A quick note to anyone that decides to read through the posts: This is not the first list. With this new list, I've completely revamped the thread. I had plans to place the contents of the old thread in spoiler tags, but it for some reason would not work. Just don't get confused if the first few posts seem out of place.
So I've decided to revisit Toshiro Umezawa on a more permanent basis. Toshiro has become my go-to suggestion for people looking for new commanders to play and I've found myself wanting to play the deck again. I've also been thinking about having a deck or two to keep built basically forever, along side my Karador, Ghost Chieftain which I've never even thought about taking apart or retiring. As much fun as I had in the past with Toshiro and how much I kept thinking about revisiting the deck, I've decided to keep Toshiro Umezawa on my roster permanently. I've been working on rebuilding the deck for about two and a half weeks now, mostly due to budget stuff. There's a lot of cards I felt I needed if I were to rebuild the deck, and there's the problem of double sleeving it and a lack of deck boxes within my budget. There's still a few cards I don't have, some because I completely forgot to pick them up on my recent online order, and some just because I couldn't afford them. I'll go over those cards later.
About Me and Why Toshiro Umezawa
I build just about any deck that sounds interesting, not specifically to win, but rather for the experience of playing the deck and with things that I haven't used before. I've played with and against every archetype and every combination of colors. I'm a very causal player at heart and enjoy interesting interactions and board states far more than simply winning a game. I have a natural tendency to build more controlling or explosive decks. While I really enjoy playing control and having all the answers, I've found hard counter control to significantly less popular and fun in a casual setting, shifting me to play more removal based control decks which I have found myself enjoying far more than anything else. I love graveyard recursion and having all those extra resources just waiting to be used. I've tried nearly all the interesting commanders, baring the ones I simply can't obtain for budget or sheer rarity reasons, and I've found that Toshiro Umezawa is one of the most fun commanders I've ever used. It's a fun, challenging, and color pie skewing playstyle that I simply can't get enough of. Because of this, I've decided to add Toshiro as a member of my permanent commander deck roster.
The Playstyle
Toshiro Umezawa is a build around commander, simple as that. His ability functions on one of the things that black does best: Instant speed removal. Black typically isn't the color to fiddle around in the stack and does far more with creatures than anything else, so playing black spellslinger is a really different and fun change from the typical reanimator decks that the color is filled with. The playstyle can be really challenging at times and gives the opportunity to play with a lot of cards that may never see play otherwise even in a Commander setting.
You may enjoy Toshiro if:
- You like building around your commander.
- You like reactive strategies.
- You like playing really subpar cards and watching them do work.
You may not enjoy Toshiro if:
- You don't want your commander to be nessisary to the strategy.
- You want a strong board presence.
- You want a proactive strategy.
- You want to play good cards all the time.
- Your group is prodominately control or combo.
Alternative Commander Suggestions
There are plenty of monoblack, control, and spellslinger commanders to choose from, so I'm not going to mention any of them. Rather, I'm going to recommend other commanders with strategies or playstyles typically unseen in their colors.
Glissa the Traitor - Another fun commander that likes to go against the color pie. Glissa is a fantastic commander for anyone tired of the typical blue or red artifact decks. She also triggers on opponents' creatures dying, making her perfect for a removal based control strategy.
Brion Stoutarm - The extreme majority of boros commanders are only good for attacking. Brion is one of the 2 that can do something more. Fling effects aren't exactly rare in red, but the way Brion can change your playstyle makes him stand out. Another commander that can cater to a removal based control strategy, he also allows the use of Threaten effects as a basis for removal.
Diaochan, Artful Beauty - Monored being political is a thing of beauty. Of course you can run a more controlling set up, but political builds can be some of the more fun builds when playing with friends, new players, or just a new group. Most monored commanders tend to lean towards agressive or artifact based strategies, leaving Diaochan as a more reactive playstyle. This is a deck that I highly suggest that everyone build eventually.
Wort, the Raidmother - Tokens aren't exactly uncommon in Red and Green, but what is rare is spellslinger strategies. Wort can pull off Spellslinger very easily with next to no creatures in the deck. The key is token producing spells like Dragon Fodder and Spontaneous Generation. While you don't have to play spellslinger, Wort can do it really easy and in a really odd color combination.
The current win conditions are recurring Kokusho, the Evening Star and Sphinx-Bone Wand. I need to add more, but I couldn't find any that were particularly interesting. I intentionally left out infinte combos.
Reaper from the Abyss - Lets my removal go that further and gives additional triggers for Toshiro. I do have the strange feeling that he'll end up killing Toshiro at some point.
Liliana Vess - Just generally lackluster. The -8 would be really good in this deck, but her +1 is bad and she won't live long enough to -2 more than once.
Ob Nixilis Reignited - His +1 and -3 are great, but the -8 is really lacking. I'd consider using it if I had it.
Karn Liberated - Colorless removal option that can take over a 1v1 fairly easily. The problem is Legacy and Modern and its high price tag.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - A not so budget friendly, better All is dust that can do a lot more. I'd almost place this as a general staple of the format if its price tag were't so high, but like Karn Liberated it is seeing play in competitive formats.
My Choices:
Sol Ring - Pretty much a staple of the format. Honestly thinking about dropping it though.
Expedition Map - Tutor for Coffers, Phyrexia's Core, Urborg, etc.
Glaring Spotlight - Allows me to target Hexproof stuff which is kind of bad seeing how Shroud is more common, but It still let's me kill more things.
Oblivion Stone - Colorless board wipe. The numerous times that someone has dropped Iona, Shield of Emeria on me makes colorless removal options staple in my monocolored decks.
Sphinx-Bone Wand - Another possible win condition and can just gun down creatures very fast.
Journeyer's Kite - Basic land tutors are pretty good, but with enough card draw it's just not needed.
Caged Sun - Really good if it sticks long enough to untap with it which is really rare. Most people gun to kill this card quick.
Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves - In the final cuts for the deck, I had two creatures I'd want these for: Toshiro and Helldozer. Helldozer didn't make the cut and neither did these.
Scroll of the Masters - Seemed really good at first, but the time it takes to get enough counters to be worth it just ruins its usefulness.
Isocron Scepter - This was the last card to be cut before the deck's completion. It's just too easy for people to kill it and I don't have enough cards that I'd really want to use it for. Plenty of instants that fit the 2 or less cmc, but not enough that I wanted imprinted and risk it getting removed and never being able to really use it.
Mirari - It's just too mana intensive. It's really good for Spellslinger decks, but just really mana intensive.
Lashwrithe and Nightmare lash - They're really good for getting in commander damage, but it really makes people want to kill Toshiro. They may make it into the deck at a later date if I don't find better win conditions first.
My Choices:
Illness in the Ranks - Deals with most mass produced tokens(elves, goblins, saprolings, etc) and it works with [c]Forbidden Orchard.
Necropotence - Monoblack staple. If you haven't used one, then you should.
Phyrexian Arena - Semi-staple. I've found it to be less useful on more creature heavy builds where you have Desciple of Bolas, Skullclamp, etc. Still a really good card.
Tainted Aether - Pretty good against creature based decks and even better with Illness in the ranks and Forbidden orchard. I love killing creatures in response to its trigger and make people sacrifice lands.
Gate to Phyrexia - The only artifact removal in black. If I were playing a more creature heavy build, then I'd be using it.
Contamination - Really good lockdown card. It has the tendency to stick around for a while if it resolves, so long as you have the creatures to keep it around.
Tombstone Stairwell - Thought about using this in the same capacity as Forbidden orchard, but the creatures are too big for Illness in the ranks.
Lethal Vapors - It tends to stick around until someone can remove it as no one wants to skip a turn to get rid of it.
Dark Prophecy - Good for creature heavy or token heavy builds. Great source of draw.
Bitterblossom - Feeds Contamination, Skullclamp and other cards that need creatures to be around.
Wound Reflection - I used to run this in a previous version of Toshiro with Repay in Kind. It was a fun way to close out a game. I can't seem to find a copy of Repay in kind though.
Withering Wisps and Pestilence - Keeps creature decks at bay so long as you can keep a creature out so it doesn't sacrifice at eot. Also a pretty good way to cut people's life totals down for an easier win.
Praetor's Grasp - Best case scenario is taking a win condition that you're able to cast. Worst case scenario you take a half decent tech land.
Ashes to Ashes - This is a near staple for my black decks. The key is that it Exiles and allows you to deal with Indestructible things that black typically has a real problem with, especially when they have another creature and an Edict effect won't help.
