Why this primer? - I feel the older Eva Green Primer was out-dated and that deck is not even played anymore. Since the recent printings of Deathrite Shaman, Abrupt Decay, and Liliana of the Veil this deck has gotten a re-birth of sorts.
What is Eva Green? - Eva Green is rather old legacy deck at this point with a name created from Eva Green's character in the movie Casino Royale. In the end of the movie I guess she commits suicide (haven't seen the movie myself), correlating to the birth of this deck being a BG Suicide deck. Eva Green was indeed a suicide deck, but has evolved into more of a tempo/control deck. It plays an aggressive creature strategy to attack our opponent after/while gaining board control.
Why Eva Green? - Being two colors, Eva Green can be a more consistent and less fragile mana base. Criticism of the deck can revolve around the fact that the missing third color is vital. This deck can and has won though, however rogue of it deck it has become. The deck big brother's are GBW Rock and GBR Jund which get all the glory and rightfully so. The cousins of the deck are Pox and The Gate which are more of a control deck than Eva Green. This deck is much more straight-forward with far fewer "awkward" moments and plays that you need to make in Jund and The Rock. Some may call it simpler, while I just say the plan is more focused. For anyone who loves aggro but finds they run into problems because straight aggro decks can't defend themselves will find this deck to be a great deck for them.
How has Eva Green Changed? - When this deck was first created it is basically Black Suicide with a splash of green. Older cards like Nantuko Shade and Hypnotic Specter ruled the creature base. This deck got put on the back burner a couple of years ago and its development was stalled. In the past few years we have had several card printings that have breathed new life into this deck. The biggest saviors were Abrupt Decay and Deathrite Shaman. Format staples upon printing, these two changed the game for the BG Control archetype in legacy forever. Cards like these have updated Eva Green and made it more of a threat than ever.
What is the general strategy? - With Eva Green we use discard and threat removal to create a board state where we have an advantage and can let our heavy hitters take control of the game. This is where the old archetype of "suicide" lingers in that we want to disrupt early, often, and hard. Get threats out when we can and smash, taking out any defenses they add to the equation along the way. This is a very similar strategy to the many "tempo" style decks you may see all over legacy today; this is what the deck has evolved into. The only advantage is that we have better late game disruption draws like Liliana and Abrupt Decay where many other tempo decks can only control/disrupt the game early and hope to rely on the tempo they create from that.
vs. Aggro [Favorable] – We are built to deal with aggro decks. Use disruption to get ahead and beat them down. vs. Aggro/Control [Even] – This is kind of a mirror match in ways since they will have answers to our threats when we think we are ahead. Use your sideboard to try and get the edge depending on the deck. vs. Combo [Even] Post-board [Favorable] – There are some combo decks we don’t have as much trouble with if they rely on putting a big fatty into play (Show n Tell or Reanimator). Other combo decks we need our discard early to disrupt it. Sideboard should have more specific hurt in it. vs. Control [Slightly Unfavorable] – Probably our worst matchup because counter spells give us problems. Having our mana supply damaged hurts. We have enough disruption to try and fight through and make a stalled game-state then play one of our hitters and hope they don’t have any equal threats.
Mulligan
You want to mulligan in the following scenarios:
I have no lands, only Wasteland, and five or more lands.
I have no first turn play.
I have no access to green mana.
I have multiple DRS, low mana, and no fetchlands.
I have two Tombstalker.
I want a good balance of threats and disruption and at least one DRS and/or Thoughtseize/IoK.
Mana Base – This is what makes the deck consistent and less fragile. You only need access to two colors, and for the most part only one needs to be Green. If you are facing Wasteland, getting your singleton basics out is much easier than in other decks. Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is great for a late game affair and games where our Wasteland has no use. 20-22 total lands seem to be the right number for this deck.
Deathrite Shaman – As stated, one of the “saviors” for this deck. He really shook up the format when printed. Giving you mana acceleration, damage, and life gaining are already enough but doing it while controlling your opponent’s graveyard simultaneously is absurd. In Eva Green if we do not have any discard in our opening hand than he is next best first turn play. A fetch + DRS is actually is very strong opening play ramping you to 3 mana turn two.
Tarmogoyf – The big hitter for you and in many legacy aggro decks. An original to the deck and an absolute must, considering he will be a majority of our offense. I find if we get one of two of him to stick than we win a majority of those games. You want to draw Tarmogoyfs all day.
