[Primer] BRx Griselbrand Reanimator

[Darkness]

How are you liking the 4 CB/3 TS/1 UM plan? Is it working out for you the way it has for me (i.e., TS in opening hand more often, Unmask available after many Grisel 7-14 when card disadvantage it creates isn't really a disadvantage, CB just a super-flexible house of a card)?

Yes it has been doing pretty well for me. I had to take a small hiatus due to my computer being out, but I'm back up and running so testing can continue. The way think about it is the miser Unmask is like Chrome Mox. When you go for it game one it just adds a bit more consistency for going all in with Griselbrand. Your configuration for the list has been treating me well Zooligan, thank you.

[Zooligan]

Yes it has been doing pretty well for me. I had to take a small hiatus due to my computer being out, but I'm back up and running so testing can continue. The way think about it is the miser Unmask is like Chrome Mox. When you go for it game one it just adds a bit more consistency for going all in with Griselbrand. Your configuration for the list has been treating me well Zooligan, thank you.

I was finding with 4 Unmask I would get it AND Chrome Mox a lot, basically forcing a mulligan (or even worse, getting them both after a mulligan or two!).

[ratninja]

Very Short Tournament Report, Intro
The local LGS has a tournament that goes on for several weeks, you collect point each week, which are then summed up. 49 people participated, 8 people make it to the finals at the end of it, which is a small tournament. Swiss 3 rounds, top 4 afterwards. I am posting this to share the decklist, not so much to talk about my performance.

Meta
It is very hard to guess what people will be playing, I wasn't too far off, but I was off. This is what it ended up being (if I can remember them all): 2 Grixis, 1 Painter, 1 As Fortold Exploration, 1 Miracles, 1 Nic Fit, 1 4c blade.

My choices were 12 post or reanimator...

My Deck
I don't regularly play BR Reanimator, but it sure is fun. Second to last time I played it, I always boarded out 4 Faithless Looting and added 4 Collective Brutality. Afterwards I started considering a blackish reanimator deck. I made the switch and I ended up going 2-1-1 or 2-2. Not the fault of the deck and I couldn't see that it was better, but it certainly wasn't worse.

A local player here also started to explore blackish reanimator. He increased is count of basics so he could play Grave Titan, he also tried Small Pox, which I didn't run. As I got 2 more Grave Titans in the mail just days prior to the tournament I could build it. This is what I ended up playing (from memory):

10 creatures
3 Grave Titans
1 Tidesprout
4 Griselbrand
1 Iona
1 Sire of insanity

14 lands
2 badlands
4 bloodstained mire
2 marsh flats
6 basics

36 pell
4 unmasks
4 thoughtseize
4 lotus petal
4 collective brutality
4 dark rituals
4 reanimate
4 animate dead
4 exhume
4 entomb

sideboard:
3 blood moon (maybe one too many, dont overboard)
3 pack rat (I liked them)
1 grave titan (1 too many)
1 elesh norn
2 engineered explosives (never saw chalice)
1 fatal push (I would add 1 more)
1 massacre
1 demon of dark schemes (not the best)
1 engineered plague (dont recommend)
1 something I cant remember

The Very Short Tournament Report

Being tired caused me to make many, many errors, both in game play and in dexterity. My basic take away, eat and sleep properly before each tournament, disrupt first, play answers afterwards, don't be conservative with Griselbrand (one reason was not having 1-2 chrome moxes, the other was inexperience and tirednes), don't overboard, 2 blood moons is enough.

Swiss:
Painter ?-2 LOSS
4c Deathblade 2-1 WIN
Nic Fit 2-0 Easy WIN

Top 4:
Grixis 2-1
Top 2:
Painter again 2-0 (he mulliganed a lot, but I had also learned from my mistakes)

Memorable moments:
The Painter player gets his combo on the board turn 1 and threaten to activate Grindstone turn 2. I draw my deck with Griselbrand, play Tidespout and unmask him a few times.

Pack Rat won me a game, and could have one another if I didn't use him as unmask fodder.

Grave Titan is strong, but Griselbrand is stronger.

One board state consisted of Elesh Norn, the next creature to enter the battlefield was an 8/8 Grave Titan with 2 4/4 Zombies.

[Kofurea]

As an alternative to something like stronghold gambit to win through heavy graveyard hate, has anyone tried running something like 3 Bitterblossom in the sideboard? It's hard to interact with, can easily be played on turn 1 and doesn't get hit by shared hate (except Containment Priest)

[NegatorITA]

As an alternative to something like stronghold gambit to win through heavy graveyard hate, has anyone tried running something like 3 Bitterblossom in the sideboard? It's hard to interact with, can easily be played on turn 1 and doesn't get hit by shared hate (except Containment Priest)

Priest doesn't hit tokens

[sidewelljunky]

Hi everyone

I am proposing here a bit of sideboard analysis in light of my meta, which is local but competitive and - it seems - rather standard : Paris city metagame.
My MD list is quite standard, with manabase white splash (1 Scrub) and 12 lands, brutality rather than unmask (to beat Shaman which is so common here that's almost ludicrous), and 2 chrome.
In my last tournaments, I went in troubles mostly with DnT and Grixis which people play A LOT, both of which not being very surprising. So I decided to adjust my side for the next tournaments to come.

Here is the (almost) standard SB list I played several times :

1 Elesh Norn
1 Grave Titan
1 Archetype of Endurance
3 Stronghold Gambit ("plan B")
4 Wear/Tear
3 Massacre
2 Defense Grid/2 Pithing Needle (depending on my mood)

Tournaments review :

I got Stronghold once against Lands and it was great. I got Defense Grid twice against Grixis Control and it was efficient. Wear/Tear was 3 times not good enough with Chalice as I got 1 Chalice T1 from Stax and then mana denial and no possibility to play it, 1 other T1 from Death and Taxes and then mana denial and no possibility to play it, and 1 T1 from Stompy and then Trinisphere and no possibility to play it. I got also Massacre against DnT, it was efficient but it was already too bad for me to win as I couldn't use Reanimate anymore. Pithing Needle on Karakas didn't help either, neither did it against Grixis Pyro (Jace).
Other MU I played I didn't really need the side to win : Maverick, Burn, Pox, Elves, 4c Control, Bug Midrange, Storm, Aluren...

So it appears to me that DnT, Grixis and Stompy are among the worst MUs. Unfortunately they are played A LOT (especially Grixis and DnT).
So...here is the new SB I consider to board with me for the next tournaments to come. It's a bit more inusual.

1 Elesh Norn
1 Grave Titan
1 Archetype of Endurance
1 Keranos, God of Storm
3 Massacre/3 Dread of Night
2 Pithing Needle
3 Ingot chewer
3 Wispmare

First of all, no Gambit. Why ? Because first of all very few decks aren't boarding any creatures ; even control decks use it (and sometimes a lot : cf 4c control) and the fact is that "no creatures decks" are not the worst MUs. Eventually you will be sure of your gambit only with Lands, Pox, Storm, all quite favorable MU, Show and Tell, and maybe the new Miracle and Stompy if you are lucky. Show and Tell is not especially favorable, but you are still supposed to combo first if you get through the countermagic. Stompy is a rather bad MU my opinion, but if it's true that Gambit will beat them if they have Chalice T1 and you have a fatty in hand, it's still entirely possible you get a Magus, a Monkey or even a Rabblemaster on board for free instead of your beloved Grisel. Also, when you don't run Unmask, Gambit is not so cool as the only possible checking T1 is Thoughtseize, which makes it a lot more risky.
So maybe I'll miss it against Show and Tell but I'll have a try without.
No Blood Moon either, no slots free (I lack of arguments yet, I have to think of it)

