Hi there, it's the faboulous Mono One Drop deck revisited!
Credits for the original deck idea go to BibboTheFirst. It's like Wizards read his post and thougt "we can make this idea work", gifting us with the second Innistrad cycle and, more important, Kaladesh. This resulted in a budget and hopefully fun deck. I kept it modern legal, because in my local store there are Friday Night Multiplayer events for modern.
Yes, we absolutly needed a better version of Pulse Tracker! Night Market Lookout is a fine example that there seems to be no stop to wizards power spirale. He's perfect to complete the team, byebye Maggot Carrier.
Gonti's Machinations - Blood Tithe for one mana that can work as a rattlesnake? Again, thank you Wizards. This directly goes into the deck as a budget replacement for Bloodchief Ascension. With Bloodchief Ascension i would consider to run both cards and kick out Foul-Tongue Shriek. Foul-Tongue Shriek is in because I wanted to have some surprise damage in my hand my opponents can't see. However, even in the goldfish it rarely goes off for more than 5 points of life.
Behind the Scenes is the next keycard. Skulk is exactly what those Wheenies needed. Considered Concealed Courtyard but I would hardly trigger the pump ability more than once, so I stayed budget with simple swamps.
Removal is tailored towards my meta. I run Tragic Slip in a couple of other decks and never regreted to have one in my hand. Bile Blight is in because tokens are a thing in my meta. I considered Killing Wave, but I think the mana count is a little bit low and it also works against my wheenies. Smallpox could work here even without the small synergy with Asylum Visitor. However, land destrcution is shunned in my meta so I dropped this idea.
Card draw is my biggest concern. Skullclamp would be THE solution but it was out of budget nobody told me that it was reprinted a couple of times and is affordable now. I have no clue if Asylum Visitor will work (use Blood Scrivener to make this deck even more cheaper). Infiltration Lens didn't work in my Goblin Gaveleer-deck and doesn't work well with Behind the Scenes but I will give it a last chance.
I would consider the new dread wanderer since it can be recast. Also, blood artist is a two drop that ties in tight. Finally, think about a sac outlet like nanotusk which can let you get rid of your guys for profit.
I would consider the new dread wanderer since it can be recast. Also, blood artist is a two drop that ties in tight. Finally, think about a sac outlet like nanotusk which can let you get rid of your guys for profit.
You should re-read what the deck is doing. Your suggestions don't fit the plan.
Depending on your meta, you should consider running Mogis's Marauder as evasion. Skulk is pretty bad against 1/x creatures, of which there are plenty. I suspect that in multiplayer it should be easier to find an opponent who doesn't have artifact/black blockers. Maybe just running both is best, actually.
It's a bit more linear than your list and Ankh isn't modern legal (skullclamp isn't either fyi), but should end games quickly or die trying. There is enough self-harm to trigger Machinations and enough global damage that ascension should be active quickly. Between Night Market Lookout, Thrull Parasite, Gonti's Machinations, and Bloodchief Ascension there should be enough life gain to balance it out/stay alive for a while. Dark Prophecy should work well to refuel once the board is inevitably wiped (you could run more of those if you are concerned about card draw). Smolder Initiate could easily be something else, but provides additional reach.
What would you guys think about something like Winter Orb for non-Modern versions?
Good call on the Throne, I knew there was something new that would work well in the deck but couldn't remember what.
Winter Orb may be nice to keep a level playing field against all of the big mana decks. It tends to make people even more upset than being pinged to death does already though. It may depend on the play group and whether or not you can take out the table before it becomes necessary.
What would you guys think about something like Winter Orb for non-Modern versions?
It's especially good if you're an animal like me and you're cutting lands to slot in 4x Springleaf Drum. Night Market Lookout doesn't have to attack, it just has to tap, and so this combo of Drum + Lookout + Throne is pretty sweet.
What would you guys think about something like Winter Orb for non-Modern versions?
It's especially good if you're an animal like me and you're cutting lands to slot in 4x Springleaf Drum. Night Market Lookout doesn't have to attack, it just has to tap, and so this combo of Drum + Lookout + Throne is pretty sweet.
I like the way you think. Of course, if one were to include Orb, do you guys think it would still be wise to play Extort cards?
I like the way you think. Of course, if one were to include Orb, do you guys think it would still be wise to play Extort cards?
Nah, too many intensive. If we're only talking 1-2 Orbs then sure, keep the Thrull Parasites, but if you're going to jam the full 4 (which I do not recommend FWIW) then it's rather pointless.
Are the leech-ridden swamps still okay with fewer of the regular swamps and the included winter orb? How many immortal servitude is the right number?
Leechies are fine in your 20 land deck. You wouldn't want 4 but 1-2 should still feel reasonable. You might want to start to 1 and see if you're ever happy to draw it and slowly move to 2 from there.
Immortal Servitude is a pure meta call. I would start with 2 and adjust the number as needed. After all, this deck doesn't want too many 4 drops in the first place and they're extremely conditional to boot (i.e. generally very bad on turns 4-6). FWIW I dislike it immensely in builds with tons of Springleaf Drums because they're extremely difficult to cast if you get board wiped. That's why I wouldn't play with that card myself.
You only have 1x Orb (which is the right number IMO, 1-2 is way better than 3-4 in my experience) so don't let that effect your decision-making. It'll bite you in the ass every now and then but it's going to be significantly more brutal for the other players at the table.
Christ! I present you a cute little deck and you start turning it into a lethal weapon!
Throne of the God-Pharaoh is an auto include (though i wouldn't run 3 because it's legendary). Ankh of Mishra, Winter Orb, Springleaf Drum, ouch, now that's really mean. I like it that the deck has always potential to be upgraded (to Legacy) If I want. I didn't consider Dark Prophecy for card draw, good call.
Blood artist/Zulaport Cutthroat + recursion creatures like dread wanderer/Bloodghast + sac outlets (e.g. Viscera Seer) would turn the deck in a total different direction and I think I would end up with nearly none of the original cards. However you can form a very lethal deck with those cards which is discussed here.
And yeah, I saw Skullclamp isn't modern legal, thanks for the info.
I did some gold fishing with the winter orb/springleaf drum build, and it wasn't quite my cup of tea. There is no denying that it is powerful, but most of the control decks in my meta run multiple mana rocks and the deck draws dead to any mass removal without an active bloodchief ascension/Ankh of Mishra (not to mention becoming arch enemy). I think I'll take a slightly more conservative approach and run looter scooter and lands instead of the mana denial + springleaf drum package. Copter and immortal servitude allow one to recover from mass removal and boast nice synergy (pitch a one drop to copter to reanimate later with servitude). Copter also lets to tap your summoning sick guys for crew to trigger the Throne.
Okay, I want to build this since it is super sweet and super cheap at the same time.
I've got some concerns though, my meta is full of decks that try to build up and kill in one huge swing. Elves, Hydras, Saproling Tokens, etc. I fear that the second trigger of Bloodchief Ascension just won't fire off on it's own. Gonti's Machinations works even if it does nothing but deter small opportunity attacks, but if Bloodchief Ascension would require me to field Innocent Blood-type effects, is it still worth it?
The elf player also runs Skullclamp so I don't feel bad about using it here, which makes Immortal Servitude get a lot better and I am probably running 4. Are there other cards that get better if the deck has scullclamp?
I'd consider Meekstone. I've played it in weenie decks plenty before - it's surprising how few players pack ways to stop non-creatures.
It also works at 1-cmc, which works with the Winter Orb plan.
Credits for the original deck idea go to BibboTheFirst. It's like Wizards read his post and thougt "we can make this idea work", gifting us with the second Innistrad cycle and, more important, Kaladesh. This resulted in a budget and hopefully fun deck. I kept it modern legal, because in my local store there are Friday Night Multiplayer events for modern.
4 Mardu Shadowspear
4 Night Market Lookout
4 Pulse Tracker
4 Thornbow Archer
4 Thrull Parasite
4 Gonti's Machinations
2 Foul-Tongue Shriek
Card draw 6
2 Infiltration Lens
4 Asylum Visitor
Evasion 2
2 Behind the Scenes
2 Immortal Servitude
Removal 7
4 Tragic Slip
3 Bile Blight
Lands 17
2 Leechridden Swamp
15 Swamp
Yes, we absolutly needed a better version of Pulse Tracker! Night Market Lookout is a fine example that there seems to be no stop to wizards power spirale. He's perfect to complete the team, byebye Maggot Carrier.
Gonti's Machinations - Blood Tithe for one mana that can work as a rattlesnake? Again, thank you Wizards. This directly goes into the deck as a budget replacement for Bloodchief Ascension. With Bloodchief Ascension i would consider to run both cards and kick out Foul-Tongue Shriek. Foul-Tongue Shriek is in because I wanted to have some surprise damage in my hand my opponents can't see. However, even in the goldfish it rarely goes off for more than 5 points of life.
Behind the Scenes is the next keycard. Skulk is exactly what those Wheenies needed. Considered Concealed Courtyard but I would hardly trigger the pump ability more than once, so I stayed budget with simple swamps.
Removal is tailored towards my meta. I run Tragic Slip in a couple of other decks and never regreted to have one in my hand. Bile Blight is in because tokens are a thing in my meta. I considered Killing Wave, but I think the mana count is a little bit low and it also works against my wheenies. Smallpox could work here even without the small synergy with Asylum Visitor. However, land destrcution is shunned in my meta so I dropped this idea.
Card draw is my biggest concern. Skullclamp would be THE solution but
it was out of budgetnobody told me that it was reprinted a couple of times and is affordable now. I have no clue if Asylum Visitor will work (use Blood Scrivener to make this deck even more cheaper). Infiltration Lens didn't work in my Goblin Gaveleer-deck and doesn't work well with Behind the Scenes but I will give it a last chance.Took me some time to notice that the dash ability from Mardu Shadowspear will trigger extort from Thrull Parasite.
