LVL_666 you once told me on my Mono Green Wurm Tribal To make a primer. I haven't played it since this commander came out. I made a primer for him what do you think? It does still need work. I haven't playtested this deck much.

Well as an expert LVL_666 myself, I think I'm an authority on what he likes...and what does think of your primer?

And just to be clear, it's not just you who I want to make a Primer - I want everyone to make a primer. In my opinion, it makes you as a deck builder more thoughtful of the interactions of your deck and leads you to question how things work - or have others comment and question your line of reasoning for certain card interactions. Speaking of which, after reading the "Playstyle" section, I think that your deck is midrange? Do you agree? Or is it more control? I'd like to get your thoughts on that.

Also, I love your recipe for "Upside down Tendrils of Agony ", truly a treat for the senses...but why is step 7 blank? And for "Enjoy short games? Turn 1 Win-Cons" - you didn't tag your cards. For your last two tabs, I'd recommend you explain your combo with a little more...verbosity. Just listing cards leads me to guess alot about how your wincon comes together.

Last, but certainly not least i've gotta toss a few card suggestions your way. What do you think of the following?:

• Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon - Ole' Skittles here fits in thematically as well as functionally as he too provides a reliable wincon that uses infect. A great alternative to tutor up if your commander gets removed a little too often for you to pay that CMC + Commander tax.

• Lashwrithe - assists in giving a big buff to your commander when you want to swing in. You already have Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - so why not have an equipment that capitalizes on that.

So far, the deck looks great! Real nasty - and it comes at you from multiple angles. I'd love to hear how it's been performing for you. Nice primer, keep up the good work! Oh, and +1 from me - for Phyrexia

LVL_666 thank you for the informative response. Totally agree on primers now. Researching and reading other people's to help me understand, actually made me understand the game more, along with my deck.

I actually need to read up.. Thank you for the link..on what decks identify as. I don't know this one Is. I don't think it's control, I only added removal because people informed me it's needed in cedh. I didn't care because I wanted to win by turn 4 consistently... Maybe one day ha. I like to win by combo or attacking, if that tells you anything. I'll just go with midrange. You probably have way more knowledge than I do on that subject.

Tendrils of Agony it is a very tasty treat.. Except for the after taste when someone eats it ha. Number 7 I forgot to put the cake line.

I will continue working on the primer and take in what you said explaining more. Definitely defeats the purpose of a primer if it explains nothing ha.

Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon .. I really like the idea of this guy in the deck. I can pump him and attack same turn. Also shoot me but i was thinking of removing Ad Nauseam for it.. It kills me so fast on top of paying costs with K'rrik. That's my thoughts.. What would you remove. Keep in mind 33 shadowborn apostles is probably the least I would go. That way thrumming stone hits more consistent plus makes tendrils do more and K'rrik pump more.

Lashwrithe im on the fence. The 4 mana to play.. I could do the turn after casting K'rrik but I usually cast my pump spells... What would you remove?

Thanks for the feedback. The deck so far 3 out of 4 games have been won. 2 by pure aggro turn 5 6.. Before the fancy lands, shade spells and infect. I smile thinking about when I use the deck next. I am very open to ideas especially since you offered advice on the theme without saying ads these staples... That have nothing to with the deck.

1 game in not counting because I had all my lands, enchantments.... Everything seperated into piles... And forgot... ... . shit...

Hey Whitehamma,

From what I read in your description, your deck seems to be something closer to an Aggro-control style deck. Play a few creatures early and use spells to protect and pump them for consistent damage. An excerpt from the previously listed link further describes the Aggro-control deck as thus:

"Aggro-control decks are also known as "tempo" decks, though these terms are not interchangeable. Aggro-control is a game plan for an archetype, while tempo is a theoretical concept that addresses the pace of executing a strategy. If you have tempo over your opponent, you are further ahead in developing your strategy. Many aggro-control decks rely heavily on generating tempo. Many aggro decks contain control elements, such as removal and burn spells, yet this does not make them specifically aggro-control. Many times, these control cards are simply to remove blockers or to provide a source of mid-game card advantage. Conversely, control decks may contain aggressive elements as well yet not be considered aggro-control. For example, a control deck may sideboard in cheap, aggressive creatures to exploit a control opponent's early game weakness, especially if the opponent has inevitability. In this sense, the control deck has simply "gone aggro" or "become the beatdown".

