[Deck] Aggro/Combo Slavery

[waSP]

This is the aggressively minded build of Slavery.  I've noticed a lot of discussion of the control builds recently and I've been waiting for someone to post on the other way to go with this deck.

Since my IsoSligh deck’s thread has lost its interest it’s time for me to start discussion on another deck I”ve been working on.   Normally it’d be aggro, but I have a sick fascination with decks that are able to control every aspect of the game.  Mindslaver seems to do that perfectly.

I began testing with the obvious skeletons at first.  Taking Stax, removing some lock parts for Slavers and adding some other stuff (different kills) and seeing how it went.  I found that the lock parts were relatively useless, but it still took me a couple of weeks to cut them.  I started testing random cards in those slots to deal with the cards that were good against me (Null Rod and Damping Matrix).  My first impulse was to read Smokestacks so that I could eventually race them down to 0 permanents.  This idea was never a good one, though.  I just opened up (used a blank card) the slots and thought about what I’d like to see in those slots when they were needed.  Pernicious Deeds are prevalent in MN, so I knew I needed an answer to that card.  I also knew that I needed to be able to deal with the two dreadful artifacts that shut ‘Slaver down.  There aren’t any red or blue disenchant effects.  I never considered the now-popular Chain of Vapor (I did my testing about a month and a half ago).  What I found was Annul.  It is extremely good (suprisingly).  The only problem is it isn’t consistent.  You need to be able to deal with that Damping Matrix or Null Rod.  I have since cut the Annuls for 2 Cunning Wish, Mystical Tutor (to fetch a Cunning Wish), and Fact or Fiction.

Here’s my build, which gives Slaver hate decks a headache

Mana Lands

        4 Seat of the Synod
        4 Volcanic Island
        4 Mishra's Workshop
        2 Polluted Delta
        1 Tolarian Academy

Mana Artifacts

        3 Gilded Lotus
        1 Grim Monolith
        1 Mana Crypt
        1 Mana Vault
        1 Sol Ring
        1 Black Lotus
        1 Mox Ruby
        1 Mox Sapphire
        1 Mox Pearl
        1 Mox Jet
        1 Mox Emerald
        1 Lotus Petal

Card Advantage

        4 Thirst for Knowledge
        3 Future Sight
        1 Ancestral Recall
        1 Time Walk
        1 Wheel of Fortune
        1 Memory Jar
        1 Tinker
        1 Timetwister
        1 Windfall
        1 Fact or Fiction

Creatures

        4 Goblin Welder
        4 Metalworker
        1 Bosh, Iron Golem
        1 Pentavus

Flex

        2 Cunning Wish
        1 Mystical Tutor

Lock Components

        3 Mindslaver

Sideboard

        4 Blood Moon
        3 Tormod’s Crypt
        2 Triskelion
        1 Overload
        1 Capsize
        1 Reclaim (I like infinite recursion)
        1 Stifle
        1 Fire/Ice
        1 Blue Elemental Blast

You all know how Slaver decks play by now.  So I won’t go through the basics.

The one thing I like about this deck is its ability to be aggressive in playing your cards.  Metalworker is huge in doing this.  Gilded Lotus comes down early   Mindslaver comes down early.  You can cast Bosh or Pentavus turn 2.  Some of the plays are ridiculous.  You’re also able to make better use of all the draw 7’s.

I chose Bosh over Karn because Bosh allows you to get around silly things like Moat and has a larger butt.  He can actually kill the things he blocks.  I think he’ll probably end up being a Memnarch though, because that card is stupid in the mirror and I have capsize in the build now (to deal with Moat).  Platinum Angel is also a consideration.

I’m sure lots of people will want Force of Will to be fit in this deck (I do too).  With 16 blue cards in it right now it seems feasible.  The only cards I can see cutting are Grim Monolith and Windfall.  The Future Sights are too amazing to be cut.

Another thing I’d like to see is Lightning Greaves.  When I was considering how bad R/G Beatz and its ilk coul be for me, I built a foil version that didn’t rely on resolving huge casting cost artifacts.  It eventually started to look like this deck, with these changes.

-2 Cunning Wish
-1 Pentavus
-1 Bosh, Iron Golem
-1 Lotus Petal
-1 Fact or Fiction
-1 Mindslaver
-1 Mystical Tutor

+2 Broodstar
+2 Lightning Greaves
+2 Thoughtcast
+1 Shivan Reef
+1 Platinum Angel

It was an interesting experiment, but it yielded slightly worse results than my original build, so I shelved it.  Platinum Angel + Lightning Greaves is cute though.  It also makes your Welders a lot better.

