Coiling Oracle is a fantastic target to 'blink' as well. Plus it will give you an additional 2 drop. I used to run Deadeye Navigator in my flicker deck. It pairs awesomely with Mystic Snake. I ended up going a direction though towards the end before I ended up with my current version.
I like your battle box, Mox. I pretty much supply all the decks for my play groups as well. I know it gets rough when you have so many decks you need to update. I've only updated 10 of 30+(was 40 but I've dismantled some of the more janky ones when I was harvesting cards for other decks and also gave 2 away to get a buddy back into the game) myself so far.
I went on a brewing marathon yesterday, mapped out all my 3-color decks and tweaked my existing decks that needed tweaking. I'm getting to the point where I'm going to need to make some choices. I don't have any of the 3-color decks built yet, and I have 30 decks right now, adding more will knock existing decks off the list. 8 of my decks are an easy cut, the last two will be difficult. There is also the issue of the box. My toolbox(it is an actual toolbox I bought at Walmart) that I carry the decks in can fit a maximum of 38 decks, and it also needs to carry a few other things. I'm almost at the point where it's not convenient to carry them all. I currently have decks ranging from absolute garbage to borderline comepetitive, and I like to keep this sort of range so I can play fair games with anybody I happen to meet at the LGS. I'm not sure where weaker decks factor into the 30, not sure if I want 30 relatively strong decks consistent with each other, or to carry more weak decks to have variety in that regard. I can fit in a few decks beyond the 30 in my toolbox, but space is limited.
Unless I'm going to a friends house or around trusted people, I only bring one of my card boxes(the 1200 box holds 11 60 card sleeved decks when packed) You never know the people with sticky fingers. In my backpack I can carry my 4 deck boxes, my rare binder and my crown royal bag with dice and counters. Along with pens and notepad.
I have all ten of my three color decks mapped out now, and have run a couple of test games with each using an app on my tablet. 9 of them seemed to work as intended, with the exception of the Jeskai Tempo deck which is either fizzling or has a bad matchup against the generic midrange deck I was using as a test opponent. I bought the cards for the Abzan deck and should be picking up the cards for the other decks over the next couple of weeks. Here are some descriptions/impressions, I can post decklists upon request for the curious.
Abzan Siege Indomitable--This is a midrange deck using undercosted 3cmc creatures in the Abzan colors, many legendary. I also have some two drops that can attack big in Putrid Leech and Glory-Bound Initiate. In the couple of games I've run with this deck it has been scary fast.
Temur Cartouche Enchantress--This is a jank deck by design. I'm running Amonkhet Trials and Cartouches in an Enchantress deck. It gets silly as the game goes on, but it's slow to develop.
Esper Dragons--This deck doesn't deviate too much from the familiar. The biggest differences is I had to find a replacement for flip Jace, since I don't have any and he's out of my price range. I used a couple of pre-modern cards as well.
Warriors of Mardu--This is a Warrior tribal aggro deck with Butcher of the Horde as a finisher.
Grixis No-Delve Delver--the Modern version of Grixis Delver uses Snapcaster Mage and the Delve mechanic. I don't have Snapcasters or any fetchlands, so my budget version doesn't pack either Snapcaster or Delve and I'm running Young Pyromancer and Smuggler's Copter instead.
Naya Ulvenwald Company--Human Tribal Collected Company. More midrange than aggro, focused on army building as opposed to a fast start.
Bant Venser Shenanigans--Blinking Thragtusks is dirty. This is a midrange control, very disruptive and having several avenues of attack.
Jund Gods and Monsters--Tall midrange with ramp and the scariest bombs I can find
Sultai Superfriends--The skeleton I built this on has held up fairly well. The spells and creatures I chose were very flexible, and I've got 12 Planeswalkers of 7 varieties.
Jeskai Tempo--this deck has been tripping over its own feet in the early game against the midrange deck I was testing it against. Seems like the deck wants to go faster, so I'm dropping the Lightning Angels as much as it pains me to do so for another aggressive two drop. Haven't run the deck after the modification yet.
@MoxZZZ Awesome work! I was wondering if you will be coming up with more decklists as my friends and myself totally enjoyed the balanced preconstructed decks. We are all currently caught up with work and thus do not have enough time to sit down for draft matches or deck brewing sessions. Looking forward to more balanced decklists so that my group can have more replay value out of your Battle Box.
@thecasualoblivion Can you post your decklists if it's fine by you. Would like more permutations (but balanced to MoxZZZ's decklists) in the Battle Box. Thanks!
My Battle Box plan has expanded to 36 decks. I thought I had a thirty sided die and couldn't find it, and I had more than 30 decks I really liked, so I decided to go 36 and roll 2d6, splitting things into six groups of six and first die is group, second die is the deck within that group. I'm still in the process of getting the cards, I have 24 out of 36 of these decks built right now. I'm also setting aside my winnings in store credit from FNM Booster Draft towards buying Shocklands, I want to get a set of 2 of each. These will be added to the decks as I get them, I already picked up a pair of Temple Gardens. Having this many decks, I proxy heavily the cards that get shared among decks.
