Hi all. What I’ve noticed since I’ve started playing Mtg is that thinking of deck ideas come at unusual and inappropriate times. I remembered back in college days when we were studying for the Thermodynamics exam when my friend came up with a CoP control deck with Alter Reality and Mind Bend. That one time breakthrough then got him on the top 8 of that weekend’s tournament. Its pretty odd but we were happy about it.

Based on that, reading updates today of the upcoming ROE got me thinking of the possibility of the return of Mono Black Control. The return of Mind Sludge in Zendikar and Smother in Worldwake proved that Wizards is pushing for it. I decided then to discuss this topic with fellow mtg player and officemate JP during lunch break and sorted out features of MBC from its Onslaught Standard days. It is discussed below.

Spot Removal

Old Onslaught Standard Build: Chainer’s Edict, Innocent Blood, Smother.

New Build: The possible cards considering the previews from ROE are Doom Blade, Tendrils of Corruption, Vendetta, Smother, Deathmark and Gatekeeper of Malakir.

Mass Removal

Old Onslaught Standard Build: Mutilate, Decree of Pain

New Build: ROE provided us with Consume the Meek, which players dubbed as “Day of Smother” in accordance with White’s Day of Judgment. Other cards to consider are Infest and Marsh Casualties.

Hand Disruption

Old Onslaught Standard Build: Cabal Therapy, Duress, Mind Sludge

New Build: Glad that Duress is back in M10 and also Mind Sludge. in ZEN. Other potential cards are Mire’s Toll and Mind Rot.

Card Draws

Old Onslaught Standard Build: Skeletal Scrying, Phyrexian Arena.

New Build: Today’s Standard offers us with Sign in Blood as the only good card drawer in Black.

Tutors

Old Onslaught Standard Build: Diabolic Tutor

New Build: D. Tutor is still Standard legal and Liliana Vess can also fill that spot.

Mana Acceleration

Old Onslaught Standard Build: Cabal Coffers

New Build: ROE’s Nirkana Revenant has both potential as an accelator and win condition. Armillary Sphere is also another card to consider.

Win Condition

Old Onslaught Standard Build: Deck wins by Corrupt copied by the Mirari.

New Build: Nirkana Revenant as previously mentioned, and also Consume Spirit and the man-land Dread Statuary.

Based on these, here’s the list we’ve come up with.

Mono Black Control
by Mark Ian Alloso and John Paul Imperial
Maindeck
Creatures
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
3 Nirkana Revenant

Spells
3 Armillary Sphere
2 Consume Spirit
3 Consume the Meek
3 Mind sludge
4 Mind Rot
4 Tendrils of Corruption
3 Vendetta
4 Sign in Blood
2 Liliana Vess

Lands
23 Swamp
2 Dread Statuary

Possible Sideboard
4 Bloodghast
4 Duress
3 Pithing Needle
4 Sadistic Sacrament

As explained by JP, he prefers having the Mind Rots rather than Duress or Toll to give the deck more card advantage. This is effective against decks like Jund wherein discard is their major weakness, although this does not guarantee a high win percentage against that deck.

The deck’s win condition is mainly Nirkana Revenant which can end games in two swings with enough mana boost, which most likely it will. It can also boost a lethal Consume Spirit. The alternate is Liliana’s ultimate ability which is beneficial with all the deck’s spot and mass removal.

AS for the sideboard, the list is mostly based on our predictions of the post-ROE Standard metagame. The four-ofs of Bloodghast and Duress are basically against UW and other related control decks, Pithing Needles are for levelers and random Planeswalkers, and the sacraments are for combo decks like Polymorph, Runeflare Trap and Open the Vaults which relies mostly on specific cards. I would not really like seeing Iona resolve on the opponent’s fourth turn.

The deck is still subject for testing so expect a follow-up article as we continue to explore and develop Mono Black Control in Standard.

Your suggestions are very much welcome. Thanks for reading!

