[Standard] My first mono black

[jerrylowrie]

My first mono black

Pretty much devotion and pumping gray merchants and and mogis with nightmare does alright everything is post m15 so no pack rats etc just trying something new it plays pretty well went 3-1 last Friday so I'm expecting it to run

[jerrylowrie]

Let me me know what you guys think

[Stephen7117]

The deck looks great.  The advice I can give is to bump the mana count up by one at least.  22 just doesn't seem optimal unless you're running something that's insanely quick and aggressive (RD wins/Boros burn etc).  I think sign in blood is a great spell in your deck due to your mana curve lacking 2 drops.  But keep in mind that read the bones is also an amazing draw spell.  and i HIGHLY reccomend you look into adding some underworld connections.  ravnica or not, its a great spell to keep cards in your hand.

Other than that, just throw together a side board that can answer aggro/midrange/control (or your local meta) and tear it up!

[jerrylowrie]

Thank you for the feed back. I have underworld connection and read the bones. I just have no idea what to take out and as for my side deck I have no idea what to run since. So any ideas on what to take out and add also do you think this nightmare combo is decent he's really my only big hitter besides master of the feast

[Stephen7117]

I know you want it to cut out the ravnica block but if you want to optimize the deck in the current meta (because people will still use ravnica on you), then you should ditch the stab wounds and put underworld connections in their place.  I'm not sure how i feel about nightmare... it's a great creature that will definitely get damage through with flying but i think your deck should put desecration demons in it's place due to the cheap cost.  its a scary turn 4 threat that must be answered.  The rest of your creature selection looks good besides the spiteful returned... they're just too expensive for the abilitys they offer.  I would replace them with Child of the Night (youll appreciate the lifelink due to your deck's lifeloss cards).

Also replace hall of triumph with whip of erebos... the effect of the whip allows you to smash in damage with creatures from the graveyard while boosting your own life..  its a very powerful tool.

Get rid of the crippling blights for a full playset of ulcerate.  I would also consider adding hero's downfall, devour flesh, and/or doomblades/dark betrayals.  removal is very important.

Lastly, add one or two lands (preferably some scry lands like temple of deceit/silence

[Stephen7117]

So here's my personal rundown of what needs to be put in and taken out:

REMOVE: 3 crippling blight, 3 spiteful returned, 3 Stab wound, 2 Hall of triumph, 2 Nightmare, 1 Mogis's Marauder (optional if you only add one land).


ADD: 2 ulcerate, 2 devour flesh, 1 or2 lands of your choice, 3 desecration demon, 2 Whip of Erebos, 3 Underworld connections

This edit should also make your mana curve look a bit more consistent.  Also keep in mind, i don't use mono black.  i know my stuff about black spells due to my love for dimir but i dont usually play with mono black.  Just edit the deck if you can and play test it... if it comes out good then awesome!  if not, message me sometime and we can put our heads together on it and tweak it.

Good luck!

[Stephen7117]

OH I ALMOST FORGOT!

Sideboard!  Here's a basic sideboard that I put together that should work well with your deck:
4x Duress
3x Lifebane Zombie
2x Erebos, God of the Dead
1x Pithing Needle
3x Drown in Sorrow
2x Pharika's Cure

Duress, Lifebane Zombie, and pithing needle should answer control/midrange very well.  Drown in Sorrow/Pharika's Cure are meant to put the hurt on decks that are very aggressive and creature based.  Erebos, God of the Dead will also provide you tons of card draw if you find yourself fighting a discard deck or topdecking a lot against your opponent.