Not sure if I'll be able to get a quick response as this is an old thread, but I'm last-minute going to play in a modern event tonight and could use some help. I built a mono-black devotion deck a few months ago based on an article I read and because I enjoy mono-black. I don't hardly ever play modern (I think I've played the deck 3 times total), have certainly never been to a modern event, and I know nothing about the modern metagame. So good times will be had! =D
Here is what I have built right now. Let me know if there is anything I can do to the mainboard or sideboard that would instantly improve it based on what I'm likely to see (I'm just playing at an LGS). Also, any help with a sideboard plan would be awesome. I have a sideboard, but I don't know how to use it! =) Unfortunately, I don't own any LotV so that isn't an option.
I still follow the thread closely, so I'll give it a shot. You'll want to cut Grisebrand, one or two Phyrexian Obliterators, and go down to three Gray Merchant of Asphodel. In their place look to Disfigure or Darkblast, Slaughter Pact is solid here as well. I would swap around your numbers on Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek, or at least do a 3/3 split. Then to take advantage of your Nykthos I would look to something like Profane Command. The only this I would really add to your sideboard is some decent grave hate. The Wretch is good, but I would rather a more powerful effect.
I think you would rather have a Leyline of the Void, Tormod's Crypt, more Surgical Extractions, etc. The creature is okay, but there are cheaper effects for literally no mana whatsoever.
Bloodsoaked Champion is really sweet tech in this deck if you aren't running a lot of Zombies and Mutavualts that trigger a Gravecrawler. The biggest issue with Master of the Feast is that you are giving you opponent a lot of card advantage, it's almost like you gave them a Bob that doesn't hurt them. This allows them to hit land drops, spot removal, or threats. If you want to run the Master you need to ensure that you can kill them before they can take advantage of the cards you are giving them. Maybe find a way to run Tombstalker in the same deck?
Edit: I'm not sure what' going on with my auto card on this post. It previews correctly, and I can't find anything wrong....
Thanks for the advice Oops. I tried out some of the extra spot removal and it was helpful. I ended up going 2-2, losing very close games to UR Delver and Pod. All in all, the deck was really fun and I had a great time. I'm sure I'll be playing it again.
No problem at all! I really enjoy playing against Pod. It's a really good test of player skills. Delver can be really intensive too, our creatures are really good against a lot of the removal they run, but they can typically start aiming it at our face. Depending on the build I've been considering Illness in the Ranks to deal with Young Pyromancer tokens in the side. If you can land a decent sized Gray Merchant of Asphodel it's hard to loose, but not impossible. I have not played Necrogen Mists, but 8Rack used to play it in their budget lists as a replacement for Liliana of the Veil. Cunning Lethemancer has largely the same effect, stapled on to a 2/2 beater. Both aren't as strong as Lili, nor do they give you as much devotion, but if you can get advantage out of the discard it's really good. Creatures like Gravecrawler, Bloodsoaked Champion, Nether Traitor, and BloodGhast are really good ways to turn a symmetrical effect into a one sided affair. If you go towards this play style you'll want to look at cards like Raven's Crime as well.
Good luck with the deck, it's my current favorite.
So I played against my friend's modern merfolk and legacy goblins. Bile blight and drown in sorrow are beautiful 2 for ones and leeches scaling with swamps is a nightmare since he has to 2 for 1. Plus I took out 2 downfall for duress and now I rip people's hands apart. That's all I have for now but once I finish my sideboard combo and control will have a hard time.
Alright, I've been thinking about this deck for the past week and I'm trying to plan ahead so I'm ready the next time I play. Here is what the deck looks like right now...
More removal was suggested to me before (Disfigure, Darkblast, and Slaughter Pact specifically). I ended up adding a second Go for the Throat and Victim of Night simply because I already had them. I happen to like those removal spells a lot, and am unsure why I would play either of the first two suggestions over what I already have or perhaps something like Bile Blight. Is the 1-cmc casting cost worth running a card that is so much weaker? Slaughter Pact at least makes sense to me. I can imagine trying that out.
I'm working to acquire Liliana of the Veil, and Mutavault. It's confirmed that Lili is not being reprinted in MM2 so there is no reason to wait. I had totally forgot about Mutavault and am glad to see that the price has come down. I'm assuming Lili will just replace Gatekeeper of Malakir. Is that what most people do?
