"Embrace your hatred. It gives you focus and makes you strong." "Open up your hate and let it flow into me!"
Awesome Banner by DarkNightCavalier
The deck runs either Drana or Geth as commander equally well, but lately I've been using Drana a lot more. REWRITE - Now that Homeward Path exists, I don't think Geth will ever be back in command.
How does it play/win:
By far the most straightforward deck I play. This deck is all about extreme power and violence. It primarily wins by producing huge amounts of mana and using that to power pump creatures (Drana, Steel Hellkite, Nantuko Shade, Geth,) or huge sorceries like Profane Command and Exsanguinate. Enough mana also makes Helldozer a massive land killer, and Necrotic Ooze provides some really diverse and interesting interactions and catches a lot of people off guard. The most impressive card in the whole deck is Cabal Coffers. Tutor for it, protect it, recur it. It flat out wins games. And it's amazing how many games this deck wins with a lowly little Nether Traitor weilding a Lashwrithe or Nightmare Lash.
All my decks try to adhere to these guidelines:
1) Be able to win.
2) Be mostly true to a flavor and a theme.
3) Be fun to pilot or to play against and interactive.
4) Have multiple paths to victory.
5) Have lots of cool interactions and synergy.
6) Play out differently every game to keep it fun over a long time.
7) Be streamlined and fast to play without excessive upkeep, time-consuming play or overcomplicated boardstates.
8) Integrate the Commanders abilities into the strategy at least a little, but be able to win without ever playing the commander.
About Fetchlands:
I'm not convinced about the "deck thinning" aspect of fetchlands being worth the life loss, but in this deck, Rings of Brighthearth can double their fetching power. I think that makes them well worth it.
Combos/Tricks/Tips:
Cabal Coffers + Rings of Brighthearth + Deserted Temple = Infinite Black Mana for a Geth Kill, or Drana/Hellkite/Shade pump, or Profane/Exsanguinate/Consume Spirit. It can also sweep every opposing non-basic land off the table with Helldozer.
Rings of Brighthearth Targets:
Don't forget that other than the infinite mana combos, Rings is good for a LOT of things. It also copies:
Activated abilities of Geth, Drana, Steel Hellkite, Nantuko Shade, and Hex Parasite.
Sorin Markov, Karn and Liliana Vess abilities
Land Destruction by Strip Mine or Tectonic Edge
Fetchlands (if you run them)
Wayfarer's Bauble
Explaination of Rings/Basalt Infimana Combo:
BM's tap ability is a mana ability..... but it's untap ability is not
You net each time you do it.
Explaination:
Tap Monolith (+3)
Pay 3 to untap Monolith (0), leave that on the stack as BM1, it's still tapped.
Pay 2 to copy the ability with Rings (-2)
Rings resolves and untaps Monolith. BM1 still on the stack.
Tap Monolith again (now +1)
BM1 resolves untapping Monolith. You've still got 1 in the pool and an untapped Monolith. Repeat a thousand times, now Exsanguinate, Drana, Hellkite, Geth, or Profane Command ftw.
It takes 2 lands to do it the first time, and 1 land to do it the second time as you gain 1 mana each time you do it. Do it a thousand times.
Praetor's Grasp Fun:
Not only is this a useful card at nearly any stage of the game with early Sol Rings or later game wrath effects, it takes away combo pieces or troublesome cards like Iona, Shield of Emeria, BUT THE COOLEST PART is that you can now play Hybrid Mana cards in your mono-black deck. Cards like Debtors' Knell, Unmake, and Memory Plunder.
Necrotic Ooze Shenanigans:
Lots of players forget about activated abilities of creatures in graveyards. Necrotic Ooze gets the abilities of all these. Steel Hellkite, Nantuko Shade, Drana, Geth, and Helldozer all give Ooze game-breaking abilities when they're in the gy. And they can always be doubled with Rings in play.
Ooze imprinted on Mimic Vat can be a truly devastating blow every turn depending on what's in the graveyards.
. Fun Stuff: (maybe not the most competitive choices, but they are good and lots of fun)
Treacherous Urge - One of my pet cards. I love to steal something like a Primeval Titan out of someones hand, it dies, then I get to recur it again.
Withering Boon - Can be really key at stopping a potentially deadly creature from coming into play, and is usually completely unexpected.
