when i get home and habe a chance to really look thru your deck list. Until then have a +1!!!

Hey ThoAlmighty love the deck!!!

I have a $15 ULTRA BUDGET version of this exact deck!

I will leave a detailed comment when i get home and habe a chance to really look thru your deck list. Until then have a +1!!!

Hey guys...gotta couple of noob questions as I am interested in this sort of deck.

What cards are ideal for casting with Yahenni's Expertise 2nd ability?

Are the artifacts fed to Marionette Master just through their on-board sac ability?

Suitable replacement card for Tezzeret?

Thanks for help! Extreme budget player so this has given me some great ideas.

@jellyranger69:

There isn't really much to cast off of Yahenni's Expertise, black's boardwipes are pretty limited and it's more for the -3/-3.

You would want to sacrifice the treasures/etherium cells to their own ability. Bonus trick: if Marionette Master is destroyed before the Fabricate trigger resolves, you can get three Servos when it resolves.

I don't have a tezzeret yet either, currently I'm just running another treasure map .

Hope this helps! I'm always glad to see fellow budget players interested in my decks, though this deck isn't that budget anymore since half the cards in the deck spiked (fortunately after I got them).