The Donner Afterparty

[Beatusnox]

Hello one and all,

After reading through the CANG Thread, and being informed it would probably be a while before a new CANG was made, I figured, what the hell I will post this list here.

So sitting around after reading the CANG thread I was wondering why is it that Vampires have never been made into a playable legacy deck, lately Vampire cards have been getting better, and they are powerful. Trying to figure out what kind of spells to support the deck was not easy. I tried a balanced suite of Creature removal and discard, and found that more often then not, once the creature hit the field it would be protected. The heavy discard suite is where I ended up settling. Against many storm decks, or other combo decks, the Ability to turn one Hymn + a targeting discard, can often cripple combo to the point you can set up. The card advantage generated by Bob was completely nuts in testing.
Creature Removal Suit.

3 Scrying Sheets
14 Snow-Covered Swamp
4 Wasteland
2 Dark Depths

3 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Thoughtseize
3 Mental Misstep
4 Hymn to Tourach
1 Dismember
1 Go For The Throat
1 Smother

4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Dark Confidant
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Vampire Nighthawk
3 Vampire Nocturnus
3 Captivating Vampire

Heavy Discard

Lands:26
3 Scrying Sheets
14 Snow-Covered Swamp
4 Wasteland
2 Chrome Mox
3 Dark Ritual

Spells:14
3 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Thoughtseize
3 Mental Misstep
4 Hymn to Tourach

Creature:20
4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Dark Confidant
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Vampire Nocturnus



Major Props to IBA for some card suggestions, and the badass deckname.



Some match-ups for the Discard Build:

Zoo: Build dependent, more burn oriented, Unfavorable, More Creature oriented, Slightly unfavorable.

Affinity: Even Whoever played first in my testing,won. Sticking Bob was key.

Merfolk: Even to Slightly Unfavorable. Same with Affinity, Whoever went first tended to win, Sticking Bob was the key to winning.

Belcher:Favorable. Often time they mulligan down to 5 or 6 cards, and turn one hymn wins it.

Some form of Spanish Inquisition: Very Favorable, just as Forcing extreme Amounts of discard hurts Belcher, it hurts Inquisition as well.

Team America: Everytime First one to bob Won.

These are the only decks I was able to test against.

Creature Removal Suit, I have yet to test, if anyone can test it, I would greatly appreciate it. My computer is being worked on so I cannot test it online, and I haven't been able to get to the store to test it.
Thanks for reading Guys.

[lorddotm]

Since you say Bob is so important, why don't you play 4?

[Greenpoe]

3 Bob? Drop a Top for a Bob.

[vercadium]

Don't see why you wouldn't run 4 Dark Confidant.

Also, 4 Tops doesn't seems unnecessary. What purpose does Scrying sheets serve?

To be constructive: Might I suggest some Wastelands given that It's a mono colour deck? Adding them in shouldn't hurt the mana base much :)

Regardless, cool deck idea! :D

[Beatusnox]

Don't see why you wouldn't run 4 Dark Confidant.

Also, 4 Tops doesn't seems unnecessary. What purpose does Scrying sheets serve?

To be constructive: Might I suggest some Wastelands given that It's a mono colour deck? Adding them in shouldn't hurt the mana base much :)

Regardless, cool deck idea! :D


I agree with dropping a top for the fourth Bob, was an idiot and dropped a bob for the second lord.

There is no wasteland to Avoid the nonblack cards on top, the same reason why there is scrying sheets and only snow covered lands.

I May add Wastelands at some point, but I will test it asap.

Thanks for suggestions guys, fixing my stupid in first post now.

[Greenpoe]

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth fixes Wastes not making black. Urborg is good anyway since you have Dark Depths.

[Beatusnox]

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth fixes Wastes not making black. Urborg is good anyway since you have Dark Depths.

It is not the not producing Black Mana that is a problem, it is the not being a Black card that is the issue. every other land in the deck can be taken by scrying sheets off of the top and allows more cohesion in the deck.

It is a good suggestion though, will think on what to mix in.

[lorddotm]

The Snow engine is a definitely from Jack (IBA). If you're trying that hard to make sure the top card is black, maybe throw in the Painter kill, Jack is a huge fan of Snow engine+Painter.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

What does Painter's Servant have to do with snow lands?

