Hey everyone, I saw this deck and knew I had to play it. I own 90% of if so I've been playing it on LackeyCCG with great results. I've beat Merfolk, Thresh, Zoo, and CounterTop Bant; I only lost to Dead Guy Ale so far! This is my list for now:
I really dig the deck. The helm combo is funny. It's not something people see often, and I've had to explain the interaction a few times. I think I won a game because my opponent had the force and could have used it but just didn't get the combo until it was too late. I think the full 4 wastelands is a bit much, and I want to get some Extirpates in the main. I'm thinking about dropping 1 waste and maybe 1 duress for the 2 Extirpates. Whats general verdict? - 1 duress, - 1 wastelate, +2 extirpate
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
My Decks
Standard:
Spread Em UWGR
Vintage:
Chocolate Parfait WB
Legacy:
42 Lands GRW
Ichorid BUWRG
Reset High Tide UG
Berserk 9 Land Stompy G
Casual:
Peasant Tortured Existence Dredge GB
Peasant Elf-Clamp [MANA]G[/MANA]
Pauper MBC B
Scrambled Eggs UW
52 Mountain Countryside Crusher R
EDH:
Dromar Combo Control BUW
Treva Slider GUW
Doran Doran (in the works) BGW
so I'm starting to put together a BitterContamination build for MBC (or MBA/C depending who you ask it seems lol), but I was wondering thoughts on if Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief could have potential for a more traditional MBC build... you used to ramp mana up for those X spells and at the least Drana could be a great sideboard addition don't you agree? maybe more tempting if the cost was a little less
so I'm starting to put together a BitterContamination build for MBC (or MBA/C depending who you ask it seems lol), but I was wondering thoughts on if Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief could have potential for a more traditional MBC build... you used to ramp mana up for those X spells and at the least Drana could be a great sideboard addition don't you agree? maybe more tempting if the cost was a little less
I love the Contamination-Bitterblossom lock in MBC. Drana might not be a bad idea MD depending on what you use for creature kill. She would be able to sweep an opponents board with the amount of mana MBC can produce. My MBC deck only runs Nantuko Shade and Phyrexian Totem as the kill conditions but I could see at least boarding her in to help aggro matchups though usually the lock gets them shut out pretty quick.
After some practice games I ended up 2-2 for matches, 5-6 in games..
I would like a place for Drana in the sideboard, but I'm finding she's maybe a bit heavily costed at 5... the deck runs on very little mana pretty well so you can win a game at 3-4 Swamps... one thing I found is the sideboard could use a little extra something for like zoo... three Smother isn't really fantastic and you just sit and hope for Shriekmaws... I also probably need a bit more experience with the sideboard... I know there were a couple of misplays on my part
I guess the bottom line is that I was left unsure with how I felt with the deck... Engineered Plague is a big problem and you do suffer against any enchantments/artifacts
I would suggest playing Disks in the SB. They are the only thing that can take care of Enchantments/Artifacts. How did you like the Shriekmaws and Jittes? I find that Edicts(Chainer's or Diabolic) would be better because they don't target. I understand Jitte is great at getting back life from Bobs but Consume Spirit/Drain Life could be good replacements.
I would suggest playing Disks in the SB. They are the only thing that can take care of Enchantments/Artifacts. How did you like the Shriekmaws and Jittes? I find that Edicts(Chainer's or Diabolic) would be better because they don't target. I understand Jitte is great at getting back life from Bobs but Consume Spirit/Drain Life could be good replacements.
