Old School Budget – Part 1

NOTA DEL AUTOR: Si quieres encontrar este artículo en castellano, lo tienes en este enlace:

https://showandtellmtg.com/articulos/old-school/944-old-school-barato

Hello to all! I am new on writing on this page. My name is Diliz (@diliz13 on twitter) and from today I am going to write about Old School for you. Before we start, I want to say a thing or two about me. First of all, I am new on this page but no new to writing. I have written a few articles in Spanish that can be found here:

https://showandtellmtg.com/component/contact/contact/30?Itemid=107

Second, you have to know that English is not my second language: is my third. So I want to apologize from the beginning if something is wrong written or badly expressed. And last, this article series is gonna alternate between new articles (written in both languages) and old articles that I’m gonna translate to English. The original Spanish can be found in the link above.

This is one of the las type. Is an article I used for introducing Old School to the people willing to play the format but hasn’t got much budget (like all of us). To make this possible, I am going to put here one deck of each color, but with certain conditions:

1. Budget means no Pack, no Bazaar of Bagdad and no Library of Alexandria.
2. I’ll try no to put very expensive cards but there sure will be cards up to 30€ (this is reserved list).
3. If I want a Chronicles Erhnam djinn, it will be 50 cents. If I want Arabian Nights one, it will by 500 bucks. So like every format, budget adjusts on how much you pimp your deck.
4. The main idea is to put some top 8 decks and to cut the expensive cards to make a good deck affordable.
5. The decks are EC (Eternal Central) format as is what we play in Madrid. Moreso, four strip mines make aggro better, and Fallen Empires has some decent creatures.

The great thing about this format we love, is that this writings and the decks never get Old (see what I did here?) so we can rewrite this series and they are totally “actual”. After this long introduction, we are ready to welcome the action! The first color is green.

MONOGREEN

Green is the color of mana accelerants and all the doping stuff. It has a lot of small great creatures, and disenchant effects. In this color is our friend Erhnam djinn too, one of the biggest threats of the formats. With his 5 ass is very difficult to kill without Swords, they will need two bolts for sure. And in the case they were thinking about blocking our little critters, we have the two best doping spells in the format: Giant growth and Berserk, not counting Pendelhaven.

This top 8 deck is very fun to play, it works as a land destruction deck. With Strip mines and 4 Ice storm, it has 4 Nafs asp that taxes mana too. If all of this does not work, you always can play the aggro style, with a lot of creatures (Mishras included) and the Growths to finish before the opponent can do anything.

Is very easy to make this deck pocket friendly. To start, we have to put 3 more Strip mines in, because it was a Swedish top 8 and they play with a single Strip. The cards coming out, are the expensive ones: Mox emerald and Berserks. If you still have gaps, you can put in a pair of Erhnam for the matches that go long. Is a great deck that puts up results consistently and is very fun to play.

MONORED

Instead of making the typical Sligh deck with a lot of artifacts, we are working with oldest tribe in magic: Goblins. Before existing in Legacy, Historic or Standard, this deck started with the first Lord (Goblin King) in Alpha. The two cards you don’t see in the photo are two shatters. This deck is a true budget, from a player of our Liga El Norte no Olvida (North Remembers) that does not have money and is buying in expensive cards from month to month and little by little. That’s why there is only a Blood moon and the vast majority of the deck is white bordered.

Setting creatures aside, this deck has best bolts in the format: Lightning bolt and Chain lightning to deal with blockers and Fireball as a finisher. The idea is simple: start dealing damage with our little goblins (the best is Goblin balloon brigade, because of the evasion) and to finish with the bolts.

If we want to control opponents creatures, we can put Meekstone in. It won’t affect our critters and our opponents are going to suffer because they habitually would play strong creatures. It sure is not going to be the first time a tapped Serendib kills his owner on his upkeep. We can meke this deck even more aggressive with more direct damage as Goblin grenade or creatures as Ball lightning, but the first thing I will buy to make this deck even better is to buy another Blood moon or two. If the card is played in Modern or Legacy, here is much better with all the duals played, it can be game if you play it soon enough.

