Skullclamp playable?

[Celandro]

JP Meyer says this about Skullclamp:

This gets my pick as the best card in the set that won't see any play. Honestly, what creatures besides soldier tokens would you want to put this on?

Lets look at what Skullclamp does:
1 mana CC (good)
1 mana equip that gives:
+1 power (good)
-1 toughness (bad normally)
draw 2 cards when creature dies (double plus good)

Lets analyze the creatures used in gauntlet decks from http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9347 and give a verdict when not obvious.

Madness:
Basking Rootwalla - pump, equip, attack for 4, draw 2 at end of turn- Grade C
Wild Mongrel - equip attack with 3/1,  (7 turn clock instead of 10 not counting pumps) - Grade C+
Arrogant Wurm - equip attack with 5/3 trampler,(4 turn clock instead of 5) - Grade B+
Roar of the Wurm  token - equip attack with 7/5, (3 turn clock instead of 4) - Grade B
Verdict:
Possible stalemate breaker. Makes any block or attack a better trade

Oshawa Stompy:
Squee, Goblin Nabob - No way to cast - Grade F
Basking Rootwalla - See Madness - Grade C
Wild Mongrel - See Madness - Grade C+
Troll Ascetic - 4/1 untargetable regener. draw 2 if killed somehow, 5 turn clock instead of 7 - Grade B-
Arrogant Wurm - See Madness - Grade B+
Hidden Gibbons - See Madness - Grade B
Elvish Spirit Guide - I guess you could equip twice late game - Grade D
Verdict:
Possible mirror match sideboard target. 4/1 Troll is nice blocker, and can attack with a more powerful other creature for card advantage.


TNT:
Goblin Welder - Equip some artifiact creature, weld, draw 2 cards, get new artifact creature, can even weld skullclamp into play itself  - Grade A+ Combo
Squee, Goblin Nabob - Cast (what you can cast him?!), equip, draw 2 cards If you have nothing better to do with squee..- Grade A-
Anger - See Elvish Spriti Guide Above - Grade D-

Juggernaut - 6/2 is not much better than 5/3 - Grade C
Su-Chi - 5/3 is much better than 4/4 - Grade B
Karn, Silver Golem - 5/3 is much better than 4/4 but 1/7 isnt really that great. Of course 2 mana lets you turn skullclamp itself into 2 cards - Grade B
Solemn Simulacrum - 3/1 draw 3 when die is pretty good. 4/0 draw 5 for  2 mana + weld a mox is GG - Grade A- with 1 equip, when welded out A+ Full combo A++++
Triskelion - Weld in, attack with 5/3, do 3 damage with pings, draw 2 cards - Grade A+
Quirion Ranger- Would you really want to kill your combo piece for 2 cards? i guess sometimes.. - Grade C-
Duplicant - As extra combo with welder its good but youve already won more - Grade B
Platinium Angel - No real point to equipping- Grade D-
Verdict: Playable Main deck. Adds more card advantage to engine, shortens clock some.

Hulk
Tog - See Tog - Grade F

Tog
Tog - See Hulk - Grade F

Keeper
Decree of Justice - Not good currently. May be abuseable in a combo deck, but not keeper - Grade C but in the right deck perhaps A or higher
Gorilla Shaman - Why kill off your shaman you nitwit? - Grade F

Scepter Control
Decree of Justice - See Keeper but only 2 decrees so less likely to have any tokens to turn into cards - Grade D

Landstill
Various lands - But Why? Maybe if combined with decree of justice which also works well under standstill- Grade D Possibly B in right deck

U/R Control
Ophidion - Just say no - Grade F
Gorilla Shaman - See Keeper - Grade F
Morphling - Dont want morph to die so draw is pointless, other parts mimic pre existing morphling ability. - Grade Dumb

Mono Blue Control
Morphling - See U/R Control - Grade F

Dragon:
Dragon - No - Grade F
Squee - Not casting squee - Grade F

TPS:
Elvish Spirit Guide - LOL - Grade H

Neo Long
Xantid - Grade F

Slavery
Welder - No creatures to equip and then weld away - Grade F

Mud
Metalworker - a 2/1 mana producer.. umm ok, weldable though - Grade D
Goblin Welder - Some creatures to weld esp. with karn, but already winning - Grade B-
Karn, Silver Golem - See Golbin Welder - Grade B-
Verdict: Not really needed.

