What do you think about running Firemane Angel ? I run 3 in my G/R/W build and I find that even just the life gain that you can get from the Angel in play or in the graveyard is very helpfull. Like it has been said above this deck can hurt you alot with the painlands, new duallands and Char so have another way of gaining some life is something that should be looked at.
Another creature that I'm thinking of adding to my build is Sunhome Enforcer . It is a 2/4 for 4 mana which is ok. It can gain you some life when it blocks or attacks and you can pump it up so you should be able to kill most creatures and gain some life in the process. The only drawback is that it is creature so you might have some problems getting it out early if you don't get the right painlands or basic land.
If you can't afford the Birds of Paradise then maybe you could play Farseek as a way of getting out your lands. Or even Sakura Tribe Elder could be a option, although the Elder wouldn't be a very good option since your deck is running mostly nonbasic lands. Hell even Gift of Estates could be played in this deck since your running both Sacred Foundry and Temple Garden . The Gifts of Estates would be able to get 3 of which ever ones you needed.
How about maybe adding some Wrath of God to the deck? You don't have any mass removal so if you face a weenie deck and you have to reset the board right now with this build you don't have anything to do so. Running even just 3 would be a good option IMO.
I thought that Exile into Darkness might see some play in T2 constructed since it had been played in Block as a way of dealing with weenie decks. After trying it a few times in some tournements it seems to be just to slow in constructed. Even with the really good ability of returning to your hand each turn 5 mana to get rid of 1 weenie creature of your opponents choice just doesn't seem economical. You can get rid of the 1st swarm of weenies with a nicely timed Hideous Laughter . Then you should be able to lay down a Kagemaro First to Suffer which should be able to deal with the 2nd rush of weenies. Then you should be playing your kill spell either Kokusho the Evening Star or another Kagemaro to seal the deal. Bottom line is IMO at 5 mana your spell in MBC has to be strong, it should be swinging the game into your favor not just pecking away at your opponents weenies 1 at a time.
no one plays black hand here, although as i recall hideous laughter should kill most of their creatures. this deck packs alot of threats, and i can usually start swinging as soon as i clear the board.
Most of the creatures that are run in the Black Hand decks around here are 3/3 creatures like Raving On-Slave and some Yukora the Prisoner so Hideous Laughter usually doesn't clear the whole board. After Mirrodin rotates out though the won't have the acceleration of Chrome Mox so a 2nd turn Raving Oni-Slave equiped with O-Naginata hitting me for 6 won't be happening.
I like the idea of Shred Memory . Using it as a tutor to go get any 2cc spell in your deck. Defense Grid really isn't need around here anymore. Most of the decks that are being played are aggro decks with alot of creatures. I don't really see blue being played all that much when Ravnica becomes legal. The only deck that I might think about needing Defense Grid for would be maybe a W/R deck that ran Char, Lightning Helix , and even Devouring Light . Some people are testing decks like that now and Defense Grid could help with all the burn in the deck. I have to remember though that I run alot of instant removal in my deck also. So Grid would really affect me to.
The only 1 drop that comes to mind is Blackmail and it sucks. It really isn't any good played 1st turn. Your opponent will usually just show you the 2 bad cards and 1 land so you really don't get anything important. All and all the deck looks to be a little faster. Hopefully after some testing you will be able to tell how fast the deck plays out.
Another reason for playing cheap spells is that MBC has problems in the midgame when it needs to play multiple spells and you can only play 1 a turn because of the high cc of most of MBC spells. Being able to play a Hideous Laughter then a Cruel Edict , or a Distress then a Persecute all in 1 turn. Or being able to play a Hideous Laughter while still having some mana open during your opponents turn. Which will at least give the threat that you could play a spell can go a long way towards winning a game. That is why you need a mix of cheap and not so cheap spells so your midgame isn't just 1 spell (and it better be the right spell) per turn.
This is my post Ranvica MBC build. I'm going to try and splash for Putrefy . The card is going to be a very good addition to MBC. Being able to deal with artifacts like Umezuwa's Jitte or O-Naganato at instant is going to be invaluable for MBC. Before you would have to kill the creature and leave the artifact for the next creature they would play. Now Putrefy will give MBC an option, get rid of the artifact or creature depending on the situation or what you have in your hand. Also being able to kill creatures with Putrefy is nothing to sneeze at. Instead of using your Kokusho the Evening Star to get rid of your opponents, Putrefy it at end of turn then play yours. All of the instant targeted removal I run can kill creatures. Their is alot of Black Hand running around our store so my deck needs spells that can deal with those creatures.
