Afraid of the Blade: $60 Budget Build

Modern Artifact Budget Casual Control Equip Fear Intimidate Mono-Black Theme/Gimmick Voltron

DBCooper

Creature (20)

• 4x Blind Zealot
• 4x Dross Golem
• 4x Highborn Ghoul
• 4x Nezumi Cutthroat
• 4x Prickly Boggart

Artifact (12)

• 1x Elbrus, the Binding Blade  ^Flip
• 4x Mask of Memory
• 2x Quietus Spike
• 2x Sword of Sinew and Steel
• 3x Vorpal Sword

Instant (8)

• 4x Cast Down
• 4x Fatal Push

Land (20)

• 20x Swamp

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Sideboard

Creature (4)

• 1x Avatar of Woe
• 3x Lifebane Zombie

Sorcery (4)

• 4x Despise

Artifact (3)

• 3x Trepanation Blade

Instant (4)

• 4x Dark Betrayal

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Maybeboard

Creature (2)

• 1x Crowd of Cinders
• 1x Dread

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The fear mechanic holds a special meaning to me, and as such I decided to attempt to build deck showcasing it as a tribute, as well as to prove that it can be a viable option for casual and budget settings. Because this is more of a casual play oriented deck, budget concerns were paramount: this deck is around $70, which may or may not be considered a budget build in some circles; I'll let you decide whether you consider this a "budget-friendly" deck.

By harnessing the fear (and intimidate) mechanic as a means of making attackers not easily blocked by opponents, cards like Quietus Spike and Elbrus, the Binding Blade   become significant threats due to their triggering effects, and can potentially serve as win conditions. Additionally, Mask of Memory may facilitate card draw to supplement my hand strength through quasi-unblockable damage driven in by fear mechanics. Further, Vorpal Sword makes a formidable alternate win-condition late-game. Finally, Sword of Sinew and Steel is included as a means of ensuring damage is consistently pushed through to opponents, due to its protection from black as well as its ability to destroy artifacts both serving to overcome the weaknesses of the fear mechanic. Additionally, the deck features an array of creature removal such as Cast Down and Fatal Push aimed at destroying any black/artifact creatures not affected by fear or intimidate, as well as serve to fill graveyards with creatures, thus allowing me to cheat out Avatar of Woe easily. Additionally, Blind Zealot can serve this purpose to ensure viable blockers never last long on the opponents' board.

Top Ranked	Achieved #9 position overall 3 years ago Achieved #5 position in Modern 3 years ago Achieved #1 position in Modern Artifact 3 years ago Achieved #1 position in Modern Equip 3 years ago
Date added	3 years
Last updated	2 years
Legality	This deck is Modern legal.
Rarity (main - side)	3 - 0 Mythic Rares 5 - 4 Rares 12 - 11 Uncommons 20 - 0 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.35
Folders	Nice, Saved, Decks, Buy?, Decks that is interesting to biuld, themed