Dark Confidant – How this deck gains card advantage and gives your board advantage with what he draws you. Early Eva Green variants did not play him because they were suicide decks as discussed. This was a crime and probably part of the reason why this deck lost overall appeal. Recently he has become a deck staple but could have been for a lot longer.
Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek – This pair is deadly. With Bob hitting you up for damage it is best to play a 3/3 or 2/4 split and not go 4 Thoughtseize. You can also play a full 4/4 if your meta is loaded with combo. I highly recommend 4 Thoughtseize because Abrupt Decay and Inquisition limit our disruption slightly and Thoughtseize can nab the higher costing problem cards before they become a problem.
Hymn to Tourach – The ultimate king in two for one card advantage. Unless you are a beginner to magic in general, you already understand why this is an auto-play in just about every black deck in eternal magic.
Abrupt Decay – Another new-school life breather. The best targeted removal we have. There are thing out there this cannot hit like Jace, but we can play or sideboard other options for that. The un-counterable part makes you feel like Superman when you hold it. Playing one to bomb their threat at the end of their turn and followed by playing your own threat on the next turn is huge turn around in the game.
Liliana of the Veil – This deck’s queen. We play our cards quickly and our top deck mode is poor without a Bob on board. So her +1 ability becomes appealing fast. Obviously her -2 ability fits with this deck’s goal perfectly. She is also a newer print that gives this deck potential.
Candidates:
Gatekeeper of Malakir – Playing 2-3 of this guy is a great option. He gives you a +2 battlefield state when kicked, so this falls in line with your tempo strategy.
Vampire Nighthawk – He can be played at 2-3 clip. The offense is a bit overrated, but the lifelink can save games. Very nice to chump block anyone you can’t get to otherwise.
Tombstalker – Was the finisher when this deck was born and is not seen as much. Playing 1-2 can be okay. When played effectively it’s the ultimate late game beast. There are some questions of synergy with Tarmogoyf (there always was) and when Deathrite Shaman has to eat your own graveyard.
Scavenging Ooze – Kind of does what Deathrite Shaman already does, but playing one won’t hurt either, because he can become a nice beater and messes with opposing Deathrite Shamans.
Whichever creatures you decide to add to your core 12, not going over 18 is advised.
Maelstrom Pulse – Playing at least one main deck is borderline auto play. I highly advise this, and having 1-2 more in your sideboard when needed. Abrupt Decay is more than enough against most legacy decks but can be sided out for more Pulse action in certain scenarios.
Sylvan Library and Sensei’s Divining Top – These are your choices if you want more library manipulation for a top deck mode late-game situation. I push for Library because of the ability to draw an extra card to seal the deal.
Dark Ritual – Great early game potential, but less consistent in any multi-color deck including this one. Some decks do insist on it so I will keep it here. Horrible top-deck though like usual.
Sinkhole – Used to be a must, but it has been sliding out of most legacy decks over the years. The way people play their decks loaded with fetchlands and less duals/basics, Sinkhole has lost potency. This added land destruction can be useful in some matchups however. So, depending on your meta-game environment this card can still be effective.
Umezawa’s Jitte – Certainly can help our board advantage stick if we get to this point. Any decks that wins by attacking gets amplified a bit with Jitte. Playing a couple doesn’t hurt at all.
Miss the Cut:
Hypnotic Specter and Nantuko Shade – Out-dated and out-classed these days. These creatures started out as staples in this deck but now are effective in very few matchups.
Snuff Out – Another old card when Eva Green was more of a Suicide deck. The life-loss becomes a problem more with Bob, also since we have Abrupt Decay now we don’t need it.
Duress – Just out-classed by Thoughtseize and Inquisition now.
Dismember – Again, too much life loss for a tempo deck like this.
Go For the Throat – Not needed with Abrupt Decay, Maelstrom Pulse, and Liliana of the Veil.
Phyrexian Obliterator and Abyssal Persecutor – We don’t want these because they are either conditional or can cost more than Tombstalker, Tombstalker is also a guaranteed evasive late game hit to the face if not dealt with.
Innocent Blood – We don’t have creatures that come back like Pox does.
