Meren goddess of death and rebirth

Commander / EDH trobaldo

SCORE: 60 | 86 COMMENTS | 13385 VIEWS | IN 18 FOLDERS


trobaldo says... #1

Thanks man, that means alot. I was putting off getting a grave Titan or wurmcoil until I can come across one. As soon as I do they will be making their way in.

February 26, 2016 11:41 p.m.

Tyr_W says... #2

Great deck!

If you need ideas:

Bloodspore Thrinax - Make Tokens Great Again.

Apprentice Necromancer - reanimate, giving haste and boosting Meren on the fly. Just needs to stay alive for a turn unless you have Lightning Greaves hanging around.

Massacre Wurm - Deal with all those pesky tokens and deal some damage on the way. Nice combo with Cauldron of Souls giving persist to all 1/1-creatures :). Or else first cast Sudden Spoiling to prevent any saccing, survivors or counterspell.

And I love Wake the Dead. Big surprise, use the ETB and feed Meren. And if you have Cauldron of Souls double the ETB and you get to keep the creatures that are 0/2+

Out?

How many times have you actually used Hell's Caretaker? I found it needs too many conditions to work.

Viridian Emissary - Needs an aditional sac-outlet to work, not too great a feat.

Merciless Executioner Too weak compared to others

Agent of Erebos - Have you ever liked to play against someone that systematically locks down your format? Only fun would be if someone steals it and has some vengeance :)

Please feel free to step by Meren's sideKicks (competative yet fun) and give your opinion on the maybeboard.

February 27, 2016 3:09 a.m.

trobaldo says... #3

Thanks for the suggestions. I currently need to play test it a bit since the changes yesterday, bit will definetly keep your suggestions in mind.

Can u elaborate on merciless executioner being too weak? He is the same as Fleshbag Marauder

Agent of erebos is in to screw someone's grave right before I Living Death but it would be bad if someone stole him

February 27, 2016 7:33 a.m.

Entari0 says... #4

At a first cursory glance, Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest are somewhat anti synergystic. You don't really want to turn off the undying effect from Mike. I am of the opinion that Mikaeus, the Unhallowed is the stronger option for meren. Things like Sidisi, Undead Vizier become : Search your library for 2 cards. Speaking of tutors, where is Rune-Scarred Demon?

I like Duplicant. Serving double duty as a beater and control card is a good idea. Catacomb Sifter and Smothering Abomination is another one, just remember it needs a sac outlet to be abused.

On the topic of sac outlets, you have five instant speed, free, multiple uses per turn options. That is good, but where is Nantuko Husk or Bloodthrone Vampire? I also really like Altar of Dementia. I'll give you a hint, the target player is seldom your opponents.

I also think you could use a few more sweepers. Damnation and Decree of Pain spring to mind, as they are the ones I use, but Curse of the Cabal and Black Sun's Zenith are also good options. It just occured to me that Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest and Curse of the Cabal are horrifically synergistic, suspended or cast. Hmmmmm, that gives me an idea......

February 28, 2016 3 p.m.

Tyr_W says... #5

On Merciless Executioner: They let everyone sacrifice just 1 creature. It maybe a cheap card, but when you draw this one later in the game, it is not that useful unless you have combo-cards laying around like Savra, It that Betrays or Massacre Wurm.

Consider:Archfiend of Depravity (hurt, don't block), Braids, Cabal Minion, Pox (We all go down, I just care a bit less).

February 28, 2016 3:22 p.m.

trobaldo says... #6

@Entari0 mazireck pairs alongWoodfall Primus and Puppeteer Clique if mikaeus is out, I don't play him... And vice-verca I really like your idea for Altar of Dementia and Curse of the CabalCan you make any suggestions to take out?

@Tyr_W I still don't see the difference between, Merciless Executioner and Fleshbag Marauder but I do love cabal and pox idea.... But wasn't cabal minion banned?

February 29, 2016 8:03 a.m.

Entari0 says... #7

I think I would suggest cutting Abhorrent Overlord and Skullwinder for Altar of Dementia and Curse of the Cabal.

