Despite knowing full well that Monoblack is likely the best deck in the format, I hesitated to pick it up. Maybe I'm crazy, maybe I like drawing and gaining X a little too much, or maybe it was something different. Either way, after revelating for 6 lands one time too many, I decided to sleeve up Monoblack devotion for last weekend.
And I'm never looking back.
After starting the PTQ 5-0, I lost on camera (first time seeing coverage at a PTQ, pretty exciting) to Monoblue, and then again to UG Devotion (Green base, splashing for Zegana, Cyclonic Rift, Prophet). The UG deck seemed pretty beatable, but the first game I flooded out horribly after keeping a 4-lander and never seeing another spell. The second game was much quicker, as I never drew out of my Swamp/Double Mutavault opener and died with a fistful of double-black cards.
At the start of the last round, me and my opponent were at the top of the X-2s, dead for Top 8 unless something absurd happened at tables 1-6 (spoiler: nothing happened). I won a pretty easy match after my opponent received a game loss for failing to de-sideboard, landing me in 11th for a cool nine (9!) packs.
For only playing the deck at FNM the night before, I'm feeling
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Mutavault
18 Swamp
4 Pack Rat
4 Nightveil Specter
4 Desecration Demon
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
4 Hero's Downfall
4 Thoughtseize
4 Underworld Connections
3 Devour Flesh
2 Pharika's Cure
1 Ultimate Price
--
3 Duress
3 Lifebane Zombie
3 Dark Betrayal
2 Doom Blade
2 Erebos, God of the Dead
2 Pharika's Cure
There really isn't much to say about this list as it is clearly quite stock. The singleton Ultimate Price in the main (and Doom Blades in the board) are here to help shore up the RG Monsters matchup, where Devour Flesh doesn't always cut it and we need more 2 mana removal.
(Brief note on spoilers: I don't really like trying to predict where the format is going without seeing a full spoiler, but we can safely assume I'll play at least one tournament with Bile Blight/Drown in Sorrow added to the glory above.)
While I'm pretty pumped up about more Monoblack, it's even more exciting to play Legacy again! I've only done two Legacy tournaments before, with vastly different results. The first was SCG Baltimore a little over a year ago, and I play TES. TES is not a friendly deck, especially for someone with little experience piloting combo. I managed to eke out a match win, but it couldn't make up for conceding mid-combo because I made the wrong mana with Lion's Eye Diamond. Yikes.
The second tournament was GP DC, where I made Day 2 piloting UWR Delver. I played a lot of Delver when it was in standard (even, embarrassingly, after Ponder rotated), and this deck is 100% in my wheelhouse. It's funny, I still remember the sick tempo swings of playing a first turn Delver and shooting their bird in the gut before Mana Leaking and Vapor Snagging any threats. UWR is like that, except with Wasteland, Force of Will and Lightning Bolt instead of their better-behaved cousins.
vs
The exact 75 has yet to be determined, as I'll be restricted by what cards I'm actually able to borrow. In an ideal world, here's what I'd play:
4 Arid Mesa
4 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
4 Tundra
3 Volcanic Island
4 Wasteland
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 True-Name Nemesis
1 Batterskull
4 Brainstorm
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Spell Pierce
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Ponder
--
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Meddling Mage
2 Rest in Peace
1 Pyroblast
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Wear // Tear
Super efficient threats, free counterspells and the best 1 mana removal spells printed. Seems good! As a still slightly new magic player, there isn't much that feels as good as slamming a double-sleeved Force of Will onto the table. Given my lack of experience with the format, I won't really be able to say anything insightful til after the tournament.
Good luck out there, see you all next weekend!
Pietart
#showthemyourteeth
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