Someone plays Pact of Negation on my turn and has 5 lands. On their upkeep I cast Word of Command in response of the pact trigger. Can I make him play an artifact if that is the only valid play he could make at that point (not enough mana for the rest)?
EDIT: Play an artifact from hand and not an activated ability.
-Jace TMS draw 6 put 2 back
-Jace Beleren draws 2
-Dack Fayden draw 4 pitch 2
-Phyrexian arena/rhystic draw 2
-Kiora play land draw 2
-sphinx's rev is cloned
-Ugin draw 14 gain 14
-Decree of pain!!!
-Garruk Primal draws a ton
-Tamiyo draws a ton
-Sylvan library draw 4 more put 2 back
-Skullclamp draws 4
I know 5CMC is high but damn if consecrated sphinx is played then this has to be. Also it could help a little with some life gain.
It is also fetchable with Tezzeret.
Right now I'm having wet dreams where I resolve Ugin's ult with this on play and activate rings of brightheart.... Gain 28 draw 28 and play 14 free permanents...
I don't think Urborg is a good idea as it can help black decks a lot more than yourself if they have coffers. I'd rather have one of each basics (maybe not mountain because... well blood moon...) instead of
I could see Assemble the Legion working well with Contagion Engine but I know you guys are not liking the proliferate strategy too much. I've had some good experiences with that card however. It benefits from a few of our planeswalkers (Ral Zarek's and Tezzeret's +1s), it generates some extra mana off of Coalition Relic, it gets rid of token armies and allows you to ult much faster.
About your proposed changes, I agree with everything except Bitterblossom. I think its a great way to generate defense and card advantage through Skullclamp.
I might try the heavier token strategy, but that would make me want to add Mirari's Wake.
I like how it plays so far but there are a few cards that I included after reading your OP that I am still not sure about.
Blood Funnel I have a hard time seeing the value of this card because more often than not it is sitting in my hand. Oubliette I absolutely love this card for the flavor, but it is quite underwhelming.
And these cards aren't but have been absolute houses:
Sudden Death I can't count how many times this has stopped a deadlock/combo. Trading Post Awesome recursion / draw.
I will probably try out Imp's Mischief as it seems to solve a lot of problems this deck has. I also have a lot of problems with artifacts/enchantments but that's mono black typical. The only theorical out is LotV's ultimate... against something like Humility
Not a big fan of Bad Moon as it can help other players plus 1 point of damage here and there does not justify a card slot. Maybe swap Dregs of Sorrow for decree of pain as they have kind of the same utility but Decree is much more versatile as its cycle mode can't be countered, can be played at instant speed and answers so problematic threats (narset, Avenger of Zendikar + craterhoof out of Tooth and Nail). Plus, decree of pain does not target so you can hit hexproof/shroud creatures.
I was running Utter End instead of Vindicate so I might swap one of them for Vindicate. The second replacement I want to try out is Capsize because reusing planeswalkers ultimates or minuses could be fun, especially with Doubling Season.
Someone plays Pact of Negation on my turn and has 5 lands. On their upkeep I cast Word of Command in response of the pact trigger. Can I make him play an artifact if that is the only valid play he could make at that point (not enough mana for the rest)?
EDIT: Play an artifact from hand and not an activated ability.
Other than that, nothing seems good enough. The set is very creature centric.
-Jace TMS draw 6 put 2 back
-Jace Beleren draws 2
-Dack Fayden draw 4 pitch 2
-Phyrexian arena/rhystic draw 2
-Kiora play land draw 2
-sphinx's rev is cloned
-Ugin draw 14 gain 14
-Decree of pain!!!
-Garruk Primal draws a ton
-Tamiyo draws a ton
-Sylvan library draw 4 more put 2 back
-Skullclamp draws 4
I know 5CMC is high but damn if consecrated sphinx is played then this has to be. Also it could help a little with some life gain.
It is also fetchable with Tezzeret.
Right now I'm having wet dreams where I resolve Ugin's ult with this on play and activate rings of brightheart.... Gain 28 draw 28 and play 14 free permanents...
What do you guys think?
Kher Keep
Spinrgjack Pasture
Ancient Tomb
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Not a big fan of Mana Confluence and Ancient Tomb because the life loss is already quite high in this deck.
2 mana ramp > exploration
doubling season is a must have
I also run Final Judgement now
Rift is awesome
I also removed LotV and Ashiok
Faith's Reward could be great, its worth testing.
About your proposed changes, I agree with everything except Bitterblossom. I think its a great way to generate defense and card advantage through Skullclamp.
I might try the heavier token strategy, but that would make me want to add Mirari's Wake.
I like how it plays so far but there are a few cards that I included after reading your OP that I am still not sure about.
Blood Funnel I have a hard time seeing the value of this card because more often than not it is sitting in my hand.
Oubliette I absolutely love this card for the flavor, but it is quite underwhelming.
And these cards aren't but have been absolute houses:
Sudden Death I can't count how many times this has stopped a deadlock/combo.
Trading Post Awesome recursion / draw.
I will probably try out Imp's Mischief as it seems to solve a lot of problems this deck has. I also have a lot of problems with artifacts/enchantments but that's mono black typical. The only theorical out is LotV's ultimate... against something like Humility
Not a big fan of Bad Moon as it can help other players plus 1 point of damage here and there does not justify a card slot. Maybe swap Dregs of Sorrow for decree of pain as they have kind of the same utility but Decree is much more versatile as its cycle mode can't be countered, can be played at instant speed and answers so problematic threats (narset, Avenger of Zendikar + craterhoof out of Tooth and Nail). Plus, decree of pain does not target so you can hit hexproof/shroud creatures.
I will probably replace Terminus with Final Judgment. Not sure yet about Hallowed Burial.
I would like to nominate Phyrexian Reclamation and Corpse Dance.