SPOOKIE BONES (Old)

Commander / EDH Budget Casual Mono-Black Regenerate Skeleton Theme/Gimmick

xram666

Skeleton (32)

• 1x Augur of Skulls
• 1x Bone Dragon
• 1x Carrionette
• 1x Champion of Stray Souls
• 1x Cinderbones
• 1x Clattering Augur
• 1x Death Tyrant
• 1x Dimir House Guard
• 1x Drift of the Dead
• 1x Drudge Sentinel
• 1x Drudge Skeletons
• 1x Drudge Spell
• 1x Flayed Nim
• 1x Gutterbones
• 1x Kjeldoran Dead
• 1x Lim-Dul's High Guard
• 1x Marang River Skeleton
• 1x Marrow Bats
• 1x Paragon of Open Graves
• 1x Phyrexian Monitor
• 1x Reassembling Skeleton
• 1x Restless Dead
• 1x Rimebound Dead
• 1x Skeletal Kathari
• 1x Skeletal Vampire
• 1x Skeletal Wurm
• 1x Skeleton Archer
• 1x Skeleton Scavengers
• 1x Spawning Pool
• 1x Tenacious Dead
• 1x Underworld Sentinel
• 1x Unworthy Dead

Pump (8)

• 1x Bad Moon
• 1x Bonesplitter
• 1x Coat of Arms
• 1x Death Baron
• 1x Door of Destinies
• 1x Heirloom Blade
• 1x Paragon of Open Graves
• 1x Vulshok Morningstar

Reanimate (5)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Blood for Bones
• 1x Dance of the Dead
• 1x Disturbed Burial
• 1x Underworld Sentinel

Draw (4)

• 1x Read the Bones
• 1x Skeletal Scrying
• 1x Touch of Death
• 1x Underworld Connections

MassRemoval (3)

• 1x Dead of Winter
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Withering Wisps

Land (36)

• 35x Snow-Covered Swamp
• 1x Spawning Pool

Other (2)

• 1x Casting of Bones
• 1x Cryptic Gateway

Tutor (1)

• 1x Diabolic Tutor

Commander (1)

SpotRemoval (5)

• 1x Ashes to Ashes
• 1x Death Wind
• 1x Skeleton Archer
• 1x Terror
• 1x Vanquish the Weak

Ramp (4)

• 1x Black Mana Battery
• 1x Charcoal Diamond
• 1x Jet Medallion
• 1x Skull of Ramos

PetCard (3)

• 1x Fallen Angel
• 1x Nightmare
• 1x Touch of Death

SacOutlet (1)

• 1x Skull Catapult

WinCon (1)

• 1x Coat of Arms

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This is the old mono black version of my skeleton EDH Deck with Skithiryx, the Blight Drago at the helm. The actual green/black version with Vhati il-Dal as commander can be found here: SPOOKIE BONES

Commander Choice

For a skeleton Commander who is also a skeleton him/herself you don't have much choices:

• Skeleton Ship: For favor a great choice but the card is horrible and most of the skeletons do not support the mechanics of the card. You can make an interesting and fun to play deck with the ship but I myself don't find the card suited as commander for a skeleton tribal deck.
• Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon: This card cry's for a Voltron Commander deck, but for an tribal skeleton deck he suites also.

Most skeletons are black but we have also other colors represented (by 11/14/2021):

White (1 Skeleton)

Sentry of the Underworld

Blue (4 Skeletons)

• Kathari Remnant
• Mortus Strider
• Skeleton Ship
• Demilich

Green (5 Skeletons)

• Deathless Knight
• Golgari Grave-Troll
• Mournwillow
• Rot Farm Skeleton
• Deathless Knight

Red (5 Skeletons)

• Carnage Gladiator
• Lightning Skelemental
• Rakdos Ringleader
• Viashino Skeleton
• Flameskull

So all in all not enough skeletons in any other color to justify a second color.

UPDATE Adventures in the Forgotten Realms: with the printing of Skeletal Swarming I decided to switch to green/black. The new deck can be found here: SPOOKIE BONES

Lets have a look at other choices for a commanders in Mono Black:

• Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker: Their are a lot of skeletons with power 1. So maybe an options for a grave pact like deck.
• Ayara, First of Locthwain: Always a good options for a Mono-Black creature centered deck.
• Erebos, God of the Dead: For flavor a supreme option.
• Balthor the Defiled: As skeletons tend to die very often he can be a useful commander.