Note: I consider myself a casual player, though many of these decks are strong enough to compete against lower tier Modern competitive decks. As a nod to casual play, I tend to build these decks a turn or so slower than competitive decks, and usually run less land than I should which makes them less consistent. This is intentional.
Note #2: I suck at combo decks. I suck at building them, and I suck at playing them. There are few to none in my box as a result.
Here are my decklists:
This is a very fast midrange deck based on 2cmc and 3cmc creatures who can attack for 4+.
This deck is borderline net-decking, I'm sad to admit. My main contributions were replacing flip Jace with Augur of Bolas and some budget Planeswalkers, and using some pre-Modern cards
Creature heavy aggro deck with Warrior Tribal and Butcher of the Horde as a finisher. This deck will be inexpensive to build, so I'm investing in some premium land.
The competitive version of this deck includes Snapcaster Mage and Delve cards. That strategy is out of my price range, and I'm rather happy with my substitutions
I designed the original versions of these decks on my tablet app in a single night, all for $25 or less to build. I later added Planeswalkers, better multicolored lands, and some other cards to bring them up to par with my other decks. All of them except the Izzet deck are still essentially the same deck as their $25 dollar version, but now with better cards.
This deck has a warm place in my heart, as it is a present day version of my primary deck I played from 1996-1998, and contains many of the cards that were the centerpieces of that 1996 deck.
This deck started out as Control, then I rebuilt it as Tempo Control and the Infiltrators didn't really work well with that, so I went back to more of straight control deck, built around the Infiltrators and the Glyph Keepers. With the Glyph Keepers, this is fairly aggressive for a Control deck.
I love this deck, it's very unlike any deck I've ever seen. I designed this deck around Sin Prodder, attack-control-card advantage. This is not an Aggro deck, but it gets threatening very fast and follows that up with strong removal then card advantage and never lets up.
This deck got its name thanks to it evolving into my most expensive deck, and it's not even close. Another big midrange with Novablast Wurm at the top.
This deck I had the hardest time building, and the hardest time keeping under $25 since I wanted the playset of Lightning Greaves. That being said, this is a blast to play since it tends to make big plays out of nowhere.
I originally didn't think this was going to work, but it has ended up one of my strongest decks. It's fast, it has enough firepower to deal 20 damage, and it is so disruptive the other deck often doesn't get off the ground. Mystic Snake works as a range topper, putting on more pressure while countering their play.
This deck originally was a control shell supplemented by pingers. The pingers were disappointing, but the control shell worked great, so I rebuilt the deck to focus on that.
This deck has a story behind it. I initially threw this together as a crappy deck to play newbs with, just using 2 each of the Planeswalker deck Chandra and Nissa and some spare cards I had just laying around. To my surprise, this was the first midrange deck I built that actually worked, it was beating my "real" decks regularly, and it was destroying newbs as opposed to giving them a fair game like I intended. This despite being made out of trash. In light of this, I decided I would buy a few cards for this and turn it into a "real" deck, still built around the crappy 6cmc Chandra and Nissa from the Planeswalkers decks. One thing I did do that I never do was I went out of my way to make this deck Standard legal, since a few people at the LGS are prissy about that, and now I can stomp them flat with no complaints. I managed to make this deck stronger than it previously was, still competitive with my other decks, while being Standard legal.
The following four decks the new Amonkhet set has inspired me to build:
I'm not sure if this is an Aggro deck, but it isn't really Midrange. It just isn't in any hurry, it's just relentless and doesn't care what the opponent does.
This is about as close as I get to building a combo deck. There are no tutors here, the combo happens when it happens, and the pieces work with or without the combo. It's all about the -1/-1 counters here. On one side, there are Hapatra and Nest of Scarabs, which pretty much every single card in the deck interact with. On the other hand, there is Black Sun's Zenith and Triumph of the Hordes, which are strong cards on their own and pretty much win the game outright in combination with Hapatra or the Nest.
This deck impersonates a Vampire Madness deck. I say impersonates, because while this deck can go that way if it needs to or gets that sort of draw, it is primarily designed to use the Vampire Madness engine to fuel Archfiend of Ifnir, and I play it more like a Prison deck unless the opponent's deck forces me not to.
The name of this deck is an inside reference to the very first deck I built with my own cards back in 1996. This is the first deck I built when I started playing again last year, and its my favorite deck, in my favorite color: Green. Green has been my favorite color since I started playing back in 1996. I've tweaked and tinkered with this deck more than any other, and I've had some proud moments, like beating a competitive Modern Knightfall deck with this last week at FNM. This is a big aggro deck. It's not midrange, it just plays midrange creatures. This deck revolves around Viridian Emissary, it's the key card in the deck and if you look at the rest of the deck you see why it's such a lose-lose card for my opponent. I pack 20 creatures of 1-3cmc for fast beats, yet the last thing you want to give this deck is another Forest. It also packs my all time favorite magic card, Hurricane. Nobody ever sees it coming, and it's both utility and win condition.
