MTG Salvation

SHAUKU, ENDBRINGER

"My minions serve me in the light, I serve no-one." -Shauku, Endbringer.

About the deck:

This deck was built as I wanted to try a fun general that isn't too threatening nor often-built. The primary aim of this deck is to make it fully operational while using Shauku as a commander. Artifacts allow us to untap Shauku to fully utilize her ability while life gain cards bring on the pressure while giving us more life to run Shauku and her mass exile. If worse comes to worse, the general can be switched out for Visara the Dreadful or even Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet, but either Visara or Shauku would be best. I would of course, suggest playing Shauku simply because there's probably only one other creature in Magic that lets you tap to exile a creature, and it exiles itself. Life doesn't matter when you can have free exiles.

Otherwise, Shauku can hold down creature-based aggro decks by exiling problem creatures, utility creatures and commanders while you tutor for one of many combos involved in the deck. One of my favourite plays with Shauku is to exile persist creatures like Woodfall Primus or exile combo pieces in response to activation, such as the Lark-Guide combo. Shauku can also attack if you manage to control the board well enough, but don't count too much on that happening. But when it does, hilarity ensues as you swing with what's at least a 10/10 flying vampire.


You may like this deck if:
You may not like this deck if:


Decklist

Why Shauku?
"I no longer believe in a final resting place."—Shauku, Endbringer

In a mono-black control shell, any activated activity creature with tap effects could have been the commander. However, Shauku oozes of style points, and is a good card to prevent reanimator and graveyard based combos. Shauku also has great synergy with cards like Eon Hub and Gibbering Descent.

A lot of people say that Shauku is a janky general because she can hardly attack. But they are missing the point here: Shauku attacking is merely a rare bonus that comes once in a blue moon. Even if she couldn't attack, exiling more than 3 creatures a turn is scary enough to beat through for lethal, keep the board empty and swing with her, or simply amass enough mana to do one, big X-costed spell. Most of the time she probably doesn't even need to make an appearance if you are able to get out of one of many combos in this deck quick enough, such as the relatively simple Wound Reflection+ Blood Tribute kill.

If worse comes to worse, Visara can be employed as well for similar control elements. (If you're a wimp, of course.)

Also, she looks like Zombie Starfire, /explanation.

Life-gain
"Life is a resource that should belong only to the strong."- Shauku, Endbringer

Shauku is a bloodthirsty vampire. She demands life to operate. Using our various life-gain spells, you can do just that. Early game, you have spells like Blood Tithe or Syphon Soul to gain life en masse. Sangromancer helps bring on the life gain. "Stupid general, can't attack" they say? Suck all their blood with your big mana and X costed spells.

Alternate builds
I could suggest a Vampire tribal edh utilizing the Vampire cards which allow for lifegain. This lets us run a smaller lifegain package, more discard/disruption, or the addition of new combo pieces such as Sanguine Bonds. Door of Arms and related tribal cards could help us beat for lethal with vampires while Shauku takes out blockers, like a boss.

Cards I would suggest for a Vampire build:

• 1 Vampire Nighthawk
  
• 1 Malakir Bloodwitch
  
• 1 Butcher of Malakir
  
• 1 Sanguine Bonds
  
• 1 Bloodhusk Ritualist
  
• 1 Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
  
• 1 Grul Draz Assassin
  

A deck based solely on lifegain with no creatures isn't inconceivable as well but I suppose it'd be more a mono-black control, glass cannon type of deck. It would have to run more combos and tutors, creatureless MBC being a rather less than stellar archetype.


Game Plan
"First death. Then Shauku."

Most of the time Shauku is for clearing the field of enemy creatures while your beaters like Nirkana Revenant and Steel Hellkite beat through for the win. These guys just love the infinite mana combos thrown into the deck. More damage is usually dealt through lifegain spells, such as the ever-popular Exsanguinate for one big kill. You would also often win by complete lockdown (Contamination+ Eon Hub, etc.) or by an infinite or simply gigantic mana-fueled spell. (Untap package + Magus of the Coffers+ X-spell = good times.)

When playing Visara, untap Visara to clear the skies and attack for general damage for the fastest kill possible. Use the lifegain to your advantage.

Multiplayer
"Politics is a game—move a stone here, move a stone there—except sometimes the stones bleed."
—Shauku, Endbringer

Shauku is stronger 1v1 rather in multiplayer due to her 'can't attack if another creature' clause. You would probably either make pacts with the blue or green player if you use Shauku, and would preferably drop her in when the field is near empty. Try not to make enemies. If you must, you could go full aggro, but the multitude of targets makes her a bit weaker politically. Visara could fare better in this department.

She could still be powerful if you decide to make allies. Her exile ability is potent against reanimator decks, Revillark combos and enemy generals. You could make allies with others and protect them, before killing them all when you amass sufficient mana.

Hey SchizoidMan I haven't seen this post for a while and WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED TO THE D-
As I learnt, staying around doing nothing for at least 7 turns makes for really boring and pointless games where you either die quick or win because no-one cares. With a super-budget super ramp package, you can get into the action much faster.


Synergies / Combos
"I write upon clean white parchment with a sharp quill and the blood of my students, divining their secrets."
—Shauku, Endbringer


Deckstats:

Number of games won by General Damage: 6

There you have it. Any suggestions?

Changelog:

Maybeboard:

I wonder about running a vampire/lifelink subtheme.
I've thought about some nice interactions:

Crypt Rats + Vampiric Link: Clear most of the field for Shauku + lifegain
Blood Tribute + Shauku, Endbringer + Sanguine Bonds

I could add in Child of Night and Vampire Nighthawk, et cetera vampires to make use of vamp. tribal, but should I ?

Anyone...? Any advice for Shauku or Visara would be welcome...

;_;

Quote from SchizoidMan

I'm thinking to add in more kill-spells and less life-gain spells or artifacts. Any ideas on what to cut? I know I'm probably adding these in:

• 1 Barter in Blood
  
• 1 Go for the Throat
  
• 1 Rend Flesh
  
• 1 Ashes to Ashes
  
• 1 Dismember
  
• 1 Severe the Bloodline

Any ideas on what to cut? Or should I even cut at all?

Removed them to throw in equipment like Strata Scythe and artifacts like O-Stone. Might keep the Bloodline in for exile effect.

Dread Cacodemon and Plague Wind can help set you up to swing with Shauku.

Quote from ishi_lives

Dread Cacodemon and Plague Wind can help set you up to swing with Shauku.

Holy crap a reply! Will do. Found a Plague Wind, still looking for Dread Cacodemon.

Also added Subversion (?) and Choice of Damnations

Updated Maybeboard.

Might throw in suite of removal spells.

Edited to reflect current availability of cards.

Assembled the deck yesterday, tested it out. Lifegain is atrociously evil, although I, too, have to be evil. (Someone begged me not to kill him, and he killed everyone. Damn.)

Main problems right off the bat:
1. There is a high curve towards the 5-6 CMC mark. There are a lot of 5-6 CMC cards, and this deck hardly has any ramp.

2. This deck, as said before, has hardly any ramp. I threw in Manalith and Pristine Talisman to supplement it. Couldn't find a Sol ring to spare.

3. This deck is edging towards Mono-black Control, yet it lacks kill spells. I'm thinking of running these:

1. Go for the Throat
2. Doom Blade
3. Sever the Bloodline
4. Dismember
5. Victim of Night
6. Rend Flesh

The abundance of life-gain cards is great, but it makes my job harder now that I don't have either Portcullis or the Contamination locks.

4. Difficulty in tutoring for cards: Might throw in more Transmute cards when possible. Will look for Contamination, Infernal Darkness, and Reassembling Skeleton.

5. Lack of creatures. Exiling 4 creatures a turn is fun and all, but Shauku hardly gets a chance to attack, and the lack of big finishers aside from the Revenant irks me. I think that getting a Grave Titan might be a good finisher but it defeats Shauku's ability since it generates 2 tokens a pop. I might even cut down the number of creatures to make Shauku the main focus of the deck instead.

6. Token Strategies. Threw in Mutilate, Infest and thinking of Sever the Bloodline.


Any other suggestions? I know it's hard to suggest things for a general like Shauku, so why not share what you think a mono-black EDH deck should run?

Quote from fattyluvboat

After looking at your list quite a few times, I would say it is pretty much optimal if you are going for the most efficient way to win with Shauku. Personally I would throw in some more wacky cards like Withering Boon and such to mix it up.

Which is funny because Shauku seems to perform very well 1v1, but in multiplayer the creatures become the main focus as Shauku merely becomes an exiler. I added some killspells to stop silly things like equipping Das Boots when Shauku's tapped to cut myself some slack.

Will edit list soon.

there are plenty of black wrath effects that could be used in place of the targeted removal that you are running,

• black sun's zenith
  
• hellfire
  
• damnation
  
• forced march
  
• decree of pain

add in a darksteel plate to toss on your general to survive your own wraths, and swing in for the win. also, with all those swamps, where are the nightmare lash, and lashwrithe? seems like a 1 hit kill with shauku......
theese additions would more likely shore up some of your multiplayer weaknesses.

oh, holy crap. i just noticed you have no coffers! go cabal coffers!

Quote from ash and fire

there are plenty of black wrath effects that could be used in place of the targeted removal that you are running,

• black sun's zenith
  
• hellfire
  
• damnation
  
• forced march
  
• decree of pain

add in a darksteel plate to toss on your general to survive your own wraths, and swing in for the win. also, with all those swamps, where are the nightmare lash, and lashwrithe? seems like a 1 hit kill with shauku......
theese additions would more likely shore up some of your multiplayer weaknesses.

oh, holy crap. i just noticed you have no coffers! go cabal coffers!

The reason for the lack of wraths was partially due to budget constraints plus the need for Darksteel Plate to become a key card, so I run adjustable wraths and spot removal, with Life's Finale being the only full wrath.

I should run Nightmare Lash and Lashwrithe though.

Cabal Coffers: Will get when my budget allows for it.

Will be getting these cards first: Rend Flesh, Umbral Mantle, Brainspoil, Netherborn Phalanx, Contamination, Infernal Darkness.

-Thornbite Staff +Umbral Mantle
Thornbite Staff is cute combined with Visara as the general but most of the time it's not very useful in untapping the other creatures which benefit as well. Today I managed to power out a win out of Exsanguinate for 64 utilizing a lot of untap cards and Magus of the Coffers. Umbral Mantle also lets us combo off with the Magus of the Coffers as well as serve as a good untapper with Shauku.

-Dismember + Rend Spirit
Killing a titan is always good.

-Sadistic Sacrament + Brainspoil
With the addition of more and more cards at 5 CMC, Brainspoil becomes good while Sadistic Sacrament is hardly and rarely useful. It only works against combo decks which, probably, already run blue counters.

-Infest+ Netherborn Phalanx
Infest was thrown in as a way to clear the board of small creatures. Yet I usually get it when the -2/-2 becomes useless or when I suffer too as a result. Netherborn Phalanx is a good life-loss effect combined with the ability to tutor for Caged Sun, Steel Hellkite (an outlet for infinite mana), Corrupt and a lot more.

- (?) + Reiver Demon.
I can't remember what I removed for this one, but a Reiver Demon can never go wrong.

11/1/12

- Waking Nightmare - Nihil Spellbomb
+ Profane Command + Sign in blood

Waking Nightmare was filler, will acquire X-costed discard spells or Mind Sludge. Not much issues with enemy graveyards so I don't run the spellbomb.

Sign in bloooooooood for draw, Profane Command for alternate win-condition utilizing big mana.

Changed the post to a primer!

26/1/12
Building the deck to use Shauku as a finisher/board control piece and using more combos.

+ Wound Reflection
+ Blood Tribute
+ Sheoldred, the Whispering One
+ Bloodspoil

- Despise (Pretty underwhelming in EDH)
- Do or Die(Pretty useless when you're playing against a control deck or an aggro deck. It's like half a sweep; it's better to go the full hog.)
- Swamp (I get a lot of mana flooding, hope this helps.)
- Unnerve (Card disruption is good. Yet this it solely a multiplayer deck. YET it only makes enemies when you drop it, which just goes against the gameplan.)

may rebuild this deck from my chainer deck! will have to edit several parts though.