Artifacts Inkarnate

Commander / EDH Artifact Colorless Combo Infinite Combo Midrange Rock

Cippo

Artifact Utility (31)

• 1x Clock of Omens
• 1x Cloud Key
• 1x Darksteel Forge
• 1x Endless Atlas
• 1x Extraplanar Lens
• 1x Goblin Cannon
• 1x Krark-Clan Ironworks
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Memory Jar
• 1x Mind's Eye
• 1x Mirage Mirror
• 1x Mycosynth Lattice
• 1x Paradox Engine
• 1x Phyrexian Revoker
• 1x Relic of Progenitus
• 1x Rings of Brighthearth
• 1x Scroll Rack
• 1x Sculpting Steel
• 1x Semblance Anvil
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Spine of Ish Sah
• 1x Staff of Domination
• 1x Sunset Pyramid
• 1x Thaumatic Compass  ^Flip
• 1x Thousand-Year Elixir
• 1x Thran Temporal Gateway
• 1x Treasure Map  ^Flip
• 1x Umbral Mantle
• 1x Unwinding Clock
• 1x Voltaic Key
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble

Instant/Sorcery (3)

• 1x All is Dust
• 1x Spatial Contortion
• 1x Warping Wail

Land (33)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x Darksteel Citadel
• 1x Eye of Ugin
• 1x Inventors' Fair
• 1x Mishra's Workshop
• 1x Rishadan Port
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
• 22x Wastes

Rocks (11)

• 1x Basalt Monolith
• 1x Dreamstone Hedron
• 1x Everflowing Chalice
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Grim Monolith
• 1x Hedron Archive
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Metalworker
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Thran Dynamo

Search (7)

• 1x Citanul Flute
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Eye of Ugin
• 1x Inventors' Fair
• 1x Kuldotha Forgemaster
• 1x Planar Bridge
• 1x Skyship Weatherlight

Planeswalkers (2)

• 1x Karn Liberated
• 1x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

Commander (1)

Creatures (11)

• 1x Kuldotha Forgemaster
• 1x Lodestone Golem
• 1x Metalworker
• 1x Myr Retriever
• 1x Myr Welder
• 1x Phyrexian Revoker
• 1x Scrap Trawler
• 1x Shimmer Myr
• 1x Voltaic Construct
• 1x Voltaic Servant
• 1x Walking Ballista

Stax (8)

• 1x Defense Grid
• 1x Lodestone Golem
• 1x Static Orb
• 1x Storage Matrix
• 1x Tangle Wire
• 1x The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
• 1x Trinisphere
• 1x Winter Orb

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Maybeboard

Other (2)

• 1x Isolated Watchtower
• 1x Torpor Orb

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Infinite combo artifact deck built around generating infinite colorless mana and putting that mana into Walking Ballista , Goblin Cannon , or mass land destruction using Karn, Silver Golem and Mycosynth Lattice . Secondary win conditions are infinite P/T beaters and swinging in wide with artifacts turned into creatures. It utilizes a lot of stax to slow opponents down, has some interaction, but mostly plays like a solitaire puzzle deck.

My goal is to create the most competitive multiplayer deck possible with Karn at the helm. This is byfar my favorite deck to play/tune and it's come a long way since the first draft. There are still a couple spots I'm trying to optimize but I'm pretty happy with the bulk of it.

How to Generate Infinite Mana

MetalWorker Combos

Metalworker is pretty intense in a deck with over 60 artifacts, who'da thunk? He's easily the most efficient combo piece in the deck. My record win is turn 2 and it was largely because of this guy.

Metalworker + Voltaic Construct - Requires 2 artifacts in hand.

Metalworker + Staff of Domination - Requires 3 artifacts in hand, added bonus of infinite tap/untap/life/draw.

Metalworker + Umbral Mantle - Requires 2 artifacts in hand. Added bonus of being able to give every artifact you control infinite P/T.

Metalworker + Voltaic Key + Rings of Brighthearth - Requires 2 artifacts in hand.

