I guess I am out of the mono black loop. I rarely ever tutor up Cabal Coffers. The only time I do is if it will win me the game right then and there. -shrugs- I think it is an auto include in any mono black deck. I do think however that many people use it as a crutch. If your deck revolves around having Coffers out all the time then that isn't really good. I try to build my decks so that it doesn't just die if I lose/don't get a certian card/s. The deck has many synergies. The only card there that one could say doesn't have a good relationship with a few other card or isn't just good on its own is Helm of Obedience.
If you want to look at a black deck that can win pretty consistently in multiplayer. Mono black is pretty powerful. The only thing you should really do is follow my motto. Don't poke unless poked first.
MBC is and has always been my calling card in MtG.
Up until recently I played MBC alot and it put up consistant and good results. rarely if ever do you get mana screwed, your mana base is exceptionally cheap comparitively and you typically have a slew of spells designed to defend you against the angry faces of other players. One of the primary strengths of black is its ability to dismember opposing decks. Sadistic Sacrament, Praetor's Grasp, Nightmare Incursion, Bitter Ordeal are completely capable of interracting with players who prefer to win off the stack. In addition MBC's typical boogy man (artifacts and enchantments) are getting a little easier to tame via artifact/colorless sources.
I love Mono Black... I love it so Much i Literally got a black mana symbol tattooed on my leg
However, all this having been said... the general selection is flat out boring at the moment. I've run most of the best ones available and frankly they feel exceedingly lacking. Ob Nixilis was probably the most interesting one considering you had to try to abuse something MBC is just not known to attempt to abuse, but the rest are quite simply go big mana black and if you need to cast your general. Geth, Drana, Maga etc. Some of the more interesting ones just arn't strong enough to carry around the load of hate MBC typically gets (Volrath and Kiku are my examples) Or are just too expensive (Xiahou dun, the One-Eyed) This is the reason I decided to leave MBC for the time being until something pops up and screams at me to forsake all but the skull.
I believe Blackjack68 has it especially correct, search for, play, protect, recur Cabal Coffers and play to the strengths of MBC and its completely viable.
No love for Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder? He makes lots of dudes to sac to all those various sac outlets mono black has, and they enable grave pacty goodness.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"I will flay the skin from your flesh and the flesh from your bones and scrape your bones dry. And still you will not have suffered enough." -Greven il-Vec, to Gerrard
No love for Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder? He makes lots of dudes to sac to all those various sac outlets mono black has, and they enable grave pacty goodness.
This deck one of the best mono black ive seen yet: need some altar, a clamp, extractor demon, living dead, or a eldrazi monument and tombstone stairwell
I just hate those trull token...
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Hakim, Loreweaver
Autumn Willow Yomiji, Who Bars the Way
Hanna, Ship's Navigator
Chromium
Skyfire Kirin
OP - I also agree with what Aryakin said about "gutting" (I call them) cards. A kicked sadistic sacrament is pretty much game over for a lot of decks.
A few other notes:
One of mono blacks strengths is it's ability to make huge mana with coffers, so cards like Exsanguinate and Profane Command are especially powerful. And by the same means, things you can pump mana into like Drana, Geth, and Steel Hellkite become real beasts.
Black also has good "# of swamps matter" cards like Lashwrithe and Nightmare Lash that can be really powerful, especially when equipped to Nether Traitor, or something with Swampwalk (like Sheoldred) when you've got Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in play.
Mono blacks weakness is in dealing with enchantments and artifacts. Again, Steel Hellkite can help with that, but Karn Liberated and Spine of Ish Sah are a bit more reliable. Other times, you have to rely on table politics to help with those trouble cards.
Don't get the idea you can't win without Cabal Coffers, it's not a win/lose thing. It's a good/freakin awesome thing.
And I know there really isn't such thing as a 100% auto-include, but some of the stuff you'll probably be wanting:
My suggestion is to remember to defend against MBC's weakness: enchantments and artifacts. Try to run a few of the staples: Oblivion Stone, Nevinyrral's Disk, All is Dust, Gate to Phyrexia and the new Karn Liberated. It is easy to play to black's strengths with such a strong card pool in it's colour, but it can occasionally get hosed quite hard.
