Assisstance with an illusion-based deck
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on June 27, 2016, 2:07 a.m. by DangerousVideo
The description says it all; really not sure what's good to put in this deck and sideboard.
The problem with illusions is that they have exactly 1 lord and it is a great one when you have two of them out, but when you do not, they are a quite mediocre tribe that does not offer any advantages. I would second Icy above in asking for the intended competitiveness of the deck.
June 27, 2016 3:28 a.m.
WizardOfTheNorthernCoast says... #4
This is when Phantasmal Image gets absolutely huge :)
Same as for the spirit lord Drogskol Captain, once you drop an Image copying it, they both have +2/+2 and hexproof and it gets out of hand since Image can't be targeted anymore and therefore won't have to be sac'd :)
I'd play less Illusory Angel or at least couple her with Gitaxian Probe (great synergy because Probe is 'free' and information is always relevant if competing :) )
June 27, 2016 3:57 a.m.
DangerousVideo says... #5
@Icy, my budget is no more than $200 in total and I want this to be the deck I take to play modern at my local store.
June 27, 2016 6:22 a.m.
Tall order on that one. Consider this - illusions has next to 0 tribal synergy and most of its cards suffer from somme kind of an inherent disadvantage. What do you gain (competitively speaking) from having an illusion-tribal deck? The best illusions by a country mile are Lord of the Unreal and Phantasmal Image, which are not even illusions.
June 27, 2016 7 a.m.
WizardOfTheNorthernCoast says... #7
Boza you must be a good ol' netdecker.
If he wanna play illusions, just let him do? Working on a deck that isn't considered a staple (or even playable in this case) and make it better, that's much more rewarding than picking up a list on the internet and copying it. If he follows your advice, he'll probably end up playing some kind of Affinity, Burn or Infect like basically everyone else :)
Btw he just told you he wanna go to local FNMs, not big events -> "I want this to be the deck I take to play modern at my local store." ;)
My point here is he asks for help on his deck in the "Modern Deck Help forum" and all you tell him is "Drop that sh*t invest in smthg reliable". That's not quite helpful to me, right? :)
June 27, 2016 11:01 a.m.
@frusciante7, do not devolve this to netdecking versus brewing, which besides being irrelevant, is far removed from the point of my post. I did not even provide any suggestions for anything, I was just pointing out issues.
My point is even if you are not competing in a top tier competition, it would feel better to win than to lose, regardless of level of competitiveness. Illusions, which bring no benefits to the table and are quite unsupported as a tribe, will have a hard time winning, especially on a tight budget.
Spending $200 that has little chance of winning is not a good investment.
Still, will provide some comments later today on the deck itself.
June 27, 2016 11:14 a.m.
I guess it really just depends: would you get more satisfaction and enjoyment from winning, or from playing this illusion deck?
June 27, 2016 12:03 p.m.
yeah because budget (aka. underplayed) cards are all shit.
Monastery Siege, Ghastly Discovery, Reality Shift...
Illusions is a pretty good tribe, and while it lacks lord it has Krovikan Mist, a bunch of good creatures - good for their cost, and with an irrelevant drawback (barring Electrolyze) in most cases.
Blue can dig out the needed cards, draw a lot, and has a nice arsenal of trick cards, that are completely unexpected...
Polymorphist's Jest
+
Tarmogoyf
is a combo universally loved by jund players XD
June 27, 2016 1:14 p.m.
WizardOfTheNorthernCoast says... #11
Boza I knew I sounded a bit salty but it wasn't my intention :) the fact is he asked for help and you gave none.
Besides, even if he wanted to spend 500$ on a bad deck, how is that YOUR problem? From the moment he likes HIS OWN crappy deck better than the 'top tier' - I hate to write this down - ones, I think he made the right choice ;)
Back to the matter : you'll need several copies of Phantasmal Image in order to copy protect Lord of the Unreal and get your lads out of reach, that for sure.
Also I would remove Mind Control (maybe leave 1-2 because it's a dead draw vs creatureless decks such as Ad Nauseam) and Sleep (It's a 4 CMC SORCERY so I'd prefer Gigadrowse since it can tap lands early game and slow your opponent down, or get rid of their blockers).
June 27, 2016 2:27 p.m.
IcyLightning says... #12
frusciante7 I agree with Boza, Illusion tribal is just not viable to compete. Is it bad that DangerousVideo wants to build tribal illusions? No, but he shouldn't be expecting a tier one deck out of it, and I think that's what Boza was saying, that if DangerousVideo primary goal is to have a competitive deck MORE then the illusions Tribal, he should spend his budget elsewhere.
Also, DangerousVideo, took a look at the deck and provided some feedback, most of which was mentioned here already. Not much to be done really with illusions tribal, but it is always doable. I also briefly mentioned two other ways you could take the deck that would make it more competitive I feel. Be sure to link me if you need anything further and I'll be happy to help.
June 27, 2016 5:44 p.m.
...when the "it will never be a tier 1 deck" arguments come around i always feel obliged to point out, that the tier system is based on how often the deck in question is played, not on how competitive it is.
I mean Lantern control won GP Charlotte, not by virtue of being half of the field, or luck, but by opressive strength, and even after that its still T3 (or not even that) - simply because its underplayed, not because its that bad.
June 27, 2016 6:17 p.m.
WizardOfTheNorthernCoast says... #14
I rarely agree with Xica but I must say we get along quite well concerning the netdeckers / 'tier 1 decks' concept / brewing mentality.
Here again, the thread isn't about how to invest your money in Magic or how to get a 'Tier one deck' (because DangerousVideo NEVER ASKED FOR THIS). It's about helping the lad improving his idea of an Illusion Tribal Deck, plain and simple :)
June 28, 2016 3:39 a.m.
DangerousVideo says... #15
Sorry everyone, I didn't mean to start an argument. I just think illusions are cool and wanted to build a deck that revolves around them in some way or another.
June 28, 2016 3:50 a.m.
Posted a sample deck as a comment on the deck itself. The best way to do illusions is to include some Clones.
June 28, 2016 4:20 a.m.
WizardOfTheNorthernCoast says... #17
This is no argument man no prob, just explaining different point of views ;)
Yeh Illusions are kinda cool but a bit weak sadly (boosted stats compared to CMC but easily removable).
IcyLightning says... #2
I'd love to take a look, especially since I've been messing around with a mono-Blue Illusions Jace flavorful deck myself, but its super late for me and I need sleep, so I'm just dropping this comment here to remind myself.
Quick questions: Is it meant to be competitive, or more a homebrew for fun, and do you have a budget or do you just want suggestions regardless of costs, that'll really help when I take a look.
Looking forward to the deck when I am more cognizant.
June 27, 2016 3:01 a.m.