[Budget] You can count on me

The Longshot Squad did look awesome, but I think they might be too slow for this deck. I also want to increase the odds of getting the skulker and scourge going, so I dropped the hound archers and bumped up the skulker, scourge and grovedancer by 1.

Part of the scheme here is to abuse the green cards for +1/+1 counters without as much need for going full spam on card draw. Hardened Scales means each card draw actually equates to two counters on the Skulker, so half as many draws gets the same number of counters. Skulker doesn't care how he got his counters when he goes pop, so I've even been considering some of the other green counter it up cards like Dragonscale Boon, Incremental Growth, and Nature's Panoply. Those could also trip the heroic on the War-Wing Siren. That heroic trip bit is part of why I had Fate Foretold as the main draw card (Nylea's Presence gives a draw also, but that's bonus to its real purpose). I was trying to get the potential double value out of the card. Maybe those Fate Foretolds would be better off being something that is just a straight up draw card like Divination? What do you think about Dictate of Kruphix? I know it doesn't actually give card advantage because you give your opponent an extra draw as well, but with a Skulker and a Hardened Scales on the board that would be 4 counters an upkeep which would get out of control quickly.

The thing I'm trying to balance here is trying to not make it all about the Skulker. I'm trying to set the deck up so it can win on the back of the Skulker or the Scourge, or just be kaboom if they both play together. I sort of see War-Wing Siren as a fall back plan. I originally was thinking Wall of Frost leaning towards the 7 toughness to feed the Scourge but then went to the Siren because she could accidentally get beefed into something that does some damage. Maybe the three way split focus of Skulker, Scourge and heroic for the Siren is just too much though? I could perhaps look at something like Crippling Chill as an alternate way to help stall while also getting a draw.

Yeah, I like the counter increasing cards- and that it's not just the Skulker they work for. One Solidarity or Heros on a 4\4 Skulker is the same as drawing 3 cards- you can't draw 3 cards with 2 mana. And if you don't have a Skulker, you can use them on the Syren or the Scourge- that's good utility. However, if you don't have any creatures, you can't play FF... and unless you have a way to kill the creature it's on, you can't get the 2nd card. True, Divination is an extra mana, but it is 2 cards every time. The Dictate is ok, but you are giving your opponent cards, and unless your deck is designed to handle that, is never a good thing. I agree, if you want to focus on the Skulkers, Dictate with Harden Scales could be insane.

I think my biggest worry with the Scourge is that you can't eat and attack in the same turn. However, there are a few options that I hadn't considered since we are pairing green with blue (my initial idea was w\ red and Act of Treason). You already have one way with the Tactics, but you could run Kiroa's Follower as a mana dork, but could also untap a Scourge during combat to eat something after blockers have been declared... Or, you could even run the Profit of Kruphix- yes, it's rare and might cost you a dollor or two, it would let you attack, untap end of Turn, and then eat something on your opponents end step so he untaps again on yours. Also good for flashing in creatures to boot.

I don't think the Siren is too much. She seems to fit the deck pretty well. A heroic flyer is solid in any deck with Harden Scales and Solidarity of Heroes. If the Grovedancer gives her a counter and then you Solidarity her she does from a 1\3 to a 5\7 flyer. She'll now block Stormbreath and Sarkin all day, and will eat Wingmate Rocs and Butchers. Even if you only cast Solidarity on her she still gets 2 counters- 3\5 blocks all of the above like the Prognostic Sphnix (dealing with all but the butcher). So I like her in the deck. This might also be a good spot for the Ordeal of Thassa, since it helps the heroic, gains the benefit of the counters, and then draws you cards. I think I'd drop the presence to 2x and then play 4x Ordeal instead of Fate Foretold.... and then maybe swap the Embodiment of Spring for Kiara's Followers.... at least as the build is now without making any huge changes.

Made a few tweaks. Satyr Grovedancer was mostly a stall play as a chump blocker with the bonus of giving someone a counter. I pulled her for Crippling Chill because for that one more mana it gives a two turn stall and can hit flyers/intimidate/etc as well. Crippling Chill also gives a card draw to replace itself and feed the Skulker. Swapped Fate Foretold out for Ordeal of Thassa. Tweaked numbers a bit to get one more Solidarity of Heroes and add Dragonscale Boon as an additional untap trick for the Scourge that also gives counters.

I have been giving the prophet consideration, though I was looking at it as prophet vs dragonscale boon. The reason I leaned toward the boon was even though the prophet gives a repeating untap the boon brings +1/+1 counters with it. Ranger's Guile has a pretty specific purpose in keeping the scourge from getting smacked with removal after you've already sac'd most of your other creatures to him.

I think I like the Ranger's Guile too. Although I still think that Kiora's Follower is better than the Right of Spring. Turn 1 Harden Scales- Turn 2 Follower- Turn 3 Skulker, Scourge, or War-wing w\ 1 forest still untapped for Guile backup. Or you leave the island up for Tactics vs red decks.

I suppose the untap is worth more than the the one extra toughness as scourge food and probably warrants the one more mana as well. Adjustment made to the deck list.