This deck, a reiteration of an old staple, seeks to destroy the opponent’s game-plan and hand and put them on the top deck. This is done through efficient disruption and card advantage, like Inquisition of Kozilek and Rise/Fall. The workhorse cards are those like Smallpox, whose effects are made totally single-sided by beaters like Bloodghast and enablers like Dakmor Salvage. Graveyard recursion to remain viable well into the game is key. Though The Rack is a good part of the deck, discard is not the only strategy. The ultimate goal is to make each draw both relevant and useful in a variety of matchups and game situations.
Haakon, Stromgald Scourge + Nameless Inversion: Game over for aggro and (non-inferno) titan-based strategies at 4 mana
Funeral Charm: Kill a bird if going 2nd, kill that draw if top-decked, or make Haakon swing for 5 unblockable with Urbog, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Dakmor Salvage+ Raven’s Crime: Limit them to the draw for top-deck and dig for Haakon/Inversion combo or Bloodghasts 2 cards at a time. The nail in the coffin for Storm-Combos.
Rise/Fall: Taken as a pair, this is never a dead draw: Fall: The most effecient early-game disruption in Modern. An amazing card, and one of the main reasons for going B/R, other than great SB options. Even if it discards only 1 card, it is often the crucial piece they would hold out to Wrench Mind. Rise: Late-game, two blue sources allows Rise to return Bob or an Auger from the grave and and return a creature to your opponent's empty hand. Follow it up with Raven's Crime to drop that beater in the grave.
Augur of Skulls: The only debatable card in the deck due to the 1-turn delay, mostly kept in for flexibility. Draws early removal to save the Bloodghasts or Bob, or nets a 2-for-1 the next turn. With The Rack in play, it gives a way to cump-block large beaters and seal a win. Wrench Mind and Rise/Fall is situationally better early game, but this can be great late game.
Dark Confidant: Nitro for the Card-Advantage Engine, if fragile. Oddly, you do not want to play him on the first few turns. Use disruption on the first few turns and plop him in once the coast is clear. A great use is to have him follow a 2nd-turn Smallpox (with a discarded Bloodghast), or fourth if you feel that another round of discard is in order.
Thoughtseize:With Bob, fetches, and shocks, life is already a commodity in short supply. In this fast format, Inquisition of Kozilek will get 90% of the threats. SB these in over Funeral Charm against combo or against Zoo. The Charm will net you no turn-1 bird kills, against them.
Firespout: Kills most aggro dead. If they weren’t already from Smallpox and other sac effects. If Empty the Warrens goes off against storm, close the game.
Leyline of the Void: Graveyard combos like Dredge are rare atm, but Living End is a competitor, and this ends attempts to intant-animate Emrakul. Expect more graveyard action with Innestrad. Honesty, it is wonderful just to nuetralize Punishing Fire, as that is the only modern murder to this deck's strategy.
Bloodchief Ascension: Side in as another The Rack Against Zoo and other 3-color or greater decks. They will either shock themselves into activation for you or slow down enough to allow for their hand to be a sitting duck for discard.
Boom/Bust: SB in against 12-post and non-creature combo in exchange for Gatekeeper of Malakir. With only 2 in the SB, it has never bitten me in the ass, but those afraid of its interaction with Bob could go with Fulminator Mage, though he misses the turn-2 option for Smallpox redundancy.
Playing the Deck:
Turn 1: Use to Inquisition of Kozilek away immediate threats to give them no turn 1 plays or take away their main combo piece. With Smallpox in hand, encourage a turn one Bird or Hierarch. If on the draw or do not have discard, use the instant-speed Funeral Charm to kill a Bird or Dryad Arbor. Worst-case, play a shockland tapped or a Dakmor Salvage to sacrifice to a 2nd-turn Smallpox.
Turn 2: Smallpox away if they played a turn 1 creature, discarding a Bloodghast, Haakon, or Dakmor Salvage. Fall (Rise/Fall) or put down an Auger of Skulls if they are being stingy or if Pox is unavailable. Always sack the Augur the turn after you play it if it is before turn four.
