My interest in Commander began with the idea of playing Recurring Nightmare and continuously playing the grind game where I endlessly trigger enter and leaves the battlefield abilities. As you can imagine, I was thoroughly saddened once I discovered my enchantment of choice was firmly sitting on Wizard's banned list for the Commander format. Naturally, I turned to black and white to determine what alternatives there were to this type of deck strategy. After searching through a few generals, I came across Karador and decided on the junk wedge to base my deck around. This deck began exactly as I had imagined; a grind-fest chocked full of effects that would, over time, grind the game to an eventual complete halt for my opponent, complete with maybe one or two combos to top things off. This worked great in one-on-one games where I only had to worry about the card economics of one opponent, but in multiplayer games (around four players is the average group size in my play area on any given day), my deck was surely lacking in ways to control and defeat multiple opponents. After taking a hard look at what I was trying to do, I decided on giving up a few pieces to the grind puzzle and introducing a new concept to the deck; a variety of game-ending combos. Since then I've been tweaking things here and there to figure out the best combination of cards for this 99. My quest to optimize this deck is causing me to turn to the interwebz for suggestions and advice.
Below I'll include an explanation to each stage of the game.
Early game: During this stage your main strategy with this deck will depend on what your opponent(s) is/are trying to do. Generally, when playing against an opposing general that doesn't require you to warp your game plan, you should be choosing to ramp with the 2-3 CMC green creatures and setting up shop with a value train such as Skullclamp, Birthing Pod, Survival of the Fittest, Fauna Shaman, etc. Maintaining card advantage with Karador is key to winning via attrition and serves as a backup plan for when opponents have answers to your attempts at assembling game-ending combos. If your opponent is playing with a general that requires immediate attention such as Animar or Geist of Saint Traft, your main goal should be to set up a board position that either deals with the general the turn after it comes out (with Fleshbag Marauder or Slum Reaper for example) or finding ways to bury the opponent in card advantage (usually stripping their hand with Mindslicer or Sadistic Hypnotist).
Mid game: Your card advantage engines should be online now. Assuming they are, you can usually take over the table. The advantage you gain from some of the previously mentioned engines can naturally assemble combos since most of them are tutor effects anyway. It's difficult to determine where you should go from here, but at this stage you should be able to figure out if a combo is needed to win the game or if victory by numbers (card advantage) is an option. This deck tends to allow itself to be identified as one of the threats at the table during the mid game. However, during the early game, this deck can look very uneventful and innocent (especially if you're just sitting there ramping and dropping a few "interesting" things here and there). If you're able to still be a threat while dodging the majority of the table's crosshairs, you should be good to go for the late game. It's worth noting here that this deck has the capability to end the game out of nowhere thanks to a few enchantment tricks. So even though this is technically the mid game, don't be afraid to go for a set up or pull the trigger on something as long as it isn't overly risky.
Late game: By this stage of the game everyone should more or less know which player or players are in the driver's seat. Your combos should naturally fall into place due to the sheer amount of searching this deck performs. If comboing isn't an option, attrition will just have to do.
Yosei + recursion + sac outlet = target opponent skips their untap step the rest of the game.
Spore Frog + recursion = prevent an opponent from killing you via combat damage the rest of the game.
Karmic Guide + Reveillark + Altar of Dementia = mill everyone out.
Karmic Guide + Reveillark + Saffi Eriksdotter + any ETB creature + sac outlet = infinitely trigger the ETB ability.
Archangel of Thune + Kitchen Finks + sac outlet = gain infinite life and grow creatures infinitely large to one-shot players.
Archangel of Thune + Kitchen Finks + Altar of Dementia = do the above combo plus mill everyone out.
Mikaeus the Unhallowed + Kitchen Finks + sac outlet = gain infinite life.
Mikaeus the Unhallowed + Kitchen Finks + Altar of Dementia = do the above combo plus mill everyone out.
I'm basically wanting this deck to be as efficient as possible. I'm not sure if my card choices allow the deck to operate in that way. What suggestions do you all have?
I have some suggestions. First off, I would increase your basic land count by cutting some of the pain, check, filter, and possibly off-color fetch lands. Blood Moon or Ruination basically signal game over. Maybe such cards are not played in your meta but they will certainly cause problems for you.
