Teysa - Necronomicon v0

Commander / EDH* WB (Orzhov)

Mako

Creature (35)

• 1x Ancient Stone Idol
• 1x Athreos, God of Passage
• 1x Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
• 1x Black Cat
• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Burnished Hart
• 1x Carrion Feeder
• 1x Cruel Celebrant
• 1x Deathgreeter
• 1x Elenda, the Dusk Rose
• 1x Flesh Carver
• 1x Gonti, Lord of Luxury
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Karmic Guide
• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1x Krav, the Unredeemed
• 1x Merciless Executioner
• 1x Midnight Reaper
• 1x Pitiless Plunderer
• 1x Plaguecrafter
• 1x Priest of Forgotten Gods
• 1x Reassembling Skeleton
• 1x Requiem Angel
• 1x Reveillark
• 1x Seraph of the Scales
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Teysa, Orzhov Scion
• 1x Twilight Prophet
• 1x Vindictive Lich
• 1x Viscera Seer
• 1x Wurmcoil Engine
• 1x Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed
• 1x Yahenni, Undying Partisan
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat

Land (37)

• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Concealed Courtyard
• 1x Emergence Zone
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Fetid Heath
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x High Market
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Mortuary Mire
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 5x Plains
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Scrubland
• 6x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Field
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Vault of the Archangel
• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip

Sorcery (7)

• 1x Debt to the Deathless
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Living Death
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Rise of the Dark Realms
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Victimize

Commander (1)

Enchantment (11)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Bloodchief Ascension
• 1x Dark Prophecy
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Divine Visitation
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Phyrexian Reclamation
• 1x Revel in Riches
• 1x Smothering Tithe
• 1x Vampiric Rites

Artifact (7)

• 1x Altar of Dementia
• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Bolas's Citadel
• 1x Jet Medallion
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring

Instant (2)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Despark

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Maybeboard

Creature (15)

• 1x Archon of Justice
• 1x Crypt Ghast
• 1x Emrakul, the Promised End
• 1x Filigree Familiar
• 1x Liliana, Heretical Healer  ^Flip
• 1x Massacre Wurm
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Ministrant of Obligation
• 1x Pawn of Ulamog
• 1x Puppeteer Clique
• 1x Ravos, Soultender *f-etch*
• 1x Restoration Specialist
• 1x Serra Ascendant
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Vizkopa Guildmage

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Bitterblossom
• 1x Black Market
• 1x Debtors' Knell
• 1x Exquisite Blood
• 1x Spirit Bonds

Instant (2)

• 1x Sudden Spoiling
• 1x Utter End

Sorcery (4)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Bitter Ordeal
• 1x Read the Bones
• 1x Revival / Revenge

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Liliana, Dreadhorde General

Artifact (1)

• 1x Nim Deathmantle

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FEATURED: NitpickingNerds Podcast

Thanks for taking a look at the deck! If you would like to see a detailed breakdown, all cards have been sorted via the custom view.

Deck links for inspiration:

• Cool Stuff Inc. Teysa List

• Jumbo Commander Decklist

• "May We Never Part" Decklist

• Whisky Magic Decklist

• NedStarksHead's Decklist (MTGMuddstah)

• Good Reddit Post on an Elenda Deck

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Some notes about this (untested) deck…

From what I’ve read, most Teysa decks are a mix between token and recursion builds with all the death-trigger/good stuff smashed in. I’m aiming for something a bit for focused. I want my creatures to weave in and out of the graveyard racking up those sweet, sweet triggers, but the deck should have enough utility to drain opponents of life and generate some evasive tokens that can be sacked for value. It sounds like a lot, but there are loads of cards with this sort of overlap that synergize well with Teysa.

Current Concerns

Current Concerns:

• Not enough creature/permanent protection ( Lightning Greaves , Teferi's Protection , etc.)

• No graveyard protection ( Elixir of Immortality , Perpetual Timepiece , etc.)

• Not enough hard, non-creature removal (What do I do if there's a Rest in Peace out or another problematic permanent in play and I don't have Despark or Anguished Unmaking ?

• Too much recursion, too little sac outlets….trying to find the optimal balance

• The deck needs to function without having Teysa out or 100% relying on having my own creatures in play + a sac outlet. There should be some non-creature redundancy to help keep things running when other pieces aren't on board.

Tokens and Life Drain

Tokens are a sub-theme here rather than a hard focus. Cards like Anointed Procession are absent since Teysa is already doubling the token-generation death triggers. Procession would be spicy overkill, but I would rather have another tool in the box rather than beefing up what is already being doubled. Bitterblossom is in the maybe board strictly because it lacks a death trigger. At just , it’s very tempting.

