Sharum, The Hegemon.

[forests failed you]

Here is the decklist that I played.  It isn't fun and I don't think that it is particularly fair.  There were a group of EDH "Masters" floating around, and basically I thought their decks looked very bad.  Keep in mind these people played seriously and not super-casually etc.  Rofollos, Niv Mizzet, Vendillion Clique, Sliver Queen competitive decks.  So, don't pity these guys for having to play against my deck, which is extremely unfair and unfun.  Basically, I thought their decks were bad, and that I could build a much better list--with the critera for better being "A better competitive deck."  I felt that people didn't properly take advantage of the best stratagies, and I felt that people made poor card choices.  Anyways, after spending a few days building a list and acquiring the cards I put my deck together and started battling.  My deck was, as I suspected completely absurd and I only lost a few games total.  (including 1v1 duals and multiplayer games the biggest of which was eight players).  Basically, in 1v1 I only lost 2 games and both were to multiple Blood Moons in the first few turns.  As I have said, I played about 60 1v1 duals and lost two, and I played about 10 multiplayer games and never lost.  Here is the list if anybody is interested to see how this experiment worked out.

Sharum the Hegemon

 
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Brainstorm
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Counterspell
1 Mana Drain
1 Cryptic Command
1 Desertion
1 Tidings
1 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
1 Pact or Negation
1 Dismiss
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Temporal Manipulation
1 Capture of Jhinzong
1 Trinket Mage
1 Mulldrifter
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Remand
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Treachery
1 Concentrate
1 Steal Artifact
1 Hinder
1 Mindbreak Trap
1 Time Twister
1 Ponder

 
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Path to Exile
1 Wrath of God
1 Day of Judgment
1 Hallowed Burial
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Moat
1 Argivian Find
1 Disenchant
1 Dismantling Blow

 
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Skeletal Scrying
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 The Abyss
1 Entomb
1 Night's Whisper
1 Imperial Seal

1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Triskelavus
1 Mindslaver
1 Solem Similacrum
1 Sensei’s Divining Top
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Nevinyrral’s Disk
1 Forcefield

1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Talisman of Progress
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Diamond
1 Coalition Relic

1 Vindicate
1 Magister Sphinx

1 Academy Ruins
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Mishra’s Factory
1 Urza’s Factory

1 Underground Sea
1 Tundra
1 Scrubland

1 Watery Grave
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Godless Shrine

1 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Windswept Heath

1 Tolerian Academy
1 Toleria West

1 Mystic Gate

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

3 Plains
1 Swamp
13 Island

[vassago]

This list is very sick. We tried to do competitive EDH at our store for a while, but then the casual guys just stopped playing us.    One question; Why no spell burst? 

[Nefarias]

You have Time Warp listed twice.

[vassago]

You have Time Warp listed twice.

1 Time Warp
1 Capture of Jhinzong
1 Time Warp

Technically, he has it listed three times   

[forests failed you]

My bad.  Temporal Manipulation. 

[Nefarias]

No no no, I mean, he actually has it listed twice.

1 Time Warp
1 Temporal Manipulation
1 Capture of Jhinzong
1 Trinket Mage
1 Mulldrifter
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Remand
1 Careful Consideration
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Deep Analysis
1 Treachery
1 Time Warp
1 Concentrate

[waikiki]

I've also been running sharuum as my edh general

Winning a tournament (multiplayer) vs rofelos, momir and more.

// Lands
    1  Esper Panorama
    1  Shizo, Death's Storehouse
    1  Cabal Pit
    1  Mystic Gate
    1  Sunken Ruins
    1  Arcane Sanctum
    1  Tolaria West
    1  Academy Ruins
    1  Darksteel Citadel
    1  Snow-Covered Swamp
    1  Tolarian Academy
    1  Strip Mine
    1  Plains
    1  Snow-Covered Island
    1  Snow-Covered Plains
    1  Vault of Whispers
    1  Swamp
    1  Island
    1  Minamo, School at Water's Edge
    1  Seat of the Synod
    1  Glimmervoid
    1  Dimir Aqueduct
    1  Skycloud Expanse
    1  Darkwater Catacombs
    1  Ancient Den
    1  Azorius Chancery
    1  Cephalid Coliseum
    1  Prahv, Spires of Order
    1  Urza's Factory
    1  Reflecting Pool
    1  Vesuva
    1  Underground Sea
    1  Scrubland
    1  Tundra
    1  Gargoyle Castle
    1  Dust Bowl

