Why Vampires is a Good Choice For Standard
January 8, 2010
Vampires started off as a popular deck in Standard. Then everyone realized that Jund was the best deck. Vampires soon became less popular since it has a poor matchup versus Jund. However, I think the time is now ripe for Vampires to be a force in the metagame.
In this premium article, Cedric Phillips talks about how he’s been winning a lot on Magic Online with Vampires. He says people are tired of playing Jund and are looking instead to play decks that beat it. He believes that Vampires has great matchups against those non-Jund decks.
I think he’s right.
Also, he wrote the article before last weekend’s SCG 5K Standard Open, where LSV got 1st place with UWR Control, so there should be more people moving away from Jund.
Preying on Non-Jund Decks
Vampires has many advantages versus most of the decks in the field.
It’s mono black so it makes Flashfreeze a dead card. Also, it has good discard (Duress, Mind Rot, Mind Sludge) and Bloodghast to further make the control matchup a good one. Most control decks have little to no counters in game one to stop the discard since they are playing Flashfreeze.
Gatekeeper of Malakir is a beating versus the shroud creatures, Wall of Denial and Sphinx of Jwar Isle. And Vampire Nighthawk can trade with them.
Malakir Bloodwitch is awesome against Baneslayer Angel, Knight of the Reliquary, Woolly Thoctar, and Steppe Lynx. And she dodges Path to Exile and Ajani Vengeant all day.
Tendrils of Corruption is great versus burn and Goblin Bushwhacker.
If you’re looking for a good deck in Standard, give Vampires a try and let my know how it goes.
Here’s my current list.
| Mono Black Vampires | |||||||||||
Spells (15) Creatures (21)
Lands (24) | Sideboard (15) |
| |||||||||
46 Responses to “Why Vampires is a Good Choice For Standard”
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I agree that Vampires has potential and can win. I won my first FNM with a vampire deck. While true that it does a bit poorly against Jund, it works wonders against all the white control floating around. Personally, I like running Quest for the Gravelord. It helps by counteracting some of the advantages Jund has via their removal. Or they waste a pulse taking it out, which works for you if it means keeping your vampires alive for another turn of nocturnus.
Thanks for the comment. I might have to test Quest.
Btw, Vampires definitely has potential. Yesterday, a 14 year old kid playing Vampires won a high profile 300 person tournament, beating Jund in the finals
Apparently I’m a total noob– I can’t figure out why there are eight fetch lands in a mono black deck. Are they all used to trigger bloodghast? How is this worth it?
Yes, to trigger bloodghast and to shuffle the deck to get a non-land on top for Nocturnus.
I like it, it’s fun.
Why not feast of blood in the sideboard instead of doom blade?
What’s sideboard plan in general with the extras (bloodwitch, bloodghast, sludge)? What about grim discovery?
What are you taking out to board in the removal?
Cheers,
B
I like Doom Blade over Feast of Blood because in the matchups where lifegain is important (like Boros Bushwhacker and Mono Red Aggro), those decks have a lot of removal so it can be difficult to meet the requirement of 2 Vampires on the battlefield. Also, in those matchups, I sb out Bloodghast so it’s even harder to meet the requirement.
Doom Blade is instant speed so it can kill the haste creatures of Mono Red Aggro (Hell’s Thunder, Hellspark Elemental, Ball Lightning, Elemental Appeal) while Feast of Blood is a sorcery.
With the extras, I bring in Bloodwitch versus any midrange or control white deck. Bloodghast and Sludge comes in versus control.
Grim Discovery is my attempt at combating Blightning lol. I’m still testing it but it hasn’t been awful.
Here are my sb plans regarding removal:
Bushwhacker
+3 Marsh Casualties
+2 Doom Blade
-2 Duress
-1 Bloodghast
-2 Mind Sludge
Naya or GWB Midrange
+2 Doom Blade
+2 Deathmark
+1 Bloodwitch
-2 Duress
-3 Hexmage
Mono Red Aggro (Red Deck Wins)
+2 Doom Blade
-2 Mind Sludge
I agree that Vampires is kind a in a good spot in the meta game. The deck is very good against pretty much anything that is supposed to beat Jund. And you know, sometimes you get there versus Jund aswell.
