Pioneer - Surviel // Control (Budget Etrata)

42 28
15 23 0 22
Midrange Control

A budget version of this deck. Replaces the Doom Whisper, Vraska's Contemptimage and Dream Eaterimage with functional substitutions that double as a win condition.

 

Vs. aggro I'd focus on hitting Risk Factorimage with Unmoored Egoimage asap, then focus on cards like Experimental Frenzyimage, Lightning Strikeimage/Skewer the Criticsimage, Lava Coilimage or Bedevilimage/Wizard's Retortimage.

Sideboard the Moment of Cravingimages for the Thought Erasureimages. The lingering TE could be subbed for Duressimage if the mana curve is a concern.

 

UPGRADES

1. Land base

- Dimir Guildgateimage x4

+ Drowned Catacombimage x4

Recommending DC over Watery Graveimage to keep up life totals vs. aggro.

The typical Dimir full control land base is as follows (for reference):

Watery Graveimage x4

Drowned Catacombimage x4

Islandimage x8

Swampimage x8

Our mana curve being very low means we don't need 24 lands, 8 of which cost about $28 total.

2. Optional subs

- Islandimage x1

+ Search for Azcanta // Azcanta, the Sunken Ruinimage x1

Search for Azcanta does in fact surveil 1, the keyword just wasn't printed yet. Since it does eventually flip into an island, subbing it for one seems reasonable.

3. Any other subs I left out. The Doom Whisper should be a primary target.

 

CHANGELOG

1/11/20

OLD LIST

8 Swamp
9 Island
4 Thought Erasure
2 Disinformation Campaign
4 Dimir Spybug
2 Price of Fame
2 Connive // Concoct
2 Discovery // Dispersal
4 Thoughtbound Phantasm
3 Sinister Sabotage
3 Etrata, the Silencer
3 Lazav, the Multifarious
4 Dimir Guildgate
1 Helm of the Host
1 Field of Ruin
1 Blackblade Reforged
2 Mission Briefing
2 Unmoored Ego
1 Nezahal, Primal Tide
2 Notion Rain

Sideboard
1 Disdainful Stroke
3 Duress
1 The Eldest Reborn
1 Notion Rain
1 Ritual of Soot
3 Moment of Craving
2 Golden Demise
1 Unmoored Ego
1 Disinformation Campaign
1 The Mirari Conjecture

Maybeboard
1 Siren's Ruse
1 Essence Scatter
1 Opt
1 Negate
1 Syncopate
1 Precognitive Perception

 

2/1/19

Sideboard

- Disdainful Strokeimage x1

+ The Mirari Conjectureimage x1

Just when I thought the deck couldn't get any better...

1/31/19

Moved one Disinformation Campaignimage and Unmoored Egoimage to the sideboard to add back in a couple Notion Rainimages. The card draw is definitely great against annoying control matchups.

1/31/19

- Etrata, the Silencerimage

+ Nezahal, Primal Tideimage

With Lazav, having 3 copies of Etrata is fine. Removing one copy for an extra wincon to now give us 5:

1) Tempo w/ Phantasms and Spybugs

2) Blackblade Reforged hitting for a healthy amount of damage

3) Etrata exiling things

4) Helm of the Host cloning our things to do more things

5) Nezahal drawing us into our other answers or just being a big body

1/30/19

Sideboard

- Ritual of Sootimage x2

+ Golden Demiseimage x2

Switched 2 ROS for GD to adhere to a budget mentality as much as possible. It also has the added benefit that if our board is full (aka having the city's blessing) we don't have to sacrifice everything we've invested.

1/30/19

Sideboard

- Dead Weightimage x3

+ Moment of Cravingimage x3

1U for 2 life is definitely worth it vs. aggro (built-in Shockimage counter).

1/29/19

Sideboard

- Mephitic Vaporsimage x3

+ Ritual of Sootimage x3

ROS is needed for Persistant Petitioners mill, white weenies & green explore decks using Wildgrowth Walkerimage.

1/29/19

- Notion Rainimage x3

+ Unmoored Egoimage x3

Sideboard

- Unmoored Egoimage x3

+ Notion Rainimage x3

Moved NR to the sideboard. So often now it just doesn't help w/ many situations. Coupled w/ all of the surveil procs in the deck, the extra card draw just doesn't seem worth it any more.

1/29/19

Sideboard

- Enhanced Surveillanceimage x2

- Dead Weightimage x1

+ Mephitic Vaporsimage x3

Added MV to the sideboard for those mono white weenie decks. Man they're annoying.

1/29/19

- Duressimage x1

+ Disdainful Strokeimage x1

- Fungal Infectionimage x2

+ Dead Weightimage x2

DS is great for the Simic and Azorius matchups frequented right now, as well as the occasional Izzet. Dead Weightimage is just too good to not have a full playset of, since our Shockimage cast as a sorcery. It's mandatory into either mono red or Rakdos.

1/29/19

- Sinister Sabotageimage x1

+ Swampimage x1

- Enhanced Surveillanceimage x2

+ Mission Briefingimage x2

Sideboard

- Phyrexian Scripturesimage x1

- The Eldest Rebornimage x1

+ Enhanced Surveillanceimage x2

This deck is quite impressive as is in paper, but for whatever reason in an online setting it can be inconsistent. I find myself hard casting Sinister Sabotageimage less and less, so tentative replacement for an extra swamp seems reasonable. Playing online I've found getting flooded in one color to be too frequent for my liking.

Mission Briefingimage is an excellent card to include in this deck. The extra surveilance off of Enhanced Surveillanceimage is definitely good, but being able to quickly surveil away some counter spells or Thought Erasureimages to go deeper, and still have the reassurance they can eventually be cast is great. MB has the added benefit it can be cast during an opponent's turn. You can grab Sinister Sabotageimage at a 1U discount and buff your creatures twice. This often catches an enemy off guard if you're not reacting to their casts (i.e. casting Thought Erasureimage). I've also never used the second ability on ES, so moving it to the sideboard for control or mill matchups seems reasonable.

I've cut down the more control oriented sideboard options, as this deck is centered around creatures. Removing some of the more costly spells also help make fitting in Mission Briefingimage more budget.

1/21/19

- Guildmages' Forumimage x1

+ Enhanced Surveillanceimage x1

With the addition of Blackblade Reforgedimage, a land played to now simply buff creatures for an extra mana just doesn't cut it. With the benefit of an extra Enhanced Surveillanceimage, digging deeper faster will be more reliable.

1/19/19

- Optimage x1

+ Enhanced Surveillanceimage x1

Opt is an insane amount of value for one mana, but b/c this deck focuses on surveiling excessively, digging deeper into the deck for even an insignificant surveil proc (like when casting Lazav) just leads to more cumulative value. It has the added benefit that when an opponent tries to remove it or something from your graveyard, it can be exiled to shuffle the graveyard back into your library, like if Gaea's Blessingimage was surveiled into your graveyard.

1/18/19

- Optimage x1

+ Blackblade Reforgedimage x1

Blackblade is yet another very cheap and good wincon. It scales well with the game, b/c we can equip it to Lazav for its discount price, make Lazav into a spybug and send a pile of flying stats at our opponent that they can't block unless they have at least 2 fliers.

1/14/19

- Dimir Guildgateimage x2

- Swampimage x1

+ Islandimage x1

+ Optimage x2

Fixed the guildgates to adhere to the playset rule (only 4 of one card excluding basic lands). For some reason AetherHub doesn't account for this.

1/10/19

- Dimir Guildgateimage x1

+ Guildmages' Forumimage x1

Guildmages' Forumimage is a great mid- to late-game card to 1) give our creatures more counters (w/ the only exception being Thoughtbound Phantasmimage) or 2) if we sideboard in Gaea's Blessingimage and top deck it, we can still play it at some point. Our late game spells are another great drain for the colorless mana. Btw, counters persist on Lazav, the Multifariousimage.

1/9/19

- Duressimage x1

- Disdainful Strokeimage x1

+ Gaea's Blessingimage x2

If GB is surveiled into your graveyard, its second ability procs w/out having to pay its mana cost, letting you shuffle all those spent spells (or anything sacrificed) back in.

1/9/19

- Dimir Guildgateimage x1

+ Field of Ruinimage x1

Added in FOR to counter some of those artifacts that flip into lands.

1/9/19

- Isareth the Awakenerimage x2

+ Lazav, the Multifariousimage x1

+ Helm of the Hostimage x1

Isareth is just a bit too slow. She's great vs. decks that have a lot of big creatures due to Deathtouch, but w/ the amount of cards we have to counter spells and remove key cards from an opponents hand it becomes unnecessary. Against big fliers she's worthless, so having something that can race down the opponent is a good option. Lazav is great b/c he can become a copy of anything in our graveyard at any time. Say we surveil away Etrata and Lazav is on the battlefield as a Thoughtbound Phantasmimage w/ a counter from his own surveil proc. On the opponent's turn, w/ 4 mana open we make him Etrata for blocking, then it's our turn and we get all the mana back. If Helm of the Hostimage can be equipped, we have hit our opponent w/ one Etrata already and they have at least 2 minions on the board, the game is over. The token generated by Helm of the Hostimage is great to play around removal like Settle the Wreckageimage.

Comments

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1 comments

juice2142
really enjoy this deck. I've modified it a bit myself. Using the non budget version creatures. Then i cut helm and blackblade from here. The deck plays smooth. The extra bonus from someone like me trying to play on a budget is that most of the mainboard cards will be good past rotation. Will eventually have to move this off a surveil priority and into a control one. Will see what the next set releases but for now this works fine. Keep the updates coming. I'll continue to check back.
T145
Last Updated: 16 Aug 2020
Created: 05 Jan 2019
5239 264 1

Mainboard - 60 cards (20 distinct)

Creature (15)
$6.95€3.670.02
$0.83€0.500.02
$0.70€0.360.02
$0.24€0.110.03
$0.20€0.140.03
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (23)
$0.19€0.100.03
$0.49€0.410.06
$0.49€0.340.02
$0.70€0.420.02
$0.22€0.160.03
$0.25€0.240.03
$0.45€0.200.02
$0.25€0.150.03
$0.20€0.140.03
$0.25€0.220.03
$14.04€4.490.02
Land (22)
$0.35€0.300.04
$0.20€0.070.03

Sideboard - 15 cards (10 distinct)

$0.49€0.410.06
$0.24€0.140.03
$0.18€0.050.03
$0.49€0.550.02
$0.19€0.100.03
$0.50€0.240.03
$0.20€0.040.05
$0.17€0.070.03
$0.20€0.140.03
$0.38€0.170.02

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