Building this deck will hurt your wallet. Let me put that out first. If you already have been playing with an Esper Stoneblade deck the additional cards wont relatively cost that much in order to alter it into Deathblade. However if youre starting this deck from scratch, and with the economic recession, cannot afford to build this deck overnight, it may be better to start with a BUG, Jund or Esperblade deck and acquire the necessary cards as you continue building this deck. It also allows you to learn and see the different play mechanics with the cards that make the other decks good. And enables you to experience why those cards are good and how they are employed effectively.
With the very different set ups played by deck builders who have their own perception on this deck, there is no one size fits all build. Most of the cards in my build are must haves.
Deathrite Shaman This is probably the best one drop in legacy at the moment. I cant count how many times Ive opened with T1 Fetch into Deathrite Shaman, giving me 3 mana the next turn. Late game it can help you chip your opponents life away when the board gets stale. It also provides you with life gain needed when the Bob triggers will hurt you. To top it all, against opposing Deathrite Shamans you can get the advantage by reacting to their activation, in effect rendering them both useless, but giving you time to gain board position with all the card advantage you have.
Stoneforge Mystic Taken from the core of the Stoneblade decks, this card will provide you with a lot of options. It filters your deck by searching out the key equipment cards that will win you games. It provides with a shuffle effect when you need to get rid of a bad top deck. And it can flash in said equipments, making them uncounterable, but can also surprise opponents who didnt see you drawing into Batterskull and blocking an unsuspecting Nimble Mongoose.
Dark Confidant Another 2 drop that needs immediate answering in most cases, or your opponent will lose to your card advantage. It also serves as an excellent 2/1 body for your equipments if he sticks to the board. Once your life total hits 6, you will need to get rid of him though, sometimes you may even want to kill him by removing a counter from your own Umezawa's Jitte or even Swords to Plowshares him and gain life while youre at it, but by that time you should already have gained so much advantage through him, the game should already be in your pocket.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor This is your alternative win condition against control decks. With Deathrite Shaman in your team, you can drop this equally loved and hated Planeswalker as early as turn 3. Its abilities before ultimate are even more insane. Its a reusable Brainstorm and Unsummon. And it can manipulate your opponents draws in your favor, sometimes you may even want to be Fate sealing your own deck. Again the possibilities of this card are too good to exclude.
Batterskull Your tutor able win condition. It will win you games against almost all aggro decks. Its life gain will help you stabilize from Bob triggers. Dont forget your Germ token can still be targeted with Aburpt Decay and can even be Stifle upon entering the battlefield. But even when that happens you have the possibility to return it to your hand at the end of your opponents turn and recast it the next turn for a fresh new token.
Umezawa's Jitte Your second tutor able equipment. Yet again another great utility card and you will need to learn all its combat tricks to effectively put it to use. Usually when you know Stoneforge Mystic wont stick the board long enough to flash in your Batterskull, Jitte is a better option as it can be hard cast the next turn. It can pump your carrier to serve as a clock, it can gain you life when the Bob triggers will matter and you can shoot down your opponents creatures all with the power of Jitte counters. Learn to use them correctly.
Creeping Tar Pit Being a manland means its uncounterable, he is also a 3/2 unblockable creature, who can carry your equipments if needed and ensure they connect. However he is very susceptible to Wasteland. Moreover when you turn him into a creature he becomes a target for spot removal instants like Lightning Bolt and Swords to Plowshares. Not to worry though, you can cycle him through your mana pool again with Deathrite Shaman. His biggest drawback is that he comes tapped into play, you will want this card to close games, not to put out early.
Brainstorm Probably the best Legacy staple out there. It does so much; give you card advantage, filter your hand and protect your hand from discard. Its probably also one of the hardest cards to master. Especially when it comes to timing your Brainstorm, it can make certain plays result in glorious victory or shameless defeat. Its essential to also have shuffle effects like fetchlands, as Brainstorm becomes twice as effective.
Swords to Plowshares Another great Legacy staple. It is the best spot removal in the game. Any creature on the board that can be targeted can be taken care of with this spot removal. Your prime targets are Mother of Runes, Deathrite Shaman and Delver of Secrets
. Dont allow them to stick to the board.
Ponder A singleton Ponder sometimes is better to draw than Brainstorm. It does almost the same on sorcery speed, however it will not allow you to put cards from your hand back into your deck. Nevertheless its another cantrip, but with a shuffle effect included, serving as a fifth Brainstorm it can never hurt.
Force of Will The condom of the format. It protects you against pretty much all combo decks. Combo decks being your worst match up; you want to have a fighting chance against them in G1. After boarding you have many more options, but will depend on the type of combo youre playing against. Force of Will is often seen as 3 main and 1 on the side; because you dont want to trigger it with Bob, and blue sources are rather scarce in the deck. But against combo you will want a full play set of these babies.
Thoughtseize Targeted discard made its way into the deck after the transformation of U/W control into Esper Stoneblade. Being the best discard spell out there, it will enable you to look into your opponents hand and gain valuable information in the match up and into your opponent future plays, plus it gives you the tools to disrupt their plan. The 2 life loss can be a pain, and a late game draw can be dead, but having the threat of discard is enough to include this in your deck.
Liliana of the Veil The best Planeswalker next to Jace. Her utility has a wide range, giving you more options against more different kind of decks. She does give us a better chance against the combo match ups, as she is able to keep opponents out of hands. However she is prone to
Abrupt Decay
and getting double BB can be a difficult feat, especially if your opponent is actively trying to deny that play.
Ive found there are rarely any occasions where you need to mull more than once. Of course against certain combo decks you will need specific hate cards you need to mulligan to. But in the opening game against an unknown deck and opponent, the only hands you cannot keep are:
No lands
No turn 1 and turn 2 play
Only lands
So basically dead hands, which are very logical to mull away, so mulling will not be difficult when playing this deck. About 90% of my hands have always been very strong hands, always opening with a threat on turn 2. Of course itll all depend against what type of deck youre playing to what extend you need to mull to remain effective. But against most decks you will be able to execute your own plan, which is get threats out as soon as possible and force the game into top decking. Card advantage is the name of the game.