Abhorrent Overlord is only good, in my opinion, as a means to further your board state, but only if you get rid of it quickly. It doesn't do anything other than eat your creatures, and while that does get you stuff, you have better and more beneficial ways to do that already.

Skullwinder serves as the pre-con's second Eternal Witness, with better stats, but letting an opponent grab a thing as well. Yes, you can subvert this by targeting someone with nothing in their graveyard, but the deathtouch and 2 extra points of toughness are not worth it.

February 29, 2016 12:56 p.m.

trobaldo says... #8

Cool, I agree with slullwinder, but abhorrent is part of a hilarious infinite that my meta hasn't seen before

February 29, 2016 1:05 p.m.

coolasc says... #9

Abhorrent Overlordfor Archfiend of Depravity while you need to sac some for meren, making you opponent keep no more than 2 creatures at the end of each turn can be awesome (especially vs aggro), tho it can make you a target because such effect

March 1, 2016 12:02 p.m.

TheFanatic says... #10

This deck looks like it's a little short on lands to me, especially in a time when Vancouver mulligans are the standard. I'd recommend adding 1 or 2 more, likely Phyrexian Tower and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth if you can get your hands on them. I think good cuts would be Hell's Caretaker for being too slow and Viridian Emissary for being too conditional. You may also want to jam another board wipe (probably Decree of Pain) since having only Living Death can be risky.

March 1, 2016 2:51 p.m.

trobaldo says... #11

thanks TheFanatic i am currently making last minute changes to the deck over the next week, and will strongly look into adding more land, and as it is i am adding in Pox and Curse of the Cabal to go with my current board wipes, Living Death/Death Cloud and the Grave Pact and Dictate of Erebos which funtion very similar to directed creature wipes in this particular deck.

i have been looking for a good replacement for Hell's Caretaker since I do not think I have enough creature reanimation/reclamation... am I wrong on this(if so and I have more than enough, then he will gladly be dropped for a land)? This is the first time I have built a stax reanimate deck.

March 1, 2016 3:08 p.m.

Tyr_W says... #12

Replacement for Hell's Caretaker is Apprentice Necromancer. Though you can sac the Caretaker to himself, the Necromancer can dig a creature up any time and even give it haste, which is a steal in EDH. And for 2 mana he is very cheap to cast or dig up with Meren. I've tested quite thoroughly and am happy every time I draw the card.

March 1, 2016 3:31 p.m.

trobaldo says... #13

thanks Tyr_W i will look into one as soon as i decide whether or not to add land in his spot on the deck.

March 1, 2016 3:32 p.m.

TheFanatic says... #14

@trobaldo Meren decks don't actually need that many reanimation effects aside from Meren herself. The best ones are probably Sheoldred, Whispering One, Victimize, Dread Return, Animate Dead, and Reanimate. Beyond that, everything just seems superfluous, since your commander does the same thing. Even the last two might just be unnecessary, but I've been happy with them in my own Meren list. I do think Hell's Caretaker is just worse than all of the above, though.

March 1, 2016 3:39 p.m.

Tyr_W says... #15

@TheFanatic Relying on Meren for regeneration is risky. You will need to wait for the counters to come in order to bring out the larger creatures. And you bring them back at the end of your turn, so the attackers need to stay alive during all opponents turns before you can use them. And if someone manages to destroy it every time or steal-and-tuck it, your deck is disrupted.

March 2, 2016 7:35 a.m.

Ulturas says... #16

I like it, very budget version of Meren which actually works. I imagine having tutors would just make it infinitely better not sure if it's in your price range but Vampiric Tutor, Demonic Tutor, Diabolic Tutor, even Diabolic Intent is quite good in here, they are generally good staples for any deck with Black. I'm not sure why Braids, Cabal Minion is in your maybeboard, I'd definitely put it mainboard haha purely because you can basically use her as a Stax effect which you can just sac with Phyrexian Altar or Ashnod's Altar or any sac outlet before your upkeep and bring her back with Meren at your end step basically pestering your opponents whilst not affecting your board state very much. I also like in sac decks having a way to draw cards from doing so, so Grim Haruspex and Dark Prophecy might interest you. Greater Good is also quite decent for drawing and dropping important cards for recursion in the yard. Card Draw is always quite crucial in getting your hand loaded up and always having answers to any threats your opponents may bring out.

March 2, 2016 10:47 p.m.

trobaldo says... #17

hey, thanks Ulturascurrently vampiric,demonic,diabolic intent, and greater good are a bit out of my price range.

Braids is currently in my maybeboard, because I am waiting for it to arrive lol it is an amazing card. Can you suggest anything you would take out for Grim Haruspex or another tutor card for the deck?

March 2, 2016 10:59 p.m.

Ulturas says... #18

trobaldo I'd definitely say Agent of Erebos may be one of your weaker cards in here especially only running 6 enchantments and the only one with Flash is Dictate of Erebos so responding to someone doing GY shenanigans is quite difficult. It's always hard deciding, I'm not so sure on Duplicant it's just a weaker form of Phyrexian Metamorph and with the Imprint when Duplicant dies you lose potentially good cards. The rest of your deck is very synergistic which is why I like it :).

March 2, 2016 11:09 p.m.

trobaldo says... #19

Ulturas i will explain both of those cards:Agent of Erebos reads to me: any time i reanimate him, exile a players grave

and Duplicant reads, exile opponents creature for the hell of it lol.do you still believe those two should come out for it?

March 2, 2016 11:22 p.m. Edited.

Ulturas says... #20

trobaldo Man I never read cards right aha just tired atm. Yea both very Toolbox sorta themed. If you're playing correctly your opponents will very rarely have any creatures with how many Grave Pact effects you have making Duplicant a little lackluster and for 6 CMC there's definitely better things you can cast for removal. Agent of Erebos definitely sounds better now I've read the card (facepalm moment). So yea man lot of hard choices really your decks really good, I always find removing cards in EDH a chore especially when there's a lot of synergy.

March 2, 2016 11:35 p.m.

trobaldo says... #21

I know the feeling man. I second guess and debate to myself every time I go to remove or add a card.

March 2, 2016 11:42 p.m.

Ulturas says... #22

trobaldo The EDH struggles lol. I even struggle doing it in any format coz it's like "oh but this is in here to do this" "but this card does this better" etc etc. Honestly man really up to you at the end of the day it's your deck haha. Opinions are always useful but not always correct.

March 2, 2016 11:47 p.m.

L0stinExile says... #23

I really enjoy this list, so let's start with another +1!

Now some suggestions. I've found that Awakening Zone and From Beyond are just bat-shit crazy in the deck. They literally give you free sac fodder, and extra mana every turn. I'm also a huge fan of Blood Artist to go alongside Zulaport Cutthroat. But one of the things I don't feel I can suggest enough is Lotleth Troll. I've had a game or two where I got him out turn two or three, and won the entire game off of him alone.

The only things I can think to suggest switching out are Agent of Erebos and Phyrexian Plaguelord. Personally, I'm not a big fan of exiling graveyards when playing reanimator. And through the testing I've done, Plaguelord just doesn't do enough.

March 3, 2016 12:37 p.m.

trobaldo says... #24

thanks for the +1 L0stinExile glad you liked it.I have been having trouble getting my hands on Blood Artist but have decided that I will just take it out of my olivia deck after I buy a Horobi, Death's Wail for it. This replacement is mostly because today I realized that I have around 30 more infinite sacs then I thought I did..... pairs nicely with him.

From Beyond is a card I have but am slightly unsure of where it fits in the deck honestly, I will look more into it.

Lotleth Troll currently doesn't seem to go along much with my infinites, or play well with my ramp out style of gaming, I replaced it with Fauna Shaman

Agent of Erebos is currently in testing stages, as a graveyard hate tactic to deal with my mirror, so jury is still out on that card for the time... On the other hand Phyrexian Plaguelord is one of my favorite sacrifice outlets, as he allows me to save my creatures from an unfortunate color called white...... looking at you Path to Exile... and he has the added bonus of dealing with indestructible, that my meta runs quite often.

Thank you for your suggestions, and if there are any further suggestions on adds or cuts, please don't hesitate to comment

March 3, 2016 1:40 p.m.

ManSauce says... #25

March 5, 2016 10:41 a.m.

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