Heartless Summoning

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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
Planechase Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Heartless Summoning

Enchantment

Creature spells you cast cost less to cast.

Creatures you control get -1/-1.

wallisface on Heartless Legendaries

1 month ago

Some thoughts (a bunch of these boil down to you needing a plan B for when you’re missing Heartless Summoning):

  • Without Heartless Summoning you can’t really play the game. That’s a problem as you’ll be mulling down to 4 cards 22% of the time trying to find it (and even on that 22% mull to 4, you may not have found it - you’ll be continuing to mull down to 3 13% of the time, and down to 2 8%).

  • You can’t rely on Profane Tutor to act as additional copies of Heartless Summoning… trying to use Tutor to that effect means you’re not doing anything that impacts the board until turn 5 (aside from a single relevant turn-3 play) - and the game’ll most-certainly be over by then.

  • Even if you cast Heartless Summoning, it’s very trivially for an opponent to remove with Prismatic Ending, Haywire Mite, Leyline Binding, countermagic etc… and then you’re back to doing nothing.

  • Even with Heartless Summoning in play, your mana curve reads too high. Modern decks typically can’t justify more than 3-4 cards costing 4 mana, and play nothing above this cost - factoring in the cost reduction of Heartless Summoning, you’ve still got 8 cards in this range, which is far too many. Having soo many cards costing 5 (so, 3 with a Heartless Summoning in play) is also going to make your turns really slow/clumsy.

  • Even if you can play Heartless Summoning, you’ve done nothing to impact the board for 2 turns - and letting your opponent effectively have 2 free turns before you start doing anything impactive is a really, really dangerous place to be (normally even giving your opponent one free turn is a really bad idea). Imo you need more early-game interaction, stuff like Fatal Push and Thoughtseize.

  • I have no idea why Sword of Light and Shadow is here - it does nothing for you.

ldvatwa on

5 months ago

Hey wideline1414! Sorry I didn't see your comments til tonight. Aside from Nightscape Familiar, Heartless Summoning doesn't really impact any of the creatures in the deck and most of them it's more important to get them out sooner than having slightly reduced power/toughness. Thanks for the comments! I'd love to see a list if you've got one of your Lord Xander, the Collector!

Agreed on Bruvac the Grandiloquent would make a great addition in here, but neither of my local shops have had him all year. I'm going to some shops on the other part of the state and if I can find one, I'll for sure pick one up. Dropping him down then casting Traumatize would feel so good!

IHATENAMES on Minotaur Stomp

10 months ago

I love the minotaur tribe but.... to do it justice in legacy and be competitive it needs to go harder.

A few ideas I had previously simular to what was said before but i haven't been happy with a list.

Heartless Summoning power out creatures and kraguma warcaller

Cloudstone Curio combo with the minotaurs/ shapeshifters that are free with Ragemonger for infinite etb with Impact Tremors

A tempo deck with clone effects and counterspells adding blue 2 Kragma Warcallers will win a game quickly

Standstill plus Didgeridoo make good friends. Good version of the deck has been run by Boshandroll on youtube.

IHATENAMES on Minotaur Stomp

10 months ago

I love the minotaur tribe but.... to do it justice in legacy and be competitive it needs to go harder.

A few ideas I had previously simular to what was said before but i haven't been happy with a list.

Heartless Summoning power out creatures and kraguma warcaller

Cloudstone Curio combo with the minotaurs/ shapeshifters that are free with Ragemonger for infinite etb with Impact Tremors

A tempo deck with clone effects and counterspells adding blue 2 Kragma Warcallers will win a game quickly

Standstill plus Didgeridoo make good friends. Good version of the deck has been run by Boshandroll on youtube.

IXALAN_Crazy on Minotaur Stomp

10 months ago

Kolaghan's Command would be a good option here for utility. Also Heartless Summoning with Ragemonger would let you cast many of your minotaurs here for free.

Licecolony on Goaded With The Sauce

11 months ago

I really like your manifest take on Jon. Consider Dulcet Sirens. It's a clever way to mitigate risk of having those horrible creatures for yourself. I'll definitely be adding Crawlspace and Endless Whispers to my list.

Suggested removals from deck Plague Reaver. While it's a nice card to give away, the turn you play it you'll have to sacrifice Jon Irenicus to Plague Reaver's trigger regardless of which order you put the abilities onto the stack. You'd rather not lose Jon.

Gisa, Glorious Resurrector. It's something you can't give away, which means it's good when you're ahead, but not great when you're behind,. Your mileage may vary, but I think getting something more immediately impactful on the board tends to be best.

Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker. You're not running a mill strategy, you'll only be filling the graveyard of dedicate graveyard decks.

Taniwha. I love this creature and totally understand running it for the memes, but phasing triggers before your upkeep, which means that when you give it away, it'll be phased out for the first turn under your opponent, so they'll keep their lands and you won't draw a card from Jon's ability. The turn cycle has to make two full rounds before Taniwha does anything.

Tergrid, God of Fright  Flip. Unlike Sheoldred, Tergrid doesn't make the opponent do either of its effects. It's another creature you don't want to give away, and Jon makes cards unsacrificeable. It just won't trigger much unless you're against a sacrifice deck.

