Thoughts on Buget-y Modern
Modern forum
Posted on April 2, 2015, 11:24 p.m. by sheamagic
I'm looking for a modern deck that can be fairly competitive, without breaking the bank. Sadly, this tends to limit the number of colors you can include in the deck, seeing how expensive it is to get any amount of duel lands. I'm also trying not to just play burn, even though it's one of my favorite archtypes and is actually good right now. It's just so uninteractive. Budget is pretty much under $150, but the deck will be built in magic online so the cap will be more manageable to stay under. Already have a semi-competitive stompy deck, but am looking for something that I can win dailies with. Thanks.
GoldGhost012 says... #3
You're probably going to have the best luck with Red Deck Wins or Burn. Both are fairly cheap where you should be able to buy most of the deck without breaking your budget.
April 2, 2015 11:26 p.m.
lemmingllama says... #4
Living End is pretty cheap and there is very little graveyard hate currently floating around.
Also you can always try to use some fun brews, I've been running Heartless Summoning combo to great effect, and I'm throwing together an Elves Devotion list as well.
April 2, 2015 11:31 p.m.
HolyFalcon says... #5
Ooo, Heartless Summoning is pretty fun, so is Seismic Assault.
April 2, 2015 11:35 p.m.
I personally run an assault Loam variant and can attest to its fun-ness, however the landbase is pricy if done right.
April 2, 2015 11:41 p.m.
The best way I found to get into modern is to start with something cheap that can build into something better with a few more expensive pieces. Delver is pretty cheap and can built up into twin. And honestly don't be afraid to rock just basics for awhile in a two color deck. It will not affect your mana that much. Modern is and eternal format so its best to build up a collection rather than to go out and buy everything at once, than limit yourself because you burnt out of money.
April 2, 2015 11:59 p.m.
@Jay- Soul Sisters is a thought, I just have no idea how to build it well. I understand the general concept, but have no idea where to begin. It also seems very fragile to disruption, as it doesn't matter how much life you have if you cannot win. I was actually considering a B/W tokens deck, but there is so much hate in this current meta for Lingering Souls that it just seems like I'm playing into preboarding. Infect is similar to burn in that it's uninteractive and you just pump a dude through the roof. I personally am also against infect as a mechanic, just because it feels so cheesy when you kill someone with poison counters.
@GoldGhost012- Yeah it can be budget, but for the maximal greatness of the deck to be reached, you kinda need to splash white for Lightning Helix, and green for Atarka's Command. Those builds are just better than straight burn, and goblin guides are freakin expensive nowadays. Also, as it says in the description, I am trying to stay away from my natural inclination to go burn.
@lemmingllama- Totally forgot about living end. I love watching that deck go off, the only downside really is that it has to be jund, which in turn requires lands. It's definitely a thought though. I checked out your Heartless Summoning myr brew, and that is some solid brewing you have going on there! It just seems a bit janky for my tastes, as the cards individually do actual nothing.
@Magicrafter and Jay- I was actually checking out your twiddle seismic swans deck a bit earlier, and while it looks like a ton of fun to play, I hate decks where you have to mulligan till you hit the crucial 4-of's. Assault loam is much more competitive, and I do like it. If I remember correctly, the main win combo is Punishing Fire Grove of the Burnwillows correct? Last I checked grove is like $35. I don't really know how the deck works, however, and would love to see a list.
Thanks for the suggestions guys! Sorry if it appears I shot down a suggestion too fast, I really do just appreciate the fact that you respond to the topic. The TappedOut forums in general are actually amazing. The amount of quick replies to topics is astounding. Thanks for doing you!
April 3, 2015 12:02 a.m.
I wish Punishing Grove was legal, but alas Punishing Fire is banned in Modern. The wincon in assault loam is usually, well, Seismic Assault and Life from the Loam. Some (mine included) run other wincons such as an Unburial Rites package, beatdown with manlands, or token spam with Lingering Souls, Young Pyromancer, etc. I've even seen some with Knight of the Reliquary, though I'm not a fan personally.
April 3, 2015 12:05 a.m.
@sirbar- You snuck in a comment while I was typing. That is a solid plan, but I'm more looking for a deck I can just build and then start jumping into some daily events in mtgo. In the grand scheme of things, that's definitely the route you want to go when building on a budget. Delver is pretty solid as a budget option, but it really needs the Snapcaster Mages and the Cryptic Commands to have a chance against the top tier decks. Thanks for the reply!
