First thing's first, you should get rid of the Crumbling Colossi, Aphotic Wisps, Shape Anews, and maybe the Cauldrons of Souls. Cauldrons/Colossi are just too expensive to cast and you really aren't gonna ever tutor for them when you can search for Inkwell Leviathan instead, Shape Anew doesn't work well in a deck full of artifacts since you can't choose what you're shaping it into, and Aphotic Wisps just plain isn't good enough for extended.
You're probably right about the Crumbling Colossi, but here's the thing. I threw them in because I though 4 Inkwell Leviathans wouldn't be enough high power targets for Shape Anew. I don't know if you've read Precursor Golem, but it basically copies your spells as long as they target 1 Golem across all of your Golems. This includes Solemn Simulacrum. Which means with Shape Anew, Precursor alone would turn into 3 additional artifacts from my deck and if Solemn is out, that's another one plus Solemn's card draw. Unfortunately, Crumbling Colossus would also be targeted, but I can just simply attack before I play Shape Anew. It's not like anything in the deck has haste.
Which brings me to Aphotic Wisps. As far as cantrips go, it's the best Extended has to offer. And with Precursor on the field, it means that I now have 3 3/3's with Fear and I draw 3 cards all at the cost of 1 black mana. This seems good to me and they are both the deck's bread and butter. What it revolves around.
Cauldron is there partly for graveyard recursion without needing mana, unlike Scarecrone, which can be useful in itself, but it allows me to save my Golemns if someone, say, Lightning Bolts them while Precursor is out. Mind you, Solemn is already a +1 when it dies, but having the other half of my Aphotic Wisps/Shape Anew + Precursor Golemn combo die before I can pull it off would be annoying. When I'm on the offensive though and my original reasoning for putting it in the deck in the first place was because I could just bring back everything I sacked with Shape Anew for even more field presence.
I'm also not really sure if you should be going with both Fauna Shaman and Kuldotha Forgemaster. They both kinda pull the deck in different directions, and although they both lead to the goal of "tutor big strong artifact creatures", they do it in different ways.
Yeah, the deck had a bit more green before to the tune of Lace with Moonglove (another card to play on Precursor, but Aphotic Wisps and Shape Anew out class it so much I found I didn't need it) and Ancient Stirrings. And aside from being cheaper and searching out for lands before Solemn hit the board, it wasn't doing anything that Shape Anew and later Fauna Shaman did better.
Fauna Shaman itself I added because I'd sometimes draw things like Inkwell that I had no intention of playing from my hand and because I had Reliquary to keep all the cards I'd get with Aphotic Wisps, Precursor, and Solemn, I couldn't just discard my hand size down.
I'd almost like to say to just cut Fauna Shaman entirely as well, but I think it could still maybe work if you include a bigger reanimator package, such as Makeshift Mannequin, as well as a singleton Sharuum the Hegemon.
I like Scarecrone better in the reanimating department with it being a target for everything artifact related as well as the fact it and Cauldron are reusable. Sharuum I decided against when I looked through the long list of targets for Shape Anew because it was kinda expensive (mana cost-wise), was merely a 5/5 flyer and thus not bulky enough for me, and, against, it only brings stuff back once and only ever would since it's not a Golemn and wouldn't get Shape Anewed. I guess I could sack it with Kuldotha as far as reusing it goes...
But then there's the problem of it requiring white mana to play. Even as a singleton, I'd like to limit the amount of dead cards in my hand as much as possible since I need Solemn to get the ball rolling most of the time and he can't be played until turn 4 if I get enough lands in that amount of time in the first place. If you haven't already guessed, I don't plan on taking this deck to any tournaments I expect to win.
Alternatively, you could use Master Transmuter, a card that kind of ties Fauna Shaman and Kuldotha Forgemaster together by being able to put creatures that you tutor with Fauna Shaman into play quickly as well as being able to protect creatures tutored by Kuldotha Forgemaster (by activating Master Transmuter in response to a removal spell and returning the targeted creature to your hand/back into play to fizzle the spell)
... I'm kinda baffled as to why I'm not playing Master Transmuter myself. That's definitely going in the deck with 3 copies at the least.
If you do go the Master Transmuter route, you're probably going to want to include cards like Grand Architect, as well as a bunch of cheap ramp (preferably of the artifact kind). One thing I've actually always wanted to try in a green artifact ramp deck is 4x Overgrown Battlement, 4x Wall of Tanglecord. This gives you both early game ramp as well as a great earlygame defense until you can set up your tutors/combos. The Walls of Tanglecord are especially helpful at blocking Bitterblossom tokens/Squadron Hawks/really anything that flies and is carrying a Sword of X and X.
The early game is something I've neglected to a large extent, yes. I'll probably throw in those Grand Architects and if I have room for Overgrown Battlements I'll try to find some sort blue defender so all three mesh together, but then I'd be looking at 9+ additional cards to the deck. Hmm...
You should also probably run 4x Etherium Sculptor, since it acts as artifact ramp, it's blue for Grand Architect's ramping, and it can be used as fodder for any of your tutors lategame.
Well, as long as I'm getting mana a bit quicker, it's not terribly important that my artifact spells are a bit cheaper since the ones I'd generally be playing cost 4 or 5 anyway. And Etherium Sculptor isn't a good target for Shape Anew.
Borderposts are another form of artifact "ramp". Replacing 4 of your lands with 4x Mistvein Borderposts is just a way to get more artifacts on the battlefield for Master Transmuter/Kuldotha Forgemaster. Also note that Etherium Sculptor affects the alternate cost of the borderposts too.
Again, bad target for Shape Anew. As well, I already have fantastic targets for Master Transmuter and Kuldotha Forgemaster in the form of Solemn and Precursor respectively.
This isn't a regular, blah, go artifacts, go deck. It's a, let's see how much we can abuse Precursor Golemn deck. I probably should have mentioned that when I posted the deck list...
Also, Thousand-Year Elixir is a great card in this deck since it lets you play as though your Fauna Shamans/Forgemasters/Transmuters have haste. Running 3 copies of it is a good idea; 4 is too much since you never want to draw more than 1 copy in a game.
Agreed, though I think Unwinding Clock is a better alternative if only because it would allow me to defend myself after a big attack that didn't quite kill my opponent. Having haste on those critters you mentioned would be nice... but not terribly necessary.
You should also probably change up your beefy kill cards too. Inkwell Leviathan is amazing, but you probably aren't gonna ever need more than one of them on the field.
Need? Probably not. Will have? That's a good bet. I can't stress how ridiculous Shape Anew is with Precursor. That's why I added in Call to Mind so I could reused them.
Basically you should run more singletons of your kill cards since you have the ability to tutor them up as silver bullets depending on the deck you're playing against. Sharuum is one of them that I mentioned earlier since it can also reanimate a fatty in your graveyard. Other good silver bullets are Blightsteel Colossus (good against decks with few creatures),
The only problem I had with the -steel Colossi was that they went back to the deck which is admittedly good for Shape Anew but bad with the graveyard recursion. What's REALLY bad though is that they're both Golemns.
Sphinx of the Steel Wind (it should be an instawin against almost any red or green deck other than Valakut),
Again, white mana. Not something I'm playing. But I suppose 1 Plain wouldn't hurt since I could just get it with Solemn.
Myr Battlesphere (good with Kuldotha Forgemaster since it gives you more fodder for his tutor ability, but also puts a very fast clock on your opponent),
An 8/7 that deals 4 damage? Pretty good suggestion. Actually, since it works so well with itself, it seems like a better card to play multiples of than Inkwell.
Mindslaver (can't be tutored with Fauna Shaman but Forgemaster makes running a copy worth it imo),
Now that's just mean. Summoning multiple, ridiculous artifact creatures, drawing a ton of cards, AND making sure the make every wrong choice possible on their next turn? That sounds like over kill... but something I'd definitely think about adding if I had a spot for it.
and Platinum Emperion (for White Weenie decks as long as they have no Path to Exile).
Again, it's a Golemn. Otherwise it probably would already be in the deck.
Running 3 or 4 copies of Sphinx Summoner is also a good idea, especially when you have Master Transmuter to abuse it's enter the battlefield ability.
Hmm... not the best thing to hit with Shape Anew, but it would give me an excuse to take out Fauna Shaman and stop playing green entirely. Hell, I might do that just because of Master Transmuter alone.
Also, not all of these kill cards should be in the main deck. I'd say put 3 or 4 of them in the maindeck and then put the rest in the sideboard to bring in for certain deck matchups.
Not worried about a side deck. I don't even know of anyplace in my area that has Extend tournies anyway. So anything that doesn't make the main I'm not going to bother obtaining. No, I haven't actually physically built the deck yet, that why I'm playing around with it before hand so I don't buy cards I end up not wanting. Like Doran the Seigetower for my Treefolk deck. Is it good? Yes. Is it necessary? No. Dauntless Dourbark wins games all on his own and isn't affected by Doran unless Unstoppable Ash is out AND he gets blocked, neither of which is likely. But I digress.
Finally, there are the miscellaneous good cards that are expensive but will really help out your deck. Spellskite is one of them, and I think they're somewhere around $8-10 each now, but if you have any you should definitely include them. They're another form of protection for your creatures like Master Transmuter, except the cost is only U or 2 life.
Pretty sure I don't have any and his purpose is purely defensive anyway. I know less about Magic than I do Yu-Gi-Oh, but in Yu-Gi-Oh you don't bother with Mirror Force in DDT and I think the same idea applies here. It stops potential problems, but doesn't directly help the main combo. Something I'd sideboard if I had it/was planning on making a sideboard.
Another card that would really work well in this deck is either of the Tezzeret cards, with Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas being slightly better imo since it's overall cheaper to cast. Both Tezzeret cards are just amazing in artifact decks though, so if you have any copies of them I really recommend putting a couple copies total in the deck.
If I happen pull one I'll put it in, but I'm not going out of my way for a play set of Planeswalkers. That would be half of the deck cost on it's own, lol. Even one isn't something I'm gonna go out of my way for with this being a casual deck and all.
For the sideboard, like I mentioned before, you want the rest of your silver bullets that you aren't using maindeck. You also probably want things like hand disruption for decks with a lot of permission, a board sweeper for decks like Elves/White Weenie, etc
Here's a decklist I threw together from my suggestions:
Lands (and "lands"):
4 Mistvein Borderpost
2 Wildfield Borderpost
5 Island
3 Forest
2 Swamp
3 Misty Rainforest
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Twilight Mire
2 Flooded Grove
Creatures:
4 Master Transmuter
4 Kuldotha Forgemaster
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Fauna Shaman
3 Grand Architect
4 Overgrown Battlement
4 Wall of Tanglecord
1 Sharuum the Hegemon
1 Myr Battlesphere
1 Blightsteel Colossus
3 Sphinx Summoner
Artifacts:
1 Mindslaver
3 Thousand-Year Elixir
Sideboard:
SB: 1 Inkwell Leviathan (for anything with Islands really)
SB: 1 Platinum Emperion (for weenie decks)
SB: 1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind (for any red/green deck)
SB: 4 Spreading Seas (for Valakut)
SB: 4 Thoughtseize (for permission; use Inquisition of Kozilek if Thoughtseize is too expensive)
SB: 3 Phyrexian Revoker (for planeswalkers and other problem cards with activated abilities)
SB: 1 Phyrexian Metamorph (kind of a filler card, but can be brought in against decks with a lot of bombs as a nice card to tutor for)
I'm aware the manabase is expensive in this decklist, but I just wasn't sure how to make a manabase in a wedge coloured deck without resorting to expensive lands like those. Change it up however you like, just test it out to make sure the manabase works for you.
P.S. hows that for discussion hehehe
That looks like a pretty nasty deck on it own, even though it drifted entirely away from what I was going for, lol.
... Wait, did you take out Solemn Simulacrum entirely? O.o Why? D:
... Ha. Just played a test game after making some of your suggestions and I drew 35 cards in one turn and had this on the field: 3 Precurors, 2 Solemns, 1 Kuldotha Forgemaster, 1 Myr Battlesphere, 1 Cauldron of Souls, 1 Sphinx Summoner, and 1 Master Transmuter. I had my entire deck in hand, not exactly a good I'll admit as I was at my second main phase by that point, but I had spent only 6 mana.
6... mana.
6...
I think I'll replace the Sphinx Summoners with Diabolic Tutors. It's cheaper, I'll have more targets, and I can't hit it with Shape Anew. Solemn and Precursor work just fine with Master Transmuter.
New deck list:
3 Grand Architect
1 Inkwell Leviathan
2 Kuldotha Forgemaster
4 Master Transmuter
4 Myr Battlesphere
4 Precursor Golem
2 Scarecrone
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Aphotic Wisps
2 Cauldron of Souls
4 Diabolic Tutor
4 Shape Anew
10 Island
4 Reliquary Tower
8 Swamp