MONOBLUE

The best of playing blue in this format (above the P9) is the counters. And of course, we have one of the best creatures in the form of Serendib efreet, wich you can have a Revised playset for 40€. If we want to go budget with monoblue, all we have to do is play another well-known tribe: Merfolks. This deck won the Liga Ilicitana:

As you can see, it´s playing all the Power 9 pieces he can, and a Chaos Orb too. They make a difference, but we are talking about budget and the best thing you can do is take them out and play more counters. Change the Mox and the Lotus for mana, and put in more Counterspell and /or Force spike. I think Force spike is a very underestimated card that works well in tempo or fast creature decks, and this deck fits into this definition. As you can see, this deck has answers for everything and is very fun to play.

This is all for today, folks! Next day I’ll talk about the two missing colors, that I think they are the best. Every month White weenie and MonoBlack put great results on all the Spanish monthly leagues.

Funniest thing making this article, has been founding that each deck (and each color) has a different approach to the game, and the way they win and interact with the opponent. I hope you liked this article as much as I liked writing it. I apologize again for my bad English and remember, if you want to say anything (how good/how bad has been this, new article ideas or simply say “hi”) I am @diliz13 on Twitter. May the Black Border be with you!

12 months, 12 decks (II): Atog Weenie

Atog Weenie

 

Introduction

Hi, folks old school! Here we are again with the challenge #12months12decks, if you need to refresh your memory or know what this is about click here

Ornithopter is one of those cards to which we all love in one way or another, it’s an iconic card from old times, although it didn’t see much play in the time of Revised. When Mirrodin was published, we did realize its true potential, expansion where «Affinity» emerged, the terrifying deck of artifacts… days in which we knew that after Ornithopter will came a Cranial Plating, a play with which still I have nightmares.
The idea of the deck was born because I wanted to play Ornithopter in Old School, his affinity with Atog is more than obvious, but by itself it’s not very dangerous, until you play a Blood Lust, and the opponent begins to look at him with a little more of respect, but let’s not get ahead, let’s start by seeing the deck, I played a similar list on the last day of the league with which I was ninth:

