Hey, new to the thread here. First off let me say thanks for the list; I've been out of the game for a while and you gave me some good ideas for updating my own Drana list. I do have a couple of thoughts/suggestions/etc. I read over the thread, but if I bring up something already discussed I apologize. And I know you're trying to be budget-conscious, so I'll try to keep my suggestions to that.
1) Do you ever find you need more land d? I see you have Ghost Quarter, but I don't see any more than that. If you think you could use more there's always Strip Mine, I think they're still under 5$, as well as the even more budget Tectonic Edge. I think you could definitely add one or both in for swamps and not even miss them.
2) Same as above, but for artifacts and enchantments. Oblivion Stone and Nevinyrral's Disk come to mind; not spot removal, but still useful. And the former shouldn't be too hard to get a hold of.
3) As for more card draw, are you opposed to the single use choices (like Night's Whisper, Sign in Blood, etc.)? There's always Greed; you run a decent amount of life gain, so it might be worth it. And it was mentioned earlier, but I don't see it in your list, I'd add Promise of Power; even un-entwined it's awesome.
4) Murder can come in and replace Rend Flesh, since it hits the same things and more, all for the same cmc. If you want more tutors there's Increasing Ambition; it's worse than Diabolic on the first use, but the flashback with bonus can be nice.
5) What are your thoughts on Sudden Spoiling? I run it in mine and I'm still on the fence with it. I find that in certain situations it's backbreaking, but it can also be a dead card just as easily. Same thing with Imp's Mischief; I've never been able to make it really worth it when I ran it, but since dropping it I've had situations where it could have helped.
Hope this helps in some way. I'll probably post my own list in a little bit after it gets updated; I'd love to get some feedback if I do.
As for the Commander packs, did anyone read the front cover? The 3 gens are all oversize, so you'll either need the real thing or a proxy handy in case it gets put in your hand or tucked. Kinda makes me sad
As for the spoiled cards, I'm really liking Praetor's Grip. And Spawning Shell; kinda reminds me of Aether Vial.
With a lot of tokens you might want to look at Eldrazi Monument; it can protect your tokens, turn them into a decent threat, and provide a once a turn sac outlet all in one package. I know it's high than $5 (I think about twice that), but it might be worth consideration.
In addition, Victimize is a fun little recursion spell, that has the bonus of being a sac outlet as well.
Archdemon of Unx can help recycle tokens into other tokens, Hell's Caretaker can exchange creatures for ones in your yard, and Rakka Mar makes tokens with a decent power.
Control- I really like Aboshan, Cephalid Emperor; I think he's got some interesting and useful abilities, and while there aren't a ton of good cephalids to abuse his first ability, therearesome, plus all the ways blue has of playing with creature types.
Aggro- With aggro, I like Korlash, Heir to Blackblade. He usually comes at a decent size, not too expensive to cast if you need to replay him a few times, and regeneration is never bad thing to have. Plus add in something like Nightmare Lash and he's capable of one-shotting people.
Had a funny loss the other day to my friend tonight. Nothing says Hilarious like Ulamog getting hit by Shivan Meteor and a Forked copy of Shivan Meteor with Furnace of Rath and Repercussion out. Ulamog survived; I was not as fortunate.
Hey all, I've been away for awhile, but have recently gotten back into MTG, and by extension EDH. I used to have a mono black deck that I want to tweak to include some of the more recent black cards and was looking for opinions as to what has been useful, to steer me in the right direction.
I stopped playing before M2011, so we're talking that set plus what's been released in the Scars block so far. I know of Grave Titan, and plan on adding him in, but other than that any experience with other newer cards would be great.
I've also been debating whether to run Korlash or something else. The main problem I've come across is that a lot of other mono black generals, like Horobi, Death's Wail or Anowon, the Ruin Sage, would require retooling most of the deck. The only one I've tried in his place is Drana, and she wasn't really better or worse imo. I'd just give her a try and see if you like her.
Hope this helps
Edit: Forgot some stuff.
