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Let the Bodies Hit the Grave (Jarad EDH)

Commander / EDH* BG (Golgari) Combo Dredge Multiplayer Reanimator

Llamadowns


INTRODUCTION

Commander is my favorite format to play nowadays (though Modern falls not too far behind). In an effort to have as much fun as humanly possible doing what I love to do in Magic, I decided to make a Black/Green deck as those are my two favorite colors in the game. I chose Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord because his abilities make him very versatile and the parameters of deck construction to use him effectively make it so that you don't necessarily need him to function or even to win games. (That, and my name is Jared so I figured that's who I would be in the Multiverse anyway.)

This is a heavily graveyard-reliant deck that seeks to win the game either through commander damage, periodic sacrifices to Jarad (or one huge one), or just straight up beatdown with big green idiots.

DREDGERS AND OTHER FACILITATORS

Golgari Grave-Troll --You all know this one already. The great part is in Commander, casting the GGT isn't totally embarrassing or impossible!

Golgari Thug --A dredger that can act as graveyard recursion in corner-case scenarios.

Life from the Loam --My favorite green card. I'll keep hands that have this card and 6 lands with no shame. It does so much; it solves mana issues, makes the graveyard bigger (over time), and even gets back lands sacrificed to Jarad's last ability. This with the cycle lands turbo-charges the graveyard like none other.

Grisly Salvage --Instant speed, get a land or creature and fill up your graveyard? No wonder this card saw play in standard.

Deadbridge Chant --Yo this card is the nuts. Mill a tenth of your deck, then you get a card back EVERY TURN. Granted, it is random, which makes it so it's not completely broken, but that's another reason why it's so fun.

FATASSES

Lord of Extinction --Pretty much guaranteed to be the biggest creature on the table. If you can get him big enough, one sacrifice with Jarad one-shots your opponents (this applies with the other fatasses in this list).

Nighthowler --This made the list over Mortivore simply because of Bestow. Jarad can steal wins off commander damage out of nowhere, and this dude helps. Play against another graveyard deck for added hilarity.

Bonehoard --While not technically a fatass in its own right, it does generate one and can be equipped to make any creature potentially a game-ender.

Splinterfright --Not quite as big as the other guys, but he comes with trample and gets bigger by himself.

Ghoultree --One G for a 10/10? Sign me up!

RECURSION AND VALUE

Deadwood Treefolk --The nature of this card means I can get a creature back as it ETBs, sit on it, then sacrifice another creature after a while and get that one back when the dead tree leaves. Baloth Null is another new consideration for this spot, it's just that it costs another color and potentially can get only one creature.

Birthing Pod --Well, it got banned in modern for a reason.

Sheoldred, Whispering One --I could write an essay about how awesome Sheoldred is. Probably my favorite card of all time.

Disciple of Bolas --Because who doesn't like drawing 20 cards and gaining 20 life?

Evolutionary Leap --Not quite Survival of the Fittest , but to be fair, that card would be WAY too good in this deck. A great way to stabilize in response to a wrath.

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

Reanimate --Flavor text is awesome, effect is borken.

Dread Return --Holy shit thank God this card is banned in modern.

Puppeteer Clique --Very nice synergies with the other sacrifice outlets in the deck, specifically Birthing Pod .

Sepulchral Primordial --Because multiplayer.

Animate Dead --The oracle text on this card is stupid and hilarious at the same time. Also, it's two-mana Reanimate that doesn't require a life.

GOOD STUFF

Craterhoof Behemoth --When in doubt, 'hoof em out. I generally tend to avoid winning with this card whenever possible, but sometimes you just need to get home and wanna deal 300 damage to the table.

Living Death --Who likes spending 30 minutes sorting out triggers?! I do! Kind of.

The rest of this deck either gets mana or tutors. Or tutors for mana.

CONCLUSION

Although this deck is powerful, it certainly has its flaws. I can't count the number of times Bojuka Bog straight up killed me, and this deck has a lot of slow draws. But I'm okay with that, because Magic is meant to be enjoyed, not won. I purposely tailored the deck to the exact power level I think that me and my group would prefer it to be, and I think that's important for any commander deck that you plan on playing for a very long time.

Suggestions are always welcome!

Suggestions

Updates Add

Jarad's back, back again. Rivals of Ixalan is pretty cool, expanding on the Magic story in a direction that I really like. Like the previous set, not too many graveyard-oriented cards were released, instead focusing on tribal synergies. However, I will say right now that I think Ravenous Chupacabra is fucking stupid... It's easily my least favorite card in the entire block, and that's saying something considering black is by far my favorite color. Anyway, there's a couple cards worth adding to this pile of shit:

ADDITIONS:

Journey to Eternity  Flip -- This one should be an actual no-brainer. It's a flavor win, creates so many synergies with a lot of combos in the deck, and adds not only a crucial enchantment for delirium but also another mana source that doubles as an engine with Grim Backwoods. I anticipate that this is gonna be a staple for all Golgari EDH decks.

World Shaper -- My main issue with Splendid Reclamation was that it was a one-time effect. With this card, I can easily sacrifice it or have it die after only a couple lands hit the graveyard, then return it later for massive profit.

CUTS:

Bane of Progress -- I originally put in this big fella to counter artifact-heavy decks that were popular in my group's meta at the time. Since then, a lot of players have started relying on fast mana and low land counts in addition to artifacts and enchantments. That fast mana is collateral for the ETB destruction, and creates one of two scenarios: either the players end up mana-screwed, or so many things get destroyed that Bane literally wins the game on the spot. That, and Mycosynth Lattice exists. I basically cut this card to prevent non-games.

Sword of Feast and Famine -- Swords are pretty good generally, but given how popular green and black are in EDH, I found that this particular weapon enabled a lot of cheesy voltron wins, especially with Jarad. I already have ridiculously huge monsters; suiting them up to be protected from colors and unblockable or whatever is just stupid to me. Also I found greater uses for this card in a different deck, and this sword is not cheap.

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Date added 10 years
Last updated 5 years
Legality

This deck is Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

15 - 0 Mythic Rares

44 - 0 Rares

19 - 0 Uncommons

8 - 0 Commons

Cards 100
Avg. CMC 4.14
Tokens Elephant 3-3 G, Emblem Vraska, Golgari Queen, Insect 1/1 BG, Phyrexian Germ 0/0 B, Spider 1/2 G, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders Maybe Buys, Commander
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