[Primer/Deck] Pox

[Quitrex]

So, for Pox Sideboards, I think having less than two pithing needle is just wrong, as you will always have something relevant to name in a surprisingly large number of matches (Jace the Mind Sculptor, Rishadan Port, Aether Vial, Thespian Stage, Knight of the Reliquary, Kuldotha Forgemaster, Karn Liberated, Sensei's Divining Top, Scalding Tarn to name a few...) and I think you should have at least four relevant GY hate cards (Grafdigger's Cage, Leyline of the Void, Extirpate, Nihil spellbomb, surgical extraction. those are the 5 that i usually rotate between depending on what i expect.) I also usually aim for 3-5 board wipes or removal spells depending on how i feel the meta will line up. one is usually Night of Soul's Betrayal, Dread of Night or Engineered plague, the others are usually between BSZ and Toxic Deluge, with spinning darkness, murderous cut, and collective brutality for the point and click spots (collective brutality is phenomenal by the way. just putting that out there.) The rest of the SB slots can be tuning those numbers, adding more tax effects ( I like a second nether void in the 75 somewhere, but trinisphere and sphere of resistance do similar things) against the combo decks, additional discard rarely hurts (hey, collective brutality...) or golden bullets for whatever matchup you just don't want to lose to (deathgrasp and gloom vs enchantress, pox vs miracles, sun droplet vs burn, to name a few.)

I think that Liliana the Last Hope is a card that i'm going to keep two copies of around because she seems absolutely bananas if the meta shifts towards D&T, which it looks like wizards is pushing a fair bit. She also seems very good at playing a second copy of The Abyss vs. Elves and Goblins if the meta slants that direction. I don't see her being more than two in the 75, and it would take a very special set of circumstances for her to be a main board slot, but most of that comes from sharing a planes walker subtype with ms. veil, who helps make our deck click together and hum as efficiently as it does. That said, I can see a meta (or a budget constraint) where a 3-1 split in the main with another of either (or both) in the board is worth talking about, partially because she does, as mentioned, just end the game in a hurry (especially in the miracles and Shardless matches). I would be less shy about it if her -2 was relevant to non-tombstalker or loam versions of the deck.

[Hardcore]

I have started running nihil spellbomb in th the main. Very useful against any lands deck.

[zenitramleirdag]

I have started running nihil spellbomb in th the main. Very useful against any lands deck.

right now, the only gravehate that i'd run in the main is surgical extraction..though what shines in spellbomb is that it cantrips..

[Epeirogeny]

My revised sideboard after reading suggestions:
1 Bitterblossom
1 Cranial Extraction
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Duress
1 Engineered Plague
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Memoricide
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Pithing Needle
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Toxic Deluge

Leftover in my binder:
2 Ratchet Bomb
1 Cursed Scroll
1 Extirpate
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Infinite Obliteration
1 Empty the Pits
1 Grim Tutor
1 Word of Command
1 Underworld dreams
4 Dread of Night
3 Engineered Plague
1 Flaying Tendrils
4 Thoughtseize

[Hardcore]

Since you want to test cards why not try this one? Bitter Ordeal Would work well with cantrips like Nihil spellbomb and also dredge cards (!).
I 'may' try it since I got it already and also play some dredge cards. Like - dredge Dakmor salvage, discard Dakmor to Liliana, play Ordeal for storm four.
Technically storm is difficult for MONO-B but since Gravestorm count cards going to any graveyard from ANYWHERE...

[zenitramleirdag]

Since you want to test cards why not try this one? Bitter Ordeal Would work well with cantrips like Nihil spellbomb and also dredge cards (!).
I 'may' try it since I got it already and also play some dredge cards. Like - dredge Dakmor salvage, discard Dakmor to Liliana, play Ordeal for storm four.
Technically storm is difficult for MONO-B but since Gravestorm count cards going to any graveyard from ANYWHERE...

if you're looking for that kind of effect, then Sadistic Sacrament is more efficient even without kicking it..and i think i prefer praetor's grasp than bitter ordeal....but i don't think that's what our deck really want to be doing..i personally don't see any other "extraction" effect i'd run in pox outside of surgical extraction or extirpate..

[mykatdied]

I agree about bitter ordeal. The card is definitely cool and while we can definitely build to optimize it, it's likely better to run something like sadistic sacrament. I would even prefer to run cranial extraction or memoricide over ideal if you're really interested in proactively taking something from your opponents deck.

