Hello again! I have decided that this week I will write about the most dreaded and format defying deck in pauper - MBC. I know that many of you love/hate this deck and I want you to know that this article is not for you. I want to show the few people out there without opinion on MBC what this deck is all about. Without further delays I present you -
The Deck:
The version that I'll present you is created by SlashRus (he is kind of the creator of MBC in pauper) from PE two weeks ago, so I think that it is pretty optimal for now.
Card Draw:
4 Sign in Blood Whatever tweaking you do, don't remove this card! One of the best black card draws ever.
4 Phyrexian Rager Smooths your draws and helps you to sneak in Okiba-Gang Shinobi on turn 4 :) He also holds the front vs aggro very well.
Disruption:
4 Distress Your main hand disruption. Try to cast this one as quickly as possible, especially vs Aggro.
4 Chittering Rats Every time you cast this one, your opponent is practically with a mulligan! It also enables Okiba-Gang Shinobi.
2 Okiba-Gang Shinobi Your main weapon for fighting control and combo, but also works vs Aggro. Distress into Chittering Rats into Okiba-Gang Shinobi is so devastating that almost no deck can survive it.
Removal:
4 Crypt Rats Mass removal. Finisher. Okiba-Gang Shinobi enabler. The card that defines this format!
3 Tendrils of Corruption Your main weapon vs aggro.
4 Corrupt Your main finisher. Try to target only your opponent with it and kill creatures only if you are going to die.
4 Diabolic Edict Your answer to all the pro Black creatures out there. Just don't try to use some other removal in this spot- it just won't work...
Recursion:
3 Warren Pilferers I have seen people playing (Grave digger) over this one and I think that it is plain wrong. For just one mana more you receive occasional haste and 3 toughness. Let me tell you something (if you don't know it already :) ) - 3 toughness is something really relevant because most of the creatures in the format have one or two less and Crypt Rats for 2 can devastate your opponent while leaving you with a really solid creature!
SideBoard:
3 Doom Blade More removal never hurts. Useful against really fast aggros and decks that relay on few big creatures.
4 Dross Golem The rule of the thumb about this one is this - if your opponent has White in his deck, you must side this in.
4 Duress Your anti combo and control SB.
1 Okiba-Gang Shinobi Side this against other controls and combo.
2 Relic of Progenitus Just don't forget to side out Warren Pilferers when you side in this one :)
1 Tendrils of Corruption Side this in vs aggro.
What makes this deck tick?
Well, everything! The deck has uber effective removal that can gain life in the process of reaping your creatures, which is enough to win the match against most of the aggro decks almost single handedly, but also have sick amount of hand disruption to win most of the combo/control matchups. The best part is that after SB you just side out all unneeded cards for the current match and pack even more hate for your opponent! I don't think that there is Combo/Control that can win after MBC plays Duress->Distress->Chittering Rats->Okiba-Gang Shinobi and aggro that can beat you after you return your Crypt Rats for second time from the graveyard...
This deck is so sick that I really don't think that it needs any more comments. Release your inner spike and just try it!
Match-ups:
MBCu:
This match is really tied. They have a little bit more card advantage spells, but are slower. Your game plan in this match is pressure him with as much disruption as possible and aim at early Okiba-Gang Shinobi. Other that you should play as quickly as possible is Distress, because your opponent can blow you out of the game with turn 5 Kicked Probe. Post SB you should side in the usual anti-control package + Dross Golem (in attempt to sneak in Shinobi easier and more consistently) and Relic of Progenitus (because he relays on the graveyard more than you). Just try to devastate his hand before turn 5-6, because after that all his card advantage spells come online and the late game favors him.
G/W Gloack:
I'll call this bad match-up, only because this deck pack insane amount of hate in the mainboard. You should try to keep your edicts only for creatures that have pro-black and relay on your Crypt Rats to deal with the rest. After SB you have Doom Blade to prevent him from enchanting non-protection creature and Dross Golem for his pesky pro-black bears. I think that the match is almost even post SB, but they just have draws that you cannot stop no matter what you have in hand.
