Modern can be a tough format to break into, with loads of expensive staples and mana bases that cost hundreds of dollars. Despite the intimidating cost of most of the top lists, there's always a way to build a decent deck on a tight budget if you're willing to look hard enough. Here's the one I came up with:

"All-In Paladin"

• Creatures (14)
• 2 Boros Swiftblade
• 4 Goblin Gaveleer
• 4 Kor Duelist
• 4 Puresteel Paladin

• Spells (27)
• 4 Steelshaper's Gift
• 1 Basilisk Collar
• 2 Accorder's Shield
• 4 Bone Saw
• 4 Bonesplitter
• 4 Golem-Skin Gauntlets
• 4 O-Naginata
• 4 Shuko

• Lands (19)
• 2 Mountain
• 8 Plains
• 1 City of Brass
• 4 Battlefield Forge
• 4 Tendo Ice Bridge

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Accorder's Shield
• 4 Combust
• 3 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Smash to Smithereens
• 2 Boros Swiftblade

Buy This Deck

The Creatures

Kor Duelist is usually the creature you want to be attacking with. With so much power-pumping Equipment, nothing will be able to stand its way and survive. O-Naginata ensures that even if your opponent blocks, you'll be pushing through a ton of damage. Sometimes, you'll be able to win off just a single Duelist and one or two Equipment since you'll often be attacking for 6 damage on turn two.

Boros Swiftblade serves as a backup to Kor Duelist, although the extra mana is far from ideal. Even at 2-mana, double strike is enough to make this guy playable.

Goblin Gaveleer is the other 1-drop of choice for the deck. Although it dies to any blocker, it can potentially trample over for lethal damage with enough Equipment attached to it. An important thing to note is that you shouldn't be afraid to swing for not-quite-lethal damage into an opponent's blocker. Dealing the last few damage later is usually fairly easy with all that Equipment on the board, and you can't afford to give your opponent more time to draw a removal spell.

The Equipment

Bonesplitter is an under-costed Equipment from the first days of the card type, and it has since been “fixed” several times with cards such as Trusty Machete and Darksteel Axe. Following up a turn-one Kor Duelist with this allows you to attack for a whopping 6 damage immediately, getting things off to a very fast start.

Golem-Skin Gauntlets can give your creature a massive power boost, provided you have a few other Equipment already attached. This is often the card that pushes you up into one-hit-kill range by adding 4 or 5 power to an already large creature.

O-Naginata is efficient just for pumping power, giving you 3 additional power for 3 mana. However, the trample is what really puts it over the top. Whenever you start making a giant Kor Duelist, you'll want to make sure you have one of these on hand to make sure it can't be stopped by a pesky chump-blocker.

Basilisk Collar is a key tool for beating other aggressive decks, letting you gain massive amounts of life with every attack. Deathtouch can be quite valuable as well, since your trampling creature can deal just a single point of damage to any blockers your opponent might throw in its way, making sure your opponent bears the brunt of the blow.

Steelshaper's Gift lets you grab any Equipment in the deck for only 1 mana, which is extremely good in this deck. You can grab an O-Naginata to make sure your creature has trample, a pair of Golem-Skin Gauntlets if you need more power, a Basilisk Collar to race an aggressive deck, or even just a Bone Saw if you just need that one last Equipment to put you over the top.

The Sideboard

Combust helps you deal with Pestermite and Deceiver Exarch before you're staring down an arbitrarily large number of them. It can be difficult to race the Splinter Twin deck unless you draw a very strong hand, so buying time by making the opponent find a second copy of his combo piece is very valuable.

Smash to Smithereens is another tool to help you race the other artifact-based aggro deck, Affinity. It destroys the most valuable artifact Affinity has on the board in addition to pushing through some more damage to make killing him in one swing a bit easier.

Lightning Bolt is a catch-all for any problem creatures you might come across. Grim Lavamancer is especially dangerous against this deck, so you want to be able to get rid of it as soon as possible.

Playtesting

R/U/G Delver – Game 1

I lost the roll and kept a hand of two Plains, Goblin Gaveleer, Kor Duelist, O-Naginata, Bonesplitter, and Bone Saw. My opponent started off with an Island and a Serum Visions. I drew a Battlefield Forge, played my Plains, and cast the Kor Duelist before passing the turn.

My opponent played another Island, cast Delver of Secrets, and passed the turn. I drew Steelshaper's Gift and took 1 damage to cast my Goblin Gaveleer. I also cast Bonesplitter and O-Naginata before passing the turn.

My opponent cast a 4/5 Tarmogoyf and passed the turn. I drew Accorder's Shield, cast it, and equipped it to my Gaveleer. I ended my turn.

Delver of Secrets transformed thanks to a Serum Visions, which was then cast. I dropped to 12 from the two attackers. I drew Puresteel Paladin and cast it. I then cast Bone Saw, drawing a Battlefield Forge. I equipped everything to the Gaveleer and attacked for lethal.

Sideboarding:

−2 Shuko

+2 Accorder's Shield

R/U/G Delver – Game 2

My opponent dropped to 17 to fetch for a Stomping Ground again, this time following up with a 2/3 Tarmogoyf. He ended his turn. I drew Goblin Gaveleer, cast my Bone Saws, and equipped them. I then swung past the puny Tarmogoyf for 6 damage and passed the turn.

My opponent swung with Tarmogoyf, then cast Snapcaster Mage, flashing back Serum Visions and making the tiny ’Goyf even smaller. I drew a third Bone Saw and cast and equipped Golem-Skin Gauntlets. I attacked, and the Snapcaster Mage blocked my giant Duelist to prevent instant death. I passed the turn.

My opponent cast another Serum Visions to return Tarmogoyf to its original size, and he attacked me for 2. He then cast Delver of Secrets, played a tapped Breeding Pool, and passed the turn. I drew Shuko, then swung with Kor Duelist again. Delver of Secrets chump-blocked. I cast Goblin Gaveleer with the counter from Tendo Ice Bridge and played and equipped Shuko and Bone Saw to make it a 7/1. I ended my turn.

My opponent passed the turn, and I drew Shuko. I swung again, and my opponent bounced the Duelist with Cryptic Command, drawing a card as well. I took 1 damage to cast my creature again, then equipped it with Shuko and two Bone Saws before ending my turn.

My opponent passed the turn with no play. I drew Puresteel Paladin, equipped another Bone Saw to the Duelist, and attacked. My opponent went down to 9, sacrificing the Misty Rainforest for an Island. He then cast Snapcaster Mage, flashing back Cryptic Command to bounce the Duelist again and draw a card. I took 2 to cast Puresteel Paladin, then equipped everything and passed the turn.

A Lightning Bolt transformed Delver of Secrets, and my opponent attacked with it, dropping me to 9. He then ended his turn. I drew a Mountain, played my Plains, and cast Shuko. I drew an Accorder's Shield and cast that as well, drawing an O-Naginata. I cast the Naginata and drew another Kor Duelist. I equipped everything to the Paladin and attacked for 22 trampling damage.

This deck is surprisingly competitive, and although it can have a bit of a problem with removal, Accorder's Shield goes a long way toward shoring up that weakness. My opponent revealed to me after the second game that he had finally managed to find a Lightning Bolt, but not until after I had equipped the Shield, negating its usefulness.

O-Naginata is also surprisingly critical to the deck's success. The second game largely came down to waiting until I could find one and eliminate my opponent's ability to soak up the damage with chump-blockers. If you're looking for a fun way to get into Modern on a budget, be sure to give this deck a go.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, you can find me on the forums under Twinblaze, on Twitter under @Twinblaze2, or simply leave a comment below.