MTGAA Interviews - August '26 TA with Sangue

Greetings and Salutations my fellow spell slingers!

Another Cup tournament has come and gone, leaving us with our newest Cup champion; and I had the pleasure of taking a dive into the makings of his exceptional Grixis Affinity deck.

This bright competitor, in his second MTGA Artisan tournament appearance, battled to the top with his robots, his wits and his tenacious Boricua spirit! A player, and a deck, that will surely leave his mark on the Timeless Artisan format. Let's sit down with our Timeless Cup winner and see how it all came together.

Hailing from Puerto Rico, I give you, Sangue!

A low rumble in the distance grows, bit by bit, until it becomes apparent that the thundering cacophony of clanks, flaps, whirrrs, and stomps I am hearing are coming straight toward me!

The calamity seems to make it right up to the door before going dead quiet for a moment, save for ascending mechanical whine. The sound's frequency increases until it can barely be heard, and then

!!RAM!!

A grotesque toothy mouth made of bone and metal smashes through the door! I shield myself from the flying debris as it comes to a stop. Before the last chunks of the door land, the awful head starts to recede, disappearing almost as quickly as it entered.

Through the large hole that had just been smashed through the door and wall, an enormous metallic arm, with a huge open hand, reaches carefully into the room. Standing on its palm is a wizard! The man wears robes that look as if they were stitched from sheet metal, with gears turning and lights flickering in their folds. His black polished sunglasses hide his eyes, but his mouth clearly shows a wide smile.

The giant machine-hand floats softly down to me, and the wizard hops off. Slowly the metallic hand draws back to its source, as the wizard steps over and sits down casually in the hotseat, saying to me:

¿Qué es la que hay? Let's gooooo…

SCITHOS: Well hello Sangue! May I first say congratulations on winning the August 2026 Timeless Artisan Cup!

SANGUE: Thank you! It was a great tournament!

SCITHOS: I must say that, as I was checking out what everyone was bringing to the tournament, I knew the list you registered was going to be trouble as soon as I saw it. How did you decide on this deck, and how did you arrive at the exact list you registered?

SANGUE: I chose Grixis Affinity because I wanted a deck that could be explosive without sacrificing consistency.

One of the things I especially liked about this version was the combination of very cheap flying creatures and the Affinity mechanic. Vault Skirge and Etherium Pteramander can get onto the battlefield very early and immediately create pressure in the air. Refurbished Familiar is another important flying threat that becomes extremely mana-efficient once the artifact engine is established, while also disrupting the opponent's hand.

That flying package becomes especially dangerous with Cranial Ram. A small evasive creature can suddenly become a major threat, and because flying allows me to attack over many ground-based boards, Cranial Ram often turns creatures that initially look harmless into a very fast clock.

Vault Skirge also gives the deck another important dimension because lifelink can completely change a race. When Cranial Ram is attached to it, the life swing can become significant very quickly.

Etherium Pteramander is another card I really like in the deck because it starts as a very inexpensive evasive threat, but later in the game the artifact count can make its Adapt ability much easier to activate. So it is useful both early and late.

Memory Guardian follows the same philosophy. With enough artifacts on the battlefield, Affinity allows me to deploy a 3/4 flyer for a very low mana investment. That gives the deck another substantial evasive threat without forcing me to spend an entire turn developing only one creature.

But I think the biggest strength of the deck is its consistency.

Thoughtcast, Fanatical Offering, Reality Heist, and Refurbished Familiar give the deck multiple ways to generate card advantage or find additional resources. Thoughtcast can often draw two cards for very little mana, Fanatical Offering converts artifacts or creatures that have already served their purpose into two new cards and another artifact, and Reality Heist can dig very deeply into the deck to find exactly the artifact threats or resources I need.

Because of that, the deck doesn't depend entirely on its opening hand. I can put pressure on the opponent early, trade resources, sacrifice artifacts, and still rebuild.

That was very important to me when building the final list. I didn't want a version of Affinity that simply emptied its hand and hoped the opponent couldn't answer it. I wanted a deck that could attack quickly through the air, exploit Cranial Ram, and at the same time have enough card advantage to play a longer game.

That combination of cheap evasive threats, Affinity, and constant card flow is really what gives this version of Grixis its identity.

