Ses: How are the match ups working out for you? Have you been able to try your list out against Jund? I think in your latest list you can cut to 24 or 23 lands since you curve out at four. I agree that you want a full set of Paths first, THEN add Dismembers as additional Paths.
Honestly I haven't gotten around to getting much games out recently, just some blind refinements here and there for the past few days. I have heard of a local LGS where the owner managed to put together a Jund deck, I'd love to try to wipe the floor with him if I get the chance.
I'll try to cut down on a single land, but from testing, 25 is pretty much right where I want it to be, especially because of all the filtering I manage to do, along with pod as well as all the recurring suites I have.
I really like Birthing Pod in here as an engine, but when I tested Ses's list I didn't like having my bomb 4-drop (Elspeth) not be pod-fetchable. Too many times I'd have a board of a pod and a used Eternal witness and nothing to pod into. In place of her, I am currently testing Hero of Bladehold. Holy crap does she put on a clock. If you pod a not yet persisted finks into her, you swing for 10 the next turn and game the turn after. Her 4-butt is also huge, allowing her to be un-boltable and not die to surprise Resto-angel blocks. Also, the 4 mana cost means she can't be abrupt decayed. I'm not sure whether she's better than elspeth, but she's certainly better with pod in the mix. (I think, at least). Thoughts? The only small downside I can see is that battle cry doesn't play well with Doran, but at the moment I'm not running him.
That's exactly the issue I've run into! I've got Eternal Witness or Finks down, but no one to pod into. There was Thrun in a previous set up, but he doesn't exactly win games. Give him Shadow perhaps, but that would have been ridiculous. I'm in the marker for a solid 4 drop that wins games in the next 2 turns if left unanswered. HoB sounds like a good idea, and she could get out of hand real quick with Zealous Persecution perhaps.
Mshnik, that's pretty sweet, but at that point why not just go for Melira & Viscera Seer and combo out? I feel like if Pod is going to be the centerpiece of the deck, then you should have a way to win with it on the spot.
You have a bunch of cards that are very sub-par on their own.
Mshnik hit the nail on the head with that one. What I've been doing recently, and as far as I'm concerned with the design philosophy for my build, I want to run cards that are synergistic, but good enough to play by themselves. Just making the deck as mana efficient as possible. Pod helps in this area because I can turn tokens into spitting/healing dorks, into disruption/card advantage into lifegain/recurrency, and hopefully into a wincon.
EDIT:
Just realized, with Golgari Thug returning himself, I can pod in all of my 3 drops per turn lol.
I finally got the Tron matchup to be winnable! It wasn't easy, but now I can control the post-board games against that deck. Sorry that Tron took up so many of my posts... It took a lot of my testing time to figure this one out as well! In total I have something like 50 games logged against Tron.
I might go up to 3 Ghost Quarters, but the card is narrow enough that I'm happy with just two. I considered Fulminator Mage, but the Ghost Quarters were faster and I didn't want to face a turn 3 Wurmcoil wishing my 3 mana spell was cheaper :/
This is a winnable sideboard plan against Tron. I'm not 100% on the board out choices, since Tarmogoyf is awkward in some cases against a deck that runs 4 Relic of Progenitus, and Deathrite Shaman is pretty bad as well in that case. Lingering Souls is ALSO bad and slow considering that it will not flashback often, but it is guaranteed beats while Goyf is a bit more variable.
How do these sideboard cards win?
Ghost Quarter + Extirpate on Urza's anything turns Tron into a bad, slow ramp deck. You have plenty of time to attack before Wurmcoil hits on turn 5 or 6 (4 at worst if they kept in Explore and hit multiples.)
Thoughtseize + Extirpate = Wurmcoil is gone! Be careful, however, since Tron can use Relic and inadvertently save itself from Extirpation. Use Extirpate when you have the opportunity, but only on the important stuff. Don't waste it on a cantrip, and use it on their draw step to maximize its potential ("You drew a Wurmcoil? Let me take away your draw step and every other Wurmcoil in the deck") The split second matters here since your opponent cannot even activate a Relic in response to it.
Stony Silence on turn 2 + a clock. This alone doesn't win games, unless it hits early. It does turn Batterskull into a one-hit wonder (kill it once, never worry about it again) and more importantly it stops Oblivion Stones from being the stones against you! I cut one from my SB to fit in Tribute To Hunger and because whenever I drew multiples of these the extra copies would be dead cards. You do need some sort of follow-up play or more sideboard cards in order for Stony Silence to really help out. Tron still has Ancient Stirrings and Sylvan Scrying to get its lands, so its not crippled like Affinity would be.
