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ahg113
08-28-2012, 09:42 AM
Using synergies of recurring cheap creatures, discard for disruption, and a mix of beats, removal and utility draw, this deck effectively attempts to stop the other person from playing magic. The featured cards in the deck are Smallpox, Liliana of the Veil, Dark Confidant and Bloodghast. The finishers are Nyxathid and The Rack.

The deck lives off of a low curve, both to limit the number of lands in the deck (still high at 22), and to hopefully not fall too far behind after a Smallpox. That is the one aspect of the game where practice is still needed to know when to play correctly.

For adaptability, the SB features recurring threats Geralf's Messenger and Gravecrawler. Either for matchups where you want to be the aggro deck, or when it's highly probable the opponent will board in Leyline of Sanctity (or Witchbane's Orb?).

Suggestions and comments are always welcome, have enjoyed the deck as it is. Finding great versatility it the spells that are two-ofs, sometimes want to add a third Funeral Charm (thank you TSP for Funeral Charm, and The Rack.)

Modern - Mono B Control Deck
Creature
2 Augur of Skulls
3 Dark Confidant
3 Bloodghast
4 Nyxathid
12 Creatures

Artifact
2 The Rack
2 Artifacts

Sorcery
2 Wrench Mind
2 Raven's Crime
4 Small Pox
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Duress
11 Sorceries

Instant
2 Funeral Charm
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Geth's Verdict
1 Doom Blade
1 Go For The Throat
8 Instants

Planeswalker
3 Liliana of the Veil
3 Planeswalkers

Enchantment
2 Phyrexian Arena
2 Enchantments

Land
2 Bojuka Bog
3 Tectonic Edge
5 Lands

Basic Land
17 Swamp
17 Basic Lands
60 Total Cards

Side-Board
1 Bloodghast
4 Gravecrawler
4 Geralf's Messenger
3 Lashwrithe
3 Black Sun's Zenith

Be well, play black.

Jabari
08-30-2012, 03:05 AM
Why Nyaxthid over Tombstalker. Delve seems a lot less restrictive than the drawback for Nyaxthid. Korlash might even be better thanks to the ramp and regenerate.

kwis
08-30-2012, 09:07 AM
I think a mono B deck might want to be playing O-Stone since you have no disc.
Nighthawk is also generally a broken good creature in Mono-B control.

Why not play abyssal gatekeeper as a win con if you're playing a lot of sacrifice effects. I know he's worse without Cabal pulling double duty but he is very strong. Obliterator is another nice option.

Control always likes to play with a larger number of lands, trying to cut below 22 will result in choking yourself to death.

ahg113
08-30-2012, 11:02 AM
@Jabari
While Tombstalker is a more conventional beater, Nyaxthid is easier to cast and fits the theme of the deck better. While I don’t use my graveyard (save for Raven’s Crime and Bloodghast), getting 5 cards into the yard to make Tombstalker the same CMC as Nyaxthid would be a challenge. If there are five cards in my yard, most likely the opponent will have a diminished hand, making Nyaxthid all the more effective.
Korlash doesn’t affect the board as much, and being legendary, limits the number of bodies available. Also a higher casting cost.

@kwis
O-Stone isn’t necessary because I’m most often removing that potential threat before it enters play. Cheap artifacts and enchantments notwithstanding, I can deal with most other problem cards with the other options in the deck.
Nighthawk doesn’t provide enough utility, I’d rather have Nyaxthid at that spot as a better finisher.
Not sure Abyssal Gatekeeper is Modern legal. Regardless, again, not on theme, not a large enough threat. Abyssal Gatekeeper is a deterrent more so than an attack option. At the 2 CMC spot, I prefer Bob and Bloodghast for “real creatures” and Augur of Skulls for discard spell/creature.
Playing on Cockatrice is a decent facsimile of real life. I get weird draws and always double guess my land count- either two land hands and seldom drawing another, or getting 2 spell hands and having a bunch of lands… I haven’t found a happy medium yet, but unsure of which card to turn into another swamp if I decide to go to 23 lands…

Thanks for your responses and reads guys

Phoenix Ignition
08-30-2012, 02:05 PM
He meant Abyssal Persecutor and not gatekeeper. Speaking of Gatekeepers, Gatekeeper of Malikir is extremely good in Mono Black decks.

I see a couple problems with this strategy, the first being you need multiple things to "work" before any of them pay off. Your creatures aren't big enough to get through any opponent's creatures and therefore you need to A) make them discard their hand or B) be able to kill of their creatures for you to be able to win.

There is a lot of this sentiment running through the deck though -- by itself The Rack, Raven's Crime, Funeral Charm, and even things like Bloodghast just aren't good. You need to have combinations of anything to make it work. Now, obviously, running this many discard spells you're bound to find some, but if any half of your strategy gets cut off you won't be able to win. Surgical Extraction against most decks is just going to be huge card disadvantage, which you're already toying with since you play Smallpox.

The deck even tries to do the two things that Suicide Black decks did in Legacy, which is attempting to screw over the opponents lands, creatures, and hand. Going 3 separate routes is only effective in an extremely streamlined deck.

The best ways to change this? Play only cards that are strong either way. Raven's Crime is bad if you don't get extra card draw going; you need at least 3 lands on the table to run properly and you would be well off to have more than that just so you can Smallpox and not be worried about choking your own play. Discard spells can be good, but you have to choose your battles well in this respect. Letting people choose what they discard early on is going to lose you games.

I know you want to go mono black, but you might look into red splash for Rise. This is an example of a good discard spell that doesn't require you to hit multiple parts of your combo. Here's my take on your idea, feel free to use whichever parts you like and not the entire thing.

One other thing you might consider is blue splash for Snapcaster Mage. He's really just that good.


4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
3 Bloodghast
4 Nyxathid
2 Vampire Nighthawk

Artifact
2 The Rack
2 Sword of Feast and Famine


4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Rise
3 Thoughtseize
4 Small Pox
4 Liliana of the Veil

2 Phyrexian Arena

Land 22
2 Bojuka Bog
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Marsh Flats
2 Verdant Catacombs
3 Blood Crypt
9 Swamp

kwis
08-30-2012, 02:13 PM
Thanks for correcting me Phoenix, I posted in a hurry before I ran to class. I definitely agree that this seems much more like a Sui Black/Pox/MBC hybrid that's trying to be a bit too cute for its own good.

Ravens Crime is normally good because of Life from the Loam, without it the only way to really abuse retrace would be Crucible of Worlds, which your deck is also not playing. If you hate your own land draws so much that you want to throw them at your opponent I think you're running few enough lands that Liliana can take care of it.

Also if you really like the Pox playstyle I'd suggest picking up a card like Phyrexian Totem as a finisher that also functions as a mana source when you're not in a position to win the game. It lets you get around the symmetry of smallpox as well as fueling more expensive cards, such as

The next question is why are you playing Funeral Charm over Darkblast? Darkblast is a card that can simply blow out some decks when it comes to early game board control and allow you to stabilize. It means that your smallpox is getting their more durable creatures and dumps bloodghast, lingering souls, and other useful cards into the graveyard for you, which is card advantage as long as you set your deck up to take advantage of it. In what situation is the instant speed discard your mode of operation? The only situation I really see is when someone tries to combo off with their win as the last card in hand, or tutors up something at your EoT, I'm not that familiar with the tutors used in modern but I'm thinking that it isn't that common. That brings us to the third function which is trying to sneak 7/7 by the opposing players defenses, but you're not playing Urborg so this seems like it won't be commonly applicable. Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just play a more stable win-con that can take care of itself?

I'm not sure how good tectonic is in a deck that plays smallpox. Wasteland was good because you could punish players who tried to keep aggressive hands that were short on land. Without loam or crucible to recur it the card just looks even more disappointing. Do most inkmoth decks even get up to a point where this can hurt them before you die? What other lands are relevant enough to you that you want this?


In general it looks like you've diversified your card choices fairly well, however I'm not sure that you're gaining much value with it unless you're playing against surgical/extirpate/snapcaster going after your library.

You should definitely have 2-3 nice pieces of equipment for your suicide men to pick up and swing into the opposing player with. Swords are probably the standard choice here. F&F is nice but you'd probably do better with L&S or F&I.

Also you might want to consider playing with scrying sheets as another way to spend your mana when the opponent doesn't have cards in hand. Discard based strategies traditionally have a problem with not being able to do too much after they force their opponent into a topdeck mode of operation.

