I know the gate. I am the gate. I am the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in me. I know where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where they shall break through again. I know where they have trod earth's fields, and where they still tread them, and why no one can behold them as they tread.
~H. P. Lovecraft~
So with the unbanning of bitterblossom most people were excited about faeries but what I was most interested in was playing my legacy deck in Modern. The Gate has been very good to me and generally doesn't have many bad matchups being that its gameplan is to undo yours while compounding card-advantage generating effects with cards like dark confidant and bitterblossom.
Why Play the Gate?
The Gate is an interesting deck because it combines the best of what people see in other black-centric archetypes:
1) Removal (discard and kill spells)
2) Attrition (2-for-1 effects)
2) Card Advantage (dark confidant and bitterblossom)
What do you get when you combine these? A real sweet mono black deck with a simple disruption beat-down strategy. The name of the game for "the gate" is card advantage. You want to 1-for-1 and 2-for-1 your opponent as much as humanly possible until they run out of stuff. All the while you are generating a huge advantage with cards like bitterblossom and dark confidant. This is a deck that will remind modern players that bitterblossom had a spot on the ban list for a reason - even though faeries put it there.
This deck that makes Dark Confidant shine the most out of any other I have seen because you are consistently able to set up a situation where they have to topdeck an answer for him - all the while being beaten to death by your army of dudes. In my experience playing the deck, a resolved and well timed bitterblossom and/or dark confidant is how you win. Of course, it also wins with many different combinations of beatdown and attrition. Abyssal Persecutor also does the job all by himself if left alone for a few turns. This is all made possible by forcing your opponent into topdeck mode early.
Here is a link to the Legacy Primer where you can find all sorts of history on the deck, lists, and the discussion of baseline strategy and card choices. This is a good reference to help us emulate the deck in Modern.
In order to focus our discussion of this deck, I have also tried my best to delineate the differences between The Gate and other mono black decks here:
When deck building for the gate, if you are looking at your deck and saying to yourself "dark confidant and/or bitterblossom don't quite fit" - then you are not building the gate. You are likely building a different competitive black deck.
Every thread I have ever followed draws a line in the sand about what is and what is not the deck under discussion and I believe it is time to do so. Inevitably some people will fail to see the point of doing this, but I am sure everyone can agree a focused discussion is better than all over the place. If we consider anything that has black card advantage cards in it the same, then we are opening the gates (pun intended) for any competitive black build to call this thread their home and the deck will never be taken seriously or be developed to its full potential.
So I will begin the discussion with the following definitions. This is arbitrary based on my experience and understanding of my own goals for this thread - so of course it is up for discussion and debate! I would like to begin to draw some lines...
Defining the Gate:
This deck makes Dark Confidant shine the most out of any other I have seen because you are consistently able to set up a situation where they have to topdeck an answer for him - all the while being beaten to death by your army of dudes. In my experience playing the deck, a resolved and well timed bitterblossom and/or dark confidant is how you win. Of course, it also wins with many different combinations of beatdown and attrition. Abyssal Persecutor also does the job all by himself if left alone for a few turns. This is all made possible by forcing your opponent into topdeck mode early.
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Quote from Legacy OP:
The deck generates card advantage and allows a clear opportunity to play unmatched threats while stockpiling cards, life, and creatures. By doing so, it becomes very difficult for an opponent to match this level of consistency when you repeatedly have answers for everything they try. By conducting this strategy, the deck opens itself up for so much more flexibility. Each card in the deck serves an important purpose. Black had so many good, underused things going for it. People just overlook it as being a crutch-color for decks that need combo protection or acceleration and really nothing more. With that being said, I present to you "The Gate".
I would like to emphasize that the idea is to generate card advantage through the most efficient removal spells available while sticking card advantage engines that win us the game = Dark Confidant and Bitterblossom and beating down with cards like Abyssal Persecutor.
While other black decks have a similar strategy, we all have a different way of winning the game.
The Gate:
If your primary win condition is disruption and unmatched card advantage through bitterblossom and/or dark confidant - you are likely building the gate. Phyrexian Arena does not make this list because it does not attack like the other two do. They give you card advantage and a win condition all in one. They are also both very low CMC allowing you to be more flexible with your lands. We also win with Abyssal Persecutor type dudes - big fat beaters that are very aggressively costed for the damage output they present.
Mono Black Control:
If your primary win condition is to answer every spell your opponent plays with removal until you have enough mana to beat them down with a bigger, efficient, hard to kill dude, then you are building a MBC deck. You may use Lashwrithe, Grave Titan, Phyrexian Obliterator, or Tombstalker (among other stuff) to get the job done. The primary way you draw cards is phyrexian arena. These cards are too expensive and slow for the gate.
Mono Black Devotion:
If your primary win condition is Gray Merchant of Asphodel and you pick cards (you might not otherwise pick) because they have a bunch of skulls in the upper right hand corner, then you are building a devotion deck. These decks want as many permanents as possible to up their devotion count. The Gate doesn't care about colored mana symbols - and probably wants things that have as few skulls as possible to enable us to use Mutavault and Ghost Quarter more effectively.
Mono Black Aggro Decks:
If your primary win condition is to swarm the opponent with synergistic and efficient dudes, then your deck is likely a vampire deck, zombies, or something else like it. The gate would rather spend its first 4 turns getting you into top-deck mode, controlling your hand and board, and generating card advantage than turning dudes sideways for lethal as fast as possible.
In conclusion
This has been a long post and I feel I should summarize the main point here - The Gate is its own black deck, not to be blended with existing archetypes. The Gate has a defining strategy and card pool which is very similar to, but not strictly the same as its Legacy counterpart. Because Modern is different than Legacy, the deck will have variation, and some things cannot be directly translated to the available options. Out of necessity, players of this archetype need to innovate and customize their decks while keeping the deck true to its core. The finely drawn lines above are not stated to push anyone away from this thread, but rather to focus their creative talent towards a more common goal.
This is a pretty standard mono-black gate list (with a few tweaks of my own) that you might come across in Legacy. It is easy to see that a few cards have no modern translation such as Umezawa's Jitte and Cabal Therapy (which were the most difficult to figure out) while the rest of the deck isn't too difficult.
Obviously these modern cards are not as powerful as their legacy counterparts. The important point here is that their roles can be filled or substituted with viable options legal for modern tournaments.
Leaving the following to be dealt with: Umezawa's Jitte --> At first, I figured I would throw in another sword like sword of light and shadow. Jitte's main function in the deck is to fill in the gaps that are needed at the time. Running out of life? Gain some. Need to kill things? -1/-1. Need to clock them? +2/+2. I figured that with its ability to gain life and recur gatekeeper of malakir, sword of light and shadow would be a fine replacement - and it is, but came up kind of slow. That is when I remembered that bad moon was a card printed in timespiral as a special time-shifted card. This card requires no equip cost, costs 2cmc, and works ridiculously well with bitterblossom while allowing my vampire nighthawk to evade lightning bolts. So i tried it and it worked really well.
Now I had to figure out how I was going to get the sac outlet I was missing from Cabal Therapy for Percy. I cam up with the following: Altar's Reap, Grafted Wargear, and Miren, the Moaning Well are currently the best options based on my playtesting. These cards synergize with much of the deck, while offering a great sac outlet for percy. Miren and Wargear both tend to stick around for when you need them. Another Sac outlet I have tried and had some success with is Bubbling cauldron which also gains a bunch of life with an active bitterblossom.
My list as of (7/22/15):
This list is my modern take on the Gate:
Parmaha's Decklist (3/23/14):
Parmaha's list is more like the traditional gate - effective and should be your starting point if interested in this archetype. This is well tuned and thoroughly tested by myself as well and is good starting point if you are looking to try the deck.
Building the gate:
This is an interesting part of the primer to write, because I feel that while there is quite a bit of room for play with the card base of this deck, there are a few cards that make it what it is. With that in mind, if your deck uses dark confidant and bitterblossom extensively, then you are probably posting in the right place.
Here is a complete explanation how The Gate is different from other mono black decks.
The Core:
These Cards make the deck what it is and should be at the center of your brew.
Dark Confidant (run 4)
The best black creature in the game of magic, and we can use him very effectively. Make sure not to just run him onto the board T2 without having a peek at your opponents hand first with a discard spell – this is a huge mistake. Usually I won’t play good ‘ol Bob until I have my opponent’s hand mostly empty. I almost never lose games due to his damage, and opponents who let him live hoping you will are making a really bad decision.
Bitterblossom (run 2-4)
Finally – it is legal in modern. This card produces insane card advantage and makes blue decks squirm if they don’t counter it. Usually a safe T2 play if your opponent is not playing blue, or mono-red for that matter. Keep in mind while you can get rid of a Dark Confidant when he gets to be too much, you cannot for this card. Run 2-4.
Liliana of the Veil (run 3-4)
The best black plainswalker in magic. We make a habit of using good cards in this deck. Her inclusion is mostly obvious so I won’t write a book on how great she is.
