Hello everyone! Below is a Card-By-Card selection description for essentially my entire deck. If anything's missing that you would like justification for, or have any ideas, feel free to message me!
Horobi, Death's Wail EDH is a trigger-happy main phase control deck that plays similarly to Tron in Modern. You efficiently and aggressively stagger your opponent's attempts to develop a boardstate, and then eventually reach the inevitable lategame where the raw power of your cards will carry you to victory. Horobi's ability to turn everything into a Murder makes for some extremely brutal interactions with enchantments, equipment, and much more.
When building Horobi, Death's Wail, you must consider the individual value of each of your targeters. Diversifying and balancing your targeters to be good both when you have, and dont have, Horobi is important.
Without Horobi, the cards have their traditional value.
Touch of Darkness
does next to nothing relevant to EDH (or any other format) but Cauldron of Souls is still a valuable advantage/politics engine that generates additional value from your board. If you build your deck around only cards like Touch of Darkness, any game where Horobi is regularly targeted will result in you not surviving long enough to hit lategame.
With Horobi, everything changes. Any single-target spells and abilities are of equivalent power, and are differentiated by repeatability, recursion, and evasion from other targeting spells. Suddenly Hex Parasite becomes Pay 2 life, kill a creature. On the other side, Duplicant becomes an extremely shitty Noxious Gearhulk. You play Horobi for the raw value you can generate by turning your
Desert
into a repeatable kill spell, and if you dont build your deck around taking advantage of this value, you might as well just play Erebos, God of the Dead good stuff, and generate value from his draw ability.
Here are the targeting choices Ive made.
Target Lands: Lands that target are 1-per-turn kill spells with Horobi. With the Big Mana subtheme that black usually employs, the existence of excess land isnt really a problem. Therefore, I run over 40, at the time I wrote this i ran 41.
Desert
Generates mana the turn it comes down, and targets with no activation cost other than tapping. Its annoying that you can only activate it during End of Combat step, and only if the creature is attacking, but is still useful and worth a slot that would normally be taken by a swamp. Lackluster compared to the other lands both with and without Horobi, but currently still deserving of a slot. I will probably replace this with
Oasis
for flexibility, since my deck has many mana sources in it and requires more from a targeter. More testing required.
Maze of Ith Played by decks that arent target tribal and require protection from aggressive decks, this land is a mainstay of the deck. It will buy you more turns by removing your opponents most powerful creature from combat than you lose because it doesnt produce mana. Great with or without Horobi.
Shizo, Death's Storehouse Kill target commander for B, tap, and give your Titan a way to punch through. Taps for black the turn it enters. Great with or without Horobi.
Thespian's Stage - Generates mana the turn it comes down, and can copy any targeting land on the battlefield. Can also copy Cabal Coffers in the late game. Great with or without Horobi.
Tower of the Magistrate
Targeter with utility use as well! Great for dealing with Voltron commanders, as the commander suddenly gets clumsy and drops all their swords. Requires mana to activate, but the effect is valuable enough to warrant use. Great with or without Horobi.
Urborg
Yes, it works the way you want it to. Yes, it can target something without those abilities. Yes, its everything we want in a land, except legendary status.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth Worth mentioning. The fact that this turns all lands into swamps makes the use of so many non-swamps in a Cabal Coffers deck worth it.
Target (Non-Creature) Artifacts
Cauldron of Souls One-sided boardwipe when Horobis active, and a tool to save your board from other boardwipes when he/she s not. Generates a ton of value during the game, with or without Horobi, and will frequently eat artifact removal. Good enough to regularly recur with Buried Ruin.
Darksteel Garrison Boy do I love it when terrible cards become fantastic. Both abilities of this card make it great. You really want to protect your Cabal Coffers from removal, because once its making 7+ mana for you it WILL eat a Wasteland. Also, once you make a massive amount of mana with it, you can fortify your board land-by-land, tapping each land for mana, and get a target for each time you fortified a land. Your friends will laugh the first time you do it, and curse the second.
Oblivion Stone Closest thing to a fair targeter with Horobi. It costs 7 for your first target, and 4 for each target beyond the first. While it does count as a targeter, and is worth mentioning here, it serves a MUCH greater purpose as non-creature removal.
