Welcome friends! Welcome to the fifth entry in the series of Shandalar decks. I’ve not written on this topic for a few weeks, and today, I felt it was time I hit it back up.
In 1997, Microprose, the best video game design company of all time (in my opinion, obviously), put out an electronic version of Magic with their best mind, Sid Meier, behind the task (initially). The game not only reproduced 4th Edition era magic on the PC for the gaming community, but it also introduced a handful of Astral cards that used random mechanics.
The game play was of several sorts. You begin with a lousy deck, 10 life, and no extra cards. Almost every game is for ante. You have to stop five Archmagi from tapping cities for mana while dueling their minions and gaining and losing cards in ante, plus yo0u are making mana taps of your own and entering dungeons to find super rare cards like Moxes for your deck.
It is an awesome game. In four previous articles, I have taken the decks used by your foes and updated them with the two expansion sets that were made for the game, introducing cards from The Dark, Legends, Antiquities, Arabian Nights, Beta and the promo cards. Then, after making some modifications, I will also update the deck idea.
This is great because for the legion of fans of the game out there, this is a great chance to walk down memory lane. For those who may not have ever have played Shandalar, this is still an opportunity to see some old decks and watch them get updated. We’ve seen classics like Lure + Thicket Basilisk, Hurricane + Circle of Protection: Green, and Lord of the Pit + The Hive. This gives me a chance to stress my deck building muscles when updating an old vintage 4th Edition era deck.
For those interested, there have already been four parts to this series:
Without further ado, let’s move to the meat of the article! These are the servants of the White Archmagi, and then we will end with the actual Archmagi’s deck.
The Priestess
One of the earliest foes you might face serving White is The Priestess. You’ll find this deck to be interesting.
Initial Priestess Deck
23 Plains
4 Wall of Swords
2 Pikemen
2 Benalish Hero
2 Mesa Pegasus
2 Elder Land Wurm
4 Animate Wall
3 Sprit Link
2 Fortified Area
2 Blessing
2 Castle
2 Reverse Damage
3 Healing Salve
2 Disenchant
3 Ivory Cup
4 Wall of Spears
Say hello to the wall deck. This deck features Wall of Swords, Wall of Spears and Animate Wall and Fortified Area, plus cards that match the theme like Castle and Blessing. Lastly, it features some banding creatures that can swing or take the damage and a pair of Elder Land Wurm for holding the fort.
Each of the archmagi has one minion with the Lucky Charms, so we have that here with the Priestess. You will note the presence of Disenchant, Healing Salve, Reverse Damage and some other tricks, but no Swords to Plowshares in this deck. That’s funny, because this is arguably a deck where they would be in favor. A Priestess, with a card named after a Biblical passage, about going from war to peace, in a deck about Walls and defense — I think it’s a solid fit.
Some additional walls have been added, Specifically Wall of Light, the 1/5 pro black wall, and Living Wall, the 0/6 regenerating wall. Since this deck wants to swing with walls, walls with no power have less value. Therefore, I’m steering clear of Living Wall.
-2 Elder Land Wurm
+2 Wall of Light
Since we know have more walls, let’s finish rounding out the theme.
-1 Spirit Link
-1 Healing Salve
-2 Benalish Hero
+2 Wall of Light
+2 Fortified Area
Now we have a full set of Wall of Lights and Fortified Areas, making the deck ready for consumption.
Modified Priestess Deck
23 Plains
4 Wall of Swords
2 Pikemen
2 Mesa Pegasus
4 Wall of Light
4 Animate Wall
2 Sprit Link
4 Fortified Area
2 Blessing
2 Castle
2 Reverse Damage
2 Healing Salve
2 Disenchant
3 Ivory Cup
4 Wall of Spears
Updated Priestess Deck
20 Plains
4 Secluded Steppe
4 Sunweb
4 Rolling Stones
4 Wall of Swords
4 Ageless Sentinels
4 Crude Rampart
4 Fortified Area
4 Radiant’s Judgment
4 Terashi’s Grasp
4 Prison Barricade
This deck uses all of the 2 and higher powered walls that have been printed for White. There have not been many. We have just Sunweb, Wall of Swords, Ageless Sentinels, Crude Rampart and Prison Barricade with kicker.
