[Deck Discussion] Death's Shadow.dec

[serracollector]

So I am sure many people have been looking at the card Death's Shadow

B
Death's Shadow gets -x/-x where X is equal to your life
13/13

So, I after many ideas on how to use it effectively (I even considered Lich...funny eh?), but I decided its best chances would be to work it in a comboish deck, kind of like flash or masknaught.

2 idea's are mainly behind the deck, draw cards, and lose as much life as possible during the run, while saving a mana or 2 to drop a few Death's Shadow.

Mind you this is my first try with the decklist, and in testing solo mode it does well, but as most combo decks, when it goes it goes, if not...well.


Anyways the deck list:

Draw: 13
4 x Street Wraith
4 x Infernal Contract
4 x Cruel Bargain
1 x Ancestral Recall

Tutors: 8
1 x Demonic Tutor
1 x Vampiric Tutor
1 x Imperial Seal
1 x Crop Rotation
1 x Demonic Consultation
3 x Death Wish

Mana: 26
4 x Chrome Mox
4 x Dark ritual
4 x Cabal Ritual
1 x Mox Emerald
1 x Mox Jet
1 x Mox Sapphire
1 x Lotus Petal
1 x Black Lotus
1 x Lion's Eye Diamond
4 x Gemstone Mine
4 x Overgrown Tomb


Tech: 11
1 x Yawgmoth's Will
1 x Fastbond
4 x Duress
4 x Thoughtsieze
1 x Time Walk

Kill: 3
3 x Death's Shadow

Sideboard: 15
1 x Death's Shadow
1 x Tendrils of Agony (alternate win with death wish)
2 x Natures Charm
2 x Ancient Grudge
4 x Null Rod
1 x Berserk (same idea as tendrils)
1 x Diabolic Edict
3 x Pernicious Deed
1 x Mind Twist (testing)


The card choices:


Infernal Contract/Cruel Bargain: 3 mana, 4 cards, and it can't make you lose technically, so draw away.  don't be afraid to go land, mox, rit, rit, double contract/cruel, and try to go nutz.

Street Wraith: Free draw is good I hear.

Thoughtseize: make its "drawback" a bonus.

rest is pretty obvious.

Now, I know before anything that the deck is susceptible to alot.

Chalice for 1...ow... hope you get death wish.  

Random Burn: Yes bolt or fire can hurt, but thats (hopefully) what death wish for Natures Charm and hope you got a mox to kill.  

Fish/zoo/beats: Like I said earlier the deck plays like a combo deck, trying to draw like crazy, get down to 1 or 2 life, and drop 2-3 Death's Shadow.  That or go for the mana ramp/yawg win tutor for tendrils.  With all the draw, and tutors its not as hard as you might think. If they get the early beats, just try to outrace them, all you can do. Hope the one edict is enuff to keep them at bay til you go "off".

Also, I know the Death's Shadows have no evasion abilites, but niether does Tarmogoyf, and you see plenty of him, 2 of these hit the board as just 7/7's or better and your opponent is on a tough clock even with a creature or 2 to block.
Also I know that tendrils based combo or belcher can be, and is probably more consistent/fast, I am just taking a first stab at this.

I don't play the fetch lands because too often I would draw them, and not be able to pay the 1 life, and still do what I wanted.  Life is your main "draw resource" so you need mana now, not after paying 1 life, use your draw to just get your lands.

How to play the deck is simple enough, its just like any other combo deck, ritual in mass draw, into more life loss thru shock lands, and other draw, then drop a few fatties or wish for tendrils.

Tech advice:
crop rotation an Overgrown Tomb into play to lose 2 life.

Top deck tutor + Street Wraith = Demonic Tutor, and 4 life lost, which is good.

At 1 life you can Contract and Cruel Bargain still.  I once cast 3 contracts, then yawg win into 4 rits, lotus and 2 cabals to cast all 3 again.

Don't fear burn or creatures until you have to, the deck is suicidal, but so is ANT.  Play to win.

Discuss, advice?  Comments?  Thank you.

[InfectedMushroom]

Can I ask why you would not include Necropotence/Yawgmoth's Bargain? They seem like natural fits in a deck like this and are huge bombs on their own. The ability to "set" your life total while drawing many cards seems too good to pass up.

