I am attempting to build my first EDH deck (not counting buying the Kaalia pre-con and throwing a bunch of ridiculous creatures in it) and am having trouble narrowing it down to 100 cards. I am wanting to build a Vampire/Olivia deck and am looking for some assistance.
The following is my "deck build" although it is currently way over 100 cards. I need to cut it down 30-35 (I'm willing to swap a few in and out depending on how many people I'm playing with). I usually play 3-player FFA or 4-player 2HG.
Thanks to everyone in advance for your suggestions.
Cards that have been axed: Vampiric Dragon - Extremely high mana cost Baron Sengir - Extremely high mana cost Bloodhusk Ritualist - Picks on individual player and is spendy to discard a full hand Bloodghast - Recursion is nice, but Bloodghast is small for this format Bloodgift Demon - Phyrexian Arena is less prone to board-wipes Urabrask the Hidden - Great for aggro and slowing down opponent, but not a vampire Duplicant - One-time removal for 6 mana. Must be able to target... Gatekeeper of Malakir - Triple black mana cost, really tough to cut though!
Scroll Rack - Not searching for combo pieces Urza's Incubator - Vamps tend to be lower-costing anyway Temporal Extortion - quadruple black mana cost Life's Finale - Weakest sweeper out of the available options Phyrexian Vault - sacrificing cards taken with Olivia is nice, but this is pretty situational Wooden Stake - The threat of Olivia will often make equipped creature unblockable, but this is useless with Olivia off the board Liliana of the Veil - Is it really worth self-discarding in EDH to keep a sac engine online? Conspiracy - Is it worth including this if I only have 6-8 non-Vampire creatures?
You NEED Blade of the Bloodchief! Its crazy good with any vampire card, if you can get your vampire to at least 14/14 and cast a Blasphemous Act its basicly GG especially against token swarm;)
Edit: Ah you already have the blade, good choice;)
I've been doing some thinking, and have been trying to figure out what cards to remove from the list to get it down to appropriate size. So far I have come up with the following possible removals. Please let me know if you agree/disagree with my reasoning and why I should keep any of the cards I am potentially going to remove. Thanks in advance!
Bloodghast - Recursion is nice, but Bloodghast is small for this format Heirs of Stromkirk - Intimidate is nice, but in multiplayer someone is bound to be playing red Bloodgift Demon - Phyrexian Arena is less prone to board-wipes Massacre Wurm - How often will the -2/-2 really kill off enough creatures to make this worthwhile? Urabrask the Hidden - Great for aggro and slowing down opponent, but not a vampire Brass Herald - Too many non-Vampire cards negates effective card draw Wurmcoil Engine - One of my favorite cards ever, but does this really have a place in a vampire deck? Deathbringer Thoctar - Amazing card, but again is there place for it in a vampire deck?
Wooden Stake - The threat of Olivia will often make equipped creature unblockable, but this is useless with Olivia off the board Liliana of the Veil - Is it really worth self-discarding in EDH to keep a sac engine online? Conspiracy - Is it worth including this if I only have 6-8 non-Vampire creatures? Gauntlet of Power - Caged Sun only helps me where this card helps opponents too.
I agree with most of your changes above, they seem like a good start. Here's some more stuff that I noticed:
I've never really dug Quietus Spike. Deathtouch is always good in a creature-heavy meta and that first swing usually does tons of damage, but then the Law of Diminishing Returns kicks in and you get less and less from this card with each swing. It's not bad, but you do need to free up some space.
Bloodhusk Ritualist only hits one person, it's effect can be entirely negated with one Recurring Insight (a very commonly played card), and it's likely to irritate people far more than it actually hurts them because plenty of people don't care for discard. Plus it costs ten mana to strip someone's hand when it's full. Pricey.
I'm not sure how good Kalastria Highborn is for you, but on paper it doesn't seem too impressive. If you want to tap out then you're not gonna be draining anyone's life, so you're gonna be playing more reactively and holding back mana when this card hits the table. Falkenrath Noble and Blood Artist may not drain as much life per dead creature, but they do drain life for free once they've been cast. Seems really dependent on how you're playing your deck. That said, if you're playing a lot of things at the end of someone's turn then it's probably better than I'm giving it credit for.
My friend runs Baron Sengir in his Vampire tribal deck and he has a really love-hate relationship with it. When it saves his most important Vampire multiple times he loves it, but oftentimes it's an overcosted, color-intensive 5/5 that only saves one creature once. Again, not bad but you're deck is hurting for space in a bad way.
Griselbrand just got banned, so that's an easy card to cut lol.
Vampiric Dragon is cool, but it costs 8 mana to cast, 2 mana to ping and it only gets bigger if you can either ping the holy hell out of something or you can ping something just before it dies another way. Having it as a mana dump is solid, but it's a bit unwieldy.
Falkenrath Aristocrat just isn't gonna get you there. Flying and Haste are keywords I love seeing together, but on a 4/1? Not in EDH. You can sac a creature to make it Indestructible, but it's still a 4/1 and you don't have Humans you can feed to it to make it bigger.
Keep an eye on Anowon, the Ruin Sage. He only forces people to sacrifice a creature on your turn, not on theirs so that's a bit uncool. He could also draw you lots of hate for forcing sacrifices. If he's doing work for you then keep him in, but if he's drawing you a disproportionate amount of hate or he's not clearing the board fast enough then you might give him the boot.
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs is a card I've always loved, but why is he in here? He's not a Vampire, he's not amazingly good, and he's not on theme. He's not bad, but why is he here?
Curse of Stalked Prey is very on-theme and it's a fun card but it only targets a single player in a multiplayer format. Is it good enough? I would've loved to see it cost a bit more and target everyone, but as is...I dunno.
Chandra, the Firebrand's -2 ability is pretty cool, but it's Sorcery speed. The other abilities aren't that impressive. Seems like a good card to axe.
Temporal Extortion is quadruple black and isn't a guaranteed extra turn. Taking half of one player's life isn't a bad play, but is it worth a slot in a deck that needs to cut a lot of cards?
Everlasting Torment doesn't seem to fill any useful role in this deck. Does damage get prevented a whole lot in your meta? And is giving everything Wither worth a card slot in this deck?
Phyrexian Vault isn't bad, but Black has better card draw and both Black and Red have better sac outlets.
Army of the Damned is a Zombie producing card which is a bit off-theme and it isn't brutal enough to merit going so off-theme. I like the card a lot, but it could probably be cut without hurting the deck.
Hopefully that helps you out. I love tribal decks lol. Feel free to lemme know whatcha think is a good idea, a bad idea, or a who the hell cards kinda idea.
