A discard/swarm deck. It aim to control the early game with some hand control cards like
Duress
, disguise,
Ravenous Rats
,
Hymn to Tourach
and then try to slowly eat the opponent life with cards like
The Rack
,
Shrieking Affliction
,
Stabwhisker the Odious
.
INSIGHT
Discard cards: I use
Despise
and
Duress
over stronger cards like
Thoughtseize
and
Inquisition of Kozilek
, or even
Cabal Therapy
, just for their cost. And usually I use in mainboard
Duress
over
Despise
cause I already have hate cards for creature, and as a mono I fear especially artifacts and enchants, so I want to make the opponent discard them.
Raven's Crime
can help you in some long-term games, and it can make the opponent discards a land, which can be pretty good with a Wast Not
Of course some rats have to do their job too:
Ravenous Rats
,
Okiba-Gang Shinobi
and
Nezumi Shortfang
. Regarding the last one: his skill is really strong cause, despite all the other discards method, it can be used as istant. And he become a nice 3/3 that slowly gnaws at opponent's life.
Raven's Crime
can seem a little odd, but as you aim to erode your opponent life slowly turn by turn, in long term games too you will want to make him discard.
Waste Not
: amazing enchantment. It give you the chance to do a 2x1 even with the mono discard cards. It doesn't matter what they discard, a zombie or one more card in hand it would always be good, and many times you can do a good use of the double mana too, as in the deck there are lots of mcc cards. Not to mention the devastating effect, in a multiplayer game, of the combo Dark Deal + Waste Not
!
"Gnaw them to death" (8-Rack) cards:
The Rack
and
Stabwhisker the Odious
are the cards that I selected as win condition. The swarm of rats can help beating to death, but this deck aim to make the opponent discards, not to overwhelm by creatures. So I use this 2 cards, that I think are more consistent than others, like
Shrieking Affliction
and
Quest for the Nihil Stone
, or similar cards like
Bloodchief Ascension
and
Liliana's Caress
. This is of course just my personal opinion. I know that this means this deck isn't a real 8-rack deck, as at maximum I will have 5 (4x rack + Stabwhisker), but I simple consider the deck more fun as it is. Anyway, would be pretty simple to swich 3x call to netherworld for 3x
Shrieking Affliction
or even
Liliana's Caress
, as the sinergies with
The Rack
is pretty strong: an opponent will always try, with
The Rack
in play, to keep some cards in hand. With this enchant I can make good use of it.
Pack Rat
: all star of this deck, among the creatures. He is a great threat to the opponent, as can easily become big, and hard to remove from the board. You can use, as fuel for his ability, first some less useful rats like typhoid or okiba-gang, if you don't need them anymore, then the discard cards, as in middle game your opponent should already be without cards in hand, or a
Waste Not
if you have a couple in play; more than 2 will be redundant. Of course you can discards lands too if you have at least 5 in play; just remember that you can use lands to cast
Raven's Crime
too. Best and easier combo you can perform is Call to the Netherworld + Pack Rat
.
mcc : we have 3 options:
Marrow-Gnawer
, the obvious one, really strong.. if he survives at least one turn, and it is not so common. He is just a 2/3 that cost 5.. If you run with him, can be a great idea to use
Lightning Greaves
too, or
Swiftfoot Boots
.
That's why I'm testing alternatives, like
Ogre Slumlord
: He too is just a 3 in constitution, but he has not a big target on the forehead like the gnawer, and still can do his job, replenishing the rats you lost and make them become a big threat for anyone.
Than a more in-flavor choice,
Okiba-Gang Shinobi
. They can enter the battelfield on turn 4 and beat, making the oppo discards and hopefully return in hand a
Ravenous Rats
. So, faster than the previous ones and you don't mind so much if the oppo kill him. Or if you want to sac him for
Patron of the Nezumi
.
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
: she is just too hot to stay out of this deck. And there is always a typhoid rat that want to become a bigger antromophous-rat.
Patron of the Nezumi
: just a for-fun card, but sometimes can be good to have a 6/6 in play, isn't it? And the ability isn't bad too. The strong point is that he can come in play easily on 5° turn, maybe sacrificing a
Okiba-Gang Shinobi
played on turn 4. Better to play the patron in istant, responding to some cards of the opponent. Oh, and help you trigger the morbid for
Tragic Slip
.
SPECIAL MENTIONS
Swarm of Rats
, one of my favourites MtG cards. I don't use him cause this deck focus on discard, but in a more tokens/swarm focused deck, this would be great; maybe with cards which do dmg to the opponent based on the power of your creature, like
Essence Harvest
,
Dying Wish
,
Rite of Consumption
.
Dark Ritual
: well, its strenght is clear. If you want to cast Distress + Waste Not
on first turn, and use a
Hymn to Tourach
on second one, go for it and have fun. And later in the game, you always have your
Pack Rat
's ability to get rid of it. With it in, a great combo is a turn one
Dark Ritual
->
Waste Not
->
Raven's Crime
(or other cards, maybe a
Blackmail
?) have him discard a land->
Hymn to Tourach
. As you can see, definitely worth a try. And in late game you always have your pack rats to get rid of them.
MULTIPLAYER GAMES
Usually a discard deck, for obvious reasons, is weaker agains multi opponent. But a combo Dark Deal + Waste Not
can make you win from turn 3. Also just take out your
The Rack
s and put in 4x
Shrieking Affliction
s, or even better
Bloodchief Ascension
.
SWARM DECK VERSION
I love rats, so I used to have a version more focused on creatures. Keep just some discards card, as a mono black has no other ways to respond to artifact and enchant, than put in the deck some nasty creature like
Chittering Rats
,
Swarm of Rats
(look at his section above),
Crypt Rats
,
Throat Slitter
and of course
Marrow-Gnawer
, with some way to draw cards like
Altar's Reap
(sinergies with
Tragic Slip
),
Read the Bones
and maybe some artifact to make your rats stronger. door of the destinies or
Coat of Arms
anyone? And a 3x or even 4x of
Mutavault
is mandatory.
FORMAT
This deck is legacy, but the only card that make it so is
Hymn to Tourach
, and you can easily replace it with
Wrench Mind
.
BUDGET
RIght now this deck is not so expensive, expecially if you take out the 4x
Hymn to Tourach
for the
Wrench Mind
and
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
, maybe for the
Patron of the Nezumi
. Just
Waste Not
is pricy above the average, but not impossible to find at decent price.
Nezumi Shortfang
is pricy too, but for a 2x is affordable.
Go for the Throat
can become
Doom Blade
, and actually you don't really need
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
and
Shizo, Death's Storehouse
. I use them just cause I have one.
