@hesuskrist
Thanks! I've always wanted to use Mogis in a build like this, and I'm actually quite happy with how he performs. I see what you're saying with Anger of the Gods , but I find I'm usually quite fine against aggro, and the RR cost is tougher for me to hit early on. I find with Drown in Sorrow and Bile Blight , as long as they don't get too far ahead, I can handle aggro. That said, if I ever end up with more of a red presence in the deck, Anger of the Gods will be the first card in here.

And you're right about Murderous Cut . It's a great card, but Empty the Pits has such a huge cost I can't afford to be emptying out my grave. I run Silence the Believers in the SB for fatty decks, and it seems to work well most of the time.

Thanks for the support, I really appreciate it!

you can use Mind Rot for additional epic discard

@Son-of-Mace
I find between Despise , Liliana Vess and Rakshasa's Secret , I have more than enough discard for the typical matchup. Although I might throw some Mind Rot into the SB for facing control, as they are currently my toughest matchup.

Thanks for the comment!

This list needs Thoughtseize ...

@DatMidrangePlayer
Thoughtseize is one that I've struggled with in testing. Yes, it's nice to have less of a chance at whiffing with it, but I'm almost always pulling a creature or walker with it anyways, as nothing else is immediately back breaking to me. The issue I have with Thoughtseize is that 2 life every time it's cast. I've had many games come down to stabilizing when I'm only a few life points away from lethal, and has i run Thoughtseize instead of Despise , I would have lost. So for me, saving the life in this build is well worth the small chance of not hitting a creature or walker.

I would run urborg tomb of yawgamoth in this list - this allows you to run a couple of extra mountains to get Chandra on time but still have plenty of black for empty the pits :)

you could also run evolving wilds as a way to get more cards in the grave yard and empty for more :)

@GooseNotts
Urborg is definitely going in, I don't know what I was thinking leaving it out. I'm not sure I need more mountains though, I've never had an issue getting Chandra out, as I essentially have 10 potential sources of red.

As for Evolving Winds, I'm not sold on them. I do love the idea of filling up the grave, but having the lands come in tapped is a huge downside for me in the early game, as I need to try to keep pace until I can stabilize.

What does everyone think? I'm not the greatest at developing mana-bases, so if anyone has some insight that would be fantastic!

PS- Thank you to everyone for the comments/upvotes, the deck cracked the top 15 today! I really appreciate all the help and support, it's made a massive difference to the quality of the deck. I'm finally taking this to FNM this week, so I will have an update for all you lovely folks sometime this weekend!

You could take out the Bloodstained Mires so you could run Ob Nixilis, Unshackled in sideboard. He gets a buff when you kill something (which this deck does alot). Also, everybody is gonna be running some form of search (fetches, Chord of Calling etc.)

Seems like a fun deck but i dont really understand Whip of Erebos when you are running only three real creatures. Maybe consider swapping them out for another Chandra, Pyromaster and a 1 of Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker or Waste Not (the later of which seems like a potential blow out in this kind of deck, but im not too sure how well it performs realisticly.) If you are struggling with control I would probably add in Thoughtseize to the sideboard replacing Stain the Mind since loss of life isnt so important in that match

@Vyxil
I might try Ob Nixilis, Unshackled as a 1-of, but to be honest, whenever I've played with him before, he just hasn't performed all that well. He comes down so late that people aren't typically needing to fix mana at that point, so not being able to crack fetches isn't very detrimental. That, and their board and hands should be pretty much empty by then anyways (with the exception of control, who don't run creatures regardless). Like I said, I'll test him out as a 1-of, but I'm just not sure Standard is his home right now.

@MummaLisk
The whip is actually one of the more important cards in here. I take alot of damage in the early game, so against any build running creatures, it REALLY helps stabilize once I get something on the field. The best play with it is to tutor it to the top with Lily, and cast Empty the Pits on their end for a bunch of lifelinking zombies the following turn.

Waste Not does SEEM awesome, but I've never been impressed with it. I would need to take too much removal out to make it consistent, and even then the gains aren't great. I'd much rather just take their creatures away instead of getting a zombie or two.

I've actually been pleasantly surprised by Stain the Mind. Removing their only threats completely from the game is huge. Or use it on counters/draw spells if you're in a pinch. I'm also thinking of bumping Chandra up to 2, you might be right there..

Thanks for the feedback!

@TheFanatic
Okay, you were right. Lightning Strike has now replaced Pharika's Cure. Hooray for fewer dead drops and increased versatility!

I tip my hat to you sir.

wouldn't anger of the gods be better in place of drown? or do you feel the scry is important?

I'm conflicted with Anger of the Gods since it IS technically better than Drown in Sorrow. I do really like the scry from Drown in Sorrow, and it's actually been quite useful. My problem with AotG is that being able to consistently hit RR without sacrificing all my black mana requirements (ie. Empty the Pits). Not to mention I have Bile Blight and Lightning Strike to deal with 3 toughness creatures.

So for now I'm sticking with Drown in Sorrow, but I'll probably test with Anger of the Gods soon and see if I can make it viable.

More Sarkhans, more Tormenting Voice. start there imo.

Whip feels incredibly weak in this list.

Should definitely run Empty the Warrens. And Empty the Catacombs

Kickass!

@Findlesticks
I'll have to keep those in mind for if I ever want to convert this to other formats. Could really take the emptying theme all the way. :P

@JakeHarlow Thanks!

Okay, so I'm making a last-minute change before FNM tonight. Chandra, Pyromaster has been a touch underwhelming for me when she shows up. I like her, but the punch just isn't there the way I'd like it. Luckily, I managed to trade for a Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker, so he will be replacing her for now. I think he will give me alot more finishing power when he shows up, and he can even act as some extra removal so the flavor is right. It messes with my curve a bit, but depending how he performs, I might just break the bank for another copy. Besides, I think him and Liliana Vess make a lovely couple.

Let me know what you guys think! And like I said, I'll be updating with how FNM goes sometime this weekend.

Have you actually tried this at any form of tournament?

@rochdalekilla9
As of right now, I've only done playtesting on Cockatrice, or against friends etc. It's gone fairly well, and I'll be taking it to FNM tonight for its run at an actual event.

I'll definitely let everyone know how it goes, and hopefully come back with good news. :P

I would drop a bile blight and a rakshasa secret and run 2 magma jet just to allow you to fix your draws

I really enjoy your deck and what it's become and I'm wondering if you could give me any tips on my deck for tonight which will be my first FNM with it. I went for more of a discard/waste not than you did but our decks are still somewhat similar. Your hand is kind of big, let me take care of that

What do you do against hard-core control decks? I was play testing this deck against my friends U/B control and I couldn't do much. What do?

Those are the toughest match-ups for me for sure. Game 1 is kind of a write off most of the time, but post-SB I stand more of a chance.

Bring in Stain the Mind and Phyrexian Revoker to remove threats from the game. The extra Rakshasa's Secret to keep their hand low, and you can bring in Tormod's Crypt to try and ruin their plans of casting Dig Through Time.

You just side out creature-based removal, but definitely keep Hero's Downfall in there.

Admittedly, it's still not a great matchup. But if you can land a couple Stain the Mind and take their walkers/finishers out before they cast them, you stand a good chance.

I made this deck since aggro/creature builds are so prominent right now, and in doing that I had to take a hit against control. If the meta shifts, I'll definitely be adjusting the main.

I feel Whip of Erebos is not that good here as your creature count is extremely low. Maybe include Brain Maggot x2 instead of whip MB and whip SB for burn decks?

@drewmighty
The whip is actually a crucial part of the build. The best play is to tutor it up to the top with liliana, and then pull a big Empty the Pits on their end step for a swarm of lifelinking zombies. I need that lifegain to stabilize in the late game as I'm typically pretty low on health by that point. It's saved me more times than I'd like to admit, and I just can't justify losing it.

Brain Maggot I've tried. It's a nice option, but really, it's just removal that's easy to get rid of. With so much other removal it just isn't strong enough in this deck.

Thanks for the feedback!