r/Magicdeckbuilding

I built an all-elf combo deck on just a $50 budget and it kicks all kinds of ass:

https://moxfield.com/decks/CcKHjeUqOkmYnAaVPq4Uag

[[Thranduil, the Elvenking]] makes for an awesome intro to combos for newer players and makes for a different kind of elf deck than the elfball or aggro decks we've all played against before. I like this one for a different approach and a different deck in my collection.

And I want to give a copy of the WHOLE DECK away! You can check out the details in the deck's full deck tech over on my channel, but this one's a freebie, on me. Check it out now:

https://youtu.be/IXjTo7Ou3GQ?si=pHP-mqi3YMDQyGy0

Hello again!

I've already built this one, so this is less "help me finetune this before I build" and more "tell me how stupid I was for putting THAT card in the 99".

My commander is [[Ivy, Gleeful Spelltheif]]. The game plan is to make either nonlegendary token copies of Ivy using things like [[quantum misalignment]] or get rid of the legend rule using cards like [[mirror box]]. each time we do this, instead of making one copy, we will double the amount of Ivys on the board. Then, we start pumping 1-2 cost sorceries like [[pym particles]] to net a card for each Ivy.

wincons include [[verated rotpriest]], [[overprotect]], [[shadowrift]], [[rite of replication]], [[ancestral mask]], and [[laboratory maniac]].

https://archidekt.com/decks/25571466/ill\_have\_what\_shes\_having

My regular playgroup has had an ongoing disagreement about the power level of some of my decks, and I’d like some outside opinions.

One of my friends feels my decks are generally stronger “card for card.” The decks he has complained about recently are Thorin, King of Durin’s Folk, Lord of the Nazgûl, Edward Kenway, and Molecule Man.

The part that makes me unsure is that he isn't playing low-power decks himself. He proxies lists he finds online and specifically looks for Bracket 4 decks because he has been losing fairly often. Some of his commanders include Kaalia of the Vast, Sauron the Dark Lord, Esika/The Prismatic Bridge, Gargos, Vicious Watcher, and Ulalek, Fused Atrocity. He looks on Moxfield, though I know a deck being labeled Bracket 4 there doesn't necessarily mean it's actually optimized to the level Wizards describes for B4.

For some context:
-Our recent games have been either 1v1 or a 3 pod.
-My group is big on proxies. This game is way too expensive.
-Thorin is Dwarf tribal with Treasure synergy and a small Equipment package. Nazgûl is copy/spellslinger, Kenway is Pirates/Vehicles, Molecule Man is Eldrazi/artifact Miracles, and Sentry is Voltron with copy/blink and pillowfort subthemes.
-I'm aware of the huge ceiling Molecule Man has.
-My Lord of the Nazgûl deck is 1-2 overall and 1-1 against him. (the one win was a 1v1)
-Thorin beat him once in a 1v1 and won a 3 pod game.
-He recently built an Ulalek, Fused Atrocity Eldrazi deck and thought Molecule Man was stronger after another very experienced player said the same. We played them twice afterward and he won both games.
-Most of my decks have pretty normal win/loss records. I do own a few genuinely stronger decks, but I don't play them often and I'm not including them here.

I build my own decks and focus on synergy/theme rather than just putting the strongest staples possible into every list. He generally finds completed lists online and proxies them.
What I'm mainly trying to figure out is:

1. Are these decks actually stronger than I'm giving them credit for?
2. Is the individual card quality unusually high, or are they mostly just very synergistic?
3. Would you consider any of them inappropriate against typical Bracket 3/high-power casual decks?
4. If his decks are genuinely optimized/B4 lists, would you expect a meaningful power disparity between his decks and mine?

I'm not looking for validation that either of us is right. If I'm unknowingly overtuning my decks, tell me. I’d rather have people actually look at the lists and point out where the discrepancy is. I can provide some of his lists if asked.
Decklists:
([Thorin, King of Durin’s Folk])

([Lord of the Nazgûl])

([Edward Kenway])

([Molecule Man])

([The Sentry, Golden Guardian])

Hi, I'm not a very experienced deckbuilder, and I have found too many nice cards in my [[Hamza, Guardian of Arashin]] +1/+1 deck (https://moxfield.com/decks/X5pKAx5pAEC6mfVxP6kp4Q). I'm wondering which are the less useful cards that I should cut. Thanks for any advice!

