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Kozilek, Butcher with Juice

Commander / EDH Artifact Colorless Competitive Eldrazi Multiplayer Primer

thegigibeast

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Artifact (47)

Land (36)

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Commander: Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

Creature (13)

Planeswalker (2)

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Primer by juwdah, modified by thegigibeast

As many of you know, colorless EDH is known to be combo-oriented. I rolled that way once, but found the light!

This build of Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is a non-combo colorless beatdown edition. It feels like an engine, with your commander being the fuel. This. Deck. Is. Juice. I have found it to never run empty, unlike many G/R beatdown builds I see. It plays quite dominant, and has it's main focus on tempo.

It started out as a Karn, Silver Golem deck about three years ago, as many of you can guess, it was a combo build. Quite the strong one too, it turned the table against me as soon as it was picked up. No one likes to play against combo. People tend to be scared of it going off out of the blue and ending the game on the spot. Personally, I started disliking the same thing. I had low, maybe no interest in playing my Karn, Silver Golem anymore. Had it in a box for a while, thought about toning it down, making it less powerful... None of it really helped. Eldrazi's came, Scars of Mirrodin came, and lots more colorless beatdown arrived. I had it! I was going to make a Karn, Silver Golem beatdown deck!

Alas... That didn't end well. It had no fuel. It puked out a board that couldn't withold the monstrosity that is green, and generated threat without being one. I tried many builds, beatdown-stax (heh), token beatdown, none really held on.

It was time to let Karn, Silver Golem go.

It was time for Kozilek, Butcher of Truth.

It was a hard thing to do, I always wanted it to be a Karn, Silver Golem deck, not a mindless Eldrazi deck. But boy was I wrong!

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth brings such a new dimension to the deck, it enables it.

Let me explain...

Because Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is an unstoppable force of Opportunity !

No, really, having Opportunity available in the command zone at all time in a color-less deck is crazy. This part in particular embodies the "Juice" aspect I've been rambling about. As such you can easily assemble a working machine while not worrying about card advantage. The fact that he comes with a big fat annihilating body is the other part that makes him oh-so good. Like this, your opponents will be faced a couple of choices:

  • He'll either get removed and you have a new Opportunity available;

  • He won't get removed and you have a menacing Eldrazi that needs 2 hits to kill an enemy;

  • Other scenario occurs, Control Magic and the like. Either you will destroy the Control Magic or someone else will remove Kozilek, Butcher of Truth. There is no way someone will let him go into combat phase with removal available.

Yup.

He's unstoppable. He's a beast in the command zone, he's a beast on the field. Your opponents will be in constant fear and you will be able to keep pressuring them! Don't ever let them relax, play like an adrenaline infused monster! With Kozilek, Butcher of Truth as your general, you can mix your opponent's tears in your fresh-mixed cocktail of tasty artifact juice and drown them in it!

So, these are the basic aspects of running Kozilek, Butcher of Truth as your general. Now you can go into many directions. Combo is quite easy due to all the card draw that is available, there's also stax, tokens, voltron, etc...

I will be talking about beatdown, which I find to be the strongest and most fun to play.

If you're still in doubt and deciding between the other colorless generals, which you probably aren't because face it, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is a beast. Here's the other two options available and for you to consider:
(coming soon)
Karn, Silver Golem is great.

No really, he is! He's just not.. me.

A Karn, Silver Golem deck plays out very differently. Your general has a unique set of abilities that embody some sort of combo/control shell. His abilities are "open" in the sense that you can easily build him different than most of the Karn, Silver Golem lists out there. You can go stax, combo, control, affinity, casual animate.board.win or mix it all together. Personally, I find his ability to easily combo off (mainly with Voltaic Construct) the reason why his combo lists are the strongest and why he is so feared.

"So, you're really praising this guy, why did you choose Kozilek, Butcher of Truth over Karn, Silver Golem?"

Because Kozilek, Butcher of Truth can do all that a Karn, Silver Golem deck does and faster.

One thing that you need to realize is that Karn, Silver Golem tries to play a more silent role in a game. Slower, steady and with more defences. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth does things all differently. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth takes charge. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth brings more life into artifacts than I feel Karn, Silver Golem has ever done for me. The amount of speed and tempo Kozilek, Butcher of Truth brings makes you feel like you're playing a spellslinger deck while being the control, combo and beatdown player.

Sure, Karn, Silver Golem has the ability to combo out easier but this actually made my playgroup see me as more of a threat. Having no field at all with a Karn, Silver Golem deck still makes your opponents wary of it's "sudden combo explosion".

I've never liked this playstyle and truly found the light when Kozilek, Butcher of Truth stood at the helm of this deck for the first time.

He can do all that a Karn, Silver Golem list can with a guarantee of card advantage.

He can do all that a Karn, Silver Golem list can while keeping pressure on your opponents.

And he can do all that a Karn, Silver Golem list can with tons more of different win-cons.

While there are many personal opinions, we can all agree that both Kozilek, Butcher of Truth and Karn, Silver Golem are on the same power level. It's up to you and your playgroup to decide what you want to see the most.

(coming soon)
(coming soon)
When looking at the statistics, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre isn't easy to get rid off. He has indestructible and will be blowing stuff up even before he hits the field. As seen with his brother he comes with a devastating annihilator 4 and will be in your face 24/7. So why not go for Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre instead? Because the way I see it, he will end the game when unanswered.

Well, that's it isn't it? He gets an answer quite fast in this format. There's a plethora of exile effects out there with the most prominent being Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile. He'll get stolen easily or just be kept tapped down with an Opposition.

There's also the factor that Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre costs to play. This is one more mana than Kozilek, Butcher of Truth. You are entitled to your opinion but one mana is a lot when you're playing the racing game. Worst part is, when you actually get to cast Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre with that mass of mana you obtained through mana rocks, you'll be left with an empty hand. One Path of Exile puts you into top-deck mode as early as turn 3. If your meta is removal heavy you will simply be controlled by other players.

And that's it really, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre is controllable while Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is not.

You can't stop Kozilek, Butcher of Truth by removing him, you can't control Kozilek, Butcher of Truth on the field due to the initial card advantage and as such answers he brings.

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, or may I say "Butcher with Juice" has the ability of effectively pressuring your opponents while Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre has not.

As such, I feel that Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre's cons heavily outweigh his pro's and feels so much better as a true powerhouse in one of those 99.

Still not convinced? If you like the bigger, stronger one, remember that Kozilek, Butcher of Truth needs two hits to kill an opponent while Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre needs 3.

(coming soon)
What you need to understand when piloting this deck is, your general brings the juice. This means that your games will start out as a race. You partial mulligan AWAY ALL of your utility pieces, and aim to get atleast 2 mana rocks/untap effects like Sol Ring, Mana Vault or Thran Dynamo in your hand accompanied by 2 - 3 lands. This will ensure you that you can cast Kozilek, Butcher of Truth on turn 4 - 6 (most often on turn 5), REFILL YOUR HAND and set the tempo for the board. All players will have to react on such an early eldrazi, and the tempo will be set. Time to assemble your machine.
Generally, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth will be answered. There isn't much protection on him really. He has a big butt and that's about it. But is this a problem? No! This is what is supposed to happen. More often than not, he dies before it's my turn again, and, more often than not, I recast him the next turn. That is the juice, that is Kozilek, Butcher of Truth. A very very threatening Opportunity . Due to his card draw engine, you refill your hand with more land, more rocks and more utility. And by recasting him, you keep doing it. Mid-game is all about assembling your machine while the opponents deal with Kozilek, Butcher of Truth himself. You use excess mana to set up your artifacts and start building a nice board. Just remember, DON'T LOSE TEMPO.
If it gets to late game, you should have a nice board setup. You can start abusing all the interaction and synergy artifacts have. Certain engines will pop up like Darksteel Forge + Nevinyrral's Disk , Clock of Omens + Myr Turbine and even soft-locks with Null Brooch and Unwinding Clock , gets better with Clock of Omens/Voltaic Key in the mix. Your deck creates some sort of control aspect to wrap up the beatdown aspect of this deck, and you know control loves a recurring card draw engine. When unstopped you will automatically combo out somehow due to all the synergy this deck brings. Most common would be Spine of Ish Sah accompanied by Krark-Clan Ironworks, Sculpting Steel and a Semblance Anvil-like effects or stumble upon infinite mana and a sac-outlet for Kozilek, Butcher of Truth. You might have to over-extend here, and as such create winning board set-ups. It's important to keep your lock-pieces up and disrupt as much as possible. Torpor Orb/ Null Brooch /etc are your friends.
Of course, games will not always go as smooth, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth taking a Hinder isn't much fun (neither is it with any general, in any deck really.). So you will have to change to a more control-oriented playstyle when he gets tucked. Remember though! You STILL get to draw your 4 cards when Kozilek, Butcher of Truth gets Hindered or Spell Crumpled. Making sure you are not crippled as soon as turn 5.
So, it's time to discuss what this deck can't handle.

