Hello, Sean from NY here once again touting a deck that I've whipped up to prove the power of an upcoming Coldsnap Card *pause for dramatic effect* Haakon, Scourge of Stromgald!!!!  Ahem, sorry, iconic undead evil knights make me a little insane...  My friends say that even with the wide range of cards available that Haakon is pretty much just a flavorful junk rare that won't see to much play because it just isn't broken enough (paraphrased that last part, they all LOVED Urza's Block and were ecstatic for Mirrodin Block (bleh)).  The idea is essentially tribal knights (mono-black for efficiency, Haakon 1BB casting cost pushed me in that direction) using the good old reanimation assisstant, Buried Alive.  Once I get Haakon into the graveyard it's only a matter of time before he returns to life, or rather, unlife, and brings his friends to the party.  One of my friends has a RIDICULOUS collection of cards so he let me put together most of the deck using proxies to fill in what I didn't have/hasn't been released yet.  Certain other cards in the deck are their for their interaction with other cards (it'll be fairly obvious once you go through the decklist) and while I really wanted to use Terror and Black Knight, I settled with Rend Flesh and Knight of Stromgald for utility...and lastly, I <3 Mutilate!!!

Knighty Night
Creatures:
(4)  Knight of Stromgald
(4)  Stromgald Crusader
(4)  Cadaverous Knight
(3)  Haakon, Stromgald Scourge
(4)  Knight of Dusk

Non-creature Spells:
(3)  Dark Ritual
(3)  Unholy Strength
(3)  Consume Spirit
(4)  Buried Alive
(3)  Rend Flesh
(2)  Diabiolic Tutor
(2)  Mutilate
(3)  Lightning Greaves

Land:
(15) Swamp
(3)  Cabal Coffers


So far it seems to be pretty decent (though it does loose to some of the cookie-cutter power house decks my friends run :P ).  Any ideas on how to make it a little more stream-lined or increase it's overall power?  Thanks!

 

      It might seem like I'm a bit biased towards Sean here, since his decks have been featured so often, but honestly the only reason for that is that he keeps sending so many in.  And they're all decent, clever decks that look like good deck garage material.  When choosing decks to feature in the garage, ther's deck quality of course, but showmanship counts for something too.
 

     Having said that, let's get to work.  Three Haakon seems appropriate, allowing you to Buried Alive all three of them if you choose.  Though honestly, I'd say one Haakon and two other Knights is a better option, since once you play the first Haakon there's no need to play a second.  All your creatures are Knights, obviously, and your spells look alright.  There are ways to improve it, however.  The first card I'd like to take out is Cabal Coffers.  First, it can't produce mana unless you put two mana into it.  Second, adding Cabal Coffers and Consume Spirit to any black deck has been long considered the "easy way out".  Any deck can point a lethal X-spell to the dome and call it a day.  But if you're going to build a deck where the point is to use Haakon to its full potential, and by the tone of your E-mail I think you do, then you're not going to be satisfied when you win with a Consume for 14 despite Haakon never getting going.  While Consume/Coffers makes a good "plan B", it's just doesn't require thought to use and the opponent walks away thinking "if he was just gonna drop a huge Consume Spirit anyway, why'd he bother with all that other stuff?".  Also, 15 lands that tap for mana on Turn One isn't quite enough, so I'd like to replace Coffers with something faster and add more land.
 

      Despite what I just said, having a life drain spell is probably a good idea, since Haakon tends to take a toll on your life total.  Consume Spirit might not be the best such spell, though.  Feast of Flesh comes to mind, but it might not have enough power.  Douse in Gloom could do as well, or perhaps Essence Drain.  I'll leave the final choice up to you.
 

      Next, remove Dark Ritual and Unholy Strength.  Each of these cards is essentially card disadvantage.  If you use Dark Ritual to play a spell, and your opponent counters it, then you lost the spell and the Dark Ritual.  If you lose a creature with Unholy Strength, the Strength is gone even though you can resurrect the Knight it was on.  My advice is to not bother with these cards-- we'll need the room for better things.
 

   The first better thing we'll need is Barter in Blood.  Think about it-- once Haakon gets in play (or in the graveyard) then a Knight in the graveyard is worth one in the hand.  You can sacrifice them as often as need be, and just keep casting them from your graveyard.  And even if they get countered, they go right back to your graveyard which is now an extension of your hand.  So go ahead and Barter in Blood, because you'll get your creatures back-- your opponents won't.  That's also why I want to see a full set of Mutilates here.  You could drop Rend Flesh to make room; between Barter, Mutilate, and Knight of Dusk's abiltiy, your opponent will have a difficult time keeping creatures on the board.
 

    Another good card to add would be Tresserhorn Skyknight.  It's a 5/3 Knight with flying.  Yes, it costs seven mana, and you will have to pay mana for your Knights even if they are played from the graveyard, but it's good to have a few copies of a big, high end creature, especially if it has flying.  Think about it-- what if your opponent uses Leyline of the Void to thwart your necrotic army?  Then you'll be forced to work with the creatures that are still alive.  Well, Tresserhorn Skyknight can finish the game in short order without having to be recurred over and over.  Four hits and its over, and you've already got Lightning Greaves to protect it and shorten the clock a turn.
 

    Finally, add in about 4 more Swamps (because Mutilate likes Swamps) and a Shizo, Death's Storehouse or two for Haakon.  You should have about 22 lands total.
 

    Once these changes are implemented, you should have no trouble wielding the power of the Dark Knight.  Best of luck to you, Sean!

 

~BMoor