dknight27

I guess I'm not sure if this mechanic can hold up in anything but casual. You've only got 4 targets for proliferate, and those targets are extremely easy to remove (bolt, path, swords, fatal push, etc.). I would drop the proliferate mechanic altogether.

Honestly, I don't see what this deck can do that can't be done better by delver builds.

I would recommend 4 ponders though. Even though they're sorcery speed, it doesn't get much better.

This deck looks like it was built by a punk. I better not look at it......

That's a fun looking build. I've wanted to build an enchantment prison forever, and I've never been able to justify it. Perhaps now it can be done

Ya, that's a solid possibility. The more I look at it, the more applications I see for Eidolon. I'm working on some prison builds, and the red option is definitely going to come up.

Best way I've found of looking at a sideboard so far. I care more about what is useless mainboarded, so I figure that out first then build the side to fit the holes.

On a side note (ha), I think meddling mage is about to see a big rise in play thanks to companions.

Gotcha. I see a few possible tweaks that can be made even for a casual build. Right now you've got a heavy win condition set. One of the main advantages of builds that use the top/brainstorm/etc is that you move through the deck much more quickly, so you don't need nearly as many win conditions. I'm also not a big fan of kefnet, as it's slow and can't protect itself, but that's me. If you want to keep kefnet, I would suggest running 2 entreat and 2 kefnet (again, you don't need as many win cons), and then a fifth win con like a man land (celestial colonnade, faerie conclave, etc).

Mystic speculation doesn't make the grade, as it doesn't give you card advantage and isn't an instant. Just run ponder instead. I would cut terminus down to 3 and mastery down to 2, both for tactics/thinning reasons and because they don't work well with counterbalance. I've never been a fan of condescend, but that's me. I know it gives you the fun scry. I prefer running negate or disrupt.

And I know fetch lands are expensive, but they work WONDERS with the top/counterbalance as you can bury cards you don't need and get an extra shuffle to look at the top with. In a casual built I might even recommend running the slow fetchers (evolving wilds) if you can't afford the pain fetches.

Also worth noting, back to basics is going for 5 bucks nowadays and in a 2-color build would do some damage.

Just some quick thoughts

Unfortunately the top is banned in legacy, unless they are planning to unban it and I'm just unaware. Is this a casual build?

Is it just me, or is dualcaster mage the most interesting critter in magic? To me it's the personification of what I want to do as a player (I almost always play control). Retains tempo, retains card advantage, creates field presence.

Assuming you want to keep this casual, the obvious budget tweaks (besides the general advise above) is to trim down the curve with the 1-drop king of mill, thought scour.

Mystic sanctuary seems like a good choice as well. Both are under a dollar

We need to know if this is budget vs non-budget, modern, and competitive vs non-competitive

Is this budget casual?

I assume this is a semi-budget Legacy, or casual build, correct?

Right now the build looks too busy. You've got three different themes going: 1- nihiri into emrakul, 2- isochron burn, 3- midrange critter damage. By having three themes at once, you cut down on the effectiveness of all of them.

My advice is to trim one, probably the critters (as I assume you want to still go for emrakul), which lets you run more control and tactical advantage cards.

I would cut mantis rider and lightning angel entirely (6 spots freed up), cut fire/ice to 2 (8 spots), and nahiri down to 2 (9 spots).

This gives you room for the AWESOME cards legacy/casual allows. I would swap in the following:

4- brainstorm
2- ponder
1- terminus
2- negate

That streamlines the deck and lets you do what you want to do faster and more efficiently. Under this build, you still have 3 primary win conditions (nihiri into emrakul, isochron burn, mentor swarm), and all the rest of the deck does is either control or rearrange the hand to get what you need.

I also always opt for fetch lands if possible. Flooded strand goes for $20-ish. If the budget allows, I would run 4 flooded strand and the arid mesa (or up to 3 total mesas), which thins the deck and fixes early mana problems.

Just my thoughts

This looks a little too critter heavy to maximize delver. Looks to me like you can get away with far fewer critters and just up the 1-drop draws and counterspells. Negate comes to mind.

Thoughts?

What sort of budget, format, and level of competition are we going for here? Looks like an old standard build.

Gotcha. I see a couple budget cards that are worth considering, even if its a super casual build

Trophy mage
Treasure mage
Trinket mage
Tribute mage
Omen of the sea
Time wipe
Heliod's intervention
Saheeli's artistry
Mind stone
Nihil spellbomb
Bident of thassa

You could probably pick up all those cards for 5 bucks. Just my quick thoughts

Are we going for casual, budget EDH?

As long as you don't go mint on every card, it should be within you budget. If you need to trim, cut Arcades from 3 to 2 and add 1 high alert to keep the win condition count at 5. That'll shave off about 5 bucks. Another cost saver would be to cut scattered groves and/or 1 irrigated farmland and sub in 1 or 2 terramorphic expanse. Keeps the color count high and helps thin the deck so you don't topdeck as many useless lands. Not as good as the cycle lands, but a good budget substitute.

Here's how I would build this deck under your parameters:

https://www.mtgvault.com/dknight27/decks/casualbudgetarcades-defender/



Meaning no offense, but your current build falls victim to many of the problems new players build into their decks. The curve is waaaaaaay off. As is, its far too slow. You won't be playing anything till turn 3 (if you hit all 3 land drops), and after that you'll be stuck at 1 card per turn for a long time. Any deck with even semi-decent speed is gunna cruise right past it before you can set up a defense and start grinding. You've also got a lot of cards that are off-strategy, or are unnecessary support. The deck's mechanics are pretty simple and don't really require support, which is why the concept works well. You lay down defenders (retaining card advantage) and keep opponent at bay long enough to field one of your "uses toughness as power" win conditions, then overrun in 2 turns or so. So, the only support cards you need are the aforementioned win conditions. So, beyond the defenders and win conditions, you need cards that either protect you from control, buy time, or move through your deck quickly and cheaply to get you whatever you need. Since this is for casual, you can take advantage of some of the fantastic cards that are illegal in anything but legacy and up, such as ponder and swords to plowshares.

Builds like this are hyper-vulnerable to decks that don't try for combat damage, so the sideboard is fitted to deal with that. Teyo protects against burn, mill, and storm, so it's sideboard gold. You could probably run 1 or 2 mainboarded even. Other than that the deck/sideboard is pretty self-explanatory.

I hope this helps.

Are we going for a budget casual build here?

Are you looking for this to be competitive? Also, what's the budget looking like?