- Keenwa1
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Member for 10 years, 1 month, and 5 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.
"Blue Death and Taxes" or I was thinking "Mono Blue Stax," lol. It's hard to argue with your breakdown though, pretty spot on.
I agree with you that Etherium Sculptor is the worst of the three, but I he's still been good for me. I really like his interactions with Chief Engineer. He can be cast by Convoke, and when you tap him to Convoke he essentially adds 2 mana. He has a similar interaction with Grand Architect (taps for 2 and adds the 1 additional mana). I have had some very broken starts because of him, such as 2 Smuggler's Copters on turn 2, and 3 Lodestone Gollums in play by turn 4. In fact, this deck is so good at getting Hellbent fast, it doesn't surprise me that Sea Gate Wreckage has been good for you
I am taking a hard look at swapping Trophy Mage for Trinket Mage like ShadowGripper did. I feel it would add more consistency/redundancy to the deck, where as there is some variance with the Swords/Shackles package. I completely agree with you that Sword of Light and Shadow is insane for this deck though. Not only does it rebuy creatures and enable all sorts of shenanigans, but pro black/white is super relevant against removal. The +2/2 already puts most dudes past bolt range, so now its immune to basically everything, lol.
Ace1, your deck is super interesting! I actually tried Signal Pest for a bit, and you can drop em all turn 2 like you said. Looks good!
Thanks for all of your input guys!
Oh, so you run Vial in the slot where I run Etherium Sculptor. I do see how that would make Myr Superion better. Interesting.
I am intrigued by Vial for sure. Seems like it could make the deck more explosive. Although we already do essentially cheat a lot of cards into play, just like Shadow Gripper said, so I am a little hesitant to pick em up just yet. I could always sell them I guess. MTGO is the best for that. Rental Cards
Awesome stuff, I'm glad you like the deck. Let me know how Trinket Mage does. I definitely see the appeal there. Walking Ballista is my current MVP and Trinket Mage helps his cause.
I have considered your same switch of Judge's Familiar for Sage of Epityr. Mausoleum Wanderer is already so good, so why not add more, right? However, Sage has done some good work for me. I was constantly getting mana screwed or mana flooded before added him back in (in place of some lands).
Either way, one drops are important for this deck. I love their interaction with Chief Engineer. Convoking out two drops on turn two is the best.
Thanks for giving the deck a shot! Good luck and keep us posted with your progress.
Hell yeah, we're totally on the same page dude! Our decks are so similar, lol.
Rebuying Walking Ballista is where it's at. I haven't tried Buried Ruin, but Sword of Light and shadow rebuys him and Mausoleum Wanderer, which always feels good.
I tried Crucible of Worlds and didn't love it. Just seemed too slow. I do love the utility Ghost Quarter offers though.
Any ideas what to do about Stony Silence? Doesn't look like it wrecks you quite as bad as me, but I'm sure it's still tough.
Also, I can't help but notice that Aether Vial is relatively affordable online. Does anybody have experience with it? I have played it in Merfolk, and quite frankly, it seems much better in that deck than this. However,I'm still thinking of replacing the Sage of Epityr with it. It's tough though because here are pros/cons to each card.
4 Grand architect
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Chief Engineer
4 Sage of Epityr
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Walking Ballista
2 Trophy Mage
2 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Smuggler's Copter
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Vedalken Shackles
Land
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Flooded Strand
8 Island
3 Ghost Quarter
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Basilisk Collar
3 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Spell Snare
2 Fragmentize
2 Spellskite
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Vedalken Shackles
I added the fetch lands as Narvuntien suggested, and Spellskites as StreetMage suggested. I also added a Hallowed Fountain since I had all those fetches, which let me splash 2 Fragmentize to deal with Stony Silence. I took out 2 Echoing Truth (which I never loved) 1 Basilisk Collar and 1 Trinisphere out of the board to make room for the new additions. I want to test Trinisphere again, so maybe I'll replace the Vedalken Shackles in the sideboard with it.
What elso can I do with white mana? I kinda wanna try Ethersworn Canonist out of the board, possibly instead of Thorn of Amethyst I haven't talked about Thorn yet, but it has been sick for me. Picture having one or two of those out and a Lodestone Golem against a spell based deck. You crush 'em! Canonist is similar though and can carry a sword of fly a copter. Plus he can convoke out other artifacts with Chief Engineer. I don't want to make too many changes at once though. Are there better options than Fragmentize? I like that it hits all of Affinity's artifacts and Stony Silence, lol. Is the extra mana worth it for Disenchant's instant speed and extra utility? I don't think so, but haven't had much practice yet.
Any other suggestions are welcome, so please let me know what you think. Hopefully some of you guys are still rocking these Grand Architect decks. I think Walking Ballista actually made them competitive
Oh yeah, I forgot about Spellskite. That card would protect every non-land permanent in my deck, lol. I tried Glint-Nest Crane for a while and liked it. However, it whiffed a little too much for my liking. My artifact count was even higher then as well because I ran Darksteel Citadel. I switched out the Citadels for Ghost Quarter and haven't looked back. I would still consider the Crane, mostly because of the synergies you mentioned, but I don't know what I'd cut for it. Also, whiffing and sendingTrophy Mage to the bottom of the library would feel real bad.
