Building a budget death and taxes deck that I will eventually upgrade to the full thing. I have playtested it a few times and it seems to have some potential to take down competitive decks. Its main problem is that the creatures become outclassed very quickly, so it has trouble finishing out games.
Card BreakdownAven Mindcensor- running three of this guy because his ability is similar to Leonin Arbiter, and it shuts down Tooth and Nail and other similar effects. The only search four cards is not usually effective against fetch lands since there is a land that they can grab most of the time.
Blade Splicer- This card helps you go wide to either put pressure on the opponent or to finish them off. Great target for Flickerwisp or Restoration Angel.
Dryad Militant- A great way to stop Snapcaster Mages, delve, and helps keep Tarmogoyf a manageable size. Decent power that can also trade with two and three drops.
Leonin Arbiter- This guy is amazing against any opponent that runs fetchlands which is most of the modern field. He has decent stats, but it usually is not wise to trade him since he also makes Path to Exile and Ghost Quarter insane.
Mirran Crusader- Stops abzan, jund, and death's shadows decks. Protection from black and green stop Abrubt Decay and Fatal Push. Can still die to bolt, but that has fallen in popularity so in the current meta crusader is amazing.
Restoration Angel- A 3/4 flyer is already good, and throw in the flash blinking effect its even better. A finisher with added benefits from saving blockers, saving attackers, triggering Thraben Inspector or bladesplicer again. An overall great card.
Flickerwisp- I would run the full playset but without Aether Vials there is no way to flash them in. It can do everything restoration angel can do at sorcery speed. Remember that it can target lands, planeswalkers to reset them, and artifacts to reset them.
Thraben Inspector- A one drop that gives some card advantage. It is also a great creature to crew Smuggler's Copter if the ground gets clogged up.
Vryn Wingmare- A Thalia, Guardian of Thraben that is cheaper for the wallet. It is great against control decks, storm decks, or any other deck that uses noncreature spells. It also has flying which is good against most modern decks.
Smuggler's Copter- This card is great. It is a great draw engine to get the cards you want and get rid of the ones you don't. The ability to fly is even better allowing the copter to a consistent three damage every turn.
Path to Exile- Not a budget card, but it is essential to the deck to interact with their creatures directly. Even better with Leonin Arbiter out.
Ghost Quarter- A full playset to take out troublesome lands, and with Leonin Arbiter out you can actively destroy their mana base.
Field of Ruin- This may get switched out for Tectonic Edge. I am trying to figure out which is better.
Sea Gate Wreckage- When the match is going into the late game you need a draw engine. This land gives that and with Ghost Quarter and Field of Ruin there is enough colorless mane floating around that you will consistently be able to activate it.
I have been toying around with including Aegis of the Gods for burn and storm matchups. I don't know what I would cut, but it seems like it would help. I have also considered Kor Skyfisher because it is a flyer with good stats and can send back Thraben Inspector or Blade Splicer to get more value.
So that's the deck! Please leave a comment below and upvote if you like it!
