This is the current iteration, after some revisions and amicdeep's suggestions. The sideboard isn't very well thought out yet, so I just placed some useful things there.
I'm still weighing a bit between Serra's Ascendant and Lone Rider, since Serra Ascendant could be dead weight if some damage is taken, while Lone Rider would still be useful. However, Lone Rider costs 1 more mana, and that's a bit of a big deal.
I'm fairly satisfied with the way it currently looks, aside from the Sideboard. With the addition of Dromoka's Command and Scavenging Ooze, the splash into green makes more sense.
Any ideas or revisions on this deck? Do you think it could work on a Casual to FNM level?
Regarding Path to Exile/card] and Dromoka's Command, I guess mainboarding Command makes more sense, given the utility it provides? I've been looking at Oblivion Ring for my removal needs, but maybe Command is enough in the mainboard.
When it comes to lands, I've also been looking at Rogue's Passage, I think maybe it could prove useful for winning, allowing Pridemate or Wurm to swing directly at the opponent. Ajani, Caller of the Pride is also a card I'm looking at, since his -3 ability would let a 10/10 Pridemate or Wurm swing for lethal flying.
I agree on your sentiment regarding Trostani, Reveillark, Interlude and Ghostway, and I've removed them.
I will probably post a slightly updated list later, as soon as I've managed to reduce it to 60 cards. On a side note, I'm wondering if these changes warrants a Mentor of the Meek, since there's quite a few 1/1s in there, and card draw is something the deck lacks.
Slight edit: After some digging around for more inspiration, I figure the deck idea does lie really close to soul sisters, and maybe I should treat it more like a Soul Sister that goes green for more big damage guys. I've started to consider adding some other cards (Nearheath Pilhrim, Lone Rider, possibly Serra Ascendant if she's not too pricey, Chalice of Life / Death, Path of Bravery, and maybe an Ajani planeswalker. Caller of the Pride looks good since you can slap flying and double strike on a guy from turn 3, which can hit hard).
I'm on the fence with the blink effects. Restoration Angel is still good. Ghostway is probably out, and maybe I'll keep two Interludes or so. I might also want to add some Cloudshifts.
Interludes and Cloudshifts are still great ways to clear the coubter of Finks, reset the Wurm, trigger Soul sisters, as well as protect from targeted removal (cloudshift) and boardwipes (Eerie Interlude).
I've also started to look into removals. Path to Exile seems great, naturally. I'm currently considering Oblivion Ring, Pacifism or Faith's Fetters, each with their own advantage (Oblivion Ring covers all, Pacifism is cheaper, Faith's Fetters also gives life).
Hello.
So, I used to play MTG some time ago. Not super serious, but always went to FNMs with my Lorwyn Merfolks during that block.
Anyway, I'm slightly curious to maybe get back in, and Modern actually seems like a fun format. Naturally, starting with a budget deck seems like the right choice. I've been looking at what budget decks exist, but of course it is always more fun to edit them a bit with your own ideas. However, I do not know what the meta actually looks like, so I don't know if my ideas are functional at all.
Anyway, I saw someone post a "blink" style deck somewhere, abusing ETB effects, and I also saw an Ajani's Pridemate deck. I then found Voracious Wurm, and I got an idea; Basically combine Voracious Wurm and Ajani's Pridemate with Soul Wardens and Eerie Interlude. While the definite deck design isn't quite there yet, I do have a basic idea:
The gameplan is fairly simple: T1 drops a Warden, T2 comes Pridemate and T3 Drop another warden then Voracious Wurm. By this point both Pridemate and Wurm will be 5/5, which is decent. Of course, this is the ideal situation, but it could go well anyway. If the game drags on, as long as I have a few creatures on the field, dropping a Ghostway or Interlude can have huge impact due to how simultaneous ETB effects work - You could stack them very favorably. Kitchen Finks especially is really good here (as he tends to be), since after his Persist triggers (which buffs Pridemate, triggers wardens and can help wurm), a blink on him will remove the counter, making him good to go again.
As for my current Maybeboard: Inquisitor Exarch is a decent card that gives more lifegain. Centaur Healercosts the same as Knight of Autumn, but remains a 3/3 and gives life at the same time. However, Knight of Autumn is a good Reveillark target. Obstinate Baloth will probably be a sideboard card versus discard, since he both brings lifegain and is a good beatstick. Stonehorn Dignitary I'm not quite sure how to feel about him. I can see him drawing out games a bit to allow me to hold on until I can win, but I think he will be sideboard in that case. Champion of Lambholt I'm really curious about this guy. He could probably quite easily make my Pridemate / Wurm / Himself unblockable, and if he and 2 - 3 other creatures are in play, a Interlude will allow him to rank up the counters quick. Strongly considering mainboarding him. Flickerwisp He's really just a bad Restoration Angel, but I include him here as another potential source of blink. Being a 3/1 flier isn't all that bad either, but Restoration Angel really puts him to shame. Wall of Omens Elvish Visionaryare often included in blink-based decks since they're so cheap and provide quite a good card advantage with interludes and ghostways. Especially Wall of Omens can hold up the game a bit, which could possibly be quite useful.
Now, that's the main game plan. I haven't looked over removal and such yet (I can imagine there will be a few Path to Exile in there eventually, and some sideboard ETB creatures with artifact / enchantment hate. As I said, I don't know exactly how modern plays, and I understand decks like these will probably not place top every modern game I play. However, as a concept for a budget deck, what do you think? Could it at least be viable / hold its own against some modern decks? Any cards I've overlooked that would fit really well?
4 Essence Warden
4 Soul Warden
3 Serra Ascendant
4 Scavenging Ooze
3 Voracious Wurm
4 Ajani's Pridemate
3 Knight of Autumn
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Restoration Angel
4 Sunpetal Grove
3 Forest
6 Plains
2 Gavony Township
2 Rogue's Passage
4 Fortified Village
Instant
4 Dromoka's Command
Planeswalker
2 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
3 Stonehorn Dignitary
4 Obstinate Baloth
4 Oblivion Ring
4 Path to Exile
This is the current iteration, after some revisions and amicdeep's suggestions. The sideboard isn't very well thought out yet, so I just placed some useful things there.
I'm still weighing a bit between Serra's Ascendant and Lone Rider, since Serra Ascendant could be dead weight if some damage is taken, while Lone Rider would still be useful. However, Lone Rider costs 1 more mana, and that's a bit of a big deal.
I'm fairly satisfied with the way it currently looks, aside from the Sideboard. With the addition of Dromoka's Command and Scavenging Ooze, the splash into green makes more sense.
Any ideas or revisions on this deck? Do you think it could work on a Casual to FNM level?
Thank you for the advice.
I've been eyeing Serra Ascendant. I guess swapping out Lone Rider for her does make some sense.
Regarding Path to Exile/card] and Dromoka's Command, I guess mainboarding Command makes more sense, given the utility it provides? I've been looking at Oblivion Ring for my removal needs, but maybe Command is enough in the mainboard.
Gavony Township seems good. I think Shalai, Voice of Plenty har a bit of an expensive ability, especially after I've removed Thragtusk. I feel a bit the same regarding Crested Sunmare, but Resplendent Angel seems pretty neat. I'll include her.
When it comes to lands, I've also been looking at Rogue's Passage, I think maybe it could prove useful for winning, allowing Pridemate or Wurm to swing directly at the opponent. Ajani, Caller of the Pride is also a card I'm looking at, since his -3 ability would let a 10/10 Pridemate or Wurm swing for lethal flying.
I agree on your sentiment regarding Trostani, Reveillark, Interlude and Ghostway, and I've removed them.
I will probably post a slightly updated list later, as soon as I've managed to reduce it to 60 cards. On a side note, I'm wondering if these changes warrants a Mentor of the Meek, since there's quite a few 1/1s in there, and card draw is something the deck lacks.