You might be curious what this article brings about in relation to Magic: The Gathering. Well, the title is just a little spice and is somehow related to the idea we’re going to discuss today. So which demon am I referring to? Yep, its the (ex)favorite Abyssal Persecutor of Worldwake. As its title says it, it seems that he is doing the opposite in the current Standard. Players tried him in Jund but failed miserably despite alot of removals the deck have.

As I have observed the big tournaments in the recent weeks, there’s no appearance of AP in the top decks. Does this mean the total failure of the demon for constructed? I think not. We are going to check how this card became a hype and how to turn its adversity into advantage.

For an update, AP made it in a Day Two deck nicknamed as “Guess Who?” which was piloted by Conley Woods. the deck had an option of either bouncing the demon via Ninja of the Deep Hours or sacrifing it to the Gatekeeper of Malakir. You can check the complete decklist here.

With Extended shedding a ray of hope for AP, I think it may also have a chance in Standard. Here’s a list I’ve came up with.

BR Persecutor V. 1.0
by Mark Ian Alloso
Lands
2 Akoum Refuge
10 Swamp
4 Marsh Flats
4 Lavaclaw Reaches
4 Dragonskull Summit

Creatures
4 Abyssal Persecutor
4 Bloodghast
3 Vampire Hexmage
2 Malakir Bloodwitch
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
3 Vampire Nighthawk

Spells
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Duress
4 Blightning
2 Bone Splinters
4 Terminate

It features the best cards of black and red in the current Standard. The deck may appear like Vampires with Red though the alternate win goal is beatdown by this tribe.

As you may have noticed, we have ten kill cards for the demon. Bone Splinters seems to be an odd choice, but 4 Bloodghasts makes sure that you have fodder to play this sorcery.

Cards that would make it to the sideboard is meta-based but mine would probably include the following:

2 Deathmark
2 Duress
3 Earthquake
4 Goblin Ruinblaster
2 Thought Hemorrhage
1 Malakir Bloodwitch
1 Vampire Nighthawk

Feel free to test this deck and let me know of any suggestions or changes you might add. Thanks for reading!

For the recent rumor news for [ROE] or Rise of Eldrazi, strangeuniverse revealed today in the Rumor Mill a scanned pic of the Prerelease card for the set. Check it out below.

The scan reveals a titanic Eldrazi, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn 15
(Mythic rare)
Legendary Creature – Eldrazi
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn can’t be countered.
When you cast Emrakul, take an extra turn after this one.
Flying, protection from colored spells, annihilator 6
When Emrakul is put into a graveyard from anywhere, its owner shuffles his or her graveyard into his or her library.
15/15

It looks too over costly at 15 mana but the benefits are just plain awesome. Now cards like Show and Tell and Elvish Piper has a new toy to play with.

Also, the Release card was spoiled which features the new mechanic Level up.

Lord of Shatterskull Pass3R (Rare)
Creature – Minotaur Shaman
Level up 1R (Play only as sorcery)
3/3 Level 1-5: 6/6
Level 6+: 6/6, Whenever Lord of Shatterskull Pass attacks, it deals 6 damage to each creature defending player controls.

This mechanic reminds me of the Eventide card Figure of Destiny and I hope they would create a similar version in ROE.

Well, that’s about it with the latest ROE spoilers. Until the next post.

The Mtg 2010 Season kicked off with Grand Prix Oakland last weekend, and as Day Two got to a close, we saw pros perform on the last remaining rounds to get to the top 8. Well, the final eight have been decided as of the writing of this post. It features the best players and high-level pros of Magic with the names Conley Woods, Tomoharu Saito, and Adam Yurchick. The rest had big accomplishments in their playing career too.

The Extended meta had shifted a bit with the addition of Worldwake and saw interesting decks emerging on the scene. Here are some of the cool decks that made Day Two (source: Wizards’ official coverage).

Charmed, I’m Sure by Conley Woods
Grand Prix Oakland 2010
Maindeck
4 Vendilion Clique
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Aven Mindcensor
4 Tarmogoyf
1 Stoneforge Mystic

3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Mana Leak
4 Bant Charm
4 Path to Exile
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Cryptic Command
1 Umezawa’s Jitte

2 Treetop Village
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Verdant Catacombs
1 Arid Mesa
2 Breeding Pool
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Temple Garden
2 Flooded Grove
1 Tolaria West
2 Island
2 Forest
1 Plains

Sideboard
4 Rhox War Monk
4 Samurai of the Pale Curtain
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Crovax, Ascendant Hero
1 Umezawa’s Jitte

Brozek Deck Wins by Petr Brozek
Grand Prix Oakland 2010
Maindeck
1 Jotun Grunt
4 Goblin Guide
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Plated Geopede

4 Zektar Shrine Expedition
3 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
4 Searing Blaze
3 Shard Volley
2 Magma Jet

4 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Flagstones of Trokair
3 Sacred Foundry
3 Mountain
1 Plains

Sideboard
2 Jotun Grunt
3 Damping Matrix
3 Smash to Smithereens
3 Volcanic Fallout
3 Refraction Trap
1 Oblivion Ring

Hypergenesis by Tomoharu Saito
Grand Prix Oakland 2010
Maindeck
4 Terastodon
4 Bogardan Hellkite
1 Sakashima the Impostor
4 Progenitus
4 Angel of Despair
4 Simian Spirit Guide

4 Violent Outburst
4 Ardent Plea
1 Demonic Dread
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Hypergenesis

4 Reflecting Pool
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Tendo Ice Bridge
3 Forbidden Orchard
1 Gemstone Caverns
3 Fungal Reaches
1 Calciform Pools
1 Forest

Sideboard
2 Sakashima the Impostor
3 Ricochet Trap
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Shriekmaw
2 Ingot Chewer
2 Firespout

Garga-Geddon by Kevin Holmes
Grand Prix Oakland 2010
Maindeck
4 Vendilion Clique
4 Greater Gargadon
4 Riftwing Cloudskate

2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Ajani Vengeant
4 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Blood Moon
4 Violent Outburst
4 Ardent Plea
3 Restore Balance
3 Bant Charm
3 Firewild Borderpost
4 Fieldmist Borderpost
4 Wildfield Borderpost

4 Misty Rainforest
1 Forest
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Snow-Covered Mountain
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Island
1 Hallowed Fountain

Sideboard
2 Firespout
2 Volcanic Fallout
2 Boom // Bust
3 Damping Matrix
1 Kor Firewalker
1 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Ingot Chewer

Vamp-Pox by Aaron Hareleman
Grand Prix Oakland 2010
Maindeck
3 Bloodghast
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Dark Confidant
3 Vampire Nighthawk

4 Thoughtseize
4 Smallpox
4 Umezawa’s Jitte
4 Smother
3 Bitterblossom
2 Duress
2 Chrome Mox

3 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Mutavault
9 Swamp
2 Verdant Catacombs
3 Marsh Flats
2 Ghost Quarter

Sideboard
3 Leyline of the Void
4 Deathmark
2 Damnation
4 Extirpate
2 Dark Blast

Zoo by Patrick Cox
Grand Prix Oakland 2010
Maindeck
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Kird Ape
4 Loam Lion
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Qasali Pridemage
3 Knight of the Reliquary
2 Ranger of Eos

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Helix
2 Bant Charm

1 Verdant Catacombs
4 Arid Mesa
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Steam Vents
2 Temple Garden
1 Stomping Ground
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Forest
1 Plains
1 Treetop Village

Sideboard
3 Negate
4 Meddling Mage
2 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Bant Charm
2 Damping Matrix
1 Ranger of Eos

Living End by Travis Woo
Grand Prix Oakland 2010
Maindeck
4 Jungle Weaver
4 Monstrous Carabid
4 Valley Rannet
4 Street Wraith
4 Fulminator Mage
4 Deadshot Minotaur
4 Ingot Chewer

2 Night of Souls’ Betrayal
3 Living End
4 Violent Outburst
4 Demonic Dread

3 Mountain
3 Swamp
2 Forest
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Arid Mesa
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Blood Crypt
1 Stomping Ground

Sideboard
4 Shriekmaw
3 Thought Hemorrhage
1 Yixlid Jailer
3 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Kitchen Finks
1 Night of Souls’ Betrayal

Which of these decks will emerge as winner of Grand Prix Oakland? Stay tuned at the official coverage. Until next post.

The previous weekend was the worldwide release party of the recent Magic: The Gathering expansion, Worldwake, which was also the expansion set of Zendikar. As players talk about the powerful cards of the set (I’m referring to the new Jace and the demon Abyssal Persecutor) which can be a possible inclusion in the current Standard, I think I can say that Worldwake isn’t that impressive like Zendikar. There are a number of playable cards though, waiting to be discovered and abused. Let’s take a look at the candidates.

Admonition Angel – the six casting flying 6/6 body of this mythic rare is impressive enough, plus the Oblivion Ring effect for every landfall makes it a walking or rather flying removal.

Join the Ranks – the Allies were surely smiling upon seeing this card. It can make multiple triggers with Allies on the battlefield plus you can do it in an instant which is good when combined with combat tricks.

Marshal’s Anthem – this and Iona would perfectly make a good Esper color control-reanimation deck (also with Rise from the Grave). The bonus +1/+1 makes your Martial Coup more effective.

Perimeter Captain – this probably is a good sideboard against Boros and RDW, stopping their hoards and gaining you life in the process.

Calcite Snapper – Blue control decks’ new toy. Act as both offense and defense and the shroud makes it a very impressive card for a common.

Vapor Snare – Mind Control with consistent Landfall per turn. In addition, the one blue mana makes it splashable in other decks. I think this will get a slot in the sideboards.

Wind Zendikon – an early flying beater that gives you clock while setting up your counters in your control decks.

Death’s Shadow – I had a feeling this will be an insane critter if combined with the good cards. My initial build would be a deck built around Ad Nauseam.

Nemesis Trap – hard casting this trap is not a big deal as compared to its awesome ability. I’d give it a slot or two in my black red or mono black agro deck.

Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs – good removal bait or probably it will give a halt to most agro decks, specifically mono green Elves. I’ve played against this card last night and he alone can even stop the aggressiveness of my Jund deck.

Slavering Nulls – if you are building a black red agro deck, I suggest you make use of these Goblins.

Avenger of Zendikar – I failed to see its potential on the first time but upon looking at it again, I can say that it is the new version of Rude Awakening.

Bestial Menace – Eldrazi Monument decks got another toy with this card. Possibly we will have a four-ofs of these in a mono green version.

Dread Statuary – aside from the friendly color manlands, this artifact man land has greater advantage because it does not come into play tapped, and the 4/2 body makes it an excellent beater.

Cards I didn’t mentioned here are probably upgrades of specific decks in Standard. For example, Urge to Feed for Vampires, Hada Freeblade for the Allies, Searing Blaze for RDW and Joraga Warcaller for Elves. Although not all might see play in Standard, they may have a chance in Zendikar block. I hope you can brew a good deck for each one of them. See you on my next post.

Here’s the recent update of the upcoming Worldwake, Zendikar’s 2nd set. The spoiler season has been a little slow today as we have only revealed about 46 cards out of 145 cards in the set. Here they are:

White (8)

Blue (6)

Name:	Halimar Excavator
Cost:	1U
Type:	Creature – Human Wizard Ally
Pow/Tgh:	1/3
Rules Text:	Whenever Halimar Excavator or another Ally enters the battlefield under your control, target player puts the top X cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard, where X is the number of Allies you control.
Illus.	Kev Walker
Rarity:	Common
Set Number:	#29/145
Name:	Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Cost:	2UU
Type:	Planeswalker – Jace
Pow/Tgh:	3
Rules Text:	[+2]: Look at the top card of target player’s library. You may put that card on the bottom of that player’s library. [0]: Draw three cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order. [-1]: Return target creature to its owner’s hand. [-12]: Exile all cards from target player’s library, then that player shuffles his or her hand into his or her library.
Illus.	Jason Chan
Rarity:	Mythic Rare
Set Number:	#31/145
Name:	Mysteries of the Deep
Cost:	4U
Type:	Instant
Rules Text:	Draw two cards. Landfall – If you had a land enter the battlefield under your control this turn, draw three cards instead.
Illus.	Veronique Meignaud
Rarity:	Common
Set Number:	#33/145
Name:	Tideforce Elemental
Cost:	2U
Type:	Creature – Elemental
Pow/Tgh:	2/1
Rules Text:	{U}, {T}: You may tap or untap another target creature. Landfall – Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you may untap Tideforce Elemental.
Rarity:	Uncommon
Name:	Twitch
Cost:	2U
Type:	Instant
Rules Text:	Tap or untap target artifact, creature, or land. Draw a card.
Rarity:	Common
Name:	Wind Zendikon
Cost:	U
Type:	Enchantment – Aura
Rules Text:	Enchant land Enchanted land is a 2/2 blue Elemental creature with flying. Itâ€s still a land. When enchanted land is put into a graveyard, return that card to its ownerâ€s hand.
Rarity:	Common
Set Number:	#46/145

Black (9)

Red (8)

Name:	Chain Reaction
Cost:	2RR
Type:	Sorcery
Rules Text:	Chain Reaction deals X damage to each creature, where X is the number of creatures on the battlefield.
Illus.	Trevor Claxton
Rarity:	Rare
Name:	Comet Storm
Cost:	XRR
Type:	Instant
Rules Text:	Multikicker {1} (You may pay an additional {1} any number of times as you cast this spell.) Choose target creature or player, then choose another target creature or player for each time Comet Storm was kicked. Comet Storm then deals X damage to each of them.
Illus.	Jung Park
Rarity:	Mythic Rare
Name:	Crusher Zendikon
Cost:	2R
Type:	Enchantment – Aura
Rules Text:	Enchant land Enchanted land is a 4/2 red Beast with trample. It’s still a land. When enchanted land is put into a graveyard, return that card to it’s owners hand.
Rarity:	Common
Name:	Cunning Sparkmage
Cost:	2R
Type:	Creature – Human Shaman
Pow/Tgh:	0/1
Rules Text:	Haste {T}: Cunning Sparkmage deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
Rarity:	Uncommon
Name:	Dragonmaster Outcast
Cost:	R
Type:	Creature – Human Shaman
Pow/Tgh:	1/1
Rules Text:	At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control six or more lands, put a 5/5 red Dragon creature token with flying onto the battlefield.
Rarity:	Mythic Rare
Set Number:	#81/145
Name:	Ricochet Trap
Cost:	3R
Type:	Instant – Trap
Rules Text:	If an opponent cast a blue spell this turn, you may pay {R} rather than pay Ricochet Trapâ€s mana cost. Change the target of target spell with a single target.
Illus.	Jaime Jones
Rarity:	Uncommon
Set Number:	#87/145
Name:	Skitter of Lizards
Cost:	R
Type:	Creature – Lizard
Pow/Tgh:	1/1
Rules Text:	Multikicker {1}{R} (You may pay an additional {1}{R} any number of times as you cast this spell.) Haste Skitter of Lizards enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it for each time it was kicked.
Illus.	Warren Mahy
Rarity:	Common
Name:	Stone Idol Trap
Cost:	5R
Type:	Instant – Trap
Rules Text:	Stone Idol Trap costs {1} less to cast for each attacking creature. Put a 6/12 colorless Construct artifact creature token with trample onto the battlefield. Exile it at the beginning of your next end step.
Rarity:	Rare

Green (8)

Multicolor (1/2)

Colorless (1)

Land (5)

*source: MTGSalvation.com