Teachings (MBCu Variation):
Bad matchup. This deck specially designed to kill other controls (which include MBC/MBCu), so don't feel bad If he rapes you :) I think that you can win the pre-SB game with enough hand-disruption and early Okiba-Gang Shinobi, but don't relay on this to happen very often. Just bring in all the control hate post SB. Relic of Progenitus is an option here, but only when you are going to remove Teachings that lay in the graveyard.
The match is tough, but this deck have sacrificed much to be able win consistently vs control and have considerable worse match against aggro. Due to this, you can always relay that in big PE the more aggressive decks will crush this one and you will not have to face him at all :)
Goblins:
Easy match. One of the fastest decks in the meta. They have hands that you'll be unable to stop before SB. Always play removal before creatures because there is a chance that they will just burn your creature and smack your life total really badly. On the bright side the goblins scoop after you activate Crypt Rats for their board :) After SB you have 4-th Tendrils and 3 Doom Blade. My final advice is to keep 1 spot removal for Hissing Iguanar, if you don't want to be in a very difficult situation.
Slivers:
Relatively easy match. Unless they have REALLY sick draw game 1 should be yours if you watch out for 2 things - Prismatic Strands and Temporal Isolation. Don't forget that these tings can stop the unfair Crypt Rats and try to play around them. Post SB you should bring in Doom Blade (take that Prismatic Strands ) and Dross Golem (for their pro black stuff). After SB, they have one of the strongest weapons against MBC - Obsidian Acolyte, but you should just try to keep your Diabolic Edict only for the pro-black dude and the match should be yours fairly quickly.
Pauper Storm:
Easy Match. The Pauper Storm don't like discard very much and this is exactly what MBC is all about. They can stop Okiba-Gang Shinobi only by going off before it hits them and I guarantee you that they cannot win if you hit them two times with Shinobi. Post SB you should Side out Tendrils of Corruption, but keep the Crypt Rats, because he may try to kill you with goblins. My final advice for this match is how to use your Distress and Duress - always remove the storm cards first and draw spells after that!
Fish:
I haven't tested enough this match to have opinion... This deck list is for all Fish lovers out there that have missed the PE two weeks ago.Enjoy!
Bad match-ups - Teachings MBCu variation, G/W cloack
Good match-ups - Goblins, Slivers, Pauper Storm
Tied match-ups- MBCu, Mirror
Conclusions:
I don't think that this deck has a match that is unwinnable! Seriously! It is so strong that even the decks that are specifically designed to have good match-up vs MBC don't win more than 60% of the time. So if you are new to the PDC or you are die hard spike (or both :) )I strongly recommend you this deck. The best part about buying it is that you can really easy upgrade it to MBCu or UB Teachings (recent versions), which are kind of the hottest decks right now. So you practically buy one expensive deck, but receive almost half of tier 1 meta :)
I want to mention that I really hate this deck and Crypt Rats and I really think that the rats should be banned! The meta will be more interesting because right now there are bunch of funny/innovative decks that can't do jack due to the MBC... But there is nothing I can do about it, so I can only hope that you have liked my article and some of you will think of a way to devastate this nasty Mono Black Control.
Few Random Final Words:
Everything that I wrote here is my opinion and I am open to constructive criticism.
That's all for now guys. See you in two weeks!
“I’m one card short of a full deck, I'm not quite the shilling!”
21 Comments
Banning Crypt Rats would mean Aggro had a real chance. Aggro doesn't recover well in Pauper (put any aggro into topdeck mode, and they fold over if you wipe their board). I would not be opposed to that.
Incidentally the Fish matchup is pretty good, too, for MBC. Fish plays counter control without generating loads of CA (except through ninja of the deep hours, and the inherent 2-1 that is Spellstutter Sprite), and against MBC, can't play either Control or Aggro very well.
