This deck started when I pulled 4 Treacherous Pit-Dwellers and wanted it to be a good card. Unfortunately my playgroup wasn't really into multiplayer back then and it has been sitting in a box until now. I really like the politics this deck has with the pit-dwellers and the hunted horrors, my main strategy is to beat someone down to 3-6 life, then give them all the stuff and make them do my bidding or take them out with a Gonti's Machinations or soulcage fiend.
I want to find room for 2 good utility lands going up to 24, and find room for Demon of Dark Schemes . I think that Night market lookout is a easy cut. I think harvester of souls can come out for Demon of Dark Schemes. Probably should make room for a fourth gray merchant.
What I really need help with is finding two nifty utility lands that kinda work with the theme. I was also wondering if Dread Shade is worth it in a devotion deck and if so if cabal stronghold is worth it. And what seems like the weakest card to cut for the 24th land. Also any other cool demons or horrors that would fit well!
So this is an updated list, still open to improvements! (I would probably remove some more of the 1 offs for Howling Banshee, but dont have any atm. I would also add Massacre Wurm when my budget allows)
Unfortunately we play with only modern legal cards, so pestilence is out, but perhaps it could be replaced with Exsanguinate to make use of the mana generated from Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
I do like howling banshee to replace some of the more expensive 5-6 drops. On the other hand I do like that I get to play cards that don't have a home elsewhere (hence all the 3 drops to make room for a bunch of 1 drops, not good for consistency, but good for fun, may move them into a sideboard).
Do you think that Massacre Wurm is that much better than Demon of Dark Schemes ?
Same question for Oath of Liliana, it seems that fleshbag marauder would do the same thing (one less devotion though). But is that effect really better than the gain 9/drain 3 or draw 3 that come from blood tithe or syphon mind ? (wont be playing this deck in a table with less than 4 players)
(side question, why does my link to Demon of dark Schemes work in my first post but not in this one? I used the same [card*] [/card*] text)
Unfortunately we play with only modern legal cards, so pestilence is out, but perhaps it could be replaced with Exsanguinate to make use of the mana generated from Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
That would work fine. Torment of Hailfire is another solid choice if needed but ideally you want to field Exsang.
Do you think that Massacre Wurm is that much better than Demon of Dark Schemes ?
Yes, the difference is gargantuan in dedicated drain decks. Wurm will virtually always kill on-the-spot whereas Demon is more of a value card. If you can't afford the Wurm I would rather see more Exsangs to round out the list but Wurm is absolutely bonkers in these Gary decks.
I don't understand what your argument is. It's 1 devotion vs what? Nothing? I'll take 1 devotion over nothing any day of the week in my 2x Nykthos 4x Gary deck :P. It's not as though your list has cards like Unholy Grotto, Gravecrawler, Bloodghast, Relentless Dead, etc. so it seems strictly worse for all intents and purposes.
But is that effect really better than the gain 9/drain 3 or draw 3 that come from blood tithe or syphon mind ? (wont be playing this deck in a table with less than 4 players)
Apples to oranges. Oath of Liliana is (typically) solid in these types of shells because it enables you to live long enough to get value from things like Syphon Mind. Drawing cards is great, but if your opponents cast threats and attack you to death then it's all for naught in the end. If you can afford to field 0 interaction and still survive then by all means cut them for additional draw/drain but the card is stellar when you're getting beaten down early on. In that sense don't think of it like "Oath is replacing Syphon" but more "Oath is buying me the time needed to cast Syphon without getting pummeled into oblivion."
I don't understand what your argument is. It's 1 devotion vs what? Nothing? I'll take 1 devotion over nothing any day of the week in my 2x Nykthos 4x Gary deck :P. It's not as though your list has cards like Unholy Grotto, Gravecrawler, Bloodghast, Relentless Dead, etc. so it seems strictly worse for all intents and purposes.
Apples to oranges. Oath of Liliana is (typically) solid in these types of shells because it enables you to live long enough to get value from things like Syphon Mind.
Yeah I went back and edited in the devotion as a late afterthought, Absolutely no reason its better. Given that, how do you feel about Seal of Doom? Forcing the table to sack their llanowar elves while a good tempo move doesn't seem as good as targeted removal(although if i get Massacre Wurm I can see an argument for drain synergy). Or is cast down just better targeted removal if I want to run removal? (non-black isnt a real issue in my meta right now only one zombie deck, neither is non legendary)
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I am restricted to the modern legal card-pool. (Unless it's EDH)
You don't really want to be paying 2-3 mana to 1-for-1 someone in multiplayer. It's an extremely inefficient use of time and resources. After all, if your 3+ opponents all cast a Grizzly Bears on turn 2 and your response is to kill one of them with a Cast Down then you've still fallen massively far behind. The Modern restriction means that you can't run many of the good Black removal spells so I personally wouldn't bother with them unless they were absolutely necessary. You're better off sticking to drain/devotion/mass removal spells.
The Mana generation is either not modern legal, which my playgroup follows, or is out of my budget (it would be sweet to just jam large demons though).
It seems that Skirsdag High Priest belongs in a more tokeny deck where on t3, you could sack one and tap two more to start the demon train, I wouldnt really want to tap Griselbrand and Scion of Darkness to make a 5/5.
This deck started when I pulled 4 Treacherous Pit-Dwellers and wanted it to be a good card. Unfortunately my playgroup wasn't really into multiplayer back then and it has been sitting in a box until now. I really like the politics this deck has with the pit-dwellers and the hunted horrors, my main strategy is to beat someone down to 3-6 life, then give them all the stuff and make them do my bidding or take them out with a Gonti's Machinations or soulcage fiend.
