Introduction:
The main focus of this deck is Graveyard Recursion, using what is in your graveyard as if it were a second hand. It can also use your opponent's graveyard as a third source of cards.
1. First and foremost is his ability, which reads:
"On your turn, before you attack, you may put Xiahou Dun into your graveyard to return a black card from your graveyard to your hand."
Confused?
Well here is how the ability is currently worded:
"Sacrifice Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed: Return target black card from your graveyard to your hand. Activate this ability only during your turn, before attackers are declared."
Important Rules Note:
"You can't activate Xiahou Dun's ability to return Xiahou Dun itself to your hand. You must choose a target before you sacrifice Xiahou Dun, so it's not a black card in your graveyard yet."
2. Horsemanship!
For those who do not know what Horsemanship is, it is: "This creature can't be blocked except by creatures with horsemanship." For those wondering, "Despite the similarities between horsemanship and flying, horsemanship doesn't interact with flying or reach."
These abilities make Xiahou Dun a very powerful and very solid EDH general.
Why playXiahou Dun, the One-Eyed?
1. You enjoy playing mono-black.
2. You enjoy graveyard recursion and shenanigans.
3. You think Portal 3 Kingdoms is a cool set.
4. You enjoy watching freak out when they see Horsemanship, and then freaking out more when they realize you don't use it and they re-read Xiahou Dun's ability.
5. You enjoy any of the above, and or many other reasons.
Why you may not enjoy playingXiahou Dun, the One-Eyed:
1. You don't want to play mono-black.
2. You don't like graveyard shenanigans.
3. You don't like Portal 3 Kingdoms.
4. You think Horsemanship is dumb/broken/etc.
5. Any number of other reasons... Which begs the question: Why are you reading this?
Note: You can run other mono-black generals instead of Xiahou Dun, if you want.
Know your weaknesses:
This deck is weak against Graveyard Hate, meaning that cards that exile cards in graveyards are very dangerous. These cards are common graveyard hate in EDH, be careful of, and watch out for the following: Bojuka Bog Nihil Spellbomb Relic of Progenitus Scavenging Ooze Tormod's Grypt
Note: Be careful of Mimic Vat if Xiahou Dun is in your graveyard. People seem to get joy out of imprinting him so you can't use him anymore. Yeah, people are mean that way.
I have been playing and modifying this deck for the past couple of years. It has become the primary deck that I play, so I try to improve it every chance that I get.
7/8
Out - Mortivore, Everflowing Chalice
In - Bloodgift Demon, Pyramids
8/22
Out - Spirit of the Night, Liliana of the Veil
In - Vampiric Tutor, Trading Post
9/10
Out - Trading Post, Ascendent Evincar, Pyramids, Polluted Bonds, Army of the Damned, Cruel Edict, Night’s Whisper, Promise of Power, Rise from the Grave, Sign in Blood, Swamp
In - Cruel Tutor, Butcher of Malakir, Night of Souls' Betrayal, Dakmor Salvage, Journeyer's Kite, Black Market, Killing Wave, Darkness, Dark Impostor, Golgari Thug, Stinkweed Imp
9/14
Out - Bloodgift Demon, Barter in Blood, Killing Wave
In - Harvester of Souls, Phyrexian Obliterator, Memory Jar
9/15
Out - Night of Souls' Betrayal
In - Isochron Scepter
9/19
Out - Sorin Markov, Death Cloud
In - Hatred, Gate to Phyrexia
10/27
Out - Isochron Scepter, Harvester of Souls, Phyrexian Obliterator, No Mercy, Necropotence, Seizan, Perverter of Truth, Twilight's Call, Stir the Grave, Geth's Verdict, Jet Medallion, Phyrexian Arena, Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief, Consuming Vapors, Ivory Tower
In - Crypt of Agadeem, Sorin Markov, Sword of Light and Shadow, Nezumi Graverobber, Nirkana Revenant, Grave Betrayal, Necromancy, Night of Souls' Betrayal, Cabal Therapy, Ill-Gotten Gains, Innocent Blood, 3 Swamps
4/27/2013
Out - Hatred, Dark Impostor, Lord of the Void, Dismember
In - Blood Artist, Shriekmaw, Living Death, Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
With Chainer, Dementia Master I don't want to risk having all my creatures, that I have brought, getting exiled. Maybe if Chainer was harder to kill, i'd run him.