Turn 3: If you played Smallpox last turn, the land-drop for the turn should have returned a Bloodghast. In this case, play discard, as Rise/Fall to have a good chance of hitting two cards. Otherwise, Bob will assist recovery. If you play your Smallpox now, put down your Dakmor Salvage as the land for the turn and sacrifice it. You should have at least one more disposable or graveyard-enabled card in your hand. If you have had the misfortune of not drawing Smallpox, yet, use Gatekeeper of Malakir kicked.
Turn 4: This is where the game starts. Dredge Dakmor Salvage and burn down the rest of their hand or board with whatever you have. Raven’s Cime/Dakmor Salvage should be active. If you have four lands out, feel free to Raven’s Crime away any stragglers in their hand, but Haakon can be nice with five lands. Use spare mana to slap down The Rack or whatever threats you have. Even Haakon would work.
The rest of the game: Everything is expendable except Bob, and even he can swing if there is non-powered opposition. The opponent should have already taken damage and will die in five turns or less. Use the Crime/Salvage engine to dig for more cards and keep them on the draw. The more Bloodghasts in the yard the better, and Haakon with Nameless Inversion is a closer for most aggro. Rise/Fall changes from discard to card-advantaged ‘removal’ with Raven’s crime; while Rise gets you Augur or Bob from the yard, it bounces the opponent’s biggest threat to their hand to be discarded.
Match-Ups:
Aggro: Most will get in some early damage, but will eventually lose board and hand position to the deck. This deck rarely loses a top-deck situation.
Zoo: Easy match with Smallpox and other creature disruption. Firespout closes it.
12-post: Disrupt their hand and destroy their lands. I have yet to lose a match.
Combo: Storm is easily handled with a mix of land and hand disruption. Auto-win. Firespout for Empty the Warrens. Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin has the counters to delay early, but folds to an emptied hand.
Infect Shoal: Even if on the draw, Funeral Charm and Inquisition of Kozilek still kills the deck.
Affinity: Excluding a god Darksteel Citadel, Memnite, Mox Opal, FrogmiteX4 hand, handles pretty well. Smallpox and discard puts them into pinging and top-deck mode, which is easily handle-able.
RDW Burn: The hardest matchup to play against. Inquisition away any early threat you can, then hope sac/discard effects can hold off enough damage for Firespout to give you some breathing room to draw The Rack or another finisher.
Geth’s Verdict: Gatekeeper of Malakir is usually better, but a possibility against Emrakul-cheating decks.
Flagstones of Trokair: I have tried it before to maximize Smallpox, but it generally forces the Pox play to the 3rd turn, which is not optimal. Adittionally, four mana is where this deck comfortably caps out, so killing one land is not killing the tempo of the deck
Nether Traitor: In such a creature-light deck, the old boy is a Bloodghast without the easily-excessible recursion or extra power.
Grim Lavamancer: Shows potential, but is effectively a non-recurrable Bloodghast, which is actually saying alot. Smallpox is a card advantage machine and Salvage-digging (2 cards at a time) is a top-deck engine; their effect needs to be maxed.
Nezumi Shortfang: A four mana, 2-turn investment for another non-recurrable finisher. The closest analogy I have for that is Bob, and he's no Bob. Though I like The Rack redundancy, the 1-cost is what this lacks. At three mana, Haakon brings a more solid body, an immediate presence, reanimation, and removal recursion through Nameless Inversion.
Blightning: Rise/Fall, Wrench Mind, Raven's Crime, and (in this deck) Delirium Skeins all do it's job better either by being cheaper or enabling other cards in the deck. In a rush to empty the opponent's hand, a 1-turn delay is big, and 3 damage is just a rack turn. If I wanted to pay 1BR in a turn, I would rather play Rise/Fall and The Rack.
Akuta, Born of Ash: Haakon with Haste, with a free but somewhat restrictive, situational form of recursion. He is good to have on the top-deck, but generally underwhelming if the deck hasn’t cleared the field and hand. Good as a 1-of, but unsure what spot he would have in the deck.
This is a deck I have been testing and evolving extensively, and am very satisfied thus far with its results. It manages to effectively neuter most if not all forms of 12-post and combo while remaining quite competitive against a wide range of aggro matchups. For the most part, the pieces of the deck seem to be set, though the exact number for each card may show some room for tweaking. I would like to see if anyone would have their own views or would like to test out their own version.
EDIT: Some of the "CARD" wrap text is misbehaving for some reason, so bear with me. When in doubt, see the decklist. I am continuing to update the lists and modify the OP based on feedback, even if I don't directly respond with a post. A bit buisy atm.
THIS 100X!!! If you don't agree with this then there is no amount of logic that will ever convince you that good, non-oppressive, combos should be allowed. If you don't agree with it then just don't play this game, and you certainly shouldn't feel entitled to make any comment on ban lists ever.
Any red disruption deck with fetchs and Dakmor Salvage should probably find room for Boom//Bust.
Boom/Bust is very good and made it to the SB. Though it is good versus 12-post and land-heavy decks, anything else (like Zoo) shrugs off the loss of one land and uses the turn to get another 2-5 damage in.
When I played the deck, Blightning was by far the best card in it. I'm quite surprised you're not running it.
The thing about Blightning: 1 to lose the randomness of Rise/Fall and gain the 3 damage, doesn't work in practice. The key of the deck is to empty the opponent's hand as quickly as possible, including the cards they kept the hand for. When testing Blightning, vs. either Wrench Mind or Rise/Fall, the loss in randomness or in tempo does not suit the damage gain:
T1:Inquisition T2: Smallpox discarding Bloodghast and keeping 3-cost cards in the opponent's hand. T3: Returning Bloodghast with a landdrop then Rise/Fall.
Optimally, that nets 6 cards and a one-to-two-turn setback on my opponent's side for the cost of 4 cards and little to no tempo loss for the deck.
I generally agree on Delirium Skeins. In comparison to Stupor or Blightning on a card-for-card basis, Delirium Skeins is worse. It needs replacing. However, too often, I found in games I wanted to discard my Bloodghast or Dakmor Salvage to Smallpox, leaving Haakon, and, by the third or fouth turn where I would be casting it, him and Skeins would be nearly the constitution of my hand.
Here is the post of the thread. I have not tested her, but I cannot believe I forgot her; I will have to update the OP under "Possible Cards"... no, make that "Must Have." Liliana of the Veil is the card that will replaceDelirium Skeins and take this deck into a new level. Liliana replacing Skeins is effectively like having another 2 Raven's Crime and 2 Bloodkeeper of Malakir. Imagine the previous turn sequence, only with Liliana 2.0 as the Turn-4 drop. If I have Haakon or Drakmor Salvage in hand, +1 and have a 1-sided discard. Have a beater? -2 for Cruel Edict and swing unopposed with Bloodghast.
EDIT: I've tried the Nether Traitor, and he sadly is lacking. With the low creature-count, the old boy plays like an underwhelming Bloodghast.
THIS 100X!!! If you don't agree with this then there is no amount of logic that will ever convince you that good, non-oppressive, combos should be allowed. If you don't agree with it then just don't play this game, and you certainly shouldn't feel entitled to make any comment on ban lists ever.
hypnotic specter ? could also make it BRU as well to make mamimum effect of rise/fall, maybe a steem vents instead of Arid Mesa?? seems kinda pointless to search for a pains when u could find an island with Scalding Tarn?? also tombstalker and necroplasm could be worth looking into, geth's verdict
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Standard: pft, i love to see my cards depreciate in value once they rotate :S
Mordern: Melira, UR Storm, RDW, Infect, W life/control, UW Tron
Legacy: RDW, Pox
Vintage: Dark Depths, R Grey Orge
I play a bit different version of this that includes Blightning, Fall, Stupor, and Thoughtseize. Magnivore and Anathemancer are my win cons. I haven't tried out The Rack, but I might just because it fits so well.
I like Nezumi Shortfang as a replacement for Augur of Skulls. Nothing else, Shortfang can instant-discard during their draw step once they are in top deck mode, then shift to be another Rack. Otherwise I'm a big fan of the OP decklist...been trying to build a discard heavy deck for awhile, so I'll give this a shot.
