Mikaeus' Persistent Undying

Commander / EDH Counters Infinite Combo Mono-Black

tgroben

Creature (23)

• 1x Aetherborn Marauder
• 1x Ashling, the Extinguisher
• 1x Augur of Skulls
• 1x Baleful Ammit
• 1x Champion of Stray Souls
• 1x Crypt Ghast
• 1x Dusk Urchins
• 1x Ferropede
• 1x Flesh Carver
• 1x Ghoulcaller Gisa
• 1x Gonti, Lord of Luxury
• 1x Grave Titan
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
• 1x Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
• 1x Magus of the Coffers
• 1x Noxious Gearhulk
• 1x Plague Belcher
• 1x Puppeteer Clique
• 1x Rune-Scarred Demon
• 1x Soul Snuffers
• 1x Spike Cannibal
• 1x Triskelion

Land (35)

• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Crypt of Agadeem
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 30x Swamp
• 1x Thespian's Stage

Sorcery (12)

• 1x Aether Snap
• 1x Beacon of Unrest
• 1x Black Sun's Zenith
• 1x Consume Spirit
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Exsanguinate
• 1x In Garruk's Wake
• 1x Necromantic Selection
• 1x Ruinous Path
• 1x Torment of Hailfire
• 1x Victimize

Instant (10)

• 1x Doom Blade
• 1x Go for the Throat
• 1x Hero's Demise
• 1x Hero's Downfall
• 1x Malicious Affliction
• 1x Murder
• 1x Seize the Soul
• 1x Terror
• 1x Tragic Slip
• 1x Wake the Dead

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Glistening Oil
• 1x Haunted Crossroads
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Retribution of the Ancients

Commander (1)

Artifact (11)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Blasting Station
• 1x Cauldron of Souls
• 1x Charcoal Diamond
• 1x Conjurer's Closet
• 1x Deathrender
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Nevinyrral's Disk
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots

Planeswalker (3)

• 1x Liliana of the Dark Realms
• 1x Ob Nixilis Reignited
• 1x Sorin Markov

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Maybeboard

Creature (43)

• 1x Archfiend of Depravity
• 1x Ascendant Evincar
• 1x Avatar of Woe
• 1x Bitterheart Witch
• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Blood Seeker
• 1x Blood Speaker
• 1x Bloodhusk Ritualist
• 1x Butcher of Malakir
• 1x Chainer, Dementia Master
• 1x Crowd of Cinders
• 1x Demon of Death's Gate
• 1x Demon of Wailing Agonies
• 1x Erebos, God of the Dead
• 1x Falkenrath Noble
• 1x Fourth Bridge Prowler
• 1x Harbinger of Night
• 1x Harvester of Souls
• 1x Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet
• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1x Liliana's Shade
• 1x Lingering Tormentor
• 1x Maga, Traitor to Mortals
• 1x Massacre Wurm
• 1x Nightmare
• 1x Nirkana Revenant
• 1x Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
• 1x Overseer of the Damned
• 1x Phyrexian Delver
• 1x Pit Keeper
• 1x Priest of Gix
• 1x Raving Dead
• 1x Scion of Darkness
• 1x Soot Imp
• 1x Soul of Innistrad
• 1x Soulstinger
• 1x Thief of Blood
• 1x Thrull Parasite
• 1x Toshiro Umezawa
• 1x Tree of Perdition
• 1x Umbra Stalker
• 1x Vengeful Pharaoh
• 1x Xathrid Gorgon

Sorcery (30)

• 1x Ashen Powder
• 1x Beseech the Queen
• 1x Bone Splinters
• 1x Bubbling Muck
• 1x Cabal Therapy
• 1x Cannibalize
• 1x Consuming Vapors
• 1x Cruel Entertainment
• 1x Curse of the Cabal
• 1x Damnable Pact
• 1x Dark Petition
• 1x Dark Salvation
• 1x Drain Life
• 1x Dread Return
• 1x Eradicate
• 1x Footsteps of the Goryo
• 1x Gild
• 1x Hex
• 1x Hymn to Tourach
• 1x Killing Wave
• 1x Lethal Sting
• 1x Rise from the Grave
• 1x Sins of the Past
• 1x Sorin's Vengeance
• 1x Stir the Grave
• 1x Stitch Together
• 1x Suppress
• 1x Syphon Mind
• 1x Temporal Extortion
• 1x Worst Fears

Planeswalker (4)

• 1x Liliana, Death Wielder
• 1x Liliana, the Last Hope
• 1x Liliana Vess
• 1x Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath

Artifact (2)

• 1x Jet Medallion
• 1x Lifeline

Land (1)

• 1x Phyrexian Tower

Enchantment (20)

• 1x Attrition
• 1x Bad Moon
• 1x Black Market
• 1x Blood Reckoning
• 1x Cruel Reality
• 1x Curse of Death's Hold
• 1x Curse of Misfortunes
• 1x Curse of Vengeance
• 1x Death Pit Offering
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Endless Whispers
• 1x Exquisite Blood
• 1x Genju of the Fens
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Nest of Scarabs
• 1x Sanguine Bond
• 1x Tainted Remedy
• 1x Torment of Scarabs
• 1x Underworld Dreams
• 1x Vile Requiem

Instant (18)

• 1x Bone Harvest
• 1x Cabal Ritual
• 1x Cradle to Grave
• 1x Crypt Incursion
• 1x Curtains' Call
• 1x Dark Banishing
• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Darkness
• 1x Devour in Shadow
• 1x Fatal Blow
• 1x Footbottom Feast
• 1x Grim Return
• 1x Hideous End
• 1x Rend Flesh
• 1x Songs of the Damned
• 1x Splendid Agony
• 1x Spoils of Blood
• 1x Victim of Night

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Mikaeus, the Unhallowed ability to give other non humans undying is the mechanic driving this deck.

Interactions to know about:If a creature has a +1/+1 counter and then gets a -1/-1 counter then the counters cancel and are removed from the creature. Key word is counter, if it gets +x/+x or -x/-x this does not interact with the counters. In instances with Persist and Undying on the same creature like with Cauldron of Souls you are able to choose which one resolves first and the second will fizzle.

This above mechanic can lead to an infinite combo especially if you have a sac outlet like Blasting Station or Ashnod's Altar

Keep in mind that the creatures that come back with undying/persist goes to the owner so if you control an opponent's card through something like Beacon of Unrest it will return to the battlefield under their control as long as it does not have the +1/+1 counter.

This deck has plenty of room for improvements but I wanted to keep the cost down and utilize cards I already owned. The commander is the largest investment in the deck and most of the other cards can be substituted to your liking/budget.

I created this deck by having the idea and then searching all black cards on the gatherer, any card that could potentially be useful I put on here and that is why the maybeboard is so long. I then checked keywords for lands and artifacts.

Date added	7 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	9 - 0 Mythic Rares 34 - 0 Rares 22 - 0 Uncommons 5 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.60
Tokens	Emblem Liliana of the Dark Realms, Emblem Ob Nixilis Reignited, Horror */* B, Spirit 1/1 W, Zombie 2/2 B