Premodern MUD Deck Guide (2026)
Premodern MUD, also called Welder Tinker, is the format's artifact prison deck: Winter Orb locks the mana, Tinker and Goblin Welder cheat in the big artifacts. MTGDecks files it the other way around, as Tinker Welder. In 2026 most competitive MUD lists are this blue-red build, which makes more mana than anyone with Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors and adds Tangle Wire and Sphere of Resistance to the lock. Mono-red and colorless builds, about half of them with Covetous Dragon and Wildfire, are the alternative; MTGDecks files those separately as MUD. It is a fringe deck, under one percent of the metagame, but it wins events: the reference list won the 97-player Full Tapped Summer Season 2026 and sits in the deck archive here, and Blue_Man7, who won the 51-player MTGO Premodern Challenge on December 19, 2025, finished second in two more Challenges in September.
How the deck wins
- Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors tap for two, and Mind Stone and Thran Dynamo untap normally under Winter Orb. A first-turn Tomb or City casts Sphere of Resistance, Winter Orb or Mind Stone, and a second-turn Thran Dynamo or Tangle Wire is common.
- Winter Orb lets each player untap only one land, Tangle Wire makes each player tap an artifact, creature or land per fade counter in their upkeep, and Sphere of Resistance taxes every spell by one. Rishadan Port, Mishra's Helix and Icy Manipulator tap the one land the opponent managed to untap. MUD's artifact mana untaps every turn and Goblin Welder costs a single red mana, so the opponent, who gets one mana per land, is the one who stalls.
- Tinker sacrifices an artifact to put any artifact from your library onto the battlefield, and Goblin Welder swaps one of your artifacts for an artifact card in your graveyard. Both ignore Winter Orb and Sphere for the big artifact itself. Karn, Silver Golem turns noncreature artifacts into attackers, Triskelion shoots creatures and players, and Phyrexian Devourer plus Altar of Dementia mill the opponent out.
Core cards
- 4 Goblin Welder
- 4 Tinker
- 4 Tangle Wire
- 4 Sphere of Resistance
- 4 Thran Dynamo
- 4 Mind Stone
- 3 Winter Orb
- 1 Karn, Silver Golem
- 1 Triskelion
- 1 Tsabo's Web
- 1 Mishra's Helix
- 4 Ancient Tomb
- 4 City of Traitors
- 3 Rishadan Port
Key cards
- Goblin Welder: MUD's engine: its tap ability swaps an artifact a player controls for an artifact card in that same player's graveyard. Upgrade a used Mind Stone into Karn or Triskelion, swap a fading Tangle Wire for a fresh one from the graveyard, or swap a targeted artifact out in response to Disenchant, so Disenchant fizzles and you get an artifact back for the one you lose. It cannot activate the turn it enters and dies to almost anything; Cursed Totem and graveyard hate shut it off, and Stifle counters an activation.
- Tinker: Three mana plus an artifact puts any artifact from your library onto the battlefield. Tap Mind Stone or Thran Dynamo for mana first, then sacrifice it; it lands in the graveyard as a future Welder target. Stifle cannot touch Tinker, but counterspells and a Meddling Mage naming it can.
- Winter Orb: While it is untapped, players untap only one land. It holds the opponent to one or two spells a turn and does not touch artifact mana. It turns off while tapped or phased out, so an opposing Ice or Icy Manipulator on it, or Vision Charm phasing it out, gives them a full untap. Never tap your own Orb to Tangle Wire.
- Tangle Wire: Enters with four fade counters, and each player taps an untapped artifact, creature or land per counter in their upkeep. On your own upkeep let the fading trigger resolve first, so you tap one permanent fewer, and tap Tangle Wire itself as one of them.
- Sphere of Resistance: Every spell costs one more, including alternative costs: Daze, Foil, Gush and Fireblast all cost one mana under Sphere. MUD suffers less: Welder's ability is not a spell, Tinker's payoff is never cast, and Mind Stone and Thran Dynamo usually leave you with more mana than the opponent.
