We all saw Joel Larrson beat Mr. Sigrist at the Origins Pro Tour. I was surprised by Sigrists decklist. He didn't use Scuttling Doom Engine when theres Renowned Weaponsmith that gives 2 uncolored to cast an Artifact. He lacked a mid to late game bomb. I playtested both Sigrists' deck and this deck and mine performed much better against that ridiculous Red Aggro deck.
Here's a breakdown:
I didn't use the tap lands because I believe that slowed down Sigrist in his matchup with Larrson. You can't get one turn behind a Fire Mage that has 32 damage in 8 spells.
Combos:
Ornithopter + Ensoul Artifact + Shrapnel Blast = 5/5 flier very early and then can do 10 damage with it next turn if you have Shrapnel Blast in hand.
Renowned Weaponsmith: Allows you to ramp mana for casting Scuttling Doom Engines and Orbs of Warding. (This will be a primary target for your opponents removal. This keeps those Red spells off you while that Red Mage rapidly has to top deck every card to kill you.)
Ensoul Artifact + Darksteel Citadel = 5/5 indestructible to block Lightning Beserker.
Hangarback Walker: Effective to make your opponent burn it to get rid of a mid to late game flier threat. Also, produces 1/1 Thopters for blocking or killing your opponent.
Chief Engineer: Allows us to use those 1/1 Thopters to cast Scuttling Doom Engine in case mana screw, not getting any Renowned Weaponsmiths or opponent is killing the Weaponsmiths.
Phyrexian Revoker: This bad boy keeps your opponent from pumping creatures or tapping your creatures. Has wide range of coverage. (I am looking at you Lightning Beserker!)
Stubborn Denial: Because we are sick of Red Mages direct damage spells lately. (Given this doesn't counter Exquisite Firecraft after they cast 2 Fire instants or sorceries)
Orbs of Warding: We love those Renowned Weaponsmiths for making these bad boys now. They help us cast this on turn 3 and now we are Hexproof. (That Red Mage better have a destroy artifact sideboard. Looking at you Smash to Smithereens o.O)
Ghostfire Blade: This is a cheap artifact that can be a 5/5 creature to evade the 4 damage burn spells. It also can be equipped for 1 mana on any artifact such as Thopters or Ornithopters.
All in all this deck has the same effect of Mr. Sigrists' deck in the Origins Pro Tour. The Red Aggro deck is ridiculously fast and strong due to Abbot and Lightning Beserker. So every deck needs to get lucky or become just as fast and outlast the Red Mage. We want them to use their burn spells on our Weaponsmiths and Ornithopters. Thats less damage to our face and keeps us in it longer to cast those Doom Engines. We know we will see a lot of Red Aggro decks this Friday night based on that decklist having sold out cards lately due to the Pro Tour performance. It is a sick deck that drove me nuts to find a deck that can beat it.
Any suggestions are welcome. I am making a mono-black discard deck against the Red Aggro deck as well. They can't kill you fast if they lose a card each turn.