However I don’t like the fact that many people is skimping on Bloodghast and Malakir Bloodwitch. From my experience those (along with Nocturnus) is the most important creatures in your deck. In my book not playing 4x of both of them is… less than optimal.
Creatures
4x Bloodghast
4x Child of Night—Sideboard out with Doom Blade vs. Red
4x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Vampire Nighthawk
Spells
4x Shadowfeed—Sideboard out with Duress vs. Red
4x Sign in Blood—Cast on yourself
4x Diabolic Tutor—Use only to find land for turn 5
4x Sanguine Bond
4x Blood Tribute
Land
Swamp x24
Just for Fun
Liliana Vess x2
I’ve beaten most decks in 6-8 turns 90% of the time.
Ok if the first guy said he was a noob, then I’m a noob x 2. What is the sideboard? And my deck right now is White/Black (vampires), which I like because of the life gain and celestial smthing that gives me double life and +3/+3. I know that the Kendikar white/black combo isn’t as powerful as it used to be, but should I go all vampires? I just preordered the monoblack deck for Worldwake so I’m thinking about it. Your thoughts…
John, I think white/black is fine but just make sure most of your cards have something to do with vampires. This makes your deck more synergistic. For example, the more vampires you play, the better Vampire Nocturnus is.
Learn more about sideboards here.
Thanks, that link on sideboards helped. I’ve heard people talk trash on the white/black deck, saying the Zendikar/Worldwake combo isn’t what it used to be in times past. Although I see why people go with mono black vampires, I want to see if I cant make this deck work. Its becoming a good aggro/control deck that holds up well against most decks I’ve played against.
No prob and good luck with your deck. Care to share your list?
Yeah here’s my list:
75 Cards (incl. sideboard)
White:
1 Admonition Angel
1 Celestial Matle
2 Sheildmate’s Blessing
2 Journey to Nowhere
2 Pitfall Trap
2 Nimbus Wings
1 Landbind Ritual
1 Serra Angel
1 Lightkeeper of Emeria
1 Conqueror’s Pledge
1 Rest for the Weary
10 Plains (Land/Nonbasic)
Black:
1 Bloodgast
2 Gatekeeper of Malakir
1 Vampire Hexmage
3 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Mind Sludge
1 Malakir Bloodwitch
1 Kalitas
1 Disfigure
2 Grim Discovery
1 Quest for the Gravelord
1 Hideous End
1 Smother
1 Guul Draz Specter
1 Blood Tribute
1 Corrupted Zendikon
1 Diablolic Tutor
1 Needlebite Trap
1 Urge to Feed
1 Mire Blight
13 Swamp (Land/Nonbasic)
Artifact
1 Amulet of Vigor
1 Explorer’s Scope
1 Expedition Map
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Everflowing Chalice
Like I said, not your typical build but there are so many variations possible within this deck that I never get bored with it and it does alright against your mainstream builds. I find that the randomness doesn’t distract from the power of my deck too much. Depending on the hand I draw I already know whether I’m aggro or control… ie whether I’m going to attack quickly or control the action until I can attack big in the late game. Let me know what you think though, Im open to suggestions.
I forgot about 2 Pacifisms that I also through in… And in no way am I done shaping this deck or a pro at magic, I’ve just asked around a lot and haven’t had someone else to guide my deck building since I haven’t seen to many black/white decks. I didn’t mean to sound like I knew a ton up above, but I have been to a couple local tournaments since my last post.
I think the biggest thing to figure out the best cards, make them a 4-of, and cut out the rest. For example, why not have 4 Gatekeepers? The 3rd and 4th Gatekeepers are better than Landbind Ritual and Mire Blight.
What cards would you take out of my deck other than those? I’d like to hear your thoughts on how you’d build a white/black deck.
I think the following cards are subpar:
1 Celestial Matle
2 Sheildmate’s Blessing
2 Journey to Nowhere
1 Rest for the Weary
2 Mind Sludge (only good in a deck with Swamps as the only lands)
1 Guul Draz Specter
1 Blood Tribute
1 Corrupted Zendikon
1 Diablolic Tutor
1 Needlebite Trap
1 Mire Blight
1 Amulet of Vigor
1 Explorer’s Scope
1 Expedition Map
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Everflowing Chalice
I would build white/black like this deck that got 2nd in a single elimination tournament with 82 players.
