Introduction:
This is my demon tribal deck that I've been testing and working on for a few weeks now. This deck tries to be both flavorful and functional. I really enjoy the demons in MTG and I've always wanted to build a commander deck for the tribe.
The Demon King:
When picking a general for this deck I found myself annoyed. The obvious choice is Griselbrand. He is the most powerful demon ever made and arguably one of the most powerful creatures as well. Sadly, he is banned in commander due to his power level and synergy with the starting life total of the format. If your playgroup is okay with you running Griselbrand as your commander he is the best option. Even with the flavorful deck build he can dominate games.
So who can play runner up? Ob Nixilis, the Fallen is actually a very powerful card as well. He dosen't do broken things, but getting a 9/9 on turn 6 and 6 damage on an opponent is not bad. This is a dream play obviously, you wont always have a fetch land to make him giant. But he can quickly dominate the battlefield with sheer size and he grows in the perfect numbers for general damage.
Sign Here:
The deck plays very aggressively and winning with large fliers is the game plan. Normally you want to mulligan away most of the expensive cards and keep the early game set up spells. Cards like Phyrexian Arena and Blood Speaker are excellent ways to build card advantage and keep summoning demons. Obviously ramp based artifacts are great in the early game for this deck as it is very mana hungry.
You will be casting one spell a turn for most of the middle game. Good thing almost all of our demons are must answer threats. Try to get in as much damage on the player with the most board wipes and answers to creatures. Keep in mind how much damage you have on the board and don't cast too many of your spells into a Wrath of God.
During the late game you will take over the battlefield with cards like Pestilence Demon and Reaper from the Abyss. With a good amount of high powered fliers you should be able to close out most opponents. There are some great recovery bombs if you happen to loose your army as well. Living Death and Patriarch's Bidding can really set things straight for you.
I never really want to cast the Carnifex Demon. Pestilence Demon does that job much better. I didn't have any humans for the deck so I added Endrek for more token to sac.
The milling from Extractor Demon was kinda fun if I had Living Death or a reanimate spell. It never really did anything if I didnt though. Eater of Hope was expensive to use so I never really wanted to.
The new demons from m15 both provide excellent passive abilities and they fit the demon vorthos very well. I'm excited to try them out.
Wouldn't Shadowborn Apostle be the ultimate serf for this deck, both in flavor and in functionality? As for your potential adds list, I personally feel as though Harvester of Souls should definitely make it in, as should Mark of the Oni.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
EDH GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG UBRNicol Bolas and his SuperfriendsPawnsUBR
Modern UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW WUBRGHumansWUBRG BGMidrangeBG
Wouldn't Shadowborn Apostle be the ultimate serf for this deck, both in flavor and in functionality? As for your potential adds list, I personally feel as though Harvester of Souls should definitely make it in, as should Mark of the Oni.
I added a changelog and I'm adding in Harvester of Souls for Carnifex Demon. I feel like that is going to be an awesome change.
I don't like Shadowborn Apostle decks. I feel like you need to run a very large number of them to get use from the ability. This takes up slots from awesome demons. Plus, it just feels weird to me. They fit pretty well into demon tribal, but they push my deck in a direction I really dont want to go.
I don't like Shadowborn Apostle decks. I feel like you need to run a very large number of them to get use from the ability. This takes up slots from awesome demons. Plus, it just feels weird to me. They fit pretty well into demon tribal, but they push my deck in a direction I really dont want to go.
That's completely understandable, and probably spot on as well. In that case, the Master Breeder seems like it would be the one that best fits your needs, at least out of the options listed that you're considering. Given the high CMC of your demons, it should provide you with more than enough fodder to satisfy their hunger. I personally would swap out Ravenous Demon for it, given the lack of humans you have to feed it, but that's just me.
In any case, this is a cool list. I love flavorful theme decks like this.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
EDH GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG UBRNicol Bolas and his SuperfriendsPawnsUBR
Modern UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW WUBRGHumansWUBRG BGMidrangeBG
Awesome deck! Have you considered Spirit of the Night as a potential general? It would make general damage a more viable alternate win condition than your current choices, and it's just badass.
As for enchantment removal - it may not be the most efficient solution, but how about Eye of Doom? It's not directly related flavor-wise, but is a better fit than Karn at least.
Lol, Spirit of the Night is pretty amazing but it costs 9 mana! On turn 6 I can cast Ob Nixilis and crack a fetch for 6 direct damage. He then becomes a 9/9! If I hit another fetch on turn 7 or have Crucible he becomes a 15/15 demon monster. I know you're a sucker for old cards though.
I like Eye of Doom though, I wish I had a way to flicker it so that I can get multiple counters out of it.
I was thinking I needed a sac outlet besides Disciple of Bolas. I think that Trading Post would be enough of a supplement. I wouldn't mind trying Altar of Dementia since it is being reprinted soon.
Death Cloud would be really good. So would Hellfire. Both are rather flavorful as well c:
I was thinking of Hellfire when I started but it didn't make the final list. I'll try it out and see if I can work it. This deck already looses a ton of life.
I was thinking of Hellfire when I started but it didn't make the final list. I'll try it out and see if I can work it. This deck already looses a ton of life.
Demon's Horn? It fits from a flavor perspective, and would give you a little bit of a buffer from all your life loss effects.
I feel like demon horn is just really bad. I know it might seem funny to say that considering all the bad cards I'm already running....
So far in testing this deck is pretty good. It cant really hold up to most of the solved decks though. Demons Horn would not help really. I'm sitting at 60 life right now due to Whip.
I wouldn't use the Horn even if I was only worried about flavor (unless everyone in my group played black). You have some pretty strong life gain cards in the deck as is, and with your last post, you seem to be doing alright. If you were going to consider any life gain card, I think it would have to be Exquisite Blood. It may have a picture of a vampire, but I think it's still very flavorful towards demons, especially mentioning trading in the flavor text. Who's to say demons don't desire blood too? I'm pretty sure Crowley is addicted to the stuff.
Exquisite Blood could go well with the beatdown plan. It also gives me some harder to kill permanents. I really like Demonic Rising as an enchantment as its so easy to play to. EB seems like it could be similar.
So far in testing this deck is pretty good. It cant really hold up to most of the solved decks though. Demons Horn would not help really. I'm sitting at 60 life right now due to Whip.
If you're finding yourself sitting at high enough life then great. Demon's Horn just struck me as an on-flavor card I've had luck with in my own decks (admittedly, Ad Nauseam, so it ate up a lot more life), so figured I'd throw it out there.
Have you got Kuro out at all yet? He's a pet card of mine that I've never been able to find a slot for in decks, so I'm interested to see if you find him to be of use.
Yes I've been able to play him. He is great for removing utility creatures and bigger threats if needed. The upkeep cost is no big deal because he is normally played so late. He combos with Horobi, Death's Wail which is why I run her. When you get both of them its pretty sweet.
There are some pretty sweet demons coming in M15. I'm getting in a game with the deck right now and hopefully I will find some slots to test the new Ob Nixlis and the new Bloodgift Demon.
The milling from Extractor Demon was kinda fun if I had Living Death or a reanimate spell. It never really did anything if I didnt though. Eater of Hope was expensive to use so I never really wanted to.
The new demons from m15 both provide excellent passive abilities and they fit the demon vorthos very well. I'm excited to try them out.
Introduction:
This is my demon tribal deck that I've been testing and working on for a few weeks now. This deck tries to be both flavorful and functional. I really enjoy the demons in MTG and I've always wanted to build a commander deck for the tribe.
The Demon King:
When picking a general for this deck I found myself annoyed. The obvious choice is Griselbrand. He is the most powerful demon ever made and arguably one of the most powerful creatures as well. Sadly, he is banned in commander due to his power level and synergy with the starting life total of the format. If your playgroup is okay with you running Griselbrand as your commander he is the best option. Even with the flavorful deck build he can dominate games.
So who can play runner up? Ob Nixilis, the Fallen is actually a very powerful card as well. He dosen't do broken things, but getting a 9/9 on turn 6 and 6 damage on an opponent is not bad. This is a dream play obviously, you wont always have a fetch land to make him giant. But he can quickly dominate the battlefield with sheer size and he grows in the perfect numbers for general damage.
Read the Fine Print:
1x Abhorrent Overlord
1x Bloodgift Demon
1x Demon of Death's Gate
1x Desecration Demon
1x Dread Cacodemon
1x Harvester of Souls
1x Havoc Demon
1x Indulgent Tormentor
1x Kagemaro, First to Suffer
1x Kuro, Pitlord
1x Kyoki, Sanity's Eclipse
1x Lord of the Pit
1x Lord of the Void
1x Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
1x Pestilence Demon
1x Reaper from the Abyss
1x Rune-Scarred Demon
1x Seizan, Perverter of Truth
1x Shadowborn Demon
1x Xathrid Demon
Evil Spirits:
1x Bloodghast
1x Crypt Ghast
1x He who Hungers
1x Horobi, Death's Wail
1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
1x Krovikan Horror
1x Nether Traitor
1x Blood Speaker
1x Burnished Hart
1x Disciple of Griselbrand
1x Endless Cockroaches
1x Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder
1x Pilgrim's Eye
1x Skirsdag High Priest
1x Solemn Simulacrum
Demon Bones:
1x Batterskull
1x Crucible of Worlds
1x Expedition Map
1x Gauntlet of Power
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Mana Crypt
1x Nihil Spellbomb
1x Sol Ring
1x Wayfarer's Bauble
1x Whip of Erebos
1x Worn Powerstone
Dark Presence:
1x Animate Dead
1x Bitterblossom
1x Dark Tutelage
1x Demonic Rising
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Underworld Connections
1x Hero's Downfall
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x All is Dust
1x Ancient Craving
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Living Death
1x Night's Whisper
1x Read the Bones
Allies of Evil:
1x Karn Liberated
Demonic Realms:
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Cabal Coffers
1x Lake of the Dead
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Polluted Delta
1x Strip Mine
1x Temple of the False God
1x Verdant Catacombs
30x Swamps
Sign Here:
The deck plays very aggressively and winning with large fliers is the game plan. Normally you want to mulligan away most of the expensive cards and keep the early game set up spells. Cards like Phyrexian Arena and Blood Speaker are excellent ways to build card advantage and keep summoning demons. Obviously ramp based artifacts are great in the early game for this deck as it is very mana hungry.