Do I need more lands? Cards are ordered, I am very curious how this deck will work out.
You should re-read what the deck is doing. Your suggestions don't fit the plan.
4 Mardu Shadowspear
4 Night Market Lookout
4 Pulse Tracker
4 Thornbow Archer
4 Thrull Parasite
4 Maggot Carrier
2 Smolder Initiate
4 Gonti's Machinations
4 Bloodchief Ascension
4 Ankh of Mishra
1 Dark Prophecy
3 Immortal Servitude
2 Leechridden Swamp
16 Swamp
It's a bit more linear than your list and Ankh isn't modern legal (skullclamp isn't either fyi), but should end games quickly or die trying. There is enough self-harm to trigger Machinations and enough global damage that ascension should be active quickly. Between Night Market Lookout, Thrull Parasite, Gonti's Machinations, and Bloodchief Ascension there should be enough life gain to balance it out/stay alive for a while. Dark Prophecy should work well to refuel once the board is inevitably wiped (you could run more of those if you are concerned about card draw). Smolder Initiate could easily be something else, but provides additional reach.
What would you guys think about something like Winter Orb for non-Modern versions?
Good call on the Throne, I knew there was something new that would work well in the deck but couldn't remember what.
Winter Orb may be nice to keep a level playing field against all of the big mana decks. It tends to make people even more upset than being pinged to death does already though. It may depend on the play group and whether or not you can take out the table before it becomes necessary.
It's especially good if you're an animal like me and you're cutting lands to slot in 4x Springleaf Drum. Night Market Lookout doesn't have to attack, it just has to tap, and so this combo of Drum + Lookout + Throne is pretty sweet.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I like the way you think. Of course, if one were to include Orb, do you guys think it would still be wise to play Extort cards?
Nah, too many intensive. If we're only talking 1-2 Orbs then sure, keep the Thrull Parasites, but if you're going to jam the full 4 (which I do not recommend FWIW) then it's rather pointless.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
4 Mardu Shadowspear
4 Night Market Lookout
4 Pulse Tracker
4 Thornbow Archer
4 Thrull Parasite
4 Gonti's Machinations
4 Bloodchief Ascension
3 Throne of the God-Pharaoh
4 Ankh of Mishra
1 Winter Orb
3 Immortal Servitude
Land
4 Springleaf Drum
2 Leechridden Swamp
14 Swamp
Are the leech-ridden swamps still okay with fewer of the regular swamps and the included winter orb? How many immortal servitude is the right number?
Leechies are fine in your 20 land deck. You wouldn't want 4 but 1-2 should still feel reasonable. You might want to start to 1 and see if you're ever happy to draw it and slowly move to 2 from there.
Immortal Servitude is a pure meta call. I would start with 2 and adjust the number as needed. After all, this deck doesn't want too many 4 drops in the first place and they're extremely conditional to boot (i.e. generally very bad on turns 4-6). FWIW I dislike it immensely in builds with tons of Springleaf Drums because they're extremely difficult to cast if you get board wiped. That's why I wouldn't play with that card myself.
You only have 1x Orb (which is the right number IMO, 1-2 is way better than 3-4 in my experience) so don't let that effect your decision-making. It'll bite you in the ass every now and then but it's going to be significantly more brutal for the other players at the table.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Throne of the God-Pharaoh is an auto include (though i wouldn't run 3 because it's legendary). Ankh of Mishra, Winter Orb, Springleaf Drum, ouch, now that's really mean. I like it that the deck has always potential to be upgraded (to Legacy) If I want. I didn't consider Dark Prophecy for card draw, good call.
Blood artist/Zulaport Cutthroat + recursion creatures like dread wanderer/Bloodghast + sac outlets (e.g. Viscera Seer) would turn the deck in a total different direction and I think I would end up with nearly none of the original cards. However you can form a very lethal deck with those cards which is discussed here.
And yeah, I saw Skullclamp isn't modern legal, thanks for the info.
This is what I am probably going to build:
4 Night Market Lookout
4 Pulse Tracker
4 Thornbow Archer
4 Thrull Parasite
2 Immortal Servitude
4 Gonti's Machinations
4 Bloodchief Ascension
4 Ankh of Mishra
3 Throne of the God-Pharaoh
18 Swamp
I've got some concerns though, my meta is full of decks that try to build up and kill in one huge swing. Elves, Hydras, Saproling Tokens, etc. I fear that the second trigger of Bloodchief Ascension just won't fire off on it's own. Gonti's Machinations works even if it does nothing but deter small opportunity attacks, but if Bloodchief Ascension would require me to field Innocent Blood-type effects, is it still worth it?
The elf player also runs Skullclamp so I don't feel bad about using it here, which makes Immortal Servitude get a lot better and I am probably running 4. Are there other cards that get better if the deck has scullclamp?
Edit: I am also thinking about running stuff like Coat with Venom or Touch of Moonglove just to play mindgames with people.
Edit2: Or Virulent Swipe. Which almost makes me want to run Tormented Hero...
It also works at 1-cmc, which works with the Winter Orb plan.