Have you considered running 2-3 copies of Imp's Mischief in the sideboard? It's an efficient way to get around things like Thoughtseize and Abrupt Decay and should fit in the budget.

Ha, that's adorable! Helps vs Twin too! Yeah, I think that can replace Dash Hopes pretty well.

Here are a couple of cards that shouldn't be too terribly expensive to acquire

• Geralf's Messenger
• Gatekeeper of Malakir
• Gravecrawler(so long as you keep your zombie count relatively high)
• 2 more Gray Merchant of Asphodel

Thanks Sam_I_am, those are solid suggestions!

I actually took it to monday night modern (a free local tournament nearby) with about 75% of the deck complete (using some filler substitutes) with better results than I could have hoped for! I 2-0'd budget affinity without any problems, Barely edged out a 2-1 over merfolk, lost to unburial gifts, when Iona, Shield of Emeria came down naming black, lost to control (My biggest foreseen weakness), and 2-1'd a minotaur tribal deck (my loss due to flooding).

I only had 2 Pack Rats going into the tournament with 2 Gatekeeper of Malakir in place of the others. They did a bit of work, but i'm not positive they deserve to be in the final deck. The gifts deck pilot recommended Geralf's Messenger, and I agreed they'd be pretty great over Skinrender since sometimes his ability can get awkward. As far as Gravecrawler, it'sa good card, but I'm not looking to go into Zombie Tribal, and short of that, I'm not too excited about him, since I'm more of a control deck. I like keeping the Gray Merchant of Asphodel count at just 2. With the meta being so removal-heavy, and my deck being somewhere between tempo and control, I like the frequency at which I get him now. He's usually not bad, and when he's good, he's an all star. But raising the count feels a little greedy.

Thanks for the advice!

Hmmmm....budget black you say. Check this out and give me your thoughts Modern Mono Black Devotion (budget).

Bad Moon is great for heavy creature lists. Compare to Honor of the Pure (modern playable).

Thanks for the thought electromancer!

Surprisingly enough though, this deck plays out a lot like control in most games. There's very few games in which I'm the aggressor, so Bad Moon will just be dead or irrelevant most of the time. The games I win usually aren't close, and if they are, I'd rather top deck another creature or another kill spell than a Bad Moon. Of course, it is good to note its synergy with Vampire Nighthawk

Ahh... yeah that wouldn't make much sense in a control deck. If your looking to go heavier on the control side, I'd put in Gatekeeper of Malakir and possibly even Skinrender over some of your more aggro-ish 3 drops to help you get to turn 5 and 6 unscathed.

Oh I see you've already considered both of those, my bad.

Yeah, Skinrender was in before Geralf's Messenger, but I found myself in the awkward situation where my opponent has no creatures and my only creature in hand is Skinrender far too many times. Messenger feels better in the spot because he's a more oppressive card. He comes down, takes a chunk out of their life, and is something they don't want to deal with, but have to.

As for Gatekeeper of Malakir, he's good for sure, but enough of my deck is removal that he's a bit overkill, and he's almost always gonna be a 3 drop. That being said, my 3 drop slot is getting a bit crowded with the shift to Geralf's Messenger. He got some play being a substitute Pack Rat, and I still have 1 in while I'm acquiring the last rat.

I think what I'm going for with this deck is maximum oppression on all fronts. Shred the hand, kill every creature, and play very dense threats that can win the game all by themselves.

Thanks for your comment!

love it! but for laughs you should make you 3 drops Nightveil Specter this way you can play other decks lol

I certainly considered it rufio1406, and against a more control-heavy meta, I would in a heartbeat. Nightveil wreaked havok in mono-black devotion during it's standard rein.

However, in my mid-range/ aggro heavy meta Vampire Nighthawk is an invaluable asset, as-is Geralf's Messenger. My games tend to be on the grindier side of things, and both cards are a powerhouse. Nighthawk races well, and trades up even better. Messenger beats conventional removal, and is an absolute chore to fight through for my enemies. Specter will always hold a place in my heart, and will remain in the corner of my mind until the time is right for him.

Thank you for the suggestion!

I play tested this the other day against my mono black and it did pretty well. I got pack rat out maybe twice and neither time did it make much difference. The 3 biggest factors in your favor were the Obliterator, Messenger, and Nighthawk.

Nice deck!

Thanks for the data, Mongol! Yeah, the Obliterator does serious work. Nighthawk is amazing when it doesn't eat a Lightning Bolt (but hey, that's one less bolt to the face), and Messenger is usually just annoying to deal with.

Pack Rat shines in control and jund matchups. Other matchups, some games he takes over, or some games he eats a removal spell. Sometimes the threat of pack rat is more important than actual Pack Rat. If I had a spare $40, then Bloodghast could probably take over that spot.

I think you final, final solution for getting rid of Kitchen Finks would be Godsend. It is better than using all your removal, and will help you make sure your opponent will have an open board.

That's a reasonable suggestions saturn999, but it's a bit overkill for this deck. With as much removal as we run, we have answers to most creature based threats. The only thing I'd board it in against is Wurmcoil Engine, and that's not even that bad. Thanks though!

This deck looks cool! i have a devotion deck myself Here it is if you wanna check it, and i was wondering if you can give me some tips on it. Also, how is Smallpox working for you in this deck?

Thanks dvdn1997! I'll check out your deck in a minute. Smallpox has been an amazing addition to this deck. I won an FNM last week due to the change, and overall I couldn't be happier. I definitely don't mind sacrificing creatures or discarding cards, and with my high land count, I usually don't mind sacrificing lands either. There are many games when I can just stick a threat like Bloodghast or Geralf's Messenger, fire off a Smallpox, and then just hit my opponent hard before they can recover from the tempo loss. It just takes getting use to knowing when to pull the trigger on smallpox.