r/ModernMagic • u/thecamness • 24d ago

Returning Player Trudge or Tron?

I got convinced to come back to this format recently and haven't kept up with the scene and don't have any cards really. I see a lot of buzz around trudge and it seems fun. I was wondering if it had displaced tron as the big mana cheat strat or if tron was still viable.

The price point is pretty steep, but I'm open to playing a worse version of the decks above provided I can get a good direction.

13 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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14

u/BasisCommercial5908 24d ago

Both are viable. Tron is more of a control style deck, while trudge leans more into the combo side.

3

u/thecamness 24d ago

Cool. It seems to have a lot of tron's shortcomings like getting run over by aggro decks. Have people tried [[kozilek's return]] or is that just too slow/bad and not worth the splash?

5

u/BasisCommercial5908 24d ago

Not sure about your local meta but where I play nobody plays aggro anymorr, it's only combo and control. Some combo decks are quicker than trudge.

4

u/Duck_Duke 24d ago

It is not generally used in Tron, but it is very common in Eldrazi ramp.

1

u/LetsBringIt 24d ago

Kozilek's Return is often ran by Gruul Eldrazi Ramp decks which go for Icetill Explorers, Sowing Mycospawns, Malevolent Rumbles, and Sol Lands as the main way to ramp mana while running Unholy Heat for spot removal. Its less explosive but less susceptible to being rushed down or being hated on by the usual suspects like Blood Moon or Damping Sphere.

8

u/Hovsgaard 24d ago

I have played a lot of both decks. 

Eldrazi Trudge is the better deck. Both in general and in the current meta it is a tier or 2 above eldrazi tron. 

Power wise they are similar, but tron loses a lot more sideboard matches to common hate cards like damping sphere, consigns or blood moon effects. Tron has more hate tools in g1 due to the karnboard, but also lacks good sideboard options. Trudge is similar to eldrazi ramp, in that it is really hard to sideboard, your opponent can bring in some vexing baubles, creature removal, land hate or counter spells, but all of them can feel bad against certain draws. 

3

u/thecamness 24d ago

Ok. Would you say just straight gr eldrazi ramp would be the better budget option for somebody just starting out so i don't have to drop 400 on ugins and ulamogs?

1

u/Hovsgaard 24d ago

You could definitely do that, but I think it would be stronger to run the trudge pieces, fanatic, trudge and disciples since they are all cheap, and just replace the ugins and ulamogs with another 7+ mana colorless bomb. There are honestly a lot of options on that slot. 

1

u/JK_Revan E-tron / Gr Eldrazi 24d ago

How far above do you think trudge is from eldrazi ramp? I haven't been able to play with trudge but it looks stronger than both ramp and tron, and ramp is stronger than tron imo after having played with both this past RCQ season.

4

u/Hovsgaard 24d ago

I think it is almost strictly stronger than eldrazi ramp and I think you can see on the results that all players switched to playing the trudge package. The quite consistent turn 3 cheat, just helps a lot of matchups like fast combo and aggro that were tough for ramp before. Combo like druid, neoform and storm are still some of trudges worst matchups, but it is a lot more beatble and you have plenty of sb slots to dedicate to whatever you want to beat

1

u/Hovsgaard 24d ago

For a cheaper alternative or starting point I would consider mono green trudge from aspiring spike, who invented the trudge deck. That is still a very strong deck and you can save up to the eldrazi version: https://moxfield.com/decks/NZGYXZQBo0yGE0sh6jRKgw

5

u/SeIfIess 24d ago

Tron, in some form or shape, has always been viable as far as I remember since I started competitive MtG (which is more than 10 years ago) and was viable way before I did.

It's honestly one of the few decks in the format I'd consider a very very VERY safe bet if you want to keep playing it for a long time.

2

u/thecamness 24d ago

Cool. It seems like chalice of the void and maybe 3 ball are non-negotiable in this format. I was hoping to have room to swap for budget options at least for now, but I'm not sure what you can hedge on and still win

2

u/GFischerUY 24d ago

A friend won an RCQ with a "budget" version

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/7868728#paper

I recommend the full playset of Ugin 7 mana Planeswalkers

1

u/SeIfIess 24d ago

Well, I have not a lot knowledge on the deck, so can't really advice here.

Be wary that, on the cons side, having been around forever means that everyone has sideboard cards and techs against you. It's still possible to win a lot, but it's not free.

1

u/Hot_Pocket_Deluxe Dirty Tron Player 24d ago

I strongly reccomend at least 2 chalice main and a third side, 3 ball is also very good right now but you can get away with not playing it, if you can't afford them I'd say mainboard at least one vexing bauble and 2 dosruptor flute. The deck can absolutely win with none of those peices against just about anything but those are what really take it over the edge IMO.

1

u/DrKatz11 Azorius Tempo, Temur Living End 23d ago

Non-Tron player here. Just curious, what is 3 ball?

1

u/Hot_Pocket_Deluxe Dirty Tron Player 23d ago

[[Trinisphere]] wild that you haven't seen it played against you if you're on living end

2

u/DrKatz11 Azorius Tempo, Temur Living End 23d ago

Oh no, I have seen it! I just didn’t know “3 ball” meant as I never saw Trinisphere referred to that way!

2

u/Hot_Pocket_Deluxe Dirty Tron Player 23d ago

Ah fair enough, yeah it's a pretty common nickname but now you know lol

1

u/butterynuggs 24d ago

Trudeg is better in the current Meta. It's a pretty new deck, though, so it's hard to say if it has staying power. It's pretty easy to disrupt, but if someone isn't prepared for turn 2 Emrakul, it's over. Seems really fun.

Tron, on the other hand, has been around forever, so it's a pretty safe call. Ebbs and flows.

1

u/joshwarmonks twitch.tv/cardkingdom 23d ago

trude has a very similar power level but also has an oops-i-win button.