My version of 10-land Stompy. I use Skullclamp, which is banned in every sane format but I rationalize it's use here because it's this deck's plan B, and just about the only Plan B this deck could have. It's awkward to use because it actually slows this deck down, and it's strength in this deck is limited as it's only drawing me more 1-drops.
Everything people hate about blue, with a few personal touches which include 10 cards that can attack and a bit of give and take as opposed to Draw-Go.
Thank you for sharing your decklists. However, I can't help but notice the increase in use of Planeswalkers compared to MoxZZZ's decklists. My concern is that whether your decks can sit well with MoxZZZ's ones. Furthermore, my group doesn't really like the idea of relying on Planeswalkers to end games as we lean towards to the more pre-Planeswalkers era of Magic. Nonetheless, I still greatly appreciate the sharing of your decklists. Cheers!
Thank you for sharing your decklists. However, I can't help but notice the increase in use of Planeswalkers compared to MoxZZZ's decklists. My concern is that whether your decks can sit well with MoxZZZ's ones. Furthermore, my group doesn't really like the idea of relying on Planeswalkers to end games as we lean towards to the more pre-Planeswalkers era of Magic. Nonetheless, I still greatly appreciate the sharing of your decklists. Cheers!
I wasn't really coordinating with MoxZZZ for this, I'm just building my own collection of decks. I was initially avoiding Planeswalkers, not because I preferred a previous era of MtG, but for budgetary concerns. Now that I am using them I have to say I like them a lot. I bought a hefty stack of Planeswalkers with my tax rebate, and I put them to use. I found my midrange decks really weren't working as well as my aggro or control decks were working before I got the Planeswalkers, and now if anything that has been reversed. I'm starting to think that the Midrange archetype really requires them.
Wow I am really impressed by the effort you are all putting in. Thank you for your contributions.
The Battle Box in the OP is my Battle Box and I will keep that one updated and continue to try and make it as balanced as possible. Everyone else is encouraged to post their own decklists and any ideas they may have.
The decklists posted throughout this thread are great and I like to see them. Everyone has a different price point they want to hit and that is fine. I keep mine fairly budget, but every budget is different. Keep playing, keep posting, and thanks for all your work!
Wow I am really impressed by the effort you are all putting in. Thank you for your contributions.
The Battle Box in the OP is my Battle Box and I will keep that one updated and continue to try and make it as balanced as possible. Everyone else is encouraged to post their own decklists and any ideas they may have.
The decklists posted throughout this thread are great and I like to see them. Everyone has a different price point they want to hit and that is fine. I keep mine fairly budget, but every budget is different. Keep playing, keep posting, and thanks for all your work!
To be honest, budget is my #1 consideration building decks, but with a caveat. I keep 30-40 decks built at all times, and I proxy cards shared between decks instead of buying more copies. I also independently bought multicolored land and a huge stack of Planeswalkers. There are also a few cards I picked up in trade for Amonkhet Invocations and Kaladesh Inventions, playsets of Collected Company and Kitchen Finks as well as my two Avacyns are among them. My rule for building decks is that I don't spend more than $50 building a new deck. Proxies of cards I already have as well as multicolored lands, cards I got in big trades, and Planeswalkers from my stash aren't included in that $50.
If that ends up the case I'll probably go +2 Resto Angel and -2 Mystic Snake
I like your battle box, Mox. I pretty much supply all the decks for my play groups as well. I know it gets rough when you have so many decks you need to update. I've only updated 10 of 30+(was 40 but I've dismantled some of the more janky ones when I was harvesting cards for other decks and also gave 2 away to get a buddy back into the game) myself so far.
Abzan Siege Indomitable--This is a midrange deck using undercosted 3cmc creatures in the Abzan colors, many legendary. I also have some two drops that can attack big in Putrid Leech and Glory-Bound Initiate. In the couple of games I've run with this deck it has been scary fast.
Temur Cartouche Enchantress--This is a jank deck by design. I'm running Amonkhet Trials and Cartouches in an Enchantress deck. It gets silly as the game goes on, but it's slow to develop.
Esper Dragons--This deck doesn't deviate too much from the familiar. The biggest differences is I had to find a replacement for flip Jace, since I don't have any and he's out of my price range. I used a couple of pre-modern cards as well.
Warriors of Mardu--This is a Warrior tribal aggro deck with Butcher of the Horde as a finisher.
