Cruel Ultimatum ?

It was an obvious build around card but I want to see what else these colors have to offer, Namely due to the expense of the colors even though with the new fetches I don't think it'd be too much of a problem. I'd also probably want to up the land count. and start going into a more Delver of Secrets  ^Flip build. I enjoy flashing Notion Thief Followed by a wheel effect. And it's what I want to focus on. However I also want what will work the best as well.

I like this variant a lot better. I do think you need more control spells though. Remand is great when you can use it to time walk, but since it doesn't actually counter you have to hope for mana leak or Pact to hard counter something potentially important. I feel like you should be packing a couple Counterflux in the main so you can actually prevent something from entering the battlefield. Like Blood Moon .

Which brings me to the next suggestion, if you can, I'd recommend getting 3x Scalding Tarn over Bloodstained Mire, and run that alongside 3x Polluted Delta . Then drop down to only 2x Steam Vents, 1x Blood Crypt, 1x Watery Grave, your 2x Reflecting Pools, 2x Creeping Tar Pit, 1x Reliquary Tower, 4x basic Island, 3x basic Mountain, and 2x basic Swamp. It does fudge your ability for mana fixing a little, but it makes the whole thing overall much more resilient to land control tactics like Blood Moon, Tectonic Edge , and even Ghost Quarter . It also offers you more targets off of Path to Exile . Maybe drop 1x Serum Vision for an Expedition Map so you can hunt down your Reliquary Tower if you need it, or if you have it then grab a fetch and crack for another land to do some deck thinning.

Sounds good, thanks for everything. You've been a huge help in tweaking this deck and giving me pointers. Also I have a question for a Grixis control, do you think Serum Visions or Telling Time is better? Or should I opt for running Electrolyze in their stead?

Also, should I put in a few Shrieking Affliction ? or should I focus away from that, keep the beaters, and go for the win with them?

I'll always vouch for Electrolyze, it's a burn for two, or creature removal, and draw. I love electrolyze.

I'd avoid Shrieking Affliction because until you pull off your combo, it's probably a dead card. And when you do pull off your combo, you're probably going to win anyways without needing it's help, so for those reasons I don't think it's a good fit.

There's no serum visions in here?

I've played a lot of Grixis in Modern and I honestly feel like a playset of Cryptics is key for the deck. Its modes just do everything you need and can get you out of some really hairy situations. I like this take on Grixis otherwise.

ChiefBell after play testing I see Serum Visions Not being as good as Think Twice for this deck. However I may change it depending on the meta

Contoro I have 1 Cryptic Command But i haven't had a chance to play test it yet. I know it's a fantastic counter and all of it's modes are incredibly relevant. Just haven't had the time to try it out yet. If anything I'd probably move an Electrolyze or my think twices for it. But I'd need to test it first.

Serum goes more nicely with snappy and digs three cards instead of 1 but cool.

Saving snap for other spells is nice while I can only dig two deep with Think twice, being able to cast it at instant speed is also very solid. However I have been thinking of Telling Time which has been equally as solid as the other 2. as it dig's 3, takes away the bad card, gives me the card I need, and sets up the draw for the next turn, Not as good as Serum but It has been useful. The cheap draw spell has been one of the hardest parts for me to tweak due to my limited options and trying to see which one performs the best.

Reforge the Soul and maybe some more Notion Thief s could be good, and also more counters like Spell Pierce and Spell Snare !

JustinHangingtree That was actually the first rendition of the deck, I ran 3 notion, 1 reforge, 1 chandra ablaze, and 1 time reversal (Time Reversal might not be able to miracle or fuel a late game chandra by becoming a 4 damage burn, but it does recycle my deck and used spells while also ruining graveyard strats and debuffing goyfs.) The main problem with more notions and more synergies/combo, I found, was that I found myself with too many 4-5 drops when I was really hoping for a mana leak, bolt, or something similar to protect me. So I decided a single of Notion Thief/Time Reversal/Chandra Ablaze worked well.

I've been meaning to playtest with Spell Pierce and Spell Snare but haven't had the chance yet. Do you think those should be fit mainboard or replace countersquall?

gotcha!

I definitely think they are strong enough to add as a 2-2 split in the main for a good tempo advantage. The Squalls are solid in a situation where you need a hard counter, so keep those. what are you siding in the Glaring Spotlight against, and how often? Like bogles and Geist of Saint Traft ?

Slaughter Games is a good sideboard option too.

It's largely for that matchup yes. I could opt to run more Edict style spells like far/away But with as much spot removal as I have, I figured maybe that'd be the best option? I haven't had a chance to actually use it, but if I came against that match up I'd be severely screwed unless I had them out. It's also why I have the 2 spellskite in there to, so if for some reason one doensn't work, I can just steal all their enchantments. And I'll try and fit 2-2 split with them. I was thinking of removing Think Twice anyways but I wasn't sure what for,But I enjoy the option of drawing a card incase nothing is played turn two, but that hardly ever happens, there's usually a bolt, or a mana leak, or a remand, so maybe a pair of Spell Snare would be better.

I was thinking about replacing the Pithing needles for Slaughter Games, I haven't really used them yet, they were really just a filler to see how useful they would be.

Pithing Needles is great against planeswalkers (and especially Karn in Tron), and great for shutting down Twin/Pod decks. Slaughter Games is geared more for like combo decks, where you name a linchpin card. Go with whatever would do better in your meta.

Comment on myself and anyone who might help me out on this. So I got "Why not Serum Visions in place of Think Twice . But does anyone feel I should just strip them out for a pair of 'Terminate s instead?

Master of the Feast ... A 5/5 flier for three with no drawback.. Also I would make Reforge the Soul , Time Reversal and Wheel of Fate (I really like this card!) four ofs in this deck. You could play around with Laboratory Maniac as a win condition because you might just draw your entire deck...

xzypher a U/B version of the deck used MotF but I haven't tried him out in this deck as this is more a control deck than anything else. I actually used to run this deck with a Reforge the soul and 1 other Notion Thief as well, but I'm unsure if I want to have it in here or base around it. My weakest match up right now is Tron. mostly due to a lack of hard counters in the mainboard/sideboard for creatures. So I'm going to prioritize that, but I am going to think about adding in another Thief and Reforge as well. As far as Laboratory Maniac, I do toss on in here for casual multiplayer games for funzies xD

I think you should take out the chandra and add in more cryptics

This is fantastic.

I am stealing some of your ideas.

Kick @ss

I tried Chandra Ablaze in my Budget Version and had a tough time ever wanting to cast it.

scout1101 I don't have any more so I'm using her for the moment for utility and I just like toying with her xD Most people don't expect her and if she's alive for a turn or two she can fluff up some plans.

BrandonJamesCAC I don't know what you're running in your budget but in this build I can cast her whenever, before I ran her and a Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker and a Cruel Ultimatum and never had an issue casting any of them in a given game. Do you have your list on here? Maybe I can help you find a few cards to help out and still remain budget? =)