Bought a bunch o packs in the past few days, and entered a RtR draft. Got a few good cards, including Pack Rat. After seeing the Pack Rat deck on Wizard's site, any way to budgetize that, really like how it looks, but Lilana of the Veil looks a bit outta the price range.
I really like this list you have put together and that is where i would like to start with the deck.
What would be your next acquisition(s) if you were to add another 25-30$ or what would you hold off from and then invest a little more in.
Also, i dont really play FNM or any tournaments. I only play with friends but we like to play the formats for fun and they all play some form of aggro. B/g and U/g tokens.
thank you so much for this thread. i havent been able to play standard in years because of how expensive it has always been but i went ahead and made a few of your decks, and i just tested the "walls combo" and eventhough it went to game 3 and the guy i was playing against was playing lands more expensive than the deck itself. i managed to pull it off eventhough he "arrested" and Oblivion ringed my axebane guardians! nice decks, and thanks again!
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Modern - undecided
EDH - Mirri
Mahvel: Spencer/Magz/Vergil
The UG Defender combo deck looks cool, gonna try and peice it together, but working on a R/B version of your mono Black control deck (Have loved it since I started with Cabal Coffers, Mutilate, & Visara the Dreadful) (pulled a Blood Crypt, and a buddy owed me stuff, so he gave me 3 more and a Dragonskull Summit after I told him what I was building).
Any suggestions on the red for the deck? I know I like the look of your Rat's Aggro, Mono R Aggro, and the MBC deck, so I want to borrow ideas from them, but just not sure what's good in the format atm.
Also, how would I go about looking up a list of cards that are Standard but that are reprints of cards from Zendikar block and back?
Any suggestions on the red for the deck? I know I like the look of your Rat's Aggro, Mono R Aggro, and the MBC deck, so I want to borrow ideas from them, but just not sure what's good in the format atm.
When GTC drops, pick up a set of Skullcrack. It's gonna be an uncommon, so it won't get too expensive.
I have seen this excellent page, and would like to know if I could have some help with an Izzet control deck I am working on. I could post the deck if that helps, and I have had a lot of trouble with aggro and also with control. Thanks.
Thank you for the ideas for the Rakdos Pak Rat deck. These past two days, ive been in two Standard tournys, & Ive managed to win both of them, with my only match loss to a guy who was running Esper Tokens, and my only game losses to him and a guy who revived a Griselbrand after i made him discard it ><.
I know I want Ravenous Rats in here eventually, and would like to fill out the Pillar of Flames. Sometimes had a hard time getting the 2 Red for Annihilating Fire (Their were 3 of em here, replaced by a 4th Spear, that I won at the FNM, & Mizzium Mortars). Also, some more strait up Destroy target creature would be nice. And am I the only one who thinks Demonic Taskmaster is crazy good with the Lightning Mauler? Also, in the sideboard, is their any reason to keep Ghost Quarter? Never saw a reason all weekend to need to side it in against anything.
I managed to get the cards together for your Simic Dredge list a few days ago, and finally managed to play it for the first time today, on MTGO. It is fun.
That said, I noticed a dis-synergy between Skaab Ruinator and Boneyard Wurm. I exiled 3 creatures from my graveyard to cast Skaab Ruinator, and found that my Boneyard Wurms' power and toughness immediately dropped by 3. My Splinterfright had been killed earlier, but it would probably have been affected the same way.
Can you suggest something to replace Skaab Ruinator?
Once again, thanks for all that you are doing for those of us on a tight budget.
I eventually cut the Skaab Ruinator from my UG GY deck. Was almost never right to cast it, and it didn't get around the hate aimed at the rest of the deck.
Some kind of clone is not a bad replacement, as there are many opponent guys worth copying as well as your own. Simic will have some stuff, I'm sure, too.
I still love the pressure that Skaab Ruinator can bring when you have no lhurgoyfs in play. An evassive 5/6 body for a 3cmc is great but yeah, exiling 3 creatures can be a problem for your lhurgoyfs.
Played my 2nd game with the Simic Dredge deck today. My opponent had a Blue-Black deck of some kind.
He played a Jace's Phantasm early. I played a Wingcrafter.
Then I got out my Screeching Skaab. He bounced it with Unsummon. I played it again. He bounced it again. I played it again. Somewhere along the line, I managed to cast Mulch and Tracker's Instinct. Mulch got me 1 Island, and dropped 3 creatures in the GY. Tracker's Instinct got me 1 creature, and dropped 3 lands in the GY. This left me with 1 Skaab Ruinator, 2 Splinterfrights and 1 Screeching Skaab in hand; 3 Islands and 1 Forest on the battlefield.
I also had 10+ cards in my graveyard, and I suddenly realized his Jace's Phantasm became a 5/5. I had to chump block with my Skaab. Then I played my 2nd Skaab, and chump blocked again.
Then I played my 1st Splinterfright. It entered the battlefield as a flying 10/10 with trample My opponent conceded.
