While Breya, Etherium Shaper is as an intimidating Commander as any when she is flipped face up at the table, the true captain of this deck is the currency-vomiting Smothering Tithe. We have a number of ways to protect it (various counterspells, Boros Charm, Teferi's Protection); recur it (Dance of the Manse, Hall of Heliod's Generosity; and abuse it (Anointed Procession, Mirrormade). Once those treasures are pumping, we can indeed use Breya's various abilities to control the board and/or take out a player or two. But really, this deck is looking to win through a number of alternate win conditions that take advantage of our potentially large amount of treasures/artifacts.
1) First up, Revel in Riches, where I win the game if I have 10 Treasures during my upkeep. This plus a board wipe is classic, but keep in mind I may already have a bunch of treasures on the board from Smothering Tithe shenanigans.
2) The second win condition is Hellkite Tyrant where I win if I have twenty or more artifacts during my upkeep. Slap a Lightning Greaves on this greedy dragon for immediate results.
3) Next up we have Mechanized Production where I am looking for 8 or more artifacts with the same name. Treasures!
4) New-ish addition Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge from War of the Spark. His +2 ability is all we need here to start draining the table for huge chunks of life. The affinity is just gravy.
5) And finally, with Breya's gain life ability, we have Felidar Sovereign. I can pay 2, sac two artifacts, and gain 5 life. That will let me hit those big life totals pretty quickly and unexpectedly with all those Treasures.
All of these win conditions also are powered up by various enablers.
1) The previously mentioned Teferi's protection can phase me out straight to my upkeep if I have a looming wincon in place.
2) Vedalken Orrery + Leyline of Anticipation can make all of these far more spicy and unexpected.
3) Windfall or Wheel of Fortune on an opponent with Smothering Tithe down can give me just enough treasures/artifacts to take the game.
4) We have some other ways to make treasures: Dockside Extortionist. Brass's Bounty, and Spell Swindle.
5) And finally, the IMO underplayed Time Sieve. Need to get to your next upkeep to hit a wincon? Just sac some artifacts. Want to keep pinging everyone with Tezzeret? Take another turn!
So that is it folks! Enjoy and let me know suggestions.
Record: 10-18, 36% win percentage
October 2021 Deck Changes
In
Shimmer Dragon - with all my artifact lands and mana rocks should pretty much always have hexproof when it hits the board. Some powerful card advantage if I have any sort of treasure presence.
Out
Boros Signet - Officially i prefer talisman's to signets
November 2021 Deck Changes
In
Reckless Endeavor - I think I want this in here. Viewing it as a second copy of Brass's Bounty which I'm never sad to see. Only thing is - it could whiff, though it is unlikely. AND if i have creatures out I cant risk wiping, it is a dead card. If my board is blank though its great. And it is a fun card.
Arcane Denial - had previously cut this, but think i want it back
Phyrexian Metamorph - serves a similar function to mirrormade. worst comes to worst - can copy a dual artifact indestructible land. also on my side, can target dockside, ichor wellspring, thought monitor, solemn, sol ring. and the upside... best creature on the battlefield. lots of shenanigans i can pull with flash speed too - someone goes to blow up breya, make a copy of her. think the upside is worth replacing a two mana rock
Out
Talisman of Conviction - cut for arcane denial
Thopter Assembly - I want to remove the two card combo this has with Time Sieve. That also means the deck can't go infinite. So feel less gross when I win. Also without Time Sieve this is just a dead card in my hand. The metamorph should be more versatile and fun
Izzet Signet - cut for reckless endeavor. hopefully i'm not cutting too deep on ramp here. if i think i am, artificer's epiphany is probably cuttable
December 2021 Deck Changes
In
Esper Sentinel - amazing card advantage on a synergistic artifact!? yes please!
Storm the Vault
- had this card in the deck back in the day. but what really pushed this back into the picture is the new artifact lands. i more than doubled my artifact land count - which means it is extremely likely i flip this the turn i play it - which is the goal. and at that point, the card is bonkers.
Stroke of Genius - also had this card back in the day. wanted a proper card draw spell to replace fact or fiction - see below. also ran out of gas in the prior game with the deck - x draw spells always help with that, scaling up. the real reason we're going with this over a better card IMO in Pull From Tomorrow is that if smothering tithe is out - there may be scenarios i want to stroke of genius an opponent to create a ton of treasures.
Out
Fact or Fiction - realized this is a nonbo with Alhammarret's Archive
Orzhov Signet - cuttable ramp - i had added a ton of talismans a few months ago so had some extra fat to trim
Read the Bones - been eyeing this to cut for a while. solid but not premium card draw.
January 2022 Deck Changes
In
Mirrodin Besieged - 3 cmc ‘do nothing’ loot enchantment. I have 24 artifacts/artifact creatures that can go to the yard. Plus 12 artifact lands. Plus breya. So 37 total , approx 1/3 of my deck, are artifact permanents that can go to the yard. 40% plus of those, 15, have to be in the yard for me to Death Star a player on my end step. I do have wheel of fortune and windfall, which help. It is also anti vandalblast protection. But doesn’t really help me against bane of progress, merciless eviction, austere command, cleansing nova, as they’ll just kill the enchantment. However… maybe it will just soak up spot removal? Which i don’t hate if they remove. I can also recur it. If I play it early - it is value looting, doubling the cards I see. If I play it late - maybe it is just a surprise kill someone. Breya can also help me fill the yard unexpectedly by sacing my board. I think it’s good! It’s going in! If I’m way behind and top deck this - could kill someone out of nowhere. Obviously flash it in etc is good.
Out
Reckless Endeavor - the ceiling on this card is extremely high. wipe the board and make a handful of treasures. the problem is the floor is really low - a board wipe that can fail i think is unplayable.
February 2022 Deck Changes
In
Access Denied - thopter version of spell swindle. less good, but still has sneaky synergy with many aspects of the deck - anointed procession, time sieve, tezzeret, hellkite tyrant, mechanized production, etc. plus it is very fun
Dispatch - why not another swords/path. i always have 3 artifacts by the midgame.
Visions of Ruin - i think this card is underrated. and i need more treasure creation.
Out
Alhammarret's Archive - 'do nothing' card at 5 cmc.
Rise and Shine - this is often a dead card like opalescence was in mono white. plus it isn't an 'alternate' win con
Shimmer Dragon - tough to have creature based draw at 6 cmc. really risky to get blown up.
May 2022 Deck Changes
In
Fact or Fiction - run out of gas a lot in this deck. one blue pip is nice
An Offer You Can't Refuse - another copy of swan song
Out
Access Denied - definitively worst than spell swindle, hard not to cut from 5 to 1 cmc for a good counterspell
Mirrodin Besieged - i think mirrodin encourages people to smack me and so rarely wins.
June 2022 Deck Changes
In
Blood Money - removes a lot of the issues i had with Reckless Endeavor. Another way to make a ton of treasures.
Out
Artificer's Epiphany - always tough to cut card draw, hopefully i don't run out of gas
November 2022 Deck Changes
In
Spectator Seating - stealing this from Marisi. adding an extra land to all my decks this month
Out
Visions of Ruin - waste of a card kind of - if i dont care about my opponents artifacts.
February 2023 Deck Changes
In
Monumental Corruption - draw a ton or kill someone
Out
Solemn Simulacrum - think 4 cmc for this card doesn't quite cut it anymore
April 2024 Deck Changes
In
Island
Stroke of Midnight - great removal
Shimmer Dragon - draw! will almost always be immediately hexproof
Izzet Signet - more ramp
Talisman of Conviction - ""
Orzhov Signet - ""
Reckless Fireweaver - trying this new direction of the deck - will add more
Mayhem Devil - ""
Training Grounds - seems good in v2 of the deck?
Baleful Strix - always liked this card - good to try
Out
Felidar Sovereign - moving away from generic alt win con into pingers
Mechanized Production - ""
Hall of Heliod's Generosity - always awkward for fixing
Academy Ruins - ""
Ichor Wellspring - been on the bubble a while
Mirrormade - generic good stuff, cuttable
Phyrexian Metamorph - ""
deck:Time Sieve - moving away from this combo style
Arcane Denial - cuttable, other counter spells
Leyline of Anticipation - cuttable moving away from alt win cons