Narvuntien, I did add 4x Misty Rainforest. They're only $7 each right now because of Modern Masters 2017. I had some treasure chests from going 4-1 yesterday, and found out I could sell them for almost $2.50 each (I should have been selling them all along). Anyways, that helped pay the fetches, so it was pretty much a no brainer. They're are only going to go up in value anyway. I think I'll add 4 Flooded Strands soon too, so hopefully I win more treasure chests to help. I went 3-2 last again night, and I am 2-0 in my current league. Now I want Spellskites too dammit. I guess I better keep winning, lol.
4 Grand architect
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Chief Engineer
4 Sage of Epityr
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Walking Ballista
2 Trophy Mage
2 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Smuggler's Copter
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Vedalken Shackles
Land
17 Island
3 Ghost Quarter
3 Basilisk Collar
3 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Spell Snare
2 Echoing Truth
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Trinisphere
1 Vedalken Shackles
I have been working on this type of strategy for a year or so. One problem I had was that the expensive threats were too slow if you didn't draw many accelerators. I diversified by adding swords, Walking Ballista, and Smuggler's Copter. I still use Wurmcoil Engine and Lodestone Golem for the top end. I highly recommend Walking Ballista - that card just wrecks opposing boards. You could replace the Vapor Snags, since that appears to be how you handle opposing creatures.
I used to run Darksteel Citadel (to increase the artifact count for Glint-Nest Crane), but have since switched to Ghost Quarter (and ditched the Crane). Quarter is much more versatile, hitting Tron lands, Eldrazi lands, and manlands.
4 Grand architect
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Chief Engineer
4 Sage of Epityr
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Walking Ballista
2 Trophy Mage
2 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Smuggler's Copter
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Vedalken Shackles
Land
17 Island
3 Ghost Quarter
3 Basilisk Collar
3 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Spell Snare
2 Echoing Truth
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Trinisphere
1 Vedalken Shackles
I posted this list to the Grand Architect thread in Deck Ideas, but I figured I'd throw it on here too, since it is only like $50 on MTGO. I went 4-1 with it for the first time today, but I manage to 3-2 quite frequently (MTGO Modern League). It is pretty straight forward, you ramp with your blue creatures and play lots of artifacts with their mana. Walking Ballista really helped make this deck competitive - it gets huge fast and just takes over the game.
Anyways, there is a well developed thread over in the Deck Creation forum, so hit it up of you are interested in building with Grand Architect. Oh, and this deck becomes way more affordable if you take out Wurmcoil Engine and Walking Ballista ( the whole deck should be less than $10 on MTGO). If you're just playing for fun, Myr Superion is one possible replacement for those cards (but it is so much worse).
4 Grand architect
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Chief Engineer
4 Sage of Epityr
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Walking Ballista
2 Trophy Mage
2 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Smuggler's Copter
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Vedalken Shackles
Land
17 Island
3 Ghost Quarter
3 Basilisk Collar
3 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Spell Snare
2 Echoing Truth
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Trinisphere
1 Vedalken Shackles
First of all, Walking Ballista is the house. That card comes down and just wipes out the opposing board. I even run the Basilisk Collar out of the board for the combo. It is great when it works, but Collar is still good alone in lots of match ups too (incidental life gain, deadly chump blockers etc).
I like my Trophy Mage package as well - the swords in particular. It is great to tutor up whichever sword fits your need, and they have nice synergy with some of the creatures. They pump Mausoleum Wanderer to the point where he basically becomes a hard counter, and they keep Walking Ballista alive after you remove it's counters. Plus, they turn any of the other dorks into legitimate threats and offer protection for your important creatures. Vedalken Shackles also tutorable, and is very difficult for creature decks to beat. The Trinisphere out of the board is tutorable too (albeit a little slow if you have to tutor for it).
Oh, and Smuggler's Copter is super legit too. Looting is a great mechanic for this deck - finding your ramp spells or win spells, which ever you need. Being a 3/3 flyer, it is one of the deck's best win conditions as well.
Anyways, like I said, I have been winning with this deck lately. Brought my ELO from 1550 to 1650 after ironing out the kinks, lol. One card that really wrecks me is Stony Silence. I have the Echoing Truth and Spell Snare out of the board to combat it, but I'd like other suggestions as well.
And for any haters doubting Sage of Epityr, I only made the ascent from 1550 to 1650 after adding him back into the deck (and removing some lands). Card selection is very important for this deck, and he is more than just a 1/1 when he flying a helicopter, swinging a sword, or convoking with Chief Engineer. He is basically a 2/2 Sol Ring when you have Grand Architect too, so there's that.
Lemme know what you guys think of the deck. And let's get this tread active again! I can't believe I am the first to post in like 2+ months.
Don't get me wrong, Merrow Reejerey triggers can be insane too (especially for generating mana:)) but sometimes they're either pointless or "win more." I dunno, I just hate that he costs 3 mana. Feels like the clunkiest card in the deck. CC can fill the 3 drop spot too. Just play him turn 3 and level him up once - bam, there's your 3 drop. The only thing I don't like is passing the turn with open mana instead of leveling him because it clearly shows your opponent that you have an instant in hand. I guess you can use that to bluff too though
Nether Void and The Abyss are much cheaper on MTGO than they are in real life. However, the Lilianas aren't cheap so I will be passing on them (and Wasteland). I am not sure what to replace those cards with but I am going to give it a shot anyway.
Here is the link: http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/modern-deck-creation/220958-deck-heartless-summoning-combo
Good luck!