Creature (20)
- 2x Ashling, the Extinguisher
- 4x Corrosive Mentor
- 2x Crowd of Cinders
- 2x Necroskitter
- 2x Nighthowler
- 4x Sickle Ripper
- 4x Smolder Initiate
Enchantment (2)
Land (24)
Artifact (5)
Sorcery (5)
Instant (4)
Note: I have retired this deck in favour of building a Red/Black Flamekin deck to experiment with more strategies.
The dark side of the Flamekin burns bright in this Mono-Black Elemental Tribal featuring some of the coolest (in my opinion) elemental races in Magic. The main thematic factors that lead me to build this deck are: 1) How incredibly beautiful the art for the black Flamekin is; and 2) How incredibly fun Wither is as a mechanic to play aggressively with... well, at least fun for the person playing!
The engines I was able to make with -1/-1 counters turned out to be a devastating effect on Modern games, leaving opponents often too intimidated to defend against hits... but ofcourse, damage always adds up eventually...
The focus of this deck is Aggro. Now, it is not without its own flavour and twists. Wither really makes the deck as powerful and useful as it is. The usage of -1/-1 counters helps perpetually debuff the field each combat - and dealing some face damage with Smolder Initiate keeps you always ahead on damage advantage both on the battlefield and against the player. Wither, in combination with my enchantments, also ends up being a powerful defensive bonus as blockers can end up being lethal even if they're 1/1's.
I find intimidation a very useful psychological tactic in Modern. What I love about this deck is that the Wither on the Flamekin keeps opponents bargaining with their future turns - choosing if they want the -1/-1 counters now or later? How will my combos and sorceries effect their board if they block a hit now? On top of being one of my favourite thematic decks, the strategy is immensely successful in casual play, both 1 on 1 and multiplayer.
The deck mostly features general Wither-based Aggro as a strategy, but a combo that emerged to me after I started play testing was the interaction between my two enchantments. Essentially, the way card:Bowfly Infestation works allows you to wipe out your opponents 1/1's on the battlefield by continually assinging another -1/-1 counter to the 1/1's. The natural behaviour helped make decks which may defend with 1/1's (like my Honour Legion much more hesitant to sacrifice their tokens as blockers.
Then, however, I realized I could perpetuate this every turn with Crumbling Ashes. Essentially, when both are on the battlefield, I just need to start it off with the spark of one dead creature with a -1/-1 counter and then I can assign it to each creature until all the ones that could die are swept off. Then, I could assign to a bigger target and wait for my upkeep, destroying it and reigniting the engine!
The above combo has proven to be devastatingly effective and hard to deal with for opponents, making this one of my most successful Modern decks I've ever crafted!
The history of this deck is merely that I fell in love with the art for Ashling, the Extinguisher, and decided to make a Tribal deck to match it!. I didn't want too focus on the sacking ability to much, I figured it would be nice and juicy with an accompanying Whispersilk Cloak making sure it hits, so instead I based the deck mechanically off of Wither. After a lot of fine-tuning, turns out Wither can be a really crazy engine of destruction!
Thanks for viewing my deck, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have! I'm really proud of this Tribal, it's one of my personal favourites, but I'm open to hearing what ideas other have. This is one of four Mono-Coloured Modern deck I built for play with friends, feel free to check out the others as well!
Suggestions
Updates Add
Comments
Attention! Complete Comment Tutorial! This annoying message will go away once you do!
Important! Formatting tips — Comment Tutorial — markdown syntax
Please login to comment
| Date added | 8 years |
| Last updated | 6 years |
| Exclude colors | WURG |
| Legality | This deck is Modern legal. |
| Rarity (main - side) | 12 - 0 Rares 15 - 0 Uncommons 14 - 0 Commons |
| Cards | 60 |
| Avg. CMC | 2.86 |
| Folders | Decks I want |
| Votes | |
| Ignored suggestions | |
| Shared with | |
| Views |