January 2022 Alpha 40 League Championship Deck
Mono Black
By Ian Braun
February 2022
*LEAGUE-WINNER-1*
Following my January 2022 Alpha 40 League victory, I was inundated by messages from other Mono
Black players. Much like myself, most of these individuals had loved Mono Black since childhood and
were either actively playing it in the League, or were working on constructing an Alpha 40 League deck
for the very first time. The more questions I received, the more I realized how much I had to say on this
topic, and how much I enjoyed talking about it! After playing different variations of Mono Black in the
Alpha 40 League for the past 2 years, I felt I had gathered a lot of insight on both deck construction and
play strategy. Now, there are many different ways to construct Mono Black, and believe me, I have tried
all of them, but for the article I will be focusing primarily on how I arrived at my winning deck list.
CONSTRUCTING THE CHAMPIONSHIP DECK
*JOEL-MONO-BLACK*
Prior to discussing my league winning build, I’d first like to take a look at my original Mono Black deck
and talk about why I decided to make the changes I did. This list was inspired by Joel Mick’s June 2020
Alpha 40 League Championship Deck, with some tweaks to make it league legal, as well as some
optimizations in my opinion.
These are my impressions on playing this deck as it applied to the current meta game:


Players, in general, were running a lot of artifact removal. I was far too often trading my 4-drops
(Icy Manipulator and Juggernaut) for 2-drops (Disenchant and Shatter), and Icy Manipulators
were being Disenchanted or Shattered at inopportune times that set my opponent up for a big
turn. Icy also felt a bit slow considering all the Black Vise/burn strategies I was encountering.
There are a lot of people running 4 or more red x-spells, which in a slower format like Alpha 40
League turned out to be a win con in most games. I was typically one or two turns away from
stabilizing the board when I would take a lethal Fireball to the face.
So, these are the big changes I made:


I cut all artifacts that didn’t offer immediate utility. It was not uncommon for an opponent to
show me their hand at the end of a game that contained multiple unused Disenchants or
Shatters. I think leaving cards dead in my opponent’s hand was a deciding factor in many
games.
I added in Drain Lifes to combat burn strategies. While also an amazing finisher, a big life swing
from a Drain Life wreaks havoc on a burn player’s strategy. All of a sudden those Bolts they
threw at your face are just card disadvantage, and that Copper Tablet they have in play doesn’t
look so good anymore.
*LEAGUE-WINNER-2*
Now for a deep dive on the card choices, quantities, and notable omissions:
Sinkhole (3 Copies, 48.82% Odds of Having at Least 1 Copy in First 8) – Sinkhole is obviously an amazing
card which is why it was discontinued after Unlimited, and why it is moderated to three copies in league
play. I was one of the early adopters of the 8 Sinkhole build back in 2020 prior to the moderation of all
land destruction cards. This was, of course, an incredibly powerful deck, but not a great way to make
friends. Post moderation, I debated seriously whether or not it was worth it to run Sinkhole as a 3-of,
especially in a format with primarily basic lands. After some playtesting, the answer is unequivocally,
“yes!” for a few reasons. Firstly, we play in a format with an “all land” “no land” mulligan rule. If I can
Sinkhole the only land from your opening hand on my turn 2 followed by a threat, things aren’t looking
great for you. Secondly, the restriction of dual lands makes two- and three-color decks more fragile,
especially if I can turn you off of the color you need to remove my creatures. Third, the lack of ramp.
Sinkhole can be a great tempo card to put your opponent a turn behind, or ideally, a couple turns
behind if they were already struggling with their land drops. Sinkhole works very well as a 3-of in this
deck, and I ran the maximum allowed.
