Mono-blue is about the closest thing we have to aggro-control, but it's really not doable on a budget.
The biggest thing is that you need to be able to either counter Supreme Verdict (which you can't) or easily work around it.
It's really hard to do these things AND still have reach. You could play U/W aggro-control and throw in some Rootborn Defenses and Brave the Elements to play around control's removal, but you're likely going to lose hard to more aggro decks.
There really just aren't the pieces right now. What you really want is for Mana Leak to be reprinted and not to have uncounterable cards.
How would you say the Izzet deck plays out, and how would you improve it given more money for cards?
It's really not the right environment for such a deck, IMO. You're too dependent on a few creatures, which die to most removal in the format and while you try to play like aggro-control, you can't counter Supreme Verdict.
I'd just rather play RDW.
On a budget for under $50, I really think you have to play a very aggressive deck; the pieces aren't there for an aggro-control deck like the Izzet deck and control is totally out.
I feel like such a hipster, though. I was playing Thresh before he became an auto-ban pick in Bronze/Silver. I still pick him whenever he doesn't get banned, but I'm finding I play more Taric and Nami these days for support.
You might want to cut a removal spell for another Pack Rat. Other than that, it looks okay, but you really should try to playtest some games. Visually looking at a decklist is no substitute for sitting down and playing actual games.
There's a number of differences between the book and movie, most of them very understandable to keep the movie within length, to keep in continuation with the first film, and to keep the pace reasonable:
- They didn't mention Katniss' need to showcase her talent (or Peeta's painting) which means she works very closely with Cinna to develop her fashion talent.
- They dropped the backstory of Haymitch winning the 50th Hunger Games (2nd Quarter Quell), and in particular, the fact that it had double the number of contestants and the way in which he won.
- The mayor and his daughter were dropped in the first film, so naturally weren't in the second film, either.
- Bonnie and Twill (the people searching for District 13) were dropped completely.
- Gale gets punished for attacking a peacekeeper rather than bringing back wild game.
- The avoxes were present in the movie, but they don't go into much detail about them and certainly there isn't the same level of connection in the movie as in the books. Probably time and rating (keep it under R) issues at work.
- The fence was electrified again and Katniss needs to find a way around it.
- Plutarch doesn't show off his watch. Many people who haven't read the book said it sets up a better reveal anyway, since his motives aren't as clear; the twist at the end when he's shown on the hovercraft is more surprising.
- While they showed Peeta and Katniss' skills for the gamemakers, no scores this time around. It was a minor point that they got unbelievably high scores in the book, which made them bigger targets. In the movie, Haymitch simply notes that they're prime targets and need to make allies.
- Figuring out the clock was very quickly done in the movie; in the book it's drawn out for a long time.
- In the books, it's pretty apparent that Katniss is VERY tomboyish and her transformation both times that Cinna has to come by and change her is much more dramatic. This is just Hollywood at work here and the fact that Jennifer Lawrence is pretty and they're reluctant to make her ugly and hairy to clean her up for the pre-game interviews.
There were lots of little things like this, but it's a movie adaptation and I thought it was done well (in contrast, I've seen every Michael Crichton book made into a movie and some of those like Sphere and Congo were not very faithful, IMO).
People who are a little too worried about capturing everything from the book in the movies (*cough* LOTR fans *cough* sorry, but Tom Bombadil's exclusion is perfectly fine for the movie) need to remember that they're two very different mediums, so inner dialogue moments and narration by the author don't always translate well and not everyone has read the book and movies can't be 4-5 hours long to capture every little detail.
It depends if you're willing to shell out for 4x Desecration Demon and 4x Nightveil Specter. You still need to lose Thoughtseize and Hero's Downfall and you'd likely get something like this:
However, Duress is much worse than Thoughtseize and no removal is a real replacement for Hero's Downfall, especially since Hero's Downfall can kill Desecration Demon, Boros Reckoner, and Nightveil Specter, no questions asked and Hero's Downfall can easily take down Garruk, Xenagos, Domri Rade, and Jace, Architect of Thought. Pithing Needle is really your only answer on a budget.
I updated the Guide again - a bunch of new decks: BW Midrange, RG Ramp, Monoblue, and BG aggro. And I put something in section #2 about building a deck on a budget, either by adapting a high price deck or assembling one from cheap cards.
Bronze 4 player pairs up with his friend, a Diamond 1 player and the average of their MMR is low Silver (where I am). B4 players dies, but the D1 player is amazing compared to everyone else and carries his team to victory.
B4 player gloats after the game and tells me to go kill myself because I said this seems unfair.
Reported, of course, but this is so ridiculous that a D1 player can come in and stomp all over all of us because he's matched up with a B4 player.
I want duo queue players to have a separate queue for themselves after this.
Wanted to pipe in and say thanks for the advice! I picked up most cards last night, though my local shop was out of Detention Sphere / Supreme Verdict.. so pretty core pieces of the deck :(!
I was curious to know if Jace Memory Adept would be worth adding into the deck as an additional threat/win con?
I don't think Jace is worth the inclusion. You really need to stabilize the board. Jace, Architect of Thought protects you, but Jace, Memory Adept doesn't do anything to the board, so you really need to play it when you're in a safe position to do so, and by then, you probably should be trying to cast Aetherling. I would rather have Opportunity over Jace - one more mana and immediate cards to draw.
I still don't think that Render Silent is worth the slot. You're still talking about a hypothetical late game where they're going to try to force through two game-winning spells back to back in one turn when you only have one counterspell and if that's true, then Render Silent still only stalls one turn.
I think Dissolve is better all around and can help smooth your draws since you don't have the raw card drawing of Sphinx's Revelation on a budget. You could try playing with Opportunity, but I think the lack of flexibility in cost makes it questionable.
We can be online friends, sure. I'm not sure I'm that awesome, but I appreciate the praise. I wish you success with your deck.
Going to start building a $100 u/w control deck today! Will give feedback when I can :). I don't see render silent in many decklists, could anyone explain why? It seems like a really nice card.
edit #1:
Second question, I have a good friend who just started playing with me. We're both just now getting back into the game, and he's looking to play a g/b aggro or mid-range deck. Does he have any options w/o dropping over $100?
The effect on Render Silent rarely comes up. The spells you want to counter with a 3-cost spell aren't often followed up by a more devastating spell after that. Dissolve is usually strictly better most of the time, since you can scry 1.
I think there was a G/B deck that did well at Pro Tour Theros that he could try to emulate:
He probably has to replace (at least) Thoughtseize, Scavenging Ooze, Desecration Demon, and Overgrown Tomb to make it < $100. Maybe Duress, Dreg Mangler, Deadbridge Goliath, and more Swamps and Forests?
The biggest thing is that you need to be able to either counter Supreme Verdict (which you can't) or easily work around it.
It's really hard to do these things AND still have reach. You could play U/W aggro-control and throw in some Rootborn Defenses and Brave the Elements to play around control's removal, but you're likely going to lose hard to more aggro decks.
There really just aren't the pieces right now. What you really want is for Mana Leak to be reprinted and not to have uncounterable cards.
It's really not the right environment for such a deck, IMO. You're too dependent on a few creatures, which die to most removal in the format and while you try to play like aggro-control, you can't counter Supreme Verdict.
I'd just rather play RDW.
On a budget for under $50, I really think you have to play a very aggressive deck; the pieces aren't there for an aggro-control deck like the Izzet deck and control is totally out.
It suggests that you may be able to be a vampire werewolf zombie.
I feel like such a hipster, though. I was playing Thresh before he became an auto-ban pick in Bronze/Silver. I still pick him whenever he doesn't get banned, but I'm finding I play more Taric and Nami these days for support.
Okay, done.
Thank you. Deck added with more Pack Rats in my version.
- They didn't mention Katniss' need to showcase her talent (or Peeta's painting) which means she works very closely with Cinna to develop her fashion talent.
- They dropped the backstory of Haymitch winning the 50th Hunger Games (2nd Quarter Quell), and in particular, the fact that it had double the number of contestants and the way in which he won.
- The mayor and his daughter were dropped in the first film, so naturally weren't in the second film, either.
- Bonnie and Twill (the people searching for District 13) were dropped completely.
- Gale gets punished for attacking a peacekeeper rather than bringing back wild game.
- The avoxes were present in the movie, but they don't go into much detail about them and certainly there isn't the same level of connection in the movie as in the books. Probably time and rating (keep it under R) issues at work.
- The fence was electrified again and Katniss needs to find a way around it.
- Plutarch doesn't show off his watch. Many people who haven't read the book said it sets up a better reveal anyway, since his motives aren't as clear; the twist at the end when he's shown on the hovercraft is more surprising.
- While they showed Peeta and Katniss' skills for the gamemakers, no scores this time around. It was a minor point that they got unbelievably high scores in the book, which made them bigger targets. In the movie, Haymitch simply notes that they're prime targets and need to make allies.
- Figuring out the clock was very quickly done in the movie; in the book it's drawn out for a long time.
- In the books, it's pretty apparent that Katniss is VERY tomboyish and her transformation both times that Cinna has to come by and change her is much more dramatic. This is just Hollywood at work here and the fact that Jennifer Lawrence is pretty and they're reluctant to make her ugly and hairy to clean her up for the pre-game interviews.
There were lots of little things like this, but it's a movie adaptation and I thought it was done well (in contrast, I've seen every Michael Crichton book made into a movie and some of those like Sphere and Congo were not very faithful, IMO).
People who are a little too worried about capturing everything from the book in the movies (*cough* LOTR fans *cough* sorry, but Tom Bombadil's exclusion is perfectly fine for the movie) need to remember that they're two very different mediums, so inner dialogue moments and narration by the author don't always translate well and not everyone has read the book and movies can't be 4-5 hours long to capture every little detail.
It depends if you're willing to shell out for 4x Desecration Demon and 4x Nightveil Specter. You still need to lose Thoughtseize and Hero's Downfall and you'd likely get something like this:
4 Desecration Demon
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
4 Nightveil Specter
4 Pack Rat
4 Doom Blade
3 Ultimate Price
4 Duress
4 Underworld Connections
However, Duress is much worse than Thoughtseize and no removal is a real replacement for Hero's Downfall, especially since Hero's Downfall can kill Desecration Demon, Boros Reckoner, and Nightveil Specter, no questions asked and Hero's Downfall can easily take down Garruk, Xenagos, Domri Rade, and Jace, Architect of Thought. Pithing Needle is really your only answer on a budget.
It was only a third player on their team who said something like, "whoa, dude. Too far."
Bronze 4 player pairs up with his friend, a Diamond 1 player and the average of their MMR is low Silver (where I am). B4 players dies, but the D1 player is amazing compared to everyone else and carries his team to victory.
B4 player gloats after the game and tells me to go kill myself because I said this seems unfair.
Reported, of course, but this is so ridiculous that a D1 player can come in and stomp all over all of us because he's matched up with a B4 player.
I want duo queue players to have a separate queue for themselves after this.
4 Dryad Militant
4 Experiment One
4 Fleecemane Lion
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Selesnya Charm
4 Rootborn Defenses
4 Call of the Conclave
11 Forest
9 Plains
Removing Voice of Resurgence, Temple Garden, and Ajani should help you get under $100.
I don't think Jace is worth the inclusion. You really need to stabilize the board. Jace, Architect of Thought protects you, but Jace, Memory Adept doesn't do anything to the board, so you really need to play it when you're in a safe position to do so, and by then, you probably should be trying to cast Aetherling. I would rather have Opportunity over Jace - one more mana and immediate cards to draw.
I think Dissolve is better all around and can help smooth your draws since you don't have the raw card drawing of Sphinx's Revelation on a budget. You could try playing with Opportunity, but I think the lack of flexibility in cost makes it questionable.
We can be online friends, sure. I'm not sure I'm that awesome, but I appreciate the praise. I wish you success with your deck.
The effect on Render Silent rarely comes up. The spells you want to counter with a 3-cost spell aren't often followed up by a more devastating spell after that. Dissolve is usually strictly better most of the time, since you can scry 1.
I think there was a G/B deck that did well at Pro Tour Theros that he could try to emulate:
4 Golgari Guildgate
4 Overgrown Tomb
9 Swamp
2 Boon Satyr
4 Desecration Demon
3 Elvish Mystic
3 Kalonian Tusker
2 Lifebane Zombie
4 Lotleth Troll
2 Polukranos, World Eater
4 Scavenging Ooze
3 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
2 Hero's Downfall
4 Thoughtseize
He probably has to replace (at least) Thoughtseize, Scavenging Ooze, Desecration Demon, and Overgrown Tomb to make it < $100. Maybe Duress, Dreg Mangler, Deadbridge Goliath, and more Swamps and Forests?