Bang For Your Buck #1
Bang For Your Buck
ducttapedeckbox
26 March 2013
3610 views
26 March 2013
3610 views
Bang for your Buck -- Episode 1
Intro
Hey everyone! After observing the invaluable help that KrazyCaley’s articles give, we have decided to start composing our own series of articles. These articles, which we have fittingly titled Bang for your Buck, will highlight a budget deck, and give suggestions to its designer. It is important that players who cannot or do not want to purchase a costly deck have the opportunity to compete competitively at tournaments.
For a deck to be featured in one of these articles, they must meet the following criteria:
- Follow a $50.00 budget, according to the CoolStuffInc price box on the deck page
- For now, we will only feature Standard Legal decks (ISD-GTC), where we have the most knowledge
- The deck must have an informative description to assist us in our analysis, and players who choose to view the deck
They are simple criteria, and also very broad. I will be writing these articles with input from W999, and assistance from SomethingRandom in the play-testing.
Now enough rambling, let’s get to this first deck!
The Deck
This article will focus on Mongo’s Simic (U/G) Defender Ramp deck:
deck-large:tramplefest-13-biovisionary-sb
For ease, you can also find the deck list below:
Creatures (24)
- 4x Axebane Guardian
- 4x Clone
- 2x Elderscale Wurm
- 4x Fog Bank
- 2x Giant Adephage
- 4x Ludevic's Test Subject Flip
- 2x Tree of Redemption
- 2x Worldspine Wurm
Instants (10)
- 2x Cackling Counterpart
- 4x Mizzium Skin
- 4x Syncopate
Lands (20)
- 8x Forest
- 8x Island
- 4x Simic Guildgate
Enchantments (6)
Sideboard (15)
- 4x Biovisionary
- 2x Cackling Counterpart
- 1x Creeping Renaissance
- 2x Diabolic Revelation
- 1x Enter the Infinite
- 2x Increasing Ambition
- 2x Infinite Reflection
- 1x Omniscience
Pre-Review Play-testing
With the help of SomethingRandom, I have play-tested this deck against three decks, all of which were budget decks. I was only able to play once per deck, but it gave me a good feel for how the deck plays and what I think needs changing.
Test 1 -- W/B Extort
My initial thought was regarding the low land count. I had to mulligan down to five cards before I had a hand that was playable, and I didn’t get a Forest until my fifth turn. Maybe it was simply my bad luck, so this is something we will watch for in the next two games. The opposing deck was heavy on flying creatures, and without Fog Bank, there wasn’t much I could do. And, without green mana, I was unable to get my Axebane Guardians out for ramp. I lost, but it was due to mana-screw. We still have two playtests to go.
Test 2 -- R/W Boros Aggro
This game yielded a much better performance than the first test. I kept a hand with three lands, a Ludevic's Test Subject Flip, and an Axebane Guardian. Like many of the current aggro decks, the opposing one was slow on its’ first turn, but started going on the second. However, this deck also took off. The game ended with a Ludevic's Abomination Flip attacking twice for the win. However, I was stuck with a few cards in my hand I was reluctant to play, or felt that they didn’t fit the deck.
- Infinite Reflection – I am extremely hesitant to play this card. It turns the battlefield into a field day for Sever the Bloodline and Detention Sphere. I know an R/W deck couldn’t have played either, but it may serve a better purpose in the Sideboard.
- Tree of Redemption – A great blocker, and can save you if needed, but I thought its place in the deck could be filled by something more effective
- Worldspine Wurm – For such a high CMC and easily removed, I am not sure if it is necessary. W999 is a proponent for keeping it, so it could go either way.
Test 3 -- U/B Dimir Mill
This deck worked perfectly. By turn four or five, I had multiple defenders, including two Axebane Guardians, holding my board position. By turn 5 or 6, I had Elderscale Wurm out and another copy the next turn, which trampled over (literally) the creature-light Mill deck.
Changes
Mainboard
Cuts (13):
- Tree of Redemption --A great blocker for four, but I think that all of the defenders should be able to be played for three or less. Also, it isn’t very useful if you exchange your life total, and is susceptible to removal. I’d cut it.
