This is the first time in many years that we’ve seen actual Affinity creatures in an Affinity deck. This deck wants to flood the board with creatures on turns one and two. The combination of free artifacts and artifact creatures make it relatively easy to turn on Mox Opal, Frogmite on turn one, as well as follow-up with cards like Cranial Plating and Myr Enforcer on turn two.

Normally, this isn’t a great plan, since you can just be overpowered by cards like Tarmogoyf, Snapcaster Mage, and the larger Eldrazi. The difference is this deck isn’t particularly interested in using Steel Overseer to give your creatures extra value in a longer game. Instead, this deck focuses on flooding the board early to maximize the power of Signal Pest and Contested War Zone. It doesn’t matter if your opponent’s creatures are better. This deck comes out of the gates fast enough to force your opponent onto the back foot, where your anthems let your bad creatures trade up with their good ones and help to kill them quickly.

One of the key components to this strategy is Welding Jar. This card serves the dual purpose of helping turn on Metalcraft and Affinity on turn one, as well as protecting key creatures and artifacts from the likes of Abrupt Decay and Kolaghan’s Command. The key difference is it’s relatively easy for your Frogmites and Myr Enforcers to be attacking as 4/2’s and 6/4’s respectively. In that scenario, Welding Jar plays the important role of letting your creatures attack freely into the likes of Thought-Knot Seer and Reality Smasher to force through damage.

This take on Affinity may not have the same raw power as the more traditional builds with Master of Etherium and Steel Overseer, but what it lacks in power it makes up in speed. In a format where people can curve Eldrazi Mimic into Thought-Knot Seer into Reality Smasher, I think power for speed is a trade I’m willing to make.