Have you hear about a vampire name wait.... im not sure.... maybe... GATEKEEPER OF MALAKIR????? ^^
Doesn't actually do anything against Planeswalker. By the time you attack the planeswalker with Gatekeeper, it has already done its job of providing a couple of activations and acting as a lightning rod.
Besides, How many times do you actually get to activate Syphon Life, especially when you play Highborn early?
Oh yes. Let's just drop lands like we're the control deck and hope that we aren't dead by the time we can actually CAST Consume Spirit, shall we? I mean, it's not like Jund does any damage to us early, and it's not like Jund will kill anytime before the fifth turn. /sarcasm
cause extended has zoo with a bunch of strong low cost creatures such as that one big one that everyone is talking about gee cant put my name around oh yeah its called tarmagoyf...Most of the creatures in extended are small and efficient.
As for the almighty Tarmogoyf(all hail the Lhurgoyf) Knight of the Reliqary comes pretty damn close. When facing KotR, I'd much rather have Smother than UtF. At least Smother gaurentees that it dies.
Also, holding UtF and waiting for a situation in which you can Nameless Inversion + Pump your vamps seems greedy to me. Sure, it happens against, say, Baneslayer Angel, but I suppose that's what sideboard cards like Deathmark are for.
Also, how many Forests should we run. I don't think 6 is enough. I run 7 virtual forests (4x of which are Verdant Catacombs) and it's been working out fine.
Also, since we have pulse, Verdant Catacombs are a lot more "valuable" than Marsh Flats. Hold them back in case you need to fetch one forest - usually, one forest is all the deck needs to run.
The main problem I've had with this deck is the failure to find consistent BB or RR for the spells. I always get BRR and fail to cast Bloodghast, Sign in Blood, Vampire Nighthawk, etc. All of our spells cost BB, with the exception of Terminate and Blightning.
Yeah her second ability has synergy with Nocturnus, but I would rather see a bloodwitch.
I would not pay 5 just to tutor something. Tutoring things is actually very bad in this deck because of the number of fetchlands we run. Having something good+shuffling it away really sucks.
For all intent and purposes, Tendrils in Vamps is NOT BBE in Jund. BBE is crucial to Jund and would never move into SB. I would SB out all 4x Tendrils if I was playing against Control, which only runs 6 creatures, all of which have shroud.
Tendrils of Curruption is one of the most versatlie weapons we have. Don't shun it, Play it - all four of them.
Grixis: Sitting behind 1/4 turtles and 5/5 Sphinxs
Yes. They sit behind the convertable turtle that gets sacrificed to Gatekeeper of Malakir. By the time they can cast Sphinx of Jwar Isle and Cruel Ultimateum, you should already be winning off of a resolved Mind Sludge.
well for blue you get Slave of Bolas which kills anything without shroud and swings in for damage, great against thrinax which is one of the worst things to go against. For Red we get the same or Bit Blast, Bit blast is great because of cascade but it cant kill everything and most of the time will just give us a 2 costing spell, so is it worth using if our targets become limited?
So im thinking that splashes should not dramatically change the deck in the main board but just change its land and 1 spell. I have not brought up sludge because the card is not what it use to be and i rarely ever side it in Duress/Mirestoll gets the job done a lot better.
Wrong. Splash changes the deck considerably. Mind Sludge is possibly one of the best cards in the deck, regardless of situation. Mire's Toll takes a lot of swamps in order to become useful, else it's just gets rid of a card they didn't want anyway.
Explain to me your reasoning: Why does Smother Stink? It was good enough to be played in Extended for years, so why does it not perform to your expectations in Standard?
UtF works wonderfully for me. I have run Disfigure and Infest to different degrees in my Vamp deck, and they have worked well. I am sticking with UtF right now because my meta allows it to be very effective.
So how many times have you actually Played UtF AND put counters on your guys? If you don't put counters on your creatures, it's just straight worse than Doom Blade, which is worse than Smother.
I would be interested on your take on Tendrils of Corruption. There is another thread on it in this forum.
Tendrils is a must 4of in this deck. It's so versatile, hits everything relevant, gives you life when you are already hurting yourself so much with Fetchlands and Sign in Bloods.