Pernicious Deed – Besides Tombstalker this is going to ruin your board state and we can’t recover that easily from such a hit.
Powder Keg or Ratchet Bomb – Again, with a relatively low mana-curve to our permanents, we will hit ourselves hard one way or the other.
Blood Scrivener – Needs play testing as a budget option to Dark Confidant since we can empty our hands rather quickly. However, you always want Bob if budget allows.
Bitterblossom – Don’t want the upkeep life loss. If you play Jitte, you may be tempted. This just is not the right kind of deck for it.
Sideboard:
Surgical Extraction – Good against combo. You make them discard a combo piece and then take the rest out. Decent against graveyard strategy decks too.
Krosan Grip – Great against Affinity, Enchantress, and Lands. Good against any combo that relies on an artifact or enchantment. This is your best choice since it’s uncounterable.
Choke – We don’t like blue, so let’s shut down blue.
Maelstrom Pulse – If you pack 1 main deck, pack the second and third here. Auto-side vs. Jace and Batterskull.
Engineered Plague – Great against Elves, Merfolk, and Goblins. Careful about playing more than one against Elves since our DRS is an elf.
Tormod’s Crypt or Leyline of the Void – We don’t want to do it because of our own DRS and Tarmogoyf however sometimes you got to do what you go to do against Dredge, Lands, or Reanimator. If you side these in, don’t be afraid to side out a couple of those affected.
Grafdigger’s Cage – Good against Reanimator and Dredge so this may be a better option.
Pithing Needle – Never hurts to pack these. Cranial Plating vs. Affinity. Jace, Batterskull, Mom, Knight of the Reliquary, and Jitte are a few other great candidates.
The obvious things to swap out would be the Vampire Nighthawks for Goyfs, the Overgrown Tombs for Bayous, and the Inquisitions for Thoughtseize.
But that's another ~$1000 added to the deck. It runs well enough. I don't even know if I would want to run Goyf along side DRS and Tombstalker. Also Nighthawk is a much better defensive creature, and is nuts with Jitte on it.
The lifegain from DRS, Nighthawk, and Jitte also offsets the life loss from the shock lands and bitterblossom.
Bitterblossom deserves a place in this deck IMO. Especially if you are controlling a Jitte.
Nice budget build. Your first focus should be on Bayou. The problem of fetching into shocks really becomes an issue with Bitterblossom and Bob. Then I'd try to add Tarmogoyf. Tbh, Inquisition is a great budget replacement actually so Thoughtseize can wait the longest (but is still lethal when combined with IoK). Just make sure to add a Maelstrom Pulse or two to deal with the few things IoK couldn't grab.
4 Tombstalker is heavy though. You never want two in your opening hand or really at all. I hardly ever have a game when I have enough food for more than one of him especially if you have multiple DRS out and have used up their graveyard already. 2 is a great number for Tombstalker. Also you want to cut down the chances he gets snagged by Bob for 8 damage (although Top helps prevent this).
I like Jitte as a life gain source (and everything else it brings to the table) and should add it to the primer.
Nice budget build. Your first focus should be on Bayou. The problem of fetching into shocks really becomes an issue with Bitterblossom and Bob. Then I'd try to add Tarmogoyf. Tbh, Inquisition is a great budget replacement actually so Thoughtseize can wait the longest (but is still lethal when combined with IoK). Just make sure to add a Maelstrom Pulse or two to deal with the few things IoK couldn't grab.
4 Tombstalker is heavy though. You never want two in your opening hand or really at all. I hardly ever have a game when I have enough food for more than one of him especially if you have multiple DRS out and have used up their graveyard already. 2 is a great number for Tombstalker. Also you want to cut down the chances he gets snagged by Bob for 8 damage (although Top helps prevent this).
I like Jitte as a life gain source (and everything else it brings to the table) and should add it to the primer.
What about Wasteland? When should that become a priority for me?
Most every deck with control in legacy wants Wasteland as a standard. There are many lands beyond just destroying dual lands you want to arm yourself against. However as straight up land destruction it's key to your early gameplan of setting up tempo and getting ahead. Destroying that one dual land and setting them back a turn (and possibly more if they are land-screwed) can lead to a win for you. Wasteland is a legacy priority and certainly one in this deck. I'd say priority is:
Generally you want your manabase to be in order first.
