This deck is the first Magic the Gathering deck that I won with. I own all the cards that are inside and I got all of them from boosters. I own a modest, medium size card collection. I only have cards from sets after the 2013 Core Set, except for Dragon's Maze and the 2014 Core Set. I also have very few cards from Innistrad, Avacyn Restored and Dark Ascension. This deck beats all my friends' decks, and we don't play with sideboards, so I don't have one.
Now, I will explain how this deck works. If you play two player, the goal is to keep the board clean until you can bring out a really big creature, like Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius . This can be done by playing some board wipe cards, and also some cheap damage spells. If you play with more than two players, the goal is to keep the attention away from you. Do not kill a lot of creatures before you get a good board wipe card, like Mizzium Mortars , or Anger of the Gods . If you annoy the other players too much, they will all try to kill you (I know this from personal experience).
This is an overview of the card playing recommendations for a two player game :
Mulligan : Don't be too picky with your starting hand. In most cases, two lands is enough to start, and if you don't like your cards and you have an Izzet Charm or a Rummaging Goblin then you can use those to recycle some cards.
Turn 1 : Play Crumbling Necropolis or another land that comes tapped if you have one in your starting hand, unless you have Duress or Thoughtseize which you can play turn one with a swamp or a dual land, which is really helpful to remove an unwanted card in your opponent's hand, but also good to look at what's coming against you for the next few turns. It's a good idea to make a plan at that point and remember what's in his or her hand, so if you draw another Duress later, you can use it when the last card that you knew that was there is played.
Turn 2 : Another land. Don't play one that you can't use right away unless you can't play anything with two lands. If a creature is already out with a toughness of 2 or more, usually I kill it with the second option of Izzet Charm or with Magma Jet , which I prefer for the Scrying ability, unless I have Flames of the Firebrand , which I can use later to remove several creatures in the same time. If you Scry, you can use your knowledge of the other player's hand that you possibly acquired from Duress or Thoughtseize, if you played one of those before, to determine what cards would be useful next. It's always a good idea to put Divination or Read the Bones on top of the deck, if possible, for turn 3. If you can't kill creatures yet, you can use the non-overload cost of Cyclonic Rift to slow your opponent down.
Turn 3 : In this turn, if you haven't started to destroy creatures yet, it's a good idea to start. My favorite ways : Electrickery or Flames of the Firebrand . I like Flames of the Firebrand because you can divide the damage. Electrickery is good against token decks. If there is no creatures on the board, you can play Divination or Read the Bones to get more cards. If you scry and you have no big creatures in hand, don't be afraid to avoid lands. You need damage spells for what's coming next; you don't need a lot of lands.
Turn 4-6, removal side : Turn 4 or later, your opponent can bring out some nasty, big or cheap, sometimes with hexproof, creatures. Don't worry, my deck is packed with damage or killing spells. If he has only one or two big creatures with a big toughness, like Desecration Demon , or one or two big creatures with hexproof, you can use Devour Flesh or Barter in Blood to get past that protection. If they gain life with Devour Flesh , don't worry, it will turn against them later, when you will control the board with Rakdos, Lord of Riots or Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius , they will want the game to finish quick. In case of a board overload, there is always Anger of the Gods or Mizzium Mortars . Street Spasm also helps a lot if you pay 6 mana for it's overload cost (2 damage to each creature you don't control). In case of too much really strong creatures, Curse of the Swine can change them into piggies, and then you can use one of the board wipe cards mentionned above to kill them. I rarely use Cyclonic Rift for it's overload cost, but it's there just in case. Death's Approach is helpful after you killed a lot of creatures (There's nothing like a -6/-6 spell for 1 black).
Turn 4-6 creature side : Creature side, here is a guide to show the utility of each creature :
Rummaging Goblin : Usually, I use him to recycle unwanted cards, like lands, once I can produce seven mana.
Mercurial Chemister : He let you draw two more cards each turn to find the other creatures in the deck.
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni : Once the opponent has no creatures, Ink-Eyes can steal one creature from his or her cemetary each turn.
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius : Maybe the best creature in the deck. A 5/6 flyer that you can use to draw at least three more cards each turn.
Rakdos, Lord of Riots : Second best creature in the deck. He is incredibly cheap, with a price. You need to damage the opponent before getting him out. Usually, I use Chandra, the Firebrand or one of my Rummaging Goblin to damage him or her before bringing him out.
Maybeboard : The maybeboard is where I put cards that I own, but I'm not sure to put them in the deck or not.
Suggestions are appreciated. :) This deck works well as it is. I just wanted to share it, but if someone has a reccomendation to make it even better, please tell me.
-- MaitreDesBlocs
