Objective:
Hello there. Before you suddenly decide, "ugh, not another discard deck," hear me out. My deck has consistently beaten several top tier legacy decks - when it was originally legacy - and continues to beat modern and legacy decks alike. I have not faced a match-up where its been completely one sided to their favor.
So how is it that this deck wins? The just of it is straightforward: To disrupt the opponent with card disadvantage through discard and board control so that
Nyxathid
(win-con #1), The Rack (win-con #2), and Shrieking Affliction (win-con #3) could safely win the game.
The deck capitalizes on having his hand at 1 or less cards and it has Thoughtseize, Inquisition of Kozilek,
Raven's Crime
, and Wrench Mind to help with that.
Since this strategy heavily relies on his hand, all that's left is his board for what we couldn't catch. For that reason we have Gatekeeper of Malakir, Victim of Night, Dismember, and
Darkblast
to ruin their day.
Focus the majority of turns controlling his hand and field to ensure a smooth victory!
Mainboard:
has the powerful recurring factor of dredge. It helps in fetching a
Raven's Crime
as well.
is one of the best targeted removal spells due to its flexibility in cost. Next best thing to
Innocent Blood
for modern.
is amazing creature removal going around protection, shroud, and indestructibility. Also a big "cya nerd" to Emrakul, the Aeons Torn and True-Name Nemesis. It has the added bonus of being a 2/2 body that can attack - which has won me games - or block; best case scenario a spell is used to kill it paving the way to bring out your bigger threats,
Nezumi Shortfang
and
Nyxathid
.
and for discard and to remove the biggest threats from his hand.
, , and gain an immense power spike by having his hand as close to zero cards as possible.
converts excessive lands being drawn into more card loss for him! It really is surprising how many times this card has won me a game. Combos amazingly well with Dakmor Salvage.
One of your main sources of damage. Just like Shrieking Affliction, it'll make his death clock tick every turn.
is better than most mono black removal spells (ie. Doom Blade) because the majority of competitive modern decks don't run any of the 3 creature types.
for creature production, mana acceleration and most importantly, draw power. The best part is they stack too! I can't stress enough how much of a GEM this card is.
is the modern version of Hymn to Tourach. Potentially 2 of his cards for your 1.
Sideboard:
against UrzaTron decks.
is here to swap out for
Nyxathid
in case the opponent's aggro is tough to control. Also great in a multi-player setting.
to circumvent Leyline of Sanctity. Also great in a multi-player setting
spot removal against Dredge decks, Reanimator decks, Threshold decks, and Tarmogoyf. Having more draw potential is a plus.
to remove huge threats from the game.
Honorable Mentions:
is a strong answer to tokens and creatures that replicate (ie. Nacatl War-Pride, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker/Pestermite/Splinter Twin/Pack Rat).
has synergy with Ensnaring Bridge. By keeping your hand at 1 you can consistently attack with the 1/1 faeries for game. I find that Waste Not does the same job, if not better.
is great for the instant speed discard. I have
Nezumi Shortfang
that can already do that though.
is another great option for graveyard hate. No draw power though. Great for a multi-player setting.
is important to have in a traditional 8rack deck but my deck isn't traditional. :)
is an excellent card with two different abilities that are both needed in this deck. Alas, the card is too slow and vulnerable to the various forms of creature removal out in standard.
is arguably the best board wipe for black - next to Damnation - due to its versatility and cheap cost. It would be sided in against hyper aggro decks like Goblins, RDW, and overall really fast paced creature dependent decks. Still deciding whether or not I need it because I run sufficient removal already.
Does everything this deck needs to do in one card. I am currently considering replacing Gatekeeper of Malakir for 3 of these and an additional swamp. In the end, I felt it's too detrimental to the deck.
Perfect Scenarios:
In this scenario the opponent plays a land every turn and keeps his spells in his hand while drawing during his draw step every turn.
T1: Play Inquisition of Kozilek
Note: This is where you usually select the opponent's biggest asset for early game (ie. Aether Vial,
Signal Pest
).
- He now has (6) cards in hand
T2: Play
Waste NotNote: It's safe to cast
Waste Not because in this scenario he poses no threat in the early game.
T3: Play
Wrench Mind +
Raven's Crime
Note: Waste Not gives you free candy. Let's say you earned 2 black mana and 2 2/2 zombie tokens.
T4: Play
Nyxathid
+ retrace
Raven's Crime
.
Note: Waste Not gives you 2 black mana.
- His hand: [(1) - 1= 0]
- Play The Rack
- Attack his life with the 2 zombies [(20) - 4 = 16]
T5 & ON: Play
Shrieking Affliction.
Note:
Nyxathid
is now a 7/7
- His hand: [(0)]
- Attack his life with
Nyxathid
and the zombies for: [(16) - 7 - 4 = 5]
- The Rack and Shrieking Affliction will ping his life at his upkeep for: [(5) - 3 - 3 = -1]
- Drink your opponent's tears.
Match ups:(In Progress)
Note: Below is a list of match ups I've played so far in a competitive scene.
LEGACY:
Legacy Merfolks: Annoying due to Force of Will and Daze but if his creatures are picked off with hand disruption and creature removal suffice to say it shouldn't be a problem.
Legacy RUG Delver: Annoying for the same reason Merfolks are but with less creatures and more burn; same weakness as well. No need to sideboard.
Legacy U/W Control: Controls the game with artifacts and enchantments. Win-cons are Luminarch Ascension and
Entreat the Angels
which in response requires aggressive play.
Legacy Goblins: Need to be first to Inquisition of Kozilek/Thoughtseize his
Goblin Lackey
otherwise have a Dismember ready to cast. After the lackey threat is gone so is their quick tempo. Only thing left to do is to remove his creatures then get his hand empty to swing for game.
Legacy Zoo: Typically runs 16-20 low cost removal and burn spells (ie. Path to Exile, Lightning Bolt) and 16-20 low cost creatures (ie. Tarmogoyf, Kird Ape). Instead of goyf he ran Wild Nacatl but it makes no difference because I have plenty creature hate.
Legacy Affinity: Another fast paced deck which I'm able to keep up with due to my removal. The more creatures he pours out, the thinner his hand and as a result the stronger my win-cons become. Like always, control whatever you can from his hand and eliminate board threats.
MODERN: (In Progress)
Deck #1: