First, a quick introduction (which I’ll likely flesh out later). My name is Joey Pasco, I’ve been playing Magic since I was a freshman in high school when Revised Edition was the latest Core set. Like a lot of players, my relationship with the game has been on and off, but I’ve played for at least a short time during every Standard season since 1995. I’ve taken no breaks from the game since Ravnica block.
Recently, I’ve been looking for ways to contribute somehow to the MTG community, and for a long time I thought about writing a blog. This morning, one of the Magic players that I follow on Twitter, @wrongwaygoback, asked me to post a decklist that we were discussing. I figured, what better time to start blogging than now?
At this point I have no set plan for my content, but that could quickly change. For now, I’ll be posting decklists and general thoughts on the game.
UW Artifact Control – Post-Lorwyn Standard (pre-Zendikar)
Based on the list posted by Neale Talbot, found here.
CREATURES:
4x Court Homunculus
4x Esper Stormblade
4x Ethersworn Canonist
4x Ethersworn Shieldmage
4x Master of Etherium
3x Baneslayer Angel
INSTANTS:
3x Path to Exile
4x Harm’s Way
SORCERIES
2x Sleep
ARTIFACTS:
4x Fieldmist Borderpost
PLANESWALKERS:
1x Ajani Goldmane
1x Tezzeret the Seeker
1x Jace Beleren
LANDS:
4x Glacial Fortress
3x Gargoyle Castle
2x Arcane Sanctum
6x Plains
6x Island
SIDEBOARD:
4x Silence
4x Vedalken Outlander
2x Sleep
2x Pithing Needle
3x Open the Vaults
At the moment, the deck tends to take a lot of mulligans. I seem to keep ending up with hands that are extremely mana-light or mana-heavy. There’s no card draw in the deck, which would help things, but I’m just not sure what to add. Esper Charm would be great, but it’s not worth wrecking the manabase to include black. Also, Gargoyle Castle is an absolute beast (it’s definitely my favorite card in M10). This is another reason not to mess with the manabase, as adding black would likely require cutting any lands that produce colorless, such as the Castle.
I threw Baneslayer Angel into the deck because it’s obviously one of the strongest single creatures in Standard right now; however, it doesn’t actually fit with the artifact theme. I can’t say it’s underperforming, but maybe added synergy would be more valuable than a single bomb.
Another card I’m unsure about is Sleep. It can be a beating, and it can also just sit in your hand. I’m on the fence.
Affinity For Islands 