For those folks who home brew decks, how do you go about starting? I struggle at times with what the most important aspect of a deck will be. I feel that some amount of hand disruption is key, but decks without Inquisition of Kozilek or Thoughtseize still do well. These, to me, always seem to be more aggro focussed though which from my understanding usually beats control. So when trying to not net deck, what does one look for in cards and synergies? Obviously, a deck needs a win con, and it needs some amount of resiliency so it doesn't scoop to a single answer from the opponent. What's the best way to weigh the pros and cons of playing with certain synergies and leaving others out? Is it entirely a meta call, or can certain decks just simply handle a wide array of situations because of their base?
Hey all. I've fiddled around with Modern on and off for awhile now, and I had a mill based deck online for awhile. I'm finally ready to take the plunge into paper modern though, but I'm a bit stuck as to how to proceed. When it came out I bought the Modern Event deck so I have all of the cards from that token theme. I has have a bunch of rakdos themed cards including playsets of Bloodstained Mire and Blood Crypt. I also have two Fatal Push, a mix of the other fetches from Tarkir with multiples of Windswept Heath and Wooded Foothills and singles of the other two. I have a mix of shocklands as well. I also have a play set of Lightning Bolt and a single Lightning Helix.
I don't have a deck currently so I don't actually know what my local meta is which I know can be a problem. I have quite a lot of staples from EDH and a few singleton cards that are modern staples (Snapcaster Mage, Collected Company, etc...) that I'll be selling to get some money to pick up other options. I really like Mardu colors, and I'm leaning towards either tokens or burn. Given that I have the Windswept Heaths and Wooded Foothills I could see moving to green instead of white. Or is four color viable? I'm mainly looking for a somewhat competitive deck that could net me some wins at FNM. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!
I didn't follow the storyline well during the RtR block. I was wondering if there was any chance that the inevitable return block might focus on five shard affiliated guilds as opposed to ten two color guilds. Given the switch to two block sets this seems easier to manage, but I don't know how this would work story wise with the guilds.
Thanks for the reply! I can't believe I left out Greenbelt Rampager. Those changes do seem to make the deck run better. I'll try them out. Hopefully I can open a bomb in the next pack I add.
At the paper prerelease I attempted to play three colors, and I was punished horribly for it. I entered the Friendly Sealed League on MTGO hoping to go two colors. Naturally I opened what I think is utter garbage and I'm hoping for some help. I've listed my cards, and then a few options I've toyed with.
Black is the only color I opened that has removal in it which is upsetting. My artifacts also are not that great either. I can't really decide what my next best color is, although I know it's not red.
What are some of the generals that when you see, you just dread. My play group tends to rely on creature heavy decks and U control decks. I want to make something that makes doing just about anything bothersome. The first two cards that came to my mind were Zo-Zu the Punisher and Kaervek the Merciless. I'd prefer to stay away from mono blue or Grand Arbiter Augustin IV.
Also, what are some cards that would fit into this category? I know of things like Polluted Bonds and Manabarbs. What are some other painful cards?
There was a thread like this from a long time ago, but I thought I would start a new one for group commiseration. You know those moments where you want to kick the UI in the face because in paper it would be simple "oops I pointed at the wrong card, I meant this one" and the game would continue.
When I started I had several instances of exiling my own lands using Scour from Existence. It took forever for me to realize I had to select the target first, and then tap mana.
One of the worst though was playing a group EDH game. My opponent had quite the board state with Sheoldred, Whispering One, several other high power creatures, and Bloodchief Ascension no where near active. My opponents windows were all small since there were three of them. My opponent went to attack with Sheoldred coming at me. I cast Cyclonic Rift, target what I think is Sheoldred, and smile thinking I had prevented damage and wouldn't have to sac a creature on my upkeep. Then in the second main I witness my opponent recast Bloodchief Ascension, and I noticed my life total is now dangerously close to nill. When he attacked, all of the cards on his board moved and got smashed together. In my haste I clicked on the wrong card. I definitely lost that game, and the other opponents were a bit dumbfounded as well.
