I did not take notes of my opening hands, but will try to remember what I did have.
Round 1: vs. Eldrazi Tron Game 1: I'm on the play, he Thought-Knot Seered my Ancient Stirrings on turn 3 I think. I cast Wurmcoil Engine to halt his board of Seer, Matter Reshaper and another creature which I cannot remember. I chained 2 Vessel of Nascencys, reaching Delirium (a land was binned when I got 1 Vessel). He cast the 6cmc eldrazi that searches for an Eldrazi with cmc 7 or greater and got Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger. I cast another Vessel. He cast Ulamog to exile Wurmcoil and a Utopia Sprawl(a wrong play that he did admit after; he should have exiled the Forest it enchants). I activate Vessel and got a land. I topdecked Ancient Stirrings, cast it, got Goblin Charbelcher, cast it and activate for lethal. Game 2: I was able to cast a turn 2 Belcher. Killed him on the fourth turn. STANDING: 1-0 (2-0)
Round 2: vs. UW Hatebears, featuring Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Leonin Arbiter and Aether Vial Game 1: I go first. He mulled down to 6, I mulled down to 5 without a land in hand, but scryed a land on top. I passed the turn without any play. He only had 1 land, no Vial, and never got another land until the 5th turn. I meanwhile developed my board via Vessels, achieved Delirium on the first activation (binning a land, getting Sakura-Tribe Elder). I cast 2 Traverse the Ulvenwald, fetching Wurmcoil Engine, both of which he Path to Exiled. I cast Belcher with just the Stomping Ground as the remaining land in my deck. Game 2: He mulled down to 5, but had a better opening, with Leonin Arbiter on turn 2. I cast Oath of Nissa, getting Sakura-Tribe Elder. Cast two of them, managing my mana to be able to pay to search. He was able to put me down to 8 with attacks from Arbiter and Mutavault, and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, blocking one of them with Wall of Roots. I Firespout his board. I was able to cast Chancellor of the Tangle, and beat him down to 9 with it.The next turn, I attacked, he blocked with Mutavault, and was able to find and cast a Goblin Charbelcher for the win. STANDING: 2-0 (4-0)
Game 3: vs. BW Tokens Game 1: I mulled to 5. He took 5 to Thoughtseize my Stirrings. I was able to develop my board, while he was beating me with Lingering Souls tokens buffed with 1 Intangible Virtue. I was able to cast Goblin Charbelcher but have 3 more lands in my deck, while I was down to 1. I tried belching, and hit just for 7. I lost. Game 2: He mulled down to 5 but had a good topdeck. When I was able to cast my Belcher on turn 3, he topdecked Stony Silence. He had a board with 2 flying spirits and 2 soldiers from Raise the Alarm, cast Zealous Persecution. I took 8, then was able to cast Firespout. I cast Wurmcoil Engine, buffed my life a bit, and then on one play, he Duressed and in response, I cast Nature's Claim on his Stony Silence. He died the next turn on Belch for 26. Game 3: We kept our opening hand. He had Shambling Vent, I had an opening Chancellor of the Tangle, cast Utopia Sprawl on a Forest, cast Wall of Roots, cast Safewright Quest to get a basic Forest. He Thoughtseized, getting Ancient Stirrings. I topdecked Belcher, and he promptly died the next turn. STANDING: 3-0 (6-1)
My thoughts:
1. Vessel of Nascency is an all-star, better than Ancient Stirrings in the deck. I cannot believe I was able to accidentally hit Delirium on turn 3, enabling my Traverse the Ulvenwald to get 2 Wurmcoil Engines.
2. Oath of Nissa is fine, given that the list I had have almost 50/50 chance to hit a card (29 creature/land cards out of 60).
3. I will still stick to Wurmcoil Engine, but might ship the Batterskull for another Wurmcoil. Maybe, 4 Wurmcoils and 1 Batterskull.
4. Primal Command is actually a good card in the deck. There was a point wherein I will be able to topdeck one of my opponent's lands and search for Wurmcoil Engine on the 3rd turn; I just didn't do it because I was already holding one, and because I need to cast something that will fetch me another land to cast Wurmcoil.
5. Firespout is nuts. I believe it is better than [card]
Return[/card] because it deals 3 damage rather than 2. Saved me from being overrun by tokens.
