Over the past 2-3 weeks, I noticed that I have been playing a lot of budget-friendly decks. $2k control war is one of the best decks at the moment, but I was wondering if there was a budget version that had any hope of success. Luckily, Hive account@rckmtl had a list prepped and ready to go. The only problem: she uses Avatar of War (~$120) which I didn't own, so I went looking for replacements.

The Deck

So how good can this budget version of the deck be? Well, here's rckmtl's performance over 55 games. Avatar of War is a great finisher and source of leech, so by subbing it out, maybe she loses 2-3% more often?

Deck Code:
GU_1_6_BDyBDyKBbKBbKDSKDSKBcKBcOAGOAGLAFLAFCAZCAZCBCCBCCEcCEcIDmKBiKBiCACCACCBAIDrIDrPAmPAmKDqBFA

Swapping out the 8 mana Avator for Take the Reins makes this deck solidly mid-range on the mana curve, but also much cheaper:

but it looks extremely similar to the expensive control war decks. The main difference is their expensive neutrals and top end cards compared to our budget neutrals. As a point of comparison, here's the current top Control War list:

You can pretty much see the one-to-one replacements made for the budget deck:

• Helmna for Thaeriel
• Oni for Demos
• Looters for PWs
• etc

But the main shell of the deck (all the control/removal cards) is very cheap. I also really like the choices rckmtl made. They synergize very nicely. Feral and Looter are excellent with Soul Survivor. Oni + Helmna gives desperately needed heal against aggro lists.

Importance of God Power

Note that TeaTime uses both god powers where rckmtl only uses Valka's Presence.

EDIT: Rckmtl has corrected us that she is using both GPs but gudecks just isn't showing it!

Clutch laid it out very simply:

• Against aggro: Valka's Presence
• Against control: Slayer

My game vid will highlight why Slayer is so effective against control, but against aggro, you can't out-race them. Instead, you need board presence for extra control and favor generation. You also need creatures in the void so that An End to War can do double duty for you:

My first loss outside of casual was guessing wrong about whether my opponent was aggro or control. I picked slayer and had a terrible time. On multiple turns, a single 1/1 on board or one extra creature in the void would have turned the game around. Looking up decks and picking the appropriate god power could easily add 5% to your win rate. For those keeping track, my estimate would then be:

rckmtl's 58% - 3% for losing Avatar + 5% for reactive GP strategy = 60%! 😄

Deck peeking wins games.

The Reins and How to Take Them

Yea, it's a lot of text. Quite the instruction manual.

Here's how I think of it:

The reason I included it: to close out games against control. For 7 mana, I can take control of any creature (including a Polyhymnia) for one turn. 7 mana is important when facing ramp magic. They hit 9, drop a Poly thinking they are way ahead, you snag it for 7 and go face with it + whatever else you have on board to win.

There is a minor secondary use case: it can potentially help you against aggro, but the constraints are a real pain. You can only take control of a creature if you have a creature on board with more strength. However, if you have a 5/4 White Fur Guard on board, you can probably use it against most of your aggro opponent's creatures. Think Umber Arrow, but with different restrictions. Grabbing creatures to trade adds creatures to your void, which is good for End to War. You can also grab key pieces like Martyr or Priestess and get them in your void.

Is it as good as Avatar of War? No. That's why it costs $0.30 and not $112. However, the flexibility provided by Empower is nice in a meta that is extremely polarized: aggro that can win by 4-5 mana and control that can stall games so long they increased max game length to an hour (kill me).

Gameplay

This game is against a control structure magic list. Not the most meta deck, but a good representation of a very passive, stall-style of control. Slayer allows me to pressure our opponent throughout the game without needing the board presence he is designed to punish efficiently.

1 Mana and Mulligan

I checked his deck so I know two things: he's structure magic and runs no relic removal. Leviathan is definitely a keep, and I decide to hold Devouring Blade while cycling Feral. Looter isn't terrible and with only two mulligans left and lots of high-mana brick options, I decided to keep him.

He plays a 3/3 wall that can't attack. Terrifying...

