Oversoul
The Tentacled One
I've been giving some thought to Pox in the new Type 1.5. I think it could do well. Granted, Pox could have some truly hellish matchups. Affinity, for example, could be major trouble, even without Skullclamp...
From Type I, monoblack Pox loses Black Lotus, Mox Jet, Strip Mine, and not much else.
In the new format, it gains Chrome Mox, Lotus Petal, and Mox Diamond, if it wants all of them, which it really doesn't. But it has any of them to choose from for some nice mana acceleration that doesn't die from Pox.
Aside from those cards, what would a Pox deck look like? Some choices...
Pox: Well, this is an obvious one. The deck is based around it. What does it do? It attacks the opponent on four fronts. It serves as excellent creature kill, eats away at the life total, performs some land destruction and is among the most powerful discard spells, all in one card. The drawback is that it is symmetrical (of course). This can be overcome by building a deck which supports Pox, as well as using some timing (the "Pox Primer" here in the article archives of the CPA goes into this in detail).
Dark Ritual: Duh, the deck is black. Dark Ritual is obvious. And especially potent when it gives exactly BBB, which happens to be the mana cost of a certain card that this deck is based around...
Hymn to Tourach: The best discard spell ever. Good either before Pox to set up for it, or after to fully empty the opponent's hand.
Duress: Great for protecting Pox and other key spells from removal. A potent one-drop against virtually any deck. It cripples combo, neutralizes control, and slows aggro.
Sinkhole: This looks to be the most expensive card the deck might run (which is one of the benefits of the deck). The best land destruction spell there is, hands down. Of course, even without the pricey prescence of Sinkhole, Icequake and other suboptimal choices are readily available...
Diabolic Edict: Black's best creature removal can help keep you from being beaten down, as well as clearing the way for your attackers.
Spinning Darkness: With no Yawgmoth's Will in this format, I see little reason not to run this basically free anti-creature and lifegain in one package spell. It's bad against other black decks though...
The Rack: A great kill card. The opponent is going to have a hard time dealing with it. This card has amazing synergy with the other cards in Pox decks, and it's dirt cheap as far as mana and money go...
Cursed Scroll: The other expensive card for Pox decks. You're emptying your own hand generally, so taking advantage of it seems like a good idea...
Chimeric Idol: A 3/3 that is immune to Pox. Enough said.
Hypnotic Specter: The best black creature in the game, and perfect for discard strategies.
Steel Golem: The disadvantage is that the only creature you can use with it is Chimeric Idol or something else that's not really a creature. The advantage is that it's a nice attacker and can survive and be targeted by Spinning Darkness, if your opponent has no nonblack creatures...
Nether Spirit: Not very useful when you run other creatures, but a recurring attacker is nice...
Wasteland: Not as nice as it would be in Type I, since it will probably have no targets in many matches. Losing Strip Mine hurts the deck somewhat though, and removing these makes matches agaisnt dual lands not as favorable...
Mishra's Factory: It messes with the mana base a little, and completely removes any chance of running Wasteland. But it certainly is a nice attacker...
So, is it enough. Can Pox perform well in the new format, or is the card still stuck without a home?
From Type I, monoblack Pox loses Black Lotus, Mox Jet, Strip Mine, and not much else.
In the new format, it gains Chrome Mox, Lotus Petal, and Mox Diamond, if it wants all of them, which it really doesn't. But it has any of them to choose from for some nice mana acceleration that doesn't die from Pox.
Aside from those cards, what would a Pox deck look like? Some choices...
Pox: Well, this is an obvious one. The deck is based around it. What does it do? It attacks the opponent on four fronts. It serves as excellent creature kill, eats away at the life total, performs some land destruction and is among the most powerful discard spells, all in one card. The drawback is that it is symmetrical (of course). This can be overcome by building a deck which supports Pox, as well as using some timing (the "Pox Primer" here in the article archives of the CPA goes into this in detail).
Dark Ritual: Duh, the deck is black. Dark Ritual is obvious. And especially potent when it gives exactly BBB, which happens to be the mana cost of a certain card that this deck is based around...
Hymn to Tourach: The best discard spell ever. Good either before Pox to set up for it, or after to fully empty the opponent's hand.
Duress: Great for protecting Pox and other key spells from removal. A potent one-drop against virtually any deck. It cripples combo, neutralizes control, and slows aggro.
Sinkhole: This looks to be the most expensive card the deck might run (which is one of the benefits of the deck). The best land destruction spell there is, hands down. Of course, even without the pricey prescence of Sinkhole, Icequake and other suboptimal choices are readily available...
Diabolic Edict: Black's best creature removal can help keep you from being beaten down, as well as clearing the way for your attackers.
Spinning Darkness: With no Yawgmoth's Will in this format, I see little reason not to run this basically free anti-creature and lifegain in one package spell. It's bad against other black decks though...
The Rack: A great kill card. The opponent is going to have a hard time dealing with it. This card has amazing synergy with the other cards in Pox decks, and it's dirt cheap as far as mana and money go...
Cursed Scroll: The other expensive card for Pox decks. You're emptying your own hand generally, so taking advantage of it seems like a good idea...
Chimeric Idol: A 3/3 that is immune to Pox. Enough said.
Hypnotic Specter: The best black creature in the game, and perfect for discard strategies.
Steel Golem: The disadvantage is that the only creature you can use with it is Chimeric Idol or something else that's not really a creature. The advantage is that it's a nice attacker and can survive and be targeted by Spinning Darkness, if your opponent has no nonblack creatures...
Nether Spirit: Not very useful when you run other creatures, but a recurring attacker is nice...
Wasteland: Not as nice as it would be in Type I, since it will probably have no targets in many matches. Losing Strip Mine hurts the deck somewhat though, and removing these makes matches agaisnt dual lands not as favorable...
Mishra's Factory: It messes with the mana base a little, and completely removes any chance of running Wasteland. But it certainly is a nice attacker...
So, is it enough. Can Pox perform well in the new format, or is the card still stuck without a home?