Can a 0 Rare Deck Win on MTG Arena in Historic?

I said on stream recently that I didn't think 0 rare decks could consistently compete on MTG Arena, and doubly so in HIstoric - Arena's Vintage format - but viewers are sending my decks to prove me wrong. So today we're going to play a zero rare Shrapnel Blast burn deck and see what happens!
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#MTGHistoric

[@keithmpire]

Seth mentioned how he wished he played MTG in the 1990s. It was pretty sweet. Ice Age, Homelands & Fallen Empires were full of junk, but the whole environment was filled with junk. I only knew one guy who netdecked in my whole city. There's nothing wrong with how Magic is now, but having dozens of opponents who were all just brewing weird junk is something that I miss.

[@wookieesden3133]

The Hive was a wincon in one of my decks. Make a 1/1 flying each turn for 5. Woo.

[@ashrog82]

Me and several of my middle school friends started playing around that time. Not only were we playing with any old garbage, most of us were playing 5 color decks, because we wanted to use all of our coolest cards and hadn't yet figured out that we could build multiple decks.

[@mikemoyer8162]

No joke. One of my first decks was based around seasinger. Does anyone even know what that card is these days?

[@ildathet]

that's also why commander is so popular Competition ruin gaming since the dawn of time

[@dementievatz]

In the 90s I was big into things like Thicket Basilisk + Lure, or Spinal Villain + Fylamarid, or trying to lock a game with Stasis + Birds of Paradise + Kismet.

[@CptManboobs]

4:20 A 1 mana Creature that burns for 1 on Landfall would actually be really playable in Burn, pushed even if has at least 1 power or if it pings any target instead of just going to face.

[@zackestin1368]

right? like it would consistently do 4-5 damage which is exactly where you want your one drops to be.

[@wormspeaker]

{R} [[Goblin Underminer]] 0/3 Landfall: Goblin Underminer deals 1 damage to target player. In the average burn deck it might be expected to do 3 damage to the opponent before they stabilize or you win. I mean, that's a lightening bolt to the face, so probably playable. If they made a card like that, you'd probably see burn decks playing fetch lands just to get the extra landfall triggers.

[@antoine_as]

There's already a 4 mana 2/2 creature which exists with this effect so i don't think wizards would ever create a 1 mana creature with the same effect lol

[@Atmapalazzo]

If it had any power, i would probably jam it in burn. If it has 0 power, it's a tougher call.

[@DerekScottBland]

My thoughts exactly. If you want to put this in burn terms, for 1 mana you have a creature that turns every single land in your deck into direct damage. Saff might be entertaining, but one thing I've learned watching his vids is that he's not a great Magic player.

[@TheWorldsStage]

"Chandra's Incinerator" would be insane in this deck if you don't mind throwing a couple of rares. It'll often cost only one or two mana to cast, especially for this deck. And it's a 6/6 trampler that damages the opponent's creatures and planeswalkers for free as you send burn to face

[@bananalord3882]

Chandras incinerator requires EXTREME building around to be worth it, I think that it isn't as compatible with this deck as it seems. Otherwise it becomes just a regular old winmore.

[@MTGGoldfish]

It is nice that Shrapnel Blast makes it one mana, that's for sure.

[@najoheuer]

"A deck cannot have more than one The One Ring." would have fixed a LOT of the problems with the card AND be super flavorful.

[@yarrrthekraken]

It would have made the problem SO MUCH worse. It's already a race to see who can get down the first ring. Restricting it would make games even more of an RNG fest--whoever draws theirs wins.

[@broodlingg]

@@yarrrthekraken but then decks cannot rely on the card at all and if they do it becomes much less consistent for them to win.

[@ildathet]

@@yarrrthekraken sooo you agree the card is a problem and you deny a solution to a sub problem because ... ?

[@saxontumbleson7047]

@@yarrrthekraken L take

[@DimT670]

​@@ildathetbecause its not a solution. A ban is a solution. Limiting it isn't a solution it just makes game swingy

[@mauromapelli4836]

I really dig to see 0 rare-deck-videos, please keep em coming.

[@theyonlycomeoutwhenitsquiet]

Grik the goblin ran away and dove behind the rock, whistling and shrieking with merriment. Behind him angry voices grew closer before they were completely drowned out by another magnificent explosion. For the fourteenth time that day, scraps of iron, cloth, and bone fountained into the sky and carpeted the rough land with debris. Some of it splattered, other pieces rebounded with metallic tinging noises. Soon the area grew quiet. Grik peeked out from behind the rock to view his handiwork. He hooted and cackled with glee as he harvested the scraps of metal again, already envisioning the next explosion...

