I thought I'd share my Kuro deck I've been playing with lately. The plan is to gain enough life and ramp up to enough mana to take advantage of Kuro. The deck has other things to do with the life, such as drawing cards, and it can also tutor and kill creatures (mono-black specialties). The deck is rounded off by vampire and demon tribal sub-themes.
Card suggestions would be great. I'd like to cut Consuming Vapors and Weed Strangle, as sorcery speed removal isn't that great and I have enough life gain already. I like Chalice of Life, but I'm not 100% sold on it.
Hmm...this deck looks familiar: do you play at GYGO?
As far as tutors, if you're using Cabal Coffers I don't think you should cut Expedition Map. (Speaking of Coffers, you have a lot of non-swamps but no Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth: I would either cut a few of the non-basics, such as the token-producers, or include Urborg, if you can.) I also think that Increasing Ambition is generally an upgrade to Diabolic Tutor.
Do you think that Horobi, Death's Wail would be worth trying? It's not a demon or vampire, but with Horobi on the board Kuro's ability reads "Pay 1 life: Destroy target creature."
Horobi is symmetric, but then so is Damnation. Getting both Kuro and Horobi to stick could give you control of the board, at least for a little while.
Another suggestion: Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief instead of Stronghold Overseer. Drana is quite a bit stronger, as she is removal instead of a quasi-fog effect, but you'd be swapping a demon for a vampire, if that matters flavor-wise (I do have a Drana, if you need one :D)
Also, why no Seizan, Perverter of Truth? Seizan rocks. Goes well with his bro' Kagemaro. Another favorite black creature of mine is Necrotic Ooze. Also: Living Death.
...not only is the total number of players expanding very quickly, but at the same time a greater and greater number of those players are being pushed to only desire a small subset of the available cards. These combined forces drastically increase demand for those cards and cause the values of just those specific cards to often balloon out of proportion.
1 Kuro, Pitlord
DEMONS
2 Bloodgift Demon
3 Kagemaro, First to Suffer
4 Harvester of Souls
5 Rune-Scarred Demon
6 Griselbrand
7 Pestilence Demon
8 Dread Cacodemon
VAMPIRES
9 Guul Draz Assassin
10 Blood Artist
11 Vampire Hexmage
12 Vampire Nighthawk
13 Bloodline Keeper
14 Falkenrath Noble
15 Sangromancer
16 Dark Impostor
17 Malakir Bloodwitch
18 Nirkana Revenant
19 Butcher of Malakir
20 Chancellor of the Dross
OTHER FRIENDS
21 Blood Speaker
22 Solemn Simulacrum
23 Magus of the Coffers
LIFE GAIN/DRAIN
24 Bloodchief Ascension
25 Suffer the Past
26 Exsanguinate
27 Profane Command
28 Loxodon Warhammer
29 Tribute to Hunger
30 Tendrils of Corruption
31 Batterskull
32 Exquisite Blood
33 Sanguine Bond
34 Venser's Journal
35 Blood Tribute
36 Sorin Markov
37 Soul Conduit
38 Everflowing Chalice
39 Sol Ring
40 Coldsteel Heart
41 Pristine Talisman
42 Paradise Plume
43 Caged Sun
DRAW
44 Night's Whisper
45 Sign in Blood
46 Necropotence
47 Phyrexian Arena
48 Ambition's Cost
49 Syphon Mind
50 Well of Lost Dreams
51 Promise of Power
TUTOR
52 Expedition Map
53 Demonic Tutor
54 Journeyer's Kite
55 Praetor's Grasp
56 Diabolic Tutor
57 Increasing Ambition
OTHER
58 Sudden Spoiling
59 Phyrexian Processor
60 Beacon of Unrest
61 Karn Liberated
LANDS
62 Bojuka Bog
63 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
64 Buried Ruin
65 Cabal Coffers
66 Crypt of Agadeem
67 Dark Depths
68 Leechridden Swamp
69 Miren, the Moaning Well
70 Mouth of Ronom
71 Mystifying Maze
72 Reliquary Tower
73 Scrying Sheets
74 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
75 Springjack Pasture
76 Tectonic Edge
77 Terrain Generator
78 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
79 Snow-Covered Swamp
100 Snow-Covered Swamp
Card suggestions would be great. I'd like to cut Consuming Vapors and Weed Strangle, as sorcery speed removal isn't that great and I have enough life gain already. I like Chalice of Life, but I'm not 100% sold on it.
I'm thinking more draw and tutor effects in their place. Maybe Moonlight Bargain? Also, would a general tutor like Diabolic Tutor be better than something slightly faster but more narrow like Beseech the Queen or Expedition Map?
Kuro, Pitlord - Life Gain/Drain MBC
Malfegor - Discard and Punishment
Ghave, Guru of Spores - Fungus Tribal
building Dralnu, Lichlord - Arcane Draw-Go
- weed strangle
+ moonlight bargain
- consuming vapors
+ diabolical tutor
- chalice of life
+ terrain generator
- bloodghast
+ beacon of unrest
I've also found a better removal demon!
- carnifex demon
+ dread cacodemon
And finally, I've been weak to counters and dark depths was a little too cute.
- dark depths
+ boseiju, who shelters all
Kuro, Pitlord - Life Gain/Drain MBC
Malfegor - Discard and Punishment
Ghave, Guru of Spores - Fungus Tribal
building Dralnu, Lichlord - Arcane Draw-Go
As far as tutors, if you're using Cabal Coffers I don't think you should cut Expedition Map. (Speaking of Coffers, you have a lot of non-swamps but no Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth: I would either cut a few of the non-basics, such as the token-producers, or include Urborg, if you can.) I also think that Increasing Ambition is generally an upgrade to Diabolic Tutor.
Do you think that Horobi, Death's Wail would be worth trying? It's not a demon or vampire, but with Horobi on the board Kuro's ability reads "Pay 1 life: Destroy target creature."
I might try Horobi, I hadn't considered it. The only problem is that it is so symmetrical.
I am on the lookout to pick up an Urborg when I can. Have one to trade?
Kuro, Pitlord - Life Gain/Drain MBC
Malfegor - Discard and Punishment
Ghave, Guru of Spores - Fungus Tribal
building Dralnu, Lichlord - Arcane Draw-Go
Horobi is symmetric, but then so is Damnation. Getting both Kuro and Horobi to stick could give you control of the board, at least for a little while.
Another suggestion: Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief instead of Stronghold Overseer. Drana is quite a bit stronger, as she is removal instead of a quasi-fog effect, but you'd be swapping a demon for a vampire, if that matters flavor-wise (I do have a Drana, if you need one :D)
Also, why no Seizan, Perverter of Truth? Seizan rocks. Goes well with his bro' Kagemaro. Another favorite black creature of mine is Necrotic Ooze. Also: Living Death.
Cut:
Added:
[card]Dark Depths
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Tectonic Edge
Venser's Journal
Karn Liberated
Batterskull
Praetor's Grasp
Expedition Map[/card]
Added from Avacyn Restored:
[card]Blood Artist
Dark Impostor
Exquisite Blood
Harvester of Souls
Griselbrand[/card]
Kuro, Pitlord - Life Gain/Drain MBC
Malfegor - Discard and Punishment
Ghave, Guru of Spores - Fungus Tribal
building Dralnu, Lichlord - Arcane Draw-Go