Add to this Rolling Stones and Fortified Area for fun and you get some loving for your walls.
I wanted the deck to have a feasible route to victory without a Rolling Stones out, so Ageless Sentinel can attack under the right circumstances, Prison Barricade can have its kicker paid, and Crude Rampart can attack as a morph creature.
I added four cycling lands to the deck since there was little card drawing here. Radiant’s Judgment can kill a threatening creature and can also be cycled for aid. I went with Terashi’s Grasp because it was a Disenchant that mirrored the life gain of the original deck.
With some support cards, twenty walls, and walls to make those walls threatening, this deck adds consistency to its arsenal, which is a lot more than The Priestess has.
The Cleric
Another of the early foes you might face is The Cleric, one of the most powerful early foes in the game.
Initial Cleric Deck
21 Plains
4 Benalish Hero
4 Mesa Pegasus
2 Samite Healer
2 Savannah Lions
4 Amrou Kithkin
2 Pikemen
4 Holy Strength
3 Holy Armor
1 Karma
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchant
3 Meekstone
4 Tawnos’s Weaponry
The most powerful early foes including the Warlock with its Dark Ritual + Hypnotic Specter combo, and The Witch with her full slate of Nevinyrral’s disks. Let me tell you, though, that this deck gets really annoying quickly, and often drops annoying early creatures like Savannah Lions and then just storms through with beaters and pump. Now, it is not as fine tuned a deck as The Crusader, which we will meet in a bit, nor is it that consistent, with its 2 Savannah Lions for example.
The late game goal of the deck is to Meekstone down your big creatures while it keeps swinging with its own. Ideally, it would use Tawnos’s Weaponry to pump one of your own two powered creatures and keep them locked down permanently. However, it usually just uses it for the attack.
The AI does not use Holy Strength well with Meekstone. It has been known to drop a Holy Strength down on a Savannah Lion, then play Meekstone next turn. Holy Armor is the better choice, but why even play it in an aggro deck?
It’s these inconsistencies that allow you to get wins against the Cleric regularly, because a dedicated aggro deck can punish your low starting life until you get stabilized.
You see Karma and Samite Healers in this deck? Their mutual presence tells me that this deck is about more than quick beats, pump, and a Meekstone. This deck is about clerics too. Let’s make some modifications that not only make the deck better, but make it more thematic as well.
-1 Karma
-2 Holy Strength
+3 Blessing
Blessing is perfect in this deck and an ideal enchantment for Amrou Kithkin. It works wonders under a Meekstone.
-3 Holy Armor
+3 Keepers of the Faith
Although three mana, they give you a creature that actually has the size to block, while also being able to get in through a Meekstone.
With these minor changes, we clear up some of the issues, add some creatures, and hopefully give the deck a little power. Remember, this is not about making the best WW deck with the cards available in Shandalar, but making the Cleric more focused.
Modified Cleric Deck
21 Plains
4 Benalish Hero
4 Mesa Pegasus
2 Samite Healer
2 Savannah Lions
4 Amrou Kithkin
2 Pikemen
2 Holy Strength
3 Keepers of the Faith
3 Blessing
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchant
3 Meekstone
4 Tawnos’s Weaponry
Updated Cleric Deck
22 Plains
4 Meekstone
4 Savannah Lions
4 Blessing
2 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 True Believer
4 Amrou Kithkin
4 Soltari Monk
4 Soltari Priest
4 Ronom Unicorn
With the deck playing the only unblockable creature at the time (Amrou Kithkin) you can tell that the shadow creatures would be really loved. Therefore, I added the Monk and Priest, which I found to be acceptable because they are clerics, and this is The Cleric’s deck.
You’ll note that the original deck shies away from White Knight and such, so I decided to keep this deck relatively soldier and knight free. Instead, we have dogs, cats, clerics, unicorns, and kithkin.
I really like the idea of Meekstone with agro creatures, and Blessing feels like a natural fit. It will love being on a shadow creature or Amrou Kithkin. It will just love it.
Ronom Unicorn can be sacrificed to take out an opposing enchantment. This gives you some options. I also included a full slate of Swords in order to increase your options a bit. You never know when you’ll need a spot of removal.
Enjoy!
The Paladin
The next foe that we have for you this evening is built around a very old school combination of cards and synergies to create a powerful game environment in which you lose very quickly if you are not careful. Unfortunately, the set up often takes too long. Let’s take a look.
Initial Paladin Deck
18 Plains
6 Island
4 Northern Paladin
4 White Knight
3 Benalish Hero
4 Angry Mob
4 Holy Strength
2 Red Ward
3 Karma
2 Circle of Protection: Black
1 Disenchant
2 Swords to Plowshares
3 Sleight of Mind
3 Magical Hack
This deck uses the powerful White hosers of Northern Paladin, Angry Mob, Red Ward, White Knight, Karma, and Circle of Protection: Black and adds 3 each of Sleight of Mind and Magical Hack in order to give sits deck maximum flexibility. Let me tell you, seeing it Hack a Karma to Forests against your mono-Green deck is no fun.
I like where this deck starts. Sleight Knight was an old school deck that used Sleight of Mind on White Knight and other similar cards to great effect.
I don’t think the deck is focused enough, however, and that will be where I put most of my changes.
For example, the deck is already hosing Black with Karma and Angry Mob. Why add Circle of Protection: Black?
-2 Circle of Protection: Black
+1 Circle of Protection: Green
+1 Circle of Protection: Blue
This gives you the ability to draw into a tool that can help against Green or Blue decks, rather than have all of your hate against two colors.
-3 Benalish Hero
+3 Rainbow Knights
I can’t believe this deck does not have Rainbow Knights, which are a perfect fit for the deck. This is one of the best Astral cards in the set, right up there with Aswan Jaguar and Necropolis of Azar.
Rainbow Knights
WW
2/1
When they come into play, they gain protection from a random color
W: First Strike
WW: Rainbow Knights gain +0/+0, +1/+0, or +2/+0 with a random chance for each.
They are really good. They also should be Sleight of Mindable.
No, perhaps this does not work because of the old 4th Edition card says “Change the text” of a card, and the Protection is not a text on the card, so maybe this does not work as intended, but my guess is that it does, plus it is a good card in its own right.
-2 Red Ward
+1 Magical Hack
+1 Sleight of Mind
When these are the core cards of your deck, you should have a full set of each, Red Ward is pretty crappy too. Red Ward a Northern Paladin, then Sleight it to Green and you’ve spent two cards to make a 3/3 Pro Green. That’s not game winning even against a mono-Green deck.
-2 Holy Strength
+2 Lifeblood
You have to add this card from Legends to your deck because it absolutely rocks.
Well, I hope you enjoy the massaged deck.
Modified Paladin Deck
16 Plains
4 Island
4 Tundra
4 Northern Paladin
4 White Knight
3 Rainbow Knights
4 Angry Mob
2 Holy Strength
2 Lifeblood
3 Karma
1 Circle of Protection: Blue
1 Circle of Protection: Green
1 Disenchant
2 Swords to Plowshares
4 Sleight of Mind
4 Magical Hack
Updated Paladin Deck
13 Plains
1 Kor Haven
4 Coastal Tower
2 Wanderwine Hub
4 Island
4 Mind Bend
4 Karma
4 Angry Mob
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Circle of Protection: Blue
1 Circle of Protection: Green
4 Deep Analysis
4 Hillcomber Giant
2 Stern Judge
2 Northern Paladin
2 Southern Paladin
4 Drought
Drought is simply awesome with either a Hack or a Sleight. If you Magical Hack Drought, then you can just shut down an opponent. For example, Hack Drought to Mountains and now whenever someone wants to play a Black spell or activate an ability with Black in its cost, they have to sacrifice a Mountain, which may be unlikely or impossible. With a Sleight of Mind, you can force a Green player to sacrifice swamps in order to play Green cards. Again, this is highly unlikely to be paid, so you can just shut down a color.
Every card in the deck outside of Mind Bend, lands, Swords and Deep Analysis is Mind Bend able. Most of these cards depend on land type, not color. The problem is that most of these are not Mind Bend able. You might found out that Mind Bend is too good in this deck. There is always something to use it on, but you want to wait for something good like Karma or Northern Paladin before using it.