There are various archetypes and cards that give us problems. Yeah, I've said it, this deck isn't perfect:

While not our biggest enemy, ETB green is what we'll see come at us the most. Terastodon, Sylvan Primordial, Acidic Slime and even golden oldy Indrik Stomphowler , you name it and you've all seen it.

Most prevalent in / or //x decks, these try to abuse the noncreature destruction that their green creatures bring. And yes, this Kozilek, Butcher of Truth deck is full of noncreature permanents and yes, it will be aimed at us.

How do we handle this?

My favorite cards against green (in general) are Storm Cauldron and Winter Orb. Green is usually reliant on land.ramp and we shall not blink an eye to disrupt it. Speaking of disruption, the biggest protagonist in our quest to defeat the monstrosity that is the //x commander deck infestation... is the one and only Torpor Orb. An all star, a hero, a gift from above. Torpor Orb breaks a lot of strategies and is an MVP in this deck.

So, why did I say that these decks aren't our main enemy?

Easy. We're faster. We can consistently build our board faster than they can destroy it. Throwing the most simple cards like Tormod's Crypt at them can disrupt their plans and might need to be targetted by their Sylvan Primordial just to get rid of it. Just keep building and when necessary, focus them.

Vandalblast, Shattering Spree and even Ruination. A mono-red deck packing multiple of these are a pain for this deck. While it's generally not welcome, it's not a game ender. You should've created enough card advantage in the early game to overcome this. With a nice landbase and some new ramp you can get the machine back up and running in no time! Remember that Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is still your general and the card-engine can just as easily be powered on again.

However. When it's late-game. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is costing like to cast, a red deck with a nice board position casting this will succesfully get you out of the game. With the tempo that red brings he'll probably kill you in a turn so he can focus on the other opponents.

Acidic Soil and Price of Progress are also not to be trifled with! With the amount of self-hurt in this deck this can easily be : "Kill every colorless player".

So, it happenned. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth got Hindered, Spell Crumpled or Spin into Myth. How to switch to a more control playstyle?

There's enough back-up draw available to help you sustain card advantage. There is, however, a miss of pressure.

You'll need to use lots and lots of your utility to hold back the biggest threat at the table and in the meanwhile focus on getting a nice draw-engine going. This won't be easy considering the reputation this deck will have.

Never over-extend.

You will not want to draw any hate by over-extending and will not want to force a boardwipe. Your goal is either comboing out or using stax elements for a control win. There's plenty of combos in this deck and most of them don't show their true colors until it's too late. This is a good thing.

Your best bets are using Kuldotha Forgemaster for a combo win or Expedition Map into Eye of Ugin.

The most important thing to remember is, this deck has lost most of it's pressure but close to none of it's power. Abuse it by letting your opponents think you're finished.

Annoying but the least of our worries are Planar Cleansing, Austere Command and their friends. They set everyone back a notch (which is good) but set this deck back about double as much.

Good thing it also builds back up triple as fast.

As with Vandalblast and his friends, this highly depends on the time and scenario where it has been cast.

Energy Flux , Null Rod, Stony Silence and even Kill Switch , I've seen it all, run with multiples in my friends/opponents's decks. There's nothing we can do against this. We're screwed until we get 7 land and a Spine of Ish Sah or Karn Liberated in our hand. There's as much removal as possible in this deck for these scenarios but I'd advize taking another deck for a couple of games to make sure your friends start seeing them as dead cards and as such, start removing them again.

They're pain, cry.

Let's start off easy. The rocks!

Mana rocks, stones and reduce cost effects are what makes this deck run. They're the fuel for the engine and will always be needed in high quantities. Using nonland permanent ramp has both it's pro's and con's.

Before I talk about the actual mana rocks, I need to talk about how we are going to abuse them. Considering you'll be susceptible to nonland permanent destruction when playing a lot of mana rocks, you can easily utilize mass land disruption. Don't be afraid of using cards like Storm Cauldron and Winter Orb because your opponents won't look back when destroying your artificial mana base. Stax is a great tactic and I advize on using it to the fullest.

Now, the best rocks are Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, and possibly Mox Opal, which make more mana than used to cast them. They will untap just as easy and provide the steadiest form of ramp this deck can offer. You'll start creating a special spot in your heart for these cards after an early Kozilek, Butcher of Truth cast with these accompanied by a Lightning Greaves.

Next up are the "lesser" rocks, these initially cost more than they provide, but most of them provide the ability of adding lots of mana.

There's Thran Dynamo, Gilded Lotus, Everflowing Chalice, Coalition Relic, Kyren Toy , Chromatic Lantern, Worn Powerstone, Sisay's Ring , Ur-Golem's Eye and Dreamstone Hedron . These are the stable base of the deck and are great when accompanied by untap effects. There are obvious power differences here like Sisay's Ring vs Thran Dynamo, but all in all I believe I have the best options available.

Remember to abuse both Coalition Relic and Kyren Toy with untap effects to have a really early Kozilek, Butcher of Truth available.

As a side note: Chromatic Lantern is the weakest link here and can be replaced with cards like Darksteel Ingot or Pristine Talisman. To each their own preference. The reason I chose for Chromatic Lantern is that it acts like an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and makes Maze of Ith/Eye of Ugin and cards like Ancient Tomb able to tap for just 1.

You might've noticed I left out some rocks in both categories. It's because these don't untap on their own.

Sure Mana Vault makes more mana than used to cast it, but the untap clause makes you use it that much different.

The ones I'm talking about are: Mana Vault, Grim Monolith, Basalt Monolith and even Lion Eye's Diamond. These could result in a tempo loss after the initial Kozilek, Butcher of Truth cast. However this isn't likely to happen. You'll most definitely have an untap effect nearby and when combined these can provide some of the greatest ramp I have ever seen. These cards are the one that can get you a turn 2 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, do not think of them lightly.

Now onto the cost reducers.

I play Semblance Anvil and Helm of Awakening. If you're wary of your opponents abusing Helm of Awakening, you could replace it with Cloud Key. However, Cloud Key is both slower and does not reduce the cost of Kozilek, Butcher of Truth when you should choose for artifacts. (which, you should)

The main use for these is to "go crazy". When you have a reliable card-draw engine going, may it be Kozilek, Butcher of Truth or not, these let you dump your hand on the board and go for the win. Besides that, these also make your mana rocks that much better. Ever cast a Gilded Lotus for free? I have. Mirrorworks and Sculpting Steel love these guys. Abuse as much as possible.

These also lead to some of the coolest combo wins with Spine of Ish Sah and Krark-Clan Ironworks (with or without Sculpting Steel).

The big guns.

We're left with the big mana creators. The ones that lead into the hundreds.

Doubling Cube , Blinkmoth Urn, Ashnod's Altar and Krark-Clan Ironworks. Mainly used combined with permanent-creators like Myr Battlesphere and Thopter Assembly and simply abused with untap-effects. These have the ability of ending the game on the spot. Having Kozilek, Butcher of Truth in the command zone and sacrifice engines like Helm of Possession available with about 100+ mana in your pool will probably end up in dumping your library on the field. Keep going until you have that Null Brooch , Torpor Orb, Unwinding Clock and stax effects out. Your opponents won't come back from these. Control the table and win.

The spine of this deck. What's keeping everything together.

Honestly, if Galvanic Key wasn't so disgustingly bad, and Dross Scorpion not as conditional, I'd run all noncreature-artifact untap effects I could. I'd love Wizards printing more of these.

Untap effects do everything for this deck, from creating absurd amounts of mana, increasing the power of your utility artifacts by more than double, letting you combo out on the spot or just giving you full control over other players. Never leave home without it.

Being the simplest of the untap-effects, it is still a powerhouse.

Rings of Brighthearth and Voltaic Key means = Untap target artifact. Obviously, this leads to broken things. However, all those broken scenarios aside, it's mainly used just to untap your mana rocks and ramp into Kozilek, Butcher of Truth. Some favorite targets are Doubling Cube , Helm of Possession and Mimic Vat.

The all-star of untap effects! Seriously this card does everything. It's a Voltaic Key on steroids. If I could name one card that's the best card in the deck, it'd be this one.

