Main Deck ( 60 cards)

Sideboard ( 15 cards)

Deck Description

What's Black and White and Red all over? Why, The Bad News, of course. This is a midrange/control deck that I've been playing and refining since the release of Theros. It's a lot of fun to pilot, and performs very well against nearly every match-up. Some may think that twelve scrylands hurts the deck, but I've found that I can consistently play Obzedat (the most difficult card in the deck to cast) on turn five, have to choose between a Reckoner, Downfall, or even Anger on turn three, and if necessary I can Chain a turn one Soldier of the Pantheon long before it can do any real damage. The few occasions in which the land did slow me down I am still easily able to catch up thanks to the individual power of each card in the deck. Obzedat can cushion a dwindling life total while punishing my opponent and dodging sorcery speed removal, Blood Baron is an immediate threat that proves incredibly hard to remove, and Stormbreath puts immediate pressure on my opponent often becoming monstrous if not dealt with quickly. I've won more close games with incredible top decks than I have with any other deck, and I swear, every card I draw is bad news for my opponent. I highly suggest you try this list for yourself, and hope those who do try it will comment with their thoughts, opinions, and suggestions for the list, as It is constantly evolving.

How to Play

Once you understand the cards available to you, this deck is pretty straightforward to pilot, as anyone with a basic understanding of Magic will quickly see how badly this deck wants to win every game. I like to play scrylands very early to ensure I will see early threats and removal, as well as to ensure that I have a shock or basic land in hand on turn three and five. If my starting hand has a Chained in it, I may play a shock as early as turn two in order to have my removal online, but this varies in importance from match-up to match-up. Turn three I generally shock myself to cast a Reckoner, or possibly Anger to wipe an early aggro board. If I have the mana, turn four can be a great turn to drop one of my legendary enchantments. Whip is obviously great, especially with Obzedat in the deck, but often just the Whip is enough to end an aggressive deck's race. As for Mogis, I honestly haven't played too many games with him in the deck, and up until BotG his spot belonged to Elspeth. I think his ability is powerful, and he actually becomes a swinging threat pretty consistently. By turn five I've usually got a few options, and depending on the board state it's often not incorrect to play another Reckoner over Blood Baron, but usually what I want to see at this point in the game is Obzedat. The best thing you can do is often to force your opponent into topdeck mode, either with Rakdos's Return or by answering their threats card for card. Once both players have no cards in hand, this deck really does have the advantage, as your opponent's removal is often rendered useless or awkward against every creature you could topdeck, and in contrast you will likely see an effective answer to an opponent's creatures much sooner. This deck's most common win condition is honestly either the Whip, Obzedat, or both, as each can win the game without the other, and all but ensure a victory together. I highly suggest you try this list for yourself, and hope those who do try it will comment with their thoughts, opinions, and suggestions for the list, as It is constantly evolving.