Rise is certainly a very powerful card to consider playing, however if you turn this into a more B/r deck you might want to embrace some of the other strengths that red has to offer. So far I see these decklists looking a lot more like Sui-Black/Red-Death than MBC. The cards that remind me of MBC are Smallpox and Arena.

ahg113
09-07-2012, 03:33 PM
Thanks for correcting me Phoenix, I posted in a hurry before I ran to class. I definitely agree that this seems much more like a Sui Black/Pox/MBC hybrid that's trying to be a bit too cute for its own good.

Ravens Crime is normally good because of Life from the Loam, without it the only way to really abuse retrace would be Crucible of Worlds, which your deck is also not playing. If you hate your own land draws so much that you want to throw them at your opponent I think you're running few enough lands that Liliana can take care of it.

Raven's Crime is a two-of because I like it's flexibility, but do not consider it a linch-pin card. In the given scenario, I can throw the land away at my opponent, and uptick Lili, netting two cards, instead of just one.


Also if you really like the Pox playstyle I'd suggest picking up a card like Phyrexian Totem as a finisher that also functions as a mana source when you're not in a position to win the game. It lets you get around the symmetry of smallpox as well as fueling more expensive cards, such as

Pox is a playable card, but not the all-star of the deck. It leads to blow-outs at times, especially against decks with many one-drops, while on the play. It is however, one of the first cards to get sideboarded out if they play too many creatures, or don't appear to be a greedy manabase. It was a finisher in one game though, and that was just an increase in fun factor, not so much relevancy.


The next question is why are you playing Funeral Charm over Darkblast? Darkblast is a card that can simply blow out some decks when it comes to early game board control and allow you to stabilize. It means that your smallpox is getting their more durable creatures and dumps bloodghast, lingering souls, and other useful cards into the graveyard for you, which is card advantage as long as you set your deck up to take advantage of it. In what situation is the instant speed discard your mode of operation? The only situation I really see is when someone tries to combo off with their win as the last card in hand, or tutors up something at your EoT, I'm not that familiar with the tutors used in modern but I'm thinking that it isn't that common.

I don't live out of my graveyard, so I wouldn't want to dredge. Only Bloodghast and Raven's Crime in the main (5), or Gravecrawler and Bloodghast in the sideboard (5) care about coming back from the yard. The most relevant part is the x/-1, which is supplied by Funeral Charm. The added bonus of discard makes it a combat trick with Nyxathid or makes them discard a keeper to pump The Rack. Making them discard to discard, whether or not it's at instant speed is a strong theme here, that I can make them discard in their draw step is just icing on the cake, good at keeping a locked out opponent locked out.


That brings us to the third function which is trying to sneak 7/7 by the opposing players defenses, but you're not playing Urborg so this seems like it won't be commonly applicable. Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just play a more stable win-con that can take care of itself?

That is a good point. I will attempt to acquire some Urborgs to play, probably 2, maybe 3 (multiples would do me no good.) I haven't been playing Funeral Charm to it's full potential, and it would also make much better use of my Tectonic Edge's that sometimes stink if I don't want to use the LD ability. Thank you for the missed oversight.


I'm not sure how good tectonic is in a deck that plays smallpox. Wasteland was good because you could punish players who tried to keep aggressive hands that were short on land. Without loam or crucible to recur it the card just looks even more disappointing. Do most inkmoth decks even get up to a point where this can hurt them before you die? What other lands are relevant enough to you that you want this?

It's just a piece of solid disruption. If I have so many lands, I might as well get utility out of them. Similar to Legacy, Modern manabases get as greedy as the meta will allow them. Possibly taking a 3 or 4 color deck off a color, or destroying a Locus/Man-Land/Tron piece is very relevant. Against some mono deck, or affinity rocking Darksteel Citadel, not as much.


In general it looks like you've diversified your card choices fairly well, however I'm not sure that you're gaining much value with it unless you're playing against surgical/extirpate/snapcaster going after your library.

It's more about being flexible and properly having options to stymie opponent's decisions. Not worried about GY hate, as such that against affinity, wrench mind isn't great; against fatties with no trample (goyf), augur of skulls is a stud; geth's verdict will solve thrun; while funeral charm solves Thalia; etc. etc. Too heavy in one department to forsake the others will limit the in game adaptability.


You should definitely have 2-3 nice pieces of equipment for your suicide men to pick up and swing into the opposing player with. Swords are probably the standard choice here. F&F is nice but you'd probably do better with L&S or F&I.

