The Pillars - A Beating and a Half

[ShawnTheDoctor]

It's been said that the "Three Pillars of Vintage" are Shop, Drain and Ritual. Some decks run Drains OR Shops OR Rituals. I remember a few decks back in the day with Drains AND Rituals or Shops AND Rituals. But NEVER before (I think) has anyone ran Shops AND Drains AND Rituals... Until now!

"The Pillars"

// BROKEN
4x Mishra's Workshop
4x Mana Drain
4x Dark Ritual

// B.TINGS
4x Juggernaut
3x Triskelion
3x Sundering Titan
3x Master Transmuter
2x Karn Silver Golem
1x Mindslaver
1x Mind's Eye

// SEARCH
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Mystical Tutor

// OTHER STUFF
4x Force of Will
1x Tinker
1x Ancestral Recall
1x Time Walk
1x Brainstorm
1x Mind Twist
1x Yawg Will

// MANA
1x Mana Crypt
5x Moxes
1x Lotus
3x Underground Sea
1x Island
7x Fetches

If it's possible for this deck to lose then I'm not seeing it. First you have about 10000 ways to cast a first turn Juggernaut between Shops and Rituals. The only thing better than a first turn Juggernaut is a first turn Juggernaut with FoW backup.

Then Master Transmuter hits the board and it's all over. Say Sundering Titan every turn, or Triskelion and kill your Welders over and over. Or Mindslaver and win, or Mind's Eye and draw twice as many cards.

And then what happens when you get to UU? MANA DRAIN TIME. You can hard-cast a Titan no problem in this deck.

This deck is a beating and a half. I hate to say it, but the more I look at the list, the more I think Rituals need to be cut. Screw it, keep them in. It's all about The Pillars.

[EnialisLiadon]

I can't imagine Shops and Drains getting along well with each other.  Running the three "pillars" seems to be an extremely constricting gimmick that you're putting upon yourself.

This deck looks like it's trying to go in all sorts of directions, and will probably end up tripping over itself.

As for an actual suggestion...Tangle Wire?  Has some synergy with Transmuter.  But since "it's all over" when she hits play, you may not need the wire.

[LotusHead]

Your only disruption is 4 Force of Will?
Was Tolarian Academy an oversight? (didn't see it on list)

Did you test this at all (even on MWS)?

[ShawnTheDoctor]

Considered Academy but left it off for some reason. Probably should be added.

Also considered Tangle Wire. I don't have enough stuff to tap on my side though so the effect will be more symmetrical if I don't have Transmuter in play.

I have playtested this deck for 1000 hours in various tournaments all over North America and Japan. I have received input from MTG experts such as World Champions, PT Winners, and the Mayor of Tokyo... not really 

[LotusHead]

I have playtested this deck for 1000 hours in various tournaments all over North America and Japan.

I asked a legitimate question, did you test this at all? Proxied up vs people, on MWS, goldfishing only or what?

If not, just say it, I wasn't slamming your deck. Just asking.

[BruiZar]

This deck is gonna empty its hand and draw dead on the next turns.

Also, why do you think mana drain is any good? You don't really have alot of spells to put the mana in, I mean you have chunky artifacts, but they can be paid for with shop.

Ritual is the most expendable of the 'three pillars', as it does nothing more than workshop yet its a one time trick only. Even MUD uses staff of domination / sword of fire and ice to draw atleast something. UBA uses bazaar as a draw engine, you only seem to use recall and brainstorm as the backbone of your deck.

Without criticizing too hard, I think you just threw together a bunch of vintage staples with pretty pictures without considering the synergies between those cards. I could be wrong and I would love to hear a more indepth article on why this deck is better than any other drain deck, ritual deck or workshop deck.

[VorpalBunnyDuby]

If your just building a deck to try and abuse alot of broken cards you should probably add academy, time vault and voltaic key. It probably doesn't matter if you add them or not, but why not just play every bomb you can in this deck?

[Tha Gunslinga]

I think you're looking for this forum.