Significant Combos

After Metalworker , these are the most efficient combos. They only require 2 cards from the 99 and cost and respectively.

Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth - Requires 2 mana to start when Basalt Monolith is untapped. One of the few combos in this deck that doesn't worry about summoning sickness. Sensei's Divining Top turns this combo into infinite draw.

Karn, Silver Golem + Voltaic Construct + any rock. If the rock is untapped you'll always have enough to combo off, 3 mana pays for animation and the first untap. There are 6 different rocks that work here. So once you've got Voltaic Construct , your odds of getting the last piece are pretty decent.

Scrap Trawler Combos

Scrap Trawler + Myr Retriever + Krark-Clan Ironworks - Not a combo by itself but pairs with a LOT of different artifacts combinations.

The goal is to create a chain of artifacts that when sacrificed with Krark-Clan Ironworks bring back everything that was sacrificed. Scrap Trawler lets each sacrificed card bring back the one under it and Myr Retriever brings back the highest card in the chain. The only way this work is if all the cards are in the graveyard before the triggers happen though. To do this we're gonna abuse this rule:

• 601.2g If the total cost includes a mana payment, the player then has a chance to activate mana abilities (see rule 605, “Mana Abilities”). Mana abilities must be activated before costs are paid

So if we're about to cast something or use an activated ability that requires mana, we can activate all the mana abilities we want. All the artifacts in the chain are sacrificed for mana, then the spell/ability goes on the stack which sets off all the recursion triggers. When the triggers happen this way, everything we need to target is in the graveyard before any triggers happen. This lets us grab everything we need.

Rules to creating a chain:

1. Net Mana = (Total Sacrifice Mana + Any mana created iteratively) - Total Casting Cost. If the Net Mana is positive then the chain can be used to get infinite mana.

2. Every artifact being sacrificed must have a different cmc.

3. If a card is more than 2 mana then you only need to sacrifice it and Myr Retriever . Otherwise, there must be at least one card above and one card below Myr Retriever .

Rules to creating a combo:

1. If using an activated ability, only 1 chain is necessary. If using an artifact cast, then 2 chains are necessary.

2. The 2 chain method works by sacrificing chain 1 to cast a piece from chain 2. Play the missing pieces from chain 2. Sacrifice chain 2 to cast a piece from chain 1. Play the missing pieces from chain 1. Rinse and Repeat.

3. If using 1 chain, then net mana is all that matters. If using 2 chains, then their combined net mana is what matters.

Tips for finding combo-tunities:

1. It's helpful to think of every card in terms of the net mana it brings to the chain. Myr Retriever costs to cast, gains from Krark-Clan Ironworks , and generates no additional mana. It has a net mana of 0. Mana Vault costs to cast, gains from being sac'ed, and taps for . It has a net mana of +4.

2. Never sac Krark-Clan Ironworks and only sac Scrap Trawler when you have to, they both have negative net mana.

3. Tapping before sac'ing can be a valuable resource. Chains that don't normally net mana can abuse Paradox Engine , Voltaic Key , or Clock of Omens to become net positive. Obviously most rocks are a terrific addition.

4. Cost reduction from Cloud Key or Semblance Anvil make entirely new chains net positive.

Myr Welder Combos

Myr Welder is an excellent plan B and occasionally a great plan A. Any combo that relies on activated abilities can be replicated or partially replaced with this single creature. Being able to target any graveyard means you can supplement your combo pieces with other people's cards and even create combos that don't normally exist in this deck. It's important to keep track of artifacts in the yard and consider the possibilities.

Myr Welder + Staff of Domination + any or higher rock - Rule 202.2 states that a card referencing itself by name just means itself, so Staff of Domination is an amazing target for this guy.

Jank Combos

Due to the utility and synergy of so many different artifact interactions, there are a LOT of unique infinite combos that are so situational they're not even worth mentioning. It's important to always be on the lookout for potential infinite combos with this deck, they come in all shapes and sizes.

Random examples:

Everflowing Chalice + Voltaic Key + Rings of Brighthearth - Chalice must be kicked for 4+.

