pie chart

Neheb, the Eternal Storm

Commander / EDH* Burn Competitive Mono-Red Storm

DoritosPerkin

Edit Live Edit
Edit
Upvote 0
0
Deckcycle Feature Queue
Feature Queue
Playtest v1
Similar Deck Space Card Recommendations

Artifact (23)

Instant (14)

Sorcery (23)

Creature (5)

Planeswalker (1)

Commander (1)

Commander: Neheb, the Eternal

Land (30)

Enchantment (2)

Maybeboard

Instant (5)

Enchantment (1)

Sorcery (3)

Artifact (2)

Land (2)

Creature (1)

Introduction

Hey guys, thanks for checking out my take on a competitive Neheb,the Eternal Storm. Neheb is an interesting mono-red commander that somewhat breaks the color pie of red by converting life loss from your opponents into . Neheb, the Eternal is similar to that of Zada storm as it abuses the unique ability of the commander to effectively "storm" through your deck into your win-condition. Neheb excels in a multiplayer format like EDH as spells with life loss effects that hit each of your opponent quickly translates into obscene amounts of mana, provided Neheb doesn't die before your 2nd main phase. The margin of error in playing Neheb is small and a small miscalculation may result in fizzling. With only Gamble and Sarkhan's Triumph as a tutor, every game has a different line of play to storm off which requires the pilot to adapt the whole storm process. With that said, Neheb is a very fun deck to pilot as each time you storm through your deck, it requires careful thinking which won't feel too linear or boring after several games. to Currently, the meta I'm playing in, has a pretty diverse range of decks from Arcum Paradox, Gitrog Dredge, Jeleva Storm to stax-heavy Sisay Paradox and Tymna-Sidar Hatebear Hulkweaver. I would like to improve the deck in any way possible, therefore constructive feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated! :D

Let's talk about Neheb, the Eternal. His converted mana cost of is a little bit expensive to cast but not completely unplayable in competitive EDH. He has a sizable stat-line of 4/6 with a nifty keyword ability that serves as your consolation prize if the board has blockers. Notably he's a zombie, Minotaur and as warrior as well which might be relevant if something actually refers to it like Lord of the Undead but that's very unlikely in cEDH.

"Afflict 3 (Whenever this creature becomes blocked, defending player loses 3 life)"

Pretty straightforward, if your opponent blocks, they'll still take 3 instead of taking 4 which is somewhat of a consolation prize in terms of converting damage into mana. If your opponent blocks Neheb with multiple creatures, afflict only triggers once which i suppose is balanced. :(

"At the beginning of your postcombat main phase, add to your mana pool for each 1 life your opponents have lost this turn."

The most important line of text on Neheb. Pretty straightforward as well for every 1 life your opponents have lost this turn, you'll gain a at the beginning of your postcombat main phase. It's a triggered ability which means you can Strionic Resonator the trigger to double the mana that will be produced. Luckily, it says "...each 1 life your opponents have lost this turn." which is very different from "combat damage". (If it was combat damage, then Neheb would be pretty weak.) Your opponents have to remove Neheb before the start of your postcombat main phase, or esle you'll just use the from Neheb's triggered ability to recast him again. Neheb checks for all loss of life you opponents have taken during the turn which means if your opponents lost life before you cast Neheb, he will still check the loss of life that has been dealt on the beginning of your postcombat main phase. More importantly, you should be noting down the total loss of the life during the turn as additional combat phases followed by additional postcombat will include any additional loss of life incurred by your opponents during those combat phases. Like if you swung with Neheb on your first combat for 4 and took an additional combat phase with Seize the Day and swung with another 4, you'll produce 8 on the 2nd postcombat mainphase.

