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Thread: Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

  1. #1

    Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

    Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

    By: Daniel Worobec

    Main Deck:

    4x Fluctuator
    2x Enlightened Tutor (Spoils of the Vault = less expensive)
    4x Hollow One
    4x Drannith Stinger
    4x Flourishing Fox
    3x Vile Manifestation
    1x Ominous Seas
    4x Unearth
    4x Memory Leak
    1x Forsake the Worldly
    1x Expunge
    4x Irrigated Farmland
    4x Fetid Pools
    4x Canyon Slough
    4x Scattered Groves
    4x Drifting Meadow
    4x Polluted Mire
    4x Blasted Landscape

    Sideboard:

    4x Gilded Light
    3x Forsake the Worldly
    3x Expunge
    1x Archfiend of Ifnir
    1x Rapid Decay
    1x Zenith Flare
    1x Abandoned Sarcophagus
    1x Astral Drift

    Costs (as of December 7, 2022):

    MTGO with Enlightened Tutors: 22.50 TIX
    MTGO with Spoils of the Vault: 11.50 TIX
    Paper with Enlightened Tutors: $180 USD
    Paper with Spoils of the Vault: $80 USD

    A deck having Turbo in its name is usually reserved for decks that try to play some sort of combo out as fast as possible. I have seen many Fluctuator deck lists with all sorts of quick mana acceleration, trying to win as soon as possible. However in this version of Fluctuator I call it turbo for a different reason. The Turbo in this version refers to how Fluctuator turbo-charges the deck, when it is in the battlefield and where there are multiple ways of doing 20+ damage consistently for as little as one mana. In Turbo Fluctuator, all you really need to win the game is just to have a single two mana Fluctuator on the battlefield and the rest of the deck will take care of winning the game.

    Turbo Fluctuator features fifty four cycling cards that can be cycled with just Fluctuator alone along with two Enlightened Tutors and of course four Fluctuators. This version of Fluctuator uses cards that cycle to win the game instead of other game winning cards. Turbo Fluctuator wins the game by casting what would otherwise seem to be insignificant threats that rely on other cards being cycled, but since you cycle through almost all of your deck on a single turn the number of cards that need to by cycled to feed the threats are usually met. An early Flourishing Fox for one white mana can quickly grow into 20+ power. Vile Manifestation can also easily grow over 20+ power can be cast for one black mana with Unearth. Unearth a Drannith Stinger to deal 20+ damage without having to attack. And play an army of free 4/4 Hollow Ones along your other game winning creatures.

    I find Turbo Fluctuator to be one of the most consistent decks I have ever come across. There is a high probability that you will mulligan into one of the four Fluctuators and/or the two tutors to find Fluctuator. Since there are twenty eight lands in the deck, it is likely that you will get two or more mana to cast one Fluctuator you need to win the game. Once Fluctuator is on the battlefield, finding threats is not a problem. Think of everything in the deck as being able to find as though you had a free tutor. Since just about everything has cycling, you can usually cycle through enough of your deck to find the card that you need. That is why you only really need to have one Forsake the Worldly, one Expunge or other type of removal in Turbo Fluctuator, you should be able to find it when you need it.

    Finding a Fluctuator or an Enlightened Tutor is usually not too much of a problem with mulligans. With 28 lands in the deck, mana in the opening hand is usually not a problem. Though Fluctuator is vulnerable to countermagic and Memory Leak is only limited protection, if Fluctuator is on the battlefield and removal is used against it, you can in response cycle cards to get a new one.

    Turbo Fluctuator is a budget deck that is also quite effective and can be easy to play with practice. To lessen the cost, you can take out the two Enlightened Tutors and put in two Spoils of the Vault though it is much more risky.

  2. #2

    Re: Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

    City of traitors is probably off the menu but there's always ancient tomb for that t1 flux

  3. #3

    Re: Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

    Quote Originally Posted by FourDogsinaHorseSuit View Post
    City of traitors is probably off the menu but there's always ancient tomb for that t1 flux
    I know it is tempting to try and add fast cards to try and make the deck faster. However the success of this version of Fluctuator relies on severely limiting the number of non-cycling cards in the deck in exchange for a very powerful benefit that Fluctuator can enable. Getting Flourishing Fox out for one mana and then enabling it to have 20+ power the next turn, the same for Vile Manifestation for two mana or one mana with Unearth. Casting Drannith Stinger for two mana or one with Unearth and then being able to cycle 20+ cards to win the game on the same turn. All this while casting multiple Hollow Ones for free.

    Turbo Fluctuator is a deck with delayed gratification. If you can wait the couple of turns it will take to play the lands needed to cast Fluctuator, you will see the payoff later. Turbo Fluctuator can win on turn three with a large amount of consistency in being able to play game winning threats once Fluctuator is on the battlefield.

    I have been working on this deck for over 20 years and I think it is finally ready to see play. Just give it a try and you will see what I am talking about.

  4. #4

    Re: Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

    What turn does the deck usually go off? It looks really slow with no protection - to me it goes something like
    T1 tapland
    T2 tapland
    T3 Fluctuator/payoff
    hope the card survives to your next turn
    T4 payoff/Fluctuator, go off

    You can sometimes be a turn faster if you happen to draw Blasted landscape or Flourishing Fox, but that's basically it? I'm sure I'm missing something but can't figure it out...

  5. #5

    Re: Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

    Quote Originally Posted by snugar_i View Post
    What turn does the deck usually go off? It looks really slow with no protection - to me it goes something like
    T1 tapland
    T2 tapland
    T3 Fluctuator/payoff
    hope the card survives to your next turn
    T4 payoff/Fluctuator, go off

    You can sometimes be a turn faster if you happen to draw Blasted landscape or Flourishing Fox, but that's basically it? I'm sure I'm missing something but can't figure it out...
    Thank you for your questions snugar_i. Turbo Fluctuator can go off as little as turn 2 and usually no longer than turn 4. Though countermagic can be problematic, Memory Leak can help and you can usually try to find another Fluctuator with every other card either being able to draw or tutor. The deck can also work without Fluctuator though is not as powerful. As for permanent removal, while Fluctuator is on the battlefield, you can cycle around 20 or so cards to find your win conditions and other Fluctuators to replace the one being destroyed. The deck is slow to start that is why I call it semi-competitive, however it is budget so it kind of makes up for it. You can buy a paper copy and an MTGO copy of the deck for around $100 USD.

    I will demonstrate several scenarios based on what can be in your opening hand:

    Sample scenario 1:
    Turn 1: Tap land
    Turn 2: Blasted Landscape – Play Fluctuator – then a bunch of Hollow Ones for free

    Sample scenario 2:
    Turn 1: Tap Land
    Turn 2: Tap Land
    Turn 3: Blasted LandscapeFluctuator – cycle and Unearth a Drannith Stinger – cycle for 20+ damage

    Sample Scenario 3:
    Turn 1: Tap Land
    Turn 2: Land and cast Flourishing Fox
    Turn 3: Cast Fluctuator – cycle 20+ counters on Flourishing Fox then attack and play a bunch of Hollow Ones for free

    On Turn 3 and/or 4 there are all sorts of different plays you can do.

    Any of the above and you can play Vile Manifestations for one or two mana with 20+ power, cards that you draw in the draw step you can cycle and find more Hollow Ones to cast for free. Ominous Sea is an option that can be found with Enlightened Tutor. And on game two and/or three, sideboard in Abandoned Sarcophagus for some insane benefits or a Zenith Flare as an alternative win condition; both cards can be easily found since you can cycle a lot of cards so you only need one of each.

    I also forgot to add Laboratory Maniac to the sideboard as an alternative win condition.

  6. #6
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    Re: Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

    I love the concept. But I think we should address the consistency and speed angles, see if there is room for improvement..

    What you listed are best-case scenarios that are statistical improbabilities (more likely to not happen than happen), needing A+B in the opener and the right number of lands. What happens most of the time?

    If you goldfish 30 hands, what % are scenario 1 and 2?
    What % of hands go off on turn 3? Turn 4? Turn 5 or later?
    What % mull to oblivion failing to find Fluctuator?

    Of those that can go off turn 3 or sooner, how many also have 1 or more pieces of protection (Memory Leak)? How many scoop to Daze or Disenchant or Lightning Bolt?

    Although it is a low budget deck, it is also not worth a new player buying all those cards (little overlap with other decks) unless they know the deck is semi-reliable.

    My first thoughts are to go up to 4ETutor (more consistent Fluctuator) and replace some of the worse tapped lands. But it would help to know how the current build performs.

  7. #7

    Re: Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

    The general idea is good but you need to work on consistency and resilience.

    Not every card you play needs to be a tutor or have cycling, just enough to cycle to victory.
    I think going for blue and Ominous Sea might be a more solid wining option since it doesn't fold to 1 removal.
    Probably at least 1 Zenith Flare main for the instant win or just lots of life is the right call.
    You also need to sort out your mana base as you are tight on colors, everything enters tapped and you lose hard to Wasteland.
    Since this is a budget deck there are limited options.
    Maybe Lotus Petal or Land Grant?
    Even if you cycle into those, you can make use of them especially Petal allowing you to drop a Fox.

