I might as well drop my mono-black deck in here. It's pretty much untested against the current metagame, but I intend to try it out at my local FNM when I get the chance to attend.
sorry, didnt mean to ignore your deck. has essence harvest been good for you? how is DD? i like him - he is so controly. how often do you get to attack with him?
Updated deck. I am tinkering with putting in a vraska but not sure what to drop. First game vs a control deck is rough for me and thinking she may help in that regard.
How have you found the Keyrune? Do you feel it's a big contributor?
I was thinking of trying a G/B build that ran Vrsaka at some point
sorry, didnt mean to ignore your deck. has essence harvest been good for you? how is DD? i like him - he is so controly. how often do you get to attack with him?
How have you found the Keyrune? Do you feel it's a big contributor?
I was thinking of trying a G/B build that ran Vrsaka at some point
Keyrune is probably one of my MVPs in this deck. Survives board wipes and can neutralize things like thragtusk. The mana ramp early on can help too with a RR.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Standard: Gave it up
Modern: Eldrazi Tron, UW Tron, GR Tron, BW Tokens, WU Death and Taxes
I haven't played with the current version at all, but I've tried my RG Gruul deck against an earlier version of it a couple of times. That version had Knight of Infamy, a bit less spot removal, Underworld Connections instead of Staff of Nin, and some other changes. The RG deck really struggled against it (might not be an optimal build, and it doesn't have any big fliers like Thundermaw Hellkite). A typical game was me starting out with some early creatures, which then would be removed. Then when I was almost in topdeck mode, either a Bloodgift Demon or a Desecration Demon hits the table and my attacks just grinds to a halt. I might be able to lock down a DD a couple of rounds, but sooner or later I have to let it stay untapped and then my opponent attacks with it for 6-8 followed by an Essence Harvest causing 6-8 damage more and then he gains 6-8 life. That's a 18-24 life swing. Even if I manage to survive that round, I'm so low on life it will be over the next round. In the games we played, I managed to tap DD twice or something like that. I'd say that Essence Harvest is essential together with DD. When you manage to swing with it, if you follow up with an Essence Harvest, you just win the game or are very close. That's why I've added the Pikes to the deck as well, to get bigger Nighthawks or just huge Demons to get an even bigger life swing.
How do you feel about replacing the pikes with liliana of the dark realms. She can get you extra swamps and her -3 would be tasty with an essence harvest. Something like this:
As much as I want to love Essence Harvest in this list, I feel like it's not going to be consistent.
There are only 10 creatures, and 4 of those only have 2 power. The only way a demon is going to stick is if you're stable and winning anyways. I really think those need to be something else. Then all of a sudden Liliana doesn't make a lot of sense anymore.
-3 Essence Harvest
-3 Big Liliana
+3 Duress
+2 Sign In Blood
+1 Mutilate
Demon pumped by Lili for a massive Harvest is good brewing though.
You should play EDH if you don't already where you can go big with ideas like this.
As much as I want to love Essence Harvest in this list, I feel like it's not going to be consistent.
There are only 10 creatures, and 4 of those only have 2 power. The only way a demon is going to stick is if you're stable and winning anyways. I really think those need to be something else. Then all of a sudden Liliana doesn't make a lot of sense anymore.
-3 Essence Harvest
-3 Big Liliana
+3 Duress
+2 Sign In Blood
+1 Mutilate
Demon pumped by Lili for a massive Harvest is good brewing though.
You should play EDH if you don't already where you can go big with ideas like this.
Oh I agree. I was just offering ideas to make his existing harvest theme better. To me it's not Optimal either. Can't really protect the critters enough to use harvest. Need B/U mill type for that theme IMO.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Standard: Gave it up
Modern: Eldrazi Tron, UW Tron, GR Tron, BW Tokens, WU Death and Taxes
I am finding this deck to be hella fun to play. I am still between 3 Messenger/ 4 Nighthawk or 4 Messenger/3 Nighthawk. Aside from that minor question, this build is working pretty well
Oh I agree. I was just offering ideas to make his existing harvest theme better. To me it's not Optimal either. Can't really protect the critters enough to use harvest. Need B/U mill type for that theme IMO.
True true. Sometimes I forget this is no longer a "Developing Competitive" forum.
It is in fact a very cool build and totally viable for some fnm action.
Just went 5-1-1 at my local FNM. 42 people attended. I split in top 4. Decks I played against were budget G/r human/werewolves, mono white humans, Bant control, W/r human, Junk rites and RUG tempo/control. The draw was a split to get into top 8. My loss was to Junk rites, who was undefeated and #1 going into top 8.
So, with the background out of the way, here's the deck:
I am sold on Quirion Dryad. Paired with removal, it got me value all night long. It traded up almost every time and on two occasions, I managed to cast Mutilate, giving it just enough counters for it to survive, while wiping my opponent's board.
Geralf's Messenger was also clutch for gaining card advantage vs. aggro and for keeping pressure on control decks. Quite good in either matchup.
Murder is a little slow and was almost always boarded out, however, its unconditionality was really good in game 1, when I had no idea what I was up against. I like it as a mainboard card, but can't wait to replace it with Putrefy.
Demonic Rising only came out in one game, surprisingly, as I never boarded it out. It very nearly won me that game, which was g3 against the rites deck, but he got a clutch Sever the Bloodline to exile my Messenger, then flashed it back the next turn to wipe away 2 demons. I'm still thinking I like it and will continue to test it further.
The sideboard was kind of thrown together and clearly needs some work. Duress and Appetite for Brains were both really good for me, as was Abrupt Decay. The Maulers were meh and I will likely replace them with Slaughter Games and I'm considering replacing the Cremates with Acidic Slime because I already maindeck 4 Deathrite Shamans and I kind of want answers to Kessig Wolf Run, Gavony Township, Vault of the Archangel and Nephalia Drownyard.
so last night i ended up going 2-2 with this deck.
i won round 1 with no issues against R/B aggro.
round 2 i lost to a R/G aggro deck. i was unable to get going against him and he was able to pop off Domri Rade and swing for game.
with this deck it seems like my biggest issue was Strangleroot Giest. for some odd reason i was just unable to draw any removal to deal with him. If i did draw a creature he had burn to deal with it.
Round 3
i played a BUG deck
he was running Duskmantle Seer & Strangleroot Giest. again i was unable to get removal and whenever i dropped a creature he had an answer for it.
Round 4
i played another B/R aggro deck and had no issues with it
so my question is what should i change to deal with the giest?
Hello everyone!
I really like the black control theme and i consider building a deck around it.Since i can't spend money for magic in a regular basis,i would like to know if this kind of deck,with the current card choices/meta will last for a long time,or i should upgrade it soon(also considering upcoming sets).
Thank you in advance!
Well I can't speak for upgrades in future sets since I don't know what's in the pipes a black control splashed with either green or red is viable for some time considering the best splash cards i.e. abrupt decay, rakdos return, slaughter games, etc.. and our best ramp card(crypt ghast) are in the current block. Assuming we get a decent substitute for mutilate after rotation we should be fine.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Standard: Gave it up
Modern: Eldrazi Tron, UW Tron, GR Tron, BW Tokens, WU Death and Taxes
Just went 5-1-1 at my local FNM. 42 people attended. I split in top 4. Decks I played against were budget G/r human/werewolves, mono white humans, Bant control, W/r human, Junk rites and RUG tempo/control. The draw was a split to get into top 8. My loss was to Junk rites, who was undefeated and #1 going into top 8.
So, with the background out of the way, here's the deck:
I am sold on Quirion Dryad. Paired with removal, it got me value all night long. It traded up almost every time and on two occasions, I managed to cast Mutilate, giving it just enough counters for it to survive, while wiping my opponent's board.
Geralf's Messenger was also clutch for gaining card advantage vs. aggro and for keeping pressure on control decks. Quite good in either matchup.
Murder is a little slow and was almost always boarded out, however, its unconditionality was really good in game 1, when I had no idea what I was up against. I like it as a mainboard card, but can't wait to replace it with Putrefy.
Demonic Rising only came out in one game, surprisingly, as I never boarded it out. It very nearly won me that game, which was g3 against the rites deck, but he got a clutch Sever the Bloodline to exile my Messenger, then flashed it back the next turn to wipe away 2 demons. I'm still thinking I like it and will continue to test it further.