Harvester of Souls is not the best choice for the group of people I play with, since they love making tons of token creatures, but now that I think about Harvester might work well drawing cards off my own creatures dying. I will look into acquiring one.
In regards to Dredge creatures, I find them useful for putting more cards into my graveyard so I have a larger selection of cards to choose from when reanimating or returning cards to my hand. It helps that they are cheap mana cost since my first deck list consisted of mainly large mana cost creatures. This lead to many defenseless early game situations.
Barter in Blood is sometimes more useful then a wrath when people play things that are immune to wrath effects, such as indestructible creatures. I considered Innocent Blood, but since Geth's Verdict doesn't make me sacrifice a creature too, I'm willing to pay the extra black. Also Geth's Verdict is Instant speed. I think i'll keep track of how many times I need to use Barter in Blood to remove two creatures a wrath can't. If it isn't very high, i'll consider swapping it for Innocent Blood.
I think that Innocent Blood is better because it comes down so much earlier or can be combined with a wrath to finish off the remaining indestructibles. I normally don't have much of a problem with then anyway though because I run Mutilate and All is Dust. Blightsteel Colossus isn't in my meta so there is no worry there.
As for Chainer I normally only use him on my opponents creatures. They almost always have better guys anyway. So when he dies or a wrath comes its only their guys who get exiled.
I would cut Death Cloud and Killing Wave. Death cloud will get your deck a bad reputation. I'm assuming you have a playgroup that you stick with and they might use the card as an excuse to attack you for no reason other then you might Death Cloud them. As for Killing Wave I've just found it to be a bad card. It gives your opponents a choice and both choices aren't all that bad for them.
I would add Memory Jar and Obliterator. I've always loved Memory Jar in my list and Obliterator seems like a good way to keep people from attacking you.
In other news, I finally found an answer to artifact in black with Gate to Phyrexia. The number of cards that deal with artifacts in mono-black is staggeringly small. Even smaller with enchantment destruction, but I haven't needed that yet. I also replaced Sorin Markov with Hatred as Sorin draws a lot of hate.
I'm sad they banned my Momir deck but I'm happy I can play Kokushko now. How have the recent changes made the deck feel to you? Have you had any chance to test Gate to Phyrexia yet? I've been very interested in that card for a while.
I have not had a chance to test Gate to Phyrexia. However the person who traded it to me, only had good things to say.
I rarely used Death Cloud, except as a very dangerous board wipe. Sorin was always used to make someone's life total 10, which always painted a huge target on me.
The recent ban-list changes are interesting, since I can no longer reanimate Primeval Titan from my opponent's graveyard, but I am excited to possibly add a Kokusho to the deck. If I can find one, they seem to be hard to come by, at least where I am.
*Update* 10/26
I am currently re-building the entire deck from the ground up. I feel that I have too few lands and that the deck does too many things and is spread too thin.
Are you running 34 lands? It seems like a really low number to me. I've been really comfortable with 38. Even 37 felt a little low to me when I tried that. Of course, if you have had sucess with 34, or your playgroup does partial paris mulligans, that might change things.
I'm not really a fan of 'Traditional Xiahou Dun.' Very few creatures, lots of tutors, and board wipes. Most consider him the mono-black control commander. I will admit and agree that he is the best commander for this role/archetype. The only problem I have with it is that black cannot truly be a control deck in this format. Artifacts and Enchantments pose a huge problem. The early ones that come down and build card advantage are the worst. Here is a perfect example. You're running Gate to Phyrexia to kill artifacts but you're not running any creatures to feed it like Bloodghast or Reassembling Skeleton. So your control card isn't really doing anything, at least in my opinion.
I feel like people assume you can't run creatures in XHD because Chainer, Dementia Master is a card. This is far from true. Black interacts best with creatures, and they provide the best synergy. They're also the most powerful card type in the format, as they can provide card advantage and protect your life total. Also, running creatures and putting them on the board creates the illusion that you have some stake in the board. If you run no creatures and board wipe constantly, then your opponents will assume you're going to kill everything and start attacking you.
Running a lot of creatures is a great little trick though. Truly, you're a black mage. The only reason you have minions is to torture them for fun and profit. Wiping the board is almost always in your favor. That is why I run Blood Artist, Sangromancer, and Harvester of Souls. Imagine what Damnation does for you if you have those creatures on the board. Gain 4x life and draw x cards where x is the number of creatures in play? Pretty sweet. This synergy is gained from creatures.
Are you running 34 lands? It seems like a really low number to me. I've been really comfortable with 38. Even 37 felt a little low to me when I tried that. Of course, if you have had sucess with 34, or your playgroup does partial paris mulligans, that might change things.
I'm not really a fan of 'Traditional Xiahou Dun.' Very few creatures, lots of tutors, and board wipes. Most consider him the mono-black control commander. I will admit and agree that he is the best commander for this role/archetype. The only problem I have with it is that black cannot truly be a control deck in this format. Artifacts and Enchantments pose a huge problem. The early ones that come down and build card advantage are the worst. Here is a perfect example. You're running Gate to Phyrexia to kill artifacts but you're not running any creatures to feed it like Bloodghast or Reassembling Skeleton. So your control card isn't really doing anything, at least in my opinion.
I feel like people assume you can't run creatures in XHD because Chainer, Dementia Master is a card. This is far from true. Black interacts best with creatures, and they provide the best synergy. They're also the most powerful card type in the format, as they can provide card advantage and protect your life total. Also, running creatures and putting them on the board creates the illusion that you have some stake in the board. If you run no creatures and board wipe constantly, then your opponents will assume you're going to kill everything and start attacking you.
Running a lot of creatures is a great little trick though. Truly, you're a black mage. The only reason you have minions is to torture them for fun and profit. Wiping the board is almost always in your favor. That is why I run Blood Artist, Sangromancer, and Harvester of Souls. Imagine what Damnation does for you if you have those creatures on the board. Gain 4x life and draw x cards where x is the number of creatures in play? Pretty sweet. This synergy is gained from creatures.
Xeroxedfool is pretty much spot on in every point he has here.
I've seen decks get by on as few as 32 lands, but this is not that deck. Somewhere between 37 and 38 lands has been the sweet spot depending on the amount of draw you run. In 2-3 of these slots, I'd look into the Zendikar/Onslaught fetchlands. With crucible they help keep a steady land flow. To help with mana also, Liliana of the Dark Realms really is that good. If she ultimates, you win.
I question a few of your choices in the deck.
For one, it seems like you are a bit overkill on reanimation spells without having a larger focus on dredge of reanimator strategies. Cards like Exhume and Dead Return just aren't as good as other options and Phyrexian Reclaimation is stronger than several of your other options. Also there is 0 reason not to run chainer to augment your reanimation. With chainer and XHD in play, chainer effectively says BBB and 3 life: Regrowth. Additionally, if you mainly reanimate your opponents creatures the exile clause is much weaker. Even when facing exile, using chainer on your guys like sheoldred is often game winning. Chainer is heads and tails better than Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
If Hatred is for the XHD voltron plan, I'd either swap it for Lashwrithe, or drop the slot altogether. While XHD can attack effectively with horsemanship, you have to stop using his main strength to do so.
A few of your creature choices seem sub-optimal. Lord of the Void is effectively a big dumb beater that may or may not fire when he hits. I have never been a fan of Avatar of Woe. 8 mana is steep for a card that doesn't do anything the turn it comes out and and isn't too great of a beater. Black has such great removal, I scratch my head at Dark imposter just a bit. 6 mana per activatio is steep and if he dies he loses the counters/abilities. I'm not going to say he's bad in the long run, but I'd run things like Fleshbag Marauder and Kagemaro, First to Suffer over him from a creature perspective. If Nezumi Graverobber is there for grave hate, Withered Wretch does a better job in that role. What is the role of Vampire Hexmage in the deck?
You have Gate to Phyrexia as a sac outlet, but is not reusable. You should probably try to work in about 2 sac outlets to strengthen your deck. 1, they protect you from exile effects (either the opponents Swords to Plowshares, or if you add chainer, you can sac a creature attached to chainer to prevent exile) 2.) it allows you to loop Kokusho, the Evening Star for an additional win condition. My favorite 2 are Spawning Pit and Phyrexian Altar
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni is currently in the deck, because I can easily Ninjutsu with Xiahou, but it is a creature that I have considered cutting. I have also considered cutting Lord of the Void as well.
