Obviously take out removal against UW. I'd leave in a couple of Lightning Strike just in case since they aren't totally dead even if UW stays creature free.
I just finished a competitive league 4-1 with a 2-1 record against red and a 2-0 record against temur energy. I found that I never really wanted Unlicensed Disintegration. It's a little expensive and it doesn't eliminate the biggest threats in the format (Hazoret, Chandra, The Scarab God, Bristling Hydra). I think we want to go with a couple of Vraska's Contempt in its place in the sideboard. In the main deck I'd rather have Walk the Plank or a miser's Doomfall/Bontu's Last Reckoning.
First run through with the Vraska's Contempt and they were super helpful. Another 4-1 competitive league: Ramunap Red (2-1), Izzet Spells/Enigma Drake (2-1), Abzan Tokens (1-2), Jund (2-0), UB Control (2-1).
Contempt took out two Scarab Gods against UB that otherwise would have taken over the game, and also came in very handy against red. Abzan tokens seems like a tough matchup, but I also kept a sketchy one lander in game two and got punished for it.
I find the matches against control to be practically a bye, I think I havent lost a single match against UW, UB or Grixis out of some 20 I have played.
Temur feels around 50-50 just as Sultai. I believe I have been doing my sb wrong in these matches so far. I feel like Bontu's Reckoning usually gives the match.
Worst much without any doubt is Abzan tokens, just very, very tough to win even with duress.
I don't know about Unlicensed, I like the 3 damage part.
I went ahead and reformatted the intro post to be a primer. I think this deck has the legs to be at least tier 2 for a long time, and may even displace Ramunap Red as the premier aggro option. Seriously, good one drops make good aggro decks.
I find the matches against control to be practically a bye, I think I havent lost a single match against UW, UB or Grixis out of some 20 I have played.
Temur feels around 50-50 just as Sultai. I believe I have been doing my sb wrong in these matches so far. I feel like Bontu's Reckoning usually gives the match.
Worst much without any doubt is Abzan tokens, just very, very tough to win even with duress.
I don't know about Unlicensed, I like the 3 damage part.
I agree with your matchup observations. Our big advantage against energy is that we can really jump on them if they stumble. Post board we can also get random Bontu's Last Reckoning blowouts. I do think that their best hands beat our best hands.
I've been surprised by how good the matchup is against Ramunap Red. Better one drops + incidental life gain combine to make a big edge. The danger can come if they get a Hazoret and we don't. That's why I like bringing in Vraska's Contempt against them. It's also very good against the go-big plan since it knocks out Glorybringer and Chandra alike.
Unlicensed Disintegration was amazing when the big bomb to worry about was Archangel Avacyn. When you're worried about Hazoret and The Scarab God it's pretty underwhelming. It's still ok, but you're not getting the massive tempo swings that you used to. I'm going to try switching the maindeck disintegration for a Vraska's Contempt to see how it goes.
BTW, if anybody has any comments or suggestions for the primer, I'm all ears.
I do think, if there is an aggressive list, going forward, this may well be it. It still feels like it needs something and I can't quite put my finger on what it is. I really like it in a world of U/B control, as it outpaces 1-for-1 removal the same way the RR deck I played last season did. The tokens match tho...yuck. Can we steal a trick from red and board into Ferocidon? I know it is a bit at odds with some of the other elements of the deck, but it is a certifiable house in that match-up. Following the same idea, is Harsh Mentor something we could use? The red splash is light, relatively, so I'm unsure if the manabase even supports red out of the board.
That's all I got for now. Keep fighting the good fight.
Ferocidon could be just what we need against tokens. It also does some work against UW approach. There are definitely matchups where we wouldn't want it, but that's what a sideboard is for.
According to the classic article you need 11 sources (as we do) to have one red consistently by turn 4, and 12 sources to have it by turn 3. I haven't had huge problems casting Pia out of the side against mono red. Ferocidon is a perfectly acceptable turn four play anyway. Harsh Mentor is probably a bridge too far.
You can mise tokens out sometimes if you get a hyper aggro start and they are a little slow. Definitely not what you want to see across the table, though.
