47 cards so far. FYI, this deck is based from a *Graveborn* duel-deck originally.
4x Entomb & Careful Study from a typical list is replaced with P.imp & Buried Alive for budget reasons. I've looked at options for this deck, like Funeral Charm, Collective Brutality & Dance of the Dead, but I keep coming back to the same few cards listed above.
Whilst this Mono-Black version is fairly budget, I'd like some more advice in making it better, without simple *4x Entomb* observations.
I'm not looking to spend another $100 on a deck that I will mostly give to others to play, more often than I play with myself.
The expensive cards listed here are simply what I already own.
Moldy isn't a first choice card, but is there for Wrath insurance. FWIW, Gravehate isn't very common in my group, but theft/clone effects are everywhere.
I'm mainly looking for more fatties like Caller & Omnivore which can hit everyone, but I'm not finding much besides Pestilence Demon that works for Mono-Black.
So what else would you guys include that stays within a *budget* mindset?
And do you think I have the numbers right?
Your deck needs 3 mana to consistently operate so should probably bump the land count up to 22 or 23. I realize that you have DRs but this isn't an Entomb + Exhume deck.
(At a small table you can even run Kuro, Pitlord, if you have a little life gain...)
You do realize why you can't add Xathrid Demon and/or Kuro, Pitlord to your Putrip Imp + Exhume deck right? Those aren't exactly the greatest things to be jamming on turn 2 :P.
Your deck needs 3 mana to consistently operate so should probably bump the land count up to 22 or 23. I realize that you have DRs but this isn't an Entomb + Exhume deck.
I do. Dread Return is a great card but unless I'm using the flashback then Diabolic Servitude is probably the better option.
Yeah you're probably right on mana, I'm getting a bit greedy there. 22 is probably a better number.
That still leaves plenty of room for 10 or so targets.
Oh look at that, I forgot to pop that one in! The Sire is in my current *un-changed* deck, so it will remain.
Love that card, but I have definitely overplayed it in my group.
AoE is a good one too, but I don't own any of that one - but very good Control Magic stuff in mind.
Ha ha yep, I'm aware of those shenanigans. Love N-Ooze. Don't wanna make the deck too complicated, as it's a deck I typically give to others to learn MTG.
With Grisel and Pestilence already there you could do a small theme with Xathrid Demon and Demon of Death's Gate as well.
(At a small table you can even run Kuro, Pitlord, if you have a little life gain...)
I don't really like the look of anything conditional (ie most demons) when we have so many killer cards to choose from. Lord of the Void is kinda cool though.
And what are your thoughts on Dance of the Dead?
I find the card to be great generally, but I'm not convinced it's a T2 play I really want, compared to the other options.
DR = Dark Ritual. I was recognizing how your deck can sometimes go turn 1 Buried Alive, turn 2 Animate Dead, etc. but I still think that you want more lands for your non-DR draws.
Dance of the Dead is great but if you're not worried about opposing strategies (i.e. you're conformable with Exhume) then running one of its alternatives is reasonable. Paying 2 mana to untap the creature matters a lot when you're not recurring one of the more oppressive finishers. It's not as though you have Jin-Gitaxias or anything.
Even if you don't own AoE it's cheap and from a recent set. Odds are if your friends have collections/there's an LGS nearby/you have draft boxes/etc. you can find one for free fairly easily.
Umm... Actually I do. I realise it's a very strong card that should be here instead of Sire. Reason I haven't included it at this stage is that in the past with our large FFA's, both myself and others (mainly newbies) playing this deck have decked ourselves. I guess a utility discard/sacrifice outlet could help. FWIW, having Therapy in there would make cards like Terastodon repeatable if required.
Other cards I own, around that power level are Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger & Urabrask the Hidden. Glad I got them when they were cheap!
There's a few cards here that are definitely a flex-slot. AoE may come in.
I want to keep the *every-opponent* stuff in there with Pestilence, Omnivore & Caller above all else.
I did consider a deck with multiples of those three with some Blade of Selves.... hyuk.
Umm... Actually I do. I realise it's a very strong card that should be here instead of Sire. Reason I haven't included it at this stage is that in the past with our large FFA's, both myself and others (mainly newbies) playing this deck have decked ourselves.
Sac outlets, haste enablers, Living Death, Elixir of Immortality, there's a dozen ways to circumvent this weakness. I wouldn't let that scare you.
If you run therapy Gitaxian Probe gains a fair amount of value. That being said if you're only going to run 2 then you probably don't need to bother.
*gasp* I never thought I'd ever see the day the great Prid3 recommends elixir of immortality.
The card is great if you're literally decking yourself on a routine basis. I play it all the time in my Trade Secrets decks. My problem isn't the card is actively is bad, my problem is that people overrate the statistical significance and competitive viability of shuffling "good cards" back into their library. I hate on Brainstorm all the time for similar reasons. People blindly play it in decks w/o cheap shuffle effects as a Whispers of the Muse. The card is objectively awful if you're simply drawing your "put backs" and there's no two ways about it. I don't inherently like or hate any card for any reason but there are some that are chronically overvalued and overplayed for nonsensical reasons. That's what I dislike about them.
A friend of mine runs Flayer of the Hatebound and Artisan of Kozilek + sac outlets in his reanimator deck. Kills people starting turn 3. While you don't cast Artisan of Kozilek, the annihilator ability can throw a player out of the game easily when it hits in the early game.
Flayer is a pet card of mine. I run it in other decks already, but you're right - Flayer with a Reya or Sheoldred on the board aswell gets deadly pretty quick.
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4x Dark Ritual
1x Entomb
4x Putrid Imp
4x Buried Alive
4x Exhume
4x Animate Dead
4x Necromancy
1x Whip of Erebos
4x Entomb & Careful Study from a typical list is replaced with P.imp & Buried Alive for budget reasons. I've looked at options for this deck, like Funeral Charm, Collective Brutality & Dance of the Dead, but I keep coming back to the same few cards listed above.
Whilst this Mono-Black version is fairly budget, I'd like some more advice in making it better, without simple *4x Entomb* observations.
I'm not looking to spend another $100 on a deck that I will mostly give to others to play, more often than I play with myself.
The expensive cards listed here are simply what I already own.
Creature targets I'm considering;
Moldy isn't a first choice card, but is there for Wrath insurance. FWIW, Gravehate isn't very common in my group, but theft/clone effects are everywhere.
I'm mainly looking for more fatties like Caller & Omnivore which can hit everyone, but I'm not finding much besides Pestilence Demon that works for Mono-Black.
So what else would you guys include that stays within a *budget* mindset?
And do you think I have the numbers right?
Sire of Insanity demolishes Wraths. I'm also partial to Archetype of Endurance.
Where you run Whip of Erebos I field Diabolic Servitude. Combos well with Buried Alive.
I'm sure that you're aware of the Necrotic Ooze (+ Triskelion and Phyrexian Devourer) combo but that's another direction with which to take the deck. Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Triskelion also works and your Moldgraf Monstrosity can cheat them both into play via Buried Alive. Otherwise you typically need things like Victimize, Wake the Dead, Living Death, etc.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
(At a small table you can even run Kuro, Pitlord, if you have a little life gain...)
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
You do realize why you can't add Xathrid Demon and/or Kuro, Pitlord to your Putrip Imp + Exhume deck right? Those aren't exactly the greatest things to be jamming on turn 2 :P.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I do. Dread Return is a great card but unless I'm using the flashback then Diabolic Servitude is probably the better option.
Yeah you're probably right on mana, I'm getting a bit greedy there. 22 is probably a better number.
That still leaves plenty of room for 10 or so targets.
Oh look at that, I forgot to pop that one in! The Sire is in my current *un-changed* deck, so it will remain.
Love that card, but I have definitely overplayed it in my group.
AoE is a good one too, but I don't own any of that one - but very good Control Magic stuff in mind.
I own a set of those, and they're great. I thought the life-gain from Whip could be useful.
Ha ha yep, I'm aware of those shenanigans. Love N-Ooze. Don't wanna make the deck too complicated, as it's a deck I typically give to others to learn MTG.
I don't really like the look of anything conditional (ie most demons) when we have so many killer cards to choose from.
Lord of the Void is kinda cool though.
And what are your thoughts on Dance of the Dead?
I find the card to be great generally, but I'm not convinced it's a T2 play I really want, compared to the other options.
DR = Dark Ritual. I was recognizing how your deck can sometimes go turn 1 Buried Alive, turn 2 Animate Dead, etc. but I still think that you want more lands for your non-DR draws.
Dance of the Dead is great but if you're not worried about opposing strategies (i.e. you're conformable with Exhume) then running one of its alternatives is reasonable. Paying 2 mana to untap the creature matters a lot when you're not recurring one of the more oppressive finishers. It's not as though you have Jin-Gitaxias or anything.
Even if you don't own AoE it's cheap and from a recent set. Odds are if your friends have collections/there's an LGS nearby/you have draft boxes/etc. you can find one for free fairly easily.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
LOL Of course it is.
Umm... Actually I do. I realise it's a very strong card that should be here instead of Sire. Reason I haven't included it at this stage is that in the past with our large FFA's, both myself and others (mainly newbies) playing this deck have decked ourselves. I guess a utility discard/sacrifice outlet could help. FWIW, having Therapy in there would make cards like Terastodon repeatable if required.
Other cards I own, around that power level are Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger & Urabrask the Hidden. Glad I got them when they were cheap!
Here's where I'm at.
4x Dark Ritual
1x Entomb
4x Putrid Imp
2x Cabal Therapy
4x Buried Alive
3x Exhume
1x Dance of the Dead
4x Animate Dead
4x Necromancy
1x Whip of Erebos
1x Hydra Omnivore
1x Pestilence Demon
1x Griselbrand
1x Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
1x Moldgraf Monstrosity
1x Reya Dawnbringer
1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
1x Terastodon
1x Tidespout Tyrant
There's a few cards here that are definitely a flex-slot. AoE may come in.
I want to keep the *every-opponent* stuff in there with Pestilence, Omnivore & Caller above all else.
I did consider a deck with multiples of those three with some Blade of Selves.... hyuk.
Sac outlets, haste enablers, Living Death, Elixir of Immortality, there's a dozen ways to circumvent this weakness. I wouldn't let that scare you.
If you run therapy Gitaxian Probe gains a fair amount of value. That being said if you're only going to run 2 then you probably don't need to bother.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
The card is great if you're literally decking yourself on a routine basis. I play it all the time in my Trade Secrets decks. My problem isn't the card is actively is bad, my problem is that people overrate the statistical significance and competitive viability of shuffling "good cards" back into their library. I hate on Brainstorm all the time for similar reasons. People blindly play it in decks w/o cheap shuffle effects as a Whispers of the Muse. The card is objectively awful if you're simply drawing your "put backs" and there's no two ways about it. I don't inherently like or hate any card for any reason but there are some that are chronically overvalued and overplayed for nonsensical reasons. That's what I dislike about them.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold