I'm curious to know what my fellow kitchen table edh players think makes a good/fun casual mono B general. My playgroup plays on a $100 budget with no Infinite or other degenerate Combos. Normally Sidisi, Undead Vizier and Razaketh, the Foulblooded are the best mono B options as you just tutor for your favourite degenerate combo ftw but considering my playgroup doesn't allow that kinda thing, what do you think looks moat effective?
Some of my thoughts on the matter:
1. Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon. I worry my playgroup may just hate on me for piloting such a literally toxic deck but he probably is one of the more powerful options. Kinda leaning towards him at the moment. Do any playgroups augment the rules so it takes 15 or 20 poison to kill a player?
2. Ghoulcaller Gisa / Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet: I realize they aren't the exact same deck but they're close enough. Both make zombie hoards, both are sac outlets, both like some zombie tribal support like lords. They interest me but idk how strong they are or which is better
3. Anowon, the Ruin Sage. Mono B vamp tribal was my first magic deck back when I started in Alara/Zendikar standard. For nostalgias sake I would love to make them again but not if it's just going to be bad or average in its power level
4. Greel, Mind Raker. I've always loved discard decks. Shrieking Affliction/The Rack just might be my favorite cards in all of magic but idk if they have any business in commander and even if they do idk if Greel is the one to do it.
5. Other. Please suggest anything you think is good but if all the general does is unidirectionally draw cards (looking at you Erebos) then I'm probably not gonna play it. I want a deck that has a clear theme. This is also the reason I don't want to play a comboless Sidisi or Razaketh, I don't know what to do with the 99. You can literally use tutoring and card draw in any strategy you can imagine.
1. I find Skittles to be pretty uninspiring and dull, plus sitting at CMC 5 and being mono-B doesn't make it a great voltron commander either.
Plus Infect can aggravate some players quickly.
2. I like both, but i'd beware of picking an hate effect with Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, as that will make it a lightning rod for removal and could frustrate you, because your game plan would heavily rely on the tokens. As for Zombies, i'd prefer Liliana, Heretical Healer. Her flavor is just awesome and she can do a lot of things without being overly competitive.
3. Another hate effect in the command zone, plus a tribe that certainly loses a lot of options by being mono-colored. As Anowon, the Ruin Sage doesn't bring a lot of tech, i think you'd get bored rather easily.
5. I am certainly biased, but Gonti, Lord of Luxury is a ton of fun! The more different decks in your meta, the better. Scales amazingly well with deck strengths and so on.
1. I find Skittles to be pretty uninspiring and dull, plus sitting at CMC 5 and being mono-B doesn't make it a great voltron commander either.
Plus Infect can aggravate some players quickly.
2. I like both, but i'd beware of picking an hate effect with Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, as that will make it a lightning rod for removal and could frustrate you, because your game plan would heavily rely on the tokens. As for Zombies, i'd prefer Liliana, Heretical Healer. Her flavor is just awesome and she can do a lot of things without being overly competitive.
3. Another hate effect in the command zone, plus a tribe that certainly loses a lot of options by being mono-colored. As Anowon, the Ruin Sage doesn't bring a lot of tech, i think you'd get bored rather easily.
5. I am certainly biased, but Gonti, Lord of Luxury is a ton of fun! The more different decks in your meta, the better. Scales amazingly well with deck strengths and so on.
Thanks for the input man!
1. I kind of agree with you here, it just seems so strong. Theres really only one block of cards to pull from in terms of Infect and Proliferate. I guess there are the older poison cards too. And you have pump/evasion granting effects. But ya, it doesn't really excite my inner Johnny.
2. Good call on the Kalitas hate. Having said that what percentage of decks does it actually piss off? Even reanimator decks that discard fatties to reanimate then won't be that affected. Its rely only the Meren Alesha style decks it pisses off? I suppose anything with a death trigger won't be happy eithor. Would you consider this a dealbreaker? If so I'd just play Gisa instead if I go this direction
3. I kind of disagree. Yes the tribe itself will have a smaller pool overall but you get to use some cool stuff like Vampire Nocturnus, Nirkana Revenant and black heavy Gatekeeper of Malakir. Plus you get all the fun mono black goodies like Mutilate, Lashwrithe, Cabal Stronghold and Jet Medallion to compensate. That being said your other criticisms is solid and I worry about having a huge hate general making me public enemy #1.
4. Sadly that's probably correct. I could play reanimator but the whole point that interested me in Greel and discard is being able to play my favoured Shrieking affliction or Geth's Grimoir cards. Otherwise I don't particularly care about discard. Reanimator is always good doing it's own thing. If I went this route I'd probably play Chainer. I already have a Scarab God reanimator deck though so idk if I want another deck that plays so similarly.
5. Gonti eh? What excites you about this guy? What kind of direction did you take the 99? Just good stuff? I just see awkward inefficient card advantage
Drana 1.0 is the most casual of legends for a monoblack deck.
I tried her and found her kinda awkward and underwhelming. She's ok but just uninspiring. She's kinda awkward too. You want to tap out to attack but then you have no mana open for your instants. Or you can activate her ability at the end of someone's turn but the pump goes to waist. She's not bad just idk, not for me.
My favourite casual mono-B Commander is Korlash, Heir to Blackblade. You've got the obvious big mana black stuff, the ability to go voltron, but also a relatively good reliable body to abuse stuff like Pestilence and Withering Wisps style effects.
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My List of Current Decks: -Modern- WMartyrProcB BBurnR -Commander-
My favourite casual mono-B Commander is Korlash, Heir to Blackblade. You've got the obvious big mana black stuff, the ability to go voltron, but also a relatively good reliable body to abuse stuff like Pestilence and Withering Wisps style effects.
That's an interesting option. I've always overlooked all the grandeur legends because the ability is useless in singleton. That being said, I've always appreciated commanders like Prossh who grow over the course of the game. This is worth considering but I have to wonder if Skittles helms a mono B deck with voltron elements better? Idk maybe not. Skittles doesn't grow and is more expensive so maybe?
Chainer, Dementia Master - cheap, repeatable reanimation that targets everyone's 'yards. You've got a clear strategy of being graveyard-centric and wanting lots of black mana (and maybe a bit of lifegain), but there's so much variety in how it actually plays out, as you get to play with your opponents cards, as well having as how you work to enable his ability (personally, I like removal as my main means of stocking graveyards but pushing heavier on discard and/or mill effects are options). And if you're looking to push the power level up, he can be an excellent leader for a stax/resource denial deck, as his ability can be a real parity breaker.
edit: I missed the later post where you said you had a Scarab God deck. Ah well, Chainer is still great fun to play
I appreciate all the feedback guys. It's been helpful.
I wouldn't mind hearing a bit more feedback on Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet. NoNeedToBragoBoutIt made a good criticism that his hate ability may lead to some bad politics. How big of a deturrant from playing him would that be to you guys in a casual environment? Kalitas has some pretty phenomenal value for a card in terms of just having to pay 4 mana with no setup required to potentially make tons of tokens and disrupt some opponents mechanics. Also, there is something I find very attractive about having a decent sized zombie hoard after a board wipe.
Chainer, Dementia Master - cheap, repeatable reanimation that targets everyone's 'yards. You've got a clear strategy of being graveyard-centric and wanting lots of black mana (and maybe a bit of lifegain), but there's so much variety in how it actually plays out, as you get to play with your opponents cards, as well having as how you work to enable his ability (personally, I like removal as my main means of stocking graveyards but pushing heavier on discard and/or mill effects are options). And if you're looking to push the power level up, he can be an excellent leader for a stax/resource denial deck, as his ability can be a real parity breaker.
edit: I missed the later post where you said you had a Scarab God deck. Ah well, Chainer is still great fun to play
Chainer, Dementia Master is pretty fun. Good Reanimator shenanigans which black always enjoys, and you can reanimate your opponent's goodies.
You guys are tempting me to make him lol. In the interest of not having two decks that are so similar, Which do you like more better between Chainer and The Scarab God?
