Affinity-Storm deck suggestions

[GauntletKing]

I didn't want to make a straight affinity or storm deck because i wanted more than i way to win.

I'm looking at U-W-B in that order. copies of the cards must change of course. suggestions there also welcome.

non-creatures:
4 Helm of awakening
4 blinkmoth urn
1 braingeyser
1 stroke of genius
3 death grasp
3 tendrils of agony
1 minds desire
4 evacuation
3 disenchant or swords to plowshares
2 skullclamp
2 whispersilk cloak
2 lightning greaves

creatures:
4 broodstar
4 myr enforcer
4 leonin abunas
4 arcbound slith
4 nim shreiker
4 quicksilver behemoth
myrs for mana


as you can see, this unfocused monstrosity has a mid-game gap that I need a way to get through, also I'd like to see what ideas for cuts everyone has.

 

[Mikeymike]

This one's tough, you've got a lot going on here.

First thing I notice, you've got 60 non-land cards in here with 4x Myr. So cuts are definite (seems like you know this already though).

Also, the overall CC of your deck is high (even with the Helm and Affinity), so Storm is going to have a tough time exploding.

Blinkmoth Urn - Its effective, but you need early game mana more than the mid/late game mana this supplies. Plus currently, you don't have a whole lot of mana-sinks for this and could be taking burn. Plus, chances are your opponent is playing artifacts as well and can put that colorless mana to use. This is a play-test card, its got potential but I can't tell at this point. Personally I feel like they should be Talisman of Dominance, but I see what you are trying to do with the Urns and X mana...

Quicksilver Behemoth doesn't exist - were you talking about the Dragon?

Cut the Nim Shriekers, you can do better (Juggernaut, Frogmite, Ravager, etc.) or lose this spot altogether.

You don't need Whispersilk Cloak. Its nice, but its relatively high costs don't outweight its advantages. You don't need any creature in particular to get through unblocked, so if its the "Untargetability" that is important, just use more Lightning Greaves.

Skullclamp in unneccesary in here. If you need card-drawing, go with blue instants.

I don't think you need Leonin Abunas. You don't really need any 1 artifact to be protected in order to win, instead you need to worry more about Akroma's Vengeance (which he doesn't protect against anyway).

Evacuation...Feeling like if you want this effect it should be Upheaval, in that you should be able to recover much more quickly than your opponent.

Hope this helps get you kick-started.

 

[Rooser]

I'm really drunk right now, but Mikeymike is right.

 

[13NoVa]

Hmmm ill put my input on here as best as i can...


First off, the cuts
Blinkmoth Urn
The Reason: By the time you get 5 mana with this deck, you SHOULD be rolling pretty fast. It's just extra space...

death grasp
the reason: It's taking up way too much space.

evacuation
the reason: Both Storm and affinity decks are more agressive then defensive, you don't need this, you should focus more on just totally annihalating them. I see what you're doing with the affinity and this, but it's too steep. in a sence, you need 5uubb in order to go off the same turn. you can't rely completely on Mind's Desire for this.

Skullclamp + whispersilk cloak
we will make room for thoughtcasts

lightning greaves
I know it makes room in affinity, but it isn't necisary for the storm, which it seams is your first kill perogative anyways.

broodstar
you don't need it. the other affinity creatures, added in with a tendrils, is still enough to kill someone, even if you don't kill them solo with the tendrils.

archbound slith
Makeing room for more affinity

nim shreaker
see MikeyMike

quicksilver behemoth
see MikeyMike

leonin abunas
see MikeyMike

swords to plowshares
i am thinking lets cut this down to two colors. maybe even one with splash for Black.

the deck After cuts
4 Helm of awakening
1 braingeyser
1 stroke of genius
3 tendrils of agony
1 minds desire

creatures:
4 myr enforcer


------------------------------
-the Tweaking Process-
------------------------------

Additions

Affinity:
What is the point of affinity if you only have ONE affinity creature?