Squee's Toy
- Both funny and effective! I want to get this altered where he's petting a grenade.
Umezawa's Jitte Every time equipped creature deals damage to a player, you stack up two free Murder s for a future cast of Horobi. I dont have to spend much time explaining why this card is good on its own. Unfortunately, this deck runs so few creatures it's hard to use, so I cut it for
Squee's Toy
. How often can you say that?!
Targeting Enchantments
Retribution of the Ancients Yes, X can be zero. Can also be used to reset Mikaeus, the Unhallowed undying +1/+1 counters.
Unspeakable Symbol Pay 3 life, kill a creature. This card is spectacular when youre in a bind, as 3 life is a trivial price to pay when an opponents Kaalia of the Vast is about to swing at you. Also resets Cauldron of Souls s persist -1/-1s and pumps Blightsteel Colossus to lethal when blocked, because you must kill whomever you try to hit with it, or theyre going to untap and come at you with a vengeance.
Targeting Spells These are one time use, and therefore much less valuable than permanents that do the same thing. However, the two I have chosen have been extremely good, and are certainly worth having.
Touch of Darkness
Cost: B. Destroy every creature you wish to destroy. Easily the source of some of the biggest blowouts in the deck. I have even considered running Isochron Scepter to make this repeatable, but that capability already exists in a single card: Cauldron of Souls.
Profane Command Targets many creatures, and is commonly a finisher for a player that has drawn a lot of aggro throughout the game. Bringing back a creature like Hex Parasite, or killing an indestructible creature, is never a bad option either.
Targeting Creatures Being vulnerable to removal, especially with Horobi out, any creatures put into the deck for targeting purposes must serve a much greater purpose then basic targeters, and can usually function as kill spells themselves.
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief Kills a creature for BB with Horobi out, and is very useful for killing indestructible creatures. Once lategame is reached, efficiently converts mana into damage. Very high utility for a 5-drop.
Duplicant Technically targets, but gets much worse with Horobi out. Exists as an exile spell that can be tutored for with
Eye of Ugin
and cast for less than the tutor.
Guul Draz Assassin
Its a kill spell for little creatures in the early turns, problematic indestructible creatures, and any creature with Horobi out! Very useful to have, and is cheap to recur with Profane Command
Hex Parasite Boardwipe in the 1cmc slot. This thing is good. Extremely good. It can even be used for its intended purpose of killing Planeswalkers or removing persist/undying counters. Probably one of the most diversely useful creatures in the deck.
Karn, Silver Golem Man, you have to dig deep for artifact removal in black. You turn your opponents artifacts into creatures, and then kill them with your slew of kill spells. Its crude, its ugly, and you cant actually use Karn as a kill spell, but it works well enough to make due. In the words of Armadillo Cloak: dont laugh, it works.
Scuttlemutt This hilarious little thing targets creatures and functions as a mana dork in black that comes down a turn before Horobi. Very useful for the early game, and usually lives long enough to generate value worthy of a 3 slot. Scuttlebutt just gets there sometimes.
Sorceress Queen
While she may seem a little underwhelming at first, turning a huge creature into an 0/2 can be extremely useful on its own. Turning a Blightsteel Colossus into a really dainty wall, and then casting Massacre Wurm is surprisingly effective. On its own, it prevents When this creature deals combat damage effects and other nasty things while comboing with any number of your -X/-X or -0/-X spells and abilities to remove threats when Horobis inactive.
Triskelion Yes this deck runs the Mike/Trike combo, ONLY because Triskelion has a lot of synergy with Horobi. On its own its lackluster, but with Horobi, it's 3 copies of Murder strapped to an
Eye of Ugin
fetchable body. And yes, the fact that it goes infinite with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed helps too.
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger and Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre Sometimes get worse when Horobis active, but if Horobis online and youre casting these guys, chances are youre doing just fine. These eldrazi have been selected for other reasons than their targeting ability.