I think Chainer is definitely the stronger card in EDH where turning utility creatures into 4/4s is less relevant, but TSG does give you access to another colour. So, I guess it comes down to how much you value having blue.
I think Chainer is definitely the stronger card in EDH where turning utility creatures into 4/4s is less relevant, but TSG does give you access to another colour. So, I guess it comes down to how much you value having blue.
I really like having the blue myself but I'd be willing to hear the arguments for chainer. The P/T change doesn't bother me too much as it's the crazy blue effects of things like Consecrated Sphinx and Jin-Gitaxious that draws me to reanimator. Plus I like how easy instant speed abilities make holding up mana for counter magic. He also has a couple other nice abilities like scrying, direct damage and pseudo tax evasion.
Maybe having two similar decks wont be the worst idea?
Edit: I do really like the idea of being able to cycle loop things like Gary. What other cards are great for cycle looping, something I can't do in TSG?
I'm going to add another vote for Korlash, Heir to Blackblade as being my favorite casual-friendly mono-black commander. He looks like a big dumb beater (and is) but there are surprisingly few commanders with regenerate, which when combined with his large size makes him spectacularly durable.
A scaling commander is absolutely no joke, and being able to suit him up with Nightmare Lash or Lashwrithe to double up his beats makes him quite scary and requires that you devote very little space for an effective voltron package. I also like him more than the stereotypical skittles package, as an infect commander kind of gives up your gameplan immediately and almost certainly makes you a huge target. Korlash, on the other hand, can still sneak in that same win with Tainted Strike or Grafted Exoskeleton.
Wrap this all up in a more standard big-mana black package and you've got some fun that doesn't hate out casual games.
Edit: I do really like the idea of being able to cycle loop things like Gary. What other cards are great for cycle looping, something I can't do in TSG?
In terms of what Chainer can loop, the big thing is any ETB/LTB triggers when combined with sac outlets. GloriousGoose listed some of the best, other nice ones include Gonti, Lord of Luxury (want counterspells? hit the blue player), Bone Shredder (conditional, but self sacs which is really useful) Agent of Erebos (you don't want to exile yards but sometimes you have to), Massacre Wurm (stack the -2/-2...), even just things like Solemn Simulacrum for the value. Plus there's also whatever is in your opponents' yards. When something like a Reclamation Sage gets killed/milled, it gives you a lot of extra flexibility when you can repeatedly get the ETB at instant speed. Building with a focus on ETB abuse - almost like a black equivalent of Brago or Roon - is something that Chainer can do well rather than just being a more traditional reanimation deck. I run Panharmonicon in my list for this reason.
Also, being mono-black makes it easier to produce large amounts of mana (Cabal Coffers, Crypt Ghast etc.), thus letting you use the ability repeatedly.
That said, I'm coming at this as someone who's been playing Chainer for over 3 years now, and am nowhere near being bored of it, so I'll obviously be cheerleading for him. TSG does have some very good upsides though, and as you point out, you get access to some great blue cards.
Having played many of them, Geth, Lord of the Vault. The deck is really straightforward to build, just lands, ramp, and removal, and it's super fun to play. You just burn through your opponents decks and put it into play under your control.
skythirix is just a boring, if effective, beater. If you're looking for fun I have no idea why you'd give him a second look.
Ghisa/Kalitas - zombie tribal is boring, you're just making big armies of 2/2s and smashing. Not skittles boring, but pretty boring.
anowon - bad stax? That's like 2 different kinds of boring.
greel - discard is simultaneously generally very weak, and also really unfun when it works. Not a great combo.
Only other ones that are close, imo, is chainer (though he's been usurped by TSG imo) and XHD, although those both tend to be a lot more repetitive since you're pulling from your own grave. Geth is constant variety. He's great.
