- Keenwa1
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Member for 10 years and 16 days
Last active Tue, Mar, 31 2020 20:50:53
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Mar 19, 2014Keenwa1 posted a message on Casual Castle: Nemesis of MortalsIt almost always gives me a fatty. If there is not a fatty, chances are there it grabs a Rancor or a spell that digs for a fatty. I have not played with more than one because I fear that the ETB tapped could be clunky in multiples. That being said, it feels like the one copy has never really slowed me down.Posted in: Articles
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Mar 17, 2014Keenwa1 posted a message on Casual Castle: Nemesis of MortalsWow! I just made a Modern deck like this. My enablers are more centered around providing mana along with putting a creature in the graveyard (think Sakura-Tribe Elder and Wild Cantor). I just play the deck casually, but it is pretty fast. I almost always have one or two fatties in play by turn 3.Posted in: Articles
I am mono green for budget reasons fyi.
DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Creatures (34)
4x Splinterfright
4x Boneyard Wurm
4x Nemesis of Mortals
2x Ghoultree
4x Wild Cantor
4x Sakura-Tribe Elder
4x Simian Spirit Guide
4x Satyr Wayfinder
4x Street WraithSpells (8)
4x Commune with the Gods
2x Rancor
1x Life from the Loam
1x Tracker’s Instincts
Lands (18)
16x Forest
1x Island
1x Mosswort Bridge
I also have a budget Legacy deck that does the same thing. I will post it soon in the Budget Legacy forum - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Ace1 congrats on your 4-0. How big was your Master of Etherium usually? It feels like he'd usually only be like 3/3 or so, although I guess Architect pumps him too.
Tron and Abzan are two of the hardest match ups for this deck. While Ghost Quarter helps against Tron, it is otherwise tough to interact with them. Abzan isn't quite as bad, but their discard/removal package can make it hard to execute our game plan. They are also more creature heavy than Jund and Death's Shadow, so the post board tech of Thorn of Amethyst or Thalia, Guardian of Thraben less useful against them.
Bant Eldrazi is a pretty even match up. Our deck is kind of similar to theirs, since we both want to ramp into mid-sized threats. It really depends on who draws better, I guess. The Bant version is probably a little easier than the Tron version of Eldrazi, sinceWalking Ballista takes Noble Hierarch. Eldrazi Displacer is a problem for Balista though (blinks and kills it), so you might want something like Pithing Needle help handle it. It also hits Drowner of Hope, not that he's a great target.
Really the best match ups for this deck are aggro, combo, and burn decks. If those decks aren't represented in your meta, then this deck might not be the best choice. You can probably tune it to have a better match up against those other decks though, you just have to find the right mix of cards. Ace1's u/r list with Blood Moons in the sideboard would be good against Tron/Eldrazi for example. Graveyard hate is really good against Abzan.
It is possible that another splash is better, but mono blue also has it's own merits. The life loss from fetches and shocks is very real. And now that Ballista exists, mono blue has a reliable way to deal with opposing creatures. With that being said, having Path available out of the board feels nice. I think Fatal Push would be better than Path, since it doesn't ramp the opponent, so maybe black is a better splash? It is tough to give up on Thalia though - feels like she's made for this deck.
I agree that this deck has potential to take off and do really well. I have like a 65% win percentage with it in the MTGO Modern League I play in. It has a decent place in the current meta, doing generally doing well against aggro and combo, but mediocre against midrange and control. Feels like it can beat any deck with a good draw though, which is cool.
Fair enough, I didn't notice the link to this forum under your decklist. I had initially found this article https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://mnews.deckedbuilder.com/articles/24838.htm&ved=0ahUKEwiixtr25NfTAhXnslQKHZqwAGIQFghAMAk&usg=AFQjCNHZQoBnl5Oyckh84sggCHrUL6zxKQ&sig2=0-nMxgIECCzFAp-v8veKHw, which helped fuel my reaction that you quoted. I figured that it was you that the author mentioned, since the list was similar to the one you posted. VariousBoots post just confirmed it. He is right though, more exposure is good for this deck. I like your change of Trinket Mage over Trophy Mage, and other people on here have helped me improve my deck as well. The more traffic we get through here, the more innovation will occur for this archetype.
Have you tried the Sage of Epityr at all, Shadowgripper? I find that he really smooths out the draws a lot, but it could just be personal bias. Judge's Familiar definitely has its own merits, but I think I would miss the flexibility of card selection that the Sage offers. I played the Familiar in Mausoleum Wanderer's spot before Eldrich Moon was released, but I was never too impressed with him to be honest. Wanderer is obviously bananas with Grand Architect's pump, which I think makes him an auto include. I am not sold on the Familars though, but maybe I aught to give them a try. I have pretty much been going infinite with this deck in MTGO leagues, so I've really got nothing to lose. Plus, I've been running a u/w build lately, so I can even cast him of my one basic plains
Here is my current build
4 Grand architect
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Chief Engineer
4 Sage of Epityr
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Walking Ballista
2 Trinket Mage
2 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Smuggler's Copter
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Chalice of the Void
Land
2 Misty Rainforest
4 Flooded Strand
7 Island
3 Seachrome Coast
3 Ghost Quarter
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Plains
3 Chalice of the void
2 Path to Exile
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Fragmentize
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Spellskite
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Hangarback Walker
I went up to 22 lands because I had to mulligan too often with just 20 and 21 lands. Seems like a good change so far. Chalice of the Void has also been bonkers, as expected. Makes the Trinket Mages that much better!
