The State of Control Slaver

[forests failed you]

Just replace the maindeck Echoing Truth with a Hurkyl's Recall. 

[John Jones]

Here's my current build:

Lands (16):
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
1 Strip Mine
2 Wasteland
2 Underground Sea
4 Volcanic Island
2 Island

Creatures (8):
4 Goblin Welder
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Triskelion
1 Triskevalus
1 Sundering Titan

Instants (19):
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
4 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Echoing Truth
1 Brainstorm

Sorceries (6):
1 Tinker
1 Ponder
1 Time Walk
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will

Artifacts (11):
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
1 Mindslaver
1 Crucible of Worlds

Lots of people in my area are starting to run Inkwell Leviathan over Darksteel Colossus nowadays, and its starting to lead me to question Echoing Truth's performance lately.  Although it's a good pitch card to force, I really find it dead most of the time.  However, I am considering on putting it in the board so as not to remove it completely.

Also, it seems like my deck has 1 or 2 too many Goblin Welders, but I do not know what could replace the slot.

I suppose Triskelion could also be replaced, but lately I have seen a rise in fish and welders-engine decks, so having him around is nice; however, perhaps with that said, do you think a maindeck fire/ice would be more appropriate since it can get online faster?

Any help is appreciated.

After looking at your list, I highly suggest cutting 1 welder and either 1 Merchant Scroll or 1 ponder
for 1 time vault and 1 voltaic key. (I would probabaly cut both though because I hate playing with those cards)

You already have
1 gifts
1 vamp
1 tinker
1 demonic
1 mystical

to help you fetch the 2 card win. Also, the combo is frequent enough that you just steal matches where you should lose. For instance G1 against Ichorid or if you're about to lose to an attack from levithan next turn.

Also, Hurkyls should be in and E.Truth should be in the board for the matches you need it.

EDIT: You might also want to try out a Library of Alexandria in place of 1 volcanic island. Also, you should try out a lotus petal instead of an off color mox beacuse it gets drain on a turn faster and in general serves the same purpose. It can also make Yawg's will a little more fun. Another suggestion is adding a single fire/ice becuase the card is very very versatile and can sometimes help a lot.

[rikimaru75]

With the build you mentioned earlier, do you think adding in Sharuum would be spreading the deck too thin?  Land-wise here's what I'm thinking if I am thinking of putting it in:

1 Tolarian Academy
2 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
1 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
3 Underground Sea
1 Island
2 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine

[bluemage55]

That mana base is not going to work.  2 islands is the bare minimum for Slaver, and 3 is better.  You need to be able to get UU online for a lot of things when faced with Wastelands, Magus of the Moon, and Back to Basics.

If you insist on 4 colors, you need to drop the Wastelands.

[rikimaru75]

That's what I was suspecting, but do you suppose it's worth keeping crucible maindeck with just a singleton strip in the deck by removing the wasteland package??

[LordHomerCat]

Crucible is one of your best cards against Shops and other wasteland decks.  The fact that sometimes you get it active with Strip Mine is an awesome bonus, but just landing Crucible against Shops and Fish and mana denial decks is very strong as it turns off a lot of their plans against you.

[John Jones]

In my list with sharuum I ran 1 waste, 1 strip 1 crucible.

[gamegeek2]

Has anybody tried Empty the Warrens? Or are the builds moving towards more control...

I also don't see why people don't play more Leviathan. Phenomenal robot - rivals DSC, and can be Welded into play.

[Qube]

So, I tested now again my "Slaver".dec, but I do not play Slaver anymore. I think in the current Meta I'd like to play another configuration.

So here's my current build:

Welder after Alara Reborn

Creatures: (8)

4x Goblin Welder
1x Inkwell Leviathan
1x Magister Sphinx
1x Sen Triplets
1x Sharuum the Hegemon

Instant: (23)

1x Ancestral Recall
1x Brainstorm
1x Vampiric Tutor
4x Accumulated Knowledge
1x Echoing Truth
4x Mana Drain
2x Intuition
3x Thirst for Knowledge
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Gifts Ungiven
4x Force of Will
1x Misdirection

Sorcery: (6)

1x Demonic Tutor
1x Merchant Scroll
1x Time Walk
1x Tinker
1x Yawgmoth's Will

Artefact: (10)

