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It's a deck type that I'm sure I didn't create, but I discovered it over the years and have been mastering it for some time now. It is a relatively fast paced deck that is rather difficult to stop. Why is this? Because it attacks on 2 levels: Not only does it attempt to burn each player down (simultaneously) at a quick rate, but it also hinders every player's deck (simultaneously), reducing their chances of winning by extreme margins. As such, even if you can fight off 1 front of the attack, the other is likely going to cost you the match.

Also, I'm going to stress instantly that it's a versatile deck. By versatile, I mean your card choices are by no means set in stone. As I clearly stated on many occasions, I hate deck lists. As such, I'm always mixing mine up, and yet it still accomplishes the same goal with disgusting consistency.

With a certified way of winning, and a diverse card pool at your disposal, you'll soon see why I've spent so much time working on this strategy.

Ok, you understand the basics of what I want to accomplish. That helps a bit, but it won't (really) mean anything until I give you the cards to piece it together with. Let's start with the most crucial part of the equation: discard. While black is well known for it's fast hitting cards like Duress , Hymn to Tourach , and Thoughtseize , it's the mass discard that we are interested in. And so we being our search for the perfect discard engines:
Delirium Skeins
Bottomless Pitt
Oppression
Necrogen Mists
Words of Waste
Mindslicer
Pox
Gibbering Descent

The key to this deck's success, as I've stated many a time, is to hinder your opponents while still beating them down at the same time. Thus, we clearly want to not only take our opponents to 0 cards, but hold them there as well. As such, we want a mix of mass discard, and constant discard. For argument's sake, we'll take Descent and Slicer. These 2 are the best options, but I will explain this in much greater detail later. Well, the Slicer is quite apparent really. It's a rattlesnake effect, once he hits the field people will just pass you by without so much as a glance. If you do use him however, ensure you have a way to remove him. The best combo, in my opinion, is Culling the Weak + Mindslicer + Gibbering Descent . I'm sure it's apparent as to why .

"Deck Skeleton (at this point)" Show

"Deck (at this point)" Show

It is at this time that I will point out how crucial I feel the Rituals, DT and Yawgy Will are to any black deck. I consider them auto includes. If you opt to leave them out in favor of other cards, that is at your own discretion. However, there is no greater investment then these 6 cards in my opinion. From this point on I will merely recognize them as the 6 essentials.

So now that we have the discard requirement of a discard control deck, I have to start making good on my claims. Speed, and sustainability, I promised both. So let's start with our plan to burn down our opponents. Really, this can be done in many ways. The most obvious card selections are:
Hollowborn Barghest
Rackling
Megrim
Wheel of Torture
Abyssal Nocturnus

However, that is by no means your only options. Remember, we chose Gibbering Descent as a continuous discard effect. As such, any card we don't play is useless to us. This makes a creature like Urborg Syphon-Mage a very powerful ally. Not only can he turn any card we draw into a Syphon Life , but he also saves us from that 1 life loss tacked on Descent. This is simply the beginning though:
Pestilence
Subversion
Guiltfeeder
Nihilith

Many cards exist that help to burn multiple opponents down at once. This isn't always your only option though. Remember, we're discarding or playing almost everything we draw, as we draw it. Maybe it's time to mention Haakon, Stromgald Scourge . Haakon fills a unique roll in this deck, in that he's a creature who wants to be discarded, and it extremely difficult to remove. Even better, he permits you to use other, cheaper creatures to not only maintain an offense at all times, but have a defensive early game. As such, you lose your Stromgald Crusader s to protect yourself on turns 2-5, and simply resurrect them later as flying finishers. Even better, Haakon is brutal when mixed with Nameless Inversion . Use it to kill small beaters or trouble creatures early on, and once Haakon hits play re-use it any number of times! Devastating.

Finally, we will visit our final option. With all the creatures hitting the GY, we must be able to use them to our advantage. Liliana Vess not only helps with the discard, but can revive an army to end the game in one fell swoop. Mortivore could be a massive regenerating beast. Revenant could be very powerful and fly to boot. Consider many options is what I'm saying.

However, The Rack effects seem to be the most powerful in this form of deck for many reasons. Not only does the damage come before they can untap and destroy it (like they can with creatures), but it's also never a dead draw such as Megrim can be in a top deck situation. This overall lack of faults makes it an ideal choice.

"Deck Skeleton (at this point)" Show

"Deck (at this point)" Show

We've officially created a deck that not only denies opponents of crucial cards, but uses permanents (that we won't discard ourselves) to quickly take them all down at once. There is one problem though. So far I really haven't put out much of a defense. I've p*ssed people off, no question, but people playing fast, aggressive decks will want retaliation, no? A deck like this draws heat, massive heat, so unless we can truly stop our opponents cold, we're screwed.

Now some of you might take a glance at Ensnaring Bridge and pluck it right in, good enough. While it does help keep creature decks at bay, it does very little to combo or control. As such, it is not a be all end all solution. If you have a heavy creature meta, consider it though. Remember, Guiltfeeder still waltzes right past it, and puts that discard into straight up damage.

Maybe you grab your Null Brooch , constant counter is good right? Then again, it only hits one spell a turn. That won't be enough : /. It is useful if you face a lot of enchantment/permanent removal however.

Another great option is Sickening Dreams . Think about it: not only can you clear the board, and madness out Gibbering Descent , but it also makes you go Hellbent. Talk about killing 3 birds with one stone!

Well... Contamination / Infernal Darkness is a good way to stop all your opponents from doing much... but they just don't last long enough. What about Braids, Cabal Minion or Smokestack or Tangle Wire ? Bah, they hit us hard too... We could try Magus of the Abyss or Pillar Tombs of Aku or Call to the Grave (Haakon is a zombie ^_^), if only they didn't kill themselves over time...

Hmmm... Glacial Chasm eh... Prevent all damage? But with that kind of land loss we'd never catch up, and I don't want to pay for Crucible of Worlds ...

Geez, so many cards at our disposal, but all have horrible drawbacks on our upkeep.

Upkeep...

What is Gibbering Descent 's Hellbent effect again?

So if we have no cards in hand (which we won't), and all our opponents only have access to black mana (because of Contamination ), and all damage dealt to us is prevented (thanks to Glacial Chasm ), how exactly is anyone going to stop us (since black in general can't deal with enchantments or artifacts)?

I think we have our deck .

"Deck Skeleton (at this point)" Show

"Deck (at this point)" Show

And of course, mana sources. Although swamps are acceptable, do not overlook cards like Dakmor Salvage that can be used if discarded, Howltooth Hollow for free cards (like a free Hollowborn Barghest !), Cabal Coffers for big late game Stromgald Crusader s, etc.

"Discard Control Skeleton" Show

"Discard Control" Show

But this is only the beginning!
- Try Geth's Grimoire and Words of Waste to generate insane card advantage.
- Try Bosium Strip with Pox and speed up your win.
- Try Nether Spirit with Contamination if you don't use Descent.
- Try Measure of Wickedness for hot-potato action.
- Try the madness route with Big Game Hunter , Psychotic Haze , Nightshade Assassin , and more
- Try discarding big threats ( Kokusho, the Evening Star , Hollowborg Barghest ) and Exhume -ing or Reanimate -ing them.

Syphon Soul too weak?

It may just be me, but I'm scared of having no discard outlets. If you're unable to play a card for some reason, or if your Syphon-Mage is dead...you're in deep upkeep trouble...

I have a similar deck to this, and the protection it sits behind is the following:
4x Grafted Skullcap
2x Ensnaring Bridge
2x Null Brooch

Very similar to yours, but prevents your opponents attacking completely.
Come your turn, the Skullcaps fill your hand up, and you get a swing.

But yeah, great deck. Makes me want to go and grab a few Mindslicer s for mine!