View Full Deck List on MTGdecks.net
This deck is a mono-black midrange strategy built around sacrifice synergies, recursive creatures, and incremental value. Rather than relying on a single combo or explosive finish, it wins by steadily draining resources, maintaining board presence, and forcing opponents into unfavorable trades.
It can grind when games go long, but it is also capable of closing games through early pressure without ever fully assembling its primary engine.
Core Game Plan
The deck revolves around turning creature deaths into advantage while keeping a steady flow of threats on the board.
Early creatures like Forsaken Miner, Nine-Lives Familiar, and Bloodghast provide repeatable bodies that naturally trade, recur, or enable sacrifice effects. These early plays let the deck establish pressure while setting up future value.
As the game progresses, cards such as Timeline Culler, Vengeful Bloodwitch, and Al Bhed Salvagers reward repeated deaths by generating damage, value, or board control. Sacrifice outlets like Vampiric Rites and protection effects such as Offer Immortality allow you to turn removal into upside rather than setbacks.
The deck is flexible in how it wins. Some games are attrition battles powered by recursion and card advantage. Others are decided simply by attacking with efficient creatures and forcing opponents to answer threat after threat.
Midgame and Finishers
The mid to late game is where the deck’s inevitability shows.
Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER is a key midgame threat, applying immediate pressure while synergizing naturally with the deck’s sacrifice and recursion themes. Left unanswered, he accelerates the clock quickly and forces opponents into awkward trades, often drawing removal that frees up other threats.
Value engines like Timeline Culler, Vengeful Bloodwitch, and Al Bhed Salvagers continue to chip away at life totals and board resources, while Liliana, Dreadhorde General provides card advantage, removal pressure, and a powerful late-game win condition. Reanimation effects such as Zombify allow the deck to reuse its most impactful creatures or recover after board wipes.
Utility cards and locations like Midgar, City of Mako and The Masamune add resilience and reach, ensuring the deck can close games even when the board stalls.
The deck rarely relies on a single explosive turn. Instead, it wins by steadily overwhelming opponents who run out of answers.
Strengths
- Strong grind and attrition plan
- High resilience to removal due to recursion
- Multiple viable win paths
- Can win without assembling the full sacrifice engine
Weaknesses
- Slower to assemble the full sacrifice engine
- Can struggle if early creatures are removed repeatedly without recursion coming online
That said, the deck is not dependent on its engine to win. It frequently closes games through early beatdown alone. Timeline Culler and Forsaken Miner can apply meaningful pressure by themselves, often supported by a single Vengeful Bloodwitch or Al Bhed Salvagers, without needing to fully “spin up” sacrifice loops.
Mulligan and Mana Considerations
The deck is comfortable keeping a two-land opening hand as long as it contains early plays. An ideal opener includes a turn one and turn two play, and preferably a turn three follow-up.
Thanks to its low curve and recursive threats, the deck can function efficiently on limited mana. It does not need to hit every early land drop to stay competitive and can often stabilize or pressure opponents before falling behind.
Sideboard Approach
The sideboard is focused on matchup flexibility rather than transforming the deck’s identity. Discard and exile effects help against control and combo, additional removal and sweepers improve aggressive matchups, and high-impact threats like Massacre Wurm punish go-wide strategies.
Results and Performance
So far this season, the deck has performed well in ranked play, reaching Platinum Tier 4. While still being refined, the results suggest the list is competitive and consistent enough to climb, particularly in longer, grind-oriented matches.
View Full Deck List ( MTG Arena Import)
Deck
3 Forsaken Miner (OTJ) 88
21 Swamp (TLA) 284
1 Offer Immortality (ONE) 102
1 Vampiric Rites (FDN) 615
4 Deadly Precision (TLA) 95
3 Vengeful Bloodwitch (FDN) 76
3 Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER (FIN) 115
3 Al Bhed Salvagers (FIN) 88
1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General (FDN) 176
1 Joo Dee, One of Many (TLA) 105
1 Feed the Swarm (TLE) 257
2 Realm of Koh (TLA) 276
3 Timeline Culler (EOE) 121
3 Fire Navy Trebuchet (TLA) 100
2 Nine-Lives Familiar (FDN) 66
1 Sothera, the Supervoid (EOE) 115
1 Midgar, City of Mako (FIN) 286
1 Zombify (FDN) 187
1 Phoenix Fleet Airship (TLA) 114
1 Bloodghast (DFT) 77
1 Gatekeeper of Malakir (FDN) 713
1 The Masamune (FIN) 264
1 Obsessive Pursuit (TLA) 112
Sideboard
1 Corrupted Conviction (OTJ) 84
1 Eaten Alive (FDN) 172
1 Zuko’s Exile (TLA) 3
1 Massacre Wurm (FDN) 714
1 Hylderblade (EOE) 106
1 Duress (ONE) 92
1 Day of Black Sun (TLA) 94