Atog Weenie 2.0

DISCUSSION

• Why call the deck «weenie» and not «sligh«? Well, when I first thought about the deck I had seen quite a few decklists that combined Atog with Black Vise, Su-Chi or Ankh of Mishra, or with other creatures that weren’t artifacts, such as Serendib Efreet or Savannah Lions, but none played small creatures artifact and that’s what I based on to design it, in an army of low-cost creatures that were scratching the life of the opponent and when they were no longer useful were food for Atog, thus fulfilling a double function, that’s why it comes closer to the concept of «weenie»
• Like White Weenie or Black Weenie, it’s based on low-cost creatures and some disruption and in some way pump them. The best artifact creature of cost 1 in Old School is Brass Man, that was an easy choice. For a mana we have a 1/3 that if you want to untap it, you have to pay one colorless mana in upkeep, and if we can’t untap it, it will be food for Atog. He is able to stop Savannah Lions, Mishra Factory or Black Knight, not bad. Ornithopter is another artifact that we should include, by itself it’s no big deal, it enters free, flies and is a blocker of Hypnotic Specter, Serendib or Serra Angel, apart from being food for Atog, but combined with Blood Lust becomes more dangerous. Atog is our best creature, our «finisher», the bad thing is that it’s red and Circle of Protection: Red (from now on COP: Red) is played a lot.
• Battering Ram: I know it’s one of the most controversial cards in the deck, but then I explain the reasons why I included this card that is never played (unless you are playing a cube). As I said before, the concept of the deck is based on the «weenie concept», and in Old School Battering Ram is the only creature artifact of cost 2, we have the Ornithopter of cost 0, Brass Man of cost 1, the next in the list is Battering Ram, if wego to the next one on the list (cost 3) we have Onulet, Dragon Engine, Yotian Soldier … but the mana curve soar and in a 4-Strip Mine format and unpowered if the curve is high we run the risk of not being able to play them for to get stuck -and they would become dead cards in hand- hence playing Battering Ram, because we’ll be able to cast it on most occasions, it also has other advantages, its ability to win banding in the pre-combat phase is quite useful because we can attack with Atog and protect him if we see an unfavorable situation at the battlefield, and I already tell you that the two in attack will become virtually 2/3 which, in practice, will be almost unblockable, because if they block them all the damage will go to Battering Ram and we will save the Atog. Then there’s his second ability that if we find a wall, no matter how big, it will fall. And another reason to play it’s that there’s nothing more epic than winning a game by hitting with Battering Ram, I assure you.
• Ankh of Mishra and Copper Tablet: normally all Atog decks play with 4 Ankh of Mishra and occasionally some Copper Tablet, there’s no need to explain their power, starting T1 with Black Vise and T2 Ankh is almost a «prison style». I designed the deck with a ratio of 3 + 1 respectively. I decided on this combination because the Ankh of Mishra at an advanced game loses power, but the Copper Tablet, on the other hand, at an advanced game is good enough to scratch those points of life that resist us; I always want to see an Ankh in my opening hand and the Copper at late game, I even won a game thanks to Copper Tablet.
• I think that without Blood Lust the Ornithopter would be worse. A typical start for this deck is T1 Mishra, Brass Man and Ornithopter, T2 Mountain and attack with Brass Man and the Ornithopter plus Blood Lust, which takes 5 lifes points. Logically, in the second game it’s more difficult to do this because the opponent is already prevented.
• The red color isn’t famous for its ability to draw cards, so the only card we have to draw is Wheel of Fortune, amazing card, in this deck is decisive, as you have several Black Vise on the battlefield and get to solve the Wheel It can be very painful for the opponent.
• Balance is undoubtedly another of our MVPs, I played it as the only white card in main (you can also play in the sideboard), and it’s one of the few cards we have to confront big creatures such as Serra Angel, Juzam Djinn, Shivan Dragon etc. . It may seem incongruous to play it in the same deck along with Black Vise, for its enormous discarding power, but being so versatile we can have both in the main. As we also put many creatures on the battlefield we can do the trick of feeding Atog in response to Balance being resolved and it will surely be larger than the creature chosen by the opponent (unless it’s a Colossus of Sardia).
• We have 20 mana sources plus 4 Strip Mines, having so much artifact we can put the 8 colorless lands. Mishra`s Factory is essential and combines well with Atog, being the second best creature in the deck. We have 6 sources that give white to play our sideboard, and with that amount I have managed well, I have not missed the white color in any game.
• Obviously, one of our worst pairings is The Deck, which has a lot of cards against us: Moat, Swords to Plowshares, Lightning Bolt, Blue Elemental Blast, Disenchant, etc … but which decks are going well against The Deck? Few, of course. Nor do we like decks with big creatures like Erhnangeddon, or Workshops decks. Triskelion is our public enemy number 1, it will clean the battlefield as if it were an Wrath of God. Energy Flux is another of our worst nightmares, we want to have Red Elemental Blast at hand, or Disenchant. Sedge Troll will also put us in trouble as we only have Balance to get rid of. Of course, COP: Red, we’ll have to destroy as soon as we can.
  Dust to Dust being a sorcery won’t be so scary to answer if we have Atog (And maybe it’s the opponent who has to exile his artifacts). We like the decks that runs Serendib Efreet because, although they do a lot of damage from above, we can play the race to see who does more damage. Monoblack, unless you get an early Juzam down, it can be a good pairing since with our removal we kill half an army.
• Our star card on the sideboard is undoubtedly Disenchant, essential. It’s the reason why I play with white and not with another color, it will help us break COP: Red, Moat, Tetravus, Energy Flux, etc., the list is long. The second best option is Red Elemental Blast, as it helps you fight Counterspell, Energy Flux, Serendib, etc. Then the rest is a matter of the local metagame, Winter Orb against control, City in a Bottle, Swords, Meekstone…
• As possible cards to include we have Jalum Tome, which is an artifact and draw engine. Orcish Mechanics also seems good option but it takes away artifacts that might come in handy for the Atog. Aeolipile is more direct damage than skips COP: Red. Aladdin, although the bad thing is its cost 4 that is high in the mana curve. We could even play Tawno´s Weaponry because it’s an cheap artifact and would give Ornithopter a plus.
• I think the splash to white is important, with blue you gain P9 and Serendib, with black Demonic Tutor and Gloom, with green Sylvan Library and Regrowth, but with white you gain Balance and Disenchant that for as it’s thought the deck seems to me better, Disenchant are critical against many strategies. Maybe with black you can make a good deck, but Gloom aren’t as decisive as the Disenchant. Monored I don’t see it effective enough because if opponent plays a COP: Red you won’t be able to do practically anything.