[@daviddent5662]

This did exceptionally well for what is basically something one step from being a Pauper deck. Like makes me wonder if we played with it using stuff in paper and upped that damage if this wouldn't be a fair little 'turn off your brain and burrrnn baby burrrrn". There is a Shrapnel Blast deck I've been wanting to brew around from ye olden times with my Retributive Wands. This might fit in that nicely.

[@LadyMapi]

To be fair, Pauper's burn decks are actually legitimately pretty scary, and aren't that much weaker than their higher-rarity brethren, so this thing being a menace wasn't exactly surprising.

[@piercearora7681]

​@@LadyMapitrue. The only thing holding them in check is hyper efficient interaction like counterspell, oh and turbofog exists

[@FartRainbows]

​@@piercearora7681haven't seen much turbo fog in a long time lol

[@2uxf3rgreymon52]

Pauper power level is pretty high, is definitely beyond pioneer and Historic decks. We get to play card since the beginning, plus all the commander mechanics like Monarch and Initiative. Plus the artifact lands and the rituals aren’t banned, so the interaction may be very simple sometimes, but the cards played are very powerful and effective (just think about Snuff Out, Counterspell and lighting bolt). Pauper burn is similar (monastery, blast runner, epicure) but it’s a t3/t4 win if unchecked. Improvised Club is a thing even in Pauper but it’s considered ‘weak’, so many mono red burn lists just play 1/2 copies, the most don’t even play it. We play fireblast and lava dart instead!

[@littlel9906]

this is basically an existing pauper deck, look up Pauper Synthesizer, it leverages synthesizer and other card draw artifacts plus artifact sac to give a burn deck staying power

[@TheeGoodSir]

ya know, comparing mill to burn is actually really interesting, like tasha's hideous laughter can be a 2 damage for 3 or sometimes a 7 dmaage for 3

[@jeremymalepeai10]

this kinda of deck is what keeps me coming back to playing budget decks are what keeps me interested in the game

[@sentientvcr346]

Love all the awesome decks y'all make on this channel!!

[@MTGGoldfish]

Thanks!

[@lucasenraraujo]

The implement of combustion makes me sad we didn't get Pia's Revolution on Arena (or Walking Ballista) as it was one of my favorite janky decks back in Kaladesh block hahaha. Great deck, Seth, thanks for playing it!

[@parallacksg]

I want to play with Pia's Revolution sooooo bad. I had a super fun deck in the kaladesh block. But it's not on arena and it's bugged on mtgo. 😢

[@inquisitorgrand]

Nice to see some Artisan gameplay on here! I have one idea on how to improve the list while staying on the no rare challenge: I think Gingerbrute is the better cheap artifact over Mishra's Desk because while the desk can draw cards, Light Up the Stage and Synthesizer already cover our hand advantage needs and Gingerbrute adds both some nice chip damage and evasion against lifegain decks.

[@rookermtg9321]

Having tested various things in the deck, Gingerbrute isn't as good for Bo3. Mishra's Research Desk is very strong in some of the worse matchups. Combo Control style decks can't afford to spend counterspells on every draw spell, but those draw spells also let you draw more burn than they can draw answers. For Bo1, though, I think it is a good call.

[@NexGenRogue]

Seeing as you're revisiting an archetype, would you say this is a Blast From the Past? I can't believe its been 4 years, since then. Covid made life feel like time stopped.

[@FartRainbows]

(shrapnel) blast from the past XD

[@2uxf3rgreymon52]

Goblin Blast Runner is such a nice card. It’s basically a red delver of secrets for burn deck that can afford some sacrifice strategies. In pauper is a staple of Mono Red Kuldotha, which is one of the tier 1 of the formats!

[@davidthompson6861]

As a David that also plays Elves, that game sure hurt

[@gabrielostrower8133]

love this channel so much and i especially love budget magic keep making amazing content

[@VladdViever]

@6:55 if you just cast the research desk from exile you'll double trigger Swiftspe'ah and get lethal. Cracking the desk was risky if you bricked. Love the content!

[@Knux84]

Hey! Love the content, as always. Budget decks especially are great for newer players to the format :D One slight complaint - your picture-in-picture is slightly too tall, and we can't read the text on triggered/activated abilities on the stack! Fine for veterans, but newer players to the format who aren't intimately familiar with the cards are gonna struggle to follow exactly what's going on. Sorry to be a downer, I really do love your Arena videos!

