No Last Breath or Bile Blight? Double black is hard to hit on two but you have no interaction until turn three against hyper aggro and almost auto lose to Mono Black or Rabble. Last Breath is too good not to play especially early on, every deck has targets: Mystic, Courser, Rabblemaster, any MBA creature, etc.
I think this guy's value will crash. It's got the body of a Grizzly Bears. It gets stonewalled by Frostburn Weird. It dies to Ash Zealot. It trades with Tidebinder Mage (especially if you don't play Pain Seer in a BGx or BRx deck). It trades with the second Pack Rat. It trades with Mutavault. It dies to the average green fatty in a GR Monsters or G/x Nykthos deck (although trading with Boon Satyr and making Sylvan Caryatid uncomfortable is a plus).
This guy probably isn't untapping against the average Standard deck's blockers, let alone its removal.
I suspect other creatures do better as aggro lures (such as Pack Rats, Boon Satyrs, Rakdos Shred-Freaks) because they trade with more stuff or swing faster.
Trading with Mutavault or Tidebinder Mage is perfect for a deck he fits in, Orzhov/Esper Humans with Necromancer. Sure, we trade and I get a zombie, or you take two and I untap and take perhaps 3 damage at the most and overwhelm you in card advantage (and I play buttloads of cheap removal). I love him.
I've played a lot of games against mono black and won the vast majority, and I think BW is favourable for us too, the only card from mono-black I truly fear is grey merchant and BW doesn't have that, other than that it's just an inferior version of mono B
Inferior? Except it runs just as much if not more removal than Mono-Black and can kill anything you play. And it has a way better match-up versus Control and the mono-black mirror since it runs Ratchet Bomb (also good against U Devotion). Please do some research before tossing said deck aside saying it's inferior.
I've been playing Esper forever and just switched to Black/White control. Your match-up versus aggro is even better and being able to run Thoughtseize and Pack Rat as a 4 of mainboard just feels dirty. You win a lot of games on the back of turn 2 rat. You have enough disruption especially after sideboard to beat the control decks. Try it out!
I change up my list almost weekly depending on the meta, but lately have gone undefeated with it at a few events, here's my list (not telling you what to run, everyone has their preferences) and you can see how you like it.
I can tell you that Far//Away is pretty disappointing after playing with it...I thought I liked it at first, but kept taking copies out until I arrived at 0.
I think Devour Flesh is the best creature removal we have access to, edict is amazing with Downfall and Verdict to compliment it, we rarely need to target a certain creature to kill and kills Caryatid's on the draw! Definitely gives us the edge against those super fast aggro decks and we don't care about giving them life, we win when we win.
Hey guys, I'm pretty new here (lurker) and I think I've brewed up a pretty sweet Junk Midrange list (some of you will probably disagree =P). I am having arguments with a friend over which is a better card choice for my deck.
Loxodon Smiter or Knight of the Reliquary? I prefer KotR because he can fetch out utility lands and pump himself while thinning out my deck. His argument is that Knight can usually be bolted as soon as he comes out or can be countered unlike Smiter.
I don't disagree that Smiter is a bad card, but I just think he is pretty lackluster late game compared to KotR. My game plan is usually to stall the board and eventually power through with Vault/Gavony on tokens with Ooze/KotR and Sorin (I tried Garruk Relentless in his spot, and wasn't that impressed). Anyways, was looking for some opinions, here's my list. Thanks!
Also, I can't afford Tarmogoyfs at the moment or Thoughtseize (yet! SOON!), so while they are good suggestions, I don't have access to them, but I believe Ooze does a good job replacing Goyf at the moment.
This reminds me a ton of my list. I don't run Sorin or Elspeth, but I think Elspeth could be good in said deck. You should also run Stirring Wildwood over Treetop Village in my opinion since you're playing white.
I'd like it more if it killed bigger stuff (ala Warped Physique), countered more than just sorceries (ala Syncopate/Dissipate) or set me up for miracles. I am not a fan of it, but maybe after rotation? Still think I'd rather have Doom Blade, though.
2 Last Breath
4 Dissolve
4 Hero's Downfall
2 Dig Through Time
1 Jace's Ingenuity
2 Banishing Light
4 Thoughtseize
2 Despise
4 End Hostilities
3 Divination
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
4 Temple of Deceit
3 Temple of Enlightenment
3 Temple of Silence
4 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
3 Island
3 Plains
2 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Despise
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Gainsay
2 Last Breath
2 Negate
1 Deicide
Will it be good? Probably not... There's always Opportunity, but it falls short lategame against the mirrors that will undoubtedly have Sphinx's Rev.
Trading with Mutavault or Tidebinder Mage is perfect for a deck he fits in, Orzhov/Esper Humans with Necromancer. Sure, we trade and I get a zombie, or you take two and I untap and take perhaps 3 damage at the most and overwhelm you in card advantage (and I play buttloads of cheap removal). I love him.
Inferior? Except it runs just as much if not more removal than Mono-Black and can kill anything you play. And it has a way better match-up versus Control and the mono-black mirror since it runs Ratchet Bomb (also good against U Devotion). Please do some research before tossing said deck aside saying it's inferior.
I've been playing Esper forever and just switched to Black/White control. Your match-up versus aggro is even better and being able to run Thoughtseize and Pack Rat as a 4 of mainboard just feels dirty. You win a lot of games on the back of turn 2 rat. You have enough disruption especially after sideboard to beat the control decks. Try it out!
4 Watery Grave
4 Godless Shrine
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Temple of Silence
4 Island
3 Plains
Planeswalkers [6]
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Aetherling
Other Spells [25]
4 Supreme Verdict
4 Detention SPhere
4 Sphinx's Revelation
3 Azorius Charm
3 Dissolve
3 Hero's Downfall
3 Devour Flesh
2 Thoughtseize
4 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
2 Doom Blade
2 Negate
2 Gainsay
2 Sin Collector
1 Thoughtseize
1 Pithing Needle
1 Jace, Memory Adept
I can tell you that Far//Away is pretty disappointing after playing with it...I thought I liked it at first, but kept taking copies out until I arrived at 0.
I think Devour Flesh is the best creature removal we have access to, edict is amazing with Downfall and Verdict to compliment it, we rarely need to target a certain creature to kill and kills Caryatid's on the draw! Definitely gives us the edge against those super fast aggro decks and we don't care about giving them life, we win when we win.
13-14 cards in four turns? Are you a magician?
That's a reprint in the duel decks, not confirmed for Theros.
Loxodon Smiter or Knight of the Reliquary? I prefer KotR because he can fetch out utility lands and pump himself while thinning out my deck. His argument is that Knight can usually be bolted as soon as he comes out or can be countered unlike Smiter.
I don't disagree that Smiter is a bad card, but I just think he is pretty lackluster late game compared to KotR. My game plan is usually to stall the board and eventually power through with Vault/Gavony on tokens with Ooze/KotR and Sorin (I tried Garruk Relentless in his spot, and wasn't that impressed). Anyways, was looking for some opinions, here's my list. Thanks!
Also, I can't afford Tarmogoyfs at the moment or Thoughtseize (yet! SOON!), so while they are good suggestions, I don't have access to them, but I believe Ooze does a good job replacing Goyf at the moment.
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Dark Confidant
4 Scavenging Ooze
4 Knight of the Reliquary
Instants [4]:
2 Path to Exile
2 Abrupt Decay
Sorcery [10]:
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Lingering Souls
2 Maelstrom Pulse
Planeswalkers [6]:
4 Liliana of the Veil
2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Lands [24]:
4 Marsh Flats
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Tectonic Edge
1 Gavony Township
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Temple Garden
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Godless Shrine
2 Stirring Wildwood
1 Forest
1 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Shadow of Doubt
2 Creeping Corrosion
2 Golgari Charm
2 Infest
2 Stony Silence
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Torpor Orb
2 Kitchen Finks
After getting at least three Thoughtseize from Theros, my plan is to remove an Ooze/Land and two Inquisitions to throw in three of those bad boys
In team play, your cards can't overlap by more than 4 total, so someone may have been running the necessary lands or cards to do so.
Here's my list:
4 Dark Confidant
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Scavenging Ooze
Sorcery
4 Lingering Souls
4 Inquisiton of Kozilek
Instant
3 Abrupt Decay
3 Path to Exile
Planeswalker
4 Liliana of the Veil
Artifact
2 Sword of Light and Shadow
Land
4 Marsh Flats
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Tectonic Edge
2 Stirring Wildwood
2 Godless Shrine
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Temple Garden
1 Gavony Township
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Forest
1 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Aven Mindcensor
1 Kataki, War's Wage
2 Golgari Charm
2 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Rule of Law
2 Stony Silence
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Torpor Orb
1 Path to Exile
2 Kitchen Finks
I'd like it more if it killed bigger stuff (ala Warped Physique), countered more than just sorceries (ala Syncopate/Dissipate) or set me up for miracles. I am not a fan of it, but maybe after rotation? Still think I'd rather have Doom Blade, though.
I saw that one, but it's so outdated..and I plan to keep updating this one especially with M14 and Theros coming