My favorite color is black in magic. and I play standard. I decided to try to build a mono black deck for an fnm. I came in 2nd place out of 25. here's the list
(60 card maindeck) im not gonna focus on my sideboard right now.
so first you may be thinking why I have rise from the grave in here, its does sound kinda ridiculous. but that card is really good. i won 3 of my games with it, ill play a reanimator deck and take their own griselbrand from their graveyard on turn 5. or take thraggy, or olivia, or anything really. I am REALLLLLYYY trying to stay away from planeswalkers, but i may end up subbing liliana of the veil for blood artist. I play rakdos shred freak just for the haste on turn 2 due to the lack of turn 1 creatures and defense.
I understand that there are way to many 3 drops, almost all of the creatures are 3 drops. but there are not many other great creatures out there for it. tested with gloom surgeon for a while but took it out. if you guys have any suggestions let me know!
Edited for deck tags. Check this thread for info on how to use these. Also, moving to Standard Decks for Critique because decklist threads aren't allowed in main forum.
DarkRitual
The 2 Rakdos Shredfreak is pretty odd, and doesn't seem to make sense with the rest of your deck. Why don't you try some removal there instead, like Doom Blade? Also, Blood Artist doesn't seem to synergize too much with the rest of the deck. I would almost try Gravecrawler there instead.
I can definitely understand wanting to play mono-black, but outside of budget there is really little reason to play mono-color with the amount of good mana fixing available. Shocks, checks, and gates offer too much fixing, and there are few cards in Standard that punish these types of manabases. Burning Earth and Ghost Quarter come to mind, but I feel they just don't push hard enough.
Even mostly-black decks can run Mutilate without too many issues (I've seen Junk run it seldomly, Grixis control and midrange has run it). The shocklands, for as powerful as they are, really push the format to multicolor since you can act as mono-color for cards like this.
Sorry to disappoint, but until rotation at least, I feel that your build of black-based aggro is nothing but benefited from adding a color. Where you want to take this deck is up to you, but being able to run the BEST cards in many colors instead of limiting yourself to one when the drawback is a little life seems like an easy choice.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
-C.S. Lewis
I'll be trying a mono-black list at tonight's FNM, so I feel a bit silly saying it, but I think kuvien's right there.
Glad I could be convincing
As you said, I feel that some of black's biggest weaknesses (enchantment/artifact removal) are covered well in adding green or white, and the splashing is so easy it seems obvious.
I'd seen a mono-red deck do average at FNM a couple weeks ago (I think, not sure. post-M14) that was maindecking 3 or 4 Burning Earth, but that is about the only thing I know in the format that really encourages running mono-color with so many basics.
Again, if this were budget, by all means. But if not, use the format! Maybe post-rotation mono-black will be more viable (escpecially if the checklands don't get a replacement immediately), but there's too many good gold cards not to use them.
EDIT: Actually, there's a build that does exactly what I suggested you may be interested in (mostly black, splashing with shocks for some stronger cards without losing a ton of consistency):[link].
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
-C.S. Lewis
I would play black-white in preference to mono-black. Access to Blood baron, obzedat, renounce the guilds, merciless eviction, o-ring, etc make your deck much more powerful
4x geralf's messenger
4x lifebane zombie
4x desecration demon
4x blood artist
2x rakdos shredfreak
22x swamp
3x duress
3x murder
3x victim of night
2x rise from the grave
1x corrupt
4x sign in blood
(60 card maindeck) im not gonna focus on my sideboard right now.
so first you may be thinking why I have rise from the grave in here, its does sound kinda ridiculous. but that card is really good. i won 3 of my games with it, ill play a reanimator deck and take their own griselbrand from their graveyard on turn 5. or take thraggy, or olivia, or anything really. I am REALLLLLYYY trying to stay away from planeswalkers, but i may end up subbing liliana of the veil for blood artist. I play rakdos shred freak just for the haste on turn 2 due to the lack of turn 1 creatures and defense.
I understand that there are way to many 3 drops, almost all of the creatures are 3 drops. but there are not many other great creatures out there for it. tested with gloom surgeon for a while but took it out. if you guys have any suggestions let me know!
Edited for deck tags. Check this thread for info on how to use these. Also, moving to Standard Decks for Critique because decklist threads aren't allowed in main forum.
DarkRitual
Even mostly-black decks can run Mutilate without too many issues (I've seen Junk run it seldomly, Grixis control and midrange has run it). The shocklands, for as powerful as they are, really push the format to multicolor since you can act as mono-color for cards like this.
In addition, WotC really has tried making the shocklands impact the format. Farseek over Rampant Growth, Arbor Elf over Llanowar Elves, Liliana of the Dark Realms, the sets have really focused on basic land TYPES instead of basics.
Sorry to disappoint, but until rotation at least, I feel that your build of black-based aggro is nothing but benefited from adding a color. Where you want to take this deck is up to you, but being able to run the BEST cards in many colors instead of limiting yourself to one when the drawback is a little life seems like an easy choice.
-C.S. Lewis
EDH
Obzedat - Still Alive
Retired - Nicol Bolas
Glad I could be convincing
As you said, I feel that some of black's biggest weaknesses (enchantment/artifact removal) are covered well in adding green or white, and the splashing is so easy it seems obvious.
I'd seen a mono-red deck do average at FNM a couple weeks ago (I think, not sure. post-M14) that was maindecking 3 or 4 Burning Earth, but that is about the only thing I know in the format that really encourages running mono-color with so many basics.
Again, if this were budget, by all means. But if not, use the format! Maybe post-rotation mono-black will be more viable (escpecially if the checklands don't get a replacement immediately), but there's too many good gold cards not to use them.
EDIT: Actually, there's a build that does exactly what I suggested you may be interested in (mostly black, splashing with shocks for some stronger cards without losing a ton of consistency):[link].
-C.S. Lewis
EDH
Obzedat - Still Alive
Retired - Nicol Bolas
Lands
Swamp x23
Creatures
lifebane zombie x4
desecration demon x4
geralf's messenger x4
Disciple of Bolas x2
Knight of Infamy x3
Griselbrand x1 <--- meh couldn't think of another one
Spells
Mutilate x4
Sign in Blood x4
Doom Blade x2
Victim of Night x2
Undying Evil x3
Planeswalkers
Liliana of the Veil x4