I totally agree with you on the fetches. I went down to 6 and got a couple Seachrome Coasts. I also agree Path to Exile is a nombo with they whole tax theme, but it has still been really good for me. I did go down to two Paths in the sideboard because I had to add someChalice of the Voids I'm borrowing.
The Chalices seem really solid. I tried one in the main as a Trinket Mage target, and liked it. It still has utility mid-game, such as removal protection for important creatures or cutting off a key spell CMC etc. Dunno what the correct configuration is between main an side, but I have liked the 1-3 spit so far.
Here's what I have ran to 6-4 in my past two MTGO Leagues.
4 Grand architect
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Chief Engineer
4 Sage of Epityr
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Walking Ballista
3 Trinket Mage
2 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Smuggler's Copter
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Chalice of the Void
Land
2 Misty Rainforest
4 Flooded Strand
7 Island
2 Seachrome Coast
3 Ghost Quarter
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Plains
3 Chalice of the void
2 Path to Exile
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Fragmentize
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Spellskite
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Hangarback Walker
I went into my history and I am 24-11 (65-35 in games) since first posting my deck on 4/8/17. Just noticed that is exactly 100 games, so 65% winning percentage, yeah!
The deck has changed subtly since then, most notably taking out the Trophy Mage package for Trinket Mages instead.
For this tournament, I added Thalia, Guardian of Thraben in place of Thorn of Amethyst. It was fine, but I lost a couple games due to damage from lands. Ah the days of fetchless mono blue. I'll still play this or something very similar again tomorrow. I am not so gungho to find a replacement for Sage of Epityr anymore either. He was MVP tonight, helping me set up some sick sequences of plays. He has so much value beyond stacking your draws too, since this deck wants creatures on the battle field to tap for mana with Architect/Engineer or fly Smuggler's Copter etc.
4 Grand architect
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Chief Engineer
4 Sage of Epityr
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Walking Ballista
3 Trinket Mage
2 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Spellskite
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Smuggler's Copter
1 Basilisk Collar
Land
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Flooded Strand
7 Island
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Plains
3 Path to Exile
3 Fragmentize
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Pithing Needle
1 Hangarback Walker
1 Spellskite
4 Grand architect
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Chief Engineer
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Walking Ballista
4 Verdurous Gearhulk
4 Myr Superion
4 Smuggler's Copter
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Flooded Strand
6 Island
4 Breeding Pool
2 Forest
I am going to try to wrap my brain around this build. Hierarch seems like a viable alternative to Aether Vial, both of which are probably better than my Sage of Epityr. Sage is still pretty sweet though, just sayin'
EDIT: With 16 mana dorks, I'd even be willing to give Myr Superion a try again. Or how about Pili-Pala, depending on the troll factor you're going for Pila-Pala can even help cast Myr Superion. Now we're going deep!
Edit: pretty gungho about trying aether vial too. It really is starting to look like Death and Taxes, StreetMage!
Edit Edit: Trinket Mage has basically been Walking Ballista #'s 5-7, with the
Basilisk Collar combo rarely happening for me. With that being said, it has still been really good! Very glad you suggested that change, Shadow Gripper!
While fetching a sword with Trophy Mage felt a lot like Stoneforge Mystic, it turns out grabbing a bazooka is just as good, if not better
4 Grand architect
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Chief Engineer
4 Sage of Epityr
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Walking Ballista
3 Trinket Mage
2 Wurmcoil Engine
2 Spellskite
4 Smuggler's Copter
1 Basilisk Collar
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Flooded Strand
7 Island
3 Ghost Quarter
2 Hallowed Fountain
3 Path to Exile
3 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Fragmentize
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Pithing Needle
1 Hangarback Walker
I gotta say, I never missed the Trophy Mage. And I was never like, "ewww, this is too many Walking Balistas, I wish I had swords/Shackles etc." Quite the contrary, Ballista was as sick as ever. The swords are good too, don't get me wrong, but they are high variance as I mentioned before.
I really like the sideboard configuration I used tonight. It felt like I had a wealth of options for every match. Trinket Mage provides many interesting options, including Chalice of the Void, which I may be picking up soon...
This version seems good, definitely more redundant/consistent as I imagined it would be. Definitely going to run it again next time.
Thanks for all of your suggestions guys. Let's keep 'em coming!!