Card Advantage: win by having more spells then everyone else
Mana Ramp: large spells mean more advantage for your cards
Self Preservation: everyone will want to kill you, so stopping attacks and gaining life are key
Finally, this deck is designed to not break the bank. Only 8 cards list for more then 4 dollars on SCG, and only the 3 Eldrazi list above 10. With Ebay, you can acquire most of the deck for under $90.
Maga himself is a great life-drain spell always at the ready:
Maga, Traitor to Mortals XBBB
Maga, Traitor to Mortals enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it.
When Maga enters the battlefield, target player loses life equal to the number of +1/+1 counters on it.
Unlike most mono-black decks I've seen, this deck intends to avoid making everyone hate on you. As such, I've avoided hate-inducing cards like Words of Waste.
Next up, we have the life-drain spells themselves: the main win-conditions.
While these are ideally used to finish of an opponent once you have ~40 mana, they are also useful when your card-drawing spells have depleted your life total.
I've finished the original post, all data is in now.
I know there are some great board wipes (Damnation) and lands (Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth) that don't fit the budget, but I'm keenly interested in ideas for strong black cards that aren't too expensive.
With all your ramp coming from basic Swamps why run all the other non-basiscs?
The Cabal Coffers, Deserted Temple and maybe Vesuva are great but everything else just gets in the way. I hate seeing the Volrath's Stronghold in my build sometimes. When dropping a swamp gives you another 3 mana the non-basics are slowing you down.
- Card Advantage: win by having more spells then everyone else
- Mana Ramp: large spells mean more advantage for your cards
- Self Preservation: everyone will want to kill you, so stopping attacks and gaining life are key
Finally, this deck is designed to not break the bank. Only 8 cards list for more then 4 dollars on SCG, and only the 3 Eldrazi list above 10. With Ebay, you can acquire most of the deck for under $90.Maga himself is a great life-drain spell always at the ready:
Unlike most mono-black decks I've seen, this deck intends to avoid making everyone hate on you. As such, I've avoided hate-inducing cards like Words of Waste.
Next up, we have the life-drain spells themselves: the main win-conditions.
While these are ideally used to finish of an opponent once you have ~40 mana, they are also useful when your card-drawing spells have depleted your life total.
Draw and mana acceleration to make it all happen
To help us cast giant Maga:
We are blessed in mono-black to be second only to blue in card drawing.
Tutors and removal to keep us alive and find the good stuff
Note that Transmute is awesome here
I try to make good use of Transmute. I have one for each CMC from 2 through 6.
Good removal next:
Anti-attack:
Some board wiping
Finally, sneaky black cards and generally handy artifacts and lands.
Sneaky black:
Useful artifacts and lands
Note that with Erratic Portal, we can bounce and replay Maga for much life-loss, draw lots of cards with Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, and go infinite turns with Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
That makes the whole deck, here's the complete list sorted by CMC.
Check out Odds//Ends - My articles on Quirky Cards and Oddball Builds
Long-time PucaTrade member and sometime author. Send me cards!
Currently playing Knight of the Reliquary - Retreat to Coralhelm Combo
I know there are some great board wipes (Damnation) and lands (Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth) that don't fit the budget, but I'm keenly interested in ideas for strong black cards that aren't too expensive.
Any suggestions?
Check out Odds//Ends - My articles on Quirky Cards and Oddball Builds
Long-time PucaTrade member and sometime author. Send me cards!
Currently playing Knight of the Reliquary - Retreat to Coralhelm Combo
Check out Odds//Ends - My articles on Quirky Cards and Oddball Builds
Long-time PucaTrade member and sometime author. Send me cards!
Currently playing Knight of the Reliquary - Retreat to Coralhelm Combo
Temporal Extortion
Necropotence
Magus of the Coffers
None of these cards are more than $3.50
With all your ramp coming from basic Swamps why run all the other non-basiscs?
The Cabal Coffers, Deserted Temple and maybe Vesuva are great but everything else just gets in the way. I hate seeing the Volrath's Stronghold in my build sometimes. When dropping a swamp gives you another 3 mana the non-basics are slowing you down.
Why is the Feldon's Cane in there? You should spend the $10 for a Sol Ring.
B Lover Since '09 ~
Standard:
meh.
Modern:
Urzatron GR
Vintage:
Contol-Slaver UBR
EDH:
Drana B
Jhoira UR
Savra BG
Turned into:
Adun Oakenshield BGR
Sharuum BUW
Turned into:
Memnarch U
KiKi-Jiki R
Turned into:
Godo R
Turned into:
Aurelia RW
The Mimeoplasm UBG
Rasputin Dreamweaver UW
Turned into:
Geist of Saint Traft -French 1v1 UW
Nekusar UBR