Idea is to be aggressive/disruptive and resolve a contamination. Some Bloodghast/Nether Spirit abuse. Transformational SB, anticipating graveyard hate from them, Obliterators for red decks.
4x Dark Confidant
4x Bloodghast
4x Vampire Nighthawk
3x Gatekeeper of Malakir
1x Nether Spirit
1x Liliana of the Veil
4x Cabal Therapy
4x Duress
4x Dark Ritual
3x Contamination
1x Diabolic Intent
2x Entomb
2x Disfigure
1x Marsh Casualties
4x Sinkhole
3x Wasteland
4x Undiscovered Paradise
1x Volrath’s Stronghold
10x Swamp
4x Leyline of the Void
4x Helm of Obedience
3x Phyrexian Obliterator
2x Hymn to Tourach
2x Null Rod
I'd consider playing 3x Nether Traitor over the Spirit, given that it constantly returns for .
Agree with Darkenslight. Nether Spirit works best in very low creature count decks. Yours has 16.
I'd also find a way to add some more lands in there. 18 is very low, especially when you consider you are going to try and cast 4 drops post board. I realize you have Dark Rituals but IMO 18 lands is too low for this deck.
Obliterator isn't that good vs Burn. I've tried it out before. You are better off running Jitte in the board or more Hymns.
I remember seeing a lot of these lists a good 5-6 years ago, but I feel like DRS hurts this strategy.
I think you should run a full set of Bitterblossom, Contamination and Jitte. You need other sac outlets/wincond that don't just lose to gy hate. I'd probably just take out Nighthawk & Bob, they don't really offer much to the strategy and slow you down, and you have no Swords/Jitte's for them to really do much from an aggro approach. With running Sinhole and Ritual, it seems you just wanna' win fast and set up a lock, which is why I said you'd be best going for the: T1 Ritual, Duress, Bitterblossom; T2 Jitte/Sinkhole/Diabolic Intent; T3 Contamination. Terminus, Swords, Bolts, PF, etc. are gonna eat Bob and Nighthawks alive, but Blossom is extremely resilient even on its own you can ride it to victory if you resolve one right away.
May your suffering equal your weakness--Ihsan's Shade
Have you thought about:
Braids, Cabal Minion
or
Ophiomancer?
With Bitterblossom, Contamination, Ophiomancer, Braids, Bloodghast and Nether Traitor you'd have no problem keeping Braids and Contamination up. Maybe even throw in Crucible/Wasteland for the additional Braids / Bloodghast recursion?
Thanks for the replies guys. Nether Traitor is quite nice, especially with Shadow for more offensive potential. I will say that I like having a Nether Spirit to Entomb early on, as it's a very convenient way to get set up (ex: Turn 1 Entomb, Turn 2 Duress, Ritual, Contamination).
I've felt Bob necessary to be competitive and keep up momentum as your opening hand can disappear almost immediately (hopefully along with theirs). This deck can look kinda bad in a "draw, go" scenario without Contamination in play.
Bitterblossom and Jitte make a lot of sense. I've yet to get my hands on any Bitterblossoms to try it out, but I can certainly see it working well. It just feels a bit less powerful then Bob, though harder to remove for sure.
I guess I'm mostly unsure of how much of the deck I should devote to the "combo" (Entombs/Diabolic Intents/Bloodghasts/Nethers/Contamination/Undiscovered, etc.) I'll have some match reports after my local Legacy event on Sunday. I'm going in with no expectations but hope to minimize embarrassment.
Edit: I do realize that DRS hurts. Does it hurt so much that my current removal is inadequate? Not sure.
Something I'd seriously consider is the possibility of bringing in a board-wipe effect, dependent on your meta; for example, Echoing Decay is a useful card for getting rid of DRS.
I'd probably drop Bob and your graveyard package for Bitterblossom and Ophiomancer. Maybe look into going a little down the Pox or Smallpox route as well. Smallpox could be more useful than Sinkhole here because of its greater drain on the opponent's resources and it also adds in some more removal. Toxic Deluge is also probebly better than Marsh Casualties.
Thank you for the advice. I want to play Sinkhole so bad though!
I didn't have the nerve to run the list sans Bitterblossom on Sunday, so my report will have to wait until Friday. This is the list I'm currently messing with, though at some point I will try swapping out the Bobs/Tops/Entombs/Creatures for Smallpox and something else (Ophiomancer?):
4x Dark Confidant
1x Bloodghast
1x Nether Spirit
1x Liliana of the Veil
4x Bitterblossom
4x Cabal Therapy
4x Duress
1x Hymn to Tourach
3x Contamination
3x Diabolic Intent
4x Entomb
2x Disfigure
1x Marsh Casualties
1x Diabolic Edict
4x Sinkhole
3x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Umezawa's Jitte
4x Wasteland
4x Polluted Delta
1x Undiscovered Paradise
1x Volrath's Stronghold
8x Swamp
4x Leyline of the Void
3x Helm of Obedience
1x Phyrexian Obliterator
1x Innocent Blood
1x Mutilate
3x Hymn to Tourach
2x Null Rod
I have the rituals out now, any opinion on their function/value in the deck? You can slam down some powerful stuff early with them of course, but is it worth the risk of getting blown out by FoW, etc? I am leaning towards no.
It's not bad, I'm liking the list a lot more man.
First off, I LOVE the card to death in EDH, but you should probably drop the Stronghold. 2 of your creatures already self recur, there's really no point. It's way better when you have like Witness or Gatekeeper, and you can just recur and continuously smash opponent in an attrition war. Here it could get in the way of a T2 Sinkhole or Hymn, that'd really suck. Paradise is in same boat, no point opening yourself up to wasteland.
The only other thing would be maybe fitting in another Jitte and/or Hymn, I dunno maybe cut a Top and Therapy. Those are straight up business spells, you're almost never gonna' be unhappy to draw them.
May your suffering equal your weakness--Ihsan's Shade
We got owned boys. I don't have the exact list I ran, but it was somewhere in between the one in my last post, and the one I'm about to post here. I know it had the Deathrites, but not the Bridges.
Solid 0-4 finish after decent testing was as bit disappointing but not surprising. Did get to live the dream and win some games with Contamination lock! Still, fact remains we lost to Grixis Delver/Goblins/Rug Delver/and... Deathblade? This is where we are at now, will test some tomorrow and run it on Sunday:
4x Dark Confidant
4x Deathrite Shaman
1x Liliana of the Veil
4x Dark Ritual
4x Bitterblossom
3x Thoughtseize
3x Cabal Therapy
4x Sinkhole
1x Diabolic Intent
3x Contamination
2x Innocent Blood
1x Black Sun's Zenith
3x Sensei's Divining Top
2x Umezawa's Jitte
3x Ensnaring Bridge
4x Polluted Delta
4x Wasteland
4x Verdant Catacombs
6x Swamp
4x Leyline of the Void
2x Helm of Obedience
1x Gate to Phyrexia
3x Phyrexian Negator
1x Engineered Plague
1x Mutilate
3x Hymn to Tourach
Top is back, and I don't think it'll be coming out again. Ensnaring Bridge is in and feels strong, though perhaps I'm still skimping on removal? Targeted spell vs Innocent Blood? Been unsure about Dark Ritual, but am back on it (lots of big turn 1's). Was also considering a Winter Orb somewhere in the 75. Help!
2-2 with the list above (slightly different sideboard, same maindeck) at my local legacy event on Sunday. Considerably better than last time at least.
Round 1: Esperblade 2-0
Round one went pretty smoothly as my opponent didn't have enough early interaction/permission either game. Innocent Blood for True-Name/Stoneforge, discard cleared the path for threats, etc. Game 2 we resolved Contamination with Bitterblossom ftw around turn 3.
Round 2: Burn 0-2
I was quite disappointed with this pairing, this may be the worst matchup. Contamination does work if it resolves, but more often than not it's just a bit too slow to set up (not to mention it doesn't stop Fireblast). Died pretty quickly both games on the play, did not see Jitte's either game. Obliterator decided to make an appearance game two and bought us a couple of turns, but too little too late. Looking at Nighthawks for the SB moving forward.
Round 3: Elves 1-2
I was interested to see how this went, with low expectations. Game 1 was a short affair, I died turn 3 or 4 via Craterhoof with little interaction. Won a slightly grindier game 2 with a Jitte-wielding Obliterator over the course of a couple of turns with Contamination in play (no Blossom). Game 3 was pretty much the same as game 1. Definitely was sad to not see my Bridges/Engineered Plague, even if they were going to be blown up before long. I sided out too much discard for sure, and misplayed twice with Wasteland while Quirion Ranger was in play. I think with practice this matchup will be tolerable.
Round 4: UWR Stoneblade 2-1
Fairly one-sided games both ways, seems being on the play is good. Game 1 was pretty much uncontested with Thoughtseize clearing the way for a turn 2 Liliana followed up by multiple Wastelands and Sinkholes. Game 2 we mulled to six, grinded it out for a while until a Jace resolved and you can guess the rest. Game 3 we ended the day with another Contamination lock.
Moving forward I'd like another Liliana, and as much as it pains me I'm going to try living without Sinkholes. Here's the list I'm thinking about (gonna run it at GP charlotte side events):
4x Dark Confidant
4x Deathrite Shaman
2x Liliana of the Veil
4x Dark Ritual
3x Thoughtseize
3x Cabal Therapy
3x Hymn to Tourach
1x Diabolic Intent
2x Innocent Blood
1x Black Sun's Zenith
4x Bitterblossom
3x Contamination
3x Sensei's Divining Top
2x Umezawa's Jitte
3x Ensnaring Bridge
4x Polluted Delta
4x Wasteland
3x Bloodstained Mire
5x Swamp
2x Bayou
3x Leyline of the Void
2x Helm of Obedience
1x Unmask
1x Darkblast
1x Massacre
2x Spinning Darkness
2x Abrupt Decay
2x Engineered Plague
1x Tsabo's Web
I feel pretty decent about the main deck right now, less certain about the SB...
Last edited by Wotkenmendo; 06-12-2015 at 06:55 PM.
2-2 At the Legacy side event in Charlotte (Saturday afternoon). .
Round 1: Food Chain 0-2
Sigh. I was a bit ignorant going into this matchup and made plenty of misplay's I'm sure. I figured out what he was on but my knowledge of the cards and their text is pretty lacking. Had a beautiful Bob/Top/Blossom going on but no lock, died with him dead on the next turn game 1. Game 2 I opened with a Therapy and alllllmost name Food Chain but instead go for Brainstorm. Sure enough he has no Brainstorm and 2 Food Chain in hand. I lost a bit more quickly this time.
Round 2: Reanimator 2-1
Quite a short match. Game 1 he get's an Iona in play. Game's 2 and 3 I open with Leyline of the Void. Guess neither of us really wanted to play Magic anyway.
Round 3: Mono-red Sneak Attack 2-1
This time I'm even more ignorant than against Food Chain, but get the gist of what he's going for after he kills me with Emrakul pretty early on in game 1. The next two games are a bit grindy, Ensnaring Bridge does work as do my discard spells. Game 3 my hand is great and full of action, but lots of one drops. If he drops a turn one Chalice the game is as good as done, but he doesn't! I can't remember if I locked him out or not.
Round 4: Burn 2-1
I was realllly hoping to dodge this as it's my worst matchup (as far as I know). Game one I die fairly predictably. Game 2 I'm excited because I have my secret tech (Spinning Darkness) in hand to start! Luckily I don't even need to reveal my secret, as he concedes after realizing he cannot cast Smash to Smithereens or anything else under Contamination lock (except Fireblast I know). Game 3 is a close one, and I'm quite excited about the prospect of winning this match. I open with a healthy amount of discard, we both go into topdeck mode for about five turns. All I want is a threat or a Bob or something, anything! A lone Spinning Darkness buys me a turn. I eventually find a top and am close to setting up the lock, but he gets a few too many decent topdecks in the meantime, not the least of which was a Sulfuric Vortex. I die.
I have streamlined the list a bit and it's feeling pretty good, but I still don't know what the maindeck removal should be. I liked Innoncent Blood for a while but am going to try out Disfigure, since we have Bridges and Lilly.
4x Dark Confidant
4x Deathrite Shaman
2x Ophiomancer
2x Liliana of the Veil
4x Hymn to Tourach
4x Thoughtseize
4x Bitterblossom
3x Cabal Therapy
3x Disfigure
3x Contamination
4x Sensei's Divining Top
2x Umezawa's Jitte
3x Ensnaring Bridge
4x Polluted Delta
3x Bloodstained Mire
7x Swamp
4x Wasteland
4x Leyline of the Void
3x Helm of Obedience
3x Spinning Darkness
2x Diabolic Edict
1x Black Sun's Zenith
2x Engineered Plague
How about Gitaxian Probes? Pretty good with Cabal Therapy + it's nice to know if you can tap out etc.
/B
Drew Levin (at SCG)
created this contamination deck
4 Bloodghast
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Nether Traitor
4 Contamination
1 Grave Pact
4 Bitterblossom
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Smallpox
4 Disfigure
4 Liliana of the Veil
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
9 Swamp
3 Bayou
2 Bloodstained Mire
4 Marsh Flats
4 Verdant Catacombs
//sideboard
2 Pithing Needle
2 Blood Artist
4 Dark Confidant
1 Gate to Phyrexia
4 Abrupt Decay
1 Extirpate
1 Massacre
This was not that long ago. Is it any good? I have no idea.
I'm trying to figure out how to run leyline of the void md right now...I'm on contamination right now:
4 leyline of the void
2 helm of obedience
3 oath of ghouls
3 contamination
3 diabolical intent
4 cabal therapy
3 collective brutality
22
4 Drs
2 shriewmaw
3 flesh bag marauder
3 ophiomancer
2 bitterblossom
3 abyssal persecutor
2 phyrexian obliterator
1 toxic deluge
20
10swamp
2 bayou
7 black fetch
19
Sb:
4 thoughtseize
3 pithing needle
2 minister of pain
1 toxic deluge
3 innocent blood
2 trinisphere
I've gotten most of the cards for this but annoyingly can't find more than 1 ophiomancer. I also haven't bought obliterators or bitterblossom yet. I was considering the u/g sword or b/w sword along with bitterblossom to help ensure a contamination lock? I'm not sure if there are any better cards? I'm trying to limit my graveyard dependence and cards that are bad without contamination, so avoiding nether traitor and friends. Thoughts?
Right now due to the missing cards above my list is:
4 leyline of the void
2 helm of obedience
3 oath of ghouls
2 contamination
2 diabolical intent
1 beseech the queen
1 ill gotten gains (combos with leyline)
4 cabal therapy
4 collective brutality
1 toxic deluge
24
4 Drs
2 shriekmaw
3 flesh bag marauder
1 ophiomancer
3 asylum visitor (combos with collective?)
3 abyssal persecutor
1 swords of body and mind
17
9 swamp
1 forest
1 overgrown tomb
8 black fetch
19
Sb:
4 thoughtseize
3 pithing needle
1 toxic deluge
4 innocent blood
2 trinisphere
1 dusk urchins
I played a very hobbled version of this as I am still not in possession of some cards. I won some games still! Went 1-2 against elves as both losses were to natural order, lose 0-2 to noble bug after some mulligans, and then went 1-2 against noble bug. I could have won game three as my opponent was in negative life but I forgot I had a therapy in the yard. Most ridiculous part of the game was when I combo'd helm+leyline but didn't win due to persecutor in play. I am planning on cutting the beseech and 2 asylum visitors before next time.
4 leyline of the void
2 helm of obedience
3 oath of ghouls
2 contamination
2 diabolic intent
1 beseech the queen
4 cabal therapy
4 collective brutality
2 toxic deluge
1 phyrexian arena
25
4 Drs
2 shriekmaw
3 flesh bag marauder
1 ophiomancer
3 abyssal persecutor
2 asylum visitor (boarded out every game)
1 bitterblossom
16
9 swamp
1 forest
1 overgrown tomb
8 black fetch
19
I went 2-3 at a 30 person tournament today with proxies allowed. I beat Noble Bug and Grixis. I lost close matches to DNT and Miracles. The deck felt solid but a bit awkward on the curve and mana. Any advice/thoughts welcome!
My current changes I am thinking: -1 abyss, -1 sword of body and mind, +1 land, +1 top
4 leyline of the void
2 helm of obedience
3 oath of ghouls
2 contamination
2 diabolic intent
4 cabal therapy
3 collective brutality
2 toxic deluge
1 the abyss
1 sword of body and mind
23
4 Drs
2 shriekmaw
3 flesh bag marauder
2 ophiomancer
3 bitterblossom
1 abyssal persecutor
2 phyrexian obliterator
17
9 swamp
1 forest
1 bayou
1 phyrexian tower
4 verdant catacombs
3 marsh flats
19
Sb:
4 thoughtseize
3 innocent blood
2 pithing needle
2 abrupt decay
2 trinisphere
1 the abyss
1 nethervoid
it's too bad that you're not running dark ritual, because i really like ill-gotten gains with 4 maindeck leyline.
-rob
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