I've always thought about making a mono black deck, but I would keep changing my mind a ton on what general I would use. Now that Rise of the Eldrazi is coming out, I'm sold on Volrath the Fallen. He loves munching on the likes of Emrakul and Draco to one-shot players. Even with a Runes of the Deus, Uril, the Miststalker still can't one-shot a player.
With this kind of explosive firepower at my disposal and a very powerful color to work with in multiplayer, here's what I have started out with:
There are the main magic numbers to keep in mind about Volrath:
7 + 8: Dump a creature with a CMC of at least 7 and another creature of at least 8 CMC and it will result in Volrath killing someone immediately for exactly 21 general damage.
9: Dumping a creature with at least 9 CMC will have Volrath connect for 15, which means he is able to kill that person with another swing without having to dump another creature to Volrath.
15: Dumping a creature with at least 15 CMC will have Volrath connect for exactly 21 general damage, resulting in an instant kill. Volrath is one of the few generals in EDH that is able to instantly kill someone with little effort, so take advantage of this.
Yes, I know the deck is quite high in terms of mana curve. That is mainly by design though; considering it helps the deck stay low during the beginning to midgame before it can bust out its huge stuff and really lay a hurting on someone. I really don't want to increase it too much further though.
Ulamog is the one that costs like 20 mana from the Orb? If so, I will definitely add that in to have three instant-kills with Volrath.
And yes, I did have Phyrexian Processor in the deck; for reason I typed in Nightmare Lash >_>. How I did that is beyond me. It's only 11:34 pm so I can't say it's from being tired lol.
Volrath the Fallen
I know our deck philosophies will vary a bit but you can potentially get a few gems from the deck list. It hasn't been updated in quite a while however though you are correct with the introduction of the eldrazi, he does get particularly better. Future project.
Things i don't like in your deck Gravestorm i've tested it out in previous mbc decks and frankly it performs under par, i believe greed to be a bit better. Eye of Ugin unless you have urborg in play its only reduces the cost of eldrazi by about 1. In EDH you shouldn't have too much trouble getting to the ridiculous mana if you build around alot of mana production.
Anyway these are just a few points for you to think about.
As a side note i picked up a nice Volrath the FallenFoil for about 3 dollars from Cardshark.com. It looks pretty nice in the general slot so i recommend trying to find one ^^
I don't play Eye of Ugin to focus on making the Eldrazi cheaper. I play it mainly for its second ability. It allows you to tutor for Sundering Titan, Draco, and all Eldrazi creatures. That is quite powerful, considering two of those creatures (Draco and Emrakul) combo with Volrath for an instantaneously lethal combat step. Eye of Ugin also lets you retutor for Eldrazi when they get shuffled back into your library (since you'll dump them to Volrath), which allows you to continue to feed them to Volrath or just hardcast them given the mana to do so (since Eye will reduce their casting cost as well obviously).
Phyrexian Reclamation is quite powerful, but I need to be careful with the amount of cards I'm playing that make me cough up life, especially if I pair it up with Greed (which I am not the biggest fan of myself). Haunted Crossroads is slightly cheaper to activate and doesn't cut into my life total, since I expect to be recurring creatures a lot if I feed them to Volrath. However, I do realize how it can be not so fun to sacrifice your draw step with Crossroads.
yeah your right i totally forgot about the second ability on eye of ugin... and the life needed to be coughed up is significant, but i off set it with loxodon warhammer and basilisk collar. A successful swing with volrath holding either of those can completely reset your life resource.
Warhammer looks a lot better than Whispersilk Cloak. Other than the huge chunks of life it can give me, it turns all my small utility creatures into must-answer threats.
I still have to pick up a fair amount of the cards for this deck, and that will take time until I have the money to shell out for some beat up white bordered Vamp Tutor/Demonic Tutor and such.
IN:
+1 Suicide Girl
+1 Ulamog
+1 All is Dust
+1 Phyrexian Reclamation
+1 Undertaker
Those are the sorts of changes I'm shooting for right now at the moment. Just simple substitutions until I get the rest of this deck built (I have an S-Chinese Sorin coming in the mail soon that I snagged for $8 and free shipping off eBay!) and then I'll go and make some real extreme changes when I have to.
