Grixis Wins

Here it is. Sorry that I took my time. I was just so very tired yesterday.
http://www.mtgvault.com/northernwarlord/decks/budget-decks-standard-grixis/

Thanks for the look and comments... i will take a look now.

I played this for the first time last night... i lost to a top 8mirror jeskai... he had 1 life left when i lost... very close... then i played his top 8 mirror abzan midrange and won by a mile... he sideboarded and i did not because i wanted to see how it played just as it was.. i drew no red mana so i was dead and he was at 10 health... the deck played well and I used at least 2 despise's in each match... early... i dont see a need for thoughtseize as this deck has no life gain. If i can get rid of your creatures and planeswalkers i am being effective.

Secondly... Mindsweep was in the primary deck for a long time and then moved to sideboard and then removed completely. Craters Claws to me was more effective. my counters for the most part against current decks sat in my hand... despise lets me know whats in there hand so i know when and what to be playing from a control stand point... also a lot of players in standard are playing Courser or Kruphix which also aids in letting me watch.

I hear you if it's hitting no need to change the only reason I'd change it out would be if I was casting it and not pulling anything out since they didn't have Planeswalkers or creatures.

I played it in multiplayer last night (not by choice) The deck again did what it is supposed to but with lack of creatures this deck can only do so much... for sure designed for 1v1 not multiplayer but still good to see how the deck draws... out of 3 matches despise only missed 1 out of 7 times... still was able to see what was in his hand though which helps.

Let me give you my responses to the problems and we can talk it out.

Problem #1 that I see is that you have nothing going on with delve. I would suggest either Murderous Cut (For more Removal) or Dig Through Time so that you can use your graveyard effectively.
****this was originally built around making your opponent decide what they were going to do hence Ob Nixilis and Delve... The discard rate was good but not fast enough. Steam Augury really changed the direction of the deck. Again make your opponent choose how your going to beat them... 1 pile of 1 great card or 4 good cards... a pile with 2 and 3 etc. This card plays all the time and has worked extremely well.

Problem #2 is Gurmag Swiftwing. I like the card in a black aggro deck, but honestly, without death touch, it's almost useless.
**** I agree here... and early cast flyer was the point... not everyone has flyers and not everyone has reach... so ideally you have deathtouch on the ground and first strike in the air... What would you suggest. I was looking at Monastery Swiftspear.

Thirdly, In control, Chandra Pyromaster literally does nothing and get killed instantly. I would switch out the Chandra for another Sarkhan Dragonspeaker.
**** Yea I like Chandra for her abilities but your right... not super effective yet... I am thinking about Ashiok to test play.

Problem #4 is that Void snare is not as good as Dissolve. In order to have a legit control deck, you honestly need counter spells. If you're against aggro decks that have rabble master and such, what is disdainful stroke going to do. -2 Void Snares and +2 Dissolves.
****Void snare is a cheap savior... especially against the nasty green decks... they come out... ramp up but cant attack. You return to hand and know their play and hopefully can counter the spell the next time around... disdainful stroke has been working but i do like dissolve. I may go +2 Dissolve -1 voidsnare -1 disdainful stroke.

Problem #5 is that you can't pour all of your mana into crater's claws. You would be left a sitting duck with all your mana tapped out until next turn, giving the opponent time to bring out heavy duty stuff.
****Craters Claws is a game ender not a leave you sitting... it has to be played with Howl of the Horde after you attacked or IMO it shouldnt be in here... however craters claws has worked well to get a creature off the board and leave mana for counters...

Problem #6, no Anger of the Gods. This is a great card in standard right now because it knocks back aggro and screws up mana ramping for temur. -3 Crater's claws and +3 Anger of the Gods.
****I like the card a lot and it is amazing in a multiplayer or two headed dragon match... i am still wary of it in 1v1... its on my list to test play in this deck... remember this deck is full of little chump blockers... -3 kills them.


Thanks for the input.. I will be considering it as i improve the deck.

Grixis is not supposed to be full of chump blockers. I'm going to address your feedback with another one of my feedbacks.

#1) I understand how you feel about Steam Augury. That is a great card, which is why I run 2 of. Still, you're doing nothing about your graveyard. Think about murderous cut or Dig through time - They exile your graveyard from the use of your opponents and they provide very useful abilities.

#2) I would Suggest nothing other than pearl lake ancient. He is supposed to be the curve topper in most control decks and he is very much out of range of anger of the gods. Other than that, I would suggest Satyr Firedancer, To make your burn hit your opponent AND their creature.

#3) Ashiok is a very nice addition to any control deck but Sarkhan is better for Grixis in particular.

#4) For cheap saviors, I would consider Nullify, it's UU to counter a creature spell. You can therefore bait your opponent and still counter a polukranos. Void Snare is just bad for most situations.

#5) Clever Impersonater, Sarkhan Vol, Pearl Lake Ancient, and Keranos are all game enders. Craters claws has less of a usage than Anger of the Gods.

#6) Still, Anger of the Gods is an amazing card. If you follow the suggestions above, you really don't have to worry about losing your "chump blockers" if you don't have any ;D

-Josh

***Edit: Also, you really have no use for stab wound, as you're countering/burning your opponent's creatures. Take out Stab Wound for Anger of the gods if you must.

Lets focus on #2... Im struggling to see how Pearl Lake Ancient works mechanically. So you can pump him up which is fine... is the return 3 lands and return Pearl Lake Ancient similar to how Aetherling worked... I can in theory return him to my hand for the cost of 3 lands to prevent him from being killed?

In short, Yes. You can use him to block a 12/12 or whatever... then before combat damage is assigned, return 3 lands and him to your hand. Honestly, you have many answers for big creatures so I don't think you'll be needing to use this ability.

Thanks for the insights... I will be changing some cards out this week and play testing them... I will post how it turns out.

Awesome, talk to you then