Getting into Modern
Modern forum
Posted on Feb. 22, 2015, 6:51 a.m. by Eurydice
Hello everyone,
Recently I have been thinking about getting into Modern, since there are much more cards to choose from and the deck will be playable for a long time, which I appreciate a lot more than the constant rotation of Standard. I thought about getting the Modern Event Deck: March of the Multitudes, which I can buy for 50 euro's. I have a few questions about it though.
Is B/W tokens a viable deck in Modern? I have always liked playing tokens, and white is my favourite colour for sure, so I really want to play white. Or do you think another deck would be more viable in Modern? I have a budget of about 80 euro's at this moment, is there some viable (white) deck that I could make with it? Or is B/W tokens to be recommended? Also, what are other good budget decks in Modern?
bijschjdbcd says... #3
But at FNM level Tokens is viable.
Burn gets boring fast. Just saying.
February 22, 2015 7:01 a.m.
The event deck is fun and easily upgraded and not too expensive. The only things you'll really need to spend money on would be another Elspeth or two, thoughtsieze, shocks, and fetches. The deck doesn't need fetches to run consistantly at the fnm level, but your probably going to want to get the shocks.
February 22, 2015 7:32 a.m.
GoblinBushwacker says... #5
Burn is the most competitive deck that you can build for modern on a budget, however it is also the most boring to play. I even made burn but destroyed it after one tournament because 1, it was not fun to play and 2, It was not fun to play against for my opponents. All this being said, burn is still a very very good modern deck. If your looking to play competitively, then you should build burn. But if you want to have fun and interactive games, then get the modern event deck.
February 22, 2015 8:10 a.m.
bijschjdbcd says... #6
Burn is hardly budget once you go 3 colours.
The typical mono red is but Naya is far from budget.
February 22, 2015 8:14 a.m.
Bw tokens is a fine deck. And the event deck is a good start.
February 22, 2015 8:49 a.m.
lemmingllama says... #8
You could try your hand at Soul Sisters, it's a white deck that isn't too expensive, plus it shuts down any damage based deck and plays like a token deck.
February 22, 2015 8:55 a.m.
AllAroundGeek says... #9
I agree with lemmingllama, soul sisters is pretty competitive and seems to be just what you want, and if you do buy the event deck, it has a lot of the pieces for soul sisters, so you would already have a start if you wanted to build a second deck
February 22, 2015 9:04 a.m.
The Flame Cannon Playtest
Modern*
SCORE: 3 | 2 COMMENTS | 450 VIEWSIf you take out the 12 fetches, it becomes quite cheap. It is a sweet deck, and I personally do enjoy playing it. Goblin Guide can be subbed out, although it is fairly integral for the strategy. I originally thought about the Event Deck, but decided against it because the best Burn deck is normally far stronger than the best BW tokens deck. That being said, I know someone who plays Mono-Blue Tron, and while the deck may not be quite as competitive as Burn, loves playing it. Infect is also an option.
Wic
February 22, 2015 9:20 a.m.
The modern event deck is missing the key cards that make B/W tokens a decent deck. Which is why it sells for less than MSRP. But it is a good place to start if you have none of the cards.
February 22, 2015 9:57 a.m.
Burn is NOT cheap.
A competitive burn list will cost you an upwards of $350, which is cheap for modern, but not for most budget people. Shocks, fetches, Goblin Guides, and all the burn spells are necessary. A good RDW burn deck will run at least $150
No modern deck is competitive with a budget under 150 dollars. the event deck is decent for the price, but if you choose to invest in it and make it competitive, it can work.
At an FNM level your best bet is probably tokens, but for competitive, i would definitely look into building your own deck with trades you have. It can be kind of expensive, but it is worth it.
February 22, 2015 10:31 a.m.
Thank you for all the suggestions! What I'm basically looking for is a deck that is competitive for FNM. Currently I only play Magic with my brother and boyfriend, but I would just like to be able to compete with other people as well and just have some fun. Basically I want a deck that isn't necessarily tier 1, but that I can afford right now and could be made into a tier 1 deck in the future, when I gradually spend more money on it. Would burn be a good option for that? Because from what I've read Tokens isn't tier 1 at the moment, and I don't know if it's possible that it will be again in the future? Since I would like to make a tier 1 deck in the future and something that I can build towards, while this being able to play at this moment...
February 22, 2015 10:53 a.m.
Burn will always be around, and is always looking for improvement. A playset of guides, bolts, lava spikes, etc isn't cheap, but it could be worth it. Ive only been playing for about a year and have almost completed my burn deck, Without too much out of pocket expense. Also, another added bonus of burn is that the legacy lists are almost the same/have a lot of the same cards, making it so if you ever want to go into legacy, you have the option.