1x Black Lotus
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mox Emerald
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Pearl
1x Mox Ruby
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Lotus Petal
1x Mana Vault
1x Sol Ring

Lands: (13)

1x Tolarian Academy
3x Volcanic Island
2x Underground Sea
3x Flooded Strand
2x Polluted Delta
1x Island
1x Snow-covered Island

SB: (15) not sure about this

4x Tormod's Crypt
2x Yixlid Jailer
3x Ingot Chewer
2x Razormane Masticore
4x Mystic Remora

I really like this build and can tell you that it's awesome

About the robots: I think Inkwell should be running in the deck, because it is 1. great against creature.dec, 2. can be discarded and pitched. As you can see I only run creature that all can pitched to force. I think it good to have the chane to pitch one and have some "winners" in there. More you will see in the Intuition-Explainment.

Draw-engine: I play a mix of TfK and Intuition/AK. As TfK is very nice to discard artefacts by drawing cards, I like to draw some cards after an Intuition, but want to have after this more than a last AK in the deck, so then you also have TfK. There is also a draw7, (wheel) wich can be used to discard artefacts and draw alot of cards.

Intuition: As I play with 4x Welder, this have two functions:
1. with welder in play, I use Intuition to get artefacts, mostly this pile: Sen Triplets, Sharuum the Hegemon and Magister Sphinx. Best phase for do this is the EOT of opponent. If the gave you Sen on hand, you win in your turn as you welder Sharuum on Magister and swing for 10 in your turn. If you get Sharuum on hand, I weld in Sen and live the dream in your turn. (In most case you win after this turn anyway). If they give you Magister, you weld Sharuum into Sen und live the dream but with another 5/5 swinger. And if they don't play a deck you can use the Sen, just replace with Inkwell.

2. with no welder in play, I use Intuition to 3x AK most of the time. and then have a nice draw-card (CA +2) on hand. But there can also be pile for 3x Force if nessecary or 3x Tutors.

Mana: I only run 23 Mana-sources, but I promise you that it reach. For the Problem with Null rod (I run 10 art-acceleration) I play with the Ingot and Razormane in SB. Null Rod is mosty followed by creature and you can easly drain into Razormane.

Bounce: I think that only because of opponents Inkwell I don't like to run hurkyl's. I think there are more you want to bounce (if you run welder) some goyfs or anything. DSC is also weldable.

I looked to play alot instant, so that you can good react. It is a fast version of welder, but also strong in long plays.

A last notice about Sen Triplets. This is totaly a house, I win several games with this: 1. Turn tinker -> sen, EOT TfK --> sen etc. What I played with him so far: Demonic, Academy, Tolarian, TfK, ritual->necro and more.
But one situation you have to hear. I start: Volc, Mox, Welder / He played: Land, Remora / I played : Land, go / he played: land, go /EOT: TfK, he draw 1 card and it resolve, I draw 3 cards, discard Sen. / I play through his Remora, I played his good spells and a land and go for Wheel. Play his recall and counter it and recounter by mine so his hand is after my turn: 2 Lands, Fact (which he can't play the next turn and I have a hand full of counter) and Meditate (which he will not play against me)

I look forward to discuss the deck and if you've some question about anything do ask.

[marcb]

I'm surprised with the ability to recur artifacts that you didn't think vault/key was worth it. I think that vault/key helps slaver a lot by upping the artifact count so that you don't have to play so many big clunky artifacts. I also think that magister sphinx at least would be better as a more traditional robot like triskelion or even platinum angel, especially now that ichorid no longer runs an answer game 1.

[forests failed you]

I like the way your build seems to be really good against decks that play Null Rod; since there are so may Rods floating around these days.  Have you considered actually boarding Null Rod for Tezzeret Decks?  I haven't tried it, but I know that when I was playing Tezz it was one of the last cards I wanted to see against me.  Also, I think you might want to play H. Call over E.truth.  The main reason I even wanted Truth was to hit DSC, and with what seems like a majority of people playing Inky, I'm not even sure what non Artifact source people really need to Bounce.  I think that it is likely that Hcall will be better than Etruth, more than vice versa.