Life drain lines up pretty dang nicely with the current set of death triggers. Blood Artist , Zulaport Cutthroat , and Cruel Celebrant all have similar effects and the redundancy is just means we can get the effect out faster. Athreos, God of Passage was originally the backup general of sorts, but here its purpose is to generate the life drain vs repeatable cast value. It can be very easy to set up a loop with something like Reassembling Skeleton + Ashnod's Altar + Pitiless Plunderer to generate infinite mana or life loss. There’s even the potential in a very casual match-up to use (not currently in the deck) Emrakul, the Promised End to force an opponent to pay the life. I didn’t include that card in this version because it wasn’t the focus (but I would be happy to make room for it).

WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW

Some cards that don’t explicitly say “when a/this creature dies” can still be doubled via Teysa! Dying is a subset of leaving the battlefield so any “leaves the battlefield” abilities that trigger from a creature dying will trigger Teysa. Bloodchief Ascension and Reveillark are the spicy bois (…girls?). Bloodchief’s “Whenever a card is put into an opponent's graveyard from anywhere” clause can be triggered twice if the card in question is a creature dying and being sent to a graveyard. Boom. Same for Reveillark… ”When Reveillark leaves the battlefield” means in ANY fashion. If you sac it, it “dies” and leaves the battlefield, meaning you can get 4 critters from you bin! Whoop whoop!

If you want to know more about this ruling (or verify it), here’s the link: Ask a Magic Judge Tumblr

Death Triggers and Infinite Loops

And finally, the death and recursion theme. There are currently 24 “when x dies” triggers in the deck. That’s probably a bit on the high side, but they seem to go together well (at least when looking at the list). While life gain is not a theme, triggering small amounts can offset the penalty of Dark Prophecy and Midnight Reaper ’s mandatory life loss, as well as keep us alive long enough to get our pieces in play, which is the only reason Deathgreeter is here. Plus, he’s a nice one drop. card:Bacl Cat, I’ll admit, is an odd choice. I totally forgot this card existed until I saw a list on Cool Stuff Inc.’s site. Disrupting a player’s hand at random is a much better deterrent than a small body with deathtouch (like Orzhov Enforcer ). And if you get tired of it sitting there, sac it, get the trigger, and plop it right back down. All other cards are pretty self-explanatory.

I do want to discuss Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed . This is the true “hidden commander”. I’ve only seen a single Teysa list with this card (Cool Stuff Inc.’s), but the power level and synergy can’t be denied. I don’t own the card yet, but it’s one I can see fitting into practically any black deck (so I really want to pick it up). If it winds up getting cut, it’s not the end of the world, but it does so much for the deck that I’d be a little disappointed if it didn’t work out. Getting a death trigger to snag an Animate Dead , Despark , or ANY other black card from the bin is just so spicy! Plus, there’s bound to be an exploitable infinite loop somewhere in there.

Ah yes, infinite loops. Commander is one of those formats where “oops! I went infinite” happens too often for comfort. On several occasions, I’ve found myself winning a game because I didn’t realize a handful of cards in the deck went infinite with each other. Sometimes it’s more difficult to build away from the infinite interactions than it is to just generate a list. I’m fine with them, but I don’t want the deck to revolve around it or be in a constant state of “oops! Infinite death!” and then no one wants to play anymore. I like working for the win con. I’m honestly not a fan of “I win” cards, which is why card:Revel in Ritches is on the chopping block in my head. I’m seriously considering swapping it for something like Bitter Ordeal unless I can be convinced otherwise. (Hears mournful cries of black players in the distance).

Closing

WOW – that was a lot more than I was anticipating for “notes.” Anyway, this is just an untested list, but even now it seems sub-optimal. I want it to be strong, but not cEDH – like 75% or 80%. My budget for any upgrades from this list is $50. Some cards (like Xiahou) I haven’t purchased yet, so I’m willing to “swap” that value for another card if the deck absolutely needs it.

Current “To Acquire” List:

• Ancient Stone Idol

• Carrion Feeder

• Cruel Celebrant

• Deathgreeter

• Grim Haruspex

• Krav, the Unredeemed

• Reassembling Skeleton

• Requiem Angel

• Sidisi, Undead Vizier

• Teysa, Orzhov Scion

• Vindictive Lich

• Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed

• Fetid Heath

• Phyrexian Tower

• Dictate of Erebos

• Victimize

• Altar of Dementia

Date added	5 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	14 - 0 Mythic Rares 44 - 0 Rares 25 - 0 Uncommons 6 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.32
Tokens	Angel 4/4 W, Angel 4/4 W w/ Vigilance, City's Blessing, Construct 6/12 C, Horror */* B, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Morph 2/2 C, Spirit 1/1 W, Spirit 1/1 WB, Treasure, Vampire 1/1 W, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Deathtouch, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Lifelink
Based on	Teysa - Orzhov v1 copy Mako EDH