Huge fan of the deck. Have the cards for it, but playing Martyr Proc right now. I love Auriok Champion so much I actually have two in my deck, though mostly because I play in a very red meta. I think SS could be in good shape, and the version I played looks almost exactly like yours. I loved Lingering Souls in this deck. The new Serra in Modern Horizons is an exciting card, and would be worth testing in the BW build.
I wonder if 4 Ghost Quarter will get in the way of casting Spectral Procession on turn 3. I use Ghost Quarter a lot in Martyr, and I would want to play them in SS if I switched back to it.
I'm not a sideboard expert, but I would take out Tempest of Light (seems good against Bogles), the fourth Auriok Champion (I would personally put the fourth in the main and swap out one Soul Warden), and maybe Thalia. I play Eidolon of Rhetoric and Damping Sphere in Martyr, so I have a better comfort level with those. Thalia might be better... I always felt that if I need to bring in Thalia, I will need more non-creature spells for that same match, and bringing her in might make things awkward. Thalia does more in decks like Humans and Death and Taxes. If you're comfortable with Thalia, then it could be a better fit for you.
I've done very well against Dredge with Burn (and every Dredge player is quick to remind me that they feel they are favored). I think Skullcrack is absolutely a necessary card, and would rather cut something else for Skewer. When I have Skullcrack against Dredge, I feel like I have a hate card in my hand. I like Surgical over Rest in Peace; I hate tapping out for something that doesn't do damage, and sometimes, tapping out to play Rest in Peace feels kind of bad. If you decide to play Rest in Peace on your second turn, they blow it up and have one mana left to get the engine re-started. It feels like a waste. If you play it later than turn 2 it might be too late anyway. I use a combination of Ravenous Trap or Tormod's Crypt, too, but only because I don't want to spend money on Surgical. Surgical is better, although two life is a real cost in this match.
I took a more balanced approach when removing cards for Skewer. In my main deck I run 3 each of Searing Blaze, Helix, and Skullcrack, with no Grim Lavamancer. My meta has a lot of Dredge, Burn, and Midrange decks (with a sprinkle of Phoenix decks). I don't like Grim in my meta, and I don't want to have less than 3 Skullcracks or Helixes, so my build works for me (I've had my hand ripped apart often enough to have nightmares about drawing Searing Blaze or Grim with my opponent at 3). Take my opinions with a grain of salt, because I'm comfortable with the way I play my deck in my meta.
Had success with this list but with Lightning Strike instead. I am going back to it. The Meta looks like it’s going to shift to four copies of Contempt everywhere... but this deck is much more efficient than regular mono black. I like being able to run Abrade out of the side against Vehicles.
Deck isn't dead yet. Went 4-1 at my LGS yesterday. Normally don't post my results here, but I figured this first weekend matters.
My version is only slightly different.
+ 4 Kitesail Freebooter
+ 2 Moment of Craving
- Ruin Raider
- 1 Aethersphere Harvester
- 2 Walk the Plank
Zero Heart of Kiran
I played with a 2/2 split of Moment and Supernatural Stamina. I expected a lot of aggro for the first week, and I made a good meta call. I have been on and off on Ruin Raider over time. I don't necessarily think my version is "correct" or anything like that, but the meta was pretty diverse last night. Dinosaurs, Vampires. Gift, Merfolk, Pirates, and the new RDW were all present. There was one control deck. I have been very comfortable playing Freebooter in the main and just prefer it over raider, though I have won with Raider in the past.
I packed Harsh Scrutiny in the sideboard for Dinosaurs and any other big creature shenanigans. It did see some action. My only loss was to the R/B Pirate deck, which was much faster than me.
Round 1: Merfolk 2-0 Nothing crazy to report except Supernatural Stamina traded well early and I was glad Walk the Plank was in the sideboard.
Round 2: Pirates 0-2. This match was over in five minutes. He packed more one-drops and more creatures with Menace. I also had awful opening hands and had to mull.
Round 3: Janky vampires 2-1. It was a budget version of the deck but I kept Freebooter in because he was playing Call to the Feast. It helped. I lost a game because three straight Gifted Aetherborn is pretty good.
Round 4: RDW 2-0. Was over quickly. To be fair, he drew a lot of lands, but Moment of Craving came up big. Nothing too surprising to report at this point, except Path to Mettle doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would.
Top 8: Same Merfolk match from before, though the player was running hot and we played an epic game three. I needed Harsh Scrutiny because there is no way to get Kumena.
Split top 4.
I expected Merfolk to be a thing the first week, and probably for another week or two. My biggest concern with the deck is playing against Lifelink, so I am not too confident against Vampires. I don't foresee dinos being a problem. If I return to the same meta next week, four Gifted will replace the Freebooters.
