Mono Black Contamination [Archive]

Wotkenmendo

04-23-2015, 11:31 PM

Idea is to be aggressive/disruptive and resolve a contamination. Some Bloodghast/Nether Spirit abuse. Transformational SB, anticipating graveyard hate from them, Obliterators for red decks.

4x Dark Confidant
4x Bloodghast
4x Vampire Nighthawk
3x Gatekeeper of Malakir
1x Nether Spirit

1x Liliana of the Veil

4x Cabal Therapy
4x Duress
4x Dark Ritual
3x Contamination
1x Diabolic Intent
2x Entomb
2x Disfigure
1x Marsh Casualties
4x Sinkhole

3x Wasteland
4x Undiscovered Paradise
1x Volrath’s Stronghold
10x Swamp

4x Leyline of the Void
4x Helm of Obedience
3x Phyrexian Obliterator
2x Hymn to Tourach
2x Null Rod

Darkenslight

04-24-2015, 02:35 AM

Wilkin

04-24-2015, 04:00 AM

Agree with Darkenslight. Nether Spirit works best in very low creature count decks. Yours has 16.

I'd also find a way to add some more lands in there. 18 is very low, especially when you consider you are going to try and cast 4 drops post board. I realize you have Dark Rituals but IMO 18 lands is too low for this deck.

Obliterator isn't that good vs Burn. I've tried it out before. You are better off running Jitte in the board or more Hymns.

Mystical_Jackass

04-24-2015, 10:11 AM

I remember seeing a lot of these lists a good 5-6 years ago, but I feel like DRS hurts this strategy.

I think you should run a full set of Bitterblossom, Contamination and Jitte. You need other sac outlets/wincond that don't just lose to gy hate. I'd probably just take out Nighthawk & Bob, they don't really offer much to the strategy and slow you down, and you have no Swords/Jitte's for them to really do much from an aggro approach. With running Sinhole and Ritual, it seems you just wanna' win fast and set up a lock, which is why I said you'd be best going for the: T1 Ritual, Duress, Bitterblossom; T2 Jitte/Sinkhole/Diabolic Intent; T3 Contamination. Terminus, Swords, Bolts, PF, etc. are gonna eat Bob and Nighthawks alive, but Blossom is extremely resilient even on its own you can ride it to victory if you resolve one right away.

Kunfuzed

04-24-2015, 12:27 PM

Have you thought about:

Braids, Cabal Minion

or

Ophiomancer?

With Bitterblossom, Contamination, Ophiomancer, Braids, Bloodghast and Nether Traitor you'd have no problem keeping Braids and Contamination up. Maybe even throw in Crucible/Wasteland for the additional Braids / Bloodghast recursion?

Wotkenmendo

04-24-2015, 02:07 PM

Thanks for the replies guys. Nether Traitor is quite nice, especially with Shadow for more offensive potential. I will say that I like having a Nether Spirit to Entomb early on, as it's a very convenient way to get set up (ex: Turn 1 Entomb, Turn 2 Duress, Ritual, Contamination).

I've felt Bob necessary to be competitive and keep up momentum as your opening hand can disappear almost immediately (hopefully along with theirs). This deck can look kinda bad in a "draw, go" scenario without Contamination in play.

Bitterblossom and Jitte make a lot of sense. I've yet to get my hands on any Bitterblossoms to try it out, but I can certainly see it working well. It just feels a bit less powerful then Bob, though harder to remove for sure.

I guess I'm mostly unsure of how much of the deck I should devote to the "combo" (Entombs/Diabolic Intents/Bloodghasts/Nethers/Contamination/Undiscovered, etc.) I'll have some match reports after my local Legacy event on Sunday. I'm going in with no expectations but hope to minimize embarrassment.

Edit: I do realize that DRS hurts. Does it hurt so much that my current removal is inadequate? Not sure.

Darkenslight

04-25-2015, 01:28 PM

Something I'd seriously consider is the possibility of bringing in a board-wipe effect, dependent on your meta; for example, Echoing Decay is a useful card for getting rid of DRS.

Zupponn

04-26-2015, 11:26 AM

I'd probably drop Bob and your graveyard package for Bitterblossom and Ophiomancer. Maybe look into going a little down the Pox or Smallpox route as well. Smallpox could be more useful than Sinkhole here because of its greater drain on the opponent's resources and it also adds in some more removal. Toxic Deluge is also probebly better than Marsh Casualties.

Wotkenmendo

04-27-2015, 11:10 AM

Thank you for the advice. I want to play Sinkhole so bad though!

I didn't have the nerve to run the list sans Bitterblossom on Sunday, so my report will have to wait until Friday. This is the list I'm currently messing with, though at some point I will try swapping out the Bobs/Tops/Entombs/Creatures for Smallpox and something else (Ophiomancer?):

4x Dark Confidant
1x Bloodghast
1x Nether Spirit

1x Liliana of the Veil

4x Bitterblossom
4x Cabal Therapy
4x Duress
1x Hymn to Tourach
3x Contamination
3x Diabolic Intent
4x Entomb
2x Disfigure
1x Marsh Casualties
1x Diabolic Edict
4x Sinkhole

3x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Umezawa's Jitte

4x Wasteland
4x Polluted Delta
1x Undiscovered Paradise
1x Volrath's Stronghold
8x Swamp

4x Leyline of the Void
3x Helm of Obedience
1x Phyrexian Obliterator
1x Innocent Blood
1x Mutilate
3x Hymn to Tourach
2x Null Rod

I have the rituals out now, any opinion on their function/value in the deck? You can slam down some powerful stuff early with them of course, but is it worth the risk of getting blown out by FoW, etc? I am leaning towards no.

Mystical_Jackass

04-27-2015, 12:26 PM

It's not bad, I'm liking the list a lot more man.

First off, I LOVE the card to death in EDH, but you should probably drop the Stronghold. 2 of your creatures already self recur, there's really no point. It's way better when you have like Witness or Gatekeeper, and you can just recur and continuously smash opponent in an attrition war. Here it could get in the way of a T2 Sinkhole or Hymn, that'd really suck. Paradise is in same boat, no point opening yourself up to wasteland.

The only other thing would be maybe fitting in another Jitte and/or Hymn, I dunno maybe cut a Top and Therapy. Those are straight up business spells, you're almost never gonna' be unhappy to draw them.

Wotkenmendo

05-26-2015, 08:05 PM

We got owned boys. I don't have the exact list I ran, but it was somewhere in between the one in my last post, and the one I'm about to post here. I know it had the Deathrites, but not the Bridges.

Solid 0-4 finish after decent testing was as bit disappointing but not surprising. Did get to live the dream and win some games with Contamination lock! Still, fact remains we lost to Grixis Delver/Goblins/Rug Delver/and... Deathblade? This is where we are at now, will test some tomorrow and run it on Sunday:

4x Dark Confidant
4x Deathrite Shaman

1x Liliana of the Veil

4x Dark Ritual
4x Bitterblossom
3x Thoughtseize
3x Cabal Therapy
4x Sinkhole
1x Diabolic Intent
3x Contamination
2x Innocent Blood
1x Black Sun's Zenith

3x Sensei's Divining Top
2x Umezawa's Jitte
3x Ensnaring Bridge

4x Polluted Delta
4x Wasteland
4x Verdant Catacombs
6x Swamp

4x Leyline of the Void
2x Helm of Obedience
1x Gate to Phyrexia
3x Phyrexian Negator
1x Engineered Plague
1x Mutilate
3x Hymn to Tourach

Top is back, and I don't think it'll be coming out again. Ensnaring Bridge is in and feels strong, though perhaps I'm still skimping on removal? Targeted spell vs Innocent Blood? Been unsure about Dark Ritual, but am back on it (lots of big turn 1's). Was also considering a Winter Orb somewhere in the 75. Help!

Wotkenmendo

06-08-2015, 07:00 PM

2-2 with the list above (slightly different sideboard, same maindeck) at my local legacy event on Sunday. Considerably better than last time at least.

Round 1: Esperblade 2-0

Round one went pretty smoothly as my opponent didn't have enough early interaction/permission either game. Innocent Blood for True-Name/Stoneforge, discard cleared the path for threats, etc. Game 2 we resolved Contamination with Bitterblossom ftw around turn 3.

Round 2: Burn 0-2

I was quite disappointed with this pairing, this may be the worst matchup. Contamination does work if it resolves, but more often than not it's just a bit too slow to set up (not to mention it doesn't stop Fireblast). Died pretty quickly both games on the play, did not see Jitte's either game. Obliterator decided to make an appearance game two and bought us a couple of turns, but too little too late. Looking at Nighthawks for the SB moving forward.

Round 3: Elves 1-2

I was interested to see how this went, with low expectations. Game 1 was a short affair, I died turn 3 or 4 via Craterhoof with little interaction. Won a slightly grindier game 2 with a Jitte-wielding Obliterator over the course of a couple of turns with Contamination in play (no Blossom). Game 3 was pretty much the same as game 1. Definitely was sad to not see my Bridges/Engineered Plague, even if they were going to be blown up before long. I sided out too much discard for sure, and misplayed twice with Wasteland while Quirion Ranger was in play. I think with practice this matchup will be tolerable.

Round 4: UWR Stoneblade 2-1

Fairly one-sided games both ways, seems being on the play is good. Game 1 was pretty much uncontested with Thoughtseize clearing the way for a turn 2 Liliana followed up by multiple Wastelands and Sinkholes. Game 2 we mulled to six, grinded it out for a while until a Jace resolved and you can guess the rest. Game 3 we ended the day with another Contamination lock.

Moving forward I'd like another Liliana, and as much as it pains me I'm going to try living without Sinkholes. Here's the list I'm thinking about (gonna run it at GP charlotte side events):

4x Dark Confidant
4x Deathrite Shaman

2x Liliana of the Veil

4x Dark Ritual
3x Thoughtseize
3x Cabal Therapy
3x Hymn to Tourach
1x Diabolic Intent
2x Innocent Blood
1x Black Sun's Zenith

4x Bitterblossom
3x Contamination

3x Sensei's Divining Top
2x Umezawa's Jitte
3x Ensnaring Bridge

4x Polluted Delta
4x Wasteland
3x Bloodstained Mire
5x Swamp
2x Bayou

3x Leyline of the Void
2x Helm of Obedience
1x Unmask
1x Darkblast
1x Massacre
2x Spinning Darkness
2x Abrupt Decay
2x Engineered Plague
1x Tsabo's Web

I feel pretty decent about the main deck right now, less certain about the SB...