[tito del monte]

I'm not sure Death's Shadow is actually, but it did certainly pique my interest. A card I thought would fit well with it as your playing four Shadows is Spoils of the Vault. Might be worth a try - would be nice to ritual, duress, spoils, death's shadow on first turn!

Good luck with the deck!

[serracollector]

Well I been playtesting it tonight for last few hours, and am quite happy.  I mean its a combo deck so when it goes off it goes off.  With the 8 rituals, and 8 contracts, its extremely easy to go nutz.  I have yawg'd at 1 life, and cast 3 or 4 contracts, just makes it so amazing to me.  The deck obv has huge pobs, swords, and u gain life, and lose the other one if 2 are on the board :-/, and the new natures charm can hurt me as well if I got a mox on board.  And ofc fire/bolt, and chalice for 1.  So much, but its a combo deck when it goes off it goes off.  I have 8 duress effects, and Im not playing blue, what more can I do?

I originally had nights whisper but with 8 contracts they were extremely unnecessary and I would just be holding them at 1 life wishing for something else.

I have killed 2 people with the swing, and Rite of Consumption, on turn 2, and turn 4, so its kinda cool, but not sure on it yet.

Grim Tutor is too much life, I prefer the 4 cards for 1/2 life, which at 1 life is nil, instead of trying to get 1 of "my" combo pieces, and needing a certain amount of life to cast it, altho it could provide for a quick grab of death's shadow, trying to get it into play as a 3/3 or something til you lose more life.  But I don't play that way.

Necro and yawgmoth's bargain....bargain maybe, necro, you have to wait a turn, and I have to wait a turn to attack already, turn 3 is clutch in t1 its where most people do "something". I plan on smashing face witha  12/12 by then.  Bargain is still iffy cuz after 1 or 2 contracts, which with 8 drawing into another one very commonly happens, along with a ritual, and it continues, my life is so low I might get 3-5 cards off bargain, but if I got it first then going to 1 life then casting 3-5 contracts would be sweet.  I will playtest it.  Necro no tho.

Any other suggestions?  Any other cheap draw for life in black?  Anyone think plunge into darkness should be a 1 of tutor, I would run it over spoils since I get to choose how much life I lose.  I run Demonic Consultation for now.

[nineisnoone]

Why you don't play a full set of Death Wish and put one of your Shadow's in the sideboard?

[serracollector]

That is actually a plausibly good idea.  Honestly, I thought death wish was restricted.  I am gonna test that right now, wat a great idea.  Tutor for dude, shock land, thought seize, hes a 7/7 or 8/8.  Interesting.

I also just realized I am missing lions eye diamond.  When you play 8 cards that draw 4 and cost three, its probably a good card to have.

[MirariKnight]

This deck BEGS for Ad Nauseam.

[serracollector]

Once again ad nausem, like spoils of the vault, or nights whisper, requires me to have a certain amount of life.  Lose 1/2 ur life doesn't matter, and my average cc is almost 3, so wraiths at 2 life a peice is better cantrip style and free. I have made some changes to the deck, it does work better with the splash for blue, and so I can side ancient grudge against chalice.  Lots of people playing like the deck thus far, and each gives me a little more advice to make it quicker/more consitent.  Now if only there was a black elvish spirit guide....

[Gandalf_The_White_1]

I prefer the 4 cards for 1/2 life, which at 1 life is nil

Infernal Contract and Cruel Bargain say you lose 1/2 your life rounded up, so if you resolve it at one life, you lose 1 life.

[BruiZar]

What about Channel? It's a 2 mana spell that allows you to set life total and get an insane amount of mana. Also, potence+bargain a smentioned before.  right now you don't really need too much colorless mana though but it's still a strong spell to consider (mana artifacts, platinum angel, lich's mirror)

[serracollector]

I don't beleive you can die from a contract.  If you can, then this deck is a horrible pile of crap, and Im back to square one. 

[zeus-online]

You most certainly can kill yourself with contract. There was a time when you didn't die immediatly...And that deck was called ProsBloom (You died at the end of the phase if i remember correctly)

[Vegeta2711]

I don't beleive you can die from a contract.  If you can, then this deck is a horrible pile of crap, and Im back to square one.  

I prefer the 4 cards for 1/2 life, which at 1 life is nil

Infernal Contract and Cruel Bargain say you lose 1/2 your life rounded up, so if you resolve it at one life, you lose 1 life.

Regardless of what you believe, it's right there on the card.

Ninja edit: And yes, at one point there were rules in place where you would still be 'alive' at 0 life for a short period of time.

[Marske]

Moved to improvement as this doesn't belong in the Open boards. Marske

[Ten-Ten]

I can picture using a Gro.dec kind of shell to include this guy in and it still would not be a four of. I still have a hard time seeing this work well in a competitive enviroment though.
Especially with all the aggro around. with the list you are running This deck might as well be GrimLong.dec
Keep testing though maybe i'm wrong.

[Killane]

How is Death's Shadow, a none-haste creature with neither evasion nor trample, a better wincon for this deck then Tendrils? Is the card playable? Sure, it could fill a Goyf type role in a sui black deck, but to focus the deck on it like a combo deck, and then fail to follow the combo nature of the deck though to its obvious Tendrils conclusion? I don't get it.

Honestly just repalce 2 of the Shadows in the list withTendrils and see how much better it runs and how much more qucikly it wins. One shadow might be an option in lieu of the Tinker-Robot plan, but it still seems Janky.

[serracollector]

@above: I know.  You are right. But the idea wasn't to just make another tendrils deck.  1 in the side with 3 wishes is plenty.  Believe it or not, even without haste, you drop 2-3 of these on turn 1, at 7/7+ your fine.  its easy to go rit>contract>rit>wish>drop 2 Shadows turn 1 and is not uncommon.  Would 2 tendrils work better?  Yes.  But the idea is to work Death's Shadow.  Its still a work in progress, but it has many fun hands.  The look on people faces when you drop 3 12/12's on turn 1 is funny.  Its a game, Im just having fun, but still trying to make it as good as I can.

[honestabe]

@above: I know.  You are right. But the idea wasn't to just make another tendrils deck.  1 in the side with 3 wishes is plenty.  Believe it or not, even without haste, you drop 2-3 of these on turn 1, at 7/7+ your fine.  its easy to go rit>contract>rit>wish>drop 2 Shadows turn 1 and is not uncommon.  Would 2 tendrils work better?  Yes.  But the idea is to work Death's Shadow.  Its still a work in progress, but it has many fun hands.  The look on people faces when you drop 3 12/12's on turn 1 is funny.  Its a game, Im just having fun, but still trying to make it as good as I can.

Honestly, he seems like all he's really going to do is replace Negator in the TPS sideboard.  Your best just cutting him for tendrills and running him in the side

[Killane]

@above: I know.  You are right. But the idea wasn't to just make another tendrils deck.  1 in the side with 3 wishes is plenty.  Believe it or not, even without haste, you drop 2-3 of these on turn 1, at 7/7+ your fine.  its easy to go rit>contract>rit>wish>drop 2 Shadows turn 1 and is not uncommon.  Would 2 tendrils work better?  Yes.  But the idea is to work Death's Shadow.  Its still a work in progress, but it has many fun hands.  The look on people faces when you drop 3 12/12's on turn 1 is funny.  Its a game, Im just having fun, but still trying to make it as good as I can.

Honestly, he seems like all he's really going to do is replace Negator in the TPS sideboard.  Your best just cutting him for tendrills and running him in the side

I question if he is good enough to cut Negator for, assuming you need negator in the board. You can't play Shadow on turn 1 unless you really try hard, and I'm not sure that it's worth it to do so.

[zeus-online]

Despite the fact that i lost a draft game to it yesterday i'd call it a crap-rare. It dosn't seem to be a card that you can really count on to do anything consistently.

[the boogie man]

I think that if you really wanted to play this card, death wish and contract do not seem to be the best way to abuse it. necro, bargain, whispers, and such along with ad nauseuam seems to be a much better route. and with nauseaum you can pretty much stop wherever you want. the only real high cc cards youd have  are the nauseaums, necro, tendrils, and maybe a bargain.