All of these cards are probably good enough, but alas there is only so much room. I switch things out as necessary
Because I traded into modern a few months ago, I have some things to re-acquire.
here it is, sorry for the delay! This is my cardboard Cadillac, my marquee deck. I have stuffed as much raw power as I can into each and every slot, I once again have to thank
@ISBPathfinder for laying the groundwork and inspiring me to build what has become my favorite EDH deck ever by a huge margin.
Looking at your list, I think you're off to a great start but there's a few things that seem a bit dubious imo:
-thopter foundry/sword of the meek combo is pretty random
-Are the equipment really better than more creatures? Sword of the Animist is functionally a 4 drop and can't swing by itself. Jitte is probably good enough, to justify itself anywhere, but all the rest are probably worse than
Skullclamp and I'm not sure even that is worth it.
-I have an irrational hatred of
Vedalken Orrery in most decks, but here it really feels like the ceiling is haste for the goon squad and little beyond. At least the leyline can be free sometimes. I'd cut 'em both for goons
-I highly recommend investing in the real estate of this deck. Curving out perfectly in turns 1-3 is essential to a consistent aggressive start. Being color-screwed and delaying Raffine by even one turn can be fatal to the tempo advantage.
-I know this is going to sound like a direct contradiction to my previous statement, but do look into the manlands. I've found that being able to pile counters onto a
Blinkmoth Nexus or whatever and then hide that threat in my manabase is another way to keep attacking through sweepers. I don't really count them as lands though a la
Strip Mine or
Maze of Ith because of their inability to contribute to a t3 Raffine.
-Also, you gotta try
Skyhunter Strike Force. Not only is the name of this card cool as all hell, but the damage this thing can create out of nowhere is truly unbelievable. Basically a F-16 fighter jet made of biceps (Powerthirst, anyone?).
-EDIT: Speaking of insane 3 drops, look into
Breena, the Demagogue. She can add up to 8 counters per turn cycle, so she functions as a backup buff machine with a dash of CA to sweeten the deal. I switch between SSF and Breena based on whether I feel like I want the speed (SSF) or the durability (B,tD) on a given game night.
Anyway, my list is decidedly NOT casual, but I have deliberately eschewed as many EDH taboos are possible. No combos, no mld, no alternate wincons, no stax, nothing but pure combat damage. The time magic might as well be an additional combat spell stapled to
Explore for my intents and purposes, so even the saltiest aspect has been brought down to its floor for abuse. And you know what, I have yet to meet the player who can justly complain about being beaten by the most eminently fair win condition in the game, especially in my meta which I would generally characterize as slightly faster than average and a touch combo heavy.
(I see Kirk has one at least)
