Menteith
07-29-2012, 08:21 PM
Originally born out of my desire to find a way to play Night of Soul's Betrayal in the Modern, this deck is fast becoming one of my favorite modern decks. Eventually, the deck morphed into a sordid love affair with Phyrexian Obliterator and a supporting cast. While it's shown promising results, it's still very much a work in progress, and I'd like to hear what everyone has to say. Without further commentary, here is the list;
Instants and Sorceries - 15
3x Slaughter Pact
2x Thoughtseize
1x Duress
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Path to Exile
Creatures - 12
4x Nantuko Shade
4x Tidehollow Sculler
3x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Phyrexian Obliterator
1x Tombstalker
Planeswalkers - 3
3x Liliana of the Veil
Equipment - 4
2x Sword of Feast and Famine
2x Sword of Fire and Ice
Lands - 23
4x Godless Shrine
4x Marsh Flats
4x Verdant Catacombs
11x Swamp
Sideboard
3x Zealous Persecution
2x Gatekeeper of Malakir
1x Duress
2x Thoughtseize
4x Deathmark
3x Kataki, War's Wage
Specific Questions
- Liliana of the Veil vs. Gatekeeper of Malakir?
While Liliana is a much stronger card over time, the equipment count and relatively light threat base has kept me coming back to Gatekeeper. They fill a very similar role, and I don't want to overload my 3cc slot. What's your opinions on the split right now, and what would you recommend?
- Equipment situation
Lashwrithe is useful as both a threat and a decent equipment, and I've been reasonably happy with it as Obliterators 5-7, but I'm not sure that it's optimal, especially given the constrains that it puts on the mana base (it requires an awful lot of Swamps to function). Additionally, while Sword of Fire and Ice hasn't disappointed me yet, I'm open to ideas if someone has a better suggestion.
- The removal base
This ties in with the Gatekeeper vs. Liliana question above, but there's a good deal of removal options available to the deck. A card that I've actually had limited success with was Sickening Shoal in the place of Slaughter Pact, but the card disadvantage really turns me off from it. I've been considering starting the Zealous Persecutions, and boarding the Path to Exiles, but I'm unsure of how that would turn out. Does anyone have a better proposal that what I'm using already?
- Nantuko Shade replacements
Simply put, there aren't that many decent 2cc creatures for Black in Modern. Shade is fine for now, but it does require a substantial mana investment in a deck that really wants to be casting a spell every turn. I've considered Dark Confidant (killed me too many times with the high average CC in the deck), Thalia (the deck doesn't have support needed to really use her well), Withered Wretch (situational for the current metagame). Is there a decent creature that I haven't considered here?
Any general pieces of advice about the deck would be most welcome, as well. Thanks to everyone in advance!
Here's a list of the MD changes I've made so far;
Change 1;
-3 Lashwrithe
-1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+2 Liliana of the Veil
+2 Sword of Feast and Famine
Change 2;
-2 Thoughseize
+1 Duress
+1 Gatekeeper of Malakir
Instants and Sorceries - 15
3x Slaughter Pact
2x Thoughtseize
1x Duress
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Path to Exile
Creatures - 12
4x Nantuko Shade
4x Tidehollow Sculler
3x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Phyrexian Obliterator
1x Tombstalker
Planeswalkers - 3
3x Liliana of the Veil
Equipment - 4
2x Sword of Feast and Famine
2x Sword of Fire and Ice
Lands - 23
4x Godless Shrine
4x Marsh Flats
4x Verdant Catacombs
11x Swamp
Sideboard
3x Zealous Persecution
2x Gatekeeper of Malakir
1x Duress
2x Thoughtseize
4x Deathmark
3x Kataki, War's Wage
Specific Questions
- Liliana of the Veil vs. Gatekeeper of Malakir?
While Liliana is a much stronger card over time, the equipment count and relatively light threat base has kept me coming back to Gatekeeper. They fill a very similar role, and I don't want to overload my 3cc slot. What's your opinions on the split right now, and what would you recommend?
- Equipment situation
Lashwrithe is useful as both a threat and a decent equipment, and I've been reasonably happy with it as Obliterators 5-7, but I'm not sure that it's optimal, especially given the constrains that it puts on the mana base (it requires an awful lot of Swamps to function). Additionally, while Sword of Fire and Ice hasn't disappointed me yet, I'm open to ideas if someone has a better suggestion.
- The removal base
This ties in with the Gatekeeper vs. Liliana question above, but there's a good deal of removal options available to the deck. A card that I've actually had limited success with was Sickening Shoal in the place of Slaughter Pact, but the card disadvantage really turns me off from it. I've been considering starting the Zealous Persecutions, and boarding the Path to Exiles, but I'm unsure of how that would turn out. Does anyone have a better proposal that what I'm using already?
- Nantuko Shade replacements
Simply put, there aren't that many decent 2cc creatures for Black in Modern. Shade is fine for now, but it does require a substantial mana investment in a deck that really wants to be casting a spell every turn. I've considered Dark Confidant (killed me too many times with the high average CC in the deck), Thalia (the deck doesn't have support needed to really use her well), Withered Wretch (situational for the current metagame). Is there a decent creature that I haven't considered here?
Any general pieces of advice about the deck would be most welcome, as well. Thanks to everyone in advance!
Here's a list of the MD changes I've made so far;
Change 1;
-3 Lashwrithe
-1 Sword of Fire and Ice
+2 Liliana of the Veil
+2 Sword of Feast and Famine
Change 2;
-2 Thoughseize
+1 Duress
+1 Gatekeeper of Malakir