I run a Xiahou Dun deck that I absolutely love, and it fairly strong against my meta. I'm going to suggest a **** ton of cards for you, and I'll divide them based on their utility. I run a very heavy recursion/sacrifice deck, so if that's not your thing, then a lot of these cards probably won't be for you, but check them out regardless.
Utility lands:
The joy of running a mono color is that you can pretty much include as many utility lands as you want,. Volrath's Stronghold: This card is amazing recursion. No reason to not include if you're in black. Boseiju, Who Shelters All: Honestly, I only use this to protect important spells, like Exsanguinate, but no reason to not include anyways. Thawing Glaciers: I really like this card because when I have it out, it pretty much means I'm never missing a land drop. It also combos with Ob noxious. High Market: A sacrifice outlet. Its pretty good.
Cards that will make you hated: ContaminationInfernal Darkness: I keep these cards on my sideboard because everyone hates them, but if you only care about competitiveness, they can win you a game if you have a sac target.
Win with commander cards: LashwritheNightmare Lash: These two cards do basically the same thing, but they're basically an alt win condition for Xiahou Dun. Equip and win through general damage.
Sacrificial Stuff: Bitterblossom: This thing is amazing. If you're looking at maintaining Contamination, or looking to abuse Skull Clamp, or just looking for blockers, its an amazing card. Pawn of Ulamog: I don't play this that much, but its pretty useful to generate tokens for stuff, or to accelerate you.
Sacrifice Outlet: Attrition: This card is amazing. Auto include in black imo. Butcher of Malakir: Grave Pact on a stick. Disciple of Griselbrand: A sacrifice outlet that gives you life, something that is precious in mono black.
Kill stuff: Reaper from the Abyss: When you have a sacrifice combo going, this thing is amazing. Not a bad beater on its own, too. Living Death: I like this because I'm throwing away a lot of creatures, and this brings everything back. Karn Liberated: We have virtually no way to deal with artifacts and enchantments, this changes that. Bone Shredder: Kills a creature, then goes to the graveyard to be recurred. I love this thing. Ashes to Ashes: Pretty much the best removal black has. Skinrender: Sometimes you need -1/-1 counters. This does that. Plus it looks like Alien.
Recursion: Oversold Cemetery: I haven't tested it that much, but considering all the sacrifice effects black has, its pretty solid. Corpse Dance: This combos so hard with Xiahou Dun its not funny. If you're using Xiahou Dun, you should include this card. Phyrexian Reclamation: Bring back any creature you want for a very small cost. Very powerful.
That's it for me. I don't know if any of these fit your theme, but if you're going for heavy recursion and just general black stuff, some of these cards probably will work for you.
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed 2BB
Introduction:
The main focus of this deck is Graveyard Recursion, using what is in your graveyard as if it were a second hand. It can also use your opponent's graveyard as a third source of cards.
What makes Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed a good choice for a general?
1. First and foremost is his ability, which reads:
"On your turn, before you attack, you may put Xiahou Dun into your graveyard to return a black card from your graveyard to your hand."
Confused?
Well here is how the ability is currently worded:
"Sacrifice Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed: Return target black card from your graveyard to your hand. Activate this ability only during your turn, before attackers are declared."
Important Rules Note:
"You can't activate Xiahou Dun's ability to return Xiahou Dun itself to your hand. You must choose a target before you sacrifice Xiahou Dun, so it's not a black card in your graveyard yet."
2. Horsemanship!
For those who do not know what Horsemanship is, it is: "This creature can't be blocked except by creatures with horsemanship." For those wondering, "Despite the similarities between horsemanship and flying, horsemanship doesn't interact with flying or reach."
These abilities make Xiahou Dun a very powerful and very solid EDH general.
Why play Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed?
1. You enjoy playing mono-black.
2. You enjoy graveyard recursion and shenanigans.
3. You think Portal 3 Kingdoms is a cool set.
4. You enjoy watching freak out when they see Horsemanship, and then freaking out more when they realize you don't use it and they re-read Xiahou Dun's ability.
