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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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