Steel Golem

Artifact Creature — Golem

You can't play creature spells.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Modern Beyond Horizons	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (51)

legendofa on Is WotC Being Inconsistent in …

9 months ago

I personally see a distinction between downsides and restrictions. Both are ways to limit the utility of the card, but downsides give you an outsized effect for the cost, but it actively hinders or harms you, while a restriction limits when or how the effect can be used.

Like, Volcanic Spite doesn't have a downside because it can't hurt players. That's a restriction. Similarly, the "activate only one per turn" clause isn't a downside because it doesn't actively hurt you or prevent you from playing. It simply limits how it can be used.

A couple of downside examples would be Steel Golem, which prevents you from casting any more creature spells, or Demonic Pact, which gives you lots of resources, but will cause you to straight up lose eventually.

Basically, if you would want to Donate it to an opponent, it's a downside. If you want to keep it but use it more often, it's a restriction. If it simply costs too much (Ember Shot) it's inefficient.

Licecolony on Goaded With The Sauce

1 year ago

I really like your manifest take on Jon. Consider Dulcet Sirens. It's a clever way to mitigate risk of having those horrible creatures for yourself. I'll definitely be adding Crawlspace and Endless Whispers to my list.

Suggested removals from deck Plague Reaver. While it's a nice card to give away, the turn you play it you'll have to sacrifice Jon Irenicus to Plague Reaver's trigger regardless of which order you put the abilities onto the stack. You'd rather not lose Jon.

Gisa, Glorious Resurrector. It's something you can't give away, which means it's good when you're ahead, but not great when you're behind,. Your mileage may vary, but I think getting something more immediately impactful on the board tends to be best.

Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker. You're not running a mill strategy, you'll only be filling the graveyard of dedicate graveyard decks.

Taniwha. I love this creature and totally understand running it for the memes, but phasing triggers before your upkeep, which means that when you give it away, it'll be phased out for the first turn under your opponent, so they'll keep their lands and you won't draw a card from Jon's ability. The turn cycle has to make two full rounds before Taniwha does anything.

Tergrid, God of Fright  ^Flip. Unlike Sheoldred, Tergrid doesn't make the opponent do either of its effects. It's another creature you don't want to give away, and Jon makes cards unsacrificeable. It just won't trigger much unless you're against a sacrifice deck.

Ensnaring Bridge. The creatures you donate will often be quite big. Ensnaring bridge will prevent them from attacking your opponents and deny you card draw.

Chromatic Lantern. It's only good if you need the mana fixing. You don't need the mana fixing. Try something like Thought Vessel or Decanter of Endless Water or Midnight Clock instead.

Assault Suit doesn't goad the creatures itself. Often they'll swing at you if possible.

Dissipation Field. Not as good as it looks. Doubles ETB triggers. Anti synergy with cards like Endless Whispers.

No Mercy Jon just has better options for this slot. If you can replace a non-creature with a creature in this deck, you usually want to.

Grave Betrayal. That's 7 mana for a card that could ruin your game by forcing you to revive bad cards you do not want.

Diplomatic Immunity. You want instant speed protection and protection from board wipes. Something like March of Swirling Mist is more versatile offensively and defensively.

Dark Ritual. I'm uncertain what you're trying to ramp into so quickly that you would need this. Maybe I'm wrong.

Countersquall. You may as well play the one mana version in An Offer You Can't Refuse.

Redirect may be bested by Narset's Reversal? That's a matter of opinion.

AEtherize risks bouncing creatures attacking other opponents such as those you've goaded but want them to keep. Try replacing this with a more versatile effect like Reins of Power or a more aggressive effect in Illusionist's Gambit.

Damnation. Jon prefers sacrifice board wipes so that your opponents keep their shit creatures.

Overall I think you could run less counter-magic in favor of more proactive effects.

Cards to Consider Creatures Generally I want to focus on adding creatures that you can give away and then steal back later to win the game.

With Jon, you often want cheap evasive creatures to give out for early card draw with his ability. Right now you have 1 two-drop creature. Throwing in a Changeling Outcast or a Slither Blade can mean you can give a creature away for cheap and still hold up mana for other things. Slither blade wouldn't die to Heartless Summoning too.

In the two-drop slot, you can run creatures that are more defensive like Baleful Strix, or give you card draw like Sygg, River Cutthroat or just more powerful creatures like Flesh Reaver which is a goaded 6/6 that can deal 12 damage a turn or Wretched Anurid. Heck, you can even add a versatile two-drop in Dimir Infiltrator which can be given away in the early game or used as a tutor in the late-game.

In the three drop slot, I think your idea of adding Steel Golem is a great one to make sure the only creatures your opponent has are the ones you're giving them. It's a brutal card. Rotting Regisaur is a card you don't mind giving away early, and can take back later to win. Phyrexian Soulgorger can be donated to an opponent as a goaded 10/10. They won't have to pay the upkeep, but that's a great body to give someone as a political tool. Cephalid Facetaker is also worth consideration though I personally don't run it.

In the four-drop slot, like you mentioned, Grid Monitor is a proactive creature counter. Abyssal Persecutor can save you from death. Archfiend of the Dross is risky but fun (it comes back to your control after the opponent dies).

In the 5-drop slot, both of the evil-eye cards are absolute ALL STARS. They work so well every game I've drawn them. They can also replace some of your weaker defenses like No Mercy and Dissipation Field

As a sidenote, I also like Deep-Sea Kraken as an unblockable 8/8 that can win you the game with homeward path.