Bayou <- Wasteland <- Tarmogoyf <- Thoughtseize
It's hard to put Tarmogoyf third in this progression though because he is so important to your creature attack. The only "optional" card to make this deck really competitive is Thoughtseize replaced by 4 Inquisiton of Kozilek.
This is not a deck where we can recur anything from our graveyard, so dumping things we could use into the graveyard to try and get a creature faster or give Tombstalker/DRS food is not worth it.
I actually think Grisley salvage works wonders with this deck.
The big problem here is you don't have enough tempo to beat them down because you don't control your library.
If you can pound away then, drop a grisley end of turn, you can choose the fatty you want and pound away even more.
The biggest problem with the deck is drawing mid game lands and dark rituals or sorcery.
Top-deck mode is definitely an issue with this deck and similar decks if you don't have Bob online.
I'm still not seeing the Grisley unless it's gets testing. Milling yourself of other threats/removal and just picking one just doesn't seem good enough.
This deck seems unfortunately quiet. Is there another Eva Green conversation happening somewhere? If not, I wanted to highlight the Top 8 this made at the SCG Milwaukee Classic: http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=12274&d=270732&f=LE
I play Death Cloud in Modern and was already most of the way to having this deck put together (unbeknownst to me), and I've decided I'm going to give it a go. No list to share yet, as I'm still assembling the pieces and may brew a little before my first event, but I'm excited to play some Legacy after going from Abzan in Standard to leaving Standard for eternal formats a few months ago. When they took Siege Rhino, I knew the format had left me behind forever.
While MTGS is great for standard and modern, the legacy boards are normally pretty quiet barring certain threads. Typically MTGthesource is the way more active for legacy discussions. Their Eva Green thread is here, not the busiest thread either but seems to have slightly more activity.
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In play: Jund Death Shadow, Grixis Control, Eldrazi Stompy, Ponza
In the yard: RUG Delver, Kiki-Chord, Grixis Twin, Mardu Control, Smallpox, Jeskai Control, Jeskai Delver, Assault Loam, Elves, Deathcloud, Eggs, Storm
The original Eva Green deck was Land Destruction.dec to the point of making RUG Delver look wimpy. Now it looks like the comparison of W/B Stoneblade to Esper Stoneblade.
Have you tried asking about grim flayer on the Jund forum? Looking at the primer and subsequent deck lists, this deck seems to be, functionally, a jund deck, and many of the card choices look identical.
I'm sure someone has tried it in jund a few times and could give better insight.
I have Started making this with grim flayer. But I'm trying to use traverse instead of green sun zenith. I don't have tarmogoyf yet so I'm playing more black creatures.
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Why this primer? - I feel the older Eva Green Primer was out-dated and that deck is not even played anymore. Since the recent printings of Deathrite Shaman, Abrupt Decay, and Liliana of the Veil this deck has gotten a re-birth of sorts.
What is Eva Green? - Eva Green is rather old legacy deck at this point with a name created from Eva Green's character in the movie Casino Royale. In the end of the movie I guess she commits suicide (haven't seen the movie myself), correlating to the birth of this deck being a BG Suicide deck. Eva Green was indeed a suicide deck, but has evolved into more of a tempo/control deck. It plays an aggressive creature strategy to attack our opponent after/while gaining board control.
Why Eva Green? - Being two colors, Eva Green can be a more consistent and less fragile mana base. Criticism of the deck can revolve around the fact that the missing third color is vital. This deck can and has won though, however rogue of it deck it has become. The deck big brother's are GBW Rock and GBR Jund which get all the glory and rightfully so. The cousins of the deck are Pox and The Gate which are more of a control deck than Eva Green. This deck is much more straight-forward with far fewer "awkward" moments and plays that you need to make in Jund and The Rock. Some may call it simpler, while I just say the plan is more focused. For anyone who loves aggro but finds they run into problems because straight aggro decks can't defend themselves will find this deck to be a great deck for them.
How has Eva Green Changed? - When this deck was first created it is basically Black Suicide with a splash of green. Older cards like Nantuko Shade and Hypnotic Specter ruled the creature base. This deck got put on the back burner a couple of years ago and its development was stalled. In the past few years we have had several card printings that have breathed new life into this deck. The biggest saviors were Abrupt Decay and Deathrite Shaman. Format staples upon printing, these two changed the game for the BG Control archetype in legacy forever. Cards like these have updated Eva Green and made it more of a threat than ever.
What is the general strategy? - With Eva Green we use discard and threat removal to create a board state where we have an advantage and can let our heavy hitters take control of the game. This is where the old archetype of "suicide" lingers in that we want to disrupt early, often, and hard. Get threats out when we can and smash, taking out any defenses they add to the equation along the way. This is a very similar strategy to the many "tempo" style decks you may see all over legacy today; this is what the deck has evolved into. The only advantage is that we have better late game disruption draws like Liliana and Abrupt Decay where many other tempo decks can only control/disrupt the game early and hope to rely on the tempo they create from that.
vs. Aggro [Favorable] – We are built to deal with aggro decks. Use disruption to get ahead and beat them down.
vs. Aggro/Control [Even] – This is kind of a mirror match in ways since they will have answers to our threats when we think we are ahead. Use your sideboard to try and get the edge depending on the deck.
vs. Combo [Even] Post-board [Favorable] – There are some combo decks we don’t have as much trouble with if they rely on putting a big fatty into play (Show n Tell or Reanimator). Other combo decks we need our discard early to disrupt it. Sideboard should have more specific hurt in it.
vs. Control [Slightly Unfavorable] – Probably our worst matchup because counter spells give us problems. Having our mana supply damaged hurts. We have enough disruption to try and fight through and make a stalled game-state then play one of our hitters and hope they don’t have any equal threats.
Mulligan
You want to mulligan in the following scenarios:
I have no lands, only Wasteland, and five or more lands.
I have no first turn play.
I have no access to green mana.
I have multiple DRS, low mana, and no fetchlands.
I have two Tombstalker.
I want a good balance of threats and disruption and at least one DRS and/or Thoughtseize/IoK.
The Core:
4 Bayou
6-8 Black Fetches
2-4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Wasteland
1-2 Swamp
1 Forest
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Dark Confidant
4 Tarmogoyf
3-4 Thoughtseize
2-4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Abrupt Decay
2-4 Liliana of the Veil
Mana Base – This is what makes the deck consistent and less fragile. You only need access to two colors, and for the most part only one needs to be Green. If you are facing Wasteland, getting your singleton basics out is much easier than in other decks. Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is great for a late game affair and games where our Wasteland has no use. 20-22 total lands seem to be the right number for this deck.
Deathrite Shaman – As stated, one of the “saviors” for this deck. He really shook up the format when printed. Giving you mana acceleration, damage, and life gaining are already enough but doing it while controlling your opponent’s graveyard simultaneously is absurd. In Eva Green if we do not have any discard in our opening hand than he is next best first turn play. A fetch + DRS is actually is very strong opening play ramping you to 3 mana turn two.
Tarmogoyf – The big hitter for you and in many legacy aggro decks. An original to the deck and an absolute must, considering he will be a majority of our offense. I find if we get one of two of him to stick than we win a majority of those games. You want to draw Tarmogoyfs all day.
Dark Confidant – How this deck gains card advantage and gives your board advantage with what he draws you. Early Eva Green variants did not play him because they were suicide decks as discussed. This was a crime and probably part of the reason why this deck lost overall appeal. Recently he has become a deck staple but could have been for a lot longer.
Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek – This pair is deadly. With Bob hitting you up for damage it is best to play a 3/3 or 2/4 split and not go 4 Thoughtseize. You can also play a full 4/4 if your meta is loaded with combo. I highly recommend 4 Thoughtseize because Abrupt Decay and Inquisition limit our disruption slightly and Thoughtseize can nab the higher costing problem cards before they become a problem.
Hymn to Tourach – The ultimate king in two for one card advantage. Unless you are a beginner to magic in general, you already understand why this is an auto-play in just about every black deck in eternal magic.
Abrupt Decay – Another new-school life breather. The best targeted removal we have. There are thing out there this cannot hit like Jace, but we can play or sideboard other options for that. The un-counterable part makes you feel like Superman when you hold it. Playing one to bomb their threat at the end of their turn and followed by playing your own threat on the next turn is huge turn around in the game.
Liliana of the Veil – This deck’s queen. We play our cards quickly and our top deck mode is poor without a Bob on board. So her +1 ability becomes appealing fast. Obviously her -2 ability fits with this deck’s goal perfectly. She is also a newer print that gives this deck potential.
