Hi all, I enjoy the challenge of using the synergies in the less expensive cards and making budget decks that are interesting and effective. Once I got the idea for this deck, I knew I would have to make it work. A lot of testing and brainstorming later, I've put this together and I think it is really cool and really fun.

It has two main concepts that overlap, based on Assault Formation and Pathway Arrows. Yes, in the same deck. Hear me out...

Assault Formation: the concept here is to turn our cheap large defenders into monsters. Our Dragon's Eye Sentry and Fortified Rampart become 3/3 and 6/6. Then there is Graveblade Marauder, our potential 4/4 with a boot in each of the two main deck concepts. These champs also have a great synergy with skulk. More on that later.

Pathway Arrows: here we put the equipment on champs with deathtouch. Once armed, we can tap for 2 and destroy an opposing creature (the damage from the equipment ability counts for activating deathtouch). The champs that bring deathtouch are Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim, Fetid Imp, Rancid Rats, and once again Graveblade Marauder. The arrows can also get rid of a pesky 1 toughness creature in a pinch.

The last piece of the puzzle is Odric, Lunarch Marshal. If you can get him on the board with his friends, things go NUTS. There is so much synergy between the champions. The Dragon's Eye Sentry adds first strike to your deathtouch champions, and vice versa, which is extremely challenging to deal with. The Fetid Imps bring flying for offense and defense. And there is skulk.

Skulk is amazing on our Assault Formation champs. The activated Fortified Rampart attacks with 0 power, and can only be blocked by a 0 power champ, but hits for 6. If the opponent doesn't have a 0 or 1 power blocker, then the Graveblade Marauder hits for 4 plus the graveyard bonus, which is easily 10 or more late game. This can also surprise the opponent if you cast the Rancid Rats just prior to attacking.

However, getting all of this to work together is difficult. When you are playing a deck with one core theme, it is easy to focus on getting it to happen. Here we are working on two themes, and need to balance them so both can occur. There are other cards that could be in this deck, but ultimately I landed here in the struggle to get both themes running at the same time.

I'll also mention Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim specifically. She is cheap and resilient as a 2/3 deathtouch champ. She plays well early or late. This deck can run low on life at times, and using her sac ability on a Fortified Rampart can get a quick and much needed 6 life. We really never get 30 life, so her second ability just isn't used.

Sigarda, Heron's Grace is the top of the curve. I bounce between using her or Sidisi, Undead Vizier. Without them, the deck completely relies on Assault Formation to do damage, which is just to unreliable. They both bring flying to the team and they each have a useful extra ability. Sigarda gives hexproof. This isn't too important for the Sentry, but at times keeping Odric or the Graveblade fully protected is the thing that will win the game, and opponents have to get through Sigarda before they can target removal on these guys. Also, our player gets hexproof too, which can completely block some decks (for example tutelage mill decks).On the other hand, there are times where you really, really just need that one card, and Sidisi, Undead Vizier can bring it. Also, she brings yet another deathtouch to the team. However, she comes at the cost of another champion. Although our champs are cheap, we do want to have them all hang around for their synergies, and it is sometimes hard to find a good champ to exploit.

The cards are mostly mana cheap, but if we don't have them in hand, we can't cast them. This deck stutters and dies without good card draw. Painful Truths is excellent here, since we are running 3 colors. However, the 3 life can add up when we are trying to stay alive long enough for our system to activate completely.

Anguished Unmaking is an excellent and versatile removal tool. This adds to the cards that tax on our life, however. Foul Renewal is effective on our high toughness champs and is usually cast as a -4/-4 or -6/-6 instant that also gets us a champ back.

We have a 3 color mana base, which is a challenge, and some of the purchase cost of the deck is for this (but on cards you can use in other decks too). The superstar of the lands is the Hissing Quagmire and his deathtouch. Even if we get wiped late game, he can still be activated, equipped, then tapped to kill an opposing creature and keep us in the game. The Shambling Vent I have found less useful, and opted for Caves of Koilos instead, but both are viable. Evolving Wilds is helpful for getting that last missing color. I considered Warped Landscape, but the risk of getting stuck without that color you need early game is dangerous. I included a single Rogue's Passage to allow for a last ditch Graveblade Marauder attack late game if the board is all gummed up and you don't have any other evasion. Also, the color pies tilt towards green and less so black because of the activation cost of Assault Formation and Fetid Imp. Also, having 2 greens on the board allows for a surprise cast of formation and activation on the same turn.

Gameplay:

In the perfect draw we can swing with our 6/6 on turn 3, but usually the deck plays more passive initially. Defender is frustrating to play with until we can remove it with the Assault Formation. Getting the Pathway Arrows on the board, onto a champ, and activated can be spread out over turns, but will take time to get there. A lot of the time we are juggling the early limited resources we have, playing a deadly game with our Painful Truths and Anguished Unmaking. Odric sees play, but is so heavily focused for removal, that he often can't stay long in the game.

