I have recently fallen into a new playgroup that is far more casual than my usual group. This is more out of being new than being super casual I think. The store's new, and in turn the players are pretty new.Not all of them, but even the more experienced players haven't been playing for nearly as long as me or my group. Rather than start an artificial arms race, I want to build a more casual deck, while slowly convincing them that x card isn't broken because you can do this to get around or otherwise stop it.
More to the point, I've decided to build a deck around my favorite 'Walker, Chandra. Unlike the other times I've built her, this one will mostly include fire based effects that Chandra herself would probably be seen using in the story, or other cards that are related to her like her parents and glove. That means I'll probably include Jaya as well as her goggles. However, I want to make it playable despite including things like Incinerate.
Bitter Ordeal. Praetor's Grasp is more flexible, but less powerful in its use. One way to use it is to get rid of a single card, which is often not enough to make much difference. If you use it against another black player, maybe it becomes an unreliable tutor (no guarantee they have the card you want), but the card does go back to its owner's graveyard if you cast it.
Bitter Ordeal, cast after a board wipe, can go in and gut multiple people's decks, or just really shut down a combo deck. If I'm against combo, I think I'd like the ability to remove their redundancies more than I'd like the tutor.
I should have noted that I use Xiahou Dun, so I can reuse PG if I want. A lot of my control actually comes from Liliana's +2, which I take advantage of through Madness and the like. PG helps me deal with things like RIP and Skullclamp that are otherwise impossible without tons of mana. The big advantage PG has over BO is being able to cast it. With the new mana rules, that means I can grab someone's KGrip if something like those manage to come out.
I'm still leaning towards BO because like you said, I can hit 3+ decks at the same time in one fell swoop.
My buddy and I just were talking about how good PG is, and we had different angles. He plays against more combo decks and uses it defensively. I always end up swiping something useful for myself.
It's one of my favorite black cards, but it sounds like its use is meta-dependent.
Every deck has something monoblack has trouble with. I won't say I use it defensively or offensively, but rather proactively.
I've recently acquired a Bitter Ordeal after keeping my eye out for quite awhile. Basically, I wanted one enough that if buy it if I saw it in a store, but not enough to order it online. Well, I found one in a store, so now I have it.
The question is whether to use Praetor's Grasp or Bitter Ordeal in my mono black control list. Currently, I'm leaning towards Ordeal now. Liliana is my commander, so I tend to make things hit the GY fairly often during my turn, which can kill many birds with one stone. On the other hand, Grasp keeps the card hidden and gives me the chance to play it later. I could steal a Coffers or Damnation and just sit on it for awhile until I need it.
Let's discuss, since my list only has room for one.
I was looking at the latest decks, and Harbinger was decidedly absent, but I do have a set. The Reegerey was cut for an Image, which I think is more versatile than a 4th 3 drop, and if that one Reegerey is my only lord, than I was probably losing anyway at that point.
I have to ask, why Tech Edge instead of Ghost Quarter? GQ seems far more versitile and easier to use. Sure, they get a basic out of it, but if you're killing a man/shockland, its well worth it. This is especially true against Affinity, who rarely hits 4 lands anyway.
The SB I threw together was:
Cage
Kira #3
Tide binder #3
Spellskite x2
Relic x2
Gutshot x2
Ghost Quarter x2
Recall x4
I played her as combo and control that utilized Counterbalance to great effect. I found that going the whole prison route did a whole lot of nothing. Here's the list. Sorry if the format is derp cause I'm mobile:
What's the best sideboard for a blind meta? Main board, I have the standard core, 2 Tidebinders, 3 Reegerey, 2 Vapor Snag, 2 Dismember, and 1 Image since it probably matters. My LGS has a bit of everything.
I don't think Lily is actually behind anything, and I think it's a red haring that Jace's mind is coming up with because he doesn't trust Lilliana. The Angels are leaving villages in ashes. Ashes equals no bodies. No bodies equals no zombies. What would Lilly gain from this? I by no means think Lily is a saint, but she doesn't seem like a conqueror type villain. She cares about power but it is more about personal power for her. The ability to stay young, the power to do what she wants without anyone getting in her way.
Not to mention that Lili is terrified of Sorin and with good reason. Why would she go about ruining what is basically her home now by getting angels to destroy everything? She's a human necromancer living on Innistrad, which is currently prime target for crazy angel vengeance.
As the title says, I can't decide what on earth I should be doing with Meren. I have a deck that I threw together out of the precon, but in reality, it is all over the place. It's getting scrapped and Reforged. I kept looking for any sort of discussion here, and no one seems to be talking about her, so here we go. What is a good way to use her? My mess of a deck is sort of like a GB tokens list with a bunch of creatures that like to die, but there's no break strategy.
I have all 5 and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing with any of them. My main decks are Jeleva, Liliana, Hanna and Pharika. In theory, there are plenty of options, but in actuality, not really. For example, Pharika isn't a reanimator/graveyard deck, it's a control deck. However, Jeleva really wants Mizzium Mastery and the blue Confluence because Mastery is insane in that style of deck, and Jeleva is filled with modal bounce/control so I can easily recast her. That confluence fits perfectly, though Hanna wants it, too. Liliana is essentially mono-black control, and I might steal the area from the BW deck because mine are in use. Pharika might get the sweeper because it really fits the theme. Hanna is a combo/control with artifacts and enchantments at its core as opposed to the usual all art/ench all the time. Crystal Chimes i never knew existed and a couple decks might actually like that one. Hanna for obvious reasons, but Liliana uses a lot of enchantments and has a hard time getting them back. Hanna can also use Grasp of Fate, which is nice. Slotting it is hard because the deck is fairly tuned.
"Hey, let me give you this token so you can attack each other! Wait, why are you all just clamping the tokens for cards?"
I'll pass.
This is my exact thought when I saw this card. There's a clamp in almost every deck in my playgroup, which means this card will never see play. Hell, there are clamps floating around in these very precons. It should've been a 5/2 or 5/3.
More to the point, I've decided to build a deck around my favorite 'Walker, Chandra. Unlike the other times I've built her, this one will mostly include fire based effects that Chandra herself would probably be seen using in the story, or other cards that are related to her like her parents and glove. That means I'll probably include Jaya as well as her goggles. However, I want to make it playable despite including things like Incinerate.
What are some good fire cards I should include?
I should have noted that I use Xiahou Dun, so I can reuse PG if I want. A lot of my control actually comes from Liliana's +2, which I take advantage of through Madness and the like. PG helps me deal with things like RIP and Skullclamp that are otherwise impossible without tons of mana. The big advantage PG has over BO is being able to cast it. With the new mana rules, that means I can grab someone's KGrip if something like those manage to come out.
I'm still leaning towards BO because like you said, I can hit 3+ decks at the same time in one fell swoop.
Every deck has something monoblack has trouble with. I won't say I use it defensively or offensively, but rather proactively.
The question is whether to use Praetor's Grasp or Bitter Ordeal in my mono black control list. Currently, I'm leaning towards Ordeal now. Liliana is my commander, so I tend to make things hit the GY fairly often during my turn, which can kill many birds with one stone. On the other hand, Grasp keeps the card hidden and gives me the chance to play it later. I could steal a Coffers or Damnation and just sit on it for awhile until I need it.
Let's discuss, since my list only has room for one.
I really like that list as well, though I think cutting a Reegerey for a single Image might better.
I have to ask, why Tech Edge instead of Ghost Quarter? GQ seems far more versitile and easier to use. Sure, they get a basic out of it, but if you're killing a man/shockland, its well worth it. This is especially true against Affinity, who rarely hits 4 lands anyway.
The SB I threw together was:
Cage
Kira #3
Tide binder #3
Spellskite x2
Relic x2
Gutshot x2
Ghost Quarter x2
Recall x4
Might as well post the list.
4x Cursecatcher
4x Silvergill Adept
4x Master of the Pearl Trident
4x Lord of Atlantis
4x Master of Waves
3x Merrow Reegerey
3x Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
2x Tidebinder Mage
1x Phantasmal Image
4x Spreading Seas
2x Dismember
2x Vapor Snag
9x Island
4x Mutavault
2x Cavern of Souls
2x Darkslick Shores
1x Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1x Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1x Wanderwine Hub
1x Arcane Lighthouse
1x Azorius Chancery
1x Buried Ruin
1x Celestial Colonnade
1x Command Tower
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Faerie Conclave
1x Flooded Strand
1x Glacial Fortress
1x Hallowed Fountain
7x Island
1x Maze of Ith
1x Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1x Nimbus Maze
1x Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
6x Plains
1x Polluted Delta
1x Prairie Stream
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Sejiri Refuge
1x Temple of Enlightenment
1x Temple of the False God
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Tolaria West
1x Windswept Heath
1x Austere Command
1x Entreat the Angels
1x Idyllic Tutor
1x Ponder
1x Preordain
1x Replenish
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Wrath of God
1x Blue Sun's Zenith
1x Brainstorm
1x Capsize
1x Counterspell
1x Cryptic Command
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Dissipate
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Faerie Trickery
1x Faith's Reward
1x Force of Will
1x Hallowed Moonlight
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Path to Exile
1x Render Silent
1x Sphinx's Revelation
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Aura of Silence
1x Counterbalance
1x Decree of Silence
1x Leyline of Anticipation
1x Marshal's Anthem
1x Mind Over Matter
1x Rhystic Study
1x Soothsaying
1x Stasis Snare
//Planeswalker (1)
1x Narset Transcendent
1x Arcanis the Omnipotent
1x Archaeomancer
1x Brine Elemental
1x Eidolon of Rhetoric
1x Grand Abolisher
1x Kheru Spellsnatcher
1x Laboratory Maniac
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Snapcaster Mage
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Stratus Dancer
1x Sun Titan
1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1x Thassa, God of the Sea
1x Trinket Mage
1x Vedalken AEthermage
1x Vesuvan Shapeshifter
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Mind Stone
1x Mindslaver
1x Scroll Rack
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Sol Ring
1x Temple Bell
1x Unstable Obelisk
Not to mention that Lili is terrified of Sorin and with good reason. Why would she go about ruining what is basically her home now by getting angels to destroy everything? She's a human necromancer living on Innistrad, which is currently prime target for crazy angel vengeance.
It's very much a black thing, too. This isn't the first thing recently that has BW deathtouch. See Mardu Hateblade.
Is this the BW legend we've been waiting to see? I know I have.
How do we build Meren?
This is my exact thought when I saw this card. There's a clamp in almost every deck in my playgroup, which means this card will never see play. Hell, there are clamps floating around in these very precons. It should've been a 5/2 or 5/3.