Geralf's Messenger Combo

[Derm]

Hey guys. I doubt I'm the first person to think of this, but I started messing around with a deck that could win with Geralf's Messenger, and this is what I came up with.

[4] Geralf's Messenger
[4] Carrion Feeder
[4] Bloodthrone Vampire
[4] Abyssal Persecutor
[4] Dark Confidant

[4] Cabal Therapy
[3] Hymn to Tourach

[4] Gitaxian Probe
[4] Brainstorm
[4] Ponder

[4] Dark Ritual

[4] Underground Sea
[4] Polluted Delta
[9] Swamp

After trying out a few different configurations, this seems to be the most consistent list. The deck's viability probably depends on your opponents not quite knowing what your gameplan is (i.e. Dark Confidant lures out counters and removal), but I tried it out for a couple of games against RUG Delver and it seemed pretty resilient.

Even if you don't combo out in one of the first 3 turns, you can play a really decent beatdown game with just Messengers and Abyssal Persecutors. Persecutor is a great backup plan, and dovetails really nicely with all the sacrifice outlets that your deck already wants.

Messenger + Cabal Therapy is pretty awesome, and can really put you ahead in a race, in board position, and obviously in card advantage.

I don't know if Lim-Dul's Vault would be better than Ponder. It's probably worth testing.

There might also be a mono-black version with Spoils of the Vault or something else reckless like that.

I haven't tested enough to come up with a full sideboard, but it's shaping up to include some number of Spell Pierces, Surgical Extractions, Grafdigger's Cages, etc.

[Derm]

Yeah, sorry for wasting your time. Someone just explained how Undying works a little more clearly.

[Kich867]

In the future, if your deck relies on your opponent not knowing how it works, you need to really reconsider the strategy of it. In general, strategies that work on surprise aren't that great. Whereas a strategy that is simply difficult to beat even when you know exactly what is going on is much stronger: look at the Deck's to Beat list. Not one of those decks is confusing, in fact, most of them are brain-dead easy to play because their strategy is -so- linear. But they win because their strategy is very focused and the decks are so good at executing them that even when you know what deck you're playing ahead of time it's still hard to beat them.

[Darkenslight]

There is actually a four-piece infinite combo with this, but it involces Carnival of Souls and a card called Wandering Mage, as well as the Messenger and Feeder. More importantly, it puts you at three-color, which probably would be easily hated out.

[Barook]

There is actually a four-piece infinite combo with this, but it involces Carnival of Souls and a card called Wandering Mage, as well as the Messenger and Feeder. More importantly, it puts you at three-color, which probably would be easily hated out.
If you want to go infinite, then Phyrexian Altar + sac outlet is way better.

[Kich867]

If you want to go infinite, then Phyrexian Altar + sac outlet is way better.

Phyrexian Altar is a sac outlet. I feel like the new U/B Zombie lord + Gravecrawler + altar would be better as a means to just sweep the opponent out. Sac the crawler for 1 black, opponent loses 1 life and gravecrawler is back in play.

[zabuza]

You can play hex parasite so you can deal 2 damage to a player for each 1B you pay or 2 damage to each player for each 1 You pay while pumping the parasite and carriopn feeder on the way ;). You need feeder, parasite and messenger to set the damage party ;)