I share the same opinion, Crypt Rats should be banned. The card really hurts the format, making it almost impossible for a number of decks to survive, decks that would otherwise be good ones. Without the rats, MBC is still a great game but rats is the only accessible Wrath effect on the format.
*rolls eyes* Yes rats are poweful but i think you guys forget that red also has wrath effects. Infact red Has 2 that i can think of off the top of my head. (martyr and swirling sandstorm)
There's a massive difference between a 4-damage-to-all-creatures spell that is conditional (threshold), a conditional "X to all creatures", and crypt rats. Crypt rats is by far the best wrath effect in pauper, and it does seriously warp the format. MBC/MBCu are the *best* decks in the format. They have been despite all the hate over the last year plus. It's time to shake up the metagame. Ban crypt rats.
SlashRus is a heckuva player, but the originators of MBC in PDC are way before he joined up in the PDC Community. GSG, Boin, Jaknife, Bellete and others all did work on the deck and tweaking, then making it popular well before Slash started playing PDC heavily. He actually started off with MUC, and shifted over to MBC after a few events. Just want credit where credit is due.
MBC would be hated out the format if people were willing to commit themselves to do so. Unfortunatelly, thats not the case. Also a classic card pool may lead to warped like formats.
Excellent article. I love your breakdowns of all the decks in Pauper and how their different match-ups are like :)
Keep 'em comin' !
I also think that Crypt Rats should be banned. Like another poster in here said, its time to shake up the meta game and take out the Crypt Rats. I really think aggro needs a good chance in the format and would stand a better chance with Crypt Rats out of the picture.
To sum up the age-old crypt rats debate:
*Crypt rats are overpowered because they are the truest board wipe in the format -- if every wrath of god is uncommon, rats are a common only by historical accident.
Counterpoint: simply because a card is the best at what it does, does not mean it should be banned. There are numerous cards that behave similarly to rats, though admittedly they are less effective. Rats does have drawbacks as well to offset it being the best at its roll. It is a creature card, cannot hit prot black creatures, damages its controller, is very swamp intensive, etc.
*Crypt rats warp the metagame by devastating aggro decks.
Counterpoint: It would be an interesting world if crypt rats were banned, but honestly the decks that would proliferate would probably be horrible to play/play against (elves, tokens, etc.) and control might wither altogether. Further, aggro still top 8s consistently, showing that to some extent the card can be played around, even as aggro. Decks like GW cloak show that the metagame can deal with rats, at least to a degree so we don't have the Cranial Plating problem.
*Crypt rats warp the metagame by making MBC crowd out other control decks.
Counterpoint: As it is, plenty of top control decks (e.g., teachings, parlor tricks) do not rely on rats. It is far from obvious that the card warps the format any more than does mulldrifter, a card that very nearly single-handedly blows out board control decks, and probably is played more widely than rats. Also, see above: most other control decks would not be functional in a world where black control didn't weed out a good deal of creature aggro decks.
another answer to crypt rats is just for aggro decks to play smarter. If youre playing against black then quite simply dont overextend to the point where rats is good game. Its like playing against wrath...do you play out each and every creature you get so wrrath wrecks your day? no you save some so you can have a board position after it goes off. same with crypt rats.
I agree, any aggro deck player that does not pay heed to the concept of controlled aggression will inevitably leave themselves open to horrible game ending plays. On the other hand such decks may not have enough reach if they wait too long to deal 20 to the dome.
I'm sorry, but holding back in fear of rats isn't the way I'd run at all. It just gives them time to draw into another rat, and possibly gain the needed life to be GG.
true but if you dont understand the concept of not overextending then there is no hope
I agree.. Just pointing out that under-extension is potentially worse.
there is a difference between under-extension and holding a couple of cards in hand so that you have game post-wrath
Even though I think crypt rats should be banned. I will just stick to playing standard card pooled PREs No crypt rats in there.