Creature Options: Gatekeeper of Malakir (run 3-4)
Simply a 2-for-1. Gatekeeper gives you a creature while removing your opponents. Keep in mind that this guy is basically costs BBB. He is only considered a 2-drop in the eyes of Bob.
Vampire Nighthawk (run 2-3)
This creature is everything you want in a 3-drop beater. Lifelink helps with our suicide strategy, Deathtouch prevents attackers, and flying helps with the beats.
Abyssal Persecutor (run2-3)
This is our finisher. His drawback isn’t difficult to deal with, and when you drop him its fun to watch your opponents eyes open a bit wider out of surprise. This guy is undervalued in modern, but we can make excellent use of him in the deck. Outside of our dedicated sac-outlets, you can use any of our removal spells to kill him (including lily’s -2).
Phyrexian Obliterator
I have tried out Phyrexian Obliterator in this deck and have found it to be lesser than Percy in my meta - but still very viable depending on your personal playstyle. The flying and trample as well as the 6 toughness make Percy the better option. He cannot be Dismembered, has a faster clock, and he flies. But, if you do like obliterator, I would recommend adding a copy of arena to your mana base
Removal Options: Inquisition of Kozilek (run 4)
The best discard spell we have access to. This card gets most of moderns spells and creatures at no cost of life.
Thoughtseize (run2-4)
This comes with a heavy cost of life, but gives our discard package reach and diversity. I wouldn’t build the deck without at least 2 copies for this reason.
Wrench Mind (run 2-3)
This is modern’s version of Hymn to Tourach – but much worse. It is still a great 2-for-1 effect, but it can be situational.
Victim of Night (run 2-4)
Removes mostly everything in modern, including your own Abyssal Persecutor. A cost of BB makes your Urborgs very handy.
Funeral Charm
This is a swiss-army-knife type of removal spell. It is very good at killing smaller creatures to make way for your big sac effects (Lily -2) and as an instant speed discard spell for your opponent's top deck at the end of their draw phase. Sometimes I just use it as a raven's crime when the opponent's hand is low to get that last card to put them into top deck mode. Most of the game, your opponent will have a swamp (thanks to Urborg) so the swampwalk is relevant as well. I no longer use this card, but it has been awesome in previous iterations of the deck.
Other Stuff Bad Moon
This was an idea I had instead of running swords - it is a 2drop (and the deck already has many three drops). There aren't be too many black creatures to worry about benefiting from your bad moon but that's a meta call (and it can always live in the SB). The only problematic card I can see right now for bad moon is opposing bitterblossoms - which I can almost garauntee you will not see right now. Thus far - I have not seen any opposing bitterblossoms at any tournament - they are very expensive and currently not favored, so no worries. Bad Moon has allowed me to win many games and even forces opponents to make awkward decisions like "Do I kill Bad Moon or Bitterblossom with my Abrupt Decay?" lol. Notably, Bad Moon also protects you from annoying cards like Electrolyze and Lightning Bolt. Post Bad Moon, a Vampire Nighthawk cannot be Bolted, and your bobs, and tokens cannot be 2-for-1'd with electrolyze type effects.
Grafted Wargear
This equipment requires no equip cost which makes it great for boosting your faeries and eventually saccing a Percy.
Lands: Ghost Quarter (run 3)
Much better than Tectonic Edge in our deck gives us an easy way to kill manlands, tron lands, utility lands.
Miren, the Moaning Well (run 1)
Sac outlet for Percy and Darck Confidant - and can gain you some life in a pinch.
Mutavault (run 3)
I would use this in any meta where you don’t need Ghost Quarters.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth (run 3-4)
Makes all of the above into swamps! Also it is good for that swampwalk clause on Funeral Charm.
Deck Weaknesses:
Leyline of Sanctity - this card is an issue, although it hasn't been seeing much play in sideboards recently. As a matter of fact, I haven's played against one since I started testing this whole idea. If it does become more frequent, then we may have to just be prepared to have some sideboard cards ready to bring in that don't target. Even still - sometimes people playing with Leyline of Sanctity mull so aggressively to get one in their opening hand that they end up doing all the "discard" for us anyway.
Late-game discard spells are not as good as early game discard spells. In the early game each discard spell may as well read "Trade the worst card in your hand for the best card in your opponent's hand." Late game, these cards are still useful for getting your opponent's reactive spells, but not as good. Topdecking them can suck at times, but its a price we pay - and I pay happily.
Loxodon Smiter, Obstinate Baloth, and Wilt-Leaf Liege. If you are playing against this kind of aggro deck, just watch out for these. If they cheat one into play on your Lily +1, that is the worst thing that can happen - hopefully you aren't open for an attack. Be aware of this possible situation and try and play around it.
Swarm decks can be tough at times if they have a really strong start. Mainly merfolk - this deck has many many dudes and sometimes even with your removal it is tough to deal with them. Sideboard in damnation and/or bile blight to combat the swarm. Their spreading seas is really good at keeping you from casting Gatekeeper of Malakir, Victim of Night, Liliana of the Veil, smallpox, and Vampire Nighthawk. Ghost quarter is oddly your best answer as you can hit your own "island" and change it back into a swamp. This turns off their island walk (you can chump with faerie tokens if needed now) and also allows you to cast your spells again.
Other Noteworthy Cards to Consider:
There are many ways you can create an efficient Aggro-Control Mono Black deck in Modern and you should brew if you have the time! All of these cards (while sometimes drastically deviating from my list) can fit into decks that I would still (sometimes loosely) consider to be the Gate. Many other posters in this thread have built variations using similar cards. Here are the major players:
Against graveyard decks:
Multiple grave strategies will become stronger without DRS (Living End, Goryo's Vengeance). Also relevant for finks and pod combo.
Suggestions? Advice? Tournament Reports? Post away!!
** Please don't spam "this isn't legacy" as an argument to not play this style deck in modern - it doesn't help develop the idea. Thanks
Last Full Update 3/23/14
Pertial update 1/11/17 - new cards from AER in primer
Legacy:B The Gate // B Pox Modern:RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox EDH:RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal Tiny Leaders:BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Having played this deck in legacy I always think this deck could easily transfer to modern but the meta is just too unforgiving to it at least in my experience. I miss cabal therapy and innocent blood too much. I finally found some luck with grafted wargear and bloodghast. It is funny watching people try to decide if it is worth killing one of those. It also makes abyssal persecutor more playable which is super sexy. Still though, I think bitterblossum may be a huge boon for it, though other decks will get huge buffs too as a result.
Also, vampire nighthawk has never done anything but eat bolts for me. If it works for you, I would be super happy as he is one of my favorite creatures.
I guess most things die to lightning bolt. Generally the way I play the deck is to discard things like lightning bolt before playing things like bob and nighthawk. Bojuka bog is there for snapcaster mage, gifts, and living end (all in my meta). I think with the unbanning of wild nacatl we will see a surge in creature heavy decks - which would make the meta more favorable for decks like this. I have always thought the discard in this deck is what makes it so good (in legacy) - it tends to rip opposing disruption and threats allowing the gate to do its thing relatively unhindered.
On a side note - with bad moon... vampire nighthawk no longer dies to lightning bolt; Bob is no longer a 2-for-1 with electrolyze; fearie tokens don't need swords to carry.
I miss legacy staples too - but its easy to look past. The only real weakness I am seeing right now in the card base are the disfigures. Any suggestions - if not its not the worst card in the world... and its replacement doesn't necessarily have to be a removal spell. Disfugure was more relevant with DRS around and it can't kill most things in zoo (big problem). A different one drop would be amazing but maybe I need to settle for something like smother...
Splashing Red would be nice for lightning bolt
Splashing green would be nice for Abrupt Decay and Maelstrom Pulse
But fetches and shocks make the deck less consistent and more of a glass cannon with the life loss... Just some ideas in my head.
Legacy:B The Gate // B Pox Modern:RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox EDH:RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal Tiny Leaders:BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Totally. Reading the hands is necessary before playing any of the creatures for sure, I just always see them top decking bolts etc... I am not claiming "he dies to ___" just saying my experience with him has been rough. I also love geralf's messenger for that three slot but he can be iffy as well.
I also think the format is going to shift to a more creature centric route which is exactly why I started commenting. I have the same hopes as you do it seems. I will probably resurrect mine for this exact reason. Only issue I have is the lifeloss with thoughtseize, bob and bb. We don't have the loss from lands but those 3 really add up without jitte. Vampire nighthawk is possible but I already said I am scared to depend on him.
I agree about disfigure though. It can seem like the best non-conditional replacement along with dismember.
I had a lot of fun with a red splash with 2-3 Blightning 4x lightning bolt.
Green made me wanna go smallpoxlife from the loam and it didn't really work, so I left it but maybe with drs gone we have some more options regardless. I think I will stay monoblack personally.
