New MTG Player
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on Nov. 14, 2017, 10:50 a.m. by spenceralew
I've been playing Magic for five months or so, and haven't ever stepped off of the field of Budget Modern. I have some money that I'm putting towards a Modern deck, but I don't know where to start! All I know is that I want to build a fast-paced aggressive deck, don't care what colors, but I want it to work well. If I could get some help with the deck, that would be amazing! My desired budget is around $250, although I can go a bit over if I like the reason why. Thank you!
PickleNutz says... #3
Either Collected Company Allies, Goblins, Boros Burn, or devotion decks.
November 14, 2017 10:58 a.m.
I recommend not playing goblins as I have never seen that deck win at my LGS. I feel like the best cheap competitive aggro deck would be red white burn or red white green burn. However, everyone knows what is in the burn decks and most people have lots of ways to deal with that post-sideboard. I would recommend playing some form of midrange.
November 14, 2017 11:52 a.m.
I'd say Goblins, its a fast aggressive deck that could easily fit into your budget, even if you threw in fetches. I've seen a few builds splash green for Atarka's Command and a couple of pump spells if you don't want to go the mono-red direction
November 14, 2017 12:15 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #6
Affinity. It's the best deck in the format. It's stood the test of time and there's a lot of flexibility in it despite having a fixed core. It can secure T3 wins on a normal basis and is more resilient to common removal than other aggro decks like Infect.
November 14, 2017 12:17 p.m.
spenceralew,
First, welcome to Modern!
For fast Aggro, I'd recommend Affinity for sure. It's always VERY strong (but not so strong it always has the shadow of a ban over it), and it really seems to be one of those decks that's easy to play pretty well, but very difficult to master (because there are SO many lines of play and combat tricks available). I have no idea what the upgrade path is though, nor if a budget deck is super-weak compared to a full-priced deck. In addition to reaching out to Affinity players here on T/O, I'd check out r/AffinityforArtifacts.
Blue Steel is another solid option too, though it can have a more Control/Taxes feel to it than pure Aggro.
No matter what deck you choose, I strongly recommend proxying it up and playing it with friends before buying in ... mostly because most decks play VERY differently irl than while goldfishing.
November 14, 2017 12:49 p.m.
PickleNutz says... #8
$250 budget Affinity
Modern*
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I threw this together because a few people are suggesting Affinity, this fits the 250 dollar budget and really sets you up for building it up to the Tier 1 deck.
To upgrade it you can slowly add in cards like Arcbound Ravager, Mox Opal, and for sideboard play Spellskite.
Ive seen similar budget decks run Springleaf Drum but I personally like Paradise Mantle more.
November 14, 2017 12:56 p.m.
Every Affinity deck i have ever seen in any bigger tournament always played 4x of Springleaf Drum just saying...
Other budget friendly deck is Storm. I put together my list for around 200e and it's not anyway budget deck, it's just meta deck. (I know some people like playing fetches in Storm, but i would never put fetches in my Storm deck i don't like them at all in Storm.)
Storm just as a deck is not simple at all, it takes sometime to learn.
I don't like idea of Affinity as budget deck, cutting best cards takes off so much of the decks potential to kill fast. And affinity is super easy to disrupt after all, almost every deck plays hate against it.
For budget, Mono Red Burn is alright, but with 250$ budget you can put together Boros burn too which is much better, Storm is Tier 1 meta deck, someone mentioned Blue Steel it is another spicy option too, Hatebears can be budgeted pretty easily and it is probably still after that decent deck.
There are surprisingly lot of choices for this, but if you want to play aggressive deck Burn is easy choice for you, but still Storm is just a better deck though it's combo deck and everyone doesn't like to play those.
And Storm might get banned in next B&R announcement so that is one thing to remember.
In case you are interested i leave my own Storm list in here: Storm a Day keeps Grixis Shadow away
November 14, 2017 1:37 p.m.
PickleNutz says... #10
I think Bogles might honestly be the best idea myself.
November 14, 2017 1:41 p.m.
U/R storm is probably the best modern deck you can build on a budget. (But it could, not likely get banned.)
If you play the fetchless version and skimp a bit on the Steam Vents, and stay away form Blood Moon in the sideboard, you can stay on your budget, or just slightly over it.
