MrUnbelievable

Pauper

:)

Good suggestions!
Galvanizer requires many Myr in the deck. To minimize being blown out by sweepers I try to stay away from creatures as much as possible, since they're often artifacts, too.
I've had {Coretapper} in the deck for a long time and it was GREAT! Originally being there for a reasonably quick win with [Magistrate's Scepter}, I also had additional permanents that rely on charge counters, life for example {Astral Cornucopia} but since {Paradox Engine} has been printed, I don't really need {Coretapper} anymore - at least I think so
{Lich's Mirror} is good against non-infect all in strategies and I have considered it but starting all over again usually takes 3 turns so I don't know... You also have to be losing in order for it not to be a dead draw (unless you want to produce 1 mana with {Honor-Worn Shaku} xD) so... well I don't know. Usually things that kill me are mass permanent destruction spells and not a turn 2 kill.

No worries man - as I said: I appreciate other points of view very much.

Yeah... Thespian's is there to copy (not only my) sol lands. The dream would be copying {Scorched Ruins} but honestly: Thespian's has only been useful like 5 times out of 1000+ games :/ Vesuva is definitely among the top 5 lands I'm currently considering but it coming into play tapped and there not always being ramp lands on the field makes it kind of meh. At least how I'm looking at it, currently.

Yes, thanks :) I also think this deck is close to being 100% efficient but there are these 5 cost reduction cards that COULD make it better, but I currently don't really know:
{Cloud Key} - +1 ramp for Kozi for 3 mana OR making all artifacts cost 1 less... Hmm...
{Foundry Inspector} - "only" making artifacts cost less is a nombo with Kozilek itself, sadly
{Semblance Anvil} - NOW we're talking! Getting 2 cards out of my hand and with an artifact creature being exiled, it could make both Kozilek and artifacts cost 2 mana less! Unfortunately, I only play 4 artifact creatures :(
{Urza's Incubator} - Makes Kozilek cost 2 less for 3 mana... But because it's 100% useless otherwise, I currently prefer artifacts that TAP for mana
{Stone Calendar} - I've had it in the deck for weeks. Seems to be JUST BARELY not good enough, although it could possibly produce +2 on turn one

Thanks for suggesting stuff - I really appreciate it.


Back to Basics is the only card that can f*** me over but I'd still have my artifacts. Blood Moon is only good to take out most of my interaction, but otherwise it's rather "meh" against me. In that regard: I wrote that putting basics into this deck would make it a lot weaker overall, since the only advantage a colorless commander deck can have over each colored deck is, that you have the option to attach effects to your "basics". And the mana ramp you get to play when having basics in the deck is, at it's most cost-effective, a cost of 3 mana for ramp of +1 mana, which is very weak. The land {Terrain Generator} would be an exception, but that requires you to play many basics to begin with.

I've had {Darksteel Forge} in this deck for a long time but it didn't do anything, especially since {Merciless Eviction} is a thing. Now I'm going for a much more pro-active approach and try to get Kozilek out before those cards can be cast, in order to counter them. {Myr Retriever} etc. seem OKAY (not great) but it requires you to be in a losing position in the first place and you only get a minimal benefit out of these cards (if not none, when cards are exiled).

{LED} is a Black Lotus for Kozi. There are only 2 cards I don't want to be discarding: Paradox Engine and Magistrate's Scepter and if I do, I can get them back with {Trading Post} or {Buried Ruin} and every tutor for that matter. There are also cute combos with it, like {Drownyard Temple}, {Clock of Omens} (activating the LED mana ability doesn't require tapping it) and obv. {Paradox Engine} itself, which results in the existence of only one card that I don't want to be discarding. I was thinking about NOT putting LED in this deck for weeks before I did, because of the points you've mentioned (they are reasonable at first, second and fifth glance), but how LED has performed in the 300+++ games I've played since makes it irreplaceable - but I guess you'd need to play the deck to understand why that's the case (apart from understanding that having Kozilek in the Command Zone with LED in hand is very strong in the first place).

I've had Crucible in the deck for a short time but it was one of the worst do-nothing cards I've ever put in. I've made room for other stuff by taking it out and now rely on {Strip mine} + {Petrified Field} and {Rings of Brighthearth} to strip away lands (Petrified targeting Strip Mine, the RoB copy allows you to target Petrified Field, because it's already in the graveyard, getting back Petrified and Strip Mine) - apart from infinite mana with {Spine of Ish-Sah} with eiter {Krark-Clan Ironworks} or Spine + {Trading Post} AND {Paradox Engine}. It also works way better with {Walking Atlas} to actually get {Strip Mine} back into your hand, instead of being able to play it from the graveyard. Also, just stripping away one land per turn vs. three other players seems very weak, especially since I would only be doing it after having enough mana to cast Kozilek - which would make {Crucible of Worlds} considered to be a win condition - I'm convinced that I have better win conditions than that XD


Yes. I've accepted the fact that you cannot win every game (especially in multiplayer) and I, as stated, try to cast Kozilek very early in order to counter blowout spells... very early. I have won a local 64-man competitive tournament before, though, so this seems to be a viable Commander choice and not Tier 4, as most people state.
In regards to cards I'd say are most likely to be cut (for others) are the two Baubles. Yes, it's great with {Paradox Engine}, obviously, and it's a zero mana draw 2 with Kozilek (Kozilek-draw replaces the already played Bauble and the draw itself happens next turn, putting you up to 8 or 9 cards in hand) and it combo's with {Rings of Brighthearth} ... and it's a decent early filter if a land or ramp is needed, but that's it. ... And maybe {Candelabra of Tawnos} since it's only good with like 6 lands or so, {Unwinding Clock} and {Rings of Brighthearth} with 3 or more lands.

Oh - I should add that I'd be tutoring for {Paradox Engine} and {Rings of Brighthearth} very regularly, so it isn't THAT unlikely to find the combos I've mentioned.

So... Emrakul IS useless now, because of the existence of {Day's Undoing}.
Jace Flipwalker is a win con, an insanely usefull looter and a reusable Snapcaster.

Yeah, the deck changed quite a bit.

You're welcome!

Yeah, the Jace being in there made me think that Money isn't as big of a deal. But FoW was just recently reprinted in Eternal Masters :) I don't know the pricing, though...
Wrath and DoJ are meant by "Wraths" :D ;) I can see that, but getting stuck on WrathS against a creature-light or even non-creature deck, just like yours, is really a pain, especially with the single-target removal... If you play sideboarded games, you might consider putting a few of them in there for games 2 and 3, if you're definitely get value out of them.
Oh and another thing about creature-centric removal: Sometimes - and I know this is a pain - noncreature permanents slip through your hand of counterspells. Cryptic Command does a great job at countering, pseudo sweeping and bouncing these noncreature permanents, while Austere Command is another sweeper, which can hit artifacts and enchantments.


But that's really everything I can think of right now... Have fun with it :D

So this is your first deck, DIY style? Then it's great!

But...
- This is really not a Vintage deck. Vintage has all the broken, free mana rocks and these cards are a MUST in that format, unless you have a deck like Dredge, which will not cast a single spell for mana. Label it as a (casual) Legacy deck please!
- Force of Will! This is THE best counterspell, since it costs {0}, allowing you to play Jace, tapping out, but still being able to counter stuff. And with the Jace +/-0, you'll be able to get the cards lost this way back.
- put in FoW, cut a few wraths. like 4. you might consider putting in another SwordsTP for one, since exiling is very relevant.
- You might considers putting in {Mishra's Factory} or {Mutavault} aswell. Not a must, but definitely great (Mishra's Factory is a 3/3 blocker on it's own).

Well Zombies ARE very solid, but because of the existence of crazy combo kills in Elves and Goblins in Legacy and even Modern, Zombies are generally not seen as competitively viable... Merfolk is usually better as a beatdown tribal because of FoW.

Have you looked at living Zombies, though? They're the second tribe with many 2mana lords, being four in total, while not as good:
http://www.mtgvault.com/mrunbelievable/decks/hope-in-humanity/

nah it's fine, i was just expressing why i love the underrated zombie tribe.

Zombie Master + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Also Zombies have many cmc1, 2power 1drops :)

Wait, sorry, WHAT?
Firstly, what does "curiousity" have to do with suggesting a card?
Being restricted in Vintage is far, faaaaaaaaaaaar away from being "technically legal" in Standard.

Yeah, Ive glanced over the comments, so I didn't talk about Lotus and Fetches.

Well... Yes, I would most definitely cut a land, since you courve out early, also having rituals, Sol ring and Moxen. Also adding 2 Rack in total at least has some upside, even when both of them are out.
Of the playsets... I personally would try 4x Stranglehold and 2x Minsdcensor (both together are not toooooo good. Having essentially 10 copies in that configurations seems still good enough, especially when adding Rack)
Cut one Swamp, cut one Unearth, adding 2 Racks and the one restricted Necropotence. (More upside with additional Academy Rectors. Since you don't play an enchantment utilitybox, which is another suggestion for removal btw (Serenity), not picking at least a second enchantment seems like a mistake to me.). In that case, I'd finally put in another Exsanguinate for (either) the second Unearth (or Death Grasp).
Why the hate on Unearth? :D well, Rack and Necro replace the "find Maralen" part and unearthing a 4 drop for maximum value will happen RELATIVELY late, all in all making it reasonable to cut them for said cards.

Again:
- 1x Mindscensor
- 1x Swamp
- 2x Unearth

+ 1x Necropotence
+ 1x Exsanguinate
+ 2x Scroll Rack


This would be just to test how it would perfom in comparison, since it is really hard to cut stuff and the deck would only improve slighly, if at all. I also don't consider any shortage of cards here, so it would be my "final cut".

...If you want Unearth, though, consider Fleshbag Marauder for Innocent Blood.

Nice :D
I can see how thought-through it is, even with this many playsets... It would be hard to cut cards!

All I can really think of are a few draw engines, which you might or might not have thought about:

[
{Dark Confidant} as a solid creature on the board aswell, but {Dark Tutelage} might be the better card with the same "draw" effect, although it's more expensive ( {2}[b} ), it is an enchantment and works better with your edict effects, not soft-blanking them sometimes.

Necropotence :======)
] - They are enchantments! But cause additional lifeloss, yeah...

And {Scroll Rack} !
Worth cutting a land for in my opinion (but I tend to be greedy), since it finds needed - and shuffles excessive ones away. Yes. With Maralen it even shuffles for free!

(Demonic Tutor... I don't know... Diabolic Intect seems stricktly better and the one Demonic might not be needed here, actually. Maybe, can't really tell.)

BANNED

Yeah, you're right.
Since i've been killed on turn two in Pauper, I know, that there are wayyyy too many spikes out there. Magic is broken from the first set onwards :D
You really need a casual, real life playgroup.

But... speaking of "Spikes", Mana denial decks and Vintage: I've broken Stax. Seriously. Well, at least... I#ve tested it a lot and it's insane!
...
It actually uses Smokestack.
Could you take a quick look at it? I would love to hear your opinion about:
1) More {Rishadan Port}s?
2) Any additional, worthwhile advantage-engine with Smokestack you know off the top of your head? Because...:
3) {Myr Retriever} as a playset was fine, but not overwhelming... What do you think about it?
4) {HOWLING MINE}??? I can tap it... or sac it... ^^
5) Any additional comments/questions?

I feel like I don't have to say this, but you definitely may answer on your decks' page (this one), because it's not about "getting publicity", but rather really getting a sophisticated opinion.
If not, it's fine. If it takes time, it's no problem ;)

http://www.mtgvault.com/mrunbelievable/decks/total-lockdown-stax/

Disgusting. Leave. me. alone.

It would probably beat my most competitive and successfull EDH deck ("Unwinding Clock Eldrazi-Titans", if you want some context), which I've build for local EDH tournaments (yes, they exist), unless i draw and play {Darksteel Forge} quickly.

Although I agree with your rant, creating "fun" but still "winning" decks is super hard to balance. I, for instance, LOVE about EDH, that I'm able to work on a single deck for months (singleton) and still improve its' performance, even in, or especially in colorless decks (Like the one mentioned). Naturally, if you're a somewhat good or experienced player, the deck will become more effective naturally, rather than clunkier. SO the only way to make it a pure casual format is, just like in "real life", is to restrict people. Ban cards. Period.
(But... Most decks ! I ! see are super casual anyways, even on tournaments, where they're unable to play anything on turn 1 and 2, mostly.)

Ok... Revisited the deck now and changed it quite a bit.
You guys probably won't remember the previous version but... Are there any suggestions you might have for me now?



[
I've added {Shelldock Isle}; Finds an {Archive Trap} in 27% of all cases, IF it's not in my opener (... And if my library has 53 cards in it...);
+ {Snapcaster Mage}... and {Memory Sluice}
+ {Altar of the Brood} and {Mesmeric Orb}.
+ {Murderous Cut}. While {Crypt incursion} is great, it turned off {Visions of Beyond} too many times for my taste.

- {Jace' Erasure} (Deck description says why)
- {Ashiok...}. Toooooo sloooooow
- {Remand}. Without Erasure, I'd now much rather hard-/soft counter to fill the graveyard, or even not care at all.

And then I've trimmed a few cards, based on testing, to fit in playsets...
]

:DD
That was a great joke!

These are 4 drops, meaning they'd attack TWO TURNS later than Doran is cast.

I want to win before that.

It also doesn't work well with Doran at all, it ONLY works with AF.

And, as my 'How to Play' suggests, this deck has problems with token decks and thus it's far better to go big on the number of creatures, rather than on the toughness of one creature, if it doesn't have trample. With this in mind, I'd much rather play other 1mana 0/4s, Skinshifter, which is basically a 2mana 0/8 or even Tower Defense, which is in the SB.
You migh also see that it's very unlikely for me to hit a fourth land on turn four...

All in all I can see them as sideboard cards against crazy life gain decks at best, since they're way too slow and are defenders.

Still, thank you!

* [ever since]