5. You enjoy any of the above, and or many other reasons.
Why you may not enjoy playing Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed:
1. You don't want to play mono-black.
2. You don't like graveyard shenanigans.
3. You don't like Portal 3 Kingdoms.
4. You think Horsemanship is dumb/broken/etc.
5. Any number of other reasons... Which begs the question: Why are you reading this?
Note: You can run other mono-black generals instead of Xiahou Dun, if you want.
Know your weaknesses:
This deck is weak against Graveyard Hate, meaning that cards that exile cards in graveyards are very dangerous. These cards are common graveyard hate in EDH, be careful of, and watch out for the following:
Bojuka Bog
Nihil Spellbomb
Relic of Progenitus
Scavenging Ooze
Tormod's Grypt
Note: Be careful of Mimic Vat if Xiahou Dun is in your graveyard. People seem to get joy out of imprinting him so you can't use him anymore. Yeah, people are mean that way.
Combos:
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed + Rings of Brighthearth = Return two black cards to your hand, when you use his ability.
Sorin Markov + Rings of Brighthearth = Two players life totals are 10.
Cabal Coffers + Deserted Temple + Rings of Brighthearth + Swamps = Infinite Mana.
Leyline of the Void + Helm of Obedience = Pay one mana, Tap Helm: Exile target player's library.
Dark Depths + Vampire Hexmage = 20/20 flying indestructible token.
Crucible of Worlds + Rings of Brighthearth + Strip Mine or Wasteland = Lots of land destruction.
Information about this deck in particular:
I have been playing and modifying this deck for the past couple of years. It has become the primary deck that I play, so I try to improve it every chance that I get.
Comments & Suggestions are welcome.
1 Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed
Creatures: 16
1 Avatar of Woe
1 Blood Artist
1 Crypt Ghast
1 Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
1 Grave Titan
1 Kokusho, the Evening Star
1 Massacre Wurm
1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1 Nezumi Graverobbert
1 Nirkana Revenant
1 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Sangromancer
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
1 Shriekmaw
1 Vampire Hexmage
Artifacts: 11
1 Caged Sun
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Expedition Map
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Helm of Obedience
1 Jet Medallion
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Sensei’s Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Animate Dead
1 Black Market
1 Dance of the Dead
1 Gate to Phyrexia
1 Grave Pact
1 Leyline of the Void
1 Necromancy
1 Necropotence
1 No Mercy
1 Phyrexian Arena
Planeswalkers: 2
1 Liliana Vess
1 Sorin Markov
Sorcery: 21
1 All is Dust
1 Ancient Craving
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Beseech the Queen
1 Buried Alive
1 Cabal Therapy
1 Cruel Tutor
1 Damnation
1 Decree of Pain
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Dread Return
1 Exhume
1 Exsanguinate
1 Grim Discovery
1 Living Death
1 Mutilate
1 Praetor’s Grasp
1 Profane Command
1 Reanimate
1 Temporal Extortion
1 Darkness
1 Entomb
1 Go for the Throat
1 Snuff Out
1 Vampiric Tutor
Lands: 34
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Dark Depths
1 Deserted Temple
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Strip Mine
24 Swamps
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Wasteland
Modern RGRed/Green UrzatronRG
7/8
Out - Mortivore, Everflowing Chalice
In - Bloodgift Demon, Pyramids
8/22
Out - Spirit of the Night, Liliana of the Veil
In - Vampiric Tutor, Trading Post
9/10
Out - Trading Post, Ascendent Evincar, Pyramids, Polluted Bonds, Army of the Damned, Cruel Edict, Night’s Whisper, Promise of Power, Rise from the Grave, Sign in Blood, Swamp
In - Cruel Tutor, Butcher of Malakir, Night of Souls' Betrayal, Dakmor Salvage, Journeyer's Kite, Black Market, Killing Wave, Darkness, Dark Impostor, Golgari Thug, Stinkweed Imp
9/14
Out - Bloodgift Demon, Barter in Blood, Killing Wave
In - Harvester of Souls, Phyrexian Obliterator, Memory Jar
9/15
Out - Night of Souls' Betrayal
In - Isochron Scepter
9/19
Out - Sorin Markov, Death Cloud
In - Hatred, Gate to Phyrexia
10/27
Out - Isochron Scepter, Harvester of Souls, Phyrexian Obliterator, No Mercy, Necropotence, Seizan, Perverter of Truth, Twilight's Call, Stir the Grave, Geth's Verdict, Jet Medallion, Phyrexian Arena, Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief, Consuming Vapors, Ivory Tower
In - Crypt of Agadeem, Sorin Markov, Sword of Light and Shadow, Nezumi Graverobber, Nirkana Revenant, Grave Betrayal, Necromancy, Night of Souls' Betrayal, Cabal Therapy, Ill-Gotten Gains, Innocent Blood, 3 Swamps
4/27/2013
Out - Hatred, Dark Impostor, Lord of the Void, Dismember
In - Blood Artist, Shriekmaw, Living Death, Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
Comments and Suggestions are welcome.
