This Deck is primarily geared towards multiplayer games with about 5 players as that is what I play most of with my friends. It has some interesting results as far as the discard goes, producing 2/2 black zombies at an astounding rate while fueling card draw and giving black mana to spend those with all those cards you're drawing.
There are several ideal early rounds but this is one of the possibilities I have encountered many times that is quite effective.
T1 - Swamp > Dark Ritual > Shrieking Affliction + Waste Not
T2 - Swamp > Burglar Rat = Opponents discard creating black mana, 2/2 zombies, or card draw. With luck, enough discard can generate card draw and mana to help you play Liliana's Caress.
T3 - Swamp > Arterial Flow = More of the same as above except more dramatic, this could generate enough manna to play Syphon Mind several times and then keep looping discard effects until opponent are out of cards and then any remaining mana should be spent on Shrieking Affliction and more rats to dominate the board state.
T4 - After a round of Shrieking Affliction effects, most players will be hurting and not have much of a board state, so swing away to your hearts desire.
If none of this happens then its always a safe bet to swing with lots of pack rats if you just cant get the board together or you opponents are breaking your enchantments at good speed.
I am open to any suggestions to this deck to make it better. Also I am not sure what to side board right now so I am also open to suggestions about that as well.
T1 - Swamp > Dark Ritual > Liliana's Caress + Waste Not
How is that supposed to work?
Swamp = +1 mana
Ritual = -1 mana for casting and +3 from resolving it
Caress = -2 mana
Waste Not = -2 mana, but you have only one left to spend, you can't cast this now
What about Rotting Rats? You have to discard too, but it also Unearths. In 5-player games and with card draw (Waste Not, Syphon Mind) the benefit probably outweighs losing 1 card.
If you really want to hulk out with Waste Not in a large multiplayer round, you want to play a Dark Deal, the earlier the better. You get to reap everything from Waste Not in large amounts. Plus, with the mana and the cards drawn you probably can do it again right away for more zombies, cards, and mana. A Ritual followed by Dark Deal turn 1 can also really punish players for being greedy with their mana in their decks, because you essentially force a mulligan on them.
And ideal sequence would be something like:
turn 1) Swamp, Blood Pet
turn 2) Swamp, Ritual, Waste Not, Dark Deal
All Megrim decks I've ever built and encountered or read about were usually better off not playing the card at all and focusing more on the discard and punishing the empty hand. Liliana's Caress isn't even the focus of the deck, so that's some card slots to free for other stuff.
I second the Rotting Rats, especially because they also synergize well with Dark Deal, they are not lost entirely by discarding them.
With Waste Not being the center piece, you really need some tutors for it, most preferable one, that can fetch it turn 1, though probably requires investing a Ritual for that.
You really need a few more lands in the deck. 20 Swamps plus a full set of Rituals won't cut it. Trust me, Even with only 2 more lands, the deck's mana will be a lot smoother.
Mox Amber (or the original Moxen if that's available)
Did you mean Chrome Mox? Mox Amber produces 0 mana most of the time, especially in this deck.
All Megrim decks I've ever built and encountered or read about were usually better off not playing the card at all and focusing more on the discard and punishing the empty hand.
I agree, with the exception of decks that are dedicated to effects like Wheel of Fortune, Windfall and Memory Jar (but those effects tend to get banned/restricted because they break Megrim).
This STANDARD LEGAL Megrim deck got banned quickly, but was available on an MTGO Throwback Gauntlet for a short period.
If this pool of cards (that were all Standard Legal together at the same time) looks more ridiculous than any Legacy deck or even unpowered Vintage deck, that's because it is.
Decks that just make players discard 1-2 cards at a time are better without Megrim. A deck with 4 Waste Not + 4 Dark Deal might benefit from Liliana's Caress, but Bloodchief Ascension is the card you really want. That card is bonkers in multiplayer, especially with mass discard or board wipes.
Beseech the Queen is a good budget tutor for decks like this, where the main pieces are low CMC.
Dark deal is absolutely evil and I love it. What a huge gain from just one card and three mana. Discarding my own hand wouldn’t even be a big deal after that much card draw. And then hitting them with another to get back to back ridiculous combos. All on turn two or three.
SELVAXRI! King of Misfortune & Master of Rocket Launchers "Do ya feel lucky? Because you'd better start runnin' while you still can." 375 Misfortune {+3 signed AP's} & 104 Rocket Launcher (41 AQ/ 63 Rev) Edgar Rice Burroughs, forgotten legend of the word.
Another option to consider, that came to my mind is Mindslicer. Pair it with a sac outlet and sac it when you have Waste Not on the board. Or use it as a bargaining chip. It can even serve for politics among other players. One such sac outlet can be Costly Plunder, since it also helps digging, and you draw the cards after everyone emptied their hands if you sac a Mindslicer for it.
4 Pack Rat
4 Typhoid Rats
4 Burglar Rat
4 Liliana's Caress
4 Shrieking Affliction
4 Waste Not
20 Swamp
Instant
4 Dark Ritual
4 Tragic Slip
4 Syphon Mind
4 Arterial Flow
General
This Deck is primarily geared towards multiplayer games with about 5 players as that is what I play most of with my friends. It has some interesting results as far as the discard goes, producing 2/2 black zombies at an astounding rate while fueling card draw and giving black mana to spend those with all those cards you're drawing.
There are several ideal early rounds but this is one of the possibilities I have encountered many times that is quite effective.
T1 - Swamp > Dark Ritual > Shrieking Affliction + Waste Not
T2 - Swamp > Burglar Rat = Opponents discard creating black mana, 2/2 zombies, or card draw. With luck, enough discard can generate card draw and mana to help you play Liliana's Caress.
T3 - Swamp > Arterial Flow = More of the same as above except more dramatic, this could generate enough manna to play Syphon Mind several times and then keep looping discard effects until opponent are out of cards and then any remaining mana should be spent on Shrieking Affliction and more rats to dominate the board state.
T4 - After a round of Shrieking Affliction effects, most players will be hurting and not have much of a board state, so swing away to your hearts desire.
If none of this happens then its always a safe bet to swing with lots of pack rats if you just cant get the board together or you opponents are breaking your enchantments at good speed.
I am open to any suggestions to this deck to make it better. Also I am not sure what to side board right now so I am also open to suggestions about that as well.
How is that supposed to work?
Swamp = +1 mana
Ritual = -1 mana for casting and +3 from resolving it
Caress = -2 mana
Waste Not = -2 mana, but you have only one left to spend, you can't cast this now
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
If you're open to non-rats, Liliana's Specter.
And ideal sequence would be something like:
turn 1) Swamp, Blood Pet
turn 2) Swamp, Ritual, Waste Not, Dark Deal
You can substitute Blood Pet with any other card that gives you one more mana for turn 2, like Simian Spirit Guide,
Mox AmberChrome Mox (or the original Moxen if that's available), etc.All Megrim decks I've ever built and encountered or read about were usually better off not playing the card at all and focusing more on the discard and punishing the empty hand. Liliana's Caress isn't even the focus of the deck, so that's some card slots to free for other stuff.
I second the Rotting Rats, especially because they also synergize well with Dark Deal, they are not lost entirely by discarding them.
With Waste Not being the center piece, you really need some tutors for it, most preferable one, that can fetch it turn 1, though probably requires investing a Ritual for that.
You really need a few more lands in the deck. 20 Swamps plus a full set of Rituals won't cut it. Trust me, Even with only 2 more lands, the deck's mana will be a lot smoother.
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
Did you mean Chrome Mox? Mox Amber produces 0 mana most of the time, especially in this deck.
I agree, with the exception of decks that are dedicated to effects like Wheel of Fortune, Windfall and Memory Jar (but those effects tend to get banned/restricted because they break Megrim).
This STANDARD LEGAL Megrim deck got banned quickly, but was available on an MTGO Throwback Gauntlet for a short period.
4 Mox Diamond
4 Lotus Petal
4 Mana Vault
4 Memory Jar
//Spells: 14
4 Dark Ritual
4 Tinker
4 Yawgmoth's Will
2 Intuition
4 Necropotence
3 Megrim
//Lands: 23
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
4 City of Brass
4 Underground River
7 Swamp
If this pool of cards (that were all Standard Legal together at the same time) looks more ridiculous than any Legacy deck or even unpowered Vintage deck, that's because it is.
Decks that just make players discard 1-2 cards at a time are better without Megrim. A deck with 4 Waste Not + 4 Dark Deal might benefit from Liliana's Caress, but Bloodchief Ascension is the card you really want. That card is bonkers in multiplayer, especially with mass discard or board wipes.
Beseech the Queen is a good budget tutor for decks like this, where the main pieces are low CMC.
King of Misfortune & Master of Rocket Launchers
"Do ya feel lucky? Because you'd better start runnin' while you still can."
375 Misfortune {+3 signed AP's} & 104 Rocket Launcher (41 AQ/ 63 Rev)
Edgar Rice Burroughs, forgotten legend of the word.
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)