So this was built upon the inspiration of a few different posts in the budget forums. I remembered a few older decks (Post + Rig & Post + Accord + Scroll of Avacyn) and some original talk of a Murder Post type deck. Someone recently brought it back up so I thought I'd try my hand at the deck and see what I could come up with. This is what I settled on. I actually had all of this in my collection already so that was convenient!
First things first, the deck relies on the same combo as the old Volatile Post decks. You run out a Volatile Rig and swing. Before it dies, or at the end of the turn you sac it to Trading Post to either draw a card or return another Volatile Rig from the 'yard to your hand to cast next turn. The repeated pseudo-wipe should keep the board clean enough to not be a problem.
Hammer of Purphoros and Hellraiser Goblin let the rig swing the turn it comes into play so you don't give your opponent even a moment of rest. Hammer of Purphorus also lets you turn extra lands into dudes so that you can have chumps/threats available when necessary. The deck doesn't really need more than 5 or 6 mana to do everything it would want in a turn anyway. You may not always need to make some dudes, but you will always have it as an option. The legendary status of the Hammer isn't really a problem because you can discard multiples to the Post or use the Post to recur them if necessary.
To keep this short, most of the cards in this deck act as additional versions of Trading Post allowing you to discard (Pack Rat) or sac (Tymaret, Cauldron, Hammer) for value. Newt is here because of its obvious interaction with Cauldron, the 8 life swing is nothing to scoff at. It offsets the downside of the Rig for you and doubles it up for the opponent. Tymaret is nice because you can use him to sac the Rig for a Shock or use him to sac the Rig from the 'yard to put him in your hand so you have a chump/threat for next turn. Saccing random things to the Cauldron also helps offset the damage from the Rig.
I assume a lot of things will be dying so Nighthowler could be good in this deck. On the back of a Rig (as an Aura) it could be very good. A 7/7 (or better) trampler is nice. Its even better when it dies and wipes the board and leaves you with another 4/4 (or better)
More Pack Rat- Originally Pack Rat wasn't even in the list, Chandra was but is over budget. Even Pack Rat is a little pricey. Pack Rat is awesome because he let's you fill the 'yard with Tymarets, Rigs, Hammers, or whatever else until you get the Post online and can start recurring some of those things. With Tymaret and Post online you can create new Rats for 1 life and 4 mana. Its steep but its technically card advantage and the Rats can take over a game very quickly if your opponent doesn't have a board wipe. If you get in a good position this little interaction can straight seal the deal. It may be a little "win more" or maybe just "win faster" so you can get to the next game. I honestly think I like Pack Rat over my original idea of Chandra's Phoenix.
Chandra's Phoenix- This was originally in the deck over the two Pack Rats and two Hellraiser Goblins. I like the Phoenix because it has haste and can get right in the fray but with the Hammer it doesn't really matter and the 2 cmc Pack Rat fits the curve better. Also, if you add in the Phoenix it might be a good idea to swap the Read the Bones for some Magma Jet to better recur the Phoenix.
The deck could definitely use more spot removal as well but I don't quite know what I would cut for it.
Private Mod Note
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The following link is an invitation to join Pucatrade (card trading service though similar to TCGPLayer). If you follow the link then it awards me with tokens to exchange for actual cards. Thanks! https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/86097
Hullo. I'm mainly a Duel Commander player but I got into Standard when M14 came out. I really like the concept of this challenge, so here's what I'm brewing/testing.
*** BACKGROUND ***
Here’s a Standard brew I’ve been working on these few two weeks made mostly from stuff i've accumulated. I really wanted to make Flamespeaker Adept work. So far during testing this version has held its own against a budget white weenie and a version of the Rakdos aggro that had a bunch of hasty one to three drops.
Deck synergy with cypher, heroic and scry. Hidden Strings is the card you’d want in your opening hand as it enables most of your tricks. Cyphered on an unblockable peep it can create lots of soldier tokens with Akroan Crusader or lock down opposing critters with Wavecrash Triton.
Omenspeaker is there to pump Flamespeaker Adept, fix draws and deter aggro decks. Frostburn Weird is your best two drop since it’s a great blocker early game and can get big when you start the beats.
Lack of draw is at least mitigated with filtering draws with scry. Tried Triton Fortune Hunter but it was too fragile and rarely survived the turn. Currently testing with a lone Bident of Thassa.
The sideboard needs a lot of work. With my card pool I opted to use counterspells for problem cards and going more aggro against control builds.
*** THE DECKLIST ***
TIMESTAMP: 12/04/2013 @ 6:00PM
Been interested in budget standard for a while. I can't justify spending a couple hundred dollars every few months or so on top 8 decks. So I decided to give this a try...
Background:
This deck was an idea I had to run some answers to some heavy cards in my meta(master of waves, thassa). It eventually involved into a hatebears-like like midrange with an agressively low curve. In testing variations of the idea I eventually realized it would become such a deck and actually handle quite well against a lot of standard decks out there. It's still very much a work in progress but I hope you enjoy it's current manifestation.
KEY CARDS & INTERACTIONS: Hopeful Eidolon + Ethereal Armor + any other hateful enchantments: Hate out the opponent while buffing your creatures. Hopeful Eidolon also being an enchantment helps here too. Orzhov Charm: Really a jack of all trades in this deck, it can save your ethereal armor and the creature its on, or nuke an opponent's pest, even return a small bear to the field. Shadow Alley Denizen + Rakdos Cackler or Kingpin's Pet: Shadow Alley Denizen can help you get effective unblockabability against a lot of decks. Auramancer: Simply a great one of, a 2/2 body who can also recover a dead enchantment you wish you had. Not worth more then one of these, but if you need her she's great, often retrieves a useful ethereal armor.
