Soul sisters is big fun and mostly a budget deck. Pretty sure you could scoop up the pieces for < $200
**Edit** Hows about I actually read your post before responding? Missed the part about green, my apologies!
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I always thought Farscape was about Phillip Fry finding himself on a spaceship with Delenn, Ivanova, Worf, and an unholy cross between ALF and Zachary Smith.
There's a new very aggressive green combo deck based around Goblin Charbelcher. The deck runs 7 lands (and 4 Chancellor of the Tangle), and removes them from the library quickly to ensure that when Goblin Charbelcher is activated it deals lethal damage. The majority of the deck are cards that ramp, or fetch Forest cards to the hand. The deck generally wins around turn 4 or 5. It has a lot of great match ups, few poor match ups, and most sideboards can't answer it. There are a lot of variants on it. It can easily be acquired for under 100 dollars. Hell, I foiled out mine for well under 200. I'm having a blast playing it and I strongly suggest you look into it. Here's the primer for the deck if you are interested along with my built.
Hi I want to start making a modern deck with that budget. I would like some suggestions for a green dominant deck to make besides elves... Cause I have no idea what deck I should make.
Thank you :D!
Edit: Just realized the original thread got moved... Please close this one sorry
Checkout combo elves. It should still be cheap if you don't include Emuralk (or whatever it's called).
Hi there! I am/was a Standard player, where I played Esper Control. However, I am going to be abroad for the spring and summer and will be away from MTG till the new Standard rotation. As such, I am considering changing formats to Modern for when I return. I figured here would be a good place to get a start as the card pool in Modern is quite a bit larger than Standard. I'd be happy to give any information that would be helpful! Thanks for your input.
Favorite Playstyle (Aggro, Midrange, Control, Combo): Control, played Esper Control in Standard, but willing to push those boundaries. Not strictly a control player. Will do a lot of playtesting online before deciding on a final deck.
How Competitive (For Fun, Local Tournament, MTGO, PTQ/GP): Local Tournament, PTQ/GP possibility.
Favorite Cards/Colors: Whatever gets the job done. Generally played with blue and black.
Budget: $500. Can push that number a bit.
Staples Owned: None.
Hi there! I am/was a Standard player, where I played Esper Control. However, I am going to be abroad for the spring and summer and will be away from MTG till the new Standard rotation. As such, I am considering changing formats to Modern for when I return. I figured here would be a good place to get a start as the card pool in Modern is quite a bit larger than Standard. I'd be happy to give any information that would be helpful! Thanks for your input.
Favorite Playstyle (Aggro, Midrange, Control, Combo): Control, played Esper Control in Standard, but willing to push those boundaries. Not strictly a control player. Will do a lot of playtesting online before deciding on a final deck.
How Competitive (For Fun, Local Tournament, MTGO, PTQ/GP): Local Tournament, PTQ/GP possibility.
Favorite Cards/Colors: Whatever gets the job done. Generally played with blue and black.
Budget: $500. Can push that number a bit.
Staples Owned: None.
Well, let's start by being honest. Control is bad in Modern. Really bad. There's only a couple of decks that are any good and their variations. Assuming you want it to be GP playable, you're really narrowing it down to:
Gifts Control
UWR Midrange
Cruel Control
The bigger problem is going to be budget. I fear $500 will not be enough to build a control deck if you want fetches. If you want to sacrifice on the consistency, buy no fetches and you'll hit the target, but I think it's quite important. Anyways, let's go over it.
Gifts Control involves abusing Gifts Ungiven. It's insanely powerful and you can abuse how you can fetch up to 4 cards. You can find only Unburial Rites and Terastodon for instance, forcing both to grave for easy Terastodon access from reanimation. You can bin Life from the Loam or Lingering Souls for value, even Raven's Crime if that's what you want. The deck plays all manner of fetches and shocks, as well as Lilianas, Deathrite Shamans, Paths, and Thoughtseizes, plus some versions play Remands.
UWR Control is perhaps the best of the bunch given it's success. While it hasn't done a lot in the past couple of months, it was the all-star deck of the Player's Championships this summer, being the most played deck as well as the winning deck. It's a standard control deck really; some draw spells, some removal, some counters, and then a small number of win conditions (Snapcasters, burn spells, and Celestial Colonnades). Cryptics tend to be expensive, as do all the lands. The lands probably put you out of budget, which is sad because this deck is awesome (currently what I am playing in Modern).
Cruel Control is largely UWR Control except cut the white. While you lose out on Path, Colonnade, Sphinx's Revelation, and Lightning Helix, you gain Gruel Ultimatum and Creeping Tar-Pit, along with black removal like Terminate, and Thoughtseize.
I know you want blue-based control at the GP level and this is where it's at. While I don't know what actual success Cruel Control has had, I know that Paul Cheon, a professional player, truly believes it's good, and he used to play UWR Control. The other two have been played at the GP level, UWR with the most obvious success.
If you need more help, do come back and ask, we're always willing.
I was wondering, what would be a good BLACK dominant deck to use too? Trying to see my options and see what else there is xD!
Budget: $100-$200
Staples Owned: None.
Maybe 8-rack? It's basically a deck based on hand disruption and punishing them for discarding/having no hand. Obviously it's not a great deck to bring to a tournament, but to have some fun with some friends it should be fine.
I'm open to any suggestions, but specifically I am thinking between Affinity and UR Tempo Splinter Twin (Partick Dickmann' list).
Both would be quite a big investment for me so I want to be as sure as possible in making the right decision. The following things are of importance to me:
- Top Tier 1 deck, which can win against any deck and perform consistently if piloted correctly.
- The deck has a stable place in the meta-game and can be tweaked to new metas and decks to stay a Tier 1 deck.
- Prices of the cards it contains are stable.
