The Gist of it
This deck is built around
Hokori, Dust Drinker
and aims at essentially staxing your opponent via mana lockdown, while going around the land problem with the help of artifacts, which completely replace them by midgame, all the while making them feel the dryness of their mana pools with cards that tax every move.
The Mana
Naturally the first concern, after settling for mana from artifacts, was which ones to use:
Darksteel Ingot: multicolored mana difficult to get off the board for .
Azorius Signet: Early mana ramp, helps a proper mana pool earlier while waiting for Hokori.
Azorius Keyrune: I went for Keyrunes because this deck needs creatures, but simple creatures would be a hindrance.
Fieldmist Borderpost
: Potentially a turn-one artifact mana ready for a turn-three/four land lockdown.
The Staxers
-
Hokori, Dust Drinker
: the big boss of the deck, if this had been an EDH deck, he would have been its commander. His role is pretty simple: to be the main source of card stagnation on the opponent's side of the board. But doesn't it only keep most of the mana tapped?
It's not like Hokori can do all the work, here you have his sidekicks:
Storage Matrix is a card often cast aside, and even in this deck is not that easy to take advantage of, but it can do great things. Also, if cast at the right moment, it can take over Hokori's role for a turn or two, or just create a tinge of panic in the opponent's mind.
Frozen AEther does wonders with Hokori or a Matrix around, forcing the opponent to think (or should I say stress?) over whether to waste their poor mana pool on that permanent in their hand, or just wait to get that really big one with haste that might change it... oh! It's tapped now! What a pity... now you have to wait a turn instead.
And a little something more:
- Supreme Verdict: Every deck needs a plan B, this is my plan B. It goes along my philosophy: if it's frightening, nuke it! Nobody will miss my creatures, after all.
The Taxers
And now we get to my favorite part: hasn't this been a boring stax deck up until now?
Time to get our opponents pay. If we just left Hokori or the Matrix alone on the board, it wouldn't take long for them to leave it or become useless, one way or another. And we don't want our opponents to do any crazy stuff like casting spells, attacking or even having creatures around, don't we? That's why the staxers need backing:
Ghostly Prison: attacking is the main source of damage, put a tax on their swings and every opponent (except someone sooo focused on burns and such) will start being in serious mana trouble, even without a staxer around. Paired with Storage Matrix, it forces the opponent to pause at least a turn after a full swing to untap both lands and creatures.
Magus of the Tabernacle is a jerk. Even I know he IS. Think for a moment about those neat swarm decks that literally cover the board of creatures, now imagine: what if, to keep that battlefield packed with those cute tiny threats, you had to pay each. Unnerving, isn't it? Because you can't! And now they are all getting sweeped off the board. He's also the reason why this deck doesn't keep many creatures around.
Mana Tithe: when you have to make every mana count for the opponent. Many tend to try using every single mana available, so this counterspell can catch many players by surprise. Then, as soon as your opponents know it's there, they'll never be able to shrug it off, ending up saving that last mana to protect their spells.
The "Creatures"
Because of Magus of the Tabernacle unconventional creatures are in order. Being the deck already packed with artifacts, I went for Keyrunes and Totems.
Azorius Keyrune: a 2/2 flying "instant" threat is always a good thing to have.
Chimeric Mass
: this versatile little guy can be your blocker in times of need or serve as a hit-and-run fatty if there is mana to invest in its cast.
Everything Else
A game is not won just by driving the opponent to the brink of madness, that would just make them eat their cards. Instead, I thought that using these cards to help the stax side of the deck might do the trick.
Mirrorworks: since a deck only has 60 cards but I need a lot of artifacts, I'll have to use them more than once.
Cryptic Commandis a jack of all trades in this deck: a counterspell that doubles as a bounceback, that doubles as a "staxer" (which can help a Matrix), that also doubles as card draw, if you really haven't got any other option.
Tezzeret the Seeker : of course Tezzeret is here! Two additional mana each turn, fetch for artifacts (because nobody expects what they need to magically climb to the top of their library) and last but not least, his ultimate gets all our artifacts stand up as 5/5s... what's not to love?!
Help Needed!
Now, now, this deck is far from complete, and it needs your help to become a force to be reckoned with. Do you think I should focus less on artifacts or more? Do you have any suggestions for more effective mana sources? Or did I get it all wrong? Whatever your thoughts about my deck, just let me know in the comments. And if you like the concept of the deck, leave me with a +1!
