Turn 1
You almost always want to start off with a discard from TS or IoK on turn 1. You might start with Gonti's on rare occasions.
-This will help prevent your opponent from having a fast start
-You get to peek at your opponent's hand, which can help you sequence your next play(s).
Turn 2
Your first real decision depending on what's in your hand
-Sign in Blood: Never too early to start drawing cards
-Glint-Sleeve Siphoner: Can be a faster Phyrexian Arena with Aether Hub, or if you happened to play Gonti's on turn 1(fetch land T2, or aggressive opponent)
-Gonti's/Discard: Why not both: Slow your opponent even further and drop down Gonti's
-It's possible to land a transformed Lone Rider at the end of turn 2 with Gonti's, but you need Gonti's, a fetch, and basically on the draw against aggro.
Turn 3
Most of the time the best play you can make is Liliana. Other times...
-it might not be a bad idea to cast Lone Rider. You might be able to have a 4/4 First Strike, Trample, Lifegain on end step(or tricked in) with either Healing Grace or Gonti's
-If some bomb happens to have made it past your discard, anguished will remove just about anything for 3 life.
TS/IoK/Lili is a nice way to get your opponent to topdeck mode. That's a great time to cast Lich. Card advantage through Glint and Sign in Blood help provide needed card advantage to get you there.
Neat tricks:
-Fetches/Koilos with Gonti's is absurd for energy. Sometimes I find myself simply tapping a Koilos on opponent's end step for the energy if they're not getting through to my life total.
-Aether Hub with Glint: Play both Hub and Glint on turn 2. You now have an arena effect ready for turn 3's upkeep.
-Sign in Blood and TS can also help you build energy with Gonti's, not to mention how good those cards are on their own.(Sign in Blood can even shock your opponent for reach)
-Gonti's and Glint feed each other the necessary energy for the Arena effect each turn. Not even counting the mentioned lands or taking damage from your opponent. That menace ability is what makes this card with that TS/IoK/Lili package. Not to mention Anguished.
-Sometimes Glint is a menace at defying death. Gonti's is nearly unkillable.
I started building the deck around the insane things you could do with Lich on the field but the truth is:
-too many clunky cards gets you run over by aggro/burn and this is not a fast combo deck by any means. You might be able to pull it off in a creatureless shell, but with some deck construction dedicated to lifegain, your curve won't be friendly.
-mana ramp is bad because your graveyard and board are close to empty. You're just not as fast as other more explosive combo decks.
-I went with a deck that could interact well with aggro/burn decks better and destroy combo decks. Control matchups are typically pretty entertaining.
Lich is not a requirement for victory, it's just insane with Lili's board presence(top-deck wars).
I haven't finished the sideboard yet but Sphere and Damnation are givens. I know it's meta dependant, but I like the 4-4-4-3 strategy with quality, versatile cards that hose what they're supposed to.
Some other cards I've tested:
Faith of the Devoted: kinda slow, average card. Pretty good for stabilizing with Lili Cast Out: prefer anguished, that mana cost makes a big difference... targeted card is gone for good Vampire Nighthawk: Solid card, eats removal or it effects the board state pretty well. the problem I found is that it's often a stalemate so you don't get so much life Aetherworks Marvel: inconsistency isn't worth losing arena effect, and deck construction suffers with higher-price/bigger-effects. Thalia's Lancers: Pretty good but slow, and drawing cards is better than searching with Lili Faith Renewed: Cycle it if your behind, doesn't affect opponent's life when ahead. Ajani Goldmane: slow, needs more creatures, a glorified Ajani's Mantra that never hits payday.
Cards I haven't tested but am intrigued by:
Gideon of the Trials: Lich is far more likely to exile itself than face a mass enchantment removal. Paladin of Atonement: Seems pretty solid early on, but its a terrible top-deck and gets eaten by exile effects. Revitalize: could be good, but I like protecting Liliana from some man-land or bolt more. Consulate Surveillance: I did test it, just never actually cast it, even when I saw it. Arguel's Blood Fast: Sign in Blood just seems better with a low creature count. Gonti life loss energy fulfilled by lands more efficiently.
Critique the deck? Have a Lich deck of your own? Let's share some ideas. Graveyard abuse could be cool with Unburial Rites/Lingering Souls and such.
If I had a nickel for everytime I put lethal on the board, I'd die trying to get Lich
Game 1 GR Hellspark(2-0)
G1: He ran outta gas fast, couldn't keep up with lifegains/damage prevention.
G2: Lone Rider/Lili did work. That First Strike was good even before transforming.
Game 2 Boros Aggro (2-1)
G1(W): Quite a game. Many Reckoners, despite lack of card draw was giving me a hard time and I couldn't get an Anguished. It eventually became a Lich exiling battle. He made a crucial mistake of not killing a Lone Rider with a Boros Reckoner and instead opted to have me exile 4 cards. That Lone Rider sealed the deal.