In terms of what Chainer can loop, the big thing is any ETB/LTB triggers when combined with sac outlets. GloriousGoose listed some of the best, other nice ones include Gonti, Lord of Luxury (want counterspells? hit the blue player), Bone Shredder (conditional, but self sacs which is really useful) Agent of Erebos (you don't want to exile yards but sometimes you have to), Massacre Wurm (stack the -2/-2...), even just things like Solemn Simulacrum for the value. Plus there's also whatever is in your opponents' yards. When something like a Reclamation Sage gets killed/milled, it gives you a lot of extra flexibility when you can repeatedly get the ETB at instant speed. Building with a focus on ETB abuse - almost like a black equivalent of Brago or Roon - is something that Chainer can do well rather than just being a more traditional reanimation deck. I run Panharmonicon in my list for this reason.
Also, being mono-black makes it easier to produce large amounts of mana (Cabal Coffers, Crypt Ghast etc.), thus letting you use the ability repeatedly.
That said, I'm coming at this as someone who's been playing Chainer for over 3 years now, and am nowhere near being bored of it, so I'll obviously be cheerleading for him. TSG does have some very good upsides though, and as you point out, you get access to some great blue cards.
Ok yep, I'm sold. Now I'm just sad I haven't been playing him for all these years
Toshiro's great, since he makes single-target removal a lot better (being able to re-use it), on top of letting you re-use cards like Dark Bargain, Moonlight Bargain, Ad Nauseam (fairly!), and Vampiric Tutor. Also, if you cast an instant that kills a creature, you can immediately flashback that same instant.
So I got alters for a bunch of cards in the deck, replacing the faces of the various characters Belzenlok claims to be correctly restored to referencing himself in the history books with Belzenlok's face. Then I crossed out instances of the originalwrong names on the card with a single strikethrough and wrote in Belzenlok's name. So now I'm playing cards like Urborg, Tomb of Belzenlok and Hymn to Belzenlok. The art on Carnival of Souls has a sad Belzenlok face over Davvol's, and the flavor text reads “‘Davvol Belzenlok, blast those elves.’ ‘Davvol Belzenlok, transport those troops.’ No one cares that today is my birthday.”
Toshiro's great, since he makes single-target removal a lot better (being able to re-use it), on top of letting you re-use cards like Dark Bargain, Moonlight Bargain, Ad Nauseam (fairly!), and Vampiric Tutor. Also, if you cast an instant that kills a creature, you can immediately flashback that same instant.
So I got alters for a bunch of cards in the deck, replacing the faces of the various characters Belzenlok claims to be correctly restored to referencing himself in the history books with Belzenlok's face. Then I crossed out instances of the originalwrong names on the card with a single strikethrough and wrote in Belzenlok's name. So now I'm playing cards like Urborg, Tomb of Belzenlok and Hymn to Belzenlok. The art on Carnival of Souls has a sad Belzenlok face over Davvol's, and the flavor text reads “‘Davvol Belzenlok, blast those elves.’ ‘Davvol Belzenlok, transport those troops.’ No one cares that today is my birthday.”
As others have said, Chainer is crazy good. Well-built Chainer decks can be scary-good.
Geth is also very solid.
For a weird choice, Marrow-Gnawer rat tribal is good. I don't do the Relentless Rats thing - too boring - but do have a "disease" subtheme to the deck. It's surprisingly strong.
I played Drana as my commander for years, but got bored recently and wanted to try something new. I've switched to Kuon, Ogre Ascendant and have been enjoying it. You have kind of a mini game of trying to flip him. Fleshbag marauder effects are the easiest way to do it. Then you get to watch him eat the board.
Some of my thoughts on the matter:
1. Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon. I worry my playgroup may just hate on me for piloting such a literally toxic deck but he probably is one of the more powerful options. Kinda leaning towards him at the moment. Do any playgroups augment the rules so it takes 15 or 20 poison to kill a player?
2. Ghoulcaller Gisa / Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet: I realize they aren't the exact same deck but they're close enough. Both make zombie hoards, both are sac outlets, both like some zombie tribal support like lords. They interest me but idk how strong they are or which is better
3. Anowon, the Ruin Sage. Mono B vamp tribal was my first magic deck back when I started in Alara/Zendikar standard. For nostalgias sake I would love to make them again but not if it's just going to be bad or average in its power level
4. Greel, Mind Raker. I've always loved discard decks. Shrieking Affliction/The Rack just might be my favorite cards in all of magic but idk if they have any business in commander and even if they do idk if Greel is the one to do it.