It loves any artifact that taps for 3 or more and has great synergy with Kuldotha Forgemaster (first thing you should tutor for). Use this with Myr Battlesphere and Thopter Assembly to great effect.

This one is very different. You can't abuse Unwinding Clock on the spot like you can with Voltaic Key or Clock of Omens. Unwinding Clock serves a different purpose. It's actually used mainly as a control element together with your utility artifacts. Cards like Null Brooch , Predator, Flagship and Soul Conduit will be what makes this card so great. It can also be used to ramp. Grim Monolith and Mana Vault and charge-counter mana rocks like Coalition Relic get great use out of this card.

On a side note: Vedalken Orrerry doesn't do much for this deck unless you get Unwinding Clock out. If you like to take the risk of having a dead card often or if Vedalken Orrerry is a pet card of yours, go ahead, these are great together.

Most of the actual beatdown, both in pressure and damage will be done by Kozilek, Butcher of Truth himself. However, the cards in this section will either compliment and help Kozilek, Butcher of Truth or also add a great deal of pressure for your opponents to worry about.

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth Big brother. The indestructible menace. I've already talked about him as a comparison for commander choices. I believe he's way stronger as one of the 99 and a true unexpected powerhouse. When you net that 20+ mana at turn 7 and instead of recasting Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, you bring out this guy with any way of giving him haste. Your opponents will be set with a challenge. He's very hard to remove when being equipped with shroud/hexproof to compliment his indestructibility. Or when given protection by Akroma's Memorial. He's a game ender, Show stopper, period.

Another note is, he's a form of colorless removal. An uncounterable one at that. Use him to get rid of that pesky little Aura Shards or permanents giving you a headache like Stony Silence.

This guy ends games in a second. Haste is great for the surprise factor, and as seen with Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, combining indestructibility with shroud/hexproof makes sure he's hard to get rid of.

One of the best parts about Blightsteel Colossus, is that he's an artifact. This makes all the difference, while Eldrazi creatures can easily be tutored by Eye of Ugin, this guy can get tutored by Kuldotha Forgemaster (and also, Eye of Ugin, for that matter). It can be cloned by a simple Sculpting Steel and for two extra mana you'll have two Blightsteel Colossus with a Mirrorworks around. There's also the factor of Semblance Anvil (and if you chose for it, Cloud Key.) that reduces it's mana cost.

If you don't like Combo-ing out with Kuldotha Forgemaster, you can easily choose for a path like, Clock of Omens > Myr Battlesphere > Rings of Brighthearth > Akroma's Memorial and Mirrorworks > Blightsteel Colossus and Sculpting Steel. Now, if that isn't flashy or epic, I'm not sure what is..

Obviously, this guy fulfill's a great utility role. So why is he at the Beatdown section? The main reason is because of the pressure he brings along. People tend to be really scared of the destruction he can cause and want him removed A.S.A.P. As such, combined with his utility, this guy is to be feared combined with haste. Merely the fact that opponents want to keep their removal for Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, makes this guy even scarier.

This little guy can do a lot of things, from being useless to a complete blow-out. I like holding a Clone underneath it and mainly use it to keep pressuring my opponents. This thing can also act as great utility if it's what you want to get out of it. However, in this deck it mainly depends on your opponents.

Mainly used for it's haste, and doubling the tempo, they bring a great addition to this deck. Considering non-creature artifacts don't have summoning sickness, these make sure neither do your creatures and lead to explosive turns. I feel that when used, after Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, I get the most lineage out of the these in combination with Kuldotha Forgemaster for some powerful board-positions, synergies or combo's. Of-course, Blightsteel Colossus and Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre love these too.

On a side note: when you're playing more mana dorks than I am, these get even better. Think Palladium Myr, Plague Myr and/or Walking Atlas as good choices.

This is a good backup for Kozilek, Butcher of Truth when you have excess mana but mainly shines when Kozilek, Butcher of Truth got tucked. On it's own it can efficiently be used as a card-draw engine. There's many cards that can compliment it. Unwinding Clock combined with this makes sure you're drawing lots of cards without losing resources. Add a Strionic Resonator in the mix and you're setting yourself up for a super-explosive next turn.

A slower, more silent way of obtaining more cards. Staff of Nin also comes with a small amount utility, utility that this deck can use more freely. With untap effects you can easily get rid of low-cost low-toughness generals or any of their creature-based utility pieces. Due to it's steep mana cost it's usually cast in the late-game but should NOT be underestimated at early-game.

While Sensei's Divining Top doesn't need much explanation, there's much that can be said about Scroll Rack. This is one of my pet cards and I love it to the fullest.

Outside of just being used as a filter, combining this with untap effects and tutoring makes the johnny in me giggle. It's not strange to see a Semblance Anvil or Helm of Awakening present on my board. When I get that Scroll Rack out combined with the oh-so awesome card-draw that Kozilek, Butcher of Truth brings and a way of tutoring. It's most likely I get a decent lock going or lots of more pressure for my opponents. This card brings such great utility and I love filtering away all those excess lands.

On a side note for Sensei's Divining Top: Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth + Sensei's Divining Top = draw your deck.

Rings of Brighthearth + Voltaic Key + Everflowing Chalice(4) + Sensei's Divining Top = draw your deck, infinite untaps.

There's more out there but these are the easiest.

On a different side note: Crystal Ball, while the lesser version of these cards can also be a decent choice if you need more consistency.

This guy has so many possibilities, I'm not sure where to start.

First of all, I'm stating that he's far more powerful than both Planar Portal and Ring of Three Wishes. This guy puts whatever you tutor for directly on the battlefield and while doing so, can make sure he'll do it again. When you have a decent board set-up, it's first tutor should most definitely be Clock of Omens. From here on out you can go as wild as you want to go, this mostly depends on what pieces you have already set-up.

Most of the paths go like Clock of Omens > Myr Battlesphere > Rings of Brighthearth > "whatever you want"

There's..

Beatdown: Clock of Omens > Myr Battlesphere > Rings of Brighthearth > combinations involving Blightsteel Colossus, Akroma's Memorial and/or Sculpting Steel.

Combo: Clock of Omens > Myr Battlesphere > Rings of Brighthearth > Spine of Ish Sah, Krark-Clan Ironworks, Sculpting Steel and/or Semblance Anvil/Helm of Awakening.

Big Mana Combo: Clock of Omens > Myr Battlesphere > Rings of Brighthearth > basalth monolith and a combination of Sensei's Divining Top, Voltaic Key and/or Helm of Possession ...

While I, personally, don't like running Nevinyrral's Disk you can easily go Wombo: Clock of Omens > Myr Battlesphere > Rings of Brighthearth > Nevinyrral's Disk, Darksteel Forge.

And much, much more..

As you can see, some choices are better than other depending on what pieces you have already set-up on the board. Already got that Krark-Clan Ironworks and Semblance Anvil out? You know what to do. Rings of Brighthearth already accompanying you? This'll be easy.

As a keynote, most the of Synergy/Combo packages need about a maximum of 9 "useless" artifacts you can sacrifice, with some pieces already out it can become increasingly less.

So, This guy offers great utility and ends games on the spot. Does this mean he isn't handy early game? I beg to differ. Putting him out there with low-populated boards isn't all too bad, you can easily tutor for a Darksteel Forge in response to a boardwipe or get that Clock of Omens out already when you have a Doubling Cube nearby. Utility is the key here.

A last thing to add is it's synergy with pieces you won't want to tutor for. If you already have cards like Myr Turbine on the board, it gets increasingly easier to abuse it, if you have a card like Scroll Rack on the board, you can easily filter, filter more and sculpt complete godhands.

All-in-all, a force to be reckoned with.

While most of you already run this in various decks, in here it has a secondary role as utility piece. All the lands in this deck do something extra.

I'm more prominently known for tutoring either Maze of Ith or Ancient Tomb. At early-game, Ancient Tomb works as a great mana accelerator which is less likely to get blown up. It's know for it's synergy with effects like Winter Orb and Storm Cauldron. At Late-game and I have a decent board set-up I would most likely go for Maze of Ith to help me get that extra mile undisturbed. Other choices could easily be: completing urzatron, Buried Ruin when set-up with Mindslaver and Crucible of Worlds, High Market for sacrifice effects, Homeward Path vs stealy decks and much, much more.

Another card with many different uses. Memory Jar can get you out of a slow start in a pinch, it works great with cost reducement effects and can lead to some of the most explosive turns ever.

Good cards of note are: Scroll Rack, Semblance Anvil/Helm of Awakening and Crucible of Worlds.