Also, why only run 3 Gray Merchant of Asphodel? Seems like a playset of the main win con would be the ticket. Is it just for curve reasons? Same question for Phyrexian Obliterator. That dude is a beast.
Has anyone ever tried Vampire Nighthawk and Bloodsoaked Champion instead of Geralf's Messenger and Gravecrawler? This deck is terrible at blocking with 8 guys who flat out can't do it and Geralf who comes in tapped. Nighthawk is a pro blocker, and gains life so I've thought about it.
Finally, I know I could really use some help with sideboard plans. I feel like I never know how to use my sideboard. I can usually figure out what I want to bring in (usually), but I rarely have a good sense of what my deck can do without. I'd love to discuss basic plans for dealing with common decks/archetypes. I play EDH and cube almost exclusively so 60 card decks with sideboards are a very rare experience for me. =)
Yes I play with bloodsoaked champion and the nighthawk. I have to say that nighthawk is amazing for stemming early bleeding and makes any creature larger than obliterator a run for the money as trades always favored.
I am testing these 1 and 2 drops, but I feel they are only a "win more". However if you don't run a midrange strategy, bloodsoaked really puts pressure on. Honestly I prefer pack rat but that's my take.
The reason for cutting down on Gray Merchant of Asphodel and Phyrexian Obliterator is so that you don't clog up your hand with them. You usually don't want an opener with two four drops and a five drop, or two five drops and a four drop. The deck is very grindy and really wants to be disrupting or adding pressure on every turn. You want to have those options on turns one and two, using creatures that blank removal, spot removal, or discard. If you add more to the top you have to take away from the bottom, which really hurts our early game, something I feel that this deck is already struggling with.
I don't run Geralf's Messenger because he can't block the turn he hits. Unless you can abuse him like the Pod lists, he just isn't strong enough form my tastes. I would much rather run a Vampire Nighthawk, while it gives you less devotion, it can gain you life which is huge. In my GB list I actually don't run any 3 drop creatures, so take that as you will. Bloodsoaked champion is great if you don't run enough zombies to get the Gravecrawler back all the time. I prefer Gravecrawler because he is cheaper to return, and doesn't require an attack, but again, if you are short of zombies there are better options. If you want to try to max out your Bloodghast you could add in a few fetches to trigger him just to ensure you are getting it back all the time. The reason I feel that these creatures aren't win more is because they are recurring pieces of devotion. I regularly drop Gary for 9+ because I can constantly recur my creatures. Without them my game plan gets much weaker. If you get Lilys just slowly replace you Gatekeepers, its the best thing to replace. You loos a bear, but you gain so much in return. Lily is a discard outlet for your BSC, Ghasts, and late game discard, turning a symmetrical effect into a one sided one, as well as acting like an edict and a win con.
As far as sideboarding, mono black is a bit hard to do. You don't have a great way to stop enchantments, so you have to lean hard on discard. You could go the Surgical Extraction route, or do a light splash of green for Abrupt Decay or Golgari Charm. You'll need a good way to stop Karn, Hero's Downfall or your Vampire Hexmage is great here. For graveyard decks Bojuka bog or Tormod's Crypt is a must. Aggro decks is more cheap kill spells, again Disfigure and if its a token build Illness in the Ranks. You'll need some sort of Affinity hate, Chalice of the void on 0 is great against them, and Ratchet Bomb can do some work if they get their board established a bit. You'll need a decent way to fight boggles, I have Black Sun's Zenith to help me out there, but Damnation is probably the better choice.
Okay, I finally went to a play group that plays modern, but a formal tournament does not exist for Modern as far as I've seen. I will try to find an actual group to play but I don't think there are any close by. However, two decks I played against with this list.
So far, the deck performed beautiful against the B/R Storm Combo. Duress and Leyline do the work. Also played against a modern green devotion that floods the board faster than I can keep up, so I'll have to figure out a game plan. The rest of the shop is just fatty Junk/Azban Modern Midrange Tarmagoyf stuff. Grey Merchant of Asphodel is > than Siege Rhino . All in all, my deck plays as a control. Keep their options low while swinging with my threats. If I could update my deck, replace my four drops with four obliterators, replace 2 whips and 1 underworld connections with Liliana of the Veil , and replace all Duress with Thoughtseize .
All in all, it may not be the best, but against junk and storm, it stands its ground. Unlike the aggro variants posted on this forum, mine is definately more controlling. Usually around turn 5 I have complete control of the board and everything else dies to my discard, removal, or the grey merchant win condition. However, ramp strategies that flood the board call for a damnation and thoughtsieze to stop that from occurring.
Bloodsoaked champion is great if you don't run enough zombies to get the Gravecrawler back all the time. I prefer Gravecrawler because he is cheaper to return, and doesn't require an attack, but again, if you are short of zombies there are better options.If you want to try to max out your Bloodghast you could add in a few fetches to trigger him just to ensure you are getting it back all the time. The reason I feel that these creatures aren't win more is because they are recurring pieces of devotion. I regularly drop Gary for 9+ because I can constantly recur my creatures. Without them my game plan gets much weaker.
Sorry for the long time before replying. I didn't mean to let this conversation go as I'm very interested in improving my deck. I'm totally sold on trading Nighthawk for Geralf. I think it's just a stronger card. I also agree with recurring pieces of devotion. Getting as much devotion as possible for Gray Merchant is important. Here's my question: how many zombies is enough Zombies for Gravecrawler? Because if I take out Geralf, and am down to only 3 Gray Merchant, than that's only 7 total zombies to work with. Which is really low. I just assumed that if I dropped Geralf than I had to switch to Bloodsoaked Champion for lack of zombies. But maybe that's not entirely true. Thoughts?
If you are going to make the switch, I would do the full change over. Now having said that, you could run some number of Mutavault to trigger your Gravecrawlers. You have the room in your mana base, and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth removes it's downside. It also adds more pressure which is nice. I haven't had a good chance to test Muta as my mana base is very stringent on it's colors, so it's hard to justify a colorless land. You could also look to Stillmoon Cavalier for a good three drop. Dies to all removal, but can be pumped, gain flying and can get first strike. I'm not sure I like him in the current burn heavy meta, but back when it was all BGx, this guy was sweet.
Just to warn you, I wouldn't try using any of the 3 drop zombie lords. They are all great in theory land, but you'll find you either don't run enough zombies for them to make a big enough impact, or you'll figure out they are huge removal targets that will rarely do anything for you. I have a whole play set of Lord of the Undead, and 2 of each Cemetery Reaper and Death Baron, all were bought for this deck, and none found a home. I know you haven't mentioned using the zombie lords, but when I was playing the mono black lists I eventually had the idea to try them. Please learn from my mistakes!
Haha. Thanks for the warning. I hadn't yet considered any zombie lords but I'm sure it would have occurred to me eventually. Glad I don't have to go through the pain of realizing they aren't worth it. =)
So this is my current build. I already have the Nighthawks. I'm working on trading for the Champions and the Leyline of the Void. Everything else I have (I think). The number of Mutilates in the sideboard keep going down because I'm honestly not sure when I would bring them in. =P
The one card I keep coming back to is Whip of Erebos. It seems really solid in this deck but I'm not sure where I would fit it in. Maybe a singleton would be worth it in the sideboard to bring in for Profane Command in matchups that are way too fast for me to ever realistically cast it?
Seems like Profane Command is really the only reason you have to run the Nykthos. I'd cut them all for more consistency. I've found that in a deck with so many black mana symbols, Nykthos will occasionally find a way to mana-screw you. The upside seems pretty minimal in your list.
Ah yes, good ol' MBD! Been away from this thread far too long, mainly because my LGS going Delver / Treasure Cruise-happy chased me away to BW Tokens.
Couple ideas to toss around:
1. Instead of sideboarding Tormod's Crypt, I find a couple Bojuka Bog does wonders. They may enter tapped, but just two doesn't wreck things if you sequence your land drops carefully. I actually run 3x in most of my black decks; all opponents get their graveyard hated while I barely notice.
2. I see Vampire Nighthawk is popular again. That's great, but a couple Bad Moon can make him so much better and then he doesn't die to Bolt. As I understand it from previous discussions, playing a Nighthawk makes ten Lightning Bolts instantly materialize in your opponent's hand, even if they're not running red.