Other cards I have my eyes on: Faceless Butcher, especially if I pair him with more sac outlets to abuse the trick of permanently exiling creatures. Or I could go with Duplicant if I want to potentially increase the curve of the deck a bit.
Phyrexian Tower, for the fact that it doesn't cost mana to sacrifices creatures unlike Miren, and it can serve as "acceleration" in a pinch for casting some of the more expensive spells
Artisan of Kozilek, his casting cost is equal to one of Volrath's magic numbers (which is 9). I'll talk about magic numbers in the OP.
I really want to find room for Profane Command, but I could live without it if I had to.
Rings of Brighthearth would be potentially insane in this deck, but there is once again a potential problem of deck space and maybe even being a bit win-more.
I don't want to stuff too many Eldrazi into here because I don't want to oversaturate my overall curve with a ton of fatties. Eye of Ugin and the rest of the tutors + card draw will help to increase the consistency of finding my instant kills with Volrath (Emrakul and Draco).
IN:
+1 Suicide Girl
+1 Ulamog
+1 All is Dust
+1 Phyrexian Reclamation
+1 Undertaker
Those are the sorts of changes I'm shooting for right now at the moment. Just simple substitutions until I get the rest of this deck built (I have an S-Chinese Sorin coming in the mail soon that I snagged for $8 and free shipping off eBay!) and then I'll go and make some real extreme changes when I have to.
Other cards I have my eyes on: Faceless Butcher, especially if I pair him with more sac outlets to abuse the trick of permanently exiling creatures. Or I could go with Duplicant if I want to potentially increase the curve of the deck a bit.
Phyrexian Tower, for the fact that it doesn't cost mana to sacrifices creatures unlike Miren, and it can serve as "acceleration" in a pinch for casting some of the more expensive spells
Artisan of Kozilek, his casting cost is equal to one of Volrath's magic numbers (which is 9). I'll talk about magic numbers in the OP.
I really want to find room for Profane Command, but I could live without it if I had to.
Rings of Brighthearth would be potentially insane in this deck, but there is once again a potential problem of deck space and maybe even being a bit win-more.
I don't want to stuff too many Eldrazi into here because I don't want to oversaturate my overall curve with a ton of fatties. Eye of Ugin and the rest of the tutors + card draw will help to increase the consistency of finding my instant kills with Volrath (Emrakul and Draco).
Great changes, and good catch on Undertaker.
And just another 2 cents, I'm not the biggest fan of Gravestorm. I would consider Suffer the Past as a pretty good replacement, especially since it helps recover some of the life loss from the random pinging and card drawing.
I would definitely try to find room for Rings of Brighthearth. The potential to almost always 1-shot with Volrath is too good to pass up imo. And like you mentioned in my X-D thread, the interaction with Sorin Markov is absolutely brutal. I also consider Duplicant a staple in any mono-colored deck, if not just for fear of Iona (one person here actually runs her as a general lol), but to each his own.
You're right about Gravestorm. The card just doesn't seem to worth it in jumping through the hoop of an empty graveyard for an extra card. Even though I can pick on any player, someone will almost always have a card in the graveyard to empty from just playing spells/permanents dying.
Suffer the Past does sound good for what it accomplishes, although it would be sorta nice to have an additional draw outlet.
In lieu of Gravestorm, you might consider Oversold Cemetery. It's inexpensive, doesn't require any further mana investment, and doesn't cut into your life total or draw step. Also, your searchers (Abomination, House Guard) will help satisfy the requirement.
Always good to see your volrath deck being updated.
I'm not a fan of some of your card choices Undertaker just feels really bad to me as she doesn't do much when she comes down and typically trades something in hand for a creature thats just going to end up back in the yard. Bone Shredder at first i wanted to love him as well unfortunately doesn't hit enough relevant things for me. Journeyer's Kite has always seemed REALLY slow to me and simply seemed unnecessary if you have enough draw (which black does) Shrouded Lore i used to run this card in every mono black deck i had, but eventually it just got cut. In my group turns were very important and spending too much of one turn just to get a card back in hand (unless your running some form of deals with opponents which is frowned upon in my circle) just feels wasteful. If your going for a creature raise dead could fill the same spot. good card just feels like something better could take this spot. demonic collusion same as above, it can often get the job done but i prefer my tutors to be cheap so i can move more quickly during a hole in an opponents defenses.