Their are many other options but for flavor I myself decided to use Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon

Skeletons

First I start with my picks for the deck

• Augur of Skulls: 1/1 for two mana is nearly normal for skeletons and the effect is quite good. Auto include!
• Bone Dragon: 5/4 flying for 5 mana. This skeleton is a beast. Auto include!!!
• Carrionette: 1/1 for two mana. So far so good. The effect is nice an relevant in a lot of games.
• Champion of Stray Souls: 4/4 for six mana. Not the best option but we need stronger cards than the regular 1/1s
• Cinderbones: 1/1 for three mana. Whiter with only 1 point power is normally not relevant. He is on the edge to get cutted.
• Dimir House Guard: 2/3 for four mana and the regenerate effect is horrible. But his transmute ability is where he shines. We can tutor for Grave Pact or Door of Destinies for example.
• Drift of the Dead: With 33 Snow-covered Swamps in the deck this card is a great defense.
• Drudge Sentinel: 2/1 for three mana. Not that good. But a skeleton that can be indestructible is good. At least better than some other skeletons ;-)
• Drudge Spell: Not really a creature but it makes Drudge Skeletons. And an really wonderful artwork.
• Drudge Skeletons: 1/1 for two mana with regeneration for one mana. Standard for skeletons an god enough for the deck.
• Flayed Nim: 2/2 for four mana and some form of evasion. Good enough for the deck.
• Gutterbones: 2/1 for one mana. Normally not relevant in commander games. But we don't have a lot of options.
• Kjeldoran Dead: 3/1 for one mana and sacrifice of a creature. Normally no problem in a skeleton deck. I like him a lot.
• Lim-Dul's High Guard: This is a classic from the old days and still a good skeleton.
• Marang River Skeleton: A clearly better Drudge Skeletons but I think I have never uses the megamorph ;-)
• Marrow Bats: 4/1 flying for five! mana. This card is bad but we don have a lot of flying skeletons. So we take the pill and move on.
• Paragon of Open Graves: 2/2 for four mana with an lord effect and a relevant ability. Yes please your in.
• Phyrexian Monitor: 2/2 for four mana with regeneration. OK.
• Reassembling Skeleton: He/she comes back and back and back... A classic with Grave Pact and an sac-outlet. Auto Include!
• Restless Bones: 1/1 for three mana isn't that good even for a skeleton but the ability to give any creature swampwalk is good enough.
• Restless Dead: Another Druge skeleton
• Rimebound Dead: With only snow-covered swamps in the deck a better Druge skeleton
• Skeletal Kathari: 3/2 flying for five mana. But the same as with Marrow Bats
• Skeletal Vampire: 3/3 flying an two flying bats for sic mana is good. Auto include!
• Skeletal Wurm 7/6 with regeneration for eight mana. No one with any sense would play Scaled Wurm and I play this guy only because we need beaters in this deck.
• Skeleton Archer 3/3 for four mana is OK. The effect is normally not relevant.
• Skeleton Scavengers This is a interesting skeleton with a very nice artwork.
• Tenacious Dead Slightly worse than Reassembling Skeleton but with Grave Pact good enough
• Underworld Sentinel: Newest addition to the tribe. A 4/5 Skeleton for 5 mana with a relevant ability. Yes please.
• Unworthy Dead: Another Druge skeleton
• Wall of Bone: On the edge for a cut.

Non Skeleton Creatures:

• Death Baron: This is an auto include for the deck.
• Bone Shredder: Removal with a matching artwork. Sign me in!
• Fallen Angel: This is more or less a pet card from the old days. Work's fine with Tenacious Dead and Reassembling Skeleton
• Nightmare: A Pet card for me and an impressive Beater in a mono black deck.