That's just my interpretation of your deck though - please correct me if i'm wrong. Removing Ad Nauseam isn't a bad move. Since you're restricted to mono-black you can't combine it with the usual suspects (e.g. - Phyrexian Unlife , Teferi's Protection , Angel's Grace , or Gideon of the Trials ) to really capitalize on it's power. However, you do have one viable option to combine it with - Platinum Angel . But that would probably push you a bit too far outside of your original deck design to include it. I mean, it's also a great card to keep though as it can outright win you the game if and only if your deck is completely optimized to win once you've drawn roughly 15-20 cards.

Would I cut ad nauseum for Ole' SKittles ? Hmm. Tough call. I'd say it all depends on your playstyle. Skitts can win you the game if you have the right spells to support him, but it all depends on how your deck is optimized to win - can you consistently get a creature through and knock out opponents one by one or can you combo off more reliably to kill the whole table at once?

Also, I have another card suggestion - what're your thoughts on Hatred ? It goes well with your commander as it has Lifelink - so you can just pay the 19 Life to pump K'rrik to 21/21 after you swing in and no blocks declared. Just a thought. Lashwrithe was just a random thought - if you don't see yourself using it, no problem.

LVL_666 I guess we have it labeled. It does sound alot like Aggro-control. I think your interpretation is pretty spot on.

Platinum Angel does combo pretty well, i'll have to think if there is a way to make them two work. It might not though as like you said, it does seem a little outside the idea of the deck. Infect was at one point a little outside to so who knows. The deck can outright win if i have as many cards as you listed. Thats generally how the turn 1 win works ( yes i will explain more in depth in the primer ).

I went ahead and added Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon . I can actually make him the turn 1 win. Draw him pump him and attack since he has haste. To answer your question " can you consistently get a creature through and knock out opponents one by one or can you combo off more reliably to kill the whole table at once?" The matches i did play, 3-4 they were won as following: 2 by aggro, 1 by tendrils. The one i lost i had already done 20 commander damage, and his deck just popped off, couple of board wipes then my tempo slowed. I didn't have the pump spells or infect at the time of these games. Had 40 Shadowborn Apostle and they pumped K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth , then i attacked with all of them.

The take away from that is, Aggro more consitently, and probably need to playtest more. We will have quite a few players at a Halloween thing and I will record the data.

Now all thats out of the way.... Hatred I'm glad you brought this up, so I have been wrestling with the idea of putting it in the deck but have been on the fences. It does go well with K'rrik, What I am concerned with is it dying when i attack because only the attack is pumped. I'm sure that's why you asked, "can I consistently get a creature thru", so i actually wouldn't have to worry about something like that. A second reason is I'm worried about the 3 colorless mana to cast, it doesn't sound like much i just have been trying to steer away from spells that cost anything but black mana or close to it... but shit I don't know, do you think the 3 colorless is that big of a deal? I guess if K'rrik is already out, i already have the mana open.. unless Mana Vault is used and it's turn 1-3.... Fuck it you have convinced me ill just add Rite of Consumption , and call it a day.

I have a modern deck that uses hydras & fling thought Rite of Consumption would be funny to mention. Again thank you for the thoughts and I hope some questions got answered.

Also i added Glistening Oil , Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon , and Inkmoth Nexus . Any skittles recipes you know of to add to the primer?

Ole' Skidaddle-doodle is a worthy inclusion in the deck. I think it will serve you well in knocking out pesky opponents. I'm more on the fence about Platinum Angel - it's a combo piece that has somewhat limited synergy with your Commander . Sorry to keep throwing card suggestions for you to deliberate over but another card came to mind - what do you think of Bolas's Citadel ? In a way, it has somewhat similar functionality to Ad Nauseam , but with a bit more restraint. Combine the previously mentioned with Aetherflux Reservoir + Sensei's Divining Top and you have an infinite combo that quickly rolls over the whole table. Again, might be a bit outside the original design of the deck - but worth mentioning. Just for clarification on how this works:

With all three cards in play( Bolas's Citadel + Aetherflux Reservoir + Sensei's Divining Top ), you play the top card of your library - until you hit your 2nd land, but that is where Sensei's comes into play to prevent that scenario - hopefully. As you continue casting spells you would be able to mitigate the damage dealt to you via the cumulative life gain effects of Aetherflux triggers. Worst case scenario you have a bunch of cards in play that you can use to just be so far ahead you win the game the next turn, or outright win the same turn you assemble the combo.

