Made some significant changes to the deck. Going for more of a reanimation theme with some tighter focus on trying to get and keep creatures out while denying my opponents the opportunity to keep creatures themselves. Going to test the new build and report on how the new stuff works out.
A full change log will appear as a new post in the thread.
Most of the changes have been made with my playgroup specifically in mind. I always appreciate suggestions but one for one switches (i.e. one card for a better card that produces the same result) would probably help me the most.
saved for deck change log, possible variations and potential deck strategy information
See last post for most recent change log.
Testing information:
So far I've tested part of the new build (still don't have all the cards, they should arrive Monday) 1v1 against my GAAIV deck and been incredibly pleased by the results. I still have to get the rest of the cards and test it in a multiplayer environment.
Falkenrath Aristocrat is a sweet vampire that protects itself and swings like a champ.
Has Rhystic Tutor been working for you? I can see it not doing a whole lot quite often. Phyrexian Arena is a possible alternative
Ascendent Evincar is great for pumping most of your team and helping with small token swarms.
Bloodghast can be brought back easily and help with Captivating Vampire's cost, trigger Blood Artist and Falkenrath Noble, and make Falkenrath Aristocrat a pain to remove.
You some big mana stuff going on so maybe Bloodhusk Ritualist as a tribal themed Mind Twist.
Falkenrath Aristocrat is a sweet vampire that protects itself and swings like a champ.
Has Rhystic Tutor been working for you? I can see it not doing a whole lot quite often. Phyrexian Arena is a possible alternative
Ascendent Evincar is great for pumping most of your team and helping with small token swarms.
Bloodghast can be brought back easily and help with Captivating Vampire's cost, trigger Blood Artist and Falkenrath Noble, and make Falkenrath Aristocrat a pain to remove.
You some big mana stuff going on so maybe Bloodhusk Ritualist as a tribal themed Mind Twist.
Rhystic Tutor is terrible. They almost always pay the 2. I've got a Demonic Tutor on the way to replace.
I considered the Aristocrat but haven't decided on it yet. I have the Evincar in the sideboard...Not really sure why I took it out in the first place. The thing is that, like you said I have a lot of big mana stuff in terms of creatures so if I'm going to alter the creatures I'd prefer the switch in lower drops. So the Aristocrat might actually work decently well in that regard.
I really like the Bloodghast and the Ritualist is a strong consideration.
Right now most of my Magic money is tied up in constructing a Jenara, Asura of War Bant deck but I'll definitely look into your other suggestions when my resources allow for the opportunity. Thank you
Garza Zol was my 2nd EDH deck i built, and still one of my favourites (side note, i completed a really fun and strong Jenara Exalted deck also, you will enjoy that commander)
I don't know if you have found, but i had to remove anowon from my list because i would drop him early enough and get piled on and hated out much too early.
a couple things i found really good was, Blood Tribute can be combo'ed with sanguine bond to remove someone from the game pretty effectively.
Since you aren't running Mindcrank i can safely suggest Bloodchief Ascension this will assist with your mill vampires.
I would also recommend a couple more equipments Mask of Riddles, Quietus Spike, Deathrender and Buried Ruin to bring back a naturalized artifact.
I like the amount of counter magic you have but depending on your play group it may be un-needed, i found that with Garza vampires you can power through quite a bit of hate. but the probably best piece of anti-everyone else card i have used is Cyclonic Rift there isn't anything sweeter then wiffing away everyones mana rocks and creatures and enchantments and swinging in to reduce everyone to an Exanguinate range
Garza Zol was my 2nd EDH deck i built, and still one of my favourites (side note, i completed a really fun and strong Jenara Exalted deck also, you will enjoy that commander)
I don't know if you have found, but i had to remove anowon from my list because i would drop him early enough and get piled on and hated out much too early.
a couple things i found really good was, Blood Tribute can be combo'ed with sanguine bond to remove someone from the game pretty effectively.
Since you aren't running Mindcrank i can safely suggest Bloodchief Ascension this will assist with your mill vampires.
I would also recommend a couple more equipments Mask of Riddles, Quietus Spike, Deathrender and Buried Ruin to bring back a naturalized artifact.
I like the amount of counter magic you have but depending on your play group it may be un-needed, i found that with Garza vampires you can power through quite a bit of hate. but the probably best piece of anti-everyone else card i have used is Cyclonic Rift there isn't anything sweeter then wiffing away everyones mana rocks and creatures and enchantments and swinging in to reduce everyone to an Exanguinate range
I think I have a Blood Tribute...I don't know why its not in...It is freaking amazing with a tribal vamp deck.