Candidates:
Vampire Nighthawk – He can be played at 2-3 clip. The offense is a bit overrated, but the lifelink can save games. Very nice to chump block anyone you can’t get to otherwise.
Tombstalker – Was the finisher when this deck was born and is not seen as much. Playing 1-2 can be okay. When played effectively it’s the ultimate late game beast. There are some questions of synergy with Tarmogoyf (there always was) and when Deathrite Shaman has to eat your own graveyard.
Scavenging Ooze – Kind of does what Deathrite Shaman already does, but playing one won’t hurt either, because he can become a nice beater and messes with opposing Deathrite Shamans.
Whichever creatures you decide to add to your core 12, not going over 18 is advised.
Maelstrom Pulse – Playing at least one main deck is borderline auto play. I highly advise this, and having 1-2 more in your sideboard when needed. Abrupt Decay is more than enough against most legacy decks but can be sided out for more Pulse action in certain scenarios.
Sylvan Library and Sensei’s Divining Top – These are your choices if you want more library manipulation for a top deck mode late-game situation. I push for Library because of the ability to draw an extra card to seal the deal.
Dark Ritual – Great early game potential, but less consistent in any multi-color deck including this one. Some decks do insist on it so I will keep it here. Horrible top-deck though like usual.
Sinkhole – Used to be a must, but it has been sliding out of most legacy decks over the years. The way people play their decks loaded with fetchlands and less duals/basics, Sinkhole has lost potency. This added land destruction can be useful in some matchups however. So, depending on your meta-game environment this card can still be effective.
Umezawa’s Jitte – Certainly can help our board advantage stick if we get to this point. Any decks that wins by attacking gets amplified a bit with Jitte. Playing a couple doesn’t hurt at all.
Miss the Cut:
Hypnotic Specter and Nantuko Shade – Out-dated and out-classed these days. These creatures started out as staples in this deck but now are effective in very few matchups.
Snuff Out – Another old card when Eva Green was more of a Suicide deck. The life-loss becomes a problem more with Bob, also since we have Abrupt Decay now we don’t need it.
Duress – Just out-classed by Thoughtseize and Inquisition now.
Dismember – Again, too much life loss for a tempo deck like this.
Go For the Throat – Not needed with Abrupt Decay, Maelstrom Pulse, and Liliana of the Veil.
Phyrexian Obliterator and Abyssal Persecutor – We don’t want these because they are either conditional or can cost more than Tombstalker, Tombstalker is also a guaranteed evasive late game hit to the face if not dealt with.
Innocent Blood – We don’t have creatures that come back like Pox does.
Pernicious Deed – Besides Tombstalker this is going to ruin your board state and we can’t recover that easily from such a hit.
Powder Keg or Ratchet Bomb – Again, with a relatively low mana-curve to our permanents, we will hit ourselves hard one way or the other.
Blood Scrivener – Needs play testing as a budget option to Dark Confidant since we can empty our hands rather quickly. However, you always want Bob if budget allows.
Bitterblossom – Don’t want the upkeep life loss. If you play Jitte, you may be tempted. This just is not the right kind of deck for it.
Sideboard:
Surgical Extraction – Good against combo. You make them discard a combo piece and then take the rest out. Decent against graveyard strategy decks too.
Krosan Grip – Great against Affinity, Enchantress, and Lands. Good against any combo that relies on an artifact or enchantment. This is your best choice since it’s uncounterable.
Choke – We don’t like blue, so let’s shut down blue.
Maelstrom Pulse – If you pack 1 main deck, pack the second and third here. Auto-side vs. Jace and Batterskull.
Engineered Plague – Great against Elves, Merfolk, and Goblins. Careful about playing more than one against Elves since our DRS is an elf.
Tormod’s Crypt or Leyline of the Void – We don’t want to do it because of our own DRS and Tarmogoyf however sometimes you got to do what you go to do against Dredge, Lands, or Reanimator. If you side these in, don’t be afraid to side out a couple of those affected.
Grafdigger’s Cage – Good against Reanimator and Dredge so this may be a better option.
Pithing Needle – Never hurts to pack these. Cranial Plating vs. Affinity. Jace, Batterskull, Mom, Knight of the Reliquary, and Jitte are a few other great candidates.
Sample Decklist
4 Bayou
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Swamp
1 Forest
4 Dark Confidant
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Deathrite Shaman
3 Gatekeeper of Malakir
2 Tombstalker
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Abrupt Decay
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Sylvan Library
3 Liliana of the Veil
2 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Choke
3 Engineered Plague
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Grafdigger’s Cage
3 Krosan Grip
Recent Top Decklist
3 Wasteland
4 Bayou
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Verdant Catacombs
5 Swamp
2 Desecration Demon
3 Dark Confidant
3 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Abrupt Decay
2 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Thoughtseize
3 Liliana of the Veil
3 Sensei’s Divining Top
3 Choke
4 Obstinate Baloth
3 Leyline of the Void
2 Pernicious Deed
3 Angel of Despair
I run a semi-budget version of it:
The obvious things to swap out would be the Vampire Nighthawks for Goyfs, the Overgrown Tombs for Bayous, and the Inquisitions for Thoughtseize.
But that's another ~$1000 added to the deck. It runs well enough. I don't even know if I would want to run Goyf along side DRS and Tombstalker. Also Nighthawk is a much better defensive creature, and is nuts with Jitte on it.
The lifegain from DRS, Nighthawk, and Jitte also offsets the life loss from the shock lands and bitterblossom.
Bitterblossom deserves a place in this deck IMO. Especially if you are controlling a Jitte.
Any comments on my decklist?
4 Tombstalker is heavy though. You never want two in your opening hand or really at all. I hardly ever have a game when I have enough food for more than one of him especially if you have multiple DRS out and have used up their graveyard already. 2 is a great number for Tombstalker. Also you want to cut down the chances he gets snagged by Bob for 8 damage (although Top helps prevent this).
I like Jitte as a life gain source (and everything else it brings to the table) and should add it to the primer.
What about Wasteland? When should that become a priority for me?
Generally you want your manabase to be in order first.
Bayou <- Wasteland <- Tarmogoyf <- Thoughtseize
It's hard to put Tarmogoyf third in this progression though because he is so important to your creature attack. The only "optional" card to make this deck really competitive is Thoughtseize replaced by 4 Inquisiton of Kozilek.
The big problem here is you don't have enough tempo to beat them down because you don't control your library.
If you can pound away then, drop a grisley end of turn, you can choose the fatty you want and pound away even more.
The biggest problem with the deck is drawing mid game lands and dark rituals or sorcery.
Top-deck mode is definitely an issue with this deck and similar decks if you don't have Bob online.
I'm still not seeing the Grisley unless it's gets testing. Milling yourself of other threats/removal and just picking one just doesn't seem good enough.
Sylvan Library is in the primer and certainly is borderline staple along with Top.
4 Bayou
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Wasteland
3 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Swamp
1 Forest
Creatures
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Dark Confidant
3 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Gatekeeper of Malakir
3 Liliana of the Veil
2 Sylvan Library
Spells
4 Thoughtseize
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Abrupt Decay
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Engineered Plague
3 Choke
3 Pithing Needle
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Maelstrom Pulse
My list is the same. But without Lands removals.
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Dark Confidant
4 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Gatekeeper of Malakir
Others:(6)
2 Umezawa's jitte
2 Sylvan Library
2 Liliana of the Veil
4 Abrupt Decay
2 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Disfigure
Sorcery:(8)
4 Thoughtseize
4 Hymn Tourach
Lands:(20)
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Polluted Delta
1 Misty Rainforest
4 Bayou
3 Swamp
1 Florest
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Aggro control Game.
I play Death Cloud in Modern and was already most of the way to having this deck put together (unbeknownst to me), and I've decided I'm going to give it a go. No list to share yet, as I'm still assembling the pieces and may brew a little before my first event, but I'm excited to play some Legacy after going from Abzan in Standard to leaving Standard for eternal formats a few months ago. When they took Siege Rhino, I knew the format had left me behind forever.
In the yard: RUG Delver, Kiki-Chord, Grixis Twin, Mardu Control, Smallpox, Jeskai Control, Jeskai Delver, Assault Loam, Elves, Deathcloud, Eggs, Storm
I'm sure someone has tried it in jund a few times and could give better insight.
—Sarnvax, Gitaxian sective