SCITHOS: A great rundown of the deck, and I agree on all points. The list really did feel consistent and synergistic.

Oh all the points I want to touch on one. Vault Skirge. This little guy is a menace if you can buff him adequately. I've played a few decks that used All that Glitters or even Michiko's Reign of Truth, to have this little beast attacking as a 5/5 on turn 2! And with the Ram it is just as scary.

The next query I have for you is: Did you mostly play against decks you expected to see, or did you feel like you faced unexpected decks most of the time?

SANGUE: I faced a mix of decks I expected and some strategies that were less predictable.

That is one of the reasons I liked this Grixis Affinity build so much. I did not want to build a deck that only performed well if I correctly predicted the entire metagame. I wanted a proactive strategy that could establish its own game plan quickly and force the opponent to respond.

The cheap flying creatures were especially important in that regard. Vault Skirge, Etherium Pteramander, Refurbished Familiar, and Memory Guardian gave me several evasive threats that could pressure opponents even when the ground became difficult to attack through.

That became even more relevant with Cranial Ram, because a small flyer could suddenly become a very serious clock. It gave me a way to win through board states where attacking on the ground would have been much harder.

At the same time, the deck had enough consistency to adapt when the game did not go exactly as planned. Thoughtcast, Fanatical Offering, Refurbished Familiar, and Reality Heist helped me keep seeing cards and rebuilding after interaction.

Because of that, I never felt completely dependent on facing a specific type of deck. Even when I encountered something unexpected, I could usually keep developing artifacts, draw into more resources, and adjust my game plan.

I think that balance between proactive pressure, flying threats, and card advantage was one of the main reasons the deck felt so consistent throughout the tournament.

SCITHOS: The list definitely looks like one that is set to face any challengers, and it proved that during this tournament!

Were there any matchups that felt more difficult than the others?

SANGUE: Yes. The most difficult matchup for me was my first round against Rakdos Discard.

It was a difficult match because Rakdos was attacking my hand while also presenting a surprisingly strong amount of pressure in the air. Their deck had Kitchen Imp and Sneaky Snacker, so I could not assume that my flying creatures would always control combat.

The match went to three games and I lost 2–1. For me, the lesson was that the deck is very powerful, but it rewards precise play. Against a deck like Rakdos Discard, small mistakes in mana management or combat can be enough to decide a close match.

I would still say it was the matchup that challenged me the most during the tournament, both because of their disruption and because it forced me to play very carefully around their flying threats.

SCITHOS: Wow! The only match you lost in the swiss rounds was your first! It must have been disappointing, but you moved forward with a vengeance.

Moving on, I'd like to know what you think about the state of Timeless Artisan, overall? Is there any deck, strategy, or individual card that you consider unbalanced?

SANGUE: Overall, I think Timeless Artisan is in a very interesting place right now. The format has enough depth to support several very different strategies, and I think that is one of its biggest strengths.

There are definitely some very powerful decks, including Affinity, Rakdos-based discard strategies, aggressive decks, and other synergy-heavy builds, but I am not convinced that any single archetype is clearly dominating the format to the point where I would call it unbalanced.

What I find especially interesting is that many of the strongest decks are powerful for very different reasons. Some win through speed, some through disruption, and others through card advantage and synergy.

Affinity is obviously one of the decks I would continue watching because artifact lands, cost reduction, and cards like Cranial Ram, Thoughtcast, Myr Enforcer, and Frogmyr Enforcer can create very efficient turns. At the same time, the deck still has weaknesses. Discard, well-timed interaction, artifact hate, and careful combat can all make the matchup much more difficult.

So at this point, I would rather see the metagame continue to develop before saying that a specific card needs to be banned.

For me, the healthiest part of the format is that deckbuilding and piloting still matter a lot. Even with a strong deck, small sequencing mistakes, mana decisions, or combat errors can completely change the result of a match.

I think that is a good sign for the format

SCITHOS: Yes I agree 100%. The format seems to be healthy and vibrant, exactly what one would hope for in a competitive MTG format. Another reason why I feel that the umbrella "artisan" format is a very special place in MTG right now.

