Sylvan Primordial by far. Why is every other primordial "may" except for Sylvan? It tough to play this card sometimes because it ends up putting a player further behind than they already were. I would honestly take Prime Time for the simple fact that Prime Time does not set others behind, just moves yourself forward.
Necropotence has been a sore spot. I absolutely adore this card don't get me wrong. I honestly think it generates way too much card advantage at instant speed.
Consecrated Sphinx is another card that sits in a weird space for me. Games warp around the player that resolves this beast of a draw engine. Needs a solid ban hammer to the face.
Heavy ramp strategies, which is pretty common, plays right into Prossh. The fact that you can constantly recast Prossh to the point of being able to 1 shot someone is what makes this general crazy. Very little support from your deck is actually needed to get Prossh super far ahead.
Not black cards but All is Dust and Karn, Silver Golem have been working great in my mono-black decks. All is Dust is the best way to deal with everything including enchantments. Karn animates opponents artifacts that you want dead in response to a board wipe. Gate to Phyrexia is a bit slow but is a solution. I prefer not to deal with how slow Gate is.
I would count crypt as a mana rock. Yes it is free but technically it is not a "land". My recommendation is to sandbag the mana crypt until you can make a high impact play using the extra 2 mana.
Response to land question:
All of my EDH decks run 34 lands with ample mana rocks/ramp and tons of draw to supplement low hand count after ramping. By running alot of mana rocks, it allows you to keep 2-3 land hands and still keep up with others or even surpass opponents. Draw plays an important part because aggressive ramp strategies need card draw to keep it going.
This comes down to players threat assessment. Threat assessment is something that is learned through experience rather than an innate trait. Try your best to explain the situation and suggest the proper line of play. If the "irresponsible" player chooses to ignore the proper line of play, then so be it. They will catch on to it eventually after being blown out by combo's and what not.
My playgroup does not mind printed proxies. We have a few ambitious players that create their own foil proxies with alternate art. My group is budget conscience and much rather have people use proxies to playtest instead of potentially spending money on a card that they would not like.
The rule of thumb is make your proxies look nice. No black/white prints or pieces of paper with card text on them.
I don't run good ol' C-Sphinx because I feel it, much like Primeval Titan, warps the game around it. People often argue "Oh, well, the table will answer it and you'll draw 2-4 max". ...And if they don't? The sphinx gives insurmountable card advantage to any player with one. You can never draw more than the player with Consecrated Sphinx, and if you give it one go around the table, it becomes invincible because the owner likely drew into countermagic during the 8-10 extra draw steps he got from one card.
I'm not saying Sphinx should have been banned like Prime Time, but I believe it is indisputably on a similar absurd power level and anyone who argues differently is a flipping moron.
This.
Additional cards such as Tooth and Nail and Bribery are pretty high on my "red alert" list. My playgroup plays with these cards but the pain hammer comes swiftly after either of those resolve.
Tibor and Lumia is my vote. Taking them as your general wont throw up the usual red flags like Niv or Melek. I recommend building a deck that can function without your general. Your general choice should enhance a certain aspect of the deck but should not be the deck entirely.
I absolute love chaos effects. It may be painful and drag games out but its well worth the laughter imo.
Tooth and Nail.....enough said.
Necropotence has been a sore spot. I absolutely adore this card don't get me wrong. I honestly think it generates way too much card advantage at instant speed.
Consecrated Sphinx is another card that sits in a weird space for me. Games warp around the player that resolves this beast of a draw engine. Needs a solid ban hammer to the face.
Weird series of events
Response to land question:
All of my EDH decks run 34 lands with ample mana rocks/ramp and tons of draw to supplement low hand count after ramping. By running alot of mana rocks, it allows you to keep 2-3 land hands and still keep up with others or even surpass opponents. Draw plays an important part because aggressive ramp strategies need card draw to keep it going.
The rule of thumb is make your proxies look nice. No black/white prints or pieces of paper with card text on them.
This.
Additional cards such as Tooth and Nail and Bribery are pretty high on my "red alert" list. My playgroup plays with these cards but the pain hammer comes swiftly after either of those resolve.
Back to the topic at hand, Sheoldred would seem fit if you would like to play stax.
We could help you alittle more once you have decided your general.
Battle Mastery
Fireshrieker
If you are playing Humility or Darksteel Mutation, I highly suggest Hanna, Ship's Navigator.