You're a little land heavy for a deck with so much card selection and a generally low curve. Even with 4 Mutavault, id expect this list to flood a little more than you'd like.
Some number of Deprive + Mystic Sanctuary could make sense if you want to spice up the manabase a little and still stay budget. Archmage's Charm is also a strong card thats at a reasonable price point right now.
Id reccomend some number of "hard" counterspells in the main, and possibly move some of the Dive Downs to the board.
Curious Obsession also just seems like a card this list is lacking in a big way.
Its about 150 without the board. There are small substitutions that can be made to further reduce price, but I would be prepared to spend at least that much, and more for a solid board (probably about 200 total) if you want to be competing at the highest level. Keep in mind, the vast majority of these cards are modern staples, and will be playable in many other decks.
Another deck i'd consider is UR Gifts Storm. It can be built on a budget for a similar amount, most expensive portion being the duals, which can be made cheaper by playing a lot of Shivan Reef, etc.
Both of these are definitely capable of taking games off top tier decks when piloted well. If you play on MTGO, both of these decks can be purchased for less than 100 Tickets, and are well within your budget.
This list put up a 5-0 recently, and inspired me to pick the archetype back up after a year or two of moving to a more standard UW Vial build. https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-wu-121703#paper
It's doing a lot of things differently, but the core philosophies are the same. Notable that the Pariah + Pentarch Ward/Protection Creature lock is present from the board, giving a possible unfair angle against some decks. It's also touting the full playset of Curious Obsession, a card that I think has high potential for Modern in strategies like this by itself.
I've done a bit of tinkering with the list to slant it more agressively, and make sure its capable of winning without Tallowisp on board, and added green for Rancor and sideboard tech. Also swapped firewalkers for champions to Pariah lock the popular Shadow decks more easily. Here's what I'll be bringing to locals this week;
Really this is a Curious Obsession + Force of Will deck, and what lifts it past previous iterations is that its doing things no matter how the game goes. I look at Tallowisp in this shell as a card advantage engine more than a tutor package. Just having extra blue cards to pitch to force, or Obsessions to apply pressure forces wisp to be answered immediately or snowball the game out of control with exponentially growing card advantage. 4 Obsession also helps insulate us against Lightning Bolt, a card that previously was a real problem in a deck with several x/3s that we want to keep around. Overall, its a fetch-able 4 of that is perfectly playable in a deck full of fliers and protection, and takes over the game by itself unanswered. It forces your opponents to run their removal into potential Rattlechains and Spell Queller blowouts, putting you far ahead on tempo, and really meshes with the Force plan. I've limited enchantments I never want to draw to only 2 slots, Frogify for a blanket answer (which is usually just better than Crystallization, and has niche utility protecting whats under Spell Queller, as well as potentially allowing you to rebuy it with Mark of Eviction in grindy matchups), and Steel of the Godhead, as pants for Geist. These both conveniently fill out the 2 and 3 mana slots as fetch targets to fuel Disrupting Shoal.
Im not sure on exact numbers for anything yet. For the moment i've opted to trim Tallowisp/Geist of Saint Traft to focus on making the deck better without its engine, but its possible i'd rather go all in on redundancy. Force of Negation has been exceptional, considering a 3rd copy from the board. I think part of the 5-0 list's success is its ability to play both aggressive and controlling games well, and its somewhat transformative lock board, so I've opted to give the lock some testing to see how reliable/effective it ends up being despite my reservations that it might be too clunky/cute.
If anyone's still tinkering with this one, I think there's potential here. Would love to see old and new pilots' opinions on where the deck could go.
My current list splashing green for everything wrong with Magic. Now including a little Tribute Mage package that's been stellar. Really revived the deck for me. Disrupt their gameplan and turn stuff sideways. Smuggler's Copter and Throne of the God-Pharaoh are the real payoffs in a deck full of durdly 1/x's.
I spent a long time playing with the taxing one drops for this deck, but have now eschewed them entirely in favor of "Cantrip Creatures" to increase the likelihood of curving out in the way the deck needs to. When this deck doesnt line up its curve properly, it's just not doing anything powerful enough for Modern. Saccing the creatures you need to produce Mana and Crew triggers is also just very counterproductive a lot of the time, and i've seen much more success with Faerie Seer and Sage of Epityr than I ever did with Wanderer and friends. Together with Once Upon A Time and Tribute Mage, the deck becomes much more consistent at assembling its pieces and reaching its goal every game. It also allows some lands to be shaved. Incubation // Incongruity is another card I've been playing a few copies of since dipping into green, and with 29 very relevant hits for its first mode, and the occasional gamechanging removal spell on the backend, I've been impressed so far.
As far as the sideboard goes, Veil Of Summer is a messed up card, and this deck loves it. Does tremendous work against the Thoughtsieze/Fatal Push decks that Blue Steel normally struggles to beat, UW, Shadow, etc. The rest of the sideboard is just Wurmcoils for aggro, and targets for Tribute Mage that slot in against a lot of matchups nicely. Trinket Mage package has been okay so far, but the board is a little bloated with so many things going on.
A final note; I've been thoroughly unimpressed with Etherium Sculptor over the years. The third artificer just doesnt have what it takes a lot of the time, and his impact on the game is very low compared to Chief Engineer or Grand Architect. Loading up the deck with card selection to consistently reach the real payoffs of the deck at the right times has vastly improved the amount of explosive starts this deck thrives off of. The christmasland hands where Etherium Sculptor lets you dump your hand on turn 2 just arent worth all the realistic ones where he's a 1/2 you dont need. Going t1 dork, t2 Engineer + Copter, or t3 architect + payoff consistently every game is just going to win you more games of magic.
All these cards are super fun to play with, and quite pushed for a standard environment. Improbable Alliance obviously draws huge parallels to Bitterblossom, and can play as a better version of the card in the right deck, potentially netting 2 tokens per turn cycle with no life cost. Irencrag Pyromancer's double Lightning Bolt every turn cycle has some serious power behind it, and can control the board on its lonesome if left unanswered, or grind out your opponents lifetotal shockingly quickly. The Royal Scions curve out perfectly from Alliance and provide a steady stream of tokens and cards that lets the walker protect itself and threaten to end the game with their ultimate, providing a good distraction and lots of value in the process. Scions is the most slept on card in ELD imo, and 6 loyalty the turn its played is very very strong for a 3 Mana walker. Looting every turn or pressuring with pumped faerie tokens are both powerful effects, and well worth the cost of the card. It also allows us to play 3-4 copies fearlessy, just because of how easily you can loot away extra copies if you aren't in danger of having it removed. Together I think these can form the core of a grindy UR deck that can play both the aggressor and defender. The Arclight Phoenix plan is an easy include here, as it embodies everything we're already trying to do, and functions as one of several routes to victory to help resilience and consistency. The deck already wants to be discarding cards a lot with things like Thrill of Possibility and The Royal Scions, so having something you feel good discarding is a real boon. The list also naturally wants plenty of cheap/reusable draw spells like Opt, Haggle, and Radical Idea, so it has no issues animating the Bird. Arclight Phoenix can act as both a closer after a grindy start, or be powered out early as a plan A. The deck almost feels like it builds itself, and has performed admirably so far in my testing.
Also, while Black with early hand disruption seems to be going well, I wanted to step back for a moment and take a look at other third colors, just in case.
Blue seems to be the only real alternative, but i've compiled a small list of the most relevant Sunforger targets in blue, and will be trying to cobble together a Jeskai list later out of curiosity. There are some powerful cards here, and they do answer some of the issues that Mardu has, though of course they present their own.
Blue in general could also open up other possibilities, and i've been eyeing The Royal Scions since they were spoiled. For now its just thoughts and musings, will post again if it goes anywhere.
4 Captain plan was kind of a bust. He's a little too slow to want in multiples, I'll be going back down to 3, and back up to 4 Champions. I'll admit, the champion struggles without equipment but, he really shines on good draws. Fervent Champion into t2 Stoneforge Mystic is such a flexible and powerful line. I think I'll be back to the playset for the time being. I've been testing against Jund, Burn, Tron, and other Stoneblade decks, as thats the bulk of the meta right now. So far, Mardu is especially strong against other Stoneblade lists in my experience, as maindeck Kolaghan's Command and Abrade often scoop up the game from the get go if not played around. Fry is coming in a lot against UW. Tron is rough, but fast hands can definitely beat it. Rushing to assemble the combo and lock them out of the game is often the best line, but turn 3 Karn Liberated is hard to answer.
I think the deck's biggest issue right now is hand filtering and card advantage. Manamorphose allows us to bury other midrange decks in card advantage if Forger+Champion comes online, but with our spell base spread pretty thin and hand disruption going 1 for 1, the deck struggles off the top, as @lordlukas mentioned. Some slots probably need to be dedicated to Nahiri, the Harbinger, Seasoned Pyromancer, or another source of hand fixing that doesnt create card disadvantage. Flooding especially cripples the deck, as it needs its key pieces to get going. I've been leaning more and more on Kolaghan's Command as I keep playing, the card is just gas. Setting up a guaranteed 2 for 1 is very powerful, and I think it will be taking more than 1 slot in my mainboard.
I agree with @Rendroc that the lack of card filtering in the build is awkward sometimes. Flooding especially seems to be a problem, and I often find myself lacking gas against decks with heavy interaction. I think Seasoned Pyromancer is a very attractive card for this build, and I would include it no questions asked if I could make space for Lingering Souls, or if we had other cards that could be binned for value. For now, i'll be testing a copy of Nahiri, the Harbinger in the mainboard, as I think its just a generally strong card that can answer a lot of things, and the repeatable value planeswalkers bring to the table is always useful.
I've also elected to take a stab at @Lectrys ' approach to the Ranger-Captain package, but am still not sure about the numbers on Giver. I think in this configuration Grim Lavamancer belongs mainboard however. Here's what ill be taking to cockatrice tonight;
Sideboard is getting there, but still shaky. I've moved Settle the Wreckage to the board for now, as its less relevant in the most common matchups at the moment, but this could be a mistake. Boil and Sword of Light and Shadow are the real all stars here
I think the Inquisition of Kozilek/Thoughtsieze plan is a solid line to run down, and thats been my consensus as well. Aiming for 4-6 disruption spells seems like it could make us less soft to interaction. The downside is the very awkward manabase it requires. Needing black on 1 and almost exclusively R/W for the rest of the game is rough. The deck's life total is definitely going to have to pay for it, and it makes utility lands like Mistveil Plains and Sunbaked Canyon feel worse.
Imo Giver of Runes is wayyy too strong to cut, as the Giver>Stoneforge line is one of the decks best, however it's definitely lacking in multiples. Cutting to 3 might to free up a little space could be optimal. Silence is incredible in some matchups, anything that struggles to interact in their upkeep concedes to it, but I agree its the most sideboard-able toolbox card in the maindeck. I do think it belongs in the 75 however.
Dreadhorde Arcanist could be a possibility as well, but I think the deck stretches too thin. We're already trying to accommodate 3 packackes, and the Sunforger package would probably have to be heavily pushed to favor Lightning Bolt(which has been severely under-performing for me) and Path to Exile. Recycling cards like Inquisition and Bolt is powerful though, and it gives us another must-answer on turn 2, though it's body is weak and generally, at least in other builds, I find only good for 1-2 activations.
On Manamorphose I dont think the opportunity cost is large enough to not run it. Actually resolving a Forger/Champion combo is backbreaking if its in the deck, but I could see trimming a copy for space reasons.
Lingering Souls, while slow, is an incredible card for this deck. It really helps grind, and the tokens are very good at holding equipment and stalling. Helps most midrange and control matchups considerably, Jund in particular. I'd love to make space in the main, and honestly might, but i've thrown some in the board for now. 1 copy can "fix" a flooded hand by itself, and is one of the best cards we have access to in topdeck mode.
Manamorphose is indeed an extremely solid card. Assembling the combo quickly drowns the opponent in card advantage most of the time due to the Draw 3-4 it provides if unanswered. Wins a lot of games outright, as its essentially often a "5 for 1". Also provides access to any sideboard card immediately. Sometimes I find its better to not to try to draw 4 if you're tapping out however, leaving it up to interact, and then drawing next turn when you have enough to leave an activation up as well. I find my first activation going to Silence a lot of the time to stall a turn.
What do you think of the Manamorphose plan in Ferventblade lists? This lets you draw 4 cards and chain them into a 5th spell the turn you equip Fervent Champion with Sunforger and pay RW. I'm mainly trying to extract as much value from cheap Sunforger unequips as possible because man, does Fervent Champion die to Wrenn and Six. Manamorphose can get clunky when naturally drawn, though. (It has been maindecked in Mardu Pyro builds, though.)
Also, in Jeskai builds, wouldn't Dovin's Veto be hilarious?
I think Manamorphose could be a solid inclusion. Draw 4 + Kcommand/Upkeep Silence for only RW is insane value, and most likely will push you into a commanding lead by itself. The only problem is making space for 4 cards in the already valuable spell package. I wonder if a larger than 60 card pile is warranted here? Since Mphose cantrips itself for free, could say, a 62 card list with 4 copies make sense? I think the thinning could help offset it and provide the deck with a similar consistency while allowing us to stay heavy on powerful utilities like Kaya's Guile, Kcommand, etc. The fixing is also fine for us, maybe allowing us to hardcast offcolor sideboard cards in the unfortunate case theyre drawn. Render Silent springs to mind as a powerful 1 of option im afraid to mainboard in Mardu.
Have been testing this a little bit and trying some different card choices. Just looking to get a second opinion and maybe hear some cards I may have missed.
London Mulligan really helped this deck, TE is not much of a challenge to find nowadays and lots of people just aren't packing ways to deal with it maindeck.
So, this is a Tortured Existence brew that aims to close the game by locking your opponents out of the game using Thoughtpicker Witch. It uses a variety of creatures as sac fodder, primarily Myr Servitor, Mulldrifter, and Trinket Mage. All of them mitigate or negate card disadvantage normally associated with repeated sacrificing. Mesmeric Fiend is another common sacrifice target that can be looped to both control the library and permanently deal with cards that are already in hand. A pair of Grave Scrabblers can really run away with the game with a sac outlet on board, and provide more natural card advantage and free blockers. Myr Servitor itself can wall out some decks with blocks that arent able to clear away enough copies, buying you time while you assemble a lock. Golgari Brownscale is also included to give us a way to simply loop Thoughtpicker Witch with itself every turn in tight situations, and can allow us to gain a lot of life to delay further. Forbidden Alchemy, Mulldrifter and Careful Study help us find cards we need while filling the yard with tutor targets. The shell has a lot of resilience, and dodges edict effects. It feels unique, and perhaps strong enough to take some games off of established archetypes. Trinket Mage itself brings a lot to the table, and being able to loop its effect to find more lands, removal, or hate is quite strong in a shell where one can cast almost as many copies as you can afford.
Here's my current, albeit minimally refined, list;
Probably going to be brewing this for a bit, would love suggestions, will update it as I go.
I'd compare this deck to Lantern Control, but it's really a Tortured Existence deck at heart. You do close games with library manipulation, but the execution and tutoring are lacking compared to Modern's streamlined Ensnaring Bridge centric lists. Creature combat is important, and often a Thoughtpicker Lock is icing on the cake. This configuration does not play hellbent magic, and generally has a lot more access to potential utility cards, but lacks the speed and card selection of Modern Lantern. It's probably not something that could exist outside of the pauper environment, and personally I think that's really cool.
-
- There's VERY likely a functional black metalcraft deck out there that just needs someone to put it together properly. Dhund Operative and Salvage Slasher come to mind immediately, backed up by Tooth & Scale, and possibly Night Market Lookout and Springleaf Drum for acceleration.
Went at this for a few hours last night. I tried monocolored for a while, played some games with a rough list centered around Glaze Fiend, Defiant Salvager, and testing some cute interactions with Myr Servitor. Stand out cards were Vault Skirge/Bonesplitter and Glaze Fiend, but the deck was missing top heavy threats, and lacking evasion otherwise, resulting in losses to decks with a lot of ground presence. It also had issues running out of gas, to which I tried Resourceful Return. Eventually I gave up on Monoblack for more artifact lands and better draw, and dipped into blue for Thoughtcast, Etherium Sculptor, Gearseeker Serpent, and Seat of the Synod. Etherium Sculptor lets you dump your entire hand for free or 1 mana basically, and fueled some really busted draws, I think it has potential. Salvage Slasher felt mediocre in practice honestly. I went down to 2 and played more games with the UB list, and think they probably should just be cut. Being an x/1 is a hard life with no evasion or trample in a world full of disposable blockers and Bird Tokens. I think the black creatures have promise, but they have mostly undercosted bodies, and when using nonartifact cards like Dhund Operative, Defiant Scavenger, Aether Poisoner, etc too heavily, it pulled some of the artifact synergy out of the mix and was a nonbo with other pieces. I think this deck has promise, and I intend to keep tinkering, but its sorely lacking another evasive threat and a creature with instant speed sac artifacts for relevant value (No thanks Rusted Slasher). I'd go into red, because that's where all those are at common, but I'm worried that would devolve into strictly worse Affinity. Any thoughts on these points?
While playing the above, I was inspired to build something else with some of the pieces. Experimenting with Myr Servitor and Glaze Fiend produced cute results, cute enough that I wanted to build with it. Glaze Fiend itself was more strategy specific, but Myr Servitor seems like a creature that's honestly lacking play in Pauper. The effect is very powerful, providing 1-4 free recurring sac fodder creatures at the risk of removal blowouts. Obviously the card is a natural fit with sacrifice outlets like Brine Shaman, Plagued Rusalka, and Thoughtpicker Witch. I'm surprised to have not seen it at all yet. A search through the pauper forums yielded minimal results, though I did find a thread that attempts to use Servitor and Witch to close games, it was housed by a very fragile part U/B Control part Wizard Tribal shell. What the engine really needs is a way to counteract or become resilient to removal based blowouts, and a lot of redundancy. Tortured Existence brings all that to the table and a lot more. Here's what a morning of tinkering put forth:
A lock can be assembled quickly and efficiently, with Stinkweed Imp, Forbidden Alchemy, and Trinket Mage digging out the Myr Servitor copies needed. Tortured Existence provides needed pseudo-redundancy and naturally blanks most removal-based answers. It can loop Thoughtpicker Witch by itself if need be, and Trinket Mage can even help bolster TE's natural rough times making land drops, by being looped to find Artifact lands while still controlling the opponent's library. The list closes games with Horror of the Broken Lands or simply by milling them out. There's also no shortage of card advantage with Mulldrifter/Grave Scrabbler, and solid lifegain to recover from aggressive starts with Golgari Brownscale. Mesmeric Fiend takes care of possible answers permanently thanks to stack+trigger manipulation and a sac outlet. Think it has any promise? Might post this in its own thread.
Spent a few minutes on the train scouring scryfall about this, I think there's a an aggressive build here with some combination of cards like Wild Mongrel, Naya Hushblade and friends, Shield of the Oversoul, Basking Rootwalla, Lightning Axe, etc + Verdant Eidolon. I'm having trouble getting the pieces to fit together, but the concept feels solid. The ratio of multicolored to monocolored is the biggest issue I think, Pauper's creature-base is a little limited when it comes to efficient playable 1-2 drops that are also Multicolored. Black might just end up being a better Idea with Putrid Leech and Tortured Existence, but I think the aggro plan could be more fun.
Some number of Deprive + Mystic Sanctuary could make sense if you want to spice up the manabase a little and still stay budget.
Archmage's Charm is also a strong card thats at a reasonable price point right now.
Id reccomend some number of "hard" counterspells in the main, and possibly move some of the Dive Downs to the board.
Curious Obsession also just seems like a card this list is lacking in a big way.
Best of luck at your next event!
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/modern-premier-12033254#paper (9-0 in the modern premier)
4 Monastery Swiftspear
3 Runaway Steam-Kin
4 Soul-Scar Mage
4 Crash Through
4 Lava Spike
4 Light Up the Stage
4 Burst Lightning
3 Lava Dart
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Manamorphose
1 Risk Factor
3 Fiery Islet
15 Mountain
Its about 150 without the board. There are small substitutions that can be made to further reduce price, but I would be prepared to spend at least that much, and more for a solid board (probably about 200 total) if you want to be competing at the highest level. Keep in mind, the vast majority of these cards are modern staples, and will be playable in many other decks.
Another deck i'd consider is UR Gifts Storm. It can be built on a budget for a similar amount, most expensive portion being the duals, which can be made cheaper by playing a lot of Shivan Reef, etc.
Both of these are definitely capable of taking games off top tier decks when piloted well. If you play on MTGO, both of these decks can be purchased for less than 100 Tickets, and are well within your budget.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/modern-wu-121703#paper
It's doing a lot of things differently, but the core philosophies are the same. Notable that the Pariah + Pentarch Ward/Protection Creature lock is present from the board, giving a possible unfair angle against some decks. It's also touting the full playset of Curious Obsession, a card that I think has high potential for Modern in strategies like this by itself.
I've done a bit of tinkering with the list to slant it more agressively, and make sure its capable of winning without Tallowisp on board, and added green for Rancor and sideboard tech. Also swapped firewalkers for champions to Pariah lock the popular Shadow decks more easily. Here's what I'll be bringing to locals this week;
3 Geist of Saint Traft
3 Tallowisp
3 Selfless Spirit
4 Rattlechains
4 Spell Queller
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Supreme Phantom
Instant (6)
3 Disrupting Shoal
3 Force of Negation
Enchantment (8)
4 Curious Obsession
1 Frogify
1 Rancor
1 Unstable Mutation
1 Steel of the Godhead
4 Seachrome Coast
2 Misty Rainforest
4 Flooded Strand
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
1 Plains
2 Waterlogged Grove
1 Lumbering Falls
1 Breeding Pool
1 Moorland Haunt
1 Gavony Township
1 Pentarch Ward
3 Path to Exile
2 Eidolon of Rhetoric
2 Veil of Summer
2 Stony Silence
1 Mark of Eviction
1 Pariah
1 Knight of Autumn
2 Auriok Champion
Really this is a Curious Obsession + Force of Will deck, and what lifts it past previous iterations is that its doing things no matter how the game goes. I look at Tallowisp in this shell as a card advantage engine more than a tutor package. Just having extra blue cards to pitch to force, or Obsessions to apply pressure forces wisp to be answered immediately or snowball the game out of control with exponentially growing card advantage. 4 Obsession also helps insulate us against Lightning Bolt, a card that previously was a real problem in a deck with several x/3s that we want to keep around. Overall, its a fetch-able 4 of that is perfectly playable in a deck full of fliers and protection, and takes over the game by itself unanswered. It forces your opponents to run their removal into potential Rattlechains and Spell Queller blowouts, putting you far ahead on tempo, and really meshes with the Force plan. I've limited enchantments I never want to draw to only 2 slots, Frogify for a blanket answer (which is usually just better than Crystallization, and has niche utility protecting whats under Spell Queller, as well as potentially allowing you to rebuy it with Mark of Eviction in grindy matchups), and Steel of the Godhead, as pants for Geist. These both conveniently fill out the 2 and 3 mana slots as fetch targets to fuel Disrupting Shoal.
Im not sure on exact numbers for anything yet. For the moment i've opted to trim Tallowisp/Geist of Saint Traft to focus on making the deck better without its engine, but its possible i'd rather go all in on redundancy. Force of Negation has been exceptional, considering a 3rd copy from the board. I think part of the 5-0 list's success is its ability to play both aggressive and controlling games well, and its somewhat transformative lock board, so I've opted to give the lock some testing to see how reliable/effective it ends up being despite my reservations that it might be too clunky/cute.
If anyone's still tinkering with this one, I think there's potential here. Would love to see old and new pilots' opinions on where the deck could go.
My current list splashing green for everything wrong with Magic. Now including a little Tribute Mage package that's been stellar. Really revived the deck for me. Disrupt their gameplan and turn stuff sideways. Smuggler's Copter and Throne of the God-Pharaoh are the real payoffs in a deck full of durdly 1/x's.
4 Smuggler's Copter
1 Throne of the God-Pharaoh
1 Thorn of Amethyst
Artifact Creature (10)
3 Lodestone Golem
3 Walking Ballista
2 Myr Superion
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Phyrexian Revoker
Creature (19)
4 Grand Architect
4 Chief Engineer
3 Tribute Mage
4 Faerie Seer
4 Sage of Epityr
4 Once Upon a Time
2 Incubation // Incongruity
Land (19)
6 Island
4 Waterlogged Grove
4 Botanical Sanctum
2 Yavimaya Coast
2 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1 Academy Ruins
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Torpor Orb
1 Damping Sphere
1 Spellskite
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Trinket Mage
2 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Veil of Summer
I spent a long time playing with the taxing one drops for this deck, but have now eschewed them entirely in favor of "Cantrip Creatures" to increase the likelihood of curving out in the way the deck needs to. When this deck doesnt line up its curve properly, it's just not doing anything powerful enough for Modern. Saccing the creatures you need to produce Mana and Crew triggers is also just very counterproductive a lot of the time, and i've seen much more success with Faerie Seer and Sage of Epityr than I ever did with Wanderer and friends. Together with Once Upon A Time and Tribute Mage, the deck becomes much more consistent at assembling its pieces and reaching its goal every game. It also allows some lands to be shaved. Incubation // Incongruity is another card I've been playing a few copies of since dipping into green, and with 29 very relevant hits for its first mode, and the occasional gamechanging removal spell on the backend, I've been impressed so far.
As far as the sideboard goes, Veil Of Summer is a messed up card, and this deck loves it. Does tremendous work against the Thoughtsieze/Fatal Push decks that Blue Steel normally struggles to beat, UW, Shadow, etc. The rest of the sideboard is just Wurmcoils for aggro, and targets for Tribute Mage that slot in against a lot of matchups nicely. Trinket Mage package has been okay so far, but the board is a little bloated with so many things going on.
A final note; I've been thoroughly unimpressed with Etherium Sculptor over the years. The third artificer just doesnt have what it takes a lot of the time, and his impact on the game is very low compared to Chief Engineer or Grand Architect. Loading up the deck with card selection to consistently reach the real payoffs of the deck at the right times has vastly improved the amount of explosive starts this deck thrives off of. The christmasland hands where Etherium Sculptor lets you dump your hand on turn 2 just arent worth all the realistic ones where he's a 1/2 you dont need. Going t1 dork, t2 Engineer + Copter, or t3 architect + payoff consistently every game is just going to win you more games of magic.
All these cards are super fun to play with, and quite pushed for a standard environment. Improbable Alliance obviously draws huge parallels to Bitterblossom, and can play as a better version of the card in the right deck, potentially netting 2 tokens per turn cycle with no life cost. Irencrag Pyromancer's double Lightning Bolt every turn cycle has some serious power behind it, and can control the board on its lonesome if left unanswered, or grind out your opponents lifetotal shockingly quickly. The Royal Scions curve out perfectly from Alliance and provide a steady stream of tokens and cards that lets the walker protect itself and threaten to end the game with their ultimate, providing a good distraction and lots of value in the process. Scions is the most slept on card in ELD imo, and 6 loyalty the turn its played is very very strong for a 3 Mana walker. Looting every turn or pressuring with pumped faerie tokens are both powerful effects, and well worth the cost of the card. It also allows us to play 3-4 copies fearlessy, just because of how easily you can loot away extra copies if you aren't in danger of having it removed. Together I think these can form the core of a grindy UR deck that can play both the aggressor and defender. The Arclight Phoenix plan is an easy include here, as it embodies everything we're already trying to do, and functions as one of several routes to victory to help resilience and consistency. The deck already wants to be discarding cards a lot with things like Thrill of Possibility and The Royal Scions, so having something you feel good discarding is a real boon. The list also naturally wants plenty of cheap/reusable draw spells like Opt, Haggle, and Radical Idea, so it has no issues animating the Bird. Arclight Phoenix can act as both a closer after a grindy start, or be powered out early as a plan A. The deck almost feels like it builds itself, and has performed admirably so far in my testing.
Here's what I'm currently working with on MTGO;
4 Arclight Phoenix
4 Irencrag Pyromancer
2 Crackling Drake
2 Merchant of the Vale
1 Brazen Borrower
4 Shock
4 Opt
4 Radical Idea
4 Thrill of Possibility
Sorcery (3)
3 Lava Coil
4 Improbable Alliance
Planeswalker (3)
3 The Royal Scions
Land (21)
6 Island
6 Mountain
4 Fabled Passage
4 Steam Vents
1 Castle Embereth
The standard cardpool isnt my forte, but cards like Flame Sweep, Fry, Narset, Parter of Veils, Mystical Dispute, Disdainful Stroke, Aether Gust, Brazen Borrower, Negate, and more have been finding their way in and out of my board. Seems quite strong. Not sure how the meta will shake out, but i've been having success against various Rakdos Aggro, Adventure, and Oko Lists.
Blue seems to be the only real alternative, but i've compiled a small list of the most relevant Sunforger targets in blue, and will be trying to cobble together a Jeskai list later out of curiosity. There are some powerful cards here, and they do answer some of the issues that Mardu has, though of course they present their own.
Blue in general could also open up other possibilities, and i've been eyeing The Royal Scions since they were spoiled. For now its just thoughts and musings, will post again if it goes anywhere.
I think the deck's biggest issue right now is hand filtering and card advantage. Manamorphose allows us to bury other midrange decks in card advantage if Forger+Champion comes online, but with our spell base spread pretty thin and hand disruption going 1 for 1, the deck struggles off the top, as @lordlukas mentioned. Some slots probably need to be dedicated to Nahiri, the Harbinger, Seasoned Pyromancer, or another source of hand fixing that doesnt create card disadvantage. Flooding especially cripples the deck, as it needs its key pieces to get going. I've been leaning more and more on Kolaghan's Command as I keep playing, the card is just gas. Setting up a guaranteed 2 for 1 is very powerful, and I think it will be taking more than 1 slot in my mainboard.
I've also elected to take a stab at @Lectrys ' approach to the Ranger-Captain package, but am still not sure about the numbers on Giver. I think in this configuration Grim Lavamancer belongs mainboard however. Here's what ill be taking to cockatrice tonight;
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sunforger
Creature (14)
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Fervent Champion
4 Ranger-Captain of Eos
2 Giver of Runes
1 Grim Lavamancer
Instant (15)
4 Manamorphose
1 Kolaghan's Command
1 Kaya's Guile
2 Path to Exile
1 Boros Charm
1 Abrade
1 Lightning Helix
1 Anguished Unmaking
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Mistveil Plains
4 Arid Mesa
4 Marsh Flats
1 Blood Crypt
1 Godless Shrine
2 Sacred Foundry
2 Rugged Prairie
1 Plains
1 Mountain
1 Bloodstained Mire
3 Blackcleave Cliffs
Sorcery (5)
2 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
Planeswalker (1)
1 Nahiri, the Harbinger
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Boil
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Wear // Tear
1 Hallowed Moonlight
1 Volcanic Fallout
1 Silence
2 Fry
2 Celestial Purge
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Crumble to Dust
2 Lingering Souls
Sideboard is getting there, but still shaky. I've moved Settle the Wreckage to the board for now, as its less relevant in the most common matchups at the moment, but this could be a mistake. Boil and Sword of Light and Shadow are the real all stars here
I think the Inquisition of Kozilek/Thoughtsieze plan is a solid line to run down, and thats been my consensus as well. Aiming for 4-6 disruption spells seems like it could make us less soft to interaction. The downside is the very awkward manabase it requires. Needing black on 1 and almost exclusively R/W for the rest of the game is rough. The deck's life total is definitely going to have to pay for it, and it makes utility lands like Mistveil Plains and Sunbaked Canyon feel worse.
Imo Giver of Runes is wayyy too strong to cut, as the Giver>Stoneforge line is one of the decks best, however it's definitely lacking in multiples. Cutting to 3 might to free up a little space could be optimal. Silence is incredible in some matchups, anything that struggles to interact in their upkeep concedes to it, but I agree its the most sideboard-able toolbox card in the maindeck. I do think it belongs in the 75 however.
Dreadhorde Arcanist could be a possibility as well, but I think the deck stretches too thin. We're already trying to accommodate 3 packackes, and the Sunforger package would probably have to be heavily pushed to favor Lightning Bolt(which has been severely under-performing for me) and Path to Exile. Recycling cards like Inquisition and Bolt is powerful though, and it gives us another must-answer on turn 2, though it's body is weak and generally, at least in other builds, I find only good for 1-2 activations.
On Manamorphose I dont think the opportunity cost is large enough to not run it. Actually resolving a Forger/Champion combo is backbreaking if its in the deck, but I could see trimming a copy for space reasons.
Here's what i'm on currently;
1 Sunforger
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Batterskull
Creature (14)
4 Fervent Champion
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Giver of Runes
3 Ranger-Captain of Eos
Instant (16)
4 Manamorphose
2 Kolaghan's Command
1 Kaya's Guile
2 Path to Exile
1 Lightning Helix
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Boros Charm
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Anguished Unmaking
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Thoughtseize
Land (23)
4 Arid Mesa
3 Sacred Foundry
2 Godless Shrine
1 Blood Crypt
4 Marsh Flats
1 Rugged Prairie
1 Mountain
2 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Mistveil Plains
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Shambling Vent
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Boil
1 Rakdos Charm
2 Fry
2 Celestial Purge
1 Wear // Tear
1 Abrade
1 Hallowed Moonlight
1 Silence
3 Lingering Souls
Lingering Souls, while slow, is an incredible card for this deck. It really helps grind, and the tokens are very good at holding equipment and stalling. Helps most midrange and control matchups considerably, Jund in particular. I'd love to make space in the main, and honestly might, but i've thrown some in the board for now. 1 copy can "fix" a flooded hand by itself, and is one of the best cards we have access to in topdeck mode.
1 Sunforger
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Batterskull
Creature (16)
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Fervent Champion
3 Ranger-Captain of Eos
4 Giver of Runes
1 Grim Lavamancer
Instant (14)
4 Manamorphose
2 Kolaghan's Command
1 Kaya's Guile
2 Path to Exile
1 Silence
2 Lightning Helix
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Boros Charm
4 Lingering Souls
Land (23)
1 Castle Embereth
4 Arid Mesa
3 Sacred Foundry
2 Godless Shrine
1 Blood Crypt
3 Marsh Flats
2 Rugged Prairie
1 Mountain
2 Plains
2 Mistveil Plains
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Boil
1 Repel the Abominable
1 Crackling Doom
1 Angel's Grace
1 Generous Gift
1 Rakdos Charm
2 Fry
2 Celestial Purge
1 Settle the Wreckage
1 Wear // Tear
1 Hallowed Moonlight
1 Despark
Manamorphose is indeed an extremely solid card. Assembling the combo quickly drowns the opponent in card advantage most of the time due to the Draw 3-4 it provides if unanswered. Wins a lot of games outright, as its essentially often a "5 for 1". Also provides access to any sideboard card immediately. Sometimes I find its better to not to try to draw 4 if you're tapping out however, leaving it up to interact, and then drawing next turn when you have enough to leave an activation up as well. I find my first activation going to Silence a lot of the time to stall a turn.
I think Manamorphose could be a solid inclusion. Draw 4 + Kcommand/Upkeep Silence for only RW is insane value, and most likely will push you into a commanding lead by itself. The only problem is making space for 4 cards in the already valuable spell package. I wonder if a larger than 60 card pile is warranted here? Since Mphose cantrips itself for free, could say, a 62 card list with 4 copies make sense? I think the thinning could help offset it and provide the deck with a similar consistency while allowing us to stay heavy on powerful utilities like Kaya's Guile, Kcommand, etc. The fixing is also fine for us, maybe allowing us to hardcast offcolor sideboard cards in the unfortunate case theyre drawn. Render Silent springs to mind as a powerful 1 of option im afraid to mainboard in Mardu.
Thoughts? Any reccomended cuts to the OP list?
Currently running some Mardu/Jeskai lists with Mystic package and a focus on value. Will edit op with list
London Mulligan really helped this deck, TE is not much of a challenge to find nowadays and lots of people just aren't packing ways to deal with it maindeck.
So, this is a Tortured Existence brew that aims to close the game by locking your opponents out of the game using Thoughtpicker Witch. It uses a variety of creatures as sac fodder, primarily Myr Servitor, Mulldrifter, and Trinket Mage. All of them mitigate or negate card disadvantage normally associated with repeated sacrificing. Mesmeric Fiend is another common sacrifice target that can be looped to both control the library and permanently deal with cards that are already in hand. A pair of Grave Scrabblers can really run away with the game with a sac outlet on board, and provide more natural card advantage and free blockers. Myr Servitor itself can wall out some decks with blocks that arent able to clear away enough copies, buying you time while you assemble a lock. Golgari Brownscale is also included to give us a way to simply loop Thoughtpicker Witch with itself every turn in tight situations, and can allow us to gain a lot of life to delay further. Forbidden Alchemy, Mulldrifter and Careful Study help us find cards we need while filling the yard with tutor targets. The shell has a lot of resilience, and dodges edict effects. It feels unique, and perhaps strong enough to take some games off of established archetypes. Trinket Mage itself brings a lot to the table, and being able to loop its effect to find more lands, removal, or hate is quite strong in a shell where one can cast almost as many copies as you can afford.
Here's my current, albeit minimally refined, list;
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
2 Executioner's Capsule
- TE Package -
4 Tortured Existence
3 Thoughtpicker Witch
3 Golgari Brownscale
1 Stinkweed Imp
- Sac Fodder -
4 Myr Servitor
4 Grave Scrabbler
4 Mulldrifter
3 Trinket Mage
2 Mesmeric Fiend
4 Forbidden Alchemy
4 Careful Study
1 Horror of the Broken Lands
- Other Land -
4 Dimir Aqueduct
4 Dismal Backwater
4 Swamp
1 Dimir Guildgate
- Board -
4 Crypt Rats
2 Augur of Skulls
2 Mesmeric Fiend
2 Waterfront Bouncer
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Faerie Macabre
1 Executioner's Capsule
Probably going to be brewing this for a bit, would love suggestions, will update it as I go.
I'd compare this deck to Lantern Control, but it's really a Tortured Existence deck at heart. You do close games with library manipulation, but the execution and tutoring are lacking compared to Modern's streamlined Ensnaring Bridge centric lists. Creature combat is important, and often a Thoughtpicker Lock is icing on the cake. This configuration does not play hellbent magic, and generally has a lot more access to potential utility cards, but lacks the speed and card selection of Modern Lantern. It's probably not something that could exist outside of the pauper environment, and personally I think that's really cool.
Went at this for a few hours last night. I tried monocolored for a while, played some games with a rough list centered around Glaze Fiend, Defiant Salvager, and testing some cute interactions with Myr Servitor. Stand out cards were Vault Skirge/Bonesplitter and Glaze Fiend, but the deck was missing top heavy threats, and lacking evasion otherwise, resulting in losses to decks with a lot of ground presence. It also had issues running out of gas, to which I tried Resourceful Return. Eventually I gave up on Monoblack for more artifact lands and better draw, and dipped into blue for Thoughtcast, Etherium Sculptor, Gearseeker Serpent, and Seat of the Synod. Etherium Sculptor lets you dump your entire hand for free or 1 mana basically, and fueled some really busted draws, I think it has potential. Salvage Slasher felt mediocre in practice honestly. I went down to 2 and played more games with the UB list, and think they probably should just be cut. Being an x/1 is a hard life with no evasion or trample in a world full of disposable blockers and Bird Tokens. I think the black creatures have promise, but they have mostly undercosted bodies, and when using nonartifact cards like Dhund Operative, Defiant Scavenger, Aether Poisoner, etc too heavily, it pulled some of the artifact synergy out of the mix and was a nonbo with other pieces. I think this deck has promise, and I intend to keep tinkering, but its sorely lacking another evasive threat and a creature with instant speed sac artifacts for relevant value (No thanks Rusted Slasher). I'd go into red, because that's where all those are at common, but I'm worried that would devolve into strictly worse Affinity. Any thoughts on these points?
My personal top picks for this archetype:
Etherium Sculptor
Glaze Fiend
Vault Skirge
Bonesplitter
Thoughtcast
While playing the above, I was inspired to build something else with some of the pieces. Experimenting with Myr Servitor and Glaze Fiend produced cute results, cute enough that I wanted to build with it. Glaze Fiend itself was more strategy specific, but Myr Servitor seems like a creature that's honestly lacking play in Pauper. The effect is very powerful, providing 1-4 free recurring sac fodder creatures at the risk of removal blowouts. Obviously the card is a natural fit with sacrifice outlets like Brine Shaman, Plagued Rusalka, and Thoughtpicker Witch. I'm surprised to have not seen it at all yet. A search through the pauper forums yielded minimal results, though I did find a thread that attempts to use Servitor and Witch to close games, it was housed by a very fragile part U/B Control part Wizard Tribal shell. What the engine really needs is a way to counteract or become resilient to removal based blowouts, and a lot of redundancy. Tortured Existence brings all that to the table and a lot more. Here's what a morning of tinkering put forth:
3 Architects of Will
3 Forbidden Alchemy
2 Horror of the Broken Lands
1 Mulldrifter
- Mage Package -
4 Vault of Whispers
3 Seat of the Synod
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Executioner's Capsule
- Sac Fodder -
4 Myr Servitor
3 Trinket Mage
2 Mesmeric Fiend
3 Thoughtpicker Witch
2 Plagued Rusalka
- Discard Outlets -
4 Tortured Existence
2 Waterfront Bouncer
- TE Package -
4 Grave Scrabbler
3 Stinkweed Imp
2 Golgari Brownscale
- Other Land -
4 Dimir Aqueduct
4 Dismal Backwater
3 Swamp
2 Dimir Guildgate
20 Total
4 Crypt Rats
2 Golgari Brownscale
1 Trinket Mage
2 Faerie Macabre
1 Augur of Skulls
2 Mesmeric Fiend
2 Executioner's Capsule
1 Nihil Spellbomb
A lock can be assembled quickly and efficiently, with Stinkweed Imp, Forbidden Alchemy, and Trinket Mage digging out the Myr Servitor copies needed. Tortured Existence provides needed pseudo-redundancy and naturally blanks most removal-based answers. It can loop Thoughtpicker Witch by itself if need be, and Trinket Mage can even help bolster TE's natural rough times making land drops, by being looped to find Artifact lands while still controlling the opponent's library. The list closes games with Horror of the Broken Lands or simply by milling them out. There's also no shortage of card advantage with Mulldrifter/Grave Scrabbler, and solid lifegain to recover from aggressive starts with Golgari Brownscale. Mesmeric Fiend takes care of possible answers permanently thanks to stack+trigger manipulation and a sac outlet. Think it has any promise? Might post this in its own thread.
Spent a few minutes on the train scouring scryfall about this, I think there's a an aggressive build here with some combination of cards like Wild Mongrel, Naya Hushblade and friends, Shield of the Oversoul, Basking Rootwalla, Lightning Axe, etc + Verdant Eidolon. I'm having trouble getting the pieces to fit together, but the concept feels solid. The ratio of multicolored to monocolored is the biggest issue I think, Pauper's creature-base is a little limited when it comes to efficient playable 1-2 drops that are also Multicolored. Black might just end up being a better Idea with Putrid Leech and Tortured Existence, but I think the aggro plan could be more fun.
edit: card tags, wording