If it's in your budget, replace Duress with Inquisition of Kozilek. Get rid of Gods Willing for two more Path to Exile. Abyssal Persecutor is only worth it if u run enough effects that can reliably destroy him after he's done his job. Lingering Souls is another card I'd suggest to replace some number of your Smiters and Coursers. 8 mana dorks are too many, cut at least two Pilgrims andd add more removal. Abrupt Decay and Maelstrom Pulse if you can afford them, something like Go for the Throat, Putrefy, Dismember or something comparable otherwise. Skinshifter makes for a budget Goyf. Some value cards such as Kitchen Finks and Eternal Witness aren't too bad either. Once you play more non-creature spells, Thalia goes to meh...just look into the BGx Rock Primer here:
ditch the hours imo, drop one timely and 2 anthems of your choice. pick up 1-2 elspeth tirel and then 2-3 go for the throat or doom blade. I personally have never cared much for hero or brimaz, but thats just me... also I think I would trade dismember for some other removal as well with the meta being as aggressive as it is... paying life for a spell isnt really a safe thing to be doing right now...
Thanks for your feedback! I can see the point with Dismember being too costly, so I'll go with a 1/1 split of Go for the Throat and Doom Blade. Replacing Hour of Reckoning with Elspeth Tirel would give me a higher density of token producers and removal at the same time, so I think I'll do that swap, too. But just out of interest: Why is Hour of Reckoning so bad it's not even considered a sideboard spot against aggro/midrange in most decks? Is it because we cannot reliably cast it without 2 or 3 creatures? I really like the card since it saved me numerous times when I had a bad board position^^.
Hey guys, I'm looking for some advice on my list. It's built to compete in an Aggro and Midrange heavy meta (RDW, BG Rock, Affinity, Jund...) Some of the choices (Duress and the manabase mainly) are budget obviously, I´m going to replace them with Thoughtseize and Fetchlands asap!
Now my actual question: I found myself drawing too many anthems and not enough threats, so I want to replace 2 Honor of the Pure with something that can really pressure the board. I think I like Hero of Bladehold and Sorin, Lord of Innistrad here because they produce both tokens and an anthem effect. Problem with Hero is that he doesn't synergize with Hour of Reckoning and he would probably die instantly from a removal as I don't run any other creatures. Sorin on the other hand cannot pressure the board as fast as Hero and on an empty board, he's a worse topdeck. So which one would you suggest? Or would you play a completely different bomb?
Yes, unfortunately they are here in Germany. About 4 Euros in the onlineshop I buy in, but they would probably be one of the first additions to the deck if I decide to put more money into it since they significantly increase its speed. I could play all my cmc 3 creatures on turn 2 then... Utopia Sprawl could be a substitute, but it can only enchant forests
Hi folks,
I've been testing the following list for the last couple of weeks now. It's basically a budget version of the well known `The Rock´ deck, but instead of just finding substitutes for the expensive cards, I've tried to create something new:
The basic strategy is to ramp into some midrange creatures, which should be able to control the board together with some removal and hand disruption until the Demon or Vraska can end the game. Most of the deck and sideboard is built for my very aggro and control heavy meta, including stuff like Affinity, RDW, Rakdos Midrange, Mono B Control, White Weenies, Elf Tribe and UW Control. Combo is rarely a factor in my environment.
card explanations:
Glissa, the Traitor: For the main part she is there to control the battlefield, a 3/3 first strike deathtouch is able to deal with most creatures, the artifact recursion synergy with Executioner's Capsule and Ratchet Bomb is a nice gimmick on top of that.
Vampire Nighthawk: Really helpful against most aggro matchups, especially the lifelink is important.
Troll Ascetic: He is very difficult to get rid of and helps me against the control matchup (a lot of spot removal in my meta), unfortunately he can get chump-blocked all day long, not sure if I should keep him main.
Desecration Demon: The big finisher here, comes early with some ramp and hits hard. Even if he gets tapped down, he still increases my board position. I only had one bad matchup against BW Tokens so far where he was very disappointing for obvious reasons.
Viridian Emissary: Ramp 5 and 6. I can't sacrifice him, but on the upside he swings for 2 if the field is open early on or he kills another creature.
Vraska the Unseen: A pet card of mine, most of the time I use her for the -3 against other walkers or enchantments, but to my own surprise I already had 3 games I could finish with her ultimate. I like her in the deck, still she's a shaky candidate.
Doom Blade: My spot removal of coice. It's fast and hits almost every relevant creature in my meta. Since I have 6 deathtouch creatures, sacrifice effects against hexproof/shroud aren't needed.
Putrefy: The other spot removal. Slower than Doomblade, but also more flexible. Artifact removal is important to me, that's why its in the main 60.
Ratchet Bomb: With 1 or 2 counters on it, it can wipe the board against aggro without hitting my own creatures (the ramp creatures don't care) since they're cmc 3 mostly. Reusable with a Glissa on the field and one of the few ways to create card advantage.
Executioner's Capsule: Another of Glissa's toys and another shaky candidate. Can bring some nice card advantage, but the combo is slow and mana hungry.
Duress: Although it cannot hit creatures, I felt like there is almost always something useful to take so it's in the main 60. Especially useful if played turn 1 so I can look at my opponent's hand.
Night's Whisper: I found myself running out of steam rather quickly without one of the finishers, so I added those. The lifeloss can hurt sometimes, though.
The manabase is obviously very budget, but with the help of the ramp creatures, I didn't have a lot of manafixing problems so far. 2 Woodland Cemetery is all I have unfortunately and I'm not very happy with the Golgari Guildgate slowing me down. Is it worth replacing them with basics/Evolving Wilds/Golgari Rot Farm?
The Sideboard is built to beat aggro and control with some more boardwipes, hand disruption and some reusable artifact control cards. I really struggle against burn though, so I added Obstinate Baloth for some lifegain, but most of the time he's too slow. Kitchen Finks would be an obvious choice here, but they're not really budget. Suggestions?
Comments and criticism on my other choices are of course welcome, just keep in mind that any card suggestions should stay in my budget, so no cards above 3 bucks basically (Maelstrom Pulse, Inquisition of Kozilek, Birds of Paradise, etc...).
The control part is fine, but you are definitely light on winconditions, maybe something like Delver of Secrets and Young Pyromancer to make it a tempo deck? There is a primer for this in the Modern section, too, you could get some ideas there.
I don´t like the enchantments here. Since your creatures have no hexproof/protection/shroud your opponent will often just destroy the enchanted creature and effectively 2-for-1 you (card disadvantage for you!). They are also terrible topdeck cards if you have no creature left to enchant them. I´d try and go with creatures that don´t need them in order to be effective. More Nighthawks, Bladesplicer or Knight of the Meadowgrain if you really need the lifelink. You could also try Lingering Souls here. Disenchant is sideboard material, go with Oblivion Ring if you want maindeck answers to artifacts and echantments.
Looks solid, the Paladin is sideboard material at best though unless your meta is really black and red heavy. Getting triple black for the Gatekeeper on turn three could be a problem, too. I also feel like you have enough answers to creatures, so you could replace the Castigates with Duress (really nice on turn 1, Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek of course if you are not that worried about budget).
I´m new to the forum, although I´ve played Magic since the Mirrodin Block, especially on those rainy days in our tent camp. As I now return to the camp as a crew member, an update of my decks and knowledge is needed to stay competitive and rock our group, so I thought this might be a good starting point
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/tier-1-modern/560078-the-rock-bgx-bg-rock-bgw-souls
Thanks for your feedback! I can see the point with Dismember being too costly, so I'll go with a 1/1 split of Go for the Throat and Doom Blade. Replacing Hour of Reckoning with Elspeth Tirel would give me a higher density of token producers and removal at the same time, so I think I'll do that swap, too. But just out of interest: Why is Hour of Reckoning so bad it's not even considered a sideboard spot against aggro/midrange in most decks? Is it because we cannot reliably cast it without 2 or 3 creatures? I really like the card since it saved me numerous times when I had a bad board position^^.
Now my actual question: I found myself drawing too many anthems and not enough threats, so I want to replace 2 Honor of the Pure with something that can really pressure the board. I think I like Hero of Bladehold and Sorin, Lord of Innistrad here because they produce both tokens and an anthem effect. Problem with Hero is that he doesn't synergize with Hour of Reckoning and he would probably die instantly from a removal as I don't run any other creatures. Sorin on the other hand cannot pressure the board as fast as Hero and on an empty board, he's a worse topdeck. So which one would you suggest? Or would you play a completely different bomb?
4 Spectral Procession
4 Lingering Souls
4 Raise the Alarm
3 Timely Reinforcements
Anthems (7)
4 Intangible Virtue
3 Honor of the Pure
Discard (6)
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Duress
Removal (9)
4 Path to Exile
2 Dismember
1 Oblivion Ring
2 Hour of Reckoning
2 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Caves of Koilos
2 Vault of the Archangel
8 Plains
3 Swamp
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Hour of Reckoning
2 Nevermore
2 Stain the Mind
3 Stony Silence
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Duress
2 Darkblast
Yes, unfortunately they are here in Germany. About 4 Euros in the onlineshop I buy in, but they would probably be one of the first additions to the deck if I decide to put more money into it since they significantly increase its speed. I could play all my cmc 3 creatures on turn 2 then... Utopia Sprawl could be a substitute, but it can only enchant forests
I've been testing the following list for the last couple of weeks now. It's basically a budget version of the well known `The Rock´ deck, but instead of just finding substitutes for the expensive cards, I've tried to create something new:
3 Glissa, the Traitor
3 Vampire Nighthawk
3 Troll Ascetic
4 Desecration Demon
Ramp
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Viridian Emissary
Control
2 Vraska the Unseen
3 Doom Blade
3 Putrefy
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Executioner's Capsule
4 Duress
3 Night's Whisper
4 Llanowar Wastes
2 Woodland Cemetery
2 Treetop Village
3 Golgari Guildgate
5 Forest
6 Swamp
3 Drown in Sorrow
1 Putrefy
1 Ratchet Bomb
3 Obstinate Baloth
2 Pithing Needle
3 Wrench Mind
2 Nihil Spellbomb
The basic strategy is to ramp into some midrange creatures, which should be able to control the board together with some removal and hand disruption until the Demon or Vraska can end the game. Most of the deck and sideboard is built for my very aggro and control heavy meta, including stuff like Affinity, RDW, Rakdos Midrange, Mono B Control, White Weenies, Elf Tribe and UW Control. Combo is rarely a factor in my environment.
card explanations:
Comments and criticism on my other choices are of course welcome, just keep in mind that any card suggestions should stay in my budget, so no cards above 3 bucks basically (Maelstrom Pulse, Inquisition of Kozilek, Birds of Paradise, etc...).
Other cards I had in mind: Eternal Witness; Golgari Charm; Crime // Punishment; Bloodgift Demon; Reaper of the Wilds; Disfigure
This is the first decklist I'm sharing here, so have mercy please if I have done something wrong and also for my English.
Greetings, Eternal_Infinity
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Desolate Lighthouse
4 Sulfur Falls
4 Volcanic Island
3 Cascade Bluffs
4 Steam Vents
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Wasteland
4 Thunderous Wrath
4 Brainstorm
4 Counterspell
3 Volcanic Fallout
3 Electrolyze
3 Into the Roil
4 Force of Will
3 Fire // Ice
The control part is fine, but you are definitely light on winconditions, maybe something like Delver of Secrets and Young Pyromancer to make it a tempo deck? There is a primer for this in the Modern section, too, you could get some ideas there.
I´m new to the forum, although I´ve played Magic since the Mirrodin Block, especially on those rainy days in our tent camp. As I now return to the camp as a crew member, an update of my decks and knowledge is needed to stay competitive and rock our group, so I thought this might be a good starting point