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Firemind's Gut Check

Modern

Gifulgi


Sideboard


My take on the Nivmagus Elemental modern combo deck.

EDIT 6/15: Reconstructed sideboard. Kept Pyroclasm for token and aggro rush decks. Added Simian Spirit Guides and Monastery Swiftspears for matches in which I need to move faster than normal, and most notably added a set of Clouts of the Dominus to halt spot removal and potentially haste swing into Liliana before I'm forced to sac. Also kept Flamekin Harbingers to find more creatures against spot removal and as sac fodder to Liliana.

EDIT 6/4: Experimenting with a surgical extraction (replaced a dismember) to both add another zero drop to catalyze combos and toying with a slaughter games effect that can hit nonbasic lands too. Added 2 Graven Cairns to help stabilize mana base without dumping money for fetches and shocks

EDIT 4/29: Made it BR by adding 4 Tainted Strikes (stabilizes the glass cannon somewhat and enables a turn-2 kill off Nivmagus, still turn 3 kill for Kiln Fiend) with 2 Blackcleave Cliffs and 4 Sulfurous Springs as budget BR land.

I made it with a mono-red land base to be more affordable (though slaughter pacts could still be run). The idea is to get an elemental on field turn 1, dump your hand of zero-drop spells (thank you phyrexian mana) into pumping nivmagus, and swing for a one or two-shot kill.

Ground rift's storm is a sac & trigger engine for our elementals, but I found the deck stalling against tempo and mid-range with the opponent at minimal life. Enter Temur Battle Rage for double-strike and trample (better than messenger's speed trample, since enchantments don't have the flexibility of being sac'd to nivmagus nor do they trigger kiln fiend).

This is my first modern deck, I wanted to build a fun one around my favorite card, Nivmagus Elemental, and tried to make an affordable version of the black-red deck since I just got into the format after years of standard cards rotating out. Advice & criticism welcome!

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Date added 9 years
Last updated 8 years
Legality

This deck is not Modern legal.

Rarity (main - side)

15 - 0 Rares

6 - 7 Uncommons

31 - 8 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 1.35
Folders niv elemental deck, Inspirations
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