Why Mono-Black Aggro Is Still Great In Pioneer

Mono-Black Aggro was the best deck in Pioneer after the initial wave of bannings that curbed Four-Color Saheeli and Mono-Green Devotion. Smuggler’s Copter was an elite part of the equation, one that gave incredible consistency and speed to a deck already primed to be resilient to traditional removal and grindy decks.

Of course, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) decided to ban the artifact, pushing Pioneer back towards green decks for a legality cycle by keeping Oko, Thief of Crowns around. One broken card getting banned uncovers another (though to be fair, Oko was never much of a secret).

The next step in the evolution of Pioneer was an Oko ban (with Nexus of Fate for good measure, though it seems like more of a time-abuse ban than a wholly power-level-oriented ban).

So what happens now? Finally, Azorius Control gets its turn at the plate, as Gerry Thompson made clear recently. Is it time to pick up Supreme Verdict and friends?

I’m still not convinced.

Mono-Black gets the benefit of two insane lands, Mutavault and Castle Locthwain, and with the maindeckable Murderous Rider, there’s little doubt in my mind that some level of Mono-Black is more than capable of beating both Azorius Control and the various aggro decks of Pioneer.

The question remains, which flavor is best? There are tribal Vampires and Zombies, as well as a straight-up aggro deck and a Devotion version. Each one has its benefits and drawbacks. We’ll explore a few strains.

My pick for the best list of the straight-up aggro version is as follows:

Here’s the deal. You cut your Night Market Lookouts for Gutterbones and drop your now-banned Smuggler’s Copters for a mix of removal and threats, and call it a list. Pretty straightforward, with high overall card quality and a crispy manabase. But no one ever gave extra points for being fancy, and the best one-drop spells in the format are as good as ever. You still never flood with Mutavault and Castle Locthwain in your deck, though it’s a bit easier to get manascrewed without the smoothing effect of the Copter.

In fact, it might be reasonable to play a 25th land instead of one of your more expensive threats, like Spawn of Mayhem or Rankle, Master of Pranks. 

As for the sideboard, it plays seven cards you can gladly sideboard in against Azorius Control for your copies of Fatal Push and Grasp of Darkness, and a healthy mix of cards to combat opposing aggro or midrange decks. But some of the specific numbers are important to keep in mind.

Without Oko as a major part of the format, Noxious Grasp drops off in playability, and as the other colors rise in popularity it’s not a particularly exciting card. Grasp of Darkness is more flexible, answering threats like Glorybringer, Hazoret the Fervent, and Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet with equal ease. Legion’s End is a bit less exciting, and could be replaced with more copies of Disfigure for little cost. It’s primarily useful as a decent exile effect against opposing recursive threats like Scrapheap Scrounger or Bloodsoaked Champion. 

Lifebane Zombie was just in the sideboard for good, solid value against the remaining Mono-Green Devotion and Mono-White Aggro decks. However, it became apparent that the best way to fight those decks was to take a different tack. By taking the control role via a massive pile of removal and the grindy effects of Liliana, the Last Hope and Kalitas, Traitor to Ghet, you actually have a better set-up against the aggro decks. With six ways to answer a Turn 1 Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic, you’re way more likely to simply trade one-for-one over multiple turns and eventually win with one of your top-end cards.

A mix with Noxious Grasp seems legitimate, though you still have four Swift Ends to beat random planeswalkers or large threats. Hence I’ve taken the liberty of removing every single green/white hate card out of the deck. They just aren’t doing what you need against the decks you want to sideboard them in against, and they are dead in the various semi-mirror matchups and against Mono-Red Aggro.

Not exactly the best choices for a sideboard slot!

Furthermore, there’s a nagging possibility that Rankle is actually worse than Kalitas in enough matchups that Kalitas should just be maindeck, though the synergy with all of your recursive bodies and your Rankle is attractive. On the other hand, the fact that Kalitas has lifelink in a deck with Thoughtseize, Swift End, and Castle Locthwain is not something to ignore lightly. I’ve wanted a way to gain life in Mono-Black Aggro for some time, and maindeck Kalitas is the best way to get it in there.

To be honest, I’d be willing to split the difference and run a few of each maindeck while cutting the Spawn of Mayhem, but that would almost certainly necessitate a 25th land.

That alternative list looks almost identical, as follows:

The other way to put together your Mono-Black deck is to lean in on devotion, specifically Gray Merchant of Asphodel. This slows you down, yet gives you more life to work with to fuel your Castle Locthwains. You also pick up Gifted Aetherborn, which ties the list together nicely.

It’s a blend of Vampires and Devotion, and I’m quite partial to this set-up:

Unlike Mono-Black Aggro, this version is way happier to lean on Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord and Dusk Legion Zealot to keep pace with the opponent. Eventually, the deck wins either with a massive Gray Merchant of Asphodel or a Nykthos-fueled Walking Ballista. Cabal Stronghold acts as a secondary source of big mana boost in the late-game, though with only fourteen actual Swamps in the deck it’s not necessarily better than, say, a second Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth or basic Swamp.

Given sufficient time, this slower deck is more than capable of grinding out even an Azorius Control opponent. Castle Locthwain, Champion of Dusk, and Dusk Legion Zealot make sure of that. Uncertainties with the list involve tuning the numbers between Walking Ballista, Dusk Legion Zealot, and Murderous Rider in the maindeck; whether to play the 26th land; and whether to play any graveyard hate in the sideboard.

Murderous Rider is incredible as a source of two pips of devotion to black while offering a bit of extra life and the catch-all Hero’s Downfall in a deck that really wants that effect. On the other hand, it’s not a Vampire, and thus lacks the key synergies with Sorin and Champion of Dusk that we want to lean on. Currently it’s in the sideboard, but there’s a good chance that it’s better as a two-of in the maindeck over a Dusk Legion Zealot and a Swamp. That opens up a bit of sideboard space for more varied answers.

Some Vampires are not of high enough raw quality to seriously play in this deck, though, and they are Drana, Liberator of Malakir and Stromkirk Condemned. Neither card is resilient to removal, nor good at improving consistency, and their stats aren’t even particularly attractive. Many lists incorporate these weaker threats when they probably shouldn’t. Yes, it’s a Vampires deck that wants a high count for devotion, but it’s also a midrange deck and needs high-quality individual threats and answers.

As for sideboarding with the two decks, there are enough different archetypes (and sub-archetypes) that a full Pioneer sideboard guide is impossible, but we can cover a decent amount of the format with a few choices, and adapt as necessary to rogue strategies. Take the following as your baseline going forward, and be willing to embrace flexibility!

Sideboarding With Mono-Black Aggro

VS Azorius Control

Out:

In:

VS Mono-Black Aggro

Out:

In:

VS Mono-Black Vampires

Out:

In:

VS Lotus Field Combo

Out:

In:

VS Mono-Red Aggro

Out:

In:

VS Izzet Phoenix

Out:

In:

VS Llanowar Elves Decks

Out:

In:

VS Sultai Dredge

Out:

In:

Sideboarding With Mono-Black Vampires

VS Azorius Control

Out:

In:

VS Mono-Black Aggro

Out:

In:

VS Mono-Black Vampires

Out:

In:

VS Lotus Field Combo

Out:

In:

VS Mono-Red Aggro

Out:

In:

VS Izzet Phoenix

Out:

In:

VS Llanowar Elves Decks

Out:

In:

VS Sultai Dredge

Out:

In:

At this point, Mono-Black seems ready to be a perennial top-tier part of Pioneer, as it seems unlikely that WotC would ban Castle Locthwain or Thoughtseize. No promises, but this is a deck (or collection of similar decks) worth putting together for the long run in a format that looks to be approaching its final form very soon.