Grixis No-Delve Delver--the Modern version of Grixis Delver uses Snapcaster Mage and the Delve mechanic. I don't have Snapcasters or any fetchlands, so my budget version doesn't pack either Snapcaster or Delve and I'm running Young Pyromancer and Smuggler's Copter instead.
Naya Ulvenwald Company--Human Tribal Collected Company. More midrange than aggro, focused on army building as opposed to a fast start.
Bant Venser Shenanigans--Blinking Thragtusks is dirty. This is a midrange control, very disruptive and having several avenues of attack.
Jund Gods and Monsters--Tall midrange with ramp and the scariest bombs I can find
Sultai Superfriends--The skeleton I built this on has held up fairly well. The spells and creatures I chose were very flexible, and I've got 12 Planeswalkers of 7 varieties.
Jeskai Tempo--this deck has been tripping over its own feet in the early game against the midrange deck I was testing it against. Seems like the deck wants to go faster, so I'm dropping the Lightning Angels as much as it pains me to do so for another aggressive two drop. Haven't run the deck after the modification yet.
@thecasualoblivion Can you post your decklists if it's fine by you. Would like more permutations (but balanced to MoxZZZ's decklists) in the Battle Box. Thanks!
Note: I consider myself a casual player, though many of these decks are strong enough to compete against lower tier Modern competitive decks. As a nod to casual play, I tend to build these decks a turn or so slower than competitive decks, and usually run less land than I should which makes them less consistent. This is intentional.
Note #2: I suck at combo decks. I suck at building them, and I suck at playing them. There are few to none in my box as a result.
Here are my decklists:
This is a very fast midrange deck based on 2cmc and 3cmc creatures who can attack for 4+.
3 Glory-Bound Initiate
3 Putrid Leech
2 Qasali Pridemage
2 Anafenza, the Foremost
2 Doran, the Siege Tower
3 Loxodon Smiter
3 Rhonas the Indomitable
4 Siege Rhino
4 Duress
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Abzan Charm
3 Yahenni's Expertise
Lands:23
2 City of Brass
1 Concealed Courtyard
3 Forest
2 Isolated Chapel
3 Plains
3 Sandsteppe Citadel
2 Sunpetal Grove
3 Swamp
2 Temple Garden
2 Woodland Cemetery
I built an Enchantress deck here with Trials and Cartouches from the new Amonkhet set. It's a bit slow to develop, but gets crazy if not disrupted.
4 Argothian Enchantress
3 Wild Mongrel
3 Riptide Chimera
4 Yavimaya Enchantress
2 Eidolon of Blossoms
3 Maro
2 Abundant Growth
2 Molten Vortex
4 Utopia Sprawl
3 Cartouche of Knowledge
3 Cartouche of Strength
3 Trial of Strength
4 Trial of Zeal
2 City of Brass
10 Forest
4 Frontier Bivouac
2 Hinterland Harbor
2 Rootbound Crag
This deck is borderline net-decking, I'm sad to admit. My main contributions were replacing flip Jace with Augur of Bolas and some budget Planeswalkers, and using some pre-Modern cards
4 Augur of Bolas
4 Dragonlord Ojutai
3 Keiga, the Tide Star
Spells:25
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Counterspell
2 Absorb
2 Anguished Unmaking
3 Foul-Tongue Invocation
1 Dovin Baan
2 Fact or Fiction
2 Hieroglyphic Illumination
2 Ojutai's Command
2 Crux of Fate
1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
4 Arcane Sanctum
2 City of Brass
2 Drowned Catacomb
2 Faerie Conclave
2 Glacial Fortress
6 Island
2 Plains
2 Shambling Vent
2 Swamp
Creature heavy aggro deck with Warrior Tribal and Butcher of the Horde as a finisher. This deck will be inexpensive to build, so I'm investing in some premium land.
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
2 Zurgo Bellstriker
3 Blood-Chin Rager
3 Chief of the Edge
2 Chief of the Scale
3 Honored Crop-Captain
2 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
2 Arashin Foremost
2 Mardu Strike Leader
3 Butcher of the Horde
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Anguished Unmaking
4 Mardu Charm
Lands:22
2 Blood Crypt
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Concealed Courtyard
2 Dragonskull Summit
2 Inspiring Vantage
2 Isolated Chapel
3 Mana Confluence
2 Mountain
3 Plains
2 Swamp
The competitive version of this deck includes Snapcaster Mage and Delve cards. That strategy is out of my price range, and I'm rather happy with my substitutions
4 Delver of Secrets
3 Augur of Bolas
3 Young Pyromancer
Spells:31
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Preordain
3 Counterspell
2 Countersquall
4 Smuggler's Copter
3 Telling Time
2 Terminate
2 Dismember
2 Electrolyze
3 Undermine
2 Consuming Vapors
2 Blood Crypt
3 City of Brass
1 Dragonskull Summit
3 Drowned Catacomb
7 Island
3 Sulfur Falls
I wanted to build this deck around Hanweir Garrison and Hanweir Militia Captain so that's where I started and built up from there.