Tribute To Hunger + a clock. You guys were right, Hit would have been terrible here. My opponent usually had a Batterskull or neutered Oblivion Stone just hanging out. Tribute, however, is the real deal. It is not a perfect answer, but it buys that critical turn or two at most which is what I needed to win one game.
Ghost Quarter on Eye of Ugin + Path. Tron really is rough when it can keep tutoring up more Wurmcoils every turn. If you can keep Tron from using the tutor land then you are in good shape to win. They can still get more Wurmcoils through natural draws and Ancient Stirrings, so they're not dead in the water.
I'm done testing against Tron for real. I'm sick of playing against that deck, but the time spent was worth it. Now to break open the Jund match up...
im a long time fan of junk, and am just tossing around some lists that i would play if i had the money. i prefer creature-based builds, and you can see:
however, as an average high school student bobs and goyfs are a bit pricey for me. I would like to keep a similar build unless its unfeasible; any suggested replacements? i know that there are no true substitutes, but im just looking for something to fill space
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If you are going to be those smaller G/W hate creatures, then I would strongly consider also adding in Wilt-Leaf Liege. That way your little guys can get some beef in the late game, and you have a solid base of creatures that fights Jund and combo at the same time.
FWIW I have considered adding a Phyrexian Arena to my deck. What's better than 4 Dark Confidants? "5" Dark Confidants?!? I think Arena is the better Dark Confidant replacement by far. Night's Whisper is also worth trying.
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You can't always win, and just because you lose doesn't mean you played badly.
Even if you lose, it is important to remain confident in your ability to make good plays and decisions. Lose that and you are truly lost.
Testing is great, and the better the testing is, the better off you'll be.
It is impossible to tilt and play well.
It is possible to make no mistakes and still lose.
If you are going to be those smaller G/W hate creatures, then I would strongly consider also adding in Wilt-Leaf Liege. That way your little guys can get some beef in the late game, and you have a solid base of creatures that fights Jund and combo at the same time.
FWIW I have considered adding a Phyrexian Arena to my deck. What's better than 4 Dark Confidants? "5" Dark Confidants?!? I think Arena is the better Dark Confidant replacement by far. Night's Whisper is also worth trying.
i have no doubt that WLW is great when cast for free off a liliana, but is is still great when cast for four?
and on doran: i love casting him as a 5/5 for 3, but i hate how i feel like i have to build around him. i tried him out in a deck with treefolk harbingers and spellskites and everything was peachy until he died (double removal to get thru spellskite, go for the throat) I feel like just running him as a beater, not the deck's central card, is better
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I've also been trying to make a budget Doran deck for about a week now, and my biggest issue is how to avoid being a worst Jund. It doesn't help that I'm not using fecthlands so KotR is of no use.
This is the list I'm currently trying. Every cards works on it's own but everything gets better with a Liege in play, and Skinshifter really shines with Doran obviously.
I just took out Tidehollow Sculler, and I'm pretty sure I'll want him back, but I'm not sure what to take out. Same thing with Smiter.
Pridemage does a lot of work really, and helps make the deck faster and provides utility.
Thrun I'm not sure is worth it, he's very solid, but doesn't help me win as much as I'd like. He's either chump blocked or used as a wall most of the time, and doesn't really have that much of an impact unless I play him really early.
I don't know about Garruk either, haven't gotten to test it, but it looks like a nice creature machine, so it might work.
Grisly salvage is pretty decent, since besides helping me find a dude it helps fix mana issues.
I'm not really sure Souls is that great here, it does generate a lot of tokens, but most of the time I feel they don't make enough of an impact.
Anyways, I'm not convinced that a budget Junk is doable without KotR, but I'm still trying to do it.
Any comments and suggestions are more than welcomed.
EDIT:
I feel like just running him as a beater, not the deck's central card, is better
I agree with this, you can't just stall until you get a Doran out, everything needs to work by itself really.
i have no doubt that WLW is great when cast for free off a liliana, but is is still great when cast for four?
and on doran: i love casting him as a 5/5 for 3, but i hate how i feel like i have to build around him. i tried him out in a deck with treefolk harbingers and spellskites and everything was peachy until he died (double removal to get thru spellskite, go for the throat) I feel like just running him as a beater, not the deck's central card, is better
I agree with that. Spellskite needs to be a decent card in your deck on its own before trying that out. Really, Spellskite can read "counter target spell that targets my Confidant/Goyf/Doran" that just happens to also be upside against Twin and a potential beater. I think Treefolk Harbinger is also playable, but just barely. He does provide value and lets you play those Murmuring Bosks untapped, but the card is pretty daft as a top deck.
