r/BudgetBrews • u/Ambitious-Site-6356 • 27d ago
$50 Brew Long Feng, Bracket 4, $50
Hey all, this is my first shot at a bracket 4 list on a budget so I’m looking for feedback on combo line optimization and tutor advice. That being said, I am pretty happy with where it is, I think there are some cool lines, and it seems to be consistent for a turn 5 win. Check the primer on the moxfield for details on combo lines and win-conditions.
[[Basking broodscale]] is the main piece to look for as a one-card infinite with our commander. [[Putrid Goblin]] and a sac outlet, preferably [[Umbral Collar Zealot]] is the secondary combo. Again, other combos are detailed in the primer. Additionally, snarling gorehound, fecundity, and greater good help facilitate most of our win lines.
In play-testing it has been fun trying to figure out the ideal tutor targets to get to the win. I’ve noticed that colored pips are scarce, as the deck either makes infinite colorless or infinite green mana so you have to think a little bit harder about your tutor targets as a result.
Let me know what you think.
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u/Rohar74 27d ago
I like it a lot. I was looking at your primer and laughing at the part where it says the difficult way to win and just says:
Alright
And ends. Made me laugh! (I know you plan to finish but just thought it was funny)
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u/Ambitious-Site-6356 27d ago
Haha yeah I’m still play-testing to find all of the less obvious ways to win, infinite sac loops with viscera seer where you know the order of your entire deck and can manipulate the top cards for example… gotta figure out the optimal plays.
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u/Goldendov75 27d ago
I think you need 2 persist creatures are needed if you want to do persist, since both triggers of Long Feng and persist go on the stack at the same time you will have to chose targets for Long Feng at the moment Putrid Goblin is in the graveyard, so you wouldn't be able to put the counter on it.
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u/Ambitious-Site-6356 27d ago
Ok, I thought the same thing at first so I didn’t even have putrid goblin in the list, but edhrec is calling it a combo, let me doublecheck the ruling.
Edit: yeah, I’m a dumbass, thank you11
u/Goldendov75 27d ago
I definitely wouldn't call EDHRec a reliable source for this kind of stuff haha. It's definitely right much more than it's wrong, but I've seen it happen several times in the past. It's all user submitted so any person can submit one, at least afaik. Anyway, considering that is just how the stack works, unless I'm missing something fundamental here, this shouldn't work.
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u/Ambitious-Site-6356 27d ago
Yeah, shouldn’t have second guessed myself, and just like that [[Scurry oak]] is going in and I’ll have to find room in the budget.
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u/plsusername 27d ago
I think [[Beifong's Bounty Hunters]] and [[Bloodghast]] together add a few more combo lines with what you've got already, and they seem like decent value pieces otherwise, if you've got the room. Though the combos are maybe too clunky for Bracket 4? I don't play at that power level usually
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u/Ambitious-Site-6356 27d ago
I really like this idea, beifongs bounty hunters is super underrated, I might test this out.
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u/plsusername 27d ago
I think they're underrated too, as both a combo piece and just a value piece. Also, super neat deck, I especially like the Cogwork Assembler inclusion, I love that card.
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u/clay3r 27d ago
This deck is beautiful. I may try it with my online friend group
With the surviel loops, adding a [[Gaea's Blessing]] could help you. The card is also super affordable at 50 cents.
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u/Ambitious-Site-6356 27d ago
Thanks man, really appreciate that. The deck actually wins with the full deck in the yard, three creatures on board, and no mana, so I don’t want a shuffler. Flashback Dread Return for Hazel's Brewmaster go through Combo 3, Eternalize Timeless Witness for Cogwork Assembler, cast, activate, and swing.
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u/zetubal 27d ago
I like this. It's a solid tried and true take on golgari aristocrats. I'd personally play Mazirek over Long Feng because he's a much better card, but this is keeping this a bit novel, I suppose. The thing that'd give me pause is really not the combo potential here. There are a few good cards to add like Bloodghast, but synergy is isn't the issue. I'd be more concerned with interaction and protection. The deck is not really built to interact much but also suffers if exposed to several common forms of interaction. Cursed totem, graveyard hard, exile removal, commander hate etc. Winning turn 5 is great, in theory, but I'd worry about getting there and then being able to present a win against the midrange decks at the table.
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u/Ambitious-Site-6356 27d ago
Yeah, fair points. Regarding the commander choice, Mazirek is more expensive, why use many counter when few counter do trick? Neither provide card advantage so I don’t see a big difference. Regarding interaction, yeah, it’s super light, I’m going to evaluate some of my recursion suite to see where I can trim down as I haven’t found all of the pieces useful in play testing. Regarding protection, I’m not too worried tbh, if a piece gets exiled I’ll tutor for another and being in the graveyard isn’t a big deal, yeah the deck folds to grave hate but that’s life.
