{"ops":[{"insert":"Firmly bracket 3 "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp"}},{"insert":" deck built around modular creatures, +1/+1 counters, eggs, sacrificing, and recurring artifacts. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp"}},{"insert":" does everything the deck wants to do; it gives another +1/+1 counter for other creature’s modular effects, has modular itself, lets us sacrifice our artifacts, and can give itself evasion. Its replacement effect, the extra +1/+1 counter for modular abilities, is extremely important and means we will almost always play it out on curve if we have a modular creature to take advantage of this with, which happens more often than not as we have 10 modular creatures. To keep the deck bracket 3, there’s some notable exclusions to keep the power level in check, including "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Myr Retriever"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ashnod's Altar"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lotus Petal"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mishra's Bauble"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Codex Shredder"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Inkmoth Nexus"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Foundry Inspector"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Reclaimer"}},{"insert":" to skip oppressive infinites, infect, and unfun one-shots. There are still infinites in the deck, but they are fair and harder to achieve than these. The point is more so to accrue value through our engines and win through combat than it is to win out of nowhere. Generally, the most consistent early game follows the plan of "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp"}},{"insert":" on turn one or two followed by a modular creature, such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Worker"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Prototype"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Mouser"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Stinger"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Tracker"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Javelineer"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Slith"}},{"insert":", or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Shikari"}},{"insert":" to take advantage of "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp"}},{"insert":"’s replacement effect. Growing our counters by playing other creatures and having their effects go off naturally is a better plan generally than sacrificing and recurring our creatures immediately, as our creatures will be picked off naturally and we can use our resources better if we save them for when we need them. It’s more important to build a good board that we can swing with comfortably than it is to build one big creature. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp"}},{"insert":"’s replacement effect also does not increase the modular counters when it dies itself, only other creatures while it is on the board. We want to put the counters we gain from our modular abilities on other modular creatures first and foremost, as this lets us chain together extra counters from "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp"}},{"insert":"’s replacement effect and allows us to get tricky in combat with some instant speed sacrifice to pump our creatures. Other alternatives that still give good value for our counters include "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hangarback Walker"}},{"insert":" to give us loads of "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Thopter"}},{"insert":" tokens and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Ozolith"}},{"insert":" to bank them. Putting the counters on creatures that can’t move them when they die is generally a big waste and sets us back if the buffed creature ends up dying. This problem is negated by circling back to "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Ozolith"}},{"insert":", as it is the premier way to store +1/+1 counters in the deck, aside from modular creatures, of course. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Ozolith"}},{"insert":" lets us be incredibly resilient to board wipes, as the counters we’ve accrued don’t go to waste; instead, they’re stored in "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Ozolith"}},{"insert":" for future use. This becomes especially useful again when we haven’t set up our recursion engine quite yet and we only have one or two guys out at a time. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Ozolith"}},{"insert":" would be useless without a way to garner +1/+1 counters, however, and for that we need guys that give counters, such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Steel Overseer"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Shikari"}},{"insert":", counters from other sources like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Karn's Bastion"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Abandoned Air Temple"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Solar Array"}},{"insert":", or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Collector's Cage"}},{"insert":", or our sacrifice engines like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Ravager"}},{"insert":". "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Ravager"}},{"insert":" is able to sacrifice our many eggs, such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ichor Wellspring"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mycosynth Wellspring"}},{"insert":" to trigger their graveyard abilities while converting their sacrifice into +1/+1 counters. This can also be done at instant speed, which helps to get "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Ravager"}},{"insert":" huge in combat or allows us to sacrifice our board before removal to dodge it or gain value before it. To get around removal more efficiently, we run phasing effects like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Teferi's Protection"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Clever Concealment"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Guardian of Faith"}},{"insert":" to protect our +1/+1 counters when we don’t have access to "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Ozolith"}},{"insert":", as phasing does not remove our +1/+1 counters from our creatures. We also run indestructibility as a backup plan when these are expended or can’t be found, such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Blacksmith's Skill"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Boros Charm"}},{"insert":". We run vegetables ourselves, with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Swords to Plowshares"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Dispatch"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rip Apart"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Requisition Raid"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Wear // Tear"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Blasphemous Act"}},{"insert":" giving us access to creature, artifact, and enchantment removal when we need it. We also run interaction like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Tibalt's Trickery"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Reprieve"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Orim's Chant"}},{"insert":" for when we’re comboing off or need one last turn to seal a game. With the ease of sacrifice, the deck leans into recursion over card draw to repeatedly make use of the same effects instead of drawing for new ones. However, the card draw included gives us value in a similar way, such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Demand Answers"}},{"insert":", which allows us to sacrifice an artifact to draw two cards if we cannot find an outlet. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mask of Memory"}},{"insert":" provides draw as we swing. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Esper Sentinel"}},{"insert":", while not a modular creature, can take a few +1/+1 counters to grow to a size where its tax is burdensome and consistently draws us cards or draws removal away from our actual threats. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Losheel, Clockwork Scholar"}},{"insert":" allows us to consistently swing for "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mask of Memory"}},{"insert":", but more importantly draws when an artifact creature enters under our control, which will happen on each of our turns and potentially some of our opponents’ with effects like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Feldon of the Third Path"}},{"insert":"’s. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Skullclamp"}},{"insert":" also lets us draw while sacrificing some of our small creatures, like the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Thopter"}},{"insert":" tokens we make off "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hangarback Walker"}},{"insert":". The most important “draw engine” is "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mystic Forge"}},{"insert":", which allows us to cast the top card of our library if it’s an artifact or colorless nonland. This lets us churn through the deck, as we play 35 artifacts and artifact creatures in the deck. Importantly, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mystic Forge"}},{"insert":" does not allow us to play artifact lands from the top as we cannot cast lands. However, we can tap the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mystic Forge"}},{"insert":" once per turn to exile the top card to help get the lands out of the way. Alternatively, cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sensei's Divining Top"}},{"insert":" used in conjunction with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mystic Forge"}},{"insert":" amplify our selection, as we can rearrange the top three, draw one with the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sensei's Divining Top"}},{"insert":" by putting it back on top, replay the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sensei's Divining Top"}},{"insert":", and reuse the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sensei's Divining Top"}},{"insert":" to get what we need. To further take advantage of this, we have the main engine of the deck that replaces the need for most of the draw, the recursion engine. Cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Scrap Trawler"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Junk Diver"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Goblin Welder"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Goblin Engineer"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Feldon of the Third Path"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Recommission"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sevinne's Reclamation"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Scrap Mastery"}},{"insert":" all allows us to chain together our sacrifice plans into recursion, making it incredibly difficult to stop us from doing what we want. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Scrap Trawler"}},{"insert":" is especially oppressive, as it returns smaller artifacts to hand which we can use to loop to return it. This is not endless alone, however. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle"}},{"insert":" facilitates this looping through historic spells, being our artifacts, returning any creature CMC 3 or less from our graveyard to the battlefield when cast. This is incredibly important, as it brings back our key creatures, such as the aforementioned "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Scrap Trawler"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Goblin Engineer"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Goblin Welder"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Ravager"}},{"insert":", or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Shikari"}},{"insert":". To get the mana for all for this, we run "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Krark-Clan Ironworks"}},{"insert":". "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Krark-Clan Ironworks"}},{"insert":" allows us to sacrifice artifacts and turn them into two colorless mana. This lets us recast whatever we returned to hand with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Scrap Trawler"}},{"insert":", for example, and is also integral for our infinite lines. We can also turn the colorless mana into colored mana using "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Wizard's Rockets"}},{"insert":" if needed. Overall, use "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Krark-Clan Ironworks"}},{"insert":" as both a sacrifice engine and a mana generator. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hangarback Walker"}},{"insert":" is another creature that benefits from the colorless mana, as it can use it for extra +1/+1 counters. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Together Forever"}},{"insert":" reads a little weird and is one of only two enchantments in the deck, however, it is valuable as a source of +1/+1 counters, protection for our creatures, and an easy infinite combo with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hangarback Walker"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Krark-Clan Ironworks"}},{"insert":". Getting into the two infinite lines present in the deck, the first involves "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hangarback Walker"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Together Forever"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Krark-Clan Ironworks"}},{"insert":", as mentioned. It requires us to have both "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Together Forever"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Krark-Clan Ironworks"}},{"insert":" on the battlefield when we cast "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hangarback Walker"}},{"insert":" with X=1. Then we target "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hangarback Walker"}},{"insert":" with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Together Forever"}},{"insert":", allowing us to return it to hand when it dies, and sacrifice it to "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Krark-Clan Ironworks"}},{"insert":" after. This puts a "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Thopter"}},{"insert":" onto the battlefield, the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hangarback Walker"}},{"insert":" into our hand, and gives us two colorless mana. We can then sacrifice the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Thopter"}},{"insert":" token to get an additional two colorless mana, totaling four, recast the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hangarback Walker"}},{"insert":" for X=1, and repeat. This costs us three mana each time and we generate four, granting us infinite colorless mana. We can use this mana to make a "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hangarback Walker"}},{"insert":" with an infinite number of +1/+1 counters on it and sacrifice it to make an infinite amount of "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Thopter"}},{"insert":"s. This is also infinite +1/+1 counters if we control "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Ozolith"}},{"insert":". The second infinite also involves "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Krark-Clan Ironworks"}},{"insert":", to no one’s surprise, but also involves "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Scrap Trawler"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sol Ring"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle"}},{"insert":". To produce infinite colorless mana, we need "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Krark-Clan Ironworks"}},{"insert":" on the battlefield along with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sol Ring"}},{"insert":" in our hand and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Scrap Trawler"}},{"insert":" in the graveyard. Cast "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sol Ring"}},{"insert":" to trigger "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle"}},{"insert":" to return "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Scrap Trawler"}},{"insert":" to the battlefield, tap and float "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sol Ring"}},{"insert":"’s two colorless mana, then sac it to "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Krark-Clan Ironworks"}},{"insert":". Then sacrifice "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Scrap Trawler"}},{"insert":" to "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Krark-Clan Ironworks"}},{"insert":" and bring the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sol Ring"}},{"insert":" back to hand. Replay the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sol Ring"}},{"insert":" and repeat. This grants infinite colorless mana. We can also replace the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Krark-Clan Ironworks"}},{"insert":" with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcbound Ravager"}},{"insert":" to get infinite +1/+1 counters using the same process, as the two colorless mana generated from tapping the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sol Ring"}},{"insert":" each time before we sac it pays the necessary costs. These infinites generally do not close the game out on their own, however. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Alibou, Ancient Witness"}},{"insert":" gives our artifact creatures haste and, when an artifact creature attacks, lets us scry X and deal X damage to any target where X is the number of tapped artifacts we control. This is incredible the turn we make infinite "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Thopter"}},{"insert":" tokens as it immediately closes the game out should our attack go through, however "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Alibou, Ancient Witness"}},{"insert":" is an incredible engine outside of this and combines pings and scries to help clear the way and find the pieces we need throughout the game. Plus, granting haste is incredible for guys like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Feldon of the Third Path"}},{"insert":" to be used immediately. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Slayers' Stronghold"}},{"insert":" is great for the same reason; haste is very important in this deck and can close a game out of nowhere. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp"}},{"insert":" gaining flying from its ability is not to be overlooked, either. Having this evasion built in is incredible. To a similar tone, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sword of Truth and Justice"}},{"insert":" can often win us the game if we’re left against a white or blue player. Remember to think ahead, only sacrifice what you need to, don’t get too greedy, and tutor "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Ozolith"}},{"insert":" when you have the opportunity and you will win games with +1/+1 counters and combat! Change the “Group by” from Categories to Categories (multiple) to see each card’s designation within the deck.\n"}]}