Thrill-Kill Assassin

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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Custom Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Highlander 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

Thrill-Kill Assassin

Creature — Human Assassin

Deathtouch

Unleash (You may have this creature enter the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it. It can't block as long as it has a +1/+1 counter on it.)

A55Destroyer69 on A Deeper Dark

3 years ago

I think some extra lands would really help out. MBC sort of relies on casting things, and playing a land each turn for the first few turns at least. In my variant I run 24 lands, but 22-24 is the typical. I also run Barren Moor, which is nice for obvious reasons, even if it is a tapland.

Thrill-Kill Assassin seems okay, but doesn't really fit the strategy of the archetype, do maybe switch that out for lands or something? Dark Ritual seems pretty meh, since it's more of a fast ramp card for a fast kill deck, but MBC is a slow drawn out control deck.

I also find that Tendrils of Corruption is insanely good in MBC. Helps against any type of aggro deck, really, since gaining 5 life is potentially 1-2 more turns being alive, which can be the difference between winning and losing

TheCardPool on

3 years ago

5dollarMTG thanks for the thoughts, and I'm glad you enjoy the deck! Undying Evil is an interesting suggestion. Could be a nice combat trick. I'll have to try it out. Originally I ran a version that used Big Game Hunter along with Smallpox to control the board more and take advantage of madness, but I think that might be more of a sideboard plan. Royal Assassin was also in at first and does work well with Midnight Charm, but the reason I ended up with Thrill-Kill Assassin is that I found I needed some more reliable attackers that could actually chip in damage and end games.

And in regards to targeting, most of the spells can actually target Agent of the Fates if you don't mind him dying to Nameless Inversion or Dismember or using a mode of Profane Command on him. But Undying Evil is a nice option there too!

These are all great suggestions though that I'll have to experiment with further!

5dollarMTG on

3 years ago

Nice idea - and a very helpful description! I think you're right that Thrill-Kill Assassin could be improved upon - maybe Big Game Hunter or Royal Assassin if you want to stay on budget? I also feel like you could use some more targeted spells if you want you want to lean on Agent of the Fates - maybe something like Undying Evil? That would let you kill a bigger creature with Agent's deathtouch, target it to force another sacrifice, and then return it to the field with a +1/+1 counter.

Vulnoth on Turbo Aggro Grind Time

3 years ago

Continuing where I left off.

continuing from creatures

Something to consider when addressing what to drop for my suggestions is how it affects your overall strategy and politics. Ashenmoor Gouger looks good because on paper it can deal damage, but consider what happens if you draw it 10 turns in and the table has all dug in for the long game. Hyper aggressive cards of the sort that do little else aren't going to help you after the first few turns. Hackrobat, Rakdos Firewheeler, Thrill-Kill Assassin, and the like are what you should look for when hacking cards out of the deck in the creature department. You might be gearing up to go fast and hit hard, but you still are playing the "long game", if you can even call it that.

Support

Onwards we march, starting with the strict spell category. Here, you should be looking for either utility or pure power. Spot removal cards like Go for the Throat work in regular 60 card formats, but lose a ton of value as the game is slowed enough for that one spell to have a diminished effect because it can only hit a single creature, often to little effect. Now Bedevil, on the other hand, is outstanding because you can hold it for either an artifact or 'walker, thus expanding your range and making it always live and effective.

  • Allure of the Unknown - A huge resource generation spell. Additionally, it plays into politics well by letting an opponent (or friend) have a card. Gotta keep the train moving.

  • Bituminous Blast - Perhaps not the most clutch of cards, but at least worth considering since EDH is slow enough for these types of spells to put in work, mostly because Cascade is nuts. I'd understand if it didn't make the cut, though.

  • Captive Audience - Hilarious and effective. Instant enemy-maker, but if you haven't farted in the general direction of everyone at the table, others might turn a blind eye. In my experience, when Joe Shmoe poops out an army of dargons and you slap him with this, the table would generally point and laugh.

  • Cauldron Dance - A nice little shuffling of creatures, which is nice if you're rich in chunguses.

  • Kolaghan's Command - The best charm from its cycle, for good reasons. It's always live in EDH.

  • Spiteful Visions - Perhaps risky for politics, but it does put damage on board, thus making Rakdos live, and generates card advantage.

  • Fork/Reverberate/Wild Ricochet - copy spells, in my experience, tend to do a lot since they're just whatever everyone else is playing.

  • Beacon of Unrest - There will always be something in the grave, and self-recursion is a godsend in my books.

  • Scheming Symmetry - Helps your consistency and makes a friend.

  • Subversion - Nibbles at your opponents while sustaining yourself, and makes Rakdos live.

  • Generally any spell with X in its cost. As the game drags on, they only get better.

I did a brief skim of cards in Gatherer and from among my own decks, but don't be afraid to look at other decks or EDHRec for things that will help you. Just remember that your goal boils largely down to pinging to make Rakdos live, cards that Rakdos is payoff for, and utility general support that rounds out the deck.

Artifacts

Necessary gears to get the machine moving. Mostly it will boil down to mana rocks to accelerate your state, but there will be others that you want purely because they work well for you.

Lands

Here you can start to have some fun. Being 2-color, you do have to be somewhat mindful of what you're running, but you can definitely make use of a lot of offbeat lands since you're not trying to be a fool and mana fix 5 colors. Keep in mind that you may not necessarily need everything listed here, but it's just a matter of helping keep your ability to produce both colors consistent.

  • Temple of Malice - Slow lands may be unappealing, but Scrying usually helps.

  • Arch of Orazca - Yet another personal choice. All you need is to have 10 permanents at any point while controlling/playing a card with City's Blessing and you have it for the game. At which point, Arch becomes something to do with spare mana.

  • Reliquary Tower - Like Thought Vessel, it's worth considering, but is acceptable to pass on if you keep burning your hand up.

  • Command Tower - Staple.

  • Graven Cairns - Filter lands are always nice.

  • Rakdos Carnarium - Slow, yes, but in the long run gives more mana.

  • Shadowblood Ridge - Another pseudo Filter Land

Chopping Block

I encourage you to think these things out on your own or ask friends about this part, because understanding the process of what and why things stay or go is important to understanding your deck. Below are my suggestions for what needs to get yeeted.

  • Ashenmoor Gouger/Hackrobat/Hellhole Flailer/Rakdos Firewheeler/Thrill-Kill Assassin/Rakdos Guildmage - All just don't do that much. Awesome to drop in the first turns, but soon are just fodder. They're nice fodder for Lysolda and Judith, but overall too narrow in use and too low impact.

  • Void Winnower/Blood Moon - As someone who wins almost all his games through player politics, I advise against these types of cards that choke the entire table. Like infinite combos kept as panic buttons in decks, you really only get to pull it once before the group starts remembering what you have up your sleeve. After that, you risk being targeted because they'll know what you have.

  • Phyrexian Obliterator - BBBB in 2-color is a bold move for what's essentially a 5/5 unblockable.

  • Dark Ritual/Doom Blade/Go for the Throat - I personally would cut them, but feel free to play around with at least the removal spells for consistency in board control. Ritual, however, is just not suited for this format.

  • Everlasting Torment - It's the only card of its type in your deck, and actually makes you vulnerable to getting chump blocked.

  • Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - Urborg serves almost no purpose in this deck.

  • Rakdos Guildgate - Guildgates are just packfiller.

  • Rakdos Signet/Rakdos Keyrune - In the modern day, your mana rocks mostly should be more useful than an overcosted creature, and if it only produces mana, it needs to be efficient like Sol Ring.

  • Lava Axe - Shouting "Catch" while literally throwing this is hilarious, but the card's just horribly overcosted.

  • Anthem of Rakdos - You will lose a lot of games you shouldn't lose because of this.

  • Ogre Battledriver - Giving a dude Haste to swing is nice, but it's a lot easier to just run a pinger like Goblin Fireslinger or Lobber Crew

  • Ob Nixilis, the Fallen - His Landfall is nice, but by nature isn't consistent, which is what you're looking for in ways to ping your opponent. Becoming a chungus is nice, but you're better off just skipping the hoops and playing an actual chungus.

  • Vial Smasher the Fierce - This one I'm not totally sold on cutting, but she seems more complicated than just running a pinger. Play around with her and see how Vial Smasher synergizes.

  • Master of Cruelties - Another I'm not totally sold on chopping, but he can only attack alone, which bottlenecks your options.

I know this all is sort of messy, but when making edits, start with comparable replacements (i.e. swapping a creature for a creature), run a few test turns, and see how things work.

GoblinsBeatElves on Assassin tribal

5 years ago

Scarblade Elite is a card that is actually assassin tribal. You could try Nekrataal, Thrill-Kill Assassin, Silumgar Assassin, or Garza's Assassin.

I like the idea of assassin tribal. Nice job!

Silverdrake on Death by arrows

5 years ago

Why play Agent of the Fates? Equiping it doesn't trigger it's ability and neither does ciphering with shadow slice, so why bother? You could just as easily be running Hand of Silumgar or Thrill-Kill Assassin to keep your curve lower. If you wanted it to be a creature with 3 power you could look at 2-3 Isareth the Awakener.

xyr0s on

5 years ago

2 out of 10. You play cards like Dash Hopes, that are never going to be any good. It gives your opponent the choice of what to do, and opponents have this thing that makes them choose the option you would like them not to.

In the right deck Nyxathid could be really strong, but you don't have much discard to back it up.

Toshiro Umezawa could be good, but that would require more than 8 instants. Besides that he is only good against creature-heavy decks, so 4 of him is overdoing it no matter what.

Why exactly those 2 lilianas, the Pathway Arrows, and the Thrill-Kill Assassins? All of those cards are severely underpowered in modern and you should consider exchanging them.

ArchonBlue on Liliana's Reaver

6 years ago

Here are my suggestions, based on our talk and your budget. Out: 1. 1x Daggerdrome Imp 2. 1x Deeproot Warrior 3. 2x Old-Growth Dryads 4. 1x Sengir Vampire 5. 2x Thrill-Kill Assassin 6. 2x Doom Blade 7. 2x Rancor (you'll have less creatures to target for this) 8. 1x Duress (2 is fine) 9. 1x Liliana, Death Wielder

In: 1. 4x Inquisition of Kozilek 2. 1x Liliana Vess 3. 3x Fatal Push 4. 2x Bloodghast 5. 2x Grim Flayer

You'll want to up your lands to about 21 at least I'd say. Some decent budget lands in your colors include Llanowar Wastes and Blooming Marsh. I'd really strongly advise running fetch and shock lands if/when you can afford then though.

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