Damnation - Black staple. It's color shifted Wrath of god. It is very expensive though, money wise, so there are plenty of budget versions with various extra texts thrown in.
Mutilate - Another board wipe that can kill Indestructible things.
Other Choices:
In Garruk's Wake - Excellent, though very high cmc, board wipe. It also hits planeswalkers which very few other things do.
Plague Wind - Another excellent board wipe, solely because the high cmc is offset by it not killing your creatures.
All is Dust - Gets around hexproof, shroud, and indestructible. One of the few cards black can use to get rid of enchantments. If someone plays Iona, Shield of Emeria, then this is one of the few ways black has to get rid of it. I, however, do not own one.
Decree of Pain - Another excellent board wipe. A bit high costed, but you get to draw for each creature that dies. It may find it's way into my deck at some point.
Yahenni's Expertise - If this didn't kill Toshiro, then I'd be all in for it. Cast expertise and kill some stuff, then cast some removal off expertise to kill more stuff and get a bunch of flashback triggers? Sounds great.
Killing Wave - This can either clear the board or drop some people by a bunch of life, but always the worse of the two. Still really good.
Exsanguinate - Pretty good finisher with tons of mana to throw around. May find its way into the deck at some point.
Beseech the Queen - Good tutor in monoblack, but it's a bit too limited for me. The "less than or equal to the number of lands you control" clause just kills it for me. It makes it far more useful late game and very narrow early game.
Dark Deal - Wheel effects are very nice. You get to draw more cards and mess with other player's hands. The difference is that this draws people cards based on how many they already had, so if you're low on cards and want more, then you'll have even less after casting it. I love its design, but it's terrible.
Bubbling Muck - High Tide for swamps, but at sorcery speed. The only reason I cut it was I cut Ensanquinate and there really wasn't any other need for high amounts of mana.
Cannibalize - A lot of people dislike Ashes to Ashes for needing two targets, but I've used the card for a long time and love it. The problem with Cannibalize isn't that one of the targets live, but rather they need to be controlled by the same player.
Disturbed Burial - Almost made it into the deck. Buyback makes this far better than it would be otherwise, though it gets really mana intensive really quick.
Beacon of Unrest - Really good card. The ability to resurrect creatures and artifacts is awesome. I just didn't make the cut.
My Choices:
Skeletal Scrying - Instant speed card draw that gets better with more mana.
Suffer the Past - Grave hate that can serve as a win condition or at least help with others.
Misinformation - This can really crush people at times. Just taking the three worst cards from their graveyard and putting them on top is just so mean. That guy that's been sitting there the whole game pitching lands or nonlands cause they need the opposite? Put 3 more on top of their library.
Aphotic Wisps - Another fairly easy cantrip. It does require a creature to target, but that shouldn't be much of a problem in most intances.
Entomb - Tutor up any instant to flashback or any creature to resurrect. Really good card in any deck that likes to use the graveyard.
Tragic Slip - Needing a creature to die in order to take full advantage is a bit of a downside, but it also makes it one of the best removal spells in Toshiro considering the conditions in which you can give it Flashback.
Warping Wail - Modal cards tend to be really good with the right modes. Countering a Sorcery is a bit narrow, and so is exiling a 1 power or toughness creature, but together has the potential to be a really useful card. This is in the deck to test and see just how useful it is. There's a lot of one p/t things that I could see wanting to hit, like Snapcaster Mage and Eternal Witness and both are very common.
Shred Memory - Another grave hate card, but this one can be used as a tutor and then flashed back later. It has nice versatility.
Doom Blade - Pretty signature card for black at this point. The Nonblack clause does really hurt sometimes as common as black is in this format.
Nameless Inversion - It's a Camel Human Brushwagg Elk Sliver Kobold Knight Soldier Wizard Druid Shaman. It pairs with Haakon, Stromgald Scourge for a removal engine, but it is really fun to try and come up with the most absurd creature type combinations.
Withering Boon - Countering a Creature seems really awesome in a format based around building a deck with a legendary creature.
Victim of Night - For a removal spell with three different non-this restrictions, this hits a lot more stuff than the typical nonblack restricted cards do.
Malicious Affliction - The ability to hit more than one thing is fantastic. It makes for chains upon chains of flashing back cards for some rathe explosive plays with enough creatures on the board.
Bile Blight - Strictly better Echoing Decay and I like Echoing decay. Clears tokens even with a couple of tribal lords buffing them. Kills 1/1 tokens even if Elesh Norn is sitting next to them. the extra reach of this card is a lot bigger than most would think.
Grasp of Darkness - No color restriction and deals with Indestructible things. The -4/-4 is actually pretty sizable.
Dismember - Better than [c]Grasp of Darkness. Hits slightly more and only costs 1 when you need it to.
Reaping the Graves - Instant speed Disentomb with storm. I am running a low creature build, so this might not stay in the deck, but it's still really nice.
Crypt Incursion - Grave hate that gains life to counteract all the "you lose x life" cards in the deck.
Grim Return - Kill a thing, then resurrect said thing. Even better with Toshiro and really easy choice of cards to flashback.
Corpse Dance - Repeatable Resurrection, though it really needs a sac outlet to shine. It is currently the primary win condition with Kokusho.
Grave Birthing - Another cantrip grave hate card, but this one also makes a token.
Sudden Death - Grasp of Darkness with Split Second. Sometimes the split second is irrelevant, but when it's relevant it tends to be very relevant.
Reckless Spite - Destroys multiple things at the cost of life. It allows the deck to start chaining spells.
Murder - No restrictions but slightly more expensive mana wise. Hero's Downfall is strictly better but kind of expensive money wise in comparison.
Makeshift Mannequinn - Instant speed resurrection. Its only downside is actually rather small.
Moonlight Bargain - Can draw up to 5 cards, fill the grave with stuff to flashback, or just dig for stuff.
Murderous Cut - No color restriction. Delve is really nice and allows you to exile the things you can't flashback or recur to make it cheaper.
Death Rattle - Murderous cut with a "nongreen" restriction. Green is one of the more popular colors in the format, but arguably better than a nonblack restriction.
Other Choices: Fatal Push - Really good in 60 card formats, but I think a bit too limited in EDH. It does hit more than one would typically think, but there's enough cards I passed up that would keep this from getting a slot.
Hatred - Not going to lie, I just blatantly forgot to pick one up. Being able to pay a bunch of life and knock off a player with commander damage is a pretty sweet surprise.
Vampiric Tutor - Another card that I just blatantly forgot to buy. While I'm not too keen on topdeck tutors, it is instant speed and Toshiro can give it flashback. There's really no reason not to run it other than not having one and it is rather expensive being $20+.
Go for the Throat - I can't find mine. I remember having two of the promos, but I couldn't find them. I didn't remember to pick one up on my last order either. Clearly better than Doom Blade and would probably be in its place if I had one.
Scour from Existence - Yet another card I forgot to pick up. Spent an hour rummaging through bulk boxes at my lgs and didn't find one. Didn't have the time to keep looking. Colorless removal options are really good and while Scour from Existence is really high cmc, it is definitely worth the card slot on a budget.
Word of Command - Seems hilarious. This card seems like it would be really fun to use. Only problem is its high price tag.
Hero's Demise - Destroy target commander seems pretty good and I did use it in a previous version of the deck. The only problem is that it's just too narrow. Yes, you're almost always going to have a target, but sometimes those targets just aren't worth the effort of removing.
Rend Flesh - Almost Murder. the type Restriction is almost negligible. Almost. Murder is typically just better.
Vendetta - It used to be a very good card a few years back. The nonblack clause is getting more and more relevant as more cards like Murder, Hero's downfall, and Murderous cut are being printed. The life loss was typically negligible, but chaining it with Toshiro can stack up very quickly.
Devour in Shadow - Very similar to Vendetta, but without a color restriction. Like Vendetta, the life loss can start stacking up very quickly.
Snuff Out - Free spells are awesome, just look at Force of Will. The nonblack restriction really hurts it the same way it hurts Doom Blade and Vendetta. The more Murder variants get printed, the worse color restricted cards become. There's been numerous times I've needed to kill a black creature and had the mana to spare but was sitting with Snuff Out in hand.
Contagion - I've always had a soft spot for this card, but it's just never done enough. It can kill two tiny creatures or just make a bigger creature nonthreatening. The ability to make it a free spell just doesn't matter when it typically can't kill two creatures and you're better off just using mana for a different spell.
