The thrulls bred at a terrifying pace. In the end, they overwhelmed the Order of the Ebon Hand. - Breeding Pit flavor text
Endrek Sahr lends itself very well to being a classic "Stax" general. The easy generation of sacrificial fodder drives a lot of potential card advantage engines, and victories through out-resourcing opponents can be achieved when coupled with the many mana-doubling effects available in black.
This deck chooses to concentrate more on dealing with threats on the board rather than trying to attack an opponent's hand through discard spells/effects. This is a conscious decision on my part through my experience with the deck. In essence, trying to fight a multiple-front war in a multi-player setting where you are likely the primary source of disruption at the table is a losing proposition. By focusing on controlling the board, you can do a much better job of actually trying to establish control of the game. Most of the time, if you are doing things correctly, the number of cards in your opponent's hand is irrelevant as they will not be able to cast them anyway.
10/24/2014: Out
-1 Braids, Cabal Minion: Banning is as banning does...
-1 Pox: This has always been disappointing to cast this; its too symmetrical for a deck that is always ahead on resources compared to my opponents.
-1 Contamination: I was on the fence about putting this in the deck to begin with but its just not really needed. I've been looking for an excuse to replace it so out it goes.
In
+1 Ob Nixilis, Unshackled: I look forward to not only hosing opposing tutor effects, but this should get very big very quickly.
+1 Dictate of Erebos: This makes up for the loss of Braids by having access to another Grave Pact effect (and its cheaper than Butcher of Malakir).
+1 Corpse Dance: With all the sac outlets and 10 separate creatures that combo with it, this seems like a good fit.
-1 Crypt of Agadeem: Cut for Shrine of Nykthos
-1 Corpse Dance: Cut for Champion of Stray Souls
-1 Expedition Map: Cut for Diabolic Intent
-1 Smallpox: Pox effects are largely underwhelming in this deck. Only Death Cloud has any real legs.
-1 Sensei's Divining Top: I'm usually drawing so many cards that the selection provided by SDT is often irrelevant, so I'm cutting it for space.
-1 Fleshbag Marauder: I needed to cut another creature and the deck has tons of creature removal and his felt unnecessary.
3/26/2017:
-1 Diabolic Intent - great card that I pulled to run Sidisi
-1 Ob Nixilis, Unshackled - Too expensive and didn't fit well enough with the theme
-1 Unstable Obelisk - I found that I didn't need the extra flexible removal after adding in Ugin
-1 Spine of Ish Sah - A victim of card space and less need for off-color removal
-1 Champion of Stray Souls - This was great when I could activate it, but is just a lot more expensive and slower than other options.
-1 Profane Command - I love this card. It does a ton of work. But when presented with other options, this eventually got cut.
-1 Withered Wretch - Great card that got pulled to make room for Kalitas
4/7/2017:
+1 Vampiric Rites - Added another reusable sac outlet
+1 Attrition - Added another reusable sac outlet
+1 Champion of Stray Souls - Added back for another sac outlet and to give it another try
+1 It That Betrays - I'm using this in another deck and questioned myself why I'm not running it here.
+1 Westvale Abbey - Makes total sense here, and getting an Ormendahl, Profane Prince for almost no cost will be amazing.
-1 Gatekeeper of Malakir - Pulled for Attrition
-1 Crucible of Worlds - This was an Urborg Safety net, but otherwise useless here
-1 Scroll Rack - Goodstuff cut, plus I don't have many of them and I want them in other decks
-1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - Pulled for It That Betrays, this also proved to be not as good as I hoped.
-1 Swamp - Pulled for Westvale Abbey
4/16/2017:
+1 Bontu the Glorified - Another great sac outlet
-1 Smokestack - A great card that is on theme, but it is really slow and it draws the ire of other players disproportionate to its actual threat level.
7/20/2107:
+1 Razaketh, the Foulblooded - Sac outlet and tutoring engine stapled to an 8/8 Trampling Flyer...
-1 Champion of Stray Souls - I have a love/hate relationship with this card; I want it to be good, but it is often just too expensive
8/24/2017:
-1 Druidic Satchel - Not having Top or Scroll Rack in the deck anymore really hurts this card.
+1 Vindictive Lich - One the best cards from C17 fits right into what this deck is doing.
1/14/2018:
+1 Vona's Hunger, -1 Mutilate: Mutilate is sometimes underwhelming and Vona's Hunger seems pretty perfect for replacing it. I also think that this deck should have no issue getting to 10 permanents to enable Ascend.
+1 Pitiless Plunderer, -1 Magus of the Coffers: I like Magus, but I expect that I'm going to like Twilight Prophet even more for producing mana.
+1 Twilight Prophet, -1 Attrition: As much as I like having another sac outlet in the deck, I really didn't need more creature control. Twilight Prophet gives the deck another source of card advantage and a potential source of repeating damage.
There are many cards that I am interested in trying to include, but I haven't found a way to include them yet.
Attrition: Gets cut due to space and the fact that I often have too much creature control.
Ichor Wellspring, Mycosynth Wellspring: Both cards are great for sacrificing and they are generally useful effects when they enter the battlefield anyway.
Trading Post: I'm on the fence about this one. I always think that it could be great, but then I never actually put it in.
Caged Sun: I guess it comes down to "how many mana doublers do you need?"
Rune-Scarred Demon: Another Demonic Tutor effect.
Anyway, there are some new cards from Born of the Gods that have struck my fancy to potentially include:
Perhaps if I was running Dystopia, Eastern Paladin, and/or Western Paladin then perhaps I would consider including Distorting Lens, but it otherwise wouldn't do enough to include in the deck.