I ran your list at my local modern night with some success. I got blown out by affinity one round but won vs burn and control.
The biggest failure for me was Oath of Nissa. I threw away charbelchers left and right and at the end of the night, I was reconsidering this card. The chances of getting a land are low, the creatures I would grab aren't my win con, and I'm not playing any planeswalkers.
That being said, I'm not sure what to replace it with. I think I'll invest in another low mana cost creature that can block for me.
Not gonna lie, its a cool idea but a very very bad deck. If youre playing UW in modern, you basically need to have straight control. This is a cool idea for a deck but it wont ever do anything against most decks. Zoo will play a burn spell on your turn and a creature on theirs, eventually you'll be out of answers. Same with every matchup. There isn't a single teir 1 deck this deck would be good against.
I havent faced zoo yet. However, being aggroed is a problem. Im still play testing to get a list id like to take to my lgs.
The intent was never to consistently beat tier one. Im building a budget rogue deck. It does play more tempoish.
This is the very start of the it. Even ill admit, it needs work and may nevr work.
Made up an experimental sideboard for any unknown meta.
3 Windborn Muse -> vs Aggro. With Kira worth paying one more mana than for GP.
3 Aegis of the Gods -> budget Leyline, unkillable with kira? YES PLEASE
3 Rest in Peace -> vs GY-decks.
3 Stony Silence -> Affinity, KCI, Pod
3 Meddling Mage -> controlmatchup, just know them cards.
I also took out Gifts and Call for 2 Spell Snare and 2 DeSphere. More control. We got time.
Edit:
Cards that can deal with us:
Combust
Obliterate
Volcanic Fallout
Supreme Verdict
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
I looked up every uncounterable massremoval card, they may be more but this is a nice start to know actual threats.
Sovereigns of Lost Alara may be useful with Call to the Kindred. It is expensive but if it goes off, i don't see how it wouldn't be a game ender. It can also be played with Call to the Kindred.
I think that one problem with the Eidolon of Rhetoric is that you truly only want one on the board. The same goes for Spirit of the Labyrinth. I found myself casting more than one. Dakra is fine with a double on the field. Therefore, I wanted to cut them to make some room.
I think that Tallowisp can be useful in a deck like this in order to pull call to the kindred out. I also really like it as a 1/3 blocker. It is in bolt range, but once it comes into play it has exhausted it's usefulness.
The main problem I wanted to avoid was pulling using Call to the Kindred without a gaming winning or atleast powerful creature. So i might play test Yosei, he's probably one of the best bets. He can be a 6/6 flying hexproof that can make it an all-out swing next turn if he dies.
Tomorrow is just way too much mana. But i havent tested it.
Mass removal is a problem. Havent found answers other than moorland haunt and misthollow griffin .
I havnt playtested this deck at all, but I guess Tomorrow depends on how long the game goes.
Even if not playing Griffin, I think Moorland haunt is a great card anyways since we have no further plans of playing cards from our GY.
I have a question about Call to the Kindred: If you have 2 of these on the board, do you look at the top 5 and the next top 5 afterwards? I guess it potentially would snowball if it works that way.
Yes, they will trigger in order. Additionally, tallowisp can search for call to the kindred. I was gonna play test it. Because playing spirit of the lab before kira or drogskol is a bad move.
Sweet, I'll buy all the needed cards at the end of this week I guess.
Ill post the results here when I got some.
Edit: Update! I like the Idea of running Tomorrow, Azami's Familiar instead of gifts. It serves only us and doesn't render Azorius Charm's second ability useless.
Also, Kira > Drogskol. I made up several situations out of my mind, Kira wins in every one.
I guess the only cards we really have to fear are uncounterable mass-removals (looking at you, Supreme Verdict!) and this Ulvenwald dude(the 1cmc 1/1 with the pit fight ability -> or is this counterable by Kira? I don't quite know, never thought about this tbh).
Anyways, once I find someone who trades tix for cash on magiccardmarket im up for this deck. Seeing some potential there.
Kira is strictly better unless you like drogskol plus phantasmal image. That is a relatively xheap mass hexproof and plus 2 plus 2. Since we run rehetoric, they usually only get one spell so hexproof is kind of worthless comparatively to kira.
