Goodbye Death (Destroy & Desecrate)

Standard* BG (Golgari) BUG (Sultai) Control GU (Simic) Midrange UB (Dimir)

thatPUNKdude

Creature (18)

• 2x Courser of Kruphix
• 4x Desecration Demon
• 2x Prime Speaker Zegana
• 3x Prophet of Kruphix
• 3x Reaper of the Wilds
• 4x Sylvan Caryatid

Land (23)

• 4x Breeding Pool
• 3x Forest
• 2x Island
• 4x Overgrown Tomb
• 3x Swamp
• 2x Temple of Deceit
• 1x Temple of Mystery
• 4x Watery Grave

Artifact (2)

• 2x Whip of Erebos

Instant (11)

• 3x Abrupt Decay
• 2x Cyclonic Rift
• 3x Far / Away
• 3x Syncopate

Sorcery (4)

• 4x Thoughtseize

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Sideboard

Creature (2)

• 2x Witchstalker

Artifact (6)

• 2x Pithing Needle
• 3x Ratchet Bomb
• 1x Whip of Erebos

Instant (3)

• 3x Golgari Charm

Sorcery (3)

• 3x Duress

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• I've had a blast playing with this deck at FNM.

• The title is sort of a play on the words as I have numerous bounce and counter spells ("Goodbye") as well as outright kills spells ("Death").
  
  

... sad death :-(

• Anyways, I have only been playing Magic for about 3 months and this is my first attempt at making an deck, so please, any constructive feedback would be great.
  
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• As for the deck itself, I think it's a midrange deck with splashes of control.

• The idea is to control the game early and then drop bombs later on. Furthermore, the creatures in this deck are specifically chosen because they are very hard to kill and are extremely versatile. While they are a little higher on the CMC spectrum, with the ramp I have, there is no problem getting them out.

• If I get the synergies to work properly, then a key fact to note is that , these cards can create HUGE problems for my opponent. If I can get two or three of them on the board, aside from board wipes, it is very hard for them to die and for me to lose.

• The win condition constitutes playing a Prophet of Kruphix, ideally when the other player is tapped out so they can't counter/burn/kill her, and cast a Desecration Demon flashed on their turn, ideally at the end of their Declare Attacker step, that way I get to easily take out one of their creatures. Then at the start of every combat, the opponent will either lose a creature by attacking and I block with the Demon, which is a huge 6/6 flyer, OR, they sacrifice a creature and tap the Demon and they lose a creature anyways, OR they do nothing and the Demon just stalls the board allowing me to draw more control answers. Then when I attack, they either take 6 (losing 1/3 of their life), or the other player sacs a creature and taps the Demon and I have one less creature to deal with. THEN, the Demon just untaps during their uptap step due to the Prophet of Kruphix...So basically, with the Prophet and the Demon working together, there is very little the opponent can do to have the board state go in their favour as everything keeps untapping, allowing me to attack safely and then have blockers available on their turn.

• To summarize, they either take 6 damage, OR lose a creature through sacing, OR lose a creature by the Desecration Demon blocking it, OR the Demon stalls the board state allowing me to draw more control answers (such as my kill spells or my other big creatures). It's a win-win-win-win situation for me.
  
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• Desecration Demon is simply awesome with Prophet of Kruphix. Always untapping, always forcing the opponent to make tough decisions.

• Nightveil Specter : This card seems to be seeing a lot of play, so it definitely got my attention. However, most people are playing it for the devotion it provides. I'm playing it for three reasons. First, it helps me curve out very, very nicely. Second, it is a flyer that can easily target planeswalkers and avoid everything on the ground, plus, when combined with Whip of Erebos it can provide me very consistent life gain ( Desecration Demon is amazing too but it can get tapped). Lastly, it provides me with pseudo card advantage. Being able to potentially exile some of their best card or lands when they really need them is an excellent tool to have. If I can get a few of their lands and pick up a strong creature, I can really swing the game in my favour. Plus, if I happen to get into a mirror match, then I will be able to play whatever I want of theirs. Just a really fun card.

• Prophet of Kruphix: After using her in a few games and at the most recent FNM, I have learned that she is definitely a game changer. Not only is there fantastic synergy between her and Desecration Demon , but she allows all my creatures to attack and be up and ready to block on my opponents turn. Furthermore, it allow me to flash in creatures in response to attackers and have a fresh set of mana available to cast instants on my opponents turn. Works well with Underworld Connections too. Great card.

• Reaper of the Wilds: This card is sick. Dodges Mizzium Mortars, Abrupt Decay, Ultimate Price, Doom Blade, Selesnya Charm and so much more by it being a 4 CMC, 4/5 with hexproof (if I activate it). Extremely hard to get off the board. Combined with Sylvan Caryatid, I can get her out on Turn 3, and at that point, it just completely shuts down aggro decks. Can't praise this card highly enough. Considering upping her to being a four of in this deck. Plus the scry 1 whenever a creature dies (especially with my big creatures and removal) is just the cherry on top. I feel this card is completely undervalued as of right now.

• Sylvan Caryatid: A 0/3 defender, hexproof that gives me any mana I want and blocks nearly anything aggro decks throw my way. What is not to love? Really slows down aggro decks if I can get her out on Turn 2.

• Thoughtseize: Takes out their best card for 2 life. "Hey buddy, so you know that great hand you kept on the count of that ONE good card that just made that hand playable...sorry...not anymore." Sideboard this out against aggro decks as I can't afford to take any unnecessary damage.

• Whip of Erebos: I have found this to be an excellent stabilizing card (especially against aggro; I sideboard an extra one into my main against aggro match-ups because once I stabilize against them I'm pretty close to being at 0 life, in range of one or two burn spells; this puts me at a safe distance from being killed). Once I have a Desecration Demon and Reaper of the Wilds on the board, play this right after. I am now gaining 10 life a turn, making it almost impossible for my opponent to win the race down to 0 life (unless they somehow kill my creatures or give their creatures insane amounts of power through enchantments or something). At my most recent FNM, there was a game where I won with 56 life. I feel so safe with that amount of life :P

• Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver : This is a card that I want to test out at this coming FNM. I love the fact that I can use him to potentially grab huge creatures from the opponent and use creatures against their own decks. Plus, he is a 5 loyalty on Turn 3. How awesome is that?! I'm thinking that I would normally drop Ashiok once I already have somebody on the board to block. However, if the board is clear or not very threatening, then dropping him on Turn 3 is not a problem. Just having the ability to get creatures on top of the already threatening creatures I have is a huge bonus. If I don't hit creatures, then I'm hitting their lands and spells which is also excellent. This guy along with Nightveil Specter really just screws my opponent; potentially leading to me winning using their own win condition against them (such a dick move). However, unlike the Specter, Ashiok can put cards into play for me without requiring the appropriate lands. He does not discriminate.

• Cyclonic Rift: The R/G Devotion deck can be devastating to play against if they get a Turn 1 Elvish Mystic and Turn 2 Burning-Tree Emissary along with Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. This card has saved me in three games so far by just allowing me to wipe the board (using the Overload cost) and swing in for the kill.

• Most of my instants I want to be 2 CMC as my deck is very susceptible to aggro, so having the ability to break up their flow of cards IS A MUST in order to have a chance at winning. I have found that 11 instants (most of them being a 2 CMC) gives me a pretty good change of drawing 1 or two in my opening hand, which is a perfect amount, giving me the time to drop my land, and then a bigger creature, and stabilize.

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• Let me know what you think of my sideboard. I feel like the cards I've added should close some of the gaps my main deck suffers from. Or, if you feel like I'm missing something more powerful, please post a suggestion. I'm very grateful for any advice.

• In my sideboard, I have...

  • Golgari Charm mainly for response against any kind of wrath (I'm talking to you Supreme Verdict). Also very useful against Esper to get rid of any Detention Sphere. Hits god weapons too which is nice. And lastly, with all the Master of Waves running around, being able to take out the majority of their board for BG is pretty sweet. All-in-all, it's a very versatile card for my deck.

  • Mistcutter Hydra is excellent against control decks. If I can get him out as a 4/4, I can put control decks on a pretty fast clock. Combined with my ramp, I shouldn't have much of an issue beating control by either regenerating him with Golgari Charm if they try to Supreme Verdict him or he might force them to use Sphinx's Revelation early and not to it's fullest and most efficient potential. Or maybe just hit with my other creatures, wait for him/her to Supreme Verdict and play this guy right after. Also excellent against monoblue devotion.

  • Pithing Needle is just too versatile to not include. Being able to stop Esper in their tracks by disabling Jace, Architect of Thought or AEtherling is fantastic. Also works well against monoblue devotion and Thassa, monoblack and Underworld Connections and Pack Rat, and R/G Devotion against Garruk, Caller of Beasts (which can run me over very quickly with devotion and creature card advantage). Does a lot for 1 colourless mana.

  • Ratchet Bomb to help stabilize after a zerg-like rush that a lot of mono-red decks have now. Crank it up two counters and let it rip. From then on, I should I no problem dealing with aggro decks.

  • Duress Simply, more hand disruption against Esper Control decks. That deck has done well against me. So being able to remove an AEtherling or Elspeth, Sun's Champion (their main win conditions) or some of their early control spells is paramount to having my creatures hit the board and stick.
    
    

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• So there ya have it. Again, I have only been playing for a short time and this is my first attempt at building a deck. Please help me out by providing constructive criticism (also take a look at my Maybeboard) to help me build a stronger deck and learn more about this complex but damn fun game of Magic.
  
  

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• . This way I know I'm heading in the right direction with this deck.

Top Ranked	Achieved #34 position overall 11 years ago
Date added	11 years
Last updated	10 years
Legality	This deck is not Standard legal.
Rarity (main - side)	4 - 0 Mythic Rares 40 - 8 Rares 3 - 3 Uncommons 3 - 3 Commons
Cards	58
Avg. CMC	3.11
Folders	favorite, Ideas I really like, My decks, Decks, BUG, std, Neat