Great write-up, and congrats on finishing all the gods!
I need to unpack another Witherfingers. I unpacked two and immediately sold them. Mercantile Marine is a great option against a Light meta. I don't play deception much, but I did play a bit with the new Dart Maniacs. Never thought to give them deadly, though. Neat idea (you can always cheat the maniac 2x, so that could work.
I love going first with Shackled Acolyte against Light. They have zero tools to deal with it. By the time they can Levy, it's 4/4. You can also play it going second if they bagged into a Mace or other 2-mana card.
I will say I'm loving my Shadow Cats right now against light. I'll try and figure out how to fit them in this deck. The Maniacs do have the advantage that they help you control board, but the cats are basically invincible against Light. But of course, cats mean I need to find room for dark knives, too. Then I'm afraid I'll run into the hidden rush problem you mentioned: consistency.
Thank you!
Yea Maniacs are actually pretty nice after the rework, it's a constant ping if it's not dealt with. You're right about Shackled Acolyte against Light as well, I didn't think of that.
When I was playing Light I hated those Shadow Cats; but I think if you're going to play with them you need to go Aggro or else they're just doing 1-2 damage here and there and not doing anything for the board. There are some good aggro lists with the Cats plus Screams in the Night which could make it more consistent.