Ensnaring Bridge. The creatures you donate will often be quite big. Ensnaring bridge will prevent them from attacking your opponents and deny you card draw.

Chromatic Lantern. It's only good if you need the mana fixing. You don't need the mana fixing. Try something like Thought Vessel or Decanter of Endless Water or Midnight Clock instead.

Assault Suit doesn't goad the creatures itself. Often they'll swing at you if possible.

Dissipation Field. Not as good as it looks. Doubles ETB triggers. Anti synergy with cards like Endless Whispers.

No Mercy Jon just has better options for this slot. If you can replace a non-creature with a creature in this deck, you usually want to.

Grave Betrayal. That's 7 mana for a card that could ruin your game by forcing you to revive bad cards you do not want.

Diplomatic Immunity. You want instant speed protection and protection from board wipes. Something like March of Swirling Mist is more versatile offensively and defensively.

Dark Ritual. I'm uncertain what you're trying to ramp into so quickly that you would need this. Maybe I'm wrong.

Countersquall. You may as well play the one mana version in An Offer You Can't Refuse.

Redirect may be bested by Narset's Reversal? That's a matter of opinion.

AEtherize risks bouncing creatures attacking other opponents such as those you've goaded but want them to keep. Try replacing this with a more versatile effect like Reins of Power or a more aggressive effect in Illusionist's Gambit.

Damnation. Jon prefers sacrifice board wipes so that your opponents keep their shit creatures.

Overall I think you could run less counter-magic in favor of more proactive effects.

Cards to Consider Creatures Generally I want to focus on adding creatures that you can give away and then steal back later to win the game.

With Jon, you often want cheap evasive creatures to give out for early card draw with his ability. Right now you have 1 two-drop creature. Throwing in a Changeling Outcast or a Slither Blade can mean you can give a creature away for cheap and still hold up mana for other things. Slither blade wouldn't die to Heartless Summoning too.

In the two-drop slot, you can run creatures that are more defensive like Baleful Strix, or give you card draw like Sygg, River Cutthroat or just more powerful creatures like Flesh Reaver which is a goaded 6/6 that can deal 12 damage a turn or Wretched Anurid. Heck, you can even add a versatile two-drop in Dimir Infiltrator which can be given away in the early game or used as a tutor in the late-game.

In the three drop slot, I think your idea of adding Steel Golem is a great one to make sure the only creatures your opponent has are the ones you're giving them. It's a brutal card. Rotting Regisaur is a card you don't mind giving away early, and can take back later to win. Phyrexian Soulgorger can be donated to an opponent as a goaded 10/10. They won't have to pay the upkeep, but that's a great body to give someone as a political tool. Cephalid Facetaker is also worth consideration though I personally don't run it.

In the four-drop slot, like you mentioned, Grid Monitor is a proactive creature counter. Abyssal Persecutor can save you from death. Archfiend of the Dross is risky but fun (it comes back to your control after the opponent dies).

In the 5-drop slot, both of the evil-eye cards are absolute ALL STARS. They work so well every game I've drawn them. They can also replace some of your weaker defenses like No Mercy and Dissipation Field

As a sidenote, I also like Deep-Sea Kraken as an unblockable 8/8 that can win you the game with homeward path.

Removal I recommend running more sacrifice-based removal since it'll mean your opponents keep the crap you give them. Things like Tergrid's Shadow or Vona's Hunger or All is Dust (one of my favorites) or Killing Wave. I also prefer Toxic Deluge to some of your other removal since it goes through hexproof. Curse of the Swine is also an exile effect that can be selective and works really well. You can also run single-target removal like Reality Shift or Pongify if you'd rather instant speed interaction. Feed the Swarm is quality. If you really don't care about cruelty, you can run Torment of Hailfire, but that card is honestly always too boring for me to want in my decks.

Card Draw Jon has access to some great card draw that most decks can't take advantage of. Fateful Handoff is a card draw spell that also donates (though does not goad). Sygg, River Cutthroat works well with evasive threats you give away (though should not be donated). Verity Circle works great with Jon's ability since it donates the creature first, and then taps it down. Teferi's Ageless Insight allows you to double your draw triggers from Jon.

Equipment Remember that you can donate creatures while they're equipped and you still control the equipment so they can't re-equip it. Pact Weapon makes the attacking creature bigger, while ensuring you can't die, and will draw you another card whenever the donated creature attacks. Dowsing Dagger  Flip works effectively on evasive creature to get you ramped. Vorpal Sword is a win condition on your unblockable evasive creatures.

Goad Dulcet Sirens, Bloodthirsty Blade.

Misc Graveyard removal is king. Throw in a Scavenger Grounds. My favorite card to run is Reality Shift. Make an Avenger of Zendikar spawn a dozen Wretched Anurids. It's not GREAT, but it is always funny. Cultural Exchange is a fun time too with all your manifest and shitty creatures.

That is all. Hope it was helpful.

BEDECK on Chattering Ordeal

1 year ago

Ah, Myr Retriever + Heartless Summoning + Bitter Ordeal. A person of culture, I see. Btw, The Meathook Massacre is tutorable with Shred Memory and can win the game through endless retrievering

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