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Are you tired of grinding out 20-turn games with boring Abzan midrange? Exhausted by the looks you get every time your opponent realizes you're running Affinity? Do you ever wish you could play the distorted lovechild of these two classic decks? Look no further: Walk Like a Constriction is the deck for you.
Hailed by critics as "38 Modern-legal spells and 22 lands" and "a[n] [...] example of a [...] Modern deck," Walk Like a Constriction has broken into the meta by using Modern staple Metallic Mimic to cast free Hangarback Walkers and Walking Ballistas. It plays a powerful midrange game that resists removal and has the potential to kill on turn 3.
-Guy from FNM
The plan of the deck is simple: add +1/+1 counters to your artifact creatures, punch your opponent in the face, and then shoot them a bunch until they die. The first part of this strategy revolves around three Modern playables: Hardened Scales, Winding Constrictor, and Metallic Mimic.
Hardened Scales is the most reliable of these three cards, and provides so much value in our deck that just about any hand with Scales and 2 lands is a snap-keep. With Hardened Scales on the board, our Hangarback Walkers, Walking Ballistas, and Arcbound Ravagers all enter the battlefield above the curve, providing virtual "free" mana for our XX costs. Few decks mainboard much enchantment removal, which makes a turn-1 scales difficult to answer.
Winding Constrictor is the poor man's Hardened Scales, but it can still get the job done. It folds to every removal spell, but unanswered it increases our consistency in games when we don't draw Scales. It might block a Goblin Guide or score a few points of damage, but the Snek is mostly around to be a backup Scales.
Metallic Mimic is where things start getting spicy. By naming Construct when it enters the battlefield, Mimic buffs both of our main threats - Hangarback Walker and Walking Ballista - leading to bonus thopters and extra ammunition to launch at the opponent. Again, this puts our walkers above the curve by providing what amounts to 2 "free" mana in the XX costs. It's also great in multiples, and with a Hardened Scales in play a second Mimic will enter the battlefield as a 4/3. In the late game, you can even name Thopter with your Mimic and then crack open a Hangarback, creating a swarm of 2/2 or 3/3 (with Scales) fliers.
In addition to the three primary counter generators, we also run two copies of Llanowar Reborn. This thing has graft for some reason - WoTC R&D was into some weird shit in 2006 - and it increases our consistency by enabling a 2/2 Hangarback Walker on turn 2, even without Hardened Scales. Then, with Scales or Constrictor, graft allows an X=1 walker to enter the battlefield with 4 +1/+1 counters, effectively netting 6 extra mana. The drawback of entering the battlefield tapped is largely mitigated by our high volume of 2-drops: Llanowar Reborn is a fine turn-3 play when you follow it with a Hangarback, Walking Ballista, or Arcbound Ravager.
-Dovin Baan on Mechanized Production
The explosive power of this deck comes from the combination of Metallic Mimic and our two Kaladeshian walkers, Hangarback Walker and Walking Ballista, backed up by Arcbound Ravager.
Hangarback Walker has been synergizing with Hardened Scales in jank decks for years, and it's easy to see why. Scales adds an additional +1/+1 counter to the Hangarback when in enters the battlefield (effectively paying for 2 of the XX cost) and makes its tap ability add 2 counters for every activation. A turn-2 Hangarback with 2 counters for 2 mana is nothing to scoff at, but we can do so much better. Metallic Mimic causes Hangarback Walker (a construct) to enter the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter, and Scales adds another counter to that. Imagine this sequence:
T1: Land, Hardened Scales
T2: Land, Metallic Mimic (construct), Hangarback Walker (X=0), Hangarback Walker (X=0)
Well done, now instead of a single 2/2 Hangarback on turn 2, you have two 2/2 Hangarbacks and a Metallic Mimic. That's 8 mana worth of Hangarbacks for the price of absolutely free. Take that, Tron.
Walking Ballista makes this synergy even better. It has the same interactions with Hardened Scales that Hangarback does, and by having 8 copies of XX-costed constructs in our deck, we can dump any number of them from our hand onto the battlefield the same turn we cast Metallic Mimic. Ending turn 2 with a Mimic and one, two, or even three 2/2 Hangarbacks and Ballistas is completely doable, and represents a 4-, 8-, or 12-mana tempo swing in our favor. Just make sure your Mimic doesn't get bolted with a free walker on the stack and you should have no problem capturing Echo Base.
The natural follow-up to this line is:
T3: Arcbound Ravager
Ravager comes with all of its regular tricks enhanced by Hardened Scales, and it is especially useful for protecting our Hangarbacks from exile effects. And just like in Affinity, a single unblocked artifact creature allows us to sac our board to Ravager and use modular to move all of its counters for the kill. On turn 3, we can play a Ravager and activate Hangarback Walker's tap ability, giving us a 4/4 Hangarback and a 2/2 Ravager on a board with Hardened Scales. By sacrificing that walker and all of its Thopters, we add 10 +1/+1 counters to the Ravager, then sac it to itself to move 12 counters to a 2/2 Walking Ballista. Swing for 15 (2 counters from the Ballista EtB + 12 from Ravager + 1 from Hardened Scales trigger for modular) and then ping for 15. This kills the Soul Sisters.
