Another interesting deck. I did have a question about Spellskite though. Are you sure it works on counterspells? In my experience, things that change targets still have to choose legal targets, and Spellskite isn't a spell while it's on the battlefield.

Hrm, yeah you are right. I'll have to change sideboards and deck descriptions now. Thanks for letting me know Jaxis.

I like what the main deck does a lot. Going into negative life with Phyrexian Unlife to pump Death's Shadow is genius. :)

The only thing I can think of that might possibly add in the sideboard are things like Seht's Tiger or Runed Halo to protect you from post-Unlife damage.

Those two cards are not effective enough Jaxis. They are very limited in what they can do. Seht's Tiger is essentially a very weak Leyline of Sanctity , because you don't really have room for a 4 mana counterspell-ish card. Runed Halo is just too narrow for me, as I can never guarantee it is going to be useful when choosing a certain card, as my opponent can always use another card.

I was just trying to think of something to keep your Bitterblossom and Dark Confidant from killing you with poison counters. The idea was that you cast Runed Halo and name Dark Confidant, getting the extra draw and negating the damage with protection... but after studying it closer, it's not an issue. Both of them are worded as "You lose X life" which won't infect you with poison counters when you have Phyrexian Unlife and you're at less than 0. I'm liking this deck more and more.

tl;dr: I'm blind. Good deck. +1

Oooh, going on the premise mentioned above, try this for wicked fun: Ad Nauseam + Death's Shadow + Phyrexian Unlife . Wait until Death's Shadow attacks and isn't blocked to pull it off and declare gg by revealing the rest of your deck with one spell.

Jaxis - They don't kill with Unlife on the board - they cause loss of life, they do not deal damage. Similar in function, but not the same. A Lightning Bolt would add three poison counters, for example, but a Bump in the Night would not.

Wait, never mind, I'm insane. I apologise. I must be blind, myself.

Ah. Ad Nauseam is in the will not use bank. Didn't see that before I suggested it. Oh well.

Nice try Jaxis, but Ad Nauseam is a combo build where you win that turn. You don't see too many modern decks with it because it is 5 cmc, but legacy uses it thanks to Lion's Eye Diamond and Infernal Tutor combo.

Legacy isn't my stuff. Too many turn 1-2 losses for my taste. Insert sad face here.

Side note: I tested this deck last night in one of the unluckiest matches I've ever played. Two straight games, no Death's Shadow and I ended up losing to poison counters. I DID hit -126 life before I died on the second game though, because that's what happens when your opponent plays Spike Feeder with Archangel of Thune apparantly. lulzy combo if you ask me.

Second side note: Mana Confluence doesn't work if you have less than 0 life, because you can't "pay" life you don't have. Phyrexian Unlife allows you to lose life, but not pay it. But Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth makes it so its at least not a dead land.

Hmm, good point there, but most of the game it is still relevant, and very important to have access to all three near the beginning. By the time it becomes useless, you should already have a bunch of other lands. I'd rather not poison myself to death or have the opponent abuse City of Brass with tap/untap shenanigans, so Mana Confluence is a good card.

As a side note, vintage and legacy are having a blast with Mana Confluence , as they all use City of Brass as well, because it enters untapped and can tap for anything.

It's a good deck, but what if you play someone that's running infect? Since you're running green you could add Melira, Sylvok Outcast and then with Phyrexian Unlife technically you wouldn't lose (with some rare exceptions).

Against infect? Infect is more of a fringe deck ewoneb. So my answers don't have to be that potent for it. I've got lots of removal and early creatures that can wreck havoc on his infect creatures though, just because it would be hard for them to go through. As for sideboarding, I would be putting in Spellskite and Faith's Shield , as then I can prevent much damage from an infect creature, and can take their spells with Spellskite . I don't want to be putting in Melira, Sylvok Outcast against a deck that doesn't really see much play.

Maralen of the Mornsong

Definitely not ChadMaster, as it would destroy me. If the opponent is playing control, then they will have an answer to whatever I play. If the opponent is playing combo, I'm basically giving them their pieces. The problem with Maralen of the Mornsong is it gives you no net value, because the opponent also searches for cards. She is a build around me type of card because you need to find a way to win with her when she comes out or die horribly by the benefit you are giving your opponent.

Perhaps someone mentioned this before, but for me the decklists in the description there is black space in front of the card while hovering over it. Is it possible to remove it? Planning to add something similar to such list on my own decks.

That is a formatting error that yeaGO hasn't fixed yet. The indented formatting then applies to the hover pop-up preview boxes of cards.

this is wonderful and i really like the premise and clear synergy present i know mine is quite reckless in comparison eight or so others and myself have been working on a Delver of Secrets  ^Flip/Death's Shadow build that has a lot more synergy and composure. thank you for this. +1

Hehe, I +1'd this the other night I believe. Very nice.

I know you scrapped the idea, but still looks super fun. Would you consider City of Brass instead of Mana Confluence? Reason I ask is because the latter can't produce mana when you're sub zero. Brass can, but brings along a poison counter with it.

Awesome deck!

Yeah I probably should. Oh well.

I am sorry if this deck is dead, but I was wondering how you inserted the decklist for the budget alternative.