I started playing right in the middle of the Innistrad block. the first deck i ever had was the UG deathfed event deck. I played casual constructed for about a year before I learned about a different format, known to me at the time as Commander. I purchased the Political Puppets commander set. That's right, Zedruu. And I hated it. Because I had absolutely no clue what the point of Zedruu was. So from there, I built a Kemba deck. That was a bust, so i decided to convert my favorite 60 card deck into an edh deck. And thats How i ended up with my best deck, Vish Kal. i have now been playing EDH ever since then, and I am now a proud owner of eight decks.
When I first built this deck, It was a crappy hunk of some tokens and some very big creatures. As time went on, it very slowly got better, it is now the most expensive deck that I own. After years of play it is still not perfect. For the first time a couple weeks ago, I played against another Vish Kal deck. it was actually a very good experience as it forced me to see a different way to build my deck. But, after years of practise and work, here it is.
So youre probably wondering why you're so attracted to using Vish Kal as your commander. I'll tell you. He is simply powerful. He is very mean, and very good. BW provides amazing removal, and Vish Kal is creature removal on a stick. He works amazingly well with Grave Pact effects. There are a few different ways to build him. I personally run a unique combination of a couple ways to play him. My deck is a tokens/ reanimator deck. I've seen him played as a mass reanimate deck, and it worked well. i enjoy the reanimating potential, but i personally don't find it good enough to be the main theme of the deck. So i've put a focus on just putting more creatures on the field, and i do that with tokens. I use cards such as Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and Cauldron of Souls to allow me to sac the same creatures multiple times in the same turn.
Recommendations and suggestions welcome!
Also, If anyone is interested in painting (or if you know someone who will do it for a reasonable price) bacon onto a Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter, let me know! Thanks!
There are several other "infinite" recursion loops in white. Most involve creatures like Fiend Hunter, Adarkar Valkyrie, Sun Titan and similar creatures. Add in a Solemn Simulacrum with most of these and you can draw your deck as well.
Even if you don't want loops the omission of Solemn, 'Lark and Sun Titan seems questionable at best.
That doesn't work unless you have a way of untapping the cauldron. Once you give the creatures persist, they die and come back, and are a new object, unrelated to the previous creature you gave persist. Thus, they don't have it anymore.
Why you should play Vish Kal;
Why Vish Kal might not be for you;
List by Type;
(*) indicates foil
7 Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter
Creatures
1 Viscera Seer
2 Bloodghast
2 Grand Abolisher
2 Nether Traitor
2 Precinct Captain
3 Transcendent Master
4 Hero of Bladehold
4 Kor Cartographer
4 Odric, Master Tactician
4 Rhox Faithmender
5 Deathbringer Liege
6 Grave Titan
6 Kokusho, the Evening Star
6 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
6 Requiem Angel
6 Yosei, the Morning Star
7 Angel of Despair
7 Butcher of Malakir
7 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
7 Rune-Scarred Demon
7 Serra Avatar
7 Sheoldred, Whispering One
7 Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts (*)
8 Ashen Rider
8 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
Planeswalkers
4 Elspeth, Knight-Errant (*)
4 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
5 Elspeth Tirel
6 Sorin Markov
3 Necropotence
3 Phyrexian Arena
4 Erebos, God of the Dead
4 Heliod, God of the Sun
4 Grave Pact
5 Cathars' Crusade
5 Exquisite Blood
5 Sanguine Bond
6 Martyr's Bond
7 Debtors' Knell
Mana Artifacts
1 Sol Ring
2 Fellwar Stone
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Darksteel Ingot
3 Orzhov Keyrune
4 Thran Dynamo
5 Gilded Lotus
Utility Artifacts
1 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Quietus Spike (*)
5 Cauldron of Souls
Instants
0 Slaughter Pact
2 Doom Blade
2 Go for the Throat
3 Hero's Downfall
3 Mortify
3 Oblation
Sorceries
2 Demonic Tutor
3 Vindicate
4 Living End
5 Obzedat's Aid
6 Austere Command
6 Life's Finale
6 Merciless Eviction
8 Army of the Damned
Lands
0 Cabal Coffers
0 Command Tower
0 Fetid Heath
0 Godless Shrine
0 Isolated Chapel
0 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx (*)
0 Opal Palace
0 Orzhov Guildgate
10 Plains
0 Reliquary Tower
0 Scrubland
10 Swamp
0 Temple of Silence
0 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
0 Vault of the Archangel
0 Windbrisk Heights
Deck by usage;
2 Precinct Captain
4 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Hero of Bladehold
5 Elspeth Tirel
5 Increasing Devotion
6 Grave Titan
6 Requiem Angel
7 Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
8 Army of the Damned
Stronger Fodder
4 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
5 Cathars' Crusade
5 Deathbringer Liege
6 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
7 Elesh Norn, GRand Cenobite
Fodder Finder
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Viscera Seer
2 Demonic Tutor
3 Necropotence
3 Phyrexian Arena
7 Rune-Scarred Demon
Bring that Back!
