Deck: Aggro-Modular, aka “Grab a stick and HIT!�

[mrieff]

4 Archbound Ravager
4 Archbound Slith
4 Serrated Biskelion
4 Metalworker
2 Triskelion

4 Cranial Plate
4 Sword of Fire & Ice

4 Tangle Wire
4 Sphere of Resistance
1 Memory Jar

1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
7 Solomox
4 Wasteland
1 Stripmine
4 Mishra’s Workshop
4 Ancient Tomb
2 City of Traitors
1 Tolarian Academy

SB (still open)

2 Triskelion
4 Powder Keg
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Archbound Crusher

Ok, I know this looks like a total piece of Crap, as do all my Mono Brown Ravager decks. Bear with me for a while, after all I T8’ed in the last 4 competitive tournaments I played with Ravagers. (2* Eindhoven, Mol, and Turnhout)
After each of these tourney’s I have made changes, and this is my most recent list.

The goal of this deck is to hit very hard with your creatures, and delay the opponent in the meantime. As Wire, Sphere, and Wasteland can only delay instead of hard-lock, you must kill your opponent in between.

Card Selection:

The deck is mono brown because adding colored cards will not offset the advantage of having incredible amounts of mana from Turn 1 onward. Having 4 Ancient Tomb allows me to consistently cast power cards early in the game. It also avoids the “Drain+Workshop� combo seen in Slavery decks: Needing lots of colorless mana but drawing Island, or vice versa.
It also maximizes the chance on a turn 1 (resolved) Metalworker, which is a win in at least 80% of the games.  

Yep, I removed the Skullclamps from the list for the following reason:

-This deck is totally concerned with board position. As it has a dual task (delay and hit) you simply have no time to clamp a lot.

-Clamp doesn’t hit or delay, and is therefore doesn’t add value to the core strategy of the deck.

-When you are having a good board position (threats+delay stuff) drawing and playing more of the same will not kill much faster or better. If you have a dork out with a Sword of Fire and Ice, adding another one won’t really increase your chanches of winning. And you don’t have a good board position from turn 2 onwards, you usually don’t have time to find the cards to set one with clamps to set one up.

What it basically comes down to, is that card advantage is not that important for this deck. Instead it is board advantage. The strong point about this deck is that it needs a minimal amount of cards to set up a strong board position, because its individuals cards are so good in hitting and delaying. Which in its own reduces the need for card advantage as you need less cards.
I am aware that this is quite a controversial line of thought.  From a more practical perspective, I’ve often been disappointed by the clamps in play because they just didn’t do enough. This I think is the reason for that why they just didn’t perform, although they seem natural for this deck.

Some of the creatures choices may seem odd.
The Sliths are capable of independently killing an opponent (or getting to close to that goal) given some time. I want my men to be as independent from equipment as possible, to have a higher amount of threats overall. They also get around Null Rod/Matrix.
There is nothing more frustrating than drawing random 1/1 dorks (like Myr Retriever) without having equipment around, and watching your lock spells fade out. That Sliths takes some time is ok, with my lock spells I usually have some time to make the Slith count. The 2 mana cc, relatively high for its strenghts, is virtually guaranteed in Turn 1.
Overall, the Sliths are somewhat mediocre in the power/cost balance, but so happen to fit this deck very well.

The Biskelions seem very odd. However, do remind that the 3 CC is much easier for this deck to handle. These guys kill some very annoying opposite men, such as Welders, Shamans and ‘Togs.

I don’t play any of the affinity creatures, because you want to maximize your chances of a Turn 2 creature with a sword. That requires a castable creature on Turn 1. When you’re hitting with a Sword or +6 Plate, it really doesn’t matter that much whether the underlying creature is 2/2 or 4/4.
Also, I hate dependability, which the affinity men by definition are. These creatures are chosen to be as powerful and easily castable individually. When you can’t support your lonely man through equipment these men still have a chance to win on their own. This in contradiction with, for example, Disciple of the Vault or Archbound Worker.


Any thoughts on this deck?

[Smmenen]

Nice!  Looks like a good start  Frankly, I have been perplexed why people call these decks "affinity" when clearly modular is the broken mechanic.

[Ruinn]

I have attempted to develop something similar to this, however I went off in a different direction so what I am saying here may not completely apply to your deck as I have not had a chance to test it.  You say yourself that the sliths are average and to me they seem like the weak point in this deck.  Have you tried Arcbound Crusher in that spot?