Just want to thank you for keeping this deck alive. I used to post on here a lot, and had settled on a BW list with Lingering Souls. I had a lot of success with it up until Eldrazi Winter, because I couldn't prey on Twin and Lantern Control seemed to be the policeman to shut down the Eldrazi. The current meta looks rough for the Sisters, but it's the best Modern deck that I could afford and I love the deck. I can't get fetches right now, but I intend to play a mono list with Secure the Wastes. I will share a list when I get a winning record. I did win cash with the deck a couple of times in bigger tournaments, and I used to see some good lists in here that experienced success, so I know the deck can win; there's a good group of players on the deck, and this forum has always been positive. BoBo has helped me many times in the past, and I see some other familiar names still playing the deck.
If you scroll through it, you'll see mention of a 7-1 deck. They provide a deck tech at the bottom that has only 20 lands. I think 20-21 is about the right number, but I'm not a pro. I run 21 in mine and have flooded more than once.
I think the decklist they have is pretty gosh-darn spicy. I really like the synergy of Bontu and everything else in this deck. You would essentially have four indestructible creatures in the deck with 8 other bodies that can come back (not to mention the vehicles). I like the idea that the deck has game against Tokens (the only match I hate playing).
Seems like Bone Picker is part of the core. I played with it last night and it came down in ridiculous fashion as a turn two play. Fatal Push into Picker feels pretty good.
I am a huge fan of Harsh Scrutiny for all the reasons you mentioned. Holding it to get Hazoret right before they want to drop it feels pretty good, too. In mono black, I am still not sold on Bone Picker, either, so I like to have the flying pirate dude and Harsh Scrutiny in the main. I only play with two Ruin Raider.
I have a little more fun playing Mono at the moment, because I have Red built... and hate switching the cards back and forth because I can't make up my mind, lol. I want to play mono black tomorrow night and BR for FNM, with Bontu's in the main. I've only had one losing night (there were Three tokens players last Friday). A part of me also really wants to play Cut // Ribbons because I want to hit Glorybringer with it and have the Ribbons option late game.
I check this thread every day for new information, so I like keeping the dialogue going.
I am just not a fan of Ruin Raider or Heart. I don’t think these cards are good against Red and I do think it’s hard to crew Heart.
I am now curious about Dread Wanderer in the BR deck. Is it worth it to swap it out for Harsh Scrutiny or Dufess, since we would have Bomat in the BR version? I started thinking about it after reading an article on CFB that mentioned our deck. My biggest roadblock, outside of tokens, is the Virtuoso in the energy decks. It stonewalls me hard. Even if I can strike it or hit it with Walk the Plank on mono black, they have enough energy to drop a couple dudes.
I am going to play without the Siphoner for about a week. I really like Menace, but we'll see... it seems like the mono black list has some variations. I think one MTGO player used Duress and then switched to Harsh Scrutiny in another list.
I have always played with two Harvesters, even in BR aggro. I am struggling to understand why Heart of Kiran would work in this deck, because I am seeing lists popping up with it. I am just hesitant to spend on it if an optimal build doesn't require the card. Seems like it would be harder to crew than the Harvester.
Did you guys see this list? Top 8 at an IQ... No Siphoner, No red. I have been playing with a version similar to this one and it's pretty dang fun. I think the mono black is viable, and it's also a good deck for the price.
First, thanks for building such a fun deck! I wanted to come by and share some observations after playing two versions of the deck for the past week.
I started with true mono black. I enjoyed the consistency of the mana base. I kept the stock list that's in the primer, except I played with only two Ruin Raider. The deck is fast and fun. I doubt there is a better budget deck available in standard. I played with Harsh Scrutiny in the sideboard, and found it to be a turn one Fatal Push with Scry 1. Competitively, I played it only once: I went 2-1, beating a Curses deck that won a 16 man tournament (somehow they never drew Fumigate), and Merfolk, losing to a Scarab God deck because I never drew Walk the Plank in time to get in my last bit of damage. Lightning Strike would have helped here. I know I didn't beat any competitive decks, but...
FNM last night, I played BR, with the only change being one Licensed Disintegration instead of Bontu's Last Reckoning. I stomped Mardu Vehicles and was a buzzsaw against a GWR energy deck that used the big dino. Of course, there's Hazoret, and we know Hazoret just wins the game. I lost to Temur Energy... BUT... if I had been playing Mono Black, I would have gone right through Temur Energy. I couldn't get a red source in time (also, bad mulligans), but even then, Lightning Strike wasn't good enough, because the energy can just pump those big dudes. Walk the Plank would have dominated in this match. Mono Black would have won it by a landslide.
Playtesting with BR against Ramunap, about two dozen games (they go fast, lol), I found that Yahenni is really good and gives us a very good shot, but it's mostly a race to Hazoret. I am not sure the match is 50/50 with either build. Although if I played Mono Black again, I would swap in Yahenni for the Ruin Raider just for the heck of it, and I think that would make a huge difference, and I would say it's 50/50 or close to it.
