Welcome to another installment of Precon Recon here at Pojo.com! This week we have another reader inquiry, from Randal Bozza. Randal asked me to take a look at the Artful Destruction deck from New Phyrexia and help him make it play better. Well that is what I am here for! For the original decklist, please check it out here: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/productarticle.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/newphyrexia/themedeck#deck1

Main Deck

60 cards

12 Forest
12 Plains

1 Blade Splicer
1 Brutalizer Exarch
3 Copper Myr
1 Garruk's Packleader
3 Gold Myr
1 Golem Artisan
3 Master Splicer
1 Maul Splicer
2 Palladium Myr
1 Phyrexian Hulk
1 Precursor Golem
2 Sensor Splicer
1 Stone Golem
2 Suture Priest
2 Vital Splicer

1 Conversion Chamber
2 Cultivate
2 Forced Worship
1 Giant Growth
1 Glissa's Scorn
1 Mighty Leap
1 Viridian Harvest
2 War Report
 
    The deck itself is not really bad. Certain things in it are confusing to me, but all in all, a sound deck. The adjustments we make today will be minor compared to some of the decks we have worked on. The main focus today will be removing and changing up some spells, and adjusting some creatures. I do find it funny that the Wizards site almost encourages redesigning the deck to be a Bant (green, white, blue) deck, and encourages adding in Xenograft and Wing Splicer. If that is what you all would like to do, by all means, convert the structure of the deck completely over, and build it in a more sensible way. Perhaps Wizards should have thought of that in the first place, then we wouldn’t be here now, just kidding, lol.
 
    Of course rare cards can majorly up the power behind any deck, and this one is no exception. However, not all of us can procure the rares in question, so here are some rare suggestions, but the main deck will be comprised of non-rare cards to make it play smoother. If you can get the rares, adjust accordingly. The one rare that would be nice to have in here is Titan Forge. The ability to drop a 9/9 Golem token with the power bonuses granted in the deck is ridiculous. For instance, a Master Splicer would turn it into a 10/10, and then Maul Splicer would give it trample, etc. Another good rare would be another Precursor Golem. Those guys do some crazy stuff, both good and bad, and definitely change the game.
 
     But, let us get on with what should come out. Like I said, the list is small, but what is exchanged will greatly impact how the deck runs. Let us start with Giant Growth. The single Giant Growth in the deck full of giant golems. Unnecessary. So many better options, and we will look into them in a little while. The Conversion Chamber is too slow, and most of the artifacts on the way to the graveyard are likely tokens from the splicers, so the Chamber becomes slow, and should be removed. Cultivate, Forced Worship, Mighty Leap, and Viridian Harvest are all more defensive spells, and if anything, we should be running offensive when creating golems, so I would pull all of those.
 
    As far as creatures to pull I would start with Stone Golem and Phyrexian Hulk. They are just too much mana, even with the Myr, and just don’t do anything. Instead, replace them with either more Golem Artisan’s or Brutallizer Exarch’s. The Exarch’s are nice since it can help you get the creature you need when you need it, and the Artisan’s are nice because they allow you to pump artifact creatures and grant artifact creatures certain abilities.
 
     I think that is a pretty decent amount of pulls. This frees us up 8 spaces, since the spots for the two creatures are exchanges. First, I will discuss the replacement for Giant Growth. In the new set, Mirran Mettle costs the same as Giant Growth, but is only a +2/+2, unless you have Metalcraft, then it is +4/+4. This option should be better, since between Myr and Golem tokens, you should have metalcraft in no time. And what is better, is with Precursor Golem out, you gain metalcraft right there, and then one Mirran Mettle will target all the Golems. I would put at least three copies in. Another great card from the New Phyrexia set is Triumph of the Hordes. This amazing card works so well with the ability to generate Golem tokens. All creatures you control get +1/+1, gain trample and infect until end of turn. It is almost like the win condition no one wants to see happen. With the proper combination of cards in hand and in play when this spell goes off, it could well be the last spell your opponents see. This clearly is another three in, since it combos so well in the deck. So for the last two spots, I decided to find something that just screams out with how well it works within the deck, and off of things the deck can do. This deck can come up with Metalcraft and in no time at all. The hang up is more or less creature removal. What do you do if you come up against something with flying? The Golem Artisan can easily put something up I the air, but it may not be enough. What about if your opponent is coming at you with a Blightsteel Colossus? How do you handle that? The answer is actually simple, you Dispatch it. Dispatch can tap target creature for just one mana, but if you have Metalcraft, you exile it as well. That is very helpful when matched up against things that even Golems fear.
 
     And there you have it, a remodeled Golem deck. This deck strikes hard and fast, and you should ALWAYS keep the pressure on. Once some of your better splicers are on the table, there is no turning back. Once you can get off a Triumph of the Hordes, it should be over. Make sure when you activate that spell you launch your all out offensive, sending even the Myr to finish off your opponent. Every bit of poison helps, and you want to make sure you get every drop in. Be sure to combine this assault with Precursor Golem and a Mirran Mettle for extra fun!
 
      Have a deck you’d like to see get reconstructed? Send me your request, and I’ll be happy to write it up and post it here at Pojo.com! Also, make sure you head over to facebook.com and like us! Leave comments and see our articles right there while communicating with your friends!