Fish
Not going to go through all the cards but verdict is playable

Gay/R
See Fish

Other decks
Not playable

Yeah, I know I gave up finishing at the end, if someone else wants to do a complete analysis go ahead.

Overall Verdict: Very playable with Welder tricks and in aggro decks. Especially good in aggro v aggro matchups.  Combo possibilities are out there. Most likely success TNT. Its worth at least 1 slot to get welded into play, perhaps replace a Blood Moon since the extra card draw should help you draw into it anyhow.

Celandro

P.S. My first post, hope I'm not too noobish. Comments/Suggestions welcome.

[DEA]

i think you're neglecting the possibilities of skullclamp starting a new deck archetype and instead focusing on using it in established decks

i've already seen a very janky type 2 deck that uses it in conjunction with myrs, genesis chamber and mana echoes to generate a shit load of mana for the kill (fireball, blaze etc)
not the best example, perhaps, but i think skullclamp has potential

it's also great in ww, with leonin shikari and auriok steelshaper
with these 2 in play, any creature trade will become a 3 for 1
could give aggro a good run for it's money

[Celandro]

Any card that says 1: Draw 2 cards can certainly be made into a deck somehow. How to get a new creature into play as well as 1 additional mana to clamp with those 2 new cards is the problem.  Fitting it into existing aggro decks seemed like an easier start to me[/b]

[riggy]

From the Karn section:

Of course 2 mana lets you turn skullclamp itself into 2 cards - Grade B

Does that work? I would think that Karn's ability would work the same way as March of the Machines in that equipment that is turned into a creature can't be equipped.

[Celandro]

Karn
1: Target noncreature artifact becomes an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to its converted mana cost until end of turn. That artifact retains its abilities.

vs.

March of the Machines
Each noncreature artifact is an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to its converted mana cost. (Equipment that's a creature can't equip a creature.)

You make the call!

[Celandro]

Furthur research shows you cant believe what you read on cards..

From Saturday School #55 by Rune Horvik, Saturday, December 6, 2003
Q: If an equipment is animated via Karn or anything else, can it then equip itself?

A: No, it can’t. Rule 212.2i says that if an equipment has been turned into a creature, it can't equip anything. (And if it's already equipping something, it falls off.)

[Jakedasnake]

How about Skullclamp+Squirrel Nest?

Seriously, WW could get a huge boost out of this. Making your first striker dudes 3/1 is huge, plus, when they die to fire/ice, you net two cards. Pretty nifty.

Not to mention with that instant speed dude, and creature that's going to eat the bullet will net you two cards on the way down. That's some good I hear.

[Laertes]

Scullclamp isn't viable because:

1 In a deck with useful creatures, you want to prevent thier death, usualy, because that would be a setback.  If thier death  isn't a setback, they usualy arn't useful creatures.  Math:  Savanah lions+ scullclamp is 3 mana used, -2 cards+2 cards for a net of 0 cards.  You have spent your time/turns/mana and have nothing to show for it except a scullclamp that might be usuable in the future.  If you invest another creature (tolal 3 cards and at least 5 mana spent as a sorcery) just to have a net gain of 2 cards for 5 mana isn't a bargain.  Concentrate is better than that.  :(

2 Having creautes just to sac to scullclamp is too conditional.   With only one half, the other half is useless.

3 It isn't worthwhile to have an equipment that just adds one to a creatures's power. If it was useful, people would just play that battleaxe that adds two power: Bonesplitter.

If you want to draw cards over and over, there are many better strategies.  Isochoron scepter is one of many.

[rozetta]

Actually, that got me thinking. Skullclamp + random artifact creature + welder = pretty good.

Firstly, simply welding the equipped creature out gives you 2 cards. If you have multiple welders, and a creature both in the graveyard and play, that could really get out of hand. It's the same "card advantage" as an ancestral.

Now, consider those control-based slaver decks which play one or two pentavus. Activate the pentavus for 1/1s at the end of the opponent's turn. On your turn, you can draw 2 cards for 1 colourless as many as 4 times if you wish, and use the last 1/1 guy to bring the original pentavus back. That's up to 8 cards on your turn for 4 colourless mana. However, admittedly, that's a little bit of a limited use, since you need both in play to make this effective and the skullclamp is otherwise dead if it's in play. However, in a deck with thirsts, you just pitch it away until you need it (welder it back in). Two skullclamp is probably plenty in this case.

