***edited! did +1 celestial flare +1 Angelic Edict -1reave soul -1 kytheons irregulars*************


hi party people.

i kind of found out the best deck in this format. as u play vs 70-80 % artifact builds or builds using enchantments (as evolutionary leap), this comes out to be a true winner at this time. its a black / white control build with lots of fancy meat in there that makes u win mid or lategame.

after being bored by the red/green ramp deck (which is still kind of strong) with chandras ignition, gaes revenge, ... i was looking for an more elegant deck with more control bringing me up from lvl 30 to 40. this deck made me lvl 40 in no time. it has enough control to stall the early game and can be pretty nasty with its creatures from midgame. here u go.

..introducin "HOLY MUD!" by doctabernau:

Removal (20):
2x Languish
2x Tragic Arrogance
2x Reprisal
1x Celestial Flare
1x Angelic Edict
3x Reave Soul
4x Suppression Bonds (big deal in this deck, has synergy with Bloodcursed Knight and Tragic Arrogance, can also deflect evolutionary leap and other enchantments)
3x Solemn Offering (yes, indeed. this kills Artifacts including periculous myr, chief of the foundry, Esperzoa.....AND enchantments like evolutionary leap - NICE turn 3 killer)
1x cruel revival

draw:
4x Read the Bones (Backbone of this deck)

creatures (12):
1x Kitheon (try to play him later, when u can give him indestructable same turn, he then locks down red aggro stuff properly)
2x Gurmag Swiftwing (i swapped them for 2 Consuls Leutnant, which is strong but i like the Swiftwing better, hes a formidable thopter blocker, is evasive so u can use him aggressivly too, plus his mana cost are easier 2 pay)
1x Kytheons Irregulars (Bomb, want to play 2 though..)
1x Erebos Titan
2x Gravedigger
1x Graveblade Marauder (i wanted to love him, the i realised hes only kind of okkayyy, well he kind of fits in the control theme, people might argue about him, still i think one is good in this deck - he can hit hard in the late game thats where u end up often with this build)
2x Bloodcursed Knight (is just wonderful in this deck. u normally have an enchantment out there, the lifegain is ridiculous for 3 mana)
1x Gilt Leaf Winnower (kills enough stuff out there, fe. chief of the foundry or zendikar inkarnate)
1x kothoped

other:
1x Shadow of the past (this is a GREAT card design. wins u games lategame, one is enough though)


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if someone likes the deck i would love to have this post transcripted so that the card pics pop of as u hover ofer the card names. please can someone do that ( i dunno how to do that) , i would appreciate it (and a bunch of other people too) cheers

My two questions are:

1 - No Fleshbag Marauder or Celestial Flare, how do you deal with Gaea's Revenge or an Indestructible threat?

2 - How do you find your mana consistency? With a lot of double X color and even a triple black in your deck I can imagine casting on curve vs aggro (or a lucky draw Gruul midrange) to be a challenge.

counterquestion:

how deals a.n.y.o.n.e with gaeas revenge???


Tragic Arrogane is EXCELLENT vs it.
ive had games with it against me and won them by destroying/tapping everything else so he had to block with it and i got thereby rid of it. also kytheon (GIDEON) can help..

fleshbag does most of the time nothing vs the big guys , but hey u can definitly work it in the deck, as u can celestal flare. maybe - 1reave soul +1 celestial flare, sounds ok

heres my mana house which runs pretty decent. i dont need double mana earlier than turn 4 and normally dont have any problems playing 4 read the bones and the shadows of the past:

24:

2 isolated chapel
2 orzhov guildgate
4 evolving wilds
2 rogues passage (this thing is so sick)
2 foundry of the consuls
7plains
5swamps

Two words. Eddict Effect.

Celestial Flare is far and away the best defense in the current meta against Gaea's Revenge, with Fleshbag Marauder coming in second. Tragic Arrogance isn't as good as Flare because Flare is an instant, therefore as long as GR is the only creature attacking it is dead. And with a sufficient removal package, keeping the board clear enough so that happens most of the time shouldn't be a very big issue. Graveyard recursion helps immensely here. 3 Fleshbags, 3 Cruel Revivals and 3 Possessed Skaabs can lead to some amazing and seemingly endless shenanigans. Gravedigger, too, though I personally haven't found room for him in my build.

But anyway this is an Orzhov list so it's kind of in the wrong thread.

well maybe save ur precious words, if they dont tell anything to anyone. i guess nobody here is n0t aware of marauders edict effect. but it doesnt have much influence on the metagame. edict - oh i sac my thopter token. oh i sac my myr. oh i sac my elve. oh i sac my gatecreeper vine.........................................................'*"!"='"=!

i would NOT necessarily compare these two like that. these two cards are different and like i said, flare is definitly a hot one, worth of giving it a place in this deck. why argue "this is better than this" without a reason?

as a fact, with 4 suppression bonds ur opponent will most likely NEVER only have a gaeas revenge out there. and TA kills it NO MATTER if hes attacking with it or not. it will be just history after TA

try it, this deck is insane.

and with all honesty, this is not really off topic. theres people here that want a strong control deck arround tragic arrogance and languish. they will be happy to read this. and u know what. i will work a skaab in there or two then its not off topic fo sure

Wow, which platform are you on that the best removal package in the meta has no effect? I want to play there!

I was only comparing them because you said TA is "excellent" against GR. Flare is better, hands down. ask anyone. It's the only card in the pool right now that lets a control deck have a chance at destroying GR without first taking damage. TA kills it no matter if it's attacking or not, yeah, but if it is attacking then you aren't going to kill it with TA before you take 8 damage. You stand a chance to with Flare.

And yeah the anti-synergy between Fleshbags and Bonds is why I would drop the Bonds for better removal. At least cut down to 2 to deal with enchantments and PWs, and never use them on your opponent's creatures, but even still I don't like them. People are running a lot of enchantment hate because of stuff like Evoleap and Tutelage, and if they realize that you don't have anything like that and use it on your Bonds then its basically a useless card. This meta calls for more permanent removal. Angelic Edict or Solemn Offering are best for dealing with enchantments and, well, the best thing for dealing with PWs is to kill them when they are still creatures, which you need instant speed removal for.

And I never said it was off topic, I just said it was the wrong topic. Which it is.

ok ok flare is too good not to run it. i worked 2 flares in, see above post, edited

but still i think marauder doesnot fit in here. i like it how it plays off right now. i dont keep the board clean until languish or TA. and TA like i said works soooo goood with the bonds. ok enough said.

Except for any deck with green is running Sage and Naturalist for artifact hate and Evolpea lets you sac the Bonded creature. Marauder kills it dead.

Yes. And any controlish list with white is running Angelic Edict and/or Solemn Offering. Even this very list in question.

Face it, docta, enchantment based removal isn't very reliable in this meta.

If your in black, run the Zombie Removal Package: Fleshbag, Gravedigger, Cruel Revival. It recycles easy and does deal with anything on their side. Swing and trade, Fleshbag the scraps.

for now i stay with the deck design. like i said earlier - i can deflect evoleap thanks to my bonds and solemn offerings. and i buy time with em until i can languish or TA - it works.

I've had alot of success with the following tempo deck. Initially I was running dimir but you really do have to splash for Angelic Edict. To support the third color, you need to use Telling Time instead of the better 3-4 mana scry+draw cards.

Lands:

2x Drowned Catacombs
2x Isolated Chapel
1x Glacial Fortress
4x Dimir Guildgate
4x Evolving Winds
5x Island
4x Swamp
1x Plains
1x Rogue's Passage

Gives you 16 sources of blue, 16 sources of black and 8 sources of white. I cut Foundry of the Counsuls because it wasn't really doing much. Either winmore or simply delays a inevitable loss.

4x Alchemist's Vial
3x Runed Servitor
4x Perilous Myr
3x Telling Time

1x Esperzoa
2x Fleshbag Marauder
2x Graveblade Marauder
2x Guardians of Meletis
1x Jorubai Murk Lurker

2x Thopter Spy Network
2x Whirler Rogue
2x Languish

1x Sigil of Valor
2x Bone Splinters
1x Anchor to the Aether
1x Displacement Wave
3x Angelic Edict

Of course, you can tune the reactive spells to the meta. Online, I'm 14 wins 3 losses and I've played against all the big decks. You don't lose against aggro. I've beat elves 3 times without Languish and you usually out tempo other tempo/goodcard decks. I like it because it is difficult to pilot, lotsa decisions.

1 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
3 Anointer of Champions
2 Dauntless River Marshal
1 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
4 Child of Night
3 Sigil of Valor
2 Divine Favor
1 Shadows of the Past
1 Guardians of Meletis
3 Jhessian Thief
3 Jorubai Murk Lurker
1 Liliana, Heretical Healer
2 Graveblade Marauder
3 Blood-Cursed Knight
1 Tainted Remedy
3 Whirler Rogue
2 Suppression Bonds

3 Plains
3 Island
3 Swamp
2 Drowned Catacomb
2 Isolated Chapel
2 Glacial Fortress
3 Rogue's Passage
2 Dimir Guildgate
4 Evolving Wilds

This is a deck build around the idea of making a likelink creature either unblockable (Whirler Rogue or Rogue's Passage), or buffing it (Anointer of Champions, Divine Favor or Sigil of Valor), so it will survive attacking each round. It's a simple (but rather effective) win condition. It is supported by defensive creatures that can hold the line (and feed Sigil of Valor) while the unblockable/buffed creature chips the opponent's health away. Alternatively Jhessian Thief can be selected as the unblockable to generate draw. Another win condition is making Jorubai Murk Lurker target an opponent creature that tries to block the buffed creature, or attacks, combined with Tainted Remedy. Once both cards are in play that is actually a very powerful interaction in the deck.

Aladin: Your concept is cool.. but your mana base looks like the definition of inconsistency. I'd be scared to roll this deck without Telling Time to dig for missing colors.. and even with Telling Time, it still looks.. rough.

Actually, getting the right mana has not been much of a problem. Shadows of the Past and Jhessian Thief is usually enough. What usually decides whether the deck wins or loses is whether Sigil of Valor is drawn early enough. But it's mostly a deck designed to have a bit of fun while waiting for BFZ, not one that is supposed to be a top tier competitive deck.

if getting your artifact is the sticking point why no relic seekers?

Good point! I could try to swap out some creatures for relic seekers, like Dauntless River Marshal and Kytheon, Hero of Akros.