Infernal Tutor in POX

[aosquirrels]

Pox has been one of my favorite decks to play for a long time.  Infernal Tutor has greatly improved my build which won me a small tournament last month.  I feel this card is a perfect fit for Pox and would like your opinion on my build. 

Main Deck
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Diamond
3 Dark Ritual
4 Pox
1 Death Cloud
4 Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 The Rack
4 Sinkhole
4 Chimeric Idol
3 Innocent Blood
1 Mind Twist
1 Yawgmoth's Will
2 Chains of Mephistopheles
2 Infernal Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Nether Spirit
1 Entomb
 
4 Mishra's Factory
12 Swamp
1 Strip Mine

Sideboard
4 Leyline of the Void
3 Spawning Pit
3 Pithing Needle
3 Diabolic Edict
2 Maze of Ith


Originally , I tried a full set of Infernal Tutors but too often I had multiples in hand which is very bad.  Running two of them seems to be best for me but sometimes I wish I had a third.  Absent is Wasteland.  This could be a mistake but I've missed too many land drops for black.  You NEED three black mana no later than turn 3 to get Pox to work at its best.  Also absent is Crucible of Worlds.  It is a great card but I feel it slows the deck down too much.  I would rather play a disruption spell than waste a turn playing CoW.   Don't get me wrong. CoW has its merits and does have a place in Pox.  It's a personal choice. 

Achieving Hellbent is relatively easy with Pox so your Infernals become a Demonic.  This makes topdecking a lot easier on you.  However, when you don't have Hellbent, all is not lost.  The look on your opponent's face when you play Inf. Tutor and reveal a Hymn to Tourach is priceless (especially if you can play them both on that turn).  There are enough business spells in the deck that playing Inf. Tutor without Hellbent is not too bad.

I would like to keep this build mono-black.  White does have a lot to offer (Balance, Swords, Seal of Cleansing) but I've always run into problems getting that third black. Any thoughts on how to improve this build?

[DoubleDrain]

I would suggest:

-1 deathcloud
-1 entomb
-1 nether spirit

+1 dark ritual
+1 vamp tutor
+1 necro

I think the deathcloud is too slow. Also, the entomb-spirit trick is kinda cool against stax and maybe fish or gobblins, but really too slow for any drain based deck to care about. It seems to me that the 4th ritual is an auto-include, as is vampiric tutor. Necro and it's interaction with pox may be a problem sometimes, but it seems like a great card to play turn 1 and then draw 2-4 cards per turn until you control the board and can beat with idols/factories.

Have you tested unmask?

[aosquirrels]

Deathcloud is slow but it is a great finisher.  The life loss associated with V. Tutor and Necro is the reason why I'm all over Infernal Tutor.  It is rare that you can pull out games when your life total becomes much lower than your opponents.  Pox then becomes deadly to the wrong person, ME! I do see your point regarding Entomb but I feel it is still a good inclusion since it fetches N. Spirtit OR anything to make your Yawg's Will better. Unmask may prove to be a very good card, especially in the sideboard, but with all of the Tendrils based decks out there it may be needed in the MD.  How cool would it be to play a turn 1 Duress AND an Unmask.  I'll test it out.....THANKS.

[rmn]

Pox is one of my favorite decks, even though I'm not playing it right now.  I've used the Entomb-Spirit thing and I like it a lot.  I also use Chimeric Idols, but really, I find them way too slow and hard to get out.  If I were you I'd try replacing two of them with the 3rd and 4th Infernal Tutor.

After all, IMO the Rack is the best threat in this deck, and the I'd rather pay 3 mana for tutor->Rack than for an Idol.

A few other cards to consider might be:
--Null Rod or Powder Keg.  Used to get rid of Moxen and support your land-destruction theme.  I use the Keg since it kills creatures too, but if you face a lot of combo, go with the Rod.
--Charcoal Diamond or Coldsteel Heart.  These survive Pox; I use one or two if I think I can afford it based on what I'm going to face.  I personally don't like Mox Diamond at all.
--Chrome Mox.  Made for this deck.
--White cards.  With all the options out there, you don't have to murder your manabase.  You can play Scrublands, Tainted Fields, Caves of Koilos, Godless Shrine or Coldsteel Heart without hurting the BBB goal at all.