[Deck] Unpowered Rector/Trix

[goOve!]

Since this is my first post on TMD I would like to start with introducing myself in (very) short.

I am a 28 year old from Bruges (Belgium) and have been playing Magic since the release of Ice Age.
During this 'magic playing period' I acquired most of the lower end cards to build any competitive Vintage deck.

I am currently playing a powerless version of the Rector/Trix deck. I wondered myself if I could share my decklist with you people,
and maybe get some feedback on how to approve it.

I am planning on investing in some power soon, but I simply can not buy them all at once. I will start looking out for the first piece,
and was hoping that you could give me some advice on witch piece of power I'd best acquire first.
Personally, I would pick the Mox Sapphire first, but all thought/suggestions are most welcome.


My decklist (60 cards total):


Mana Base (22)

1x Swamp
2x Island
1x Polluted Delta
2x Flooded Strand
1x Gemstone Mine
2x City of Brass
1x Badlands
2x Volcanic Island
2x Tundra
4x Scrubland
4x Underground Sea


Artifact Mana (6)

1x Sol Ring
1x Lotus Petal
1x Grim Monolith
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mana Vault
1x Mox Diamond


Black Spells (13)

1x Yawgmoth's Bargain
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Demonic Tutor
4x Dark Ritual
4x Cabal Therapy
2x Duress (think I will drop these for 1x Yawgmoth's Will + somethign else)


White Spells (4)

4x Academy Rector


Blue Spells (13)

3x Illusions of Grandeur
2x Donate
4x Force of Will
1x Impulse
2x Brainstorm
1x Fact or Fiction (cool, but kind of slow in my opinion)


Red Spells (2)

2x Pyroblast


Sideboard

1x Balance
2x The Abyss
1X Moat
2x Diabolic Edict
1x Time Spiral (cool, but kind of slow in my opinion)

Rest of sideboard = undefined

So, my first question is: wich cards can improve this deck, and wich cards should I cut out, using as less power as possible.
Second question is witch piece of power to acquire first.


Cards I'm concidering:

1x Yawgmoth's Will: must definately have a place in this deck IMO
1x Tolarian Academy
Xx Misdirection (thoughts/comments?)
Xx Cunning Wish (thoughts/comments? + sideboard suggestions?)
1x tendrils of agony (I don't know if it fits in this deck, but whenever my opponent manages to gain some life,
I have to pull the Illusions/donate combo twice. Maybe Tendrils is a possible solution?)


Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Kind Regards,
goOve!

[wethepeople]

Since you are testing with Bargain and Rector, why not try Children of Korlis (see below). It allows you to draw virtually twice as many cards or atleast regain all of your life. It has been discussed and said to be another toy that can be used in Trix, so I suggest giving it a try.

Children of Korlis

Casting Cost: W
Creature
P/T: 1/1

Reads: Sacrifice Children of Korlis: You gain life equal to the life you've lost this turn. (Damage causes loss of life.)

[+t]

You should be playing 4 Brainstorm.  Its one of the best blue cards in the format.

I'm pretty unimpresed with the Trix engine.  You should probably be playing Rector Tendrils instead, if you must run Rector.  Not only does this take up fewer maindeck slots, but is also allows you to win more easily without resolving Rector.  With that you can bring Will and Academy into the maindeck, along with other goodness like Chain of Vapor/Hurkyl's/Rebuild (you're going to want a bounce spell if you're playing tendrils, both as protection and as a storm builder, although they won't build as much storm without Mana artifacts).

Balance seems way too insane not to run.  Not only is it randomly good, esp with topdeck tutors, but it also serves as a potential (if somewhat narrow) 5th sac outlet.

Speaking of sac outlets, 4 seems rather low to me.  I'm not really sure what you'd want besides Diabolic Intent though, which kind of sucks with four creatures. 

Drop the 5-c lands, get more fetches.  Yep.

I'd probably go with Lotus or Ancestral as the first piece of power, as they're so much better than a lone moxen, especially off a will.  Budget restraints might not allow you to do this.

Good luck!

[InfinityCircuit]

One possible sacrifice outlet is the Rusalka cycle--the Black one might give you more resilience against Control Slaver or fish builds, or the Blue one can improve your card quality.

[policehq]

I think Children of Korlis is especially important given that you are running an unpowered deck and don't probably won't achieve UU5 easily for Illusions/Donate. It would probably be best to try and win with Tendrils of Agony.

-hq

[goOve!]

Thank you all for your replies. They are much appreciated!

@wethepeople & policehq:
I wil certainly try the Children of Korlis. I will let you know how it runs out.

@+t:
4 brainstorms seem like a good idea. I always have a problem choosing between Brainstorm and Impulse.
I know Impulse has the 2 mana CC, but sometimes a Brainstorm leaves me with cards on top of my deck that I don't need.

You say I should probably be playing Rector Tendrils instead. I like the idea of using Tendrils,
and I have been thinking about it for a while, however I am not shure if this can work without the power.

I agree on the Balance thing

sac outlets: I have been playing this deck for a while now, and 4x Cabal therapy seems to work fine.
I REALLY like Diabolic Intent, but unlike Cabal Therapy its useless without a Rector in play. So I agree it sucks a little
with only 4 creatures.

Dropping the 5-c lands: Yup, maybe a good idea, since I only need them for the 2x Pyroblast.
I must say I never have problems getting a red mana, but maybe the 1x Badlands and 2x Volcanic Island is a little overkill.
Some blue bounce spells would work just fine. How about Capsize? Mana cost too high?

About the first piece of power: hmmm, Lotus is indeed the most expensive one of the bunch.
I will see what I can get my hands on first, but I will definately keep your advise in mind.

@InfinityCircuit:
I'm not shure about the Plagued Rusalka/Drowned Rusalka,... Like said before,... 4 Cabal Therapy seems to be working fine.
If I descide to run some more sac outlets, it will probably be Diabolic Intent rather than the Rusalka -creatures

[rmn]

First and foremost, as long as you're splashing Red anyway, I think a Burning Wish has a definite place in this deck.  Then you can keep your Will, Tendrils, Donate, Balance, and Time Spiral in the sideboard if you like.

Form of the Dragon is a better sideboard card than Moat.  Abyss really isn't necessary at all.

I've always thought that Intuition had a place in this deck as another tutor.

[goOve!]

@rmn:
I agree on the Burning Wish. That spell is awesome. If I keep the red it can indeed get me a Will, Tendrils, Donate, Balance, and Time Spiral in the sideboard.

I'm not shure about Form of the Dragon though. It is indeed very powerfull, but it also requires 7 mana, of wich 3 are red.
I can get it in play with a Rector,.. but hard-casting it seems almost impossible to me.

@everyone:
How about Necropotence?

Do you think Final Fortune is any good in this deck?
Since I lack the Moxes and Lotus, I sometimes have problems finding just that one last mana I need to finish my opponent. Getting an extra turn is always welcome, and I personally don't see any problems in the "at the end of that turn, you lose the game" -drawback

[Fubar]

Welcome to TMD.  If you want your first power for this deck, i'd definitely go with the sapphire.

First you need necro.  In a deck trying to abuse bargain with 4rituals, a first turn necros too good not to run.  Forget the children of korlis, the deck it too tight for cute cards like that. If you feel you need another sac outlet use phyrexian tower, it'll give you a boost off the bat when bargain hits.  I also advise losing red alltogether.  Why take the valuable turns to stabalize your colours.  Don't try to play control, the best part of rector/trix/tendrills is it is a combo deck with max. disruption = 4fow/therapy&duress.  Definately get a tendrills + will and you will feel the deck inprove immediately.  I advise going to 2illusion +  1donate with a mysical. Also, this deck certainly needs brainstorm more than impulse, thats how you ditch the unwanted enchantments in your hand.  I don't see why you would ever want an illusions in play before a bargain unless you were really desperate againt an aggro deck.
You are right that fact seems too slow in this deck. 
Since this deck might be the best at trying to abuse the hell out of bargain, drop brass in favour of gemstones, you shouldn't worry about the gemstone drawback because the gameplan should be to speed to a win before that matters.  Painland pings = 1 card

[goOve!]

@Fubar:
Yep, I'm on the lookout for a Necropotence allready. Same for Tendrils. Maybe I'll borrow
my father's Necropotence in the meantime, or proxy them both for a week or two, till I can
get my hands on the real ones.

A will is allready on the way from Ebay.

2 illusion +  1donate... You really think that's enough..?
I can keep one Donate in the SB,... but during playtesting, I found out that I often use
Illusions and Donate to pitch for FOW.

More Gemstones is something I was concidering allready. City of Brass is a really good
land, but I allready get damaged from the fetchlands, and indeed, 1 life = 1 card...

phyrexian tower seems like a lot of fun in this deck... I wil think about it. However,...
like I mentioned before... I'm not sure if I really need more sac outlets.

