Mono Blue Workshop

[jp22102000]

I have been trying a new decklist with mixed results.  I found the list on another site in which it won a tournament, and people's thoughts on the deck seem to be split evenly as good and bad.  For me, it seems to totally dominate the game from early on or flounder early on.
Here is the decklist...
2 Darksteel Citadel
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Seat of the Synod
7 Island
3 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
4 Master of Etherium
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Triskelion
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Mana Vault
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Tinker
1 Trinisphere
4 Force of Will
4 Thoughtcast

Has anyone else seen a similar deck or played using it?  If so what are your thoughts?

[Juggernaut GO]

add metalworker and staff of domination and you have yourself a tournament winning deck.

remove the 3 thada adel and the 4 master of etherium
add 3 staff of domination and    4 metalworker.

It leaves you with 14 blue cards w/ force but 14 is pretty much the bare minimum to run force effectively.

could metagame even further and cut some of the trikes for some hate cards for oath/dredge.  You already roll tezzeret with metalworker/staff.

[MaximumCDawg]

I've played against this deck, and murdered it with a budget build I was playing with.  The problem with running Blue Aggro is that everyone is packing artifact destruction, and half of everyone is packing Red Blast.  It's no fun for the workshop pilot to run smack into 10 or more cheap hate cards.  It was a blast for me, though!

T2 or so : 3 8/8 Masters of Etherium
EOT: Pyroblast
My turn: Rack and Ruin

GG

If you must run this, though, then you can't go wrong with Tangle Wire + Esperzoa.  That's a game-winning lock once you have some power on the table.

[serracollector]

I played Thorn of Amethyst in my build, and went with 9 sphere (4 thorn 4 lodestone) 4 chalice and 4 Null Rod as my defense, and went with Esperzoa over trike.  Bouncing a null rod, using your artifact mana, then recasting it is always fun, as well as the tangle wire or resetting a smokestack, or just giving a free "dark ritual" from mana crypt each turn.  But as said above almost every deck runs 1-3 of

Ancient Grudge
Nature's Claim
Annul (maindecked)
Seal of Primoridum
Hurky'lls recall
Rebuild
Krosan grip

and those are all maindecked, let alone MUD sb and REB effx.  Its tuff.  It would be great if the meta were different, but right now straight MUD is probably the best route.  Blue REALLY only adds Acall, TimeWalk, and Tinker, which could just as easily be replaced by any of MUD's many threat options.

[TheShop]

The list above only has 5 early (3cmc or less) lock pieces and 4 force of wills.  So to "lock the game up early" this deck must rely on ripping 3sphere, playing more than one chalice (it takes more than one lock to seal up the game), or playing lock piece + force.  I find it unlikely that the deck plays the requisite 3 lock pieces between turn 1 and 2.  Relying on a single chalice + beatz seems a little lock light as well.  Knowing that a single bounce or destruction spell will likely remove your one lock component is frightening.  With this little disruption, I dont trust this slow a clock.

Using a 4/4 for 6 mana, 4/3 for 3 mana, or a lodestone for aggro with so little lock seems inefficient.  Decks running Goyf get a bigger creature than these for 2 mana off nearly any land and a mox.  White fish back in the day got a jotun grunt for 2 mana.  If it doesnt contribute to the disruption, it isnt good enough to run IMHO.  Fish dropped all of the plain vanilla beaters for utility...the only one that is left is the most efficient power/toughness creature per cost in the game.  An extended deck could drop a wild nactl that would be a 3/3 for 1 mana and is nearly as large as your flyer w/ bounce upkeep & lodestone.  Stax isnt the best beef deck out there and the soft lock must materialize so that we can use an inefficient creature to kill with.

[Malhavoc]

I had toyed with a similar decklist in the past. I've never refined the deck to a point I was really satisfied of, but the approach is similar to the above, just that I included, among the other lock pieces, Ethersworn Canonist. I also included sword of f/i to make creatures like the canonist bigger (bust still think I had not enough creatures to maximize the swords). Even now that Lodestone golem has been printed, I'm not sure I'd run it: it's not blue and so does not pitch to force, and esperzoa is really excellent here:

- bounces tangles to play them again at full power

- bounces an early chalices to play it at different value (ex: an early chalice at 0 could be later replayed at 1 or 2 to stop certain answers)

- bounces a chalice to play a spell of your own at that cc and then replay it (of course opponent could slip some spells in between, but only instants)

- evades, sealing the game fasters, and making better use of the sword


Has I've said, the deck would surely need some more tweaking, but the canonist was surely a very nice addition. Just for reference, this was the list I used to run:


// Mana: 15+9=24
    4  Mishra's Workshop
    4  Tundra
    4  Flooded Strand
    1  Plains
    1  Island
    1  Tolarian Academy

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

// Creatures: 12
    4  Master of Etherium
    4  Ethersworn Canonist
    4  Esperzoa

// Draw: 6
    3  Thoughtcast
    1  Ancestral Recall
    1  Brainstorm
    1  Time Walk