I could be off the mark on these things of coarse i'm not exactly the go to expert on things and it could be that i run a lot more draw than you seem to. With emrakul and umalog shuffling stuff from the yard into the library though more draw just seems important. Now normally if you are pitching either of those two its game over, but last minute removal can really put you in a pinch. I've also found that an untimely mill moment or random discard your hand has left me barren with no yard to really use. As such i wanted to emphasis my ability to draw multiple cards at a time. I think you REALLY underestimate greed. Sure its 2 life and 1 mana for a card, but its instant speed, you get the cards immediately and it doesn't cost you your draw phase. Sitting at 15 life with a tapped down opponent and swinging w/ volrath... who cares what the cost is... pay 5 black mana draw 5 cards and pitch what you need to win. Not in that situation?... let it sit idle on the board.
And one final note i HIGHLY recommend Filth almost always ends up being +4/+4 and unblockable this turn and every turn filth sits in the yard.
I think Undertaker is very clever, it has synergy with Volrath and with the Eldrazi, I would keep it in, but accept the fact it will die very ofen.
Gravestorm seems terrible though, I'm sure [/card]Mind's Eye[/card] would gain greater advantage and give the deck a long term plan.
I'm surprised about Kozilek, he is not Draco pitching wise, but he is huge and he ca legitimately be cast, Artisan should definitely be considered too. I understand you do have limited space to work with. I'll look forward to seeing what you change, since my Volrath deck is in the pits still .
I also play Weiss Schwarz, Chaos, Vanguard and Wixoss.
Weiss Schwarz Sets
Accel World, Angel Beats, Familiar of Zero, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Guilty Crown, Kill La Kill, Robotics;Notes, Sword Art Online.
Chaos Partners
Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Iona, Kirishima, Kongou.
Dangan Ronpa: Asahina, Togami.
Freezing: Vibration: Chiffon, Satelizer.
Vanguard Clans Favoured
Angel Feather, Dark Irregulars, Genesis, Neonecter, Pale Moon, Shadow Paladins, Tachikaze.
Netherborn Phalanx provides another body to feed to Volrath and increases the creature density in the deck at the same time -- enhancing Oversold Cemetery and giving me a randomly cool weapon at punishing token decks. It also does reduce the curve from 5 mana of Collusion to 3 mana to tutor while finding some really devasting 6 CMC cards... Sorin, Duplicant, Dread, Volrath when he gets tucked, and Suicide Girl.
This deck is quite mana intensive due to being Mono black, so I'll have to do a fair amount of golfishing to see if I'll be fine on land for the most part. Filth has been something that has been circling my mind, but not everybody plays swamps and I don't like relying on Urborg, despite being a very powerful land. Kite is what I might think about replacing it with.
As for additional Eldrazi, Artisan of Kozilek is probably the one that I would add and keep it at that. I don't want to be loaded down with a lot of high CMC cards that become troublesome to cast without something like a Coffers effect, Gauntlet, or Suicide Girl. However, I think the deck could get away with squeezing in Artisan for his reanimating capabilities and having a CMC equal to one of Volrath's magic numbers. Kozilek is good, but not as good as Ulamog. Mono black has no problems drawing cards, but it has a hell of a time killing artifacts, enchantments, and other irksome permanents. That's why I like Ulamog being able to Vindicate a card. He's also indestructible, so it provides himself with some extra resiliency against a fair amount of sweepers and some spot removal.
Your deck contains Giant Expensive Stuff, Sensei's Divining Top, a pile of tutors, Volrath's Stronghold, and Liliana Vess.
Where's the Baneful Omen to bleed the table like a rusty sieve?
This, and Repay in Kind have been getting some testing from me lately.