The deck you should build tho, really depends on your meta. The local shop that you go to probably has a different meta than the gp decks or pt decks. I may be a bit biased because i play burn, but i think it is definitely a deck that you could make cheaper and build on to a strong tier 1 deck.
February 22, 2015 11:22 a.m.
Eurydice - what do you have most fun playing? There's literally 0 point shelling out cash for a deck you dont enjoy. Dont build burn just because it's good - build a deck you actually want to play......
February 22, 2015 11:45 a.m.
Eurydice - Does your FNM allow proxies? Mine allows 10 proxies for free, so that currently is saving me about $200 in two shocks, Arid Mesa, and Goblin Guide. See if they do or would be willing to. It sure saves tons of cash as long as you don't want to play Pro Tour MTG. My friend built a budget Splinter Twin deck, but that used the 10 proxies rule + borrowing 4 Steam Vents from me. But anyways good luck building decks.
February 22, 2015 12:08 p.m.
Serendipitous_Hummingbird says... #17
I'm with ChiefBell here. Don't buy a good deck that you don't like playing.
Some other decks you might consider for FNM are Skred Red (Skred Red 2.0), Merfolk, and fetch-less storm
These all run from 280-350, and are fun to pilot.
Sorry, the deck linking is giving me troubles. Here are the URLs for fish and storm
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/12-02-15-merfolk-2015/
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/17-12-14-budget-ur-storm/
Since they are relatively uncommon decks, you don't have to worry about opponents mainboarding hate.
February 22, 2015 2:37 p.m.
Serendipitous_Hummingbird says... #18
Sorry, linked you a bad fish deck.
Here's a better one
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/merfolk-31-12-13-1/
February 22, 2015 2:39 p.m.
JexInfinite says... #19
lemmingllama AllAroundGeek Oh no you don't. Don't you dare recommend Soul Sisters as a budget deck. If you want a competitive deck, you drop $300-$500 into it. No skimping out on ANY of the important cards, or you have a bad deck.
This isn't like Burn, where you can justify 2 colours, instead of $500 Naya. Soul Sisters is not good if you don't spend a reasonable amount on it.
Eurydice It's practically impossible to have a cheap T1 deck. You can play with fringe strategies, and T2 decks fine. Like someone mentioned, Skred Red can work for about $200. If you want to spend any less than $200, you should probably start saving.
February 23, 2015 2:45 a.m.
lemmingllama says... #20
@JexInfinite There are ways to make it budget, like using Suture Priests instead of Auriok Champions, not as good overall but still a strong deck. Also if they use the Norin the Wary version, that one is budget as well. Both normal Soul Sisters and the Norin variant can be put together for $150, and can then have another $150 to fully pimp out the main deck.
February 23, 2015 8:26 a.m.
bijschjdbcd says... #21
Which is exactly what he said, That it will not be as effective without the necessary pieces, As for his emphasis, He is just moderately bias, as alot of people are with there favourite deck.
February 23, 2015 8:34 a.m.
lemmingllama says... #22
@bijschjdbcd Well, Auriok Champion isn't a necessary piece, the basis of the deck can actually be found in JexInfinite's Soul Sister's Primer, and that deck base costs about $180, with the only expensive cards being Serra Ascendant and Ranger of Eos. The stock list isn't the most exciting and won't win you any large events, but it is perfectly fine for FNM level if you tailor your sideboard to your local meta. Also the Norin version only uses Ranger of Eos as it's expensive cards and is even more budget, but still works.
Still, it is nice if he gets a budget deck at first and then improves it if he likes it. No point in building a tier 1 deck that costs $500 and then you find out you hate the deck.
February 23, 2015 8:54 a.m.
I think that most people who don't play a deck competitively find it hard to understand the full extent of the interactions and intricacies. They therefore often say that you can build the deck cheaply, not realising that their proposed replacements just won't work optimally at all.
I hear people saying you can build cheap burn. I know for a fact that burn without Goblin Guide is a far cry from it's usual strength. Equally I know that GB/x without Tarmogoyf is horrendous. I have little familiarity with other decks but I can assume the frustration of experienced players when others claim that the deck they play could be built for cheaper.
February 23, 2015 9:21 a.m.
To get into modern you need a good chunk of money. with a good $600 you could buy some staples and put together some form of midrange. Buying staples and brewing is a much better long term way to get into modern long term as opposed to making something very unique like tron or bogles
February 23, 2015 12:43 p.m.
