This is the extreme budget edition of my
Blood Clock
/Spellshaper/Madness deck. Like a casual budget deck is likely to, it has some glaring weaknesses: in this case, it has trouble with facing down too much spot removal against its spellshapers, particularly if it can't untap with
Undertaker
. However, for a deck that will run you less than $15 as of this writing? It's surprisingly nuanced and worthwhile to play.
The basis of the deck is to have one or more
Blood Clock
on the field along with about as many spellshaper creatures and a similar number of madness creatures. Every turn you'll return the madness creatures and get them back on the field by way of Spellshaper, earning extra effects along the way. It's worth noting that
Blood Clock
is a functional reprint of
Umbilicus
, so if you want to build your own version you can have up to eight clock effects. It's also worth noting that if you've gone full stax on the board and have more clocks than other things you want to return, you can just return clocks.
The Spellshapers
Dawnstrider
: In a lot of ways, this is the heart of the deck. An active trifecta of
Dawnstrider
,
Blood Clock
(the other heart of the deck), and a madness creature eliminates your opponent's ability to do combat until its dealt with while forcing them to burn either mana or life to keep their board position above water. Nifty! Always remember that with a
Blood Clock
rolling, they'll have to decide whether to bounce or pay before they draw, which could leave them without enough mana to both replay a card and remove the
Dawnstrider
.
Notorious Assassin
: The other main control element in the deck, Notorious gets blockers out of the way so that you can finish the job if your Blood Clocks won't. It can't hit black creatures, though, so you need to beware of other black decks. Also, if you can empty the board real good and run multiple clocks, they'll start to chew away your opponent's mana base (or, more likely, their life at last). It's a more realistic scenario than you might think: once Notorious is online, it's hard for your opponent to keep his or her head above water, especially if partner in crime
Nightshade Assassin
is the discard of the day.
Undertaker
: The Undertaker is your lifeline, bringing back lost spellshapers or getting dead madness creatures back into circulation. She's not a card you want to use (Indeed, I've often considered dropping her and Notorious to 3 for
Plague Witch
es) but she is a card that you will probably have to use now and again
The Madness
Basking Rootwalla
: The All-star! With Madness , Basking Rootwalla sets off Spellshapers for no extra charge! You can't really ask for more than that.
Grave Scrabbler
:
Undertaker
's other half, Scrabbler will get your dead back when played for madness. This makes it somewhat wasteful in the early game but a boon late.
Arrogant Wurm
: The wincon of the deck, Wurm seals things decently quickly once the board is empty of anything threatening to it, and can be bounced and re-spellshaped if necessary.
Nightshade Assassin
: The other side of the Assassin coin from Notorious, Nightshade can pick off black creatures just fine but is limited by enemy toughness. Depending on the board state, either or both can be extremely useful.
Gorgon Recluse
: A cheap body that's almost guaranteed to trade if it gets into combat, the Recluse is the one madness inclusion I'm unsure of. I don't really think there's much better, but there has to be a critical mass of things to cast repeatedly and isn't bad.
