Ha, that would definitely get you into mid-game, but I despise the Eldrazi. They're not going anywhere near my brews. :)
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I guess great minds think alike :) I do like the Rogue's Passage addition, though my version already runs foundry of the consuls and this deck needs a lot of BB. I might try switching them out and seeing how I like it. You run 22 lands, and I haven't had an issue with only running 20, but that might change with the addition of relentless dead. I've also found that duress needs to be main-boarded more often than not, as kalitas doesn't last long if you don't clear your opponent's hand (plus Lily's +2 is pretty brutal with duress).I feel like half of standard is going to be playing our deck in a couple of months, buddy. :)
Oh my, I didn't even know Gurmag existed. Too bad it's rotating in 3 weeks (but I'm not sure why you use coat with venom instead of touch of moon glove since you have first strike), though Atarka Red does too. That's also why I'm only running 2 bloodsoaked champions, btw. A playset would definitely be worth it (I do tend to top deck when I get into mid/late-game), but when I built this deck I only had 2, and I didn't feel like ordering 2 more for a few weeks of play. If SOI comes out with a viable 1-drop zombie, the deck will be complete. I put in Shadows and Ob Nix on a whim, and both have won games for me. Shadows (along with foundry of consuls) stops stalemates as well as softening my top-deck problem, and all of Ob Nix's abilities play right in with what I'm doing (and it's my only drop above 4 CMC). As 1-ofs, they can be game changers, as opposed to vampiric rites, which everyone runs, and I haven't ever found helpful due to the continued mana drain. I'm sure corpse churn will get bumped because I'll probably find something better in SOI to bring back Kalitas/Liliana.Overall, the deck would definitely improve with Gurmag and more champions, but I think I'll just wait to see what SOI does for me instead. Thanks for the ideas!
I've been play testing a similar deck for a couple weeks, and it's killing, the main difference being I run mono-black and rely more on sac, reanimation, and creature destruction. It really only dies to Atarka red due to the speed and all the tiny creatures that are inefficient to kill. I, too, SB Minister of Pain against it, but it just never works out because Atarka is used to boiling earth. As I said, I go mono-black in mine in order to get the BB mana cards (ruinous path, grasp of darkness, Kalitas, Ob Nix). I've found that you don't need the extra life gain that white offers, especially if you add Kalitas. With Liliana's ult and Kalitas, I devote at least 10 cards to creature destruction, which both gives time to curve out and benefit from your opponent's creatures. Duress (which you have) is great for control decks in order to get Lily and Kalitas out, but even if they get killed you can usually bring them back (corpse churn is surprisingly good).Make sure you protect/reanimate your husks, as they keep your creatures out of exile.Lastly, I love your addition of Sadist. I totally forgot about him. He'll totally go in my main board.Anyway, here's my deck, if you want to compare:http://www.mtgvault.com/winch/decks/monoblack-kalitas-zombicrats/p.s. check out the spoiled Relentless Dead. It's going to wreck.
Thanks! He fits my theme perfectly.
Thanks! Yeah, you have to know your audience. But the magic is in its ability to get your opponents in on the fun (without making too many enemies most of the time) while subtly shifting the odds in your favor :)