So I decided to make a Rakdos aggro deck, but I figured out I don't like to be too aggressive in play and the deck turned out to be somewhat early defensive, midgame control, and using mana ramps going to drop powerful creatures or just burn opponents.
(I'm going to face many times my friend's Planeswalker deck, which has weenie defenders-mana rampers/fixers, he has got about 10 Planeswalkers in deck and midgame he also creates many tokens, he has also got ie. counters)
Yes, I know I wrote 22x Swamp here. I'm just unsure of the cards and when I'll be sure I'll count how many of each mana do my cards use and then I'll add proper amount of each land.
I should really be prepared for anything, from Leyline of Sanctity through Cryptic Command to a swarm of tokens.
Probably I'm going to use 4x Creeping Tar Pit, for several reasons:
* It can't be blocked
* It can't be countered
* I'm also considering using Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker or Cruel Ultimatum
This deck is not modern competetive. I doub't your friends is to if that is the metagame you are playing in. That is fine, if I have understood you correct.
It seems you want to use braid if fire and x spells. The mana from braid disapears between upkeep and does not carry over to your main phase. As this seem to be a key ingredience you can have som problems with it. Lobber Crew is not good with many multi coloured cards,and you do not have any almost. Willow of the wisp is not very good, although I had a period where I had it in every deck. It is understandable, but it is more of a fine blocker, and you do not need blocking?
Your good cards are nighthawk, mortars, dreadbore, slaughter game (dependable), p. arena. You need more between that and the big spells you have planed.
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I have dyslexia, no I am not going to spell check for you, yes you have to live with the horrors of it.
I'm thinking if splashing in green/blue would be a good idea.
I know green has an enchantment that lets you save mana. Anyone knows what was name of it and if is it legal in modern?
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You are going to want 4 lightning bolts in here, and then something to do with your mana from braid of fire. Check the gatherer for xspell that are at instant speed. I think that rakdos' return is one that you ould use.
Also maybe consider a few copies of shrine of burning rage. You can play it early, then use it once your friend plays a planeswalker to kill ito kill it. Also if tokens are an issue, volcanic fallout hits them and can also hit awalker.
Rakdos' Return doesn't look better than Banefire, actually it can be countered, and extra cost of B isn't so worthy of discard, with 5 mana I could deal 3 damage and make him discard 3 cards, but at the moment I'll get 5 mana my opponent will have 2 cards left in hand. Blightning seems to be better, doesn't it?
Shrine of Burning Rage... Dunno if it's good... Looks too slow.
On another note, thanks for suggestions! Adding Lightning Bolts, Volcanic Fallout's going to be great, even better because it hits opponent when he has got hexproof.
//Edit: I just realized that Braid of Fire will hurt me more because of mana burn than I'd get from it. I'll remove those cards and the deck needs greater revision. I'll keep Crypt Ghasts for an alpha strike with Banefire, though.
Black certainly offers more disruption and additional ramp via Crypt Ghast, but mono-red could go with maindeck Blood Moon in order to get some free wins against all the fancy lands running around in Modern.
Hehe, it seems like the deck is going to be somewhat Control-Midrange.
It depends on what kind of lands you have access to. If you have Scalding tarn then you might be able to get away with a few islands to play Nicobolas. Otherwise it might be better to stick to the RB plan.
You are probably going to want to take out the braid of fire if you don't want to include a decent amount of instant speed spells to use the mana before you get to your draw step.
That gives you a lot of gold cards to untap your lobber crews, lots of ways to kill creatures, Dreadbore & Bligntning can kill walkers, and you can end up just burning them out with Ligntning bolt, Shrine of burning Rage, or a really big Rakdos's Return!
Why do you innsist on running the lobber crew? Even with all the multicoloured spells it is horrible in my opinion. At least add vent sentinel if you want to have walls for pinging his plain walkers. But most of all I would use chandra's phoenix for your 3 mana.
Have to agree with VidarThor. Braid of Fire was pretty much the only interesting thing going on in the deck. As it stands right now, your spell suite is pretty nice, but the rest seems a bit unfocused.
The only reason to run things like Lobber Crew, in my opinion, is if you're maindecking spells like Pyroclasm, and Volcanic Fallout... regardless of how many multicolored spells you're running.
Nicol Bolas is not worth the strain on your mana base. Ditto for Creeping Tar Pit. Crypt Ghast is your only scary creature, and will therefore draw all the hate. But even if it does live, it's not really powering out anything backbreaking. Your two-of Rakdos's Return hardly seems consistent enough to justify it's inclusion. Finally, I'm pretty sure Pyromancer Ascension doesn't belong in this deck.
