How to speed up a Black Modern deck?

Modern forum

Posted on March 25, 2013, 3:31 a.m. by Bauhom

I'm new to Modern and I know that this tends to be a very fast format. I'm considering Mono Black or Rakdos (Black/Red), but I don't know the Modern cards outside of the current Standard. Are there any good way to speed up a Modern deck in these colors? In advance, thanks very much.

Epochalyptik says... #2

What's your budget, and what's your strategy? Those two factors determine the majority of your options.

March 25, 2013 3:36 a.m.

Bauhom says... #3

I'd probably be looking at some kind of funky mono-black deck (such as a discard deck) or a black/red or rdw. As for budget, I probably wouldn't want to spend much more than $100 on a Modern deck. I'm looking to play local tournaments, fairly competitive but not insanely so.

March 25, 2013 3:40 a.m.

Epochalyptik says... #4

Aggro is probably your best option. Go for fast cards like Lightning Bolt , Burst Lightning , Goblin Guide , etc.

You should scope out your meta first, though. RDW and burn don't often place in Modern events, so if your LGS is full of Jund, affinity, and GW, you're probably not going to do so well with BR aggro.

March 25, 2013 3:50 a.m.

Bauhom says... #5

I know someone who plays a modern goblin deck in my area, but that's all I know. I'll need to find out more.

I'm curious though, are there good cards and strategies for speeding up the way your deck plays (non-green), such as anything that helps with mana? Again I'm new to Modern, so I don't know how or why Modern tends to be so much faster than Standard. Thanks very much for your input.

March 25, 2013 4:10 a.m.

Epochalyptik says... #6

Eternal formats tend to be faster in general just because they have more and better cards at their disposal. While Standard relies on 4- and 5-drops like Restoration Angel and Thragtusk , Modern relies on 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-drops like Deathrite Shaman , Tarmogoyf , Vendilion Clique , and Huntmaster of the Fells  ^Flip . The available cards mean the power level is high even at the low end of the curve, so there isn't any incentive to play more expensive cards.

This also happens to mean there's little in the way of ramp unless you're talking about Scapeshift or a handful of other decks. Deathrite Shaman is probably the most universal "ramp" card in Modern, and it is used as a hate effect just as often as it is used as a ramp dork.

March 25, 2013 4:19 a.m.