[@MTGGoldfish]

Oh, thanks for the feedback. I can make it smaller in the future.

[@1Shayz1]

Back when I first started playing magic Arena I had a very similar uncommon/common only deck and it did quite well, though I only played it in unranked queue. I also had an artesian golgari deck using the Carrion Grub Titanoth Rex combo with some uncommon reanimate spells, and in kamigawa I played the ox and plow deck with kaya's onslaught

[@realmileshall]

Wow, early! Love an MTGGoldfish Seth budget video. Instant click!

[@frankcastle9691]

Agree

[@TheJakeL152]

if this deck is going to get one rare, some bonecrusher giants would be huge for getting around the one ring

[@jakebrill5990]

I just built this and it does some serious work. I’m surprised how many cards I was able to draw or impulsive draw. Thanks a bunch!

[@sloth9669]

14:05. Best edit in a long while 😂😂

[@quintonhoffert6526]

I've always had a problem with the argument of "mill is inefficient burn." They're definitely two sides of the same archetype but mill functions differently enough to burn that I don't think they're fully comparable. There are two main differences the way I see it. Firstly, the life total remains static unless you do something to it, whereas the deck ticks down by at least 1 card per turn. The deck also starts lower: the life total starts at 20, but the deck really starts at 53 (assuming efficient deck building and no mulligans). Secondly, regaining cards in your deck is significantly harder than regaining life. A burn deck can be shut down relatively effectively by a deck that has many ways of gaining life; a mill deck, by contrast, is a lot harder to interact with. Some cards that put other cards back into the library do exist but they're usually not priority picks unless you're planning to abuse a combo, since most decks aren't capable of removing large portions of libraries and thus it's generally better to focus on cards that get other cards back from the graveyard to your hand/battlefield rather than putting them back into the deck. These two things aren't ultimately that different from burn but in practice it makes a big difference. A burn deck can get a player to 1 life and then run out of gas and still lose, whereas a mill deck that gets the opponent down to a few cards left doesn't need gas, they just need to survive and mandatory draw steps will deal the last few points of "damage" for them. Likewise, it's much harder to offer meaningful challenge to mill decks because they're hard to interact with. Regular good lifegain cards are generally useful since even non-burn decks generally try to win by reducing your life total to 0, meaning that even decks that aren't specced specifically to counter burn decks will often have pieces (either in the main board or the side board) that can make it harder for burn to get there. Mill, on the other hand, hits a different "life" type than the life total and therefore most players won't just naturally have resilience against mill like they might against burn. Short of playing someone using Eldrazi, Gaea's Blessing or Timetwister-like spells, you're basically never going to run into anyone with natural resilience against mill. On the contrary, you will often find yourself against control players who will be extra susceptible to mill because they like to draw extra cards. As a result, even though both mill and burn function as "go face" decks, I think they function differently enough that they shouldn't be compared directly.

[@Mrcoddy]

I can't belive I actually remember that galv blast video, was such a fun time

[@Loki-]

0:13 When the SaffronOlive intro is said I know it's gonna be a great video (and when it's not said)

[@NoyzBot]

as the premier pilot of the dimir mill deck in my discord server, I must congratulate you for that first game

[@KalanzoHI]

This deck is everything I love doing in Magic. A lot of players just hate this style deck so much, they often just concede on turn 1 or 2. Great deck for speed running daily missions.

[@curtissearle6462]

Was this from my bro rooker? That's hype he's got some sweet brews on his channel glad you played something of his!

[@AnoNym-sl3eh]

„Maybe you remember the budget artifact blast deck from 2018“ - well, it still is one of my two modern decks 😄 love that deck

[@MTGGoldfish]

Yeah, I love that deck too.

[@CaptainNarggles]

Yo i played the deck you were talking about from back in the day lol took it to my local FNM and just ran all the decks over with crazy speed =D good times

[@pablogarin]

12:45 Citadel ONLY works against burn if you've played a Reservoir first... I usually have a bunch of 1-2 CMC removal cards on the deck, with some top deck manipulation included, and it does wonders! Also, I play phyrexian obliterator, which against burn is the bomb.

[@suNn.K.O]

Historic Artisan content, baybeeeee!

[@zacharypoplawski1076]

39:24 Goblin Broom-Blaster has gotta be my favorite goblin card. Muxus? Never heard of ‘im

[@austinturgoose]

Lol me and Seth are like opposite players because I love hitting and face and it’s nice to occasionally durdle

[@stonerainproductions]

Great content as always Seth and congratulations @RookerKDog!

