Infect decks have seen only a small amount of success, usually in the form of Green decks focused on winning on turn two or three. The problem with these decks is that they can often be foiled by a single removal spell. Once you cast all those pump spells on one creature, a single Doom Blade can ruin your day. I decided to look for a way to make a far more resilient Infect deck, while still maintaining some of that raw power. Obviously, the main strength of Infect is that you only have to deal 10 damage, making effects that pump your creatures far more effective. Green spells accomplish this very efficiently, but they are also very easy to disrupt. Equipment, however, can provide a similar effect, while being far less risky.

This is the list I’ve been working with:

"Mono-Black Infect"

• Creatures (16)
• 4 Phyrexian Crusader
• 4 Phyrexian Vatmother
• 4 Plague Stinger
• 4 Plague Myr

• Spells (20)
• 2 Doom Blade
• 2 Go for the Throat
• 3 Dismember
• 4 Mutagenic Growth
• 2 Strata Scythe
• 3 Livewire Lash
• 4 Lashwrithe

• Lands (24)
• 24 Swamp

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Dismember
• 2 Doom Blade
• 2 Go for the Throat
• 4 Disfigure
• 3 Contagion Clasp
• 3 Piston Sledge

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The Creatures

Plague Stinger is cheap, but more important, it’s evasive. Getting that 10 damage in is a lot easier when your opponent can’t block.

Plague Myr will spend much of its time attacking, but the ability to cast Phyrexian Vatmother on turn three is too good to pass up, and having that extra mana can help you play and equip Strata Scythe later on.

Phyrexian Crusader is definitely one of the strongest Infect creatures. With protection from White and Red, it’s immune to many removal spells, and is also unblockable against Caw-Blade and Red Deck Wins.

Phyrexian Vatmother is just plain huge. The drawback never matters, and the 4/5 body can fight most creatures in the format and live. Later in the game, it can even kill in a single swing with the help of a Lashwrithe or Strata Scythe. Even without equipment, a single Mutagenic Growth can make it powerful enough to kill on the second hit.

The Pump

Lashwrithe is the main reason to play Black in the first place. It can be equipped for free, and almost always makes the creature strong enough to kill in two hits. The Germ token usually won’t matter, but it’s worth noting that it can be used as a blocker if you’re in a tight spot.

Strata Scythe serves as your fifth and sixth Lashwrithe. It’s far more mana-intensive, but it will still win you the game if it’s not dealt with very quickly.

Livewire Lash is a bit strange, but works surprisingly well in this deck. If your opponent doesn’t have removal in response to the equip ability, he’s going to be in trouble later on. The +2/+0 is certainly useful, and is still enough to let Phyrexian Vatmother kill in two swings, but the real gem here is the triggered ability. If your opponent casts a removal spell on your creature once it’s equipped with Livewire Lash, he’s going to get 2 poison counters, the equivalent of taking 4 damage. That’s certainly going to hurt. In addition, the Lash triggers from your own spells as well. In a pinch, you can even fire off a couple removal spells on your own creature to get those last few poison counters in.

Mutagenic Growth is the one pump spell in the deck. It can save your creatures from damage-based removal, and also helps to get in those last couple poison counters. Ideally, you’ll be playing this on a creature equipped with Livewire Lash most of the time. Your opponent will get 2 poison counters when you cast the spell, and if he kills your creature in response, he’ll get another 2 poison counters. If he doesn’t kill the creature, it will get +2/+2, and he’ll get those extra 2 poison counters anyway.

The Removal

Dismember continues to be a very powerful removal spell. It helps deal with Exarch Twin, and since you don’t have to pay 4 life every time you cast it, it serves as a fairly effective removal spell against other decks as well.

The split between Go for the Throat and Doom Blade is a concession to the popularity of both U/B control and Tempered Steel right now. Having four useless removal spells in Game 1 is something you definitely want to avoid. After sideboarding, you can go up to four of whichever one you need.

The Sideboard

There’s not a lot you can change in this deck without compromising your game plan, so most of the sideboard is dedicated to maximizing your removal suite. The ability to side into a full playset of four different removal spells gives you a lot of options, and ensures that you’re getting the most out of your mana in every matchup.

Contagion Clasp comes in against control decks. Even if your opponent has enough counterspells and removal to run you out of creatures, Contagion Clasp lets you finish him off one poison counter at a time.

Piston Sledge is great against opponents who don’t have removal spells. It comes out a turn faster than Livewire Lash, and grants an additional power and toughness. The certainty of that extra damage more than makes up for the Lash’s interaction with Mutagenic Growth.

Play-Testing

Caw-Blade – Game 1

I won the roll, and was forced to mulligan twice, keeping a hand of two Swamps, Plague Stinger, Phyrexian Vatmother, and Mutagenic Growth. I played a Swamp and passed the turn. My opponent had taken one mulligan, and opened with a Celestial Colonnade. I drew another Swamp, played it, and cast Plague Stinger before passing the turn. My opponent played Seachrome Coast and passed with no play. I drew a Plague Myr, attacked for 1, then played my land and cast the Myr. I then passed the turn. My opponent played a Tectonic Edge and cast Blade Splicer. I drew a Doom Blade, and Plague Stinger flew over for another poison counter. I then cast my Phyrexian Vatmother with some help from my Plague Myr. My opponent played another Colonnade, then cast Preordain, followed by Squadron Hawk. He searched up three more Hawks and passed the turn. I drew a Swamp, played it, then attacked with my Vatmother. My opponent blocked with everything, and I paid 2 life for a Mutagenic Growth to wipe his board. I then passed the turn. My opponent played a land and two more Squadron Hawks, then passed the turn. I drew another Swamp, played it, and attacked with my Phyrexian Vatmother and Plague Myr. A Hawk blocked the Vatmother, and my opponent went up to 2 poison. I passed the turn. My opponent played another land and cast Hero of Bladehold. I played a Doom Blade on it at the end of his turn. I drew yet another Swamp, played it, and attacked with all three of my creatures. My opponent blocked the Phyrexian Vatmother with his Squadron Hawk, and went to 4 poison. I ended my turn. My opponent played a land, cast Preordain, then cast another Hero of Bladehold and his last Squadron Hawk before passing the turn. I drew Go for the Throat, cast it on the Hero of Bladehold, and attacked with everything again. Phyrexian Vatmother ate up another Squadron Hawk, and I ended my turn with my opponent at 6 poison. My opponent cast Preordain, then Gideon Jura, using the +2 ability to forestall his demise. I drew Livewire Lash, cast it, and equipped it to my Plague Stinger. My creatures killed Gideon, and I passed the turn. My opponent cast a Blade Splicer and ended his turn. I drew a Dismember, and attacked with everything again. Blade Splicer blocked Phyrexian Vatmother, and the Golem token took down my Plague Myr. Plague Stinger flew over for 3, putting my opponent at 9 poison. I cast my Dismember on the Plague Stinger, and the trigger from Livewire Lash ended the game.

Sideboarding

−2 Go for the Throat

+2 Doom Blade

Caw-Blade – Game 2

We each took a mulligan, and I kept a hand of two Swamps, two Mutagenic Growth, Plague Myr, and Lashwrithe. My opponent opened with an Inkmoth Nexus and passed the turn. I drew a Swamp, played it, and passed the turn. My opponent played a Plains and cast Squadron Hawk. He only searched for two, despite there being room in his hand for three, so I assumed he had already drawn the other. I drew a Strata Scythe, played a land, and cast Plague Myr before passing the turn. My opponent attacked me for 1, played a land, and cast another Squadron Hawk before passing. I drew another Swamp, played it, and cast Lashwrithe before ending my turn. My opponent played a land, attacked for 2 in the air, then cast Oblivion Ring on my Lashwrithe. He then passed the turn. I drew and cast another Plague Myr, played my land, and cast Strata Scythe before passing the turn. My opponent played a land, attacked me down to 15, then cast the two remaining Squadron Hawks before ending his turn. I drew a Phyrexian Vatmother, equipped my Strata Scythe to a Plague Myr, and attacked with my 5/5. My opponent blocked with a Squadron Hawk, and I ended my turn. My opponent cast two Preordains, and attacked me for 3 with his Hawks. He then played a land and cast Blade Splicer before passing the turn. I drew a Swamp, played it, and attacked with my now 6/6 Plague Myr. Blade Splicer blocked, and I cast a Phyrexian Vatmother before ending my turn. My opponent paid 4 life to cast Dismember on my Vatmother, and I paid 2 life to cast a Mutagenic Growth to save it. He then attacked with a Squadron Hawk to take me down to 9 and ended his turn. I drew a Plague Stinger and attacked with my Phyrexian Vatmother and my equipped Plague Myr. An Inkmoth Nexus blocked the Myr, bringing it down to a 5/5, while the Golem token teamed up with two Squadron Hawks to try and take down my Vatmother. I went down to 7 to play another Mutagenic Growth, saving my Vatmother again, and killing the three blockers. I then cast my Plague Stinger and equipped the Strata Scythe to it, sacrificing my Plague Myr, before passing the turn. My opponent played Gideon Jura, going down to 4 counters to finally kill my Phyrexian Vatmother. He then ended his turn. I drew a Swamp, played it, and attacked Gideon with everything. My opponent blocked my Plague Stinger with his Hawk, and Gideon went down to 2 counters. I passed the turn. My opponent played another land, then used Gideon’s +2 ability before passing the turn. I drew and played another Swamp, and all my creatures attacked Gideon again. An Inkmoth Nexus sacrificed itself to my Plague Stinger, bringing it back down to a 7/7, and Gideon went back to two counters. I ended my turn. My opponent played another land, and used Gideon’s +2 again before passing the turn. I drew a Doom Blade, and my creatures finally killed Gideon. My opponent drew and played yet another land, and passed the turn back to me. I drew and played another land as well, and attacked for 9 poison before passing the turn. My opponent drew his card and conceded.

Valakut – Game 1

My opponent won the roll and took one mulligan, while I kept a hand of four Swamps, Phyrexian Crusader, Lashwrithe, and Go for the Throat. He opened with an Evolving Wilds. I drew and played a Swamp, and my opponent sacrificed the Evolving Wilds at the end of my turn, getting a Forest. He then played a second Forest and cast Overgrown Battlement before passing the turn. I drew and played another Swamp, and ended my turn. My opponent played another Overgrown Battlement, and tapped the first to play Explore. He then played a Terramorphic Expanse and a Mountain and passed the turn. I drew and played yet another Swamp, and cast my Phyrexian Crusader. My opponent cracked the Terramorphic Expanse at end of turn, then played a Mountain and cast Solemn Simulacrum, getting another Mountain. He then ended his turn. I drew another Phyrexian Crusader, cast Lashwrithe, and paid 4 life to equip it. I then attacked with my 6/6 Phyrexian Crusader, which was blocked by the Solemn Simulacrum. I ended my turn. My opponent played an Evolving Wilds and passed. I drew a Dismember, played another Swamp, and attacked with my Crusader. My opponent blocked with an Overgrown Battlement. I cast my other Phyrexian Crusader, and my opponent sacrificed the Evolving Wilds for a Mountain at end of turn. He then played Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, and passed the turn. I drew and played another Swamp, then cast Dismember on the remaining Overgrown Battlement and attacked for 10 poison to win the game.

Sideboarding

−3 Dismember

−3 Livewire Lash

+2 Doom Blade

+1 Go for the Throat

+3 Piston Sledge

Valakut – Game 2

I kept a hand of three Swamps, Plague Stinger, Lashwrithe, Piston Sledge, and Doom Blade. My opponent opened with a Terramorphic Expanse, and I opened with a Swamp after drawing a Strata Scythe. My opponent sacrificed the Expanse for a Forest at the end of my turn. He then played another Forest and cast Explore. He played an Evolving Wilds and passed the turn. I drew Go for the Throat, played a Swamp, and cast Plague Stinger. My opponent sacrificed the Evolving Wilds at the end of my turn, getting a Mountain. He played another Mountain, then cast Harrow, sacrificing a Forest and getting a Forest and a Mountain. He then cast Overgrown Battlement and passed the turn. I drew another Lashwrithe, then cast Piston Sledge, equipping it to my Plague Stinger, and attacked for 4 poison before ending my turn. My opponent played a Mountain, then cast Primeval Titan, getting Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, and a Mountain. I drew a Phyrexian Crusader and cast Go for the Throat on the Titan. I then attacked for 4 more poison, but my opponent paid 4 life to cast Dismember on my Plague Stinger. I passed the turn. My opponent cast Green Sun's Zenith for 6, getting another Primeval Titan, which in turn got another Valakut and a Mountain, dealing 6 damage to me. I drew a Mutagenic Growth, cast Doom Blade on the Titan, and ended my turn. My opponent cast two Solemn Simulacrums, getting two Mountains and taking me down to 2 life. I finally drew my fourth Swamp, but it was far too late to save me.

Valakut – Game 3

I kept a hand of two Swamps, Plague Stinger, Lashwrithe, Phyrexian Vatmother, Doom Blade, and Mutagenic Growth. I opened with a Swamp, and my opponent played Evolving Wilds. I drew a Phyrexian Vatmother, then played a Swamp and cast Plague Stinger. My opponent sacrificed his Evolving Wilds for a Mountain at end of turn, then played a Forest and cast Overgrown Battlement before passing the turn. I drew and played a Swamp, and attacked with my Plague Stinger for 1 poison. I then ended my turn. My opponent cast Explore, then played a Forest and Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle before passing the turn. I drew and played another Swamp, cast my Lashwrithe, and paid 4 life to equip my Plague Stinger. I attacked, and my opponent paid 4 life to cast Dismember I paid 2 life to cast Mutagenic Growth in response, and my opponent paid 4 more life to cast a second Dismember. I ended my turn. My opponent played a Mountain, then cast Primeval Titan, getting two more Mountains. He then passed the turn. I drew and played a Swamp, then cast Doom Blade on the Primeval Titan before passing the turn. My opponent cast Green Sun's Zenith for 6, getting another Primeval Titan, which got two more Mountains, taking me down to 8 life. I drew a Doom Blade, cast it on the Primeval Titan, and ended my turn. My opponent played Explore, then played Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, and another Overgrown Battlement. He then passed the turn. I drew and played a Swamp, then cast Phyrexian Vatmother and equipped it with Lashwrithe, making it a 10/11. I ended my turn. My opponent played a Mountain, and took me down to 2 life. I drew a Lashwrithe and attacked with my Vatmother. My opponent blocked with an Overgrown Battlement, and I played the second Vatmother before passing the turn. My opponent passed the turn with no play. I drew a Plague Stinger, cast my second Lashwrithe, and attempted to equip it to my second Phyrexian Vatmother, but my opponent paid 4 life for a Dismember in response. I attacked with my 10/11, and the other Overgrown Battlement bit the dust. I passed the turn. My opponent cast another Overgrown Battlement and ended his turn. I drew a Mutagenic Growth that I could never hope to cast, and attacked with my 10/11 Vatmother and 6/6 Germ token. My opponent blocked the 10/11, and we were both at 2 life. I cast my Plague Stinger and passed the turn. My opponent cast Tumble Magnet, then ended his turn. I drew and played another Swamp, then moved to combat, where my opponent tapped down my Vatmother. I attacked with the Germ token and the Plague Stinger, and my opponent cast Nature's Claim, destroying the Lashwrithe and its equipped Germ token, and putting me to 6 life. My opponent went to 2 poison, and I ended my turn. My opponent drew and cast a Solemn Simulacrum, getting a Mountain and dealing the final 6 damage to me.

These games really showed how the deck has the ability to grind it out into the late game, and keep your opponent on his heels. Most decks are forced to stall and chump-block as much as possible just to survive. The Valakut matchup is definitely winnable, but if your opponent manages to play more than one Primeval Titan, things are going to get pretty tough. After playing these matches, it seems that Sword of Vengeance might be worth including, since it gives Trample, letting you punch through your opponent’s blockers. However, the heavy cost might prove to be too steep.

Overall, this deck is a pretty good choice for budget players. Most of the time, your opponents will be forced to try to deal with every single threat you put out. Fortunately for you, they will most likely fail. This deck is very good at presenting a strong threat, and the heavy removal suite enables you to deal with nearly any threat your opponents can muster. It also has the added value of surprise. People won’t be expecting Mutagenic Growth in a mono-Black deck, and that can lead to some major blowouts in your favor. If an Infect deck that can play for the long game appeals to you, you should definitely give this one a try.

If you have any questions or comments, you can find me on the forums under Twinblaze, on Twitter under @Twinblaze2, or simply leave a comment below.