Howdy folks, kponce here with another installment of Budgety Modern and this week… you guessed it! Another taxes variant! This time it’s Spirits and Taxes.
It’s more of a tempo deck than a full on taxes deck, and harkens to Bant Spirits if you’re familiar with that build. Something to note: this column is Budgety modern, not Budget modern, so I apologize that this deck isn’t under 100 bucks. That being said, it is under 160 tix online! So get it while it’s hot! (and cheap)
Decklist
Creatures
4 Spell Queller
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Drogskol Captain
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Rattlechains
4 Selfless Spirit
2 Phantasmal Image
2 Reflector Mage
2 Geist of Saint Traft
Non-Creatures
Lands
4 Flooded Strand
4 Seachrome Coast
3 Hallowed Fountain
2 Moorland Haunt
1 Island
2 Plains
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Mutavault
Sideboard
2 Stony Silence
3 Relic of Progenitus
1 Declaration in Stone
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 Spreading Seas
1 Sunlance
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
2 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Kataki, War’s Wage
1 Blessed Alliance
Here’s the full video with a Deck Tech and 5 round Competitive League:
So we beat Abzan Midrange, Esper Control, and BG Midrange, but we lost to Bant Knightfall and Eldrazi and Taxes to go 3-2. Not bad. This deck preys on decks with lots of removal and a reactive plan because of the hexproof threats and Selfless Spirit giving the team indestructible, so I’m not surprised that we won those matches, but combo decks and decks that grind harder than our spirits can really be a problem. Thalia and our sideboard really help there, but we really need a good curve with the combo hate to close it out.
Special guest appearance by my friend Ryan in round 4 (against Esper) where he played guitar and I sung my plays. Super fun. Might have to do that again on the next stream! Definitely check that part out if you like music and magic mash ups. It starts at 01:24:15.
All in all, this deck is definitely a contender in the current modern environment and, well, spirits are pretty cool, so you should give this one a try. You won’t be disappointed.
Thanks for tuning in. Catch me Mon-Fri and sometimes on the weekend @ twitch.tv/kponcemtg or tweet to me @kaosofmind.
See ya next week!
