Brobots
The deck has lots of names. Affinity, Robots, Real Steel... but I like to call it Brobots. What is Brobots? It's a deck that intends to close out games before they even truly begin. It does this by playing a slew of cheap, synergistic artifacts that are ideal at having a super aggressive early game. So much so that generally you kill your opponent before they get the opportunity to stabilize.
What merits does the deck have over other more traditional aggro decks like Zoo? The deck scales. [
card]Cranial Plating[/card] is an effect that a lot of aggro decks don't have access to. Green-based decks will have Tarmagoyf, but Cranial Plating scales even farther than 'goyf, and this on its own can make even a lone Vault Skirge into an absolute beating against any aggro deck. It even excels against control matchups because Cranial Plating on an Inkmoth Nexus or Blinkmoth Nexus is a threat that's very difficult for control to favorably interact with. Steel Overseer also provides a similar "umph" that other aggro decks don't really get access to for the longer games.
The deck is also a tad bit "trickier" than other aggressive decks. Arcbound Ravager can be used to set up some very, very interesting combat steps,
and it's hard for your opponent to know exactly how you'll respond. Even if they do it correctly, there's no way for them to tell if they'll just die randomly to Shrapnel Blast.
Affinity sees a lot of competitive play even to this day. It placed 5th at Grand Prix Lincoln, and has seen various top 8s across the lifespan of the format. For interested parties, here's a video of Mary Jacobson obliterating Luis Scott-Vargas at GP Lincoln with the list. This video aptly demonstrates the raw power of the deck on the play, while also showcasing it’s obvious weaknesses on the draw.
I'm sure most of you are interested in at least a baseline decklist. This is a very similar list to the one that is being played in the video, with only very subtle differences. It's what I've personally played over the months, and it feels basically the same as it did before I
changed cards in the list. I'll post both lists for comparison's sake, but the differences are so minimal.
[deck]My list.[/deck]
[deck=Mary Jacobson's Affinity, 5th place GP Lincoln.]Creature (26)
2 Arcbound Ravager
4 Etched Champion
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Signal Pest
4 Steel Overseer
4 Vault Skirge
Spells (18)
4 Cranial Plating
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Mox Opal
3 Shrapnel Blast
3 Springleaf Drum
Mana (16)
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
4 Darksteel Citadel
2 Glimmervoid
4 Inkmoth Nexus
2 Mountain
Sideboard (15)
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Blood Moon
3 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Torpor Orb
3
Whipflare
[/deck]
What are some of the differences between her list and mine? Not much, I'm playing one less Mox Opal because of it being Legendary, and one more Shrapnel Blast instead. I also elected to simply play basics instead of Glimmervoid. This was a choice made based on UWR Flash being such a popular deck, where being fairly immune to Path to Exile is a little bit better than simply being able to move around Cranial Plating at instant speed.
Rather than be a full-blown primer where I talk about alternatives for each converted mana cost, instead I'm going to focus more on explaining why each card is already in the list, because the deck really doesn't have a whole lot of wiggle room for "alternatives." I believe that if there is to be discussion about alternative cards, it can be done in the thread itself.
[size=150:
23164jhe]Creature base[/size]
Memnite/Ornithopter: These two are in the deck for basically the same reason. They're zero drop creatures that activate your opening Mox Opal so that you can play Signal Pest or Vault Skirge on turn 1. In this regard, they're basically "little mana dorks." They also attack well with Signal Pest or a Steel Overseer activation, and make awesome fodder for Archbound Ravager. Occasionally you'll have to dump a bunch of +1/+1 counters onto an Ornithopter to win against an opponent with a lot of ground pounders, but winning is winning.
Etched Champion: This card is simply a beating
against almost every matchup you'll play against. It's generally immune to all colors, it holds +1/+1 counters better than almost any card in the deck, and is generally just a nightmare for your opponent to deal with as long as you're on Metalcraft. There isn't much more I can say about the card; anybody who reads the text on it can easily figure out just how it does what it does.
Signal Pest: This card is in the list to offer you the early aggression that the deck is known for. Playing multiple Signal Pests is often more than most decks can handle, and I'd go as far as to wager that this card has won me more games than any other individual creature in the list. Battle Cry is such a strong mechanic in any deck that can play so many creatures so quickly. He does have a giant target on his head for Path to Exile, however, so that's something to keep in mind.
[card:
23164jhe]Steel Overseer[/card]: Standard players will be intimately familiar with the effect that Steel Overseer offers, especially if they've played with or against Gavony Township. What does this card do for the list? It makes Archbound Ravager a much more "broken" effect, it makes aggressive swarm-like opening hands "go bigger," and it is even a fairly decent attacker too. The longer Steel Overseer stays on the table, the more likely you are to win the game.
Vault Skirge: is a painful little sucker. He and Cranial Plating do a lot of work on life totals. Lifelink isn't relevant in some matchups, but in others it has the potential to simply put the game out of your opponent's reach. Generally when Vault Skirge is good, he's very good, but even when he's not being
amazing, he's still a robot minion to do your bidding.
[card]Archbound Ravager:[/card]: And of course, the big daddy himself. This card is responsible for degenerate formats and having caused quite a number of players to quit Magic: The Gathering during his tour of the Standard format. In this deck he does many of the same things he was known for in Standard. Although this deck isn't playing Disciple of the Vault, it does have other ways to make use of Archbound Ravager. His Modular is not irrelevant, and it makes every artifact that you would want to be attacking with into an immediate threat. You're on the Inkmoth plan? Great, here's a 7/7 Inkmoth. Need to race life totals? Make that Vault Skirge a 10/10 and see if they can beat that. About to get board wiped? Pile a bunch of counters onto a [card]Blinkmoth Nexus[/card:
23164jhe]. It has so many uses in and out of combat that it can still appropriately strike fear into an enemy as soon as they see him.
Spells
Cranial Plating: This card obviously shouldn't need to be explained. It's one of the best cards in the deck, and will win you the most games out of any other card in the list. It should be noted that the "alternate" equip cost of
. can be used at instant speed, so there are occasions where you'll be able to swap it mid-attack and pull out some really ridiculous damage.Mox Opal: Basically an "enabler" card. It's the reason you can get away
with playing so few lands. This card allows for some pretty silly turn one plays if you've got any number of 0 drop creatures. Being Legendary makes it occasionally awkward to play with, but there will be times where you can just sac the first one and play a second one without blinking an eye, so that's something to keep in mind.
Springleaf Drum: This is basically just extra Mox Opals. Tapping a creature isn't a big deal usually. There isn't much to say about it though. It makes mana, provides Metalcraft, and allows you to play less actual lands.
Shrapnel Blast: A great finisher, this card gives you a lot of reach for closing out games. It turns Darksteel Citadels into Lava Axes once you're done using them, it lobs any creature that you might be getting removed at the head...etc. It's just all around nice to have, and reach is important in a deck that wants
to win quickly.
Galvanic Blast: Typical burn spell with an upside for metalcraft users. Made famous by Brian Kibler here.
), but not so much vs. Shatterstorm or an