For those keeping track at home, this is the fastest kill the deck can manage. It requires that we find a Hardened Scales, Metallic Mimic, Hangarback Walker, Walking Ballista, Arcbound Ravager, and 3 lands in our first 9 cards. Is this magical Christmas land? You bet. I've done it three times in ~650 games. More realistically, this type of aggro-combo kill will happen on turn 4 or 5, and these cards are still highly synergistic even if you don't have the full combo nut-draw. The Ballista + Ravager combo is also an excellent way to escape a board stall, as it gives us a win condition that doesn't require attacking.
"Wait I thought you said it has snakes."
-Beta testing the deck name
Besides the explosive combo potential, the deck also runs a steady value plan to grind out matches against the likes of Death's Shadow, Jund, and G/W Value Town. In addition to the walkers, a pair of 3-ofs in the 3- and 4-drop slots help us out-value and outlast the opponent.
Rishkar, Peema Renegade is our only 3-drop. With Scales in play, Rishkar can turn a few normal-sized, 2/2 walkers (likely cast for free on turn 2) into huge walking value machines. Rishkar can also target himself with his ETB ability, so he will enter as a 3/3 (or 4/4 or 5/5 with Scales and/or Constrictor) if you have fewer than 2 creatures on the battlefield. If you happen to draw a second Rishkar while you already have one in play, fear not - the EtB ability will go on the stack before he dies to the Legend Rule.
Ranger of Eos sits at the top of the curve, and it takes advantage of the 0 CMC of our walkers. If we're stuck in a grindy matchup and need some value, Ranger can tutor up 2 Hangarbacks to block and then fly over the opponent's board. If our opponent is low on life but stabilizes with removal or a sweeper, Ranger can grab 2 Ballistas to finish them off. If we don't know what we want, Ranger can get one of each walker - it's still a 2-for-1 that leaves behind a 3/2 body (there's another Jundy-er creature in modern with a similar effect). And if we have a Mimic in play, we immediately dump the new walkers onto the battlefield. This card is the main reason for our white splash pre-board, and besides enhancing the midrange game, it significantly increases our chances in control matchups.
Our only other form of card selection is a single copy of Buried Ruin. Sometimes you need a Walking Ballista to get in those last few points of damage, and cracking a Ruin at the end of your opponent's turn is the best way to find it.
The deck includes 2 additional utility lands in the form of Gavony Township and Vault of the Archangel. The former naturally synergizes with almost every card in the deck, while the latter turns an annoying Walking Ballista into a backbreaking, deathtouching machine gun. These lands are the other reason for our white splash pre-board.
Playsets of Fatal Push and Thoughtseize round out the main 60, providing some targeted removal and disruption against combo and control decks. In a pinch, Fatal Pushing your own Hangarback Walker can save the thopters from a Path to Exile or a Karn minus, and it's a play that few opponents see coming. Thoughtseize is also helpful, as it provides a 1-drop in games where we start with Winding Constrictor but no Hardened Scales.
All the school kids so sick of books
They like the punk and the metal band
When the buzzer rings (oh whey oh)
They're walking like a Constriction
-The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian," early draft
This deck developed largely as a response to Death's Shadow, and it is important to remember that it is not an Affinity deck. Trying to play like the "Scales Affinity" and "BiG Robots" lists that have been floating around for a while runs into the same problem they have: it's just worse Affinity. This is a fair deck that sometimes does unfair things to surprise unfair decks. The turn-3 kill is very rare, but finding ways to win on turn 4 or 5 is not uncommon, and it's pretty fun to shoot down a horde of Elves or kill a DS player with Walking Ballista.
I love this deck, and it's pretty good. Can it win a GP? Probably not. Is it good enough to go 3-1 or 4-0 at FNM? Absolutely, and it's a ton of fun while doing that. Try it out, tell me I'm crazy, give me suggestions on how to improve it, and most importantly, keep on walking.
"I can't beat that. I guess I scoop?"
-Astounded DS player, staring at a turn-2 board full of walkers
Let's break this down. In general, midrange = good matchup, combo/fast mana = bad matchup, aggro = about 50/50, and control = unfavorable, but sometimes you can steal a win with Defense Grid and rub their smug blue faces in it.
Affinity
This is a decent matchup for us. Affinity doesn't have much that can disrupt our main game plan, and an early Walking Ballista completely shuts them down. Post-board, swap out a few Rangers of Eos for Nature's Claim, but otherwise not much needs to change. What are they gonna do, play Stony Silence?
Burn
Burn is about a 50/50 matchup in game 1, with the main threat to our deck being Eidolon, but it gets easier post-board. Hangarback is great against Bolts and Goblin Guide, and every spell they send at a Metallic Mimic is one less they send at our face. Take out the Thoughtseizes, then board in Nature's Claim for lifegain and Dromoka's Command for dealing with Eidolon (it's an enchantment creature) and preventing damage.