The crusher just seems like it would grow to enormous proportions in this deck, and will almost definately outgrow the slith over time.  The fact that it has trample only makes it more synergistic with the particular equipment you  are using.  

The only thing I could possibly see preventing you from using it is that it may be a little bit harder to get down.  However, looking at your 2 mana slot it even seems like the slith has a good deal of competition.  There would be significantly less competition for the crusher at four, and with your deck getting it first for second turn seems very easy.  One other thing, Arcbound Crusher is also not effected by null rod/matrix.

I like the idea of the biskelion, I had never thought of trying him but I will now.  He perfectly deals with all those annoying little pests, is an artifact which helps with metalworker, and at worst you can throw some equipment on him and let him attack.

Cranial Plate is another card that I have not tried but really should have thought of.  When I playing at the fifth dawn pre-release this card carried me all day, and I had not even built my deck accordingly.  With so many artifacts that thing is going to cause a great deal of pain.

Good Job, and congrats on the high finishes, let me know if you make any changes.

[mrieff]

Nice!  Looks like a good start  Frankly, I have been perplexed why people call these decks "affinity" when clearly modular is the broken mechanic.

I agree completely. Affinity requires the use of the very weak Artifacts lands. My lands produce At LEAST twice that amount of mana.

Also, its cards are very reliable on each other to work.
I guess this deck is a very fine example of a deck in which the T2 build has to be changed completely to be successful in T1

I have attempted to develop something similar to this, however I went off in a different direction so what I am saying here may not completely apply to your deck as I have not had a chance to test it.  You say yourself that the sliths are average and to me they seem like the weak point in this deck.  Have you tried Arcbound Crusher in that spot?

The crusher just seems like it would grow to enormous proportions in this deck, and will almost definately outgrow the slith over time.  The fact that it has trample only makes it more synergistic with the particular equipment you  are using.  

The only thing I could possibly see preventing you from using it is that it may be a little bit harder to get down.  However, looking at your 2 mana slot it even seems like the slith has a good deal of competition.  There would be significantly less competition for the crusher at four, and with your deck getting it first for second turn seems very easy.  One other thing, Arcbound Crusher is also not effected by null rod/matrix..

I played with Crusher, and they sucked. Most of the time, You'll have to play your moxes before Crusher, to be able to accomodate the  4CC on Turn 1. That is, if you can play it on turn 1 at all. That limits in growth potential early in the game (turn 1 and 2). Therefore it is mostly a late game card, and this deck needs to apply pressure immediately.

The difference in 3 and 4 mana is huge in this deck, because 3 CC is really easy to get on turn 1 (workshop, or tomb+mox), which 4 CC in much harder.
That is very important because it is vital to have a creature Turn 1 to play+equip sword on Turn 2. Again, when you're hitting with either Plate or Sword, it doesn't matter which creature is hitting. As long as you've got a warm body to carry the weapon, you're fine. And sometimes you dont have the mana early enough to accomodate the 4 CC.

I like the idea of the biskelion, I had never thought of trying him but I will now.  He perfectly deals with all those annoying little pests, is an artifact which helps with metalworker, and at worst you can throw some equipment on him and let him attack..

Actually, he will be hitting most of the time.  

Cranial Plate is another card that I have not tried but really should have thought of.  When I playing at the fifth dawn pre-release this card carried me all day, and I had not even built my deck accordingly.  With so many artifacts that thing is going to cause a great deal of pain.

I had EXACTLY the same experience. In the beginning of the limited tourney the card was in my sideboard. Afterwards, its in my T1 maindeck!

Good Job, and congrats on the high finishes, let me know if you make any changes.

Thanks

[Zelc]

In your sideboard, you have 4x Chalice of the Void.  Do you think Trinisphere would be better in this slot?  While Chalice does do more against control, you'd be limited to setting X=1, as many of your spells cost 2 or 3.  Trinisphere would generally hurt combo more, and while Chalice is better against DARGON, you do have 4x Crypt in the side.

I'll throw two wild ideas out there for you to consider (never hurts ).  First, this deck seems to be extremely dependent upon its opening hand.  That opens up the possibility of adding Serum Powders to help you find that broken hand.  If you do use Serum Powders, you may want to consider replacing the Spheres of Resistance with Trinispheres.  Of course, they don't do much else other than being Ravager food, which could very well kill its chances of making it into this deck.  Even without using Serum Powder, you should seriously consider adding a card advantage engine so you don't get totally wrecked by a low threat hand, too much removal, or a sweeper (Pernicious Deed, Balance, Nevinyrral's Disk, etc).  It's even possible to put this engine in the sideboard and bring it in only against control.  Possible cards include Skullclamp , Grafted Skullcap, or Mindstorm Crown (CC=3.  If you had no cards in hand at beginning of turn, draw a card.  If you had some, take 1 damage).