Altar's Reap - Instant speed draw with a negligible additional cost. Unfortunately, my build is very creature light and Altar's reap just wouldn't do anything for me.
Titan's Presence - I really like this card a lot. In basically any deck that likes running a lot of artifact creatures or eldrazi, this is going to be awesome. Unfortunately, I don't run either.
Grip of Desolation - Exile removal is good. Being able to get rid of a land in addition to a creature is also good. 6cmc isn't so good. If it were 4cmc and was "or" instead of "and" it would probably have found its way into the deck. I really like the card and will probably play it in Black/Green decks where I can get the mana fairly quickly.
Insidious Dreams - Not going to lie, first time I used this card I though it was a typical to the hand tutor. No one in my group corrected me and I though the card was great. It's not. It's really, really bad. It's so much worse than basically every other tutor in black.
Perilous Predicament - If I were running Barter in Blood, then I'd consider switching it out. Fortunately, I'm not running barter in blood cause Perilous Predicament really isn't good. Artifact creatures really aren't that common in EDH/Commander.
Final Reward - Blatant exile removal. No restrictions. That's really good, but at 5cmc? I will legitimately give this card a try. Probably drop Reaping the Graves for it. If Sever the Bloodline didn't have flashback, then It'd be an easier switch.
Undying Evil - One mana and Toshiro doesn't die to a board wipe. It seems really good, but it doesn't do anything else. I simply doesn't do enough.
Ravenous Trap - Potentially free grave hate. If it were free more often, it might have made the cut. There's just better things.
Vile Rebirth - Grave hate with a free token is really tempting, but just couldn't make the cut comparing it to the other grave hate cards that did.
Surgical Extraction - I really want to play this card. Grave hate that gives you a peek at their hand and can screw up a topdeck tutor sounds amazing. Unfortunately it just isn't as good as a grave hate card that draws cards or lets you tutor. It just couldn't make the cut.
A quick note on all instant speed edicts: They're good. They're especially good at taking out voltron commanders. Otherwise, they just fall flat. In all the groups I've played in, Voltron was fairly uncommon. At the time, they just didn't make the cut, but they could easily make the cut later if voltron becomes a problem.
Tribute to Hunger - Edict effect with a nice side of life gain. Great for counteracting the life loss from numerous cards in this deck.
Diabolic Edict - The namesake card for this type of effect. It's fairly vanilla and there's been lots of cards to come out that do more than this does.
Geth's Verdict - Edict effect with a side of completely negligible life loss. Better than Diabolic Edict, but not by enough to matter.
My Choices:
Bojuka Bog - Basic staple of any black deck. There is no reason not to use it.
Maze of Ith - Really good in creature light decks. The less life you lose, the more you have to spend.
Cabal Coffers - Staple of Monoblack. Near staple in 2-colored black decks. I wouldn't use it in 3 or more colors.
Reliquary Tower - General staple of the format. If you like drawing cards, then run this card.
Volrath's Stronghold - Near staple in black decks with almost any amount of creatures, but has a pretty high price tag. Budget decks can go without it fairly easily.
Phyrexian Tower - Near staple in black decks with almost any amount of creatures, but has a pretty high price tag. There are a few budget options in lands, but plenty of nonland cards to serve as sac outlets. Budget decks can easily go without it.
Terrain Generator - Easily a staple of one or two colored decks. Gives ramp to nongreen decks given enough card draw.
Boseiju, Who Shelters All - Near staple of Spellslinger decks. Its price tag has gone up due to competitive formats. Budget decks can go without it fairly easily unless you find blue control to be an issue.
Unholy Grotto - Budget Volrath's Stronghold, but only works for Zombies.
Buried Ruin - Artifact recursion, but is one-shot without a way to recur it. Options to recur it tend to be fairly pricey.
Ghost Quarter - Standard land hate. Kills Gaea's Cradles, opposing Cabal Coffers, etc. Has the added bonus of allowing your opponent to search up a basic. This can mess with topdeck tutors and can be a Strip Mine if they want to keep their top card.
Desert - I like to use this with Toshiro and Glissa the Traitor. Basically any 1 toughness creature that attacks can be killed for a death trigger. The best part is that the creature doesn't need to attack you.
Arcane Lighthouse - Arguably a staple of the format. If you're running even a half decent amount of removal, then you should at least consider it. It is a bit hard to find as most online card shops (at least at the moment) are sold out on them. It is REALLY good.
Cavern of Souls - Really good, but has a decently high price tag. Fantastic for any deck that needs their commander to resolve and tribal decks.
Ancient Tomb - Good ramp land. A tad pricey, but good for any deck that needs the ramp. The life does stack up after a while.
High Market - A great sac outlet. It's also fairly cheap and near staple for any creature based deck.
Vesuva and Thespian's Stage - Really good when you have a good land to copy, like Cabal Coffers but generally kind of useless the rest of the time.
Strip Mine - The generic land destruction land. It also has a pretty low price tag.
Wasteland - A really good Land destruction land. Slightly worse than Strip mine, but very expensive due to Legacy play.
Just a heads up for anyone reading this that wants to make suggestions for certain cards: There are a few cards that should be in the deck that I just don't have and don't have the budget to obtain at the moment. Those cards are Hatred, Vampiric Tutor, and Go for the Throat. If I could get them, then I would. If I had them, then I'd play them.
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief Could just be the bees knees as a general for you. I used to play her a while back. Since you said you didn't have much for instants for yours atm and she's removal in herself
Removal: Decree of pain Worst case you cycle this bad boy to wrath the board instead You at least get 1 card that way. It's fun to trick a green player who just animated all their lands and then cycle this and kill them off. Tendrils of Corruption Dismember Wayyyyyy better than sudden death. As priority doesn't pass when a card is laid so if it has an activated ability it can be triggered when they lay it. This gets you that 1 extra point and can be cast for 4 life and a mana rather than 3. Spine of Ish Sah Pair that with the Phyrexia's core = happy day. Duplicant Brittle Effigy Forced Marsh Withered Wretch
Those are cards I can think of off the top of my head. There's others out there. If you'd like for me to name some cuts I can do that later. Need a break for now and figured you'd like this
Also card 62 needs its tag fixed.
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I would not say dismember is better than sudden death. I'm sure it's metagame dependent but I know on my meta sudden death = dead zur the enchanter who thought force of will had his back, split second is always nice. From my few times playing monk black with my mirri the cursed trim deck and my xiao fun on mtgo I'd say myojin of night's reach has won me more games than any single card aside from hatred which is also hilariously fun in monk black
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief Could just be the bees knees as a general for you. I used to play her a while back. Since you said you didn't have much for instants for yours atm and she's removal in herself
I've had a few friends that tried her, but she never really did much in our heavy removal meta. Unless that had a crap ton of mana to spend, she just got removed. I wanted a general that wasn't a threat, so he would hopefully never really considered a target.
crypt never really peaked my interest. I don't really have many creatures in the deck. The ETB tapped also hurts it a bit.
I need a deserted temple for a couple of decks because of it's use with a lot of different lands, and not just the mass mana lands.
Phyrexia's core would only be there for spine of ish sah, and spine would only be there because of core. I don't really think those two really get a spot, for the same reason i'm wanting to drop Kormus Bell.
Reliquary tower is a duh and i'm not sure how i forgot it.
Removal: Decree of pain Worst case you cycle this bad boy to wrath the board instead You at least get 1 card that way. It's fun to trick a green player who just animated all their lands and then cycle this and kill them off. Tendrils of Corruption Dismember Wayyyyyy better than sudden death. As priority doesn't pass when a card is laid so if it has an activated ability it can be triggered when they lay it. This gets you that 1 extra point and can be cast for 4 life and a mana rather than 3. Spine of Ish Sah Pair that with the Phyrexia's core = happy day. Duplicant Brittle Effigy Forced Marsh Withered Wretch
I need a copy of Decree and i somehow lost my copy of plague wind, but i want to add those when i get them.
Tendrils of Corruption is awesome but just didn't make the cut. It's currently in a small stack of about 10 cards that didn't make the cut that i'm still considering.
Duplicant i need a bunch of. Effigy is a little bad and i'd rather run Spine. Forced march is extremely mana intensive, which is something i cant guarantee. Withered wretch is being considered.
