Smallpox was just spoiled as being in M12. To me, this changes Standard MBC's entire premise. Currently, I have had the most success with a MBC based around Skythirix, Lashwrithe, Inkmoth Nexus, and tons of expensive cards that care about swamps, like Mind Sludge, Corrupt, and the like. Basically, you keep them contained, until you can sucker punch them with a Lashwrithe-equiped Skittles, or Inkmoth Nexus.
Smallpox gives us the option of running a more attrition-styled deck: Grind the opponent down so they can't even get started. The object would be to keep them on 3 or less lands for as long as possible. Tectonic Edge and Smallpox are our primary mechanisms, but other methods could be included.
There really isn't much to point out here, other than that if I was thinking about running infect, I'd be running Inkmoth Nexus instead of Tectonic Edge.
These are the cards I wouldn't even consider leaving home without. Consume Spirit is a phenomenally versatile card that can keep you alive, kill creatures, and/or kill your enemies. Smallpox is the core of the deck. BSZ is a repeatable sweeper. Inquisition is the most effective targeted discard spell in the format. Sign in Blood is our only remotely decent digging spell, but at least it doubles as burn.
Some possible Utility Cards:
Vengeful Pharoah: Personally, I see him as a very effective sideboard card. I don't see him as a main-deckable for the simple reason he triggers off of you taking combat damage. Except against Balls-to-the-Walls aggro and particularly hardy midrange decks (stuff in the league of Gortzen Jund) you shouldn't be taking combat damage early or often enough for it to matter. If you're planning on hard-casting him, you are doing it wrong. If you run in him in the main, you need to run him with Sheoldred as your finisher. If you run him in the main, do not run him with Dark Tutelage.
Entomber Exarch: Personally, I'm a big fan of this card. It's either a Gravedigger or a Super-Duress. It also promotes the card efficiency this deck needs. However, it costs 4, for a 2/2 body. A lot of times, he's going to be a chump-blocker.
Phyrexian Rager: A Grey Ogre that replaces itself. It's not bad, but there are better options. It becomes better with Sheoldred and a sac outlet.
Rise from the Grave: It's really the only reanimation spell we've got that's worth anything. I would definitely run this main deck.
Lashwrithe: Well, here's the thing. Smallpox makes Lashwrithe really, really bad. Not only does it cut into your swamp count, it forces you to sac your Lashwrithes. Lashwrithe is an amazing card, but not in the same deck as Smallpox.
Doomblade vs. Go for the Throat vs. Geth's Verdict: Geth's Verdict has now been pretty much relegated to Smallpox Jr. It has nothing we care about except for the fact it is a targeted, partial Smallpox. Which is barely worth considering. In my eyes, Doomblade and GftT are roughly of equal utility. I would probably run a 2-2 split of them in the main, and then run 2 GftT in the side for the Mirror.
Duress vs Despise: The way things are in the current environment of Standard Despise is probably the stronger choice, what with Entomber Exarch and Inquisition of Kozilek available. How many relevant sorceries/instants cost more than 3? DoJ? The only artifacts that come to mind are Batterskull, Argentum Armor, and maybe Lux Cannon at FNMs. I can't even think of any commonly used enchantments, let alone those that cost more than 3.
Surgical Extraction: Pretty much exactly what we could have hoped for in a sideboard card. I wouldn't suggest running this in your main; you need all space you can eke out without cutting into your manabase. If for some reason you have room, it does work very, very well with the Targeted Discard and Smallpox.
Mind Sludge vs. Monomania: Mind Sludge is strictly better in MBC. Monomania is a great card, in a G/B Rock. Or R/B Tempo. Or U/B Control. Or W/B Tokens. Or... You get the idea. The only time Monomania is technically better card advantage is on turn 5 if your opponent has 7 or more cards in hand. Think of it like this: by turn 5, if they have more than 5 cards in their hand, it's probably because you did your job and they can't play any of them due to lack of lands/artifacts/creatures. At that point, they're done either way.
Gatekeeper of Malakir vs. Vampire Nighthawk: These two fulfill much the same role- eating Aggro alive. Both are exceptionally good at their job, but Gatekeeper takes the slot, in my eyes. It beats Protection and Indestructible. Nighthawk is an excellent sideboard against weenie decks that aren't prone to running 3+ power First Strikers... Like... uh... Hmmm... RDW runs Geopede. WWQuest runs Porcelain Legionaire. Knights runs Student of Warfare. Huh. Well, to be fair, Nighthawk is much better with Lashwrithe- which we can't really run because Smallpox is much better.