Second, this deck seems to have a shaky manabase, with only 18 permanent mana sources (not counting vault) + 5 strips.  7 of these are artifacts, which are vulnerable to Null Rod and Gorrilla Shaman, one is somewhat conditional (Tolarian Academy), and two kill themselves at your next land drop (City of Traitors).  With this in mind, could Crucible of Worlds find a slot in the sideboard?  They have the added advantage of significantly slowing down decks in combination with a Wasteland/Strip Mine.

Like I said, these two ideas are kind of farfetched.  I have not tested them, and my purpose in posting them is to spur some thought on these subjects.  And who knows, one might actually work .

[kirdape3]

8 Equipment is a whole lot.  Sure, Cranial Plating is a beating, but both it and Sword are not necessary.  I could see at most 6 Equipment, and I'd try hard to fit in some creatures in those two slots (Synod Centurion seems fine, as does the maligned Myr Enforcer - if you don't have artifacts out, you're not winning regardless with this deck).

At first, when you said 'I hate dependability', I took it to mean that you hate commonality of result or some such nonsense.  Heh.

[PandaPokemon]

I like Cranial Plating as it can be cast early easily and gets bigger as the game goes on.  Myr Enforcers are good but on rare occasions you are not able to cast them in your early hand.  I think the question with all the equipment is the vulnerability to null rod and damping matrix, and the right combination of equipment.  I personally like Lightning Greaves as it protects the creature from removal and can help a metalworker tap for mana earlier, attack earlier etc.  If I had to pick equipment I think I would place lightning greaves in high regard and remove some of the other equipment for it.

[jCoKn]

Echoing the thoughts of many here... the Arcbound Slith seems very weak. Since you're going for a quick kill, how about replacing them with Arcbound Stinger because in my opinion, evasion > grow.

I've been looking for ways to abuse Cranial Plating in T1 and I think you're on the right track. The builds I'm toying with also place Trinisphere over Sphere of Resistance, simply because your mana curve is heavy on 2-3 anyways, and this should hurt all the blue-abusers out there more than the SoR.

I'm also not sure on the Swords of Fire and Ice, they're just too advanced. Considering the success BSR has been having with Lightning Greaves, I'd also suggest using them over the Swords.

[mrieff]

In your sideboard, you have 4x Chalice of the Void.  Do you think Trinisphere would be better in this slot?  While Chalice does do more against control, you'd be limited to setting X=1, as many of your spells cost 2 or 3.  Trinisphere would generally hurt combo more, and while Chalice is better against DARGON, you do have 4x Crypt in the side.

Chalice is mostly there to combat Null Rod. But indeed, I haven't given Trinisphere all the attention I should, as it is a very potent card. I'll try to fit them at least into the Sideboard most likely.

I'll throw two wild ideas out there for you to consider (never hurts ).  First, this deck seems to be extremely dependent upon its opening hand.  That opens up the possibility of adding Serum Powders to help you find that broken hand.  If you do use Serum Powders, you may want to consider replacing the Spheres of Resistance with Trinispheres.  Of course, they don't do much else other than being Ravager food, which could very well kill its chances of making it into this deck..

 
Certainly not, in a deck this strange wild ideas are at their place!
As this deck is very redundant, the amount of muligans is actually quite low. I'm not considering Serum Powder at the moment. If I have extra maindeck slots somehow, I think I'll take Trinisphere first

Even without using Serum Powder, you should seriously consider adding a card advantage engine so you don't get totally wrecked by a low threat hand, too much removal, or a sweeper (Pernicious Deed, Balance, Nevinyrral's Disk, etc).  It's even possible to put this engine in the sideboard and bring it in only against control.  Possible cards include Skullclamp , Grafted Skullcap, or Mindstorm Crown (CC=3.  If you had no cards in hand at beginning of turn, draw a card.  If you had some, take 1 damage).

Yeh, that makes some sense to have it in tbe board. I suppose I could keep Skullclamps in there, to replace plate in certain matchups. I need to look into this

Second, this deck seems to have a shaky manabase, with only 18 permanent mana sources (not counting vault) + 5 strips.  7 of these are artifacts, which are vulnerable to Null Rod and Gorrilla Shaman, one is somewhat conditional (Tolarian Academy), and two kill themselves at your next land drop (City of Traitors).  With this in mind, could Crucible of Worlds find a slot in the sideboard?  They have the added advantage of significantly slowing down decks in combination with a Wasteland/Strip Mine.