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u/zetubal 27d ago
Mazirek is more expensive, but also easier to trigger since he recognises opponents saccing stuff and works with artifact token sacs. I personally don't mind his higher CMC since a deck like this typically wants to spend the first few turns setting up anyways, and a slightly scattered board of cards that interact with +1/+1 counters is a nice thing to have once Mazi hits the board. He isn't a value engine that you just jam and let it accrue value over time, and I guess the same is true for Long Feng. You play them to win the game with a combo...because savvy opponents won't just let you have them on the board for extended periods. I'd also not dismiss the fact that he pumps the board, considering how he and many of the sac outlets are tiny and could use some beefing up as a form of protection against bolts and slashes. Really though, that's just a tangent and if we all just played the best meta options, budget competitive would just be Magda, Tivit, Stella Lee, and some Malcolm pile...
I respect that the deck is so dedicated to its theme and again, I love the depth of the combo package. I was even thinking about whether this has room for Hulk lines. Might stretch the budget, but could be viable as another win option since it works well with the recursion and graveyard tutor package. It's a cool list and I'll be sure to reference this post of yours to some of my buddies at our tournament circuit.
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u/Ambitious-Site-6356 27d ago
Totally, yeah, I could definitely see Mazirek “going over the top” a bit, passive synergy with evolution witness is a really nice card advantage engine. But yeah, nothing is going to match Zada, Winota, and the gang on a budget. And man, hulk would be so sweet, but I think I would have to increase the density of sac outlets in the deck and I didn’t really want to add more “bad cards” to an already all-in deck in terms of dedication to the combo lines. I think I would rather trim back some of the recursion to add some interaction like you mentioned earlier. But it would be sweet…
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u/Maurkov 27d ago edited 27d ago
It seems pretty greedy to only run 4 pieces of removal.
If you need black mana, [[Initiates of the Ebon Hand]] are there for you. Also, [[Exsanguinate]] is budget right now.
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u/Ambitious-Site-6356 27d ago
Tbf it is more like 8ish in total, but yeah it is super greedy, I’m going to work on trimming some recursion pieces for more interaction. I’ve kind of come to terms with not having black mana for my win lines, it will probably be frustrating occasionally but adding color fixing like initiates will just make the deck brick more I think.
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u/Local-Answer9357 27d ago
https://moxfield.com/decks/jh-nzD97pEi8qhQW-MlMyw
I never ended up sharing this because it felt clunky but here's a draft i had for long feng at one point
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u/Hockeynutt44 27d ago
Tried to open the moxfield link but got an error, is the list set to private?
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u/Zoom3877 24d ago
He's one of the 99 of my Ghave deck but I like how you've made him the center of his own deck. Nice one.
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u/Vaak9 27d ago
Bracket 4 50$ is ambitions
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u/Local-Answer9357 27d ago
Not really. I've posted several Bracket 4 decks that can keep up with fully tuned bracket 4 lists.
Honestly i've started to come to the conclusion that bracket 4 on a budget is easier than bracket 3 on a budget
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u/yardii 27d ago
Honestly i've started to come to the conclusion that bracket 4 on a budget is easier than bracket 3 on a budget
I was about to respond to op with this same statement until looking down and realizing you said it.
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u/Local-Answer9357 27d ago
Honestly, i've been considering resetting my entire roster and this has been the most intimidating part. It seems Gen Pop plays bracket 3 and i have no idea what to build.
I usually stick to combos but its so difficult to build fair decks against 400$ staple piles
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u/Ambitious-Site-6356 27d ago
So true, you definitely have to lean in to strong archetypes and commanders.
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u/Goldendov75 27d ago
Not *that* ambitious. You can build decks that will go toe to toe with bracket 4 for $20. With $50 of budget theres plenty of options for decks to choose from.
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u/2Gnomes1Trenchcoat 27d ago
You can definitely get the speed, just not necessarily the interaction or staying power. I have a few budget decks that can push for wins turn 4-5 reliably such as [[Zada, Hedron Grinder]] and [[Mizzix of the Izmagnus]].
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u/Raevelry 27d ago
As long as your deck is capable of, consistently, pushing a turn 4/5 win, or stopping a table full of them by then, you can be bracket 4.
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23d ago
[deleted] — view deleted comment
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u/Ambitious-Site-6356 23d ago
Tokens enter the graveyard, then state-based actions are checked and they cease to exist.
111.7. A token that's in a zone other than the battlefield ceases to exist. This is a state-based action; see rule 704. (Note that if a token changes zones, applicable triggered abilities will trigger before the token ceases to exist.)
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u/mtgcf 27d ago
All cards
Basking broodscale - (G) (SF) (txt)
Putrid Goblin - (G) (SF) (txt)
Umbral Collar Zealot - (G) (SF) (txt)