Tomorrow is just way too much mana. But i havent tested it.
Mass removal is a problem. Havent found answers other than moorland haunt and misthollow griffin .
Up for the testing crew when I buy tix next time.
I'll think about a possible sideboard right now
IGN: Skjall (if you want to share thoughts. And if you are on mtgo. )
Edit: Checked prices on mtggoldfish and mtgoacademy. Picture shows price per card in tix, always taking the lowest priced available card.
mtggoldfish came to a total price of 29,49 tix.
Note that I changed the manabase and used my one for calculations.
Im looking into starting mtgo to play test decks like this. Im mainly playing with a group of friends or at my lgs totest it. Im really interested in how matchups go.
This is an entirely new deck that revolves around Spirit of the Labyrinth and Eidolon of Rhetoric. The main concept is to use these two cards to control the game long enough and make use of their abilities with cards that can sneak around them. This is a budget deck by nature.
The Core
Eidolon of Rhetoric - Slows the game down, is out of bolt range, forces a response but only allows one spell to deal with it.
Dakra Mystic - This controls their top card. We can allow it to mill their card at the price of one of our own. However, with Spirit of the Labyrinth, they won't be able to draw after their initial draw phase.
Drogskol Captain or Kira, Great-Glass Spinner - These are crucial to protecting our spirits. The Drogskol Captain is the budget way to do this. Kira can provide the same protection but is better put to used with Eidolon of Rhetoric due to its ability to limit cards cast.
Your Choice of Spirits
There are a lot of options in the spirit category. If you plan on using Drogskol Captain, you may want to consider using these for an added boost.
Tallowisp - This can search for any enchant creature card. This pairs well with Call to the Kindred but does make it a huge target.
A good hand starts with Dakra Mystic or Eidolon of Rhetoric. Leave your mana open and use Dakra at the end of their turn, We can see what our opponent will draw into. If you know the major players in modern, you will know what cards you won't want them to have. Getting an early Spirit of the Labyrinth will get you card advantage and can trade with a lot of creatures. However, it will most likely get bolted down or removed. Sometimes, it's better to wait to play your Drogskol Captain and leave your mana open until then. We want to get Eidolon of Rhetoric out asap to lock them out. It's safely out of bolt range.
This is my first budget modern deck creation. It's by no means perfect but it's a lot of fun to play. Most control decks in modern are expensive, this was my attempt at trying to turn one into a budget deck. Please drop me a comment if you have any questions or would like to help the deck proceed.
So many options given this goes off. The only problem is that it makes a spirit a big target for removal. I could seeremoving some spells to make room.
Soulcatchers' Aerie is really useful with Supreme Verdict. You can clear the board and then begin to play more birds at a higher power and toughness.
Magus of the Moat Can come in handy due to the ability to keep big ground creatures off your back.
Airborne Aid is a huge card advantage if enough birds are out.
IF your really serious about the deck, you might want to try Aether Vial. It will help pump out birds in no time, leaving your mana open for other things.
Kira, Great Glass-Spinner is also what struck me here! If you lock the enemy anyways, with Kira he won't even be able to remove your spirits (If you won't get to play Drogskol, ofc)
Kira is strictly better than Drogskol. I'll admit that. He is a budget version of Kira for me. The added bonus being a little more power and toughness on my creatures. If i run into problems, I'll most likely try to swap in Kira and pay the extra for them.
I would be reluctant to add Tomorrow, Azami's Familiar simply because of the mana cost. It would let me "Draw" without interference by my spirit of the lab. However, I think its important to remember my win-con. I need my geists and my swans open to swing in the area once I've got the game under control. Tomorrow doesn't add any win condition but furthers my strategy a little. The nicest part of Tomorrow is being able to look ahead, that is important for my control. I could see it being a two of in the deck.
I feel the same way about Niblis of the Breath. I'd rather have dungeon geists out in order to keep a creature locked down and be able to swing, even if I sacrifice the choice of what to tap later on in the game. For the first build, I'm putting my money on Dungeon Geists. After play testing more, I might be inclined to make the change.
Thanks for your input guys. I have a lot of options to think about when considering changing the deck.
