• Grisly Salvage + Zulaport CutthroatAs others have pointed out, this is much better than Blood Artist. I originally evaluated them as not necessary because they only targeted one played, not fully reading this card. This guy is bonkers. Definitely nice to have another amazing 2 drop. Grisly I'm torn on. I've yet to test it. It was between it and Primal Growth. Growth cant pitch my important enchantments/artifacts, so it stays. Salvage, like other self mill cards, looks really good on paper. My fear is having to find an E Witness because I pitched something critical, or getting my Bog Juked.

-1 Yavimaya Elder+1 Bane of ProgressI had him in the side for a while, but most people look unkindly at SB in EDH. Elder was very hit or miss. I prefer creatures to do something immediately, and he required so much setup that by the time he came down, I was already good on lands for the most part, since no one wants to block his ass, and to cantrip, you need 2 colorless. This deck is mana hungry early on, and I dont wanna durdle too much.

Bane of Progress is an "Oh shit" card i can cast or return to play to eat a stax/superfriend/daretti/etc player's board if necessary. This deck deals with creatures well, but it's threats outside of that that we need to deal with. This has the added disadvantage of eating our own artifacts and enchantments, but there are situations where that is beneficial! Worst case just keep looping E Witness with Meren/Clique to grab stuff back afterwards

• Black Market
• Smothering Abomination

Black market doesnt do much for this deck. We have no mana sinks. If we used exsanguinate/other things to dump it with, sure, but its a useless 5cmc enchantment. Abom was dropped for being "I dont want to see this" fodder, but is a skullclamp in a pinch

Removed [card]Garruk, Wildspeaker[/card] for [card]Sylvan Library[/card]. Garruk was pretty terrible, and I never got to overrun with him. He seems to want to draw the deck more toward Mazerik, and I'd prefer him there instead

Removed: 1x Smothering Abomination, Added: 1x Phyrexian Altar. I thought Altar was already in here, but we may need it for things like Contamination to cast Meren and the like. And as an amazing sac outlet. I love it. Abomination is a card I never want to see, but works well with the deck in theory, I've yet to get to test it. But I KNOW altar works by how well Ashnod's works here, and how well both work in Krenko :)

-1 Primal Growth , +1 Wickerbough Elder

I need the removal more for when Torpor Orb hits. Primal is good on paper, but I'd hate to draw it late or early when I have nothing for the Kicker. It goes to the maybeboard.

-1 Swamp, +1 Volrath's StrongholdI hesitate to add too many colorless lands, but there are many times mid/late game I need to return multiple creatures to play with Meren. Or some low cmc utility creature and a fatty. I can return the little guy to the top of the deck to be drawn the next turn instead.

-1 Corpse Augur, +1 Birthing Pod. I dont much like more lifeloss in the deck unless it's big impact. Augur is very meh and at best was netting me a few cards when I was already ahead. I'd rather have another sac outlet combined with a tutor engine, especially now that I have more value at CMC4, which used to be the weakspot in the deck. We'll see how it performs. It very much feels like theres too many tutors as is.

-1 Phyrexian Arena, +1 Read the BonesSick of seeing this card, I really am. It's the continued lifeloss I dislike the most, or drawing it late. It also draws alot of hate. I hope Read will get me that lifeloss and card quality over quantity.

Added:TriskeleonAgent of Erebos

Removed:Puppeteer CliqueGrim Haruspex,

So, Puppeteer was one of those pieces that always popped up and I never had targets for it, or I couldnt get it to land and grab juicy targets and make it matter. It works well with Meren's ability since you get to keep those creatures until your next end step, but it wasnt worth the setup for the payoff. So I removed him. Just too often he was a dead card or i wish i had anything else. Grim Haruspex is the same way. I do too many tokens, as other players told me, and even when he works (like after a Wrath I might draw 2-5 cards), I'd be better off with better card draw.

In it's place, and I feel bad doing this, but Triskeleon to help end games quickly with Mike. Despite getting good lockdowns, I need a way to just end it. Sometimes folks just get out from under my lock. Agent is there as another way to deal with graveyard decks.

-1 Oracle of Mul Daya, + Elvish Visionary- Pattern of Rebirth, + Vampiric Tutor

More efforts to speed up the deck and reduce the curve. Oracle wasnt super stellar and was always on the cutting board. Visionary helps me get ahead by cantripping early, and isnt terrible to return to play if there is nothing else to do. I want to continue to add more smaller creatures, like Deathrite Shaman, Birds of Paradise, etc, that can help me ramp faster, earlier. All this while continuing to focus on the token stax gameplan. Might have to cut some fatties, or non-creature removal, but I want to add back in Smokestax, Phyrexian Devourer, and Necrotic Ooze.

