I've got to get Sol Ring and Strip Mine out of there for tournament play, any thoughts on suitable replacements?

Nightmare Lash

Sudden Spoiling

AaronEchoes already in there, and does nothing for fast mana... thanks though!!

Black Market isnt bad for a longer game. its in my horobi deck

Had some great updates after tournament testing, but I'm still getting used to the layouts and formatting, so they got erased.

Average CMC is now under 3, legal for 1v1 tournament play according to this site, and only getting faster as I playtest using the feature here, and in RL with a couple friends willing to put up with the relentlessness of this deck over and over and over.

It really won't make me any friends going into the tournament. My first big one. Any advice?

swapped some big CMC cards that weren't coming out of my hand during playtests inside 10 turns for a bunch of instant speed pump spells with 1/2 costs... average CMC now 2.65.

Heard back from tournament organizers about the banlist & rules, but there are 2 different life totals currently posted by the duel commander team... 20 on the site, 30 in the PDF... I would love to start with 30, it makes the symbol an even better tutor target, but I've been testing at 20 life and still feel good about it. I'll get back into updates once I have a bit of a review to share.

why was Glistening Oil still in this list? i lol'd when i drew it in playtesting. replaced with Touch of Moonglove because it lowers average CMC further while pushing another infect point through at instant speed. tricks yo.

tournament day is here! GP Toronto side events on the docket. stoked.

"Duel Commander" whats your other commander

AaronEchoes thats reference to the format this deck is legal in. Duel Commander is only 1v1 and uses the "french ban list". Nothing to do with the Partner mechanic legendaries.

So how finely tuned would you say this deck is to your meta?

TheRedGoat Some games it feels like there is no meta, this deck just does its work and puts 10 poison where it wants. Some games are brutal, as my playgroup is so well adjusted to the way this comes together, as its a fairly simple plan.

I think playing with the ratios of pump spells : equipment : actual infect creatures is now the most dynamic aspect of the build...

There is no 1v1 EDH events at upcoming tournaments either, so this is getting a little break from active play... Maybe in a few months it'll strike back with a vengeance!

Why no Cabal Ritual? Yawgmoth's Will would be an auto include if you have one or are willing to get one.

HelixSnapHelix no Cabal Ritual because can't always depend on the yard, speed is of the essence...

sorta the same reasoning behind yawgmoth's will, along with not owning one... The yard isn't reliably filled with win conditions, the main path to victory is combat damage using little dudes and surprising opponents with the black pump spells nobody ever uses outside of limited environments...

Ohhhh okay I see I see. I saw the creatures but kind of looked past them thinking they were more of the clean up crew if Skittles couldn’t finish the job. What about hand disruption? It seems important in a voltron/semi combo esque deck that doesn’t use counters.

HelixSnapHelix TBH this deck is more fun to pilot with Skithy as the parachute... I can usually win by turn 5 or 6 without casting from the command zone, its part of the challenge... my playgroup calls this deck "the cheatcode" :P

its strictly for 1v1 formats, and it can be pretty fragile, but when executed properly it's one of my favourite things in/about my mtg collection. thanks for the chat about it. feels good man!

re: hand disruption, I think dedicating enough spells to that strategy would take away from the surprise speed from pumping... I tend to build decks with one-track-minds, check out my Gonti deck if you like hand disruption: https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/gonti-lord-of-discard-8-rack-1v1-edh/ *needs an update, but you'll get the picture.

dubcomm +1

Mind Stone > prismatic lens. You don't need colorfiltering in mono black, the extra draw from mindstone is more helpful.

Imp's Mischief - People are gonna target your commander. This card redirects targeted draw, removal, extra turns and can "counter" counterspells. You don't mind using life as a resource so this works quite well. Bluffing is strong, given that most of your instants are just pump spells.

You don't run enough basic lands for cabal stronghold. Replace it with another utility land. Deserted Temple and Thespian's Stage are my favorites but whatever works. Ancient Tomb probably would work best for you given you want to ramp. Volrath's Stronghold is another good option.

What is the purpose of Shrine Terrace?

I know you're going for speed but what happens when you get removaled into the mid-late game? Some more card draw can definitely help. Syphon Mind and Necropotence are solid options.

Yawgmoth's Will - Ultimate black recursion

Profet93 thanks!!

1. you right, i'll look for a foil.
2. you right, though this is played in 1v1 99% of the time. if not pushing counters through, i'm not interested. mostly. "just pump spells" is almost insulting lol!
3. you right, that thing has only paid off once. foil ancient tomb is on my wishlist for an easy swap.
4. i can't remember, opened the foil and found it a home - but it sets up a solid Fatal Push and doesn't enter tapped.
5. mid/late game is an anomaly. have been in a couple long fights but i'll scoop if the writing is on the wall. Keep the sneaky tricks for surprises. Shuffle up lets go again!
6. yaaaawgmoth fun, but not necessary - enough redundancy in this list for sure.

seriously thanks so much for checking this out and the lil discussion, gets me stoked!

Nice! +1