I would also consider reworking your sac outlets to some extent. Sadistic Hypnotist is a neat card but unless you have Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and probably the Kitchen Finks, you will probably not have enough creatures to cripple the whole table with it. Not to mention, you want your sac outlets to work on other players' turns as well. I would consider adding Ashnod's Altar and Phyrexian Altar, but I strongly recommend Greater Good. There is so much card advantage in that particular one. I don't know how much use you intend to get out of your graveyard but cards like Entomb and Buried Alive are pretty sweet for getting stuff into your graveyard.
I actually forgot to type Eternal Witness. I've already got that in there.
I do like some of your suggestions. The reason I have so many non-basics is because I really felt like my color requirements were so intense that I needed to be sure my lands were near perfect to support my early plays. Perhaps it isn't necessary to have so many.
Which tutor effects would you suggest cutting?
I really like Pattern of Rebirth. It may not seem that great, but it's so easy to pay 3G and search out any creature in my deck to put into play, especially with so many sac outlets. I have considered cutting Defense, but I think it is a near auto-win if it resolves. I'll consider cutting it though.
As for my sac outlets.. You're correct that Hypnotist requires a lot of creatures to cripple the table. But in one-on-one games or even three player games, he's pretty insane. I'll try and figure out a way to include better sac outlets though.
For the big creatures like Ashen Rider, Angel of Despair, etc., do you feel they're often difficult to get into play since their casting costs are so high?
Sometimes the big creatures are a little difficult to get into play. However. with cards like Necromancy, Animate Dead, Karmic Guide and Birthing Pod they are not too bad. Not to mention the fact that I run cards like Ashnod's Altar and Phyrexian Altar which can allow me to sac creatures that have already done their job for mana. So many of the creatures in this deck get most of their value from coming into play making them expendable afterwards.
As far as which tutors to cut, Green Sun's Zenith is easily the weakest as most of your big hitter creatures are not green. After that I would possibly look at removing the Enlightened Tutor and potentially Vampiric Tutor as they only put cards on top of your library.
My problem with Defense of the Heart is it surviving a full run of the table. While more expensive I think Tooth and Nail is more useful for such tactics.
A couple of other cards I forgot to mention earlier that you may want to look into are Life from the Loam and Dimir House Guard. Life is great with fetchlands to ensure land drops and enables you to put value in your dumpster. The house guard tutors for a lot of the key pieces in a deck like this and can be used as a sac outlet.
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My interest in Commander began with the idea of playing Recurring Nightmare and continuously playing the grind game where I endlessly trigger enter and leaves the battlefield abilities. As you can imagine, I was thoroughly saddened once I discovered my enchantment of choice was firmly sitting on Wizard's banned list for the Commander format. Naturally, I turned to black and white to determine what alternatives there were to this type of deck strategy. After searching through a few generals, I came across Karador and decided on the junk wedge to base my deck around. This deck began exactly as I had imagined; a grind-fest chocked full of effects that would, over time, grind the game to an eventual complete halt for my opponent, complete with maybe one or two combos to top things off. This worked great in one-on-one games where I only had to worry about the card economics of one opponent, but in multiplayer games (around four players is the average group size in my play area on any given day), my deck was surely lacking in ways to control and defeat multiple opponents. After taking a hard look at what I was trying to do, I decided on giving up a few pieces to the grind puzzle and introducing a new concept to the deck; a variety of game-ending combos. Since then I've been tweaking things here and there to figure out the best combination of cards for this 99. My quest to optimize this deck is causing me to turn to the interwebz for suggestions and advice.
Below I'll include an explanation to each stage of the game.
Early game: During this stage your main strategy with this deck will depend on what your opponent(s) is/are trying to do. Generally, when playing against an opposing general that doesn't require you to warp your game plan, you should be choosing to ramp with the 2-3 CMC green creatures and setting up shop with a value train such as Skullclamp, Birthing Pod, Survival of the Fittest, Fauna Shaman, etc. Maintaining card advantage with Karador is key to winning via attrition and serves as a backup plan for when opponents have answers to your attempts at assembling game-ending combos. If your opponent is playing with a general that requires immediate attention such as Animar or Geist of Saint Traft, your main goal should be to set up a board position that either deals with the general the turn after it comes out (with Fleshbag Marauder or Slum Reaper for example) or finding ways to bury the opponent in card advantage (usually stripping their hand with Mindslicer or Sadistic Hypnotist).
