Mono Black Beat Down

[Zupponn]

I played against someone with this deck (or something similar) while I was testing my Dragon Stompy list on MTGO. I was surprised by how fast it could combo out with Hexmage and Depths. I gave it some trouble with my Moon effects though.

[baghdadbob]

I played against someone with this deck (or something similar) while I was testing my Dragon Stompy list on MTGO. I was surprised by how fast it could combo out with Hexmage and Depths. I gave it some trouble with my Moon effects though.

That may have been me sir. Yes this deck can combo off quite fast. The 2x reanimators can outta no where steal games (and opponents creatures). This happens often opening hand of lets say... Ritual, Seize, Obliterator, 2 Land, Confidant, Reanimate. Turn 1 seize and take their plow, leaving them with duders, land, and force. You can either a) run obliterator (which they basically have to force) out essentially a hymn for force fodder and then reanimate obliterator and play bob next turn. This deck has many choices you can make. Like I said before you can run it as a semi combo deck. You can get alot of nutty hands like the one described above. These are an example of some good starts you USUALLY get...

Ritual-Seize-Hymn
Ritual-Lilliana
Land- Mox- Hymn
Ritual- Bob- Seize
Mox- Depths- Ritual- Seize- Hexmage- Marit Leige (The stone cold nuts)
Land- Mox- Bob

Also twice so far against reanimator I have seized and reanimated their jin gitaxias on turn one. It was pretty epic.

When I was running the deck with 6 moxes and phalactry lich there were alot more nutty plays, and I do fluctuate between that original list and my newest one with more disrupt/control. I like them both.

[Sanity_Cleaver]

I have spent alot of time thinking/playing with this deck and this is the newest list.


4 Dark Ritual
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Thoughtseize
4 Phyrexian Obliterator
4 Dark Confidant
4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Mox Diamond
4 Dark Depths
2 Reanimate
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Bojuka Bog
4 Verdant Catacombs
10 Swamp
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Duress
4 Go for the Throat
SB: 4 Leyline of the Void
SB: 4 Perish
SB: 4 Surgical Extraction
SB: 2 Duress
SB: 1 Pithing Needle

The deck plays very similar to a combo deck. Without any weakness at all to combo/reanimator/dredge. The only part of the deck that are still up to scrutiny to me are the cabal therapy/bitterblossom combo. This combo insures a maze of ith/discard outlet, at the cost of losing hardcore to goblins. I think that in this point of the meta as described by Di the deck/s that are most well positioned are combo decks. My deck beat combo most of the time and loses generally to fast swarming decks and counterbalance with the perfect draw. Could this deck be a deck to beat? I think so and would appreciate help on making it the best it could be.

I'm just throwing this out there, as I had the crazy idea last night, but if you're losing to swarmy decks and already have a reanimator game plan with plenty of acceleration, why not give a few sideboard slots to Massacre Wurm?

Could be the biggest LoL ever

[Freggle]

Here is my interpretation of a mostly black Dark Depths deck (I love the combo):

Here is the B/g list (the g can be easily cut):

4 Bloodghast
4 Smallpox
4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Sign in Blood
3 Tombstalker
3 Diabolic Edict
4 Innocent Blood
2 Life From the Loam
3 Dark Depths
2 Darkblast
4 Cabal Therapy

2 Wasteland
4 Bayou
4 Verdant Catacombs
13 Swamp

Edit: I guess some explanations would be good. The g give you waste lock in loam, and a good way to find Dark Depths.

Smallpox and Blooghast go very well together as well as bloodghast / cabal therapy.

It ultimately has a different philosophy though. When designing I felt that blacks strength isn't that it can be a glass cannon and go off early I felt it can dominate the board and hands.

Sacrifice Effects are very powerful.

I think Smallpox is one of blacks if not blacks strongest card when built around. i.e. running more lands, and using thing that abuse the yard so the discard doesn't hurt it helps. It can be utterly crippling to many aggro decks out there.

I ran it in place of Hymn because Hymn is so hit or miss, I know it's always a 2 for 1 but late game it looses more value for me. I like how Smallpox always hits a land.

At any rate for the list you post I'd most definitely change your exhumes to Animate Dead. You run discard. Sometimes it's nice to just animate someone else's gyof.

Keep it up I'd love to see DD/Hexmage get more respect. It's good.

[baghdadbob]

I'm just throwing this out there, as I had the crazy idea last night, but if you're losing to swarmy decks and already have a reanimator game plan with plenty of acceleration, why not give a few sideboard slots to Massacre Wurm?

Could be the biggest LoL ever

Massacre wurm is very tasty and I would even go so for as to consider it as a 1 of in the s/b. It seems like a sexy top deck early/mid game against a lot of the aggro/aggro control decks. I am thinking particularly about Merfolk, Maverick, and Gobbos (not that this deck still sees much play). It can also be an answer to belcher and storm when they decide to empty the warrens.