I've got a solemn in a retired deck that i just haven't unsleeved yet, but he's a good idea. Magus is a huge target which isn't what i want. Grave titan and wurmcoil are good, but wurmcoil's lifegain isn't very relevant and grave's tokens aren't deathtouch. i might use wurmcoil because of it's difficulty to deal with.
Bloodgift is pretty good, but he probably won't live very long, which is the reason i'm considering dropping Reaper of the Abyss.
Greaves and boots, i thought about but the only thing i would want to put them on is Toshiro.
When i can get ahold of another reanimate, i'll be dropping Beacon of Unrest for it. Sheoldred is just removal fodder in my meta and i never have enough creatures to flash back dread return.
Mirari is a maybe, i'd have to test it, but scepter is a definite no.
Thanks for all the suggestions. it's got me thinking about a few more cards i hadn't thought of yet.
I would not say dismember is better than sudden death. I'm sure it's metagame dependent but I know on my meta sudden death = dead zur the enchanter who thought force of will had his back, split second is always nice. From my few times playing monk black with my mirri the cursed trim deck and my xiao fun on mtgo I'd say myojin of night's reach has won me more games than any single card aside from hatred which is also hilariously fun in monk black
Sudden death is awesome. I've thought about adding a Dismember, but it won't be replacing Sudden Death.
Thought I would update this with newly released cards on a per-set basis, but I'm also actively avoiding looking at new sets as I don't have the budget to break my hiatus at the moment. Spent some time looking through spoilers and card lists anyway, just to update this thread.
---Amonkhet---
Scarab Feast - Simple and sweet. Exile some stuff twice or draw a card and exile some stuff.
Shadow of the Grave - This makes me want a cycling subtheme, but I know there's nowhere near enough cycling cards in monoblack.
Final Reward - Blatant exile removal. No restrictions. That's really good, but at 5cmc? I will legitimately give this card a try. Probably drop Reaping the Graves for it. If Sever the Bloodline didn't have flashback, then It'd be an easier switch.
---Hour of Devastation---
Nothing of interest.
---Ixalan---
Primal Amulet - 4cc and 4 instant or sorcery spells for a land that twincasts one of my spells each turn. Seems good. Seems.
Revel in Riches - Oh, yes. This is awesome. Killing creatures is the whole point. Kill 10 things and win the game? I need this.
Walk the Plank - This is so good. Why did it have to be a sorcery? Stricktly better Victim of Night would have been sweet.
Costly Plunder - I like being able to sac an artifact instead of a creature, but there are still better things, even at sorcery speed.
Vraska's Contempt - Exile is good. It can target planeswalkers too. But 4cc is just. Going to pass for now.
Recommendations:
First and foremost, classic black removal that just might be better than what you've got here- Snuff Out + Slaughter Pact - what's better than casting a free spell? Casting it for free twice! Go for the Throat Diabolic Edict (also considerable is Geth's Verdict) Hero's Downfall should be included way, way before Murder.
I also think you should consider Darkness as a very strong and cheap option. No Mercy is a very strong control enchantment and enabler for your commander. Black Market is begging for inclusion for mana shenanigans. I'd include it before Revel in Riches since Riches doesn't stack the mana.
I'm disappointed at your lack of Wretched Confluence. Practically begging for an include. Succumb to Temptation - Solid, recastable card draw. Much better than some random cards you have. Sudden Spoiling - What's that? Your opponent has a Avacyn, Angel of Hope? Well you don't care!
You really do need cards that will help you end the game. Here are a few options: Empty the Pits - I always wanted to see this card as a great response to grave hate. I wonder if it's really viable. Fated Return - very, very strong lategame. Indestructible is priceless. Hatred Spoils of Blood - excellent, recastable way of using all the creatures that were killed this turn and turning them into board state. Kill more stuff -> get bigger creature! (also considerable: Bloodcrazed Paladin) Tainted Strike - if you're like me you hate infect, but it really is good at closing out games. You can cast this on an opponent attacking another opponent for sudden lethal, then flash it back on your creature to kill the first one too! Demon of Dark Schemes - another Massacre Wurm effect that brings back the creatures you killed! Seems very powerful here.
On that note, Chainer, Dementia Master, because you don't need wincons if they already have theirs!
Other cute suggestions: Consume the Meek, as replayable emergency boardwipe. Contagion, if you see yourself paying the alternate cost (also relevant for casting through graveyard). Dark Dabbling - seems like a cute card to save your board. Better than a few cards you have here. Imp's Mischief - a one-of-a-kind for B, with a usually negligible cost. Ad Nauseam - depends on your curve. I think you might have too much expensive stuff if you want to include this card.
EDIT: Even with the cute interaction between Haakon and Nameless Inversion, I still think it's not enough, since Haakon does nothing alone and since Incursion is a lackluster removal at best. I'd rather run Isochron Scepter for guaranteed synergy that's usually going to be better than these two cards.
So I've decided to revisit Toshiro Umezawa on a more permanent basis. Toshiro has become my go-to suggestion for people looking for new commanders to play and I've found myself wanting to play the deck again. I've also been thinking about having a deck or two to keep built basically forever, along side my Karador, Ghost Chieftain which I've never even thought about taking apart or retiring. As much fun as I had in the past with Toshiro and how much I kept thinking about revisiting the deck, I've decided to keep Toshiro Umezawa on my roster permanently. I've been working on rebuilding the deck for about two and a half weeks now, mostly due to budget stuff. There's a lot of cards I felt I needed if I were to rebuild the deck, and there's the problem of double sleeving it and a lack of deck boxes within my budget. There's still a few cards I don't have, some because I completely forgot to pick them up on my recent online order, and some just because I couldn't afford them. I'll go over those cards later.
About Me and Why Toshiro Umezawa
I build just about any deck that sounds interesting, not specifically to win, but rather for the experience of playing the deck and with things that I haven't used before. I've played with and against every archetype and every combination of colors. I'm a very causal player at heart and enjoy interesting interactions and board states far more than simply winning a game. I have a natural tendency to build more controlling or explosive decks. While I really enjoy playing control and having all the answers, I've found hard counter control to significantly less popular and fun in a casual setting, shifting me to play more removal based control decks which I have found myself enjoying far more than anything else. I love graveyard recursion and having all those extra resources just waiting to be used. I've tried nearly all the interesting commanders, baring the ones I simply can't obtain for budget or sheer rarity reasons, and I've found that Toshiro Umezawa is one of the most fun commanders I've ever used. It's a fun, challenging, and color pie skewing playstyle that I simply can't get enough of. Because of this, I've decided to add Toshiro as a member of my permanent commander deck roster.
The Playstyle
Toshiro Umezawa is a build around commander, simple as that. His ability functions on one of the things that black does best: Instant speed removal. Black typically isn't the color to fiddle around in the stack and does far more with creatures than anything else, so playing black spellslinger is a really different and fun change from the typical reanimator decks that the color is filled with. The playstyle can be really challenging at times and gives the opportunity to play with a lot of cards that may never see play otherwise even in a Commander setting.
You may enjoy Toshiro if:
- You like building around your commander.
- You like reactive strategies.
- You like playing really subpar cards and watching them do work.
You may not enjoy Toshiro if:
- You don't want your commander to be nessisary to the strategy.
- You want a strong board presence.
- You want a proactive strategy.
- You want to play good cards all the time.
- Your group is prodominately control or combo.
Alternative Commander Suggestions
There are plenty of monoblack, control, and spellslinger commanders to choose from, so I'm not going to mention any of them. Rather, I'm going to recommend other commanders with strategies or playstyles typically unseen in their colors.
Glissa the Traitor - Another fun commander that likes to go against the color pie. Glissa is a fantastic commander for anyone tired of the typical blue or red artifact decks. She also triggers on opponents' creatures dying, making her perfect for a removal based control strategy.
Brion Stoutarm - The extreme majority of boros commanders are only good for attacking. Brion is one of the 2 that can do something more. Fling effects aren't exactly rare in red, but the way Brion can change your playstyle makes him stand out. Another commander that can cater to a removal based control strategy, he also allows the use of Threaten effects as a basis for removal.
Diaochan, Artful Beauty - Monored being political is a thing of beauty. Of course you can run a more controlling set up, but political builds can be some of the more fun builds when playing with friends, new players, or just a new group. Most monored commanders tend to lean towards agressive or artifact based strategies, leaving Diaochan as a more reactive playstyle. This is a deck that I highly suggest that everyone build eventually.
