Neat! Thank you for the clarification.
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Ah, I may have been overthinking it. I thought it would go: Tezz -1 targeting artifact, artifact is now 5/5, these resolve, priority to me. You're saying it actually goes: Tezz -1 targeting artifact, cost resolves, priority to me, i cast crush on chosen artifact, artifact goes to graveyard, Tezz ability fizzles.
Ok, but what exactly am I responding to here? If someone successfully casts Tezz, then he resolves and they have continued priority to use one of his abilities, if able. A good Tezz Infect deck can have you at 3 Poison by turn 3, then come swinging Turn 4 with a 5/5 Infect plus god knows what else. I realize the lifegain from Nature's Claim seems counterintuitive; but across the board in the current meta, spot threat removal becomes a much bigger concern (especially since Valakut is bereft of a direct counter or kill suite).
Really? The number of beatings I've taken from Tezz artifact decks tells me otherwise. Crush is a good card, though.
It's a good idea; I see a lot of Extended Valakut decks with similar combinations. But yes, I probably should've specified; this is a TII deck.
I'll answer with a typical turn order- Turn 1: Forest Turn 2: Mountain, Khani Heart Expedition Turn 3: Mountain (+1 khalni), Harrow (sac forest/ grab forest and mountain/+2 khalni), Explore, Valakut Turn 4: Primeval Titan (grab valakut+mountain), sac Khalni (grab 2 mountain) What happens now, still in my Turn 4 first main phase, is that 2 Mountains enter simultaneously under my control. Since there are already 4 under my control, these 2 new Mountains recognize each other as the 6th Mountain required for Valakut's damage rule. This effectively doubles the damage output of any Valakuts I have under my control this turn. Net result: 2 Valakuts, 12 damage, spread in multiples of 3 as I see fit. The opponent will most likely be dead next turn. And this is a slow opening. Basically, against Valakut Ramp, you have to: kill the player by turn 5, shut off its lands, or control the crap out of it. Other versions use Lotus Cobra as well. If you can keep that little guy alive, Valakut can get you turn 3 or 4 wins consistently.
You'd think so, but this isn't a typical Green ramp-into-creatures deck. You literally only need to rely on a safe source of double-green in order to ramp into Primeval Titan... which brings me your other question...