I'm not running Moonlight Bargain at this time. I think that it is way to expensive for what you get in return. The life loss is steep 2 life per card seems like to much in what could be a very fast enviroment. Who knows maybe it will be played and work well, but at this time I can't see it.
My SB isn't finished at this time. I have 2 or 3 slots open. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
You deck doesn't run any 2cc spells. That could be a problem in a fast enviroment with alot of WW or Black Hand. Even with all the mass removal that you run by turn 4 you could be under 10 life which would make 7 of your spells dead in your hand. You wouldn't really be able to play Phyrexian Arena or Moonlight Bargin at that time until you played a Consume Spirit to gain some life back. You should think about speeding the deck up slightly with some 2cc removal spells and cheap discard. Maybe even some accerleration in the form of the Golgari Signet or maybe even Fellwar Stone .
You really don't have any cheap targeted removal. Playing either Cruel Edict , or even Last Gasp might be an option. Putrefy would also be a good choice since it could help you deal with artifacts and creatures.
Have you thought about using Distress as early discard? Persecute is a very good discard spell, but you should think about adding some early cheap discard so you could get rid of cards like Glorious Anthem which has no way of dealing with once it hits the board.
I think that 4 Moonlight Bargin is to many. It cost 5 mana which along with all the other high cc spells in this deck really slows you down. Being an instant is a plus but the 2 life per card is rather high, especially if you have a Phyrexian Arena out on the board already. IMO 2 Bargins should be enough, even with 3 Kokusho the Evening Star and 4 Consume Spirit.
Goryo's Vengence should be out of the deck in favor of some removal or discard. It doesn't interact with the Shoal like you thought and you really need spells that can be played early either against control or aggro.
MBC could be a contender in the new T2 post Ravnica, so good luck with your deck KarmicNoose, I hope that the deck works well for you.
you definately want to play yosei because of the synergy with razia's purification.
best board to "purify"
yosei, and angel, a ghostly prison and something
probably game over because of the timewalk/moat
That is a great idea. We were just playing some games against a G/W/R post Ravnica build and the W/R deck lost both games because it didn't really have a kill besides Firemane Angel . Yosei the Morning Star would be a great addition to the deck for all the reasons you said.
Firemane Angel is a really good fit in this deck though. The life gain on paper doesn't seem like to much of a threat, but when playing, gaining 1 life a turn does add up rather quickly. Playing a 2nd is fantastic, dead or alive.
The games went rather slow because Ghostly Prison and Razia's Purification can really bring the game to a abrupt halt. The G/W/R deck even though it won the games, still took almost double the turn to kill the R/W deck only because of those 2 cards Also the R/W deck was gaining 2 life a turn with Firemane in the graveyard also.
Devouring Light is a pain in the neck. (I love it):) Both decks were playing it and trying to remove each others Firemane from the game. I can see 4 being played in this deck. Both decks were playing Char in response of the Devouring Light to kill their Firemane before it would get removed from the game.
By the way: Razia's Purification? wtf. "You sacrifice down to 3 lands. All opponents sacrifice down to 3 creatures which will now kill you." Bad idea.
With all the removal this deck runs your opponent shouldn't have 3 creatures on the board very often.
Your not going to cast Razia's Purification if that was the situation anyway. Your going to gain board control and hopefully have at least 1 Ghostly Prison in play and a Firemane Angel and then you would cast Purification. They aren't going to keep 3 creatures, since non of their creatures would be able to attack with the Prison in play. Even if they were to keep 1 creature and 2 lands so they could attack you, they aren't going to be playing any creatures or spells anytime soon. You should be able to recover quickly if you had played an Gift of Estates in the early or midgame you should have extra lands in your hand just for the recovery after a Purification.
Quicksand would not have helped in the situation that PJ I described since the Palladin was a 3/3 due to Glorious Anthem. There's nothing MBC could do except kill all of his other creatures and then follow up with Cruel Edict .
Your right that Quicksand alone wouldn't have helped. But if he had a Night of Soul's Betrayal in play and then used the Quicksand it would have gotten rid of the Paladin in Vec . Also playing Hideous Laughter and then sacrificing the Quicksand targeting the Paladin would have done the job. Their is more ways to deal with that situation then just clearing the board and using Cruel Edict to deal the a Pro Black creature like Paladin.
