MTG Salvation

How to fly under the radar on the first game and be hatred on the second? Play The Haunt of Hightower!!

The main objective is to play the Haunt as fast as possible, protect him, and make everyone losing their cards, from hand, top of library or battlefield. This can be done slowly by controlling the game with creature removals and minor discards, or go fast and make everyone discard their hands.




Explanations about cards choices:

Old cards cutted:
Bottomless Pit and Necrogen Mists - They generated a frustrant game for all players, even me. Put more draw effects instead.
Quest for the Nihil Stone and Shrieking Affliction - They make little damage over the games. To make it really good, it's needed to make a Haunt on turn 3 followed a mass discard, and even that isn't that good.
Never // Return and Ruinous Path - Both are good, but I put the instant versions in their place.
Whetstone - Very slow.

Notable omissions:
Ancient Tomb, Mana Crypt, Mana Vault: They are great but I didn't have them. If this deck make a good winrate, maybe I pick them to make it better.

I'm testing / I want to test:
Crystal Vein, Ebon Stronghold, Everglades - A bit of ramp to play Haunt more fast. Too risky to use.
Darkness, Sudden Spoiling - Protection against go-wide strategies.
Liliana's Triumph, Vona's Hunger, Virtus's Maneuver, Syphon Flesh, Killing Wave - I want to use some edict spells in addiction to edict creatures, but didn't know how to balance the numbers of each type.

The problem:
After the first game played with Haunt, the next game I was focused by the others players and didn't make anything. I get three counterspells from a player, two exile spells on Haunt the turn it comes in to play by the second, and had my mana rocks destroyed by the third one. In the others games, I was sad by not playing because everyone was angry about the deck. How to make the actual list more reasonable between treats and protection at the same time? Maybe using more removals and less "everyone discard one/two cards" type effects?

Mesmeric Orb is a $25 card, but is the.bomb.dot.com in this deck.

Quite bluntly, there is little chance that you'll NOT be the target of the game every time you sit down with this deck. Generally speaking, players don't like having their resources messed with, particularly lands and cards in hand. By aggressively attacking a player's cards in hand, you limit their ability to play the game, which no one particularly enjoys. So, if you want to focus on a heavy discard theme, I would simply expect this kind of resistance and play around it.

Some discard spells that I would recommend that may not draw as much pain for your opponents (and are more consistent) are Necrogen Mists and Bottomless Pit. They do Discard for your opponents on a permanent type that is less easily interacted with.

The lack of Necropotence is definitely odd for this deck. You have a Lifelink Commander and your goal is to keep hands empty. Potence is just really good, particularly with The Haunt having Lifelink. I highly recommend it.

Mesmeric Orb is a great card, but I can't find a copy in my area, and didn't like to online shipping one. If I find a player who had it, probably I will pick it.

Necrogen Mists and Bottomless Pit was on my initial list, but didn't think them was good enough. With the change to more control approach, I will give them a chance. Additionaly, I will cut the strict "each opponent discard one/two/three cards", but will keep the "discard all" and the two voting cards, because them serves as removal too.

Holy crap, I always forgot one of the bests monoblack cards: Necropotence. Thanks!

Out: Arterial Flow, Burglar Rat, Chain of Smog, Delirium Skeins, Liliana's Specter, Unnerve, Vicious Rumors
In: Plaguecrafter, Fleshbag Marauder, Shriekmaw, Ravenous Chupacabra, Necropotence, Necrogen Mists, Bottomless Pit

I really like this deck and will make it myself! In mono-black my favorite card is Moonlight Bargain, try adding this. It's like a Necropotence that you can use at the end of opponent's turn.

Quest for the Nihil Stone probably doesn't do enough. Myojin is great but very expansive, maybe use Mindslicer. Also I see many "destroy" effects but in EDH now we have tons of indestructible creatures. Consider some exile effects like Silence the Believers, Ashes to Ashes or Vraska's Contempt.

Also what about Oblivion Stone (after making the Haunt indestructible!).

How about altar of the brood? It's cheap and almost as good as mesmeric orb early enough. Alternate win con in addition to geth, chainer, dementia master?

I slotted Moonlight Bargain but didn't drew yet.

In my meta, there is few indestructible creatures, so didn't have the urgency of exile effects. It's a option, but isn't necessary.

Quest for the Nihil Stone isn't doing enough to stay, the same for Shrieking Affliction. Myojin, in the other side, is great, the deck supports high cmc spells that can devastates the opponents. Mindslicer would be great if I had more options to sacrifice creatures, but isn't the prime objective of the deck.

Oblivion Stone is great, but it puts a target in me, as if the deck itself already didn't put one.

Altar of the Brood was on my initial take of the deck, but was cut for more removal.

Out: Quest for the Nihil Stone, Shrieking Affliction, Dark Deal, Murder, Bite of the Black Rose, Ambition's Cost, Ancient Craving

In: Moonlight Bargain, Vendetta, Withering Boon, Liliana's Specter, Burglar Rat, Sign in Blood, Night's Whisper

Bottomless Pit and Necrogen Mists still putting a target over my face. The only one that liked it was a Meren player, for obvious reason. In the other hand, Altar of the Brood was more acceptable by not targeting cards in hands.

There's no many planeswalkers deck right now on my LGS, so I cut Never // Return and Ruinous Path to put Vraska's Contempt and for more Scour from Existence for the exile part. I was thinking about using edict effects against voltron, but I'm not sure if this could be useful than direct removal.

As I said in the first post, I didn't have any fast mana rock or lands, so I will test Crystal Vein and Ebon Stronghold for a little tempo gain to cast the Haunt. Is there others lands that can gain tempo like those?

The games so far was the same or worse as described on first post, the others players already knows the deck style and try to focus me even if Haunt didn't hit the battlefield yet. I'm still need some form of protection against that focus, preferably that don't need much more investment.

Out: Bottomless Pit, Necrogen Mists, Underworld Connections, Never // Return, Ruinous Path, Renegade's Getaway, Swamp
In: Altar of the Brood, Coldsteel Heart, Greed, Vraska's Contempt, Scour from Existence, Unlikely Aid, Strip Mine

Hehe I was just coming in here to say you should add Unlikely Aid. I also removed the Megrim and Liliana's Caress effects since they don't impact the board when they resolve, and cause all players to focus on you.

Blade of the Bloodchief has been a real killer for me. Sangromancer has been helping me stay alive too.

After getting some advice on "Random Deck Discussion" topic, I decided to make a plan B for the deck, due the archenemy focus that the Haunt receives. By this, I can play a bit more cautious, and them make a really impactful play, like playing Haunt and a mass discard.

Yahenni, Undying Partisan, Reassembling Skeleton, Dreadhorde Invasion and Altar of Dementia was included to make this plan B, giving a recursive milling strategy, with Yaheeni itself been big treat with all the removals the deck plays.

Out: Whetstone, Greed, Capital Punishment, Yahenni's Expertise, Scour from Existence
In: Altar of Dementia, Dreadhorde Invasion, Dark Deal, Yahenni, Undying Partisan, Reassembling Skeleton, Imp's Mischief