Grimdrifter: Building the deck

I did not come up with the original Grimdrifter Deck. I’m not sure who did but early builds were aggro control decks that looked a lot like this deck from Robe:

16 Swamp
4 Island
4 Terramorphic Expanse

4 Augor of Skulls
4 Pit Keeper
4 Mulldrifter
4 Phyrexian Rager
3 Mournwhelk

4 Tendrils of Corruption
3 Grim Harvest
3 Mystical Teachings
3 Terror
2 Nameless Inversion
1 Eyeblights Ending
1 Death Rattle

Sideboard
1 Terror
2 Think Twice
4 Gutless Ghoul
4 Ichor Slick
4 Martyr of Bones

Robe did very well in the first PDCL with this list and won an SPDC with a similar list. It is very strong against control with both the ability to go aggro and card advantage to keep up with control. However, the deck started to lose popularity with the rise of WW which this GD build can’t really beat. So Players started moving to less aggro and more control with builds such as Syphersun’s. I moved even more to control with the deck I have used to gain a 31 match winning streak (a made a few changes tournament to tournament but most are minor).

4 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Mystical Teachings
6 Island
4 Tendrils of Corruption
1 Mountain
4 Remove Soul
2 Mournwhelk
3 Strangling Soot
15 Swamp
1 Terror
2 Festercreep
4 Mulldrifter
4 Phyrexian Rager
4 Prismatic Lens
2 Grim Harvest

Sideboard
2 Festercreep
2 Mournwhelk
1 Strangling Soot
1 Plains
2 Demystify
3 Midnight Charm
1 Snapback
3 Faerie Macabre

Modern GD doesn’t plan to win the game very fast. Its strategy is in some way nullify its opponents threats and then eventually win with its minimal (but thanks to harvest unstoppable) creatures. It always wins the long game because of Teachings, The Creatures, Soot flashbacks and harvest. With that strategy in mind lets look at a few the maindeck individual card choices.

30 mana sources. You really need this much in order to chain teachings and then flashback a soot. If I stall out at around 5 or 6 mana then I consider my self mana screwed. So while it seems like a lot thirty mana sources really isn’t.

Controversial inclusions:
2 Festercreep: these are good v. WW and ok v. DDW but where their really shine is against Storm Control. If you don’t have them maindeck you will lose game 1 to SC. So these could but cut if the metagame changes but right now they seem like a good metagame call.

2 Mournwhelk: you need one Mournwhelk against slower control decks to recur but its terrible against aggro such as WW so I think two is the correct number.

3 Strangling Soot: I’d like to add a fourth strangling soot I really would. However, three is usually enough and I couldn’t find a card I’d rather cut than the fourth soot. Is soot better than Nameless Inversion? Yes, it’s a lot better because you have the mana for flashback and soot lets you have two removal spells in slot.

1 Terror: it’s a target for teachings killing a Shade or Ephemeron that had resolved when for whatever reason.
4 Mystical Teachings: some have said four teachings is too many. However, I’d like to run more since it is what makes the whole deck click setting up insane card advantage.

4 Remove Soul: No Mulldrifter for you. Sorry about that Auroch Herd. These and other 187’s are why Remove Soul is needed.

So that is the Grimdrifter maindeck I have used for five consecutive tournament wins. If there is sufficient interest part two: how to play the deck and how to sideboard will follow.