You will be casting one spell a turn for most of the middle game. Good thing almost all of our demons are must answer threats. Try to get in as much damage on the player with the most board wipes and answers to creatures. Keep in mind how much damage you have on the board and don't cast too many of your spells into a Wrath of God.
During the late game you will take over the battlefield with cards like Pestilence Demon and Reaper from the Abyss. With a good amount of high powered fliers you should be able to close out most opponents. There are some great recovery bombs if you happen to loose your army as well. Living Death and Patriarch's Bidding can really set things straight for you.
Potential Adds:
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Out: Carnifex Demon Ravenous Demon
In: Harvester of Souls Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder
I never really want to cast the Carnifex Demon. Pestilence Demon does that job much better. I didn't have any humans for the deck so I added Endrek for more token to sac.
Out: Extractor Demon, Eater of Hope
In: Indulgent Tormentor, Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
The milling from Extractor Demon was kinda fun if I had Living Death or a reanimate spell. It never really did anything if I didnt though. Eater of Hope was expensive to use so I never really wanted to.
The new demons from m15 both provide excellent passive abilities and they fit the demon vorthos very well. I'm excited to try them out.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW
UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW
UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG
UBRNicol Bolas and his Super
friendsPawnsUBRModern
UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW
WUBRGHumansWUBRG
BGMidrangeBG
I added a changelog and I'm adding in Harvester of Souls for Carnifex Demon. I feel like that is going to be an awesome change.
I don't like Shadowborn Apostle decks. I feel like you need to run a very large number of them to get use from the ability. This takes up slots from awesome demons. Plus, it just feels weird to me. They fit pretty well into demon tribal, but they push my deck in a direction I really dont want to go.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
That's completely understandable, and probably spot on as well. In that case, the Master Breeder seems like it would be the one that best fits your needs, at least out of the options listed that you're considering. Given the high CMC of your demons, it should provide you with more than enough fodder to satisfy their hunger. I personally would swap out Ravenous Demon for it, given the lack of humans you have to feed it, but that's just me.
In any case, this is a cool list. I love flavorful theme decks like this.
GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW
UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW
UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG
UBRNicol Bolas and his Super
friendsPawnsUBRModern
UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW
WUBRGHumansWUBRG
BGMidrangeBG
Lol, Spirit of the Night is pretty amazing but it costs 9 mana! On turn 6 I can cast Ob Nixilis and crack a fetch for 6 direct damage. He then becomes a 9/9! If I hit another fetch on turn 7 or have Crucible he becomes a 15/15 demon monster. I know you're a sucker for old cards though.
I like Eye of Doom though, I wish I had a way to flicker it so that I can get multiple counters out of it.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
BUWGRChilds PlayGRWUB
BUWGR Highlander GRWUB
UBSquee's Shapeshifting PetBU
BW Multiplayer Control WB
RG Changeling GR
UR Mana FlareRU
UMerfolkU
B MBMC B
Loam Pox
Standard:
Boros Burn
I was thinking I needed a sac outlet besides Disciple of Bolas. I think that Trading Post would be enough of a supplement. I wouldn't mind trying Altar of Dementia since it is being reprinted soon.
I was thinking about Urza's Incubator since it fits with tribes. Do you think those are better?
I was thinking of Hellfire when I started but it didn't make the final list. I'll try it out and see if I can work it. This deck already looses a ton of life.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
I feel like demon horn is just really bad. I know it might seem funny to say that considering all the bad cards I'm already running....
Do you guys think I should run Demon's Horn?
What is the general opinion on Sengir Autocrat vs Endless Cockroaches?
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Yes I've been able to play him. He is great for removing utility creatures and bigger threats if needed. The upkeep cost is no big deal because he is normally played so late. He combos with Horobi, Death's Wail which is why I run her. When you get both of them its pretty sweet.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
In: Indulgent Tormentor, Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
The milling from Extractor Demon was kinda fun if I had Living Death or a reanimate spell. It never really did anything if I didnt though. Eater of Hope was expensive to use so I never really wanted to.
The new demons from m15 both provide excellent passive abilities and they fit the demon vorthos very well. I'm excited to try them out.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG