This is my Nth attempt at a modern-viable deck focused on -1/-1 counters. I believe this is currently the strongest build for such a theme. I am dismissing the decks that simply use Yawgmoth, Thran Physician as a combo-piece, as they themselves aren't really focused on the -1/-1 counter grind, so much as just comboing off.
The Problem:
The big issue with -1/-1 counter archetypes, is that there are very few viable payoffs. Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons herself is amazing, but we're lacking any proper copies of 5-8 for her, with Obelisk Spider being the next card even remotely close to providing some kind of payoff. Nest of Scarabs doesn't make the cut because it's too slow, poses no threat on its own, and the tokens it creates aren't particularly threatening unless we've resolved a massive Black Sun's Zenith. Similarly, Necroskitter just doesn't offer us enough, being slow to play, and hard to get value from.
Outside of this, -1/-1 counter decks suffer from wanting a lot of creatures and spells that grant -1/-1 counters (think Black Sun's Zenith, Grind / Dust, Soul Snuffers, Skinrender), but also actually control the opponents board state in a meaningful way (Assassin's Trophy, Inquisition of Kozilek, etc). They're conflicted with trying to make their -1/-1 counter payoff cards worthwhile, while also not losing the game to the opponent just enacting their plans. And almost all of their enabler cards are high cmc, so painfully slow.
The Solution:
Grist, the Hunger Tide gives us a much needed boost, in that it provides us time, can deal with important threats, and allows the deck to run either Collected Company, Chord of Calling, or Eldritch Evolution and go all-in on a creature-heavy plan. -1/-1 counter decks want to be creature-heavy anyway, but have previously not been able to just due to having insufficient interaction. Now we can eat our cake too, and keep the opponents board in check while slowly grinding out value.
As such, our plan becomes one where we can slow the game down to a halt providing awkward creatures to attack into, and eventually overwhelm our opponent in value and a bunch of dangerous deathtouch snakes.
The Card Choices:
- Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons: the main star of the show, having one of these out and having it not-die usually puts us in a really strong spot. Even getting 1 or 2 snakes down before it dies will severely slow most opponents abilities to attack into us.
- Obelisk Spider: our secondary payoff card for -1/-1 counters. Helps keep weaker flying creatures in check, as well as gives us something else to profit from if we're doing -1/-1 counter stuff... we'd rather this be copies 5-8 of Hapatra, but we gotta take what we can get.
- Devoted Druid: while this can initially provide some great ramp for Collected Company or a large Black Sun's Zenith, it can also provide two -1/-1 counter triggers whenever we feel like it, netting us free snakes and/or life exchange from the abovementioned creatures.
- Fume Spitter: awesome one mana creature murdering nightmare, that can provide us amazing value and comes down early.
- Yawgmoth, Thran Physician: unfortunately Collected Company can't grab this, but getting this down with an Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons in play means we can wipe the opponents boardstate completely. And, if we also have a Obelisk Spider in play, we probably just win while doing so.
- Fiend Artisan: deceptively good for this build, and while normally I would say this card is seething-garbage, it seems to find a home here. With the various grinding this deck does, as well as the slow milling done by Grist, the Hunger Tide, we end us with these lads being relatively beefy. They can also fetch us up any given piece we need for a situation, most notably our Yawgmoth, Thran Physician, but also either of our -1/-1 counter payoff cards if we need them.
- Ignoble Hierarch: either acts as mana ramp, or bolt-bait for an opponent trying to avoid us ramping. Can make Hapatra easier to swing with also (due to exalted)
- Grist, the Hunger Tide: slowly pumps out a board of creatures to annoy the opponent. Nukes planeswalkers, as well as other particularly threatening creatures. This guy pretty much saves our bacon, in that he helps secure us a long game - and this archetype generally does best when it can wear the opponent down in the long game.
- Black Sun's Zenith: with Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons out, this helps create massive card advantage while putting an end to whatever creature-based nonsense the opponent is up to. With Obelisk Spider out, we can have some pretty hefty life swings. I feel like any self-respecting -1/-1 counter deck needs this card to call itself a -1/-1 counter deck.