As for

Ole' Skitt combos? Nothing outside of the ol' turn sidways + pump strategy. Hatred is a fun card that comes out of nowhere, but you can definitely be shut down Hard if that spell flops because the annoying Blue player thought it'd be funny. Maybe the risk isn't worth it? I definitely understand if you think so. Again, just a thought.

LVL_666Don't be sorry about throwing card suggestions. Someone will always think of something or some strategy another has not. Just like if i make a process to build a cabinet, even if its a top not process, someone that comes in with new eyes will ask something about it or find something that works better.

Bolas's Citadel this has been suggested before. I'm still thinking about it, I will play test it. I honestly think it's better than Ad Nauseam just because you aren't forced to pay life to draw it then pay mana to cast it. Plus each opponent loses 10 life if mixed with Exquisite Blood it would supply the fuel for the deck. Good recommendation.

I will budget Hatred in and maybe proxie to see if it adds to the deck, early game and no counters it would wreck. Thanks for the tips

Whitehamma, Citadel is a good card, to make it sweeter there's a Promo with alternate art that I recommend picking up if the card ever gains popularity. I wouldn't say it's necessarily better than Ad Nauseam , as it is far more vulnerable to removal than an instant would ever be. But again, it depends on how your deck is optimized to mitigate that. For Hatred , I think proxying it in first is a smart move - it's far too expensive of a card to just go and get - and it might not even work out in the long run. Early game though, it would be a complete WTF murder blast to some unsuspecting opponent - the best part would be that it wouldn't be at any additional cost to you with the exception of the 4 life lost to pay for the (assuming you're going in with your Commander). I look forward to hearing how these suggestions work out for you.

LVL_666 made some changes to the last three tabs. Explained things a little more. Still have to add to it. The primer will take a while to complete. Still studying the build a primer link you posted. I am so surprised it has 800 plus views just off doing some things the link said.

I will post how the Halloween Night goes we should have a good group. Multiple people i will have a harder time against because this deck wrecks 1v1 but not big groups... we shall see if i play right.

Sidenote: how do you keep linking Skittles with different names and it still pops up the same card... i was like wtf ha.

and yea turn 1 hatred gain all the life back then use a shade spell and attack another opponent.

LVL_666 so I got a letter today... Apparently I already ordered Hatred so..

This is pretty cool. I dont think I've seen a shodowborn based deck with K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth at the helm. +1 from me mug.

bradtheimpaler13 Thank you. I love jank, and pretty much will go the opposite way people go with decks ha. I'll stop and upvote some of your decks in a minute

LVL_666 played a pod of 7 last night and won turn 5 with the turn 1 combo listed above. Except didn't have K'rrik out turn 2 because I thought it waa too early in a 7 player game and didn't know what kind of removal people had

Hey GreenHamma,

A spicy turn 5 win in a pod of 7? I guess nobody saw that coming. Well done! I think that was a wise move to hold back on playing your commander - that would've sent up some red flags to have the table start paying attention to you. I've taken a look at the Theros: Beyond Death spoilers and nothing seems to stick out that I think could help your deck - but then again this is the beginning of spoiler season. Did you hear the big news about how Magic is going to officially support commander for 2020? Crazy stuff, right? In case you didn't see the announcement video, i'll leave it right here. What're your thoughts? Think one of those 70 new commander options will be beneficial for this deck when the new commander set is released?

p.s. Why the name change? Is green now your favorite color?

LVL_666 that's what I figured he wound be shot down quick. I have played them with K'rrik, but it was 1v1 (commander damage), and 4v4 (tendrils of agony). The 4v4 I eliminated myself and the other strongest deck, because the other 2 guys decks weren't going off. So they have seen it go off. They haven't seen the exquisite blood combo so that was surprising. It was exciting.

I haven't seen the spoiler I'll check it out, and respond back.

It is pretty crazy, but it is smart, commander players usually have 10 or more decks. Modern and other formats 1 or 2.

As for beneficial changes im not sure I hope they have pump spells, mana ramp or more infect. That's basically what i use. Man a new demon would be pretty good though or draw spell.

The name change... Green is my favorite color in magic. Whitehamma was a reference of a kevin hard movie where his name was blackhamma. Figured I would upgrade my account and change it to green. All of my decks with the exception of this are green.

LVL_666 whats your thoughts on Bitterblossom ?

Evasion, pump, infect were my thoughts. Is it too slow?