Mid game: Your card advantage engines should be online now. Assuming they are, you can usually take over the table. The advantage you gain from some of the previously mentioned engines can naturally assemble combos since most of them are tutor effects anyway. It's difficult to determine where you should go from here, but at this stage you should be able to figure out if a combo is needed to win the game or if victory by numbers (card advantage) is an option. This deck tends to allow itself to be identified as one of the threats at the table during the mid game. However, during the early game, this deck can look very uneventful and innocent (especially if you're just sitting there ramping and dropping a few "interesting" things here and there). If you're able to still be a threat while dodging the majority of the table's crosshairs, you should be good to go for the late game. It's worth noting here that this deck has the capability to end the game out of nowhere thanks to a few enchantment tricks. So even though this is technically the mid game, don't be afraid to go for a set up or pull the trigger on something as long as it isn't overly risky.
Late game: By this stage of the game everyone should more or less know which player or players are in the driver's seat. Your combos should naturally fall into place due to the sheer amount of searching this deck performs. If comboing isn't an option, attrition will just have to do.
With that out of the way, onto the deck.
8 Karador, Ghost Chieftain
Creature: 38
1 Viscera Seer
1 Spore Frog
2 Qasali Pridemage
2 Saffi Eriksdotter
2 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Fauna Shaman
2 Elvish Visionary
2 Sylvan Ranger
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Viridian Emissary
3 Kitchen Finks
3 Eternal Witness
3 Reclamation Sage
3 Bone Shredder
3 Fleshbag Marauder
3 Farhaven Elf
3 Yavimaya Dryad
3 Wood Elves
4 Restoration Angel
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Academy Rector
4 Disciple of Bolas
4 Mindslicer
4 Nekrataal
4 Slum Reaper
4 Braids, Cabal Minion
5 Archangel of Thune
5 Reveillark
5 Karmic Guide
5 Phyrexian Delver
5 Sadistic Hypnotist
5 Acidic Slime
6 Yosei, the Morning Star
6 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
6 Sun Titan
6 Duplicant
7 Rune-Scarred Demon
7 Sheoldred, Whispering One
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
2 Eladamri's Call
3 Chord of Calling
Sorcery: 4
1 Green Sun's Zenith
2 Diabolic Intent
2 Demonic Tutor
5 Living Death
Enchantment: 8
2 Survival of the Fittest
2 Sylvan Library
3 Necromancy
3 Aura Shards
3 Phyrexian Arena
4 Pattern of Rebirth
4 Defense of the Heart
4 Grave Pact
Artifact: 7
1 Sol Ring
1 Skullclamp
2 Altar of Dementia
2 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Sword of Feast and Famine
4 Birthing Pod
5 Cauldron of Souls
Land: 38
0 High Market
0 Phyrexian Tower
0 Volrath's Stronghold
0 Dryad Arbor
0 Gaea's Cradle
2 Forest
3 Plains
0 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Swamp
0 Windswept Heath
0 Marsh Flats
0 Verdant Catacombs
0 Wooded Foothills
0 Arid Mesa
0 Bloodstained Mire
0 [GWB tapland from Khans]
0 Reflecting Pool
0 Command Tower
0 Twilight Mire
0 Llanowar Wastes
0 Woodland Cemetery
0 Overgrown Tomb
0 Bayou
0 Fetid Heath
0 Caves of Koilos
0 Isolated Chapel
0 Godless Shrine
0 Scrubland
0 Wooded Bastion
0 Brushland
0 Sunpetal Grove
0 Temple Garden
0 Savannah
For the combos below, please read the following:
Recursion can be: Karador, Ghost Chieftain, Sheoldred, Whispering One, Sun Titan with Necromancy, Saffi Eriksdotter with Karmic Guide and Reveillark, or Mikaeus, the Unhallowed with Cauldron of Souls.