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Seems like Profane Command is really the only reason you have to run the Nykthos. I'd cut them all for more consistency. I've found that in a deck with so many black mana symbols, Nykthos will occasionally find a way to mana-screw you. The upside seems pretty minimal in your list.
I've definitely been mana screwed by Nykthos before; this deck is seriously thirsty for black mana. But I still think it's worth the inclusion. I've found that Geralf's Messenger usually causes me more issues than Phyrexian Obliterator because by turn four I often have enough devotion to make it work. Now that I have Vampire Nighthawk instead of Geralf, I'm even more inclined to keep Nykthos. I used to run a singleton Griselbrand but traded it out for Profane Command and I'm happy with the decision so far. That little bit of late game reach is pretty helpful. Also, I think Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx does more work than just let me cast Profane Command. The cards tend to flow fairly freely with 4x Phyrexian Arena. Nykthos let's me empty my hand out of nowhere, either stabilizing the board or letting me Gray Merchant for a million.
1. Instead of sideboarding Tormod's Crypt, I find a couple Bojuka Bog does wonders. They may enter tapped, but just two doesn't wreck things if you sequence your land drops carefully. I actually run 3x in most of my black decks; all opponents get their graveyard hated while I barely notice.
Interesting thought. I'll have to test a couple bogs in the main deck and see how it plays. I like the idea of freeing up sideboard slots. It definitely makes the mana less consistent though.
Yes, which is why I wouldn't run 4x. But for just 2-3, it makes a great play for second main land drop following up a Thoughtseize or Gatekeeper - they thought they were getting that card back, but surprise. There's plenty of turns where you didn't have a use for that last mana. Just keep in mind that it doesn't substitute for things like instant-speed exile to stop a Kitchen Finks recurring. So if your local scene is Pod-heavy, I'd stick to the classic Relic or Crypt, or Nihil Spellbomb works there.
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Here is what I have built right now. Let me know if there is anything I can do to the mainboard or sideboard that would instantly improve it based on what I'm likely to see (I'm just playing at an LGS). Also, any help with a sideboard plan would be awesome. I have a sideboard, but I don't know how to use it! =) Unfortunately, I don't own any LotV so that isn't an option.
4x Bloodghast
3x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Geralf's Messenger
4x Gravecrawler
4x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1x Griselbrand
4x Phyrexian Obliterator
4x Phyrexian Arena
1x Go for the Throat
1x Victim of Night
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Thoughtseize
Land (24)
2x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
20x Swamp
2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Dismember
2x Ghost Quarter
1x Go for the Throat
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Mutilate
2x Surgical Extraction
1x Vampire Hexmage
1x Victim of Night
2x Withered Wretch
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I think you would rather have a Leyline of the Void, Tormod's Crypt, more Surgical Extractions, etc. The creature is okay, but there are cheaper effects for literally no mana whatsoever.
BMono Black DevotionB RMono Red ControlR
Modern: UWR Control
EDH: Ezuri, Renegade Leader
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Edit: I'm not sure what' going on with my auto card on this post. It previews correctly, and I can't find anything wrong....
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Good luck with the deck, it's my current favorite.
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BMono Black DevotionB RMono Red ControlR
4x Bloodghast
3x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Geralf's Messenger
4x Gravecrawler
3x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
3x Phyrexian Obliterator
Spells:
2x Go for the Throat
2x Victim of Night
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Profane Command
3x Thoughtseize
4x Phyrexian Arena
2x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
20x Swamp
2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Dismember
2x Ghost Quarter
1x Go for the Throat
1x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Mutilate
2x Surgical Extraction
1x Thoughtseize
2x Tormod's Crypt
1x Vampire Hexmage
1x Victim of Night
More removal was suggested to me before (Disfigure, Darkblast, and Slaughter Pact specifically). I ended up adding a second Go for the Throat and Victim of Night simply because I already had them. I happen to like those removal spells a lot, and am unsure why I would play either of the first two suggestions over what I already have or perhaps something like Bile Blight. Is the 1-cmc casting cost worth running a card that is so much weaker? Slaughter Pact at least makes sense to me. I can imagine trying that out.