[FlyFlySideOfFry]

How effective were Magister, Wheel, and the Intuition/AK setup. It seems like Sundering would be more effective and the third Intuition would be better than Wheel if you're dedicating all these slots to it anyways. I've just always felt like my Slaver lists are tight on room with either more robots or more disruption so I could never justify Intuition/AK. How smooth was it in testing? I also agree that the days of Slaver running robots that get hit by Null Rod is over since Fish is already a tough matchup and there are plenty of other viable options now.

[nineisnoone]

Generally, I've always perferred Deep Analysis over Accumulated Knowledge.  The first flashback nets you as much CA as the first AK, 0 card loss from hand to play, +2 in hand after play, the first AK gives you -1 card loss from hand to play, and +3 in hand after play.  They work independently so you aren't hindered by FoWing them, and while hard casting Deep Analysis isn't great, it again doesn't disrupt synergy.  DA also has the disadvantage of MisD and the life loss.  Can you go into your reasoning there?  I could see it in a more comboy deck, but slaver would seem to want the longer term advantage.

[Qube]

I'm surprised with the ability to recur artifacts that you didn't think vault/key was worth it. I think that vault/key helps slaver a lot by upping the artifact count so that you don't have to play so many big clunky artifacts. I also think that magister sphinx at least would be better as a more traditional robot like triskelion or even platinum angel, especially now that ichorid no longer runs an answer game 1.

Those traditional robot do not reach in the current meta. I tested with Trike, Triskelavus, S.Titan, Platz, Slaver ... but for my, they are not enough. Vault&Key is nice, but you don't need it. Because with this creature configuration you can win fast or just very clear.

Sharuum: 5/5 Flying, can get back artefacts, so when you just get back the outweldered mox or what you don't lose on artefact-permanent and if they get this away you can everytime weld in back. can used as jump-blocker. A house in Intuition-Pile.

Magister: 5/5 Flying, I seriously love this guy: Every deck, that do not play Vaul&Key or can't do more then 10-15 in one turn lost when you get this in GY. And if you play him in aggro, you put them on a turn 2 or even turn 1 clock. EOT TfK on Magister, he goes on 10, you weld in, and attack in your turn. the opponent get one turn.

Inkwell: 7/10 Islandwalk, Trample, Shroud: I just play him because he've shroud. Personly I don't like him, because of one reason: he's too slow... but anyways he's the guy with shroud.

Sen Triplets: Amazing. I don't understand why alot of people thought, that he will not be played please play against me sometime... no seriously: It is the best tinker-target for the first three turns. It is also a "turn 1 clock" because if you can activate him, you can clear the hand and they will get an useless hand. And if you are able to get it into grave EOT and weld in, the opponent doesn't get the time to react. sure he can play some instant, but they will mostly draw some cards through there instant and you will be able to cast them later on... And with the cost of  {W} you can also hard-cast it. I hand this also allot in the first 2 turn on the board:
1. Volcanic, Mana Vault / he: play Library / I lay down U-sea, go for TW&Tinker (with FOW backup) --> sen Triplets
2. Volcanic, Welder / He: Island, Remora / I play Mana Crypt, U-Sea / he: land, mox, Demonic / EOT Intuition (he counter but I have the misd) --> Sen Triplets, Magister Sphinx, Sharuum the Hegemon. Chose for your on what you would give me to hand...

I like the way your build seems to be really good against decks that play Null Rod; since there are so may Rods floating around these days.  Have you considered actually boarding Null Rod for Tezzeret Decks?  I haven't tried it, but I know that when I was playing Tezz it was one of the last cards I wanted to see against me.  Also, I think you might want to play H. Call over E.truth.  The main reason I even wanted Truth was to hit DSC, and with what seems like a majority of people playing Inky, I'm not even sure what non Artifact source people really need to Bounce.  I think that it is likely that Hcall will be better than Etruth, more than vice versa.

I havn't considered to board in Null Rod against Tezz. With Welder you have several ways to beat Tezz: counter any artefact to be able to weld a combo-piece out. or just race them before Mana Drain is online. And if the play alot of counter, just wait until you can discard an artefact in discard-phase (what also is a very nice way against Remora.dec)

About the bounce: I took E-Truth, because of this reason:
- With welder you can weld out every tinkeret artefact but not Inkwell.
- I've an Inkwell on my own, sometime that reach,
- Against Inkwell, Magister is nice too. oh 7 damage ok im on 13 and later on 6, oh now im again on 10, oh on 3, again on 10...
- And I thought to can bounce more different things would be more nice. but i will test this furthermore.

