Well...That Sucks

[Boros_Blendo]

I have many black decks. I love black, and most of the decks have wincons using serious life drain. Two use Gary devotion kill, one uses Pontiff of Blight, one uses Kokopuffs, one uses Gonti's Machinations, so yeah, I love draining. But one deck I've been mulling for years is a B/G Elfball deck. Folks love doing R/G Elfball and mono-green Elfball, but I felt that B/G could be a brutal deck, with Golgari just being a good guild overall. So, the one problem is that Priest of Titanias were just so prohibitively expensive. Then, LotR came out, and I finally saw everything left that I had needed for years. It was feasible for awhile, I just hadn't put the pieces together...so I finally built my Elfball, and oh boy do I love it. The last time I played this, I ended up having to be Archenemy when I surged in life by draining three out, dropping one each turn, with Exsanguinates in a five person game, then killing the last one with an elf blitz for lethal. The really cool thing I love about this lineup is that normal life matters stuff like Essence Warden ends up powering Sanguine Bond with Sylvan Offering or returning things to the battlefield with Twilight's Call. So, I don't hestitate to blow stuff up with Pernicious Deed because it keeps heat off me, wipes out a lot of enchantment/artifact/go-wide strategies, and still lets me pin my ears back to swing with an elf beatdown if returning everything to the table doesn't just kill everyone all at once. I hate infinite stuff, so I left out Exquisite Blood. But, big mana and Exsanguinate, mass life gain + Sanguine Bond, and elf blitz with Elvish Warmaster gives me a great trifecta to kill folks with.

Really, drain is a very powerful mechanic, even better when you combo it up with something. What's your drain kill of choice and what else do you use in conjunction with it? Post it here!

Golgari Elfball

Decklist

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Creatures

4 Llanowar Elves

4 Elvish Mystic

4 Essence Warden

4 Elvish Warmaster

4 Elvish Archdruid

Enchantments

3 Pernicious Deed

3 Sanguine Bond

Sorceries

4 Exsanguinate

3 Twilight's Call

3 Shamanic Revelation

3 Sylvan Offering

2 Primal Command

Lands

6 Swamp

6 Forest

4 Woodland Cemetery

4 Golgari Rot Farm

2 Necroblossom Snarl

1 Vivid Grove

1 Vivid Marsh

Approximate Total Cost:

[Diz]

I'm rather a fan of Torment of Hailfire - have you considered this one for the deck?

[Boros_Blendo]

I use Torment of Hailfire extensively. Here, the life gain is kind of the deal to play off of Sanguine Blood. Really, nothing against the suggestion at all, totally solid. I already have 3 decks with it in there.

[Diz]

Fair enough, glad to hear it!

[Boros_Blendo]

Yup, super fun card, that I'm sure my friend mightily regrets ever showing me. I'da found it eventually, though.