This is my first time drafting mono black. I was able to get a ton of removal so I was happy. I typically play a more aggressive style which I think made my deck torn on how to work. There's a great article about the control/aggro mono black deck (http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/li/196) which I wish I had thought about more while drafting. Now I know for next time!
I was pretty happy with my deck. Ended up going 1-2 though. I have to credit some of this to miss plays. There were definitely some tricks I missed. M2G3 with a dead heat and I was just one turn too slow.
I didn't see a single butcher's ghoul or blood artist which was a bummer too.
P1P3: Black seems good here. It's not typically my first choice but there are three great cards for black and not much else. What's the pick here?
P1P5: Grave exchange just seems so slow. Is the creature better here?
P2P1: Slaver over Mist Raven? Raven would have definitely pushed me to BU but mono black was just looking so good.
P2P2: Splinters vs Death wind?
P3P1: Amass vs Appetite?
P3P4: What's better? Second Seclusion or Second Taskmaster?
P3P5: Grave Exchange is the better pick here going more control. By this point I shouldn't have been looking for cheap stuff.
Deck Construction: Looking back now, I should have been thinking about more control. Set up board states to effectively utilize my double barter in blood. Take out the hunted ghoul and crypt creeper for the grave exchange and predator's gambit (probably should have had more grave exchanges anyway instead of those cards). Is the moonsilver spear worth playing? It may be slow but 4/4 flying angles are great! I paired this with the bloodflow connoisseur and homicidal seclusion and just got a +1/+1 counter with every attack for a win.
Is it worth it to splash blue? What about with a mist raven too? I just think it's so much nicer to not have to worry about the mana base here.
Thanks for all the help everyone!
P1P2: This is actually interesting! I could see taking the Lancer to just cut Red completely, but Spear is probably correct.
ReplyDeleteP1P3: I like the Death Wind here, yes.
P2P2: Death Wind is my pick here.
P3P4: I like Seclusion and even Creeper over another Taskmaster, I think.
Deck Construction: I think you're right that the build you ended up with is somewhat "confused" as to whether it's a control deck or an aggressive deck. With the cards you have, I'd definitely lean towards the long game. You're also extremely low on 1- and 2-drops, which is pretty harsh in the games where you don't draw a Barter.
I like sticking to Mono-Black here. Perhaps even cutting a land since you won't have color issues ever.