Much Abrew: Powerstone Assembler Combo (Standard)
Hello, everyone! Welcome to another episode of Much Abrew About Nothing. Last week during our Instant Deck Techs, our crazy infinite-combo Standard deck—Powerstone Assembler Combo—came out on top. As such, we're heading back to Dominaria Standard this week to see if using Cogwork Assembler to copy increasingly more powerful Powerstone Shards until we eventually have infinite mana and can make infinite Cogwork Assemblers is actually a realistic plan for the format. The basic plan of the deck is simple: to combo off, we need at least three and preferably four copies of Powerstone Shard on the battlefield; then, we can simply copy our way to victory with Cogwork Assembler. While four copies of Powerstone Shard probably sounds like a lot, we have a ton of ways to find the mana rock, like Glint-Nest Crane and Trophy Mage, along with Mirage Mirror for additional copying. How often do all of the pieces come together? Let's get to the video and find out; then, we'll talk more about the deck!
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Much Abrew: Powerstone Assembler (Standard)
Discussion
- First off, the record: we played a friendly league and ended up going 4-1, which is a surprisingly good record for a very under-the-radar deck. While we certainly got a bit lucky in some games by drawing our Fumigates at the right time, the combo was actually way more consistent than I thought it would be heading into our matches.
- Our one loss was to UG Merfolk, and it does highlight one of the issues with the deck: aggro can be rough, especially if we don't find a Fumigate. While we have a few blockers for the early game and a bit or removal, it is pretty easy to fall behind, since our plan is to take off multiple turns to play mana rocks. This is fine if we have Fumigate, but we lose if we can't find one. It's pretty unlikely that we can race our opponent and combo off before they kill us.
- As for the combo itself, we often waited to play Cogwork Assembler until we could go infinite to minimize the chances of getting blown out by removal, which seemed to work pretty well. While this does slow us down quite a bit, with only a single Cogwork Assembler, things can go wrong in a hurry if it gets hit by Vraska's Contempt or other exile-based removal.
- The math on the combo is pretty simple. If we already have Cogwork Assembler on the battlefield (which is risky, but faster), we need three Powerstone Shards and five lands. If we are playing Cogwork Assembler on the same turn that we are comboing (slower but safer), it's much easier to go off with four Powerstone Shards, although we can theoretically make do if we have a ton of lands.
- The other thing to consider with the combo is waiting until we have enough mana to activate Cogwork Assembler twice. While this requires a ton of mana, it does allow us to beat one removal spell. If we only have one Cogwork Assembler activation, something like a Lightning Strike or Vraska's Contempt can ruin our day.
- Even though we only have one Cogwork Assembler, having it die isn't the end of the world, since we can always shuffle it back in with Commit // Memory. We can also win with Walking Ballista and Paradox Engine in a pinch, although it takes a lot of work, and it's possible we end up short on mana, since we are just making a bunch of mana rather than going truly infinite.
- The one main-deck card that I really disliked was Icy Manipulator. While it does work like a removal spell and can be sweet if we get Paradox Engine going, playing some number of The Antiquities Wars in the main deck might be better. The Saga was very impressive when we sideboarded it in, both helping us set up our combo and giving us another way of winning the game when everything goes wrong.
- Otherwise, I was pretty happy with the deck. Settle the Wreckage probably deserves consideration, considering how much we rely on sweepers to beat aggressive decks. Having another wrath or two wouldn't hurt, but in general, the deck feels pretty close to where it should be.
- So, should you play Powerstone Assembler Combo in Standard? Based on our experience, I think the answer is yes. While the combo is too slow to break Standard, it is certainly competitive enough to win a bunch of games at FNM or on Magic Online. If you're looking for something unique, like playing combo and counting your mana repeatedly, Powerstone Assembler Combo might be the perfect Standard deck for you!
Conclusion
Anyway, that's all for today. Don't forget to vote for next week's deck by liking, commenting on, and subscribing to Instant Deck Tech videos. As always, leave your thoughts, ideas, opinions, and suggestions in the comments, and you can reach me on Twitter @SaffronOlive or at SaffronOlive@MTGGoldfish.com.