Seriously arguing for a ban on crypt rats is idiotic. Most control decks don't even run the card, it's not crypt rats that makes mbcu insane. People that want the card banned probably don't understand the format and are the same people that would say wog in std should be banned. Crypt rats isn't even that great... it's not a true wrath it's very conditional and mana intensive. Top 8 of the pe this weekend, ONE mbcu. It's a good deck but for one it doesn't completely dominate the format and two crypt rats is not the card that makes it insane. I hope someone from wizards doesn't read this and seriously think crypt rats needs to be banned. If bitterblossom wasn't banned, there's no way crypt rats should be.
Is English your second language? I really mean no offense, but your spelling/grammar is terrible. Couldn't you maybe let someone edit your article before posting it? Or at least run it through a spell checker?
Ways to beat Crypt Rats:
1: Counter it (Faerie Trickery is best, anything can work).
2: Wear protection (Pro Black isn't all that rare in the board, as is Benevolent Bodyguard)
3: I'll continue... Circle of Pro: Black, Prismatic Strands, etc.
There are a fair number of ways to deal with crypt rats beside those 2, and I know it takes away room for innovation, but look at any top 8 and there will be Slivers, Goblins, Elves, Cloak, Thresh, Affinity, etc.
Not to mention the Fish decks, PPS, and Teachings.
Look at top 8 or two to see whether a card is broken before suggesting banning it, please.
I'm fine with crypt rats being out there. My biggest beef is teachings, which, if they resolve one, they have answers for pretty much everything you can cast. Crypt rats are so far from broken.
I'm not sure if it's me or if some higher power doesn't want me to play pauper but I get worked in the queues, even against the decks that this is supposed to have a good matchup against. This is true of all the pauper decks I have played (I seem to do fine in other formats just not pauper).
My matchups were:
2-man #1 Affinity
game 1: I have a so-so to decent draw but keep because I have a crypt rats and a diabolic edict. I then proceed to watch him lay down some dudes and I expend my removal while I put out a few of my own guys. He then proceeds to kill me with krark-clan shaman and 2x disciple of the vault by saccing everything.
game 2: I open 5 lands. I mull to 5: I squeak this one out by taking out his shaman and 1 disciple while holding off his hover guard and 2x enforcers and only survive because I top deck like a champ.
game 3: I open with 6 lands. I mull to 6 keeping 4 land and 2 spells. I draw 2 business spells and then 10 land in a row and die to the same krark-clan and 2x disciple combo.
how should I sideboard for this matchup?
2-man #2 MBCu
I don't remember the games exactly with this match but I was never in any of them. I had to mull in both games and despite ripping 2 probes out of his hand and hitting him with an okiba his draw was too much and he just could recover faster than me after exhausting both of our hands. Not sure what else I could have done with this one.
2-Man #3 Goblins & Burn
This deck was different than most builds and used cards that generated multiple tokens like dragon fodder with a new goblin in Zendikar that gives all his creatures +1/+0 when he comes into play. This is backed up with burn as well.
This went to three games with me mulling in at least 2 games (see a trend here?). I remember that I had trouble with the fact that I would stabilize on too low of a life total and end up very susceptible to being burned out. With all the burn that the deck packed I had a hard time getting blockers to stick as well as him having multiple pump guys which made blocking unprofitable not to mention the fact that I was doing a ton of damage digging for answers with a bunch of cards that hurt myself. I only saw maybe 2 tendrils in all three games and I ended up dead before I could use corrupt in the last game.
Any tips on how to sideboard for specific matchups? I find that I often don't have the time to play a lot of the cards in the deck before I am too far behind to use some of them. When I get to about 5 mana I end up in too many situations where I either have to tendrils a guy only to have him replace that guy the next turn or I can play a guy to block and hope my opponent doesn't have removal. In either case I feel like I am often on the back foot fighting to stay in the game.
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