[Streetz]

Several hours later, I have finished reviewing all of the decks. Overall I am really happy about the turn out for this contest with 28 entires (several more than last month) and a lot of solidly built decks. There was a nice selection of decks including Combo, Beatdown, Tribal, Mill and even a Theme deck (which I'm a sucker for).

One thing that I don't care for in these contests but that showed up several times is 'infinite combo' syndrome. Does an infinite combo make the deck any more fun to play against? Does it make it any better? Not in my eyes. Unless, of course, you use a unique combo I've never seem before and the rest of the deck does well without the infinite combo.

I hope that makes sense.

Some of the all-stars of the contest include:
Death Baron
Goblin Sharpshooter
Mephidross Vampire
Goblin Siege-Commander
Grave Pact
Lyzolda, Death Baron
Carrion Feeder
Gorgon Flail
Deathgreater
Hissing Iguanar

Some surprise inclusions that I really enjoyed:
Zombie Stairwell
Dead-a-pult
Hamletback Goliath
Crypt Champion
Elemental Mastery
Din of the Firehard
Earthlink
Dingus Staff
Bereavement
Sword of the Meek
Invigorating Boon
Varchild's War-Riders
Fallen Ideal
Mercy Killing
Genesis Chamber
Fate Transfer

With that said, thank you to everyone that submitted decks to the contest. i appreciate all of the participation and the winner of the contest will be sent 4 copies of Deathbringer Thoctar. Here are the scores!

Spoiler:

27.6 -- Cashew -- Let the Bodies Hit the Floor
This is quite the excellent first deck to be reviewing. It's original, extremely synergistic and combolicious, has an excellent mana curve, key control spells and a wonderful skeleton for a combo deck. Combine that with a excellently written deck description and well fitting deck name and I wouldn't be surprised if this deck places in the top five. Well done, Cashew. Well done.
[BR COMBO: Goblin Sharpshooter / Deathbringer Thoctar - Genesis Chamber / Norin the Wary - Endrek]
9.4 -- 9.1 -- 9.1

24 -- Ryuzaki -- Paying Respects to the Dead
Very simple and choesive deck. I can appreciate lots of four-of's as it makes playing a deck and understanding a deck a lot easier. The Shrines are flavorful to your title as are most of your lands. I have always had a liking for the sacrificial Blood Pet and Blood Vassal cards and your use of them in the deck is nice. Fleshbag Marauder and Shriekmaw are excellent choices for this Enduring Renewal deck. In any event, while I can enjoy this infinite deck I was hoping not to see any infinite combos for the contest. Good job on the flavor thought!
[BR INFINITE COMBO: Enduring Renewal / Blood Pet / Deathbringer Thoctar / Deathgreeter (Life, Damage)]
8.5 -- 8.5 -- 7

25 -- Luthervamplord -- I Love the smell of Decomp in the morning!
Sadistic Glee is an excellent choice for Deathbringer Thoctar and it enlightens me to see it included in a decklist. The rest of the deck falls into place around the Thoctar quite nicely despite it's slightly suicidal tendencies with cards like Area, Night's Whisper, Phyrexian Totem and a lot of creatures that die quickly. Another card I love seeing in action is Ashling. Good job fitting her into this deck.
[BR S.C.S.: Deathbringer Thoctar - Carrion Feeder / Fallen Ideal / Sadistic Glee]
8.6 -- 8.2 -- 8.2

24.9 -- Mad Mat -- Tainted Thoctar's Betrayal
Impressive deck especially with the well chosen Diabolic Intent over other tutors, the inclusion of Tainted Aether (visciously nice which is why you are getting a higher overall score) and the recursion action of Sherei with Rukh Egg, Nether Traitor, Mesmeric Fiend and Mogg War Marshall. I personally would have chosen either more lands or a permanent over Dark Ritual, but that's just me. Fun deck!
[BR COMBO: Deathbringer Thoctar - Varchild's War-Riders / Night of Soul's Betrayel / Tainted Aether - Shirei, Shizao's Caretaker]
8 -- 7.9 -- 9

26.2 -- Yezzandrix -- Death's Theatre of Night
I felt like I was reading a juicy horror novel at first. But seriously, I like this deck. I like pingers, I like Mephidross Vampire, I like Gorgon Flail. Flavorfully, the deck being underminded by the Vampires makes sense so I appreciate the flavor you grafted into the deck. I also appreciate the Vampire Tribalness in it. Gravepact works wonderfully with almost every creature in the deck.
[BR TRIBAL (Vampires): Mephidross Vampire - Deathbringer Thoctar / Gravepact
8.8 -- 8.6 -- 8.8

