The Black One (BGW)

Welcome to the Fourth of our Preconstructed Commander Deck reviews. Let's get right on into the BGW deck in the Black Packaging packaging, Counterpunch.

Strategy

It would be unfair to label this as a glorified "Rock" deck just because it's in colour but sometimes you just have that feeling. The +1/+1 & Saproling token subtheme is good if you enjoy filling your time that way but it just feels a little forced for me, something to do when you don't have a bomb to drop. That's not to be disparaging about the deck, it does have very strong lines of play though there is a feeling that you'd rather be playing with some of the methods that the UGB/Ooze deck is employing to benefit from the graveyard.

The up side is that any token generator and a means to sacrifice them makes the included Butcher of Malakir and Grave Pact quite insane. When you get to make big plays, they tend to be huge though there's a lttle too much spinning wheels as you draw land after land while playing cards that find you land when you're really just prefer to be doing something huge. I haven't heard any stories of this deck dominating any pre-release whereas I've come across at least one instance of each of the others winning a table.

Like the URG/Riku deck, it is very mana intensive (thus the need for all teh search effects) though with seemingly fewer explosive plays, this is one precon, like the WUR (Red) deck, where you're usually going to spend your time slowly grinding out small advantages until you can win. So, em, like I said, it's a "Rock" deck.

You could get the nuts General, Mana & Skullclamp draw and there are tricks in the deck, don't let me give the impression that it's a bad deck I'm probably biased away from this style of deck and towards broken good stuff because the Teneb list I'm running is trying to push the attrition/cost cutting envelope as far as possible.

Maybe part of the disillusionment is that there's less "new" effects and more of what we've already seen in different forms. Reprinting Spawnwrithe and Symbiotic Wurm doesn't really cut it either unless you've just attacked unblocked with a Nantuko Husk and while the others could be acceptable bit players in specific decks, they aren't going to induce you to buy this deck in teh same way the Devour for Power list would.

There is at least one very brightly shining light however, which is Vish Kal.


Boom! He's the highlight of the deck and the tipping point between keeping up and taking over. He's dominant in this deck but would be downright stupid in any other Teneb-Graveyard style deck.

What makes him just that little bit better than what's out there at the moment is the huge confluence of useful abilities. Sure, he costs 7 but for that you get:
1.) Lifelink, an ability to keep you in the game and occasionally put you out of reach;
2.) Flying, while not the ultimate evasion that "unblockable" gives you, is still relevant enough to get there;
3.) Sacrifice outlet, an effect that every deck should have in some form or another, especially in a Control Magic-heavy metagame, is the cornerstone for a vast number of advantage engines. UNlike Greater Good's card drawing or Mirin's lifegain, this one just gives you a much bigger monster to beat face with;
4.) Removal, is sweet on any beast but doubly so when it's renewable free and doesn't cause the source to tap out to use it. Vish Kal is a math's testing monster as he gets you to tally up when you need to sacrifice to him in order for the count to be on the money when he transfers over those -1/-1 counters.

Imagine this line of play: Saffi + Sun Titan + Vish Kal. Or how about Reveillark + Karmic Guide/Saffi + Blade Splicer + Vish Kal. Both of these will give you infinite optional loops on how best to kill the targettable creatures on the table and, incidently, an infinitely large Flying, Lifelink Vampire. If only there was some way to give him trample........

Scavenging Ooze, or Baby Ooze as I like to call him now that we have "The Ooze", is one of only 3 graveyard hate cards in the sealed product which puts you at an advantage against a couple of decks if you have the G open to benefit at exactly the right time. He's also the little ooze who could, giving you both a beater and life in addition to the pinpoint graveyard removal. A sweet addition.

I'm adding Hornet Queen to illustrate the extremely fine line between playable and chaff. Had this created 4 insect token with just flying and ignored the deathtouch part that hideous mana cost would render the card unplayable but deathtouch is a game changer, luckily for the Queen. Now you can hold off attacks though the air with some, admittedly very flimsy, blockers that will cost the attacking player a goodly part of their attacking force.

Another advantage is that the queen has 2 power or less, normally a disadvantage when you want to block or attack big but here allows her to be used with Reveillark for repeat deathtouch tokens.

Leaving off the deathtouch would have meant Raid for the Queen's little swarm. Such a little thing that makes a card useful..... or not.