I apologize for taking so long to respond to this thread, until recently I have been caught up with work and other obligations. I'll try to answer your questions the best that I can.
@Hunter245
Hey man, glad to see your continued interest in the deck. Of course I wouldn't mind answering your questions.
Inquisition of Kozelik: I know there are a few respected players that dislike Inqusition, most notably Khymera. However I absolutely love this card, and have never once so much as considered cutting it. I feel Inquisition gets better the more competitive your metagame is. The most competitive metagames tend to have lower curves, and a high percentage of blue generals, both of which Inquisition shines against.
The most effective strategy against Iname is permission. Decks with a million counterspells tend to be the most difficult matchups for this deck, which also happens to be just the type of decks where Inquisition is the most valueable. Not only will you almost always be able to take their best counter (notable exceptions being Force of Will and Cryptic Command), but you also see their hand. Being able to see your opponent's hand is an incredible advantage for any combo deck, especially one with as many tutors as this one. You are given valuable information which tells you what to tutor for, when to go for the throat, what to bait with etc., you will also be able to tell if your opponent can easily find grave hate, or if you can just force through Iname.
Permission based control is hardly the only strategy where Inqusition shines however. Against other combo decks Inqusition is very disruptive, and the information gained from seeing their hand is also extremely valuable. Letting you know if you need to tutor for Null Rod or Persecute, if you can effectively race etc., all after taking an important tutor or even a combo peice. Inquistion is not even bad against aggro (although Iname usually doesn't need much help against aggro strategies) taking an early threat and letting you know if they are sandbagging the Bojuka Bog.
Many of the biggest threats to this deck are 3 or less making Inqusition an incredible tool not only for Iname, but any combo deck running black. Is this worse than Duress and Thoughtseize? Yes, but more duress effects are always welcome.
Dimir House Guard: House Guard is one of the weaker cards, but I feel the options that it gives you, especially for only 3 mana, earn it a spot in the deck. Lets exaimne what Dimir House Guard can get:
Balthor the Defiled
Horobi, Death's Wail
Krovikian Horror
Damnation
Diabolic Tutor
Persecute
Snuff Out
Unmask
*Phyrexian Processor (should you choose to play it)
Almost all of these are reasonable targets, with the exception of Horobi and Krovikian Horror. There you have a combo peice, both mass and targeted creature destruction, mass and targeted discard, an alternate win condition if you are playing Processor, and even the option of getting any card in your deck with Diabolic Tutor (albeit not in the most efficient fashion). Getting Snuff Out should not be overlooked because in the early game you will be able to tutor for and cast removal for an opposing general, the same can be said of Unmask against combo or control strategies. Another important note is that transmute is uncounterable, so you can tutor for Persecute and play it under Boseiju in the same turn, even against a fist full of counters.
As one of the cheaper tutors I think House Guard is a valuable tool for this deck, with enough versatility that it will almost always be useful at any stage of the game.
Persecute: Persecute is another card that I feel gets better the more competitive the metagame is. Most of the competitive generals are mono-colored, or very close to it. Obviously there are exceptions, but most, especially those against which this deck has the most trouble are. Again, mono-blue permission based control is the most difficult matchup for Iname, and Persecute is an absolute bomb here. Oftentimes you will win these matchups via an uncounterable Persecute thanks to either Boseiju or Defense Grid. Due to Persecute only costing 4 you may not even need to find a way to make it uncounterable for it to devastate your blue opponent. On the play there are many ways to cast Persecute on turn 3, when your opponent has either tapped out or does not have a 2 mana counterspell, including:
Ebon Stronghold
Lake of the Dead (although I wouldn't recommend this one)
Peat Bog
Ancient Tomb
City of Traitors
Crystal Vein
Soldevi Adnate
Dark Ritual (few things are more satisfying as playing Persecute turn 2)
Mana Vault
Grim Monolith
Jet Medallion
Obviously if your metagame consists mostly of multicolored decks, than Persecute loses a lot of value. However, even against multicolored decks your can usually detirmine which color is more heavily favored, or which color is more detrimental to your strategy. You can also use Thoughtseize, Duress, Inqusition, or even He Who Hungers to get full value out of Persecute against multcolored generals.
If your meta has a high percentage of multicolored decks might I suggest you replace Persecute with Head Games. Games costs more, cannot be found with House Guard, and can conflict with casting Iname, but will always connect no matter the general and can even take Bojuka Bog! If you decide to replace Persecute I would also consider replacing Dimir House Guard, as Persecute is on of it's most powerful and tutored for targets, although the skeleton still might be good enough.
