TL;DR - I have kept the same Magic: The Gathering deck for over a decade now. Through several moves, across two continents.

Life Manipulation for the win

I made this deck in a period of my life when I was doing web marketing for a small local game store. There were a lot of events to run, perks, and just general fun to be had playing games. It was especially fun because I got to do a lot of experimentation with games. This deck was an experiment in building a deck by rigidly asking two questions:

  1. Does the card benefit me while detrimenting my opponent?
  2. Does the card manipulate life?

If the answer to one or both of those questions was yes, I set them into a pile to consider. I further narrowed down the deck to the colors black and white. This gave me the best chance to build what would ultimately be a vampire ally deck from hell.

My first iterations had well over a hundred cards and were unwieldy. Over time, however, I managed to assemble this monstrosity I have listed here.

So, for the first time in full writing: My Vampire Ally Deck from Hell:

        === Vampire Allies from Hell ===
4 Drana's Emissary
4 Kalastria Healer
4 Dazzling Reflection
4 Cliffhaven Vampire
4 Arrest
3 Plains
3 Scoured Barrens
3 Tranquil Cove
3 Unknown Shores
3 Swamp
2 Brave the Elements
2 Dismal Backwater
2 Mortuary Mire
2 Holdout Settlement
2 Captain's Claws
2 Dreadful Apathy
2 Staff of the Sun Magus
2 Staff of the Death Magus
1 Nyx Lotus
1 Silence
1 Vampire Envoy
1 Retreat to Emeria
1 Prism Ring
1 Westvale Abbey // Ormendahl, Profane Prince
1 Aspect of Lamprey
1 Soul Warden
1 Odric, Lunarch Marshal
1 Zulaport Cutthroat
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Felidar Sovereign
1 Leyline of Sanctity

How does it play?

It is… unreliable. It will run SUPER well when it does, but probably one in every 8 or 10 plays it 100% completely craps itself. It is usually worth the mulligan to make sure you start the game with at least one Plains and one Swamp.