dknight27

I kinda like [[Plow Under]] more than Slime. Same cost, no 2/2 deathtouch, but a significant drop in tempo and effectively going -2 on top, which limits opponent to only cards in hand for 2 turns while you keep plowing ahead.

I realize this deck is 8 years old, but just for funzies, I think [[Heartflame Duelist]] would be a fun/good fit. I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that the adventure cards need to be reexamined for viability, cause some of them are quite attractive.

Seems like [[Unmarked Grave]] would fit extremely well in here, as you've got 10 cards that want to be in the grave.

Biggest problem I see in this build is the curve. Running 18 four-drops means this deck is always playing catchup, and you've got no one-drops at all, so responding to things will be even slower. I'd recommend cutting Bloodline Keeper for Skrelv's Hive. Much cheaper and much harder to get rid of. Legion's Landing is an obvious consideration, and helps cut down the curve. [[Intangible Virtue]] is always worth considering, potentially over Warleader's Call. Cheaper, better color, gives Vigilance to stop bleeding. Yes, you don't get the ping, but getting it on the field faster will help this deck tremendously. Kaya's Guile speaks for itself, and should always be a consideration when it can be run. Running two Vault of the Archangel is a bad idea in a three-color build that's already slow. You need five lands before it does anything, it doesn't help your colors, and its not worth anything without a bunch of tokens or specific matchups you need to chump block with deathtouch to kill off. I'd recommend a mana fixer instead. [[Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth]] is always a consideration, or another Bloodstained Mire would help.

Other than that, I'd just work on cutting the four-drops for one-drops and either working in interaction or trying to max out speed and swarm to bypass interaction and win with material. Just some thoughts, for what they're worth.

Another fetchable triome, in this case I'd recommend Raffine's Tower, would be fetchable, not a dead draw, and up the Prismatic Ending count to a potential 4. [[Fiery Islet]] also seems like a good fit. I'd probably cut a Steamed Vent for it. I usually opt (ha) for [[Consider]] over Preordain, but that's a matter of taste. I'd rather have the Surveil and tempo than be able to dig into a second card. White Sun's Zenith came to mind immediately as a potential win condition in here, as it gives cats to buff with Kaheera at instant speed and its reusable. The scenario I'm seeing is casting Zenith for 6 during an endphase, getting three 2/2's. Then next turn, fetch Kaheera and drop her, now you've got three 3/3's with vigilance and a three turn clock that can swing this turn. I kind of like that better than Shark Typhoon, but that's me. The cycle token is a great topdeck at speed, to be sure, but the cat/instant synergy with Kaheera seemed to fit better. Since this build doesn't care about the grave even a little bit, you're free to run [[Relic of Progenitus]] mainboarded as grave hate that doesn't hurt you and replaces itself. The Rest in Peace's you've got sided are obviously great, but since there's so much use of the grave in modern, mainboarded hate that doesn't hurt you seems tenable. I see a potential conflict with your nukes and tokens/Solitudes. Obviously it's not a likely interaction, but you'd be nuking your own stuff and have no other option. An alternative would be running one [[Sweltering Suns]] over one Verdict, so you can cycle it off if you don't need it. It's obviously a tradeoff, as its conditional and counterable, but it's also cheaper and never a dead draw. Brotherhood's End is also a good consideration, as its a great side against lots of decks. I'm personally a fan of running 4 Fire/Ice over 4 Expressive Iteration, as I'd rather topdeck an Iteration and have a Fire/Ice in the opening hand. Faster, not conditional, at least a 1 for 1, and still helps move through the deck or kill Ragavan. I don't really like Iteration in most builds at all because casting it turn 2 is a gamble at material advantage, but that's me. But its a hell of a top deck, and lets you dig through 3 cards and throw lands away if nothing else. Strangely, [[Lutri, the Spellchaser]] might be a mainboard option in here. Three-drop flash that almost certainly gives advantage, fits the companion's criteria, and is another potential damage clock the deck would enjoy. It's also easy to cast color wise, always a bonus.

Just some thoughts, no concrete criticisms. I'm a big fan of the idea of working a companion in as a guaranteed material bonus which gives you the edge on games when both players burn themselves out. Suddenly, you've got a cheap clock and opponent needs an answer.

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.