Has anyone had good results with a Gray Merchant of Asphodel devotion strategy? I put this list together for tonight's FNM. My gut is telling me that I should be playing more black permanents, but the options are so limited. Does anyone have an opinion on Nightveil Specter? It seems great from a devotion standpoint, but most of the time it's probably just an underwhelming 2/3 flyer. Also, the 3 slot is pretty crowded....
1 Abhorrent Overlord - I feel like this guy is a toned down Grave Titan which still is an amazing bomb for black. I would consider dropping 1 Corrupt for this guy.
3 Thoughtseize - I could see myself maindecking these just because it allows us to be proactive rather than reactive.
2 Wring Flesh - Vipers Kiss is strictly better than this due to the boosting of devotion on cards it doesn't kill and the additional effect.
Desecration Demon - I don't know why you wouldn't auto-include 4 of these.
3 Deathrite Shaman - This was a consideration. My issue is that it dies to shock and all other removal. Tenacious Dead, while not thoroughly tested, is a reliable chump blocker on most threats.
2 Hero's Downfall - I feel like this card is just too nuts not to include more of. Instant speed planeswalker removal is a HUGE bonus for black to have.
Underworld connections is an auto include 2 of in Mono Black Control IMO.
I cut the 4th Demon because the 4 slot seemed crowded. Perhaps this is wrong. I don't know.
Leaving up two mana to chump block w/ Tenacious Dead and reanimate it seems really awkward in the early game. I'd rather play Deathrite turn one, Doom Blade turn two, and another removal spell + gain 2 life on turn three. Downfall is a great card, but three mana is clunky on the curve. I think 4 is too many.
UW and UWx control decks made up half of the top 8 in the first major competition for Theros and still seems perfectly equipped to remain competitive against most archetypes. It is not the be-all and end-all of Magic, but it is a major player and there are no signs of that changing.
With that in mind, my issue with MBC vs UW is that UW has all the time in the world against this deck. It can draw more cards and maintain it's life total better and when it does choose to finally deploy a win-con, it doesn't need to worry about having enough mana to win a counterspell war because MBC doesn't have any. Just enough mana to counter a single removal spell (or exile Aetherling) and that's it.
When you discuss the competitive possibility of a deck, you need first consider how it fares against the current meta, instead of judging it in a vacuum. Failing hard against the most popular competitive archetype is a big problem.
I don't think the Ux control matchup is an auto lose. Hand disruption is obviously key to winning a game against Ux control, which is why my list plays a 4th Thoughtseize and 2 Duress in the board. Pithing Needle shuts down Aetherling or Elspeth, which are UW's only win conditions. Deathrite puts in serious work against control, since 80-90% of their deck is spells. If we play around Verdict and hit Revelation with hand hate, it's not too bad. Any deck is going to have to play around countermagic against control. Honestly, the only card I'm really concerned about is Blood Baron. Obviously if that card becomes a meta staple, MBC won't work.
Edit: Also, Pack Rat is a beast in the control matchup. Just drop one, and turn your draws into gas. Make copies on opponent's EOT. It turns into a pretty fast clock and gives you something to do every turn. I play three in the board.
After seeing a mono black Merchant deck concept in a SCG newsletter, I'm surprised nobody is talking about it here. I think Lifebane Zombie, Desecration Demon, Erebos and Gray Merchant have great synergy. My main concern is that there just aren't enough good permanents to really power up the devotion (something with triple black would be amazing, but I just don't think Dark Prophesy works in this deck). I'm also concerned this deck will have trouble with really aggressive aggro decks that are trying to win on turn 5, before we even drop a Merchant. To combat this, I've splashed green for Deathrite, which can turn our early removal spells into lifegain and chump block a big swing. I also added Wring Flesh as an early removal spell.
Have you tested Tenacious Dead? Is it performing well? I just feel like Deathrite has more utility.
