dknight27

Let me know how it goes

I don't like the 4th Blood Moon because it's more useful in the side games 2 and 3 than against every deck game 1, and especially because every slot you're running mainboarded that doesn't deal noncombat damage hurts your spectacle mechanic and slows down your prowess/Cutter rig. Plus it's a 3-drop hard cast, which this deck very much doesn't enjoy anyway.

I'd get rid of one of the Skewer the Critics for the extra land, but that's me. Spectacle is a nuisance if you can't get it, and you're running enough nondamage stuff (6 critters, 4 Morphose (sort of), 4 Cutters, 3 Moons) that it has a good chance of being a terrible topdeck and clogging up an opening hand, so cutting down the necessity of a second spell by dropping it to 1 copy makes sense to me, even if the ability to bolt a critter with it is nice compared to the bolt to the face only option of Lava Spike, etc.

I love a good shakeup of an old architype.

A few things i noticed that might be relevant:

18 lands seems mighty light, even though burn decks traditionally run fewer for obvious reasons. You've got 5 cards that need spectacle, a healthy amount of 2-drops, Blood Moon, and your fatty that needs 3 available mana in a turn, so you really need 2 lands to run the deck without it stalling out and getting overrun. Maybe up the land count to 19 by running [[Sunbaked Canyon]]? Keeps the dead draws down, helps keep things moving, cuts down on mulligans, etc. Plus the landfall on Searing Blaze REALLY hates low land counts, which is some bad nonbo action since you REALLY want to only use it for the landfall but also might need it to stack with other spells for spectacle/Incinerator/Steel/etc.

The Incinerator has a few nonbo elements lining up for the build. I know you want to stack damage in a turn for spectacle and Steel-Cutter, but you also want to dump damage for Swiftspear and your prowess tokens, so you've got good reasons to hoard and dump cards as well as reasons to dump cards every turn, which means you're less likely to have the 2 damage spells you need to play Incinerator for R in a turn. On top of that, you've got a good portion of the deck that doesn't deal noncombat damage, so you've got some nonbo forces at work. Plus, it's an abysmal topdeck that you'll never have a hope of hardcasting, and its burn ability only helps against critters/walkers (which is admittedly great but further makes its benefits conditional). I absolutely love running similar cards with this exact idea in mind, but the synergy seems a bit counterintuitive as the build is for my taste. Maybe consider running [[Hearth Elemental // Stoke Genius]] or [[Bedlam Reveler]] instead? Both have hand refill kickers, both are pretty easy to cast, both are fantastic topdecks, and both are basically immune to half the spot removal and easy nuke options in modern. I actually think the Elemental is one of the overlooked cards in magic, but that's me. Running 2 copies in a deck that hits heavy on the instants/sorceries means you're really only going to topdeck into it, probably while you have 3 mana available, so you can draw 2 and drop a 4/5 beater for 3 mana, and bam you're right back into the fight.

Just some thoughts.

Are you looking to upgrade a bit? You could sink 10 bucks into the build and kick it up a couple levels of output easily. Right now you're running a sort of generic 'good stuff' red build, which you could improve by shifting toward a specific theme a bit.

Your best bet to make a rig like this work is to try to focus on 4-drop dragons that you can put out turn 3 with some cheat acceleration. Namely, by running cards like Dragonlord's Servant and [[Mind Stone]], both of which speed you up a turn and aren't useless draws on their own. I'd advise swapping out your mana rocks for the above, primarily because you can't use them to ramp your turn 3 into a turn 4, which will make all the difference in a build like this.

The idea being that 4-drop dragons are immune to quite a bit of popular removal, so if you can field one it will be a reliable clock that can bulldoze through opponent's defenses for the W. This is especially true for your dragons that give you instant advantage, such as Nicol Bolas (ETB discard), which I'd recommend running at least 3 copies of. I'd suggest running more 4-drop advantage dragons, such as [[Atsushi, the Blazing Sky]], [[Ebondeath, Dracolich]], [[Thunderbreak Regent]], etc.

Are you going for budget modern here?

Are you going for competitive modern here? I notice that some of your decks are essentially from much older blocks/editions, so I wanted to check before sharing feedback.

Right off the bat, [[Liquimetal Coating]] helps this deck quite a lot, as it's cheaper and can be tapped the turn it hits.

Are you going for budget casual here? If so, there's lots of nifty little artifact things you can use to potentially augment the build.

I love a little red/blue burn action.

I know this is casual, but I see a few possible tweaks that could help the build out that you could implement cheaply.

Tzaangor Shaman is pretty slow and since it's useless on it's own (beyond being a 3/3 flyer), you could most likely get more value out of something faster/more reliable. Same problem with Rootha really. Even something as simple as [[Electrostatic Field]] would probably have a better impact, as it's cheaper, has no maintenance cost, and can double as a blocker to slow opponent down if needed. Personally, I'd think about [[Bonecrusher Giant // Stomp]] and/or [[Scalding Viper // Steam Clean]] in their place(s), as both are cheaper value engines that work on their own and that synergize with your tap damage fellas.

Some other cheap and high synergy cards to consider would be [[Needle Drop]], [[Preordain]], and [[Gitaxian Probe]] (though it's about 4 bucks), as they all draw you cards on the cheap (which helps you tactically tremendously as you get through your deck) while triggering your damage boy.

Divination is a little too slow and clunky without mana acceleration, even with two copies, as you're going to burn (ha) a turn using it and probably not be able to do very much for the rest of the turn, so you're giving opponent the tempo advantage while you take the material advantage, which is sort of the opposite of what burn does. Same problem with running 2 copies of Treasure Cruise (which works much better with fetch lands and high turnover builds that dump spells like crazy), so I'd generally recommend cutting Divination entirely and cutting down Treasure Cruise to 1 copy so you're basically guaranteed to only topdeck it while you have a full grave and can actually use it. You can actually duplicate the material gain aspect of these cards in a better way by running [[Hearth Elemental // Stoke Genius]], which lets you burn through your hand then cast its draw ability without having to discard anything (netting you a +1 in material), then cast its critter half the same turn for cheap (probably only 1 red) or save it for later (netting you a +2 in material with a 4/5 beater).

[[Fiery Islet]] would also be perfect for your lands, as you're gunna be topdecking useless lands and running some Islets will help mitigate that while helping with your colors as well as not being too heavy a tax on you, as you can run the build on little mana if necessary.

Just some general thoughts.

Getting the mana curve where it needs to be is something I think every player struggles with for a long time till you're forced to adapt or die with it. Not trying to be patronizing here, just sharing my experience with learning the game. You've got to treat time (called tempo) and the things that mess with it (how much things cost/when they can be played/etc) as a resource that's as important as material (how many cards you have).

The best way I can explain the whole thing is to demonstrate what I call the three-mana problem. You've got a powerhouse 3-drop critter, like [[Glissa, the Traitor]] that's going to dominate the field and win you the game with a damage clock. You spend 3 turns making your land drops and on turn 3 you drop Glissa and pass. During your endphase, opponent casts [[Lightning Bolt]] and your damage clock is gone. In that scenario, you did nothing for 3 turns while opponent had the option of doing something for 3 turns, only using 1 mana to end your threat which cost opponent essentially no time. If opponent had a 1 or 2 drop in that sequence, he now has the board and is going into his turn ready to rumble while you're playing from behind. You went 1 for 1 in material, but you're behind at least 2 tempo just because of how the mana cost worked out (1-drop instant speed vs 3-drop sorcery speed).

Now, run that scenario except you have a 1-drop threat like [[Delver of Secrets // Insectile Aberration]]. Now you play it turn 1 and opponent either has to respond (if he went first) at the end of your turn or waste his turn on the response, putting you at a 1 for 1 in material but also a 1 for 1 in tempo. Now you've got 2 more turns to get something going and/or respond to opponent's plan rather than having to wait to drop your 3-drop threat only to have it be killed off on your own turn.

This unfortunately won't be legal in standard, but you can run it in modern.

