Upgrading Arcane Tempo on a Budget

Good evening, players! Welcome to the final article in this series, where we look at the 2019 Challenger Decks and how to upgrade them on a budget! Please be sure to check out the previous parts of this series covering United Assault, Lightning Aggro, and Deadly Discovery.

Today we're moving on to our final Challenger Deck, Arcane Tempo. To put it simply, this deck requires you to draw as many cards as you can to add fuel to the literal fire that you’ll be burning under your opponent’s seat.

But before we start hammering out our changes, let's see the decklist out of the box:

Creature 4 Goblin Electromancer 4 Crackling Drake 2 Murmuring Mystic 1 Arclight Phoenix 2 Niv-Mizzet, Parun Sorcery 4 Chart a Course 4 Lava Coil 1 Beacon Bolt Instant 4 Opt 4 Radical Idea 4 Shock 2 Dive Down 1 Blink of an Eye Enchantment 1 The Mirari Conjecture Land 3 Sulfur Falls 4 Izzet Guildgate 8 Island 7 Mountain Sideboard 1 The Mirari Conjecture 1 Beacon Bolt 3 Negate 3 Entrancing Melody 3 Fiery Cannonade 2 Shivan Fire 2 Disdainful Stroke

4 Goblin Electromancer 4 Crackling Drake 2 Murmuring Mystic 1 Arclight Phoenix 2 Niv-Mizzet, Parun 4 Chart a Course 4 Lava Coil 1 Beacon Bolt 4 Opt 4 Radical Idea 4 Shock 2 Dive Down 1 Blink of an Eye 1 The Mirari Conjecture 3 Sulfur Falls 4 Izzet Guildgate 8 Island 7 Mountain 1 The Mirari Conjecture 1 Beacon Bolt 3 Negate 3 Entrancing Melody 3 Fiery Cannonade 2 Shivan Fire 2 Disdainful Stroke

And now let’s see if we can conjure up a better looking list with the budget we have.

Change 1

Entrancing Melody simply doesn’t fit for what this deck is going for. The card that does fit this deck’s bill nicely, however, is the crowd favorite Expansion // Explosion. What’s better than just drawing cards? Drawing cards and dealing damage while doing it! Cut the three Entrancing Melodys and tag in Expansion // Explosions.

Change 2

Murmuring Mystic is a wonderful card in Limited, but it's just about useless in this deck's overall strategy. How do we fix it?

Simple. Swap the bird man for big brain plays. Cut two Murmuring Mystic for two Chemister’s Insight. Drawing two cards twice per copy gives plenty of fuel without potentially decking yourself in the process.

Change 3

This last cut is a little more complicated. We’re cutting two The Mirari Conjecture, one Lava Coil and a Fiery Cannonade and replacing them with more drakes. Specifically, four Enigma Drakes. Not only are the fliers big enough to soak most damage, but with their power ever growing, there'ss enough there to make it all worthwhile.

Let’s take a look at the final product:

Creature 4 Goblin Electromancer 4 Crackling Drake 2 Niv-Mizzet, Parun 4 Enigma Drake 1 Arclight Phoenix Sorcery 4 Chart a Course 3 Lava Coil Instant 4 Opt 2 Expansion // Explosion 4 Radical Idea 4 Shock 2 Chemister’s Insight Land 3 Sulfur Falls 4 Izzet Guildgate 8 Island 7 Mountain Sideboard 2 Fiery Cannonade 3 Negate 2 Shivan Fire 2 Disdainful Stroke 1 Blink of an Eye 2 Beacon Bolt 2 Dive Down 1 Expansion // Explosion

4 Goblin Electromancer 4 Crackling Drake 2 Niv-Mizzet, Parun 4 Enigma Drake 1 Arclight Phoenix 4 Chart a Course 3 Lava Coil 4 Opt 2 Expansion // Explosion 4 Radical Idea 4 Shock 2 Chemister’s Insight 3 Sulfur Falls 4 Izzet Guildgate 8 Island 7 Mountain 2 Fiery Cannonade 3 Negate 2 Shivan Fire 2 Disdainful Stroke 1 Blink of an Eye 2 Beacon Bolt 2 Dive Down 1 Expansion // Explosion

And there we have it. Keep in mind that this is only a start. With just twenty dollars, I’ve made enough changes to seriously turn the tide of any game. Just imagine what you can do with even an extra five or ten dollars. Combine that with patience, and the sky is the limit.

I hope these changes help players get inspiration not only from these Challenger Decks, but from all future brews. Until next time, may all your rares be mythics! Happy gaming, and enjoy the new Challenger Decks!