Instead of making a ton of threads, I'm going to store/update my budget decks here. Hopefully others might find it useful, and perhaps I might get feedback about card choices. I obviously can't promise the decks will be optimal, but I can promise they will be well tested. I'm looking to present not just the usual choices (Affinity, Elves, Dredge, etc.), but other decks for which serious budget lists aren't often considered. I hope to provide decks which are reasonable choices for small to medium sized tournaments. With enough budget decks to choose from, you should be able to find one that is very well-positioned in a specific metagame (which is one of the nicer parts about small/medium sized tournaments). Many of these decks have hundreds of versions floating around on these forums, and I recognize that my version just might not be your cup of tea. Nonetheless, my versions are standard enough that they'll point you in the right direction, even if you arrive at something slightly different in the end.
Many people sneer at budget decks. I think that's silly. I look at budget-building as a serious construction challenge. In fact, it is way more fun to construct for budget decks than the sky-is-the-limit sort of construction. Beyond the fun in budget-building, I think its actually useful for format development and drawing more people to Legacy. It's useful to have well-constructed budget lists available, and that's certainly a reasonably possible goal in a format that doesn't have rotating card sets. I look at budget decks as an entry point to the competitive format -- obviously, at a very competitive level, they will be lacking in performance.
I think a huge percentage of players who like Legacy aren't invested in Legacy and can't always afford to build perfectly optimal decks. As for myself, there are plenty of cards I don't own, and besides proxies/MWS, I actually do want to play some decks I don't have (nor have the ability to borrow). Note that I'm not exactly sure 'what counts as a budget deck', but I know it when I see it (drawing that line isn't simple; in my view, it has some grey area). In constructing budget decks, my goal is usually to get the most bang for my buck; so, rather than building to a specific financial ceiling, I try to build for efficiency. That means I take short-cuts, use slightly less optimal but far cheaper cards when I can, but also that I use cards which are pricey but can't be substituted if and when necessary.
For budget decks which are cheaper versions of expensive Legacy decks, the aim is also to buy and build around the cheap cards in the shell, allowing for future growth in the ability to purchase the expensive cards if so desired. Obviously, this isn't always possible. Some decks rely too heavily upon their expensive cards to do this. Conversely, some decks are simply cheap, and thus fall into the category of being a budget deck in my eyes, but are what I believe to be fairly optimal, regardless of ceiling.
Some of you will think these are actually too expensive to be called budget decks. Anyone seeking an even cheaper deck need only ask -- give me a price ceiling and a description of the deck you want to play, and I'll build and test it for you.
peace,
4eak
As there are so many decks, I'm trying to classify them (for the sake of comparison, and for the ease of finding them) by role. Here is an index:
I - Combo Decks:
LED-Less Belcher
Dredge
Reanimator
Combo Elves
Hive Mind
Spiral Tide
TES
II - Aggro (and Aggro-Combo) Decks:
Affinity
Burn/Sligh
Mono Green Infect
III - Aggro-Control Decks:
Merfolk
Mono Black Aggro-Control
GW or Maverick
WW (Death and Taxes)
UR Delver/Counterburn/Blue Sligh
IV - Dedicated Control Decks:
MUC (Permanent-based)
CounterTop Thopter
Mono White Control
UW "Stoneblade" Control
V - Prison (Combo-Control):
Enchantress
Dragon Stompy
Pox
VI - Difficult to Classify:
Mono Red Goblins
I - Combo Decks:
LED-Less Belcher
The LED version is probably already considered a budget deck. Removing the LED's makes it even cheaper. Admittedly, mulligans hurt worse, and losing the +3 mana card makes certain plays more difficult. I tried adding black to make up for this, but I find the consistency of G/R too good to dilute.// Initial Mana Sources - 21