Storm/5 Color Combo: This matchup is very close to even, however, I would say that the Storm/5 color combo player is slightly favored. There reasons for this are twofold. First, these type of combo decks are probably the only decks that are going to be playing more tutors than Iname. This means that your opponent will be able to quickly and efficently find grave hate, or combo peices. This is not the end of the world however, as Null Rod, while neutering much of the most commonly played grave hate, is also extremely effective against these strategies. The second advantage these 5 color generals have is that on average the power level of any random card is going to be higher than yours. Meaning their topdecks will be better, and discard loses some of it's effectiveness, although it is still an important angle of attack in this matchup.
LennonMarx, who's Sea of White/Horde Long list is easily the best 5 color combo deck I have seen, and has an intimate mastery of the deck, has an excellent analysis of this matchup in his primer. Below is his summation of the matchup, copy-pasted from his primer.
Iname, Death Aspect: Your cards are more powerful than theirs, in most cases. Iname also plays a host of dead cards that are only relevant after the deck actually casts Iname. This isn't a huge number, but it is enough that they can clog up Iname's hand at times. Even one dead draw against you can be brutal.
That said, Iname plays back breaking disruption. Null Rod is a beating, so is Mind Shatter, and Persecute can be tough too. It also has a fairly consistent turn 4-6 goldfish, which is actually a bit faster than this deck. The problem there is that unless Iname has >=11 mana available, she needs to pass the turn. This is your window to tutor up Jund Charm or Tormod's crypt and blow them out. If those aren't available, Timetwister and Timespiral reset her as well, and give you more gas to either continue winning or continue defending yourself. If Iname resolves a Living Death effect, you likely just lose, though Damnation is your hail-marry out to that, but it is unlikely.
The end result is the matchup is almost a coinflip, it might be SLIGHTLY in your favor, but if it is, it's like a 52-48 match, and you need to play tight, or Iname will just kill you, and knowing her, dance on your grave a bit.
Fortunately there is some good news for you, not only is Iname slightly faster as LennonMarx mentioned, thus giving you an advantage if the game becomes a race, there is also much you can do to improve the matchup. The aforementioned Head Games is very powerful against these types of decks, while still being useful in other matchups, the same can be said of Damping Matrix and Distress. If your meta consists of a lot of storm style combo you can easily swap in those cards for whatever is underwhelming in your area. Of course the 5 color decks also have the option of adding more grave hate to combat Iname, but that is less likely since Iname is such a small part of the competitive metagame.
Another fortunate thing for Iname is that these decks tend to be very difficult to build and play correctly. Almost all examples of these strategies I have come across have been poorly built or inconsistant (LennonMarx of course being the exception along with a couple others), and even a slight mistake can swing the game in your favor. These decks also tend to represent a very small portion of the competitve metagame, due to the difficulty assosiated with them (and sometimes card availability if you are playing in person instead of online), however, if you are interested in competeing in tournaments I would put in the time to test the matchup, as the smallest mistake can cost you the game.
Alternative Combos: I've addressed this previously in the thread so I won't go into too much detail here. Basically I just am not a huge fan of two card combos in this deck. Oftentimes if you could assemble your two card combo you could have won just as or almost as easily with the Iname/reanimate plan. Also against the most competitive generals you do not want to be drawing dead. You already have to worry about drawing the spirits, but if you are also drawing cards which are almost completely useless by themselves (think Helm of Obedience) you are putting yourself at a significant disadvangtage in a topdeck war.
I do agree that having an alternate means of winning is important, which is why I play Sorin. If I felt that another alternate win was neccesary, say for example the amount of grave hate played by the competitive generals increased significantly, than I would much rather play Phyrexian Processor than something like Obeyline or Hexmage/Depths. Both Sorin and Processor are powerful, game ending threats on their own, and can also be tutored for with one card, I don't want to be in a position where I have to count on drawing one of the peices of the combo and tutoring for the other.
Finally two card combos tend to fare very poorly against counterspells, which are already a concern for this deck. Unless you open with Leyline you will most likly have to invest at least one tutor, 9 mana, and 2 cards to set up the obeyline combo (which is most likely the best of the two card combos available to this deck), all of which can be stopped with a single counterspell.
Hope I was able to answer your questions, if anything was unclear please let me know and I'll do my best to clairify. Also if you have any other questions feel free to ask.
@d0su
Distress: Distress is a useful tool, one which I have played in the past and will most likely play at some point in the future, however, I do not consider it to be an auto-include. In terms of power level the card ranks relatively low, and is not a good topdeck if both players have exhausted their resources and are trying to recover. Also at double black it can be difficult to cast Distress and another spell in the same turn in the early game, where Distress is best. Distress is also fairly weak against Rofellos, which will just cast the next best bomb in it's hand and shrug it off. It also competes with much more on the curve than it's cheaper duress effect cousins.
That is not to say that Distress is bad by any means, just that it is more of a role player. Distress is great against permission, which is a huge plus for Iname, and valuable against other combo decks as well. If you expect a large amount of these types of decks then Distress is a perfectly reasonable tool. If EDH decks consisted of 100 cards instead of 99 there is a very good chance I would be playing Distress right now.
