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THAT'S MY TRIGGER

The goal here is to get value out of undying ETB triggers without going infinite into a game closer. Even people that play those combos will tell you that they aren't any fun, and if you've ever felt guilty explaining to a pod of eye rolls and sighs how you're going to Exsanguinate for infinity and there's nothing they can do about it you know full well why this deck is different.

I mean, who wants to play a good deck that wins a lot when they can spend more on a shitty deck, amiright? Yeahimright.

So in this shit deck for people with more money than sense there's still a surprising amount of punch. Make no mistake, a lot of things are going to die, and if you play your cards right some of the things might just belong to your opponents!

If the build philosophy above didn't clue you in, a lot of these cards aren't exactly optimal for ensuring victory at all costs. Here's a list of some of the cards I'm not running and why:

Triskelion - Once both Triskelion and Mikaeus are on the table the game is over. This is a 2 card infinite combo that can only be stopped by counter-magic where one of the cards is your Commander and the other is just sitting in your deck in the most tutor-rich color there is.

Workhorse - Turns any sac-out into infinite mana with Mikaeus plus whatever sac effect I'm getting.

Phyrexian Altar & Ashnod's Altar - Turned into too often, otherwise really boring cards to see in your hand.

Pawn of Ulamog - Less boring, but same problem as above. Sac-outs become when he's watching.

Yawgmoth's Will - Possibly the most unfair card in black, most often will win you the game or at the very least result in the world's longest turn where you puzzle over how to win the game with what you have.

Necropotence - The deck digs hard enough already, and this is basically the best part of Griselbrand in a harder to remove 3 drop.

Contamination - Control in black? That's just unkind.

Have you ever tried just beating your opponent about the head? You don't need an infinitely big Bloodthrone Vampire to swing for lethal, it's time those other 98 cards in your deck rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty. Not their actual sleeves though, some of those cards are expensive.

Murder everything. Card efficiency gets out of control when Mikaeus is out; with that undying voodoo he do Fleshbag Marauder can one-for-six, throw out a Grave Pact and double it. We've got 3 Grave Pacts, 3 Fleshbags, 5 Wraths, and a dozen other ETB or sac out killers.

You're gonna need graves for all those bodies so start digging. Between Phyrexian Arena , Baleful Force , Disciple of Bolas and some ten other cards designed to reload your hand you'll never be out of the game for long. Dusk Urchins are just cute, and it's a good little early drop to get some draw power going. Skullclamp turns Bloodghast , Reassembling Skeleton , Gravecrawler and Nether Traitor into printing presses. Harvester of Souls loves kicking back and watching everyone die, especially if it's Decree of Pain killing them.

Yeah there're tutors, cheater. This is mono-black so it's hard to answer problems that aren't creatures. Seriously, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre is an 11 drop disenchant here. Don't sweat needing to go fish out Karn Liberated , Oblivion Stone or All Is Dust , since they're basically your only out for things you can't murder.

Finally there's mana, that sweet mono-black crude. It'll be bubbling up from the ground like you're Jed Clampett in cleats. Cabal Coffers , Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth , Vesuva and Thespian's Stage all speak for themselves, and with all those ETB tutor triggers don't be afraid to go grab one if you need it. Of course, not being green we don't have much in the way of pure ramp. Solemn Simulacrum and Burnished Hart are value on legs even when Mikaeus isn't on board, but most of your mileage is probably gonna come from mana doublers.

D'oooh... All right. You can take Mikaeus out of the infinite combo but you can't take the infinite combo out of Mikaeus. There are a few creatures in the deck that recur infinitely with undying and a few sac outlets that require no additional cost, if you have any 3 pieces out you have an infinite combo.



You'll note that no combination of the above will win the game on their own. Most will wipe the board one way or another, the different sac outlets function as Vampiric Tutor or a one-way Mindslicer depending and Clique is a one-shot Rise of the Dark Realms . Adding a 4th piece like Gray Merchant of Asphodel or Kokusho, the Evening Star will win the game, but if you've built a that kind of board-state I'd say you've earned the win.

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Revision 27 See all

(4 years ago)

Top Ranked
  • Achieved #9 position overall 8 years ago
Date added 10 years
Last updated 4 years
Legality

This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

11 - 0 Mythic Rares

32 - 0 Rares

17 - 0 Uncommons

12 - 0 Commons

Cards 100
Avg. CMC 3.71
Tokens Emblem Ob Nixilis Reignited, Morph 2/2 C, Plant 0/2 G, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders Operational, EDH, Inspiration, Inspiration, Decks I play, EDH, Suggestions, I like these, playtest these, Mono-Black Favs
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