You already know how I feel about this: I'm playing Lingering Souls over any Dorans, and I only had one in my deck as a big beat stick in an early build of the deck. I've never missed him.
For all of the people trying to build this on a budget: If you are a worse Jund and you intend on playing in PTQs, maybe its worth considering other options. I know your pain, and I feel the same way you do except with Standard (NO way I'm spending $300 on Thragtusks and Sphinx's Revelations and all of that other junk that will be unplayable on a whim.)
Junk is not cheap to build. In fact, I think dollar for dollar it is either the most expensive deck, or 2nd most expensive behind Jund. With three colors you need a LOT of fetchlands, Bobs, Goyfs, Lilianas, etc. The only reason I can afford to play it is because I play Legacy and had most of the staple cards already, and I still had to buy Lilianas and Shamans and Abrupt Decays. I'm not even using the full sets of those anymore, LOL!
Deadguy Ale (GB) is an option. You don't have to run as pricey of a mana base, you still get the core of the Jund deck, and you get some bonuses for running budget Confidants by being able to run Tombstalker. In this color combination Summoning Trap could work. Cheat those Emrakuls into play!
So is mono-B, or BW Smallpox. Or BW tokens if you held onto Sorins. An aggro Junk list can be much cheaper than the midrange concoction I'm testing, and you'll still be quite powerful with Steppe Lynx, Squadron Hawk, and Steelshaper's Gift for whatever Swords or Behemoth Sledges you have. Kibler's GW hate bears deck is strong and most of the cards in it are under $10. Thankfully, most of the hate cards, hate bears, and such are also cheap and effective.
The sideboard can be a mix of hate bears and Torpor Orbs. Zealous Persecutions and Lingering Souls can also go in here if you want Thalia in the SB instead of main. I think 8 fetch lands is the minimum that I want to have for Deathrite, so cut him if you don't have fetches and don't run Steppe Lynx unless you have plenty of proper fetch lands as well.
The deck above is $360, and most of that is from the mana. Find a good way to hit your colors on the cheap and the deck falls below $200. That's about as good as you'll get for Junk and still have something competitive.
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You can't always win, and just because you lose doesn't mean you played badly.
Even if you lose, it is important to remain confident in your ability to make good plays and decisions. Lose that and you are truly lost.
Testing is great, and the better the testing is, the better off you'll be.
It is impossible to tilt and play well.
It is possible to make no mistakes and still lose.
i dont play modo, and i get very little testing in so im still curious about wilt-leaf liege. Is jund really such a huge problem that liege becomes main board material? or is it just a stellar card, and its amazing-ness vs jund is a bonus?
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Jund is arguably the best deck and the most popular deck. I think that makes it worth running a few more main deck cards that give it a tough time. The card also pumps your entire team, so its never dead.
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You can't always win, and just because you lose doesn't mean you played badly.
Even if you lose, it is important to remain confident in your ability to make good plays and decisions. Lose that and you are truly lost.
Testing is great, and the better the testing is, the better off you'll be.
It is impossible to tilt and play well.
It is possible to make no mistakes and still lose.
For all of the people trying to build this on a budget: If you are a worse Jund and you intend on playing in PTQs, maybe its worth considering other options.
I don't think anyone with a serious enough budget concern means to use this deck in a PTQ. What I would like is a fun deck that isn't complete **** and that I can upgrade over time. Blowing my budget in lands isn't really a fun way for me to get back in the game.
I do feel my deck is trying to be Jund, but I think that comes from a lack of understanding of the archetype and it's goals. As I said, maybe it can't be done in a budget, but hey, maybe it can be done well enough.
Absolutely. I think the aggro version still has good answers AND can kill people on turn 4. You can budget out a midrange list and run Phyrexian Arenas as well, but I think in terms of $ / effectiveness going for hate bears or Steppe Lynxes is a smart choice.
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You can't always win, and just because you lose doesn't mean you played badly.
Even if you lose, it is important to remain confident in your ability to make good plays and decisions. Lose that and you are truly lost.
