Instant (5)
Enchantment (13)
Creature (18)
Land (24)
Sideboard
Instant (5)
Sorcery (6)
Artifact (4)
Maybeboard
An affordable standard control deck for a player new to all these Theros shenanigans. I made this deck to be fun, easy to make, and a refreshing change from the usual decks you see at an FNM. Although it may not win you an FNM, you should definitely have fun playing it!
I'm looking for feedback and advice on how I can improve this deck, but I'd prefer not to spend more than about $5 for a single card (sorry, no Desecration Demons). I'll go through the cards one by one, and explain why they are in the deck.
Thanks to the help of kyuuri117, the deck has gotten a big overhaul! Let's check out the new cards, shall we?
Blightcaster: This is the main control aspect of the deck, and why it works. Essentially, every time I cast an enchantment (of which I have plenty), I get a free Disfigure. With this guy on the field, about all of the enchantments I play in the deck become two for ones. Even if you aren't killing the creature, you make it near impossible for them to trade evenly. He's pretty essential, so I run 4. On an unrelated note, you gotta admit the art on this card is pretty damn awesome.
Alms Beast : If a 6/6 for 4 mana doesn't sound good to you, then I don't know what does. Sure, it gives blockers lifelink, but it also gives them DEATH. Besides, Desecration Demon has a "downside," yet everyone runs him!
Vizkopa Guildmage: A seemingly weak creature that seriously packs a punch. Let's say you've got an Alms Beast with Hopeful Eidolon bestowed on it. That's a 7/7 with lifelink. Not bad right? Now activate the second ability of Vizkopa Guildmage. Now that Alms Beast is going to do 7 damage, even if your opponent blocks. If they don't block, you're doing double damage! If that wasn't good enough for you, the effect of Vizkopa Guildmage CAN STACK. If you activate the ability twice, you can do 14 damage if they block, and 21 if they don't! Triple strike anyone?
Hopeful Eidolon : Great for stabilizing your life total. Play it early to chump block, and later on you can bestow it onto your other creatures to give them lifelink. Tasty! Also, keep in mind that he is an enchantment creature, which means more triggers for Blightcaster.
Baleful Eidolon : A deathtouch creature is great for stalling down the board, and this one stays relevant later in the game because he is an enchantment.
Pacifism: An awesome anti-aggro staple. Possibly the best answer in the format for a heavy beater, and it sticks around to fuel Ethereal Armor. Sign me up!
Ethereal Armor: I don't think I need to tell anyone how good this is. My advice is to hold onto to it until you see an opening, or you risk it getting wasted due to your opponent's removal. However, if you can get in even one or two swings with a 5/5 or so Hopeful Eidolon , you can really turn the game around to your favor. I probably should run four, but three is enough that I see at least one most games (with the extra in sideboard).
Gift of Orzhova : An amazing enchantment that turns pretty much anything into an instant evasive life engine! Even a Blightcaster with one of these puppies becomes a 3/4 flier with lifelink!
Underworld Connections: Awesome card draw engine. It is exactly what a control deck wants. You can use it to slowly take the game, one card at a time. With this out, you won't be running out of steam any time soon, and the downside is hardly even a downside with as much lifelink that is available to us. If you were on the fence about this or Dark Prophecy, this is the one you want. It's easy to cast, consistent, and is never going to kill you because it is optional.
Doom Blade: Because sometimes things just need to die. Try not to use them during your turn, rather cast them at the end of your opponent's turn, or when he/she declare attackers. Why? Because you never know if your opponent will enchant or buff that guy you were planning on killing anyway. If we can get rid of two or more cards of theirs by using only one of ours, we gain card advantage. Card advantage is how control decks win.
Orzhov Charm : Want to kill my Alms Beast ? Nope. Want to burn Blightcaster? Nope. Playing black creatures makes you immune to removal? Think again. This card has so much utility, it just begs to be played here.
SIDEBOARD:
Pithing Needle: Bring these in against planeswalker-heavy decks, or ANYONE that uses AEtherling. AEtherling is extremely difficult to deal with, and this is probably the cheapest way. I would recommend pulling out Pacifism and Arrest to make room, as those kind of control decks don't usually run very many creatures, and your removal won't hit them anyway. If you are looking for a more budget-friendly answer to AEtherling, try Debtor's Pulpit . How does it work? Simply tap AEtherling at beginning of each combat phase! Blinking won't save him from that.
Blind Obedience: Screw you Hammer of Purphoros, no haste for ANYONE. Not to mention the fact that this has a free extort trigger on it. Drawing more than one of these is not really any help to us, however, so 2 in the sideboard should suffice.
Dark Betrayal : When things don't die to Doom Blade, this is what you want.
Angelic Edict : Bring these in you if are against someone running Erebos, God of the Dead, as he can really ruin your day. Although expensive and only sorcery speed, Edict gets through indestructible, and can hit him even when he's not a creature. On the bright side, it's useful against creatures and enchantments that we wouldn't otherwise be able to deal with, but not nearly as much as our other removal spells available to us, hence sideboard.
If you have the money/rares, you could unbudgetize the deck by adding Heliod, God of the Sun, Thoughtsieze , adding in shocklands, etc. I guess you could run Desecration Demon instead of Alms Beast , but it's no fun that way!
If you wanted to make the deck even more budget (you cheapskate), then here are my suggestions:
Remove the 4x Pithing Needle from the sideboard. They add up to about 8 bucks, but they are necessary, as we don't really have any other way to answer AEtherling, except for racing with him. If you don't care, or AEtherling isn't an issue where you play, then definitely save your money.
Pulling the 2 Blind Obedience will save you 4 more bucks. Run Contaminated Ground in its place for some nice mana disruption.
Underworld Connections are about 3 bucks each, but again I believe they are worth the investment. If you do drop them, run 4x Read the Bones instead.
Everything else in the deck is about as cheap as it's gonna get. Making all of the changes I have presented should shave off about $18 from the listed price! Now you have a standard legal deck for less than $15!
And that's it! I hope you like it! If you don't, by all means please tell me how I can make it better!
Feel free to check out my other budget decks:deck-large:interrupting-slivers
Assemble the Gatekeepers
Standard
SCORE: 72 | 54 COMMENTS | 10010 VIEWS | IN 53 FOLDERS
deck-large:burning-storm-20
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Revision 8 See all
(10 years ago)
| -1 | Martial Law | maybe |
| +1 | Sentry of the Underworld | maybe |
| -1 | Sphere of Safety | maybe |
| Top Ranked |
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| Date added | 10 years |
| Last updated | 10 years |
| Legality | This deck is not Standard legal. |
| Rarity (main - side) | 7 - 6 Rares 9 - 9 Uncommons 24 - 0 Commons |
| Cards | 60 |
| Avg. CMC | 2.36 |
| Folders | new decks, Standard Decks, Orzhov inspiratie, Favorites, Orzhov Control, Maybe, Cheap Standard, B, B/W, Black/White |
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