Moonlit Nocturne

Vintage Counterspell Infinite Combo Sacrifice Tokens UB (Dimir) Vampires

Balaam__

Land (21)

• 3x Cavern of Souls
• 2x Island
• 4x Polluted Delta
• 3x Swamp
• 4x Underground Sea
• 4x Watery Grave
• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip

Sorcery (3)

• 1x Bitter Ordeal
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Imperial Seal

Creature (15)

• 3x Bloodline Keeper  ^Flip
• 3x Cordial Vampire
• 3x Vampire Nighthawk
• 4x Vampire of the Dire Moon
• 2x Viscera Seer

Artifact (3)

• 1x Black Lotus
• 1x Mox Jet
• 1x Mox Sapphire

Instant (14)

• 1x Ancestral Recall
• 4x Counterspell
• 4x Dark Ritual
• 4x Mana Drain
• 1x Vampiric Tutor

Enchantment (4)

• 4x Intruder Alarm

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Sideboard

Instant (10)

• 4x Apostle's Blessing
• 4x Mana Leak
• 1x Remand
• 1x Surgical Extraction

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord

Sorcery (4)

• 4x Thoughtseize

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Maybeboard

Creature (1)

• 1x Carrion Feeder

Instant (1)

• 1x Cryptic Command

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Grave Pact

Artifact (1)

• 1x Altar of Dementia

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Never having really been satisfied with this build, I’ve come back to it after some time to give it an overhaul and a new description. I’m open to any and all suggestions, but I’ll be keeping to the Bloodline Keeper + Intruder Alarm combo as the central theme of the build so don’t expect any drastic alterations. No, there is no alternate universe where this becomes a Tier 1 deck, and I’m ok with that. This one’s just for fun ^_^

The Mana Base

Nefarious creatures of the night draw from the darker, more manipulative dregs of the mana pool.

•Underground Sea taps for {B} or {U} with no restrictions. Aim to have this land hit the table every available opportunity.

•Watery Grave holds the soggy yet consecrated earth our vampiric colleagues require to enter play.

•Polluted Delta allows us to scour our library for either a Swamp or an Island. When advisable, search for Underground Sea for the best of both worlds.

•Cavern of Souls will sate the hunger of any creature in the deck; just name Vampire as the creature type.

•The vile and repugnant soil of the Swamp will pay for any creature in the deck.

•To manipulate and redirect the intentions of the enemy, one must be an Island unto oneself.

•Westvale Abbey   casts a grim shadow across the land. Once played, the grim spectre of a 9/7 with stat buffs galore looms ominously, inflicting psychological warfare on the opponent.

Extraneous Mana Sources

•Black Lotus for those critical soft combos. Activate it to cast a tutor, floating the other two {B} to cast a creature. Or use it in conjunction with Dark Ritual to open up even more opportunities.

•Mox Jet/Mox Sapphire grant us an additional {B} and {U}, respectively.

•Dark Ritual really opens the floodgates of what a basic Swamp can do.

Counter Magic

To thwart the opposing player’s designs, we have a handful of spells at our disposal.

•Mana Drain will stop an opponent in their tracks and reward us on the subsequent turn for our efforts.

•Wield Counterspells like Ganondorf, banishing whatever you found irritating to the gap between dimensions.

Tutors and Draw Spells

These cards help facilitate getting particular cards in play at the most appropriate time.

•Demonic Tutor is the AK-47 of tutors. When you absolutely, positively got to have a particular card in hand right now—Accept no substitutes.

•Vampiric Tutor will find the card we want, whenever we want, but sets up our next draw and for 2 points of life loss. And it’s on theme!

•In need of a particular card? Transcribe what you desire, melt a bit of paraffin wax over the enclosed envelope, then use your signet ring to impress the Imperial Seal into the wax and wait for it to set. Please allow one to two turns for delivery (Sorry, no C.O.D.’s).

•Ancestral Recall won’t search for anything specific, but drawing 3 cards is seldom a bad thing. Using it in conjunction with either top-deck tutor is like paying extra for the expedited shipping.

The Children of the Night

What sweet music they make!

•Vampire of the Dire Moon will be our Turn 1 drop. Deathtouch gives the opponent pause for thought; ‘Do I really want to trade my such-and-such creature just to get rid of a 1/1?’ Even if they roll the dice, we’ll net a point of life for the trouble.

•Viscera Seer seems rather...bland. Which he is, were it not for his ability. More on that later.

•Greetings and Salutations! Cordial Vampire is a most amiable fellow. Cutlery in its proper place at table; a courtly kiss on the wrist for a fair maiden; never wears white after Labor Day; whenever a creature (or even he himself!) dies, each other vampire receives a +1/+1 counter. Stensia Finishing School really paid off.

•Vampire Nighthawk makes for a solid, well-balanced creature. A 2/3 flying blocker with lifelink, all for 3 mana.

•Bloodline Keeper  , besides having some wicked artwork, has precisely the right ability we’re looking for. He is part of the central combo this entire deck is built around, after all. We’ll go over that in detail below, but suffice to say that for now he’s a potent 3/3 flyer that will easily transform into an even stronger 5/5.

The Bell Tolls for Thee

•If everything grows to fruition, we’ll be looking at a boardstate boasting our key combo, Bloodline Keeper + Intruder Alarm . The enchantment is straightforward; each and every time a creature enters play, all creatures untap. So when we tap our Lord of Lineage to produce a 2/2 neophytic initiate, he’ll immediately untap. Repeat this cycle as many times as desired to amass a surging and writhing vampiric horde, then swarm and overwhelm the opponent.

•Alternatively, it shouldn’t be too difficult to sacrifice 5 creatures in order to flip Westvale Abbey  . Doing so summons Ormendahl, Profane Prince  , a fearsome sight to behold.

•If simply inundating the opposing player with innumerable token creatures is a bit low brow for you, I present for your delight Bitter Ordeal. Remember Viscera Seer, that mediocre 1/1? Take an educated guess as to the amount of cards remaining in the opponent’s library, then use Bloodline Keeper   to conjure up that many tokens. Sacrifice them to Viscera Seer, then cast Bitter Ordeal, gravestorming your way to victory by exiling their entire library. Reminiscent of that great bit of dialogue between Jonathan Crane and Commissioner Gordon in Dark Knight Rises. “Very well, Death! [Bangs Gavel]...By exile!”

TL;DR

•Stay afloat Turns 1-3 by casting chump blockers and using counter magic

•Tutor for Bloodline Keeper   and Intruder Alarm

•Overwhelm the opponent with endless 2/2 token flyers or through sacrificing said tokens to Viscera Seer, fueling Bitter Ordeal’s Gravestorm.

The Sideboard

The sideboard consists of contingencies to anticipated roadblocks. Some more counter magic; some protection in the form of Apostle's Blessing; some preemptive discard/removal spells and a Planeswalker that didn’t make the cut. I’m open to any suggestions.

Regarding the Maybeboard, it’s just the vestigial remains of ideas left on the cutting room floor. I’ve left them here in case I care to come back at a later date and revise anything.

Date added	4 years
Last updated	2 years
Key combos	Bloodline Keeper + Intruder Alarm
Legality	This deck is Vintage legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 1 Mythic Rares 29 - 1 Rares 8 - 1 Uncommons 10 - 8 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	1.87
Tokens	Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Vampire 2/2 B
Folders	Vintage, Vampires, Vintage Decks