April 3, 2015 12:05 a.m.
If you're curious, my list is Manifest Dredge. Again, though, the manabase is pretty pricy despite the cheaper cards.
April 3, 2015 12:06 a.m.
Oh oh oh! Skred red might be just what you want my friend. It's like more gimmicky, budget Burn. I also have a drafted list of that if you're curious, though some quick google-fu should bring up plenty about it.
April 3, 2015 12:07 a.m.
@Jay- That list looks like a blast to play! I'm not sure what I was thinking of with the Punishing Fire burnwillows thing. Must have been a different deck I glanced at. But yeah, you're running 4 colors, and without those 4 colors, the deck cannot function. But holy crap it looks like so much fun to play. (As a side note, you need Thoughtsieze. Hand disruption is everything for non-blue decks. I would cut the pyromancers for them). Thanks for the list, as I never would have found that.
April 3, 2015 12:13 a.m.
jandrobard says... #14
Skred is hilarious. It's mono-red midrange. Living end isn't a lot of fun to play, you can go whole rounds without paying attention to your opponent.
April 3, 2015 12:13 a.m.
You can easily build a solid mono U Tron on MTGO for under 150$ also. No duels or fetches to pay for. If you don't run Ugin, the most expensive pieces of the deck are a playset of Remand. The rest is peanuts.
April 3, 2015 12:18 a.m.
My Thoughtseizes are in my Standard deck, haha. IoK is actually better for my meta, though, particularly with how self-destructive the mana base is. That 2 life makes a big difference when I see burn every. single. night.
April 3, 2015 12:22 a.m.
WovenNebula says... #17
Red deck wins would be the most affordable Tier 1 deck if you were playing FNM with it or more. Then win some store credit and use that for more expensive, but fun decks. The other decks people have listed are a lot of fun if you were looking for a baseline, but for competitive go with RDW and grow.
April 3, 2015 12:56 a.m.
Unless you are playing three color, delver should never play cryptic command. It is way to expensive in a deck that is mostly burn. Also delver is something you could pick up for about $150, unless snappy has jumped that much? not sure, that's what I bought the deck for back before Khans.
What play style are you looking to get, you want to stay away from burn but that leaves an entire format for us to go through.
April 3, 2015 1:12 a.m.
jandrobard says... #19
Snappy is pricy. Maybe some sort of weird brew thing with delver but no snappy, then upgrade to real delver, then to twin? It's a logical progression.
April 3, 2015 1:17 a.m.
Geez, I step away for a couple hours and the posts continue to come. So awesome.
@Jay- Skred red looks sweet. I'm just going off of your list, and it looks like a much more interactive way to play RDW. It also plays koth, and anything with koth is awesome. Also, regarding the Kiln Fiend deck, I do have one with Nivix Cyclops and a bunch of cantrips and stuff. It's pretty fun, but simply not as good, nor as fast as infect. In conjunction with delver, however, that seems pretty good.
@sirbar- Snapcaster is pretty pricey, and delver looses so much consistency as well as explosiveness without him. With regards to playstyle I tend to like pretty much anything, in moderation. I have a really tough time just sitting down and playing 20 games with the same deck, so don't view that as an obstacle when suggesting decks. In general I tend to like aggro decks with bigger creatures. Stompy is pretty fun, just not all that competitive.
@PValBlanc- Tron is also a good choice. The Wurmcoil Engines and the Batterskulls are kinda up there, but you only ever want a couple of them. Something to keep in mind.
So here's kinda a list of stuff that's an option, both for myself to keep track of all these, as well as for anyone who is in a similar situation:
-Skred Red- Skred, Skredd, n' Skreddy
-Assault Loam- Manifest Dredge
-RDW- Lawd Jesus It's a Fiah
-Delver 'Spells Matter' sorta deck- $100 Delver Budget
-Mono Blue Tron- Mono Blue Tron
-Living End- The Budget End
-Soul Sisters- Get a life? I have plenty!
-B/W Tokens- Swarm and Conquer V 2.0
-Infect- Spreading the Sickness
Some of the decks up there are non-budget options, for those of you interested in building them. Thanks to all who assisted in the compilation of this list!