1 Stomping Ground
4 Land Grant
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Lotus Petal
4 Chrome Mox
// Conditional Mana Sources - 20
4 Rite of Flame
4 Seething Song
4 Pyretic Ritual
4 Desperate Ritual
4 Tinder Wall
// Trix - 8
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Manamorphose
// Wish and Win-Cons - 11
3 Empty the Warrens
4 Burning Wish
4 Goblin Charbelcher
// Sideboard
SB: 1 Empty the Warrens
SB: 1 Shattering Spree
SB: 1 Hull Breach
SB: 1 Reverent Silence
SB: 1 Pyroclasm
SB: 1 Regrowth
SB: 1 Diminishing Returns
SB: 4 Xantid Swarm
SB: 4 Guttural Response
Dredge
This is what I use with no ceiling; it is just a cheap, good deck.// Lands - 14
4 Cephalid Coliseum
4 City of Brass
4 Gemstone Mine
2 Tarnished Citadel
// Dredgers - 13
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Golgari Thug
4 Stinkweed Imp
1 Darkblast
// GY Goodies - 18
4 Ichorid
4 Narcomoeba
4 Bridge from Below
4 Cabal Therapy
2 Dread Return
// Self-Discard - 7
3 Phantasmagorian
4 Putrid Imp
// Draw - 8
4 Breakthrough
4 Careful Study
// Sideboard
SB: 1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
SB: 1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
SB: 3 Ancient Grudge
SB: 4 Nature's Claim
SB: 2 Ray of Revelation
SB: 4 Tireless Tribe
Reanimator
The mana-base is exceptionally hard to build for this deck. Daze relies upon Islands (to the point that I think it is reasonable to go -4 Drowned Catacomb for +2 Island + 2 Swamp), and you need a very explosive start which is unhindered by coloring issues. Honestly, many builds may spring for fetches and 1-2 Water Grave, adding Brainstorm to the deck. There is a significant price jump to do this, even if you go for non-Polluted Delta fetches. Even further, I think a green splash is absolutely necessary in the optimal non-budget build, but that is out of the question in budget. Beyond a very expensive mana base, FoW and Thoughtseize are obviously missing. Lim-Dul's is a pimp.// Land -- 18
2 Swamp
4 Island
4 Watery Grave
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Darkslick Shores
// Targets -- 6
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 Blazing Archon
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
2 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
// GY Enablers - 12
4 Hapless Researcher
4 Careful Study
4 Entomb
// Reanimate Spells - 8
4 Reanimate
4 Exhume
// Card Quality - 8
4 Ponder
4 Lim-Dul's Vault
// Permission - 8
4 Daze
4 Spell Pierce
// Sideboard
SB: 1 Empyrial Archangel
SB: 1 Terastodon
SB: 1 Massacre Wurm
SB: 4 Pithing Needle
SB: 4 Duress
SB: 4 Chain of Vapor
Combo Elves
I've gone through many evolutions with this deck (who hasn't tried dozens of elf decks?). I continue to find that most mono green decks are improved by and rely upon Living Wish. Elf-Combo is no exception. I've taken IBA's wishlist (and adjusted the main accordingly) because I've found it is better than what I had. Noteworthy, the aggro-component is largely cut from the deck, although it is still quite capable of over-running a lot of decks with sheer numbers of little dudes. The combo role of elves has surpassed any aggro-versions in my testing, and that is largely due to Green Sun's Zenith (badass card). Summoner's Pact is out; I've had a lot of bad experiences with the card, and I'm glad GSZ takes its place.// Primary Mana Engine - 31
15 Forest
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Fyndhorn Elves
4 Priest of Titania
4 Elvish Archdruid
// Secondary/Combo Mana Engine - 11
4 Quirion Ranger
3 Heritage Druid
3 Nettle Sentinel
1 Wirewood Symbiote (also removal mitigation)
// Card Quality/Quantity Engine - 16
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Glimpse of Nature
4 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Living Wish
// Bombs - 2
1 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
1 Regal Force
// Sideboard
SB: 1 Wirewood Symbiote
SB: 1 Heritage Druid
SB: 1 Nettle Sentinel
SB: 1 Regal Force