Edit: the green splash ended in a dead end tangent for me so I didn't test too much. It wasn't really the gate anymore but a smallpox deck. It could be a solid splash also if you have goyfs.
From playing the deck a little bit I did find some combination of Smallpox for the symmetrical edict effect and Bloodghast to break parity a bit better to work pretty well.
Always interesting to get the perspective of legacy players. Let's refine on that concept?
Phyrexian Oblitarator is interesting. Since you're mono-black, could you afford to run Arena? Or, if land destruction really matters, try tectonic edge? Seems better than maindecking Ghost Quarter because most modern decks actually have basics to fetch and would very much appreciate the free ramp and card advantage.
Arena - yes I can probably do 1 - I would just need to up the urborg count to 4.
I run ghost quarter over tectonic edge because of the role it fills. Im not really out to destroy lands in general - just problematic lands like manlands, nykthos, so on... Ghost quarter is faster and more "wasteland like" imo. Just a little added disruption. The idea with the gate is to force a top-deck mode asap while having out an engine like BB or bob. In this scenario manlands are an issue... Also faster against tron since having out the lands to activate a tectonic edge might mean i'm already dead... Of course this theory needs to be tested! (anyone else interested in this deck please post!)
I also thought about crusader as an option. I chose not to use it because it splits my wincons - and I don't have an excess of those.
Changing up the cardbase a ton with other viable options is definitely do-able and might be better - it just wouldn't be "the gate." I am totally open to having these discussions but they need a little more weight (like a possible decklist) in order to further our conversation.
IMO the following are good but would need a slightly different shell or could be budget options for better cards like bob:
Smallpox
Phyrexian Crusader
Bloodghast
Life from the Loam
So I did some searching and remembered that Tragic Slip was a card that might be better than Disfigure in this deck. Thoughts? Its conditions can be rather easily met in this build. Also, Vendetta was a thought - but life loss is too much imo.
Legacy:B The Gate // B Pox Modern:RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox EDH:RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal Tiny Leaders:BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Smallpox was in the original Gate lists. While some players have eschewed it for a different card it still remains good in Modern. I would think a couple Tombstalkers would be playable. You could also run Mutavault as you won't have to fear Wasteland, which was one of The Gate's biggest draws.
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In case I didn't tell you, I don't care about your opinion I just want your facts. And not the facts that make you seem smart. I want the ones that are actual facts.
Smallpox was in the original Gate lists. While some players have eschewed it for a different card it still remains good in Modern. I would think a couple Tombstalkers would be playable. You could also run Mutavault as you won't have to fear Wasteland, which was one of The Gate's biggest draws.
I haven't seen smallpox used in the Gate before personally and I can see why - it is can be rather clunky in the two drop slot. It also makes Liliana, gatekeeper, and nighthawk another turn away. With such a tight list the deck would have to add more land and probably remove the 4-drop. This starts to become a different shell altogether (other than both lists being black), however using smallpox the deck might be able to justify Abyssal Persecutor. Then again, he would also be harder to cast with the LD.
To be honest I am not sure what that deck would look like - it would be nice if someone who had a vision for that could post a hypothetical list. I feel like that deck would splash green and include other goodies like life from the loam? People in the legacy forums always argue about the gate turning into one of three things (which it is not): The Rock, Pox, and Discard. I am hoping we can avoid that here lol
Green made me wanna go smallpoxlife from the loam and it didn't really work, so I left it but maybe with drs gone we have some more options regardless. I think I will stay monoblack personally.
Edit: the green splash ended in a dead end tangent for me so I didn't test too much. It wasn't really the gate anymore but a smallpox deck. It could be a solid splash also if you have goyfs.
Seperately, I agree that Mutavault is definitely a viable option instead of ghost quarter. I guess it would depend on your meta. The extra beats would be good with all the removal this deck packs. Both are test-worthy imo!
Legacy:B The Gate // B Pox Modern:RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox EDH:RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal Tiny Leaders:BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
I agree about smallpox. The card is so sexy, but man does it make getting to our three and four drops clunky without changing the deck completely. It would likely end up a worse smallpox control. mutavault is an easy include in my opinion. Two ghostquarter might not be bad. Arena is also not terrible either and is a little nicer with BB if you go that route. Could even make this into a terrible devotion deck with Gary. But... I would prefer not to make the deck just bad.
Also, for anyone who decides to follow my mention of grafted wargear... Don't. I tried out my old build. Abrupt decay is now a card since I played it way back when. Annnnnd it dumps a gross two for one. If your meta looks clear of artifact hate then maybe but with affinity, I would avoid it. People seem to really want to test out their Jund/gbx decks right now. Just wanted to avoid any misdirection I may have caused. I'll probably try out a sword of x&y.
bone splinters is a card, also, if you really want to emulate innocent blood, but it targets so hexproof won't mind. Also, it requires payment before resolving so if they counter it, etc... You're outa luck. Remand would be gross. It is an option though. Otherwise you are stuck with slower worse cards like barter in blood. geth's verdict is decent though.
If lifeloss is a huge issue try out Death's Shadow, he can be absolutely ridiculous.
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If MTG is a part of your life, the formats are like relationships:
Standard/Block = The on-again, off-again holiday fling
Modern/Vintage/Legacy = Stable, homely. A ***** after absence/misreading
Limited/Sealed = Heart breaking free spirit
Commander/Cube = Agreeable, needy and expensive
Pauper/Peasant = Sweet, kind, practical, but shy and boring
The thing about death's shadow is, that he is just a vanilla beater when it comes down to it. You also have to be down by at least 11 for him to be efficient. This deck has a lot of issues with a token army (excluding the new drown in sorrow or infest or damnation etc...) and he can be chump blocked all day. When your life is healthy, which sometimes it will be, it is literally a dead draw. I guess it can be used for tragic slip if you wanna 2 for 1 haha.
Edit: also, I have been looking and most of the smallpox gate decks I have seen run dark ritual which I am not a fan of personally. Obviously it is not legal not to mention is a two for one which requires you get them with a solid hymn to tourach. I haven't really seen it much otherwise. I dont really see how we can count on winning without flagstones of trokair (or life from the loam) And that would require a white splash which again would morph the deck and puts us into smallpox control which has better alternatives. Not to mention it would make the phyrexian fatty almost impossible to cast without urborg. I want a consistent manabase or to use abyssal persecutor but Percy requires some cards to be printed.
People in the legacy forums always argue about the gate turning into one of three things (which it is not): The Rock, Pox, and Discard. I am hoping we can avoid that here lol
I can't speak for Legacy but my instinct is to do that as well. In MTG it has always been better to try and do one thing really well than to do a lot of things mediocre.
I can't speak for Legacy but my instinct is to do that as well. In MTG it has always been better to try and do one thing really well than to do a lot of things mediocre.
I suppose I should probably highlight what "the gate" does for people who have not experienced it in legacy. Even in Legacy there are many who would consider it a rogue deck as it doesn't see as much play as more popular archetypes.
The Gate is an interesting deck because it combines the best of what people see in other archetypes and hones it into something more:
It has some of the same disruption commonly seen in "pox" and prison style decks
It runs powerful card advantage generating effects that can be seen in "The Rock"
And finally it carries the best discard available to the format - seen in decks based around the rack.
What do you get when you combine these? A real sweet mono black deck with a simple disruption beat-down strategy. The name of the game for "the gate" is card advantage. You want to 1-for-1 and 2-for-1 your opponent as much as humanly possible until they run out of stuff. All the while you are generating a huge advantage with cards like bitterblossom and dark confidant. Below is my updated list broken down into these roles.
This is the deck that makes Dark Confidant shine the most out of any other deck I have seen because you are frequently able to set up a situation where they have to topdeck an answer for him - all the while being beaten to death by your army of black dudes. In my experience playing the deck, a resolved and well timed bitterblossom and/or dark confidant is how you win - of course it also wins with many combinations of beatdown and disruption.
In legacy, leyline of sanctity isn't so much of a problem due to Dystopia in the sb. Right now, leyline is not so much of an issue in the current modern meta - but if it becomes one, we will need to splash green for maelstrom pulse or keep non-targeting stuff in the sb to switch out. I am sure memorylapse can attest to this as it has been discussed often enough in the 8-rack thread.
Some things I would like to discuss for this deck soon (I don't want to clog up the forum with a book here)
-matchups and sideboard options
-testing information (any other people willing to give this a try?)
-with more testing information, we can work out an optimal build with variants (green splash probably)
Legacy:B The Gate // B Pox Modern:RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox EDH:RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal Tiny Leaders:BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
The thing about death's shadow is, that he is just a vanilla beater when it comes down to it. You also have to be down by at least 11 for him to be efficient. This deck has a lot of issues with a token army (excluding the new drown in sorrow or infest or damnation etc...) and he can be chump blocked all day. When your life is healthy, which sometimes it will be, it is literally a dead draw. I guess it can be used for tragic slip if you wanna 2 for 1 haha.
Edit: also, I have been looking and most of the smallpox gate decks I have seen run dark ritual which I am not a fan of personally. Obviously it is not legal not to mention is a two for one which requires you get them with a solid hymn to tourach. I haven't really seen it much otherwise. I dont really see how we can count on winning without flagstones of trokair (or life from the loam) And that would require a white splash which again would morph the deck and puts us into smallpox control which has better alternatives. Not to mention it would make the phyrexian fatty almost impossible to cast without urborg. I want a consistent manabase or to use abyssal persecutor but Percy requires some cards to be printed.
The funny thing about this deck is if you are doing more damage to yourself than your opponent - you are winning. Death's Shadow is interesting but it does have some serious drawbacks and consistency issues. A very specific version of this deck using Death's Shadow is maybe possible, but would need a ton of work and testing by someone dedicated and creative.
The original Legacy Gate does not run cards like dark ritual because instead of 2-for-1ing your opponent you are essentially doing that to yourself. Even if dark ritual was legal in modern (never) I would not use it in this deck. As a general rule of thumb, cards for consideration in the gate must either be a 1-for-1 effect, a 2-for-1 effect, black beats, or some other sort of engine card (I am looking at you "Waste Not").
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Legacy:B The Gate // B Pox Modern:RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox EDH:RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal Tiny Leaders:BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
I've thought about playing the gate in modern, but I don't think it's possible without jitte and cabal therapy. Those two are what made bitterblossom such a powerhouse...
I've thought about playing the gate in modern, but I don't think it's possible without jitte and cabal therapy. Those two are what made bitterblossom such a powerhouse...
Jitte is Jitte and Cabal Therapy is synergistic with the legacy deck yeah. "Legacy cards are better than modern cards" is not really a viable or constructive argument.
Also, Cabal therapy is most often the card that makes Abyssal Persecutor playable, not bitterblossom. Usually you opponent has no hand by the time you have a bitterblossom token out and can use the cabal therapy.
Not a big deal, but please try to refrain from these types of comments.
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Legacy:B The Gate // B Pox Modern:RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox EDH:RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal Tiny Leaders:BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Most of the time Vendetta may be better than an option like Dismember. A build utilizing Death's Shadow and similar effects really likes this card. Pure suicide black!
So far in the one drop removal slot we have a few viable options:
Legacy:B The Gate // B Pox Modern:RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox EDH:RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal Tiny Leaders:BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
I like the direction in which this deck is going and I see Percy being mentioned a few times. Grafted Wargear and Bone Splinters with Percy is interesting, but as you mentioned earlier, it doesn't really suit the theme of the deck's 2-for-1. Bloodghast is pretty great value if you decide to run any fetch lands and Vampire Hexmage can be some cute sideboard tech. I'm not entirely convinced on the Vampire Nighthawk seeing as how he is a prime Lightning Bolt target.
Okay so the following isn't the direction I want to take this deck but its a brew I made recently and I feel its worth a mention for those of you wanting to play something different including stuff like loam, pox, and bloodghast.
This deck is a serious attrition deck with a bunch of life loss. Hopefully the disruption would be too much for your opponent to handle so your own life loss is irrelevant. This sort of strategy might deserve a separate thread (or belong in one) but I though I would throw a bone to the people wanting to use this card pool.
*Disclaimer - This mana base is likely not optimized, kind of threw it together quickly. If someone has insight on that it would be much appreciated.
Interactions:
Generally you would want to use symmetrical sac effects with recursion to gain an advantage
Legacy:B The Gate // B Pox Modern:RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox EDH:RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal Tiny Leaders:BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
SO I haven't had a bunch of time to test with another person, but I was able to do a fair amount of solitaire. The following list is what I am going with for now. I will be taking this to two modern tournaments next week and I will post the results here as well.
Things I noticed in solitaire:
Bad Moon seems really good with bitterblossom. I kept several 1-landers because of all the 1-drops and was rarely punished harshly for it - meaning I had tons of stuff to do until I drew my land. Occasionally, but not often was I mana screwed due to colorless mana sources (by screw I mean unable to cast a kicked gatekeeper or obliterator when I wanted to). Multiple Urborg Draws didn't seem to hurt at all and weren't frequent. 22 Lands seems right, only had to mull to 5 once in about 15 draws. Hands with no T1 discard are disappointing. Funeral Charm seems good for the instant discard late game at the end of the opponents draw step.
I was thinking about the 1-drop creature removal slot and I decided on the above because it is the most versitile IMO. The deck has so much dedicated removal these cards might be helpful in various situations and they still kill most things (outside of zoo) T1 now that DRS is gone. So many relevant creatures with 1 toughness in modern...
Mutavault is probably better than Ghost Quarter (of course I couldn't tell playing by myself for sure lol). Not sure how the meta is going to shift, but if we see domain zoo it might be more relevant to play 4x Ghost Quarter main.
Edit - Updated list.
-1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, +1 Bitterblossom (after fishbowling anohter 20 or so hands I was drawing them too often although it wasn't really a big deal. Might still be right to have 4).
-1 Surgical Extraction, +1 Extirpate (Split second, life loss).
Did math... Avg CMC of cards for a bob flip in this deck is 1.31
Legacy:B The Gate // B Pox Modern:RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox EDH:RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal Tiny Leaders:BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
That was my point about smallpox, sorry. I was just saying that I had never seen that particular card in legacy Gate except with use of dark ritual. Showing it is not so hot through the use of a one time card disadvantage like dark ritual.
As for the pox list, that is a pretty interesting list. The crack the earth is a card I have never seen before. Kinda wanna try it out with young pyromancer. Seems potentially legit or it could just wiff getting a token off their side as well. The list does feel like a smallpox control though, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Haha.
Also, deathmark is amazing in my meta. I have killed so many deathrites (though he is now banned), goyfs, and general cards from pod. Idk if it is maindeckable but it is a one mana option if you are looking for more.
After testing of mono-black, I think it is really possible without a splash depending on your meta but a splash would definitely help. Geralf's messenger was a boss. I was playing abyssal persecutor and having geralf come in and do the last two-5 damage not done from their land base and a my usual 1-2 Percy swings. Tough thing is finding a decent enough sac outlet. Top decked opponent's path to exile on Percy hurt so badly though. I have a lot of trouble having faith in good ole Percy these days. Ironically enough I never had an issue getting rid of him though despite cutting most of the sac outlets prior to playing. wrench mind wrecked face. No affinity played but it was so good feeling to play. I tested with a single sword of body and mind and actually kinda liked it... (It was the only sword I had on me at the time to swap in for the grafted wargear. Mill never came into play but the extra token and the green protection definitely did. Not sure if it is good enough regardless just ended up being kinda lucky. RWU control was the deck that broke mine apart though. I stomped on a burn deck and melira pod through lucky lucky discard. Kinda felt like I was playing 8 rack. Still 3/4 is not bad against all t1 decks with ok-decent players.
The reason I don't like death's shadow is simply because if you are at 10 health, he is a 3/3. At 8 health he becomes an actual threat but he is chumpblockable. Not to mention, you are in the red zone for double bolt (or other burn) with a critter swing. Burn has had a pretty good resurgence lately with skullcrack etc in my meta. He just feels like a too-conditional undercosted fatty. I feel like suicide black has died down for a reason, unfortunately as I LOVED that deck. Aside from cool combos with phyrexian unlife he is just a dead draw in most games.
With all the discard we have, I don't think burn really has a chance. Especially since we don't play fetches or shocks. It is a good idea if you go a more suicide route though.
@Parmaha
Can you post your list? I'm sure we would all like to see it. Also, I agree on Death's Shadow -different deck entirely and probably not even remotely worth it. I posted the pox list here to show how different a deck that card pool is - definitely not the gate, but still a viable option for people looking to play it. I haven't tested that list at all, but I will (if) I ever get tired of this project - not likely. Can you post a more detailed breakdown of your UWR matchup? I figured they would be a tougher matchup...
@Ghorak Sun Droplet... I like it! I didn't even realize it existed. Burn was always a bad matchup for me in legacy with this deck - all the life loss just makes their job easy even if we do discard a lot. Legacy burn is infinitely better than modern burn though. Luckily I don't see much burn in modern in my meta.
Legacy:B The Gate // B Pox Modern:RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox EDH:RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal Tiny Leaders:BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
The Gate
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
~H. P. Lovecraft~
So with the unbanning of bitterblossom most people were excited about faeries but what I was most interested in was playing my legacy deck in Modern. The Gate has been very good to me and generally doesn't have many bad matchups being that its gameplan is to undo yours while compounding card-advantage generating effects with cards like dark confidant and bitterblossom.
Why Play the Gate?
1) Removal (discard and kill spells)
2) Attrition (2-for-1 effects)
2) Card Advantage (dark confidant and bitterblossom)
What do you get when you combine these? A real sweet mono black deck with a simple disruption beat-down strategy. The name of the game for "the gate" is card advantage. You want to 1-for-1 and 2-for-1 your opponent as much as humanly possible until they run out of stuff. All the while you are generating a huge advantage with cards like bitterblossom and dark confidant. This is a deck that will remind modern players that bitterblossom had a spot on the ban list for a reason - even though faeries put it there.
This deck that makes Dark Confidant shine the most out of any other I have seen because you are consistently able to set up a situation where they have to topdeck an answer for him - all the while being beaten to death by your army of dudes. In my experience playing the deck, a resolved and well timed bitterblossom and/or dark confidant is how you win. Of course, it also wins with many different combinations of beatdown and attrition. Abyssal Persecutor also does the job all by himself if left alone for a few turns. This is all made possible by forcing your opponent into topdeck mode early.
Here is a link to the Legacy Primer where you can find all sorts of history on the deck, lists, and the discussion of baseline strategy and card choices. This is a good reference to help us emulate the deck in Modern.
In order to focus our discussion of this deck, I have also tried my best to delineate the differences between The Gate and other mono black decks here:
Every thread I have ever followed draws a line in the sand about what is and what is not the deck under discussion and I believe it is time to do so. Inevitably some people will fail to see the point of doing this, but I am sure everyone can agree a focused discussion is better than all over the place. If we consider anything that has black card advantage cards in it the same, then we are opening the gates (pun intended) for any competitive black build to call this thread their home and the deck will never be taken seriously or be developed to its full potential.
So I will begin the discussion with the following definitions. This is arbitrary based on my experience and understanding of my own goals for this thread - so of course it is up for discussion and debate! I would like to begin to draw some lines...
Defining the Gate:
This deck makes Dark Confidant shine the most out of any other I have seen because you are consistently able to set up a situation where they have to topdeck an answer for him - all the while being beaten to death by your army of dudes. In my experience playing the deck, a resolved and well timed bitterblossom and/or dark confidant is how you win. Of course, it also wins with many different combinations of beatdown and attrition. Abyssal Persecutor also does the job all by himself if left alone for a few turns. This is all made possible by forcing your opponent into topdeck mode early.
[/quote]
Quote from Legacy OP:
I would like to emphasize that the idea is to generate card advantage through the most efficient removal spells available while sticking card advantage engines that win us the game = Dark Confidant and Bitterblossom and beating down with cards like Abyssal Persecutor.
While other black decks have a similar strategy, we all have a different way of winning the game.
The Gate:
If your primary win condition is disruption and unmatched card advantage through bitterblossom and/or dark confidant - you are likely building the gate. Phyrexian Arena does not make this list because it does not attack like the other two do. They give you card advantage and a win condition all in one. They are also both very low CMC allowing you to be more flexible with your lands. We also win with Abyssal Persecutor type dudes - big fat beaters that are very aggressively costed for the damage output they present.
Mono Black Control:
If your primary win condition is to answer every spell your opponent plays with removal until you have enough mana to beat them down with a bigger, efficient, hard to kill dude, then you are building a MBC deck. You may use Lashwrithe, Grave Titan, Phyrexian Obliterator, or Tombstalker (among other stuff) to get the job done. The primary way you draw cards is phyrexian arena. These cards are too expensive and slow for the gate.
Mono Black Devotion:
If your primary win condition is Gray Merchant of Asphodel and you pick cards (you might not otherwise pick) because they have a bunch of skulls in the upper right hand corner, then you are building a devotion deck. These decks want as many permanents as possible to up their devotion count. The Gate doesn't care about colored mana symbols - and probably wants things that have as few skulls as possible to enable us to use Mutavault and Ghost Quarter more effectively.
Mono Black Aggro Decks:
If your primary win condition is to swarm the opponent with synergistic and efficient dudes, then your deck is likely a vampire deck, zombies, or something else like it. The gate would rather spend its first 4 turns getting you into top-deck mode, controlling your hand and board, and generating card advantage than turning dudes sideways for lethal as fast as possible.
In conclusion
This has been a long post and I feel I should summarize the main point here - The Gate is its own black deck, not to be blended with existing archetypes. The Gate has a defining strategy and card pool which is very similar to, but not strictly the same as its Legacy counterpart. Because Modern is different than Legacy, the deck will have variation, and some things cannot be directly translated to the available options. Out of necessity, players of this archetype need to innovate and customize their decks while keeping the deck true to its core. The finely drawn lines above are not stated to push anyone away from this thread, but rather to focus their creative talent towards a more common goal.
The Modern Transformation:
4x Dark Confidant
3x Bitterblossom
3x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Vampire Nighthawk
3x Abyssal Persecutor
Spells:
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Cabal Therapy
3x Thoughtseize
2x Hymn to Tourach
4x Innocent Blood
2x Victim of Night
3x Liliana of the Veil
2x Umezawa's Jitte
3x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2x Bojuka Bog
1x Volrath's Stronghold
4x Wasteland
11x Swamp
This is a pretty standard mono-black gate list (with a few tweaks of my own) that you might come across in Legacy. It is easy to see that a few cards have no modern translation such as Umezawa's Jitte and Cabal Therapy (which were the most difficult to figure out) while the rest of the deck isn't too difficult.
Originally I saw these easy translations:
Wasteland --> Ghost Quarter
Innocent Blood --> Funeral Charm
Hymn to Tourach --> Wrench Mind
and the rest is the same!
Obviously these modern cards are not as powerful as their legacy counterparts. The important point here is that their roles can be filled or substituted with viable options legal for modern tournaments.
Leaving the following to be dealt with:
Umezawa's Jitte --> At first, I figured I would throw in another sword like sword of light and shadow. Jitte's main function in the deck is to fill in the gaps that are needed at the time. Running out of life? Gain some. Need to kill things? -1/-1. Need to clock them? +2/+2. I figured that with its ability to gain life and recur gatekeeper of malakir, sword of light and shadow would be a fine replacement - and it is, but came up kind of slow. That is when I remembered that bad moon was a card printed in timespiral as a special time-shifted card. This card requires no equip cost, costs 2cmc, and works ridiculously well with bitterblossom while allowing my vampire nighthawk to evade lightning bolts. So i tried it and it worked really well.
Now I had to figure out how I was going to get the sac outlet I was missing from Cabal Therapy for Percy. I cam up with the following: Altar's Reap, Grafted Wargear, and Miren, the Moaning Well are currently the best options based on my playtesting. These cards synergize with much of the deck, while offering a great sac outlet for percy. Miren and Wargear both tend to stick around for when you need them. Another Sac outlet I have tried and had some success with is Bubbling cauldron which also gains a bunch of life with an active bitterblossom.
My list as of (7/22/15):
This list is my modern take on the Gate:
4x Vault Skirge
2x Brain Maggot
4x Dark Confidant
3x Bitterblossom
2x Pack Rat
3x Gatekeeper of Malakir
3x Abyssal Persecutor
Spells (17):
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Thoughtseize
2x Victim of Night
2x Ultimate Price
1x Altar's Reap
2x Grafted Wargear
3x Liliana of the Veil
2x Bojuka Bog
3x Ghost Quarter
3x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Miren, the Moaning Well
13x Swamp
3x Fulminator Mage
2x Pithing Needle
2x Bile Blight
1x Drown in Sorrow
1x Pithing Needle
3x Ratchet Bomb
2x Wrench Mind
Parmaha's Decklist (3/23/14):
Parmaha's list is more like the traditional gate - effective and should be your starting point if interested in this archetype. This is well tuned and thoroughly tested by myself as well and is good starting point if you are looking to try the deck.
4x Dark Confidant
4x Liliana of the Veil
4x Bitterblossom
Spells (17):
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Thoughtseize
2x Funeral Charm
4x Victim of Night
3x Wrench Mind
3x Gatekeeper of Malakir
3x Vampire Nighthawk
3x Abyssal Persecutor
Mana (22):
3x Mutavault
3x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Miren, the Moaning Well
15x Swamp
4x Extirpate
2x Damnation
2x Pithing Needle
2x Bile Blight
3x Deathmark
2x Torpor Orb
So...
These new releases from AER will change the options and outlook for this deck. - Brew on!
Here is my current list (2/2/17)
1x Hangarback Walker
3x Bloodghast
4x Dark Confidant
2x Gatekeeper of Malakir
1x Pack Rat
2x Bitterblossom
1x Yahenni, Undying Partisan
3x Abyssal Persecutor
1x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
Spells (20):
4x Fatal Push
1x Funeral Charm
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Thoughtseize
1x Grim Discovery
4x Smallpox
4x Liliana of the Veil
3x Ghost Quarter
1x Miren, the Moaning Well
9x Swamp
3x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
4x Polluted Delta
1x Bloodstained Mire
2x Illness in the ranks
1x Pithing Needle
1x Collective Brutality
1x Imp's Mischief
2x Ratchet Bomb
2x Torpor Orb
1x Lost Legacy
3x Leyline of the Void
2x Yahenni's Expertise
Building the gate:
This is an interesting part of the primer to write, because I feel that while there is quite a bit of room for play with the card base of this deck, there are a few cards that make it what it is. With that in mind, if your deck uses dark confidant and bitterblossom extensively, then you are probably posting in the right place.