How effective were Magister, Wheel, and the Intuition/AK setup. It seems like Sundering would be more effective and the third Intuition would be better than Wheel if you're dedicating all these slots to it anyways. I've just always felt like my Slaver lists are tight on room with either more robots or more disruption so I could never justify Intuition/AK. How smooth was it in testing? I also agree that the days of Slaver running robots that get hit by Null Rod is over since Fish is already a tough matchup and there are plenty of other viable options now.

See above.
Wheel I cutted, because It wasn't as good as I thought. I play Misdirection therefore. As I play this list very agressiv, I like to have a counter more. Intuition is very nice, because IF you have a welder in play yea then you don't need AK's... but if you don't, you are happy to goes for good staff or just 3x AK.
another positiv on AK is, that the first never will be countered, the second is like a Night Wisper instant, blue, no lifeloss. the third like a Recall and the fourth is just to hard. You've the space to play such a draw-engine.  I think you have to change the mind in the current meta and go for other welder options than a year before.

Generally, I've always perferred Deep Analysis over Accumulated Knowledge.  The first flashback nets you as much CA as the first AK, 0 card loss from hand to play, +2 in hand after play, the first AK gives you -1 card loss from hand to play, and +3 in hand after play.  They work independently so you aren't hindered by FoWing them, and while hard casting Deep Analysis isn't great, it again doesn't disrupt synergy.  DA also has the disadvantage of MisD and the life loss.  Can you go into your reasoning there?  I could see it in a more comboy deck, but slaver would seem to want the longer term advantage.

Deep Is very nice, but not my playstyle. To high cmc to run into a drain, without intuition it doesn't do much the first four turns. And that you can be misd is a small but also bad thing. You have to see, that you don't must to go into the late-game. You can make in the most phases of the game some pressure at the opponent.

[FlyFlySideOfFry]

I'm surprised with the ability to recur artifacts that you didn't think vault/key was worth it. I think that vault/key helps slaver a lot by upping the artifact count so that you don't have to play so many big clunky artifacts. I also think that magister sphinx at least would be better as a more traditional robot like triskelion or even platinum angel, especially now that ichorid no longer runs an answer game 1.

Magister: 5/5 Flying, I seriously love this guy: Every deck, that do not play Vaul&Key or can't do more then 10-15 in one turn lost when you get this in GY. And if you play him in aggro, you put them on a turn 2 or even turn 1 clock. EOT TfK on Magister, he goes on 10, you weld in, and attack in your turn. the opponent get one turn.

Sen Triplets: Amazing. I don't understand why alot of people thought, that he will not be played please play against me sometime... no seriously: It is the best tinker-target for the first three turns. It is also a "turn 1 clock" because if you can activate him, you can clear the hand and they will get an useless hand. And if you are able to get it into grave EOT and weld in, the opponent doesn't get the time to react. sure he can play some instant, but they will mostly draw some cards through there instant and you will be able to cast them later on... And with the cost of  {W} you can also hard-cast it. I hand this also allot in the first 2 turn on the board:
1. Volcanic, Mana Vault / he: play Library / I lay down U-sea, go for TW&Tinker (with FOW backup) --> sen Triplets
2. Volcanic, Welder / He: Island, Remora / I play Mana Crypt, U-Sea / he: land, mox, Demonic / EOT Intuition (he counter but I have the misd) --> Sen Triplets, Magister Sphinx, Sharuum the Hegemon. Chose for your on what you would give me to hand...

Magister does seem nice actually since it as fast as DSC, can be welded in, is obviously blue, and can be used to keep you alive in certain situations. I agree that Triplets is an amazing card and I'd definitely run a singleton for the early game but I don't think those kind of nuts draws can really be used to display how good it is since you would probably have won with any decent robot.