Neheb is pretty much the focal point of the deck and you must have in on board in order to win, which usually can be achieved on the turn he's played or the turn after if you managed to cast him on turn 1 (Mountain, Mana Crypt, Seething Song). A few conditions have to be met before attempting to storm off:

How much damage can you inflict to your opponents

There are two main ways of dealing damage to your opponents, which are either by casting Flame Rift or actually smacking someone with Neheb himself. The most efficient way of inflicting maximum damage for the most return on mana would be Flame Rift or cards like Price of Progress. Flame Rift deals 4 to each players which translates into 4*X where X is the number of opponents which is normally 3, giving you 12 mana or effectively netting your 10 mana. The other way is just a good old fashion beatdown with Neheb which usually nets you 4 or 7 if you've casted Reckless Charge.

Is there an extra combat spell in your hand?

Extra combat spells almost work similarly extra turn spells like Time Warp in Neheb, except you don't get an untap step nor do you get a draw and upkeep step. But it does mean you get an additional dose of Neheb's triggered ability that produces mana which is close enough. The most notable extra combat spell that produces surplus mana for Neheb is Seize the Day as you can cast it off a normal swing from Neheb which will then give you 8 for the postcombat mainphase after that. If you decide to cast Seize the Day for it's flashback cost of with the 8 then you'll be able to make 12 alone with those two cards. Very important condition to keep note of as it ensures you'll have plenty of mana to storm through your deck.

Is there any form of wheel effects in your hand?

This is the main issue you'll be facing most of the time when considering when to cast Neheb. All the extra mana you've generated from that Flame Rift and Relentless Assault is useless unless you're able to refresh your hand and dig through your deck for more extra combat spells and wheel spells. Once you've start wheeling deep into your deck, a good old Past in Flames usually ensures your not going to fizzle.

Special Consideration

If your opponents have no blockers and your Neheb is ready to swing, Aggravated Assault is all your need to whack your opponents to death. Very unlikely scenario but something to consider if you ever find your opponents tapped out and blocker-less.

What are you looking for?

Usually your looking to dig deep into your deck for extra combat spells and burn spells till either hitting one of your win conditions such as Guttersnipe (you'll be surprised at how often you treat this card as your primary Aetherflux Reservoir as your opponents are often brought low by your burn spells.), Aetherflux Reservoir, Comet Storm or Aggravated Assault.

Normally you're looking to keep a hand with at least one enabler and enough rocks. Card filters like Cathartic Reunion are good openers as well and card advantage like a Wheel of Fortune are really good opening keepers if you can unload your hand. If your match ups are against a heavier control table then consider keeping a hand that lets you sculpt your pieces rather than trying to go off early. Otherwise, the faster you get Neheb out, the better. Provided you have met the necessary conditions for storming off.
The current list i have with Neheb is pretty tight and I'm somewhat having trouble balancing the right amount of ramps and adjusting the consistency of the deck.

Ancient Tomb

2 life is a small price to pay to accelerate your plans.

Buried Ruin

Mainly used to retrieve your Memory Jar or your Aetherflux Reservoir and Paradox Engine if it ever happens to end up in your bin. Most of the case, you'll find yourself using it for the jar. With that said, consider leaving Buried Ruin untapped if you have sufficient amounts of mana from your Neheb triggers.

Command Beacon

Extremely important as a commander like Neheb with a high base casting cost will quickly become near impossible to cast with every commander tax you accumulate. This land provides a buffer when your opponents have been shooting down your Neheb.

Crystal Vein

The ability to sacrifice this land to produce an additional is relevant when it means speeding up the time you'll be able to cast Neheb and may be the difference on going on turn 2 and turn 3. It fits into the very all-in strategy of the deck.

Dwarven Ruins

Similar to Crystal Vein except it comes in tapped and it produces double . It's fairly good when played early but feel free to exclude this or simply filter it away with your Tormenting Voice effects.

Forgotten Cave/Smoldering Crater

Although these two lands come in tapped, most games with Neheb only require very little lands to go off and while going off, having the ability to cycle these lands into potential fuel is invaluable in a mono-red deck.

Great Furnace

Mainly used to fulfill metalcraft for your Mox Opal or Molten Psyche as sometimes drawing a Molten right after you crack your Memory Jar may be enough to simply outright kill your opponents if they're all low enough.