So, then Chewer. As I experienced the worst difficulties against Chalice which is played a lot, I decided to board Ingot Chewer who gets through it...for 1 Mana + possible reanimation (as Trinisphere, 2nd Chalice, Ensnaring Bridge are entirely possible). Then I had still to take in some solution against Leyline even if it's not the most played hate card (and RiP, but first of all Leyline), so as I don't go with Wear/Tear anymore I decided to board Ingot Chewer white alternative, Wispmare (which also gets through Chalice (as with Stompy and Eldrazi agro you can completely have both of it on board G2 T1 if you're on the draw).
Then comes Keranos against DnT. People don't run it those times and I wonder why. It is designed to beat Containement Priest, and also it is Indestructible so only Council's Judgment will get it away. The problem in fact with DnT is that almost everything they run is horrible for us : Rishadan and/or Wasteland are locking us with Thalia (which alone is already a nightmare), you can't play anymore under RiP or Containement Priest, they run StP maindeck, and Karakas which shut the legends down, and Sanctum Prelate, and Chalice sometimes, and maybe Mangara, and the Sword of Fire and Ice which beats Tidespout, and even Spirit of the Labyrinth which is a problem as you can't play Faithless Looting anymore. Oh and they like to run Faerie Macabre also, because you know, if you don't get it in your hand you can tutorize it with Recruiter of the Guard. Oh and Ethersworn Canonist and Council's Judgment if its not enough aaaaaaaarghhh. Then it makes between 8 and 15 cards to beat, which is far too much.
So with my new SB I consider to board in between 10 and 15 CARDS G2 against DnT. Really. Boarding out 4 Chancellor, 4 Brutality, Sire, Tidespout at least. We'll see if it's enough. I just wonder if you prefer Dread of Night or Massacre. Massacre has one advantage : it beats Containement Priest, Sanctum Prelate, Ethersworn and Stoneforge. But with an early Dread, Thalia and Mother don't even touch the board, the first one being quite a big early problem.

I kept Pithing rather than Defense Grid because of versatility (it beats Shaman, Ooze, Rishadan, Waste, Karakas, but also Faerie, among others).
I just feel I don't have much more solutions against Grixis, but I don't think success it's a matter of side in this MU, rather of luck and Mulligan technique.

Here we are. All considerations are welcome.

[Darkness]

Hi everyone

I am proposing here a bit of sideboard analysis in light of my meta, which is local but competitive and - it seems - rather standard : Paris city metagame.
My MD list is quite standard, with manabase white splash (1 Scrub) and 12 lands, brutality rather than unmask (to beat Shaman which is so common here that's almost ludicrous), and 2 chrome.
In my last tournaments, I went in troubles mostly with DnT and Grixis which people play A LOT, both of which not being very surprising. So I decided to adjust my side for the next tournaments to come.

Here is the (almost) standard SB list I played several times :

1 Elesh Norn
1 Grave Titan
1 Archetype of Endurance
3 Stronghold Gambit ("plan B")
4 Wear/Tear
3 Massacre
2 Defense Grid/2 Pithing Needle (depending on my mood)

Tournaments review :

I got Stronghold once against Lands and it was great. I got Defense Grid twice against Grixis Control and it was efficient. Wear/Tear was 3 times not good enough with Chalice as I got 1 Chalice T1 from Stax and then mana denial and no possibility to play it, 1 other T1 from Death and Taxes and then mana denial and no possibility to play it, and 1 T1 from Stompy and then Trinisphere and no possibility to play it. I got also Massacre against DnT, it was efficient but it was already too bad for me to win as I couldn't use Reanimate anymore. Pithing Needle on Karakas didn't help either, neither did it against Grixis Pyro (Jace).
Other MU I played I didn't really need the side to win : Maverick, Burn, Pox, Elves, 4c Control, Bug Midrange, Storm, Aluren...