I like that idea. There are a lot of cards that I would like to bounce in and out of the graveyard in addition to Kokusho (Shriekmaw, Duplicant, Grave Titan, Massacre Wurm, Gray Merchant, Solemn, Burnished Hart, etc.), so much so that I wish Recurring Nightmare was legal. Anyway, I think I will find room for Corpse Dance, probably in place of either Pox (which isn't as good as I thought it would be) or Profane Command (which is also often used to reanimate a creature, but since its also an X-spell finisher I'm less inclined to remove it).
With the banning of Braids, Cabal Minion, this deck needed to go through some changes.
Out
-1 Braids, Cabal Minion: Banning is as banning does...
-1 Pox: This has always been disappointing to cast this; its too symmetrical for a deck that is always ahead on resources compared to my opponents.
-1 Contamination: I was on the fence about putting this in the deck to begin with but its just not really needed. I've been looking for an excuse to replace it so out it goes.
In
+1 Ob Nixilis, Unshackled: I look forward to not only hosing opposing tutor effects, but this should get very big very quickly.
+1 Dictate of Erebos: This makes up for the loss of Braids by having access to another Grave Pact effect (and its cheaper than Butcher of Malakir).
+1 Corpse Dance: With all the sac outlets and 10 separate creatures that combo with it, this seems like a good fit.
Just missing being added Toxic Deluge: I think I have enough creature kill in the deck, but I always keep this on my mind in case it seems like it might need another sweeper. Grim Haruspex: This should be great, but the non-token clause makes it much less good than it would be. I think I've got enough card draw in the deck, but I'm still considering adding this if a spot opens up. Bloodsoaked Champion: Another good option for non-token sacrifice fodder. Champion of Stray Souls So.. much.. value.., but its also so.. damn.. expensive.. to use.
I've considered making reanimation a more prevalent theme. I wouldn't do it with the traditional inexpensive 1-shot reanimation cards however and I dislike most of the creature-based options. Some cards I do like are Dawn of the Dead, Diabolic Servitude, Whip of Erebos, and to a lesser extent Strands of Night (I'm running Crucible of Worlds already that would help mitigate the Swamp sacrifice). If I did go with creature-based options, Champion of Stray Souls, Hell's Caretaker, Nezumi Graverobber, or Coffin Queen like you suggested.
EDIT: If I did us a one-shot reanimation spell, it would probably be Victimize from Urza's Saga. That card would be awesome here.
One of the things I actively wanted to avoid were discard spells/effects. I feel that if I'm doing things right, my opponents would just be discarding useless spells from their hand. By focusing on board control, I can better allocate my resources to controlling things that matter.
With the release of C14, there are several cards that would make very interesting inclusions:
Demon of Wailing Agonies - I'm not a huge fan of the fact that it needs to deal combat damage to trigger its ability. Flesh Carver - Seems like a very good sac outlet Ghoulcaller Gisa - An auto-include as far as I'm concerned. Malicious Affliction - Another auto-include, although I'm unsure what I'm going to cut. I don't know if I need more creature kill. Spoils of Blood - Could yield a massive creature in the right situation. Wake the Dead - This seems like pure value-town Unstable Obelisk - I like this card a lot in decks that have a hole in their removal suite. Having a card that can get rid of a problematic artifact or enchantment is always welcome.
Of course on top of wanting to add a few cards, I'm having an issue trying to figure out what to cut. Decisions, decisions...
The loss of Braids is a big blow to a deck like this. It was a great tool in preventing runaway resource accumulation and to keep the number of permanents to a minimum.
I'm surprised Diabolic Intent isn't in this list. It seems almost like it should be a shoe in. If you like it but are having trouble finding space, perhaps cut Expedition Map? Diabolic intent seems like it would be better in most situations, but you may be happier to see the Map in your opening hand. I dunno, give it a shot.
I'm surprised Diabolic Intent isn't in this list. It seems almost like it should be a shoe in. If you like it but are having trouble finding space, perhaps cut Expedition Map? Diabolic intent seems like it would be better in most situations, but you may be happier to see the Map in your opening hand. I dunno, give it a shot.
On a different note, with Braids gone the deck is lacking a bit in the 'disruptive, Stax elements' category, so I was strongly considering adding Herald of Leshrac (a little on the meaner side), Nettlevine Blight (with no way to recur it I think it might appear that I'm picking on one opponent), or Greater Harvester (which should be really good).
. They're all there for one thing-- to ensure that the only one playing commander is me. Once you get one up and running, use the other to fuel Smokestack. In my version, I combine mass discard and library removal to ensure my opponent that it's hopeless.
Since C14, a lot of interesting cards have been printed for a deck like this:
Fate Reforged Archfiend of Depravity - one-sided Abyss-type effect that keeps the critter count low around the rest of the table. Being a 5/4 flyer for 5-mana doesn't hurt either. Orc Sureshot - With Endrek Sahr out, this becomes a machine gun of -1/-1 counters for every creature you cast. Palace Siege - Wherever I'm running Oversold Cemetery I'm also trying this. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - This deck likes colorless removal, mass-remvoal, and drawing cards. What's not to like?
Battle for Zendikar Bane of Bala Ged - this deck loves annihilator and getting what is essentially annihilator:2 on a 7-drop is pretty awesome. Ob Nixilis Reignited - kind of a good-tuff add, but it was worth testing out. Smothering Abomination - amazing card draw that gets out of hand quickly Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger - getting 2 permanents when you cast it is good, but not having annihilator makes this worse than the original. Zulaport Cutthroat - another Blood Artist with some important differences but still good enough to run.
Commander 2015 Wretched Confluence - This ended up being just more of the same for what the deck was already doing.