I went with Angry Mob over Crusading Knight, because although it does shrink during other turns, it is better at getting damage through with its trample. Crusading Knight is good because not only is it strong, but it has Pro Black, allowing is to serve through Black defenses. You might Mind Bend it to Islands, but it still would have Pro Black, and be just a large vanilla creature. I’d rather have trample at that point.
Stern Judge might be better than Karma, might be worse. I guess it depends on your situation. I went with worse and only included two, but perhaps you might want to up your creatures count and change those numbers.
Hillcomber Giant will likely never be the target of a Mind Bend with so many other juicy targets. The Giant is still a solid body, adds to your creature count, and can be a walking threat if your opponent has a low life total.
I still have some cards from the first deck, including the CoPs, Karma, Swords and Northern Paladin. The result is a deck that uses the ideas and some cards from the original idea, but also fleshed it out in various ways.
The Crusader
Whereas the Cleric deck is just an annoying harasser, this deck is the true White Weenie of the group, and it has a lot of power already.
Initial Crusader Deck
22 Plains
4 White Knight
4 Pikemen
4 Rainbow Knights
4 Benalish Hero
4 Crusade
4 Castle
2 Disenchant
4 Eye for an Eye
2 Morale
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Battering Ram
2 Dancing Scimitar
Of the White decks, this is one of the better ones, all ready to go. Note the Crusader theme. All of the creatures fit that theme (almost). We have Battering Ram, Heroes, Knights and Pikemen. We have Castles and Crusade and Morale. Now we need to make a few edits.
I love Rainbow Knights in this deck, and this adds your basic pump knights from Fallen Empires and Ice Age early, and with a random element included.
-2 Dancing Scimitar
+2 Knights of Thorn
They fit the deck flavor-wise much better than Dancing Scimitar does. Other cards worth considering include D’Avenant Archer, Jihad, Army of Allah, Moorish Cavalry, Piety or Shield Wall, Lance, Blaze of Glory, Wrath of God, Righteousness, perhaps Great Defender, and so forth.
-2 Castle
+2 Angelic Voices
I like the Castle in this theme deck so I am leaving two in, but I’d rather be running more offensive enchantments in the deck, so I included some Voices.
I decide to stick with these two changes. The deck was already pretty good, so adding these four cards give more Crusade options and more Knights.
Modified Crusader Deck
22 Plains
4 White Knight
4 Pikemen
4 Rainbow Knights
4 Benalish Hero
4 Crusade
2 Castle
2 Angelic Voices
2 Disenchant
4 Eye for an Eye
2 Morale
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Battering Ram
2 Knights of Thorn
Updated Crusader Deck
20 Plains
4 Secluded Steppe
4 Crusade
4 White Knight
4 Order of Leitbur
4 White Shield Crusader
4 Zhalfirin Crusader
2 Pikemen
2 Battering Ram
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Benalish Infantry
2 Infantry Veteran
This deck retains the core idea although perhaps I included too many Knights. The original Crusader deck had just 8, and my modified deck has 10, but my updated deck is rocking 16 Knights. If you wanted to reduce those numbers and add some more infantry, that’d be fine. I initially had Ballista Squad in this deck, but after referencing Wikipedia, it appears that Ballista were very uncommon in post-Roman times, so I didn’t feel it was very good for the deck.
You still could have some Archers, like D’Avenant Archers or Catapult Squad or Elite Archers or Longbow Archers. You could even add cards like healers, clergy, or Camels.
After adding in a variety of creatures, I decided to retain the Swords to Plowshares. Feel free to use Path to Exile instead if you prefer.
The Arch Angel
This deck is one of the deadliest servants of the White Archmagi, and is the strongest servant to still give you ante (their main henchman does not give you ante). This deck is one of three (Vampire Lord and Elementalist) that have a similar theme.