Targeting Planeswalkers Because thats DEFINITELY why I play them
Karn Liberated SO GOOD WITH HOROBI! Just kidding. You play this guy when your standard game plan isnt cutting it. If your opponent has a Darksteel Forge that you just cant answer, or if someone just cast Doubling season, Karns your (robotic) man. Be careful, his -3 does target so with Horobi you will not get the exile youre looking for if it targets a creature.
Liliana of the Dark Realms Her -3 is extremely useful at killing eldrazi titans, and in the early game her +1 ability makes sure you find enough lands to continue powering up. Her ultimate is irrelevant. If your opponents let her ultimate go off, you were going to win that game regardless of her existence.
Sorin Markov His targeting ability can actually be useful, but we both know thats not why hes here. He will not live to see a second turn, so you always get exactly what you want out of him when you cast him, a way to win the game against essentially infinite life.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon See Sorin, except hes here as an exile board wipe.
Now that weve gone over the unique part of the deck, and the decisions and evaluations that only this deck requires, lets fill in the cracks. What causes us trouble? How do we end the game?
1: What do we do when there are too many threats on board?
There will come a time you sit across from an Animar, Soul of Elements player, they play half their deck in a few turns for next to nothing, and no amount of tapping your Scuttlemutt will solve your problem.
Answer: Boardwipe. Have you ever played against Tron in Modern? Do you know how annoyingly effective Oblivion Stone can be? Ask the Dinosaurs, a big red What Have I Done?! button just gets there against any swarm.
Demon of Dark Schemes It reanimates, which is cute. But its really there as a second Massacre Wurm. It hits your creatures too, so make sure that casting this guy is worth it.
Hex Parasite See Above
Massacre Wurm One-shots token players and shuts down combo players who like Boonweaver Giant or Reveillark.
Steel Hellkite Engineered Explosives on a stick (kinda). Good for erasing specific permanents, as well as tokens.
Touch of Darkness
See Above
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon Exile wipes are useful against recursion-based decks. I have gotten quite a bit of mileage out of this guy.
Cauldron of Souls See Above
Oblivion Stone See Above
All Is Dust If Horobi cant target or destroy a permanent because of indestructibility, hexproof, or because its something other than a creature, All is Dust is a valuable solution. It does not target, and it requires that opponents sacrifice their permanents, making it the best way for this deck to maneuver around multiple forms of evasion at once.
Damnation The Wrath of Satan can usually get the job done with brutal efficiency when casting Horobi is too mana intensive.
Decree of Pain Lategame bomb that accelerates you into a very prominent position at the table. Can also combo with Sudden Spoiling and be cycled early for moderate value.
Life's Finale Wipe that removes future threats from your opponents deck. I usually hit the high-value recursive engines of a deck like Karmic Guide, Reveillark, Sun Titan, or if theres too much recursion I try to ensure that a bomb cannot be cast. Combos well with Bojuka Bog.
Mutilate The most efficient way this deck deals with creatures.
Praetor's Grasp It is very common that I use this card to find an opponents Damnation and keep it in exile until I need it. Has other uses too.
Profane Command See Above
Toxic Deluge Another wipe that effectively deals with indestructability, especially in the early turns.
2: How do we deal with non-creature permanents?
Non-Creature permanents, and specifically enchantments, are incredibly difficult for Horobi to deal with, and almost always require an ad-hoc solution and a lot of mana. Its a severe weakness of the color. I decide to use a lot of colorless tools to amend this issue.
Geth, Lord of the Vault
and Demon of Dark Schemes Reanimate an opponents Reclamation Sage, Ingot Chewer, Cataclismic Gearhulk, Venser, Shaper Savant, etc. The better built your opponents deck is, the better this card gets. It is also extremely good at ending the game quickly.
Karn, Silver Golem Turn artifacts into creatures. We can deal with creatures. Dealing with creatures is our job. You can also turn equipment like Lightning Greaves into a creature, causing it to fall off the creature its on and allowing you to kill the creature.
Steel Hellkite Successfully destroys artifacts, enchantments, and everything else at a particular CMC. Mana-Intense and situational, but is surprisingly effective in this deck. It was initially put into the deck to deal with hexproof, but has served a greater purpose killing shroud equipment, mana doublers, and Sol Ring.
