Almost Blue Bullshit... Almost.

[erictehfatz0r]

Well, here I go with another deck. I really have no idea why I made this deck, I'll just try and explain some of the cards.

The Kill:
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Tinker

the Draw:
4 Ophidian
4 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall

the Permission:
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
3 Duress
4 Mana Leak

the Utility:
1 Demonic Tutor (I had to use it, it's German for christ's sake and I'd feel bad about not)
1 Vampiric Tutor
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Yawgmoth's Will

Der Mana:
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Lotus Petal
3 Underground Sea
3 Polluted Delta
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
13 Island

I know it's 57 cards; i was trying out 3 Spiketail Hatchling and I am thoroughly unimpressed, but then it's running the Blue count a little low, so I honestly have no idea what to put there. Another Win Condition? more Card Drawing?

That brings me to my next topic: Is the Red Zone too risky to rely on drawing cards?

I figured the E. E. would solve many on-board problems, and I personally think it's optimal right now set at 2, with all the fish around, and solves one problem against Oath: A resolved one. This was one reason i added Black to the mix. Another was the addition of Duress. I love duress, but in my original list could only fit in 3, but since I just recently (as of the time I am writing this) took out the Hatchlings, they would be the first thing upped to a 4-of.

Although I am hesitant about only using DSC as the kill, I figure with all the permission, and the E.E's, I'd be able to hold off the hate for a couple of turns.

Another problem I see with my build is the lack of Bounce spells. Could an Echoing Truth or two help out against the Chalices, Vials, and other random stuff tossed my way? I am thinking of adding either those, chain of vapors, or Waterfront Bouncers.

But, so far the deck isn't TOO bad, and I look forward to your replies. Any criticism is good criticism in my book, and it is appreciated. Thanks for your time.

-Er1c_C

EDIT: Thank you Negator, I completely missed Will out of my cards and i mysteriously didn't add 4 leak. Could you elaborate on why Duress and Drain are Mutually Exclusive?

[Negator13]

There's no YawgWiN in your deck.

Personally I think Duress and Drain are mutually exclusive, so I'd consider MisD or Leak over them.

[silvernail]

well the idea of duress and mana drain being exclusive is that you need a black srouce turn one to use duress to full effect and two blue sources to cast drain on turn two(or mox sapphire and  land  on turn one). This means running lands that produce both mana colors and therefore weakening your deck vs wastelands. personally i dont see an issue with that part of the game plan. Duress however isnt as good vs some decks as say, misdirection, would be.( Smenmen posted about this in his latest gifts thread and article).

Now onto my own grips with the deck: why is this better than mono blue? Why is this better than gifts.dec (which also is trying to protect a tinker colossus win, but treats it like the combo deck that it is)?

The basic differnce here is that your going for a control deck style, but there are other decks out there that out preform you (3cc or 4cc, mono U, CS), meanwhile you arent adding anything new to the deck that is helpful. The main differnces in card choices (duress and ohpidian) arent good vs fish and workshop aggro which are both on the rise.

[erictehfatz0r]

I personally like Duress better than Misdirection because I'd rather know I could get rid of something that could hinder the Tinker/Colossus plan or cause my gameplan to slow down, like chalices or Vials, or even smokestack parts. I just prefer more general cards in my area that cover a lot of ground. Addressing your grips:

The deck is better than mono blue because of the added color, pretty much. This sets E.E. at 2, killing a lot of Fish, and the occasional Oath, which is really important. Duress is also a foil to the newly created Gifts deck, as stated in that thread. Adding Black also gives me the option for more tutoring power, and Yawgmoth's Will, which have made it into the deck.

I really don't have a clue why it's better than Gifts.dec, but I know I am playing this because I currently don't have any of the other cards to work with. This was built with what I have, so I understand if it's not better than other decks.

Now, Ophidian is a card that worries me. If I were to replace the card with a standard Draw engine, what would it be?

1. TfK has too little targets to get rid of
2. Intuition/AK is terrible
3. Skeletal Scrying seems feasible, seeing as I don't really need the cards in the graveyard
4. Impulse might be alright here, along with FoF?

Right now I'm all out of Ideas, and thank you for replying with your ideas. I'm sort of taking this deck in an entirely new direction...

[Ender]

I always loved shackles in a monoblue (or almost bbs) type build. it helps vs a lot of the aggro matchups and just makes life so much more easier. any reason why time walk isn't there as well? and any reason why there are no cunning wishes? you might not want to go in that direction but definitely something to think about.

[Moxlotus]

There is a severe lack of off-color Moxen to enable turn 1 Leaks.

[erictehfatz0r]

There is a severe lack of off-color Moxen to enable turn 1 Leaks.

Seven Proxies means 4 Drains, Ancestral, Lotus, and Sapphire. If there were more I'd be adding more.

@Ender: I never liked shakles, mostly because it required A) me to be in a position where I was facing a Creature (or more than one), and B) mana to cast, and a lot of mana to use, given I'd be getting something worthwhile. I'd rather just Explosives the little guys off the board, and bounce the others.

Cunning Wish seems like an OK choice, giving me some flexibility for board control/ Fact or Fiction out of the board, along w/ Mystical. Definitely gonna try it out.

Keep them coming, guys!!
-Er1c_C

[Thug]

Seven Proxies means 4 Drains, Ancestral, Lotus, and Sapphire. If there were more I'd be adding more.

You might want to consider proxying up moxes instead of drains. Drains can be replaced without losing too much, the Moxes are vial the deck. Without moxes it is very hard to run Leak or Phid how there are meant to be, and without moxes mono-blue gets into a lot of problems it shouldn't get into.

[Sundberg]

thug can be right. The old style MUC used morphling as the kill, casted with manadrain mana, now u dont have that many expensive cards, so replacing 2 md with 2 moxes maby isnt that bad (more tinker targets also). I highly recommend a cunning wish or maby even 2 becasue with black in the deck u get more options, like diabolic edict against oath(the hardest matchup) Chalice of the void and arcane lab. is two good cards against combo, try them.

/Tommy

[erictehfatz0r]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Koen, fellow (ex-) magic-leaguer (I think, how many Koens do i know?), if I decide to cut the Drains, I'm definitely going to cut the Ophidians then. That's really one of the only reasons i ran Drain, and I understand where you're coming from. Sund i have been trying out various sideboard options, most notably Mystical Tutor, Coffin Purge, Echoing Truth, and chain of Vapor.

Right now I'm having a lot of trouble with the deck, mainly what frigging draw engine to run, What counterbase would be good, etc. so I will be shelving the idea until I get my thoughts together.

I appreciate all the comments here, they've all helped a lot.

-Er1c_C, aka Lavaborn_ass on Magic-league a long time ago...