Grixis Resource Deprivation.
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Jan. 4, 2017, 1:36 p.m. by PhotogenicParasympathetic
Looking to build a Grixis control deck. The plan is to attack player's hands with discard, while using a healthy number of counterspells/spot removal to clean up anything that gets through. My question is, what commander should I use? I'm looking at Crosis, the Purger, Nicol Bolas, Gwendlyn Di Corci, and Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge.
Crosis and Nicol Bolas both attack hands directly, and can be devastating - but Bolas comes with an upkeep cost, and Crosis can be hit-or-miss. Gwendlyn will always hit something, but only one at a time, and doesn't provide any sort of wincon. Jeleva provides a second line of attack, going after libraries, and allows me to use my opponent's resources against them, but doesn't deal with hands/the board.
KillDatBUG says... #3
Jeleva is the best because it costs the least amount of mana. Unless you're playing a lot of artifact mana, paying 5, 6, or even 8 mana isn't nearly as ideal for a card that does nothing until you untap with it AND until you deal combat damage with it. Paying 4 is much better, and not having to pay 3 for Crosis or Nicol Bolas is even better.
January 5, 2017 3:58 a.m.
Karns_Pyromancer says... #4
I'd have to say Gwen. She's the most disruptive of the three that hit hands & you can always run Jeleva in the deck.
Don't forget to add things like Waste Not, Liliana's Caress, Megrim or wheel effects like Dark Deal, Wheel of Fate, & Whispering Madness
January 5, 2017 5:23 p.m.
RedUndead40 says... #5
I say don't underestimate He Who Paints the Earth Red, Thraximundar.
He's pricey but if you spend early to mid game efficiently controlling hands and the board you should have no problems keeping him around, and he will end games quickly if you can keep a lock on the board.
Plus he's swinging the same turn as Crosis but without having to pay for an effect
And finally, he's a Zombie Assassin. Come on.
MagicalHacker says... #2
I think Gwen is the best gixis commander for that, and the deck will probably run like that old standard deck called cruel control. If you look through some of those lists, maybe you can find some cards that would be good for closing out games, like the cats that the deck is named after, Cruel Ultimatum.
January 4, 2017 3:43 p.m.