When I play standard, my favorite archetype is playing black based aggro decks. Zombies, vamjpires, and demons; I'm always a fan of the way they interact with the graveyard and sacing while still slashing the opponent in the face for the win. My first two forays into black commander decks weren't quite so aggro. I made a Gravepact-based token deck with Karador, Ghost Chieftan, and Mono Black Control with Chainer Dementia Master. I had a number of black aggro pieces laying around, so I decided to finally put some of theses guys together and start on a working deck list. I immediately knew who I wanted as a commander, none other than the mighty Korlash, Heir to Blackblade. I loved the art and Future Sight frame, loved that he was a zombie warrior, and yeah he hits like a Mac Truck once you get a few swamps down.
I realized black aggro in commander was an uphill battle, but I'm not one to let such trivial details deter me. I had an ace in the hole in the 3 available lashes that push huge damage through as will as the Mirrodin cycle of swords. Once I had the artifact portion lined out, initial builds were still mediocre at best. At first I didn't have enough firepower as i went with lots of tiny guys with shadow and horsemanship, then with modifications to add in more beefy demons the deck became too slow and clumsy. After more testing, I found a build I liked by running more mid range value creatures that can scale in power as the game goes along.
Who is Korlash?
Korlash burst onto the scene during the Future Sight as a future shifted card. Since he is time shifted, Korlash doesn't actually exist yet, but we have a glimpse into the future of what he can or will become.
Little is known of Korlash of where he came from. 'Heir to Blackblade' and his size-based-on-land ability indicates that he is a descendant of Dakkon Blackblade from Legends.
What does Korlash do?
Ummm...best put, he hits HARD, akin to running someone over with a Mac Truck. The longer the game goes and the more swamps you lay down, the harder Korlash hits. At 7 swamps, he kills in 3 shots, at 11 swamps, he kills in 2 shots, and at 21 swamps...yeah he instantly swings for lethal. Effectively speaking, he's the largest black legend in terms of P/T, or will be if the game goes on long enough.
Korlash has two positives to go with his potentially large size. First, he has the ability to regenerate. The are quite a few situations where keeping two mana open with Korlash on the field makes him quite hard to get rid of. It makes him a great early blocker and lets him survive targeted removal and wraths without a no-regeneration clause like a boss. Secondly, Korlash has a nice and low four CMC cost. This gives us the option to unleash him early and play him several times over the course of the game, or to pay him late along with two or three other potentially game winning plays.
What kind of deck should Korlash lead?
Well naturally Korlash craves a deck where he can swing his large sword at folks. If Korlash doesn't have some portion of his deck built around swinging at people he's just a sad panda. Not that he needs equipment, but Korlash loves holding it anyways and it can make him all the more lethal.
To maximize the size of Korlash, it is important to run as much ramp as possible to flood the field with swamps. In mono black we have very few options, but nonetheless, they are all strong options and on great hands its not unheard to have eleven lands out by turn five and make Korlash turn lethal quite early.
Korlash does have his downfalls
Korlash's biggest weakness is that he has absolutely no evasion to go along with his size. That can make getting lethal damage through difficult if not impossible in some cases. Luckily, we can build around this and give Korlash, or any other creature for that matter, evasion through secondary means to let the damage through anyways.
Since Korlash's size (and or lashes) is based on the number of swamps on the field, it makes us quite choosey on what lands we run. If it doesn't give us a huge impact, then a swamp is likely superior. One swamp can occasionally make the difference in winning and losing.
Another weakness of Korlash comes due to the nature of the Commander format itself. Korlash has a very powerful Grandeur ability to ramp up swamps that just doesn't translate at all to the play of this deck.
Commander Greven il-Vec - He has the magic seven attack and evasion that gives him a great case for voltron. Unfortunately, in order to come into play he needs a creature to sac. There are times when we need the commander but just don't have a creature to sac. This makes him a bit too situational for me. Six CMC is also a bit higher than I like for a commander
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief - Drana is potentially very powerful and with enough mana, she can easily one-shot each player at the table. My gripe with Drana is that she demands a big mana black deck, but the big mana decks don't necessicarily want to be aggro decks.
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon - Skittles takes 10 commander damage to kill and has both evasion and haste. He would seem like the best choice for a voltron commander based on pure power, but his issue is that infect will draw you hate like none other. You'll kill one player for sure, but you'll effectively have to take the table on archenemy once you announce Skittles as your commander.
Spirit of the Night - Spirit is an oldie that is basically the black Akroma. He has one of the nices sets of abilities on a big creature. Unfortunately he only has six power and costs a whole nine mana to put out. I'd only run this guy for nostalgia reasons.