IMO. Tendrils is a must. It hits everything relevant, including Baneslayer Angel and Abyssal Persecuter, and it's a must have against Jund. It gains so much life it's ridiculous sometimes.
It even forces your opponent to use instant speed removal to deny you lifegain. Having them Path their own creature rather than your Nocturnus is the best feeling in the world.
Doesn't actually do anything against Planeswalker. By the time you attack the planeswalker with Gatekeeper, it has already done its job of providing a couple of activations and acting as a lightning rod.
Besides, How many times do you actually get to activate Syphon Life, especially when you play Highborn early?
We need a Demigod-like finisher.
Consume Spirit is BAD. Tendrils of Curruption is much better.
Oh yes. Let's just drop lands like we're the control deck and hope that we aren't dead by the time we can actually CAST Consume Spirit, shall we? I mean, it's not like Jund does any damage to us early, and it's not like Jund will kill anytime before the fifth turn. /sarcasm
So what do you call things like Wild Nacatl and Woolly Thoctar? Inefficent creatures?
As for the almighty Tarmogoyf(all hail the Lhurgoyf) Knight of the Reliqary comes pretty damn close. When facing KotR, I'd much rather have Smother than UtF. At least Smother gaurentees that it dies.
Also, holding UtF and waiting for a situation in which you can Nameless Inversion + Pump your vamps seems greedy to me. Sure, it happens against, say, Baneslayer Angel, but I suppose that's what sideboard cards like Deathmark are for.
It also has the habit of shutting down Cruel Ultimateum, but sucks vs Jace.
Also, how many Forests should we run. I don't think 6 is enough. I run 7 virtual forests (4x of which are Verdant Catacombs) and it's been working out fine.
Also, since we have pulse, Verdant Catacombs are a lot more "valuable" than Marsh Flats. Hold them back in case you need to fetch one forest - usually, one forest is all the deck needs to run.
We also lack a finsher. Yes, Lavaclaw Reaches is really retarted left unchecked, and Abyssal Persecuter + Terminate or Bone Splinters works, but the trade is consistency. I rather go Mono-black. Losing Terminate and Blightning is a pain, but Mind Sludge and Smother make up for it.
I would not pay 5 just to tutor something. Tutoring things is actually very bad in this deck because of the number of fetchlands we run. Having something good+shuffling it away really sucks.
Tendrils of Curruption is one of the most versatlie weapons we have. Don't shun it, Play it - all four of them.
LIES! J/k
More lies. Mono-Black Vampires is the most stable of all vampire builds.
So do I. Yes, they are, but will you get your mana straight every game? We only have enemy-colour fetchlands in standard at the moment.
I suppose you can always cast Sign in Blood targeting your opponent...
Yes, but that's what Bloodghast is for - it doesn't die and really doesn't care about being blocked.
...and your Creeping Tar Pits get Lightning Bolted. Instant speed Land-destruction for one mana!
Yes. They sit behind the convertable turtle that gets sacrificed to Gatekeeper of Malakir. By the time they can cast Sphinx of Jwar Isle and Cruel Ultimateum, you should already be winning off of a resolved Mind Sludge.
They would be, except for the fact that they come into play TAPPED.
Bituminous Blast for 5, cascading into......Disfigure. Fail.
Wrong. Splash changes the deck considerably. Mind Sludge is possibly one of the best cards in the deck, regardless of situation. Mire's Toll takes a lot of swamps in order to become useful, else it's just gets rid of a card they didn't want anyway.
Explain to me your reasoning: Why does Smother Stink? It was good enough to be played in Extended for years, so why does it not perform to your expectations in Standard?
So how many times have you actually Played UtF AND put counters on your guys? If you don't put counters on your creatures, it's just straight worse than Doom Blade, which is worse than Smother.
Tendrils is a must 4of in this deck. It's so versatile, hits everything relevant, gives you life when you are already hurting yourself so much with Fetchlands and Sign in Bloods.
Thanks a bunch. One last edit, though.
The text from Baneslayer Angel: I Smite wallets -> I SLAY wallets
and text from Jace: [flavor text here] -> I VANISH Bills
It even forces your opponent to use instant speed removal to deny you lifegain. Having them Path their own creature rather than your Nocturnus is the best feeling in the world.