Returning to the original deck I posted.  I believe it has merit in the metagame since it has a decent game against all the aggro decks around (at worst 50/50).  It also, like all Slaver decks, smashes ‘Tog.  That just can’t be avoided.

It does have a worse matchup against Tendrils decks.  It must be compared to the controlling builds that are increasing in popularity (like The Atog Lord’s).  I think that if there isn’t too much combo in your area, this could be a very good choice.

Let’s start discussing.

*edit*  mods, I noticed Juju posted a similar topic while i was finishing up with this.  If you want to merge the topics, that would be fine.

[The Atog Lord]

Interesting. I believe that if you look back a bit in the type one forum, you will see some disucssion on a deck like this. I believe that Toad had a similar deck, and I think that Ray has done quite well here with a Workshop Slaver build.

My suggestion is that you find a better card than Overload to deal with artifacts. You may wish to consider Rack and Ruin and Shattering Pulse. I've been sideboarding both in my control slaver build, and there are few occasions in which one or the other will not be a perfect answer to problematic artifacts. While the one casting cost of Overload is nice, the fact that it has a difficult time dealing with Damping Matrix and cannot at all deal with expensive artifacts means that it might not be the optimal choice.

[Dr. Sylvan]

(Another underappreciated thread! Ah!)

I wonder about Mystical Tutor. It seems like a more marginal inclusion for this deck. I understand the interaction with Future Sight, but it seems that once that's in play you're in good shape regardless, as this deck is very proactive. The slot might be better used for another Wish or draw spell (I noticed you have no Brainstorm).

Does the third Future Sight come up too often? (More often than you can play it?)

[waSP]

I added the Mystical, FoF, and two Wishes over the 4 annuls I used to play.

Time Walk is absolutely broken in this deck.  Sometimes you need the walk to win.  Sometimes, Tinker, Ancestral, Twister.. etc.  The mystical may prove to not be useful enough eventually, but for now, I like how it plays.  I may cut a Future Sight for something.

In the past few days, I've grown to appreciate Steve's build (sans Metalworker) more.  I think a hybrid between his and mine (Chalice and FoW with Future Sight) would probably prove to be the most optimal build.

[Razor]

Pernicious Deeds are prevalent in MN, so I knew I needed an answer to that card. I also knew that I needed to be able to deal with the two dreadful artifacts that shut ‘Slaver down. There aren’t any red or blue disenchant effects. I never considered the now-popular Chain of Vapor (I did my testing about a month and a half ago). What I found was Annul. It is extremely good (suprisingly). The only problem is it isn’t consistent. You need to be able to deal with that Damping Matrix or Null Rod. I have since cut the Annuls for 2 Cunning Wish, Mystical Tutor (to fetch a Cunning Wish), and Fact or Fiction.

2 cents: Stifle?  Rack and Ruin?

[Gothmog]

With 21 Welder targets not including the Seats, I'd be sorely tempted to try basic Islands in their spot, or to splash black for 2 cards: Demonic Tutor, Yawg Will.

I do think this is exactly the right kind of deck to play Future Sight in.  I played a Future Sight deck for a very long time in tournament play.  In my experience, the worst card possible to reveal with a FS in play is another FS.  When I splashed Black into my Ur deck it became geometrically more broken, with just those 2 cards.  I found that Lotus, 2 FS, Demonic Tutor and a lot of search was fairly reliable in getting a Future Sight in play.

I would try:

-1 Timetwister
-1 Future Sight
-4 Seat of the Synod

+1 Demonic
+1 Yawg Will
+4 Underground Sea

The only thing you lose is a few Welder targets and your Metalworkers are slightly worse, and you add a ton of brokenness.

[rvs]

Dont play artifact land. Trust me, you'll understand me later

[Lucentspirit]

I haven't done much testing with slaver decks, but, it would seem to me that a card like Transmute Artifact could just possibly find a place in this deck. With blue so prevalent it fits into the deck's colors and the fact you run 4 welders gives you the chance to just drop cards like Memory jar and Mindslaver into the graveyard and weld them back in.
     Also, I think Future sight is an amazing card, but, it's cc is still pretty high to have 3 in a deck. Especially when having 2 at any given time  time does you no more good then having 1.