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Thread: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

  1. #21
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    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    If not poxing any then a "Lake Drain" strategy is another option.

  2. #22

    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    So I started to test this deck in 2016 again when I started to engage with MTG once more but I quickly realized that the approach I followed back in 2013 had to be reconsidered. TNN fell off in popularity and the contemporary Delver Deck now played a larger variety of creatures which all demand specific answers which my deck just couldn't provide. The format felt faster and more unforgiving in general so that cards like Batterskull had to be reevaluated. New strategies and cards like the BFZ Eldrazis demanded new answers.

    The deck took a further big hit from the ban of Sensei's Divining Top which used to hold the deck together and made the high-CC cards like Grave Titan playable because it guaranteed land drops. The loss of Top made the fully reactive deck approach somewhat obsolete and I figured that it would be best to give the deck somewhat proactive capabilities to an extent even though it was supposed to stay a control deck. Being able to engage through the battlefield has proven to be indispensable for such a deck in my view so I now use more creatures as removal and finishers.

    The lack of consistency due to the loss of SDT had to be remedied also and in search for solutions I was greatly satisfied with Night's Whisper which somewhat feels like a black Brainstorm because it let's you dig through the deck very efficiently.

    Also some cards like Hero's Downfall had to be exchanged or at least reduced in numbers because their power level simply didn't prove to be high enough for Legacy standards. In order to solve the mentioned issues of consistency, new foes and general power creep which appeared against the background of a changed format I've recently arrived at the following list which is supposed to reflect the requirements of the current meta:

    MBC 2018

    19 Swamp
    4 Wasteland

    4 Gifted Aetherborn
    2 Innocent Blood
    2 Disfigure
    2 Diabolic Edict
    2 Toxic Deluge
    2 Damnation

    3 Inquisition of Kozilek
    3 Duress
    4 Hymn to Tourach

    3 Night's Whisper
    3 Phyrexian Arena

    2 Tombstalker
    3 Phyrexian Totem
    1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
    1 Sorin Markov

    SB:
    3 Pithing Needle
    2 Nevinyrall's Disk
    4 Faerie Macabre
    3 Extirpate
    1 Duress
    2 Dystopia

    The cards are listed by functionality and not in terms of card types. I consider Gifted Aetherborn a highly flexible removal that has the invaluable advantage of giving your life points back which has turned out to be crucial against aggro and due to Phyrexian Arena and Night's Whisper. I am so fond of Aetherborn because it can answer most threats of the current format. The variety of these became too diverse that not a single black removal spell was capable of fullfill the role Aetherborn provides. The threat diversity is also the reason I split the CC1 removal into 2 Disfigure and 2 Innocent Blood, i.e. sacrifice-effects aren't as good anymore.

    I currently do not play any cards that directly target Planeswalkers because trading 1 for 1 with Hero's Downfall felt very underpowered a lot of times. Instead I now rely on Phyrexian Totem for that purpose which is also an excellent win conditions in some matchups. However, it might turn out that either Downfall or To the Slaughter are still necessary as 2-ofs in conjunction with Totem to handle Jace, The Mindsculptor so I am not sure about that matter yet.

    The deck now plays more discard because one the hand only 8 discard spells don't suffice in the matchups they are supposed to adresss, on the other hand the deck needed more business in the first turns, especially with SDT being gone. I do prefer both IoK and Duress over Thoughtseize because self-inflicted lifeloss seemed very contraproductive with the increased speed and efficiency of the field.

    The number of highcosted spells has been reduced because without SDT (or Brainstorm) it became very important to be able to cast stuff from the earliest turns on. Tombstalker is played in the maindeck both as finisher and as pseudoremoval. A surpringly large amount of decks cannot handle it which makes it a good finisher. Furthermore it can relief you from a lot of pressure simply by providing a good wall, which btw is another reason Gifted Aetherborn is of so great value here.

    It's obviously not trying to be a overly competitive deck (like the title even suggests) but Mono Black Control does offer a few advantages that even from the competitive perspective can make it appear worthwhile. First of your are largely unaffected or not as severly harmed by stompy strategies. Second black offers unique capabilities that other colors lack and that are of great value in the current meta, i.e. you get to play a lot of sacrifice effects that can handle both Marit Lage and TNN. Also, you get to play Phyrexian Arena which is a astonishing powerful card only few decks have the opportunity to play. It's also a very cheap way to get into the format of course.