Modern RGRed/Green UrzatronRG
How have the Dredge Creatures performed for you?
What about Barter in Blood? Is it better then a wrath? Have you ever considered Innocent Blood?
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Harvester of Souls is not the best choice for the group of people I play with, since they love making tons of token creatures, but now that I think about Harvester might work well drawing cards off my own creatures dying. I will look into acquiring one.
In regards to Dredge creatures, I find them useful for putting more cards into my graveyard so I have a larger selection of cards to choose from when reanimating or returning cards to my hand. It helps that they are cheap mana cost since my first deck list consisted of mainly large mana cost creatures. This lead to many defenseless early game situations.
Barter in Blood is sometimes more useful then a wrath when people play things that are immune to wrath effects, such as indestructible creatures. I considered Innocent Blood, but since Geth's Verdict doesn't make me sacrifice a creature too, I'm willing to pay the extra black. Also Geth's Verdict is Instant speed. I think i'll keep track of how many times I need to use Barter in Blood to remove two creatures a wrath can't. If it isn't very high, i'll consider swapping it for Innocent Blood.
Modern RGRed/Green UrzatronRG
As for Chainer I normally only use him on my opponents creatures. They almost always have better guys anyway. So when he dies or a wrath comes its only their guys who get exiled.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Also thinking about possibly using any of the following:
Unearth
Phyrexian Obliterator
Wound Reflection
Isochron Scepter
Memory Jar
Not sure what to take out, so I can do some testing. Feedback would be very helpful.
Modern RGRed/Green UrzatronRG
I would add Memory Jar and Obliterator. I've always loved Memory Jar in my list and Obliterator seems like a good way to keep people from attacking you.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
I am considering taking out Phyrexian Arena, Death Cloud, and Profane Command.
To me it seems like there are already cards in the deck that do what these cards do.
Possible cards to put into the deck:
It That Betrays
Phyrexian Revoker
Cabal Therapy
Contagion
Dark Hatchling
Sadistic Sacrament
Dismember
Mirari
Jester's Cap
I was considering Unearth except that it only works with 4 creatures in the deck.
Dark Impostor
Golgari Thug
Stinkweed Imp
Vampire Hexmage
Not sure what to put in or take out. Suggestions?
*Update* 9/15
Due to Night of Soul's Betrayal, which ironically betrayed me and my teammate, it is being removed from the deck. Isochron Scepter will replace it.
Modern RGRed/Green UrzatronRG
With the unbanning of Kokusho, the Evening Star, I am now looking for one.
In other news, I finally found an answer to artifact in black with Gate to Phyrexia. The number of cards that deal with artifacts in mono-black is staggeringly small. Even smaller with enchantment destruction, but I haven't needed that yet. I also replaced Sorin Markov with Hatred as Sorin draws a lot of hate.
Modern RGRed/Green UrzatronRG
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
I rarely used Death Cloud, except as a very dangerous board wipe. Sorin was always used to make someone's life total 10, which always painted a huge target on me.
The recent ban-list changes are interesting, since I can no longer reanimate Primeval Titan from my opponent's graveyard, but I am excited to possibly add a Kokusho to the deck. If I can find one, they seem to be hard to come by, at least where I am.
Modern RGRed/Green UrzatronRG
I am currently re-building the entire deck from the ground up. I feel that I have too few lands and that the deck does too many things and is spread too thin.
I welcome any suggestions.
Modern RGRed/Green UrzatronRG
Reworked deck again. Lots of changes. Still welcoming suggestions and comments.