21.5 -- Scouter3000 -- Deathbreaker
Death Baron and Gorgon Flail! Deathtouch for the win it seems. I think this deck is fun but could use some work. Maybe 2 more Commanders, a 4 less Flail or Deadly Recluse. With Death Baron, Recluse and Flail it almost seems redundant. Terminate could also be a dead card for you since you have so much deathtouch in the deck. I personally would just go Death Baron, and swap the Flail and Recluse for zombies. They have synergy with your Baron. But then again, I appreciate your decision not to go into a full fledge tribal deck, as much as I like them. Kiki-Jiki works wonders in this deck and would fit flavorfully into a zombie tribal deck.
[BRG COMBO: Deathbringer Thoctar - Death Baron / Gorgon Flail - Siege-Gang Commander / Kiki-Jiki!]
7.5 -- 7 -- 7

12 -- Ragnar -- Attack or Snack?
I like the cohesiveness of this deck, but not the inclusion of both Baron and Flail. It's a little redundant. I do like the inclusion of Doubling Season which works well with Thoctar and Liege. Even though you have Thoctar, Baron and Lord in the deck, this isn't a tribal ZOMBIE deck. But when the Thoctar finally comes out, if you have Baron, Liege and Lord in play, he gets a hefty boost. It's also ashame the tokens from the liege are worms and not zombies. Because this deck had no description and lacks two legendary cards, you receive a point deduction (0 overall score). Technically this should be disqualified.
[BRG BEATDOWN: Deathbringer Thoctar / Creakwood liege / Doomgape / Doubling Season]
6 -- 6 -- 0

25.2 -- p-chan -- Deathbringer Boon
At first I thought this was just another Fluctuator deck rehash. But after reading and looking at it a second time I realized this is it's own monster. You use your legendary card choices well, Life from the Loam and Life/Death are perfect choices. Overall, while slightly fragile despite your efforts to strengthen it, this is a fun and semi-original combo deck. The concept isn't original, but your execution is in my opinion.
[BRG COMBO: Fluctuator / Invigorating Boon - Deathbringer Thoctar]
8.9 -- 7.8 -- 8.5

23 -- Niv-Mizzet Rulez! -- Goblins, Part of a Complete Breakfast
Interesting buffet concept in your description. Remind me not to go to this buffet any time soon. *grin* That's a lot of tokens. Maybe a few too many, but I can't complain. Siege-Gang Commander works wonders in this deck as does Lyzolda for their damage and sacrificial abilities. Rakka Mar also makes sense as another token maker. Deathbringer benefits from all of the tokens dying to natural causes or the Blood Witch, Gargadon or Commander. I would change a few cards here or there, but overall its a decent deck.
[BR COMBO: Deathbringer Thoctar - Lyzolda, the Blood Witch - Siege-Gang Commander / Mogg War Marshall]
7.5 -- 7.5 -- 8

0 -- A Humble Wizard -- No Name
Disqualified: No deck -- just a combo. I would have loved to see this deck list. But oh well. It was at least the easiest deck to grade thus far.
0 -- 0 -- 0

25.8 -- omegaprime9774 -- Deathbringer Squadron
Everything about this deck is awesome even despite me not wanting to see any infinite combos in the contest. I love the use of sacrificing lots of creatures to not only achieve more counters on the Deathbringer Thoctar as your win condition, but then also to achieve infinite turns. I still have to deduct a few points thought. Attrition and Gravepact is evil good. Why not call this Thoctar Copters?
[UBR INFINITE (Turns): Thopter Foundry / Time Sieve / Sword of the Meek - Deathbringer Thoctar]
9.4 -- 8.9 -- 7.5

24.5 -- Goldenboy -- Sacrificial Offering
Elemental Mastery really took me by surprise in this deck as it works really really with Deathbringer, Carrion and Thraximundar. The unfortunate thing is that it really does work as good on any of the other creatures. Still, combine with Grave Pact, Phyrexian Altar and Carrion Feeder, you have some viscious creature control going on. It kind of clears the wasy for Deathbringer Thoctar to attack and release all of his coutners on the opponent for the win. Overall, it looks to be consistent and choesive. I just would replace Dark Ritual with something else, but that's just me.
[BR TRIBAL (Zombie): Deathbringer Thoctar / Carrion Feeder - Elemental Mastery / Grave Pact]
7.5 -- 8 -- 9