Initial Arch Angel Deck
22 Plains
4 Mishra’s Factory
4 Serra Angel
4 Osai Vultures
2 Mesa Pegasus
4 Wrath of God
2 Swords to Plowshares
2 Mana Vault
4 Soul Net
4 The Hive
4 Onulet
4 Tetravus
26 Lands and 2 Mana Vault. This deck wants to drop Mana Vault on the first turn and Serra Angel on the second, but it doesn’t have enough Mana Vaults. Even without an Archangel, a Mana Vault can accelerate into a Tetravus on the third turn.
This deck obviously wants to play some powerful creatures, and it rocks the quartet of Wrath of God in order to initiate beatings. Note that the deck still has some unfortunate card choices.
Why is The Hive included in this deck? Insects are not on theme.
Why not Clockwork Avian instead of Tetravus? You gain nothing with the more expensive Tetravus.
My first reaction was to pull The Hive and Tetravus for Clockwork Avian and better cards. However, I think, instead, I will change the deck so that Tetravus and The Hive are more pertinent by using an in flavor card to assist.
-4 Soul Net
+4 Angelic Voices
Now you can Crusade pump your White and artifact creatures. Now Tetravus and The Hive make some sense.
-2 The Hive
-2 Mesa Pegasus
+2 Mana Vault
+2 Swords to Plowshares
There are still too many The Hives running around though. I pull two and the Mesa Pegasus for a maxed out on-theme Mana Vault and good Swords to Plowshares.
Modified Arch Angel Deck
22 Plains
4 Mishra’s Factory
4 Serra Angel
4 Osai Vultures
4 Wrath of God
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Mana Vault
4 Angelic Voices
2 The Hive
4 Onulet
4 Tetravus
Updated Arch Angel Deck
20 Plains
4 Mishra’s Factory
4 Mana Vault
2 New Benalia
4 Serra Angel
2 Radiant, Archangel
2 Avenging Angel
2 Blinding Angel
2 Karmic Guide
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchant
2 Hour of Reckoning
4 Angelic Voices
4 Thopter Squadron
2 Mobilization
2 Decree of Justice
Here is my quick and dirty updated version. The creature base has a large number of 5 casting cost creatures to throw down on turn 2 with a Mana Vault. From Thopter Squadron to Radiant to Blinding Angel, we have a lot of 5s here.
I added Swords, Hour of Reckoning, Disenchants and Angelic Voices, so there is a chunk of cards that are identical or similar to the modified deck above. I really like Angelic Voices here because it’s not commonly used in bigger creature decks like this, and it looks like fun. Instead of The Hive, I went with Decree of Justice, which can make soldiers or angels, and Mobilization, which makes just soldiers. This gives the deck some longevity.
The Hour is more expensive, but you can always help the cost with convoke. It will keep your angel and thopter and soldier tokens out, so I went with it over other options.
I didn’t want to make this like every other Angel theme deck out there, so I stayed clear of common inclusions like Exalted Angel, Akroma and Reya. I hope you don’t mind too much.
The High Priest
As I alluded to before, each of the Archmagi have a special henchman that they send after you if you become too rambunctious. Each of these represents what is supposed to be the second most powerful mono-White deck after the Archmagi. These guys are so powerful, that you do not even get any ante for defeating them, because they break the rules. Let’s take a look.
Initial High Priest Deck
22 Plains
4 Mesa Pegasus
4 Savannah Lions
4 White Knight
4 Tundra Wolves
2 Holy Strength
4 Armageddon
1 Balance
4 Healing Salve
2 Disenchant
3 Righteousness
3 Dingus Egg
2 Fellwar Stone
2 White Mana Battery
I actually like this deck, I just think it needs help in a few places.
This deck wants to play some cheap beaters, drop a Dingus Egg, then Armageddon you away. The Egg is optional.
This is a great plan and it makes for a powerful deck except it sidetracks itself. Healing Salve and Righteousness lead the deck astray and lose its focus. Fellwar Stone is great because the deck wants artifact mana, but it wants White mana, and the Fellwar Stone likely will be unable to provide that color.
Cheap Beaters, Armageddon, Artifact mana, Dingus Egg, Balance, this has all of the makings of a really strong deck. Let’s tweak it a bit.
