[Official]
The Top 50 List (Indefinite Hiatus)
Poll: Which WHITE CREATURE should be removed from the list?
Ended Feb 16, 2019
Poll: Which BLACK CREATURES should be removed from the list? (Pick 4)
Ended Feb 16, 2019
Poll: Which GREEN NONCREATURE should be removed from the list?
Ended Feb 16, 2019
Poll: Which COLORLESS NONCREATURE should be removed from the list?
Ended Feb 16, 2019
Maybe people really like Bloodghast's interaction with Perilous Forays?
That was the hair I decided to split when voting between the two. I've also never seen anyone play Reassembling Skeleton effectively in EDH.
You don't just randomly throw it in a deck, but Skeleton is a good card.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
I have a pretty powerful monoblack Sheoldred Stax in my meta - the main win condition of this deck is locking the board with Contamination paired with Sheoldred and/or Braids and grinding from there. Reassembling Skeleton is a main fodder for Contamination/Braids and very effective at that.
Also I'd like to support the nomination for Disciple of Bolas.
GWU Derevi, the Prison Queen UWG
It's quite good in my Ertai, the Corrupted and Nath stax decks, and in a couple of very good Teysa decks I've played against.
It's certainly not a card that belongs in every deck that includes black among its colors, but it is good if you can benefit from sacrifice effects.
Which is like 75% of all decks that contain black.
Reassembling Skeleton the 12th most played black creature card in decks in the decklist database! I seriously don't get why people are voting for this card. There are tons of sac outlets that require sacrifice fodder, we've got plenty of those, and ONLY A FEW creature cards that can reliably come back every time they are sacced.
Bloodghast and Reassembling Skeleton belong to the top of their class and Reassembling Skeleton is arguably the only creature that can reliably come back every time it is sacced! Stop voting for this card people!
Also, someone should support Bloodgift Demon for week 2.
DECKS
Ertai | Squee | Roon | Aurelia
USEFUL RESOURCES
Commander Decklist Database
Statistical breakdown of the commander metagame
50 Commanders / 50 Decks
27 Colors / 27 Decks
I really wanted to like that card, but it usually died before it did me very much good.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
I've found it isn't generally viewed as a big enough threat to warrant spot removal, so sometimes it sticks around for a turn or two, until it gets taken out in a wrath effect. That, plus his being a fair-sized flying beater, is good enough for me to consider him an okay card.
Does he deserve to make this list, though? That's questionable. He's certainly easier to kill than the non-creature competition like Phyrexian Arena, and as others have noted, given their short expected lifespan, for a creature to really be considered top-notch in EDH, it should have pretty major effects on the board. I'm not sure Bloodgift Demon quite manages that, so I consider him a good, and definitely playable, card, but not top-50.
And yeah, I don't understand the Reassembling Skeleton hate either. He's a great strategy-enabler/engine card. Him, a sac outlet and Grave Pact = nobody else gets to keep any creatures for very long. That alone can be pretty good reason to play him.
No one plays stax strategies in my meta, this could be why I never see the skeleton being played. I've seen decks with sacrifice oriented themes, but they are usually geared to be efficiently tuned deck manipulators that don't need skeleton.
Pristaxcontrombmodruu!
Main Decks
Diaochan, Iroas, God of Victory, Kaalia, Marton, Ulasht, Volrath,
Kaervek, Prossh, Titania
Amusing or Themed
Progenitus
Pauper Guildmages
Azorius Boros Dimir Golgari Gruul Izzet Korozda
Orzhov Rakdos Rix Maadi Selesyna Simic Skarrg Zameck
I also play Weiss Schwarz, Chaos, Vanguard and Wixoss.
Accel World, Angel Beats, Familiar of Zero, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Guilty Crown, Kill La Kill, Robotics;Notes, Sword Art Online.
Chaos Partners
Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Iona, Kirishima, Kongou.
Dangan Ronpa: Asahina, Togami.
Freezing: Vibration: Chiffon, Satelizer.
Vanguard Clans Favoured
Angel Feather, Dark Irregulars, Genesis, Neonecter, Pale Moon, Shadow Paladins, Tachikaze.
Wixoss - Just trial decks for now!
It may not be amazing but a Phyrexian Arena ability is strong enough that it deserves the chance to be voted into the top 50. Kind of upset that Graveborn Muse wasn't nominated though.
I think so. It's 10 power for 6 mana at the very least. If you have a haste enabler it's 14 power for 6 mana. If it stays on the board it's an additional 4 power per turn. That's ignoring the fact that it has deathtouch.
