Vish Kal, The Sword in the Darkness [[Primer]]

Commander / EDH Battlecruiser Combo Control Reanimator Tokens WB (Orzhov)

FenIsABasicSwamp

Creature (39)

• 1x Weathered Wayfarer
• 1x Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
• 1x Bloodghast
• 1x Cartographer's Hawk
• 1x Nether Traitor
• 1x Stoneforge Mystic
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Hallowed Spiritkeeper
• 1x Liliana, Heretical Healer  ^Flip
• 1x Loyal Retainers
• 1x Midnight Reaper
• 1x Necrotic Sliver
• 1x Teysa, Orzhov Scion
• 1x Verge Rangers
• 1x Crypt Ghast
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Elenda, the Dusk Rose
• 1x Fleshwrither
• 1x Horobi, Death's Wail
• 1x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
• 1x Luminous Broodmoth
• 1x Palace Jailer
• 1x Pitiless Plunderer
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Teysa Karlov
• 1x Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
• 1x Archon of Justice
• 1x Doom Whisperer
• 1x Karmic Guide
• 1x Krav, the Unredeemed
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Grave Titan
• 1x Harmonious Archon
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Yosei, the Morning Star
• 1x Abhorrent Overlord
• 1x Angel of Despair
• 1x Ashen Rider

Land (36)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Deserted Temple
• 1x Emeria, the Sky Ruin
• 1x Fetid Heath
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 7x Plains
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Scrubland
• 1x Silent Clearing
• 8x Swamp
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Volrath's Stronghold
• 1x Wasteland
• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip

Sorcery (4)

• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Vindicate
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Living Death

Instant (2)

• 1x Cauldron Haze
• 1x Wake the Dead

Commander (1)

Enchantment (9)

• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Phyrexian Reclamation
• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Bitterblossom
• 1x Dance of the Dead
• 1x Necromancy
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Smothering Tithe
• 1x Debtors' Knell

Artifact (9)

• 1x Blade of the Bloodchief
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Desecrated Tomb
• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine
• 1x Deathrender

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Sideboard

Instant (2)

• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Swords to Plowshares

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Hallowed Burial

Creature (1)

• 1x Blood Artist

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Contamination

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Maybeboard

Creature (10)

• 1x Thoughtpicker Witch
• 1x Viscera Seer
• 1x Burnished Hart
• 1x Gonti, Lord of Luxury
• 1x Kor Cartographer
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Ogre Slumlord
• 1x Reveillark
• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1x Regna, the Redeemer

Artifact (5)

• 1x Nim Deathmantle
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Lifeline
• 1x Caged Sun

Sorcery (3)

• 1x Bitter Ordeal
• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Plague of Vermin

Enchantment (4)

• 1x Blind Obedience
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Leyline of Sanctity
• 1x Black Market

Instant (2)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Utter End

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Watch Queen rock out to the OG Highlander theme song while reading this sick list

Main Deck Goals

So here we are, this Vish Kal deck is my favorite of my EDH decks and I have invested many hundreds of hours in playing and retooling it over the years. The hallmark of in EDH is being able to deal with any permanent type more efficiently than any other color combo. This deck is packed with removal and strategies that amount to a cruel control system that should prevent anyone else from maintaining a stable board state. This is especially true for creature decks.

The genesis of this deck was in 2011 but over the years I have tailored it to be either more or less powerful depending on who I was playing with at the time. To that end I have removed the vast majority of the infinite combo payoffs such as Blood Artist or Bitter Ordeal. Of course, there's always the old stand-by of pounding 21 General damage down somebody's throat with Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter wearing some sweet, shiny Lightning Greaves out of nowhere.

Key Combos and Synergies

Future combo explanations

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Explanation for the exclusion of some typical graveyard abuse card choices

This deck is a little unique for black decks in that it actively doesn't want opponents to have access to their graveyards or even for their creatures to die. Ergo the avoidance of Massacre Wurm, Puppeteer Clique, Sepulchral Primordial, Bloodchief Ascension, etc. Through primarily Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet the idea is to keep opponents' creatures from dying at all, while constantly reanimating your own with Miakeus, the Unhallowed and Luminous Broodmoth so all board wipes or Grave Pact effects become asymmetric board control.

The Old Tech

Plague of Vermin was an addition and one of my discoveries found on Tapped Out. I'm interested to see it play some politics and see if people get greedy or completely turn it down. Of course if I have Soul Warden out I can pay as much life as I want with impunity, gain it back and then abuse the 30-100 or so tokens I just got for the low low price of 7 mana. I want to put Abhorrent Overlord back in this deck eventually too as it has such a strong devotion theme and he is another great dude-generator like the plague but I haven't figured out where he would go either.

As of October 14, 2018: Plague of Vermin is out as the more or less single use wasn't as great as Abhorrent Overlord's potential to be reanimated repeatedly.

The cards in the sideboard are the cards I either want to slot in the most or cards I rotate in dependent on how degenerate the meta around me becomes.

Note on overall card choices and deck design

I am not personally interested in making the most expensive deck possible; I much prefer making interesting and novel decks (which I think this is in many respects). This deck has been a personal art project really from 2011-present and was one of my first decks ever. The cards in it are chosen as much for their beauty and art as they are for the themes and functions. To further this goal, all of the cards that cannot be foiled have been altered.

Top Ranked	Achieved #5 position overall 8 years ago
Date added	8 years
Last updated	4 years
Exclude colors	URG
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	18 - 1 Mythic Rares 50 - 3 Rares 15 - 1 Uncommons 1 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.59
Tokens	Bat 1/1 B, Emblem Liliana, Defiant Necromancer, Faerie Rogue 1/1 B, Harpy 1/1 B, Human 1/1 W, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Morph 2/2 C, Spirit 1/1 W, Monarch Emblem, Treasure, Vampire 1/1 W, Zombie 2/2 B
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