Jumpstart is here, and as the degenerate goblin artificer that I am, I want to create a pair of custom Jumpstart packs that really speak to me. Following the general rules laid out by Gavin Verhey a couple weeks ago, I thought I'd make a combination I'd love to open.

Good morning Magic! What cards would go in a Jumpstart pack themed around YOU? Here are instructions for making yours and what mine would look like - build one up and show us what's in it! ? https://t.co/R4iwq5b2Z3#wotcstaff pic.twitter.com/8UaPulLeUE

— Gavin Verhey (@GavinVerhey) August 17, 2020

The rules are pretty simple:

1. Pick a single color per pack.
2. Pick seven creatures.
3. Pick four non-creatures.
4. Have 1 mana fixing slot.
5. Pick your favorite basic land.
6. Use only one Rare but as many commons and uncommons as you want.

I'm not going to perfectly adhere to those ratios, but these rules as general guidance help you build your 20 card deck. You don't have too much wiggle room, though, as the need for roughly eight lands means you can only fit about 12 cards anyway, and you need the pack to be useful with any other matchup. With that explanation out of the way, let's look at my custom Jumpstart Packs: Filigree and Garbage! Both are artifacts-matter packs, but in two colors handling artifacts very differently.

Pack 1: Filigree | Jumpstart | Jay Annelli

• Creatures (7)
• 1 Aviation Pioneer
• 1 Experimental Aviator
• 1 Whirler Rogue
• 1 Chief of the Foundry
• 1 Filigree Crawler
• 1 Filigree Familiar
• 1 Filigree Sages

• Instants (1)
• 1 Stoic Rebuttal

• Sorceries (1)
• 1 Reverse Engineer

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Thopter Spy Network

• Artifacts (2)
• 1 Armillary Sphere
• 1 Whirlermaker

• Lands (8)
• 8 Island

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The point of the Filigree pack should be fairly obvious. While I did include all three mono-colored cards with 'Filigree' in the name, it's actually more of a Thopter pack. The challenge with a subtheme like artifacts in Jumpstart is that if your second pack doesn't have artifacts, if you include too many artifacts-matter cards it's going to be a feel-bad. Thopter Spy Network was chosen as a rare to help get around that. As long as you have another artifact (and the chances in this deck are high) you'll have a supply of thopters coming your way. Cards like Aviation Pioneer, Experimental Aviator, Filigree Crawler, Whirlermaker and Whirler Rogue help supplement that theme, and the latter also helps you get damage through later in the game.

Chief of the Foundry is there to pump up your thopters and other artifacts, obviously. I was hesitant to include it, as it's relatively power will vary depending on whether it is paired with a pack without artifacts, but I think the downside is a good trade-off for the power when you happen to have it and Spy Network in play at the same time.

Filigree Familiar and Filigree Sages are there for the name, but are useful cards on their own. The Familiar draws you a card (not as good as Solemn Simulacrum, but handy nonetheless) while the Sages give you some useful options for what to do with your mana later in the game (and to keep blockers at the ready).

I chose Stoic Rebuttal as the counterspell over Assert Authority or Revolutionary Rebuff as I tend to think the Metalcraft option is more fun, while keeping it affordable if for some reason you don't have it yet. Reverse Engineer is in there over other card draw options for similar reasons. For my mana fixing, I chose [Armillary Sphere] rather than a land as it helps get your Metalcraft count up if you don't need it, but isn't quite as powerful as a mana rock. For my basic land, I went with Kaladesh Island #253, which features the filigreed Kaladeshi architecture in the background.

Pack 2: Garbage | Jumpstart | Jay Annelli

• Creatures (9)
• 1 Cathodion
• 1 Goblin Engineer
• 1 Myr Retriever
• 1 Myr Sire
• 1 Orcish Vandal
• 1 Perilous Myr
• 1 Thopter Engineer
• 1 Treasure Keeper
• 1 Workshop Assistant

• Sorceries (1)
• 1 Trash for Treasure

• Artifacts (2)
• 1 Mycosynth Wellspring
• 1 Servo Schematic

• Lands (8)
• 8 Mountain

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I really love Goblin Engineer. Like, really love. I wanted to include Daretti, Scrap Savant in this deck, but I think the Engineer makes more sense in a pack like this, as even if you pair it with a non-artifact deck, you can tutor for an artifact to use with it. Both Myr Retriever and Workshop Assistant help the Trash for Treasure theme of the deck (and allow some vital recursion, especially, again, if it's not a deck with a ton of artifacts). The mana fixing in this pack is Mycosynth Wellspring, which allows you to just find the appropriate basic land you need, but also synergizes well with the 'garbage' theme.

As a 'Garbage' themed deck, I have a lot of death triggers. Cathodion, Myr Retriever, Myr Sire, Perilous Myr, Servo Schematic, and Workshop Assistant all do something useful upon their deaths. Those deaths can be hastened by cards like Trash for Treasure, Goblin Engineer, and Orcish Vandal. The Vandal also operates as useful removal for the pack.

Goblin Engineer, Myr Retriever and Workshop Assistant allow you to recur some of the artifacts you may have sacrificed (or lost during combat) to reduce, reuse, and recycle their abilities. This is especially potent with cards like Mycosynth Wellspring and Servo Schematic, which provide a lot of value during a recursion cycle.

As for my basic land, Hour of Devastations, Mountain #197 is a nice rubble heap, which fits the setting even if it's not from an artifact-matters set.

Bonus Pack: "Jay"a Ballard | Jumpstart | Jay Annelli

• Creatures (3)
• 1 Fire Elemental
• 1 Simian Spirit Guide
• 1 Wall of Lava

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 1 Jaya Ballard
• 1 Jaya, Venerated Firemage

• Instants (6)
• 1 Blindblast
• 1 Carbonize
• 1 Fire Prophecy
• 1 Jaya's Greeting
• 1 Magma Jet
• 1 Lava Burst

• Artifacts (1)
• 1 Jayemdae Tome

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There aren't a lot of options for 'Jay' when searching through existing Magic cards, so instead I'm making a Jaya-themed deck, and loading it with flavor (and also adding "Jay"emdae Tome, for good measure). I love that, within the rules, I can fit both Jaya planeswalker cards, as one is an uncommon. This is obviously going to be a burn deck, so I've got a lot of damage-dealing spells.

Jaya Ballard gives you some ramp and the ability to sift through your hand for cards you need at the time. If you can somehow activate her ultimate, you've essentially won the game at that point. Jaya, Venerated Firemage adds insult to injury and makes all of your burn spells just a smidge more potent, while also dealing damage herself.

Blindblast, Carbonize, Jaya's Greeting, and Lava Burst are burn spells. I trust I don't have to explain their purpose, here? They all also feature Jaya flavor text, which is nice. Fire Prophecy and Magma Jet aren't Jaya themed, but both help you sift through your hand for the right spells, which is... handy... for a pack like this.

Oh right, there are creatures here too. You'll mostly be relying on the second pack for creatures, but I included Fire Elemental, Simian Spirit Guide, and Wall of Lava in this pack. The Elemental and Wall are both there as flavorful stopgaps against attacks (both are Jaya-themed), and the Spirit Guide (and also Jaya themed) helps ramp out that extra burn spell when they aren't expecting it in the early game, while providing a nice body if you don't need the mana later.

Pack It Up

That's it for this week! As Zendikar Previews continue, look out for my flavor gems article in the near future. Over the next month or so, I'll also be looking at the flavor gems of Arena-exclusive cards and more Secret Lair flavor gems!