-2 Fellwar Stone
+1 Mox Pearl
+1 Dingus Egg
I think the henchmen decks should have a couple of restricted cards, and there are not many options for White. Since you cannot get ante by playing against them, adding a Mox here will not give players a chance to get more Moxen. I also wanted to add another Dingus Egg
-4 Healing Salve
-3 Righteousness
-1 Plains
+4 Swords to Plowshares
+4 Strip Mine
I can’t believe that one of the best decks in the color does not have the best card in the color, especially when it is a perfect fit for the deck as a cheap way of taking out blockers that prevent your beaters from getting hits.
The deck needs some more land, and I think you’ll find Strip Mine to be a perfect card for this deck.
Now the deck is much better, packing some serious heat. You could also try out Land Tax and see if the AI can figure out how to work it.
Modified High Priest Deck
21 Plains
4 Strip Mine
1 Mox Pearl
4 Mesa Pegasus
4 Savannah Lions
4 White Knight
4 Tundra Wolves
2 Holy Strength
4 Armageddon
1 Balance
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchant
4 Dingus Egg
2 White Mana Battery
Updated High Priest Deck
20 Plains
4 Strip Mine
4 Armageddon
4 Dingus Egg
4 Savannah Lions
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Marble Diamond
2 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
4 Blade of the Sixth Pride
3 White Knight
1 Balance
3 Seal of Cleansing
3 Silver Knight
This deck gives you the same idea as the previous one, only with many updated cards and a streamlined creature base. There are the same number of creatures – 16. We have artifact mana, Balance, Armageddons, Eggs, Swords, and Disenchant effects in the Seal of Cleansing.
I like Seals in this deck because you can drop them pre-Armageddon and use them post when you have need without having to have the mana available. They also drop your hand count for Balance.
If you don’t have that many Strip Mines, or if your playgroup frowns on playing them in 4 ofs, substitute Wastelands instead.
You could easily mix and match then aggro creatures to your collection. You could add Mistral Charger or Kami of Ancient Law or perhaps even experiment with Jotun Grunt. The core of the deck is there, and you can build around it with whatever your collection has available, from Elspeth to Land Tax.
The Sainted One
When you assault the White castle, at the end you will face the White Archmagi — The Sainted One. Here is what is supposed to pass as the deadliest White deck of them all. Are you ready? I doubt it. If I had made you guess what card this deck was built around, would you have guessed Circle of Protection: Artifacts?
Initial Sainted One Deck
22 Plains
1 Mishra’s Workshop
2 Serra Angel
2 Personal Incarnation
3 White Knight
3 Rainbow Knights
2 Blessing
4 Circle of Protection: Artifacts
1 Balance
3 Armageddon
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Disenchant
1 Mox Pearl
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
2 White Mana Battery
3 Dingus Egg
3 Armageddon Clock
3 Bottle of Suleiman
Okay, I just want to say, for the record, that I like this deck. It’s so janky I love it. Armageddon Clock for the win! However, the deck is a perfect example of scattered thinking.
For example, what is up with Dingus Egg and Armageddon again? This deck has 10 creatures. They thought Dingus Egg was better than Wrath of God? Plus, this deck is reusing the Dingus Egg/Armageddon trick from before, and not even as well with one less Armageddon. 2 Swords, 1 Disenchant, 2 Blessing, 2 Serras — this deck gets too scattered.
We need to make some serious overhauls. And that’s okay, because we can.
-2 Blessing
+2 Martyrs of Korlis
It’s not like there are a ton of targets for Blessing anyway. The Martyrs make this deck much better much quicker. Now you can absorb the damage from a Dingus Egg or Armageddon Clock.
-1 Circle of Protection: Artifacts
+1 Martyrs of Korlis
I wanted to balance this out a bit. There is value in having the CoP, but the Martyrs can block and are mana free.
-2 Personal Incarnation
+2 Serra Angel
Come on now, Personal Incarnation sucks.
-3 Dingus Egg
+3 Copper Tablet
It is simply more reliable. Plus, I’m about to pull the Armageddons anyway. This deck needs mana, badly. Its spells and abilities are expensive.
-3 Armageddon
+2 Swords to Plowshares
+1 Disenchant
These are very necessary.
-2 White Mana Battery
+1 Ivory Tower
+1 Library of Alexandria
Without Armageddon, the White Mana Batteries don’t seem to serve the same purpose. Ivory Tower is great for this deck since it seems like a slower deck. See also: Library of Alexandria
Another modification you could do is to pull some White cards for artifacts, then add the Urzatron. Pull the Knights and Serras, freeing up 10 spots. Then add Triskelion, Shapeshifter, Urza’s Avenger, Clockwork Beast, Clockwork Avian, Tetravus, Juggernaut, Su-Chi or something similar to the slots.
You could also add Blue to the mix and add Mox Sapphire, Copy Artifact, Time Walk, Timetwister, Ancestral Recall, Drafna’s Restoration or Reconstruction, Transmute Artifact, and so forth.
For the day and era, there are a lot of good artifact creatures just below Serra/Sengir/Mahamoti/Shivan/Kird Ape level, which are themselves below Serendib Efreet/Hypnotic Specter level.
Another card you could add is Bottle of Suleiman. It makes you a 5/5 flyer or deals 5 to you, and you can absorb the 5 with CoP or Martyrs. You could also add Reverse Polarity, Conservator, Amulet of Kroog, Samite Healer, Eye for an Eye, Reverse Damage and Alabaster Potion.
Modified Sainted One Deck
22 Plains
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Mishra’s Workshop
1 Ivory Tower
4 Serra Angel
3 White Knight
3 Rainbow Knights
3 Martyrs of Korlis
3 Circle of Protection: Artifacts
1 Balance
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchant
1 Mox Pearl
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
3 Copper Tablet
3 Armageddon Clock
Updated Sainted One Deck
24 Plains
4 Armageddon Clock
2 Copper Tablet
1 Balance
1 Sol Ring
2 Circle of Protection: Artifacts
4 Martyrs of Korlis
2 Bubble Matrix
2 Leonin Abunas
2 Mycosynth Lattice
2 Golbin Charbelcher
2 General’s Regalia
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Divine Offering
2 Talon of Pain
2 Torture Chamber
Okay, sometimes I stay in the lines that I get with the updated version, and sometimes I go outside the lines. This one is…outside the lines.
Martyrs of Korlis take all artifact damage themselves instead of you taking it. Therefore, I have a full slate of Armageddon Clock plus Copper Tablet too.
I also added Bubble Matrix. Now this is a bit nasty already. Your Martyrs can take all artifact based damage and live. They also become great blockers.
I also added a pair of Circle of Protection: Artifacts, because you can never be sure that a Martyrs will stay alive guaranteed.
Another level of combo deliciousness is added when I add Mycosynth Lattice to the deck. Now all permanents are artifacts, so the Martyrs will take damage from that attacking Akroma, which will be prevented with Bubble Matrix. You can also use Circle of Protection better with the Lattice out.
Leonin Abunas not only protects your initial artifacts, but also protects all of your permanents post-Lattice. Giving shroud to all of your artifacts is a great way to protect the awesomeness of your building combo-tasticness.
Then we add General’s Regalia, which will redirect damage dealt to yourself to one of your creatures. You can still target your stuff with an Abunas out, so feel free to redirect that Fireball damage to one of your creatures. Bubble Matrix, Mycosynth Lattice and other permanents will enjoy this. This can help keep you alive despite direct damage aimed at your dome.
While we are worrying about burn to people’s heads, let’s also remember to activate that Goblin Charbelcher or Torture Chamber at someone’s head or creature.
Swords to Plowshares is fine removal. Divine Offering is particularly tasty post-Lattice with the ability to both gain life and destroy any permanent on the board.
Talon of Pain can load up with counters from Torture Chamber, Copper Tablet, Armageddon Clock and Goblin Charbelcher and then unleash fury. The combination of all of these damage dealing artifacts with amazing defensive positions means you can dole out a lot of hurt to kill players. You also have a lot of creature removal at your beck and call.
I admit, the deck is a bit outside the usual, but I think you’ll enjoy it very much. You can try to make many modifications such as Forge[/author]“]Darksteel [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author], or Reactor, True Believer instead of General’s Regalia, more removal, card drawing, and so forth.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy that deck, and today’s article. I’ll see you next week.
Until later…