Off the bat, the major constructional problem I see is that this deck CRAVES mana and has no way to feed it. You've got no 1-drops at all, so you'll always be at least a turn behind in development, and that's if you hit all your land drops for the first 3 turns. God help you if you're stuck on 2 lands, cause you won't be going anywhere.

The good news is, you can fix this problem extremely easily by swapping in some synergistic cards on the cheap that will speed you up, give you more advantage, and take some of the strain off your mana.

[[Faithless Looting]] is an absolute must in the build. You can pick up a full playset for a dollar, it synergizes perfectly with your recursion, it has flashback, and you can use it turn 1 to put your build into overdrive. Imagine using it turn 1 to dump Bloodghasat and/or Skyclave Shade, then turn 2 pulling it/them back on the land drop.

Firewing Phoenix is just too slow in the build. You need 4 to cast it and 4 to recur it, and that's just (ironically) not going to fly. Same logic with Kathari Bomber and Hell's Thunder. You're better off with cheaper/more synergistic unearthers/discarders like [[Scrapwork Mutt]] and Ashnod's Harvester.

A copy of Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger would be a good one-of in here. It works much better with fetch lands and fodder, but a single copy would be an excellent topdeck.

[[Infestation Sage]] is just a better Orzhov Enforcer.

Than you can run stuff like [[Corrupted Conviction]] to take advantage of all your recursion and to keep the deck moving and hitting land drops (which you desperately need).

Just some ideas to consider.

Looks pretty solid to me. How are the 4 Tamiyos working? Obviously it's a stellar card that's sort of a win condition with a card engine on top, but 4 seems like a lot since it eats up mana to scarf clues (which this deck will struggle with), and it doesn't do damage. I know it's perfectly synergized in legacy with Brainstorm and Ponder, I'd just generally expect to see fewer of them in a build with the extra 1 or 2 slots used up by a Bowmaster so you get more ping and field presence.

Just a line of inquiry, concept still looks pretty solid to me.

This looks slick wicked sharp. The only potential thing I see is that Stubborn Denial only has 11 critters that can make it worthwhile, all of which are conditional, and I imagine you very much want to use it to protect your Frog anyway, so why not just run [[Turn Aside]]?

This deck is practically crying out for [[Strangleroot Geist]]. Speed, advantage, self-countering, delightful hammer to throw at opponent's face. I'd personally pull out Vorinclex, as it's so expensive and can't protect itself from spot removal, and run Geist instead (4 copies actually), but that's me.

There are a few lands you could utilize as well. [[Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx]] is always a consideration in builds like this, but it costs an arm and a leg and only hits viability when your devotion is 4 or higher, so it's not really worth it in my opinion. [[Waterlogged Grove]] helps fix the topdeck land problem, as you can sac it off for a draw. It fits extremely well in the build anyway, as your curve is low and you are racing opponent for damage anyway, so your life total doesn't matter that much. [[Lair of the Hydra]] also helps with the same problem, and the deck can pretty easily run on only 3 lands, so you don't really need to worry about the tapped part if it comes in later.

If you've got the budget for it, I'd recommend running Green Sun's Zenith and a copy of [[Dryad Arbor]] over Llanowar, as you can tutor up the Arbor turn 1 (which is essentially a copy of Llanowar in this build) and after that (when you don't need a 1-drop dork) you can tutor up your good material instead. The only real tradeoff is 1 fewer green devotion, but having the Zenith in the build to fetch out your baddies once you're off the ground is absolutely worth the tradeoff.

Running 4 copies of Inspiring call seems risky, as it's a fantastic topdeck (cause if you topdeck it with an empty field you've already lost the game, but in every other circumstance it probably gives you great advantage), but you don't want it in the opening hand or for the first few turns, as it has no value to you unless you've got multiple critters with counters AND the mana to use it, which is usually impossible on turns 1-3. 2 or 3 copies would help you draw into it in the mid game rather than have to worry about it clogging up a hand in the opening.

Just some thoughts.

It just seems like running [[Crop Rotation]] over 4 of the lands would go a hell of a long way to getting this deck where it wants to go faster and with more efficiency. The Rotation gets around Wasteland, gets you the Cradle when you're ready for it, and gives you a turn of 3 land drops if you fetch a fetch.

