Sui-like Mono Black

[Ryan_Royal]

This is my mono Black casual deck. It packs a lot of power but performs pretty poorly compared to what you might expect. I am not entirely sure why though, so any help is greatly appreciated.

Money is really no object: I used to run Juzam Djinn but I am sorry to say that the old geezer just does not cut it anymore.

///CREATURES: 15
4 Nantuko Shade
4 Hypnotic Spectre
4 Mishra's Factory
3 Dark Confidant

///OWNAGE: 18
4 Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach
R Mind Twist
4 Sinkhole
4 Wasteland
R Strip Mine

///ODDS & ENDS: 8
3 Chainer's Edict
2 Null Rod
R Demonic Tutor
R Demonic Consultation
R Vampiric Tutor

///MANA: 18
4 Dark Ritual
R Mox Jet
R Black Lotus
R Lotus Petal
1 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
9 Swamp

Is running both discard and mana denial a faux pas?

Are there any better black creatures than the ones I am currently playing?

Can you play something else to get around playing Null Rod?

(IE Perhaps Dauthi Slayer + Mask of Memory?)

Suggestions and comments greatly appreciated.

[Guevara59]

In terms of the creatures, and depending on if you encounter to many decks that cause direct damgae to your creatures,you could run Negators ( http://cardshark.com/magic/card_detail.asp?card_id=9926 )in your SB or maindeck.  Its incredibly difficult to stop a first turn 5/5 on the rampage!!

[technogeek5000]

to make your deck flow a little better heres what i would do.

-1 natuko shade: you want atleast 1 per game but these are pretty bad in multiples.
+1 darkconfidant: your deck is all cheap so it wont backfire and you need more draw.

-3 chainers edict: how often do you realy use the drawback
-2 mishra's factory: you run to many lands
-1 wasteland: same as before
-1 sinkhole: dont need, you have plenty of landkill
+2 diabolic edict: faster, can use at opportune moment
+2 phyrexian negator: blacks best pure beater
+3 night's whisper: good card advantage

hope this helps.

[Shake]

Mana denial works well with discard.  The problem is that if you don't serously cripple your opponent in the first two turns you will probably lose, or that is what I've found with the Dead-man Ale like decks that your deck resembles.  I would second most of the advice above.  Consider running a second color too.

Cards to add

Braids - prevents a slowed opponent from recovering.
Chrome Mox
Yawgmoth's Will
Necropotence
Withered Wretch - Depends on your casual metagame

It really depends where you want to go with the deck, being mono-black limits it.  You have the Sui-direction with Negators (a great card), Sarcomancy, Carophage, Daluthi Slayer, and Hatered.  You could expand the tutors, the creature kill, and slow down your clock until you've shifted your deck in the direction of MBC with either Pox, Damnation, Mutilates, Haunted Echos, and a viriety of other silver bullets.

I would add another color.

Cards to cut

Tutors - These are better in MBC where you might run more of a toolbox.  As is I don't see enough truely broken restricted cards or silver bullets in your deck to deserve the tutors.  They add a few mana on to what otherwise is a card that is just valued for its mana efficiency rather than its circumstance.  Most of the cards in your deck are MVPs on the first few turns and won't turn the tide after that, having the tutors just slows them down.

Hyppies - It depends what you're up against, but most decks can handle them too easiliy.

Mishra's Factory - These seem like a holdover from a time when this kind of deck had 4x neropotence, 2-3x nevinyrral's disk.  The mishras would stick around after the disk killed the necro and clean up.  You deck has neither, but a desperate need for colored mana in the first turn.

Colors to add
White - This puts your deck as a varient of Deadman Ale or Home brew, or whatever you call that deck.  Go check it out in the Legacy discussions.

What you get:
Girard's Verdict
Swords
Jotun Grunt
Vindicate
Exaulted Angel

Red - I'm toying with a deck like this right now.
You get bolts rather than swords, a second turn Flametungue Kavu, and Jagged Poppet.  I don't know if it is worth it yet.  It seems alright. 
I want to also try Greater Gargadon to mop up and to reduce the risk of using Jagged poppets, sacromancy, and Negators (stack damage and sac). 
You would replace Null Rod with Gorrilla Shaman, and maybe add Simmian Spirit Guide.

What you get:
Lightning Bolt
Jagged Poppet
Terminate (not that good)
Rise/Fall (meh)
Flame tungue Kavu (circumstantial
Simmian Spirit Guide
Gorrilla Shaman

[Ryan_Royal]

Hello all and thanks for the advice

Adding another color would be tactically sound, I know. But the entire premise of this deck is the fact that it is mono black so taking another color on is out of the question.

Running 4 Dark Confidant I would not want to take in 4 Nights Whisper as well. But I agree that the deck needs to flow even better.

I would sooner cut Hypnotic Spectre than I would cut Mishra's Factory. The latter passes Dark Confidant for 0. But perhaps both of these creatures' time is up.

Negators are pretty bad in my reddish meta

Cutting the tutors is fine. Demonic Consulatation gets to stay, though. After all, you get your stuff at once, and it is only B.

Heeding most of the advice, how about this build:

///CREATURES: 16
4 Dark Confidant
4 Dauthi Slayer
3 Nantuko Shade
3 Braids, Cabal Minion
2 Masticore

///OWNAGE: 17
4 Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach
R Mind Twist
4 Sinkhole
3 Wasteland
R Strip Mine

///ODDS & ENDS: 7
3 Mask of Memory
2 Chainer's Edict
R Demonic Consultation
R Yawgmoth's Will

///MANA: 20
4 Dark Ritual
R Mox Jet
R Black Lotus
R Lotus Petal
2 Polluted Delta
2 Bloodstained Mire
9 Swamp

[Shake]

Speaking of your meta, what is it in general terms?

I'd recomend using the Jitte over the Mask of memory if you're facing red and packing slayers and such.  How is the Masticore working?  Why no Necropotence?