Enslave - Love stealing commanders and beating face with them.
Imp's Mischief - A myriad of uses from changing the target of removal spells to effectively countering a counterspell.
Recommended Playlist:
Down with the Sickness - Disturbed
Bad Things - Jace Everett
Living Dead Girl - Rob Zombie
Vampires - Godsmack
I need to find some good replacements, but I prefer not to put any more non-zombies in the deck in order to keep it "tribal" unless there's something non-zombie that's really good I'm overlooking.
Actually, I'm really enjoying it. I put the tutors back in and it runs pretty darn good for not having any real "controversial" cards. Having to keep it fairly "tribal" is holding it back quite a bit, but it's good to have a deck that's a little more "casual".
Cabal Coffers = MVP
Most fun I've had in quite a while = Treacherous Urge
I'm really enjoying this card. I've been able to rip a few really strong creatures with it and pull off all kinds of fun little shenanigans. The best plays, of course, is ripping a game-killer that they just tutored for, but even when it only snags a "so-so" creature, the deck has several other ways to profit from it.
Grave Pact and Butcher triggers even on the opps graveyard because its "creature you control into a graveyard"
Skullclamp means you get to not only rip a creature but draw from it. I snagged a Knight-Captain of Eos with it the other day netting me 6 cards with the clamp.
And either Mimic Vat or Geth is often waiting to re-use any really good creature that it snags.
I really enjoy playing Geth too. It's definitely geared more towards multiplayer games, strictly for the fact that there's a higher probability of more juicy targets for Geth to reanimate in other player's graveyards. Your deck is definitely solid. Zombie tribal does eliminate some awesome creatures like
Royal Assassin
Ink Eyes - sooo good
Shriekmaw
Avatar of Woe
Nirkana Revenant
Gatekeeper of Malakir
Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet
etc...
You need Graveborn Muse in there asap. Zombie Phyrexian arena on a stick = yes please!
The tradeoff is that you're seen as more of a casual deck and have less of a target on your head.
Sorcutt - I've got several of those cards you mentioned already in the decklist:
Nirkana
Graveborn
Rend Flesh
Eyeblights Ending
I've always been on the fence about Hatred in here, not the quality but the power level since I'm trying to keep this deck toned down a bit. I should probably keep a copy in a sideboard.
It sounds like you're wanting to play outside of your normal group. The folks I play with run the guantlet of oblation style effects. High Market and Miren, the Moaning Well might just save the day.
I had been balking on High Market (I don't own Miren) as I wanted to keep my swamp count as high as possible, but I do think it's needed. I took out Volrath's Stronghold as it just hardly ever gets used.
Cool list. I've been playing with the idea of trading out bitterblossom for neither traitor because all of the equipment I run. Let me know how he does. Inkmoth nexus would be really nasty in here considering you run nightmare lash and others. I have won several games just off blinkmoth. I know it's hard taking out swamps but this card is a game winner. He's also great because he survives all your wraths and can swing for the win the same turn you wrath. Plus in a pinch he's skullclamp fodder.
Cool list. I've been playing with the idea of trading out bitterblossom for neither traitor because all of the equipment I run. Let me know how he does. Inkmoth nexus would be really nasty in here considering you run nightmare lash and others. I have won several games just off blinkmoth. I know it's hard taking out swamps but this card is a game winner. He's also great because he survives all your wraths and can swing for the win the same turn you wrath. Plus in a pinch he's skullclamp fodder.
You know, I hadn't thought of Inkmoth Nexus at all as I've never used infect, but yeah, with Nightmare Lash and now Lashwrithe, that sounds disgustingly good. I'll try and trade for one straight away.
I've been really happy with Nether traitor. He mostly gets ignored by everyone and is a great repeatable clamp target/grave pact trigger. Then Nightmare Lash comes out and he's a beast. I've had some nasty draw shenanigans going on with... clamp ghast, revive traitor, clamp traitor, play land revive ghast, etc.
I think trading out Bitterblossom for Traitor in Big Black is a good move.
Since you've lost the tribal, I'd rethink Unholy Grotto only 4 targets (5 with Geth) makes me think you'd probably be better off with a swamp. How has Necrotic Ooze been working? You're relying pretty heavily on opposing yards for abilities here, though the ones you do have are pretty potent.