Modern RGRed/Green UrzatronRG
I'm not really a fan of 'Traditional Xiahou Dun.' Very few creatures, lots of tutors, and board wipes. Most consider him the mono-black control commander. I will admit and agree that he is the best commander for this role/archetype. The only problem I have with it is that black cannot truly be a control deck in this format. Artifacts and Enchantments pose a huge problem. The early ones that come down and build card advantage are the worst. Here is a perfect example. You're running Gate to Phyrexia to kill artifacts but you're not running any creatures to feed it like Bloodghast or Reassembling Skeleton. So your control card isn't really doing anything, at least in my opinion.
I feel like people assume you can't run creatures in XHD because Chainer, Dementia Master is a card. This is far from true. Black interacts best with creatures, and they provide the best synergy. They're also the most powerful card type in the format, as they can provide card advantage and protect your life total. Also, running creatures and putting them on the board creates the illusion that you have some stake in the board. If you run no creatures and board wipe constantly, then your opponents will assume you're going to kill everything and start attacking you.
Running a lot of creatures is a great little trick though. Truly, you're a black mage. The only reason you have minions is to torture them for fun and profit. Wiping the board is almost always in your favor. That is why I run Blood Artist, Sangromancer, and Harvester of Souls. Imagine what Damnation does for you if you have those creatures on the board. Gain 4x life and draw x cards where x is the number of creatures in play? Pretty sweet. This synergy is gained from creatures.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Xeroxedfool is pretty much spot on in every point he has here.
I've seen decks get by on as few as 32 lands, but this is not that deck. Somewhere between 37 and 38 lands has been the sweet spot depending on the amount of draw you run. In 2-3 of these slots, I'd look into the Zendikar/Onslaught fetchlands. With crucible they help keep a steady land flow. To help with mana also, Liliana of the Dark Realms really is that good. If she ultimates, you win.
I question a few of your choices in the deck.
For one, it seems like you are a bit overkill on reanimation spells without having a larger focus on dredge of reanimator strategies. Cards like Exhume and Dead Return just aren't as good as other options and Phyrexian Reclaimation is stronger than several of your other options. Also there is 0 reason not to run chainer to augment your reanimation. With chainer and XHD in play, chainer effectively says BBB and 3 life: Regrowth. Additionally, if you mainly reanimate your opponents creatures the exile clause is much weaker. Even when facing exile, using chainer on your guys like sheoldred is often game winning. Chainer is heads and tails better than Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
If Hatred is for the XHD voltron plan, I'd either swap it for Lashwrithe, or drop the slot altogether. While XHD can attack effectively with horsemanship, you have to stop using his main strength to do so.
A few of your creature choices seem sub-optimal. Lord of the Void is effectively a big dumb beater that may or may not fire when he hits. I have never been a fan of Avatar of Woe. 8 mana is steep for a card that doesn't do anything the turn it comes out and and isn't too great of a beater. Black has such great removal, I scratch my head at Dark imposter just a bit. 6 mana per activatio is steep and if he dies he loses the counters/abilities. I'm not going to say he's bad in the long run, but I'd run things like Fleshbag Marauder and Kagemaro, First to Suffer over him from a creature perspective. If Nezumi Graverobber is there for grave hate, Withered Wretch does a better job in that role. What is the role of Vampire Hexmage in the deck?
You have Gate to Phyrexia as a sac outlet, but is not reusable. You should probably try to work in about 2 sac outlets to strengthen your deck. 1, they protect you from exile effects (either the opponents Swords to Plowshares, or if you add chainer, you can sac a creature attached to chainer to prevent exile) 2.) it allows you to loop Kokusho, the Evening Star for an additional win condition. My favorite 2 are Spawning Pit and Phyrexian Altar
G Azusa, Lost but Seeking G
WU Grand Arbiter Augustin IV WU
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftan WBG
B Korlash, Heir to Blackblade B
RU Tibor and Lumia RU
'He tasks me! He tasks me, and I shall have him!' - Khan Noonien Singh
I find that Grave Titan works well with Gate to Phyrexia, but getting something else is a good suggestion.
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni is currently in the deck, because I can easily Ninjutsu with Xiahou, but it is a creature that I have considered cutting. I have also considered cutting Lord of the Void as well.