- Karn, Silver Golem: A 4/4 that is usually Tinkered or Welded in. For one mana it animates a noncreature artifact into a creature with power and toughness equal to its mana value: Thran Dynamo and Icy become 4/4s, Mishra's Helix a 5/5. When Karn blocks or is blocked it gets -4/+4 and deals no damage.
- Triskelion: Enters with three +1/+1 counters, and each counter removed deals 1 damage to any target. It kills Goblin Welders, Mother of Runes, Llanowar Elves, Goblin Lackey and Grim Lavamancer, and it finishes a player at instant speed.
- Phyrexian Devourer: With Altar of Dementia it is a mill kill: exile cards from your library to grow it, keep going while its sacrifice trigger waits on the stack, then sacrifice it to Altar for its full power. The cost is your own library: with this list, milling a 40-card library exiles about 20 of your own cards, more on a run of lands, so count both libraries first.
Mulligan guide
Keep
- Ancient Tomb or City of Traitors, or two lands plus Mind Stone, at least one lock piece, and blue or red for the Tinker or Welder the hand relies on: Ancient Tomb, Shivan Reef, Winter Orb, Mind Stone, Tinker, Tangle Wire, Goblin Welder is a typical keep.
- City of Traitors, Gemstone Mine, Crosis's Catacombs, Sphere of Resistance, Thran Dynamo, Tinker and Goblin Welder: acceleration, a lock piece and both engines.
- Against a creature deck, two lands, Mind Stone, Tangle Wire and Ensnaring Bridge.
Ship
- Only colorless lands with Tinker and Welder as the only action, or one land and no Mind Stone.
- Several expensive artifacts such as Karn, Devourer or Mishra's Helix with no way to Tinker or Weld them.
- Lock pieces without any acceleration, and City of Traitors with several other lands but no Crosis's Catacombs, because City will be sacrificed early.
Keep acceleration and lock pieces over big artifacts. A Karn or Triskelion in hand is a five- or six-mana spell that Tinker cannot fetch, and Goblin Welder only gets it once Grafted Skullcap or Masticore's upkeep discards it.
Play tips and sequencing
- A turn-one Winter Orb from Ancient Tomb hurts most, because the opponent has at most one land in play. If the Orb has to wait anyway, play Mind Stone and Thran Dynamo first, so you are the only player with real mana when the lock starts.
- Tinker as early as the matchup allows: Triskelion on turn three against Goblins or Elves, Karn against control, Ensnaring Bridge against a fast creature draw.
- Mind Stone's draw, Grafted Skullcap's discard and Tinker's sacrifice all put artifacts in the graveyard for Goblin Welder. Plan the next Weld a turn ahead, and hold an untapped Welder with a target against artifact removal.
- Rishadan Port, Mishra's Helix and Icy Manipulator belong in the opponent's upkeep: a land tapped after their untap step stays tapped under Winter Orb until their next untap step, when only one land comes back. Tsabo's Web keeps your own Rishadan Port tapped too, which is why the four-Web lists play no Port.
- City of Traitors and Crosis's Catacombs work together: tap City for two, then play the Catacombs and order the triggers so the Lair resolves first and returns City to your hand. City's sacrifice trigger then does nothing, you keep the mana, and City comes back next turn.
- The Devourer kill exiles your own library too: if the numbers are not there, mill what you safely can and Weld the Devourer back next turn.
- Welding away a Winter Orb or letting Tangle Wire fade is right once you have the board and their hand is full of uncastable cards, as long as your threats close before they recover. Watch your life total: Ancient Tomb, Shivan Reef and Price of Progress add up.
Matchups
- Stiflenought (unfavorable): Daze and Foil cost no mana, so Winter Orb does not stop them from countering Tinker, and Gush draws them two cards for free; the Islands it returns come back untapped, one land drop at a time. Stifle counters Welder activations and Tangle Wire triggers, a one-mana 12/12 Phyrexian Dreadnought outsizes Triskelion, and Vision Charm cast on your turn phases out the Orb or Tangle Wire through their next untap step. Sphere makes every free spell cost one, Bridge and Icy handle Dreadnought, and Shattering Pulse destroys it after boarding. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 25 percent over 12 matches, limited data.
