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By: SpikeBoyM, Alex Ullman
Mar 17 2010 2:52am
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Thank you to everyone for the response to my last article. Every one of your comments mattered, but there was one that stood out, and he did not even post. The Monday after my article went live, I was under the weather, but went into work anyway. Shortly after I arrived, I got a message to call back someone else in my field.

This is not rare- Student Affairs professionals trade information relatively often, whether it is about program implementation or references. I gave the gentleman a call back and heard these words:

I'm a pretty avid Magic player and a fan of your articles.”

I have to say, I nearly burst into tears. The rest of the conversation revolved around Magic, the tragedy, and upcoming conferences. This man, my colleague in the world of Magic and the world of Higher Education, managed to find me, and reached out. This is why I love my field.

This is why I love this game.

Thank you again, to everyone.

Now, Magic!

I have said it before and I will say it again: I love the Graveyard. Almost every Black deck I build for Pauper has some way to utilize this zone as a resource. My paper EDH decks and online Commander decks, the same. Heck, my favorite Commander deck is based around Kuon, Ogre Ascendant and regrowing enough creatures to just beat everyone else. My one foray into paper Vintage was way back when it was Type 1. I had a Type 2 legal Reanimator deck, with Animate Dead and Necromancy. I shoehorned in a Sol Ring and Demonic Tutor and won enough matches to get my rating up to 1616. I crushed more than one obscene combo deck with Crash of Rhinos that day.

Why do I love that zone so? I think it is something deep rooted in my psyche- I love extracting every last bit of value from things. I hate throwing out clothes because I might wear them to a theme party- it takes me forever to throw out paper because I might need scrap (thankfully, I have not reached the class of “Hoarder” just yet- I need to level up a few more times and acquire a few more feats). Going back to the Blightning deck I used to place 10th in a PE over a year ago, I fought long and hard to keep such bad cards as Pit Keeper in the deck because I liked how they worked. Against better players' judgment, I ran Vithian Stinger main because of the (perceived) value I could milk from that pingers body. The act of reanimating something and then using it, well, it just makes me smile. It is almost like those crazy designers at Wizards made Unearth just for me.

I write about this because in a few short weeks, Pauper is going to be getting access to the its first reanimation spell that can cheat a card into play. While Stir the Grave is cute, paying +1 for a creature just to get it back is not a good time. Exhume, however, is far more exciting. For the low low cost of 1B, this card will allow you to get back a problematic (for your adversary) creature very quickly, and the tools exist to make this very one sided.

Before pursuing such a deck, I want to ask- does Pauper want a reanimator deck? Right now, the top decks are, in some order, Goblins, Storm, White Weenie, and the UB Control spectrum (ranging from Ub Teachings all the way to MBC/u). Does Reanimator slot in here? Without any testing, I am inclined to say probably. From a pure goldfish hypothesis point, Reanimator can put Goblins on the defensive turn one and has tools to fight what Control can throw at the face. The biggest problem with the deck will be its consistency. With only four true reanimation spells (Stir the Grave does not count), the deck will likely play far more like a combo deck, and if that is the case, why not play Storm?

These are all questions I will answer, once I get my hands on some Urza's Saga. For now, I am going to let my inner Timmy take over and think about all the potentially cool things Paupers can do in a few short weeks.

The way I see it, Exhume decks can take one of two routes- Dimir and Rakdos. Both styles have potent one mana discard outlets in Careful Study and Burning Inquiry, and where Blue provides added disruption and better card draw, whereas Red provides the opportunity to hardcast potential threats.

Speaking of, let us take a look at potential Exhume Targets.

Mulldrifter: Might as well start here. I know a 2/2 does not look that impressive, but cheating this guy into play turn one, well, just tickles me in ways that are probably illegal in Nebraska. Is it worth investing two-three cards just for this payoff? Probably not, but I would be remiss not to mention the possibility.

