The idea is to hard mull for either Jet Medallion or Mind Stone, pass on turn 1, jam a rock on turn 2 and then proceed to slam a fatty every turn from there on out. Jet Medallion is especially relevant for Herald Anguish given that it reduces its cost by 2 which means that you're often slamming him on turn 4 following up a turn 3 Desecration Demon/Blood Speaker/Mutilate. Otherwise the deck has a bunch of singletons for Blood Speaker to tutor up as needed and a ton of mass removal critters to keep the field relatively clear. I don't really want to run "Havoc Demons" that kill my own fatties which is why I prefer things like Demon of Dark Schemes whenever possible. The deck is decently good at grinding people out between Blood Speaker, Bloodgift Demon, Harvester of Souls, Demon of Dark Schemes revival and Griselbrand, especially if you bear in mind that Herald of Anguish is good at keeping Control decks in check. If board stalls do occur there's things like Reiver Demon to help you bust through so it shouldn't have to play draw-go for very long before finding a way to close the game out.
What is your playgroup like? For example, mine mostly uses outdated standard deck, so the power level is not that high. Do you strictly follow the mulligan rule or does your group allow for friendly mulligans? I ran it in LackeyCCG a few times mulliganing aggressively for a rock. In games where i found one early, the deck worked as expected and it was fun. Still I worry about deck packing spot removal or Innocent Blood, since you're playing one threat a turn. Granted, each threat is a must answer.
Something you may want to consider is adding more card draw for games where your opponents can answer threats.
Finally, again I do not know what your playgroup is like so it makes me nervous to see any multiplayer deck without artifact and enchantment removal. Of course, black is weak at dealing with these two permanents, but what is your plan if say your opponent throws out Luminarch Ascension or an equally frightening enchantment?
In games where i found one early, the deck worked as expected and it was fun. Still I worry about deck packing spot removal or Innocent Blood, since you're playing one threat a turn. Granted, each threat is a must answer.
I would never play things like Innocent Blood that go dead the moment that I land a critter. That being said I am strongly considering fielding a set of creatures such as Fleshbag Marauder to give the deck something to do on turn 3 in games where I don't have a rock on turn 2. It's also an "Innocent Blood" that I can jam even when I have a board presence which I like.
I tried builds with 4x Heartless Summoning but the card is actually quite poor in multiples and makes the mass removal much more awkward. I might try running 1-2 but I don't think that going all-in on them is the way to go. It's worth noting that Mind Stone is never a dead draw since it can be cycled away and that Jet Medallion is kinda essential when you're running Herald of Anguish given that it's a "Sol Ring" when that's the card that you're cheating out.
Finally, again I do not know what your playgroup is like so it makes me nervous to see any multiplayer deck without artifact and enchantment removal. Of course, black is weak at dealing with these two permanents, but what is your plan if say your opponent throws out Luminarch Ascension or an equally frightening enchantment?
Kill them or die trying. It's not as though adding Nevinyrral's Disk makes much sense when you're slamming mana rocks and fatties. If anything I'd run 2x Unstable Obelisk because at least that card functions as early-game ramp.
Fleshbag Marauder would be a great addition, but what I meant was what do you do against decks that run Innocent Blood against you, since forcing you to sacrifice one creature is essentially negating your previous turn. Thereby allowing people enough time to play things like Wraths.
Also, why is there not a Crux of Fate or Whelming Wave for Demons?
Fleshbag Marauder would be a great addition, but what I meant was what do you do against decks that run Innocent Blood against you, since forcing you to sacrifice one creature is essentially negating your previous turn. Thereby allowing people enough time to play things like Wraths.
Blood Speaker is your best answer when games are going long/grindy/removal-based. Otherwise the deck has plenty of 2-for-1s are draw engines so it's not overly concerned with removal.
I haven't done the math but wouldn't you rather just run Basalt Monolith?
