Getting into tron.

[Kaylesh]

So, I've gotten this bunch of cards from Chronicles/Mirage era. In it was a full playset Tron lands.
This gets me wondering what would be a cheap way of getting into modern with these?
My collection contains 2 Ugin, which helps a lot budget-wise, but otherwise I have no notable rares.

[Mr_Fahrenheit]

If you are happy to play {karplusan forest} instead of {grove of the burnwillows} (keeping in mind that this is a real cost), then you can play GR. The most expensive stuff you need is {karn liberated}. I went on a more creature based list until I could acquire the karns by substituting karn with {steel hellkite}. It makes good use of all the mana you end up with. You can also use {perilous vault} instead of {oblivion stone}, and {thragtusk} instead of {wurmcoil engine}. Just keep in mind that it is suboptimal. If you are interested in seeing my list pm me.

[Mattao19]

^^^ nailed it.

Trons expensive

Karns $70
Wurms $20
O Stones $35
Nulamog $21
Eye of Ugin $70 😭

But:

{Steel Hellkite} $1
{Platinum Angel} $8 (tbh I'd just get wurmcoils deck runs 3 but they're so good)
{Sundering Titan} $7
{Perilous Vault} $2
{Sea Gate Wreckage} $2
{Mirrorpool} $4

There are budget options but I'd definitely recommend wurms they're so good!!

Also {Karplusan Forest} is likely the best none {Grove of the Burnwillows} RG land. For what it's worth I only run 3 Groves (even though I have a 4th) and run an extra forest bc GQs and paths are everywhere and having 2 forests main helps vs moon (which isn't even good against tron as hopefully you'll soon find out 😃)

[Mr_Fahrenheit]

You just have to remember that every budget substitutiom comes with a cost. Painlands lose you percentage points against burn and aggro, thragtusk instead of wurmcoils makes it sometimes uncastable as well as making your {ancient stirrings} worse. No karns make your explosive starts few and far between. But all this notwithstanding, it is still a super fun deck to play. Otherwise you could go mono blue tron and use mindslaver. That is always a fun card to play ☺

[Mattao19]

Beauty post ^^

[Codester1991]

Good luck with the build! I'm not here to be a Nancy but before buying eye of Ugins I'd wait until after SOI just for the simple fact they may be banned and that would be horrible spending 40-80 bucks on them and they get banned the next day. There's a chance it won't happen but in case it does it would stink.

[Kaylesh]

Thanks all for the suggestions.
I think I will be starting in a budget build just to get into it. Getting to learn the ropes before actually being super competitive.

{{MR_fahrenheit}}, I'd love to see some lists.
It would point me in what direction to go.
I'm more of a G/R kinda guy then a U, but maybe after play testing I learn I like being the nasty guy who counters your answer to a T2 Karn..

Matteo, your input on budget replacements is also much appreciated. I'll definitely take those into account.

Codester, yes indeed that would hurt. Trondrazi seems really fun, but I share your opinion that it would probably suffer from bannings very soon.

[Mattao19]

Please tell me you snap mulled that hand lol 1 land 3 stir 3 scryings is so bad on 7 lol

[Mattao19]

Lol Taysby you crazy. Most mulls to 6 are better than that! Have faith in your mulls!!

[Mr_Fahrenheit]

I would almost certainly mulligan that. You aren't guaranteed to hit with ancient stirrings, therefore you aren't guaranteed ugin on turn 4. And even an ugin on turn 4 isn't necessarily game winning. Plus a random 6 is usually better than that 7.

But in a matchup you know well I can see the merit in sometimes keeping that 7.

[Mr_Fahrenheit]

But that isn't the case. It isn't even about missing land drops. It is about getting tron not only assembled as soon as possible, but being able to utilise its mana as soon as possible. You have to hit with your turn 1 stirrings otherwise you have to spend your next 3 turns finding the tron pieces (i.e. using mana), and only by delaying tron even further by playing a second green source are you able to even use sylvan scrying plus stirrings in the same turn. The earliest turn you are guaranteed to untap with all 3 tron lands in play is turn 5 (and that may even involve playing one of them on turn 5). This is all assuming zero interaction from your opponent. You could easily be dead by then.

Which is why I said only if you know the match up well and know you are guaranteed to be alive by turn 5 would I even consider keeping that hand, because even then you still need to find something useful to spend all that mana on.

[Mr_Fahrenheit]

Also, tron is a deck that mulligans well. Saying that mulligans to 6 rarely work for you is insane as I have had many games where I have been more than happy to mulligan to 5 rather than keeping a bad 6. The entire point of the deck is to assemble tron by turn 3 or in the worst case scenario turn 4, and do busted .poo. with your mana advantage. The entire engine is redundant, it is your mana that is important. Don't jeapordise it by keeping dodgy opening hands.

[Mattao19]

I've won multiple times on 4 and that's saying something! Trons the only deck I feel comfortable to mull a bad 5 with. I mull very aggressively with it and it's pretty rewarding

[Meanderous]

Eye has already droped down to 20 or a used one for 12$

[Mattao19]

Oh really? Good to know lol