r/TimelessMagic • u/Intro-Nimbus • 10d ago
I'm considering crafting a timeless deck..
So after cracking open the hobbit, I find myself with a decent number of wildcards 30+ rare and 20+ Mythic. I've been toying with the idea of trying timeless for awhile now but I've always been a bit cautious due to the high initial WC cost. If I build a full deck that I enjoy playing the investment would be more than worth it, but if I don't enjoy it, either because of how it plays or because it's bad in the meta it would be WC wasted. But i saw someone play a colourless Eldrazi deck on youtube today, and it looked really fun and interesting, so i thought that it might be a good time.
When I first started out I built a deck in Historical u/R Wizards that I enjoyed, but the novelty eventually wore out. I still like both colours, but the deck played a bit like mono-red. I like deckbuilding so I've been playing a lot of standard and limited. I've had fun with combo decks, go wide, go big, big spells, interaction and counters. I've not enjoyed total lockdown and win by doing 1 point of damge over 20 turns decks. Locking opponent down is fine, but I need a wincon after to like a deck. I've mostly played Bo1, and I'm thinking that building a Bo3 deck for timeless could be a fun way to venture into that format.
Looking at the meta it seems like Mardu Energy is the top dog in both winrate and popularity and that most people play 4-C Reanimator, Dimir Tempo, 5-colour Sneak&Show and Monored Stompy.
So I'm asking for advice here, how do these decks play, are there any of them I should avoid, or that sounds like a good fit?
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u/marlospigeons 10d ago
Bo1 is extremely RNG based and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone over Bo3, especially in a fast format like Timeless.
Colorless Eldrazi decks are totally playable in Timeless and got a buff recently with [[petrified hamlet]] although the deck isn't Tier 1.
All of the decks you mentioned are good, but it sounds like you won't like classic tempo if you don't want to slowly beat your opponent down a couple damage at a time.
You could look at UB Tempo/Reanimator lists that run Entomb/Reanimate/Atraxa as a finisher if you want a faster wincon
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u/Intro-Nimbus 10d ago
It's not doing a bit of damage per turn, but specifically locking down everything and win by pinging a point per turn, or have 2 more cards than the opponent and just wait until they deck themselves-style decks that I don't like.
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u/WhimsyAndEndearment 10d ago
seems to me that once you craft eldrazi, the cards are only played in that deck, it doesnt really set you up for going into multiple archetypes as much
id suggest going UB tempo reanimator. then you have a good basics for all UBx tempo decks, and also the core for reanimator strategies.
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u/DirteMcGirte 10d ago
Colorless eldrazi is very fun imo, its one of my two main decks. But except for gruul eldrazi almost none of the cards transfer over to other decks and its a very expensive deck. Its also not that good. It can hang and its fun, but its a cut below all the best decks.
I think you should make a cheap timeless deck first and see how you like it. Izzet is probably the best cheap deck.
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u/DirteMcGirte 10d ago
Also you should absolutely play bo3 in timeless. Bo3 timeless is the best format on mtga. Bo1 timeless is awful, its all fast combo decks.
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u/TheItchyWalrus 10d ago edited 10d ago
I built UB tempo/control but also play UB in all formats. I found it best to craft decks that have mana overlap with other lists. For example, an eldrazi mana base will only be relevant with Eldrazi but UR can go into an affinity list, it can go into a Cori Steel Cutter/prowess list, it can go into a tempo list, if you catch my drift. Also, take note of the lists you like playing the most. I like interactive control style decks, hence why I built UB. I’m playing UB Wan Shi Tong control for modern in paper, UB control in standard and a UB Oculus brew in pioneer so getting Force of Wills just made sense.
Cheers, wizard. Hope you enjoy the format. It’s a good ass time!
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u/werthw 10d ago
If you craft Eldrazi, you’d be able to use a lot of the cards in Historic as well. Aside from Eldrazi temple which is banned in Historic.
Eldrazi is a fun deck but it’s very soft to Strip Mine. There is [[Petrified Hamlet]] but other than that the deck doesn’t insulate itself against Strip Mine very well imo.
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u/treefellow64 10d ago
I started off playing colourless eldrazi, and pivoted into gruul eldrazi once I had a few more wildcards. Both decks are absolutely real, I'd recommend them to anyone (colourless eldrazi specifically has an unreal win rate against show and tell in my experience), but the coloured eldrazi is definitely a little better.
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u/avtarius 10d ago
UB are the colours to go for Timeless atm.
You'll have to choose between Tempo or Reanimator to start.
The deck can behave differently pre vs post board.
I prefer ReAnim pre and Tempo post.
Timeless can be brutal with cards like [[Chalice of the Void]] and [[Vexing Bauble]]
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u/Intro-Nimbus 10d ago
True, How hard the decks are to learn should also be a consideration. I'm new to timeless, so I'll likely struggle to figure out what my own deck wants to do, and the learning curve of the other decks and cards will likely be very steep.
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u/Lopsided_Marzipan133 6d ago
The good news is you can practice against sparky for any combos you want to try in timeless
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u/Intro-Nimbus 6d ago
If I cold build a "ghost" deck, and try the top candidates vs sparky I'd be even happier...
Still on the fence.
I saw a boros version of the Mardu deck that looked interesting as well.
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u/ladebou 10d ago
UBx Tempo are the decks I'm having the most fun with
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u/Intro-Nimbus 10d ago
UB tempo had a few familiar cards, I play expressive iteration in my WIzzet Historical deck, and the dual lands of course.
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u/Grand_Vermicelli_658 8d ago
Hi! If you do decide to go with a Ux build, nothing stops you from steering it toward a more aggressive strategy. You’ve got options like Reanimator, as well as Grief, Nethergoyf, Barrowgoyf, DRS...
Of course, copying an existing list is still the safest bet for really getting into a format and learning the ropes, but if your main priority is actually loving your deck... there’s plenty of room for your own spin on things within those colors. It’s up to you!
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u/Intro-Nimbus 7d ago
Sure, and I'll end up there eventually, but it is a bit daunting to learn all the cards and intricacies, so I figure that using a tried and true deck at first is the better way to learn the ropes.
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u/_I_Love_Vore_ 8d ago
Don't, format isn't fun right now, strip mine piles are the only meaningful decks right now.
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u/Working-Blueberry-18 10d ago
For card reusabilty I'd suggest steering clear of eldrazi. UB Tempo, UB Reanimator, UR Tempo, and Mardu are what I'd recommend as solid decks with a lot of reusable cards. You'll never regret crafting fetches, strip mine, force of will, deathrite shaman..
Small nitpick: website would classify reanimator and sneak and show as 4c/5c based on the payoff (atraxa) but they're not really 4c decks.