Leyline of the Void is good for anti-graveyard. And the 4 fetches that find swamps are good if you're not on a budget (2 from Onslaught and 2 from Zendikar). I only run 2 (both from Onslaught) and it works well for me.
I agree with fter, SDT is superior to Crystal Ball. Other thoughts:
Gaea's Cradle might be a good choice, depending on how many creatures you run. Yavimaya Hollow is another good land to consider.
You're running Snow Lands, so you may as well throw in Mouth of Ronom. With that, plus Strip Mine and friends, you might want to add Life from the Loam.
I agree with grouping Reverberate with Fork, as the difference between the two is a very narrow application, that won't be relevant in 99% of scenarios.
I'd also like to suggest the addition of Myr Retriever to the colorless creature list, or at least group it with Junk Diver. I realize they aren't wholly functional reprints, but the difference between the two makes either one arguably better than the other (cheaper vs evasion).
Academy Rector would probably really like to be in here.
I'd also suggest Honden of Infinite Rage since it can pick off creatures or help finish off opponents, and goes well with the other two you have, as well as Wound Reflection. I know it's not in the WUB focus, but you'll probably just want to tutor it up with EI anyways.
Sterling Grove can act as Greater Auramancy #2, as well as a possible tutor.
Lotus Bloom seems a little weak, I'd consider dropping it for Sol Ring.
Are these EDH tourneys you're going to 1v1 or Multi? If it's the latter, I'd suggest some creature wraths, like Hallowed Burial or Final Judgment; things that won't blow up your world too. And it'll help you survive to combo out. Vindicate is a good choice for 1v1.
Have you considered LD? I know it costs 11+, and is really risky, but Armageddon / Ravages of War / Catastrophe/ etc while floating the 7 for EI can spell GG.
I was playing a 6 player game with some friends. It was very late in the game, with only 3 of us left and not many resources. I was playing MBC Korlash, Heir to Blackblade against Radha, Heir to Keld RG Ramp and Phelddagrif Group Hug.
I was in top deck mode and my board consisted of around 12 Swamps, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, the Dark Depths i drew my last turn, now with 7 counters on it, Mirror of Fate, and my Korlash. I have one card in exile: Yawgmoth's Will. Phelddagrif had 3 cards in hand, his general out, with about 15 lands, and Leyline of Anticipation. Radha was also in top deck mode with 10 lands, Mana Reflection, and his general out. Everyone is at 10 life or less.
It's Radha's turn and, of course, he draws Emrakul. He casts it and it sticks. He skips the rest of his turn and goes right into the extra one. Since I have no flying creatures he sends it my way. Here's where things get funny:
With the Annihilator trigger on the stack, Phelddagrif flashes in Jester's Cap and uses it on me. He finds my Vampire Hexmage, Aether Snap, and Diabolic Tutor and exiles them. He then flashes in Vedalken Orrery out of his hand, then uses his last card Donate to give it to me. I crack my Mirror, and shuffle my now 4 card library. Pheldd uses his general ability to let me draw. And I pull the Hexmage. I pop the Depths, sack 6 swamps to the Annihilator trigger and block and kill Emrakul with a Marit Lage token.
I killed Radha my next turn, and on Pheldd's turn he played and bounced it 3 times, decking me.
But the look on my other friend's face while Pheldd was setting me up was priceless
Lightning Greaves: Some of the best equipment in EDH; goes for about $4, or you can grab the Phyrexia vs Coaltion Duel Deck or the Assemble the Doomsday Machine Archenemy Deck that includes it.
Mishra's Factory: A good manland and since it turns into an artifact it can combo with Forge to make a great blocker. Goes for about $3.
1) Do you ever find you need more land d? I see you have Ghost Quarter, but I don't see any more than that. If you think you could use more there's always Strip Mine, I think they're still under 5$, as well as the even more budget Tectonic Edge. I think you could definitely add one or both in for swamps and not even miss them.
2) Same as above, but for artifacts and enchantments. Oblivion Stone and Nevinyrral's Disk come to mind; not spot removal, but still useful. And the former shouldn't be too hard to get a hold of.
3) As for more card draw, are you opposed to the single use choices (like Night's Whisper, Sign in Blood, etc.)? There's always Greed; you run a decent amount of life gain, so it might be worth it. And it was mentioned earlier, but I don't see it in your list, I'd add Promise of Power; even un-entwined it's awesome.
4) Murder can come in and replace Rend Flesh, since it hits the same things and more, all for the same cmc. If you want more tutors there's Increasing Ambition; it's worse than Diabolic on the first use, but the flashback with bonus can be nice.
5) What are your thoughts on Sudden Spoiling? I run it in mine and I'm still on the fence with it. I find that in certain situations it's backbreaking, but it can also be a dead card just as easily. Same thing with Imp's Mischief; I've never been able to make it really worth it when I ran it, but since dropping it I've had situations where it could have helped.
Hope this helps in some way. I'll probably post my own list in a little bit after it gets updated; I'd love to get some feedback if I do.
As for the spoiled cards, I'm really liking Praetor's Grip. And Spawning Shell; kinda reminds me of Aether Vial.
And it looks like my Gauntlet of Power and Nightmare Lash are gonna have replacements (or friends).
In addition, Victimize is a fun little recursion spell, that has the bonus of being a sac outlet as well.
Cards like Fleshbag Marauder, Innocent Blood, and Barter in Blood will let the other players help make Kresh bigger too.
Archdemon of Unx can help recycle tokens into other tokens, Hell's Caretaker can exchange creatures for ones in your yard, and Rakka Mar makes tokens with a decent power.
Aggro- With aggro, I like Korlash, Heir to Blackblade. He usually comes at a decent size, not too expensive to cast if you need to replay him a few times, and regeneration is never bad thing to have. Plus add in something like Nightmare Lash and he's capable of one-shotting people.
I stopped playing before M2011, so we're talking that set plus what's been released in the Scars block so far. I know of Grave Titan, and plan on adding him in, but other than that any experience with other newer cards would be great.
It's a Korlash, Heir to Blackblade Deck and it's tuned for multiplayer.
And as always, please and thank you
You made my day by suggesting Killer Bees. I'm a big fan of them, and Unyaro Bees as well
Oblivion Stone and All is Dust can give you more outs to artifacts and enchantments.
Basilisk's Collar is a good equipment, so is Loxodon Warhammer.
Myojin of Night's Reach can really mess people up. Solemn Simulacrum is a great include.
Hatred is a sick card and can drop someone completely by surprise.
Phyrexian Tower, Miren, the Moaning Well, and Bojuka Bog are all good lands to add. Strip Mine, Wasteland, and friends are also possibilities, depending on how problematic lands are in your meta.
I've also been debating whether to run Korlash or something else. The main problem I've come across is that a lot of other mono black generals, like Horobi, Death's Wail or Anowon, the Ruin Sage, would require retooling most of the deck. The only one I've tried in his place is Drana, and she wasn't really better or worse imo. I'd just give her a try and see if you like her.
Hope this helps
Edit: Forgot some stuff.
Leyline of the Void is good for anti-graveyard. And the 4 fetches that find swamps are good if you're not on a budget (2 from Onslaught and 2 from Zendikar). I only run 2 (both from Onslaught) and it works well for me.
Gaea's Cradle might be a good choice, depending on how many creatures you run. Yavimaya Hollow is another good land to consider.
You're running Snow Lands, so you may as well throw in Mouth of Ronom. With that, plus Strip Mine and friends, you might want to add Life from the Loam.
Worldly Tutor is a great tutor to add.
With so many utility creatures, Deadwood Treefolk probably deserves a look.
And definitely Vedalken Orrery, it can let you save your stored mana if Omnath dies at an inopportune moment.
Hope this helps some
Scapeshift is great utility, letting you change any to all of your lands into other lands. It also combos with Life from the Loam.
