dknight27

I can see that, rainimator goes hand in hand with the delightful discard of the food mechanic. My concern with that would be that 2-3 targets without any way to throw targets in the grave from the deck makes for an unreliable combo

I'm assuming this is semi-budget casual, correct?

Some cards to consider:

[[Jori en, Ruin Diver]]
[[Ponder]]
[[Gitaxian Probe]]
[[Arcum's Astrolabe]]

The biggest thing to get out of the way is that this deck needs some focus. You've got the 'in the grave' theme, the four Mimics that get boosted by casting any spell in this build, and then some stuff that doesn't do anything in particular beyond be both green and black and some random thing. So, decide what you're trying to do, then you can start filling in the deck based on that idea.

I suspect you're just going for a 'green + black = good' thing, which isn't a bad idea, but would need lots of refining if that's the goal. Instead, maybe focus on the 'stuff in the grave' build instead? I'm here to help if you're at all interested. Not trying to throw shade, just helping a newer player work through the stuff that happens to all of us.

Are you going for casual modern here?

I'm always a fan of trying to work in one-drop cycle lands into builds like this, they synergize with everything. Wrenn and Six love them to death, Confidant gets them for free. Ragavan likes more mana rather than less, as does Questing Druid. Not sure where to fit them in though

Turn 2 [[Chalice of the Void]] seems like a GG in here.

The build as is has three major problems that I'm seeing: too much of a good thing, too slow, no spell diversity.

The theme/idea here is solid. I very much love the adventure cards, and have wanted to build a deck including Hearthflame Duelist for a while. It's my opinion that it's well worth the three-drop three damage to store material you can cast the next turn that's a conditional beatstick and gives your bolts lifelink. But you're not running four, you're running eight, which is kind of what I'm getting at here. Isochron perpetuates, so does Meletis Charlatan. Snap and the Sword do the same thing as well. Fifteen instants that burn and no other interaction whatsoever. All this deck does it hurl fire slowly, it's an inefficient burn deck.

As for speed, you've got a curve problem. Only four one-drops, activated abilities that eat mana like they're deep fried and cheap. Meletis, for example, needs to be fielded, wait a turn, then at a minimum eats four mana (bolts), but in reality eats five mana (every other burn spell) to do anything. Thus, it's a dead card till you field five lands, it's slow, and does nothing on its own. Thus, you're going to be casting one spell per turn for a while, then two at maximum till you hit seven lands.

I applaud the idea of repeated burn that also keeps you alive long enough to keep burning, but I think it would go much better with some spell diversity to lower the curve, move through the deck, and let you respond to things that aren't small critters. Isochron and snap both absolutely love [[Consider]], [[Counterspell]], [[Izzet Charm]], and [[Fire // Ice]], all of which work extremely well on their own anyway. Having a Counterpsell on isochron is a GG 90% of the time on its own, as you're doubling up on material compared to opponent unless they draw an out against artifacts and burn a card that you counter in the same turn.

In general, I'd consider throwing in [[Prismatic Ending]] for general removal, even though you can't Scepter it. Maybe also [[Miscast]], either maindecked or sided.

[[Muddle the Mixture]] is always a consideration for Isochron builds, as it is the best of both worlds. If you need to fetch a Scepter, its turns into a three-drop fetch sorcery. If you don't/can't afford it/have a Scepter, it's not a bad counter on its own and realistically isn't bad on a Scepter either. It's not as ideal as a Counterspell or burn card, but saying no to almost all removal and interaction on a stick isn't too bad.

I'm a huge fan of [[Bonecrusher Giant // Stomp]] in here (and in general). All the advantages you want, an extra win condition, guaranteed burn damage, combos with everything you've got. It even has stored tempo.

So basically what I'm getting at is cut the Charlatans, Grand Masters, Swords, and about half the burn and add in support that does other stuff but still lets you pull off what you're trying to pull off.

Just suggestions, not trying to sling hate.

I kinda like [[Plow Under]] more than Slime. Same cost, no 2/2 deathtouch, but a significant drop in tempo and effectively going -2 on top, which limits opponent to only cards in hand for 2 turns while you keep plowing ahead.

I realize this deck is 8 years old, but just for funzies, I think [[Heartflame Duelist]] would be a fun/good fit. I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that the adventure cards need to be reexamined for viability, cause some of them are quite attractive.

Seems like [[Unmarked Grave]] would fit extremely well in here, as you've got 10 cards that want to be in the grave.

Biggest problem I see in this build is the curve. Running 18 four-drops means this deck is always playing catchup, and you've got no one-drops at all, so responding to things will be even slower. I'd recommend cutting Bloodline Keeper for Skrelv's Hive. Much cheaper and much harder to get rid of. Legion's Landing is an obvious consideration, and helps cut down the curve. [[Intangible Virtue]] is always worth considering, potentially over Warleader's Call. Cheaper, better color, gives Vigilance to stop bleeding. Yes, you don't get the ping, but getting it on the field faster will help this deck tremendously. Kaya's Guile speaks for itself, and should always be a consideration when it can be run. Running two Vault of the Archangel is a bad idea in a three-color build that's already slow. You need five lands before it does anything, it doesn't help your colors, and its not worth anything without a bunch of tokens or specific matchups you need to chump block with deathtouch to kill off. I'd recommend a mana fixer instead. [[Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth]] is always a consideration, or another Bloodstained Mire would help.

Other than that, I'd just work on cutting the four-drops for one-drops and either working in interaction or trying to max out speed and swarm to bypass interaction and win with material. Just some thoughts, for what they're worth.

Another fetchable triome, in this case I'd recommend Raffine's Tower, would be fetchable, not a dead draw, and up the Prismatic Ending count to a potential 4. [[Fiery Islet]] also seems like a good fit. I'd probably cut a Steamed Vent for it. I usually opt (ha) for [[Consider]] over Preordain, but that's a matter of taste. I'd rather have the Surveil and tempo than be able to dig into a second card. White Sun's Zenith came to mind immediately as a potential win condition in here, as it gives cats to buff with Kaheera at instant speed and its reusable. The scenario I'm seeing is casting Zenith for 6 during an endphase, getting three 2/2's. Then next turn, fetch Kaheera and drop her, now you've got three 3/3's with vigilance and a three turn clock that can swing this turn. I kind of like that better than Shark Typhoon, but that's me. The cycle token is a great topdeck at speed, to be sure, but the cat/instant synergy with Kaheera seemed to fit better. Since this build doesn't care about the grave even a little bit, you're free to run [[Relic of Progenitus]] mainboarded as grave hate that doesn't hurt you and replaces itself. The Rest in Peace's you've got sided are obviously great, but since there's so much use of the grave in modern, mainboarded hate that doesn't hurt you seems tenable. I see a potential conflict with your nukes and tokens/Solitudes. Obviously it's not a likely interaction, but you'd be nuking your own stuff and have no other option. An alternative would be running one [[Sweltering Suns]] over one Verdict, so you can cycle it off if you don't need it. It's obviously a tradeoff, as its conditional and counterable, but it's also cheaper and never a dead draw. Brotherhood's End is also a good consideration, as its a great side against lots of decks. I'm personally a fan of running 4 Fire/Ice over 4 Expressive Iteration, as I'd rather topdeck an Iteration and have a Fire/Ice in the opening hand. Faster, not conditional, at least a 1 for 1, and still helps move through the deck or kill Ragavan. I don't really like Iteration in most builds at all because casting it turn 2 is a gamble at material advantage, but that's me. But its a hell of a top deck, and lets you dig through 3 cards and throw lands away if nothing else. Strangely, [[Lutri, the Spellchaser]] might be a mainboard option in here. Three-drop flash that almost certainly gives advantage, fits the companion's criteria, and is another potential damage clock the deck would enjoy. It's also easy to cast color wise, always a bonus.

Just some thoughts, no concrete criticisms. I'm a big fan of the idea of working a companion in as a guaranteed material bonus which gives you the edge on games when both players burn themselves out. Suddenly, you've got a cheap clock and opponent needs an answer.

Just experimenting to see what can be done with it, if anything. I wanted to see if running 8 Hierarchs would speed up the build enough to balance out the complete lack of control. That and wanting to make Vizier work, which has been a pet project for years. The clash of theme was too good to pass up, so I gave it a whack (and have a few more potential builds in the works trying similar things (adventure cards seem underused to me)). I doubt I'll stand up to competitive modern.

14 current targets, cheap, relatively reliable material engine, what's not to like? Honestly, I got so caught up on the Flash wizards, I forgot all about that little guy. I usually look at him for RB turbo builds, but you're absolutely right that he should be worth considering, thanks.

Get it? There's no card, so your dad is absent. Clever girl.

Maybe [[Hindering Light]] over Keep Safe? More color problems, protects you as well as your permanents, so you can stop discard, burn, and sac mechanics.

Curve seems a bit high for only 20 lands. The 4 and 5 drops are evoke boys, but there are quite a bit of 3 drops that could clog the hand early waiting for that third land. Maybe cut a Clique to help with the legend rule and Tidebinder, then add 2 of [[Waterlogged Grove]] to help the curve and keep the dead drops minimized?

Just some ideas.

Feels like [[Grave Pact]] would be a natural fit, especially for casual where there are lots of critters. Mono black makes it easy to run.
Might be a bit pricey.

Seems like a good fit for [[Corrupted Conviction]] and/or [[Village Rites]]. I'm not overly familiar with fodder decks like this, but I always think of the beautiful 1-drop sac to draw cards at instant speed and want to use them.

I like comboing cycling lands with builds like this. They trigger Asmoran on the cheap, work perfectly with Wren, and in this build feed the delirium. Seems like some [[Forgotten Cave]]'s would go pretty well in here. Maybe also [[Nihil Spellbomb]] over Lantern?

Here's my last attempt at a similar build:

https://www.mtgvault.com/dknight27/decks/modern-zen-gardencompetitive/

What's the legality you're going for here?