SB: 1 Gaea's Cradle (worth the price tag)
SB: 1 Elvish Skysweeper
SB: 1 Ghost Quarter (wants to be Wasteland)
SB: 1 Vexing Shusher
SB: 1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn (worth the price tag)
SB: 1 Terastodon
SB: 1 Caller of the Claw
SB: 1 Bojuka Bog
SB: 1 Phyrexian Revoker
SB: 1 Wickerbough Elder
SB: 1 Viridian Shaman
Hive Mind
Fairly expensive budget deck, but quite dangerous. Misdirection is very often just as good as Force of Will, particularly when you simply want to force through your Show and Tell or Hive Mind. LDV is a pimp in this deck -- it is the best use of LDV I can remember since Flash. I think this deck breaks a lot of the rules for 'combo' decks in general. Like Dredge, many normal types of combo hate aren't all that effective against it; although, a metagame prepared against the deck can do quite well against Hive Mind (just as enough GY hate with a mix of other control features can muscle Dredge out of a metagame). We are lacking Force of Will, Intuition, Monoliths, USea, Volcanics, Ancient Tomb, City of Traitors, perhaps better fetches, perhaps the last Emrakul, and a sideboard which goes with Intuition (including Llawan, Traps, etc.). Obviously, the deck still has a ton of room to grow.// Mana Sources - 23
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Watery Grave
1 Steam Vents
4 Crystal Vein
5 Island
1 Mountain
4 Lotus Petal
// Show and Tell - 7
4 Show and Tell
3 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
// Namesake Combo - 10 (*obviously, you Show&Tell your Hive Mind into play all the time)
4 Hive Mind
2 Slaughter Pact
4 Pact of the Titan
// Card Quality - 12
4 Lim-Dul's Vault
4 Ponder
4 Brainstorm
// Permission - 8
4 Pact of Negation
4 Misdirection
// Sideboard
SB: 4 Leyline of Sanctity
SB: 2 Dispel
SB: 2 Pyroblast
SB: 1 Wipe Away
SB: 1 Summoner's Pact
SB: 1 Intervention Pact
SB: 4 Mental Misstep
Spiral Tide
Upgrades include more fetches and Force of Will. Imho, this deck shines in slower metagames. It is resilient, consistent, and flexible. It just happens to be slow. This is a deck that requires a skilled pilot, but happens to be very good (much better than many people realize) if you can achieve proficiency. This is not a deck which can evolve into another.// Lands - 19
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Misty Rainforest
15 Island
// Cantrips - 12
4 Brainstorm
4 Preordain
4 Ponder
// Tutors - 8
1 Intuition
4 Merchant Scroll
3 Cunning Wish
// Protection - 8
4 Misdirection
3 Spell Pierce
1 Pact of Negation
// The Combo - 13
3 High Tide
3 Turnabout
4 Time Spiral
3 Meditate (could be Ideas Unbound as well)
// Sideboard
SB: 2 Wipe Away
SB: 1 Slaughter Pact
SB: 1 Rebuild
SB: 1 Blue Sun's Zenith
SB: 1 Snap
SB: 1 Brain Freeze
SB: 1 Repeal
SB: 1 High Tide
SB: 1 Meditate
SB: 1 Flusterstorm
SB: 1 Turnabout
SB: 1 Surgical Extraction
SB: 1 Pact of Negation
SB: 1 Ravenous Trap
TES
This is a step up from Belcher. It is far more flexible and resilient (sporting protection). It is also much more expensive, but you get what you pay for with this deck. There aren't a lot evolutions or upgrades for this deck. There is some room to grow though: upgrades include a more expensive manabase and a few other random possibilities.// Lands - 14
1 Watery Grave
1 Steam Vents
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Gemstone Mine
4 City of Brass
// Additional Mana - 20
4 Chrome Mox
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Lotus Petal
4 Rite of Flame
4 Dark Ritual
// Combo & Engine - 2
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Ad Nauseam
// Tutoring - 8
4 Burning Wish
4 Infernal Tutor
// Card Quality - 8
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
// Protection - 8
4 Duress
4 Silence
// Sideboard
SB: 1 Grapeshot
SB: 1 Ill-Gotten Gains
SB: 1 Tendrils of Agony
SB: 2 Empty the Warrens
SB: 1 Shattering Spree
SB: 1 Past in Flames
SB: 2 Chain of Vapor
SB: 1 Diminishing Returns
SB: 1 Deathmark
SB: 4 Xantid Swarm
II - Aggro (and Aggro-Combo) Decks:
Affinity
I like this speedy version. Notable pieces which aren't in the list (but would be on an unlimited budget) are Mox Opal, Aether Vial, and Tezz -- build up to these.// Lands - 20
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Tree of Tales
4 City of Brass or cheapest rainbow land of choice
// Creatures - 28
4 Etched Champion
4 Master of Etherium
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Myr Enforcer
4 Memnite
4 Frogmite
4 Signal Pest
// Other Goodies - 12
4 Cranial Plating
4 Springleaf Drum
4 Thoughtcast
// Sideboard
SB: 4 Krosan Grip
SB: 4 Disciple of the Vault
SB: 4 Phyrexian Revoker
SB: 3 Tormod's Crypt
Burn/Sligh
Classic. It works well enough. While certainly adjustable, it's pretty close to the ceiling of what can be done with these cards. The next step would be to evolve towards a fast-version of Zoo. Grim is expensive, but it is worth the money. Some may feel inclined to drop a land or two, which I can understand.// Land - 20
20 Mountain
// Creatures -- 12
4 Keldon Marauders
4 Goblin Guide
4 Grim Lavamancer
// Burn -- 28
4 Price of Progress
4 Fireblast
4 Magma Jet
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
4 Chain Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt
// Sideboard
SB: 4 Volcanic Fallout
SB: 4 Smash to Smithereens
SB: 4 Relic of Progenitus
SB: 3 Red Elemental Blast
Mono Green Infect
Like Dredge, this is really close to what I think the optimal deck looks like. I've ended up going for a slightly less combo playstyle with this deck after testing (moving away from cards like Mutagenic Growth and Berserk) -- the deck has more staying power than one might initially presume. I can easily see metagames where going for the pure combo is simply better. The mana-base is explosive because you really want a turn 1 infect creature, but I'm pretty picky about which pump spells to play. I wouldn't play Berserk anyways at this point (horror of all horrors!). Rancor is a pimp. Pretty simple deck. Don't underestimate your ability to win combat wars. Noteworthy, the very top-end, non-budget build is likely a UG or UGb build, but it really isn't much better (not worth the money, in my view).// Mana Sources - 22
10 Forest
4 Pendelhaven
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
4 Lotus Petal
// Infect Creatures - 16
4 Glistener Elf
4 Blight Mamba
4 Ichorclaw Myr
4 Necropede
// Strictly Pump - 16
4 Prey's Vengeance
4 Giant Growth
4 Rancor
4 Invigorate
// Protection Pump - 6
2 Ranger's Guile
4 Vines of Vastwood
// Sideboard
SB: 4 Nature's Claim
SB: 2 Ranger's Guile
SB: 2 Apostle's Blessing
SB: 4 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 3 Dismember
III - Aggro-Control Decks:
Merfolk
Stacking lords with minimal permission does win a lot more games than people want to admit. Fish is a good deck. This is actually close to what I believe the optimal build might be. I don't even care for mutavaults in the end, but I know most do. The big-money cards, FOW and Wasteland, are well worth buying, in my opinion.// Islands - 20
20 Island
// Folk - 24
4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Merfolk Sovereign
4 Merrow Reejerey
4 Coralhelm Commander
// Artifacts - 6
2 Umezawa's Jitte
4 AEther Vial
// Control - 10
2 Dismember
4 Daze
4 Spell Pierce
// Sideboard
SB: 3 Back to Basics
SB: 4 Relic of Progenitus
SB: 2 Echoing Truth
SB: 2 Spell Pierce
SB: 2 Submerge
SB: 2 Dismember
Mono Black Aggro-Control
This deck is very close to being what I consider optimal. Wasteland is the major expense which has been spared. BB, Jitte, and Confidant are expensive, but I think you get a lot of mileage out of them for the price. Ratchet bomb is an expensive card, but mono black has very few options to certain top-decked cards types (can't use discard in those cases); it is a necessary evil. Batterskull is excellent (you easily to get 5 lands).// Land - 22
22 Swamp
// Dudes and BB - 19
3 Bitterblossom
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Dark Confidant
4 Phyrexian Revoker (This guy is absolutely sick in this deck)
// Hand Control - 8
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
// Board Control - 11
2 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
4 Doom Blade
4 Go for the Throat
// Sideboard
SB: 4 Duress
