Death Favors the Prepared

Standard* Bababad

SCORE: 39 | 110 COMMENTS | 9695 VIEWS | IN 21 FOLDERS


FNM (Went Very Well) —March 9, 2013

Went 2-1 at FNM (left before last round because of prior engagement)

Round 1: 5 color control with Assemble the Legion 0-2

Stood toe to toe....but last handily when AtL resolved twice (boarded Curse of Death's Hold to compensate, though he was getting very lucky with Detention Spheres and Supreme Verdict (he top decked for his life multiple times).

Round 2: Naya Aggro (Oh Boy) 2-0

Boros Reckoner, Trostani, Selesnya's Voice, Rhox Faithmender, Spark Trooper Silverblade Paladin, and Thragtusk (OUCH). Was able to keep his win cons under control in first game Desecration Demon and two Victim of Night really screwed with his tempo and a Vampire Nighthawk and Liliana of the Dark Realms -3 won me the game. In game two i resolved 4 Nighthawks....at the same time...it was fortunate and tragic/hilarious.

Round 3: Boros Aggro

Legion Loyalist, Fencing Ace, Firemane Avenger, Boros Charm, Boros Reckoner were the only cards i saw. First game was nip and tuck, but i stopped her aggro at turn 4 (i had 12 life)...Sign in Blood'd into a VoN and Ultimate Price, which left her unable to stop my Lord of the Void from ganking a Reckoner from her :) In game two she got mana boned and i had nighthawk, into D. Demon, into Bloodgift.....with kill cards...so it was an easy win.

Afterwards i went to a buddy's house and played agianst their decks.

Acquired a set of Deathrite Shaman after liquidating some Hellrider (super excited about it). It is a pretty good tempo maker for burn, rarely a dead drop, can stump a 1/1...and will hold its value far better than rider. In my testing he usually got away with 4-6 damage before dealt with, which is when I hit my stride. He's MB for now...but he fits pretty damned well.

Elixir of Immortality mainboarded against control got insane...Ulted Liliana, summoned Griselbrand, used his ability, found an elixir...repeated...three times. Got the win cons i needed and swarmed an esper control deck with an unholy demon army.

Duress is absolutely staying...saved my butt alot tonight.

Army of the Damned is out for now...even though i did pick up a foil one.

The main issue i was having tonight was Detention Sphere and Assemble the Legion....enchants just ruin my day. Vaguely contemplating splashing green for Deathrite Shaman, possibly Abrupt Decay, and Naturalize....but Curse of Death's Hold will account for AtL and Slaughter Games will ideally account for both if i splash red.

Fun night all Around.

Bababad says... #1

Probably going to drop all red until Dragon's Maze (so i can get crypts for cheap) and put in either Necropolis Regent , Lord of the Void , or Staff of Nin . (After irl testing i may switch out Desecration Demon for Bloodline Keeper  Flip , but having DD survive a mutilate field wipe then swinging is gravy...especially when i drop 2 of em on turn 5)

February 24, 2013 2:10 p.m.

RedCloud2012 says... #2

I would say maybe rise from the grave instead of NR and and maybe a couple of those new extort nulls( the 1/1 mono black one) pay off some of that life cost. Staff of Nin did well in Conleys Mono black Gatecrash pro tour 9th or 10th place. Its a sick casul deck dont know if its top 8 though. Its funny though this new meta is a damage nascar race.

February 25, 2013 3:20 p.m.

RedCloud2012 says... #3

I would like to say I believe crypt ghast was meant for Hexproof Esper Spirit deck with drokskol captains and immortal servitude and verdict in mind and you could still use S of Nin and Griselbrand. Its just that Crypt ghast is amazing for that deck and pays for servitude. Just my thoughts cause nobodys even sideboarding glaring spotlight right now. why not make it a 20$ card while we have a playset.

February 25, 2013 3:31 p.m.

RedCloud2012 says... #4

I would like to say I believe crypt ghast was meant for Hexproof Esper Spirit deck with drokskol captains and immortal servitude and verdict in mind and you could still use S of Nin and Griselbrand. Its just that Crypt ghast is amazing for that deck and pays for servitude. Just my thoughts cause nobodys even sideboarding glaring spotlight right now. why not make it a 20$ card while we have a playset.

February 25, 2013 3:31 p.m.

elefent247 says... #5

I have a similar build, I really like Heartless Summoning and Reaper from the Abyss in mine.

February 25, 2013 9:36 p.m.

Bababad says... #6

I like them both (had a pure demon deck before Crypt ghast dropped and it ran swimmingly) though atm the deck runs pretty well without HS and id rather have Necropolis Regent and Lord of the Void lying around for when the innistrad block filters out LOVE staff of win, but i feel like id rather have Bloodgift Demon until they drop...free 5/4 flyer with fun attached. I am currently testing this against aggro and esper control. I feel my creatures are strong enough to trade blows/win the game for me if i cannot get my win cons..though that is including putting in alot of sideboard against aggro. Anyways, thanks for the comments guys!

February 26, 2013 1:36 a.m.

Dranethai says... #7

I really would've expected you to have Killing Wave in this deck, with it's name. That could really do wonders.

February 26, 2013 1:54 a.m.

