As soon as Meren was spoiled I fell in love and started working on a decklist. I'm not sure what tier she will end up in (I suspect Tier 2) but I'm going to make her shine as brightly as I possibly can.
She reminds me a lot of a Karador, Ghost Chieftain in how she reanimates a creature every turn with a 3/4 body but there are some crucial differences. Firstly a huge lack of white, many people think this is a deal breaker and they may very well be correct but I'm hoping that her other differences will help bridge the gap. Secondly she costs a firm 4 mana as opposed to 8 with a reduction effect. As an ex-Karador player one thing that annoyed me was the inconsistency of when you could play him, some games you could get him out ridiculously fast and others it would take until turn 5 or 6. I'm hoping the firm 4 mana will be a boon. Lastly and imo most importantly her recursion is free whereas in Karador you still had to pay mana to cast the creatures. I'm hoping this will make Mirin a bit faster then Karador, it also allows you to get away with land disruption cards like Contamination or Desolation that Karador wouldn't be able to pull off as well.
Anyway here's the list. I welcome all forms of constructive criticism.
I do think that Meren, in a pure reanimation strategy, is weaker than Karador. Not speaking about the Commander itself, but the deck. With Karador you will almost always win thanks to a loop, a combo, something recursive. This is where white gives you consistency. For the variable cost of Karador that you mentioned, I do not think of it as a disadvantage. The deck run efficiently without him, he is just a reanimation spell that you can cast under certain conditions. He allows some really strong mechanisms (Spore Frog, Yosei + sac, Shriekmaw, etc... But he is not NEEDED, all of those cards are good with lots of others in the deck. He is just a bonus.
Yes they both reanimate creatures, but i do think that the similarities stop here. That's for my two cents =) (miror matches of this deck will be amazing =P )
Some crucial things missing from OP post are High Market and Phyrexian Tower. Also some creatures I would have expected are Shriekmaw, Boneshredder, Mesmeric Fiend and Brain Maggot. Did you miss them or did you have reasons not to include them?
Honestly I somehow just missed em lol, ill put em in. Skriekmaw and Boneshrdder on the other hand I left out because they are so restrictive. Idk maybe you're right and I should use em.
Yeah, having GSZ and Tower and an untapped Green source in your opener isn't something you'll see all too often but it's not magical Christmas land either.
Regarding Shriekmaw and Bone Shredder, as Bal said you need that early removal. True they are pretty much dead against decks with mainly black creatures like Tasigur, Sidisi, Griselbrand or Anafenza(though against her you have a much bigger problem). But against other creature based strategy like Marath or Yisan being able to stop their early gameplan and after that killing one creature per turn with very little cost just wins you games.
I find that using card that are really good against certain decks yet useless against others is generally a bad Idea but to each his own. I figure we need all the help we can get against the anazenza matchup and shriekmaw/ bineshredder isn't doing us any favours.
I think they aren't "really good against certain decks", more like they are "not so good against certain decks" but just fine versus the rest.
I've played a few matches versus Anafenza, it's quite a hard matchup obviously, but killing that T1 dork on-the-play with Shriekmaw is good, or killing that Anafenza-boosted creature times with Bone Shredder, and then gaining temp by chump-blocking Anafenza the turn afterwards with your useless 1/1 body is also good.
No way will I distort my gameplan to try and improve a matchup that is by definition to our disadvantage anyways.
But yeah, Anafenza and Animar will always be a problem, that pretty much inevitable.
Toxic Deluge is helpful here, and often times you can even have Meren survive (harder against Anafenza obviously).
But having said all that, I could see cutting Bone Shredder and having another removal spell (Go for the Throat probably) instead, depends on the meta a bit.
Shriekmaw on the other hand can be a good body later on, and I've killed a few pesky Planeswalkers with his Fear.
You make some good points, Ill put Shriekmaw in my list and try him out.
What do you guys think about Sylvan Primordial for the deck? The spike in me says no its to expensive but then the Johnny in me says I need a 7 drop to chain into Craterhoof Behemoth with Birthing Pod. Should I be running Yisan, the Wanderer Bard as well? I'm not convinced he's as good in the 99 as he is a general
I do not really understand your list actually. You are playing card like Whisperwood Elemental (good stuff gameplan or a good way to take over the board in a good environment), lots of sacrifice related card/mechanisms (makes sens in a deck where your Commander brings back guys^^) But also some combo (necrotic ooze - Triskelion - Devourer), Darck Confidant with 8mana cards, and a Behemoth (clearly a swarm strategy oriented card ) -> To many things I think.
My 2cents :
leave the combo-ish cards. Not consistent enough here.
choose between low CMC and Bob (I would play Bob and lower the curve with on top maybe Whisperwood Elemental, Grave Titan and Griselbrand as cards above 4CMC)
Swarm or sacrifice... the reasons are clear I gess
Birthing Pod is clearly a mendatory card here, but Ysan... i don't know... yes if he works, but the chances are low... If you like it, play it^^ (we all have crapy cards in EDH just because they are cool^^ ), but do not try to fit the mana curve for him.
Sylvan Primordial: 7 is a lot to destroy a land and get us one. If he had trample... But as I said, if you like it... listen to the Johnny
Conclusion: choose a game plan and stick to it. If you want to play it aggro and swarm and burn (yes! why not?^^) just make 3 different decks. Otherwise you will be able to play none of the strategies.
I do not really understand your list actually. You are playing card like Whisperwood Elemental (good stuff gameplan or a good way to take over the board in a good environment), lots of sacrifice related card/mechanisms (makes sens in a deck where your Commander brings back guys^^) But also some combo (necrotic ooze - Triskelion - Devourer), Darck Confidant with 8mana cards, and a Behemoth (clearly a swarm strategy oriented card ) -> To many things I think.
My 2cents :
leave the combo-ish cards. Not consistent enough here.
choose between low CMC and Bob (I would play Bob and lower the curve with on top maybe Whisperwood Elemental, Grave Titan and Griselbrand as cards above 4CMC)
Swarm or sacrifice... the reasons are clear I gess
Birthing Pod is clearly a mendatory card here, but Ysan... i don't know... yes if he works, but the chances are low... If you like it, play it^^ (we all have crapy cards in EDH just because they are cool^^ ), but do not try to fit the mana curve for him.
Sylvan Primordial: 7 is a lot to destroy a land and get us one. If he had trample... But as I said, if you like it... listen to the Johnny
Conclusion: choose a game plan and stick to it. If you want to play it aggro and swarm and burn (yes! why not?^^) just make 3 different decks. Otherwise you will be able to play none of the strategies.
Hmmm, I see what you mean. I'll lose the swarm cards a and stick to the sacrifice. I think the combo works to well in Meren to lose it. With Meren and 4 xp counters you just play buried alive or use survival of the fittest, and win at the End of turn when you recur the ooze. If you don't have the xp counters yet just sac a bunch of creatures to the many sac outlets in the deck until you do. I figure its nice to have an alternate win con when the grind isn't working out.
Just in case I miss something what are all the swarm cards in the list you would cut besides the Behemoth and Dark Confidant? Is there anything you think I should run in their place?
The probleme with Bob and Behemoth is that life will become an issue after you drew behemoth (to late to react) and leaving you in a difficult situation (8 life is a lot!).
Yes the combo is a "oops, i won", then you should just use all of your tutos just to go for buried alive then... just make a black deck full of tutos and reanimation.
Bloodghast and Crawler, because having something to sac for Phyrexian altar, Braids, Phyrexian tower, Contamination ...... other than Meren or your wincon is just... good. You are also playing cards like Fauna, Survival and ^Liliana of the Veil demanding you to discard cards, i do not know for you, but i really dislike discarding Reclamation sage, Ooze, Oracle, Slim,... It is so easy to take advantage out of card like Bloodghast.
FearDReaper: You do not play other swarm cardsd, that's why i think Behemoth isn't good here, unlike in Sidisi who is flooding the board with tokens making Behemoth good by itself. Mindslicer and Sadistic hyp one of those is enough for me. You want to see it versus specific match ups and not at a precise time, so you have time to tuto it^^
I'll just cut the Behemoth for now. I only just added it after Bal posted it was working for him but it seems to create many flaws as Scoup has pointed out. I'll leave the combo amd confidant for now until I have time to test the deck out.