[tito del monte]

I agree that Triplets is an amazing card and I'd definitely run a singleton for the early game but I don't think those kind of nuts draws can really be used to display how good it is since you would probably have won with any decent robot

@Qube: I played your list last night against Painter and Bomberman and I really enjoyed it. The robot package is great, but I must echo the above sentiment - Sen Triplets is undeniably cool, but felt win-more to me, and was very vulnerable. If you had to go for another non-Null Rod-able robot in this slot what would you go for? Sundering Titan?

[Qube]

I agree that Triplets is an amazing card and I'd definitely run a singleton for the early game but I don't think those kind of nuts draws can really be used to display how good it is since you would probably have won with any decent robot

@Qube: I played your list last night against Painter and Bomberman and I really enjoyed it. The robot package is great, but I must echo the above sentiment - Sen Triplets is undeniably cool, but felt win-more to me, and was very vulnerable. If you had to go for another non-Null Rod-able robot in this slot what would you go for? Sundering Titan?

Yea if you don't want to play with triplets, I would either add Sundering Titan or Vault&Key by cutting one card more.

But if you play the deck agressiv, you will be happy to've a triplets. And in Drain-Mirrors, you will be happy if your opponent can't cast spells in your turn. You've to see the right moment to get a blast of it. But I was also in the late-game happy when he joint the board EOT of Opponent. 

Which cards where the weekest in your testing? which the strongest?

[tito del monte]

Hey Qube,

Well I wouldn't say it was rigorous testing or anything - and my opponent could probably have played more effectively against me! I would say I thought I was going to miss mystical tutor when I sleeved up the list, but with AK/Intuition there's plenty of raw power there. As I said I wasn't sold on the Triplets, but at the same time, the robot package felt really versatile. Magister sphinx was often great for hauling back any lost initiative, while Intuition piles with Sharuum were awesome.

So overall - nice build!

Oh - just as I was missing one welder, I chucked a gorilla shaman in in its place and he every game I saw him he was handy. Might keep it like that.

[oneofchaos]

// Lands
    3  Volcanic Island
    2  Polluted Delta
    2  Underground Sea
    2  Flooded Strand
    4  Island
    1  Library of Alexandria
    1  Strip Mine
    1  Tolarian Academy

// Creatures
    3  Goblin Welder
    1  Pentavus
    1  Inkwell Leviathan

// Spells
    1  Time Vault
    1  Voltaic Key
    1  Tormod's Crypt
    1  Fire/Ice
    1  Fact or Fiction
    1  Red Elemental Blast
    1  Mox Pearl
    1 [JGC] Sol Ring
    4  Mana Drain
    1  Crucible of Worlds
    1  Sensei's Divining Top
    1  Mana Crypt
    4  Force of Will
    1  Black Lotus
    1  Mox Emerald
    1  Mox Jet
    1  Mox Sapphire
    1  Mox Ruby
    1  Tinker
    1  Mindslaver
    1  Yawgmoth's Will
    1  Demonic Tutor
    1  Merchant Scroll
    1  Time Walk
    4  Thirst for Knowledge
    1  Brainstorm
    1  Ancestral Recall
    1  Gifts Ungiven
    1  Mystical Tutor
    1  Hurkyl's Recall

// Sideboard
SB: 2  Tormod's Crypt
SB: 3  Blood Moon
SB: 2  Rack and Ruin
SB: 2  Pyroblast
SB: 2  Arcane Laboratory
SB: 2  Engineered Explosives
SB: 2  Pithing Needle

I have been enjoying this deck a ton.  Pentavus is definately incorrect, but I do love blocking goyfs all day and night.  You should try testing it, the crucible by itself is amazing vs a lot of the field.  When you play against a drain deck, if you can drop a crucible and tutor a strip or vice versa, you will have a party. 

[Metman]

Qube, I sleeved up your deck this past weekend for a tourney and have some comments to make about the deck.  The deck performed very well all day and if it wasn't for at least one boneheaded play of mine I would have done better.  I've learned from my play errors and vow not to make them again. 

I don't think you can call this Control Slaver anymore.  Traditional Control Slaver plays lists more like OneofChao's list.  What makes traditional Control Slaver viable is it's ability to wiggle its way out of precarious situations with great silver bullets like Tormod's Crypt, Fire//Ice, Crucible, REB, and MisD.  It's all rubish because the deck depends on your ability to metagame well and inevitably cards will be drawn that are dead.  If you guess wrong you are stuck with MisDs and REBs against Stax and Ichorid and Fire//Ice against Storm.  The build of Qube's is much more in your face.  Immediately Goblin Welder becomes a must counter, because there are just too many good spells that have to be stopped that work to fill the grave with goodies. 

Intuition is the cornerstone for the deck.  It serves as a draw engine with AKs and a finisher with an active Welder.  All day I was making my opponents make tough decisions that inevitably would swing favor in my direction because of Intuition.  It serves a very versatile role in this deck.

A few comments on the big artifacts:

Sen Triplets at face value looks like Mindslaver but isn't anything like it.  First of all it's a body and can finish a game off.  Second it makes the opponent due stupid things to prevent its ability.  Sen Triplets will draw the very best spells out of the opponent's hand.  A common play for me during the tourney was to cast Tinker and fight over it.  If I had another counter when it resolved I would go after Sen Triplets because here is what is going to happen.  Your opponent is going to get his turn and play everything in his hand out of fear of you getting it.  They will overextend themselves to do this and to be honest they don't have a choice.  The leftover counter in your hand will stuff their best spell and you are going to get the rest each one of your turns.  What you don't want to do is Tinker out Sen Triplets with nothing left in your hand.  They are going to be playing those spells of theirs so you better make sure you are ready for them.  In poker terms you are forcing them to go all in.  Sen Triplets = Braingeyser + Mind Twist

Magister of Sphinx I originally thought was the weakest link but it got the MVP of the day.  It's faster than Inkwell Leviathan!  It's a 5/5 flyer with a Fireball or Stream of Life attached to it.  I thought it wouldn't be enough to finish games off but I realized quickly that it raced anything else on the board without Darksteel Colossus in the metegame.  It also has the aforementioned ability to end the game in one attacking turn with Sheruum the Hegemon. 

Sheruum the Hegemon has turned out to be great.  It makes the Intuition piles predictable unless the opponent has a brain fart.  I found Sheruum to be a great tempo boost which was unforeseen prior to testing.  The ability to recoup a mox or lotus was incredibly valuable.  It enabled the deck to continue its momentum and proceed to increase its ability to produce mana and therefore cast more spells. 

I think the greatest factor in my success all day was the surprise factor.  Intuition was unexpected and became a must counter because of its flexibility.  Four Goblin Welders were key as well.  Once the opponent realized that there is no way they were going to keep up with AKs and Thirsts, Goblin Welder was the only thing they could reasonably fight over.  I played aggressively to get Welder on the table and active because once it is, any spell this deck plays could be what finishes the game off.     

If some of you were around when Control Slaver was first conceived you should expect this deck to play more like those of old.  There is no fluff in this deck of Qube's.  It doesn't wiggle it's way out of situations with well timed bullets like the current form of Control Slaver.  It draws better than any deck sans Drain Tendrils and shoves big artifacts down the throat of the opponent; that's it in a nutshell.  This is a Welder deck plain and simple.   

[Qube]

Thx Metman for that interesting read.

I think you really checked it how I like to play this deck.
Yea your right, this isn’t a “Control Slaver” anymore, but until now, I didn’t want to start a new thread about this. But I will definitely do when I get the time. I’m just in a “learning phase” because I’ve my final examinations of my education.

Whenever I play a goblin welder.dec I play 4 of them. The possibility to make a first turn welder is very important for me. Beside 4 welder, for me the most important is a good draw-engine and a good creature-mix. And like you say below, Intuition helps to get the draw or the creatures. (or a welder, FOW, Tutor-mix…)

Intuition is the cornerstone for the deck.  It serves as a draw engine with AKs and a finisher with an active Welder.  All day I was making my opponents make tough decisions that inevitably would swing favor in my direction because of Intuition.  It serves a very versatile role in this deck.

Totally right!