Oath of the Gatewatch Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet - This is good for keeping creatures out of the opponent's graveyard to prevent recursion shenanigans.
Shadows Over Innistrad
Nothing
To be continued...
EDIT: Eldritch Moon Voldaren Pariah - If this said "each opponent" instead of "target opponent" this would make the deck 100%. As it is, its only just okay.
Conspiracy: Take the Crown
Nothing - Capital Punishment might be interesting in a more "normal" Stax-ish deck
Commander 2016
Nothing - This was no a good set for mono-colored anything...
Aether Revolt Yahenni, Undying Partisan - Having a free sac outlet is nice and indestructible comes in handy when I need to cast Damnation, but indestructible doesn't work for any of the other sweepers I run unless I'm able to pump it up out of range. There is potential here, but I haven't pulled the trigger on putting it in full-time.
How has Eliminate the Competition been working for you? I've been looking for cool cards to put in my own Endrek list, and this looks fun.
It's been really good so far. I run a lot of sweepers and spot-removal, but I wanted something in between. You are able to pick off a bunch of problematic threats while sacrificing either tokens or stuff that will come back anyway. It's obviously not great if you are in a topdeck war or you are creatureless, but these situations shouldn't happen too often with this deck. I think it fits perfectly.
Man, I keep wishing Yahenni, Undying Partisan also grew from my own stuff dying. I like that he's a threat and sac-outlet in a single card, and that he punishes sweepers. Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet triggers off the same thing happening, but keeps the fodder coming by going wide instead of going tall. (Ugh, why is Kalitas such an expensive foil..)
Yahenni seems great when you just need a sac outlet to keep Endrek Sahr on the table or when you have a Grave Pact effect on board, but there are just better sac outlets available to be honest. If you want something that gets counters when your stuff dies, check out Ob Nixilis, Unshackled (which I just cut, but it was fine when I had him in the deck). Gavony Unhallowed, Malakir Cullblade, Scavenger Drake, and Swarm of Bloodflies are also options (albeit, not very good ones).
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet on the other hand is pretty amazing. The deck naturally runs 4 other Vampires and 4 other Zombies, plus a way to generate Zombie tokens with Ghoulcaller Gisa and Grave Titan, so the sac ability isn't wasted often. But the main thing is keeping creatures out of the opponents graveyard and getting free 2/2's for your trouble... not a bad deal!
One thing that I have noticed with this deck is that over time it has evolved to lose some of the creature sacrifice engines that made Endrek Sahr so dangerous. I'm considering adding one or two more from the following:
Free to Use Sadistic Hypnotist: I've shied away from discard effects in general, but this card is probably so good in this deck I should make the exception. Viscera Seer: Free Scrying seems well worth it. Phyrexian Plaguelord: The orignal "Rock" will have plenty of minions to fuel the ability. It also brings along a decent-sized body. Hell's Caretaker: Great effect, free to use, but only one sac per turn. Eldrazi Monument: Great effect, free to use, but only one sac per turn...
One Mana to Use Attrition: This is the obvious one and its card that is always on the shortlist to potentially come in. Skull Catapult: Converting Thrulls to direct-damage is perfect, but only one use per turn makes it hard to use.
Two Mana to Use Flesh Carver: You seemingly get a lot for your sacrifice, but I think I can do better. Gnawing Zombie: This is the kind of effect I'm looking for, but again costing 2 mana isn't necessarily solving my problem. Mortarpod: Very similar in effect to Gnawing Zombie. Vampiric Rites: Card draw and life gain make this worth the 2 mana. Phyrexian Vault: Outclassed by Vampiric Rites
3+ Mana to Use Champion of Stray Souls: I liked that I could sac multiple Thrulls to this on one go, but the ability costing 5 really made things rough. It was worth it when it worked though, so maybe this goes back in. Carnage Altar: Worse than Vampiric Rites in a black deck.
There wasn't a ton of stuff for Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder in Amonkhet, but one card that definitely needed to go in was Bontu the Glorified. A sac outlet that turns Thrulls into life loss that hits all opponents is exactly the kind of card this deck needs. Cruel Reality seems like it might be good, but not for that cost and I'm not a fan that it only affects on player. Dread Wanderer is an option for sacrificial fodder, but its not better than what we already run (nor is it better than Bloodsoaked Champion which we don't have room for). Tettered Mummy also seems like something that the deck would want, but I don't see it displacing anything else that I'm already running.
Bontu the Glorified looks amazing, I will definitely be finding room for it. The rest is unexciting.
Bontu the Glorified is very good. I almost put Gnawing Zombie in the deck just because I wanted to be able to convert Thrulls into direct damage, but Bontu is so much better. This is a definite plus for a deck like this.
Westvale Abbey is also great, and has a super low opportunity cost of running it.
This was one of those cards that I couldn't figure out why I wasn't running it. When I looked through Shadows Over Innistrad, I guess I just totally missed it.
It That Betrays is a card I never really considered. I've never really thought I'd need it, really. With only a couple of cards (albeit good ones) that makes opponent sacrifice stuff, I wonder how consistent it is. Plus, if I already have a Grave Pact in place, I'm usually doing well. Look at It does make want to build a star deck with Braids and Smokestack. Let us know how it works out, you run more 'opponent sacrifices' effects than I do.
Maybe I should reconsider Champion of Stray Souls. The reason I never tried it, is because it's both expensive and needs to tap. However, it recurring itself is quite a nice lategame manasink. Personally, I run Victimize and Dread Return as a combination of sac-outlet and recursion. Both have been very good. It's only a single shot, but cheap to use and immediate. I also run Balthor the Defiled as additional mass resurrect.