@fallen guardian
Thanks so much for you comments, I put a lot of time and effort into this deck, so it's always nice to hear that work is appreciated. I'm glad that the deck has been working out for you. Demonic Consultation is my favorite card, so I was particuarly happy to hear it has been as awesome for you as it has for me. Good luck beating those blue mages :D!
@masterofchoas
I've considered Nameless Inversion in the past, but I don't really think there is an efficent way to abuse it being a spirit. All of the spirits with soulshift (with the excpetion of He Who Hungers) tend to be quite weak in comparision to other options, and if you've got He Who Hungers in play, with Inversion in the grave, chances are you also have Kuro, or Horobi/Krovikian Horror to handle any creature, not just those with 3 or less toughness. I feel this deck is much more of a combo deck with minor control elements than of the other way around, and as such this mini combo just does not seem worth it. I tend to have a very aggressive playstyle however, so perhaps it is just me, although I doubt it as I feel you just have to play too many weak cards for such a small payout. Think of it this way, when you send all your spirits to the grave you already have access to recurring removal in the form of Korvikian Horror/Bloodghast/Nether Traitor. This not only is much easier to set up and recur, but beats when there is no opposition.
Also glad to hear that an Iname package is working in your Kresh deck. Iname is such a powerful and underrated card and I'm happy to see people finding other uses for her.
Hey, I was re-reading this thread today and thinking, "I wonder when Evergreen will update this again?" I guess this answers my question.
Thanks for clearing up my slight confusion concerning Distress. Your reasoning makes sense. Also, my friend's new Savra, Queen of the Golgari deck took a page out of your book and is playing a small Iname, Death Aspect spirit recursion package. Thanks for the tech!
I would love to see the current status of this deck, as it is being played in fzian's tournament. Have there been any major improvements/innovations?! I have been debating whether I want to try Iname or stay with Skithryx for my 1v1 Mono-Black...
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Elder Dragon Highlander WUBRG
Enchant World
When EDH comes into play, the game is a draw. Each player reveals his or her library to all other players, discusses how cool their deck is, and has a good laugh. Isn’t this a better version of Magic than playing “net decks”?
I've heard so much about this deck on these forums that I had to check it out.
I know this is an old thread and seems to be in dire need of an updating, but looking through this list I have absolutely no idea how this deck pulls off the turn 5-6 combo's that have been mentioned in the thread or what the combo's even are for that matter. Can anyone explain how this deck actually wins?
I've been stomped by it plenty of times now, so I'm probably qualified enough to share some insight. =P
The idea is to accelerate to 6 mana as soon as possible, made quite easy with Lake of the Dead, Dark Ritual, all of the mana artifacts and so on, and resolve your general. You clear the way with discard spells to make sure that you're not going to eat a counter, but even then you just recast Iname with your gobs of mana. Your opponent groans and prays for the best after this happens.
After Iname resolves, you're very close to winning. You put the 9 Spirits in your deck into your graveyard and stack them in a very particular way that can allow certain spirits to either return to play or to your hand for free (the big enabler is Krovikan Horror). Playing lands from this point on gets you Bloodghast for free, and Nether Traitor interacts with these cards as well, allowing you pretty much never-ending sac outlets. You also have a spirit that can come into play with a Swawp being sacrificed, but these are just the tricks you can do...
The "combo" consists of playing one of the many "Graveyard flip" cards in the deck like Living Death. When all of your Spirits are in play, you've won the game. Kuro and Horobi allow you to kill all of your opponents creatures, and He Who Hungers interacts with the above-mentioned looping spirits to clear your opponent's hand on the spot. The damage from this army comes so swiftly and surely that top-decking a board wipe (pretty much not played in 1v1) won't even save you, because Bloodghast and Nether Traitor will just keep pounding you to death, not to mention Iname being recast since mana is probably a non-issue at this point.
So yeah, Iname consistently hits by turn 4, sometimes as early as turn 3, and the finisher is mass reanimating your graveyard and comboing with your spirits in such a way that you clear your opponent's field and their hand immediately. It's strong! And when played optimally, it can even beat draw-go control decks consistently.
I <3 combo decks, and this is one of the few you'll find that's actually capable of taking down other tier 1 decks in the 1v1 French meta, an honor that maybe only 3-4 other such decks can boast.
Liliana of the Veil is absurdly overpowered, and makes just about any Black deck better. It's a fine fit for this deck and has tested extremely well for Evergreen, if I'm understanding correctly.
Victim of Night has also been a fine add from what I've seen.