And I'm not quite seeing the point of running 2 Arbors, since you basically never ever want to play one from your hand and burning a Zenith on one just for the landfall would almost certainly be outclassed by fetching one of the deck's engines.

28 lands, 4 Zeniths, and 4 BOPs seems like a suicidally high number of mana producers that's going to lead to nothing but flooding and mulligans, even if the deck wants to dump mana quickly. Just my initial reaction to the numbers, I might be missing something.

Wrenn and Seven seems too pricey for what you're getting in this build, especially since you've got limited acceleration and are only running 20 mana sources (rather than 24 since Dark Depths doesn't pump mana). Mycospawn is banned in legacy (not sure if you're going for legacy here), but otherwise I'd say it's a better bet over Wrenn, as you can fetch the combo land you need as well as its many other benefits (you'd want to run some [[Wasteland]]s on top so you can pop opponent for 2 lands if necessary).

Elvish Reclaimer would also appreciate some fetch lands, as would Ramunap Excavator. Blighted Woodland is almost certainly too slow (you need 5 lands to pop it), and you could easily run [[Wooded Foothills]] instead to give your grave some recursion/filling.

I don't think you've got to bother with the Berserk angle, as your Sloth is a good clock on its own, you risk going down a 2 for 1 against removal with the Berserk combo, Berserk is a terrible topdeck, and you can't actually guarantee an OTK with the Sloth/Berserk combo cause it only does 16.

Beast Within is pretty pricey and absolutely loses a topdeck war, as you're giving opponent a clock in a 1 for 1 tradeoff. I know you want to be able to fix a problem, which is hard to do with green, but you could pretty easily splash black in here and go with any of the black and/or black/green removal options.

Overall, I'd personally go for the splash black angle and add in some discard disruption like [[Thoughtseize]] and spot removal like Assassin's Trophy (etc) so you can utilize some turn 1 and 2 disruption to get you through to your combo setups.

Just some thoughts.

Coolio. The good news is, you can update the deck on the super cheap and kick it into overdrive.

The overall question you need to answer is if you want to make a deck that gains life and takes advantage of gaining life, or an angel agro deck. Either option is viable, you just need to pick one and roll with it. Either way, there are some generic cards to think about.

The biggest improvement you can make it to load up on the extremely efficient and cheap cards that slot right into the build. Four copies of [[Youthful Valkyrie]] and Gaida would be extremely powerful, as you want to start the clock on turn 2, with Gaida ensuring you get that important third mana to make sure you can drop a 3-drop angel on turn 3, which any angel build desperately wants to do.

Then there are a bunch of 3-drops and 4-drops that would fit well/better than some of the cards you're running, like [[Resplendent Marshal]], [[Wojek Investigator]], [[Archangel of Wrath]], [[Emeria Angel]], and [[Legion Angel]].

As for your support cards, you've got a metric ton of good removal/protection you can run on the cheap since you're going orzhov. Check out [[Fatal Push]], [[Vanishing Verse]], [[Damn]], really you've got an endless supply of 1 and 2-drop removal options and way to protect your critters.

You could also get away with running some of the spell-lands, as you're going to have an unproductive turn 1 in essentially every game, so you don't mind dropping a tapped land. Check out [[Kabira Takedown // Kabira Plateau]] and [[Razorgrass Ambush // Razorgrass Field]].

Just some general thoughts. I'd be happy to help if you want to try and rework anything.

Are you looking to modify the build? I see some potential improvements that could be made on the cheap to help the deck along with its plan.

That's a fun concept, sort of like block construct. Which, incidentally, I believe is the objectively best way to play magic, as it minimizes chance as much as the game allows (a major weakness of draft), maximizes strategic and tactical thinking, tests a player's ability to read a set, and bypasses the horrendous budgetary restrictions in almost every other format.

All of that being said, running a block with only 1 set plus some random offshoots (which I imagine are hard to search) sounds like it makes for a very limited format, especially since Kaladesh is hyper focused on only a few mechanics. Does everyone run sort of the same build ideas?