Twisted Abomination: This guy has the added potential to get itself into the yard while helping to fix mana. On top of that, it has some build in protection in the form of Regeneration and also hits for five. The vulnerability to Lightning Bolt is a problem, especially when tapping out, but I have a soft spot for the A-bom, so he is on my short list.

Blastoderm: Another fat beat stick that can dodge removal, the 'Derm just happens to be in the same color as some fantastic discard outlets- Wild Mongrel anyone- while also presenting a threat that can only be answered by Edicts before turn three, and not much else after that. The downside to the Fires all star is that you are unlikely to be able to hard cast it in any deck, as Green is lacking the tools to help such a deck.

Scuzzback Marauders: Green and Red, this one is far more likely to be hard cast than Blastoderm thanks to the one colored mana cost (and it's a Hybrid cost to boot!). Scuzzback can end a game just as fast as 'Derm, cares less about blockers thanks to Trample, and like Abomination has resilience to removal in the form of Persist. Unlike Abomination, it does not have any additional utility, but still should warrant a spot because it does not care about blockers or removal all that much.

Macetail Hystrodon: This guy, is, well, interesting. You are almost never going hard cast this one, but hitting it on turn one can be devastating. With Haste, he is almost guaranteed to hit your opponent at least once, and First Strike invalidates all sorts of blocking scenarios early in the game. The Don can also cycle (albeit for a hefty 3), helping to ensure your Exhume will hit something of value.

Krosan Tusker is nice and fat, and will almost for sure be in your graveyard. However, he is vulnerable to removal and has no form of evasion, so as anything except a way to fix your mana and draw cards, he is rather unexciting.

This is not an exhaustive list of fat, but rather those creatures that came to mind when I started thinking about Exhume decks. It should be clear that Red provides the best potential creatures to help make the most of taking a creature out of the 'yard for your own devices. At the same time, cards like Burning Inquiry are problematic since you never know if you will end up chucking an important combination piece instead of the intended creature. This means the Blue is likely to be the primary support color, as the Island based discard outlets are more reliable than their Mountain brethren. Here is a short list of potential support cards:

Dark Ritual/Lotus Petal: These cards fill the same role, allowing for explosive starts. Our deck is looking to run a few different colors, while being based in Black, so the potential to come out of the gates quick is contingent on having strong mana and sometimes, two different colors. These cards also give our deck that dirty combo feeling.

Careful Study: A core spell for all sorts of reanimator decks, the Study not only digs you two cards deep while ensuring you will be able to dump something you want to into your graveyard. Study can also be cast off a lone Lotus Petal, providing the potential explosive start that this deck could benefit from.

Putrid Imp: Not much beats this card for turn one discard outlets. Conveniently combines with Exhume to make the best use of a Dark Ritual.

Duress: We are going to go through a lot of trouble to make a fast monster, protecting it would be a wise investment.

Bojuka Bog: This is the card that helps to ensure we are not invalidating out late game plan. Exhume, for all the great things it does, is symmetrical in duels, meaning that if they have a dead monster, they get it back. This is bad news. Bog, however, helps you for free. They cannot stop Bo from exiling their graveyard, leaving you free and clear to dig up your dead with impunity.

Rotting Rats/Creatures with Unearth: If you are going to be discarding, then it makes sense to get the most out of your investments. Rats also doubles as a great discard outlet while combating control decks. Back in the Wild West days of Pauper, I was able to use Rotting Rats to great effect, keeping my opponent one card back from where they wanted to be.

Removal: If you choose a creature without evasion, you want it to connect. Cards like Doom Blade or Ghastly Demise are probably best, as they are the least color intense and also are rather cost effective.

Compulsive Research/Probe: More Blue discard options, these also have alternative uses, either punishing your opponent in the late game or helping load your hand with useful threats.

My first draft of an Exhume deck would probably look something like this:

 

11 Swamp

4 Island

1 Mountain

2 Bojuka Bog

2 Veinfire Borderpost

1 Mistvein Borderpost

4 Lotus Petal

4 Dark Ritual

4 Duress

4 Exhume

4 Putrid Imp

4 Careful Study

4 Twisted Abomination

3 Macetail Hystrodon

3 Scuzzback Marauders

3 Rotting Rats

 

This is totally untested, and just from looking, I can tell my sideboard is going to have to do a lot of work. The mana is also almost assuredly wrong, and the deck is going to want some serious help fighting in the early game.