- Goblins (unfavorable): Lackey and Warchief pressure you before the lock matters, Mogg Fanatic, Goblin Sharpshooter and Gempalm Incinerator kill Goblin Welder, and their own Rishadan Port plus your Ancient Tomb damage help them race. Goblin Tinkerer, main deck in most lists, destroys a lock piece and dies doing it unless the artifact's mana value is 1. Triskelion, Fire // Ice, Ensnaring Bridge and Tangle Wire are your best cards, Pyroclasm and Rejuvenation Chamber come in. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 23 percent over 13 matches, limited data.
- Sligh (even): Cheap burn blunts Winter Orb, and Price of Progress, main deck in a third of their lists and in most sideboards, punishes 21 nonbasic lands. But Sphere taxes every burn spell, Triskelion and Fire kill Grim Lavamancer, and Phyrexian Furnace starves it. Ensnaring Bridge stops Ball Lightning, and Jackal Pup once your hand is down to one card. After boarding Crumbling Sanctuary turns burn aimed at you into cards exiled from your own library; expect Overload. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 60 percent over 15 matches, limited data.
- Mono Black (even): Duress takes Tinker and Cabal Therapy names it, Withered Wretch exiles Welder targets, Smother kills Welder and Dark Ritual gives them a burst of mana even under the Orb. Winter Orb and Tangle Wire are strong against Hypnotic Specter and Graveborn Muse, and Triskelion kills a Specter or a Wretch and still has a counter for Rats. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 50 percent over 14 matches, limited data.
- Oath of Druids (favorable): A mana-denial deck: Wasteland and Rishadan Port hit your lands but not Mind Stone and Thran Dynamo, which keep the lock running. Mind your creature count: Oath triggers for the player with fewer creatures, so a lone Goblin Welder hands them a free Terravore at their next upkeep. Aura Flux and Shattering Pulse after boarding answer Oath and their Sphere of Resistance. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 67 percent over 12 matches, limited data.
- Enchantress (even before boarding, favorable afterward): Game one is a race: Serra's Sanctum and Wild Growth make extra mana under Winter Orb, Tsabo's Web does not stop Sanctum, Seal of Cleansing kills lock pieces and Argothian Enchantress has shroud against Triskelion. After boarding Aura Flux makes every other enchantment cost two each upkeep, and under Orb and Tangle Wire most of their board dies. Their answers are Seal of Cleansing and Aura of Silence, which both destroy Aura Flux. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 50 percent over 12 matches, limited data.
- Terrageddon (unfavorable): Wasteland hits every MUD land, their main deck has Naturalize and in many lists Disenchant, Nimble Mongoose has shroud, and Terravore grows from your destroyed lands. Artifact mana survives Armageddon, Bridge and Icy handle Terravore, Phyrexian Furnace, main deck in most lists, can exile land cards from graveyards, and Pyroclasm comes in after boarding. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 22 percent over 9 matches, very limited data.
- Landstill (slightly favorable): Landstill needs lands to untap for counters, Mishra's Factory and Decree of Justice, so Winter Orb, Rishadan Port and Tsabo's Web on the Factory hurt them most. Deploy lock pieces before Standstill, protect them from maindeck Disenchant with Welder, and watch for Humility: Karn becomes a vanilla 1/1, a Triskelion already in play a 4/4 that cannot shoot, and one Tinkered in afterward a 1/1 without counters. Two of three lists also play Powder Keg and Phyrexian Furnace in the main deck: Keg on two counters takes Sphere, Winter Orb and Mind Stone, and Furnace exiles your Welder targets. Defense Grid after boarding. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 60 percent over 10 matches, limited data.
- The Rock (slightly unfavorable): Pernicious Deed is the problem, and Recurring Nightmare, Cabal Therapy and Duress grind. Hold back artifacts you don't need yet: a Deed for two already takes Winter Orb, Sphere and Mind Stone, while Triskelion survives anything below six. Winter Orb and Rishadan Port deny the mana for a big Deed. Aura Flux makes Deed cost two each upkeep and forces it out early. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 44 percent over 9 matches, very limited data.
- Replenish (even to favorable): Replenish needs four mana and Winter Orb delays it. Seal of Cleansing is in their main deck and Parallax Wave exiles Welder and Karn, while their Tsabo's Web, main deck in a third of their lists, only hits your Rishadan Port. After boarding Aura Flux makes every enchantment Replenish returns cost two in each of their upkeeps, which they cannot keep paying under Winter Orb. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 71 percent over 7 matches, very limited data.
- Psychatog (even): Counterspells and Foil fight Tinker and Duress takes lock pieces, but Psychatog needs mana and Winter Orb plus Tangle Wire limit it. Triskelion's three pings force them to pump Psychatog twice, with a card from hand or two from the graveyard each time. Phyrexian Furnace shrinks their graveyard, and Defense Grid comes in. The Devourer mill fills their graveyard, so it comes out. Limited data.
- Elves (even): Mana elves keep making mana under Winter Orb and Gaea's Cradle makes a lot of mana from one land; Tangle Wire and Rishadan Port slow them down. Triskelion and, after boarding, Pyroclasm kill elves. Their answers are Nantuko Vigilante and Naturalize, so Weld in response. Masticore, main deck in nine of ten Elves lists, shoots Goblin Welder. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 57 percent over 7 matches, very limited data.
- Deadguy Ale (even): Duress takes Tinker, Vindicate and Disenchant destroy lock pieces and Withered Wretch exiles your Welder targets; on MTGTop8 Disenchant is main in about half of the recent lists, and four lists of five play Wasteland for your lands. But Exalted Angel and Phyrexian Arena want mana that Winter Orb denies, and Triskelion kills a Hypnotic Specter or a Withered Wretch. Very limited data.
- Reanimator (favorable): Reanimate and Exhume are cheap, so the lock does not stop them. Tangle Wire makes them tap an artifact, creature or land per counter, and under Winter Orb that is often the reanimated fatty. After boarding Phyrexian Furnace exiles a fatty from the graveyard before it comes back, and Aura Flux handles a sideboard Oath of Druids. Very limited data.
- Aluren (favorable): Aluren costs four, and Sphere of Resistance makes every creature they cast through it cost one, so they need mana for Aluren and one more for every creature after it, and Winter Orb, Tangle Wire and Rishadan Port keep that mana short. Triskelion and Fire shoot Birds of Paradise and loop creatures. Once Aluren is out, shoot while a Cavern Harpy spell is on the stack; at other moments they can save the target, since Harpy, returned to hand for 1 life and recast, returns Man-o'-War, and a recast Man-o'-War returns any other creature. Under Sphere every recast costs them one mana, and every Harpy they recast gives Triskelion another window. Aura Flux after boarding taxes Aluren and Survival every upkeep. Expect Naturalize, Uktabi Orangutan and Tsabo's Web. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 80 percent over 5 matches, very limited data.
- UG Madness (even): Wild Mongrel, Basking Rootwalla and Aquamoeba are cheap, Circular Logic counters Tinker, Waterfront Bouncer, main deck in most of their lists, returns a Tinkered Karn or Triskelion to your hand, and Annul comes from their sideboard. Triskelion and Fire handle the creatures, Pyroclasm only some of them: Aquamoeba, a 1/3, survives it, and Wild Mongrel and Basking Rootwalla survive with a discard or {1}{G}. Ensnaring Bridge stops Arrogant Wurm while you hold three cards or fewer. Very limited data.
- Tron (even): No meaningful match data. The Urza lands make three mana from one land and Tsabo's Web does not stop them, but Winter Orb lets them untap only one land, and your Rishadan Port and Mishra's Helix tap Urza's Tower. Their Masticore, Decree of Justice and Disenchant fight back, Akroma's Vengeance sweeps your artifacts, and after boarding Meddling Mage names Tinker.