Unless I'm forgetting something, you don't get to do anything with the braid of fire mana in this deck as it stands. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Also as they said, you need better mana if you are going to play nico nico.
I'm playing Tar Pit b/c it can't be countered nor blocked, which is important when playing on octgn. (mutavault dies to a token, unblockable creatures get countered)
Should I replace Nicol with Sorin or just add Crumbling Necropolis/Watery Grave/Steam Vents?
The other option to play this would be to remove most of creatures, leave something like Chandra's Phoenix and go with board sweepers?
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We understand the benefits of Creeping Tar Pit, but you only play it if you're already in blue/black and can afford an 'enters the battlefield tapped' land. You don't branch out into a new color for it. If it was that good, wouldn't every single deck ever made do the same thing and just cram it in there somehow? Tar Pit might not get countered or blocked, but it can still be killed via land destruction and instant speed removal. It's a great card, but it shouldn't be forced, imo.
I would drop Bolas and Tar Pit. Focus on red/black. Lavaclaw Reaches can be blocked, sure, but you're (currently) running 12 creature kill spells and 2 Mogis. You should be able to clear the way. And at least the Reaches is a mana sink for all that phat Crypt Ghast mana...
So 4x Tar Pit -> 4x Lavaclaw,
2x Nicol, 1x Ascension -> 3x Braid of Fire?
Or should I go with just several creatures like Chandra's Phoenix, and mass removal/damage such as Damnation and Pyroclasm? It might not be a bad idea.
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No Braid. It's a completely different style of deck and would require a total overhaul. Based on your original post, the sweeper + resilient creature plan might be solid against your friend. Also, Hero's Downfall might be better than terminate if he's running lots of planeswalkers.
I'm not 100% sure I'll be facing exactly that deck, he has got many strong decks.
I might put 3x Hero's Downfall in place of Braid of Fire, Lobber Crew -> Damnation, Vampire Nighthawk -> Chandra's Phoenix, Crypt Ghast -> Necroplasm maybe?
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I'm not 100% sure I'll be facing exactly that deck, he has got many strong decks.
I might put 3x Hero's Downfall in place of Braid of Fire, Lobber Crew -> Damnation, Vampire Nighthawk -> Chandra's Phoenix, Crypt Ghast -> Necroplasm maybe?
If you are going to keep in the Dreadbore, then you probably should just decide between it, or 1 more mana to cast it at instant speed.
Also if you want to include Lava Claw, then you should keep in Crypt Ghast to make it really big. What about something like:
Playtested what I posted vs his artifact deck. It was tough, but I slaughter-game'd all his wincons! In 3rd game he dropped me down to 1 health when he was on 18 (nasty ethersworn canonist turn 1 and lodestone golem turn 2...), but later I managed to stay on 1 health since all he kept drawing was lands, Ornithopters and Spellskites, then I just started to attack with Tar Pits and he surrendered it wasn't even his average deck, though...
I might go with that setup you posted, but I'm gonna run my sideboard like before since it was more versatile, maybe just +2 Volcanic Fallout. And probably I'll drop one or two Crypt Ghasts, probably I'll add more lands since I had to discard those. 24 lands is quite much though, possibly additional ones are going to be fetch or cycling lands.
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I'm interested in how he played canonist turn 1, and a lodestone golem turn 2.
Also if you really want to play the creeping tar pits, you are going to have to include some fetch lands like Scalding Tarn & some Watery Grave. so you can actually play them. Also if you are going to play a deck with Tar Pits, you are going to want to have at least 24 lands at a minimum.
He was playing artifact deck, so:
t1: ornithopter, darksteel citadel - 1, mox opal - 1W
t2: another land, taps them for 2 mana, tap mox opal, place another opal destroying old one, tap it - 4 mana
it was a lucky hand for him, though
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Ahh, you took out the braids? I was going to suggest magmaquake as a good catch-all answer to the walker and tokens deck. Being instant speed makes it an excellent choice in a deck that builds mana like no tomorrow.
Obviously you can add fancy lands as needed. Lots of double red spells, but since it's your only color, a couple Tectonic Edges might be okay. Certainly Magmaquake from M15 pairs well with Braid of Fire, and spells like Pyroclasm and Volcanic Fallout/Anger of the Gods are sweet, but that would require a slightly different creature base (i.e. Chandra's Phoenix and such). Or maybe a creatureless build to get some virtual card advantage by blanking opposing removal. Lots of fun options to think about.