SB: 4 Ratchet Bomb
SB: 4 Leyline of the Void
SB: 3 Engineered Plague
GW or Maverick
This started much cheaper, but frankly, the money cards are really worth it. I originally tried to use less than 4x Noble Hierarch and Knight of the Reliquary. It can be done if you want to make it cheaper, but I think it is worth picking up the full playset. This performs surprisingly close to what the tier 1 Maverick builds performs like. Let me gush over Phyrexian Revoker some more -- I love this card, and I have no problem going to 4x with it. Future improvements range from 4x Savannahs, 2x more fetches (depending on where you go with the build), Wastelands, 1-2x Karakas, 1x Maze of Ith, 1x Terravore, 1x Rishadan Port, 1-4x Tarmogoyf (depends on who you ask and what metagame you find yourself), 1-2x Elspeth, 1-3x Sylvan Library, 2-4x PtE, E-tutor board, and honestly, so many more possibilities. There is still a lot of room to grow with this deck.// Mana Production - 23
4 Horizon Canopy
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Windswept Heath
1 Temple Garden
5 Forest
3 Plains
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Nantuko Monastery
// Usual Suspects - 16
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Mother of Runes
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Swords to Plowshares
// SFM Package - 7
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Body and Mind (could be another Sword pretty easily)
// Hatebears and Utility GSZ-Targets - 9
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Gaddock Teeg
// Card Quantity & Quality - 5
4 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Eternal Witness
// Sideboard
SB: 1 Bojuka Bog
SB: 1 Kataki, War's Wage
SB: 3 Worldly Tutor
SB: 3 Krosan Grip
SB: 2 Choke
SB: 2 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 1 Scavenging Ooze
SB: 1 Cold-Eyed Selkie
SB: 1 Ethersworn Canonist
WW (Death and Taxes)
White weenie can't be just plain beatdown. Of the many WW variants I've played, this is the best budget version I found; this is a budget variant of Death & Taxes. It lacks mana-denial elements in Wasteland and Port, and the power of Karakas. Until you go for the mana-denial package, Path to Exile is a reasonable card, btw. I think cards like Flickerwisp are more powerful than they seem on paper, but don't bring enough to the table in this deck. I don't like Jotun Grunt either. Jitte and Batterskull are the best equipment in the game; SoB&M isn't amazing, and I'd much prefer Fire & Ice or Light & Shadow.// Lands - 21
21 Plains
// SFM Package - 7
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull (considerably better in Legacy than many people realize)
1 Sword of Body and Mind (a budget option, acceptably powered, decent pro's)
// Raw Beatdown - 8
4 Serra Avenger
4 Mirran Crusader (even moreso than Avenger, very bomby wth equipment)
// Control and Taxes - 16
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Leonin Relic-Warder
4 Mangara of Corondor
// Anti-Control and Tempo - 8
4 AEther Vial
4 Mother of Runes
// Sideboard
SB: 4 Mana Tithe
SB: 4 Enlightened Tutor
SB: 1 Oblivion Ring
SB: 1 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 1 Ensnaring Bridge
SB: 1 Serenity
SB: 1 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 1 Relic of Progenitus
SB: 1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
UR Delver/Counterburn/Blue Sligh
This deck is surprisingly close to my non-budget build. Improvements would be FoW's in the side, 3-4 more fetches, 3-4 Volcanic Islands (although, it runs great on even 1 Volcanic and some number of Steam Vents). Possible improvements might include Fireblast (which is very dependent upon running Duals), changes to the number of SSnares, Grim Lavamancers, Surgical Extraction, and Snapcaster (which I'm not impressed by, but other might still prefer). Wasteland, of course, may still be worth using in this deck, although, I'm preferring not to play it so far (Price of Progress is damn good).// Lands - 18
2 Steam Vents
4 Island
4 Mountain
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
// Creatures - 11