20 -- Lockstar -- Death Fire Thoctar
At a quick glance, I like this deck. But when I look closer I begin to wonder if you mana base can accommodate the Thrinax cards on turn three or will they have to wait a few turns. It seems like Rakka mar and the Thrash are the only two cards that generate tokens in the deck and thus the scenario you describe in your description may not happen very often. However, I appreciate your card choices of the Spike, Fate Transfer and Soul's Fire as well as Yoke of the Damned for this style deck. It could use some work though.
[BRG BEATDOWN: Deathbringer Thoctar - Quiteous Spike / Thunder Thrash Elder / Thrinaxes]
7 -- 6 -- 7

27.3 -- kingez36@hotmail.co.uk -- Bred for the Slaughter
The inclusion of Earthlink, Dingus Staff, Bereavement AND Mercy Killing really made me like this deck. The Hunted Troll / Sharpshooter is a nice trick especially with Thoctar on the board. Toshiro is nice as well. Rain of Embers is a confusing card choice as it would also take out your deathgreeters and Shaprshooters... but I guess if you use it late in the game with Thoctar Out, that doesn't matter so much. Overall, I like the uiniqueness of this deck with the cards I mentioned before. The build seems good as well although a little double-mana cost heavy but you have a $1000 suite of lands to back that up. Good job!
[UBRG COMBO: Earthlink / Dingus Staff / Kiki-Jiki - Hunted Troll / Shaprshooter / Deathbringer Thoctar]
9.5 -- 8.8 -- 9

24.9 -- ALEX Ryugami -- Beathbrougth
Din of the Fireherd, Hamletback Goliath AND Kathari Bomber!? Those are three cards I didn't expect to see in the contest. Surprisingly, they all work very well in your deck thanks to having lots of token creatures and Fate Transfer in the deck. You definately get some style points for that. [BR COMBO: Deathbringer Thoctar / Fate Transfer / Hamletback Goliath / Siege Gang Commander]
8.4 -- 8 -- 8.5

24 -- Theevil -- The Sadistic Ball
Infinite deck using a combo I've never seen before, so that's kind of cool there. Interesting use of Kormus Bell - I wouldn't have thought of that one. Unspeakable Symbol isn't the best token generator at 3 life per token, but I give you props for that.
[BR INFINTIE: Hell's Caretaker / Anger / Deathbringer Thoctar (Damage) - Kormus Bell - Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth]
8.6 -- 8 -- 7.4

21.6 -- Tolarian Academic -- Timmy, Power-gainer
Please use deck tags next time. This looks very, very similar to the old Recurring Nightmare Toolbox decks with a few infinite combos in the mix. It's an intense combo deck that requires lots of tough choices. Sadistic Glee and Fecundity are real nice card choices. I'll be honest that I'm not personally a fan of this style of deck, but that doesn't mean it doesn't play well Although, even in your description you meantion it can be clunky at times. I can see that. I think there might be a few too many tutors in the deck, and also a few too many one of's (eventhough it is a toolbox deck).
[WBRG RECURSION COMBO INFINITE: Recurring Nightmare / Living Death - Toolbox]
8.1 -- 6.5 -- 7

16 -- MaCaYa -- SteelControl
For the record, Coretapper cannot put counters on Deathbringer Thoctar. Really, the only card in your deck capable of putting counters on the Thoctar is Power Conduit (outside of your creatures dying to combat damage or burn). You are missing a sacrifice outlet in the deck as far as I can tell and it almost seems like Deathbringer Thoctar doesn't belong in this deck.
[UBG CONTROL: Deathbringer Thoctar / Power Conduit / Arcbound creatures / Counterspells…]
5 -- 6 -- 5

22 -- Andy86 -- Infinity Burning Thoctar
I like the interaction of Ashnod's Altar + Grave Pact and Deathbringer Thoctar, but I think the Myr Retriever combo is a bit overkill. Some sac thrulls and token producers could have easily won your the game instead of going infinite. As previously mentioned, I'm not huge fan of infinite combos for this contest. With that said, I love the inclusion of Enslaved Horror and Gamble in this decklist. Urborg seems a waste of a legendary spot in your deck. Lastly, note that deck tags are lot easier than using individual card decks for decklists.
[BR INFINITE: Myr Retreiver / Ashonod's Altar - Deathbringer Thoctar (Damage) - Gravepact…]
8 -- 7 -- 7

