This deck is my Modern version of "The Rack" kill from Legacy. Three years in the making, this deck has seen a lot of black cards come in and out of the MB and SB.
A lot of this deck has been influenced by what has been said here: http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/established-modern/574097-8rack by destroyermaker
Breakdown of the cards and their uses:
Kills:
The Rack - Deals the damage before their draw step. Other than that, hold them below 3 cards for constant damage.
Shrieking Affliction - A harsher The Rack. Hard to get rolling but will be more damage. Relatively consistent; however, utterly useless against decks with a lot of draw power.
Lingering Souls Not really a wincon; however, it will put in some work through blocking and attacking under bridge. Its flashback makes it a decent card to pitch to Liliana as a way to get virtual card advantage over your opponent. (If not splashing White, I would suggest Bitterblossom
Worm Harvest I will be frank, I hate Waste Not (See below). This is what I have been testing as a bit of a secondary wincon. The tokens can attack under bridge and this strategy works very well with Dakmor and Ravens Crime. Testing still in progress.
Discard:
Inquisition of Kozilek - Relatively good discard spell for Modern. It's a 1 for 1 trade and kinda useless in matchups like Cruel Ultimatum, Tron, and other "big spell" decks.
Thoughtseize - A much better 1 for 1 trade. It's never a dead draw. Only downside is that it hits you for 2, but that becomes irrelative in most matchups (specially with the Ensnaring Bridge up)
Raven's Crime - 1 for 1 trade that gets better as the game goes on. Allows you to throw away your land draws to keep that pressure and keep the bridge up.
Liliana of the Veil - Constant discard. Also allows removal and massive removal.
Wrench Mind The ol 1 for 2 em. Pretty useless against Tron and Affinity, but well take what we can get.
Removal:
Victim of Night - Hits nearly everything in Modern. Including Ornithopters, Memnites, Bobs, etc. HOWEVER, does not hit Bloodghast, Viscera Seer, or Mutavault.
Slaughter Pact Allows us to tap out turn 3 and still save Liliana. Also, can just catch players totally off guard.
Liliana of the Veil - covered above
Lands
Blinkmoth Nexus A manland to complement our Spirits and Worms. Generally, Treasure Cruise has become a problem for this deck However, I have found success in just the aggro plan. Was running Mutavaut, but the interaction with Bridge is too awkward against Young Pyromancer. In addition, this DOES trade with everything Mutavault does while blocking and has flying. They become a lot better with more than one out as well.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth Allows our Nexus and fetches to tap for black. This is important because a lot of spells are double black.
Marsh Flats, Godless Shrine, Plains Were running a very light white splash. I have found this split to be pretty good (4-2-1). In all seriousness, I have found myself fetching the Plains more often than not.
Dakmor Salvage A MB dredge engine that is amazing with Raven's Crime and Worm Harvest. Considering a 2nd copy because of Harvest.
Other Stuff:
Ensnaring Bridge - The pillowfort of the deck. Completely stops combat (including Emrakul, the Aeons Torn!) The CMC of the deck is so low that by the time Ensnaring Bridge drops, you'll be unattackable. Does not stop RDW... but stops all other Beater decks.
Sideboard
Darkblast Pretty good against burn (kills all there threats), Delver, and even helps out in Pod. I also like it in the Delver matchup to help us dredge to find our Worm Harvest so we have an easier time winning when we have a hard time keeping the 8Racks live.
Disenchant See Leyline below Also just straight removal against Affinity shrugs-
Leyline of Sanctity Even though we have Bridge, we can straight up lose to Burn to our faces. Also, our worst possible thing we can run into is against us is hand disruption, in my honest opinion. Can also just be an auto will against Storm decks with Echoing Truth. If they do, good thing we run white!
Grafdigger's Cage Our hate against Pod, Storm, and Reanimator.
- Please note, I am running nothing for just Tron. Right now, there is no Tron in any of my 3 different metas I play in. Also, I find that to adequately SB for Tron; you need to devote proximately 6 to 8 slots. This is our worst match up. I would rather better equip myself for the rest of the field then worry about it. However, I would suggest a split of Fulminator Mage and Surgical Extraction with Pithing Needle over Cage.
Stuff I tried and didn't work out (Please do not suggest these cards!):
Darkness - A black Fog. Awful as a four or anything less because it took up spots in the MB and SB. Never had it when I really needed it. Often a dead draw.
Uba Mask
- Cute card that made Shrieking Affliction and The Rack better. Did not stop anyone from casting spells though. Was not worth the spot or 4 mana.
Phyrexian Arena - Card draw for me was just a dumb idea now that I think about it. Completely awful with Ensnaring Bridge. If they no longer had a way to kill me, I just helped them out. No way to destroy it myself. I just sit there and wait to see if I draw some discard to kill them with. Also, awful when I drew 2 lands. Also, awful as a 2 of or 3 of in my hand. (Dark Confidant is a very good way to do this if you want a card draw engine)
[[Dash Hopes - This was in the very first list I brewed up, and I forgot about it until today. This card gave too much liberty to your opponent. You never got out of it what you wanted. The slots were better used for cards that do what I want.
Blackmail - I fought long and hard over this card with everyone. This card is good in this deck. But, I have come to realize the weakness of this deck with the lack of card draw. So Raven's Crime will keep the pressure for me. I am sorry Blackmail. THIS CARD IS STILL A VIABLE SB OPTION!
Nyxathid
- A 7/7 for 3 is good but was impracticable. I love the card, but this is not a home for it... I will always need the bridge because Modern Mill is something I will never actually run into in all seriousness.
Liliana's Caress, Megrim, Waste Not These are winmore cards. They are often dead by the time you play them and give your opponent a lot of choice. I have tested these and hate them, thoroughly. They clunk up the second turn badly. You want it out early but you also want to diminish your opponents options. If these cards had an effect like 1B, T: Target discards a card as well, they would be worthwhile.