5. Other. Please suggest anything you think is good but if all the general does is unidirectionally draw cards (looking at you Erebos) then I'm probably not gonna play it. I want a deck that has a clear theme. This is also the reason I don't want to play a comboless Sidisi or Razaketh, I don't know what to do with the 99. You can literally use tutoring and card draw in any strategy you can imagine.
Edit: Thanks to all the very helpful comments, I've decided to try Chainer, Dementia Master as my general. The idea of recursion looping Gray Merchant of Asphodel or Kokusho, the Evening Star sounds strong and I like the idea of being able to loop Meteor Golem for some really great non-creature removal that black shouldn't have access to.
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
Plus Infect can aggravate some players quickly.
2. I like both, but i'd beware of picking an hate effect with Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, as that will make it a lightning rod for removal and could frustrate you, because your game plan would heavily rely on the tokens. As for Zombies, i'd prefer Liliana, Heretical Healer. Her flavor is just awesome and she can do a lot of things without being overly competitive.
3. Another hate effect in the command zone, plus a tribe that certainly loses a lot of options by being mono-colored. As Anowon, the Ruin Sage doesn't bring a lot of tech, i think you'd get bored rather easily.
4. Single player discard combined with summoning sickness seems akward. I'd rather use the 99 for discard effects and then combine them with Reanimate effects. So maybe Geth, Lord of the Vault, Balthor the Defiled or Whisper Blood Liturgist?
5. I am certainly biased, but Gonti, Lord of Luxury is a ton of fun! The more different decks in your meta, the better. Scales amazingly well with deck strengths and so on.
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
1. I kind of agree with you here, it just seems so strong. Theres really only one block of cards to pull from in terms of Infect and Proliferate. I guess there are the older poison cards too. And you have pump/evasion granting effects. But ya, it doesn't really excite my inner Johnny.
2. Good call on the Kalitas hate. Having said that what percentage of decks does it actually piss off? Even reanimator decks that discard fatties to reanimate then won't be that affected. Its rely only the Meren Alesha style decks it pisses off? I suppose anything with a death trigger won't be happy eithor. Would you consider this a dealbreaker? If so I'd just play Gisa instead if I go this direction
3. I kind of disagree. Yes the tribe itself will have a smaller pool overall but you get to use some cool stuff like Vampire Nocturnus, Nirkana Revenant and black heavy Gatekeeper of Malakir. Plus you get all the fun mono black goodies like
Mutilate, Lashwrithe, Cabal Stronghold and Jet Medallion to compensate. That being said your other criticisms is solid and I worry about having a huge hate general making me public enemy #1.
4. Sadly that's probably correct. I could play reanimator but the whole point that interested me in Greel and discard is being able to play my favoured Shrieking affliction or Geth's Grimoir cards. Otherwise I don't particularly care about discard. Reanimator is always good doing it's own thing. If I went this route I'd probably play Chainer. I already have a Scarab God reanimator deck though so idk if I want another deck that plays so similarly.
5. Gonti eh? What excites you about this guy? What kind of direction did you take the 99? Just good stuff? I just see awkward inefficient card advantage
I tried her and found her kinda awkward and underwhelming. She's ok but just uninspiring. She's kinda awkward too. You want to tap out to attack but then you have no mana open for your instants. Or you can activate her ability at the end of someone's turn but the pump goes to waist. She's not bad just idk, not for me.
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
-Modern-
WMartyrProcB
BBurnR
-Commander-
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
edit: I missed the later post where you said you had a Scarab God deck. Ah well, Chainer is still great fun to play
I wouldn't mind hearing a bit more feedback on Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet. NoNeedToBragoBoutIt made a good criticism that his hate ability may lead to some bad politics. How big of a deturrant from playing him would that be to you guys in a casual environment? Kalitas has some pretty phenomenal value for a card in terms of just having to pay 4 mana with no setup required to potentially make tons of tokens and disrupt some opponents mechanics. Also, there is something I find very attractive about having a decent sized zombie hoard after a board wipe.