@ Disks: Yeah I know it's the only option, but it seems so clunky.. this deck wants to do so many other things outside of Disk on turn 4
@ Jittes: Yes it would be a good life gainer, but I rarely drew them since it's only 2x... the one game I drew both of them, but double Pernicious Deed ruined that
@ Shriekmaw: I am a little torn on those, you might just Edict... it's good to have the main deck crit kill since it was important... I think I'd keep them because a targeted kill is nice against a deck that's spamming out crits.. there aren't a lot of untargetable creatures in Legacy.. the trick is more the black creatures... one game a guy got off a turn 2 Tombstalker thanks to my turn 1 Thoughtseize and Hymn to Tourach
I think Factory is a better use of your non-Swamp spots than Wasteland. What land really hurts? Maze is irritating, you aren't swarming and ToPV isn't a big problem, opposing Factorys can be smothered, doom bladed, edicted. This is my current build, the Demonic Hordes are strictly for LULZ I'd likely replace with another large creature or a Scepter of Fugue.
I think Shred Memory deserves another look, it's a tutor for spot removal or a Hymn worst case and it's maindeck Loam/Reanimate hate.
i think it really depends on what you're trying to do through your control... for example in my MBC deck the key was Bitter + Contam and messing with the land base, which in turn equals wasteland, factory would be a useless add since I got plenty of creatures to take care of that end... now in a deck where youre trying to be anti zoo and wrath over and over then yea factory will probably be a better bet
well, IMHO sinkhole is to add to the deck. It's just too strong and with hymn and wasteland it can be devastating.
The real trouble of the deck is that dark ritual doesn't show up a lot....
I've been thinking on build up this deck as an legacy MBC. I'm using Demigod as one of the finishers 'cuz of his graveyard ability, against decks that runs more counters than removal or no exile-removal, he can be a great beater.
Korlash is because of his ability to fetch some lands and get even stronger with that.
I run a very similar build to you grixis but without the rituals and -1 vampire nighthawk, +1 scroll rack, +2 thoughtseize and +2 smother, +1 nevinyrals disk. I prefer unholy grotto to stronghold as it is usualy korlash I want to return. Whilst it is nice to be able to return the other creatures I was finding that I was opting for other plays as the mana requirement was too much.
If you like black control and demigod can I suggest trying out nether void?
If you give me good reasons to run Nether Void, yes.
And about grotto vs. stronghold, i prefer stronghold 'cuz sometimes it's better to fetch back and Gatekeeper of Malakir than a Korlash, or sometimes even Demigod of Revenge can be fetched after an Damnation.
Does Scroll Rack gives you a good CA ? it seems a lil' bit two-sided coins. Also, i agree my deck needs at least a singleton Nevynirral's disk or i can be easily defeated by Iona and artifacts/enchantments.
Nether Void can be a good idea but maybe its better on SB, as it counters up to every spell i play, it makes the game slower for both players, my phyrexian arena cost 5 ? my vampire nighthawk cost 5 ?...idk, it's not a card that i'd use on my deck even with rituals.
Something i've been thinking about was:
1. remove hymn to tourach and put Nantuko Shades, but i guess this would make the deck become aggro.
2. MD Sadistic Sacrament...it's just insane on early game against a lot of decks like reanimator, dredge, painter grindstone, and other. Against another decks it can take out the most annoying threats. What do you guys think ?
Almost 50% of the times i SB S.Sacrament, i end up playing it on turn 1 (ritual, sacrament)..this can be effective. but its conditional so yeah it can be too slow for T3...i'll try them out on MD for a while, if they don't play well, i put them on SB.
Thought Id post the list I run. Far and away the strength of the deck is Persecutor and I cant imagine running the deck without it. The only question I have with the deck right now is Shade. I do want another cheap creature(2cc) to lead into stalker and Persecutor, but the deck plays very mana hungry and doesnt often have much left to pump for attacks.
this is what i can make with what i have and with the resources i can use.
is there anything else that i can do to upset iona turn 2? what deck does iona turn 2, bant survival? also any suggestions would be great.
i wanted to make this a smallpox control deck that uses AP for the wins.
anything that works well with smallpox is cool.
i'm wondering about these few things:
adding in either spinning darkness or snuff out for free spells
maybe relic of progenitus>bojuka bog?
draws you a card and kills graveyards/tarmogoyfs at instant speed over the landspeed of bog. any 1 of lands that are nice for toolboxing (like boseiju)
Now that's a real mono B control decklist.