Death's Shadow
Most Death's Shadow variants are really good matchups for us. It's difficult for them to go low on life when there is a constant threat of big Walking Ballistas, and the combination of Hangarback Walker and modular helps us resist most of their removal. Take out some Winding Constrictors and board in a few Path to Exile to deal with delve creatures.
Death and Taxes
Tax decks don't tend to bother us very much. Our deck can function on just 2 lands, and shooting down a turn-2 Thalia with Walking Ballista is so satisfying it almost makes me feel dirty. Take out a few Winding Constrictors and board in Dromoka's Command to deal with Stony Silence and Rest in Peace. Maelstrom Pulse can also help with Lingering Souls tokens and Aether Vials, but then again, so does a Walking Ballista.
Dredge
I feel like Dredge should be a really bad matchup, but I've never had many problems with it. A lot of their creatures die to Ballista, and they don't run a ton of removal to slow us down. Even if the game goes long and they gum up the board by recurring creatures, we can still go over them with Thopter tokens and Ballista to the face. Take out Thoughtseize and board in Grafdigger's Cage and Surgical Extraction.
Elves
Elves is an interesting matchup. They have no way to disrupt our main plan, but if we don't draw Fatal Push or Ballista to deal with their early mana dorks then they overwhelm us very quickly. There's not much to change after game 1, just mulligan for removal.
G/B/x Midrange
Jund, Abzan, G/W Value Town, etc. These are all good matchups for us. We're afraid of Wrath effects, but the targeted removal in most midrange decks is inefficient against a lot of our stuff, as most of our creatures give plenty of value even if they get Fatally Pushed. Jund is probably the toughest matchup, but it's still favorable for us. Board in Maelstrom Pulse to deal with planeswalkers and keep an eye on how close you are to winning with a Walking Ballista topdeck.
Hollow One
Ugh, we can't really win this one. Burning Inquiry screws up our sequencing and we don't actually have a maindeck answer to Hollow One. Board in Path, Surgical Extraction, and Nature's Claim but don't get your hopes up. The only upside to this matchup? I imagine that the feeling of dread I experience when someone drops 2 free Hollow Ones on turn 1 or 2 is a similar dread to what other people feel when they see free Hangarback Walkers and Walking Ballistas.
Infect
Are people playing Infect right now? Anyway this is a tough one. Game 1 is rough unless you start with a Mimic and Ballistas, and post-board you need to mulligan until you find removal and then pray. Always board out Winding Constrictor, since it adds additional poison counters whenever you get hit by an infect creature.
Ponza
Similar to the D&T matchup, we don't suffer that much from a Blood Moon or land destruction. As long as we can get to 2 lands we can usually resolve enough threats to win. Watch out for Anger of the Gods since it shuts down Hangarback and modular. Board in Path to deal with Inferno Titan and the occasional Platinum Emperion + Madcap Experiment combo.
Tron
Tron is Tron. It's linear, it's uninteractive, it's fast, it usually beats us. We do have a few tricks though - if you can get down Mimic with some walkers on turn 2 then it's possible to race them, and if Arcbound Ravager is on the board then we can use it to manipulate counters and save our Hangarback Walkers from Karn and Ulamog. Oblivion Stone and Wurmcoil Engine are the real issues. Take out Fatal Push and Ranger of Eos, board in Ghost Quarter, Nature's Claim, and - if you're feeling lucky - Surgical Extraction.
Titanshift
This is probably our worst matchup. Just play fast and pray they don't have Scapeshift. Board out Fatal Push, then add Ghost Quarter to deal with Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle and Path to Exile to remove Primeval Titan.
Storm
Storm is one of our worst matchups. The only hope we have is to go for the turn-4 kill while playing around Remand and hope we have Fatal Push for when Baral comes down. Take out the Rangers of Eos and bring in Surgical Extraction and Grafdigger's Cage for games 2 and 3.
U/W/(R) Control
Blue is just tough. We can't do much except play around countermagic, and Cryptic Command hits us extra hard if they bounce a creature with a lot of counters on it. We're also vulnerable to Ceremonious Rejection and Path. Board in Defense Grid and hope for the best.
5C Humans
Humans is one of our most interesting matchups. Their creatures get pretty big if we don't draw removal, but we can block all day with Hangarback Walker, and they don't have much removal to screw up our synergies. Our main concern is Mantis Rider and let's face it, that card is bonkers. If you can make it to turn 4, odds are they haven't removed your Metallic Mimic, so you can play Ranger of Eos and then cast 2 Hangarbacks to immediately stabilize. This matchup actually gets easier post-board: bring in Maelstrom Pulse and Path to Exile to help deal with their evasive threats, and Nature's Claim if you're worried about Aether Vial.
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| Top Ranked |
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| Date added | 6 years |
| Last updated | 6 years |
| Splash colors | W |
| Legality | This deck is Modern legal. |
| Rarity (main - side) | 46 - 9 Rares 11 - 4 Uncommons 0 - 2 Commons |
| Cards | 60 |
| Avg. CMC | 1.50 |
| Tokens | Thopter 1/1 C |
| Folders | Lists to Try |
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