Intro:
Walalalalalalalalala. That is the sound of death. The point of this deck is control, and annoying your opponent into submission. It is best against creature decks and may flounder a bit against decks that rely on instants and sorceries.
Mana:
There are 5 categories involved in mana production in this deck; Land, Add Mana, Cost Down, Extra, & Rocks.
Land: This category includes your basic lands (Swamp), as well as some special lands. As far as special lands go, Detection Tower & Arcane Lighthouse are special lands that can remove your opponents hexproof to insure your hits. Cabal Coffers & Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx are lands that can produce more than 1 black mana under certain circumstances. Maze of Ith is a protective land to avoid combat damage. Thespian's Stage can copy another land and should be used on another special land. Lastly, Tower of the Magistrate is probably your best land, because it also has a target creature ability which can be used in tandem with your commander to insta kill opponents monsters.
Add Mana: This category contains cards that add a set number of black mana. Your best card in this category is Black Market, because it is the only card that remains on the field and is triggered by the death of opponents creatures, which is the whole point of the deck.
Cost Down: Jet Medallion. Enough said.
Extra: This category contains cards that makes your swamps worth more than their original 1 black mana. Special mention to Liliana of the Dark Realms who's ultimate can make each swamp worth 4 mana, and who's +1 ability can search your deck for swamps.
Rocks: This category contains artifacts that add a set amount of mana, such as Sol Ring & Mana Crypt.
Draw:
The draw in this deck is pretty basic. You have your classic black enchantment draw cards like Phyrexian Arena, and some one off black sorceries that let you draw like Sign in Blood.
Control:
As this is a control deck. control is key. Technically all the cards in the following category (Target Creature) could count as control cards, but because they are so numerous and work specifically with the commander they get their own special category. There are 5 sub-categories that fall under the control category. Those sub-categories being Counter, Destroy, Exile, Protection, & Reanimate.
Counter: There are only 2 cards in this category and they both function to counter opponents spells. Dash Hopes is kind of hit or miss because it can easily be countered by giving life. Withering Boon is pretty great because it's a permanent and can be used ad nauseam, but sadly only against creature summons.
Destroy: The two cards in this category function to destroy things other than creatures i.e., enchantments, because your commander should have the creature destruction covered. Use caution when playing Mire in Misery to make sure that your opponent has no creatures and thus is forced to sac an enchantment.
Exile: Leyline of the Void. Kind of just a filler card and is there in case your opponent is using a deck that relies on the GY.
Protection: This is the most diverse sub-category in the control category and contains 5 cards. Most of the cards in this category, including all the permanents will do things to deter or prevent your opponent from casting on your turn. This includes cards like Defense Grid & Conqueror's Flail. The other 2 cards are instants of protection. Imp's Mischief will allow you to change the target of a spell, & Sudden Spoiling will make your opponents abilities null for a turn. Special shout out to Sudden Spoiling which when used on yourself will allow you to equip Conqueror's Flail to your commander. Otherwise the flail needs to be used on another creature when your commander is not in play, making it one of the least practical of your protection spells.
Reanimate: In the case your commander dies and you don't want to pay the commander tax, you can reanimate it with either of these cards. Special shout out to Phyrexian Reclamation which is a permanent that can reanimate.
Target Creature:
These cards are meant to be used in tandem with the commander to target opponents creatures and insta kill them. I broke this category down by type; creature, plainswalker, enchantment, instant/sorcery, & artifact. Honestly, the instant/sorcery subcategory is my least favorite because they are all one time uses, but to balance it they are all cheap. It should be noted that permanent that use X as a cost for targeting a creature such as Retribution of the Ancients can use 0 as X, essentially targeting a creature without paying the X cost.
Other:
There are 3 cards in categories not listed yet. Revel in Riches, Expedition Map, & Temporal Extortion. Revel in Riches is a wincon for the deck but is not the main goal. If you are trying to get a treasure win, you also have Grim Hireling to create treasures. Expedition Map is a land tutor to help you get a cool land if you want one & Temporal Extortion is just for fun. Get them extra turns King/Queen!
Hope you enjoy! Open to suggestions for cards or alteration!