Pattern does great work, but I want to speed up the deck, even at the cost of life. Need to find Contamination/token generators/Ashnod's altar earlier.

I want to replace Farhaven with Nissa, Vastwood seer once she rotates.

Zulaport Cutthroat, despite his usefulness and the fact I just nabbed a foil, is replaced by Birds of Paradise. I just need more of those dorks, like I mentioned above.

Removed: Krosan TuskerRemoved: Lightning GreavesRemoved: Swiftfoot BootsAdded: Death CloudAdded: Catacomb SifterAdded: Sadistic Hypnotist

Krosan was removed with the advent of cheaper creatures that produce mana, as well as him being a weird pet card. Not that he was bad, but just slow, and better mid/late game as a mana dump and a Meren target. Lowering our curve enables more Meren targets that actually impact our board.

Swiftfoot boots and Lightning Greaves have been removed. Seems an odd choice, but I dont face much single target removal much anymore, and since we have few ways to tutor boots/greaves, and typically tutor other things, they were mostly dead slots, only occasionally protecting Meren when they are actually out on the field.

Hypnotist enters as a sacrifice outlet that can further strip hands of powerful players. I've found hand destruction is a powerful subtheme that I want to chase along with the Grave Pact token theme.

Death Cloud enters as another wincon and way to control the board, along with its brother Pox already doing heavy work. I dislike seeing this early, unlike Pox, but it gives us a really great way to close out the game, especially vs control decks.

I really dislike creatures like Pawn of Ulamog as they greatly depend on non-token creatures, and we like tokens. They also do nothing on their own and require us to be ahead... only to net more dudes. Sifter is a bit different, being very on the curve, if it matters, but generating a token on its own, allowing us to have an easy way to generate mana, an experience counter, and to be able to Scry off of Sifter. Scrying isnt particularly powerful, but it can help us find the land, tutor, enchantment, etc we need next turn. It is on the testing table, and might be replaced with Magus of the Abyss.

4/13, forgot to mention this

• Grave Titan, + Wurmcoil Engine

If I'm going to keep the count I have of fatties in, I need fatties that also makes bodies, but also are real threats. Grave Titan has always just been a way to force a wipe, but Wurmcoil survives wipes and still does things without being a vanilla creature ever.

Removed: Devoted DruidAdded: Diligent FarmhandSomeone mentioned wanting to cut Krosan Wayfarer and Diligent Farmhand from his build, and I found I'd really like him in my build. Despite the fact he doesnt generate mana like Druid, I found Druid was slow. It goes infinite with Mike, but we dont need the green mana. If I ever add in Exsanguinate and the Coffers package, it will make an appearance. Farmhand is another one drop, which we lack dearly, and does what Dawntreader Elk does: Sacrifices itself to find a basic land card. Lowering the curve is incredibly important. Even if both he and Druid do nothing the first turn they're out, they both accomplish similar ends.

Removed:1x Agent of Erebos F1x Elvish Visionary F1x Wickerbough Elder1x Nether Traitor

Added:1x Devoted Druid1x Llanowar Elves1x Phyrexian Arena1x Phyrexian Reclamation

Wickerbough Elder cannot remove himself, so he cant generate counters. I'd prefer Sylvok Replica for not needing a specific mana source for early plays, and his abilily to do the same, at one less mana. Losing him isnt a big deal. Llanowar Elves comes in to speed the deck up.Agent was an inclusion I didnt think about fully, as I am currently moving the deck in more of a fast, token stax based build, with smatterings of combo, and he's just too costly for what I want to do. It really only hoses Kharador and while that's an issue in my meta, I should be focusing on having bodies to sacrifice to remove their pieces prior to them being able to combo off. Phyrexian Reclaimation comes in to give us more ways to continue to rebuild the board after wipes, which has been a big issue, or save things prior to graveyard hate. Visionary was a flex slot. It's just.. eh. Arena comes back to replace it. Nether Traitor was always... meh. He could be abusable but most of the time was a poor mana sink like Resassembling Skeleton. Or I'd forget about him. Devoted Druid comes back in for another early removable mana dork to replace him.

Removed:
Regrowth
Putrefy
From Beyond
Swamp
Swamp

Added:
Reanimate
Attrition
Mana Crypt
Ancient Tomb
Expedition Map
Unpopular cuts, but Regrowth clogs your hand and should be replaced with more relevant answers, reanimation, and tutors. Putrefy as well, we deal with Creatures much better now, with Attrition and others. Artifacts were not super concerned about, and if we are, Slime or Sage them. Map is a stand in for Crop Rotation for now to find Altar/Ancient Tomb/etc. From Beyond was replaced to lower our curve, as well as less reliance on poor token producers. With the direction I'm taking the deck, it doesnt have the same priority, although it is nice. Swamps come out for cards from my other decks that should have been here anyway.