Thanks so much for all of your recommendations! I appreciate you taking the time to analyze so many cards. Take a look at my comments below and let me know what you think! Also, you said you agreed with "most" of my changes above... were there any you didn't agree with?
Thanks again!
Quietus Spike - This is one card I'm not ready to part with yet. Deathtouch on Olivia is ridiculous as well as an opponent losing half their life with Wounded Reflection on the table. Simply attaching it to creatures and swinging won't get it done with this card, but there is just too much synergy with Olivia to let this one go.
Bloodhusk Ritualist - I agree with you on this one. It seems to pick on an individual player (which can draw hate) as well as be spendy mana-wise.
Kalastria Highborn - I'm glad you reminded me of the mana cost on this guy. Mana spent on this is less mana for Olivia's abilities which seems a little counterproductive. That being said, do you think I should consider Falkenreath Noble? In addition to creatures lost in combat, ideally Olivia would do some shooting of little guys (or of bigger guys if equipped with deathtouch), and creature loss would be caused by Anowon, the Ruin Sage, Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet, Gatekeeper of Malakir, & Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief. Also, there's the sac ability on Viscera Seer. Even though it seems that the opportunity to take advantage of Falkenreath Noble is there, it IS still only 1 life and 1 damage per creature loss. At the moment I'm leaning towards a "no" on the Falkenreath Noble.
Baron Sengir - This guy I really wanted to include due to the Vampire theme... but in reality he definitely isn't the strongest choice. Unless I find an abundance of cards to cut, I agree that he probably should go since he's so spendy.
Griselbrand - Disappointed I didn't get to use this card in EDH before it got banned!!
Vampiric Dragon - I think I agree with you on this one due to the high mana cost to cast. Although I did like having another outlet to spend some of my Braid of Fire, Mana Echoes, & Black Market mana in the event that Olivia can't stay on the board. But that is only 3 cards out of 99... and he's still spendy to cast. Do you know of any cheaper outlets to spend my automatic mana on that would fit into this deck?
Falkenrath Aristocrat - I probably agree with you on this one... I just had a 2HG EDH game once where this thing beat down my team over and over and we never could kill it because of it becoming indestructible repeatedly. Only happened to me once though, but the sour taste in my mouth makes me want to do the same to someone else... but usually there's white on the table in my meta. So I think for now he'll get the axe.
Anowon, the Ruin Sage - This is another one I'm not quite ready to let go of yet. Even though his sac-causing is slow, any hate drawn by him is hate not used on Olivia or any of my better vamps in play.
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs - He's also a card I've always loved, but I agree he doesn't fit this deck perfectly. I liked the idea of a Propaganda-esque ability in play, but as a creature he's too vulnerable to removable. He get's the axe.
Curse of Stalked Prey - I'm torn on this card. In a 3-player FFA this will just make one player hate me, but in a 2HG game it's amazing! Might have to be a sideboard swap depending on the game type...
Death Denied - Patriarch's Bidding is way better. Totally forgot about this card when putting this deck list together. Swapping it out for Bidding...
Chandra, the Firebrand - I probably don't have enough instant/sorceries that I want to cast at sorcery speed to make her worth it. She also gets the axe.
Temporal Extortion - This is another tough one for me. Time Walk is never bad... and half a player's life is rarely bad! I also really like it with Wound Reflection on the board. But the quadruple black is what scares me away from this card. I think I'll have to let this one go and axe it...
Everlasting Torment - Lifegain is a common theme in my meta, which is why I was considering this card. Wither also seems to fit the deck pretty well, but this is one of those circumstances where most of the other choices in the deck are just better. I will probably end up axing this one, but I'll have to think about it.
Phyrexian Vault - This was included as a sac outlet/card draw outlet. Are there better cards that provide both optiohs? There are definitely better card draw options in both colors, but I liked the ability of sacrificing cards taken with Olivia to replenish my hand. However this card is pretty situational, and probably will also get the axe. But I'd definitely like to hear if you have any other ideas of card draw/sac outlets.
Army of the Damned - I originally liked this as a last resort in the event that Olivia just isn't working or simply as a late-game bomb... but it's not the same bomb that it is in constructed. I think for now it will probably get the axe as well. If you have any other late-game finisher ideas though I'd love to hear them.
If you're looking into Falkenrath Noble then note that Blood Artist is cheaper. If removal gets tossed around a lot in your meta or if someone's running Ghave, Guru of Spores decks that sacrifice a lot of creatures for profit then that 1 life you drain will add up in a hurry. I've punished the hell out of someone for playing a wrath by pointing all 20 damage at them on turn 7 or so in my own Ghave deck. He's really good in the right situation, but he's not good in every deck or every meta.
Carnage Altar costs one more mana to activate than Phyrexian Vault, but it doesn't tap so you can sacrifice more than one creature per turn. Or you can go an entirely different route with Ashnod's Altar or Phyrexian Altar and give yourself more mana to ping or steal something again.
The only choice of yours that I was really unsure of was Bloodghast. Yes, a 2/1 body isn't going to be killing the table no matter how many times you recur it (barring a hard lock on the table), but it's so good with a number of sac engines such as Attrition. You have to build a small package to make him work, but if you're willing to jump through a couple hoops he can be great utility.
As the deck list stands now, there are 15 or 16 cards that can cause creatures to die, thus triggering Blood Artist. Board wipes are also very common in my meta. Do you think that's enough to make him worthwhile? I'm leaning towards yes, but it's also a 0/1. I do like like penalizing people for Wraths though... or taking advantage of my own!
I really like Comet Storm + Braid of Fire. Comet Storm is just too darn good even just with your base mana... adding it to the list!
Also, Pestilence and I have a long, long history of mischief together; however, being that I'm trying to trim down the deck, I think I'll have to settle for spending my automatic mana on Exsanguinate and Comet Storm when Olivia isn't on the board... and there's always the option of just re-casting her as well.
I gave Phyrexian Alter a little thought, because I already own it and I like the sac engine, but the single mana didn't seem to be as productive as drawing a card. I DO like Carnage Altar better than Phyrexian Vault, but I think I'm going to stick without either for now. I know I have some Carnage Altars laying around anyway, so I'll just swap one in later if I find that I really want that sac outlet when Olivia gets swatted back to her Commander Zone.
As far as Bloodghast goes, he's another guy that I just absolutely love. And Attrition DEFINITELY makes him worthwhile! He's also amazing with Viscera Seer for an every-turn Scry. I really would like to find room for him in the deck, I just am really running out of ideas of what else to axe! If I'm able to knock this thing down enough, he's probably one of the first cardsthat I've "axed" that will make it back into the list!