If Iona is in you metagame, try 4x leyline of the void in SB plus some (2-4) Relic of Progenitus, those are useful against goyfs, reanimator, ichorid, loam, etc.
I really hate smallpox, I would put some Snuff Out or sinkholes if you can afford it or even some innocent blood.
Add 4 wastelands and sinkhole is kinda useless.
Splash green/white so that you can make good use of engineered explosives and some krosan grips on the sideboard.
Good thing about mono black control is that it can be customized to your metagame and become a top8 underdog.
Thought Id post the list I run. Far and away the strength of the deck is Persecutor and I cant imagine running the deck without it. The only question I have with the deck right now is Shade. I do want another cheap creature(2cc) to lead into stalker and Persecutor, but the deck plays very mana hungry and doesnt often have much left to pump for attacks.
Nantuko Shade sucks. At least it never did no good on my deck. I was just so pissed of that I sold them on discount after a tournament. It's just a creature that entices you to tap everything. Since on the first or second turn monoB is more likely to be using duress and tourach, Vampire Nighthawk is a good weenie for the deck.
I felt the same way about Nightahwk and Shade now, neither are the right creature for the deck, but I cant find a better option. Ill probably test bitterblossom, but the life from blossom and arena is an obvious issue. Maybe some combination of blossom and Jitte in the deck could work.
I agree that nighthawk itself is not a good finisher, and Shade has the problem of there being a lot of times that u'll spend ur mana to use another spells, at least that's what happaned to me when i used it.
Cast him on turn 2, turn 3 i'm casting arena or gatekeeper, 2 cards that are very useful on this deck. Shade itself is good on late-game,after you've all of your fuel on discards, and CA.
Yes, but nighthawk is a terrible finisher.
It beats for 2, lifelink isn't relevant ( except vs zoo and burn), and it can block to destroy something.
Where shade, can actually kill someone in 4 turns .( or faster very late-game)
It still deals 2 points of damage even without spending manasources in it.
+ it's there for one mana less!
The difference between shade and nighthawk is in the speed it can actually kill an opponent, this is very relevant if you make your choises the right way.
When Nantuko Kills, it means you didn't play anything else and your oponent did not also. Best for nantuko is that you discard every creature removal and creature in an opponent's hand and he does not topdeck a new removal.
Thing is the Hawk is awesome support, you said it yourself, and black tends to be a little suicidal. Zoo is possible the most played deck in the world. If your deck can't beat zoo, don't bring it to a tournament. Hawk allows you to (or at least be there lifelinking your ass off til' a lightning bolt appears). Burn and Sligh loses cards on it cos' the trouble with it is its lifelink for them, not damage. Sligh and Burn almost always win matches at being 10 life or less, monoblack deals to itself at least 6-10 life loss because of Confidant, Snuff Out, Demon of Death's Gate, etc SO this card alone can make your deck an awesome match-up against his weak spots. (Again, I ain't a native english speaker so excuse my spanglish)
So, let me start by saying that this deck is CHEAPER to build than burn.
That is correct, this could easily be the cheapest competitive deck on the legacy scene.
So let me break down the focus of the deck. This current build preys on 2 types of decks MD. Decks that run Tarmagoyf, and decks that use the graveyard, which is a lot of the field.
Bokuja Bog is by far the most surprising, and one of the most deadliest cards in the MD, being able to shrink Goyfs, get rid of LftL, Squee, Big creatures from reanimator, etc. All in the MD.
Also, the only targeted removal is Shriekmaw, so the removal package is suited to take out reanimator. And being able to fight through Iona with Disk is a huge bonus.
The SB is there to fight Combo and give you a better match-up against control.
All in all I think this deck has merit and could easily become a big threat in the current Legacy meta.
Hi maybe I'm stupid, but I have no idea about the logic behind the land base.
Isn't it better to have just 16 swamps instead of the fetches? are the fetches there for shuffling?
and what is urborg there for? there isn't a korlash in this list. Sorry, i'm not a very experienced player
EDIT: Also, I bumped into a version of this deck on workstation the other day. The guy was running sinkholes, and didnt seem to be running any disks. His deck seemed to be a lot faster than the OP list. It completely screwed up early turn land drops and busted out tombstalker turn 4 or 5 without fail.
I goldfished this list and it seems that the tombstalkers have a little bit of trouble coming out. I think taking something out, i dont know what, for some sinkholes can beef up your graveyard a little better, and adds more powerful controlling elements in the form of mana disruption rather than edict effects which this deck already runs a lot of (gatekeeper, edict, chainer's edict). maybe we can get rid of some edicts for some sinkholes?
Hi maybe I'm stupid, but I have no idea about the logic behind the land base.
Isn't it better to have just 16 swamps instead of the fetches? are the fetches there for shuffling?
They build the graveyard up to get tombstalker out faster.
Also, have been a long time sui black player, Nantuko shade by itself can win you games, and it also gives you some versatility, it can beat goyfs giving time to stall and find a board wipe, and can also cause play mistakes by your opponent not expecting the 1 untapped swamp to turn into BBB and +3/+3, provides an out for Dark ritual late game so its not just a terrible topdeck
And given Phyrexian Arena, i feel that 1-3 Consume Spirit fits nicely provides creature removal/reach after board stalls, and can keep you above lethal damage excellent late game card and makes us less reliant on needing things like Vampire Nighthawk and fits the game plan on big finishers and board control. (also, another good mid/late use of Dark ritual)
I also think that more than 2 disks is overkill, and some of those slots would be better served by damnation, a little faster in most matchups. And disk is never a t2/t3 play just to have it sit in play...
4 wasteland
2 volrath's stronghold
1 urborg, tomb of yawgmoth
4 marsh flats
2 bloodstained mire
6 swamps
3 gatekeepers of malakir
3 vampire nighthawk
3 tombstalker
2 shriekmaw
2 nyxathid
4 diabolic edict
1 chainer's edict
1 damnation
4 duress
4 hymn to tourach
3 phyrexian arenia
1 leyline of the void
2 nevinyrral's disk
3 Chalice of the Void
4 Engineered Plague
3 Helm of Obedience
3 Leyline of the Void
2 Extirpate
Standard:
Spread Em UWGR
Vintage:
Chocolate Parfait WB
Legacy:
42 Lands GRW
Ichorid BUWRG
Reset High Tide UG
Berserk 9 Land Stompy G
Casual:
Peasant Tortured Existence Dredge GB
Peasant Elf-Clamp [MANA]G[/MANA]
Pauper MBC B
Scrambled Eggs UW
52 Mountain Countryside Crusher R
EDH:
Dromar Combo Control BUW
Treva Slider GUW
Doran Doran (in the works) BGW
Deck List:
BMBCB
UBUB Control/TeachingsBU
Ha! My Pauper UG Post Deck Showed!
Classic
BPoxB
Legacy
GB Eva Depths (Primer By Me) BG
Monthly Academy Showcase!
An Introduction to Competitive Pauper! *Updated*
Pauper Meta Analysis & What Wizards Left Out!
Found at MTGO Academy!! Same Great Series, Same Great Content, Great New Home!! (yes that is me shamelessly trolling for more readers :))
Check me out on Twitter & Get a little MTGO Therapy
I love the Contamination-Bitterblossom lock in MBC. Drana might not be a bad idea MD depending on what you use for creature kill. She would be able to sweep an opponents board with the amount of mana MBC can produce. My MBC deck only runs Nantuko Shade and Phyrexian Totem as the kill conditions but I could see at least boarding her in to help aggro matchups though usually the lock gets them shut out pretty quick.
4 Dark Confidant
4 Dusk Urchins
4 Nantuko Shade
4 Shriekmaw
Non-Creature:
4 Bitterblossom
4 Contamination
4 Dark Ritual
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Thoughtseize
2 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Wasteland
18 Swamp
4 Engineered Plague
2 Leyline of the Void
3 Pithing Needle
3 Smother
3 Withered Wretch
After some practice games I ended up 2-2 for matches, 5-6 in games..
I would like a place for Drana in the sideboard, but I'm finding she's maybe a bit heavily costed at 5... the deck runs on very little mana pretty well so you can win a game at 3-4 Swamps... one thing I found is the sideboard could use a little extra something for like zoo... three Smother isn't really fantastic and you just sit and hope for Shriekmaws... I also probably need a bit more experience with the sideboard... I know there were a couple of misplays on my part
I guess the bottom line is that I was left unsure with how I felt with the deck... Engineered Plague is a big problem and you do suffer against any enchantments/artifacts
Deck List:
BMBCB
UBUB Control/TeachingsBU
Ha! My Pauper UG Post Deck Showed!
Classic
BPoxB
Legacy
GB Eva Depths (Primer By Me) BG
Monthly Academy Showcase!
An Introduction to Competitive Pauper! *Updated*
Pauper Meta Analysis & What Wizards Left Out!
Found at MTGO Academy!! Same Great Series, Same Great Content, Great New Home!! (yes that is me shamelessly trolling for more readers :))
Check me out on Twitter & Get a little MTGO Therapy
I would suggest playing Disks in the SB. They are the only thing that can take care of Enchantments/Artifacts. How did you like the Shriekmaws and Jittes? I find that Edicts(Chainer's or Diabolic) would be better because they don't target. I understand Jitte is great at getting back life from Bobs but Consume Spirit/Drain Life could be good replacements.
@ Disks: Yeah I know it's the only option, but it seems so clunky.. this deck wants to do so many other things outside of Disk on turn 4
@ Jittes: Yes it would be a good life gainer, but I rarely drew them since it's only 2x... the one game I drew both of them, but double Pernicious Deed ruined that
@ Shriekmaw: I am a little torn on those, you might just Edict... it's good to have the main deck crit kill since it was important... I think I'd keep them because a targeted kill is nice against a deck that's spamming out crits.. there aren't a lot of untargetable creatures in Legacy.. the trick is more the black creatures... one game a guy got off a turn 2 Tombstalker thanks to my turn 1 Thoughtseize and Hymn to Tourach
Deck List:
BMBCB
UBUB Control/TeachingsBU
Ha! My Pauper UG Post Deck Showed!
Classic
BPoxB
Legacy
GB Eva Depths (Primer By Me) BG
Monthly Academy Showcase!
An Introduction to Competitive Pauper! *Updated*
Pauper Meta Analysis & What Wizards Left Out!
Found at MTGO Academy!! Same Great Series, Same Great Content, Great New Home!! (yes that is me shamelessly trolling for more readers :))
Check me out on Twitter & Get a little MTGO Therapy
I think Shred Memory deserves another look, it's a tutor for spot removal or a Hymn worst case and it's maindeck Loam/Reanimate hate.
// Destroy
2 Nevinyrral's Disk
2 Grim Tutor
2 Shred Memory
4 Vampire Nighthawk
3 Gatekeeper of Malakir
2 Tombstalker
1 Masticore
1 Demonic Hordes
3 Phyrexian Arena
1 Drain Life
4 Hymn to Tourach
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Doom Blade
2 Diabolic Edict
1 Contagion
3 Bojuka Bog
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
14 Snow-Covered Swamp
Deck List:
BMBCB
UBUB Control/TeachingsBU
Ha! My Pauper UG Post Deck Showed!
Classic
BPoxB
Legacy
GB Eva Depths (Primer By Me) BG
Monthly Academy Showcase!
An Introduction to Competitive Pauper! *Updated*
Pauper Meta Analysis & What Wizards Left Out!
Found at MTGO Academy!! Same Great Series, Same Great Content, Great New Home!! (yes that is me shamelessly trolling for more readers :))
Check me out on Twitter & Get a little MTGO Therapy
Why isn't this deck focusing on the following for a turn 1 play:
Swamp + Dark Ritual + Thoughtseize + Sinkhole?
That seems pretty brutal to me, especially with all the (awesome) discard B has.
Thoughts?
currently playing:
Standard
UW Control
UWB Control
UB Control
MODERN
BRGJund
X Affinity
UWR Control
LEGACY
Dredge
R Burn
UWx Miracles
EDH
BRW Kaalia
______
Quotes:
My Magic Card nicknames.
Ok well how about this:
Turn 1: Swamp + Thoughtseize
Turn 2: Swamp + Sinkhole
Turn 3: Hymn to Tourach + Bojuka Bog
Turn 4: Dark Ritual + Tombstalker
Seems pretty good...
currently playing:
Standard
UW Control
UWB Control
UB Control
MODERN
BRGJund
X Affinity
UWR Control
LEGACY
Dredge
R Burn
UWx Miracles
EDH
BRW Kaalia
______
Quotes:
My Magic Card nicknames.
13x Swamp
4x Mishra's Factory
3x Bojuka Bog
2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Karakas
1x Volrath's Stronghold
Creatures:
4x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Shriekmaw
2x Tombstalker
4x Dark Ritual
4x Duress
4x Hymn to Tourach
2x Diabolic Edict
2x Smother
3x Nevinyrral's Disk
4x Night's Whisper
2x Umezawa's Jitte
1x Sorin Markov
4x Leyline of the Void
2x Extirpate
4x Engineered Plague
3x Chalice of the Void
2x Helldozer
2x Volrath's Stronghold
19x Swamp
4x Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
4x Demigod of Revenge
4x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Diabolic Edict
2x Damnation
4x Hymn to Tourach
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Vampire Nighthawk
4x Dark Ritual
3x Sadistic Sacrament
3x Duress
2x Pithing Needle
2x Engineered Plague
2x Nature's Ruin
2x Tormod's Crypt
1x Relic of Progenitus
I've been thinking on build up this deck as an legacy MBC. I'm using Demigod as one of the finishers 'cuz of his graveyard ability, against decks that runs more counters than removal or no exile-removal, he can be a great beater.
Korlash is because of his ability to fetch some lands and get even stronger with that.
Some cards i've been thinking on using were Unmake, Profane Command, Abyssal Persecutor and Consuming Vapors
What do u guys think ?
On DeTora's extra land drop on PT:GTC
If you give me good reasons to run Nether Void, yes.
And about grotto vs. stronghold, i prefer stronghold 'cuz sometimes it's better to fetch back and Gatekeeper of Malakir than a Korlash, or sometimes even Demigod of Revenge can be fetched after an Damnation.
Does Scroll Rack gives you a good CA ? it seems a lil' bit two-sided coins. Also, i agree my deck needs at least a singleton Nevynirral's disk or i can be easily defeated by Iona and artifacts/enchantments.
Do you have other suggestions ? ^^
On DeTora's extra land drop on PT:GTC
Nether Void can be a good idea but maybe its better on SB, as it counters up to every spell i play, it makes the game slower for both players, my phyrexian arena cost 5 ? my vampire nighthawk cost 5 ?...idk, it's not a card that i'd use on my deck even with rituals.
Something i've been thinking about was:
1. remove hymn to tourach and put Nantuko Shades, but i guess this would make the deck become aggro.
2. MD Sadistic Sacrament...it's just insane on early game against a lot of decks like reanimator, dredge, painter grindstone, and other. Against another decks it can take out the most annoying threats. What do you guys think ?
On DeTora's extra land drop on PT:GTC
On DeTora's extra land drop on PT:GTC
On DeTora's extra land drop on PT:GTC
4 Wasteland
3 Bojuka Bog
2 Volrath's Stronghold
2 Uborg Tomb of Yawgmoth
10 Swamp
3 Nantuko Shade
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
3 Tombstalker
4 Abyssal Persecutor
4 Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Dark Ritual
4 Diabolic Edict
1 Chainer's Edict
3 Innocent Blood
3 Phyrexian Arena
2 Nevinyrral's Disk
Now that's a real mono B control decklist.
