Thanks for the advice. I'll drop the Whips and either Read the Bones or more removal.
Yeah, without the Whip as a mana sink, I don't need Nykthos I guess. The only other use for it is to use Erebos's ability with the extra mana.
I could put one Urborg in the sideboard and if my opponent isn't running black I would add it. I wouldn't ever main board it in game 1. But with just 4 Fountains is it worth it?
Have a look all; I joined The Meadery MTG Social Network about a day or so ago; and one of the Network's Article Writers happened to snag my Mono Black Control list and write a little something about it.
If you're interested; check it out.
I'd also recommend Joining; seems like a pretty special Social Media Network they got going over there; and it's all for US; MTG enthusiasts!!!!
It has all the things you'd want; Deck Builder/Stats, Articles, Deck Lists, Shop Info, share your MTG Stories, and follow your friends.
I guess she is underestimating the Leeches.They suprisinglly performed rather well and who cares if they used removal you can just bring him back with Palace Siege.He's vanilla but a big vanilla that gives devotion
Also we cannot forget the psychological aspect of Squelching Leeches. Playing such a stupid looking creature as the leeches can put your opponent on tilt by getting beat down by a big vanilla.
But it did work really well in a mono black devotion deck I fiddled with this season, but it did also work really well with Whip. I do assume that it's good here as well.
Knowing what I know about this deck; knowing what I know about the metagame in which play; I think this could be just as effective.
IDK though; beating down with Leeches was hella fun... LOL
EDIT: No; I like some Leech option; maybe it doesn't need 4; playing 1 on Turn 4 isn't exactly always the greatest thing.
So I'll drop that number down; which allows me to up the Radiant Fountains to 4 and then I'll add Gary.
I think that removing the monsters, while making the deck run more like a real "control" deck, limits the versatility of Palace Siege. Granted, if you are getting something back from a Siege set to khans, you probably would be getting more value if it was a creature with some relevant ability instead of a beatstick. At that point, if you are thinking about cutting the Leeches and relying on Ugin, the Spirit Dragon or Sieges set to dragons to get you there, putting Merciless Executioner into the main deck becomes pretty appealing. One of my first thoughts after seeing Palace Siege was to run B/u with Clever Impersonators to make a lot of copies of it. At some point, the constant flow of life away from your opponent and towards you would become insurmountable. You could also get Impersonators back from the graveyard with Palace Siege, then copy the Siege and start draining the opponent.
Regarding the article, it's clear that the article writer believes the natural space of this deck to be U/B and her card choices show that (devaluing Leeches, suggesting Tasigur, the Golden Fang, suggesting Temple of Deceit (!)). I don't know if it was intentional, but it seemed that the whole point of spotlighting the build was so that the writer could talk about the deck as though it were a U/B control deck minus all the good blue cards. She talked positively about just one card in the deck (Palace Siege) and commented on the removal suite, which goes in any control deck running black, then makes the deck about U/B delve, and noted how the deck could use some counterspells. I'm a little surprised she didn't suggest Treasure Cruise while she was at it. It's good that your deck was noticed and profiled, but the writer of the profile completely missed the point of even profiling the deck in the first place, and that would not sit well with me if it were my deck. Did the writer even make contact with you to discuss some of the choices you made, or the reasoning behind them?
Anyway, back on topic, I think Empty the Pits would only be a good finisher if you fill the grave quickly so that it goes lethal before the opponent is ready for it. I know a lot of cards hit the graveyard over the course of a game with this deck, but do they get there quickly? Also note that it does not have synergy with Palace Siege. I also think I would rather win a drawn-out game 1 and take the match 1-0 than rush to finish it and have something unfortunate happen later. If the opponent concedes game 1 quickly, you have the same result as if you used Empty the Pits but you had the potential upside of having the opponent try to play from behind against you.
I took MrRotten's most recent list to Gameday yesterday and went 3-3, tying for 3rd place. I didn't get much experience with it beforehand, but it's pretty solid. This deck eats up aggro like nothing. I beat 2 B/W Warriors decks and Mardu Aggro. Lost to Temur, U/B Control, and Jeskai Tempo/Aggro.
Some thoughts: It might just be my inexperience with the deck, but I definitely feel like it might need a *touch* of either Blue or White; but not necessarily both. Blue for Negate/Dig Through Time or Treasure Cruise.. White for Utter End/Revoke Existence- enchantment and artifact hate. We can't Thoughtseize everything.
I found that U/B Control outdraws us and can counter us at will since we don't have a lot of proactive spells. Jeskai counters, burns, and beats. Temur also got me with counters. I hate tapping out for eight mana for Ugin and then getting Disdainful Stroke'd.
I was almost never unhappy to draw Squelching Leeches, and it just gets better and better the longer the game goes on. Ugin is obviously great. I'd like to find a way to deal with some of those weaknesses, though. Any feedback?
I took MrRotten's most recent list to Gameday yesterday and went 3-3, tying for 3rd place. I didn't get much experience with it beforehand, but it's pretty solid. This deck eats up aggro like nothing. I beat 2 B/W Warriors decks and Mardu Aggro. Lost to Temur, U/B Control, and Jeskai Tempo/Aggro.
Some thoughts: It might just be my inexperience with the deck, but I definitely feel like it might need a *touch* of either Blue or White; but not necessarily both. Blue for Negate/Dig Through Time or Treasure Cruise.. White for Utter End/Revoke Existence- enchantment and artifact hate. We can't Thoughtseize everything.
I found that U/B Control outdraws us and can counter us at will since we don't have a lot of proactive spells. Jeskai counters, burns, and beats. Temur also got me with counters. I hate tapping out for eight mana for Ugin and then getting Disdainful Stroke'd.
I was almost never unhappy to draw Squelching Leeches, and it just gets better and better the longer the game goes on. Ugin is obviously great. I'd like to find a way to deal with some of those weaknesses, though. Any feedback?
I honestly didn't like the most recent version where I trimmed down on the Leeches.
If I run this deck any more going forward; I think I'll be back to atleast 3 Leeches; but probably go back to the 4.
Leech is just a pounding!
The other thing that I thought of is replacing Leech all together with Gray Merchant??
That means our Gameplan to win doesn't really get started till around turn 5; but it's such an amazing quick swing.
IDK; but I agree; the Control matchups are rough.
This past Friday I went 2 and 2.
The 2 Round losses were both to decks that are weak matchups.
1.) R/G Aggro with a combination of Ashcloud Phoenix and Flamewake Phoenix; both of which can be a problem as they are pretty resilient to removal. Then once you get the Silence the Believers to properly deal with these; they just burn you out with a Crater Claws for like 7. The match had with it alot of Bad Luck on my part; but it was def a tricky deck to try and beat with the way the mainboard is setup.