I'd say you've got good cause to run Blood Artist (or Falkenrath Noble if his power/Flying makes a difference to you). It gives you a way to deal direct damage at Instant speed if you have a sac outlet on hand, it may make some people think twice about wrathing away your swarm before dealing with Blood Artist, it punishes "sacrifice creatures for profit" decks, and it's just another way of giving a primarily aggro deck a bit more reach.
I love Comet Storm. Instant speed, it can hit multiple targets for a minimal investment, and the flexibility to use it as a finisher or as a makeshift sweeper is surprisingly relevant.
The wait and see approach seems like a good choice for those cards. They'll both be useful to your deck, but they might not be as useful as some of the other cards you're running. Plus you need to empty slots, not fill them. Maybe later you'll have more room lol.
And after what I assume has been a rash of changes roughly how many cards over the 99 card limit are you?
I believe I'm currently at 78 or 79 non-land cards. There's definitely some more cutting back that needs to be done, but how many lands do you think I should have in this deck? Getting my approximate land count right will determine exactly how many more non-land cards I need to cut.
I believe I'm currently at 78 or 79 non-land cards. There's definitely some more cutting back that needs to be done, but how many lands do you think I should have in this deck? Getting my approximate land count right will determine exactly how many more non-land cards I need to cut.
My baseline land count is 38. If I run a lower curve aggro deck I might cut one or two out, in the control deck I'm building I'll be running 40 lands. I'd recommend 38 lands supplemented with a handful of mana rocks.
On the topic of mana rocks, I'd recommend Darksteel Ingot over Fellwar Stone. The Stone may come out a turn earlier, but you're only running two colors so it might not give you the colors you need when you need them. Plus, the Ingot's Indestructibility prevents it from becoming collateral damage to something like Austere Command.
Alrighty, I had 39 as-is; so I'll drop out one land to make a teeny bit more room. Also, I agree with Darksteel Ingot over Fellwar Stone. In my Kaalia deck I really, really want that turn 2 mana accel, but in this deck I think the guaranteed color is better for using Olivia's abilities.
I was also debating a couple other cards in my list. Let me know your thoughts!
Diabolic Revelation - 7 mana before it even tutors for 2 cards...and when am I ever going to want to tap out with Olivia on the board when 7 mana used by her = taking an opponent's creature.
Consuming Vapors - How do you feel about this card? Never played it in EDH before, so I'm debating back and forth about how frequently it'll be as effective as my other removal cards.
Alrighty, I had 39 as-is; so I'll drop out one land to make a teeny bit more room. Also, I agree with Darksteel Ingot over Fellwar Stone. In my Kaalia deck I really, really want that turn 2 mana accel, but in this deck I think the guaranteed color is better for using Olivia's abilities.
I was also debating a couple other cards in my list. Let me know your thoughts!
Diabolic Revelation - 7 mana before it even tutors for 2 cards...and when am I ever going to want to tap out with Olivia on the board when 7 mana used by her = taking an opponent's creature.
Consuming Vapors - How do you feel about this card? Never played it in EDH before, so I'm debating back and forth about how frequently it'll be as effective as my other removal cards.
I see Diabolic Revelation as a card that combo decks are going to get the most mileage out of. If you can tutor for two or three things that are going to set you up to win the game your next turn then it seems solid. Otherwise, I'd rather have Increasing Ambition. And since you're already running that, Revelation might be a good card to cut. And on that note, Night Dealings is more cute than good. I'm not a fan of cutting out every cute or pet card to make sure a deck is as streamline as possible, but when you're dying for space...it's worth considering.
Consuming Vapors is a card I'm testing out in my Glissa, the Traitor deck. My deck has a theme of gaining life and using life to fuel other effects, so it's really good because it kills things dead and gains me life. Both of which are exactly what I want the deck to do. However, it does have some internal tension in that it wants to be used when there are multiple creatures out so that you're getting to kill something when casting it and when it Rebounds. However, sacrifice effects are best used when an opponent only has one creature out. Something big and threatening and Indestructible or Hexproof that they'll have to get rid of. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I think I'd prefer Chaos Warp, Go for the Throat, Terminate, or Murder for straight up creature removal. However, it seems solid as a card meant to kill something Indestructible or Hexproof.
I can see what you mean with Night Dealings. I LOVE the card in my Kaalia deck, however each hit in that deck usually nets me 5+ counters on it, but vamps are quite a bit smaller for the most part.
Also, I think I'll cut out Diabolic Revelation since this isn't much of a combo deck. Yes, there are combo pieces that make Olivia awesome... but no instant-win combos or anything like that. And I still have Demonic Tutor, Increasing Ambition, and Liliana Vess.
And Consuming Vapors... I've always had good experiences with this card. And I LOVE the double use from a single card, as well as getting around shroud & hexproof. I just also know that it's very much a situational card. Black/Red also has very few board wipes, where Consuming Vapors at least kills 2 cards for me. Then again so does Ashes to Ashes. I'm really torn on this one. I think I'll leave it for now, but it's definitely on the fence.
Scythe of the Wretched definitely falls under the "Cool, but Unnecessary" category. How often are you paying four mana to attach it to Olivia, pay 8, 10, or 12 mana to kill ping something to death, then pay another four to re-attach it to Olivia and start the whole shindig over again. It's not bad, but definitely worth considering.
Havengul Vampire can probably get pretty big, but he's got no evasion and no utility. There's nothing wrong with him but there are probably better ways to fill a spot.
I dunno how other people feel about it, but I've never been a huge fan of Caged Sun and its ilk in decks that aren't mono-colored. Unless your deck leans crazy-hard in one direction then I feel like it's just not being leveraged to its full potential.
I'm torn on this last one...I loveStranglehold. I love the thought of Red getting more cards like this as a way to bolster its strength, but how much is this card doing for you? Does your meta have a lot of tutoring for degenerate tomfoolery or lots of extra turns? If so, keep it. If not, might be worth a second look.
Champion's Helm is a pretty solid card, but you've already got a number of redundant effects for Olivia. This gives her an extra +2/+2 but doesn't give Haste so I'd consider it the weakest of the "Protect Your General" cards.
Other than that...now it's getting into the really tough stuff lol. It's the stuff you don't wanna cut, it's good enough to not need to be cut, but it might get cut anyway just because you need the space. Far and away the worse part of deckbuilding lol.
Scythe of the Wretched - Yeah I can see this as a "cool but unnecessary card" ...probably should be a sideboard card. Stealing things for less mana on Olivia would be fun, but I DO need to make some room.