Pros for Affinity would be:
- Cheaper
- Has a good match-up against Jund
- Long learning curve
- No drawn-out matches
Cons:
- One-trick pony/glass canon
- Easily hated, could become less viable in different meta
- Not interactive
- Same kind of decisions
UR Twin pros:
- Fits my preferred game-play
- Interactive
- More varied game-play
- Consistent in the Modern meta-game
- Adaptable
Cons:
- More expensive
- Lists might be more in flux (bringing extra costs)
- Simpler?
- Drawn-out games
- Combo-wins take time (and I find them kind of lame)
So, to sum it up, I am looking for a deck that I can rely on for a year or so to be a top-contender in daily events, with no additional costs. And if I decide to cash in I won't lose too much on it. I'm charmed by the focused starts that Affinity can have, but am afraid it will get kind of dull and I hate the feeling of being out of a game after the first few turns or so. UR Twin and especially the list Patrick played seemed really nice, and making different decisions as well as being able to say draw-go is what I am attracted to. I only played Pauper so far, and I enjoyed Stompy (green 'combo' aggro) quite a bit as well as Delver. I like the feeling of pulling ahead in a game and having some sort of control. But just bashing your opponent with big creatures before he has even had the time to start is a feeling all of it's own.. So I'm torn :). Preferably there is someone who owns both decks and can tell some more about both of them and there differences, but if you own only either one of them I am looking forward to hear your opinion as well.
If I have to pick for a deck that is going to stay relevant, it would be Affinity. Twin can go in or out of the meta since its Jund matchup isn't as solid as other decks. The spot discard goes a long way for Jund in the Twin matchup. While Twin is always a relevant deck and something to remember exists, it does have its times where it sees relatively little play. Though I guess that is counteracted with the fact that sometimes Twin is just the best deck. With Affinity, it's always just a solid deck. It never goes out of favour, though it's also rarely the best deck for a tournament. I would always expect to see some Affinity and always expect someone playing Affinity to do reasonably well.
Affinity is a deck that's easily to learn, but a lot of people still play it wrong. You need to be one with the deck and understand its little nuances. But outside of that, the games always go the same. It's not the kind of deck for a tempo or control player because it's the opposite, fast aggro. You will win most of the games just by playing more creatures than them and giving them a difficult time with them, via cards like Etched Champion, Arcbound Ravager, and Cranial Plating. You have more decisions than most aggro decks since the order you play stuff is relevant (do I play Vault Skirge first or Signal Pest first?) and then later with Inkmoth and Blinkmoth Nexus, plus Arcbound Ravager. Still, it's largely still an aggro deck, and I fear you won't enjoy playing aggro.
Twin, on the other hand, is a combo/midrange deck. While we traditionally think of it as being Twin on a Pestermite or something, I've seen lists that end up being more midrange. Whether those lists are still ideal is another question, but those lists contained 4 Bolts and 4 Snapcasters. Pestermite and Deceiver Exarch are very good at stalling; tap a dude, tap a land, it all adds up. With Bolts and Snaps, you can really just gain the tempo lead and ride it to victory. You can also take the controlling approach, to play more MB counters and just stall until the combo. Either deck works, it depends on what's better in the given meta.
As far as your assessment of Twin goes, I feel it's wrong. Twin is a much harder deck than Affinity to play. Knowing when you want to tap a land on their upkeep is extremely relevant, and it's not an easy decision. Also playing with Serum Visions and Sleight of Hands, knowing what you'll need in the next few turns is also critical. It takes a lot longer to get good at Twin because you won't make the right plays early on. Also in terms of the combo win, it doesn't take long. A lot of people will scoop to it, but if they don't, you only have to manage a few triggers. On mtgo, the win only takes a couple of minutes to physically do. And again, if you're playing in a tournament where they know how the deck works, and aren't trying to waste your game clock, they'll just scoop.
If you're the kind of person that likes Delver, UR Twin is definitely more in line with what you'd like to play. While Affinity is perhaps a more consistent deck and less likely to become bad, Twin is certainly more in line with your preferred play style, and perhaps has higher upsides when it's good.
Ive been collecting Merfolk for a while now, and it is pretty fun. Use you merfolk as tanks to block damage for you, and swing for lethal. Aggressive decks hate this deck a lot =p. As a cheap aggro deck, I'd recommend it.
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Modern: U Merfolk | GR Tron | WUR Jeskai Control | WBG Abzan Company
Well, let's start by being honest. Control is bad in Modern. Really bad. There's only a couple of decks that are any good and their variations. Assuming you want it to be GP playable, you're really narrowing it down to:
Gifts Control
UWR Midrange
Cruel Control
The bigger problem is going to be budget. I fear $500 will not be enough to build a control deck if you want fetches. If you want to sacrifice on the consistency, buy no fetches and you'll hit the target, but I think it's quite important. Anyways, let's go over it.
Gifts Control involves abusing Gifts Ungiven. It's insanely powerful and you can abuse how you can fetch up to 4 cards. You can find only Unburial Rites and Terastodon for instance, forcing both to grave for easy Terastodon access from reanimation. You can bin Life from the Loam or Lingering Souls for value, even Raven's Crime if that's what you want. The deck plays all manner of fetches and shocks, as well as Lilianas, Deathrite Shamans, Paths, and Thoughtseizes, plus some versions play Remands.
UWR Control is perhaps the best of the bunch given it's success. While it hasn't done a lot in the past couple of months, it was the all-star deck of the Player's Championships this summer, being the most played deck as well as the winning deck. It's a standard control deck really; some draw spells, some removal, some counters, and then a small number of win conditions (Snapcasters, burn spells, and Celestial Colonnades). Cryptics tend to be expensive, as do all the lands. The lands probably put you out of budget, which is sad because this deck is awesome (currently what I am playing in Modern).
Cruel Control is largely UWR Control except cut the white. While you lose out on Path, Colonnade, Sphinx's Revelation, and Lightning Helix, you gain Gruel Ultimatum and Creeping Tar-Pit, along with black removal like Terminate, and Thoughtseize.
