What deck should I play? [Budget]

[John Cox]

I'm considering playing modern occasionally. I'd like to build something competitive and cheap, I have a budget of about $300 and change. I was looking at red deck wins or affinity. Are either of these worth playing? Is there anything else I can make for around this price point? I have some legacy staples but no Zendikar fetches.

[JPoJohnson]

Affinity is very explosive and powerful. Other decks in that price range would be something like Merfolk. Excluding the draft portion of this last Pro Tour, the Merfolk deck placed 6th overall. It's a powerful aggro choice that can be tailored based on whether you need to be anti combo, anti aggro, or anti control. It's my personal recommendation.

That and it transitions to either Vintage or Legacy quite well depending on how much cash you're wanting to invest into the deck over time.

[John Cox]

Affinity is very explosive and powerful. Other decks in that price range would be something like Merfolk. Excluding the draft portion of this last Pro Tour, the Merfolk deck placed 6th overall. It's a powerful aggro choice that can be tailored based on whether you need to be anti combo, anti aggro, or anti control. It's my personal recommendation.

That and it transitions to either Vintage or Legacy quite well depending on how much cash you're wanting to invest into the deck over time.

I just looked at UR aggro tempo, I have the entire deck other than the mana base and the remands. What would the minimum mana base cost ( I know how to look up prices just not how far I can cheat on a mana base in this format)? I think remand is being reprinted so I can wait on that. Also, is it any good?

[Etched]

The deck you are looking for is cheap as dirt right now. Will be expensive soon. get your depths while you can.

3 Into the North
4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Not of This World
4 Crop Rotation
4 Pithing Needle
4 Thespian's Stage
4 Dark Depths
4 City of Brass
3 Gemstone Mine
1 Snow-Covered Forest
4 Sylvan Library
4 Sylvan Scrying
4 Lotus Petal
3 Swan Song
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Maze of Ith
1 Sejiri Steppe
4 Vampire Hexmage
3 Expedition Map
SB: 4 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 2 Phyrexian Revoker
SB: 1 Bojuka Bog
SB: 1 Swan Song
SB: 4 Ratchet Bomb
SB: 2 Envelop
SB: 1 Ancient Grudge

I wish Dark Depths was legal in modern :P

[JPoJohnson]

The deck you are looking for is cheap as dirt right now. Will be expensive soon. get your depths while you can.

3 Into the North
4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Not of This World
4 Crop Rotation
4 Pithing Needle
4 Thespian's Stage
4 Dark Depths
4 City of Brass
3 Gemstone Mine
1 Snow-Covered Forest
4 Sylvan Library
4 Sylvan Scrying
4 Lotus Petal
3 Swan Song
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Maze of Ith
1 Sejiri Steppe
4 Vampire Hexmage
3 Expedition Map
SB: 4 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 2 Phyrexian Revoker
SB: 1 Bojuka Bog
SB: 1 Swan Song
SB: 4 Ratchet Bomb
SB: 2 Envelop
SB: 1 Ancient Grudge

I do not think he realized hes in the modern forums

[apple713]

I do not think he realized hes in the modern forums

nope, i just assume everything is legacy on here. i read all posts on the news feed. sorry

[Etched]

Also, if you want a cheap control deck, consider MonoU Tron. Having played with it myself, I can say that it is competitive for a "budget" style deck, and does pretty well.

[carefulmug]

I play mono U tron and, when winning, find it to be one of the most satisfying magic experiences there are to be had, particularly for the price. It struggles against fast aggro, but anything combo, mid-range, or long-range...you're golden. Immensely so.

If your meta is filled with affinity, infect, modern death and taxes//mono white and/or GW hatebears, or burn, I'd suggest something other than mono U tron. However, if your meta is along the lines of what was heavily presented in the recent PT...UWR control, Twin, Blue Moon, Pod, Jund, and the rest...it is a very solid choice.

[YamiJoey]

Surely Blue Moon is a bad MU?

[JDK]

Zoo is back on track, so forget about Mono U-Tron.

Affinity and Merfolk are probably your best shots. Other options are Burn, Living End and Storm, but the latter two need fetchlands and especially Living End is rising in terms of its price.

[Megadeus]

If you already have green fetches, BUG infect is pretty cheap

[JDK]

If you already have green fetches, BUG infect is pretty cheap

I have some legacy staples but no Zendikar fetches

Catacombs, Rainforests and Hierarchs aren't cheap and the deck isn't good positioned right now.

[Etched]

Surely Blue Moon is a bad MU?

Not really. MonoU survives off of manabase consistency, and while an early BMoon can hurt, it doesn't completely wreck the deck. We still have plenty of islands and counters, and you can eventually just hardcast a threat and win. While I do admit it's not that great of a choice right now, it still is something to consider if your meta is full of control and the likes.

[Timber]

Modern Event Deck has been spoiled: B/W tokens

http://www.magicspoiler.com/modern-event-deck-spoiler/

You can finish whatever is the manabase and Thoughtseizes for pretty cheap since they're in Standard.