Liliana is an interesting commander in my backlog. She's a fairly complicated build because of the many things she requires - first she needs a creature to die, which requires a creature and, ideally, a sac outlet. Then, once flipped, as a walker she needs protection. And if you want to get her more counters, you'd better either be prepared to play hellbent, or draw extra cards so you'll have enough spares to discard. And once that's all taken care of, she's got several ways to pay you off - the discard enables some stax, the minus ability can be effective with cheap, high-impact creatures, and her ult is, imo, among the most, if not THE most, absurd ult in the game.
So I think there's a lot of ways to build her. This version is aiming to do exactly one thing: ult her. Happily, the pieces that make that possible are also among the best options for taking advantage of it - board wipes that protect her also turn into mass-mind-control once she's ulted. Flipping her is a little trickier, but creatures with removal etb effects work perfectly for both protecting her and for value after she's ulted by coming back again and again.
I don't think you are running enough creatures. The way your list is now, you could easily get stuck in a game without drawing into any creatures for several turns. I recommend running small creatures with a CMC of 1 or 2 that you can sacrifice. Good ones for Liliana, Heretical Healer include Cabal Trainee, Fume Spitter, Heap Doll and Vampire Hexmage.
Liliana is an amazing commander, but she's most powerful when you don't rely on her. She can just be an amazing engine to power an existing deck.
My point is, you are depending too heavily on Liliana. Someone plays Nevermore on her and you don't have a game plan except for removing everyone's stuff... Eventually you will run out and become irrelevant or dead.
Liliana is an amazing commander, but she's most powerful when you don't rely on her. She can just be an amazing engine to power an existing deck.
My point is, you are depending too heavily on Liliana. Someone plays Nevermore on her and you don't have a game plan except for removing everyone's stuff... Eventually you will run out and become irrelevant or dead.
Meh, I know how to build MBC. I've built more mono-black decks than any other color combination I think. It's fun, but I'm more interested in finding something new. Her ult is really interesting (and by interesting I mostly mean absurd) so it seemed like the most worthwhile thing to builds toward, to try to make something cool happen. Does that open up weaknesses? Sure, but such is the price of having fun. Anyway I could always tutor for o-stone or disk, between the pair + tutors, that's like 8 ways to kill nevermore/pithing needle/etc.
In reality I think the ult is more of an "I win" button than anything, which is always the downside of these sorts of things. Sure, the deck is strong, but it's either on or it's off. When it works, no one sticks around through constant triggers. I played a couple games, two wins against mostly inferior decks (and one ezuri deck that did NOT see that board wipe coming) and a loss. The loss was actually the most interesting game because I ended up ulting but at very low life (after the first ult got stifled!), and made a critical misplay that cost me the game a few turns later, though I'm fairly confident I could have won if I'd been paying more attention. Still, even that game, it was an all-v-one situation, which is not really what makes for fun games imo. If I can just straight up fight 3v1 and win (at least if I don't screw up), the deck is too strong, and I think if I go weaker it'll be much harder to defend liliana for ulting since the goal is basically to keep the board clear at all times. So, I don't know if there's a power level where this deck isn't either too strong or too weak, or too not-focused-on-liliana, and the nature of all the wipes sort of makes it archenemy by default.
If I was going to revamp for more power, I'd probably consider the obvious grave pact shenanigans, and some of the proliferate cards I forgot about. Could also completely retool and use liliana more for her + and - abilities, but frankly I don't think she's worth the effort if that's all the benefit you're getting out of her, compared to something like XHD or Geth or Toshiro.
So I think there's a lot of ways to build her. This version is aiming to do exactly one thing: ult her. Happily, the pieces that make that possible are also among the best options for taking advantage of it - board wipes that protect her also turn into mass-mind-control once she's ulted. Flipping her is a little trickier, but creatures with removal etb effects work perfectly for both protecting her and for value after she's ulted by coming back again and again.
1 Liliana, Heretical Healer
Removal (37)
1 Bone Shredder
1 Kuon, Ogre Ascendant
1 The Abyss
1 Karn Liberated
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Life's Finale
1 Deadly Tempest
1 Crux of Fate
1 Extinguish All Hope
1 Crypt Rats
1 Languish
1 Mutilate
1 Kagemaro, First to Suffer
1 Black Sun's Zenith
1 Deathbringer Regent
1 Pestilence
1 Innocent Blood
1 Noxious Gearhulk
1 Nightshade Assassin
1 Skinrender
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Big Game Hunter
1 Maze of Ith
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Slum Reaper
1 Shriekmaw
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 Damnation
1 Decree of Pain
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Snuff Out
1 Curtains' Call
1 Go for the Throat
1 Necromantic Selection
1 Victim of Night
1 Dismember
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Necropotence
1 Death of a Thousand Stings
1 Exile into Darkness
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Dark Confidant
1 Liliana of the Dark Realms
1 Veilborn Ghoul
1 Asylum Visitor
1 Underworld Connections
1 Waste Not
1 Sanitarium Skeleton
1 Oversold Cemetery
Tutor (8)
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Grim Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
1 Entomb
1 Diabolic Intent
1 Expedition Map
Or if all else fails... (1)
1 Grave Betrayal
Mana (41)
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Jet Medallion
1 High Market
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Sea Gate Wreckage
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Scavenger Grounds
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Blighted Fen
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Throne of the High City
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Mutavault
1 Mishra's Factor
1 Blinkmoth Nexus
1 Spawning Pool
20 Swamp
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
I don't think you are running enough creatures. The way your list is now, you could easily get stuck in a game without drawing into any creatures for several turns. I recommend running small creatures with a CMC of 1 or 2 that you can sacrifice. Good ones for Liliana, Heretical Healer include Cabal Trainee, Fume Spitter, Heap Doll and Vampire Hexmage.
I also recommend you run Cabal Ritual, Culling the Weak and of course Dark Ritual. Early game they enable outrageous plays and later in the game they can help you cast bigger spells or recast Liliana, Heretical Healer.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
My point is, you are depending too heavily on Liliana. Someone plays Nevermore on her and you don't have a game plan except for removing everyone's stuff... Eventually you will run out and become irrelevant or dead.
Instead, run cards like Crypt Ghast, Rune-Scarred Demon, Chainer, Dementia Master, draw a ton of cards with Night's Whisper, Read the Bones, Ancient Craving. Black can play the value game very well. Lili can be the cherry on top that dominates the deck, but doesn't have to be the one critical card you always need to have.
In reality I think the ult is more of an "I win" button than anything, which is always the downside of these sorts of things. Sure, the deck is strong, but it's either on or it's off. When it works, no one sticks around through constant triggers. I played a couple games, two wins against mostly inferior decks (and one ezuri deck that did NOT see that board wipe coming) and a loss. The loss was actually the most interesting game because I ended up ulting but at very low life (after the first ult got stifled!), and made a critical misplay that cost me the game a few turns later, though I'm fairly confident I could have won if I'd been paying more attention. Still, even that game, it was an all-v-one situation, which is not really what makes for fun games imo. If I can just straight up fight 3v1 and win (at least if I don't screw up), the deck is too strong, and I think if I go weaker it'll be much harder to defend liliana for ulting since the goal is basically to keep the board clear at all times. So, I don't know if there's a power level where this deck isn't either too strong or too weak, or too not-focused-on-liliana, and the nature of all the wipes sort of makes it archenemy by default.
If I was going to revamp for more power, I'd probably consider the obvious grave pact shenanigans, and some of the proliferate cards I forgot about. Could also completely retool and use liliana more for her + and - abilities, but frankly I don't think she's worth the effort if that's all the benefit you're getting out of her, compared to something like XHD or Geth or Toshiro.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6