A-Pox-alypse

[Fraggle]

Although not fully defined, nor tested this deck fishes rather well.  If I'm playing correctly (which i'm sure there are some to many mistakes) it plows through a Vintage Tezz deck that I have proxied.   That is no indication of it's Vintage worthy-ness, but it just make me feel good.

For me this deck is soooo much fun to pilot.

Inspired by the Multi-color Suicide thread. http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=42118.0

I wanted to peruse making a mono black deck that abused Death's Shadow.

What ended up happening is I made a deck that does not even contain Death's Shadow, and I ended up with a Pox deck.

Now Pox decks are nothing new, but I think some new printings can (maybe) bring the archetype into Vintage viability.

This deck abuses Bloodghast's ability to come into play upon each landfall.  Since Pox Decks traditionally ran a higher land count to deal with the masochistic destroying of their own land it seems like a natural fit.  

It turns out to be quite powerful feeling. Coupling this with more, and more discard it's quickly insurmountable. So without further ado my list:

Hand Hate:
4   Pox
4   Smallpox
4   Inquisition of Kozilek
4   Duress
4   Hymn to Tourach

Creatures:
4   Bloodghast
4   Sedraxis Specter <---I too hand hate ...from the grave
3      Dark Confidant

Draw:
4   Night's Whisper

Artifact:
3   The Rack

Mana:
22   Swamp

Brief notes on the play:

T1 is reserved for a 1 cc discard. If you are playing combo you obviously go for the combo breaker. If it's anything else you look for anything that can mess with your plan. If you have a choice you always take anything they can put on the board early especially Artifacts or Enchantments. They are there to stay. However weigh the effect of that spell being resolved. Many times it's best to grab the draw spell. Once they loose that they are on the downward slope of cards in hand reduction, and quickly become pinned. You really don't care about S. Top.

T2 if you can you either Smallpox (ditching a Bloodghast or a Sedraxis Specter) or Hymn to Tourach. You want to avoid casting Bloodghast he's meant to come from the grave for free after a pox discard.

From there on out keep attacking the hand and dropping The Rack whenever avail. Pox Early and often, and replenish cards in hand with Night's Whisper before Dark Confidant.

Now many of you are much smarter than me, especially when it comes to Magic.  So when you read this list and you want to know why I chose something over something else it is likely that I simply did not consider it.  So if you have any suggestions, or feedback on how to improve this list.  I'd be happy to listen.

I figure that this is the most efficient way to test its worthy-ness (via the community) than in my ill equipped hands.

I have finally gotten on board with this MWS thing, so I hope to be testing it quite a bit.

Thank you for reading.

[Dr.KnowMaD]

I would like Dark Ritual, all four confidant, Demonic Tutor, Demonic Consultation as a start.  Null Rod and fetchlands plus personally would have some sort of manland.

I have always enjoyed casting smallpox.  It's hard outside of monoblack.

Maybe mind twist, crucible of worlds, and wasteland/strip.

The new draw...,ok, Sign in Blood is cool in this and you could use it to ping your opponent for the win.

have fun, lates, DrKnowMaD

[Fraggle]

I would like Dark Ritual, all four confidant, Demonic Tutor, Demonic Consultation as a start.  Null Rod and fetchlands plus personally would have some sort of manland.

I have always enjoyed casting smallpox.  It's hard outside of monoblack.

Maybe mind twist, crucible of worlds, and wasteland/strip.

The new draw...,ok, Sign in Blood is cool in this and you could use it to ping your opponent for the win.

have fun, lates, DrKnowMaD

Thanks for the feedback.  I'll test these, and see how things go.

I originally had Dark Ritual in the deck and cut it.  This isn't an explosive "combo-ish" deck, it is a methodical attack on your opponents hand.  The Dark Ritual (although presented some new plays) often just reduced my card in hand count and exposed some of my juicier cards to Pox effects.  If I could have waited a turn I'd be in better card in hand position to withstand my own Poxing.  

I think I'd rather test with Sadistic Sacrament then Dark Ritual ...top deck tutors have been giving me issues with vault / key.

I can definitely see the tutors helping.  I was testing this primarily as a Legacy deck, and didn't swap them in.

I'd consider running both Night's Whisper & Sign in Blood over Confidant because of the dis-synergy with Confidant & Pox, but I will test both.

Strip set may help, and I have tested it but if you are Pox-ing correctly they are not needed.

Thanks again, and I'll keep plugging away at it!

Edit: Adding a light blue splash my prove to be extremely useful.  If the deck is functioning correctly you are looking to lock the game buy eliminating your opponents hand.

Adding a few Chain of Vapor, and maybe 2 Zur's Weirding could quickly hard lock the game.  ...but it may not prove to be necessary, as the soft lock (at least initially) seems to be doing the trick.

 

[RecklessEmbermage]

Adding another color sounds like a bad idea. You will manascrew yourself regularly and black has a lot more to offer this deck.

I was surprised not to see skullclamp in your list, as it goes very well with ghasts and specters (kind of broken, actually). A more powerful draw engine will also allow you to play the full set of rituals. Null rod would be the only sensible reason not to run clamp here, IMO.