2.) Sultai Control - Control in general is a bit tough; I can't always get there with the Discard; and although Grindclock really put in work against Sultai; it fueled his DELVE Digs since I never got the Agent of Erebos online to remove the GY while milling. It's a cute combo; but I feel like Grindclock although nice; you need to have that way to pull the cards out of the GY afterwords or they still eventually beat you with better Card Advantage/Draw cards. That could be also said about UB Control too. Sometimes you can sneak in a Thoughtseize and then a Turn 4 Leech and beat face if they stumble on mana or removal/answer. But it's not a solid plan; and I knew that Control would be a bit of an uphill battle.
VS Control - I'm considering going back to the Mardu Strike Leader plan... Or perhaps Empty the Pits wouldn't be too bad of an option.
VS Burn - I'm considering adding Whips to the sideboard; although I think Whip is really really bad in a deck that doesn't have alot of creatures; 1 Whip and 1 Leech is pretty back breaking to alot of Aggro/Burn decks. Leech will be 4/4 or bigger; and so gaining that much life in chunks is great.
The only other thing I can think of to keep this alive is to either go back to my original plan of: x4 Mind Rot and just try and kill their hand.
Between Thoughtseize + Mind Rot and then into Liliana; hopefully it'll kill their hand.
OR: Splashing Blue for some other synergy... Adding a trick like Tasigur could really go along way to making this deck work. Being able to bring back any of our spells; or our Win Conditions in conjunction with Tasigur being a beefy body is pretty good.
Then adding something as simple as just Negate to our options might be fine. Wouldn't need to go ALL in on the Blue splash and make it BU; I think a very very light splash of Blue for Tasigur and Negate would probably be all that's needed.
I took MrRotten's most recent list to Gameday yesterday and went 3-3, tying for 3rd place. I didn't get much experience with it beforehand, but it's pretty solid. This deck eats up aggro like nothing. I beat 2 B/W Warriors decks and Mardu Aggro. Lost to Temur, U/B Control, and Jeskai Tempo/Aggro.
Some thoughts: It might just be my inexperience with the deck, but I definitely feel like it might need a *touch* of either Blue or White; but not necessarily both. Blue for Negate/Dig Through Time or Treasure Cruise.. White for Utter End/Revoke Existence- enchantment and artifact hate. We can't Thoughtseize everything.
I found that U/B Control outdraws us and can counter us at will since we don't have a lot of proactive spells. Jeskai counters, burns, and beats. Temur also got me with counters. I hate tapping out for eight mana for Ugin and then getting Disdainful Stroke'd.
I was almost never unhappy to draw Squelching Leeches, and it just gets better and better the longer the game goes on. Ugin is obviously great. I'd like to find a way to deal with some of those weaknesses, though. Any feedback?
I honestly didn't like the most recent version where I trimmed down on the Leeches.
If I run this deck any more going forward; I think I'll be back to atleast 3 Leeches; but probably go back to the 4.
Leech is just a pounding!
The other thing that I thought of is replacing Leech all together with Gray Merchant??
That means our Gameplan to win doesn't really get started till around turn 5; but it's such an amazing quick swing.
IDK; but I agree; the Control matchups are rough.
This past Friday I went 2 and 2.
The 2 Round losses were both to decks that are weak matchups.
1.) R/G Aggro with a combination of Ashcloud Phoenix and Flamewake Phoenix; both of which can be a problem as they are pretty resilient to removal. Then once you get the Silence the Believers to properly deal with these; they just burn you out with a Crater Claws for like 7. The match had with it alot of Bad Luck on my part; but it was def a tricky deck to try and beat with the way the mainboard is setup.
2.) Sultai Control - Control in general is a bit tough; I can't always get there with the Discard; and although Grindclock really put in work against Sultai; it fueled his DELVE Digs since I never got the Agent of Erebos online to remove the GY while milling. It's a cute combo; but I feel like Grindclock although nice; you need to have that way to pull the cards out of the GY afterwords or they still eventually beat you with better Card Advantage/Draw cards. That could be also said about UB Control too. Sometimes you can sneak in a Thoughtseize and then a Turn 4 Leech and beat face if they stumble on mana or removal/answer. But it's not a solid plan; and I knew that Control would be a bit of an uphill battle.
VS Control - I'm considering going back to the Mardu Strike Leader plan... Or perhaps Empty the Pits wouldn't be too bad of an option.
VS Burn - I'm considering adding Whips to the sideboard; although I think Whip is really really bad in a deck that doesn't have alot of creatures; 1 Whip and 1 Leech is pretty back breaking to alot of Aggro/Burn decks. Leech will be 4/4 or bigger; and so gaining that much life in chunks is great.
The only other thing I can think of to keep this alive is to either go back to my original plan of: x4 Mind Rot and just try and kill their hand.
Between Thoughtseize + Mind Rot and then into Liliana; hopefully it'll kill their hand.
OR: Splashing Blue for some other synergy... Adding a trick like Tasigur could really go along way to making this deck work. Being able to bring back any of our spells; or our Win Conditions in conjunction with Tasigur being a beefy body is pretty good.
Then adding something as simple as just Negate to our options might be fine. Wouldn't need to go ALL in on the Blue splash and make it BU; I think a very very light splash of Blue for Tasigur and Negate would probably be all that's needed.
I looked back at your original list again and I think you had it more right then. Force players into bad decisions. They don't know what this deck really is, so it messes with their decision tree. They look at Squelching Leeches and think you're a scrub until you swing in for 8. Then they waste all their Downfalls on it and Liliana. Drop Ugin, and BOOM.
As tempting as it is to fit Gary in the deck, he really doesn't belong. Every time I dropped him, I gained 2 to 6 life tops, and he was more of a stabilizer than a finisher. He should strictly be for devotion strategies. Splash in the Blue and put in a Tasigur. He's basically another card draw engine unless your opponent has graveyard hate. He also has a decent body for beats and blocks. You can also play around a Dissolve or Disdainful Stroke by having two mana (one U of course) open and Negating their counter so you can stick an Ugin. I also think Mind Rot is better than Diplomacy of the Wastes in the control mirror. Negate can also catch Perilous Vault, which really messes with our plan.
When I playtested with Mardu Strike Leader against a buddy of mine who played U/B Control, he was rather impressed and said, "That's actually some pretty good tech against this deck!"
Ultimately, I think the shell should still be Mono Black Control, with a splash of blue or white to deal with weaknesses in the deck.
