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BMoor's Magic The
Gathering Deck Garage
"Karn's Crazy Colorless Control Deck"
July 7, 2011
I know i'm not the type of person to go
public with a deck concept (after all, it is
only a concept right now) that i have only
tried a couple of times
I will try to keep this as short as
possible:
i was coming home from an errand. it had been a long
day, so i wanted to relax, watch The Magic
Show and Magic Tv on youtube and play some
magic (i have a few decks i can play against
each other). Well, when i put my key into
the back door, a thought occurred: Colorless
Control with Karn!
I went to my room and pulled out some land, a few
artifacts, etc. When i felt somewhat
satisfied, i asked a friend to come over and
help me test a concept deck i had just
built. he obliged.
After a few rounds of testing it against his decks i
found it to be about average (his decks are
well balanced for testing).
The deck however seems like it could use
some work, so i was wondering if you could
help my Colorless Control deck, i like the
idea and do not know whether it has been
done before.
this is the list of cards:
Land:
Urza's Tower X4
Urza's Powerplant X4
Urza's Mine X4
Cloudpost X4
Temple of the False God X4
Creatures:
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn X1
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth X1
Karn, Silver Golem X1
Triskelion X1
Steel Hellkite X3
Wurncoil Engine X4
Artifacts:
Chimeric Mass X1
Tower of Calamities X1
Contagion Clasp X4
Mindslaver X4
Lux Cannon X4
Contagion Engine X2
Elixir of Immortality X2
Temple Bell X1
Everflowing Chalice X4
Vedalken Orrery X1
Teferi's Puzzle Box X1
Crystal Ball X1
Planeswalkers:
Karn Liberated X3
I know how you feel about having 1 copy of
spells, so feel free to change them if you
feel it would be beneficial, i would ask,
however, that you do not add any cards that
require color for mana costs (even phyrexian
mana) or in their abilities.
Considering what i had to work with the deck
runs well, but more often than not i end up
doing nothing for a couple of turns.
The deck does win, and when it does, it wins
big, but it does not win often.
In summation: Please help my deck run
better! i can get my hands on a wide
selection of cards, so just about anything
is within reason.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm sorry I haven't gotten to this deck
sooner, but I suppose it is nice that I get
to fix it with the benefit of knowing what's
in M12. Sadly, I don't think there's
going to be much useful to you in the set.
I'd love to suggest Solemn Simulacrum, but
of course you don't run any basic lands for
it to fetch. I think the best new jewel
you'll pluck out of M12's treasure chest is
the nonbasic land, Buried Ruin.
But let's do your land base first this time
around instead of saving it for last, shall
we? I couldn't help but notice that your use
of the Urzatron (and Teferi's Puzzle Box,
Karn, and Vedalken Orrery) are the only
things stopping this deck from being
Standard-legal. Would you like to be able to
take this deck to Standard tournaments? Now
that Stoneforge Mystic and Jace the Mind
Sculptor have been banned, the metagame is
sure to be disrupted enough for you to catch
it off guard with a quirky deck like this,
and lower-tier tournaments like Friday Night
Magic are probably suitable for a deck like
this anyway.
So, if you want this to be a Standard deck,
we'll need some Standard lands that don't
tap for colored mana. That's not as tall of
an order as it sounds, even though it won't
be as strong as the Urzatron I'm afraid.
Dread Statuary and Inkmoth Nexus are
probably your best bets, giving you extra
win conditions as well as being lands. Since
you've got a few Eldrazi titans, Eldrazi
Temple and even Eye of Ugin are worth
considering. Glimmerpost doesn't glimmer so
brightly without Cloudpost and Vesuva, but
still works and still contributes a point or
two of life, which a control deck can always
use-- though Phyrexia's Core may be better
at providing it.. Mystifying Maze and
Quicksand can keep attackers off your back,
and Tectonic Edge can keep Valakut and other
troublesome lands off your lawn. And Buried
Ruin is perfect for reassembling any
Shattered artifacts you might need.
Of course, you'd also need to replace the
Puzzle Box,
Orrery, and Karn, Silver Golem.
No matter. A few additional copies of Elixir
of Immortality and Chimeric Mass would be a
fine way to do that. In fact, I'd advise
that anyway-- between Lux Cannon, a
double-kicked Chalice, and the activation
cost of the Contagion Clasps and Engines,
you don't need anything more at the
four-drop spot, and both the Elixir and the
Mass can be dropped cheaply while still
being useful in the later stages of the
game. Don't be afraid to drop an early
Chimeric Mass for only 2, or even 1. A
smaller Mass is a less threatening Mass, and
you've got enough repeatable proliferate to
ensure that it grows to fit your need.
Furthermore, this deck NEEDS All is Dust.
All is Dust won't destroy anything on your
side of the table, but will frequently be a
complete board wipe for your opponents.
Control decks need card advantage, and
killing two or more birds with one stone is
their favorite way of getting it.
Another way of getting it, and of bringing
your mana curve down a bit, thus making you
more likely to be able to do things in the
early turns of the game, is Ichor
Wellspring. Though if you don't add
Phyrexia's Core or another sacrifice outlet,
you may be better off with your Crystal
Ball... but not your Temple Bell. Giving
your opponent cards is not a wise decision
unless you've got some sort of combo with
it.
Throne of Geth, however, makes an excellent
sacrifice outlet as well as giving you mroe
opportunities to proliferate-- and between
Lux Cannon and Karn Liberated, you can
benefit from every proliferation you can
generate. Sacrificing your artifacts to do
so may seem counterproductive, but Throne of
Geth is a great way to get one last use out
of an artifact currently staring down the
barrel of an artifact kill spell, and would
combo deftly with Ichor Wellspring to help
you dig for more artifacts.
If you have no interest in this deck being
Standard-legal, my advice to you remains
largely the same. Obviously you no longer
have to remove Karn, Silver Golem, but I'd
still suggest removing the Puzzle Box and
the Orrery-- they don't do enough and you're
clogged at the four-drop slot. You can leave
in the Urzatron and the Cloudpost, but still
consider adding Glimmerpost (to charge the
Cloudposts) and Buried Ruin (to recycle
Mindslavers and other destroyed artifacts)
But outside of Standard, your best bet for
extra card draw is most likely Conjurer's
Bauble or Mind's Eye instead of Ichor
Wellspring. Kuldotha Forgemaster can also
get you whatever card you need, unless said
card is Karn Liberated or All is Dust (which
you still need in or out of Standard).
I hope this has helped you, whether or not
you decide to take this deck across the
chasm separating Casual from Constructed.
Good luck, in whatever decision you make!
~BMoor
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