This is a fun deck and it can usually hold its own against a table of other competitive decks but I am slowly trying to upgrade some of the budget cards in this build to create a sleeker, more efficient version.
With that in mind:
-Damnation replaces Mutilate: Mutilate (or perhaps Toxic Deluge) may find itself back in the list to deal with all the indestructible creatures in the format but for now, Damnation is a better early game board wipe at CMC 4.
-Jet Medallion replaces Worn Powerstone: This is mainly a test but I think that I want to be able to play multiple black cards a turn in the late game rather than ramp at the beginning of the game. I could change my mind but the Powerstone is pretty weak later in the game and the Medallion has utility no matter what turn you play it.
-Reaper from the Abyss replaces Shadowborn Demon: Tough call here as Shadowborn is ETB removal on a stick and costs less but in 4-player EDH, I think Reaper will have a better overall effect w/o the very possible downside of Shadowborn having to sac itself on the next upkeep.
-Necropotence replaces Underworld Connections: Pretty obvious. Connections is slow, puts a land at risk for a two-for-one, and takes away mana. Necropotence is ridiculous.
-Cryptbreaker replaces Dutiful Attendant: This is just better value. Lowers the curve and allows me to put stuff in my yard to reanimate later in order to get sac fodder on the field as early as turn 2. Downside is that Necropotence turns off the discard value but the benefits outweigh the costs.
-Mindslicer replaces Desecration Demon: If I wanted the demon effect, I should probably be playing Abyssal Persecutor for a better beater or Anowon, the Ruin Sage for more reliable removal. The demon is too best-of-both-worlds and the slicer can remove all of my opponent's answers if I am ahead on the board. Turn 4 Mindslicer into turn 5 Sidisi, exploiting the slicer and resolving Mindslicer's exit effect before Sidisi tutor effect can be huge in terms of creating a board position that your opponents can't recover from.
-Tragic Slip replaces Gild: Slip is cheaper and at instant speed. There won't be many turns where I have a Tragic Slip in my hand and think "I would rather have Gild right now". This deck will enable morbid often enough and if I don't, my opponents will do it for me.
-Entomb replaces Diabolic Revelation: My commander has built in tutoring. If I want another tutor, I want one that cheats on mana, not one that is more expensive. Let's put something gnarly like Massacre Wurm into the yard early and bring it back with Animate Dead or Necromancy super early.
-Massacre Wurm replaces Abhorrent Overlord: This deck has a ton of devotion, so the thought of creating 9 power worth of harpies in addition to the overlord's bulk is appealing but I've never actually been in a game situation in which that was my best play. This deck often plays from behind, so keep the board clear and punish token strategies.
-Magus of the Will replaces Liliana's Reaver: Another test card. Magus is new and could help me recur one of my valuable instants or spot removal spells.
-Animate Dead replaces Prowler's Helm: I have enough evasion enablers and drawing into Prowler's Helm is annoying pretty much any time during the game unless you have Phage in your hand. Animate is never a dead card (no pun intended) and can enable some early game shenanigans by cheating out a cycled Scion of Darkness.
Next additions:
Eyeing prices for a few cards and will spring if they go down but also looking for reasonable suggestions for cards that are significant upgrades over existing cards.
I would still like Phage the Untouchable to be a big component in the deck (have to have some janky, Johnny wincon in there...) but, in general, I want better value.
Here are some of the ideas for immediate improvements:
-Hell's Caretaker for Gravedigger: Digger is valuable in the deck as a way to get Phage out of the graveyard if my opponents had answers to her but, ultimately, this isn't enough value out of a 4-drop. The caretaker has excellent synergy with Cryptbreaker and I want to test the explosive value engine of pitching big creatures with Cryptbreaker to get a token and then sacrificing the token to reanimate it.
-Reanimate or Necromancy for Rescue from the Underworld: Rescue has a steep mana cost and require a creature to sac. The dream of getting multiple ETB triggers and having two creatures just isn't efficient.
-Vampiric Tutor for Increasing Ambition. End step Vampiric seems pretty good even if pitching an early Ambition to Cryptbreaker has its appeal.
Cards I would love to replace:
-Glaring Spotlight
-Palace Siege
-Lux Cannon