Removed:
Avenger of Zendikar
Farhaven Elf

Added:
Sylvok Replica
Elves of Deep Shadow

Faster mana dorks. Also, more removal and lowering the curve further. Avenger is poor unless I can abuse lands, and not this second. It may come back with time. It was between it or Massacre Wurm, and Wurm deals with token decks which tend to have a huge advantage vs us

Removed: Merciless Executioner
Read the Bones

Added:Smothering Abomination
Liliana, Heretical Healer

The deck has been performing admirably with the changes, and as such, I've decided to increase the power a bit with Lilly and try out Abom again. Executioner, while the effect is good, I dont need that many edict effects once I have Grave Pact out. What I need is ways to refill my hand and keep the pressure on. Obviously Lilly is good here for that purpose, but I think Viel is better still.

Removed:
Death Cloud

Added:
Grim Haruspex

Death Cloud, with as aggressive as this deck is, is overkill. However, GH comes back in to provide us with more gas since we're running more creatures than ever. He's very iffy, but I'm hoping to take better advantage of him with our oodles of new sac outlets and engines.

Removed:
Acidic Slime
Devoted Druid
Smothering Abomination

Added:
Oppression
Carrion Feeder
Elvish Mystic

Mystic are a stand in for Deathrite Shaman / Arbor Elf. (I cant find mine!). Acidic Slime is no longer that useful and it hurts the curve HARD for its effect, which we now have in spades. It goes to the maybe board. Devoted Druid is replaced by Elves. Carrion Feeder is another cheap sac outlet that can get big enough to be threatening. The last one was more difficult, but sorry Smother Abomination, you're out just for now given your conditions. I need these other cards more! I'll see about the amount of mana dorks, as he could make a return easily (as always, he is a flex slot.)

I'm still looking for room for Phyrexian Devourer/Necrotic Ooze...

Removed:
Phyrexian Altar

Added:
Devoted Druid

After a game, I realized I have a ton of 1 drop dorks now, but lack two drops. Devoted needs to come back in as a Birthing Pod target/mana dork. Plus, it also produces GG for Contamination in case we need to recast Meren. Altar was there for this, but isnt needed anymore really.

Catacomb Sifter is on the watch list

Removed: Reanimate
Catacomb Shifter

Added:
Deathrite Shaman
Animate Dead

While I'm still looking to make room for Necrotic ooze, Void Winnower and Phyrexian Devourer, these were easier to make. Shifter is replaced by someone who can do targeted graveyard hate, gain us life, make opponent's lose life, and ramp is in a pinch. Reanimate is removed for Animate Dead due to lifeloss issues.

Removed:
Swamp

Added:
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

It finally came in the mail. It should help with some of the more restrictive casting costs of our spells, as well as comboing with Cabal Coffers (Once that comes in the mail) to allow us to recast Meren repeatedly, and finally drop Ashnod's Altar for something better.

Removed:
Forest

Added:
City of Brass

More dual lands I forgot I had

Removed:
Llanowar Elves

Added:
Joraga Treespeaker

Deciding to test this guy in the 1CMC mana dork slot. Basically, his only downside is his mana investment, but he will provide us much more mana over the course of his time on the board than Llanowar will, while also providing us a valuable mana dump. Ideally, we drop him turn 1, and turn 2, we level him up and aren't down any mana, except if we filtered out black mana and for whatever reason NEED it, which I doubt.

Removed:
Ashnod's Altar
Swamp
Forest

Added:
Mana Confluence
Fauna Shaman
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

Another city of brass for a basic, and Nykthos per a suggestion for a forest. This allows me to replace Ashnod's Altar. I dont need to recast Meren as much now that we're more Stax/Combo than midrange goodstuff.dec. As such, we dont need the Altar. So Fauna Shaman comes in to add variety to our 2 drop slot, as well as another tutor for our combo pieces/Mindslicer/Gary

Removed:
Massacre Wurm

Added:
Shaman of Forgotten Ways

While Necroplasm was going to take Wurm's spot, until I test Sifter and pals further, Shaman takes the spot as a mana dork that produces mana of any color, and can become a win condition in its own right, if the game goes on long enough! We'll see how it performs in any case. Wurm, as I've discussed in other posts, looks incredible, but rarely pans out unless you're in a heavy token meta, and even then, he's not your tutor target usually. Just a decent topdeck. He also doesnt help if your opponents can pump their tokens, which usually they can or will.