dknight27

Just experimenting to see what can be done with it, if anything. I wanted to see if running 8 Hierarchs would speed up the build enough to balance out the complete lack of control. That and wanting to make Vizier work, which has been a pet project for years. The clash of theme was too good to pass up, so I gave it a whack (and have a few more potential builds in the works trying similar things (adventure cards seem underused to me)). I doubt I'll stand up to competitive modern.

14 current targets, cheap, relatively reliable material engine, what's not to like? Honestly, I got so caught up on the Flash wizards, I forgot all about that little guy. I usually look at him for RB turbo builds, but you're absolutely right that he should be worth considering, thanks.

Get it? There's no card, so your dad is absent. Clever girl.

Maybe [[Hindering Light]] over Keep Safe? More color problems, protects you as well as your permanents, so you can stop discard, burn, and sac mechanics.

Curve seems a bit high for only 20 lands. The 4 and 5 drops are evoke boys, but there are quite a bit of 3 drops that could clog the hand early waiting for that third land. Maybe cut a Clique to help with the legend rule and Tidebinder, then add 2 of [[Waterlogged Grove]] to help the curve and keep the dead drops minimized?

Just some ideas.

Feels like [[Grave Pact]] would be a natural fit, especially for casual where there are lots of critters. Mono black makes it easy to run.
Might be a bit pricey.

Seems like a good fit for [[Corrupted Conviction]] and/or [[Village Rites]]. I'm not overly familiar with fodder decks like this, but I always think of the beautiful 1-drop sac to draw cards at instant speed and want to use them.

I like comboing cycling lands with builds like this. They trigger Asmoran on the cheap, work perfectly with Wren, and in this build feed the delirium. Seems like some [[Forgotten Cave]]'s would go pretty well in here. Maybe also [[Nihil Spellbomb]] over Lantern?

Here's my last attempt at a similar build:

https://www.mtgvault.com/dknight27/decks/modern-zen-gardencompetitive/

What's the legality you're going for here?

Seems like a copy or two of [[Sunbaked Canyon]] would fit nicely in here, considering how low the curve is with the Vial kicker.

I don't like Shimian Specter in here. It fits the extraction/discard theme, and is a flyer (which is always nice), but it's a 4-drop 2/2 with no ETB and no guaranteed value, as opponent might not have a hand and/or can ditch instants to preserve material. On top of all of that, it's a 2/2 and dies to almost all traditional and popular removal, though it is a problem for [[Prismatic Ending]], so there's that.

I also don't like Temur Battle Rage, as it's probably going to be a dead draw (can't keep a Skelemental on the field, so need one in the hand already plus at least 5 mana, and there are only 4 other targets), when it does connect it isn't a straight win (12 damage max), and the double discard aspect isn't guaranteed to do anything, as this deck wants opponent to be neutered as fast as possible, so players probably won't have much material after turn 4, meaning the 'discard 4' combo off Skelemental probably doesn't matter.

Maybe instead work in [[Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer]], Kroxa, [[Dark Confidant]], [[Grief]], and/or [[Dreadhorde Arcanist]].

Ragavan speaks for itself, is cheap/effective, is a relatively solid damage clock, will be less vulnerable due to opponent's lack of material, and gives you material.
Kroxa just fits this build, discard/damage, is a god damn beater, and will have plenty of material for reanimation.
Confidant nets you massive potential material, will be less vulnerable due to reduced material, and the bleeding is less relevant due to lower mana curve/lack of material by opponent.
Grief is just a bomb and a half turn 1 material and tempo advantage on a 3/2 Menace 6-turn clock that potentially lets you win the game turn 1 when combo'd with one of the 1-drop discard cards that lets you knock opponent on his ass.
Arcanist potentially nets you major material (16 targets in the build as is), and is a decent budget card with that's going on here.

I also highly recommend knocking up the land count as mentioned above. Just throw in 4 [[Silent Clearing]]s and you have better curve coverage without any added dead drops.

What's the legality and level of competition you're going for here?

24 less-than-two drops should help smooth things out, you'll almost always be able to play at least 2 cards in hand before you hit the 3 land curve you need.

It's essential that you show dominance and put the son in his place at the bottom of the heap. I'll give this build some more thought. Are you attached to the mono-black theme? Usually life gain mechanics go great with white, but it's not essential.

Feast of blood looks WAAAAAAAAAAY too dangerous from my perspective. You've got 16 vamps sure, but the payoff isn't worth the terrible topdeck problems and the fact that it ups the dead draw count if you don't have your vamps, which should expect to eat a good deal of cheap removal since they all die to most forms of common removal these days. I'd say cut it and swap in pharika's curse, which does something similar, faster, unconditionally, and will take care of many pesky critters in modern while still giving you the lifegain you need for triggers.

You've also got some curve problems, as this deck is 3-drop heavy with only 20 lands. I'd recommend cutting Essence Extraction altogether, as its great if it goes off in tandem with your Bond/Aerialist setup, but is a terrible topdeck and really isn't worth the 6 point swing for no material gain if it doesn't combo off of both. You're already running 12 removal spells, so maybe run some cheaper tech stuff like [[Nihil Spellbomb]] and [[Sign in Blood]]. A Spellbomb or two would work well, as its never a bad topdeck, replaces itself, and can spike grave decks which are all the rage in modern. Sign is a fantastic choice for decks like this, as you can eat the bleeding all day without a sweat and maintain cheap card advantage. I'd realistically run at least 4 cards like Sign in this build, they even double as burn if you get opponent within range.

I'm all over the [[Defile]] over [[Cut Down]] from above, that's just a perfect card for this build. It could even take late game Murktides potentially.

A few other considerations are:

Valentin, Dean of the Vein
[[Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose]]
[[Well of Lost Dreams]]

Cheap cantrip artifact with two killer abilities would be my guess, I'm not sure of the exact history, but if I could play it in modern I would.

Is this build going for casual budget legacy?

This is how I'd build the budget build working off your format:

https://www.mtgvault.com/dknight27/decks/modern-deathtouch-budget/

Just trying to up the synergy a bit and fix the curve to mana balance. Some good suggestions thus far from everyone.

I see a couple potential tweaks.

You're not running any tech lands, and 23 is pretty high, even with the 10 fetch lands. So maybe swap out some fetches for tech lands, like cycling, or drop the total so you don't hit so many dead topdecks.

13 critters seems a touch high for what you're going for, as you really just need one fielded critter juiced with the equipment, and two of the equipments are living weapon. Maybe cut down to 10 and up the control factor, possible with some [[fire // ice]], or something like that.

Maybe [[consider]] over serum visions, as its faster and gives you almost guaranteed value (over the digging 1 deeper).

I'd consider upping prismatic ending as you're almost guaranteed to hit 3-drop status easily, and can tweak it even further with triomes and the extra mana type cheat, which are all fetchable (ex [[ketria triome]]) and are never dead draws.


Just some thoughts.

Are you going for semi-budget competitive modern?

I'm not seeing a purpose for Honor-Worn Shaku that Relic of Legends can't do better beyond the ability to tap walkers for 1 colorless. Am I missing something?

I'm having trouble finding that card.

I like trimming Daredevil in this build. He's essentially a dead card in the opening hand, and you need at least 3 (probably 4) mana available to make him work, which is no mean thing in a deck with 19 lands. I know Aether Vial helps solve that problem, and goes very very well in builds like this that let you flash in for free every creature in the build, but with 3 copies of Vial and 4 copies of Daredevil, the math is still against you. Maybe drop Daredevil to 2 copies? Basically insures you'll topdeck him when you have the resources to make him work, and frees up 2 more spots for value instants/sorceries.