25.3 -- Jordman -- we represent the nomy nom guild
This deck isn't as powerful as some of the other beatdown, token and combo decks in the contest, but I give you major props for finding all of the cards that get +1/+1 counters whenever another creature goes to the graveyard. This makes for a fun theme deck still with some playing power thanks to the Thrinaxes, Lyzoldas and Thoctar. You get some major style points for that. Please use deck tags in the future. Thanks.
[BRG THEME: Creatures that benefit from other creatures that go to the graveyard. (Thoctar, Drake, Algae Gharial, Rockslide Elemental]
8.5 -- 7.5 -- 9.3

22.7 -- hells33herd -- Death Extractor
Lots of infinite decks in the contest. As a general rule for future contests, try not to build an infinite deck. I appreciate the engineering behind each infinite deck but I wasn't hoping to see any for this contest. On to this deck, I really like Extractor Demon + Elemental mastery. Equally, I like Thornbite Staff + Thoctar + Mastery, even though it is infinitely combolicious. Deathgreeter and Hissing Iguanar are excellent inclusions in the decklist giving the potential combos. Amok is an interesting choice that I personally wouldn't have included more than 1 of in the deck. Bottled Cloister is also an interesting inclusion in this decklist. Thanks for building a Mill deck.
[BR INFINITE MILL: Extractor Demon / Deathbringer / Thornbite Staff / Elemental Mastery]
8 -- 7.7 -- 7

21.7 -- player1vscom -- The Immaculate Thoctar
This looks familiar. Immaculate Skelly, a similar deck I put together using Triskelion and Immaculate Magistrate, was lots of fun to build and play. This isn't an exact duplicate, but I have to ask why you aren't playing Llanowar Elf in place of Birds of Paradise. Also, even for an Elf tribal deck, 18 lands seems a bit too few, especially since you only have 8 mana producing creatures. Maybe I'm underestimating the power of Archdruid, but it still seems too few. Also, please use deck tags in the future. Thank you!
[TRIBAL (ELF): Immaculate Magistrate + Deathrbinger Thoctar]
7.2 -- 7.5 -- 7

22.5 -- taipan -- zombiefest at the pit of pain
Zombie Tribal sure was a popular concept in the contest thanks to Death Baron. Rotting Rats and Flehsbag Marauders are two fun inclusions in the decklist. Spawning Put is not only a nice sac outlet but a creature token generator. Mulldrifter is also a nice choice for this deck. I think the deck could use a little more cohesiveness.
[UBR TRIBAL (Zombie): Thoctar - Death baron / Lich Lord/ Sedris / Cemetary Reaper]
8 -- 7 -- 7.5

13.2 -- Death's Harpbringer -- BOOOOOM!!!!
I like the Devour concept behind the deck as it is really nice with Thoctar. Still, this deck use use some consolidation. It could also use a deck tag and a second legendary card. (I'm also not a fan of the deck name).
[BRG COMBO: Thoctar - Devour - Gilder Bairn / Doubling Season]
7.2 -- 6 -- 0

17.5 -- celtus kasady -- Machine Head
Lyzolda and Deahtbringer has proven to be a nice team. Even with Horobi though this deck seems a little bland. Also, please use deck tags, original deck names and spell out your card choices.
[BR COMBO: Deathbringer Thoctar - Horobi, Death's Wail / Lyzolda]
7 -- 6.5 -- 4

25.5 -- Raneth -- Jeska forged a Gatling Gun
This is a cohesive zombie tribal deck that splashes a few fun cards while making good use of the legendary card selections (even though I look down upon Umezawa's Jitte given its extreme power). Crypt Champion is one of the cards in the deck that really shines to get back Death Baron, who is a key component in making Deathbringer Thoctar Shine. Only having one Gorgon Flail is also nice as it isn't overkill in having four of them.
[BR TRIBAL (ZOMBIE): Death Baron / Reaper / Lord ofd the Undead / Crypt Champion - Gorgon Flail]
8 -- 8.5 -- 9