Wotkenmendo

06-25-2015, 04:50 PM

2-2 At the Legacy side event in Charlotte (Saturday afternoon). .

Round 1: Food Chain 0-2

Sigh. I was a bit ignorant going into this matchup and made plenty of misplay's I'm sure. I figured out what he was on but my knowledge of the cards and their text is pretty lacking. Had a beautiful Bob/Top/Blossom going on but no lock, died with him dead on the next turn game 1. Game 2 I opened with a Therapy and alllllmost name Food Chain but instead go for Brainstorm. Sure enough he has no Brainstorm and 2 Food Chain in hand. I lost a bit more quickly this time.

Round 2: Reanimator 2-1

Quite a short match. Game 1 he get's an Iona in play. Game's 2 and 3 I open with Leyline of the Void. Guess neither of us really wanted to play Magic anyway.

Round 3: Mono-red Sneak Attack 2-1

This time I'm even more ignorant than against Food Chain, but get the gist of what he's going for after he kills me with Emrakul pretty early on in game 1. The next two games are a bit grindy, Ensnaring Bridge does work as do my discard spells. Game 3 my hand is great and full of action, but lots of one drops. If he drops a turn one Chalice the game is as good as done, but he doesn't! I can't remember if I locked him out or not.

Round 4: Burn 2-1

I was realllly hoping to dodge this as it's my worst matchup (as far as I know). Game one I die fairly predictably. Game 2 I'm excited because I have my secret tech (Spinning Darkness) in hand to start! Luckily I don't even need to reveal my secret, as he concedes after realizing he cannot cast Smash to Smithereens or anything else under Contamination lock (except Fireblast I know). Game 3 is a close one, and I'm quite excited about the prospect of winning this match. I open with a healthy amount of discard, we both go into topdeck mode for about five turns. All I want is a threat or a Bob or something, anything! A lone Spinning Darkness buys me a turn. I eventually find a top and am close to setting up the lock, but he gets a few too many decent topdecks in the meantime, not the least of which was a Sulfuric Vortex. I die.

I have streamlined the list a bit and it's feeling pretty good, but I still don't know what the maindeck removal should be. I liked Innoncent Blood for a while but am going to try out Disfigure, since we have Bridges and Lilly.

4x Dark Confidant
4x Deathrite Shaman
2x Ophiomancer

2x Liliana of the Veil

4x Hymn to Tourach
4x Thoughtseize
4x Bitterblossom
3x Cabal Therapy
3x Disfigure
3x Contamination

4x Sensei's Divining Top
2x Umezawa's Jitte
3x Ensnaring Bridge

4x Polluted Delta
3x Bloodstained Mire
7x Swamp
4x Wasteland

4x Leyline of the Void
3x Helm of Obedience
3x Spinning Darkness
2x Diabolic Edict
1x Black Sun's Zenith
2x Engineered Plague

Bolkonsky

08-25-2015, 05:29 AM

How about Gitaxian Probes? Pretty good with Cabal Therapy + it's nice to know if you can tap out etc.

/B

Hardcore

08-25-2015, 11:01 PM

Drew Levin (at SCG)
created this contamination deck

4 Bloodghast
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Nether Traitor

4 Contamination
1 Grave Pact
4 Bitterblossom

4 Cabal Therapy
4 Smallpox

4 Disfigure

4 Liliana of the Veil

1 Umezawa’s Jitte

9 Swamp
3 Bayou
2 Bloodstained Mire
4 Marsh Flats
4 Verdant Catacombs

//sideboard
2 Pithing Needle
2 Blood Artist
4 Dark Confidant
1 Gate to Phyrexia
4 Abrupt Decay
1 Extirpate
1 Massacre

This was not that long ago. Is it any good? I have no idea.

kinda

12-30-2016, 07:48 AM

I'm trying to figure out how to run leyline of the void md right now...I'm on contamination right now:

4 leyline of the void
2 helm of obedience
3 oath of ghouls
3 contamination
3 diabolical intent
4 cabal therapy
3 collective brutality
22

4 Drs
2 shriewmaw
3 flesh bag marauder
3 ophiomancer
2 bitterblossom
3 abyssal persecutor
2 phyrexian obliterator
1 toxic deluge
20

10swamp
2 bayou
7 black fetch
19

Sb:
4 thoughtseize
3 pithing needle
2 minister of pain
1 toxic deluge
3 innocent blood
2 trinisphere

kinda

01-10-2017, 08:17 PM

I've gotten most of the cards for this but annoyingly can't find more than 1 ophiomancer. I also haven't bought obliterators or bitterblossom yet. I was considering the u/g sword or b/w sword along with bitterblossom to help ensure a contamination lock? I'm not sure if there are any better cards? I'm trying to limit my graveyard dependence and cards that are bad without contamination, so avoiding nether traitor and friends. Thoughts?