This deck could deal alot of damage with all the creatures it runs. It could also play a little control if needed with the lifegain and the removal. I would also like to try and fit some Jitte's into the build if I can.
Their are some creatures that work well together like Gleancrawler and Loxodon Heirarch . You can sac the Loxodon to regenerate you creatures and get it back at the end of turn so you can play it and gain 4 life each turn. I was a thinking of playing Stampeding Serow over the Gleancrawler and return the Loxodon back to my hand for the same effect. Also Carven Caryatid and the Serow work very well together.
I also know some cards in the deck don't work well with others. Firemane Angel and Razias Purification don't have good synergy, but even if their is a Firemane in the graveyard that I can't return it will still net 1 life for me during my upkeep.But this is just a rough 1st draft and I'm sure the deck will change alot before these cards become legal.
@Bravo: I think Char will be a good fit in this deck. With all the possiblities of gaining life in this deck the 2 damage that Char will deal you really won't affect you.
ok jakal i played ww last fridayd this how it went, with my laughter.
i was first:
turn 1 swamp - go
plains - hawk , go
turn 2 swamp -edict
plains go
turn 3 swamp -nothing
end of turn he raises for 2 ww
his turn promise of bunrei
turn 4 swamp nothing
end of turn he raises 2 more ww
his turn he lays down anthem
in response i hideous laughter clear his board and give him 4 1/1's from bunrei
which are 4 2/2's because of anthem.
turn 5 i lay yukora to try and save my self
next turn he lays down pladin en-vec and another alarm
this = good game.
so by turn five he had 6 2/2's (because of the anthem), an anthem, a paladin, who is pro black and first stike by the way which is a 3/3 and i have yukora what am i supposed to do??? please let me know.
MBC has many spells that are board sweepers. It's a great creature control deck. Yes WW and Black Hand can sworm you and hit you for alot of damage early, but turn 4 is a crucial turn for MBC to reset the board. Night of Soul's Betrayal , Hideous Laughter and Kagemaro Fist to Suffer come to mind as the cards that can reset the game for MBC. All 3 or any combination of 2 could go a long way to overcoming your problems with WW.
I run 3 Hideous Laughter, and 3 Kagemaro MD and I run 2 or 3(I can't seem to remember the amount) Night of Souls Betrayal SB to deal with weenie decks. I also run 3 Quicksand which I have found to be a great help in dealing with the Paladin in Vec and his pro black.
If you had played a Night of Soul's Betrayal on your 4th turn you would have stopped Raise the Alarm and the tokens from the Promise of the Bunrei. You would have needed to deal with his creatures in a differant fashion after Glorious Anthem hits the board but then you could have playedKagemaro First to Suffer or Hideous Laughter to deal with is pumped up creatures.
Do you run any Quicksand ? If you don't you should think about running at least 3. They will help with the Paladin in Vec , and any other pesky 2/2 that may hit the board. Using Quicksand along with Kagemaro or Laughter can be a way of dealing with the pumped up creatures from the Glorious Anthem also.
btw 4 char in a control deck may be kinda a suicide (u are already dealin urself with the lands)
4 Char probably won't hurt that much. He is running 4 Lightning Helix , 3 Firemane Angel which gains you life in play or in your graveyard, and he is running so much removal that he should be able to keep the board relatively clear.
Playing spells that deal yourself damage in a control deck isn't always a no, no. If that was the case then Phyrexian Arena shouldn't be played in MBC. But that isn't the case Arena is a staple in MBC because MBC runs Consume Spirit and Kokusho the Evening Star to conteract the lifeloss. This build does the same thing running Firemane Angel and Lightning Helix to gain you life that the Lands and Char may deal you.
This is my new version of MBC. I was playing a version without acceleration, but in our area thier is alot of aggro decks that have been overwhelming slower control decks. So I added in Chrome Mox as accleration and it has helped quite a bit. Pithing Needle has been a nice way to deal with equipment and creatures like Eight and a Half Tails I have some trouble with Black Hand since most creatures toughness 3 so Hideous Laughter and Night of Soul's Betrayal are sort of usless. Quicksand is much better IMO then Stalking Stones . Everytime I got a Quicksand I know it will be able to help me out early or late.
The SB is sort of tailored for the enviroment that I play in. Their is alot of WW with Hand of Honor and such so I am trying out Razormane as support against weenies. The Beacon doesn't get used all that much, but the reasoning for running it was so I could get my creatures. Also I have been able to steal some of my opponents equipment out of the graveyard after they discard it.
I played some games today against R/G Wildfire and I won 5 and lost 1. I tried to get out a Arena as quickly as possible in my games so that if and when he played Wildfire, I would be getting 2 cards per turn and recovering quicker then he. Sickening Shoal was a savior in 3 of the games when he played Wildfire and I didn't have any lands I was still able to kill of his creatures that survived with the Shoal.
My kill in most of the games was Yukora. I would drop him on turn 3 and say " go ahead and Wildfire now". Being able to drop him down so early really screwed my opponents plans.
While the games were going on I was thinking about cards from Ravnica, and trying to think if they would be more helpful then some of the cards that I am playing know. I think that Last Grasp would be a welcome addition to the deck. Quite a few times I was thinking that it would help me in some situations. Having both Cruel Edict and Last Grasp makes the deck a little quicker. I might try them in place of Horobi's Whisper next time I play and see how they do.
Well all comments are welcome. If you see something that could be altered or if you think some other cards from Ravnica would work better by all means speak up.
I will be at the Boxbourgh prerelease in Ma. Probably will be wearing camo shorts and a tee shirt the say's "I'm Rick James *****", "Yankees Suck" or one that says," I like you I will kill you last".
@squigles: If it was a /:symb: deck then it wouldn't be MBC. If you were to splash a couple of cards I could see it still being MBC but if your going to add 3 or 4 cards I think you will be posting in another thread.
A few cards from Ravnica that could see play in MBC.
Moonlight Bargain . looking at the top 5 cards at instant speed is strong. If your looking for that 1 card then paying 2 life to get a Kagemaro First to Suffer , or that winning Consume Spirit is well worth it. I was thinking of running 2 in my deck.
Last Gasp . -3/-3 for 2 mana at instant speed.
Helldozer. He is a 6/5 for 6 mana which is strong on its own. Add in the LD aspect and he looks like a pretty good deal for his casting cost. Only downside is LD isn't all that strong when you start blowing up lands on turn 7. By then your opponent should have his land base pretty much established. Blowing up a few might not matter.
Sins of the Past. This card would be killer if their was a Corrupt variant in Ravnica. Now for 5 mana all you can pretty much do is recycle your removal spells and discard for free. Still might get used though. A fourth turn Cranial Extraction followed next turn by Sins would be sort of nasty. All that aside, I don't think that I would run anymore then 2.
Necroplasm. Recuring removal for 3 mana seems strong against WW and other aggro builds. Downside is that it isn't a may, you have to put a counter on it each upkeep. The Dredge ability makes it strong as you can bring it back when you need it.
Gleancrawler . With its guild mana you can play him a MBC deck without any drawbacks, and you could have a 6/6 trampler for 6 mana that could possibly help you recure your Kagemaro, or Kokusho the Evening Star each turn. Don't know if MBC could support both Gleancralwer and Kokusho since they both are 6cc creatures. Running both could slow the deck down to much.
In a post in the old MBC thread I said that I didn't like to splash other colors into the MD of my MBC deck. Well with cards like Putrefy I might have to change my position on that. Putrefy is very strong and helps MBC get rid of artifacts, and at instant speed also.
Not all these cards are worthy of getting played, and probably must won't, but these seem like the best cards that Ravnica offers MBC.
Another creature that I'm thinking of adding to my build is Sunhome Enforcer . It is a 2/4 for 4 mana which is ok. It can gain you some life when it blocks or attacks and you can pump it up so you should be able to kill most creatures and gain some life in the process. The only drawback is that it is
If you can't afford the Birds of Paradise then maybe you could play Farseek as a way of getting out your lands. Or even Sakura Tribe Elder could be a option, although the Elder wouldn't be a very good option since your deck is running mostly nonbasic lands. Hell even Gift of Estates could be played in this deck since your running both Sacred Foundry and Temple Garden . The Gifts of Estates would be able to get 3 of which ever ones you needed.
How about maybe adding some Wrath of God to the deck? You don't have any mass removal so if you face a weenie deck and you have to reset the board right now with this build you don't have anything to do so. Running even just 3 would be a good option IMO.
I thought that Exile into Darkness might see some play in T2 constructed since it had been played in Block as a way of dealing with weenie decks. After trying it a few times in some tournements it seems to be just to slow in constructed. Even with the really good ability of returning to your hand each turn 5 mana to get rid of 1 weenie creature of your opponents choice just doesn't seem economical. You can get rid of the 1st swarm of weenies with a nicely timed Hideous Laughter . Then you should be able to lay down a Kagemaro First to Suffer which should be able to deal with the 2nd rush of weenies. Then you should be playing your kill spell either Kokusho the Evening Star or another Kagemaro to seal the deal. Bottom line is IMO at 5 mana your spell in MBC has to be strong, it should be swinging the game into your favor not just pecking away at your opponents weenies 1 at a time.
Most of the creatures that are run in the Black Hand decks around here are 3/3 creatures like Raving On-Slave and some Yukora the Prisoner so Hideous Laughter usually doesn't clear the whole board. After Mirrodin rotates out though the won't have the acceleration of Chrome Mox so a 2nd turn Raving Oni-Slave equiped with O-Naginata hitting me for 6 won't be happening.
I like the idea of Shred Memory . Using it as a tutor to go get any 2cc spell in your deck. Defense Grid really isn't need around here anymore. Most of the decks that are being played are aggro decks with alot of creatures. I don't really see blue being played all that much when Ravnica becomes legal. The only deck that I might think about needing Defense Grid for would be maybe a W/R deck that ran Char, Lightning Helix , and even Devouring Light . Some people are testing decks like that now and Defense Grid could help with all the burn in the deck. I have to remember though that I run alot of instant removal in my deck also. So Grid would really affect me to.
Another reason for playing cheap spells is that MBC has problems in the midgame when it needs to play multiple spells and you can only play 1 a turn because of the high cc of most of MBC spells. Being able to play a Hideous Laughter then a Cruel Edict , or a Distress then a Persecute all in 1 turn. Or being able to play a Hideous Laughter while still having some mana open during your opponents turn. Which will at least give the threat that you could play a spell can go a long way towards winning a game. That is why you need a mix of cheap and not so cheap spells so your midgame isn't just 1 spell (and it better be the right spell) per turn.
14x Swamp
4x Overgrown Tomb
4x Quicksand
1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1x Miren, the Moaning Well
3x Kokusho, the Evening Star
3x Kagemaro, First to Suffer
2x Yukora, the Prisoner
4x Distress
3x Phyrexian Arena
3x Sickening Shoal
3x Consume Spirit
3x Golgari Signet
3x Last Gasp
2x Persecute
3x Night of Soul's Betrayal
3x Pithing Needle
This is my post Ranvica MBC build. I'm going to try and splash
I'm not running Moonlight Bargain at this time. I think that it is way to expensive for what you get in return. The life loss is steep 2 life per card seems like to much in what could be a very fast enviroment. Who knows maybe it will be played and work well, but at this time I can't see it.
My SB isn't finished at this time. I have 2 or 3 slots open. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
When you use Sickening Shoal for free you have to remove the card from the game not put it in your graveyard.
You deck doesn't run any 2cc spells. That could be a problem in a fast enviroment with alot of WW or Black Hand. Even with all the mass removal that you run by turn 4 you could be under 10 life which would make 7 of your spells dead in your hand. You wouldn't really be able to play Phyrexian Arena or Moonlight Bargin at that time until you played a Consume Spirit to gain some life back. You should think about speeding the deck up slightly with some 2cc removal spells and cheap discard. Maybe even some accerleration in the form of the Golgari Signet or maybe even Fellwar Stone .
You really don't have any cheap targeted removal. Playing either Cruel Edict , or even Last Gasp might be an option. Putrefy would also be a good choice since it could help you deal with artifacts and
Have you thought about using Distress as early discard? Persecute is a very good discard spell, but you should think about adding some early cheap discard so you could get rid of cards like Glorious Anthem which
I think that 4 Moonlight Bargin is to many. It cost 5 mana which along with all the other high cc spells in this deck really slows you down. Being an instant is a plus but the 2 life per card is rather high, especially if you have a Phyrexian Arena out on the board already. IMO 2 Bargins should be enough, even with 3 Kokusho the Evening Star and 4 Consume Spirit.
Goryo's Vengence should be out of the deck in favor of some removal or discard. It doesn't interact with the Shoal like you thought and you really need spells that can be played early either against control or aggro.
MBC could be a contender in the new T2 post Ravnica, so good luck with your deck KarmicNoose, I hope that the deck works well for you.
That is a great idea. We were just playing some games against a G/W/R post Ravnica build and the W/R deck lost both games because it didn't really have a kill besides Firemane Angel . Yosei the Morning Star would be a great addition to the deck for all the reasons you said.
Firemane Angel is a really good fit in this deck though. The life gain on paper doesn't seem like to much of a threat, but when playing, gaining 1 life a turn does add up rather quickly. Playing a 2nd is fantastic, dead or alive.
The games went rather slow because Ghostly Prison and Razia's Purification can really bring the game to a abrupt halt. The G/W/R deck even though it won the games, still took almost double the turn to kill the R/W deck only because of those 2 cards Also the R/W deck was gaining 2 life a turn with Firemane in the graveyard also.
Devouring Light is a pain in the neck. (I love it):) Both decks were playing it and trying to remove each others Firemane from the game. I can see 4 being played in this deck. Both decks were playing Char in response of the Devouring Light to kill their Firemane before it would get removed from the game.
With all the removal this deck runs your opponent shouldn't have 3 creatures on the board very often.
Your not going to cast Razia's Purification if that was the situation anyway. Your going to gain board control and hopefully have at least 1 Ghostly Prison in play and a Firemane Angel and then you would cast Purification. They aren't going to keep 3 creatures, since non of their creatures would be able to attack with the Prison in play. Even if they were to keep 1 creature and 2 lands so they could attack you, they aren't going to be playing any creatures or spells anytime soon. You should be able to recover quickly if you had played an Gift of Estates in the early or midgame you should have extra lands in your hand just for the recovery after a Purification.
Your right that Quicksand alone wouldn't have helped. But if he had a Night of Soul's Betrayal in play and then used the Quicksand it would have gotten rid of the Paladin in Vec . Also playing Hideous Laughter and then sacrificing the Quicksand targeting the Paladin would have done the job. Their is more ways to deal with that situation then just clearing the board and using Cruel Edict to deal the a Pro Black creature like Paladin.
This deck could deal alot of damage with all the creatures it runs. It could also play a little control if needed with the lifegain and the removal. I would also like to try and fit some Jitte's into the build if I can.
Their are some creatures that work well together like Gleancrawler and Loxodon Heirarch . You can sac the Loxodon to regenerate you creatures and get it back at the end of turn so you can play it and gain 4 life each turn. I was a thinking of playing Stampeding Serow over the Gleancrawler and return the Loxodon back to my hand for the same effect. Also Carven Caryatid and the Serow work very well together.
I also know some cards in the deck don't work well with others. Firemane Angel and Razias Purification don't have good synergy, but even if their is a Firemane in the graveyard that I can't return it will still net 1 life for me during my upkeep. But this is just a rough 1st draft and I'm sure the deck will change alot before these cards become legal.
@Bravo:
I think Char will be a good fit in this deck. With all the possiblities of gaining life in this deck the 2 damage that Char will deal you really won't affect you.
Other cards that could fit in the deck.
- Umezawa's Jitte
- Blinding Angel
- Hunted Troll
- Viridian Shaman
- Carven Caryatid
If anybody has any thoughts or suggestions please feel free to post them.MBC has many spells that are board sweepers. It's a great creature control deck. Yes WW and Black Hand can sworm you and hit you for alot of damage early, but turn 4 is a crucial turn for MBC to reset the board. Night of Soul's Betrayal , Hideous Laughter and Kagemaro Fist to Suffer come to mind as the cards that can reset the game for MBC. All 3 or any combination of 2 could go a long way to overcoming your problems with WW.
I run 3 Hideous Laughter, and 3 Kagemaro MD and I run 2 or 3(I can't seem to remember the amount) Night of Souls Betrayal SB to deal with weenie decks. I also run 3 Quicksand which I have found to be a great help in dealing with the Paladin in Vec and his pro black.
If you had played a Night of Soul's Betrayal on your 4th turn you would have stopped Raise the Alarm and the tokens from the Promise of the Bunrei. You would have needed to deal with his creatures in a differant fashion after Glorious Anthem hits the board but then you could have playedKagemaro First to Suffer or Hideous Laughter to deal with is pumped up creatures.