[@Clackerr]

This list needs the full playset of implement of combustion. Also, play light up the stage before playing lands to maximize cards.

[@rookermtg9321]

I agree with this, but the deck creator was pretty insistent on Mishra's Research desk to shore up some of the deck's bad matchups. They have a lot more experience than me, so I kept them in the decklist I sent to Seth.

[@JStack]

0:46 izzet artisan with beamsplitter, kiln fiend, and sprite dragon hits quite hard with the typical izzet spell boost/card draw cards with the red combat tricks. T4 kills abound, and many t3 surrenders.

[@AL00ZER]

Are there artifact mountain lands you can add in to help with the artifact sacrifice? or do you think it is not needed?

[@michaelrivera8665]

That Blast-Runner is pretty darn good :)

[@ther3aper561]

Sad ichor wellspring can't fit in the deck. I miss the kuldoltha rebirth deck using wellspring to keep the hand filled while also making goblins

[@Zowimir]

Amazing build, congratz to the author

[@Atmapalazzo]

I would say the deck could use a pair of bonecrusher giant for dealing with one ring's fog effect.

[@brackpin]

One very worthwhile add to this deck is Erebor Flamesmith. I've found it adds that extra bit of dmg you need. Wont save you from lifegain, but an extra 1dmg every instant or Sorcery goes a long way.

[@Kettwiesel25]

28:55 "Burn seems like such a simple deck" while playing the wrong one-drop 😂

[@tdimensional6733]

Nothin' beats the GARBAGE BAG FULL OF BATTERIES beatdown

[@akodotain]

When I'm extremely bored I run my historic pauper deck in regular historic. it's definately possible if you have power commons like soul warden etc and a reasonable opening hand.

[@remigusker6024]

I've got an artisan mono black list that's been survivable up to low diamond. You can do it for sure.

[@nbb3924]

Are there any upgrades? I've played with it a bit and it seems very strong already and I was wondering what upgrades could be.

[@wpmer]

Seth picking up CC means CC is real, and he's not just a dog person!! CC Scoops and Bear Scoops when?

[@icysalvoyt2689]

Damn, ya beat me to the punch, I was trying to make a common only deck in arena for my yt channel lol

[@kenkokuten4887]

So If I'm correct you'd need to build this in modern to play it in paper? Or no? Just curious.

[@shadowofseattle1338]

This deck just got me 4 historic wins in a row! All i changed was swapping 1 mtn for another combustion! It works great

[@francycakes7781]

this actually reminds me a lot of pauper red decks

[@christianbarrett3040]

I wonder if dragon spark reactor would be worth playing in this

[@LadyMapi]

I'm not surprised that Artisan Burn punches above its weight class - most of Burn's core cards are commons and uncommons anyway, with the main issue being that you need to build your own card advantage engine instead of just tossing in Chandra or whatever and calling it a day.

[@MTGGoldfish]

Yeah, you have to piece together the card draw with random artifacts, but it actually works since you need them to sacrifice to Shrapnel Blast anyway.

[@DouglasShulby]

+1 for the surprise cat visit

[@Infernoman64]

I built that artifact blast deck and even today still works very well.

[@Indy-the-soup]

I was having a really shit day, i really appreciate this upload

[@MTGGoldfish]

Hopefully tomorrow is better!

[@neros_soren]

What is fascinating to me is...this is so close to actual Mono Red in Pauper.

[@raxtergames]

How do you unlock the sleeves he uses?

[@pointyheadYT]

I know its not a 100% rareless deck (its got one busted mythic that you build around), but the new agatha's soul cauldron izzet deck is pretty good in historic with the right uncommons. If you do it right, you could potentially create an infinite mana/damage loop as soon as turn3.

[@JesseS.]

i go nuts in historic with a pauper deck i made, i hit platinum in historic with all commons in a red aggro deck

[@logan0396]

decided to spend my wildcards on this deck - its pretty damn fun yall

[@fromadhdtodndtomtg]

CC's opinion: You says artifacts... can I's push off shelfs?

[@ryanhebertson7457]

My favorite zero rare deck is azorius toughness matters in explorer. Actually quite competitive in BO1

[@ecastello]

Do you have list? I've never heard of that.

[@zackestin1368]

Man, this deck would be so much better with lurrus is my biggest gripe, don’t even need a super powerful manabase or anything.