Well if you've read any of the original post; or most of the posts after; yes it started out as Mono Black Control.
It's gone into a Devotion Control strategy with some people; and now we're heading into Splashing Blue with others.
So yea; it's starting to get away from Mono Black a bit.
I'll be honest; after this past Friday; getting smacked around by Sultai Control and an opponent that was greatly familiar with my list and knew how to attack it, which to also be honest isn't hard once you figure it out.
I think there lays the problem with the deck; it's a bit too simple...
It annihilates Midrange and Aggro IMO; and the Control Matchup has always been something I felt would be a bit rough with a plan that seems weak.
And I also felt that the list was a bit too strait forward and once the Newness wore off; people would figure it out and attack it correctly.
This is the only reason I'm considering splashing Blue.
Blue for a bit of Counter Permission options to go along with the Discard Disruption.
Blue for the utility that adding Tasigur could add to the deck.
Blue for better Win Condition options VS Conrol in PLA or Torrent Elementals or something.
As much as it pains me to admit it; knowing I'm old enough to remember the old school Mono Black Control decks; and wanting this deck to be that; it might be time to take the deck into a new direction.
Here's a Test Deck I'm looking at... I'd say it's less than a UB Control deck and more of a B/u Control deck.
If I keep the original style of the deck at the core; I'd only want to splash Blue for Negates and Disdainful Strokes and using Tasigur's ability. Beyond that; no...
I wouldn't want anything that requires UU+ in the casting cost; so that means Dissolve is out. Dig is out.
Summary of how my games went:
Played against U/B control first.
Game 1: Played Palace Siege and the drain effect went the whole distance. I answered all his threats and Merciless Executioner ate his hexproof Dragon
Game 2: A tough Grindy fight. He out drew me eventually and countered/killed everything I did. He had Perilous Vault in play on empty board and multiple cards in hand. I chained 3 draw spells and came up with nothing but lands and scooped. In retrospect I should have kept going, he showed me his hand full of lands.
Game 3: It was another tough grindy fight. I played Ugin which got downfalled, then he played Ugin which got downfalled. Finally resolved a Liliana which ate his hand and search up mind rots which met countermagic, but still got him handless and resolved palace siege giving me an endless supply of recurring Leeches which got him in a couple hits.
Round 2-Abzan Aggro
Game 1: Killed all his stuff and won with leeches
Game 2: he killed everything I played including Palace Sieges with Back to Natures, eventually stuck a dude and I ran out of answers
Game 3: this one went to time, He had several dudes out, including a Phyrexian revoker which was stopping my Liliana and I had double leeches which were huge and erebos. I was at 4, he was at 19. I bile blight the revoker, freeing my Liliana, search for gray merchant, cast sign in blood to draw it, cast it, drain him for 9. Next turn (turn 5 after time) I use Liliana to search for Silence the believers, use erebos to draw it. Cast it for 10 mana (3 targets) and swing for victory.
Round 3-Temur Aggro
Game 1: I killed myself with Thoughtseize and Sign in Bloods trying to ahead. Died in 4-5 turns to Knuckleblade and Crater Claws
Game 2: I killed everything he played and then had a Big leech which killed him fast. Silence the Believers on his Phoenixes that come back was crucial.
Game 3: I killed everything he played and then played ugin which I ultimated a couple of turns later into Double leech, Palace Siege, and Gray Merchant. With him handless, he scoops
Round 4-R/W aggro tokens
Game 1: I kill everything he plays. I cast gray merchant and attack him with it until he's dead.
Game 2: I kill everything he plays, he uses 2 chain to the rocks on 2 leeches, and 2 banishing lights on palace siege and Erebos. I play Ugin and exile his enchantments, getting all 4 of my exiled things back. He kills ugin with stoke and then dies to my attack.
Thoughts about this build that is different from other builds I've seen posted:
I like using Liliana as a toolbox searcher and I think maindeck executioner and gray merchant are solid includes if you are using her. They saved me several times. Liliana belongs in here. I'd like to play another Ugin, but I can't decide what to take out. Everything seems to have a place. Maybe cut a Leech for it? I dunno. I feel like the deck is strong but also underwhelming. I wish we had Mutilate, Damnation, or Corrupt. That would really put it over the top. I played the same list at another small tourney over a week ago and went 2-2.
If the deck managed to do fine against those decks then i think the deck is quite effective in its own way.Not going to give up and stay with its mono-black form
Thoughts about this build that is different from other builds I've seen posted:
I like using Liliana as a toolbox searcher and I think maindeck executioner and gray merchant are solid includes if you are using her. They saved me several times. Liliana belongs in here. I'd like to play another Ugin, but I can't decide what to take out. Everything seems to have a place. Maybe cut a Leech for it? I dunno. I feel like the deck is strong but also underwhelming. I wish we had Mutilate, Damnation, or Corrupt. That would really put it over the top. I played the same list at another small tourney over a week ago and went 2-2.
I agree 100%; Liliana is one of the cards that really makes the deck go!
There's been a few that wanted to board them; but nope... can't do it.
In a very Midrange heavy meta; Liliana is great!
As for a 2nd Ugin; IDK; I've considered dropping my Ugin 2. I run 2 in my main; but IDK, perhaps 1 is the correct number and maybe the 2nd one in the side??
As for cutting a Leech? I wouldn't... I've recently tried dropping the number of Leeches down to 2; and in that event I didn't do so hot... I mean it was still ok; but honestly I really think the Leech is also one of the big engines that makes this deck go. I've thought perhaps 3 could be fine? But IDK now; after dropping to 2 and feeling underwhelmed with that number; I want to go all the way back to 4.
As for the list being great; but then underwhelming... I agree; it sometimes does seem a bit hit or miss; but with the exception of this past week; I've been consistently dominating a very wide range of decks.
I do very well VS Aggro and Midrange; with Control being a bit of an uphill battle.
The times where I lose though it feels like the deck just gets in it's own way... either with the self inflicted damage; or mana screw/flood...
The only deck thus far I feel out right whooped on me and I don't know that I had the right options/tools to combat it was the Sultai butt whoopin I took this past week.
With that being said; I feel that the matchup would of been better had I had all 4 Leeches; I was down to 2 that week.
Anyways; great job again!!! You had the guts to play it at GameDay; bravo sir; bravo!!!
I ended up not being able to get to go to Game Day; but after getting whooped on a bit (2-2) at FNM; I wasn't going to play my last list at Game Day anyways.
You've given me new hope that I was indeed on the right track...
With a little inspiration from your deck; here's my updated Mono Black list; nix the Blue Splash I posted earlier.