Actually, the mana base is very stable in my games. I'm not having significant mana problems, of course being mono brown helps a lot here.
I dont think I like Crucible. In my view its situational disruption (only with wasteland), while a trinisphere in that slot could do that on its own.

Like I said, these two ideas are kind of farfetched.  I have not tested them, and my purpose in posting them is to spur some thought on these subjects.  And who knows, one might actually work .

Thanks!

8 Equipment is a whole lot.  Sure, Cranial Plating is a beating, but both it and Sword are not necessary.  I could see at most 6 Equipment, and I'd try hard to fit in some creatures in those two slots (Synod Centurion seems fine, as does the maligned Myr Enforcer - if you don't have artifacts out, you're not winning regardless with this deck).

At first, when you said 'I hate dependability', I took it to mean that you hate commonality of result or some such nonsense.  Heh.

8 equipment is indeed a lot. However, with a creature around to carry it, plate is effectively a Ball lightning (also with haste) each turn, which Sword being even better. Synod Centurion would never be able to deal that much damage.

Having that said, it may make sense to remove 2, to make the deck more stable. So far, I've not been screwed by the "2 equipment no creature board"too often, mostly because I'm having so many men. I'll test some more and see how it goes.

And with dependability, I mean creatures that do nothing on their own, but need support (either through equipment, or affinity artifacts etc)

I like Cranial Plating as it can be cast early easily and gets bigger as the game goes on.  Myr Enforcers are good but on rare occasions you are not able to cast them in your early hand.  I think the question with all the equipment is the vulnerability to null rod and damping matrix, and the right combination of equipment.  I personally like Lightning Greaves as it protects the creature from removal and can help a metalworker tap for mana earlier, attack earlier etc.  If I had to pick equipment I think I would place lightning greaves in high regard and remove some of the other equipment for it.

Lightning Greaves has bad synergy with other equipment. Also, when you're going to play greaves youy need a very different creature lineup, as your men need to deal all the damage on their own.
If you're going to thy the shoes, you'll end up with a very different deck (which may be fine)

Echoing the thoughts of many here... the Arcbound Slith seems very weak. Since you're going for a quick kill, how about replacing them with Arcbound Stinger because in my opinion, evasion > grow.

Nope, thats not an option. Stinger does nothing on its own. Stinger only makes you win more when you're swinging with equipment. Slith still does something when yoy dont have equipment.

Sword already provides evasion (pro red blue) most of the time. Also, being really big (plate or sword) is also a bit like evasion! (or card advantage through chump blocking)

I've been looking for ways to abuse Cranial Plating in T1 and I think you're on the right track. The builds I'm toying with also place Trinisphere over Sphere of Resistance, simply because your mana curve is heavy on 2-3 anyways, and this should hurt all the blue-abusers out there more than the SoR.

I'm still looking at Tsphere. Several other people prefered it over SoR,. maybe you're right.

I'm also not sure on the Swords of Fire and Ice, they're just too advanced. Considering the success BSR has been having with Lightning Greaves, I'd also suggest using them over the Swords.

Please see my comment on greaves in the previous post.

I agree that Sword is sometimes difficult to handle. But so far, they have really worked well for me. Resolving one is an autowin against aggro, and a 90% win against Tog (Tog does nothing anymore pro blue). They have given me so many free wins by just casting one on Turn 2, hit for 5 (or kill a Welder/Shaman), draw a card.

I suppose that Sword is a card you can only appreciate when you're playing with it. I agree with you, I have the same akward feeling when I play 1 maindeck for the first time.

Now, if it was possible, my prefered number would be 8! (above plate) Do try them out, I'm sure you'll like them!

Please do not multiple-post. Posts merged. -Dr. Sylvan

[everythingitouchdies]

Have you considered Sundering Titan as SB against control? You can easily generate mana and keep a early lockdown, and this beatstick carries that lockdown further against dual land laden decks. It adds to the wastes and strips, and can beat for a fair amount. Not a bad backup to trinisphere either, as it keeps control decks locked down.

EITD

[rozetta]

I really like the look of this deck! Since TnT faded away in popularity, this is the first pure-aggro workshop deck that has really caught my eye.  One thing I also like is the fact that this gives life back to Metalworker, since he's now a target for both modular and equipment in addition to providing massive early-game plays.

