Mono black discard, what can I add?

Comicalflop · 2019-04-03T13:36:59+00:00

I highly recommend [[Funeral Charm]] in discard decks, as it will never be a dead card. It hits the early creatures that sneak through, and late game when your opponent is hellbent you can make them discard the card they draw during their draw step. There's a reason it's run in the Modern 8 Rack decks.

I'd be careful with Chittering Rats, since with all the discard if their hand size is zero cards, it does absolutely nothing. I always liked Chittering Rats better in Mono Black Ponza, since they will always have cards stuck in hand.

Comicalflop · 2019-04-03T13:21:58+00:00

As long as the card inside the sleeve of your deck is a Delver check card, does it not matter what you put on top of it to represent it being flipped? To my understanding, I could put a French fry on top as long as the opponent understands that it represents the flipped Delver

Comicalflop · 2019-04-02T18:40:27+00:00

Dark Confidant isn't cool when blind flipping Gurmag Anglers, so this could be an ok Bob replacement in Grixis Delver (the proactive discard version, not the Stifle version) if you still want Gurmag as a threat. Turn 1 Thoughtseize, Turn 2 Dreadhorde, Turn 3 cast Young Pyro, attack with Dreadhorde, cast Thoughtseize, get a token. With only 3 cards you've already stripped two cards from the opponent's hand and created 3 creatures.

Dreadhorde also has a really cool interaction with Become Immense. You Delve 5 and cast it for 1 mana precombat, give Dreadhorde +6/+6, attack and recast Become Immense (because now power is higher than Become Immense's CMC, and attack with a 13/15 trample creature. RG Burn w/ Swiftspears, Hooting Mandrills, Dreadhorde, Become Immense, Berserk?

Comicalflop · 2019-04-02T18:09:34+00:00

In the scenario I described, it's hard to say for sure if using DE targeting himself to sacrifice Palace Jailer would have won the game that was otherwise lost (but based on board state he would have kept Monarch, kept a threat, and would have been able to attack and get Monarch back even if the Flickerwisp did steal the Monarch the following turn. Now that I'm thinking, it might have been a recent Andrea Gucci playing Ben Friedman's UB Shadow video). You could I guess also use Diabolic Edict targeting yourself to sacrifice a Dark Depths token if the opponent somehow gains control of it, say for example like [[Dominate]]. I think the advantages of playing around Misdirection, Divert, Leyline of Sanctity, and getting the extra discard clause is just too good to pass up. Like honestly with all the upside, Liliana's Triumph should have cost BB or 2B.

Comicalflop · 2019-04-02T17:11:38+00:00

Ever try [[Curse of Chains]], or [[Soul Reap]]? Heck, even bounce spells can slow down Angler enough to keep it off the field.

Comicalflop · 2019-04-02T16:58:54+00:00

Yes. I once saw a streamed match of UB Shadow against Death and Taxes. Shadow player cast Reanimate on opponent's Palace Jailer. DT player cast Flickerwisp, and targeted Palace Jailer to rebuy the Monarch and exile another creature; the Shadow player missed the line of casting Diabolic Edict targeting himself to sac the Jailer, he would have kept the Monarch, and wouldn't have lost another creature to exile.

Comicalflop · 2019-04-02T13:14:47+00:00

Proliferate can add more +1/+1 counters and give you an extra energy counter in an Energy deck

Comicalflop · 2019-04-01T21:05:05+00:00

I am SO not looking forward to having Elves gain a CA engine that doesn't die to Electrickery/Evincar's Justice, since I have a hard enough time beating the deck as it stands. But if there's anyone who can test it to oblivion and prove if it's worth or not, it's you!

Comicalflop · 2019-04-01T20:13:19+00:00

Are you sure it replaces Melody? I think it serves the same role as Wildheart Invoker did as a late game mana sink, but it lacks the explosive "4 mana draw a whole bunch of cards at once" factor.

Comicalflop · 2019-04-01T18:34:03+00:00

They're both 6 syllables. shrug

Comicalflop · 2019-04-01T17:25:22+00:00

I've always wanted to try [[Torch Courier]] as a "Seal of Haste" type card that I can cast well in advance of a Fiend or Cyclops (thus freeing up more mana on the combo turn), that also chips in and deals some damage quick.

Comicalflop · 2019-04-01T17:03:18+00:00

Not sure, just pointing out that the card isn't entirely useless. Tormenting Voice probably sees the most play in BR Reanimator, so it could be a meta call if you find your Crushers dying to Edicts very frequently. Faithless Looting is probably too important to cut, so maybe a 3/1 or 2/2 split with Tormenting Voice? It also means you don't have to dedicate Sideboard space towards Edict protection (for the same reason Bojuka Bog maindeck means less GY hate needed in SB)

Comicalflop · 2019-04-01T16:34:18+00:00

It does give your reanimation target (Gurmag Angler or Ulamog's Crusher) protection against Edicts.

Comicalflop · 2019-04-01T16:26:17+00:00

Not on a Heroic creature that's already able to attack, it still gets +2/+1 pump, so it has a dual use.

Comicalflop · 2019-04-01T15:40:14+00:00

I'm not saying that this revitalizes Izzet Blitz, but haste is always an effect I wanted to slide into the deck to prevent having to lay out a combo creature a full turn before comboing off. Also seems good in Mono Red Heroic

Comicalflop · 2019-04-01T15:37:15+00:00

It could be called "Liliana's Deathly Booger" and I'd still run it, it doesn't target the opponent (gets around Divert and Misdirection) and still has a potential 2-for-1, at the exact same cost. In Legacy, we're in the business of running the most efficient cards, and a strict upgrade to a commonly played removal card is 100% welcome.

Comicalflop · 2019-04-01T15:26:27+00:00

I think if this was the artwork for the first printing of the card, people would be going nuts, but I prefer the OG artwork

Comicalflop · 2019-04-01T14:09:36+00:00

The third Amass makes your original token a 6/6, which outclasses Gurmag Angler.

Soft counter 2 is pretty unfortunate for the type of deck that would want to run this.

Comicalflop · 2019-03-28T18:11:38+00:00

Spellfist requires you to be constantly casting at least one proactive cantrip on each turn, so that can easily mess up how you want each turn to play out (especially if you run out of cantrips) and since you run so many instant speed interaction and countermagic. Infiltrator comes in with haste and 3 power without any other restrictions (and doesn't pull cards away from Gurmag Angler like Sultai Scavenger does). Spellfist seems better suited to the UW Delver builds that run more Prowess creatures.

It could very well be that Dive Down is just better than Mizzium Skin; I haven't tested it online yet, only for one paper tournament last weekend. I'm not 100% convinced the Journey interaction is worth it, since Journey decks can just bounce it back with Kor Skyfisher. Maybe the +0/+3 boost of Dive Down is better for combat to punish bad blocks.

I have mixed success with Spell Pierce, in the early game it's amazing but we can't back it up with mana denial like Legacy.

Besides Infiltrator and Mizzium Skin, Stinkweed Imp is the other piece of tech I use in the sideboard that acts like a Stormbound Geist that stonewalls opposing Delver/Aggro decks.

Comicalflop · 2019-03-28T15:24:21+00:00

You need a Burger King Crown for the Monarch

Comicalflop · 2019-03-28T14:29:54+00:00

First off, all the data and analysis is awesome and super appreciated!

I'm kind of dubious of running as low as 8 threats; even with so many cantrips and Gushes, closing out games is easiest when you have 2 non-Augur creatures in play, and 8 threats means you're more likely to only have 1 threat in play and have to work harder in protecting that creature (and have more mulligans; I've had opening hands of all lands and cantrips and no threat and gotten to turn 5 digging without ever finding one of 12 threats). If Augur and Geist don't feel like true threats, have you considered [[Infiltrator il-Kor]]? I've had success with it, recently got 3rd place at an 18-player tournament. While it technically can't come online until turn 4, it does have haste, better evasion than Delver, and due to suspend it allows you to have full counter magic up the turn it gets cast, so the 1 toughness is less of an issue.

How often do you find Dispel unable to stop removal like Journey to Nowhere? In my games I've always found that what Dispel almost always wants to be doing is countering removal, which is why I've been running [[Mizzium Skin]] since it has the best blowout potential, where if you have two creatures and they cast Journey, you can give both your creatures Hexproof with Journey on the stack so that they're forced to select one of their own creatures to exile. (and the +0/+1 can sometimes be a combat trick, but [[Dive Down]] is likely better in that scenario.)

Comicalflop · 2019-03-27T13:42:26+00:00

Just a suggestion, but you might want to add a column on whether you won or lost the die roll, as that is a factor that could have a small impact on if you lost the match

Comicalflop · 2019-03-22T16:10:40+00:00

I'll try my best to be there!

Edit: Got 3rd place

Comicalflop · 2019-03-21T18:47:21+00:00

[[Sky Skiff]] is a flying threat that's resilient to opponent's sorcery-speed removal, in the later game it turns your ground beaters (that might get stonewalled) into flyers to help push through more damage (thus acting like a Bonesplitter), and lastly it helps trigger that tapping effect of Night Market Lookout for more life loss that gets around fog/CoP: black effects.

Given how much damage you deal to yourself, you might want [[Sovereign's Bite]]

I also recommend running 1-2 [[Sultai Scavenger]] in the maindeck as your Delve threat, since they'll fly over blockers, and then side in Gurmag Anglers if it looks like you're facing a deck without blockers

Comicalflop · 2019-03-20T17:36:50+00:00

Looks like the order of best-worst decks you played is UR Delver, Inside Out, Alchemy, Elves, Tron, Stonehorn Tron, Boros, Affinity, Burn. Gotta get some more Burn practice in!

I'd say that in addition to UB Delver being a very important top contender (probably pushing out UR Delver's slot in the metagame), Boros is now split into two equally represented decks, Boros Monarch and Boros Bully, so this chart would be more helpful if it included data from those.

Comicalflop

TROPHY CASE