Grotesque Demise

Instant

Exile target creature with power 3 or less.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Pauper Duel Commander	Legal
Pauper EDH	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (4)

Tzefick on Wither to Dust

3 years ago

Black doesn't get exile this cheap, even with downside. If you would give it to them, the color would take over some of White's main strengths. The downside is mostly negligible based on the format.

In Commander you have 40 life to take from, so if the opponent gets to achieve a high power creature where this is your only removal choice, you're in trouble. But in 99% of cases, it just costs you a small amount of life, which black happily does in so many other aspects of the color.

In Standard you'll only target stuff that doesn't cost you too much - but the alternative is often to take the combat damage to the face. If the meta is dominated by big power creatures, you run destroy removal, and possibly this as SB if WotC decides to make a stronger Bronzehide Lion.

In Eternal formats you SB it against creatures where the cost is negligible or where it disrupts your opponent's combo.

Also... Tragic Slip exists and that is how Black usually does removal that bypass indestructible, but it is conditional when it's this cheap.

Black is usually tied at 4 CMC for unconditional exile removal, as seen in Eat to Extinction, Gild, Deadly Rollick. The last one having a conditional situation where it's free, specifically for Commander.

Black does get lower CMC exile, but they are conditional on the target: Epic Downfall Legion's End or Grotesque Demise. Or Infernal Reckoning.

White is and should be the king of cheap flexible exile, or it loses one of its few strengths.

Brimstone on

5 years ago

After having played in the draft I have made a few small changes to the way I feel about Summary Judgment and Ill-Gotten Inheritance .

Summary Judgment was actually a disappointment. I often found that I wanted to kill a creature that was either blocking, or using some type of special ability or had vigillance, and the requirement on Judgement to target a TAPPED creature was often a problem. I think that Grotesque Demise might be a better card. Maybe 4x Mortify and 3x Grotesque Demise then sideboard out the Demise for Bring to Trial against decks that run large creatures.

My second change of heart was for Ill-Gotten Inheritance which I though would not be a very powerful card for it's cost but in the draft turned out to be a complete pain in the ass. I am not sure how well it will do in multiplayer but in single player having as many of these as possible on the battlefield makes a big difference, especially as you get your opponents closer to dead and you can pay the 6 mana to deal 4 and heal 4. That's an 8 health swing in power that can make a big difference.

I am still not sure if they are right for the deck you are building but they are certainly worth considering.

Brimstone on

5 years ago

I looked at the Orzhov deck and I think that Teysa Karlov is the key to making it work if you want to use sacrafice effects to make it worth it. Until she is in play, killing your own creatures for bonus effects, even when you are getting afterlife triggers, will usually leave you behind because you wont have much card draw. I would focus mostly on cheap creatures with afterlife, and avoid creatures that force you to sacrifice to get good value out of them.

-[Creatures]-

I don't really like the value added by Basilica Bell-Haunt , Forbidding Spirit , or Grasping Thrull . Similarly Knight of Sorrows and Orzhov Racketeers seem a little too expensive to be worth their stats/afterlife triggers. I also think that Knight of the Last Breath is too expensive and his sacrafice ability is expensive and specific to non token creatures, but it might be worth running 1 of him as a late game way to blow up all of your afterlife creatures once you have a Teysa Karlov and Vindictive Vampire in play. The Teysa Karlov + Vindictive Vampire combo is probably your best bet to win late game by giving you enough of a lead to finish them off with your 1/1 fliers. If you have a Teysa Karlov and one (or more) Vindictive Vampire s in play, don't be afraid to use a Kaya's Wrath This will do a bunch of damage, and boardwipe the enemies armies while leaving you with all of your doubled afterlife triggers.

As for which creatures I think are pretty good, you will need to play around with deciding between all of the low cost afterlifeers Imperious Oligarch , Ministrant of Obligation , Orzhov Enforcer , and Tithe Taker all look pretty good. Syndicate Messenger is a little more expensive but is a solid flyer and Seraph of the Scales looks great, my only concern is that they would be in the same mana cost as both Teysa Karlov and Vindictive Vampire . Twilight Panther , Syndicate Guildmage , Pitiless Pontiff and Impassioned Orator all seem a little underwhelming to me.

Hero of Precinct One could be useful but only if you run mostly multicolored spells and that might not be worth it to aid this single card. Resolute Watchdog might be a good sideboard in case the enemy continues to kill off your Teysa/Vindictives. Priest of Forgotten Gods seems like she is part of a combo in an edh deck, just waiting to happen, but if you run a ton of low cost afterlife creatures, which you are, she might work great. Ideally she would kill two of your creatures right after they block or are blocked, and then draw you a new creature!

-[Instants]-

Bladebrand seems like a fun way to punsh the other player for blocking one of your small attackers, I think if used well it will add a lot of value to your little attackers, making the enemy afraid to block them. I would opt for Mortify over Final Payment or Expose to Daylight but sideboard the daylights for pesky artifacts. Undercity's Embrace lets the enemy decide what they sac, and you will basically never meet the requirement to get the extra health, so it isn't very good unless like hexproof becomes a problem? I am not sure about Grotesque Demise and Summary Judgment I feel like judgement is cheeper and will deal with most low cost creatures and may handle some bigger ones, so I would opt for that, but Grotesque will help with creatures that have afterlife, if you are running against a mirror. With our play group, you most likely wont be.

-[Enchantments]-

Ethereal Absolution too expensive, only sideboard in if somehow you are losing to late game 1/1 creatures or if late game your afterlife creatures are just too weak to finish the enemy, my guess is that it's not going to help much in time. Ill-Gotten Inheritance too in single player and in multiplayer makes you a huge target. If you find in multiplayer games that late game you are widdling away at people but cant ever find a way to attack, this might work. My guess is that Kaya's Wrath / Priest of Forgotten Gods + Vindictive Vampire would do better.

-[Sorceries]-

With your life gain, recursion, and death trigger effects, I feel like Kaya's Wrath will often leave you in better shape than it will others. I would run 4 of them however you also need to be careful. If you boardwipe with little or no cards in your hand, other decks will probably rebuild more quickly than you can. Instead, if you are planning a boardwipe, save a few good creatures in your hand, even if it means taking damage for a round or two, then boardwipe. I wish Bankrupt in Blood was instant speed, but running a few might be a good idea to help you recover your handsize after boardwipes. Mortify is better than Bring to Trial unless you are having troubles with enemy enter the grave effects, or idestructable. Could be a sideboard card. Consecrate / Consume is iffy. If you are having troubles with big mean creatures it's a nice card. You could take a hit from the creature for 1 round, then kill it and gain back that life. The ability to use it to draw a card instead id alright, but not great. Revival / Revenge seems pretty fun with this deck. You can use it to get back cheep afterlifers (especially Imperious Oligarch or Orzhov Enforcer ) or, if you draw it late game, you can use it to swing the tide of a game quite a bit.

-[Lands]- This land base looks pretty solid, I would only caution that when running 4x Orzhov Basilica and 4x Orzhov Guildgate you risk getting caught with a very slow start, which is sad when you have such low cost creatures. Ideally you would want to play a Guildgate rnd1, a basic land rnd2, tap for a 2 cost creature, then on turn three play a second 2 cost creature and then a basilica. So that on turn four you can play a four cost creature.

LittleBlueHero on Ravnica Allegiance: Spoilers and Speculation

5 years ago

Sunday Pre-release went really well. I went Mardu with my Rakdos kit and let me tell you attrition is a real strategy in limited. Played against Gruul, Simic, Rakdos, and Bant(azorious kit).

My removal package... 2x Skewer the Critics , 1x Get the Point , 1x Grotesque Demise , 1x Bedeck / Bedazzle , 1x Bladebrand , 1x Sky Tether 2x Noxious Groodion , 1x Hackrobat , 1x Twilight Panther ... made life very difficult for my opponents

Hackrobat was an absolute beast getting in and hitting for 4 at least once almost every time i played it. Since I was controlling their board they were always hesitant to block because of the potential deathtouch. Same goes for Twilight Panther . It didn't deal as much damage but could usually be used to activate spectacle since people wouldn't block it.

Judith, the Scourge Diva also proved to be very problematic for opponents and a lot of fun to play with. So much so that I decided to try and build a commander deck for her.

I was very lucky being able to play 4 of my 6 rares. I don't know if I could expect this kind of consistency again but I would be willing to try if I had the chance. I will for sure be looking at all these cards carefully during draft weekend.

Also I didn't pull one, but playing against a turn 3 Theater of Horrors is just as hard as turn 3 Rhythm of the Wild