Dark Tutelage: This is a strong card, but only in a deck with a low curve. Which, ironically enough, is this one. Most of our cards are lands or cost 2 or less. Dark Tutelage is pretty much ideal, if you don't want to run any finishers that cost more than 4 mana. Also, if you're running the Pharaoh, in the main, do not run it with this.
Bloodghast vs. Reanimating Skeleton: Actually, it's a pretty tough call here. Skeleton can block, but Ghast comes back for free. Both of those are pretty big. I'm going to give the nod to Ghast over Skeleton, because this deck is so mana-starved.
Viscera Seer: Since we're already running Bloodghast or Skeleton, Viscera Seer is worth considering. If you're running Dark Tutelage, you should probably run this as well. It allows you to edit your draws somewhat, so you don't kill yourself too quickly.
Contaminated Ground: This is an awful card- no doubt- but it's an awful card that hits the right notes. Yeah, we want to screw around with their mana. Yeah, we want to bleed them a bit. Also, this becomes much better if you're running Sheoldred. So this is worth considering for the Main.
Desecrated Earth: And much the same as the previous card, this an overcosted piece of brown, stinky cardboard. But it hits the right notes. The only problem with this card is that it does cost 5, which competes with Rise from the Grave, and Mind Sludge.
Mycosynth Wellspring: If you're going to run an artifact with Smallpox, this is the one to run. Comes into play, you get a land. It leaves play, you get a land.
Solemn Simulacrum: Well, I guess I lied. This is pretty good with Smallpox as well. Get a land, then draw a card.
Finishers:
Phyrexian Obliterator: This is your finisher if you're running Dark Tutelage. It's only 'competition' is Abyssal Persecutor, which is alright for a budget list, I suppose.
Grave Titan: This is the standard by which we judge MBC finishers. By itself, it has one of the fastest kills of any finisher available to us. Only Skittles is faster (One hit KO, for the win!). Basically you need to ask of any creature, "Why am I running this over Grave Titan?" if you want to use it as a finisher.
Massacre Wurm: An excellent finisher that works wonders against swarm decks. Unfortunately, swarm decks aren't popular this season, mostly because there aren't many good, cheap token generators. Mono White Proliferate has Luminarch Ascension and Titan Forge, but well... It's Titan Forge and Luminarch Ascension. I'm trembling. Now if they have Surge Node and Unwinding Clock... then I might get into some cold sweats and shivers.
Rune-Scarred Demon: This is a decent budget finisher, you can cast it, tutor up a Smallpox, cast that next turn, sac the Demon and reanimate it later for value. Also relevant: It flies. If you have some sweet tech that needs you to hit an opponent to work, this guy is likely to get through.
Sheoldred, Whispering One: This may be the strongest finisher available to us. Every turn it's out, it basically grants us two cards. It has a relevant body and Swampwalk isn't a difficult to abuse. Honestly, this may be stronger than Grave Titan.
You list reminded me of something: I hope they reprint Phyrexian Rager or something similar in M12 (mostly for Limited, since we'll still have the Rager in STD for a while). I love Black creatures with built-in card advantage.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Quote from parinoid »
I rolled 5 D6's and got 3 fours. They must have changed the odds of getting a 4!
You list reminded me of something: I hope they reprint Phyrexian Rager or something similar in M12 (mostly for Limited, since we'll still have the Rager in STD for a while). I love Black creatures with built-in card advantage.
Or you could just hope that maybe they'd reprint it in Scars block since Phyrexia OS a big part of that block...
In your first list, I would rather have Abyssal Persecutor instead of Phyrexian Obliterator. Your list already has 10 reliable ways of getting rid of it (Viscera Seer/Smallpox/GftT), and Persecutor has the advantage of not dying to Dismember which I think is very noteworthy.
what I'll never understand here is, why not just add blue to this and make it a billion times better? you get permission via mana leak, the best finisher manland, and access to a semi-phyrexian arena effect through Jace1 (at least until INN). the mana isn't even worse because of all the dual lands.
Take your monoblack deck, then set aside 14 swamps. Add 4 Creeping Tar Pits, 4 Darkslick Shores, 4 Drowned Catacombs, and 2 Jwar isle Refuge and add 4 Jace, the Mindsculptors. Your monoblack deck is instantly better. Better yet, drop those refuges, throw in some islands and some mana leaks, and lo and behold, you're now playing a real deck. Congratulations. Welcome to the world of competitive M:TG.
This is my first time posting, and I thought I'd point out an interesting combo that will be legal until Zendikar rotates:
Quest for the Gravelord + Smallpox
There are a ton of ways you can make sure that you can keep the counters coming too:
Viscera Seer
Geth's Verdict
Tezzeret's Gambit
Add all that and some hand disruption and spot removal and you can effectively operate without mana for the first few turns and then start pumping out 5/5 zombie tokens. Also, you could definitely keep the curve low enough that Dark Tutelage would give you great card advantage without putting you at a major disadvantage, not to mention Viscera Seer.
Not sure how all the linking stuff works, so sorry that the cards themselves aren't linked. If someone tells me how I can fix it!
what I'll never understand here is, why not just add blue to this and make it a billion times better? you get permission via mana leak, the best finisher manland, and access to a semi-phyrexian arena effect through Jace1 (at least until INN). the mana isn't even worse because of all the dual lands.
Eh. Adding blue makes the list very dependent on non-basics, which are very easily hated out in this meta. Traditionally, that's how you beat control- destroy their mana base. Being immune to Tectonic Edge in a meta that is literally overflowing with them is a very, very good thing, especially since you're going to be bleeding lands off from your own Edges and Smallpox.
And to be honest, the only thing we really want out of blue is Preordain, Consecrated Sphinx, and Jace Beleren. Permission is cute, but targeted discard has been more effective for me.
@Phiddlesticks: Actually, I have 13 ways to get rid of Persecutor; I also am running the 3 Consume Spirit, which can kill it in a pinch. However, my experience with the card has been entirely negative; the number of times I won off of Percy are left far behind by the times he's lost me the game.
You are right though, Dismember is something I wasn't really thinking about. I might trade out the Doomblades in that list for either Post-Mortem Lunge or Grim Discovery.
In your first list, I would rather have Abyssal Persecutor instead of Phyrexian Obliterator. Your list already has 10 reliable ways of getting rid of it (Viscera Seer/Smallpox/GftT), and Persecutor has the advantage of not dying to Dismember which I think is very noteworthy.
You should never have to use your own removal on your own creatures. But I agree that Persecutor does look better in an AggroPox build.
No distress? Seems to me that with it back its the best discard mbc has. Obviously you'd still want some mix of the 3 one cost discard but I see no reason not to run this.
A friend of mine ran a mono black list with birthing pod and it was incredibly powerful.
This may be getting a bit too "rock" but I could see black with a small green splash for birthing pod and acidic slime to very good.
Imagine going:
t1: Duress
t2: viridian emmisary
t3: Smallpox
t4: ??
t5: Acidic Slime
No distress? Seems to me that with it back its the best discard mbc has. Obviously you'd still want some mix of the 3 one cost discard but I see no reason not to run this.
How about because it costs two, which makes it inherently bad.
No distress? Seems to me that with it back its the best discard mbc has. Obviously you'd still want some mix of the 3 one cost discard but I see no reason not to run this.
How about because it costs two, which makes it inherently bad.
More importantly, We have Entomber Exarch, which is more versatile. We have Despise, which is cheaper. We have Inquisition, which is more potent. We have Smallpox at the same cost. Why would we ever want Distress of all things? There's a reason I didn't even consider it.
A friend of mine ran a mono black list with birthing pod and it was incredibly powerful.
This may be getting a bit too "rock" but I could see black with a small green splash for birthing pod and acidic slime to very good.
Imagine going:
t1: Duress
t2: viridian emmisary
t3: Smallpox
t4: ??
t5: Acidic Slime
Thats such a huge start.
Sounds like a good start to a B/G Rock deck. Were I in your shoes, I'd be picking up some Monomania, some Solemn Simulacrum, some Abyssal Persecutor, Some Glissa, Some Dismembers, and some Arrogant Bloodlord. Then just go to town.
Hmm, I had some thoughts about this too. Seriously, don't count out Rune-Scarred Demon just yet. If you ran Consume Spirits, it's basically a two card combo. At the very least, you can stick 3 in your deck, and just tutor up your second and then third Rune Scarred Demon. I think it's more like a beefy Squadron Hawk with benefits. Heck, remember you can easily play one and tutor up a sword.