Volrath the Fallen - If you have a big creature to pitch every turn, Volrath can be a menacingly large attacker, otherwise he just hits for six. He also doesn't have any form of evasion to help get that damage through.
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - His ability basically says 'I'm unblockable'. His P/T is low, but it can pretty easily be boosted by equipments. The unfortunate problem is, if you want to use his ability, you have to effectively wait two turns to attack.
We get the beats, we got the bets. YEAH we got the beats
Basilica Screecher - He looks harmless, but he is an extorting evasive sword carrier. As low as our curve is, he can easily get 2-3 pumps per turn just sitting there and he also nicely likes to smacketh in the face with equipment. Other than card draw, I like to get this guy out first whenever possible.
Nantuko Shade - By the end of the game, we often have a bunch of mana sitting around and few things to pit it into. Having a 2/1 shade for BB gives me an aggressive option and threat at all points in the game.
Nether Traitor - He hold equipment like a champ with shadow and his haste can let you win out of nowhere. Did I mention he comes back?
Reassembling Skeleton - The gift that keeps on giving. He's always happy to come back and beat face after a wrath. He really gives reach to the deck.
Abyssal Persecutor - This is mono black, drawbacks are an occupational hazard. This guy is a 6/6 flying trampler for 2BB; he is pretty much the most overcosted guy in the game. Trample makes him a great target for our equipment.
Dimir House Guard - DHG has so much utility. He has evasion, regenerates, acts as a sac outlet, and can also transmute into 4 drops where several important cards in the deck lie.
Sangromancer - evasive body and can gain a ton of life to offset the deck's suicidal tendencies.
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - Horsemanship basically reads 'unblockable'. If his unblockability is not needed he can return an important black card in the graveyard to your hand.
Drana, Kalastria Highborn - She starts off as an evasive flying beater. When you add mana, she turns into a murderous wrecking crew. The bigger the mana you have, the harder she smacks.
Nirkana Revenant - She's one part mana doubler, one part huge nasty beater, and a final part awesome. The fact that we can make her unblockable makes her SO much better.
Bitterblossom - The blossom is essentially the best 1/1 flier for 2 CMC ever printed. It just keeps giving over and over. With evasion, I've beat the ever loving snot out of people before with my cute 1/1 faerie Rogues with a 10 plus land boosted Lashwrithe.
Whose Got Land? We Do!
Walking Atlas - An absolute all star for this deck. Comes down turn 2 and starts ramping us every turn after that. Who would want to kill this little 1/1 misprinted guy.
Druidic Satchel - 40% chance to ramp up our land total and does good stuff otherwise.
Liliana of the Dark Realms - She is a reusable tutor for lands. If/when she goes ultimate, it becomes very difficult for you to lose with all the mana you can use.
Terrain Generator - Its a bit expensive, but if we get crazy draw we can play three lands per turn with this and Walking Atlas.
Sword of Fire and Ice - I'll draw and you take 2 more damage. You have Azusa, never mind, she dies instead.
Sword of Vengeance - Trample is something not often found in mono black decks. Haste gives us wins where the would not otherwise occur. The sword gives us several abilities black cards rarely have.
Lashwrithe - The most useful equip in the deck. Living weapon lets this guy act like Korlash until we feel the need to equip him elsewhere. 11 swamps and Lashwrithe on Korlash is KO to someone.
Nightmare Lash - Essentially Lashwrithe minus living weapon. Still hits like a Mac Truck.
Strata Scythe - Potentially stronger than either of the lashes. It counts swamps, so if you are playing other black decks you are in luck. Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth makes it a very good.
Junk Diver - Unfortunate our shiny toys tend to die early and often. Junk diver is nice enough to go fetch them back for us. He gets bonus points for flying to make himself a nice sword carrier.
Can't block me, duh duh duh duh, duh duh, duh duh
Dauthi Embrace - More expensive to use than trapper, but easier to keep on the field. It can enable some mass shadow shenanigans.
Rogue's Passage - Not as cool or cheap to use as the shadow guys, but they are 100% certain to get through barring a zombie apocalypse.
Shizo, Death's Storehouse - It essentially gives us evasion from four of six possible creature types. Its not the best, but it does tap for black mana.
Yeah, we invited THAT guy to the party
Sorin Markov - We are swinging for damage. Ten health opponent are usually much easier to kill swinging with dudes.
Look mom, my opponents got no hand
Mind Twist - Your opponent doesn't need a hand. Just add mana to watch it go boom.
Mind Shatter - Mind's Twist's newer and slightly weaker brother. It's still good enough to nuke a hand.
