I have thought about it, my question was/is what threat do I take out for a card that does nothing by itself...?
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First off: 21 lands in a deck where 19 spells cost 3 or more is unplayable, especially in a format as fast as Modern where a single missed land drop is brutal. Also, you land mix leaves much to be desired as near all of your gold and double color cards will rot in hand while you wait for the right mix of basic lands to sort themselves out, which alo means your Flicker is useless when it has no targets. In addition; you have no hard removal, just bounce, and no tempo plays beyond that to create a board state with a wincon. Relying on simply countering all opponent's threats is unrealistic as most Modern decks either plays multiple threats a turn or back them with their own counters. Not to mention the multitude of combo decks that will just go off on you when you tap out to play any of your expensive spells. I frankly can not see how a deck like this can even win a single match against any decent Modern archetype. Sorry, I would recommend studying up on the Modern meta and going back to the drawing board, completely.
Take out Minimg, Arc Lightning, Siege and Berserker for a 2/2 split.
Ok then: Magma Spray in SB for Hangarbacs, Scouring Sands for Thopters, (also good for the mirror), mission accomplished!
Holy cow. Got one of those those multi posting errors! Sorry about the flood.
Abbot is the best card you got available = auto 4 of. Firedrinker is a liability in a meta full of burn = too dangerous. Ire Shaman and Glory Chaser are just terrible so = 0. A simgle Molten Vortex with 20 land seems like a reach so = 0. You either need more Eidolons main or none at all. Titan Strenght is just begging for a 2 for 1 = swap for more burn. Hope that helps.
Considering you are not actively putting critters in the yard I'd rather swap out the Whips for Wingmate Rocs as it is really good again now that Elspeth is seeing more play again.
Den Protector/Deathmist Raptor is a thing and Vault deals with all of that without the double black cost, (big deal). Spouts out of the SB should deal with the rest. Hyper fast aggro is pretty much all this deck fears and even then they need a hell of a starting hand.
My suggestions are as you deducted to take it in a more controlling direction because that is, as far as I can see, the only way you are going to consistently win games with this build. As the deck sits right now it is not fast enough to trouble other control or midrange builds nor controlling enough to trip up the faster decks you are bound to run into. It is a deck that is stuck somewhere in the middle that will loose to more than 50% of the current meta and having an auto loss percentage of more then half your games is not my idea of fun...That said:Bile Blight is a must have and I'd play at least 2 main. Sorrow is another lock for the SB and especially if you have no Blights main. Murk Lurker is a more control survival card that could work? Negate is likely your best counter out of the board and Ultimate Price is most of the time better then Cut main board.
Torrent and Fascination are traps, they look like they would fit but in actual play they do next to nothing to advance your plan, (I tested them). Cruise is another one that can be easily upgraded by switching it to Dig Through Time.I'm not crazy about Raks' Secret or Unraveler either, mainly because of their CMC v/s Effect are underwhelming considering you have discard spells, (that cherry pick rather then let your opponent choose), available to you that cost B compared to 2B, (4 Stain the Mind in the SB also seems highly suspect), and paying 3B for a Underworld Dreams that also dies to creature removal seems way overpriced...I would seriously swap those for counterspells and increase your land count with more blue mana sources, (24 lands seems very light).Two cards that you are missing that will help you against swarm type decks are Bile Blight and Crux of Fate, I would not even consider playing these colors without at minimum 1/2 a dozen of them in the main...Now, for wincons I have used a few: If you run more counters main then I have found that a huge Empty the Pits backed by counter magic dropped at opponents end step is quite a handful and can end the game real quick.Ashiok by himself destroys certain decks and backed by counters can totally take over a game.Just my 2 cents.
Trample is what Rancor is for, and it keeps bouncing back to your hand so you can use it again and again and again and...
Oh, and get some dual lands in here like a couple of Rugged Highlands or Temple of Abandon
Card is perfect for infect and infect is popular right now so up goes the price! (Investing in a couple Melira's for your Modern SB is not a bad idea right now if you can play her)
Might is $7+, Growth is $0.05. Not exactly budet. If he were to go that route then Inkmoth is next...
To stay within your budget theme:Rancor is a must in here. Become Immense is a house and needs to be in the main as a 4 of. Wild Defiance is another huge help for this deck type. Also, Apostle's Blessing to protect your fragile critters. Dont worry about removal, your critters are removal. The Mamba needs to be in the main instead of some of the 3 drop critters you are running.
Well, thats good, (I think). :)
There being enough decks that are fast enough to slip underneath control and mono red devotion about to become a thing again I'd definitely play a minimum of 1 Sorrow main. Probably in place of a Downfall. I'd also recommend a Vault main for those unforseen moments, (like an opposing Garruk).
It's an uncommon that costs less then 10 cents for a reason, what do you think...?
SB looks much improved, so does the main. Now you just have to playtest the changes to find those final tweeks that makes it something special. Took me 3 months to fine tune my Mardu deck to the point where I was satisfied, (and then I promptly tore it apart to build a 4 color monster!).
Hehe, do whatever feels natural to you, I was just trying to give you some more options. I get the concern re GG in the Courser but I've played the hell out of it and it's arguably the 2nd best critter in Standard. As far as Valorous Stance goes it is an auto include in my book as it pretty much plays like a mono white charm!Have fun brewing as you come across new cards.
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