Modern Budget Builds: Affinity + Upgrade Plan
In the challenges from 12/10, 12/4, and 12/3, there was a wide array of decks. Right now modern is truly anyone's game with tons of innovation and decks of all sorts can compete. Stuff like Jund Creativity and Jeskai Prowess made real appearances and on the more budget end both Enchantress and Mono-Blue Affinity Showed Up!
Enchantress will be the subject of the next article as it can be a great intro deck to modern that is quickly upgraded to the full power version with the addition of fetches and stuff like Blood Moon, but for today we are focusing on affinity.
Affinity is a deck that is Based around the mechanic named Affinity. It looks to play as many artifacts as it can incredibly quickly to make cards like Frogmite and Sojourner's Companion cost 0 mana. 0 Mana for two 4/4s on turn 1 or 2 presents a threat that the opponent must answer incredibly quickly.
This deck does not need much of an explanation as it is relatively straightforward. But there are 3 key things I will go over.
What is Affinity for Artifacts?
Affinity for artifacts reduces the cost of the spell by the number of artifacts your control. This means Frogmite costs 0 mana with 4 artifacts, 1 mana with 3 Artifacts and so on and so forth. When looking at your hand go through each spell and think about how quickly you can cast it. Unless you are playing a VERY slow deck you want to be playing every spell by turn 3. This brings us to the 2nd point:
What is the Game Plan?
This deck is looking to dump its hand incredibly quickly to get its creatures out. Though seven mana is intimidating for Sojourner's Companion and Thought Monitor, you will find quickly it is not uncommon for you to have seven artifacts turn 2 if not turn 1. In an opening hand, you either want to produce a threat quickly or have card draw to out-value your opponent. A threat looks like multiple Frogmites or Companions but could also be something like an Ornithopter with Cranial Plating. Your card draw is 12 incredibly cheap effects. You have 4 Thought Monitors and 4 Thoughtcasts, each often are only 1 Blue mana to draw two, and Forging the Anchor is often 3 mana for 3-5 cards as you only run 7 non-artifacts main deck.
What is Regenerate?
Regenerate is a key ability on Welding Jar that allows you to protect your artifacts. The ability according to the rules is defined as “If the effect of a resolving spell or ability regenerates a permanent, it creates a replacement effect that protects the permanent the next time it would be destroyed this turn". In this case, “Regenerate [permanent]” means 'The next time [permanent] would be destroyed this turn, instead remove all damage marked on it and tap it. If it's an attacking or blocking creature, remove it from combat'”. This means that it essentially creates a “shield” for your target. Regenerate is a confusing ability so hopefully, this defines it relatively well. You should be looking to use your Welding Jars to protect your threats, which means both the creatures and equipment like Cranial Plating.
Upgrade Plan
The upgrade plan for this deck consists of what is essentially 4 copies of one cards and its accompanying toolbox. That card is Urza's Saga. Saga gives this deck a huge power boost and allows you to play an even grindier game. It also provides great flexibility in its toolbox targets. The chapter 3 ability to find 0 and 1 drop artifacts means you have maindeck graveyard hate, bounce spells, and even some good all-around targets like Shadowspear. The construct ability on chapter 2 is permanent. This means Urza's Saga can make 2 very sizable creatures that with Shadowspear can have trample and lifelink.
The cards I would buy in the level of importance are:
4 Urza's Saga: Each time you get the opportunity to pick up a more expensive card I'd choose this as it powers up the deck so much. Until you have 4 it can always be more powerful.
1 Shadowspear: This is always a good card to get and makes your threats also stabilize your life total, in addition to pressuring your opponent even more. However, this card is 20 dollars so you could also pick up a lot of the very cheap targets first if you won't have 20 dollars to spend very soon.
Any of the toolbox cards: 3 Relic of Progenitus (Soul-Guide Lantern is cheaper but weaker), 3 Aether Spellbomb, 2 Pithing Needle, 1 Gingerbrute, 1 Grafdigger's Cage, 1 Nihil Spellbomb. Each of these serves its own purpose and you can run different numbers as you find fitting in your sideboard and main deck.
Sideboarding
Without Urza's Saga, I suggest a flatter sideboard with more powerful hate cards. As such I suggest a sideboard of:
Dismember is for creature-heavy matchups, it is a good removal spell to kill Yawgmoth and cards like Endurance, Fury, and Grief. Your life loss should not matter much as you are looking to kill them much faster than they would kill you.
Metallic Rebuke is interruption for more interactive matchups and decks that will play things like Force of Vigor. You want to avoid letting your card draw get countered as well as make sure a Force of Vigor doesn't destroy you as a combat trick
Damping Sphere is for Tron, Storm and sometimes decks like Breach or Prowess. It makes their lands not work or stops them from casting multiple spells each turn
Etched Champion is for your removal of heavy matchups. It is unkillable, unblockable, and overall a serious threat to the opponent if they can't gain life or put a quicker clock on you. Adding equipment like Cranial Plating and Nettlecyst make it even more threatening.
Relic of Progenitus is graveyard hate for decks like Dredge, Murktide, Scam, Prowess, and Breach. Using it correctly against Murktide is very hard as you need to anticipate when they may be casting a Murktide, so you pop it to lock the dragon in their hand for even longer. You can also just pop it to turn off their delirium.
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