Drain Life (4 Copies, 59.59% Odds of Having at Least 1 Copy in First 8) – In a format with so few “2 for
1’s”, Drain Life is just that. It removes a creature or does direct damage to an opponent, while
increasing your life total and extending the game. Due to Mono Black’s lack of removal, a common play
line for me was to use a Dark Ritual to cast a big Drain Life in the early game to remove a problematic
creature I otherwise had no way of dealing with. The key to dialing in the correct number of Drain Lifes
for the deck was to find the number which would ensure that I wasn’t likely to have too many in my
opening hand, but was going to draw at least 2 in the late game. I ended up running 4, but 5 might be
the right number since all I wanted to pull late game was more Drain Lifes.
Black Knight (4 Copies, 59.59% Odds of Having at Least 1 Copy in First 8) – With the recent moderation
of Sinkhole, Black Knight is a great card to fill the 2-drop slot. Black Knight is great against Blue/White
Control, Mono White, and any other deck that relies on Swords to Plowshares, Wrath of God, and
Balance for creature removal (under Alpha rules, protection from white makes Black Knight immune to
Wrath of God and Balance). A 2/2 first striker proved to be super versatile, especially with multiples on
the board forming a wall of first strike. 4 copies felt great; I was hesitant to run more than 4 for fear of
Earthquake and Fireballs. In the late game I would rather be casting Sengir Vampire, Nightmare, and
Drain Life instead of more Black Knights.
Sengir Vampire (4 Copies, 59.59% Odds of Having at Least 1 Copy in First 8)
Even in a vacuum, I feel that Sengir Vampire is one of the best creatures in the format. With the
presence of Dark Ritual, Sengir truly becomes a Tier 1 card. A turn-3, 4/4 flier is very hard for a lot of
decks in the format to contend with. Sengir’s special ability is rarely relevant, so much so that
opponents often forget about it until it’s received its +1/+1 counter and has altered the board state and
their combat math. Late game I wanted to be consistently dropping Sengirs, which is why I chose to run
4.
Demonic Tutor (1 Copy, 19.51% Odds to Appear in First 8) Demonic Tutor is restricted to one copy in
the Alpha 40 League, so naturally, I am running one copy. The only real thing to discuss is without
Ancestral Recall or Mind Twist, what were my typical Tutor targets? Probably most common was Sol
Ring, followed by a basic land. Those Tutors occurred in the early game, whereas in the late game I was
usually grabbing Nightmare or a Drain Life if I could close out the game the next turn. Another common
card to Tutor for was Chaos Orb to remove a problematic card.
Chaos Orb (1 Copy, 19.51% Odds to Appear in First 8) – Chaos Orb? You mean my fourth Sinkhole?
Chaos Orb is an auto-include in most Alpha 40 League decks that don’t otherwise run a different card
from the “Destruction Group”, and is particularly strong under League Rules since it can’t be
Disenchanted or Shattered after activation. My most common Chaos Orb target was a land after I had
already cast Sinkhole once or twice in the game. Getting several turns ahead with land destruction and
dropping multiple Sengir Vampires was usually game over. In my opinion, the absolute best use of
Chaos Orb is flipping on Control Magic and denying your opponent of a brutal two for one. Mono Black
players that don’t own a Chaos Orb will be happy to hear that while a great card, Chaos Orb is not a
necessity. It can easily be cut in exchange for another piece of removal. I personally would choose to
run a Pestilence.
Nightmare (1 Copy, 19.51% Odds to Appear in First 8) – I was honestly shocked to get some “flavor
points” for running a singleton Nightmare; I don’t think people realize how good this card is in a Mono
Black deck! Late game, I almost always Tutored for Nightmare unless I could grab a lethal Drain Life
instead. It’s incredibly hard to remove and isn’t a Control Magic liability. Since Control Magic was one
of my biggest fears, I would bait the Control Magic with a Nightmare (which reduces it to a 0/0 and kills
it) then I would drop my Sengir Vampire. Due to its high casting cost, I believe 1 to 2 is the correct
number for Nightmare.
Dark Ritual (3 Copies, 48.82% Odds of Having at Least 1 Copy in First 8) - The correct number of Dark
Rituals in a deck is perhaps the most debated topic in Mono Black deck construction under league rules.
