Cards that fill graveyards (with benefits)
Buried Alive – when your graveyard is also your hand, this is also a strict upgrade to Demonic tutor (mind the graveyard hate though). Especially good with creatures that do fun stuff in your graveyard (I’m looking at you anger, stinkweed imp)
Faithless Looting– another way to pitch a big threat into my graveyard, and draw some cards in the process
Mesmeric Orb – Puts ridiculous amounts of cards into graveyards. This was originally an altar of the brood, but I found it too slow. This card is insanely much more effective to the point where I needed something to avoid decking myself out (Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre).
Stinkweed Imp – A flying, death touch wall (Essentially), with built in recursion that fills up my graveyard. This is probably the best card to have early game to keep you safe while the board develops
Wheel of Fortune/Reforge the Soul/Runehorn Hellkite/Magus of the Wheel – These cards are great not only for drawing 7 cards but for putting threats into graveyards quickly. My hand, opponent's hands, it doesn't matter since i can probably reanimate my threat cheaper than direct casting anyway. the hellkite is good since it can wheel from the graveyard, which it will likely end up due to the mesmeric orb.
Reanimation suite
Animate Dead/Necromancy – Low CMC permanents that reanimate for early reanimation and can be returned to the battlefield by sun titan.
Beacon of Unrest – Less good than the two above but can potentially happen more than once in a game thanks to the shuffle effect. It's also flexible in that creatures OR artifacts can be reanimated.
Debtors' Knell - Repeatable reanimation during my upkeep
Karmic Guide – Reanimation on enters the battlefield. I only pay the echo cost if protection from black is relevant.
Rise of the Dark Realms – what’s better than reanimating a creature? Reanimating ALL of them! This is my main Win condition with Liliana Vess being a less good backup.
Sheoldred, Whispering One – requires others to sacrifice a creature and reanimates a creature every upkeep. I am never underwhelmed when she resolves.
Sun Titan – a threat with vigilance that also can bring back small permanents (including fetch lands). This guy is value town and synergizes better than you would think
Unburial Rites - Limited to only reanimating creatures in MY graveyard, but the upside is it can be cast from the graveyard, which thanks to Mesmeric orb, it likely will be.
Wrath effects
Malfegor – A one sided wrath effect that gets around indestructible since it is a sacrifice, staples on to a 6/6 flyer.
Merciless Eviction – A strictly worse wrath effect since it exiles. It does offer the flexibility for me to deal with some troublesome planeswalkers, enchantments or artifacts in a good way however.
Wrath of God/Rout/Austere Command/Life's Finale – typical wrath effects with life’s finale allowing me to put more threats in the graveyards.
Threats
Avacyn, Angel of Hope – Big, Flying, Indestructible (Granting indestructable to all of your stuff) and Vigilance. After she resolves I often (one sided) wrath.
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight – Flying, First Strike, Double Damage to opponents and half to me. She often stops combat coming my way.
Ramp/Fixing Package
Ancient Tomb - Land sol ring with the downside of life loss. a lot of the time Vault of the archangel is offsetting this downside later in the game.
Boros Signet,Orzhov Signet,Rakdos Signet - Ramp and color fixing which is very appropriate for the color costs of my included spells.
Chromatic Lantern - The best color fixing and ramp as i can cast ANY spell as though it is colorless essentially.
Commander's Sphere - Color fixing and Ramp in the less destroyable variety.
Fellwar Stone - At first I didn't get this, but yes it is the #2 mana rock in 3+ colors as the opponent is VERY likely going to share at least one color. Note: if they have a land that produces ANY color, you are not limited to their colors here.
Land Tax - Get 3 basics as long as SOMEONE has more lands. Fixes and gives me a way to discard threats I need to reanimate later.
Sol Ring/Mana Crypt - Tariel is among several 7+ CMC cards in this deck, all of which include generic mana. If recursion isn't an option then Speed here is key.
Solemn Simulacrum - A chump blocker that both puts a land on the battlefield when he enters and draws me a card if he dies. Often in the early game (turn 4 or earlier) this is the most ideal spell to cast.
Removal
Anguished Unmaking – Exile a non-land permanent at instant speed, for just 3 life? This is IMHO better than Vindicate in EDH.
Crackling Doom - Probably the best Edict effect in the game as best case opponents sacrifice their largest threat, worst case they have more than one threat. This also adds a large threat to the graveyard where i can reanimate it.
Mortify – Remove Problem Creatures in a good way (to graveyards)
Return to Dust – Remove 1 or 2 artifacts or enchantments
Sheoldred, Whispering One - When your opponents only have the ability to cast 1 creature, her Edict effects seem to soft lock the game (if creatures are their only options).
Swords to Plowshares/Path to Exile – remove problem creatures in a less good way (exile rather than destroy).
Utter End - When you absolutely, positively must remove any non-land permanent at instant speed. Better than Vindicate (which was in this slot in the past).
Card Quality and Advantage
Academy Rector - A quick way to get BIG enchantments into play such as Debtor's Knell or No Mercy, often by my own wrath effect.
Custodi Lich - Monarch allowing card draw at the end of the turn. Since I have Wrath effects there are not usually many attackers left to claim it, but when there are the edict effect is highly useful.
Enlightened Tutor - limited artifact, enchantment tutor at instant speed. Most of the time this is grabbing the mana fixing or ramp but on occasion...
Geier Reach Sanitarium - Card draw with the "upside" of being able to discard. Also there is an unlikely chance that the opponents will discard a creature.
Liliana Vess- another way to tutor and in magical christmas land, a back up rise of the dark realms. NOTE: if you have Mesmeric orb online, only pick reanimation targets since they will likely be milled at the beginning of YOUR turn.
Phyrexian Arena - Draw an extra card at the cost of 1 life point.
Tutors
Demonic Tutor/Rune-Scarred Demon/Diabolic Intent - non-limited card tutors for consistency. note: these place cards in your hand (Mesmeric orb)...
Hey, Were Playing Commander (Cards)
Anger - Haste enabler that is likely going directly to the graveyard thanks to Mesmeric orb.
Lightning Greaves - General Protection and haste enabler
Super-Secret Tech
Boros Charm - I mostly use the "Indestructible" mode before a wrath effect to save my team but doublestrike can help to finish out a game or remove a problem threat in a pinch.
Resolute Archangel - Reset my life total to 40? Yes please! Bonus points if you reset it more than once in a game.
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre - Mesmeric orb can burn through my own deck quickly thus Ulamog is a good stop gap from milling myself out, Plus a premium threat in a pinch.
Vault of the Archangel - Allows me to gain life once I have my threats online, a good backup to Resolute Archangel. Deathtouch often means that if they block, I am getting another target for reanimation.
