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Yarok - ETBDSM *PRIMER* (UPDATED 7/21/2020)

Commander / EDH BUG (Sultai) Combo Competitive Cruel Control Infinite Combo Primer

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Lands (31)

Removal (4)

WinCon2 (4)

Card-Draw (2)

Utility (16)

Counters (9)

Tutor (5)

Extra-Turns (3)

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Commander (1)

Commander: foil Yarok, the Desecrated

Ramp (12)

Hand-Sculpting (7)

WinCon1 (4)

Maybeboard

Utility (4)

Ramp (1)

Counters (3)

Tutor (1)

WinCon2 (2)

UPDATES (Last update: 7/21/20 @ 8:29AM EST) Show

Why Yarok?

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Introduction

Welcome to Yarok's ETBDSM Club! Here lies the home of the best ETB value engines in MTG.

This is a control/combo deck meant for a meta that uses quick win conditions and scary early game spells. The general strategy of this deck is to hold off your opponent's win and drain them of resources until you feel it's time to put the game on complete lock down. Use counter magic and removal to hold everyone at a crawl while you build your hand appropriately, then construct infinite mana with Deadeye Navigator and Palinchron and pop a Venser, Shaper Savant or sync in to a Capsize to shut the game off. The fast win condition in this deck is Demonic Consultation/Tainted Pact and Laboratory Maniac/Thassa's Oracle.
When building this deck years ago with Damia as the commander, the whole gimmick used to be to always have a full hand and worry opponents by holding them up. However, the deck has transcended and the goals now are to always have answers, capitalize on card advantage, and ensure every card in the deck is good on it's own. With Yarok now at the helm, I get more advantage out of some of the cards. Especially Palinchron which can go infinite with Yarok.

Reading the Decklist

This area could use the OG dual lands, however I haven't had the opportunity to spend that kind of money for them. I'm looking to add a few more protection lands similar to Boseiju, Who Shelters All and Cavern of Souls. I find myself always paying two life to keep open shock lands to help bluff counters or removal. With Cavern of Souls I used to choose Wizard to protect Damia, but now I'll choose the creature name of the win condition I'm going for, but the deck isn't really creature heavy, a good portion of creatures are wizards; if it's late game, I will probably name Illusion to protect Palinchron. Because I don't run an overwhelming amount of counters, Boseiju, Who Shelters All helps make sure I don't have to deal with counter wars and focus more on countering their stuff instead of countering their counters. I don't feel that Strip Mine or Maze of Ith fit in due to the deck's speed and mana requirements. What do you think? If you think of any good lands for Sultai or utility that I've missed, let me know!
I might add more mana dorks in the future, but for now, this ramp package is good.
The most used utility card in this deck is also used to achieve win, which is Deadeye Navigator. I know this card is very controversial, as people call for it to be banned and say "it's just too powerful"; in my opinion, they're correct. This card is not only a blue staple, but it is a card that abuses the rules of the game. Same as a The Gitrog Monster deck abuses dredge and graveyard, Deadeye Navigator abuses ETB effects, which is very powerful. Deadeye Navigator has a multitude of ETB to take advantage of with this deck Deadeye Navigator + Palinchron for infinite mana combo Deadeye Navigator + Eternal Witness for card return Deadeye Navigator + Glen Elendra Archmage for continuous cheap counters (as long as you have mana) Deadeye Navigator + Trinket Mage for grabbing mana rocks Deadeye Navigator + Venser, Shaper Savant for bouncing everything (shut out if you have infinite mana) Essentially, play him at the time that he can abuse an ETB -preferably Palinchron, and enjoy the rampaging train of control that's about to rail opponents. The rest of the cards in the utility category are self-explanatory.
The only card I want to mention, as the rest are vastly known, is another underrated card, but has been growing in popularity with competitive decks recently. Lim-Dul's Vault is unique in the way you get to know what you're going to draw. In early game, Lim-Dul's Vault is good to find ramp or counters; mid game good for finding control, counters, win condition, etcetera; late game it's good for win condition, counters, removal, utility. Honestly, the card is great.
The main combo I find myself using is Tooth and Nail for it's entwine cost, retrieving both Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and Triskelion from the library and putting them in to play. The combo is simple, but don't get confused or forget that Triskelion will now be a 2/2, because of Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, with three +1/+1 counters on it. To make this combo work you FIRST deal one damage to your desired target, then kill Triskelion with the remaining two +1/+1 counters, this will ensure it will go to the graveyard with no +1/+1 counters and return with the trigger on Mikaeus, the Unhallowed. Now ping any target for 2 damage and then deal 2 more to Triskelion to ensure it returns.
The goal of this win is to exile your library with consultation or tainted pact and then cast Thass or Lab Man with a cantrip.
In no specific order, this category holds cards for the alternate combos to win. Deadeye Navigator + Palinchron gives infinite mana, which is key for these combos and detrimental. Once the mana is flowing and Eternal Witness or Archaeomancer is out, it is possible to abuse the graveyard with their ETB effects and infinite mana by retargeting Deadeye to one of them and casting any tutors in hand or graveyard over and over again (retrieving counters or Capsize or Venser, Shaper Savant for a complete shutout; retrieving Tooth and Nail, casting it for entwine to put all the creatures on the battlefield) casting extra turn spells infinitely, draw the entire deck with tutors, the possibilities are endless.



The Primer

When choosing cards for this deck, I consider what each color is generally good at and use the best cards from those colors. Here is a breakdown of what I use these colors for in the deck:

is used for: Mass creature removal, tutoring, and reanimating.

is used for: Spot removal, Ramp, and putting creatures from library to play

is used for: Extra turns, bouncing permanents, countering, and card draw

The best thing about the color selection is that all three colors synergize very well and the deck could go heavier in any section and still maintain a lot of the staples. Need to go heavier in reanimator? Remove some extra turns from as those two synergize less. Need to go heavier in ramp? Remove some bounce cards from or reanimating from . Most of the components of the deck are very versatile.

The deck has many strengths as a whole. The main strengths it has it being able to function without Yarok, the Desecrated on the field. This deck was made as a giant puzzle that fits together very well regardless of what pieces are used. It becomes weak over time to exiling pieces though. Cards like Path to Exile, Praetor's Grasp, Swords to Plowshares, Dissipate and other exile effects hurt the deck as well as cards that take stuff from the deck, like Chaos Wand, Extract, or Thief of Sanity. Fast top tier token generator decks, like card:Krenko, the Mob Boss run through the life totally very quickly, but 70% of the time, they can't win against this deck. The biggest weakness, however is if any of our primary win conditions become unable to use. At that point the game becomes harder to win and shut people out because eventually the deck will run out of steam. However, with running three win conditions, it is resilient to this kind of game play.

Whether it be artifacts, enchantments, creatures, spells, indestructibles, etcetera, this deck has an answer for anything that it plays against. Spot removal might be a bit tough for permanents, but overall I'd rate the deck's flexibility 6/10
The deck does lose a bit of momentum with an empty hand or if it doesn't win a counter war, but it's build to be able to withstand a long, grueling game. The up side is this deck will always have a back up plan. Didn't pull off Expropriate? Go for Tooth and Nail. Still no good? Defense of the Heart. No? Hard cast the pieces. I would rate the deck's resilience 7.5/10
Every card in the deck is always an option to do something. Resources should always be plentiful due to a good amount of ramp and tutors. The deck definitely keeps the pressure on with plenty of counter/removal/response power and making opponents use their resources to stop the deck from comboing off. Overall sustainability rating 6.75/10
Consistency is very dependent on the strategy you're going for every time you sit down to play. This deck will give you resources, but if you're going for a specific strategy, you'll have to work a little bit to get there. The win conditions are very simple to pull off, so setting up is the task at hand. Overall rating 7/10
Currently the deck's average card CMC sits at 2.4, which is nice. I find this deck doing a lot each round. Whether it be stopping opponents or setting up combo, the deck performs efficiently every single time. As for the cards in the deck. I would say most are efficient. The reanimation cards are sometimes dead (Pun not intended) due to there being no creatures worth reanimation, or none in graveyards at all. Other than that, the deck is very efficient. 8.5/10
The deck's effectiveness relies a lot on the previous topics, so after explaining, the deck's rating will be an average of the previously stated ratings. Due to the multiple avenues to achieve win, and the multiple win conditions in the deck, it is very effective. It can't be shut off to a Praetor's Grasp (It has to 1,000 Preator's Grasp in one turn, but that's a different, more hilarious story.) nor will it suffer from a bit of milling/discarding. It scares the board each turn, in my meta, because they know just what it's capable of. The deck adjusts to new a new meta very easily and can adjust appropriately to threats. For the deck to be effective, you must sit down and LEARN the deck, it will take time to acclimate to. Overall effective rating 7.15/10

In the early game, with a pod of four players, I work on ramping and setting up for win while simultaneously assesing threats, countering nasty spells, and removing threatening permanents.

In early game, with one opponent, I set up for win as early as turn one, but being mindful to keep resources and responses open.

Good cards to see in hand for early game include: Force of Will, Exploration, Swan Song, Trinket Mage, Birds of Paradise, Lim-Dul's Vault, Pact of Negation or any - drops, like tutors, counters, ramp cards, or removal

In mid game, Yarok, the Desecrated might be cast, as I have probably run through most of the cards in my hand. I will usually look to cast Yarok if it's safe to do so and I have an ETB I want to take advantage of.

At this time in the game, I'm closing the window my opponents have to win by finding ways to soft lock the game or I'm pressuring win. Seedborn Muse and Capsize is one way to lock the game out slowly. Defense of the Heart or Tooth and Nail give win. Casting Palinchron followed by Deadeye Navigator is what the deck wants to do around this time, but ensuring it's safe to do so is key. Using counters and removal to drain my opponent's resources, I'll wait until my opponents have little resources and strike to win the game.

This deck gains more and more advantage as the turns pass, so by now your should have a very good idea of what win condition you've set out to do. Spells become easier to cast and permanents stick more due to the counter package. The deck looks to be shutting everything down or killing everyone.

The mana curve for this deck is pretty lean, but an opening hand makes all the difference in this deck. I look to have at least one piece of ramp or mana rock and at least two lands for a keepable hand, depending on what the other cards are. I won't usually keep a hand with Palinchron in it unless it has a tutor and some insane ramp. I advise not to keep any hands with more than one 5+ cmc card in it as it will be hard to make a strategy with them. The deck is mostly blue, so a hand with three lands and no blue source is a mulligan in my opinion. This deck looks to be more reactive than proactive, so I also look for more interaction in opening hand, like counters and removal.

Based on the deck being reactive, I'd say 40% of the time, you're going to tutor for something that helps the situation, or utility. The other 60% of the time, you should be tutoring for a win condition. The win conditions in the deck are high-risk, high reward, so it takes some strategy and setting up. so, if you want to win immediately, I suggest Tooth and Nail to be your go to win condition. It's simple and easy to pull off, especially with Boseiju, Who Shelters All. If it's early game and you've got a good hold on the deck and the table, I suggest the Lab Man and Consultation win, it's quick and wins at instant speed, but is risky if you don't have counters. The most complex and fun win condition in the deck in my opinion is the Deadeye and Palinchron combos; it gives you infinite mana and the ability to abuse creatures with etbs, such as Venser, Eternal Witness, Archaeomancer, Trinket Mage, etc.

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Casual

99% Competitive

Revision 19 See all

(4 years ago)

-1 Burgeoning main
Top Ranked
  • Achieved #27 position overall 6 years ago
Date added 6 years
Last updated 4 years
Key combos
Legality

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

9 - 0 Mythic Rares

53 - 0 Rares

16 - 0 Uncommons

14 - 0 Commons
Cards 100
Avg. CMC 2.48
Tokens Bird 2/2 U
Folders My Brews, try, Commander Decks, Interesting Commander Decks, EDH, Commander, Commander Decks, Check, Commander, edh
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