Notes for a Pauper MBC Primer
[SIZE="4"][B]Introduction to Mono Black Control[/B][/SIZE]
MBC aims to control the game by using creatures that generate card advantage, so that they can 2-for-1 the opponent in a war of attrition. To help that, there are often heavy removal and hand disruption elements. The deck's success on a competitive level relies on an understanding of your opponent, and the meta, which is [I]exactly why[/I] I advise new players look into MBC for Pauper. It's fairly easy to learn, but mastering it is all about improving your understanding of rival decks- which makes you better at designing decks of ANY archetype in this format/
[B][SIZE="4"]Core Cards[/SIZE][/B]
While any given deck has lots of room for individual tuning, any competitive deck has a handful of cards that make it what it is. Without most or all of these cards, your list will find itself being sub-par, and incapable of generating sufficient board, and card advantage.
[spoiler=Core Cards of MBC]
[list]4 Ravenous Rats Your bread and butter 2-for-1. Two mana 1/1 that forces them to discard a card. It's nothing spectacular, but it's cheap, and it gets the job done.[/list]
[list]3-4 Phyrexian Rager Another great 2-for-1, except this one gives direct Card Advantage (draw) instead of indirect (discard).[/list]
[list]4 Chittering Rats Arguably one of the best cards in the deck. It may not seem like much, but it can both help you put an opponent behind, and keep them behind.[/list]
[list] 3-4 Corrupt Depending on the game, it can be removal, life gain, or a win condition. Very versatile card, and the high CMC is negligible when you consider that it's your main win-con. Becomes [I]slightly[/I] worse with Barren Moor, but that is usually negligible.[/list]
[list] 2 Okiba-Gang Shinobi Very powerful discard effect, but it practically requires ninjutsu, and is high on the curve. 2 is the perfect number for most lists.[/list]
[list] 2-3 Crypt Rats The closest we're gonna get to a sweeper. While it used to dominate Pauper, that was years ago. At the moment, it's best as a 2 of, with a 3rd in the sideboard for matchups that involve lots of dudes (Faeries, Goblins). Note that this is gonna be one of your pricier cards, though not by much. A playset will run you roughly $5, depending on your vender.[/list]
[list] 3-4 Tendrils of Corruption Lifegain and Removal, can be pivotal against some aggro decks. Depending on how you structure your list, 4 is great.[/list]
[list] 0-3 Liliana's Specter There's no verdict on it really. It's evasive, and it plays the 2-for-1 game, but it's the most expensive discard, and it's less useful than Chittering Rats in the late game. It is, however, useful in some matchups. If you do run it, use it as a 2 of, with a third in the Sideboard.[/list][/spoiler]
[B][SIZE="4"]Utility, Removal, and Card Advantage that's not on a stick[/SIZE][/B]
[spoiler=Card Draw]
[list]3 Barren Moor It may not seem great, but it can be crucial to have. Depending on whether or not you run the Moor, your list should either have 22 swamps, or 20 swamps and 3 Barren Moo.[/list]
[list]4 Sign in Blood At least 3 will go a long way to increasing your staying power and consistency, especially since we run very few lands.[/list][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Removal]
[B][SIZE="3"]The Difference between Removal and Kill-Spells.[/SIZE][/B]
Before going into this section, I'll go ahead and mention the difference between Removal and a Kill-Spell. While both mean the same thing in general Magic terminology, I'll be using the term "Kill-Spell" for anything that causes a creature to be Destroyed, Sacrificed, or Exiled, and the term Removal for anything that gives a creature -x/-x, or deals damage based on some other factor. I recommend you run around 6 Kill Spells and 3-4 Removal spells.
[B]Kill Spells[/B]
[list]Geth's Verdict Tied for being the best kill-spell. It's 2 cmc, instant, deals marginal damage, and bypasses hexproof/shroud, and Guardian of the Guildpact.[/list]
[list]Victim of Night The other card tied for the best kill spell. Doesn't hit hexproof/shroud/Protection, but it does hit almost everything. I don't mention Doom Blade, because blade isn't as good as Victim.[/list]
[list]Innocent Blood Another popular spell. It's cheap removal, usually sideboarded against decks that you might struggle to keep creatures on the board against anyway. Infect Stompy and Goblins come to mind.[/list]
[B]Removal[/B]
[list]Echoing Decay Mandatory to have 4 of them between your mainboard and sideboard. Period. Keeping 3 or 4 in the Maindeck gives you a lot of room to diversify your sideboard. For a quick idea of this thing's usefulness, it can snap Faeries like a twig, can be relevant against Goblins, and makes TEPS (The Epic Pauper Storm) an even easier matchup.[/list]
[list]Disfigure I'm sure there's a reason to run it, as a lot of decks that place in dailies have some. It's the least diverse of all kill spells, and is only relevant if you're expecting [I]tons[/I] of Infect Stompy.[/list]
[list]Grasp of Darkness Generally very good to have. It hits anything (an advantage over most Kill-Spells), and is the most effective of all Removal spells. Not mandatory, but worth using.[/list]
[list]Dead Weight A pretty decent sideboard card. It's very good if you're worried about decks just pumping past your removal. Atog is the most notorious offender.[/list]
[list]Wring Flesh A worthy addition to some sideboards, but I don't suggest it. You're usually better off running Disfigure.[/list]
[list]Shrivel The other Echoing Decay, and good in the same matchups. It comes down to personal preference I guess. Decay is more versatile, but Shrivel is better at generating CA against decks like Goblins and Faeries. Shrivel is worth a thought in your SB at least.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Utility]
[list]Death Denied Depending on your deck, this thing can be a house as a 1 of (with a second in the board), or a 2 of. It's absolutely amazing against control and midrange, if not quite as good against aggro and combo.[/list]
[list]Befoul Mediocre, but not unplayable in the sideboard.[/list]
[list]Unearth Amazing card in a lot of decks, to the point where I would almost add it to the Core (except it only shows up in about half of placing lists). It lets you bring back your cards for further gain, and is definitely a great top-deck.[/list][/spoiler]
[SIZE="4"][B]Disruption, further Sideboard ideas, and other ways of "trolling," your opponent.[/B][/SIZE]
[spoiler=Disruption]
[list]Duress A mainstay of many lists. Generally shows up in either your main board or side board. I wouldn't call it mandatory, but it's definitely a very good card to have 3 of in your 75.[/list]
[list]Wrench Mind Against most of the format, it can completely wreck hands. Against Affinity, not so much, but most of your hand disruption is SBed out against Affinity anyway.[/list][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Sideboard Cards]
[list]Choking Sands Because seriously, no one likes playing against 8 post.[/list]
[list]Shrivel I wouldn't say it's worse than Echoing Decay, just a lot less versatile. A decent backup if you're expecting TEPS or Fae. Also useful against Goblins, since they run a lot of little dudes with an annoying way of dodging removal.[/list]
[list]Dead Weight At a glance, it's just a worse Disfigure. But look a bit deeper, and you see the word "Aura." If you've ever been pissed off by an Atog or Goblin that [I]just won't die,[/I] you may want this as a 2 of in the sideboard.[/list][/spoiler]
MORE TO COME!
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Posted Oct 23, 2011-
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Posted Oct 23, 2011