Here is a complete explanation how The Gate is different from other mono black decks.
These Cards make the deck what it is and should be at the center of your brew.
Dark Confidant (run 4)
The best black creature in the game of magic, and we can use him very effectively. Make sure not to just run him onto the board T2 without having a peek at your opponents hand first with a discard spell – this is a huge mistake. Usually I won’t play good ‘ol Bob until I have my opponent’s hand mostly empty. I almost never lose games due to his damage, and opponents who let him live hoping you will are making a really bad decision.
Bitterblossom (run 2-4)
Finally – it is legal in modern. This card produces insane card advantage and makes blue decks squirm if they don’t counter it. Usually a safe T2 play if your opponent is not playing blue, or mono-red for that matter. Keep in mind while you can get rid of a Dark Confidant when he gets to be too much, you cannot for this card. Run 2-4.
Liliana of the Veil (run 3-4)
The best black plainswalker in magic. We make a habit of using good cards in this deck. Her inclusion is mostly obvious so I won’t write a book on how great she is.
Creature Options:
Gatekeeper of Malakir (run 3-4)
Simply a 2-for-1. Gatekeeper gives you a creature while removing your opponents. Keep in mind that this guy is basically costs BBB. He is only considered a 2-drop in the eyes of Bob.
Vampire Nighthawk (run 2-3)
This creature is everything you want in a 3-drop beater. Lifelink helps with our suicide strategy, Deathtouch prevents attackers, and flying helps with the beats.
Abyssal Persecutor (run2-3)
This is our finisher. His drawback isn’t difficult to deal with, and when you drop him its fun to watch your opponents eyes open a bit wider out of surprise. This guy is undervalued in modern, but we can make excellent use of him in the deck. Outside of our dedicated sac-outlets, you can use any of our removal spells to kill him (including lily’s -2).
Phyrexian Obliterator
I have tried out Phyrexian Obliterator in this deck and have found it to be lesser than Percy in my meta - but still very viable depending on your personal playstyle. The flying and trample as well as the 6 toughness make Percy the better option. He cannot be Dismembered, has a faster clock, and he flies. But, if you do like obliterator, I would recommend adding a copy of arena to your mana base
Other Creatures to consider:
Pack Rat
Vault Skirge
Brain Maggot
Bloodghast
Oona’s Prowler
Phyrexian Obliterator
Removal Options:
Inquisition of Kozilek (run 4)
The best discard spell we have access to. This card gets most of moderns spells and creatures at no cost of life.
Thoughtseize (run2-4)
This comes with a heavy cost of life, but gives our discard package reach and diversity. I wouldn’t build the deck without at least 2 copies for this reason.
Wrench Mind (run 2-3)
This is modern’s version of Hymn to Tourach – but much worse. It is still a great 2-for-1 effect, but it can be situational.
Victim of Night (run 2-4)
Removes mostly everything in modern, including your own Abyssal Persecutor. A cost of BB makes your Urborgs very handy.
Funeral Charm
This is a swiss-army-knife type of removal spell. It is very good at killing smaller creatures to make way for your big sac effects (Lily -2) and as an instant speed discard spell for your opponent's top deck at the end of their draw phase. Sometimes I just use it as a raven's crime when the opponent's hand is low to get that last card to put them into top deck mode. Most of the game, your opponent will have a swamp (thanks to Urborg) so the swampwalk is relevant as well. I no longer use this card, but it has been awesome in previous iterations of the deck.
Other Removal Options:
Despise
Duress
Blackmail (budget reasons)
Disfigure
Tragic Slip
Smother
Doom Blade (not good with the amount of Tasigurs running around currently)
Go for the Throat
Geth’s Verdict (great option if you are not facing down a swarm – kills Emrakul).
Other Stuff
Bad Moon
This was an idea I had instead of running swords - it is a 2drop (and the deck already has many three drops). There aren't be too many black creatures to worry about benefiting from your bad moon but that's a meta call (and it can always live in the SB). The only problematic card I can see right now for bad moon is opposing bitterblossoms - which I can almost garauntee you will not see right now. Thus far - I have not seen any opposing bitterblossoms at any tournament - they are very expensive and currently not favored, so no worries. Bad Moon has allowed me to win many games and even forces opponents to make awkward decisions like "Do I kill Bad Moon or Bitterblossom with my Abrupt Decay?" lol. Notably, Bad Moon also protects you from annoying cards like Electrolyze and Lightning Bolt. Post Bad Moon, a Vampire Nighthawk cannot be Bolted, and your bobs, and tokens cannot be 2-for-1'd with electrolyze type effects.
Grafted Wargear
This equipment requires no equip cost which makes it great for boosting your faeries and eventually saccing a Percy.
Altar's Reap
Sword of Light and Shadow
Lands:
Ghost Quarter (run 3)
Much better than Tectonic Edge in our deck gives us an easy way to kill manlands, tron lands, utility lands.
Miren, the Moaning Well (run 1)
Sac outlet for Percy and Darck Confidant - and can gain you some life in a pinch.
Mutavault (run 3)
I would use this in any meta where you don’t need Ghost Quarters.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth (run 3-4)
Makes all of the above into swamps! Also it is good for that swampwalk clause on Funeral Charm.
Late-game discard spells are not as good as early game discard spells. In the early game each discard spell may as well read "Trade the worst card in your hand for the best card in your opponent's hand." Late game, these cards are still useful for getting your opponent's reactive spells, but not as good. Topdecking them can suck at times, but its a price we pay - and I pay happily.
Loxodon Smiter, Obstinate Baloth, and Wilt-Leaf Liege. If you are playing against this kind of aggro deck, just watch out for these. If they cheat one into play on your Lily +1, that is the worst thing that can happen - hopefully you aren't open for an attack. Be aware of this possible situation and try and play around it.
Swarm decks can be tough at times if they have a really strong start. Mainly merfolk - this deck has many many dudes and sometimes even with your removal it is tough to deal with them. Sideboard in damnation and/or bile blight to combat the swarm. Their spreading seas is really good at keeping you from casting Gatekeeper of Malakir, Victim of Night, Liliana of the Veil, smallpox, and Vampire Nighthawk. Ghost quarter is oddly your best answer as you can hit your own "island" and change it back into a swamp. This turns off their island walk (you can chump with faerie tokens if needed now) and also allows you to cast your spells again.
Other Noteworthy Cards to Consider:
Creatures:
Stuff:
Removal:
Lands:
Possible Sideboard Options:
These lists are of possible options and are not meant to be a complete side-boarding guide.
Against Zoo:
I feel like anything over 2cmc is too slow
bile blight
Against graveyard decks:
Multiple grave strategies will become stronger without DRS (Living End, Goryo's Vengeance). Also relevant for finks and pod combo.
Grafdigger's Cage
Nihil Spellbomb
Crypt Incursion
Leyline of the Void
Against Affinity:
Not sure how this matchup would go, Bitterblossom might stop them pretty good.
Smother
Damping Matrix
Darkblast
Pithing Needle
Against Tron:
Not too worried with all the discard we have, but still.
Fulminator Mage
Against Burn
Extirpate
Sun Droplet
Crypt Incursion
Whip of Erebos
Against Midrange
UWR, Abzan, & Jund - I feel like midrange has a disadvantage against us. I wouldn't dedicate cards for this MU personally.
Grafdiggers Cage (Snapcaster)
Relic of Progenitus (goyf, Scooze, and snapcaster)
Nihil Spellbomb
Leyline of the Void
Against Control
Again, another MU I wouldn't dedicate cards for personally
Pithing Needle (manlands and PWs)
Sadistic Sacrament
Memoricide
Bile Blight
Against Merfolk:
Pithing Needle
Damnation
Suggestions? Advice? Tournament Reports? Post away!!
** Please don't spam "this isn't legacy" as an argument to not play this style deck in modern - it doesn't help develop the idea. Thanks
Last Full Update 3/23/14
Pertial update 1/11/17 - new cards from AER in primer
Modern: RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox
EDH: RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal
Tiny Leaders: BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Projects:
Gisa and Geralf Extreme-Tribal EDH
Esper Eldrazi Processor Control
Brewing with Kuldotha Forgemaster
Primer: "The Gate" - Mono Black in Modern
Modern Prison Pox - building a better plague
On a side note - with bad moon... vampire nighthawk no longer dies to lightning bolt; Bob is no longer a 2-for-1 with electrolyze; fearie tokens don't need swords to carry.
I miss legacy staples too - but its easy to look past. The only real weakness I am seeing right now in the card base are the disfigures. Any suggestions - if not its not the worst card in the world... and its replacement doesn't necessarily have to be a removal spell. Disfugure was more relevant with DRS around and it can't kill most things in zoo (big problem). A different one drop would be amazing but maybe I need to settle for something like smother...
Splashing Red would be nice for lightning bolt
Splashing green would be nice for Abrupt Decay and Maelstrom Pulse
But fetches and shocks make the deck less consistent and more of a glass cannon with the life loss... Just some ideas in my head.
Modern: RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox
EDH: RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal
Tiny Leaders: BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Projects:
Gisa and Geralf Extreme-Tribal EDH
Esper Eldrazi Processor Control
Brewing with Kuldotha Forgemaster
Primer: "The Gate" - Mono Black in Modern
Modern Prison Pox - building a better plague
I also think the format is going to shift to a more creature centric route which is exactly why I started commenting. I have the same hopes as you do it seems. I will probably resurrect mine for this exact reason. Only issue I have is the lifeloss with thoughtseize, bob and bb. We don't have the loss from lands but those 3 really add up without jitte. Vampire nighthawk is possible but I already said I am scared to depend on him.
I agree about disfigure though. It can seem like the best non-conditional replacement along with dismember.
I had a lot of fun with a red splash with 2-3 Blightning 4x lightning bolt.
Green made me wanna go smallpox life from the loam and it didn't really work, so I left it but maybe with drs gone we have some more options regardless. I think I will stay monoblack personally.
Edit: the green splash ended in a dead end tangent for me so I didn't test too much. It wasn't really the gate anymore but a smallpox deck. It could be a solid splash also if you have goyfs.
Phyrexian Oblitarator is interesting. Since you're mono-black, could you afford to run Arena? Or, if land destruction really matters, try tectonic edge? Seems better than maindecking Ghost Quarter because most modern decks actually have basics to fetch and would very much appreciate the free ramp and card advantage.
As for Vampire Nighthawk, I actually like Phyrexian Crusader more. It's an out against infinite life and blanks a ton of removal.
Arena - yes I can probably do 1 - I would just need to up the urborg count to 4.
I run ghost quarter over tectonic edge because of the role it fills. Im not really out to destroy lands in general - just problematic lands like manlands, nykthos, so on... Ghost quarter is faster and more "wasteland like" imo. Just a little added disruption. The idea with the gate is to force a top-deck mode asap while having out an engine like BB or bob. In this scenario manlands are an issue... Also faster against tron since having out the lands to activate a tectonic edge might mean i'm already dead... Of course this theory needs to be tested! (anyone else interested in this deck please post!)
I also thought about crusader as an option. I chose not to use it because it splits my wincons - and I don't have an excess of those.
Changing up the cardbase a ton with other viable options is definitely do-able and might be better - it just wouldn't be "the gate." I am totally open to having these discussions but they need a little more weight (like a possible decklist) in order to further our conversation.
IMO the following are good but would need a slightly different shell or could be budget options for better cards like bob:
Smallpox
Phyrexian Crusader
Bloodghast
Life from the Loam
So I did some searching and remembered that Tragic Slip was a card that might be better than Disfigure in this deck. Thoughts? Its conditions can be rather easily met in this build. Also, Vendetta was a thought - but life loss is too much imo.
Modern: RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox
EDH: RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal
Tiny Leaders: BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Projects:
Gisa and Geralf Extreme-Tribal EDH
Esper Eldrazi Processor Control
Brewing with Kuldotha Forgemaster
Primer: "The Gate" - Mono Black in Modern
Modern Prison Pox - building a better plague
Cockatrice username: Blackcat77
I haven't seen smallpox used in the Gate before personally and I can see why - it is can be rather clunky in the two drop slot. It also makes Liliana, gatekeeper, and nighthawk another turn away. With such a tight list the deck would have to add more land and probably remove the 4-drop. This starts to become a different shell altogether (other than both lists being black), however using smallpox the deck might be able to justify Abyssal Persecutor. Then again, he would also be harder to cast with the LD.
To be honest I am not sure what that deck would look like - it would be nice if someone who had a vision for that could post a hypothetical list. I feel like that deck would splash green and include other goodies like life from the loam? People in the legacy forums always argue about the gate turning into one of three things (which it is not): The Rock, Pox, and Discard. I am hoping we can avoid that here lol
Parmaha sums it up pretty well here:
Seperately, I agree that Mutavault is definitely a viable option instead of ghost quarter. I guess it would depend on your meta. The extra beats would be good with all the removal this deck packs. Both are test-worthy imo!
Tombstalker + Dark Confidant?
"I too like to live dangerously..." - Austin Powers
Modern: RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox
EDH: RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal
Tiny Leaders: BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Projects:
Gisa and Geralf Extreme-Tribal EDH
Esper Eldrazi Processor Control
Brewing with Kuldotha Forgemaster
Primer: "The Gate" - Mono Black in Modern
Modern Prison Pox - building a better plague
Also, for anyone who decides to follow my mention of grafted wargear... Don't. I tried out my old build. Abrupt decay is now a card since I played it way back when. Annnnnd it dumps a gross two for one. If your meta looks clear of artifact hate then maybe but with affinity, I would avoid it. People seem to really want to test out their Jund/gbx decks right now. Just wanted to avoid any misdirection I may have caused. I'll probably try out a sword of x&y.
bone splinters is a card, also, if you really want to emulate innocent blood, but it targets so hexproof won't mind. Also, it requires payment before resolving so if they counter it, etc... You're outa luck. Remand would be gross. It is an option though. Otherwise you are stuck with slower worse cards like barter in blood. geth's verdict is decent though.
Standard/Block = The on-again, off-again holiday fling
Modern/Vintage/Legacy = Stable, homely. A ***** after absence/misreading
Limited/Sealed = Heart breaking free spirit
Commander/Cube = Agreeable, needy and expensive
Pauper/Peasant = Sweet, kind, practical, but shy and boring
Edit: also, I have been looking and most of the smallpox gate decks I have seen run dark ritual which I am not a fan of personally. Obviously it is not legal not to mention is a two for one which requires you get them with a solid hymn to tourach. I haven't really seen it much otherwise. I dont really see how we can count on winning without flagstones of trokair (or life from the loam) And that would require a white splash which again would morph the deck and puts us into smallpox control which has better alternatives. Not to mention it would make the phyrexian fatty almost impossible to cast without urborg. I want a consistent manabase or to use abyssal persecutor but Percy requires some cards to be printed.
I can't speak for Legacy but my instinct is to do that as well. In MTG it has always been better to try and do one thing really well than to do a lot of things mediocre.
I suppose I should probably highlight what "the gate" does for people who have not experienced it in legacy. Even in Legacy there are many who would consider it a rogue deck as it doesn't see as much play as more popular archetypes.
The Gate is an interesting deck because it combines the best of what people see in other archetypes and hones it into something more:
It has some of the same disruption commonly seen in "pox" and prison style decks
It runs powerful card advantage generating effects that can be seen in "The Rock"
And finally it carries the best discard available to the format - seen in decks based around the rack.
What do you get when you combine these? A real sweet mono black deck with a simple disruption beat-down strategy. The name of the game for "the gate" is card advantage. You want to 1-for-1 and 2-for-1 your opponent as much as humanly possible until they run out of stuff. All the while you are generating a huge advantage with cards like bitterblossom and dark confidant. Below is my updated list broken down into these roles.
4x Thoughtseize
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Disfigure
2x Tragic Slip
2x Victim of Night
4x Ghost Quarter
4x Gatekeeper of Malakir
3x Wrench Mind
3x Liliana of the Veil
Card Advantage Engines:
3x Bitterblossom
4x Dark Confidant
Win conditions (the beats):
2x Bad Moon
3x Vampire Nighthawk
2x Phyrexian Obliterator
1x Arena
2x Bojuka Bog
11x Swamp
4x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
This is the deck that makes Dark Confidant shine the most out of any other deck I have seen because you are frequently able to set up a situation where they have to topdeck an answer for him - all the while being beaten to death by your army of black dudes. In my experience playing the deck, a resolved and well timed bitterblossom and/or dark confidant is how you win - of course it also wins with many combinations of beatdown and disruption.
In legacy, leyline of sanctity isn't so much of a problem due to Dystopia in the sb. Right now, leyline is not so much of an issue in the current modern meta - but if it becomes one, we will need to splash green for maelstrom pulse or keep non-targeting stuff in the sb to switch out. I am sure memorylapse can attest to this as it has been discussed often enough in the 8-rack thread.
Some things I would like to discuss for this deck soon (I don't want to clog up the forum with a book here)
-matchups and sideboard options
-testing information (any other people willing to give this a try?)
-with more testing information, we can work out an optimal build with variants (green splash probably)
Modern: RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox
EDH: RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal
Tiny Leaders: BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Projects:
Gisa and Geralf Extreme-Tribal EDH
Esper Eldrazi Processor Control
Brewing with Kuldotha Forgemaster
Primer: "The Gate" - Mono Black in Modern
Modern Prison Pox - building a better plague
The funny thing about this deck is if you are doing more damage to yourself than your opponent - you are winning. Death's Shadow is interesting but it does have some serious drawbacks and consistency issues. A very specific version of this deck using Death's Shadow is maybe possible, but would need a ton of work and testing by someone dedicated and creative.
The original Legacy Gate does not run cards like dark ritual because instead of 2-for-1ing your opponent you are essentially doing that to yourself. Even if dark ritual was legal in modern (never) I would not use it in this deck. As a general rule of thumb, cards for consideration in the gate must either be a 1-for-1 effect, a 2-for-1 effect, black beats, or some other sort of engine card (I am looking at you "Waste Not").
Modern: RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox
EDH: RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal
Tiny Leaders: BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Projects:
Gisa and Geralf Extreme-Tribal EDH
Esper Eldrazi Processor Control
Brewing with Kuldotha Forgemaster
Primer: "The Gate" - Mono Black in Modern
Modern Prison Pox - building a better plague
Jitte is Jitte and Cabal Therapy is synergistic with the legacy deck yeah.
"Legacy cards are better than modern cards" is not really a viable or constructive argument.
Also, Cabal therapy is most often the card that makes Abyssal Persecutor playable, not bitterblossom. Usually you opponent has no hand by the time you have a bitterblossom token out and can use the cabal therapy.
Not a big deal, but please try to refrain from these types of comments.
Modern: RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox
EDH: RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal
Tiny Leaders: BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Projects:
Gisa and Geralf Extreme-Tribal EDH
Esper Eldrazi Processor Control
Brewing with Kuldotha Forgemaster
Primer: "The Gate" - Mono Black in Modern
Modern Prison Pox - building a better plague
So far in the one drop removal slot we have a few viable options:
Testing required... Ill let you all know as soon as I get a chance to play the deck (likely next tuesday and/or thursday)
Modern: RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox
EDH: RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal
Tiny Leaders: BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Projects:
Gisa and Geralf Extreme-Tribal EDH
Esper Eldrazi Processor Control
Brewing with Kuldotha Forgemaster
Primer: "The Gate" - Mono Black in Modern
Modern Prison Pox - building a better plague
I give you... Jund-Pox!
4x Bloodghast
4x Dark Confidant
4x Tarmogoyf
Spells:
4x Crack the Earth
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Life from the Loam
4x Smallpox
3x Liliana of the Veil
3x Bitterblossom
2x Blood Crypt
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Stomping Ground
4x Verdant Catacombs
2x Marsh Flats
1x Forest
5x Swamp
3x Treetop Village
1x Woodland Cemetery
1x Dragonskull Summit
2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
This deck is a serious attrition deck with a bunch of life loss. Hopefully the disruption would be too much for your opponent to handle so your own life loss is irrelevant. This sort of strategy might deserve a separate thread (or belong in one) but I though I would throw a bone to the people wanting to use this card pool.
*Disclaimer - This mana base is likely not optimized, kind of threw it together quickly. If someone has insight on that it would be much appreciated.
Interactions:
Generally you would want to use symmetrical sac effects with recursion to gain an advantage
Symmetrical Sac Effects:
Card Advantage Engines:
@ freshsushi:
Vampire Nighthawk could easily be Geralf's Messenger or Bloodghast. I chose to keep Batman in my current build because he gains life, flies, has some usefulness with Arena along with Phyrexian Obliterator, and doesn't die to lightning bolt with bad moon.
Modern: RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox
EDH: RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal
Tiny Leaders: BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Projects:
Gisa and Geralf Extreme-Tribal EDH
Esper Eldrazi Processor Control
Brewing with Kuldotha Forgemaster
Primer: "The Gate" - Mono Black in Modern
Modern Prison Pox - building a better plague
4x Bitterblossom
4x Dark Confidant
4x Gatekeeper of Malakir
3x Vampire Nighthawk
3x Phyrexian Obliterator
Spells:
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Thoughtseize
2x Disfigure
2x Funeral Charm
3x Wrench Mind
2x Victim of Night
2x Bad Moon
3x Liliana of the Veil
4x Mutavault
2x Bojuka Bog
3x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
12x Swamp
2x Duress
3x Extirpate
3x Pithing Needle
2x Grafdigger's Cage
2x Smother
3x Deathmark
Things I noticed in solitaire:
Bad Moon seems really good with bitterblossom. I kept several 1-landers because of all the 1-drops and was rarely punished harshly for it - meaning I had tons of stuff to do until I drew my land. Occasionally, but not often was I mana screwed due to colorless mana sources (by screw I mean unable to cast a kicked gatekeeper or obliterator when I wanted to). Multiple Urborg Draws didn't seem to hurt at all and weren't frequent. 22 Lands seems right, only had to mull to 5 once in about 15 draws. Hands with no T1 discard are disappointing. Funeral Charm seems good for the instant discard late game at the end of the opponents draw step.
I was thinking about the 1-drop creature removal slot and I decided on the above because it is the most versitile IMO. The deck has so much dedicated removal these cards might be helpful in various situations and they still kill most things (outside of zoo) T1 now that DRS is gone. So many relevant creatures with 1 toughness in modern...
Mutavault is probably better than Ghost Quarter (of course I couldn't tell playing by myself for sure lol). Not sure how the meta is going to shift, but if we see domain zoo it might be more relevant to play 4x Ghost Quarter main.
Edit - Updated list.
-1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, +1 Bitterblossom (after fishbowling anohter 20 or so hands I was drawing them too often although it wasn't really a big deal. Might still be right to have 4).
-1 Surgical Extraction, +1 Extirpate (Split second, life loss).
Did math... Avg CMC of cards for a bob flip in this deck is 1.31
Modern: RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox
EDH: RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal
Tiny Leaders: BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Projects:
Gisa and Geralf Extreme-Tribal EDH
Esper Eldrazi Processor Control
Brewing with Kuldotha Forgemaster
Primer: "The Gate" - Mono Black in Modern
Modern Prison Pox - building a better plague
As for the pox list, that is a pretty interesting list. The crack the earth is a card I have never seen before. Kinda wanna try it out with young pyromancer. Seems potentially legit or it could just wiff getting a token off their side as well. The list does feel like a smallpox control though, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Haha.
Also, deathmark is amazing in my meta. I have killed so many deathrites (though he is now banned), goyfs, and general cards from pod. Idk if it is maindeckable but it is a one mana option if you are looking for more.
After testing of mono-black, I think it is really possible without a splash depending on your meta but a splash would definitely help. Geralf's messenger was a boss. I was playing abyssal persecutor and having geralf come in and do the last two-5 damage not done from their land base and a my usual 1-2 Percy swings. Tough thing is finding a decent enough sac outlet. Top decked opponent's path to exile on Percy hurt so badly though. I have a lot of trouble having faith in good ole Percy these days. Ironically enough I never had an issue getting rid of him though despite cutting most of the sac outlets prior to playing. wrench mind wrecked face. No affinity played but it was so good feeling to play. I tested with a single sword of body and mind and actually kinda liked it... (It was the only sword I had on me at the time to swap in for the grafted wargear. Mill never came into play but the extra token and the green protection definitely did. Not sure if it is good enough regardless just ended up being kinda lucky. RWU control was the deck that broke mine apart though. I stomped on a burn deck and melira pod through lucky lucky discard. Kinda felt like I was playing 8 rack. Still 3/4 is not bad against all t1 decks with ok-decent players.
The reason I don't like death's shadow is simply because if you are at 10 health, he is a 3/3. At 8 health he becomes an actual threat but he is chumpblockable. Not to mention, you are in the red zone for double bolt (or other burn) with a critter swing. Burn has had a pretty good resurgence lately with skullcrack etc in my meta. He just feels like a too-conditional undercosted fatty. I feel like suicide black has died down for a reason, unfortunately as I LOVED that deck. Aside from cool combos with phyrexian unlife he is just a dead draw in most games.
Sorry for the wall of text
Can you post your list? I'm sure we would all like to see it. Also, I agree on Death's Shadow -different deck entirely and probably not even remotely worth it. I posted the pox list here to show how different a deck that card pool is - definitely not the gate, but still a viable option for people looking to play it. I haven't tested that list at all, but I will (if) I ever get tired of this project - not likely. Can you post a more detailed breakdown of your UWR matchup? I figured they would be a tougher matchup...
@Ghorak
Sun Droplet... I like it! I didn't even realize it existed. Burn was always a bad matchup for me in legacy with this deck - all the life loss just makes their job easy even if we do discard a lot. Legacy burn is infinitely better than modern burn though. Luckily I don't see much burn in modern in my meta.
Modern: RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox
EDH: RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal
Tiny Leaders: BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Projects:
Gisa and Geralf Extreme-Tribal EDH
Esper Eldrazi Processor Control
Brewing with Kuldotha Forgemaster
Primer: "The Gate" - Mono Black in Modern
Modern Prison Pox - building a better plague