Removal I recommend running more sacrifice-based removal since it'll mean your opponents keep the crap you give them. Things like Tergrid's Shadow or Vona's Hunger or All is Dust (one of my favorites) or Killing Wave. I also prefer Toxic Deluge to some of your other removal since it goes through hexproof. Curse of the Swine is also an exile effect that can be selective and works really well. You can also run single-target removal like Reality Shift or Pongify if you'd rather instant speed interaction. Feed the Swarm is quality. If you really don't care about cruelty, you can run Torment of Hailfire, but that card is honestly always too boring for me to want in my decks.

Card Draw Jon has access to some great card draw that most decks can't take advantage of. Fateful Handoff is a card draw spell that also donates (though does not goad). Sygg, River Cutthroat works well with evasive threats you give away (though should not be donated). Verity Circle works great with Jon's ability since it donates the creature first, and then taps it down. Teferi's Ageless Insight allows you to double your draw triggers from Jon.

Equipment Remember that you can donate creatures while they're equipped and you still control the equipment so they can't re-equip it. Pact Weapon makes the attacking creature bigger, while ensuring you can't die, and will draw you another card whenever the donated creature attacks. Dowsing Dagger  ^Flip works effectively on evasive creature to get you ramped. Vorpal Sword is a win condition on your unblockable evasive creatures.

Goad Dulcet Sirens, Bloodthirsty Blade.

Misc Graveyard removal is king. Throw in a Scavenger Grounds. My favorite card to run is Reality Shift. Make an Avenger of Zendikar spawn a dozen Wretched Anurids. It's not GREAT, but it is always funny. Cultural Exchange is a fun time too with all your manifest and shitty creatures.

That is all. Hope it was helpful.

DrukenReaps on Bad gifts commanders

1 year ago

Only one I can think of that you are missing is Jon Irenicus, Shattered One. I was going to build around him, even made the deck online here Irenicus' Experimental "Donations". Only didn't go through with it after the tests didn't really feel fun to me. Neat concept though. Might revisit it sometime. Though since you mentioned goad he might be just right for you?

It can definitely be hard to balance some decks that need to protect a strategy with still doing the thing... A superfriends list I made was led by Kardur, Doomscourge. Cutting me off from a lot of great walkers but putting goad on a stick in my command zone. Made it hard for folks to clobber my walkers and made other protective effects almost entirely redundant.

I dunno if you could do a similar thing with this strategy? Pack your protection into your command zone and then gift in other ways? Might not be enough gifting cards to make it consistent...

So your deck has 6 parts to it in total. On top of draw, mana, and removal that most decks need to function, you also have gifts, givers, and protection.

Start looking at where you can overlap these things. If you only need 1 giver, your commander, that helps open some slots for other things. If a gift is Steel Golem that can help protect by stopping a creature deck almost entirely until removed. Since you're already using stax pieces in the form of gifts it wouldn't hurt to throw in some traditional stax pieces. Instead of pillow forting why not Smoke, Winter Orb, and friends?

Licecolony on Dimir Donation

2 years ago

• Flesh Reaver
• Cultural Exchange
• Wrong Turn
• Steel Golem
• Grid Monitor
• Evil Eye of Urborg
• Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore
• Mystic Reflection

legendofa on Jankest/Worst Artifacts

2 years ago

Sandstone Deadfall falls into the "hugely overpriced and inefficient" category, along with Aladdin's Ring, Amulet of Kroog, and Razorfield Thresher if you want creatures. On the subject of creatures, you got Steel Golem and Geist-Fueled Scarecrow, which actively work against you.

ClockworkSwordfish on Creature Donation Ideas

2 years ago

If you want to think outside the box, try Phyrexian Negator. Every time it's blocked, its controller is losing a bushel of hard-earned permanents. Of course, you can always help the process along by pointing a Consume Spirit or Essence Extraction at the Negator!

Other good options include Gutwrencher Oni, Grinning Demon, Scourge of Numai, Pitiless Horde, Steel Golem, Grid Monitor, Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore, Evil Eye of Urborg, Archdemon of Greed  ^Flip, Abyssal Persecutor, Ebonblade Reaper, Thrashing Mudspawn, Wretched Anurid, Ebon Drake, Moroii, Rotting Regisaur, Flesh Reaver, Asmodeus the Archfiend and the truly deplorable Infernal Denizen.

NV_1980 on To My Grateful Patrons.

2 years ago

Hi m8,

Please help me out, I am trying to figure out the worth of cards like Grid Monitor and Steel Golem. The only situation in which I can see them work really well are in 1-on-1 games or games in which you're trying to disable a (or multiple) creature-heavy deck(s), and all other opponents want the same thing. If this is not the case, whomever you give these critters to will just use em to attack someone (and hopefully for them, get these things killed off). What am I not seeing here?

As for useful additions, Oath of Lim-Dul seems an excellent addition (especially against players who cannot generate black mana). Form of the Dragon also seems like fun, though its expensive to cast.

Kind regards,

NV_1980

Omniscience_is_life on What’s your “dick move” moment?

3 years ago

This is something that I only witnessed across the table, but it's too good not to share.

We were playing some casual 5 player commander, with me on Reyav, Master Smith, and my opponents on Marwyn, the Nurturer, Nethroi, Apex of Death, Blim, Comedic Genius, and Otrimi, the Ever-Playful/Umori, the Collector-creatures. This pre-HBer ban, and the Otrimi player has a commanding boardstate with both Opposition Agent and Hullbreacher. The Blim player has a Steel Golem, though, and he gets it through--shutting the Otrimi player out of the game entirely for about 5 turns till he gets a Murderous Rider off.

This Sultai player is one of the most level-headed people I know, but he kept shaking his head and saying "dude, I'm on all creatures..."