I am looking to get into legacy in time to play at GPSeattle. I already own playsets of Snapcaster, standard fetches, a playset of Cavern of Souls and the cheaper staples that are also played in Modern. I am tempted to play a Grixis Delver list and shell out for FoW's and Wastelands, but that leaves no budget for ABU's. What are my best options to build for around 500 more to play in November? Would it be reasonable to build a Death's Shadow deck with shocks and then build up from there?
Duals might get you (You might want to focus on getting those cards) On the other hand, I don't see much of an issue in playing shocklands for duals, true it will give you a disadvantage but the deck is aggressive enough to play more basic lands. Volcanic Island is going 200 (Revised) and Underground Sea is going to 250 (revised) so if your looking to spend 500 dollars (or trade 500 dollars worth of cards) I would go for 1 underground sea and 1 volcanic island. Please note that wizards is NEVER going to reprint this type of dual lands so the value of these cards are always going to go up (as long as you take care of them)
A Death's Shadow deck... I picture suicide black. I'm not sure because burn is a playable deck.
Mostly because I own them. I just bought two Underground seas for the deck, so I can't really afford the fetches. Plus, if I lead with a flooded strand game one, I doubt they will see a turn two abrupt decay coming.
Often times you can play with 3 forces. Its usually the worst and best card in your deck. I mean that it can saved you from things early in the game but after that point, it two for ones you, so its value diminishes. You can also throw in a misdirection to fill in and sometimes catch your opponent off guard. Blasting a delver with his own lighting bolt feels great.
I think Merfolk is a really great entry level deck, especially if you own chalices, aethervials, and the like since those are the money cards minus forces. The forces can later be used for anything. The rest of the cards are all relatively inexpensive. You have great game against combo with your counter magic and chalices and a decent agro match up--island walk is really under rated for legacy.
I started with Nic Fit (a green/black version) and used overgrown tombs until I could afford Bayous. I don't think its the easiest deck because Cabal Therapy takes alot of practice to use right, but I was drawn to running alot of basics. My version used hymns to tourach (Turn 1 Vet, into 2 therapies, and a hymn was a great turn 2 start). Whenever I resolved Grave Titan, I usually won the game because he was just too much for most fair decks to deal with, and pernicious deed really cleans up anything they might drop. I liked the idea of GSZ giving me a tool box to work with as well. Thragtusk usually removed all my shock damage and looping him with reoccuring nightmare was just silly. I eventually got my hands on a scrubland and a savannah and started running Siege Rhinos, which also loop nicely. It can be a really great deck I think (I am terribly bias though) and has tons of customization. The biggest problem is learning to play therapy and its combo match isn't great without subbing in tons of thoughtseizes. The best thing is it is so rogue, that nothing is more than 10 dollars...and most cards are under 5. Deathrite and Ooze give you play against GY tactics and stop delving.
Reanimator might not be a bad choice. Monoblack is super cheap, but you could even use your watergrave graves and something like darkslick shores in it. (though I see you have underground seas, so even better). The deck is pretty linear and all the pieces are cheap, especially if you own griselbrand already and some of the modern masters two legends...iona and elesh norn. You really just need entombs--that's literally the only expensive card if you own the creatures and stuff like thoughtseizes (Well Force of Will too, but those are so useful to have in any deck really). As I said, the deck is fairly linear, and it is incredibly powerful. I play tested against and a friend and even with my budget build, i could crush him often times on turn 1 with the power of lotus petals. Getting Grisel into play lets you race anything and he can draw into cards to protect himself from removal often times.
Mud is pretty budget by legacy standards if you own anything useful for it already, but its a terrible place to start. The reason is, if you don't like the way it plays, then you are stuck with a pile of cards that can only be used in Mud itself.
Burn and Dredge (maneless or otherwise) are choices but I don't think you really need to go down either of those paths unless you want to.
Spooky has a mono blue delver tempo deck on his list. It seems to play alot like standard delver, but it doesn't need the lighting bolts so much. Instead if I recall, it plays some bounce and some creatures and I think even little equipment. Its an interesting budget option. The only money you'd really spend is on force of will which as always goes into almost anything. I remember seeing a deck tech on it as well. Its an interesting choice to get your feet wet in the format without having to buy duals and you can protect your lands from wasteland since you are running islands.
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My suggestions:
Red Elemental Blast instead of Force of Will.
Ghost Quarter instead of wasteland.