Although with the new partner mechanic, having to create a single 5-color card is no longer an issue. They could just as easily create a Mardu commander and Simic commander each with partner, or some other combination obviously. I get tired of Wizards creating a new mechanic on only a few cards in a commander set and then never using it again so I hope they use partner again in the future.
Next question is how does The Mimeoplasm work in terms of commander damage? Finally, in the above situation if the copy shenanigans work out how I want them too, if I attack player A with both the original and newly created token does he lose due to commander damage or does he have two separate "commanders" attacking him?
You left blue out of your evaluation. Is that because you feel it's too weak or because I had already used it?
Red is interesting, and I'll try some of the changes you recommend overall.
Basically, my questions are:
1) Is using MTG Gatherer the best way to looks for "terrible" cards?
2) What are some suggestions for scars that can be added? I've thought about obvious ones like "ETB with +1/+1 counter" but I also like the idea of things like "draft an extra card from this pack when you draft this card"
3) Has anyone actually used a scarred cube and have suggestions for making it work?
So I entered the sealed league on MTGO, and I'm a bit stuck. I've listed the cards I received, and the deck I've used twice. The first match I got mana screwed and drew seven mana across two games The second match I won, but only because my opponent got mana screwed in the final game. Before I move on I would like some advice on how to tweak my deck.
So what ideas can help make this more streamlined. The games I did win where I didn't get mana screwed, I won pureley from top decking. I tended to run out of steam after 4-5 turns so I don't really consider them true wins. I feel that my control shell is strong. I tried splashing black for a single game, but I only drew swamps and couldn't play anything... Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
So I run a Rafiq deck that mainly focuses solely on exalted triggers. I run nearly every creature on color that has exalted as well as a few buffs. One enchantment that would help you is Steel of the Godhead for blue creatures since they would be unblockable. Silent Arbiter, Dueling Grounds, and Crawlspace can wreck opponents as well. Any green-white deck I have always runs Mirari's Wake as well.
Just as a warning though. The more you tweak it, you can run the risk of getting hated out of the table. I rarely play my Rafiq deck because my play group hates it so much. Rafiq, Sovereigns of Lost Alara, and Eldrazi Conscription in your deck is pretty much GG.
My buddy hosted a sealed group for us with a box of Kaladesh. I had some nutty pulls, and I may have overextended trying to play with everything. Here's my list:
I did alright among the table, but still lost a few to some stupid misplays. Sometimes I seemed to run out of gas as well. Any thoughts on things I could added or changed? I'm not super familiar with the set so I just kind of grabbed what seemed good unsure if it actually was. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!
1) Opponent is on the play. We each draw 7. Who is the first to declare if they are going to mulligan or not?
2) Opponent is on the play. We each have a Leyline of Sanctity in our opening hands. Who places theirs into play first?
Thank you!
I don't have a deck currently so I don't actually know what my local meta is which I know can be a problem. I have quite a lot of staples from EDH and a few singleton cards that are modern staples (Snapcaster Mage, Collected Company, etc...) that I'll be selling to get some money to pick up other options. I really like Mardu colors, and I'm leaning towards either tokens or burn. Given that I have the Windswept Heaths and Wooded Foothills I could see moving to green instead of white. Or is four color viable? I'm mainly looking for a somewhat competitive deck that could net me some wins at FNM. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!
