MTG Salvation

Hey, I have a friend who plays this deck and have tested it a bunch with him and saw him play it in a small local tournament. I would like to share what I think. I realize I am no expert on this deck, these are just some observations from testing and watching him play.

The deck lacks a finisher. Ya it can get recurring Shriekmaw to stall out the game but sometimes other aggro decks can just go nuts and overrun you. Second, the deck is really slow. It takes too long to get going. Third, I found it too reliant on Tortured Existence. Without it, you are playing a lot of weak creatures. Finally, Corpse Dance was played really rarely.

So I put the deck into MWS, messed around with a few things, and came up with this list:



Yes, this list is not very Nightmare Effect, but it does still use Tortured Existence to great effect. Demigod of Revenge adds a lot of power. Dark Ritual adds speed. Gatekeeper and Nighthawk as just good black creatures. I like Squee as he is less conditional then Horror and allows you to still draw cards. Gladiator is either recurring card draw, recurring beater, or turns late rituals into Tortured triggers.

So that's it. Try not to be too harsh :).

This is the Deck that I've been using. Its a very nice balance between combo and control. I've had a lot of success with this deck.

I noticed a lot of people are playing control variants and a lot of combo. There's not a lot of creature aggro and I always get a Shriekmaw when I need him. It's not a problem, the main problem I have is finding and getting Tortured Existance out on the field.

The problem I see with Mimic Vat is that the target has to go from the field to the grave, thus not allowing me to use Woodfall Primus or any of my other targets from Buried Alive. The Nightmare Effect is suppose to a graveyard based deck and by using Mimic Vat you would have to change the main strategy.

So far im using this. I figure since we are using buried alive why not try demigod. At best 4x comes into play and swings for 20. At worst we corpse dance him in swing for 15 then lose 1.

But this is my list im missing 4 spots i'm testing a few things in.




4x spots left. Vampire Nighthawk is always good to have. Murderous Redcap would be fun recurring. Not sure if Braids, Cabal Minion would fit in here good or not.

Quote from DeadPoolWins

At worst we corpse dance him in swing for 15 then lose 1.

Demigod only triggers when you cast it.

Redcap looks interesting, but you need a consistent way to sacrifice it to make it worthwhile, and four mana is kinda questionable.

Oh well i feel stupid now for looking at the wording wrong.

I will prolly cut corpse then.

Yeah redcap cost four is the only problem. I been using him in a bloodclock deck and he works well in it though this plays a bit different.

Quote from DeadPoolWins

So far im using this. I figure since we are using buried alive why not try demigod. At best 4x comes into play and swings for 20. At worst we corpse dance him in swing for 15 then lose 1.

But this is my list im missing 4 spots i'm testing a few things in.

HexedDead's DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
4x Demigod of Revenge 3x Krovikian Horror 3x Shriekmaw 4x Gatekeeper of Malakir 1x Undead Gladiator 4x Hymn of Tourach 4x Duress 4x Dark ritual 4x Tortured Existence 3x Buried Alive 2x corpse dance

4x spots left. Vampire Nighthawk is always good to have. Murderous Redcap would be fun recurring. Not sure if Braids, Cabal Minion would fit in here good or not.

Why did you post a deck without the main interaction of the deck? It seems like your just dumbing down the deck... Attacking the hand with Mesmeric Fiend is one of the reasons this deck is so good.

What kind of toolbox do you guys suggest for a buried alive type build? I prefer not to run multiples of creatures (except 3 krovikans) since my meta is full of rogue decks and few serious competitive ones.
Here's what I'm running:
3 Krovikans
1 Shriekmaw
1 Squee
1 Undead Gladiator
1 Necroplasm
1 Fulminator Mage
1 Kagemaro
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Faerie Macabre
1 Twisted Abomination
1 Nighthawk
1 Viscera Seer
2 Golgari Brownscale

Am I missing anything obvious? How does Braids sound for a toolbox addition?

Quote from XScorpion

What kind of toolbox do you guys suggest for a buried alive type build? I prefer not to run multiples of creatures (except 3 krovikans) since my meta is full of rogue decks and few serious competitive ones.
Here's what I'm running:
3 Krovikans
1 Shriekmaw
1 Squee
1 Undead Gladiator
1 Necroplasm
1 Fulminator Mage
1 Kagemaro
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Faerie Macabre
1 Twisted Abomination
1 Nighthawk
1 Viscera Seer
2 Golgari Brownscale

Am I missing anything obvious? How does Braids sound for a toolbox addition?

Mesmeric Fiend or Faceless Butcher...its what the deck deck was named for...

Interesting thing about Corpse dance
Corpse Dance only exiles the card if the card is still on the battlefield at the beginning of the end step. So you can cast Corpse dance and then sac that creature.

Mesmeric Fiend or Faceless Butcher...its what the deck deck was named for...

Without a efficient sacrifice outlet (I only run one viscera seer, and I'm probably taking it out when I find something better) or corpse dance, their efficiency is greatly diminished. I'm considering adding Mindslicer, Braids, Cabal Minion or Haakon, Stromgald Scourge.

I agree with scorp and ping.

What does your list look like right now scorp?

Mine's more toolboxish and less geared towards zoo than Pingu's because of the mess that is my meta. Shriekmaw is a pretty weak draw when you play against creatureless decks, Dredge, or Affinity..I tend to beat face with the abomination in those cases, although most of the time it really doesn't matter what I use. Recurring Fulminator Mage tends to inspire a lot of scooping though.



Testing out Mindslicer right now, hasn't been used much since I don't have many reliable sac outlets. I'll probably drop viscera and Mindslicer and try Haakon and Braids.

Heres some more cards I will be testing with besides recap this weekend. Just for fun and to see if they work well.


Emarkul, The Aeons Torn
Volrath the Fallen

Puppeteer Clique

Oh ya and the fulminator mage too he seems like an awesome fit.

The volrath/emrakul combo seems to be completely anti-productive to the theme of the deck...i don't want to shuffle my graveyard into my library...

Clique is cool but 5 cost is high, and what would you be reanimating?

Oh I was just trying different stuff. Fum works really well though. The other 3 not so much.

Burn really recks me hard deck is slow right now :/ and if they stop my recurring graveyard its bad news. This is what im running.



I think green or red spash would be the way to go.

Has anyone mentioned Phyrexian Tower?

Recent testing shows that Thought Gorger is a tank.

Thought Gorger is great against Swords because they have to choose between letting you draw cards and taking what is usually 6 damage. He can also trade with goyfs except that i get to draw cards afterwards. Its basically a clock with a drawback that the deck doesn't really care about. If nothing else its a recurring, one sided wheel of fortune.

Edit: Yes, it is smaller than Knights most of the time. But chump blocking to draw cards is still pretty good.

Im still running the classic list without Confidants. I've been working on the deck for a while now and Thought Gorger is the best new edition i've found in a while. He's a clock that doesn't have to be cheated in to play, and doubles up as card draw.

I could still run the nighthawks and/or Imps alongside him. I personally prefer Fleshbag Marauder/Gatekeeper because they don't have to attack into him and he can still hit black creatures.

24 Swamp
4 Tortured Existence
4 Shriekmaw
4 Cabal Therapy
3 Buried Alive
2 Corpse Dance
1 Beseech the Queen
3 Fleshbag Marauder
4 Thoughtgorger
2 Golgari Brownscale
3 Viscera Seer
4 Krovikan Horror
2 Big Game Hunter

EDIT: Woops i posted a 59 card list, there's actually 24 swamps

I have a soft spot for Big Game Hunter because he sits in your yard then comes out of nowhere as instant speed removal.

The Therapies can just as easily be Hymn to Tourach. I prefer Therapies because they aren't useless after they get dredged.

Corpse Dance is pretty underwhelming. I really need to test Mimic Vat

I cant go below four Krovikan Horrors because then Thought Gorger would be a lot worse.

Viscera Seer is meh. It blocks Lackey. Its a free sac outlet.

Im going to take out a Corpse Dance and a Viscera seer for 2 Twisted Abominations. The deck is mana hungry. He assures you wont miss your land drops.

This deck stabilizes like no one's business. If existence is online and they cant do anything about your graveyard, you win, or at least annoy the hell out of them.

If I had money I would splash green for Enchantment Hate.
Quagmire Druid
Nature's Claim
Krosan Grip would be nice options. O-Ring on your Tortured Existence is bad news.

Green Splash would also contain Life From the Loam. I've tested it on workstation and its really good.


Sideboard:

4 Mesmeric Fiend
1 Fleshbag Marauder (4th for black decks)
4 Leyline of the Void or Faerie Macabre
6 Slots of Choice

If you see a lot of plansewalkers. Pack in Pithing Needles AND Vampire Hexmage, you dont care if hexmage gets countered. it kills the damn Jace right away whereas needle can get answered.


The one thing I really would like is a board sweeper. Too many creatures too fast is a problem. Damnation is worth testing i guess. Kagemaro, First to Suffer is something i would more likely test because he's worth 80 cents as opposed to 20 bucks and the deck can recur him/fetch him with Buried Alive. I'd even go as far to say that Will-O'-The-Wisp could have a place in here somewhere; it blocks any creature you can't deal with forever.

Its a fun deck that isnt too hard to learn. Its cool because its a rogue deck that many would refer to as jank that actually has more synergistic things in it than most decks ever.


EDIT: I honestly just realized how stupid Korlash, Heir To Blackblade's Granduer ability is when Tortured Existence is online

This deck is alot of fun...

but I have a question.

Has anyone tried Culling the Weak as a combo card? Play it in response to one of your EtB triggers, and get BBBB. I dunno, maybe I'm overthinking it.

Along the same line of thought, Priest of Gix? I understand he's a dead topdeck, but otherwise hes a good sac target.

I'm probably suggesting terrible things. I apologize. I'm gonna keep playing out the deck.

Regarding the graveyard struggle. Seems like you'd want to board in extirpate or leylines, then board in Null Rod if you suspect Crypt, Nihil or Relic from them. Versus opposing Leylines your only answer is likely Ratchet Bomb or Disk, and slow rolling them.