i like it, probably going to try some of this out...+1 for grixis :D

+1 for a 400 dollar deck

@Gijebus Good thing I bought approximately 0 cards for this deck. +1 for trading lol

i traded some cards last night and it doubled my deck value.

@Gijebus Ya I think the only 2 cards I didn't trade for was a Blood Crypt and a foil Jace, Architect of Thought, both of which I pulled. Trading is the shiznit

This is a lot like my friend's Grixis deck Jellybelly. (Suggestions appreciated) . One thing I've noticed in playing him is that mainboarded counterspells really matter. The suggestion I gave to him in regards to the arsenal of counters we have I'll give to you.

Mainboard, use Dissipate . Yes, it's cost hurts, but it's a hard counter that can potentially shut down decks the first time through. Run it as maybe a 3-of, with 1 Essence Scatter or Negate main. Then in the sideboard run the appropriate number of the respective counters; Essence Scatter for aggro or very creature-based midrange, and Negate for control or spellslinger midrange.

Although it might not seem like a huge difference, and leaving the mana open bites, trust me: it sucks for your opponent.

Oh, and possibly a singleton Counterflux if you like it. Personally I'm indifferent, but see it's use both ways.

@Jp3ngu1nb0y You are right. In fact, I actually had all of those mainboarded before Dragon's Maze. I think DGM has made me a little greedy and I am trying to do too many things at once. I will probably to revert back to counters if I want to do well. Thank you for the suggestion!

I have the same problem, trying to incorporate ask the neat new cards

id add a single Desolate Lighthouse to cycle through your deck if ur opponent plays nothing worth countering/killing while u draw excess land

At that point is when I normally play or flashback Forbidden Alchemy . I just don't really want 4 colorless lands messing with my manabase. I could replace one of them, though.

You seem to have a bit too many different nonland cards. Is the deck running consistently and reliably for you?If not, you might want to take out some cards in favor of more board control and kill spells, which would make quite an annoying control deck to go against.

My suggestions would be:

-1 Essence Scatter -You only have one, and it's very situational. Why not just cast a Dreadbore on said creature?

-2 Psychic Strike -You aren't really going for a mill win, here. There's just not enough synergy with anything else, really.

-2 Rakdos Keyrune -This is control, here, and having to constantly spend the mana to turn this guy into a hitter really should be saved for an EOT Dreadbore . Unless of course, it really is working out for you.

-2 Forbidden Alchemy -UNLESS, of course, if you're going to run a few Mystic Retrieval , otherwise, you have only 2 means, Snapcaster Mage to use the cards you dumped

-1AEtherling -A creature here, in a control deck. Specifically, a creature that takes more than a few mana to use properly. At this point in the game, you should really be saving your mana for kill spells for the larger stuff a midrange deck is going to be playing.

-1 Olivia Voldaren -I think she's good in here, but just as a 1-of. I'm not sure how much you're seeing her, or how often you take control of one of their creatures. If you REALLY feel attached to her, just don't listen to me. Haha.

So we have 9 card slots open to have fun with. Most of which I'd suggest more of what you already have.

+2 Barter in Blood -This is an all-around good card for board control. If you don't have anything on the battlefield, (which is quite common with a control deck), then you should be sitting pretty while they lose their creatures.

+1 Dreadbore -Very good creature/planeswalker removal, since there aren't too many creatures in here to deal with planeswalkers. Also finishes off the playset.

+1 Gilded Lotus -Who doesn't like extra mana? Plus, you might be seeing this card a bit more.

+3 Mystic Retrieval -Powerful removal-recursion, here. MIGHT be better than snapcaster in some situations.

+2 Murder -More board control, and it stops them from hitting with their biggest creatures.

So what all this is, is a build to help be more controll-ish, and a little more consistent/reliable. You might use these suggestions, or you might ignore them. I just hope I helped.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on almost all of what you said.

Dreadbore is not an appropriate response in compared to Essence Scatter , because what if they play, say, Thragtusk ? That's a big difference in advantage.

Psychic Strike is a hard-counter that hits the curve well and can potentially dump some important cards of the opponents, but not as a win-con.

Rakdos Keyrune I personally think is a weak option, but it is a formidable body that provides acceleration as well.

Although you ditch the cards, Forbidden Alchemy digs really deep and at instant speed, with a potential two-for-one.

AEtherling and Olivia Voldaren are absurdly powerful and versatile control finishers, which are definitely important.

And while I agree the deck could be tightened up some (personally I hate having 2x of things), consistency doesn't mean all playsets. In control especially, having the proportions that feel right to the player is a big part of making a deck. For example, the reason he has 1x AEtherling can be looked at like this:

4x A card means you want it opening hand, or at least to hit it every game. Nearly essential for winning. Usually it's a pretty low cmc so you aren't waiting with it in hand.

3x A card means it is important, but either not necessary or you don't want it until a few turns in. This is also an important number for essential creatures who are Legendary, to prevent legend-ruling them. This can also be for cards with multiple uses, which usually aren't dead. These are often slightly passed the beginning of your curve (3 or 4 cmc?)

2x Cards are frequently utilities or support cards, spells that can sometimes be dead, and so forth. They are neither essential nor useless, but still worth including. These can range from any cost, depending on what purpose they serve.

1x Cards are usually finishers. You by no means want them opening hand, but drawing into them can usually win a game. In our example, AEtherling is a one-of because of this. He's expensive, but if he hits the field you'll probably win the next turn. However, one-ofs can also be cards that can solve many but not all problems. For example, in removal I like 3x (removal spell) and 1x Murder . Because Murder costs 3, which is relatively steep, you don't want to see it a lot. However, if there's a creature that you can't kill with, say, Ultimate Price , I find that I usually reach the Murder . But even if it's a monocolored creature Murder works. One-ofs, due to their purposes, are usually either a high cost or higher than what they could cost.

Proportions are one of the more difficult concepts to fully grasp, so I understand if it's a little confusing to explain. But also consider this: he's gonna filter his deck out a lot with the amount of dig control runs, so one-ofs should usually pop up.

@bleath02 Essence Scatter : You seem to think Dreadbore is an instant, but it is a sorcery. Essence Scatter helps me stop creatures that have ETB abilites (Thragtusk , Angel of Serenity , Restoration Angel , and haste, for example). Reasons for Rakdos Keyrune : Helps ramp, amazing blocker, occasionally attacks, and avoids sweepers. I would never run 4, but I think 2 is a good number, considering I might want to counter a spell or kill something that turn. I don't think you realize how powerful AEtherling is. Once I clear their board and play him, I win. He is basically impossible to kill, assuming I have some open mana. I can turn him into an 8/1 unblockable, then blink him after combat, ready to block next turn. I won't run less than 2 Olivia because she is too good. She makes my opponent afraid to play creatures, and kills small creatures left and right while making herself stronger. I know mill isn't my primary win con, but I have won plenty of games by milling with Nephalia Drownyard alone. And UB is easier than UU most of the time, which is why I run 2 Psychic Strike . I will take into consideration your suggestions and test out some of them.

It's interesting how you talk about Essence Scatter like it's more than a one-of. Do you really get it that often, especially when you NEED a counter for a Thragtusk ?

The thing is, any of his counters can counter a Thrag. This just does it cheaper. If he has this and, say, Psychic Strike in hand, then he'll use the Essence Scatter on Thrag and save the Strike for a spell, or vise versa.

Between all the digging and drawing (also games tend to draw out when I play control), I normally find at least 2 counters. Then I have Snapcasters. The Essence Scatter is a 1-of because I am not sure what deck they are playing G1. I don't want to have a bunch of Scatters if I am playing Esper Control. But if I do get it, I can normally use it at least once. The other 4 counters can counter any counter-able spell, Essence Scatter just allows me to A) Play a 2 mana counterspell and B) Only spend U, which is important early game.

I would very strongly recommend Notion Thief in the board for those matches against Esper or Bant. "Sure, you can gain 6 life, but I'll draw those 6 cards" is a good feeling.

I was actually going to do this. I traded for one and he's in my EDH deck right now but I think I'll try him out in the sideboard.

I will replace Rakdos Keyrune with Tribute to Hunger and see if I like it better.

Jp3ngu1nb0y I like your comment on propotions, and I too feel it's one of the most important thing in tight deck building. I actually fell on your comment from looking up AEtherling , and I too feel he is a one-of, or two-of at the most, I am planning to include a copy in my Grixis Nicol Badass.

PhilRock I highly recommend AEtherling . So far I haven't lost when he hit the field. I had one guy play 3 removal spells on him, just so he wouldn't take damage that turn, but I always exiled him and he returned EOT.

Awesome!! Yeah dat guy seems like quite the ideal finisher!! You just hope he doesn't get countered!! But OMG what, he's a shapeshifter!! Makes me want to get some Cavern of Souls !!

Thanks! I've been trying to get some of my friends to play more seriously, so I've been working on explaining those kinds if points.

I'll go look at your deck!