I would drop ajani, add Smallpox dropping abzan charm, and drop a couple knights since you lack the plains/forests. I would definitely add crucible of worlds that you considered. I would add more raven's crime, probably drop worm harvest for another one, maybe geth's verdict depends on how you like it. I am a more control player so I would go with less win conditions generally and recursive removal/hand disruption.

All the duals count as forests and plains. Actually, the knights are really useful. Crucible of Worlds is an excellent card, and I love it, but I don't really need it b/c of the loams. I have already got Smallpox. Four of them, as the name indicates. I also believe that abzan charm is an excellent toolbox, as it exiles everything, including eldrazi, at instant speed, and, at worst, draws cards. As far as Ajani goes, I'd love to drop him, but I love gaining life, and I like getting two uses out of my aforementioned knights. It is, however, a 60th card, and I would love to replace it with something relevant. Thanks for the look, but look closer before commenting on people's decks.

The charm really only has 1 mode on it though, I would just run sign in blood if I wanted to draw. I still think 4 knights is too many. I read over the smallpox, I also was commenting on another junk deck at the sametime.

Also I looked at your duals, I don't think that is enough to support the knight. Though there other ways od discarding lands, I would just run a different win condition altogether. Like going the 8 rack route that way Ensnaring Bridge could be run.

Yah, well, I think that path is a better option than charm for removal, but it doesn't have the option of card draw. Either way, it only applies to a quick threat or a late game draw necessity. If I need to kill someone with a sign in blood, something went wrong. Four knights works usually, because one or two get removed quickly, usually, but what threat would you put in its place? I mean, there is the obliterator, which is too mana heavy (too many black symbols), and this isn't a straight dredge deck, so I have no use for those cards. The use of the lands in the graveyard necessitate and feed the knights, and, really, utility cards like raven's crime or the sb worm harvest both interact with knight too.

I like the bridge, and considered it, and would probably replace the Worm Harvest or perhaps the ajani, if I swapped it in. This isn't an 8 or 12 rack, as they are too fragile. You see a leyline of sanctity in a 12 rack, you just lose. This isn't that deck.

Well the leyline thing for against 8rack isn't exactly true.

Ok, so how do you remove the leyline in a mono black deck so that you can target your opponent with any discard, at all, all of which needs to target an opponent to work, other than smallpox, which can't be recurred in a mono black deck? I put some thought into the 8/12 rack thing, and it is one of the most fragile builds in the format, even in legacy, and I would feel vulnerable just thinking about playing it. I played this deck against a zoo and an eldrazi tron, and it was competitive to the point of winning over 50% of the time against either of them. I don't see how a straight discard deck would be any better.

Thanks for the bridge suggestion, though, and I agree that it's a great sidebord card. Great utility. I've run them occasionally since the weatherlight block.

Why ids wurm harvest here? seems unnecessary. Also, id go down to 1-ofs of geths verdict and abzan charm. Charm is overcosted, and geth's verdict wont be the removal spell you want it to be most of the time. unless your playing against tron.

So, what removal would be better? Smother or Go For the Throat? Or Something else? Just curious, what would you replace it with?

Yeah i like smother a lot, hits tons of threats in modern, or maybe Dismember. Slaughter Pact is real good too. or go full set of abrupt decay.

I have the fourth decay on the side. Pact is too tempermental, in my opinion, although great. I do lolike dismember. I got a bunch, and it hits most things. I agree it's a possibility. Thanks!

And, I do play Tron too much, haha. It happens.

Looks like a fun and competitive deck! +1!

I'm not very experienced with Life from the Loam based decks, but it seems like Lingering Souls could do very well here. It can be discarded to Smallpox of Liliana of the Veil or dredged into your graveyard, then cast for the flashback cost. It's even better casted from your hand!

Why Inquisition of Kozilek over Thoughtseize? Is the life pay important?

Do you know if there's any more budgety substitutions that can be made for a deck like this (like Windswept Heath for Verdant Catacombs)?

Hi Player3.14. Yes, you could swap heath for cat, the problem is that then you hit plains instead of swamps, and swamps are much more important than plains. That said, I agree with the Lingering Souls, it just didn't make the final cuts. Many people who play loam/pox do actually play the souls, so good call! Also, Thoughtseize costs two life, which may or may not be important in the long run, while Inquisition of Kozilek hits most of the majorly used threats and removal (and Blood Moon) in modern that aren't an edrazi, and doesn't hit me for anything. I might suggest that if you chose to build this deck that you opt to put the thoughtseize on the SB, as a just-in-case card.

Thanks to a discussion on another deck page, I have been motivated to change my Go for the Throats to a few Victim of Night for the overwhelming possibility of encountering affinity. I'm hoping to go out to play this deck this week, weather permitting, as really, per everyone on the East Coast.

There are some cards in this build that I do enjoy seeing in a Loam deck. Other cards that aren't normally seen are a relevant addition as well.

As of now, I'm not sure how to critique the build and I would wait for your results after you pilot through your event.

On the other hand, your SB is something I create suggestions for. Extirpate is a card that I'm not ashamed to say I played with in my 75. It ruins combination builds almost immediately, but most builds have have adapted contingencies and have several outs; they'll play around it.

The remarkable thing about BG/x builds are their ability to play attrition based games where they use disruption to fend off combinations, prolonging a game until they turn the corner. That said, I would add Golgari Charm as a way to combat combination builds since it has a toolbox effect; combo killer, sweeper, and card advantage in the mirror.

Hi anooshapalooza. I agree with the Golgari Charm in theory. I like it a lot, and used to run it until I got a playset of Smother,, and wound up cutting those,too., ultimately for the Victim of Nights. I originally cut the charm b/c I could care less about my bloodghasts dying, for obvious reasons. On the other hand, I kind of need my knights to hang around, but that's why I run a four set. I don't know what I'd cut for other cards, but I am open to suggestions. Ultimately, I have three one-offs, and cutting them would open that space, but they each serve purposes in specific decks match-ups. I could cut the raven's crime, but has such utility, and the wurm harvest can be lethal game 1, even from the graveyard. I am, though, open for suggestions.

I feel like if you're running smallpox you wanna have more than 22 lands, because you're kinda banking on sacrificing some

Dakmor Salvage would be a card to consider if lands are too few.

bmbinder -- The build utilizes Life from the Loam in order to recoup its losses.

@bmbinder, as anooshapalooza said, I run the loams to deal with that, actually, exactly. Not only that, recurring some of the lands is actually a good thing, too. That said, I like Dakmor Salvage, except that I am not actually actively trying to dredge, always, by way of contrast to a jundvine deck. I love jundvine, but this isn't that. Will I dredge, if necessary. Yes. Do I necessarily want to. No, not unless it is called for. That, and the salvage comes in tapped. The only tapped lands I want to use are utility lands, and/or the Bojuka Bog, which I would only use in a jund/junk dredge format matchup.

I would drop the white planeswalkers for raven's crime or something else. The synergy with that and life from the loam is nutts.

@ zyphermage: I know they seem superfluous, but when combined with the few creatures that I do have, they can be and are lethal. They're a borderline win-con if I have people locked out. I do agree about raven's crime, though. I would even consider nixing a path over the elspeth. The ajani is less important, but still super cool. That, and, once the raven's crime is in the gy, it isn't necessary to have a second or third. For that reason, if no other, I would only run two, max, anyway. I'm running the deck tonight, so maybe I'll tinker after I see how it does at a new store in competitive play where I have no idea what anyone else is running. I expect a lot of control and affinity, God help me.

Well that isn't true you do not need anymore raven's crime. With 1 in your hand you do not have to discard a land in addition 1 black. I am more familiar with losing it to a deathrite shaman in legacy, so I run 3.