@everyone:
Maybe a stupid question... But what about Ivory tower...? With a bargain in play, it can
get me a very big lot of life = more cards.
When my bargain hits I guess I could finish my opponent the same turn if my deck where Full Powered.
With this deck however, it takes 1 more turn, so I could take advantage of the extra cards.

[mogote]

You're only playing a total of 13 blue cards in your initial list. That seems to be not enough to support 4 Force of Will. So I would either add more blue cards or cut the FoWs completely (and play more black hand disruption).

Ivory Tower is too slow for competitive Vintage. Don't play it.

[Fubar]

That hit it on the head.  Ivory tower and Children Korlis are too situational,  the only cards I care about are the core cards, and cards I want to see in my opening hand.  I cut down to 2illusion1donate with ease, like I said the only time I care about illusions is when bargain/necro is out or when I need to actually win as an afterthought.  Mystical tutor takes the spot of a second donate because its much more versatile.  Card disadvantage tutors aren't so bad in a deck like this compared to others because your gameplan revolves around bargain.  Also the will shall skyrocket their value to you.  Actually I'm often happier to see mystical(=will or sometimes therapy) than vamp because of the life loss.

Supporting force is never a problem for me, but then I always start my lists with 4x brainstorm.  I really can't see how you can't automatically go with four.  It seems absoutely neccessary to get rid of the clunky enchantments and other situational crap, which this deck has a lot of. 

As another weird suggestion, how about losing the crypt in favour of chromatic.  I'm always tripping on my life total.   
Plus it lets you draw a card.

[goOve!]

Owkay... I altered the decklist...

60 cards total

Mana Base (21)

1x Swamp
2x Island
2x Polluted Delta (I cut the red and added more fetch)
3x Flooded Strand
3x Gemstone Mine (dropped brass in favour of gemstones)
2x Tundra
4x Scrubland
4x Underground Sea

Artifact Mana (6)

1x Sol Ring
1x Lotus Petal
1x Grim Monolith
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mana Vault
1x Mox Diamond

Black Spells (14)

1x Yawgmoth's Bargain
1x Yawgmoth's Will (added)
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Demonic Tutor
4x Dark Ritual
4x Cabal Therapy
1x Tendrils of Agony (added)
1x Necropotence (added)

White Spells (5)

4x Academy Rector
1x Balance (swapped to maindeck)

Blue Spells (14)

2x Illusions of Grandeur (dropped one in favour of Mystical)
1x Donate (dropped one)
4x Force of Will
4x Brainstorm (full set now )
1x 'ILLUSIONS-KILL-SPELL' (Suggestions? Chain of Vapor? Rushing River? Seal of Cleansing? Is one enough anyway?)
1x Cunning Wish (added)
1x Mystical Tutor (added)

Sideboard (so far)

1x Donate
1x Illusions of Grandeur
1x The Abyss
1X Moat
1x Time Spiral
2x Misdirection
2x Stifle
1x Tendrils of Agony
2x Duress

remarks:

I think Necro, Will and Tendrils, as well as swapping Balance to maindeck will be a huge improvement.

I'm not sure about cutting the Donate and Illusions though, but Fubar's post convinced me to try it out in playtesting.

Blue cards are now 14 instead of 13, wich is better to support FOW.

I hate putting the 2x Duress in the sideboard


Anyways,... I will test this setup and keep you all informed.

[Fubar]

The balance is an often tutor target for me alot too, but I see lots of aggro & aggro/combo.  I always try to squeeze lots of duress for the obvious synergy. . . but space is right tight.  It's a tough deck to sideboard.  I never need the illusions kill spell slot, that's what cumulative upkeep is for.  Hopefully you have a bagain/necro out and you can bombard them with therapies/duress w. FOW back up.  Although I often have a seal in there somewhere, just as an "out" with a rector out.

[Purple Hat]

you want mind's desire.  also you probably want to go back to 2x donate so you can still pitch it to force

[AmbivalentDuck]

You need another way to kill the Rector.  I suggest Innocent Blood.  Innocent Blood is good in the current meta because it both lets you kill the Rector and destroys a Welder/Confidant/Meddling Mage/DSC.

[Fubar]

Innocent Blood could be good in the right situations.  But the therapies should be enough, plus just holding off aggro.  You could always do the "Mask of the Mimic" trick setting up a chain, if you pull that out nice you can easily get a future sight on top of bargain, winning with ease. 
I found trouble getting to mind's desire mana to much.  At the same casting cost you get bargain, usually using rituals.
The problem I see is that you have a low FOWblue count because you don't have power, which is blue.

[Fubar]

As a side note, if your sneaking moat from the board against aggro, can't you use MeishamMindcage?