3 Birds of Paradise
2 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
3 Duskwatch Recruiter
4 Hanweir Militia Captain
4 Mayor of Avabruck
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Eternal Witness
4 Hanweir Garrison
3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
4 Collected Company
2 Decimate
Lands:20
2 City of Brass
6 Forest
1 Inspiring Vantage
4 Jungle Shrine
2 Mountain
2 Plains
1 Rootbound Crag
2 Sunpetal Grove
Midrange Control deck with blinking tricks
3 Birds of Paradise
3 Kitchen Finks
2 Mystic Snake
3 Restoration Angel
4 Thragtusk
2 Prime Speaker Zegana
Spells:20
3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Miscalculation
3 Absorb
3 Detention Sphere
1 Dovin Baan
1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
4 Wrath of God
2 Venser, the Sojourner
1 City of Brass
4 Forest
2 Hinterland Harbor
2 Irrigated Farmland
4 Island
4 Plains
4 Seaside Citadel
2 Sunpetal Grove
Still not happy with anything I've built for Jeskai, this is what I'm currently looking at.
4 Judge's Familiar
4 Cerodon Yearling
4 Deputy of Acquittals
4 Mantis Rider
4 Reflector Mage
4 Spell Queller
4 Flametongue Kavu
3 Lightning Angel
3 Lightning Bolt
3 Swords to Plowshares
Lands:23
1 City of Brass
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Glacial Fortress
4 Island
4 Mountain
4 Mystic Monastery
4 Plains
2 Sulfur Falls
Big Midrange deck with some nasty bombs
3 Birds of Paradise
4 Scavenging Ooze
2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
2 Rhonas the Indomitable
3 Flametongue Kavu
3 Reaper of the Wilds
2 Glorybringer
1 Dragonlord Kolaghan
1 Atarka, World Render
4 Duress
1 Rakdos's Return
4 Terminate
2 Arlinn Kord
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Decimate
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
Lands:22
2 Blood Crypt
2 Dragonskull Summit
4 Forest
2 Mountain
3 Rootbound Crag
4 Savage Lands
2 Swamp
3 Woodland Cemetery
Stall the game out, play Planeswalkers, then win.
3 Baleful Strix
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
4 Sylvan Advocate
2 Glissa, the Traitor
2 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Spells:22
4 Condescend
2 Go for the Throat
2 Dismember
2 Sultai Charm
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
2 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
2 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1 Liliana Vess
2 Nissa, Vital Force
2 Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 Sorin Markov
6 Forest
3 Hinterland Harbor
2 Island
4 Opulent Palace
2 Swamp
1 Temple of Deceit
2 Underground River
3 Woodland Cemetery
I designed the original versions of these decks on my tablet app in a single night, all for $25 or less to build. I later added Planeswalkers, better multicolored lands, and some other cards to bring them up to par with my other decks. All of them except the Izzet deck are still essentially the same deck as their $25 dollar version, but now with better cards.
This deck has a warm place in my heart, as it is a present day version of my primary deck I played from 1996-1998, and contains many of the cards that were the centerpieces of that 1996 deck.
4 Deft Duelist
4 Reflector Mage
4 Serendib Efreet
2 Archangel Avacyn
Spells:23
3 Condescend
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Censor
3 Detention Sphere
2 Control Magic
3 Wrath of God
1 Dovin Baan
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Elspeth Tirel
1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
2 Adarkar Wastes
4 Glacial Fortress
6 Island
4 Mishra's Factory
5 Plains
2 Temple of Enlightenment
This deck started out as Control, then I rebuilt it as Tempo Control and the Infiltrators didn't really work well with that, so I went back to more of straight control deck, built around the Infiltrators and the Glyph Keepers. With the Glyph Keepers, this is fairly aggressive for a Control deck.
4 Tidehollow Strix
4 Man-o'-War
4 Shadowmage Infiltrator
4 Glyph Keeper
Spells:21
3 Condescend
4 Counterspell
2 Smuggler's Copter
4 Dismember
3 Psychic Strike
3 Consuming Vapors
1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
4 Drowned Catacomb
8 Island
7 Swamp
2 Temple of Deceit
2 Underground River
I love this deck, it's very unlike any deck I've ever seen. I designed this deck around Sin Prodder, attack-control-card advantage. This is not an Aggro deck, but it gets threatening very fast and follows that up with strong removal then card advantage and never lets up.
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Grixis Grimblade
4 Jund Hackblade
4 Sin Prodder
2 Ashenmoor Gouger
4 Flametongue Kavu
4 Terminate
3 Phyrexian Arena
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
3 Veinfire Borderpost
3 Bituminous Blast
3 Dragonskull Summit
3 Great Furnace
6 Mountain
6 Swamp
3 Vault of Whispers
Not much to say here, just a big midrange deck loaded with Planeswalkers and the Atarkas.
3 Dragonmaster Outcast
4 Kird Ape
3 Kavu Titan
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
3 Fanatic of Xenagos
2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
3 Bloodbraid Elf
2 Atarka, World Render
2 Dragonlord Atarka
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Domri Rade
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
4 Decimate
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
Lands:20
8 Forest
4 Gruul Turf
3 Mountain
3 Rootbound Crag
2 Temple of Abandon
This deck got its name thanks to it evolving into my most expensive deck, and it's not even close. Another big midrange with Novablast Wurm at the top.
3 Loam Lion
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
3 Selfless Spirit
3 Wall of Blossoms
4 Kitchen Finks
2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
2 Archangel Avacyn
3 Armada Wurm
3 Novablast Wurm
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Cast Out
3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Elspeth Tirel
Lands:20
7 Forest
3 Plains
2 Selesnya Sanctuary
4 Sunpetal Grove
2 Temple Garden
2 Temple of Plenty
This deck I had the hardest time building, and the hardest time keeping under $25 since I wanted the playset of Lightning Greaves. That being said, this is a blast to play since it tends to make big plays out of nowhere.
4 Stromkirk Noble
2 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
4 Boros Reckoner
3 Flametongue Kavu
2 Nobilis of War
Spells:25
4 Boros Charm
4 Boros Signet
4 Lightning Greaves
4 Lightning Helix
3 Pyroclasm
2 Orim's Thunder
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
3 Battlefield Forge
3 Clifftop Retreat
6 Mountain
6 Plains
2 Temple of Triumph
This started off as a rather janky Cleric Tribal deck, but has really come together after I added the Planeswalkers.
3 Hanweir Militia Captain
4 High Priest of Penance
4 Bygone Bishop
4 Edgewalker
2 Liliana, Heretical Healer
4 Rotlung Reanimator
3 Sin Collector
3 Doubtless One
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Day of Judgment
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Elspeth Tirel
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
4 Isolated Chapel
6 Plains
8 Swamp
4 Tainted Field
Delirium plus creatures that get bigger when you pack the graveyard
3 Deathcap Cultivator
4 Moldgraf Scavenger
2 Liliana, Heretical Healer
3 Nyx Weaver
4 Splinterfright
3 Mindwrack Demon
3 Mortivore
2 Soul Swallower
2 Vessel of Nascency
4 Commune with the Gods
3 Consume Strength
4 Putrefy
2 Nissa, Vital Force
Lands:21
4 Forest
2 Llanowar Wastes
3 Swamp
4 Temple of Malady
4 Tree of Tales
4 Vault of Whispers
I originally didn't think this was going to work, but it has ended up one of my strongest decks. It's fast, it has enough firepower to deal 20 damage, and it is so disruptive the other deck often doesn't get off the ground. Mystic Snake works as a range topper, putting on more pressure while countering their play.
4 Cloudfin Raptor
4 Experiment One
4 Icefeather Aven
4 Jhessian Infiltrator
4 Man-o'-War
4 Serendib Efreet
4 Mystic Snake
4 Daze
4 Simic Charm
4 Temporal Spring
Lands:20
5 Forest
4 Hinterland Harbor
7 Island
4 Yavimaya Coast
This deck originally was a control shell supplemented by pingers. The pingers were disappointing, but the control shell worked great, so I rebuilt the deck to focus on that.
4 Thing in the Ice
2 Young Pyromancer
3 Enigma Drake
3 Spellheart Chimera
2 Dominus of Fealty
Spells:24
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Censor
3 Counterspell
3 Izzet Charm
3 Electrolyze
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Control Magic
2 Fact or Fiction
2 Hieroglyphic Illumination
1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
7 Island
2 Izzet Boilerworks
5 Mountain
1 Shivan Reef
4 Sulfur Falls
3 Temple of Epiphany
This deck has a story behind it. I initially threw this together as a crappy deck to play newbs with, just using 2 each of the Planeswalker deck Chandra and Nissa and some spare cards I had just laying around. To my surprise, this was the first midrange deck I built that actually worked, it was beating my "real" decks regularly, and it was destroying newbs as opposed to giving them a fair game like I intended. This despite being made out of trash. In light of this, I decided I would buy a few cards for this and turn it into a "real" deck, still built around the crappy 6cmc Chandra and Nissa from the Planeswalkers decks. One thing I did do that I never do was I went out of my way to make this deck Standard legal, since a few people at the LGS are prissy about that, and now I can stomp them flat with no complaints. I managed to make this deck stronger than it previously was, still competitive with my other decks, while being Standard legal.
4 Longtusk Cub
4 Servant of the Conduit
4 Architect of the Untamed
3 Bristling Hydra
3 Glorybringer
2 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
4 Attune with Aether
4 Harnessed Lightning
2 Sweltering Suns
2 Arlinn Kord
1 Verdant Crescendo
1 Liberating Combustion
2 Chandra, Pyrogenius
2 Nissa, Nature's Artisan
4 Aether Hub
2 Cinder Glade
8 Forest
7 Mountain
1 Sheltered Thicket
The following four decks the new Amonkhet set has inspired me to build:
I'm not sure if this is an Aggro deck, but it isn't really Midrange. It just isn't in any hurry, it's just relentless and doesn't care what the opponent does.
4 Anointer of Champions
4 Glory-Bound Initiate
2 Gust Walker
2 Herald of Dromoka
2 Nef-Crop Entangler
4 Boros Reckoner
3 Tah-Crop Elite
3 Glorybringer
3 Boros Charm
4 Always Watching
4 Cast Out
2 Gideon, Martial Paragon
Lands:23
2 Battlefield Forge
2 Boros Garrison
4 Clifftop Retreat
6 Mountain
9 Plains
This is about as close as I get to building a combo deck. There are no tutors here, the combo happens when it happens, and the pieces work with or without the combo. It's all about the -1/-1 counters here. On one side, there are Hapatra and Nest of Scarabs, which pretty much every single card in the deck interact with. On the other hand, there is Black Sun's Zenith and Triumph of the Hordes, which are strong cards on their own and pretty much win the game outright in combination with Hapatra or the Nest.
3 Festering Mummy
4 Channeler Initiate
4 Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons
3 Baleful Ammit
4 Defiant Greatmaw
4 Plague Belcher
3 Soulstinger
4 Duress
4 Black Sun's Zenith
4 Nest of Scarabs
3 Triumph of the Hordes
Lands:20
6 Forest
2 Llanowar Wastes
6 Swamp
2 Temple of Malady
4 Woodland Cemetery
This deck impersonates a Vampire Madness deck. I say impersonates, because while this deck can go that way if it needs to or gets that sort of draw, it is primarily designed to use the Vampire Madness engine to fuel Archfiend of Ifnir, and I play it more like a Prison deck unless the opponent's deck forces me not to.
4 Falkenrath Gorger
4 Insolent Neonate
4 Asylum Visitor
2 Olivia, Mobilized for War
3 Stromkirk Captain
4 Archfiend of Ifnir
2 Lightning Axe
4 Cathartic Reunion
3 Rakdos Signet
4 Smuggler's Copter
4 Fiery Temper
2 Barren Moor
2 Dragonskull Summit
4 Forgotten Cave
7 Mountain
4 Sulfurous Springs
3 Swamp
This deck features Amonkhet's pseudo-Hellbent mechanics, along with the original Hellbent and has a minor Minotaur Tribal thing going on the side.
4 Gnarled Scarhide
4 Asylum Visitor
4 Bloodrage Brawler
3 Miasmic Mummy
3 Jagged Poppet
3 Neheb, the Worthy
3 Anger
3 Hazoret the Fervent
4 Duress
3 Lightning Bolt
4 Fiery Temper
Lands:22
4 Dragonskull Summit
7 Mountain
4 Sulfurous Springs
7 Swamp
The final two decks are just ones I designed a while back and haven't gotten around to getting the cards for yet.
I've always had a soft spot for the Affinity mechanic, and who doesn't want to build a deck around Broodstar.
4 Esper Stormblade
4 Tidehollow Strix
4 Master of Etherium
3 Frogmite
3 Myr Enforcer
3 Broodstar
4 Cursed Scroll
3 Dismember
4 Mistvein Borderpost
3 Tezzeret's Touch
3 Tezzeret the Schemer
4 Thoughtcast
5 Island
4 Seat of the Synod
5 Swamp
4 Vault of Whispers
I wanted a traditional style aggro-control deck, and this is the result.
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Spell Queller
Spells:28
4 Preordain
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Vapor Snag
3 Counterspell
4 Mana Leak
4 Remand
2 Telling Time
3 Steel of the Godhead
4 Adarkar Wastes
4 Glacial Fortress
8 Island
4 Plains
Green
The name of this deck is an inside reference to the very first deck I built with my own cards back in 1996. This is the first deck I built when I started playing again last year, and its my favorite deck, in my favorite color: Green. Green has been my favorite color since I started playing back in 1996. I've tweaked and tinkered with this deck more than any other, and I've had some proud moments, like beating a competitive Modern Knightfall deck with this last week at FNM. This is a big aggro deck. It's not midrange, it just plays midrange creatures. This deck revolves around Viridian Emissary, it's the key card in the deck and if you look at the rest of the deck you see why it's such a lose-lose card for my opponent. I pack 20 creatures of 1-3cmc for fast beats, yet the last thing you want to give this deck is another Forest. It also packs my all time favorite magic card, Hurricane. Nobody ever sees it coming, and it's both utility and win condition.