Not really interested in equipment, because ideally I've stripped their hand, and between the few pieces of removal and Lili I should be able to nerf the opponent's creatures. Discard spells are only bad if they run out of cards, drawing equipment with nothing to do with would be lame. Not playing white to use SFM would mean using multiple copies to draw with any regularity, or just completely relying on variance. If it's variance, I'd rather a toss up between Augur of Skulls or Wrench Mind for which two cmc spell I'll use to try to force more discard through. For the heck of it though, I did put three Lashwrithe's in the SB for exactly that reason (few instances against white where I expect Leyline of Sanctity or counter/control heavy games). That they're living weapon equipment makes all the difference of their usefulness.


Also you might want to consider playing with scrying sheets as another way to spend your mana when the opponent doesn't have cards in hand. Discard based strategies traditionally have a problem with not being able to do too much after they force their opponent into a topdeck mode of operation.

The Dark Confidant's and Phyrexian Areana's are there for card draw. If anything, I'd rather leave lands in the deck and hopefully reveal those with Dark Confidant, than reveal and bring to hand with Scrying Sheets. As for not being able to do much, that's when I've hopefully gotten a few creatures into play, or Bloodghast in bin with land in hand, or a very hard worker, a The Rack into play.


Rise is certainly a very powerful card to consider playing, however if you turn this into a more B/r deck you might want to embrace some of the other strengths that red has to offer. So far I see these decklists looking a lot more like Sui-Black/Red-Death than MBC. The cards that remind me of MBC are Smallpox and Arena.

Lili is a control card, as is Black Sun Zenith's out the sideboard. Select removal is limited, but I chose to go with bang for buck removal instead, two mana one card for two cards, or repeat use, or instant speed. Some selections are based on ownership and availability (Bob's are doing double duty, but the Thoughtseize won't be jumping back and forth...)

In summary, I appreciate your analysis but disagree with some of your conclusions. There should definitely be room in the deck for two Urborg's, maybe three to get better utility from both Funeral Charm and Tectonic Edge.

Cheers,
unfair magic, is the best magic

Phoenix Ignition
09-07-2012, 04:38 PM
In summary, I appreciate your analysis but disagree with some of your conclusions. There should definitely be room in the deck for two Urborg's, maybe three to get better utility from both Funeral Charm and Tectonic Edge.

I'd probably just go 2, even with Raven's crime you don't want to have to mulligan because your only lands are Urborgs. Also, using it with Funeral Charm is okay but probably not the main purpose that you'll be using either for.

Hardcore
09-07-2012, 04:50 PM
In successfuly ran ravens crime in pox deck that had no crucible nor loam.
Once you have 4-5 land on the table the rest can safely be kept in hand and used for casting ravens crime and siphon life.

ahg113
02-22-2013, 12:04 PM
NECRO!

I'm planning on playing this at FNM since I got the last few cards in. My previous list comprised cards that were easy to get/left over from other decks I was playing. Since then, I've made changes and busted up a deck so I have a playset of IoK and a playset of Thoughtseize to probably include.

While I do appreciate feedback, the jist of the deck shouldn't change. I'm using a singular strategy of attacking the opponents hand to control the match. Sprinkle in a little LD, and a little creature kill, and I should win grind out games. Surgical is a maindeck card because it can invalidate some startegies right away (tron land, grape shot and persist buggers are favorite targets) and remove difficult threats that would be hard to answer if otherwise reached play (artifacts and enchantments especially.)

The sideboard plan is to combat Leyline of Sanctity almost entirely. The Damnation because swarm decks do present a problem. Every once in a while, the Phyrexian Crusaders will come in against WR heavy decks, such as UWR, or mono W, mono R, etc.

Modern - Mono B Control Deck
Creature
3 Dark Confidant
3 Bloodghast
3 Nyxathid
3 Oona's Prowler
12 Creatures

Artifact
2 The Rack
2 Artifacts

Sorcery
2 Wrench Mind
3 Smallpox
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Thoughtseize
13 Sorceries

Instant
3 Funeral Charm
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Geth's Verdict
1 Doom Blade
1 Go For The Throat
8 Instants

Planeswalker
3 Liliana of the Veil
3 Planeswalkers

Land
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Bojuka Bog
3 Tectonic Edge
5 Lands

Basic Land
13 Swamp
13 Basic Lands
60 Total Cards

Side-Board
4 Phyrexian Crusader
4 Gravecrawler
4 Geralf's Messenger
3 Damnation

Cheers,
Be well, play black.