I also like Nyxathid, but the list seems to be pretty tight...side board possible? Though it doesn't have much synergy with Smallpox
Surgical Extraction can combine with any of the discard to eliminate key components to any deck...especially on Turn 1
The thing about Blightning: 1 to lose the randomness of Rise/Fall and gain the 3 damage, doesn't work in practice. The key of the deck is to empty the opponent's hand as quickly as possible, including the cards they kept the hand for.
Right, you said it yourself. They key is to empty their hand ASAP, which is exactly why I don't like Fall. If they flip even one land, that really sucks for you if you're trying to win with The Rack.
The non-randomness doesn't make a huge difference because you're playing a discard deck. They shouldn't have two cards that they don't mind losing on turn 3.
Also, the fact that it's still a bolt to the face when their hand is empty is huge.
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When you peer long enough through the depths, the depths peer also through you.
hypnotic specter ? could also make it BRU as well to make mamimum effect of rise/fall, maybe a steem vents instead of Arid Mesa?? seems kinda pointless to search for a pains when u could find an island with Scalding Tarn?? also tombstalker and necroplasm could be worth looking into, geth's verdict
Very good suggestion. Opens up the possibility of using Rise/Fall's other efficient spell, Rise, which can get back Bob and return an opponent's creature to hand late game, where it can be Raven's Crimed. I admit I am a fan of Recoil. The decklist was edited to meet your suggestion.
EDIT: However, Bob makes Tombstalker unappealing maindeck, and, other than tokens, Necroplasm has at least a turn before it kills anything important.
I like Nezumi Shortfang as a replacement for Augur of Skulls. Nothing else, Shortfang can instant-discard during their draw step once they are in top deck mode, then shift to be another Rack. Otherwise I'm a big fan of the OP decklist...been trying to build a discard heavy deck for awhile, so I'll give this a shot.
I also like Nyxathid, but the list seems to be pretty tight...side board possible? Though it doesn't have much synergy with Smallpox
Surgical Extraction can combine with any of the discard to eliminate key components to any deck...especially on Turn 1
I personally don't like the shortfang because of the 2-turn investment and manacost when this deck wishes to work on 3 mana. Possibly a 1-of. Honestly, alot of this deck is built to work around the beasts that are Raven's Crime and Smallpox. Alot of these suggested cards are good in non-pox/crime builds, but the ability to play them from the yard means so much for the deck in terms of digging and resource leveraging. Those cards warp the way the deck is made.
I do, however, like Surgical Extraction. Where would you put it? Is there any room you see in the SB?
Right, you said it yourself. They key is to empty their hand ASAP, which is exactly why I don't like Fall. If they flip even one land, that really sucks for you if you're trying to win with The Rack.
The non-randomness doesn't make a huge difference because you're playing a discard deck. They shouldn't have two cards that they don't mind losing on turn 3.
Also, the fact that it's still a bolt to the face when their hand is empty is huge.
I think you are intending to use Rise/Fall in a different way than I am trying to use it. Something Blightning's cost is a hand finisher, a-la Delirium Skeins and Raven's Crime (with my extra lands).
What Rise/Fall offers is instead well-rounded, as 2-mana is usable in a variety of instances in play; try to play Blightning turn 3 following a Pox. With its penchant for ruining game plans, Rise/Fall can even be used as a sub for Smallpox on turn-2. Opening hands are often mulled if a key piece (or a way to find it) is missing, especially in this combo-rich environment.
I think you underestimate the card itself, and how good "random" is. Especially following a Pox, hitting a land is quite rare, as people want to drop their lands and will still have their intended 3rd or 4th turn plays that were held back from the Pox. If they have the number of lands in hand to make it only a 1-grab, good for me. The Rack is just a balanced part of a winning strategy, not the end-all win-con.
If I replaced Rise/Fall, it would be with more Augurs and Wrench Mind. Having tested both, right now I don't see it.
Wow, I feel like there's some really janky suggestions floating around in here. This deck will never be competitive while playing Mind Slash and Hypnotic Specter. BR Rack with no Blightning... -facepalm- Focus. Condense. Play good/better cards. There are a billion synergies you can exploit with black Rack strategies but they're all borderline. Cards like Lili 2.0 and Bloodghast are fracking gift-wrapped for this deck. Just play good cards, there's more'n enough.
Wow, I feel like there's some really janky suggestions floating around in here. This deck will never be competitive while playing Mind Slash and Hypnotic Specter.
Doing testing at the moment will Liliana, and she is amazing. I personally wouldn't be surprised if we end up seeing a decklist working her and pox in somewhere in the Modern tournament scene.
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Introduction:
This deck, a reiteration of an old staple, seeks to destroy the opponent’s game-plan and hand and put them on the top deck. This is done through efficient disruption and card advantage, like Inquisition of Kozilek and Rise/Fall. The workhorse cards are those like Smallpox, whose effects are made totally single-sided by beaters like Bloodghast and enablers like Dakmor Salvage.
Graveyard recursion to remain viable well into the game is key. Though The Rack is a good part of the deck, discard is not the only strategy. The ultimate goal is to make each draw both relevant and useful in a variety of matchups and game situations.
Discard + The Rack: Obvious
Bloodghast, Haakon, Stromgald Scourge, Dakmor Salvage + Smallpox, Delirium Skeins: You discard cards and sacrifice creatures, I enable my engines and win-cons
Haakon, Stromgald Scourge + Nameless Inversion: Game over for aggro and (non-inferno) titan-based strategies at 4 mana
Funeral Charm: Kill a bird if going 2nd, kill that draw if top-decked, or make Haakon swing for 5 unblockable with Urbog, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Dakmor Salvage+ Raven’s Crime: Limit them to the draw for top-deck and dig for Haakon/Inversion combo or Bloodghasts 2 cards at a time. The nail in the coffin for Storm-Combos.
Rise/Fall: Taken as a pair, this is never a dead draw:
Fall: The most effecient early-game disruption in Modern. An amazing card, and one of the main reasons for going B/R, other than great SB options. Even if it discards only 1 card, it is often the crucial piece they would hold out to Wrench Mind.
Rise: Late-game, two blue sources allows Rise to return Bob or an Auger from the grave and and return a creature to your opponent's empty hand. Follow it up with Raven's Crime to drop that beater in the grave.
Augur of Skulls: The only debatable card in the deck due to the 1-turn delay, mostly kept in for flexibility. Draws early removal to save the Bloodghasts or Bob, or nets a 2-for-1 the next turn. With The Rack in play, it gives a way to cump-block large beaters and seal a win. Wrench Mind and Rise/Fall is situationally better early game, but this can be great late game.
Dark Confidant: Nitro for the Card-Advantage Engine, if fragile. Oddly, you do not want to play him on the first few turns. Use disruption on the first few turns and plop him in once the coast is clear. A great use is to have him follow a 2nd-turn Smallpox (with a discarded Bloodghast), or fourth if you feel that another round of discard is in order.
4 Swamp
2 Marsh Flats
3 Dakmor Salvage
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Blood Crypt
1 Watery Grave
3 Verdant Catacombs
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Steam Vent
Creatures (14):
2 Haakon, Stromgald Scourge
4 Bloodghast
2 Augur of Skulls
4 Dark Confidant
2 Gatekeeper of Malakir
3 Nameless Inversion
4 The Rack
2 Raven's Crime
4 Smallpox
2 Funeral Charm
2 Liliana of the Veil
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Rise/Fall
2 Thoughtseize
4 Firespout
3 Leyline of the Void
3 Bloodchief Ascension
2 Boom/Bust
1 Lilian of the Viel
Sideboard:
Thoughtseize:With Bob, fetches, and shocks, life is already a commodity in short supply. In this fast format, Inquisition of Kozilek will get 90% of the threats. SB these in over Funeral Charm against combo or against Zoo. The Charm will net you no turn-1 bird kills, against them.
Firespout: Kills most aggro dead. If they weren’t already from Smallpox and other sac effects. If Empty the Warrens goes off against storm, close the game.
Leyline of the Void: Graveyard combos like Dredge are rare atm, but Living End is a competitor, and this ends attempts to intant-animate Emrakul. Expect more graveyard action with Innestrad. Honesty, it is wonderful just to nuetralize Punishing Fire, as that is the only modern murder to this deck's strategy.
Bloodchief Ascension: Side in as another The Rack Against Zoo and other 3-color or greater decks. They will either shock themselves into activation for you or slow down enough to allow for their hand to be a sitting duck for discard.
Boom/Bust: SB in against 12-post and non-creature combo in exchange for Gatekeeper of Malakir. With only 2 in the SB, it has never bitten me in the ass, but those afraid of its interaction with Bob could go with Fulminator Mage, though he misses the turn-2 option for Smallpox redundancy.
Turn 1: Use to Inquisition of Kozilek away immediate threats to give them no turn 1 plays or take away their main combo piece. With Smallpox in hand, encourage a turn one Bird or Hierarch. If on the draw or do not have discard, use the instant-speed Funeral Charm to kill a Bird or Dryad Arbor. Worst-case, play a shockland tapped or a Dakmor Salvage to sacrifice to a 2nd-turn Smallpox.
Turn 2: Smallpox away if they played a turn 1 creature, discarding a Bloodghast, Haakon, or Dakmor Salvage. Fall (Rise/Fall) or put down an Auger of Skulls if they are being stingy or if Pox is unavailable. Always sack the Augur the turn after you play it if it is before turn four.
Turn 3: If you played Smallpox last turn, the land-drop for the turn should have returned a Bloodghast. In this case, play discard, as Rise/Fall to have a good chance of hitting two cards. Otherwise, Bob will assist recovery. If you play your Smallpox now, put down your Dakmor Salvage as the land for the turn and sacrifice it. You should have at least one more disposable or graveyard-enabled card in your hand. If you have had the misfortune of not drawing Smallpox, yet, use Gatekeeper of Malakir kicked.
Turn 4: This is where the game starts. Dredge Dakmor Salvage and burn down the rest of their hand or board with whatever you have. Raven’s Cime/Dakmor Salvage should be active. If you have four lands out, feel free to Raven’s Crime away any stragglers in their hand, but Haakon can be nice with five lands. Use spare mana to slap down The Rack or whatever threats you have. Even Haakon would work.
The rest of the game: Everything is expendable except Bob, and even he can swing if there is non-powered opposition. The opponent should have already taken damage and will die in five turns or less. Use the Crime/Salvage engine to dig for more cards and keep them on the draw. The more Bloodghasts in the yard the better, and Haakon with Nameless Inversion is a closer for most aggro. Rise/Fall changes from discard to card-advantaged ‘removal’ with Raven’s crime; while Rise gets you Augur or Bob from the yard, it bounces the opponent’s biggest threat to their hand to be discarded.
Aggro: Most will get in some early damage, but will eventually lose board and hand position to the deck. This deck rarely loses a top-deck situation.
Zoo: Easy match with Smallpox and other creature disruption. Firespout closes it.
12-post: Disrupt their hand and destroy their lands. I have yet to lose a match.
Combo: Storm is easily handled with a mix of land and hand disruption. Auto-win. Firespout for Empty the Warrens. Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin has the counters to delay early, but folds to an emptied hand.
Infect Shoal: Even if on the draw, Funeral Charm and Inquisition of Kozilek still kills the deck.
Affinity: Excluding a god Darksteel Citadel, Memnite, Mox Opal, FrogmiteX4 hand, handles pretty well. Smallpox and discard puts them into pinging and top-deck mode, which is easily handle-able.
RDW Burn: The hardest matchup to play against. Inquisition away any early threat you can, then hope sac/discard effects can hold off enough damage for Firespout to give you some breathing room to draw The Rack or another finisher.
Liliana of the Veil: Liliana 2.0 replacing Delirium Skeins is effectively like having another of each Raven's Crime and Bloodkeeper of Malakir. She is made for this deck and will serve as a wonderful addition when she is made available.
Geth’s Verdict: Gatekeeper of Malakir is usually better, but a possibility against Emrakul-cheating decks.
Flagstones of Trokair: I have tried it before to maximize Smallpox, but it generally forces the Pox play to the 3rd turn, which is not optimal. Adittionally, four mana is where this deck comfortably caps out, so killing one land is not killing the tempo of the deck
Nether Traitor: In such a creature-light deck, the old boy is a Bloodghast without the easily-excessible recursion or extra power.
Grim Lavamancer: Shows potential, but is effectively a non-recurrable Bloodghast, which is actually saying alot. Smallpox is a card advantage machine and Salvage-digging (2 cards at a time) is a top-deck engine; their effect needs to be maxed.
Nezumi Shortfang: A four mana, 2-turn investment for another non-recurrable finisher. The closest analogy I have for that is Bob, and he's no Bob. Though I like The Rack redundancy, the 1-cost is what this lacks. At three mana, Haakon brings a more solid body, an immediate presence, reanimation, and removal recursion through Nameless Inversion.
Blightning: Rise/Fall, Wrench Mind, Raven's Crime, and (in this deck) Delirium Skeins all do it's job better either by being cheaper or enabling other cards in the deck. In a rush to empty the opponent's hand, a 1-turn delay is big, and 3 damage is just a rack turn. If I wanted to pay 1BR in a turn, I would rather play Rise/Fall and The Rack.
Akuta, Born of Ash: Haakon with Haste, with a free but somewhat restrictive, situational form of recursion. He is good to have on the top-deck, but generally underwhelming if the deck hasn’t cleared the field and hand. Good as a 1-of, but unsure what spot he would have in the deck.
This is a deck I have been testing and evolving extensively, and am very satisfied thus far with its results. It manages to effectively neuter most if not all forms of 12-post and combo while remaining quite competitive against a wide range of aggro matchups. For the most part, the pieces of the deck seem to be set, though the exact number for each card may show some room for tweaking. I would like to see if anyone would have their own views or would like to test out their own version.
EDIT: Some of the "CARD" wrap text is misbehaving for some reason, so bear with me. When in doubt, see the decklist.
I am continuing to update the lists and modify the OP based on feedback, even if I don't directly respond with a post. A bit buisy atm.
When I played the deck, Blightning was by far the best card in it. I'm quite surprised you're not running it.
Edit: Delirium Skeins should be Stupor
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Boom/Bust is very good and made it to the SB. Though it is good versus 12-post and land-heavy decks, anything else (like Zoo) shrugs off the loss of one land and uses the turn to get another 2-5 damage in.
The thing about Blightning: 1 to lose the randomness of Rise/Fall and gain the 3 damage, doesn't work in practice. The key of the deck is to empty the opponent's hand as quickly as possible, including the cards they kept the hand for. When testing Blightning, vs. either Wrench Mind or Rise/Fall, the loss in randomness or in tempo does not suit the damage gain:
T1:Inquisition
T2: Smallpox discarding Bloodghast and keeping 3-cost cards in the opponent's hand.
T3: Returning Bloodghast with a landdrop then Rise/Fall.
Optimally, that nets 6 cards and a one-to-two-turn setback on my opponent's side for the cost of 4 cards and little to no tempo loss for the deck.
I generally agree on Delirium Skeins. In comparison to Stupor or Blightning on a card-for-card basis, Delirium Skeins is worse. It needs replacing. However, too often, I found in games I wanted to discard my Bloodghast or Dakmor Salvage to Smallpox, leaving Haakon, and, by the third or fouth turn where I would be casting it, him and Skeins would be nearly the constitution of my hand.
Here is the post of the thread. I have not tested her, but I cannot believe I forgot her; I will have to update the OP under "Possible Cards"... no, make that "Must Have." Liliana of the Veil is the card that will replaceDelirium Skeins and take this deck into a new level. Liliana replacing Skeins is effectively like having another 2 Raven's Crime and 2 Bloodkeeper of Malakir. Imagine the previous turn sequence, only with Liliana 2.0 as the Turn-4 drop. If I have Haakon or Drakmor Salvage in hand, +1 and have a 1-sided discard. Have a beater? -2 for Cruel Edict and swing unopposed with Bloodghast.
EDIT: I've tried the Nether Traitor, and he sadly is lacking. With the low creature-count, the old boy plays like an underwhelming Bloodghast.
Mordern: Melira, UR Storm, RDW, Infect, W life/control, UW Tron
Legacy: RDW, Pox
Vintage: Dark Depths, R Grey Orge
4 blood crypt
4 graven cairns
4 lavaclaw reaches
4 bleakcleave cliffs
5 mountain
3 swamp
Dudes:
4 anathemancer
4 magnivore
4 thoughtseize
4 flame slash
4 rise/fall
4 sign in blood
4 stupor
4 Blightning
3 firespout
1 banefire
4 extirpate
1 firespout
3 pyroclasm
4 cryoclasm
3 molten rain
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showpost.php?p=7718699&postcount=248
I also like Nyxathid, but the list seems to be pretty tight...side board possible? Though it doesn't have much synergy with Smallpox
Surgical Extraction can combine with any of the discard to eliminate key components to any deck...especially on Turn 1
-MTG Salvation.
Right, you said it yourself. They key is to empty their hand ASAP, which is exactly why I don't like Fall. If they flip even one land, that really sucks for you if you're trying to win with The Rack.
The non-randomness doesn't make a huge difference because you're playing a discard deck. They shouldn't have two cards that they don't mind losing on turn 3.
Also, the fact that it's still a bolt to the face when their hand is empty is huge.
Very good suggestion. Opens up the possibility of using Rise/Fall's other efficient spell, Rise, which can get back Bob and return an opponent's creature to hand late game, where it can be Raven's Crimed. I admit I am a fan of Recoil. The decklist was edited to meet your suggestion.
EDIT: However, Bob makes Tombstalker unappealing maindeck, and, other than tokens, Necroplasm has at least a turn before it kills anything important.
I personally don't like the shortfang because of the 2-turn investment and manacost when this deck wishes to work on 3 mana. Possibly a 1-of. Honestly, alot of this deck is built to work around the beasts that are Raven's Crime and Smallpox. Alot of these suggested cards are good in non-pox/crime builds, but the ability to play them from the yard means so much for the deck in terms of digging and resource leveraging. Those cards warp the way the deck is made.
I do, however, like Surgical Extraction. Where would you put it? Is there any room you see in the SB?
I think you are intending to use Rise/Fall in a different way than I am trying to use it. Something Blightning's cost is a hand finisher, a-la Delirium Skeins and Raven's Crime (with my extra lands).
What Rise/Fall offers is instead well-rounded, as 2-mana is usable in a variety of instances in play; try to play Blightning turn 3 following a Pox. With its penchant for ruining game plans, Rise/Fall can even be used as a sub for Smallpox on turn-2. Opening hands are often mulled if a key piece (or a way to find it) is missing, especially in this combo-rich environment.
I think you underestimate the card itself, and how good "random" is. Especially following a Pox, hitting a land is quite rare, as people want to drop their lands and will still have their intended 3rd or 4th turn plays that were held back from the Pox. If they have the number of lands in hand to make it only a 1-grab, good for me. The Rack is just a balanced part of a winning strategy, not the end-all win-con.
If I replaced Rise/Fall, it would be with more Augurs and Wrench Mind. Having tested both, right now I don't see it.
U(U/B)B(B/R)R(R/G)G(G/W)W(W/B)B(B/G)G(G/U)U(U/R)R(R/W)W(W/U)U
B(B/R)R(R/G)G(G/W)W(W/B)B(B/G)G(G/U)U(U/R)R(R/W)W(W/U)U(U/B)B
R(R/G)G(G/W)W(W/B)B(B/G)G(G/U)U(U/R)R(R/W)W(W/U)U(U/B)B(B/R)R
G(G/W)W(W/B)B(B/G)G(G/U)U(U/R)R(R/W)W(W/U)U(U/B)B(B/R)R(R/G)G
Or Burning Vengeance, but gosh is it tempting.
You're absolutely right though.