Sen Triplets at face value looks like Mindslaver but isn't anything like it.  First of all it's a body and can finish a game off.  Second it makes the opponent due stupid things to prevent its ability.  Sen Triplets will draw the very best spells out of the opponent's hand.  A common play for me during the tourney was to cast Tinker and fight over it.  If I had another counter when it resolved I would go after Sen Triplets because here is what is going to happen.  Your opponent is going to get his turn and play everything in his hand out of fear of you getting it.  They will overextend themselves to do this and to be honest they don't have a choice.  The leftover counter in your hand will stuff their best spell and you are going to get the rest each one of your turns.  What you don't want to do is Tinker out Sen Triplets with nothing left in your hand.  They are going to be playing those spells of theirs so you better make sure you are ready for them.  In poker terms you are forcing them to go all in.  Sen Triplets = Braingeyser + Mind Twist

The most people aren’t ready for a Sen Triplets. But If you know his power, by playing it, you’ve just to get the right moment. You can destroy your opponent’s game-plan by doing… nothing…
I don’t know so far how I can explain seriously and cleary why and when Sen Triplets is just broken. But It’s only ONE card in the deck, so you have 3 creatures beside this. And I think at the moment there is no better Intuition-pile (for creature) then: Sen Triplets, Magister Sphinx and Sharuum the Hegemon.

Magister of Sphinx I originally thought was the weakest link but it got the MVP of the day.  It's faster than Inkwell Leviathan!  It's a 5/5 flyer with a Fireball or Stream of Life attached to it.  I thought it wouldn't be enough to finish games off but I realized quickly that it raced anything else on the board without Darksteel Colossus in the metegame.  It also has the aforementioned ability to end the game in one attacking turn with Sheruum the Hegemon.

Personally I think that is one of the best creature in a Welder deck. You can make tricks with life-gain and it is a very very fast beater. The synergy with Sharuum is also very hard.

Sheruum the Hegemon has turned out to be great.  It makes the Intuition piles predictable unless the opponent has a brain fart.  I found Sheruum to be a great tempo boost which was unforeseen prior to testing.  The ability to recoup a mox or lotus was incredibly valuable.  It enabled the deck to continue its momentum and proceed to increase its ability to produce mana and therefore cast more spells. 

I made several tricks with this one  Just one to make you smile:
I was tapped out unless Goblin Welder and Mox Sapphire, (with only Sharuum in grave)
He was going for his lethal Y.WIN
I countered by FOW
He countered back by FOW,
I tapped Sapphire, weld it out for Sharuum, get Sapphire back, tapped it and play drain FTW. Uurgh

But back to topic, I’ve some questions:

- What was with Inkwell? I’m thinking if he’s really good enough for this deck.
- Against what did you play?
- Did you’ve problems post-boarded?
- What would you change, and because of which meta?

At least: it's difficult to play but very funny
I will make a thread and post some testing when I’ve the time for that. Maybe I’m going to play this in the next tournament end of May.

-Qube

[xerxes]

Here is an unorthodox slaver(less) build that includes the iintuition engine and null rods. You can board out the rods in some matchups and they help greatly against tez



NullSlaver

4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Pyroblast
2 Null Rod
1 Rebuild

4 Thirst for Knowledge
4 Accumulated Knowledge
2 Intuition
2 Deep Analysis
1 Brainstorm
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall

1 Mystical Tutor
1 Tinker

3 Goblin Welder
2 Inwell Leviathan
1 Platinum Angel

1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt

3 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
4 Volcanic Island
3 Island
1 Seat of Synod
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Mishra's Factory











Sideboard:
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Rack and Ruin
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Pyroblast
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Duplicant
1 Triskelavus
1 Sundering Titan
1 Trinisphere

[Metman]

But back to topic, I’ve some questions:

- What was with Inkwell? I’m thinking if he’s really good enough for this deck.
- Against what did you play?
- Did you’ve problems post-boarded?
- What would you change, and because of which meta?

My answer to these:
- I liked Inkwell, he turned out to be my default Tinker target.  The metegame turned out to be infested with Goblin Welders so Inkwell proved valuable being untargetable. 
- I played against UbaStax, Slaver, UBG Fish, UB Confidant Tezz, Workshop/Drain hybrid, and Workshop Aggro.  Ichorid showed up and the winner or it all played 4cTezz.  Not a storm deck showed up to my knowledge and the meta was littered with Vault/Key. 
- The boarding was tough because my testing was limited.  Fact or Fiction, my fourth TFK, and Gifts came out most often.  Viashino Heretic and Fire/Ice came in most often. 
- I really liked my game one because there wasn't any hate against me and I managed to take control of the game very quickly.  Post board I'm not sure.  I never came across a matchup I didn't have a decent board for.  I did run Negates in my side to battle all the expected control and they came in handy.  My only fear would have been copious amounts of grave hate but I didn't face it.  The most common thing for opponents tried was to fight the Goblin Welders, and for good reason.  I wish this deck could play Orim's Chant or Abeyance.  How sweet would it be to get Sen Triplets out and Chant them on their turn? 

