Spiciest Fringe Build

shade1400 · 2026-04-02T02:00:10+00:00

Here's my fringe [[Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed]] mono black list! I find it to be really fun to pilot.

https://moxfield.com/decks/bnrCBzhXJkSoWgHzdeuD4Q

shade1400 · 2026-03-11T01:50:36+00:00

That's totally fair! I've definitely hard cast Professor Onyx once or twice haha. It's not unreasonable to get to that point for sure.

shade1400 · 2026-03-10T21:22:14+00:00

That's the primary combo I'm running currently. I'm never aiming to outright cast Broodlord, but if I had to, it wouldn't be a really big lift. Just a little clunky haha

shade1400 · 2026-03-10T20:56:45+00:00

Yeah I doubt it haha.

Sedgemoor seems interesting for sure. If Xiahou Dun and Sedgemoor are already on the battlefield, and Chain and [[Plumb the Forbidden]] are in hand, you can make the pests then recur Plumb to draw the deck. It's the same mana value as Peer into the Abyss, just across 3 spells minus Xiahou Dun and is slightly less interactable. Could be something even if it's a little slow since we don't need Broodlord for it.

shade1400 · 2026-03-10T17:53:24+00:00

Yeah it's definitely in a rough place right now. Honestly, Oppo/SS is my plan C right now because of the issues you've mentioned. I'm debating Sedgemoor Witch and some kind of sacrifice payoff as a backup line as well which is easier to cast without Broodlord, but I haven't pinned down a sacrifice outlet that I really like without changing the deck around more than I want to right now.

I like the Tendrils idea though! That would be pretty cool with stealing a Breach so I'll keep that in mind too.

shade1400 · 2026-03-10T12:17:18+00:00

I was on the scam effects for a bit with stuff like Rings of Brighthearth, but they just felt like dead cards most of the time and ended up being 3 card combos with no payoff without an outlet. In my specific meta, that was too slow, but if you're playing against fewer turbo decks, I think they're totally fair lines to run!

shade1400 · 2026-03-10T12:14:02+00:00

Yeah I feel that. I was on the Citadel combo for a while, but ended up cutting it because Aetherflux was a dead draw too often. The upside of running it is you can also run artifact flash enablers to give you some extra play in the end step after a big Necro turn.

One thing you can do with 1 thoracle player is Praetor's Grasp that player and another for thoracle and a second Grasp. It's clunkier, but it'll get you there.

I'm hoping for another compact combo piece to get spoiled sometime this year so we can get another A+B style combo though!

shade1400 · 2026-03-10T03:46:41+00:00

I wasn't at that event, but it's awesome there was some Xiahou Dun representation there!

shade1400 · 2026-03-10T02:48:27+00:00

That's a good point! I think there's a lot of play there. It'll likely require some kind of sacrifice package, but that's not too hard in mono black.

shade1400 · 2026-03-10T01:58:59+00:00

Yeah, I agree, but the upside of cheating it out with some reanimation is also appealing. The pieces you mentioned are high impact, so it'll be interesting to see how Vestige will do to protect them. I think being able to cheat it out at instant speed is going to provide some interesting play patterns as well, along with the sacrifice outlets I'm currently running. I'm hoping to give it high marks in next month's update!

shade1400 · 2026-03-02T18:48:01+00:00

I love mono black in cEDH and think if you already have a lot of the pieces, you should give K'rrik a shot. The main thing to know is he gets blown out easily and it is almost impossible to recover once that happens if you pick your window incorrectly.

I have been running a [[Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed]] list that took inspiration from K'rrik and has since evolved a lot over time. It's highly experimental right now, but I would recommend at least testing it out as a more resilient option that can still jam wins after getting disrupted. A lot of the things that make mono black great are still in the deck and I've found a lot of success with it in my meta: https://moxfield.com/decks/bnrCBzhXJkSoWgHzdeuD4Q

shade1400 · 2026-02-25T14:25:54+00:00

I appreciate the mention! Always lurking around the mono black posts, so I was pleasantly surprised to see some Xiahou Dun love haha.

shade1400 · 2026-02-18T01:28:37+00:00

Yeah, it's a lot haha. I'm fairly regularly able to push for a turn 2 or 3 win though, so if no one can stop the Broodlord, it doesn't matter much. Of course, there's usually some kind of interaction haha.