In what sense? My current deck ignores turn 1 completely and pushes hard for the mana rock on turn 2 so that it can immediately curve into one of its nine 4 drops and proceed from there. If I added Basalt Monolith I wouldn't have that smooth 2 -> 4 Curve that I'm desperately trying to achieve. Moreover, I don't have any busted 7 drops that outright win the game when I resolve them. I don't really want to 2-for-1 to cast a beater such as Demon of Dark Schemes and simply hope that that's good enough. Rather, I'm relying on jamming a large threat every turn for the rest of the game and in order to accomplish that task I'll need consistent forms of ramp. If this were a turbo Griselbrand deck then sure, I could easily justify it, but as it sits I'd rather start on 2 and jump straight to 4. Beyond that compare Monolith to Urza's Incubator in my deck deck with Herald of Anguishes. It's a Sol Ring for nearly all of my threats and it's even a Thran Dynamo for the aforementioned Herald.
I like it. I think it's maybe a little greedy - I mean, Jet Medallion -> Herald of Anguish is obviously strong, but outside of that, you're running a whack of expensive spells and not exactly a ton of ways to get eight mana. I like the idea of greedy decks, but I often end up running some Worn Powerstones or something to be able to hit the top end of the curve a bit more consistently. Maybe that's too conservative, though. I certainly like the aggressive lines of play here.
The only other demon I'd maybe look at is Xathrid Demon (as a singleton), just because it can give you a little reach around some kind of enchantment pillowfort deck or something like that. It's not great because you can only activate it during your upkeep, but I think running one is probably fine.
I like it. I think it's maybe a little greedy - I mean, Jet Medallion -> Herald of Anguish is obviously strong, but outside of that, you're running a whack of expensive spells and not exactly a ton of ways to get eight mana.
To be fair the deck has a reasonable curve. I have 11x 4 drops, 5-7x 5 drops (Herald of Anguish is a 5 drop assuming that you open with Jet Medallion) and then a reasonable glut of 6 drops. Only 3 cards in deck consistently cost 7 or more mana so it's not as though I'm going too ham on 8 drops or anything. I'm obviously banking on hitting my 2 and it really sucks when I don't (since the deck only has 3x 3 drops) but the rest of the curve wasn't chosen willy-nilly.
I second using some Heartless Summoning. Since you play demons for their abilities and not their stats it might work out.
I'll probably run 1. The stats do actually matter since I win my games by turning creatures sideways and so dropping my 5/5s to 4/4s does significantly reduce my clock. This isn't a swam deck by any means so it's basically going to be a "one attacker, one blocker" style of build (except when I clear the board obviously) so I don't really want to spend an extra turn per person.
I take it you'll change the lands to something better?
(Urborg/Coffers/Nykthos/Rogue's Passage/V. Stronghold)
I wonder if you won't need some early weenie control?
Maybe some Pestilence? Or does that count as killing your own fatties?
(I assume you don't run Pestilence Demon for the same reasons.)
Personally I'd toss in two Nezumi Graverobber, because, you know, I can't not...
Maybe some Pestilence? Or does that count as killing your own fatties?
(I assume you don't run Pestilence Demon for the same reasons.)
I'm worried that he'll die to removal for very little benefit. I also don't see a compelling reason to cast him over a card like Reiver Demon which will immediately clear the board without slamming my own face.
I'm not worried about theme. The reason why I run so many demons is because they're actively good when you have a ton of Blood Speakers. Moreover, I don't have cards like Promise of Power is because Grielbrand is A) the best version of the effect and B) easily tutorable with Blood Speaker.
I wonder is there a reliable way to add some lifegain? You do have Grisebrand, but maybe 2x exsanguinate or something else like it would help you with staying alive.
I like it. I think it's maybe a little greedy - I mean, Jet Medallion -> Herald of Anguish is obviously strong, but outside of that, you're running a whack of expensive spells and not exactly a ton of ways to get eight mana.
To be fair the deck has a reasonable curve. I have 11x 4 drops, 5-7x 5 drops (Herald of Anguish is a 5 drop assuming that you open with Jet Medallion) and then a reasonable glut of 6 drops. Only 3 cards in deck consistently cost 7 or more mana so it's not as though I'm going too ham on 8 drops or anything. I'm obviously banking on hitting my 2 and it really sucks when I don't (since the deck only has 3x 3 drops) but the rest of the curve wasn't chosen willy-nilly.
