I run 2 trigon of rage.. what do you think about 2 SoWaP in their place. it comes down a turn later. but the protection hates out, phoenixes and spirit tokens. the lifelink also helps
If you want to use maindeck mass removal, you should try to have only one type. Sure, you might blank and get, say, a Black Sun's Zenith when what you really need is a Curse of Death's Hold or something, but using only one type maindeck means you're devoting 3-4 slots to an answer rather than 3-4 slots to 3-4 different answers. You can't effectively tutor for a specific card, and card draw is very restrictive, so diversifying is more of a liability than the potential gain from versatility.
Your point is a good one. I used to have 2 ratchets, 2 zeniths, and 2 curses in my sideboard, but I found myself usually bringing them all in games 2-3 at my local game store. I guess my strategy is to luck out game one at this point. I always either side all 3 out, or side all 3 extra copies in depending on the matchup. I get that sometimes you don't want zenith cause it kills your own critters, and that curse is bad when there's honor of the pure and intangible virtue already out. I would love to see a take on the pros and cons of ratchet vs zenith vs curse, and your sideboard plans
I would love to see a take on the pros and cons of ratchet vs zenith vs curse, and your sideboard plans
Ratchet Bomb is mainly good versus tokens and werewolves (and I guess flipped Garruk), although it has other utility if you can get its counters up. But it's the slowest option for dealing with anything other than those two problems, and is the most likely option to blank completely. That said, it's also mono-black's only real way to remove problematic artifacts/enchantments.
Zenith guaranteed to hit everything on the board, plus it's variable in size so you can do silly stuff like leave a relatively harmless 1/1 Wurmcoil lying around. But it can't hit things like Inkmoth. Personally it's my favourite of the three, despite the fact that it's also the only one that'll wipe your own board (barring extreme corner cases with Ratchet Bomb).
Curse is good against tokens that don't have a lot of pump effects, plus it stops Inkmoth dead and keeps Snapcaster from being an emergency blocker. It also has a habit of dominating the mirror match barring upsets like Skittles out of nowhere. However, it's very susceptible to removal and is a significant mana investment for relatively little gain.
Personally, I run all three in varying amounts in my sideboard and pick the most appropriate one(s) for the matchup.
God damm, second down grade for this deck, and again all discuss go to space.
I was testing Undying Evil and Gravepurge. This last I used as 1-of, and most for test agains control matches when they counter my dudes, and then I get 2 creatures back. More than once I saw someone talking about Postmortem Lunge, but I don't know if this works since the only creature I would cast for a nice hit without pump is Vatmother, and rarely a dead Skity.
And I like to play 4 Lash and 2 Trigon G1, and then Sb some backplan for a long game.
I've been playing all FNM, with at least 20+ people, and alway get at least in 10th, and I'm playing without a good SB.
About the Mass Removal discuss I totally agree with Teia, and plan play 2 of each in SB too (still w/o Ratched bomb).
Ratchet Bomb is mainly good versus tokens and werewolves (and I guess flipped Garruk), although it has other utility if you can get its counters up. But it's the slowest option for dealing with anything other than those two problems, and is the most likely option to blank completely. That said, it's also mono-black's only real way to remove problematic artifacts/enchantments.
Zenith guaranteed to hit everything on the board, plus it's variable in size so you can do silly stuff like leave a relatively harmless 1/1 Wurmcoil lying around. But it can't hit things like Inkmoth. Personally it's my favourite of the three, despite the fact that it's also the only one that'll wipe your own board (barring extreme corner cases with Ratchet Bomb).
Curse is good against tokens that don't have a lot of pump effects, plus it stops Inkmoth dead and keeps Snapcaster from being an emergency blocker. It also has a habit of dominating the mirror match barring upsets like Skittles out of nowhere. However, it's very susceptible to removal and is a significant mana investment for relatively little gain.
Personally, I run all three in varying amounts in my sideboard and pick the most appropriate one(s) for the matchup.
Tokens is a really weak matchup for us, especially early. I've been pretty unpleased with Black Sun's Zenith in this matchup, although I know that as soon as I remove it, I'm going to wish that I had it for other similar matchups like Humans. Even so, I can't justify devoting what would likely end up being 6 sideboard slots to answer 2 very similar decks. After some evaluation my sideboard will probably be freeing up 3 slots here soon, as Apostle's Blessing has been kind of underwhelming now that Undying Evil is around and Oblivion Ring has become less of an issue, but despite that, I almost feel as though there has to be something of more value in other matchups that I wouldn't want to miss out on.