Known to be one of the greatest card-draw engines ever printed, Skullclamp also sees play in here even with less tokens available to pry on. Having a card-draw engine with probably as much power as Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is amazing. It can easily draw you above 10 cards a pop when dedicated to make it work.

The biggest synergies come along the way with Myr Turbine, Trading Post and cards like Myr Battlesphere/Thopter Assembly. Lots of other targets include man-lands like Inkmoth Nexus/Blinkmoth Nexus or Mimic Vat/ Helm of Possession fodder (which in return work great as a threesome as well).

Unfortunatly, there aren't as much cards in colorless to completley break the card in half, there's not-even-half decent choices like Nuisance Engine which might work in a token centric build accompanied with cards like Dross Scorpion.

Graveyard abuse is one of the easiest strategies used in EDH. Me and my opponents will always pack sufficient hate to make sure things won't get out of hand. Say no to Sun Titan locks, reanimator decks or infinite turn cycles! The reason I'm not simply listing these in the utility section is because this can't be repeated enough.

The two I use are Tormod's Crypt and Relic of Progenitus. Each their pro's and con's, I find these the best options out there for a colorless deck.

As a side note: be wary of Krosan Grip! Don't wait too long when you have a certain hunch or if the graveyard is packed and ready for abuse already.

Other options are: Scrabbling Claws and Phyrexian Furnace which could be accompanied by Salvaging Station .

Time to talk about the utility. This is the actual machine, bolts and screws. The interaction with opponents, stax, locks, removal and protection. This is a tight list and can have a lot of versatility in it to compliment your playstyle. This should form the rest of the deck, compliment the beatdown and provide different win-conditions.

Let's start off with the removal choices.

When this was first spoiled, I wasn't to be found for this. It seemed it came with a neat synergy of abilities but was overshadowed by it's steep mana cost. After continuisly playing with this card I understand why. This card is broken beyond relief. While it most likely acts as a simple form of removal, Spine of Ish Sah is also known for it's blow-outs. I'm not talking combo just yet, I'm talking "big mana, crush opponents, obtain tears." This card combined with Krark-Clan Ironworks becomes a 5: Destroy target permanent. I can already stop right there. This deck runs on big mana and getting a consistent form of repeatable removal for the "mere" cost of 5 mana each will win me most grind wars. And this is without any extra pieces! With Sculpting Steel it becomes 1: Destroy target permanent. It's cost can also be reduced with Semblance Anvil and friends to make sure that 5 drops to 4, 3 or even less on it's own. Heck! combine the two and you'll make infinite mana in the process. (not that you'll need it after destroying their board..) I simply love what Spine of Ish Sah brings to this deck in form of utility. It also destroys them pesky hater permanents: take out Aura Shards, Stony Silence and their friends.Other cards of note are: sacrifice effects like Phyrexia's Core and Kuldotha Forgemaster.

Karn LiberatedThis fella stops what Spine of Ish Sah can't stop. Everyone here should know the power that is Karn Liberated already, when held around he can grind your opponents down on his own. Mainly used for it's "Exile target permanent" clause, he himself brings another form of pressure along. This is great to have on the field accompanied by other pressure machines like our own Kozilek, Butcher of Truth.The bad thing about him is that he needs protection, which this deck can't always offer. Flyers tend to easily cross over us and take him out in a second. It also gets increasingly harder to keep with more opponents around. I'd say he's best on a 3 - 4 man table.A good card of note is: Rings of Brighthearth to double it's effectiveness

DuplicantAs seen in many lists, a form of colorless removal that can easily be abused. However, unlike most artifacts in here, Duplicant is less easy to abuse in this deck than a colored one. Unless, of-course you're playing some shennanigans with Mimic Vat/Helm of Possesion and the like?Other cards of note are: Mirrorworks and Sculpting Steel

All is DustThe best wipe this deck can ever hope for. While not only completing a flavor standpoint, this is a card that sees a lot of play in many different decks and won't do anything against us. In fact, it will just help us instead.I more than often see a full-table-scoop if I resolve this spell at mid-to-late game. With the board position I gained combined with some of the lock pieces like Winter Orb. It's unlikely they'll get back from a deck with this much pressure and tempo.Unfortunatly it's one of the, or THE only form of one-card wipe we can run to our advantage. Oblivion Stone and Nevinyrral's Disk would just set us back too much for our own good to be ever worth a cardspot in here. I doubt we'll see similar printings like these again in the near future, but we can always hope.A card of note is: It that Betrays, all your base are belong to us.

Null BroochWe're slowly shifting from removal to the rest of the utility, answers or lock pieces. While not being a direct form of removal, Null brooch is a great piece of counter-equipment. When set-up in lategame with untap effects it will give you the push to victory. Remember that discarding your hand is worth nothing vs a resolved insurrection or Time Warp cycle. It's also worth nothing in general considering Kozilek, Butcher of Truth will fill that hand right back up.It sees it best days camping together with an Unwinding Clock, you're locking up the board and have the ability to continuisly hold threats at bay.Combine with Torpor Orb for great results.

Torpor OrbDon't leave home without it. The cards it stops in this deck are: Myr Battlesphere and Duplicant. An easy price to pay considering it halts a lot of the known tactics in EDH. Already mentioned in the strategy section, this deck stops/slows down G/U/x decks which are probably the most often built competitive decks. It's also worth stating that it protects itself by a large amount. Many people have shifted to ETB effects/abuse for it's nonland permanent removal, this would be a slap in their face.It's also worth stating that it stops Aura Shards and similar effects (even our own Mirrorworks occasionally).

They might not show itBut, these little rodents play quite thedominant role in this deck.Myr Turbine, Myr Battlesphere and Thopter Assembly.These are cards that creature artifact permanents for this deck. And it loves having lots of artifacts around!Artifact tokens + Clock of Omens + Doubling Cube/Mana Rock = above hundreds of mana.Artifact tokens + Clock of Omens + Mimic Vat = an army.Artifact tokens + Krark-Clan Ironworks = sac fodder.Artifact tokens + Blinkmoth Urn = lots of extra mana.Artifact tokens + Kuldotha Forgemaster = probably win the game.Artifact tokens + Skullclamp = card-draw engine.Artifact tokens + Helm of Possession = always have the best creature available.and much, much more..There's just so much that extra artifacts do for this deck, from simply chump blocking to doubling the utility card's power.

Trading PostWhile it has similarities to the permanent creators above because it's mainly used to create simple goats, these goats do not interact with artifact synergies as well.What it does have, however, is a lot of built-in utility that can be re-used with untap effects. It can recur, draw cards, gain life in a pinch and make glorious goats!Goats have great synergy with Skullclamp, Helm of Possession or Trading Post's own card-draw.Recurral for the great untap pieces like Clock of Omens are always great (and in return, set it up to be re-used).It's another swiss-army knife of some sort and embodies the "Utility" aspect as a whole.As a side note: while this deck isn't built specifically to combo out, with infinite mana/untaps and this, you'll most likely win the game if you haven't already.

Helm of Possession and a note to High Market and Miren, the Moaning WellCreature based sacrifice engines. These are great with Kozilek, Butcher of Truth accompanied by the amounts of mana this deck brings forth. Combine untap effects with Helm of Possession to net copious amounts of cards and in the meanwhile get an utility engine going.Steal that Oracle of Mul'daya to compliment the card draw, or just take out enemy generals in the process. This card has an increased amount of uses depending on what your opponents bring to the table.

Storm Cauldron, Tangle Wire and Winter OrbThe more obvious forms of stax floating around in this decklist. Land disruption is great when combined with lots and lots of mana artifacts. You won't be held back by these type of cards and will gradually gain the upper-hand. Dropping one down early to slow down opponents is also a great tactic.As a side note: for those who also like to add Static Orb to the list, I'd advize for more options of tapping it like Blinkmoth Well and even cards like Lodestone Myr or Icy Manipulator.

Mirrorworks and Sculpting SteelThese are thoroughly discussed in some of the previous cards.Some highlights are:A simple beatdown with 2 Blightsteel Colossi.Combo Kuldotha Forgemaster > Clock of Omens > Myr Battlesphere > Rings of Brighthearth > Spine of Ish Sah, Krark-Clan Ironworks, Sculpting Steel and/or Semblance Anvil/Helm of Awakening.Beatdown..Combo? Kuldotha Forgemaster > Clock of Omens > Myr Battlesphere > Rings of Brighthearth > Blightsteel Colossus + Mirrorworks > Akroma's Memorial + Sculpting Steel.

