"EDH: Memnarch Rules"

"EDH: Memnarch Rules"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

As an original Mirrodin boy , one of my most sought after cards was the caretaker of the whole plane. Memnarch . He was left in charge by Karn when he traversed the planes. Over time though Memnarch was driven mad which resulted in a lot of wrong things in Mirrodin. Story wise aside his card representation was a very strong one. He continues to be a feature in many EDH decks as a commander that acquires artifacts.

With a casting cost of 7 Generic or Colorless mana he can be put in any deck but it is actually the mono blue decks that would maximize his abilities. In an expansion that was 70% artifact Memnarch reigned supreme. The Lands were artifacts , the creatures were artifacts and there were even things that made the organic into artifacts.

Memnarchs abilities are to make artifacts out of permanents permanently at the cost of 2 Blue Mana and One Colorless mana. His 2nd ability is to Acquire artifacts for 3 colorless mana and 1 Blue mana permanently as well. So if he could turn anything into an artifact , he could potentially Acquire everything for 4 mana and in a world made of metal he truly is the master.

"I'm turning to metal....Cooooool...."

Of course if you want to build a deck around the former Caretaker of Mirrodin you need to have things that make things into artifacts. Cards Like Neurok Transmuter and Liquimetal Coating are shoo ins in a deck like this. Myr landshaper is also a good fit if you want to grab those lands 2 at a time in partnership with Liquimetal Coating.

Imagine what the battlefield would look like with a Mycosynth Lattice (it makes all permanents into artifacts) also in play...everything will be up for grabs for a metal lord gone mad. The particular pieces of this spectacular combo comes in play one by one with cards like Fabricate or Treasure Mage included in the deck.

The next frightening thing with a Lattice in play is a March of the Machines. Since Memnarch has literally grabbed all of the other permanents from the other side. A March of the Machines is the final nail in the proverbial coffin of your opponents life. Since all permanents will become artifact creatures with power and toughness equal to their converted mana costs , all Lands will now go Kabloom! (They do not have converted mana costs so they die) ensuring that there would be no further resistance from anyone.

In preparation for this Machine + Lattice combo , you should also include little Talismans , Trinkets and other alternate mana producers like Myr and Stones or even Khalni gem. Darksteel Ingot and Darksteel Pendant are staples of this deck back in standard and are a must have here as well.  It ensures that you have creatures that would go unopposed in the late game. Imagine a reanimated Lattice , an Ingot and a Pendant. This trio already constitutes 11 points of damage and with your opponents unable to do anything for the next 4 turns then it is time to move on to the next game.

Blessed are those who could brew and play. Keep on doing so. Until next time.