TheSwarmer

[[Dread Return]] is likely to get boarded out in games 2&3 in almost all cases where heavy graveyard hate is to be expected. Furthermore, it's not like we are racing towards reanimating a [[Lotleth Giant]] nor do we lack dudes to sack due to running 3 [[Grave Scrabbler]]s and an abundance of 1/1s.

Generally, Abzan colors stress the mana base too much with TE requiring lots of black and green being as good as necessary on turn 2. You can go Abzan if you cut [[Grave Scrabbler]]s but that is downright asinine as it makes your lategame worse than that of mono red aggro.

My previous version: https://www.mtgvault.com/theswarmer/decks/pauper-tortured-existence-v8-2/ is much more in line with some of your suggestions as a slower, more traditional version.

[[Tilling Treefolk]] in addition to [[Eccentric Farmer]] does seem like a relatively good idea, though the card is rather slow being a 3 mana 1/3 and I am not entirely sure what to cut for it. Any suggestions? I'm thinking either a [[Dread Return]] or [[Mire Triton]].

Uhm, what you put in seems like the best way to go. There's a discussion to be had around whether [[Brainstorm]] alongside [[ash barrens]] and maybe [[Thought Scour]] is better than [[Preordain]], or whether [[Opt]] is better than Preordain in a prowess deck but it has been a bit too long since I played for me to give any valuable feedback on that.

[[Gitaxian Probe]] isn't legal.

Personally I'm a big fan of [[Thought Scour]] over [[Otherworldly Gaze]] and generally of a more cantrip focused build but this seems very well built. Real fan of the inclusion of Kamigawa cards too!

Shouldn't one [[Ensnaring Bridge]] be in the sideboard given the 4 copies of [[Karn, the Great Creator]]?

I cannot count the number of times I've tried to make [[Shambling Attendants]] work in pauper. I don't think it can be done. The result will always be either a worse version of Dimir control or a worse version of Rakdos / Mardu reanimator.

I absolutely adore how your deck names go from on-point descriptions of the archetypes to Anal Fister, Thotie Atraxa and my personal favorite, Pooper.

Never change!

No [[bordagan hellkite]]? These used to be the primary targets for [[Dragonstorm]] back in the day, they kill the opponent on entering the battlefield, much better than relying on attacks.

I love [[Keep Safe]] as a card, though I wonder how well this would do against something aggressive or combo-oriented that doesn't care about creatures that have between 3 and 7 power. [[Disrupting Shoal]] would work great here I think,.

The only story here is that I like big butts and I *cannot lie*.

IDK, I got a feeling it has more to do with the size of ass cheeks...

I wonder why that is xD

Really dig the inclusion of [[Dead // Gone]] as both another 1-drop for [[Expressive Iteration]] as well as a bounce effect to work with the 8 counterspells the deck runs.

In highlander, I think a card like [[It That Betrays]] is worse than a card like [[Grave Titan]] or [[Wurmcoil Engine]] as the latter two can actually be hardcast and are thus useful in a greater proportion of situations. That said, I'd say keep It That Betrays here, I love the card to death.

Not seeing [[Beast Within]] is kinda weird. I also really like [[Shriekmaw]] in decks like this.

+1 from me!

As much as I love playing [[Smallpox]] in any deck that can support it (and many that can't xD) I do think this works better without it. In some metagames [[Fatal Push]] might be worse than pox though.

Anyway, the thing that I find interesting now is how good [[Wrench Mind]] is in a deck with [[Lightning Skelemental]] and Kroxas. What I mean is that, you want to get your opponent down to a low hand size ASAP, faster than regular Rack does, but you also want a payoff once there, hence maybe fewer Wrench Minds and more [[Shrieking Affliction]]s?

Man, 21 lands with 2 [[Smallpox]] and 3 Urza's Saga with intentions of hitting 3 drops on curve seems like a whole new level of living dangerously.

Trust me, with 4 Urborg you can afford to run 2 factories with a clear conscience and virtually no consistency sacrificed. I tend to turn 3 myself, but at that point there are a few hands that just don't work.

If you ever get some gameplay in with this, please post a comment here about it, I'd love to hear how it went!

+1 from me, it's nice to see something fresh.

However, there's no reason to not run white in modern seeing as how [[Flagstones of Trokair]] and [[Lingering Souls]] are.

As far as running [[Murderous Rider // Swift End]] alongside [[Nether Spirit]], I know it doesn't work in Loam Pox as you are likely to mill or discard the rider. Here discarding is the only danger but it is still a very real one.

Why no [[Castle Locthwain]] Or Mishra's Factory?

Other than that, a [[Torpor Orb]] and an [[ensnaring bridge]] seem like necessities in the sideboard. Oh yeah and [[Mycosynth Lattice]] is banned in modern.

Cheap, themed, kitchen table decks that nevertheless get titled budget decks. I used to be a massive part of this problem many years ago, perhaps that's why it frustrates me so much. There's a world of difference between slapping 2 dark rits in a dubiously Legacy legal, stupendously slow zombie deck meant as a fun, casual, themed deck, and cutting $200 from a T2 Modern deck in an attempt to make something semi-competitive for ~$50-$150.

Can't wait to complain about having to play against this xD +1 from me.

Seems to me like 4x [[Volatile Fjord]] is too slow for what the deck is trying to do, but then, the deck-thinning effect offered by [[Evolving Wilds]] doesn't give you a significant edge either. Could also be that 8 ninjutsu cards is 1 too many.