Wooow such aggresivity did I say that Fauna is a bad card? hum... not here. And actually I only play here to bait a removal. there is always a removal for Fauna ;P
"Have you ever played with Liliana" actually... yes... and I am sure that pithcing good cards is always bad, because when liliana will be removed, those cards are lost, Yes Meren could bring back some, but not fast enoug, I think.
Yes you can sac your dork. you actually will do it later, but then? sac meren? or sac a dork and bringing them back with meren 'till the end of the game? bringing back kills / wincons is just better... I think...
" Have you ever played Bloodghast?! " Bloodghast will not apply pressure, netheir block, for sure! It'is even writen on it but it lowers the pressure of your own cards on yourself witch is great! isn't it?
But of course, as usual, these are just my 2cents from a guy who actually have no idea on how to build for a highlander format
Cheers!
Totally personal note :
"Have you ever played with Liliana?" and "I don't think you know how to build for a highlander format." this kind of free aggresivity is so basic... like attacking the guy writing is always easier than finding good arguments, but I prefere when we stuck on the subject
You're attacking me, but you actually have no idea of who i am and apparently no idea even of what i say Take your time to read, try to understand why did i say it, and never forget that... It is just my 2cents
I'm being challenging, not aggressive and I am being challenging because I find your ideas and card analysis bizarre.
Fauna Shaman is just so good, you have discard to see it through removal, can recur it with Meren, and once it goes online you are in a very strong position to win.
Liliana of the Veil is the second best planeswalker ever printed (maybe tied with Vryn's apprentice). The effect is [i]symmetrical[/i] - they lose resources too - and you are ticking up toward her ultimate, which puts enormous pressure on the other player, particularly if they are controllish or Mid-rangy. Even better, the effect isn't really symmetrical here as this deck will use a lot of the resources placed in the graveyard. Why do you think Lilli sees play in multiple constructed formats and even in vintage? It's not because of the card art.
Bloodghast is bad because is does nothing on it's own, but beat very anemically in a format dominated by larger creatures and you won't be supporting it with any other aggressive creatures. It's only really good with something like skullclamp or contamination and there are better ways to feed those cards.
Yes you can sac your dork. you actually will do it later, but then? sac meren? or sac a dork and bringing them back with meren 'till the end of the game? bringing back kills / wincons is just better... I think...
[/i]
Yes! That is an ideal scenario! With contamination they are presumably locked out of the game and you have a 3/4 beater to close the deal. Though I still think the reanimator combo is better than contamination lock as there are two many good dork based decks in the format. Marath will laugh at a denial plan, less so at a combo one.
Bal, I've often wished I could run auger in other builds, but he's just too slow/imprecise. Mesmeric fiend's effect is just better. Have never played with young Lili and not sure if great or terrible. I think Reapers current list looks pretty okay, though I don't rate desolation at all and think he could squeeze in some utility lands like blighted fen or mutavault.
I agree with mostly all of this. Sink-Error, what do you think of Craterhoof Behemoth? Was taking it out a good idea or should I have left it in? Bal likes it but Scoup doesn't, i'm looking for a tie-breaker.
I'm kinda loving how heated this thread has gotten in just the first couple pages lol.
Have you considered playing Jarad's Orders? You get 2 creatures one which might hit the field the same turn you play Jarads Order. In Karador I'm always happy to see this card but that's because most of the time it just set's up Karmic Guide + something and we don't have access to Karmic Guide unfortunately.
But given the utility of creatures to can always tutor for something helpful in the current situation: Ramp, Discard, Removal, Sac Outlet, Stax, Artifact/Enchantment Removal, Land Destruction. Seems worth testing to me.
Imo 4 mana is just to much for a sorcery speed tutor. Its a good card but its expensive. I think Sidisi, Undead Vizier is ok but only because it synergizes so well with Meren. Generally speaking expensive tutors are a tempo loss which is really bad against aggro decks unless tutoring for a combo.