Mind Twist is notably banned in Alpha 40 League; this removes the most broken thing you can do with a
Dark Ritual, which is fuel an early game Mind Twist for your opponent’s entire hand. The second most
broken thing you can do is cast a turn 1 Hypnotic Specter, which isn’t actually a very good play in a lot of
situations, as you are setting yourself up for a 2 for 1. With that being said, you might be wondering
why I ran any at all since it always leads to card disadvantage? I chose to run 3 copies for the following
reasons:
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Being able to quickly ramp out to get under Black Vise.
To fuel an early game Drain Life to remove an opponent’s Hypnotic Specter or Juggernaut.
Dark Ritual is never dead since it can always be used to fuel big Drain Lifes in the late game.
It is great for combating Power Sink and playing around Counterspell.
It is still great for having fast starts and ramping out a creature depending on what your
opponent is playing.
3 copies of Dark Ritual sometimes felt like 1 too many. I think in the future this deck could safely drop to
2, though I wouldn’t go below that. If Black Vise became restricted in the future, I would likely drop to
1.
Hypnotic Specter (3 Copies, 48.82% Odds of Having at Least 1 Copy in First 8) - Hypnotic Specter is
clearly overpowered for its casting cost, which is why it is moderated to 3 in league play. It is a clear
auto-include in all Mono Black decks. I ran the maximum of 3.
Royal Assassin (1 Copy, 19.51% Odds to Appear in First 8)
Running a Royal Assassin was my only regret of the month. I think it is very strong against Mono Green,
and actually fairly good in the mirror match against Mono Black, but otherwise way too easy for an
opponent to remove. Royal Assassin has obvious synergy with Icy Manipulator and Paralyze, but since I
wasn’t running those cards, I should have swapped it out for another bit of creature removal.
Sol Ring (1 Copy, 19.51% Odds to Appear in First 8)
Sol Ring is a fantastic piece of ramp in the format; unfortunately, given the fact that almost every card I
have in this deck requires BB to cast, a Mox Jet would have been better!
Swamp (15 Copies, 88.04% Odds of Having at Least 2 Copies in First 8)
At a minimum I wanted to see 2 black mana sources in my first 8, and ideally, I wanted to see 3. The
percentages worked out at 15, and as a ratio of my overall deck it worked out to run 41 cards. Running
15 black sources plus a Sol Ring at 40 cards seemed like too much and running 14 black sources plus a
Sol Ring at 40 cards seemed like too little. The inclusion of a Mox Jet would fix this problem, and I could
drop to 14 Swamps plus a Mox Jet for 15 black sources in a 40 card deck.
NOTABLE OMISSIONS
Animate Dead – In almost all situations I would rather run one more copy of the creature I would be
animating, with the notable exception of Hypnotic Specter. Animating the T1 Specter that got bolted is
a great T2 play, and for that reason it could be a 1-of, but late game I’d rather just have more creatures.
Icy Manipulator – This is a great control card: a versatile answer, and works with the Sinkhole mana
denial strategy. However, it is just too slow for this deck that would rather be casting big creatures and
Drain Lifes. That being said, running Icy Manipulator is just a different deck, and I didn’t want to run just
a few artifacts because I would have to cut Sengirs for Juggernauts, as well.
Terror – Unless you get lucky with matchups, Terror is just way too often a dead card. If sideboards
were allowed, it certainly belongs there, but it does not belong in the main deck in my opinion.
Paralyze – A lot of Mono Black players will run a singleton Paralyze because they are concerned about
an opponent’s turn 1 Hypnotic Specter or turn 2 Juggernaut. In my opinion, the perfect answer to an
opponent’s fast start is your own fast start. Turn 1 Chaos Orb off Dark Ritual, turn 1 Hypnotic Specter,
or Drain Life fueled by Dark Ritual are all great answers. Paralyze is too often dead in the late game, and
to be totally honest, it just annoys me to keep track of. A lot of my opponents will draw for turn prior to
remembering to pay the 4 for Paralyze, getting a big advantage off of that added information. If I point
out that they missed a trigger, I just sound like a competitive Legacy player, and no one wants that.
Pestilence – Pestilence is the obvious, glaring omission from my deck. It is so good against Elves and
Goblins that even if it is mostly dead in some matchups, it is worth it to run 1 to 2. Pestilence is never
truly a dead card as it can be used to chip in damage late game once your have your Nightmare in play.
Bad Moon – A great card, but a huge liability in the mirror match! I could definitely see the value in
running 1 to 2 mainly because of how much harder it makes it to remove a Sengir Vampire or deal with
it in combat, but I chose to omit them because they are expensive, I don’t own them, and they don’t
seem necessary.
Mox Jet – With the number of BB 2-drops in this deck, Mox Jet would almost certainly be better than Sol
Ring. A lot of people asked why I ran Sol Ring over Mox Jet, and whether it was actually better with the
number of Sengir Vampires I ran. The answer? No. I don’t own a Mox Jet!
Throne of Bone – The way the deck curves out I don’t see a lot of utility from Throne of Bone in the
early game, and in the late game, I’d rather be tapping out for big Drain Lifes!
Howl from Beyond – Really fun when paired with Black Knight, but once again, I’d rather tap out for a
Drain Life. I think Howl from Beyond belongs as a finisher in a 2-color deck, like Dead Guy Ale.
Nevinyrral’s Disk – Nevinyrral’s Disk would hypothetically replace Chaos Orb in this deck. I took note
during the League of how often I wished Chaos Orb was a Nev Disk, and it was about 50% of the time.
Nev Disk could be a really great “budget” alternative to Chaos Orb, and would still serve the purpose of
equalizing board states you otherwise have no removal for.
Nettling Imp – When I was a little kid, the absolute tier 1 combo in existence in the play group was
Nettling Imp and Sengir Vampire! While so fun, Nettling Imp is a little too cute for this deck. It’s too easy
to remove, and only good in very niche situations.
PLAYING MONO BLACK
To give some insight on how I strategized game play, I recreated six memorable opening hands from
matches during the January 2022 League. If you are not familiar with Alpha 40 League Rules it’s
important to note that the league has an “all land or no land” mulligan rule; otherwise, I would certainly
have mulliganed some of these. Under Alpha 40 League Rules you draw a card on both the play and the
draw; openers show 8 cards since you will get to see an 8th card before you make your first play.
At its heart, the deck is a mid-range, tempo Mono Black deck and the ideal play strategy is pretty simple:
1. Cast early Sinkholes to disrupt your opponent’s mana base or put them a turn behind.
2. Put early threats out like Black Knight and Hypnotic Specter to chip in damage and hopefully
disrupt your opponent’s hand.
Black Knights transition from an offensive position to a “wall of first strike” in the defensive
position, capable of killing attacking Juggernauts and small creatures without trading, while you
begin to resolve aerial threats.
3. Drain Life to the face to swing life total to extend the game, or to remove problematic blockers.
4. Get Nightmare in play, or resolve multiple Drain Lifes in sequence.
Here are some hands I encountered during the league that lead to some memorable play lines, tough
decisions, or just demonstrate the brutal power of the deck.
*HAND-1* SAMPLE HAND #1
Here’s an easy one, right? Turn 1, Dark Ritual, Hypnotic Specter, it’s such an obvious play line. No! Don’t
be greedy; you have only 1 Swamp and you need to be able to tap for a consistent BB each turn to win
the game. The Turn 1 play here is easy: play Swamp and pass the turn. Turn 2, if you draw a Swamp,
Sinkhole your opponent to put them a turn behind. If you don’t draw a Swamp, cast Dark Ritual
followed by Demonic Tutor for a Swamp. Play the Swamp and Sinkhole your opponent. Next turn cast
Black Knight or Hypnotic Specter, depending on whether or not you made a land drop. If you keep
making land drops, you are safe to save Tutor and Ritual for late game plays.
*HAND-2* SAMPLE HAND #2
Another easy one, right? In this instance, especially if my opponent was playing red, I wouldn’t Dark
Ritual into a Hypnotic Specter on turn 1. Instead, I would hard cast Black Knight on turn 2 to bait a Bolt,
and then hard cast Hypnotic Specter on turn 3. Turn 4 I would likely Dark Ritual into a Sengir Vampire.
*HAND-3* SAMPLE HAND #3
Finally, I get to cast turn 1 Hypnotic Specter! I don’t have much going for this hand, so the risk is worth
the reward, and my only chance of winning is turn 1 Dark Ritual, Hypnotic Specter. Turn 2 I will cast
Sinkhole to put my opponent a turn behind and hope I draw into something good. Of course, if the
Hypnotic Specter sticks around for multiple turns that is likely game over anyway.
*HAND-4* SAMPLE HAND #4
Rough opener, right? I actually don’t think so due to Drain Life’s ability to stretch the game out. With
consistent land drops plus Drain Lifes, I’ll be able to remove all early creatures. I can utilize Dark Ritual
as a quick way to ramp into a big Drain Life to get rid of Juggernaut or Hypnotic Specter. By Turn 5 I’m
dropping Sengir Vampire and hopefully drawing into more big creatures or a Demonic Tutor for
Nightmare. Even if I get flooded, I can quickly swing the game by casting a big Drain Life.
*HAND-5* SAMPLE HAND #5
This is a brutal hand, especially if your opponent has a greedy mana base. If I’m on the draw it’s Swamp,
Ritual, double Sinkhole, followed by Chaos Orb targeting another land, and then I’m concentrating on
dropping fatties.
*HAND-6* SAMPLE HAND #6
Ah, the power of Sol Ring! Turn 1 Swamp, Sol Ring. Turn 3 Hypnotic Specter, take 1 mana burn. Turn 3
Sengir Vampire, Turn 4 Sengir Vampire, late game Nightmare. Hard to contend with that many early
threats.
THE REFINED MONO BLACK DECK
*REFINED-LIST*
This is how I would build it today.
-
Cut Sol Ring for Mox Jet (yes, I traded for one after my league victory because I deserve to have
nice things).
Cut one Swamp bringing me down to a tight, 40 card list.
Cut Royal Assassin for Pestilence.
OTHER NOTABLE MONO BLACK DECKS
If you’re anything like me, you love looking at deck pictures! My favorite Alpha 40 League Mono Black
decks, other than my own of course, are below. Each one of these decks has put up impressive results
in the league.
Ash Anabtawi’s Mono Black Deck *ASH-DECK*
Behold, the deck that gave me my only loss in January! Ash has made Top 4 and Top 8 with various
versions of this Mono Black Control Deck.
Nicholas Aiello’s Mono Black Deck *AIELLO-DECK*
Nick notably made the finals with this super aggressive Mono Black Deck!
Charles Lawrences Mono Black Deck *LAWRENCE-DECK*
Charles made Top 4 with this Mono Black Deck. I absolutely love the inclusion of 2 Nightmare!
Brian Bogdon’s Mono Black Deck *BOGDON-DECK*
Brian’s deck has made an appearance in the playoffs multiple times, going top 4 with this Black/Brown
Aggro/Prison Deck.
Michael Angelo Russo’s Mono Black Deck *ANGELO-DECK*
An absolute classic Mono Black Deck that has made the playoffs multiple times!
Luiz Verdasca’s Mono Black Deck *VERDASCA-DECK*
Plague Rats, a classic archetype that is only possible under Alpha 40 Rules! Luiz has become known for
his Plague Rats deck that notably made the top 4 after I lost to him in the top 8 in a previous month.