MBC

[Apprentice]

This is a casual atmosphere, so don't make suggestions to hose a t-1 environment, even though it is an aggressive deck. I am up for any other card suggestions though, I want to make this deck win as much as possible.

My metagame will be basically aggro, hence the Pestilence. I'm not worried about combo. Control may yeild problems for me, I only have so many win conditions (Pestilence, Drain Life, Spirit of the Night).

Also, does anyone know off the top of thier head the rule for Misdirected Drain Life? Do I not take any damage at all because I am gaining an equal amount? Or is it something else? I am too lazy to look it up right now..

Without further ado,

EVIL MBC DECK


Lands 22

16 Swamp
4 Cabal Coffers
1 Thawing Glaciers
R Strip Mine

Creatures: 4

4 Nantuko Shade

Utility 15

1 Zuran Orb
2 Ivory Tower
4 Dark Ritual
4 Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach

Draw 3

R Necropetence
R Y@wgmoth's Bargain
1 Phyrexian Arena

Broken 4

R Demonic Consultation
R Demonic Tutor
R Y@wgmoth's Will
1 Mirari

The Kill 12

4 Bubbling Muck
4 Drain Life
3 Pestilence
1 Spirit of the Night (style points here)

60 Cards in total.

Card explainations:

Pestilence + Nantuko??

Yes, Nantuko Shade is good when there are larger critters running around but does not detract from Pestilence's ability to kill weenies. You have to pay twice as much, but it keeps both Pestilence and 'tuko on the board for another turn, while wiping all the weenies.

Thawing Glaciers + Zuran Orb:

It gets lots of lands out which feeds Cabal Coffers and Bubbling Muck. Then I can float all black mana, sac the lands to Zuran Orb and do massive amounts of damage with a Pestilence and come out with positive life.

Demonic Consultation:

Vampiric will soon replace Consultation, I will be getting it shortly. Right now the Consult just looks for Bubbling Muck/Drain Life/other 4-ofs when I am ready to win.

Bargain/Necro/ Phyrexian Arena + Ivory Tower/Drain Life:

I may abuse the Necro/Bargain/Tower combo to draw lots of cards and gain lots of life, and then Drain Life. Or, I could do a major Drain Life, then blow it on Necro/Bargain. Either way my combo works out. Phyrexia Arena is just a steady draw or a way to negate Necro/Bargain if need be.

-Apprentice

[AceOfJacks]

I do not know if any of these ideas will work or not ... but I'm going to give it a shot.

Note:  All o fthese hinge on the fact that you're in a VERY casual playgroup ... so I will be giving sub-par card choices.

1)  You run 5 creatures.  4 of which require serious pumping to maintain against a creature rush.  Consider changing the Nantukos to Cemetery Gate (http://www.wizards.com/global/images/magic/homelands/cemetery_gate.jpg) or to Grid Monitor (http://www.wizards.com/global/images/magic/mirrodin/grid_monitor.jpg).  Solem Simulacrum might also be viable, considering the whole fetch + draw aspect ...

2)  Instead of relying so much on restricted cards, why don't you go for more of a controlled kill and use more arena's?  they combo with multiple Towers.  This also opens up the way for cards like Promise of Power, as well as giving you more cards over time, instead of you just having a full hand and not being able to draw a card later in the game.

3)  Consider Extraplanar Lens.  It is just as good as Bubbling Muck, and it affects multiple turns.


forgive me if none of these things help ... I tried.

[Apprentice]

Against creature rush I use Pestilence, just one takes care of lots and lots of creatures. If i get desperate I will Drain Life a fat critter, but usually those go to the dome.

I prefer to use one Necro, one Bargain and one Arena, because I can use the Necro and Bargain whenever I want, and I have the life to give me a full hand every turn. The lone Arena is used to substitute for its more broken comrades. Besides, one Necro works better with the towers than many Arenas.

Extraplanar Lens is useful, but I lack all cards with the new face. I must admit I was not gung-ho about buying them up, so I am a little retarded in this area. Keep suggesting them, tho, at worst I can learn what they do on a cardsearch .

What does everyone think about adding more Towers? 2 seems to be a good number because I fear adding more will just make the deck sick... I also dont want dead Tower draws when I need a kill card.

Now come on, I KNOW you have something to say, so just post it, I need feedback.

-Apprentice

[Apprentice]

I hate to up my own thread, but I came here to get feedback and it is hard to believe that no one has any feedback in such a prestigous website as TMD.

Again I apologize for the thread upping, but I just want to make my deck as good as possible. I am thirsty for information!

-Apprentice

[AceOfJacks]

Ok ... as far as I know ... people don't really do a lot in the Casual forum.  Sad that the "fun" aspect of the game is not very active on one of the best Vintage sites in the world ... but then again ... a lot of people are only interested in winning those pieces of power and saying "screw the rest of you all, I got the Lotus, I owns you, I r 1337, u suxxors, etc etc"

As per my suggestions:  I still think Pestilence/Shade is a bad choice ... when you only have 4 Drains and 2 Towers to gain life ... I insist that you change the shades.   Reasons why I prefer to have Cemetery Gate over Shade:

1- Gate has inherently more defense, and against a lot of casual decks, creatures are the key to victory.  If you can maintain your defensive posture, you can then deal with creatures as you see fit.

2- Gate only costs one more mana, and you don't have to pump him to save him, thus keeping your mana curve relatively low and you can still have additional mana to cast your other spells.

3- It has pro black, which saves him from Other black cards, namely Smother.  Smother is an annoying little card that kills shade, and is used in many black decks for the control factor.

Additional suggestions:
In your sideboard include copies of Barter In Blood and Powder Keg.  Barter is helpful when you have to go up against other creatures that your other spells can't usually kill, such as an Indestuctible monster.  Keg is just useful ... no other comments required.
In your maindeck, consider Diabolic Edict, Isochron Scepter, Corrupt, and Withering Boon, and Consume Spirit as well.  The emphasis behind these cards is so that you do not have to drain all your mana into pestilence.  Withering Boon allows you to counter a creature at the cost of three life, but with Corrupt, Consume Spirit, and Drain Life, you can maintain your life total.
Also in your maindeck, consider Solemn Simulacrum, Extraplanar Lens, Promise of Power, and Skeletal Scrying.  Solemn Simulacrum gives you a Swamp, and then another card when he dies.  Lens can replace Bubbling Muck, and this also means that you only need 2-3 copies of the lens, opening another slot in the deck.  Promise can have 2-3 slots as well, so that you can get a huge Demon token that flies and says beefcake every time he hits your opponent.  


Note:  I'm not saying that all of these should go into the deck, I'm just saying that these are some of the best choices for this type of deck.  Having versatility and using your own combinations is the key to a successful deck.

If you need to look up a card: http://gatherer.wizards.com

[Apprentice]

Yes, this is the information I needed, I will mull over your suggestions and then try to find some of the cards. Thanks for the help.

-Apprentice