Sac Outlet can be: Viscera Seer, Sadistic Hypnotist, Altar of Dementia, and, to a lesser extent High Market, Phyrexian Tower, and Braids, Cabal Minion.
Yosei + recursion + sac outlet = target opponent skips their untap step the rest of the game.
Spore Frog + recursion = prevent an opponent from killing you via combat damage the rest of the game.
Karmic Guide + Reveillark + Altar of Dementia = mill everyone out.
Karmic Guide + Reveillark + Saffi Eriksdotter + any ETB creature + sac outlet = infinitely trigger the ETB ability.
Archangel of Thune + Kitchen Finks + sac outlet = gain infinite life and grow creatures infinitely large to one-shot players.
Archangel of Thune + Kitchen Finks + Altar of Dementia = do the above combo plus mill everyone out.
Mikaeus the Unhallowed + Kitchen Finks + sac outlet = gain infinite life.
Mikaeus the Unhallowed + Kitchen Finks + Altar of Dementia = do the above combo plus mill everyone out.
I'm basically wanting this deck to be as efficient as possible. I'm not sure if my card choices allow the deck to operate in that way. What suggestions do you all have?
I would also consider reworking your sac outlets to some extent. Sadistic Hypnotist is a neat card but unless you have Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and probably the Kitchen Finks, you will probably not have enough creatures to cripple the whole table with it. Not to mention, you want your sac outlets to work on other players' turns as well. I would consider adding Ashnod's Altar and Phyrexian Altar, but I strongly recommend Greater Good. There is so much card advantage in that particular one. I don't know how much use you intend to get out of your graveyard but cards like Entomb and Buried Alive are pretty sweet for getting stuff into your graveyard.
Likewise, I would do swap some things out of your creature array and add some stuff. I'm really not sure if the Archangel of Thune and Kitchen Finks are useful enough outside their respective combos. Personally I would change out the Kitchen Finks for Eternal Witness and Archangel of Thune for either Archon of Justice or Puppeteer Clique. There are also some serious sac and recur value creatures that you have omitted. Angel of Despair, Angel of Serenity and Ashen Rider can all generate some serious value. There are some other good creatures you may want to consider such as Kokusho, the Evening Star, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, and Woodfall Primus.
I would also recommend cutting out a couple of enchantments and artifacts. I do not think you need Pattern of Rebirth, Defense of the Heart, Umezawa's Jitte or Sword of Feast and Famine in Karador. Likewise, I would possibly drop some of the tutor cards and run some more answers and wipes such as Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Krosan Grip, Wrath of God and Damnation.
I hope you find some of these suggestions useful or at least interesting to think about.
I do like some of your suggestions. The reason I have so many non-basics is because I really felt like my color requirements were so intense that I needed to be sure my lands were near perfect to support my early plays. Perhaps it isn't necessary to have so many.
Which tutor effects would you suggest cutting?
I really like Pattern of Rebirth. It may not seem that great, but it's so easy to pay 3G and search out any creature in my deck to put into play, especially with so many sac outlets. I have considered cutting Defense, but I think it is a near auto-win if it resolves. I'll consider cutting it though.
As for my sac outlets.. You're correct that Hypnotist requires a lot of creatures to cripple the table. But in one-on-one games or even three player games, he's pretty insane. I'll try and figure out a way to include better sac outlets though.
For the big creatures like Ashen Rider, Angel of Despair, etc., do you feel they're often difficult to get into play since their casting costs are so high?
As far as which tutors to cut, Green Sun's Zenith is easily the weakest as most of your big hitter creatures are not green. After that I would possibly look at removing the Enlightened Tutor and potentially Vampiric Tutor as they only put cards on top of your library.
My problem with Defense of the Heart is it surviving a full run of the table. While more expensive I think Tooth and Nail is more useful for such tactics.
A couple of other cards I forgot to mention earlier that you may want to look into are Life from the Loam and Dimir House Guard. Life is great with fetchlands to ensure land drops and enables you to put value in your dumpster. The house guard tutors for a lot of the key pieces in a deck like this and can be used as a sac outlet.