Wort, the Raidmother - Tokens aren't exactly uncommon in Red and Green, but what is rare is spellslinger strategies. Wort can pull off Spellslinger very easily with next to no creatures in the deck. The key is token producing spells like Dragon Fodder and Spontaneous Generation. While you don't have to play spellslinger, Wort can do it really easy and in a really odd color combination.
Finally, on to the decklist.
1 Toshiro Umezawa
Creatures:
2 Hex Parasite
3 Vampire Hexmage
4 Withered Wretch
5 Basilica Screecher
6 Haakon, Stromgald Scourge
7 Fleshbag Marauder
8 Horobi, Death's Wail
9 Crypt Ghast
10 Massacre Wurm
11 Kokusho, the Evening Star
Planeswalkers:
12 Liliana of the Dark Realms
Artifacts:
13 Sol Ring
14 Expedition Map
15 Glaring Spotlight
16 Oblivion Stone
17 Nevinyrral's Disk
18 Sphinx-Bone Wand
19 Spine of Ish Sah
Enchantments:
20 Illness in the Ranks
21 Necropotence
22 Phyrexian Arena
23 Tainted Aether
Sorceries:
24 Demonic Tutor
25 Sign in Blood
26 Night's Whisper
27 Black Sun's Zenith
28 Read the Bones
29 Praetor's Grasp
30 Ashes to Ashes
31 Sever the Bloodline
32 Damnation
33 Mutilate
34 Skeletal Scrying
35 Suffer the Past
36 Dark Ritual
37 Cremate
38 Misinformation
39 Aphotic Wisps
40 Entomb
41 Tragic Slip
42 Warping Wail
43 Headstone
44 Shred Memory
45 Doom Blade
46 Nameless Inversion
47 Withering Boon
48 Victim of Night
49 Malicious Affliction
50 Bile Blight
51 Grasp of Darkness
52 Dismember
53 Reaping the Graves
54 Crypt Incursion
55 Grim Return
56 Corpse Dance
57 Grave Birthing
58 Sudden Death
59 Reckless Spite
60 Murder
61 Makeshift Mannequin
62 Moonlight Bargain
63 Murderous Cut
64 Death Rattle
Lands:
65 Maze of Ith
66 Cabal Coffers
67 Desert
68 Reliquary Tower
69 Terrain Generator
70 Phyrexia's Core
71 Tectonic Edge
72 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
73 Volrath's Stronghold
74 Arcane Lighthouse
75 Buried Ruin
76 Ghost Quarter
77 Phyrexian Tower
78 Bojuka Bog
79 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
80 Forbidden Orchard
81 Snow-Covered Swamp
82 Snow-Covered Swamp
83 Snow-Covered Swamp
84 Snow-Covered Swamp
85 Snow-Covered Swamp
86 Snow-Covered Swamp
87 Snow-Covered Swamp
88 Snow-Covered Swamp
89 Snow-Covered Swamp
90 Snow-Covered Swamp
91 Snow-Covered Swamp
92 Snow-Covered Swamp
93 Snow-Covered Swamp
94 Snow-Covered Swamp
95 Snow-Covered Swamp
96 Snow-Covered Swamp
97 Snow-Covered Swamp
98 Snow-Covered Swamp
99 Snow-Covered Swamp
100 Snow-Covered Swamp
The current win conditions are recurring Kokusho, the Evening Star and Sphinx-Bone Wand. I need to add more, but I couldn't find any that were particularly interesting. I intentionally left out infinte combos.
Strong Synergies
Haakon, Stromgald Scourge + Nameless Inversion = Repeated +3/-3 removal and an engine to trigger Toshiro.
Illness in the Ranks or Tainted Aether + Forbidden Orchard = Repeated death triggers for Toshiro and Reaper from the Abyss.
Spine of Ish Sah + Phyrexia's Core = Repeated target permanent removal.
Card Choices and Other Options
My choices:
Hex Parasite - Planeswalker killer. Parasite can also deal with Marath, Ghave, and other similar commanders and threats.
Vampire Hexmage - See Hex Parasite.
Withered Wretch - Cheap, reusable graveyard hate.
Basilica Screecher - Extort. I may end up dropping it later, but I'm testing it right now.
Haakon, Stromgald Scourge - Pairs with Nameless Inversion for a removal engine. I try to fit this in all of my monoblack decks.
Fleshbag Marauder - Easily recurable edict effect.
Horobi, Death's Wail - Kind of just in here for fun, but it fits with the killing creatures thing. Turns Maze of Ith and Desert into proper removal.
Crypt Ghast - Extort and more mana to help with just about everything.
Massacre Wurm - Anti-Tokens and possible win con against token decks.
Kokusho, the Evening Star - As of right now, Kokusho is the primary win condition.
Reaper from the Abyss - Lets my removal go that further and gives additional triggers for Toshiro. I do have the strange feeling that he'll end up killing Toshiro at some point.
Other Options:
Reassembling Skeleton - Really nice for repeated use with cards like Contamination, Attrition, and Skullclamp.
Bloodghast - See Reassembling Skeleton.
Big Game Hunger - Really nice removal creature. Odds are, if it's a threat, then Big game hunter can hit it.
Shriekmaw - Really good removal creature, but the "nonblack" clause hurts sometimes.
Faceless Butcher - Great exile removal creature. Requires a sac outlet to make exile permanent, but still really good.
Rune-Scarred Demon - Tutor creatures are typically pretty good.
Kagemaro, First to Suffer - Board wipe on a creature is always pretty nice.
My Choices:
Liliana of the Dark Realms - Land tutoring, Pump, Removal, and a really good emblem.
Other Options:
Liliana Vess - Just generally lackluster. The -8 would be really good in this deck, but her +1 is bad and she won't live long enough to -2 more than once.
Ob Nixilis Reignited - His +1 and -3 are great, but the -8 is really lacking. I'd consider using it if I had it.
Karn Liberated - Colorless removal option that can take over a 1v1 fairly easily. The problem is Legacy and Modern and its high price tag.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - A not so budget friendly, better All is dust that can do a lot more. I'd almost place this as a general staple of the format if its price tag were't so high, but like Karn Liberated it is seeing play in competitive formats.
My Choices:
Sol Ring - Pretty much a staple of the format. Honestly thinking about dropping it though.
Expedition Map - Tutor for Coffers, Phyrexia's Core, Urborg, etc.
Glaring Spotlight - Allows me to target Hexproof stuff which is kind of bad seeing how Shroud is more common, but It still let's me kill more things.
Oblivion Stone - Colorless board wipe. The numerous times that someone has dropped Iona, Shield of Emeria on me makes colorless removal options staple in my monocolored decks.
Sphinx-Bone Wand - Another possible win condition and can just gun down creatures very fast.
Spine of Ish Sah - Repeatable colorless removal.
Other Options:
Mana Rocks - I'm not running much fast mana mostly because of the lack of high cmc things in the deck.
Bosium Strip - Flashing back my sorceries as well seems really good, but I've only got 10 in the deck and it just didn't come close to making the cut.
Skullclamp - Not much point without a bunch of creatures or token makers.
Onyx Talisman - A card I've always wanted to test out next to a Cabal Coffers. Unfortunately, it's never come close to making the cut.
Locket of Yesterdays - Lowering the cost of my flashed back spells seems nice, but just a bad Jet Medallion.
Journeyer's Kite - Basic land tutors are pretty good, but with enough card draw it's just not needed.
Caged Sun - Really good if it sticks long enough to untap with it which is really rare. Most people gun to kill this card quick.
Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves - In the final cuts for the deck, I had two creatures I'd want these for: Toshiro and Helldozer. Helldozer didn't make the cut and neither did these.
Scroll of the Masters - Seemed really good at first, but the time it takes to get enough counters to be worth it just ruins its usefulness.
Isocron Scepter - This was the last card to be cut before the deck's completion. It's just too easy for people to kill it and I don't have enough cards that I'd really want to use it for. Plenty of instants that fit the 2 or less cmc, but not enough that I wanted imprinted and risk it getting removed and never being able to really use it.
Mirari - It's just too mana intensive. It's really good for Spellslinger decks, but just really mana intensive.
Lashwrithe and Nightmare lash - They're really good for getting in commander damage, but it really makes people want to kill Toshiro. They may make it into the deck at a later date if I don't find better win conditions first.
My Choices:
Illness in the Ranks - Deals with most mass produced tokens(elves, goblins, saprolings, etc) and it works with [c]Forbidden Orchard.
Necropotence - Monoblack staple. If you haven't used one, then you should.
Phyrexian Arena - Semi-staple. I've found it to be less useful on more creature heavy builds where you have Desciple of Bolas, Skullclamp, etc. Still a really good card.
Tainted Aether - Pretty good against creature based decks and even better with Illness in the ranks and Forbidden orchard. I love killing creatures in response to its trigger and make people sacrifice lands.
Other Choices:
Grave Betrayal - It just comes down too late. Mass resurrection like Rise of the Dark Realms is just better.
Gate to Phyrexia - The only artifact removal in black. If I were playing a more creature heavy build, then I'd be using it.
Contamination - Really good lockdown card. It has the tendency to stick around for a while if it resolves, so long as you have the creatures to keep it around.
Tombstone Stairwell - Thought about using this in the same capacity as Forbidden orchard, but the creatures are too big for Illness in the ranks.
Lethal Vapors - It tends to stick around until someone can remove it as no one wants to skip a turn to get rid of it.
Dark Prophecy - Good for creature heavy or token heavy builds. Great source of draw.
Bitterblossom - Feeds Contamination, Skullclamp and other cards that need creatures to be around.
Wound Reflection - I used to run this in a previous version of Toshiro with Repay in Kind. It was a fun way to close out a game. I can't seem to find a copy of Repay in kind though.
Withering Wisps and Pestilence - Keeps creature decks at bay so long as you can keep a creature out so it doesn't sacrifice at eot. Also a pretty good way to cut people's life totals down for an easier win.
My Choices:
Demonic Tutor - Staple.
Sign in Blood - Card draw, though I really wish there were more instant versions.
Night's Whisper - See Sign in Blood.
Read the Bones - See Sign in Blood.
Black Sun's Zenith - Kills Indestructible, hexproof, and shroud things.
Praetor's Grasp - Best case scenario is taking a win condition that you're able to cast. Worst case scenario you take a half decent tech land.
Ashes to Ashes - This is a near staple for my black decks. The key is that it Exiles and allows you to deal with Indestructible things that black typically has a real problem with, especially when they have another creature and an Edict effect won't help.
Sever the Bloodline - More Exile removal. This one also has flashback.
Damnation - Black staple. It's color shifted Wrath of god. It is very expensive though, money wise, so there are plenty of budget versions with various extra texts thrown in.
Mutilate - Another board wipe that can kill Indestructible things.
Other Choices:
In Garruk's Wake - Excellent, though very high cmc, board wipe. It also hits planeswalkers which very few other things do.
Plague Wind - Another excellent board wipe, solely because the high cmc is offset by it not killing your creatures.
All is Dust - Gets around hexproof, shroud, and indestructible. One of the few cards black can use to get rid of enchantments. If someone plays Iona, Shield of Emeria, then this is one of the few ways black has to get rid of it. I, however, do not own one.
Decree of Pain - Another excellent board wipe. A bit high costed, but you get to draw for each creature that dies. It may find it's way into my deck at some point.
Yahenni's Expertise - If this didn't kill Toshiro, then I'd be all in for it. Cast expertise and kill some stuff, then cast some removal off expertise to kill more stuff and get a bunch of flashback triggers? Sounds great.
Killing Wave - This can either clear the board or drop some people by a bunch of life, but always the worse of the two. Still really good.
Exsanguinate - Pretty good finisher with tons of mana to throw around. May find its way into the deck at some point.
Beseech the Queen - Good tutor in monoblack, but it's a bit too limited for me. The "less than or equal to the number of lands you control" clause just kills it for me. It makes it far more useful late game and very narrow early game.
Dark Deal - Wheel effects are very nice. You get to draw more cards and mess with other player's hands. The difference is that this draws people cards based on how many they already had, so if you're low on cards and want more, then you'll have even less after casting it. I love its design, but it's terrible.
Bubbling Muck - High Tide for swamps, but at sorcery speed. The only reason I cut it was I cut Ensanquinate and there really wasn't any other need for high amounts of mana.
Cannibalize - A lot of people dislike Ashes to Ashes for needing two targets, but I've used the card for a long time and love it. The problem with Cannibalize isn't that one of the targets live, but rather they need to be controlled by the same player.
Disturbed Burial - Almost made it into the deck. Buyback makes this far better than it would be otherwise, though it gets really mana intensive really quick.
Beacon of Unrest - Really good card. The ability to resurrect creatures and artifacts is awesome. I just didn't make the cut.
My Choices:
Skeletal Scrying - Instant speed card draw that gets better with more mana.
Suffer the Past - Grave hate that can serve as a win condition or at least help with others.
Dark Ritual - Fast mana that I can flashback.
Cremate - Easy cantrip on a grave hate card.
Misinformation - This can really crush people at times. Just taking the three worst cards from their graveyard and putting them on top is just so mean. That guy that's been sitting there the whole game pitching lands or nonlands cause they need the opposite? Put 3 more on top of their library.
Aphotic Wisps - Another fairly easy cantrip. It does require a creature to target, but that shouldn't be much of a problem in most intances.
Entomb - Tutor up any instant to flashback or any creature to resurrect. Really good card in any deck that likes to use the graveyard.
Tragic Slip - Needing a creature to die in order to take full advantage is a bit of a downside, but it also makes it one of the best removal spells in Toshiro considering the conditions in which you can give it Flashback.
Warping Wail - Modal cards tend to be really good with the right modes. Countering a Sorcery is a bit narrow, and so is exiling a 1 power or toughness creature, but together has the potential to be a really useful card. This is in the deck to test and see just how useful it is. There's a lot of one p/t things that I could see wanting to hit, like Snapcaster Mage and Eternal Witness and both are very common.
Headstone - See Cremate
Shred Memory - Another grave hate card, but this one can be used as a tutor and then flashed back later. It has nice versatility.
Doom Blade - Pretty signature card for black at this point. The Nonblack clause does really hurt sometimes as common as black is in this format.
Nameless Inversion - It's a Camel Human Brushwagg Elk Sliver Kobold Knight Soldier Wizard Druid Shaman. It pairs with Haakon, Stromgald Scourge for a removal engine, but it is really fun to try and come up with the most absurd creature type combinations.
Withering Boon - Countering a Creature seems really awesome in a format based around building a deck with a legendary creature.
Victim of Night - For a removal spell with three different non-this restrictions, this hits a lot more stuff than the typical nonblack restricted cards do.
Malicious Affliction - The ability to hit more than one thing is fantastic. It makes for chains upon chains of flashing back cards for some rathe explosive plays with enough creatures on the board.
Bile Blight - Strictly better Echoing Decay and I like Echoing decay. Clears tokens even with a couple of tribal lords buffing them. Kills 1/1 tokens even if Elesh Norn is sitting next to them. the extra reach of this card is a lot bigger than most would think.
Grasp of Darkness - No color restriction and deals with Indestructible things. The -4/-4 is actually pretty sizable.
Dismember - Better than [c]Grasp of Darkness. Hits slightly more and only costs 1 when you need it to.
Reaping the Graves - Instant speed Disentomb with storm. I am running a low creature build, so this might not stay in the deck, but it's still really nice.
Crypt Incursion - Grave hate that gains life to counteract all the "you lose x life" cards in the deck.
Grim Return - Kill a thing, then resurrect said thing. Even better with Toshiro and really easy choice of cards to flashback.
Corpse Dance - Repeatable Resurrection, though it really needs a sac outlet to shine. It is currently the primary win condition with Kokusho.
Grave Birthing - Another cantrip grave hate card, but this one also makes a token.
Sudden Death - Grasp of Darkness with Split Second. Sometimes the split second is irrelevant, but when it's relevant it tends to be very relevant.
Reckless Spite - Destroys multiple things at the cost of life. It allows the deck to start chaining spells.
Murder - No restrictions but slightly more expensive mana wise. Hero's Downfall is strictly better but kind of expensive money wise in comparison.
Makeshift Mannequinn - Instant speed resurrection. Its only downside is actually rather small.
Moonlight Bargain - Can draw up to 5 cards, fill the grave with stuff to flashback, or just dig for stuff.
Murderous Cut - No color restriction. Delve is really nice and allows you to exile the things you can't flashback or recur to make it cheaper.
Death Rattle - Murderous cut with a "nongreen" restriction. Green is one of the more popular colors in the format, but arguably better than a nonblack restriction.
Other Choices:
Fatal Push - Really good in 60 card formats, but I think a bit too limited in EDH. It does hit more than one would typically think, but there's enough cards I passed up that would keep this from getting a slot.
Hatred - Not going to lie, I just blatantly forgot to pick one up. Being able to pay a bunch of life and knock off a player with commander damage is a pretty sweet surprise.
Vampiric Tutor - Another card that I just blatantly forgot to buy. While I'm not too keen on topdeck tutors, it is instant speed and Toshiro can give it flashback. There's really no reason not to run it other than not having one and it is rather expensive being $20+.
Go for the Throat - I can't find mine. I remember having two of the promos, but I couldn't find them. I didn't remember to pick one up on my last order either. Clearly better than Doom Blade and would probably be in its place if I had one.
Scour from Existence - Yet another card I forgot to pick up. Spent an hour rummaging through bulk boxes at my lgs and didn't find one. Didn't have the time to keep looking. Colorless removal options are really good and while Scour from Existence is really high cmc, it is definitely worth the card slot on a budget.
Word of Command - Seems hilarious. This card seems like it would be really fun to use. Only problem is its high price tag.
Hero's Demise - Destroy target commander seems pretty good and I did use it in a previous version of the deck. The only problem is that it's just too narrow. Yes, you're almost always going to have a target, but sometimes those targets just aren't worth the effort of removing.
Rend Flesh - Almost Murder. the type Restriction is almost negligible. Almost. Murder is typically just better.
Vendetta - It used to be a very good card a few years back. The nonblack clause is getting more and more relevant as more cards like Murder, Hero's downfall, and Murderous cut are being printed. The life loss was typically negligible, but chaining it with Toshiro can stack up very quickly.
Devour in Shadow - Very similar to Vendetta, but without a color restriction. Like Vendetta, the life loss can start stacking up very quickly.
Snuff Out - Free spells are awesome, just look at Force of Will. The nonblack restriction really hurts it the same way it hurts Doom Blade and Vendetta. The more Murder variants get printed, the worse color restricted cards become. There's been numerous times I've needed to kill a black creature and had the mana to spare but was sitting with Snuff Out in hand.
Contagion - I've always had a soft spot for this card, but it's just never done enough. It can kill two tiny creatures or just make a bigger creature nonthreatening. The ability to make it a free spell just doesn't matter when it typically can't kill two creatures and you're better off just using mana for a different spell.
Altar's Reap - Instant speed draw with a negligible additional cost. Unfortunately, my build is very creature light and Altar's reap just wouldn't do anything for me.
Titan's Presence - I really like this card a lot. In basically any deck that likes running a lot of artifact creatures or eldrazi, this is going to be awesome. Unfortunately, I don't run either.
Grip of Desolation - Exile removal is good. Being able to get rid of a land in addition to a creature is also good. 6cmc isn't so good. If it were 4cmc and was "or" instead of "and" it would probably have found its way into the deck. I really like the card and will probably play it in Black/Green decks where I can get the mana fairly quickly.
Insidious Dreams - Not going to lie, first time I used this card I though it was a typical to the hand tutor. No one in my group corrected me and I though the card was great. It's not. It's really, really bad. It's so much worse than basically every other tutor in black.
Perilous Predicament - If I were running Barter in Blood, then I'd consider switching it out. Fortunately, I'm not running barter in blood cause Perilous Predicament really isn't good. Artifact creatures really aren't that common in EDH/Commander.
Final Reward - Blatant exile removal. No restrictions. That's really good, but at 5cmc? I will legitimately give this card a try. Probably drop Reaping the Graves for it. If Sever the Bloodline didn't have flashback, then It'd be an easier switch.
Treacherous Urge - Really funny card when it works out. It's far better when someone is running something like Fauna Shaman or Survival of the Fittest, but most of the time it just doesn't do anything.
Darkblast - Dredge would be fairly nice for this deck, but -1/-1 is just too small. If it were like Disfigure it might have made the cut.
Shallow Grave - Corpse Dance without the buyback. Still plenty good, but just didn't make the cut.
Undying Evil - One mana and Toshiro doesn't die to a board wipe. It seems really good, but it doesn't do anything else. I simply doesn't do enough.
Ravenous Trap - Potentially free grave hate. If it were free more often, it might have made the cut. There's just better things.
Vile Rebirth - Grave hate with a free token is really tempting, but just couldn't make the cut comparing it to the other grave hate cards that did.
Surgical Extraction - I really want to play this card. Grave hate that gives you a peek at their hand and can screw up a topdeck tutor sounds amazing. Unfortunately it just isn't as good as a grave hate card that draws cards or lets you tutor. It just couldn't make the cut.
A quick note on all instant speed edicts: They're good. They're especially good at taking out voltron commanders. Otherwise, they just fall flat. In all the groups I've played in, Voltron was fairly uncommon. At the time, they just didn't make the cut, but they could easily make the cut later if voltron becomes a problem.
Tribute to Hunger - Edict effect with a nice side of life gain. Great for counteracting the life loss from numerous cards in this deck.
Diabolic Edict - The namesake card for this type of effect. It's fairly vanilla and there's been lots of cards to come out that do more than this does.
Geth's Verdict - Edict effect with a side of completely negligible life loss. Better than Diabolic Edict, but not by enough to matter.
My Choices:
Bojuka Bog - Basic staple of any black deck. There is no reason not to use it.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - Basic Staple of any black deck. Even if you don't have or run Cabal Coffers, it still makes for good color fixing.
Maze of Ith - Really good in creature light decks. The less life you lose, the more you have to spend.
Cabal Coffers - Staple of Monoblack. Near staple in 2-colored black decks. I wouldn't use it in 3 or more colors.
Reliquary Tower - General staple of the format. If you like drawing cards, then run this card.
Volrath's Stronghold - Near staple in black decks with almost any amount of creatures, but has a pretty high price tag. Budget decks can go without it fairly easily.
Phyrexian Tower - Near staple in black decks with almost any amount of creatures, but has a pretty high price tag. There are a few budget options in lands, but plenty of nonland cards to serve as sac outlets. Budget decks can easily go without it.
Terrain Generator - Easily a staple of one or two colored decks. Gives ramp to nongreen decks given enough card draw.
Boseiju, Who Shelters All - Near staple of Spellslinger decks. Its price tag has gone up due to competitive formats. Budget decks can go without it fairly easily unless you find blue control to be an issue.
Unholy Grotto - Budget Volrath's Stronghold, but only works for Zombies.
Buried Ruin - Artifact recursion, but is one-shot without a way to recur it. Options to recur it tend to be fairly pricey.
Tectonic Edge - Standard land hate. Kills Gaea's Cradles, opposing Cabal Coffers, etc.
Ghost Quarter - Standard land hate. Kills Gaea's Cradles, opposing Cabal Coffers, etc. Has the added bonus of allowing your opponent to search up a basic. This can mess with topdeck tutors and can be a Strip Mine if they want to keep their top card.
Desert - I like to use this with Toshiro and Glissa the Traitor. Basically any 1 toughness creature that attacks can be killed for a death trigger. The best part is that the creature doesn't need to attack you.
Phyrexia's Core - Pairs with Spine of Ish Sah for repeated removal.
Forbidden Orchard - Pairs with Illness in the Ranks, Lethal Vapors, and Tainted Aether to provide easy triggers for Toshiro against creature light decks.
Other Choices:
Arcane Lighthouse - Arguably a staple of the format. If you're running even a half decent amount of removal, then you should at least consider it. It is a bit hard to find as most online card shops (at least at the moment) are sold out on them. It is REALLY good.
Thawing Glaciers - Repeatable land fetch, though very slow. Great with Rings of Brighthearth.
Cavern of Souls - Really good, but has a decently high price tag. Fantastic for any deck that needs their commander to resolve and tribal decks.
Ancient Tomb - Good ramp land. A tad pricey, but good for any deck that needs the ramp. The life does stack up after a while.
High Market - A great sac outlet. It's also fairly cheap and near staple for any creature based deck.
Vesuva and Thespian's Stage - Really good when you have a good land to copy, like Cabal Coffers but generally kind of useless the rest of the time.
Strip Mine - The generic land destruction land. It also has a pretty low price tag.
Wasteland - A really good Land destruction land. Slightly worse than Strip mine, but very expensive due to Legacy play.
Just a heads up for anyone reading this that wants to make suggestions for certain cards: There are a few cards that should be in the deck that I just don't have and don't have the budget to obtain at the moment. Those cards are Hatred, Vampiric Tutor, and Go for the Throat. If I could get them, then I would. If I had them, then I'd play them.
