which of these two decks seems more viable?
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on March 6, 2019, 10:07 a.m. by abenz419
I have two versions of a deck I"m working on and not sure which is better. What do you guys think, and why?
I don't like the cmc on either 3.24 v 3.89. I'd say Mono Blue Eldrazi is much more viable, but you run the risk of getting way behind.
March 6, 2019 11:11 a.m.
Oloro_Magic says... #4
I would go with the copy version simply because I don't think you are at all focused on Tron itself, to this end though Wretched Gryff should be cut, and probably some number of of skyspawner to make room for Drowner of Hope which in my opinion is the only real appeal to being on blue eldrazi,giving you a way to out pace your opponent even in games that go a bit too long. Other than that both need a sideboard to best evaluate and the mana could use some work, this deck really wants Cavern of Souls in the long term to give an idea of what your upgrades should be.
March 6, 2019 11:17 a.m.
@Oloro_Magic yeah I know Cavern of Souls would help but at the moment I don't have any and I'm not really looking forward to spending the money on them at the moment. Where I play, the modern crowd isn't the largest and counter magic isn't the biggest worry so I can get by without them for now. I do kind of agree with you though, because I've been leaning toward the copy version. I actually feel like the mana base there is better. It has 10 dedicated blue sources making the double blue easier to hit, while also having 8 red sources for something like Kozilek's Return out of the sideboard. The only thing is I would like to run some black cards out of the sideboard as well like Thoughtseize , Inquisition of Kozilek , Transgress the Mind , or even Distended Mindbender and it's tough at the moment. I would like to replace Corrupted Crossroads for something that's functionally the same except doesn't care about being devoid. Besides Cavern of Souls can you think of something I could use that would provide colorless and also add colored mana?
As far as Eldrazi Skyspawner and the other 3 drops, they're there for the emerge creatures. Wretched Gryff is a 3/4 flyer that draws a card on cast for 3 mana and Elder Deep-Fiend will typically only cost 4. It's probably the easiest way to curve into Elder Deep-Fiend on turn 3 or 4. One reason not to cut Wretched Gryff is because it triggers Sanctum of Ugin so I can go and find Elder Deep-Fiend .
March 6, 2019 1:13 p.m.
@redbird97 the cmc is a little misleading. It's higher because of the emerge creatures but Wretched Gryff typically cost 3 mana and Elder Deep-Fiend typically cost 4 because you usually are sacrificing a 3 drop to emerge them. If you remove the emerge creatures both decks only have 8 total cards that cost more than 3 mana in them.
March 6, 2019 1:16 p.m.
Thanks for clearing that up. I still go with lower CMC :)
March 6, 2019 1:54 p.m.
Oloro_Magic says... #8
No land really comes to mind for what you want, a big problem with playing an eldrazi deck that is not in R/G is you lack the 4 extra copies of such cards. If you are intent on black however you could always just play an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth . Other than that, Gemstone Mine or some manlands like Mutavault or Blinkmoth Nexus feel better than crossroads, you have a good amount of coloured sources so you don't have to worry too much, and if you are, then maybe look to find some room for Chromatic Star or Talisman of Dominance .
The Gryff though, in my opinion though I am not an expert, should go. Sure it triggers sanctum, but really ask yourself how often you will have exactly sanctum + gryff? The answer is not very often and even then the answer to the question of whether that even feels good is worse, one deep fiend can easily be enough to win, chaining them is just a bonus, by keeping gryff you risk becoming too one-dimensional, this is why we haven;t seen fiend really do anything in my opinion, by diversifying your top end and threats you give yourself a better chance at winning, especially in a world where decks are now running Surgical Extraction in the mainboard, Drowner of Hope is a great card, and it also ramps you so its a win-win. That's my quick little attempt at convinving you, either way I wish you the best of luck. Additionally, if you are intent on running black cards out of the board then I would go with 2 Thoughtseize , other considerations I would make are Bitterblossom , Nihil Spellbomb , and (unfortunate price on this one) Leyline of the Void .
As a further note, to fix your mana problem you could always... you know ... play Oblivion Sower ;)
March 6, 2019 6:11 p.m.
@Oloro_Magic I've been doing some updates to the copy version with all the info I've gotten from asking various questions on here as well as after talking to some friends. I really think that is the best version so far that I've had. I ended up taking Corrupted Crossroads out for Mana Confluence . I don't get the colorless but it really helps beef up my colored mana sources. This mana base seems to be the best so far too. It's got 14 blue sources to help reach double blue to emerge EDF, it has 8 black sources to help cast dismember and things out of the board (10 if i'm casting Distended Mindbender , it has 8 red sources to cast Kozilek's Return out of the board, and still has 21 colorless sources. Also, it's not just that the gryff triggers sanctum to get EDF. I can go get EDF, Thought-knot, or smasher depending on the situation. The deck can also have explosive draws like T1 mimic, T2 thought-knot, T3 smasher which can deal 18 damage by turn 3. I like where the deck is situated at this moment. My lgs doesn't have a huge modern following so there isn't a ton of degenerate decks running around, just a bunch of people playing things they like or find interesting. The only thing I feel like may be out of place is Warping Wail . It may be better as Collective Brutality or something else that has utility.
SeekerofSecrets says... #2
have you considered Heartless Summoning ? you'd have to change up some of your creatures but you wouldn't have to worry about assembling tron so you could smooth out your mana base
March 6, 2019 10:23 a.m.