I used to run Mindcrank but now that I'm not I'll consider the other card. I think I have a Buried Ruin in another deck that I may switch over. I keep debating whether I want to put in an Exsanguinate or not...I'll look into the other cards. Thank You
Side Note: Just played a 1v1 game with the Vampires against my brother...He was running a deck with no counters and virtually no creature destruction. I got the Captivating Vampire out and was really able to use him to steal creatures for the first time...Combine him with Olivia Voldaren and the Bloodline Keeper / Lord of Lineage and you can do some very very sick creature stealing. I ended up killing him with his own commander.
Maybe I'm a bit if a noob but, why run Necropotence? What good does it do you? Also here is my take on your deck. My playgroup doesn't allow any counterspells so I had to take them all out. In there place I added a few more board wipes, some more card draw and an additional GY hate card. I'd really, really like a way to recur Patriarch's Bidding though. Any input?
Maybe I'm a bit if a noob but, why run Necropotence? What good does it do you? Also here is my take on your deck. My playgroup doesn't allow any counterspells so I had to take them all out. In there place I added a few more board wipes, some more card draw and an additional GY hate card. I'd really, really like a way to recur Patriarch's Bidding though. Any input?
With lifelink creatures (which many vampires are) and things like Exquisite BloodNecropotence becomes an amazing card because it allows you to ramp your card draw and constantly stay at a 7 card hand (or higher if you run Reliquary Tower). If you are getting decent life gain then you don't need to worry about taking the life loss for Necropotence. One thing I've learned very quickly is that extra card draw is almost always a good thing. Especially in Commander.
This allows me to make sure I draw my counters (not as big a deal for you) and removal. Also it helps me get more of the top tier creatures on the board.
I need to run an Exsanguinate in the deck but I don't actually own the card.
I like the list you've put together. Good choices to replace the counters. You have a few cards I would definitely run if I actually owned them (like Damnation).
I'm not really sure how to recur Patriarch's...Most of the recursion I've ever run in Grixis is creature recursion. Someone else might be able to answer that better.
Edited to reflect changes that were made but not documented at each step.
More changes are on the way as my budget has increased and I'd like to really shore this deck up. Most of the creatures will be staying the same (some might come out). The counter suite will be changing as will the tutors, artifacts and lands.
If you're going to run Blood Tribute, pairing it with Wound Reflection will give you a non-infinite win condition. It'll only take out one player, but copying it with Reiterate, Twincast, Reverberate, or Fork will let you take out multiple players.
A full change log will appear as a new post in the thread.
Most of the changes have been made with my playgroup specifically in mind. I always appreciate suggestions but one for one switches (i.e. one card for a better card that produces the same result) would probably help me the most.
7 Garza Zol, Plague Queen
Creatures (17):
2 Vampire Hexmage
2 Blood Seeker
3 Captivating Vampire
3 Vampire Nighthawk
3 Nirkana Cutthroat
3 Stromkirk Captain
4 Vampire Nocturnus
4 Bloodline Keeper
4 Mirri the Cursed
4 Olivia Voldaren
5 Malakir Bloodwitch
5 Bloodlord of Vaasgoth
5 Anowon, the Ruin Sage
5 Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
6 Nirkana Revenant
7 Butcher of Malakir
7 Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet
Planeswalkers (5):
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Liliana of the Dark Realms
5 Liliana Vess
6 Sorin Markov
7 Karn Liberated
Instants (14):
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Entomb
2 Mana Drain
2 Counterspell
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Dash Hopes
2 Doom Blade
2 Go for the Throat
2 Terminate
3 Hinder
3 Spell Crumple
3 Murder
3 Chaos Warp
5 Spin into Myth
1 Reanimate
2x Profane Command
2x Exsanguinate
2x Black Sun's Zenith
2 Demonic Tutor
3 Buried Alive
4 Damnation
3 Diabolic Tutor
5 Beacon of Unrest
Enchantments (8):
2 Animate Dead
3 Necropotence
3 Necromancy
4 Grave Pact
4 Leyline of the Void
5 Sanguine Bond
5 Painful Quandary
5 Exquisite Blood
Artifacts (8):
1 Blade of the Bloodchief
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Ivory Tower
2 Grim Monolith
4 Thran Dynamo
4 Door of Destinies
5 Gilded Lotus
Lands (38):
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Tainted Peak
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Command Tower
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Tainted Isle
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Maze of Ith
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Volcanic Island
1 Steam Vents
1 Water Grave
1 Underground Sea
1 Blood Crypt
1 Badlands
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
5 Island
5 Mountain
10 Swamp
Yes, I know Jace doesn't really fit with tribal vampire (nor Karn really) but I really need some of the stuff he can provide.
