Monday Magic - Golem Tribal FTW!

This week's deck is a little bit older than the others I've posted, but it was one that I had a lot of fun designing and playing back when New Phyrexia was the latest and greatest.

The inspiration for this deck comes from the fun mechanic introduced by Phyrexia's splicers - when a splicer comes into play, it brings with it one or more 3/3 Golem tokens, and the splicers buff all your Golems, making for a very powerful combination.

This overall plan made the deck construction pretty simple: include Golems, splicers, and a bunch of mana ramp (because splicers tend to be a bit on the expensive side).  The following was born of these ideas:

Creatures:
1 Adaptive Automaton
2 Blade Splicer
2 Darksteel Sentinel
1 Etched Monstrosity
2 Master Splicer
1 Maul Splicer
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Saberclaw Golem
2 Sensor Splicer
2 Vital Splicer
2 Wing Splicer

Sorceries:
1 Nature's Lore
4 Rampant Growth
2 Untamed Wilds

Artifacts:
3 Manalith

Enchantments:
2 Arachnus Web
1 Ice Cage
1 Oblivion Ring
2 Pacifism
1 Tempered Steel
1 Wild Growth

Lands:
8 Forest
6 Island
8 Plains
1 Sunpetal Grove

There are a bunch of big nasty Golems (my opponents always squirm when Etched Monstrosity hits the field) and things that synergize directly with Golems (splicers, Tempered Steel), plus some ways to deal annoying stuff on my opponent's end of the battlefield.  Phyrexian Metamorph gives a little more flexibility (copying Master Splicer of Maul Splicer can end the game, while copying a Darksteel Sentinel can buy some time when I'm desperate), and Adaptive Automaton gets all the benefits of the splicers.  It's a pretty nasty combo, if it can get off the ground.

The biggest problem with this deck is the slow start.  Not being able to play anything for the first couple turns is common, and there aren't any drawing options to refill your hand once you've spent all the ramping cards.  As such, really aggressive decks can be a problem, and super controlling decks can be a pain, too, but this setup works pretty well for mid-range opponents.  Plus it's exciting to pull counters off Etched Monstrosity every once in a while (the Manaliths provide the extra colors).

I always find tribal decks to be pretty fun to play, and this one is no exception.  Crushing your enemies under tons of Golems is definitely an entertaining way to do it.