More than once I saw someone talking about Postmortem Lunge, but I don't know if this works since the only creature I would cast for a nice hit without pump is Vatmother, and rarely a dead Skity.
I can say it does work. You cast it when your opponent has tapped out or otherwise isn't prepared for a one turn win assuming you have either lashwrithe or trigun out.
I built the deck expecting to see mostly WRR after PT Honolulu. Turned out I only face 1 WRR deck the first match and that was it. So I guessed wrong and as a result, didn't have the night I expected. Guessing your meta is more important than people realize.
Round 1 - WRR
This was what I prepared for and it was a cakewalk. I took this 2 -1, only losing the one game because I got mana screwed.. Between the doom blades for the Inkmoth's and Titans and the turn 5 Skittles, it was over fast.
Round 2 - Undying Zombies
This deck totally took me by surprise. That one zombie that makes you lose 2 life each time it enters the battlefield and all the other critters that did similar things, I was dead before I could even draw a 4th land. I sideboarded Grafdigger's for game 2 but never saw it. I just had no answers for this deck. I hope it doesn't catch on because it's quite nasty. Removing their creatures just plays into their game plan.
Round 3 - BR Vamps
Another easy match that I took in 2 straight. In fairness, my opponent got color screwed both games and couldn't cast much. So game 1 I won even though I drew 8 straight land and could only get 2 specters out the whole game. Game 2 I had a nut draw and they got color screwed again.
Round 4 - Esper Spirits
This is the match I blew due to fatigue (been sick for 2 weeks) and didn't realize that my protection from black Crusader could just roll right over their spirits game 1. With a Lashwrithe out and 8 swamps, it was an easy win. Another player pointed this out to me after the game. Game 2 I got 3 lands and couldn't do anything and got overrun.
So I finished the night 2-2.
I like the deck. I think in the hands of a more competent player and in the right meta, it can do very well. I definitely feel this deck belongs at least in Developing Competitive again. It can kill quickly once a Lashwrithe is cast.
Ratchet Bomb is mainly good versus tokens and werewolves (and I guess flipped Garruk), although it has other utility if you can get its counters up. But it's the slowest option for dealing with anything other than those two problems, and is the most likely option to blank completely. That said, it's also mono-black's only real way to remove problematic artifacts/enchantments.
Zenith guaranteed to hit everything on the board, plus it's variable in size so you can do silly stuff like leave a relatively harmless 1/1 Wurmcoil lying around. But it can't hit things like Inkmoth. Personally it's my favourite of the three, despite the fact that it's also the only one that'll wipe your own board (barring extreme corner cases with Ratchet Bomb).
Curse is good against tokens that don't have a lot of pump effects, plus it stops Inkmoth dead and keeps Snapcaster from being an emergency blocker. It also has a habit of dominating the mirror match barring upsets like Skittles out of nowhere. However, it's very susceptible to removal and is a significant mana investment for relatively little gain.
Personally, I run all three in varying amounts in my sideboard and pick the most appropriate one(s) for the matchup.
I run ratchets and a zenith in my SB, I don't like curse of death's hold because the manacost is too high. Against everything where'd I wan't to kill their x/1's, I could have gotten a ratchet bomb to do it already by that point. The advantage of the curse is that the effect continues, but it's so much easier for your opponent to overcome in most cases.
For MBI, you have to run 4 of Virulent Wound. It makes no sense to wait two turns and waist a GFtT, DB or VotN on a Bird of Paradise or Champion of the Perish. With VW, you can play it right away, kill a creature and they get a poison counter.
Also, while Skittles is a great card to have to finish off your opponent in the blink of an eye, running more than two is a wasted spot IMOP...
Inkmoth, more than anything else in this deck, is really one of those "play with this or play another deck" type of cards. The advantages it offers (since it's free, uncounterable, produces mana, flies, and is immune to sorcery-speed removal) are so tremendous that there are a noticeable number of times you'd simply have lost if you didn't have it.
Quote from levybreak »
I don't like curse of death's hold because the manacost is too high. Against everything where'd I wan't to kill their x/1's, I could have gotten a ratchet bomb to do it already by that point. The advantage of the curse is that the effect continues, but it's so much easier for your opponent to overcome in most cases.
It depends on the matchup, really. Some decks (like the mirror and some control decks) are completely wrecked by it. Other decks barely notice it. There's no definitive best sweeper, but Curse is still backbreaking in the situations it's suited for.
For MBI, you have to run 4 of Virulent Wound. It makes no sense to wait two turns and waist a GFtT, DB or VotN on a Bird of Paradise or Champion of the Perish. With VW, you can play it right away, kill a creature and they get a poison counter.
Also, while Skittles is a great card to have to finish off your opponent in the blink of an eye, running more than two is a wasted spot IMOP...
There also aren't any Inkmoths in there!
Okay, no virulent because I was expecting a lot of WRR. A -1/-1 on a turn 3 Solemn or a turn 4 titan does nothing. As I said in my original post, my deck was tuned to what I expected to meet this evening after PT Honolulu. I guessed wrong. I met one WRR. Had I known in advance that the copycats wouldn't be out in full force, I not only would have made this deck differently, I wouldn't have played it at all as MBI, in general against the rest of the top decks, is weak. I knew that going in. I knew I could run over WRR. I did. Sometimes you just guess wrong on your meta. That was the case last night.
As for Inkmoth, I didn't play it because of two reasons.
1. I wanted to max my swamp count for Lashwrithe. My goal was a quick turn 5 or 6 kill. a turn 6 Skittles with 6 swamps and a Lashwrithe is instant game over. An Inkmoth among one of those lands means it's not over.
2. I tend to find I use Inkmoths for mana instead of attacking because rarely am I not casting spells. This is not a sit back and do nothing deck. This is a deck where I'm constantly casting spells and attacking. Inkmoth, IMO, slows me down if I hold it back to ping somebody with.
I used 3 Skittles because it was a card I absolutely wanted to draw by turn 5. In fact, I was thinking of running 4, which is why I had one in my sideboard.
The matches I lost would have turned out no different with Inkmoth and virulent wound. so those cards were non factor.
Match 2 I lost because I got totally outraced by undying that I had the wrong kill answers for. GftT on undying is terrible. That's what killed me that match.
Match 4 I lose because of stupid play not realizing that a phyrexian crusader can just run right over a white spirit. I was tired and not thinking. That would have taken game 1. Game 2 I had no chance but at least that would have taken it to a game 3.
So the build wasn't the problem. It was 1 bad matchup and 1 bad play that cost me a 4-0 night.
Of I knew I'd be running into lots of 1/1 spirits. then yes, I would have sided in virulent wound game 2. But my meta tends to go midrange and virulent is useless against titans.
My meta has a big variety of decks, mostly Delver, Humans, WRR and Burn, but with a lot of others good decks (and some bad ones too). So I plan to test an old build of mine, with some changes, and go too a 4k Event next month.
Notes: I don't like Specters, so I use Vat in main. Bounce is annoying everytime for everyone anyway.
SB Plans are have the best Sword and best removal in each case. If needed I sometimes SBout some Utility card. I just hope to get some Swords with a friend of mine.
Strangely I've brought back Ichor Rats to play around with in my meta, replacing Whispering Specter. Lots of Gut Shot and spot removal so both of them get removed pretty much when they land, but at least with the Rats I got a poison counter out of it. Same thing with bounce effects, if anything bounce effects become helpless because they're worried about me landing the Rats again.
And of course, Undying Evil helps both cards out, and is definitely more explosive with the Specter, but two poison counters off the same creature before even swinging is pretty neat. Plus a 3/2 Rats is nothing to sneeze at if the board is clear.
I highly recommend looking at Ichor Rats if your meta is bounce/spot removal heavy like mine is, the Rats become a far more intense threat. With the Specter I kept getting frustrated with dropping it and getting no value out of it. Of course, play accordingly if you're facing the infect mirror.
I've always wanted a creature heavy shell, but rarely we see a good time for any of the non-all-star infect dudes. I would try Ichor Rats, if I find some room in my list. It's a 3 drop, and for me this means it may fight the Crusader and Swords spot. And I don't want to give up of Plague Stinger. I know play 11 removals can be too much, but I'm addicted to them... I think I'll try -2 Removal and -1 Discard spell.