So it appears to me that DnT, Grixis and Stompy are among the worst MUs. Unfortunately they are played A LOT (especially Grixis and DnT).
So...here is the new SB I consider to board with me for the next tournaments to come. It's a bit more inusual.

1 Elesh Norn
1 Grave Titan
1 Archetype of Endurance
1 Keranos, God of Storm
3 Massacre/3 Dread of Night
2 Pithing Needle
3 Ingot chewer
3 Wispmare

First of all, no Gambit. Why ? Because first of all very few decks aren't boarding any creatures ; even control decks use it (and sometimes a lot : cf 4c control) and the fact is that "no creatures decks" are not the worst MUs. Eventually you will be sure of your gambit only with Lands, Pox, Storm, all quite favorable MU, Show and Tell, and maybe the new Miracle and Stompy if you are lucky. Show and Tell is not especially favorable, but you are still supposed to combo first if you get through the countermagic. Stompy is a rather bad MU my opinion, but if it's true that Gambit will beat them if they have Chalice T1 and you have a fatty in hand, it's still entirely possible you get a Magus, a Monkey or even a Rabblemaster on board for free instead of your beloved Grisel. Also, when you don't run Unmask, Gambit is not so cool as the only possible checking T1 is Thoughtseize, which makes it a lot more risky.
So maybe I'll miss it against Show and Tell but I'll have a try without.
No Blood Moon either, no slots free (I lack of arguments yet, I have to think of it)

So, then Chewer. As I experienced the worst difficulties against Chalice which is played a lot, I decided to board Ingot Chewer who gets through it...for 1 Mana + possible reanimation (as Trinisphere, 2nd Chalice, Ensnaring Bridge are entirely possible). Then I had still to take in some solution against Leyline even if it's not the most played hate card (and RiP, but first of all Leyline), so as I don't go with Wear/Tear anymore I decided to board Ingot Chewer white alternative, Wispmare (which also gets through Chalice (as with Stompy and Eldrazi agro you can completely have both of it on board G2 T1 if you're on the draw).
Then comes Keranos against DnT. People don't run it those times and I wonder why. It is designed to beat Containement Priest, and also it is Indestructible so only Council's Judgment will get it away. The problem in fact with DnT is that almost everything they run is horrible for us : Rishadan and/or Wasteland are locking us with Thalia (which alone is already a nightmare), you can't play anymore under RiP or Containement Priest, they run StP maindeck, and Karakas which shut the legends down, and Sanctum Prelate, and Chalice sometimes, and maybe Mangara, and the Sword of Fire and Ice which beats Tidespout, and even Spirit of the Labyrinth which is a problem as you can't play Faithless Looting anymore. Oh and they like to run Faerie Macabre also, because you know, if you don't get it in your hand you can tutorize it with Recruiter of the Guard. Oh and Ethersworn Canonist and Council's Judgment if its not enough aaaaaaaarghhh. Then it makes between 8 and 15 cards to beat, which is far too much.
So with my new SB I consider to board in between 10 and 15 CARDS G2 against DnT. Really. Boarding out 4 Chancellor, 4 Brutality, Sire, Tidespout at least. We'll see if it's enough. I just wonder if you prefer Dread of Night or Massacre. Massacre has one advantage : it beats Containement Priest, Sanctum Prelate, Ethersworn and Stoneforge. But with an early Dread, Thalia and Mother don't even touch the board, the first one being quite a big early problem.

I kept Pithing rather than Defense Grid because of versatility (it beats Shaman, Ooze, Rishadan, Waste, Karakas, but also Faerie, among others).
I just feel I don't have much more solutions against Grixis, but I don't think success it's a matter of side in this MU, rather of luck and Mulligan technique.

Here we are. All considerations are welcome.

I haven't had too much trouble with DnT within my testing. Pithing Needle and Archtype stops Karakas and STP. Brutality kills their problem dorks and Wear and Tear is good against their Artifacts and Enchantments. If you can land the Iona plus Archetype it's a extremely strong soft lock. In regards to delver I found it's really a toss of depending on the opponents 75 and how badly they do not want to loss to Reanimator strategies. If they have a lot of hate they will win, if they are not prepared, our speed can draw from that advantage. I do agree that the Artifact Prison decks are very favored. If they can land their hate pieces fast enough than GG. I believe that when you play with such an all in deck like BR reanimator there is only so much you can do to have game against the entire meta. You will have your good matchups and bad. I Like the idea of Ingot Chewer and Wispmare but for now Wear//Tear has been doing well for me. Personally, I have found Blood Moon works against lands, DnT, and Grixis Control pretty well and I Will be keeping it in my 75 as a 2 of till I find something else. I am working on finishing my 100 match up analysis but due to work and preparation for school I am only about 1/3 finished. If anyone would like to work with me in regards to data collection to attempt to build a streamline card usage guide PM me.

[Karhumies]

Here we are. All considerations are welcome.

Have you considered Massacre Wurm, Wurmcoil Engine and Sphinx of the Steel Wind? Wurm is a Elesh-like wiper which you can sometimes ritual into. Wurmcoil and Sphinx are non-legendary lifelinkers which help racing against creature based decks.

[DNSolver]

The best racer against creature-based decks is Griselbrand. Against D+T, they very rarely have turn 0/1 interaction so you can feel confident in any turn 1, or a turn 2 on the play. I've seen D+T with Surgical and Macabre, but there's only a few copies. The matchup is pretty favorable in my experience. Worrying about Wasteland/Port lock with Thalia is planning for the worst-case scenario - by the time they're doing these things, you already have a Grisel out and you're making one creature a turn. I found when I started playing Brutality that it's fine in the matchup, but it should be boarded out in favor of Abrupt Decay if you're running those because the discard mode on brutality is rarely good in the matchup.

I might be streaming the deck a bit later today, maybe testing out some white splash. I will post on here if I am.

[Secretly.A.Bee]

A heads up, some of us active DnT players have been testing out Blessed Alliance (I have been trying it as a 2-of in the board), as it has applications in several difficult matchups. The sacrifice effect is strong against Reanimator, and the lifegain mode can sometimes squeek out a win also. Admittedly, Archetype is strong in this matchup, but has also lost it's once-best use, a Miracles trump-card. If you want to use it just for DnT, obviously you can, but don't you think maybe a couple Massacre could be better?

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[sidewelljunky]

Blessed Alliance

Oh yes I saw it, one more hate card to beat
Archetype is still good against all StP adepts

Have you considered Massacre Wurm, Wurmcoil Engine and Sphinx of the Steel Wind?

I am considering Massacre Wurm instead of Elesh Norn. I'll try it once for sure. The other ones are possibilities, but I don't think they can fit in slots better than other fatties we need.

The best racer against creature-based decks is Griselbrand. Against D+T, they very rarely have turn 0/1 interaction so you can feel confident in any turn 1, or a turn 2 on the play.

I probably have to mulligan more, but I am also very good to loose my tosses which is not the best playing this deck



I'll post tournaments reports.
Greetings to everyone

[Kofurea]

Hi! Lately I've rebought my BR Reanimator on MTGO for the sake of testing for some upcoming tournaments and slowly getting to work for the team Grand Prix series which start in about 6 months. I wanted to share my list, my thoughts on why the numbers are how they are, and hopefully get or give some insights. Im currently 8-1 with this list on MTGO and still doing battle.

The Maindeck

2 Badlands
1 Scrubland
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Polluted Delta
2 Swamp

1 Chrome Mox
4 Lotus Petal
4 Dark Ritual

4 Entomb
4 Faithless Looting
4 Reanimate
4 Animate Dead
4 Exhume

3 Thoughtseize
3 Collective Brutality
2 Unmask

4 Chancellor of the Annex
4 Griselbrand
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Tidespout Tyrant

Fairly stock BRw maindeck. 13 lands, 1 chrome mox seems to be the golden standard nowadays, and I like the land count. I use the standard 10 maindeck reanimation targets, and the only real twist I gave this list is the discard suite. I've been reading the discussion about running 4TS/3CB/1UN and my testing with one unmask seemed so good that I wanted the second, without giving up on too much CBs. With three 'pitch cards' in the maindeck I havn't run into too many taxing situations, and having a fairly sure free discard after a griselbrand hits the field is just super valuable. The split I currently run has felt really great in the 1,5 league I have played (small sample size, I know), and I encourage everyone who is testing to try it.

Iona has been a bit underwhelming, and I've been pondering moving her to the SB to play Sire of Insanity in the main again. Thoughts?

The Sideboard

1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Blazing Archon
1 Inkwell Leviathan
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Coffin Purge
2 Fatal Push
3 Wear // Tear
2 Pithing Needle
2 Defense Grid

I've tinkered a ton with what I wanted from my sideboard. I've tried Stronghold Gambit, but there seemed to be so few situations where opponents didn't have creatures. I've tried Grave Titans with Lake of the Dead, but it just felt very cluncky. So I basicly settled on an 'all in reanimator' sideboard where I feel comfortable with at least 12 of the cards, and the last 3 are kind of up in the air. When I'm boarding I'm doing this very minimalistically. I only board Fatal Push against Deathrite plus another high value target (Containment Priest), but not against Grixis Delver for example. I only board Needle if they have Karakas/Maze/Thespian Stage or Deathrite plus another high value target. I feel like you're always cutting either mana or from the reanimation package, and that seems to hurt your consistency.

I currently have three anti-graveyard spells, but that might be one too much. I kind of rarely board them in (Mirror, Dredge), because against loam decks you just never want to get in that part of the game. I'm not quite sure what I could use in the final slot, maybe the 4th wear // tear or a 3rd unmask.

I have three extra reanimation targets. I've been really impressed by Blazing Archon, as a ton of decks simply cannot beat it. Iona in the main has been a bit underwhelming, and it has been a common swap, but not common enough for the maindeck. I wanted one threat to beat removal/karakas heavy decks, and Grave Titan has not made waves for me. Inkwell hasnt yet been amazing, and I've seen a list one or two pages back of a ton of hard to interact with creatures, so once I figured out where exactly I'm boarding it in I'll be able to make a more educated choice. Do you guys have an anti-interaction target in your board, and if so: which one and why?

And finally I have 9 anti hate cards. 2 Fatal Push mainly for Deathrite+Thalia decks, or for containment priest. Three Wear // Tear for generic artifact/echantment hate. Two needles for DRS+Ooze, or karakas/maze. I also board them against combo decks that are either heavy on interaction or equally fast (the first happens more than the latter, especially sneak/show). The Defense Grids are for all countermagic decks that I dont need to interact against with surgical/purge, and have been really impressive. It is also a great way of beating surgical on a turn later than turn 2, which sometimes is a real challenge.

As I mentioned, I'm currently 8-1 with the deck, beating Grixis Delver twice, Sneak and Show twice, Mono Red Prison once, UR Control once, UW "Miracles" twice, losing only once to UW "Miracles". The deck seems great, looks great and feels great. Good luck with your tournaments and testing, and may you always turn one with chancellor backup on the play.

[TheStalk]

Is anyone still tinkering with the Blue splash? Just had an interesting comment thread on Reddit which made me want to re-evaluate my position on Show & Tell + Echoing Truth as a SB package, but more opinions/experiences are always welcome.

[XIII]

Hi guys,

I made this Grixis Reanimator version and had some good results while testing. The Daze gives great versatility. If you have any remarks/thoughts, please comment ;)

12 land:
3x Polluted Delta
3x Bloostained Mire
2x Badlands
2x Underground Sea
2x Swamp

9 creatures:
4x Chancellor of the Annex
4x Griselbrand
1x Tidespout Tyrant

30 instants and sorceries:
4x Reanimate
4x Exhume
4x Entomb
4x Dark Ritual
4x Faithless Looting
2x Careful Study
4x Daze
4x Thoughtseize

4 enchantments:
4x Animate Dead

5 artifacts:
1x Chrome Mox
4x Lotus Petal

Sideboard:
3x Echoing Truth
3x Pithing Needle
2x Engineered Explosives
2x Massacre
2x Collective Brutality
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Grave Titan
1x Archetype of Endurance

[Maximus]

@DNSolver

I'm interested in playing this deck but have not yet invested in it. I was curious about something I have not seen (recently) addressed- what is your general opinion on the last two reanimation target slots? Specifically, why Iona and Tyrant over say Jin-Gitaxias. On paper, pseudo-Griselbrands #5 and #6 seems like a reasonable approach to the deck, and you seen to have run them before. What is your line of thinking here?

[DNSolver]

After Griselbranding, Tidespout ends the game immediately against Lands, Turbo Depths, Show and Tell, Reanimator mirror, and most fair decks. After Griselbrand is Surgical'd, Tidespout is probably the most powerful creature you can put into play against Delver and most fair decks since they won't care too much about Chancellor and they can race Iona. Once you have a Griselbrand, Jin-Gitaxias is bad while Tidespout is still great.

Iona is less weak to Swords to Plowshares than Jin-Gitaxias while also being larger, having evasion (this is a huge deal sometimes) and has the ability to lock up G1 and sometimes G2/G3 against combo decks such as Storm and the Reanimator mirror as well as burn, Red Stompy, etc. Iona wins games that Griselbrand can't quite get done by himself. Once you have a Griselbrand, Jin-Gitaxias is bad while Iona is still a great target.

Out of the sideboard, Archetype comes in and stops everything else you are worried about that Iona or Tidespout can't easily solve, usually Karakas and various other removal options.

Jin-Gitaxias was great in the version of the deck I had with Children of Korlis, because the entire point of Jin was to draw 7 and get to a Griselbrand somehow so that Griselbrand could draw 14 and get to Children of Korlis and then Children would let you draw your deck and win with Tendrils or Emrakul. If you built a version with Shallow Grave and/or Goryo's Vengeance, Iona and Tidespout don't do anything, so you need to fill your deck with legendary creatures that do something the turn they hit play. The best target after Griselbrand and Emrakul is Jin-Gitaxias, but Jin-Gitaxias is better on turn 1 or 2 than Emrakul. So my creature suite for that deck would be:

4 Griz
4 Jin
1 Emrakul
1 Children of Korlis

You don't need a Tendrils in the maindeck because you can hardcast Emrakul (see the TinFins thread for a description of the dark ritualx2+children+emrakul loop) but post-board since you don't have Tidespout against Ensnaring Bridge it is probably best to run a wishboard where you bring in 4 Burning Wish for 4 sorceries and have some goodies in the sideboard.

[Darkness]

Got my list in paper today! With Wednesday legacy and 4th Sunday plus random tournaments around the area I will be providing reports and results to the thread. Currently at a 60% win loss Ratio on cockatrice after about 56ish games. Here is my current 75.

Creatures (10)
4 Chancellor of the Annex
4 Griselbrand
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Tidespout Tyrant

Reanimation Spells (12)
4 Reanimate
4 Animate Dead
4 Exhume

Graveyard Enablers (8)
4 Entomb
4 Faithless Looting

Mana Acceleration Spells (9)
4 Lotus Petal
4 Dark Ritual
1 Chrome Mox

Disruption Spells (8)
4 Collective Brutality
3 Thoughtsieze
1 Umask

Lands (13)
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Badlands
2 Swamp
1 Scrubland

Sideboard
1 Archetype of Endurance
2 Blood Moon
1 Dread of Night
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Grave Titan
2 Pithing Needle
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Thoughtseize
4 Wear // Tear

I'm set on the Maindeck at the moment. The 3/1 split of Thoughtseize and Umask recommended by Zooligan has been working out well for when going off with Griselbrand in game one and against combo decks. I am not 100% on the sideboard at the moment but here's what I have determined from it.

1 Archetype of Endurance
Great Creature against targeting your dudes. Has won games against Lands and DnT

2 Blood Moon
Hoses Lands, Dark Depths, and if landed against the Delver or 4c Control Decks can be a blow out. Has been great against the land based decks, not so good against fair blue decks.

1 Dread of Night
Just switching out a Duress I had in as a way to battle DNT, not sure what this spot should be.

1//1 Elesh// Grave Titan
Great targets for their respective match ups.

2 Pithing Needle
Over performing proactive and reactive card against various decks. I question going up to 3 but multiples usually are not amazing, just want to increase odds of hitting one.

2 Surgical Extraction
Has not been amazing thus far, haven't faced too many graveyard based decks but feel like it is a sacred cow.

1 Thoughtseize
Used to be my 2nd Duress, then realized I wasn't' playing 4th Thoughseize main deck and should just play 4th in the board. Used against heavy Blue spell based decks and combo decks. Has been ok as duress, not expecting to be much better but willing to try it.

4 Wear// Tear
Good Hate card so far. Love that you get both Enchantment and Artifact removal in the same card to conserve Sideboard space. Has done it's work when draw.

Open to removing these cards for any other suggestions that anyone wants to give
-1 Dread of Night
-1 Thougthseize

Thoughts on Massacre to combat DnT?

Expect more content in the future.

[Zooligan]

I might be streaming the deck a bit later today, maybe testing out some white splash. I will post on here if I am.

Sup Solver! I was wondering if you have been exploring the white splash SB more and what your thoughts are on how to build it. I'm not sold on Stronghold Gambit, and Blood Moon seems so situational. Love to hear your opinion and see what you are working with along these lines.

[NegatorITA]

@DNSolver

I thought you were sold on the green one ! the versatility and incounterability of decay still seems a must! But I'm curious to hear why the white splash is ok
(all in all, with the white splash I only fear containment priest at flash speed), and you can't realisticly have all time both thoughtseize AND brutality to cover that up, or I'm taking the theory in the wrong direction? (I've played the deck with BOTH splash, but it was a tournament urgency and it was a long time ago) :)

[Darkness]

Played a small tournament 4 round went 3-1. Currently list in my signature

Round 1 - Lands: 2-1 (1-0)
Round 2 - GSZ BUG creatures: 1-2 (1-1)
Round 3 - RUG Delver: 2-0 (2-1)
Round 4 - Burn: 2-0 (3-1)

Props & Slops

Props
G2 Burn: opponent mull to 6 hand is: Swamp, Badlands, Exhume, Dark Ritual, Dark Ritual, Griselbrand. Turn 2 rite the 3rd Ritual for the hard cast Griselbrand.
G2 Burn: Wear and tearing a Sulfuric Vortex while Griselbrand was live. (Brought 2 W//T just encase there was an ensnaring bridge, hitting the Vortex was icing on the cake.
Tidespout Tyrannt for bouncing all the things against lands and G1 of the BUG small creatures(Strix Leovold Edric) to clear the way
Chancellor G2 against RUG was a house. Seems 5/6 Flying Thalia is as good as the ground version against them
Kevin Jones is employed at my LGS and seems like a really nice guy
Joe Brenan (Vintage enthusiast and Finalist in the 2016 Vintage Championship) was the player that beat me with a sweet brew.

Slops
Lots of mulligans, but to be excepted
Not going for it game 1 against lands and losing to a Marit Lage 1 turn too early to find the Tidespout.