One more Modern RCQ coming up at E4 Games, so time for at least one more article on a good Modern budget deck to build.
And let me say, I have been playing this game a long, long time. Longer than most of you may have been alive. So long that some of the kids I used to play with are grandparents now. And I have never, ever, seen a Constructed format so diverse with so many good decks as Modern right now. There are anywhere between six and ten decks one could consider Tier 1, and even the lower-tiered stuff, like my beloved Living End, can and does win on occasion.
That lack of a clearly dominant deck makes for one of the more vibrant and entertaining formats I can remember. It can also make for an expensive one—but, as I hope I’ve demonstrated, you can still have a competitive deck in this format without dropping major cash for Ugin’s Labyrinth or Ocelot Prides.
Which leads us to our current selection: Broodscale Combo. And unlike most combo decks of recent memory, it’s not hard to build.
The Combo
Like the best combos, this one revolves around two cards:
- Basking Broodscale, a seemingly unassuming common from Modern Horizons 3
- Blade of the Bloodchief, a Vampire-centric equipment from Zendikar
The loop is as follows:
- Cast Broodscale
- Equip with Blade of the Bloodchief
- Use Broodscale’s adapt ability or sacrifice another creature to trigger the Blade’s ability, putting a +1/+1 counter on Broodscale
That creates an Eldrazi Spawn token, which can be sacrificed for a colorless mana… which triggers another counter, another Spawn, and so on. You now have infinite colorless mana.
Win Conditions
And what do you do with infinite colorless mana? Back in my day, it would be Fireball to the dome. In this deck, it’s more like a Walking Ballista.
You can fetch it with Kozilek’s Command (infinite mana lets you scry your entire deck), or just tutor it with Urza’s Saga—the most expensive card in the deck, and yes, you do need four.
Saga also lets you run a small toolbox of one-drops like:
- Vexing Bauble (to stop free spells)
- Haywire Mite (to answer artifacts/enchantments)
- Soul-Guide Lantern (to hate on graveyards)
Other good options: Mox Opal, Springleaf Drum, and Pithing Needle.
Backup Plans
What if the combo gets broken up?
- The Saga “make a bunch of Constructs and beat down” plan is solid.
- Glaring Fleshraker gives you another infinite kill by sacrificing Spawns.
- Or just cast Emrakul, The Promised End or Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger.
Sample Decklists
Mono-Green Bloodscale
4 Blade of the Bloodchief
4 Mishra's Bauble
1 Mox Opal
1 Soul-Guide Lantern
1 Springleaf Drum
4 Basking Broodscale
2 Emrakul, the Promised End
4 Glaring Fleshraker
1 Haywire Mite
4 Walking Ballista
4 Kozilek's Command
2 Boseiju, Who Endures
4 Eldrazi Temple
3 Forest
3 Grove of the Burnwillows
4 Prismatic Vista
4 Urza's Saga
1 Wastes
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Malevolent Rumble
1 Traverse the Ulvenwald
Sideboard:
2 Cavern of Souls
2 Dismember
1 Gemstone Caverns
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Pithing Needle
2 Soulless Jailer
3 Thief of Existence
3 Vexing BaubleR/G Broodscale
4 Blade of the Bloodchief
1 Soul-Guide Lantern
1 Springleaf Drum
1 Vexing Bauble
4 Basking Broodscale
2 Emrakul, the Promised End
4 Glaring Fleshraker
1 Haywire Mite
4 Walking Ballista
4 Writhing Chrysalis
4 Kozilek's Command
2 Boseiju, Who Endures
2 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
2 Forest
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Stomping Ground
4 Urza's Saga
3 Wooded Foothills
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Malevolent Rumble
Sideboard:
2 Damping Sphere
2 Dismember
1 Gemstone Caverns
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Nature's Claim
1 Pithing Needle
3 Pyroclasm
3 Thief of Existence
1 Vexing BaubleFinal Thoughts
Between the two versions, I lean toward R/G. Mono-Green gives you better, smoother mana, but red gives you access to Writhing Chrysalis—yet another win condition and mana sink. Plus, Pyroclasm and Meltdown shore up matchups in the sideboard.
Like all combo decks, this one rewards reps. Even simple loops can have surprising nuance—and once you’ve got it down, who doesn’t love a good turn-three kill?