4 Arcane Sanctum
4 Marsh Flats
2 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Arid Mesa
6 Plains
4 Swamp
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Knight of the White Orchid
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Baneslayer Angel
4 Emeria Angel
2 Path to Exile
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Honor of the Pure
3 Brave the Elements
2 Duress
SB
1 Duress
4 Devout Lightcaster
3 Wall of Reverence
3 Luminarch Ascension
2 Zealous Persecution
2 Martial Coup
I like the idea of a red black hand /board control vampire aggro deck. i have not added any vampires yet but everything else is incorperated. I dont have my deck on me so ill name what i forgot and the amount of later.
(sorry for the spelling. I can’t spell some card names.)
grixis grimblade
goblin deathriders
terminate
doom blade
disfigure
blightning
blomious blast
punishing fire
kaasul
mind slude ogre?
im forgetting allot of cards. But i just plucked all my vampires when i get home . But the only two decks I’ve had trouble against has been a blue white green control and a mono red aggro . But adding vampires in replace of all creatures except 2 cunning sparkmages. Anyone please tell me anything
cunning sparkmage
siering blase
Here is my current Vampire deck (note: a few changes/updates made after Eldrazi pre-release) — just wanted to get your thoughts to improve it (it’s currently running 3-1 on avg @ FNM, hasn’t been played there since pre-release though)
4x Vampire NIghthawk
4x Pulse Tracker
3x Kalastria Highborn
3X Bloodseeker
2X Vampire Nocturnus
2X Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
2x Bloodhusk Ritualist
2x Gatekeeper of Malakir
2x Vampire Hexmage
1x Anuwon, the Ruin Sage
1x Malakir Bloodwitch
1x Nirkana Revenant
1x Sorin Markov
1x Lilliana Vess
2x Bloodcheif Assension
2x Urge to Feed
2x Tendrils of Corruption
2x Induce Despair
2x Curse of Wizardry
1x Disfigure
1x Blade of the Bloodchief
17 Swamps
2 Piranha Marsh
Sideboard
1x Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet
1x Butcher of Malakir
1x Anuwon, the Ruin Sage
3x Disfigure
2x Tendrils of Corruption
2x Tomb Hex
1x Consume the Meek
1x Consume Spirit
1x Suffer the Past
1x Sanguine Bond
1x Blood Tribute
Hm, why so many non 4-ofs? Usually it’s a good idea to have a lot of 4-ofs in an aggro deck. You want to pick the best cards and have 4 copies of them.
I don’t have a lot of experience with Vampires but which cards are the best in your decklist? Then, cut out the others and run 4 copies of the best cards unless you have good reasons to run less than 4 copies.
@ Dee
The deck has been changing a bit lately, but the main reason is that what is in the deck is what i have (nocturnus, for example). Some of the others, I have gradually slimmed down as I have added stronger cards — dropped an Anuwon, a Blood Seeker, and a Gatekeeper to add Drana x2 and Nirkana after the Eldrazi pre-release.
Cool, I understand. Nice pickups at the prerelease
Based on the winning Vampire decklists I’ve seen, I think the best cards are:
Gatekeeper of Malakir
Vampire Nighthawk
Bloodghast
Vampire Nocturnus
Sign in Blood
Tendrils of Corruption
In my opinion, you should have a full set of these cards for the best Vamp deck possible.
The other cards I would add as 2-4 copies would be:
Kalastria Highborn
Urge to Feed
Malakir Bloodwitch
Vampire Hexmage
Drana
Mind Sludge
I would also go up to 23-24 lands to keep from being mana screwed.
Here’s a list that looks solid:
4 Marsh Flats
16 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
24 lands
4 Bloodghast
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Kalastria Highborn
3 Malakir Bloodwitch
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Vampire Nocturnus
23 creatures
2 Mind Sludge
4 Sign in Blood
4 Tendrils of Corruption
3 Urge to Feed
13 other spells
Sideboard
4 Doom Blade
4 Duress
1 Malakir Bloodwitch
2 Mind Sludge
4 Vampire Hexmage
15 sideboard cards
If you don’t have the fetchlands, then Swamps and/or Piranha Marsh could work. You could also try 2-3 Tectonic Edge.
I think Pulse Tracker can be a budget replacement for Bloodghast. Also, you can play the Hexmages main deck and replace them with something else like Black Knight.
Drana, Nirkana, and Anuwon, the Ruin Sage can replace Malakir Bloodwitch and Vampire Nocturnus if you don’t have full sets.
This is the vampire deck I constructed, it’s not great or awful it’s just kinda
inbetween so give me tips please?
Creatures
-(4) Guul Draz VAmpires
-(4) Pulse Tracker
-(2) Ruthless Cullblade
-(2) CHild of the Night
-(1) Vampire Nocturnus
-(1) Kalastria Highborn
-(1) Blood Seeker
-(1) Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
-(1) Vampire Nighthawk
-(1) Quag Vampires
-(1) Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet
-(1) Butcher of Malakir
-(1) Anowan, the Ruin Sage
-(1) Gatekeeper of Malakir
Spells
-(2) Doom Blade
-(2) Urge to Feed
-(2) Daibolic Tutor
-(1) Blood Tribute
-(1) Sanguine Bond
-(1) Blade of the Bloodchief
-(1) Feast of Blood
-(1) Disfigure
-(1) Hideous End
-(1) Tendrils of Corruption
-(1) Smother
lands
-(2) Piranha Marsh
-(2) Bojuka Bog
-(20) Swamp
If anything it needs more repitition but of what? please help =)
Try this deck. It got 3rd place at a Pro Tour Qualifier (PTQ).
Maindeck:
Creatures
4 Bloodghast
4 Gatekeeper Of Malakir
3 Kalastria Highborn
3 Malakir Bloodwitch
4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Vampire Nocturnus
Instants
4 Tendrils Of Corruption
Sorceries
2 Grim Discovery
2 Mind Sludge
3 Sign In Blood
Basic Lands
15 Swamp
Lands
4 Marsh Flats
4 Verdant Catacombs
Sideboard:
2 Executioner’s Capsule
1 Malakir Bloodwitch
2 Consuming Vapors
4 Deathmark
4 Duress
2 Mind Sludge
Here is the latest configuration of my Vamp Deck. I’m testing to plan ahead in case Nocturnus isn’t reprinted in M11 and also to lend a bit more consistecny to the buff (Eldrazi Monument doesn’t depend on a black card topping the library, plus I can sac Bloodghast during upkeep and get him back with landfall……not to mention shoot my opponent with Kalastria for sacking a creature that I’m gonna get back).
22 Swamps
2 Crypt of Agadeem
2 Eldrazi Monument
2 Blade of the Bloodchief
3 Consume the Meek
3 Consuming Vapors
6 some combo of Urge to Feed, Disfigure, Tendrils….
4 Vampire NIghthawk
4 Bloodghast
3 Pulse Tracker
3 Blood Seeker
3 Gatekeeper of Malakir
2 Kalastria Highborn
2 Vampire Nocturnus
1 Sorin Markov
Sideboard:
2 Vampire Hexmage
2 Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
2 Nirkana Revenant
4 Guul Draz Assassin
5 rotating combo of situation specific removal spells
I’m really liking the way the deck is playing right now, but would love to hear any main deck suggestions, but especially sideboard tweeks (looking at Malakir Bloodwitch and possibly Pawn of Ulamog to create tokens to sack to the Monument)
Consume the Meek seems out of place since it kills most of your guys. I think Malakir Bloodwitch is better.
You probably need 1-2 more lands. 24 is fine if you have 4 Sign in Blood.
Also, Gatekeeper Of Malakir seems like it should be a full set. That’s one of your best cards.
Anyways, good luck! I think the Eldrazi Monument tech could work well. Are there any token producers that are black?
Consume the Meek is actually there as a board wiper after Eldrazi Monument is played….t5 – monument, t-6 consume (it doesn’t kill my vamps then) to clear the field.
Pawn of Ulamog, Corpsehatch and Induce Despair all provide tokens, but Pawn isn’t really useful otherwise and the other two are a bit overpriced for removal.
I really like using bloodghast to sac to monument.
t-5 – play monument
t-6 – sac bloodghast to monument, poke opponent for 2 with kalastria highborn and gain 2 life, play a land and get ‘Ghast right back (possibly with haste.
I am actually running 4 gatekeepers now, and 4 guul draz assasins at the expense of a consume the meek, and pulse trackers/bloodseekers were cut down.
I personally have had great experiences with an eldrazi vampires deck. My decklist is as follows
creatures
4 vampire nocturnus
2 vampire nighthawk
3 arrogant bloodlord
1 nirkana revenant
3 gravedigger
4 gatekeeper of malakir
4 bloodghast
artifacts
2 blade of the bloodchief
3 eldrazi monument
spells
3 quest for the gravelord
3 duress
4 doom blade
lands
23 swamp
Oh and 1 Liliana vess
Alex, thanks for sharing your list. Looks pretty good.
so Ive got a vamp deck in the works and i was hoping i could get sum pointers as to what i should keep or take out here is the list feel free to criticize lol
3x vamp lacerator
3x vamp hexmage
4x vamp nighthawk
3x gatekeeper malakir
3x ruthless cullblade
4x bloodghast
2x vampire nocturnus
1x malakir bloodwitch
3x vamp aristocrat
2x kalastria highborn
2x blade of bloodchief
3x unholy strength
2x urge to feed
3x feast of blood
20 lands and 2 terramorpgic expanse
im trying to keep costs down but would love sum ideas trying to enter a PTW tourny
sorry PTQ tourny lol
Needs more 4-ofs. Cut the worst cards and have full sets of the best cards. The worst cards are unholy strength, ruthless cullblade, aristocrat, feast of blood, and blade of bloodchief.
Add Bloodwitch, Mind Sludge (just two copies since it costs 5 mana), Nocturnus, Hexmage, Gatekeeper, Malakir, Urge to Feed, Kalastria, and Sign in Blood.
thanks dee i also noticed the other deck u posted with Bloodchief Ascension think that would fare well in this kinda vamp deck??
Not sure. I haven’t done enough testing. My guess is that Bloodchief makes the deck more explosive but less consistent. I like consistent decks even if I have to skimp on some power, so I would go without the Bloodchief.
By the way, let me know if you have card availability issues (like not having a full set of Malakir Bloodwitch) and I may be able to give you some budget alternatives.
Good luck! PTQs are pretty fun
yea i dont have the full set of that or nocturnus but i was thinking of just buying them any way
Hm, those cards are tough to replace, but you could try the following cards instead if you decide not to buy them:
Black Knight
Tendrils of Corruption
Consuming Vapors
why not try corrupt in casual play? tendrils will be leaving m10 and corrupt will be coming in m11, also nocturnus is not supposed to be re-released in m11, so vampires lose tribal lord in standard. i run a vampire decks and instead of using 4 bloodwitches i run 2 drana and 2 bloodwitch. i prefer Sorin over Liliana because of his second ability. i also like 3 hexmages because of PW kill and fs abilities.
Your thoughts on the matter
Corrupt seems good for casual play. Vampires get a new tribal lord in M11. Good point about Hexmages. They are solid in today’s metagame.
I’m fairly new to magic. With that in mind, could someone explain why the OP had 4 Marsh Flats and 4 Verdant Catacombs in a mono-black deck? Why not just include 24 swamps?
The fetchlands are there to trigger bloodghast and to shuffle the deck to get a non-land on top for Nocturnus.
I love this vampire deck and have had some success with an almost identical build. What will you change now m11 is out? I’m hoping to get a few months out of this deck before we lose nocturnus!
Sadly, I don’t see Vampires getting anything that good in M11. I could be wrong though.
What are your feelings on Captivating Vampire from 2011? Since Nocturnus was not reprinted andhe could be a viable replacement.
It’s a lot worse in my opinion. It dies to Bolt and doesn’t give flying. Nocturnus was great because it was often a 5/4 and gave your other Vampires flying and +2/+1. That’s like an Overrun on a 5/4 body
Does anybody just use Buried Alive to take your Bloodghasts from your library to your graveyard and then just drop a land and bring them all out? That seems like an awesome move. Howabout a Diabolic Tutor to bring out a Soren and bring your opponent’s life to 10 in the first several turns? Combined with the Buried Alive cards you have won.