The Best $20 You'll Ever Spend
Standard*
SCORE: 467 | 242 COMMENTS | 187781 VIEWS | IN 507 FOLDERS
Duress in the SB —March 26, 2014
I decided that Duress would be a good turn 1 play against control decks to get rid of removal, notably Supreme Verdict, Anger of the Gods, and Bile Blight. Magma Jet was good, but having an answer to Supreme Verdict is better.
Also, I will be addressing all of the suggestions in the new comment sheet!
Overall Results: 3-1
Round 1: White Weenie 2-0
My friend simply out aggro'd him by consistently dealing 5 damage on turn 2 and forcing him to go defensive the rest of the game, which is not the position an aggro deck wants to be in. He had answers to both Precinct Captain he got out, and I think my friend's opponent may have misplayed some times by trying to preserve his life total instead of all out racing. Overall, a strong deck, but an easy game for my friend.
Round 2: Naya Hexproof 1-2
Game one my friend took easily since he drew no hex proof creature and he was to scared to enchant a Fleecemane Lion without its monstrosity. The next to game were a result of my friend losing to Unflinching Courage and/or Gift of Orzhova on a Gladecover Scout or a Witchstalker. It was too difficult to race at this point, especially when he was gaining life. This matchup makes me consider Devour Flesh and Duress, which at least hits his enchantments.
Round 3: U/W Control 2-0
I love having this deck win this matchup since many players often complain about how difficult and boring it is to play against them (and I play U/W control, so I know how it is). But with tons of early pressure, he was too forced to early block with Mutavault. With the immediate impact of haste creatures, he couldn't do much except the occasional Azorius Charm. Game 2 he got in a turn 4 Supreme Verdict, but my friend's Minotaur Skullcleaver and Shock managed to deal the rest of the 6 damage on my turn.
Round 4: Junk Midrange: 2-1
This was a "home-brew" which basically was a tricolor deck that consisted of the best rares Black-Green-White had to offer (I'm talking about a curve like Thoughtseize, Voice of Resurgence, Brimaz, King of Oreskos, Desecration Demon, Blood Baron of Vizkopa). His removal consisted of only Hero's Downfall and Putrefy which was good for my friend because until turn 3 his creatures were safe. Game One was a strong turn 4 win with a Mogis's Marauder effect evading the Brimaz, King of Oreskos and Voice of Resurgence. Game 2 went to long and he had a Blood Baron Vizkopa resolve, and he could still block my Mogis's Maruader despite his effect, and then the game got out of reach. Game 3 he got mana screwed.
Arorsthrar says... #2
I see potential with Thunderous Might . I will test it out, but my immediate thought was that it doesn't get the damage through as well as the other two enchantments. If coupled with something I see real potential, though it is dependent on board state a little. Will test though.
March 20, 2014 12:12 a.m.
Great deck! Took this to my WNM and had the best results that I've had with any budget deck so far. Went 4-1, with all aggressive wins. I managed to take out some tier 1 decks, namely a MBD. Lost to U/W control, due to early Azorius Charm and Last Breath . Once again, bravo!
March 20, 2014 12:39 a.m.
remove the two Deviant Glee , insert two Doom Blade , and in the sideboard put 3 Dark Betrayal and 1 Ultimate Price
March 20, 2014 8:13 a.m.
Arorsthrar says... #5
Doom Blade in the mainboard could be a dead draw, especially with black running all over the place in the format. The burn spells can be removal enough, especially since most things early game are small. I prefer to only mainboard burn spells as my kill spells since they can also burn to the face, something which (obviously) Doom Blade can't do. Plus Deviant Glee gets damage through and brings a lot of power tithe board for next to nothing, and works well with Tormented Hero . I do like the suggestion of including an Ultimate Price in the SB.
March 20, 2014 11:38 a.m.
@Madgun what about 2 Ultimate Price instead 2 Dark Betrayal
also , i would put 1 Whip of Erebos on sideboard instead 1 Hammer of Purphoros for the lulz. Really good with Mogis's Marauder .
Mogis's Marauder + Whip of Erebos ability = all get intimidate again>:)
and maybe 1 Tymaret, the Murder King + sacrifice a tapped creature for 2 more dmg >:)
March 20, 2014 11:39 a.m.
March 20, 2014 12:01 p.m.
cowboy_hippie says... #8
This deck just arrived in the mail! I will be testing it out at FNM tomorrow, and I will report back. There are lots of dudes with $300 decks I'm looking to go after. Also, I though of a great name for this deck when the song came on the radio... Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap!
March 20, 2014 6:57 p.m.
Arorsthrar says... #9
cowboy_hippie- Good luck! Can't wait to hear how you do tomorrow!
March 20, 2014 9:33 p.m.
I already have most of the cards here...I think I'll build it and see how I do at next FNM. Looks awesomely fun to play.
March 21, 2014 12:09 a.m.
shadowofgrael says... #11
I feel like Rakdos Shred-Freak is not great here. It was generally out-classed too quickly in limited, this will only be more true in constructed. Then again, if you are not giving your opponent time to establish defenses it might just be serve as a budget Ash Zealot , which is pretty good. It all depends on how fast this deck can realistically go off.