I know you want blue-based control at the GP level and this is where it's at. While I don't know what actual success Cruel Control has had, I know that Paul Cheon, a professional player, truly believes it's good, and he used to play UWR Control. The other two have been played at the GP level, UWR with the most obvious success.
If you need more help, do come back and ask, we're always willing.
Alright. If I were going to switch into another playstyle, what might you recommend? I know that I don't have a huge budget for the fetch lands that I need, so for non-control decks I was looking at Affinity or GR Tron. What do you think of those? Do you have any other suggestions?
Alright. If I were going to switch into another playstyle, what might you recommend? I know that I don't have a huge budget for the fetch lands that I need, so for non-control decks I was looking at Affinity or GR Tron. What do you think of those? Do you have any other suggestions?
They're both perfectly fine decks. Affinity is more consistent if I had to pick one. RG Tron has a really good Jund matchup but has problems against BG Rock (they play a lot of LD). Either one would honestly be fine.
@darksteel88, thanks a lot. I am leaning towards Splinter Twin, but am kind of concerned about Jund. Could you shine some more light on the current meta-game and what it takes for Splinter Twin to be good or bad? Also how nonviable does it become in a meta-game where Jund takes the top spot with 13%? I would be bad if I couldn't really participate in daily events because the deck I play is disadvantaged from the start..
13% of the field is rather low to call it completely dominated by Jund. Before Bloodbraid Elf got banned, Jund was at least 33% of the field. I know there was an interview with Gerry Thompson at the PT when they brought out Nivmagus combo, where he said "our deck beats everything that's not Jund but Jund is a third of the decks", or something like that.
Anyways, Twin is a good deck because it's flexible. If you don't think combo is the right way to win, you can just grind it out. That said, the more dominant versions of Twin right now are combo-centric lists. The one you posted looks like a fairly standard list now-a-days. I think the Jund matchup isn't that bad though, it's not like 90/10 or anything. You can certainly still win it.
Also, as a heads up, look into MTGO Dailies before buying anything. Dailies are currently disabled until further notice because they've been having troubles with the system. That's what they claimed anyways, but people think a million other reasons. Either way, they're down indefinitely so you have time to decide. You really don't want to buy now and then never play in a Daily.
Favorite Playstyle: Tempo and Control, though anything with a lot of play to it is something I can enjoy. I had built Melira Pod early in its existence and enjoyed all its angles of attack. It's clearly only improved since then, but I sold it a while back. Hatebears are cool too.
How Competitive: Local tourneys and maybe the occasional PTQ/GP/etc.
Favorite Cards/Colors: BUG tends to be where I like being, with lots of card advantage, value interactions, and just powerful crap going on. Favorite cards probably include Snapcaster, LOTV, Delver of Secrets, Mana Leak, Cryptic, Cruel Ultimatum, Deathrite Shaman. All that said, I'm not married to the colors. Until it kind of faded from the meta I was looking at UWR control.
Budget: I'd like to keep it under $500. The current staples ought to help with that.
Staples Owned: I'm currently sitting on playsets of all the shocks, Scalding Tarn, Thoughtseize, Snapcaster, Deathrite, Abrupt Decay, Verdict, Colonnade, Mutavault, Scavenging Ooze, the Urzatron lands, Sphinx's Revelation, LOTV, and lots of common/uncommon staples like Bolt, Helix, Path, Souls etc. Less than four of SoFaI, Cryptic, Vendy Clique, Gifts, Ajani Vengeant, and Verdant Catacombs.
My instinct says the UR fae/Delver list is a good way to go for a fun, deep deck that would also position me to grow out the card pool for other stuff in modern or legacy. But I'm looking opinions of people who actually play the format rather than just my own.
Noticed I'd got skipped over. Anyone got anything for me?
I currently play Standard with a RDW and an Izzet deck and have a Pox proxy deck (my lgs allows full proxy stuff for fun) and am looking at doing some Modern. I am torn between UB mill or Soul Sisters. The mill appeals to me just because back in the day I LOVED playing discard like that, but on the other hand SS would be a great option to get into the format and keep costs down. Pros/cons?
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“Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
Favorite Playstyle: Tempo and Control, though anything with a lot of play to it is something I can enjoy. I had built Melira Pod early in its existence and enjoyed all its angles of attack. It's clearly only improved since then, but I sold it a while back. Hatebears are cool too.
How Competitive: Local tourneys and maybe the occasional PTQ/GP/etc.
Favorite Cards/Colors: BUG tends to be where I like being, with lots of card advantage, value interactions, and just powerful crap going on. Favorite cards probably include Snapcaster, LOTV, Delver of Secrets, Mana Leak, Cryptic, Cruel Ultimatum, Deathrite Shaman. All that said, I'm not married to the colors. Until it kind of faded from the meta I was looking at UWR control.
Budget: I'd like to keep it under $500. The current staples ought to help with that.
Staples Owned: I'm currently sitting on playsets of all the shocks, Scalding Tarn, Thoughtseize, Snapcaster, Deathrite, Abrupt Decay, Verdict, Colonnade, Mutavault, Scavenging Ooze, the Urzatron lands, Sphinx's Revelation, LOTV, and lots of common/uncommon staples like Bolt, Helix, Path, Souls etc. Less than four of SoFaI, Cryptic, Vendy Clique, Gifts, Ajani Vengeant, and Verdant Catacombs.
My instinct says the UR fae/Delver list is a good way to go for a fun, deep deck that would also position me to grow out the card pool for other stuff in modern or legacy. But I'm looking opinions of people who actually play the format rather than just my own.
Yeah, you own a lot of staples so it should be easy enough to build whatever you want. Tempo isn't exactly the best archetype, nor is control. The format is dominated by a lot of midrange decks.