Could probably lose the Blood Moon and add some black. Just need to find some black instants and/or creatures that pair well with a bunch of upkeep-only red mana. I'm sure there are a few options. I just already had this deck on my phone so I figured I'd post it as a discussion starter. Originally mono-red to take advantage of Blood Moon and the fact that Braid of Fire makes only red mana, but no reason we can't modify it. I'll edit this if I get a chance to check out some black cards that might jive with the concept.
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(I'm going to face many times my friend's Planeswalker deck, which has weenie defenders-mana rampers/fixers, he has got about 10 Planeswalkers in deck and midgame he also creates many tokens, he has also got ie. counters)
4x Thoughtseize
2x Banefire
1x Diabolic Revelation
4x Mizzium Mortars
4x Terminate
2x Will-o'-the-Wisp
3x Lobber Crew
3x Vampire Nighthawk
3x Crypt Ghast
1x Mogis, God of Slaughter
2x Rune-scarred Demon
1x Griselbrand
4x Braid of Fire
3x Phyrexian Arena
22x Swamp
4x Slaughter Games
4x Dreadbore
3x Ratchet Bomb
2x Breath of Malfegor
2x Summoning Trap
Yes, I know I wrote 22x Swamp here. I'm just unsure of the cards and when I'll be sure I'll count how many of each mana do my cards use and then I'll add proper amount of each land.
I should really be prepared for anything, from Leyline of Sanctity through Cryptic Command to a swarm of tokens.
Probably I'm going to use 4x Creeping Tar Pit, for several reasons:
* It can't be blocked
* It can't be countered
* I'm also considering using Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker or Cruel Ultimatum
Verdanon: Genesis | Rise of Kaleshia
It seems you want to use braid if fire and x spells. The mana from braid disapears between upkeep and does not carry over to your main phase. As this seem to be a key ingredience you can have som problems with it. Lobber Crew is not good with many multi coloured cards,and you do not have any almost. Willow of the wisp is not very good, although I had a period where I had it in every deck. It is understandable, but it is more of a fine blocker, and you do not need blocking?
Your good cards are nighthawk, mortars, dreadbore, slaughter game (dependable), p. arena. You need more between that and the big spells you have planed.
I'm thinking if splashing in green/blue would be a good idea.
I know green has an enchantment that lets you save mana. Anyone knows what was name of it and if is it legal in modern?
Verdanon: Genesis | Rise of Kaleshia
Also maybe consider a few copies of shrine of burning rage. You can play it early, then use it once your friend plays a planeswalker to kill ito kill it. Also if tokens are an issue, volcanic fallout hits them and can also hit awalker.
Shrine of Burning Rage... Dunno if it's good... Looks too slow.
On another note, thanks for suggestions! Adding Lightning Bolts, Volcanic Fallout's going to be great, even better because it hits opponent when he has got hexproof.
//Edit: I just realized that Braid of Fire will hurt me more because of mana burn than I'd get from it. I'll remove those cards and the deck needs greater revision. I'll keep Crypt Ghasts for an alpha strike with Banefire, though.
Verdanon: Genesis | Rise of Kaleshia
Cards that might work well with Braid of Fire include Comet Storm, Volcanic Geyser, Goblin Cannon, Flamekin Brawler, Spikeshot Elder, Ashling the Pilgrim, Dragon Hatchling, Everflame Eidolon, Falkenrath Exterminator, Flamekin Spitfire, Increasing Vengeance, etc.
Black certainly offers more disruption and additional ramp via Crypt Ghast, but mono-red could go with maindeck Blood Moon in order to get some free wins against all the fancy lands running around in Modern.
Hehe, it seems like the deck is going to be somewhat Control-Midrange.
Verdanon: Genesis | Rise of Kaleshia
It depends on what kind of lands you have access to. If you have Scalding tarn then you might be able to get away with a few islands to play Nicobolas. Otherwise it might be better to stick to the RB plan.
You are probably going to want to take out the braid of fire if you don't want to include a decent amount of instant speed spells to use the mana before you get to your draw step.
What about something like:
4 Crypt Ghast
4 Lobber Crew
2 Mogis, God of Slaughter
4 Blightning
4 Terminate
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Rakdos's Return
2 Shrine of Burning Rage
24 lands
That gives you a lot of gold cards to untap your lobber crews, lots of ways to kill creatures, Dreadbore & Bligntning can kill walkers, and you can end up just burning them out with Ligntning bolt, Shrine of burning Rage, or a really big Rakdos's Return!
4x Dreadbore
4x Blightning
4x Terminate
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Crypt Ghast
4x Lobber Crew
2x Mogis, God of Slaughter
2x Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1x Pyromancer Ascension
4x Creeping Tar Pit
4x Blood Crypt
6x Mountain
8x Swamp
Sideboard:
Verdanon: Genesis | Rise of Kaleshia
What will creeping tar pit do for you? Come into play tapped, not fix your mana, and not become a creature unless you draw 2? No no no. Add in the braid of fire (as it is good with your crypt ghast) and then use lavaclaw reaches. Much better for you. Also play with volcanic geyser comet storm Jiwari, the Earth Aflame and magmaquake.
The only reason to run things like Lobber Crew, in my opinion, is if you're maindecking spells like Pyroclasm, and Volcanic Fallout... regardless of how many multicolored spells you're running.
Nicol Bolas is not worth the strain on your mana base. Ditto for Creeping Tar Pit. Crypt Ghast is your only scary creature, and will therefore draw all the hate. But even if it does live, it's not really powering out anything backbreaking. Your two-of Rakdos's Return hardly seems consistent enough to justify it's inclusion. Finally, I'm pretty sure Pyromancer Ascension doesn't belong in this deck.
Also as they said, you need better mana if you are going to play nico nico.
Should I replace Nicol with Sorin or just add Crumbling Necropolis/Watery Grave/Steam Vents?
The other option to play this would be to remove most of creatures, leave something like Chandra's Phoenix and go with board sweepers?
Verdanon: Genesis | Rise of Kaleshia
I would drop Bolas and Tar Pit. Focus on red/black. Lavaclaw Reaches can be blocked, sure, but you're (currently) running 12 creature kill spells and 2 Mogis. You should be able to clear the way. And at least the Reaches is a mana sink for all that phat Crypt Ghast mana...
2x Nicol, 1x Ascension -> 3x Braid of Fire?
Or should I go with just several creatures like Chandra's Phoenix, and mass removal/damage such as Damnation and Pyroclasm? It might not be a bad idea.
Verdanon: Genesis | Rise of Kaleshia
I might put 3x Hero's Downfall in place of Braid of Fire, Lobber Crew -> Damnation, Vampire Nighthawk -> Chandra's Phoenix, Crypt Ghast -> Necroplasm maybe?
Verdanon: Genesis | Rise of Kaleshia
If you are going to keep in the Dreadbore, then you probably should just decide between it, or 1 more mana to cast it at instant speed.
Also if you want to include Lava Claw, then you should keep in Crypt Ghast to make it really big. What about something like:
4x Dreadbore
4x Blightning
4x Terminate
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Vampire Nighthawk
4x Crypt Ghast
4x Chandra's Phoenix
2x Mogis, God of Slaughter
4x Phyrexian Arena
4x Lavaclaw Reaches
4x Blood Crypt
4x Mountain
2x Arid Mesa
4x Marsh Flats
4x Swamp
4x Volcanic Fallout
2x Durress
4x Thoughtsieze
2x Hero's Downfall
3x Slaughtergames
I might go with that setup you posted, but I'm gonna run my sideboard like before since it was more versatile, maybe just +2 Volcanic Fallout. And probably I'll drop one or two Crypt Ghasts, probably I'll add more lands since I had to discard those. 24 lands is quite much though, possibly additional ones are going to be fetch or cycling lands.
Verdanon: Genesis | Rise of Kaleshia
Also if you really want to play the creeping tar pits, you are going to have to include some fetch lands like Scalding Tarn & some Watery Grave. so you can actually play them. Also if you are going to play a deck with Tar Pits, you are going to want to have at least 24 lands at a minimum.
Also Cycle lands aren't in Modern.
t1: ornithopter, darksteel citadel - 1, mox opal - 1W
t2: another land, taps them for 2 mana, tap mox opal, place another opal destroying old one, tap it - 4 mana
it was a lucky hand for him, though
Verdanon: Genesis | Rise of Kaleshia
Credit to DolZero for this awesome sig!
4 Grim Lavamancer
3 Spikeshot Elder
3 Ashling the Pilgrim
4 Comet Storm
4 Volcanic Geyser
4 Blood Moon
3 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
1 Goblin Cannon
1 Koth of the Hammer
Obviously you can add fancy lands as needed. Lots of double red spells, but since it's your only color, a couple Tectonic Edges might be okay. Certainly Magmaquake from M15 pairs well with Braid of Fire, and spells like Pyroclasm and Volcanic Fallout/Anger of the Gods are sweet, but that would require a slightly different creature base (i.e. Chandra's Phoenix and such). Or maybe a creatureless build to get some virtual card advantage by blanking opposing removal. Lots of fun options to think about.
Verdanon: Genesis | Rise of Kaleshia