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre and Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger Targeted exile of any permanent that can be tutored for with Eye of Ugin.
Word of Command Force someone else in green to Krosan Grip it. Very situational and risky, but can work. Yes, It's extremely conditional but it's a personal preference and I just love this card.
Karn Liberated 7 Mana to exile a problem permanent. It can, and will be worth it.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon Usually best used for enchantments because it only exiles colored permanents.
Oblivion Stone See Above. Nuking the board is always an option, and is frequently the right one when Artifacts and Enchantments are involved.
All Is Dust See Ugin, but it destroys.
3: How do we stop combos?
Extremely fast combo decks are not what this deck was built to play against. This deck is designed to play a long interactive game of magic with like-minded people. However, every game must end, and it is extremely common to end the game with some combination of cards that win on the spot so everyone can shuffle up simultaneously and begin again with little downtime. Horobi uses the Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Triskelion and Sorin Markov + any boardstate to effectively end the game. Graveyard Combos, including: Reveillark + Karmic Guide, Sword of the Meek + Thopter Foundry, Boonweaver Giant + Pattern of Rebirth, Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Triskelion, etc. are the most common combos that can be hard to interact with normally.
Horobi, Death's Wail + deck The ability to kill creatures on command can regularly stop combo. Dont ignore this inherent deck strength. If you understand the combos youre playing against, and how to interact with them, you can time your Murder for maximum effect.
Sudden Spoiling Extremely good at disrupting any combo that is creature based, even when hexproof is involved. Will save your life every time you cast it, from either combat damage or combo.
Praetor's Grasp Rip the keystone of your opponents combo out of their deck while your opponent is setting up. Sometimes it can even be useful to you. Not the primary purpose of the card, but it certainly works well.
Demon of Dark Schemes and
Geth, Lord of the Vault
Stealing your opponents combo pieces out of the graveyard can immediately stop grave combos and give you time to find a permanent method of exiling the combo piece. Depending on the card, a lot of these cards can enable a combo of your own.
Bojuka Bog AAAAAAAAnd its gone. Tutor for when you see a combo piece in the graveyard and feel your opponent is setting up to win. Casting a Demonic Tutor to find Bojuka is essentially the same as Sylvan Scrying in black and usually worth it. Be safe. Exile it. You can sac this to Lake of the Dead when you have Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, and then recur it from your graveyard later in the game. Also combos well with Life's Finale.
4 Winning the game.
Congratulations! Youve made it to lategame! What do you do now? You kill them. Thats what. Depending on your boardstate there are many ways of ending the game built into the deck. Here are the most efficient ways to get everyone to shuffle up again.
Eye of Ugin
Find a wincon. You have your choice of Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, Blightsteel Colossus, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, and Triskelion when you have Mikaeus, the Unhallowed. It can be found using any of your B tutors and Expedition Map, can be brought back with Crucible of Worlds, and can be protected using Darksteel Citadel. It is your most stable source of wincons. You even run Buried Ruin to bring back crucible to bring back Eye. Its that good.
Any of the Eldrazi above.
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Triskelion Whenever one of your non-human creatures die, it comes back to the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter, and Triskelion turns those into direct damage. You remove all but 1 counter to hit people for damage, and use the last counter to ping itself. Then it dies without a +1/+1 counter allowing for it to come back to the battlefield again. This results in a loop of infinite damage to anything that can be targeted.
Sorin Markov Setting someones life total to 10 ends their game of magic quickly. Some people dont like running this card, which I understand. I play in a meta where playing Tooth and Nail for a combo is common, and I dont believe that this is any stronger than that. 1-card combos are good.
Exsanguinate + ( Cabal Coffers | Extraplanar Lens | Thespian's Stage | Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth ) Drain the table. Even if this doesnt kill everyone, you have many turns ahead of you to utilize the extra life.
Geth, Lord of the Vault
After a long game, if you have a lot of mana you can easily mill a player to death using Geth. You can also use his ability to reanimate someones graveyard and kill them with it, which is usually effective too.
And that's my deck! Let me know if there's anything you think should / should not be in here or have any questions about this commander!
-Hektor
