The Spike and the Druid, A Romantic Tale

Modern dethjakal

SCORE: 14 | 26 COMMENTS | 2238 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS


Time to go modern —April 11, 2014

Changed the deck format from casual to modern and I am in the transitioning phases for the deck list

emask says... #1

+1

Nice!

Maybe some more one drops and Immortal Servitude ? It's fun with Vexing Devil .

AEther Vial and/or Phyrexian Arena ? Blightning ?

January 23, 2014 2:19 p.m.

dethjakal says... #2

I was kind of thinking some Corrosive Mentor s and maybe some Rakdos Cackler s. I'm really trying to keep the wither the main focus here. I do appreciate the suggestions nonetheless

January 23, 2014 2:23 p.m.

emask says... #3

No worries!

January 23, 2014 2:25 p.m.

obitus says... #4

I built a wither deck around Necroskitter you can check out at your own leisure. I like the deck simply because it deals with -1/-1 counters.

You might want to think about adding in Everlasting Torment and Crumbling Ashes to your mix. It definitely makes things interesting. I am surprised you did not run any Fume Spitter . These are all just food for thought, it may not be what your looking for.

January 23, 2014 2:41 p.m.

dethjakal says... #5

How many Everlasting Torment ? I have 1, and i have a playset of Crumbling Ashes as well as a few Fume Spitter s lying around. any idea what to pull for them

January 23, 2014 3:30 p.m.

711Keaven says... #6

I'd suggest more Midnight Banshee and Necroskitter . Also, straight removal would probably be better than Scar or Fate Transfer . And since you're not running any red mana, Torrent of Souls just isn't manaworth.

January 23, 2014 4:29 p.m.

obitus says... #7

I run one of each, just because I don't like running "4 ofs". You can put 2 copies each if you would like, but that is a total of 6 cards already. So choose at your own discretion how many of each. I don't want enchantments to be the main focus of my deck, so I put one of each.

Fume Spitter is a great cheap chump blocker that can put a -1/-1 counter on almost any creature. So ask yourself, how many times do I chump block and how many times do I want to put a -1/-1 counter on target creatures. If you say its a lot of occurrences than add some Fume Spitter . If not, then don't add any.

Wither is a great idea, but it can be complicated to pull off in a multiplayer game. So you want your combo pieces to come early. If you add tutors in your deck, then you don't need so many copies.

Be very careful with Blowfly Infestation , just one copy on the field is painful. With two copies you can wipe the board every time.

January 23, 2014 6:32 p.m.

dethjakal says... #8

so what should i pull out for 1 ofs? I may have a Diabolic Tutor or 2 lying around as well

January 24, 2014 12:16 p.m.

obitus says... #9

Well ask yourself what you really need for your idea to work, then keep only what you barely need for the idea.

I will give you an example, I made a wither Necroskitter deck, so I must have 4 copies of Necroskitter cause he is the whole point of the deck. With out him, my idea fails. I can not steal creatures with -1/-1 counters with out him on the board, so I added 4 ofs.

With Necroskitter on the board, I need some way of putting -1/-1 counters on other creatures. So I packed as many different ways as I could, I choose to have consistency over flexibility. When the deck was in the right setting and everything went well, I dominated the entire board. That was the end of the game for everyone else, I just stole all their creatures and watched them try to bounce back.

But over time, my meta got smart and started to pick apart my combos. So I needed more flexibility. At the current moment, there is not much I can do with my wither deck. The mechanic, like so many before it, is a neat one but fragile. It just does not hold its own at the moment. It might have been good back then, but not now.

So, I wait patiently for the right moment when I can bring back wither. Do you see where I am going with this. I can't really tell you what to cut because its not my deck and I don't know fully what your idea for the deck is. I hate when people tell me specifically to cut a piece of my deck thats thematic, so I usually never ask what to cut.

I do however ask my friends what they think about the cards I have chosen, contrast is a great thing for building decks in your current meta. That is what I have tried to give you in this response. I hope you see the contrast.

January 24, 2014 3:43 p.m.

dethjakal says... #10

You have got to me the most level headed person on this site, yes I do see where you are coming from now about building my deck around 1 card.

That card for me is Kulrath Knight , so without him i cant lock the board down or keep myself in a pseudo pacifism mode.

January 28, 2014 2:21 p.m.

obitus says... #11

Ok, so this what I would do in hopes of getting your theme rolling. With Kulrath Knight we can use either +1/+1 counters or -1/-1 counters, we just can not use both at the same time.

I figure your opponents can handle the +1/+1 counters on their creatures, lets worry about -1/-1 counters from your part. Here are some neat ideas that I have used or just found while replying to you.

Hateflayer + Arcane Teachings = put -1/-1 counters on creatures twice! One hit is more powerful than the other. I hate how I just found this out after I removed the red from my wither deck.

Aku Djinn = literally locks down the whole board for your opponents with +1/+1 counter. Not the best idea in my opinion, its just funny way of using the card.

Contagion Engine or Contagion Clasp = proliferate is always nice, frankly I like the bigger brother of the two them. But you have to worry about your mana curve, so choose wisely.

Glistening Oil = recursion with -1/-1 counters, its a sweet deal provided you make sure your opponent does not hit you with it.

Black Sun's Zenith = one of these guys is enough, I once used two of them in the same deck and ran into a loop with one of my friends....it was not funny after a while.

That being said, you need as many cheap tutors as possible for this deck. At some point you will need a Demonic Tutor type variation to help you get what you need when you need it. Its a combo heavy deck, so you have to include some flexibility to support it.

Cauldron Haze and Cauldron of Souls = give creatures persist, which works with Necroskitter , Blowfly Infestation , and Crumbling Ashes . This does not really help your theme, its just an idea you might go off tangent with.

You also run into another major problem with these suggestions, mana. Your average CMC is already at 3. How do you plan on dealing with a higher curve? Think about that as well when you try to update your deck.

This is the best I can do at the current moment, one day I hope to get the opportunity to really make wither shine as a mechanic. Good luck!

January 28, 2014 4:04 p.m.

obitus says... #12

How is your deck coming along? Figure out anything new?

February 22, 2014 12:42 p.m.