I hate spending hundreds of dollars for a top 8 deck, so I love budget standard. Here's my first crack at the Budget Deck Challenge:
***BACKGROUND***
I got bored by the usual play style of RDW, and so I wanted a control deck to face down the insane amounts of RDW in my meta. Since most control decks cost a lot of money, I decided to stay away from the usual colour pairings (UWx control in general).
This is a UB control build, mainly based on the Aberration's ability to grind the opponent's deck away. You can also use the thing as a giant beatstick.
The other wincons are Prognostic Sphinx (when you can't win by just mill) and Mind Grind (when you have a boatload of mana to use).
Crypt Incursion is there to provide lifegain, ever-important against aggro decks. DO NOT exile your opponent's graveyard, for obvious reasons.
Of course, you also have your removal spells, which is a lot in order to compensate for no board wipes.
The sideboard is left open for others to use for their own metas (OK, I'll admit it, I just have no clue about how to sideboard well).
I recently started playing and want to be able to try out a ton of different playstyles, but I certainly can't afford Tier one decks in for all of them. This thread has been great for that. Here is what I came up with:
Turn two has a large amount of possibilities, and should hopefully allow you to play a Spike Jester to swing for a big early hit, a Magma Jet or Lightning Strike the opponent/creature, or a Firefist Striker to set up for a three creature attack. Tymaret is also a good play here.
The key to this deck is early attacks, then Tymaret, The Murder King + Guttersnipe + Burn Spells. Once you get your opponent down to his last bit of life you can use Tymaret to sac your guys and finish him off.
Your opponents are definitely going to attempt to kill Guttersnipe, and while you can't prevent that, if you can get guttersnipe out with Tymaret in play and some manna open you can sac him first and keep the damage flowing.
Between Lightning Strike + Guttersnipe for 5 damage, Firefist Striker keeping key blockers at bay, and Tymaret to finish things off, you should be able to win, and win quickly.
I haven't finished designing the sideboard, I defiantly think Skullcrack, Dark Betrayal, and Electrickery will make it. Probably some Dreadbores as well. I would love some input if people have ideas.
Here's a Selesnya Aggro deck I just cooked up yesterday, pretty similar (except budget, obviously) to the one Craig Wescoe plays. I see there's already a GW Aggro deck listed here, but the lists are pretty different, so I decided to post it.
Background:
I wanted to see if I could adapt a competitive decklist to fit this challenge, and GW Aggro seemed like a good place to start. Working off of a couple of competitive lists I found, I tweaked the deck a bunch and ended up with this:
How it Works:
This is a pretty standard GW list. You have a low-medium curve, can put early pressure on opponents, and have efficient creatures that can stomp over the opponent even in the later game. It speaks for itself, really. There's a good bit of token love in there: Rootborn Defenses is a sweet board wipe counter that often nets you a 3/3 centaur or even a tramply wurm as a bonus. In fact, if you play Rootborn Defenses in response to a Supreme Verdict with any token on the board, you're usually about to win. Advent of the Wurm is, of course, awesome, and Scion of Vitu-Ghazi kicks ass. (and for cheap!) It plays pretty much like the competitive version, (though it misses Voice of Resurgence a bit) and wins pretty consistently.
Sideboard:
As with any competitive deck, the sideboard here plays a huge role. Here are the main decks I can imagine facing:
Mono Black Devotion
The best way to beat mono-black is to put a lot of pressure on the board quickly. I would bring in 2 Brave the Elements to protect our early aggression, and take out 2 Rootborn Defenses, which usually aren't worth it against mono-black. Post-board, T2 Pack Rat is brutal, so you can bring in Pithing Needle if you're worried about that.
Mono Red
There are two mono-red decks, really; there are the fast ones, with a very low curve, and the devotion-ish deck with Stormbreath Dragon and some other fatties. For both of them, the best path to success is usually a large Fanatic of Mogis, so you want enough life-gain to get out of fanatic range. Bring in 1 Centaur Healer, 1 Last Breath, and 2 Unflinching Courage, and take out 2 Rootborn Defenses and 2 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi against the fast deck, and 2 Rootborn Defenses and 2 Banisher Priest against the slower one. The Scion is just too slow, they don't have enough wipes for Rootborn Defenses to matter, and Banisher Priest is too easily killed. The Last Breath is to deal with problematic creatures like Firefist Striker.
Mono Blue
This matchup is tricky. Master of Waves is death for this deck. You must kill it, or you will lose. No other options. To that end, I side in 2 Banisher Priest and 2 Last Breath, strictly for killing Master of Waves and Thassa. I take out 2 Druid's Deliverance and 2 Rootborn Defenses.
Esper Control
They rely fairly heavily on their sweepers, so don't overextend and keep mana up for Rootborn Defenses. Add 3 Rootborn Defenses and take out 2 Druid's Deliverance and 1 Selesnya Charm. You can also take out a few more Charms for Pithing Needles to help with Elspeth, Sun's Champion, or possibly Jace, Architect of Thought.
CURVE (0-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6+): 11 / 11 / 10 / 4 / 2 / 0
AVERAGE CMC: 2.28
TYPE: BDC10 ($10.00 LIMIT)
CURRENT COST: $9.98
REMAINING BUDGET: $0.02 (really squeezed out every last cent)
This is the evolution of my old Orzhov deck. It's upgraded with new M14 cards and soon Theros cards. The object is to "combo" using Alms Beast to cause BACKBREAKING life swings. You can finish using Vizkopa Guildmage to do as much as a 21 point swing with a single attack! Combine this with efficient beaters and removal, and you are ready to steal some games. Remember not to be afraid to drop Gift on a Thrill-Kill or Priest if the opening is there and you think it's possible to connect a few times.