Right now due to the missing cards above my list is:

4 leyline of the void
2 helm of obedience
3 oath of ghouls
2 contamination
2 diabolical intent
1 beseech the queen
1 ill gotten gains (combos with leyline)
4 cabal therapy
4 collective brutality
1 toxic deluge
24

4 Drs
2 shriekmaw
3 flesh bag marauder
1 ophiomancer
3 asylum visitor (combos with collective?)
3 abyssal persecutor
1 swords of body and mind
17

9 swamp
1 forest
1 overgrown tomb
8 black fetch
19

Sb:
4 thoughtseize
3 pithing needle
1 toxic deluge
4 innocent blood
2 trinisphere
1 dusk urchins

kinda

01-24-2017, 06:42 PM

I played a very hobbled version of this as I am still not in possession of some cards. I won some games still! Went 1-2 against elves as both losses were to natural order, lose 0-2 to noble bug after some mulligans, and then went 1-2 against noble bug. I could have won game three as my opponent was in negative life but I forgot I had a therapy in the yard. Most ridiculous part of the game was when I combo'd helm+leyline but didn't win due to persecutor in play. I am planning on cutting the beseech and 2 asylum visitors before next time.

4 leyline of the void
2 helm of obedience
3 oath of ghouls
2 contamination
2 diabolic intent
1 beseech the queen
4 cabal therapy
4 collective brutality
2 toxic deluge
1 phyrexian arena
25

4 Drs
2 shriekmaw
3 flesh bag marauder
1 ophiomancer
3 abyssal persecutor
2 asylum visitor (boarded out every game)
1 bitterblossom
16

9 swamp
1 forest
1 overgrown tomb
8 black fetch
19

kinda

01-29-2017, 01:20 PM

I went 2-3 at a 30 person tournament today with proxies allowed. I beat Noble Bug and Grixis. I lost close matches to DNT and Miracles. The deck felt solid but a bit awkward on the curve and mana. Any advice/thoughts welcome!

My current changes I am thinking: -1 abyss, -1 sword of body and mind, +1 land, +1 top

4 leyline of the void
2 helm of obedience
3 oath of ghouls
2 contamination
2 diabolic intent
4 cabal therapy
3 collective brutality
2 toxic deluge
1 the abyss
1 sword of body and mind
23

4 Drs
2 shriekmaw
3 flesh bag marauder
2 ophiomancer
3 bitterblossom
1 abyssal persecutor
2 phyrexian obliterator
17

9 swamp
1 forest
1 bayou
1 phyrexian tower
4 verdant catacombs
3 marsh flats
19

Sb:
4 thoughtseize
3 innocent blood
2 pithing needle
2 abrupt decay
2 trinisphere
1 the abyss
1 nethervoid

mistercakes

01-29-2017, 01:33 PM

it's too bad that you're not running dark ritual, because i really like ill-gotten gains with 4 maindeck leyline.

kinda

01-29-2017, 03:05 PM

it's too bad that you're not running dark ritual, because i really like ill-gotten gains with 4 maindeck leyline.

That combo does seem fun but iggy is awful if you don't start with leyline unfortunately.

This is what I am thinking of running on Tuesday. I'm considering spore frog, abyssal gatekeeper, and augur of skulls too.

4 leyline of the void
2 helm of obedience
3 oath of ghouls
2 contamination
2 diabolic intent
4 cabal therapy
3 collective brutality
1 toxic deluge
2 sensei's divining top
23

4 Drs
2 shriekmaw
3 flesh bag marauder
1 ophiomancer
3 abyssal persecutor
3 bitterblossom
1 minister of pain
17

8 swamp
1 forest
1 overgrown tomb
8 fetch
2 sac lands (high market or phyrexian arena if I pick one up)
20

sb
4 thoughtseize
3 pithing needle
2 abrupt decay
2 innocent blood
2 trinisphere
1 toxic deluge
1 minister of pain

jimmythegreek

01-30-2017, 04:01 PM

Has anyone suggested a mana base of urborg and sol lands?

kinda

01-31-2017, 06:21 AM

Has anyone suggested a mana base of urborg and sol lands?

I think it has potential. I assume this would be to try and get a turn 2 contamination? It feels tough though since you need a turn 1 dude, contamination turn 2, and then some way to keep contamination alive like bitterblossom to play on turn 3. The list I played could go t1 drs, t2 use drs to play contamination, turn 3 sac drs and play bitterblossom or ophiomancer. You can stack the trigger so you make your dude and then sac it. But that is the dream scenario.

I got a deck tech at the end of this article btw...haha:

https://thelibraryatpendrellvale.com/2017/01/31/london-legacy-monthly-janurary/

bruizar

01-31-2017, 08:53 AM

That combo does seem fun but iggy is awful if you don't start with leyline unfortunately.

This is what I am thinking of running on Tuesday. I'm considering spore frog, abyssal gatekeeper, and augur of skulls too.

4 leyline of the void
2 helm of obedience
3 oath of ghouls
2 contamination
2 diabolic intent
4 cabal therapy
3 collective brutality
1 toxic deluge
2 sensei's divining top
23

4 Drs
2 shriekmaw
3 flesh bag marauder
1 ophiomancer
3 abyssal persecutor
3 bitterblossom
1 minister of pain
17

8 swamp
1 forest
1 overgrown tomb
8 fetch
2 sac lands (high market or phyrexian arena if I pick one up)
20

sb
4 thoughtseize
3 pithing needle
2 abrupt decay
2 innocent blood
2 trinisphere
1 toxic deluge
1 minister of pain

I was brewing something similar except my engine was 4x Street Wraith 2x Faerie Macabre maindeck with Oath of Ghouls. There is enough BR reanimator, Snapcasters, Gurmag Anglers and other graveyard recursion going on to justify maindeck Faerie Macabres (They block delvers too) in addition to DRS. You use the Street Wraiths with Oath of Ghouls as a semi Dark Confidant. Macabres make sure your oath of ghouls triggers always work, and help get rid of particular cards. I don't think you need Leylines nor Helm of Obedience. I'd also swap the Abyssal Persecutors for Phyrexian Obliterators. I'd also consider a one-off Custodi Lich.

kinda

01-31-2017, 07:17 PM

@bruizar: what is your list?