Creature additions:
4 frogmite
4 tooth of chis-gloria
4 somber hoverguard
4 ornithoper

Spell additions: (im gunna rundown each spell)

4 thoughtcast
Draw 2 for U after the affinity. it doesn't get much better unless you have 150 to spend for a unl. ancestral.

4 accumulated knowledge
the first one normally isn't good, but then you stack em and they get better and better.

1 demonic tutor
look up. see the word "tutor"

1 vampiric tutor
look up. see the word "tutor"

----------------------------
so the new deck
----------------------------
[the fun's] {20}
3 Helm of awakening (cut to three so we can fit MOM)
1 Mind over Matter
1 braingeyser
1 stroke of genius
3 tendrils of agony
1 minds desire
4 thoughtcast
4 accumulated knowledge
1 demonic tutor
1 vampiric tutor

[the beatsticks]{20}
4 myr enforcer
4 frogmite
4 tooth of chis-gloria
4 somber hoverguard
4 ornithoper

[the mana makeup] {20}
4 vault of whispers
4 seat of the synod
1 TOLARIAN ACADEMY!!!
4 darksteel citidel
1 sol ring
1 mana vault
4 underground river (underground sea, if you can afford it)
1 lotus petal


----------------------------------------------------
apprentice solitare decktesting
----------------------------------------------------
game 1: (no opponent)
Turn | Events
-------------------
1 | Vault of whispers
2 | Seat of the synod, ornithoper, T seat, Frogmite, Frogmite for free. Vampiric tutor (search for Tolarian)
3 | Play Tolarian. Attack with frogmites for 4 total. Tap Seat and Vault for Accumulated Knowledge at end of turn.
4 | Play Seat of synod. tap Tolarian for UUUUU. thoughtcast. ... play 2nd accumulated. ornithoper for free, Mana Vault. U floating off Tolarian. play thoughtcast #2. play frogmite for free.
Tap mana vault. Tap X2 Seat of synod, Tap vault of whispers, play braingeyser for 4 on myself.
5 | Stall
6 | Stall
7 | Stall

====>New Game<====
game 2: (no opponent)
Turn | Events
-------------------
1 | seat of synod. T. Sol ring. T. Frogmite.
2 | vault of whispers. Tsos. Thoughtcast. Play tooth of criss-gloria for free. attack with frogmite+tooth.
3 | play tolarian academy. Tsos. thoughtcast. Tsol, play Myr Enforcer. T tolarian. T vault. Minds Desire for 3. accumulated knowledge, Somber Hoverguard, underground sea (gets removed). Play lotus petal. attack with frogmite+tooth.
4 | darksteel citidel. Tdc, Tsac-petal, play demonic tutor (search for MOM. Braingeyser and tendrils in hand) Tap Tolarian for 7. Play MOM. U flaoting. discard tendrils to untap tolarian. Tap tolarian (8 U). Tap Vault of whispers, Tap seat fo synod. Tap sol (12 mana). play braingeyser for 10. frogmite for free. tooth of chris gloria for free. ornithoper for free. Discard underground sea, untap tolarian. (stroke and tendrils in hand. 4 other cards become useless MOM fodder). Tap tolarian. Discard to untap.. Tap tolarian. Discard to untap.. . Tap Tolarian. Discard to untap.. . Tap Tolarian to untap. 32 U mana floating. Stroke for 29).

Turn 4 i went off. i played everything with affinity, the rest of the frogmites, and tendrils for a storm count of 14. i could have done more, but i didn't want to draw. 3 cards left in library.

I played more games, and did pretty well. it sometimes stalled out, and didn't flow, but when it would flow, i could pull of a kill by 4th turn. the longest game in which i was flowing was 6 turns.


i will try to get ahold of Tobasco to test this beast against him on apprnt.


now that i have done what is most definitly the longest writeup i have ever done, i think its time for me to sy my farewell to this post. i hope i helped a little bit. . SeFRo, How's that for an F'in write-up?