- The Solution (slightly unfavorable): No recent match data. They bring a fast clock with Lightning Angel behind Mother of Runes, Meddling Mage naming Tinker, Disenchant and Seal of Cleansing for the lock, and sideboard Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast to counter Tinker. Tangle Wire, Triskelion and Pyroclasm are your tools.
- Dromar Control (even): No recent match data. They bring Meddling Mage, counterspells and Vindicate, plus Seal of Cleansing after boarding, but their three-color mana base is exactly what Winter Orb, Rishadan Port and Sphere squeeze. Shadowmage Infiltrator's fear gets past Goblin Welder but not your artifact creatures, and Triskelion kills it with all three counters, while Ensnaring Bridge stops it only once your hand is empty.
- Clerics (even): No recent match data. Dark Supplicant sacrifices three Clerics for Scion of Darkness without mana, and Withered Wretch exiles the artifacts Goblin Welder wants back. Winter Orb starves Cabal Archon's {B} activations, and Triskelion and Pyroclasm kill most of the deck, but with Rotlung Reanimator out every dying Cleric leaves a 2/2 Zombie behind.
- Zombies (slightly unfavorable): No recent match data. Carnophage and Sarcomancy come down fast, Withered Wretch exiles Welder targets and Wasteland hits your lands. Pyroclasm, Triskelion and Ensnaring Bridge help, but Lord of the Undead recursion and Shepherd of Rot's drain, which Bridge does not stop, punish a slow start.
- Full English Breakfast (even): Maindeck Phyrexian Furnace exiles combo pieces, Winter Orb and Tangle Wire slow their five-color mana, and Triskelion shoots Birds of Paradise and Hermit Druid. They bring Naturalize and Uktabi Orangutan for your artifacts, and the lists with Eladamri's Vineyard board it out, since it would give you mana. Very limited data.
- Stasis (unfavorable): Your artifact mana and two-mana lands stay tapped under Stasis, Goblin Welder has to tap, and Root Maze makes new artifacts enter tapped. Sphere of Resistance makes Stasis cost three and adds {1} to their Gush, Thwart and Daze, and Defense Grid makes each spell they cast on your turn cost three more, Daze, Thwart, Gush and Chain of Vapor included. Resolve Tinker; expect Annul for Tangle Wire and Sphere and Blasts for Welder. Very limited data.
- White Weenie (slightly unfavorable): Their one-drops come down before Winter Orb, Tangle Wire and Sphere of Resistance, and Aura of Silence from the sideboard makes each of your artifacts cost two more. Seal of Cleansing and Disenchant hit the lock pieces, Ensnaring Bridge stops their 2-power attackers once your hand is down to one card and all of them once it is empty, Triskelion and Masticore are your answers to their X/1s, and Pyroclasm from your sideboard kills every creature they have with toughness 2 or less except Silver Knight and Soltari Priest. Very limited data.
- BW Control (even): Winter Orb, Tangle Wire and Sphere of Resistance hurt a deck that wants six or seven lands for Decree of Justice and a hardcast Eternal Dragon. Their answers are Duress for Tinker or Winter Orb, Vindicate and Seal of Cleansing for the lock pieces, Dust Bowl for Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors, and Phyrexian Furnace for the artifact Goblin Welder wants back. Triskelion handles Decree of Justice Soldiers, and Mishra's Helix taps the lands they save for it. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 60 percent over 5 matches, very limited data.
- Gro-a-Tog (even): Gush, Daze and Foil cost no mana, only the {1} your Sphere of Resistance adds, so Winter Orb barely slows their free spells, and Counterspell and Meddling Mage naming Tinker stop your best turn. Triskelion kills Meddling Mage and a Quirion Dryad that has not grown yet. After boarding expect Seal of Cleansing, Disenchant and Tsabo's Web. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 57 percent over 7 matches, very limited data.
