The Circle of Life

Commander / EDH BG (Golgari) Reanimator Stax

Omeros

Creature (29)

• 1x Arbor Elf
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Boreal Druid
• 1x Caustic Caterpillar
• 1x Dark Confidant
• 1x Deathrite Shaman
• 1x Devoted Druid
• 1x Elves of Deep Shadow
• 1x Elvish Mystic
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Fleshbag Marauder
• 1x Fyndhorn Elves
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Hermit Druid
• 1x Liliana, Heretical Healer  ^Flip
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Merciless Executioner
• 1x Mesmeric Fiend
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Mindslicer
• 1x Necrotic Ooze
• 1x Reclamation Sage
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Scavenging Ooze
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Triskelion
• 1x Viscera Seer
• 1x Woodfall Primus
• 1x Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed

Artifact (8)

• 1x Birthing Pod
• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Crucible of Worlds
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Winter Orb

Land (32)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Bayou
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dryad Arbor
• 2x Forest
• 1x Gaea's Cradle
• 1x Gilt-Leaf Palace
• 1x High Market
• 1x Llanowar Wastes
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Strip Mine
• 3x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Wood
• 1x Twilight Mire
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Volrath's Stronghold
• 1x Wasteland
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills
• 1x Woodland Cemetery

Instant (8)

• 1x Abrupt Decay
• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Crop Rotation
• 1x Dismember
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Nature's Claim
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Worldly Tutor

Commander (1)

Sorcery (14)

• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Exhume
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Innocent Blood
• 1x Life from the Loam
• 1x Maelstrom Pulse
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Smallpox
• 1x Sylvan Scrying
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Traverse the Ulvenwald

Enchantment (8)

• 1x Carpet of Flowers
• 1x Contamination
• 1x Necromancy
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Pernicious Deed
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Survival of the Fittest
• 1x Sylvan Library

---

Whelp, found a Bayou and Misty Rainforest for cheap so it looks like I've got every card I want for the deck. This means I'm just tweaking the build based on changes in my local meta... And the Mana Crypt is in now as well! Mission complete. Now my wishlist is up to Chains of Mephistopheles.

Brief History of the Deck

This is what my previous combo / (creature) control deck, Alurin' Meren, has become due to changes in the local meta. Things have recently become more cutthroat, with a greater emphasis on combo decks over turning creatures sideways, so it was time to adapt. I've ended up pushing Meren toward a Stax build to keep the combo decks in check. Creature-based strategies were too slow and couldn't interact with infinite turns or Laboratory Maniac + Mind Over Matter . Trying to mimic the Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord reanimator lists wasn't ideal with Meren at the helm, either, and I didn't want to change generals just yet so I needed ways to slow the game down.

Partly to distinguish this from my Derevi Stasis/Tax deck, and partly because it's a lot harder to operate under stasis effects with Meren than with everyone's least favorite Bird Wizard, I've decided to see if I can make Meren successful by focusing on targeted land removal and discard effects.

To support this plan I've also included a modest amount of anti-creature tech but far less than I would if I was building for a creature-heavy meta. If you're building a similar Meren list but need to have more creature control, consider swapping in any of Attrition, Slum Reaper, Shriekmaw, Grave Pact, or Living Death. The last of these is one of my pet cards and I may end up returning it to the list but with the list I'm trying right now it's bordering more on win-more than win-con.

And, because I feel obligated- here's the Reanimator song. Putting some humor back into the grim Golgari life!

Cliff Notes For Your Game Plan

Early: Ramp and stick a piece of disruption, dependent on the decks you're playing against. Mindslicer is almost always a strong choice to tutor into. An early Contamination plus two mana dorks is basically a win if no one else is playing with much . (Two dorks lets you get Meren out after one gets sacced on the following turn)

Midgame: Keep your focus on preventing combo decks from reaching critical mass. Scavenging Ooze their discarded combo pieces, or strip cards from their hand with Mesmeric Fiend.

Since the fiend isn't as commonly played, here's how to use it: sac the fiend at instant speed, say to Viscera Seer, before the ETB resolves. Its LTB will resolve first, doing nothing, and then ETB permanently exiles a card on top of letting you peek at their hand. Thought-Knot Seer is similar, but by targeting the same player with its draw you can "dig" one card deeper for what to remove from your target or help out someone who fell behind for political gain.

You also want to begin putting your value engines into play: Hermit Druid, Meren, Crucible of Worlds + Life from the Loam , Survival of the Fittest, Birthing Pod, etc. Use these to find further disruption -- you basically should never go straight to your combo win unless you've been blessed with a god hand and bad luck around the rest of the table.

Endgame: By now you've hopefully got tutors or graveyard access to your combo pieces. These both involve Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and pair with either Triskelion or Woodfall Primus. There is no Pod chain to Primus, so keep that in mind.

Alternatively, maintain a slow and steady beatdown while keeping your focus entirely on stripping hands and lands from anyone who might be able to recover.

Flex Slots

To be updated.

Date added	8 years
Last updated	7 years
Key combos	Crucible of Worlds + Life from the Loam Laboratory Maniac + Mind Over Matter
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 0 Mythic Rares 50 - 0 Rares 19 - 0 Uncommons 15 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.29
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Emblem Liliana, Defiant Necromancer, Experience Token, Zombie 2/2 B