I think Grave Titan is better than many of the cards on the list. IMO, a lot of the list feels meh unless you have an agenda, like Braids for example. I'd he rid of her before Grave Titan any day.
Graveborn Muse is already on the list.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Dimir house guard should have zero votes. It's a sac outlet and a tutor for tons of crazy stuff. All of the transmute cards are very high power (except grozoth, obviously).
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
Niv-Mizzet Ramp 'n' Wheel
Godo: Strap him up and turn him sideways!
I think GT compares very well to much of what is on the list. Powerful creature with deathtouch who comes into play with two other creatures, and makes two more each time you swing with them. Better yet, the creatures are of a type (zombie) that is sometimes relevant.
All in all, I think the Grave Titan is quite solid, and deserves his place on the list.
Maybe I’m looking at this from too much of a ‘good stuff’ direction, and maybe that’s boring/too inclusive/too vague a judging criteria. Still, if you need a chump block, a surprise etb trigger, a death trigger, a constantly recurring black permanent, defensive sac fodder, or a combo piece, Reassembling Skeleton is here for you. It may not seem like much, but effects like this have gotten me so much more value than cards like Butcher of Malakir, Massacre Wurm, and Sheoldred, Whispering One, who cost a lot of mana or a premium piece of recursion and don’t survive a turn. Massacre Wurm is even narrower in its applications than Reassembling Skeleton, and it hasn’t received a single vote.
In many ways, it’s a black Palinchron of sac abuse/death trigger/stax combos; its ability often allows them to go infinite/semi-infinite. It can’t bounce itself to your hand to protect itself, but barring graveyard disruption, it’s never permanently gone. It is nearly pointless trying to disrupt/counter it because most effects people can produce will only be temporary fixes anyway, and if you’ve mana open you can respond to removal targeted at one of your combo pieces by rezzing Skeleton and screwing with your interloper, possibly going off even through their interference.
I also don’t get the hate being directed at Dimir House Guard. Like Reassembling Skeleton, most of the time the card is pure value gravy. It’s a Damnation/Grave Pact/Cryptic Command/Mindslicer/whatever you happen to need, whenever you need it. It also a potentially persistent chump blocker, sac abuse outlet, naturally evasive if it needs to attack for some reason. There’s a lot to like, and again, you’re practically guaranteed to get whatever it is you want out of it.
Personally, I’m putting Dread on the chopping block. In my meta, no one really attacks anyone until they’ve established a strong enough board position to not care that Dread will kill their attackers. Either that or they’re after combat damage triggers which this card does not stop. This often means that the turn Dread’s trigger goes off is also the turn I die. It’d be kind of cool if it didn’t Gaea's Blessing itself back into my library, but compared to the other bombs on that list, even reanimating on the field in response to something seems really underwhelming.
I suspect it was once this list once but I’m going to nominate it anyway. Sadistic Hypnotist.
Oh Rider, my heart will go on...
Massacre Wurm shouldn't receive any votes. It is easily one of the strongest (IMO) black creatures in EDH. It often wins games by itself and if it doesn't win you the game it is still very powerful removal.
I should probably figure out what I want to vote for.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Bloodgift Demon got nominated twice by ROFLmanMAN and me and got supported once by Bthepanda. That should be enough to make it to week 2 right?
DECKS
Ertai | Squee | Roon | Aurelia
USEFUL RESOURCES
Commander Decklist Database
Statistical breakdown of the commander metagame
50 Commanders / 50 Decks
27 Colors / 27 Decks
Oops, I must have missed that. You're right.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Do you think this card would make it past a single round with what has already been nominated? Not that it surpasses even Dread the current whipping boy.
Main Decks
Diaochan, Iroas, God of Victory, Kaalia, Marton, Ulasht, Volrath,
Kaervek, Prossh, Titania
Amusing or Themed
Progenitus
Pauper Guildmages
Azorius Boros Dimir Golgari Gruul Izzet Korozda
Orzhov Rakdos Rix Maadi Selesyna Simic Skarrg Zameck
I also play Weiss Schwarz, Chaos, Vanguard and Wixoss.
Accel World, Angel Beats, Familiar of Zero, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Guilty Crown, Kill La Kill, Robotics;Notes, Sword Art Online.
Chaos Partners
Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Iona, Kirishima, Kongou.
Dangan Ronpa: Asahina, Togami.
Freezing: Vibration: Chiffon, Satelizer.
Vanguard Clans Favoured
Angel Feather, Dark Irregulars, Genesis, Neonecter, Pale Moon, Shadow Paladins, Tachikaze.
Wixoss - Just trial decks for now!