haysmafia1, Flaying Tendrils is in the Sideboard because it's situational. It's obviously not going to be sided in against decks which have only x/3 Creatures. It's main purpose is to neutralize Token decks.

Not too concerned with it hitting Zombies which aren't there, as I can sac them prior to using it.

Since I only have 2x Westvale Abbey in my deck there's no way I want to make a change solely based on that. A change, might I add, that would remove one of the best cards available to a Control deck right now.

I'll keep your ideas in mind for possible tweaks later. They are interesting but I don't think they are quite what I want to try at this time.

Also, be careful saying what is and is not going to be played.

My meta is very strange as it's Casual. It ends up being very different from what is being played on the whole.

Necromantic Summons won't work if Kalitas is in Exile.

If I was going to use that I may as well get better value out of Gravepurge, which is a card I considered for a while.

Yes, I know it doesn't return Creatures to the field, but it's cheaper CMC and can give more than one chance of returning a Creature to play.

I can also play it on my Opponent's turn.

OK I've switched some cards around after a bit of thought about some of the Comments.

I originally had Eerie Interlude in the deck because it can protect my Creatures against any sort of removal.

I've put it back, this time into the Sideboard. I think that might be better than cards that return Creatures from the 'yard, with all the Exile that is around.

Hello, just saw your deck and I like its unique idea. Nevertheless I have a few points, that may demand some thought.

First I noticed, that you are running Archangel Avacyn and I am kinda questioning, if she is that good in your deck. Sure, she will always be a 5cmc 4/4 Flash Blocker, but do are you really able to draw advantage from her indestructible and boardwipe? You have three creature cards in need of indestructible. Sure, there could be tokens, but really that many? Which leads to the next probem, are you able to flip her succesfully, when you need to? You have five token producers and none of them is really so accuratly on curve, that a turn 6 flip is guareented. This may make her to narrow and to late of a 3 damage board wipe, that will also go for your tokens.

You play a good amount of removal, but this could also be optimized. Dead Weight and Grasp of Darkness for example do not really corporate well, meaning, that for one more black mana Grasp of Darkness does everything Dead Weight does, but at instant speed. While one mana removal can be useful, the four Dead Weight slots could be utilizied by much need card draw in your deck. Read the Bones or Painful Truths comes to mind.

Anguished Unmaking is a good card, but the life cost is real. To play one is okay, playing two kinda hurts and three is just straight up half your life total. This cards general removal comes at a real cost, that may put you well into the range of aggro/burn and more aggressive midrange decks. Coupled with your useage of Caves of Koilos and Ob Nixilis Reignited you are in danger of contributing to losing the game. Maybe I am wrong and Shambling Vent has a real effect.

While Transgress the Mind does not face this problem, because it exiles, Duress does. I am speaking about Madness. Some awesome cards were revealed and it might become crucial in some MU to board out the whole playset, so be prepared.

I hope I could help you, and I would be happy to further support you with suggestions! +1

OK LordDerrien you've missed some things already discussed in the Comments which makes me think I should move them to the description.

In testing this deck achieves two things you wouldn't think it does:

1. Spits out loads of tokens.

2. Gains a LOT of life. Don't forget that Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet has Lifelink.

So making Creatures Indestructible has a lot of worth. If the only thing Archangel Avacyn does is protect my Kalitas, she has done her job.

You might have missed the fact that I already have card draw through both ob nixilis and Sorin, Grim Nemesis.

The reason Dead Weight is so good, besides only costing , is that it helps me trigger Delerium, giving To the Slaughter more teeth. That has proven to be crucial on quite a lot of occasions.

I have only rarely lost life when using Caves of Koilos. I am VERY skillful with Pain lands as I've used them in all my decks for the past couple of years.

Duress is kind of crucial in this deck, to look at my Opponent's hand and rip removal spells out of it. I understand the problem that creates with Madness. What would you recommend as an alternative?

Thanks for giving me such detailed feedback. I really appreciate the chance to take a closer look at my deck.

If you are aming for removal spells, Duress is not so bad. They would end up in the graveyard anyway and trigger Dilirium after killing your creatures. Just mind that you do NOT target Madness cards, they are discarded so they can be activated. Transgress the Mind exiles, so no problem there.

Thanks for that, DieterD

Good tip about not targeting Madness cards with Duress.

Argeaux, Seems like I definitly overlooked some potential. If you say, you can work with the damage your own deck deals to you, then I am not gonna resist to that. Really did not see Kalitas, Traitor of Ghets lifelink.

What I am still a bit suspicious off, is that you can produce a great amount of tokens consistently. Sure, if Kalitas stays on the board he will create a metric-shit ton of tokens vs. any creature deck, but he will also attract a shit-to of removal, they could not use, because your absence of cretures. A 5cmc comabt-trick (Archangel Avacyn) might not be enough to keep him alive.

What I actually really like, now that I see it, is that you are able to trigger delirium. To the Slaughter is an awesome card, even more so, if triggered. You asked, what I would use instead use Duress, and the answer may not be as effiecint as Duress itself, but may hold other upsides. Pick the Brain offers hand disruption and compared to Infinite Obliteration already suggested to you, is able to first see the hand.

Last but not least your card draw. Ob Nixilis Reignited and Sorin, Grim Nemesis could accuratly provide for you, but I would not swish Read the Bones aside so easily. 3cmc and 5/6cmc is a vast difference, as is scry.

I only posed questions because I required input to provide accurate answers.

To answer your question about how a deck can go wide against those, my answer is speed. Aggro decks rebuild offensive power extraordinarily fast, and many use enchantments and/or artifacts to accelerate that process, and that require a control deck's most powerful removal to get off the board.

You do have a good point about the forced discard spells, but most decks are built around removing an opponent's board state to push through offensive moves, and control players often see themselves only removing one of the many effective options. Sheer volume will often trump the precision of targeted discard. Another thing I see very few good players expect is missing land drops on purpose. While there is no choice but to target an opponent's hand if there are cards in it, many good players will be surprised by an arbitrarily large number of lands throwing off the play, nearly or entirely wasting the spell. Simply put, they are not the most efficient. Especially when answered.

Part of my reluctance to provide answers is how often I have been vehemently turned down in egotistical condescension by control players unwilling to try anything new. By your reaction, you seem to have the same outlook. Please, inform me, if you believe otherwise. I don't mean to be condescending myself; I am simply sick of dealing with that shit.

Buddy, if you don't like how "Control" players are responding to you, maybe it's because of how you phrase your Comments.

They are very patronising.

There's a big difference between pointing a potential problem out and suggesting a solution for the person to consider, as opposed to just criticising a deck style, and players in general.

Any more of your Comments that are personal attacks will be ignored and deleted.

First of all, I do not mean this as a personal attack. If it seems I am going overboard to specify this, it is because I honestly want to have a good conversation here. Thank you, for telling me what seemed to by wrong, even if you could have done it far more eloquently. I would much prefer discussion of the deck and ideas behind it, over having to explain that I am a normal person with a perfectly calm outlook.

My apologies if I am not allowed sincere inquiry. Please, if it helps, re-read it assuming I have a more friendly disposition. I did, until you shot it down. I will again, if you are willing to listen. I meant no offense to you, and have simply been having a hellish time with circumstance for the last week.

Delete my previous comments if it helps. I get what you mean, and I have been trying to phrase my comments softly so that people do not immediately assume it is trying to knock them down a notch. Now, if I haven't made it clear enough; with an honest-to-god submissive, helpful tone of camaraderie, how can I clarify the intent behind what I am saying so that it does not seem to have a patronizing tone?

If that was too long and complicated, let me put it simply:

Sorry. Didn't mean to. Am I off the hook long enough to fix it?

I don't need simplification.

I have an MA in Literature.

For some reason you seem to think that I've ignored your Comments. I haven't.

Just because I haven't agreed with all of them doesn't mean that I've discounted them.

I added Eerie Interlude to the Sideboard to give me another way of protecting my Creatures, in response to your observations.

I am tossing up between that and Eldrazi Displacer, but am concerned that the Displacer might not stick around long enough to help.

I have many options for board wipe in my deck and Sideboard, some only 2 CMC. I know that aggro decks can go wide quickly and I'm also just as sure that I can handle that.

My local meta probably isn't as competitive as some others, so some of the types of clever aggro play you're talking about rarely happen.

LordDerrien good call on Pick the Brain.

Infinite Obliteration was still under consideration by me. It didn't do everything I wanted it to.

Pick the Brain does.

Am I wrong in thinking Pick the Brain is a little greedy considering typically in the early stages of a block there are a lot of aggro decks? I would think that extra mana will slow you down by hurting your curve early when you need it. I would think you would get a lot more use out of Transgress the Mind at a lower cost to give you that a stoppage on something like Deathmist Raptor or Inexorable Blob and keeps the the synergy with your early game strategy.

That aside, I LOVE this deck. This has me rethinking my thoughts on what I wanted to play. Big +1!

At times I am socially awkward. I have gotten used to personal friends picking up on subtle indicators, and really, I've just been having a rough week. I'm a bit burned out by now - I mean no offense to you.

Thank you, for the consideration, and for the explanation. I will try to provide constructive feedback. Whatever I'm saying, I don't mean it to be harsh.

Here goes.

The deck has board control, but creatures work wonders in holding the fort and finishing the game. Targeted removal is harder to stop and cannot be burned, but efficient creatures have the potential to kill many things, prevent damage, and perform other tasks. Against decks with few to no creatures, I find myself playing with no restriction. Immediately after they flip a Jace, I can usually slip through enough creatures to kill him in one or two turns, leaving them dead in the water.

Having said that, I feel that it would be helpful to slightly lower your count of removal spells in favor of more creatures that are very good at attacking, blocking, surviving, and giving rise to other advantage. Archangel of Tithes, if you can achieve the triple white with consistency, is a prime example of a grimace-worthy fort holder. Basically, I am trying to convey a point I have been taught by many players with far more experience than I have: If you are capable of attacking them, they are required to either take game-threatening hits or hold back attackers to deal with it; and if you are capable of favorable blocks, they are required to keep their threats back and alive until they can win in one shot. I am not stating this as a fact; merely as a point of discussion as to the most efficient course of action.

On another note, Evolving Wilds could be helpful for mana correction, and more importantly, hitting Delirium earlier now that you have many spells that could benefit from it.

I don't know if it is of any use here, but my friend came up with a strange use for Avacyn. By playing her, you get value. By flipping, she can cause issues for you if you have smaller creatures. He figured this out: if she flips, then while her flipside trigger is on the stack, you can cast another one for the indestructible anthem, and they both live. Repeat this chain as much as you want.

KyleM yeah I'm flip flopping back and forth between Pick the Brain and Transgress the Mind.

Anguished Unmaking and a sided in Declaration in Stone can both shut down Deathmist Raptor.

In the end I had a look at my card fall and am confident that I have enough in the early game to make things happen.

I may flop back.

NotSquishedYet I appreciate all constructive feedback.

Sideboard Secure the Wastes or Hangarback Walker? Might help against the aggro from B/R vampires or R/G Wolves or U/R Prowess. The only use they would have in your deck is throwing them out early, and blocking untill your deckengine starts working.

If I'm throwing Secure the Wastes out early it loses its value.

I'm at a loss as to why people don't want me to board wipe tokens/Creatures.

Nooooo to Hangarback Walker. My local meta is filled with hate cards against it.

Don't get me wrong, i realy like your deck. Alot of people do, thats why there a so much comments.The cards i sugested are an idea that popped in my head in cause you would run into 1 drops and they are to fast for you. Your deck is probably gonna have the answer for it, but the question i ask if its gonna in time or just to late. You could use your Grasp's to kill them, but thats expensive. Turn 4 Languish will save you, but for how long?

But i'm sure as hell gonna try this deck out! :)

Remark on Hangarback Walker: casting him X = 0 is deliriumfeeding :)

Exactly my thoughts Argeaux! The only reason I was favoring the Transgress the Mind was with the cheaper cost you have the option to open with a turn one Duress and turn two Transgress the Mind before proceeding with spot removal. With Pick the Brain you're forced expecting to spot removal on your second turn, which in a control matchup could cause you to lose a spell to a scry or in a midrange matchup to be forced to chose between two potential threats. I personally think you'd be better suited clearing threats from the opponent turn one and two which leaves you with the ability to follow with a Dead Weight + Grasp of Darkness combo clear on your 3rd Turn and the knowledge of whether you'd be safe to play Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet on your following turn.

Another plus would be in an aggro matchup I think this strategy allows you to bait them into biting hard at spending their resources while allowing you to clear their late game steam before coming in with your life gain on turn four either from Shambling Vent or Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet.

Now all this being said, with the Delerium ability on Pick the Brain I still think you could move some of your card counts around to 2/3 in your sideboard for 3 copies if it became necessary against a control/mirror match. This keeps it available in the limited scenarios where I would agree it is the better card but streamlines you toward what I think I hear you saying you're facing at your LGS.

I'm assuming you've play tested this a bit; what tends to be your biggest challenge? Have you faced a Jace, Vryn's Prodigy  ^Flip Madness-Control?

Sorry I meant to a counter, not a scry. I haven't had my coffee yet.

I don't mean this to be a confusing exercise for people.

I have to look at all the suggested options, of which some are conflicting, and think about how they will work with my level of skill, against the kind of decks I will be up against, and with cards I actually want to play.

I have early answers to 1 drops in Dead Weight, Grasp of Darkness (don't play it unless you're prepared to use it is my philosophy), and a sided in Declaration in Stone.

There is only one card in my deck now that has Delerium. I don't absolutely NEED to activate Delerium to use it, that's just a nice bonus.

I don't want to twist this deck to achieve Delerium, at the cost of making it weaker in other areas.

I generally only like four lands to come in tapped for my play style. I would not feel comfortable adding Evolving Wilds to the current mix, and I'm not going to take Shambling Vent out.

At the moment this deck is basically with a splash of . It won't consistently get Archangel of Tithes on the field by the mid game.

I have a lot of experience with the Angel as I built a deck around it for one season. It works best when you can give it Vigilance because you are able to attack with it while still taxing your Opponent for their attacks.

In a long game, which this deck is aiming for, it's actually not that good. People get increasingly bigger Creatures out with more mana available to pay the tithes.

I've gone back to Transgress the Mind for two reasons:

1. As you said, it fits the curve better.

2. Looking at my Opponent's hand a turn earlier is invaluable.

This deck won't beat a deck using Control. I'm sure of that.

Those decks aren't in my Casual meta. Mostly because people either can't afford Jace, don't want to play Control, or want to make a deck that has a more original angle.

It's a very weird meta I'm in at my LGS. Casual players who take great pride in original brews that they mostly make on a budget.

Of course, all my plans might go to shit and send me back to the drawing board after the first week. I'm used to that and I kind of love it.

I think it's now gotten to the stage where I'm going to look at Comments but advise people to build their own version of this deck, if they think I've made the wrong choices.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to look at this big, bold, beautiful, Black and White beastie so far.