Serendipitous_Hummingbird says... #25
Honestly I'd say go with fish. It isn't anything like tokens, but you can build a perfectly decent fish deck for 200 bucks (about 120 euros). It certainly won't be winning you any grand prix, but it should be fine at fnm.
February 23, 2015 2:07 p.m.
If I were currently just getting into Modern, I would probably start with something like this:
Though I would alter it to include Soulfire Grand Master, and Boros Charm.
It's about $340, but a large chunk of it is fairly easily obtainable through trades in my area (commonly seen in trade binders, but not being hoarded by everyone) rather than purchasing.
I also have a fair amount of the deck already. Which is why I originally started out with 
Infect... I had most of the cards to begin with, and only had to get the mana base (and, Noble Hierarch which I just went without for a while)
February 23, 2015 2:10 p.m.
JexInfinite says... #27
lemmingllama I think you will find that certain cards are necessary for the deck to be competitive. As ChiefBell said, without playing the deck a fair amount, you don't understand what is necessary for it to be a good deck. Understanding how your deck works is almost more important than having the deck.
Proposal: Find a deck you like and test the HELL out of it on MTGO, or free testing sites. Once you are satisfied with it, understand how to play it, and have enough money, buy it.
February 24, 2015 3:25 a.m.
Do you know how long it took me to build BGW? Like 18 months.
February 24, 2015 3:43 a.m.
Although assistant psychologist jobs are poorly paid haha
February 24, 2015 3:44 a.m.
So much discussion on here, thank you all for your thoughts!
I understand that a budget deck can never be as good as a deck that isn't budget, but I just want to be clear that money isn't really the problem. I'm sure I'll be able to save enough money these few months to actually build a good deck, but it's just that I'm afraid to spend a lot of money on something that I eventually don't like to play. Tokens has always been one of my favourite playstyles, next to tribal decks. The current playstyles that are considered tier 1 at this moment, are none of these two, so that's also one of the mean reasons why I'm afraid to spend a lot of money on a deck that is tier 1 (since I really would like to have a tier 1 deck) but which isn't something I really, really love. But well, maybe it is a good thing to just try to playtest some of these decks om MTGO and see how I feel about them. Haven't tried them, so who knows, maybe I will when I see how they really play :)
Another question: how do you guys feel about Modern Knights? That's one of the tribal decks I really like.
And lemmingllama Just to be clear: I'm a she. Not that it matters, but if feels kind of weird to be called he haha ;)
February 24, 2015 6:45 a.m.
Playtest on free to play software first. Test out things like Tokens and Merfolk. Merfolk is close to T1 but not quite there. Same for Tokens. They're both undeniably strong but lack a certain something to be in the very top tiers.
February 24, 2015 6:55 a.m.
If your main financial worry is that of not getting your money's worth out of the cards in the long run, you should look for a deck that has a large number of 'investible' cards...
That is to say a deck with the most commonly played staples. That way, if you decide you don't like the deck style and want to switch, you will have a large number of easily tradable cards, allowing you to build another deck efficiently.
TL:DR; If money is not a worry, just make sure you are buying 'staples'.
February 24, 2015 8:28 a.m.
lemmingllama says... #33
@Eurydice Yeah, at this point I would just playtest the heck out of decks until you find one your like. I spend a lot of time goldfishing deck ideas on here before I decide if I like it or not. Also sorry for calling you a he, I just assume that everyone is a male on the internet unless otherwise specified and I haven't forgotten who is who. Rule 29 and all that.
Anyways, Modern Knights is cool, but also dies to removal. You have a lot of small threats, but no real way to interact with your opponent. If you lose your lords or get boardwiped, it's all over. Still a fun deck, but it will always be tier 2 or tier 2.5 unless they print more Knight support
@JexInfinite This is true. I guess that I like to do the "Form the base deck and playtest, then get the expensive cards if you still like it and know why you need them". Archangel of Thune might be needed for Soul Sisters to actually close out a game, but it isn't necessary for the base deck to function. However, it's much harder to win without it. Anyways, it seems that Eurydice doesn't really care for Soul Sisters, so I'll just be silent now.
February 24, 2015 9:57 a.m.
JexInfinite says... #34
ChiefBell I've found that it's not so much that T2 decks are good, but the players are really devoted to their pet strategy. If you're a baller, and are swimming in money, you may switch between 3 different T1 decks, but lose to T2, because you aren't using the same deck for an equally lengthy period.
quesobueno123 says... #2
Boros burn can be built on a budget and be better than the event deck.
February 22, 2015 6:53 a.m.