xsockmonkeyx
10-27-2006, 11:14 PM
Basic Info
1) The name is a misnomer as this is NOT a Pox deck. Its a MBC deck with tons of draw and removal. The CA(Bob, MoM) allows you to shoot off a Smallpox to cripple the whole game and thereby to your decided benefit.
2)If Suicide Black is aggro and Pox is control, then this deck is somewhere along the lines of aggro-control.
3)The deck is new but my instincts and early playtesting tell me it is strong. It has obvious game against aggro-control(thresh, sliver), combo (iggy, reset), and decent game against aggro (goblins, zoo). If you are running well, Smallpox is usually the final straw against these MU's.
Pox vs Pox
Building your deck around Pox is difficult as you must sacrifice many of the traditional features of a deck (draw, creatures, mana). This is because you will lose 1/3 of your creatures, lands and hand, and you are punished for having many resources. With Smallpox, there is no need for this because of one thing:
Smallpox lacks the 1/3 of everything clause!!!
(duh)
The difference between 1 of each and 1/3 of everything is the reason the rest of the deck looks very different than most pox builds.
You are guarenteed no more than one of each type of card will be lost. This means you can actually play creatures. Additionally, you can have more than 3 lands in play and 3 cards in your hand without screwing yourself over. Thereby, you can afford to to build your resources along more traditional means.
Smallpox also means that you no longer need to have 3 mana to pox your opponant's random stuff. Additionally, you can afford to run fewer lands as you only need 2 mana to operate most aspects of your deck.
Monkeypox
Mask of Memory/Smallpox
4 Dark Ritual
17 Swamps
4 Mask of Memory
4 Dark Confidant
4 Dauthi Slayer
3 Skittering Skirge
4 Hypnotic Specter
4 Sinkhole
4 Wasteland
4 Smallpox
2 Engineered Plague
3 Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach
Selected Card Choices
Mask of Memory....is a big part of the deck. Its combination of draw and quality help you keep the pressure on after the game has stabilized. Smallpox, Duress, Hymn, Edict, Sinkhole, all destroy your opponants resources and stifles their development. If your constantly drawing these then your opponants is constantly losing stuff. Constant draw + control = strong. Also, one of the strongest selling points about MoM is that you don't sac it to Pox.
Smallpox - IMO Pox-like cards should be supplimental to your removal and control elements as opposed to the main focus. I feel they should provide a critical mass of general removal to maintain your opponant's weekened position. Relying on your pox effect for removal is dubious at times.
Bob - He does not evade, costs life and has a 1 ass. Yet, he is the MVP hands down. The fact that he is a creature is a double edged sword. On one hand he is vulnerable to creature hate. On the other hand the fact that he can carry the mask (vs. combo mostly) can be a bonus. The latter is probably the biggest reason for him rather than Arena (other than CC).
Dauthi Slayer - its ability to enable the Mask far outweighs its lack of defense. Also, 2 damage every turn is not insignificant.
Skittering Skirge - Pretty decent threat at 2 mana, carries the Mask, has slight synergy w/ Smallpox
Selected Exclusions
These are by no means set in stone by any stretch of the imagination.
Pox(Bigpox)? Most of the time it will do the same thing as small pox, except it costs one mana more and will knock your life total into dubious position. This is an eventuallity against all kinds of aggro on a good draw. Burn. Etc. Think of it like this: the first smallpox costs 2, does the same thing as pox, and knocks you down 1 life. The first pox can put you down 7!!
Jitte - This deck has MD room issues. Jitte will probably make an appearance in the SB.
Questions
Aether Vial - Would it be useful here? overkill?
Jitte - see above
How many swamps?
Should there be alternate mana sources? If so what kind and how many?
How many Smallpox? Would (big) Pox of any benefit?
Phyrexian Arena?
Cabal Pit? (Threshhold is no problem)
Pinder adds: "One thing I notice is that you don't have any spot removal outside of Edicts in there. Is that because disrupting their hand/mana is enough to keep their creatures off the table?"
and
"Also, are you adverse to splashing a color? White here would give you Vindicate (which is more spot removal and helps the LD route), Swords (if you found yourself needing more spot removal), and Jotun Grunt (with all this discard, saccing, and land destruction going on, graveyards are going to get pretty huge, no?)."
Would this deck benefit from spot removal or general removal/sacrificing enough?
and
Are dual lands and a second color necessary? Warranted? If so which color would be the best? (Pinder is hinting at it, no?)
Thank you for your time and any and all suggestions (by anyone) are encouraged.