// Creatures
    1  Solemn Simulacrum
    1  Master Transmuter
    1  Ethersworn Adjudicator
    1 [ARB] Filigree Angel
    1 [ARB] Sphinx of the Steel Wind
    1  Trinket Mage
    1  Etherium Sculptor
    1  Magister Sphinx
    1  Duplicant
    1  Sundering Titan
    1  Memnarch
    1  Karn, Silver Golem

// Spells
    1  Coalition Relic
    1  Mana Vault
    1  Sol Ring
    1  Mana Crypt
    1  Darksteel Ingot
    1  Vindicate
    1  Gilded Lotus
    1  Tormod's Crypt
    1  Tawnos's Coffin
    1  Mindslaver
    1  Mind's Eye
    1  Thirst for Knowledge
    1  Sensei's Divining Top
    1  Fact or Fiction
    1  Windfall
    1  Frantic Search
    1  Dispeller's Capsule
    1  Executioner's Capsule
    1  Nevinyrral's Disk
    1  Oblivion Stone
    1  Scourglass
    1  Enlightened Tutor
    1  Crucible of Worlds
    1  Tezzeret the Seeker
    1  Darksteel Forge
    1  Future Sight
    1  Hinder
    1  Memory Jar
    1  Sculpting Steel
    1  Beacon of Unrest
    1  Mana Drain
    1  Counterspell
    1  Cryptic Command
    1  Demonic Tutor
    1  Vampiric Tutor
    1  Intuition
    1  Pithing Needle
    1  Obelisk of Esper
    1  The Abyss
    1  Artificer's Intuition
    1  Stroke of Genius
    1  Oblivion Ring
    1  Expedition Map
    1  Spin into Myth
    1  Bitter Ordeal
    1  Capsize
    1  Entomb
    1  Rhystic Study
    1  Phyrexian Arena
    1  Pact of Negation
    1  Yawgmoth's Will

// Sideboard
SB: 1  Sharuum the Hegemon

This is the list I ran.

Tomorrow I will take a close look to your list hoping I could use some tech to improve miine

[Anusien]

No Arcum Daggson anywhere on this page?

[waikiki]

Sharuum does not run enough creatures to sac on dagson.

I suggest simply running dagson as general if you want that kind of fun.

Also there was a dagson on the tournament. He got stomped everygame because everybody just kicked him out first.

[Anusien]

Maybe I'll start a thread for my Sharuum.  The deck gets much nuttier if you run enough artifacts to support it, which isn't hard.

[Matt]

Maybe I'll start a thread for my Sharuum.  The deck gets much nuttier if you run enough artifacts to support it, which isn't hard.

What I found was that I kept finding sweet non-artifact cards I wanted to run, and having to cut artifacts for them. Sayonara, Sphinx Sovereign. Q_Q Hellooo, Adarkar Valkyrie!

Arcum is very strong (my deck has Darksteel Forge, Akroma's Memorial, and Mindslaver as brutal targets, plus Scourglass and Sculpting Steel as reasonable targets) but there really aren't any small artifact creatures I ever want to run. With no way of consistently getting Arcum out, they'd just be dead too often.

EDIT: I guess Copper Gnomes and Scarecrone are decent. Metalworker is banned. Otherise the list is pretty unimpressive:

Etherium Sculptor
Jhoira's Toolbox
Ethersworn Canonist
Metallurgeon
Myr Retriver
Painter's Servant (not even sure what this would do in Sharuum)
Puppet Conjurer
Sliversmith
Tidehollow Strix
Esperzoa
Ferropede
Junk Diver (holy shit why is this rare???)
Blinkmoth Nexus
Chimeric Egg
Urza's Factory
Guardian idol
Thopter Foundry


I think we can agree that this list is VERY generous as to what are "playable" cheap artifact creatures.