My impressions? This deck is NOT stable. I'll probably lose more than I win, even in the beginner's corner in MTGO. OTOH, dropping a flying 10/10 tree with trample on T6 is fun. It's even more fun when I had a 2nd 10/10 tree with trample ready to drop on T7, with a T8+ 5/6 flying Zombie
The Kessig Cagebreakers sound good, but I don't think I'll ever be able to get up to 5 mana on any reliable basis. Seems like this deck mills away lands a bit too fast.
The 3U of Undead Alchemist is a bit more likely. He is not too powerful or reliable, but potentially getting a 2/2 zombie every time an existing zombie deals damage to the opponent sounds fun.
Volatile Rig also seems interesting. 4/4 trample for 4 cmc. When damaged, may blow up and cause every player and creature 4 damage. It has the sort of unpredictable feel that I get from this deck.
What does everyone else think?
Honestly, though, now that I've looked into it myself, the Skaab Ruinator is too good. For only 3 cmc you get a flying 5/6 that you can cast from the GY. Simon did too good a job discovering this card. I really don't know how to replace it
Have 4+ Defenders out, one of them being Axebane Guardian . Play Galvanic Alchemist at some point binding it to the Guardian. Now tap gaurdian for 4+ mana, 1 of which is blue. Then use the ability given by the Alchemist to untap the Gaurdian. You end up with an untapped Gaurdian and more mana than you started with. Proceed to play whatever your X spell is to win the game.
i love the deck i think is brilliant, how can i make it more competitive, what do i change for silverblade and Thragstuk??? and what does it mean not to overextend? does it mean not to drop all of my creature the fastest way i can??
First, thanks for all these great decks! I am not a very experienced player.
I play the UR storm deck now, which is great. I traded 3 Talrand Sky summoner this week and want to put them in the deck, I just don't know how to fit them into the deck, what should I take out? I also got 3 Mizzium Mortars, will those be good? and I wonder if Izzet Charm will be a good option in this deck.
Thanks in advance for advice
Izzet Charm can go in place of one of the filter spells (Desperate Ravings, Faithless Looting) if you are looking for a bit more versatility, since you can still use it as a filter spell, it's just going to be less effective since Goblin Electromancer isn't going to be able to cost reduce it, and you're not going to be able to flash it back.
If your metagame doesn't have much in the way of reanimator, then you can probably take out the Tormod's Crypt for Mizzium Mortars, but fair warning ahead, you're probably not going to be able to reliably overload it.
EDIT: Anyone thought of a way of effectively splashing R in the Angel Rites deck? 4 Rootbound Crags seems like a nice start, but I'm not sure if it's good enough.
Are you gonna update this after Gatecrash has landed and prices have settled in a bit? The guy that you win if you have 4 of screams junk rare that has potential.
I love this. Some of us just don't have $400 laying around to throw into a "top shelf" deck. I play budget mostly, unless I get really lucky and get a lot of great cards in boosters and deck builder's kits and such. I'll definitely be referencing this forum.
Are you gonna update this after Gatecrash has landed and prices have settled in a bit? The guy that you win if you have 4 of screams junk rare that has potential.
There is no way Biovisionary could ever cost more than 3 dollars tops imo, unless it picks up in other formats. Definitely a budget friendly win-con. Of course the lands needed will cost a pretty penny but hey.
There is no way Biovisionary could ever cost more than 3 dollars tops imo, unless it picks up in other formats. Definitely a budget friendly win-con. Of course the lands needed will cost a pretty penny but hey.
I've been trying to make an budget Orzhov deck for some casual standard tournaments i play and i'm thinking on running an deck with agressive beaters, some tokens, blood artist, maybe cartel aristocrat and faith's reward for insane shenanigans, i've been also thinking on make something more based on the Extort mechanic...or should i just play BW Tokens instead?
What would be your next acquisition(s) if you were to add another 25-30$ or what would you hold off from and then invest a little more in.
Also, i dont really play FNM or any tournaments. I only play with friends but we like to play the formats for fun and they all play some form of aggro. B/g and U/g tokens.
EDH - Mirri
Mahvel: Spencer/Magz/Vergil
Any suggestions on the red for the deck? I know I like the look of your Rat's Aggro, Mono R Aggro, and the MBC deck, so I want to borrow ideas from them, but just not sure what's good in the format atm.
Also, how would I go about looking up a list of cards that are Standard but that are reprints of cards from Zendikar block and back?
When GTC drops, pick up a set of Skullcrack. It's gonna be an uncommon, so it won't get too expensive.
I have seen this excellent page, and would like to know if I could have some help with an Izzet control deck I am working on. I could post the deck if that helps, and I have had a lot of trouble with aggro and also with control. Thanks.
-The Doctor.