 

[GauntletKing]

I didn't mention this is a group game deck, and I'm sure that makes things a little different. For me it means much more of a creature and permanent and balance focus over instants. sorry, i know, that is a major detail to omit.

I was thinking with the urn I would draw lots, play them for not much, and if I get some myrs, I can equip them with the greaves to get any colored mana i might need to play some huge broodstars and tendrils. Skullclamp was my manadump and card drawing with the myrs. Evacuation clears the way AND sets up affinity if I haven't drawn extra cards in a few turns for some reason. Since I want to be there for the long haul, I need for my permanents to be untouched by all that spot brown hate.

Vengeance is the death of MANY decks. Hopefully I'll have an evacuation at that time.

Man, I hadn't yet seen mind over matter as part of the deck before, but it's a virtual must with lots of card draw.

Definitely the academy and probably a cradle too. AND the tutors. don't know why I overlooked those. Sol ring yes.

Noone likes the idea of Blinkmoth Burn for your opponents? Everyone plays artifacts now. What happens to affinity decks who are stalling when that baby hits?

Thanks for the cuts on the early aggression. I think I'll have to lean more toward getting a quick fatty on the table early while I build up enough mana for card draw and tendrils finisher. No whispersilk cloak is right on.

I didn't know thoughtcast was that good, even though every affinity deck i read about runs it.

Frogmite doesn't do well in my playgroup after turn 4, regardless of how many additional teeth he has. He dies as a blocker to anything after turn 3.

Quicksilver Behemoth 6U Creature — Beast 4/5 Affinity for artifacts (This spell costs less to play for each artifact you control.)
When Quicksilver Behemoth attacks or blocks, return it to its owner's hand at end of combat. (Return it only if it's in play.) Common Anthony S. Waters


tradition never hurt the balance of a deck. I find it hard to play without multiple solutions to win a game.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Notepad]

Originally posted by 13NoVa
Hmmm ill put my input on here as best as i can...
*snip*
now that i have done what is most definitly the longest writeup i have ever done, i think its time for me to sy my farewell to this post. i hope i helped a little bit. . SeFRo, How's that for an F'in write-up?

You know what, Nova? This definitely works for a good analysis in an article. This isn't as thorough as a hardcore tourney testing would require, but at least your trial tests gave you an idea of how the deck would function in practice (hey, and you did a lot more than Alongi's "I only do these decks on paper" writeups). Add in an introduction on what is being attempted by the deck and/or its purpose, and then a conclusion, and you'd have the skeleton of an article going here. If you feel like bulking up what you've done here with those two needed sections, you'd have something submittable once it gets copy edited. And that's where I've offered to help.

The only thing I'd caution you on is that you used the idea from GauntletKing, and some of Mikeymike's info. Maybe you guys would agree to a joint authorship or some "credits" sentences or something?

 

[Mikeymike]

It's tough love GaunletKing, you need us to tell it like it is

I misspoke when I said you need to worry more about Akroma's Vengeance. The point I was trying to make was that mass removal is probably the biggest threat to your deck, and Leonin Abunas doesn't protect you in that dept.

Personally I hate Thoughtcast, but it is cheap and will most likely draw 2 cards for U...eh, I can't bring myself to recommend it. I'd rather play Thirst for Knowledge meself, or even Rush of Knowledge if you can afford it. Also, that artifact-impulse looks like a solid card as well.

Blinkmoth Urn is a far more interesting card in MP. The danger is that while you'll have more opponent's taking burn, you'll also have guys using it for phat Rolling Thunders, Urza's Rage, Decrees, etc. Try it out, it can't hurt to test it.

Sorry about that Quicksilver Behemoth, I didn't realize it existed.

Still not sure about Evacuation. Even if you bounce your critters in response to a Vengeance, you'll have a tough time casting them without the artifact mana (and affinity count) you just lost. I like Upheaval in that regard b/c you can power out of it, while your opponent's will probably be much harder hit.

