The second half of Grind can not be played as it is a white spell.

Skinrender, Sakura-Tribe Elder, and Sidisi, Undead Vizier all seem sweet in this deck. I know it goes against killing the entire board slowly, Cryptolith Rite can ramp you like crazy, especially fun with a Throne of the God-Pharaoh out.

This deck has no Red, White, or Blue. Obviously this makes Hapatra a sneaky unpatriotic terrorist, so I will recommend some Snakes for her.

One possibility might be Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro. Her ability to make your Snakes' butts bigger means they can take an extra -1/-1 counter before dying, so you'll get twice the token generation out of Nest of Scarabs/Hapatra. You also have a handful of Shamans in the deck that can benefit from her second ability. One of the bigger downsides of her is that she doesn't apply to your Insects, just your Snakes, so the overall synergy could be better.

Also, just in case you need more Snake generation, there's always Orochi Hatchery. Even though you seem to get Snakes just fine in other ways, it's a token generator that can survive a creature-targeted boardwipe - you'll have something left after the Wrath of God/Blasphemous Act clears the field.

One more sneaky snake suggestion: How about Shisato, Whispering Hunter? You'll generate enough Snakes to keep him from sacrificing himself. Once he's on the field, if opponents don't have a way to remove him immediately, he'll break morale across the board as people fear tapping anything. You already have some stuff for sneaking Hapatra damage through that could apply to him (Shizo, Death's Storehouse for example), and could even add the incredibly mana-intense Rogue's Passage if you felt like cutting a colored mana.

I think I remember commenting/upvoting/viewing/whatevering this deck a year back. It looks even deadlier now! Well done.

Hey there came from facebook. Looking at your deck, and as I used to play a significantly worse version of hapatra I would say add in more infect. I love the mechanic and it can 've as simple as putting in a tainted strike and a CARESS of phyrexian (worst case scenario use it on your self to draw cards)

I also like pathbreaker ibex and walking ballista since you have the Mike already.

For cuts I would say you can easily do away with harbinger of night, and possibly midnight banshee. Hope this helps!!

I came across an interesting interaction with my Hapatra deck that you may want to include in your other combo section. It's basically Blood Artist + Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons + Midnight Banshee . The setup can quickly swing the game your way or outright kill players if they sleep on it.

The main problem with the basic 3 piece setup is that you need some number of snake tokens on the board to get it working. Also, if you have a small number of snakes to start with then you aren't doing much with the combo.

The combo can be enhanced with Doubling Season or Parallel Lives to double the damage you'll be dealing each turn or you can use Nest of Scarabs to produce an ever increasing number of tokens.

Blood Artist can be subbed for Zulaport Cutthroat or Obelisk Spider in multiplayer settings.

Flint2 Doubling Season is actually terrible in Hapatra because it kills your stuff. As for Parallel Lives it's neat but Nest of Scarabs basically serves the same function and can work without Hapatra on the board.

Wow! Quite a few comments to respond to!

smashadams83: Hmmm. Of those, I really do need to acquire a Phyrexian Tower and find a slot for Eternal Witness. Not too much of a fan of Necrotic Ooze when it only works for one combo, but I'll consider it :) you're correct on the creature count, but there's a limiting factor where I have to have enough -1 counter granting effects...

seshiro_of_the_orochi: I'd expect this comment with a name like that! Honestly, I used to run him, but as a six-drop I'm not sure he does enough to justify his inclusion. If this deck ever shifts to be more combat-focussed again, he'll probably go back in.

Pabs4444: Sometime I need to build a deck specifically to abuse Throne of the God-Pharaoh. It's such a cool card, but never QUITE seems to fit.

KongMing: Thanks for the comment! Hapatra is un-American scum, confirmed. I used to run Shisato, Whispering Hunter in the past, but unless an opponent is tapped out he doesn't do as much as I'd want. The others seem too mana-intensive for their effects, I'm afraid.

GrimReaper0602: While Harbinger of Night and Midnight Banshee have some issues, they're also some of my only ways to place -1 counters on all creatures on the battlefield. Until more effects are printed that can do so, I can't easily remove them.

Flint2: I completely agree that Midnight Banshee+Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons+Obelisk Spider is a nasty piece of work, haha. I've enjoyed it a lot whenever I've pulled it off. I'll pass on the token-doublers, though.

Thanks you all for your comments!

Kind of obvious, huh? ;D

How does the Devoted Druid + Mikaeus, the Unhallowed combo work? Wouldn't the Devoted Druid have summoning sickness from undying?

Any thoughts on Parallel Lives in the deck? Seems to have solid synergy with both Hapatra and Nest of Scarabs.

VarietyBlack: It was in the deck for a while? But it didn't create tokens on its own, and slots were tight (esp since the deck tries to maintain a combo and an aggro plan).

How do you feel about Seedborn Muse in this deck?

What has been your experience with Throne of the God-Pharaoh so far?

Odysseus_97: I'm not sure if it adds enough to be worth the 5 mana?

Falkenbach1: The card was awesome, and I really want to find a place for it in the deck again. Unfortunately it got cut and I need to find a new slot for it...any suggestions for cuts?

Thats the hardest part ;) perhaps something that just puts a single -1 counter on a creature:

Fume Spitter or Splendid Agony or Contagion Clasp ?

I only played my own Hapatra deck 2 times. Both times it worked out well. Even found some great synergy with:

Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons + Ivy Lane Denizen + Ammit Eternal every spell they cast is a snake for me :) and it lasted 2 rounds!

One last question: How has the rather low 32 lands worked out for you? I very rarely play less than 36 lands.

Falkenbach1: I'm testing a bit. I recently cut a land for Deathrite Shaman; we'll see if he can make up for it.

The deck ran fine with 33, though. There's a decent number of cheap mana rocks that help make up for it.

You have probably mentioned this before but i thought i would ask: why not Necrotic Ooze?

I love this deck but i do have another question, what is the use of Riding the Dilu Horse, is it just getting damage through tough board states?

skeletonkey8: It is hard to understand if you have not read the oracle text. This effect last till the end of the game, even if the commander leaves the battlefield and comes back. It will basically change Hapatra to a 4/4 with horsemanship, keeping its old abilities.

Are you sure she wil still have +2/+2 and horsemanship after she died and is being recast afterwards?

Falkenbach1: Sorry no, it looses those abilities if it leaves the battlefield.

Odysseus_97's original post was incorrect; the Horsemanship only lasts until Hapatra leaves the field. Think of it like an aura that gives +2 and unblockable.

skeletonkey8: You are correct; Riding the Dilu Horse is just there to punch through difficult board states (and let Hapatra have more -1 counters before dying). It's not necessary for the deck to function, although it is handy.

So how about that new 2cmc G/B removal spell? :D

What about Pir, Imaginative Rascal?

Pir is terrible for Hapatra in the same way Doubling Season is. You don't actually want double the -1/-1 counters being placed on your creatures because there's no actually benefit and it kills Hapatra because Hapatra says when you place one or more -1/-1 counters not when you place a -1/-1 counter. The wording is important here. Pir is more for +1/+1 counters, Loyalty counters, and other counters that are good for you.

OptimalGreen: Assassin's Trophy is amazing and I love it and is getting slammed in here with no regrets XD