Atog & Friends

Conclusion

That’s all for today! With this deck we give a twist to the classic Atog deck (and budget-friendly). Thank you for reading and we’re waiting for you next month with a new post of #12months12decks I hope you liked it. You can follow the hashtag on Instagram and I would love to hear your impressions through the comments or on my Instagram account: @retroplayermtg
Until next time!

Deck Tech: Erhnamgeddon Budget

By: Carlos Piélago

INTRODUCTION

I start this series of deck tech with a brief explanation of the reasons that have taken to do it.

Like many of those who are reading this article I started playing Magic in 1994, with the arrival of Revised Edition in Spain; at that time I did not know the existence of Unlimited, Beta, Legends, etc, I only knew of the existence of an expansion called “The Dark” because I had seen some purple booster packs in local stores (which I would have loved to open, but I only got it with those who were in Italian, from L’Oscuritá).

Recently, two years ago, when I met Old school I was fascinated with the format and I was amazed when I played all the cards I had saved in a shoe box. But I soon realized that the cards I had never seen in my time, and that I only knew through price lists and photos in old magazines, they were too powerful: Black Lotus, moxes, Time Twitter, Ancestral Recall , Time Walk, and some more, make the difference in OS.

For a moment you may think I was frustrated, but it was not like that. Thanks to the LMOS policy of full proxies and, above all, that OS is a casual format in which you can play your Thallids deck without anyone laughing in your face and in which creativity is rewarded. OS a more than friendly format.

I’ve played two leagues with proxies and I´ve tried many of the strategies with the full P9, but I soon realized that in many «big» tournaments they were not allowed, and here I started to have a dilemma, I asked myself: » Why play with cards that I know I’ll never have? «

Whenever I have gone to these tournaments that I referred to earlier, my decks have been unpowered and this has forced me to «explore» the possibilities and different strategies in those that the decks without P9 could be really competitive, and I discovered that they were not few, and they could give quite a game.

My idea when making this series of Deck techs is not to make a top, but to deepen these strategies, to discover even more feasible strategies, to make known those that are not so well known and to help those who want to play the format without having to resort to lotuses and moxes or even to anyone who wants to start and try some of them.

For me is a challenge, almost an experiment, to see if you can really play (be a bit competitive) in Old School with this type of decks, the unpowered decks that have been top in different tournaments corroborate this, but I It seems interesting that we talk and talk about this. Let’s explore this possibility together.

 

DECK TECH ERHNAMGEDDON UNPOWERED

Hi Old school players! Today we are going to talk about a deck that is a classic, we are not going to discover gunpowder now, it has been a competitive deck since the beginning of the game, but it is not the objective of this series of deck techs to discover new things, if not to delve into the strategies that can be played in an OS tournament without the need to use the P9, because it is a deck that sees a table frequently, but almost always full of P9.

Today we bring you Erhnamgeddon.

Maindeck:

CREATURES

4X Llanowar Elves:

Essential for the strategy, we need to start the game with an accelerator, be it elves or birds, or the Sol Ring, or even a Land tax depending on the situation. They provide us with the necessary acceleration and attack the advanced game from an advanced one.

4X Birds of Paradise:

Along with the Llanowar elves are those that give us acceleration and over any color for when we need double white. They will also serve as a last resort to block large flying creatures such as Serra Angel or Serendib efreet.

4X Erhnam Djinn:

An obvious choice, since the deck bears his name. It is our biggest creature, its resistance 5 is very important in a format like OS and many times it will force the opponent to make himself a 2×1 to be able to kill this djinn, sacrificing blocking creature and spark, or spending two sparks at the same time ; In addition, if we manage to cast an Armageddon his «handicap» in the form of a forestwalk will no longer matter to us.

3X Serra Angel:

A whole classic. Necessary when our opponent plays Moat, a transatlantic that goes up and defends at the same time, the only downside is that it dies easier than the Erhnam or Jasmine, since it will be in the spotlight of the opponent’s Psionic blast.

1X Jasmine Boreal:

It is our «fifth djinn» and it works very well as such. For only one more white mana we have a creature with strength and resistance equal to that of Erhnam Djinn and above without any handicap that, at times, can mean a defeat when one of the opponent’s creatures has a forestwalk.

REMOVAL

4X Disenchant:

The white color has the two best removal of the format, and in an unpowered deck like this you have to put 4 of each. This affordable instant for all budgets will clear the table of such dangerous annoyances as The abyss, Moat, Underground dreams, or Sylvan library, etc., and a long list of artifacts and creature artifacts.

4X Swords to Plowshares:

If you ask me what is the best removal of creatures from Magic I would say without hesitation that this. For only one white mana at instantaneous speed will liquidate any creature (only the black knights are saved) no matter how big, with a handicap that will always be worth it, and more in this deck that we take the lives of 4 in 4. Only it is dispensable against decks that do not play creatures, although they are the least.

1X Balance:

The MVP of white color, essential in any strategy that plays white. It is true that in this deck many creatures are played and sometimes it is not convenient to play it, but if you sweep the table for any reason it will be one of the cards that can help you balance the game again. Also, as a discarder it is brutal.

1X Dust to Dust:

A card that I like to put at least one copy of the main because of the huge amount of artifacts that are played in the format. But, in addition, it links very well with the strategy we want to follow, because you can use it against the mana generators, such as moxes, Sol ring or the Fellwar Stone of the opponent. It will give us a 2×1 and it will help us attack the mana base, which is very good for us when we play an Armageddon and the opponent can not rearm and get the necessary lock to smooth our way to victory.

3X Armageddon:

Our star card, if it is resolved with one of our monsters in the table the game will be decided in our favor from that moment. But we must be careful that the opponent does not have a creature of equal or greater size (we will have to use our swords) or, if not, the game can be equalized. That’s why I think cards as Dust to Dust or Disenchant are so important to attack the opponent’s mana base, especially the artifact-type accelerators, since if you have many, the opponent may have the opportunity to play a Wrath of God or different removal that would equal the game.

4X Strip Mine:

I put it in the removal section because at the time of designing a deck I almost never count it as a source of mana, but rather as a resource, because that is what it is. It will take the Library of Alexandria out of the way, or the Maze of Ith, or the Mishra’s Factory that are also annoying, and it will help to delay the opponent’s game, especially if we know how to play it in the previous turn. The Abyss, or a Moat, and if we get to play the next turn an Armageddon …

CANTRIP

2X Land Tax:

Combined with Armageddon it works very well, because if we leave the opponent without land it is very possible that we have several of our own in hand thanks to this enchantment of cost one. In addition, it becomes a draw engine combined with the Sylvan Library, as we can see each turn three new cards thanks to its ability to shuffle the library with what will give us a really good card advantage.

1X Regrowth:

For only 2 manás it allows you to recycle any card from the graveyard, and we have many possible targets: Swords, Disenchant, Balance, Strip Mine, etc. Normal that is restricted: P

3X Sylvan Library:

By itself is good, the first draw you do with the Sylvan is always a luxury, and is possibly the best green card of OS, but if we combine it with Land Tax the advantage of cards is devastating, to see three new cards each turn gives a lot of advantage. We need 3 in the deck because it will always be a priority target of the Disenchants and Chaos Orb of the opponent and in this deck is the key card to have a similar advantage (which does not equal) to the best blue cards of draw.

MANA FONTS

2X Fellwar Stone:

A card used to the satiety and that is a useful resource, accessible, and necessary, for decks that don´t play the P9.

1X Sol Ring:

The second best accelerator of Magic, we always want to play in the first turn. Always useful will help us to cast an Erhnam Djinn of turn 2. It is one of the cards that everyone has in his deck because it is valid for all strategies. Little more to say.