Champion of Stray Souls is one those cards that I desperately want to be good, so it says in the deck. It is very expensive to use, but it not hard to maneuver yourself into a spot where mana is not an issue. Victimize, Dread Return, and Balthor the Defiled sound interesting; I may have to give them a spin at some point.
Altar of Dementia is another very good sac-outlet. It's cheap, free to use, and can set up ridiculous Living Deaths, while also functioning as a back-up win condition in the case of someone gaining boatloads of life.
I did kinda skip over Altar of Dementia when looking for sac outlets. It seems fine, but I wanted something that would turn Thrulls into something that I want (cards, direct damage, and mana), and milling someone out held no appeal to me. Milling myself was something that I hadn't really considered, and given that the deck runs Oversold Cemetery (and could run Palace Siege) I may want to reconsider that.
Have you ever considered other one-shot sac-outlets like Diabolic Intent, Ritual of the Machine, Plunge into Darkness? I don't run Ritual (can be a little narrow at times) and Intent (too expensive to foil ^^) at the moment, but they're good. Plunge is in my list as a weird faux-tutor, mass sac-outlet card that can gain a lot of life. Especially the life gain aspect is weirdly relevant because I have cards like Dark Prophecy in my deck.
I used to run Diabolic Intent, but I pulled it to run Sidisi, Undead Vizier. Ritual of the Machine is too limited in its targeting to warrant a spot, and Plunge Into Darkness seems just okay. Overall, I like my sac outlets to be permanent and reusable. Dark Prophecy was in the deck for a trial run and it almost killed me enough times to where I didn't want it anymore.
Dross Harvester has been mentioned, it's quite the all-star in my deck. Bonus points for looking like the most janky card ever (which it normally is).
Dross Harvester just seems bad... but I'll give it a spin since its been suggested a few times.
Just one change this time around; +1 Razaketh, the Foulblooded, -1 Champion of Stray Souls - As much as I like Champion, it is just so expensive to use and I knew I would need to cut a 6+ drop to add in the CMC 8 Razaketh. Razaketh seems almost perfect for this deck; being able to sac creatures at will for cards makes it perfect for a deck like this that generates plenty if sacrificial fodder.
I like the approach that if we focus on controlling the board, we dont need to control hands; Tar Fiend and Thoughtpicker Witch haven't done much for me and are probably going to get cut soon. That being said, Sadistic Hypnotist is too broken with Endrek to not include, imo.
How has Druidic Satchel been working for you? Seems like an interesting utility card I want to try out.
Druidic Satchel is good because it does something that black cannot otherwise do; accelerate out putting lands into play. The issue has become that I have cut Sensei's Divining Top and Scroll Rack from the deck, so I no longer have control over the top of my library like I did before. You really need to be able to control what you reveal so that you accelerate when you want or generate a token when you want; you never really want to gain 2 life. I noticed this about a month ago and never did anything about it, but at the time I had considered taking out Liliana of the Dark Realms and Disciple of Bolas to free up space to put Scroll Rack and SDT back into the deck.
+1 Vona's Hunger, -1 Mutilate: Mutilate is sometimes underwhelming and Vona's Hunger seems pretty perfect for replacing it. I also think that this deck should have no issue getting to 10 permanents to enable Ascend.
+1 Twilight Prophet, -1 Attrition: As much as I like having another sac outlet in the deck, I really didn't need more creature control. Twilight Prophet gives the deck another source of card advantage and a potential source of repeating damage.
Endrek Sahr lends itself very well to being a classic "Stax" general. The easy generation of sacrificial fodder drives a lot of potential card advantage engines, and victories through out-resourcing opponents can be achieved when coupled with the many mana-doubling effects available in black.
This deck chooses to concentrate more on dealing with threats on the board rather than trying to attack an opponent's hand through discard spells/effects. This is a conscious decision on my part through my experience with the deck. In essence, trying to fight a multiple-front war in a multi-player setting where you are likely the primary source of disruption at the table is a losing proposition. By focusing on controlling the board, you can do a much better job of actually trying to establish control of the game. Most of the time, if you are doing things correctly, the number of cards in your opponent's hand is irrelevant as they will not be able to cast them anyway.
Deck Updated 2/5/2019 through Ravnica Allegience
1 Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder
Creatures - 36
1 Bloodghast
1 Nether Traitor
1 Blood Artist
1 Zulaport Cutthroat
1 Priest of Forgotten Gods
1 Burnished Hart
1 Bontu the Glorified
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Crypt Ghast
1 Falkenrath Noble
1 Vindictive Vampire
1 Phyrexian Obliterator
1 Smothering Abomination
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Vindictive Lich
1 Pitiless Plunderer
1 Twilight Prophet
1 Thallid Soothsayer
1 Ghoulcaller Gisa
1 Greater Harvester
1 Shriekmaw
1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
1 Archfiend of Depravity
1 Krav, the Unredeemed
1 Duplicant
1 Grave Titan
1 Kokusho, the Evening Star
1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1 Massacre Wurm
1 Nirkana Revenant
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Meteor Golem
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
1 Razaketh, the Foulblooded
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Night's Whisper
1 Sign in Blood
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Damnation
1 Eliminate the Competition
1 Promise of Power
1 Exsanguinate
1 Death Cloud
Enchantment - 8
1 Vampiric Rites
1 Oversold Cemetery
1 Bitterblossom
1 Necropotence
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Grave Pact
1 Black Market
1 Dictate of Erebos
Artifact - 10
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Skullclamp
1 Spawning Pit
1 Blasting Station
1 Phyrexian Altar
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Helm of Possession
1 Smokestack
1 Liliana of the Dark Realms
Lands - 36
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Bojuka Bog
1 High Market
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Cabal Stronghold
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Dust Bowl
25 Swamp
10/24/2014:
Out
-1 Braids, Cabal Minion: Banning is as banning does...
