Hi! First of, allow me to thank you for looking at my deck, and even reading some, if not all of the description <3
I've played quite a lot with this deck and I think it's really solid and will win vs all decks, if you don't have exceptionally bad draws.
The chance for being able to look at an opponent's hand and disrupt it is rather big, which should give you control of the game. A lot of the cards will make you lose life, but there should be enough life gain to at the very least nullify all the life lost this way, and most likely also the life lost from attacks :)
I hope you'll comment and/or rate my deck. Tell me what you think! :D
Let's start of with the creatures in the deck:
Desecration Demon All round good card. The cheap cost allows me to have a powerful 4 drop, which can be a potential removal or a ton of damage each turn. Biggest down side is if you're behind and your opponent have superior board control or a token machine in play.
Obzedat, Ghost Council
Again an all round good card. A 5/5 body for 5 mana is decent. The enter battlefield effect just makes it too good not to run. 2 life gained and 2 damage to opponent every turn. If it gets to enter the battlefield vs control it's pretty much over, otherwise it's a good card to put pressure on your opponent. And with Whip of Erebos it never truly dies, and the life gain becomes insane.
Blood Baron of Vizkopa Honestly, I'm not sure about this card. It's a 4/4 for 5 mana with lifelink. Albeit, the protection from White and Black does come in handy, since he's immune to a lot of removal, and can attack directly if they only have white/black. If ever you get to the point where he gets +6/+6 and flying, you've pretty much won anyway, so he'll just finish the game anyway. Which, of course is completely fine. I must admit, I feel like an
Obzedat, Ghost Council
could fulfill the same role most of the time. The lifelink becomes obsolete with Whip of Erebos. I'm thinking about replacing him with a
Shadowborn Demon
or something like that.
Erebos, God of the Dead In my opinion a very underrated card. Denying your opponent life gain can be fine, and it could actually win you a game, but that's not why he's here. With all the life gain going on in this deck, 2 life and 2 mana is a cheap draw. And since I have a lot of devotion to black, it's not unlikely he becomes an annoyance for your opponent :)
Lifebane Zombie
An amazingly powerful card in this deck. 2 devotion and get a look at opponents hand, and potentially exile one of their big threats for the cheap cost of 3 mana. And with Whip of Erebos you can take another look and potentially exile another card. I'm very fond of it, to say the least :D
High Priest of Penance
I felt like I needed more smaller drops, and I've really liked this card for such a long time so I had to give it a try. The 1/1 body is so weak it's amazing. But the upside when he does receive damage is quite astonishing. Especially with the new Theros block. He can remove "Target nonland permanent", that's creatures, planeswalkers, enchantments, artifacts and what have you... It's rarely your opponent wants to attack into him with the risk of losing a planeswalker or another of their threats. I really like him. He can also remove other enchantments, such as Assemble the Legion and Whip of Erebos which can be an annoyance.
Enough talk about creatures for now !
Read the Bones is a really strong draw mechanic. The fact you get to scry 2, before actually drawing can make all the difference. Sure, there's a downside. Paying 2 life can hurt you, and sometimes you don't want to cast this card, just because you can. But on the other side, this deck got a really good life gain basis, and 2 life for 2 cards, will usually be a really good trade.
Thoughtseize I know we have
Lifebane Zombie
to look at our opponent's hand. But unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), he can't remove everything, and sometimes we want to remove stuff before turn 3. I would recommend not casting it on turn one, except you can see you'll have a really nice curve. The loss of two life will not always be something you'll want to pay, but just like Read the Bones it's usually a good trade. Especially since you can remove a key component of your opponent's deck, such as a Sphinx's Revelation or the like :)
Doom Blade Because... Removals good, and there's a lot of nonblack stuff out there I want to kill.
Orzhov Charm
Because some times there are black stuff out there I want to kill, or I want to return something important to my hand to avoid getting hit by different stuff, such as Supreme Verdict or other removal. Just like Thoughtseize and Read the Bones the life cost of removing stuff with
Orzhov Charm
can be too much, but that's why I don't play 4 of them.
Hero's Downfall Because sometimes there's planeswalkers who needs a good killing too, and it does kill creatures as well, that's what I'd call a win-win situation. Removing annoying cards like Boros Reckoner since Theros release <3 ;)
Ultimate Price Because sometimes there's mono coloured stuff I want to kill, such as black stuff! Or most other big threats. It's an instant removal for the low cost of 2 mana. Always bring a pair, they'll pay off.
Whip of Erebos I must admit, I really do love lifelink on all my creatures. Sure, having an immortal
Obzedat, Ghost Council
tinkles my panties too. Desecration Demon is a beast to deal with already, giving him lifelink too makes him a must to deal with for your opponent, either in the way of a sacrifice or a removal spell. And hey, if your stuff dies, just bring them back for a turn with haste. Good stuff, bro... Good stuff.
Sideboard stuff :D
Blood Scrivener is mainly in here vs control. Concerning what I've seen or know they're running, I'll sideboard out either some creature removal (Not Hero's Downfall, death to all planeswalkers!) or
High Priest of Penance
for extra card draws. Losing a life for a card is just a cheap trade for me and it allows me to better keep up with their draws and keep draining them for answers vs my threats.
Dark Betrayal
Well, this card can replace Doom Blade if the need arises. In case I meet a mono black deck (which isn't unlikely with Theros in my opinion) or the opponent just plays too many multi coloured threats which involves black.
Glare of Heresy
Exile target white permanent, sure why not? It's cheap and it's functional. It can be hard dealing with the GOD CARDS(!) and this one allows me to poop on Heliod, God of the Sun or exile some other annoying threat like Boros Reckoner, Archangel of Thune or Elspeth, Sun's Champion.
Sin Collector
Also in here vs control. Take out some more creature removal and start remove their sorcery/instant instead all the while allowing yourself to be on a more aggressive curve with more smaller threats your opponent have to remove. And remember, the Whip of Erebos allows us to remove yet another sorcery/instant, attack and gain life. Damn I love that sexy whip!
Thoughtseize is here vs combo decks or control. If I see an opponent have a strong combo deck, I'll try to take out their vital piece. 2 life for destroying an entire combo, I'd pay that every day of the week, bro! ;) And vs control, they'll have to counter it, thus removing a spell from them, or give you control of what they might lose. Sure you might see a hand with only lands, but then you just start throwing down all you have and know you're safe!
underworld connection vs long games. Yet again, this is primarily here vs control. Allows me to keep up with their draw and should give advantage back to me.
Wear / Tear Well, sometimes there's that really annoying enchantment you just need to get rid of ;) Chained to the Rocks Assemble the Legion or something else.