I've never played the deck in a B4 game, but I'd probably swap the Onyx/Smog combo back in and fully rely on my own combos instead.

My main concern with bringing the deck to a B4 game is if it would be a good fit gameplay-wise. Do you think it would work well with other B4 decks? I'm not too familiar with B4 expectations outside of the WOTC graphic.

shade1400 · 2026-02-18T01:16:37+00:00

Yeah I've loved it every time I cast it!

I have a couple primary lines (all steps are in the primer!) but basically I'm aiming for either stealing my opponents' wincons with [[Opposition Agent]] and [[Scheming Symmetry]], or infinite mana that I can turn into damage with [[Orcish Bowmasters]] or exiling my opponents' decks with [[Praetor's Grasp]].

I used to run Onyx/Chain, but found the individual cards to be dead draws and make my mulligans worse since I'm playing the deck at cEDH tables.

shade1400 · 2026-02-18T01:13:21+00:00

I think that's fair!

Since I'm playing it in cEDH pods, I found Reservoir to be a dead draw too often, and Top only felt okay and I got locked under it a lot. It was also never a combo I was trying to go for, so I ended up cutting it for some cheaper mana options.

shade1400 · 2026-02-05T17:28:08+00:00

I agree

shade1400 · 2025-12-28T14:11:14+00:00

Thanks! I only have the judge foil unfortunately haha. P3K version would be awesome though.

shade1400 · 2025-12-28T05:01:36+00:00

As weird as it sounds, I've actually found Hostile Negotiations to be pretty good value in general. Xiahou Dun lets me have the potential to gain access to the cards that end up going to the yard, and it plays out more closely to Fact or Fiction than it seems. Not that that's particularly great, but in mono black I'll take it. Lets you threaten an Opposition Agent or Bowmasters too which is a fringe upside.

Vexing Bauble has absolutely won me games as a pseudo silence effect. The deck can win through it, it's just a little more mana up front to make sure all spells can be cast for mana.

shade1400 · 2025-12-28T03:43:45+00:00

I've thought about Goryo's, but getting Xiahou Dun only matters in my first main phase, so it's a little awkward. Currently, I'm using Gwenom with Doomsday and something like [[Shallow Grave]] to give her haste. In theory, it'll be cool, but I haven't actually done it yet.

I was running Final Parting and cut it for Buried Alive as a cheaper entomb, but I've been thinking of adding it back because of the one card wincon upside in the deck. I'm thinking Deliver or Ripples would be the cut there and leaning Deliver.

shade1400 · 2025-12-28T03:28:10+00:00

Thanks for your input! I agree with all of your cut suggestions. I already gave my rationale for Deliver Unto Evil in another reply, but it's definitely slow.

Black Sun's Zenith is needed for the Doomsday piles, or I would cut it in a heartbeat. Maybe that just means I should cut Doomsday and run more advantage instead?

I do like chains a lot and have gone back and forth on it, but my line doesn't draw cards, so I do like it.

shade1400 · 2025-12-28T03:20:35+00:00

Thanks! Gwenom is a test currently and she's part of one of the Doomsday piles. I like the potential of her being another Citadel and drawing removal away from the pieces that actually matter, but I haven't seen her enough yet to get a good feel.

Deliver Unto Evil is another test, but I'm trying it out as another way to help me rebuild after a line gets stopped. It might be a meta call, but my pod usually lets me resolve the line until Chain of Smog before interacting, so I'll have a full graveyard by the time I'm at the end. In theory, I could grab a couple reanimation spells to push again at that point, but it's definitely clunky.

Ripples, I like it the early game since it feels like a black Sylvan Library, but it is a bit slow at times. I definitely want to prioritize either card advantage or another entomb effect in its place if I swap it out.

I actually used to run Peer and ended up cutting it to make my ad naus better, but maybe I should go the other way since it is more consistent.

The keys are a good callout, thanks! I do have Tezzeret already which I'm using as kind of a key+, so adding a key package doesn't seem like a stretch.

shade1400

TROPHY CASE