Looking to get into modern

Modern forum

Posted on March 4, 2015, 7:09 p.m. by AdmiralAbzan

Any suggestions of modern decks that are pretty affordable yet decently competitive?

I'm hoping to keep it around $200 or less to begin and then buy other cards as I progress.

Thanks for the help. Personal experiences are appreciated.

VampireArmy says... #2

G/W hexproof or burn are roughly competitive and cheap. Alternatively you could start with a less than optimal deck and upgrade it over time into a tier one deck

March 4, 2015 7:11 p.m.

burn is probably your best bet. Goblin Guide is the most expensive card in the deck, money wise

March 4, 2015 7:12 p.m.

VampireArmy says... #4

Cheap meaning in comparison to other competitive decks I meant

March 4, 2015 7:12 p.m.

Mono blue Tron can function for around $100, and it'll be pretty optimal for $200.

March 4, 2015 7:25 p.m.

vampirelazarus says... #6

Elves?

I play elves.

I don't recommend it though. Considering it's t2, it requires thorough knowledge of the meta in order to function well.

So ignore this post, I guess.

March 4, 2015 7:50 p.m.

IndepenentMeta says... #7

Spitter twin works wonders man. I just recently picked up the deck and I found it to be pretty consistent. a real master piece of magic the gathering to be told. It's pretty surprising how badass it feels run a consistent infinite deck in a card game and it be balanced. But it's worth about 400 some pretty neat thou

March 4, 2015 8:49 p.m.

notamardybum says... #8

i "stopped" playing standard when ktk was released. play ur delver because it was cheap as balls, i had most of the cards, and then it got banned. i have now switched to grixis twin. i am running low on snapcaster mage and run no cryptic, but it works well. i can still play it even though its not quite finished

March 4, 2015 8:59 p.m.

Named_Tawyny says... #9

Delver got banned???

You realise that Delver decks were a thing before Cruise, right?

March 4, 2015 10:42 p.m.

Yes it's banned from modern doesn't make a difference

March 4, 2015 10:43 p.m.

Treasure Cruise not delver got banned. its bad now so dont play it

March 4, 2015 11:29 p.m.

APPLE01DOJ says... #12

Mono green infect is cheap & t2 wins are fun.

March 4, 2015 11:58 p.m.

JexInfinite says... #13

Save up another $300 and come back to us later.

March 5, 2015 5:40 a.m.

Dalektable says... #14

I absolutely hate people saying that. You can start modern with that much money, you don't have to buy a 500 dollar tier one deck right off the get go. What do you think this is, the pro tour? We're all going around chaining grand prixs? No, of course not most people here won't play on more than an FNM or PPTQ level so can we stop harassing people for not having the money to cash out for a stupidly expensive deck like some others? Thanks. Enjoy playing modern, friend. Build whatever you want, slowly build up to whatever it is you really want to play.

March 5, 2015 7:08 a.m.

Jojja says... #15

Depending on what type of player you are an what style of play fits you there are some decks that will work for that budget.

If you like agressive decks then I'd recomend Burn or U/G Infect.If your on the tempo/control side of magic then a Twin variant might be good for you to start building. If you like midrange/creature decks then Mono Green Stompy is a solid starter. You could also go for a Zoo deck of some sort.

I guess it all depends on what type of player you are and what cards you own. If you have the KtK fetchlands you can build a lot of decks without having to dump a big chunk of your $ into the lands. If your starting from 0 I'd say go with Mono Red Burn or Mono Green Stompy since the lands are the biggest cost in almost any deck your looking to get. Once you have your basic deck so you can play you can start massing KtK fetchlands and RtR Shocklands so your able to play a wider range of decks in the future. Thats what I did, now I have 6 playsets of fetchlands and 8 of the shock lands since I'm picking them up as I go along while looking for good deals on staples in the colors and archetypes I enjoy playing(tempo/aggro decks in blue/white/red).

March 5, 2015 7:53 a.m.

APPLE01DOJ says... #16

It's modern the fun and appeal of the format is u can make a unique deck and win with it. I mean we have seen things like Treefolk tribal do well. Besides it's good to play the format a while before u decide what u want to play. just browse the deck hubs on here and ull find tons of ideas.

March 5, 2015 10:47 a.m.

KrosanTusker says... #17

Living End as a deck is pretty cheap. Lots of the cards are draft commons. The most expensive card is Fulminator Mage, but they're non-essential. It does require a 3- or 4-colour manabase, but you don't even need many dual lands because you see so much of your deck anyway, plus you have landcyclers.

March 5, 2015 11:16 a.m.

puimuri says... #18

Maybe look around the site for some not so popular decks like Much Budget: Very Land or what about Mind Pact, Unbalanced Balance or THE FASTEST MODERN BELCHER (Turn 3 Kill)? I like them personally because MOST people are NOT prepared to play against Belcher or Balance.

or you could just play Heirloom and save all dat money...

March 5, 2015 11:32 a.m.

JexInfinite says... #19

Dalektable A lot of unique decks require expensive cards. Making a unique deck is really fun, and a great idea, but you NEED fetches, and $20 sideboard cards.

Budget decks are the thing I really dislike. If you want to do well, you spend more money to make the deck better. Some decks are cheap. Some decks are expensive. But $500 is definitely going to get you into modern, and will allow for stronger card choices, and more good sideboard cards.

March 6, 2015 1:40 a.m.

@JexInfinite: with all due respect, he didn't ask what you thought he needed to spend to build a great modern deck. he asked what decks would be good at his budget, and yes, such decks do exist. mono blue tron and burn are both great examples. he also said that he would spend more overtime to make improvements, so 200 isn't the limit, it is just what he will start with. i realize that what i said may have come off rude, so i do apologize for that. however, telling someone to have more money to spend on a format in the way that you did is unconstructive and, quite frankly, rude.

March 6, 2015 2:33 a.m.

And the thing about modern is: it rewards good play. Budget does not mean bad.

I spent $82 on my elf deck, and have seen results with it, in a meta that closely resembles a pro tour.

March 6, 2015 2:38 a.m.

JexInfinite says... #22

vampirelazarus There is a difference between a budget deck and a cheap deck. Cheap decks are great. They perform reasonably well, and are in their best state for low prices.

A budget deck, on the other hand, implies that certain cards have been cut due to monetary value. This means that the deck is not as good as it could possibly be.

Cheap decks = good

Budget decks = strictly worse than they could be

March 6, 2015 3:15 a.m.

Don't just go out and buy a deck because it's cheap and good. Choose a deck that you want to play and work on building that. There a cheap versions of every deck in the format. You could make a decent version of any deck (except for junk) with the 200 you have. Choose a deck that you enjoy playing.

March 6, 2015 8:22 a.m.

Here is a list of some decks that you might want to consider playing, and pro and cons about each deck.

Burn----Fairly cheap and competitive, can be redundant and boring though.

Green white hexproof----Cheap competitive and pretty fun to play, not a very interactive deck though.

Affinity-----very fun and competitive, can be a expensive, but budget versions of the deck can still be good.

Living end-----This is the modern deck i play, not the most competitive deck for sure, and it can be a little expensive, but very VERY fun to play!

These are only the decks that i know a decent amount about, there are still many there good and viable options.

March 6, 2015 8:31 a.m.

kintighd says... #25

I feel like one of these threads pops up every few days. I think if you only plan to play at an fnm level, then almost any modern deck can do well. If you want to play an established tier deck there is tons of primers on any established deck if you just do a little google search. The thing is modern is such a large format. It is totally possible to build your own deck, at your own budget level and have it do well at fnm.

March 6, 2015 9:23 a.m.

I don't agree with your assessment, JexInfinite.

I don't see a difference between cheap and budget. Lightning Bolt is cheap, and therefore a budget card.

I guess I see it as cheap = value of card, and budget = overall value of deck.

With that said, the argument still stands that budget doesn't mean bad. This isn't a pay to win game.

March 6, 2015 11:54 a.m.

JexInfinite says... #27

GoblinBushwacker Living End can be completed in its best state for little under $400, so that definitely is appealing. It's not that great against Twin, but it's really fun to play, and you have a sideboard for a reason.

March 6, 2015 5:19 p.m.

This discussion has been closed