Dranethai says... #8

Also, I really sorta like the build of this deck, but knowing that one of my strongest decks is my Azorious control, I know that it has some things that would, without a doubt, mess up your deck. The undying, and reanimation type stuff should most certainly be kept for sideboard. Too many people are running Supreme Verdict and that can be devastating. There's also Terminus but I haven't seen that get as much play as I would expect. Great card, and can totally mess up just about any creature based deck.

February 26, 2013 2:04 a.m.

elefent247 says... #9

Grave Betrayal and card:Wit's End are my ideas against that. Haven't play tested yet, but both make good follow ups to Crypt Ghast

February 26, 2013 12:55 p.m.

Bababad says... #10

Grave betrayal sounds fun, i may test (though i like my big cmc win cons atm)...wits end probably wont make it (im splashing red once i get blood crypts and i have a playset of card:Rakdos's Return lying in wait). And i know this is succeptible to control...this is not my main fnm deck. Im running bant control/tokens/planeswalker for tourneys. This is more of a fun deck and backup if my meta goes from control to aggro....which is doubtful.

February 26, 2013 2:12 p.m.

Bababad says... #11

And killing wave is inferior to mutilate in this deck, if im not running artists i dont want to give my opponent the option of keeping his creatures because ill have to sacrifice my creatures too....which can bite me in the butt. Do your best to give your opponents few options....unless its a madness deck....then just have fun! Lol

February 26, 2013 2:16 p.m.

Zacoly says... #12

I've seen you cycle this deck a few times, I guess I get to be first to comment.

Looks fun! I know you must have to get your first 4 lands out consistently in order to get access to your mid/late game. With less than 4 lands this deck is in big trouble. So long as that happens I can see why you would have an explosive late game!

I wanted to thank you for writing a useful, informative description!!!! THANKYOU!

Sign in Blood replacing Underworld Connections sounds like a solid idea to me, especially considering you have a very good chance of playing Griselbrand late game.

Have you played this at FNM yet? I always enjoy reading a rundown on how people's decks do vs other kinds of decks and vs side-boarding.

Good luck to you!

  • Zacoly
February 26, 2013 11:37 p.m.

Bababad says... #13

Thanks for the response! This is more of a side project (i run bant controllkens at fnm), though its working pretty well. I get mana very consistently and can stall well enough with 2 mana. Also i haven't had an issue stalling until turn 4 (or 4 mana) because most of my friends run mid game or control decks (and against aggro i can board in ALOT of life gain to pick up the slack). Also, 90% of the decks in my meta splash white so Knight of Infamy has saved me against big baddies for a few turns (though i can still get swarmed if i don't have the mana by turn 5). And i wont be able to attend FNM for quite awhile, so i won't have any rundowns (though i am testing this against friends next weekend).

February 27, 2013 12:02 a.m.

Zacoly says... #14

I use my laptop set near my desktop to play two decks against eachother side by side. That's how I generally play-test. But that can get really complicated when I'm playing Beguiler of Wills vs Nightveil Specter

February 27, 2013 12:20 p.m.

Bababad says... #15

I do the same but with two open browsers, each with a different deck taking up half the screen. My main issue atm is the extreme life leeching nature of this deck early game (especially if i am getting hammered by naya aggro).

February 27, 2013 12:36 p.m.

Bababad says... #16

Mainboarded 3x Devour Flesh, cheaper removal, can remove hexproof critters, and can aid me in fixing my life buffer without hurting me (they remove Desecration Demon for example and in response i sac him for life).

February 27, 2013 6:27 p.m.

Bababad says... #17

Also added Grave Betrayal to SB for now for testing. Seeing if it works better than Necropolis Regent, Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, or Bloodgift Demon in testing.

February 27, 2013 6:34 p.m.

Grimm0808 says... #18

I really REALLY like this deck, +1 from me :) It seems better than the deck Conley Woods played at the Pro Tour lol. Love it.

February 28, 2013 1:09 a.m.

Zacoly says... #19

I've always thought of Devour Flesh as a pretty bad form of aggressive removal, but it does put one of your creatures to good use if IT is the one being removed. Similar to Rapid Hybridization.

February 28, 2013 1:13 a.m.

Bababad says... #20

its great removal because it is restrictionless and suppplemented with other kill spells its is pretty great. Also the opponent's life is semi meaningless to me the first 3-5 turns of the game. It fulfills two purposes, and even gets rid of Geist of Saint Traft and Invisible Stalker if used right. Board control>opponents life most of the time

February 28, 2013 1:55 a.m.

Bababad says... #21

Also THANKS for the kind words Grimm0808. :)

February 28, 2013 2:01 a.m.

Fuschnik says... #22

This looks like a fun deck; have you considered Duress in your sideboard for control decks?

February 28, 2013 4:08 p.m.

Bababad says... #23

There is a good idea, since i have life taken care of for the moment they may be a good replacement for Thrull Parasite for now. Ill fix when i am at a computer

February 28, 2013 6:05 p.m.

expmky says... #24

Liliana of the Dark Realms best friend....Vampire Nighthawk big swing for lots of life

February 28, 2013 9:25 p.m.

ChiefBell says... #25

If only black had an X cost spell that does damage to players.

March 1, 2013 3:05 p.m.