So this is a very reliable way to have infinite mana with Grim Monolith.

The casting cost is as bit annoying, but it shouldn't be that bad to get out consistently.

The deckbuilding restriction isn't too bad as you can still have mostly instants and sorceries. It does however prevent you from playing Young Pyro and Mentor, but you can play all the Planeswalker you want.

As a side note, I know they needed to give it some kind of activated ability, but the no block thing is just so out of place on there.

likely not relevant to vintage, but the activated ability doesn't have to be one that the card has as a permanent. you can play permanents with cycling, like cast out or sharknado, and still have access to this card.

this stops you from playing just a few lands of note: urborg, tomb of yawgmoth, tabernacle, glacial chasm, vesuva.

this also goes infinite with basalt monolith; one could play 8 monoliths if they wanted to with this card in the companion slot, and another 3 copies maindeck as backup. probably more a thing for legacy than vintage.

Isn't Power Artifact just better and blue? For the Monolith deck anyhow.

There is a big difference between 4 copies in your deck and a guaranteed +1 to starting hand copy, even after mulligans.

It really depends how strong the combo is though to see if its worth it. Like if this was a consistent turn one combo for infinite mana where all you needed was 1 of 8 copies of another card in your deck it would be like playing a freaking dredge deck where you only have 3 copies of bazaar in your deck but you get to add one to your starting hand from outside the game every single game guaranteed.

That being said I don't think it'll get there because you need lotus mana to get this into play to start with.

@serracollector

It is, but as noted, having one in your "opening hand" 100% of the time is a big difference.

Also, while Power Artifact is cheaper and blue, this guy is not prone to 2 for 1 removal on your artifact. If your Monolith gets nuked in response, you don't have to find 2 more pieces to assemble the combo again.

Also now you can run 8 Monolith and 8 reducers if you want, making the combo very easy to assemble without tutors.

@wagner What are the 8 reducers? You can't run PA along with Zidra as PA is a permanent card and has no activated ability. Are you saying to just play 4 Zidra main with 4 PA main and ignore Zidra as companion?

@thewhitedragon69 Umm. . .Zidra has an activated ability. I think he means 1 Zidra in Companion Zone and 3 in the main. I don't know what the other 4 he was talking about were.

Mono Red Shops could try to play this.

@thewhitedragon69 I believe that's what he is saying, yes.

@vaughnbros it could. it would mean not playing the prison elements(sphere/chalice), assuming you mean playing it as a companion. other stuff prohibited by this in shops includes stonecoil serpent, foundry inspector, chief of the foundry.

Well, walking ballista would be the obvious kill mechanism I would assume. Kuldatha, and the 8 welders works too. Essentially a turbovault deck that runs infinite Mana>ballista face alternate win con? Time to bring back Mox Monkey to handle Null Rods?

@thewhitedragon69 OH, good catch, forgot that you can't run PA.

@stormanimagus Can you run 3 main if you use 1 as your companion in the sb?

@blindtherapy

8 welders and 4 monoliths (that generate infinite mana with this guaranteed) plus some huge artifacts that have activated abilities.

Null Brooch was a welder control card, Ratchet Bomb, and there are probably a few others that are still playable with the restriction.

@vaughnbros why only 4 monoliths?

@blindtherapy

I guess 8 then. I forgot about Basalt.

Here's the list I made. In testing, it's been REALLY consistent. Turn 1 or 2 kills goldfishing almost every hand. The times it goes to turn 3/4, it's setting up with teferi and/or accumulating multiplte FoWs to punch through. It's almost immune to creature removal because once Zirda resolves, you can activate the untap of a monolith multiple times in response and get infinite mana. Once you have infinite floating, Zirda can die and you still win.

