dknight27

25% of the deck to support 3 cards. You could kick up the Witch count by 1, or add some Monastery Mentors and get better versions of the same effect for 1 more mana, except you get 24 targets instead of 15. That's an extra 15% spread for only 1 mana, with the kicker of better tokens. In my opinion, cut the Hero, add in 1 Witch or Mentor, and add 2 more instant/sorceries. Maybe think about cutting the 2 Helixes for 2 Bolts.

I'm a GIGANTIC fan of Hard Evidence, as it protects you (which mono blue basically can't do), preserves tempo, and replaces itself. Consider is also a classic, as it feeds Snap, takes care of topdecked lands you don't need, and generally thins the deck. Both are great topdecks, both are good in the opening hand.

Cutting some 3-drops and adding some 1-drops seems like a good idea, as the curve's a bit high.

That's all fair, just what immediately popped out at me. Obviously Lingering Souls wants to be in this, but I don't really think you need it. Kaya's Guile is just too damn good to ignore, I run it whenever I can.

Maybe work in a place for Thought Scour? Perhaps over Opt? Hits all the same triggers, but helps with Snap, Drown in the Loch, Kolaghan's Command, and Extraction.

Seems like Sorin, Lord of Innistrad would be right at home in here. Triggers Precinct One, creates tokens, has a potential win condition (buffs the swarm), and has a potential alt win (its final abil). Beckon Apparition also came to mind.

Are you going for budget casual here? Or Budget Legacy?

I assume this is a budget modern build right? Which means no shenanigans like Life from the Loam, Wrenn and Six, or Urza's Saga.

I'd suggest some Cycling lands like Sheltered Thicket over the temples, as they give you whatever you need in the build.

I'd also suggest lowering the curve a bit, as you're pretty 3-drop heavy. Perhaps Magmatic Insight and Searing Blaze.

It would also be worth considering making this deck RGU so you could take advantage of the fantastic blue options like Thought Scour (mill yourself with tempo and preserves material), Gifts Ungiven (pick Worm Harvest, 2 cycling lands, and Multani and you've got the winner), Growth Spiral (moves through the deck with tempo, accelerates, preserves material), Hall of Storm Giant (alt win condition), etc.

Just some thoughts.

I assume this is going for modern legal correct?

If so, some cards to consider would be Mind Stone, Mystic Forge, and Mycosynth Golem.

I imagine this is formatted as budget modern correct?

Some 1-drop staples would go a long way to helping this build, Lightning Bolt and Opt/Consider being the obvious standouts. Then there's the 2-drop staples, such as Counterspell, Negate, Fire // Ice.

You could use some budget lands to help thin the deck and fix mana, like Evolving Wilds.

I'd also personally consider Hard Evidence, but that's me. It hasn't caught on as much as I expected it to.

I'd also recommend eliminating Jace's Erasure. It helps you mill yourself to feed the drakes, but other than that it doesn't do much and is a particularly terrible dead draw. Consider instead Thought Scour, which guarantees you a +1 to the instant/sorcery count, and will probably net you a second (on average) while retaining card advantage and tempo (draws you a card/is a cheap instant).

Here's how I'd approach building the deck you're going for here:
https://www.mtgvault.com/dknight27/decks/budget-modern-drake-control/


Not trying to throw shade or anything, just discussing some ideas.

I gotcha. I noodled it around a bit, and this is what I came up with.

https://www.mtgvault.com/dknight27/decks/casual-monarch-control/

There are some good control ideas in there. Balance basically can't hurt you. Solitary confinement is a perfect lock if you already have monarch. Narset nullifies monarch for opponent. Everything else gets you where you're going or stops opponent from getting there first. Just some thoughts.

I'm of a couple different minds on this topic. I'm not even sure monarch is a mechanic that can sustain itself as a deck build as is. There aren't many cards that use it, and the ones that exist are way too expensive (mana wise) to rely on. For example, a 6-drop pseudo nuke with a monarch effect is pretty hard to justify when you can get almost the same result from an infinitely more affordable 4-drop.

That being said, its a casual build, so on we go. I see two basic builds that can be made from monarch: reactive and/or prison control, and critter rush. UBW is built for control, so that's the way I'd go, but that's me.

A gate build with only 20 lands?

Good tweaks to start. Let me ask a couple questions. This is budget casual, correct? Like you don't want it to be legacy legal? Also, are you looking to keep it 100% thematic on the monarch mechanic? Or are you ok with diluting it a bit to take advantage of the cheap mega cards you can use in the casual format like brainstorm?

First thing that leapt out at me here is the high mana curve and landbase that all hits tapped. You're a turn behind at best, and with the high curve you're looking at a very slow start and a slow midgame. Maybe consider changing up the landbase and dropping the curve a bit.

First thing that leapt out at me was that 33% of the deck is a 4 or 5 drop, and you're running 20 lands. 4 Channelers helps with that of course, but I'd still think you'd want to up the land count and cut a few of the bigger boys to hit the operational curve more quickly.

Are you going for budget casual here?

First thing that leapt out at me with this build is that it's got a bit of a top heavy curve.

Are you going for modern budget here?

4 copies of Mind Stone would seem right at home in a build like this. Cuts down the curve, mana accel when you need it, which you almost always will in this build, and when you don't need it sack it off. Just a thought.