Anyways, Delver is a perfectly fine deck if that's your fancy. You have mostly everything and at local tournaments it should be fine. UWR or even Cruel Control are also options, depending on what you would prefer. If you're okay with going into combo, the best UR deck would be Twin, but it's mostly a combo deck and only somewhat of a tempo.
I currently play Standard with a RDW and an Izzet deck and have a Pox proxy deck (my lgs allows full proxy stuff for fun) and am looking at doing some Modern. I am torn between UB mill or Soul Sisters. The mill appeals to me just because back in the day I LOVED playing discard like that, but on the other hand SS would be a great option to get into the format and keep costs down. Pros/cons?
SS is a better deck, but UB Mill has a better chance to blow someone out. If you want consistency, then I'd go for SS. It's a proven deck that's done fine in the format.
Hey guys. Back from a long hiatus and I'm wondering what to build for the current season. I have always played aggro for as long as I can remember but I'm looking to expand my horizons a little more this year and play something a bit more interactive. That said, currently here are the decks I have:
Boros Aggro
Affinity
Obviously they are very aggressive decks but if there is a new twist I can put on them that could work. Otherwise I am thinking about:
UWR Midrange
RWb Aggro
Soul Sisters (Probably splash red or black)
Tron Variant (Mono blue or Gr)
UR Delver
Dark Naya Zoo (If I can borrow my friend's Goyfs)
If it helps, in the past I played legacy Angel Stompy, legacy Goblins, standard RDW, Affinity, and legacy Mono Black Aggro.
As far as the meta I'm expecting, Affinity will be there and so will the hate. Control and combo are always popular in the area so UWR control, Tron, Pod, and Twin. And of course Jund will be around. After that a wide assortment of other top decks and random creations.
So with that, what might be a good option to play that might be a bit deeper and a little more intricate to play?
Hey guys. Back from a long hiatus and I'm wondering what to build for the current season. I have always played aggro for as long as I can remember but I'm looking to expand my horizons a little more this year and play something a bit more interactive. That said, currently here are the decks I have:
Boros Aggro
Affinity
Obviously they are very aggressive decks but if there is a new twist I can put on them that could work. Otherwise I am thinking about:
UWR Midrange
RWb Aggro
Soul Sisters (Probably splash red or black)
Tron Variant (Mono blue or Gr)
UR Delver
Dark Naya Zoo (If I can borrow my friend's Goyfs)
If it helps, in the past I played legacy Angel Stompy, legacy Goblins, standard RDW, Affinity, and legacy Mono Black Aggro.
As far as the meta I'm expecting, Affinity will be there and so will the hate. Control and combo are always popular in the area so UWR control, Tron, Pod, and Twin. And of course Jund will be around. After that a wide assortment of other top decks and random creations.
So with that, what might be a good option to play that might be a bit deeper and a little more intricate to play?
Soul Sisters is not the deck for you. It's aggro just like you've been playing and is rather straight forward. Also, splashing in that deck is really stupid (no offense to you or anyone that does it). The deck is based on life gain and hitting 30 life is critical. Splashing for fetches and duals really doesn't offer enough when it delays that critical mass. If your Serra Ascendants don't attack with flying and lifelink, I really don't care.
Anyways, I don't want to recommend you any aggro deck. You play aggro, you understand it, and won't develop as a player if you continue just playing only that. So we also won't recommend Zoo or WRb Aggro.
Given you want something more intricate to play, I'd recommend UR Delver. It's a good mix of control and aggro, being a tempo deck. You are going to play aggressive creatures like Delver, but also pass more turns with mana up to play removal, counters, or even creatures like Snapcaster, Spellstutter Sprite, and Clique. It'll be enough of a change where you need to decide whether you want to play creatures or not and really think about what the opponent is going to do more so than what you're going to do. Aggro decks traditionally say "I'll do my thing, I know what he can do, and let's hope for the best", whereas control decks would say "I know what they can do, let's hope that I have the answer, and eventually I'll do my thing when his plan/resources are exhausted". With a tempo deck, you do a bit of both. UR Delver is more controlling than aggro though, but it's still a good change of pace. If you look at other decks, UWR Delver with Steppe Lynx is more of an aggro approach to tempo.
Favorite Playstyle: Aggro, Tempo, Combo
How Competitive: Local, PTQ/GP down the road
Favorite Cards/Colors: Red, blue, black, lightning bolt, snapcaster mage, grim lavamancer, young pyromancer,
Budget: not sure yet
Staples Owned: 4 Scalding tarn, 4 arid mesa, 2 misty rainforest, 4 snapcaster, Sacred foundry, 4 steam vents, 4 Remand
I like delver style decks but I dunno how viable delver is in this format.
You can look into UR Delver, it's a fine deck but maybe not something I'd take to a GP had I a choice. Probably a better choice would be UR Twin. It's a combo deck but it often plays out like a tempo deck, and you've got a lot of the deck there so it should be reasonable to build.
I am a once retired player but have been following MTG for a while. I want to finally get into Modern thing.
I always enjoyed playing control decks with sweepers or toolbox kind-of grinding decks. My favourite standard deck was Wake (Mirari's), very old extended Oath (of Druids) and Rock with 4 living wishes and 2 vampiric tutors (I just loved to have a wish toolbox for the 'surprise' and metagame tweaking capabilities).
When I say toolbox you can say POD. But isn't POD easily hated out today, is it?
Jund reminds me of a grinding spirit Rock had, but it misses cards like Pernicious Deed and Vampiric Tutor to me for being fascinating and enjoyable. I still may end up playing it, although the goyfs are expensive... eh.
What do you think of the future of POD? Or maybe other decks come to your mind?
"Fun" is hard to describe or quantify because it's subjective. I personally find Mindslaver lock to be the most fun way to win a game... yeah...
At any rate, I like Infect more because I like doing stupid glass cannon things. Though Boggle is certainly the better deck, if you're thinking of making one. It's probably also cheaper since you don't need fetches (or do you? I can't remember but certainly not as many if you do) and don't need Noble Hierarchs.
Favorite Playstyle: Tempo/Midrange. I enjoy adaptability.
How Competitive: PTQ/GP competition is always in the mind, but my decks are usually used for local tournaments and for fun. Despite this, I'm overly competitive even in these environments.
Favorite Cards/Colors: I enjoy any enemy-colored two-color combination ((B/W)(G/B)(U/G)(R/U)(W/R)) and several cards I have been looking for an excuse to play include Delver of Secrets, Deathrite Shaman and Geist of Saint Traft.
Budget: Overall deck pricing can vary, but <$500 is preferable. Manabase is not necessarily a problem, but cards like Bob and 'Goyf are cards I'd prefer to avoid.
Staples Owned: Not much. I have a few sparse shocklands, and miscellaneous stuff. I will acquire whatever I don't have, so this shouldn't be an issue.
Something else I'd like to say is that I enjoy playing uncommon decks, yet I also enjoy powerful/competitive decks. This has made it very difficult for me to find a deck that I find appealing. Additionally, I want to play a deck that isn't easily hated out of the metagame. I also enjoy playing decks that are difficult to play or learn. It makes the game more fun and causes all sorts of mind games.
Favorite Playstyle: Tempo/Midrange. I enjoy adaptability.
How Competitive: PTQ/GP competition is always in the mind, but my decks are usually used for local tournaments and for fun. Despite this, I'm overly competitive even in these environments.
Favorite Cards/Colors: I enjoy any enemy-colored two-color combination ((B/W)(G/B)(U/G)(R/U)(W/R)) and several cards I have been looking for an excuse to play include Delver of Secrets, Deathrite Shaman and Geist of Saint Traft.
Budget: Overall deck pricing can vary, but <$500 is preferable. Manabase is not necessarily a problem, but cards like Bob and 'Goyf are cards I'd prefer to avoid.
Staples Owned: Not much. I have a few sparse shocklands, and miscellaneous stuff. I will acquire whatever I don't have, so this shouldn't be an issue.
Something else I'd like to say is that I enjoy playing uncommon decks, yet I also enjoy powerful/competitive decks. This has made it very difficult for me to find a deck that I find appealing. Additionally, I want to play a deck that isn't easily hated out of the metagame. I also enjoy playing decks that are difficult to play or learn. It makes the game more fun and causes all sorts of mind games.
I think what you're asking for is a deck that doesn't exist in this format. Maybe in Legacy, but you're asking for something that:
1. doesn't get hated out easily
2. is GP playable
3. isn't very common
4. is difficult to learn
5. costs under 500 / doesn't use Bobs/Goyf
6. is tempo/midrange
This deck, in my opinion, doesn't exist in this format. Even number 1 alone makes it hard to find a deck that works. So in spite of all of this, I'm going to make recommendations while cutting out certain numbers.
Right off the bat, I want to cut out number 3. You're not going to get 2 and 3 together, it just won't happen. I say this every time, if there's some sleeper OP deck, people will find it. Yeah, there's a rare chance the deck exists, don't get me wrong, it could. But if you're asking others for the list, well, it probably ,doesn't exist, or else we'd all know about it. I also think 4 is somewhat moot but I can leave it here for now and try not to recommend mono red.
Cutting out 1 and 3 I can give you UR Twin. It's more of a combo tempo deck but you might like it regardless. It's just flash creatures with untap on enter to be abused by Splinter Twin or Kiki-Jiki for infinite tokens. That said, when you also play Snapcasters and Bolts, you sometimes just beat them down. The deck is also very difficult to learn, but it does have its problems against Jund, it's like a 60/40 matchup in their favour, and Jund is the most popular deck.
There's also UR Delver that you may like. In terms of the 2/3 split, it's usually more on the side of 3 than 2, meaning it's less common and less GP playable. I'd prefer UR Twin at a GP hands down.
Ultimately if I cut out 4 and 5 I would go with Jund. It's a midrange deck and the best, deck in the format, hands down. Yeah you need Bobs and Goyfs but I mean, if you want to win then this is your deck. It also doesn't get hated out too easily.
If you want something that focuses on not getting hated out, try Hatebears. It's a deck that's goal is to hate out other decks.
That's probably about it in terms of tempo/midrange decks I can recommend. There are some control, some aggro, and a bunch of combo, but none left I can think of that are GP playable and tempo/midrange. Hopefully something there tickles your fancy. If you want a very narrow recommendation then you can perhaps lift some requirements so we have more room to work with. Your particular request was just so narrow that the deck you want doesn't exist (and probably never will in this format).
Favorite Playstyle: Midrange, Control
How Competitive: Local, GPT/PTQ Level
Favorite Cards/Colors: Favorite cards in modern metagame are sphinx's revelation, dark confidant, and blood moon
Budget: N/A
Staples Owned: Most of Modern owned, have Jund, UWR flash, affinity, and all the lands needed for almost any modern deck
Meta: Everyone in my meta is playing BGx! I have been playing UWR flash but I don't like it's matchup at all. What should I be playing? Something that can beat BGx but also do well against the rest of the field as well that isn't just joining in the BGx ranks. Thanks
**Edit** Hows about I actually read your post before responding? Missed the part about green, my apologies!
XXXX
Modern
URTwinRU R.I.P.
EDH
WUGRoon of the Hidden RealmWUG
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=549449
4x Caravan Vigil
4x Lay of the Land
4x Safewright Quest
4x Chancellor of the Tangle
4x Recross the Paths
3x Cultivate
2x Harrow
4x Rampant Growth
4x Llanowar Elves
4x Sylvan Ranger
4x Sakura-Tribe Elder
4x Ancient Stirrings
4x Goblin Charbelcher
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
Checkout combo elves. It should still be cheap if you don't include Emuralk (or whatever it's called).