~monkey
1) The name is a misnomer as this is NOT a Pox deck. Its a MBC deck with tons of draw and removal. The CA(Bob, MoM) allows you to shoot off a Smallpox to cripple the whole game and thereby to your decided benefit.
2)If Suicide Black is aggro and Pox is control, then this deck is somewhere along the lines of aggro-control.
3)The deck is new but my instincts and early playtesting tell me it is strong. It has obvious game against aggro-control(thresh, sliver), combo (iggy, reset), and decent game against aggro (goblins, zoo). If you are running well, Smallpox is usually the final straw against these MU's.
Pox vs Pox
Building your deck around Pox is difficult as you must sacrifice many of the traditional features of a deck (draw, creatures, mana). This is because you will lose 1/3 of your creatures, lands and hand, and you are punished for having many resources. With Smallpox, there is no need for this because of one thing:
Smallpox lacks the 1/3 of everything clause!!!
(duh)
The difference between 1 of each and 1/3 of everything is the reason the rest of the deck looks very different than most pox builds.
You are guarenteed no more than one of each type of card will be lost. This means you can actually play creatures. Additionally, you can have more than 3 lands in play and 3 cards in your hand without screwing yourself over. Thereby, you can afford to to build your resources along more traditional means.
Smallpox also means that you no longer need to have 3 mana to pox your opponant's random stuff. Additionally, you can afford to run fewer lands as you only need 2 mana to operate most aspects of your deck.
Monkeypox
Mask of Memory/Smallpox
4 Dark Ritual
17 Swamps
4 Mask of Memory
4 Dark Confidant
4 Dauthi Slayer
3 Skittering Skirge
4 Hypnotic Specter
4 Sinkhole
4 Wasteland
4 Smallpox
2 Engineered Plague
3 Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach
Selected Card Choices
Mask of Memory....is a big part of the deck. Its combination of draw and quality help you keep the pressure on after the game has stabilized. Smallpox, Duress, Hymn, Edict, Sinkhole, all destroy your opponants resources and stifles their development. If your constantly drawing these then your opponants is constantly losing stuff. Constant draw + control = strong. Also, one of the strongest selling points about MoM is that you don't sac it to Pox.
Smallpox - IMO Pox-like cards should be supplimental to your removal and control elements as opposed to the main focus. I feel they should provide a critical mass of general removal to maintain your opponant's weekened position. Relying on your pox effect for removal is dubious at times.
Bob - He does not evade, costs life and has a 1 ass. Yet, he is the MVP hands down. The fact that he is a creature is a double edged sword. On one hand he is vulnerable to creature hate. On the other hand the fact that he can carry the mask (vs. combo mostly) can be a bonus. The latter is probably the biggest reason for him rather than Arena (other than CC).
Dauthi Slayer - its ability to enable the Mask far outweighs its lack of defense. Also, 2 damage every turn is not insignificant.
Skittering Skirge - Pretty decent threat at 2 mana, carries the Mask, has slight synergy w/ Smallpox
Selected Exclusions
These are by no means set in stone by any stretch of the imagination.
Pox(Bigpox)? Most of the time it will do the same thing as small pox, except it costs one mana more and will knock your life total into dubious position. This is an eventuallity against all kinds of aggro on a good draw. Burn. Etc. Think of it like this: the first smallpox costs 2, does the same thing as pox, and knocks you down 1 life. The first pox can put you down 7!!
Jitte - This deck has MD room issues. Jitte will probably make an appearance in the SB.
Questions
Aether Vial - Would it be useful here? overkill?
Jitte - see above
How many swamps?
Should there be alternate mana sources? If so what kind and how many?
How many Smallpox? Would (big) Pox of any benefit?
Phyrexian Arena?
Cabal Pit? (Threshhold is no problem)
Pinder adds: "One thing I notice is that you don't have any spot removal outside of Edicts in there. Is that because disrupting their hand/mana is enough to keep their creatures off the table?"
and
"Also, are you adverse to splashing a color? White here would give you Vindicate (which is more spot removal and helps the LD route), Swords (if you found yourself needing more spot removal), and Jotun Grunt (with all this discard, saccing, and land destruction going on, graveyards are going to get pretty huge, no?)."
Would this deck benefit from spot removal or general removal/sacrificing enough?
and
Are dual lands and a second color necessary? Warranted? If so which color would be the best? (Pinder is hinting at it, no?)
Thank you for your time and any and all suggestions (by anyone) are encouraged.
~monkey