Featured card: Alesha, Who Smiles at Death

Genghis Khan

Commander / EDH Aristocrats Infinite Combo Primer RBW (Mardu) Reanimator

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Creature (29)

Enchantment (6)

Land (32)

Sorcery (8)

Commander (1)

Commander: foil Alesha, Who Smiles at Death

Artifact (12)

Instant (12)

Khan’s Horde

“If you must die today, make your death worthy of legend.”

Alesha, Who Smiles at Death

The khan’s horde counts different warriors from different countries all gathered under the khan’s flag with a single goal, the expansion of the horde.

Alesha is the owner of the life and the death of all her followers. She decides when, how and where you will have to die and if you will whorty of it.

The khan’s horde never stops, it always moves ahead, conquering step by step every single piece of free land that it stays in front of it. The horde is fast, its Khan is merciless, ready to swing the lethal blow when the enemies don t expect it.

The most powerful warriors and strategists are gathered here, ready to die and return from the death to follow their commander’s orders.

The Genghis Khan is leading the horde now and the victory is a certain.

The Genghis Khan

"O people, know that you have committed great sins, and that the great ones among you have committed these sins. If you ask me what proof I have for these words, I say it is because I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you".

Genghis Khan.

Alesha is a great card and a great commander as well. It’s very easy to cast and it has a very synergic engine that allow us to be fast, competitive and overwhelming on the board.

Depending to our graveyard Alesha is a threat in the moment that she touches the board, the reanimation effect that she has when she attacks is in the most of the cases our way to build combos and achieve the victory.

For these reasons it s very important to know when to cast her and be able to keep her safe until she will attack.

She must to attack so it s very important to be able to give her haste and let her able to trigger her ability as fast as possible. During the attack phase we have to find a way to be evasive, keeping her far from opponents big creatures.

The most that Alesha stays on the board the most we are a threat for the others. The low mana cost that Alesha has, it helps us to cast it different times, even though, we must to have good mana resources because our opponents aren’t glad to see her in play. Alesha has the target on her in the moment that she touches the board so we have to play her in the moment that we are sure that our graveyard is fill with threats and we are able to trigger her.

The Strategy

"The greatest joy for a man is to defeat his enemies, to drive them before him, to take from them all they possess, to see those they love in tears, to ride their horses, and to hold their wives and daughters in his arms."

Genghis Khan

This deck is a combo deck. The main goal of this deck is to assemble the combos pieces as fast as possibile having no mercy for the opponents. This is not a politics deck, almost always opponent's hate will be upon us and so we must to be fast trying to give no time ti respond to our opponents.

Our strategy is to use our graveyard as a main resource, this deck turn around creatures synergies to assemble combos and achieve the victory. I run a lots of cards that help us to put cards into the graveyard and these cards are the fuel of this deck, with a full graveyard we are a big threat. Even though the goal of this deck is to achieve victory faster than the others, it doesn't mean that it s not at all a late game deck, the more the game goes on the more time we have to fill the graveyard and assemble combos.

The CMC of the creatures inside this deck is not so high so as a B plan we could try to assemble combos without passing by the graveyard, even though, it will be surely more slower and less safe than the main way. Especially in the first turns, the low CMC will help us to make pressure on the board threatening the opponents since the start of the match.

Graveyard hate is for sure a pain for us especially cards that have static effect as Rest in Peace, they are very tough to deal with. Anyway the deck has the way to respond to them, we can even go combo without passing by graveyard with Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Village Bell-Ringer althought if we manage to resolve the hate problem is better than turning around it.

The Horde

"At military exercises I am always in front, and in time of battle am never behind. In the space of seven years I have succeeded in accomplishing a great work, and uniting the whole world in one empire".

Genghis Khan

Everybodies in the horde have got a specific reason to be inside it. All of these creatures go to perform a specific role, some of these go to control the board limiting the opponents responses, some others go to trigger the Alesha mechanics letting us able to reanimate our threats, some others again are inside the list as a pure and simple winning conditions.

Almost all the creatures are synergic with and without Alesha on the board, even the creatures that go to combo off, it would happen that sometime we need to play a combo piece without having the other piece just because the game in a specific turn need it, so don t be too scary about the opponents responses, this deck has got different ways to assemble combos and different ways to respond too.

It s very important to make pressure on the board as soon as possibile, the most we make pression the most our opponents will do a mistake for the hurry. This is not a simple deck to play we must to be concentrated and we must to know the exact moment when to assemble combos or have a tutor. Tutors are another important part of this deck they could let us achieve the victory in the blow of few turns.

At the end i feel to give you some suggests about this deck. This deck is not so far to be a competitive deck and the more you will play it the more you will be able to understand that you must to be fresh of mind and very concentrated if you would like to use it at the top of its potential.

This is not a deck that you have to play if you would enjoy a relaxing match where everybodies want to make their things with all the calm of the world. This deck is completely the oppose of this philosophy of game, it is a deck for the bad and angry situations, when is late night and everybodies want to go at bed with the victory flavour on the mouth. So be careful when to play this deck, if your friends would have fun, you have to play something more smooth that goes to respect the armony of the playgroup.

How To Tutor

”A passionate recruiter will win a war before the first arrow flies.”

This panel will go to explain how to tutor to combo off, explaining card by card what to search to suite the match. It seems obvious to say that if you can close the combo you must search for the combo piece that let it does that, but, sometimes it s not that easy and we must think how tutor triggering our deck mechanics.

Demonic Tutor

This is the best tutor in MTG world, so I think that there is really few things to explain about how to use it. In the most of the cases I use it to check a combo piece, usually a non creature card, because this is the only one tutor that we have that could safely gets us a non creature combo piece, although it s obvious that if we need a creature to combo off we go for it.

Gamble

This is one of the most difficult tutor to play and this deck is one of the most suited to play it. I've failed many times before learn how to play it, it tutors for everything, that's true but the point to play it is to compensate its negative effect. Without this compensation we risk to lose the advantage that Gamble gives. How could we compensate it? It's simple, we must search for a creature. With Alesha who smile at death in play ,even if the card tutored is discarded, we can return it on the board with Alesha's effect. With Gamble we can assemble creature combo pieces easily with few risk, even better if we have a good number of cards in hand. If we just have Gamble in hand it becomes an Entomb sorcery speed.

Buried Alive

This tutor is amazing, assuming that we have a way to reanimate on the board or in the hand, in the most of the cases it achieves the victory. It tutors for the whole combo itself so, just drawing it and cast it can let us achieve the victory even in turn 4 if we have Reanimate in hand. I usually go for Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Karmic Guide and Village Bell-Ringer, because if we Reanimate Karmic Guide it returns Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker that copies Karmic Guide that returns Village Bell-Ringer that untaps Kiki-Jiki and combo off with it. We can also go for Karmic Guide + Reveillark combo if we have a sac outlet on the board. I could speak for hours about the different combinations that we could achieve with Buried Alive but in my opinion it needs to be played many times to use it at the best that we can.

Entomb

So, speaking about Entomb means speak about a stone of graveyard engine’s tutor. Firs time of all it s istant, so we can made it every time that we want especially in opponents turns. How to use it?. So it depends, you can tutor each creatures in our deck and I usually use it to assemble combo pieces, depending to the board. In the most of cases I use it to one shot my opponents with Master of Cruelties with Alesha on the board, because I think that is the most useful way to cast it, but as I said, you can tutor for anything with it depending to the state of the board.

Imperial Recruiter

It tutors 25/29 of the creatures in the deck, it is one of the main tutor of the list and we have to use it the most that we can. This tutor may search for the most of the combo in this deck and I may say that the real strength of this tutor is that is a creature with strength less than 2. I say that because it means that with Alesha we can use it multiple times. I use it or to find a combo piece or to remake it, I usually go for Viscera Seer if I don t have way to combo on the board, this because if I ve Alesha on the board I can sacrifice Imperial Recruiter and remake it again with her trigger ability. Otherwise if we are at the starting of the match we can search for dark confident or Seasoned Pyromancer to grow up our resources.

Recruiter of the Guard

It works as Imperial Recruiter except that it s less powerful than this last one. It tutors just for 20/29 creatures in the deck but as a combo’s assembler it works equally well.

Nahiri the Harbringer

It s really difficult to tutor with Nahiri, The Harbringer but assuming that we could it will tutor for a combo piece putting it immediately on the board, it could be really impactful if we think that it can’t be counter by cards as Counterspell, although it s very difficult to get nahiri to 8 loyalty counters. If we don t have the combo fixed on the board we can have that nahiri goes for an Imperial Recruiter / Recruiter of the Guard to make tutor and than bounce our creature tutor at the end of the turn to remake it again in our next turn, or we can go for each other creature that we need in a specific game moment.