I'm working to acquire Liliana of the Veil, and Mutavault. It's confirmed that Lili is not being reprinted in MM2 so there is no reason to wait. I had totally forgot about Mutavault and am glad to see that the price has come down. I'm assuming Lili will just replace Gatekeeper of Malakir. Is that what most people do?
Also, why only run 3 Gray Merchant of Asphodel? Seems like a playset of the main win con would be the ticket. Is it just for curve reasons? Same question for Phyrexian Obliterator. That dude is a beast.
Has anyone ever tried Vampire Nighthawk and Bloodsoaked Champion instead of Geralf's Messenger and Gravecrawler? This deck is terrible at blocking with 8 guys who flat out can't do it and Geralf who comes in tapped. Nighthawk is a pro blocker, and gains life so I've thought about it.
Finally, I know I could really use some help with sideboard plans. I feel like I never know how to use my sideboard. I can usually figure out what I want to bring in (usually), but I rarely have a good sense of what my deck can do without. I'd love to discuss basic plans for dealing with common decks/archetypes. I play EDH and cube almost exclusively so 60 card decks with sideboards are a very rare experience for me. =)
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Yes I play with bloodsoaked champion and the nighthawk. I have to say that nighthawk is amazing for stemming early bleeding and makes any creature larger than obliterator a run for the money as trades always favored.
I am testing these 1 and 2 drops, but I feel they are only a "win more". However if you don't run a midrange strategy, bloodsoaked really puts pressure on. Honestly I prefer pack rat but that's my take.
BMono Black DevotionB RMono Red ControlR
I don't run Geralf's Messenger because he can't block the turn he hits. Unless you can abuse him like the Pod lists, he just isn't strong enough form my tastes. I would much rather run a Vampire Nighthawk, while it gives you less devotion, it can gain you life which is huge. In my GB list I actually don't run any 3 drop creatures, so take that as you will. Bloodsoaked champion is great if you don't run enough zombies to get the Gravecrawler back all the time. I prefer Gravecrawler because he is cheaper to return, and doesn't require an attack, but again, if you are short of zombies there are better options. If you want to try to max out your Bloodghast you could add in a few fetches to trigger him just to ensure you are getting it back all the time. The reason I feel that these creatures aren't win more is because they are recurring pieces of devotion. I regularly drop Gary for 9+ because I can constantly recur my creatures. Without them my game plan gets much weaker. If you get Lilys just slowly replace you Gatekeepers, its the best thing to replace. You loos a bear, but you gain so much in return. Lily is a discard outlet for your BSC, Ghasts, and late game discard, turning a symmetrical effect into a one sided one, as well as acting like an edict and a win con.
As far as sideboarding, mono black is a bit hard to do. You don't have a great way to stop enchantments, so you have to lean hard on discard. You could go the Surgical Extraction route, or do a light splash of green for Abrupt Decay or Golgari Charm. You'll need a good way to stop Karn, Hero's Downfall or your Vampire Hexmage is great here. For graveyard decks Bojuka bog or Tormod's Crypt is a must. Aggro decks is more cheap kill spells, again Disfigure and if its a token build Illness in the Ranks. You'll need some sort of Affinity hate, Chalice of the void on 0 is great against them, and Ratchet Bomb can do some work if they get their board established a bit. You'll need a decent way to fight boggles, I have Black Sun's Zenith to help me out there, but Damnation is probably the better choice.
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4x Vampire Nighthawk
2x Desecration Demon
2x Erebos, God of the Dead
4x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
4x Inquisition of Kozliek
2x Duress
4x Victim of Night
2x Drown in Sorrow
2x Whip of Erebos
4x Underworld Connections
2x Go for the Throat
2x Leyline of the Void
1x Tormod's Crypt
4x Extirpate
2x Duress
2x Bile Blight (Tokens are nasty)
4x Pack Rat (For speed when I need to swarm)
So far, the deck performed beautiful against the B/R Storm Combo. Duress and Leyline do the work. Also played against a modern green devotion that floods the board faster than I can keep up, so I'll have to figure out a game plan. The rest of the shop is just fatty Junk/Azban Modern Midrange Tarmagoyf stuff. Grey Merchant of Asphodel is > than Siege Rhino . All in all, my deck plays as a control. Keep their options low while swinging with my threats. If I could update my deck, replace my four drops with four obliterators, replace 2 whips and 1 underworld connections with Liliana of the Veil , and replace all Duress with Thoughtseize .