Getting close to the finish line, this is where I would like to ask, if you don't mind sharing: Is there anything you're looking forward to in the future, whether in Artisan, Magic: The Gathering in general, or outside the game?

SANGUE: In Artisan, I am looking forward to continuing to develop this Grixis Affinity build and seeing how the metagame adapts.

What I enjoy most is not just playing a strong deck, but understanding why it works, identifying its weaknesses, and making small changes that improve consistency. I am especially interested in continuing to explore the balance between cheap flying creatures, Affinity threats, card advantage, and interaction.

I also want to keep competing because tournaments are where you really learn whether a deck is as good as you think it is. Every match gives you information about sequencing, sideboarding, mana management, and how other players are approaching the format.

In Magic more generally, I am always interested in new cards that can create unusual synergies or strengthen strategies that are not immediately obvious.

I also hope the Artisan community continues to grow. One of the things I enjoy about the format is seeing players experiment with cards and strategies that normally receive much less attention in other competitive formats.

Outside of Magic, I am also focused on my academic and professional goals, so the game gives me a competitive environment where I can keep challenging myself, thinking strategically, and improving through experience.

I would also like to give special thanks to Alan Jones. For several months before the tournament, he gave me the opportunity to practice against many different decks from his collection. That testing was extremely valuable because it exposed me to a wide range of strategies and helped me understand how my deck performed in different situations. I was able to achieve very strong results during those practice sessions, and that preparation gave me much more confidence going into the tournament.

SCITHOS: I am exactly the same. I love nothing more than to find a deck that I truly enjoy playing and working on, getting to know how it ticks, and then making those little personal changes to amp up the spiciness.

Great shoutout also! Yes, Alan is a force around the Artisan community and I also appreciate every match I get to play with him. He is a very clever deckbuilder and a sharp player. If he had a small hand in the creation of this cup winner it wouldn't surprise me at all.

Now, before we go, Sangue my friend, I have a sort of "Special Edition" question for you.

We chatted a fair bit before we got to the interview, and among the things we talked about our mutual interest in making up our own fantasy cards came up. And so I couldn't help myself and must ask: If you had the opportunity to design a new card specifically for your favorite deck, without being limited by the cards currently available in the format, what would you create? What role would it play in the deck? Would you use it to fix one of the deck's weaknesses, strengthen something it already does well, or create an entirely new line of play?

SANGUE: If I could design one card for my favorite deck, I think I already know exactly what it would be…

Sangue, Lord of the Robot Horde!

I designed Sangue as a colorless six-mana Planeswalker with Affinity for Artifacts, because I wanted the card to represent everything I enjoy about Grixis Affinity.

The six-mana cost is intentional. On paper it looks expensive, but in an artifact deck, Affinity can reduce that cost dramatically. That means you still have to build your board and commit to the artifact strategy before Sangue becomes truly efficient.

I also wanted his abilities to interact directly with artifacts rather than simply being a generic powerful Planeswalker. The idea is for him to reward you for developing an artifact board, strengthen your artifact creatures, generate additional value, and eventually turn that collection of machines into a real win condition.

That fits the way I like to play Affinity. My version is not only about putting large creatures onto the battlefield as quickly as possible. It also uses cheap flying creatures, card advantage, sacrifice synergies, and efficient artifact threats. Sangue would bring all of those ideas together in one card.

And there is also a personal element to it. During the tournament I was jokingly called "Lord of the Robot Horde," so I turned that joke into an actual Magic card. One of the flying robots even carries the Puerto Rican flag, and the artist credit is Rafael F. Cordero Vega.

So if Wizards ever asked me to design a card for my favorite deck, I probably wouldn't need to start from zero. Sangue is already the card I would want.

SCITHOS: I love it! Haha, I have to say I do think that Sangue might be a touch undercosted seeing as he has affinity himself. ;) But either way this 'walker would be a handful to deal with.

If I had the chance I would certainly sleeve up some Sangue's for any artifact deck that I was hoping to take down a tournament with!

So there you have it folks! A look into the robo-lords' very wiring and circuitboards.

Thank you Sangue! I myself enjoyed our chats immensely, and hope that you did too!

With that, another Cup winner immortalized.

Until next time,

Happy spell-slingin' my wizards!