March 21, 2014 12:19 a.m.
Arorsthrar says... #12
shadowofgrael- I do like the devotion to Mogis's Marauder that the Shred-Freak gives. Ash Zealot is a little restrictive in terms of mana, and breaks the $20 budget. And thus deck goes fast enough anyway.
March 21, 2014 12:39 a.m.
TheNinjaJesus says... #14
This deck gets an up vote from me. It is well balanced, skillfully crafted, and deadly. It can definitely win FNM, and I endorse competitive, inexpensive decks!
Things that could help-
Hellhole Flailer - This guy is undercosted, especially for his ability to get the last little bit of damage through late-game. He scales with power, so if you slapped an aura or instant on him, its not wasted either. Let's put it this way- if you swing with him unleashed and Madcap Skills there, he gets through, then you sac him, you just did 14 damage for 4 mana.
Auger Spree - If you need a touch of ersatz removal , or your opponent decides to not block that late-game Rakdos Cackler, and he was getting a little useless anyway(the Cackler or your opponent, really), slap this bad boy on him, and you have just swung for six damage. Flexible, inexpensive, and fulfills double roles.
Splatter Thug - The best suggestion I saw that they should have used on his flavor text was "Flag! You're it!" in honor of the Rakdos play on words/pun party. This guy is super-aggressive, and will last more than one round, especially if he has at least a Deviant Glee on him. This is the Common version of Ash Zealot, in my opinion, humble as it may be.
And that is it, really... The deck is so airtight, these aren't even must-haves, just powerful helpers. You have built a wonderful deck, my friend!
March 21, 2014 12:13 p.m.
Angry_Potatoes says... #15
TheNinjaJesus, your suggestion of how to use Auger Spree late game would kill that Cackler due to the -4 lol.
March 21, 2014 12:30 p.m.
TheNinjaJesus says... #16
Yeah, exactly. The damage would be dealt first, then the -4 resolves. I brought that up as a strategy because its not like unleashed Rakdos Cacklers are useless late game, but their benefit tapers a fair bit. The Auger Spree can be useful both on offense or defense, if used as removal, is all I mean. At any rate, I respect the Hell out of your deck.
March 21, 2014 12:34 p.m.
The +4 and the -4 from Auger Spree both resolve at the same time, effectively killing Rakdos Cackler before he can deal damage.
March 21, 2014 12:37 p.m.
TheNinjaJesus says... #19
Ah, my mistake. I thought damage resolves, then, end of combat, the -4 kills him.
March 21, 2014 12:38 p.m.
veanusaur77 says... #20
I had a deck similar to this myself, and I was always a fan of doing things with Rubblebelt Maaka or Armed / Dangerous or even Titan's Strength . Though I get how Madcap Skills and Deviant Glee would be better in the long run. At least Titan's Strength would give you some scry power. +1 from me, I always love hyper aggressive Rakdos decks.
March 22, 2014 3:25 a.m.
Karimzamrini says... #21
This is such a fun deck. I built this deck a couple of days ago and I've been play testing it with a bunch of friends against pretty top tier decks. It's so great to watch people die before they can actually do much or anything about it xD
One thing I DID notice is how incredibly inconsistent this deck is lol. Almost every hand you draw is either too much mana, too few mana, or wrong mana. But when you get it right its just GG haha.
If this deck wasn't budget, and you could use Blood Crypt it would literally be so much better I cant even describe the power.
Anyways, I love the deck! +1 from me
You can also check out my competition deck here: Golgari Midrange [Competitive]!
March 22, 2014 3:25 a.m.
cowboy_hippie says... #22
Well FNM went amazing running this deck! I couldn't stay the whole tournament, but I did get some good intel. I learned it's important to mulligan until you get at least one red mana source and one black, and then you will usually win before turn 5.
The best play moment was when I mulliganed down to four cards, and still defeated a deck running Brimaz, King of Oreskos
, Courser of Kruphix
, and Voice of Resurgence
.
The only round I did poorly in, I got my opponent down to 1 life the first game and then down to 2 the second with a narrow loss. He said, "I can't believe you almost had me spending only $20, and I spent god knows how much on my deck."
The best run of the of the night: Rakdos Cackler + Madcap Skills + Deviant Glee = a quick win!
Amazing deck design Arorsthrar! Mad props!!!
March 22, 2014 10:10 a.m.
All of the +1's! I am absolutely in love with this deck. These aggro Rakdos decks can be brutal, but when you drop the price down to around 18 bucks you'll have some sad opponents. Thanks for the awesome deck, and keep up the good work!
March 22, 2014 11:22 a.m.
Skullcrack for Magma Jet switch in the side? you already have shock if you want the target creature ability, and the no lifegain can be backbreaking.
March 22, 2014 12:27 p.m.
I highly recommend Titan's Strength for this deck. It fits the budget need of the deck, boosts your creatures smother can survive or deal more damage faster, and can set up your draws with its scrying. I think you will find the deck will be even better with them in it.
glauber94 says... #1
What about Thunderous Might ?
Unless it is Tormented Hero it is always going to give at least +2/+0, can help to boost the damage on turn 3-4 if the game isnt over yet.
March 20, 2014 12:10 a.m.