All in all, it may not be the best, but against junk and storm, it stands its ground. Unlike the aggro variants posted on this forum, mine is definately more controlling. Usually around turn 5 I have complete control of the board and everything else dies to my discard, removal, or the grey merchant win condition. However, ramp strategies that flood the board call for a damnation and thoughtsieze to stop that from occurring.
Edit: Minor errors
BMono Black DevotionB RMono Red ControlR
Sorry for the long time before replying. I didn't mean to let this conversation go as I'm very interested in improving my deck. I'm totally sold on trading Nighthawk for Geralf. I think it's just a stronger card. I also agree with recurring pieces of devotion. Getting as much devotion as possible for Gray Merchant is important. Here's my question: how many zombies is enough Zombies for Gravecrawler? Because if I take out Geralf, and am down to only 3 Gray Merchant, than that's only 7 total zombies to work with. Which is really low. I just assumed that if I dropped Geralf than I had to switch to Bloodsoaked Champion for lack of zombies. But maybe that's not entirely true. Thoughts?
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Just to warn you, I wouldn't try using any of the 3 drop zombie lords. They are all great in theory land, but you'll find you either don't run enough zombies for them to make a big enough impact, or you'll figure out they are huge removal targets that will rarely do anything for you. I have a whole play set of Lord of the Undead, and 2 of each Cemetery Reaper and Death Baron, all were bought for this deck, and none found a home. I know you haven't mentioned using the zombie lords, but when I was playing the mono black lists I eventually had the idea to try them. Please learn from my mistakes!
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So this is my current build. I already have the Nighthawks. I'm working on trading for the Champions and the Leyline of the Void. Everything else I have (I think). The number of Mutilates in the sideboard keep going down because I'm honestly not sure when I would bring them in. =P
The one card I keep coming back to is Whip of Erebos. It seems really solid in this deck but I'm not sure where I would fit it in. Maybe a singleton would be worth it in the sideboard to bring in for Profane Command in matchups that are way too fast for me to ever realistically cast it?
4x Bloodghast
4x Bloodsoaked Champion
3x Gatekeeper of Malakir
3x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
3x Phyrexian Obliterator
4x Vampire Nighthawk
Spells:
2x Go for the Throat
2x Victim of Night
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Profane Command
3x Thoughtseize
4x Phyrexian Arena
2x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
20x Swamp
2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2x Bile Blight
1x Dismember
2x Ghost Quarter
1x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Leyline of the Void
1x Mutilate
2x Surgical Extraction
1x Thoughtseize
2x Tormod's Crypt
2x Vampire Hexmage
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Couple ideas to toss around:
1. Instead of sideboarding Tormod's Crypt, I find a couple Bojuka Bog does wonders. They may enter tapped, but just two doesn't wreck things if you sequence your land drops carefully. I actually run 3x in most of my black decks; all opponents get their graveyard hated while I barely notice.
2. I see Vampire Nighthawk is popular again. That's great, but a couple Bad Moon can make him so much better and then he doesn't die to Bolt. As I understand it from previous discussions, playing a Nighthawk makes ten Lightning Bolts instantly materialize in your opponent's hand, even if they're not running red.
I've definitely been mana screwed by Nykthos before; this deck is seriously thirsty for black mana. But I still think it's worth the inclusion. I've found that Geralf's Messenger usually causes me more issues than Phyrexian Obliterator because by turn four I often have enough devotion to make it work. Now that I have Vampire Nighthawk instead of Geralf, I'm even more inclined to keep Nykthos. I used to run a singleton Griselbrand but traded it out for Profane Command and I'm happy with the decision so far. That little bit of late game reach is pretty helpful. Also, I think Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx does more work than just let me cast Profane Command. The cards tend to flow fairly freely with 4x Phyrexian Arena. Nykthos let's me empty my hand out of nowhere, either stabilizing the board or letting me Gray Merchant for a million.
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Interesting thought. I'll have to test a couple bogs in the main deck and see how it plays. I like the idea of freeing up sideboard slots. It definitely makes the mana less consistent though.
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