I have hated Mox in testing. But the deck lacks enough one drops. Maybe Mental Misstep needs to go in, dropping Mox and going to 21 actual lands.

I would probably favor a list, at this point, something like;

3 Scrying Sheets
18 Snow-Covered Swamp
2 Dark Depths

4 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Thoughtseize
3 Mental Misstep
4 Hymn to Tourach
2 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Dismember
1 Go For The Throat
1 Smother

4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Dark Confidant
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Vampire Nighthawk
3 Vampire Nocturnus

Removal + Jitte is absolutely necessary to have even a fighting chance against Zoo.

Also I have really been enjoying Cursed Scroll in the board, maybe that is just me.

[(nameless one)]

Two things:

1. Why are there no Vials or Wasteland. It's a mono-color aggro deck. Aren't they a necessity for these types of archetypes?

2. If you have Bob + Top, what is the Scrying Sheet engine still needed? I would imagine te game plan behind this deck is to rape your opponet's hand then lay down the threats once you've cleared your opponent's hand. Bob should be enough to take care of late game.

If you're worried about Bob and Nocturnus at the same time, just run Fetchlands. Besides, you have Top to deal with that shenanigans anyways.

[Beatusnox]

What does Painter's Servant have to do with snow lands?

I have hated Mox in testing. But the deck lacks enough one drops. Maybe Mental Misstep needs to go in, dropping Mox and going to 21 actual lands.

I would probably favor a list, at this point, something like;

3 Scrying Sheets
18 Snow-Covered Swamp
2 Dark Depths

4 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Thoughtseize
3 Mental Misstep
4 Hymn to Tourach
2 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Dismember
1 Go For The Throat
1 Smother

4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Dark Confidant
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Vampire Nighthawk
3 Vampire Nocturnus

Removal + Jitte is absolutely necessary to have even a fighting chance against Zoo.

Also I have really been enjoying Cursed Scroll in the board, maybe that is just me.

I would include the Automaton in the main board. I feel that Jittes can be sideboarded, and tops dropped down to 3 to facilitate this.

As I said, Wastelands are definitely considerable for the mainboard I would probably make the list like the following in that case.


3 Scrying Sheets
14 Snow-Covered Swamp
4 Wasteland
2 Dark Depths

3 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Thoughtseize
3 Mental Misstep
4 Hymn to Tourach
1 Dismember
1 Go For The Throat
1 Smother

4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Dark Confidant
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Vampire Nighthawk
3 Vampire Nocturnus
3 Adaptive Automaton


Part of the reason for the sheets engine in addition to the Top and Bob is for the unlikely event that I do not get Bob and Top Running, I have another method to use. And it actually does rip the card off the top so If it comes down to it, you can dig an extra card down with top.

In testing Vial was a win-more card more than anything else. It could be playable at some point, but was not needed.

As for the Snow engine in here, It was IBA that suggested many of the cards in here, He played against a very very early version of the deck, and sent me a message here about how he would have changed it and I really liked many of the cards he said.

[bruizar]

I have played a similar build about a month ago, with the notable exception of playing leyline and helm of obedience in it as well. I just couldn't make this work deck competitive in mono-B, so I dropped it. Can you show some matchup analysis?

[somethingdotdotdot]

Why are you playing automaton over captivating vampire? The latter boosts your black count and has a second ability (although it's very unlikely to be used)

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

Two things:

1. Why are there no Vials or Wasteland. It's a mono-color aggro deck. Aren't they a necessity for these types of archetypes?

Vial isn't really good without some way to abuse it specifically. I would say it's worse than Dark Ritual here, which I also don't want to play.


2. If you have Bob + Top, what is the Scrying Sheet engine still needed? I would imagine te game plan behind this deck is to rape your opponet's hand then lay down the threats once you've cleared your opponent's hand. Bob should be enough to take care of late game.

Not really? You want as many cards building synergies with each other as possible, really. This is like saying you don't understand why you would run Coralhelm Commander when you already have Merrow Reejerey.


If you're worried about Bob and Nocturnus at the same time, just run Fetchlands. Besides, you have Top to deal with that shenanigans anyways.

I actually forgot that from the list, I do run two fetchlands. More to shuffle away multiple tops though. I'm not sure how they connect to Bob and Nocturnus.

[bruizar]

Scrying Sheets also keeps Vampire Nocturnus active, which is important. I was inspired by by the Mighty Quinn primer to look for decks that could support Scrying Sheets. This was one of them, the other was mono blue with Standstill.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

Anyway my experience was that Merfolk is a really good matchup, Zoo terrible and I've not actually tested much past that to get a feel. I also constantly feel like I'm not being aggressive enough with the deck.

[Beatusnox]

Why are you playing automaton over captivating vampire? The latter boosts your black count and has a second ability (although it's very unlikely to be used)

I forgot that Captivating Vampire exited to be honest with you <_<. Yeah, I would have him instead of Automaton then, updating list.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

I think it's a mistake to try and be Merfolk. Until they print a good vampire lord outside of Nocturnus, it's better to concentrate on the synergies that best win the game for this deck, not that most resemble the winning strategy of another deck.

[lorddotm]

Not playing Bloodghast and Therapy seems like a mistake to me, but what do I know.

[Antonius]

I feel you should run mutavault. capitalize on the insane buffs you get from Nocturnus.

[unicoerner]

How does the Sheets engine work?. It seems like i am missing sth

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

How does the Sheets engine work?. It seems like i am missing sth

Use Top to look at your top three, put a Snow land on top, use Sheets. Also works with Nocturnus, or sometimes blind if you have to.


Not playing Bloodghast and Therapy seems like a mistake to me, but what do I know.

Not being able to block is a pretty huge drawback when you're playing control more often than not.


I feel you should run mutavault. capitalize on the insane buffs you get from Nocturnus.

It would be easier if you didn't have so much triple black.

[Beatusnox]

I think it's a mistake to try and be Merfolk. Until they print a good vampire lord outside of Nocturnus, it's better to concentrate on the synergies that best win the game for this deck, not that most resemble the winning strategy of another deck.

I agree for the most part, but Another non-conditional Lord is essential I believe. I agree with the plan that has mainboard removal and will be adjusting the OP to show it.

Bloodghast is hurt severely by the lack of fetchlands, and without the recurring creature to flashback Therapy, it is not amazing.

Though to people who like this deck, if you could test some match-ups to help me get a more thorough match analysis I would appreciate it. My workload and personal Life is interfering with more extreme testing on my end.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

I just think I'd rather have 4 Nocturnus before I'd want another, weaker lord, at least until they print one with a relevant secondary ability. You're just not going to have five vampires on the field that often; certainly not until the tribe gets a decent one drop.

[Beatusnox]

I just think I'd rather have 4 Nocturnus before I'd want another, weaker lord, at least until they print one with a relevant secondary ability. You're just not going to have five vampires on the field that often; certainly not until the tribe gets a decent one drop.

Even if it is 4 and 2 on the lords, I would think having two different ones incase of an extirpate killing off Nocturns. While the deck can still be relevant without Nocturnus, it is not as powerful.

[Pastorofmuppets]

Does anyone have my old list for this?
I remember running Bitterblossom and Retrace cards but not much else.

[Mr. Safety]

I just think I'd rather have 4 Nocturnus before I'd want another, weaker lord, at least until they print one with a relevant secondary ability. You're just not going to have five vampires on the field that often; certainly not until the tribe gets a decent one drop.

Is Vampire Lacerator unplayable?

Maybe I'm missing something, but in the OP it mentioned that a turn 1 Hymn worked against Belcher...how did that happen? No Dark Ritz or other accelerator is listed. :/

[Beatusnox]

Is Vampire Lacerator unplayable?

Maybe I'm missing something, but in the OP it mentioned that a turn 1 Hymn worked against Belcher...how did that happen? No Dark Ritz or other accelerator is listed. :/

original List ran more Rituals and moxen, and less of the creature removal. Fixing now thank you.

[Kinderschreck]

I wouldn't play dark depths.
It's easily countered and is a dead card without your hexmage.
Many decks nowadays play karakas with knight. They'll just bounce your token.
As mentioned would wasteland be a nice idear.

[Beatusnox]

I wouldn't play dark depths.
It's easily countered and is a dead card without your hexmage.
Many decks nowadays play karakas with knight. They'll just bounce your token.
As mentioned would wasteland be a nice idear.

In some match-ups Dark depths is effective. It could be more meta dependent, I do agree wasteland is powerful, and I will test it in place of dark depths. Hexmage will stay in though, first strike is good, and the ability to kill an enemy planeswalker or chalice, or reset an Aether Vial, is vital in this meta.

Updating the first post now. Is there a spoiler tag so I can list the different lists without taking up a huge page?

[Mr. Safety]

Dark Depths is a cheap combo (only 2 cards!) that can win you the game. I would say that if you are going to play Hexmage in the 75 (for Jace, Engineered Explosives, or other shenanigans) then Dark Depths only makes sense.

The NEED: Swords/Path or Stifle on the Hexmage/Depths activation. If they do not, they're dead. This seems pretty good vs. non-blue decks without exile effects (Eva Green, The Gate, Sligh/Burn, Dredge to name a few.) Vs. the blue decks, you're playing the aggro anyways.

They may be playing Karakas with Knights...but it will take a full turn for them to dig out karakas. Play Hexmage when their Knight is tapped. You're going to want to deal with Knight ANYWAYS, as he's usually one of the biggest threats on the table.

I would say Dark Depths may be slightly fragile, but it doesn't take any more mana-investment than Tarmogoyf (2 mana for Hexmage), and only takes one more card. I wouldn't build around it...but having it there doesn't take up many slots and can be an 'oops, I win' factor in the deck.

[Kinderschreck]

@Mr. Safety: Sorry, but a Maze or Karakas and your precious monster token is worthless.
Most deck search for it, when they see the depths and nearly everydeck plays knight, karakas or/and stp.

(Eva Green, The Gate, Sligh/Burn, Dredge to name a few.) <-- The only deck I've seen of those in 1/2 year was Dredge. The others are mostly to never presence. Now every deck plays something with knight.

My problem with depths is, it generates no mana. I tested something similar to this deck with depths and urborg, but it always ended bad. You draw a depths and have a dead card. If you play it, it is destroyed, if you keep it on your hand...Yeah, it is in your hand xD

Wastelands are better than that, since you can get ride of mazes or shatter there manabase.
And it at least let's you play a vial.

[Mr. Safety]

Good point...It may take attention away from your other threats though. It's deal with it or die...so if they deal with that, your other threats should be doing well.

I say again...it doesn't take any more mana than Tarmogoyf and can win you the game. This deck plays Wastelands, right? So Waste that Karakas/Maze of Ith!!!

[Kinderschreck]

They deal with the Dark Depths with diffrent cards than with your other threads, or do you think Wasteland and Stifle are at any use against creatures?
Playing Dark Depths and Wasteland let's you run out of B fast, since Dark Depths generates no mana and Wasteland only colorless.

Tarmo can be played without any further card required. It's only drop it and tap it ;P

[Beatusnox]

Right now I am paper testing the Second list on the main page with Mana acceleration and no Depths. It is able to consistently Turn 1 bob or Hymn, sometimes I am even able turn one Bob/Hymn and A targeted Discard in thoughtseize. So far it is running exceptionally well, but I have yet to playtest against very many people lately with the list. If anyone here likes the deck could help me by testing it online or on paper I would greatly appreciate the help.

Beyond that, Part of what I like about the deck is the Flexibility. Instead of the heavy discard suit, if you are in a Meta full of aggro decks, you can lose the Rituals and Mox, and play more creature hate, much like the first list. I believe that some hybrid of the two would probably be the most balanced version, but exact numbers via more extreme(read thorough) testing is needed.

[Malchar]

I don't think that you should bother to use the Scrying Sheets engine at all since you have Dark Confidant for card advantage already. Once you take out the snow land, you can put in fetchands, which work great with Sensei's Divining Top and Bloodghast. I would only consider using Scrying Sheets in a color that has no way to get card advantage, like white.

Like it or not, Bloodghast is the best vampire in the game. It's good enough to be used outside of a vampire tribal deck, so it should definitely be used in this deck. Also, Cabal Therapy works great with Bloodghast. It will further compliment your discard suite and give you another one drop.

[Beatusnox]

I don't think that you should bother to use the Scrying Sheets engine at all since you have Dark Confidant for card advantage already. Once you take out the snow land, you can put in fetchands, which work great with Sensei's Divining Top and Bloodghast. I would only consider using Scrying Sheets in a color that has no way to get card advantage, like white.

Like it or not, Bloodghast is the best vampire in the game. It's good enough to be used outside of a vampire tribal deck, so it should definitely be used in this deck. Also, Cabal Therapy works great with Bloodghast. It will further compliment your discard suite and give you another one drop.

I've tried like three times to write this post and it just doesnt want to go through so I'll just make a short one.

The original Build had Bloodghast and fetch lands. The inability to block Really hurt the aggro match-ups it would have. Fetchlands do seem like a good idea as a shuffle effect, but I am unsure. In testing the Snowland engine works extremely well. I will proxy up another list using a modified land base to incorporate fetch lands.

[Qweerios]

My 2 cents,

The list in the OP looks like a bad version of Deadguy trying to force a tribal theme that has no synergy to it aside from an overcosted draw engine that gives way to an overcosted lord. A vampire deck might not be as good as a Merfolk deck but it doesn't mean that it shouldn't try to be more like it... as a matter of fact, trying to use a merfolk-ish approach to vampires is probably the best way to go on about maximizing vampires.

Bloodghast is not the best vampire in the game. The reason why he is used in non-vampire decks is because of his recursion ability, if you can't capitalize on it, don't use Bloodghast. He cannot block(which defies half of the recursion purpose) and cannot significantly clock on your opponent. Furthermore, Bloodghast's situational haste is so insignificant that it is often forgotten.

Why VNH when you have access to lords? They might not be the best lords, but lords in a tribal deck nonetheless.. VNH is only good when carrying a sword or jitte, strip him from equipments and he is completely sub-par. Think of all the other 3 drops in the format and compare them to VNH... not looking too good now.

If you play monoblack, Hymn is a no-brainer. Not playing Hymn in MBA is like playing MUC without FoW.

I think there are two ways to abuse the vampire theme:

a) To go for a classic tribal-style deck abusing lord effects and the best black disruption availlable. In other words, following in merfolk's footsteps, or;

b) Trying to abuse the various vampire synergies that are already in place, mainly in the form of Bloodghast interactions and Kalastria Highborn.

With that being said, I think that building a black merfolk deck sounds like a boring idea. Going for a a more Bloodghast centered approach has a more unique feel to it and sounds like a lot more fun. Here is what I have in mind:


Creatures (16)
4 Bloodghast
4 Kalastria Highborn
4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir

Spells (18)
4 Innocent Blood
4 Thoughtseize
4 Smallpox
4 Hymn to Tourach
2 Grim Discovery

Artifacts (4)
4 Mox Diamond

Lands (22)
4 Dark Depths
4 Marsh Flats
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
7 Swamp


A fairly simple and straightforward list that nets card advantage by making favorable exchanges out of board-nuking cards. I avoided Wastelands altogether because of the Dark Depths combo and the high black mana requirement of the deck. I favored Innocent Blood over Cabal Therapy.

[Beatusnox]

My 2 cents,

The list in the OP looks like a bad version of Deadguy trying to force a tribal theme that has no synergy to it aside from an overcosted draw engine that gives way to an overcosted lord. A vampire deck might not be as good as a Merfolk deck but it doesn't mean that it shouldn't try to be more like it... as a matter of fact, trying to use a merfolk-ish approach to vampires is probably the best way to go on about maximizing vampires.

Bloodghast is not the best vampire in the game. The reason why he is used in non-vampire decks is because of his recursion ability, if you can't capitalize on it, don't use Bloodghast. He cannot block(which defies half of the recursion purpose) and cannot significantly clock on your opponent. Furthermore, Bloodghast's situational haste is so insignificant that it is often forgotten.

Why VNH when you have access to lords? They might not be the best lords, but lords in a tribal deck nonetheless.. VNH is only good when carrying a sword or jitte, strip him from equipments and he is completely sub-par. Think of all the other 3 drops in the format and compare them to VNH... not looking too good now.

If you play monoblack, Hymn is a no-brainer. Not playing Hymn in MBA is like playing MUC without FoW.

I think there are two ways to abuse the vampire theme:

a) To go for a classic tribal-style deck abusing lord effects and the best black disruption availlable. In other words, following in merfolk's footsteps, or;

b) Trying to abuse the various vampire synergies that are already in place, mainly in the form of Bloodghast interactions and Kalastria Highborn.

With that being said, I think that building a black merfolk deck sounds like a boring idea. Going for a a more Bloodghast centered approach has a more unique feel to it and sounds like a lot more fun. Here is what I have in mind:


Creatures (16)
4 Bloodghast
4 Kalastria Highborn
4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir

Spells (18)
4 Innocent Blood
4 Thoughtseize
4 Smallpox
4 Hymn to Tourach
2 Grim Discovery

Artifacts (4)
4 Mox Diamond

Lands (22)
4 Dark Depths
4 Marsh Flats
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
7 Swamp


A fairly simple and straightforward list that nets card advantage by making favorable exchanges out of board-nuking cards. I avoided Wastelands altogether because of the Dark Depths combo and the high black mana requirement of the deck. I favored Innocent Blood over Cabal Therapy.

I dislike the list to be honest. Going for a tribal aggro deck without lords seems to be a bad idea. Dark Confidant is an amazing card, and I do not see how it could be an 'overcosted draw engine'. Though, I do agree, Nighthawk is overcosted. I may replace him with a Kalastria Highborn, as it does have a very good and relevant effect.

[Qweerios]

Bob is not an overcosted draw engine... Scrying Sheets is.

The list I posted is an example of a a tribal vampire deck that doesn't fall into the aggro/lord category. It is not necessarily better, but it is different. Food for thoughts.

[Beatusnox]

Bob is not an overcosted draw engine... Scrying Sheets is.

The list I posted is an example of a a tribal vampire deck that doesn't fall into the aggro/lord category. It is not necessarily better, but it is different. Food for thoughts.

It is a unique approach, but I am wondering if I should add it to the main page, I do agree it is another approach that can be taken, and an interesting one at that. Though it does not suit my playstyle I will work it into the Original Post. And I will write a real primer hopefully soon.

[Malchar]

I dislike the list to be honest. Going for a tribal aggro deck without lords seems to be a bad idea. Dark Confidant is an amazing card, and I do not see how it could be an 'overcosted draw engine'. Though, I do agree, Nighthawk is overcosted. I may replace him with a Kalastria Highborn, as it does have a very good and relevant effect.

Overall, I don't like the list either. It's nice to see scrying sheets removed, but the deck is clearly crying out for dark confidant. Also, why even bother running fetchlands without sensei's divining top? The game shouldn't go long enough for you to see any benefit from it, and now you randomly lose to blood moon and stifle, not to mention that you double the pricetag of the deck.

You should use the dark confidant + sensei's divining top + fetchland engine for card advantage. It also works wonders with vampire nocturnus. I don't think that nocturnus is necessary for every vampire deck, but if we learned anything from merfolk it is that you can make a relatively weak tribe extremely strong if you have a ton of lord effects and evasion. Captivating vampire is even worse, but I will try testing it anyway.

The thing that this deck really needs is another good lord to be printed. Honestly, I think zombies are way more viable right now, but vampires are much cooler.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

Went 3-1 with this list at Curio.

14 Snow-Covered Swamp
3 Scrying Sheets
2 Marsh Flats
3 Chrome Mox

2 Dark Depths
4 Vampire Hexmage

4 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Dark Confidant

4 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Vampire Nocturnus

4 Thoughtseize
4 Hymn to Tourach

2 Dismember
1 Go For the Throat
1 Smother
2 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir

SB:
2 Duress
4 Leyline of the Void
3 Pithing Needle
2 Cursed Scroll
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Smother
1 Dismember
1 Go For the Throat

Lost to Enchantress, beat Reanimator, Some-Pile-Of-Pat-Chapin-Approved-Cards.dec, and some guy with a Type 2 deck.

My overall feeling though is that this deck is too clunky at the moment, although I'm reluctant to dismantle it with Vampires being a theme in Innistrad. The deck could really use a solid 1 drop.

So on a side note, great RL moments:

I was playing against the tear-my-fucking-eyeballs-out-already-another-pile-of-SCG-approved-cards-as-determined-by-which-three-colors-you-want-to-run deck(black-blue-white if I remember correctly, in this case).

So I beat him in part because this guy like, I guess is apparently a thing now thinks Jitte isn't amazing? So he's running Stoneforge but no Jitte and I just get Jitte out and control his entire board of 1-and-2 toughness dorks and a Batterskull that does nothing relevant and he casts Stoneforge but instead of being able to destroy my Jitte with it, he just gets a Sword of Irrelevance Like I'd Really Let You Equip It, and he goes from bitching about losing to vampires to trying really obviously to wheedle me into feeling "guilty" for winning and give him the win because he wants to have more byes at GP Pittsburgh. Like, the line of conversation is actually something like, "Oh, yeah, anyway you going to GP Pittsburgh? Me too. I have two byes. Or I want to anyway, I need to go 3-1 today to get it though..." (He's 0-2 at this point).

And then his friend comes over and asks if he won, and he says something like, "Yeah, well, if this guy wants to be a nice guy..."

Subtle, kid.

Pro tips for asking someone you don't know to concede to you after having actually beaten you;

1) Don't insult their deck.

2) Do act like you are in fact asking for a significant favor from someone who has fuck-all reason to do one for you.

[Amon Amarth]

So on a side note, great RL moments:

I was playing against the tear-my-fucking-eyeballs-out-already-another-pile-of-SCG-approved-cards-as-determined-by-which-three-colors-you-want-to-run deck(black-blue-white if I remember correctly, in this case).

So I beat him in part because this guy like, I guess is apparently a thing now thinks Jitte isn't amazing? So he's running Stoneforge but no Jitte and I just get Jitte out and control his entire board of 1-and-2 toughness dorks and a Batterskull that does nothing relevant and he casts Stoneforge but instead of being able to destroy my Jitte with it, he just gets a Sword of Irrelevance Like I'd Really Let You Equip It, and he goes from bitching about losing to vampires to trying really obviously to wheedle me into feeling "guilty" for winning and give him the win because he wants to have more byes at GP Pittsburgh. Like, the line of conversation is actually something like, "Oh, yeah, anyway you going to GP Pittsburgh? Me too. I have two byes. Or I want to anyway, I need to go 3-1 today to get it though..." (He's 0-2 at this point).

And then his friend comes over and asks if he won, and he says something like, "Yeah, well, if this guy wants to be a nice guy..."

Subtle, kid.

Pro tips for asking someone you don't know to concede to you after having actually beaten you;

1) Don't insult their deck.

2) Do act like you are in fact asking for a significant favor from someone who has fuck-all reason to do one for you.

Batterskull is FOTM and overhyped to shit. And your opponent was a douche.

Have you considered Dystopia in your SB? Slow, but it's brutal against any of the green decks. Jitte helps pay for the upkeep. Could be good if you have lots of Enchantress in your metagame and has is pretty good against a number of different decks.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

Also he was smack-talking Zoo/Maverick for "not running blue so they can't interact" shortly before I made him discard his hand and killed all his creatures.

I actually don't see a reason to run blue particularly in a meta as heavily blue as this one. Like, shit, you run blue to deal with combo, not other blue decks.

I mean Brainstorm is obviously really good and Jace is one of the bombier 4cc spells in the game, but really, Force is hardly at a premium right now.

I would have borrowed Dystopias but I got there late. Would've helped a lot in beating Enchantress actually.

[Beatusnox]

Sorry its been so long since a post, work has been kicking my ass lately. IBA, are you still pursuing this as a deck type? I have been playtesting it lately with a list very close to yours with the absence of Jittes as I do not have any. Will definitely Proxy them in and test it that way.

On this front had a small Tournament at my LGS, ended up going 3-0 in matches and 6-1 in Games, Beating Affinity, No Elves!, and Astral Slide. Not exactly hard match-ups, but the deck definitely shows promise.