- Pit Rack (slightly favorable): Their discard takes Tinker and Winter Orb, and Wasteland hits Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors, but they cannot destroy a noncreature artifact in the main deck. Triskelion kills Hypnotic Specter and Ravenous Rats. Their Powder Keg after boarding destroys Goblin Welder on one counter, along with their own Racks, and Sphere of Resistance on two. Very limited data.
- Rebels (favorable): Winter Orb and Tangle Wire starve their searches, which need mana every turn, and Triskelion kills three of their X/1s. Their answers are Counterspell, Mana Leak, Disenchant and Swords to Plowshares, so land a lock piece before they have counter mana up. Expect Annul, Aura of Silence and Null Rod after boarding. No match data.
- Contamination (even): Contamination turns off your blue and red spells, because every land taps for one black mana, Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors included. Of your blue and red cards only a Goblin Welder already in play keeps working, unless Fire Diamond, Sky Diamond or Chromatic Sphere makes the colored mana. Thran Dynamo, Mind Stone and every lock piece are colorless, so the lock still comes down. Watch Powder Keg on two counters against Sphere of Resistance, Winter Orb and Mind Stone. No meaningful match data.
- Turbo Lands (even): With Exploration they play two fresh lands a turn, and Seismic Assault costs no mana once it is out, so Winter Orb and Tangle Wire slow them only a little. Glacial Chasm prevents the damage from Triskelion, Karn and the artifacts Karn animates. The Devourer and Altar mill still works, unless it hits a Gaea's Blessing, which shuffles their graveyard back. Lock them before the engine runs: Sphere of Resistance taxes Exploration, Horn of Greed and Seismic Assault, and Tsabo's Web keeps their Rishadan Port and Wasteland from untapping. Expect Aura of Silence and Null Rod after boarding. No match data.
- Fluctuator (even): Once Fluctuator is out, their cycling lands cycle for free, so Winter Orb and Tangle Wire barely slow them, and the kill needs only one untapped black source. Sphere of Resistance makes Fluctuator and Songs of the Damned cost one more, and Rishadan Port or Mishra's Helix should tap their Polluted Mire on the kill turn. Their Expunge cannot kill your artifact creatures. No match data.
- RG Zoo (slightly unfavorable): Zoo is fast, kills Goblin Welder with burn before it can activate, and plays main-deck Naturalize for Sphere of Resistance, Tangle Wire, Winter Orb or a Tinkered threat, so Weld in response when you can. Sphere still makes their one-drops cost two, Triskelion and Fire // Ice kill Jackal Pup, Mogg Fanatic and Grim Lavamancer, and Ensnaring Bridge stops every attacker with more power than you have cards in hand. After boarding expect Hull Breach and Crumble; Pyroclasm, Rejuvenation Chamber and Crumbling Sanctuary come in, and the lists with Chill bring it too. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 0 percent over 6 matches, very limited data.
Sideboard guide
- vs Stiflenought, Landstill, Psychatog, Tron, The Solution and Dromar Control: Defense Grid, Shattering Pulse, Pyroclasm, Phyrexian Furnace. Three Defense Grid make counters cost three more on your turn. Add two Shattering Pulse against Stiflenought for Dreadnought and Powder Keg, one against Landstill, Phyrexian Furnace against Psychatog, and two Pyroclasm against The Solution and Dromar. The Devourer kill and Grafted Skullcap come out, plus both Fire // Ice against Stiflenought and Dromar, one against Psychatog, and Mishra's Helix and Tsabo's Web against The Solution. Against Landstill it is Triskelion, Furnace, Skullcap and a Fire // Ice instead, against Tron two Fire // Ice and Furnace. Under an active Standstill, lean on Goblin Welder, whose activations are not spells; the first spell you cast gives them three cards. Many current lists also carry Powder Keg, which destroys Dreadnought on one counter along with your own Goblin Welders, and Blue_Man7's list from September 10 brought three Choke, which keep Islands tapped.