However, this is a jump off point. I cannot test just yet, as I do not have access to the cards. Jump off points are important as they often push an idea to the limit- this is an Exhume deck, and might be pushing the strategy too hard. If Exhume proves to be a false deck- an idea that does not have the cards behind it to make a viable deck, these ideas often provide source material for supplemental strategies in other decks.

This exercise is just that: an exercise. I want Exhume to be a viable deck, not only because I think it is cool, but also because it would add another wrinkle to the Pauper metagame. Deep down, I almost know the deck has no tournament chops.

But then again, Dredge started as a half-joke. So who knows.

Switching gears, I want to talk a little bit about something I started last year, and have recently taken off of MTGO and implemented in my paper Magic circles: Pauper Cube.

Cube is a proprietary draft format where one person provides all the cards. Traditionally, they are made with the absolute best cards available to crafted to create a specific draft environment. Me? I love commons, so I developed a long way of cubing, using a list of cards that were associated with a number, and sending out lists of random numbers to help create sealed pools. We even had a long winded draft set up, where we would PM our packs to each other. The fact that we did this more than once shows just how much cube can be.

PDC Hero fablex then developed a site where one could upload a .txt file of a list of cards, then create a two person Winston, or a 4, 6, or 8 person draft from this “cube” of cards. This made cubing far easier.

Unlike real life, everyone needs to have access to the cards, but being commons, this is easy enough to achieve. The cube I am presenting is missing some of the premium commons like Daze and Rancor, simply because most of my draft partners are unlikely to have them.

My cube has not been updated with Worldwake online, so please take that into consideration when looking at the list.

 

 

White pushes the theme of helping each other out, while also having some tempo oriented removal spells. White also has a soldier theme, so if you see a Daru Stinger early, pick him up- he can be quite the bomb.

 

 

Blue is full of stupidly good Blue cards. While the beef is lacking, it has some incredibly swingy spells and has the best options for the long game.

 

 

Black has two main roles- attrition and beat down. It is the best at removal, and while it has some good creatures, it loses out in the aggro department to other creatures.

 

 

Red is Red. Lots of Goblins and burn. I am looking for ways to make Red more robust, so suggestions are welcome.

 

 

Green is Green. Mana fixing, fat, and pump. Another color that needs some depth, any suggestions are welcome.

 

 

Artifacts and land help round out the cube.

 

Multicolor Cube
 
Creatures
1 Deft Duelist
1 Galina's Knight
1 Minister of Impediments
1 Barrenton Cragtreads
1 Esper Cormorants
1 Silkbind Faerie
1 Silver Drake
1 Talon Trooper
1 Vedalken Outlander
1 Cavern Harpy
1 Vodalian Zombie
1 Wanderbrine Rootcutters
1 Dimir Infiltrator
1 Etherium Abomination
1 Tidehollow Strix
1 Gravelgill Axeshark
1 Zombie Outlander
1 Goblin Deathraiders
1 Shivan Zombie
1 Lava Zombie
1 Monstrous Carabid
1 Sootwalkers
1 Gobhobbler Rats
1 Rakdos Ickspitter
1 Goblin Outlander
1 Deadshot Minotaur
1 Rhox Brute
1 Horned Kavu
1 Yavimaya Barbarian
1 Mudbrawler Raiders
1 Scab-Clan Mauler
1 Scuzzback Marauders
1 Streetbreaker Wurm
1 Tattermunge Duo
1 Nacatl Outlander
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Rhox Bodyguard
1 Llanowar Knight
1 Raven's Run Dragoon
1 Steel Leaf Paladin
1 Old Ghastbark
1 Leonin Armorguard
1 Valeron Outlander
1 Blind Hunter
1 Harvest Gwyllion
1 Goblin Legionnaire
1 Thundersong Trumpeter
1 Cerodon Yearling
1 Skyknight Legionnaire
1 Noggle Bridgebreaker
1 Razorfin Hunter
1 Noggle Bandit
1 Izzet Chronarch
1 Putrid Leech
1 Shambling Shell
1 Golgari Rotwurm
1 Rendclaw Trow
1 Gaea's Skyfolk
1 Winged Coatl
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Grixis Grimblade
1 Bant Sureblade
1 Esper Stormblade
1 Naya Hushblade
1 Jund Hackblade
65 cards