Words of Waste -Absolutely busted, especially if we get out additional draw effects. If we're ahead, just pay the mana and waste the opponents' hands and and answers away
Necrogen Mists - Once online, it forces a discard every turn without further mana investment. It has the nuisance of having us discard too, but we can work around that,
Dark Confidant - Bob may seem out of place in a commander deck, but card draw is still king and he is repeatable draw in the 2 drop slot that can also beat face with a sword.
Sign in Blood - Great for drawing into threats early when there isn't much else constructive to do with our mana. Great to keep in the early hand to keep up the pace of swamps
Ambition's Cost - I often find 3 cards now is better than 4 or 5 over time. I need options.
Skullclamp - Clamp lets us clip one of the recurring guys or a Bitterblossom token to get a draw engine going.
Dark Tutelage - Its bob on an enchantment for 1 more mana. It not remotely as good as Bob, but it is resistant to sweepers and it still draws cards
Necropotence - Lets just go ahead and say it: its legalized cheating. When it's out, we get a nice shiny seven card hand every turn.
Phyrexian Arena - The (second) best draw enchantment ever printed.
Demonic Tutor - Possibly the best black spell ever printed. I basically reads: go get a lash.
Beseech the Queen - Its a 3 cost to hand tutor than can fetch a lot of awesome toys.
You have too much stuff on your field, how about a donation to the Little Sisters of the Graveyard?
Devour in shadow - It kills anything, at the cost of a little...or a lot...of life. We only need one life at the end of the game.
Go for the Throat - Kills almost everything at 2 mana and instant speed.
Dismember - Its surprising just how many annoying creatures that -5/-5 kills. The flexibility to play this turn one for four life makes it quite valuable.
Murder - It effectively kills everything whenever we want it
Withering Boon - Seriously...Who expects a black counterspell?
Mutilate - We have a bunch of swamps. That means everything pretty much always dies to mutilate. With lashwrithe, we can manipulate mutilate to let us keep a creature we want to.
Life's Finale - It nukes creatures and lets us regenerate Korlash.
Oblivion Stone - Reset button for the game. Remember 2 mana to regenerate Korlash first.
Other Treasures also lie in Ye Ol' Deck
Crypt Ghast - While he doesn't do a lot to further the plan, he does give us more resources to play with, and in battles versus other aggro decks, extort is a relevant ability. He still can hold sword.
Sol Ring - Seriously one of the strongest cards ever printed. Speeds the deck up by a turn.
Jet Medallion - Since we can easily play 3-4 spells in a turn, jet medallion is sometimes more valuable tha a card like Thran Dynamo.
Mind Stone - Mana rock that doubles as card draw when you no longer need it.
Profane Command - Does a little bit of everything: burn, reanimation, destruction, and evasion. Always some relevant use.
Withered Wretch - A surgical scalpel to prevent graveyard abuse.
Torpor Orb - ETB green guys can blow up all of our toys. So many decks run ETB guys that this one of the more effective 'removal' pieces in the deck. It just shuts down so many things.
For Lists, Click Here EDH: GW: Selvala, Let us help YOU. UB: Mirko Vosk, when outmatched cheat BW: Vish Kal, The Arbiter of Reanimation UG: Prime Speaker Zegana, the science of sorcery RB: Malfegor, Traitor's Haven UW: Daxos, Control-Fort-Tron BG: Pharika, Goddess of Stax RW: Gisela, Boros Control RG: Ruric Thar, a Primal Surge deck RU: Niv-Mizzet the Firemind, Spellslinger?!?! B:(Pauper) Mikaeus the Unhallowed R: Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient: The Power of Engineering
I definitely need to work in a sac outlet or two into the deck. That was one of the things I noticed when I put the deck together and played a few games last night. Swords to Plowshares hit me a few times. I don't have much recursion yet, but staving off exile is still potentially important.
I had Falkenrath Noble in the 1st version I made, but when I sleeved it up with some new cards last night, I actually removed it. As more of a beat face deck, I don't see things dieing as much. With evasive guys I can often just hit around an opponent's creatures.
Fair enough. You might like Rogue's Passage as a way to drive a big threat down an opponent's throat. As a land it doesn't take a creature/spell slot that would be important.
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For Lists, Click Here EDH: GW: Selvala, Let us help YOU. UB: Mirko Vosk, when outmatched cheat BW: Vish Kal, The Arbiter of Reanimation UG: Prime Speaker Zegana, the science of sorcery RB: Malfegor, Traitor's Haven UW: Daxos, Control-Fort-Tron BG: Pharika, Goddess of Stax RW: Gisela, Boros Control RG: Ruric Thar, a Primal Surge deck RU: Niv-Mizzet the Firemind, Spellslinger?!?! B:(Pauper) Mikaeus the Unhallowed R: Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient: The Power of Engineering
Fair enough. You might like Rogue's Passage as a way to drive a big threat down an opponent's throat. As a land it doesn't take a creature/spell slot that would be important.
Rogue's passage would be a great addition. Big daddy Korlash can tear up stuff, but connecting with him can be a challenge. With this deck especially, I have to really pay attention to how many swamps vs. non-basics I run. If I add in too many nonbasics, an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth package will not be too far behind.
There's a Tempest block Enchantment that gives any creature shadow for two black for the turn that I will look into if I can find one locally. Getting Korlash in the red zone look to be one of the more difficult ventures for the deck.
For Lists, Click Here EDH: GW: Selvala, Let us help YOU. UB: Mirko Vosk, when outmatched cheat BW: Vish Kal, The Arbiter of Reanimation UG: Prime Speaker Zegana, the science of sorcery RB: Malfegor, Traitor's Haven UW: Daxos, Control-Fort-Tron BG: Pharika, Goddess of Stax RW: Gisela, Boros Control RG: Ruric Thar, a Primal Surge deck RU: Niv-Mizzet the Firemind, Spellslinger?!?! B:(Pauper) Mikaeus the Unhallowed R: Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient: The Power of Engineering
What I'm still struggling with is coming up with the best and right number of creatures to run.
Wei Scout and the 2 cost shadow guys gave me the most mileage in my few games of testing, but they are also tiny guys that are useless without equipment.
I have this distinct feeling that at the moment, I'm a bit too dependent of equipment and don't have enough well-costed beaters. I'm currently on the fence on cards like Abyssal Persecutor and Phyrexian Obliterator as both have huge potential to backfire. Why are so many black cards unusable with their drawbacks?
I also feel like I'm generating a ton of mana with explicitly having places to put it. I have a relatively low curve at the moment and later in the game have more mana than I can remotely use, especially with Sword of Feast and Famine out. Maybe Drana, Kalastria Highborn would make a decent combo of damage and removal to sink mana into.
I think that you could probably cut some of the smaller guys and add in bigger threats like Drana, Nirkana Revenant, and Reiver Demon. Mono-Black for EDH has some of the best tools for midrange/beatdown if you're willing to pay the price. Things like Solemn, the Specters and Nighthawk are good and efficient in and of themselves. However Solemn doesn't do much in a mono-color deck other than ramp you up a land and draw a card. Pilgrim's Eye is great in pauper/peasant but lacks oomph in regular power decks.
Your discard package seems a little underwhelming to me. Try cutting the 1-for-1s and Mind Rot for Mind Sludge, Mind Shatter and Mind Twist. Cherry picking cards is good in the early game but with this deck style you want to cripple your opponents and prevent them from having answers to your threats.
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For Lists, Click Here EDH: GW: Selvala, Let us help YOU. UB: Mirko Vosk, when outmatched cheat BW: Vish Kal, The Arbiter of Reanimation UG: Prime Speaker Zegana, the science of sorcery RB: Malfegor, Traitor's Haven UW: Daxos, Control-Fort-Tron BG: Pharika, Goddess of Stax RW: Gisela, Boros Control RG: Ruric Thar, a Primal Surge deck RU: Niv-Mizzet the Firemind, Spellslinger?!?! B:(Pauper) Mikaeus the Unhallowed R: Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient: The Power of Engineering
I think that you could probably cut some of the smaller guys and add in bigger threats like Drana, Nirkana Revenant, and Reiver Demon. Mono-Black for EDH has some of the best tools for midrange/beatdown if you're willing to pay the price. Things like Solemn, the Specters and Nighthawk are good and efficient in and of themselves. However Solemn doesn't do much in a mono-color deck other than ramp you up a land and draw a card. Pilgrim's Eye is great in pauper/peasant but lacks oomph in regular power decks.
Your discard package seems a little underwhelming to me. Try cutting the 1-for-1s and Mind Rot for Mind Sludge, Mind Shatter and Mind Twist. Cherry picking cards is good in the early game but with this deck style you want to cripple your opponents and prevent them from having answers to your threats.
Thanks for your suggestions
Yeah, I thought I 'd want all the possible ramp cards like solemn, since I have a 'swamp matters' deck, but the deck deck is less Azusa super speed and more midrange so ultimately a tiny guy with out evasion just isn't a good sword/lash carrier. Yeah Pilgrim's Eye isn't all that great, it'll go for sure. The specters and nighthawk were great with the equipment and I'll probably move the smaller guys into their direction. When I add Dauthi Embrace, the little shadow/horsemanship guys become less important and as is they are inconsistent.
Reiver Demon's consistency worries me, but he's worth a try. I have a Wurmcoil Engine in my Karador I was about to remove so He definitely would like a spot in here. Mikaeus, the Unhallowed has evasion a helps the board presence so he also needs worked in. I need to find a second copy. I have Strata Scythe, but was debating if I needed that many equipment. The way my lashes were getting destroyed, probably so.
I understand the interactions with Pestilence Demon and Thrashing Wumpus and lifelink, but I'm not sure I want to push the deck that controly just yet. I guess I dislike the symetricalness of the effect.
Yeah, the 1 for 1 discard didn't have as much bang as I'd hoped. I'll look into adding the package of Mind Sludge, Mind Shatter and Mind Twist and see how that works out.
Yeah Painful Quandry and the single use discard didn't perform as well as I had expected. It will make its way out. Geth's Grimoire and Necrogen Mists seems like a better direction to go.
Dimir House Guard definitely gets a ton of mileage in this deck. Evasion, sac outlet, tutoring. I'll add him to my list. Swiftfoot boots is definitely something to look at as well. May try it and lightning greaves.
Have you thought about Zombie Trailblazer as a way to push damage through? It goes great with Urborg obviously. Also, Pilgrim's Eye is awesome. It grabs swamps and it has built in evasion to pick up equipment. Liliana's Shade is pretty sweet as well.
Have you thought about Zombie Trailblazer as a way to push damage through? It goes great with Urborg obviously. Also, Pilgrim's Eye is awesome. It grabs swamps and it has built in evasion to pick up equipment. Liliana's Shade is pretty sweet as well.
Thanks for the thoughts.
I did look at Zombie Trailblazer actually. I pondered a larger zombie package when I was working on the deck and he was one I was interested in. I ultimately scrapped the zombie idea, but he could still be useful getting Korlash in the red zone. As I add in Urborg and potentially slot in a few more choice zombies, the card will definitely become more valuable.
When I first grabbed Pilgrim's eye, I thought it actually ramped, so I was disappointed when I actually played it. On second thought, the deck is a 'swamp matters' deck and he does help get a swamp so has some usefulness. Playing a swamp each turn is quite crucial to getting the deck to have mid/late game power. Shade is a decent card, and a mana sink in the same vein. I'll probably give them both a try for a while and see how they help to keep swamps coming each turn.
for card slots, I'd reccomend Ambition's Cost and it's functional reprint Ancient Craving are both incredibly powerful for cost/reward. I enjoy Sign in Blood on that it's a turn 2 draw 2, but these fit right in as turn 3/4 draw 3. I'd consider both.
I actually looked to get both Bitterblossom and Phyrexian Arena and the shop I picked up cards at didn't have one. Phyrexian Arena is a 100% given this deck needs draw from 5 directions. Bitterblossom 'should' be good, but at the same time, its tokens would need a sword or lash to do much. Coming down for 2 gives it all kinds of options.
for card slots, I'd reccomend Ambition's Cost and it's functional reprint Ancient Craving are both incredibly powerful for cost/reward. I enjoy Sign in Blood on that it's a turn 2 draw 2, but these fit right in as turn 3/4 draw 3. I'd consider both.
I absolutely need Ambition's Cost, thanks for the suggestion. I didn't realize Ancient Craving existed, I'll have to search for one.
I'm going to make a stop to the card shop tomorrow.
A few other cards I'm interesting in are: Junk Diver, Trading Post, Spine of Ish Sah. Since I have so many artifacts and they get blown up religiously, I need to add pieces to return them and these are about all I've got. Spine is the cheapest catch all to blow up enchantments that I know of.
You needa pimp out a few of those lands. I understand that you're going for a "swamps matters", but a few youll be laughed at for not using
Cabal Coffers. Sacrificing one swamp spot for banana-mana is definately worth it. This should be an autoinclude in any MonoB.
Terrain Generator It's a personal choice. I love running it in my Mono B simply because of how much suicide-black draw it has, so I can ramp up fast with it.
Shizo, Death's Storehouse Comes in untapped, makes colored mana, and like rogues passage gives a middle finger to non-black non-artifact chump blockers.
Other cards to consider: Druidic Satchel Honestly I was skeptical on this one as well. But once you use it and hit a few lands with it, you'll see how good it is especially in a land-matters deck. This deck is hands down the best form of non-green ramp for commander. No matter what it hits, you get something.
Walking Atlas Nothing makes me smile than a 4-swamp hand with an atlas in it. Turn 3 Korlash who is still a 4/4. Between this and the generator, after using Necropotence or some other big draw spell, you just poop all the swamps on the board. It's great.
Oh, and aside from Ambitions Cost/Ancient Craving, here's some good monoB draw:
Moonlight Bargain 5 at instant speed to see 5 cards, but only pay for what you need, so you don't have to discard down anyways.