KEY CARDS & INTERACTIONS:
1) Vizkopa Guildmage + Alms Beast + Gift of Orzhova: This is where the deck gets it's name. You go from losing to winning, or winning to really winning with a single connect. We are talking +7 life for you and -14 life for them. In magical xmas land, have Ajani down and use his -3 for a OHKO.
2) Sin Collector: This guy is important. If you suspect removal, drop him first to check out their hand and get rid of their answer to your combo before you build Voltron.
3) Deathpact Angel: This is your plan B. A hard to deal with huge flying beater with SWEET artwork. Love it.
4) Orzhov Charm: Don't be afraid to use it's 1st mode to save your Gift'ed Alms Beast when necessary.
This is perhaps one of the cheapest decks here and I can easily bet it is one of the strongest. I could add more cards to improve it with higher individual cost to get to just below $10 to improve it, but I like it how it is.
I was just wondering on what online deck builder service/app are you using so that uses tcg low values? I'm too lazy to compute for each of the pieces so I would be happy if you can share what you guys were using. TIA
First of all, even though I usually play black, green is my second favorite color. I love mana ramps, token generation spells and those big a** fatties that green would provide.
1. Bramblecrush - Can destroy any non-creature permanent, even Planeswalkers. Yes, even Planeswalkers.
2. Golgari Charm - It is here only for its last mode to protect your creatures and tokens from board wipes.
3. Nylea's Presence - This will allow you to use Golgari Charm even if you don't have swamps. Adding swamps or guildgates will ruin the deck's main goal.
4. Unravel the AEther - Your answer against gods.
*** SUGGESTED UPGRADES ***
I'm not really sure what cards can bring serious improvement to this deck but if you have the budget, you can check out some of the hydras. Mistcutter Hydra, Kalonian Hydra and Polukranos, World Eater are some of the legal hydras at the moment.
I really want to contribute to this thread, but I have no idea how to make something good for under $10. One card that interests me a lot is using Voidwielder in a tempo style evolve deck. His high toughness makes for a good evolve enabler and his ability is good either at gaining tempo, or reusing ETB triggers. If anyone wants to help me develop that further, you would be an awesome person.
So I've just made this deck a little while ago, but it's held up against a ton of other casual decks and won. I've made a couple people rage quit simply because they couldn't react anymore because of all the sacrifices and the discards in my heroics. As you can see, the deck utilizes small costing pings to trigger heroic at an instant and keep our opponents ability to operate and respond at a minimum. It's a really fun combo deck that is actually surprisingly consistent.
It's weakness is token decks since they can sac all the time and just have more things to swing with than we can block with. So we have 4 Illness in the Ranks to solve that problem. Quick aggro decks can also be a problem so I'm still trying to find the optimal card(s) to add to the sideboard besides our Elixir of Immortality.
Silence in the Library (Enchantment control with Silent Sentinel)
This deck came about because I pulled a Silent Sentinel and decided it deserved a fate better than being stuck in my binder of all eternity. After collaborating with Chowdahrogansorah, we managed to come up with a budget deck that makes use of this junk rare as well as a few of his fellow archons. The name is a clever Doctor Who reference, but could also apply to both the fact that we're playing Silent Sentinel, as well as the deck's more lockdown components.
The main non-budget inclusions would definitely be more detention spheres, and Supreme Verdict. The one thing this deck could benefit from is a way to sacrifice enchantments, so as to reuse detention spheres and arrests with Silent Sentinel, but sadly, we don't have a sac outlet for enchantments in standard.
If you're looking to sideboard for this deck, I recommend including some cards to deal with aggro, such as Azorius Charm, or Aetherize. Some other sideboard cards to consider include more counterspells like Gainsay or Negate, Glare of Heresy, and Pithing Needle. No sideboard is included here as I'm of the belief that you should tailor your sideboard based on your own personal meta, and also it might push the budget over.
Hi shinbatsu, let me say that i love your decks and forgive my poor english
I have one question, i loved your WB Death in the Blink of an Eye deck, but in my local store i can't buy Ajani, Caller of the Pride. Is there any card that you suggest that can fill the spot effectively?
This one's really hard to replace, especially since it's a one-of and most of those important cards are already full sets. another Sin Collector or Executioner's swing would be good if you want to up your utility, while Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts, Celestial Archon, Silent Sentinel, and Ashen Rider are options if you're looking for another bomb. The biggest issue with these cards, though, is that they're very expensive, mana-wise and would probably work best with a Whip of Erebos, which i don't see fitting into the deck (especially considering the goal of the deck overall)
in the end, i personally narrow it down to Sin Collector (to get rid of removal), Executioner's Swing (for removal yourself), or Celestial archon (extra bomb that isn't too devastatingly costed)
I'm about to buy one of the decks of this thread. What you guys think it's the best? Wich one is better for a local tournament.
this one's a toughie. The best i can tell you is A) DON'T use my Simic Monstrosities deck (lol it's just bad as it is in this thread, but i might work to fix it in the future) and B) look for the decks that interest you the most and narrow it down from there. of course these lists aren't concrete and you can mess with them to fit your needs/wants/meta-expectations
Gods Willing and Brave the Elements are good options for protecting from removal, and Duress and Draw power (in Read the Bones) might be a good idea, too. Detention Sphere will be your biggest enemy, so Revoke Existence, wear // tear, or some other form of enchantment removal is called for, plus playing around it by holding copies back in case you expect one to show up. I've seen UW lists that run 0 creatures, so sometimes, it might be dangerous to leave mst of your removal in. That said, the control player may expect this line of thinking and play assuming you're boarded out all of your removal, so keep a couple copies in just in case. I'd even put in Devour Flesh to give you a lifeboat of sorts by sacing your own creatures not to mention extra syngery with Vizkopa Guildmage
I've tested half of the decks here in this topic using Virtual Playtable, and I can say that's the best deck I've tested so far. I want to find a good match for this deck, I want to buy to budget decks, it's great when you can win good decks using budget stuff. Wich one do you guys suggest me?