Hatred is only in the deck for use in 1v1 games, and I have considered cutting it since I got Sword of Light and Shadow.
Dark Impostor is for exile, which is few and far between in black.
Nezumi Graverobber is mainly used for his reanimation ability.
Vampire Hexmage is for Dark Depths combo.
Phyrexian Tower is one of my sac outlets, however another would not hurt.
Modern RGRed/Green UrzatronRG
Utility lands:
The joy of running a mono color is that you can pretty much include as many utility lands as you want,.
Volrath's Stronghold: This card is amazing recursion. No reason to not include if you're in black.
Boseiju, Who Shelters All: Honestly, I only use this to protect important spells, like Exsanguinate, but no reason to not include anyways.
Thawing Glaciers: I really like this card because when I have it out, it pretty much means I'm never missing a land drop. It also combos with Ob noxious.
High Market: A sacrifice outlet. Its pretty good.
Cards that will make you hated:
Contamination Infernal Darkness: I keep these cards on my sideboard because everyone hates them, but if you only care about competitiveness, they can win you a game if you have a sac target.
Win with commander cards:
Lashwrithe Nightmare Lash: These two cards do basically the same thing, but they're basically an alt win condition for Xiahou Dun. Equip and win through general damage.
Sacrificial Stuff:
Bitterblossom: This thing is amazing. If you're looking at maintaining Contamination, or looking to abuse Skull Clamp, or just looking for blockers, its an amazing card.
Pawn of Ulamog: I don't play this that much, but its pretty useful to generate tokens for stuff, or to accelerate you.
Sacrifice Outlet:
Attrition: This card is amazing. Auto include in black imo.
Butcher of Malakir: Grave Pact on a stick.
Disciple of Griselbrand: A sacrifice outlet that gives you life, something that is precious in mono black.
Kill stuff:
Reaper from the Abyss: When you have a sacrifice combo going, this thing is amazing. Not a bad beater on its own, too.
Living Death: I like this because I'm throwing away a lot of creatures, and this brings everything back.
Karn Liberated: We have virtually no way to deal with artifacts and enchantments, this changes that.
Bone Shredder: Kills a creature, then goes to the graveyard to be recurred. I love this thing.
Ashes to Ashes: Pretty much the best removal black has.
Skinrender: Sometimes you need -1/-1 counters. This does that. Plus it looks like Alien.
Recursion:
Oversold Cemetery: I haven't tested it that much, but considering all the sacrifice effects black has, its pretty solid.
Corpse Dance: This combos so hard with Xiahou Dun its not funny. If you're using Xiahou Dun, you should include this card.
Phyrexian Reclamation: Bring back any creature you want for a very small cost. Very powerful.
Utility/Fun stuff:
Bloodchief Ascention: This card is incredibly powerful. Hard to remove, easy to activate, super strong once activated.
Ob Nixilis, the Fallen: Does a lot of damage, when I'm bored I switch this guy into the general slot.
Skullclamp: Really easy to abuse in black. Bitterblossom, Bloodghast, etc.
Temporal Extortion: Fun card, not that competitive.
Graveborn Muse: Great for card draw.
Liliana of the Dark Realms: Great for accelerating you.
Diabolic Revelation: Wins you the game if you cast for 4+.
Solemn Simulacrum: Great in black with all its recursion. I include this in every deck I make.
Imp's Mischief: Fun card, not that competitive.
That's it for me. I don't know if any of these fit your theme, but if you're going for heavy recursion and just general black stuff, some of these cards probably will work for you.
I have been looking at Diamond Valley as a sacrifice outlet, but I can't bring myself to buy one.
I am considering Attrition and Skullclamp.
I have a Living Death that I need to put into the deck and I already have (Foil) Temporal Extortion which I love recurring
Modern RGRed/Green UrzatronRG
In - Living Death, Blood Artist, and Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief.
Attrition, Skullclamp, and Solemn Simulacrum are in the mail.
I was considering a couple of cards for recursion, Nether Shadow, Nether Spirit, Nether Traitor, Reassembling Skeleton, Bloodghast, and Endless Cockroaches.
Not sure which ones would work best in my deck. Any suggestions?
Modern RGRed/Green UrzatronRG