Mono black sac-deck, fun, competitive and rather cheap.
I have been trying this deck over and over against different competitive decks, and i have to say i am proud of how it behaves, being in the end a 70 $ deck. I'm still modifying it to find the perfect match.I've been changing it a lot and this is the final result. I am thankful to KTK for Grim Haruspex and Bloodsoaked Champion, these two cards really made this deck playable and cheap, not to mention the most important thing, it's quite fun to play with.Obviously it will hardly stand a match against a grave hate deck, although it stands some chances if compared to other grave-based decks we often see.
There is no main wincon in this deck. Playing I had quite a few different situations, and i won with a lot of different combos. Every card has its utility, and here is how i usually play them:
CREATURES
Bloodghast / Nether Traitor / Bloodsoaked Champion ((RETURNERS)): Pillars of the deck. These creatures can bounce from graveyard to play continuously (traitor is best in this deck).They have a nice and stressful aggro component, they are expendable, and they also give black devotion in case you have Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx in play.
Viscera Seer : He is the best sacrifice machine. Allows you to filter your draws and to sacrifice anytime you need it. In this deck you WANT to sacrifice stuff.
Plagued Rusalka
: Alternative to Viscera seer. It's a cheap sacrifice machine that also shoots -1/-1 damages to your opponent's creatures. Can be very annoying.
Grim Haruspex : when a creature you control dies, draw a card. No further explanations needed.
Pawn of Ulamog : A token spawner. Gives you tons of expendable, freely sacrificeable eldrazi spawns that can be used as wall of flesh or just sacrificed if your grave pact is in play. Not to mention the extra mana!
Gray Merchant of Asphodel: there's a lot of black devotion in the deck. playing this guy might even kill your opponents, or if it doesn't, it will get you a good amount of life lowering your opponents' in the meantime. works greatly, it's hardly a dead card in hand.
He Who Hungers: still in maybeboard, needs testing! with
Plagued Rusalka
, Bloodghast and Nether Traitor being expendable spirits, this guy means "your opponent plays topdeck". Against burn/aggressive decks, you might want to sideboard him to make place for a Gray Merchant of Asphodel to keep your life points high and make some extra damage.
Dross Harvester: This guy is a 3 drop that can't be Lightning Bolted (it's a 4/4) nor can be Path to Exiled (protection from white!). He makes me gain life, and if his downside that makes me lose 4 life becomes annoying, i can sac him as well to get +2 life anyway. it is still in 1x as i'm testing him out.
OTHERS
Grave Pact: Hard to lose when it's in play.
Altar's Reap: draw 2 (!) cards in instant, sacrifice a creature which is often good and rarely a problem.
Tragic Slip: Best black removal IMO. You'll always get morbid when needed with this deck.
Go for the Throat: One of the most versatile mono-black removals.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx: This deck has a lot of B mana symbols, having one of these lands in play might mean winning by playing a few creatures and then dropping a Gray Merchant of Asphodel nuke!
A few considerations:
I love this deck cause it almost NULLIFIES the removal power of your opponents. yeah, they'll sometimes kill your non-returner creatures, but you'll always get some advantages instant sacrificing your enemies' targets.
When I play, i try to have an opening hand that contains at least 1 returner, 2 lands and one sacrifice engine (rusalka is best in the first turns, while seer is better in mid). everything else is a bonus.
GRAVE PACT IS NOT A WINCON! the 70% of games i won, i didn't even draw a grave pact. Obviouly, grave pact in play = 90% win (against creature-based decks!).
SIDEBOARD NEEDS HELP! <3
Give a try to the deck and let me know what you think!