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
You guys are tempting me to make him lol. In the interest of not having two decks that are so similar, Which do you like more better between Chainer and The Scarab God?
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
Maybe having two similar decks wont be the worst idea?
Edit: I do really like the idea of being able to cycle loop things like Gary. What other cards are great for cycle looping, something I can't do in TSG?
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
A scaling commander is absolutely no joke, and being able to suit him up with Nightmare Lash or Lashwrithe to double up his beats makes him quite scary and requires that you devote very little space for an effective voltron package. I also like him more than the stereotypical skittles package, as an infect commander kind of gives up your gameplan immediately and almost certainly makes you a huge target. Korlash, on the other hand, can still sneak in that same win with Tainted Strike or Grafted Exoskeleton.
Wrap this all up in a more standard big-mana black package and you've got some fun that doesn't hate out casual games.
Don't leave home without sac outlets like Phyrexian Altar/Ashnod's Altar, Viscera Seer, Altar of Dementia, Dimir House Guard, and Attrition.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
Also, being mono-black makes it easier to produce large amounts of mana (Cabal Coffers, Crypt Ghast etc.), thus letting you use the ability repeatedly.
That said, I'm coming at this as someone who's been playing Chainer for over 3 years now, and am nowhere near being bored of it, so I'll obviously be cheerleading for him. TSG does have some very good upsides though, and as you point out, you get access to some great blue cards.
skythirix is just a boring, if effective, beater. If you're looking for fun I have no idea why you'd give him a second look.
Ghisa/Kalitas - zombie tribal is boring, you're just making big armies of 2/2s and smashing. Not skittles boring, but pretty boring.
anowon - bad stax? That's like 2 different kinds of boring.
greel - discard is simultaneously generally very weak, and also really unfun when it works. Not a great combo.
Only other ones that are close, imo, is chainer (though he's been usurped by TSG imo) and XHD, although those both tend to be a lot more repetitive since you're pulling from your own grave. Geth is constant variety. He's great.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
Ok yep, I'm sold. Now I'm just sad I haven't been playing him for all these years
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
Toshiro's great, since he makes single-target removal a lot better (being able to re-use it), on top of letting you re-use cards like Dark Bargain, Moonlight Bargain, Ad Nauseam (fairly!), and Vampiric Tutor. Also, if you cast an instant that kills a creature, you can immediately flashback that same instant.
My Belzenlok deck is built on a theme; Belzenlok has edited the history books of the Cabal to take credit for pretty much all of the major mono-black characters throughout Dominaria's history. He is the Evincar of the Stronghold (Davvol, Volrath, Crovax, alternate timeline Mirri, plus others not represented on any cards), he is the Scion of Darkness (Kuberr), he is the Doom of Fools (Tevesh Szat), he is the Lord of the Wastes (Yawgmoth), he is the Master of the Ebon Hand (Tourach), he is the Eternal Patriarch of the Cabal (Virot Maglan). Praise Belzenlok! All hail Belzenlok!
So I got alters for a bunch of cards in the deck, replacing the faces of the various characters Belzenlok
claims to becorrectly restored to referencing himself in the history books with Belzenlok's face. Then I crossed out instances of theoriginalwrong names on the card with a single strikethrough and wrote in Belzenlok's name. So now I'm playing cards like Urborg, Tomb of Belzenlok and Hymn to Belzenlok. The art on Carnival of Souls has a sad Belzenlok face over Davvol's, and the flavor text reads “‘DavvolBelzenlok, blast those elves.’ ‘DavvolBelzenlok, transport those troops.’ No one cares that today is my birthday.”Inspiration for the deck came from this article here on MTGS: https://www.mtgsalvation.com/articles/49713-the-true-history-of-dominaria
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
Geth is also very solid.
For a weird choice, Marrow-Gnawer rat tribal is good. I don't do the Relentless Rats thing - too boring - but do have a "disease" subtheme to the deck. It's surprisingly strong.