G2(L): Another grindfest. It was super close. Another Lich drawing/exiling battle. Unfortunately, I drew 5 lands in a row off a Lich when I really needed more board presence besides Lili and Lich.
G3(W): Discarded his Reckoner, and Anguished his Brion. He did play a Reckoner, but plenty of Riders with combat tricks against combat tricks kept his aggression at bay. Glint just kept pinging him for 2 and giving me extra cards.
Will provide more updates soon.
I hope to perfect this deck its a TON of fun to play if you're a grinder.
0-1 to uw control. Not enough early discard or pressure. No shortage of lands. Eventually it was lili vs. tef. Tef won. Did smack a jace but not before he put a terminus on top of deck to take down lone rider. Opted to discard his verdict, with anguish in hand. I was hoping he'd return the transformed rider. He didn't. Didn't have time to play again but Polly lose anyway. Uw control is so hard to beat.
@fncmtg: because the deck has lots of lifegain options. It's not uncommon to go down to 10 life, and then shoot right back up to 20. Lone Rider transforms into It that Rides as One. That first strike, trample, and lifegain is quite useful.
Tokens seems to be common in my meta. I don't have an answer for man-lands, and my only permanent removal was anguished. It's a good card, but adding Fatal Push feels good.
I added Sorin for token generation of my own. Always nice to have chump blockers with lifegain, wish they had flying but whatever. He's been solid but unspectacular thus far.
I'm trying to get cards that add life, while also providing value.
-3 Sign in Blood
-2 Healing Grace
-1 Anguished Unmaking
+4 Fatal Push
+2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Edited sideboard. Replaced kataki with stony silence, and added Illness in the Ranks. Liliana hates tokens so much! Might still replace damnation.
The premise of the deck is black control with life loss, life gain, and life drain.
4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
4 Lone Rider
Enchantment
4 Gonti's Machinations
3 Lich's Mastery
Instant
4 Healing Grace
4 Anguished Unmaking
Sorcery
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
3 Sign in Blood
4 Liliana of the Veil
Land
8 Swamp
2 Plains
4 Marsh Flats
4 Aether Hub
2 Caves of Koilos
2 Isolated Chapel
1 Fetid Heath
4 Damnation
4 Damping Sphere
4 Kataki, War's Wage
3 Leyline of the Void
How to play
Turn 1
You almost always want to start off with a discard from TS or IoK on turn 1. You might start with Gonti's on rare occasions.
-This will help prevent your opponent from having a fast start
-You get to peek at your opponent's hand, which can help you sequence your next play(s).
Turn 2
Your first real decision depending on what's in your hand
-Sign in Blood: Never too early to start drawing cards
-Glint-Sleeve Siphoner: Can be a faster Phyrexian Arena with Aether Hub, or if you happened to play Gonti's on turn 1(fetch land T2, or aggressive opponent)
-Gonti's/Discard: Why not both: Slow your opponent even further and drop down Gonti's
-It's possible to land a transformed Lone Rider at the end of turn 2 with Gonti's, but you need Gonti's, a fetch, and basically on the draw against aggro.
Turn 3
Most of the time the best play you can make is Liliana. Other times...
-it might not be a bad idea to cast Lone Rider. You might be able to have a 4/4 First Strike, Trample, Lifegain on end step(or tricked in) with either Healing Grace or Gonti's
-If some bomb happens to have made it past your discard, anguished will remove just about anything for 3 life.
TS/IoK/Lili is a nice way to get your opponent to topdeck mode. That's a great time to cast Lich. Card advantage through Glint and Sign in Blood help provide needed card advantage to get you there.
Neat tricks:
-Fetches/Koilos with Gonti's is absurd for energy. Sometimes I find myself simply tapping a Koilos on opponent's end step for the energy if they're not getting through to my life total.
-Aether Hub with Glint: Play both Hub and Glint on turn 2. You now have an arena effect ready for turn 3's upkeep.
-Sign in Blood and TS can also help you build energy with Gonti's, not to mention how good those cards are on their own.(Sign in Blood can even shock your opponent for reach)
-Gonti's and Glint feed each other the necessary energy for the Arena effect each turn. Not even counting the mentioned lands or taking damage from your opponent. That menace ability is what makes this card with that TS/IoK/Lili package. Not to mention Anguished.
-Sometimes Glint is a menace at defying death. Gonti's is nearly unkillable.
I started building the deck around the insane things you could do with Lich on the field but the truth is:
-too many clunky cards gets you run over by aggro/burn and this is not a fast combo deck by any means. You might be able to pull it off in a creatureless shell, but with some deck construction dedicated to lifegain, your curve won't be friendly.
-mana ramp is bad because your graveyard and board are close to empty. You're just not as fast as other more explosive combo decks.
-I went with a deck that could interact well with aggro/burn decks better and destroy combo decks. Control matchups are typically pretty entertaining.
Lich is not a requirement for victory, it's just insane with Lili's board presence(top-deck wars).
I haven't finished the sideboard yet but Sphere and Damnation are givens. I know it's meta dependant, but I like the 4-4-4-3 strategy with quality, versatile cards that hose what they're supposed to.
Some other cards I've tested:
Faith of the Devoted: kinda slow, average card. Pretty good for stabilizing with Lili
Cast Out: prefer anguished, that mana cost makes a big difference... targeted card is gone for good
Vampire Nighthawk: Solid card, eats removal or it effects the board state pretty well. the problem I found is that it's often a stalemate so you don't get so much life
Aetherworks Marvel: inconsistency isn't worth losing arena effect, and deck construction suffers with higher-price/bigger-effects.
Thalia's Lancers: Pretty good but slow, and drawing cards is better than searching with Lili
Faith Renewed: Cycle it if your behind, doesn't affect opponent's life when ahead.
Ajani Goldmane: slow, needs more creatures, a glorified Ajani's Mantra that never hits payday.
Cards I haven't tested but am intrigued by:
Gideon of the Trials: Lich is far more likely to exile itself than face a mass enchantment removal.
Paladin of Atonement: Seems pretty solid early on, but its a terrible top-deck and gets eaten by exile effects.
Revitalize: could be good, but I like protecting Liliana from some man-land or bolt more.
Consulate Surveillance: I did test it, just never actually cast it, even when I saw it.
Arguel's Blood Fast: Sign in Blood just seems better with a low creature count. Gonti life loss energy fulfilled by lands more efficiently.
Critique the deck? Have a Lich deck of your own? Let's share some ideas. Graveyard abuse could be cool with Unburial Rites/Lingering Souls and such.
If I had a nickel for everytime I put lethal on the board, I'd die trying to get Lich
Game 1 GR Hellspark(2-0)
G1: He ran outta gas fast, couldn't keep up with lifegains/damage prevention.
G2: Lone Rider/Lili did work. That First Strike was good even before transforming.
Game 2 Boros Aggro (2-1)
G1(W): Quite a game. Many Reckoners, despite lack of card draw was giving me a hard time and I couldn't get an Anguished. It eventually became a Lich exiling battle. He made a crucial mistake of not killing a Lone Rider with a Boros Reckoner and instead opted to have me exile 4 cards. That Lone Rider sealed the deal.
G2(L): Another grindfest. It was super close. Another Lich drawing/exiling battle. Unfortunately, I drew 5 lands in a row off a Lich when I really needed more board presence besides Lili and Lich.
G3(W): Discarded his Reckoner, and Anguished his Brion. He did play a Reckoner, but plenty of Riders with combat tricks against combat tricks kept his aggression at bay. Glint just kept pinging him for 2 and giving me extra cards.
Will provide more updates soon.
I hope to perfect this deck its a TON of fun to play if you're a grinder.
0-1 to uw control. Not enough early discard or pressure. No shortage of lands. Eventually it was lili vs. tef. Tef won. Did smack a jace but not before he put a terminus on top of deck to take down lone rider. Opted to discard his verdict, with anguish in hand. I was hoping he'd return the transformed rider. He didn't. Didn't have time to play again but Polly lose anyway. Uw control is so hard to beat.
via Imgflip Meme Generator
Mid-Range deck
Tokens seems to be common in my meta. I don't have an answer for man-lands, and my only permanent removal was anguished. It's a good card, but adding Fatal Push feels good.
I added Sorin for token generation of my own. Always nice to have chump blockers with lifegain, wish they had flying but whatever. He's been solid but unspectacular thus far.
I'm trying to get cards that add life, while also providing value.
-3 Sign in Blood
-2 Healing Grace
-1 Anguished Unmaking
+4 Fatal Push
+2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Edited sideboard. Replaced kataki with stony silence, and added Illness in the Ranks. Liliana hates tokens so much! Might still replace damnation.
4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
4 Lone Rider
Enchantment
4 Gonti's Machinations
3 Lich's Mastery
Instant
4 Fatal Push
3 Anguished Unmaking
2 Healing Grace
Sorcery
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
4 Liliana of the Veil
2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Land
8 Swamp
2 Plains
4 Marsh Flats
4 Aether Hub
2 Caves of Koilos
2 Isolated Chapel
1 Godless Shrine
4 Damnation
4 Damping Sphere
4 Illness in the Ranks
3 Stony Silence