Gray Merchant - I don't think it's needed in the main; I would rather it be another Palace Siege; the last list or 2 I've ran I've had 4 Mainboard Siege and I have absolutely loved it. The Siege is starting to catch on and people are wanting to remove it; so that's another reason I want 4 main now too.
Drown in Sorrow - I've been play testing with Drowns in the side to make room for our other 3 Drop creature killer... Merciless Executioner; I think the Executioner + Palace Siege (KHANS) is better utility VS more decks than Drowns main. Drowns really are only good VS small creature decks; tokens; etc... I remember quite a few times VS midrangey or control decks where I am casting a Drown just to SCRY cuz it's sitting in my hand doing nothing. So I think Executioner gives us more utility combined with Siege. VS the Speedier decks we may get a bit weaker because Drown does sooo good VS them; but we do have the mainboard Blights and the Palace Siege VS those decks is just back breaking. Get a 2nd Siege and they really can't come back. I'm talking about RDW or Mono Black Aggro; 2 of the speedier decks in the format. BR Aggro; sure RW Aggro can run the Erases; but usually those aren't mainboard. So again; I feel like the Drowns can easily be moved to the side. With the Executioner + Palace Siege (KHANS); you're going to put in alot of work VS Aggro decks and Midrange Decks by recasting Executioner more then a few times. That's why it's so spicy!
Mind Rot - I was a big advocate for this earlier back in the initial phases of the deck; but I got talked out of it. My theory was that if you manage to hit them with an early Sieze; then follow it up with Turn 3 Mind Rot; into potentially a Turn 5 Lilly; that is back breaking. Emptying their hand; and forcing your opponent to make ugly decisions earlier shapes the rest of the game late. I really think Mind Rot might be the best way to go.
Mardu Strike Leader - I have gone back to this little guy... In Game 1; our opponent is going to see very little creatures as in Quantity. So they're going to remove a good chunk of removal. They'll keep sweepers and other things back to deal with Leeches of course. If they keep Sweepers; and we use the Strike Leader to Dash; that gets around sweepers and in 2 to 3 turns we're putting a nice board out there that can put a fast clock on the opponent; forcing them to kill things. If they have Vault out for example; they'll be forced to crack it as they probably sided out their Blights (UB Matchup). And even if they manage to kill our Strike Leader; we can fish them back out with a Siege (KHANS). This gives us an important options to use in Control matchups without committing a ton to the board... So I'm going to re-examine this option.
Beyond that, the deck remains true to it's original form.
Thoughts about this build that is different from other builds I've seen posted:
I like using Liliana as a toolbox searcher and I think maindeck executioner and gray merchant are solid includes if you are using her. They saved me several times. Liliana belongs in here. I'd like to play another Ugin, but I can't decide what to take out. Everything seems to have a place. Maybe cut a Leech for it? I dunno. I feel like the deck is strong but also underwhelming. I wish we had Mutilate, Damnation, or Corrupt. That would really put it over the top. I played the same list at another small tourney over a week ago and went 2-2.
I agree 100%; Liliana is one of the cards that really makes the deck go!
There's been a few that wanted to board them; but nope... can't do it.
In a very Midrange heavy meta; Liliana is great!
As for a 2nd Ugin; IDK; I've considered dropping my Ugin 2. I run 2 in my main; but IDK, perhaps 1 is the correct number and maybe the 2nd one in the side??
As for cutting a Leech? I wouldn't... I've recently tried dropping the number of Leeches down to 2; and in that event I didn't do so hot... I mean it was still ok; but honestly I really think the Leech is also one of the big engines that makes this deck go. I've thought perhaps 3 could be fine? But IDK now; after dropping to 2 and feeling underwhelmed with that number; I want to go all the way back to 4.
As for the list being great; but then underwhelming... I agree; it sometimes does seem a bit hit or miss; but with the exception of this past week; I've been consistently dominating a very wide range of decks.
I do very well VS Aggro and Midrange; with Control being a bit of an uphill battle.
The times where I lose though it feels like the deck just gets in it's own way... either with the self inflicted damage; or mana screw/flood...
The only deck thus far I feel out right whooped on me and I don't know that I had the right options/tools to combat it was the Sultai butt whoopin I took this past week.
With that being said; I feel that the matchup would of been better had I had all 4 Leeches; I was down to 2 that week.
Anyways; great job again!!! You had the guts to play it at GameDay; bravo sir; bravo!!!
I ended up not being able to get to go to Game Day; but after getting whooped on a bit (2-2) at FNM; I wasn't going to play my last list at Game Day anyways.
You've given me new hope that I was indeed on the right track...
With a little inspiration from your deck; here's my updated Mono Black list; nix the Blue Splash I posted earlier.
Gray Merchant - I don't think it's needed in the main; I would rather it be another Palace Siege; the last list or 2 I've ran I've had 4 Mainboard Siege and I have absolutely loved it. The Siege is starting to catch on and people are wanting to remove it; so that's another reason I want 4 main now too.
Drown in Sorrow - I've been play testing with Drowns in the side to make room for our other 3 Drop creature killer... Merciless Executioner; I think the Executioner + Palace Siege (KHANS) is better utility VS more decks than Drowns main. Drowns really are only good VS small creature decks; tokens; etc... I remember quite a few times VS midrangey or control decks where I am casting a Drown just to SCRY cuz it's sitting in my hand doing nothing. So I think Executioner gives us more utility combined with Siege. VS the Speedier decks we may get a bit weaker because Drown does sooo good VS them; but we do have the mainboard Blights and the Palace Siege VS those decks is just back breaking. Get a 2nd Siege and they really can't come back. I'm talking about RDW or Mono Black Aggro; 2 of the speedier decks in the format. BR Aggro; sure RW Aggro can run the Erases; but usually those aren't mainboard. So again; I feel like the Drowns can easily be moved to the side. With the Executioner + Palace Siege (KHANS); you're going to put in alot of work VS Aggro decks and Midrange Decks by recasting Executioner more then a few times. That's why it's so spicy!
Mind Rot - I was a big advocate for this earlier back in the initial phases of the deck; but I got talked out of it. My theory was that if you manage to hit them with an early Sieze; then follow it up with Turn 3 Mind Rot; into potentially a Turn 5 Lilly; that is back breaking. Emptying their hand; and forcing your opponent to make ugly decisions earlier shapes the rest of the game late. I really think Mind Rot might be the best way to go.
Mardu Strike Leader - I have gone back to this little guy... In Game 1; our opponent is going to see very little creatures as in Quantity. So they're going to remove a good chunk of removal. They'll keep sweepers and other things back to deal with Leeches of course. If they keep Sweepers; and we use the Strike Leader to Dash; that gets around sweepers and in 2 to 3 turns we're putting a nice board out there that can put a fast clock on the opponent; forcing them to kill things. If they have Vault out for example; they'll be forced to crack it as they probably sided out their Blights (UB Matchup). And even if they manage to kill our Strike Leader; we can fish them back out with a Siege (KHANS). This gives us an important options to use in Control matchups without committing a ton to the board... So I'm going to re-examine this option.
Beyond that, the deck remains true to it's original form.
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Well, I decided to give MBC another shot and used your revised list at the SCG open yesterday. I went 3-3-2-drop.
I beat R/W aggro, RDW, and a Mardu Whip brew. Lost to Sidisi 4-color Soul(?), Sidisi Whip, and R/G Monsters.. Drew with U/B Control and Sultai Control. After 8 rounds, increasing hunger, brain frying, and not being able to make it to day 2, I decided to drop.
I gotta say, win-lose-or draw, people LOVED this deck. Either my opponents or bystanders who were watching were thoroughly entertained and gave some mad props for originality and going against the grain. Squelching Leeches were a hilarious hit. Ultimating Ugin and sticking 3 Palace Seiges, 1 Liliana, and another Ugin all at once was my biggest play of the day and forced an insta-scoop. People kept asking for the decklist and wanted to make their own version of the deck, so I directed them to this thread.
Palace Seige puts in a lot of work and is probably my favorite card in the deck. Liliana also gets lots of stuff done. Although Leeches almost always ate removal, the threat of a 12/12 behemoth made him unignorable. This deck can really use an Underworld Connections or something similar as a regular draw engine, but all in all it's still pretty fun. I'll try to make some adjustments, but I might just ride it out until the next set comes out.
What a fun deck! I gotta say, though, squelching leeches are AWFUL game 1 against any deck with removal. They just die. There is a reason why control decks keep their Tasigurs, etc in the board. I could see bringing leeches in out of the board, but I think you need to consider a better wincon. Palace siege (and Ugin) may just be good enough by themselves game 1. At least a Gary will do damage before it gets killed.
I am a long time MBC player. I play it in every format I get a chance too. This list, well really the whole thread, excites me. I will hopefully be pulling the cards together later today on MTGO. If I was to stream a couple of matches and tournaments would anybody be interested in watching?
I am a long time MBC player. I play it in every format I get a chance too. This list, well really the whole thread, excites me. I will hopefully be pulling the cards together later today on MTGO. If I was to stream a couple of matches and tournaments would anybody be interested in watching?
Sure; do you stream on Twitch?
I am a big Twitch fan; just share the info of time and I'll def take a look.
I don't know how the Online Meta game is; but I do feel like Mono Black Control has all it needs to adjust as the metagame continues to shift around.
I am a long time MBC player. I play it in every format I get a chance too. This list, well really the whole thread, excites me. I will hopefully be pulling the cards together later today on MTGO. If I was to stream a couple of matches and tournaments would anybody be interested in watching?
Sure; do you stream on Twitch?
I am a big Twitch fan; just share the info of time and I'll def take a look.
I don't know how the Online Meta game is; but I do feel like Mono Black Control has all it needs to adjust as the metagame continues to shift around.
Yeah once I get everything back up and running. I forgot I had just finished a clean install on my computer so I didnt have my streaming software up in time for the tournament. But I'm glad I didn't. It wasn't pretty. I haven't had a chance to play with the deck so i went in blind. I lost the first two rounds and then dropped. Both games were winnable but I made a ton of play mistakes. This deck is all about keeping it tight and I just wasn't on the ball. But I am planning on streaming my next attempt for better of for worse. I'll make sure I post the stream before I go live hopefully tonight.
Yeah, without the Whip as a mana sink, I don't need Nykthos I guess. The only other use for it is to use Erebos's ability with the extra mana.
I could put one Urborg in the sideboard and if my opponent isn't running black I would add it. I wouldn't ever main board it in game 1. But with just 4 Fountains is it worth it?
If you're interested; check it out.
I'd also recommend Joining; seems like a pretty special Social Media Network they got going over there; and it's all for US; MTG enthusiasts!!!!
It has all the things you'd want; Deck Builder/Stats, Articles, Deck Lists, Shop Info, share your MTG Stories, and follow your friends.
Pretty cool stuff!
http://www.themeadery.org/articles/community-deck-spotlight-mono-black-control
But it did work really well in a mono black devotion deck I fiddled with this season, but it did also work really well with Whip. I do assume that it's good here as well.
In my Control Centric list; I've considered Dropping Leeches before; but FLAVOR has always brought me back.
If I get past that; and cut Leeches; it could look something like this...
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
Spells: 26
4 Thoughtseize
2 Diplomacy of the Wastes
3 Crux of Fate
3 Bile Blight
2 Drown in Sorrow
4 Hero's Downfall
2 Silence the Believers
2 Read the Bones
4 Sign in Blood
4 Palace Siege
Planeswalkers: 4
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
2 Liliana Vess
Lands: 25
19 Swamp
4 Radiant Fountain
2 Polluted Delta
4 Merciless Executioner
1 Agent of Erebos
2 Grindclock
1 Diplomacy of the Wastes
2 Drown in Sorrow
4 Pharika's Cure
1 Crux of Fate
Knowing what I know about this deck; knowing what I know about the metagame in which play; I think this could be just as effective.
IDK though; beating down with Leeches was hella fun... LOL
EDIT: No; I like some Leech option; maybe it doesn't need 4; playing 1 on Turn 4 isn't exactly always the greatest thing.
So I'll drop that number down; which allows me to up the Radiant Fountains to 4 and then I'll add Gary.
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
2 Squelching Leeches
Spells: 23
4 Thoughtseize
3 Crux of Fate
3 Bile Blight
2 Drown in Sorrow
4 Hero's Downfall
2 Silence the Believers
1 Bitter Revelation
1 Read the Bones
3 Sign in Blood
4 Palace Siege
Planeswalkers: 4
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
2 Liliana Vess
Lands: 25
18 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Radiant Fountain
2 Polluted Delta
4 Merciless Executioner
1 Agent of Erebos
2 Grindclock
3 Diplomacy of the Wastes
1 Drown in Sorrow
4 Pharika's Cure
Regarding the article, it's clear that the article writer believes the natural space of this deck to be U/B and her card choices show that (devaluing Leeches, suggesting Tasigur, the Golden Fang, suggesting Temple of Deceit (!)). I don't know if it was intentional, but it seemed that the whole point of spotlighting the build was so that the writer could talk about the deck as though it were a U/B control deck minus all the good blue cards. She talked positively about just one card in the deck (Palace Siege) and commented on the removal suite, which goes in any control deck running black, then makes the deck about U/B delve, and noted how the deck could use some counterspells. I'm a little surprised she didn't suggest Treasure Cruise while she was at it. It's good that your deck was noticed and profiled, but the writer of the profile completely missed the point of even profiling the deck in the first place, and that would not sit well with me if it were my deck. Did the writer even make contact with you to discuss some of the choices you made, or the reasoning behind them?
Anyway, back on topic, I think Empty the Pits would only be a good finisher if you fill the grave quickly so that it goes lethal before the opponent is ready for it. I know a lot of cards hit the graveyard over the course of a game with this deck, but do they get there quickly? Also note that it does not have synergy with Palace Siege. I also think I would rather win a drawn-out game 1 and take the match 1-0 than rush to finish it and have something unfortunate happen later. If the opponent concedes game 1 quickly, you have the same result as if you used Empty the Pits but you had the potential upside of having the opponent try to play from behind against you.
Some thoughts: It might just be my inexperience with the deck, but I definitely feel like it might need a *touch* of either Blue or White; but not necessarily both. Blue for Negate/Dig Through Time or Treasure Cruise.. White for Utter End/Revoke Existence- enchantment and artifact hate. We can't Thoughtseize everything.
I found that U/B Control outdraws us and can counter us at will since we don't have a lot of proactive spells. Jeskai counters, burns, and beats. Temur also got me with counters. I hate tapping out for eight mana for Ugin and then getting Disdainful Stroke'd.
I was almost never unhappy to draw Squelching Leeches, and it just gets better and better the longer the game goes on. Ugin is obviously great. I'd like to find a way to deal with some of those weaknesses, though. Any feedback?
I honestly didn't like the most recent version where I trimmed down on the Leeches.
If I run this deck any more going forward; I think I'll be back to atleast 3 Leeches; but probably go back to the 4.
Leech is just a pounding!
The other thing that I thought of is replacing Leech all together with Gray Merchant??
That means our Gameplan to win doesn't really get started till around turn 5; but it's such an amazing quick swing.
IDK; but I agree; the Control matchups are rough.
This past Friday I went 2 and 2.
The 2 Round losses were both to decks that are weak matchups.
1.) R/G Aggro with a combination of Ashcloud Phoenix and Flamewake Phoenix; both of which can be a problem as they are pretty resilient to removal. Then once you get the Silence the Believers to properly deal with these; they just burn you out with a Crater Claws for like 7. The match had with it alot of Bad Luck on my part; but it was def a tricky deck to try and beat with the way the mainboard is setup.
2.) Sultai Control - Control in general is a bit tough; I can't always get there with the Discard; and although Grindclock really put in work against Sultai; it fueled his DELVE Digs since I never got the Agent of Erebos online to remove the GY while milling. It's a cute combo; but I feel like Grindclock although nice; you need to have that way to pull the cards out of the GY afterwords or they still eventually beat you with better Card Advantage/Draw cards. That could be also said about UB Control too. Sometimes you can sneak in a Thoughtseize and then a Turn 4 Leech and beat face if they stumble on mana or removal/answer. But it's not a solid plan; and I knew that Control would be a bit of an uphill battle.
VS Control - I'm considering going back to the Mardu Strike Leader plan... Or perhaps Empty the Pits wouldn't be too bad of an option.
VS Burn - I'm considering adding Whips to the sideboard; although I think Whip is really really bad in a deck that doesn't have alot of creatures; 1 Whip and 1 Leech is pretty back breaking to alot of Aggro/Burn decks. Leech will be 4/4 or bigger; and so gaining that much life in chunks is great.
The only other thing I can think of to keep this alive is to either go back to my original plan of: x4 Mind Rot and just try and kill their hand.
Between Thoughtseize + Mind Rot and then into Liliana; hopefully it'll kill their hand.
OR: Splashing Blue for some other synergy... Adding a trick like Tasigur could really go along way to making this deck work. Being able to bring back any of our spells; or our Win Conditions in conjunction with Tasigur being a beefy body is pretty good.
Then adding something as simple as just Negate to our options might be fine. Wouldn't need to go ALL in on the Blue splash and make it BU; I think a very very light splash of Blue for Tasigur and Negate would probably be all that's needed.
I looked back at your original list again and I think you had it more right then. Force players into bad decisions. They don't know what this deck really is, so it messes with their decision tree. They look at Squelching Leeches and think you're a scrub until you swing in for 8. Then they waste all their Downfalls on it and Liliana. Drop Ugin, and BOOM.
As tempting as it is to fit Gary in the deck, he really doesn't belong. Every time I dropped him, I gained 2 to 6 life tops, and he was more of a stabilizer than a finisher. He should strictly be for devotion strategies. Splash in the Blue and put in a Tasigur. He's basically another card draw engine unless your opponent has graveyard hate. He also has a decent body for beats and blocks. You can also play around a Dissolve or Disdainful Stroke by having two mana (one U of course) open and Negating their counter so you can stick an Ugin. I also think Mind Rot is better than Diplomacy of the Wastes in the control mirror. Negate can also catch Perilous Vault, which really messes with our plan.
When I playtested with Mardu Strike Leader against a buddy of mine who played U/B Control, he was rather impressed and said, "That's actually some pretty good tech against this deck!"
Ultimately, I think the shell should still be Mono Black Control, with a splash of blue or white to deal with weaknesses in the deck.
Sorcery-
4- Thoughtseize
2- Drown in Sorrow
3- Sign In Blood
2- Treasure Cruise
3- Crux of Fate
Instants-
3- Bile Blight
4- Hero's Downfall
2- Silence the Believers
Enchantments-
3- Palace Siege
Creatures-
1- Erebos, God of the Dead
3- Squelching Leeches
1- Silumgar, the Drifting Death
Planeswalkers-
2- Liliana Vess
2- Ugin, Spirit Dragon
Land-
2- Island
2- Polluted Delta
3- Radiant Fountain
1- Urborg
17- Swamp
Sideboard-
2- Grindclock
3- Pharika's Cure
1- Tasigur
2- Merciless Executioner
3- Mind Rot
3- Negate
1- Drown in Sorrow
Sorry, I don't remember how to properly format the deck list
It's gone into a Devotion Control strategy with some people; and now we're heading into Splashing Blue with others.
So yea; it's starting to get away from Mono Black a bit.
I'll be honest; after this past Friday; getting smacked around by Sultai Control and an opponent that was greatly familiar with my list and knew how to attack it, which to also be honest isn't hard once you figure it out.
I think there lays the problem with the deck; it's a bit too simple...
It annihilates Midrange and Aggro IMO; and the Control Matchup has always been something I felt would be a bit rough with a plan that seems weak.
And I also felt that the list was a bit too strait forward and once the Newness wore off; people would figure it out and attack it correctly.
This is the only reason I'm considering splashing Blue.
Blue for a bit of Counter Permission options to go along with the Discard Disruption.
Blue for the utility that adding Tasigur could add to the deck.
Blue for better Win Condition options VS Conrol in PLA or Torrent Elementals or something.
As much as it pains me to admit it; knowing I'm old enough to remember the old school Mono Black Control decks; and wanting this deck to be that; it might be time to take the deck into a new direction.
Here's a Test Deck I'm looking at... I'd say it's less than a UB Control deck and more of a B/u Control deck.
If I keep the original style of the deck at the core; I'd only want to splash Blue for Negates and Disdainful Strokes and using Tasigur's ability. Beyond that; no...
I wouldn't want anything that requires UU+ in the casting cost; so that means Dissolve is out. Dig is out.
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Merciless Executioner
Spells: 22
4 Thoughtseize
2 Crux of Fate
1 Silence the Believers
4 Hero's Downfall
3 Bile Blight
4 Sign in Blood
4 Negate
4 Palace Siege
Planeswalkers: 4
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
2 Liliana Vess
Lands: 25
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Dismal Backwater
4 Polluted Delta
3 Radiant Fountain
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
8 Swamp
1 Island
1 Merciless Executioner
1 Pearl Lake Ancient
2 Torrent Elemental
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Drown in Sorrow
4 Pharika's Cure
3 Disdainful Stroke
Here's what I used.
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Merciless Executioner
1 Gray Merchant of Aphodel
1 Read the Bones
3 Sign in Blood
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
2 Liliana Vess
3 Palace Siege
3 Crux of Fate
2 Drown in Sorrow
3 Bile Blight
4 Hero's Downfall
2 Silence the Believers
4 Thoughtseize
20 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Radiant Fountain
1 Crux of Fate
1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1 Bile Blight
1 Drown in Sorrow
1 Merciless Executioner
1 Ghastly Conscription
1 Agent of Erebos
3 Mind Rot
1 Read the Bones
Summary of how my games went:
Played against U/B control first.
Game 1: Played Palace Siege and the drain effect went the whole distance. I answered all his threats and Merciless Executioner ate his hexproof Dragon
Game 2: A tough Grindy fight. He out drew me eventually and countered/killed everything I did. He had Perilous Vault in play on empty board and multiple cards in hand. I chained 3 draw spells and came up with nothing but lands and scooped. In retrospect I should have kept going, he showed me his hand full of lands.
Game 3: It was another tough grindy fight. I played Ugin which got downfalled, then he played Ugin which got downfalled. Finally resolved a Liliana which ate his hand and search up mind rots which met countermagic, but still got him handless and resolved palace siege giving me an endless supply of recurring Leeches which got him in a couple hits.
Round 2-Abzan Aggro
Game 1: Killed all his stuff and won with leeches
Game 2: he killed everything I played including Palace Sieges with Back to Natures, eventually stuck a dude and I ran out of answers
Game 3: this one went to time, He had several dudes out, including a Phyrexian revoker which was stopping my Liliana and I had double leeches which were huge and erebos. I was at 4, he was at 19. I bile blight the revoker, freeing my Liliana, search for gray merchant, cast sign in blood to draw it, cast it, drain him for 9. Next turn (turn 5 after time) I use Liliana to search for Silence the believers, use erebos to draw it. Cast it for 10 mana (3 targets) and swing for victory.
Round 3-Temur Aggro
Game 1: I killed myself with Thoughtseize and Sign in Bloods trying to ahead. Died in 4-5 turns to Knuckleblade and Crater Claws
Game 2: I killed everything he played and then had a Big leech which killed him fast. Silence the Believers on his Phoenixes that come back was crucial.
Game 3: I killed everything he played and then played ugin which I ultimated a couple of turns later into Double leech, Palace Siege, and Gray Merchant. With him handless, he scoops
Round 4-R/W aggro tokens
Game 1: I kill everything he plays. I cast gray merchant and attack him with it until he's dead.
Game 2: I kill everything he plays, he uses 2 chain to the rocks on 2 leeches, and 2 banishing lights on palace siege and Erebos. I play Ugin and exile his enchantments, getting all 4 of my exiled things back. He kills ugin with stoke and then dies to my attack.
Thoughts about this build that is different from other builds I've seen posted:
I like using Liliana as a toolbox searcher and I think maindeck executioner and gray merchant are solid includes if you are using her. They saved me several times. Liliana belongs in here. I'd like to play another Ugin, but I can't decide what to take out. Everything seems to have a place. Maybe cut a Leech for it? I dunno. I feel like the deck is strong but also underwhelming. I wish we had Mutilate, Damnation, or Corrupt. That would really put it over the top. I played the same list at another small tourney over a week ago and went 2-2.
Congrats!!
Man; I really wish I wouldn't of gotten talked out of my Mind Rot idea way back in the earlier pages.
A buddy of mine at my shop talked me out of it...
You realize your list is almost identical to my original post and my updated list on page 4?
Just a few cards differences; along with a few slight adjustments that you opted in the main.
Very nicely done!!!
The biggest changes you have are in the sideboard; I was planning on running Mind Rot myself; but ended up not doing it...
I agree 100%; Liliana is one of the cards that really makes the deck go!
There's been a few that wanted to board them; but nope... can't do it.
In a very Midrange heavy meta; Liliana is great!
As for a 2nd Ugin; IDK; I've considered dropping my Ugin 2. I run 2 in my main; but IDK, perhaps 1 is the correct number and maybe the 2nd one in the side??
As for cutting a Leech? I wouldn't... I've recently tried dropping the number of Leeches down to 2; and in that event I didn't do so hot... I mean it was still ok; but honestly I really think the Leech is also one of the big engines that makes this deck go. I've thought perhaps 3 could be fine? But IDK now; after dropping to 2 and feeling underwhelmed with that number; I want to go all the way back to 4.
As for the list being great; but then underwhelming... I agree; it sometimes does seem a bit hit or miss; but with the exception of this past week; I've been consistently dominating a very wide range of decks.
I do very well VS Aggro and Midrange; with Control being a bit of an uphill battle.
The times where I lose though it feels like the deck just gets in it's own way... either with the self inflicted damage; or mana screw/flood...
The only deck thus far I feel out right whooped on me and I don't know that I had the right options/tools to combat it was the Sultai butt whoopin I took this past week.