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Goblin Guide
3 Grim Lavamancer
// Burn - 16
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Chain Lightning
4 Rift Bolt
4 Price of Progress
// Permission - 7
3 Spell Snare
4 Daze
// Card Quality - 8
4 Ponder
4 Brainstorm
// Sideboard
SB: 3 Smash to Smithereens
SB: 3 Red Elemental Blast
SB: 3 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 3 Submerge
SB: 3 Spell Pierce
IV - Dedicated Control Decks:
MUC (Permanent-based)
I'm forgoing a stack-based approach because it relies upon FoW more than the permanent based, imho. I was careful in my choice of win-cons; some may prefer a different configuration, but this is what I think works best. Going to 4 on any of the 3-of's is quite reasonable in non-budget builds, but because of serious diminishing returns to multiples, I think it isn't a very efficient use of money to go for the 4th of any of these. Obviously, the deck is missing FoW and Jace. Cryptic command is also missing. Foil is another budget card which you might consider as a substitute for Spell Snare or Mana leak.// Islands - 24
24 Island
// Beef - 3
2 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
1 Call the Skybreaker
// Board Control and Tempo - 13
1 Capsize
3 Propaganda
3 Powder Keg
3 Vedalken Shackles
3 Back to Basics
// Permission - 12
4 Counterspell
4 Spell Snare
4 Mana Leak
// Draw - 8
4 Impulse
4 Fact or Fiction
// Sideboard
SB: 3 Echoing Truth
SB: 3 Relic of Progenitus
SB: 3 Spell Pierce
SB: 3 Blue Elemental Blast
SB: 3 Pithing Needle
CounterTop Thopter
This is on the more expensive side of budget decks, but it is fairly cheap as far as viable control decks go. Again, we have to bend over backwards to make the mana-base work. I just don't see this deck operating correctly without fetches, not just for the sake of mana smoothing, but also brainstorm and Top, as they are both so powerful in this deck (8-shuffle effects isn't great, but it is enough). Many non-budget versions can make EE better with additional colors, and that just isn't an option. Besides the mana-base, Jace, Elspeth, and FoW would make fantastic future upgrades (*Moat in some versions as well). The 4th CB/Top has diminishing returns, especially in an e-tutor deck, so I saved money and went to 3. This deck relies upon the Thopter combo very heavily, and I think high quantity/multiples is a perfectly acceptable route. The e-tutor board is fairly standard, and you get a lot of bang for your buck.// Lands - 23
1 Academy Ruins
7 Island
1 Plains
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Windswept Heath
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Mystic Gate
1 Seat of the Synod
// Thopter Combo - 6
4 Thopter Foundry
2 Sword of the Meek
// Board Control - 9
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Humility
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Vedalken Shackles
// Stack Control - 11
3 Mana Leak
4 Counterspell
4 Counterbalance
// Card Quality - 11
3 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Enlightened Tutor
4 Brainstorm
// Sideboard
SB: 1 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 1 Ghostly Prison
SB: 1 Serenity
SB: 1 Aura of Silence
SB: 1 Relic of Progenitus
SB: 1 Rule of Law
SB: 1 Sacred Ground
SB: 1 Ratchet Bomb
SB: 1 Pithing Needle
SB: 3 Spell Pierce
SB: 3 Oblivion Ring
Mono White Control
I love this deck. This is probably my favorite deck to play. Good gracious, it wrecks so many decks (*and, obviously, it is completely wrecked by certain combo decks). This is a strict board control deck -- it also belongs in only certain metagames. Play quickly (and you'll need to make sure you opponent does as well). In most cases, I prefer this to Quinn. The cool part is that this is also substantially cheaper than Quinn. There are so many matches where this deck just rocks the fucking house. The deck is not a silver-bullet deck, but it employs an e-tutor sideboard simply because it is so focused on one strategy that e-tutor gives outs to certain strategies that otherwise just wouldn't be available. For those who want to go the Quinn route, obviously cards like Moat, Painter combo, and Chant will be upgrades. If you go my route, then the only major addition will be 4x Maze of Ith (in forcing overextension, and living through the early game). Humility in the sideboard would be nice. A few other sideboard upgrades exist, including Crucible of Worlds instead of Sacred Ground, and others which depend on your specific metagame.// Lands - 25
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Scrying Sheets
1 Kor Haven
16 Snow-Covered Plains
// CA Generating, Stalling, Resilient Win-Cons - 9
3 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
2 Decree of Justice
4 Eternal Dragon (While less impressive in Quinn, this is quite strong in this version of MWC)
// 1-for-1 Board Control - 12
4 Path to Exile
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Oblivion Ring
// X-for-1 Board Control - 7
3 Wrath of God
4 Austere Command
// Further Stalling and Forcing Overextension (for the sake of X-for-1's) - 3
3 Pulse of the Fields
// Card Quality and Quantity (in conjunction with Snow-engine) - 4
4 Sensei's Divining Top
// Sideboard
SB: 4 Enlightened Tutor
SB: 1 Relic of Progenitus
SB: 1 Sacred Ground
SB: 1 Oblivion Stone
SB: 1 Story Circle
SB: 1 Pithing Needle
SB: 1 Rule of Law
SB: 1 Arena of the Ancients or 1 Ensnaring Bridge -- both cards do some important work.
SB: 1 Serenity
SB: 1 Ghostly Prison
SB: 1 Leyline of Sanctity
SB: 1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
UW "Stoneblade" Control
With T2 bannings, this deck is more reasonably priced, even though it is still quite expensive compared to many budget decks. Obviously, Tundras, Strands, 1-2 Swords, Forces, and likely Wastelands and Standstills are missing. This is a very dangerous deck, in my view, and even though it is missing some of the most expensive cards, it still packs quite a punch. Shackles and perhaps some number of Wraths merit consideration as well.// Lands - 23
3 Plains
7 Island
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Marsh Flats
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Mishra's Factory
// "teh" Win - 10
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Umezawa's Jitte
// Stack Control - 12
4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Spell Snare
4 Counterspell
// Board Control - 7
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Path to Exile
// Card Quality and Quantity - 8
4 Brainstorm
4 Ancestral Vision
// Sideboard
SB: 2 Energy Flux
SB: 2 Pithing Needle
SB: 3 Spell Pierce
SB: 4 Oblivion Ring
SB: 1 Manriki-Gusari
SB: 3 Relic of Progenitus
V - Prison (Combo-Control):
Enchantress
This is not a deck which can evolve to be another. It is the sort of deck which viably can be built as a cheaper version and slowly improved to have an expensive mana-base and cards like Moat. While losing your duals/fetches hurts to some extent, it isn't deadly to the deck; in fact, part of what makes Enchantress so good is its near immunity to Wasteland. We run slightly more lands than usual, but this is necessary.// Lands - 22
13 Forest
7 Plains
2 Serra's Sanctum
// Enchantment Mana Engine - 8
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Wild Growth
// Enchantress Draw Engine - 8
4 Argothian Enchantress
4 Enchantress's Presence
// Card Quality - 6
2 Mirri's Guile
4 Sterling Grove
// Win Cons - 2
1 Sigil of the Empty Throne
1 Words of War
// Control - 11
2 Oblivion Ring
3 Solitary Confinement
4 Elephant Grass
2 Runed Halo
// Anti-Control - 3
1 Karmic Justice
2 Replenish
// Sideboard
SB: 1 Ground Seal
SB: 2 City of Solitude
SB: 2 Choke
SB: 1 Humility
SB: 2 Oblivion Ring
SB: 1 Runed Halo
SB: 1 Karmic Justice
SB: 1 Replenish
SB: 4 Leyline of Sanctity
Dragon Stompy
