i am attempting to get back into magic, and this is a dec...

[GerryMander]

i am attempting to get back into magic, and this is a deck that i have always wanted to build.  it is an artifact prison deck!

i don't want to spend money on this deck, so please keep the suggestions "cheap".

this is what i have so far

4 Metalworker

3 icy manipulator
4 tangle wire
4 static orb

4 mana leak
4 syncopate
4 accumulated knowledge
2 opportunity

4 Ancient Tomb
4 Seat of Synod
1 Tolarian Academy


it is partial, and looks like complete crap right now, but i know you guys can help me make this thing work w/o spending lots and lots of money....

thanks in advance!

[Smash]

Look at this for a start. Written 2 days ago by someone on here (bad with names...)

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/expandnews.php?Article=6292

Your start of a deck seems like it is a little bit "old school" and could use some updating. There has been a lot of wmud and stax. A lot of that can trickle down to budget prison decks.\n\n

[GerryMander]

ok ill try and build an entire decklist....

The Mana
20 Islands
4 Metal Worker
1 Tolarian Acadamy
1 Grim Monolith
1 Mana Vault

The Lock
4 Icy Manipulator
4 Tangle Wire
3 Static Orb
1 Winter Orb

The Kill
4 Magma Mine
4 Power Artifact

The Search
1 Tinker
3 Transmute Artifact
4 Accumulated Knowldege

The Counters
4 Foil
4 Mana Leak


63 cards

I need some help reducing the count and making this deck more consistant and viable...  mebby i should ditch counters and add black for hymn to torach and duress?  plz bear with me cuz i have been "out of the loop" for a while and have lost any really good concepts of tech and whatnot...


Right now, i can see a possible turn 3 win!

Turn 1:  Island, Go
Turn 2:  Island, Grim Monolith, Go
Turn 3:  Power Artifact on Grim, Magma Mine for the win


i think that would be kinda easy to pull off...

maybe i should drop the whole prison idea and go for Power Artifact/Grim Monolith/Mana Vault.... hmmmmm



here is a possible power artifact/grim monolith deck

The Mana
20 Islands
4 Seat of Synod
1 Grim Monolith
1 Mana Vault

The Kill
4 Magma Mine
4 Power Artifact

The Search
1 Tinker
4 Transmute Artifact
4 Accumulated Knowldege

The Counters
2 Foil
4 Counterspell
4 Mana Leak

7 cards missing!\n\n

[Smash]

For one people dropped counters from artifact prison decks. There are so many good ways to apply pressure, you don't really need to waste your time on counters.

The Kill
4 Magma Mine
4 Power Artifact


That is an 8 card, very clunky kill. Better tech now is to play 2-3 karns. They are a good blocker, a mox monkey, and a 1-2 turn kill all in 1 package.

If you really want to use blue for draw, use stuff like meditate. Make it one sided with tangle wire and smokestack.


Edit - you have 1 grim and 1 tinker to get it. Your combo is too clunky. In prison you want to grind them out, not combo them out.

Edit2 - Power Artifact hasn't worked on Mana Vault for several years.   So you need a restricted card (monolith), a UU card that is utterly worthless alone (power artifact), and a really clunky bad card by itself kill mechanism (magma mine).

Instead of allll that work, shove in 3 karns or whatever. Even mana severance/charbelcher is a better kill if you want to go combo.\n\n

[GerryMander]

how does Power Artifact not work on Mana Vault?  I thought that if you use it during the upkeep and spend the mana during the upkeep, you are good.

[IllusionX]

Mana Vault
Text (5th+errata): ~this~ doesn't untap during your untap step. ; At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay . If you do, untap ~this~. ; At the beginning of your draw step, if ~this~ is tapped, it deals 1 damage to you. ; : Add to your mana pool. [Oracle 2003/07/01]

The pay to untap is a triggered ability that happens at the beginning of your upkeep.  Making it so you can't repeatedly untap/tap during the upkeep.

[SummenSaugen]

It triggers at the beginning of upkeep, like everything else.  So it'll only tap once in a given turn, barring stuff like Voltaic Key.

EDIT:  Damn, you got there before me...  I'll get you yet!\n\n

[Jacob Orlove]

Quote (GerryMander @ Dec. 05 2003,15:26)how does Power Artifact not work on Mana Vault?  I thought that if you use it during the upkeep and spend the mana during the upkeep, you are good.

It's an upkeep triggered effect, so it only happens once/turn.

edit: beaten by people who didn't include valuable strategery advice.

You should really run Ancient Tombs and maybe some Cities of Traitors. More mana = good. The tombs should be dropping in price over the next month.\n\n

[GerryMander]

CURRENT DECKLIST

The Mana
20 Island
4 Ancient Tomb
1 Grim Monolith
1 Mana Vault

The Lock
4 Icy Manipulator
4 Tangle Wire
4 Static Orb
3 Smokestack
1 Winter Orb

The Search
1 Tinker
4 Transmute Artifact
4 Accumulated Knowldege
4 Meditate

Kill
2 Karn, Silver Golem

CHANGES[/b]
-added a couple Karns
-added a few smokestacks\n\n

[IllusionX]

It has already been mentioned, but Karn, Silver Golem is a great kill card for artifact decks.  You can turn your Icy and Orbs into win conditions.  As well as kill off opponents 0cc artifacts.  Or any of several other big beefy artifact creatures to make use of all the colorless.

[Toast]

Smokestacks are dirt cheap if you order them at trollandtoad.com (1.20 a pop) and they are great in artifact prison. Also goblin welders are a very good addition but they are more expensive. The cheapest store price I can find for it is 2.49 at a place called "Londes" but I have never ordered from them and they only have 2 in stock. the cheapest price I see for a store that has all 4 is troll and toad with a price of 6.95 a piece.

[GerryMander]

i s'pose i could add a couple of Karn, Silver Golems...

what about Bosh, Iron Golem?

how should you properly use smoke stack?  if i do use it, i don't wanna be screwed by it...


from now on, i am going to edit the post that says current decklist instead of posting a new one.

[GerryMander]

added a few smokestacks.

still need more kill... maybe phyrexian collosus or somethin...

[David Hernandez]

Hi,

since you have added Meditate, you really need to run 4 Smokestacks.  Also, Sphere of Resistance is a KEY card to this type of deck.

Since you insist on running mono-blue, you are going to have some trouble with your own Lock Components.  IMO, you need to add Goblin Welders to this deck.  If you are absolutely set on a mono blue build, then you need more card drawing.  

Add 4 Brainstorms, or Impulse, or Fire/Ice, or some combination of those.  Also, you might consider Isochron Scepters to impring Impulse or Fire/Ice.

That will give you card drawing and utility.  Drop the Icy Manipulators...they are too slow.  Add 3 or 4 Isocron Scepter and add 4 Fire/Ice, and you can do the same thing while drawing cards (not to mention the ability to use the Red side of Fire/Ice on the scepter for colorless mana).

It almost looks like you are trying to make an Artifact Stasis deck, so perhaps you should add Thwart or Daze so that you can return tapped lands to your hand.  If you can play something that allows you to play extra land every turn, then that would be good too.

Also, don't forget about Crystal Vein.  It may have a place here.

Once you get a Static Orb on the table, the other Static Orbs become dead cards (pretty much).  Maybe you should run 2 or 3, instead of 4, and then add another Winter Orb or a Mana Web (really good with Winter Orb and Tangle Wire).

Oh, and you need to add Memory Jar...

--Dave.\n\n

[Zherbus]

Moved.