Testing is great, and the better the testing is, the better off you'll be.
It is impossible to tilt and play well.
It is possible to make no mistakes and still lose.
Absolutely. I think the aggro version still has good answers AND can kill people on turn 4. You can budget out a midrange list and run Phyrexian Arenas as well, but I think in terms of $ / effectiveness going for hate bears or Steppe Lynxes is a smart choice.
I agree with HSC, if anyone was going to make a budget version of this archetype, there's a fair likelihood it's going to have to be aggro can't be your regular control/tempo perpetrators (Lily OTV, Tarmo, BoB).
The control/tempo suite has cards that quite simply can't be replaced, because there are certain effects that just can't be found on anything else. Unlike Jund which runs Red, whereas we're going with white, there's quite a few options available to go with.
If I'm interested in running Junk but can't shell out the $$ for Goyf or Confidant, does Phyrexian Arena function as a viable replacement for at least the Confidant? Also what might you guys recommend to fill in for Goyf?
If I'm interested in running Junk but can't shell out the $$ for Goyf or Confidant, does Phyrexian Arena function as a viable replacement for at least the Confidant? Also what might you guys recommend to fill in for Goyf?
Don't bother trying to replace them with sub-par junk. Have this instead:
If I'm interested in running Junk but can't shell out the $$ for Goyf or Confidant, does Phyrexian Arena function as a viable replacement for at least the Confidant? Also what might you guys recommend to fill in for Goyf?
Skinshifter performs pretty well on his own and stellar with Doran out
You can drop arena on turn 2 courtesy of Deathrite Shaman and arena works better than bobIn multiples. Bobs redeeming factors are that he comes down turn 2, swings and isn't too color intensive. Arena is double black, so keep that in mind. Dark Tutelage, which is basicallye enchantment bob only needs 1 black mana, and may or may not hurt you more than arena depending on your land count and curve.
Feel free to tweak it if you feel you need to. It's probably not optimal just yet.
Not quite sure if I wanted to go that route, but that does look like a solid build. Right now I'm swinging some Junk Pod that gets mad value off of resto angels and finks/messenger, but it doesn't interact enough with my opponent and when I don't see Pod, it just sits there and does nothing.
Seso, I did see skinshifter and I might look into him. Might do something with KoTR, and if I can get my hands on Liliana...well that would be swell
Any copies of Disciple of Bolas? I had mad fun with that in a terrible Zombie Pod list I brewed like six months ago.
Disciple was depressingly underwhelming. Even with the Angels giving it some extra value it just didn't feel good enough. Was a shame too, it's such a cool card.
Disciple was depressingly underwhelming. Even with the Angels giving it some extra value it just didn't feel good enough. Was a shame too, it's such a cool card.
So, I'm really hung up on doran since he is counterproductive with a lot of cards I run, such as thalia. Should I drop mainboard thalia and other cards that don't work well with him, or just try another big beater?
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Honestly I haven't gotten around to getting much games out recently, just some blind refinements here and there for the past few days. I have heard of a local LGS where the owner managed to put together a Jund deck, I'd love to try to wipe the floor with him if I get the chance.
I'll try to cut down on a single land, but from testing, 25 is pretty much right where I want it to be, especially because of all the filtering I manage to do, along with pod as well as all the recurring suites I have.
That's exactly the issue I've run into! I've got Eternal Witness or Finks down, but no one to pod into. There was Thrun in a previous set up, but he doesn't exactly win games. Give him Shadow perhaps, but that would have been ridiculous. I'm in the marker for a solid 4 drop that wins games in the next 2 turns if left unanswered. HoB sounds like a good idea, and she could get out of hand real quick with Zealous Persecution perhaps.
Mshnik hit the nail on the head with that one. What I've been doing recently, and as far as I'm concerned with the design philosophy for my build, I want to run cards that are synergistic, but good enough to play by themselves. Just making the deck as mana efficient as possible. Pod helps in this area because I can turn tokens into spitting/healing dorks, into disruption/card advantage into lifegain/recurrency, and hopefully into a wincon.
EDIT:
Just realized, with Golgari Thug returning himself, I can pod in all of my 3 drops per turn lol.