1x Abyssal Persecutor
1x Archfiend of Depravity
1x Desecration Demon
1x Erebos, God of the Dead
1x Gonti, Lord of Luxury
3x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1x Harvester of Souls
3x Hunted Horror
2x Master of the Feast
1x Night Market Lookout
1x Nighthowler
1x Phyrexian Obliterator
1x Reaper from the Abyss
1x Seizan, Perverter of Truth
3x Soulcage Fiend
3x Treacherous Pit-Dweller
1x Xathrid Demon
3x Blood Tithe
3x Syphon Mind
Land (22)
22x Swamp
Enchantment (6)
2x Bloodchief Ascension
4x Gonti's Machinations
I want to find room for 2 good utility lands going up to 24, and find room for Demon of Dark Schemes . I think that Night market lookout is a easy cut. I think harvester of souls can come out for Demon of Dark Schemes. Probably should make room for a fourth gray merchant.
What I really need help with is finding two nifty utility lands that kinda work with the theme. I was also wondering if Dread Shade is worth it in a devotion deck and if so if cabal stronghold is worth it. And what seems like the weakest card to cut for the 24th land. Also any other cool demons or horrors that would fit well!
So this is an updated list, still open to improvements! (I would probably remove some more of the 1 offs for Howling Banshee, but dont have any atm. I would also add Massacre Wurm when my budget allows)
1x Archfiend of Depravity
1x Erebos, God of the Dead
1x Gonti, Lord of Luxury
4x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
4x Hunted Horror
2x Master of the Feast
1x Phyrexian Obliterator
1x Reaper from the Abyss
1x Seizan, Perverter of Truth
4x Soulcage Fiend
4x Treacherous Pit-Dweller
2x Blood Tithe
2x Syphon Mind
2x Exsanguinate
Land (24)
22x Swamp
2x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Enchantment (6)
2x Bloodchief Ascension
4x Gonti's Machinations
I am restricted to the modern legal card pool.
22x Swamp
2x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Creatures (24)
4x Treacherous Pit-Dweller
4x Hunted Horror
4x Soulcage Fiend
4x Howling Banshee
1x Phyrexian Obliterator
1x Erebos, God of the Dead
4x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
2x Massacre Wurm
4x Gonti's Machinations
2x Bloodchief Ascension
4x Oath of Liliana
2x Pestilence
Maybe something close to this?
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I do like howling banshee to replace some of the more expensive 5-6 drops. On the other hand I do like that I get to play cards that don't have a home elsewhere (hence all the 3 drops to make room for a bunch of 1 drops, not good for consistency, but good for fun, may move them into a sideboard).
Do you think that Massacre Wurm is that much better than Demon of Dark Schemes ?
Same question for Oath of Liliana, it seems that fleshbag marauder would do the same thing (one less devotion though). But is that effect really better than the gain 9/drain 3 or draw 3 that come from blood tithe or syphon mind ? (wont be playing this deck in a table with less than 4 players)
(side question, why does my link to Demon of dark Schemes work in my first post but not in this one? I used the same [card*] [/card*] text)
That would work fine. Torment of Hailfire is another solid choice if needed but ideally you want to field Exsang.
Yes, the difference is gargantuan in dedicated drain decks. Wurm will virtually always kill on-the-spot whereas Demon is more of a value card. If you can't afford the Wurm I would rather see more Exsangs to round out the list but Wurm is absolutely bonkers in these Gary decks.
I don't understand what your argument is. It's 1 devotion vs what? Nothing? I'll take 1 devotion over nothing any day of the week in my 2x Nykthos 4x Gary deck :P. It's not as though your list has cards like Unholy Grotto, Gravecrawler, Bloodghast, Relentless Dead, etc. so it seems strictly worse for all intents and purposes.
Apples to oranges. Oath of Liliana is (typically) solid in these types of shells because it enables you to live long enough to get value from things like Syphon Mind. Drawing cards is great, but if your opponents cast threats and attack you to death then it's all for naught in the end. If you can afford to field 0 interaction and still survive then by all means cut them for additional draw/drain but the card is stellar when you're getting beaten down early on. In that sense don't think of it like "Oath is replacing Syphon" but more "Oath is buying me the time needed to cast Syphon without getting pummeled into oblivion."
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Yeah I went back and edited in the devotion as a late afterthought, Absolutely no reason its better. Given that, how do you feel about Seal of Doom? Forcing the table to sack their llanowar elves while a good tempo move doesn't seem as good as targeted removal(although if i get Massacre Wurm I can see an argument for drain synergy). Or is cast down just better targeted removal if I want to run removal? (non-black isnt a real issue in my meta right now only one zombie deck, neither is non legendary)
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I run Cabal Coffers together with sets of Dark Ritual, Crypt Ghast & Soldevi Adnate to gain early mana.
Bloodgift Demon & Harvester of Souls take care of draw.
Skirsdag High Priest is there along with a heap of high-cmc options in Griselbrand, Pestilence Demon, Reiver Demon, Scion of Darkness, Dread Cacodemon etc.
If you end up running devotion, I'd consider Abhorrent Overlord.
The Mana generation is either not modern legal, which my playgroup follows, or is out of my budget (it would be sweet to just jam large demons though).
It seems that Skirsdag High Priest belongs in a more tokeny deck where on t3, you could sack one and tap two more to start the demon train, I wouldnt really want to tap Griselbrand and Scion of Darkness to make a 5/5.
Abhorrent Overlord however seems cool, but not nearly the powerhouse that Grey Merchant of Asphodel is.
Yeah if you're set on modern-legality & Gary, then a devotion deck is prolly where you should be hunting. Prid3 got you covered