Ifnir Black -- budget mono-Black Aggro

Standard BlaineTog

SCORE: 34 | 10 COMMENTS | 4951 VIEWS | IN 16 FOLDERS


theo30 says... #1

Seems cool! As much as I like seeing offbeat stuff like machinations see play, I've been working with Throne of the God-Pharaoh in modern lately and I think that may end up doing more work in the long run. Aside from that, is there any merit to throwing in something like Aethersphere Harvester? Could synergize with Throne and night market post rotation. Keep it up!

August 31, 2017 11:59 a.m.

BlaineTog says... #2

Thanks for the suggestions! Glad you like the deck.

Gonti's Machinations is a weird card to evaluate. When it's good, it's really, really good, enabling some crazy-strong plays. When it's bad, it's not usually that terrible. Topdecking it with 0 energy isn't fantastic, but you're probably only one or two turns away from cracking it, even against decks that don't win with damage, and you can probably use the rest of your mana pretty efficiently. It is occasionally a dead draw, but there's usually not much that could save you in those situations anyway that you'd realistically want in the deck. I recommend playing with it a little before taking it out. It plays much better than it looks.

That said, I'm not opposed to experimenting with other options.

Throne of the God-Pharaoh is an interesting card but it feels kinda win-more here. This deck often wants to make attrition-based attacks to force trades so if we've swung with a big board and many of our creatures are still alive, we're probably winning handily anyway. Meanwhile, this does stone nothing if we're behind. I'll give it some testing, though. It's basically free on MTGO so there's no reason not to give it a whirl and see how it purrs.

I really like Aethersphere Harvester (even more than Throne) but it's a 3-drop and decidedly not stronger here than Ammit Eternal, so slotting it in would require raising the land count. It's also $2 a pop online so testing it is more difficult. My hunch is that it would work better in a deck based specifically around Throne where the goal is to tap creatures for value through non-combat means and then drain your opponent out rather than just a beat-stick.

Still, to spitball, here's a possible list of changes for this new version post-rotation:

-4 Gonti's Machinations, -4 Vampire Cutthroat, -2 Bone Picker

+4 Night Market Lookout, +3 Throne of the God-Pharaoh, +2 Aethersphere Harvester, +1 Desert of the Glorified or maybe just +1 Swamp.

That could work. Might be worth trying it out, at least.

August 31, 2017 12:54 p.m.

Skywatch says... #3

I like the name! Naming the deck after a desert, just like Ramunap Red. I did the same thing in green. It should be here.


Hashep Green

Standard Skywatch

101 VIEWS


August 31, 2017 10:40 p.m.

VandenPlause says... #4

Doesn't Sentinel Totem nuke all graveyards as well?

October 1, 2017 5:13 a.m.

BlaineTog says... #5

You are correct: I misread the card. It still might be worth testing but I'm less convinced that it's better now.

October 1, 2017 2:59 p.m.

Driner says... #6

the big diff with red aggro is haste and target creature cant block ... black aggro have better removal i think

November 14, 2017 9:22 p.m.

munky702 says... #7

December 11, 2017 12:32 p.m.

Chasedrk1 says... #8

I really like this build. +1 for sure I also agree that Night Market Lookout has more value than Vicious Conquistador

January 2, 2018 2:48 p.m.

Cluracin says... #9

I would add some Dunes of the Dead. Obviously being mono black let's you get away with playing the colorless mana without too much risk, plus nothing is sweeter than activating Ifnir Deadlands and getting a bonus 2/2.

January 16, 2018 9:07 p.m.

weaselyt says... #10

Changes:

-1 ammit, 3 sideboard now

-3 make obsolete

-2 desert of the glorified

+2 aethersphere harvester main

+4 night market lookout

Just my suggestions. The make obsoletes arent worth it in my meta at least. And the deck should do fine without the two deserts, i found myself drawing into them too often and 20 lands is enough for this deck. Let me know what you think.

February 7, 2018 5:22 p.m.

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