The SB plan:
- 1 Vault of The Archangel / Gavony Township
- 2 Abrupt Decay
- 1 Dismember
- 3 Lingering Souls
- 1 Deathrite Shaman
- 2 Zealous Persecution
+ 3 Extirpate
+ 2 Ghost Quarter
+ 3 Stony Silence
+ 2 Tribute To Hunger
I might go up to 3 Ghost Quarters, but the card is narrow enough that I'm happy with just two. I considered Fulminator Mage, but the Ghost Quarters were faster and I didn't want to face a turn 3 Wurmcoil wishing my 3 mana spell was cheaper :/
This is a winnable sideboard plan against Tron. I'm not 100% on the board out choices, since Tarmogoyf is awkward in some cases against a deck that runs 4 Relic of Progenitus, and Deathrite Shaman is pretty bad as well in that case. Lingering Souls is ALSO bad and slow considering that it will not flashback often, but it is guaranteed beats while Goyf is a bit more variable.
How do these sideboard cards win?
Ghost Quarter + Extirpate on Urza's anything turns Tron into a bad, slow ramp deck. You have plenty of time to attack before Wurmcoil hits on turn 5 or 6 (4 at worst if they kept in Explore and hit multiples.)
Thoughtseize + Extirpate = Wurmcoil is gone! Be careful, however, since Tron can use Relic and inadvertently save itself from Extirpation. Use Extirpate when you have the opportunity, but only on the important stuff. Don't waste it on a cantrip, and use it on their draw step to maximize its potential ("You drew a Wurmcoil? Let me take away your draw step and every other Wurmcoil in the deck") The split second matters here since your opponent cannot even activate a Relic in response to it.
Stony Silence on turn 2 + a clock. This alone doesn't win games, unless it hits early. It does turn Batterskull into a one-hit wonder (kill it once, never worry about it again) and more importantly it stops Oblivion Stones from being the stones against you! I cut one from my SB to fit in Tribute To Hunger and because whenever I drew multiples of these the extra copies would be dead cards. You do need some sort of follow-up play or more sideboard cards in order for Stony Silence to really help out. Tron still has Ancient Stirrings and Sylvan Scrying to get its lands, so its not crippled like Affinity would be.
Tribute To Hunger + a clock. You guys were right, Hit would have been terrible here. My opponent usually had a Batterskull or neutered Oblivion Stone just hanging out. Tribute, however, is the real deal. It is not a perfect answer, but it buys that critical turn or two at most which is what I needed to win one game.
Ghost Quarter on Eye of Ugin + Path. Tron really is rough when it can keep tutoring up more Wurmcoils every turn. If you can keep Tron from using the tutor land then you are in good shape to win. They can still get more Wurmcoils through natural draws and Ancient Stirrings, so they're not dead in the water.
I'm done testing against Tron for real. I'm sick of playing against that deck, but the time spent was worth it. Now to break open the Jund match up...
~ Brian DeMars
4 Deathrite Shaman
3 Kitchen Finks
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Path to Exile
2 Forest
1 Godless Shrine
2 Horizon Canopy
4 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
1 Stirring Wildwood
2 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
2 Treetop Village
4 Verdant Catacombs
however, as an average high school student bobs and goyfs are a bit pricey for me. I would like to keep a similar build unless its unfeasible; any suggested replacements? i know that there are no true substitutes, but im just looking for something to fill space
"Nice to meet you-"
"COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!"
"-hostages!"
FWIW I have considered adding a Phyrexian Arena to my deck. What's better than 4 Dark Confidants? "5" Dark Confidants?!? I think Arena is the better Dark Confidant replacement by far. Night's Whisper is also worth trying.
~ Brian DeMars
i have no doubt that WLW is great when cast for free off a liliana, but is is still great when cast for four?
and on doran: i love casting him as a 5/5 for 3, but i hate how i feel like i have to build around him. i tried him out in a deck with treefolk harbingers and spellskites and everything was peachy until he died (double removal to get thru spellskite, go for the throat) I feel like just running him as a beater, not the deck's central card, is better
"Nice to meet you-"
"COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!"
"-hostages!"
This is the list I'm currently trying. Every cards works on it's own but everything gets better with a Liege in play, and Skinshifter really shines with Doran obviously.
3 Doran, the Siege Tower
4 Skinshifter
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
2 Wilt-Leaf Liege
3 Qasali Pridemage
1 Garruk Relentless
2 Phyrexian Arena
1 Duress
2 Lingering Souls
4 Path to Exile
1 Slaughter Pact
3 Grisly Salvage
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Murmuring Bosk
2 Stirring Wildwood
3 Razorverge Thicket
6 Swamp
4 Forest
2 Plains
2 Treetop Village
2 Isolated Chapel
I just took out Tidehollow Sculler, and I'm pretty sure I'll want him back, but I'm not sure what to take out. Same thing with Smiter.