Other Spells
1 Hindering Light
1 Plumes of Peace
1 Curse of Chains
1 Fieldmist Borderpost
1 Soul Manipulation
1 Consult the Necrosages
1 Agony Warp
1 Recoil
1 Mistvein Borderpost
1 Plague Spores
1 Riot Spikes
1 Terminate
1 Veinfire Borderpost
1 Wrecking Ball
1 Branching Bolt
1 Firewild Borderpost
1 Colossal Might
1 Barkshell Blessing
1 Armadillo Cloak
1 Seeds of Strength
1 Sigil Blessing
1 Wildfield Borderpost
1 Castigate
1 Pillory of the Sleepless
1 Unmake
1 Fire at Will
1 Quicksilver Dagger
1 Consume Strength
1 Snakeform
1 Temporal Spring
30 cards
Lands
0 cards
 
Armadillo Cloak

 

Multicolored cards help to round out each color, while also providing the backbone for certain archetypes. Sometimes, seeing a Blind Hunter early is reason enough to force Orzhov.

If Cube Draft is something people are interested it, please let me know, and I would be more than happy to keep talking about my cubes, both online and in real life.

Keep slingin' commons,

-Alex

 

29 Comments

hmmm just out of curiosity i by ShardFenix at Wed, 03/17/2010 - 06:47
ShardFenix's picture

hmmm just out of curiosity i think green could work. You do have early discard outlets like Wild Mongrel and Greenseeker and I think Fa'adiyah Seer was a common as well. You also gain access to ramping into effects like stir the grave...and still get access to blastoderm, A-bom, youre green so splash for the hystrodon?

It won't work by KoRnZYSIEK at Wed, 03/17/2010 - 09:40
KoRnZYSIEK's picture

Reanimator is a nice option, but I would do rather UB with draw and counter as old reanimator used to be. In this deck you get journey to nowhere from WW, counterspell on exhume from every deck that has it (mainly UB, but there are always some MUC variants) and probably innocent blood/diabolic edict/doom blade from MBC, or you got your exhume discarded via duress. Not to mention that many of decks run graveyard distruption nowadays. You plan to get a fatty out and win with it. You got only 4 exhume against pool full of removal. Don't think it's gonna work.

And you have only 4 draws. What if you don't get your exhume? You concede?

Won't work indeed by Morkje (not verified) at Wed, 03/17/2010 - 10:03
Morkje's picture

I like the idea, but it as Kornzysiek saus, it's all in on a plan that's hardly a definate win.

The dewck needs at least another reanimate spell, and better targets preverably with shroud or evasion.

Agro decks will be able to race this since all your guys can be blocked ( except marauders which dies after 2 blocks)
Even combo can get a turn 4 kill which is still faster than your turn 1 Macetail.

Don't wanna bash creative ideas, but I really can't see this work.
I like the idea of BG with Blastoderm. Making exhume just an option instead of THE gameplan.

well I would have liked a by JustSin at Wed, 03/17/2010 - 12:15
JustSin's picture
5

well I would have liked a visual on the deck u talked about, but I love the cube idea and personally I'd like to read more on it

Just a quick thought -> evoke by KoRnZYSIEK at Wed, 03/17/2010 - 15:33
KoRnZYSIEK's picture

Just a quick thought -> evoke + exhume can be quite nice-> mulldrifter and aether snipe are creatures that you may want to exhume and aren't totally useless without. Mournwhelk is also an option. Maybe UB Tortured Existence + Dredge + Exhume could work? Or splash W for blink and make some evoke craziness, also Rift Watchers will be nice. Or you can keep the BG way and make it like Morkje said with exhume being an additional effect.

