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1 year ago ::
Feb 21, 2012 - 7:29AM
#6011
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Date Joined:
Aug 11, 2011
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She nets card advantage because it is physically impossible for me to discard if I have no cards in my hand. She is better than geth's and despise because she can fulfill either role as a single card. She also forces your opponent to attack. She is worse than geth's and despise because she costs 3 instead of 2 or 1.
She might be completely out of place in the deck. If I was going for pure agro, I would leave her and smallpox out. Instead, I'm going for an attrition deck and she clearly broadcasts to my opponent that they can't sit on any cards. She would be better if I wasn't relying on other cards to fetch from my graveyard and I think she is the main reason why there's no pure black flashback at a decent cost in standard.
She is probably the best reason to consider a splash. The only reason I don't splash is because any splash makes lashwrithe worse.
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1 year ago ::
Feb 22, 2012 - 9:30AM
#6012
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Date Joined:
Aug 11, 2011
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Updated List. Spoiler:
Show
Going for a more agro based build so +++ on the Diregraf ghouls. Cutting the priest from a 4 of to a 1 of. He's good, he's just not that good. Smallpox reduced, it has great interactions with the deck but the deck can't leverage the full potential of the card. Obliterators instead of Lashwrithe. Lashwrithe has more removal possibilities and is best played with evasive creatures. Obliterators makes anyone playing red cry. Also allows for splash as I no longer need to depend on swamp count. Dismember instead of Geth's; between Lili and smallpox I have enough edicts and not enough targetted spot removal. Distress is back in; previous version didn't have enough hand disruption. For a splash consideration, I'm looking at the merits of white vs. blue. Blue supports the zombie tribal White provides artifact removal and Lingering souls.
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1 year ago ::
Feb 23, 2012 - 4:24AM
#6013
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Date Joined:
May 21, 2009
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First and foremost I wanted to link to the recent Building on a Budget that featured mono-black Standard zombies. It is a pretty solid overall build, and I like that someone else is trying out Cemetery Reaper  . She nets card advantage because it is physically impossible for me to discard if I have no cards in my hand. She is better than geth's and despise because she can fulfill either role as a single card. She also forces your opponent to attack. She is worse than geth's and despise because she costs 3 instead of 2 or 1.
She might be completely out of place in the deck. If I was going for pure agro, I would leave her and smallpox out. Instead, I'm going for an attrition deck and she clearly broadcasts to my opponent that they can't sit on any cards. She would be better if I wasn't relying on other cards to fetch from my graveyard and I think she is the main reason why there's no pure black flashback at a decent cost in standard.
I still do not really see how both players having 0 cards somehow equals you having card advantage. I would also think that not being able to hold cards in your hand would be a disadvantage to you if you are not playing aggro. I would also say Lingering Souls  is a pretty solid cheap flashback that only needs black. I would not use it in this deck, but the color definitely has its fair share.
Updated List.
Spoiler:
Show
Going for a more agro based build so +++ on the Diregraf ghouls.
Cutting the priest from a 4 of to a 1 of. He's good, he's just not that good.
Smallpox reduced, it has great interactions with the deck but the deck can't leverage the full potential of the card.
Obliterators instead of Lashwrithe. Lashwrithe has more removal possibilities and is best played with evasive creatures. Obliterators makes anyone playing red cry. Also allows for splash as I no longer need to depend on swamp count.
Dismember instead of Geth's; between Lili and smallpox I have enough edicts and not enough targetted spot removal.
Distress is back in; previous version didn't have enough hand disruption.
For a splash consideration, I'm looking at the merits of white vs. blue.
Blue supports the zombie tribal
White provides artifact removal and Lingering souls.
I still think the Obliterators are best left in the board. RDW has really seen a substantial decrease, and most other decks can deal with him. Dismember also seems like a waste in the main deck since it cannot kill a Titan, and is overkill for most other creatures in the format, especially when you can always achieve morbid for tragic slip or use a Geth's Verdict  . I think Laswrithe needs to stay in, and that you need Mortarpod  . Both are just great cards for this deck. Regardless of the evasion, Lashwrithe makes any creature ridiculous in a mono-black deck.
I can see questioning the Priest as a reliable win-condition. I might go for 2 or 3 though, then add in one Bloodline Keeper  . The other thing is that as you take out zombies, your gravecrawlers become less useful. With this list roughly 37% of your creatures are not zombies, which could be a problem at times. If you start splashing colors I could see taking out Lashwrithe. I do not really see the splash as necessary though. If you want a lord, why not just use Cemetery Reaper?
