dknight27

I don't want any of what I say to be taken as an insult, I'm just trying to help you with your deck.

There are a lot of problems here that are pretty typical for new players. One of the big mistakes is the mana production you have in here that basically doesn't do anything for you. Your mana curve is pretty low and basically doesn't require any more sources of mana other than the 22 lands you are already running. Once you get out 3 lands, which is easy with 22 in the deck, you will be able to play 80% of the deck and will be fine. Those mana producers are taking up space you need for elf swarm effects which are essential for an elf tribal deck.

Also, you are missing some essential heavy hitters that are basically the reason people play elves. Take a look at this deck, its how I would build the deck you were trying to make. fecundity is the best friend of elf decks as your chimp blockers will be easily replaced and if they nuke the field everything will catch back up for you quickly.

http://www.mtgvault.com/dknight27/decks/modern-elf-tribal/

Best friend of mill decks is ensnaring bridge hands down

ive made several deck running that combo, and im not overly fond of it. I would run a copy or two in the side for some insurance, but this isn't supposed to be a combo deck. Just a control deck that uses the scepter for either a win condition or a nasty control element depending on the circumstance. The silence combo makes the deck more rigid and brings down its flexible play a lot as it requires combo pieces to be effective. I hate having a copy of silence and having to decide when to use it vs when to hold onto it to wait for the scepter to make the combo. Because you cant use silence like a counterspell, deciding which turn to drop it on the opponent in order to slow him down is basically a shot in the dark. I would rather have a flexible control deck that can spend its resources while it has them and feel safe in the knowledge that when I draw a scepter I will have something to imprint on it.

Besides, you don't get much better than lightning helix on it as both a control and win condition. 3 damage every turn plus 3 life is a wonderful way to control the game.

running 4 cryptic command with modern lands is risky in a triple colored deck. Yes its a monster counter card, but it will sit in your hand like a brick until the middle or late game because of the cost, specifically the triple blue anchor that drags it down. I would rather run 4 lightning helix for the early game field control.

I have similar thoughts about running 2 sphinx's revelation. If you have it in anything but the late middle game its a dead draw, and control can't stop fast aggro with dead draws. I usually only run 1 so there is little chance of having it in the starting hand or seeing it pop up before you have the mana to refill your hand with it around turn 10-15.

The problem with this feedback is that it is aimed at a deck that doesn't exist. This isn't a modern build, or even a deck that's aimed at any form of competition. It's meant for brand new or relatively new players to help them move past the stage when they put random cards in decks that have no relevance to the deck's strategy. The card's in here are cost efficient and all work together toward the simple aggro goal.

As to Pacifism not being aggro, perhaps we have differing definitions of the word. Aggro, from my understanding, is a generic and overarching strategy that seeks to win by dealing direct damage with creatures. The pacifism effects in this deck are simply a means of removing blockers, similar to running lightning bolts. I would say pacifism effects run hand in hand with aggro deck in general.

Viridian emissary is in here for 2 reasons. 1- ensure a turn 2 creature drop. 2- pull lands out of the deck to help the late game if it gets that far.

If they want to waste a creature early on it, you get a land to get out baneslayer. If not, it gets in some early damage and things work out.

This deck is begging to play 4 copies of overrun. 4 zombies on the field turn 5 with overrun is gg in most cases. Also, I would considering cutting back on the lands. your curve isn't high enough to justify 23, especially without any search lands to cut down the total. 22 would work fine

the rules are up on New Format: Power Draft 1. It's a playing format, not an actual deck, and since its so big I broke it up into 3 decks but they are all part of the same pool of cards.

apparently I forgot to save the description

running the invisible stalker/sword of body and mind mechanic is too inconsistent unless you build the whole deck around it. Your best bet in a deck like this is to run 4 ensnaring bridge and not worry about a combo mechanic. mesmeric orb does most of your work for you, and the other sorceries you have should be more than enough to finish the game. An alternative but reliable mill source you could use is sands of delirium.

Also, even though your curve is relatively low, running only 20 lands is dangerous, especially with the 7 search lands you have. 22 is the safe bet, and with 7 search lands it wont statistically be a problem for you. with only 20, you run the risk of consistently getting bogged down by 2-3 lands when you need enough to overpower something or drop snapcaster.

black vise is better win condition than iron maiden as its basically the same thing but costs 2 less.