1X Pendelhaven:

With one we have enough, being a legendary land and not having so many targets (only the Llanowar Elves) we don´t need to include more copies. Advanced game can be a good option to play an Armageddon with an elf on the table and then play this land and kill the opponent based on inflating our little elf.

MANA BASE

I don´t include any copy of the Mishra’s Factory because it doesn´t fit well with the philosophy of the deck, since they would be lost with an Armageddon or with the Winter orb, a card with which they do not combine anything well, especially if you do not have Relic Barrier or Icy Manipulator.

The Strip Mines go much better because with them we remove threats like LoA or Maze of Ith. I used to play with 3 but what I have seen is that the playset is necessary.

The Savannahs, which are the most expensive cards in the deck, are important to reduce the number of mulligans and to be able to start indifferently with Elves, Birds or Land Tax.

Then you have to include a sufficient amount of basic land to be able to look for them with the Land Tax and make it more effective, and to be immune to a Blood Moon.

SIDEBOARDING

The sideboard is always very relative and depends on your local metagame, I’m just going to talk about the reasons for my choices at the time of elaboration.

Spirit Link works very well against very aggressive decks, such as Goblins, Quicksilver or Monoblack, but if I play against Pink Weenie then I have to accompany them with a pair of Avoid Fate to counter Disenchant or Swords.

The Winter Orb are great against slow strategies and control or combo decks, like The deck, or Power artifact, etc. It slows down your game a lot. I played them before main but against fast decks they were not effective and I decided to leave them on the sideboard.

The Circle of Protection: Red alone can dismantle a strategy, against Goblins, Burn, Sligh, Power Surge, etc., they are a more serious threat and it stops them at once.

Dervishes against monoblack are great. It is always difficult to play against this deck, since the Hypnotic Specter of first turn or an early Juzam Djinn can do us a lot of damage if we do not have swords in hand and, according to what I have played, everything happens to be faster than them, and these bugs are perfect because they do not stop growing and the opponent can not stop them until to be able to activate a Disk or Chaos Orb, but for that we have Disenchant. They are also valid against strategies based on The abyss.

In my opinion you always have to take 2 Dust to Dust in the sideboard because there is always the possibility that you are against a deck based on artifacts, and this sorcery is a real machine of annihilation against them. It also goes very well against The Deck to exile the moxes or the Jayemdae Tome, and of that I am sure: you will ever find a The Deck in any metagame :

To finish a little review of other decks that I have seen before and that, in some way, inspired me to make my list and test it:

The first, the one posted by the user @oldschoolmtg in his Instagram account, which I recommend you follow because there is always post a lot of interesting information.
This was the deck that made me see that it was possible to play a deck like this in tournaments.

Then we have this deck, designed by Alejandro Martín and played in the tournament that held the Ilicitana League last year, one of the largest made so far in Spanish territory.

That’s all for today, thank you for reading, I’ll be happy to hear your opinion, through the comments of the blog, or on the Liga Madrileña Old School or, if you want, on my Instagram account.

Carlos Piélago
Follow me in: https://www.instagram.com/retroplayermtg/

Deck Tech: Monoblue Merfolks Budget

 

By: Luis Eguizábal

Many of you have asked us to do Decks-Techs of Budget Decks, which include some of the cards that we mentioned in the article of the best cards quality-price relation in Magic Old School.

I present my Monoblue Merfolks list which includes many of the mentioned cards:

Maindeck:

4x Flying Men

Very affordable in its edition of Time Spiral. An efficient Turn 1, which skips Moat, and can scratch 3 or 4 life points easily that can be definitive.

4x Triton of the Pearl Trident

Another Turn 1, that may seem weak but with Lord of Atlantis and Sunken City may be a problem for the opponent.

4x River Merfolk

For two mana hits two and it can also mountainwalk. If we have the help of the Lord of Atlantis, River Merfolk will have mountainwalk and islandwalk, which makes it almost impossible to block in this format.

4x Lord of Atlantis

One of the tech-cards of the deck. It inflates our merfolks and gives them evasion. Very accessible price in its version of the Fifth Edition (€ 15 playset).