Pridemage does a lot of work really, and helps make the deck faster and provides utility.
Thrun I'm not sure is worth it, he's very solid, but doesn't help me win as much as I'd like. He's either chump blocked or used as a wall most of the time, and doesn't really have that much of an impact unless I play him really early.
I don't know about Garruk either, haven't gotten to test it, but it looks like a nice creature machine, so it might work.
Grisly salvage is pretty decent, since besides helping me find a dude it helps fix mana issues.
I'm not really sure Souls is that great here, it does generate a lot of tokens, but most of the time I feel they don't make enough of an impact.
Anyways, I'm not convinced that a budget Junk is doable without KotR, but I'm still trying to do it.
Any comments and suggestions are more than welcomed.
EDIT:
I agree with this, you can't just stall until you get a Doran out, everything needs to work by itself really.
I agree with that. Spellskite needs to be a decent card in your deck on its own before trying that out. Really, Spellskite can read "counter target spell that targets my Confidant/Goyf/Doran" that just happens to also be upside against Twin and a potential beater. I think Treefolk Harbinger is also playable, but just barely. He does provide value and lets you play those Murmuring Bosks untapped, but the card is pretty daft as a top deck.
You already know how I feel about this: I'm playing Lingering Souls over any Dorans, and I only had one in my deck as a big beat stick in an early build of the deck. I've never missed him.
For all of the people trying to build this on a budget: If you are a worse Jund and you intend on playing in PTQs, maybe its worth considering other options. I know your pain, and I feel the same way you do except with Standard (NO way I'm spending $300 on Thragtusks and Sphinx's Revelations and all of that other junk that will be unplayable on a whim.)
Junk is not cheap to build. In fact, I think dollar for dollar it is either the most expensive deck, or 2nd most expensive behind Jund. With three colors you need a LOT of fetchlands, Bobs, Goyfs, Lilianas, etc. The only reason I can afford to play it is because I play Legacy and had most of the staple cards already, and I still had to buy Lilianas and Shamans and Abrupt Decays. I'm not even using the full sets of those anymore, LOL!
Deadguy Ale (GB) is an option. You don't have to run as pricey of a mana base, you still get the core of the Jund deck, and you get some bonuses for running budget Confidants by being able to run Tombstalker. In this color combination Summoning Trap could work. Cheat those Emrakuls into play!
So is mono-B, or BW Smallpox. Or BW tokens if you held onto Sorins. An aggro Junk list can be much cheaper than the midrange concoction I'm testing, and you'll still be quite powerful with Steppe Lynx, Squadron Hawk, and Steelshaper's Gift for whatever Swords or Behemoth Sledges you have. Kibler's GW hate bears deck is strong and most of the cards in it are under $10. Thankfully, most of the hate cards, hate bears, and such are also cheap and effective.
Off the top of my head:
4 Loam Lion
3 Deathrite Shaman
4 Dryad Militant
4 Thalia
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Qasali Pridemage
2 Auriok Champion
3 Loxodon Smiter
4 Wilt-Leaf Liege
4 Rancor
4 Path To Exile
Lands
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Marsh Flats
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Godless Shrine
1 Temple Garden
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Isolated Chapel
2 Gavony Township
1 Murmuring Bosk
1 Forest
1 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Horizon Canopy
The sideboard can be a mix of hate bears and Torpor Orbs. Zealous Persecutions and Lingering Souls can also go in here if you want Thalia in the SB instead of main. I think 8 fetch lands is the minimum that I want to have for Deathrite, so cut him if you don't have fetches and don't run Steppe Lynx unless you have plenty of proper fetch lands as well.
The deck above is $360, and most of that is from the mana. Find a good way to hit your colors on the cheap and the deck falls below $200. That's about as good as you'll get for Junk and still have something competitive.
~ Brian DeMars
"Nice to meet you-"
"COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!"
"-hostages!"
~ Brian DeMars
I don't think anyone with a serious enough budget concern means to use this deck in a PTQ. What I would like is a fun deck that isn't complete **** and that I can upgrade over time. Blowing my budget in lands isn't really a fun way for me to get back in the game.