I could go either way over behemoth, but my gut is that it's better in Yisan-style builds than Karador-style ones. You're not ramping so hard in this type of build and the swarm style seems worse than just going over the top with the combo.
Ya thats probably correct. Part of me wonders what the main win-con of the deck is (other then the ooze combo). Is it just a slow grind? What am I running so many mana dorks for? The Behemoth might not be right for the deck but should I consider another boss 8 drop like Griselbrand or should I keep my costs a bit lower and use more 4-5 drops like Titania, Protector of Argoth?
1)I don't think they are a necessity in this kind of deck and don't do much for you besides the plain power they provide. But you have not many evasive creatires to put the Swords on and threaten a fast clock. So I might swap them out if you have other powerful cards to put in.
2) Living Nightmare is just a nightmare of a card (pun inteded). If you don't screw up it can hardly be interacted with and just generates stupids amount of value. Also just puts more exp counters on Meren.
I also came to the realization today, that Meren has the lowest cap for exp counters out of all 5 Commanders. After you have reached 6exp everything that comes after is literally useless. For the others you at least get diminishing returns even when they hit 10+ exp.
Do you mean Recurring Nightmare? If so then yes I could easily swap a sword for this bad boy
Yeah sorry, I meant Recurring Nightmare. You could also think about Living Death Especially if you can set something up with Survival or Buried Alive.
Ehh, I've had some bad experiences with the living death so I'm personally not going to run in it but I totally get why someone else would use it. Under the right scenario its game winning.
I wonder if I should run Reanimate and/or Animate Dead or if that would be unnecessary redundancy.
I don't mean to bring up a point if it has been brought up before, but would this list be defined as "The Rock-Control" or more of "G/B aggro"? But yes, jerards order does seems rather slow imo.
I don't mean to bring up a point if it has been brought up before, but would this list be defined as "The Rock-Control" or more of "G/B aggro"? But yes, jerards order does seems rather slow imo.
Its not an aggro deck so I guess The Rock. I wouldn't call it control though
May I suggest Smokestack, a lot of decks simply can't deal with it early. It's the same as Braids except it enables enchantment and planeswalker sacrifices, it also scales
I've always liked Smokestack in theory but I've never actually used it in dual commander before and part of me wonders if it's a bit slow for the format outside of a full on Stax strategy. Even if it is fast enough is it really something my varient of Meren would take proper of advantage of or would I bleed to much from its double-edged blade? I mean sure, assuming Meren is kept alive and reanimating a creature every turn its great but what about the game where the permission deck denies me Meren and the mirror Rock deck that keeps killing her before the end step.
What does everyone else think about Smokestack? Am I being to conservative?
I am currently building my own Meren List and will attend a local tournament tomorrow, I will post my experiences and list.
On a side note: I am including dredge as a subtheme. Am I the only one thinking that dredge is very powerful with Meren? Not only does it provide flexibility early but also is very strong with Recurring Nightmare, Survival of the fittest and Contamination.
dredge is a powerful mechanic but there arent many cards powerful enough to make the cut for the bloodthristy DC meta. I'm using Life from the Loam but thats pretty much it.
I'm looking forward to seeing your decklist as well as how well it performed.
As promised I will give you a genereal impression about my first experiences with Meren.
First of all: The dredge package performed as expected. Filling your graveyard early gives you a lot of working space against a veriety of decks.
Unfortunately, I played against 2 Mono Black Combo decks, Varolz Infect and Marath with the whole combo package. And as I couldn't get all the cards together that I wanted to play (Namely the good discard spells), combo was a bad matchup. Not as bad as I expected though, I got a game against all of my opponents.
I will keep updating my Decklist and post it once I feel confident enough with it.
As stated in the OP: Meren is probably T2 only but with the proper meta-adjustments it's a solid deck and once your pass that critical game point you are probably unbeatable.
As for Contamination: YES. It's amazing.
Would you mind posting the decklist you used? I would like to see how close it is to my own.
I like your list! except for the points I already explained
In a deck like this, i do not think you need twice the same effect on creatures, you have enought tutocards to grab it when you need it, and if it already has been used, rez it!
Friend of mine also played Meren in a tournament we had today. Unfortunately we didn't win a match, but that's also because of inexperience with the deck and mistakes he made. However he liked the general way the deck played and he'll continue to improve it and figure out what cards to play. He went with a more stax oriented build including Smokestack, Tanglewire, Contamination and Braids.
I'll help him building the deck. I think Wasteland + Loam + Crucible is really strong when going this attrition route. I think he was looking for some more finisher, he played Prime Time and Grave Titan mainly as win cons besides value grind and the stax stuff. He wants to try out Wurmcoil Engine and I think it's worth a try. Also Titania might be really strong as she is good in both beating down and decimating your enemy with the wasteland package.
A lot of people have mentioned taking Meren the Stax Route and I wanted to give my 2 cents. I don't think she is good general for Stax. Firstly stax is really, really, really hard to pull off in duel commander and you dont want to create a deck that is overly reliant on your general to win the game. Secondly a black stax deck in duel commander should have a pretty small average cmc, very few creatures and the few creatures it does run need to be able to self reanimate like Bloodghast or Nether Spirit. That way when you cast Pox type cards your opponent suffers 3x more then you do. This is the opposite of what Meren wants to do. Meren wants a deck saturated with creatures and a medium-high average cmc in order to ramp into/ reanimate larger threats. As for using cards like Bloodghast, having Meren reanimate them is superfluous.
As soon as Meren was spoiled I fell in love and started working on a decklist. I'm not sure what tier she will end up in (I suspect Tier 2) but I'm going to make her shine as brightly as I possibly can.
She reminds me a lot of a Karador, Ghost Chieftain in how she reanimates a creature every turn with a 3/4 body but there are some crucial differences. Firstly a huge lack of white, many people think this is a deal breaker and they may very well be correct but I'm hoping that her other differences will help bridge the gap. Secondly she costs a firm 4 mana as opposed to 8 with a reduction effect. As an ex-Karador player one thing that annoyed me was the inconsistency of when you could play him, some games you could get him out ridiculously fast and others it would take until turn 5 or 6. I'm hoping the firm 4 mana will be a boon. Lastly and imo most importantly her recursion is free whereas in Karador you still had to pay mana to cast the creatures. I'm hoping this will make Mirin a bit faster then Karador, it also allows you to get away with land disruption cards like Contamination or Desolation that Karador wouldn't be able to pull off as well.
Anyway here's the list. I welcome all forms of constructive criticism.
4 Meren of Clan Nel Toth
Lands - 39
1 Blighted Fen
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Cavern of Souls
1 City of Brass
1 Command Tower
1 Dryad Arbor
7 Forest
1 High Market
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Mana Confluence
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Polluted Delta
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
6 Swamp
1 Tainted Wood
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Temple of Malady
1 Twilight Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Arbor Elf
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Boreal Druid
1 Caustic Caterpillar
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Elves of Deep Shadow
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Viscera Seer
2 Brain Maggot
2 Dark Confidant
2 Devoted Druid
2 Duskwatch Recruiter
2 Fauna Shaman
2 Mesmeric Fiend
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Scavenging Ooze
3 Bone Shredder
3 Eternal Witness
3 Fleshbag Marauder
3 Grim Haruspex
3 Liliana, Heretical Healer
3 Merciless Executioner
3 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
3 Reclamation Sage
3 Tireless Tracker
4 Braids, Cabal Minion
4 Necrotic Ooze
4 Vengevine
5 Acidic Slime
5 Shriekmaw
5 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
5 Street Wraith
5 Titania, Protector of Argoth
5 Whisperwood Elemental
6 Massacre Wurm
6 Phyrexian Devourer
6 Primeval Titan
6 Triskelion
1 Duress
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Thoughtseize
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Demonic Tutor
2 Diabolic Intent
3 Buried Alive
3 Dismember
3 Maelstrom Pulse
Enchantments - 6
1 Wild Growth
2 Evolutionary Leap
2 Survival of the Fittest
2 Sylvan Library
3 Recurring Nightmare
3 Phyrexian Arena
Artifacts - 2
1 Skullclamp
4 Birthing Pod
Planeswalkers - 2
3 Liliana of the Veil
5 Ob Nixilis Reignited
I hope other Meren players will use this thread to discuss card options and post their own decklists.
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
For our new friend Meren, I do think that the things will be different. You should play cards like Smallpox, Death cloud, Nether Void, Liliana of the Veil, Braids, cabal minion, Tangle Wire to slow the game (mana denial + general sac-outlets), control your opponent (discard), put some beasts in your graveyard, and then Meren will be necessary to take advantage on the situation by bringing back some friends (everyplayer should have the smallest hand, with a unusable manabase, but a monster on your side).
To increase the number of counter, I would play cards like Bloodghast, Nether Traitor, Gravecrawler with Viscera Seer, Phyrexian Tower, Phyrexian Altar, ...
Yes they both reanimate creatures, but i do think that the similarities stop here. That's for my two cents =) (miror matches of this deck will be amazing =P )
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
My 2cents :
Birthing Pod is clearly a mendatory card here, but Ysan... i don't know... yes if he works, but the chances are low... If you like it, play it^^ (we all have crapy cards in EDH just because they are cool^^ ), but do not try to fit the mana curve for him.
Sylvan Primordial: 7 is a lot to destroy a land and get us one. If he had trample... But as I said, if you like it... listen to the Johnny
Conclusion: choose a game plan and stick to it. If you want to play it aggro and swarm and burn (yes! why not?^^) just make 3 different decks. Otherwise you will be able to play none of the strategies.
Just in case I miss something what are all the swarm cards in the list you would cut besides the Behemoth and Dark Confidant? Is there anything you think I should run in their place?
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
Yes the combo is a "oops, i won", then you should just use all of your tutos just to go for buried alive then... just make a black deck full of tutos and reanimation.
Bloodghast and Crawler, because having something to sac for Phyrexian altar, Braids, Phyrexian tower, Contamination ...... other than Meren or your wincon is just... good. You are also playing cards like Fauna, Survival and ^Liliana of the Veil demanding you to discard cards, i do not know for you, but i really dislike discarding Reclamation sage, Ooze, Oracle, Slim,... It is so easy to take advantage out of card like Bloodghast.
FearDReaper: You do not play other swarm cardsd, that's why i think Behemoth isn't good here, unlike in Sidisi who is flooding the board with tokens making Behemoth good by itself. Mindslicer and Sadistic hyp one of those is enough for me. You want to see it versus specific match ups and not at a precise time, so you have time to tuto it^^
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
"Have you ever played with Liliana" actually... yes... and I am sure that pithcing good cards is always bad, because when liliana will be removed, those cards are lost, Yes Meren could bring back some, but not fast enoug, I think.
Yes you can sac your dork. you actually will do it later, but then? sac meren? or sac a dork and bringing them back with meren 'till the end of the game? bringing back kills / wincons is just better... I think...
" Have you ever played Bloodghast?! "
But of course, as usual, these are just my 2cents
Cheers!
Totally personal note :
"Have you ever played with Liliana?" and "I don't think you know how to build for a highlander format." this kind of free aggresivity is so basic... like attacking the guy writing is always easier than finding good arguments, but I prefere when we stuck on the subject
You're attacking me, but you actually have no idea of who i am and apparently no idea even of what i say
I'm kinda loving how heated this thread has gotten in just the first couple pages lol.
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
1) What do you think of Sword of Fire and Ice and Sword of Feast and Famine in this kind of deck. Should I take one or both out?
2) Should I be running other Recursion Spells, right now I'm really just counting on Meren? If yes how many?
3) Do I need more utility lands? How many colourless lands are to many?
4) Are their any cards other Meren players have used successfully I'm not using and haven't been discussed?
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
I wonder if I should run Reanimate and/or Animate Dead or if that would be unnecessary redundancy.
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
What does everyone else think about Smokestack? Am I being to conservative?
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
I'm looking forward to seeing your decklist as well as how well it performed.
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
In a deck like this, i do not think you need twice the same effect on creatures, you have enought tutocards to grab it when you need it, and if it already has been used, rez it!
Give us feed back when you have some
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)