Need Help deciding on a competitive modern deck
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on Nov. 11, 2015, 12:14 p.m. by dooblydor
Hi there. I am a big fan of modern, and Iv'e wanted to build a deck that could compete for quite some time now. Next year, I'm going to my first Grand Prix, so this Christmas I'm solely saving my money for a deck. I am a big fan of decks like Mono Red and Mono Green aggro, but my friends are telling me to play combo decks like Pili-Pala. My budget is probs 470$. Just keep in mind I play with aggro decks best, and that is what I have always played with. Advice would be greatly appreciated!
living end is also cheap, and it's fast. it's "combo". I would look into it.
November 11, 2015 12:24 p.m.
Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely look into those decks.
November 11, 2015 12:26 p.m.
At that price range you won't find many top tier decks. You can build the majority of them, but you'll likely have to substitute here and there. The best aggro decks that don't involve Liliana or Goyfs (and aren't affinity) right now are probably
- Elves
- Boggles
- Infect
- Merfolk
If you play with aggro decks best then I wouldn't go with anything else. Playing with a deck/style you're comfortable with is incredibly important. If you want to go for something less known, you could go with tribal aggro like allies or slivers, both have made a splash at recent Star City tournaments. Hope this helps.
November 11, 2015 12:27 p.m.
Merfolk is expensive, and infect /can/ be expensive.
I think you might like looking into mono green aggo. It's cheap, fast, and catches a lot of deck by surprise.
November 11, 2015 12:28 p.m.
MADMatt7777 says... #8
Here is the thing with mono green aggro... It doesn't win. We have a guy who plays mono green aggro at my FNM. He gets dead last EVERY single tournament... The only times he doesn't get dead last is when he plays a 10 year old with their homebrew standard deck... Don't play Mono green aggro. Boros burn is your best bet for your price range, and can be slowly upgraded to naya burn
November 11, 2015 12:38 p.m.
MADMatt7777 says... #11
Mono green isn't fast enough to compete with Burn, Affinity, and Splinter twin, and there are better midrange decks like JUND, Junk, and Tron. It also has very few ways of interacting with Combo decks like Storm, Amulet Bloom, and Living end. I think living end or burn are your best options for your price range as both are relatively cheap and both are aggro-ish.
November 11, 2015 12:59 p.m.
RIP mono green:( but yeah my first deck I ever built was mono green, it lost everything. boros burn was going to my second choice, but it's at the top now. Thanks for the help everyone!
November 11, 2015 1:02 p.m.
AndWelcomeToTheJam says... #13
Agreeing with above. Mono green is a cheap deck to build, and it is likely the most honest, straightforward gameplan you can run. And that's mostly why it loses to anything else. Nykthos-ing into an early big guy is cool and all, but cheap removal like Path to Exile and Go for the Throat hit you like a truck, and you're left with nothing. You may as well just play Elves, and Elves is quite expensive.
For my suggestions, I may be a little biased, but I think B/W Tokens is a solid choice for a first competition-worthy pickup. It may not come out first very often, but it near always stays relevant in the hands of a decent pilot. It is fairly resilient against hand hate, spot removal, and creature-based aggro decks. What it does lack is combo disruption and unpredictability. You would also need to know when not to overextend into a boardwipe, as it's difficult to bounce back from. Tokens is on the cheaper side as well; your most expensive nonland card would likely be Elspeth, Knight-Errant, if you even use it. Other decks I have yet to see suggested are Dredge and Nivmagus Combo.
November 11, 2015 1:06 p.m.
MADMatt7777 says... #15
Both dredge and Nivmagus Elemental combo are glass cannon decks are can easily be beat with a little bit of disruption. That's why they aren't played
November 11, 2015 1:32 p.m.
If you mainly play Aggro decks; I tihnk Burn is still your best option. Boros Burn would more fit your budget than Naya Burn would. Elves are also pretty good and fairly cheap. Only problem with Tribal decks is Cavern of Souls is expensive.
November 11, 2015 1:45 p.m.
AndWelcomeToTheJam says... #17
Nivmagus Combo is a Storm variant in which you cast a bunch of cheap pump spells and cantrips like Mutagenic Growth and Gitaxian Probe, that you can then exile mid-stack to a Nivmagus Elemental while simultaneously pumping up a Kiln Fiend, and swing for a lot early. Matt is right though; it's a bit gimmicky and fails under removal, so I don't think it may be tournament worthy, but it is fun to watch work.
November 11, 2015 1:47 p.m.
That's my Boros Burn Deck I just made. Thoughts?
November 11, 2015 2:07 p.m.
elpokitolama says... #19
Death and taxes is a strong, entertaining and somehow budget (since it can be monocolored) archetype. It's as fun as it is consistent. If you've got questions about it, being how to made one or an already tested list, just ask me! :)
November 11, 2015 2:31 p.m.
Thanks! I think right now I'm just going to focus on building an aggro heavy deck for modern, but when I want to try something else I'll definitely ask!
November 11, 2015 2:40 p.m.
elpokitolama says... #21
For >500$ aggro decks, you've got Death and Taxes (white), Merfolks (Blue) or RDW (well, red), Stompy (green) and almost nothing when it comes to mono black decks. :)
November 11, 2015 2:59 p.m.
i noticed nobody mentioned goblins. goblins arent too expensive. depending on the deck. maybe up too 500 including sideboard. that fits your budget and they are tier 1 mono red aggro
November 11, 2015 3:13 p.m.
You can Build a very competitive Naya Burn deck for only around 400 or 500 dollars. it really depends on how much you are looking to spend for fetches and exactly how you want the deck to run. if you want to go more creature oriented then naya zoo would probably be the go to for that but it can be very expensive bc it often times wants a playset of Goyf. however, that is not necessary. an option that you could do is to go to MTG Goldfish and go their decks and look at all the modern decks they have. find one that you feel fits your style with the cards maybe watch it be played on YouTube or via live streams and decide from their. I myself am a huge fan of splinter twin combo in modern but if you are looking more towards the red aggro then your best bet will probably be either zoo or burn. the only real "Mono-Green" decks are infect and they often use blue for cards like blighted agent, gitaxian probe or distortion strike. an option if you are willing to go more midrange is to play a delver build. this can range in price depending on the color combination and what you put around it but it also allows for a lot of personalization of the deck.
November 11, 2015 4:42 p.m.
I suggest Death and Taxes. It can shut down or seriously impede enough other Tier 1 or Tier 2 decks to get the damage in on time.
November 11, 2015 4:43 p.m.
ThisIsBullshit says... #25
Burn is about as cheap as you can get, and depending on the color choice you with, it'll be well under $500.
November 11, 2015 4:46 p.m.
Thanks again for the advice all! I think I'm going to go with Boros Burn, it fits my Budget and style of deck.
Wos1337 says... #2
Infect, boros burn, landfall, mono green aggo, elves,
November 11, 2015 12:23 p.m.