Havengul Vampire - I agree that the lack of evasion makes him less effective than I'd like him to be. One of the players in our group plays a Savra token deck, so he'd get chumped but also get huge. Probably another sideboard card, although even with the feeding he'd get from playing against a token deck, he will always have trouble getting through.
Caged Sun - A friend of mine was really big on this one. Got me to pick it up specifically for this deck for the double mana for Olivia. Although I agree that picking one color to boost makes it far less effective in a 2-color deck. I should probably try the deck without it and see if I have trouble paying for Olivia's abilities before I put it back in.
Stranglehold - Another one I love! I think this probably will get relegated to a SB card though. A friend of mine plays a Kaldra equip deck, and this definitely mucks with that, but I can always just SB it in when he sits down to the table, haha!
Champion's Helm - I agree that it's the weakest of my General protection cards, however, it is still a general protection card. Although, now that I think about it, Whispersilk Cloak would probably be better than this card in this deck just to protect other creatures if so desired... and unblockable isn't bad For now I'll swap the two, but do you think I should drop the Cloak as well?
And this is DEFINITELY tough. It's so easy to come up with a list of fun cards to play in the deck, but trimming it back can be so tough sometimes! Thanks again for all the suggestions
Champion's Helm - I agree that it's the weakest of my General protection cards, however, it is still a general protection card. Although, now that I think about it, Whispersilk Cloak would probably be better than this card in this deck just to protect other creatures if so desired... and unblockable isn't bad For now I'll swap the two, but do you think I should drop the Cloak as well?
I think you should drop Cloak the same way you're dropping Caged Sun. Try the deck out without it, if you feel like you need another way to protect your general then you can shove it back in and be on your merry way.
Moved the Cloak to the SB. Thanks again for all your recommendations. Any other suggestions? Anyone else have any suggestions? Still have to cut around 10 more cards... :/
So I've been racking my brain on this one trying to think of some more things to cut. Please read my following comments and let me know what you all think!
The following 3 cards are kind of similar in that they provide removal; so I should probably axe at least one of them, maybe two.
I think Duplicant will have to get the axe. What do you guys think? Is it worth cutting another of these?
Godo, Bandit Warlord - He's off-theme and is just a 6-mana tutor for an equipment that happens to have a 3/3 body. Pretty sure I need to axe him.
Rings of Brighthearth - Fun with Olivia, but how many applications does this really have in my deck? It's AWESOME with Karn or any planeswalker, but beyond them and Olivia, it seems like it doesn't do much, which makes it extremely situational. What do you guys think? Do the benefits outweigh the situational use? Are there other applications of it that I'm not thinking of currently?
Malakir Bloodwitch - I LOVE the life loss + lifegain + pro white, but it seems pretty situational. Should I sideboard this card until I expect multiple white players at the table?
The following 2 cards are also strikingly similar. Maybe I should stick with just one of the two...
Gatekeeper of Malakir vs. Consuming Vapors:
3 mana vs 4 mana
3 black mana required vs 1 black mana required
1 kill vs 2 kills
2/2 body vs no body
capitalizes on vamp synergy vs gains life
I do really like both though, so this is extra tough. What do you guys think?
Out of those three, I'd recommend getting rid of Duplicant. It's a great card, but Karn Liberated interacts well with [c]Rings of Brighthearth if you decide to keep it and it's one of the few ways you're gonna be able to deal with enchantments.
Godo, Bandit Warlord is such a badass and he interacts really well with your general despite being off-theme. What he's tutoring for (Basilisk Collar? Lightning Greaves?) is going to be really good for you. If him not being a Vampire is a deal breaker for you that's perfectly fine (can't say no to tribal lol), but otherwise I'd recommend you keep him.
As far as Gatekeeper for Vapors goes, how often does that 2/2 body matter? Are you swinging in with him for 5 frequently because of your lords? Do his chump blocking skills save you from a big, bad Lord of Extinction fairly often? Go with him. If he's just a 2/2 that sits around gathering dust then go with Vapors.
Out of those three, I'd recommend getting rid of Duplicant. It's a great card, but Karn Liberated interacts well with [c]Rings of Brighthearth if you decide to keep it and it's one of the few ways you're gonna be able to deal with enchantments.
Godo, Bandit Warlord is such a badass and he interacts really well with your general despite being off-theme. What he's tutoring for (Basilisk Collar? Lightning Greaves?) is going to be really good for you. If him not being a Vampire is a deal breaker for you that's perfectly fine (can't say no to tribal lol), but otherwise I'd recommend you keep him.
As far as Gatekeeper for Vapors goes, how often does that 2/2 body matter? Are you swinging in with him for 5 frequently because of your lords? Do his chump blocking skills save you from a big, bad Lord of Extinction fairly often? Go with him. If he's just a 2/2 that sits around gathering dust then go with Vapors.
Duplicant - Yeah, he's definitely the weakest out of the 3 listed. I think for now he'll get taken out.
Godo, Bandit Warlord - He DEFINITELY is awesome. I'm just so desperate for space that I'm running out of ideas of what to cut. But tutoring for Basilisk Collar and Lightning Greaves makes him super useful! I'm so torn! For now I'll leave him, but I really just don't know where to go from here, haha! I didn't even want to ask about cutting him, he was just one of the few cards that I at least found a reason to consider cutting him.
Rings of Brighthearth - Ok... thanks for smacking me on the head for considering dropping this. Haha It stays...
Gatekeeper of Malakir - It's so hard to give up a creature kill with a 2/2 body for 3 mana, but the triple black means he probably wouldn't play on turn 3 in the mana curve anyway, and I think the double kill of Vapors will be slightly more useful in EDH. This is a card I do NOT want to take out, but am so desperate for space that I think I will at the moment. Please yell at me if I'm being dumb... haha!
Any other ideas? I know I've got to cut at least 5 more cards... I'll re-count the card totals in the deck and post them to help in figuring out what to cut.
In addition to the 2 aforementioned cards that I'm considering cutting, I noticed a few other potential changes...
Urza's Incubator - I noticed that none of the 12 decklists in the commander database on this site have this card, which got me thinking that vamps are pretty low-costing anyway. Do you guys think this card is unnecessary? It's nice dropping 5-drops for 3, but it IS taking up a slot when I really need to cut down cards still.
Scroll Rack - I absolutely love this card, however it seems to be more valuable when trying to filter through cards to get combo pieces. I imagine that this deck will play out half or more of its hand rather quickly, minimizing the effectiveness of this card. Also, it's a vampire tribal deck; so swapping my hand for other vamps doesn't seem to really be overly helpful...