    I'm curious what you guys have to say about the deck and appreciate all feedback.

  3. #23
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    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    I played against you, using a close version of this, on Magic Workstation. I remember losing, can't remember what I played lol...

    I think there are a couple of cards that would be decent here, probably more efficient:

    Ratchet Bomb (instead of Nev Disk)
    Fatal Push (instead of Disfigure)
    I really think what the deck needs is Phyrexian Obliterator. Very good against fair matchups and a very fast clock. Another route is to jam Abyssal Persecutors and go crazy like it's 2015 with The Gate. It's honestly not a bad deck, it's just underpowered compared to other fair decks. Still, I imagine it would have a positive Delver matchup and would give Czech Pile a run.

    EDIT:Triangle of War seems super spicy with Obliterator.
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  4. #24

    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    Yeah I was actually surprised that MWS is still populated by legacy players, our matches were quite fun and you were playing the Dark Depths deck^^. Of course maindeck Diabolic Edict helps alot there. The current popularity of Dark Depths is indeed a blessing for this deck.

    I appreciate that you remind me of Ratchet Bomb again which I have not tested enough to judge it definitely. I used to play it in Mono Blue control and remember it to be passable, but black offers better sweepers obviously. As for Disk I first and foremost play it as an answer to artifact or permanent heavy decks like all those Blood Moon piles and similiar stuff, it's not supposed to improve the aggro matchups as I think these are already adressed enough. Disk is in my view better for the purpose of hosing permanent-heavy, slow decks than the Bomb.

    Fatal Push is probably superior to Disfigure indeed, although one will face issues of fulfilling the revolt condition with only 4 Wasteland sometimes. There are quite a few circumstances nonetheless where Disfigure is actually better than Push at times because the >CC2 can be quite restrictive against KoTR or Clique and the -2/-2 can change combat maths to your favor even though it doesn't actually kill the creature. That and the fact that Push is currently overpriced because of Standard is the reason I prefer Disfigure for now but I do concede that Fatal Push is the more powerful card, especially if Tarmogoyf ever became more popular again.

    I could have bet that "The Gate" gets mentioned within the first replies :D but just like 5 years ago I'm still not convinced that these two decks share a lot in common except for a few cards. The Gate in my view is more of an aggro than a control deck since it's mostly a proactive deck and a pile of (bad) midrange goodstuff which I'm honestly not a big fan of. This deck however is supposed to be control and rather reactive since this reflects my preferences more. I do however admit that I took inspiration from the Gate by adopting a slight bit of proactivity and board presence in the form of Gifted Aetherborn and Tombstalker. I have actually considered Obliterator in the place of Tombstalker and would assume they're are mostly interchangeable, each having their own advantages of course (Tombstallker can block Delver, Flickerwisp and buys a turn against Marit Lage, Obliterator is obviously the more broken card). BtW instead of Triangle I would rather play Arena before sacrificing maindeck space for shenanigans like that^^.

    I'm curious what decks you refer to when you speak of those "other fair decks". The current list is indeed intended to be decent against the two major fair decks that you mentioned.

    edit: If anyone is still playing MBC as well and wants to share his/her version of MBC in this thread then feel free to do so, I will gratefully take inspiration from that.

  5. #25
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    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    Nev Disk makes sense, in light of what you want it to do. Good catch on Arena, I thought it required RG to activate (Contested Cliffs? That might be the one I'm confusing it with.)

    Other fair decks: Stoneblade, Maverick, Miracles...basically anything with access to Swords to Plowshares. Their threats are more powerful, too. Some of them (knight) don't even need to attack to make your life miserable. Death and Taxes plays a lot of Mirran Crusaders lately (and has access to Swords to Plowshares as well.) Batterskull creates a standoff as well...they will take 5 if you attack, but crack back for 4 and gain 4. You lose that race.

    It is indeed great against Delver and Czech pile...as is Pox, really (the closest deck to this, honestly.)
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    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    You run a lot of instants and sorceries, plus delve creatures. This could be the kind of deck that wants a Bösium Strip to let the deck really push through in the late game.

  7. #27

    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    I've been looking for some mono black control list that ISN'T POX.

    The Gifted Aetherborn seems odd as main creature other than tombstalker with board wipes and removal.

    Thought about Ports? GQs? I feel like more land disruption plus small pox may fit in some slots.

    Dark rits for speed not worth the disadvantage?

    Lili last hope is also crazy removal v creature decks and a win con. I'd consider that as well.