I've been practicing mono black aggro, and I can say that Hazoret the Fervent is probably a very worthwhile upgrade for this deck. I've been jamming it with mono black, and this is where my build sits:
Fleetwheel Cruiser does a fairly good hazoret impression, but still isn't as good as the god herself. the upside is that there is no stipulation on attacking and that can be relavent with all the card draw that this version has, but hazoret is still much better because she can represent reach as well. Ammit Eternal seems good to me because it breaks through board stalls one way or another, and can give a wierd version of reach.
If I were to splash red at the moment, this is the build I would go for:
Because of mana reasons I believe it's better to have the Aethersphere in the main deck, it also combines well with Night Market Lookout, giving it an use after he can't attack any longer.
Against what do you sb in the Pia Naalar? what would you take out of the sideboard in order to add some Ferocidons?
Hazoret is tough to replace. Even the shock ability has a lot of utility. If you're absolutely dedicated to mono-black then Fleetwheel Cruiser makes sense, but losing all of your reach (Hazoret face-throwing and Lightning Strike) really hurts.
Pia is for the Ramunap matchup. She's great if they stay on the smallball plan but mediocre if they go big.
I dropped two Scorpion Gods from the sideboard for two Ferocidons. After two 2-3 leagues and a 4-1 league, my overall evaluation is that the Ferocidons help against tokens but they aren't enough by themselves. Once the token deck has their engine going they can scry into removal pretty quickly. If you had a super fast start and they were a little slow the Ferocidon can be a nice finisher (if they also don't have Fumigate or you duress it away on time) but it's not like The Scarab God in those matchups where it just wins by itself. We either need some way to hit through the tokens (fliers or trample, most likely) or something wacky like Lost Legacy. I'd be completely willing to cut Pia for a card that would help against tokens if I could identify one.
Hmmm...what about something like Blazing Volley? Can you apply enough pressure to use it to open a window T3/4 and win by 5, you think? Maybe use it to blow up their blockers after a Fumigate and close with Hazdog/Yaheezi?
I don't think we run enough artifacts to get full value out of Built to Smash. Blazing Volley could be useful but it seems a little narrow. I've had a little more success just blitzing them out lately. I think the esper version is a little slower. It also helps when they don't draw stockpile into anointer into double procession.
I have seen a lot of gifts decks lately. They can be tough. We always have the puncher's chance of just curving into Hazoret but it might also be worth throwing some sideboard slots toward graveyard and artifact hate. A split between Abrade and Lightning Strike, something like that.
First, thanks for building such a fun deck! I wanted to come by and share some observations after playing two versions of the deck for the past week.
I started with true mono black. I enjoyed the consistency of the mana base. I kept the stock list that's in the primer, except I played with only two Ruin Raider. The deck is fast and fun. I doubt there is a better budget deck available in standard. I played with Harsh Scrutiny in the sideboard, and found it to be a turn one Fatal Push with Scry 1. Competitively, I played it only once: I went 2-1, beating a Curses deck that won a 16 man tournament (somehow they never drew Fumigate), and Merfolk, losing to a Scarab God deck because I never drew Walk the Plank in time to get in my last bit of damage. Lightning Strike would have helped here. I know I didn't beat any competitive decks, but...
FNM last night, I played BR, with the only change being one Licensed Disintegration instead of Bontu's Last Reckoning. I stomped Mardu Vehicles and was a buzzsaw against a GWR energy deck that used the big dino. Of course, there's Hazoret, and we know Hazoret just wins the game. I lost to Temur Energy... BUT... if I had been playing Mono Black, I would have gone right through Temur Energy. I couldn't get a red source in time (also, bad mulligans), but even then, Lightning Strike wasn't good enough, because the energy can just pump those big dudes. Walk the Plank would have dominated in this match. Mono Black would have won it by a landslide.
Playtesting with BR against Ramunap, about two dozen games (they go fast, lol), I found that Yahenni is really good and gives us a very good shot, but it's mostly a race to Hazoret. I am not sure the match is 50/50 with either build. Although if I played Mono Black again, I would swap in Yahenni for the Ruin Raider just for the heck of it, and I think that would make a huge difference, and I would say it's 50/50 or close to it.
I hope this feedback helps someone.
TL; DR: Mono Black is a viable budget deck. Fun, consistent, and fast. Harsh Scrutiny is a good card, and Walk the Plank does some work. BR is all about dropping Hazoret, and it has the little bit of reach you need to finish the opponent with Lightning Strike. Both decks are extremely fun.
I had another 4-1 in a competitive league today: 3-0 against temur energy, 1-1 against gift. Angel of Invention into Hostage Taker out of the yard is just brutal. Having a couple of Abrades in the side helped but if the deck really picks up we may need Sentinel Totems or something.
Lost Legacy is another option to shut down that deck.
I'm not sure I'd want GY-hate though as stripping away their key piece with Duress/Doomfall is usually good enough as the deck doesn't do much otherwise (and that is why it isn't very good imho).
Two Esper Gifts decks in the top four at the SCG Classic in Charlotte suggest it's a matchup you should at least be aware of going forward. They have a lot of cards that interact with us pretty well and the constant threat of God-Pharaoh's Gift hitting the battlefield makes the deck not very fun to play against.
Lost Legacy won't do much to them. Dispossess would be pretty effective if you get it in time, but it's about as narrow as graveyard hate.
I edited the initial post to add matchup notes. I'm open to correction if anybody thinks I'm approaching a matchup wrong. Also if there's a good approach to tokens I'd be happy to add it in.
Lost Legacy was probably not the best idea though it can take Angel of Invention which is their main win-con and leave them with a bunch of mediocre creatures which are easier to handle (or race).
A slightly more flexible option to hate on GY's can be Scarab Feast which can be cycled as well.
Snipping 3-cards can be enough in some games.
Another option is to use Scavenger Grounds either as 1-2x-of in the maindeck or a couple in the SB as it has the additional utility of tapping for mana.
I just don't really like dedicating SB slots to cards like Crook and Totem when there aren't many GY-dependant decks in the format and those that existent aren't doing anything too broken that can be dealt with otherwise (like "Dredge" in older formats).
I beat Grixis Control, Mono White Tokens, and Jund Vehicles, in that order. Yahenni really impressed me as she single handedly helped me beat grixis control, and I was able to get under the vehicles deck. He and I were both discussing about how this deck is faster than Mono Red because of the powerful 1 drops. Going forward, I will probably try to fit more conquistadors in in place of a three-drop. Sorry this is not organized, just wanted to write this before I completely forgot.
Obviously take out removal against UW. I'd leave in a couple of Lightning Strike just in case since they aren't totally dead even if UW stays creature free.
Against other decks I will usually trim on whatever the worst one drop is in the matchup (Night Market Lookout and Bomat Courier against energy, Vampire Conquistador against red). I will also shave a Scrapheap Scrounger or two if I really need space.
I just finished a competitive league 4-1 with a 2-1 record against red and a 2-0 record against temur energy. I found that I never really wanted Unlicensed Disintegration. It's a little expensive and it doesn't eliminate the biggest threats in the format (Hazoret, Chandra, The Scarab God, Bristling Hydra). I think we want to go with a couple of Vraska's Contempt in its place in the sideboard. In the main deck I'd rather have Walk the Plank or a miser's Doomfall/Bontu's Last Reckoning.
Contempt took out two Scarab Gods against UB that otherwise would have taken over the game, and also came in very handy against red. Abzan tokens seems like a tough matchup, but I also kept a sketchy one lander in game two and got punished for it.
I find the matches against control to be practically a bye, I think I havent lost a single match against UW, UB or Grixis out of some 20 I have played.
Temur feels around 50-50 just as Sultai. I believe I have been doing my sb wrong in these matches so far. I feel like Bontu's Reckoning usually gives the match.
Worst much without any doubt is Abzan tokens, just very, very tough to win even with duress.
I don't know about Unlicensed, I like the 3 damage part.
My current sideboard is pretty by the book:
2 Doomfall
3 Bontu's Last Reckoning
2 Vraska's Contempt
2 Pia Nalaar
2 The Scorpion God
I agree with your matchup observations. Our big advantage against energy is that we can really jump on them if they stumble. Post board we can also get random Bontu's Last Reckoning blowouts. I do think that their best hands beat our best hands.
I've been surprised by how good the matchup is against Ramunap Red. Better one drops + incidental life gain combine to make a big edge. The danger can come if they get a Hazoret and we don't. That's why I like bringing in Vraska's Contempt against them. It's also very good against the go-big plan since it knocks out Glorybringer and Chandra alike.
Unlicensed Disintegration was amazing when the big bomb to worry about was Archangel Avacyn. When you're worried about Hazoret and The Scarab God it's pretty underwhelming. It's still ok, but you're not getting the massive tempo swings that you used to. I'm going to try switching the maindeck disintegration for a Vraska's Contempt to see how it goes.
BTW, if anybody has any comments or suggestions for the primer, I'm all ears.
I do think, if there is an aggressive list, going forward, this may well be it. It still feels like it needs something and I can't quite put my finger on what it is. I really like it in a world of U/B control, as it outpaces 1-for-1 removal the same way the RR deck I played last season did. The tokens match tho...yuck. Can we steal a trick from red and board into Ferocidon? I know it is a bit at odds with some of the other elements of the deck, but it is a certifiable house in that match-up. Following the same idea, is Harsh Mentor something we could use? The red splash is light, relatively, so I'm unsure if the manabase even supports red out of the board.
That's all I got for now. Keep fighting the good fight.
According to the classic article you need 11 sources (as we do) to have one red consistently by turn 4, and 12 sources to have it by turn 3. I haven't had huge problems casting Pia out of the side against mono red. Ferocidon is a perfectly acceptable turn four play anyway. Harsh Mentor is probably a bridge too far.
You can mise tokens out sometimes if you get a hyper aggro start and they are a little slow. Definitely not what you want to see across the table, though.
4 Night Market Lookout
3 Vicious Conquistador
4 Dread Wanderer
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
2 Gifted Aetherborn
4 Ruin Raider
2 Ammit Eternal
4 Fatal Push
4 Walk the Plank
Utility:
2 Key to the City
2 Fleetwheel Cruiser
Lands:
4 Ifnir Deadlands
17 Swamp
4 Duress
3 Lost Legacy
3 Aethersphere Harvester
1 Sentinel Totem
2 Deadeye Tracker
2 Doomfall
Fleetwheel Cruiser does a fairly good hazoret impression, but still isn't as good as the god herself. the upside is that there is no stipulation on attacking and that can be relavent with all the card draw that this version has, but hazoret is still much better because she can represent reach as well. Ammit Eternal seems good to me because it breaks through board stalls one way or another, and can give a wierd version of reach.
If I were to splash red at the moment, this is the build I would go for:
4 Night Market Lookout
2 Vicious Conquistador
2 Bomat Courier
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
2 Yahenni, Undying Partisan
2 Ruin Raider
3 Hazoret the Fervent
4 Lightning Strike
2 Walk the Plank
1 Unlicensed Disintegration
4 Aether Hub
4 Dragonskull Summit
2 Canyon Slough
2 Mountain
10 Swamp
I really like ruin raider and think it should deserve some copies in the deck.
Against what do you sb in the Pia Naalar? what would you take out of the sideboard in order to add some Ferocidons?
Pia is for the Ramunap matchup. She's great if they stay on the smallball plan but mediocre if they go big.
I dropped two Scorpion Gods from the sideboard for two Ferocidons. After two 2-3 leagues and a 4-1 league, my overall evaluation is that the Ferocidons help against tokens but they aren't enough by themselves. Once the token deck has their engine going they can scry into removal pretty quickly. If you had a super fast start and they were a little slow the Ferocidon can be a nice finisher (if they also don't have Fumigate or you duress it away on time) but it's not like The Scarab God in those matchups where it just wins by itself. We either need some way to hit through the tokens (fliers or trample, most likely) or something wacky like Lost Legacy. I'd be completely willing to cut Pia for a card that would help against tokens if I could identify one.
Also, does the deck need Built to Smash?
I have seen a lot of gifts decks lately. They can be tough. We always have the puncher's chance of just curving into Hazoret but it might also be worth throwing some sideboard slots toward graveyard and artifact hate. A split between Abrade and Lightning Strike, something like that.
I started with true mono black. I enjoyed the consistency of the mana base. I kept the stock list that's in the primer, except I played with only two Ruin Raider. The deck is fast and fun. I doubt there is a better budget deck available in standard. I played with Harsh Scrutiny in the sideboard, and found it to be a turn one Fatal Push with Scry 1. Competitively, I played it only once: I went 2-1, beating a Curses deck that won a 16 man tournament (somehow they never drew Fumigate), and Merfolk, losing to a Scarab God deck because I never drew Walk the Plank in time to get in my last bit of damage. Lightning Strike would have helped here. I know I didn't beat any competitive decks, but...
FNM last night, I played BR, with the only change being one Licensed Disintegration instead of Bontu's Last Reckoning. I stomped Mardu Vehicles and was a buzzsaw against a GWR energy deck that used the big dino. Of course, there's Hazoret, and we know Hazoret just wins the game. I lost to Temur Energy... BUT... if I had been playing Mono Black, I would have gone right through Temur Energy. I couldn't get a red source in time (also, bad mulligans), but even then, Lightning Strike wasn't good enough, because the energy can just pump those big dudes. Walk the Plank would have dominated in this match. Mono Black would have won it by a landslide.
Playtesting with BR against Ramunap, about two dozen games (they go fast, lol), I found that Yahenni is really good and gives us a very good shot, but it's mostly a race to Hazoret. I am not sure the match is 50/50 with either build. Although if I played Mono Black again, I would swap in Yahenni for the Ruin Raider just for the heck of it, and I think that would make a huge difference, and I would say it's 50/50 or close to it.
I hope this feedback helps someone.
TL; DR: Mono Black is a viable budget deck. Fun, consistent, and fast. Harsh Scrutiny is a good card, and Walk the Plank does some work. BR is all about dropping Hazoret, and it has the little bit of reach you need to finish the opponent with Lightning Strike. Both decks are extremely fun.
4 Dread Wanderer
4 Night Market Lookout
4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
3 Yahenni, Undying Partisan
4 Hazoret the Fervent
3 Lightning Strike
3 Aethersphere Harvester
4 Aether Hub
2 Canyon Slough
4 Dragonskull Summit
2 Mountain
11 Swamp
2 Chandra's Defeat
4 Duress
1 Key to the City
1 Aethersphere Harvester
3 Bontu's Last Reckoning
2 Unlicensed Disintegration
2 Vraska's Contempt
I had another 4-1 in a competitive league today: 3-0 against temur energy, 1-1 against gift. Angel of Invention into Hostage Taker out of the yard is just brutal. Having a couple of Abrades in the side helped but if the deck really picks up we may need Sentinel Totems or something.
I'm not sure I'd want GY-hate though as stripping away their key piece with Duress/Doomfall is usually good enough as the deck doesn't do much otherwise (and that is why it isn't very good imho).
Lost Legacy won't do much to them. Dispossess would be pretty effective if you get it in time, but it's about as narrow as graveyard hate.
I edited the initial post to add matchup notes. I'm open to correction if anybody thinks I'm approaching a matchup wrong. Also if there's a good approach to tokens I'd be happy to add it in.
A slightly more flexible option to hate on GY's can be Scarab Feast which can be cycled as well.
Snipping 3-cards can be enough in some games.
Another option is to use Scavenger Grounds either as 1-2x-of in the maindeck or a couple in the SB as it has the additional utility of tapping for mana.
I just don't really like dedicating SB slots to cards like Crook and Totem when there aren't many GY-dependant decks in the format and those that existent aren't doing anything too broken that can be dealt with otherwise (like "Dredge" in older formats).
4 Ifnir Deadlands
17 Swamp
Creatures (27):
4 Dread Wanderer
4 Night Market Lookout
2 Vicious Conquistador
4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
2 Gifted Aetherborn
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Ruin Raider
2 Yahenni, Undying Partisan
1 Ammit Eternal
4 Fatal Push
4 Walk the Plank
Others (4):
2 Key to the City
2 Fleetwheel Cruiser
4 Duress
3 Lost Legacy
2 Aethersphere Harvester
2 Deadeye Tracker
2 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
1 Ammit Eternal
1 Sentinel Totem
I beat Grixis Control, Mono White Tokens, and Jund Vehicles, in that order. Yahenni really impressed me as she single handedly helped me beat grixis control, and I was able to get under the vehicles deck. He and I were both discussing about how this deck is faster than Mono Red because of the powerful 1 drops. Going forward, I will probably try to fit more conquistadors in in place of a three-drop. Sorry this is not organized, just wanted to write this before I completely forgot.