Staff of Domination + Sculpting Steel + Clock of Omens + any rock - Copy the staff, tap both to untap the rock, pay to untap each staff, repeat.

Playing the Deck

Using Karn

• His offense is virtually nonexistent. Even if his damage goes through 4 is a terrible number to achieve commander damage.

• He makes a terrific blocker, which is great for a deck trying to survive long enough to combo off.

• His ability is good for making combos possible, creating blockers/attackers out of artifacts, killing artifacts, popping off creature equipment, exploiting creature/noncreature specific spells like Terastodon or Wrath of God .

• Mycosynth Lattice lets him destroy lands and fizzle enchantment auras.

Finding Combo Pieces

If there were good colorless search options, every deck would run them. That being said, it is slow and expensive to find what you want in a colorless deck. There are no instant speed options so these high threat targets have to sit on the table before use. The goal is always to keep them on the table for as short a time as possible. Shimmer Myr can give most search options instant speed. Every single search option is a historic spell so Thran Temporal Gateway is a Thran Temporal Greatway to sneak them on the table the end step before your turn. If you don't need what you're searching for immediately, then wait for the end step before your turn to search.

Searching being as clunky and mana intensive as it is means that precision is crucial. If you're searching for something it should be to remove an obstacle, protect something you need, or find a combo piece. If you're finding a combo piece, you should know exactly when you'll win if everything goes right and where you'll be if things go wrong.

There are 7 cards that search the deck. 2 find creatures, 3 find artifacts, 1 finds permanents, 1 finds lands. Every creature in this deck is also an artifact so creatures are the most consistent search target. Rings of Brighthearth is a very notable synergy piece to any search.

If you don't plan on using Citanul Flute for a turn, consider finding Walking Ballista anyway. It's free to find, it's an infinite mana outlet, it's last resort damage, it's card advantage.

Expedition Map targets are usually Inventors' Fair , Mishra's Workshop , Eye of Ugin or Ancient Tomb . Every nonbasic land is in there for a reason though so keep their utility in mind..

Skyship Weatherlight is even more risk than usual and also comes with a degree of uncertainty. In my experience it's paid off so much more often than than it's backfired though. If you only need a single card and you can combo out the turn you play it, then there's no added risk. It only exiles once it resolves and at that point only Krosan Grip is gonna stop you from activating it. If they have that, the combo wasn't gonna go well anyway.

Stax

Colorless has a lot of drawbacks so these are to help even the playing field. The goal is to keep things asymmetrical in Karn's favor so I've removed some stax along the way.

• Storage Matrix is a new addition I'm still testing. The idea is that all of my creatures are artifacts so I'll only ever need to choose between 2 resources. If I have some rocks on the field then it's not really even a choice. Clock of Omens and Paradox Engine both negate the choice altogether.

• Lodestone Golem and The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale both punish stuff I don't care about so obviously good here.

• Tangle Wire is amazing, especially around turn 3 or 4. It shuts down people completely in those turns and if you got a single artifact out t1 or t2 then you're only tapping 1 land.

• Winter Orb is pretty brutal for everyone involved. When you have rocks then obviously you have the advantage but even without rocks I'm a fan. Karn has good lands so single untap can still bring a mana advantage: Misrha's Workshop, Ancient Tomb , Temple of the False God . Since colorless can't draw very well, slowing the pace down to refill your hand at the same rate as everyone else can still be in your favor, especially if you wait until a key player has tapped out their lands. Krark-Clan Ironworks , Clock of Omens , Staff of Domination /Karn are good for removing the stax before your upkeep to make it completely asymmetrical.

• Trinisphere is almost always asymmetrical. Most of the combo pieces in the deck are 3 mana or higher and paying an extra or two for small pieces isn't a big deal. The only cards this really screws over are Paradox Engine , Semblance Anvil , and Cloud Key .

Win Conditions

Using Infinite Mana

Infinite Damage:

Walking Ballista and Goblin Cannon are the top choices. Planar Bridge can only grab cannon. Eye of Ugin and Citanul Flute can only grab ballista.

Infinite Destruction:

Mycosynth Lattice is mass land destruction. At this point the goal is just to keep destroying all the lands as they're played and swing in with artifact creatures.

Spine of Ish Sah + Krark-Clan Ironworks is infinite permanent destruction.

Infinite Draw:

Staff of Domination

Sensei's Divining Top + Rings of Brighthearth / Sculpting Steel / Scroll Rack

Infinite P/T

Umbral Mantle can give any rock infinite power and toughness to swing in for the win. It's not an ideal win since it's single target and can be chump blocked but it occasionally wins games. You need Karn, Silver Golem to make this work unless the rock is Metalworker . Metal Worker actually generates mana when he uses it so you can equip it to all your creatures and swing in wide.

Brain Teasers

These are situations I've come across playing this deck that I thought were unique. What fun is a puzzle deck without some challenging puzzles, right? See if you can figure them out.

Situation 1

Board:

Paradox Engine , Cloud Key , 3x Wastes , Inventors' Fair

Hand:

Skyship Weatherlight , Eye of Ugin , Sol Ring , All Is Dust , Winter Orb , Unwinding Clock

Graveyard:

Empty.

Objective:

Kill all 3 other players at 40 life each this turn.

Situation 1 Solution

1. Tap 1 Wastes , play Sol Ring .

2. Tap Sol Ring and 2 Wastes to activate Inventors' Fair to search for Mana Crypt .

3. Play Mana Crypt , Paradox Engine triggers, tap rocks for .

4. Play Skyship Weatherlight , Paradox Engine triggers, exile Sensei's Divining Top and Endless Atlas . (1 floating mana because of Cloud Key )

5. Tap rocks for , activate Skyship Weatherlight , play whatever you get, Paradox Engine trigger.

6. Repeat Step 5. Cloud Key makes Sensei's Divining Top free and Endless Atlas cost so both can be played with the 1 floating mana. Neither is used before step 7 so the order they're played is irrelevant.

7. Tap Sensei's Divining Top to draw a card.

8. Tap rocks for and activate Endless Atlas to draw Sensei's Divining Top .

9. Cast Sensei's Divining Top , Paradox Engine triggers.

10. Steps 7-9 are repeatable and provide and 1 draw per iteration. At this point you can draw the entire deck and have over 100 mana by the time you get there, how to combo out from here is a matter of choice.

Situation 2

Board:

Karn, Silver Golem , Rings of Brighthearth , Staff of Domination , Thran Dynamo , 6x Wastes

Hand:

Sculpting Steel , Myr Retriever , Mana Crypt , Skyship Weatherlight

Graveyard:

Empty.

Objective:

Kill all 3 other players at 40 life each this turn.

Situation 2 Solution

1. Tap Thran Dynamo and play Sculpting Steel .

2. Have Sculpting Steel come in as a copy of Rings of Brighthearth .

3. Tap 1x Wastes and turn card=Thran Dynamo (UDS) into a creature.

4. Play Mana Crypt . Tap it and 5x Wastes for .

5. Use Staff of Domination to untap Thran Dynamo , copy the activated ability with both Rings of Brighthearth s.

6. When each untap ability resolves, tap Thran Dynamo in response. 3 untaps/taps result in .

7. Pay to untap Staff of Domination .

8. Repeat steps 5-7 to generate infinite mana.

9. Use Staff of Domination to draw until you get Goblin Cannon or Walking Ballista .

Top Ranked	Achieved #8 position overall 5 years ago
Date added	6 years
Last updated	5 years
Key combos	Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth Metalworker + Voltaic Construct Metalworker + Umbral Mantle Metalworker + Staff of Domination
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	9 - 0 Mythic Rares 43 - 0 Rares 22 - 0 Uncommons 4 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.28
Tokens	Eldrazi Scion 1/1 C, Treasure
Folders	Commander Stuff, Saved Decks, Commander, ll, Interesting Decks to Study Better Later, AAWant to try, Interesting Deck Ideas, EDH comp decks, Excellent Primer, a