Took me a moment to realize it, but that's actually a fun little combo! If Misthollow Griffin ever dies, exile it with Moorland Haunt to make a spirit, and then you can recast it from exile.
Mooreland haunt could be a nice optional land for this. Cant believe i missed it.
So I've been bouncing around deck ideas with the new set in mind.
Spirit of the labyrinth and Eidolon of Rhetoric really struck my eye as good source of control. They are also spirit creature types. So I began brewing a control deck with those in mind. I've also been a big fan of Dakra Mystic so he makes an appearance as well.
This is the starting list. The idea mainly revolves around using Spirit of the Labyrinth and Dakra Mystic to control the top deck draw of your opponent. You can draw a card for free on their turn if you choose to. However, usually, you will know what card they will draw next given you use its ability. Spirit also allows us to play Arcane Denial risk free and Swans of Bryn Argoll risk free. They also have the added benefit of being spirits.
The Tribal Aspect of this deck comes from Drogskol Captain who is able to give our creatures a nice +1 / +1 effect but more importantly hexproof.
Control starts with Eidolon of Rhetoric who can hurt us but can also lock down the game for awhile. Dungeon Geists make an appearance for flying aggro, tribal appeal, and creature control. They've shown to be quite useful once on the board.
Dissolve explains itself. I was really reaching for more counter spells, could be put to use somewhere else. Azorius Charm can be used to put an attacking creature onto the top, then can be used with Dakra Mystic to mill that creature away if need be. It can also draw on someone else's turn. Rebuff the Wicked splashes to protect our Drogskol Captain if there is no counter spell available.
That's the basics of the deck. It's kind of a funky control tribal deck. I'm relatively pleased with the overall build. There are definitely ways to improve by adding more expensive cards. Overall, it is a budget deck. The entire deck might cost 20-30 dollars in singles.
I ran your list at my local modern night with some success. I got blown out by affinity one round but won vs burn and control.
The biggest failure for me was Oath of Nissa. I threw away charbelchers left and right and at the end of the night, I was reconsidering this card. The chances of getting a land are low, the creatures I would grab aren't my win con, and I'm not playing any planeswalkers.
That being said, I'm not sure what to replace it with. I think I'll invest in another low mana cost creature that can block for me.
Gurmag angler
5/5
6B
Delve
New delve card, I find it interesting because it can be a 5/5 for one black and is a zombie.
Thoughts?
I havent faced zoo yet. However, being aggroed is a problem. Im still play testing to get a list id like to take to my lgs.
The intent was never to consistently beat tier one. Im building a budget rogue deck. It does play more tempoish.
This is the very start of the it. Even ill admit, it needs work and may nevr work.
Good point. My issues was with speed. But if we play csll to the kindred, high mana cost spirits can be played.
My next issues is that hes not a threat because he cant swing for much. At the point we can play him, we need consistent damage getting in.
Yosei, The Morning Star would be a nice card to have on the field pending a board clear.
Sovereigns of Lost Alara may be useful with Call to the Kindred. It is expensive but if it goes off, i don't see how it wouldn't be a game ender. It can also be played with Call to the Kindred.
Kataki, War's Wage is also nice for side-board.
I like your side-board a lot. Has a lot of the standard side-board hate in it.
My new deck might look something like
4x Dakra Mystic
4x Tallowisp
3x Eidolon of Rhetoric
2x Drogskol Captain
3x Dungeon Geists
2x Yosei, The Morning Star
2x Kira, Great-Glass Spinner
4x Mana Leak
4x Azorius Charm
3x Call to the Kindred
I think that one problem with the Eidolon of Rhetoric is that you truly only want one on the board. The same goes for Spirit of the Labyrinth. I found myself casting more than one. Dakra is fine with a double on the field. Therefore, I wanted to cut them to make some room.
I think that Tallowisp can be useful in a deck like this in order to pull call to the kindred out. I also really like it as a 1/3 blocker. It is in bolt range, but once it comes into play it has exhausted it's usefulness.
The main problem I wanted to avoid was pulling using Call to the Kindred without a gaming winning or atleast powerful creature. So i might play test Yosei, he's probably one of the best bets. He can be a 6/6 flying hexproof that can make it an all-out swing next turn if he dies.