- Worldspine Wurm -- It’s very expensive, and almost always requires the player to tap out. I think it’s too expensive, even for a ramp deck. Cut. Again, W999 believes it should stay, so in its place he recommends dropping
- Infinite Reflection -- As I mentioned above, I’m extremely uncomfortable playing this card unless it’s on Biovisionary, which is in the Sideboard. I’d recommend it for the sideboard at the most.
- Clone -- Another good card, but I was drawing it too often, when I’d much rather other cards. Drop to a two-of.
- Alpha Authority -- I frequently had at least one sitting in my hand, so I recommend dropping one.
- Mizzium Skin -- A good card, no doubt. I do think there are more versatile cards out there. Maybe we can find a replacement.
Additions (13):
- To bring the deck up to par with my land expectations, I recommend upping the land count to 23. +1 Forest, and +2 Island (7 slots left)
- Gatecreeper Vine is a great defender for 2, can even hold its’ ground against aggro decks, and fetches another land! +4. (3 slots left)
- Lastly, we need some more control. Simic Charm, Dissipate or Cyclonic Rift will do. +3 Simic Charm and +3 Cyclonic Rift. Simic Charm also replaces Mizzium Skin, providing hexproof as well as other options.
Sideboard
This sideboard seems to be mix-match of fun cards. I am not a proponent of sideboarding Biovisionary, but Mongo seems to like it, so we will try to accommodate it. We believe that the changes are relatively self-explanatory, so the revised sideboard will be with the final recommendation. Please feel to discuss and ask questions below!
Post-Review Play-Testing
The same three decks were used, and the deck seemed to play much more smoothly than the previous games. Despite one loss, I felt much more confident in the draws and did not end up playing a card that I felt was only OK for the deck. Again, only one game was played against each deck, so there could be things we missed!
Test 1 -- W/B Extort
No mana-screw like the first game, and the control aspect proved to be useful. I saved a Ludevic's Abomination Flip and an Elderscale Wurm more than once each with [[Simic Charm] ], yet I was not holding a hand with an abundance of control spells.
Test 2 -- R/W Boros Aggro
The low-cost defenders were able to keep up with the flood of aggro creatures, and an Elderscale Wurm late-game preventing me from losing. No mana problems, and the balance between defenders and control seemed to be working well.
Test 3 -- U/B Dimir Mill
The deck certainly performed well in this game, however the mill deck had a near-perfect game. I was completely milled out within 2 turns of dropping my first bomb on turn 6. The changes to the sideboard assist in preventing this.
Recommended Build
Creatures (22)
- 4x Axebane Guardian
- 2x Clone
- 2x Elderscale Wurm
- 4x Fog Bank
- 2x Giant Adephage
- 4x Ludevic's Test Subject Flip
- 4x Gatecreeper Vine
Instants (12)
- 2x Cackling Counterpart
- 3x Simic Charm
- 4x Syncopate
- 3x Cyclonic Rift
Lands (23)
- 9x Forest
- 10x Island
- 4x Simic Guildgate
Enchantments (3)
Sideboard (15)
- 4x Biovisionary
- 1x Cackling Counterpart
- 2x Infinite Reflection
- 2x Witchbane Orb
- 2x Grafdigger's Cage
- 2x Pithing Needle
- 2x Glaring Spotlight
Of course, we only came up with a few suggestions, so we would love to hear yours -- they are just as, if not more valuable, than our own!
Thank you for reading! Until next week where we feature another budget deck!
It maybe best to playtest against more competitive decks in the future as that will give readers a more accurate article if they take a decklist from here to their next FNM.
March 26, 2013 8:19 a.m.
On Gavin Verheys budget builds he says that building a budget deck is possible but manafixing is important therefore budget deck should always include dual lands, however this is a great article and I look forward to more.
March 26, 2013 10:03 a.m.
I've recently begun to investigate more ways of building budget decks that are able to actually win some times - not at tournaments or anything, but just against friends who have insanely expensive decks. Thanks for this - keep up the good work! :D
March 26, 2013 10:38 a.m.
Thedren_The_Inquisitor says... #5
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mono-blue-delver-26-03-13-2/
it has a price of 7.98 low and an average price of 22.74
March 26, 2013 11:52 a.m.
Thedren_The_Inquisitor says... #6
scratch my last comment i linked another players deck on accident
there that is better
the goal is to bounce cards back to peoples hand and attack with massive Delver of Secrets Flip , Blistercoil Weird and Jace's Phantasm s
March 26, 2013 11:58 a.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #7
I appreciate the feedback everyone (and I'm sure Mongo does as well)! Please be sure to leave the space below reserved for comments on the deck's structure or something that pertains to the article - anything else can be directed to my wall.
@ Pokeq -- I think One-Eyed Scarecrow would be much more appealing if it had flying itself. We tried to have the defenders fall into three categories: win-con., ramp, and flying. The Scarecrow doesn't necessarily fit well into any of these categories, but please discuss it, as it can only benefit the deck! Sheltering Word is a great suggestion. It's similar to Simic Charm , and running it might come down to the meta. What were you thinking to remove?
@ Demarge -- That is one thing I wish I had done with this article, and will be included in the next article. SomethingRandom and I only play relatively low-cost decks, so it was more feasible to test against decks we were familiar with. We will work on that though.
@ Aikola -- I couldn't agree more. I am leaving the dual lands up to the deck builder in these articles so that they can obtain what they can with respect to their budget, but will gladly help changing the land base around if the builder desires.
@ jensradk -- Thanks! Please be sure to leave some comments for the deck builder too if you have any! :)
@ Thedren_The_Inquisitor -- I already have another deck lined up for an article, and I would not like to start a list so I don't fall behind on anything. I will try to check out your deck, but in the meantime please try to leave some feedback for this deck :)
March 26, 2013 4:37 p.m.
Thedren_The_Inquisitor says... #8
I would recommend Urban Evolution and Evolving Wilds
March 26, 2013 5:45 p.m.
Just as a suggestion, if you could find some, could you recommend some budget EDH stuff? I'm trying to introduce my girlfriend to the format, but decks are really expensive.
March 26, 2013 7:48 p.m.
Nevermind, I just saw the "only standard legal decks" bit. Ah well, worth a shot.
March 26, 2013 7:51 p.m.
What about Dissipate instead of the Syncopate I just personally like hard counters that dont give them a chance to respond. If you can mana fix to get a decent Syncopate off you should be able to get the two blue for Dissipate . Cost is about the same so it shouldnt affect the budget much.
March 26, 2013 10:25 p.m.
@erabel I think you should look "Dredged" on Serious Fun, from DailyMTG. It's got a pretty cheap list.
I think Galvanic Alchemist and Increasing Confusion should be put in just because it really only takes up 5 slots or so, and allows for an another alt-win con.
I also think the Glaring Spotlight s in the sideboard should be replaced with more Infinite Reflection . After all, Simic Charm and Cyclonic Rift are your only targeted removal, and your attacking creatures are large enough that Alpha Authority or their sheer size will be enough to attack with.
March 26, 2013 10:25 p.m.
I think you should swap Alpha Authority for Sheltering Word
may be Negate for Simic Charm ? because the creature have all your defender to block it but you creature must have more protection from killing spell or other combo cards.
please consider One-Eyed Scarecrow for sideboard against flying token deck :) it save a lot of damage in case of your Fog Bank doesn't on the field
March 26, 2013 11:20 p.m.
also Ground Seal may be better than Grafdigger's Cage in this deck :)
March 26, 2013 11:22 p.m.
another thought regarding counters is Spell Rupture once you've gotten you're big guys out, its hard to cast something and keep 7 or 13 mana open. just a thought.
March 26, 2013 11:43 p.m.
I was thinking Spell Rupture too, the only issue I see with it is that early when its better then Syncopate you are likely only going to have a defender with 0 toughness. Later in the game if they tap out or even all but say 2 or 3 mana its not hard finding the extra mana with a couple Axebane Guardian on the table.
Thats my 2 cents anyways
March 27, 2013 12:14 a.m.
I think Spell Rupture is useless in early game because all defender have only 0 power.
Another question, When do we change Biovisionary and Infinite Reflection in and which card we take out for those?
March 27, 2013 6:52 a.m.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing Pokeq I was saying that early game is where Spell Rupture is better as having even a spare 2 mana for a spell is sometimes not possible. Later game when you can tap for an extra 7 mana Syncopate works better.
March 27, 2013 7:09 a.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #19
@ Pokeq -- Really Biovisionary and Infinite Reflection are for just fun games. Mongo, our deckbuilder, seemed to like the idea, so I left it in. And, what would you suggestion dropping for One-Eyed Scarecrow ?
Keep the discussion going everyone!
March 27, 2013 3:22 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #20
Let me respond to some other things above:
Syncopate was chosen because of the likelihood of an abundance of mana. However, we have have overlooked Dissipate - it is good in the same sense. We will have an abundance of mana, but why not only use three for a counterspell? Great point. Spell Rupture , however, seems too unreliable; it becomes useless when you don't have a giant creature out.
Grafdigger's Cage > Ground Seal because it locks down reanimator decks, as eliminates the use of flashback. Ground Seal doesn't prevent any of this, and costs one more mana (even though that isn't a problem for this deck).
Is the permanent hexproof of Alpha Authority worth it over the lifegain of Sheltering Word ? Discuss below!
One-Eyed Scarecrow would be good SB material, depending on the meta. It's really up to the player of the deck.
March 27, 2013 3:44 p.m.
Dissipate was the other counterspell I was looking at too. and the issues you point out with Spell Rupture are the same issues that I have with it. It has helped me immensely in some drafts but in this deck and this format it does lose some punch.
Sheltering Word and Alpha Authority I think could be swapped for one another depending on the deck being faced. I would say Sheltering Word would be better with a burn deck stretching out a game by an extra turn or two can really screw a burn deck. A creature heavy vs would be better suited to the Alpha Authority or in a meta that runs lots of control.
March 27, 2013 9:31 p.m.
I think we could drop Glaring Spotlight for One-Eyed Scarecrow
because we already have 3 Cyclonic Rift in main board :)
March 27, 2013 9:59 p.m.
Do you mean that there are Simic Charm in the mainboard for hexproof? Cause Cyclonic Rift only gets around hexproof for 7 cmc. I'd rather use the Fog Bank against flyers myself.
March 27, 2013 10:21 p.m.
Not completely sold on Cyclonic Rift but can't think of anything better. I would -2 Clone +2 Cackling Counterpart because mana is not an issue you can use the flashback.
March 28, 2013 3:40 a.m.
Oh and just wondering, how do you make your selection on what decks you feature in your articles?
March 28, 2013 3:42 a.m.
I like Clone
better myself. I like being able to have it come in as a copy of an opponents legendary and kill it. Or even if they just have some really good creature that you could use as well. Cackling Counterpart
only allows you to target your own creatures.
March 28, 2013 7:15 a.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #27
Had my wisdom teeth out earlier today, so my responses might sound a little weird. I apologize for that!
@ NeoHazard -- So basically sideboard Sheltering Word ? Or which one do you think would be more effective in the mainboard?
@ Pokeq -- I'm a little confused about your statement; I don't see the connection between Glaring Spotlight and Cyclonic Rift .
@ ambeault -- I don't really like Clone myself, but the versatility it provides in being able to copy opponent's creatures is helpful, as NeoHazard said. There really isn't a formal way to request that your deck be featured, I'm working on that.
March 28, 2013 2:23 p.m.
Glaring Spotlight make you can target the hexproofed creature such as Geist of Saint Traft or Invisible Stalker
but Cyclonic Rift overload don't need to target and we can reach 7 mana in turn 4 :)
March 28, 2013 9:31 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #29
@ Pokeq -- That is true. The rift is the only card that can target a hexproof creature anyways, so I can see removing Glaring Spotlight from the SB.
March 28, 2013 9:37 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #31
I've been very busy with school and such, so I haven't had the time to compose another article. I will definitely try to get working on a second this weekend, but cannot promise anything.
April 5, 2013 2:34 p.m.
It seems I don't have acces to Elderscale Wurm without paying a pretty hefty price for it. Any suggestions as to what I could replace that card with, atm I'm looking at Skarrg Goliath , but 8 mana? Ugh. S:
June 30, 2013 8:14 a.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #33
@ Artemi -- Elderscale Wurm is under $2 at the moment. They should be very easy to obtain.
Pokeq says... #1
One-Eyed Scarecrow is a very good defender against the flyer,
I recommend to put Sheltering Word to protect your creature and gain a lot of life.
March 26, 2013 6:16 a.m.