This was a Standard deck from Innistrad/RTR, preserved here for posterity.
I've been hearing a lot about Monoblack control these days. So I figured I'd try it out. Putting RUG Delver on hold until Gatecrash after several weeks' worth of disappointing FNMs.
I'm feeling good about this deck, so I'm gonna get a little bit more in-depth with y'all.
Duress and Tragic Slip make up early-game mainboard, and are both pretty self-explanatory.
Sign in Blood, Underworld Connections: Essential early draw-power.
Vampire Nighthawk: Good defense against aggro, and otherwise just an amazing creature.
Tribute to Hunger
is an important sacrifice mechanic. As long as Geist of Saint Traft and his lady friend are still haunting the format, you'll bet I'll want these, not to mention the importance of taking out a Thundermaw Hellkite and gaining back the 5 life you thought you were going to lose.
Mutilate, Curse of Death's Hold: Good for shutting down fast aggro decks. Mutilate for the initial field-wipe, Curse of Death's Hold to make sure that they can't recover.
Increasing Ambition: Why not? A fantastic way to fish for my one-ofs.
Desecration Demon: Aggressive bomb to drop after I've dealt with the first wave of threats.
Bloodgift Demon, Staff of Nin: Both of these are very good draw-engines that can win me a game.
Griselbrand: The big man. Game-ender.
My sideboard is mainly meant to turn the deck into either more anti-aggro or anti-control. Spot removal like Dead Weight and an extra Curse of Death's Hold are essential for stopping early-game damage. On the anti-control side, Appetite for Brains and an extra Duress can slow down control decks a little bit, and
Knight of Infamy
is very good for avoiding the inevitable Oblivion Ring/Detention Sphere/
Angel of Serenity
.
Oh, and please do +1!
