Read this description for the deck's combo to make sense!!
Grind decks (Mill decks that make you mill until a land is revealed)) were pretty huge back when Mind Funeral was released. With the release of Gatecrash, they made their comeback with standouts like
Mind Grind
. However, no one seems to think of mill as a viable win condition in standard. I'm trying to prove otherwise!
When I first saw Undercity Informer, I felt love at first combo-deck-idea. It is my second favorite Gatecrash card, right behind
Firemane Avenger
. (See my other Gatecrash deck, http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/firemanes-naya-dance-party-rave/) At first, I just had the thought that Informer would be great, as long as I have creatures to sacrifice. Gravecrawler crawled his ass up to my brain and slapped my idea in the face. Now I had a way to sack creatures, and a creature to keep sacking. I thought of it for a while. How would I get enough mana? What if I don't get my Crawlers? What if I don't get my Informers? Should it be mono-black? Now, in it's completed form, I present the deck that can work two ways: As aggro against control, as control against aggro. It's Grave Grind!
More details coming later tonight.
The Cards!
Undercity Informer:
The base around the deck. The point is to mill out your opponent, and he does just that. As long as you have creatures to sack, you're golden.
Gravecrawler:
Speaking of creatures to sacrifice. Another counterpart of this deck is the never-really-gone-unless-your-opponent-has-Pillars creature. You can repeatedly sacrifice him with Undercity Informer and recast then him, for constant milling.
Crypt Ghast:
Repeatedly sacking Crawlers is fun, but costly. Crypt Ghast makes it so every Swamp=One sack and recast=one more mill. Plus, if I need to gain life or play aggro instead of control, that extort helps, especially when I can extort them using a Crawler recast.
Butcher Ghoul
and Geralf's Messenger:
To recast Gravecrawler, you've gotta have Zombies, right? These two are fairly aggressive creatures that let the Crawlers be recast repeatedly to make the combo UNDYINGly efficient. BWAHAHA
Plus, you can sack them as well, to come back better and stronger. The Geralf's can help if I need to play aggro as well.
Dimir Charm
:
With the exception of Supreme Verdict,
Dimir Charm
will counter all boardwipes. It kills off early-board douches like Champion of the Parish. But the real reason I like it is the last ability. You look at the top three, put all lands you find there into the grave, and then mill them again. Less lands in your way means more milling.
Duskmantle Guildmage:
The first ability is great. If I need to play aggro, then my Crypt Ghast will make using the first ability one or two times no problem. Then, I'll mill my opponent to sap my opponent's life.
Liliana of the Dark Realms:
She should get more credit. She grabs me Swamps to use with Crypt Ghast. Her -3 can buff my creatures if I'm playing aggro, and kills off my opponent's creatures if I'm playing control. If you can get the emblem down and the combo going you basically win, because that's an immense amount of milling.
Mind Grind
:
Mana from Crypt Ghast or from Liliana of the Dark Realms' emblem makes this card a possible game-winner. I only want two because it's only good in the late game.
Physic Strike:
Standard's best counterspell. It controls my opponent and mills them at the same time. What more could I ask for?
Thrull Parasite:
This card has two uses. If I'm playing aggro, it slowly saps my opponent. If I'm milling by sacrificing, then it removes counters from my
Butcher Ghoul
s and Geralf's Messengers so they can be sacked over and over again.
So that's my deck! Suggestions are greatly appreciated, especially in the sideboard! I'm planning on running this at this Friday's FNM, so we'll see how that goes.
Please upvote and comment! Thanks! :D
-Big Rosco
