This very well may be the direction I take my deck after rotation. Hopefully M15 will reprint Mind Rot or something like it. +1 for the idea!

Would there be a cheaper alternative for Thoughtseize x3 ?

@Jcatreid

Duress is about as good as it gets there, lol!

Yah. Nothing much B beats a Thoughtseize . It's just excellent all around. Duress shines as a sideboard card where it sees play against spell decks such as Esper and Red Wins.

Deck description updated. Comments purged.

Thoughts on Drainpipe Vermin ?

I've decided to swap Cremate in for Read the Bones . Odd, I know. But this is where my peculiarity benefits (sometimes).

Thanks for the shout-out :D

I have been debating on whether or not I should add Drainpipe Vermin as well. My friend says I should go for it, but I feel like it might use up turn 2 to discard 1 card, which honestly, is not good, considering the fact that we have Brain Maggot , which does a better job of that.

Cremate is definitely a good card. In a competitive match-up I would see it as a side board, especially with Golgari Dredge/Enchantress becoming a thing now.

Im glad you brought back Master of the Feast and added one more Mind Rot haha

:) Cremate in the mainboard vs sideboard was a decision primarily based on cmc and life. One drop to draw a card and lose zero life, as well as putting a stop to a reanimator deck just feels right. I hated having so many 3cmc cards.

I think I'll pass on the vermin, too.

I might be able to get a few Nightveil Specter back, too. Although, I'm not sure where to put 3x.

I was at one point seriously considering Liliana's Reaver ...

Have you thought about Tormented Thoughts ? I use it in a build like this, Mind Milkshakes For All

Lol I was just looking at that this mOrning. I will have to think some more about it. If it were an instant I'd put it in in a heartbeat as I could respond to the opponent killing off my creature.

I was able to get my Nightveil Specter back, so I have removed Herald of Torment .

Question: Should I keep Spiteful Returned in the deck or replace the 4x with something like a 4th Nightveil Specter , 2x Desecration Demon and another cremate? Or something from the above and 2x Liliana's Reaver ? I'd also really like to have Cruel Feeding in the deck for a one drop +5 to life. OR. .. possibly a nice instant power buff for extra damage. Sonuva...

I just feel like the deck is missing a finishing touch.

Take out Spiteful Returned and add that 4th Nightveil Specter , 2x Liliana's Reaver (Because there's literally no downside to it and it's a threat to both your opponent AND his/her creatures) and complete that playset of Cremate .

I added Cremate myself and I have to say, It's so much better drawing 1 card on your opponent's turn then drawing 2 on my own. Just sayin'

I'm very tempted to do just that. But I'm still thinking of buffs. There's Dark Favor , although I don't think it can be cast on my attack phase in response. Boon of Erebos is a little weak. Scourgemark , very weak, but nice for card draw. Sinister Possession could be fun.

Meh, I guess I'm just thinking out loud.

I was just thinking, if you are going to take out the Herald of Torment , then I'd say that you can afford the life loss from Read the Bones . It just gives 3-4 times the card advantage over Cremate .

I'm trying a post-rotation version of this deck (Mono Black (Post Rotation)) and I'm running the herald and the bones and I'm not having too much trouble with losing life by either of them nor Thoughtseize since I have all the life gain from Whip of Erebos .

I have gone 3-4 playtests (against other post-rotation decks) where I have won by putting both Spiteful Returned and Herald of Torment onto my Brain Maggot on T6 I usually drop the Whip of Erebos and all is fine.

I can understand taking out the Spiteful Returned and Herald of Torment for current standard but I'd definitely hang onto them if I were you, lol!

Sleeved and in the box.

I love read the bones but it takes up a valuable slot where I can find more reasons (for myself) to run cremate. It's a matter of taste, I guess

In my deck, I splash blue for Notion Thief

In this kind of deck, he shines very bright, stopping them from ever thinking about getting any sort of card advantage, just in case they try to Underworld Connections , and try to get in more cards than you have hand destruction.

Especially against control, who like to rev for a million at the end of your turn.

You can have the life gain, but i'll take the cards, thank you!

It also works well with Master of the Feast , as it nets you a card instead of your opponent (Can't have them drawing cards, can we?).

All around great deck!

+1 from me!

That is an excellent suggestion. If I still had Temple of Deceit I would surely run it. I have plenty of the thieves. I suppose I was so adamant on making this entirely mono black that I ignored everything else. When I acquire some that's exactly what I'll do. I'm leery at running too much of any other color, however, but maybe I shouldn't be. Thank you for the suggestion and the +1!

...OR I could run Prophetic Prism instead of Temple of Deceit . Scrying is nice, but for this deck each mana matters per turn, and I think a 2 drop that lets me draw a card and tap it for blue for Notion Thief (or just black) isn't too bad of an idea. Thoughts?

Meh, maybe not. I'm thinking too hard lol