I hope this feedback helps someone.
TL; DR: Mono Black is a viable budget deck. Fun, consistent, and fast. Harsh Scrutiny is a good card, and Walk the Plank does some work. BR is all about dropping Hazoret, and it has the little bit of reach you need to finish the opponent with Lightning Strike. Both decks are extremely fun.
Came to tell you I was wrong... lol. 4 Collective Brutality is not good. Went 0 3 at a 44 person grand prx trial. Played against white green decks three times in a row. I think I saw Eternal Witness a thousand times tonight, and never saw Surgical. Really needed Wrench Mind tonight. I haven't had my butt smacked around this badly in a long time. Was worth it to find out that it didn't work. I missed with bad duress mode three times tonight. I would apologize to memorylapse but I think he can't see my post.
I wonder if 4 Ghost Quarter will get in the way of casting Spectral Procession on turn 3. I use Ghost Quarter a lot in Martyr, and I would want to play them in SS if I switched back to it.
I'm not a sideboard expert, but I would take out Tempest of Light (seems good against Bogles), the fourth Auriok Champion (I would personally put the fourth in the main and swap out one Soul Warden), and maybe Thalia. I play Eidolon of Rhetoric and Damping Sphere in Martyr, so I have a better comfort level with those. Thalia might be better... I always felt that if I need to bring in Thalia, I will need more non-creature spells for that same match, and bringing her in might make things awkward. Thalia does more in decks like Humans and Death and Taxes. If you're comfortable with Thalia, then it could be a better fit for you.
Nice deck! Good luck.
I've done very well against Dredge with Burn (and every Dredge player is quick to remind me that they feel they are favored). I think Skullcrack is absolutely a necessary card, and would rather cut something else for Skewer. When I have Skullcrack against Dredge, I feel like I have a hate card in my hand. I like Surgical over Rest in Peace; I hate tapping out for something that doesn't do damage, and sometimes, tapping out to play Rest in Peace feels kind of bad. If you decide to play Rest in Peace on your second turn, they blow it up and have one mana left to get the engine re-started. It feels like a waste. If you play it later than turn 2 it might be too late anyway. I use a combination of Ravenous Trap or Tormod's Crypt, too, but only because I don't want to spend money on Surgical. Surgical is better, although two life is a real cost in this match.
I took a more balanced approach when removing cards for Skewer. In my main deck I run 3 each of Searing Blaze, Helix, and Skullcrack, with no Grim Lavamancer. My meta has a lot of Dredge, Burn, and Midrange decks (with a sprinkle of Phoenix decks). I don't like Grim in my meta, and I don't want to have less than 3 Skullcracks or Helixes, so my build works for me (I've had my hand ripped apart often enough to have nightmares about drawing Searing Blaze or Grim with my opponent at 3). Take my opinions with a grain of salt, because I'm comfortable with the way I play my deck in my meta.
My version is only slightly different.
+ 4 Kitesail Freebooter
+ 2 Moment of Craving
- Ruin Raider
- 1 Aethersphere Harvester
- 2 Walk the Plank
Zero Heart of Kiran
I played with a 2/2 split of Moment and Supernatural Stamina. I expected a lot of aggro for the first week, and I made a good meta call. I have been on and off on Ruin Raider over time. I don't necessarily think my version is "correct" or anything like that, but the meta was pretty diverse last night. Dinosaurs, Vampires. Gift, Merfolk, Pirates, and the new RDW were all present. There was one control deck. I have been very comfortable playing Freebooter in the main and just prefer it over raider, though I have won with Raider in the past.
I packed Harsh Scrutiny in the sideboard for Dinosaurs and any other big creature shenanigans. It did see some action. My only loss was to the R/B Pirate deck, which was much faster than me.
Round 1: Merfolk 2-0 Nothing crazy to report except Supernatural Stamina traded well early and I was glad Walk the Plank was in the sideboard.
Round 2: Pirates 0-2. This match was over in five minutes. He packed more one-drops and more creatures with Menace. I also had awful opening hands and had to mull.
Round 3: Janky vampires 2-1. It was a budget version of the deck but I kept Freebooter in because he was playing Call to the Feast. It helped. I lost a game because three straight Gifted Aetherborn is pretty good.
Round 4: RDW 2-0. Was over quickly. To be fair, he drew a lot of lands, but Moment of Craving came up big. Nothing too surprising to report at this point, except Path to Mettle doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would.
Top 8: Same Merfolk match from before, though the player was running hot and we played an epic game three. I needed Harsh Scrutiny because there is no way to get Kumena.
Split top 4.
I expected Merfolk to be a thing the first week, and probably for another week or two. My biggest concern with the deck is playing against Lifelink, so I am not too confident against Vampires. I don't foresee dinos being a problem. If I return to the same meta next week, four Gifted will replace the Freebooters.
Keep playing the deck. It's still fun!
Just want to thank you for keeping this deck alive. I used to post on here a lot, and had settled on a BW list with Lingering Souls. I had a lot of success with it up until Eldrazi Winter, because I couldn't prey on Twin and Lantern Control seemed to be the policeman to shut down the Eldrazi. The current meta looks rough for the Sisters, but it's the best Modern deck that I could afford and I love the deck. I can't get fetches right now, but I intend to play a mono list with Secure the Wastes. I will share a list when I get a winning record. I did win cash with the deck a couple of times in bigger tournaments, and I used to see some good lists in here that experienced success, so I know the deck can win; there's a good group of players on the deck, and this forum has always been positive. BoBo has helped me many times in the past, and I see some other familiar names still playing the deck.
Thanks again for keeping the Sisters strong!
https://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/ptxln/videos
If you scroll through it, you'll see mention of a 7-1 deck. They provide a deck tech at the bottom that has only 20 lands. I think 20-21 is about the right number, but I'm not a pro. I run 21 in mine and have flooded more than once.
I think the decklist they have is pretty gosh-darn spicy. I really like the synergy of Bontu and everything else in this deck. You would essentially have four indestructible creatures in the deck with 8 other bodies that can come back (not to mention the vehicles). I like the idea that the deck has game against Tokens (the only match I hate playing).
Seems like Bone Picker is part of the core. I played with it last night and it came down in ridiculous fashion as a turn two play. Fatal Push into Picker feels pretty good.
I have a little more fun playing Mono at the moment, because I have Red built... and hate switching the cards back and forth because I can't make up my mind, lol. I want to play mono black tomorrow night and BR for FNM, with Bontu's in the main. I've only had one losing night (there were Three tokens players last Friday). A part of me also really wants to play Cut // Ribbons because I want to hit Glorybringer with it and have the Ribbons option late game.
I check this thread every day for new information, so I like keeping the dialogue going.
I am now curious about Dread Wanderer in the BR deck. Is it worth it to swap it out for Harsh Scrutiny or Dufess, since we would have Bomat in the BR version? I started thinking about it after reading an article on CFB that mentioned our deck. My biggest roadblock, outside of tokens, is the Virtuoso in the energy decks. It stonewalls me hard. Even if I can strike it or hit it with Walk the Plank on mono black, they have enough energy to drop a couple dudes.
I have always played with two Harvesters, even in BR aggro. I am struggling to understand why Heart of Kiran would work in this deck, because I am seeing lists popping up with it. I am just hesitant to spend on it if an optimal build doesn't require the card. Seems like it would be harder to crew than the Harvester.
I really don't want to lose Siphoner, though I am curious to know how Heart of Kiran plays in the deck.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/801351#paper
I started with true mono black. I enjoyed the consistency of the mana base. I kept the stock list that's in the primer, except I played with only two Ruin Raider. The deck is fast and fun. I doubt there is a better budget deck available in standard. I played with Harsh Scrutiny in the sideboard, and found it to be a turn one Fatal Push with Scry 1. Competitively, I played it only once: I went 2-1, beating a Curses deck that won a 16 man tournament (somehow they never drew Fumigate), and Merfolk, losing to a Scarab God deck because I never drew Walk the Plank in time to get in my last bit of damage. Lightning Strike would have helped here. I know I didn't beat any competitive decks, but...
FNM last night, I played BR, with the only change being one Licensed Disintegration instead of Bontu's Last Reckoning. I stomped Mardu Vehicles and was a buzzsaw against a GWR energy deck that used the big dino. Of course, there's Hazoret, and we know Hazoret just wins the game. I lost to Temur Energy... BUT... if I had been playing Mono Black, I would have gone right through Temur Energy. I couldn't get a red source in time (also, bad mulligans), but even then, Lightning Strike wasn't good enough, because the energy can just pump those big dudes. Walk the Plank would have dominated in this match. Mono Black would have won it by a landslide.
Playtesting with BR against Ramunap, about two dozen games (they go fast, lol), I found that Yahenni is really good and gives us a very good shot, but it's mostly a race to Hazoret. I am not sure the match is 50/50 with either build. Although if I played Mono Black again, I would swap in Yahenni for the Ruin Raider just for the heck of it, and I think that would make a huge difference, and I would say it's 50/50 or close to it.
I hope this feedback helps someone.
TL; DR: Mono Black is a viable budget deck. Fun, consistent, and fast. Harsh Scrutiny is a good card, and Walk the Plank does some work. BR is all about dropping Hazoret, and it has the little bit of reach you need to finish the opponent with Lightning Strike. Both decks are extremely fun.