Hall of the Bandit Lord/Hanweir Battlements

Haste granting lands such as these two are very important as it allows u to effectively swing with Neheb the turn he's cast, or granting haste to your Magus of the Wheel to refuel.

Inventors' Fair

Given the lack of tutors in Red, this land is a crucial during times where you need to tutor up your Memory Jar or Lightning Greaves to give your Magus of the Wheel haste. With that said, consider keeping this land untapped when you have sufficient mana from Neheb.

Ramunap Ruins

This land pretty much just nets you 1 extra mana if you activate it's ability. Significant enough to warrant a slot and it's flexibility in producing for a small price of 1 life is a nice.

Spinerock Knoll

The condition for this hideaway land is easily fulfilled by the strategy of the deck. This land just helps to dig 4 cards deeper into the deck and mono red needs all the card digging they can get.

Snow-Covered Mountain

Personal preference but I mainly play them for aesthetic reasons. Also they are functionally better than regular basic lands and be relevant if someone ever plays Extraplanar Lens and exiles their own snow-covered mountain.

Flame Rift

This the one of the best enabler in Neheb as it has the best damage-to-mana ratio. This usually provides enough mana to get you going. Pure value and efficiency for the deck.

Slagstorm

Slagstorm is the second best enabler you have in Neheb. Serves the same function as Flame Rift most of the time and may occasionally be used to clear the board of hate bears and mana dorks.

Price of Progress

This card sometimes gives a better damage-to-mana ratio compared to Flame Rift if you opponents control alot of non-basic lands and it being an instant allows you to cast it in response to Neheb's trigger and gives you the ability to see whether any of your opponents will try to respond to Neheb's trigger and remove it.

Fiery Confluence

It's casting cost of 4 makes it a little harder to cast compared to the other enablers but it produces the most mana as you could deal 6 to each opponent. The flexibility on the card is nice as you could also use it to clear the board of small creatures or remove any threatening artifacts.

Molten Psyche

It's a overcosted Winds of Change but the metalcraft is what you're aiming to get. You could outright kill your opponents with it if you've been wheeling earlier during the turn.

Mana Geyser

Sometime this card just gives you absurd amounts of mana without using Neheb which lets you easily go off. Self-explanation inclusion in a storm deck as it just a power house of mana.

Fury of the Horde

Usually you'll be casting for it's alternative cost but sometimes if you have enough mana, hardcasting it also works. It's high CMC also synergises with Sunbird's Invocation. It's one of the extra combat spells in the deck that effectively gives you another round of Neheb's mana trigger.

Relentless Assault

A vanilla extra combat spell for the deck. Not too overcosted and there isn't many extra combat spells that grant an additional mainphase like Savage Beating.

Seize the Day

One of the best extra combat spells for Neheb, this card can make 12 mana alone if your Neheb doesn't have summoning sickness. The discounted flashback cost on it is way too good to pass up.

Aggravated Assault

If you can produce more than 5 mana a turn with Neheb, you essentially have infinite postcombat mainphases. Hopefully you're able to attack with Neheb every combat to increase the amount of mana you have to go off. If there is absolutely no blockers, this enough will net you a win.

Chandra, Torch of Defiance

Chandra is like a Jace, the Mind Sculptor in Neheb, she can ping your opponents for 2 and net you 6 mana and she can also ramp you 2 if you drop her down early and need the mana to cast Neheb. Occasionally you can use her to remove a small creature too. Ulting with her is very unlikely but if you ever do, you should be able to win with that given the number of spells and cantrips in the deck.

Rolling Earthquake

One out of the two X spells in the deck. You'll often use it to generate mana by burning everyone. Make sure X is lower than 5 or esle Neheb will die. Sometimes you could use this to finish your opponents off if your life totals are higher than your opponents which is often the case as not all of your burn spells are symmetric.

Generator Servant

This is pretty much a one-time use mana dork on steroids that'll either get your Neheb out and swinging or it'll help let you use your Magus of the Wheel immediately if you've dropped this early on. Dropping this on turn 2 often means a hasted Neheb on turn 3 without any rocks.

