The inventors’ fair on Kaladesh has many unique sights to behold. From artisans displaying exquisitely crafted masterpieces to the exciting, death defying antics of the drag racers – there is truly something for everyone. But for me, there is one event I would want to see above all others. A true marvel of engineering skill, and artistic craftsmanship. Five teams have been hard at work creating some of the largest, most impressive constructs the plane of Kaladesh has ever seen.
The artifact creatures known as Gearhulks, are in my opinion, one of the best cycles of mythics we have seen in a long time. Most of the time, large mythic rare creatures are either very over powered, or quite underwhelming. However, each of these hulks have something to offer, whether it be creature removal, flashing back an instant, or just raw power.
As soon as I saw these cards I knew that I wanted to put them into one of my decks – not only because of their power level, but because giant robots are really, really sweet. However, there was one issue to my plans, which one do I choose? With so much choice I found it truly hard to make my mind up (#FirstPlaneProblems). After a lot of brewing I came to a decision. I wouldn’t take one giant robot to battle. I would take three.
Mecha-zan
It’s no secret I’m a true green Timmy at heart. I play tron in modern (Which Combustible Gearhulk will be joining), and up until now, green/X ramp in standard. So it’s safe to assume that Verdurous Gearhulk is a high pick for me. Eight power and toughness for only five mana is right up my alley and trample just gives us more ways to force in damage, Trample being my favorite keyword. Yes we can divide four of that power among all our creatures, but if we are going in on this whole robot army let’s go all out. When I began to look for colours to pair with my beloved green, both black and white stood out to me. Cataclysmic Gearhulk allows us to handle the vast sway of permanents our opponent can dish out. Although our opponent gets to choose what they keep, forcing them to choose which planeswalker or creature they wish to keep can bring a tear to their eye. Following that up with a Noxious Gearhulk to finish off the creature they wanted to keep while gaining a tonne of life will more than likely be the straw that broke the camel’s back. An honorable mention is needed for Torrential Gearhulk, being a beefed up Snapcatser Mage, heck yeah you’ll have a deck!
So how are we going to complement this army of killer robots? Let’s start with some fixing. Oath of Nissa and Traverse the Ulvenwald, not only help us find the lands we need, but can find our Gearhulks later in the game. Hedron Archive gives us ramp and card draw, plus fuels Delirium on our Traverse. And speaking of ramp and Delirium, Deathcap Cultivator is a must. This little guy helps us play our Gearhulks quicker, and when we have four card types in our graveyard, becomes a great late game blocker. Duskwatch Recruiter not only helps us find our hulks, but helps them come onto the board a turn earlier when he flips. Add in some more ramp/fixing in the form of Lifespring Druid, and some clean removal like Declaration in Stone and Anguished Unmaking, and we are just about there.
But there is one more addition to the deck that we must discuss before we move on, Panharmonicon. At first this may seem an odd inclusion to our deck. It doesn’t help us get out our Gearhulks any quicker. It can’t fix our mana. It can’t do any damage to our opponent. What it does do is add more value to any Gearhulk we play. If we can get this onto the board before we play our Verdurous Gearhulk it brings out twelve power to face down our opponent’s life total. Play a Noxious Gearhulk, we get to kill off two creatures. Play this before a Cataclysmic Gearhulk and… well it doesn’t really do anything else, but two out of three still justifies its inclusion. So let’s have a look at our brew.
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And there you have it, a sweet big beat stick deck for all you Pacific Rim fans out there. Why not try it out, or your own Gearhulk build, at your local FNM. Maybe even see if these giant constructs can can bring you victory at your local Gameday on the 22nd and 23rd of October.