Omen has definitely been a rattlesnake card; when I play it, the first time I flip something bigger then about four, people start gunning for me. I'm not sure I like it that much. It lends itself better to a more suicide build, using others of its kind, such as Bloodchief Ascension.
Unlike Repay, which just wrecks games, and is a diplomacy powerhouse. Sometimes I'll show a player I have one, just to deter attacking. Most of them time, though, it's used as the ultimate revenge card, and it's awesome.
Baneful Omen is definitely one hell of a card. The problem I have been finding though (aside from room) is making sure this deck has ample draw power since Volrath feeding off your creatures in hand gets taxing. Greed is ok, and the oneshot draw spells only give you so much reach. I think Baneful Omen is best suited for someone like Maga, where it softens your opponents' life totals before you kill everyone with drain spells.
The other problem is keeping Volrath in play to be able to connect. Instant speed removal in response to me dumping Draco/Emrakul can really be a downer.
Repay in Kind can be savage tech at the right time, but this deck likes to win with general damage if it's not beating down with assorted creatures. A player's life total becomes inconsequential when you can dump one or two creatures to Volrath for an instant kill.
More on stuff like this later, as I am deeead tired.
The other problem is keeping Volrath in play to be able to connect. Instant speed removal in response to me dumping Draco/Emrakul can really be a downer.
This is a constant problem, and ultimately why I stopped playing Volrath.
It seemed that whenever I had an opportunity to get a one-shot in, someone would have an answer for it. It got through a few times (and was awesome when it did), but most of them time, Volrath eats removal. I've even had other players intervene to off him, and I thrive on the diplomatic aspect of multiplayer. You know you've got an issue when a player targets you (Volrath) over another player (Uril) with Cruel Edict .
The players who don't have answers often have blockers to cover him. Assembling Volrath + Greaves + Warhammer felt like I had to play combo just to get combat damage through. Even in :symb:, that shouldn't happen.
This is a constant problem, and ultimately why I stopped playing Volrath.
It seemed that whenever I had an opportunity to get a one-shot in, someone would have an answer for it. It got through a few times (and was awesome when it did), but most of them time, Volrath eats removal. I've even had other players intervene to off him, and I thrive on the diplomatic aspect of multiplayer. You know you've got an issue when a player targets you (Volrath) over another player (Uril) with Cruel Edict .
The players who don't have answers often have blockers to cover him. Assembling Volrath + Greaves + Warhammer felt like I had to play combo just to get combat damage through. Even in :symb:, that shouldn't happen.
I know... now that I've oneshotted people a few times with Volrath, people play in fear of him and always assume I have either Emrakul, Draco, or creatures adding up to a sum of at least 15 CMC.
I get this orgy of awesomeness every time I pull off an instant kill, but even the realist in me knows I can do better and be more consistent and dangerous with mono black. With the advent of Suicide Girl, Eldrazi, and Baneful Omen in ROE, I'm probably gonna be rebuilding the deck into a more controllish build featuring someone like Drana or Maga as the general.
I get this orgy of awesomeness every time I pull off an instant kill, but even the realist in me knows I can do better and be more consistent and dangerous with mono black.
Both parts of this sentence are true. One part is all kinds of awesome (I know, right?), but the other part holds the unfortunate truth.
Volrath's downfall is his lack of evasion; it's really what killed him for me as a General. As much as I wanted it to work (my deck was even completely Phyrexian-themed), once I played the deck, the surprise factor was lost.
I have since switched to Drana. The Mono Black Control shell works very effectively with her. It's still entirely possible to one-shot someone with her (assuming it's late game with big mana, you know how MBC works), and you gain some consistency in the process.
I added in a few more vamps to live the Anowon/Butcher/Pact dream, but otherwise, I kept the same MBC creature base. The deck has been performing brilliantly, provided you like killing ☺☺☺☺.
(P.S. It'd be cute if you switched to Drana; we'd have two of the same Generals. You know what they say about great minds... ;))
With this kind of explosive firepower at my disposal and a very powerful color to work with in multiplayer, here's what I have started out with:
1 Volrath the Fallen
Creatures (24)
1 Nezumi Graverobber
1 Undertaker
1 Big Game Hunter
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Urborg Syphon-Mage
1 Maga, Traitor to Mortals
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Dimir House Guard
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Chainer, Dementia Master
1 Magus of the Coffers
1 Shriekmaw
1 Netherborn Phalanx
1 Twisted Abomination
1 Duplicant
1 Nirkana Revenant
1 Dread
1 Butcher of Malakir
1 Avatar of Woe
1 Myojin of Night's Reach
1 Sundering Titan
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Draco
1 Expedition Map
1 Sol Ring
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Journeyer's Kite
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Phyrexian Processor
1 Gauntlet of Power
Instants/Sorceries (16)
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Beseech the Queen
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Imp's Mischief
1 Night's Whisper
1 Sign in Blood
1 Rend Flesh
1 Sadistic Sacrament
1 Damnation
1 Mutilate
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Brainspoil
1 Promise of Power
1 All is Dust
1 Decree of Pain
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Phyrexian Reclamation
1 Oversold Cemetery
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Greed
Planeswalkers (2)
1 Liliana Vess
1 Sorin Markov
Lands (42)
28 Swamp
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh Flats
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Deserted Temple
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Strip Mine
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Eye of Ugin
1 Thawing Glaciers
There are the main magic numbers to keep in mind about Volrath:
7 + 8: Dump a creature with a CMC of at least 7 and another creature of at least 8 CMC and it will result in Volrath killing someone immediately for exactly 21 general damage.
9: Dumping a creature with at least 9 CMC will have Volrath connect for 15, which means he is able to kill that person with another swing without having to dump another creature to Volrath.
15: Dumping a creature with at least 15 CMC will have Volrath connect for exactly 21 general damage, resulting in an instant kill. Volrath is one of the few generals in EDH that is able to instantly kill someone with little effort, so take advantage of this.
Yes, I know the deck is quite high in terms of mana curve. That is mainly by design though; considering it helps the deck stay low during the beginning to midgame before it can bust out its huge stuff and really lay a hurting on someone. I really don't want to increase it too much further though.
Please don't suggest these cards, due to availability and price issues:
- Mana Crypt
- Imperial Seal
- Xiahou Dun the One Eyed (man what would I do to actually get one of these guys...)
- Grim Tutor
- Nether Void
- The Abyss
I don't play Necro due to the serious dissynergy with Volrath.
And that's about it for now.
You forgot the last Eldazi Titan: Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre. I'm sure it'll have a place here.
Also, no Phrexian Processor? In a Volrath deck? Right after suggesting it to me?
And yes, I did have Phyrexian Processor in the deck; for reason I typed in Nightmare Lash >_>. How I did that is beyond me. It's only 11:34 pm so I can't say it's from being tired lol.
You gave me some great ideas for my Xiahou Dun list!
How about Phyrexian Reclamation? Might be more effective that Haunted Crossroads (or just run both!)
One-Eyed Black | Orzhov Combo | Ooze Reanimator | Mindwheeling Pain
I know our deck philosophies will vary a bit but you can potentially get a few gems from the deck list. It hasn't been updated in quite a while however though you are correct with the introduction of the eldrazi, he does get particularly better. Future project.
Some Suggestions from the list
Ancient Tomb
Hall of the Bandit Lord
Snow-covered Swamp
Scrying Sheets
Mana Vault
Sword of Light and Shadow
Phyrexian Reclamation
Greed
Things i don't like in your deck
Gravestorm i've tested it out in previous mbc decks and frankly it performs under par, i believe greed to be a bit better.
Eye of Ugin unless you have urborg in play its only reduces the cost of eldrazi by about 1. In EDH you shouldn't have too much trouble getting to the ridiculous mana if you build around alot of mana production.
Anyway these are just a few points for you to think about.