Private Mod Note
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
Since you've lost the tribal, I'd rethink Unholy Grotto only 4 targets (5 with Geth) makes me think you'd probably be better off with a swamp. How has Necrotic Ooze been working? You're relying pretty heavily on opposing yards for abilities here, though the ones you do have are pretty potent.
I am thinking about replacing Grotto. Oddly enough, I just decided to try out Inkmoth Nexus (thanks Nutterbutter). If that doesn't stick then I'll make it a swamp.
Ooze has been really good for me. Becomes a psuedo Geth or Drana (whichever I'm not using as commander), Nirkana, Nan Shade, and Helldozer! Now I've got Hex Parasite as well. I usually end up just using my own yard. I don't like taking time to search others graveyards for targets, but I'll usually try to remember any really juicy targets going in there for later use. It's tough to keep track in big games where Geth has milled a bunch of stuff already.
Now that you've got me thinking about it, maybe Magus of the Coffers deserves another look since Ooze could use the ability as well.
Is Basalt Monolith not considered a mana ability ?
Its tap ability is a mana ability..... but it's untap ability is not
You net 1 each time you do it.
Explaination:
Tap Monolith (+3)
Pay 3 to untap Monolith (0), leave that on the stack as BM1, it's still tapped.
Pay 2 to copy the ability with Rings (-2)
Rings resolves and untaps Monolith. BM1 still on the stack.
Tap Monolith again (now +1)
BM1 resolves untapping Monolith. You've still got 1 in the pool and an untapped Monolith. Repeat.
It takes 2 lands to do it the first time, and 1 land to do it the second time as you gain 1 mana each time you do it. Do it a thousand times..... EXSANGUINATE!!!!
I hope that wasn't too confusing, I'm not the best at explaining these.
There, I redid the explaination, though I see you already got it.
It's a great combo for the deck, imo, since the cards involved are already great by themselves in here. Monolith is really good acceleration, and Rings can do a ton of damage with Geth/Drana/Hellkite/Helldozer/Nirkana/Shade..... or the Ooze and any of those in the graveyard.
It can also copy Mimic Vats ability putting 2 tokens in play.
And the Planeswalker abilities are activated abilities. Can be pretty nasty. I've always wanted to copy Sorin Markovs ultimate and control the next two players' turns. Hasn't happened yet though. I have copied his "set life to 10". Talk about making a table hostile
I would play sudden death ever dismember in MP EDH. It's great at dealing with difficult creatures and as far as I know is one of the only spells capable of taking out myojin of night's reach because any deck with black runs it.
I am running the Spine now, and I've taken out Mind Twist. I agree on both those points.
Hex Parasite - I've been using it for Planeswalkers and because a player in my group runs some really annoying artifact combos with counters (Lux Cannon). I am considering taking it out though, I'm not sold yet.
I'm not sure about replacing Sudden Death. Split second comes in really handy sometimes. It can't kill a fatty, but it can kill some pretty troublesome utilility creatures and there's nothing they can do about it. It always seems to have a target, maybe it's just my meta. I'll keep it in mind though.
I've thought about the Kite, but I've just never tried it. If I can find a copy, I'll give it a test run. It does sound pretty good, I think I've just been lazy about getting one and trying it.
On a side note, I seem to be having more success running Drana rather than Geth as commander lately.
It's just like the story of the grasshopper and the octopus. All year long, the grasshopper kept burying acorns for the winter, while the octopus mooched off his girlfriend and watched TV. But then the winter came and the grasshopper died and the octopus ate all his acorns. And also he got a racecar. Is any of this getting through to you?
Yeah, I actually did run that at first, and no question it is powerful as heck, but when caged sun came out I decided just to stick to it and the gauntlet for doublers. My thinking was that along with maybe giving my opponent more mana (but guantlet does that too), my doublers are high value targets and when the Lens gets killed, maybe before I even get to use it, I've lost it and an imprinted swamp that could've had me farther ahead on the curve. I try to hold it until I need it to avoid as much removal as I can, but sometimes that's not practical.
I'm not completely sure that's sound reasoning, but that's what I used.
Of course, running all 3 doublers probably wouldn't be a bad call either. I don't know, I might give it another try sometime.
