It’s been almost a week since Duskmourn cards became available on MTG Arena and Magic Online, and they’re already having a major influence on a variety of Constructed formats. Leyline of Resonance has proven its worth in Prowess/Heroic shells in both Standard and Pioneer. The new Overlords are quickly making a name for themselves. Meanwhile, Abhorrent Oculus has emerged as a multi-format all-star, even appearing in Modern!
We felt like Duskmourn was one of the more powerful premier sets printed in recent years, but even we didn’t expect to see a playset of Unholy Annex/Ritual Chamber in the winning decklist of a Magic Online Pioneer Challenge! You heard that right. The Demon payoff managed to emerge victorious in a major Pioneer event, alongside a full four copies of Unstoppable Slasher. This mono-black deck is a work of art, so let’s take a closer look at the unique synergies that give the deck a lot of staying power.
Unstoppable Slasher and a Cast of Demons
- Mana Value: 2B
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/3
- MTG Sets: Duskmourn
- Card Text: Deathtouch. Whenever Unstoppable Slasher deals combat damage to a player, they lose half their life, rounded up. When Unstoppable Slasher dies, if it had no counters on it, return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner’s control with two stun counters on it.
The first combo we need to take a look at is centered around the strong combination of Unstoppable Slasher and Bloodletter of Aclazotz. Unstoppable Slasher is a cool card that packs a punch. If the opponent can’t kill it or trade off in combat, they risk losing a bunch of life at once. However, if you can follow up with Bloodletter of Aclazotz, the opponent actually just loses the game on the spot if they get hit.
See, Unstoppable Slasher forces your opponent to lose half their life rounded up when you connect in combat, and Bloodletter makes sure your opponent loses twice that much life. No matter how high of a life total your opponent gets to, Unstoppable Slasher will always be a lethal threat with Bloodletter of Aclazotz in the mix.
Beyond just its combo with Unstoppable Slasher, Bloodletter of Aclazotz pulls its weight alongside Unholy Annex/Ritual Chamber. Unholy Annex functions as a worse Phyrexian Arena in the case where you don’t control a Demon. You can always unlock Ritual Chamber, but this does take a lot of mana. If you have other Demons in your deck, though, it becomes a card advantage, life-draining machine. Throw in Bloodletter of Aclazotz, and the card acts as a quick clock.
To help further circumvent the downside associated with Unholy Annex, you’ll find another Demon to round out the creature base. Archfiend of the Dross is a game-wrecker against aggro decks, threatening to end the game in short order. As we will see in the next section, there are ample removal spells to clear a path for Archfiend and further reduce your opponent’s life total. Even a single hit from the 6/6 Flier can be deadly if you have Bloodletter of Aclazotz at the ready.
The presence of Mutavault also makes Unholy Annex a reliable engine. If the coast is clear, simply animate Mutavault before resolving Unholy Annex’s trigger.
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Whittling Away Your Opponent’s Resources
- Mana Value: B
- Rarity: Uncommon
- MTG Sets: Aether Revolt, Double Masters
- Card Text: Destroy target creature if it has converted mana cost 2 or less. Revolt– Destroy that creature if it has converted mana cost 4 or less instead if a permanent you controlled left the battlefield this turn.
Most of the rest of the deck is filled with elite, efficient interaction. These spells clear a path for Unstoppable Slasher and Bloodletter of Aclazotz to completely take over the game. At the top of the list, we have Fatal Push and Thoughtseize. These cards are as good as they come and have been a huge part of nearly every black midrange since Pioneer started.
Sheoldred’s Edict is another decent removal spell that has some flexibility to it. It can remove large creatures as well as planeswalkers. The ladder aspect of the card is extremely important against Azorius control, which is on the rise.
Perhaps the most interesting inclusion here that showcases just how dominant spell-based decks are in Pioneer is Duress in the maindeck. It’s not unusual to see a couple copies here and there in black midrange decks. A full four, on the other hand, is a bit wild. Yet, it does make sense when you factor in how reliant this deck is on resolving and keeping around a few specific cards. The more you can do to protect Unstoppable Slasher, Bloodletter of Aclazotz, and Archfiend of the Dross, the more likely you are to have success.
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A Surprisingly Resilient Gameplan
- Mana Value: 1BBB
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 2/4
- MTG Sets: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
- Card Text: Flying. If an opponent would lose life during your turn, they lose twice that much life instead. (Damage causes loss of life.)
When players first discovered the Unstoppable Slasher+Bloodletter Aclazotz combo, we were a bit hesitant to think it would show up in a competitive Constructed environment. After all, Bloodletter is a bit on the expensive side, and is rather easy to kill on sight. Unstoppable Slasher is decent in the face of removal, but lines up poorly against exile-based removal.
That being said, this archetype is actually a lot more resilient than you might expect. A lot of that has to do with the fact that this deck is fully capable of playing like a traditional mono-black midrange deck and winning without ever sticking Bloodletter of Aclazotz. There are enough Demons at your disposal that Unholy Annex can reliably pull you ahead on resources while not causing you to lose a ton of life in the process. Archfiend of the Dross can easily win the game on its own. In grindy matchups, you can lean on your interaction alongside Unholy Annex and Castle Locthwain to generate card advantage.
Of course, there are also matchups where Unstoppable Slasher and Bloodletter of Aclazotz shine. Against combo decks like Lotus Field combo and big mana strategies like five-color Engimatic Incarnation, casting a discard spell and following up with a turn four kill is a recipe for success. This deck’s sudden breakout is very impressive, and it wouldn’t be surprising if we start seeing it more and more.
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