This deck is often referred to as "The Gate," it was originally a legacy deck. This is a version modified to work in modern. The name “Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here” is a reference to the Divine Comedy.
The Gate is an interesting deck because it combines the best of what people see in other black-centric archetypes:
1) Removal (discard and kill spells)
2) Attrition (2-for-1 effects)
2) Card Advantage (Dark Confidant and Bitterblossom)
What do you get when you combine these? A really interesting mono black deck with a simple disruption beat-down strategy. The name of the game for "the gate" is card advantage. You want to 1-for-1 and 2-for-1 your opponent as much as humanly possible until they run out of stuff. All the while you are generating a huge advantage with cards like Bitterblossom and Dark Confidant. This is a deck that will remind modern players that Bitterblossom had a spot on the ban list for a reason - even though faeries put it there.
This deck that makes Dark Confidant shine the most out of any other I have seen because you are consistently able to set up a situation where they have to topdeck an answer for him - all the while being beaten to death by your army of dudes. In my experience playing the deck, a resolved and well timed Bitterblossom and/or Dark Confidant is how you win. Of course, it also wins with many different combinations of beatdown and attrition. Desecration Demon also does the job all by himself if left alone for a few turns. This is all made possible by forcing your opponent into topdeck mode early.
I'm very interested in splashing white into this deck, which I have done in this list. I’m always looking for suggestions! Leave a +1 and comment if you like the list!
