Thumbing through the binder of rares, I rediscovered this little lady and realized I have so numerous copies and have done nothing with her. I decided to give this deck a vampiric feel, having creatures that feed off of the unsuspecting and sucking them dry.
The deck tries to keep the vampire feel with feeding and draining victims, controlling lesser creatures, and gaining power. This translates into vampires getting +1/+1 counters and other benefits for killing/sacrificing creatures, using control magic to steal opponents' creatures to devour them, and proliferating to grow larger. So theme aside, the deck wants to attack with vampires and use other creatures for personal gain. Finding cards for the premise of the deck was easy, but narrowing down options has been a pain. I'm unsure if I put too many cards supporting idea of the deck and maybe lacking essentials for the format.
There are plenty of cards I wanted to use that counted as vampires, but count them free, such as Taurean Mauler, Adaptive Automaton, and Phantasmal Image. I also took out key tribal cards, such as Konda's Banner, Coat of Arms, and Door of Destinies (DoD I wanted to leave in since I could proliferate it, but figured to put it aside for now). I honestly had Sorin Markov in here, but didn't know if he was a better choice than Liliana Vess, even though he does many nice things for the deck, but 3BBB could be bothersome. Regardless of my options today, I know that Innistrad will bring plenty of new vamps, in both B and R, which will mean more replacements in the future. So, now I ask for the opinions of you the Commander community on what to add/remove/consider to improve this decklist.
Since this deck was made right before Innistrad came out, clearly had to put in particular cards in and some cards were just placeholders. I have not had many games with this one, but with the original list I had too much relying on B, so I had to get mana fixing and tried not to go too heavy on cards demanding colors. The theme of the deck is still the same, steal, proliferate and attack. It seems a bit smoother though I guess there could be some more changes and playtesting. Also, Avacyn Restored should have some more vital vamps, but only time will tell.
Added:
Bloodthrone Vampire -Cheap sac outlet.
Falkenrath Marauders - Fast beater that grows.
Falkenrath Noble - Drains and gains life.
Markov Blademaster - Growing beater.
Olivia Voldaren - Does what the deck wants; steals, grows and beats.
Quag Vampires - Cheap vamp that grows.
Rakish Heir - Makes my beaters grow.
Stromkirk Captain - Vamp Lord.
Stromkirk Noble - Cheap vamp that grows.
Beseech the Queen - Tutor.
Fuel for the Cause - Proliferating helps the deck as does a counter.
Gitaxian Probe - Draw and peek for 2 life.
Grixis Charm - Multifunction.
Perilous Research - Draw and sac outlet.
Ponder - Draw. Nuff said.
Preordain - Draw. Nuff said.
Recoil - Bounce anything.
Rise/Fall - Multifunction.
Undermine - Counter and loss of life. Maybe too annoying for color intensity.
1x Bloodthrone Vampire < Bloodflow Connoisseur
1x Mirri the Cursed < Falkenrath Aristocrat
1x Quag Vampires < Dark Impostor
1x Vampire Aristocrat < Havengul Vampire
1x Vampiric Dragon < Falkenrath Exterminator
1x Act of Treason < Mass Mutiny
1x Brainspoil < Into the Roil
1x Exsanguinate < Blood Artist
1x Suffer the Past < Rakdos Charm
1x Torrent of Souls < Mimic Vat
1x Undermine < Counterflux
1x Obelisk of Grixis < Chromatic Lantern
1x Rakdos Riteknife < Attrition
1x Thornbite Staff < Gemstone Mine
1x Cascade Bluffs < Steam Vents
1x Swamp < Drowned Catacomb
1x Tolaria West < Rupture Spire
I just recently rearranged some of the options I have for this deck. Some cards were upgraded/replaced with stuff from the newest sets. Exsanguinate was removed for now because it was relocated into another deck. Quag Vampires and Rakdos Riteknife both got cut for so-so performances. The knife I tried not to cut and maybe it will return, but for now Attrition seems like an option. And for some reason, Culling Dias, as lame as it is, always does well. It slowly builds up counters and no one cares to stop it. The only other sac outlet I'm interested in putting in here is High Market for repeatable sacs. Aside from that, I wonder if the Izzet Charm and Dimir Charm are worth a try. Also, if more removal is needed, like replace Feast of Blood with Go for the Throat, Terminate or some other kill spell.
