Modern Border EDH Challenge

Cow31337Killer
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Post by Cow31337Killer » 4 years ago

The Modern Border EDH Challenge

The idea of this challenge is pretty simple. Can you build a commander deck using only cards printed with the modern border? For reference, all cards printed between Eighth Edition (2003) and Conspiracy (2014) used what is now referred to as the "modern" border, as seen on cards such as Ant Queen|M10 and Guttersnipe|RTR. Cards originally printed with an "old" border are fine, as long as they have a modern border printing that can be used. Similarly, any card that was originally printed with a modern border and later reprinted with a "new" border is perfectly acceptable. As long as it's been printed on paper with a modern border at some point, it's good to go.

Now I know what you're thinking:

"Cow31337Killer, that sounds stupid. You're stupid."

Both of these things are probably true. Still, this challenge is a great way to test your creativity as a deck builder by encouraging you to include cards you may have never even considered before. And, if you're anything like me (for your sake I hope not) you'll love the nostalgia of playing with the same kinds of cards you grew up learning the game with.

Now, a fair warning before you go forward with this challenge: While these decks can certainly be focused and even optimized to a certain extent, at the end of the day they are going to be casual decks. After all, you are only given access to around half of the card pool that a normal deck would have available. But hey, constraint promotes creativity, right?

I really can't overstate how fun this challenge has been for me personally over the years. It's gotten to the point where every one of my EDH decks is built with this particular restriction in mind. Does that make me crazy? Absolutely. But hey, maybe some other crazy people will like it too, and we can all be crazy together!

Anyway, below is a link to the thread for my Modern Border Only Yeva, Nature's Herald|M13 deck. I'm currently working on similar decklists for each of the other mono color M13 legends, but this is the one I'm most happy with so far. The deck basically looks to ramp out a bunch of lands and creatures to Overrun|M12 our opponents. I've managed to find some pretty fun synergies between cards that I never would have used if not for this challenge. One of my personal favorites is Essence of the Wild|ISD and Fungal Sprouting|M13. Take a look and feel free to leave suggestions, (modern border cards only of course) and if anyone wants to try this challenge out and post the links to their decklists below, that would be awesome too!

Yeva, Nature's Herald Deck: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1060

EDIT: Okay so in my decklist thread it looks like some people got confused by what I mean by the "modern" border so I'll try to state it better here. Cards with borders that look like the one on the M13 printing of Thragtusk|m13 are usable. Any other kind of border is not. If it has a post M15 border as seen on cards such as Goblin Rabblemaster|m15 then its no good. Same goes for cards with the pre-Eighth Edition border as seen on this printing of Carrion Feeder|scg. Basically, any cards printed (including supplemental products and promos) between Eighth Edition (in 2003) and the original Conspiracy (in 2014) will have the correct border and are ok to use. Any cards without that border are not allowed. Hopefully that clears up any confusion. If you look at the decklist below and see the borders that all of those cards have, that is the one I am referring to. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to look it over!
Last edited by Cow31337Killer 4 years ago, edited 1 time in total.

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PrimevalCommander
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Post by PrimevalCommander » 4 years ago

Do promo reprints and Master Sets count?

Survival of the Fittest would be legal as a judge promo reprint. As would Yawgmoth's Will and Wheel of Fortune.

Master's sets have made Modern Border decks so much easier with reprints of many top tier black tutors and blue counters. Fast mana may take a bit of a hit losing Grim Monolith, but Sol Ring and Mana Crypt and Mana Vault are still in.

Also checked out your list.Very solid. I recommended a few green staple type cards that would really work well in Yeva.

Cow31337Killer
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Post by Cow31337Killer » 4 years ago

PrimevalCommander wrote:
4 years ago
Do promo reprints and Master Sets count?

Survival of the Fittest would be legal as a judge promo reprint. As would Yawgmoth's Will and Wheel of Fortune.

Master's sets have made Modern Border decks so much easier with reprints of many top tier black tutors and blue counters. Fast mana may take a bit of a hit losing Grim Monolith, but Sol Ring and Mana Crypt and Mana Vault are still in.

Also checked out your list.Very solid. I recommended a few green staple type cards that would really work well in Yeva.
Thanks for the reply! Promo and Masters sets are fine as long as those cards have the modern border. So promos like Natural Order|G10 are ok, though I personally have a pretty casual meta and try not to include tutors like that. Mana Vault actually wouldn't be usable because it has never been printed in a "modern" border, only with an old border and a new border. Mana Crypt would only be usable if you had the judge promo, as that is the only modern border version available.

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