Lands:
4 Mishra's Factory
17 Swamp
Creatures:
4 Hypnotic Specter
4 Ravenous Rats
2 Masticore
Other Spells:
4
Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Funeral Charm
4 Dark Ritual
3 Drain Life
4 The Rack
4 Nevinyrral's Disk
2 Powder Keg
Sideboard:
2 Powder Keg
2 Masticore
4 Persecute
3 Dystopia
4 Planar Void |
 Massacre-less
Control.
Description of deck by it's author
(quoted):
...The first deck was inspired by the Nemesis card Massacre. I
thought it would be cool to build a control-heavy black deck with
Massacre, Nevinyrral's Disk, and Powder Keg. Around the same time, I
picked up four black-bordered Hypnotic Specters, two Beta Dark Rituals,
and four Beta Drain Lifes. So I added discard and the board-sweepers and
came up with a deck. The Massacres, which had spawned the idea in the
first place, turned out to be overkill and eventually came out for
Ravenous Rats. The extra discard worked much better.
Because of the proactive nature of this deck's spells, it's not very
difficult to play. Use discard whenever you have it, lay The Rack when
you have the mana available, and use disks, kegs, and Masticore to keep
threats off the table.
Funeral Charm -- At first glance, this looks like a very weak card. The
truth of the matter is, its versatility makes it irreplaceable. More
often than not, it's creature kill. +2/-1 deals with a lot of problem
creatures, and helps you survive the early game by killing Jackal Pup,
Ball Lightning, Mother of Runes, Savannah Lions, Birds of Paradise,
Llanowar Elves. It's also the only usable instant-speed discard spell.
Oddly enough, I've actually won a game using it as a pump spell. I
played a turn 2 Masticore via Dark Ritual and proceeded to beat my
opponent down to four. Then he dropped Verdeloth the Ancient and brought
my offensive to a screeching halt. He quickly built up a superior board,
so I did the only thing I could - I attacked with my Mishra's Factory.
He snickered and said,"Okay" (signifying no blocks). I played Funeral
Charm to give my Mishra's +2/-1 and deal the final four points of
damage. All he could say was,"Who plays with that!?"
Ravenous Rats -- In some matchups, Mesmeric Fiend is better. In a
control-heavy metagame I'd switch them.
Drain Life -- I initially played this because I had four Betas. It was
never a liability, so I haven't changed it. It is good for burning out
an opponent low on life and using up late game Dark Rituals. Still, it's
the first card I'd change if I were to change the deck.
Hypnotic Specter -- People hate Hypnotic Specter. First turn"Ritual,
Hippie" used to be a great play, but not so much anymore. A red player
will use whatever burn spell they're holding to kill it immediately. If
you see mountains, wait until turn 3. Use the rituals to power up Drain
Life later. Do the same against white, since they invariably pack Swords
to Plowshares. A blue player will always Force of Will if he's got it;
if he doesn't, keep in mind that doing cartwheels can be considered
unsportsmanlike.
Mishra's Factory -- They provide an uncounterable source of damage
against control, and an early blocker against aggro. Mishras are very
important for staying alive early against weenie decks. Don't forget
that you can tap them to give themselves +1/+1 when blocking and still
deal damage.
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