EDH Decks:
WUBOloro, Combo ControlWUB
UBOona Reanimator ComboUB
BRGProssh, Eater of the Blue MageBRG
UBRGrixis StormUBR
Rebuilding Jenara (stealyourstuff.dec)
Pauper Deck:
UBInspired SirenUB
See last post for most recent change log.
Testing information:
So far I've tested part of the new build (still don't have all the cards, they should arrive Monday) 1v1 against my GAAIV deck and been incredibly pleased by the results. I still have to get the rest of the cards and test it in a multiplayer environment.
EDH Decks:
WUBOloro, Combo ControlWUB
UBOona Reanimator ComboUB
BRGProssh, Eater of the Blue MageBRG
UBRGrixis StormUBR
Rebuilding Jenara (stealyourstuff.dec)
Pauper Deck:
UBInspired SirenUB
Has Rhystic Tutor been working for you? I can see it not doing a whole lot quite often. Phyrexian Arena is a possible alternative
Ascendent Evincar is great for pumping most of your team and helping with small token swarms.
Bloodghast can be brought back easily and help with Captivating Vampire's cost, trigger Blood Artist and Falkenrath Noble, and make Falkenrath Aristocrat a pain to remove.
You some big mana stuff going on so maybe Bloodhusk Ritualist as a tribal themed Mind Twist.
You could also consider Patriarch's Bidding and Aphetto Dredging
Rhystic Tutor is terrible. They almost always pay the 2. I've got a Demonic Tutor on the way to replace.
I considered the Aristocrat but haven't decided on it yet. I have the Evincar in the sideboard...Not really sure why I took it out in the first place. The thing is that, like you said I have a lot of big mana stuff in terms of creatures so if I'm going to alter the creatures I'd prefer the switch in lower drops. So the Aristocrat might actually work decently well in that regard.
I really like the Bloodghast and the Ritualist is a strong consideration.
Right now most of my Magic money is tied up in constructing a Jenara, Asura of War Bant deck but I'll definitely look into your other suggestions when my resources allow for the opportunity. Thank you
EDH Decks:
WUBOloro, Combo ControlWUB
UBOona Reanimator ComboUB
BRGProssh, Eater of the Blue MageBRG
UBRGrixis StormUBR
Rebuilding Jenara (stealyourstuff.dec)
Pauper Deck:
UBInspired SirenUB
I don't know if you have found, but i had to remove anowon from my list because i would drop him early enough and get piled on and hated out much too early.
a couple things i found really good was, Blood Tribute can be combo'ed with sanguine bond to remove someone from the game pretty effectively.
Since you aren't running Mindcrank i can safely suggest Bloodchief Ascension this will assist with your mill vampires.
I would also recommend a couple more equipments Mask of Riddles, Quietus Spike, Deathrender and Buried Ruin to bring back a naturalized artifact.
I like the amount of counter magic you have but depending on your play group it may be un-needed, i found that with Garza vampires you can power through quite a bit of hate. but the probably best piece of anti-everyone else card i have used is Cyclonic Rift there isn't anything sweeter then wiffing away everyones mana rocks and creatures and enchantments and swinging in to reduce everyone to an Exanguinate range
I think I have a Blood Tribute...I don't know why its not in...It is freaking amazing with a tribal vamp deck.
I used to run Mindcrank but now that I'm not I'll consider the other card. I think I have a Buried Ruin in another deck that I may switch over. I keep debating whether I want to put in an Exsanguinate or not...I'll look into the other cards. Thank You
Side Note: Just played a 1v1 game with the Vampires against my brother...He was running a deck with no counters and virtually no creature destruction. I got the Captivating Vampire out and was really able to use him to steal creatures for the first time...Combine him with Olivia Voldaren and the Bloodline Keeper / Lord of Lineage and you can do some very very sick creature stealing. I ended up killing him with his own commander.
EDH Decks:
WUBOloro, Combo ControlWUB
UBOona Reanimator ComboUB
BRGProssh, Eater of the Blue MageBRG
UBRGrixis StormUBR
Rebuilding Jenara (stealyourstuff.dec)
Pauper Deck:
UBInspired SirenUB
1x Garza Zol, Plague Queen
Creature (33)
1x Anowon, the Ruin Sage
1x Balustrade Spy
1x Blood Artist
1x Blood Seeker
1x Blood Tyrant
1x Bloodline Keeper Flip
1x Bloodlord of Vaasgoth
1x Butcher of Malakir
1x Captivating Vampire
1x Child of Night
1x Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
1x Falkenrath Noble
1x Fiend of the Shadows
1x Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet
1x Malakir Bloodwitch
1x Markov Patrician
1x Markov Warlord
1x Mephidross Vampire
1x Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker
1x Mirri the Cursed
1x Necropolis Regent
1x Nirkana Cutthroat
1x Nirkana Revenant
1x Olivia Voldaren
1x Pulse Tracker
1x Sangromancer
1x Shadow Alley Denizen
1x Stromkirk Captain
1x Szadek, Lord of Secrets
1x Vampire Hexmage
1x Vampire Interloper
1x Vampire Nighthawk
1x Vampire Nocturnus
1x Grisly Spectacle
1x Hero's Demise
1x Murder
1x Soul Manipulation
1x Terminate
Land (37)
1x Bojuka Bog
1x Cabal Coffers
1x Command Tower
1x Dimir Aqueduct
1x Dimir Guildgate
9x Island
1x Izzet Boilerworks
1x Izzet Guildgate
6x Mountain
1x Rakdos Carnarium
1x Rakdos Guildgate
13x Swamp
Sorcery (10)
1x Blasphemous Act
1x Damnation
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Diabolic Intent
1x Diabolic Tutor
1x Last Thoughts
1x Patriarch's Bidding
1x Plague Wind
1x Ponder
1x Rakdos's Return
1x Blade of the Bloodchief
1x Dimir Signet
1x Izzet Signet
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Rakdos Signet
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Sol Ring
1x Tormod's Crypt
Enchantment (6)
1x Exquisite Blood
1x Grave Pact
1x Necropotence
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Rhystic Study
1x Sanguine Bond
With lifelink creatures (which many vampires are) and things like Exquisite Blood Necropotence becomes an amazing card because it allows you to ramp your card draw and constantly stay at a 7 card hand (or higher if you run Reliquary Tower). If you are getting decent life gain then you don't need to worry about taking the life loss for Necropotence. One thing I've learned very quickly is that extra card draw is almost always a good thing. Especially in Commander.
This allows me to make sure I draw my counters (not as big a deal for you) and removal. Also it helps me get more of the top tier creatures on the board.
I need to run an Exsanguinate in the deck but I don't actually own the card.
I like the list you've put together. Good choices to replace the counters. You have a few cards I would definitely run if I actually owned them (like Damnation).
I'm not really sure how to recur Patriarch's...Most of the recursion I've ever run in Grixis is creature recursion. Someone else might be able to answer that better.
EDH Decks:
WUBOloro, Combo ControlWUB
UBOona Reanimator ComboUB
BRGProssh, Eater of the Blue MageBRG
UBRGrixis StormUBR
Rebuilding Jenara (stealyourstuff.dec)
Pauper Deck:
UBInspired SirenUB
More changes are on the way as my budget has increased and I'd like to really shore this deck up. Most of the creatures will be staying the same (some might come out). The counter suite will be changing as will the tutors, artifacts and lands.
EDH Decks:
WUBOloro, Combo ControlWUB
UBOona Reanimator ComboUB
BRGProssh, Eater of the Blue MageBRG
UBRGrixis StormUBR
Rebuilding Jenara (stealyourstuff.dec)
Pauper Deck:
UBInspired SirenUB
Credit to DolZero for this awesome sig!
Change Log 9/13/2013:
Creatures
Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker
Szadek, Lord of Secrets
Ascendant Evincar
Fiend of the Shadows
Pulse Tracker
Blood Tyrant
Child of Night
Markov Warlord
Mephidross Vampire
Vampire Interloper
Balustrade Spy
Sangromancer
Falkenrath Aristocrat
Blood Artist
Shadow Alley Denizen
Necropolis Regent
Falkenrath Noble
Instants
Negate
Hero's Demise
Soul Manipulation
Dispel
Essence Scatter
Cancel
Bone to Ash
Rewind
Grisly Spectacle
Psychic Strike
Sorcery
Last Thoughts
Rhystic Tutor
Plague Wind
Artifacts
Swiftfoot Boots
Rakdos Signet
Dimir Signet
Izzet Signet
Lands
Izzet Guildgate
Rakdos Guildgate
Dimir Guildgate
Evolving Wilds
Instants
Sorcery
Artifacts
Enchantments
Planeswalkers
and a Whole New Land Base
EDH Decks:
WUBOloro, Combo ControlWUB
UBOona Reanimator ComboUB
BRGProssh, Eater of the Blue MageBRG
UBRGrixis StormUBR
Rebuilding Jenara (stealyourstuff.dec)
Pauper Deck:
UBInspired SirenUB