    Every wining condition requires you to pass the turn so you need either multiple threads or you have to protect them.
    Probably at least something like Defense Grid to protect you during your turn.
    Since everything cycles also resistors might be an option.
    You might recover from having 1 Fluctuator countered but the 2nd one is most likely game.
    Maybe Valiant Rescuer for value each turn is also an option.
    Shadow of the Grave might be a neat trick to recover gas if your primary winning option is shut down.

    You lose super hard to Spirit of the Labyrinth, Narset and Hull Breacher so have some Frys in your SB.

  8. #8

    Re: Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

    Thank you for all your comments and suggestions to improve the deck.

    I knew well before creating this thread that a Fluctuator deck can not be at a competitive level at this point in time. Over the past 20 years people have been trying to make it competitive and the cards are just not available.

    So I created this version of Fluctuator to be based on cost, effectiveness and being fun to play. For an hour or two wage someone can get the deck on MTGO and have some fun with it and try something new. I think it is fun to even just goldfish with.

    So unless new cards are printed that can make Fluctuator a thing, or if Fluctuator were to be printed into the Modern format; just have fun with it as something to try. There is a reason I put "semi-competitive and budget" in the title.

  9. #9
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    Re: Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

    This was the bones of a deck I played in modern some time ago. I'd be interested to see how good a non budget version would be.

  10. #10

    Re: Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

    The Fluctuator deck has been discussed previously (See here: https://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/...ghlight=shadow).

    Some random comments:

    1. IMO the best win con is probably Thassa's Oracle with Unearth but I stopped testing this deck before Drannith Stinger was printed so I can't comment on that build.
    2. You should be playing Shadow of the Grave, Tolarian Winds, and/or Restless Dreams which allows you to play less overall cyclers, put your win con in the graveyard, and make room for Thoughtseize and/or Force of Will.
    3. You can have a sideboard plan of Archfiend of Ifnir which can be turboed out with Songs of the Damned and/or a Hollow One sideboard for when opponent boards out removal.
    4. You can also go more of a stompy route with Ancient Tomb, Chalice of the Void, and/or Karn, the Great Creator.
    5. The creatures with landcycling (e.g. Jhessian Zombies and Igneous Pouncer) are great because you can cycle them into the cycling land (e.g. Fetid Pools and Irrigated Farmland).
    6. I don't think anyone has ever really figured out the right tutor for this deck but obviously the biggest problem is not having/resolving a Fluctuator. Scheming Symmetry could be a nice option but it gets blown out by Brainstorm into Force of Will and splashing white for Enlightened Tutor feels bad.

  11. #11

    Re: Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

    Quote Originally Posted by Purple Blood View Post
    Fluctuator. Scheming Symmetry could be a nice option but it gets blown out by Brainstorm into Force of Will and splashing white for Enlightened Tutor feels bad.
    What do you think of Spoils of the Vault?

  12. #12

    Re: Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

    I did not like Spoils with the Thassa/Lab Mab win con because if you exile Thassa you lose. Can't comment on the Stinger builds.

  13. #13
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    Re: Turbo Fluctuator (Semicompetative budget)

    For the Stinger builds I think Tendrils is significantly better than Thassa. They both contribute to the same win condition (life total), so a partial Tendrils or some Stinger pings are not useless if you can't get to 20 in 1 turn. Otherwise all that progress is useless when you pivot to Thassa. With Tendrils, all the threats (Tendrils, Stinger, Fox, Hollow One) attack life total together. You can "fizzle" with nonlethal damage but still help the other wincons get there. Or you can just cycle in small bursts and still make progress. And you don't have to deck yourself into Dress Down -> loss, in a meta full of Torpor Orb/Dress Down.

    You can tutor with Wishclaw Talisman. It's a bit expensive but it also works midcombo to find 1-of Tendrils or Shadow of the Grave to keep going. That might work better in a build with Sol Lands and Rituals and 4 Songs of the Damned.

    If you're on the Thassa plan instead of Stinger/Tendrils, what about playing a hybrid with Doomsday? Once you're generating BBB (Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Songs) in a deck with Thassa and Unearth and Street Wraith/Edge of Autumn, why not cast Doomsday? It's a more efficient use of mana than Fluctuator or paying for 3 cycles.

    Enlightened Tutor could also work if your manabase is B splashing white. Scrubland also casts Flourishing Fox and useful SB cards like Forsake the Worldly, Orim's Chant, Serenity, Prismatic Ending... not the worst land to include.

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