What do your lands look like?
What's the updated decklist look like?

 

[GauntletKing]

The red X deck rarely gets played anymore due to the "more for less" nature of newer red speed type decks. They either get no mana from the Urns or just enough to entwine something really scary. The equipment guys love it too much though. I'm still trying to get used to playing decks without an answer . So the deck took a turn for the worse when I opened my first 20 packs of cards and got 3 MYR Matrix....

heres the updated list. woe is me for posting this nonsense. (Woe better not be summoning sick)

3 Blinkmoth urn
3 Myr matrix
2 lightning greaves
1 geyser
1 stroke
4 helm of awakening
1 pulse of the grid (this card is awesome in affinity by the way)
1 demonic tutor
2 tendrils
2 evacuation
1 minds desire
4 sculpting steel

4 broodstar
4 myr enforcer
2 abunas
3 living wall
3 blue myr
3 black myr
2 white myr

1 cradle
1 tolarian
4 vault
4 seat
4 white art land
2 swamp
3 island


So far in play it is still unweildly on turns 5-7. I don't know which 5 costed spell to play in the right situations yet. Theres just enough speed to deliver a blows early on the average draw. Late game is pretty fun. "I swing with seven 3/3 myrs." funny.

Thanks for all the help. Second edit anyone?
Have at it guys.

 

[train]

Well... this hit me tonight...

Recycle... Early Harvest... Hunting Pack... All at the end of the opponent's turn... just make all the other playable spells instants... heck - even mana elves and vitalize... fog for the heck of it... Whatever you have to do...

Then you can reclaim something like seedtime... and make it even worse...

 

[Reverend Love]

First off I love this idea! It's cool oooh so combo'ish and combines two interesting mechanics.

I think it's definitely do'able with the right amount of setup. I also think you could straight up clown a whole series of fools easily.

There's two VERY important cards which would allow this whole think to explode....

Retract
Hurkyl's Recall

Play affinity as usual, attempting to sneak in some damage as you outrace your opponent. Then Retract, replay all your affinity cards and finish with Tendrils. The deck I'm starting to picture is going to be a little pricey..but hey..who doesn't want to put those fatty expensive cards to use huh?

I know someone's going to have some better suggestions but here's what I came up with.

Affinity Stuff:
4 Frogmite
2-4 Dross Golem
7 Myr Enforcer (we want cheap but his affinity for artifacts is good)
4 Scale of Chiss-Goria
4 Tooth of Chiss-Goria
2-4 Spire Golem (Or Maybe Somber Hoverguard..don't know yet)

Non-Affinity Artifacts:
4 Metal Workers (the almighty enabler)
3-4 Lightning Greaves (we want to tap the metal worker instantly)
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Grim Monolith

Kill:
4 Tendrils of AAAGONY!
1 Mind's Desire (ooh crap we didn't have a agony)
2 Brain Freeze (see above)

Extra's:
4 Thoughtcast
4 Retract
1 Hurkyl's Recall

What I'm thinking is again play affinity as usual.

1. Play Retract
2. If no responses (I.E. Counters) Tap for all available mana
3. Play Artifact Land
4. Play Lightning Greaves
5. Play Metalworker
6. Tap for a boat load of Colorless
7. HOPEFULLY play another metalworker
8. Tap again for lots of colorless
9. Start playing cheapest affinity stuff you got
10. Follow up with storm card of your choice

I know it's rough but watcha guys think?

 

[Notepad]

Originally posted by GauntletKing
The red X deck rarely gets played anymore due to the "more for less" nature of newer red speed type decks. They either get no mana from the Urns or just enough to entwine something really scary. The equipment guys love it too much though. I'm still trying to get used to playing decks without an answer . So the deck took a turn for the worse when I opened my first 20 packs of cards and got 3 MYR Matrix....

I like the way this paragraph is going here. If you're planning on writing an article, this is the way to open it.