Necrologia Similar to a one-time Necropotence, this card lets you pull a lot of cards out for pretty cheap. I normally look at my hand and just pay into it until I have 10 cards in hand. (ie: if I have 4 in hand I pay 6 into it, or whatever). Not quite as good as it could have been, but still decent, especially for a 25¢ card.
Skeletal Scrying I don't have one but it seems like it would be the bee's knees.
A few other cards I'm interesting in are: Junk Diver, Trading Post, Spine of Ish Sah. Since I have so many artifacts and they get blown up religiously, I need to add pieces to return them and these are about all I've got. Spine is the cheapest catch all to blow up enchantments that I know of.
I really like this idea. Having powerful equipment on the board is going to be a great way for you to win. Being able to recur artifacts cant hurt right? There is also Myr Retriever but that might be overkill. Junk Diver is cool because it flies so it holds a stick well.
I really like this idea. Having powerful equipment on the board is going to be a great way for you to win. Being able to recur artifacts cant hurt right? There is also Myr Retriever but that might be overkill. Junk Diver is cool because it flies so it holds a stick well.
I fully agree with the spine. The ONLY two cards in magic (to my knowledge) valible to mono black for enchantment spot removal is the spine and Karn Liberated. At least for artifacts we have Gate to Phyrexia , one of my favorite black cards printed for both flavor and effect, and it's much less desirable counterpart, Phyrexian Tribute, which is great in decks that can take advantage of sacing creatures. The gate is an auto incluse, because even with no creatures you can throw Korlash under the bus to fix and emergency problem artifact. My favorite use of it is using it to throw Kokusho, the Evening Star into the grave, then use it to blow up Spine of Ish Sah. So many uses! The gate is, however, notoriously hard to find outside of the Internet, and runs about 10$.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
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
For Lists, Click Here
EDH:
GW: Selvala, Let us help YOU.
UB: Mirko Vosk, when outmatched cheat
BW: Vish Kal, The Arbiter of Reanimation
UG: Prime Speaker Zegana, the science of sorcery
RB: Malfegor, Traitor's Haven
UW: Daxos, Control-Fort-Tron
BG: Pharika, Goddess of Stax
RW: Gisela, Boros Control
RG: Ruric Thar, a Primal Surge deck
RU: Niv-Mizzet the Firemind, Spellslinger?!?!
B:(Pauper) Mikaeus the Unhallowed
R: Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient: The Power of Engineering
I definitely need to work in a sac outlet or two into the deck. That was one of the things I noticed when I put the deck together and played a few games last night. Swords to Plowshares hit me a few times. I don't have much recursion yet, but staving off exile is still potentially important.
I had Falkenrath Noble in the 1st version I made, but when I sleeved it up with some new cards last night, I actually removed it. As more of a beat face deck, I don't see things dieing as much. With evasive guys I can often just hit around an opponent's creatures.
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
For Lists, Click Here
EDH:
GW: Selvala, Let us help YOU.
UB: Mirko Vosk, when outmatched cheat
BW: Vish Kal, The Arbiter of Reanimation
UG: Prime Speaker Zegana, the science of sorcery
RB: Malfegor, Traitor's Haven
UW: Daxos, Control-Fort-Tron
BG: Pharika, Goddess of Stax
RW: Gisela, Boros Control
RG: Ruric Thar, a Primal Surge deck
RU: Niv-Mizzet the Firemind, Spellslinger?!?!
B:(Pauper) Mikaeus the Unhallowed
R: Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient: The Power of Engineering
Rogue's passage would be a great addition. Big daddy Korlash can tear up stuff, but connecting with him can be a challenge. With this deck especially, I have to really pay attention to how many swamps vs. non-basics I run. If I add in too many nonbasics, an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth package will not be too far behind.
There's a Tempest block Enchantment that gives any creature shadow for two black for the turn that I will look into if I can find one locally. Getting Korlash in the red zone look to be one of the more difficult ventures for the deck.
I'd love to comment if you'd be more...constructive?!
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
For Lists, Click Here
EDH:
GW: Selvala, Let us help YOU.
UB: Mirko Vosk, when outmatched cheat
BW: Vish Kal, The Arbiter of Reanimation
UG: Prime Speaker Zegana, the science of sorcery
RB: Malfegor, Traitor's Haven
UW: Daxos, Control-Fort-Tron
BG: Pharika, Goddess of Stax
RW: Gisela, Boros Control
RG: Ruric Thar, a Primal Surge deck
RU: Niv-Mizzet the Firemind, Spellslinger?!?!
B:(Pauper) Mikaeus the Unhallowed
R: Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient: The Power of Engineering
That's the one I was thinking about.
What I'm still struggling with is coming up with the best and right number of creatures to run.