Strionic ResonatorThis card doesn't dissapoint. As soon as it was spoiled people saw that it could be insanely powerful in a Kozilek, Butcher of Truth EDH. For the general alone, it can copy the cast trigger and make you draw 8+ cards and copy it's annihilator trigger and let you annihilate for 8+ (I wonder what the record is on this one, untap shennanigans and crazy plays? Come share them!). It also works great with Blinkmoth Urn: if you want to go crazy on the mana overdose and have untap effects available, this'll act like a secondary Doubling Cube.Mind's Eye and Unwinding Clock: This will net you Consecrated Sphinx-Level of cards at a minimum.Mirrorworks: I'm still curious how a field would look like with Mirrorworks making two Strionic Resonators, which in return can make sure that every artifact you play from then on out are in pairs of 4.Other cards of note are: Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, Myr Battlesphere, Skullclamp, Staff of Nin, Rings of Brighthearth and Spine of Ish Sah.

Crucible of WorldsA great card to have around MLD, Green stompy and stax decks. A land-destruction engine with Strip Mine, Wasteland, Tectonic edge or Ghost Quarter.Crucible of Worlds also shines in here with the utility lands. Haunted Fengraf, Buried Ruin and man-lands used as blockers.A combo often used is Crucible of Worlds + Buried Ruin + Mindslaver. (all easily tutorable with Kuldotha Forgemaster into Clock of Omens/Expedition Map/Mindslaver too)

MindslaverI've just explained it's combo potentional, however, it's mainly used as a finisher. Nothing better than making it a 2v1v1 scenario and tapping the enslaved player out. It gets rid of utility generals that "suddenly attack us with our untapped Thopter Assembly ready to block".I've had hilarious situations with Mindslaver, Sacrifice engines playing Claws of Gix and Sylvan Safekeeper, Time Stretching myself, Killing the player with effects like Greed. You'll always have a good time playing this card, take a drink and sit back afterwards Smile

Darksteel ForgeEasiest to explain, rock-solid board-protection.

We've come to a more simple core of this deck, the lands. While colored decks usually come with basic lands, you will not find one among these. It has it's pro's and con's but it's great knowing that each and one of your lands has utility behind it.

Ancient Tomb, Crystal Vein, Eldrazi Temple, Eye of Ugin and Temple of the False God.These are the lands that ramp more than traditional lands and are one of the greatest cores it can bring.Anything that can bring out Kozilek, Butcher of Truth out faster to get an engine going is a friend, stack up on these and make sure you collect them first and beforehand when assembling this deck.A side note on Eye of Ugin: While mainly being Kozilek, Butcher of Truth ramp, this card is such a great tutor for this deck. And gets a tucked Kozilek back! The cost reduction also works with : Ulamog, the infinite gyre, It that Betrays and yes, even All is DustI have been asked if this could tutor up All is Dust and the appropriate answer is no. I know All is Dust has the "Eldrazi" sub-type like all the Eldrazi creatures, but this does not make it one. All is dust is and stays a Sorcery spell and Eye of Ugin only tutors for creatures.As an additional side note on Eye of Ugin: Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and the Chromatic Lantern make sure this can also tap for mana.As a last note: Ancient Tomb is one of the best Expedition Map targets.

Strip Mine, Wasteland, Dust Bowl and Tectonic EdgeAs mentioned before, these act as a land destruction engine together with Crucible of Worlds. The main use for these are getting rid of pesky lands like Cabal Coffers, Gaea's Cradle or Academy Ruins.

High Market, Miren, the Moaning Well and Phyrexia's CoreHaving a sacrifice outlet nearby is always great to get a card-draw engine going with Kozilek, Butcher of Truth. These are also the main targets for Deserted Temple.A side note on Phyrexia's Core: while not being able to sacrifice Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, it can act as a great tool for Spine of Ish Sah.

Maze of IthMaze of Ith is my bread and butter. I'm known for always searching this with Expedition Map when it gets to end-game (even in other decks of mine), I'm also known for always playing this card in each deck I own.I don't see why others don't. This card is my baby.Mystifying Maze acts as a nice secondary, beware of ETB though.Secret tech: use this on your attacking Kozilek, Butcher of Truth when you don't want him blocked by a nasty deathtoucher but keep the annihilator trigger.As an extra small side note: I'm know to love maze-like cards, at one time I even ran Maze of Shadows in here, heh!

Vesuva and Thespian's StageI'm used to known for also copying that Maze of Ith, however lately while my playgroup tends to play around it, cards like Ancient Tomb or Temple of the False God are better targets.The choice is entirely up to you, as with all Clone effects.As a side note: unfortunatly Vesuva can't kill off enemy legendary lands anymore. As such, it got exponentially weaker.

They keep raising the price on Opportunities.Inkmoth Nexus, Blinkmoth Nexus, Mutavault, Mishra's Factory and Springjack PastureUsed more as "sudden" blockers than anything, these also love Skullclamp and Crucible of Worlds. Always keep in mind that Blinkmoth Nexus and Inkmoth Nexus become Artifacts when you transform them, in case you need that extra artifact for Clock of Omens..As a side note: Inkmoth Nexus can also finish Blightsteel Colossus's job.On a different side note: Helm of Possession also gets mileage out of these.

Cavern of Souls, Homeward Path, Reliquary Tower and Rogue's PassageThese are cards that get increasingly better with Kozilek, Butcher of Truth at the helm of this deck.With Cavern of Souls you should always name Eldrazi. I have never had an exception to this rule, if I do I'll add a note here, this counters mono-blue and/or Hinder effects very well.Reliquary Tower combines well with the amount of card-draw this deck brings and Homeward Path says no to stealy decks.Last but not least, Rogue's Passage, while not used much, can make sure you hit for lethal. As a side note: Blightsteel Colossus actually likes Rogue's Passage more than Kozilek, Butcher of Truth.Additional side note: Be wary of Helm of Possesion and Homeward Path.

Buried Ruin, Haunted Fengraf and Petrified FieldSome of the best recurr is land-based in this deck. You've seen what Buried Ruin can do accompanied by a Crucible of Worlds and Mindslaver.While not as epic, many other interactions can be brought forward with these three and Crucible of Worlds present on the field.Rings of Brighthearth also has the ability of copying these effects for maximum value.

Blasted LandscapeAs you will know by now, this deck runs on artifacts and doesn't need hands full of lands, cycling away lands for filtering utility is an ability I wish every land in the deck had. It also works wonders with Crucible of Worlds.

Tower of the MagistrateQuite the gem. It can give Kozilek psuedo-unblockable vs artifact decks and drops equipment of voltron-commanders like a boss.

Darksteel CitadelFirst of all, indestructible. This card survives Armageddon, Sylvan primordial, terastodon. You will always, have this one land.And one heck of a land this is. Remember when I said random artifact fodder is always good? It's great when a simple land brings it with him.Abuse it with Clock of omens, Blinkmoth urn, kuldotha forgemaster and Krark-clan Ironworks.

Rishadan PortA lovely land! This is most used early to slow down the most threatening opponent. It can act as a secondary way of obtaining pressure.It also has nice synergies with a Winter Orb present.

Mikokoro, center of the seaTo go that extra mile. It's main use is for when you're out of ideas/there has been a wipe/you need to help opponents to get rid of the top dog.That or, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth got tucked and everyone got Mindslicered.

Urborg, Tomb of yawgmothThis card has great utility with the other land cards.Ancient Tomb can tap for 1.Maze of Ith can tap for manaand Eye of Ugin can actually tap.

Deserted templeMain use for untapping:High Market/Miren, the Moaning Well/Phyrexia's Core andMaze of Ith and friends.It's mainly just a remnant from the old Karn, Silver Golem build where it had Scorched Ruins in it. However, with Acidic Slimes and Sylvan Primordials out there I don't think I'm man enough.

Winding CanyonsA better Vedalken Orrerry IMO, will get you a Kozilek, Butcher of Truth at EOT.Unwinding Clock and this also see some love.

Alright, I know everyone's thinking "Non-combo colorless beatdown with Rings of Brighthearth?"

This was a hard one for me. Rings of Brighthearth is the easiest enabler of infinite combos in this deck. With the rings, you might combo off faster than you win by beatdown. So why play it? Won't people stamp this deck as a combo deck? Why not just cut it then?

Because it's actually quite easy to combo off with this deck without Rings of Brighthearth if it gets to late-game. And there is no way to avoid this. You will combo out a lot of the times and people won't like it. Cutting Rings of Brighthearth will get some of the combo's out and will lower the speed of the deck's combo potential. So why won't I just cut it and get over it?

Because besides combo-ing, it interacts with everything.

