Athreos, the Ferryman

Commander / EDH*

nickb3k

The Condemned (29)

• 1x Agent of Erebos
• 1x Archon of Justice
• 1x Blood Pet
• 1x Bone Shredder
• 1x Cadaver Imp
• 1x Death Cultist
• 1x Deathbringer Regent
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Entomber Exarch
• 1x Fleshbag Marauder
• 1x High Priest of Penance
• 1x Kami of False Hope
• 1x Keening Apparition
• 1x Loyal Sentry
• 1x Massacre Wurm
• 1x Merciless Executioner
• 1x Necroplasm
• 1x Necrotic Ooze
• 1x Necrotic Sliver
• 1x Pit Keeper
• 1x Qarsi Sadist
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Sin Collector
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Stinkweed Imp
• 1x Treacherous Pit-Dweller
• 1x Vampire Hexmage
• 1x Vindictive Lich
• 1x Wild-Field Scarecrow

Echoing Cries of the Doomed (2)

• 1x Gate to the Afterlife
• 1x Shadows of the Past

Places of Worship (39)

• 1x Blighted Fen
• 1x Crypt of Agadeem
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Fetid Heath
• 1x Forsaken Sanctuary
• 1x Ghost Quarter
• 1x Haunted Fengraf
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Memorial to Folly
• 1x Mortuary Mire
• 1x New Benalia
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 1x Orzhov Guildgate
• 9x Plains
• 1x Shambling Vent
• 12x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Field
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Urborg
• 1x Zoetic Cavern

His Call (7)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Cleansing Nova
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Dusk / Dawn
• 1x Hour of Revelation
• 1x Rout
• 1x Wrath of God

His Talismans (3)

• 1x Orzhov Cluestone
• 1x Orzhov Keyrune
• 1x Orzhov Signet

Commander (1)

His Clergy (12)

• 1x Apprentice Necromancer
• 1x Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
• 1x Bishop of Rebirth
• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Doomed Necromancer
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Harvester of Souls
• 1x Smothering Abomination
• 1x Soul Warden
• 1x Suture Priest
• 1x Tithe Drinker
• 1x Undertaker

His Vessels (7)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Font of Return
• 1x Infernal Tribute
• 1x No Rest for the Wicked
• 1x Oversold Cemetery
• 1x Phyrexian Reclamation
• 1x Tortured Existence

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If you wish to travel, you must pay the price.

Most souls will only ever cross the River of the Dead once, as they shake off their mortal coil and pass into the afterlife. Athreos, God of Passage, the dutiful ferryman, journeys continually from one shore to the other, shepherding the lost souls to their resting place. But some souls are not as complacent. They long to return, to journey back to the land of the living. As long as the fare is paid - three drops of the blood of an innocent - the Ferryman will oblige.

His clergy are devoted, minding the shores, guiding the living to a more...practical use. These apostles know better than to travel across the river themselves, but all must come when He calls for Damnation.

Everything that surrounds this river reeks of death. Angels fear to tread, Queens (Teysa) Popes (Karlov) and Lords (Kambal) have had their day - here they receive the same treatment as the Imps, Lichs, and Sadists. There are no royalty among the dead. Just silent passengers slowly traveling to the other side.

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Every card in this deck is chosen because the function, art, or flavor text can be tied directly to the idea of death, rebirth, or the journey between the two. Some notably good Orzhov cards are not in this deck because they don't fit neatly into this flavor requirement or otherwise blaspheme against Athreos - see: Godless Shrine. Spells like Anguished Unmaking and Unburial Rites are great cards, and would be handy in this deck, but keeping the creatures flowing and devotion high is the key to getting to valuetown.

This is a grindy synergy deck that does nothing until it's doing everything. Packing six board wipes and dozens of creatures that remove things, it functions as a hard control deck in a lot of ways, and then generates huge value off casting a Wrath with Harvester or Blood Artist out.

It is soooooo political to be able to target opponents for reanimation. Blood Artist + Blood Pet + Athreos is an infinite combo...as long as you can coerce an opponent to let you kill another player. Death Cultist can work the same way for as much black mana as you can make.

Does this seem slow and clunky and inefficient? Yes. It's casual magic. But the flavor of this deck and the unbelievably complicated stacks that can happen when I board wipe with 8 things that trigger on a creature dying are why I keep coming back to it time and time again.

Date added	6 years
Last updated	6 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	2 - 0 Mythic Rares 32 - 0 Rares 26 - 0 Uncommons 19 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.16
Tokens	Morph 2/2 C
Based on	Athreos, God of Hatebears nickb3k EDH