I was wondering if Cruel Ultimatum and Sangromancer were pulling there weight here. Cruel is flashy, but since it only hits one target is it enough (though I like the bonus it gives me)? And Sangro is an effective creature for the cost, but I'm only using half of the effects properly. Cruel is about my only discard so I'm basically relying on others to help activate it. Though, whenever a creature dies is a nice bonus and it is a shaman so gets the free equip from Thornbite Staff. Regardless, any input or comments on any part of my deck will be helpful.
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1x Garza Zol, Plague Queen
Creatures:
1x Blood Artist
1x Blood Seeker
1x Blood Tyrant
1x Bloodflow Connoisseur
1x Bloodghast
1x Captivating Vampire
1x Dark Impostor
1x Falkenrath Aristocrat
1x Falkenrath Exterminator
1x Falkenrath Marauders
1x Falkenrath Noble
1x Havenghoul Vampire
1x Malakir Bloodwitch
1x Markov Blademaster
1x Mephidross Vampire
1x Olivia Voldaren
1x Pawn of Ulamog
1x Rakish Heir
1x Stromkirk Captain
1x Stromkirk Noble
1x Vampire Nighthawk
1x Vein Drinker
1x Viscera Seer
Spells:
1x Act of Aggression
1x Beseech the Queen
1x Blood Tribute
1x Counterflux
1x Feast of Blood
1x Fuel for the Cause
1x Gitaxian Probe
1x Grab the Reins
1x Grixis Charm
1x Insurrection
1x Into the Roil
1x Life's Finale
1x Mass Mutiny
1x Muddle the Mixture
1x Perilous Research
1x Ponder
1x Preordain
1x Rakdos Charm
1x Ray of Command
1x Recoil
1x Rise/Fall
1x Slave of Bolas
1x Tezzeret's Gambit
1x Urge to Feed
1x Attrition
1x Curse of Stalked Prey
1x Inexorable Tide
Planeswalkers:
1x Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
Artifacts:
1x Blade of the Bloodchief
1x Contagion Clasp
1x Contagion Engine
1x Culling Dais
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Darksteel Ingot
1x Elixir of Immortality
1x Mimic Vat
1x Spawning Pit
Lands:
1x Blood Crypt
1x Command Tower
1x Creeping Tar Pit
1x Crumbling Necropolis
1x Dimir Aqueduct
1x Dragonskull Summit
1x Dreadship Reef
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Gemstone Mine
1x Grixis Panorama
6x Island
1x Izzet Boilerworks
1x Molten Slagheap
6x Mountain
1x Rakdos Carnarium
1x Rupture Spire
1x Steam Vents
7x Swamp
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Vivid Crag
1x Vivid Creek
1x Vivid Marsh
The deck tries to keep the vampire feel with feeding and draining victims, controlling lesser creatures, and gaining power. This translates into vampires getting +1/+1 counters and other benefits for killing/sacrificing creatures, using control magic to steal opponents' creatures to devour them, and proliferating to grow larger. So theme aside, the deck wants to attack with vampires and use other creatures for personal gain. Finding cards for the premise of the deck was easy, but narrowing down options has been a pain. I'm unsure if I put too many cards supporting idea of the deck and maybe lacking essentials for the format.
There are plenty of cards I wanted to use that counted as vampires, but count them free, such as Taurean Mauler, Adaptive Automaton, and Phantasmal Image. I also took out key tribal cards, such as Konda's Banner, Coat of Arms, and Door of Destinies (DoD I wanted to leave in since I could proliferate it, but figured to put it aside for now). I honestly had Sorin Markov in here, but didn't know if he was a better choice than Liliana Vess, even though he does many nice things for the deck, but 3BBB could be bothersome. Regardless of my options today, I know that Innistrad will bring plenty of new vamps, in both B and R, which will mean more replacements in the future. So, now I ask for the opinions of you the Commander community on what to add/remove/consider to improve this decklist.
Since this deck was made right before Innistrad came out, clearly had to put in particular cards in and some cards were just placeholders. I have not had many games with this one, but with the original list I had too much relying on B, so I had to get mana fixing and tried not to go too heavy on cards demanding colors. The theme of the deck is still the same, steal, proliferate and attack. It seems a bit smoother though I guess there could be some more changes and playtesting. Also, Avacyn Restored should have some more vital vamps, but only time will tell.
Removed:
Anowon, the Ruin Sage - Wanted to keep him, but took himout for another
Bloodlord of Vaasgoth - Helps the +1/+1 counter theme, but could be slow
Butcher of Malakir - Great to clear boards, but costly
Kalastria Highborn - Too many intensive.
Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet - Too mana intensive and costly.
Nirkana Cutthroat - Works well with proliferate, but slow.
Sangromancer - Good, but don't have much discard to maximize use.
Sengir Vampire - Too vanilla even though it fits theme.
Soul Collector - Too mana intensive early on.
Szadek, Lord of Secrets - Big beater that like proliferate theme, but mills, not damages.
Vampire Hexmage - Just on sideboard.
Vampire Outcasts - Sideboard for now.
Beacon of Unrest - Sideboard.
Clutch of the Undercity - Mainly used for transmute anyway.
Cruel Ultimatum - Very mana intensive.
Mark of Mutiny - Just removed.
Plague Wind - Sideboard for now.
Rite of Replication - Just removed.
Wound Reflection - High cost.
Liliana Vess - Could be slow.
Quietus Spike - With no Wound Reflection, lost interest.
Unscythe, Killer of Kings - Mana intensive.
Added:
Bloodthrone Vampire -Cheap sac outlet.
Falkenrath Marauders - Fast beater that grows.
Falkenrath Noble - Drains and gains life.
Markov Blademaster - Growing beater.
Olivia Voldaren - Does what the deck wants; steals, grows and beats.
Quag Vampires - Cheap vamp that grows.
Rakish Heir - Makes my beaters grow.
Stromkirk Captain - Vamp Lord.
Stromkirk Noble - Cheap vamp that grows.
Beseech the Queen - Tutor.
Fuel for the Cause - Proliferating helps the deck as does a counter.
Gitaxian Probe - Draw and peek for 2 life.
Grixis Charm - Multifunction.
Perilous Research - Draw and sac outlet.
Ponder - Draw. Nuff said.
Preordain - Draw. Nuff said.
Recoil - Bounce anything.
Rise/Fall - Multifunction.
Undermine - Counter and loss of life. Maybe too annoying for color intensity.
1x Bloodthrone Vampire < Bloodflow Connoisseur
1x Mirri the Cursed < Falkenrath Aristocrat
1x Quag Vampires < Dark Impostor
1x Vampire Aristocrat < Havengul Vampire
1x Vampiric Dragon < Falkenrath Exterminator
1x Act of Treason < Mass Mutiny
1x Brainspoil < Into the Roil
1x Exsanguinate < Blood Artist
1x Suffer the Past < Rakdos Charm
1x Torrent of Souls < Mimic Vat
1x Undermine < Counterflux
1x Obelisk of Grixis < Chromatic Lantern
1x Rakdos Riteknife < Attrition
1x Thornbite Staff < Gemstone Mine
1x Cascade Bluffs < Steam Vents
1x Swamp < Drowned Catacomb
1x Tolaria West < Rupture Spire
I just recently rearranged some of the options I have for this deck. Some cards were upgraded/replaced with stuff from the newest sets. Exsanguinate was removed for now because it was relocated into another deck. Quag Vampires and Rakdos Riteknife both got cut for so-so performances. The knife I tried not to cut and maybe it will return, but for now Attrition seems like an option. And for some reason, Culling Dias, as lame as it is, always does well. It slowly builds up counters and no one cares to stop it. The only other sac outlet I'm interested in putting in here is High Market for repeatable sacs. Aside from that, I wonder if the Izzet Charm and Dimir Charm are worth a try. Also, if more removal is needed, like replace Feast of Blood with Go for the Throat, Terminate or some other kill spell.