// Draw & Removal: 2
    2  Sword of Fire and Ice

// Protection: 4
    4  Force of Will

// Lock: 12
    4  Chalice of the Void
    4  Thorn of Amethyst
    4  Tangle Wire


// Sideboard
SB: 2  Razormane Masticore
SB: 3  Pithing Needle
SB: 3  Engineered Explosives
SB: 3  Relic of Progenitus
SB: 4  Seal of Cleansing

[MagusOfTheMoon]

I have been trying a new decklist with mixed results.  I found the list on another site in which it won a tournament, and people's thoughts on the deck seem to be split evenly as good and bad.  For me, it seems to totally dominate the game from early on or flounder early on.
Here is the decklist...
2 Darksteel Citadel
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Seat of the Synod
7 Island
3 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
4 Master of Etherium
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Triskelion
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Mana Vault
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Tinker
1 Trinisphere
4 Force of Will
4 Thoughtcast

Has anyone else seen a similar deck or played using it?  If so what are your thoughts?

This needs metal worker to power out Mycosynth Lattice and tinker Memnarch for shits and giggles.

[TheShop]

Wow, based on that lay comment my suspicions are confirmed that this deck belongs in Timmy's fantastic casual land.

[Troy_Costisick]

If I were going to make a blue Shop deck, the first card I'd think about including would be In the Eye of Chaos.  Esperzoa?  Seriously?

[BruiZar]

If I were going to make a blue Shop deck, the first card I'd think about including would be In the Eye of Chaos.  Esperzoa?  Seriously?

Might I direct you to this list:

Gael Bailly-Maitre
Place: 2nd
Participants: 119

creature [14]
2 Esperzoa
4 Goblin Welder
2 Gorilla Shaman
1 Inkwell Leviathan
4 Master of Etherium
1 Triskelavus
instant [10]
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Fire / Ice
4 Force of Will
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Misdirection
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Thirst for Knowledge
sorcery [2]
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
artifact [18]
1 Black Lotus
4 Elsewhere Flask
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sculpting Steel
1 Sol Ring
4 Tangle Wire
land [16]
6 Island
3 Mishra's Workshop
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Volcanic Island
60 cards
Sideboard:
3 Duplicant
1 Razormane Masticore
2 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Ravenous Trap
1 Shattering Spree
2 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Trinisphere
15 cards


FYI:
Esperzoa is an engine with Elsewhere Flask, a lock with Tanglewire, an army with Triskelavus, bounces sculpting steel to copy a resolved tinker bot and is free with Moxen.. Elsewhere Flask also 'counters' Wastelands on your shops and welds back in for a card.

[beder]

If I were going to make a blue Shop deck, the first card I'd think about including would be In the Eye of Chaos.  Esperzoa?  Seriously?

Well, I tested Esperzoa and it is suprinsingly "not bad". The interaction with chalice and tangle are efficent (especially with chalice : replaying a chalice at 2 after few turns is really good).

Here is the build I tested recently :

// Lands
    4 Mishra's Workshop

    3 Seat of the Synod
    5 Island
    1 Tolarian Academy

    4 Wasteland
    1 Strip Mine

// Creatures
    4 Esperzoa
    4 Master of Etherium
    4 Lodestone Golem
    1 Karn, Silver Golem

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

    4 Chalice of the Void
    4 Tangle Wire
    1 Trinisphere
    1 Sword of Fire and Ice

    4 Force of Will
    4 Spell Pierce

    1 Ancestral Recall
    1 Time Walk
    1 Tinker

The deck is fun to play and works pretty well. It feels like a fish deck but with big creatures.

The main difficulty when building that kind of deck is :
- having a sufficent number of blue cards (to support fow),
- having a sufficent number of blue mana sources to support blue spells,
- while having a sufficent number of artifact (to take real advantage of shop).

Perhaps the new set will provide new options for this kind of build.

[beder]

If I were going to make a blue Shop deck, the first card I'd think about including would be In the Eye of Chaos.  Esperzoa?  Seriously?

Might I direct you to this list:

Gael Bailly-Maitre
Place: 2nd
Participants: 119

creature [14]
2 Esperzoa
4 Goblin Welder
2 Gorilla Shaman
1 Inkwell Leviathan
4 Master of Etherium
1 Triskelavus
instant [10]
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Fire / Ice
4 Force of Will
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Misdirection
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Thirst for Knowledge
sorcery [2]
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
artifact [18]
1 Black Lotus
4 Elsewhere Flask
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sculpting Steel
1 Sol Ring
4 Tangle Wire
land [16]
6 Island
3 Mishra's Workshop
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Volcanic Island

Wow, that's innovative! And apparently efficent, 2nd over 119 contenders, that's pretty good! Congrats!

[Tobi]

Wow, that's innovative! And apparently efficent, 2nd over 119 contenders, that's pretty good! Congrats!

...and quite old already. 
--> http://www.morphling.de/top8decks.php?id=1190&highlight=2#place2
(Date 3rd of January 2010)