Before we get rolling, I have two announcements to make.

One, I want to remind you to get your entries in for the Five Colors, Six Choices Contest. Given that the prizes this time are DCI promo cards, and you get to choose from six different cards to build around, the number of entries so far has been disappointing.  As it stands, only four out of the six categories will require any judging at all-- one features only one entry, and one has had NOBODY AT ALL build a deck around it! (I won't say which) Compared to the Stuffy Doll contest, this is a major disappointment. I can only hope you're all just taking your time and making sure you've got the best deck you can make, and that entries start pouring in as the July 14th deadline approaches.

Two, I've been talking with The Powers That Be here at Pojo, and we're working on starting up a Magic podcast of sorts. This would consist of me, and probably only me unless we find a way to work something out, talking to you about Magic-related issues. I would probably answer listener E-mails as well, and I may even end up converting my Deck Garage to a podcast format as well-- goodness knows it's less typing for me. But mostly I want to know: is there any audience interest in this? Would you guys ever bother sending me E-mails that aren't decks to be fixed? Would you actually want to inflict the horrific cacophony of my speaking voice onto your virgin ears? Or do you just fear change and prefer my writing style to a .wmv file? I do this article for you guys, after all, so speak up!

Now, to business.

I am and always have been a huge fan of wither decks. So when i created my new wither deck I had high hopes. Unfortunately my wither deck has a few weaknesses. It has almost no flying defence until I can get crumbling ashes + midnight banshee on the field. I also have a problem with my early game. I don't have any 1 mana creatures and only one or two 2 mana creatures, mainly because they don't make cheap wither creatures. Please help

My deck contains

LAND

22 swamps

MONSTERS

1 midnight banshee (would like 4 as soon as i can find them)

4 necroskitter

4 knight of dusk

4 fleshbag marauder (midnight banshee place holder)

4 sickle ripper

4 rendclaw trow

NON-MONSTERS

4 unholy strength

4 crumbling ashes

4 corrupt

3 consume spirit

4 soul reap

I need my deck to stay tournament legal and would appreciate any help you offer.

Thank you,

Wesley
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What's more fun that killing off opponents' creatures? Why, torturing and brutally injuring them beforehand with intent to cripple, of course! What did you think -1/-1 counters meant from a flavor perspective?

And you're in luck, Wesley. It just so happens I've got a nearly inexhaustible supply of deck ideas regarding wither and -1/-1 counters, bolstered by the works of top men in the field. Except this field isn't a so much a field as it is a marsh, since you're staying monoblack. I won't go through the hassle of adding a color to your deck, Wesley, since I don't know what second color you'd want to use or what multicolor lands you're capable of getting, but let me just say this: if I don't add a second color, your deck will get rolled by Chameleon Colossus.

Okay, okay, Razormane Masticore might work. But that Colossus still hurts like you would not believe.

Anyway, on to more constructive advice: it turns out they do make a 1-mana creature with wither, Wesley. It's called Oona's Gatewarden. Sure, it has defender, but it pretty much kills a lot of things, and so if it drops turn one, your faster aggro opponents are going to be struggling with it. It also gives you that flying defense you wanted.

Next, I would say replace Crumbling Ashes with Blowfly Infestation. The Ashes outright destroys things, but may get turned against your own Rendclaw Trow, or may just turn up empty. The Infestation has to wait until something dies outright, but it lets you pick who gets the -1/-1 counter, meaning you could have a chain reaction of X/1 creatures dying all at once (and coming up on your side, if Necroskitter is out). Or you could run two of each--you rarely need multiple copies of Crumbling Ashes, but Blowfly Infestation does indeed get better in multiples.

Also, if you don't run Crumbling Ashes, you're free to run Scarscale Ritual as a means of drawing extra cards. Remember, the more cards you draw, the more firepower you have to throw at the enemy!

Next, you don't need both Corrupt and Consume Spirit. Replace one of them with Incremental Blight, a card I'm amazed you're not running. It usually kills at least two creatures, and at the least cripples a third as well as makes it succeptible to Necroskitter stealing.

Then again, Scar is also a great card with Necroskitter, but I doubt you really need to find room for it in your deck. It is very funny to Scar a creature in response to it dying, so that you steal it with the 'Skitter. The absolute most hilarious thing I can think to do with it is to, with a Necroskitter in play, Scar an opponent's Ball Lightning during the end step, in response to the sacrifice trigger, so that it will come into play on your side and last until the end of your turn. So, if you often play against people running Ball Lightning, you might consider Scar.

You should also consider Fate Transfer. That card can move counters from a wounded creature (or your Persisted Trow) to one that will be killed because of them, or onto one that's about to die so the 'Skitter steals the creature for you. Don't ask me what cards to pull for all these cute tricks-- although Unholy Strength doesn't thrill me-- but I feel obligated to point them out. In practice, you may find that Scar and Fate Transfer are just not good enough, especially if you can't make Necro stick to the board. But hey, pointing out cute interactions is my job.

Scarscale Ritual and Oona's Gatewarden are probably the most serious suggestions I've made. Incremental Blight is up there too. And I'm serious that Unholy Strength looks bad on paper. If you need a cheap creature booster, go with Leonin Scimitar for the sake of reusability. Because when you've got wither, every point of power counts, right?

Good luck, and beware of the Tatterkite!

~BMoor