Maintaining our board state is key. The deck works best using its synergies, so we are vulnerable to removal. Eerie Interlude can help here. The drawback is that we need to leave 3 mana open. Usually this is not terrible, as we can leave up 2+ mana and delay activating the Pathway Arrows. However, beware if the champion with the arrows gets his deathtouch from Odric. On the opponent's first main phase, the deathtouch will not be there.

Sideboard:

This is open for change based on your meta and experience. The only one that has any specific synergy with the deck is Flaying Tendrils. Almost all of our creatures survive this, and it is very helpful against a deck that tries to go very wide. The rest are just good sideboard cards. Ultimate Price is a very effective removal in this meta, where most champs are monocolored. Natural State is cheap and hits most targets (Root Out is an alternative, but the trade of 4 mana for a card isn't quite worth it). Duress can help against a control deck. Hallowed Moonlight is still useful, although less so now that Rally the Ancestors is out of the format. Finally, I'm playing with Pick the Brain as an expensive Duress. Certain decks have specific win conditions, and if you can remove all of them from the opponents deck, that can seal the deal (our Evolving Wilds help us get delirium, if the opponent wasn't nice enough to sideboard in some hate for our Pathway Arrow or Assault Formation).

Maybeboard:

First I'll mention 3 other top candidates for the Assault Formation theme.Jaddi Offshoot provides a good possible 3/3 at the 1 mana slot. Also, if it is cast early, the lifegain is very helpful. We run extra green anyway for the Assault Formation. However, the first strike/deathtouch combo is just so strong, and 1/3 does a better job of slowing down aggression from small early champs.Yoked Ox is a potential 4/4 for the 1 mana slot and doesn't need a green to get rid of the defender handicap.Wall of Resurgence can add another 3/3. However, our deck stays mana hungry, and losing that land from the mana pool is often too costly and not worth the extra CMC.

As far as the high end of our curve:Dragonlord Dromoka brings flying and lifelink and can be 7/7. He probably comes in 3rd after Sigarda and Sidisi, and can be in the sideboard for blue matchups.Watcher in the Web is ridiculous but situational (imagine it as 5/5 with deathtouch and first strike. It could kill 5 attackers alone).

Conifer Strider fixes our problem with a lack of natural damage. If he gets first strike, then he is a much bigger hassle to deal with.Wild-Field Scarecrow is a 1/4 that can fix our mana in a pinch, but expensive at 3 CMC.Autumnal Gloom brings trample and hexproof, but we aren't reliably in delirium (a modified deck trying harder for delirium with Vessel of Nascency and Dead Weight could possibly use this, and might want to bring in Moldgraf Scavenger, Wild-Field Scarecrow and even To the Slaughter).Deathcap Cultivator brings mana and potential deathtouch. He just doesn't manage to displace any of our current creatures.Elusive Tormentor brings hexproof and indestructible for the whole team. We are still open to attack prior to combat however, and I'm not convinced he is that useful.

Deathmist Raptor? Probably a great choice, but a playset would break the budget for this deck. Same goes for Den Protector (although protector doesn't bring any abilities to the team, he can bring back whatever piece might be missing).

Drana, Liberator of Malakir brings flying and first strike, but we have sources for that already. Farbog Revenant brings lifelink and skulk on a 1/3. If he were CMC 2 mana, he would be in.

Dromoka's Command is interesting, although it is pushing the budget. The creature fights creature choice at times could read destroy target creature, but the rest of the choices are a little too situational. Most removal in the meta now is not damage based, you can't be sure the opponent has 1 enchantment, and +1/+1 is good but not great. I could see this replacing the Natural State sideboard slots, if you have the cards already and wanted to try it out.

Make a Stand could replace Eerie Interlude, but is just less versatile. Same for Survive the Night. Unnatural Endurance is a cheaper consideration, but inferior.

Pulse of Murasa is an alternative to Foul Renewal.

Nahiri's Machinations can give indestructible to all our champs (make sure you put Odric's ability on the stack first), but only on offense which is less useful. The activated ability is not worth splashing for red.Shape the Sands is a +5/+5 damage trick, but too situational. Same for Vines of the Recluse.Angelic Gift is a cantrip that adds flying to the team.Behind the Scenes adds another skulk source for our activated defenders, but we can already pump them with the Assault Formation.

Initially, when I saw Open the Armory, I read it as search for an enchantment or artifact. This would have been very effective for getting the Pathway Arrows or the Assault Formation, depending on what we needed. However, it is aura only, and not useful for us. If Open the Armor were part of the deck, then there could be reason to include Bound by Moonsilver and Skeleton Key as alternative targets if the situation demanded it.

Finally, Soulflayer ... well, he's not part of the format anymore. Could have been fun in this deck.