Bloodghast and MBC really don't mix due to the entire, "can't block" aspect of it. At that CMC I would rather play nighthawk. Granted, it makes smallpox better...... but I think I'd much rather have a 2/3 flying deathtouch lifelinker than a 2/1 that can "occasionally" be sacked to smallpox.
smallpox doesnt feel like a good fit with the new MBC look, which is increasingly BIG mana cost bombs.
Everything we used to have at 3-5 mana is now 4-7 mana, but we have a few tools to ramp us there.
Sphere after rotation and Chalice right now allow for turn 3 Simulacrum, which creates turn 4 Finale, Titan, Sorin, Mindlslaver, Massacre Wurm, and then Rune Demon tutoring whatever you need to win the game on turn 5.
To be honest, I'm attracted to the same concept as you are, OP, but I just don't think it will work quite yet. There is no way you are going to beat Mono Red, which I will wager will be one of if not the most popular deck when M12 goes live.
Ya know, the more I think about it, rock is sounding pretty awesome. Skinshifter seems pretty awesome in a rock build. Birthing pod is of course awesome, but I think you could build a deck that is good without it and doesn't rely on it.
I think you guys are missing the point. Smallpox is supposed to be used with cheap spells, not expensive ones. Aggro with Dark Tutelage is the place for Smallpox.
A friend of mine ran a mono black list with birthing pod and it was incredibly powerful.
This may be getting a bit too "rock" but I could see black with a small green splash for birthing pod and acidic slime to very good.
Imagine going:
t1: Duress
t2: viridian emmisary
t3: Smallpox
t4: ??
t5: Acidic Slime
I'm not sure what Smallpox can really provide to MBC that isn't a lateral move. The card is only really effective if you build your deck around ways to abuse it.
Personally, I think Mimic Vat Control would be the best direction to take MBC post-M12. With creatures with powerful ETB/LTB triggers, it could net MBC some serious card advantage, which is currently its biggest weakness.
With Smallpox you want Bloodghast and Grim Discovery in the mix. You almost have to have them there because Smallpox is nasty card disadvantage in lists that include creatures.
Smallpox is good with enchantments and non-creature artifacts that control. It's bad in lists that want to either put out creatures or lots of land and control that way.
When you cast Smallpox you are giving up 3 assets at a minimum: Smallpox, the land you sacrifice and the card you must discard. If you're holding no other cards, minimizing the sacrifice required on your part you're probably already losing badly.
The way to make Smallpox work is via things like Bloodghast that you can easily get back into play and that are painless to discard when casting. Grim Discovery gets you back both a land and a creature and it can easily happen the same turn that you cast Smallpox.
I'm not sure what Smallpox can really provide to MBC that isn't a lateral move.
Other than versatility and main deck artifact hate in black? In an artifact themed Standard environment?
The card is only really effective if you build your deck around ways to abuse it.
Well, yes. That is the purpose of this thread. It's also a common trait among powerful cards lately.
Personally, I think Mimic Vat Control would be the best direction to take MBC post-M12. With creatures with powerful ETB/LTB triggers, it could net MBC some serious card advantage, which is currently its biggest weakness.
This deck has been tried. A lot. I've yet to hear about any success with it. However, I do believe the synergy between Mimic Vat and Solemn Simulacrum is potent, maybe even enough to make this list work. However, I would definitely run Sheoldreds over two Run-Scarred Demons. Sheoldred is our strongest finisher.
Edit: Looking at the list again, I might consider dropping the sludges for Rise from the Grave or Sheoldred, Whispering One. I'd have to test it though.
Smallpox gives us the option of running a more attrition-styled deck: Grind the opponent down so they can't even get started. The object would be to keep them on 3 or less lands for as long as possible. Tectonic Edge and Smallpox are our primary mechanisms, but other methods could be included.
I'll start with a solid mana base:
4 Tectonic Edge
2 Marsh Flats
There really isn't much to point out here, other than that if I was thinking about running infect, I'd be running Inkmoth Nexus instead of Tectonic Edge.
2 Consume Spirit
2 Black Sun's Zenith
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Sign in Blood
That leaves 18 slots to fill.
These are the cards I wouldn't even consider leaving home without. Consume Spirit is a phenomenally versatile card that can keep you alive, kill creatures, and/or kill your enemies. Smallpox is the core of the deck. BSZ is a repeatable sweeper. Inquisition is the most effective targeted discard spell in the format. Sign in Blood is our only remotely decent digging spell, but at least it doubles as burn.
Some possible Utility Cards:
Vengeful Pharoah: Personally, I see him as a very effective sideboard card. I don't see him as a main-deckable for the simple reason he triggers off of you taking combat damage. Except against Balls-to-the-Walls aggro and particularly hardy midrange decks (stuff in the league of Gortzen Jund) you shouldn't be taking combat damage early or often enough for it to matter. If you're planning on hard-casting him, you are doing it wrong. If you run in him in the main, you need to run him with Sheoldred as your finisher. If you run him in the main, do not run him with Dark Tutelage.
Entomber Exarch: Personally, I'm a big fan of this card. It's either a Gravedigger or a Super-Duress. It also promotes the card efficiency this deck needs. However, it costs 4, for a 2/2 body. A lot of times, he's going to be a chump-blocker.
Phyrexian Rager: A Grey Ogre that replaces itself. It's not bad, but there are better options. It becomes better with Sheoldred and a sac outlet.
Rise from the Grave: It's really the only reanimation spell we've got that's worth anything. I would definitely run this main deck.
Lashwrithe: Well, here's the thing. Smallpox makes Lashwrithe really, really bad. Not only does it cut into your swamp count, it forces you to sac your Lashwrithes. Lashwrithe is an amazing card, but not in the same deck as Smallpox.
Doomblade vs. Go for the Throat vs. Geth's Verdict: Geth's Verdict has now been pretty much relegated to Smallpox Jr. It has nothing we care about except for the fact it is a targeted, partial Smallpox. Which is barely worth considering. In my eyes, Doomblade and GftT are roughly of equal utility. I would probably run a 2-2 split of them in the main, and then run 2 GftT in the side for the Mirror.
Duress vs Despise: The way things are in the current environment of Standard Despise is probably the stronger choice, what with Entomber Exarch and Inquisition of Kozilek available. How many relevant sorceries/instants cost more than 3? DoJ? The only artifacts that come to mind are Batterskull, Argentum Armor, and maybe Lux Cannon at FNMs. I can't even think of any commonly used enchantments, let alone those that cost more than 3.
Surgical Extraction: Pretty much exactly what we could have hoped for in a sideboard card. I wouldn't suggest running this in your main; you need all space you can eke out without cutting into your manabase. If for some reason you have room, it does work very, very well with the Targeted Discard and Smallpox.
Mind Sludge vs. Monomania: Mind Sludge is strictly better in MBC. Monomania is a great card, in a G/B Rock. Or R/B Tempo. Or U/B Control. Or W/B Tokens. Or... You get the idea. The only time Monomania is technically better card advantage is on turn 5 if your opponent has 7 or more cards in hand. Think of it like this: by turn 5, if they have more than 5 cards in their hand, it's probably because you did your job and they can't play any of them due to lack of lands/artifacts/creatures. At that point, they're done either way.
Gatekeeper of Malakir vs. Vampire Nighthawk: These two fulfill much the same role- eating Aggro alive. Both are exceptionally good at their job, but Gatekeeper takes the slot, in my eyes. It beats Protection and Indestructible. Nighthawk is an excellent sideboard against weenie decks that aren't prone to running 3+ power First Strikers... Like... uh... Hmmm... RDW runs Geopede. WWQuest runs Porcelain Legionaire. Knights runs Student of Warfare. Huh. Well, to be fair, Nighthawk is much better with Lashwrithe- which we can't really run because Smallpox is much better.
Dark Tutelage: This is a strong card, but only in a deck with a low curve. Which, ironically enough, is this one. Most of our cards are lands or cost 2 or less. Dark Tutelage is pretty much ideal, if you don't want to run any finishers that cost more than 4 mana. Also, if you're running the Pharaoh, in the main, do not run it with this.
Bloodghast vs. Reanimating Skeleton: Actually, it's a pretty tough call here. Skeleton can block, but Ghast comes back for free. Both of those are pretty big. I'm going to give the nod to Ghast over Skeleton, because this deck is so mana-starved.
Viscera Seer: Since we're already running Bloodghast or Skeleton, Viscera Seer is worth considering. If you're running Dark Tutelage, you should probably run this as well. It allows you to edit your draws somewhat, so you don't kill yourself too quickly.
Contaminated Ground: This is an awful card- no doubt- but it's an awful card that hits the right notes. Yeah, we want to screw around with their mana. Yeah, we want to bleed them a bit. Also, this becomes much better if you're running Sheoldred. So this is worth considering for the Main.
Desecrated Earth: And much the same as the previous card, this an overcosted piece of brown, stinky cardboard. But it hits the right notes. The only problem with this card is that it does cost 5, which competes with Rise from the Grave, and Mind Sludge.
Mycosynth Wellspring: If you're going to run an artifact with Smallpox, this is the one to run. Comes into play, you get a land. It leaves play, you get a land.
Solemn Simulacrum: Well, I guess I lied. This is pretty good with Smallpox as well. Get a land, then draw a card.
Finishers:
Phyrexian Obliterator: This is your finisher if you're running Dark Tutelage. It's only 'competition' is Abyssal Persecutor, which is alright for a budget list, I suppose.
Grave Titan: This is the standard by which we judge MBC finishers. By itself, it has one of the fastest kills of any finisher available to us. Only Skittles is faster (One hit KO, for the win!). Basically you need to ask of any creature, "Why am I running this over Grave Titan?" if you want to use it as a finisher.
Massacre Wurm: An excellent finisher that works wonders against swarm decks. Unfortunately, swarm decks aren't popular this season, mostly because there aren't many good, cheap token generators. Mono White Proliferate has Luminarch Ascension and Titan Forge, but well... It's Titan Forge and Luminarch Ascension. I'm trembling. Now if they have Surge Node and Unwinding Clock... then I might get into some cold sweats and shivers.
Rune-Scarred Demon: This is a decent budget finisher, you can cast it, tutor up a Smallpox, cast that next turn, sac the Demon and reanimate it later for value. Also relevant: It flies. If you have some sweet tech that needs you to hit an opponent to work, this guy is likely to get through.
Sheoldred, Whispering One: This may be the strongest finisher available to us. Every turn it's out, it basically grants us two cards. It has a relevant body and Swampwalk isn't a difficult to abuse. Honestly, this may be stronger than Grave Titan.
Here's some sample lists:
4 Tectonic Edge
2 Marsh Flats
4 Smallpox
2 Consume Spirit
2 Black Sun's Zenith
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Sign in Blood
3 Dark Tutelage
2 Doomblade
2 Go for the Throat
4 Bloodghast
4 Viscera Seer
4 Tectonic Edge
2 Marsh Flats
4 Smallpox
2 Consume Spirit
2 Black Sun's Zenith
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Sign in Blood
2 Despise
2 Mycosynth Wellspring
2 Go for the Throat
3 Solemn Simulacrum
3 Entomber Exarch
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
Or you could just hope that maybe they'd reprint it in Scars block since Phyrexia OS a big part of that block...
Check out http://www.mtgbrodeals.com/author/john-murphy/ for my EDH articles!
Quest for the Gravelord + Smallpox
There are a ton of ways you can make sure that you can keep the counters coming too:
Viscera Seer
Geth's Verdict
Tezzeret's Gambit
Add all that and some hand disruption and spot removal and you can effectively operate without mana for the first few turns and then start pumping out 5/5 zombie tokens. Also, you could definitely keep the curve low enough that Dark Tutelage would give you great card advantage without putting you at a major disadvantage, not to mention Viscera Seer.
Not sure how all the linking stuff works, so sorry that the cards themselves aren't linked. If someone tells me how I can fix it!
Eh. Adding blue makes the list very dependent on non-basics, which are very easily hated out in this meta. Traditionally, that's how you beat control- destroy their mana base. Being immune to Tectonic Edge in a meta that is literally overflowing with them is a very, very good thing, especially since you're going to be bleeding lands off from your own Edges and Smallpox.
And to be honest, the only thing we really want out of blue is Preordain, Consecrated Sphinx, and Jace Beleren. Permission is cute, but targeted discard has been more effective for me.
@Phiddlesticks: Actually, I have 13 ways to get rid of Persecutor; I also am running the 3 Consume Spirit, which can kill it in a pinch. However, my experience with the card has been entirely negative; the number of times I won off of Percy are left far behind by the times he's lost me the game.
You are right though, Dismember is something I wasn't really thinking about. I might trade out the Doomblades in that list for either Post-Mortem Lunge or Grim Discovery.
You should never have to use your own removal on your own creatures. But I agree that Persecutor does look better in an AggroPox build.
