$15 Modern Combo-Control

Thanks Jessie, I just want to share; when everyone shares, everyone gets better.

that's very true

I saw this deck and just got mad reading it. Good job. Quite a control deck

I considered it, and it may end up that way. Thank you for the idea/reminder!

your welcome!

actually i think you might have that backwards. they MAY search and shuffle. its a land destruction with at best another shuffle. (at least as it would play in the deck)

Subject to how everything is going, one could try to force continuous land top deck. There are options.

If I want a like from anyone for a budgeted deck, it is you sir.

Glad to hear so, friend!

Please do! Then tell me how it went.

Thanks for good thoughts! I was unsure about Quest, so hearing it encouraged me to cut it. I think a good way to play this deck is to play as many cheap shuffles game one as an all-in combo, with counters in the sideboard. It will make aggro a harder match up, but it will have great game ones vs other combo and better game one vs control.

I originally decided against, but I managed to work some back in.

I found an interesting combo with Psychic Surgery...
Riftsweeper.
It would be a dead draw if you drew it before Psychic Surgery, but if played in order its a cheap shuffle.
Unless of course you NEED the card to stay exiled...

Depending on how you piloted the deck, it could be quite the play. It's not my style, but I approve.

It's not a bad idea, but I wouldn't play it. It does help find a missing piece, put fabricating turn 3 and casting turn 4 means that you aren't hurting their library or life until turn 4. With x8 cards that making the shuffle in your favor, I think it's best to just go with what you have access to. Perhaps it is just a difference in preference.

I understand, it could be sideboard if you go long games against the opponent.

But it is decks like this 15 dollar one and this little gem:

http://www.mtgvault.com/spudshaver/decks/mono-black-turn-1or3-win-13/

that makes spudshaver rock!

Surgical Extraction would work very well, and in a more competitive deck I would recommend it. The idea here is to create a very cheap base for testing and for players who don't want to spend money.
and @ jessie: you also rock!

Temporal Spring...god knows why...but even now that is in my Top 5 Favorite cards.

"if the opponent has nothing in his grave, he won't shuffle"
The rulings on shuffling are specific; if a specific card is meant to be shuffled but is not there, there is no action; however, if a zone is shuffled, it is still shuffled when it contains zero cards.

Still wouldn't include either Serene Remembrance nor Memory's Journey.

Are you saying you would still prefer to play other cards or are you saying Serene Remembrance and Memory's Journey are not reliable?

I am saying playing Serene remembrance and Memory's Journey just to get a single shuffle isn't worth wasting a card slot on. I would prefer having other cards in that slot that might cost a bit more mana but do something else on top of forcing a shuffle, preferably something that keeps you alive. For example Gamazoa, Void Walker, Loaming Shaman, Thada Adel.
Think about it, Serene Remembrance is just a Shock that can't kill creatures if you have one Psychogenic Probe in play. Yes, with more than one Probe you do okay to decent damage, but chances are you'll have no Probe at all and then it does nothing.

A lot of what you're saying applies to "combo" in general, though; I'd recommend not playing combo if that is how you feel. Cards like Loaming Shaman, etc. may perform better vs aggro but they don't necessarily keep you alive. If you played budget burn for example, you would want the fastest cheapest shufflers. If you played vs other budget combos, you wouldn't need almost any creatures, you would simply want to stay ahead of their combo. If you're in a heavy aggro meta, I'd recommend maxing out your creature options to compete with that, but this base build has a blend to help storm out which cards are more tuned to your preference and play group.

Yes, but this "combo" isn't a very strong or fast one. Adding Remembrance and Journey makes it a bit faster at the expense of stability and endurance, yet it still isn't fast enough (for a combo deck). I seriously wonder what kind of meta you are playing in if you can away with this.
I have to admit, though, that this assertion also stems from my dislike of "do or die" type of decks. It's not only that you run so few defense that you get killed pretty fast, it' also that most of your cards are just dead if you don't draw the Probe (or if the Probe gets destroyed). A Loaming Shaman might not save you from aggro decks but it buys you time, does shuffle if you have the Probe and is also able to deal damage on it's own in the case you don't have Probe but your opponent isn't aggressive.

A lot of what you wrote is true, but your describing issues of Magic, not issues specific to this deck. Making a deck faster at the expense of endurance, is simply making a deck faster; if someone replaces a card choice to make the deck more durable and faster, the previous card was simply a bad card.

For a moment, consider UG or BUG Infect in Modern. Infect isn't a top tier deck but it can sweep many decks. Infect is often dead in the water if a creature is removed in response to being boosted - similar to if probe was destroyed. However, creature control is in the main board. Artifact removal is in the side board.

Further, Affinity is a top deck in Modern and has been popular for a while. If a card like Stoney Silence hits the field, Affinity is done. A lot of decks can be crushed by one card, that is the nature of Magic. Combo risks dead draws, the cards are important together, not separately. This deck has a lower risk of dead draws than a fair amount of combo decks, and if you improved upon this base, you'd find a lot more stability. As is, vs other $15 or $20 builds in modern, the deck does fair well, with heavy aggro being is hardest matchup. It fairs well vs combo and has a good game 1 vs control.

Also, you haven't mentioned Psychic Surgery. The deck doesn't have to have Probe to get going. Once Psychic Surgery is on the field, you don't have to worry about your opponent drawing into anything helpful. That buys more time than anything else can in this case. And there are other ways to get around problems of time vs resources besides stalling. You could look into draw like Sleight of Hand to help speed things along.

But non of these truths make combo inherently inferior.

A deck like infect is different: Making it faster will translate into more wins because they dynamic is different: You only need to deal 10 infect damage, so if you add a pump spell that does 2 more damage and nothing else is a tradeoff you can make because it deals 20% of the damage you need to win. But in this deck you need to deal 20 and a shuffler will deal 2 damage per Probe which is hard to calculate but I think having more than one in play is rarer than having none, so if we say you do 2 damage per shuffler we are being optimistic here. But you need to deal 20, so that's just 10% of your goal. => *You will run out of cards before you reached that goal!* THAT's why I don't recommend making it faster in this particular setting!

About the Surgery: I didn't mention it because it doesn't affect board position either. Whatever hit play already is about to stay. If you have a Surgery instead of a Probe you don't deal any damage (so can't win a damage race) but it also doesn't help losing the damage race because it only affects future draws. Surgery is actually another reason to get rid of Remembrance and Journey: if you have reuseable defensive shufflers, then Surgery is a mean way of control and will win the game in the long run. Gamazoa & Co affect board position. This would be control.

And speaking of that, you always speak of "budget combo" yet your deck title says "budget CONTROL", maybe this is where the confusion started. Even then, what I am saying is: This deck would work better and win more often if it was a slower control deck rather than a combo deck that tries to be fast but runs out of steam or gets steamrolled before it is able to kill. Have you actually played it so far? Maybe only playtesting can tell.

I'm not convinced by your use of "any."

If you were playing another budget deck?????? No one said they are going to a ptq with this man....

yeah cyclonic rift is only worth bucks but defo worth it XD

Thanks for the feedback; it is always nice to hear! Depending on your play testing group / meta, you can encounter a variety of problems with this deck, and as you put it, "fixing it" is a necessary step. If you are playing vs aggro, the self damage will make a race near impossible. Versus aggro start by maxing out creatures, even consider Riftsweeper as mentioned by FaQfUce (above).

If you happen to play a lot of combo, you could begin to consider cards like Chancellor of the Tangle or Gemstone Caverns - maybe even Serum Powder.

The main value from starting with the version here is that it helps you figure out which way you want to take it.

In reference to Cranial Archive, it should be cast after you spent the rest of your hand; Cranial Archive should be played as a 4-cost directly from one's hand as a shuffle and draw that won't hurt you.

Thanks for your contribution, and I hope this helped!

You could take that rout, but you would have to slide in more early control outside the combo so you don't simply get tempoed or raced.

I agree about ghost quarter but I think serene remembrance should stay due to his card draw. ghost quarter could work if he ran 2 maybe 3 if he switched his land ratio. great suggestion splooge I would not have thought of that myself.

I just figured 1 rememberance and 2 Mimeofracture could work, cause he could also shuffle back in other memories journeys. Just my taste though. And I definitely noticed that when I saw the build, land destruction is needed for a control deck

Good thoughts here, both of you! I made some changes.
Also: if this had a goal of <$50, it could easily run 4 ghost quarter.

Ghost quarters are cheap so you can keep the budget aspect :)

I meant more in terms of keeping a stable mana base *
They are indeed cheap!

Oh okay now I understand haha. I would only recommend running a 2 of. Keeps mana consistent still but gives you some land removal :)

Agreed. It's a solid number for having a lot of basics. Perhaps 3, but I like 2. If running mono blue, 4 would be easy.

It could fit into a mono blue version very easily, it isn't a bad choice as much as it doesn't compete with alternatives.

good statement spudshaver

OK. Fine then.
Why not splash black for Maralen of the Mornsong. (easy just switch Thornwood Falls with Opulent Palace)
Now you're both under the clock, but there is a guaranteed shuffle every turn.
Yes its a creature and can be dealt with "easily", BUT I find that is the appeal making your opponent waste precious plays while you pile on more shuffles towards their demise.

Interesting idea.

I'm sorry Kim broke your net

Was a mistake from editing; thank you for pointing that out!

I just thought of a combo with Ob Nixilis, Unshackled: Path to Exile, and either flash or find another way to suddenly bring Ob Nixilis in.

I agree with path to exile, but not on ob nixilis, as it would hurt you

If you went with a Blue/White version, I think it could work. It's a little costly for this list specifically.

Wouldn't Squadron Hawk end up hurting you in this deck. Being that anybody who searches is screwed?
Also Path to Exile is a MAY search so all you really get is the exile which is good, BUT white doesn't really fit the build.
It seems like a stretch just to splash white...

Just makes it three colored.... Like a lot of control decks

http://www.mtgvault.com/jessie/decks/soulfire-grand-master/

There it is guy.
Imitate me, if you will.

It is 56 cards because Soulfire Grand Master does not show up in mtgvault's database yet.

Sorry to advertize spudshaver.
However:
1. I have praised and praised one of your decks, and even bought it.
2. I was damn excited about Soulfire Grand Master, and had to tell everyone about it.

Too bad it is already 20 dollars a piece!!!
It will be a great Casual card.

no worries and agreed. also temporal tresspass = lol