[Deck] Demigod Blightning

[Nidd]

// Lands
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Polluted Delta
13 Swamp

// Creatures
4 Demigod of Revenge
4 Tombstalker
4 Hypnotic Specter

// Spells
4 Smother
4 Diabolic Edict
4 Thoughtseize
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Dark Ritual
4 Bitterblossom
4 Umezawas Jitte

// Sideboard
SB: 4 Pithing Needle
SB: 4 Engineered Plague
SB: 4 Extirpate
SB: 3 Duress



Card choice explanations:

Demigod
He doesn't really care about counters, is big, hasty and evasive. And reanimates his bros. What's not to like?
Bad thing is he's pretty costly (5 mana) and makes an extremely sad face when sent plowing.

Tombstalker
Big. Evasive. Immune to CB. And friggin cheap.
He can hit the table pretty fast and does a good job at ending games. As a bonus, you can eventually shrink Goyfs.

Hypnotic Specter
He flies, is a good T1 play with Ritual and can carry a Jitte.

Smother
Good, cheap removal that kills everyrelevant creature.

Diabolic Edict
Gets rid of pesky creatures. Even the ones with Shroud. Not so good against swarms, though.

Thoughtseize
It's pretty much one of the signature spells of Black. You gain useful information and can pick off a problem card. All at the cost of B and 2 life.

Hymn to Tourach
A 2 for 1 and almost always a must-counter against any deck. It follows the strategy of this deck: Clear your opponents hand so he can't answer a fast beatdown with our fatties.

Dark Ritual
Demigod is costly and this spell helps that problem. It also enables awesome turn 1 plays like Thoughtseize->Hymn, Thoughtseize->Bitterblossom or Turn 1 Phyrexian Arena. In short, it gives you explosiveness.

Bitterblossom
In a former version, this has been Nantuko Shade, but he was cut for being a manahog and not doing his job: Killing the opponent.
Bitterblossom costs 2 mana, just like Slim Shady and is pretty much a fire-and-forget card which doesn't eat up your mana as if it were cookies.
These little Fae can block Goyfs all day long or fly over and smack your opponent in the face. Even better with Jitte.

Umezawas Jitte
Awesome card, really. I think no one wants to say it's bad.



Criticism/Flame/Other comments?

[Finn]

It looks decent, Nidd. You have a realistic mana curve. You have no glaring weaknesses either. I think you should pursue this deck. So lemme make some observations. You were smart to not bother with Buried Alive.

1. More fetchlands, amigo. Tombstalker loves fetchlands, and with Demigod, you will have more lands that potentially produce black.
2.
He doesn't really care about countersThis statement bothers me. If the opponent is either a moron or calls himself Nightmare, this is true. But counterspells work just fine as long as there are no Demigods in the grave yard.
3. I don't know how I like Blightning in a deck with so few kill conditions. If your opponent gets the upper hand, you are going to curse this card. A few people have tried it in Legacy, and to my knowledge, nobody has been able to make it work. Your deck plays control, not suicide. As such, you need answers, not direct damage.
4. I hate Phyrexian Arena, especially in a control deck that already kicks its own ass via Bitterblossom, fetchlands, Thoughtseize, etc. I would like to see this spot as a sweeper instead.

Good Luck with this. It looks fun.

[Nidd]

It looks decent, Nidd. You have a realistic mana curve. You have no glaring weaknesses either. I think you should pursue this deck. So lemme make some observations. You were smart to not bother with Buried Alive.

1. More fetchlands, amigo. Tombstalker loves fetchlands, and with Demigod, you will have more lands that potentially produce black.
2. This statement bothers me. If the opponent is either a moron or calls himself Nightmare, this is true. But counterspells work just fine as long as there are no Demigods in the grave yard.
3. I don't know how I like Blightning in a deck with so few kill conditions. If your opponent gets the upper hand, you are going to curse this card. A few people have tried it in Legacy, and to my knowledge, nobody has been able to make it work. Your deck plays control, not suicide. As such, you need answers, not direct damage.
4. I hate Phyrexian Arena, especially in a control deck that already kicks its own ass via Bitterblossom, fetchlands, Thoughtseize, etc. I would like to see this spot as a sweeper instead.

Good Luck with this. It looks fun.
Thanks for the feedback.

1. Fetchies are heavy on my purse atm, since most of my money will be spent into getting those Badlands. They are at 19€ - payable for me, but expensive. I hope I crack some Fetches in zendikar or can draft some, so I can trade them for Mires or keep them, if I can use them.

2. I didn't really mean to say that Demigod is immune to counters, but he isn't affected by them as much as other creatures are. Even a countered Demigod is a threat, waiting in the graveyard to get reanimated to continue with his task: Smashing face.

3. Yeah, like I already said, Blightning must be the weakest card in the whole deck. The thing is, that it's a 2 for 1 and it deals 3 damage. Early discard can prevent that too many threats hit the table, but you're right, something along the lines of Smother or Diabolic Edict would be better. I'm going to test it.

4. I almost never had any issue with the pings from Arena, tbh. It's 1 damage per turn and most opponents will do anything to minimize the damage you take from it:wink:
Without PA, I'm playing a controldeck without any means of drawing cards. Doesn't sound too good, IMO. Both Night's Whisper and Sign in Blood cost 2 life for 2 cards. And I heard that control without carddraw = bad deck.


Anyway, thank you again for your input. I will try Smother instead of Blightning and add 3 Fetches.
Arena stays in there until I find an alternative. Maybe I "just" need something to regain lost lifepoints? Black has quite some cards that help at doing so, but which one is playable in Legacy?

[morgan_coke]

It doesn't matter how many black lands he has, Demigod can be cast with red mana too. Hybrid ftw.

The main piece of advice I have is Bloodghast > Bitterblossom.

[Nidd]

Bloodghast can't block, while Bitterblossom blocks Goyf for centuries. And the tokens have evasion. And they grow in number.

I think Bitterblossom is better than Bloodghast for these reasons.

[jimmerz213]

What about something like..

-4 Blightling
+2 Jitte
+2 Damnation?

In my playing around with MBC, the lifeloss from a combined blossom and arena can stack up pretty quick, Jitte is a really nice way to counteract it. Even if your only swinging through with one token equipped, thats still 4 life gain a turn.

[nitewolf9]

I'd cut Phyrexian Arena for Hypnotic Specter. Ritual -> Hyppie is still a very scary play and he's always been good for me. He'll provide a recurring source of card advantage just as well as Arena will and it's on the back of a flying threat. Blightning kinda sucks. You might consider running more threats there as well, then trying to run a couple of Jittes in the main. I like Jitte + Bitterblossum. You could also run more burn in that slot, perhaps Price of Progress would be the best fit.

[GreenOne]

What about dusk urchins as draw engine? It can eat some removal instead of a flyer, bury+draw, keep guys on defence, and, at worst, chump+draw.

[sauce]

+4 sign in blood -4 arean = extra reach if needed or cards if needed
-4 blightning +4 hypnotic specter

[pippo84]

You have the same shell as Demigod-Intuition, so just run that 1. Why play blightning when I can EoT Intuition for 3 Demigods and win?
It's pretty much the same list, discard, removal, accelerators and same 8 threats. UB seems stronger to me.

[Nidd]

What about something like..

-4 Blightling
+2 Jitte
+2 Damnation?

In my playing around with MBC, the lifeloss from a combined blossom and arena can stack up pretty quick, Jitte is a really nice way to counteract it. Even if your only swinging through with one token equipped, thats still 4 life gain a turn.
Blightning got cut for Smother. 2 Jitte seems to be too unreliable. I might even gos as far as playing 4, because everyone and his dog hates Jitte and will do his best do get rid of it. Damnation is pushing it too much, I think. Too often my draws are very explosive and I find myself in an angressive situation. In these situations, Damnation sucks. And LB, terminate and Smother should be enough to hold back the assault.


I'd cut Phyrexian Arena for Hypnotic Specter. Ritual -> Hyppie is still a very scary play and he's always been good for me. He'll provide a recurring source of card advantage just as well as Arena will and it's on the back of a flying threat. Blightning kinda sucks. You might consider running more threats there as well, then trying to run a couple of Jittes in the main. I like Jitte + Bitterblossum. You could also run more burn in that slot, perhaps Price of Progress would be the best fit.
Hyppie is a good idea. He doesn't draw me cards put does the job Blightning did. And he can carry a Jitte. Good suggestion:smile:
Price is Progress is a bad idea I think. It would cause my badlands to harm myself, along with the Fetches, Bitterblossom and Thoughtseize. Too suicidal.


What about dusk urchins as draw engine? It can eat some removal instead of a flyer, bury+draw, keep guys on defence, and, at worst, chump+draw.
Urchins are good at first glance, but I can see them drawing only 1 card too often. Not something I would consider a drawengine. What makes them good, though, is, that they are an awesome turn 1 play with Ritual. I think they are worth some tests. But Jitte and Hyppie need to be tested first.


+4 sign in blood -4 arean = extra reach if needed or cards if needed
-4 blightning +4 hypnotic specter
I'm sceptic about Sign in Blood. It deals damage to myself, something why I cut Arena. And the reach should be pretty much neglectable when I cut Blightning.


You have the same shell as Demigod-Intuition, so just run that 1. Why play blightning when I can EoT Intuition for 3 Demigods and win?
It's pretty much the same list, discard, removal, accelerators and same 8 threats. UB seems stronger to me.
Because Demigod Intuition relies too much on the GY, is blue and costs a ton (at least if you think in the dimensions of a poor student like me). Okay, a ton may be exaggerated, but Underground Seas, Polluted Deltas, Forces and so on cost more than this whole deck. And I have an uncomfortable feeling when playing U for something else than Brainstorm.

[paK0]

I don't know about your deck, but in my Faeries i find Blossom rather weak on its own.

I think its not worth running without some synergies, i'd swap it for a better clock (although nothing comes to mind right now) or removal

I know that it sounds good to block to opposing goyf for all eternity, but most of the time you want to kill it rather than just stall.

[Nidd]

I don't know about your deck, but in my Faeries i find Blossom rather weak on its own.

I think its not worth running without some synergies, i'd swap it for a better clock (although nothing comes to mind right now) or removal

I know that it sounds good to block to opposing goyf for all eternity, but most of the time you want to kill it rather than just stall.
I updated my decklist, now it should look much more like a build where Bitterblossom is a good card.

And, well, sometimes there's nothing you can do about Goyf than blocking him until your other tokens/Demigod/Stalker has finished the job. It's the versatility that makes Bitterblossom so good, at least in my eyes.

[beastman]

I would probably move the edicts to the SB. Nimble mongoose isn't really played anymore, and progs is only in a few decks. I'd also cut the number of jittes, as you never want to see more than one at a time.

[Nidd]

I would probably move the edicts to the SB. Nimble mongoose isn't really played anymore, and progs is only in a few decks. I'd also cut the number of jittes, as you never want to see more than one at a time.
Hm, ok, I could cut it to 3. But 2 is not enough IMO.
What do you guys think about Korlash, now that the deck is mono-black? With a singleton Stronghold, he might be a nice creature and he can tower over a Dreadnought pretty fast. Or does this fall in the category "danger of cool things"?
With Edict going to the SB, I could play 4 Korlash, which are never a dead draw.

[beastman]

Korlash is too expensive. And he has no evasion. I would consider damnation maybe as a 2 of.

[Nidd]

Okay, I ran a few tries now with the following configuration:

- 4 Diabolic Edict (moved 3 to Sb instead of Duress)
- 1 Jitte
- 1 Mire

+ 4 Korlash
+ 1 Volrath's Stronghold
+ 1 Swamp

Well, there's not much to say about it. Korlash + Stronghold was the bane of drawn-out games and all Hyyppie does is eat counters. I don't know if I should be happy about this or not.
I think the deck lost some explosiveness but it got a great deal of consistency. A good trade, I think.

[B is for Big Job]

If red is still in consideration, any reason not to play terminate? Sedge troll may be underrated but goes well with the color scheme. With red you have the ability to run magus/ bloodmoon in the board. Mainboard pyroclasm/ fallout might be good considering most your creatures, minus bitter blossom and hippies, can survive the damage and you could possibly clear the other side of the field.

[Mystical_Jackass]

I run a deck like this :0

I have better synergy with Demigod though, IMO. I run suicide BR:

4 Demigod of Revenge
4 Avatar of Discord
1 Tombstalker
3 Ashenmoor Gouger
3 Hippie
2 Ashenmoor Liege
2 Dark Confidant ("come on bob, dont let me down" :P)
...I can't remember what else I'm missing

4 Duress
4 Hymn
4 Lightning bolt
4 Ritual
2 Arena

Bah, something like that this is off top of my head. Discord generally works well to put demigods in graveyard; Rest is similar, 6 fetches, badlands, swamps, etc.

[f|i[p]]

Based on the first post, I would probably drop a jitte and a tombstalker for 2 phyrexian arenas. I think you'll need some form of draw somewhere in there.

[Phoenix Ignition]

I like the list you have right now in the opener but with Jitte you want as many creatures as possible, so you should swap out the 4 diabolic edicts for the new zendikar Gatekeeper of Malakir. Other than that I really like Nether Traitor to carry a jitte, and it works well with bitterblossom as well.

Looks fun, good luck with it. And don't splash for korlash, I really don't think he's going to be worth it.

[Mystical_Jackass]

Not to sound like a hater >.< (sry)

I just dont see how this list is that good. It doesn't have a form of draw, Demigod is utterly worthless in this deck his true effectinveness is in numbers but offers no way of getting other copies in so you're playing full mana for a 5/4 flyer at Best in most games, bitterblossom's slow, usually used it more control decks.. this is a total middle deck from what it seems; It just seems like it wont outrace aggro.. and will lose to control.

[umbowta]

Not to sound like a hater >.< (sry)

I just dont see how this list is that good. It doesn't have a form of draw, Demigod is utterly worthless in this deck his true effectinveness is in numbers but offers no way of getting other copies in so you're playing full mana for a 5/4 flyer at Best in most games, bitterblossom's slow, usually used it more control decks.. this is a total middle deck from what it seems; It just seems like it wont outrace aggro.. and will lose to control.You don't sound like a hater at all. It just sounds like you have absolutely no clue wtf you're talking about. Demigod is a 5/4, flying, haste, with a built in form of recursion/card advantage. That is far from useless, MJ.
Won't outrace aggro? Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner! It's not trying to outrace aggro. This deck is clearly playing the role of control in that situation, i.e., this deck has no intent on racing but rather desires to push the game into later turns through discard and removal and then proceed to face smashing via large flying beatsticks.
Will lose to control? Hmmm? Thoughtseize, Hymn, and Hyppie want to have a discussion with you for the next six months or so while you're on my ignore list. Hand disruption is one of the most powerful tools one can have against control.

@Nidd, nice deck. Try 3x Damnation with 4x Nether Traitor, as many other posters have suggested. Damnation alongside 8 creatures that can recur themselves from the GY is quite advantageous. Also replace either one or two Jitte with Sword of Fire and Ice. 4 Jitte is just too many (stupid legend rule) but I think this deck likes to have 4-5 pieces of equipment and SoFI is amazing on Nether Traitor. Good luck, and keep on working toward optimizing it for the current meta.

[klaus]

I'd like to advocate the red splash again [-3 Swamp +3 Badlands] for SB options [and 1 random badass MD Terminate :cool: ]:

My SB would look like this:
3 Pyroblast
3 Firespout [!] saving your tokens and Specters! [almost MD-worthy]
3 Needle
3 Price of Progress
3 Smash To Smithereens (meta choice)

---------------------------------------------

...With the SB red splash your MD remains almost as consistent and your SB actually kicks butts.

[umbowta]

swap out the 4 diabolic edicts for the new zendikar Gatekeeper of Malakir. Whoa! I just saw that spoiled. This should be done without question.

[Mystical_Jackass]

You don't sound like a hater at all. It just sounds like you have absolutely no clue wtf you're talking about. Demigod is a 5/4, flying, haste, with a built in form of recursion/card advantage. That is far from useless, MJ.

I understand what the card is. I'm saying this deck could do a far better job making use of its recursion ability, through the use of avatar of discord or smallpox to get multiples into your graveyard. Then At the opportune time when you have the mana and draw into multiple, drop one turn ~4-8 and they both swing for 10.
He runs 4, drawing multiples just like Tombstalker is never good. Draw engine is good, sp you dont miss land drops otherwise you're far too dependent on rituals to get them into play. Rituals are more often gonna get used for power turn 1-2 plays getting Hippy out and such but if you ran a phyrexian arena that would really help speed up to that higher mana curve.


Won't outrace aggro? Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner! It's not trying to outrace aggro. This deck is clearly playing the role of control in that situation, i.e., this deck has no intent on racing but rather desires to push the game into later turns through discard and removal and then proceed to face smashing via large flying beatsticks.
Will lose to control? Hmmm? Thoughtseize, Hymn, and Hyppie want to have a discussion with you for the next six months or so while you're on my ignore list. Hand disruption is one of the most powerful tools one can have against control.


No man. you win for the sound effects, you are the winner :)

You're not the OP... why am I even debating you anyways lol, do you even run this deck? I like the deck I really just thought there's a few things I'd tweak but all in all it does a lot of things I like is what I should have said so my bad.
Heh, Ignore list.. great, one less brat I have to talk to here >.< ty sir

btw, I also think Gatekeepers gonna be amazing in BB.

[beastman]

Nerd fights are so cute.

[Mystical_Jackass]

lol, I know I was about to throw a hot pocket or retainer at him :)

Nerd bragging rights! Lets put our titles on the line, GO! :P

[B is for Big Job]

4x mires
4x wasteland
4x badland
1x mountain
8x swamp

4x duress
4x hymn
4x dark rit
4x sinkhole
4x smother
4x terminate
3x nights whisper

4x magus of moon
4x hippie
4x demigod
2x tombstalker



sb:
4x keg
3x boil
4x smash to smitherines
4x ?

This was my take on it. Its kinda like MBC with a red splash to gain some board hate with red but mostly to abuse moon effects since that tends to own alot of decks. everything else is kinda explanitory but the sb could use some work, all depends on meta I suppose

[Jeff Kruchkow]

you guys get entomb now. seems like you want a few of those.

[Nidd]

Entomb isn't that good I think. If I played with more Strongholds, it would be good I think. I want to draw a Demigod. If there is 1 in my GY and none in my hand, it's bad. And the deck doesn't have too much interaction with Entomb, anyways.