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In matchups where the game goes longer and they aren't packing enchantment removal or consistently exiling the graveyard, it dramatically reduces the pieces needed to combo out, after a few turns of doing nothing.

It has always been a fringe piece for storm as far as I'm aware, as those requirements are hard to meet in a format where graveyard interaction is already being sided in. I'm not sure which matchups are going like that in modern right now, as it really depends on how other people are sideboarding and local metas are weird in that.

This list looks cool. I'd look at Glory-Bound Initiate and Seasoned Hallowblade to reduce reliance on tetsuo - they like him but don't need him. Shepherd of the Flock looks good if you are leaning into ninjitsu more and want some bounce effects.

I always feel like the battle with amass is that its just one creature - this deck goes a long way to addressing that by going a little wider, but it really needs stuff like Siren Stormtamer to keep that token alive - gleaming overseer does a lot but its a three drop in modern, where removal is 1 mana.

There are a few notable cats from magic history if you want to dig them up - The one drops in particular are pretty good.

1 Loam Lion , Leonin Vanguard , Steppe Lynx , Wild Nacatl

2 Leonin Arbiter Leonin Relic-Warder (classic DnT pieces) Qasali Pridemage Rakshasa Deathdealer

3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos Qasali Ambusher

There are a few more if you want 1/1s or chunky green/white blockers, but there are enough creatures to make the tribe ok - the only reason they aren't great is that they are a little unfocussed - Pride of the Clouds wants flying creatures, steppe wants landfall, nacatyl particular lands, arbiter tax effects, warder flicker, etc etc.

Best of luck - a nethroi brew feels more likely to work out than anything else I can think of.

Orc

Masked vandal, Mistcaller and Thieving Skydiver have appeared in competitive merfolk sideboards - I'm talking 5-0 lists in modern. If that isn't 'making sense in modern' I don't know what is. Sideboarding is life to decks which target meta weaknesses like merfolk.

I explicitly said that the second half isnt' there yet - like vial goblins it needs something to push it over the edge into competitive, but a list that tutors up Master of Waves or Seafloor Oracle is in that 'almost there' state.

In terms of recent cards for this list, Masked Vandal is a cool sideboard option, as is Mistcaller if your meta wants that, and Thieving Skydiver and Thassa's Oracle are both notable. The sideboard you have is pretty much a competitive list- the only question is adapting to the meta.

In terms of tribal stuff that might shake things up in future, Pyre of Heroes lets you tutor for merfolk at sorcery speed. Its not competitive yet, but its worth keeping an eye on whether a merfolk list heavier on 3/4 drops ever turns from a brew into something actually good. Right now it'd be some pure jank like Sigil Tracer combo.

Hi, I love making budget brews for FNM magic. Several pieces of advice -

Playing almost monocolour works wonders - Reliability wins matches, a lot of expensive cards are expensive because they let you have that reliability while doing more explosive stuff. Small things like Mystic Snake being easier to cast than frilled adds up. Here, I'd look at playing almost entirely blue cards for the first 3 turns and reserving double green costs for cards you don't mind delaying a 3-4 turns, and adjusting mana accordingly.

Second, old spells are powerful, new creatures are powerful. If you find two that work well together, you usually have something good enough to win FNM. Cunning Nightbonder or Coralhelm Chronicler didn't make a splash in standard, but you find a strong synergy in older cards and you are off to the races. Flickering your mystic snake is cool - and new interactions appear with every card printed.

For 'draw go' I'd look at what cards from tournament decks that rotated are cheap and match that style and browse.

Dumb cheese like midnight clock/Ominous seas looks a lot less dumb once you include old cards - proliferate effects, better counterspells, more 'discard and draw a new hand' effects, more 'when you draw' effects. I'd probably dig into black and run a bunch of duress effects alongside Dark Deal to make it work, but thats personal preference. Throne of Geth could work too, as you already have an artifact in clock. If you want a green/blue shell that it couls slot right into, look at turbofog (which should have a good matchups rn).

Finally Sideboard aggressively and include slots in the mainboard for sideboard cards. Make a list of the kind of decks that are popular, and put answers mainboard, then more answers sideboard. If you don't expect to see a matchup, dont't bother including cards to win it. Mainboarding Reality Shift is a great choice in a meta running lumimancer. Just look at what is cheap in sideboards for tournament decks if you are stuck for ideas - even in other formats. Tormod's Crypt sill still work if you don't have relic.

Finally, and most importantly, fun. Look at the parts of magic you enjoy the most. For a draw-go style, its all about interacting with your opponent - seeing if you can stick a Mizzium Meddler or Notion Thief . Look for cards that do that and set you up to do that, and go have fun. Don't be scared to put them in as a 1-of if they only sort of work. You can iron out kinks in testing, but if the heart of the deck isn't fun for you, it'll be far more tricky to add that back in.

IIRC, Become immense is usually a 1-of, because its another scale up without drawback if you only have 1. I remember seeing Distortion Strike , but I'm not sure where the space in the list is.

Sideboard options worrying about budget (the heirachs are more important); Wilt , Miscast , Dissenter's Deliverance , Aether Gust , Apostle's Blessing , Mystical Dispute . I remember seeing Viridian Corrupter and the spell that makes 2 infect tokens. I saw mono green once with Blight Mamba and Rancor , and b/g with crusader and thoughtsieze.

If you are playing a budget storm list, Lava Dart & Conflagrate will add reach and multiple spell casts. Escape Velocity or Underworld Rage-Hound type escape cards makes fossil find a lot better. Just jamming stuff that reads 'when spell' and 'draw a card' will work ok - though meta consideration, luminmancer is making people pack removal for that plan.

If you can find space in the budget by using the cheapest cards like Crash Through , Young Pyromancer is probably the best way to push this list to competitive.

Force of Rage is fairly cheap and a pair of ambush vipers can be useful.

There are some cool sideboard options - Tunnel Ignus , Sulfur Elemental , Ingot Chewer and so forth, but they have mostly been balanced around Flamekin Harbinger which is out of budget, so slots will dissapear quick - I'd look at hiding some mainboard.

I like this list, but I feel like it should be more aggressively sideboarded - with traditionally sideboard plainswalkers mainboard, you've already freed up ~4 slots for those matchups, and control lists are already about reading the meta and packing answers.

In terms of budget discard, I've always leaned into 'going topdeck mode' with symetrical discard effects like Delirium Skeins , or just trying to reccur Raven's Crime (even without land recursion, it lets you trade otherwise dead land draws for a discard). Packing your sideboard with 15 duress variants will jank out wins. Cabal Therapist might be optimal here, but Cry of Contrition and Divest will do fine.

Right now I'd lean into more instant speed removal for all the lumimancer blitz and cut some more neiche answers, but it really depends on what you expect to face. Budget lists are all about reading the meta to see what drawbacks don't matter.

Test Ground Rift as lumimancer counts copies - can represent a lot of damage in 1 turn. Similar logic might bring Shattering Spree into sideboard tech.

My janky ass is trying to figure out Gigadrowse / Clever Lumimancer as a transformative sideboard for taking turns.

How do you feel about Arboreal Grazer ?

I feel like this kind of list has a few silly options - Mold Shambler bounce to lock someone off lands, a Essence Symbiote / Migratory Greathorn mutate subtheme or Slaughterhorn as a combat trick. If splashing another colour, cards like Crusher Zendikon or the RG riot beast.

Still, with beasts being printed every few sets this feels like something that is going to suddenly get an efficient option and be really good.