Many players claims it's the best deck in the format.
It's not what you call an aggro deck, but whether, a fast combo deck. It's consistant on turn 4, but has been seen stealing games as early as turn 2.
November 14, 2017 2:25 p.m.
Blood Moon is not even that necessary if your local meta doesn't have many Tron players.
Leaving out Steam Vents isn't good idea, but if those are out of your budget it isn't end of world.
And as Storm player, i have to say that it isn't best deck of the format, but when tier 1 deck costs less than 300$ to put together in format where meta decks usually costs around 800-1000$ it is easy choice for many just because of that.
Storm is turn 3 deck, if it isn't disrupted too much opponent is usually dead on turn 3, turn 2 kills are possible too.
November 14, 2017 2:48 p.m.
I would also recommend Affinity - the value is concentrated in Arcbound Ravagers and Mox Opals, making it easy to buy into. You can start with a Tempered Steel build like SaffronOlive's.
November 14, 2017 3:16 p.m.
JeskaiM4n
Winning so early requires that the opponent in no way shape or form interacts with the deck (instead of "it isn't disrupted too much"), and a very solid hand.
If storm wins on turn 3 then half of the modern format does.
Mono green Goblin Charbelcher can also win on turn 3 - and as artifact removal is more rare, its harder to disrupt.
Death's Shadow decks can also win on turn 3 - specially with Temur Battle Rage
Even "jank" like Hollow One decks can win in turn 3.
In theory - In reality winning on turn 3 is gonna happen once in a blue moon. (If all goes well and no removal, discard, or counterspells are present on the opposing side of the board)
Modern is called a turn 4 format for a very good reason - because decks that have a realistic shot at reliably winning before turn 4 tend to meet the fate of Blazing Shoal, Seething Song, Summer Bloom... etc.
November 14, 2017 4:02 p.m.
Xica That's why Storm is always under danger of banhammer.
If my hand is good, even if opponent has way to interact it is not enough. One Thoughtseize does not stop me from winning on turn 3.
Yes Modern is turn 4 format, but Storm is turn 3 deck.
I'm not going to argue with you about this, if you have something to say add me in chat!
November 14, 2017 4:29 p.m.
So to the topic at hand, budget ish aggro decks... mono green stompy is always an option
November 14, 2017 7:31 p.m.
I'd go with a Burn or Zoo variant. Playing Affinity on a budget without Mox Opal, Arcbound Ravager, and/or Inkmoth Nexus is pretty terrible as it takes away all of the cards that let Affinity do dumb, broken bullshit.
You could even go with something like G/R 8-Whack because it easily converts to Naya Burn as your budget gets better.
November 15, 2017 11:59 p.m.
Naya burn/zoo is my absolute favorite, and it sticks to your budget. You should check it out!
November 17, 2017 10:12 p.m.
VaultSkirge says... #21
Definitely Naya Zoo or Gruul Zoo. It can definitely be built for $250 or under, as all of the staples (Experiment One, Wild Nacatl, and Burning-Tree Emissary) are relatively cheap.
November 19, 2017 6:29 a.m.
UrbanGirlScout says... #22
I play hexproof boogle (w/o Horizon Canopy) and also a loam-ish deck and both came in around that budget....although traiding may help.
The hexproof for sure is fast, and with a low mana curve it's easy to reload layer in the game.
Loam isn't super fast, but offers the chance to lock up or set up your combo quick...and then you do work.
November 19, 2017 8:06 p.m.
UrbanGirlScout says... #23
I play hexproof boogle (w/o Horizon Canopy) and also a loam-ish deck and both came in around that budget....although traiding may help.
The hexproof for sure is fast, and with a low mana curve it's easy to reload layer in the game.
Loam isn't super fast, but offers the chance to lock up or set up your combo quick...and then you do work.
Snivy__ says... #2
Hello spenceralew,
I currently play a $50 Goblins modern deck, but if your budget it $250, then I would suggest maybe Budget Affinity or a Burn/Aggro build.
If you really want a deck that can be budgetized and upgradable over time, you could start building Human Aggro.
Good luck!
November 14, 2017 10:54 a.m.