I'm on the fence with the blink effects. Restoration Angel is still good. Ghostway is probably out, and maybe I'll keep two Interludes or so. I might also want to add some Cloudshifts.
Interludes and Cloudshifts are still great ways to clear the coubter of Finks, reset the Wurm, trigger Soul sisters, as well as protect from targeted removal (cloudshift) and boardwipes (Eerie Interlude).
I've also started to look into removals. Path to Exile seems great, naturally. I'm currently considering Oblivion Ring, Pacifism or Faith's Fetters, each with their own advantage (Oblivion Ring covers all, Pacifism is cheaper, Faith's Fetters also gives life).
So, I used to play MTG some time ago. Not super serious, but always went to FNMs with my Lorwyn Merfolks during that block.
Anyway, I'm slightly curious to maybe get back in, and Modern actually seems like a fun format. Naturally, starting with a budget deck seems like the right choice. I've been looking at what budget decks exist, but of course it is always more fun to edit them a bit with your own ideas. However, I do not know what the meta actually looks like, so I don't know if my ideas are functional at all.
Anyway, I saw someone post a "blink" style deck somewhere, abusing ETB effects, and I also saw an Ajani's Pridemate deck. I then found Voracious Wurm, and I got an idea; Basically combine Voracious Wurm and Ajani's Pridemate with Soul Wardens and Eerie Interlude. While the definite deck design isn't quite there yet, I do have a basic idea:
4 Soul Warden
4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Voracious Wurm
4 Kitchen Finks
3 Knight of Autumn
4 Restoration Angel
1 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
2 Thragtusk
1 Reveillark
2 Ghostway
23 Lands
The gameplan is fairly simple: T1 drops a Warden, T2 comes Pridemate and T3 Drop another warden then Voracious Wurm. By this point both Pridemate and Wurm will be 5/5, which is decent. Of course, this is the ideal situation, but it could go well anyway. If the game drags on, as long as I have a few creatures on the field, dropping a Ghostway or Interlude can have huge impact due to how simultaneous ETB effects work - You could stack them very favorably. Kitchen Finks especially is really good here (as he tends to be), since after his Persist triggers (which buffs Pridemate, triggers wardens and can help wurm), a blink on him will remove the counter, making him good to go again.
As for my current Maybeboard:
Inquisitor Exarch is a decent card that gives more lifegain.
Centaur Healercosts the same as Knight of Autumn, but remains a 3/3 and gives life at the same time. However, Knight of Autumn is a good Reveillark target.
Obstinate Baloth will probably be a sideboard card versus discard, since he both brings lifegain and is a good beatstick.
Stonehorn Dignitary I'm not quite sure how to feel about him. I can see him drawing out games a bit to allow me to hold on until I can win, but I think he will be sideboard in that case.
Champion of Lambholt I'm really curious about this guy. He could probably quite easily make my Pridemate / Wurm / Himself unblockable, and if he and 2 - 3 other creatures are in play, a Interlude will allow him to rank up the counters quick. Strongly considering mainboarding him.
Flickerwisp He's really just a bad Restoration Angel, but I include him here as another potential source of blink. Being a 3/1 flier isn't all that bad either, but Restoration Angel really puts him to shame.
Wall of Omens Elvish Visionaryare often included in blink-based decks since they're so cheap and provide quite a good card advantage with interludes and ghostways. Especially Wall of Omens can hold up the game a bit, which could possibly be quite useful.
Now, that's the main game plan. I haven't looked over removal and such yet (I can imagine there will be a few Path to Exile in there eventually, and some sideboard ETB creatures with artifact / enchantment hate. As I said, I don't know exactly how modern plays, and I understand decks like these will probably not place top every modern game I play. However, as a concept for a budget deck, what do you think? Could it at least be viable / hold its own against some modern decks? Any cards I've overlooked that would fit really well?