I've had this Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit and Sam, Loyal Attendant deck together for a long time now and I've played hundreds of games with it. Archidekt list is here: https://archidekt.com/decks/25155334/frodo_sam_the_hobbit_updates

Honestly nothing in it is underperforming in a way I can point at. The deck does what it wants to do. The problem is that when I sit down with stronger decks it just runs out of gas a turn or two before the game is decided. I'd call it a high Bracket 2 or low Bracket 3 right now, though I could be wrong about that since I don't have a great read on where the line actually falls.

Two things I'm after. First, general consistency at that 2/3 line. I suspect the mana and the ramp package are doing more damage than the spell quality is, but I'm guessing. Second, a sideboard style swap list of about 10 to 15 cards that would push it to a solid Bracket 3 for store nights, so I can slot them in when the table is stronger and take them out for casual games.

I have not decided a budget yet. I don't really know my local meta well enough to build against it, which is part of why I want the swap list instead of just rebuilding.

I'm open to cutting almost anything. The stuff I'd want to keep is the feel of it, the way the commanders play off each other and how the food and lifegain pieces tie together. Cards I already half suspect are the weakest:

Motivated Pony, Prize Pig, Shire Shirriff, Access Tunnel

Tell me if I'm wrong about those too.

I am trying to make this commander viable in bracket 3ish casual. Any upgrades or critiques are welcome!

https://moxfield.com/decks/ZHSounZtAEmFRXp4kuMG3w

Edit: switched to a link so people aren’t just looking at a wall of text 😂

Hi everyone, I was looking for some feedback on my Killian build. I'm finding it difficult to balance the auras, goad, and interactions. What do you think? Thanks in advance for any replies.

https://moxfield.com/decks/V2jpXHTc0k2xPsAXzP2dFw

I currently have 104 cards and 38 lands for my Great Goblin deck. I am debating just cutting a couple lands since the majority of the creatures are cheap?

Am I wrong?

What else do I cut?

*edit forgot to add the link for decklist
https://archidekt.com/decks/24580590/for_the_greater_goblin_good

What do you think of my deck? What would you improve? It’s a budget deck—it shouldn't cost more than €100. This is one of the first decks I’ve built almost entirely on my own; I only had a little help from a friend.

https://moxfield.com/decks/2JOfQgGJcEGQriTVoUzJrQ

So I’m planning on some generic upgrades to my Ashaya deck. It has some holes so I want to do a bit of patchwork or upgrades to make it a bit more streamlined

I don’t really have money to shell out $15+ dollar cards, especially if they aren’t deck specific. I’m already pushing it with $5-7 dollar cards, just for this deck. So no Mana Vault, Moxes or Worldly Tutor etc.

Anyways here are the changes

\[\[Magus of the Order\]\] -> \[\[Summoner’s Pact\]\]. An attempt to make a bit faster tutor.

\[\[Arboreal Grazer\]\] -> \[\[Wild Growth\]\]. Switching for more consistency. Not a 100% sure on the switch since Grazer becomes a land anyways with Ashaya.

\[\[Seedship Agarian\]\] -> \[\[Stone-Seeder Hierophant\]\]. A bit faster, the old one got more value over time but I’m trying to speed the deck up.

\[\[Crystalline Armor\]\] -> \[\[Song of Dryads\]\] More Removal!

\[\[Ugin Spirit Dragon\]\] -> \[\[Helix Pinnacle\]\]. Infinite Mana sink

\[\[All Fates Scroll\]\] -> \[\[Nature’s Rhythm\]\]. Another tutor

Now some of my tough changes

I want to change out \[\[Rampaging Baloths\]\] with a better creature producer. I’m split between \[\[Sapling Nursery\]\] and \[\[Scute Swarm\]\]. Scute Swarm is obviously much stronger but it costs $6 dollars more than the former, so is that 6 dollars worth it if I am on a budget? Remember I’m really stretching my money.

I also want to add \[\[Elvish Spirit Guide\]\], \[\[Crop Rotation\]\] and \[\[Kodama of the East Tree\]\] but only have a card left I M willing to cut, which is \[\[Manascape Refractor\]\].

As always if I don’t like a change it likely is that I want to keep it! After all, this is my pet deck and it being a goodstuff soup without me some of the cool cards would make it less fun to play.

https://moxfield.com/decks/ixqgAdSRinGL83d05EjXZA