1x Tasseled Dromedary
1x Toolcraft Exemplar
1x Audacious Infiltrator
1x Ninth Bridge Patrol
1x Bastion Enforcer
1x Deadeye Harpooner
1x Aeronaut Admiral
3x Aether Inspector
1x Dawnfeather Eagle
White Spells
2x Conviction
1x Decommission
1x Thopter Arrest
Blue Creatures
1x Aether Swooper
1x Glint-Nest Crane
1x Janjeet Sentry
1x Trophy Mage
1x Wind Drake
1x Padeem, Consul of Innovation
2x Shipwreck Moray
1x Salvage Scuttler
Blue Spells
1x Take into Custody
1x Aether Tradewinds
1x Whir of Invention
Black Creatures
1x Fourth Bridge Prowler
1x Dhund Operative
1x Gifted Aetherborn
1x Defiant Salvager
1x Maulfist Squad
1x Dukhara Scavenger
1x Die Young
1x Resourceful Return
1x Morbid Curiosity
3x Daring Demolition
1x Tidy Conclusions
Red Creatures
1x Aether Chaser
1x Ravenous Intruder
2x Reckless Fireweaver
1x Speedway Fanatic
2x Frontline Rebel
Red Spells
1x Invigorated Rampage
1x Wrangle
Green Creatures
1x Greenbelt Rampager
1x Wily Bandar
1x Scrounging Bandar
1x Aetherstream Leopard
1x Highspire Artisan
1x Silkweaver Elite
1x Lifecraft Cavalry
1x Riparian Tiger
1x Cowl Prowler
Green Spells
1x Take Down
1x Unbridled Growth
1x Highspire Infusion
1x Lifecrafter's Gift
1x Lifecraft Awakening
1x Winding Constrictor
1x Rogue Refiner
Multicolored Spells
1x Hidden Stockpile
1x Tezzeret the Schemer
1x Dark Intimations
Artifact Creatures
2x Augmenting Automaton
1x Narnam Cobra
1x Chief of the Foundry
1x Iron League Steed
1x Reservoir Walker
Artifact Noncreatures
1x Implement of Improvement
1x Universal Solvent
1x Cogworker's Puzzleknot
1x Implement of Malice
1x Sky Skiff
1x Torch Gauntlet
2x Consulate Turret
1x Lifecrafter's Bestiary
1x Irontread Crusher
Basically the way I looked at the pool was "Hey cool I opened Tezzeret the Schemer and Dark Intimations. Good thing I can't play red..."
Black is the only color I opened that has removal in it which is upsetting. My artifacts also are not that great either. I can't really decide what my next best color is, although I know it's not red.
The two decks that I think are alright are:
1x Toolcraft Exemplar
1x Fourth Bridge Prowler
1x Augmenting Automaton
1x Ninth Bridge Patrol
1x Gifted Aetherborn
1x Deadeye Harpooner
1x Chief of the Foundry
1x Aeronaut Admiral
1x Aether Inspector
1x Maulfist Squad
1x Iron League Steed
1x Dawnfeather Eagle
1x Reservoir Walker
1x Resourceful Return
1x Morbid Curiosity
2x Daring Demolition
Instant
1x Die Young
1x Tidy Conclusion
Enchantment
1x Thopter Arrest
Artifact
1x Implement of Improvement
1x Cogworker's Puzzleknot
1x Sky Skiff
7x Plains
10x Swamp
2x Augmenting Automaton
1x Dhund Operative
1x Gifted Aetherborn
1x Winding Constrictor
1x Narnam Cobra
1x Highspire Artisan
1x Silkweaver Elite
1x Iron League Steed
1x Riparian Tiger
1x Reservoir Walker
1x Highspire Infusion
1x Lifecrafter's Gift
1x Tidy Conclusion
1x Lifecraft Awakening
Sorcery
1x Take Down
1x Die Young
2x Darin Demolition
1x Unbridled Growth
Artifact
1x Implement of Malice
1x Sky Skiff
1x Lifecrafter's Bestiary
Lands
8x Forest
9x Swamp
Any help would be appreciated! What recommendations would others make? Thank you!
Also, what are some cards that would fit into this category? I know of things like Polluted Bonds and Manabarbs. What are some other painful cards?
When I started I had several instances of exiling my own lands using Scour from Existence. It took forever for me to realize I had to select the target first, and then tap mana.
One of the worst though was playing a group EDH game. My opponent had quite the board state with Sheoldred, Whispering One, several other high power creatures, and Bloodchief Ascension no where near active. My opponents windows were all small since there were three of them. My opponent went to attack with Sheoldred coming at me. I cast Cyclonic Rift, target what I think is Sheoldred, and smile thinking I had prevented damage and wouldn't have to sac a creature on my upkeep. Then in the second main I witness my opponent recast Bloodchief Ascension, and I noticed my life total is now dangerously close to nill. When he attacked, all of the cards on his board moved and got smashed together. In my haste I clicked on the wrong card. I definitely lost that game, and the other opponents were a bit dumbfounded as well.
Next question is how does The Mimeoplasm work in terms of commander damage? Finally, in the above situation if the copy shenanigans work out how I want them too, if I attack player A with both the original and newly created token does he lose due to commander damage or does he have two separate "commanders" attacking him?
As always thank you for your help!
Red is interesting, and I'll try some of the changes you recommend overall.
Thanks for the feedback!
Basically, my questions are:
1) Is using MTG Gatherer the best way to looks for "terrible" cards?
2) What are some suggestions for scars that can be added? I've thought about obvious ones like "ETB with +1/+1 counter" but I also like the idea of things like "draft an extra card from this pack when you draft this card"
3) Has anyone actually used a scarred cube and have suggestions for making it work?
Thanks in advance!
1x Fragmentize
1x Tasseled Dromedary
1x Aviary Mechanic
1x Gearshift Ace
2x Impeccable Timing
2x Ninth Bridge Patrol
1x Trusty Companion
1x Fairgrounds Warden
2x Revoke Privilege
1x Captured by the Consulate
1x Consulate Surveillance
1x Thriving Ibex
1x Fumigate
Blue
1x Ceremonious Rejection
1x Minister of Inquiries
1x Select for Inspection
1x Aether Theorist
1x Aether Tradewinds
1x Disappearing Act
1x Malfunction
2x Wieldfast Wingsmith
1x Metallurgic Summonings
Black
1x Dhund Operative
1x Die Young
1x Rush of Vitality
1x Thriving Rats
2x Live Fast
1x Maufist Squad
1x Ovalchase Daredevil
1x Ambitious Aetherborn
1x Tidy Conclusion
1x Dukhara Scavenger
1x Built to Smash
1x Renegade Tactics
1x Ruinous Gremlin
1x Cathartic Reunion
1x Chandra's Pyrohelix
2x Giant Spectacle
1x Thriving Grubs
1x Salivating Gremlins
2x Spireside Infiltrator
1x Terror of the Fairgrounds
1x Fateful Showdown
1x Wayward Giant
Green
1x Blossoming Defense
2x Commencement
1x Durable Handicraft
2x Kujar Seedsculptor
1x Sage of Shaila's Claim
1x Appetite for the Unnatural
1x Thriving Rhino
1x Hunt the Weak
1x Cowl Prowler
Multicolor
1x Contraband Kingpin
1x Veteran Motorist
1x Unlicensed Disintegration
1x Dovin Baan
1x Hazardous Conditions
1x Cloudblazer
1x Inventor's Goggles
2x Consulate Skygate
1x Eager Construct
1x Glassblowers Puzzleknot
1x Metalspinner's Puzzleknot
2x Narnam Cobra
1x Smuggler's Copter
1x Torch Gauntlet
1x Foundry Inspector
1x Ovalchase Dragster
1x Snare Thopter
2x Ballista Charger
1x Bastion Mastodon
With all these I have a decent control shell with Revoked Privileges and Malfunction. I also have Dovin Baan. I was happy to open Metallurgic Summonings, but I have relative crud in terms of sorceries and instants.
Here's the deck I've been running:
1x Minister of Inquiries
1x Aviary Mechanic
1x Gearshift Ace
1x Consulate Skygate
1x Eager Construct
1x Farigrounds Warden
1x Foundry Inspector
1x Thriving Ibex
1x Wieldfast Wingsmith
1x Snare Thopter
1x Cloudblazer
1x Bastion Mastodon
1x Fragmentize
1x Fumigate
Instants
2x Impeccable Timing
Enchantments
2x Revoke Privilege
1x Malfunction
Artifacts
1x Glassblower's Puzzleknot
1x Smuggler's Copter
1x Ovalchase Dragster
1x Ballista Charger
1x Dovin Baan
Lands
6x Island
10x Plains
So what ideas can help make this more streamlined. The games I did win where I didn't get mana screwed, I won pureley from top decking. I tended to run out of steam after 4-5 turns so I don't really consider them true wins. I feel that my control shell is strong. I tried splashing black for a single game, but I only drew swamps and couldn't play anything... Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
Other random and/or good exalted triggers: Ardent Plea and Qasali Pridemage.
Just as a warning though. The more you tweak it, you can run the risk of getting hated out of the table. I rarely play my Rafiq deck because my play group hates it so much. Rafiq, Sovereigns of Lost Alara, and Eldrazi Conscription in your deck is pretty much GG.
White
Built to Last
Fragmentize
Tasseled Dromedary
Aviary Mechanic
Pressure Point
Trusty Companion
Glint-Sleeve Artisan
Consulate Surveillance
Propeller Pioneer
Thriving Ibex
Inspired Charge
Visionary Augmenter
Skyswirl Harrier
Fumigate
Blue
Select for Inspection
Thriving Turtle
Minister of Inquiries
Select for Inspection
Aether Meltdown
Era of Innovation
Revolutionary Rebuff
Dramatic Reversal
Wind Drake
Disappearing Act
Malfunction
Padeem, Consul of Innovation
Weidfast Wingsmith
Failed Inspection
Torrential Gearhulk
Gearseeker Serpent
Black
Rush of Vitality x3
Thriving Rats x2
Foundry Screecher
Mind Rot
Weaponcraft Enthusiast
Dukhara Scavenger x2
Red
Renegade Tactics x3
Thriving Grubs
Cathartic Reunion
Harnessed Lightning
Reckless Fireweaver
Maulfist Doorbuster
Start Your Engines
Spontaneous Artist
Wayward Giant
Green
Servant of the Conduit
Hunt the Weak x3
Wild Wanderer
Nissa, Vital Force
Peema Outrider
Riparian Tiger
Cowl Prowler
Multi
Unlicensed Disintegration
Engineered Might
Saheel Rai
Empyreal Voyager
Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
Artifact
Glassblower’s Puzzleknot x2
Prophetic Prism
Woodweaver’s Puzzleknot
Cogworker’s Puzzleknot x2
Eager Construct x2
Narnam Cobra x2
Perpetual Timepiece
Sky Skiff
Torch Gauntlet
Prakhata Pillar-Bug
Dukhara Peafowl
Aradara Express
Self-Assembler
Demolition Stomper
Land
Aether Hub
1x Minister of Inquiries
1x Reckless Fireweaver
1x Servant of the Conduit
1x Empyreal Voyager
1x Padeem, Consul of Innovation
1x Weirdfast Wingsmith
1x Spontaneous Artist
1x Wild Wanderer
1x Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
1x Wayward Giant
1x Torrential Gearhulk
1x Gearseeker Serpent
1x Select for Inspection
1x Dramatic Reversal
1x Harnessed Lightning
Sorceries
1x Cathartic Reunion
1x Hunt the Weak
Enchantments
1x Malfunction
Artifacts
1x Glassblower's Puzzleknot
1x Prophetic Prism
1x Woodweaver's Puzzleknot
1x Saheel Rai
1x Nissa, Vital Force
Lands
1x Aether Hub
5x Forest
6x Island
5x Mountain
I did alright among the table, but still lost a few to some stupid misplays. Sometimes I seemed to run out of gas as well. Any thoughts on things I could added or changed? I'm not super familiar with the set so I just kind of grabbed what seemed good unsure if it actually was. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!