I tend to agree with others that Trinisphere might look better in here than Sphere or Resistance, since most of your spells are 2 or 3 mana, so the Trinisphere would have the same or less effect on your spells as Sphere of Resistance, but a possibly bigger effect on your opponent's spells.

I'd say that greaves is not good here for two reasons:
1) Since equipping is a sorcery-speed ability, you can't drop modular counters onto a greaves'd creature in combat.
2) The nice Metalworker/Greaves tricks are only really worth it if you have lots of card drawing spells to fill your hand, get mana, drop another worker, greaves it, get more mana, etc. This deck is not designed that way.

I don't really have anything constructive to say to help with this, but I wanted to complement you on coming up with something so fresh and original looking during these dark and boring times.

God I wish I had those arcbound creatures and equipment cards to be able to try this deck myself!

[mrieff]

Have you considered Sundering Titan as SB against control? You can easily generate mana and keep a early lockdown, and this beatstick carries that lockdown further against dual land laden decks. It adds to the wastes and strips, and can beat for a fair amount. Not a bad backup to trinisphere either, as it keeps control decks locked down.
EITD

No not really.
It is just too expensive, and has no synergy with the equipment. It may work in the Lightning Greaves version though.

I really like the look of this deck! Since TnT faded away in popularity, this is the first pure-aggro workshop deck that has really caught my eye.  One thing I also like is the fact that this gives life back to Metalworker, since he's now a target for both modular and equipment in addition to providing massive early-game plays.

I tend to agree with others that Trinisphere might look better in here than Sphere or Resistance, since most of your spells are 2 or 3 mana, so the Trinisphere would have the same or less effect on your spells as Sphere of Resistance, but a possibly bigger effect on your opponent's spells.

I'd say that greaves is not good here for two reasons:
1) Since equipping is a sorcery-speed ability, you can't drop modular counters onto a greaves'd creature in combat.
2) The nice Metalworker/Greaves tricks are only really worth it if you have lots of card drawing spells to fill your hand, get mana, drop another worker, greaves it, get more mana, etc. This deck is not designed that way.

I don't really have anything constructive to say to help with this, but I wanted to complement you on coming up with something so fresh and original looking during these dark and boring times.

God I wish I had those arcbound creatures and equipment cards to be able to try this deck myself!

Indeed, the negaive Modular/Greaves interaction hasn't been pionted out specifically, so thats your contribution!

With regard to problems of building the deck, I'm assuming that you're refering to the Ravagers, since the rest is easy to get.
I'd say build the deck w/o ravagers, and use Cathodian.
To be honest, the ravagers have been far less amazing to me than one would think. I even consider it possible to remove them from the deck at some point, especially when the Trikes are going as well...(I'm working on it now)

[urza_insane]

Wow, this looks like a really fun deck. I've always loved Arcbound Ravager. I was wondering, however, why the triskelions? You don't play Welder and they seem somewhat overkill when combined with the biskelion and sword. Is it simply to shoot the player with the sword on? I replaced them with Karn in my proxied up deck and they have gotten me out of some tight situations. You can turn an opponents artifact into a creature and then hit it with the sword destroying it. Some unconventional maindeck artifact hate, but sometimes works.

Great deck and congrats on the high finishes, hopefully you'll eventually take first!

[Toad]

Triskelions have an awesome synergy with the modular ability. Sac all artifacts to the Ravager, sac the Ravager to his own ability, move all the counters to the Triskelion thanks to modular, gg.

[urza_insane]

wow, for some reason that didn't occur to me. Triskelions are going back in!

On a different note- Have you ever had trouble with loosing steam? It seems that after a few turns you really don't have much to go off and a control player can really mess with you. This is caused by no solid draw, the swords are nice, but wont always get through. Against U/G fish especially, the counters plus a river boa make things tough. Did you ever think about grafted skullcap? Its old, but I don't seem to have much of a hand anyways, everything gets played rather quickly.

just some thoughts

[Gothmog]

Toad is right on, people don't seem to get how good Ravager + Trike is.  Its like playing a bunch of burn except you don't have to waste many slots.  You look at your scorepad any given turn, see they're at 13 life and think...maybe I've got them this turn.  Plus Ravager attracts nearly everyone's artifact removal.  Who wants to blow away a creature and make another one bigger?  They don't, the opponent will usually try to get Ravager right away, even is something immediately bigger is on the board.

I only have two major questions with the deck:

1) Trinisphere just seems flat better than Sphere of Resistance in this deck.  Sphere is cute and slows things, Trinisphere wins games.  It gives you a set of cards that if you go first and it resolves with decent acceleration many times its game over.

2) What do you do when your first set of threats gets Rack and Ruined?  I get that Sword of Fire/Ice keeps guys from getting Racked, but it seems like you have to keep a lot of guys on the board so your modular tokens don't go away.  If they do Rack you when you only have 2 creatures, you're pretty well screwed because you lose all the tokens and you have little card draw.

My two cents, I personally can't see how you live without Welders and probably Shrapnel Blast, but what you've got so far looks cool.

[PandaPokemon]

My two cents, I personally can't see how you live without Welders and probably Shrapnel Blast, but what you've got so far looks cool.

I always live without welders and shrapnel blast =(  That's why it's monobrown.  If you add welders and a splash of colour, you will probably want to add blue for card drawing as well, since you will be running Volcanic Islands and blue spells like Tinker.  And then, you will have to give up slots and the redudancy of creatures, etc, and then the deck just becomes different. =P  

Monobrown is cool, I just did well in the tourney in Pittsfield with a net deck that I put together the night before and never played before (which showed for with some bad decisions)

[mrieff]

wow, for some reason that didn't occur to me. Triskelions are going back in!

Yep they are. Although I'm considering replacing them with Karn
Reasons for that is Ravager+Trike youy'll likely win anyways (as with Ravager+Karn). Also Karn's mox-eating is insane with all the mana disruption the deck has. Trike will be SB to exchange Karn in creature matchups

On a different note- Have you ever had trouble with loosing steam? It seems that after a few turns you really don't have much to go off and a control player can really mess with you. This is caused by no solid draw, the swords are nice, but wont always get through. Against U/G fish especially, the counters plus a river boa make things tough. Did you ever think about grafted skullcap? Its old, but I don't seem to have much of a hand anyways, everything gets played rather quickly.

just some thoughts

Before I played with Skullclamp, but I didnt like them enough. Not sure if I want to introduce card drawers again. Most of the time, this deck wins with its first 10 cards or loses. Mana denial is far less usefull when drawn later in the game with card drawers.

I only have two major questions with the deck:

1) Trinisphere just seems flat better than Sphere of Resistance in this deck.  Sphere is cute and slows things, Trinisphere wins games.  It gives you a set of cards that if you go first and it resolves with decent acceleration many times its game over.

Most people seem to think that way, maybe you're right. Maybe this deck wants to run both as disruption is so good, I'm currently looking at 4 SoR and 2 3Sphere.

2) What do you do when your first set of threats gets Rack and Ruined?  I get that Sword of Fire/Ice keeps guys from getting Racked, but it seems like you have to keep a lot of guys on the board so your modular tokens don't go away.  If they do Rack you when you only have 2 creatures, you're pretty well screwed because you lose all the tokens and you have little card draw.

My two cents, I personally can't see how you live without Welders and probably Shrapnel Blast, but what you've got so far looks cool.

This deck is equal vulnerable to RaR thgan any other Artifact deck.
As PandaPokemon said, introducing Red will "force"you to splash Blue as well. Basically you're getting a completely different deck due to color requirements. The Swords will become most likely unplayable because of the high mana requirement.

[defector]

This deck is incredible and more resilient to R&R then you'd think.  I have two friends that are playtesting various versions of this build and my workshop slavery hasn't figured it out yet.  More testing to follow.  The mono-brown is its big strength.  Arcbound slith works becuse Null Rod sees heavy play.  Some version of this build is going to make noise this season, I promise you.
defector

[UnCmn1]

How do you do against hand destruction like a mind twist does how does that hurt the deck  if played t1?

What about Mask of Memory?  Have you tested that and it didn't work. If not I think that MoM could give you the card/s to keep your early advangtage that you need. or does it not go for your game plan of shoot now, shoot later, shoot some more, and when everyone is dead ask some questions?  

[Dozer]

How do you do against hand destruction like a mind twist does how does that hurt the deck  if played t1?

This is a problem that most aggro decks have, so I'd answer "Mind Twist 1st turn = GG". However, the possibility is very slim, and it is not a situation you need to overcome with any regularity. Also, discard - apart from Duress, which cannot hurt your base creatures - is not widespread anymore, since SuiBlack and the accompanying Hymns seems to have lost popularity. So this is not a concern, IMO.

The deck itself is a well-thought evolution of the various modular decks that have posted good results in the past. I like especially the use of Cranial Plating. The absence pf Skullclamp, though, looks funny. I see the advantages of Sword , but I think that Skullclamp is your best insurance against a game-swinging board sweeper in the midgame. I understand that you won't want to use Skulclamp for continuous sacrifice, because you want to keep your creatures. But remember that Skullclamp gives a power bonus and makes cards like Balance, Engineered Explosives and Rack and Ruin a two-sided sword instead of pretty potent weapons.
For that reason alone I would reconsider the Clamp at least in the board for the control matchups, who do in fact have access to the aforementioned tools.

Also, I am wondering at the Serrated Biskelions. To me, they appear a little bit like a necessary evil, filling the last creature slot and having a useful removal ability which interacts nicely with Modular. But in terms of power, I think there has to be another 3-mana artifact creature that is more powerful in general terms than the Biskelions, even if not as good against Welders etc. The problem is: my search yielded only Phyrexian War Beast as a somewhat bigger threat at 3 mana. Also, I wonder if this slot might actually warrant one of the two Affinity creatures - Myr Enforcer or Frogmite. Both beat at least as hard as the Biskelion, but both are supposedly no one-drops, as opposed to Pyhrexian War Beast.
Would either be viable, or do you think that the Biskelion's ability is so important that you have to play it maindeck?

Dozer

[Thissa2]

I have not tested this deck, but Biskelion = 2 for 1 alone, and with Sword/Modular counters it can do even more. 3 for a 2/2 does seem pretty icky, especially in control or combo matchups (alright, alright, its good vs kobolds), but against Fish, Welders, and Goblins, he looks like pure card advantage that synergizes well.

[mrieff]

How do you do against hand destruction like a mind twist does how does that hurt the deck  if played t1?

Thats like asking: How do you deal with a ba-roken turn of your opponent? Well, the same as any other deck without an immediate answer: Loose.
I dont see how that question is relevant with regard to this deck, that counts for any deck and is a part of Vintage Magic. Although I dont have Fow's, so yes I am more vulnerable to brokeness in turn 1.

What about Mask of Memory?  Have you tested that and it didn't work. If not I think that MoM could give you the card/s to keep your early advangtage that you need. or does it not go for your game plan of shoot now, shoot later, shoot some more, and when everyone is dead ask some questions?  

Mom is certainly not bad. But I dont see what it can do better than Skullclamp. If I want a carddrawer back, Clamp is just better.

The absence pf Skullclamp, though, looks funny. I see the advantages of Sword , but I think that Skullclamp is your best insurance against a game-swinging board sweeper in the midgame. I understand that you won't want to use Skulclamp for continuous sacrifice, because you want to keep your creatures. But remember that Skullclamp gives a power bonus and makes cards like Balance, Engineered Explosives and Rack and Ruin a two-sided sword instead of pretty potent weapons.
For that reason alone I would reconsider the Clamp at least in the board for the control matchups, who do in fact have access to the aforementioned tools.Dozer

I agree their absense looks akward. As I explained in my previous posts, they just didn't seem to work for me.
However, many people urged in this thread urged me to play some form of card drawing. I am currently testing Mindless Automaton. Great synergy with Ravager, and of course a warm body in addition to that.
As my lands give plenty of mana, I usually have some discard targets in the form of excess land and moxes later on.

Also, I am wondering at the Serrated Biskelions. To me, they appear a little bit like a necessary evil, filling the last creature slot and having a useful removal ability which interacts nicely with Modular. But in terms of power, I think there has to be another 3-mana artifact creature that is more powerful in general terms than the Biskelions, even if not as good against Welders etc. The problem is: my search yielded only Phyrexian War Beast as a somewhat bigger threat at 3 mana. Also, I wonder if this slot might actually warrant one of the two Affinity creatures - Myr Enforcer or Frogmite. Both beat at least as hard as the Biskelion, but both are supposedly no one-drops, as opposed to Pyhrexian War Beast.
Would either be viable, or do you think that the Biskelion's ability is so important that you have to play it maindeck?
Dozer

They are not the best creatures in the world, but I think they are optimal. Do note that the 3 mana is not a problem at all.
You alternatives (froggie and enforcer) do not appeal to me at all. These guys do nothing in addition to attacking, and they have no clear benefit. Frogmite is also 2/2, and about as hard to cast as the Biskelions. Enforcer is a lot harder to cast, almost impossible in turn 1, and is therefore poor with the Swords of Fire and Ice.
If you insist on an alternative, I'd suggest Cathodian or Mindless Automaton, not Phyrexian Walkers

[JesseRiver]

mrieff I have used a modified version of your old decklist to win two moxes(one of which is beta) I was testing your new version of the deck but I regret the absence of Myr Retriver and skullclamp  mainly because the new version of your deck  rolls over to a decent amount of countermagic and/or disruption.  I have replaced myr moonvessel with myr servitor and he is working very well.

