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Post by RockBass on Mar 23, 2012 9:19:26 GMT -5
So, I'm taking the plunge on Modern, and I'm still not 100% sure of what exactly to play. It will probably be a self brewed deck.
Anyway, lands. I don't have any of the Ravnica lands, very few of the Core allied lands, and even less of the Innistrad enemy lands. Not to mention my staggering lack of the Zendikar fetch lands.
I know they're all important to Modern decks, but since I will be investing in this format slowly, which set of lands should I start with?
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Post by grumpyoldgamer on Mar 23, 2012 14:31:54 GMT -5
That’s great news. I may finally have someone to talk to about Modern around this place. Jokes aside, it’s a great format to invest in. I’m sure you’ll like it. That being said… For a budget conscious player I would recommend the following order of priority when it comes to Lands in Modern: - Fetchlands - Buddylands (M10/Innistrad-type dual lands) - Shocklands - Filterlands (Lowryn/Shadowmoor-type dual lands) - Fastlands (Scars of Mirrodin-type dual lands) - Manlands (Worldwake-type dual lands) - Utility lands (may be higher depending on deck) The thing to remember though is that you don’t need a playset of everything. For Fetchlands and Fastlands, you’ll generally want 4 of a specific type, but for Buddylands and Filterlands you’re usually fine with only a couple, and you’re often okay with only a single copy when it comes to Shocklands. If you’re building a manabase for a Jund-colored deck for example, you don’t need to go: 4x Blood Crypt 4x Dragonskull Summit 4x Overgrown Tomb 4x Rootbound Crag 4x Stomping Ground 4x Verdant Catacombs You’ll end up killing yourself with all the Shocklands anyway. You’re perfectly fine with something like: 1x Blood Crypt 3x Dragonskull Summit 1x Fire-Lit Thicket 1x Forest 1x Graven Cairns 4x Mountain 1x Overgrown Tomb 2x Rootbound Crag 1x Stomping Ground 2x Swamp 2x Twilight Mire 4x Verdant Catacombs 1x Woodland Cemetary Even then, you could budget-it-up further without too much problem. And obviously, if you go with a dual or mono-colored deck, the price of your manabase can go way down. It also depends on how you want to tackle the format, if you want to build a single deck and move from there, building an effective manabase shouldn't be too pricy. If you want to build your collection in such a way that you can play whatever you want... we're talking about a bigger investment.
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Post by grumpyoldgamer on Mar 24, 2012 6:34:17 GMT -5
I decided to take a look at prices for Lands, and here's what I got according to MtGOTraders/Marlon MtGO:
Fetchlands: - Arid Mesa 3.89 - Marsh Flats 3.98 - Misty Rainforest 3.56 - Scalding Tarn 6.24 - Verdant Catacombs 2.60
Buddylands (M10-12) - Dragonskull Summit 0.94 - Drowned Catacomb 2.38 - Glacial Fortress 1.88 - Rootbound Crag 1.27 - Sunpetal Grove 1.16
Buddylands (Innistrad) - Clifftop Retreat 1.75 - Hinterland Harbor 1.35 - Isolated Chapel 2.79 - Sulfur Falls 1.86 - Woodland Cemetary 1.36
Shocklands - Blood Crypt 18.53 - Breeding Pool 14.45 - Godless Shrine 14.68 - Hallowed Fountain 35.00 - Overgrown Tomb 9.45 - Sacred Foundry 7.73 - Steam Vents 22.32 - Stomping Ground 10.65 - Temple Garden 6.64 - Watery Grave 6.57
Filterlands - Cascade Bluffs 13.57 - Fetid Heath 8.39 - Fire-Lit Thicket 2.09 - Flooded Grove 1.92 - Graven Cairns 3.56 - Mystic Gate 3.30 - Rugged Prairie 2.78 - Sunken Ruins 2.77 - Twilight Mire 23.32 - Wooded Bastion 1.03
Fastlands - Blackcleave Cliffs 2.41 - Copperline Gorge 3.17 - Darkslick Shores 5.82 - Razorverge Thicket 1.92 - Seachrome Coast 6.38
Generally speaking, lands which provides W/U and U/R are the most expensive. A few lands like Fetid Heath and Twilight Mire are higher than they should because they go in some popular decks. Fastlands are also somewhat pricy because of Standard.