[rikimaru75]

Qube and Metman,

This past weekend, I also ran a deck that ran the robot package you mentioned and piloted it to a 14th place finish (NJ Open).  The surprise factor of the 3 robots (Sharuum, Magister, and Sen Triplets) was definitely something people weren't expecting.

My build was more of a Tezz/Slaver Hybrid that ran the following creatures:

2 Goblin Welder
1 Sharuum the Hegemon
1 Magister Sphinx
1 Sen Triplets

With the Vault/Key combo also in place, opponents had to choose which way to go.

[Qube]

hey rikimaru,

I would like to know how the AK did. where they good? how many did you Intuition on 3xAK?
because I'm thinking of to change that: (because of what I expect on the next tournament)

- 4 Accumulated Knowledge
- 1 Inkwell Leviathan
- 1 Echoing Truth
- 1 Misdirection

+ 1 Intuition (total 3)
+ 1 Time Vault
+ 1 Voltaic Key
+ 1 Sensei's Divining Top
+ 1 Hurkyl's Recall
+ 1 Fire/Ice
+ 1 Gorilla Shaman

SB:
2 Planar Void
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Pithing Needle
2 Ingot Chewer
2 Viashino Heretic
1 Island
1 Trinisphere
1 Empty the Warrens
2 Fire/Ice
1 Lighning Greaves (secret-tech against darkblast which is very popular in our meta)

The deck will be faster, but lose of the draw in the lategame. But I think against all the remora, tezz, you want a first turn welder. so I wouldn't cut 1-2. Pre-boarded you will easily win over welder, but post-boarded is more difficult. So it need an option for g2 (and g3).

[rikimaru75]

@Qube
For the deck I ran last Saturday, I did not run the AK/Intuition package.
Also, instead of the remaining to welders, I cut them for a more control style with duress and the black tutors (Vampiric/Demonic/Yawgmoth's Will).

With Vault/Key in the deck, Welder really doesn't need to be active every game for you to win.  Most of the time, he acted as good counter bait.

In regards to what you're planning to put in, I've always found Fire/Ice to be a little on the under performing side.  I ended up just running pyroclasm in the sideboard to deal with weenie threats.  Ice really didn't help me at all.  Also, the Gorilla Shaman usually ended up taking my 4th Welder slot if I chose to include him.  When I originally ran too many welders, I felt like I could have used something else instead at the time like a Duress or draw spell.

[Metman]

Qube
I left the AKs in the main for the reason that game one I have no idea what I'm playing against.  Fire/Ice, Gorilla Shaman, and Tormod's Crypt could be all but dead.  The AKs in because they make the deck formidable game one because of how much punch they provide in the late game and against the control mirror.  The sideboard is for metegaming in my opinion.   Game one you need to put forth your best game. 

My experience with this deck with regards to Goblin Welder is this: it's your best threat because of the amount of cards that can fill the grave with artifact goodies.  My list ran 4 TfK, 2 Intuition, a Gifts, and FoF.  Count 'em, that's eight spells that must be stopped if Goblin Welder is active.  If you combine that with your eight plus countermagic spell you now have way more ways to get these must counters resolved they any deck sans maybe Shay Ramora (I don't have a decklist in front of me so I don't know their disruption base).  Four Goblin Welders is a must because you want it down first turn and you have to be able to replace it if it gets toasted. 

The AKs can get sided out, which I did on two occasions to battle Stax in anticipation of my grave being hated.  I've found this deck relies much more on it's grave than some of the more traditional builds.  On the other hand, the draw engine enables me to find and protect Tinker much better than before.  Less fluff and more umph spells success.  This is the reason that Slaver got pushed to the way side when Gifts ruled the format.  It's the same reason Slaver didn't succeed in the second Gush era.  What made Slaver so good during conception was it's ability to use Goblin Welder as a must counter and it had the best draw engine in the format.