Explain The Combo

"Greatness, at any cost."

The following panels are going to explain the different combo of the list and their effects on the board. I'm going to make it because I want that everybody who approach for the first time to the deck may have the chance to understand with clarity how it works.

Kiki-Jiki + Bell-Ringer

This is the only one combo of this deck that doesn’t pass by the graveyard, this is one combo is one of the most fast and safe winning condition that we have in our sleeve. I like Village Bell-Ringer because i can cast it flash in the opponents turns in safe way. The combo turns around use the ETB trigger of Village Bell-Ringer to untap for infinite Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. Activating for infinite Kiki Jiki activate ability we go to create infinite tokens of Village Bell-Ringer. The infinite tokens themselves are enough to win the game but assuming that our opponents have a Propaganda we can use cards as Altar of Dementia or Goblin Bombardment to turn around it.

Kiki-Jiki + Karmic Guide

To go combo with Karmic Guide we need a sac outlet. The combo turn around to have on the board in the same moment Karmic Guide and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and a sac outlet. So, we tap Kiki Jiki to copy Karmic Guide, before the trigger resolve we go to sacrifice Kiki Jiki. When the token of Karmic Guide ETB its ETB ability goes to resolve targetting Kiki Jiki that return to the battlefield untapped and goes to re-copy infinite time karmic guide.

Reveillark + Karmic Guide

This combo go to work around the LTB of Reveillark and the ETB of Karmic Guide. Assuming that we have a sac outlet and both Karmic Guide and Reveillark on the board. We go to sacrifice Karmic Guide and after that Reveillark. The LTB ability of Reveillark is put in to the stack and goes to reanimate Karmic Guide and another X creature with strength 2 or less. Then when Karmic Guide ETB triggers it goes to reanimate Reveillark and than you are at the same starting situation with both Reveillark and Karmic Guide on the board. You can make it for infinite and combo off with them.

21b. Karmic Guide + Reveillark + Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Zulaport Cutthroat It s not completely infinite because you can’t stop draw so you will mill yourself and die, but it could drain up around 50 life points without problems. So, except the case that 1 of our opponets go for infinite life, this combo goes to win the game.

Anafenza + Murderous Redcap

This combo works around to cancel the persist ability of Murderous Redcap triggering its ETB ability for infinite. Assuming that we have a sac outlet and both Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit and Murderous Redcap on the board. We go to sacrifice Murderous Redcap, its persistent ability trigger and goes on the stack, let it resolve. After it resolves, we have a Murderous Redcap on the board with a -1 -1 counter on it. The Murderous Redcap ETB deals damage equal to its strength to any target. When Murderous Redcap ETB triggers, even Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit triggers and putting a + 1 + 1 counter on Murderous Redcap it goes to neutralize the -1 -1 counter, so if we go to sacrifice Murderous Redcap again, its persist ability goes to re-trigger again. We can make it for infinite dealing infinite damage to our opponents.

Animate the Cat

This combo works around the Animate Dead LTB and the Leonin Relic-Warder ETB ability. We assume that we have Leonin Relic-Warder in to the graveyard. We cast Animate Dead targetting Leonin Relic-Warder. Animate Dead resolves and Leonin Relic-Warder ETB. Leonin Relic-Warder ETB resolves exiling Animate Dead. When Animate Dead is exiled its LTB ability triggers and we have to sacrifice Leonin Relic-Warder. When the Leonin Relic-Warder LTB ability triggers Animate Dead ETB and goes to target Leonin Relic-Warder. We go to create infinite ETB triggers and we can use Zulaport Cutthroat ability to drain our opponents or we can respond to the Animate Dead LTB ability with a sac outlet as Goblin Bombardment or Altar of Dementia to win the game.

REMEMBER!!!! With Necromancy you can combo off in opponents turns safely.

Sun Titan + Field Hunter

The Fiend Hunter + Sun Titan combo works going to create infinite ETB. Assuming that we have a sac outlet and a Fiend Hunter on the board. We go to sacrifice Fiend Hunter than we cast Sun Titan that ETB and return Fiend Hunter on the battlefield. Fiend Hunter ETB and exiles Sun Titan. We sacrifice Fiend Hunter and its LTB triggers, Sun Titan return to the battlefield and reanimate Fiend Hunter for infinite. We can win the game with a Zulaport Cutthroat on the board or with a sac outlet as Goblin Bombardment or Altar of Dementia.