Wei Scout and the 2 cost shadow guys gave me the most mileage in my few games of testing, but they are also tiny guys that are useless without equipment.
I have this distinct feeling that at the moment, I'm a bit too dependent of equipment and don't have enough well-costed beaters. I'm currently on the fence on cards like Abyssal Persecutor and Phyrexian Obliterator as both have huge potential to backfire. Why are so many black cards unusable with their drawbacks?
I also feel like I'm generating a ton of mana with explicitly having places to put it. I have a relatively low curve at the moment and later in the game have more mana than I can remotely use, especially with Sword of Feast and Famine out. Maybe Drana, Kalastria Highborn would make a decent combo of damage and removal to sink mana into.
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
Suggestions for Additions:
Nirkana
Drana
Reiver
Pestilence Demon (it works very well with Basilisk Collar)
Thrashing Wumpus see above
Wurmcoil Engine is awesome with equipment
Scythe of the Wretched with Pestilence demon and collar allows you to steal/kill all the creatures at instant speed.
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed acts as a lord and gives you a tougher board presence.
Mephidross Vampire has great synergy with PDemon and Wumpus.
Loxodon Warhammer is amazing, it gives trample. that can matter.
Strata Scythe lash effect #3
Your discard package seems a little underwhelming to me. Try cutting the 1-for-1s and Mind Rot for Mind Sludge, Mind Shatter and Mind Twist. Cherry picking cards is good in the early game but with this deck style you want to cripple your opponents and prevent them from having answers to your threats.
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EDH:
GW: Selvala, Let us help YOU.
UB: Mirko Vosk, when outmatched cheat
BW: Vish Kal, The Arbiter of Reanimation
UG: Prime Speaker Zegana, the science of sorcery
RB: Malfegor, Traitor's Haven
UW: Daxos, Control-Fort-Tron
BG: Pharika, Goddess of Stax
RW: Gisela, Boros Control
RG: Ruric Thar, a Primal Surge deck
RU: Niv-Mizzet the Firemind, Spellslinger?!?!
B:(Pauper) Mikaeus the Unhallowed
R: Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient: The Power of Engineering
Erebos B | Ghost Council WB | Grimgrin UB | Jhoira UR
Jor Kadeen RW | Melek UR | Mimeoplasm GUB | Rasputin WU
Savra BG | Sisay GW | Teneb BGW | Thada Adel U | Wort BR
I draft and play EDH. If a Standard player can't understand who a card is for, it's probably for me.
I also write things about good films.
Thanks for your suggestions
Yeah, I thought I 'd want all the possible ramp cards like solemn, since I have a 'swamp matters' deck, but the deck deck is less Azusa super speed and more midrange so ultimately a tiny guy with out evasion just isn't a good sword/lash carrier. Yeah Pilgrim's Eye isn't all that great, it'll go for sure. The specters and nighthawk were great with the equipment and I'll probably move the smaller guys into their direction. When I add Dauthi Embrace, the little shadow/horsemanship guys become less important and as is they are inconsistent.
Reiver Demon's consistency worries me, but he's worth a try. I have a Wurmcoil Engine in my Karador I was about to remove so He definitely would like a spot in here. Mikaeus, the Unhallowed has evasion a helps the board presence so he also needs worked in. I need to find a second copy. I have Strata Scythe, but was debating if I needed that many equipment. The way my lashes were getting destroyed, probably so.
I understand the interactions with Pestilence Demon and Thrashing Wumpus and lifelink, but I'm not sure I want to push the deck that controly just yet. I guess I dislike the symetricalness of the effect.
Yeah, the 1 for 1 discard didn't have as much bang as I'd hoped. I'll look into adding the package of Mind Sludge, Mind Shatter and Mind Twist and see how that works out.
Yeah Painful Quandry and the single use discard didn't perform as well as I had expected. It will make its way out. Geth's Grimoire and Necrogen Mists seems like a better direction to go.
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
Also, Liliana of the Dark Realms begs to be in here ;3.
I'm normally not a fan of extraplanar lens, but here, I need to get a board presence established quickly and I can see it more beneficial.
Liliana 3 is definitely on theme for what Korlash wants to do.
Dimir House Guard definitely gets a ton of mileage in this deck. Evasion, sac outlet, tutoring. I'll add him to my list. Swiftfoot boots is definitely something to look at as well. May try it and lightning greaves.
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
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Thanks for the thoughts.
I did look at Zombie Trailblazer actually. I pondered a larger zombie package when I was working on the deck and he was one I was interested in. I ultimately scrapped the zombie idea, but he could still be useful getting Korlash in the red zone. As I add in Urborg and potentially slot in a few more choice zombies, the card will definitely become more valuable.
When I first grabbed Pilgrim's eye, I thought it actually ramped, so I was disappointed when I actually played it. On second thought, the deck is a 'swamp matters' deck and he does help get a swamp so has some usefulness. Playing a swamp each turn is quite crucial to getting the deck to have mid/late game power. Shade is a decent card, and a mana sink in the same vein. I'll probably give them both a try for a while and see how they help to keep swamps coming each turn.
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
Also, why aren't you running Phyrexian Arena?
RWU Nom Nom Numot: The Hungry Devastator
GUB Damia's BUG-ifact Parade: all artifacts, all the time
GWG Trostani, Selesnya's Voice of Madness
GUG Edric, weenie master of DOOM
BRB Olivia Voldaren, Your creatures = MINE!
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
I actually looked to get both Bitterblossom and Phyrexian Arena and the shop I picked up cards at didn't have one. Phyrexian Arena is a 100% given this deck needs draw from 5 directions. Bitterblossom 'should' be good, but at the same time, its tokens would need a sword or lash to do much. Coming down for 2 gives it all kinds of options.
I absolutely need Ambition's Cost, thanks for the suggestion. I didn't realize Ancient Craving existed, I'll have to search for one.
I'm going to make a stop to the card shop tomorrow.
I'm going to try to pick up several of the cards suggested and see how they work: Dauthi Embrace, Drana, Kalastria Highborn, Reiver Demon, Mikeaus, the Unhallowed, Mind Sludge, Mind Shatter, Mind Twist, Geth's Grimoire, Dimir House Guard, and Ambition's Cost
A few other cards I'm interesting in are: Junk Diver, Trading Post, Spine of Ish Sah. Since I have so many artifacts and they get blown up religiously, I need to add pieces to return them and these are about all I've got. Spine is the cheapest catch all to blow up enchantments that I know of.
Any other suggestions?
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
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StaffRetired EDH - Tibor and Lumia | [PR]Nemata |Ramirez dePietro | [C]Edric | Riku | Jenara | Lazav | Heliod | Daxos | Roon | Kozilek
Cabal Coffers. Sacrificing one swamp spot for banana-mana is definately worth it. This should be an autoinclude in any MonoB.
Terrain Generator It's a personal choice. I love running it in my Mono B simply because of how much suicide-black draw it has, so I can ramp up fast with it.
Rogue's Passage Giant middle finger to chump blockers.
Shizo, Death's Storehouse Comes in untapped, makes colored mana, and like rogues passage gives a middle finger to non-black non-artifact chump blockers.
Other cards to consider:
Druidic Satchel Honestly I was skeptical on this one as well. But once you use it and hit a few lands with it, you'll see how good it is especially in a land-matters deck. This deck is hands down the best form of non-green ramp for commander. No matter what it hits, you get something.
Walking Atlas Nothing makes me smile than a 4-swamp hand with an atlas in it. Turn 3 Korlash who is still a 4/4. Between this and the generator, after using Necropotence or some other big draw spell, you just poop all the swamps on the board. It's great.
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
Moonlight Bargain 5 at instant speed to see 5 cards, but only pay for what you need, so you don't have to discard down anyways.
Necrologia Similar to a one-time Necropotence, this card lets you pull a lot of cards out for pretty cheap. I normally look at my hand and just pay into it until I have 10 cards in hand. (ie: if I have 4 in hand I pay 6 into it, or whatever). Not quite as good as it could have been, but still decent, especially for a 25¢ card.
Skeletal Scrying I don't have one but it seems like it would be the bee's knees.
Harrowing Journey A much easier to find Ambition's Cost, but it costs 1 more mana.
Caress of Phyrexia Same as Harrowing Journey. Unless someone is running infect or proliferate, the poison counters are irrelevant.
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
I really like this idea. Having powerful equipment on the board is going to be a great way for you to win. Being able to recur artifacts cant hurt right? There is also Myr Retriever but that might be overkill. Junk Diver is cool because it flies so it holds a stick well.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
I fully agree with the spine. The ONLY two cards in magic (to my knowledge) valible to mono black for enchantment spot removal is the spine and Karn Liberated. At least for artifacts we have Gate to Phyrexia , one of my favorite black cards printed for both flavor and effect, and it's much less desirable counterpart, Phyrexian Tribute, which is great in decks that can take advantage of sacing creatures. The gate is an auto incluse, because even with no creatures you can throw Korlash under the bus to fix and emergency problem artifact. My favorite use of it is using it to throw Kokusho, the Evening Star into the grave, then use it to blow up Spine of Ish Sah. So many uses! The gate is, however, notoriously hard to find outside of the Internet, and runs about 10$.
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR