Subject: Homicide Black Date: Thu, 03 Sep 1998 20:53:50 -0400 (EDT) From: Carl Jarrell To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com [Deck] T2 Ok, I've been playing black weenie since the dawn of time, and now everyone's got this cute little nickname for it now. Well, I refuse to name my deck after anything that remotely sounds like an INXS song, so here's my twist on it (and remember, it's only "suicide" black if you lose): The Creatures: 4 Carnophage (no-brainer) 2 Sarcomancy (I only use two because at least the Carnophages give you an option when it comes to losing life. Still efficient though) 2 Sewer Rats (gives you a good game-ending pump creature, plus it can bust through walls and Tradewinds in a pinch) 4 Black Knight (again, no-brainer *prays Sixth Edition doesn't hack these guys*) 4 Dauthi Horror ('cause Soltari Monks are annoying) 4 Dauthi Slayer (the reason WHY Monks are annoying..."here, block and kill him..." Still an excellent creature though...highest toughness for a black shadow creature, so he's not 'slinger or fanatic bait) 2 Hidden Horror (these are just SO good first turn...gives decks that rely on direct damage as creature removal fits...although Paralyze, Pacifism, etc. kinda suck) The Gadgets: 4 Cursed Scroll (finally, a way to pick off those stupid pro-black creatures we all know and love *retch*...plus, it's another way to victory if the swarm gets slowed) The Rest: 4 Dark Ritual (Any self-respecting black speed deck HAS to use four of these...otherwise you lose the all-important chance of getting one in your opening hand...and first turn speed is where black decks MUST excel) 1 Hatred (I just don't like putting all my eggs in one proverbial basket with the Spite...like spending all your life is much better, huh...) 4 Unholy Strength (decided to go with these and no Bad Moons, because if my opponent DOES play with Moons, I get a first game advantage over him. In any case, the Strength does practically the same net amount of damage with a swarm attack) 2 Bone Harvest (anyone remember these? Underrated card in my opinion, don't know why more swarm decks don't use them...lets you get away with the no-no of overextending your creature base against mass removal, and keeps you from running dry on creatures should they get picked off) 4 Terror (weak against other black decks, but it's still incredibly efficient removal for walls, Tradewinds, and other annoying blockers) The Land: 16 Swamp 3 Wasteland 1 Volrath's Stronghold Which puts the deck at a grand total of 61 cards...if you want to be anal you can axe the lone Hatred to put it at an even 60...I just feel it's too nice of an occasional perk to cut it for minimum deck size's sake. The Sideboard (which, as always, varies depending on where you be): 4 Bottle Gnomes (excellent, EXCELLENT creatures against similar weenie beatdown, plus, lets you block those pro-black creatures...these guys have saved me from Sligh and peed-off Paladin en-Vecs so much it's not even funny) 2 Perish (not for Stompy so much....although "Cursed Stompy" is somewhat popular 'round here...moreso than SGD and those annoying walls in Flagpole decks) 2 Phyrexian Furnace ('cause all the beatdown in the world don't mean smack when Living Death rolls around...God, graveyard manipulation is going to be crazy hard to stop after the Mirage block rotates out...let's all hope Tormod's Crypt gets reprinted) 2 Nevinyrral's Disk (helps with the few annoying enchantments that can slow the deck...and not as hard to bring out as you think, since redundant Dark Rituals can help) 2 Forsaken Wastes ('cause mass-life gain is incredibly annoying...helps against Necro too) 3 Bottomless Pit ('cause control is fun to play with, but a PAIN to play against...you'll usually play cards as soon as you draw 'em, so you'll be kosher while Captain Blue sits and watches...these have won me countless games by themselves as well) Strengths: Blazing speed, even more so than usual: No kidding, not to blow my own horn, but I haven't personally seen a black weenie faster than this...and first turn Hidden Horrors are just SO brutal. Leaves your opponent amazingly little room for error...and that's if he doesn't get land-screwed. Weaknesses: Enchantments and Artifacts: Propaganda, Oath of Druids (to a point), and Cursed Scroll hurt. Well, any comments or questions, feel free to drop me a line. Carl (I need people to play here at school) Jarrell jarrel19@marshall.edu