Spells:

• Black Mana Battery: Ramp with a gorgeous artwork. I know the card is bad, but lock again at the artwork.
• Bonesplitter: The card name matches the theme and warriors of the old days have been buried with their weapons, so this makes sense.
• Charcoal Diamond: The artwork form seventh edition is wonderful. Would be perfect if it had a black frame.
• Coat of Arms: One of the win options of these deck. And their are skulls in the artwork, perfect.
• Cryptic Gateway:
• Door of Destinies
• Heirloom Blade: You made a mistake to bury your ancestor with his sword....
• Skull Catapult: For me an auto include even if the card is bad. And our army of darkness needs siege weapons.
• Vulshok Morningstar: This is the most effective weapon against skeletons, but they don't mind using it themselves.
• Animate Dead: Wonderful artwork and an really strong spell.
• Bad Moon: The card is still good for a mono black deck. By the way, the picture was taken while creating the group photo of my Army of Darkness.
• Dance of the Dead: These artwork is fantastic.
• Grave Pact: These card is so good. But not the artwork form Stronghold please Grave Pact
• Dead of Winter: The artwork doesn't fit the theme perfectly, but the card is to good to pass away.
• Withering Wisps: One of the reasons to play snow-covered swamps. Mass-removal with matching artwork.
• Ashes to Ashes: This card is really strong in EDH and should see more play. A least in budget builds. And the artwork of the fifth edition is perfect for the deck.
• Blood for Bones: We have enough cannon fodder to return something meaningful.
• Diabolic Tutor: The only other tutor with matching artwork would be Vampire tutor (EMA) but as this is an budget deck we that this one. Sadly :-(
• Disturbed Burial: The artwork is not really the hit but thematically it fits perfectly into the deck and if you give us the time the spell is really good.
• Read the Bones: Card draw with matching artwork. Yes please.
• Touch of Death: This card is really bad. But with this artwork I have to play the card.
• Tragic Slip: Recruitment of replacements.
• Death Wind: Removal witch matching artwork. Perfect.
• Terror: Good old terror and the artwork from 10th edition is suitable.
• Skeletal Scrying: Card draw with matching artwork. Yes please.
• Vanquish the Weak: Removal with matching artwork. I'm in.
• Jet Medallion: Mana Ramp and an awesome artwork

Cards that didn't make the cut:

To expensive (money)

• Cabal Coffers
• Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• Vampiric Tutor
• Phyrexian Tower
• Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• Oversold Cemetery

Not flavorful enough

• Skullclamp: I know this card would be good in the deck. If we get a reprint with matching art the card is in.
• Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• Phyrexian Arena
• Exsanguinate
• Demonic Tutor
• Dictate of Erebos
• Grave Titan
• Caged Sun
• Adaptive Automaton
• Metallic Mimic
• Skeletal Changeling
• Changeling Outcast
• Skulltap
• Urza's Incubator
• Batterskull
• Cabal Stronghold
• Crypt Ghast

Not good enough

• Sanitarium Skeleton: To slow and clunky
• Skeletal Snake: 2/1 vanilla for two mana. Not good in EDH.
• Barrier of Bones: The artwork doesn't blow me away and we don't need the surveil either.
• Urborg Skeleton: Simply: NO
• Asphodel Wanderer: 3 mana to regenerate is to expensive
• Skeletal Crocodile: 5/1 vanilla in EDH. No way
• Skull Storm: This deck has not enough ramp to use this card
• Skeletal Grimace: only partially...
• Duty-Bound Dead: The only good thing about him: he would push our commander by one. This would put his clock at two moves instead of three. So maybe he still comes
• Throne of Bone: Not relevant for the deck
• Grave Exchange If it would be an instant, maybe. But as a sorcery for 6 mana, no.
• Cranial Archive: If I would ply Living Dead yes. But so it is not relevant for the deck
• Death Pits of Rath: Would be very counterproductive for the deck.

Top Ten Artworks

1. Touch of Death
2. Dance of the Dead
3. Animate Dead
4. Kjeldoran Dead
5. Skeleton Scavengers
6. Skull Catapult
7. Black Mana Battery
8. Ashes to Ashes
9. Reassembling Skeleton
10. Marang River Skeleton

Date added	3 years
Last updated	2 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	3 - 0 Mythic Rares 19 - 0 Rares 21 - 0 Uncommons 21 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.20
Tokens	Bat 1/1 B, Morph 2/2 C, Skeleton 1/1 B w/ Regenerate, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	ZZArchived
Based on	SPOOKIE BONES xram666 EDH