-1 Pox: This has always been disappointing to cast this; its too symmetrical for a deck that is always ahead on resources compared to my opponents.
-1 Contamination: I was on the fence about putting this in the deck to begin with but its just not really needed. I've been looking for an excuse to replace it so out it goes.
In
+1 Ob Nixilis, Unshackled: I look forward to not only hosing opposing tutor effects, but this should get very big very quickly.
+1 Dictate of Erebos: This makes up for the loss of Braids by having access to another Grave Pact effect (and its cheaper than Butcher of Malakir).
+1 Corpse Dance: With all the sac outlets and 10 separate creatures that combo with it, this seems like a good fit.
12/22/2014:
+1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx: An upgrade of Crypt of Agadeem
+1 Champion of Stray Souls: I've decided to try this over Corpse Dance
+1 Ghoulcaller Gisa: Awesome addition to this deck's arsenal
+1 Unstable Obelisk: A bit of ramp tacked onto an unconditional removal spell seems right up this deck's wheelhouse.
+1 Diabolic Intent: Upgrade over Expedition Map
+1 Greater Harvester: This deck needed to up he pain level a bit with the loss of Braids.
-1 Crypt of Agadeem: Cut for Shrine of Nykthos
-1 Corpse Dance: Cut for Champion of Stray Souls
-1 Expedition Map: Cut for Diabolic Intent
-1 Smallpox: Pox effects are largely underwhelming in this deck. Only Death Cloud has any real legs.
-1 Sensei's Divining Top: I'm usually drawing so many cards that the selection provided by SDT is often irrelevant, so I'm cutting it for space.
-1 Fleshbag Marauder: I needed to cut another creature and the deck has tons of creature removal and his felt unnecessary.
3/26/2017:
-1 Diabolic Intent - great card that I pulled to run Sidisi
-1 Ob Nixilis, Unshackled - Too expensive and didn't fit well enough with the theme
-1 Unstable Obelisk - I found that I didn't need the extra flexible removal after adding in Ugin
-1 Spine of Ish Sah - A victim of card space and less need for off-color removal
-1 Champion of Stray Souls - This was great when I could activate it, but is just a lot more expensive and slower than other options.
-1 Profane Command - I love this card. It does a ton of work. But when presented with other options, this eventually got cut.
-1 Withered Wretch - Great card that got pulled to make room for Kalitas
+1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier - replaced Diabolic Intent for tutoring
+1 Archfiend of Depravity - great card to keep token-making or swarms to a manageable size
+1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - Great catch-all card
+1 Smothering Abomination - Great source of CA in this deck
+1 Eliminate the Competition - Amazing one-sided sweeper (at least it feels one-sided when I'm sacrificing Thrulls or other tokens)
+1 Zulaport Cutthroat - More life-drain for sacrifices.
+1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet - Even though its slightly worse than Wretch at controlling the GY, the upside here is better.
4/7/2017:
+1 Vampiric Rites - Added another reusable sac outlet
+1 Attrition - Added another reusable sac outlet
+1 Champion of Stray Souls - Added back for another sac outlet and to give it another try
+1 It That Betrays - I'm using this in another deck and questioned myself why I'm not running it here.
+1 Westvale Abbey - Makes total sense here, and getting an Ormendahl, Profane Prince for almost no cost will be amazing.
-1 Gatekeeper of Malakir - Pulled for Attrition
-1 Crucible of Worlds - This was an Urborg Safety net, but otherwise useless here
-1 Scroll Rack - Goodstuff cut, plus I don't have many of them and I want them in other decks
-1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - Pulled for It That Betrays, this also proved to be not as good as I hoped.
-1 Swamp - Pulled for Westvale Abbey
4/16/2017:
+1 Bontu the Glorified - Another great sac outlet
-1 Smokestack - A great card that is on theme, but it is really slow and it draws the ire of other players disproportionate to its actual threat level.
7/20/2107:
+1 Razaketh, the Foulblooded - Sac outlet and tutoring engine stapled to an 8/8 Trampling Flyer...
-1 Champion of Stray Souls - I have a love/hate relationship with this card; I want it to be good, but it is often just too expensive
8/24/2017:
-1 Druidic Satchel - Not having Top or Scroll Rack in the deck anymore really hurts this card.
+1 Vindictive Lich - One the best cards from C17 fits right into what this deck is doing.
1/14/2018:
+1 Vona's Hunger, -1 Mutilate: Mutilate is sometimes underwhelming and Vona's Hunger seems pretty perfect for replacing it. I also think that this deck should have no issue getting to 10 permanents to enable Ascend.
+1 Pitiless Plunderer, -1 Magus of the Coffers: I like Magus, but I expect that I'm going to like Twilight Prophet even more for producing mana.
+1 Twilight Prophet, -1 Attrition: As much as I like having another sac outlet in the deck, I really didn't need more creature control. Twilight Prophet gives the deck another source of card advantage and a potential source of repeating damage.
5/2/2018:
So for right now, I'm going to do the following:
+1 Cabal Stronghold, -1 Temple of the False God
+1 Helm of the Host, -1 Reassembling Skeleton
+1 Thallid Soothsayer, -1 Bloodgift Demon
+1 Smokestack, -1 Vona's Hunger
8/30/18:
+1 Krav, the Unredeemed
+1 Meteor Golem
-1 Disciple of Bolas
-1 Karn Liberated
2/5/2019:
-1 Wesvale Abbey, +1 Swamp
-1 Helm of the Host, +1 Priest of the Forgotten Gods
-1 It That Berays, +1 Vindictive Vampire
There are many cards that I am interested in trying to include, but I haven't found a way to include them yet.
