MTG Salvation

Although it's possible that the deck needs a touch more removal to help push damage through by clearing blockers out. Malicious Affliction, Dismember, Snuff Out, Curtains' Call and more can all be fantastic additions for example. If you're worried that you won't have someone relatively defenseless to beat on you might want to swap Tyrant's Choice for something that will reliably clear a path for your dorks.

Alternatively you can go harder on the drain theme with things like Gonti's Machinations and Bloodchief Ascension in order to give yourself better game against Control decks all of which will happily choose the "death" mode of Tyrant's Choice.

Similarly:



As you can always mess around with things like Unholy Grotto, Fleshbag Marauder, Vindictive Lich, Corpse Augur, Graveborn Muse, Tombstone Stairwell, Patriarch's Bidding, Zombie Apocalypse and various other nonsense as well. This is especially true if you ditch the Carrion Feeder + Gravecrawler package and go for a "bigger" strategy.

Both of these decks are designed to showcase how the printing of Unclaimed Territory opens the possibility of splashing off-color bombs for your tribal lists without having to break your bank for fetches + shocks. After all, splashes aren't worthwhile if they force you field a bunch of ETBT lands but if you can avoid them altogether then it suddenly becomes a reasonable option to pursue. Grenzo, Dungeon Warden is another one that comes to mind for example but I'm too lazy to whip up a list.



I'm also thinking about versions that use Mogg Maniac, Broodhatch Nantuko and Hornet Nest alongside Star of Extinction but they don't work well with Pyrohemia so there's a bit of tension on that front. It's likely better to split them between two different archetypes. Otherwise Cave-in seems fantastic with both of the enrage cards since you immediately get your card back anyways which makes it a relatively free Pyroclasm effect. Turn 2 Humble Defector, turn 3 Ranging Raptors + Cave-In seems awesome. The other deck would probably look something like:



The idea here is that curving any 2 drop creature into any 3 drop into any 4 drop into Star of Extinction on turn 5 is basically a game win since every spell in those slots is entirely redundant

I thought about building the Arcane Adaptation + Turntimber Ranger deck but every list that I concocted looked like utter jank so I scrapped the idea fairly quickly. It's certainly "a deck" but it doesn't seem like a very good one. They all look something like:



But the deck looks awful.

What are you all planning to build or change?

I'm pretty sure there's going to be a pretty horrible Simic deck somewhere in my future that features Herald of Secret Streams, Master Biomancer and Rishkar, Peema Renegade.
I've already tossed Sanctum Seeker into an existing Vampire tribal deck. Seems good.

I'm pretty sure there's going to be a pretty horrible Simic deck somewhere in my future that features Herald of Secret Streams, Master Biomancer and Rishkar, Peema Renegade. Smile

Yeah, I was thinking of finally building something around Chasm Skulker & Prime Speaker Zegana because Prime Speaker is such a cool card but I seem to never really use it outside of EDH. I already have a deck with Managorger Hydra, Taurean Mauler, etc. that is most fun when you can win by sacrificing one to Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord, so I'm not sure what I'd do to really differentiate this one.

Not sure yet.

I'll probably try a casual big mana blinking Hostage Taker monstrocity.
And maybe a silly Arcane Adaptation build.

And I'll get some of the more fun or powerful cards for general usage in my regular "friendly mayhem" decks.

Quote from stylianos »

My question is: Will this deck "fly" when I cut at least six cards for GP and UE? Should I have other colors splashes in mind? I was also always very unsure about Fleshbag Marauder. I mean, I want to build a sacrificed based deck and then do not use the card that has it all?

Swapping ~8 cards around won't ruin the deck by any means. It'll still play out fine.

White and Green are solid splashes for interaction. Just be careful to note that Unclaimed Territory is worthless for splashing off-color spells. This isn't a trivial drawback.

Fleshbag Marauder is a perfectly viable replacement for Plague Belcher or whatever. Card is fantastic in zombie decks and pairs well with recursion such as Unholy Grotto.

Quote from Prid3 »

Vampire DrainMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Lands (24) 14x Swamp 4x Unclaimed Territory 4x Tainted Field 2x Caves of Koilos Creatures (26) 4x Vicious Conquistador 4x Pulse Tracker 4x Kalastria Healer 2x Blood Artist 4x Drana's Emissary 4x Sanctum Seeker 4x Malakir Bloodwitch	Spells (10) 4x Tyrant's Choice 2x Exsanguinate 2x Throne of the God-Pharaoh 2x Snuff Out

Definitely. I rebuilt my Vampire deck to this:


The one-of's (Exsanguinate,Vampiric Tutor,Cabal Coffers) are only one-of's because I want them to randomly win games for me, not become the focus of the deck, which is: Drain them out + Removal.

The non-gain-life Vampires all (hopefully) trade with guys, acting like removal. But, if they're not needed in that role, they still contribute to the larger plan.

Tyrant's Choice feels absolutely perfect here. I picked up a second playset because I might like to try it out with some other cards I thought about over the weekend.. Or, it is also a black Flame Rift (with upside!!) in some weird Rakdos burn deck you could build--and Flame Rift was already playable..

Although it's possible that the deck needs a touch more removal to help push damage through by clearing blockers out. Malicious Affliction, Dismember, Snuff Out, Curtains' Call and more can all be fantastic additions for example. If you're worried that you won't have someone relatively defenseless to beat on you might want to swap Tyrant's Choice for something that will reliably clear a path for your dorks.

Having only played a single match with this build, I have to agree. My 1/1's got stalled out, and I drew no deathtouch guys, so my plan didn't really work out very well. When I went to make my big play, he just chump-blocked my guys (removing them) and then Throne did not seal the deal like I had hoped. I will play a few more matches with it but I am also keeping an eye on Cover of Darkness for this deck. Seems the easiest way barring swapping out some of the removal vampires for legit removal spells. Edit: I just bought 2x. I kinda like the 'all in' aspect of this list. Vampires: the Drain Tribe.™ I want to try it out some more before changing it up again.

Thoughts?

Quote from Morphling »

Thoughts?

It's too difficult to make room for a card like Cover of Darkness. Removal pushes damage through while also protecting your life total and you only need one open player. Our metas could easily be wildly different but I rarely face a table full of creature decks since they tend to get rofl-stomped in multiplayer in my experience.

I think that it's a criminal shame to pass on Malakir Bloodwitch. She's absolutely stellar at closing games out. Even if you stall you can always rip them on turn 5 and 6 and still easily win. Card is an automatic 4-of IMO.

I honestly just see it as a way to curve out decently after any of the 8 one-drop leeches without sacrficing too much, tempo-wise. What can I say, I have high hopes..

Our metas probably are pretty different. Most of our guys (even the experienced ones) tend to just flood the board with dudes, no matter how often they get punished for doing it.

It's not to say your'e not correct, it's just that my group doesn't usually conform to this. Most of them, even the L2, just buy boxes of boosters and build from what they open. They won't go out and buy a ton of the best possible options to run (or play ultra-refined MP strategy, even after a decade or more of playing.) Whenever I play my 8-Wrath deck, their only 'adjustment' to this is to just absolutely crucify me the next few matches. Lol. The other thing preventing that from becoming the norm is that you start to get yelled at. People get sick of constant Wrathing, despite the fact it will win you a shocking % of multiplayer games.

Anyway, the last build, I was running Urge to Feed, Feast of Blood and Tribute to Hunger. I could go back to them, or yeah, Dismember and Snuff Out are both fine options as well. I will keep the Nighthawk Duo in there for now but maybe that's where I'm headed..

Malakir Bloodwitch is not bad at all. I don't like the fact she's dependent on being in an already-good-state to be that finisher but she also doesn't whiff on an empty board either, being a 4/4 flyer. Being randomly pro-StP is always nice on a black creature. I was pretty happy curving out at 4 mana (from 6 before) but I guess 5's not terrible. As a 2x standalone, it would probably far less random than my Esanguinate/Coffers plan. I appreciate this suggestion!

Quote from Morphling »

I don't like the fact she's dependent on being in an already-good-state to be that finisher but she also doesn't whiff on an empty board either...

By your own admission your meta isn't very Wrath-heavy. She's fantastic in board-stall situations. You also might want to consider a card like Captivating Vampire because that's another way to convert anemic 1/2s into legitimate threats.

Most of our guys (even the experienced ones) tend to just flood the board with dudes, no matter how often they get punished for doing it.

Yeah, sadly Pulse Tracker & Vicious Conquistador do nothing in my meta either unless I have a Grave Pact out so they just take the 2. But this deck doesn't really want to be waiting for a 4 cmc enchantment.

Quote from Prid3 »

Quote from Morphling »

I don't like the fact she's dependent on being in an already-good-state to be that finisher but she also doesn't whiff on an empty board either...

By your own admission your meta isn't very Wrath-heavy. She's fantastic in board-stall situations. You also might want to consider a card like Captivating Vampire because that's another way to convert anemic 1/2s into legitimate threats.

True..but while our battlefields will occasionally clog up, more often there's plenty of guys turning sideways, as this is a primary route to victory when you flood the board every game. Plenty of aggression, plenty of chances to block (and lose your early-midgame chumps). There's lots of mixing it up. Also, quite a few combat tricks (pumping and withering) and spot removal like O Ring and Terminate. THAT is what I see more than anything. (One reason I'm so high on Bloodwitch's tacked-on Pro-White.)

Quote from chiefdrana »

Yeah, sadly Pulse Tracker & Vicious Conquistador do nothing in my meta either unless I have a Grave Pact out so they just take the 2.

I find this very hard to believe but whatever.

Quote from Xyx »

Isn't it mostly just a worse Gray Merchant of Asphodel? What vampire synergies make it better?

It's strictly worse but every time I suggest that card people inform me that it's banned/restricted in their meta so I don't mind pitching alternatives every now and then.

Quote from Xyx »

Quote from Prid3 »

it's a criminal shame to pass on Malakir Bloodwitch.

Isn't it mostly just a worse Gray Merchant of Asphodel? What vampire synergies make it better?

If you're playing Vampire tribal (or even if about half your creatures are vamps, in my experience), it's not a worse Gary.
It's a 4/4 flying, pro-white Gary. That's most definitely not to be sneezed at. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've found Gary a relevant body in combat. The Bloodwitch? She's a beatstick if you need one once she's finished her draining. People are sometimes too hellbent on removing the 4/4 flier to consider the threat of a potential second one in your hand (and yeah, obviously no StP/Path/Vindicate is awesome too).

Quote from Prid3 »

Quote from chiefdrana »

Yeah, sadly Pulse Tracker & Vicious Conquistador do nothing in my meta either unless I have a Grave Pact out so they just take the 2.

I find this very hard to believe but whatever.

Nope, happens in mine too. My meta is predominantly aggressive creatures and removal. Little one drops that have to attack to achieve anything get eaten alive. I would probably need a way of recurring them all to get anywhere. Maybe Return to the Ranks and a whole pile of Holy Day-style fog effects to last long enough to get the job done? I dunno...

Quote from CadaverousBl00m »

Nope, happens in mine too.

I still maintain that you can fix the problem with smart deckbuilding and design. If you need a lower curve with more interaction then play that instead. Switch over to something like:



If you need to clear blockers then Black has access to throngs of removal that costs 0-2 mana that can do that for you. Slaughter Pact, Deathmark, Dismember, Curtains' Call, the list is endless. Presumably you're in a game with ~3 opponents and assuming that at least one of them stumbles to some extent you should be able to clear a path and smack them down. Not 100% of the time or anything but consistently enough to feel good about your chances. Everyone can't possibly curve out with blockers on turns 1-3 every game because that doesn't even happen in duels let alone multiplayer. I refuse to believe that everyone here is unable to make these kinds of cards work in their meta for any reason other than a lack of trying.

Quote from Prid3 »

Quote from CadaverousBl00m »

Nope, happens in mine too.

I still maintain that you can fix the problem with smart deckbuilding and design. If you need a lower curve with more interaction then play that instead.

Yep, absolutely. I could see this fitting into the Aristocrats shell one of my mates is currently running - all those cheap Vampires + Vampire Aristocrat + a full playset of Immortal Servitude. In other words, he's not only fully expecting his stuff to die, he's building around it and playing on it.

I call this deck Amulet Seasons Past. I am using 4 Primal Amulet/Primal Wellspring with Dark Petition/Seasons Past combo. It has dominated my playgroup.

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