I built this deck for a friend who was getting into Magic some time ago, in order to get him out of the casual range. With the rotation of Innistrad and the coming of Theros, the deck gained a reasonable amount of new toys. It's a UWR control that aims to ride a single threat to victory and defeat the opponent by controlling the board with counterspells and removal, using sweepers against agro and some burn that serves both for removal and added reach. Opportunity is the budget substitute for the almighty Sphinx's Revelation, and Planar Cleansing is a wallet-friendly sweeper that also hits Planeswalkers. Prognostic Sphinx is our Aetherling substitute, and Spellheart Chimera has great evasion and has a virtual Runechanter's Pike and 3 toughness. Lyev Skyknight is there for budget reasons, but he is an evasive beater that gains us some tempo, which is needed since our sweeper costs 6. It has had great results for being on such a low budget.
KEY CARDS & INTERACTIONS Azorius Charm + Essence Scatter: This can be a backbreaking play for the opponent, since it negates their draw and can send back a problematic creature that we couldn't counter before, so we can do it the second time it drops. Planar Cleansing: It's our boardwipe. Costs 2 more but can hit planeswalkers and enchantments as well. Opportunity: Instant matters. Refills our hand EOT t6 to cast Cleansing just after that and establish our control from there. Omenspeaker,as well as the scry cards: These help us filter our draws early in the game and ensure we do Land drops, get our answers, and draw a Cleansing / Opportunity in time. Omenspeaker also walls aggro. Prognostic Sphinx / Spellheart Chimera: Our finishers. Chimera comes down really quick and grows from there, just watch out because it's vulnerable to all forms of removal. Sphinx starts smoothing our draws since it starts connecting, has a big butt so dodges damage based removal, and we can discard a card to protect it from Dreadbore, Doom Blade and Putrefy.
So this was built upon the inspiration of a few different posts in the budget forums. I remembered a few older decks (Post + Rig & Post + Accord + Scroll of Avacyn) and some original talk of a Murder Post type deck. Someone recently brought it back up so I thought I'd try my hand at the deck and see what I could come up with. This is what I settled on. I actually had all of this in my collection already so that was convenient!
First things first, the deck relies on the same combo as the old Volatile Post decks. You run out a Volatile Rig and swing. Before it dies, or at the end of the turn you sac it to Trading Post to either draw a card or return another Volatile Rig from the 'yard to your hand to cast next turn. The repeated pseudo-wipe should keep the board clean enough to not be a problem.
Hammer of Purphoros and Hellraiser Goblin let the rig swing the turn it comes into play so you don't give your opponent even a moment of rest. Hammer of Purphorus also lets you turn extra lands into dudes so that you can have chumps/threats available when necessary. The deck doesn't really need more than 5 or 6 mana to do everything it would want in a turn anyway. You may not always need to make some dudes, but you will always have it as an option. The legendary status of the Hammer isn't really a problem because you can discard multiples to the Post or use the Post to recur them if necessary.
To keep this short, most of the cards in this deck act as additional versions of Trading Post allowing you to discard (Pack Rat) or sac (Tymaret, Cauldron, Hammer) for value. Newt is here because of its obvious interaction with Cauldron, the 8 life swing is nothing to scoff at. It offsets the downside of the Rig for you and doubles it up for the opponent. Tymaret is nice because you can use him to sac the Rig for a Shock or use him to sac the Rig from the 'yard to put him in your hand so you have a chump/threat for next turn. Saccing random things to the Cauldron also helps offset the damage from the Rig.
I assume a lot of things will be dying so Nighthowler could be good in this deck. On the back of a Rig (as an Aura) it could be very good. A 7/7 (or better) trampler is nice. Its even better when it dies and wipes the board and leaves you with another 4/4 (or better)
*** THE DECKLIST ***
TIMESTAMP: 12/03/13 10:25am
12 Swamp
12 Mountain
CREATURES - 19
4 Festering Newt
2 Pack Rat
4 Tymaret, the Murder King
2 Hellraiser Goblin
3 Nighthowler
4 Volatile Rig
4 Lightning Strike
3 Read the Bones
2 Bubbling Cauldron
4 Hammer of Purphoros
4 Trading Post
CURVE (0-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6+): 4 / 12 / 12 / 8 / 0 / 0
AVERAGE CMC: 2.67
TYPE: BDC10 ($10.00 LIMIT)
CURRENT COST: $7.93
REMAINING BUDGET: $2.07
POTENTIAL UPGRADES:
Blood Crypt- Obvious
More Pack Rat- Originally Pack Rat wasn't even in the list, Chandra was but is over budget. Even Pack Rat is a little pricey. Pack Rat is awesome because he let's you fill the 'yard with Tymarets, Rigs, Hammers, or whatever else until you get the Post online and can start recurring some of those things. With Tymaret and Post online you can create new Rats for 1 life and 4 mana. Its steep but its technically card advantage and the Rats can take over a game very quickly if your opponent doesn't have a board wipe. If you get in a good position this little interaction can straight seal the deal. It may be a little "win more" or maybe just "win faster" so you can get to the next game. I honestly think I like Pack Rat over my original idea of Chandra's Phoenix.
Chandra's Phoenix- This was originally in the deck over the two Pack Rats and two Hellraiser Goblins. I like the Phoenix because it has haste and can get right in the fray but with the Hammer it doesn't really matter and the 2 cmc Pack Rat fits the curve better. Also, if you add in the Phoenix it might be a good idea to swap the Read the Bones for some Magma Jet to better recur the Phoenix.
The deck could definitely use more spot removal as well but I don't quite know what I would cut for it.
https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/86097
*** BACKGROUND ***
Here’s a Standard brew I’ve been working on these few two weeks made mostly from stuff i've accumulated. I really wanted to make Flamespeaker Adept work. So far during testing this version has held its own against a budget white weenie and a version of the Rakdos aggro that had a bunch of hasty one to three drops.
Deck synergy with cypher, heroic and scry. Hidden Strings is the card you’d want in your opening hand as it enables most of your tricks. Cyphered on an unblockable peep it can create lots of soldier tokens with Akroan Crusader or lock down opposing critters with Wavecrash Triton.
Aqueous Form combos with Flamespeaker Adept. He turns all of your scrys into +2s. Titan’s Strength becomes a +5. Madcap Skills on almost any creature will deliver the beats for you and make it semi-unblockable for Hidden Strings. Between Voyage’s End, Magma Jet, and Hidden Strings, you can keep blockers to a minimum.
Omenspeaker is there to pump Flamespeaker Adept, fix draws and deter aggro decks. Frostburn Weird is your best two drop since it’s a great blocker early game and can get big when you start the beats.
Lack of draw is at least mitigated with filtering draws with scry. Tried Triton Fortune Hunter but it was too fragile and rarely survived the turn. Currently testing with a lone Bident of Thassa.
The sideboard needs a lot of work. With my card pool I opted to use counterspells for problem cards and going more aggro against control builds.
*** THE DECKLIST ***
TIMESTAMP: 12/04/2013 @ 6:00PM
4 Izzet Guildgate
9 Islands
9 Mountains
Creatures (16)
2 Omenspeaker
3 Akroan Crusader
3 WaveCrash Triton
4 Flamespeaker Adept
4 Frostburn Weird
Enchantments (8)
1 Bident of Thassa
3 Aqueous Form
4 Madcap Skills
2 Voyage’s End
4 Hidden Strings
4 Magma Jet
4 Titan’s Strength
1 Dispel
2 Negate
3 Essence Scatter
4 Lightning Strike
4 Minotaur Skullcleaver
CURVE (0-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6+): 10 / 20 / 7 / 1 / 0 / 0
AVERAGE CMC: 1.97
TYPE: BDC10 ($10.00 LIMIT)
CURRENT COST: $6.81(MD) + $1.21(SB) = $8.02
REMAINING BUDGET: $1.98
Just one question, how do you think I can improve it a little bit considering I can spend some money on it? Thanks in advance!
Background:
This deck was an idea I had to run some answers to some heavy cards in my meta(master of waves, thassa). It eventually involved into a hatebears-like like midrange with an agressively low curve. In testing variations of the idea I eventually realized it would become such a deck and actually handle quite well against a lot of standard decks out there. It's still very much a work in progress but I hope you enjoy it's current manifestation.
KEY CARDS & INTERACTIONS:
Hopeful Eidolon + Ethereal Armor + any other hateful enchantments: Hate out the opponent while buffing your creatures. Hopeful Eidolon also being an enchantment helps here too.
Orzhov Charm: Really a jack of all trades in this deck, it can save your ethereal armor and the creature its on, or nuke an opponent's pest, even return a small bear to the field.
Shadow Alley Denizen + Rakdos Cackler or Kingpin's Pet: Shadow Alley Denizen can help you get effective unblockabability against a lot of decks.
Auramancer: Simply a great one of, a 2/2 body who can also recover a dead enchantment you wish you had. Not worth more then one of these, but if you need her she's great, often retrieves a useful ethereal armor.
THE DECKLIST
TIMESTAMP: 12/16/2013 @ 2:00am
4 Hopeful Eidolon
4 Rakdos Cackler
3 Shadow Alley Denizen
4 Sin Collector
2 Kingpin's Pet
1 Auramancer
Instants (8)
4 Orzhov Charm
2 Doom Blade
2 Profit / Loss
3 Blind Obedience
4 Ethereal Armor
1 Holy Mantle
2 Sinister Possession
2 Sphere of Safety
Artifacts (1)
1 Pithing Needle
Lands (21)
4 Orzhov Guildgate
9 Plains
8 Swamp
4 Celestial Flare
4 Duress
2 Martial Law
1 Pithing Needle
1 Profit / Loss
3 Soul Tithe
CURVE (0-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6+): 18 / 9 / 7 / 1 / 5 / 0
AVERAGE CMC: 2.08
TYPE: BDC10 ($10.00 LIMIT)
CURRENT COST: $ 8.94
REMAINING BUDGET: $ 1.06
***BACKGROUND***
I got bored by the usual play style of RDW, and so I wanted a control deck to face down the insane amounts of RDW in my meta. Since most control decks cost a lot of money, I decided to stay away from the usual colour pairings (UWx control in general).
Then I saw Consuming Aberration.
This is a UB control build, mainly based on the Aberration's ability to grind the opponent's deck away. You can also use the thing as a giant beatstick.
The other wincons are Prognostic Sphinx (when you can't win by just mill) and Mind Grind (when you have a boatload of mana to use).
Crypt Incursion is there to provide lifegain, ever-important against aggro decks. DO NOT exile your opponent's graveyard, for obvious reasons.
Of course, you also have your removal spells, which is a lot in order to compensate for no board wipes.
The sideboard is left open for others to use for their own metas (OK, I'll admit it, I just have no clue about how to sideboard well).
Without further ado, may I present:
***THE DECKLIST***
TIMESTAMP: 12/27/13 @ 9:33 pm
4 Far // Away
4 Doom Blade
4 Ultimate Price
3 Devour Flesh
3 Essence Scatter
4 Pilfered Plans
1 Opportunity
2 Read the Bones
1 Mind Grind
3 Crypt Incursion
4 Omenspeaker
2 Consuming Aberration
1 Prognostic Sphinx
Land:
4 Dimir Guildgate
9 Swamp
7 Island
2 Rogue's Passage
CURVE (0-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6+): 0 / 18 / 9 / 0 / 7 / 1
AVERAGE CMC: 2.97
TYPE: BDC10 ($10.00 LIMIT)
CURRENT COST: $8.56
REMAINING BUDGET: $1.44
I recently started playing and want to be able to try out a ton of different playstyles, but I certainly can't afford Tier one decks in for all of them. This thread has been great for that. Here is what I came up with:
4x Firefist Striker
4x Guttersnipe
4x Rakdos Cackler
3x Spike Jester
3x Tymaret, the Murder King
2x Duress
2x Doom Blade
4x Lightning Strike
4x Magma Jet
2x Shock
2x Ultimate Price
8x Swamp
12/31/13 TGC
CURVE (0-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6+): 11 / 22 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0
AVERAGE CMC: 1.84
CURRENT COST: $7.98
REMAINING BUDGET: $2.02
The deck is centered around the idea of cheap creatures + burn.
Turn one should hopefully yield a Firedrinker Satyr or Rakdos Cackler
Turn two has a large amount of possibilities, and should hopefully allow you to play a Spike Jester to swing for a big early hit, a Magma Jet or Lightning Strike the opponent/creature, or a Firefist Striker to set up for a three creature attack. Tymaret is also a good play here.
The key to this deck is early attacks, then Tymaret, The Murder King + Guttersnipe + Burn Spells. Once you get your opponent down to his last bit of life you can use Tymaret to sac your guys and finish him off.
Your opponents are definitely going to attempt to kill Guttersnipe, and while you can't prevent that, if you can get guttersnipe out with Tymaret in play and some manna open you can sac him first and keep the damage flowing.
Between Lightning Strike + Guttersnipe for 5 damage, Firefist Striker keeping key blockers at bay, and Tymaret to finish things off, you should be able to win, and win quickly.
I haven't finished designing the sideboard, I defiantly think Skullcrack, Dark Betrayal, and Electrickery will make it. Probably some Dreadbores as well. I would love some input if people have ideas.
Background:
I wanted to see if I could adapt a competitive decklist to fit this challenge, and GW Aggro seemed like a good place to start. Working off of a couple of competitive lists I found, I tweaked the deck a bunch and ended up with this:
The Decklist:
TIMESTAMP: 1/6/14 @ 7:24 pm
4 Dryad Miltant
4 Boros Elite
3 Judge's Familiar
3 Precinct Captain
4 Frontline Medic
2 Banisher Priest
2 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi
4 Call of the Conclave
4 Alive // Well
1 Rootborn Defenses
2 Druid's Deliverance
4 Selesnya Charm
5 Forest
13 Plains
4 Selesnya Guildgate
2 Unflinching Courage
1 Rootborn Defenses
2 Banisher Priest
3 Last Breath
2 Brave the Elements
2 Pithing Needle
How it Works:
This is a pretty standard GW list. You have a low-medium curve, can put early pressure on opponents, and have efficient creatures that can stomp over the opponent even in the later game. It speaks for itself, really. There's a good bit of token love in there: Rootborn Defenses is a sweet board wipe counter that often nets you a 3/3 centaur or even a tramply wurm as a bonus. In fact, if you play Rootborn Defenses in response to a Supreme Verdict with any token on the board, you're usually about to win. Advent of the Wurm is, of course, awesome, and Scion of Vitu-Ghazi kicks ass. (and for cheap!) It plays pretty much like the competitive version, (though it misses Voice of Resurgence a bit) and wins pretty consistently.
Sideboard:
As with any competitive deck, the sideboard here plays a huge role. Here are the main decks I can imagine facing:
Mono Black Devotion
The best way to beat mono-black is to put a lot of pressure on the board quickly. I would bring in 2 Brave the Elements to protect our early aggression, and take out 2 Rootborn Defenses, which usually aren't worth it against mono-black. Post-board, T2 Pack Rat is brutal, so you can bring in Pithing Needle if you're worried about that.
Mono Red
There are two mono-red decks, really; there are the fast ones, with a very low curve, and the devotion-ish deck with Stormbreath Dragon and some other fatties. For both of them, the best path to success is usually a large Fanatic of Mogis, so you want enough life-gain to get out of fanatic range. Bring in 1 Centaur Healer, 1 Last Breath, and 2 Unflinching Courage, and take out 2 Rootborn Defenses and 2 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi against the fast deck, and 2 Rootborn Defenses and 2 Banisher Priest against the slower one. The Scion is just too slow, they don't have enough wipes for Rootborn Defenses to matter, and Banisher Priest is too easily killed. The Last Breath is to deal with problematic creatures like Firefist Striker.
Mono Blue
This matchup is tricky. Master of Waves is death for this deck. You must kill it, or you will lose. No other options. To that end, I side in 2 Banisher Priest and 2 Last Breath, strictly for killing Master of Waves and Thassa. I take out 2 Druid's Deliverance and 2 Rootborn Defenses.
Esper Control
They rely fairly heavily on their sweepers, so don't overextend and keep mana up for Rootborn Defenses. Add 3 Rootborn Defenses and take out 2 Druid's Deliverance and 1 Selesnya Charm. You can also take out a few more Charms for Pithing Needles to help with Elspeth, Sun's Champion, or possibly Jace, Architect of Thought.
CURVE (0-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6+): 11 / 11 / 10 / 4 / 2 / 0
AVERAGE CMC: 2.28
TYPE: BDC10 ($10.00 LIMIT)
CURRENT COST: $9.98
REMAINING BUDGET: $0.02 (really squeezed out every last cent)
I really like this deck. If I was looking to update this with Theros or Born of the Gods cards, what would you recommend?
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4x Briarpack Alpha
2x Deadbridge Goliath
4x Deadly Recluse
4x Elvish Mystic
1x Giant Adephage
4x Kalonian Tusker
2x Karametra's Acolyte
1x Nessian Wilds Ravager
4x Reverent Hunter
4x Aspect of Hydra
2x Fated Intervention
Sorcery (1)
1x Enlarge
Enchantment (2)
2x Trollhide
25x Forest
TCGLow: $4.58
Slightly less budget version that incorporates 3 good cards this deck could use which helps the curve, Arbor Colossus, Boon satyr, and Bow of Nylea
2x Arbor Colossus
3x Boon Saytr
4x Deadbridge Goliath
4x Deadly Recluse
4x Elvish Mystic
1x Giant Adephage
4x Kalonian Tusker
2x Karametra's Acolyte
2x Nessian Wilds Ravager
4x Reverent Hunter
4x Aspect of Hydra
Sorcery (1)
1x Enlarge
Enchantment (1)
1x Bow of Nylea
Land (24)
24x Forest
TCGLow: $9.17
This is perhaps one of the cheapest decks here and I can easily bet it is one of the strongest. I could add more cards to improve it with higher individual cost to get to just below $10 to improve it, but I like it how it is.
Building on a budget tips:
yakusoku's Budget Guide to Standard
Simon's Budget Guide to Playing on a Budget
10$ Deck Ideas:
Shinbatsu's Budget Deck Challenge
GB Graveyard Shift BG
UBR It's Cloning Time! RBU
Modern:
B Mono Black Infect B
WG Splicers GW
UG Allies GU
Oh and BTW, these $10 decks are really competitive for the given budget limit. Kudo's to you budget brewers!
Building on a budget tips:
yakusoku's Budget Guide to Standard
Simon's Budget Guide to Playing on a Budget
10$ Deck Ideas:
Shinbatsu's Budget Deck Challenge
GB Graveyard Shift BG
UBR It's Cloning Time! RBU
Modern:
B Mono Black Infect B
WG Splicers GW
UG Allies GU
*** BACKGROUND ***
First of all, even though I usually play black, green is my second favorite color. I love mana ramps, token generation spells and those big a** fatties that green would provide.
This deck is built around Howl of the Night Pack. Though it may seem a "meh"card, seven 2/2 green wolves can deal serious damage. Of course this deck would suck if it will only rely on that spell and that is where Arbor Colossus, Centaur Battlemaster and Woodborn Behemoth comes in.
*** KEY CARDS/SYNERGIES/COMBOS ***
1. Burnished Hart, Into the Wilds and Ordeal of Nylea - These are your main land fetching cards. This will help you play Howl of the Night Pack earlier than turn seven.
2. Trading Post - A very flexible artifact card but its main use is to allow you to cycle Burnished Hart.
3. Chorus of Might - Additional finisher.
*** THE DECKLIST ***
TIMESTAMP: 02/10/14 @ 9:30PM (posted on around 11:30PM)
3 Arbor Colossus
4 Burnished Hart
2 Centaur Battlemaster
4 Experiment One
4 Kalonian Tusker
2 Woodborn Behemoth
4 Bioshift
2 Chorus of Might
4 Howl of the Night Pack
Artifacts(2)
2 Trading Post
Enchantments(6)
2 Into the Wilds
4 Ordeal of Nylea
23 Forest
3 Bramblecrush
4 Golgari Charm
4 Nylea's Presence
4 Unravel the AEther
CURVE (0-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6+): 8/8/4/6/7/7
AVERAGE CMC: 3.32
TYPE: BDC10 ($10.00 LIMIT)
CURRENT COST: $9.85
REMAINING BUDGET: $0.15
*** SIDEBOARD EXPLAINED ***
1. Bramblecrush - Can destroy any non-creature permanent, even Planeswalkers. Yes, even Planeswalkers.
2. Golgari Charm - It is here only for its last mode to protect your creatures and tokens from board wipes.
3. Nylea's Presence - This will allow you to use Golgari Charm even if you don't have swamps. Adding swamps or guildgates will ruin the deck's main goal.
4. Unravel the AEther - Your answer against gods.
*** SUGGESTED UPGRADES ***
I'm not really sure what cards can bring serious improvement to this deck but if you have the budget, you can check out some of the hydras. Mistcutter Hydra, Kalonian Hydra and Polukranos, World Eater are some of the legal hydras at the moment.