Phyrexian Tower is another sac outlet, and potential ramp.
Hope this helps some
I'd also like to suggest the addition of Myr Retriever to the colorless creature list, or at least group it with Junk Diver. I realize they aren't wholly functional reprints, but the difference between the two makes either one arguably better than the other (cheaper vs evasion).
I'd also suggest Honden of Infinite Rage since it can pick off creatures or help finish off opponents, and goes well with the other two you have, as well as Wound Reflection. I know it's not in the WUB focus, but you'll probably just want to tutor it up with EI anyways.
Sterling Grove can act as Greater Auramancy #2, as well as a possible tutor.
Lotus Bloom seems a little weak, I'd consider dropping it for Sol Ring.
Are these EDH tourneys you're going to 1v1 or Multi? If it's the latter, I'd suggest some creature wraths, like Hallowed Burial or Final Judgment; things that won't blow up your world too. And it'll help you survive to combo out. Vindicate is a good choice for 1v1.
Have you considered LD? I know it costs 11+, and is really risky, but Armageddon / Ravages of War / Catastrophe/ etc while floating the 7 for EI can spell GG.
Hope this helps some, and gl at your tourneys.
I was in top deck mode and my board consisted of around 12 Swamps, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, the Dark Depths i drew my last turn, now with 7 counters on it, Mirror of Fate, and my Korlash. I have one card in exile: Yawgmoth's Will. Phelddagrif had 3 cards in hand, his general out, with about 15 lands, and Leyline of Anticipation. Radha was also in top deck mode with 10 lands, Mana Reflection, and his general out. Everyone is at 10 life or less.
It's Radha's turn and, of course, he draws Emrakul. He casts it and it sticks. He skips the rest of his turn and goes right into the extra one. Since I have no flying creatures he sends it my way. Here's where things get funny:
With the Annihilator trigger on the stack, Phelddagrif flashes in Jester's Cap and uses it on me. He finds my Vampire Hexmage, Aether Snap, and Diabolic Tutor and exiles them. He then flashes in Vedalken Orrery out of his hand, then uses his last card Donate to give it to me. I crack my Mirror, and shuffle my now 4 card library. Pheldd uses his general ability to let me draw. And I pull the Hexmage. I pop the Depths, sack 6 swamps to the Annihilator trigger and block and kill Emrakul with a Marit Lage token.
I killed Radha my next turn, and on Pheldd's turn he played and bounced it 3 times, decking me.
But the look on my other friend's face while Pheldd was setting me up was priceless
As for the topic on hand, I'd have to agree with the other posts, it's just too risky to use reliably.
Scarecrone: Fantastic reanimation for the creatures in your deck, and can sac itself for a card in response to removal and board wipes.
Planar Portal: Reusable tutoring that can also be animated by Karn into a big bruiser.
Relic of Progenitus: More graveyard hate always helps
Pithing Needle: Can shut off a lot of annoying things.
Expedition Map: A nice fetch utility; with recursion it can help you pull of Urzatron, among other things.
Edit: Soul Foundry: A funny card that is ridiculous depending on what you can imprint on it.
Edit: Duplicant: Some useful spot removal.
Here are a couple more expensive but still good choices:
Nevinyrral's Disk: Another board wipe which combos with Darksteel Forge, and can be animated by Karn. You can get one for about $3-5.
Sol Ring: Some of the best acceleration you can have, especially early game. And, again, another Karn animation. Goes for about $8-12.
Sensei's Divining Top: Doesn't need to be explained; goes for about $8.
Crucible of Worlds: Great land recursion; goes for around $10.
Lightning Greaves: Some of the best equipment in EDH; goes for about $4, or you can grab the Phyrexia vs Coaltion Duel Deck or the Assemble the Doomsday Machine Archenemy Deck that includes it.
Mishra's Factory: A good manland and since it turns into an artifact it can combo with Forge to make a great blocker. Goes for about $3.
Hope this helps some.