Because MUD Slinging is great fun.
MUD is an older version of a colorless ramp deck. It's much more common in Vintage than it is in Legacy these days. The general game plan is to slam early lock prices into late Haymakers and possible combo kills. I have probably had an abnormal amount of success with MUD, although my version is also a bit unconventional. I have reduced certain cards from four to three or even two as they are great draws at specific times and horrid at others. I also have chosen to include a couple of equally odd cards. Let me explain the choices and won conditions.
Obvious old school win cons include:
Early metalwork combo, with Staff of Domination, as early as t2. To combo with Metalworker, the player needs t1 Lightning Greaves into t2 worker with four other artifacts and staff in hand. Activate the worker ability after equipping grieves, play a Mishra's Factory, move the greaves back and forth by the two, using staff to until metalwork and itself, draw your deck with intimate manas floating, play anything to kill a blocker, poop out blightsteel collossus, and swing lethal poison.
Obviously that scenario is very aggressive, and highly unlikely. It's much more likely we go the lockout plan. Early Trinisphere, as early as t1 off of Grim Monolith, thorn or amythist, Chalice of the Void, Sphere of Resistance, and/or Lodestone Golem, all limit our opponents from doing much very quickly. Often the lockout leads to lethal limestone swings, especially if they come in pairs or packs. Many MUD decks also run Wasteland and Cavern of Souls as win mores.
I chose to run factories instead of wastelands, as they allow earlier comboing, blockers for days with crucible, and to avoid having to sac more relevant artifacts to tutor with Kuldotha Forgemaster. Foorgemaster doubles as a way to grab a win con, as unless stifled, it allows you to grab any artifact in the deck and put it directly into play. blightsteel collossus is good in an open board, but isn't the only or often best choice.
Other tutors include Eye of Ugin for any creature in the deck, and investor's fair, which lets me get any artifact. There is currently no way to grab walkers, although there is Planar Gate, it feels like too big an investment of mana.
Wurmcoil Engine, Sundering Titan, and Steel Hellkite, double as more win cons, and also value removal. Wurmcoil and inventors fair, as well as Glimmerpost help regain life, and post also adds to the locus count for ramp.
I call this MUD and not 12 post, as this is a colorless deck, as this does not run a blue green package. I find that it waters down the efficiency of the deck. Candellabra of tawnos is a great card...that gets countered by my chalices. I run three Vesuva, four Cloudpost, four Glimmerpost and one Thespian's Stage as post no 12. Strange comes out untapped, which can be really relevant, and can also copy factory, and then reset to cloudpost when necessary. Crucible of Worlds allows for replaying sacced or killed factories and triggered City of Traitors. I knocked city from three to two, as it is more often a liability than you might think.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon is the premier removal in the deck, along with All Is Dust and Karn Liberated. Ugin doubles as a win con also, as just repeated bolts on an empty board can be a clock.
Other utility cards include ghirrapur orrery, which refill out hand when we dump it, and also help us ramp with metalworker, and Bottled Cloister, which help us dodge discard and also give card advantage. Platinum Emperion locks out burn and other aggro strategies with no artifact removal g1.
Good matches for this deck include any deck that plays too many one drops and relies on low casting costs, miracles, and midrange grind decks.
Bad matches include infect and fast combo on the draw g1.
Even matches include fair combo decks and grixis delver, especially if they run a Stifle and or Cabal Therapy package.
The sideboard is full of toys for specific matches. Walking Ballista is mainly for elves and death and taxes; Faerie Macabre is great vs rb reanimator, as Chancellor of the Annex cannot interact with it; Ratchet Bomb is good vs token and one drop strategies (also Leovold, Emissary of Trest and even zero drops from storm; Defense Grid drops counter decks and Platinum Angel comes in as a second Platinum Emperion when necessary. thorn of amythist and Sphere of Resistance further lock out storm and combo, and sphere also hits creature combo like elves and alluren. Warping Wail and Orbs of Warding are flex slots, and mainly meta choices from my lgs. Pithing Needle feels wrong and will probably be a Spellskite as it helps vs infect. If like to have two kites in the board, but I gotta figure out what to swap.
