Brew ideas for Scrawling Crawler
Modern forum
Posted on Oct. 31, 2024, 6:31 p.m. by wallisface
From the upcoming Foundations set, the card Scrawling Crawler will be printed - a link to the card here.
While this doesn’t immediately look even remotely competitive in Modern, I think there might be something niche/interesting we can do with it that can still be competitively viable.
So, i’m wanting to see any and all Modern-brews people can conjure up starring this card as the build-around. Let’s see if we can make this card (almost) playable!!
Some idea’s i’ve had so far:
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there’s potential to combine this with Orcish Bowmasters or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse to really punish card drawing.
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cards like Burning Inquiry or Echo of Eons
might be useful to force a bunch of damage. -
this card gets exponentially better the more copies of it are in play. Something like Birthing Ritual might be useful for getting these onto the battlefield, or the flipside of Fable of the Mirror-Breaker Flip to create additional copies and triggers.
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because the extra draw is during your turn, there’s a chance to take advantage of this with cards like Waste Not and hand-removal.
It's basically a smaller Nekusar, the Mindrazer except everyone draws at the same time. At the risk of brining EDH into a Modern discussion, that's where I would start.
Out of Windfall, Jace's Archivist, and Whispering Madness, none of them are high-tier Modern-legal cards, but they would make a nice bridge between Scrawler and the Waste Not effects. Maybe Dark Deal?
Forcefeed Prison: Blood Moon, Fevered Visions, Damping Sphere, Trinisphere, maybe Rule of Law + Ebony Owl Netsuke. That's a lot of 3-cost cards, but there might be something there.
Stormfist Crusader adds a little bit of redundancy, and is an evasive attacker, if that matters.
I see this mostly working in some combination of , , and . Since the Windfall effects aren't great, I think I would take the Forcefeed Prison approach. Stack Scrawler with Sheoldred and Bowmasters, then find ways to make people draw lots of cards without casting spells. Lots of damage, lots of control, but lots of competition for precious deck slots.
October 31, 2024 7:09 p.m.
wallisface says... #4
It’s worth noting that Day's Undoing does nothing as it removes the damage triggers from the stack
October 31, 2024 7:29 p.m.
here is my ultra rough draft
- 4x Chasm Skulker (BLC)
- 4x Counterspell (DSC)
- 4x Dark Deal (SLD)
- 4x Day's Undoing (CMM)
- 4x Dismember (SPG)
- 4x Scrawling Crawler
- 4x Fascination (MYS1)
- 8x Island
- 4x Leyline of Anticipation (WOT)
- 4x Plains
- 4x Psychic Possession (DIS)
- 8x Swamp
- 4x Teferi, Time Raveler (MB2)
October 31, 2024 8:19 p.m.
First pass, probably lots of room for improvement:
24 lands
4x Scrawling Crawler
4x Blood Moon
3x Thoughtseize
This tries to win off passive damage, although the Crusader and Orc Army can chip in if they get a clear lane. Blood Moon and Damping Sphere shut down opponents' production, and you don't need to be casting a big pile of spells each turn anyway. Bolt and Thoughtseize are a pretty typical 1-mana removal package, but I'm soft on Thoughtseize as a late-game draw. Kederekt Parasite also feels subpar, but it's the cheapest draw punishment available. In testing it, I would watch the ratio of forced drawing to control effects--handing opponents free resources is dangerous, and if you can't shut them down, you're setting yourself up for failure.
October 31, 2024 8:20 p.m.
wallisface says... #8
Nice stuff!! My own tinkering has been awkward - I keep wanting to force Birthing Ritual into the deck but it’s just a lot of effort for minimal payoff. My current brew looks very similar to existing Dimir-Frog lists (an accident I swear!), but with an Echo of Eons
package and enough supporting self-discard to abuse it.
20x Lands
4x Scrawling Crawler
4x Psychic Frog
4x Echo of Eons
4x Counterspell
4x Fatal Push
3x Unearth
4x Preordain
October 31, 2024 8:58 p.m. Edited.
Birthing Ritual + Ancient Stirrings + Scrawling Crawler + Myr Retriever + something like an artifact hatebears package? Phyrexian Revoker, Soulless Jailer, Haywire Mite, Hex Parasite... Keep circulating artifact creatures, add in some Unearth or Recommission, something like that.
October 31, 2024 9:57 p.m.
plakjekaas says... #10
legendofa your deck is very light on red permanents for Kederekt Parasite to be on a lot, maybe find some room for Razorkin Needlehead?
October 31, 2024 10:55 p.m.
plakjekaas Yeah, I noticed both of those thoughts. It probably wouldn't hurt too much to do a straight 2-for-2 cut, but I don't want to lose too many 1-drops. I'd almost prefer to add more control/prison elements, but there aren't many other options at 1-2 mana. I haven't really tested this deck, just presented it as proof of concept. What does it need more, damage or control?
November 1, 2024 1:42 a.m.
This is a really interesting idea. It's reminding me of something like an old rakdos Waste Not build more then anything else. Maybe a rakdos/mardu lockdown build with a Scrawling Crawler + Burning Inquiry/Dark Deal built in as both wincon and disruption, supported by things like Blood Moon, Aven Mindcensor, High Noon, etc
November 1, 2024 7:27 a.m.
FormOverFunction says... #13
I think it’s important to point out: everyone else will be taking damage on your turn, as opposed to on each of their turns like with Nekusar. This is important for cards like Theater of Horrors. This is also relevant for cards like Rakdos, Lord of Riots. I like the card a lot.
November 1, 2024 10:11 a.m.
Made_Compleat says... #14
Molten Psyche might work? Crawler is an artifact and synergies well with the wheel.
November 1, 2024 10:35 a.m.
FormOverFunction says... #16
It’s pretty broad. This would be another asymmetrical damage vector for The Council of Four, even. Even my favorite burn spell Sign in Blood!
November 1, 2024 3:29 p.m.
A more hatebears take on the concept:
4x Trinisphere
4x High Noon
4x Dark Deal
4x Waste Not
3x Wrath of God
22 lands
November 3, 2024 1:05 p.m.
wallisface says... #18
Another very rough idea, deliberately not using OneRing as it might be gone in a month, and none of this list makes any sense in a world where it still exists.
- 21x Lands
- 4x Orcish Bowmasters
- 3x Sorin of House Markov Flip
- 4x Scrawling Crawler
- 3x Boggart Trawler Flip
- 4x Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
- 3x Birthing Ritual
- 4x Necrodominance
- 3x March of Wretched Sorrow
- 4x Soul Spike
- 4x Fatal Push
- 3x Thoughtseize
November 3, 2024 4:47 p.m.
I see scrap crawler replacing sheoldred once that rotates out.
I'm just surprised no one mentioned before but it seems to be able to take inspiration from Narset, Parter of Veils decks.
Formerly they used Dark Deal and Day's Undoing
Decks with white could also Flash in the former with Teferi, Time Raveler. It was a very annoying control deck.
Icbrgr says... #2
Fascination, Dark Deal and Day's Undoing come to mind.... I think this seems neat! maybe the O.G. Jace Beleren and Howling Mine in some sort of Sphinx's Tutelage deck?
October 31, 2024 7:05 p.m.