Fiend Hunter + Kiki / Karmic Guide

This combo goes to create infinite ETB. The Fiend Hunter + Karmic Guide combo works in the same way that Fiend Hunter + Sun Titan combo. Fiend Hunter + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker combo works very similar than the other except that it goes to use the copy ability of Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. Assuming that we have a sac outlet and Fiend Hunter on the board. We cast Kiki jiki, it resolves and than we activate its activate ability targetting Fiend Hunter. Let it resolves, the Fiend Hunter token ETB and exiles Kiki Jiki. We sacrifice the token, Kiki jiki returns to the battlefield and copies again Fiend Hunter for infinite . The win con are the same of the Fiend Hunter + Sun Titan combo.

Alesha One Shot

To combo with these 2 cards we need: Alesha, Who Smiles at Death on the board and Master of Cruelties in to the graveyard. We go to attack step, we attack with Alesha and its trigger ability resolve targetting Master of Cruelties that returns to the battlefield tapped and attacking together with Alesha. If our opponents can t block, Master of Cruelties ability triggers and brings our opponents LP to 1. Than Alesha will swing them for lethal damage.

Alesha, Who Smiles at Death + Master of Cruelties Instant kill

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Casual

91% Competitive

Revision 35 See all

(1 year ago)

+1	Cabal Ritual	main
-1	Mountain	main

Top Ranked	Achieved #6 position overall 5 years ago Achieved #5 position in Commander / EDH 5 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Primer 5 years ago
Date added	5 years
Last updated	1 year
Key combos	Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Village Bell-Ringer Alesha, Who Smiles at Death + Master of Cruelties Karmic Guide + Reveillark Fiend Hunter + Karmic Guide Fiend Hunter + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker Ashnod's Altar + Karmic Guide + Reveillark Animate Dead + Goblin Bombardment + Leonin Relic-Warder Fiend Hunter + Goblin Bombardment + Sun Titan Altar of Dementia + Karmic Guide + Reveillark Altar of Dementia + Fiend Hunter + Karmic Guide Altar of Dementia + Fiend Hunter + Sun Titan Fiend Hunter + Goblin Bombardment + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker Fiend Hunter + Goblin Bombardment + Karmic Guide Karmic Guide + Reveillark + Viscera Seer Goblin Bombardment + Karmic Guide + Reveillark Ashnod's Altar + Fiend Hunter + Sun Titan Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit + Murderous Redcap + Viscera Seer Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit + Ashnod's Altar + Murderous Redcap Fiend Hunter + Sun Titan + Viscera Seer Ashnod's Altar + Fiend Hunter + Karmic Guide Animate Dead + Leonin Relic-Warder + Zulaport Cutthroat Altar of Dementia + Animate Dead + Leonin Relic-Warder Karmic Guide + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Viscera Seer Goblin Bombardment + Karmic Guide + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker Altar of Dementia + Karmic Guide + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker Ashnod's Altar + Karmic Guide + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker Karmic Guide + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Yahenni, Undying Partisan Karmic Guide + Reveillark + Yawgmoth, Thran Physician Karmic Guide + Reveillark + Yahenni, Undying Partisan Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit + Murderous Redcap + Yahenni, Undying Partisan Altar of Dementia + Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit + Murderous Redcap Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit + Goblin Bombardment + Murderous Redcap Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Village Bell-Ringer + Viscera Seer Goblin Bombardment + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Village Bell-Ringer Altar of Dementia + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Village Bell-Ringer Leonin Relic-Warder + Necromancy + Zulaport Cutthroat Goblin Bombardment + Leonin Relic-Warder + Necromancy Altar of Dementia + Leonin Relic-Warder + Necromancy Fiend Hunter + Sun Titan + Yahenni, Undying Partisan Altar of Dementia + Fiend Hunter + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker Fiend Hunter + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Viscera Seer Fiend Hunter + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Yahenni, Undying Partisan Ashnod's Altar + Fiend Hunter + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker Fiend Hunter + Karmic Guide + Viscera Seer Fiend Hunter + Karmic Guide + Yahenni, Undying Partisan
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	13 - 0 Mythic Rares 45 - 0 Rares 24 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.44
Tokens	Copy Clone, Elemental 1/1 R, Elephant 3/3 G, Goblin Shaman, Soldier 1/1 W, Treasure
Folders	deck concepts, Alesha, OPD, Check Out Later
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