[Anusien]

I don't have my list in front of me, but:

Etherium Sculptor
Copper Gnomes (might not have made it in yet)
Scarecrone
Solemn Simulacrum
Master Transmuter (technically)
Faerie Mechanist
Arcbound Retriever
Sphinx Summoner
Master of Etherium
Sanctum Gargoyle

Plus, sacrificing Triskelavus tokens to it is the best ever.


You don't need a ton to be able to support it.  Most of the time you'll never untap with Arcum.  But sometimes you get to equip him with Lightning Greaves and just blow the table out with Darksteel Forge.  My deck is built around artifacts so I usually have something to sacrifice.

My Sharuum is hardcore on theme.  I don't have many generic UWB control cards.

[MirariKnight]

Arcum is works nicely with Mishra's Factory or Blinkmoth Nexus as well. Crucible makes it stupid.

[Matt]

I have some, but they're not always the staple ones.


//Miscellaneous
Adarkar Valkyrie
Sphinx Ambassador
Divinity of Pride
Rite of Replication
Bribery
Reins of Power
Debtor's Knell
Sculpting Steel
Mindslaver

//Robots
Ethersworn Adjudicator
Inkwell Leviathan
Master Transmuter
Darksteel Colossus
Duplicant
Memnarch
Filigree Angel
Magister Sphinx
Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Solemn Simulacrum
Sphinx Summoner

//Counterspells
Dismiss
Desertion
Time Stop

//Defense
Lightning Greaves
Karmic Justice
Leonin Abunas (should be Hanna's Custody)
Akroma's Memorial
Darksteel Forge

//Find cards
Expedition Map
Enlightened Tutor
Darksteel Pendant
Demonic Tutor
Lim-Dul's Vault
Temporal Aperture
Dimir Cutpurse
Shadowmage Infiltrator
Rhystic Study
Thirst for Knowledge
Intuition
Fact or Fiction
Opportunity

//Spot removal
Condemn
Swords to Plowshares
Mortify
Slaughter
Treachery
Keiga, the Tide Star
Take Possession

//Sweepers
Day of Judgment
Wrath of God
Rout
Martial Coup
Decree of Pain
Scourglass

//Utility
Allay
Dismantling Blow
Necromancer's Covenant
Identity Crisis

//Mana artifacts
Sol Ring
Fellwar Stone
Mind Stone
Coalition Relic
Darksteel Ingot
Thran Dynamo
Gilded Lotus

//Utility lands
Minamo, School at Water's Edge
Reliquary Tower
Winding Canyons

//Multilands (needs Mystic Gate, Fetid Heath, and Hallowed Fountain)
Exotic Orchard
Vivid Creek
Salt Marsh
Coastal Tower
Azorius Chancery
Dimir Aqueduct
Orzhov Basilica
Arcane Sanctum
Sunken Ruins
Skycloud Expanse
Watery Grave
Godless Shrine
Terramorphic Expanse
Thawing Glaciers
Tolarian Academy
Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
Darksteel Citadel

//Basic lands
5 Island
4 Plains
4 Swamp

Would really like to fit a couple more disenchant or graveyard hate slots in, but the list is super-tight already. I also want Mistmeadow Witch and white Myojin and Yosei and and and...

[Mr. Fantastic]

FFY,

I praise you for coming up with a very playable shell for any UW general.  I was working on my own for a Numet deck but this is much better.

One question—how has Forcefield been working out for you?  I've always thought it was a cute card but nothing to write home about.  In EDH however it looks like it can really be tremendous when you factor in A) how slow the games are and B) the starting life total of 40.

Of the total times you have drawn it, how many times were you sorry to see it?  Times it was actually really good (read: saved you from dying)?

[forests failed you]

Forcefield is pretty good actually.  The biggest thing that bothers me is people who have generals with haste that deal a lot of damage.  And, forcefield really helps against fattys.  I also play a lot of Wrath effects so I don't necessarily want to blow a Wrath just because somebody has a random 6/6 on board.  I have played a little bit more and I've made the following upgrades to my list.  (I will change the deck below as well)

TOOK OUT                PUT IN

Island                 -----------  Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Island   -------------------------  Seat of Synod
-2 Time Warp (oops) ------- Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, Hinder
Deep Analysis   ---------------- Mindbreak Trap
Land Tax    ----------------------Imperial Seal
Careful Consideration  --------Time Twister
Second Sunrise     -------------Night's Whisper
Rout  -------------------------------Day of Judgment
Swift Silence ---------------------Steal Artifact
Sundering Titan-----------------triskelavus

I cut Deep Analysis, Careful Consideration, and Time warp because they are all targeted.  I was getting sick of having to play around Misdirection, Swerve, Imps Mischief and Deflections.

Mindbreak Trap is a better second sunrise against obliterate.

Land Tax sucked pretty much all the time, Imperial Seal is broken.

Day of Judgment is a better rout.  

Sundering Titan was never good because it hit my lands---Triskelavus is more what i wanted to lock people out of the attack step.

Steal artifact is the best control magic in the whole format not close.

Tabernacle destroys stupid token decks.

Should have been playing Hinder all along, so had to cut swift silence, which though good, was the worst counterspell in the deck.

A few cards I have been considering trying out.

Sphinx of Jwar Isle
Trickbind
Decree of Silence
Venser

Cheers

Brian

[Demonic Attorney]

Isn't Karakas banned?

[Matt]

http://www.dragonhighlander.net/rules.php

Yes, Karakas is banned.

[forests failed you]

Yup.  I just realized that and logged on to fix it.  It was so good though!

[yawg07]

Hrm, mine is different, but it wins a LOT of games.
It is a very hard deck to beat when played correctly.

I went the "Lots of huge robots backed by infy combos and mindslaver" route.
Also, my deck is true highlander, including the basics.

Lands

Island
Snow-Covered Island
Cephalid Coliseum
Seat of the Synod
Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
Minamo, School at Water's Edge
Tolaria West
Tolarian Academy
Swamp
Snow-Covered Swamp
Cabal Pit
Vault of Whispers
Shizo, Death's Storehouse
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Plains
Snow-Covered Plains
Ancient Den
Polluted Delta
Underground Sea
Sunken Ruins
Underground River
Flooded Strand
Tundra
Mystic Gate
Adarkar Wastes
Marsh Flats
Scrubland
Caves of Koilos
City of Brass
Forbidden Orchard
Glimmervoid
Exotic Orchard
Dromar's Cavern
Esper Panorama
Academy Ruins

Creatures

Kederekt Leviathan
Etherium Sculptor
Djinn of Wishes
Master Transmuter
Filigree Angel
Sundering Titan
Memnarch
Trinket Mage
Duplicant
Sharding Sphinx
Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Sphinx Sovereign
Magister Sphinx
Sakashima the Impostor
Disciple of the Vault
Palinchron

The rest

Darksteel Ingot
Mana Vault
Sol Ring
Mana Crypt
Gilded Lotus
Coalition Relic

Demonic Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Grim Tutor
Liliana Vess
Tezzeret the Seeker
Expedition Map
Mystical Tutor
Acquire
Artificer's Intuition
Transmute Artifact
Fabricate
Intuition
Bribery
Enlightened Tutor
Entomb

Rhystic Study
Sensei's Divining Top
Fact or Fiction
Windfall
Frantic Search
Thirst for Knowledge
Temporal Aperture
Crucible of Worlds
Yawgmoth's Will
Mind's Desire

Darksteel Forge
Mindslaver
Unbender Tine
Oblivion Stone
Tawnos's Coffin
Sculpting Steel
Voltaic Key
Lightning Greaves
Mycosynth Lattice
Force of Will
Capsize
Desertion
Mana Drain
Beacon of Unrest
Dispeller's Capsule
Oblivion Ring
Rite of Replication

[forests failed you]

I've made significant changes to my list over the past week.  I have played 13 games and am undefeated playing against competitive decks.  (Sharum, Rofellos, Sissay, and Mayerial)


Sharum the Hegemon

 
1 Overwhelming Intellect
1 Brainstorm
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Counterspell
1 Mana Drain
1 Cryptic Command
1 Desertion
1 Tidings
1 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
1 Pact or Negation
1 Dismiss
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Temporal Manipulation
1 Capture of Jhinzong
1 Mind Spring
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Remand
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Treachery
1 Negate
1 Forbid
1 Hinder
1 Mindbreak Trap
1 Exclude
1 Ponder

 
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Path to Exile
1 Wrath of God
1 Catastrophe
1 Hallowed Burial
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Moat
1 Wing Shards
1 Dismantling Blow

