[Deck Discussion] U/R Workshop Prison (not stax)

[Addolorisi]

For starters, the list:

//Mana
4 Wasteland
R Strip Mine
R Tolarian Academy
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 City of Traitors
4 Volcanic Islands
3 Shivan Reef
R Mox Ruby
R Mox Sapphire
R Mox Elmerald
R Mox Jet
R Black Lotus
R Mana Crypt
R Mana Vault
R Sol Ring
//Lock
4 Tangle Wire
4 Smokestack
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Trinisphere
1 Mindslaver
//Dudes
4 Goblin Welder
1 Pentavus
//Draw
4 Thirst for Knowledge
R Memory Jar
1 Mind's Eye
//Tutor
R Tinker
2 Cunning Wish
//Misc
2 Fire/Ice
1 Lightning Greaves

SB:
4 Red Elemental Blast
3 Rack and Ruin
3 Tormod's Cryp
1 Fire/Ice
1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Stifle
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Fact or Fiction

Note: I was torn between putting this here or on the budget forum. It was built with 5-proxy in mind, but I wouldn't consider the 4 Shops qualifying for "budget." Also, in a fully-powered environment, I'm not sure how much blue power I'd actually run (so I'd probably only add the Pearl). With the exception of the Tinker targets, I'm striving for maximum consistancy, and the decklist is tight as it is. I can see removing 1-2 Chalice for blue power if it's necessary, but pulling Chalice is a metagame call as far as I'm concerned.

A few of the card choices:

Lightning Greaves - This was added while I was testing Metalworker, and are still there in anticipation of a random mirror-match to give me at least some edge game one. I'm probably cutting them for the second Mindslaver, but I wanted to present the list as I have it right now.

Pentavus - I love the synergy with Welder and the ability to chump block like a mofo.

Karn - He's an amazing clock and lets me go aggro, along with eating Moxen, but this deck seems to be in for the long haul, so Pentavus ended up getting the nod.

Platinum Angel - I was considering this, but I'm not expecting a lot of Dragon (plus the hate I already have in Chain, Stifle, and Crypt), and I seem to be able to handle the aggro matchup well enough, so this didn't make the cut.

Fire/Ice - The one qualm I have here is that it's the only spell in the deck at 2 mana (with the exception of the SB Pulse). With Chalice usually getting set at 2, it's often a dead card that can't even be pitched to FoW. If I leave the Chalice count at 4, I may consider trying to find a replacement. My options seem limited to the craptastic Arc Lightning or Lava Dart, though. I'd also like to fit the 4th of whatever I end up running in either the MD or SB some way or another.

[Necrologia]

Why are you running a City of Traitors over an Ancient Tomb? The Tomb's drawback tends to be much less painful in the long run. The odd double Tomb opening hurts, but since you're only running one City it shouldn't be a problem.

I do agree that the Greaves need to be another Slaver though. There are so many matches where the Slaver just win games, and the greaves will just sit there. Having one is also a bit random as you'll rarely Tinker for it.

[Addolorisi]

Well, in testing, I've lost most of my games to Mana Crypt. (By "most," I mean comparatively to other deck archetypes, not that Mana Crypt accounts for over 50% of all losses.)

When running Ancient Tomb (I did have 2 for a little while), the combined pain with Crypt was just too much for the deck, so I ended up running the City instead. It always gets at least 2 activations, and I figured that if I hit it late-game, it would be better overall than Tomb. And while less advantageous in the first few turns, it is usually enough acceleration. When I hit it late-game, it isn't a win condition for the opponent. In summary, it's mainly because I don't have the option of going Karn aggro for the 2 turn clock, so I want to stabilize the mid- and late-game as much as possible.

But I'll try some more testing of the Tomb this week since I'm now down to one Tomb/City slot, and let you know how it turns out.