This may be getting a bit too "rock" but I could see black with a small green splash for birthing pod and acidic slime to very good.
Imagine going:
t1: Duress
t2: viridian emmisary
t3: Smallpox
t4: ??
t5: Acidic Slime
Thats such a huge start.
RGStandard Gruul AggroRG
How about because it costs two, which makes it inherently bad.
Check out http://www.mtgbrodeals.com/author/john-murphy/ for my EDH articles!
More importantly, We have Entomber Exarch, which is more versatile. We have Despise, which is cheaper. We have Inquisition, which is more potent. We have Smallpox at the same cost. Why would we ever want Distress of all things? There's a reason I didn't even consider it.
Sounds like a good start to a B/G Rock deck. Were I in your shoes, I'd be picking up some Monomania, some Solemn Simulacrum, some Abyssal Persecutor, Some Glissa, Some Dismembers, and some Arrogant Bloodlord. Then just go to town.
I agree with everything else. Carry on.
Bloodghast and MBC really don't mix due to the entire, "can't block" aspect of it. At that CMC I would rather play nighthawk. Granted, it makes smallpox better...... but I think I'd much rather have a 2/3 flying deathtouch lifelinker than a 2/1 that can "occasionally" be sacked to smallpox.
And finally, I really don't like Dark Tutelage.
Everything we used to have at 3-5 mana is now 4-7 mana, but we have a few tools to ramp us there.
Sphere after rotation and Chalice right now allow for turn 3 Simulacrum, which creates turn 4 Finale, Titan, Sorin, Mindlslaver, Massacre Wurm, and then Rune Demon tutoring whatever you need to win the game on turn 5.
RGStandard Gruul AggroRG
often better than grave titan, even.
i think you should give it the credit it deserves.
4th place at CCC&G Pro Tour
Chances of bad hands (<2 or >4 land):
21: 28.9%
22: 27.5%
23: 26.3%
24: 25.5%
25: 25.1%
26: 25.3%
Entomber exarch seems like a good t4
also grim discovery might be decent in a pox list
Personally, I think Mimic Vat Control would be the best direction to take MBC post-M12. With creatures with powerful ETB/LTB triggers, it could net MBC some serious card advantage, which is currently its biggest weakness.
20 Swamp
4 Tectonic Edge
Creatures (12)
2 Grave Titan
4 Rune-Scarred Demon
4 Solemn Simulacrum
2 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Black Sun's Zenith
4 Everflowing Chalice
3 Go for the Throat
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Manalith
3 Mimic Vat
4 Tezzeret's Gambit
1 Despise
2 Doom Blade
1 Duress
1 Go for the Throat
2 Life's Finale
4 Memoricide
4 Vampire Hexmage
True, granted thats a bit of a nut draw, but I don't really see many decks coming back from that. I am really liking Poxd Rock.
RGStandard Gruul AggroRG
Smallpox is good with enchantments and non-creature artifacts that control. It's bad in lists that want to either put out creatures or lots of land and control that way.
When you cast Smallpox you are giving up 3 assets at a minimum: Smallpox, the land you sacrifice and the card you must discard. If you're holding no other cards, minimizing the sacrifice required on your part you're probably already losing badly.
The way to make Smallpox work is via things like Bloodghast that you can easily get back into play and that are painless to discard when casting. Grim Discovery gets you back both a land and a creature and it can easily happen the same turn that you cast Smallpox.
Other than versatility and main deck artifact hate in black? In an artifact themed Standard environment?
Well, yes. That is the purpose of this thread. It's also a common trait among powerful cards lately.
This deck has been tried. A lot. I've yet to hear about any success with it. However, I do believe the synergy between Mimic Vat and Solemn Simulacrum is potent, maybe even enough to make this list work. However, I would definitely run Sheoldreds over two Run-Scarred Demons. Sheoldred is our strongest finisher.
Here's a thought:
2 Marsh Flats
4 Tectonic Edge
4 Reassembling Skeleton
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Solemn Simulacrum
2 Entomber Exarch
2 Massacre Wurm
2 Grave Titan
2 Go for the Throat
2 Geth's Verdict
3 Mimic Vat
2 Carnage Altar
2 Mind Sludge
3 Lashwrithe
Edit: Looking at the list again, I might consider dropping the sludges for Rise from the Grave or Sheoldred, Whispering One. I'd have to test it though.