I go with Leviathan expecting him to kill it, I play Looter, then clear the wall next turn with Looter + Relic.

2 Mana

Everything going according to plan.

3 Mana

Throw the plan out the window. He plays a beefier wall, but we draw Carnage. Here's where patience (and deck peeking) come into play. I know he doesn't have relic removal in his deck, and with a bunny attacking once per turn, he's not reaching the sanctum removal for a long time. I trade in the Looter to draw and card and at least get some damage in.

4 Mana

When it's just a battle of God Powers, I'll win all day long. However, that bunny means that he can do 3 per turn. Bunny has to go. I would have used End to War, but I drew Savage Strike which is even better.

I then pip into my God Power. As long as my opponent is behind (and is falling further behind on HP every turn) it forces him into action. This is the benefit of Slayer against control opponents.

5 Mana

I'm watching the favor race closely. I elect to play the Looter. He can kill it for 3 favor, but I get to draw a card and my relic is still safe.

I GP of course.

5.5 Mana

Drawing cards wins games, too. Savage Strike is exactly what I want to see. I remove the one creature that can attack and pop ward. Ripe for a Carnage Sweep.

I GP of course.

6 Mana

GP and pass. Why not? What's he going to do with his current board except lose the game? Meanwhile, I'm building up all the answers I could ever want in my hand.

Patience.

6.5 Mana

Now we have a reason to carnage. Bye bye board. I paused and seriously considered pipping into a GP. 😆

7 Mana

We won the favor race, but didn't need to grab the relic removal last turn because we already swept. Our opponent either wasn't watching the sanctum or just figured they didn't care about their talisman, so we remove it cleanly. Note the GP first to remove a durability without hurting our Bronze Servant.

7.1 Mana

I have 7 mana + 2 pips still that's how non-threatening our opponent has been. For 8 mana I can play a Wolf-Cult + Sole Survivor and clear most anything he can play. As such, I elect the play devouring blade and go face with it. I get lucky and remove the bunny. Nice.

He plays 2 bunnies + the 4/7 structure, but consider that even had I missed the bunny, a 4/7/3 Armor is no more scary to me than a 4/7/2 armor because of End to War. I can obliterate any damaged creature.

7.2 Mana

Wolf-Cult + Sole is nice. Also, we learned that the lightning tower card activate even if it dies at the same time. Science!

8 Mana

Devouring Blade OP. Also, note that I GP first. That way I can hit face for 4 damage and 4 > 2. I also play Imp but don't go face. I want to take him from 8 to 0 in one turn, which I can if he doesn't remove Imp. If I attack with Imp, we both take 3 damage, but if he is holding Serris, he pops right back to 10.

8.1 Mana

Love to see Feral! He doesn't have Unbound Flames, but even if he did, we're pumping him with the Rune anyway, so he is very happy. Note also how nice it is to have Reins in hand at this point. In fact, in this game, Reins is better than Avatar of War. If he drops his Coronet and gets a Poly, Avatar is a dead card. With Reins I win the game. In other words, between Reins and Sole in hand, there is almost nothing he can play to survive. In fact, maybe nothing. Even the highest of high rolls: Safeguard Incantation + Coronet that Draws Poly:

1. I Take Poly (1 mana left).
2. Pip into Wolf-Cult to clear his 3/2 frontline.
3. Go face with Feral to pop protected.
4. Go face with Poly to kill him with style.

8.2 Mana

The above line would have made for an exciting finish, but all it takes is a Sole board wipe (or Reins could have stolen his 3/2). Probably a good thing, as I likely wouldn't have spotted lethal in the heat of the moment. 😆

Conclusion

This deck is viable as demonstrated by rckmtl in high-level play. It uses the same basic removal shell as the pricey decks, but gives up strength in the win conditions. However, if winning 10% of your games is worth $2k to you, then we are in different socio-economic classes. 😆. The exception, of course, is for heavy tournament players who will use that investment to (potentially) win $100s or $1000s in prizes.

For us casuals/plebs in weekend ranked, I think $50 hits the spot.