A new standard, A new Thug Life.

Christian from wizardden.com here to talk to you about an archetype I am very familiar with. Mono-black aggro or “thug life” as I like to call it because it “Wins fast or dies trying.” This archetype has gotten very popular over the past few months and is only getting better with the coming release of Khans of Tarkir. In this article I want to talk about some Idea’s I have for this deck utilizing some recently spoiled cards.

Before we start with the new changes I have in mind I want to show you the most recent build to top 8 a competitive event. Here is Gabe Carleton-Barnes list from SCG Portland:
Main:
       4 Mutavault
       18 Swamp
       2 Mogis's Marauder
       2 Rakdos Cackler
       3 Lifebane Zombie
       4 Gnarled Scarhide
       4 Herald of Torment
       4 Pain Seer
       4 Spiteful Returned
       4 Tormented Hero
       1 Hall of Triumph
       2 Bile Blight
       4 Hero's Downfall
       4 Thoughtseize
SB:  3 Duress
SB:  2 Erebos, God of the Dead
SB:  1 Whip of Erebos
SB:  2 Ultimate Price
SB:  2 Doom Blade
SB:  3 Dark Betrayal
SB:  1 Mogis's Marauder
SB:  1 Lifebane Zombie

The list is pretty standard for the archetype. I want to talk about his spell/removal package.

A play-set of both thoughtseize and hero’s downfall is perfect. Both are a catch all against any deck, game one. I see a lot of builds that do not main-board thoughtseize and it makes no sense. For those of you who do not play it in your deck I want you to think of thoughtseize as just another removal spell. That is all it is. It removes a blocker from hitting the board, which is a big deal, considering cards such as Sylvan Caryatid and Courser of Kruphix are in the format.

Now, downfall should need no explanation but I get people who argue a four of is a bit overkill, and sure, it can be. But as with thoughtseize, it kills anything. I tested with ulcerate and ultimate price, while they are both good and cheaper than downfall they don’t quite compare. In game one against an unknown deck. I think it's better to pay a little more for a definite answer to anything they could have and sideboard appropriately for their deck afterwards. He finishes his removal package with two copies of bile blight. I think two is the right number for this card. It kills fleecemane lion, rabblemaster etc.

Now with Khans of Tarkir comes a standard rotation. Losing all of Ravnica block and 2014 core set. With that rotation this deck loses a few key cards. We lose Rakdos Cackler, Thrill-kill assassin(If you ran it), Life-bane Zombie, Mutavault and Duress/Doom blade from the sideboard. So that makes us look to Khans for replacements to these cards and I would say it did not disappoint.

To start off the list of exciting Khans cards, we have Bloodsoaked Champion. A direct replacement for the lost cackler but with a big upside. His raid ability is pretty nuts. In the event he is ever killed, if you have more power on the board or can regain some presence, he comes right back to join the fight! An obvious include and I will have him as a play-set. (Side note: If he dies post combat, after attacking. He triggers is own raid and can be re-cast from his own attack. Don't think it will come up often. But hey, still pretty cool!)

Next we have the Mardu Skullhunter. Not quite Thrill-kill assassin but with his raid ability it allows us to take our opponents down a card. From my experience playing Invasion block constructed, I can tell you a 2/1 ravenous rats is nothing to sneeze at. He will see some play in my lists for sure.

Here we have a very reasonable three drop to replace the lost Life-bane zombie. Now it is nowhere near as oppressive as the zombie can be and lacks evasion, but, with this and a pain Seer on board it can start generating some nice card advantage. Didn't make the cut for my list but opens the door some brews in the future, which is why it gets a mention here.

Then there was this reprint. With access to thoughtseize, it allows us to pick our opponent's hand apart in the early game. Also replaces downfall as our catch-all removal spell, allowing us to significantly lower our curve.Very happy to see this card, that’s for sure.

Fetch lands. You are correct, we do not have any need for mana fixing. In this aggro deck, fetch lands are used for the sole purpose of thinning the deck allowing us to draw more threats/answers and not land. Also makes the deck very splash-able to other colors if we find it needs it.

With all that being said here is what us at www.wizardden.com and Team Rogue T3ch have thought up so far.

Creatures: 24

4x Gnarled Scarhide
4x Bloodsoaked Champion
4x Tormented Hero

4x Mardu Skullhunter
4x Spiteful Returned

4x Herald of Torment

Spells: 16

4x Thoughtseize

3x Bile Blight

3x Boon of Erebos

2x Sign in Blood
4x Despise

Land: 20
12x Swamp
4x Bloodstained Mire

4x Polluted Delta

Sideboard:

Nothing as of yet. Have to wait and see what the Meta calls for and what we have access to.

So we see there are a lot of similarities from current builds but with a very different angle of attack. The curve has been lowered significantly due to the addition of Despise and removal of Hero's downfall. The deck wants to play a card advantage game, while still coming at you with cheap,but powerful, threats. A first turn thoughtseize/despise followed by 1-2 one drops or a combination of one drop/discard spell. It keeps it's aggro flavor but punishes top-heavy three-color mid-range decks by removing their threats before they get to see the board. I expect to have a lot of fun with this deck. Getting to have a "control" aspect with the targeted discard while still getting to jam 2/1's and turn them sideways... Who could ask for more?

           Anyway, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as we enjoyed brewing it.  

Thanks for taking the time to see what the Thug Life-style is all about. 

Until next time,

Christian.