I don't think that Evergreen added anything else from Innistrad (or that anything else is playable). A more updated list can be found in this currently ongoing tournament thread, minus his Innistrad adds: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showpost.php?p=7480841&postcount=2
I'm pretty sure this should go somewhere else, but it's pretty embarrassing when i meet other people to play EDH, they ask me who is my general... and i have no idea how to pronounce it.
In - aim?
Eye - name?
In - am - eh?
When i lived in Spain it was no problem, but now i have to talk in English and every name had to be 'relearnt'.
Is there any update on this? I can't find a competitive I name list
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Standard:None
Modern:Taxes, Jund, U/W Control | In the works:5c Gifts
Legacy: Main deck = DDFT/Storm Decks - Almost everything
Vintage: Bomberman, Dredge, Shops, Oath, Gush DD
EDH: German Foil Horde 50%, Animar, Iname DA,Patron of the Moon, Karador + more
Is there any update on this? I can't find a competitive I name list
If you go here you can find Evergreen's current list. It was played by a guy named Ronald Cruz (not Evergreen) in a tournament in Manila not too long ago.
If you go here you can find Evergreen's current list. It was played by a guy named Ronald Cruz (not Evergreen) in a tournament in Manila not too long ago.
Standard:None
Modern:Taxes, Jund, U/W Control | In the works:5c Gifts
Legacy: Main deck = DDFT/Storm Decks - Almost everything
Vintage: Bomberman, Dredge, Shops, Oath, Gush DD
EDH: German Foil Horde 50%, Animar, Iname DA,Patron of the Moon, Karador + more
I'm actually running into players that play 1v1 and this deck is a blast to play. I'll try the ghast out.
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Standard:None
Modern:Taxes, Jund, U/W Control | In the works:5c Gifts
Legacy: Main deck = DDFT/Storm Decks - Almost everything
Vintage: Bomberman, Dredge, Shops, Oath, Gush DD
EDH: German Foil Horde 50%, Animar, Iname DA,Patron of the Moon, Karador + more
I'm actually running into players that play 1v1 and this deck is a blast to play. I'll try the ghast out.
Crypt Ghast is just so awkwardly positioned for this deck
Pre Mass Reanimate it is:
-A creature that dies to literally everything (especially in a deck that doesn't play many removal targets until Iname hits the board)
-A creature with an ability, Extort, that is basically irrelevant for this deck
-A much more "all in mana ramper than Iname really needs. This deck doesn't want Thran Dynamo either, and that's much more resilient.
Post-mass reanimate, you might be able to get 2-4 Horror/Hungers activations instead of 1-2, but I agree that it seems too fragile for this deck and is not an efficient way to ramp into Iname, which is what it ought to be used for.
Why is this thread hiding all the way down in Page 6?!
Managed to top the latest Manila Duel Commander Tourney using Iname. Split the finals against Wanderer - would've wanted to play on but it was really late already.
Side Story: Went to the venue without bringing a deck since my DC decks are all scattered up and just played whatever Cruzron had in spare. After telling me a few tips like "there are 9 spirits in the deck", "try not to miss spirit triggers", "there is a dystopia maindeck" and "there is no polluted delta because i'm too lazy to transfer it from my legacy deck", off I go to Round 1!
R1 Prime Speaker Ramp W
Spirit hyper combo finish before he was able to do anything relevant.
R2 Wanderer Ramp D
Time got called just after we finished a looooooooooooong G2 (Destructive Force = durdle after).
R3 Maralen ANT W
G1 I was playing dumb and let him tutor up. Luckily he went too low on Ad Naus and he got shot by Kokusho and Horror. G2 I pick up Lily and that's the game.
R4 GST Tempo D
G1 13 zombies win. G2 he stops me with a timely 'geddon. G3 I had the combo with discard protection but just ran out of turns.
R5 GAA4 Control W
Discard the counterspells and then combo out. GAA4 almost puts no pressure on you anyways, just watch out for their land destruction bombs.
R6 Skittles Aggro Disruption IW
Teammate and we calculated that were both in so we just ate dinner at the nearby fast food joint lol
QF Wanderer Ramp W
Both games he was able to get Wanderer out after my reanimation bomb. KuroHorobi basically means his only out is a cascade to a mass destruction spell like Jokulhaups. G1 he got Upheaval but I manage to win anyways with a kill card and Recurring Nightmare feat. Kokusho.
SF GST Tempo W
G1 I got smacked by GST and Sofaf. G2 he kept a greedy one lander and died. G3 Dystopia ftw.
Tbh... Iname has a lot more speed than MW... The only reason I won against is he cast faster and depending on which cards that can overrun MW by next two turns. In addition, having to rely on random spells, you have to be really really luck when piloting MW.
Iname has more chance on winning than MW if you remove goddess of luck (ie my normal matchups with me and Ever).
Also i ported an iname package into my kresh the bloodbraided multiplayer deck. It's still ridiculous.
//www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/8552.html[/url">
[url]http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=5301342#post5301342"]What kind of Magic Player are you?