27.1 -- Seedy Work -- Death Brought by Zombie Thoctar
This is very similar to several other Tribal Zombie decks in the contest, with the Tombstone Stairwell setting it far apart from those I've reviewed thus far. Withered Wretch keeps a nice check on your opponent's graveyard and Deadpault is a super fun inclusion. Good job!
[BR TRIBAL (ZOMBIE): Death Baron / Lord / Reaper - Carrion Feeder - Tombstone Stairwell / infestation]
9 -- 8.9 -- 9.2

24.1 -- Old Fogey -- Thirteen Lords a-Rotting
My favorite card in the deck is Korlash, Heir to Blackblade. But beyond that, there is nothing else that sets this apart from the other Tribal Zombie decks in the contest. For the record, I forgot about Death Baron when I posted this contest.
[BR TRIBAL (ZOMBIE): Death Baron / Lord / Reaper - Carrion Feeder / Korlash, Heir / Noxious Ghoul]
7.8 -- 7.8 -- 8.5

The number after my comments for your deck are in the following order: Synergy, Playability, Overall.

My comments in the scoring spoiler above are as summarized as possible. I tried to highlight things I liked and did not like about the deck. If I found a glaring problem, I tried to make note of that. I also might have made a general scolding at all decks (like the infinity problem). Don't take offense. This contest is all in good fun.

Notes for the next contest: Avoid Infinite combos. Use deck tags. Use an original and fun name that still makes sense. Be sure to follow the Legendary Rule noted in the contest rules. Keep your deck cohesive. Use deck tags. Use deck tags. Use deck tags.

If you have any questions or concerns about the contest, please let me know. In the meantime, please check out the top five decks below in order of 5th to 1st place.

Fifth Place!

Originally Posted by omegaprime9774

Deck description: The design of this deck is to combine the powerful Deathbringer Thoctor with the powerful combo of Thopter Foundry, Sword of the Meek, and Time Sieve. This particular combo allows the player to make a 1/1 blue Thoptor, sacrificing the Sword of the Meek to do it. The Sword then comes back to equip the new thopter and do it again. The Time Sieve then works to sacrifice 5 of these tokens to take another turn. Since the tokens are still heading to the graveyard with the sacrifice, the thoctor's ability also triggers. Plus, your gaining one life for every thoptor you make with the combo.

Other cards include:
Gutless Ghoul This lovely little zombie allows you to sacrifice other creatures to gain 2 life. Works well with the Deathbringer ability.
man-o-war, Bone Shredder, and Shriekmaw: These creatures destroy or bounce other creatures when they come in to play.
Legend: Lord of Tresserhorm: a 10/4 beatstick that eats two creatures when he comes in. More thoctor counters!!!
Legend: Thraximundar This mythic justs keeps forcing sacrifices from your opponent and getting bigger for the sacrifices.
Attrition and Grave Pact : This combo allows you to get rid of most annoying creatures while forcing your opponent to lose even more creatures. A 2 for 1 for the Deathbringer goodness.
Oversold Cemetary: Creatures come back for more. Nuff said!

4th Place!

Originally Posted by Yezzandrix

When night falls onto the planes... The so-called "good" humans and humanoids don't rule the planes anymore, and the hunt begins. For the creatures of the night, the damned, and those that chose the path out of free will crave something... Some lust for blood, others for might, others are simply willing to be sacrificed in order to fulfill one last purpose, in their death, and serve their dark masters. Other creatures of the night are just... there... Part of a theater of horrors. Nightmares are as much part of the dream world as shadow is part of a world bathed in the sun's light. But you will not see the sun's light here...

All of them creatures have one thing in common... They want the night to be THEIRS, and THEIRS alone. Whoever has even the slightest aura of "goodness, purity or galantry" about them... Doesn't belong in here, and has to die. Be consumed by the night. For the theater of night paints the stage red with the essence of life itself...

Gameplay:
Your early drops are usually a couple of cheap creatures, and if need be, pingers or the Gorgon Flail. That one curves nicely with the pinger routine of Ikspitter and Guildmage. At 7 pingers, chances are, one sticks. Your opponent WILL have to handle that one, if the flail is around. Swiftly.

The deathtouch equipment goes so well with Mirri its not even funny. She is practically unblockable safe from Pro-Blackers, and can serve as a super-enhanced blocking machine you simply cannot get past. I always wanted to put her to good use, and here, she finally shines. I might edit the deck at a later point, as I am not happy with her as a one-of, as she goes awesomely well with the pinger routine, too. We shall see.