 
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Skeletal Scrying
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 The Abyss
1 Night's Whisper

1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Triskelavus
1 Mindslaver
1 Solem Similacrum
1 Sensei’s Divining Top
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Nevinyrral’s Disk
1 Expedition Map

1 Gilded Lotus
1 Talisman of Progress
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Mana Crypt
1 Coalition Relic

1 Vindicate
1 Magister Sphinx

1 Academy Ruins
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Mishra’s Factory
1 Urza’s Factory

1 Underground Sea
1 Tundra
1 Scrubland

1 Watery Grave
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Marsh Flats

1 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Scalding Tarn

1 Glacieral Fortress
1 Tolerian Academy
1 Toleria West
1 Dimir Aquaduct
1 Azorious Chancery
1 Mystic Gate

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Maze of Ith
3 Plains
1 Swamp
10 Island

[zeus-online]

Why no dissipate? It should be better then negate? Don't forgot absorb either.

Also Rout is an option when it comes to mass-removal. Also, why no day of judgment?

[forests failed you]

I play Negate over Dissipate because I already had too many three drops and wanted more two drops.  It is mostly a card that I want to counter other peoples counters when I am trying to resolve a powerful effect.

I replaced Day of Judgment with Catastrophe, and it has been absolutely amazing.  I already have quite a few sweepers (Oblivion Stone, Nevinyrral's Disk, Wrath of God, Catastrophe and Hallowed Burial; and, feel that I am pretty much at the limit of how many of those types of spells I can play.  Also, remember that Sharum can bring back Oblivion Stone or Nevinyrral's Disk as many times as I need. 

I find that in one on one duals I win about a third of my games by establishing control and then playing the Armageddon half of Catastrophe to cripple my opponent.  It is correct to have that effect in a deck this big and powerful, especially since it is highlander and 100 cards.

[Anusien]

Have you considered Elspeth to complement your other Planeswalkers? Catastrophe with a Planeswalker alive is such an incredible beating.

[forests failed you]

Planeswalkers seem like they would be good in a Blue control deck, but from the games I've played I have found they to be a liability.  In heads up, they are perfectly viable cards because there is only one person who can attack them.  The problem is that once you get into a multiplayer situation; especially with 4+ players there is always multiple players who are going to be making attacks every turn.  Playing a Planeswalker is like putting up a gigantic sign that reads:  "Attacking me will give you the most value!."  Since they will be able to obviously trade their combat step for card advantage.

My experiment with EDH is to build a deck that is extremely good in both a duel and a multiplayer situation--and I've found that in a multiplayer situation Planeswalkers are not what a blue control deck actually wants to use its cards and mana to do.  Also, I don't have any other Planeswalkers in my deck, but I figured you might have been responding to somebody else's Sharum list.

The one thing I am interested in is playing with one really good life gain spell that I can tutor for in a pinch.  Since I don't really have any good way to come back if my total gets into the red zone.  I was thinking Beacon of Immortality, Zuran Orb, or Pulse of the Fields.  Does anybody else have any good tech for gaining a lot of life on the cheap in a Sharum deck?  Sunbeam Spellbomb also seems really good since I can cycle it.

[DubDub]

On the cheap: Bottle Gnomes.
A lot of life: Invincible Hymn.
Best for EDH: Felidar Sovereign.

[Mr. Fantastic]

I have always been partial to Zuran Orb, but I couldn't say it isn't going to be useless a huge percentage of the time.  The ability to cylce Sunbeam Spellbomb early and then later recur it with Academy Ruins could be pretty good.

[forests failed you]

Invincible Hymn is exactly what I wanted!  Thanks

[zeus-online]

If you can somehow set it up:
Martyr of sands
Painter's servant
Phyrexian reclamation

Pretty hard to set up...But nigh-unbeatable once it's up. I'm not sure if it's possible to set it up in EDH to be honest.

Ancestral tribute is also an option.

[Matt]

If you can somehow set it up:
Martyr of sands
Painter's servant
Phyrexian reclamation

Pretty hard to set up...But nigh-unbeatable once it's up. I'm not sure if it's possible to set it up in EDH to be honest.

Ancestral tribute is also an option.

Painter's Servant is banned now.