- vs Goblins, Sligh and Zoo: Pyroclasm, Rejuvenation Chamber, Crumbling Sanctuary. Three Pyroclasm and two Rejuvenation Chamber, plus Crumbling Sanctuary against Sligh and Zoo, which turns damage to players into cards exiled from the library. Out: Devourer and Altar and Grafted Skullcap, plus Mishra's Helix and Furnace against Goblins. Against Sligh and Zoo two Winter Orb and Helix go instead, and Phyrexian Furnace stays for Grim Lavamancer. Pyroclasm kills your own Welders, so cast it before deploying them. Most current lists also board Chill and Powder Keg for their one-drops; Chill makes red spells cost two more, your own Goblin Welder and Pyroclasm included.
- vs Enchantress, Replenish, Oath of Druids, The Rock and Aluren: Aura Flux, Shattering Pulse, Phyrexian Furnace. Three Aura Flux: every other enchantment costs two each upkeep, which under Winter Orb and Tangle Wire kills most of their board and makes Pernicious Deed cost two a turn. Against Enchantress, Replenish and Oath of Druids two Fire // Ice and Triskelion come out, and fewer creatures also means fewer Oath triggers for them. Against Oath add two Shattering Pulse for their Sphere of Resistance and take out the Devourer kill too, which is one creature fewer. Add Phyrexian Furnace against Replenish for Skullcap, and against The Rock, where Sphere of Resistance and Skullcap go instead of Triskelion. Against Aluren the Devourer kill and Skullcap come out instead of Fire // Ice and Triskelion.
- vs Elves, Mono Black, Terrageddon, Clerics, Zombies and UG Madness: Pyroclasm, Shattering Pulse, Phyrexian Furnace. Three Pyroclasm against every creature deck, plus two Shattering Pulse against Elves for the Tangle Wire a third of their lists play and against Mono Black for Cursed Scroll and Powder Keg, and the second Furnace against Terrageddon, Clerics and Zombies. The Devourer kill and Grafted Skullcap come out, plus Mishra's Helix and Icy Manipulator against Elves and Mono Black, and Mishra's Helix alone against Terrageddon, Clerics and Zombies; Devourer and Altar always leave together.
- vs Reanimator and graveyard decks: Phyrexian Furnace, Aura Flux, Pyroclasm. The second Furnace for Skullcap against Reanimator, and when they show Oath of Druids three Aura Flux for both Fire // Ice and Mishra's Helix. Against Full English Breakfast bring the second Furnace and three Pyroclasm, and take out the Devourer kill, Skullcap and Tsabo's Web.
Budget and upgrades
Typical cost: $1,400–$3,900. The reference 75 costs about $3,900 at Premodern-era printings, and four City of Traitors are about $2,210 of that, or 56 percent. City of Traitors, Karn and Phyrexian Devourer are on the Reserved List. Next come four Ancient Tomb at about $520 and three Rishadan Port at about $316; Tinker, Thran Dynamo, Mind Stone, Karn, Mishra's Helix and the whole sideboard are inexpensive.
- Cut four City of Traitors and three Rishadan Port for three Crystal Vein, two Worn Powerstone, one Island and one Mountain. That build costs about $1,400; you draw the second-turn Thran Dynamo or Tangle Wire less often, with four lands that tap for two every turn instead of eight, and lose some mana denial. Worn Powerstone enters tapped but taps for two every turn after, which works well under Winter Orb.
- If your events allow tournament-legal reprints, Rishadan Port costs about $8, Shivan Reef under $1 and Goblin Welder about $22. City of Traitors has no other paper printing, and Ancient Tomb's reprints cost about the same as the Tempest original.
- Every build keeps the core: Tinker and Goblin Welder are the engine, Winter Orb, Tangle Wire and Sphere of Resistance are the lock, and Ancient Tomb is what makes turn-one lock pieces possible.
- If you buy the deck in stages, start with Tinker, the mana rocks, Winter Orb, Karn, Triskelion, Helix and the sideboard, then Goblin Welder, Sphere of Resistance, Tangle Wire and Ancient Tomb, then the colored lands and Rishadan Port, and City of Traitors last.
Every deck that costs under $500 with reprints is on our budget decks page, priced from a real tournament list.