The ultimate goal of the deck is, of course, Deathbringer Thoctar. Beeing decently obnoxious, he cleans the board pretty much as soon as he hits it, or one turn after that. Usually, you have either drawn into Gorgon Flail for pinging dead each and everyone, if you please, OR you have drawn the super-cool Mephidross Vampire, which means you can go on all day long as you never run out of counters. Either way: Board control ought to be doable, with that one in addition to Grave Pact, 7 Pingers, a deathtouch equipment and 2 legends that can REALLY offset the balance. The first counter is provided by one of the several weenies that die, or by killing an opposing creature with one of the rest of the team. Which goes pretty darn well with Grave Pact, as you'll get 2 counters out of it, that way, one for your own creature, one for the opposing one. As has been said by Someone (sameone) Serious: "Double the Gun, Double the Fun..."

Synergies:
Grave Pact and sacrifice effects are awesome. Plain Awesome. If they curve nicely, thats even better. If you happen to run out of sacrifice effects, and you have gravepact on the board, you can always use your pingers for a one-use-only Chainers Edict, in that they can ping themselves. Since you REALLY have a decent board control routine, the Grave Pact can really shine, as you are sorta certain you will be hitting something decent. All small guys will die to the pingers or the Evincar, probably. The Gravepact gets pretty good, too, when you have gotten the Deathbringer Thoctar onto the board. You get twice the counters, can take down pretty much most of the board after a few sacrifices, too... Or simply enjoy your large beast and the ability to hit your opponent post-attack for one for each counter on it. Usually should be enough in a few attacks, really.

The Vampire Nocturnus is really really really useful, here. Of course... When Vampire Aristocrat gains flying and +2/+1, alongside a 5/4 flier, and a deck full of expendables... Things can get out of hand very swiftly. But even cooler is the synergy bonus of 8 fetch lands and knowing the top card of your library at all times. Really helps a combo deck, you know... But it gets REALLY exiting in a 31 creature deck when you manage to drop a Mephidross Vampire. You see, 30 creatures, quite a number of them beeing rather small, have been chosen for a reason. When you get to 6 mana (sometimes aided by I-allow-for-a-gap-in-the-mana-curve Mr Blood Pet himself, who goes VERY well with Thoctar even IF you have 6 lands in play, but also goes well with Death Pact no matter how many lands you have in play), your team will suddenly fly with the nocturnus. And have a decent front. Not always you have to wait for the Thoctar to take the game. Mephidross and Vampire Nocturnus is so much part Overrun you will win games with your weenies just because of their number.

Aristocrat and Mesmeric Fiend allow for the classic trick of sacing the Fiend before its comes into play trigger resolves, permanently ridding your opponent of a card and gaining +2/+2 in the process. Had to be done, you know...

Ikspitter has been chosen over the much-more-powerful Goblin Sharpshooter for three reasons (the least important one first): I expect to see him in this contest a LOT. Wanted something else, for flavor reasons a thrull seemed perfect, even though he HAS already been posted... But oh well... Second, I wanted as many cards in the deck to be black, to really pull the Vampire Nocturnus trick as often as possible. And, most importantly: I wanted the deck to have a REALLY really really really BLACK feel to it. A creature dissolving from the inside and spitting toxic remains of itself just went so well with Nightmares, Grave Pacts, Vampires, and Zombies. The deck managed to really wonderfully FEEL and play like a night underminded by Vampires, as soon as Mephidross hits, and turns everything INTO a vampire... That's so much fun... So I didn't want to spoil the flavor by card choices for power reasons. The Sharpshooter simply didn't seem sinister enough for my purposes...



Like last time, the decklist is filled to the brim with synergies, and just like last time, even the freaking mana base serves double purpose and has included synergies. All cards support the central card again (either beeing expendable weenies to get the first counter, sac-outlets for the same purpose, or creating or searching a board sweeping combo).

3rd Place!