Yeah, I'd probably just build slightly more conservatively, but I don't think that's necessarily "better." I like decks that get a little greedy, even if my instinct is always to pull back a little and trade top-end power for a little more consistency. Out of curiosity, do you mull as far as five (or further, I guess, but this doesn't seem like that sort of deck) to try and get a good opener, or stick at six even if it's not perfect?
Edit: Also, I agree that Whip of Erebos seems good here. I like it better than Basilisk Collar.
I've played a similar budget, mono-black demon deck before and I highly recommend Whip of Erebos. Having it on the battlefield often felt like I was doubling the power of my creatures because with so many beefy fliers I could just swing with everything and gain enough life from face damage that I didn't even worry about leaving more than one creature untapped to block.
I like the list and I can't really think of any other demons to use that would really be "better." I'd be curious to hear how Kagemaro, First to Suffer does. You've got plenty of card draw but not a Mystic Remora & Trade Secrets level of card draw where your hand will always be full. I wonder if just having two more Bloodgift Demons wouldn't be better.
My only other suggestion would be to consider Archfiend of Depravity as an alternative or addition to some of your board wipes. It's got the advantage of being totally one-sided and being tutorable by Blood Speaker.
One final note from my time playing a budget demon deck is that I was rarely disappointed with running Indulgent Tormentor as Bloodgift Demons 5-8. Normally cards that let your opponents choose like this are a let down, but in my experience I was usually able to pick one opponent with the worst board position who really couldn't afford to lose more creatures or life who would almost always give me the card versus setting themselves back further just to keep me from having it.
Firstly, I whole heatedly agree with adding Whip of Erebos. The deck could really use life gain in games where it has to grind wins.
After playtesting a few games with this deck using a variety of my own decks, (B/G Seasons Past, Lurking Predators, Emeria Control)I can definitely attest that the deck is fun and does what it needs to do, but it feels like it's too fair. There are plenty of ways for you to gain card advantage between Griselbrand and Blood Speaker while beating down with demons, but that advantage feels too slight against oppressive engines like Seasons Past or Lurking Predators. If your goal is to play a fair game of Magic with super fun cards (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that option), then I think the deck is great, but if you want to consistently win and are facing those types of oppressive engines, then the deck may struggle.
Out of curiosity, do you mull as far as five (or further, I guess, but this doesn't seem like that sort of deck) to try and get a good opener, or stick at six even if it's not perfect?
I'll virtually never mulligan to 5. I don't even like mulling to 6 and I'll keep some sketchy 7s if I have to. I've been fairly content with the deck's consistency but it's obviously not perfect and it definitely sucks when you don't have a ramp spell for turn 2 nor Toxic Deluge/Massacre to stabilize until turn 4. It doesn't happen very frequently but it's not ideal when it does occur.
I like the list and I can't really think of any other demons to use that would really be "better." I'd be curious to hear how Kagemaro, First to Suffer does. You've got plenty of card draw but not a Mystic Remora & Trade Secrets level of card draw where your hand will always be full. I wonder if just having two more Bloodgift Demons wouldn't be better.
I don't need Kagemaro to be huge, I just want something that can clear the field of weenies without killing my 5/5s. That being said it's virtually a 6 drop because you typically want to cast it with a mana floating and since it's functionally similar to Demon of Dark Schemes maybe I should change the numbers around slightly.
My only other suggestion would be to consider Archfiend of Depravity as an alternative or addition to some of your board wipes. It's got the advantage of being totally one-sided and being tutorable by Blood Speaker.
The card is too much of a nonbo with all of my mass removal. It would be nigh worthless.
One final note from my time playing a budget demon deck is that I was rarely disappointed with running Indulgent Tormentor as Bloodgift Demons 5-8. Normally cards that let your opponents choose like this are a let down, but in my experience I was usually able to pick one opponent with the worst board position who really couldn't afford to lose more creatures or life who would almost always give me the card versus setting themselves back further just to keep me from having it.
I agree that the card is fine but I realistically couldn't see myself running more than 4x Bloodgift Demon. I think that Bloodgift Demon is an extremely overrated Magic in general and the only reason why I have them is because I want something that I can run out on turn 4 and feel good about. That being said I don't really want to see more than 1.
After playtesting a few games with this deck using a variety of my own decks, (B/G Seasons Past, Lurking Predators, Emeria Control)I can definitely attest that the deck is fun and does what it needs to do, but it feels like it's too fair.
Oh I don't doubt you for a second. The deck was never designed to be especially competitive. I'm just trying to find the best way to build it.
Crypt Ghast isn't a demon, but it enables you early enough.
The problem is that if people kill the thing then I'm kinda just dead. I'll be left with a hand full of fatties and no way to cast any of them. Also, my deck has like a million Wrath effects that deal -2/-2 to all creatures so I'll probably just end up killing it myself. Seems like a bad idea.
If I were going to add another ramp spell it would probably be something like Urza's Incubator.
4x Vault of Whispers would be nice for more Herald of Anguish fodder (I know they don't help towards improvise but they'd be nice for his -2/-2 ability).
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24x Swamp
Creatures (24)
4x Desecration Demon
3x Blood Speaker
4x Bloodgift Demon
3x Demon of Dark Schemes
2x Kagemaro, First to Suffer
1x Harvester of Souls
1x Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
3x Herald of Anguish
2x Griselbrand
1x Reiver Demon
4x Mind Stone
4x Jet Medallion
1x Heartless Summoning
2x Mutilate
1x Whip of Erebos
The idea is to hard mull for either Jet Medallion or Mind Stone, pass on turn 1, jam a rock on turn 2 and then proceed to slam a fatty every turn from there on out. Jet Medallion is especially relevant for Herald Anguish given that it reduces its cost by 2 which means that you're often slamming him on turn 4 following up a turn 3 Desecration Demon/Blood Speaker/Mutilate. Otherwise the deck has a bunch of singletons for Blood Speaker to tutor up as needed and a ton of mass removal critters to keep the field relatively clear. I don't really want to run "Havoc Demons" that kill my own fatties which is why I prefer things like Demon of Dark Schemes whenever possible. The deck is decently good at grinding people out between Blood Speaker, Bloodgift Demon, Harvester of Souls, Demon of Dark Schemes revival and Griselbrand, especially if you bear in mind that Herald of Anguish is good at keeping Control decks in check. If board stalls do occur there's things like Reiver Demon to help you bust through so it shouldn't have to play draw-go for very long before finding a way to close the game out.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
You could also try Heartless Summoning and Rune-Scarred Demon to make your deck less fair.
Something you may want to consider is adding more card draw for games where your opponents can answer threats.
Finally, again I do not know what your playgroup is like so it makes me nervous to see any multiplayer deck without artifact and enchantment removal. Of course, black is weak at dealing with these two permanents, but what is your plan if say your opponent throws out Luminarch Ascension or an equally frightening enchantment?
Strictly follow the rules.
I would never play things like Innocent Blood that go dead the moment that I land a critter. That being said I am strongly considering fielding a set of creatures such as Fleshbag Marauder to give the deck something to do on turn 3 in games where I don't have a rock on turn 2. It's also an "Innocent Blood" that I can jam even when I have a board presence which I like.
I tried builds with 4x Heartless Summoning but the card is actually quite poor in multiples and makes the mass removal much more awkward. I might try running 1-2 but I don't think that going all-in on them is the way to go. It's worth noting that Mind Stone is never a dead draw since it can be cycled away and that Jet Medallion is kinda essential when you're running Herald of Anguish given that it's a "Sol Ring" when that's the card that you're cheating out.
I do like RSD and wish that he were cheaper XD.
The deck already has a fairly large number of tutors/draw engines/revival engines/etc.
Kill them or die trying. It's not as though adding Nevinyrral's Disk makes much sense when you're slamming mana rocks and fatties. If anything I'd run 2x Unstable Obelisk because at least that card functions as early-game ramp.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Finding space for Fleshbag Marauder would allow you to field some Abyssal Persecutor(s). Otherwise, deck is solid.
Fleshbag Marauder would be a great addition, but what I meant was what do you do against decks that run Innocent Blood against you, since forcing you to sacrifice one creature is essentially negating your previous turn. Thereby allowing people enough time to play things like Wraths.
Also, why is there not a Crux of Fate or Whelming Wave for Demons?
Blood Speaker is your best answer when games are going long/grindy/removal-based. Otherwise the deck has plenty of 2-for-1s are draw engines so it's not overly concerned with removal.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Is Blood Speaker actually good? I'd rather just play more powerful 4-cost demons and rely on my card draw to draw good stuff.
In what sense? My current deck ignores turn 1 completely and pushes hard for the mana rock on turn 2 so that it can immediately curve into one of its nine 4 drops and proceed from there. If I added Basalt Monolith I wouldn't have that smooth 2 -> 4 Curve that I'm desperately trying to achieve. Moreover, I don't have any busted 7 drops that outright win the game when I resolve them. I don't really want to 2-for-1 to cast a beater such as Demon of Dark Schemes and simply hope that that's good enough. Rather, I'm relying on jamming a large threat every turn for the rest of the game and in order to accomplish that task I'll need consistent forms of ramp. If this were a turbo Griselbrand deck then sure, I could easily justify it, but as it sits I'd rather start on 2 and jump straight to 4. Beyond that compare Monolith to Urza's Incubator in my deck deck with Herald of Anguishes. It's a Sol Ring for nearly all of my threats and it's even a Thran Dynamo for the aforementioned Herald.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
The only other demon I'd maybe look at is Xathrid Demon (as a singleton), just because it can give you a little reach around some kind of enchantment pillowfort deck or something like that. It's not great because you can only activate it during your upkeep, but I think running one is probably fine.
To be fair the deck has a reasonable curve. I have 11x 4 drops, 5-7x 5 drops (Herald of Anguish is a 5 drop assuming that you open with Jet Medallion) and then a reasonable glut of 6 drops. Only 3 cards in deck consistently cost 7 or more mana so it's not as though I'm going too ham on 8 drops or anything. I'm obviously banking on hitting my 2 and it really sucks when I don't (since the deck only has 3x 3 drops) but the rest of the curve wasn't chosen willy-nilly.
I'll probably run 1. The stats do actually matter since I win my games by turning creatures sideways and so dropping my 5/5s to 4/4s does significantly reduce my clock. This isn't a swam deck by any means so it's basically going to be a "one attacker, one blocker" style of build (except when I clear the board obviously) so I don't really want to spend an extra turn per person.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
(Urborg/Coffers/Nykthos/Rogue's Passage/V. Stronghold)
I wonder if you won't need some early weenie control?
Maybe some Pestilence? Or does that count as killing your own fatties?
(I assume you don't run Pestilence Demon for the same reasons.)
Personally I'd toss in two Nezumi Graverobber, because, you know, I can't not...
Would you like Promise of Power? It's on theme.
(-:
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
Yeah I'll probably add a spell land or two.
Toxic Deluge, Massacre, Mutilate, Kagemaro, First to Suffer and Demon of Dark Schemes seems like more than enough answers to weenies no?
I'm worried that he'll die to removal for very little benefit. I also don't see a compelling reason to cast him over a card like Reiver Demon which will immediately clear the board without slamming my own face.
I'm not worried about theme. The reason why I run so many demons is because they're actively good when you have a ton of Blood Speakers. Moreover, I don't have cards like Promise of Power is because Grielbrand is A) the best version of the effect and B) easily tutorable with Blood Speaker.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
My deck has like ~10 mass removal spells for small creatures. Are you taking that into account?
I don't expect to be facing many aggro decks no.
I too was thinking about things like Basilisk Collar and Whip of Erebos to grant my fatties lifelink. Exsanguinate does seem sweet but at that point I'd probably just run Gray Merchant of Asphodel.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Yeah, I'd probably just build slightly more conservatively, but I don't think that's necessarily "better." I like decks that get a little greedy, even if my instinct is always to pull back a little and trade top-end power for a little more consistency. Out of curiosity, do you mull as far as five (or further, I guess, but this doesn't seem like that sort of deck) to try and get a good opener, or stick at six even if it's not perfect?
Edit: Also, I agree that Whip of Erebos seems good here. I like it better than Basilisk Collar.
I've played a similar budget, mono-black demon deck before and I highly recommend Whip of Erebos. Having it on the battlefield often felt like I was doubling the power of my creatures because with so many beefy fliers I could just swing with everything and gain enough life from face damage that I didn't even worry about leaving more than one creature untapped to block.
I like the list and I can't really think of any other demons to use that would really be "better." I'd be curious to hear how Kagemaro, First to Suffer does. You've got plenty of card draw but not a Mystic Remora & Trade Secrets level of card draw where your hand will always be full. I wonder if just having two more Bloodgift Demons wouldn't be better.
My only other suggestion would be to consider Archfiend of Depravity as an alternative or addition to some of your board wipes. It's got the advantage of being totally one-sided and being tutorable by Blood Speaker.
One final note from my time playing a budget demon deck is that I was rarely disappointed with running Indulgent Tormentor as Bloodgift Demons 5-8. Normally cards that let your opponents choose like this are a let down, but in my experience I was usually able to pick one opponent with the worst board position who really couldn't afford to lose more creatures or life who would almost always give me the card versus setting themselves back further just to keep me from having it.
After playtesting a few games with this deck using a variety of my own decks, (B/G Seasons Past, Lurking Predators, Emeria Control)I can definitely attest that the deck is fun and does what it needs to do, but it feels like it's too fair. There are plenty of ways for you to gain card advantage between Griselbrand and Blood Speaker while beating down with demons, but that advantage feels too slight against oppressive engines like Seasons Past or Lurking Predators. If your goal is to play a fair game of Magic with super fun cards (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that option), then I think the deck is great, but if you want to consistently win and are facing those types of oppressive engines, then the deck may struggle.
I'll virtually never mulligan to 5. I don't even like mulling to 6 and I'll keep some sketchy 7s if I have to. I've been fairly content with the deck's consistency but it's obviously not perfect and it definitely sucks when you don't have a ramp spell for turn 2 nor Toxic Deluge/Massacre to stabilize until turn 4. It doesn't happen very frequently but it's not ideal when it does occur.
I don't need Kagemaro to be huge, I just want something that can clear the field of weenies without killing my 5/5s. That being said it's virtually a 6 drop because you typically want to cast it with a mana floating and since it's functionally similar to Demon of Dark Schemes maybe I should change the numbers around slightly.
The card is too much of a nonbo with all of my mass removal. It would be nigh worthless.
I agree that the card is fine but I realistically couldn't see myself running more than 4x Bloodgift Demon. I think that Bloodgift Demon is an extremely overrated Magic in general and the only reason why I have them is because I want something that I can run out on turn 4 and feel good about. That being said I don't really want to see more than 1.
Oh I don't doubt you for a second. The deck was never designed to be especially competitive. I'm just trying to find the best way to build it.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
The problem is that if people kill the thing then I'm kinda just dead. I'll be left with a hand full of fatties and no way to cast any of them. Also, my deck has like a million Wrath effects that deal -2/-2 to all creatures so I'll probably just end up killing it myself. Seems like a bad idea.
If I were going to add another ramp spell it would probably be something like Urza's Incubator.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Until that time I'll just hate anyone that casually runs it...
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
If you're going to buy them, now's the time. The MM3 printing has it at an all-time low.
This.
There's a few others at prices that are only going up (Cyclonic Rift cough cough)
I'm pretty sure Griselbrand is cheaper than Rune-Scarred Demon lol. Needless to say one is a tad better than the other .
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Keeps the game more fun and makes my decision making more easy.
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.