I'm just wondering, but is there any reason why you're not running a full set of Inquisition of Kozilek s?

@ udinator -- I didn't realize I had more Duress s than Inquisition of Kozilek s. I made the change, but it broke my absolute cap of $100. I'll probably be making some changes shortly that will bring it back down though.

For early control try mainboarding Spell Pierce , Vapor Snag maybe Remand to help tempo. Geth's Verdict could help as well.

Remand probably breaks his budget....

@ Gspot @ vampirelazarus -- Yup, no Remand s for me. I think I'll drop the Breaking s and a Duress for three Spell Pierce s and two Vapor Snag s or Geth's Verdict s. I'd prefer to not have to rely on a double black cost, so the Snags are probably in. Thoughts?

Yea I realized the budget for remand after, my bad. Even though it pushes the budget a lot, this deck begs for Surgical Extraction . It's pricier now with modern in full swing but it thins your oppenents deck so much, on top of removing their best cards ASAP, if you see one in a trade binder, or find an online deal go for it.

Also, keep the 4 of Duress . Seeing your opponent's hand turn one and removing a card is insanely powerfu,l if anything ditch an Etched Champion .

@ Gspot -- I like Surgical Extraction , but where would it fit? While an early game Duress helps a ton, it is a dead draw later in the game when I know what's in their hand. I've honestly milled myself to get rid of one on top for most games.

I'd consider a single AEtherling in place of the champions. He can be a plan B if you feel you can't mill in time. I'd remove Elixir of Immortality and on pyxis, and add 4x Surgical Extraction .

@ Gspot -- I like your suggestion, but I don't think AEtherling is right choice. I rarely find myself with more than four lands - sometimes even three. I'd like my one creature to be a three drop or smaller.

+1 because Pixy Stix!!

I feel like you could use 3x Surgical Extraction in the side at least. Maybe remove 1 each of Illness in the Ranks , Steel Sabotage , and Dispel ?

@ GoldGhost012 -- I read the post a while back about the Pixy Stix deck, and until now I completely blanked about it. I made this deck after playing against one on Cockatrice, but now I remember seeing it before haha.

I'd make that change to the sideboard, but it would blow my budget even farther off than it already is. I do think that Etched Champion can go though, and Mishra's Bauble isn't doing much for me.

I think I'll drop the Champions and Baubles for 3 Surgical Extraction s, a Grafdigger's Cage , and... something else. One creature? Another Artificer's Intuition ? This deck is really suffering from not having Ensnaring Bridge , so I may have to suck it up and add some of them. Thoughts?

Also, thank you for the suggestion and +1, I really appreciate it.

Also, Stony Silence and Leyline of Sanctity are going to be problems... Can I get around them in these colors?

Hand disruption and counterspells should help. Both those enchantments are kept in the side board and your g1 should be solid, just watch out g2/3 with duress+ IoK. B/U doesn't have much for enchantments, so if they turn 0 a leyline you might need a plan B.

Cyclonic Rift is another way to get rid of them once they hit the field. Put them back into your opponent's hand, the counter it when they replay it.

There's really just no way you can survive for long periods of time without Ensnaring Bridge . Except maybe AEtherize , but that's a one-off. It is your lifesaver. With you going through your hand as fast as you do, dropping Ensnaring Bridge turn 3 basically means only Affinity and mana dorks have the ability to attack you. So yeah, get 2, maybe 3, mayyybe 4 if you can squeeze it into the budget.

@ Gspot & GoldGhost012 -- How does this sound: dropping the Artificer's Intuition and a Mind Funeral for 3 Ensnaring Bridge s. Without the Intutions though, running a bunch of singleton 1-drop artifacts may not be the best idea. I've also removed the Nephalia Drownyard for another Island - I never have enough mana to spend it on.

I was also considering removing blue for green. With green, I'll gain access to artifact removal and Abrupt Decay , both of which would be extremely helpful. If I wasn't building this on a budget, I'd just go BUG, but for now that's not an option. Thoughts?

I think I would rather remove Vapor Snag than Artificer's Intuition , especially since you're going to run through your hand and drop Ensnaring Bridge . On one hand, you're gaining much more powerful removal, at the cost of your counters and most powerful mill spell. B/G is a really odd shell to be milling; if you didn't have a budget though, you could add Tarmogoyf and Dark Confidant no problem.

@ GoldGhost012 -- Hmm true, the Vapor Snag s don't help a ton anyways. I also rarely get to use Artificer's Intuition , but then again I haven't tested the deck much. I do like the creatureless aspect of this deck though, so I'll leave it U/B for now and make the change. Adios budget.

Has anyone ever done a "transforming" deck, where it's mostly monocolored with a splash of a color, and your SB can change out that splashed color for another? This could completely change the way the deck works. While you lose a lot of your ability to SB against the opponent's deck, you also can change your deck enough that their SB changes become useless. Just an idea, probably won't work, but it would be cool if it did.

Look at it this way- you're still way less expensive than other Modern decks, even ones that aren't top tier.

Also, since you've screwed your budget, how about some Drowned Catacomb s? I would suggest Watery Grave , but I have a feeling you still want to keep this as budget as possible.

Now, color change in the sideboard- it's an interesting idea, and I've been tempted to try it a few times, but you'd probably have to add the third color lands to the maninboard. Like if you wanted to splash green games 2 and 3, mainboard a few Hinterland Harbor and Woodland Cemetery .

@ GoldGhost012 -- Yea, I own the Catacombs already so I'll add them. Maybe cap it at $200 now? hahah.

Hmm that's true. It's something I've always wanted to try, but never quite found the right archetype to do it with. I've seen this type of deck as U/W with enchantments in place of counterpspells. as well as B/G versions that get pretty pricey. The core stays the same, but the support drastically changes.

You'd thing B/G would have better threats then milling people out like this.

@ GoldGhost012 -- Well, yes it does. I still like this strategy, even if it isn't a top tier deck. It's definitely a lot of fun to pilot (as you know from your Codex Shredder deck).

Oh yeah, it's really fun, but people hate you for playing it. I had one guy in my playgroup say "Good game. Now go get a real deck" after I beat him with it.

@ GoldGhost012 -- Oh yes, I've definitely received hate for playing it on Cockatrice. I held back some RUG good-stuff (not sure what to call it) deck for 15-20 turns without a single blue mana source and then ultimately lost.

It's interesting that the majority of the hate I get comes from people playing generic top tier decks. I have no problem with them playing some $2,000 netdeck while I play my $200 deck that they may not have seen before, but don't hate on me for doing so. There's nothing legally wrong with the deck.

Changing subjects, what are common sideboard options against RDW? That's probably this deck's weakest matchup, and I have little to combat it.

Should I be considering Mental Misstep ?