Some of the more interesting ones just arn't strong enough to carry around the load of hate MBC typically gets (Volrath and Kiku are my examples) Or are just too expensive (Xiahou dun, the One-Eyed)
Just another reason MTGO is superior to Magic:Pants...Xiahou's only about 0.15 tickets online.
ZOMBIES!!! I have a Mono Black Zombie EDH deck that is crazy good. I actually play with someone who uses I think 11 board wipes, along with all the other people. That was the original reason that I started it, because I like all of my stuff to keep coming back over and over again. The Dwarf general is amazing.
ZOMBIES!!! I have a Mono Black Zombie EDH deck that is crazy good. I actually play with someone who uses I think 11 board wipes, along with all the other people. That was the original reason that I started it, because I like all of my stuff to keep coming back over and over again. The Dwarf general is amazing.
I'm in the process of doing this myself. I was planning on using Korlash.
Additional advice: invest in a Crucible of Worlds, and include a Beacon of Unrest (not just for Crucible of Worlds, but that is a nice benefit given certain situations)
Petrified Field as well (which, when coupled with Rings of Brighthearth allows you to bring it back and the land you originally intended on getting).
Depending on your playgroup, the following cards maybe ill-advised to run in your deck, despite how powerful they are:
--Myojin of Night's Reach -- while really strong, it's not fun for your opponent to just watch you play with yourself
--Contamination / Infernal Darkness -- ridiculously easy to maintain, and it turns the game into an Archenemy game real quickly if your opponents aren't black based
--Exsanguinate -- ends the game too abruptly and may be annoying to play against in groups that don't enjoy losing to one big spell that kills everybody at high life totals instantly
You just named some of the most powerful MBC card's, which are probably in every tuned list
You just named some of the most powerful MBC card's, which are probably in every tuned list
Of course. Some play groups hate those cards immensely, however. I had a "tuned list" for awhile, but had to change it up because it was 1 vs whole store in terms of what we all like.
Sure, I could go somewhere else and play the deck,but everytime I play with my normal playgroup, I'd have to change it back. It's not worth the hassle, especially since other stores in my areas run infinite combos, etc. (read: lame)
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
If you want to look at a black deck that can win pretty consistently in multiplayer. Mono black is pretty powerful. The only thing you should really do is follow my motto. Don't poke unless poked first.
Mono-Black Oona, Queen of the Fae
Athreos, God of Passage
Up until recently I played MBC alot and it put up consistant and good results. rarely if ever do you get mana screwed, your mana base is exceptionally cheap comparitively and you typically have a slew of spells designed to defend you against the angry faces of other players. One of the primary strengths of black is its ability to dismember opposing decks. Sadistic Sacrament, Praetor's Grasp, Nightmare Incursion, Bitter Ordeal are completely capable of interracting with players who prefer to win off the stack. In addition MBC's typical boogy man (artifacts and enchantments) are getting a little easier to tame via artifact/colorless sources.
I love Mono Black... I love it so Much i Literally got a black mana symbol tattooed on my leg
However, all this having been said... the general selection is flat out boring at the moment. I've run most of the best ones available and frankly they feel exceedingly lacking. Ob Nixilis was probably the most interesting one considering you had to try to abuse something MBC is just not known to attempt to abuse, but the rest are quite simply go big mana black and if you need to cast your general. Geth, Drana, Maga etc. Some of the more interesting ones just arn't strong enough to carry around the load of hate MBC typically gets (Volrath and Kiku are my examples) Or are just too expensive (Xiahou dun, the One-Eyed) This is the reason I decided to leave MBC for the time being until something pops up and screams at me to forsake all but the skull.
I believe Blackjack68 has it especially correct, search for, play, protect, recur Cabal Coffers and play to the strengths of MBC and its completely viable.
EDH
GUBVorosh, the HunterGUB
BRGKarrthus, Tyrant of JundBRG
GMolimo, Maro-SorcererG
UThada Adel, AcquisitorU list soon
BEndrek Sahr, Master BreederB
This deck one of the best mono black ive seen yet: need some altar, a clamp, extractor demon, living dead, or a eldrazi monument and tombstone stairwell
I just hate those trull token...
Hakim, Loreweaver
Autumn Willow
Yomiji, Who Bars the Way
Hanna, Ship's Navigator
Chromium
Skyfire Kirin
OP - I also agree with what Aryakin said about "gutting" (I call them) cards. A kicked sadistic sacrament is pretty much game over for a lot of decks.
A few other notes:
One of mono blacks strengths is it's ability to make huge mana with coffers, so cards like Exsanguinate and Profane Command are especially powerful. And by the same means, things you can pump mana into like Drana, Geth, and Steel Hellkite become real beasts.
Black also has good "# of swamps matter" cards like Lashwrithe and Nightmare Lash that can be really powerful, especially when equipped to Nether Traitor, or something with Swampwalk (like Sheoldred) when you've got Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in play.
Mono blacks weakness is in dealing with enchantments and artifacts. Again, Steel Hellkite can help with that, but Karn Liberated and Spine of Ish Sah are a bit more reliable. Other times, you have to rely on table politics to help with those trouble cards.
Don't get the idea you can't win without Cabal Coffers, it's not a win/lose thing. It's a good/freakin awesome thing.
And I know there really isn't such thing as a 100% auto-include, but some of the stuff you'll probably be wanting:
- Profane Command
- Exsanguinate
- Phyrexian Arena
- Phyrexian Tower
- Lashwrithe and/or Nightmare Lash
- Black Sun's Zenith
- Steel Hellkite
- Spine of Ish Sah
- Beacon of Unrest
- Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
- Cabal Coffers
- Caged Sun
- Yawgmoth's Will
- Praetor's Grasp
- Bojuka Bog
..
There are more MB staples, but those ae some of the main ones for nearly any commander you choose.
One other thing is the cheap sac-fodder black provides to abuse with Skullclamp for card draw or Grave Pact/Butcher of Malakir for removal.
Bloodghast
Nether Traitor
Reassembling Skeleton
and as I mentioned, little ol' Nether Traiter becomes a nearly unblockable monster with those equipments.
Banner by Nakamura, Thanks!
EDH Math
EDH Decks:
Ghost Council: The Magic Mafia of Orzhova
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
Rasputin: Reality is Broken
Vish Kal Bleeder: Bloody Kisses
Teysa, Orzhov Dominatrix
Stonebrow: Breaking Things
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Grimgrin: Dead Reckoning
Everything combos with Tombstone Stairwell.
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Just another reason MTGO is superior to Magic:Pants...Xiahou's only about 0.15 tickets online.
I'm in the process of doing this myself. I was planning on using Korlash.
Who says we don't? And that person doesn't speak for me if that person exists.
Mono-Black Oona, Queen of the Fae
Athreos, God of Passage
Petrified Field as well (which, when coupled with Rings of Brighthearth allows you to bring it back and the land you originally intended on getting).
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief agrees! Besides her, I run ~20 other Vampires, along with Vampire-related cards (Blood Tribute, Feast of Blood, Urge to Feed, Blade of the Bloodchief), and it always performs. I might have only lost a handful of games with it, and I also play it as a singleton with a pretty good deal of success.
WUBR Breya, Thopter Sculptor
WBR Kaalia, Harbinger of the Apocalypse
WBR Edgar Markov, Bloodline Progenitor
BGW Karador, Reanimator King
GWU Jenara, Asuran Enchantress
URG Riku, Omniscient Wizard
UBG Tasigur, Mind Grinder
UB Grimgrin, Combo-Stitched
GW Rhys, Gilt-Leaf Warrior
B Drana, Defiant Bloodchief
U Baral, Lord of Counterspells
G Azusa, Seeking the Horizon
W Kemba, Kha of the White Sun
C Ulamog, the Mana Glutton
You just named some of the most powerful MBC card's, which are probably in every tuned list
Of course. Some play groups hate those cards immensely, however. I had a "tuned list" for awhile, but had to change it up because it was 1 vs whole store in terms of what we all like.
Sure, I could go somewhere else and play the deck,but everytime I play with my normal playgroup, I'd have to change it back. It's not worth the hassle, especially since other stores in my areas run infinite combos, etc. (read: lame)