It's so... cheap. Not to mention how solid it looks. Creatures, aggro, card draw, counters, and counter-removal, all in a very fluid and synergistic way. I hope the prices don't go too far beyond $20. I will definitely build this with that kind of budget. +1

For the sideboard I would recommend Pithing Needle - when is Pithing Needle not relevant? Rest in Peace and Imposing Sovereign aren't too spendy either. Celestial Flare is pretty sweet too, if you find yourself out-aggroed. I might give Soldier of the Pantheon and Brave the Elements a shot too. Maybe Artisan of Forms ? I can also see Bident of Thassa having synergy with Triton Tactics.

Thanks Murlochieftain. Price wasn't a consideration when I designed the deck, but it was a very welcome bonus. I think the deck would cost about $30 right now, but new releases always fluctuate during the first few weeks.

And Celestial Flare nearly made my main deck, so I definitely plan on adding it to the sideboard. Brave the Elements is a good suggestion, too.

I love the trick with Bioshift . Instead of Fate Foretold , I suggest Warrior's Lesson to get card draw plus double the heroic effect. I would also drop the Celestial Archon (too slow) and replace it with either Battlewise Hoplite or Triton Fortune Hunter . +1

I have a deck that similarly abuses the heroic mechanic, but by using cipher. Let me know what you think? Cipher Heroic Cycle: Just Add Water

gyakuza, I should have realized Cipher spells would activate Heroic. That's a great tip! I'm definitely going to rethink the finer points of the deck as a result.

I've been having the same worries with Celestial Archon . I suspect I may be pulling it, but I want to actually test it against an opponent first.

unfortunately, the cipher ability does not trigger heroic because with cipher you are casting a copy of the spell, heroic triggers whenever you cast a spell that targets the creature.

You're not thinking big enough codyacbrave.

Let's say it's turn two in a match. I have Favored Hoplite on the battlefield while my opponent has a Kalonian Tusker . I cast Hidden Strings out of my hand and tap the tusker and untap one a mana. I then encode Strings on the Hoplite. It then has a clear lane to attack, which triggers the cipher.

I can then use the strings to untap my other mana and the Hoplite. By casting a copy that targets the Hoplite, I also pump it. It does rely on getting through to the enemy, but between Hidden Strings itself and Aqueous Form , I think it can work.

it's a great strategy but Favored Hoplite wont get the trigger when you copy Hidden Strings with cipher is what I'm saying. It's the same way cipher doesn't work with Guttersnipe because you cast a 'copy' of the spell.

Thanks for the question codyacbrave. You sent me to the rule book on this one, and here's what I think the difference is.

Guttersnipe (one of my favorite cards, BTW) has his ability triggered when a spell is cast. According to rule 706.10, copy spells are not cast, they just exist on the stack. The Heroic mechanic relies on the permanent being targeted by a spell. Copied spells are still spells, so if they target a Heroic creature, Heroic activates.

The research here helped sure up my knowledge of the deck. I really appreciate the feedback.

You may be right, haha cipher is so tricky. But just to reiterate heroic, the text actually says, "Whenever you CAST a spell that targets..." good luck either way great theme, I playtested it, seems pretty consistant.

Oh crap, you're right. Sorry to belabor your point and thanks for the assistance.

No problem, check out my decks if you get a chance.

Click This Thats a link for cipher and guttersnipe. It works. The only time a copied spell won't work is when you hard cast lets say Lightning Bolt Then use another spell or ability to copy it. You're not casting a copy, you're just copying the original spell. Cipher states "cast a copy" So it's a touch different. As for the deck! I like it, seems very strong. +1

" 'tis a godlike thing to lend; to owe is a heroic virtue."

Sweet deck, I think I'm going to borrow it and make my own Standard version. U/W of course...

Hidden Strings such a good heroic trigger not to mention you can basically cast it for free.

Oh also Ethereal Armor soo good.

Felix, Ethereal Armor is a key part of another deck I've designed, The Enchanted Army. Feel free to check it out.

I see what you're doing.Recommendation: Take out 3x Ordeal of Thassa and put in 3x Hidden Strings . As was already said, it's an awesome heroic trigger, can let you cast for free, goes great with your Aqueous Form , and did I mention it gives TWO heroic triggers and can be reused?

I like the deck idea, definitely feels like fun. I recommend this change greatly.

Nigrescence, I appreciate the recommendation, which I have gotten elsewhere. The thing is, it doesn't work.

The cipher mechanic activates a copy of a spell. Copies of spells don't activate heroic. codyacbrave and I went through this in the thread already, and I was confused by it too until I looked up the rule.

They do activate heroic.

You are casting a copy of the spell without paying its mana cost. That is what the Cipher ability states. Heroic states that you get the effect whenever you cast a spell that targets the permanent with Heroic.

That's what the abilities say. If there's a ruling that ignores the ability text, I'd like to know about it.

The operative word being "cast". You "cast" the copy in both instances. If it's not cast, then it doesn't count for Heroic. Fortunately for Cipher, you cast the copy.

Does that make sense? I checked the rules, they hold up with this.

Nigrescence, according to rule 706.10, copy spells are not cast, they just exist on the stack. When cipher activates, it creates a copy. For heroic to activate, a spell must be cast. Therefore, cipher will not activate heroic because a spell is not being cast.

Gods Willing and Ordeal of Heliod so if you don't take out your opponent before you stabilizes you will have more life to run on to try and stabilize,

Read the text on cipher. It says "whenever the creature deals combat damage to a player, it's controller may CAST a copy." It is being cast, which is what makes it trigger heroic. If a spell was copied, then it wouldn't work, but the wording of cipher makes it work because it explicitly states that the controller is casting a copy.

since this is modern I might make some suggestions to increase the decks performance (maybe).This is a really, really long comment, but you should at least read the first paragraph. It might be worth trying to add Distortion Strike, Defiant Strike, Mutagenic Growth, Gods Willing, Disenchant, Path to Exile, Lagonna-Band Trailblazer. I will explain the merits of each card, and why it is preferable to the cards it is replacing.

Distortion Strike hits two creatures, buffs damage, and helps get damage through for 1 mana. This is a very powerful card for heroic decks. I might replace 1x Launch the Fleet with this, and then change 2x Wavecrash Triton with this as well. Wavecrash Triton doesn't deal a lot of damage, and Distortion Strike is more effective for evading creatures, and Launch the Fleet will never be able to target too many creatures, since most decks won't let many creatures say on the field, and most games don't get past turn 5.

Defiant Strike It increases damage, it cantrips (very important), and costs 1 mana. would replace 1x Fabled Hero and 1x Bioshift with this. Fabled Hero is good but is a target for removal the second he hits the field, and dies to too many removal spells to merit his mana cost. Bioshift is also good, but a deck like this has a tendency to run out of steam, so being able to keep cards in hand is a nice feature in a 1 mana card.

Mutagenic Growth free buff that triggers heroic. would replace 1x Launch the Fleet and 1x Triton Tactics with this. being able to cast a spell without paying mana is very important, and since it adds damage better than Triton Tactics, and is much cheaper than Launch the Fleet it can speed up the deck.

Gods Willing functions like Bioshift, and may only trigger heroic once, but keeps a creature alive instead of simply keeping its counters like Bioshift does. I would replace 1x Bioshift with this and put 2 in the sideboard. Being able to keep you creatures on the board is going to be this decks biggest problem, and Gods Willing really helps with that.

Path to Exile it is a more permanent, cheaper (mana-wise) version of Wavecrash Triton. It could replace and 2x Detention Sphere as well as put 2 in the sideboard. Although Detention Sphere is really great removal, it costs too much to be useful, and if you are running Disenchant along with Path to Exile you really have most really threatening permanents covered already.

Lagonna-Band Trailblazer much cheaper creature than most of the others, and can get heroic triggers, as well as won't die to Electrolyze, Forked Bolt, or Lightning Bolt like Phalanx Leader will. all of those cards are becoming much, much more popular with all of the delver decks and other decks running dangerous 1 toughness creatures. I would replace 3x Phalanx Leader with this. since it is cheaper and has a little more staying power it is a good choice as a card that is able to thwart any attempt from red to kill it.

Wear / Tear doesn't have as much use to you as Disenchant since it will hit both without you needing to add red mana to the deck. Other possible cards that could be used is Stony Silence or Hurkyl's Recall, which also work very well. Disenchant simply hits more types of spells than Wear / Tear.

I would change your 2 Triton Fortune Hunter's into Ordeal of Thassa since this deck is all about speedy damage, which the ordeal does a lot better, and will probably net you as many cards as Triton Fortune Hunter anyways. Ordeal of Thassa is cheaper, and triggers heroic on your core creatures, and therefore speeds up the deck.

one final card I would suggest is Ordeal of Heliod since it buffs your creatures, and allows you to compete with the other faster aggro decks (affinity, UR delver, RDW). this would be a sideboard card since it isn't as useful in matches that aren't against aggro.

I think this looks like a solid deck! I really like Battlewise Hoplite and have been looking for a good way to implement him in a deck. I currently play a R/W version of this in standard, I think I'm gonna try and make a version of this standard again. +1