(2/21/2017)
- Unholy Grotto
- Reaper from the Abyss
+ Arcane Lighthouse
+ Nevinyrral's Disk
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief Could just be the bees knees as a general for you. I used to play her a while back. Since you said you didn't have much for instants for yours atm and she's removal in herself
Some more lands for you:
Crypt of agadeem You hit 4+ creatures in yard it's giving you extra mana.
Urborg It's actually funny how relevant this card is.
Deserted Temple mmmmm coffers....
Phyrexia's Core you'll see the reason with a few cards later.
Reliquary Tower
Removal:
Decree of pain Worst case you cycle this bad boy to wrath the board instead You at least get 1 card that way. It's fun to trick a green player who just animated all their lands and then cycle this and kill them off.
Tendrils of Corruption
Dismember Wayyyyyy better than sudden death. As priority doesn't pass when a card is laid so if it has an activated ability it can be triggered when they lay it. This gets you that 1 extra point and can be cast for 4 life and a mana rather than 3.
Spine of Ish Sah Pair that with the Phyrexia's core = happy day.
Duplicant
Brittle Effigy
Forced Marsh
Withered Wretch
Tutor:
Diabolic Intent
Netherborn Phalanx Tutors for cmc 6
Dimir Housegaurd Tutors for cmc 4
Acceleration:
Solemn Simulacrum
Magus of the Coffers
Threats:
Grave Titan
Wurmcoil Engine
Draw:
Bloodgift Demon
Protection:
Lightning Greaves
Swiftfoot Boots
Recurrence:
Reanimate
Phyrexian Reclamation
Sheoldred, Whispering One
Dread Return
Some fun:
Mirari
Isochron Scepter
Those are cards I can think of off the top of my head. There's others out there. If you'd like for me to name some cuts I can do that later. Need a break for now and figured you'd like this
Also card 62 needs its tag fixed.
RZirilian - Dragons EDHR
Damia http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=410191
DDFT Legacyhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=505247
Domain Zoo http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=10212429#post10212429
I've had a few friends that tried her, but she never really did much in our heavy removal meta. Unless that had a crap ton of mana to spend, she just got removed. I wanted a general that wasn't a threat, so he would hopefully never really considered a target.
crypt never really peaked my interest. I don't really have many creatures in the deck. The ETB tapped also hurts it a bit.
I need a deserted temple for a couple of decks because of it's use with a lot of different lands, and not just the mass mana lands.
Phyrexia's core would only be there for spine of ish sah, and spine would only be there because of core. I don't really think those two really get a spot, for the same reason i'm wanting to drop Kormus Bell.
Reliquary tower is a duh and i'm not sure how i forgot it.
I need a copy of Decree and i somehow lost my copy of plague wind, but i want to add those when i get them.
Tendrils of Corruption is awesome but just didn't make the cut. It's currently in a small stack of about 10 cards that didn't make the cut that i'm still considering.
Duplicant i need a bunch of. Effigy is a little bad and i'd rather run Spine. Forced march is extremely mana intensive, which is something i cant guarantee. Withered wretch is being considered.
I think i have too many tutors already and most of these don't do anything on their own.
I've got a solemn in a retired deck that i just haven't unsleeved yet, but he's a good idea. Magus is a huge target which isn't what i want. Grave titan and wurmcoil are good, but wurmcoil's lifegain isn't very relevant and grave's tokens aren't deathtouch. i might use wurmcoil because of it's difficulty to deal with.
Bloodgift is pretty good, but he probably won't live very long, which is the reason i'm considering dropping Reaper of the Abyss.
Greaves and boots, i thought about but the only thing i would want to put them on is Toshiro.
When i can get ahold of another reanimate, i'll be dropping Beacon of Unrest for it. Sheoldred is just removal fodder in my meta and i never have enough creatures to flash back dread return.
Mirari is a maybe, i'd have to test it, but scepter is a definite no.
Thanks for all the suggestions. it's got me thinking about a few more cards i hadn't thought of yet.
Sudden death is awesome. I've thought about adding a Dismember, but it won't be replacing Sudden Death.
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
I'll probably try Hatred eventually, but i don't like how it turns toshiro into a threat.
I'll probably add a change log as soon as i make some. I'm thinking about Reckless Spite, and it'll probably go in the deck as soon as i find one.
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
---Amonkhet---
Scarab Feast - Simple and sweet. Exile some stuff twice or draw a card and exile some stuff.
Shadow of the Grave - This makes me want a cycling subtheme, but I know there's nowhere near enough cycling cards in monoblack.
Final Reward - Blatant exile removal. No restrictions. That's really good, but at 5cmc? I will legitimately give this card a try. Probably drop Reaping the Graves for it. If Sever the Bloodline didn't have flashback, then It'd be an easier switch.
---Hour of Devastation---
Nothing of interest.
---Ixalan---
Primal Amulet - 4cc and 4 instant or sorcery spells for a land that twincasts one of my spells each turn. Seems good. Seems.
Revel in Riches - Oh, yes. This is awesome. Killing creatures is the whole point. Kill 10 things and win the game? I need this.
Walk the Plank - This is so good. Why did it have to be a sorcery? Stricktly better Victim of Night would have been sweet.
Costly Plunder - I like being able to sac an artifact instead of a creature, but there are still better things, even at sorcery speed.
Vraska's Contempt - Exile is good. It can target planeswalkers too. But 4cc is just. Going to pass for now.
---Commander 2017---
Nothing of interest.
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
First and foremost, classic black removal that just might be better than what you've got here-
Snuff Out + Slaughter Pact - what's better than casting a free spell? Casting it for free twice!
Go for the Throat
Diabolic Edict (also considerable is Geth's Verdict)
Hero's Downfall should be included way, way before Murder.
I also think you should consider Darkness as a very strong and cheap option.
No Mercy is a very strong control enchantment and enabler for your commander.
Black Market is begging for inclusion for mana shenanigans. I'd include it before Revel in Riches since Riches doesn't stack the mana.
I'm disappointed at your lack of Wretched Confluence. Practically begging for an include.
Succumb to Temptation - Solid, recastable card draw. Much better than some random cards you have.
Sudden Spoiling - What's that? Your opponent has a Avacyn, Angel of Hope? Well you don't care!
You really do need cards that will help you end the game. Here are a few options:
Empty the Pits - I always wanted to see this card as a great response to grave hate. I wonder if it's really viable.
Fated Return - very, very strong lategame. Indestructible is priceless.
Hatred
Spoils of Blood - excellent, recastable way of using all the creatures that were killed this turn and turning them into board state. Kill more stuff -> get bigger creature! (also considerable: Bloodcrazed Paladin)
Tainted Strike - if you're like me you hate infect, but it really is good at closing out games. You can cast this on an opponent attacking another opponent for sudden lethal, then flash it back on your creature to kill the first one too!
Demon of Dark Schemes - another Massacre Wurm effect that brings back the creatures you killed! Seems very powerful here.
On that note, Chainer, Dementia Master, because you don't need wincons if they already have theirs!
Other cute suggestions:
Consume the Meek, as replayable emergency boardwipe.
Contagion, if you see yourself paying the alternate cost (also relevant for casting through graveyard).
Dark Dabbling - seems like a cute card to save your board. Better than a few cards you have here.
Imp's Mischief - a one-of-a-kind for B, with a usually negligible cost.
Ad Nauseam - depends on your curve. I think you might have too much expensive stuff if you want to include this card.
Cuts:
Withering Boon
Grave Birthing
Headstone
Misinformation
Haakon, Stromgald Scourge - why is he here?
Illness in the Ranks
Praetor's Grasp(?)
Suffer the Past - isn't it way too mana intense for you?
Reaping the Graves
Nameless Inversion - I've suggested better removal.
Corpse Dance - a powerful card, but this deck doesn't seem to be the type to utilize it.
Murder
Death Rattle - again, I've suggested better removal.
Horobi, Death's Wail - bothers everyone and will probably be removed quickly. No Mercy is a much more reliable enabler IMO since it's not a creature and it only discourages attacking you.
Crypt Incursion
EDIT: Even with the cute interaction between Haakon and Nameless Inversion, I still think it's not enough, since Haakon does nothing alone and since Incursion is a lackluster removal at best. I'd rather run Isochron Scepter for guaranteed synergy that's usually going to be better than these two cards.