Meren's School of Corpsecraft and Necromancy

Commander / EDH BG (Golgari) Combo Midrange Reanimator

Coucho_Marx

Creature (35)

• 1x Avenger of Zendikar
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Caustic Caterpillar
• 1x Craterhoof Behemoth
• 1x Deathrite Shaman
• 1x Devoted Druid
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Elves of Deep Shadow
• 1x Elvish Mystic
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Fauna Shaman
• 1x Fleshbag Marauder
• 1x Fyndhorn Elves
• 1x Grave Titan
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Massacre Wurm
• 1x Merciless Executioner
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Mindslicer
• 1x Priest of Titania
• 1x Reclamation Sage
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Shaman of Forgotten Ways
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Shriekmaw
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Spore Frog
• 1x Viscera Seer
• 1x Void Winnower
• 1x Wood Elves
• 1x Woodfall Primus
• 1x Yisan, the Wanderer Bard

Land (35)

• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Command Tower
• 10x Forest
• 1x Geier Reach Sanitarium
• 1x High Market
• 1x Llanowar Wastes
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Strip Mine
• 8x Swamp
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills
• 1x Woodland Cemetery

Sorcery (9)

• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Eldritch Evolution
• 1x Jarad's Orders
• 1x Living Death
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Victimize

Commander (1)

Enchantment (10)

• 1x Attrition
• 1x Awakening Zone
• 1x Contamination
• 1x Deathreap Ritual
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Evolutionary Leap
• 1x Greater Good
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Survival of the Fittest
• 1x Sylvan Library

Artifact (5)

• 1x Birthing Pod
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring

Instant (5)

• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Chord of Calling
• 1x Crop Rotation
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Krosan Grip

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Reanimation is a feared and respected mechanic for a very good reason. Having a commander in Meren of Clan Nel Toth who does it automatically and for free makes for a deck that is both brutal and resilient!

This deck is designed to take full advantage of having a reanimator of Meren of Clan Nel Toth's caliber in the command zone. You have lots of cheap mana dorks that ramp your fast and can be used as sac fodder for experience counters or other effects in the midgame. You can also play creatures that kill themselves like Sakura-Tribe Elder and Shriekmaw to quickly gain both great value and experience counters! Use 'graveyard tutor' cards like Entomb and Survival of the Fittest to dump big threats like Void Winnower into the grave for Meren to reanimate.

Gotta Win Somehow

One of the reasons Golgari reanimator is such a fun and poweful deck type in Commander is that it gives you so many options for winning the game, with many potential lines of play. A multitude of incredibly powerful cards come in BG, often on creatures, and even combo pieces can be extremely useful on their own. Here, in this deck, you have about ten-ish ways to force a win. You can just smash everyone in the face with fat beats or a Craterhoof Behemoth-boosted board. If you like, Shaman of Forgotten Ways will happily drain everyone out, especially after you've already used things like Dictate of Erebos and Fleshbag Marauder to turn your opponent's boardstates to crap. Abusing Kokusho, the Evening Star's death trigger is a classic tactic, and comes with the advantage of making you harder to kill every time you do it. Massacre Wurm can give token players a nasty shock. And, of course, you have a fine selection of combos to choose from:

• Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Woodfall Primus + a free sac outlet = destroy as many noncreature permanents as you like. Other players tend to give up when you're the only one left with lands. Combine with with a Pact effect and you'll be the only one left with any permanents at all!

• Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Devoted Druid + Lightning Greaves = infinite green mana. Vomit green all over the board!

• Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Devoted Druid + Phyrexian Altar = infinite coloured mana! Vomit green and black all over the board! Also, see a doctor.

• Eternal Witness + Phyrexian Altar + Living Death + at least five other nontoken creatures (or something that makes tokens on ETB to add up to 5+ on the board, like Avenger of Zendikar) = infinite coloured mana! Try not to throw up this time, ok?

(I don't run Triskelion, as it's too easy to combo out with it and feels cheap, what with all the tutors and reanimators in the deck.)

Current Cut Watchlist

Deathreap Ritual, Disciple of Bolas, Grave Pact, Grave Titan, Rune-Scarred Demon, Spore Frog.

Current Additions Watchlist

Agent of Erebos, Burgeoning, Carpet of Flowers, Chord of Calling, Exploration, Geier Reach Sanitarium, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Green Sun's Zenith, Life from the Loam, Sheoldred, Whispering One,Vampiric Tutor (when I buy one!), Worldly Tutor.

Acknowledgments

This deck is heavily influenced by the very brutal Lemon Meren Pie, by NarejED, but toned down both for price reasons (I can't really afford things like Imperial Seal !) and for my meta (though it's still better than a 75% deck. Maybe an 85% deck?).

I also have to give a shoutout to Loco-Motive, who has been very patient with my continued suggestions to improve their own deck, and has managed to craft something both extremely fun and very effective. If your preferences lie away from combo and closer to midrange battlecrusing, then their deck, deck:meren-never-lets-you-go, is the one for you!

Date added	8 years
Last updated	7 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 0 Mythic Rares 42 - 0 Rares 17 - 0 Uncommons 12 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.23
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Eldrazi Spawn 0/1 C, Experience Token, Morph 2/2 C, Plant 0/1 G, Zombie 2/2 B