I went 2-2 today. Considering it was a normal event (no proxies) I was content with the result. I beat Shardless BUG 2-0, Noble BUG 2-1 and lost to miracles 1-2, and DNT 0-2. The miracles match feels very close. I am going to pick up 2 abrupt decays to put in my board for next week, maybe main. The DNT matchup feels bad...not sure what to put in the board or even how to board. Today game 2 vs dnt I sided out 4 leyline, 2 helm, 2 contamination, 1 oath.

4 leyline of the void
2 helm of obedience
3 oath of ghouls
2 contamination
2 diabolic intent
4 cabal therapy
3 collective brutality
1 toxic deluge
2 sensei's divining top
1 innocent blood
24

3 Drs
2 shriekmaw
3 flesh bag marauder
1 ophiomancer
3 abyssal persecutor
3 bitterblossom
1 minister of pain
16

9 swamp
1 forest
1 overgrown tomb
7 fetch
1 high market
1 phyrexian tower
20

sb
4 thoughtseize
2 pithing needle
3 innocent blood
2 trinisphere
1 toxic deluge
1 minister of pain
1 drs
1 collective brutality

kinda

02-02-2017, 03:35 PM

I've realized that with the notable exception of show and tell (where fleshbag/shriekmaw/discard help) plague seems good in pretty much every matchup that leyline/drs are not. So I'm thinking of running the following list next week:

4 leyline of the void
2 helm of obedience
2 oath of ghouls
2 contamination
2 diabolic intent
4 cabal therapy
3 collective brutality
1 toxic deluge
2 sensei's divining top
1 abrupt decay (if I can borrow shop is out)
1 engineered plague
24

3 Drs
2 shriekmaw
3 flesh bag marauder
1 ophiomancer
3 abyssal persecutor
3 bitterblossom
1 minister of pain
16

9 swamp
1 forest
1 overgrown tomb
7 fetch
1 high market
1 phyrexian tower
20

sb
4 thoughtseize
2 pithing needle
3 engineered plague
2 trinisphere
1 toxic deluge
1 dread of night (if I can borrow shop is out)
2 abrupt decay (if I can borrow shop is out)

Von

02-06-2017, 10:01 PM

Hey gents,

Here's a zombie brew I've been working on.

4x Cryptbreaker
4x Relentless Dead
4xDrs
4xDark Confidant
4xGrave Crawler
4x Liliana of the Veil
4xThoughtseize
4x Cabal Therapy
4x Containmatin
2x Scourage of Nel Toth

Lands
4x Cavern of Souls
Fetches + basics of your choice.

The deck started out as a zombie tribal/stompy deck that locked with containmation/trinisphere and was resliant to counter magic because of caverns. Since then I realized the the clock isn't fast enough to win under a trinisphere. Containmation however, just wrecks people.

Comes with the standard discard package to make sure you don't just auto lose to combo decks. Gravecrawler +therapy is also pretty brutal.

It can also pull out t2 locks without much effort.

T1: Fetch, DRS
T2: Land, Containmation
T3: Sack DRS, drop Cryptbreaker or Relentless dead, play a land. That's hard lock if they can't don't have nonland mana or black removal.

So far the problems I've ran into are:
It's weak to grave hate.
It's low on removal and big creatures. I've been stonewalled by Goyf many a times. It's extremely hard to fight off a decent sized goyf and try to keep the lock. Once the lock breaks you're in trouble, because all their creatures are going to be better than yours.
It's inconsistant. Like all non blue decks.

The upside of course is that it can put up a decent fight even without the combo since it has resilient threats, and Miracles will hate caverns and Cryptbreaker. An early Scourage of Nel Toth can also just randomly steal games.

kinda

02-07-2017, 04:27 AM

Von

02-07-2017, 07:53 AM

Ancient tomb/Urborg seem like they would be great in your list. You can play gravecrawler or cryptbreaker turn 1 and then contamination turn 2 using the ancient tomb. With ancient tomb you could also easily play abyssal persecutor. Turn 2 even with a turn 1 drs. You already have 12 main deck sac outlets. This would help with your lack of big creatures and graveyard dependency. Have you flipped scourge to bob yet :wink:? I would also consider doing a thoughtseize/collective brutality split. Unlike thoughtseize it doesn't stop being useful and the life gain can be relevant. We're not running brainstorm so it's nice to have something to do with late lands or other dead cards. Have you played in any tournaments?

That's a good idea, I think I will try the tomb/urborg set. No I haven't flipped scrouge yet haha, I imagine the day I do is the day I cut him for something more reasonable like maybe a lord of some sort or abyssal persecutor like you said.