This is my junk list. I've been tweaking it, but the shell is the same. So far I've gone 4/1 and 3/2 at FNM with various iterations of this list. It curves out nice, and mulligans pretty well. Jund is a slightly scary matchup. But really the thing I'm most worried about is Burning Earth. I was running 3 Advent of the Wurm, but decided to cut it for Garruk and a 3rd Resto. Sigarda is kind of a replacement for a 2nd Archangel, which I don't own yet. I've also considered running Obzedat. Also Lifebane Zombie is a thing... Thoughts? There are so many good cards in these colors...
Has anyone considered splashing black for Castigate and Necrotic Sliver? I feel like adding hand disruption could be advantageous in a lot of matchups. Plus recurring Necrotic Sliver with the Emeria land seems pretty good. You just have to add fetch lands and Godless Shrine.
They should have just waited for the cards to rotate out in a couple months, imo. The game designers screwed the pooch, and now they're back pedaling. They should know by now how to avoid these situations, which they've managed to do since Mirrodin. They need to pull their heads out of their asses and spend more time on R&D before they release a new set.
Bring in 3-4 Duress, if they aren't already in the main deck. I play 3 Duress main, and 1 more in the board. Other good SB options are Spell Pierce and Negate. Inquisition of Kozilek hits opposing counterspells as well, although Duress is obviously better against the control matchup.
If they are playing Grave Titan, obviously you want to board out Doom Blade. You might board out Ratchet Bomb unless they are playing Spreading Seas. You can probably leave Disfigure in to deal with opposing Tar Pits, but it isn't needed if you are running 3-4 tec edge. I play one Hexmage, so I bring that in as well in the mirror.
I really like the idea of going with garruk strong because of his early mana ramping into titan or wurmcoil, then making every creature a trampling force that will make you win. Multiples are fine in that you can just use up the -1 counters and then drop your second one to trample with.
Any suggestions?
Looks like your only splashing black for Doom Blade, TarPit and some SB cards. Have you considered 1x Skinrender in the maindeck? It is so clutch to be able to fetch for removal with Shaman in a pinch. You could cut a Sea Gate for it. Also, Skinrender is a good Clone target. Just a thought.
So, I just thought I'd throw my list up here. It's a UGB toolbox type of theme. So far, I've really enjoyed playing this list, and I've done fairly well with it. I went 3/1 at the last T2 tourney.
I'm possibly considering cutting Mana Leak for more removal and possibly hand disruption (maybe Inquisition of Kozilek). I'm just not sure I need counterspells in the maindeck. Thoughts?
So I've been tinkering with my list, and this is the newest iteration. I wasn't super impressed with Loam Lion. Without Goyf, the Zoo strategy just seems to be not as aggressive. So I decided to change it up a bit. I feel like we need a stronger finisher other than Doran. I was debating between Chameleon Colossus and Baneslayer. Colossus is great in the Jund MU and decent in the Fae MU. It's also a 4 drop, which is good for the curve. But I feel like Baneslayer is possibly better overall. It's better against Mono Red/Sligh, better against Elves and better in the mirror. By adding Noble Heirarch, I feel like the deck can handle a slightly higher curve without needing to add a 24th land. But I'll have to test that theory.
I'm still debating Sculler over Leech. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Sculler seems more versatile overall and I like the added disruption.
I'm also trying out the Sledge/Stoneforge package just to see if it helps. Also, I'm not sure we absolutely need 4 Doran. I think 3 seems fine, but I'll have to test it out.
No Murmuring Bosk? Seems like an auto include since you can fetch for it. Also, Bosk + Reflecting Pool seems pretty good. I would consider cutting 2 Misty for 2 Marsh Flats. Misty is only going to get you a forest. Flats seems better for mana fixing, especially since you're running swamps and plains and no Bosks.
I like the idea of running Sculler and Leech. Although this means your mana needs to be even more versatile early on, which would warrant running Bosk even more, imo.
Jund/Fae Matchup Considerations...
I feel like Jund and Fae are going to be such an issue that we'll want to consider maindecking 2-3 Great Sable Stags. Colossus better in the Jund matchup. However, Stag is vastly more essential against Fae. Without Stags, our Fae matchup seems really rough. I'm less worried about the Jund matchup. Certainly adding Lieges would put us over the top, since almost every Jund list is running Blightning. But Liege also bumps our curve up quite a bit. Plus, we can always hit their Blightnings with early hand disruption. Liege is still a question mark in my book.