// V_1_Monolith Combo

// 61 Maindeck
// 22 Artifact
4 Basalt Monolith
4 Grim Monolith
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Sapphire
3 Mox Opal
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Time Vault
1 Manifold Key
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Jet
1 Memory Jar

// 3 Creature
2 Urza, Lord High Artificer
1 Walking Ballista

// 13 Instant
4 Paradoxical Outcome
1 Mystical Tutor
4 Force of Will
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Mental Misstep

// 12 Land
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Tropical Island
1 Island
4 Tundra
1 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
1 Scalding Tarn

// 3 Planeswalker
1 Karn, the Great Creator
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
1 Teferi, Time Raveler

// 8 Sorcery
1 Channel
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Preordain
1 Ponder
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Timetwister
1 Gitaxian Probe

// 15 Sideboard
// 5 Artifact
SB: 1 Mycosynth Lattice
SB: 4 Soul-Guide Lantern

// 2 Creature
SB: 1 Zirda, the Dawnwaker
SB: 1 Walking Ballista

// 4 Instant
SB: 3 Hurkyl's Recall
SB: 1 Flusterstorm

// 3 Planeswalker
SB: 3 Teferi, Time Raveler

// 1 Sorcery
SB: 1 Balance

Common plays are to combo with Zirda and 1) just infinite activate Urza, play out your deck and have multiple construct 20/20s, then time walk 2) ballista for infinite 3) stroke (or scroll into stroke) for infinite 4) jar/twister/PO into nuts CA and combo 5) vault/key 6) Karn -> ballista from sb, or 7) channel on turn 1 for karn -> mycosinth lattice and win at your leisure.

TLDR; Zirda is busted as hell.

is it possible you just want to be caverning this in?

@blindtherapy said in [IKO] Zirda, the Dawnwaker:

is it possible you just want to be caverning this in?

I was going to say either cavern or maybe run Pact of Negation. I would also be curious if 4 PO's is correct since I think the first one is likely enough to draw you into a wincon situation that you may not need to go off in the traditional sense.

Channel / Karn / Lattice is so gross when it happens.

Hi, I'm the old Horologium, now Horologium0 because I could not recover my password. In any case....

I'm building a variant of the monolith/Zirda deck, using Pact of Negation and Defense grid as protection. The wincon is...something special so I don't want to spoil now. Someone probably has already discovered the same wincon though, so I'm just being shifty I suppose.

And I agree with @Protoaddict, 4 Paradoxical doesn't feel right. I'm currently testing 3, but may even slim to 2. My colors are currently UWb. As @Thewhitedragon69 pointed out, not much can stop the combo once it's assembled. There are a few niche cases, notably a Force of Vigor targeting Grim Monolith while the untap activation is on the stack. Untapping costs a reduced 2, but it only taps for 3, so you wouldn't have enough to activate the untap while Force is resolving. This case assumes I have no grid in play and no pact in hand. This case does not apply to Basalt Monolith, however, because it only costs a reduced 1 to untap, so you can activate again if targeting for Force of Vigor.

I'll keep iterating on my list and will post once something less amorphous is developed. I haven't been this thrilled for a combo enabler in a long time.

@horologium0, I tried pact of negation in the sb, but i like teferi better for multiple reasons. 1) It forces them to have multiple counterspells as opposed to 1 counterspell + 1 instant speed artifact removal. 2) it bounces null rod and collector ouphe (VERY important) 3) if they do have double counters, pact of negation just kills you on your upkeep. 4) Defense grid is unplayable as it doesn't have an activated ability and the Zirda can't be your "commander" for g2/3.

@Protoaddict, 4 PO is a lot, however preordain is the card i've wanted least when i draw it. you want to go off turn 1 when possible, and when you have 22 artifacts, PO facilitates that best. You can also tap for infinite and PO Zirda to draw 1 extra card - once he's done his trick, he's useless on the board anymore. I could cut to 3 PO, but i'd rather 0 preordain i think. preordain is just so meh when looking to dig deep. Sensei top is a possible add, but i couldn't find the space. Maybe preordain becomes top.

@blindtherapy I considered cavern, but you really want the U/W mana for all the other spells. Also, you'd need to run 4 to have any reliable chance of drawing it on turn 1, and that just makes the mana base too colorless. it's worth testing, but i have found myself wanting blue when i wasn't ready to turn 1 win, and a cavern vs a blue for ancestral, PO, etc would have turned those hands from a turn 2 win to a game loss.

I am amazed at the consistency of this deck. It's like playing a time vault combo with 4x manifold key, 4x voltaic key main and guaranteeing TV is always in hand and as an 8th card to boot....it's stupid good.