Building on a budget tips:
yakusoku's Budget Guide to Standard
Simon's Budget Guide to Playing on a Budget
10$ Deck Ideas:
Shinbatsu's Budget Deck Challenge
GB Graveyard Shift BG
UBR It's Cloning Time! RBU
Modern:
B Mono Black Infect B
WG Splicers GW
UG Allies GU
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Sig Credit: Pegasus Bishop
What we really need is Mist Raven back.
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Sig Credit: Pegasus Bishop
enchanting Witchstalker with Raised by Wolves
4x Agent of the Fates
3x Artisan of Forms
4x Ashiok's Adept
4x Nivmagus Elemental
4x Boon of Erebos
3x Essence Scatter
3x Far // Away
4x Mizzium Skin
4x Hidden Strings
2x Read the Bones
Enchantment (3)
3x Aqueous Form
Land (22)
4x Dimir Guildgate
9x Island
9x Swamp
2x Elixir of Immortality
2x Gridlock
4x Illness in the Ranks
3x Negate
4x Triton Tactics
CURVE (0-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6+): 15 / 10 / 10 / 0 / 3 / 0
AVERAGE CMC: 1.33
CURRENT MAINDECK COST: $4.85
REMAINING BUDGET: $5.15
SIDEBOARD COST: $0.69
TIMESTAMP: 2/27/2014 6:53 PM MST USA
So I've just made this deck a little while ago, but it's held up against a ton of other casual decks and won. I've made a couple people rage quit simply because they couldn't react anymore because of all the sacrifices and the discards in my heroics. As you can see, the deck utilizes small costing pings to trigger heroic at an instant and keep our opponents ability to operate and respond at a minimum. It's a really fun combo deck that is actually surprisingly consistent.
Triggers:
Aqueous Form
Boon of Erebos
Mizzium Skin
Hidden Strings
Triton Tactics
Gridlock
Heroics:
Agent of the Fates
Artisan of Forms
Ashiok's Adept
Nivmagus Elemental
It's weakness is token decks since they can sac all the time and just have more things to swing with than we can block with. So we have 4 Illness in the Ranks to solve that problem. Quick aggro decks can also be a problem so I'm still trying to find the optimal card(s) to add to the sideboard besides our Elixir of Immortality.
Give it a shot! I promise it'll be fun!
Some cards to consider on a Budget: Woodlot Crawler Ordeal of Thassa Dispel Siren of Silent Song Scourgemark Duress Retraction Helix
Some cards to consider with a higher budget: Desecration Demon Whip of Erebos Watery Grave Thoughtseize
Find me on TappedOut also!
Trade with me!! Always in search of cards!
This deck came about because I pulled a Silent Sentinel and decided it deserved a fate better than being stuck in my binder of all eternity. After collaborating with Chowdahrogansorah, we managed to come up with a budget deck that makes use of this junk rare as well as a few of his fellow archons. The name is a clever Doctor Who reference, but could also apply to both the fact that we're playing Silent Sentinel, as well as the deck's more lockdown components.
3x Hopeful Eidolon
3x Omenspeaker
3x Lyev Skyknight
2x Thassa's Emissary
3x Silent Sentinel
1x Celestial Archon
1x Archon of the Triumvirate
2x Dissolve
Noncreature Enchantments (17)
3x Soul Tithe
2x Ordeal of Thassa
3x Ordeal of Heliod
2x Detention Sphere
3x Arrest
1x Bident of Thassa
3x Sphere of Safety
4x Azorius Guildgate
14x Plains
7x Island
CURVE (0-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6+): 3 / 11 / 10 / 3 / 4 / 4
AVERAGE CMC: 3.29
TYPE: BDC10 ($10.00 LIMIT)
CURRENT COST: $6.50
REMAINING BUDGET: $3.50
The main non-budget inclusions would definitely be more detention spheres, and Supreme Verdict. The one thing this deck could benefit from is a way to sacrifice enchantments, so as to reuse detention spheres and arrests with Silent Sentinel, but sadly, we don't have a sac outlet for enchantments in standard.
If you're looking to sideboard for this deck, I recommend including some cards to deal with aggro, such as Azorius Charm, or Aetherize. Some other sideboard cards to consider include more counterspells like Gainsay or Negate, Glare of Heresy, and Pithing Needle. No sideboard is included here as I'm of the belief that you should tailor your sideboard based on your own personal meta, and also it might push the budget over.
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This one's really hard to replace, especially since it's a one-of and most of those important cards are already full sets. another Sin Collector or Executioner's swing would be good if you want to up your utility, while Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts, Celestial Archon, Silent Sentinel, and Ashen Rider are options if you're looking for another bomb. The biggest issue with these cards, though, is that they're very expensive, mana-wise and would probably work best with a Whip of Erebos, which i don't see fitting into the deck (especially considering the goal of the deck overall)
in the end, i personally narrow it down to Sin Collector (to get rid of removal), Executioner's Swing (for removal yourself), or Celestial archon (extra bomb that isn't too devastatingly costed)
this one's a toughie. The best i can tell you is A) DON'T use my Simic Monstrosities deck (lol it's just bad as it is in this thread, but i might work to fix it in the future) and B) look for the decks that interest you the most and narrow it down from there. of course these lists aren't concrete and you can mess with them to fit your needs/wants/meta-expectations
enchanting Witchstalker with Raised by Wolves
enchanting Witchstalker with Raised by Wolves