This deck is both on the expensive side of budget decks and has very limited evolutions available. Similar to Belcher, you only really get to avoid one of the expensive mana producers in the budget version. We run 2 more mountains than usual, and this is to make up for lacking City of Traitors. City of Traitors is very expensive. Crystal Vein is not a great substitute, and additional mana sources are required. I'm not a fan of Seething Song in the optimal build, and I think it is even worse when you don't have City. I'd have preferred only 3x Chrome Mox in the budget build, but frankly, the deck would need to find a non-land mana accelerant to replace it, and it just makes more sense to go for the 4th. The sideboard is also missing Ratchet Bomb, which is an optimal card in my view, but too expensive for what you get in this deck. Trinisphere is a common card in this deck, I've too often not liked having it, but others really like it a lot -- please test it out. 3Sphere could easily find itself into the main and side in many metagames.// Mana Production (mostly) - 28
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Chrome Mox
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Crystal Vein
12 Mountain
// Disruption - 16
4 Magus of the Moon
4 Blood Moon
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Phyrexian Revoker
// "teh" beatdown package - 16
4 Gathan Raiders
4 Rakdos Pit Dragon
4 Taurean Mauler (this slot has flexibility)
4 Lord of Shatterskull Pass (this slot has flexibility)
// Sideboard
3 Tormod's Crypt
3 Anarchy
3 Pyrokinesis
3 Fortune Thief
3 Stingscourger
Pox
I think this is the bare minimum Pox build. Liliana is an expensive card, but it keeps this deck on the the map. The deck requires far more money cards to be a viable contender in more diverse metagames. Pricey upgrades including a green (and perhaps white) splash (and all the duals/fetches for it), either Loam or Crucible, Wasteland, Deed, maybe Maelstorm Pulse, possibly Sinkhole/Vindicate, possibly Mox Diamond (depending on the build), and perhaps other win cons. Spike warning: unfortunately, even with upgrades, I think this deck is both limited in evolutions and pretty narrow in terms of the metagames where it belongs.// Lands - 25
21 Swamp
4 Barren Moor
// Recursive Win Cons - 7
3 Nether Spirit
3 Bloodghast
1 Worm Harvest
// Symmetry - 19
4 Innocent Blood
4 Smallpox
3 Pox
4 Culling Scales
4 Liliana of the Veil
// Pure Hand Disruption - 9
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Raven's Crime
// Sideboard
SB: 3 Perish
SB: 2 Darkblast
SB: 3 Duress
SB: 3 Pithing Needle
SB: 4 Leyline of the Void
VI - Difficult to Classify:
Mono Red Goblins
Some number of Anarchy in the side might be worthwhile as well. Cutting Ports and Wastelands cuts the cost of the deck in half. You lose the ability to play mana-denial, which subseqently translates into a more aggressive and less control oriented build (while, unfortunately, also making Vial less powerful). Otherwise, this is a fairly standard build of Mono Red Goblins (which in itself is a budget version of the RB, RG, and RGB end-game versions of Goblins). I think there is some wiggle room in several slots, particularly depending on the metagame you might have. The Goblins thread in the DTB Forum is a good place to start for those sorts of questions. This is a relatively cheap deck to build. Beyond some very broken starts, it has, of the various aggro decks in Legacy, an unmatched CA/CQ engine which allows it to drown people in the late game sea (even a very cheap, aggressive mono-red build like this maintains that ability to a large extent). Future improvements include not only Wasteland/Port, but also Fetches and Duals, probably for both Green and Black splashes. The splashed spells aren't expensive, but the mana-base will be expensive.// Lands - 22
22 Mountain
// Tempo - 12
4 AEther Vial
4 Goblin Lackey
4 Goblin Warchief
// Card Quality & Quantity - 8
4 Goblin Ringleader
4 Goblin Matron
// Other Standard Goblins- 6
4 Goblin Piledriver
2 Siege-Gang Commander
// Creature Removal - 10
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Gempalm Incinerator
2 Stingscourger
// Artifact Removal - 2
1 Tuktuk Scrapper
1 Goblin Tinkerer
// Sideboard
SB: 4 Pyrostatic Pillar (*Mindbreak Trap is only slightly more expensive, but perhaps better in this slot)
SB: 4 Relic of Progenitus
SB: 1 Goblin Sharpshooter
SB: 4 Pyrokinesis
SB: 1 Goblin Tinkerer
SB: 1 Vexing Shusher
Last edited by 4eak; 02-09-2012 at 03:59 PM.
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