4 Pack Rat
3 Rakdos Shreadfreak
1 Demonic Taskmaster
1 Desecration Demon
3 Rakdos Cackler
3 Stonewright
4 Lightning Mauler
3 Hellhole Flailer
Instant/Sorcery
4 Dreadbore
4 Mind Rot
4 Searing Spear
2 Pillar of Flame
1 Annihilating Fire
1 Mizzium Morters
1 Ultimate Price
4 Blood Crypt
2 Dragonskull Summit
7 Mountain
9 Swamp
4 Tormod's Crypt
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Ghost Quarter
4 Mutilate
3 Vandalblast
1 Zealous Conscripts
I know I want Ravenous Rats in here eventually, and would like to fill out the Pillar of Flames. Sometimes had a hard time getting the 2 Red for Annihilating Fire (Their were 3 of em here, replaced by a 4th Spear, that I won at the FNM, & Mizzium Mortars). Also, some more strait up Destroy target creature would be nice. And am I the only one who thinks Demonic Taskmaster is crazy good with the Lightning Mauler? Also, in the sideboard, is their any reason to keep Ghost Quarter? Never saw a reason all weekend to need to side it in against anything.
I managed to get the cards together for your Simic Dredge list a few days ago, and finally managed to play it for the first time today, on MTGO. It is fun.
That said, I noticed a dis-synergy between Skaab Ruinator and Boneyard Wurm. I exiled 3 creatures from my graveyard to cast Skaab Ruinator, and found that my Boneyard Wurms' power and toughness immediately dropped by 3. My Splinterfright had been killed earlier, but it would probably have been affected the same way.
Can you suggest something to replace Skaab Ruinator?
Once again, thanks for all that you are doing for those of us on a tight budget.
Some kind of clone is not a bad replacement, as there are many opponent guys worth copying as well as your own. Simic will have some stuff, I'm sure, too.
If you really want a replacement, Kessig Cagebreakers might do.
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
He played a Jace's Phantasm early. I played a Wingcrafter.
Then I got out my Screeching Skaab. He bounced it with Unsummon. I played it again. He bounced it again. I played it again. Somewhere along the line, I managed to cast Mulch and Tracker's Instinct. Mulch got me 1 Island, and dropped 3 creatures in the GY. Tracker's Instinct got me 1 creature, and dropped 3 lands in the GY. This left me with 1 Skaab Ruinator, 2 Splinterfrights and 1 Screeching Skaab in hand; 3 Islands and 1 Forest on the battlefield.
I also had 10+ cards in my graveyard, and I suddenly realized his Jace's Phantasm became a 5/5. I had to chump block with my Skaab. Then I played my 2nd Skaab, and chump blocked again.
Then I played my 1st Splinterfright. It entered the battlefield as a flying 10/10 with trample My opponent conceded.
My impressions? This deck is NOT stable. I'll probably lose more than I win, even in the beginner's corner in MTGO. OTOH, dropping a flying 10/10 tree with trample on T6 is fun. It's even more fun when I had a 2nd 10/10 tree with trample ready to drop on T7, with a T8+ 5/6 flying Zombie
The Kessig Cagebreakers sound good, but I don't think I'll ever be able to get up to 5 mana on any reliable basis. Seems like this deck mills away lands a bit too fast.
The 3U of Undead Alchemist is a bit more likely. He is not too powerful or reliable, but potentially getting a 2/2 zombie every time an existing zombie deals damage to the opponent sounds fun.
Volatile Rig also seems interesting. 4/4 trample for 4 cmc. When damaged, may blow up and cause every player and creature 4 damage. It has the sort of unpredictable feel that I get from this deck.
What does everyone else think?
Honestly, though, now that I've looked into it myself, the Skaab Ruinator is too good. For only 3 cmc you get a flying 5/6 that you can cast from the GY. Simon did too good a job discovering this card. I really don't know how to replace it
-4 Chandra, the Firebrand
+1 Harvest Pyre
+1 Into the Maw of Hell
+2 Flames of the Firebrand
Saves ~$16 and still won a good amount, though just by the skin of my teeth against more aggressive decks
Izzet Charm can go in place of one of the filter spells (Desperate Ravings, Faithless Looting) if you are looking for a bit more versatility, since you can still use it as a filter spell, it's just going to be less effective since Goblin Electromancer isn't going to be able to cost reduce it, and you're not going to be able to flash it back.
If your metagame doesn't have much in the way of reanimator, then you can probably take out the Tormod's Crypt for Mizzium Mortars, but fair warning ahead, you're probably not going to be able to reliably overload it.
EDIT: Anyone thought of a way of effectively splashing R in the Angel Rites deck? 4 Rootbound Crags seems like a nice start, but I'm not sure if it's good enough.
There is no way Biovisionary could ever cost more than 3 dollars tops imo, unless it picks up in other formats. Definitely a budget friendly win-con. Of course the lands needed will cost a pretty penny but hey.
This is true. I can see a Biovisionary + Cackling Counterpart + Parallel Lives combo.
Building on a budget tips:
yakusoku's Budget Guide to Standard
Simon's Budget Guide to Playing on a Budget
10$ 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
Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici.
Ideas?
On DeTora's extra land drop on PT:GTC