I noticed that some builds run Fire/Ice. I've been toying around with a version running 2 Triskelion instead of the Fire/Ice. The principal is the same - drop the trisk with thirst and then welder it back. This get's more useful with the skullclamp, since when you equip it, it's a 5/3. Hence you can ping away from it 3 times to get it into the graveyard without having to ping itself (an extra damage in this case). You get 2 cards for doing that, and then you just weld him back and repeat. Let's also notice that, as a 5/3 he just became a 4 turn clock on attack alone. Factor in the pings and that's 8 damage per turn unblocked assuming you have something to weld out every turn. Not bad for 1 mana.

As a final consideration, equipping a welder to get 2 cards if you must absolutely dig for some answer is pretty good (especially considering how easy it is to replay the welders via Yawgwill).

[greedo]

I have been working on an equipment based white weenie for some time.  The Skullclamp has fit in very well.  I playtested a bit last night against a Full English Breakfast build.  Skullclamp has been a very powerful draw engine.  When looking for answers (swords or fire/ice) I could often net 10-20 cards in a single turn.

In the odd case that anyone cares, here is my list:

4 Bonesplitter
4 Skullclamp
2 Empyrial Plate

4 Auriok Steelshaper
4 Gorilla Shaman
2 Savannah Lions
4 Weathered Wayfarer/Land Tax (Testing)
2 Devout Witness

3 Isochron Scepter
4 Raise the Alarm
3 Swords to Plowshares
2 Fire/Ice
1 Enlightened Tutor

1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mox Diamond
1 Black Lotus

1 Maze of Ith
4 Plateau
1 Mountain
8 Plains
2 Undiscovered Paradise

[Euleto]

I have been working on an equipment based white weenie for some time.  The Skullclamp has fit in very well.  I playtested a bit last night against a Full English Breakfast build.  Skullclamp has been a very powerful draw engine.  When looking for answers (swords or fire/ice) I could often net 10-20 cards in a single turn.

In the odd case that anyone cares, here is my list:

4 Bonesplitter
4 Skullclamp
2 Empyrial Plate

4 Auriok Steelshaper
4 Gorilla Shaman
2 Savannah Lions
4 Weathered Wayfarer/Land Tax (Testing)
2 Devout Witness

3 Isochron Scepter
4 Raise the Alarm
3 Swords to Plowshares
2 Fire/Ice
1 Enlightened Tutor

1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mox Diamond
1 Black Lotus

1 Maze of Ith
4 Plateau
1 Mountain
8 Plains
2 Undiscovered Paradise

I personally always liked weenie decks like this.  Yeah, I would say if we use skullclamp, then scepter+raisethealarm is a must. I dont think you need ten equipment. Undiscovered paradise? Try fetchlands.  I might even consider making this more colors (possibly W/U/R) just because serendib efreet is amazing, especially with a clamp on him. I dunno, this deck might be viable, but it will need some work, and some better way to deal with large creatures, such as StP

[waSP]

White Weenie decks no longer need a Land Tax effect, its just something they don't want to give up yet.  You probably should be running the full complement of Scepters.  Also, this deck might be able to contend with a lot of decks by simply including Orim's Chant in the main for random Chant locks.

Don't run Enlightened tutor.  You don't have any bullets.  It's just not good.  You need 4 StoP and probably 4 Fire/Ice.  This should look like an aggro control deck with a quirky draw engine.  I'm interested to see where it goes.

[greedo]

Undiscovered Paradise is used because it has synergy with Land Tax/Wayfarer and is a colored source.  As long as there is an effect like this I will be playing a couple.

Don't run Enlightened tutor.  You don't have any bullets.  It's just not good.  You need 4 StoP and probably 4 Fire/Ice.  This should look like an aggro control deck with a quirky draw engine.  I'm interested to see where it goes.

It can grab me Isochron, Empyrial Plate, and Black Lotus.  Lotus has been a great pull a couple of times.  So far I have liked the tutor, but it has not had extensive testing.

The big problem with removing a Land Tax effect is a low mana source count.  Wayfarer is better with Skullclamp but the activation cost to grab yourself a land is terrible.  I'm still playing around with it.

