This deck has worked really well for me as a fun budget deck. It went 3-2 in standard the one time I tried it, including beating Mardu vehicles, and been really close in other matches, so I know it has good legs. I wrote up a match summary, which is at the end of this deck tech.I opted to remove the Always Watching and put in Thalia, Heretic Cathar which was an improvement.
Some of the most expensive cards can be substituted without changing the deck power too much (e.g. Grasp of Darkness for Fatal Push).
Intro
After trying to get my Orzov human deck to work in EMN (Odric and Thalia's Budget Black Love Child EMN v2), some additions in AER opened the opportunity for a new variant that is still mostly budget and actually performs.
Themes
There are two main themes. The first is a control variant, comboing Yahenni, Undying Partisan and Fumigate. Thraben Inspector, Scrapheap Scrounger and Westvale Abbey
can be fuel for protecting Yahenni. The deck is also heavy on removal which helps us stay in the game.
The other is using Odric, Lunarch Marshal with strong ability cards like Gifted Aetherborn. The deck is not a one-trick-pony and not just a value mid-range deck. Each game is different, and when things go well, it blows the best decks out of the water.
Sometimes, Yahenni becomes an unkillable monster. Sometimes, we drop an Odric on a board that already has Yahenni, a
Solemn Recruit
and a Selfless Spirit and out of nowhere we are flying in with 9x2 double strike damage, at least.
Maybeboard
Other cards were tested in building this, but didn't make my final cut:
Lone Rider
used to be a cornerstone in this deck, for the purpose of trample. First strike and lifelink are great too. However, it is way to fragile.
I don't think the deck needs a fifth wrath from Planar Outburst.
Bygone Bishop adds flying and some much needed card draw, but is too much of a tempo hit and needs too much protection.
Sorin, Grim Nemesis makes the deck too top heavy.
Not enough room for a
Fleetwheel Cruiser
.
Gonti, Lord of Luxury or
Succumb to Temptation
could get us some cards, but the deck is too tight, and I usually find we have just the right amount of draw and resiliency with Scrapheap Scrounger and Thraben Inspector.
Elusive Tormentor
is very fun and cool if he combos with Odric, but just doesn't do enough by himself.
Matches
VS Sram Aid variant 2-0:
Game 1: good startAnguish first Sram. Have a few guys on board before 3x metallic rebukes. Push second Sram.Gets aetherflux and paradoxical outcome x 3 42 health.Fumigate his 2 creatures and start beatdown, Solemn gets to 5/5, my board gets 7 creatures wide. Win.
Sideboard: not recorded
Game 2: good startI get down Kambal on turn 3. Selfless spirit comes down to protect him from fumigate. Kambal keeps his aetherflux at bay. Crush of tentacles, with surge, trade with gifted. Fragmentize the reservoir. Kambal down again, grinding him back down. 2nd fragmentize on inspiring statuary. Selfless into fumigate clears his board.Surges crush of tentacles followed by Sram. Fumigate again. Casts spells to try to find a creature, but grinds himself down to lethal. I end with 55 health: thank you Kambal!
VS 3 color aetherworks marvel 2-1:
Game 1: OK start, opponent mulligans to 5.Opponent stuck on 2 lands, fast beatdown.
Sideboard: not recorded
Game 2: Good start.Opponent stabilizes with attunes, harnessed lightnings, rogue refiner, 2x servant conduit, glimmer.Torrential gearhulk into glimmer into confiscation coup and takes my Odric.Fumigate to stabilize.Chandra into whirler. Makes 2 thopters, but leaves 10 energy! Able to get Chandra.Get opponent down to 3. He anticipates into aetherworks.I swing with lethal for the match, he spins with aetherwords, aaandd.. gets Ulamog.
Game 3:Similar start with opponent having good removal and energy ramp. Gets an early aetherworks, which I anguish, but he spins and gets torrential gearhulk. Then I flood, the only creatures I have are the scrapheaps and he harnesses my shambling vent so I can't block.
VS Mardu humans 2-0:
Game 1: good hand. Get 3 scrapheaps early that opponent kills. No trades trying to set up human mimics. Does get a 4/5 nerd ape,, but fumigate leaves 5/5 yahenni on the board. In next 2 turns opponent only has 1 creature out and he gets pushed FTW.
Sideboard: not recorded. Added planar outburst, dropped a somn I think.
Game 2: 5 land draw, mulliganed. 2nd OK.Opponent good start with nerd ape into thalia leut, I buy time with push. Then Thali and always watching a bit problematic. My selfless spirit keeps my gifted alive so he can trade with thalia (opponent error).Down to 8 but I get in Odric with gifted, thraben, and scrounger on board. :)Opponent kills Odric with a noxious gearhulk. Goes wide as Hanweir attacks, I block to limit damage and follow with fumigate, opponent. Able to get ahead on board with scrapheaps that can keep coming back. Start using westvale to chump clok his cultivators caravan.Back and forth, I'm down to 4 health. Eventually get 2 scroungers, 2 tokens and Thalia on board and transform Westvale, FTW.
VS metalwork colossus 0-2:
Game 1 : mulligan once, 2nd hand OK.Opponent good ramp, had 3 collosi out on turn 5. Tried fumigate with indestruct yahenni for the win, but had a counterspell in 1 of 2 cards
Sideboard:In: 2 Kambal 2, 2 anguished, 3 fragmentize, 1 decomoseOut: 2 fatal grasp, 2 grasp darkness, 2 solmn, 2 odric
Game2 : only got one of artifact hate. Started ahead, but he wiped with a yahenni xperice, I had 3 on my yahenniFollows with 2 coloss.. I fum. Returns one colossus, ends with a good fatal push
VS Mardu vehicles 2-1:Game 1: OK hand. Draw into 2 more scroungers and win early. Opponent was mardu but didn't show deck much, suspect vehicles.
SideboardIn: 3 frag, 1 anguishedOut: 2 soln, 2 odric
Game 2: 4 lands and thraben, kept.Opponent has early heart of Kiran and scrounger. I draw 5 lands in a row (not kidding)
Sideboard:In: 1 anguished (for Gideon)Out: 1 selfless spirit
Game 3: keep hand. 2 lands, 2 fragmentizeGet a good start, he never gets on board right and I win underneath.