I've spent many hours deck-building and waging if it belonged in here and came to the conclusion that it does.

The amount of fun synergies that the ring provides are too much to pass up on.

It's the simple things like using Voltaic Key's activated ability to untap Keening Stone. And then copying the activated ability to untap Voltaic Key. Resulting in "3 mana, untap target artifact".

It's the splashy things like blowing up two angels with Predator, Flagship .

Being the swiss army knife and interacting with the Trading Post.

The epic play when an opponent is at two life and all you have on your board is a Staff of Nin with a Rings of Brighthearth and he has an army ready to strike.

It's aout being pure POWER with Karn Liberated .

Being out of ideas, tapping Kuldotha Forgemaster, copying it and finding a Mindslaver with Crucible of Worlds in your deck and you see that one, Buried Ruin, shining right there on your field, making you jump in the air of joy.

Being able to "just draw a card" with Sensei's Divining Top.

Being the colorless Mill player with Keening Stone and Memory Jar on the field.

Feeling like a blue thieving mage when you take two creatures with that Helm of Possession .

It's about being the politician with Soul Conduit and Echo Chamber .

It's about being "The-always-maze guy" when searching for Maze of Ith AND Vesuva when you tap that Expedition Map.

It's all of that and much, much more.

But...

Of course there's a downside.

People tend to be scared of combo decks. They can go off out of the blue and are harder to control. If you would add easy combo's to the list, you'll get all the hate (not that you already don't) and will be killed as fast as possible. As such, cutting the Rings of Brighthearth is easy.

But.. Is it necessary?

Let's elaborate!

As explained, Rings of Brighthearth is know for being an easy enabler for infinite combo's. Here are some:

There's the easiest, schmeasiest way of creating infinite mana.

Rings of Brighthearth + Basalt Monolith.

So yes, this one is a pain. THE pain. Infinite mana leads to disastrous things. We can not forget that it is still Kozilek, Butcher of Truth that pilots this deck and with a small sac engine, infinite mana can prove to be quite brutal.

Even without a sac engine, Basalth Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth + Sensei's Divining Top lets you draw your whole deck anyway.

Basalth Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth + Voltaic Key lets you have infinite untaps and infinite untaps lead to infinite Myr tokens with Myr Turbine. Infinite free spells with Temporal Aperture , etc etc.

"So, why not cut the basalth monolith then?"

Because there's also:

Everflowing Chalice + Rings of Brighthearth + Voltaic Key (4)

And so we're off again..

I can't just remove mana rocks and be done with it. This deck RUNS on mana rocks. It's initial strategy needs them.

So what do I do?

I deal with it.

Depending on playgroup, I could either play it or keep it in my hand.

"Keep it in your hand?!"

"Isnt that constraining yourself ? You shouldn't hold back.. that's not how magic works!"

Well, let's explain my reasoning.

I want to win with the strategy that I have developed.

And there you have it. It's not constraining myself, it's actually testing myself and the length of my strategic mind. Of course I could go ahead and play the accidental combo that occurred. Or I could play the deck. There's so many ways that this deck can win with and I find each and one of those more satisfying to try and achieve! And that's what magic is all about for me. It's about trying to reach a certain goal and surpassing it!

So that's it. You can agree with me or just act upon it as you please.

As long as you are having fun playing the game we all love!

Here's a section for cards that have made the main-deck once, have been recently cut and reasons why.

Most recently cut were Predator, Flagship , Soul Conduit and Mystifying Maze.

Predator, Flagship wasn't holding it's ground lately. Very mana intensive and when you really "needed" to remove that one creature, the amount of resources spend for it were like digging your ow grave. It's still a great political card and who doesn't like that situation where Kozilek, Butcher of Truth starts flying?Unfortunately, lately, that hasn't been happening often.

Soul Conduit has always been a fun card. It is however, dead often. This was a necessary cut in order to gain speed. U/G has been more dominant than ever lately and we can't manage to gain much use out of a card like this like we used to.

Mystifying Maze hasn't been doing anything lately. The chance of giving them ETB abuse actually makes us a target more than it shifts the target away from us. Tower of the Magistrate should've been in here for ages already and as such, is taking it's place.

If I could take a guess, 98% of the time they weren't doing anything. The great thing about a colorless deck is it's landbase, every land is a utility land and it feels great to have all those options availaible. However, Urzatron does nothing when they're not combined. Sure, there's Expedition Map, but I'd rather search for standalone goodies like Ancient Tomb, Eye of Ugin and Maze of Ith instead. We'll all have to face that Urzatron doesn't cut it in here, or maybe all of edh together. Tough luck!

Suggested by burntgerbil, I liked it and it stopped a lot of combo decks in need of targets, Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle shennanigans and Bribery. It's a great card but was the weakest link and had to make place for Strionic Resonator. I'd still suggest this to people who see it's potentional though, because it has a lot of it!

NO Mycosynth Lattice combo, NO Voltaic Construct. This is not a combo deck. So, why was Karn, Silver Golem in here? Because this is a beatdown deck. Use him to animate your board and go in for the kill, old-school nostalgia style. Why hasn't he made the main-deck? Because he was too slow. Without a reliable way to make infinite mana/untaps I would need to tap my board to animate my board. Counter-productive and the army I would make wouldn't be too strong. And whenever I wanted to use him, it'd be too late. Hence, no Karn, Silver Golem!

LOVE this card. But the commitee wanted to see it banned. I guess I could understand it somehow, it creates "undesired" board states. Kind of what Sylvan Primordial is doing now in my meta, Clone, Blink, Rite of Replication, you name it. Luckily Sylvan Primordial is green and as such can not be played in each deck, and it also fetches forests. Wait.. Didn't they ban Sundering Titan because it was abused in green? Oh well!

The deck actually has enough filter and card draw as it is. It's a beast though, opponents will never see it as much threat and it's such a silent hero. However the mana cost proves it to be a lesser of three awesome filters. And I only needed two! Sensei's Divining Top and Scroll Rack are better choices at the moment.

Echo Chamber isn't getting anything done anymore due to it not being able to kill enemy generals (most of the time in voltron) or any other legendary creature. Have found it to be quite a dead card because of it. An unfortunate cut, such a gem!

These are cards I have tested some but never made the decklist. Some people like cards in here but I find that they have proven to be sub-par.

This card hurts this deck more than it does the opponents. This deck usually has quite the swamped board state with Mana rocks as our resource, blowing this up would mean the end anyway, it's not going to save you. Putting fate counters on your permanents would be showing your opponents that you are getting hopeless, not a mindset you want them to gain. In Karn, Silver Golem, it's an option, in here, I find it not to be one.

I playtested these when I had more of a control-oriented Karn, Silver Golem list. These are O.K. They do what they're supposed to, and work even better with the synergy in this deck.. However.. When my Karn, Silver Golem list became a Kozilek, Butcher of Truth list, these went out and will not see a place in here anytime soon.

This one made the cut because 75% of the time, he was a dead draw. In this deck, things that actually stay in the grave are few. Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre and Blightsteel Colossus go straight back into my library, actually Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre takes the whole graveyard with him. When Wurmcoil Engine was cut, this one went out too. However, a while after both Myr Retriever and Junk Diver made it back in the list and it seems that Artisan of Kozilek might make a splashing return someday, taking Duplicant with him.

The Karn, Silver Golem deck pioneer's. These cards can provide protection against mass wipes. Offer more saturation for spot-artifact destruction targets and even help the opponents out sometimes. BUT they feel too much like combo. Players will smell it, keep their frowny eyes focused on them. People don't like these, these belong in combo builds.. Keep them out! If you truly like these kind of cards, think of a Karn, Silver Golem list instead. He blows up lands with them.

It's a hidden gem. It truly is. This card will always be there for you and draw you those lovely cards. I adored it in my Karn, Silver Golem list, but as many did... this made the cut soon after Kozilek, Butcher of Truth became boss.

This is way too slow. I can "understand" running this in a Voltaic Construct build around Karn, Silver Golem. But in here it's terrible. By the time I want to search for anything I'm not able to pay such a huge mana investment for it and if I do, it's too late. Seriously I find this sub-par even in some Karn, Silver Golem lists.

Shimmer MyrHaving multiple Vedalken orrery or Winding canyons cards are nice. This one is even more "out of the blue" thanks to his flash.But what this little bugger can't do, is give me an EOT kozilek. Sorry! not good enough.

PortcullisA card I like to test a lot and build around. Works extra good in combo-oriented Karn builds and the like.But beatdown can't work if opponents start abusing this card. I have seen it used against me too many times and as such, has been cut.

