Sharuum

This week I'm going to do something a little different. This is a deck I'm in the process of building myself. It completes my U/B Graveyard matters decks. I've been working towards it for a while. Its a linear strategy and quite strong.
Decklist: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/30-10-14-sharuum/

This was a blast to figure out. Its a pretty filthy combo deck, built to abuse the artifact type as much as possible. It can go for big mana plays with Ugin and Karn, or with a blink sub-theme with Filigree Angel and Venser. Its also quite capable of taking infinite extra turns with Time Sieve and other tricks. Its not super optimized yet since I haven't gotten to playtest it, but its obviously not taking it easy either. I'm going to break this down by groupings of cards.

Blink related:
Baleful Strix
Deadeye Navigator
Duplicant
Filigree Angel
Magister Sphinx
Master Transmuter
Myr Battlesphere
Solemn Simulacrum
Momentary Blink
Venser the Sojourner

These are the core of the blink sub-theme. They offer powerful enter the battlefield effects, or they blink things on their own. I could have included some of the sacrifice cards here, but they do serve a somewhat different function. I also think it worthwhile to mention that strength of blinking Sharuum herself.

Big Mana:
Karn, Liberated
Ugin the Spirit Dragon
Tunnel Vision/Open the Vaults
Memnarch
Teferi, Temporal Archmage

These are all plans that need a huge amount of mana to work out correctly. While there are other 7 or more casting cost cards, they are mostly artifacts, letting me cheat their mana cost with Sharuum.

Combo enablers:
Krak-Clan Ironworks
Sculpting Steel
Thopter Foundry/Sword of the Meek
Phyrexian Metamorph
Tunnel Vision/Open the Vaults
Karn, Silver Golem

These cards have other utility but really they exist as a means to set up combos. Metamorph and Sculpting Steel combine with Sharuum to create an infinite sacrifice loop.

Combo payoffs:
Time Sieve
Disciple of the Vault
Bitter Ordeal
Spine of Ish Sha

These cards directly benefit from the enabler cards. Generally they instantly end the game by either taking infinite turns, destroying all permanents, exiling the enemies library, or draining all of their life.

Acceleration:
Gilded Lotus
Grim Monolith
Mana Crypt
Mana Vault
Sol Ring
Worn Powerstone

Pretty standard artifact mana package. This section could honestly use some beefing up and might grow to include some number of signets, Mindstone, Dreamstone Hedron, etc.

Protection:
Helm of Possession
Darksteel Forge
Lightning Greaves
Mana Drain

Most of these cards have a second function. Many cards from the blink section also work here, Filigree Angel/Baleful Strix/etc. They fall under the Protection heading because that's their primary purpose. Its a light list because I believe in pushing plan A really hard.

Value/Card Draw:
Memory Jar
Mimic Vat
Mind's Eye
Mirrorworks
Rings of Brighthearth
Sensei's Divining Top
The Chain Veil
Trading Post
Voltaic Key
Rite of Replication
Stolen Identity
Thirst for Knowledge

This set up gets me a lot of cards and plays out tons of artifacts that can all start interacting with each other. I want to try to fit Strionic Resonator into this section whenever possible.

Tutors:
Enlightened Tutor
Entomb
Reshape
Transmute Artifact
Tezzeret the Seeker
Kuldotha Forgemaster

The good part about working with artifacts is that it is very easy to line up tutors to play. Tinker itself is banned, but its ancestor and descendants are both legal. Entomb is a great card to line up Sharuum with, and Tezzeret is a bad ass. March of the Machines can easily kill people outright in this deck.

Utility/Removal:
Steel Hellkite
Wurmcoil Engine
Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Ethersworn Adjudicator
Etherium Sculptor
Junk Diver
Myr Retriever

These cards don't neatly fit into catagories. They kind of do a lot of everything. Many of them are large creatures to hold the fort while you compile an overwhelming advantage. Tezzeret is awesome here, both drawing a card every turn and building to a lethal finish very quickly. Ethersworn Adjudicator is a pet card, but one that I think fits here quite nicely.

Land:
Academy Ruins
Adarkar Wastes
Ancient Den
Ancient Tomb
Arcane Sanctum
Command Tower
Darksteel Citadel
Fetid Heath
Flooded Strand
Godless Shrine
Hallowed Fountain
3x Island
Marsh Flats
Mishra's Workshop
Mystic Gate
Phyrexian Tower
3x Plains
Polluted Delta
Reflecting Pool
Reliquary Tower
Scrubland
Seat of the Synod
Sunken Ruins
2x Swamp
Tolaria West
Tundra
Underground River
Underground Sea
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Vault of Whispers
Watery Grave

This mana base is extraordinarily expensive because of the inclusion of a Workshop. This is an ideal version. The shop will take me a while to build up to and likely will be a basic island while I'm waiting.

So there you have it folks. This is a great expression of the power of artifacts and will be a blast to play. I currently have about half the cards. I'll update on the progress of this one once its in a playable state.