Hi everyone. This is a deck idea I came up with recently and wanted to get some second opinions on the deck. I'm not looking for a format all star, just something fun for FNMs. I've always liked the idea of mono black control and I think I have a good starting point. I copied the general formula for a legacy prison deck: fast mana, chalice, bridge, maybe trinisphere out of the sideboard.
The game plan is to drop a Chalice and a Bridge as quickly as possible then back it up with heavy removal and grindy win conditions. The primary win conditions are liliana, the last hope's ultimate making a bunch Zombies or palace siege pinging our opponent every turn. We can deal 2 damage every turn or we can repeatably loop fulminator mages to destroy our opponent's lands. Counter magic can be really good against us if they time it correctly. Any ideas on a Sideboard win con that fights through counter magic? Bitterblossom is my current choice. We also have a back up win condition of drawing our whole deck and casting black sun's zenith until our opponent mills out.
Fulminator mage, Dismember and Collective brutality give us early game protection and they support the tempo plan of chalice on 1. Mind Stone helps us ramp early and cycles late game. Both Lilianas give us decent repeatable removal.
Scrying Sheets is something fun to do with our extra mana late game. This probably isn't necessary and could just be other utility lands but I wanted to try them out.
Thanks for reading! Any suggestions or questions are appreciated. This is a working idea and I'm open to criticism.
I like the idea. You may be in need of some card draw though. Phyrexian Arena is a favorite of mine. Adds devotion if you decide to ever go that route, and also sits outside of Trinisphere/Chalice of the void range as well.
Thanks for the suggestions! I would love a good draw engine but I'm concerned that the life loss would be too much for my deck to handle. The win conditions are very slow. Palace Siege gives me two life a turn though so it combos nicely with the arena. And Confidant is something I could kill off if it ever becomes too deadly with my own boardwipes or lilianas.
Any suggested cuts for a draw engine? Maybe push the Spyglass to the sideboard.
You could also just use something like Night's Whisper for card draw. I'd cut (or move to sb) the Spyglass and 1 Brutality. Have you thought about other win conditions such as Ob Nixilis Reignited? It doubles as card draw as well.
Has Mind Stone been performing well for you? I don't know what else to cut. What are you using Simian Spirit Guide for?
In case it wasn't clear I don't own the deck yet. I'm thinking of building it soon, I just wanted some pre-build ideas. Still brewing.
Based on draw-throughs Mind Stone is pretty good. It can accelerate me on mana to an early board wipe or ensnaring bridge. Same with Simian Spirit Guide. The idea is to get the bridges and chalices down asap.
You could also just use something like Night's Whisper for card draw. I'd cut (or move to sb) the Spyglass and 1 Brutality. Have you thought about other win conditions such as Ob Nixilis Reignited? It doubles as card draw as well.
I'm a big fan of Night's Whisper and Ob Nixilis. I think I like Ob the most out of suggestions so far in this slot since he can double as removal (though he is very expensive). Thanks!
Yeah, Ob was an all star in Standard and he's currently seeing some fringe play in the Modern BW Control deck that has put up a few 5-0 results, so I figure he's worth a slot.
I play Ob in UB Control and he's OK. I could see him being even better behind a bridge. I think I want card draw more for the mid/late game than the early game so I think Ob might be the best bet. He gives me another wincon too.
Here's my current list:
4x Chalice of the Void
4x Ensnaring Bridge
4x Mind Stone
1x Sorcerous Spyglass
Sorcery (7)
1x Black Sun's Zenith
4x Collective Brutality
2x Damnation
Instant (2)
2x Dismember
1x Palace Siege
Land (23)
3x Gemstone Caverns
2x Scrying Sheets
15x Snow-Covered Swamp
3x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Planeswalker (6)
4x Liliana of the Veil
2x Liliana, the Last Hope
Creature (8)
4x Fulminator Mage
4x Simian Spirit Guide
2x Bitterblossom
1x Damnation
1x Grave Titan
3x Leyline of the Void
2x Night of Souls' Betrayal
2x Ratchet Bomb
2x Sorcerous Spyglass
2x Trinisphere
The game plan is to drop a Chalice and a Bridge as quickly as possible then back it up with heavy removal and grindy win conditions. The primary win conditions are liliana, the last hope's ultimate making a bunch Zombies or palace siege pinging our opponent every turn. We can deal 2 damage every turn or we can repeatably loop fulminator mages to destroy our opponent's lands. Counter magic can be really good against us if they time it correctly. Any ideas on a Sideboard win con that fights through counter magic? Bitterblossom is my current choice. We also have a back up win condition of drawing our whole deck and casting black sun's zenith until our opponent mills out.
Fulminator mage, Dismember and Collective brutality give us early game protection and they support the tempo plan of chalice on 1. Mind Stone helps us ramp early and cycles late game. Both Lilianas give us decent repeatable removal.
Scrying Sheets is something fun to do with our extra mana late game. This probably isn't necessary and could just be other utility lands but I wanted to try them out.
Thanks for reading! Any suggestions or questions are appreciated. This is a working idea and I'm open to criticism.
Any suggested cuts for a draw engine? Maybe push the Spyglass to the sideboard.
In case it wasn't clear I don't own the deck yet. I'm thinking of building it soon, I just wanted some pre-build ideas. Still brewing.
Based on draw-throughs Mind Stone is pretty good. It can accelerate me on mana to an early board wipe or ensnaring bridge. Same with Simian Spirit Guide. The idea is to get the bridges and chalices down asap.
I'm a big fan of Night's Whisper and Ob Nixilis. I think I like Ob the most out of suggestions so far in this slot since he can double as removal (though he is very expensive). Thanks!
4x Chalice of the Void
4x Ensnaring Bridge
4x Mind Stone
Sorcery (6)
1x Black Sun's Zenith
3x Collective Brutality
2x Damnation
Instant (2)
2x Dismember
Enchantment (1)
1x Palace Siege
3x Gemstone Caverns
2x Scrying Sheets
15x Snow-Covered Swamp
3x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Planeswalker (8)
4x Liliana of the Veil
2x Liliana, the Last Hope
2x Ob Nixilis Reignited
Creature (8)
4x Fulminator Mage
4x Simian Spirit Guide
2x Bitterblossom
1x Damnation
1x Grave Titan
3x Leyline of the Void
2x Night of Souls' Betrayal
2x Ratchet Bomb
2x Sorcerous Spyglass
2x Trinisphere