 I am Blue/White Take The Magic Dual Colour Test - Beta today!Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.I'm both orderly and rational. I value control, information, and order. I love structure and hierarchy, and will actively use whatever power or knowledge I have to maintain it. At best, I am lawful and insightful; at worst, I am bureaucratic and tyrannical. Current Decks: Elves B/R Aggro/Discard Horde of Notions EDH Thraximundar EDH
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1 year ago ::
Feb 23, 2012 - 8:58AM
#6014
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Date Joined:
Aug 11, 2011
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I found the time to test my last build and I no longer see a place for smallpox with Liliana in current standard. Those cards together are screaming for Sinkhole  , Hymn to Tourach  and Dark Ritual  . So I'm going to retool the deck for Legacy. The last list I put together has a major flaw. It doesn't know if it wants to be an agro zombie deck or an attrition deck. There's no way to protect Liliana with creatures that want to attack and your creatures can't attack effectively if you don't give them the support they need. Monoblack zombie agro is strong but I think it's doing a disservice to itself by not streaking some blue for Diregraf captain  to leverage more weight from the Mortarpod sac engine. Black is still a great control color. I think MBC is stronger than RDW. Still, I don't see any way of making it viable for control with the cards available to us in standard by ignoring the other colors. It really needs white and/or blue. I agree, the obliterator is best saved for the sideboard and even then only if RDW makes a comeback. I could see putting him main deck in a B/G deck with Deadly Allure  and Prey Upon  . I see that as a deck filled with deathtouch dorks and not able to keep up with tokens. The priest as a win condition needs to have a deck built around him. Ideally he should be summoning a demon on turn 3 and his supporting cast should be able to stand on its own. I'm leaning towards a B/W Human Token solution there. He's usable with agro-zombies but you end up wanting to not attack just so you can summon a demon. Not attacking is a bad strat for an agro deck.
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1 year ago ::
Feb 23, 2012 - 6:07PM
#6015
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Date Joined:
May 21, 2009
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That is what I thought you would most likely find, unfortunately. It seems like Liliana's usefulness is mainly in modern and legacy. Three of the Top 8 decks at GP Lincoln were playing Liliana, and she is indeed much more functional in those decks. You make a valid point about Diregraf Captain  but there really comes a point where you have to question if it is really worth playing a second color and having to worry about mana fixing. There are certainly other ways that we could build around one or two cards in the deck to maximize their effectiveness too, but then we lose the balance of having each card being significantly effective. I am biased because I really want to play mono-black though. Plus I do not like how the sets are really pushing people towards blue-black zombies. I do not have anything against them, but it seems like there are just better options. The deck is using a good amount of control considering what is available in standard right now. With the rotation of Zendikar block, the whole card pool is not as powerful as it was in the spring/summer of 2011. We lost Vampire Hexmage  , Nantuko Shade  , Consume the Meek  , etc. It seems like the predominantly zombie creature base with the use of the best control spells currently available is really the only viable mono-black option right now. While it may not be the most traditional MBC list, it is the best bet for those of us wanting to play mono black.
I am Blue/White Take The Magic Dual Colour Test - Beta today!Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.I'm both orderly and rational. I value control, information, and order. I love structure and hierarchy, and will actively use whatever power or knowledge I have to maintain it. At best, I am lawful and insightful; at worst, I am bureaucratic and tyrannical. Current Decks: Elves B/R Aggro/Discard Horde of Notions EDH Thraximundar EDH
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1 year ago ::
Feb 23, 2012 - 7:35PM
#6016
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We lost Vampire Hexmage , Nantuko Shade , Consume the Meek , etc.
I really wish Consume the Meek was still standard. It would be absolutely disgusting right now. Heck, any one of the following would be nice: Inquisition of Kozilek  , Duress  , Smother  , Sign in Blood  , Gatekeeper of Malakir  , Vampire Nighthawk  , even some of the cards that weren't great in the last standard, like Liliana's Specter  , Mind Sludge  , or Corrupt  . Monoblack control got shafted, the only thing Innistrad block offers is a couple of spot removal spells, unless you take a more aggressive approach, in which case there's Geralf's Messenger  .
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1 year ago ::
Mar 20, 2012 - 11:21PM
#6017
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Date Joined:
Dec 13, 2008
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Hey niche, any ideas on MBC or MB considering the new format?
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1 year ago ::
Mar 21, 2012 - 1:22AM
#6018
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Date Joined:
May 21, 2009
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I am putting together a mono-black zombie deck to take to FNM. I feel like that is the best options for MB right now. It is not exactly anything new or creative though. My current list: Spoiler:
Show
I am Blue/White Take The Magic Dual Colour Test - Beta today!Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.I'm both orderly and rational. I value control, information, and order. I love structure and hierarchy, and will actively use whatever power or knowledge I have to maintain it. At best, I am lawful and insightful; at worst, I am bureaucratic and tyrannical. Current Decks: Elves B/R Aggro/Discard Horde of Notions EDH Thraximundar EDH
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1 year ago ::
Apr 16, 2012 - 6:50AM
#6019
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Date Joined:
Apr 16, 2012
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Has anyone looked into a mono black ramp type style? I saw mention of using Sphere of the Suns but here is an idea I have. I have done some testing and a turn 4 titan or engine is not uncommon. I was wondering if anyone else has looked into any thing like this?
2 Ghost Quarter
4 Inkmoth Nexus
18 Swamp
4 Vault Skirge
3 Bloodline Keeper
4 Phyrexian Obliterator
2 Grave Titan
2 Wurmcoil Engine
3 Despise
3 Undying Evil
4 Distress
3 Sphere of the Suns
4 Pristine Talisman
4 Lashwrithe
Sideboard
2 Massacre Wurm
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Curse of Death's Hold
2 Nihil Spellbomb
3 Karn Liberated
2 Sorin Markov
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1 year ago ::
Apr 16, 2012 - 12:15PM
#6020
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I'd say drop the Inkmoths for more swamps.
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