You have too many win conditions in the deck as it is. test subject is too slow and vulnerable to be able to do anything, and ugin is a late game win con that you don't need and will only clog up your hand anyway. 4 black vise should be enough of a direct win condition to take care of it, and it will be bolstered by the other suggestions I have.

Right now, you have 7 cards that allow for the stasis lockdown, and that's good, but adding in chronatog ups your chances of pulling off the combo and it also provides you with a win condition as you can just deck your opponent out with it. 4 chronatogs and 4 black vises is more than enough win condition cards, and the chronatogs actually make the deck super efficient as they trigger the stasis lock and are a win condition all by itself, meaning you only need 2 cards to win.

I know they cost an arm and a leg, but 4 force of will is absolutely essential in this deck. Only way to ensure that your combo is protected under any normal condition.

I would run 4 muddle the mixture as it is PERFECT for stasis decks. It searches for every combo piece (especially chronatog version of the deck), and if you don't need it to search you can use it as a counter, which will pretty much counter everything in vintage.

I would also consider running some acceleration cards like ponder, brainstorm, and opt as this is a combo deck and you need to be able to fetch the combo more easily.

If you really want this deck to be vintage competitive, you have to run spell pierce and spell snare, or else your opponent will pull off his combo before you do (competitive vintage is nothing but fast combos)

you have a lot of unnecessary conditional cards in here that are great in the right situation, but on the average are really holding this deck back.

leyline of sanctity, nevermore, rule of law, and suppression field are unnecessary and in some cases actually fight against the purpose of the deck. any of them would be good to pull out for wall of omens.

Your best bet to actually make this deck consistent is to go hybrid blue and white and use some acceleration cards like serum visions that will let you move through the deck more quickly to get to either your win conditions or your important stall cards.

the curve here is a little high. you basically wont have anything to do until turn 3-4, and from there development will be pretty slow. I would consider running 4 wall of omens. It will speed up the deck tremendously as a turn 2 drop that provides card advantage and blocks early game threats.

Your curve is way too low to warrant 23 lands. Drop it to 22.

Desecration demon is perfect for this build. He puts the opponent on a turn 4 clock, and since you have so much creature control, they won't be able to tap him out. Plus, he is super cheap. If you were to change 1 think about this deck, add 4 desecration demons.

You basically can't run mono-black without phyrexian obliterator. Arguably the best beater in the game as your opponent can't/won't burn him off or chump block him and he can come out turn 4 in a mono-black build. It's slightly pricey, so I'm not sure if you are interested.

Phyrexian arena would be a good idea as well. You don't have any other sources of self-life drain, and the card advantage should be more than enough to justify the 1 life per turn.

In an ideal world, you would run bitterblossom, but that's super expensive.


Currently you only have 10 creatures, which is pretty slim. I would try and get it up to 15 at least. Squelching leeches is a cheaper alternative to obliterator if you don't want to shell out the money.

You know, you are absolutely right. Im gunna swap out devastating summons for them. Should help speed the deck up as well as help late game too. Thanks.

thanks. It's obviously too slow and dependent on conditions to work in tournament play, but its a fun concept

you couldn't ask for a better deck fit for phyrexian obliterator. he is a win condition by himself, and will give you +4 on your devotion count.

i would consider running diabolic tutor. its cheap enough to not mess up your curve, will work out to be about the same as chord of calling, and is super useful in a 3 card combo deck like this.

this is how i would build this deck

http://www.mtgvault.com/dknight27/decks/modern-mindcrank/

im afraid this deck wont be consistent enough in the long run. your mindcrack ascension combo is good, but you have only 1 way to search for it and no way to draw more quickly through your deck. i would consider running blue in here as well for 4 serum visions and 4 telling time. that way you have something to do while you assemble your combo more quickly and can save your burn to make the combo go off. i would also knock it up to 22 lands, as 20 makes it more difficult to hit your 4 for diabolic tutor, and this deck is relying extensively on hitting the combo as fast as possible, especially considering it wont go off until 2 turns after the combo is assembled. just a thought

you are right, this probably wouldn't hold up in competitive. im not too worried about discard, as there really isn't anything to hit other than gifts, and I could side in answers to that. plus, they have to have some king of creature presence to win with discard, and I have 8 nukes to deal with that. burn poses a bigger problem, but I would build the sideboard around dealing with faster decks like weenie and burn