Deckbuilder's Diary: Black, Part 2

Still tweaking my black deck, largely because I'm not satisfied with how it performs, and partly because those bastards at BDO still won't give me my damn money.

I've decided to take some time to re-focus on the primary strengths of the idea. That is, cheap, cost-effective creatures, powerhouses that don't eat into my other resources too much, and sheer, destructive force. I've also decided to do away with gimmicky new keyword abilities and rely more on the tried and true precepts of Magic: the Gathering weenie decks: speed and power. But with a touch of direct damage, black-style, tagging along in the form of 4 copies of Corrupt.

I've also decided to better streamline and improve the creature line-up. There won't be too many ways to pump up my creatures in the new plan, so I need creatures that make other creatures beefier. Thankfully, the newest expansion can help in that quest. While Ashenmoor Liege lacks defensive capabilities at 4/1, the life loss ability and the "Bad Moon" effect it has makes it very useful in this deck. The same applies to the Glen Elendra Liege, even if it switches out the life loss ability for extra defensive power and flying. Put together, they make for an impressive means of increasing the offensive and defensive abilities of my creatures --- even if, thanks to the largely black components of it, I can't take full advantage of their boosting powers. The Ashenmoor Liege wins out over the Glen Elendra slightly when it comes to maximizing the effect, though, because I have more black/red hybrids planned for the deck than I do black/blue ones. Not by much, but still.

I definitely need Ashenmoor Gouger. The creature is a three-mana drop that pops in at 4/4, with the only drawback being that it can't be used on defence. For that kind of power and that cost (and the possibility of being cast on the first turn with a Dark Ritual), I'd rather use it as a means of getting rid of early blockers that don't have any means of saving themselves from that kind of early assault. It can also get a lot of damage early on against decks that require time to set up, like sliver decks or some of the old school land destroyer decks I've seen.

Not sure whether I should grab a Dread, a Ghastlord of Fugue, or an Oona, Queen of the Fae as the fourth example of big beef in the deck. The Dread has the most raw power and it is the type of creature that keeps coming back for more, but aside from that, it doesn't provide me with other strategic options. The Ghastlord is two mana more than the Gouger, at the same power, but is unblockable and works as an improved Coercion spell with each attack. It would also help me in making the most out of the Glen Elendra Liege. Oona has higher power and flies, but has the weakness of being a legend and the special ability can end up eating up a lot of mana --- the reason I took Maga, Traitor to Mortals out of the deck. Still, the ability to make tokens is useful in the event of a creature stalemate that continues attacks from the Gouger and the next creature I plan to add can't fix.

The other thing I intend to add would be the Inkfathom Infiltrator. As far as offensive tactics go, for a two-mana drop, the creature isn't bad. In fact, I think it is a very effective early-game creature. The unblockability is the best part of it, and the lack of toughness I can circumvent with Glen Elendra Liege, Ashenmoor Liege, Fists of the Demigod, or Unholy Strength --- all of which can also boost the offensive power. If it didn't last long enough to do that, it won't be too bad.

I also think adding Eyeblight's End would be a good idea. One problem with black is how it lacks the ability to use spells to destroy black creatures. Eyeblight's End still has weaknesses, but it can at least get rid of black creatures that need to be removed. I don't run into problem black creatures too often, and even in those cases, my creatures can generally handle them. Still, a little insurance policy never hurt. Though I might swap that out for more...large-scale creature kill, if I ever find Damnation.