Surprise your opponents with this unconventional approach to combo!
Manawall is an infinite mana combo deck based on creatures with Defender. Watch as your opponents squirm as they struggle to sideboard and counter your plethora of enablers and win-conditions!
Starting with some Deck Info, the deck started out as a fun budget-build of an old deck i used to play back in RTR standard. You can find a revised budget-version here. After building the deck, the return of playing something different and personal among all the net-decks and actually standing a chance motivated me to perfect it as far as possible. With practiacally no budget restrictions (
Pact of Negation
s and
Spellskite
s are seriously expensive though, so i've restricted myself a little) i set out to make the deck as good and consistent as possible. If you have any suggestions to make it better, please share your ideas! I haven't actually played modern that much and only against certain decks, my local players aren't very varied, so i don't have much experience with the format and there are probably still improvements to make. Please enjoy the read, and try the deck out!
Card Choices
There will be replacement options for any cards that are even semi-expensive and not vital to the deck!
Key Cards
These cannot be replaced
Axebane Guardian
and
Overgrown Battlement
: The heart and soul of this deck. Even without your combos these tap for great amounts of mana and ramp perfectly. Axebane is clearly better here since he taps for every color, letting you combo off on blue as well as green. Protecting these is key, and we'll come to that later. Playing playsets of both is obvious, they don't only combo off but they also ramp enough to get those T4-5 wins.
Umbral Mantle
and
Freed from the Real
: Your second combo pieces. Freed combos off easier on Axebane since you only need 2 defenders out to go infinate, but it doesn't combo with the Battlement. Mantle does though, so you can still combo out efficiently. With Freed you need two defenders, whereas one is
Axebane Guardian
. With Umbral Mantle you need four defenders, and it works with both. THere is a third enable in the deck, which will be mentioned later as it's spot is flexible.
Win-cons
Blue Sun's Zenith
: Great combo piece that can also draw you cards to search for other pieces. It's blue though, so Battlement can't win with it unless you've got untapped, thus only 2-off. Can often be used to draw 4+ cards by turn 5-ish if you need to search for your enabler.
Sands of Delirium
: Like the Pinnacle, except it wins faster. The reason this is in there rather than other X-mills is that it's completely colorless, which means Battlement can combo into it with it's green-only mana.
Staff of Domination
: The aforementioned third enabler as well. It goes off with 5 defenders, which is hard to pull off, but it only takes the spot i'd reserve for win-cons so it's only added consistency. It's pretty good, filling both the role of an enabler card and a win-con at once. It costing 3 mana is also relevant, as well as being colorless. Good, good.
Replacements: Since this card is pretty expensive (why? someone enlighten me) everyone might not want to run it, since it only really adds some consistency, and a pretty small amount at that. It can be replaced with either 3 of the above win-cons, or 2 of them and a
Umbral Mantle
, depending on if you feel the need for another enabler to keep some consistency.
Defenders
Wall of Vines
: One-drop Defender, comes with reach to stop eventual fliers. Good guy, mostly just a defender body for your defender count, the most flexible spot in the deck, although it's tough to lower the defender count.
Sylvan Caryatid
: Great defender with protection and mana ramp and fixing. Can be upped to a 4-of if you find something to cut for it.
Replacement:
Fog Bank
or
Vine Trellis
.
Drift of Phantasms
: I often get a "Uh, what?" when people see this card for the first time. Not strange though, but i think this is my favorite card among my utility defenders. I transmute this guy 95% of the time, note that he can find ANY combo piece or win-con. The effect also can't be countered. Great guy, really gives this deck it's much-needed consistency.
Card Draw
Serum Visions
: The deepest 1-mana digger in modern, which speaks for itself.
Sleight of Hand
can be played if you'd rather have more control over what you draw, but the Scry 2 on Visions is really powerful.
Replacement: Any stable draw, that preferrably digs deep.
Anticipate
is good and cheap, but
Forbidden Alchemy
is also REALLY good. If you're infinate it can dick 8 deep with flashback. Sick. The 3-dost does hold it back though.
Gitaxian Probe
: It cycles itself (for free! almost) with a slight upside of peeking in their hand. Good when used to check if it's safe to go off or not. This slot is also pretty flexible.
Replacement: Uh, well. Most 1-mana draws or digs that are good are also expensive, so im gonna go on a limb and make this up to yourself. Put in draw, protection, or tricks, whatever you want.
Protection
Remand
: can buy you a turn and protect the turn you go off, or stall the death of your key defenders. THe important part is the card draw attached, which helps your consistency.
Replacement: Can easily be replaced with something like
Mana Leak
, and not only for budget reasons. Having an actual counter is good in and of itself.
Spellskite
: Hey, it's the cash-sink. No but seriously, he's pretty worth it. Been thinking of going 3, but that third feels so expensive. He protects your defenders very well, as well as being a blocker. Definately an MvP, removal if one of this decks big weaknesses.
Replacement:
Drift of Phantasms
and
Sylvan Caryatid
is what i removed to fit the card, so putting them back in works fine. For protection i suggest mainboarding
Monastery Siege
.
Lands
I used to be passive about how much a solid landbase contributes to consistency, but i now understand. If you run few duals, you might need to add more lands than 19 to cover up inconsistent mana. You might even need 21, those are two whole cards that can be something else. Also never play lands that enter tapped, they WILL screw you over. I tried.
Breeding Pool
: Speaks for itself. Can be fetched, is dual, enters untapped.
Replacement: Any G/U land that enters untapped, or 2 Forests and 2 Islands.
Yavimaya Coast
: G/U land that enters untapped. Great.
Replacement: Same as Breeding Pool, although finding cheaper duals that enter untapped might be hard. If you can't afford this, just use basics.
Wooded Foothills
: Can fetch Breeding pool, is cheaper than
Misty Rainforest
, does the same thing. All you're gonna hit is Breeding Pool, and 99 games in 100 you'll never be unable to find another Breeding Pool, in which case you don't need it and can just go Forest.
Replacement: Same as the others.
Sideboard
Monastery Siege
: In second mode, this is great protection both for your creatures and yourself. Helps against burn and removal-heavy control decks, as well as pretty much most decks. Should likely be mainboarded if you don't mainboard Spellskites.
Dispel
: Protection against counterspell-heavy decks.
Reality Shift
: Great blue removal for decks that have bigger creatures that need to go away. That 2/2 usually isn't too bad. Unless it's their second Emrakul, of course.
Repeal
: Against Infect, mostly. This deck also doesn't have much problems with casting a big X, so it's good. Point is it draws a card, that's important.
Spell Pierce
: great 1-mana counter to protect your creatures against most things, as well as counter on-curve plays or oter plays where your opponent taps down. The cheaper
Mana Leak
.
Replacement:
Mana Leak
. Again, there's also a lot of merit in playing leak. It's a good card, apparently.
Nature's Claim
: Artifact or enchantment hate
Relic of Progenitus
: Against grave-decks or storm decks.
Replacement:
Tormod's Crypt
This deck is a ton of fun, and it's reliably consistant. Not top-tier, but a great fun for both players and a great surprise to bring to some FNM to catch your friends off-guard. If you have suggestions, please post them below!
