livid tiger
Hi all, I think I've decided that I want to pour some resources into making this deck a bit more of a powerhouse. I'd prefer not to use things like Maskwood Nexus and such to make non-pirates into pirates and all, but would appreciate any suggestions to up the power level while still keeping relatively on-theme. The deck is already pretty strong, but want to give it that extra umph.
Obviously Dockside and Ragavan would be a good addition, I've considered them, it's a matter of $$$. All suggestions welcome, even if they're expensive. Doesn't hurt to add ideas to the maybe-board.
fervent estuary
could look to do something along the lines of cutting bitter reunion, passionate archaeologist, and street urchin for stuff alone the lines of shared animosity, vanquisher's banner, or other typal banner. Other thing to do is look for ways to cash in on all the treasures you seem to have built around(?)
livid tiger
Those three really shouldn't be cut. Bitter reunion is good for getting things like lightning rig crew online in a pinch, and archeologist and urchin are combo cards that make my commanders storm off. Passionate archeologist especially is one of the best cards in the deck.
brazen rock
I'd second the addition of things like [[vanguisher's banner]], [[door of destinies]], or even just [[icon of ancestry]] or [[molten echoes]]. My experience playing with malcom/breeches was always a struggle to close games unless I lucked into a combo kill, a few anthem effects can change the combat math in your favor.
As far as things to cut? Blue red creature decks always struggle with mana production so the high cost creatures have to be truly impressive to make the cut. I'd recommend cutting Captivating Crew, Zara, and maybe Dead Eye Navigator (the navigator only has a couple of things it's truly fantastic with but also part of me says you have to include a navigator card in a pirate deck lol).
Also, if splinter twin is only in the list as bad copy effect or occasionally goes infinite with Coercive Recruiter, why not just a good copy effect? A kicked Rite of Replication on the recruiter already allows you to steal 25 creatures for the turn and is likely lethal but has the added benefit of being a significantly better card in the 85% of games you draw it without the the recruiter.
thin craneBOT
Artifact
As Icon of Ancestry enters the battlefield, choose a creature type.
Creatures you control of the chosen type get +1/+1.
, 
: Look at the top three cards of your library. You may reveal a creature card of the chosen type from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
livid tiger
I'd second the addition of things like [[vanguisher's banner]], [[door of destin...
I haven't really had issues closing, but molten echoes and icon certainly wouldn't do poorly in there.
Yeah Zara and captivating crew for sure could stand to go.
Splinter twin does a lot of work with recruiter, timestream navigator, lightning rig crew, and port razer. I think rite could be good in addition, that's a good call, but I would defend splinter twin as it does work with a lot of pieces in the deck. It's not "infinite" with the others, but honestly it essentially is with the power it brings.
brazen rock
fair enough, I hadn't thought of those other interactions.
livid tiger
Yeah, lightning rig crew is the mvp of the deck so much so that for a while I was considering cutting imperial recruiter cause it was just too strong
My reasoning to ask for help here was I kinda decided I'm not gonna be able to make the deck "weaker" without really clipping its wings so I'd rather lean into the power
but all the copy stuff like Pirated Copy and Cursed Mirror and such are really good for copying crew (along with the other stuff I mentioned, but mostly crew)
I'm 100% gonna add rite of replication, molten echoes would be great too for the same reasons
I think I even have a rite somewhere kicking around
brazen rock
If it's all about the crew, shouldn't there be a pair of lightning greaves or other haste enablers?
(actually swiftfoot boots probably makes more sense in your applicaiton)
livid tiger
There is a greaves pretty sure
brazen rock
Oh I missed them
livid tiger
but yeah I should throw swiftfoot boot sin there
brazen rock
idk your play pattern, but maybe shroud is detrimental?
livid tiger
That's also kinda why bitter reunion is in there
Yeah it's been an issue with shroud
I can take them off and put them back on but sometimes that's risky
brazen rock
maybe just do the ol' boot swap and see how it feels before deciding if you need both pairs of boots
livid tiger
I mean, I think both is reasonable. It's also nice to be able to protect malcolm, he's a bit of a removal magnet
I've never been like "man I wish I didn't have these greaves"
brazen rock
lmao, he sure is. I intentionally built my malcolm deck to be simic pirates so I can tell people I dont have infinite combos
livid tiger
Are there any big interaction pieces you feel like I'm missing? I feel like interaction is where I sometimes come up short
livid tiger
lmao, he sure is. I intentionally built my malcolm deck to be simic pirates so I...
that's me playing my teysa deck lol
no infinite combos but I get shot down like I do
brazen rock
interaction is hard for a deck like this because you require a certain number of pirates in the 99 for the crew to be decent
livid tiger
Yeah I really don't want to cut too much from the creature count
brazen rock
So, I think you need to look at the pirates that have interactive abilities. Like the new Kitesail Larcenist or the new Breeches
livid tiger
I think what I def need to do is go through and cull old pirates ofr new ones
brazen rock
new broadside bombardiers
livid tiger
Yeah I actually just ordered the new breeches/malcolm (along with the showcase treatements of the commanders)
[[Kitesail Larcenist]]
thin craneBOT
Creature — Human Pirate
Flying, ward 
When Kitesail Larcenist enters the battlefield, for each player, choose up to one other target artifact or creature that player controls. For as long as Kitesail Larcenist remains on the battlefield, the chosen permanents become Treasure artifacts with ", Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color" and lose all other abilities.
2/3
thin craneBOT
livid tiger
damn thought that'd go infinite for a sec but nah its boast
brazen rock
let me remember
livid tiger
[[Glint-Horn buccaneer]]?
thin craneBOT
Creature — Minotaur Pirate
Haste
Whenever you discard a card, Glint-Horn Buccaneer deals 1 damage to each opponent.
, Discard a card: Draw a card. Activate only if Glint-Horn Buccaneer is attacking.
2/4
livid tiger
I ought to put it in if I'm going all-in, just feels too mean though
thin craneBOT
brazen rock
could [[arcbond]] go crazy?
thin craneBOT
livid tiger
hmm...
this wording btw is what makes [[Passionate Archeologist]] and [[street urchin]] so insane
thin craneBOT
Legendary Enchantment — Background
Commander creatures you own have ", Sacrifice another creature or an artifact: This creature deals 1 damage to any target."
Your harsh upbringing on the streets of the city left you crafty, resilient, and wise beyond your years.
livid tiger
Tryna think how you could leverage arcbond
brazen rock
ooo, what about warstorm surge to make the navigator crazy?
livid tiger
[[warstorm surge]]
thin craneBOT
brazen rock
ironically doesn't work with the crew lol
brazen rock
Also, on the topic of more impactful pirates, [[ripley vance]] might be worth it if you're triple spelling consistently
thin craneBOT
brazen rock
Also maybe the new [[dire flail]] could be good?
thin craneBOT
(, Exile this artifact, Exile another artifact you control or an artifact card from your graveyard: Return this card transformed under its owner's control. Craft only as a sorcery.)Dire Blunderbuss
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +3/+0 and has "Whenever this creature attacks, you may sacrifice an artifact other than Dire Blunderbuss. When you do, this creature deals damage equal to its power to target creature."
Equip
"Thought you were out of my skull-bashin' range, didn't you?"
livid tiger
https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/209/captain-ripley-vance
Yeah I don't think I realized how many spells I'd be casting per turn when I first made this deck
I 100% had this in the list back when I first made it and ended up cutting it
livid tiger
Also maybe the new [[dire flail]] could be good?
I'm not crazy about craft as a mechanic, feels kinda clunky, but perhaps. Worth trying at least.
brazen rock
Repeatable interaction is worth the upfront clunkiness
livid tiger
Yeah just feels like a lot of setup for one more proc of malcolm and breeches per turn
I'll give it a shake for sure
brazen rock
that's plan b, plan a is kill their threats
livid tiger
True, yeah I'll give it a shot but it'll be a tough sell
Maybe I'll be wrong and it'll be an amazing card for the deck
brazen rock
if a treasure and/or a random card from opponent's library is more appealing than killing one of your opponents creatures, then they aren't playing very good creatures
I'd guess the blunderbuss hits a creature 90% of the time
but maybe that's just my meta
livid tiger
Yeah I'll give it a go and see
livid tiger
I had put in [[Wonder]] to give things evasion, do you think [[Anger]] would be a better inclusion?
brazen rock
Is bitter reunion your only way of quickly getting them into the bin? both feel a little iffy if you're hoping an opponent kills them for you
livid tiger
Big score, desolate lighthouse, faithless looting, izzet charm and daring saboteur also allow me tk discard
brazen rock
fair enough, honestly I feel like its just preference/your specific meta