I do feel my deck is trying to be Jund, but I think that comes from a lack of understanding of the archetype and it's goals. As I said, maybe it can't be done in a budget, but hey, maybe it can be done well enough.
~ Brian DeMars
I agree with HSC, if anyone was going to make a budget version of this archetype, there's a fair likelihood it
's going to have to be aggrocan't be your regular control/tempo perpetrators (Lily OTV, Tarmo, BoB).The control/tempo suite has cards that quite simply can't be replaced, because there are certain effects that just can't be found on anything else. Unlike Jund which runs Red, whereas we're going with white, there's quite a few options available to go with.
But there's lots of options:
After a quick search on MTG Top 8:
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Razorverge Thicket
3 Horizon Canopy
3 Gavony Township
2 Treetop Village
2 Stirring Wildwood
2 Forest
1 Temple Garden
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Godless Shrine
CREATURES (27)
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Fauna Shaman
4 Wilt-Leaf Liege
2 Baneslayer Angel
2 Noble Hierarch
1 Orzhov Pontiff
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Spellskite
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
4 Lingering Souls
4 Path to Exile
1 Dismember
2 Dismember
3 Stony Silence
1 Rule of Law
1 Rest in Peace
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Cloudthresher
3 Chalice of the Void
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Verdant Catacombs
2 Marsh Flats
2 Treetop Village
2 Razorverge Thicket
1 Forest
1 Gavony Township
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Watery Grave
CREATURES (16)
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Wall of Roots
2 Noble Hierarch
1 Terastodon
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Eternal Witness
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
4 Gifts Ungiven
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Lingering Souls
3 Path to Exile
2 Thoughtseize
1 Unburial Rites
1 Smother
1 Raven's Crime
1 Go for the Throat
1 Life from the Loam
1 Thoughtseize
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Surgical Extraction
3 Stony Silence
1 Spellskite
1 Pithing Needle
2 Obstinate Baloth
1 Nature's Claim
1 Darkblast
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Torpor Orb
Neither deck has Lili OTV, Dark Confidant, or Tarmogoyf.
Hope that helps broaden the brewing
UWRUWR Midrange/GeistRWU
Retired
GWBMelira PodBWG
Don't bother trying to replace them with sub-par junk. Have this instead:
1 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Plains
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Marsh Flats
2 Temple Garden
1 Godless Shrine
1 Overgrown Tomb
4 Windbrisk Heights
2 Stirring Wildwood
2 Wooded Bastion
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Deathrite Shaman
3 Kitchen Finks
Planeswalkers:
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Instants:
3 Abrupt Decay
3 Path to Exile
3 Zealous Persecution
Sorceries:
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Spectral Procession
4 Lingering Souls
2 Overrun
2 Stupor
3 Stony Silence
2 Runed Halo
2 Extirpate
2 Disfigure
1 Thoughtseize
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Thragtusk
1 Memoricide
1 Celestial Purge
1 Overrun
Feel free to tweak it if you feel you need to. It's probably not optimal just yet.
Skinshifter performs pretty well on his own and stellar with Doran out
You can drop arena on turn 2 courtesy of Deathrite Shaman and arena works better than bobIn multiples. Bobs redeeming factors are that he comes down turn 2, swings and isn't too color intensive. Arena is double black, so keep that in mind. Dark Tutelage, which is basicallye enchantment bob only needs 1 black mana, and may or may not hurt you more than arena depending on your land count and curve.
Not quite sure if I wanted to go that route, but that does look like a solid build. Right now I'm swinging some Junk Pod that gets mad value off of resto angels and finks/messenger, but it doesn't interact enough with my opponent and when I don't see Pod, it just sits there and does nothing.
Seso, I did see skinshifter and I might look into him. Might do something with KoTR, and if I can get my hands on Liliana...well that would be swell
UWRUWR Midrange/GeistRWU
Retired
GWBMelira PodBWG
Any copies of Disciple of Bolas? I had mad fun with that in a terrible Zombie Pod list I brewed like six months ago.
Disciple was depressingly underwhelming. Even with the Angels giving it some extra value it just didn't feel good enough. Was a shame too, it's such a cool card.
UWRUWR Midrange/GeistRWU
Retired
GWBMelira PodBWG
Weatherman -->
"I am disillusioned enough to know that no man's opinion on any subject is worth a damn unless backed up with enough genuine information to make him really know what he's talking about."
-H. P. Lovecraft