It's just like the story of the grasshopper and the octopus. All year long, the grasshopper kept burying acorns for the winter, while the octopus mooched off his girlfriend and watched TV. But then the winter came and the grasshopper died and the octopus ate all his acorns. And also he got a racecar. Is any of this getting through to you?
"Open up your hate and let it flow into me!"
Awesome Banner by DarkNightCavalier
The deck runs either Drana or Geth as commander equally well, but lately I've been using Drana a lot more. REWRITE - Now that Homeward Path exists, I don't think Geth will ever be back in command.
How does it play/win:
By far the most straightforward deck I play. This deck is all about extreme power and violence. It primarily wins by producing huge amounts of mana and using that to power pump creatures (Drana, Steel Hellkite, Nantuko Shade, Geth,) or huge sorceries like Profane Command and Exsanguinate. Enough mana also makes Helldozer a massive land killer, and Necrotic Ooze provides some really diverse and interesting interactions and catches a lot of people off guard. The most impressive card in the whole deck is Cabal Coffers. Tutor for it, protect it, recur it. It flat out wins games. And it's amazing how many games this deck wins with a lowly little Nether Traitor weilding a Lashwrithe or Nightmare Lash.
All my decks try to adhere to these guidelines:
1) Be able to win.
2) Be mostly true to a flavor and a theme.
3) Be fun to pilot or to play against and interactive.
4) Have multiple paths to victory.
5) Have lots of cool interactions and synergy.
6) Play out differently every game to keep it fun over a long time.
7) Be streamlined and fast to play without excessive upkeep, time-consuming play or overcomplicated boardstates.
8) Integrate the Commanders abilities into the strategy at least a little, but be able to win without ever playing the commander.
Approx:
Deckstats Value = $285
Average CMC = 3.68
1 Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
Mana Lands:
28 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Marsh Flats
Utility Lands:
1 Phyrexian Tower (sac outlet/mana)
1 Petrified Field (recur coffers or strip mine)
1 Deserted Temple (combo or pump Coffers)
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Vesuva
1 Strip Mine
1 High Market (sac outlet)
1 Thespian's Stage
Mana "Doublers":
1 Nirkana Revenant
1 Caged Sun
1 Crypt Ghast
Mana Help:
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Coalition Relic
1 Expedition Map
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Basalt Monolith (combo)
1 Sol Ring
1 Solemn Simulacrum (+ draw)
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Sorin Markov (lifegain/drain)
1 Liliana of the Dark Realms (more swamps and removal)
1 Karn Liberated (removal/disruption)
Card Draw:
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Promise of Power
1 Syphon Mind
1 Bloodgift Demon
Misc Artifacts:
1 Strata Scythe
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Lashwrithe
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Nightmare Lash
1 Swiftfoot Boots
Tutors:
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Beseech the Queen
Recursion:
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Grim Discovery
1 Nim Deathmantle
1 Necromancy
Removal:
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Mutilate
1 Spine of Ish Sah
1 Rend Flesh
1 Black Sun's Zenith
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Enslave
1 Life's Finale
1 Exsanguinate
1 Profane Command
1 Consume Spirit
Purely for fun:
1 Treacherous Urge
Other Creatures:
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One (removal/recursion)
1 Wurmcoil Engine (lifegain)
1 Steel Hellkite (removal)
1 Butcher of Malakir (removal)
1 Nether Traitor (beater with equip/sac fodder)
1 Nantuko Shade
1 Geth, Lord of the Vault
1 Helldozer (land destruction)
1 Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed
1 Herald of Leshrac (Land stealing, mana ramping, fun)
1 Phyrexian Obliterator (Scary dude)
1 Maga, Traitor to Mortals (Big Mana Finisher)
Other Spells:
1 Hatred (finisher)
1 Exquisite Blood (lots of lifegain)
1 No Mercy (rattlesnake)
.
Playing around with:
Ill-Gotten Gains
Suffer the Past
Cavern of Souls (need to get a copy)
Change log:
10 December 2012:
Out = Grave Pact, Reassembling Skeleton, Bloodghast, Skullclamp
In = Herald of Leshrac, Maga, Traitor to Mortals, Phyrexian Obliterator, No Mercy
18 December 2012
Out:
- Grave Titan
- Imp's Mischief
- Mimic Vat
- Grave Betrayal
In:30 Jan 2013
Out:
- Swamp
- Gauntlet of Power
- Necrotic Ooze
- Diabolic Edict
- Corpse Dance
In:Notes:
The key piece of the deck is Cabal Coffers. It's important to be able to fetch it (Expedition Map), pre-emptively protect it (with Strip Mine), and recur it (Yawgmoth's Will, Petrified Field, Grim Discovery). I haven't included Crucible of Worlds partly because it's on the 1v1 banned lists.
About Fetchlands:
I'm not convinced about the "deck thinning" aspect of fetchlands being worth the life loss, but in this deck, Rings of Brighthearth can double their fetching power. I think that makes them well worth it.
Combos/Tricks/Tips:
Rings of Brighthearth + Basalt Monolith = Infinite colorless mana for Profane or Hellkite.
Ashnod's Altar + Nim Deathmantle +:
Puppeteer Clique = Infinite Stealing & Mana
Wurmcoil Engine = Infi tokens & mana
Grave Titan = Infi tokens & mana
Rings of Brighthearth Targets:
Don't forget that other than the infinite mana combos, Rings is good for a LOT of things. It also copies:
Activated abilities of Geth, Drana, Steel Hellkite, Nantuko Shade, and Hex Parasite.
Sorin Markov, Karn and Liliana Vess abilities
Land Destruction by Strip Mine or Tectonic Edge
Fetchlands (if you run them)
Wayfarer's Bauble
Explaination of Rings/Basalt Infimana Combo:
BM's tap ability is a mana ability..... but it's untap ability is not
You net
Explaination:
Tap Monolith (+3)
Pay 3 to untap Monolith (0), leave that on the stack as BM1, it's still tapped.
Pay 2 to copy the ability with Rings (-2)
Rings resolves and untaps Monolith. BM1 still on the stack.
Tap Monolith again (now +1)
BM1 resolves untapping Monolith. You've still got 1 in the pool and an untapped Monolith. Repeat a thousand times, now Exsanguinate, Drana, Hellkite, Geth, or Profane Command ftw.
It takes 2 lands to do it the first time, and 1 land to do it the second time as you gain 1 mana each time you do it. Do it a thousand times.
Praetor's Grasp Fun:
Not only is this a useful card at nearly any stage of the game with early Sol Rings or later game wrath effects, it takes away combo pieces or troublesome cards like Iona, Shield of Emeria, BUT THE COOLEST PART is that you can now play Hybrid Mana cards in your mono-black deck. Cards like Debtors' Knell, Unmake, and Memory Plunder.
Necrotic Ooze Shenanigans:
Lots of players forget about activated abilities of creatures in graveyards. Necrotic Ooze gets the abilities of all these. Steel Hellkite, Nantuko Shade, Drana, Geth, and Helldozer all give Ooze game-breaking abilities when they're in the gy. And they can always be doubled with Rings in play.
Ooze imprinted on Mimic Vat can be a truly devastating blow every turn depending on what's in the graveyards.
Fun Stuff: (maybe not the most competitive choices, but they are good and lots of fun)
Treacherous Urge - One of my pet cards. I love to steal something like a Primeval Titan out of someones hand, it dies, then I get to recur it again.
Withering Boon - Can be really key at stopping a potentially deadly creature from coming into play, and is usually completely unexpected.
Enslave - Love stealing commanders and beating face with them.
Imp's Mischief - A myriad of uses from changing the target of removal spells to effectively countering a counterspell.
Recommended Playlist:
Down with the Sickness - Disturbed
Bad Things - Jace Everett
Living Dead Girl - Rob Zombie
Vampires - Godsmack
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
- Balthor the Defiled
- Reanimate
- Dread Return
..
Maybe:
I need to find some good replacements, but I prefer not to put any more non-zombies in the deck in order to keep it "tribal" unless there's something non-zombie that's really good I'm overlooking.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Actually, I'm really enjoying it. I put the tutors back in and it runs pretty darn good for not having any real "controversial" cards. Having to keep it fairly "tribal" is holding it back quite a bit, but it's good to have a deck that's a little more "casual".
Cabal Coffers = MVP
Most fun I've had in quite a while = Treacherous Urge
I'm really enjoying this card. I've been able to rip a few really strong creatures with it and pull off all kinds of fun little shenanigans. The best plays, of course, is ripping a game-killer that they just tutored for, but even when it only snags a "so-so" creature, the deck has several other ways to profit from it.
Grave Pact and Butcher triggers even on the opps graveyard because its "creature you control into a graveyard"
Skullclamp means you get to not only rip a creature but draw from it. I snagged a Knight-Captain of Eos with it the other day netting me 6 cards with the clamp.
And either Mimic Vat or Geth is often waiting to re-use any really good creature that it snags.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Royal Assassin
Ink Eyes - sooo good
Shriekmaw
Avatar of Woe
Nirkana Revenant
Gatekeeper of Malakir
Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet
etc...
You need Graveborn Muse in there asap. Zombie Phyrexian arena on a stick = yes please!
The tradeoff is that you're seen as more of a casual deck and have less of a target on your head.
Some notable additions that would power up the deck:
Hatred - NEEDS TO BE IN THERE. Paying 16 life to swing with an intimidating Geth = win.
Dark Ritual - pumps out Geth and shenanigans 2 turns early
Damnation
Beseech the Queen - if allowed
Diabolic Tutor - if allowed
Liliana Vess - if allowed
Bloodchief Ascension - this card is a beating in multi games
No Mercy - you'll live a lot longer
Pestilence
Phyrexian Totem
Jet Medallion
Thran Dynamo - such good acceleration
Gilded Lotus
Mind Stone
Ancient Tomb
In my version I run a lot more spot removal. I've honestly never been let down by it and I'd much prefer it to having a bunch of creatures. I find it fits well with Geth's grave-robbing ability too. That's mostly a preference though. Some good choices are:
Hero's Demise
Snuff Out
Executioner's Capsule
Tendrils of Corruption
Rend Flesh
Doom Blade
Reckless Spite
Seal of Doom
Elfblight's Ending
Hope that helps!
Nirkana
Graveborn
Rend Flesh
Eyeblights Ending
I've always been on the fence about Hatred in here, not the quality but the power level since I'm trying to keep this deck toned down a bit. I should probably keep a copy in a sideboard.
I think I'm going to cut the Haakon/Knight package and put in Damnation and Black Sun's Zenith.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
Oh I know, I'm totally jazzed about the spoilers. New Nightmare Lash and the New Mana Doubler have got to go in here.
And Praetor's Grip is sooo tempting to break this decks "no search" rule for.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
I had been balking on High Market (I don't own Miren) as I wanted to keep my swamp count as high as possible, but I do think it's needed. I took out Volrath's Stronghold as it just hardly ever gets used.
Also took out the Haakon package.
Put in:
Victimize
Damnation
Black Sun's Zenith
Nether Traitor
and just for fun...... Withering Boon
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Thank You Rivenor/Miraculous Recovery Studios!
GGGSKamahl's Band of Monstosities SGGG
RRRSFreaki-Kiki, The Goblin DoucheSRRR
BBGGNath, Raper of Hands and Spewer of Tokens!GGBB
BUGDamia, Sage of AnswersBUG
WIPs
BBBXiahou Dun, the Bitter Stax Enabling BastardBBB
On Break
BBBSKagemaro, First to RetireSBBB
BBBThe Walking DeadBBB
UUUSTeferi Combo PrimerSUUU
You know, I hadn't thought of Inkmoth Nexus at all as I've never used infect, but yeah, with Nightmare Lash and now Lashwrithe, that sounds disgustingly good. I'll try and trade for one straight away.
I've been really happy with Nether traitor. He mostly gets ignored by everyone and is a great repeatable clamp target/grave pact trigger. Then Nightmare Lash comes out and he's a beast. I've had some nasty draw shenanigans going on with... clamp ghast, revive traitor, clamp traitor, play land revive ghast, etc.
I think trading out Bitterblossom for Traitor in Big Black is a good move.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
I am thinking about replacing Grotto. Oddly enough, I just decided to try out Inkmoth Nexus (thanks Nutterbutter). If that doesn't stick then I'll make it a swamp.
Ooze has been really good for me. Becomes a psuedo Geth or Drana (whichever I'm not using as commander), Nirkana, Nan Shade, and Helldozer! Now I've got Hex Parasite as well. I usually end up just using my own yard. I don't like taking time to search others graveyards for targets, but I'll usually try to remember any really juicy targets going in there for later use. It's tough to keep track in big games where Geth has milled a bunch of stuff already.
Now that you've got me thinking about it, maybe Magus of the Coffers deserves another look since Ooze could use the ability as well.
100 cards just isn't enough!
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Is Basalt Monolith not considered a mana ability ?
Its tap ability is a mana ability..... but it's untap ability is not
You net 1 each time you do it.
Explaination:
Tap Monolith (+3)
Pay 3 to untap Monolith (0), leave that on the stack as BM1, it's still tapped.
Pay 2 to copy the ability with Rings (-2)
Rings resolves and untaps Monolith. BM1 still on the stack.
Tap Monolith again (now +1)
BM1 resolves untapping Monolith. You've still got 1 in the pool and an untapped Monolith. Repeat.
It takes 2 lands to do it the first time, and 1 land to do it the second time as you gain 1 mana each time you do it. Do it a thousand times..... EXSANGUINATE!!!!
I hope that wasn't too confusing, I'm not the best at explaining these.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
It's a great combo for the deck, imo, since the cards involved are already great by themselves in here. Monolith is really good acceleration, and Rings can do a ton of damage with Geth/Drana/Hellkite/Helldozer/Nirkana/Shade..... or the Ooze and any of those in the graveyard.
It can also copy Mimic Vats ability putting 2 tokens in play.
And the Planeswalker abilities are activated abilities. Can be pretty nasty. I've always wanted to copy Sorin Markovs ultimate and control the next two players' turns. Hasn't happened yet though. I have copied his "set life to 10". Talk about making a table hostile
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Have you tried Journeyer's Kite? Once you have it out, you never have to worry about being land-screwed again. Its been a bomb for me.
How has Sudden Death been testing? It just doesn't feel like there are that many good targets for it. And for 3 mana, you might as well run Dismember.
I would run Spine of Ish Sah, if I were you. Mono-Black needs all the removal it can get.
Is Hex Parasite there for taking care of planeswalkers? Or is there some hidden use that I'm missing?
Since Mind Twist is only good once, does it really seem worth it?
UWU/W BlinkUW
BMono-Black ControlB
Commander:
GWUJenaraGWU
BGeth MBCB
RGXenagosRG
WUBSharuumWUB (retired)
Modern:
xAffinityx (starting)
Standard:
Ha! That's a good one.
Thank You Rivenor/Miraculous Recovery Studios!
GGGSKamahl's Band of Monstosities SGGG
RRRSFreaki-Kiki, The Goblin DoucheSRRR
BBGGNath, Raper of Hands and Spewer of Tokens!GGBB
BUGDamia, Sage of AnswersBUG
WIPs
BBBXiahou Dun, the Bitter Stax Enabling BastardBBB
On Break
BBBSKagemaro, First to RetireSBBB
BBBThe Walking DeadBBB
UUUSTeferi Combo PrimerSUUU
I am running the Spine now, and I've taken out Mind Twist. I agree on both those points.
Hex Parasite - I've been using it for Planeswalkers and because a player in my group runs some really annoying artifact combos with counters (Lux Cannon). I am considering taking it out though, I'm not sold yet.
I'm not sure about replacing Sudden Death. Split second comes in really handy sometimes. It can't kill a fatty, but it can kill some pretty troublesome utilility creatures and there's nothing they can do about it. It always seems to have a target, maybe it's just my meta. I'll keep it in mind though.
I've thought about the Kite, but I've just never tried it. If I can find a copy, I'll give it a test run. It does sound pretty good, I think I've just been lazy about getting one and trying it.
On a side note, I seem to be having more success running Drana rather than Geth as commander lately.
I'll go update the deck now.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
Yeah, I actually did run that at first, and no question it is powerful as heck, but when caged sun came out I decided just to stick to it and the gauntlet for doublers. My thinking was that along with maybe giving my opponent more mana (but guantlet does that too), my doublers are high value targets and when the Lens gets killed, maybe before I even get to use it, I've lost it and an imprinted swamp that could've had me farther ahead on the curve. I try to hold it until I need it to avoid as much removal as I can, but sometimes that's not practical.
I'm not completely sure that's sound reasoning, but that's what I used.
Of course, running all 3 doublers probably wouldn't be a bad call either. I don't know, I might give it another try sometime.
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EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
The Rings do since its an non-mana activated ability. Also, you can Stifle a fetchland for the same reason.