4x Serendib Efreet

The best blue creature of the format. Although it is not a merfolk, it is essential to play it in any blue aggro deck.

4x Psionic Blast

The blue bolt. In addition to being our removal against big annoying creatures can serve to kill our opponent.

2x Control Magic

Two other cards that can serve as removal, and also hit our opponent with their own creatures (always a pleasure).

2x Sunken City

Underrated card that is practically a blue Crusade. It will be the perfect complement for the Lord of Atlantis to enlarge our creatures, including those that are not merfolk like Flying Men and Serendib Efeet. It is not advisable to play more than two copies, because it’s big defect is that it demands two blue mana each turn, but it’s very worth it.

3x Phantasmal Terrain

The Phantasmal Terrain has a double function: to help us with mana-denial blocking an specific color of our opponent and, on the other hand, to make our merfolks unblockable (when they have islandwalk) turning the opponent ‘s land into an island or a mountain (to make it unblockable River Merfolk).

2x Boomerang

As we don’t play Counterspell we don’t have the possibility of fight against a Moat, or a Juzám Djinn in the first turns. We can return to its owner hand with a Boomerang at the end of the turn, that gives us the necessary time to win. Other versions can play 4x Counterspell (without boomerang) but when I play aggro I like to be 100% aggressive.

1x Braingeyser

The best option to draw cards in Old School after Ancestral Recall, LoA, Timetwister and Wheel of Fortune. In the advanced game, Braingeyser can make us recover many cards in this deck that easily use all the cards in hand.

1x Recall

It allows us to recover what we want from the graveyard. Especially useful when we draw a lot of lands, and we can change those lands of the hand for useful cards from the graveyard as creatures or Psionic Blast.

1x Maze of Ith

Another card that can work as removal, especially useful against Juzám Djinn, or opponent’s Serendib Efreet. It also allows us to attack with all our little creatures, and our opponent blocks any of them, we can untap it and prevent all of the combat damage.

1x Sol Ring

The best budget mana accelerator, allows us to play a Serendib Efreet or a Control Magic on Turn 2. Awesome!

2x Mishra’s Factory

Very good against control, it’s a land, and also a creature, this mean that we have a total of 22 creatures in the deck (24 if we count the Magic Control). We cannot take more than two, because we need the 17 blue lands to make sure that we can play in turn 2 any card that requires a double blue mana cost.

4x Strip Mine

Destroy the opponent’s Mishras and allow us to do manna-denial, as we develop our game of small creatures. Destroy LoA and Maze of Ith. It is essential to play the four.

1x Tolaria

Enter on the battlefield untapped, so it counts as one more island. The ability to eliminate bands until end of turn is not extraordinarily useful, but is important to say that it survives a Tsunami. It is also beautiful and very cheap.

16x Island

Sideboard:

4x Psychic Purge

On tournaments where proxies aren’t allowed, the most played budget deck is usually monoblack. The psychic Purges are useful against Hymn to Tourach (doing 5 damage to the opponent), and destroy small creatures like: Order of the Hand Ebond, Order of Leighbur, Lions of Savannah, Pixies of Argoth, Elvish Archers …

4x Energy Flux

As blue is a color that has nothing to destroy the artifacts, Energy Flux is the best solution. In addition, we don’t play artifacts, and it will not affect us. We can annul the opponent’s moxen balancing the game a little against decks with P9.

3x Blue Elemental Blast

Perfect to counter the Red Elemental Blast, or opponent’s bolts that destroy virtually all of our creatures.

3x Nevinyrral’s Disk

Unfortunate, in some games, will be permanents that we cannot remove. Very big creatures like Erhnam Djinn, Juzám Djinn, or enchantments like Moat, or even worse, The Abyss. To destroy all of this and reset the game: Nevinyrral’s Disk

1x Black Vise

You can play a copy, or up to four copies on sideboard if you want. It will always be a problem for control decks, and it will help to scratch some points of damage.

 

Here is a summary of what is this Budget deck, which is not as competitive as a White Weenie or a Mono Black, but is very fun and perfect to start in format making a small spending because the total price of the deck is between € 120-150.