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Sylvan Advocate
4 Viridian Emissary
4 Dungrove Elder
4 Leatherback Baloth
2 Polukranos, World Eater
2 Acidic Slime
2 Vorapede
2 Primalcrux
3 Hurricane
4 Nature's Way
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Nissa, Vital Force
22 Forest
My version of 10-land Stompy. I use Skullclamp, which is banned in every sane format but I rationalize it's use here because it's this deck's plan B, and just about the only Plan B this deck could have. It's awkward to use because it actually slows this deck down, and it's strength in this deck is limited as it's only drawing me more 1-drops.
4 Dryad Militant
4 Kessig Prowler
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Nettle Sentinel
4 Quirion Ranger
4 Skarrgan Pit-Skulk
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Giant Growth
4 Rancor
3 Seal of Strength
4 Skullclamp
4 Land Grant
3 Dismember
10 Forest
Black
Black Control deck, 'nuff said.
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Gifted Aetherborn
3 Chittering Rats
2 Grave Titan
4 Genju of the Fens
3 Diabolic Edict
4 Hymn to Tourach
3 Read the Bones
3 Mutilate
3 Tendrils of Corruption
2 Ob Nixilis Reignited
2 Corrupt
23 Swamp
Midrange beats featuring Demigod of Revenge.
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
3 Gifted Aetherborn
4 Bone Picker
3 Erebos's Titan
4 Demigod of Revenge
4 Duress
4 Go for the Throat
4 Dismember
4 Lashwrithe
3 Ob Nixilis Reignited
23 Swamp
Generic Black aggro deck, with a playset of Necropotence and finishing with Gary. 70-80% of wins with this deck feature Gary kills.
4 Diregraf Ghoul
4 Dauthi Slayer
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Gifted Aetherborn
4 Hypnotic Specter
3 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1 Zuran Orb
4 Dark Ritual
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Necropotence
4 Tendrils of Corruption
20 Swamp
White
Generic Human Tribal with an old-school twist: Armageddon.
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Hanweir Militia Captain
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
2 Abzan Falconer
3 Banisher Priest
3 Bygone Bishop
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Gather the Townsfolk
4 Honor of the Pure
4 Armageddon
4 Darksteel Citadel
16 Plains
Midrange Lifegain Combo-ish, or as Combo-ish as I get.
4 Soul Warden
4 Soul's Attendant
4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Lone Rider
3 Divinity of Pride
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Chalice of Life
4 Cast Out
2 Elspeth Tirel
4 Spectral Procession
4 Kabira Crossroads
19 Plains
Blue
Everything people hate about blue, with a few personal touches which include 10 cards that can attack and a bit of give and take as opposed to Draw-Go.
2 Morphling
4 Spire Golem
Spells:31
4 Preordain
4 Miscalculation
4 Counterspell
3 Curse of Chains
2 Dissolve
4 Exclude
2 Dismiss
3 Fact or Fiction
3 Nevinyrral's Disk
2 Desertion
19 Island
4 Mishra's Factory
Red
Red creature(not burn) focused aggro deck with a mix of Tempest era cards and newer cards.
4 Falkenrath Gorger
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Ash Zealot
4 Stormblood Berserker
4 Ball Lightning
3 Boggart Ram-Gang
3 Flametongue Kavu
4 Cursed Scroll
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Searing Blaze
2 Fireblast
20 Mountain
I wasn't really coordinating with MoxZZZ for this, I'm just building my own collection of decks. I was initially avoiding Planeswalkers, not because I preferred a previous era of MtG, but for budgetary concerns. Now that I am using them I have to say I like them a lot. I bought a hefty stack of Planeswalkers with my tax rebate, and I put them to use. I found my midrange decks really weren't working as well as my aggro or control decks were working before I got the Planeswalkers, and now if anything that has been reversed. I'm starting to think that the Midrange archetype really requires them.
I posted the rest of the decks, they're all up now. Let me know how they work if you try some of them out.
The Battle Box in the OP is my Battle Box and I will keep that one updated and continue to try and make it as balanced as possible. Everyone else is encouraged to post their own decklists and any ideas they may have.
The decklists posted throughout this thread are great and I like to see them. Everyone has a different price point they want to hit and that is fine. I keep mine fairly budget, but every budget is different. Keep playing, keep posting, and thanks for all your work!
To be honest, budget is my #1 consideration building decks, but with a caveat. I keep 30-40 decks built at all times, and I proxy cards shared between decks instead of buying more copies. I also independently bought multicolored land and a huge stack of Planeswalkers. There are also a few cards I picked up in trade for Amonkhet Invocations and Kaladesh Inventions, playsets of Collected Company and Kitchen Finks as well as my two Avacyns are among them. My rule for building decks is that I don't spend more than $50 building a new deck. Proxies of cards I already have as well as multicolored lands, cards I got in big trades, and Planeswalkers from my stash aren't included in that $50.