If Iona is in you metagame, try 4x leyline of the void in SB plus some (2-4) Relic of Progenitus, those are useful against goyfs, reanimator, ichorid, loam, etc.
I really hate smallpox, I would put some Snuff Out or sinkholes if you can afford it or even some innocent blood.
Add 4 wastelands and sinkhole is kinda useless.
Splash green/white so that you can make good use of engineered explosives and some krosan grips on the sideboard.
Good thing about mono black control is that it can be customized to your metagame and become a top8 underdog.
Nantuko Shade sucks. At least it never did no good on my deck. I was just so pissed of that I sold them on discount after a tournament. It's just a creature that entices you to tap everything. Since on the first or second turn monoB is more likely to be using duress and tourach, Vampire Nighthawk is a good weenie for the deck.
I agree that nighthawk itself is not a good finisher, and Shade has the problem of there being a lot of times that u'll spend ur mana to use another spells, at least that's what happaned to me when i used it.
Cast him on turn 2, turn 3 i'm casting arena or gatekeeper, 2 cards that are very useful on this deck. Shade itself is good on late-game,after you've all of your fuel on discards, and CA.
On DeTora's extra land drop on PT:GTC
When Nantuko Kills, it means you didn't play anything else and your oponent did not also. Best for nantuko is that you discard every creature removal and creature in an opponent's hand and he does not topdeck a new removal.
Thing is the Hawk is awesome support, you said it yourself, and black tends to be a little suicidal. Zoo is possible the most played deck in the world. If your deck can't beat zoo, don't bring it to a tournament. Hawk allows you to (or at least be there lifelinking your ass off til' a lightning bolt appears). Burn and Sligh loses cards on it cos' the trouble with it is its lifelink for them, not damage. Sligh and Burn almost always win matches at being 10 life or less, monoblack deals to itself at least 6-10 life loss because of Confidant, Snuff Out, Demon of Death's Gate, etc SO this card alone can make your deck an awesome match-up against his weak spots.
(Again, I ain't a native english speaker so excuse my spanglish)
Hi maybe I'm stupid, but I have no idea about the logic behind the land base.
Isn't it better to have just 16 swamps instead of the fetches? are the fetches there for shuffling?
and what is urborg there for? there isn't a korlash in this list. Sorry, i'm not a very experienced player
EDIT: Also, I bumped into a version of this deck on workstation the other day. The guy was running sinkholes, and didnt seem to be running any disks. His deck seemed to be a lot faster than the OP list. It completely screwed up early turn land drops and busted out tombstalker turn 4 or 5 without fail.
I goldfished this list and it seems that the tombstalkers have a little bit of trouble coming out. I think taking something out, i dont know what, for some sinkholes can beef up your graveyard a little better, and adds more powerful controlling elements in the form of mana disruption rather than edict effects which this deck already runs a lot of (gatekeeper, edict, chainer's edict). maybe we can get rid of some edicts for some sinkholes?
i'll get to work testing
They build the graveyard up to get tombstalker out faster.
Also, have been a long time sui black player, Nantuko shade by itself can win you games, and it also gives you some versatility, it can beat goyfs giving time to stall and find a board wipe, and can also cause play mistakes by your opponent not expecting the 1 untapped swamp to turn into BBB and +3/+3, provides an out for Dark ritual late game so its not just a terrible topdeck
And given Phyrexian Arena, i feel that 1-3 Consume Spirit fits nicely provides creature removal/reach after board stalls, and can keep you above lethal damage excellent late game card and makes us less reliant on needing things like Vampire Nighthawk and fits the game plan on big finishers and board control. (also, another good mid/late use of Dark ritual)
I also think that more than 2 disks is overkill, and some of those slots would be better served by damnation, a little faster in most matchups. And disk is never a t2/t3 play just to have it sit in play...
my 2 cents
UBRWDDFTWBRU
UBRWGTESGWRBU