This deck aims to spend the early game picking apart their creatures with cheap removal and disrupting their hand with
Transgress the Mind
, and then doing it all over again with Goblin Dark-Dwellers. Every card choice was done to maximize it's value in this deck. Turn 3 kill spell into turn 4 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet into turn 5 Goblin Dark-Dwellers to recast that kill spell can turn the tide of a game tremendously against aggro.
Planeswalkers:
Chandra, Flamecaller: Because sometimes you just need something that wins the game. Her +1 is great against control. Her 0 can help us cycle through a bad hand, and it makes Goblin Dark-Dwellers and Torrential Gearhulk so much better. Her -x is essentially Radiant Flames. All in all, good walker.
Ob Nixilis Reignited: Wizards has a bit of a formula going for a good utility walker. Their +n should get you a card, their -n should be removal, and their ult should win the game. Naughty Obby over here is a perfect example of that. Cards for life is a wonderful trade. He has unconditional removal upon being cast. And if you get his ult off (which is actually not too impossible in a deck with this much removal), you get beautiful inevitability. Not to mention, he is a wonderful on curve followup to a turn four Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet.
Instants:
Fatal Push: The black bolt! This card is INSANE. In standard alone, it kills almost the entire vehicles deck, the human's deck,
Sylvan Advocate
, and so many other cards! And if you get revolt off (Say, with an evolving wilds, or when you sac a token to Kalitas), fuggetaboutit!I was originally running 4, but the more I play it the more 2 feels right.
Grasp of Darkness: Fatal push may be powerfull, but as long as Archangel Avacyn
is still in standard, this killspell is still going to be important. It's some of the best instant speed removal we have, and with good reason. This is also our only removal that gets around indestructible. Keep that in mind when playing against decks running Selfless Spirit and Archangel Avacyn
.
Harnessed Lightning: This card was always decent in this deck, but once I moved Dynavolt Tower to the main, this card got insane! Honestly, better than Grasp if you have Tower out.
Unlicensed Disintegration: I remember when I first built this deck, people asked me why this over Murder, and now the very idea of running anything else is laughable.
Creatures:
Goblin Dark-Dwellers: Also known as the best creature in the deck. This deck runs 19 possible targets for his ability in the main, making it so you always have a target for him. Plus he has evasion and a sizable body. All in all, solid card.
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet: We kill things. It's kinda what this deck does. So, why shouldn't we get the most value for our kills? If you have a Kalitas on the field, all those kills go to exile instead of the graveyard (sorry reanimator and zombies), AND you get a 2/2 zombie of your own. Great card.
Noxious Gearhulk: Because sometimes you just need to kill a thing and gain a bit of life off of it. One of the better etb triggers in my opinion.
Torrential Gearhulk: The one thing better than a free spell on a big body, is a free spell on a big body during my opponent's turn. If I had the budget to rebuild the deck from scratch, this would be a playset.
Enchantments:
Fevered Visions: This is kinda spicy, kinda janky, kinda fun. I originally ran this deck as just RB and my only extra card draw was in Naughty Obby. However, I frequently found myself wishing I could go just a little bit deeper and have a non-creature wincon against control. Yes, this makes me much worse against super agressive decks, but that was actually a pretty easy matchup before, so it works out. I initially had 3, but it is such a bad card in some matches that I kicked it down to just the one in the main with the other two in the side.
Sorcery:
Ruinous Path
: Our only answer to planeswalkers. This killspell will almost always have a target in any matchup, However since it is a slow spell, I only want one in the main as my meta isn't saturated with Walkers right now.
Transgress the Mind
: Or Inquisition of Not-Kozilek as I like to call it, is the best way to screw over Copycat Combo and Aetherworks Marvel, both of which are really big right now. Plus, this exiles, which matters sometimes. All in all, one of the all star uncommons of standard right now.
Yahenni's Expertise: The whole reason I wanted to build this deck! It's like a
Languish
that doesn't kill our Kalitas! Plus, it lets us do some other stuff when we cast it! Such a fun card.
Lost Legacy: Because I hate combo decks. Not to mention, if you recast this with Goblin Dark-Dwellers AFTER you see their library, you are almost always going to get their win-con from them. More in the side for games two and three. There's nothing like removing all the counter spells from control.
Artifacts:
Dynavolt Tower: This card has won me way more games than I thought possible! Against aggro,it just sits on the board and pings their guys to death. Against midrange, it allows my Harnessed Lightnings to kill their gearhulks. Against Control, this is a viable wincon in and of itself. Against copycat, it's just an on board answer to their combo that I can use without any mana. Card is surprisingly good guys. Play it if you got it.
Notable Land Interactions:
Aether Hub gets powered up by Dynavolt Tower and Harnessed Lightning. There have been games where I have simply cast spells that I knew wouldn't resolve just to get the energy to make double black or double red.
Blighted Cataract and
Blighted Fen
are both surprisingly good one-ofs. They have a simple job and they get it done pretty well. Yes, this is a three color deck so I don't want too much colorless mana, but I feel that these deserve a slot.
Evolving Wilds as well as the last two all can trigger revolt which sometimes matters for Fatal Push. Sometimes its better not to thin out your lands to kill a bigger creature in the midgame.
Sideboard:
Chandra, Flamecaller: See above. Comes in against control and some midrange.
Fatal Push: See above. Comes in against aggro and snake.
Fevered Visions: See above. Comes in against control and most combos (not the Aetherflux Reservoir Cheerios combo though. Learned that the hard way)
Flaying Tendrils: Comes in against Snake and Midrange decks to make Yahenni's Expertise better. Kinda a flexible slot
Lost Legacy: Comes in against combo and control.
Negate: The main is great at killing stuff. This stops the things that don't die. Comes in against combo and control.
Radiant Flames: Three mana to potentially wipe the field against some decks. Comes in against aggro.
Release the Gremlins: There isn't a lot of artifact removal in our colors and artifacts are super important right now, so I want to run some number of this. Plus, it is so fun to just wreck someone's day with a card that most people laughed at when it was spoiled. Comes in against artifact based decks.
Ruinous Path
: Comes in against decks with planeswalkers or big threats without haste.