As a side note i picked up a nice Volrath the FallenFoil for about 3 dollars from Cardshark.com. It looks pretty nice in the general slot so i recommend trying to find one ^^
Phyrexian Reclamation is quite powerful, but I need to be careful with the amount of cards I'm playing that make me cough up life, especially if I pair it up with Greed (which I am not the biggest fan of myself). Haunted Crossroads is slightly cheaper to activate and doesn't cut into my life total, since I expect to be recurring creatures a lot if I feed them to Volrath. However, I do realize how it can be not so fun to sacrifice your draw step with Crossroads.
I still have to pick up a fair amount of the cards for this deck, and that will take time until I have the money to shell out for some beat up white bordered Vamp Tutor/Demonic Tutor and such.
1 Volrath the Fallen
Lands:
26 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Barren Moor
1 Polluted Mire
1 Blasted Landscape
1 Terrain Generator
1 Terminal Moraine
1 Strip Mine
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Maze of Ith
1 Cabal Coffers
Creatures:
1 Dimir House Guard
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Sengir Nosferatu
1 Midnight Banshee
1 Stronghold Overseer
1 Laquatus's Champion
1 Dread
1 Netherborn Phalanx
1 Visara the Dreadful
1 Magus of the Mirror
1 Herald of Leshrac
1 Scion of Darkness
1 Myojin of Night's Reach
1 Tombstalker
1 Avatar of Woe
1 Spirit of the Night
1 Hypnox
1 Skeletal Scrying
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Imp's Mischief
1 Shred Memory
1 Sudden Death
1 Makeshift Mannequin
1 Chill to the Bone
1 Tendrils of Corruption
1 Moonlight Bargain
Sorceries:
1 Innocent Blood
1 Night's Whisper
1 Profane Command
1 Consume Spirit
1 Drain Life
1 Diabolic Intent
1 Chainer's Edict
1 Skulltap
1 Dimir Machinations
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Dread Return
1 Damnation
1 Barter in Blood
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Brainspoil
1 Corrupt
1 Phthisis
1 Necropotence
1 Phyrexian Arena
Artifacts:
1 Sol Ring
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Journeyer's Kite
1 Manriki-Gusari
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Mind Stone
1 Darksteek Ingot
1 Quietus Spike
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Mind's Eye
1 Memory Jar
1 Mirari
Planeswalkers:
1 Sorin Markov
This was the build I used for Volrath. Hope it helps!
In the mean time... Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre and the just-now-spoiled Artisan of Kozilek really have my gears turning :).
One-Eyed Black | Orzhov Combo | Ooze Reanimator | Mindwheeling Pain
OUT:
-1 Phyrexian Gargantua
-1 Kozilek
-1 Phyrexian Rager
-1 Disk
-1 Haunted Crossroads
IN:
+1 Suicide Girl
+1 Ulamog
+1 All is Dust
+1 Phyrexian Reclamation
+1 Undertaker
Those are the sorts of changes I'm shooting for right now at the moment. Just simple substitutions until I get the rest of this deck built (I have an S-Chinese Sorin coming in the mail soon that I snagged for $8 and free shipping off eBay!) and then I'll go and make some real extreme changes when I have to.
Other cards I have my eyes on:
Faceless Butcher, especially if I pair him with more sac outlets to abuse the trick of permanently exiling creatures. Or I could go with Duplicant if I want to potentially increase the curve of the deck a bit.
Phyrexian Tower, for the fact that it doesn't cost mana to sacrifices creatures unlike Miren, and it can serve as "acceleration" in a pinch for casting some of the more expensive spells
Artisan of Kozilek, his casting cost is equal to one of Volrath's magic numbers (which is 9). I'll talk about magic numbers in the OP.
I really want to find room for Profane Command, but I could live without it if I had to.
Rings of Brighthearth would be potentially insane in this deck, but there is once again a potential problem of deck space and maybe even being a bit win-more.
I don't want to stuff too many Eldrazi into here because I don't want to oversaturate my overall curve with a ton of fatties. Eye of Ugin and the rest of the tutors + card draw will help to increase the consistency of finding my instant kills with Volrath (Emrakul and Draco).
Great changes, and good catch on Undertaker.
And just another 2 cents, I'm not the biggest fan of Gravestorm. I would consider Suffer the Past as a pretty good replacement, especially since it helps recover some of the life loss from the random pinging and card drawing.