Probably the most brokenly created commander deck ever:http://deckstats.net/decks/811/1859-ubr-teps-desire-commander
@Hunter245
Hey man, glad to see your continued interest in the deck. Of course I wouldn't mind answering your questions.
Inquisition of Kozelik: I know there are a few respected players that dislike Inqusition, most notably Khymera. However I absolutely love this card, and have never once so much as considered cutting it. I feel Inquisition gets better the more competitive your metagame is. The most competitive metagames tend to have lower curves, and a high percentage of blue generals, both of which Inquisition shines against.
The most effective strategy against Iname is permission. Decks with a million counterspells tend to be the most difficult matchups for this deck, which also happens to be just the type of decks where Inquisition is the most valueable. Not only will you almost always be able to take their best counter (notable exceptions being Force of Will and Cryptic Command), but you also see their hand. Being able to see your opponent's hand is an incredible advantage for any combo deck, especially one with as many tutors as this one. You are given valuable information which tells you what to tutor for, when to go for the throat, what to bait with etc., you will also be able to tell if your opponent can easily find grave hate, or if you can just force through Iname.
Permission based control is hardly the only strategy where Inqusition shines however. Against other combo decks Inqusition is very disruptive, and the information gained from seeing their hand is also extremely valuable. Letting you know if you need to tutor for Null Rod or Persecute, if you can effectively race etc., all after taking an important tutor or even a combo peice. Inquistion is not even bad against aggro (although Iname usually doesn't need much help against aggro strategies) taking an early threat and letting you know if they are sandbagging the Bojuka Bog.
Many of the biggest threats to this deck are 3 or less making Inqusition an incredible tool not only for Iname, but any combo deck running black. Is this worse than Duress and Thoughtseize? Yes, but more duress effects are always welcome.
Dimir House Guard: House Guard is one of the weaker cards, but I feel the options that it gives you, especially for only 3 mana, earn it a spot in the deck. Lets exaimne what Dimir House Guard can get:
Balthor the Defiled
Horobi, Death's Wail
Krovikian Horror
Damnation
Diabolic Tutor
Persecute
Snuff Out
Unmask
*Phyrexian Processor (should you choose to play it)
Almost all of these are reasonable targets, with the exception of Horobi and Krovikian Horror. There you have a combo peice, both mass and targeted creature destruction, mass and targeted discard, an alternate win condition if you are playing Processor, and even the option of getting any card in your deck with Diabolic Tutor (albeit not in the most efficient fashion). Getting Snuff Out should not be overlooked because in the early game you will be able to tutor for and cast removal for an opposing general, the same can be said of Unmask against combo or control strategies. Another important note is that transmute is uncounterable, so you can tutor for Persecute and play it under Boseiju in the same turn, even against a fist full of counters.
As one of the cheaper tutors I think House Guard is a valuable tool for this deck, with enough versatility that it will almost always be useful at any stage of the game.
Persecute: Persecute is another card that I feel gets better the more competitive the metagame is. Most of the competitive generals are mono-colored, or very close to it. Obviously there are exceptions, but most, especially those against which this deck has the most trouble are. Again, mono-blue permission based control is the most difficult matchup for Iname, and Persecute is an absolute bomb here. Oftentimes you will win these matchups via an uncounterable Persecute thanks to either Boseiju or Defense Grid. Due to Persecute only costing 4 you may not even need to find a way to make it uncounterable for it to devastate your blue opponent. On the play there are many ways to cast Persecute on turn 3, when your opponent has either tapped out or does not have a 2 mana counterspell, including:
Ebon Stronghold
Lake of the Dead (although I wouldn't recommend this one)
Peat Bog
Ancient Tomb
City of Traitors
Crystal Vein
Soldevi Adnate
Dark Ritual (few things are more satisfying as playing Persecute turn 2)
Mana Vault
Grim Monolith
Jet Medallion
Obviously if your metagame consists mostly of multicolored decks, than Persecute loses a lot of value. However, even against multicolored decks your can usually detirmine which color is more heavily favored, or which color is more detrimental to your strategy. You can also use Thoughtseize, Duress, Inqusition, or even He Who Hungers to get full value out of Persecute against multcolored generals.
If your meta has a high percentage of multicolored decks might I suggest you replace Persecute with Head Games. Games costs more, cannot be found with House Guard, and can conflict with casting Iname, but will always connect no matter the general and can even take Bojuka Bog! If you decide to replace Persecute I would also consider replacing Dimir House Guard, as Persecute is on of it's most powerful and tutored for targets, although the skeleton still might be good enough.
Storm/5 Color Combo: This matchup is very close to even, however, I would say that the Storm/5 color combo player is slightly favored. There reasons for this are twofold. First, these type of combo decks are probably the only decks that are going to be playing more tutors than Iname. This means that your opponent will be able to quickly and efficently find grave hate, or combo peices. This is not the end of the world however, as Null Rod, while neutering much of the most commonly played grave hate, is also extremely effective against these strategies. The second advantage these 5 color generals have is that on average the power level of any random card is going to be higher than yours. Meaning their topdecks will be better, and discard loses some of it's effectiveness, although it is still an important angle of attack in this matchup.
LennonMarx, who's Sea of White/Horde Long list is easily the best 5 color combo deck I have seen, and has an intimate mastery of the deck, has an excellent analysis of this matchup in his primer. Below is his summation of the matchup, copy-pasted from his primer.
Iname, Death Aspect: Your cards are more powerful than theirs, in most cases. Iname also plays a host of dead cards that are only relevant after the deck actually casts Iname. This isn't a huge number, but it is enough that they can clog up Iname's hand at times. Even one dead draw against you can be brutal.
That said, Iname plays back breaking disruption. Null Rod is a beating, so is Mind Shatter, and Persecute can be tough too. It also has a fairly consistent turn 4-6 goldfish, which is actually a bit faster than this deck. The problem there is that unless Iname has >=11 mana available, she needs to pass the turn. This is your window to tutor up Jund Charm or Tormod's crypt and blow them out. If those aren't available, Timetwister and Timespiral reset her as well, and give you more gas to either continue winning or continue defending yourself. If Iname resolves a Living Death effect, you likely just lose, though Damnation is your hail-marry out to that, but it is unlikely.
The end result is the matchup is almost a coinflip, it might be SLIGHTLY in your favor, but if it is, it's like a 52-48 match, and you need to play tight, or Iname will just kill you, and knowing her, dance on your grave a bit.
Fortunately there is some good news for you, not only is Iname slightly faster as LennonMarx mentioned, thus giving you an advantage if the game becomes a race, there is also much you can do to improve the matchup. The aforementioned Head Games is very powerful against these types of decks, while still being useful in other matchups, the same can be said of Damping Matrix and Distress. If your meta consists of a lot of storm style combo you can easily swap in those cards for whatever is underwhelming in your area. Of course the 5 color decks also have the option of adding more grave hate to combat Iname, but that is less likely since Iname is such a small part of the competitive metagame.
Another fortunate thing for Iname is that these decks tend to be very difficult to build and play correctly. Almost all examples of these strategies I have come across have been poorly built or inconsistant (LennonMarx of course being the exception along with a couple others), and even a slight mistake can swing the game in your favor. These decks also tend to represent a very small portion of the competitve metagame, due to the difficulty assosiated with them (and sometimes card availability if you are playing in person instead of online), however, if you are interested in competeing in tournaments I would put in the time to test the matchup, as the smallest mistake can cost you the game.
Alternative Combos: I've addressed this previously in the thread so I won't go into too much detail here. Basically I just am not a huge fan of two card combos in this deck. Oftentimes if you could assemble your two card combo you could have won just as or almost as easily with the Iname/reanimate plan. Also against the most competitive generals you do not want to be drawing dead. You already have to worry about drawing the spirits, but if you are also drawing cards which are almost completely useless by themselves (think Helm of Obedience) you are putting yourself at a significant disadvangtage in a topdeck war.
I do agree that having an alternate means of winning is important, which is why I play Sorin. If I felt that another alternate win was neccesary, say for example the amount of grave hate played by the competitive generals increased significantly, than I would much rather play Phyrexian Processor than something like Obeyline or Hexmage/Depths. Both Sorin and Processor are powerful, game ending threats on their own, and can also be tutored for with one card, I don't want to be in a position where I have to count on drawing one of the peices of the combo and tutoring for the other.
Finally two card combos tend to fare very poorly against counterspells, which are already a concern for this deck. Unless you open with Leyline you will most likly have to invest at least one tutor, 9 mana, and 2 cards to set up the obeyline combo (which is most likely the best of the two card combos available to this deck), all of which can be stopped with a single counterspell.
Hope I was able to answer your questions, if anything was unclear please let me know and I'll do my best to clairify. Also if you have any other questions feel free to ask.
@d0su
Distress: Distress is a useful tool, one which I have played in the past and will most likely play at some point in the future, however, I do not consider it to be an auto-include. In terms of power level the card ranks relatively low, and is not a good topdeck if both players have exhausted their resources and are trying to recover. Also at double black it can be difficult to cast Distress and another spell in the same turn in the early game, where Distress is best. Distress is also fairly weak against Rofellos, which will just cast the next best bomb in it's hand and shrug it off. It also competes with much more on the curve than it's cheaper duress effect cousins.
That is not to say that Distress is bad by any means, just that it is more of a role player. Distress is great against permission, which is a huge plus for Iname, and valuable against other combo decks as well. If you expect a large amount of these types of decks then Distress is a perfectly reasonable tool. If EDH decks consisted of 100 cards instead of 99 there is a very good chance I would be playing Distress right now.
@fallen guardian
Thanks so much for you comments, I put a lot of time and effort into this deck, so it's always nice to hear that work is appreciated. I'm glad that the deck has been working out for you. Demonic Consultation is my favorite card, so I was particuarly happy to hear it has been as awesome for you as it has for me. Good luck beating those blue mages :D!
@masterofchoas
I've considered Nameless Inversion in the past, but I don't really think there is an efficent way to abuse it being a spirit. All of the spirits with soulshift (with the excpetion of He Who Hungers) tend to be quite weak in comparision to other options, and if you've got He Who Hungers in play, with Inversion in the grave, chances are you also have Kuro, or Horobi/Krovikian Horror to handle any creature, not just those with 3 or less toughness. I feel this deck is much more of a combo deck with minor control elements than of the other way around, and as such this mini combo just does not seem worth it. I tend to have a very aggressive playstyle however, so perhaps it is just me, although I doubt it as I feel you just have to play too many weak cards for such a small payout. Think of it this way, when you send all your spirits to the grave you already have access to recurring removal in the form of Korvikian Horror/Bloodghast/Nether Traitor. This not only is much easier to set up and recur, but beats when there is no opposition.
Also glad to hear that an Iname package is working in your Kresh deck. Iname is such a powerful and underrated card and I'm happy to see people finding other uses for her.
Thanks for clearing up my slight confusion concerning Distress. Your reasoning makes sense. Also, my friend's new Savra, Queen of the Golgari deck took a page out of your book and is playing a small Iname, Death Aspect spirit recursion package. Thanks for the tech!
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
lichess.org | chess.com
I would love to see the current status of this deck, as it is being played in fzian's tournament. Have there been any major improvements/innovations?! I have been debating whether I want to try Iname or stay with Skithryx for my 1v1 Mono-Black...
WUBRG
Enchant World
When EDH comes into play, the game is a draw. Each player reveals his or her library to all other players, discusses how cool their deck is, and has a good laugh.
Isn’t this a better version of Magic than playing “net decks”?
I know this is an old thread and seems to be in dire need of an updating, but looking through this list I have absolutely no idea how this deck pulls off the turn 5-6 combo's that have been mentioned in the thread or what the combo's even are for that matter. Can anyone explain how this deck actually wins?
The idea is to accelerate to 6 mana as soon as possible, made quite easy with Lake of the Dead, Dark Ritual, all of the mana artifacts and so on, and resolve your general. You clear the way with discard spells to make sure that you're not going to eat a counter, but even then you just recast Iname with your gobs of mana. Your opponent groans and prays for the best after this happens.
After Iname resolves, you're very close to winning. You put the 9 Spirits in your deck into your graveyard and stack them in a very particular way that can allow certain spirits to either return to play or to your hand for free (the big enabler is Krovikan Horror). Playing lands from this point on gets you Bloodghast for free, and Nether Traitor interacts with these cards as well, allowing you pretty much never-ending sac outlets. You also have a spirit that can come into play with a Swawp being sacrificed, but these are just the tricks you can do...
The "combo" consists of playing one of the many "Graveyard flip" cards in the deck like Living Death. When all of your Spirits are in play, you've won the game. Kuro and Horobi allow you to kill all of your opponents creatures, and He Who Hungers interacts with the above-mentioned looping spirits to clear your opponent's hand on the spot. The damage from this army comes so swiftly and surely that top-decking a board wipe (pretty much not played in 1v1) won't even save you, because Bloodghast and Nether Traitor will just keep pounding you to death, not to mention Iname being recast since mana is probably a non-issue at this point.
So yeah, Iname consistently hits by turn 4, sometimes as early as turn 3, and the finisher is mass reanimating your graveyard and comboing with your spirits in such a way that you clear your opponent's field and their hand immediately. It's strong! And when played optimally, it can even beat draw-go control decks consistently.
I <3 combo decks, and this is one of the few you'll find that's actually capable of taking down other tier 1 decks in the 1v1 French meta, an honor that maybe only 3-4 other such decks can boast.
My Captain Sisay Duel Commander Primer
Duel Commander Mega-Thread
Please tell me you're kidding. New Lili may not be good for this deck, but she is a step up from the old one.
Victim of Night has also been a fine add from what I've seen.
I don't think that Evergreen added anything else from Innistrad (or that anything else is playable). A more updated list can be found in this currently ongoing tournament thread, minus his Innistrad adds: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showpost.php?p=7480841&postcount=2
Note that this is for the French ban list.
My Captain Sisay Duel Commander Primer
Duel Commander Mega-Thread
I just pronounce it "Geist" and it works for everyone.
I think Evergreen was running Rhystic Tutor for a time - I don't know if he still is. Was hit and miss depending on how aggressive your opponent was.
EDH:
RNorin the WaryR <-Link! (Primer - Mono Red Control)
GUEdric, Spymaster of TrestUG <- Link! (Mini-Primer - Dredge)
Duel Commander:
WUGeist of Saint TraftUW <- Link! (Aggro-Control)
BGSkullbriar, the Walking GraveGB <- Link! (Aggro)
BUGDamia, Sage of StoneGUB <- Link! (Extinction Control)
Church of the Wary
huhuhu some friends pronounce it Ina-May
I say In-Name
or you can call it my personal favorite: the-4/4-black-guy-that-looks-like-hes-flying-but-isnt-for-some-reason.
Standard:None
Modern:Taxes, Jund, U/W Control | In the works:5c Gifts
Legacy: Main deck = DDFT/Storm Decks - Almost everything
Vintage: Bomberman, Dredge, Shops, Oath, Gush DD
EDH: German Foil Horde 50%, Animar, Iname DA,Patron of the Moon, Karador + more
If you go here you can find Evergreen's current list. It was played by a guy named Ronald Cruz (not Evergreen) in a tournament in Manila not too long ago.
Thank you good sir
Standard:None
Modern:Taxes, Jund, U/W Control | In the works:5c Gifts
Legacy: Main deck = DDFT/Storm Decks - Almost everything
Vintage: Bomberman, Dredge, Shops, Oath, Gush DD
EDH: German Foil Horde 50%, Animar, Iname DA,Patron of the Moon, Karador + more
So opponents would usually focus their counters on the other half(mass-reanimate) of the combo. Maybe more tutors are needed now.
Crypt Ghast
Standard:None
Modern:Taxes, Jund, U/W Control | In the works:5c Gifts
Legacy: Main deck = DDFT/Storm Decks - Almost everything
Vintage: Bomberman, Dredge, Shops, Oath, Gush DD
EDH: German Foil Horde 50%, Animar, Iname DA,Patron of the Moon, Karador + more
Crypt Ghast is just so awkwardly positioned for this deck
Pre Mass Reanimate it is:
-A creature that dies to literally everything (especially in a deck that doesn't play many removal targets until Iname hits the board)
-A creature with an ability, Extort, that is basically irrelevant for this deck
-A much more "all in mana ramper than Iname really needs. This deck doesn't want Thran Dynamo either, and that's much more resilient.
Post Mass Reanimate it is:
-Useless
Post-mass reanimate, you might be able to get 2-4 Horror/Hungers activations instead of 1-2, but I agree that it seems too fragile for this deck and is not an efficient way to ramp into Iname, which is what it ought to be used for.
I still think it's cool though. :]
Asmira, Holy Avenger (French EDH)
I upload Duel Commander match replays to my YouTube channel
Managed to top the latest Manila Duel Commander Tourney using Iname. Split the finals against Wanderer - would've wanted to play on but it was really late already.
Side Story: Went to the venue without bringing a deck since my DC decks are all scattered up and just played whatever Cruzron had in spare. After telling me a few tips like "there are 9 spirits in the deck", "try not to miss spirit triggers", "there is a dystopia maindeck" and "there is no polluted delta because i'm too lazy to transfer it from my legacy deck", off I go to Round 1!
R1 Prime Speaker Ramp W
Spirit hyper combo finish before he was able to do anything relevant.
R2 Wanderer Ramp D
Time got called just after we finished a looooooooooooong G2 (Destructive Force = durdle after).
R3 Maralen ANT W
G1 I was playing dumb and let him tutor up. Luckily he went too low on Ad Naus and he got shot by Kokusho and Horror. G2 I pick up Lily and that's the game.
R4 GST Tempo D
G1 13 zombies win. G2 he stops me with a timely 'geddon. G3 I had the combo with discard protection but just ran out of turns.
R5 GAA4 Control W
Discard the counterspells and then combo out. GAA4 almost puts no pressure on you anyways, just watch out for their land destruction bombs.
R6 Skittles Aggro Disruption IW
Teammate and we calculated that were both in so we just ate dinner at the nearby fast food joint lol
QF Wanderer Ramp W
Both games he was able to get Wanderer out after my reanimation bomb. KuroHorobi basically means his only out is a cascade to a mass destruction spell like Jokulhaups. G1 he got Upheaval but I manage to win anyways with a kill card and Recurring Nightmare feat. Kokusho.
SF GST Tempo W
G1 I got smacked by GST and Sofaf. G2 he kept a greedy one lander and died. G3 Dystopia ftw.
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
I'll be uploading the decklists later or tomorrow but it's pretty much a carbon copy. any differences are 5 cards or less
Iname has more chance on winning than MW if you remove goddess of luck (ie my normal matchups with me and Ever).
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier