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TERGRID’S TORTURE CHAMBER - Discard Control [Ret.]

Standard Budget Competitive Control Discard Menace Mono-Black Sacrifice Snow Suicide Black Tokens

zAzen7977


Sideboard


Maybeboard


Top Rank: #1 in Standard (#2 on T/O) - thanks for reading!

GREETINGS!

This is my updated Mono-Black Discard Control build featuring Professor Onyx and Tergrid, God of Fright  .

My goal is to create a torture chamber for the opponent and eventually force them to top-deck every turn. Once the Tergrinator joins the festivities, each time the opponent discards a permanent card or sacrifices a permanent, I get to keep it!

If I can stick both the Professor and the Tergrinator, my opponent is doomed when I hit the Professor’s ultimate.

STRATEGY AND CARD CHOICES

Discard

This deck focuses on reducing the opponent’s hand to 0 cards as quickly as possible using Acquisitions Expert, Dread Fugue, Duress, No Way Out (also generating a Zombie token), and Skull Raid. Raid should only be foretold and used for drawing cards when the opponent is at 0 cards in hand.

Removal

Bloodchief's Thirst and Soul Shatter remove threats as I set up the Professor and Tergrid. The Professor’s loyalty ability is a repeatable Shatter and both allow me to keep the sacrificed permanent with Tergrid.

Finishers

Nighthawk Scavenger is a Vampire Nighthawk on ‘roids and grows stronger as the opponent discards more cards of different types.

Professor Onyx’s Magecraft helps me recover life by playing cheap discard spells, her +1 ability helps me filter for important cards, and her -3 and ultimate synergize perfectly with Tergrid, God of Fright  .

Tergrid's Lantern   applies pressure on the opponent and eventually forces them to sacrifice permanents, which I can promptly steal with the Tergrinator.

Recursion

Malakir Rebirth   can save a Scavenger or Tergrid in a pinch, or functions as a land when necessary.

Land

Field of Ruin destroys problematic man-lands and stifles multi-colored decks relying on dual lands.

Hive of the Eye Tyrant is a back-up blocker and win-con, plus it exiles a card from the opponent’s graveyard whenever the Beholder attacks.

Snow-Covered Swamps enable Blood on the Snow on the sideboard.

Sideboard

Blood on the Snow is a fail-safe when I encounter creature swarm decks I can’t deal with. Plus with enough Snow Swamps I can resurrect the Tergrinator.

Bloodline Culling destroys an indestructible creature with 5 toughness or less, or wipes the board of tokens. Token decks seem to be more popular at the moment, so the second effect is especially useful. I would swap this for No Way Out.

Feed the Swarm is Mono-Black’s only way of removing enchantments.

Lantern of the Lost is my choice of graveyard-hate. I need to be careful with exiling my opponent’s graveyard, since my Scavengers depend on their graveyard to feed.

EXCLUSIONS

I originally included Draugr Necromancer, but it’s a non-combo with the Tergrinator.

I’m debating whether to include Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire to help tutor for missing puzzle pieces.

The other cards that didn’t make the cut are on the Maybeboard.

This a work in progress. Any comments or suggestions are welcome!

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Revision 14 See all

(2 years ago)

+2 Blade of the Oni main
-6 Deadly Dispute main
+4 Forsworn Paladin main
+2 Gravelighter maybe
+1 Junji, the Midnight Sky main
-1 Nighthawk Scavenger main
-1 Professor Onyx main
-1 Snow-Covered Swamp main
-1 Soul Shatter main
+1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire main
Top Ranked
  • Achieved #2 position overall 3 years ago
  • Achieved #1 position in Standard 3 years ago
Date added 3 years
Last updated 1 year
Exclude colors WURG
Legality

This deck is Standard legal.

Rarity (main - side)

5 - 0 Mythic Rares

18 - 7 Rares

13 - 4 Uncommons

10 - 4 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 2.30
Tokens Treasure
Folders Main
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