I would definitely try to find room for Rings of Brighthearth. The potential to almost always 1-shot with Volrath is too good to pass up imo. And like you mentioned in my X-D thread, the interaction with Sorin Markov is absolutely brutal. I also consider Duplicant a staple in any mono-colored deck, if not just for fear of Iona (one person here actually runs her as a general lol), but to each his own.
One-Eyed Black | Orzhov Combo | Ooze Reanimator | Mindwheeling Pain
Suffer the Past does sound good for what it accomplishes, although it would be sorta nice to have an additional draw outlet.
I'm not a fan of some of your card choices
Undertaker just feels really bad to me as she doesn't do much when she comes down and typically trades something in hand for a creature thats just going to end up back in the yard.
Bone Shredder at first i wanted to love him as well unfortunately doesn't hit enough relevant things for me.
Journeyer's Kite has always seemed REALLY slow to me and simply seemed unnecessary if you have enough draw (which black does)
Shrouded Lore i used to run this card in every mono black deck i had, but eventually it just got cut. In my group turns were very important and spending too much of one turn just to get a card back in hand (unless your running some form of deals with opponents which is frowned upon in my circle) just feels wasteful. If your going for a creature raise dead could fill the same spot. good card just feels like something better could take this spot.
demonic collusion same as above, it can often get the job done but i prefer my tutors to be cheap so i can move more quickly during a hole in an opponents defenses.
I could be off the mark on these things of coarse i'm not exactly the go to expert on things and it could be that i run a lot more draw than you seem to. With emrakul and umalog shuffling stuff from the yard into the library though more draw just seems important. Now normally if you are pitching either of those two its game over, but last minute removal can really put you in a pinch. I've also found that an untimely mill moment or random discard your hand has left me barren with no yard to really use. As such i wanted to emphasis my ability to draw multiple cards at a time. I think you REALLY underestimate greed. Sure its 2 life and 1 mana for a card, but its instant speed, you get the cards immediately and it doesn't cost you your draw phase. Sitting at 15 life with a tapped down opponent and swinging w/ volrath... who cares what the cost is... pay 5 black mana draw 5 cards and pitch what you need to win. Not in that situation?... let it sit idle on the board.
And one final note i HIGHLY recommend Filth almost always ends up being +4/+4 and unblockable this turn and every turn filth sits in the yard.
Gravestorm seems terrible though, I'm sure [/card]Mind's Eye[/card] would gain greater advantage and give the deck a long term plan.
I'm surprised about Kozilek, he is not Draco pitching wise, but he is huge and he ca legitimately be cast, Artisan should definitely be considered too. I understand you do have limited space to work with. I'll look forward to seeing what you change, since my Volrath deck is in the pits still .
Main Decks
Diaochan, Iroas, God of Victory, Kaalia, Marton, Ulasht, Volrath,
Kaervek, Prossh, Titania
Amusing or Themed
Progenitus
Pauper Guildmages
Azorius Boros Dimir Golgari Gruul Izzet Korozda
Orzhov Rakdos Rix Maadi Selesyna Simic Skarrg Zameck
I also play Weiss Schwarz, Chaos, Vanguard and Wixoss.
Accel World, Angel Beats, Familiar of Zero, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Guilty Crown, Kill La Kill, Robotics;Notes, Sword Art Online.
Chaos Partners
Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Iona, Kirishima, Kongou.
Dangan Ronpa: Asahina, Togami.
Freezing: Vibration: Chiffon, Satelizer.
Vanguard Clans Favoured
Angel Feather, Dark Irregulars, Genesis, Neonecter, Pale Moon, Shadow Paladins, Tachikaze.
Wixoss - Just trial decks for now!
-1 Shrouded Lore
-1 Gravestorm
-1 Demonic Collusion
-1 Bone Shredder
+1 Oversold Cemetery
+1 Greed
+1 Netherborn Phalanx
+1 Duplicant
Netherborn Phalanx provides another body to feed to Volrath and increases the creature density in the deck at the same time -- enhancing Oversold Cemetery and giving me a randomly cool weapon at punishing token decks. It also does reduce the curve from 5 mana of Collusion to 3 mana to tutor while finding some really devasting 6 CMC cards... Sorin, Duplicant, Dread, Volrath when he gets tucked, and Suicide Girl.