With that being said; I feel that the matchup would of been better had I had all 4 Leeches; I was down to 2 that week.
Anyways; great job again!!! You had the guts to play it at GameDay; bravo sir; bravo!!!
I ended up not being able to get to go to Game Day; but after getting whooped on a bit (2-2) at FNM; I wasn't going to play my last list at Game Day anyways.
You've given me new hope that I was indeed on the right track...
With a little inspiration from your deck; here's my updated Mono Black list; nix the Blue Splash I posted earlier.
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
4 Squelching Leeches
2 Merciless Executioner
Spells: 20
4 Thoughtseize
2 Crux of Fate
3 Bile Blight
2 Silence the Believers
4 Hero's Downfall
4 Sign in Blood
1 Read the Bones
4 Palace Siege
Planeswalkers: 4
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
2 Liliana Vess
Lands: 25
4 Radiant Fountain
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
20 Swamp
1 Merciless Executioner
3 Mardu Strike Leader
4 Pharika's Cure
3 Drown in Sorrow
4 Mind Rot
Gray Merchant - I don't think it's needed in the main; I would rather it be another Palace Siege; the last list or 2 I've ran I've had 4 Mainboard Siege and I have absolutely loved it. The Siege is starting to catch on and people are wanting to remove it; so that's another reason I want 4 main now too.
Drown in Sorrow - I've been play testing with Drowns in the side to make room for our other 3 Drop creature killer... Merciless Executioner; I think the Executioner + Palace Siege (KHANS) is better utility VS more decks than Drowns main. Drowns really are only good VS small creature decks; tokens; etc... I remember quite a few times VS midrangey or control decks where I am casting a Drown just to SCRY cuz it's sitting in my hand doing nothing. So I think Executioner gives us more utility combined with Siege. VS the Speedier decks we may get a bit weaker because Drown does sooo good VS them; but we do have the mainboard Blights and the Palace Siege VS those decks is just back breaking. Get a 2nd Siege and they really can't come back. I'm talking about RDW or Mono Black Aggro; 2 of the speedier decks in the format. BR Aggro; sure RW Aggro can run the Erases; but usually those aren't mainboard. So again; I feel like the Drowns can easily be moved to the side. With the Executioner + Palace Siege (KHANS); you're going to put in alot of work VS Aggro decks and Midrange Decks by recasting Executioner more then a few times. That's why it's so spicy!
Mind Rot - I was a big advocate for this earlier back in the initial phases of the deck; but I got talked out of it. My theory was that if you manage to hit them with an early Sieze; then follow it up with Turn 3 Mind Rot; into potentially a Turn 5 Lilly; that is back breaking. Emptying their hand; and forcing your opponent to make ugly decisions earlier shapes the rest of the game late. I really think Mind Rot might be the best way to go.
Mardu Strike Leader - I have gone back to this little guy... In Game 1; our opponent is going to see very little creatures as in Quantity. So they're going to remove a good chunk of removal. They'll keep sweepers and other things back to deal with Leeches of course. If they keep Sweepers; and we use the Strike Leader to Dash; that gets around sweepers and in 2 to 3 turns we're putting a nice board out there that can put a fast clock on the opponent; forcing them to kill things. If they have Vault out for example; they'll be forced to crack it as they probably sided out their Blights (UB Matchup). And even if they manage to kill our Strike Leader; we can fish them back out with a Siege (KHANS). This gives us an important options to use in Control matchups without committing a ton to the board... So I'm going to re-examine this option.
Beyond that, the deck remains true to it's original form.
Well, I decided to give MBC another shot and used your revised list at the SCG open yesterday. I went 3-3-2-drop.
I beat R/W aggro, RDW, and a Mardu Whip brew. Lost to Sidisi 4-color Soul(?), Sidisi Whip, and R/G Monsters.. Drew with U/B Control and Sultai Control. After 8 rounds, increasing hunger, brain frying, and not being able to make it to day 2, I decided to drop.
I gotta say, win-lose-or draw, people LOVED this deck. Either my opponents or bystanders who were watching were thoroughly entertained and gave some mad props for originality and going against the grain. Squelching Leeches were a hilarious hit. Ultimating Ugin and sticking 3 Palace Seiges, 1 Liliana, and another Ugin all at once was my biggest play of the day and forced an insta-scoop. People kept asking for the decklist and wanted to make their own version of the deck, so I directed them to this thread.
Palace Seige puts in a lot of work and is probably my favorite card in the deck. Liliana also gets lots of stuff done. Although Leeches almost always ate removal, the threat of a 12/12 behemoth made him unignorable. This deck can really use an Underworld Connections or something similar as a regular draw engine, but all in all it's still pretty fun. I'll try to make some adjustments, but I might just ride it out until the next set comes out.
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
4 Squelching Leeches
2 Merciless Executioner
Spells: 20
4 Thoughtseize
2 Crux of Fate
3 Bile Blight
2 Silence the Believers
4 Hero's Downfall
4 Sign in Blood
1 Read the Bones
4 Palace Siege
Planeswalkers: 4
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
2 Liliana Vess
Lands: 25
4 Radiant Fountain
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
20 Swamp
2 Merciless Executioner
2 Mardu Strike Leader
4 Pharika's Cure
1 Bile Blight
4 Mind Rot
1 Read the Bones
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
I am a long time MBC player. I play it in every format I get a chance too. This list, well really the whole thread, excites me. I will hopefully be pulling the cards together later today on MTGO. If I was to stream a couple of matches and tournaments would anybody be interested in watching?
Sure; do you stream on Twitch?
I am a big Twitch fan; just share the info of time and I'll def take a look.
I don't know how the Online Meta game is; but I do feel like Mono Black Control has all it needs to adjust as the metagame continues to shift around.
Yeah once I get everything back up and running. I forgot I had just finished a clean install on my computer so I didnt have my streaming software up in time for the tournament. But I'm glad I didn't. It wasn't pretty. I haven't had a chance to play with the deck so i went in blind. I lost the first two rounds and then dropped. Both games were winnable but I made a ton of play mistakes. This deck is all about keeping it tight and I just wasn't on the ball. But I am planning on streaming my next attempt for better of for worse. I'll make sure I post the stream before I go live hopefully tonight.
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
4 Squelching Leeches
3 Burnished Hart
2 Merciless Executioner
Spells:
2 Crux of Fate
4 Bile Blight
4 Hero's Downfall
4 Sign in Blood
4 Thoughtseize
3 Palace Siege
Planeswalkers: 4
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
2 Liliana Vess
Lands: 25
4 Radiant Fountain
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
20 Swamp