Attrition: Gets cut due to space and the fact that I often have too much creature control.
Ichor Wellspring, Mycosynth Wellspring: Both cards are great for sacrificing and they are generally useful effects when they enter the battlefield anyway.
Trading Post: I'm on the fence about this one. I always think that it could be great, but then I never actually put it in.
Caged Sun: I guess it comes down to "how many mana doublers do you need?"
Toxic Deluge: Another black Wrath effect.
Butcher of Malakir: Another Grave Pact effect.
Rune-Scarred Demon: Another Demonic Tutor effect.
Anyway, there are some new cards from Born of the Gods that have struck my fancy to potentially include:
Champion of Stray Souls: Seems crazy good once you get the Endrek Sahr thrull engine going.
Eater of Hope: More expensive than Attrition, but it can also kill black creatures.
Sanguimancy: I worry that often this may be worse than Ambition's Cost or Ancient Craving despite the potential upside.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
Perhaps if I was running Dystopia, Eastern Paladin, and/or Western Paladin then perhaps I would consider including Distorting Lens, but it otherwise wouldn't do enough to include in the deck.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
..
Azusa - Derevi - Glissa - Mizzix - Sharuum - Wanderer - Wort
I like that idea. There are a lot of cards that I would like to bounce in and out of the graveyard in addition to Kokusho (Shriekmaw, Duplicant, Grave Titan, Massacre Wurm, Gray Merchant, Solemn, Burnished Hart, etc.), so much so that I wish Recurring Nightmare was legal. Anyway, I think I will find room for Corpse Dance, probably in place of either Pox (which isn't as good as I thought it would be) or Profane Command (which is also often used to reanimate a creature, but since its also an X-spell finisher I'm less inclined to remove it).
Thanks for the suggestion.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
Out
-1 Braids, Cabal Minion: Banning is as banning does...
-1 Pox: This has always been disappointing to cast this; its too symmetrical for a deck that is always ahead on resources compared to my opponents.
-1 Contamination: I was on the fence about putting this in the deck to begin with but its just not really needed. I've been looking for an excuse to replace it so out it goes.
In
+1 Ob Nixilis, Unshackled: I look forward to not only hosing opposing tutor effects, but this should get very big very quickly.
+1 Dictate of Erebos: This makes up for the loss of Braids by having access to another Grave Pact effect (and its cheaper than Butcher of Malakir).
+1 Corpse Dance: With all the sac outlets and 10 separate creatures that combo with it, this seems like a good fit.
Just missing being added
Toxic Deluge: I think I have enough creature kill in the deck, but I always keep this on my mind in case it seems like it might need another sweeper.
Grim Haruspex: This should be great, but the non-token clause makes it much less good than it would be. I think I've got enough card draw in the deck, but I'm still considering adding this if a spot opens up.
Bloodsoaked Champion: Another good option for non-token sacrifice fodder.
Champion of Stray Souls So.. much.. value.., but its also so.. damn.. expensive.. to use.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
Basically a second coffers in a deck with this many BB+ costs.
Any reason you aren't running animate dead/necromancy/reanimate?
If you need the effect on a creature, phyrexian delver is worth considering, maybe coffin queen?
I've been running Crypt of Agadeem in that slot with mixed results. If Crypt continues to underperform, Shrine will definitely go in its place.
I've considered making reanimation a more prevalent theme. I wouldn't do it with the traditional inexpensive 1-shot reanimation cards however and I dislike most of the creature-based options. Some cards I do like are Dawn of the Dead, Diabolic Servitude, Whip of Erebos, and to a lesser extent Strands of Night (I'm running Crucible of Worlds already that would help mitigate the Swamp sacrifice). If I did go with creature-based options, Champion of Stray Souls, Hell's Caretaker, Nezumi Graverobber, or Coffin Queen like you suggested.
EDIT: If I did us a one-shot reanimation spell, it would probably be Victimize from Urza's Saga. That card would be awesome here.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
RRRSlobad, Goblin TinkererRRR
GUBSnapcaster GushBUG
GUBWRx5c ShopsxGUBWR
One of the things I actively wanted to avoid were discard spells/effects. I feel that if I'm doing things right, my opponents would just be discarding useless spells from their hand. By focusing on board control, I can better allocate my resources to controlling things that matter.
With the release of C14, there are several cards that would make very interesting inclusions:
Demon of Wailing Agonies - I'm not a huge fan of the fact that it needs to deal combat damage to trigger its ability.
Flesh Carver - Seems like a very good sac outlet
Ghoulcaller Gisa - An auto-include as far as I'm concerned.
Malicious Affliction - Another auto-include, although I'm unsure what I'm going to cut. I don't know if I need more creature kill.
Spoils of Blood - Could yield a massive creature in the right situation.
Wake the Dead - This seems like pure value-town
Unstable Obelisk - I like this card a lot in decks that have a hole in their removal suite. Having a card that can get rid of a problematic artifact or enchantment is always welcome.
Of course on top of wanting to add a few cards, I'm having an issue trying to figure out what to cut. Decisions, decisions...
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
As of September 12 this year, they have eliminated the category of "banned as a commander" and Braids was moved to the official banned list.
The announcement can be seen here.
The current banlist can be found here.
