Hmm...I'm definitely going to go after Slum Reaper as with heartless it's a Cruel Edict . I probably will play with Heartless Summoning , and I'm leaning towards Secrets of the Dead for additional card advantage. Im leaning towards Havengul Control. Probably Think Twice ...Dreadbore , Mizzium Mortars ...

Disciple of Griselbrand might be able to see some good use in here. That, and anything that sacrifices will see lots of benefit from being replayed from the graveyard.

I'm just concerned that the Disciple would just die with Heartless Summoning . I think I like Black Cat better for the hand control.

I think I may run Duress instead of the Vexing Devil s.

If you're running red in the current standard, you are pretty much required to run Pillar of Flame . It's slow, but gets the job done against zombies and mana dorks.

So actually maindeck it then? Cut 2 Brimstone Volley and a Mizzium Mortars for them?

This is the best Grixis deck i have seen post-rotation. Mabye Guttersnipe ? +1 From Me!

Thanks! I tried to have a more unique spin on a control deck, I'm just having a hard time making it win in testing.

I've thought about Guttersnipe , I'd have to change my creature base and it's fairly Havengul Lich -Burning Vengeance oriented right now.

On a side note, I've found recurring Slum Reaper to be very powerful, even for 3 mana.

I GOT IT!!!! FINALLY!!! Add in mill cards and Transguild Promenade or Chromatic Lantern to essentially play all of your opponents creatures against them. Mr. Lich is going to be the greatest anti golgari scavange/zombie creature of all time. You can either go with mill cards like Thought Scour and Mind Sculpt , or you can go discard like Mind Rot . Both could work. at 5 or 6 mana, you can basically play power creature cards from most of the metas if you can get them into the grave yard. Restoration Angel , Olivia Voldaren , Falkenrath Aristocrat , Huntmaster of the Fells  ^Flip , Thragtusk , Geist of Saint Traft , and more are all yours for the taking if you can get them into the graveyard.

I like your line of thinking, I'm testing a deck built around Havengul Lich and Liliana of the Dark Realms using her to tutor the mana fixing shocklands that I'd need. Once Gatecrash releases it'll be standard legal. I don't like Transguild Promenade , it sets you back a whole turn almost.

Chromatic Lantern is interesting, but I don't know if I can afford a mana fixing artifact in a control deck. I'll test it.

I love the Lich <3

As for advice, your instants seem a little weak right now. Not very consistent, and there are better alternatives. For example: wouldn't Thought Scour be preferable to Cremate because you want to fill graveyards, not empty them?

I hear you on that one, Cremate is more metagaming against the prevalence of Deathrite Shaman . Being able to slow them down that way makes a big difference. Works wonders against Reanimator too. With all the filtering I've been considering cutting two lands for some more draw or removal. What do you think? Thanks for the comment! Don't forget to +1 if you like it.

Secrets of the Dead should serve as a wonderful draw engine with the flashback and Lich

A good consideration may be to revamp this deck into Grixis control with a milling undertone so you can throw creatures into your "hand" (either grave) and reanimate fatties to win. I've seen a similar deck built around Esper control before Gatecrash came out it was Supreme Verdict , etc).

I see where you're coming from on that, and it's not the first time mill has been suggested. This deck is at its heart a Burning Vengeance deck. I think I need to run more spells with flashback, but with Burning Vengeance and Havengul Lich out the plan is to bring my own creatures back.

I'm torn on this though. I feel like I'd have to jump some hoops to make stealing their creatures viable, but it seems powerful. I learned once that the most consistent deck building practice is to rely on your deck to win, not what you can get from them.

With Heartless Summoning and Havengul Lich my reanimated Slum Reaper s and Black Cat s make for a lot of free casts. Add Burning Vengeance and you get a recurring burn machine. (albeit kind of janky)

Love the deck idea, how does it do with 4 Heartless Summoning ? It seems like too many. +1

and have you considered Forbidden Alchemy ?

@Balls_of_Justice

I have considered Forbidden Alchemy , even using it a little in the past. It would be great it I was running more of a counter-control style, but I find the card filtration of Faithless Looting and Izzet Charm to be more valuable. That answers your first question too, since with all the filtration I can dump extra copies for something more valuable. I am looking at cutting one or two Black Cat s so I can squeeze in some more removal. Any opinions on what I should plug in?

Im going to try to play test the deck the way it is and then see if i think it needs anything

So? Any luck with the playtesting?

Skullcrack ?

I'd suggest not listing a general of a non edh deck. The playtester sets the deck to 1 copy of the card and removes any extra copies.

I didn't realize that, fixed. Thanks

What if you did added white to this existing build, to gain some access to lifegain...would that even the playing field against thrag?

Splash it in for the revelation? Maybe the trick is to give your deck a win-con that doesn't focus around the Lich, and to let the Lich fit in as a jack-of-all-trades utility?

If you did decide to go white you could either splash it for access to a couple things, or change red out for white. You'd still have the Lich, but you'd get surpreme verdict, detention sphere, sphinx's revelation, the geist, etc.

But then you'd lose the power of grixis. So it's a toss up.

Hmm...I see where you're coming from...the problem is, as I'm sure you can attest, I have children and they literally eat up my money. I don't own a single geist, revelation or detention sphere... :( Sooooo...yeah.

That being said I do have a Hallowed Fountain and a Godless Shrine which would help a small white splash...

I don't necessarily NEED the lich to win, since squeezing more flashback spells in has definitely increased the consistency of Burning Vengeance but you're right. A consistent win-con that isn't dependant on other things would be nice.