This week, since a few nasty Heartless decks, Zombies and a UB control will definitely be there,
I'm putting in Grafdigger's Cage, a Sword of Feast and Famine I picked up with my prize from last week, a Spellskite, and putting another one or two Grafdigger's in my sideboard, along with tribute to hungers and tragic slips instead of geth's verdict and distress. I'm also going to test out Inquisitor's Flail (turn 2, cast Flail, turn 3, Crusader, turn 4, equip, swing, mutagenic growth). I might also run 2 Ghost Quarters at the expense of 2 Swamps, to deal with Drownyard, Wolf Run, etc.
Right now I'm debating over Dark Favor as a possible replacement for Growth or in addition to, Apostle's Blessing, Undying Evil, and Flensermite instead of Whispering Specter, to take advantage of Lashwrithe attached to Flenser to recover lots of health.
I'm gonna see how I do this Friday. If I keep it up, I'll continue using MB Infect. If not, I might make the switch to UB Infect.
Went 3-1 with MBI last FNM. I noticed the following:
Undying Evil is not working for me. In my meta there are too many situations where Apostle's Blessing would be better. A B/W token deck kept me from the last point of infect by Sorin spitting out black vampires in front of crusader. I plan to only run blessing from now on to avoid snags, rings, and missing a chance to swing for the win.
Curse of Death's Hold is too slow. My only loss was to U/W humans. A match where I lost both games within 4 turns. I had to mull to 5 after taking two hands without a creature or even a nexus. Turn one champion. I played a swamp. Turn 2 gather the towns folk, swing for 3. I played swamp and stinger. Turn 3 he fiend hunters my stinger and swings for 6. I play a swamp and attempt to wound a token which is met with a mental mistep. Turn 4 he plays honor of the pure, gather the townsfolk and swings for 13.
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"Why can't I hold all these answers?"
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Went 3-1 with MBI last FNM. I noticed the following:
Undying Evil is not working for me. In my meta there are too many situations where Apostle's Blessing would be better. A B/W token deck kept me from the last point of infect by Sorin spitting out black vampires in front of crusader. I plan to only run blessing from now on to avoid snags, rings, and missing a chance to swing for the win.
Crusader has prot white... I took Blessings out of the SB considering you cant target the MVP of your deck.
Top 8'd for the first time (I've only done 3 FNM's) on Friday, going 4-2.
Only losses were to Mono-black Zombies and Junkwalkers. Getting some much needed Ratchet Bombs this week to deal with Walkers, and I chalk Zombies up to bad hands and him running at least 10 removal spells along with Liliana.
Phyrexian Vatmother is one of the unsung heroes of this deck. At 4 mana, she's a 4/5 infecter. Her drawback is hardly ever relevant; the entirety of infect in standard right now can be summed up with Inkmoth Nexus. And at 4/5, she's swinging for big totals and surviving burn. When it takes a Morbid-enabled Brimstone Volley to kill her, you know that your opponent's going to be out of luck. Sword of Feast and Famine is in there almost exclusively for the +2/+2 and protection from black and green. A sword on a Crusader is difficult to beat. Hand of the Praetors is actually really good when you have 2-3 other creatures out, and he's good when you have 2-3 other creatures in hand. He's really a win-win situation (you opponent's can't even respond to your infect spell by killing him to stop the poison counter). Lastly, Corpse Cur is a fun one. He's great late-game gas when you're in topdeck mode and he's an artifact creature, which means he'll stop Whipflare, Go for the Throat, and Sword of Feast and Famine (him and Inkmoth are the only artifact creatures in the deck). The discard mainboard/sideboard is in there to cover Black's limitations when it comes to noncreature threats. Oblivion Ring and walkers both serve as hindrances; Despise and Distress handle both of those well.
But im having problems to justify a 3-of or 2-of Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon/Black Sun Zenith.
Are those that incredible as this thread had recommended cos i seldom wish to cast them?
Or am i playing it wrongly?