Duals might get you (You might want to focus on getting those cards) On the other hand, I don't see much of an issue in playing shocklands for duals, true it will give you a disadvantage but the deck is aggressive enough to play more basic lands. Volcanic Island is going 200 (Revised) and Underground Sea is going to 250 (revised) so if your looking to spend 500 dollars (or trade 500 dollars worth of cards) I would go for 1 underground sea and 1 volcanic island. Please note that wizards is NEVER going to reprint this type of dual lands so the value of these cards are always going to go up (as long as you take care of them)
A Death's Shadow deck... I picture suicide black. I'm not sure because burn is a playable deck.
In his Second 100 days - Yawgmoth's Bargain is unrestricted in Vintage.
What is going to happen in the Next 100 days!!!
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Death’s Shadow
2 Tombstalker
4 Daze
4 Brainstorm
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Force of Will
3 Ponder
3 Thoughtseize
2 Hymn to Tourach
4 Polluted Delta
1 Tropical Island
2 Breeding Pool
4 Watery Grave
2 Overgrown Tomb
4 Flooded Strand
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Murderous Cut
1 Sultai Charm
1 Notion Thief
1 Null Rod
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Sylvan Library
1 Winter Orb
1 Golgari Charm
1 Engineered Plague
1 Maelstrom Pulse
The thing I like about this deck is that I can invest where I need to and get the most bang for my buck by using my shocks.
Often times you can play with 3 forces. Its usually the worst and best card in your deck. I mean that it can saved you from things early in the game but after that point, it two for ones you, so its value diminishes. You can also throw in a misdirection to fill in and sometimes catch your opponent off guard. Blasting a delver with his own lighting bolt feels great.
I think Merfolk is a really great entry level deck, especially if you own chalices, aethervials, and the like since those are the money cards minus forces. The forces can later be used for anything. The rest of the cards are all relatively inexpensive. You have great game against combo with your counter magic and chalices and a decent agro match up--island walk is really under rated for legacy.
I started with Nic Fit (a green/black version) and used overgrown tombs until I could afford Bayous. I don't think its the easiest deck because Cabal Therapy takes alot of practice to use right, but I was drawn to running alot of basics. My version used hymns to tourach (Turn 1 Vet, into 2 therapies, and a hymn was a great turn 2 start). Whenever I resolved Grave Titan, I usually won the game because he was just too much for most fair decks to deal with, and pernicious deed really cleans up anything they might drop. I liked the idea of GSZ giving me a tool box to work with as well. Thragtusk usually removed all my shock damage and looping him with reoccuring nightmare was just silly. I eventually got my hands on a scrubland and a savannah and started running Siege Rhinos, which also loop nicely. It can be a really great deck I think (I am terribly bias though) and has tons of customization. The biggest problem is learning to play therapy and its combo match isn't great without subbing in tons of thoughtseizes. The best thing is it is so rogue, that nothing is more than 10 dollars...and most cards are under 5. Deathrite and Ooze give you play against GY tactics and stop delving.
Reanimator might not be a bad choice. Monoblack is super cheap, but you could even use your watergrave graves and something like darkslick shores in it. (though I see you have underground seas, so even better). The deck is pretty linear and all the pieces are cheap, especially if you own griselbrand already and some of the modern masters two legends...iona and elesh norn. You really just need entombs--that's literally the only expensive card if you own the creatures and stuff like thoughtseizes (Well Force of Will too, but those are so useful to have in any deck really). As I said, the deck is fairly linear, and it is incredibly powerful. I play tested against and a friend and even with my budget build, i could crush him often times on turn 1 with the power of lotus petals. Getting Grisel into play lets you race anything and he can draw into cards to protect himself from removal often times.
Mud is pretty budget by legacy standards if you own anything useful for it already, but its a terrible place to start. The reason is, if you don't like the way it plays, then you are stuck with a pile of cards that can only be used in Mud itself.
Burn and Dredge (maneless or otherwise) are choices but I don't think you really need to go down either of those paths unless you want to.
Spooky has a mono blue delver tempo deck on his list. It seems to play alot like standard delver, but it doesn't need the lighting bolts so much. Instead if I recall, it plays some bounce and some creatures and I think even little equipment. Its an interesting budget option. The only money you'd really spend is on force of will which as always goes into almost anything. I remember seeing a deck tech on it as well. Its an interesting choice to get your feet wet in the format without having to buy duals and you can protect your lands from wasteland since you are running islands.