Hey Chief, yeah there are a lot of 4 drops in this deck but it hasn't hurt me due to all the removal and lifegain incorporated. I agree, the mana curve looks silly but it plays out much differently. Relentless Dead looks pretty cool but I'm not sure I can justify taking out Vampire Hexmage. She has been a hidden powerhouse in this deck as I've ran into Karn Liberated, Liliana of the Veil, Ugin, the Spirit Dragon and Jace, Telepath Unbound fairly frequently. Once SOI comes out I'll give him a go and see what I think

If your meta is full of planeswalkers then hexmage is better and a good choice.

4 of Bloodstained Mire?

Not entirely necessary but it helps thin the deck out

How do you attack and use Arena in the same turn with Phyrexian Obliterator?

So the conditions for targeting a creature with Arena are "target creature you control". The tap is part of the effect not the cost, it seems pretty convoluted to me too but apparently that's the ruling. An earlier printing of Arena is much clearer on this

This is pretty nice and similar to my own deck, http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/06-05-14-phyrexian-devotion-1/ - I can't really see running 4 copies of Arena though - that's a little high. You must get it almost every game though.

The 4 copies is nice because I do want it every game and the life loss is irrelevant when you drop a Gary. I've played multiple games with 2 or more Phyrexian Arenas on the board and the opponent just can't keep up.

Relentless Dead amazing new card from SOI. Great value all around, is evasive, it's recurrable, it even hits up your devotion.

Someone Terminate your obliterator? No problem with Relentless Dead.

I tried Relentless Dead but I prefer Gatekeeper of Malakir for his removal. I usually don't have much extra mana until late game anyway. I'm a big fan of Relentless Dead but I think he's better suited for a more aggro zombie deck

Ah, I was thinking instead of the messenger, as a 1 or 2 of. BTW I like the Lovecraft quote.

This deck brings back memories of the phyrexians, next to slivers they were highly feared. Have you ever had a need for pro-anything on the obliterator? ie: Darksteel Plate, Apostle's Blessing or something similar? Apologies if they've already been recommended/suggested. Or is it just not necessary?

I ask because I played a deck very similar to this at FNM (minus the arena, great addition btw) against my Mardu Mardu monk junk punch, and we went to turns. I think he would have wiped me out but my removal/burn suite was too much.

+1 almost strictly to the dedication to making this deck what is.. 40+ revisions!! Outstanding. Then for mono-black, and phyrexian love.. good job KaiserChronic

Bovine073 Thanks, Phyrexian Obliterator screams Lovecraftian creature lol

ManaTitheGuy Thanks dude! Yeah mono black can be hard to play but I've been really successful with the current build. Phyrexian Obliterator does accumulate a lot of hate, rightfully so, but Gray Merchant of Asphodel is actually my main wincon. My hope is that I can snag their Path to Exile with Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek before they get to use it, but it doesn't always work out that way. Apostle's Blessing might be good against super controly decks, but I'm not sure what I could take out. Thanks for the comments and suggestions guys, it's always helpful :)

Also, I don't think Relentless Dead hits Phyrexian Obliterator since it only gets zombies back, and Obliterator is a horror.

I love monoblack devotion, so cool! Have you considered running a few copies of liliana of the veil. She adds devotion and does some pretty busted stuff. I would consider running her over vampire nighthawk. Nighthawk does give you a way to gain back life however so the choice isn't an easy one. Other than that, +1 for making a fine looking deck and all the devotion (no pun intended) that you put into it!

VanillaBean_MTG I have considered Liliana of the Veil, such a great planeswalker, that price tho... Maybe one day

Bitterblossom?

Also this may be a deck that wants to run Nightveil Specter.

+1 Love the deck, saving the page so I can buy the deck later this week

DarkMagician: Thanks! glad you like it :)

tettsui77: Bitterblossom is a good card but there's really no need for it in this deck. It will probably do more harm than good with the 4 Phyrexian Arenas. Not a fan of Nightveil Specter, in mono-black it would be hard to play any cards exiled anyway

I know you're doing mono black and all, but Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest could be awesome, and he pumps up your Obliterator whenever the opponent sacrifices. It also opens you up to a lot of the fight cards like Prey Upon, Savage Punch, Ulvenwald Tracker, etc. Just a thought.

Mazirek dies very easily and costs a lot of mana. He's also dependent on other cards, which combines for him to be an awesome EDH card, but very subppar in modern.

KaiserChronic -- the good thing with Specter is, he's OFTEN stealing lands (sometimes the land your opponent needed). Even if you don't get to cast anything EVER, he helps with land drops (which then help cast your stolen stuff).. and then the 3 devotion is nice, too.

I played Mono-Black Devotion in Standard for about a year, and LOVED the deck, and really was a huge fan of Nightveil Specter. Even in other formats, it really just seemed like my opponents felt like they HAD to get rid of him, lest he run away with the game.

Geralf's Messenger is really nice, too. I feel like maybe 2-3 Viscera Seers may be good, both to sac Messengers for the win -- and also to help find stuff. If I was going that route tho, I'd probably run Abyssal Persecutor... but I guess that is kinda just going a different direction from what you've got here, lol. :)

Anyway, great deck. Aside from my ramblings here, I def recommend proxying out 2x Bitterblossom and just testing it out. It really can just run away with the game, and its nice to have a few different angles of attack, ya know?

Love it but please bring back Pack Rat I bought 4 foils and am waiting for value to one day rise lol