Deck is no longer up to date, if you want to see where this concept ended up going and developing into you can check my much cooler and awesomer Akiri/Silas "Forgetech" list on Moxfield. Aside from Najeela degeneracy it may be the most powerful take on purist Voltron at this time.
That aside, this deck likes to make value from equipments, doublestriking with swords / extra combat phases, as alternative to the main strategy of killing people with boardwipes and a doublestriking Zurgo that also happens to have swords on him, you get the point.
Ramp is super important in this deck, not only to drop Zurgo early (which is why most of the ramp is 2-cost), but also because Zurgo's likely to die a lot so you should be able to afford playing him multiple times in the game with equip costs. Your turns will be one of:
- Zurgo is alive & equipped: Huge Zurgo swings either while equipped with a sword or with some other damage doubling effects, taking out opponents.
- Zurgo is dead: Board development for the next time Zurgo enters the battlefield. Tutoring for & playing the right weapons, putting relevant creatures on the battlefield.
- Wiping the board or responding to big threats to make the game long enough for you to find the next opening to play Zurgo and swing.
- Attacking politically into chump blockers because you played him at the wrong moment (you get better at making this call, with experience)
- Laughing hysterically at the Assault Suit interaction
Elaborating: Budget aside, because Swords offer protection from x&y, you are essentially offered a weakened version of unblockable / hexproof from 2 different colors. Tutoring for the right sword for the game will shut down interaction from multiple players at a time and help Zurgo attack as well as keep him safe on the board. This of course is not aside from the fact that Swords generate card advantage, mana and other value. The swords I picked are just an assortment of the most powerful effects / color coverage. You can go with your own, as long as feast & famine and fire & ice are in there, because they are the strongest (updated take: hearth and home is absolutely much stronger than feast and famine in an artifact ramp-heavy equip deck, it has far more interactions and far more combos isyn). There is no real reason to run more than 5, the point is to have a bunch of strong swords that cover the color-pie.
Colored cards that must target Zurgo for their effect (such as Duelists' Heritage) are nonbos, and thus not included.
This deck does not include non-equipment tutors as those are 1. not fun for how expensive they are and 2. generate unwanted attention / draw counterspells more often than equipment tutors. Most of your most powerful cards are equipment anyway.
It also does not include MLD, it kinda sucks and you guys should find stronger ways to make Zurgo work as a high-power commander. Blind Eternities know you've been given shittons of commander damage tech, like Jeska and Kediss, in the last 4 years.
Straight upgrades to this would be broken mana rocks like Mana Crypt, Jeweled Lotus (adding 3 of one color pays for the generic cost), stuff that prevents more interaction such as Shizo, Death's Storehouse. Champion's Helm for sure is a replacement for Mirror Shield, etc.etc.
Graveyard recursion would be the only weakness here, so cards like Sun Titan and Ironsoul Enforcer
Combos & Synergies:
Jeska, Thrice Reborn + Zurgo + anything that gets past blockers, or a boardwipe of yours. triple-damage zurgo one-shots a player.
Sword of Feast and Famine + Aggravated Assault or Sword of Feast and Famine + Eldrazi Displacer + Aurelia, the Warleader or Akki Battle Squad for infinite combat phases and main phase mana in case you have more than 5 lands to untap.
Zurgo Helmsmasher + Assault Suit - Maybe the most perfect synergy I've seen, not in a strong way but in a synergetic way.
Aurelia, the Warleader + Eldrazi Displacer - When Aurelia attacks, while her extra combat untap ability is on the stack, use Eldrazi Displacer to flicker her. Her ability untaps her, and she is regarded as a new instance of Aurelia when she returns, allowing her ability to trigger again. This gives you an extra combat for (2)<>.
+
Aurelia, the Warleader + some other creature + Sword of Hearth and Home - Put the sword on the other creature, attack a player that can't block it due to the protection and attack a player that can't block Aurelia due to flying. Aurelia's ability triggers for an extra combat, but before that occurs, the sword will trigger from damage enabling you to flicker Aurelia. Because she reenters untapped and has Haste, she can attack during this extra combat and give you another one. As long as the creature with the sword continues to flicker her, you can get extra combat phases. This can just kill 2 people in one turn.
Ugin, the Ineffable - He doesn't combo with anything straight up, but he's a powerhouse in this deck. His 2/2's will carry swords, he discounts all your artifacts, he destroys problematic permanents through protection from colors, and your boardwipes turn the 2/2's into cards in your hand. Any one of these effects will be great individually, but all of them together on one card makes for a best-in-slot planeswalker.
Stoneforge Mystic + Sword of Hearth and Home - When you play Stoneforge for the first time, get H&H from your deck. Next turn, if you get to untap, equip it to Stoneforge or another creature and attack for a flicker trigger and ramp. Flicker Stoneforge to get more stuff! Great value.