[Bobduh]

So, redundancy > welder in this deck? Seems like a good idea.

I think 6 would be the perfect number of equipment, replacing them with more threats... but if you never have any trouble with this version, than go for it. You've definitely picked the right equipment to try- the sword provides everything you need in one handy package (evasion, card advantage, uh, damage), and the plating kills in 2 swings. I tried a deck similar to this a while ago, combining the Ravager with Triskelion (Ravangelion). Welder definitely doesn't add much, since you'll be sacking basically all your permanent advantage anyway, and so I'm not surprised to see him go in this version. Everyone's already said to try Trinisphere, so I'll just say nice work, and good luck with the deck!

[mrieff]

mrieff I have used a modified version of your old decklist to win two moxes(one of which is beta) I was testing your new version of the deck but I regret the absence of Myr Retriver and skullclamp  mainly because the new version of your deck  rolls over to a decent amount of countermagic and/or disruption.  I have replaced myr moonvessel with myr servitor and he is working very well.

Of course, Skullclamp is still a very good card. If it works for you go for it!
Myr servitor may be better than moonvessel, also for the synergy with Ravager. Although I haven't tested this, not playing with Clamps anymore.

So, redundancy > welder in this deck? Seems like a good idea.

I think 6 would be the perfect number of equipment, replacing them with more threats... but if you never have any trouble with this version, than go for it. You've definitely picked the right equipment to try- the sword provides everything you need in one handy package (evasion, card advantage, uh, damage), and the plating kills in 2 swings. I tried a deck similar to this a while ago, combining the Ravager with Triskelion (Ravangelion). Welder definitely doesn't add much, since you'll be sacking basically all your permanent advantage anyway, and so I'm not surprised to see him go in this version. Everyone's already said to try Trinisphere, so I'll just say nice work, and good luck with the deck!

After some more testing, I tend to agree that 6 equipment may be more optimal than 8. Still working on it though.
Indeed, when I still had Welders I was unimpressed by them. Perhaps even Shamans are superior, because of the synergy with the lock elements

[Dozer]

You alternatives (froggie and enforcer) do not appeal to me at all. These guys do nothing in addition to attacking, and they have no clear benefit. Frogmite is also 2/2, and about as hard to cast as the Biskelions. Enforcer is a lot harder to cast, almost impossible in turn 1, and is therefore poor with the Swords of Fire and Ice.
If you insist on an alternative, I'd suggest Cathodian or Mindless Automaton, not Phyrexian Walkers.

I do not insist by any means, but note that I was not suggesting Phyrexian Walker, but Phyrexian War Beast - which is a difference. War Beast is as castable as the Biskelions (both cost 3 mana), and is 3/4.

Dozer

[defector]

I watched Jesse kill dragon, 4C, and GAT with the old version of the deck.  The draw was huge against the control matchups, actually outdrawing blue based control which had its hands full dealing with the pressure.  This deck is hot, there's no way around it.  The Trike+Ravager is the "time walk" versus fast combo.  Very good stuff here, looking forward to seeing this emerge as the new aggro archetype of the summer.
defector

[mrieff]

I do not insist by any means, but note that I was not suggesting Phyrexian Walker, but Phyrexian War Beast - which is a difference. War Beast is as castable as the Biskelions (both cost 3 mana), and is 3/4. Dozer

I understood that you were refering to the War Beast. Sorry for my typo  

I watched Jesse kill dragon, 4C, and GAT with the old version of the deck.  The draw was huge against the control matchups, actually outdrawing blue based control which had its hands full dealing with the pressure.  This deck is hot, there's no way around it.  The Trike+Ravager is the "time walk" versus fast combo.  Very good stuff here, looking forward to seeing this emerge as the new aggro archetype of the summer.
defector

Thanks. Although I regard 4C and Dragon as 2 of the worst match-ups this deck has.

[defector]

I agree, I personally thought the dragon would win.  His hand the third game stalled slightly, thats all it took.  I don't know about 4c, as we never were able to test that.
defector