The sideboard was kind of thrown together and clearly needs some work. Duress and Appetite for Brains were both really good for me, as was Abrupt Decay. The Maulers were meh and I will likely replace them with Slaughter Games and I'm considering replacing the Cremates with Acidic Slime because I already maindeck 4 Deathrite Shamans and I kind of want answers to Kessig Wolf Run, Gavony Township, Vault of the Archangel and Nephalia Drownyard.
I like Desecration Demon after Mutilate, though in my experience certain cards (Huntmaster of the Fells, Lingering Souls) can take it off line even after sweeping. Enter Disciple of Bolas. It is such a beating to draw 6+ and gain as much life after Mutilate. In testing it happens pretty regularly. It plays nice with Bloodgift Demon too.
I'm still not sure on the sideboard. I'm a little unfamiliar with these colors so I'll need to actually play in an FNM with this deck to feel it out.
Desecration Demon was great. I actually played him before Mutilate on a couple of occasions to power up a Quirion Dryad so it could survive a Mutilate, which usually gave me a 2 or 3 for 1, leaving 2 dudes on the board and making it very difficult for my opponent to recover.
Desecration Demon was great. I actually played him before Mutilate on a couple of occasions to power up a Quirion Dryad so it could survive a Mutilate, which usually gave me a 2 or 3 for 1, leaving 2 dudes on the board and making it very difficult for my opponent to recover.
That's pretty awesome. Were your Mutilates generally pretty effective with your land base?
Took out gris. After extensive testing he didnt win me a lot of games. Sure if i can get him out its usually over but a turn 5-6 gris is very rare given all the aggro we have to deal with. A big wolf run or rakdos in the late game generally seals it. Added demon since its faster. Also a touch more green for the decays and vraska. Thoughts?
That's pretty awesome. Were your Mutilates generally pretty effective with your land base?
Yes. Between 4 Farseek and 2 Evolving Wilds, I could almost always guarantee that by turn 5 I had at least 3 Swamps in play (even against the aggro decks, I didn't usually feel compelled to cast Mutilate t3 or t4). That's typically all I need to take care of 2-3 of my opponent's creatures, then I could just use spot removal and disruption to stay ahead, as well as undercosted fatties.
Going for kind of a rakdos control build. It's just an idea so far and it needs a lot of help.
I'm definetely running way too many creatures and I lack draw power.
Any thoughts? (Rakdos gate is a budget sub for blood crypt so don't suggest that.)
i have also been considering taking out Ultimate Price all together but im not sure what to put in its place. its one of those cards im thinking once i dont have it in the deck i will need it. but ive really only needed it once
Took out gris. After extensive testing he didnt win me a lot of games. Sure if i can get him out its usually over but a turn 5-6 gris is very rare given all the aggro we have to deal with. A big wolf run or rakdos in the late game generally seals it. Added demon since its faster. Also a touch more green for the decays and vraska. Thoughts?
i am moving towards this. mostly because getting Gris out reliably depends a lot on Ghast being out, and when opponents see ghast hit the board, they do everything they can to get rid of it because they know it must be for something important. you can hold ghast back until you draw into gris, but even in trying that i have found that you can end up waiting for a card that comes up too late to save you. gris is awesome when he hits the board, he just doesnt hit it enough reliably for me.
anyone have any thoughts on shifting more towards rakdos control? instead of something like a 75%/25% black/red split something closer to 50/50? could take advantage of the black removal and some of the better red creatures... i will post a theoretical decklist later for us to tear apart. but i think it could be interesting. has anyone tried this?
edit - just saw darkarch's post. no rakdos-colored or red creatures except Olivia? i feel as though there are some good creatures out there that we might be able to take advantage of.
sorry, didnt mean to ignore your deck. has essence harvest been good for you? how is DD? i like him - he is so controly. how often do you get to attack with him?
How have you found the Keyrune? Do you feel it's a big contributor?
I was thinking of trying a G/B build that ran Vrsaka at some point
TBD...
Keyrune is probably one of my MVPs in this deck. Survives board wipes and can neutralize things like thragtusk. The mana ramp early on can help too with a RR.
Modern: Eldrazi Tron, UW Tron, GR Tron, BW Tokens, WU Death and Taxes
How do you feel about replacing the pikes with liliana of the dark realms. She can get you extra swamps and her -3 would be tasty with an essence harvest. Something like this:
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Desecration Demon
2 Bloodgift Demon
Spells:26
2 Appetite for Brains
3 Tragic Slip
2 Sign in Blood
4 Victim of Night
3 Essence Harvest
4 Tribute to Hunger
3 Liliana of the Dark Realms
3 Mutilate
2 Staff of Nin
2 Ghost Quarter
22 Swamp
2 Appetite for Brains
4 Beckon Apparition
4 Duress
2 Illness in the Ranks
1 Mutilate
2 Sever the Bloodline
Modern: Eldrazi Tron, UW Tron, GR Tron, BW Tokens, WU Death and Taxes
There are only 10 creatures, and 4 of those only have 2 power. The only way a demon is going to stick is if you're stable and winning anyways. I really think those need to be something else. Then all of a sudden Liliana doesn't make a lot of sense anymore.
-3 Essence Harvest
-3 Big Liliana
+3 Duress
+2 Sign In Blood
+1 Mutilate
Demon pumped by Lili for a massive Harvest is good brewing though.
You should play EDH if you don't already where you can go big with ideas like this.
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
I just copy/pasted it into TCG and it's $65
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
Oh I agree. I was just offering ideas to make his existing harvest theme better. To me it's not Optimal either. Can't really protect the critters enough to use harvest. Need B/U mill type for that theme IMO.
Modern: Eldrazi Tron, UW Tron, GR Tron, BW Tokens, WU Death and Taxes
3 Geralf's Messenger
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Crypt Ghast
3 Gloom Surgeon
3 Griselbrand
Removal - 15
1 Murder
2 Ultimate Price
3 Dreadbore
2 Victim of Night
4 Mutilate
3 Tragic Slip
2 Rakdos's Return
Draw - 3
3 Sign in Blood
Land - 24
4 Blood Crypt
16 Swamp
4 Dragonskull Summit
3x Slaughter Games
2x Pithing Needle
2x Rakdos Charm
1x Rolling Temblor
2x Duress
2x Appetite for Brains
1x Bonfire of the Damned
1x Magmaquake
1x Curse of Death's Hold
I am finding this deck to be hella fun to play. I am still between 3 Messenger/ 4 Nighthawk or 4 Messenger/3 Nighthawk. Aside from that minor question, this build is working pretty well
TBD...
True true. Sometimes I forget this is no longer a "Developing Competitive" forum.
It is in fact a very cool build and totally viable for some fnm action.
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
So, with the background out of the way, here's the deck:
3 Quirion Dryad
3 Geralf's Messenger
3 Desecration Demon
2 Wolfir Silverheart
4 Farseek
3 Victim of Night
2 Murder
3 Underworld Connections
2 Rakdos's Return
3 Mutilate
2 Garruk Relentless
2 Demonic Rising
4 Blood Crypt
3 Woodland Cemetery
2 Evolving Wilds
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Mountain
5 Swamp
4 Forest
3 Dreg Mauler
3 Cremate
3 Duress
3 Abrupt Decay
3 Appetite for Brains
I am sold on Quirion Dryad. Paired with removal, it got me value all night long. It traded up almost every time and on two occasions, I managed to cast Mutilate, giving it just enough counters for it to survive, while wiping my opponent's board.
Geralf's Messenger was also clutch for gaining card advantage vs. aggro and for keeping pressure on control decks. Quite good in either matchup.
Victim of Night killed Obzedat (which Ultimate Price can't do) and was consistently good for me.
Murder is a little slow and was almost always boarded out, however, its unconditionality was really good in game 1, when I had no idea what I was up against. I like it as a mainboard card, but can't wait to replace it with Putrefy.
Demonic Rising only came out in one game, surprisingly, as I never boarded it out. It very nearly won me that game, which was g3 against the rites deck, but he got a clutch Sever the Bloodline to exile my Messenger, then flashed it back the next turn to wipe away 2 demons. I'm still thinking I like it and will continue to test it further.
The sideboard was kind of thrown together and clearly needs some work. Duress and Appetite for Brains were both really good for me, as was Abrupt Decay. The Maulers were meh and I will likely replace them with Slaughter Games and I'm considering replacing the Cremates with Acidic Slime because I already maindeck 4 Deathrite Shamans and I kind of want answers to Kessig Wolf Run, Gavony Township, Vault of the Archangel and Nephalia Drownyard.
heres my deck list.
3 Blood Artist
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Bloodline Keeper
3 Vampire Nocturnus
Spells
2 Tragic Skip
2 Ultimate Price
2 Tribute Of Hunger
3 Victim Of The Night
4 Sign in Blood
4 Mutilate
2 Duress
2 Sorin, Lord Of Instead
Lands
17 Swamps
4 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Pithing Needle
2 Tormad's Crypt
2 Duress
2 Cremate
2 Sever The Bloodlines
2 Human Frailty
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Devour Flesh
1 Curse Of Death's Hold
so last night i ended up going 2-2 with this deck.
i won round 1 with no issues against R/B aggro.
round 2 i lost to a R/G aggro deck. i was unable to get going against him and he was able to pop off Domri Rade and swing for game.
with this deck it seems like my biggest issue was Strangleroot Giest. for some odd reason i was just unable to draw any removal to deal with him. If i did draw a creature he had burn to deal with it.
Round 3
i played a BUG deck
he was running Duskmantle Seer & Strangleroot Giest. again i was unable to get removal and whenever i dropped a creature he had an answer for it.
Round 4
i played another B/R aggro deck and had no issues with it
so my question is what should i change to deal with the giest?
i am planning on moving Duress to the SB and putting in the 3rd Tragic Slip & adding Staff of Nin.
for the SB i was thinking about dropping Tormad's Crypt.
a friend of my mentioned adding Haunted Guardian in the deck to deal with the giest.
let me know what ya'll think
Well I can't speak for upgrades in future sets since I don't know what's in the pipes a black control splashed with either green or red is viable for some time considering the best splash cards i.e. abrupt decay, rakdos return, slaughter games, etc.. and our best ramp card(crypt ghast) are in the current block. Assuming we get a decent substitute for mutilate after rotation we should be fine.
Modern: Eldrazi Tron, UW Tron, GR Tron, BW Tokens, WU Death and Taxes
How was Desecration Demon for you?
2 Bloodgift Demon
3 Desecration Demon
3 Disciple of Bolas
4 Gloom Surgeon
4 Vampire Nighthawk
Artifact (3)
3 Rakdos Keyrune
Planeswalker (2)
2 Garruk Relentless
Sorcery (10)
1 Dreadbore
4 Mutilate
2 Rakdos's Return
3 Sign in Blood
2 Tragic Slip
2 Victim of Night
Land (25)
4 Blood Crypt
2 Evolving Wilds
1 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
4 Overgrown Tomb
9 Swamp
4 Woodland Cemetery
1 vraska the unseen
3 duress
3 appetite for brains
3 slaughter games
1 lord of the void
2 deathrite shaman
2 cremate
I like Desecration Demon after Mutilate, though in my experience certain cards (Huntmaster of the Fells, Lingering Souls) can take it off line even after sweeping. Enter Disciple of Bolas. It is such a beating to draw 6+ and gain as much life after Mutilate. In testing it happens pretty regularly. It plays nice with Bloodgift Demon too.
I'm still not sure on the sideboard. I'm a little unfamiliar with these colors so I'll need to actually play in an FNM with this deck to feel it out.
Modern: Eldrazi Tron, UW Tron, GR Tron, BW Tokens, WU Death and Taxes
I'm not sure I can rely on getting green early enough to make it relevant. Maybe I should put it in the sideboard.
That's pretty awesome. Were your Mutilates generally pretty effective with your land base?
Modern: Eldrazi Tron, UW Tron, GR Tron, BW Tokens, WU Death and Taxes
4 Gloom Surgeon
3 Crypt Ghast
3 Desecration Demon
Spells:26
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Devour Flesh
2 Dreadbore
2 Rakdos's Return
3 Sign in Blood
2 Victim of Night
1 Murder
3 Rakdos Keyrune
2 Liliana of the Dark Realms
4 Mutilate
1 Vraska the Unseen
2 Staff of Nin
4 Blood Crypt
3 Dragonskull Summit
2 Kessig Wolf Run
4 Overgrown Tomb
9 Swamp
2 Woodland Cemetery
2 Appetite for Brains
3 Duress
2 Illness in the Ranks
1 Pithing Needle
3 Rakdos Charm
3 Slaughter Games
1 Griselbrand
Took out gris. After extensive testing he didnt win me a lot of games. Sure if i can get him out its usually over but a turn 5-6 gris is very rare given all the aggro we have to deal with. A big wolf run or rakdos in the late game generally seals it. Added demon since its faster. Also a touch more green for the decays and vraska. Thoughts?
Modern: Eldrazi Tron, UW Tron, GR Tron, BW Tokens, WU Death and Taxes
Yes. Between 4 Farseek and 2 Evolving Wilds, I could almost always guarantee that by turn 5 I had at least 3 Swamps in play (even against the aggro decks, I didn't usually feel compelled to cast Mutilate t3 or t4). That's typically all I need to take care of 2-3 of my opponent's creatures, then I could just use spot removal and disruption to stay ahead, as well as undercosted fatties.
4x Sign in Blood
3x Ultimate Price
3x Victim of Night
3x Vampire Nighthawk
3x Lingering Souls/Geralf's Messenger (haven't decided yet)
4cmc
4x Mutilate
2x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
2x Gideon, Champion of Justice
3x crypt ghast
2x Terminus
8cmc
2x Griselbrand
There are some maybes though (like blind obedience, tragic slip, dead weight for early game, and desecration demon)
1x Devour Flesh
2x Tragic Slip
2x Tribute to Hunger
3x Victim of Night
Land (24)
4x Dragonskull Summit
4x Rakdos Guildgate
16x Swamp
3x Dreadbore
3x Mutilate
2x Rakdos's Return
4x Sign in Blood
Artifact (2)
2x Staff of Nin
4x Desecration Demon
4x Gloom Surgeon
2x Olivia Voldaren
4x Vampire Nighthawk
Going for kind of a rakdos control build. It's just an idea so far and it needs a lot of help.
I'm definetely running way too many creatures and I lack draw power.
Any thoughts? (Rakdos gate is a budget sub for blood crypt so don't suggest that.)
3 Blood Artist
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Bloodline Keeper
3 Vampire Nocturnus
Spells
3 Tragic Skip
2 Ultimate Price
2 Tribute to Hunger
3 Victim Of The Night
4 Sign in Blood
4 Mutilate
1 Underworld Connections
2 Sorin, Lord Of Instead
Lands
17 Swamps
4 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Pithing Needle
4 Duress
3 Cremate
2 Sever The Bloodlines
2 Human Frailty
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Curse Of Death's Hold
Main Boad edits:
-2 Duress
+1 Tragic Slip
+1 Underworld Connections
SB edits:
-2 Tormad's Crypt
-1 Devour Flesh
+2 Duress
+1 Cremate
i have also been considering taking out Ultimate Price all together but im not sure what to put in its place. its one of those cards im thinking once i dont have it in the deck i will need it. but ive really only needed it once
i am moving towards this. mostly because getting Gris out reliably depends a lot on Ghast being out, and when opponents see ghast hit the board, they do everything they can to get rid of it because they know it must be for something important. you can hold ghast back until you draw into gris, but even in trying that i have found that you can end up waiting for a card that comes up too late to save you. gris is awesome when he hits the board, he just doesnt hit it enough reliably for me.
anyone have any thoughts on shifting more towards rakdos control? instead of something like a 75%/25% black/red split something closer to 50/50? could take advantage of the black removal and some of the better red creatures... i will post a theoretical decklist later for us to tear apart. but i think it could be interesting. has anyone tried this?
edit - just saw darkarch's post. no rakdos-colored or red creatures except Olivia? i feel as though there are some good creatures out there that we might be able to take advantage of.
TBD...
3 Quirion Dryad
3 Geralf's Messenger
3 Desecration Demon
2 Wolfir Silverheart
4 Farseek
3 Victim of Night
2 Murder
3 Underworld Connections
2 Rakdos's Return
3 Mutilate
2 Garruk Relentless
2 Demonic Rising
4 Blood Crypt
3 Woodland Cemetery
2 Evolving Wilds
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Mountain
5 Swamp
4 Forest
3 Dreg Mauler
3 Cremate
3 Duress
3 Abrupt Decay
3 Appetite for Brains
How good do you think Flesh // Blood would be in a deck like this? Remember Flesh can hit opponent's graveyard too.