The loss of Braids is a big blow to a deck like this. It was a great tool in preventing runaway resource accumulation and to keep the number of permanents to a minimum.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
That would definitely make sense. Expedition Map was added strictly as a tutor for Cabal Coffers, but Diabolic Intent is obviously much more flexible as a tutor. Other options would be Beseech the Queen, Rune-Scarred Demon, or Vampiric Tutor, but I think Diabolic Intent makes the most sense. I'll dig through my binders to see if I have a copy and replace Map.
On a different note, with Braids gone the deck is lacking a bit in the 'disruptive, Stax elements' category, so I was strongly considering adding Herald of Leshrac (a little on the meaner side), Nettlevine Blight (with no way to recur it I think it might appear that I'm picking on one opponent), or Greater Harvester (which should be really good).
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
- contamination
- Infernal Darkness
- Bitterblossom
- Breeding Pit
. They're all there for one thing-- to ensure that the only one playing commander is me. Once you get one up and running, use the other to fuel Smokestack. In my version, I combine mass discard and library removal to ensure my opponent that it's hopeless.Fate Reforged
Archfiend of Depravity - one-sided Abyss-type effect that keeps the critter count low around the rest of the table. Being a 5/4 flyer for 5-mana doesn't hurt either.
Orc Sureshot - With Endrek Sahr out, this becomes a machine gun of -1/-1 counters for every creature you cast.
Palace Siege - Wherever I'm running Oversold Cemetery I'm also trying this.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - This deck likes colorless removal, mass-remvoal, and drawing cards. What's not to like?
Dragons of Tarkir
Sidisi, Undead Vizier - A replacement for Diabolic Intent that was more on-theme.
Hangarback Walker - a good mana-sink and a solid creature to sacrifice if need be.
Battle for Zendikar
Bane of Bala Ged - this deck loves annihilator and getting what is essentially annihilator:2 on a 7-drop is pretty awesome.
Ob Nixilis Reignited - kind of a good-tuff add, but it was worth testing out.
Smothering Abomination - amazing card draw that gets out of hand quickly
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger - getting 2 permanents when you cast it is good, but not having annihilator makes this worse than the original.
Zulaport Cutthroat - another Blood Artist with some important differences but still good enough to run.
Commander 2015
Wretched Confluence - This ended up being just more of the same for what the deck was already doing.
Oath of the Gatewatch
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet - This is good for keeping creatures out of the opponent's graveyard to prevent recursion shenanigans.
Shadows Over Innistrad
Nothing
To be continued...
EDIT:
Eldritch Moon
Voldaren Pariah - If this said "each opponent" instead of "target opponent" this would make the deck 100%. As it is, its only just okay.
Conspiracy: Take the Crown
Nothing - Capital Punishment might be interesting in a more "normal" Stax-ish deck
Kaladesh
Eliminate the Competition - Tailor-made for this deck.
Commander 2016
Nothing - This was no a good set for mono-colored anything...
Aether Revolt
Yahenni, Undying Partisan - Having a free sac outlet is nice and indestructible comes in handy when I need to cast Damnation, but indestructible doesn't work for any of the other sweepers I run unless I'm able to pump it up out of range. There is potential here, but I haven't pulled the trigger on putting it in full-time.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
It's been really good so far. I run a lot of sweepers and spot-removal, but I wanted something in between. You are able to pick off a bunch of problematic threats while sacrificing either tokens or stuff that will come back anyway. It's obviously not great if you are in a topdeck war or you are creatureless, but these situations shouldn't happen too often with this deck. I think it fits perfectly.
Yahenni seems great when you just need a sac outlet to keep Endrek Sahr on the table or when you have a Grave Pact effect on board, but there are just better sac outlets available to be honest. If you want something that gets counters when your stuff dies, check out Ob Nixilis, Unshackled (which I just cut, but it was fine when I had him in the deck). Gavony Unhallowed, Malakir Cullblade, Scavenger Drake, and Swarm of Bloodflies are also options (albeit, not very good ones).
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet on the other hand is pretty amazing. The deck naturally runs 4 other Vampires and 4 other Zombies, plus a way to generate Zombie tokens with Ghoulcaller Gisa and Grave Titan, so the sac ability isn't wasted often. But the main thing is keeping creatures out of the opponents graveyard and getting free 2/2's for your trouble... not a bad deal!
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
Free to Use
Sadistic Hypnotist: I've shied away from discard effects in general, but this card is probably so good in this deck I should make the exception.
Viscera Seer: Free Scrying seems well worth it.
Phyrexian Plaguelord: The orignal "Rock" will have plenty of minions to fuel the ability. It also brings along a decent-sized body.
Hell's Caretaker: Great effect, free to use, but only one sac per turn.
Eldrazi Monument: Great effect, free to use, but only one sac per turn...
One Mana to Use
Attrition: This is the obvious one and its card that is always on the shortlist to potentially come in.
Skull Catapult: Converting Thrulls to direct-damage is perfect, but only one use per turn makes it hard to use.
Two Mana to Use
Flesh Carver: You seemingly get a lot for your sacrifice, but I think I can do better.
Gnawing Zombie: This is the kind of effect I'm looking for, but again costing 2 mana isn't necessarily solving my problem.
Mortarpod: Very similar in effect to Gnawing Zombie.
Vampiric Rites: Card draw and life gain make this worth the 2 mana.
Phyrexian Vault: Outclassed by Vampiric Rites
3+ Mana to Use
Champion of Stray Souls: I liked that I could sac multiple Thrulls to this on one go, but the ability costing 5 really made things rough. It was worth it when it worked though, so maybe this goes back in.
Carnage Altar: Worse than Vampiric Rites in a black deck.
I've also been looking at Westvale Abbey and It That Betrays as potential adds to the deck.
EDIT:
So I'm going to try the following for the next few times with the deck:
+1 Vampiric Rites
+1 Attrition
+1 Champion of Stray Souls
+1 It That Betrays
+1 Westvale Abbey
-1 Gatekeeper of Malakir
-1 Crucible of Worlds
-1 Scroll Rack
-1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
-1 Swamp
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
Also fun is Dross Harvester and Gutless Ghoul.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
Bontu the Glorified is very good. I almost put Gnawing Zombie in the deck just because I wanted to be able to convert Thrulls into direct damage, but Bontu is so much better. This is a definite plus for a deck like this.
This was one of those cards that I couldn't figure out why I wasn't running it. When I looked through Shadows Over Innistrad, I guess I just totally missed it.
I have an unhealthy love for Annihilator, but in my deck it works with Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, Sheoldred, Whispering One, Archfiend of Depravity, Greater Harvester, Phyrexian Obliterator, Grave Pact, Dictate of Erebos, Death Cloud, and Smokestack (when it comes back into the deck). Sadly, Braids, Cabal Minion is banned in Commander so that option is off the table, but cards like Pox, Smallpox, Call to the Grave, Syphon Flesh, Anowon, the Ruin Sage, Liliana of the Veil, various Fleshbag Marauder variants all create sacrifices that work well with It That Betrays.
Champion of Stray Souls is one those cards that I desperately want to be good, so it says in the deck. It is very expensive to use, but it not hard to maneuver yourself into a spot where mana is not an issue. Victimize, Dread Return, and Balthor the Defiled sound interesting; I may have to give them a spin at some point.
I did kinda skip over Altar of Dementia when looking for sac outlets. It seems fine, but I wanted something that would turn Thrulls into something that I want (cards, direct damage, and mana), and milling someone out held no appeal to me. Milling myself was something that I hadn't really considered, and given that the deck runs Oversold Cemetery (and could run Palace Siege) I may want to reconsider that.
I used to run Diabolic Intent, but I pulled it to run Sidisi, Undead Vizier. Ritual of the Machine is too limited in its targeting to warrant a spot, and Plunge Into Darkness seems just okay. Overall, I like my sac outlets to be permanent and reusable. Dark Prophecy was in the deck for a trial run and it almost killed me enough times to where I didn't want it anymore.
Dross Harvester just seems bad... but I'll give it a spin since its been suggested a few times.
I will!
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
1 Thoughtpicker Witch
2 Zulaport Cutthroat
2 Blood Artist
3 Burnished Hart
3 Flesh Carver
3 Fleshbag Marauder
4 Crypt Ghast
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Smothering Abomination
5 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
5 Sadistic Hypnotist
5 Fallen Angel
5 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
5 Phyrexian Plaguelord
6 Reaper from the Abyss
6 Harvester of Souls
6 Grave Titan
6 Tar Fiend
6 Kokusho, the Evening Star
6 Massacre Wurm
7 Butcher of Malakir
7 Sepulchral Primordial
12 It That Betrays
Enhantments - 8
2 Animate Dead
3 Mind Slash
3 Attrition
3 Fallen Ideal
3 Necropotence
4 Grave Pact
5 Black Market
5 Dictate of Erebos
1 Sol Ring
1 Skullclamp
2 Nim Deathmantle
2 Jet Medallion
3 Ashnod's Altar
3 Extraplanar Lens
3 Mirage Mirror
3 Unstable Obelisk
4 Helm of Possession
5 Eldrazi Monument
6 Caged Sun
Walkers - 3
4 Liliana of the Dark Realms
5 Ob Nixilis Reignited
7 Karn Liberated
Spells - 17
1 Tragic Slip
2 Malicious Affliction
2 Soul Exchange
2 Demonic Tutor
2 Diabolic Intent
2 Exsanguinate
2 Torment of Hailfire
3 Hero's Downfall
3 Victimize
4 Dread Return
4 Temporal Extortion
4 Snuff Out
5 Wretched Confluence
5 Eliminate the Competition
5 Syphon Flesh
6 Reign of the Pit
9 Rise of the Dark Realms
0 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
0 Myriad Landscape
0 Bojuka Bog
0 Cabal Coffers
0 High Market
0 Strip Mine
0 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
0 Volrath's Stronghold
0 Westvale Abbey
0 Phyrexian Tower
27 Swamp
I have recently added:
Mirage Mirror: seems like a powerful utility card and I'm excited to see what it can do.
Nim Deathmantle: Mainly for the Ashnod's Altar and Grave Titan combo as an additional wincon.
Temporal Extortion: Another utility card that I want to test out.
I'm currently looking to include Razaketh, the Foulblooded, Phyrexian Arena, Magus of the Coffers and Ashes to Ashes.
I like the approach that if we focus on controlling the board, we dont need to control hands; Tar Fiend and Thoughtpicker Witch haven't done much for me and are probably going to get cut soon. That being said, Sadistic Hypnotist is too broken with Endrek to not include, imo.
How has Druidic Satchel been working for you? Seems like an interesting utility card I want to try out.
My deviantART; if you're interested in alters, PM me!
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
+1 Vona's Hunger, -1 Mutilate: Mutilate is sometimes underwhelming and Vona's Hunger seems pretty perfect for replacing it. I also think that this deck should have no issue getting to 10 permanents to enable Ascend.
+1 Pitiless Plunderer, -1 Magus of the Coffers: I like Magus, but I expect that I'm going to like Twilight Prophet even more for producing mana.
+1 Twilight Prophet, -1 Attrition: As much as I like having another sac outlet in the deck, I really didn't need more creature control. Twilight Prophet gives the deck another source of card advantage and a potential source of repeating damage.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections