MTG Salvation

It's my first time using this site so go easy on me!

The list I've been running is very similiar to the one below, and although I occasionally have some success with it, it just feels too clunky and slow most of the time. The few wins I have had have either been through being lucky enough to drop a Phyrexian Obliterator at the right time, or dropping a surprise Gray Merchant of Asphodel. But surviving long enough to get to these points is a struggle. Maybe I'm just a bad player, but I'm here to improve my game so please give me some pointers!

Here is the deck list Ive been using (mostly): http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/utter-obliteration/

So far I have found Geralf's Messenger to be too slow coming down on turn 3, and the same goes for Phyrexian Arena. Are there any better 3cmc cards that would fit better? Nyxathid perhaps? Or Vampire Nighthawk?

I've been considering adding in fetch lands and then going for 4 Bloodghast. Would this be a good idea? My reasoning is that with them in hand, Liliana's +1 would be less painful.

TL;DR: Is Mono-Black midrange/devotion viable in Modern at the moment? Is it too slow? How can it be improved?

Thanks!

If you're having difficulty getting mana, you can either splash green in for ramp like Rampant Growth, Primeval Titan, Farseek or Birds of Paradise, if you do the green/black shockland is Overgrown Tomb and is currently cheap as it's in standard and heavily printed. Another choice is Solemn Simulacrum as it'll grab you a basic land and net you a card when it dies. Drop Victim of Night for either Doom Blade, Go for the Throat or Fatal Push as those will hit almost 90% of what's played, if you're trying to get Revolt to happen, simply any black fetch lands work or even Sakura-Tribe Elder if you decide to do the green route.

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is also a FAST mana ramp for mono devotion. Geralf's Messenger is WAY better for a zombie deck. I'd run the Vampire Nighthawks over him. Drop the Gatekeeper of Malakir for Dark Confidant as it's simply a better creature that also nets you cards. You might be losing a little life per turn but with your creatures who have lifelink, those are negligible. It'll just suck a lot if you top a Phyrexian Obliterator, but it's worth the gamble. I'd personally use four copies of Liliana of the Veil and drop Last Hope, but that's just me.

Why use Whip of Erebos & Drown in Sorrow when Damnation exists? That's better for clearing a field of tokens, problems and/or Dark Confidant if he's doing too much pain to you. Plus if your'e using Bloodghast like you were wondering about, they'd be easy loses as you'd get them back with a land drop for the turn.

Thanks for the reply! I like the idea of using Dark Confidant, but how many copies should I run? Just the two in place of the Gatekeepers or go for a playset?
Would it be a better turn two play over Gifted Aetherborn?

I'm NOT a pro, but I'm thinking something along the lines of this for Mono Black Devotion.



Look what's big in your meta and build around that. If you're trying to take this to say Pro Tours or Star City Games or Card Titans and other MTG events, be sure to check the top deck lists and think. If you see there's a lot of Affinity Decks, both Arcbound Ravager & Hardened Scales Modular, use Doom Blade. If you see a lot of Death's Shadow, use Go for the Throat. My area uses a lot of burn & affinity for example. you could ALWAYS put a fun card like Griselbrand in

I put in 4 different fetch lands, you don't have to play one of each. You can run four copies of one if you wish.

I think playing Dark Confidant is too risky since you have lot of 4&5 cmc spells. I would use sign in blood or Night's Whisper instead.

Google mtggoldfish tribal liliana. The deck is whack expensive, but it's very good against a bunch of the T1/2 strats right now and can be tuned for any meta. Maindeck yard hate with leyline of the void that gives you devotion. fatal push, liliana of the veil and liliana, the last hope can chew through creature decks like humans or elves. collective brutality and discard can keep you in the game vs burn while you hang on for a grey merchant to pull you ahead. You can loop merchant with the lili's. gifted aetherborn is strong vs burn g1. G2 they will have the searing blazes for them to keep up tempo and card advantage.

It's a fun deck and one I sleeve up from time to time for sure. It is super expensive though. Hopefully the write up gives you some ideas for curve etc.

You/Yousei made a good point, I editted my list to cut back on Dark Confidant. I put in Sign in Blood over Night's Whisper as in a pinch, you can burn your opponent to death for a safer win, but it can also net you two cards. I did forget to count how many 4/5 drops as getting more than 1 or 2 in a row can quickly run your life out, even if you are playing a lot of lifelink.