Need help with Black/White landfall and lifegain
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on Sept. 23, 2021, 1:41 a.m. by Dangerous_Video
Hey folks, I’m looking for help with this deck I’ve been slapping together.
Basically what I’m looking for is cards I should take out or add in and in what quantities. Price-wise I don’t really want to go over $150.
Modern is a fast format--not so fast as Legacy or Vintage, but fast nonetheless. Your curve is way too high for Modern--your average CMC is a 3.39, and a large percentage of your cards are at the 4-7 mana mark. In a fast format, you are going to be lucky to play such high-costed cards without Green or other Ramp, and, once you play them, they're likely going to be taken out of the picture with the relatively efficient removal the format has to offer.
Your removal is also in the three-mana range. You really are going to want to do better on that front--Path to Exile and Fatal Push are solid Orzhov removal options. Inquisition of Kozilek is a solid "removal" spell (insofar as it stops a threat before it hits the battlefield), and is cheaper than its cousin Thoughtseize.
Otherwise, if you want to be competitive in Modern, focus on lowering your curve substantially. If a card costs 4 or more mana, it should have an immediate impact on the game the turn it can be played. Currently not a single one of your 4-7 mana cards meet that criteria--most of them just provide a body the turn they are dropped (Eternity Vessel being the only exception--it provides no body and is thus completely useless the turn it comes down), and you have to wait until your next turn to gain their landfall benefit (if you even have a land in-hand by that point in the game--you do not have much card draw in your deck). You could probably cut 100% of your 4-7 mana cards, replace them with things that come down and swing faster, and you would see a significant improvement in how your deck plays.
I also disagree with Wendithewendigo's advice--Orzhov Basilica is a terrible card that has no place in any deck. Yes, it allows you to get a land back so it can be played next turn... but it comes at the cost of putting you full turn behind the curve. After all, not only are you down the land you bounced; you are down the land drop for the turn because it enters tapped (or you are down the land drop because it bounced itself, which puts you behind in all future turns).
September 23, 2021 9:54 a.m.
GoblinsBeatElves says... #4
Other than the 1-of Eternity Vessel, I don't really see what the lifegain part of this deck is meant to be doing. There's no other payoffs other than that, and it seems like it's just hurting the deck, since it's playing bad cards that happen to have lifegain. If you're not too attached to that part, I think I would try to just cut that section out and go more fully in on the landfall theme, since that's the more supported half, so the deck isn't getting pulled in too many directions.
That said, trying to be a more midrange-ish deck with the landfall theme to be able to close out the game seems like it might be alright in more casual settings. If that's the direction this deck is going to go in, you definitely need more interaction to be able to answer the opponent's plays.
Tomb Hex just seems like a bad card. Yes, it fits with the landfall theme, but even if you've triggered landfall, it's still worse than many other removal spells. I'd definitely think about switching that out. Doom Blade/Go for the Throat/Oblivion Ring are okay, but there are definitely better options. Fatal Push, Path to Exile, and Vindicate/Kaya's Guile/Damn as 1-2 ofs could be decent, as more versatile removal spells for a bit later in the game. The discard spells that Caerwyn mentioned are also great, and I'd definitely try to fit some Inquisitions in.
Soul Stair Expedition, Guul Draz Overseer, and Emeria Shepherd all seem like they might not be impactful enough in the deck, seeing as you don't have that high of an amount of creatures, and high creature counts in the deck is what all of those benefit from, Emeria/Stair to recur them, and Guul Draz to buff them, as well as the latter two being very expensive cmc-wise. As much as they do fit with the landfall theme, I think those are probably potential cuts. Felidar Retreat seems like it would be higher impact, and gives you some more cards to fit the landfall theme, you could maybe try that one? Fearless Fledgling might also be decent, and is pretty low cmc.
Also, I know you had a budget for the deck, but there's still some cheapr dual lands you could play that would fit in it. Stuff like Shineshadow Snarl or Caves of Koilos is relatively cheap, and could probably help your mana a bit.
Definitely take this with a grain of salt, as there is some subjectively in building stuff like this, and no 'correct' deck, but I think I would try going with something like this:
4x Bloodghast
4x Caves of Koilos
3x Mind Stone
3x Emeria Angel
3x Night's Whisper
4x Evolving Wilds
3x Fatal Push
3x Fearless Fledgling
3x Felidar Retreat
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
4x Path to Exile
6x Plains
1x Retreat to Hagra
4x Shineshadow Snarl
7x Swamp
2x Vindicate
September 23, 2021 11:22 a.m.
The thing about Orzhov Basilica is you can make the land you return to your hand itself for a free landfall every turn. At this point its not really a land, but a synergy piece and I would not be counting them towards my land count. You might also find enjoyment with Flickerwisp as you can target one of your own lands for an additional landfall and if the land was a basic land that was tapped for mana earlier it will effectively come in untapped making the CMC of Flickerwisp cost 2 whenever you target a land with it. A 3/1 flier for two mana that procs landfall might be something your deck would like a lot.
Wendithewendigo says... #2
Orzhov Basilica Is good for triggering landfall
September 23, 2021 8:58 a.m.