Comet Storm

This is mainly used as a finisher. Sometimes it also works as an instant speed removal to creatures if you have the mana.

Pyretic Ritual/Desperate RitualRituals are common finds in storm list and they're used to either help bridge that missing mana you need. If you have Ruby Medallion or Helm of Awakening in play then this essentially a Dark Ritual.

Reckless Charge

Only spell in the deck that grants haste other than the lands. Worth the inclusion because it has flashback.

Guttersnipe

Your second Aetherflux Reservoir. Having this on board also helps to burn people before your postcombat mainphase to make some decent amount of mana by casting some instant and sorcery spells.

Commune with Lava

This is our Stroke of Genius except instead of drawing, you exile the top X cards of your library which you often do to win on the turn itself, therefore the exile part isn't too much of a drawback for you. Sometimes you'll spend one of your postcombat main phase to cast this. You could also tap out on your opponent's end step to cast this as it's an instant and you'll still be able to play the cards until the next end step.

Act on Impulse

This card is amazing in mono-red as it's pretty much 3 mana draw 3 since you're very likely to attempt to cast everything you exile on the turn you cast this.

Cathartic Reunion/Faithless Looting/Wild Guess/Tormenting Voice

Your arsenal of filter spells to dig through your deck. If you copy any one of these spells, you've effectively doubled your draw as all of their discard clause is an additional cost of casting it except for Faithless Looting. They start becoming super Ancestral Recall if you have your Alhammarret's Archive in play.

Reforge the Soul/Wheel of Fortune

They're both are the main forms of wheels in Neheb and should always try to keep one of them in your opening hand as they're extremely necessary to dig your deck for fuel. Pretty self-explanatory inclusion in the deck considering mono red's lack of raw card advantage.

Memory Jar

Works similarly to Wheel of Fortune except you set aside your original hand and the cards you have at the end of the turn is discarded and your original hand is returned. It has the added benefit of being used at instant speed which means you could also use it to interfere with your opponent's plan if they are going off on their turn.

Hazoret's Undying Fury

This card seems very bad at first but consider this as a red Mind's Desire that will always net you 4 cards. The average CMC of the deck is very low so there's a very high chance you'll either be able to cast the things you've exiled with this card or simply filter some lands. Overall it's proven to be very useful in digging deeper into the deck and it gets better as you play Fork to copy it. The downside of not being able to untap your lands next turn is pretty bad but most of the time you're trying to win on the turn anyways when you're casting this.

Magus of the Wheel

Wheel on a stick, pretty straightforward inclusion. You have a few ways to give it haste to immediately wheel on the turn, notably Reckless Charge.

Knollspine Dragon

You want to cast this after you've dealt significant amounts of damage to your opponents this turn. You should be targeting the player that has lost the most life this turn. Similar to Sandstone Oracle but it has a greater potential to draw you a lot cards by just dealing damage to your opponents. One of the targets for Sarkhan's Triumph.

Runehorn Hellkite

You want to have this card in your graveyard most of the time. As the ability can only be activated in the graveyard. It's pretty much a wheel that has an added touch of not being able to be countered. You can tutor for it using Sarkhan's triump in response to wheel to put him into your graveyard or just simply pitch him away with your Tormenting Voice spells.

Chandra, Flamecaller

All her abilities are relevant to the deck's strategy. You can use her +1 to deal 6 damage for mana or you could use her 0 ability to refresh your hand. Gets pretty disgusting if you have your Archive on board too. Sometimes you can also use her to clear the board of smaller stuff.

Daretti, Scrap Savant

The ultimate isn't very relevant but you'll be using him to filter cards most of the time. Occasionally you can use him to recur one of your more important artifacts.

Sunbird's Invocation

This gives you the ability to dig deep into your deck as well as speed up your storm count for Aetherflux Reservoir. A little bit high costed but you'll often have no problem casting it if you manage to run with Neheb. Consider cutting this if your meta is too fast. Also if you manage to make enough mana with Mana Geyser to make infinite mana with Reiterate, you essentially cascade every 3 CMC spell in your deck.

Gamble

Sometimes it's an Entomb but you should be using it to tutor for cards with flashback and in some desperate situations, an answer or ways to get more fuel.

Sarkhan's Triumph

There's only two dragons in the deck and both of them are used mainly for card advantage. Worth the inclusion as there isn't any other tutors in mono red for this deck.

Most of the mana rocks are the usual fast rocks. Avoided too many rocks that are too clunky like Thran Dynamo but I'll go through some of the notable ones.

Cryptolith Fragment  

At first glance this looks pretty bad but it actually taps for an additional 3 mana since it causes your opponents to lose 1 life. Worth the inclusion as having this and 4 other mana sources for a Neheb with summoning sickness still gives u 3 mana.

Lion's Eye Diamond

Synergises very well with the wheels in the deck. Also another way to pitch your Runehorn Hellkite, otherwise it's a good burst of mana while you storm off.

Hedron Archive

Included because the ability to sac it for draws is invaluable.

Helm of Awakening

This should be played on the turn you're about to go off or the turn before if you're feel the risk of accelerating your opponent's plays is worth it. Otherwise this works similarly to Ruby Medallion except it also discounts your other artifacts.

Doubling Cube

This is exceptionally good in Neheb when you're making alot of mana with him already. Most of the time you'll net a lot of positive mana with this. Also it doubles the mana you get from Pyromancer's Goggles, which lets you keep doubling your spells if you have your Paradox Engine up and running.

card:Swiftfoot Boot

We run this over Lightning Greaves because the shroud doesn't allow you to

Alhammarret's Archive

Extremely potent in a deck full of Tormenting voice effects and wheels. Worth the inclusion and the added bonus of doubling the life you gain speeds up your card:Aetheflux Reservoir laser.

Strionic Resonator

This goes infinite with Paradox Engine if u have enough rocks and you activate it after casting a spell. Otherwise it's used to double your mana trigger from Neheb.

Sensei's Divining Top

If your deck doesn't have a slot for this then something is terribly wrong. Also notably if you are doing the Paradox Engine and Strionic Resonator loop, Sensei's essentially draws your entire deck.

Paradox Engine

This doesn't exactly win you the game but it helps to generate a lot of mana as you go through your deck (since the mana you make off Neheb isn't endless) and potentially win off a Comet Storm. It nets you infinite mana with Strionic Resonator and Reiterate (buyback repeatedly on a spell) provided you have enough mana rocks

Aetherflux Reservoir

One of the wincons of the deck, pretty straightforward. Have this out and cast a bunch of spells and shoot everyone down. Works similarly with Guttersnipe.

Pyroblast/Red Elemental Blast

They're essentially the same card but with different names. I only run 1 in my list due to meta preference otherwise feel free to include another as a way to deal with counter-magic and annoying blue players.

Reverberate/Fork

Both of them do the same thing and I choose to run both because they work as a red Counterspell to other people's counterspells or double duty as a way to get some benefits off someone esle's spell like when they attempt to Manifold Insights.

Increasing Vengeance

Similar to Fork except you can only target your own spells and it's mainly played because of the flashback value it provides when u flashback it copying a spell like Cathartic Reunion twice which lets you draw 9 cards for 7 mana and discarding two cards.

Reiterate

A Fork with buyback that does a cute little combo with Paradox Engine or Mana Geyser to net you infinite mana. Sometimes it just functions as a more expensive Fork.

Vandalblast

The bane of every artifact heavy color's existence. Too good to not run but replaceable if your meta is not artifact heavy for some reason.

Chaos Warp

One of your only ways to deal with enchantments sadly. Otherwise it's just a weird red Beast Within that may or may not screw you over with an added bonus of actually being able to deal with indestructible things.

Past in Flames

The best card ever made for a spell storm deck. A Yawgmoth's Will for instants and sorceries. This card provides the necessary access to more fuel while you're storming.

Mizzix's Mastery

You're second Past in Flames except for a one-time overload cost, you're able to cast every instant and sorcery in your graveyard without paying it's mana cost. Downside is that you resolve each spell exiled this way in 1 go.

Recoup

Your mini single target Past in Flames that only targets one sorcery. Still provides the much needed utility and recursion Red needs to play storm.

Shreds of Sanity

This card would be broken if not for the "exile itself" clause. This honestly is too good to not run. Helps to get back up to 1 instant and 1 sorcery for a small price of 3 mana and pitching a card.

Currently the deck struggles against control and enchantment heavy stax decks (Stony Silence rest in pepperinos). Other than that, the deck is very glass-cannon and I believe it is not as consistent as Zada Storm decks. The lack of tutors in red means you'll have some games where you fizzle or not doing anything as you're drawing the wrong end of your deck and not being able to tutor for the right cards. Card draw has always been an issue for red in general and that is one of the weaknesses the deck. Stax in general can greatly hinder your ability to storm as the deck has little ways in dealing with enchantment stax pieces and dedicated stax builds out there.

Overall I'm pleased with the direction the deck has taken since it's early creation which included a lot of Eldrazi titans and also not being a storm deck at first. I'm hoping to receive some invaluable feedback on improving the consistency of the deck or any recommendations in general on improving the deck. I hope you guys find my brew on Neheb interesting and I'll continue to update the deck as Wizards continue to print some awesome red cards to make mono Red great in (c)EDH. Also, I highly recommend if you're attempting to make and play this deck, to try to solitaire with the deck a bit to get a hang of the storm process to reduce the chance of fizzling as well as prevent you from being frustrated or being disappointed during an actual game. With that said, thanks for checking out my brew guys!

-Chandra, Flamecaller

-Daretti, Scrap Savant

-Guttersnipe

-Hedron Archive

-Fury of the Horde

+Pirate's Pillage

+Treasonous Ogre

+Barbarian Ring

+Dire Fleet Daredevil

+Red Elemental Blast

The planeswalkers were lackluster. Chandra in particular was 6 mana to cast for a new hand + 1 card which wasn't particularly fantastic if you didn't have much cards in hand. Also because it's greater than 6 CMC which can't be cast off Hazoret's Undying Fury. Due to the lack of creatures to block for your planeswalkers, they often don't last more than one turn which is bad since their first activation doesn't justify their mana cost. Guttersnipe was overly redundant and required too much set up. Fury of the Horde was often hard casted which didn't justify including it for the alternative cost. Hedron Archive was also a bit slow and Neheb doesn't require that much mana rocks to function.

Pirate's Pillage is somewhat of a Tormenting Voice that gives you lotus petals for future turns, produces positive or net mana when casted off Hazoret's and Mizzix Mastery or when Helm of Awakening or Ruby Medallion. Barbarian Ring being a situational shock to remove important threats like Hermit Druid or Laboratory Maniac. Also produces red. Dire Fleet Daredevil is amazing at gaining access to your opponent's tutors and especially removals for enchantments. Overall a very good card for Mono Red. Meta was heavy blue therefore added a Red Elemental Blast to improve match up.

Suggestions

Updates Add

Image View Timeline
Card Odds v1 Draw hand
Add to folder Copy
Download / Export / Embed Code

Comments

Attention! Complete Comment Tutorial! This annoying message will go away once you do!

Become a supporter of TappedOut and hide ads for only $3/month!

Important! Formatting tips — Comment Tutorial — markdown syntax

Please login to comment

Top Ranked
  • Achieved #13 position overall 6 years ago
Date added 6 years
Last updated 6 years
Exclude colors WUBG
Legality

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

11 - 0 Mythic Rares

39 - 0 Rares

21 - 0 Uncommons

13 - 0 Commons
Cards 99
Avg. CMC 2.65
Tokens Emblem Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Treasure
Folders cEDH - Competitive Casual & cEDH, decks, Others' Commanders, cEDH, cEDH, Interesting decks, 2018, EDH Commanders, Decks That Look Fun, Mono red ideas
Votes
Ignored suggestions
Shared with
Views