Solid primer Cz. I'm still reading through it all and making adjustments based on meta to my Infect and Gate decks; both of which are similar in construction but different in execution due to the different mechanics.
It's clear you put a ton of effort and time into this. Cheers on a job well done.
@Macius: As far as LEDless vs. LED basically equaling Stability vs. Pure Power that's what I've picked up reading over the Primer. I'm happy to gain some stability at the loss of some power if it saves me $360. (I can't really say save since I can't see me ever spending that on 4 cards).
Thanks guys for the feedback. Much appreciated.
Thanks for the input. Yes, LEDs are out of my price range (literally and psychologically). I like that build (and yes Iona will work in my group). Is there a specific reason you prefer Tireless Tribe over Faithless Looting?
Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it.
What should I run iin place of the 2 DR's? I know the original build I've seen ran LED's but those are out of my price range.
So if I kept the DR's and cut 1 Ichorid and Thug I should still keep the Lootings?
4x Golgari Grave-Troll
4x Stinkweed Imp
4x Golgari Thug
4x Narcomeoba
4x Putrid Imp
4x Ichorid
Spells
4x Careful Study
4x Faithless Looting
4x Breakthrough
4x Cabal Therapy
2x Dread Return
4x Bridge from Below
Land
4x Gemstone Mine
4x City of Brass
4x Cephalid Coliseum
2x Undiscovered Paradise
4x Nature's Claim
1x Dread Return
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
To start: this will mostly be for casual play, but I posted here because 1) You guys will have the best advice as you all play the deck regularly 2) Once I have the deck built, I will be more inclined to hunt down local (or relatively local as it's dead in my immediate area) Legacy events and would like the deck to be as optimized as I can afford (no LED's).
Anyway, the deck is based on/inspired by the Quadlazer build but minus the LED's (for budget reasons). In their place I added 2 more lands (up to 14 like a typical LEDless deck) and 2 Dread Return's; these act as a sacrifice engine (when I don't need more Therapies) and as a bonus I can nab a fat Grave-Troll.
So I have a few questions:
1) Is the "Quadlazer" base the way to go? It was recommened I cut the MD returns, but what should I add in their palce? Or should I cut a few draw spells, and a Golgari Thug to add a couple of main deck DR targets? Flame-Kin Zealot, Iona, Sphinx of Lost Truths etc.?
2) Another card I've considered is Street Wraith - it's free, uncounterable card draw at instant speed, which can have it's uses. I'm just not sure what to cut to add it in.
3) Another consideration is cutting 2 Lands and the 2 DR's and 4 Looting to add in 4 Lotus Petals and 4 One with Nothing - not nearly as consistent as LED + Looting but can give me the potential for really fast starts.
Any advice you guys can give me is greatly appreciated. Cheers.
I like the One with Nothing, though using it first turn may be a waste as I'll have no draw spells in hand and nothing I can cast from the yard (no Mana for Looting). I could try cutting 2 lands, 2 DR's and 4 Looting to add 4 Lotus Petals and 4 One with Nothing. It will give me the opportunity for obscene first turn plays (though obviously not as consistent as LED's)
I added the Dread returns for 2 reasons 1) I needed 3 cards to fill out the deck. 2) I remember seeing some builds that used DR in the Main without any dedicated targets solely as a sacrifice engine for more zombies. As I said, I could always cut the Looting and go to a more typical LEDless build.
As far as the numbers (of lands and Thugs etc), that kind of fine tuning will probably come down to testing.
Thanks for the input
As i said this was an adaption from LED Quad Lazer. I could always go back to the typical LEDless version without Looting and add in couple of DR targets.
The other thought I had for the MD was dropping 2 lands and 2 DR for 4 Street Wraith - it's free, uncounterable draw and a creature to exile for Ichorid; but I don't think 12 lands (4 of the being Cephalid Coliseum) would be enough.
4x Golgari Grave-Troll
4x Stinkweed Imp
4x Golgari Thug
4x Narcomeoba
4x Putrid Imp
4x Ichorid
Spells
4x Careful Study
4x Faithless Looting
4x Breakthrough
4x Cabal Therapy
2x Dread Return
4x Bridge from Below
Land
4x Gemstone Mine
4x City of Brass
4x Cephalid Coliseum
2x Undiscovered Paradise
4x Nature's Claim
1x Dread Return
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
It's based on the Quadlazer build but minus the LED's (for obvious budget reasons). In their place I added 2 more lands (up to 14 like a typical LEDless deck) and 2 Dread Return's; these can net me a decent sized Grave-Troll while also giving me a sac outlet for Narcomeoba's if I feel I don't need to cast multiple Therapies.
So my question is, how does it look? I'm not sure if the "Quadlazer" build is right without LED's. Does this look like it may work, or should I go back to a more typical LEDless build without Looting and add in a couple of DR targets MD?
I'm guessing the Devour Flesh is due to the mana cost? BB can be hard to cast at times with colorless lands.
On top of the cards you mentioned is Victim of Night; but that has the same BB issue.
Yeah it's my fault. I saw the title and I think I subconsciously ignored the Modern part (seriously, all I remember seeing was "Swag Flu - Budget Mono Black Infect"), and when I was skimming the post (because I remembered reading it before) I didn't notice the Modern part again. Sorry about that.
I do like the deck though (I adapted the name for my MB Infect - the list in my sig. is out of date though as the deck is out of commission right now being modified), and did get some ideas from your original thread. I just made mine Vintage legal since I play it in casual.
I also agree with Disfigure: 9 times out of ten it's used as removal so having it at Instant speed can be very important.