This deck is quite mana intensive due to being Mono black, so I'll have to do a fair amount of golfishing to see if I'll be fine on land for the most part. Filth has been something that has been circling my mind, but not everybody plays swamps and I don't like relying on Urborg, despite being a very powerful land. Kite is what I might think about replacing it with.
As for additional Eldrazi, Artisan of Kozilek is probably the one that I would add and keep it at that. I don't want to be loaded down with a lot of high CMC cards that become troublesome to cast without something like a Coffers effect, Gauntlet, or Suicide Girl. However, I think the deck could get away with squeezing in Artisan for his reanimating capabilities and having a CMC equal to one of Volrath's magic numbers. Kozilek is good, but not as good as Ulamog. Mono black has no problems drawing cards, but it has a hell of a time killing artifacts, enchantments, and other irksome permanents. That's why I like Ulamog being able to Vindicate a card. He's also indestructible, so it provides himself with some extra resiliency against a fair amount of sweepers and some spot removal.
Where's the Baneful Omen to bleed the table like a rusty sieve?
This, and Repay in Kind have been getting some testing from me lately.
Omen has definitely been a rattlesnake card; when I play it, the first time I flip something bigger then about four, people start gunning for me. I'm not sure I like it that much. It lends itself better to a more suicide build, using others of its kind, such as Bloodchief Ascension.
Unlike Repay, which just wrecks games, and is a diplomacy powerhouse. Sometimes I'll show a player I have one, just to deter attacking. Most of them time, though, it's used as the ultimate revenge card, and it's awesome.
Repay, in for three?
The other problem is keeping Volrath in play to be able to connect. Instant speed removal in response to me dumping Draco/Emrakul can really be a downer.
Repay in Kind can be savage tech at the right time, but this deck likes to win with general damage if it's not beating down with assorted creatures. A player's life total becomes inconsequential when you can dump one or two creatures to Volrath for an instant kill.
More on stuff like this later, as I am deeead tired.
This is a constant problem, and ultimately why I stopped playing Volrath.
It seemed that whenever I had an opportunity to get a one-shot in, someone would have an answer for it. It got through a few times (and was awesome when it did), but most of them time, Volrath eats removal. I've even had other players intervene to off him, and I thrive on the diplomatic aspect of multiplayer. You know you've got an issue when a player targets you (Volrath) over another player (Uril) with Cruel Edict .
The players who don't have answers often have blockers to cover him. Assembling Volrath + Greaves + Warhammer felt like I had to play combo just to get combat damage through. Even in :symb:, that shouldn't happen.
I know... now that I've oneshotted people a few times with Volrath, people play in fear of him and always assume I have either Emrakul, Draco, or creatures adding up to a sum of at least 15 CMC.
I get this orgy of awesomeness every time I pull off an instant kill, but even the realist in me knows I can do better and be more consistent and dangerous with mono black. With the advent of Suicide Girl, Eldrazi, and Baneful Omen in ROE, I'm probably gonna be rebuilding the deck into a more controllish build featuring someone like Drana or Maga as the general.
Both parts of this sentence are true. One part is all kinds of awesome (I know, right?), but the other part holds the unfortunate truth.
Volrath's downfall is his lack of evasion; it's really what killed him for me as a General. As much as I wanted it to work (my deck was even completely Phyrexian-themed), once I played the deck, the surprise factor was lost.
I have since switched to Drana. The Mono Black Control shell works very effectively with her. It's still entirely possible to one-shot someone with her (assuming it's late game with big mana, you know how MBC works), and you gain some consistency in the process.
I added in a few more vamps to live the Anowon/Butcher/Pact dream, but otherwise, I kept the same MBC creature base. The deck has been performing brilliantly, provided you like killing ☺☺☺☺.
(P.S. It'd be cute if you switched to Drana; we'd have two of the same Generals. You know what they say about great minds... ;))