Take a look at a friend's old pox deck: http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/deck.php?id=796&iddeck=4921

The most interesting difference between your build and his, is the inclusion of four urborg, tomb of yawgmoth. This lets him play non-swamp lands like wasteland and factory. Rather than factory, I would be inclined to try out dark depths, since you get the ability to just kill your opponent. I'm sure someone has tested this a fair deal and could provide you with a tuned list, but I would take your deck and do this with it:

15 Hand Hate:
3   Pox
4   Smallpox
3   Inquisition of Kozilek
4   Cabal Therapy (can hit yourself, functions with your creatures. Consider it a more flexible and fun! hymn to tourach)

10 Creatures:
4   Bloodghast
3   Sedraxis Specter
3   vampire hexmage

7 "Draw":
4   skullclamp
3   crucible of worlds

3 Stuff:
1   vampiric tutor
1   demonic consultation
1   demonic tutor

26 Mana:
4   Dark ritual
4   Urborg, tomb of yawgmoth
4   Wasteland
1   Strip mine
3   Dark depths
5   fetchlands
5   Swamp

[PETER FLUGZEUG]

@ RecklessEmbermage: Just to make sure: did you take into account that equipping sedraxis specter with skullclamp doesn't net you 2 cards?
"Exile it at the beginning of the next end step or if it would leave the battlefield." This is a replacement effect, so no triggering.

[serracollector]

Where are the chains of mephistopholes and Anvil of Bogardans?

Anvil could easily replace Confidant as a draw engine, as you can just pitch ghasts and your specters.  With chains its a lock, still on color, and it also stops:

Gush/Jace/Ancesral/Top shennanigans etc etc.

My 2 cents.

[TopSecret]

I'm wondering if replacing the Rack with Null Rod is worth it. That way they can't keep moxen on the board and get mana from them and it stops Vault Key. Seems really strong to me. I initially thought that Chalice of the Void and Engineered Explosives were promising for similar, but slightly different costs and benefits, but I think that Null Rod should be given a lot of consideration to be in the deck since it appears to me that it answers everything you could have trouble with and if you draw extras you can just discard them anyway.

I generally like Sedraxis Specter, but I think there's probably something better for that slot. What, I can't really say at this point. Skullclamp and tutors? Bridge from Below/Entomb package? I'm not sure off the top of my head. Maybe Specter is actually correct because it flies over for the win after all the damage stacks up during the game, but the Rack seems really good at that already.

Also, this might not be castable in the deck, but something like Braids Cabal Minion or Smoke Stack could be interesting, since you can actually hard lock the opponent pretty easily. Braids is pretty interesting cause she can't be hit with Artifact kill or bounce and can block in a bad spot, which seems nice.

Epochrasite seems really good here. Myr Servitor is another idea, but that might be getting a little Janky. Worst case, if you drop Bobs you could just start playing some Tombstalker to topdeck for the win.

Maindeck Reanimate is another idea. Against some decks you can just reanimate their best creature late game to kill them off one land, or hit it out of their hand with discard for pwnage. Entomb/Reanimate for fatty doesn't seem bad either. Worst case you get Bloodghast. You could then also have a toolkit for that black dredge land to recur after pox...etc. as your single nonbasic. Another target for Entomb would be a single Cabal Therapy maindeck to use with Bloodghast after you've hit their hand with Duress or Inquisition. Seems decent to me. And even if you don't use the fatty strategy maindeck with Entomb/Reanimate, you could sideboard it in against decks that would have a hard time with it. It can also give you an out versus Dredge if you got Iona or something cause you could just name black. Can dredge actually win through that if you nail their Bazaar? Something like Blazing Archon or Stormtide Leviathan is another option.

Also that reminds me that you might want something for Dredge maindeck, cause if you don't have any way to beat them game one you are kind of in trouble with your sideboard game two. Just something to consider the trade offs of.

Also, I'm not sure if Oath is a priority, but if they stick an Oath, you could be in trouble unless you hit them with the Rack. Not sure what could deal with enchantments here, necessarily, but just something to think about when considering maindeck the Rack I guess.

[Fraggle]

Hey I wanted to say I have been testing the suggestions above, and really appreciate the feedback.

I have little more to report on, but the original list was killed by MUD prison, and I imagine it would against dredge too.

Some tech that I like from other Pox decks that I have seen was the use of Funeral Charm.  It can function like a discard (and gets better in that function late game when your opponent is down to 1 or 2 cards, and they are riding the pain train of the rack) and it is good tech on Bob's Tinkerer and the alike.

I'm testing Ankh of Mishra.  I think kit was mentioned in the Death's Shadow's thread, but since you do not have to run fetch it seems pretty solid.  It also helps agains a pesky Crucible floating out there.  edit: 5 damage from a successful fetch Yee-ouch!

I'll keep you posted when I find a formula that does better against Yard jank.  I know 4 Leyline of the Void might do it.

[TopSecret]

You could maindeck Nethervoid, Nihil Spellbomb (cycles!), or Yixlid Jailer, too. Leyline is good, but you have to draw it in the opener. If you maindeck some tutors, that could help spread out the weight on the maindeck and Leyline is not as good at being tutored for as some of the other options.

[RecklessEmbermage]

@ RecklessEmbermage: Just to make sure: did you take into account that equipping sedraxis specter with skullclamp doesn't net you 2 cards?
"Exile it at the beginning of the next end step or if it would leave the battlefield." This is a replacement effect, so no triggering.

Oops. Thank you Peter, I didn't take that into account. Even though clamp and specter don't go well together, they are both strong cards that have a lot of interconnecting synergies in the proposed list. I think I would still try and make them fit. Specter can still be clamped and sacced to all the sorceries in the list, for instance.

[Mr. Type 4]

No Black Lotus and mox jet? Those are manditory in here.