Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter

Legendary Artifact Creature — Thopter

Flash

Flying

You may cast colourless spells and artifact spells as though they had flash.

Whenever you cast a spell, if the amount of mana spent to cast that spell is greater than Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter's power, put a +1/+1 counter on Liberator.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Pre-release	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Standard	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (15)

Profet93 on Hold your colour

1 month ago

Kagiyama

Buried Ruin - Recursion

Sanctum of Ugin - Tutor

Basalt Monolith + Forsaken monument = {C}{INFINITY}

Gerrard's Hourglass Pendant + Emrakul = Good synergy. Hourglass helps with recursion from a vandablast.

Maybe a Vedalken Orrery/Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter/Skittering Cicada for flash so you don't overextend as easily? Colorless decks almost always have high cmc and lots of artifacts so any opponent worth their salt after a few games should recognize this and adjust their plan. This helps keep them guessing. Not necessary but nice to have.

Rings of Brighthearth + Basalt Monolith + 2 mana = {C}{INFINITY} + top = Cast your entire deck

Rings + Voltaic Key (swap out manifold) + everflowing chalice (4 counters) = {C}{INFINITY}

Metalworker + Rings + Voltaic key = {C}{INFINITY}

Card Draw - Colorless doesn't have too much, you already run both kozileks which is great. Commander is a value engine which is nice. You could add a Staff of Nin for more but IMO it's not needed. How do you feel your card situation is?

Removal - Colorless has expensive removal options, you have all the good ones. Everything seems solid.

Mana Curve - A bit high but understandable for a colorless deck, especially with your commander. You could add more ramp should you feel you need. I usually recommend the most ramp in Kozilek commander decks because your commander is a draw source but here I'm unsure. Your ramp seems sufficient, how do you feel?

Profet93 on Affinity for Rubber Chickens (Chiss-Goria EDH)

1 month ago

seshiro_of_the_orochi

Mystic Forge + Top + artifact cost reducer = Draw your deck. Forge is great "draw" so to speak as well.

Ugin, the Ineffable - "Draw", removal and ramp

Buried Ruin/Gerrard's Hourglass Pendant - Recursion

Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter/Vedalken Orrery - Flash. Might be anti-synergstic with the haste commander but mitigates over-extending and allows your "trigger each turn" card to trigger more often. Plus, isn't it cool to be like the blue player?

Maybe Strionic Resonator - Double attack and ETB's, also note Lithoform Engine for flexibility

Mycosynth Lattice

Profet93 on Liberator of Cinnamon Rings

1 month ago

Sanctum of Ugin - Tutor

Eye of Ugin - Tutor + Ramp

Buried Ruin - Recursion

Mystic forge + Sensei's Divining Top + artifact cost reducer = draw your whole deck

Basalt Monolith + forsaken monument = {INFINITY}{C}

Rings of Brighthearth + basalt + 2 mana = {INFINITY}{C} + top = draw + cast your entire deck

Rings + voltaic key + Everflowing Chalice (4 counters) = {INFINITY}{C}

Metal worker + voltaic key + rings = {INFINITY}{C}

Scorched Ruins + Rings + Deserted Temple = {INFINITY}{C}. Temple has the added benefit of politics or ramp with urza land.

Emrakul, the Promised End + Gerrard's Hourglass Pendant = Strong synergy, each piece is good on it's like (like many of the combos I've listed)

Karn, the Great Creator + lattice = Hard lock

To synergize with darksteel monolith, you could add some flash (which also has the added benefit of limiting your overextension into a boardwipe) such as Vedalken Orrery/Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter/Skittering Cicada

Blinkmoth Well + Blinkmoth Urn = One sided ramp. Well can deal with opposing artifacts and urn always makes you ahead. Should you feel inclined, Winter Orb might be worth it (if you don't like friends) as you can break parity with it. Even if you can't, you use primarily artifact ramp anyways. It can help slow down the faster pace decks.

TheBestMagicCard on Emrakul, the Promised End

7 months ago

Hey Profet93, thanks for the comment!

I do think Rings of Brighthearth is a great card, but I've excluded it mostly because, on it's own, it doesn't do anything...

Forsaken Monument, for example, = infinite mana with Basalt Monolith, but is also an incredible ramp card on it's own. This is basically the same reason that I've also excluded it from my Atraxa - Planeswalkers-Poison-Proliferate-Turns, even though it seems like an auto-include in that deck as well, in my opinion. I like Rings of Brighthearth a lot, but I really don't like looking at it on the battlefield without a combo piece, it's just a dead card then.

Aside from infinite mana, there are a bunch of other abilities that it could copy, like Planar Bridge, etc... However, the Rings only copies activated abilities, and I would sooner include cards like Lithoform Engine or Abstruse Archaic, as these cards also copy triggered abilities, like the cast triggers on Eldrazi, specifically Ulamog and Emrakrul, or Unwinding Clock's untap. Lithoform Engine and Abtruse Archaic both have somewhat more utility than the Rings, but as of yet, I still haven't squeezed them in either, again because I still feel like they just aren't good enough on their own without another combo piece.

Voltaic Construct fits into this "doesn't really do anything on it's own" category as well, and arguably is an even worse include than the Rings, Engine, or Archaic, but it's a lot easier to tutor up with cards like Eye of Ugin, Sanctum of Ugin, and especially Scrapyard Recombiner. Voltaic Construct + Metalworker and two artifacts in hand = infinite mana, which is pretty easy to assemble, and Metalworker is just a house on it's own. Voltaic Construct can also count for {2} towards Emrakrul's casting cost in the graveyard...

Ultimately, I would like to include any of these copy-an-ability cards, if not all of them, but when I have, it just feels bad to have them sitting around doing nothing. Also, I kind of don't really need to copy abilities like that, as it turns out. I've found this deck to be pretty strong, and copying abilities often seems kind of win-more and win-less at the same time. Copying doesn't always make as big of an effect as it might seem... although copying a Planar Bridge ability could put two combo pieces in, the Bridge can also chain out anyways that with Clock of Omens, which is also a really powerful card, even though it also fits into the "doesn't really do anything on it's own" category, but I think is still better than any of the afore mentioned cards ...

I haven't included Voltaic Key either, for the same reasons basically, although I think this is really a card that should be in here. I guess I've also partly not included Rings of Brighthearth because I haven't included Voltaic Key either. I would put the Key in before the Rings, but I'm still not sure about the Rings. I think I decided to include Unwinding Clock instead of Voltaic Key, because, even though it's more expensive, it is really really REALLY powerful!!! With Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter and mana rocks, this mimics Prophet of Kruphix, which I think is rightfully banned becuase it's way too powerful for one card...

The Top trick with the Rings is cool, and more card draw is definitely welcome in this deck. This combo ultimately reads, "{3}: Draw a card", but... I guess I've just come to the conclusion that there are already kind of a lot of "doesn't do anything on it's own" cards in here, so I've had to really pick the most powerful ones, and I guess I feel like the Rings just aren't powerful enough even when they do work, as they can only be activated once per ability. Clock of Omens, for example, can untap something a bunch of times, effectively "copying" abilities by just untapping something and activating it again. Also, Sensei's Divining Top + Jhoira's Familiar and Mystic Forge combo to draw the deck out for no mana once assembled, and these two cards are powerful on their own.

I like Wayfarer's Bauble a lot, and still want to include it. I think it is ultimately much better than Wanderer's Twig and Traveler's Amulet, which are both admittedly kind of bad cards.
The only reason I really include these at all is to get an artifact in the graveyard for Emrakrul's mana cost reduction, and to ensure land drops. Notably, multiple cards of one type still only count for {1}, so often times it's redundant anyways. I think the reason I kept the Twig and Amulet in instead of Wayfarer's Bauble, is I kind of see the Bauble as a mana rock that adds {1} but costs{3}, which I do not think is acceptable. The only rock that cost {3} and makes {1} which is included is The Celestus because it also has card draw attached to it, and it can be tutored for with Moonsilver Key, for the card draw.

Even though the Twig and Bauble aren't technically ramp, they do help ensure a land drop every turn, which is think is important. There's already 36 lands in the deck, which is a lot for how many mana rocks are included, but I really want a land drop every turn if I can help it. I've tried to minimize high mana cost cards, even though there's so much mana in here, because it's still possible to get mana screwed if you have just a bunch of expensive cards in hand and not enought mana! Technically there's 38 lands in here currently, but I've put Eye of Ugin and City of Traitors in their own "Special" category, as I consider them to act more like artifacts then lands, as they don't always do what just a land that taps for mana does. They're unreliable for just basic mana, I guess. I'm thinking of putting Temple of the False God in, and I would also include this in the "Special" category for the same reason, being that it can't always be relied upon for mana like a regular land...

The most recent addition has been The Irencrag, which I myself think is funny to fit in over any of these other cards, but the consistency of early ramp is too important. Assuming that {2} mana rocks will continued to be printed, I wonder what the limit to include will be! I actually took out Foundry Inspector to do this, which I don't like doing, and I might try to fit the Inspector in again first. But I think Karn, Legacy Reforged is on the top of the list for inclusions. Even though the mana he makes can't be used to cast Eldrazi, he'll be a huge beater, and will help cast and activate all those expensive artifacts.

My ideas are just what I've found to work playing the deck, and are by no means like, the way the deck should be built though!

Thanks for the comment!!! Very relevant, and totally valid. I will definitely try to fit Voltaic Key in again though, and reconsider Rings of Brighthearth, but actually I'll try Manifold Key first!

I hope that provided some interesting insight into my cards choices...

NV_1980 on Urza, The High Lord

7 months ago

What's the gameplan? Go infinite-mana and then use Urza's activated ability (this seems to be the gameplan of most Urza, High Lord Artificer decks I come across)? Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter seems like a fun include. All your important stuff gains flash and its a decent combatant. It also adds flavor to the deck :) I would also throw Cityscape Leveler in here, since your deck has very few removal options in its current setup.

Profet93 on Annihilate with Rocks

8 months ago

Very detailed response, thank you!

1. Top > Mazemind Tome - Tome is okay but best cast you get it out early game and pay 4 mana to replace the maze or 6 mana to draw an extra card. Scrying is eh IMO whereas digging 3 more cards works with Kozilek quite well.

2. Controversial: Voltaic Key > Karn Liberated - This one is a bit controversial given you need removal in the deck. Its expensive removal, a better version of Scour from Existence. How often do you find yourself using it? Maybe voltiac key is overkill, but whether you add Key or not, Karn is high CMC should be cut to reduce the avg cmc of the deck.

3. Blinkmoth Well > Arch of Orazca - Costs way too much and war room is better redundancy. Ask yourself, how often do you even use it? I know you need draw but its weak

4. Reviewing your list further, I actually believe Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter is not needed anymore. I didn't realize you had Skittering Cicada as your redundancy. Could swap out skittering for Liberator but thats personal choice should you wish.

5. Controversial: You could take out doubling cube because it's winmore, not sure how your experience with it has been. This could make room for Oblivion Sower as it's "Ramp" so to speak, is less artifact based so you don't put all your eggs into a basket of Vandablast/artifact removal.

6. Ulamog Ceaseless Hunger > Rogue's Passage - I usually hate cutting lands but in a deck like this with lots of artifact ramp, I think you could cut 1-2 and still be perfectly fine, definitely worth experimenting with. I understand a potential consideration could be not drawing enough lands given your land of draw. The way I see Kozilek is sort of a glass cannon. You either ramp yourself into your commander for card draw, or die trying. Having more lands which you need more interaction or ramp is not ideal. Rogue's passage costs a lot and your commander has evasion anyways.

7. Metalworker - Is this in your maybeboard due to $? I see no mention of budget in the deck and I see some expensive cards so I'm unsure. Land of your choice could be potential cut.

8. Sanctum of Eternity > Drownyard Temple. Perhaps I'm missing something but I don't see the value in drownyard aside from scorched ruins. Sanctum allows you to refill your hand with your commander and respond to removal (on ur turn) should they attempt to removal it in response to equipping greaves/boots.

9. Controversial: Rise of the Eldrazi > Artisan of Kozilek. Artisan seems good on paper but isn't ideal under certain scenarios ..... A) Your creatures are mostly cast triggers, not ETB. Yes, powerful creature to return is nice, but paying 9 mana? I want something more. B) GY hate/Eldrazi Shuffle triggers. Very often in my meta people respond to GY recursion by destroying Kozilek or making me sac Ulamog to shuffle grave. Rise of Eldrazi provides you with A) Draw which you need B) Removal C) Extra turn/"haste"

Let me know what you think :)

MrHighscore on Annihilate with Rocks

8 months ago

Profet93 thanks for the feedback and valued suggestions!

Sensei's Divining Top, Voltaic Key and Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter were actually the last cuts I made before publishing this edition.

Just for me - and any readers - sanity, I'll summarize here.

I already have the following pieces in the deck

• Mystic Forge
• Rings of Brighthearth
• Basalt Monolith
• Everflowing Chalice
• Blinkmoth Urn
• Ugin, the Ineffable
• Vedalken Orrery

You are suggesting I add

1. Sensei's Divining Top (+2 powerful combos).
   1. combo 1: Mystic Forge + Sensei's Divining Top + Ugin, the Ineffable : As much draw as I want
   2. combo 2: Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth + Sensei's Divining Top : As much draw as I want
   3. combo 3: Great for finding the right CMC card to sink into Kozilek, the Great Distortion's counter ability. This was my initial thought for short-listing it
2. Voltaic Key (+2 combos).
   1. combo 1: Everflowing Chalice + Rings of Brighthearth + Voltaic Key (4 counters required) : Infinite mana
   2. combo 2: Doubling Cube + Rings of Brighthearth + Voltaic Key (Use extra trigger to untap Voltaic Key) : Infinite mana
   3. combo 3: It's also carries it weight with some of the 2+ rocks.
3. Blinkmoth Well to turn off Blinkmoth Urn on my opponents turns
4. Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter as redundancy for Vedalken Orrery

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1. Since it ends up being useful in at least 3 case, and is useful on it's own, this would be a nice addition.
2. It's fine. On top of my head, I'm more worried about consistent mana rocks than infinite.
3. Not too important, but not an annoyance either. Would just need to cut another land (not Wastes, need those for fetching basics)
4. Would be nice, but again, what to cut?! :)

I'm keen on adding Sensei's Divining Top and Voltaic Key but have a hard time coming up with cuts.

I want a reasonable chance to have a starting hand with enough mana and enough rocks to go off in round 4 or 5. Generally infinite mana only does so much for me. Once I get past the first cast of Kozilek, the Great Distortion I'll most likely have enough value to keep it going.

What would you cut?

Cheers

Profet93 on Druken Distortion

9 months ago

Lots of good cards to add for sure. Curious what the swaps will be after some testing. I enjoy that colorless is getting more removal, much needed.

Do note that Darksteel Monolith states each turn so if you add the Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter or the new version of it, it can be useful.

Cant wait to see how the deck improves further! :D