Originally Posted by Seedy Work

Deathbringer Thoctar + Carrion Feeder
Deathbringer Thoctar + Deadapult
Deathbringer Thoctar + Death Baron
Deathbringer Thoctar + Dark Ritual / Phyrexian Tower
Deathbringer Thoctar + Festering Goblin
Deathbringer Thoctar + Tombstone Stairwell
Tombstone Stairwell + Gempalm Polluter / Shepherd of Rot
Tombstone Stairwell + Withered Wretch / Cemetery Reaper
Tombstone Stairwell + Zombie Infestation
Tombstone Stairwell + Dark Ritual / Phyrexian Tower
Tombstone Stairwell + Death Baron / Lord of the Undead / Cemetary Reaper
Tombstone Stairwell + Deadapult
Tombstone Stairwell + Carrion Feeder
Death Baron + Zombie Infestation / Cemetery Reaper
Zombie Infestation + Lord of the Undead / Volrath's Stronghold
Gempalm Polluter + Lord of the Undead / Volrath's Stronghold
Shepherd of Rot + Carrion Feeder / Deadapult
Shepherd of Rot / Gempalm Polluter + Zombie Infestation / Cemetery Reaper
Zombie Infestation / Cemetery Reaper + Carrion Feeder / Deadapult


It's a zombie theme and combo deck. In fact the only cards not not have the word zombie on them somewhere are the lands and Dark Ritual. Though, seriously, how can you even have a zombie without some sort of dark ritual?

Phyrexian Tower fulfills half of the Legendary requirement. The mana ability will allow you to stock your graveyard for the Stairwell and to feed the Thoctar, while giving you mana to play the next victim.
Volrath's Stronghold fulfills the second half of the Legendary requirement. Recursion is always nice, allowing you to sacrifice something again, but if you target the Polluter you can really smile.

Carrion Feeder is here to get creatures from the battlefied into the grave, to feed the Thoctar, and to be a legitimate threat after feeding on the grave bound Tombspawn tokens from the Stairwell.
Festering Goblin is around to be fodder, and to extend the reach of a single creature sacrifice to a 2 toughness target.
Shepherd of Rot will be a source of direct damage that can be exploited with the Tombspawn tokens. You can manipulate the number of zombies down if needed using Deadapult and Carrion Feeder.
Withered Wretch can be used as a way to weed out creatures from your opponents grave, making the Stairwell even more one-sided.
Death Baron will boost all of your Tombspawn tokens for the direct approach, turn your Thoctar into a machine gun, and give your suprise zombie tokens added oomph.
Lord of the Undead performs alot of the same functions as the Death Baron, but will recycle needed creatures and allow you to recycle your Gempalm Polluter.
Cemetery Reaper, again, does the same as the other two lords, but will also do the job of a combination Withered Witch and Zombie Infestation.
Gempalm Polluter will deal silly amounts of damage for you while giving you a new card at the same time. You can target them for recursion and use them all over.
Deathbringer Thoctar is the center of the deck, you feed it with the Carrion Feeder and Deadapult, and once the Stairwell hits you get a counter for every Tombspawn token at the end of each turn.

Dark Ritual is used to either accelerate into the Thoctar or extend the Staircase an extra turn.
Zombie Infestation will allow you to turn unneeded cards in hand into zombies that can be sacrificed or counted towards damage totals. If you have the Death Baron in play, you can drop 2/2 deathtouch blockers at instant speed.
Deadapult is another zombie-centric damage machine, it can be used early to move creature cards from the battlefield to the grave, and later to recycle Tombspawn tokens that are bound for the grave anyways.
Tombstone Stairwell is a card I love. All of the zombies marching in and out of the graveyard is just what the witch doctor ordered for the Deathbringer Thoctar. Without the Thoctar the zombies can go aggro with all the lord effects, or be used as fodder for the Deadapult.

2nd place!

Originally Posted by kingez36@hotmail.co.uk

so i dont normally build decks but what the hey...


so heres the down low:


Mercy killings goes fantastical well with old dt. You can kill an opponents best biggest baddest creature (which puts a +1/+1 counter on dt if he didnt have one already) and then ping off all of the 1/1 elf critters that come to the party with mercy killings. Then if you have either: dingus staff, they will take two damage for each dead crit; Earthlink, they lose a land for each dead crit; or bereavement (those elves just happen to be green) they discard.
Toshiro helps to recur that mercy killing and you could spare an elf untill you next untap step, have thocter (or sharpshooter who furfills the same function as dt) kill it and you have your mercy killing back with the mana to play it, the same is true for the lightning bolts and rain of embers (incase those pesky 1/1's we're giving out start to overrun us.)

Hunted troll and forbidden orchard: help put more 1/1's on the opponents side of the field ready to be fed to dt or sharpshooter.
Kiki-Jiki: not only combo's with the hunted troll to put even more 1/1's into play for the killing but if you copy d/t you could take out a *gasp* 2/2.
and the honorable second mention to the dingus staff, earthlink and bereavement for being the win conditions as dt merks all of your opponents 1/1's.

1st Place!

Originally Posted by Cashew

I couldn't think of any more apt song and deck concept for this card. Deathbringer without a doubt demands mass amounts of bodies to hit the floor the second he steps foot out onto the battlefield. True bringers of death shouldn't care who dies, only that death happens....a lot. Building the deck took no thought, I knew I was sticking Black & Red, and immediately had combo pieces and tribes in mind. From start to finish I intended for the battlefield to not be a place of life and battle, but one perverted and twisted to nihilistic and sadistic mutilation of life itself.

Red Goblins
In modern Magic, there is no tribe that loves sacrifice more than Goblins. Unoriginal deck building could easily go straight up tribal on them, but I decided to incorporate only those most dedicated to bringing death. Goblin Sharpshooters are nasty on their own, but in a deck built in and around death they straight up obliterate. They combo well with the Deathbringer, but perform amazingly well with almost card in the deck. To spice it up I added Goblin Bombardment to allow sacrifice for damage as well and as a few game-ending Shriveling Rots. Malevolent Awakening helps to return slain Sharpshooters to play as they are probably the strongest creature in the deck and sure to be targeted heavily with removal. Sure Thoctar may be the coup de grace, but Sharpshooters will shred the battlefield into submission very early on. Should they happen to be on the battlefield at the same time...well...woo...ooh...my.....

Key Game Ending Combo: Shriveling Rot + Goblin Sharpshooter
Key Synergy: Goblin Sharpshooter + Everything

Black: Thrulls & Zombies.
This is where some major synergy comes into play. I went old school, thinking of the original sacrificial tribes Thrull and Zombie. While I ended up ruling out Thrulls in general I did bring along Endrek Sahar for his shenanigans and Thrull making abilities. Should he be out when Deathbringer comes into play, bodies will definitely hit the floor as six Thrulls come rolling into play alongside the monstrous beast. Festering Goblin and Carrion Ghoul are my favorite Black one drops and fit perfectly here, causing early game havoc and enabling some powerful synergistic combos. Greater Gargadon helps with enabling sacrifice, even if he does dominate Endrek. In the end, Black ironically brings the tokens and life to the deck. Creating fodder for Sharpshooters and the Thoctar.

Key Concept: Manaless sacrifice for effect

Ultimately, I decided to use six cards to make my favorite token dropping engine instead of something simple like 4x Breeding or 4x Spawning Pit. To some it may seem mind baffling perhaps even irrational, but in as my second legend is Norin the Wary. Why you ask? The answer is singular: Genesis Chamber. For three mana and two cards, you generate an extremely tough to deal with token making scheme. Norin is extremely hard to kill and Genesis Chamber is cheap and efficient. Best part, it generates creatures for your opponent as well, which just means there are even more squishy bodies to destroy. You may scoff at giving your opponent creatures with the Genesis Chamber, but I play it all the time and in the right deck it creates an unstoppable force of fodder.

Cashew's Signature Key Combo: Norin the Wary + Genesis Chamber

Overall, you can see how easily the deck plays. The concept is simple and the support is brilliant. Two power spells Terminate and Lightning Bolt offer a lot of oomph in supporting both control of the field and the overal message that everything must die! Vess offers toolbox support as well, or you can actually build to her ultimate which in itself is game ending in this deck. I really like this deck and play a similarly concepted ones already in black/green and red/green/black.

Deck Strengths: Dominates any non-ramp deck that relies on creatures. Particularly effective against Ichorid, GW token, Naya, Faerie
Deck Weaknesses: Combo decks like Dragonstorm, TEPS. Draw-Go Control, Ramp decks, Affinity/Tez

Congrats Cashew and the other members of the top five!!!

While it took me a long time to review everyone's entry, it was a blast. These are all great decks and I hope to be adding some of them to the deck database very soon.

August's Deckbuilding Contest will be coming very, very soon!

John Streetz
owner of www.magicdeckvortex.com