Cool deck. Where did you get that altar? Its amazing!

bradtheimpaler13: I got it from MIB MTG Alter on Facebook.

Thx. Ill check that out.

Upvoted solely because of the MIBalters card. She's a really great artist

So, playing Gonti means almost no artifact/enchantment removal. In order to cover that, I have to run N-Disk and O-Stone, which puts a damper on things if I have a bunch of stuff out. I’ve been trying out Meteor Golem as a way to get rid of those things without blowing up my board. I’ve been really impressed thus far and am thinking about replacing them with something else. I’m currently thinking of Sengir Autocrat as another option for infinite mana with Deathmantle/Altar (this would make it option 4; is that too many?) and Sandstone Oracle for card draw. Would these be good choices, or should I find something else? I have a whole list of other options.

why did you chose not to use the aetherborn lord?

Flooremoji: There’s really no point in running the lord when this isn’t a tribal deck, and I’d rather run other draw spells that aren’t reliant on a specific creature type dying.

Got it.

Hey I’ve been a lot a fun and success with your deck! I changed a couple cards to better suit my playgroup like Ulamog to deal with the problematic enchantments and artifacts. Also works with panharmonicon which makes for crazy removal shenanigans :D. Just wanted to say thanks for your hard work!

StarkWolf2992: I appreciate that! I’m glad you’re having fun with the deck.

Unfortunately, Ulamog is an on cast trigger, so it doesn’t work with Panharmonicon. However, there is a new card from M19 that can fill that spot: Meteor Golem.

I’m currently testing it and a few other cards in place of some of the ones here. I will keep everyone updated as to how they’re working.

Ive had a lot of fun with Meteor Golem in my muldrotha deck. Im Definitely going to slot one in my mono black deck.

bradtheimpaler13: I think he’s going to be a mainstay in the deck. Haven’t gotten to play him much, but when I do, he’s REALLY good.

So, with the new updates to MTGO 1v1, fast mana and the good tutors are back, so not only do I get to play Gonti at full power, but also WITH Recurring Nightmare and possibly Yawgmoth's Bargain. I’m pretty excited!

@Guerte Great decklist! I really like all the explanations you've attached to each card choice, which makes for a very useful primer.

By the way, you mention that hexproof and shroud are a weakness of sorts for this deck. Have you considered adding Arcane Lighthouse instead, perhaps, one of the Swamps?

SurpriZe: I recently replaced Arch of Orazca with Arcane Lighthouse. Haven't gotten to use it yet, but I'm sure I will.

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I played my first two games of commander in over a year tonight, and by first, I mean with physical cards.

Game 1 vs Atraxa Superfriends:

I got stomped pretty hard in this one. Kiora, the Crashing Wave emblem with Ugin, the Spirit Dragon closed out the game on that one.

Game 2 vs Atraxa Superfriends and Breya Artifacts:

This game was awesome. There was a lot of back and forth interactions throughout the game. Atraxa was able to ultimate a Jace, Unraveler of Secrets and Tezzeret, Artifice Master, and we were also under an Ensnaring Bridge.

I'm sitting at 14, Breya at 34, and Atraxa at 35. Atraxa has a Karn Liberated, Teferi, Temporal Archmage, and Atraxa out, along with a couple thopters. My turn, I cast Kokusho, the Evening Star to bait out the emblem counter. I then cast Living Death and bring back Duplicant, Vulturous Aven, Ravenous Chupacabra, Sidisi, Undead Vizier, Rune-Scarred Demon, Kokusho, the Evening Star, Sheoldred, Whispering One, and Gray Merchant of Asphodel. I drain each for 16 (I also have a Necropotence out), putting them at 18 and 19 and gain 32 to go to 46. I exploit Gary from Aven, draw 2 and lose 2 down to 44, and then exploit Kokusho from Sidisi, bringing them down to 13 and 14 and me up to 54. I use my two tutors to go grab Ashnod's Altar and Lifeline (the two creature removal effects didn't matter). I then dump 10 life into Necro, sculpt my hand to contain Ancient Tomb, Cabal Coffers, Lifeline, Ashnod's Altar, Go for the Throat, Animate Dead, and Reanimate, and pass.

It's Breya's turn, and he casts Merciless Eviction naming Planeswalkers, and states he's more nervous about them than my creatures, and he didn't want to lose what creatures he had.

Atraxa goes, can't do much, and EOT brings out Teferi, Hero of Dominaria.

On my turn, Sheoldred triggers, and I bring back Gary for the win.

Had Breya chose to exile creatures, my line of play would have been GftT to bait out the emblem counter, made enormous mana with Coffers, then drop Lifeline, Ashnod's Altar, and Meteor Golem, followed by Animate Dead and Reanimate on Kokusho and Gary, and then loop with Lifeline/Altar to close out the game.

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I definitely had a blast tonight. I played against two people I never met, made some good friendships, and I'm looking forward to playing more. I'm really glad the second game went the way it did. It played out beautifully.

+1! Great deck! I love Mono-black! So, have you thought about Razaketh, the Foulblooded for insane tutoring and Culling the Weak and black rituals for more ramp to use stolen spells earlier? Beautiful alter bye the way!

Matrixxx999: I've tried Razaketh, the Foulblooded previously, and it really wasn't that great in here. I had high hopes for the repeatable tutor, but in my current build, it didn't do much. If I ran something like Reassembling Skeleton or Ophiomancer to have a repeatable sacrifice, it could be good.

I don't run the black rituals simply because they are a one and done spell, and those slots could be used for something better.

do you run non-artifact ramp? if not why? can I build a strong gonti deck for 100 USD?

jeannieboef: I do not. Most non-artifact ramp in black are rituals, and I don’t feel like having one-shot ramp is very effective.

I’m sure you can get a decent Gonti deck for around that price range. If you’d like, I can try and come up with a list for you?

I've always wanted to build a Mono Black deck and I'm in love with the way this deck looks. I see you also built a Black/White deck as well, which one did you end up liking more for Gonti? Also, did you ever have a version which played Gonti's Aether Heart? I'm sure its not super consistent, but I really like the flavor of it.

slinnen: I actually have 3 decks with similar themes: this one, Ravos/Tymna, and Aminatou. While they all are similar in some ways, they are different in others.

Personally, I do enjoy Gonti a little bit more, simply because I’ve played him much longer and know the deck pretty well; and cuz I also have it in paper while the other are just online.

No Heart in any of them as it doesn’t fit the deck very well.

I do need to update the deck soon, as I’ve made some changes recently.