5 Cauldron of Souls
5 Obzedat's Aid
7 Debtor's Knell
7 Sheoldred, Whispering One
3 Quietus Spike
5 Sanguine Bond
6 Kokusho, the Evening Star
6 Sorin Markov
None for you
4 Grave Pact
6 Martyr's Bond
7 Butcher of Malakir
Stop that
0 Slaughter Pact
2 Doom Blade
2 Go for the Throat
2 Grand Abolisher
3 Hero's Downfall
3 Oblation
3 Mortify
3 Vindicate
6 Yosei, the Morning Star
7 Angel of Despair
8 Ashen Rider
Self-Reanimating
2 Blood Ghast
2 Nether Traitor
Party's Over
4 Living End
6 Austere Command
6 Life's Finale
6 Merciless Eviction
4 Erebos, God of the Dead
4 Heliod, God of the Sun
4 Odric, Master Tactician
4 Rhox Faithmender
5 Exquisite Blood
7 Serra Avatar
8 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
Mana Acceleration
1 Sol Ring
2 Fellwar Stone
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Darksteel Ingot
3 Orzhov Keyrune
4 Kor Kartographer
4 Thran Dynamo
5 Gilded Lotus
Haven't decided what to replace it with
3 Transcendent Master
So youre probably wondering why you're so attracted to using Vish Kal as your commander. I'll tell you. He is simply powerful. He is very mean, and very good. BW provides amazing removal, and Vish Kal is creature removal on a stick. He works amazingly well with Grave Pact effects. There are a few different ways to build him. I personally run a unique combination of a couple ways to play him. My deck is a tokens/ reanimator deck. I've seen him played as a mass reanimate deck, and it worked well. i enjoy the reanimating potential, but i personally don't find it good enough to be the main theme of the deck. So i've put a focus on just putting more creatures on the field, and i do that with tokens. I use cards such as Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and Cauldron of Souls to allow me to sac the same creatures multiple times in the same turn.
Recommendations and suggestions welcome!
Also, If anyone is interested in painting (or if you know someone who will do it for a reasonable price) bacon onto a Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter, let me know! Thanks!
There are several other "infinite" recursion loops in white. Most involve creatures like Fiend Hunter, Adarkar Valkyrie, Sun Titan and similar creatures. Add in a Solemn Simulacrum with most of these and you can draw your deck as well.
Even if you don't want loops the omission of Solemn, 'Lark and Sun Titan seems questionable at best.
EDH Decks:
WUBOloro, Combo ControlWUB
UBOona Reanimator ComboUB
BRGProssh, Eater of the Blue MageBRG
UBRGrixis StormUBR
Rebuilding Jenara (stealyourstuff.dec)
Pauper Deck:
UBInspired SirenUB
One infinite combo is enough, and it does way more than it should.
Cauldron of Souls + either Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, or Cathars' Crusade = Infinite sacrifice.
EDIT: never mind, i guess that really doesn't work.