Consuming Vapors / Gatekeeper of Malakir - I noticed that 5 or 6 of the other decks in the database did include Gatekeeper. I fear he may only be a chump blocker, but there are quite a few other cards in the deck that capitalize on vampires being in play. I know this is one I previously debated because of the triple black mana cost, but I'm still tempted to keep the Gatekeeper over Consuming Vapors.
Mirri the Cursed - I totally forgot about this card when building my initial decklist. I really don't like adding cards when I'm trying to cut down the deck, but do you guys think this card might be worth adding? Flying + haste is an excellent combo, but I am also in a dire need for space. How valuable do you think this card is?
5-drops - My mana curve is a little off at the moment with there being hardly any 4-drops but an overabundance of 5-drops. Does anyone have any recommendations of any 5-drops I could drop from the deck?
Thanks everyone for your continued help
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I am attempting to build my first EDH deck (not counting buying the Kaalia pre-con and throwing a bunch of ridiculous creatures in it) and am having trouble narrowing it down to 100 cards. I am wanting to build a Vampire/Olivia deck and am looking for some assistance.
The following is my "deck build" although it is currently way over 100 cards. I need to cut it down 30-35 (I'm willing to swap a few in and out depending on how many people I'm playing with). I usually play 3-player FFA or 4-player 2HG.
1 Olivia Voldaren
Cards for Olivia (6):
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Quietus Spike
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Heartstone
1 Rings of Brighthearth
Automatic Mana for Olivia (3):
1 Braid of Fire
1 Mana Echoes
1 Black Market
Mana Accel/Fixing (4):
1 Expedition Map
1 Sol Ring
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Rakdos Signet
Tutors/Card-Fixing (4):
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Viscera Seer
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Increasing Ambition
Removal (9):
1 Terminate
1 Chaos Warp
1 Go for the Throat
1 Consuming Vapors
1 Damnation
1 Shattering Pulse
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Void
1 All Is Dust
Creatures (23):
1 Vampire Hexmage
1 Blood Artist
1 Captivating Vampire
1 Markov Blademaster
1 Rakish Heir
1 Stromkirk Captain
1 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Bloodline Keeper
1 Bloodlord of Vaasgoth
1 Anowon, the Ruin Sage
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Mephidross Vampire
1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1 Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
1 Falkenrath Marauders
1 Fiend of the Shadows
1 Malakir Bloodwitch
1 Nirkana Revenant
1 Godo, Bandit Warlord
1 Butcher of Malakir
1 Chancellor of the Dross
1 Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet
1 Savage Beating
1 Gratuitous Violence
1 Wound Reflection
1 Curse of Stalked Prey
1 Blade of the Bloodchief
1 Breath of Fury
Recursion (3):
1 Reanimate
1 Patriarch's Bidding
1 Torrent of Souls
Card Draw (2):
1 Necropotence
1 Phyrexian Arena
Planeswalkers (3):
1 Liliana Vess
1 Sorin Markov
1 Karn Liberated
Direct Damage (3):
1 Exsanguinate
1 Comet Storm
1 Blood Tribute
Lands (38):
1 Arid Mesa
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Command Tower
1 Deserted Temple
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Dust Bowl
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Graven Cairns
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Marsh Flats
1 Molten Slagheap
5 Mountain
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Spinerock Knoll
1 Stensia Bloodhall
1 Strip Mine
7 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Vivid Crag
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Veinfire Borderpost (essentially a land)
1 Everlasting Torment
1 Stranglehold
1 Scythe of the Wretched
1 Havengul Vampire
1 Whispersilk Cloak
Thanks to everyone in advance for your suggestions.
Cards that have been axed:
Vampiric Dragon - Extremely high mana cost
Baron Sengir - Extremely high mana cost
Bloodhusk Ritualist - Picks on individual player and is spendy to discard a full hand
Bloodghast - Recursion is nice, but Bloodghast is small for this format
Bloodgift Demon - Phyrexian Arena is less prone to board-wipes
Urabrask the Hidden - Great for aggro and slowing down opponent, but not a vampire
Duplicant - One-time removal for 6 mana. Must be able to target...
Gatekeeper of Malakir - Triple black mana cost, really tough to cut though!
Scroll Rack - Not searching for combo pieces
Urza's Incubator - Vamps tend to be lower-costing anyway
Temporal Extortion - quadruple black mana cost
Life's Finale - Weakest sweeper out of the available options
Phyrexian Vault - sacrificing cards taken with Olivia is nice, but this is pretty situational
Wooden Stake - The threat of Olivia will often make equipped creature unblockable, but this is useless with Olivia off the board
Liliana of the Veil - Is it really worth self-discarding in EDH to keep a sac engine online?
Conspiracy - Is it worth including this if I only have 6-8 non-Vampire creatures?
You NEED Blade of the Bloodchief! Its crazy good with any vampire card, if you can get your vampire to at least 14/14 and cast a Blasphemous Act its basicly GG especially against token swarm;)
Edit: Ah you already have the blade, good choice;)
Anyone else have any advice? Any recommendations of what to remove from the list and why would be much appreciated.
It's tough getting this thing down to 100 cards!!
Bloodghast - Recursion is nice, but Bloodghast is small for this format
Heirs of Stromkirk - Intimidate is nice, but in multiplayer someone is bound to be playing red
Bloodgift Demon - Phyrexian Arena is less prone to board-wipes
Massacre Wurm - How often will the -2/-2 really kill off enough creatures to make this worthwhile?
Urabrask the Hidden - Great for aggro and slowing down opponent, but not a vampire
Brass Herald - Too many non-Vampire cards negates effective card draw
Wurmcoil Engine - One of my favorite cards ever, but does this really have a place in a vampire deck?
Deathbringer Thoctar - Amazing card, but again is there place for it in a vampire deck?
Wooden Stake - The threat of Olivia will often make equipped creature unblockable, but this is useless with Olivia off the board
Liliana of the Veil - Is it really worth self-discarding in EDH to keep a sac engine online?
Conspiracy - Is it worth including this if I only have 6-8 non-Vampire creatures?
Gauntlet of Power - Caged Sun only helps me where this card helps opponents too.
I've never really dug Quietus Spike. Deathtouch is always good in a creature-heavy meta and that first swing usually does tons of damage, but then the Law of Diminishing Returns kicks in and you get less and less from this card with each swing. It's not bad, but you do need to free up some space.
Bloodhusk Ritualist only hits one person, it's effect can be entirely negated with one Recurring Insight (a very commonly played card), and it's likely to irritate people far more than it actually hurts them because plenty of people don't care for discard. Plus it costs ten mana to strip someone's hand when it's full. Pricey.
I'm not sure how good Kalastria Highborn is for you, but on paper it doesn't seem too impressive. If you want to tap out then you're not gonna be draining anyone's life, so you're gonna be playing more reactively and holding back mana when this card hits the table. Falkenrath Noble and Blood Artist may not drain as much life per dead creature, but they do drain life for free once they've been cast. Seems really dependent on how you're playing your deck. That said, if you're playing a lot of things at the end of someone's turn then it's probably better than I'm giving it credit for.
My friend runs Baron Sengir in his Vampire tribal deck and he has a really love-hate relationship with it. When it saves his most important Vampire multiple times he loves it, but oftentimes it's an overcosted, color-intensive 5/5 that only saves one creature once. Again, not bad but you're deck is hurting for space in a bad way.
Griselbrand just got banned, so that's an easy card to cut lol.
Vampiric Dragon is cool, but it costs 8 mana to cast, 2 mana to ping and it only gets bigger if you can either ping the holy hell out of something or you can ping something just before it dies another way. Having it as a mana dump is solid, but it's a bit unwieldy.
Falkenrath Aristocrat just isn't gonna get you there. Flying and Haste are keywords I love seeing together, but on a 4/1? Not in EDH. You can sac a creature to make it Indestructible, but it's still a 4/1 and you don't have Humans you can feed to it to make it bigger.
Keep an eye on Anowon, the Ruin Sage. He only forces people to sacrifice a creature on your turn, not on theirs so that's a bit uncool. He could also draw you lots of hate for forcing sacrifices. If he's doing work for you then keep him in, but if he's drawing you a disproportionate amount of hate or he's not clearing the board fast enough then you might give him the boot.
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs is a card I've always loved, but why is he in here? He's not a Vampire, he's not amazingly good, and he's not on theme. He's not bad, but why is he here?
Curse of Stalked Prey is very on-theme and it's a fun card but it only targets a single player in a multiplayer format. Is it good enough? I would've loved to see it cost a bit more and target everyone, but as is...I dunno.
Death Denied isn't bad, but it seems like an inferior rendition of Patriarch's Bidding in a tribal deck like this.
Chandra, the Firebrand's -2 ability is pretty cool, but it's Sorcery speed. The other abilities aren't that impressive. Seems like a good card to axe.
Temporal Extortion is quadruple black and isn't a guaranteed extra turn. Taking half of one player's life isn't a bad play, but is it worth a slot in a deck that needs to cut a lot of cards?
Everlasting Torment doesn't seem to fill any useful role in this deck. Does damage get prevented a whole lot in your meta? And is giving everything Wither worth a card slot in this deck?
Phyrexian Vault isn't bad, but Black has better card draw and both Black and Red have better sac outlets.
Army of the Damned is a Zombie producing card which is a bit off-theme and it isn't brutal enough to merit going so off-theme. I like the card a lot, but it could probably be cut without hurting the deck.
Hopefully that helps you out. I love tribal decks lol. Feel free to lemme know whatcha think is a good idea, a bad idea, or a who the hell cards kinda idea.
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Thanks so much for all of your recommendations! I appreciate you taking the time to analyze so many cards. Take a look at my comments below and let me know what you think! Also, you said you agreed with "most" of my changes above... were there any you didn't agree with?
Thanks again!
Quietus Spike - This is one card I'm not ready to part with yet. Deathtouch on Olivia is ridiculous as well as an opponent losing half their life with Wounded Reflection on the table. Simply attaching it to creatures and swinging won't get it done with this card, but there is just too much synergy with Olivia to let this one go.
Bloodhusk Ritualist - I agree with you on this one. It seems to pick on an individual player (which can draw hate) as well as be spendy mana-wise.
Kalastria Highborn - I'm glad you reminded me of the mana cost on this guy. Mana spent on this is less mana for Olivia's abilities which seems a little counterproductive. That being said, do you think I should consider Falkenreath Noble? In addition to creatures lost in combat, ideally Olivia would do some shooting of little guys (or of bigger guys if equipped with deathtouch), and creature loss would be caused by Anowon, the Ruin Sage, Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet, Gatekeeper of Malakir, & Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief. Also, there's the sac ability on Viscera Seer. Even though it seems that the opportunity to take advantage of Falkenreath Noble is there, it IS still only 1 life and 1 damage per creature loss. At the moment I'm leaning towards a "no" on the Falkenreath Noble.
Baron Sengir - This guy I really wanted to include due to the Vampire theme... but in reality he definitely isn't the strongest choice. Unless I find an abundance of cards to cut, I agree that he probably should go since he's so spendy.
Griselbrand - Disappointed I didn't get to use this card in EDH before it got banned!!
Vampiric Dragon - I think I agree with you on this one due to the high mana cost to cast. Although I did like having another outlet to spend some of my Braid of Fire, Mana Echoes, & Black Market mana in the event that Olivia can't stay on the board. But that is only 3 cards out of 99... and he's still spendy to cast. Do you know of any cheaper outlets to spend my automatic mana on that would fit into this deck?
Falkenrath Aristocrat - I probably agree with you on this one... I just had a 2HG EDH game once where this thing beat down my team over and over and we never could kill it because of it becoming indestructible repeatedly. Only happened to me once though, but the sour taste in my mouth makes me want to do the same to someone else... but usually there's white on the table in my meta. So I think for now he'll get the axe.
Anowon, the Ruin Sage - This is another one I'm not quite ready to let go of yet. Even though his sac-causing is slow, any hate drawn by him is hate not used on Olivia or any of my better vamps in play.
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs - He's also a card I've always loved, but I agree he doesn't fit this deck perfectly. I liked the idea of a Propaganda-esque ability in play, but as a creature he's too vulnerable to removable. He get's the axe.
Curse of Stalked Prey - I'm torn on this card. In a 3-player FFA this will just make one player hate me, but in a 2HG game it's amazing! Might have to be a sideboard swap depending on the game type...
Death Denied - Patriarch's Bidding is way better. Totally forgot about this card when putting this deck list together. Swapping it out for Bidding...
Chandra, the Firebrand - I probably don't have enough instant/sorceries that I want to cast at sorcery speed to make her worth it. She also gets the axe.
Temporal Extortion - This is another tough one for me. Time Walk is never bad... and half a player's life is rarely bad! I also really like it with Wound Reflection on the board. But the quadruple black is what scares me away from this card. I think I'll have to let this one go and axe it...
Everlasting Torment - Lifegain is a common theme in my meta, which is why I was considering this card. Wither also seems to fit the deck pretty well, but this is one of those circumstances where most of the other choices in the deck are just better. I will probably end up axing this one, but I'll have to think about it.
