If your opponents has any notion of black Midnight Banshee becomes obsolete as a removal, may I suggest Skinrender for such situations? Also I digg the idea behind this deck, although after some playstesting, this needs some speed because it can seriously fall behind in a fast Modern match. I will be keeping an eye on this because I think this has some very fun potential.

brokensaint058 Thanks! That's exactly the kind of comments im hoping for when I post decks here. I haven't really considered a sideboard yet but I think sideboarding Skinrender for black matchups is a great idea.

As for the speed I agree. avg cmc is almost 3 yet there is no ramp. Duress and Grasp of Darkness slows down my opponent but maybe not enough. Maybe I should cut down the Kulrath Knight for something faster?

Dismember for the sideboard?

Only reason I use Grasp of Darkness instead of Dismember is because I am mono-black and the former is a 10 cent card

Scar could work if you're trying to cut down on the cmc for the deck. I personally don't like Tendrils of Corruption or Incremental Blight because they have high casting costs. If you want to be putting creatures on the board almost every turn keeping 4/5 mana open is tough.

Fair point! Maybe those cards are ruining my speed. I just like Tendrils of Corruption so much in mono black because its lifegain and removal. I guess Incremental Blight will have to go for some more creature. Ill put 2 Scar just to try it out. Thanks for the comments!

No Oona's Gatewarden ?

@jsansoldo. Yeah! That must be a good card for this deck. thanks

Btw, you really need 3 copies of Black Sun's Zenith . It spread the counters evenly. You dont really need the weak, costy Whiter creatures. BSZ is a combo piece and a mass removal, you should have it almost every game.

Also, I think you should focus on your combo pieces Necroskitter and Crumbling Ashes - they can be tutored. Beseech the Queen and others can get your things in place. In black, you dont have to leave this thing to the luck of the draw. You have Transmuters for cost 2 to 6. Honorable mentions to Shred Memory and Dimir Machinations .

Your strategy is solid, now lets make sure it happens every time.

Ok, so +2 Black Sun's Zenith . Something like +3 Beseech the Queen ? How about Liliana Vess for tutor and discard?

Away with the Sickle Ripper s. What other creature is bad? Im thinking the Kulrath Knight might not be as good as I first thought?

Beseech the Queen is the best choice, imho.

Kulrath Knight is a good finisher and defense macanism, but Midnight Banshee is kind of a waste for her cost.

I would take one of the Fume Spitter and the Banshee for 2 more Kulrath Knight .

Scar and Lashwrithe are kind of dead drops. You already have shitloads of counters in play, and you dont need the extra damage from LH. Also 3 bile Blight s are enough.

Good options for those 7 slots would be 2 Tragic Slip / Go for the Throat , 2 Gray Merchant of Asphodel since your devotion will be high, and 3 Phyrexian Arena to assert your control over resources.

The Lashwrithe will be awesome in the sideboard vs control + Spellskite . More Duress and Thoughtseize vs Combo.

You are GOOD agains creature based strategy. :3

Nice deck, +1.

Contagion Clasp might work well?

Feel free to check out my wither deck, The Negative Counter Storm.

@jsansoldo Thanks for the help here. Appreciate it. I'll go with 3 Kulrath Knight for now and I decided to keep one Midnight Banshee cuz it can be a winner against creature based decks and I just like it ;)

You are saying that Scar is a deaddrop but I've noticed that sometimes I have Necroskitter and Crumbling Ashes but no means of putting that single -1/-1 counter on opponents creatures. Scar is just a cheap way of doing that. I agree its not really a strong card though. Maybe there is some better method of handing out -1/-1 counters quickly and at whim. Contagion Clasp as Headers13 is suggesting is maybe is a better option then scar.

I know that you are mono black, but if you are really looking for a solid way to put -1/-1 counters out consistently, there is always Skeleton Ship. Just something to think about.

Corrosive Mentor , perhaps? Also, Quillspike might be a handy way to deal with the aftermath of Black Sun's Zenith.

Glistening Oil + Carnifex Demon

@PerfectDisguise A pretty sweet combo. The only problem with using Glistening Oil on my own creatures is this is not an infect deck. Also Crumbling Ashes might kill Carnifex Demon. But maybe its still worth it, what should I take out then?

I'd recommend Blowfly Infestation. It helps spread -1/-1 counters, and pairs extremely well with Kulrath Knight, Necroskitter, and Crumbling Ashes.

@ThoAlmighty: Thanks! I have been considering Blowfly Infestation on and off but I am a bit worried that it would backfire. After the counters have bounced around and killed all my opponents creatures I will be forced to put them on my own, but maybe its worth it?

@regnet: If you're worried about that, you could try Quillspike, and he would let you be a little more reckless and run cards like Soul Snuffers and Carnifex Demon. Blowfly Infestation is really useful, and I think it's one of the best cards you can find that lets spread counters repeatedly, other than Midnight Banshee. I'm working on a similar deck, which you can view here: Withering Hopes

@ThoAlmighty I think you are suggesting highly interesting cards and maybe that tactic is more viable than my current one. Right now I feel like it would change way to much in the deck and it will basically be a completely different deck but I might play around a bit with it or try building another version that utilizes Quillspike. Maybe Melira, Sylvok Outcast would be interesting in such a deck too.

I like your deck but I would still be concerned about Blowfly. If you dont get your quillspike and there is 5-6 counters out then you will hurt yourself, no? And you cant use Quillspkike in between blowfly putting each counter out right?

Thank a lot for your input

regnet, regarding your last post, Quillspike can be triggered in between instances of Blowfly Infestation being activated. For each creature that goes to the graveyard, Blowfly adds a triggers and its effect goes on the stack. Since they go on simultaneously, you decide which order they go in. Then, as each trigger resolves, you can tap B/G to trigger Quillspike to remove the counter. Since that trigger occurred later, it goes on top of the stack and resolves first. So, yes, you can use Quillspike between putting each counter out, and, coupling Blowfly with Crumbling Ashes would actually make for a great wincon, as Quillspike would get HUGE just as all your opponent's blockers move to the graveyard.

@regnet,Buckminsterfullerene Quillspike is my safeguard. My only problem with him is because he's a 1/1, putting a -1/-1 counter on him will kill him instantly, which is why I'm worried about cards I'm running like Soul Snuffers and Black Sun's Zenith. He's frail, which is why I use 4. I'm not sure if that's worth 4 card slots to remove a few -1/-1 counters, so I'm still debating it. Also, Quillspike can be infinitely pumped with Devoted Druid.