Sword of vengeanceMore haste for kozilek! And trample while we're at it!Nah really, if I were to add an extra equipment it'd be Swiftfoot boots.Too much investment, don't run it.

Champion's HelmProtection for kozilek!But really, kozilek doesn't need any protection, it's O.K for him to die.Not a good card to run in here.

Brittle EffigyMore spot removal! If I were ever to consider running this again over a Duplicant it would probably be because my playgroup started running Torpor orb in each deck.A sub-par choice.

Tower of fortunesAs mentioned many times. This card is not good enough. I will always have better things to do with the mana. The other ways of filtering through my deck are sensei's diving top and the like.Other ways for draw outside of Kozilek are Mind's eye and Staff of nin, which can act as a back-up plan when Kozilek gets tucked. No reason to run more back-up plans that aren't strong on their own.

Prototype PortalThis is terrible.I was kind of shocked when this was spoiled, the inner Johnny in me went crazy! But seriously it's terrible. My advice would be to try it out and see for yourself, here's my explanation.Most of the time it's a dead card in your hand. Why? Because unlike Mirrorworks it can only have one choice imprinted on it. When you do decide you have a good enough choice to keep producing, if it gets destroyed, you will lose two cards instead of one.

Candles of Leng, Otherworld Atlas, Howling Mine, Font of mythos, Bargaining tableOther ways of drawing cards, cards and more cards.I just listed all the options not even close to being viable.Kozilek pilots this deck, there's no need to overswamp your hand with card draw. And if you really want such a thing, there are better choices you can make.Except perhaps howling mine with a viable way of tapping it.

Semblance AnvilSometimes, this card shined and proved helpful.Most of the times, this card meant me losing two cards and losing a lot of tempo.

Arcbound ReclaimerI'm on the edge with this one.It just proves so good on paper.. Anyway go back to the "Recur" section of card choices for my full explanation.

Pentagram of the AgesToo slow. Won't save youCan't do it's job.

Stuffy DollI ran this for quite some time. It sounds fun but really, it ain't that good.It mostly acts as a blocker. This deck is already oriented around beatdown, making sure this collides with the tactic.A fun card but not for this deck.

Platinum AngelI can't offer protection for this card, and it's one of those cards that need it.Either that or combo with it, I'm planning neither of those.

Grafted ExoskeletonGiving Kozilek infect seems like fun doesn't it? he he he he.But he's already really powerful. This won't make the deck faster in killing people and will actually make people sigh, grunt and pff for no real reason.What I do like about it is that when unequipped, Kozilek dies and can enter Juice-mode again. But is it worth the mana investment? No.

HelvaultDon't even..

Ulamog's Crusher, Pathrazer of ulamog, Hand of EmrakulThe little eldrazi trio!Never worth the mana really, if you're set on making an ELDRAZI DECK then the Pathrazer is the best choice out of these.

Summoning StationIt's not bad.It's just that it doesn't make artifacts.. Which is a HUGE thing. No interaction with the deck whatsoever.Sorry!

Darksteel IngotEach and one of my 3cmc mana rocks has an extra effect that could help me progress. Both Coalition relic and Kyren toy can net me a great amount of mana, and pristine talisman gives me life to go with it. The only thing that the Ingot brings is, indestructibility, and this would be nice in a Karn, Silver golem list that can guarantee that it will be animated to become a 3/3 indestructible.In here, it's sub-par

MindstoneIt's just not good enough compared to many other mana rock choices. The -option- to replace itself is also unnecesary with kozilek piloting this deck.

Wurmcoil EngineThis card was in the deck for quite some time, and proved to be quite the beast. It embodied the beatdown aspect of this deck but after playtesting it proved to be strongest at early-game. Early game was for Kozilek.And as such it only really saw play mid to -late game, at that point he was just a mere blocker or a source for lifegain. Nothing you want to waste 6 mana on.

Dust bowlI've actually yet to find one for trade and test it out, might replace swarmyard soon!

Mishra's WorkshopI just don't have the money..If you do, definitely run this!

Maze of ShadowsI just loved it because it was a maze and has nice art.It never does anything..

Gods' Eye, Gate to the ReikaiCould've been fun against Worldfire Zo-zu the punisher decks....Oh wait worldfire exiles!On a more serious note, this is a viable Dust Bowl target with crucible of worlds on the field.Very situational!

Cloudpost, GlimmerpostCloudpost comes into play tapped and will always tap for 1 mana.Vesuva has better targets, not worth it.MAYBE, just maybe if Glimmerpost tapped for each locus. But it doesn't. (I don't even know why not)

Mishra's Factory, Dread Statuary, Gargoyle Castle, Zoetic Cavern, Stalking StonesSome less good man-lands.

Desert, Ice floe, QuicksandSome good choices. Desert helps vs the early stings, ice floe is very situational.If you go to a more control oriented list these might be good for you.

Blasted LandscapeQuite the good land actually. Cycling is awesome in a deck that doesn't need much land drops!

Springjack PastureWhen I ever decide to pay 4 mana and a tapped land for a 0/1 goat..I might as well have a 2/2 ARTIFACT. Play urza's factory. It's pretty and has full art!

Scorched RuinsTerastodon, Sylvan primordialAre you a man? ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH?I know I'm not.

Ghost TownIt's fun when it works..It doesn't work though.

I'm probably forgetting lots and lots of cards I have playtested and will add them as soon as I remember/ as soon as they have been suggested in the comments.

Eldrazi Monumentit always seemed like a super powerful effect to have before kozilek hits the field, but the upkeep cost seems non-uphold-able. The only things this deck provides to help pay the upkeep are thopter assembly (slow), Myr battlesphere (limited availability), Myr turbine (very good) and manlands.It seems unconsistent and feels like it can only shine when my board is set up. Problem is, when my board is set up I don't really need it anymore.

Darksteel PlateIf I really want indestructibility, this would be the choice instead of Eldrazi Monument...But why would I want that? I don't mind Kozilek taking the bucket. He just comes back and brings some more fuel!

Fireshrieker Hedron MatrixThese are some choices to make kozilek able to insta-kill someone.However, I would never playtest Hedron Matrix, The Fireshrieker is only 2 mana to equip and might see play if I'm in a good and testing mood.

Pithing Needle Phyrexian Revokercoming soon

Jester's CapComing soon

Moongrove ExtractComing soon

Colorless has some very viable cards available to run a staxx engine or control deck. (preferably combined)Decks like these would love interactions like Salvaging station + flayer husk / Tormod's Crypt / Relic of progenitus / skullclamp / Sensei's divining top.Which would then be combined with cards like Smokestack, Myr Turbine, Thopter Assembly, Myr Battlesphere, Storm Cauldron ..It preferably plays out a very defensive role. You definitely need cards like Maze of ith for protection (secret tech, salvaging station + expedition map), Glacial chasm, forcefield, nova pentacle, maybe even Ice floe or Island of wak-wak. Use things like Icy manipulator and Amber prison to keep creatures off of you. Eventually you'll start locking the board with a Winter orb or static orb (errata'd to not work when tapped, think clock of omens, blinkmoth well..) and you'll always have a big beater ready.Karn, silver golem brings the combo's like mycosynth lattice to start popping enemy lands but it acts much slower than compared to a deck that has Karn as the general (even though I believe even then, you won't always have a mycosynth lattice to save you) . Kozilek's main role is drawing the cards for you. Considering your deck will be full with mana rocks (staxx style), his mana cost would provide an easy feat to accomplish.. And everyone knows the power of staxx with an unstoppable force of drawing cards. (hello necropotence?)

Some extra, useful cards for this deck would be : Sensei's divining top, scroll rack, crystal ballMeekstone Lodestone golem Trinisphere Platinum Emperion...Crucible of Worlds with Wasteland / strip mine / Tectonic Edge / Ghost QuarterPithing Needle / Phyrexian Revoker / Jester's cap / Moonglove Extractoptions for damage would be cards like Black vise, Iron maiden, or just plain old fat beaters

I've never been able to succesfully collect all the cards and build a viable staxx build with my old general, Karn. (always missed some key-cards, never went through enough play-testing)But I strongly believe Kozilek could provide an excellent general for a deck like this, HECK I might even say a "better" general than Karn.Of course you should also consider running Karn, silver golem himself and cards like Mycosynth lattice and liquimetal coating. He seems better as one of the 99 in a build like this.

One of the MAIN reasons I never fully devoted to a staxx build of Karn / Kozilek is that I LOVE The tabernacle at pendrell vale. But I know I will never obtain one.Sad, sad panda.

(coming soon)
(coming soon)
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(Coming soon)
There's only a few other threads out there about an EDH deck that uses Kozilek, Butcher of Truths as their general and I haven't found them to be much or any help.However! There's a really, really good Karn, silver golem primer here, written by Burntgerbil, that is way more useful than any other. The primer is mainly about combo but it will definitely give you another fresh view on how to build a colorless deck. You should go check it out here.
I added this section in order for people to keep hold of my play-testing experiences. Current cards being tested:

Colossus of Akros did not make the cut. He was dead most of the time.

So what am I considering? What am I working on? What am I playtesting?

Thinking of adding more pressure for opponents, Smokestack is a card I definitely want to test out in this list for a while, it doesn't do it much justice but I can't look past it's pressure factor.

Giodante has refreshed my memory with some very good options to combat control (has been a while ago now)Pithing needle Phyrexian Revoker Jester's cap and Moonglove Extract. Edit: After careful consideration and some testing I feel like these are only good in 1v1 or certain occasions. Even in 1v1 it highly depends on the opponent and is often a dead card. If you want to combat generals with this I'd actually suggest Cursed totem, which only works against two cards in this deck.

Swarmyard replaced with Springjack pastureSurging chaos pointed out that it would be a great way to generate a token for Helm of possession, 100% agree.Vedalken Orrery replaced with DuplicantFinally made the cut. Vedalken Orrery survived as long as it could, but it's too situational as it is. I won't always have an Unwinding clock out on the field for it. Making it a dead card way too many times. Duplicant deserves his spot right back into this deck, may he not fall into distaste again.
Out Junk Diver In Tormod's CryptOut Myr Retriever In Relic Of ProgenitusRemoved these choices of recur with choices of grave-hate. However good recur is, in here it's not as good as colored decks, combat it instead!

Out Karn, Silver Golem In Helm of AwakeningKarn wasn't doing it lately, high mana investment. Without the reliable possibility of getting infinite mana/infinite untaps and combo-ing out he does way less.Usually I have to tap the board to animate it, counter-productive. Helm of awakening is sick ramp in here, definitely after a kederekt leviathan or cylconic rift!

Out Trading Post In Swiftfoot BootsOut Blinkmoth Well In Mana cryptOut Crystal Ball In Mimic VatCovered most of this in the main thread, any questions be sure to ask Smile

IN Semblance Anvil OUT Echo ChamberQuoting myself:Quote from JuwdahAlright, played about 13 - 14 games with the new clone rules and have found needed changes to the deck.First of all, Echo Chamber isn't getting anything done anymore due to it not being able to kill enemy generals (most of the time in voltron) or any other legendary creature. Have found it to be quite a dead card because of it, was already on the fence, definitely a cut now!Yeah, Semblance anvil made the cut in Karn (like it should IMO) because of the oh-so-many 2 for 1 scenarios or not having a useless artifact in hand. However, this deck draws like a beast and ramps further and further with this card on the board. B-R-U-T-A-L When you're on a roll. Definitely making a come-back in here.
IN Mox Opal OUT Temporal ApertureTrading random-ness for consistency.
IN Winter Orb OUT Nevinyrral's diskLet's face it, the disk was there to combo with darksteel forge. Every other time it hurt this deck more than it did others.Because of too many situations where it was a dead card, it got cut.Winter Orb (if your playgroup allows it) is a win-con. Got your field out? Cast Winter Orb, at worst it will stall them or take their removal, at best win you the game clean and smooth.It's also safe casting this as a stall option, this deck doesn't get hurt by it.

IN Crystal Vein OUT Urza's FactoryUrza's Factory hardly ever got used. When it did, it was sub-par. Crystal Vein nets you "that one extra mana" which is incredibely helpful.

IN Skullclamp OUT Keening StoneIN Trading Post OUT Platinum EmperionAdding skullclamp was a good idea. It has easy targets in here (don't be scared to sac man-lands) and generates a very nice draw engine.It's also accompanied by his good friend Trading Post, which loves untap effects.Both keening stone and Platinum Emperion were underperforming due to ways to get around them. Eldrazies in opponents deck rendered Keening Stone useless and general damage got around Platinum Emperion. More dead cards than not. Necesarry cut.

IN Blasted Landscape OUT Urza's Power PlantIN Mutavault OUT Urza's MineIN Dust Bowl OUT Urza's TowerIf I could take a guess, 98% of the time Urzatron wasn't doing anything. The great thing about a colorless deck is it's landbase, every land is a utility land and it feels great to have all those options availaible. However, Urzatron does nothing when they're not combined. Sure, there's Expedition Map, but I'd rather search for standalone goodies like Ancient Tomb, Eye of Ugin and Maze of ith instead. We'll all have to face that Urzatron doesn't cut it in here. It got replaced by Dust Bowl (still haven't tested it throughoutly, but I always liked having the option instead of what Urzatron gave me). Blasted Landscape, which is GREAT because we don't want landhands and love filtering them away. Extra good with Crucible of Worlds (and so is Dust bowl).and Mutavault, I recently acquired one and love having extra man-lands. Not sure if it's better or worse than Mishra's Factory but it will do for now.

IN Strionic Resonator OUT Witchbane OrbThe Orb was Suggested to me by Burntgerbil, I liked it and it stopped a lot of combo decks in need of targets, Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle-shennanigans and Bribery. It's a great card but was the weakest link and had to make place for Strionic Resonator.(shamelessly copying the explanation for Strionic Resonator from thread here: )Strionic ResonatorThis card doesn't dissapoint. As soon as it was spoiled people saw that it could be insanely powerful in a Kozilek, Butcher of Truth EDH. For the general alone, it can copy the cast trigger and make you draw 8+ cards and copy it's annihilator trigger and let you annihilate for 8+ (I wonder what the record is on this one, untap shennanigans and crazy plays? Come share them!). It also works great with Blinkmoth Urn: if you want to go crazy on the mana overdose and have untap effects available, this'll act like a secondary Doubling Cube.Mind's Eye and Unwinding Clock: This will net you Consecrated Sphinx-Level of cards at a minimum.Mirrorworks: I'm still curious how a field would look like with Mirrorworks making two Strionic Resonators, which in return can make sure that every artifact you play from then on out are in pairs of 4.Other cards of note are: Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, Myr Battlesphere, Skullclamp, Staff of Nin, Rings of Brighthearth and Spine of Ish Sah.IN Chromatic Lantern OUT Pristine TalismanYeah, I made the cut. I loved Pristine Talisman and all it's shennanigans it used to do for me. But lately it's not really doing anything anymore except helping me stand up after selfhurt by Ancient Tomb or Mana Crypt. Chromatic Lantern can do the same... and more! It lets Maze of Ith and Eye of Ugin tap for mana just like Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.A neccesary exchange and I feel the deck will be ~0,5% stronger because of it, heh.

IN Tangle Wire OUT Predator, FlagshipPredator Flagship wasn't holding it's ground lately. Very mana intensive and when you really "needed" to remove that one creature, the amount of resources spend for it were like digging your ow grave. It's still a great Political card and who doesn't like that situation where Kozilek starts flying? Unfortunately, lately, that hasn't been happening often.Tangle Wire, on the other hand, is EXACTLY what we need in today's meta. It slows others down in that pinch of an early game, enough to completely take over before the control player can wipe us off the earth. Late-game all-star too. Combined with all kinds of stax pieces.

IN Lion's Eye Diamond OUT Soul ConduitSoul Conduit has always been a fun card. It is however, dead often.This was a necessary cut in order to gain speed. U/G has been more dominant than ever lately and we can't manage to gain much use out of a card like this like we used to.

IN Tower of the Magistrate OUT Mystifying MazeMystifying Maze hasn't been doing anything lately. The chance of giving them ETB abuse actually makes us a target more than it shifts the target away from us.Tower of the Magistrate should've been in here for ages already and as such, is taking it's place.

IN Ashnod's Altar OUT It That BetraysIt was never really worth casting, often dead in my hand. He was GREAT when I was already winning, he wasn't,.. when I wasn't. Overkill 101.I guess it's, weirdly, an easy cut.I know it's combination with All is Dust is legendary, but lets face it. How often did it happen?

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Revision 5 See all

(7 years ago)

Date added 8 years
Last updated 7 years
Exclude colors WUBRG
Key combos
Legality

This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)

16 - 0 Mythic Rares

47 - 0 Rares

28 - 0 Uncommons

4 - 0 Commons
Cards 100
Avg. CMC 3.78
Tokens Clue, Myr 1/1 C
Folders EDH, Other Peoples Decks, Other
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