Your point is a good one. I used to have 2 ratchets, 2 zeniths, and 2 curses in my sideboard, but I found myself usually bringing them all in games 2-3 at my local game store. I guess my strategy is to luck out game one at this point. I always either side all 3 out, or side all 3 extra copies in depending on the matchup. I get that sometimes you don't want zenith cause it kills your own critters, and that curse is bad when there's honor of the pure and intangible virtue already out. I would love to see a take on the pros and cons of ratchet vs zenith vs curse, and your sideboard plans
Im not sure how to do the typical deck list but here's what I currently run:
20x swamp
4x inkmoth
4x phyrexian crusader
4x plague stinger
3x whispering specter
2x skittles
4x virulent wound
3x despise
3x Go for the throat
2x Victim of the night
1x Black Sun's Zenith
2x Tezz Gambit
2x Postmortem Lunge
4x Lashwrithe
2x Trigun of Rage
Because of the changes in the meta I haven't come up with a better sideboard but ive consistently used:
3x Black sun's Zenith
3x Ratchet Bomb
3x Surgical Extraction
2x Geth's Verdict or 2x Phyrexian Metamorph
Hope this helps.
Ratchet Bomb is mainly good versus tokens and werewolves (and I guess flipped Garruk), although it has other utility if you can get its counters up. But it's the slowest option for dealing with anything other than those two problems, and is the most likely option to blank completely. That said, it's also mono-black's only real way to remove problematic artifacts/enchantments.
Zenith guaranteed to hit everything on the board, plus it's variable in size so you can do silly stuff like leave a relatively harmless 1/1 Wurmcoil lying around. But it can't hit things like Inkmoth. Personally it's my favourite of the three, despite the fact that it's also the only one that'll wipe your own board (barring extreme corner cases with Ratchet Bomb).
Curse is good against tokens that don't have a lot of pump effects, plus it stops Inkmoth dead and keeps Snapcaster from being an emergency blocker. It also has a habit of dominating the mirror match barring upsets like Skittles out of nowhere. However, it's very susceptible to removal and is a significant mana investment for relatively little gain.
Personally, I run all three in varying amounts in my sideboard and pick the most appropriate one(s) for the matchup.
I was testing Undying Evil and Gravepurge. This last I used as 1-of, and most for test agains control matches when they counter my dudes, and then I get 2 creatures back. More than once I saw someone talking about Postmortem Lunge, but I don't know if this works since the only creature I would cast for a nice hit without pump is Vatmother, and rarely a dead Skity.
And I like to play 4 Lash and 2 Trigon G1, and then Sb some backplan for a long game.
I've been playing all FNM, with at least 20+ people, and alway get at least in 10th, and I'm playing without a good SB.
About the Mass Removal discuss I totally agree with Teia, and plan play 2 of each in SB too (still w/o Ratched bomb).
Current Playing
T2
Esper
Modern
WUB Esper Mill WUB
EDH
WBR Kaalia WBR
BUG Mimeo Infect BUG
_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._
Tokens is a really weak matchup for us, especially early. I've been pretty unpleased with Black Sun's Zenith in this matchup, although I know that as soon as I remove it, I'm going to wish that I had it for other similar matchups like Humans. Even so, I can't justify devoting what would likely end up being 6 sideboard slots to answer 2 very similar decks. After some evaluation my sideboard will probably be freeing up 3 slots here soon, as Apostle's Blessing has been kind of underwhelming now that Undying Evil is around and Oblivion Ring has become less of an issue, but despite that, I almost feel as though there has to be something of more value in other matchups that I wouldn't want to miss out on.
Its a real dilemma.
Because we care about facts.
I can say it does work. You cast it when your opponent has tapped out or otherwise isn't prepared for a one turn win assuming you have either lashwrithe or trigun out.
24x Swamp
Creatures:
4x Plague Stinger
4x Phyrexian Crusader
4x Whispering Specter
3x Skithiryx, The Blight Dragon
4x Lashwrithe
2x Trigon of Rage
Spells:
4x Doom Blade
4x Go For The Throat
4x Geth's Verdict
3x Liliana of the Veil
3x Black Sun's Zenith
2x Sword of Feast and Famine
2x Grafdigger's Cage
1x Skithiryx, The Blight Dragon
2x Sword of War and Peace
3x Ghost Quarters
2x Tumble Magnet
I built the deck expecting to see mostly WRR after PT Honolulu. Turned out I only face 1 WRR deck the first match and that was it. So I guessed wrong and as a result, didn't have the night I expected. Guessing your meta is more important than people realize.
Round 1 - WRR
This was what I prepared for and it was a cakewalk. I took this 2 -1, only losing the one game because I got mana screwed.. Between the doom blades for the Inkmoth's and Titans and the turn 5 Skittles, it was over fast.
Round 2 - Undying Zombies
This deck totally took me by surprise. That one zombie that makes you lose 2 life each time it enters the battlefield and all the other critters that did similar things, I was dead before I could even draw a 4th land. I sideboarded Grafdigger's for game 2 but never saw it. I just had no answers for this deck. I hope it doesn't catch on because it's quite nasty. Removing their creatures just plays into their game plan.
Round 3 - BR Vamps
Another easy match that I took in 2 straight. In fairness, my opponent got color screwed both games and couldn't cast much. So game 1 I won even though I drew 8 straight land and could only get 2 specters out the whole game. Game 2 I had a nut draw and they got color screwed again.
Round 4 - Esper Spirits
This is the match I blew due to fatigue (been sick for 2 weeks) and didn't realize that my protection from black Crusader could just roll right over their spirits game 1. With a Lashwrithe out and 8 swamps, it was an easy win. Another player pointed this out to me after the game. Game 2 I got 3 lands and couldn't do anything and got overrun.
So I finished the night 2-2.
I like the deck. I think in the hands of a more competent player and in the right meta, it can do very well. I definitely feel this deck belongs at least in Developing Competitive again. It can kill quickly once a Lashwrithe is cast.
Next week I'll be playing Curse of Exhaustion/Knowledge Pool.
Anyway, have fun with the deck. I think it has lots of potential to give most decks a run for their money.
I run ratchets and a zenith in my SB, I don't like curse of death's hold because the manacost is too high. Against everything where'd I wan't to kill their x/1's, I could have gotten a ratchet bomb to do it already by that point. The advantage of the curse is that the effect continues, but it's so much easier for your opponent to overcome in most cases.
For MBI, you have to run 4 of Virulent Wound. It makes no sense to wait two turns and waist a GFtT, DB or VotN on a Bird of Paradise or Champion of the Perish. With VW, you can play it right away, kill a creature and they get a poison counter.
Also, while Skittles is a great card to have to finish off your opponent in the blink of an eye, running more than two is a wasted spot IMOP...
There also aren't any Inkmoths in there!
Inkmoth, more than anything else in this deck, is really one of those "play with this or play another deck" type of cards. The advantages it offers (since it's free, uncounterable, produces mana, flies, and is immune to sorcery-speed removal) are so tremendous that there are a noticeable number of times you'd simply have lost if you didn't have it.
It depends on the matchup, really. Some decks (like the mirror and some control decks) are completely wrecked by it. Other decks barely notice it. There's no definitive best sweeper, but Curse is still backbreaking in the situations it's suited for.
Okay, no virulent because I was expecting a lot of WRR. A -1/-1 on a turn 3 Solemn or a turn 4 titan does nothing. As I said in my original post, my deck was tuned to what I expected to meet this evening after PT Honolulu. I guessed wrong. I met one WRR. Had I known in advance that the copycats wouldn't be out in full force, I not only would have made this deck differently, I wouldn't have played it at all as MBI, in general against the rest of the top decks, is weak. I knew that going in. I knew I could run over WRR. I did. Sometimes you just guess wrong on your meta. That was the case last night.
As for Inkmoth, I didn't play it because of two reasons.
1. I wanted to max my swamp count for Lashwrithe. My goal was a quick turn 5 or 6 kill. a turn 6 Skittles with 6 swamps and a Lashwrithe is instant game over. An Inkmoth among one of those lands means it's not over.
2. I tend to find I use Inkmoths for mana instead of attacking because rarely am I not casting spells. This is not a sit back and do nothing deck. This is a deck where I'm constantly casting spells and attacking. Inkmoth, IMO, slows me down if I hold it back to ping somebody with.
I used 3 Skittles because it was a card I absolutely wanted to draw by turn 5. In fact, I was thinking of running 4, which is why I had one in my sideboard.
The matches I lost would have turned out no different with Inkmoth and virulent wound. so those cards were non factor.
Match 2 I lost because I got totally outraced by undying that I had the wrong kill answers for. GftT on undying is terrible. That's what killed me that match.
Match 4 I lose because of stupid play not realizing that a phyrexian crusader can just run right over a white spirit. I was tired and not thinking. That would have taken game 1. Game 2 I had no chance but at least that would have taken it to a game 3.
So the build wasn't the problem. It was 1 bad matchup and 1 bad play that cost me a 4-0 night.
Of I knew I'd be running into lots of 1/1 spirits. then yes, I would have sided in virulent wound game 2. But my meta tends to go midrange and virulent is useless against titans.
Here the list:
4 Inkmoth Nexus
20 Swamp
// Creatures
4 Phyrexian Crusader
4 Plague Stinger
2 Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
3 Phyrexian Vatmother
// Removal
3 Virulent Wound
2 Doom Blade
2 Go for the Throat
2 Black Sun's Zenith
2 Tribute to Hunger
4 Lashwrithe
2 Sword of War and Peace
4 Distress
2 Undying Evil
1 Black Sun's Zenith
2 Sword of Feast and Famine
3 Spellskite
3 Sorin's Thirst
2 Curse of Death's Hold
2 Tezzeret's Gambit
2 Nihil Spellbomb
Notes: I don't like Specters, so I use Vat in main. Bounce is annoying everytime for everyone anyway.
SB Plans are have the best Sword and best removal in each case. If needed I sometimes SBout some Utility card. I just hope to get some Swords with a friend of mine.
Current Playing
T2
Esper
Modern
WUB Esper Mill WUB
EDH
WBR Kaalia WBR
BUG Mimeo Infect BUG
_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._
And of course, Undying Evil helps both cards out, and is definitely more explosive with the Specter, but two poison counters off the same creature before even swinging is pretty neat. Plus a 3/2 Rats is nothing to sneeze at if the board is clear.
I highly recommend looking at Ichor Rats if your meta is bounce/spot removal heavy like mine is, the Rats become a far more intense threat. With the Specter I kept getting frustrated with dropping it and getting no value out of it. Of course, play accordingly if you're facing the infect mirror.
Sun Titan: O hai, don't mind me, just being the blazing sun that never sets.
Vampire Nocturnus: ಠ_ಠ
And that's how Vampire Nocturnus got kicked out of the core set as the promo card.
RG Werewolves RG
B Mono-Black Infect B
R Red Deck Wins R
Current Playing
T2
Esper
Modern
WUB Esper Mill WUB
EDH
WBR Kaalia WBR
BUG Mimeo Infect BUG
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Link goes down:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=395608&page=2
Current Playing
T2
Esper
Modern
WUB Esper Mill WUB
EDH
WBR Kaalia WBR
BUG Mimeo Infect BUG
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This is what I had used:
4 Plague Stinger
3 Whispering Specter
2 Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Livewire Lash
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Tumble Magnet
3 Virulent Wound
4 Go for the Throat
3 Mutagenic Growth
4 Inkmoth Nexus
21 Swamp
with
1 Hand of the Praetors
1 Virulent Wound
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Tumble Magnet
2 Phyrexian Vatmother
2 Distress
2 Geth's Verdict
2 Doom Blade
in my sideboard.
This week, since a few nasty Heartless decks, Zombies and a UB control will definitely be there,
I'm putting in Grafdigger's Cage, a Sword of Feast and Famine I picked up with my prize from last week, a Spellskite, and putting another one or two Grafdigger's in my sideboard, along with tribute to hungers and tragic slips instead of geth's verdict and distress. I'm also going to test out Inquisitor's Flail (turn 2, cast Flail, turn 3, Crusader, turn 4, equip, swing, mutagenic growth). I might also run 2 Ghost Quarters at the expense of 2 Swamps, to deal with Drownyard, Wolf Run, etc.
Right now I'm debating over Dark Favor as a possible replacement for Growth or in addition to, Apostle's Blessing, Undying Evil, and Flensermite instead of Whispering Specter, to take advantage of Lashwrithe attached to Flenser to recover lots of health.
I'm gonna see how I do this Friday. If I keep it up, I'll continue using MB Infect. If not, I might make the switch to UB Infect.
Undying Evil is not working for me. In my meta there are too many situations where Apostle's Blessing would be better. A B/W token deck kept me from the last point of infect by Sorin spitting out black vampires in front of crusader. I plan to only run blessing from now on to avoid snags, rings, and missing a chance to swing for the win.
3 Rachet Bombs in the sideboard is a must.
Curse of Death's Hold is too slow. My only loss was to U/W humans. A match where I lost both games within 4 turns. I had to mull to 5 after taking two hands without a creature or even a nexus. Turn one champion. I played a swamp. Turn 2 gather the towns folk, swing for 3. I played swamp and stinger. Turn 3 he fiend hunters my stinger and swings for 6. I play a swamp and attempt to wound a token which is met with a mental mistep. Turn 4 he plays honor of the pure, gather the townsfolk and swings for 13.
"Why can't I hold all these answers?"
Sig by Ace5301
Crusader has prot white... I took Blessings out of the SB considering you cant target the MVP of your deck.
Only losses were to Mono-black Zombies and Junkwalkers. Getting some much needed Ratchet Bombs this week to deal with Walkers, and I chalk Zombies up to bad hands and him running at least 10 removal spells along with Liliana.
4 Phyrexian Crusader
4 Plague Stinger
3 Whispering Specter
2 Skithiryx, The Blight Dragon
2 Necropede
3 Virulent Wound
2 Mutagenic Growth
1 Dismember
2 Doom Blade
2 Undying Evil
1 Go for the Throat
2 Grim Affliction
2 Tezzeret's Gambit
2 Tribute to Hunger
4 Lashwrithe
Lands: (24)
24 Swamp
4x Phyrexian Crusader
4x Plague Stinger
3x Hand of the Praetors
3x Skythrix, the Blight Dragon
2x Whispering Specter
2x Phyrexian Vatmother
2x Corpse Cur
Artifacts
3x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Ratchet Bomb
2x Go for the Throat
3x Virulent Wound
1x Grim Affliction
Sorceries
3x Despise
2x Distress
Lands
20x Swamp
4x Inkmoth Nexus
1x Contested Warzone
2x Ratchet Bomb
2x Black Sun's Zenith
3x Memoricide
2x Night Terrors
2x Geth's Veredict
1x Go for the Throat
1x Grim Affliction
1x Virulent Wound
1x Enslave
Phyrexian Vatmother is one of the unsung heroes of this deck. At 4 mana, she's a 4/5 infecter. Her drawback is hardly ever relevant; the entirety of infect in standard right now can be summed up with Inkmoth Nexus. And at 4/5, she's swinging for big totals and surviving burn. When it takes a Morbid-enabled Brimstone Volley to kill her, you know that your opponent's going to be out of luck. Sword of Feast and Famine is in there almost exclusively for the +2/+2 and protection from black and green. A sword on a Crusader is difficult to beat. Hand of the Praetors is actually really good when you have 2-3 other creatures out, and he's good when you have 2-3 other creatures in hand. He's really a win-win situation (you opponent's can't even respond to your infect spell by killing him to stop the poison counter). Lastly, Corpse Cur is a fun one. He's great late-game gas when you're in topdeck mode and he's an artifact creature, which means he'll stop Whipflare, Go for the Throat, and Sword of Feast and Famine (him and Inkmoth are the only artifact creatures in the deck). The discard mainboard/sideboard is in there to cover Black's limitations when it comes to noncreature threats. Oblivion Ring and walkers both serve as hindrances; Despise and Distress handle both of those well.
4x Plague Stinger
4x Whispering Specter
4x Phyrexian Crusader
3x Phyrexian Vatmother
2x Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
Other Spells-19
4x Virulent Wound
2x Go for the Throat
2x Victim of Night
4x Distress
3x Tribute to Hunger
4x Lashwrithe
4x Inkmoth Nexus
20x Swamp
1x Phyrexian Vatmother
2x Curse of Death's Hold
3x Black Sun's Zenith
3x Contagion Clasp
3x Nihil Spellbomb
2x Go for the Throat
1x Tribute to Hunger
I've been playing for around 4 years (Since Lorwyn-Morningtide, I think)
My Decks
Standard
BWBW TokensWB
BMonoblack InfectB
EDH
BGWGhave, Guru of SporesWGB
BRGKarrthus, Tyrant of JundGRB
Casual
BVampiresB
UStasisU
How do you include the "Creatures (XX)" into the deck tag? Is it auto as it doesnt show up in mine?
4x Hand of the Praetors
4x Necropede
4x Phyrexian Crusader
4x Plague Stinger
3x Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
3x Black Sun's Zenith
3x Contagion Clasp
4x Grim Affliction
4x Lashwrithe
4x Virulent Wound
4x Inkmoth Nexus
19x Swamp
But im having problems to justify a 3-of or 2-of Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon/Black Sun Zenith.
Are those that incredible as this thread had recommended cos i seldom wish to cast them?
Or am i playing it wrongly?