No More Room in Hell

Commander / EDH Aristocrats BG (Golgari) Combo Primer Reanimator Sacrifice Toolbox Value Engine

Azielle

Advantage I (5)

• 1x Evolutionary Leap
• 1x Golgari Thug
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Life from the Loam
• 1x Yawgmoth, Thran Physician

Advantage II (5)

• 1x Fauna Shaman
• 1x Hermit Druid
• 1x Phyrexian Reclamation
• 1x Sylvan Library
• 1x Village Rites

Advantage III (5)

• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Finale of Devastation
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Protean Hulk

Land - Basic (20)

• 10x Forest
• 10x Swamp

Land - Multi I (5)

• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Reflecting Pool

Land - Multi II (5)

• 1x Llanowar Wastes
• 1x Nurturing Peatland
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Twilight Mire
• 1x Verdant Catacombs

Land - Utility (7)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Blast Zone
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Wasteland
• 1x Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth

Legion I (5)

• 1x Birthing Pod
• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Eldritch Evolution
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat

Legion II (5)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Dauthi Voidwalker
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Spore Frog
• 1x Viscera Seer

Legion III (5)

• 1x Altar of Dementia
• 1x Altar of the Brood
• 1x Carrion Feeder
• 1x Melira, Sylvok Outcast
• 1x Putrid Goblin

Legion IV (5)

• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Natural Order
• 1x Pattern of Rebirth
• 1x Puppeteer Clique
• 1x Walking Ballista

Resource I (5)

• 1x Elvish Mystic
• 1x Jeweled Lotus
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Sol Ring

Resource II (5)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Talisman of Resilience
• 1x Three Visits

Response I (5)

• 1x Caustic Caterpillar
• 1x Fatal Push
• 1x Mystic Repeal
• 1x Nature's Claim
• 1x Tragic Slip

Response II (5)

• 1x Assassin's Trophy
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Plaguecrafter
• 1x Putrefy
• 1x Toxic Deluge

Synergy (7)

• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Phyrexian Delver
• 1x Ramunap Excavator
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Victimize

Commander (1)

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Introduction

My first and favourite 60-card Ice Age/Alliances jank pile ultimately became a multiplayer necro monster that terrorized a tech support night shift. A precon deck became dragon deck became an undead dragon deck became an expression of my inner Johnny. Finding evermore creative and convoluted ways to loop things in and out of the grave became an art piece, a 2am requiem I’d sing to my coworkers as they’d scoop to the realization of infinity.

Years later, I discovered EDH through podcasts. These podcasts were my new 2am labour lullaby; I listened and learned while back on the graveyard shift, though this time solo, and doing morgue duty at the local hospital.

Unsurprisingly, my thoughts kept circling back to my old reanimator deck. There was only one legend that could possibly help me dredge up a vision of my long dead past and breathe new life into it: Meren of Clan Nel Toth. Her kinda-hot-kinda-meth-binge hair screams “I’ve been up all night working with corpses, just like you” and she’s even got an undead dragon for a puppers.

This deck, as with the first of all my firsts before it, strives to make the most of infinite graveyard loops. I chose a Birthing Pod tutor theme, since Meren of Clan Nel Toth's experience scales well with a Pod chain, reanimating each successive sac for value, and offering options for chain branching at key CMC points.

The usual suspects have been added, (i.e. Spore Frog, Plaguecrafter) for recursive value grinding and board control while searching for the following win conditions:

Melira Pod

Melira, Sylvok Outcast + Putrid Goblin forms the basis of the first link in the Pod chain for an infinite graveyard loop.

Add Phyrexian Altar for infinite mana, Altar of Dementia for a mill win, or throw in an aristocrat like Blood Artist for infinite damage/lifegain.

I've included repetition for each combo part, and plenty of sac outlets to mitigate pesky graveyard hate and exile effects.

Necro Pod

A little further up the chain, we'll Pod into a couple of these repetitive pieces and spice up our recursion loops while adding to the macabre theme.

First we have everybody's favourite zombie preacher: Mikaeus, the Unhallowed. In addition to singing backup for Melira, Sylvok Outcast in persist combos, Mike allows infinite interactions with XX cost artifact creatures such as Walking Ballista. XX cost artifacts also provide immediate value the turn Meren of Clan Nel Toth is played, and can net 2 quick experience counters, as they sac immediately when played for 0, and then recur as 0 offering up a second helping of sac at end of turn.

Puppeteer Clique Pods directly into Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and immediately serves as the persist half of that combination. Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Puppeteer Clique allows us offer our undeath services to opposing graveyards. This allows for my personal favourite, fair, I'm-only-infinite-if-you're-infinite combo, as it's limited by the strength of opponents' board states.

If you prefer unfair, either Altar of the Brood or Altar of Dementia will happily serve twofold here, as they allow us to punch each opponent in the face with their entire creature catalogue before decking them.

Hulk Smash

The mana curve tops out at seven for the ultimate-sac-fodder-bubble-toad-thing: Protean Hulk. The aforementioned combos of Blood Artist + Melira, Sylvok Outcast + Putrid Goblin and Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Walking Ballista are both 6-CMC Hulk fetches. Phyrexian Delver and Viscera Seer form a 6-CMC pre-fetch crew that offer immediate recursion and subsequent re-sac for Protean Hulk, and allow an immediate window to infinity.

Speaking of immediacy, green mana dorks like Llanowar Elves will both ramp into, and pair nicely with Natural Order and Pattern of Rebirth and allow impatient players to enjoy a Protean Hulk on turn two or three instead of waiting for Birthing Pod to climax.

Race or grind as you will, this deck plays smooth at any speed. Meren will allow an adept pilot to comfortably navigate a wide range of power levels.

Materiam Superabat Opus

Beyond balancing and tuning stats (21 x <= 1 CMC, 21 x 2 CMC, 21 x >=3 CMC, etc.,) I have my decks built into functionally and aesthetically balanced five card blocks, such that each block forms multiple mirrored patterns, while adhering to strict functionality and thematic principles within both its mirrored grouping, and the deck as a whole.

It's difficult to describe accurately, or display using this site's interface, but each deck is a functional piece of art, as beautiful to behold as it is true to purpose.

Though I own my decks in paper, I rarely if ever actually play in group. I simply like the challenge of theory-crafting something perfect, numerically, functionally, and aesthetically.

If it please you, a taste of my other deck primers:

• A Tail of Two Love Stories
• Alive Beneath Cherry Blossoms

I hope that my OCD outlet provides your playgroup some entertainment.

For you, and forever,

j.

Top Ranked	Achieved #6 position overall 4 years ago Achieved #3 position in Commander / EDH 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Primer 4 years ago
Date added	5 years
Last updated	3 years
Key combos	Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Walking Ballista Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Puppeteer Clique Melira, Sylvok Outcast + Putrid Goblin Blood Artist + Melira, Sylvok Outcast + Putrid Goblin
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 0 Mythic Rares 41 - 0 Rares 18 - 0 Uncommons 13 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.22
Tokens	Experience Token, Morph 2/2 C
Folders	Cool EDH Decks, Unconscionable EDH Primers, Helpful Decks, Interesting Stuff, EDH, Other Decks, Decks to Try, Golgari, cool shit, Decks