Connie Green (B/G with Contamination, Explorers, Diabolic Intent)

[Begle1]

This stems from my attempt to find a home for Contamination... What it really tries to be is a mostly-black, discard-heavy, watered-down The Gate variant that trades a rock-solid mana base and consistent mass of threats for a green splash, effective Deathrite Shamans and a Diabolic Intent toolbox.

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/connie-green/

//Hand Disruption
3x Inquisition of Kozilek (Ideally you can lead with an Inquisition before using Cabal Therapy... The Inquisition is good to stop the early threats, while Therapy can collect the later threats.)
4x Cabal Therapy (I think we want to run 6 of this card... Along with Diabolic Intent, this is the best sacrifice outlet for Veteran Explorer.)


//Board Control
3x Abrupt Decay (A silver-bullet target AND a catch-all.)
1x Cursed Scroll (This is very good here; with a curve this low the deck runs its hand out very fast, and this grinds out games.)
1x Toxic Deluge (A catch-all board wipe.)
1x Marsh Casualties (The best one-sided board wipe.)
1x Diabolic Edict (The instant-speed means you can hold it to wait for Sneak Show or Reanimator to play something.)
1x Innocent Blood (A sacrifice outlet and/or a 1-mana edict.)

//Critters
4x Deathrite Shaman (This deck loves this, as sac fodder, ramp, life-gain, reach and grave hate; a beautiful card here.)
4x Veteran Explorer (Not as good here as Nic-Fit, since this deck doesn't need more than four mana, but still the best thing around to sacrifice.)
4x Bitterblossom (Provides endless sac fodder, defense, also feeds Contamination indefinitely.)
3x Vampire Nighthawk (Life-gain is good here, deathtouch is also good to clean-up whatever creature they might get out early or late off of their free Explorer lands.)
1x Abyssal Persecutor (Another beautiful card here.)

//Silver Bullets
4x Diabolic Intent (This is the hallmark of the deck, but not critical; the dream is to sacrifice a Veteran Explorer, get two lands, and cast whatever two-drop you want; alternatively you can ramp on turn two with a Deathrite Shaman, sacrifice the Shaman and cast whatever one-drop you want. Or save it as long as possible and find a Contamination, Jitte or Persecutor to go for the kill.)
1x Contamination (There's a good cross-section of decks with no answer to this; it can be fed indefinitely with Bitterblossom, but is also good to just buy a turn or two, sacrificing Deathrites or Explorers while Nighthawks beatdown.)
1x Pithing Needle (A 1-mana silver bullet.)
1x Surgical Extraction (A 0-mana silver bullet.)
1x Umezawa's Jitte (Turns little dudes into scary dudes.)

//Mana
4x Bayou
1x Dryad Arbor (Usually a way to flashback Cabal Therapy, can also carry a Jitte, keep a Contamination alive, or feed a Diabolic Intent.)
1x Dust Bowl
1x Forest
7x Swamp
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4x Verdant Catacombs
2x Wooded Foothills


//Sideboard
3x Thoughtseize (Plus the Inquisitions and Therapies, this gives 10 spot discard spells available.)
1x Hymn to Tourach
1x Cursed Scroll (A grindy value-adder that's really good here.)
1x Damnation (Kills slow critters.)
1x Engineered Explosives (Kills fast critters)
1x Golgari Charm (True Name Nemesis, and enchantments I guess?)
1x Liliana of the Veil (I guess she's still a house at times.)
1x Meekstone (Tarmogoyfs and Delvers.)
1x Pernicious Deed (Anything with tokens, swarms of little things.)
1x Tragic Slip (Mud, Reanimator?)
2x Treetop Village (Anti Control?)
1x Virtue's Ruin (Anti Death and Taxes.)

http://playtest.tappedout.net/black-connie/


Any ideas?

[Begle1]

Here are my sideboarding thoughts and strategy versus various decks:

Miracles: I don't have much game through a Counterbalance lock, my creatures suck to Jace and Terminus, and Miracles is probably more capable of using basic lands than I am. I feel the best strategy for this match-up is to use targeted discard and permanent destruction to try and to keep CounterTop off of the table, while hoping to peck them away with Bitterblossom or Cursed Scroll. They have no answer to Contamination if you can land it.
In: Abrupt Decay, Cursed Scroll, Thoughtseize, Liliana of the Veil, Pernicious Deed, Treetop Village
Out: Toxic Deluge, Innocent Blood, Abyssal Persecutor, Diabolic Edict, Umezawa's Jitte, Explorer


Elves: As much board-disruption as possible, while hand disruption is okay. You're trying to avoid the fast blow-out and hoping to sweep. They can benefit from Explorer, but they can't disrupt Diabolic Intent and it's very important to find a timely sweeper or even an early Pithing Needle. Contamination can lock them out if landed when they don't have any mana dorks out.
In: Pernicious Deed, Damnation, Golgari Charm, Engineered Explosives
Out: Diabolic Edict, Innocent Blood, Veteran Explorers (Vampire Nighthawk??)


U/R Delver: Another deck that Contamination locks out, they want to play an early threat on turn 1 or 2 and ride it to fast victory with burn counterspell back-up. They hate losing an early threat, don't always benefit from Veteran Explorer, and top-deck poorly following hand disruption (until they hit Treasure Cruise). Cursed Scroll and Abyssal Persecutor are good cards here,
Out: Pithing Needle, Diabolic Edict
In: Cursed Scroll, Golgari Charm


BUG Delver: A Delver deck with the early threats being Tarmogoyf, Delver and Deathrite Shaman, and disruption in the way of the standard blue counters, along with some amount of hand disruption and also Abrupt Decay. Like U/R Delver, they hate losing an early threat while having their hand ripped apart... But they top-deck better. As opposed to U/R Delver, their threats are more susceptible to Edicts and less so to Shrivel effects. They usually get no benefit to Veteran Explorer, but Diabolic Intent is going to be countered or discarded frequently... You need to disrupt them before they disrupt you, and your early threats don't size up to theirs. Also, Contamination kills them.
Out: Pithing Needle, Marsh Casualties
In: Meekstone, Abrupt Decay


Sneak and Show: They have limited counters to defend their combo, otherwise they're trying to ramp up and cheat a big fattie into play. Hand disruption is their anathema, and they hate Edict effects, especially instant-speed ones. Veteran Explorer can set them up for a win faster than it can for us. Abrupt Decay has no targets here. This is also another deck Contamination can lock down.
In: Thoughtseize, Liliana of the Veil
Out: Abrupt Decay, Marsh Casualties


Reanimator: Contamination doesn't stop them! Discarding their dig and/ or reanimation spells is the best strategy here; they also hate Edict effects. They usually have basics, but few uses for them. Abrupt Decay doesn't have any targets.
In: Thoughtseize, Damnation, Cursed Scroll, Tragic Slip
Out: Marsh Casualties, Contamination, Abrupt Decay, Pithing Needle


Death and Taxes: Abrupt Decay is gold here; Contamination can be a lock-down, as long as Aether Vial isn't active. They're weak to sweepers, not particularly weak to hand disruption due to their threat density and tendency to drop their hands, Cursed Scroll is a house, Edicts are typically underwhelming, and they always find Plains off of Veteran Explorer but they don't always have a use for the extra mana.
In: Virtue's Ruin, Cursed Scroll, Abrupt Decay, Damnation, Pernicious Deed
Out: Surgical Extraction, Innocent Blood, Diabolic Edict, Cabal Therapy


Deathblade (and other Blade decks in general): They don't always have basics, and they're vulnerable to discard for a few early turns, during which they're trying to hit back with discard. Discard, Pithing Needle, Abrupt Decay and Cursed Scroll are good here; I'm thinking since it's such a grindfest and there's no silver bullet to stop them, the Diabolic Intents get cut in this matchup.
In: Cursed Scroll, Abrupt Decay, Thoughtseize, Damnation, Liliana of the Veil
Out: Marsh Casualties, Diabolic Intent, Surgical Extraction, Veteran Explorers


Blood Moon: We can play around any single lock-piece... Chalice of the Void at 1 hurts and turns off discard, but we can still play threats around it; Trinisphere turns off discard until we can get a Veteran Explorer; Blood Moon locks us out of green mana unless we can get the early Forest or an on-line Deathrite Shaman. Abrupt Decay is great, Contamination hurts them unless they have a Moggcatcher, they can be destroyed with an early discard spell.
Out: Marsh Casualties, Surgical Extraction, Cabal Therapy
In: Pernicious Deed, Thoughtseize, Cursed Scroll


Storm Combo: Discard is the key, Abrupt Decay is worthless... Take out sweepers unless you see rainbow lands and Empty the Warrens.
In: Thoughtseize, Hymn to Tourach, Liliana of the Veil
Out: Abrupt Decay, Diabolic Edict, Innocent Blood,


Dredge: I really need a strategy to beat Dredge.
In: Pernicious Deed, Engineered Explosive, Damnation, Cursed Scroll
Out: Cabal Therapy, Inquisition of Kozilek, Contamination