Phyrexian Vault - This was included as a sac outlet/card draw outlet. Are there better cards that provide both optiohs? There are definitely better card draw options in both colors, but I liked the ability of sacrificing cards taken with Olivia to replenish my hand. However this card is pretty situational, and probably will also get the axe. But I'd definitely like to hear if you have any other ideas of card draw/sac outlets.
Army of the Damned - I originally liked this as a last resort in the event that Olivia just isn't working or simply as a late-game bomb... but it's not the same bomb that it is in constructed. I think for now it will probably get the axe as well. If you have any other late-game finisher ideas though I'd love to hear them.
Pestilence (or its creature counterparts Pestilence Demon, Thrashing Wumpus, or Crypt Rats) is a great way to spend that mana from Black Market. Comet Storm is an Instant speed win condition if you've got enough mana from Braid of Fire and the like.
Carnage Altar costs one more mana to activate than Phyrexian Vault, but it doesn't tap so you can sacrifice more than one creature per turn. Or you can go an entirely different route with Ashnod's Altar or Phyrexian Altar and give yourself more mana to ping or steal something again.
The only choice of yours that I was really unsure of was Bloodghast. Yes, a 2/1 body isn't going to be killing the table no matter how many times you recur it (barring a hard lock on the table), but it's so good with a number of sac engines such as Attrition. You have to build a small package to make him work, but if you're willing to jump through a couple hoops he can be great utility.
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I really like Comet Storm + Braid of Fire. Comet Storm is just too darn good even just with your base mana... adding it to the list!
Also, Pestilence and I have a long, long history of mischief together; however, being that I'm trying to trim down the deck, I think I'll have to settle for spending my automatic mana on Exsanguinate and Comet Storm when Olivia isn't on the board... and there's always the option of just re-casting her as well.
I gave Phyrexian Alter a little thought, because I already own it and I like the sac engine, but the single mana didn't seem to be as productive as drawing a card. I DO like Carnage Altar better than Phyrexian Vault, but I think I'm going to stick without either for now. I know I have some Carnage Altars laying around anyway, so I'll just swap one in later if I find that I really want that sac outlet when Olivia gets swatted back to her Commander Zone.
As far as Bloodghast goes, he's another guy that I just absolutely love. And Attrition DEFINITELY makes him worthwhile! He's also amazing with Viscera Seer for an every-turn Scry. I really would like to find room for him in the deck, I just am really running out of ideas of what else to axe! If I'm able to knock this thing down enough, he's probably one of the first cardsthat I've "axed" that will make it back into the list!
I love Comet Storm. Instant speed, it can hit multiple targets for a minimal investment, and the flexibility to use it as a finisher or as a makeshift sweeper is surprisingly relevant.
The wait and see approach seems like a good choice for those cards. They'll both be useful to your deck, but they might not be as useful as some of the other cards you're running. Plus you need to empty slots, not fill them. Maybe later you'll have more room lol.
And after what I assume has been a rash of changes roughly how many cards over the 99 card limit are you?
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My baseline land count is 38. If I run a lower curve aggro deck I might cut one or two out, in the control deck I'm building I'll be running 40 lands. I'd recommend 38 lands supplemented with a handful of mana rocks.
On the topic of mana rocks, I'd recommend Darksteel Ingot over Fellwar Stone. The Stone may come out a turn earlier, but you're only running two colors so it might not give you the colors you need when you need them. Plus, the Ingot's Indestructibility prevents it from becoming collateral damage to something like Austere Command.
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I was also debating a couple other cards in my list. Let me know your thoughts!
Diabolic Revelation - 7 mana before it even tutors for 2 cards...and when am I ever going to want to tap out with Olivia on the board when 7 mana used by her = taking an opponent's creature.
Consuming Vapors - How do you feel about this card? Never played it in EDH before, so I'm debating back and forth about how frequently it'll be as effective as my other removal cards.
I see Diabolic Revelation as a card that combo decks are going to get the most mileage out of. If you can tutor for two or three things that are going to set you up to win the game your next turn then it seems solid. Otherwise, I'd rather have Increasing Ambition. And since you're already running that, Revelation might be a good card to cut. And on that note, Night Dealings is more cute than good. I'm not a fan of cutting out every cute or pet card to make sure a deck is as streamline as possible, but when you're dying for space...it's worth considering.
Consuming Vapors is a card I'm testing out in my Glissa, the Traitor deck. My deck has a theme of gaining life and using life to fuel other effects, so it's really good because it kills things dead and gains me life. Both of which are exactly what I want the deck to do. However, it does have some internal tension in that it wants to be used when there are multiple creatures out so that you're getting to kill something when casting it and when it Rebounds. However, sacrifice effects are best used when an opponent only has one creature out. Something big and threatening and Indestructible or Hexproof that they'll have to get rid of. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I think I'd prefer Chaos Warp, Go for the Throat, Terminate, or Murder for straight up creature removal. However, it seems solid as a card meant to kill something Indestructible or Hexproof.
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Also, I think I'll cut out Diabolic Revelation since this isn't much of a combo deck. Yes, there are combo pieces that make Olivia awesome... but no instant-win combos or anything like that. And I still have Demonic Tutor, Increasing Ambition, and Liliana Vess.
And Consuming Vapors... I've always had good experiences with this card. And I LOVE the double use from a single card, as well as getting around shroud & hexproof. I just also know that it's very much a situational card. Black/Red also has very few board wipes, where Consuming Vapors at least kills 2 cards for me. Then again so does Ashes to Ashes. I'm really torn on this one. I think I'll leave it for now, but it's definitely on the fence.
Any other suggestions of what to remove?
Havengul Vampire can probably get pretty big, but he's got no evasion and no utility. There's nothing wrong with him but there are probably better ways to fill a spot.
I dunno how other people feel about it, but I've never been a huge fan of Caged Sun and its ilk in decks that aren't mono-colored. Unless your deck leans crazy-hard in one direction then I feel like it's just not being leveraged to its full potential.
I'm torn on this last one...I love Stranglehold. I love the thought of Red getting more cards like this as a way to bolster its strength, but how much is this card doing for you? Does your meta have a lot of tutoring for degenerate tomfoolery or lots of extra turns? If so, keep it. If not, might be worth a second look.
Champion's Helm is a pretty solid card, but you've already got a number of redundant effects for Olivia. This gives her an extra +2/+2 but doesn't give Haste so I'd consider it the weakest of the "Protect Your General" cards.
Other than that...now it's getting into the really tough stuff lol. It's the stuff you don't wanna cut, it's good enough to not need to be cut, but it might get cut anyway just because you need the space. Far and away the worse part of deckbuilding lol.
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Havengul Vampire - I agree that the lack of evasion makes him less effective than I'd like him to be. One of the players in our group plays a Savra token deck, so he'd get chumped but also get huge. Probably another sideboard card, although even with the feeding he'd get from playing against a token deck, he will always have trouble getting through.
Caged Sun - A friend of mine was really big on this one. Got me to pick it up specifically for this deck for the double mana for Olivia. Although I agree that picking one color to boost makes it far less effective in a 2-color deck. I should probably try the deck without it and see if I have trouble paying for Olivia's abilities before I put it back in.
Stranglehold - Another one I love! I think this probably will get relegated to a SB card though. A friend of mine plays a Kaldra equip deck, and this definitely mucks with that, but I can always just SB it in when he sits down to the table, haha!
Champion's Helm - I agree that it's the weakest of my General protection cards, however, it is still a general protection card. Although, now that I think about it, Whispersilk Cloak would probably be better than this card in this deck just to protect other creatures if so desired... and unblockable isn't bad For now I'll swap the two, but do you think I should drop the Cloak as well?
And this is DEFINITELY tough. It's so easy to come up with a list of fun cards to play in the deck, but trimming it back can be so tough sometimes! Thanks again for all the suggestions
Only 10 more cards to go...
I think you should drop Cloak the same way you're dropping Caged Sun. Try the deck out without it, if you feel like you need another way to protect your general then you can shove it back in and be on your merry way.
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The following 3 cards are kind of similar in that they provide removal; so I should probably axe at least one of them, maybe two.
Karn Liberated - Discard and/or removal with reuse
Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet - Reusable removal that costs mana and gives you creatures, subject to Wraths
Duplicant - One-time removal
I think Duplicant will have to get the axe. What do you guys think? Is it worth cutting another of these?
Godo, Bandit Warlord - He's off-theme and is just a 6-mana tutor for an equipment that happens to have a 3/3 body. Pretty sure I need to axe him.
Rings of Brighthearth - Fun with Olivia, but how many applications does this really have in my deck? It's AWESOME with Karn or any planeswalker, but beyond them and Olivia, it seems like it doesn't do much, which makes it extremely situational. What do you guys think? Do the benefits outweigh the situational use? Are there other applications of it that I'm not thinking of currently?
Malakir Bloodwitch - I LOVE the life loss + lifegain + pro white, but it seems pretty situational. Should I sideboard this card until I expect multiple white players at the table?
The following 2 cards are also strikingly similar. Maybe I should stick with just one of the two...
Gatekeeper of Malakir vs. Consuming Vapors:
3 mana vs 4 mana
3 black mana required vs 1 black mana required
1 kill vs 2 kills
2/2 body vs no body
capitalizes on vamp synergy vs gains life
I do really like both though, so this is extra tough. What do you guys think?
Godo, Bandit Warlord is such a badass and he interacts really well with your general despite being off-theme. What he's tutoring for (Basilisk Collar? Lightning Greaves?) is going to be really good for you. If him not being a Vampire is a deal breaker for you that's perfectly fine (can't say no to tribal lol), but otherwise I'd recommend you keep him.
Rings of Brighthearth is so crazy that I have trouble telling you to cut it. Your general, Karn, Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet, Sorin Markov, Captivating Vampire, Bloodline Keeper, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, and Liliana Vess were just the cards I noticed on a quick glance through your deck. Some of those are brutal when copied and most of them are very good.
As far as Gatekeeper for Vapors goes, how often does that 2/2 body matter? Are you swinging in with him for 5 frequently because of your lords? Do his chump blocking skills save you from a big, bad Lord of Extinction fairly often? Go with him. If he's just a 2/2 that sits around gathering dust then go with Vapors.
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Duplicant - Yeah, he's definitely the weakest out of the 3 listed. I think for now he'll get taken out.
Godo, Bandit Warlord - He DEFINITELY is awesome. I'm just so desperate for space that I'm running out of ideas of what to cut. But tutoring for Basilisk Collar and Lightning Greaves makes him super useful! I'm so torn! For now I'll leave him, but I really just don't know where to go from here, haha! I didn't even want to ask about cutting him, he was just one of the few cards that I at least found a reason to consider cutting him.
Rings of Brighthearth - Ok... thanks for smacking me on the head for considering dropping this. Haha It stays...
Gatekeeper of Malakir - It's so hard to give up a creature kill with a 2/2 body for 3 mana, but the triple black means he probably wouldn't play on turn 3 in the mana curve anyway, and I think the double kill of Vapors will be slightly more useful in EDH. This is a card I do NOT want to take out, but am so desperate for space that I think I will at the moment. Please yell at me if I'm being dumb... haha!
Any other ideas? I know I've got to cut at least 5 more cards... I'll re-count the card totals in the deck and post them to help in figuring out what to cut.
8 more cards to go...
Life's Finale - Probably the worst sweeper I have included, but it still is a sweeper. Definitely want to keep Damnation, Blasphemous Act, and All is Dust... but should this be dropped?
In addition to the 2 aforementioned cards that I'm considering cutting, I noticed a few other potential changes...
Urza's Incubator - I noticed that none of the 12 decklists in the commander database on this site have this card, which got me thinking that vamps are pretty low-costing anyway. Do you guys think this card is unnecessary? It's nice dropping 5-drops for 3, but it IS taking up a slot when I really need to cut down cards still.
Scroll Rack - I absolutely love this card, however it seems to be more valuable when trying to filter through cards to get combo pieces. I imagine that this deck will play out half or more of its hand rather quickly, minimizing the effectiveness of this card. Also, it's a vampire tribal deck; so swapping my hand for other vamps doesn't seem to really be overly helpful...
Consuming Vapors / Gatekeeper of Malakir - I noticed that 5 or 6 of the other decks in the database did include Gatekeeper. I fear he may only be a chump blocker, but there are quite a few other cards in the deck that capitalize on vampires being in play. I know this is one I previously debated because of the triple black mana cost, but I'm still tempted to keep the Gatekeeper over Consuming Vapors.
Mirri the Cursed - I totally forgot about this card when building my initial decklist. I really don't like adding cards when I'm trying to cut down the deck, but do you guys think this card might be worth adding? Flying + haste is an excellent combo, but I am also in a dire need for space. How valuable do you think this card is?
5-drops - My mana curve is a little off at the moment with there being hardly any 4-drops but an overabundance of 5-drops. Does anyone have any recommendations of any 5-drops I could drop from the deck?
Thanks everyone for your continued help