Decklist: Monoblack Tribal Clerics

To cap off tribal week fortnight month, I'm going to share a trio of decks that will demonstrate different approaches to tribal deck building. First on the docket is a deck that has a bit of an identity crisis; a Cleric deck that wants to summon Demons and other abominations, but a lot of those Clerics also happen to be Zombies.

Despite the muddled tribal theme, the deck actually plays very flavorfully. It all makes sense, after all: the Clerics have given up some of their humanity to conjure up forces from beyond.

Clerics

4x Dark Supplicant
4x Skirsdag High Priest
3x Withered Wretch
3x Cabal Archon
3x Shepherd of Rot
4x Rotlung Reanimator

Monsters

2x Scion of Darkness
2x Demon of Death's Gate
2x Promise of Power
3x Quest for the Gravelord

Utility

2x Grave Pact
3x Gravestorm
3x Oath of Ghouls
2x Scroll of Griselbrand
2x Altar's Reap
2x Profane Prayers
1x Yawgmoth's Will

Lands

2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3x Cabal Coffers
2x Leechridden Swamp
2x Starlit Sanctum
15x Swamp

The strategy is fairly straight-forward, in that your Clerics want to die. In doing so, you usually get some Demon action, some Bears, or a life swing. There's also some graveyard interaction at work here with Withered Wretch, Gravestorm, and Oath of Ghouls.

Typically, a good starting hand can net you a fatty (or two) as early as turn two or three, helping this deck excel in one-on-one matches. In longer, drawn-out games, the life loss from Cabal Archon and Profane Prayers can help you seal the deal.