Favorite Playstyle (Aggro, Midrange, Control, Combo): Control, played Esper Control in Standard, but willing to push those boundaries. Not strictly a control player. Will do a lot of playtesting online before deciding on a final deck.
How Competitive (For Fun, Local Tournament, MTGO, PTQ/GP): Local Tournament, PTQ/GP possibility.
Favorite Cards/Colors: Whatever gets the job done. Generally played with blue and black.
Budget: $500. Can push that number a bit.
Staples Owned: None.
Budget: $100-$200
Staples Owned: None.
Black-dominant, perhaps not; it's a fair split between green and black to be honest.
That said it's probably far out of your league in terms of acquisition.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
Well, let's start by being honest. Control is bad in Modern. Really bad. There's only a couple of decks that are any good and their variations. Assuming you want it to be GP playable, you're really narrowing it down to:
Gifts Control
UWR Midrange
Cruel Control
The bigger problem is going to be budget. I fear $500 will not be enough to build a control deck if you want fetches. If you want to sacrifice on the consistency, buy no fetches and you'll hit the target, but I think it's quite important. Anyways, let's go over it.
Gifts Control involves abusing Gifts Ungiven. It's insanely powerful and you can abuse how you can fetch up to 4 cards. You can find only Unburial Rites and Terastodon for instance, forcing both to grave for easy Terastodon access from reanimation. You can bin Life from the Loam or Lingering Souls for value, even Raven's Crime if that's what you want. The deck plays all manner of fetches and shocks, as well as Lilianas, Deathrite Shamans, Paths, and Thoughtseizes, plus some versions play Remands.
UWR Control is perhaps the best of the bunch given it's success. While it hasn't done a lot in the past couple of months, it was the all-star deck of the Player's Championships this summer, being the most played deck as well as the winning deck. It's a standard control deck really; some draw spells, some removal, some counters, and then a small number of win conditions (Snapcasters, burn spells, and Celestial Colonnades). Cryptics tend to be expensive, as do all the lands. The lands probably put you out of budget, which is sad because this deck is awesome (currently what I am playing in Modern).
Cruel Control is largely UWR Control except cut the white. While you lose out on Path, Colonnade, Sphinx's Revelation, and Lightning Helix, you gain Gruel Ultimatum and Creeping Tar-Pit, along with black removal like Terminate, and Thoughtseize.
I know you want blue-based control at the GP level and this is where it's at. While I don't know what actual success Cruel Control has had, I know that Paul Cheon, a professional player, truly believes it's good, and he used to play UWR Control. The other two have been played at the GP level, UWR with the most obvious success.
If you need more help, do come back and ask, we're always willing.
Maybe 8-rack? It's basically a deck based on hand disruption and punishing them for discarding/having no hand. Obviously it's not a great deck to bring to a tournament, but to have some fun with some friends it should be fine.
If I have to pick for a deck that is going to stay relevant, it would be Affinity. Twin can go in or out of the meta since its Jund matchup isn't as solid as other decks. The spot discard goes a long way for Jund in the Twin matchup. While Twin is always a relevant deck and something to remember exists, it does have its times where it sees relatively little play. Though I guess that is counteracted with the fact that sometimes Twin is just the best deck. With Affinity, it's always just a solid deck. It never goes out of favour, though it's also rarely the best deck for a tournament. I would always expect to see some Affinity and always expect someone playing Affinity to do reasonably well.
Affinity is a deck that's easily to learn, but a lot of people still play it wrong. You need to be one with the deck and understand its little nuances. But outside of that, the games always go the same. It's not the kind of deck for a tempo or control player because it's the opposite, fast aggro. You will win most of the games just by playing more creatures than them and giving them a difficult time with them, via cards like Etched Champion, Arcbound Ravager, and Cranial Plating. You have more decisions than most aggro decks since the order you play stuff is relevant (do I play Vault Skirge first or Signal Pest first?) and then later with Inkmoth and Blinkmoth Nexus, plus Arcbound Ravager. Still, it's largely still an aggro deck, and I fear you won't enjoy playing aggro.
Twin, on the other hand, is a combo/midrange deck. While we traditionally think of it as being Twin on a Pestermite or something, I've seen lists that end up being more midrange. Whether those lists are still ideal is another question, but those lists contained 4 Bolts and 4 Snapcasters. Pestermite and Deceiver Exarch are very good at stalling; tap a dude, tap a land, it all adds up. With Bolts and Snaps, you can really just gain the tempo lead and ride it to victory. You can also take the controlling approach, to play more MB counters and just stall until the combo. Either deck works, it depends on what's better in the given meta.
As far as your assessment of Twin goes, I feel it's wrong. Twin is a much harder deck than Affinity to play. Knowing when you want to tap a land on their upkeep is extremely relevant, and it's not an easy decision. Also playing with Serum Visions and Sleight of Hands, knowing what you'll need in the next few turns is also critical. It takes a lot longer to get good at Twin because you won't make the right plays early on. Also in terms of the combo win, it doesn't take long. A lot of people will scoop to it, but if they don't, you only have to manage a few triggers. On mtgo, the win only takes a couple of minutes to physically do. And again, if you're playing in a tournament where they know how the deck works, and aren't trying to waste your game clock, they'll just scoop.
If you're the kind of person that likes Delver, UR Twin is definitely more in line with what you'd like to play. While Affinity is perhaps a more consistent deck and less likely to become bad, Twin is certainly more in line with your preferred play style, and perhaps has higher upsides when it's good.
Grixis Death's Shadow, Jund, UW Tron, Jeskai Control, Storm, Counters Company, Eldrazi Tron, Affinity, Living End, Infect, Merfolk, Dredge, Ad Nauseam, Amulet, Bogles, Eldrazi Tron, Mono U Tron, Lantern, Mardu Pyromancer
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U Merfolk | GR Tron | WUR Jeskai Control | WBG Abzan Company
EDH:
G Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Fighting for Rivendell
WU Brago, King Eternal, Long Live the King
WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon, Worship the Dragon
Alright. If I were going to switch into another playstyle, what might you recommend? I know that I don't have a huge budget for the fetch lands that I need, so for non-control decks I was looking at Affinity or GR Tron. What do you think of those? Do you have any other suggestions?
They're both perfectly fine decks. Affinity is more consistent if I had to pick one. RG Tron has a really good Jund matchup but has problems against BG Rock (they play a lot of LD). Either one would honestly be fine.
13% of the field is rather low to call it completely dominated by Jund. Before Bloodbraid Elf got banned, Jund was at least 33% of the field. I know there was an interview with Gerry Thompson at the PT when they brought out Nivmagus combo, where he said "our deck beats everything that's not Jund but Jund is a third of the decks", or something like that.
Anyways, Twin is a good deck because it's flexible. If you don't think combo is the right way to win, you can just grind it out. That said, the more dominant versions of Twin right now are combo-centric lists. The one you posted looks like a fairly standard list now-a-days. I think the Jund matchup isn't that bad though, it's not like 90/10 or anything. You can certainly still win it.
Also, as a heads up, look into MTGO Dailies before buying anything. Dailies are currently disabled until further notice because they've been having troubles with the system. That's what they claimed anyways, but people think a million other reasons. Either way, they're down indefinitely so you have time to decide. You really don't want to buy now and then never play in a Daily.
Grixis Death's Shadow, Jund, UW Tron, Jeskai Control, Storm, Counters Company, Eldrazi Tron, Affinity, Living End, Infect, Merfolk, Dredge, Ad Nauseam, Amulet, Bogles, Eldrazi Tron, Mono U Tron, Lantern, Mardu Pyromancer
Noticed I'd got skipped over. Anyone got anything for me?
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
Yeah, you own a lot of staples so it should be easy enough to build whatever you want. Tempo isn't exactly the best archetype, nor is control. The format is dominated by a lot of midrange decks.
Anyways, Delver is a perfectly fine deck if that's your fancy. You have mostly everything and at local tournaments it should be fine. UWR or even Cruel Control are also options, depending on what you would prefer. If you're okay with going into combo, the best UR deck would be Twin, but it's mostly a combo deck and only somewhat of a tempo.
SS is a better deck, but UB Mill has a better chance to blow someone out. If you want consistency, then I'd go for SS. It's a proven deck that's done fine in the format.
Grixis Death's Shadow, Jund, UW Tron, Jeskai Control, Storm, Counters Company, Eldrazi Tron, Affinity, Living End, Infect, Merfolk, Dredge, Ad Nauseam, Amulet, Bogles, Eldrazi Tron, Mono U Tron, Lantern, Mardu Pyromancer
Boros Aggro
Affinity
Obviously they are very aggressive decks but if there is a new twist I can put on them that could work. Otherwise I am thinking about:
UWR Midrange
RWb Aggro
Soul Sisters (Probably splash red or black)
Tron Variant (Mono blue or Gr)
UR Delver
Dark Naya Zoo (If I can borrow my friend's Goyfs)
If it helps, in the past I played legacy Angel Stompy, legacy Goblins, standard RDW, Affinity, and legacy Mono Black Aggro.
As far as the meta I'm expecting, Affinity will be there and so will the hate. Control and combo are always popular in the area so UWR control, Tron, Pod, and Twin. And of course Jund will be around. After that a wide assortment of other top decks and random creations.
So with that, what might be a good option to play that might be a bit deeper and a little more intricate to play?
How Competitive: Local, PTQ/GP down the road
Favorite Cards/Colors: Red, blue, black, lightning bolt, snapcaster mage, grim lavamancer, young pyromancer,
Budget: not sure yet
Staples Owned: 4 Scalding tarn, 4 arid mesa, 2 misty rainforest, 4 snapcaster, Sacred foundry, 4 steam vents, 4 Remand
I like delver style decks but I dunno how viable delver is in this format.
Soul Sisters is not the deck for you. It's aggro just like you've been playing and is rather straight forward. Also, splashing in that deck is really stupid (no offense to you or anyone that does it). The deck is based on life gain and hitting 30 life is critical. Splashing for fetches and duals really doesn't offer enough when it delays that critical mass. If your Serra Ascendants don't attack with flying and lifelink, I really don't care.
Anyways, I don't want to recommend you any aggro deck. You play aggro, you understand it, and won't develop as a player if you continue just playing only that. So we also won't recommend Zoo or WRb Aggro.
Given you want something more intricate to play, I'd recommend UR Delver. It's a good mix of control and aggro, being a tempo deck. You are going to play aggressive creatures like Delver, but also pass more turns with mana up to play removal, counters, or even creatures like Snapcaster, Spellstutter Sprite, and Clique. It'll be enough of a change where you need to decide whether you want to play creatures or not and really think about what the opponent is going to do more so than what you're going to do. Aggro decks traditionally say "I'll do my thing, I know what he can do, and let's hope for the best", whereas control decks would say "I know what they can do, let's hope that I have the answer, and eventually I'll do my thing when his plan/resources are exhausted". With a tempo deck, you do a bit of both. UR Delver is more controlling than aggro though, but it's still a good change of pace. If you look at other decks, UWR Delver with Steppe Lynx is more of an aggro approach to tempo.
You can look into UR Delver, it's a fine deck but maybe not something I'd take to a GP had I a choice. Probably a better choice would be UR Twin. It's a combo deck but it often plays out like a tempo deck, and you've got a lot of the deck there so it should be reasonable to build.
Grixis Death's Shadow, Jund, UW Tron, Jeskai Control, Storm, Counters Company, Eldrazi Tron, Affinity, Living End, Infect, Merfolk, Dredge, Ad Nauseam, Amulet, Bogles, Eldrazi Tron, Mono U Tron, Lantern, Mardu Pyromancer
I am a once retired player but have been following MTG for a while. I want to finally get into Modern thing.
