I'm attempting to build a new competitive modern deck. Of course with the format being as open as it is, I went with the assumption that a control deck is the most logical deck to build. So I give you 5 color control on a stick. The overall goal of the deck is to lock your opponent from being able to do anything, and when he is locked you can tutor up a win condition like lightning helix and ping him to death while he is stuck not able to do anything. I have not ran into too much spot removal for scepters main decked, there are SB cards that will obviously slow the deck down like abrupt decay. but beyond that you can for the most part protect your scepter with the main decked counter spells like muddle/remade/spell snare. I've tested it against several tier 1 decks, not extensively, but so far I have had many good games against affinity, zoo, and splinter twin. I can stop most aggro decks with just FOG on a scepter and just wait to pull a kill condition. I've also found, most affinity decks dont have an answer in game 1 vs a turn 2 fog on a scepter. the biggest problems I've had with the deck are against The Rock and RDW, both deal with directly targeting the player, which is why i threw in 4 leylines. I'm sure there are better side board choices, I just can't come up with them. I'm also considering gigadrowse for early game control. turn 2 silence, turn 3 gigadrowse is good tempo control and allows you to pop a scepter turn 4 with no problems.
Interesting deck idea, and welcome to MTGSalvation forums! In my signature below is a helpful link on how to tag cards, decks, etc, that you might find helpful in the future.
As to your deck, it's an interesting idea. What are you typically imprinting on the Isochron Scepter early on? Fogs, counter magic? It appears from the list that, even with Fog in the deck, you will run into serious issues with red deck wins/boss sligh.
ya, thats why i mentioned the leylines in the sideboard, because RDW is such a big problem for the deck, I need a good SB for it. for the first scepter target it really depends on the deck im playing. a remade on a scepter is really awesome because not only do you counter their early turns, you get card draws off it every time. but if its creature/aggro heavy FOG is certainly top priority with counters for their anti-artifact drops. but also ifnothing else, silence on turn 3 and every turn afterward seems to lock things down very effectively. I've also been toying with rule of law SB for RDW and The Rock. I can remade their only spell for the turn, draw a card and use a 2nd scepter on my turn with a lightning helix or lighting bolt on it for the win.
There Is a deck tag that makes lists infinitely easier to read. Personally I think you are going to have trouble with this list. You have some good synergies but you are really reliant on having specific cards with practically no way to draw so you can't mulligan too aggressively or you will never get back into the game. Also decks like Scapeshift can either outright kill you and with you putting on very little pressure tron can just sit there and use academy ruins and oblivion stone all day.
There are a lot of really powerful combos and wincons in modern and traditional control decks are just begging to be top decked to death. With only 23 lands you are kindof light and you won't be able to reasonably get to the 6 or 7 mana you need to be able to respond to threats and advance your own position. In addition to this you do not have the card advantage needed to be able to answer every threat, play lands, and still advance your own position.
I have tried scepter decks before and was just never really impressed. I don't mean to discourage you as I definitely think it has potential but I just want to see there is definitely work to be done.
A problem you are going to have (and a comment you are going to see a lot) is that abrupt decay makes scepter decks unplayable. While i dont kno if that is true, i do think you need to run something that protects ur specters.
Like Simic Charm (which gives all ur permanments hexproof, therefore stops decay) while not being a dead card against non-decay decks (it lets you bounce creatures). Other than that Id like to see a scepter deck do well so good luck
that's a good call for simic charm I never actually looked at that card before. I have been trying to figure out a counter to abrupt decay. It has been a problem. but realistically they are not in every deck, they are certainly in rock, jund, zoo etc. so for the rest of the field, I can keep scepter protected. I'm going to try out simic charm, it looks usable.
and to jfw239: what is tron going to do VS early turn silence? i silence you at your upkeep every turn.... what can tron play? but with scapeshift I've only come up against it once. It was a problem. I'm still trying to figure that out, which is why I posted a list here
a bit off topic, but I'm trying to make links to the cards and I don't think it's working. all I need to do is ad ] before and after each card, correct?
Well leyline of sanctity helps against scapeshift also so I think that is a great start for a SB. In addition to abrupt decay you will see a good amount of disenchants and stony silence the like that are dedicated hate for affinity. You just kindof have to deal with the fact that a lot of hate for one of the most popular decks overlaps with your deck and you will need to be prepared. If fog is one of your go to cards I would recommend adding the 4th to the sideboard to do all you can to get it in the matches you need it in. Also cards like memoricide are going to wreck you; I always like to have a backup plan. A 1 of Aetherling may be worth looking into. I would like to see a few more utility lands in here like desolate lighthouse to get you to the gas you need.
Also do not underestimate tron, if you have a hand with muddle the mixture trying to grab a scepter they may have already dropped a Karn by the time you are able to drop the scepter. You are a deck that tries to go late and Tron is about as good as it gets in the late game.
Also you may want to consider city of brass or mana confluence if you have mana issues in the future. They are horrible against burn but against most decks the life loss should not matter much. 2 or 3 of them to stabilize the mana base would not be too terribly risky.
The best thing to do would be to test as much as possible and try anything that seems decent. Cockatrice is a great program that allows you to test the cards before you actually commit to buy them.
I like your suggestions jwf. I haven't really had any problems with colors, but having a card drawing land would be nice. the way it plays is rather slow and concise, as a control deck should. I am rarely without 4-5 cards in hand unless I'm against the rock/ the rack decks.
also you're right about tron. I'm not underestimating it, I just know it's beatable depending on the cards drawn/used there isn't much I would want to SB against it. maybe gigadrowse to slow it down the first few turns. and yes, I know I need more testing don't we all? but the great thing about this deck is that it's adaptable.
I have a few buddies playing around with versions. the one guy made it more resource denial with boomerangs and ]Hokori, Dust Drinker] I forget what else. My other buddy went with turn denial with more black. running dash hopes and rule of law. I'm still confident a straight control build is the best, without trying to be janky combo. I might try the aetherling idea. no point in not testing it.
a bit off topic, but I'm trying to make links to the cards and I don't think it's working. all I need to do is ad ] before and after each card, correct?
No. You can click the single card image while highlighting the card name. Or you can use [card*][/card*]tags. Just remove the asterisks. Scepter seems good, but I feel like there are so many angles of attack in modern.
Not exactly sure what you'd put on scepter to account for all of that. Silence does sound fun though, but can still be responded to. In standard I tried playing silence and render silent. Didn't work well, but it would have been funny had it worked.
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Not playing much these days... hope all is well in the MtG community
EDH:
Zur, The Enchanter
Modern:
Burn
Legacy:
Cheeri0s
Burn
Thank you for the card explanation, I'm going to fix that in a moment. Also, I probably did post this a little early, I'm still testing it. Now that I have what I believe to be a good core build, I'm going to start tracking game W/L and what happened in each to see what's useful, what's for sure working/not working. I'll report my findings in a few days.
One other thing. I am main boarding the Simic Charm. they have a LOT of synergy with the deck. if I have no need for protection in a game, I can simply bounce snapcaster and grab more stuff out of my grave. so it works better than I thought it would, It's getting main boarded.
How important is your fogs being one mana? Dawn Charm can be found with Muddle the Mixture and has a not-entirely-irrelevant Gifts Ungiven and burn spell protection.
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so without further adieu:
Muddle The Scepter
Lands
2 Breeding Pool
4 Hallowed Fountain
1 Island
4 Steam Vents
2 Watery Grave
2 Mutavault
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Scalding Tarn
Creatures
2 Snapcaster Mage
Spells
4 Lightning Helix
2 Lightning Bolt
3 Fog
4 Silence
3 Remand
2 Wrath of God
2 Telling Time
4 Muddle the Mixture
4 Isochron Scepter
3 Holy Day
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Spell Snare
Sideboard
SB: 1 Wrath of God
SB: 2 Abrupt Decay
SB: 3 Rest in Peace
SB: 3 Torpor Orb
SB: 4 Leyline of Sanctity
SB: 2 Rewind
As to your deck, it's an interesting idea. What are you typically imprinting on the Isochron Scepter early on? Fogs, counter magic? It appears from the list that, even with Fog in the deck, you will run into serious issues with red deck wins/boss sligh.
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Modern:
Melira PodRIP 1/19/15GWHatebearsThere are a lot of really powerful combos and wincons in modern and traditional control decks are just begging to be top decked to death. With only 23 lands you are kindof light and you won't be able to reasonably get to the 6 or 7 mana you need to be able to respond to threats and advance your own position. In addition to this you do not have the card advantage needed to be able to answer every threat, play lands, and still advance your own position.
I have tried scepter decks before and was just never really impressed. I don't mean to discourage you as I definitely think it has potential but I just want to see there is definitely work to be done.
Like Simic Charm (which gives all ur permanments hexproof, therefore stops decay) while not being a dead card against non-decay decks (it lets you bounce creatures). Other than that Id like to see a scepter deck do well so good luck
and to jfw239: what is tron going to do VS early turn silence? i silence you at your upkeep every turn.... what can tron play? but with scapeshift I've only come up against it once. It was a problem. I'm still trying to figure that out, which is why I posted a list here
Also do not underestimate tron, if you have a hand with muddle the mixture trying to grab a scepter they may have already dropped a Karn by the time you are able to drop the scepter. You are a deck that tries to go late and Tron is about as good as it gets in the late game.
Also you may want to consider city of brass or mana confluence if you have mana issues in the future. They are horrible against burn but against most decks the life loss should not matter much. 2 or 3 of them to stabilize the mana base would not be too terribly risky.
The best thing to do would be to test as much as possible and try anything that seems decent. Cockatrice is a great program that allows you to test the cards before you actually commit to buy them.
also you're right about tron. I'm not underestimating it, I just know it's beatable depending on the cards drawn/used there isn't much I would want to SB against it. maybe gigadrowse to slow it down the first few turns. and yes, I know I need more testing don't we all? but the great thing about this deck is that it's adaptable.
I have a few buddies playing around with versions. the one guy made it more resource denial with boomerangs and ]Hokori, Dust Drinker] I forget what else. My other buddy went with turn denial with more black. running dash hopes and rule of law. I'm still confident a straight control build is the best, without trying to be janky combo. I might try the aetherling idea. no point in not testing it.
No. You can click the single card image while highlighting the card name. Or you can use [card*][/card*]tags. Just remove the asterisks. Scepter seems good, but I feel like there are so many angles of attack in modern.
Not exactly sure what you'd put on scepter to account for all of that. Silence does sound fun though, but can still be responded to. In standard I tried playing silence and render silent. Didn't work well, but it would have been funny had it worked.
EDH:
Zur, The Enchanter
Modern:
Burn
Legacy:
Cheeri0s
Burn
One other thing. I am main boarding the Simic Charm. they have a LOT of synergy with the deck. if I have no need for protection in a game, I can simply bounce snapcaster and grab more stuff out of my grave. so it works better than I thought it would, It's getting main boarded.