rack N Chains - boréal
IDEAS AND DIFFERENCES?
It is an evolution of the classic Mono Black Rack, optimized for a first-game win against most matchups. Playing almost no answers in the main deck, the plan is to empty the opponent's hand and manascrew him as fast as possible, and then keep them in that state while chipping their life total with as many threats as possible.
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​The main difference is the inclusion of two Chains of Mephistopheles and three Underworld Dreams maindeck. With the preponderance in the format of powerful card advantage setups or even the inclusion of Ancestral Recall and drawing seven cards in most decks from any archetypes those cards are a great way to punish these plays and to get as much damage as possible from the four copies of The Rack. As black as no access without splash to any top-tier positive card advantage, most of the time Chains of
Mephistopheles becomes quite a one-sided answer and transforms the tendencies of mono black decks to lose gas after four or five turns into a slugging match where you can keep the upper hand.
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MEMORIES FROM PLAYING IT?
Rack'N'Chains has been in the making for several years now, slowly turning into something new for the last few years, but my best memory of it is piloting it almost to first place in the TWC6 only to slide multiple places down after a misplay turn three of the third game of the final, followed by my lifetime worst Chaos Orb flip two turns later.
Remember folks: Always slam your Underworld Dreams when you can!
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MATCHUPS?
As long as you mulligan aggressively for a decent starting hand with a solid mana base, most matchups are pretty favorable. That said the biggest boogeyman clearly is Shops as there is not much to do if they have a rapid start and the black sideboard options playable against them in the card pool are quite lackluster.
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SIDEBOARD SUGGESTIONS?
When facing aggro decks I often side out most of the main plan in favor of some Terror and Sengir Vampire as I found out that a bit of removal followed by a quick flyer is a sure path to victory most of the time. I also like to keep in my sideboard some City in a Bottle as this deck runs no card from Arabian Nights at all. Against Shops I now weirdly side in some Golgothian Silex as it has been the most consistent solution so far, if you get to 5 open mana it becomes almost a sorcery speed one-sided board wipe.​​​
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source: Arnaud Labelle - MTLTundra Wolves
picture: @oldschoolmtg
Arnaud Labelle's list
CREATURES
3 Black Knight
4 Hypnotic Specter
3 Order o.t. Ebon Hand​
SPELLS
1 Black Lotus
2 Chains of Mephistopheles
1 Chaos Orb
4 Dark Ritual
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Drain Life
4 Hymn to Tourach
1 Mind Twist
1 Mox Jet
4 Sinkhole
4 The Rack
3 Underworld Dreams
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LANDS
4 Strip Mine
4 Mishra's Factory
15 Swamp