If you evoke mulldrifter, by Anonymous (not verified) at Wed, 03/17/2010 - 16:23
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If you evoke mulldrifter, will evoke go on the stack with the card draw, in a way that you can blink it, draw 4 cards, and not have to sac the drifter... or will you lose the drifter afterall?

One of my favorite tricks is by Paul Leicht at Wed, 03/17/2010 - 16:47
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One of my favorite tricks is Crystal Shards out. Cast Mull with evoke, put the evoke on the stack and return the drifter to my hand. so for 4 mana I get 2 cards...Perhaps not as fun as getting a 2/2 body +2 cards for 5 but it works.

How about adding exhume to by rickwins1971 (not verified) at Wed, 03/17/2010 - 16:53
rickwins1971's picture

How about adding exhume to Parlor Tricks. It has plenty of removal to kill whatever they get and can be another part of the tool box.

While I love the idea of by AndreFM (not verified) at Wed, 03/17/2010 - 17:08
AndreFM's picture

While I love the idea of reanimator in pauper, I think the concept is fundamentally flawed for one very simple reason: lack of reanimator-quality finishers. The whole point of reanimation is obviously to get a hard to remove beast into play as early as possible and smash face with it in a couple turns. "True" reanimator decks are geared towards getting these finishers in the graveyard, bringing them out and protecting them. In pauper we simply do not have a Spirit of the Night or an Akroma equivalent, I'm afraid.

Another reason I'm not sold in the idea is can you imagine how crap it is to have exhume in hand when your opponent has something like Mulldrifter in the grave? Or Aven Riftwatcher? Mogg War Marshal? Since pauper is so much more creature based, and since pauper creatures aren't remotely "unfair", when you exhume you won't get as much of an advantage as you should over your opponent.

Hate to be a party-pooper but even though I love exhume, I don't think we can "break" it in pauper. Which doesn't mean there aren't some interesting deck design avenues that it could open.. just means we have to put it to a very different use from what's been done in other formats.

How about Lady Orca (7/4)as a by Rerepete at Wed, 03/17/2010 - 22:07
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How about Lady Orca (7/4)as a finisher??

I'm not clear...when is by deluxeicoff at Thu, 03/18/2010 - 00:38
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I'm not clear...when is Exhume getting printed again, and what are the details?

Exhume is in Urza's Sage by middleman35 (not verified) at Thu, 03/18/2010 - 01:32
middleman35's picture

Exhume is in Urza's Sage which is having Pre-Release begining Friday, March 26. And Release on March 31. http://www.wizards.com/Magic/digital/MagicOnline.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magi...

Idea for next article: by ghweiss at Thu, 03/18/2010 - 14:50
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Idea for next article: explain all the reasons why that Exhume deck won't win a match. I think you could probably hit 1000 words. I think you could also build a better deck afterward, too!

I think the best way to by Numdiar (not verified) at Thu, 03/18/2010 - 15:33
Numdiar's picture

I think the best way to approach reanimator in pauper is to make it a g/b rock deck that plays efficient cards. Krosan tusker cycles for value and is a great exhume target while wild mongrel would give a discard outlet that's powerful on its own. With this kind of deck, it would be easy to work exhume in without making any actual sacrifices in card power for it. Another option would be to just work exhume into the current g/b madness decks and play it alongside tortured existance.

Surely Tireless Tribe is the by Anonymous (not verified) at Sun, 03/21/2010 - 18:28
Anonymous's picture

Surely Tireless Tribe is the being overlooked here? it worked well enough in extended dredge decks not so long ago?

And Bojuka Bog will make it one sided if you just hold it in hand until ready to reanimate

Then just slot in loads of creatures with enters the battlefield and/or cycling and your away...fault grinder comes to mind...

turn 1 tribe, turn 2 4/4 trampler with the other guy on no lands...seems like the games over there and then to me, especially if the other guys opted for a sub-optimal low land hand

or what about playing it in a blue agro/control deck as a splash, drop down a draw 1 discard 1 guy then plump Errant Ephemeron into play on turn 4 with 2 mana open for your counter spell as protection

I do agree that the main weakness is a lack of decent targets but for the time being I think exhume opens up a fair few avenues, unearth (the card) will only just be around the corner and that will surely add punch too

Eldrazi by bbkingadrock (not verified) at Wed, 03/24/2010 - 00:24
bbkingadrock's picture

The mothership put up the Rise visual spoiler tonight, and there is a common fella of some interest....

yeah the common eldrazi they by ShardFenix at Wed, 03/24/2010 - 00:47
ShardFenix's picture

yeah the common eldrazi they spoiled tonight has pauper reanimator target all over him. He is an 8/8 for 8 with Annihilator 2 and This creature must attack each turn if able...yeah if you are on the play they will have what 2 lands by your first attack? gg

Reanimator brokenness by Akujin92553 (not verified) at Wed, 03/24/2010 - 14:58
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Exhume is going to way better then thought because the Eldrazi commons are going to be huge. The deck might be really fast and lockable with an Annihilator creature turn 1.

The deck still relies by Anonymous (not verified) at Sat, 03/27/2010 - 06:17
Anonymous's picture

The deck still relies entirely on 4 Exhume. It's not going to work without another reanimation spell, you're too vulnerable to Duress or counter magic, or just not drawing your Exhumes.

Two Decks Idea by KoRnZYSIEK at Sat, 03/27/2010 - 17:21
KoRnZYSIEK's picture

As I said before this list is not acceptable. Think that with eldarazi locking on turn 2 you can go two ways. One is to try it as combo deck like Storm. If you follow this path I suggest making it UB, and looking roughly like this:

3 (Chromatic Star)
3 (Chromatic Sphere)
4 (Dark Ritual)
4 (Cabal Ritual)

4 (Ideas Unbound)
3 (Ponder)
4 (Careful Study)
4 (Mental Note)
4 (Sign in Blood)

4 Eldarazi Guys
4 Exhume

4 (Lotus Petal)

And some lands possibly with the invasion lands, and (Bojuka Bog)

Than sideboard would be some discards for Storm and some counters for combo protection. Maybe it could work, but I still think Storm is better.

The second thought is to make it an GB control with Tortured Existence, the idea is to have it working like Oath combo. You dredge all your library away and then put some cards on top of your library with Battlefield Scrounger, stall the game with moment's peace and reccuring rootwallas/grave scrabblers, gain card advantage with Yavimaya Elder's and play eldarazi via exhume or making enough mana and reccur it with tortured existence. Something like this:

4 (Tortured Existence)
4 Exhume

4 (Wild Mongrel)
3 (Basking Rootwalla)
4 (Grave Scrabbler)
3 (Yavimaya Elder)

2 (Battlefield Scrounger)
3 Eldarazi

4 (Stinkweed Imp)
3 (Golgari Brownscale)

4 Moment's Peace

And about 22 lands.

What do you think?

Deck above by Morkje (not verified) at Tue, 03/30/2010 - 09:39
Morkje's picture

They look like they could work, but note sure why they would be better than the "original" versions of those decks.

By the time you have dredged you should have been able to win with all the card advantage of the grave scrabllers. YOu dont need some big 8/8 to win I think.
Same with the Storm. Not sure that the 8/8 would be better than using grapshot/empty the warrens.

I think a must for reanimate with Crusher is Dragon Breath from Legions.
Pitch that as well to study/imp and get a 8/8 HASTE annihilator.

But the deck really needs another ( cheap) reanimation spell to work.
If only they had made Animate Dead a common....

In storm it means cutting one by KoRnZYSIEK at Fri, 04/02/2010 - 10:21
KoRnZYSIEK's picture

In storm it means cutting one color out, and makes it more stable. I think it could be about turn faster, but it may be a false impression. Also means you can side in combo protection, and play some normal lands and it can be more resistant in games after sideboard.

In TE it allows you to win quickly. Often playing this deck with control I had problem with forcing my creatures attack. This helps to win before they get the board under control. Also now looking at this list I would change 2 Scroungers for 2 Krosan Tuskers - a must in card in this deck, also worth exhuming.

The haste option is really good. It speeds up the combo by one turn.

isnt false defeat usable in by Mamba at Mon, 05/17/2010 - 18:42
Mamba's picture

isnt false defeat usable in all commons/pauper?
i made deck like this on mws:
8 eldrazi guys
4tireless tribe

4 exhume 4 false by Mamba at Mon, 05/17/2010 - 18:44
Mamba's picture

4 exhume
4 false defeat
4careful study
4 frantic search
3 probe
4 accumulated knowledge
4 dragon breath

lands:
3 halimar depths
4 evolving depths
4 terramorphic exp
4 island
3 plains
3 swamp

well that will work next year by ShardFenix at Mon, 05/17/2010 - 19:54
ShardFenix's picture

well that will work next year unless accumulated knowledge was in a special set and what exactly are you reanimating?

ShardFenix, i wrote 2 texts, by Mamba at Mon, 05/17/2010 - 20:23
Mamba's picture

ShardFenix, i wrote 2 texts, the first one says 8 eldrazi guys, that 8/8 and 7/7 guys. Deck is pretty fast, acc and probe are here instead of control, cause if you drop that huge guy you want to do it asap, not when you have also mana for counterspell. Besides, with this sick draw you can very easily keep presure without control to keep existing ones alive. I putted daze and intervention in sb just in case of white, cause it is terrible against reanimating stuff cause of all rfg spells(unmake, jounrey, oblivion ring). I love making diferent decks and this one is intriguing me much, so id love to hear flaws and cons :) Peace

Ahhh ok I missed the first by ShardFenix at Mon, 05/17/2010 - 22:46
ShardFenix's picture

Ahhh ok I missed the first one so i did not see tireless tribe or the eldrazi. The deck overall looks tight but is still currently unplayable on mtgo. However I would move daze to the main because its a 'free' counterspell if you tapped out to reanimate on turn 2.

:) np shardfenix, i had daze by Mamba at Tue, 05/18/2010 - 09:10
Mamba's picture

:) np shardfenix, i had daze mainboarded before but sometimes i didnt get what i want so frantic search helped me a lot and i need 3 mana to play it. This is much more stable, but i still see you are also right with your comment if i come across some fearie controll or discard (duress ouch:) )

I have been working on a by EvilLost at Sat, 05/29/2010 - 22:53
EvilLost's picture

I have been working on a version of this deck myself recently focused more on card control that is only B.

Dark and Cabal ritual for mana accel
Ghastly Demise for some black removal
Dragon enchant - R and G version for haste and trample (trample is to deal with goblins or any of the various eldrazi/other token generators)
Last Rites - I used to run delirium skeins but this is superior than that in every way.
Abom/Eldrazi 8/8 are my 2 exhume targets.
Organ Grinder: Any of my cards in the GY other than my creatures are useless to me, so i organ grin dthem away. plus it can't be negated with CoP.
Rotting Rats is great for obvious reasons.
Duress/Distress.
currently my deck is mono black, but if ht opponent counters or removes my early exhumed creature, i'm pretty much dead. Been thinking of splashing U for probe, some enchant/instant thta gives my creature shroud (and maybe unblockable? a few come to mind) or other good draw/discards like Mental note or the draw 2/discard 2.

Overall, it plays almost like a straigh discard deck that tries to buy time to get the combo out, or on good draws just dumps it super early. Works better than expected against MUC or storm thanks to hand disruption, but aggro decks just destroy me unless i can hit a very early exhume. been experimenting greatly with the sb, switching out the hand disruption for all osrts of mass removal from crypt rats to nausea...