[Epeirogeny]

I concur. Getting one card is not great because they could just find another one when they have multiple copies. If it removed all copies with the same name that would be awesome...though it would be super busted.

[Quitrex]

So, am I the only one thinking that throne of the high city could be a singleton land that just busts the miracles matchup wide open?

[TTX]

Quitrex, that seems very good. I didn't realize the Monarch cards will be legal in Legacy/Vintage.


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[Chiptoon]

So, am I the only one thinking that throne of the high city could be a singleton land that just busts the miracles matchup wide open?

You have to be careful though as an EOT Snapcaster or Clique can ruin the monarch plan. Maybe pack some instant removal for protection?

[mykatdied]

Drawing extra cards could mean things like murderous cut and spinning darkness would work out fine

[Epeirogeny]

Has anyone though about Braids Cabal Minion?

[TTX]

Has anyone though about Braids Cabal Minion?

Ya, it's quite good with Ophidiomancer



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[OmniStrata]

So, am I the only one thinking that throne of the high city could be a singleton land that just busts the miracles matchup wide open?

How exactly would that work?

[mykatdied]

How exactly would that work?

Sacrifice the land to become the monarch. Draw extra cards each turn. Hope they don't have a flash guy to take it from you and get way ahead.

[harbingerofthevoid]

Throne of the High City just seems really bad. Five mana to become the Monarch. More likely than not you might get 1 or 2 cards off it before your opponent becomes the monarch vs most decks. It's yet another colorless mana source. Just play Coercive Portal. You might get lucky and get a board wipe vote out of it when needed to boot.

[OmniStrata]

Ah ok, had to look up the new term borrowed from Vampire: the Masquerade apparently.

At the beginning of the end step, the monarch draws an extra card? If a creature bitch slaps the monarch, that creature's controller becomes the monarch to be bitch slapped in turn...

That Coercive Portal and Bottled Cloister both seem better. Being a monarch in safety means your enemy has an empty hand so they're not flashing anything in or has no creatures on the field. That usually equates to 'win more'. The Portal as mentioned could nuke the table but more likely than not, your opponent will just vote homage before murdering you with flying 4/4 angels. I'm not a fan of these vote cards. Even the black will of the council cards: Tyrant's Choice or Bite of the Black Rose are kind of blah*.

These new sets don't print out much love for lower tier decks...

I also agree that 5 mana and a land is too high a price to pay for extra cards. Heck, I experimented with the basic Phyrexian Arena and that card didn't do what I needed when I needed it. Reid Duke himself experimented with Bottle Cloister with Ensnaring Bridge in the sideboard and that deck wasn't 'good enough' I suppose.

Aren't black cards like Hymn to Tourach or Drown in Sorrow or Mutilate enough card advantage for us?

[Quitrex]

They're all fine, but they don't do much vs miracles. They gave us collective brutality, which I have been impressed with every time I've put it on the stack. It doesn't hit their mana base, and it isn't actual advantage, but against most of the decks it does a very good job at turning one spell into a 2for2 or 3for3 against most of the decks you want to force into a top deck war. anyone got some tips for a veteran explorer heavy meta? We have 4 of our 12 regulars building that shell, and it's been bloody irritating.

[mykatdied]

They're all fine, but they don't do much vs miracles. They gave us collective brutality, which I have been impressed with every time I've put it on the stack. It doesn't hit their mana base, and it isn't actual advantage, but against most of the decks it does a very good job at turning one spell into a 2for2 or 3for3 against most of the decks you want to force into a top deck war. anyone got some tips for a veteran explorer heavy meta? We have 4 of our 12 regulars building that shell, and it's been bloody irritating.

I personally found nic fit style decks to be quite favorable. Mostly because they ramp us as well. I was on bw at the time however. Turn 2 after a mox diamond I left him with 1 land in play and a liliana with 1 loyalty on my side. If you have any kind of acceleration hand you can pretty much sinkhole a land, smallpox and innocent blood to handle everything they have done, plus set them back to a land. But remember the more land they give you early the more action you draw later and your spells should put you on top. If you can even hymn, then smallpox they will.likely have no hand and barely any resources to play the midrange creatures they are hoping to play past turn 2