Thus Cast the Player, Nevermore (Modern MTG Deck)

Thus Cast the Player, Nevermore

Modern BG (Golgari) Control Discard Mono-Black Theme/Gimmick

reverendvile777

Creature (4)

4x Deathrite Shaman

Planeswalker (4)

Land (22)

Sorcery (20)

Sideboard

Creature (4)

4x Kitchen Finks

Artifact (2)

2x Pithing Needle

Instant (6)

Sorcery (3)

Maybeboard

Artifact (1)

1x Crucible of Worlds

"Thus spoke the Raven, nevermore..."

This is my spin on mono-black the The Rack/Shrieking Affliction/Liliana's Caress deck with a green splash for what I think is a great synergy.

Raven's Crime + Life from the Loam

Upon collection of these two cards, I can infinitely recur Raven's Crime using retrace and lock an opponent out of the game fast, then let The Rack, Shrieking Affliction, and Liliana's Caress do their dirty work.

The Discard Package

I chose Raven's Crime because of the recursion potential.

Wrench Mind over Thoughtseize because I want to get the most value out of each spell, Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek just don't do the job fast enough.

Smallpox is good against aggro decks, and with Dakmor Salvage and Life from the Loam, it is usually always asymmetrical. Liliana of the Veil needs no explanation.

Liliana Vess is our curve topper, recurring targeted discard and tutor on-a-stick, and possible wincon against creature decks.

The Control Package

Night's Whisper helps keep my hand full when I need that extra reach.

Damnation helps keep creature decks in check.

Maelstrom Pulse is useful versus tokens and pesky otherwise hard to remove permanents.

Abrupt Decay because this is a BG deck, after all.

Liliana of the Veil - see above under The Discard Package

The Kill Conditions

Once their hand is empty, Shrieking Affliction and The Rack finish the job. Also, locking the board down and draining them with Deathrite Shaman is an alternate kill.

Other Utilities

Deathrite Shaman is awesome ramp, gy hate, and recurring damage/lifegain.

Life from the Loam helps me to never miss a needed land drop, fuels Raven's Crime, and can allow for infinite recursion of Tectonic Edge against greedy decks.

Tectonic Edge - kills manlands, nails Tron, and helps lock 3 color decks out of the game. Great with Life from the Loam.

Dakmor Salvage - normally a terrible land, in here it provides an additional recurring source for Raven's Crime, and if I'm forced to play it, is great to dump to Smallpox.

The Sideboard

Pithing Needle to help with annoying things like manlands and Deathrite Shaman trying to exile my Raven's Crime.

Maelstrom Pulse - sometimes two just isn't enough.

Infest to help against aggro decks.

Kitchen Finks to help against super fast aggro decks and burn decks (one of the few weaknesses of this deck), to gain a little life and get some great block and swing value.

Surgical Extraction and Extirpate to punish combo decks and exile counterspell packages against control decks.

Nature's Claim because it is the best green artifact/enchantment removal, and certain things like Leylines and troublesome artifacts (there are plenty of them) can really hamper me.

Anything you guys could suggest to tighten it up? Feel free to discuss the idea and be sure to give those +1's! Thanks for viewing! So far in testing it has been brutal against casual decks, interested to know how you guys think it would compete.

Suggestions

Updates Add

Matchup Report — Jan. 9, 2014

Edit

Me vs. UW Tron

I was on the play, dropped a fetch, found a basic swamp and played Deathrite Shaman.

His turn, he played Urza's Mine.

Knowing the matchup now, I sacrificed my Shaman and dropped Smallpox.

He followed up with Celestial Colonade, a River of Tears after that and played 2 Azorius Signet over the next few turns, and then got his Tron out with the help of Expedition Map.

Meanwhile I made him discard the rest of his hand to a Raven's Crime and Liliana of the Veil, one of the cards he dumped was his emrakul. During this time I also got Life from the Loam in my graveyard and a Shrieking Affliction out.

He didn't draw any threats and attacked Liliana with his manland, bringing it to one loyalty. The next turn I dropped a Maelstom Pulse on his signets, to which he replied, "I think you're gonna lose because you just did that." I responded to this by playing another Smallpox, he sacrificed his River of Tears - both of our hands are now empty.

Next turn he drew another Urza's Power Plant, played it and passed.

I dredged Life from the Loam, putting a Tectonic Edge in the graveyard, cast Life from the Loam and busted his Urza's Tower - he conceded right there and did not want to play again. :) Overall the addition of Smallpox suggested to me on another forum has turned out to be an amazing weapon against Tron, as being on the play I was able to prevent any t3 Wurmcoil Engine or Karn Liberated, I think the Tron match in general as long as I hit a The Rack or Shrieking Affliction, I can just initiate dredge until I find Tectonic Edge. Both of these make Tron a great matchup for this deck I think!

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Card Odds v1 Draw hand

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Date added	11 years
Last updated	11 years
Legality	This deck is not Modern legal.
Rarity (main - side)	4 - 0 Mythic Rares 30 - 6 Rares 10 - 6 Uncommons 10 - 3 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.00
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