Jund is losing Goyf (as is Doran) but also losing the Burnwillows/Punishing Fire combo. New Jund lists are running cards like Boggart Ram Gang and Siege-Gang Commander, which can be awkward but not unmanageable. I think Forge-Tenders or Kor Firewalkers are going to be pretty essential in the SB. We'll need those even more for Sligh decks as well.
As for Fae, I think Pridemage is solid against Bitterblossom. Fae is only really losing Ancestral Vision, Jitte and Spell Snare. Those slots have been replaced with cards like Broken Ambitions and Jace 2.0. Having 2-3 Stags maindeck is going to make a huge difference. Also, I have a feeling Fae is going to be one of the more popular decks in the new Extended.
4 Lifebane Zombie
3 Desecration Demon
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
3 Grey Merchant of Asphodel
1 Abhorrent Overlord
1 Whip of Erebos
2 Underworld Connections
1 Liliana of the Dark Realms
3 Thoughtseize
3 Doom Blade
1 Ultimate Price
2 Magma Jet
2 Dreadbore
2 Hero's Downfall
2 Read the Bones
2 Rakdos Return
3 Mountain
4 Rakdos Guildgate
4 Blood Crypt
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Sideboard:
B(r) Control: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=539552
I cut the 4th Demon because the 4 slot seemed crowded. Perhaps this is wrong. I don't know.
Leaving up two mana to chump block w/ Tenacious Dead and reanimate it seems really awkward in the early game. I'd rather play Deathrite turn one, Doom Blade turn two, and another removal spell + gain 2 life on turn three. Downfall is a great card, but three mana is clunky on the curve. I think 4 is too many.
I don't think the Ux control matchup is an auto lose. Hand disruption is obviously key to winning a game against Ux control, which is why my list plays a 4th Thoughtseize and 2 Duress in the board. Pithing Needle shuts down Aetherling or Elspeth, which are UW's only win conditions. Deathrite puts in serious work against control, since 80-90% of their deck is spells. If we play around Verdict and hit Revelation with hand hate, it's not too bad. Any deck is going to have to play around countermagic against control. Honestly, the only card I'm really concerned about is Blood Baron. Obviously if that card becomes a meta staple, MBC won't work.
Edit: Also, Pack Rat is a beast in the control matchup. Just drop one, and turn your draws into gas. Make copies on opponent's EOT. It turns into a pretty fast clock and gives you something to do every turn. I play three in the board.
Have you tested Tenacious Dead? Is it performing well? I just feel like Deathrite has more utility.
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
3 Desecration Demon
1 Liliana of the Dark Realms
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Whip of Erebos
4 Lifebane Zombie
2 Underworld Connections
3 Deathrite Shaman
1 Rescue from the Underworld
2 Corrupt
2 Read the Bones
2 Hero's Downfall
3 Doom Blade
3 Thoughtseize
2 Wring Flesh
4 Overgrown Tomb
2 Golgari Guildgate
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Ultimate Price
1 Underworld Connections
1 Thoughtseize
2 Duress
3 Pack Rat
2 Devour Flesh
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Pithing Needle
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Sigarda
4 Thragtusk
3 Restoration Angel
1 Sorin
2 Garruk Relentless
4 Lingering Souls
4 Loxodon Smiter
1 Putrefy
1 Doom Blade
1 Orzhov Charm
2 Selesnya Charm
4 Voice of Resurgence
1 Imposing Sovereign
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Avacyn’s Pilgrim
1 Gavony Township
1 Cavern of Souls
4 Temple Garden
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Overgrown Tomb
3 Woodland Cemetery
2 Isolated Chapel
3 Godless Shrine
1 Forest
2 Duress
2 Sin Collector
2 Underworld Connections
1 Deathrite Shaman
3 Unflinching Courage
1 Ray of Revelation
2 Golgari Charm
2 Abrupt Decay
Of course, part of me is wondering if I should get more Archangel and play GW midrange...
Guess I'll be dusting off my Little Jaces...
If they are playing Grave Titan, obviously you want to board out Doom Blade. You might board out Ratchet Bomb unless they are playing Spreading Seas. You can probably leave Disfigure in to deal with opposing Tar Pits, but it isn't needed if you are running 3-4 tec edge. I play one Hexmage, so I bring that in as well in the mirror.
Looks like your only splashing black for Doom Blade, TarPit and some SB cards. Have you considered 1x Skinrender in the maindeck? It is so clutch to be able to fetch for removal with Shaman in a pinch. You could cut a Sea Gate for it. Also, Skinrender is a good Clone target. Just a thought.
I'm possibly considering cutting Mana Leak for more removal and possibly hand disruption (maybe Inquisition of Kozilek). I'm just not sure I need counterspells in the maindeck. Thoughts?
1 Brittle Effigy
1 Chimeric Mass
Creatures
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Lotus Cobra
4 Fauna Shaman
4 Vengevine
2 Trinket Mage
1 Memnite
1 Skinrender
1 Sylvan Ranger
1 Frost Titan
1 Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
4 Mana Leak
3 Doom Blade
1 Into the Roil
Planeswalkers
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Land
5 Forest
3 Island
3 Swamp
4 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Drowned Catacomb
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Terramorphic Expanse
3 Flashfreeze
2 Negate
2 Memoricide
2 Disfiure
2 Obstinate Baloth
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Vampire Hexmage
2 Acidic Slime
I'm also considering cutting Chimeric Mass. It's cute with the Trinket Mage, but it doesn't necessarily help me win games.
I'm still debating Sculler over Leech. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Sculler seems more versatile overall and I like the added disruption.
I'm also trying out the Sledge/Stoneforge package just to see if it helps. Also, I'm not sure we absolutely need 4 Doran. I think 3 seems fine, but I'll have to test it out.
4 Murmuring Bosk
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Marsh Flats
1 Stirring Wildwood
3 Forest
2 Swamp
2 Plains
2 Reflecting Pool
1 Sejiri Steppe
Creatures
4 Treefolk Harbinger
4 Knight of the Reliquary
2 Kitchen Finks
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Baneslayer Angel
3 Doran, the Siege Tower
Other Spells
1 Behemoth Sledge
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Thoughtseize
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
3 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Crib Swap
1 Nameless Inversion
4 Great Sable Stag
2 Kitchen Finks
2 Qasali Pridemage
3 Duress
2 Infest
1 Maelstrom Pulse
Let me know what you think, and I'll post some testing results when I can.
No Murmuring Bosk? Seems like an auto include since you can fetch for it. Also, Bosk + Reflecting Pool seems pretty good. I would consider cutting 2 Misty for 2 Marsh Flats. Misty is only going to get you a forest. Flats seems better for mana fixing, especially since you're running swamps and plains and no Bosks.
I like the idea of running Sculler and Leech. Although this means your mana needs to be even more versatile early on, which would warrant running Bosk even more, imo.
I feel like Jund and Fae are going to be such an issue that we'll want to consider maindecking 2-3 Great Sable Stags. Colossus better in the Jund matchup. However, Stag is vastly more essential against Fae. Without Stags, our Fae matchup seems really rough. I'm less worried about the Jund matchup. Certainly adding Lieges would put us over the top, since almost every Jund list is running Blightning. But Liege also bumps our curve up quite a bit. Plus, we can always hit their Blightnings with early hand disruption. Liege is still a question mark in my book.
Jund is losing Goyf (as is Doran) but also losing the Burnwillows/Punishing Fire combo. New Jund lists are running cards like Boggart Ram Gang and Siege-Gang Commander, which can be awkward but not unmanageable. I think Forge-Tenders or Kor Firewalkers are going to be pretty essential in the SB. We'll need those even more for Sligh decks as well.
As for Fae, I think Pridemage is solid against Bitterblossom. Fae is only really losing Ancestral Vision, Jitte and Spell Snare. Those slots have been replaced with cards like Broken Ambitions and Jace 2.0. Having 2-3 Stags maindeck is going to make a huge difference. Also, I have a feeling Fae is going to be one of the more popular decks in the new Extended.
Thoughts?