April 3, 2015 2:29 a.m.
jandrobard says... #22
The kiln fiend deck is more of a 50$ deck, but that could work.
April 3, 2015 2:30 a.m.
mathimus55 says... #23
The modern event deck is $50 or so on eBay right now. It's not a bad deck just to get in the format and your standard Thoughtseize and other black cards will slot right in. You can spend another 50 bucks and upgrade it to a solid deck you can take to your store and do pretty well with. Then obviously you can transition it to whatever you want from there.
The big thing is getting your staples for the format(lands mainly) and it won't be too hard to play whatever deck you want, just get the filler pieces
April 3, 2015 8:13 a.m.
I'm surprised no one mentioned Bogles yet. Daybreak Coronet costs a ton, and so does Horizon Canopy, but the rest of the deck is quite cheap. It's not an interactive deck by any stretch, though.
April 3, 2015 8:27 a.m.
I've got an Eggs deck which is pretty consistent in my area and it only costs $63.94 on TCGPlayer right now.
April 3, 2015 9:37 a.m.
scottemery says... #26
Mono green Devotion or Aggro depending on certain card choices is relatively strong right now and can be build well under $50.
April 3, 2015 8:52 p.m.
sheamagic I run two wurmcoils and no batterskulls in my U-Tron and am doing fine. In U Tron wurmcoil is strictly better than batterskull. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
April 3, 2015 9:03 p.m.
mooffalosystema says... #28
Mill.
Because reasons, no-one else has mentioned it.
U/B
I have 150 IRL money priced deck on my profile that's modern tuned, no idea what it tunes to in TIX's, especially as i have no idea on the online values, but that's about your budget, right? It does win games for me, in paper anyway.
And lot of cards are interchangeable to cheaper one's if you so choose and if you stay the frick away from Glimpse the Unthinkable.
It would most likely escalate to nothing, just refine into more powerful version of itself, maybe eventually cutting the black for U/x control and then shard the black cards into a Black Discard deck of it's own.
G/U
Even cheaper is Polymorph-to-Eldrazi, provided you can stomach the cost of singleton Emrakul. It's fairly power, based on control, pretty underground too so you can steal victories easy when people stare at your deck funny and try to figure it out most of the time.
Only thing that costs anything in it is Emmy and select Eldrazi Tribal cards, (Should you want to run them) rest is basically free crud, cheapest it'll go is dependent on what price you get Em for. Way under 80 anyway.
Tech basics are in my profile too, so you'll know what it's supposed to do. I'd still google more tuts and primers on it and decide if the tech is for you.
You can maybe start escalating it towards some form of Bloom Titan nonsense, but the tech is pretty unique to deck with no real overlap on cards.
Next money saver that comes to mind is U/G infect unblockable nonsense deck. Basics are cheap but best blue cards are naturally bankbusters. Green pumps are pretty cheap. So you can test the tech for really cheap unless some cards are really wonkily priced.
It'll escalate to a proper U/G/B infect if you want to invest to it and it is Tier 1 at the end.
Or just put every green ramp spell and good green creature to a deck and win. \o/
There's something to be said about pure mono-tech.
April 3, 2015 10:25 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #29
I vote mono green infect. Fast & cheap. (Without Noble) ...even if u buy nobles they can be used elsewhere if u get bored of Infect. T2 wins are fun.
April 3, 2015 11:49 p.m.
IndepenentMeta says... #30
There's grumar delver which comes out to like 40-50 bucks
Just teching
Jace's ingenunty
Should be fine I have a deck like this that I put together out of random pieces of cards I had laying around and i played one of my friends and he was like wtf where did u find this
April 4, 2015 1:22 a.m.
Wow, thanks to everyone that threw something out there. A couple days ago I pulled foil Sorin, Solemn Visitor online, and took it as a sign to build B/W tokens. It ended up costing around 125 tix, and has been playing fairly well. Here's the deck: B/W Tokens. Don't pay attention to the ticket values on the right, the deck is cheaper than that. I can't believe that so many people commented on this thread, and I thank you all!
April 5, 2015 2:37 p.m.
8 rack is a pretty cheap deck, and it does alright in modern. Infect can be cheap too.
Jay says... #2
Soul Sisters is cheap, Tokens can be cheap, Infect can be cheap... I hope you like small creatures, cuz they're where the cheap decks are.
April 2, 2015 11:25 p.m.