[Deck] GoblinClamp - Mono Red Affinity

[urza_insane]

Disclaimer-
Before you automatically disregard this deck as a stupid newbs casual deck, please give it a chance. Instead of telling me how bad it is, tell me how to improve it. Thanks

I've put together an Affinity decklist I am incredibly happy with, it can do same very crazy stuff and is powerful. The deck revolves around the amazing synergy Skullclamp has with Arcbound Ravager and Goblin Welder. I suppose you could go as far as to say this is Skullclamp.dec  as it is more important than the Affinity cards.

After much testing I actually dropped the blue component (something I never tried as Thoughtcast is incredibly powerful) and decided to make it mono-red. This allowed me to play the mighty Bloodmoon and be more resiliant to Mr. Monkey Man. Overall I like it much better, it's more streamlined and can win even through many obstacles (Null Rod, Artifact H8, Counters). I also found another amazing card that nobody has included yet, Mishra's Factory. In my testing I found that I needed mana fast in the first few turns, but all i ever needed was 3 mana anything else was useless.

I'll stop spewing all my random thoughts now and post a decklist  

GoblinClamp
urza_insane
2-18-04

// the crazy stuff
        4 Goblin Welder
        4 Skullclamp
// underlings
        4 Ornithopter
        4 Phyrexian Walker
// killing creatures
        4 Arcbound Ravager
        4 Frogmite
        4 Myr Enforcer
// burninators
        4 Cursed Scroll
        3 Pyrite Spellbomb
        3 Shrapnel Blast
// mana
        1 Lotus Petal
        1 Mana Vault
        1 Mana Crypt
        1 Sol Ring
        4 Mishra's Factory
        1 Strip Mine
        4 Wasteland
        4 Great Furnace
        5 Mountain
SB:  4 Tormod's Crypt
SB:  4 Pyroblast
SB:  3 Blood Moon
SB:  4 Rack and Ruin

I also added cursed scroll as a way to use all my untapped mana late game, a good 1cc affinity booster too. I suppose you could look at this deck as a fusion of Sligh and poor-mans TnT. This deck obviously lacks power as I built it for me, but I wouldn't run a full mox set even if I had them. Probably just ruby and lotus.

Some cards I am considering-

Arcbound Worker - this is a fun card that works well with Welder, but only great in certain situations with Clamp. Still testing it in Walkers place. Ornithopter will be staying as it has won me MANY games through sacing Ravager and pumping it.

Chalice of the Void - This card seems good at first glance, but at any level it hurts me a lot. maybe if I drop Walker it could find a sideboard slot. This has a very small chance of being included.

Welding Jar- This card could be used in a crazy aftifact destruction meta, but isn't really needed with Welders.

Thoughtcast- The only real reason to include blue, I still want more draw, but I don't want to splash any colors if possible.

Lightning Bolt- Some good old burn could be used if your facing lots of aggro, but I feel the Shrapnel Blasts and Pyrites are enough.

Overload- This card could find a place if your afraid of Chalices (2 casting costs!) or Trinisphere (3cc). this would be play along with Rack and Ruin.

Blinkmoth Nexus- Could be used in place of Factories or in place of the 0cc creatures if you dislike the 0/* creatures. This could be included in a standstill heavy meta. I really like this card and want to try and find a place for it. Walkers might go out for this, but leaves you with less clamp targets and isn't weldable.

Final thoughts-

Affinity is an amazing mechanic, but with the current cardpool isn't very viable as a deck of its own (like Madness) I do however believe that it can work as a great supporting mechanic in order to gain tempo. Free 4/4s and 2/2s are never bad. The main thing I have learned from making Affinity decks is that Goblin Welder is WAY too powerful. The scary thing is that I don't think its true potential has been realized yet. Top 3 creatures for sure.

Any suggestions would be great!

[Haksaw]

Same warnings I threw to the Elf/Clamp deck tonight.  In our environment, you'd see Mishra's Workshop/Ancinet Tomb (Or land and Mox), into Chalice of the Void for 1 or a Sphere of Resistance.

That's a full round of delay, that you can't get around.  And Trinisphere became legal (and maindeck in many Workshop.dec) today, so all of your spells cost at LEAST 3 now.

A Chalice for 1 wrecks: Welder, Skullclamp, Cursed Scroll, Spellbomb...that's a pretty heavy hit.  And I know I pack 5 strip effects for your Factories.

You've got the Rack and Ruin sided, I might even Mox Monkey it and pray for rain (in the form of a 3 mana hand).  I honestly don't see solid suggestions for improvement, other than picking up some Moxen to make those Frogmite/Enforcers real fly out early.

[urza_insane]

Even if a chalice is dropped for 1 it is still possible to win. The chalice will also stop their Welders (a very good thing) and allow me to try for a fast win with Shrapnel and Myr beatz. The trinisphere first turn could pose a huge problem and thats why I've upped the R n R count to 4 in my sideboard. On the Factories thing, if somebody tries to wast them I have many options - Shrapnel blast it, Clamp it, or Weld it away. It is an artifact you know (when need be).
If your really worried about spheres (both) and chalices then I would run overload in addition to Rack and Ruin in the side. I (luckily) don't have problems with these cards in my meta. There are a few chalices, but playing around them is possible. Having 4 Rack and Ruin in the side should help.

Thanks for posting!

[Haksaw]

I definitely didn't say you couldn't win with Chalice/Trinisphere down, I just hinted at some of the Workshop.dec possibilities.

It's the successive turns that really start to hurt, with Tangle Wire tapping down, Smokestack starting to eat resources, and additional Sphere of Resistance further pushing their Workshop/Ancient Tomb advantage.

I think that the deck has promise, especially with the Ornithoper/Walker's coming in for free.  But well timed counters are going to be aimed at Skullclamp and especially Welder, and certain deck types are going to be problematic.

Please post some match-up results as they pop up.

Cheers.