  8. #28
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    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    Night of souls betrayal. I'll start there as black has a host of powerful enchantments.
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  9. #29

    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    Thanks for the plenty of replies guys.

    Mr.Safety: I do agree that many of the "fair" decks you named do indeed have access to more powerful cards, mostly because they're blue. I do however argue that this deck was built with those matchups in mind and it's definitely not as if it was hopelessly inferior to Stoneblade for example. Many of those midrange decks cannot keep up or are not prepared for cards like Phyrexian Arena or [cards]Damnation[/card]. Stoneblade also relies a lot on TNN which isn't a problem for this deck either. From my experience the fair midrange matchups are even to slightly advantageous, especially the nonblue ones. As for the similiarities with Pox, yes, with the inclusion of Phyrexian Totem it has indeed become closer to that but it still feels and plays more like a traditional control deck and I will watch out that it doesn't become too similiar. I know Pox claims to be control too but my understanding of control forbids to play cards like Smallpox which harm your own board and hand development as much as it does your opponent's. This deck is distinct from Pox because it actually tries to be control in the traditional sense instead of abusing cards like Smallpox by breaking their symmetry.

    mgrinshpon: I didn't even know of that card so thanks for informing me about it. I also appreciate that you suggested a rather unusual card which is way off the current mainstream of the format. I suppose that its purpose would be the one of an additional card advantage engine and therefore somewhat competes with Phyrexian Arena for those slots. My guess is that Arena is superior to Bösium Strip in that role because it's less conditional (after all the deck isn't all about instant/sorceries) and requires less mana investment. Arena actually puts your opponent under pressure because it's an question many decks have to answer. Thus it can also be seen as a somewhat "proactive" threat which are so crucial to have as I've mentioned above. Bösium Strip on the other hand doesn't seem as intimidating to me at least on paper, but I could miss something of course. One advantage however would probably be that it doesn't cost life like Arena which im increasingly unhapp about because it forces you to incorporate at least some source of lifegain in the deck and makes it also nearly unplayable in many situations against aggressive decks.

    compacta_d: I'm pleased that someone else is interested in mono black control as well. I do not view Gifted Aetherborn as my "primary creature" (though it can act as that in some MU) but as a quite flexible removal and source of lifegain. I simply realized that the fully reactive approach to handle your opponents creatures isn't viable when those are as diverse as in Legacy. Thought-Knot Seer, Young Pyromancer, Gurmag Angler and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben each require more or less specific answers that no single black removal can provide reliably. At that point I realized that the deck can be relieved from alot of pressure by using a deathtouch creature for that purpose. Aetherborn does a similiar job which Wall of Blossoms used to do for the (very) old GBW control decks. Its lifegain ability is a nice coinincidence which saves some deckspace because with Arena, Whisper and Deluge you have to have some source of lifegain to them viable in some matchups. Even if Aetherborn gets bolted it has virtually saved you 3 life. Furthermore the fact that it often draws your opponent's removal on it make is not that bad because this saves Totem and Tombstalker from those and makes them solid win conditions on the first place. As for additional Landdestruction: I cannot imagine that this would benefit the deck much. While there are quite a lot decks that rely a lot on their lands in legacy nowadays (Eldrazi), the majority of times it will be rather mediocre because we all now how little mana decks like Delver require. Also 4 colorless lands I think are already pushing the decks boundaries because it's essential to have access to BB on turn two so I can't imagine that adding additional colorless lands such as Rishadan Port would work well. Of course you could play Urborg but that would make the manabase quite fragile. If you want to use more land desctruction I'd recommend 1-2Dust Bowl in addition to 3-4 Wastelands because that card can sometimes win on it's own against decks like Post or even against the 4cGoodstuffDeck. Regarding Dark Ritual I have to concede that I haven't tested it enough to assess it adequately but its incorporation would make it necessary to build the deck from bottom up again because it overthrows the whole manacurve thing. Right now I'm not overly dissatisfied with the speed or the manacurve of the deck so I do not plan to use it in the current version of the deck. This was however not the case when I still played stuff like Grave Titan so maybe Dark Ritual could make a different approach feasible. Liliana, the last Hope is definitely a viable option and I will have to test her more intensely, especially with Aetherborn, but the card is also kind of slow as a win condition.

    Weapon X: I was aware of Night of Soul's Betrayal as well and also thought about using it somewhow but I can't find space for it. It somewhat competes with other sweepers like Toxic Deluge and Damnation and I consider those as superior to Soul's most of the time. I know how good it is against D&T but overall I'd guess the latter two are better for that role. It does however make Young Pyromancer and Snapcster rather useless so it shouldn't be dismissed too early I think. If DRS was a 1/1 instead of a 1/2 things might actually look very different. I don't like how it shrinks my own creatures though.

  10. #30
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    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    Chains of Mephistopheles, the abyss, nether void... I was scratching the surface.
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    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    Collective Brutality seems like something worth testing out in here as it plays a lot of rolls. Life gain, removal, disruption, and sometimes all three. Most of your other spells aren't flexible like it is, they are either removal or disruption. I'd test out 2 maybe even 3 of them.

  12. #32

    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    Quote Originally Posted by ReAnimator View Post
    Collective Brutality seems like something worth testing out in here as it plays a lot of rolls. Life gain, removal, disruption, and sometimes all three. Most of your other spells aren't flexible like it is, they are either removal or disruption. I'd test out 2 maybe even 3 of them.
    This card's flexibility is definitely useful but what would you cut for it? Collective Brutality is surely flexible but each of it's modes on their own aren't particularly strong and it's also sorcery speed which is more important than it seems. I don't think its flexibility would outweigh its downsides of sorcery speed and somewhat mediocre effects but I have to admit that I haven't tested it yet. So then again what would you cut for it.?

  13. #33
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    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    Quote Originally Posted by Erdvermampfa View Post
    Thanks for the plenty of replies guys.

    Mr.Safety: I do agree that many of the "fair" decks you named do indeed have access to more powerful cards, mostly because they're blue. I do however argue that this deck was built with those matchups in mind and it's definitely not as if it was hopelessly inferior to Stoneblade for example. Many of those midrange decks cannot keep up or are not prepared for cards like Phyrexian Arena or [cards]Damnation[/card]. Stoneblade also relies a lot on TNN which isn't a problem for this deck either. From my experience the fair midrange matchups are even to slightly advantageous, especially the nonblue ones. As for the similiarities with Pox, yes, with the inclusion of Phyrexian Totem it has indeed become closer to that but it still feels and plays more like a traditional control deck and I will watch out that it doesn't become too similiar. I know Pox claims to be control too but my understanding of control forbids to play cards like Smallpox which harm your own board and hand development as much as it does your opponent's. This deck is distinct from Pox because it actually tries to be control in the traditional sense instead of abusing cards like Smallpox by breaking their symmetry.
    I agree! We are saying the same thing, really. All I mean to say is this: you're trying to claim some territory that other non-blue decks are also trying to claim, like Maverick, Lands, and D&T. While you are well equipped to deal with the top-tier blue decks you will actually struggle a little against the other decks that are well equipped to deal with top-tier blue. You're fighting for the same small section of the meta-game; all I'm saying is to keep this in mind when evaluating card choices so you can try and find some overlapping functionality that deals with blue and non-blue matchups.
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  14. #34
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    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    Quote Originally Posted by Erdvermampfa View Post
    This card's flexibility is definitely useful but what would you cut for it? Collective Brutality is surely flexible but each of it's modes on their own aren't particularly strong and it's also sorcery speed which is more important than it seems. I don't think its flexibility would outweigh its downsides of sorcery speed and somewhat mediocre effects but I have to admit that I haven't tested it yet. So then again what would you cut for it.?

    I'd probably cut Disfigures honestly. Though i would have cut those for pushes already and run a few fetches (i know you've covered this).

    If you actually go hard on something like brutality, that's a lot of extra incidental life gain, maybe enough to support Thoughtseize over IOK. I've always been super disappointed in IOK in legacy. Every time you need to pluck a Force or Jace or Batterskull and can't it's just such a feel bad, and usually loses the game.

  15. #35
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    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    10 discard spells in your deck seems like overkill. Do you find them dead in hand a lot?

    Have you thought about going with the Cabal Coffers plan to power out finishers like Consume Spirit or Suffer the Past? I used to run a MBC deck a while back and loved keeping the board clear until able to power out a big finisher.

    Here's the MBC deck I ran circa-2010 with decent results.


    4 Duress
    3 Inquisition of Kozilek

    1 The Abyss
    3 Damnation
    4 Innocent Blood
    3 Diabolic Edict
    3 Nevinyrral's Disk

    1 Grim Tutor
    2 Sign in Blood <- I liked this to serve as a finishing Shock in certain situations over Night's Whisper
    4 Phyrexian Arena

    1 Sorin Markov
    3 Consume Spirit
    2 Suffer the Past

    4 Dark Ritual <- This was needed to get a jump with an early Abyss or 1st turn Arena

    19 Swamp
    3 Cabal Coffers


    Sideboard:
    1 Nevinyrral's Disk
    4 Pithing Needle
    4 Chalice of the Void
    3 Null Rod
    1 Damnation
    2 Staff of Domination
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  16. #36

    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    MrSafety: The deck isn't intended to be only decent against the typical blue fair decks but against a larger share of the field, namely control (Miracles) and to an extent combo matchups too, that's why there is such a large number of discard and stuff like Phyrexian Totem. I didn't specifically build the deck to only do well against fair "blue" decks (which is hard enough already because of Jace) but to cover a preferably large variety of archetypes which is the basic idea of control anyways. Other decks like the ones you mentioned may do this better if only because of a larger pool of playable cards but I can assure you that I took into account all the matchups when I made the card choices. It particularly surprises me that you think the deck suffers against other fair decks, I heard Damnation, Toxic Deluge and Phyrexian Arena tend to be strong against those ;) .

    ReAnimator: Cutting Disfigures for a CC2 (!) sorcery speed and highly conditional removal seems like a very bad idea. The CC1 and instant speed are way too important in most circumstances because it's needed to handle the taxing effect of [cards]Thalia, Guardian of Thraben[/card] and to be able to resolve it against Daze and Spell Pierce. Delver, Young Pyromancer and also DRS have to be removed as soon as possible most of the times so waiting for additional lands to safely cast the Brutality spell seems very awkward. The lower casting cost of Disfigure is much more important than the occasional merits of Brutality in my view, at least with the current arrangement of removal spells. Obviously it could be different if you went an other approach or like you said if you "go hard on Collective Brutality". I can definitely relate to your objections against IoK though, there are indeed quite a few situations where it sucks because you can't pick Jace or stuff but that's why I went for Duress in addition to it. Thoughtseize just isn't sustainable with Night's Whisper, Arena and Deluge because I would Shock myself with almost every card I play and honestly Night's Whisper is much more important for the deck than TS.

    Jander78: Thanks for posting your list, it looks a lot like those MBC decks you would meet at that time you said you used to play it and there's definitely stuff that is appealing in that list like the Coffers Plan or Dark Ritual which should be sustainable with 4 Arenas. No Hymn to Tourach seems quite dubious though I mean it's one of the few advantages of MonoB that you can play this card so easily but I see that you got other means to gain card advantage with that list. Altogether it seems like the more traditional control approach that tries to be mostly reactive and I have to admit I prefer that play style too but like I've tried to convey above I'm currently sceptical about that strategy because I don't think MBC offers good enough cards that would make this strategy viable in the current format. 2010's legacy is a lot different from the one of today. I might try it out later though because honestly the list looks a lot like it would suit my preferences and I haven't thoroughly tested Coffers anyways. Have you had experience with a list like this one more recently?
    As for the 10 Discard spells I have to say that as of now drawing them later on hasn't been a problem at all for me. I'm much happier that now with 6 CC1 discards the deck can do something substantial early on more often. My current list can also close the game more quickly because of Totem, Stalker and Aetherborn so it's not forced to drag the game out into the lategame where those discard spells would indeed suck. That's probably the reason you are sceptical about those because that would certainly happen a lot with the approach you follow with your list I think.

  17. #37
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    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    Other fair decks: Stoneblade, Maverick, Miracles...basically anything with access to Swords to Plowshares. Their threats are more powerful, too. Some of them (knight) don't even need to attack to make your life miserable. Death and Taxes plays a lot of Mirran Crusaders lately (and has access to Swords to Plowshares as well.) Batterskull creates a standoff as well...they will take 5 if you attack, but crack back for 4 and gain 4. You lose that race.
    That was specifically referring to Phyrexian Obliterator, sorry if I wasn't clear. I agree, the deck is solid against the field. Just making a point about Obliterator.
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  18. #38
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    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    Quote Originally Posted by Erdvermampfa View Post
    Jander78: Thanks for posting your list, it looks a lot like those MBC decks you would meet at that time you said you used to play it and there's definitely stuff that is appealing in that list like the Coffers Plan or Dark Ritual which should be sustainable with 4 Arenas. No Hymn to Tourach seems quite dubious though I mean it's one of the few advantages of MonoB that you can play this card so easily but I see that you got other means to gain card advantage with that list. Altogether it seems like the more traditional control approach that tries to be mostly reactive and I have to admit I prefer that play style too but like I've tried to convey above I'm currently sceptical about that strategy because I don't think MBC offers good enough cards that would make this strategy viable in the current format. 2010's legacy is a lot different from the one of today. I might try it out later though because honestly the list looks a lot like it would suit my preferences and I haven't thoroughly tested Coffers anyways. Have you had experience with a list like this one more recently?
    As for the 10 Discard spells I have to say that as of now drawing them later on hasn't been a problem at all for me. I'm much happier that now with 6 CC1 discards the deck can do something substantial early on more often. My current list can also close the game more quickly because of Totem, Stalker and Aetherborn so it's not forced to drag the game out into the lategame where those discard spells would indeed suck. That's probably the reason you are sceptical about those because that would certainly happen a lot with the approach you follow with your list I think.
    The list I posted is outdated and I wouldn't dare try it as-is in today's environment. I posted it as a reference point on using the Cabal Coffers plan, since I think that's a very strong route to consider. I agree, Hymn + Duress are the two most important disruption pieces to run. 8 might be the right discard to run, maybe 10 if you consider Collective Brutality, since it can serve other purposes as well. Consume Spirit (or maybe Corrupt) is good mid-game to gain back the life you lose early on keeping control of the board state.
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  19. #39
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    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    Quote Originally Posted by Erdvermampfa View Post
    mgrinshpon: I didn't even know of that card so thanks for informing me about it. I also appreciate that you suggested a rather unusual card which is way off the current mainstream of the format. I suppose that its purpose would be the one of an additional card advantage engine and therefore somewhat competes with Phyrexian Arena for those slots. My guess is that Arena is superior to Bösium Strip in that role because it's less conditional (after all the deck isn't all about instant/sorceries) and requires less mana investment. Arena actually puts your opponent under pressure because it's an question many decks have to answer. Thus it can also be seen as a somewhat "proactive" threat which are so crucial to have as I've mentioned above. Bösium Strip on the other hand doesn't seem as intimidating to me at least on paper, but I could miss something of course. One advantage however would probably be that it doesn't cost life like Arena which im increasingly unhapp about because it forces you to incorporate at least some source of lifegain in the deck and makes it also nearly unplayable in many situations against aggressive decks.
    If you look the wording on the 'strip, you'll notice that it allows you to cast the top card of your graveyard as though it had flashblack as long as it is an instant or sorcery, potentially giving you 2+ cards a turn rather than Arena's one-of.

  20. #40

    Re: Mono Black Control - Yes, I'm serious.

    What do you think of this list? I've come to the conclusion that the previous list went a bit too far into the aggro-control direction and that it lacked in those parts which should be control's strength. It was by no means a bad list but was dependent on closing the game early because the lategame capabilities were kind of lacking aside from the two planeswalkers. There has to be some sort of inevitability in a control deck so that this strategy works out. It makes no sense to drag out the game and to find yourself in a bad position once the dust has cleared. Thus I decided to go back a bit into the initial direction or conception of this deck. Now that DRS is banned, the format should also become a bit slower so that this approach is also more viable again.

    16 Swamp
    1 Blighted Fen (locks out the opponent with crucible
    3 Wasteland (wastelock with crucible)
    3 Bloodstained Mire (CA with crucible)

    2 Innocent Blood
    2 Disfigure
    3 Diabolic Edict (good against "combo, ok vs midrange and aggro)
    3 Toxic Deluge
    2 Damnation

    3 Inquisition of Kozilek
    3 Duress
    4 Hymn to Tourach

    2 Liliana, Death's Majesty (hard to get rid of win condition and most importantly it's some kind of board presence)
    2 Sorin Markov (lifegain matters)
    3 Phyrexian Totem (main answer to Planewalkers, esp. Jace)

    3 Twisted Abomination (instead of Night's Whisper because lifeloss is awkward; Twisted can be brought back with Liliana)
    3 Phyrexian Arena
    1 Crucible of Worlds
    1 Mastermind's Acquisition

    SB:
    1 Duress
    1 Inquisition of Kozilek
    2 Nev's Disk
    3 Exirpate
    4 Faerie Macabre
    1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
    3 Pithing Needle

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