I have not liked the Maze of Ith at all.  I may try a Strip Mine later.

After reading comments I will be further testing the deck with the following changes:

-2 Empyrial Plate
-1 Maze of Ith

+1 Isochron Scepter
+1 Swords to Plowshares
+1 Fire/Ice

Edit: I must also add that Null Rod/Damping Matrix is very terrible to play against.  I will probably work a sideboard up and post later.

[Carlos El Salvador]

Four maindeck Disnechant effects  
Wow... WW Viable in t1 Maybe...  Never!  NEVER! ::hides from the enswing apocolypse as wizards unrestricts Tolarian acadamy and bans islands::

[hellswarm]

skul clamp ideas.....

saporling cluster 1g
1: discard a card from your hand  = create a 1/1 token.

skul clamp 1 kill said 1/1 token draw 2 cards

now all u need is a way to keep generating 2 mana.. ideas?

[Bram]

Yes. Lands.

Seriously, what you have right now is a 2-card combo that gives you 1 card for 2 mana. That's not good enough. And it's pretty conditional, too: you need to have a card on hand which you loose BEFORE you get to draw 2 new ones.

I'm sure we cound think of a card that interacts with these 2 to make the combo 'work' but then you'd have a 3-card combo, and at least one of the cards would be green.

That said, I believe Skullclamp to be playable. I'll ponder on it for a while.

[Matt]

skul clamp ideas.....

saporling cluster 1g
1: discard a card from your hand  = create a 1/1 token.

skul clamp 1 kill said 1/1 token draw 2 cards

now all u need is a way to keep generating 2 mana.. ideas?

Carnival of Souls!

[Bram]

Oh God. Yes, why not?

A three card combo that costs you  in total, 3BG to play. And what do you do IF you get them all in play?

Pay 1 mana and discard a card to make a token. Get one mana and lose 1 life. Pay that 1 mana to kill the token with the Clamp. Draw two cards. Rinse and repeat.

The net gain: pay 1 mana + 1 life: draw a card.

Just play Yawgmoth's Bargain. It's has a less prohibitive mana cost, it's ONE card instead of three, and you don't have to pay mana for the cards And oh yeah, you can actually draw your deck then, instead of just HALF your deck

What we need is to make this a FOUR card combo. We don't do anything with the fact that the token goes to the graveyard yet. There's GOTTA be some mana or life to gain from THAT.... Like, add Moonlit Wake and Fecundity to make it interesting. Then you have a 5 card, 7BWGG combo that draws you two cards for each 1 you spend

[Pinky]

I quickly created a combo deck, using Skullclamp as an engine to power up the storm count. So far I only played a few goldfish games, but first turn kills are doable. The deck still has no protection of any kind, but to give you an idea :

4 Bayou
4 Land Grant
4 Dark Ritual
1 Chrome Mox
1 Lion's Eye Diamond
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Diamond
1 Mana Vault
1 Grim Monolith
2 Tendrils of Agony
1 Yawgmoth's Bargain
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Demonic Consultation
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
4 Kobolds of Kher Keep
4 Crookshank Kobolds
4 Crimson Kobolds
4 Myr Moonvessel
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
4 Tinder Wall
4 Skullclamp

The deck tends to run 'decent', but has problem getting a Skullclamp. Spoils of The Vault might fix this, but I'd have to test further.

[Matt]

What we need is to make this a FOUR card combo.

Use a second Carnival of Souls!

[Bram]

LOL@Matt  

yeah, that's loads better. A four-card '4BBG' combo that reads: 'Pay 2 life: draw a card.' Looks like we finally broke the Carnival after all.

Now all we need is a card that says: 'U - Instant - Search your library for three ennchantments and and artifact and put them in play' and we're in business

[hellswarm]

heh 4th card

soul warden

now u don't die

[Bram]

Yup. That's the ticket.

Skullclamp + 2x Soul Warden + 2x Carnival of Souls + Saproling Cluster = Draw your deck and discard half of it. 6 card combos rule the world.

[hellswarm]

hey i got it...

cadeverous bloom.....remove 1 for 2 mana...
2 mana = toss 1 card draw 2 cards....net gain of 2 mana a cycle..
hey and u don't die..

or skirge familary with 2x legacy weapons or ne thing else that shuffles back into deck..

[Jacob Orlove]

This has been a joke for a little too long.