I've only played in one major with this deck and went I believe 2-2 drop (it's been a while).
Games I won were miracles, which had no outs to contamination pre or post board, and Storm which lost to Cabal therapy more than anything.
Games I lost were 12-post, first game I won with contamination. Second and third game I either didn't get the lock, or I got the lock and he dropped Wurmcoil by getting to 6 lands, which I had no answer to.
Lost to RUG delver. Multiple Goyf comes in and there's nothing I can do to kill it. Post board he brought in the non-flying pyroclasm which just wipes my board and kills me.

kinda

02-07-2017, 07:34 PM

I picked up abrupt decays and played my proposed list in post 26 except with 3 lost legacy in the board over 3sphere (lost legacy is terrible btw). I went 2-2 again unfortunately. Beat UWbg delver 2-0, Miracles 2-1, Elves 1-2, Infect 0-2. The elves matchup is frustrating and game 3 I think I lost due to my own lost legacy. I want to make the deck more aggressive and able to deal with planeswalkers better. I am thinking adding in revokers and factories.

I'm thinking this:

4 leyline of the void
2 helm of obedience
2 oath of ghouls
2 contamination
4 cabal therapy
3 collective brutality
2 sensei's divining top
2 abrupt decay
21

3 Drs
2 shriekmaw
3 flesh bag marauder
1 ophiomancer
3 abyssal persecutor
3 bitterblossom
2 phyrexian revoker
1 minister of pain
18

8 swamp
1 forest
1 overgrown tomb
6 fetch
1 high market
1 phyrexian tower
3 Mishra's factory
21

sb
4 thoughtseize
2 pithing needle
4 engineered plague
1 phyrexian revoker
1 minister of pain
3 fatal push

Matchups: (some predicted)

HGY: heavy graveyard usage
GY: some graveyard dependency

Very Good:
Dredge HGY
BU reanimator HGY
RB reanimator HGY
Lands HGY
Tin Fins HGY

Good:
Shardless BUG HGY
Goblins
Aluren

Even: 45-55% Win Rate
Miracles GY
DNT
ANT HGY
BUG Delver GY
Canadian HGY
Show and Tell (no but Leyline helm is still good here since u can drop the second piece in with show and tell)
Grixis GY
Stoneblade GY usually
Noble BUG GY

Bad:
Infect
Elves just drs and they don't need him
UR delver GY
Burn

kinda

02-09-2017, 01:25 PM

I'm trying to figure out what the best option out of tombstalker/gurmag/tasigur is to make the deck more aggressive. Right now I am on 1 tombstalker but would like a second something. Versus non graveyard dependent decks except show and tell my plan is to board into something like landstill with: -4 leyline, -2 helm, -2 oath, +8 threats and protection. Trying out a new manabase Tuesday to help with planeswalkers/being more aggressive in general assuming I can get all the cards, really not sure if it'll work though?

4 leyline of the void
2 helm of obedience
2 oath of ghouls
2 contamination
4 cabal therapy
3 collective brutality
2 sensei's divining top
1 abrupt decay
20

3 Drs
2 shriekmaw
2 flesh bag marauder
1 ophiomancer
3 abyssal persecutor
3 bitterblossom
2 phyrexian revoker
1 minister of pain
1 tombstalker
18

8 swamp
1 forest
1 overgrown tomb
6 fetch
1 high market
1 phyrexian tower
4 Mishra's factory
22

sb
4 thoughtseize
1 phyrexian revoker
1 abrupt decay
4 engineered plague
1 minister of pain
3 fatal push
1 Garruk Relentless

kinda

02-14-2017, 08:35 PM

Odd magic day with a poor result. Got belched and lost a game to hardcast gurmag angler after I turn 0 leyline'd. Beat bug delver, lost to belcher, countertop stoneforge thing and bUrg delver. List in last post. I've been stalling out a lot.

Next time thinking:

4 leyline of the void
3 helm of obedience
3 contamination
4 cabal therapy
3 collective brutality
3 sensei's divining top
2 engineered plague
1 abrupt decay
2 fatal push
25

1 ophiomancer
3 abyssal persecutor
4 bitterblossom
2 phyrexian revoker
1 tombstalker
2 minister of pain
13

8 swamp
1 forest
1 overgrown tomb
6 fetch
1 high market
1 phyrexian tower
1 sac land or factory?
3 Mishra's factory
22

sb
4 thoughtseize
1 phyrexian revoker
2 engineered plague
2 fatal push
2 abrupt decay
1 faerie macabre
2 ob nixilis
1 garruk relentless

kinda

02-21-2017, 08:03 PM

Went 2-1-1 today! I beat grixis delver 2-1, UR delver 2-1, went 1-1-1 against lands with countertop, and then lost to Rb goblins with 4 maindeck chalice 1-2. G1 against goblins he had turn 1 chalice on 1 off a chrome mox and I had a bunch of 1 drops in my hand. G3 I think I punted. My opening hand was 2 swamp, marsh flats, Mishra's factory, 2 bitterblossom, and 1 engineered plague on the draw. He plays a land and passes, I do the same. Turn 2 he plays goblin lackey. I play factory and pass, but I think the correct play was bitterblossom. He ends up swinging and killing my factory with pyrokinesis, dropping a warchief. He is joined by 2 piledrivers soon and I lose. The lands decks managed a turn 1 exploration into turn 2 jace which was pretty crazy. It was loam/crop rotation/thespian stage depths combo/jace/brainstorm/top/counterbalance/entreat/terminus. My list is in the previous post except -1 garruk and -1 faerie macabre in the board +2 drs. The only change I'm thinking for next week is swap a maindeck plage for a sb decay right now. Thoughts?

Claymore

02-22-2017, 09:02 AM

kinda

02-22-2017, 02:40 PM

Wtf is that Miracle Lands list.

I wouldn't count out Lost Legacy yet. It's more for dedicated combo decks (ANT, Show and Tell), decks with few win cons (Lands - Loam; Miracles - Entreat/Jace/Mentor) or decks that have very limited ways to interact with your own win con or lock (Swords, Krosan Grip, Wear/Tear). It's not great against the likes of Elves or DnT that can grind out a win in any number of ways.

I think you need some Toxic Deluges.

The miracles list was pretty crazy. I had 2 deluges in the 75 originally, but they are awful with bitterblossom. They might need to go back in the sideboard though, not sure yet. I've been trying engineered plague and minister of pain (also a sac outlet for persecutor) instead. Legacy might go back in if my meta gets more combo, lots of midrange right now though. I was also considering hymn to tourach in the board as extra combo hate.

bobomb

05-08-2017, 10:26 AM

Here's what I'm running right now:

4 dark confidant
4 vampire nighthawk
2 phyrexian obliterator
2 soulflayer

4 thoughtsieze
4 hymn to tourach
4 innocent blood
4 dismember

2 umezawa's jitte

4 bitterblossom
4 contamination

11 swamp
4 bloodstained mire
4 polluted delta
2 phyrexian tower

Some thoughts:

- The fetches were nice when I ran 2x SDT alongside Dark Confidant, but with the ban, they don't offer much utility. I'm considering adding DRS for the synergy with the fetches.

- I might playtest Scroll Rack in place of SDT.

- I'd like to make room for 2x Liliana, maybe cutting 1 each of Hymn to Tourach and Dismember, or both Soulflayer.

- Flipping Soulflayer hurts with Bob. Baiting for counter or removal with a Nighthawk then delving into Soulflayer is quite fun. 50/50 on this guy right now.

So maybe something like:

-4 Nighthawk
-2 Soulflayer
+4 Deathrite Shaman
+2 Liliana of the Veil

kinda

06-01-2017, 11:19 AM

Those changes look good. Any results? I just played on Tuesday for the first time since Quinn got banned. Went 0-2 drop vs burn and ant.

Why innocent blood and dismember over push?

bobomb

06-02-2017, 01:25 PM

I cut all my fetches to swamps, so Fatal Push is lee likely to trigger the revolt mechanic. I also don't own Fatal Push :)

It's probably better than Dismember though, but I like Innocent Blood. It plays along exactly with the early game strategy of the deck. Some decks spend a lot of resources to trick a single fatty into play and to have to sacrifice it is a big setback.

I also cut the 2 soulflayer and am running Oona's Blackguard as a 2 of for now. I like that it creates pseudo hypnotic spectre's.

I'll do some playtesting vs BUG Delver, Elves, UB Reanimator, and MUD this weekend so I'll have a better idea of how things are running.

tescrin

06-02-2017, 01:37 PM

I think it's a little crazy that Bloodghast and/or Gravecrawler never found a spot in here. DRS is also fine here; not only because his better half is active, but because T2 contamination saccing him is convenient.

I'd consider Collective Brutality too, as a way to discard the garbage you'll draw when you're online.

bobomb

06-02-2017, 02:55 PM

tescrin

06-02-2017, 05:10 PM

Hm.. probably something along the lines of:

4 Gravecrawler
2-3 Carrion Feeder (great with crawler and sac-dudes.)
3-4 draw-cards zombie (whatever that 1-drop is)
2-4 Ophiomancer (powers the engine, stalls the game)

4 Mutavault

3-4 Bitterblossom
1-2 Zombie Infestation or Necromancer's Stockpile ( tosses garbage, saves your enchant, helps recur and get value from Gravecrawler?)
1-2 Jitte

then fill it out.

I think it has potential because you can get lots of synergies in there and try to make the deck good even if it doesn't find it's combo. The main thing I was pointing out that just Mutavault + Gravecrawler is enough to give yet-another-contamination-engine.

TLK

06-02-2017, 05:25 PM

jonesypunk

06-21-2017, 08:24 AM

There was a similar idea posted on mtggoldfish that was more along the lines of Zombardment (although it it didn't run any zombies I don't think).

4 Bloodghast
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Cabal Therapy
2 Enlightened Tutor
4 Faithless Looting
3 Gitaxian Probe
2 Thoughtseize
4 Lingering Souls
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Grafted Wargear
2 Bitterblossom
1 Goblin Bombardment
4 Hidden Stockpile
1 Contamination
2 Grave Pact
2 Badlands
1 Bayou
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Marsh Flats
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Plateau
3 Polluted Delta
2 Scrubland
1 Swamp
1 Undiscovered Paradise
2 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wasteland

1 Pithing Needle
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Thoughtseize
3 Gifted Aetherborn
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Urborg Justice
1 Contamination
1 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Wear // Tear

He said he'd replace Deathrite with Dark Ritual.
hi. played this list (-1 wear // tear, +1 hide // seek in sideboard), in local tournament with 4 rounds, and went 3 wins and 1 draw (i would win that game, but there wasnt more time). this deck plays almost like zombardment. it is just brilliant, very powerfull in very skill hands (unfortenatly not my case), and who loves zombardment this deck is very fun.

games:

infect: 2-1
death&taxes: 2-0
nic fit: 1-1
turbo dephs: 2-0

Sent from my Be Touch 2 using Tapatalk

kinda

08-06-2017, 12:59 PM

hi. played this list (-1 wear // tear, +1 hide // seek in sideboard), in local tournament with 4 rounds, and went 3 wins and 1 draw (i would win that game, but there wasnt more time). this deck plays almost like zombardment. it is just brilliant, very powerfull in very skill hands (unfortenatly not my case), and who loves zombardment this deck is very fun.

games:

infect: 2-1
death&taxes: 2-0
nic fit: 1-1
turbo dephs: 2-0

Sent from my Be Touch 2 using Tapatalk

Good work! I like the etutor package.

kinda

01-02-2018, 06:12 PM

I got bored of my other deck and played this tonight. Went 2-2. Beat grixis delver and miracles. Lost to elves and miracles. I remember the elves matchup being miserable...vs miracles I just had bad luck and some poor play on my part.

4 leyline of the void
4 helm of obedience
3 contamination
4 cabal therapy
4 collective brutality
4 innocent blood
1 diabolic intent
1 beseech the Queen
25

1 ophiomancer
3 abyssal persecutor
4 bitterblossom
2 phyrexian revoker
1 tombstalker
11

18 swamp
2 high market
1 phyrexian tower
3 Mishra's factory
24

sb
4 thoughtseize
1 phyrexian revoker
2 engineered plague
4 fatal push
2 ob nixilis
2 mindbreak trap

Scorched29

07-01-2019, 09:27 PM

Hello! Huge fan of both oath of ghouls and bloodghast Cards.
This is my list for my bloodghast mono black deck

4 bloodghast
4 dark confidant

3 bitterblossom
2 umezawa’s jitte

4 dark ritual
4 cabal therapy
4 smallpox
4 innocent blood
3 thought seize
3 Liliana of the veil
2 darkblast
1 extirpate

2 polluted delta
3 bloodstained mire
9 swamp
4 mishra’s factory
4 wasteland

Sb
2 engineered plague
2 ensnaring bridge
2 pithing needle
2 dystopia
2 contamination
2 hymn to tourach
2 vampire nighthawk
1 extirpate

Captain Hammer

07-01-2019, 09:35 PM

Oophimancer and Yawgmoth make for a quite synergistic combo. Im tempted to jam a mostly black Nic Fit list with a light splash that plays...
Contamination
Bitterblossom
Ophiomancer
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
Academy Rector
Curses
Veteran Explorer
Cabal Therapist
Cabal Therapy
Hymn to Tourach
Inquisiton of Kozilek
Thoughtseize
Dark Ritual
Phyrexian Tower

12-16 powerful sac outlets and 12-16 creature sources that you want to sac. Perfectly balanced...

non-inflammable

10-08-2019, 12:10 PM

i spent a day and worked out the cards and numbers. this is what i came up with.
i'm just not sure how many token producers you need to sustain a contamination lock once you clear away the counter spells.

thoughts?

4 thoughtseize
4 cabal therapy
3 duress

4 bitterblossom
4 pack rat
1 reassembling skeleton

4 contamination
4 liliana of the veil
4 ensnaring bridge
2 scroll of fate
1 crucible of worlds

1 trading post
1 mastermind's acquisition

4 mutavault
1 inventors' fair
2 maze of ith
3 urborg, tomb of yawgmoth
2 wasteland
swamps

1 gate to phyrexia
3 innocent blood
1 karakas
1 crucible of worlds
1 scroll of fate
1 umezawa's jitte
1 tabernacle at pendrell vale
4 leyline of the void

Fallen_Empire

10-08-2019, 08:39 PM

4x Scroll of fate to feed the lock. Might as well throw in dreadnoughts too. I'll jam a list in paper one of these days and report back. Sol lands + Urborg - Trinisphere seems great.

non-inflammable

10-08-2019, 09:09 PM

4x Scroll of fate to feed the lock. Might as well throw in dreadnoughts too. I'll jam a list in paper one of these days and report back. Sol lands + Urborg - Trinisphere seems great.

good inclusion for dreadnought, but then do you go all the way with the sol lands, drop the 1cmc discard and commit to 4 chalice of the void?

Fallen_Empire

10-10-2019, 04:12 AM

good inclusion for dreadnought, but then do you go all the way with the sol lands, drop the 1cmc discard and commit to 4 chalice of the void?

From my limited testing running some pretty wild lists, I've found I prefer the discard in the main (with Chalice in the sb). 1-drops give us discard, ritual and unearth (a great card with torpor orbs in the main). Sol lands + petals helps power out scrolls and torpor orb. Torpor Orb beyond nuking ETB's opens up the possibility of running hunted horror which can also be a hell of a clock. Even with Chalice though you never have truly dead cards in hand with Scroll... Given the prevalence of depths decks bitterblossom seems great, however one thing I've noticed is that when running ancient tomb/thoughtseize/bitterblossom you can start clocking your life total really fast... There is a lot of creative space if you have an open mind...