The Post-Locals Update -- Mono-Black Braids

Welcome back to the Swamp!

We had our first local tournament last week, which is always really fun when there's a new format. This is store is definitely a far cry from the 30+ crowds of Endangered Hobbies in Natick, MA, but Baxter's is a delightful store with a good community. There's not very much solid jank, so the players usually separate themselves into the very casual players and the more competitive players--and, given who we are, that means we actually face meta 90% of the time because our deck eats jank alive.

On the to the updated list!

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I will come out and say that, given the current meta, this is the optimized version of this list. I've done a lot of iterations with some questionable card choices, but I've settled on this list after it all and I think it has the best chance. You can find my Untapped record here.

The Cards

Hopeless Nightmare

Likely our best possible synergy with Braids, Hopeless Nightmare is a world of value and mana efficiency all wrapped up in a single card. The discard is useful in essentially every matchup--running aggro decks out of resources just a little faster, forcing control and ramp opponents to make tough choices about which cards to keep, grinding out opposing midrange players, this card does it all. The chip damage is also real--with Braids in play, this cardoften  represents a +1 in card advantage and 4 damage overall, an absolutely stunning resource count for a single one mana card. Even if you don't have any synergy, mana to spare means you can filter your draws and find some power cards. Love this inclusion.

Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia

Still the best in terms of raw token generation for Braids, the legendary tag and weak body overall means we can't justify this card above two copies. That being said, an unanswered Jadar curved into Braids represents a thick clock and solid grind. The synergy is worth the inclusion, no doubt about it.

Tenacious Underdog

While not a Bargain enabler, Underdog IS secretly one of the better Braids enablers because of Blitz. Curving Underdog into two into Braids then getting the Underdog killed represents a Braids trigger AND the guaranteed card for an Underdog that was gonna die anyway. After all that, still a very aggressive, well statted two-drop that gives us grind and late game draw, which puts it above Razorlash (despite the lack of synergy with Bargain). 

The Witch's Vanity

So good that we can bring it to two copies, this card is still one of the best raw value cards in the deck and that makes it worth it. It skews a little more toward aggro, it's true, but given we have so much main deck that's good into control we're happy to have some more aggro oriented cards. Kill a 2 mana creature, play a Braids, sac the saga (we don't really care about the aura), that Vanity just netted you almost a +2 in card advantage. Stellar card, does everything we want it to do.

Virtue of Persistence

Another fantastic anti-aggro card, this card also has game against midrange in a big way. You won't play it often, but when you do, it'll cause a ruckus. Often killing a 3 mana creature means this is a little better than Witch's Vanity in terms of what it kills, so we get an even 2-2 split.

Gumdrop Poisoner

Definitely a fantastic card, the Braids fodder, lifegain, and racing potential are key in creature matchups--however, the lack of play against ramp and control means we cannot in good conscience run this card at four copies. If the meta shifts to be more creature focused we can absolutely consider bumping these numbers up, but for now, I'm happy with 2 in the main and 1 in the side.

Lord Skitter, Sewer King

The rest of the playerbase seems to be recognizing the Rat King's power, and it's not hard to see why, The sheer amount of clock this single card produces means he can overwhelm the opponent VERY easily, both on-curve and top decked late. Couple that with some repeatable, incidental graveyard hate, and you've got yourself a monster of a card. Fun fact--curving this into Rankle's Prank means that, after combat, you'll have two free rats to sacrifice, trading free tokens for some of your opponent's best creatures. Monster play.

Braids, Arisen Nightmare

The impetus to build the deck, Braids does not disappoint. Grind, clock, advantage, this lady (nightmare...?) does it all. Even a single activation to sacrifice a Hopeless Nightmare is a huge amount of advantage, and if she then trades for a kill spell you are VERY up on that exchange. So happy to see a home for this card, the only reason we don't play four is she is just AWFUL in multiples.

Liliana of the Veil

If you asked for a removal spell that left behind a ticking time bomb, Liliana would be your answer. With the current meta leaning towards ramp and big mana strategies, a disruptive planeswalker that can also be a removal spell in creature matchups is a home run for the deck. Don't be afraid to plus her with abandon--you've likely got fodder left behind, and your Beseeches can pick up the pieces from there.

Rankle's Prank

An utterly fantastic card, the only matchup it falls short in is low to the ground aggro decks. Given that the two best decks are ramp and mono-red, we can't quite afford to run as many of these as we would like mainboard, so we've got a Beseech copy in the main and the rest in side. Your goal against ramp is to stick some sort of threat on turn two or three, then rip their hand apart and lower their life total on four with Prank to get you that much closer to the finish line. With Nightmares, Braids, and Pranks, you have an absurd amount of burn for a mono-black midrange deck, and this card regularly closes games out of nowhere. I played a 5 color Cascade deck at locals, and even after resolving the biggest combo with Invasion and Desecrator, it just didn't matter--I Beseeched out a copy of Prank and killed him on the spot.

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

No need to talk about this one. Only reason we stick to two is because A) Beseech is copies 3 and 4, and B) people are prepared for it. If they weren't, the count would go up.

The End

While a single copy is still very, very good, with the move away from Sheoldred-based midrange decks and more toward ramp, more copies in the side are less necessary. Hitting Atraxa is nice... but that means they resolved an Atraxa. Still, hitting a Bramble Familiar with this is quite funny, so we're happy to have the one.

Sorin, the Mirthless

Still a great inclusion, he's our buddy for control and grindy matchups. Don't be afraid to +1 him naked, five loyalty is a lot and you can always remove their threats on the follow up and keep gaining advantage.

Beseech the Mirror

The other core build-around, this card is fantastic. More than two copies is a little too hard on our fodder ratios, but two is the sweet spot. Now this means you functionally have four copies of Path of Peril, four copies of Sheoldred, three copies of Sorin, six Rankle's Prank... having access to the best card in any situation should not be underestimated. Fantastic card.

And that's the list! Sideboarding is pretty straightforward with this deck--against aggro, take out some of the more controlling elements for removal and lifegain. Against control and ramp, take out the removal and lifegain for more controlling elements. Very simple. Don't be afraid to plus Liliana, and don't be afraid to do maximum damage with Rankle's Prank-- a game where you have a single threat in a topdeck war is better for you than a game where you both have multiple cards. Feel free to let me know your experience in the comments. See you out there!