I always enjoyed playing control decks with sweepers or toolbox kind-of grinding decks. My favourite standard deck was Wake (Mirari's), very old extended Oath (of Druids) and Rock with 4 living wishes and 2 vampiric tutors (I just loved to have a wish toolbox for the 'surprise' and metagame tweaking capabilities).
When I say toolbox you can say POD. But isn't POD easily hated out today, is it?
Jund reminds me of a grinding spirit Rock had, but it misses cards like Pernicious Deed and Vampiric Tutor to me for being fascinating and enjoyable. I still may end up playing it, although the goyfs are expensive... eh.
What do you think of the future of POD? Or maybe other decks come to your mind?
U Merfolk | GR Tron | WUR Jeskai Control | WBG Abzan Company
EDH:
G Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Fighting for Rivendell
WU Brago, King Eternal, Long Live the King
WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon, Worship the Dragon
"Fun" is hard to describe or quantify because it's subjective. I personally find Mindslaver lock to be the most fun way to win a game... yeah...
At any rate, I like Infect more because I like doing stupid glass cannon things. Though Boggle is certainly the better deck, if you're thinking of making one. It's probably also cheaper since you don't need fetches (or do you? I can't remember but certainly not as many if you do) and don't need Noble Hierarchs.
Grixis Death's Shadow, Jund, UW Tron, Jeskai Control, Storm, Counters Company, Eldrazi Tron, Affinity, Living End, Infect, Merfolk, Dredge, Ad Nauseam, Amulet, Bogles, Eldrazi Tron, Mono U Tron, Lantern, Mardu Pyromancer
How Competitive: PTQ/GP competition is always in the mind, but my decks are usually used for local tournaments and for fun. Despite this, I'm overly competitive even in these environments.
Favorite Cards/Colors: I enjoy any enemy-colored two-color combination ((B/W)(G/B)(U/G)(R/U)(W/R)) and several cards I have been looking for an excuse to play include Delver of Secrets, Deathrite Shaman and Geist of Saint Traft.
Budget: Overall deck pricing can vary, but <$500 is preferable. Manabase is not necessarily a problem, but cards like Bob and 'Goyf are cards I'd prefer to avoid.
Staples Owned: Not much. I have a few sparse shocklands, and miscellaneous stuff. I will acquire whatever I don't have, so this shouldn't be an issue.
Something else I'd like to say is that I enjoy playing uncommon decks, yet I also enjoy powerful/competitive decks. This has made it very difficult for me to find a deck that I find appealing. Additionally, I want to play a deck that isn't easily hated out of the metagame. I also enjoy playing decks that are difficult to play or learn. It makes the game more fun and causes all sorts of mind games.
I think what you're asking for is a deck that doesn't exist in this format. Maybe in Legacy, but you're asking for something that:
1. doesn't get hated out easily
2. is GP playable
3. isn't very common
4. is difficult to learn
5. costs under 500 / doesn't use Bobs/Goyf
6. is tempo/midrange
This deck, in my opinion, doesn't exist in this format. Even number 1 alone makes it hard to find a deck that works. So in spite of all of this, I'm going to make recommendations while cutting out certain numbers.
Right off the bat, I want to cut out number 3. You're not going to get 2 and 3 together, it just won't happen. I say this every time, if there's some sleeper OP deck, people will find it. Yeah, there's a rare chance the deck exists, don't get me wrong, it could. But if you're asking others for the list, well, it probably ,doesn't exist, or else we'd all know about it. I also think 4 is somewhat moot but I can leave it here for now and try not to recommend mono red.
Cutting out 1 and 3 I can give you UR Twin. It's more of a combo tempo deck but you might like it regardless. It's just flash creatures with untap on enter to be abused by Splinter Twin or Kiki-Jiki for infinite tokens. That said, when you also play Snapcasters and Bolts, you sometimes just beat them down. The deck is also very difficult to learn, but it does have its problems against Jund, it's like a 60/40 matchup in their favour, and Jund is the most popular deck.
There's also UR Delver that you may like. In terms of the 2/3 split, it's usually more on the side of 3 than 2, meaning it's less common and less GP playable. I'd prefer UR Twin at a GP hands down.
Ultimately if I cut out 4 and 5 I would go with Jund. It's a midrange deck and the best, deck in the format, hands down. Yeah you need Bobs and Goyfs but I mean, if you want to win then this is your deck. It also doesn't get hated out too easily.
If you want something that focuses on not getting hated out, try Hatebears. It's a deck that's goal is to hate out other decks.
That's probably about it in terms of tempo/midrange decks I can recommend. There are some control, some aggro, and a bunch of combo, but none left I can think of that are GP playable and tempo/midrange. Hopefully something there tickles your fancy. If you want a very narrow recommendation then you can perhaps lift some requirements so we have more room to work with. Your particular request was just so narrow that the deck you want doesn't exist (and probably never will in this format).
Grixis Death's Shadow, Jund, UW Tron, Jeskai Control, Storm, Counters Company, Eldrazi Tron, Affinity, Living End, Infect, Merfolk, Dredge, Ad Nauseam, Amulet, Bogles, Eldrazi Tron, Mono U Tron, Lantern, Mardu Pyromancer
How Competitive: Local, GPT/PTQ Level
Favorite Cards/Colors: Favorite cards in modern metagame are sphinx's revelation, dark confidant, and blood moon
Budget: N/A
Staples Owned: Most of Modern owned, have Jund, UWR flash, affinity, and all the lands needed for almost any modern deck
Meta: Everyone in my meta is playing BGx! I have been playing UWR flash but I don't like it's matchup at all. What should I be playing? Something that can beat BGx but also do well against the rest of the field as well that isn't just joining in the BGx ranks. Thanks