I'm a grixis player. Here is what I have to ask and say

Forlorn Pseudamma =bad. Plain bad. I would rather run almost anything.

Pain Seer is way too aggressive a card for this deck and will provide miniscule value. Period.

Underworld Connections means you need a way of replenishing life. You do not have that in Grixis.

You need a board sweep of some sort. Period.

Nightveil Specter does not belong in a grixis build normally. Hard to cast. Harder to provide advantage with.

Your mana base is a bit off also, your spell a shows a splash red. Your mana shows equal porportions.

Tap out or Draw go?

Recommendations

Rakdos's Return Why? because it's the anti Sphinx's Revelation . It be good.

Syncopate Best early counter along with Essence Scatter .

Divination Draw. Bang.

Anger of the Gods , Ratchet Bomb and Drown in Sorrow "Sweep" - American Curlers

Essence Scatter because less creatures=less problems

This is the list I made with cards on hand but most the list is still pretheros cards.

Thanks! I'm trying to learn the mechanics and how to play all the control decks. I'm a control player who is so used to playing Esper that I don't even think about life loss. I'm really trying to find a way to abuse Ral Zarek in standard right now, but to do that, I need Grixis. Black for removal, Red for Ral, and Blue for the fun stuff.

My deck My take on Esper (Help?) was really really good. It beat almost any deck that it played except for red white heroic. Can you leave any thoughts on that one?

Be careful on the four of Rakdos's Return, mind you. Aggro burnout will make it dead. Your esper looks fine. Only thing I would do is side the Blood Barons and then add two more Jace, AoT.

Maybe replace some of the Dissolve with Psychic Strike and/or Counterflux ? That would be easier on your mana base.

Also Far / Away . It's very good for dealing with creatures. It also scales very well throughout the game

I was running grixis before born of the gods it was working fairly well, I just didn't put enough money into it. Here was the latest decklist I was playing Grixis suggestions wantedAlso Mizzium Mortars is needed at least on the sideboard if Blood Baron of Vizkopa is common where you play

This deck has definitely great control, but its obviously going to take many turns to win. If your playing against another deck with counter spells, your probably going to need around 9-10 mana open to play AEtherling safely. Of course, your Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver is another win condition but will take some time. Quicken might work if want to force a player a player to discard cards on their turn, especially useful if they're top decking. (plus Thoughtseize can be nearly useless at that point.)

I have been thinking about whether or not quicken would go well with much of anything in this deck, but it would only be good against other control decks. I may consider it as a two-of in the sideboard, since there are only like 3 control players at my meta. Thanks for the suggestion!

Once again I wonder if Mogis, God of Slaughter could find a home in Grixis. He offers an immediate impact and doesn't need to become a creature to be effective.

Depending on your meta, you may want to trade out two drown in sorrow for two mizzium mortars in the main. If you don't you'll be better positioned against aggro, but dead against any deck that runs the blood baron in your first game.

Four thoughtseize is also a bit much in a deck without healing. I'd take out 1-2 and add an Elixir of Immortality .

Dimir Charm is great against aggro, MUD, MBD, control, and anything that runs mutavault. Plus it disrupts scrying and is cheap. It's too versatile not to include.

You don't need another two Rakdos' Return in the side. Replace them with Slaughter Games . That card can destroy decks that overly rely on one card, such as Sphinx's Revelation. You may also want to consider running a few Lifebane Zombie s in the side against white aggro or g/r monster type decks, or perhaps even Stormbreath Dragon s against any control deck that runs white. The former is more reliable and better than the latter though.

You may also want to run one more land. Most control decks go up to 26 or 27. I run 25 and find it enough, but 24 is really pushing it.

And to the commentator above, I think Mogis is better suited for a Grixis deck that is midrange focused, not control. Against aggro, he doesnt do enough for a control deck and 4 mana is expensive early game while fighting off a hoard of weenies. In longer games he may be worth it, but then as a sideboard card against control.

I would try putting in Counterflux , while at times a little difficult to cast it is a very strong card against other control decks. The overload is rarely used, but the 'can't be countered' is really strong.

Also in my Grixis Control, I run Ral Zarek as he offers some more creature control, or sometimes that extra mana you need to drop the AEtherling safely. Also has a devastating ultimate that is basically good game if you get 2 or more turns.

As stated with the land count. I would definitely add at least one more land.

Thanks guys! Suggestions are taken and the board is updated accordingly. I think this deck runs MUCH better at 26 land, so thank you for that.

I had a Ral Zarek in the mainboard, then he went sideboard, and then I took him out entirely. I feel like he would work much better in an Inspired Mechanic-heavy deck.

I really like having all the creature control of Dreadbore , Anger of the Gods , Bile Blight and Hero's Downfall , as well as all the hand control of Thoughtseize , Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver and Dreadbore .

Lifebane Zombie is indeed a great sideboard-worthy card, and I have considered it heavily. But most of the time I can get rid of their threats through other means, and so normally when I draw it, even though it is 3 intimidate damage, it tends to be a dead draw. I want to make this deck win on as few creatures as possible.

As for Mogis, God of Slaughter , I have picked up two and am probably taking out a Thoughtseize and a Jace, Architect of Thought for him.

Scratch that, I replaced two sideboard Ratchet Bomb s with Mogis

Syncopate Maybe?

No syncopate. I don't like the card anymore. In Ravnica, it was good because of the shock lands and how everyone used them and yadda yadda, but in BnG, with all the temples, it's not good for early game removal and typically not good for late game, either. I would much rather have a Dissolve so I can scry or a Counterflux so I know the spell stays gone.

Another, much-ignored counter that works for grixis is Psychic Strike . It doesn't give you scry, as Dissolve does, but it does interrupt your oppenents scrying, and it is often a bit easier to hit 1UB than 2UU when using three colors, at least for me.

For much the same reason, I prefer Pilfered Plans to divination. Same draw, but for 1BU instead of 2U you get to interrupt their scry.

Since scry is so prominent in the Theros block, I've found that the touch of mill from those two cards (as well as ashiok) can really put a hitch in other deck's plans. Especially against mid-range and control, which are both very prominent in the meta.

I agree on Mizzium Mortars needing to be main deck. It gets rid of a lot of problem things mainly Blood Baron of Vizkopa .

also, you are HEAVY on 3 drops and not very many 2 drops. I'd put in some Devour Flesh or Essence Scatter for things to do on turn 2.

Thoughtseize should be in the sideboard. You lose too much life in Grixis and against aggro you will REALLY be losing life too quickly. Best to bring them in games 2 and 3 against midrange/control.

Dimir Charm is an excellent removal spell vs monoblue, monoblack, and it's actually not bad vs gruul gain one as you can take out a "mana dork" or Courser of Kruphix or Mutavault .

I've been testing Grixis for quite awhile now and these have been my findings. Hope this helps and good luck!

I like the look of your deck. +1. How are you liking counterflux main? I tried it and it felt a bit clunky. I have 1 in the side strictly for control mu. Mind taking a look?

Heavy lies the Crown

I love this deck. I really wouldn't mind constructing it and seeing how it does around my area. Everyone here plays Esper control so it could be a very interesting matchup.

THANKS FOR THE INSPIRATION!!!!

kyle_vanerp

No problem! I'm originally an Esper player, so I know how to beat it with this deck. Try siding out the 3 Anger of the Gods , 2 Mizzium Mortars and 2 Dreadbore for all 4 Slaughter Games , 2 Psychic Strike , and 1 Ratchet Bomb . You can get rid of their AEtherling , Elspeth, Sun's Champion , and if you're lucky enough to draw into the Ratchet Bomb , then you can get rid of their Detention Sphere .

This deck makes a nice natural counter to Esper because it has the Quicken +Rakdos's Return combination.

Good luck at your meta! Post back and let me know how you do!

Are you running Jace, Architect of Thought as card advantage? I have Jace, Memory Adept as a substitute for that. If your not running it as card advantage then what are you using it for?

Architect of Thought is generally better against most match ups. He is a turn 4 drop, whereas Memory Adept is turn 5. Not only does he come out earlier, but he is more useful against aggro as he reduces the damage you take from each creature by 1. Memory Adept only has more uses during control, where the one turn later cast isn't as much of an issue, and where mill becomes becomes a viable strategy. But even in this match up, Architect is better if they are running Elspeth and soldier tokens are a threat.

Omphaloskeptic

Thanks for the comment. Precisely the reason I run him.

kyle_vanerp

All of Jace, Architect of Thought 's abilities are good. His +1 says "stop aggro decks or Elspeth tokens. His -2 reads "Get card advantage" and finally his ultimate says "Take thier best cards"

He is a much better option than Jace, Memory Adept .

For this deck, would agree. I was just double checking you didn't have some sneaky ulterior motive for running him. I personally run my Jace, Memory Adept in my deck This is FNM which works perfectly. I was just hoping to maybe duel purpose him for this sort of deck when I create one. I appreciate all of your feedback and will keep this deck in mind when I construct my own. Thank you for the inspiration, which helped me move out of the Esper control and into defeating all of the other Esper control decks that run around my area. It seems that after I created my deck and won a few games with it people started running more and more of them, so I would like to beat them on a constant basis with something like this. THANKS AGAIN!!!