What I found interesting is that R/G, R/W and G/W lands are pretty affordable. So decks like Boros, Elves and Naya are a definite options. Looking at the other lands, decks like Melira Combo, Living End and Tokens have also fairly cheap multi-colored manabases.
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Post by yugular on Mar 24, 2012 7:20:52 GMT -5
Boros and Naya decks tend to be Aggressive decks in all formats usually. Maybe that is why Wooded Bastion for example is so cheap. Filterlands suck in aggro because you desperately need colored mana in t1 every time.
Good stuff Grumpy!
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Post by mikeyk159 on Mar 24, 2012 18:31:36 GMT -5
I agree with Yugular here. Most of the GW decks/Aggro decks in general don't play many of the duels in their decks. Zoo plays mostly 1 of each land in the tribal deck, and in naya, they only play maybe 8 instead of the full 12.
They also aren't very popular decks right now, which is also why they are possibly cheaper than most. The meliria deck's I've seen don't many duels at all.
Props to you grumpy. Very good price listing and modern guide in general IMO.
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Mr. Kris
Is Super Cool
Sexay Ma-chine
Posts: 198
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Post by Mr. Kris on Mar 29, 2012 15:42:46 GMT -5
Grumpy I'm a HUGE fan of Modern ( I have both a Pauper Modern and a Regular Modern and a budget Modern deck).
The one things I would say is Modern season ends in April, and most people try to dump cards they don't need gearing up for the new sets in the fall. If you feel like a gamble, wait.
That being said, if you're looking to get something playable fast vivid lands are a good substitute with the Ravnica Bounce lands.
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Post by grumpyoldgamer on Mar 29, 2012 17:42:56 GMT -5
I agree. Vivids may be a little slow but they provide great fixing. And from there someone can easily get his hands on Reflecting Pools. They are currently 3.27 tix/each online and obviously they go very well with the Vivids. Painlands (like Adarkar Wastes and Caves of Koilos) are also decent options. Most of the are no more than 1-1.3 tix. Grumpy I'm a HUGE fan of Modern ( I have both a Pauper Modern and a Regular Modern and a budget Modern deck). Aah! That makes two of us. What are you playing Kris?
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Mr. Kris
Is Super Cool
Sexay Ma-chine
Posts: 198
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Post by Mr. Kris on Mar 31, 2012 19:06:51 GMT -5
In paper I'm working on a home-brew that focuses on winning with Liliana's Caress and The Rack.
I recently saw a Loam/Burning Vengeance deck(and a BR Reanimator that's a bit out of budget) that looked like it could be a ton of fun, I dunno maybe I might try that out on-line someday.
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Post by kraus911 on Apr 5, 2012 1:15:47 GMT -5
I've been mostly playing casual when it comes to Modern. Kithkin Tribal, Goblin Tribal, some fun decks that have a decent win percentage in the casual room.
As far as competitive goes, I've been hemming and hawing over the expensive decks and decided to go with Living End. It's not the most competitive, but it's reasonably priced and has a line of play that I really like. Kind of different, kind of combo-ey, but pretty effective. If several people on this forum are trying out Modern, it'd be cool to talk about the decks we're using and how they're doing. Assuming you have me as a buddy on MTGO, hit me up for a Modern game whenever I'm on.
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Post by yugular on Apr 5, 2012 4:57:06 GMT -5
Btw! I do have one deck for modern! It's hilarious but bad.
Also I am looking into the possibility of perhaps building martyr of sands deck for modern. Would that work? Is it competitive decktype? I am also interested in fun/budget versions.
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Post by grumpyoldgamer on Apr 5, 2012 8:14:45 GMT -5
As far as competitive goes, I've been hemming and hawing over the expensive decks and decided to go with Living End. Living End is pretty solid right now, and a blast to play. And as you mentioned, it's pretty cheap to build. The deck feels like Dredge in other formats, or even like Red Deck Win. Right now, people are using Grafdigger's Cage as their main graveyard hate, which is great against Aggro Loam and Melira Pod, but does nothing against Living End. Thus it dodges a good chunk of hate, and prey on the fact that most decks have few answers to it. The deck is solid against most aggro decks, has several answers to Affinity with Ingot Chewer and Jund Charm, and the land destruction plan (Avalanche Riders, Fulminator Mage, Beast Within) is pretty good against Tron and other control build. It's weak against Storm, but not unwinnable with the correct sideboard and some luck. Also I am looking into the possibility of perhaps building martyr of sands deck for modern. Would that work? Is it competitive decktype? Oh yeah, it's good. You don't see it as much right not because people are playing with new toys, but it's still a competitive option. And you can build the deck in several different ways: hard aggro with Ajani's Pridemate, Ranger of Eos, Serra Ascendant, Squadron Hawk and Proclamation of Rebirth, or you can go into a more aggro-control, MWC-ish type deck with Day of Judgment/Wrath of God, Ghostly Prison and some token producers. Or you can even splash a second color for added value; you don't need to go mono-white. You have a lot of options when it comes to building this deck.
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ANZ
Raging Brainstorm
Posts: 90
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Post by ANZ on Apr 5, 2012 19:36:20 GMT -5
I'm currently building a modern deck. It's Death and Taxes. I don't think it's a super competitive deck, but it can win. I'm building it on paper, and Aether Vial might be the most expensive piece in my version. I've seen others running Mutavault, much more aggro oriented (i actually think thats better, but i have no cash for it).
I really like the modern format, its much more accessible than legacy, and way more interesting than standard. There are so many decks competing, so much unexplored space! Pauper's early days must have been like this. Of course, innovation still rewards, but as the format develops, it tends to narrow too.
Sucks it still hurts my wallet tough.
EDIT: Forgot to mention, D&T is super fun to pilot too.
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Post by yugular on Apr 6, 2012 16:22:25 GMT -5
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Post by grumpyoldgamer on Apr 6, 2012 20:02:25 GMT -5
I really like the modern format, its much more accessible than legacy, and way more interesting than standard. There are so many decks competing, so much unexplored space! I agree. The format's great, especially for those who like to brew. Do you have your list for D&T? Some people on the forums are showing an interest in the format, and budget friendly decks are a great place to start. An interesting article, though the comments from Alan Warnock and Simon Carmichael at the bottom throws a bit of a monkey wrench in the whole thing. Personally, I'm not a big fan of CML's actual list: some of the numbers are a little odd, and there are some omissions which I do not agree with, whether in the maindeck or in the sideboard. You cannot hybridize every deck. We're not talking about adding a two card combo to a different archetype for example, we're talking about building a deck which tries to support both the 'Soul Sister' strategy and the 'Martyr Proc' strategy. I'm not convinced that it can actually work. That particular list, at least, does not make me a believer.
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Post by yugular on Apr 7, 2012 1:10:28 GMT -5
I will make an own thread for the Martyr deck in the near future. I am pretty sure I will build it when my financial situation is better. I just bought a car (9K€) and all big bills like property tax, car tax, insurances etc hit in the beginning of the year which means less money for hobbies.
That particular list isn't what I am looking either.
How would you feel running one or two Ajani in the deck? Or is Elspeth just better? Also I have been thinking if I should try Felidar Sovereign as a one-of in the deck, as it seems that the deck goes easily to 40 life and resolving Felidar Sovereign either wins the game outright or forces the opponent to play "a mini game" where he is forced to remove it or mess my lifetotals.
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