Do you run any Quicksand ? If you don't you should think about running at least 3. They will help with the Paladin in Vec , and any other pesky 2/2 that may hit the board. Using Quicksand along with Kagemaro or Laughter can be a way of dealing with the pumped up creatures from the Glorious Anthem also.
4 Char probably won't hurt that much. He is running 4 Lightning Helix , 3 Firemane Angel which gains you life in play or in your graveyard, and he is running so much removal that he should be able to keep the board relatively clear.
Playing spells that deal yourself damage in a control deck isn't always a no, no. If that was the case then Phyrexian Arena shouldn't be played in MBC. But that isn't the case Arena is a staple in MBC because MBC runs Consume Spirit and Kokusho the Evening Star to conteract the lifeloss. This build does the same thing running Firemane Angel and Lightning Helix to gain you life that the Lands and Char may deal you.
Char = Psionic Blast
Hex =Decimate
Mnemonic Nexus = Feldon's Cane
Dark Heart of the Wood = Dark Heart of the Wood
Pithing Needle has been a nice way to deal with equipment and creatures like Eight and a Half Tails
I have some trouble with Black Hand since most creatures toughness 3 so Hideous Laughter and Night of Soul's Betrayal are sort of usless. Quicksand is much better IMO then Stalking Stones . Everytime I got a Quicksand I know it will be able to help me out early or late.
The SB is sort of tailored for the enviroment that I play in. Their is alot of WW with Hand of Honor and such so I am trying out Razormane as support against weenies. The Beacon doesn't get used all that much, but the reasoning for running it was so I could get my creatures. Also I have been able to steal some of my opponents equipment out of the graveyard after they discard it.
I played some games today against R/G Wildfire and I won 5 and lost 1. I tried to get out a Arena as quickly as possible in my games so that if and when he played Wildfire, I would be getting 2 cards per turn and recovering quicker then he. Sickening Shoal was a savior in 3 of the games when he played Wildfire and I didn't have any lands I was still able to kill of his creatures that survived with the Shoal.
My kill in most of the games was Yukora. I would drop him on turn 3 and say " go ahead and Wildfire now". Being able to drop him down so early really screwed my opponents plans.
While the games were going on I was thinking about cards from Ravnica, and trying to think if they would be more helpful then some of the cards that I am playing know. I think that Last Grasp would be a welcome addition to the deck. Quite a few times I was thinking that it would help me in some situations. Having both Cruel Edict and Last Grasp makes the deck a little quicker. I might try them in place of Horobi's Whisper next time I play and see how they do.
Well all comments are welcome. If you see something that could be altered or if you think some other cards from Ravnica would work better by all means speak up.
A few cards from Ravnica that could see play in MBC.
- Moonlight Bargain . looking at the top 5 cards at instant speed is strong. If your looking for that 1 card then paying 2 life to get a Kagemaro First to Suffer , or that winning Consume Spirit is well worth it. I was thinking of running 2 in my deck.
- Last Gasp . -3/-3 for 2 mana at instant speed.
- Helldozer. He is a 6/5 for 6 mana which is strong on its own. Add in the LD aspect and he looks like a pretty good deal for his casting cost. Only downside is LD isn't all that strong when you start blowing up lands on turn 7. By then your opponent should have his land base pretty much established. Blowing up a few might not matter.
- Sins of the Past. This card would be killer if their was a Corrupt variant in Ravnica. Now for 5 mana all you can pretty much do is recycle your removal spells and discard for free. Still might get used though. A fourth turn Cranial Extraction followed next turn by Sins would be sort of nasty. All that aside, I don't think that I would run anymore then 2.
- Necroplasm. Recuring removal for 3 mana seems strong against WW and other aggro builds. Downside is that it isn't a may, you have to put a counter on it each upkeep. The Dredge ability makes it strong as you can bring it back when you need it.
- Gleancrawler . With its guild mana you can play him a MBC deck without any drawbacks, and you could have a 6/6 trampler for 6 mana that could possibly help you recure your Kagemaro, or Kokusho the Evening Star each turn. Don't know if MBC could support both Gleancralwer and Kokusho since they both are 6cc creatures. Running both could slow the deck down to much.
In a post in the old MBC thread I said that I didn't like to splash other colors into the MD of my MBC deck. Well with cards like Putrefy I might have to change my position on that. Putrefy is very strong and helps MBC get rid of artifacts, and at instant speed also.Not all these cards are worthy of getting played, and probably must won't, but these seem like the best cards that Ravnica offers MBC.