[@stickofbutter4144]

This is basically just the current burn build in pauper lol

[@Nicc11221]

Seth seems like such a genuine guy. I hope your private life is as good as you deserve.❤

[@watertreatmentsolutions]

Thats a really suspicious thing to say. 🤷‍♀️

[@colecarmichael5724]

@@watertreatmentsolutionsyou’re not wrong but some people just be that way

[@johnbuscher]

Kinda surprised there’s no Tormod’s Crypt in the deck. Very nice graveyard hate but against a deck that doesn’t care for graveyard, it’s a 0 mana artifact to sac to Blast which still triggers Swiftspear.

[@MTGGoldfish]

Could be worth it depending on the meta. If you are running into a lot of graveyard decks like Greasefang it's probably worth cutting the Implement of Combustion for it.

[@hunterpauli763]

Sunscorched Desert!

[@Jackson666fan]

Please do some no banlist historic!

[@MTGGoldfish]

I think that's what we're going to do for today's stream!

[@itamarafshari8787]

What are some rares and mythics yourecommand to add?

[@captainofthesevenbees]

I have a deck with only commons and uncommons (so it’s realllllly budget) it has a ok win rate too

[@chancecoates3592]

i run an all common historic mono red that wins all the time good for daily challenges

[@SkeleBoneGuy]

Smiles in pauper

[@vbkllr]

Couch Cat!

[@jellysandjamz250]

“You can’t just win without any rares” So anyway, I started blasting

[@thevaultwalrus]

yeah love the new historic no bans they finnaly

[@dylanevans9]

That’s Pauper Burn!

[@suNn.K.O]

That's Artisan Burn!

[@classycasual3910]

It's rare to see a deck with no rares!

[@SM-hr3zo]

Why no artifact lands?

[@SpinningDoors]

Gdi I just lost to this deck today. Then I come to see where it came from lol.

[@yoyoguy1st]

Would call in a professional be good against the one ring and to keep the 0 rare budget?

[@rookermtg9321]

Three mana is pretty rough for the deck with many draws, and not worth it in the maindeck. Since the deck has enough instant-speed burn, the Ring doesn't even do much beyond preventing your creatures from attacking for a turn.

[@MTGGoldfish]

It's a bit awkward because we can't target our opponent with it, stopping lifegain is nice though. I think I'd play it in the sideboard in best of three for sure, but not sure it's worth it in best of one.

[@tbaggins5349]

Been doing this for a HOT minute using faithless looting and the madness bolt. Looting just gives these decks so much inevitability.

[@arthuredmund27]

2 elves 1 bolt

[@filippoborga1437]

It reminds pauper mono red

[@FilippoCampana]

Maybe a couple of castle embreth should be good?

[@MTGGoldfish]

A couple of Castle Embereth's would be good in the deck, but they are rares and the goal was to play zero rares :)

[@FilippoCampana]

@@MTGGoldfish yeah yeah, I meant for the upgrade 😬

[@dakotapeterson9777]

Poor David 😂

[@Skyhighjettalone]

Had to do a double take back in time and remember..."holy crap, Ramunap Ruins isn't a rare o-0"

[@monogreen]

I had to do a double take when I realized that on Arena the only lightning bolt printing is rare.

[@Skyhighjettalone]

@monogreen honestly, when thinking of Arena specific printings, it would have been hilarious if Seth used a rare variation basic mountain in this deck 🤣

[@alaraplatt8104]

pretty funny video

[@thatonedudejake]

Looks a lot like pauper burn haha

[@MTGGoldfish]

Ha, yeah, it sort of does :)

[@dorkalicious7290]

This looks an awful lot like a kuldotha burn or boros synthesizer list from pauper

[@dorkalicious7290]

Also as an aside, lightning bolt does not deserve to be banned in historic

[@SizeMcWave]

7-4 in 40 min too so it’s time efficient too.

[@oscarguzman3017]

BOLT THE BIRD 😫

[@seanmoley3142]

I did play in 1996 and you wouldn't recognise the game from what it was.

[@connormohs6046]

From Zilortha to BananaRofl I’m convinced Seth doesn’t know how to pronounce the letter L

[@owlxoggest6247]

Now so pauper. I've taken historic pauper kiln fiend to mythic multiple times, so you should be fine

[@thevaultwalrus]

i have to many rare and mythical wildcards i can’t make this deck

[@MTGGoldfish]

Sounds like a good problem ;)

[@zackdantonio2473]

Coincidentally I just played against this deck