Yes, they will trigger in order. Additionally, tallowisp can search for call to the kindred. I was gonna play test it. Because playing spirit of the lab before kira or drogskol is a bad move.
Basically, another two drop wouldnt hurt.
Kira is strictly better unless you like drogskol plus phantasmal image. That is a relatively xheap mass hexproof and plus 2 plus 2. Since we run rehetoric, they usually only get one spell so hexproof is kind of worthless comparatively to kira.
Tomorrow is just way too much mana. But i havent tested it.
Mass removal is a problem. Havent found answers other than moorland haunt and misthollow griffin .
Im looking into starting mtgo to play test decks like this. Im mainly playing with a group of friends or at my lgs totest it. Im really interested in how matchups go.
Introduction
This is an entirely new deck that revolves around Spirit of the Labyrinth and Eidolon of Rhetoric. The main concept is to use these two cards to control the game long enough and make use of their abilities with cards that can sneak around them. This is a budget deck by nature.
The Core
Eidolon of Rhetoric - Slows the game down, is out of bolt range, forces a response but only allows one spell to deal with it.
Spirit of the Labyrinth - Discontinues their extra draws, allows us to draw extra cards and peek ahead with Dakra Mystic
Dakra Mystic - This controls their top card. We can allow it to mill their card at the price of one of our own. However, with Spirit of the Labyrinth, they won't be able to draw after their initial draw phase.
Drogskol Captain or Kira, Great-Glass Spinner - These are crucial to protecting our spirits. The Drogskol Captain is the budget way to do this. Kira can provide the same protection but is better put to used with Eidolon of Rhetoric due to its ability to limit cards cast.
Your Choice of Spirits
Tallowisp - This can search for any enchant creature card. This pairs well with Call to the Kindred but does make it a huge target.
Swans of Bryn Argoll - With Spirit of the Labyrinth, they most likely won't get to draw. This makes this creature unkillable by most means.
shape stealer - can block almost anything and can swing into almost anything.
Latch Seeker - 3/1 unblockable, can be used to beat on the enemy while we control
Hokori, Dust Drinker - This adds land control. I think it's a little overkill. But you could consider it in a total lock-out game.
Godhead of Awe - Makes everyone else weaker. We're not playing too much that pairs with it but it has a nice ability.
Dungeon Geists - These provide the benefit of tapping down a creature while leaving it open to swing in the air. I like these guys.
Celestial Kirin - Can be used to destroy other permanents. However, it does destroy stuff as well. This is semi-suicidal but good control.
Celestial Crusader - Can be played on their turn if we have our Eidolon of Rhetoric in play. It also can buff our guys up.
Azorius Herald - Gain 4 life unblockable isn't bad. Pairs nicely with drogskol for extra damage.
I may be missing some. Feel free to post any other spirits you may want to be using.
The Control
Azorius Charm - This card gives us options. Most importantly, Dakra Mystic can mill any card put on top of the library.
Spell Pierce - Can provide an early game counter spell for one of your spirits.
Mana Leak - Budget counter spell if we need
Dissolve - Costs a little more but the scry can be helpful.
Aether Shockwave - Taps all non-spirits. Pure Profit.
Supreme Verdict - This is our best available board clear.
Other Cards
Gifts Ungiven - Can help us gather cards.
Lingering Souls - Better if you're playing black. Does make some spirits for us.
Moorland Haunt - Recycle your graveyard for spirits. Exile the cards for our next player...
Misthollow Griffin - Play said exiled cards.
Expensive Additions
Path To Exile - In a perfect world, you would run these.
Cryptic Command - Although it does cost 3 blue, it is worth it.
Geist of Saint Traft - He's the biggest and most expensive spirit out there.
Remand - Way better than mana leak.
The First Deck
4x Dakra Mystic
4x Eidolon of Rhetoric
4x Drogskol Captain
2x Swans of Bryn Argoll
3x Dungeon Geists
2x Rebuff the Wicked
4x Dissolve
4x Azorius Charm
2x Gifts Ungiven
4x Hallowed Fountain
10 Island
9 Plains
How It Plays
A good hand starts with Dakra Mystic or Eidolon of Rhetoric. Leave your mana open and use Dakra at the end of their turn, We can see what our opponent will draw into. If you know the major players in modern, you will know what cards you won't want them to have. Getting an early Spirit of the Labyrinth will get you card advantage and can trade with a lot of creatures. However, it will most likely get bolted down or removed. Sometimes, it's better to wait to play your Drogskol Captain and leave your mana open until then. We want to get Eidolon of Rhetoric out asap to lock them out. It's safely out of bolt range.
Our win-condition comes from the Swans of Bryn Argoll or Dungeon Geists swinging in the air for easy damage. The swans are risky unless we have our Spirit of the Labyrinth safely tucked away with hexproof. Dungeon Geists will lock out one of their powerful blockers if need be.
Thanks For Reading
This is my first budget modern deck creation. It's by no means perfect but it's a lot of fun to play. Most control decks in modern are expensive, this was my attempt at trying to turn one into a budget deck. Please drop me a comment if you have any questions or would like to help the deck proceed.
So many options given this goes off. The only problem is that it makes a spirit a big target for removal. I could seeremoving some spells to make room.
Soulcatchers' Aerie is really useful with Supreme Verdict. You can clear the board and then begin to play more birds at a higher power and toughness.
Magus of the Moat Can come in handy due to the ability to keep big ground creatures off your back.
Airborne Aid is a huge card advantage if enough birds are out.
IF your really serious about the deck, you might want to try Aether Vial. It will help pump out birds in no time, leaving your mana open for other things.
Kira is strictly better than Drogskol. I'll admit that. He is a budget version of Kira for me. The added bonus being a little more power and toughness on my creatures. If i run into problems, I'll most likely try to swap in Kira and pay the extra for them.
I would be reluctant to add Tomorrow, Azami's Familiar simply because of the mana cost. It would let me "Draw" without interference by my spirit of the lab. However, I think its important to remember my win-con. I need my geists and my swans open to swing in the area once I've got the game under control. Tomorrow doesn't add any win condition but furthers my strategy a little. The nicest part of Tomorrow is being able to look ahead, that is important for my control. I could see it being a two of in the deck.
I feel the same way about Niblis of the Breath. I'd rather have dungeon geists out in order to keep a creature locked down and be able to swing, even if I sacrifice the choice of what to tap later on in the game. For the first build, I'm putting my money on Dungeon Geists. After play testing more, I might be inclined to make the change.
Thanks for your input guys. I have a lot of options to think about when considering changing the deck.
Mooreland haunt could be a nice optional land for this. Cant believe i missed it.
Spirit of the labyrinth and Eidolon of Rhetoric really struck my eye as good source of control. They are also spirit creature types. So I began brewing a control deck with those in mind. I've also been a big fan of Dakra Mystic so he makes an appearance as well.
4x Dakra Mystic
4x Eidolon of Rhetoric
4x Drogskol Captain
3x Swans of Bryn Argoll
3x Dungeon Geists
2x Rebuff the Wicked
4x Dissolve
4x Azorius Charm
This is the starting list. The idea mainly revolves around using Spirit of the Labyrinth and Dakra Mystic to control the top deck draw of your opponent. You can draw a card for free on their turn if you choose to. However, usually, you will know what card they will draw next given you use its ability. Spirit also allows us to play Arcane Denial risk free and Swans of Bryn Argoll risk free. They also have the added benefit of being spirits.
The Tribal Aspect of this deck comes from Drogskol Captain who is able to give our creatures a nice +1 / +1 effect but more importantly hexproof.
Control starts with Eidolon of Rhetoric who can hurt us but can also lock down the game for awhile. Dungeon Geists make an appearance for flying aggro, tribal appeal, and creature control. They've shown to be quite useful once on the board.
Dissolve explains itself. I was really reaching for more counter spells, could be put to use somewhere else. Azorius Charm can be used to put an attacking creature onto the top, then can be used with Dakra Mystic to mill that creature away if need be. It can also draw on someone else's turn. Rebuff the Wicked splashes to protect our Drogskol Captain if there is no counter spell available.
That's the basics of the deck. It's kind of a funky control tribal deck. I'm relatively pleased with the overall build. There are definitely ways to improve by adding more expensive cards. Overall, it is a budget deck. The entire deck might cost 20-30 dollars in singles.