The idea here is pretty straight forward:
Force your opponent to sacrifice creatures until they can't anymore and overwhelm them with your army of fatties that force them to do bad things. Eventually, get to the point where you can assemble an army of the damned and reanimate your opponents creatures (as well as your own) to overrun the entire board.
I went through thousands of cards, literally. I ultimately went with mostly permanents to do the job instead of spells and narrowed the focus to controlling the boards creatures and then using the dead to work for you. I had more categories like life drain, spot removal, land destruction, board wipes, more reanimation, etc... and decided that if things are going my way I don't need any of that so I kept them in much smaller doses for situational use. There are a couple of one trick ponies I wanted to keep that would deal with decks that have excessive life gain or an abundance of artifacts and equipment, but at the end of the day if I can keep all other creatures off the table then I shouldn't have to worry about those other things. Counter control could get messy, but I'm pretty sure I have more things that will cause more havoc than my opponents should have counterspells. I hope, anyway. We'll see. I'm getting better at building Commander decks much faster, they used to take me several days or weeks just to figure out what direction to go and what cards to try.
So actually playing through test hands revealed some far dirtier tricks than originally conceived. I'm loving the interactions between big cards and these enchantments. I'll go through some of the interactions to paint a picture of how things should play out.
Mogis, God of Slaughter is even more interesting once I remembered an aspect of Commander that we usually sort of forget about: Commander Damage. Every time your opponent chooses to take the damage, they are taking Commander damage and 21 is all it takes for lights out. 11 creatures sacrificed to Mogis specifically isn't exactly a fast timer, but considering how open the board should remain if done correctly then you can also attack for 7 more Commander damage to speed up that clock. Nice.
Well, it would have been nice if I wasn't a noob and understood how Commander damage worked... turns out its still just regular damage. Combat damage is the magic word. Oh well.
Anyway, I chose a fair amount of expensive and color rich permanents to allow Mogis to do his thing since at turn 4 he would only be an Indestructible Enchantment, but as early as turn 5 can already be willing and able to start up the pain train.
Since several things might take a while to get going depending on how you draw and what kind of mana you are sitting on, the first category is Deterrence. Not exactly Defense, but I wanted ways to make your opponents think twice before sending creatures at your face, and I didn't want to waste time with chump blockers. Well, chump blockers that I'd have to use too many card slots for.
No Mercy fits the bill a lot better than Ensnaring Bridge. Bridge is great, but I don't have ways to ensure my hand stays small when I need it to and I also need to be able to attack. No Mercy just strait up makes creatures Sacrifice themselves to attack you. I love it. Creature cards in Graveyards will be important later, so this is the King Deterrent, and it doesn't hurt that it does it's job all by itself without waiting for another piece.
Grave Pact is a two part Deterrent. Picking off your creatures forces Sacrifice of your opponents creatures. The funny part is that it makes all of your opponents do it, not just one. The best way to exploit this is with cheap and recurring creature tokens. These tokens comes from
Breeding Pit
and Bitterblossom. This is not Aristocratic in nature, so there aren't many things that can be used to Sacrifice on demand. The Deterrent is if you attack me, I'll throw a meaningless Thrull or Faerie Rogue Token in front of your creature and when mine dies you and everyone else has to Sacrifice something. This should stop people from attacking you while also making them think twice about picking off any of your creatures. Blood Artist fits well with these activities as added punishment. I'd say he has a decent sized target painted on himself. The nice part about him VS Zulaport Cutthroat is that the ability triggers when any creature dies, not just yours. Abhorrent Overlord also spits out a lot of Tokens that can be used as chumpers or an army to swarm in for lethal damage.
Price of Glory is Counterspell fodder if I've ever seen it. This resolving should protect you from future Counterspells and Flash shenanigans since it has massive repercussions for your opponent. This does effect you as well so don't go getting ideas that you will do anything but watch your opponents sweat during their turns. I've limited the selection of Instant spells just in case.
Kaervek the Merciless is right up there with Price of Glory as a major spell deterrent except this time it doesn't effect you. That effect on a 5/4 body is just awesome. Even if somebody takes him down immediately it's going to cost them some damage.
Awaken the Sky Tyrant is probably one of the weakest cards on the list, but gaining a 5/5 Flyer after someone hits you is the kind of psychological warfare I like. I could have just put a 5/5 Flyer on the board, but having this down early enough in the game might stop someone from rolling a creature your way.
The next category is board control through Sacrifice. There are a million cards that you can cast to make someone or everyone Sacrifice a creature or wipe the board. Boring. Damnation be damned, I wanted to stay away from one shot spells. Instead, I wanted more cards like Mogis that force Sacrifice more repeatedly.
Abyssal Gatekeeper is the smallest and only "one shot" on the list. I like it because I can get it down early and it helps in the Deterrence department, but once I also get Grave Pact it turns into a two for one for the whole table. Then later I can get it back by other means and do it again. I don't have recursion for spells so this was my best option.
Anowon, the Ruin Sage will really suck for anyone that can only play one non-vampire creature without haste per turn because it'll be gone before their next upkeep. This does make you Sacrifice as well so having Tokens from the Bitterblossom or Breeding Pit helps until you get into the late game and can sacrifice some big guys on purpose to edge in big damage from Stalking Vengeance and Vicious Shadows.
Archfiend of Depravity means your opponent will never be allowed to keep more than two creatures a turn. This of course plays very nicely when they have to then sacrifice another one or more on your turn. It doesn't hurt that it's a 5/4 with Flying.
Butcher of Malakir is another effect like Grave Pact. Hurt my friends and I'll hurt your friends. It also doesn't hurt that it's another 5/4 with Flying.
Defiler of Souls
only takes down mono-colored things and is another effect that punishes you as well. Again, this can eventually be used to your advantage into Vicious Shadows, and it doesn't suck that it's a 5/5 with Flying.
Desecration Demon is hilarious. A 6/6 Flyer with that ability for 4 mana is just too much. Don't want to get hit in the face with a gigantic Demon? Alright, sacrifice even more things while making this even bigger until you can't and it whomps you on the melon anyway. Love it.
Malfegor
only does hit trick once, but he does it well. This is the closest thing to a mass board wipe like Damnation. Another 6/6 Flyer that has a job and will always deliver.
Ob Nixilis, Unshackled is the only card in the game that makes Evolving Wilds cost an extra 10 damage and a creature to use. The added bonus of growing a +1/+1 counter every time any creature dies is just hilarious, but the fact that he already comes built with Flying AND Trample is just ridiculous. Playing this guy on one turn and then playing Malfegor could be lights out quite quickly. Jeez.
Sheoldred, Whispering One has two jobs. One is to force an opponent to Sacrifice every turn. Check. The second is to Reanimate one of yours every turn. What? We should have a way to Sneak creatures onto the battlefield really cheaply and Attack with them, then Sacrifice them at the end of turn so we can bring them back for free on the next upkeep. If only there was a card for such a Sneak Attack. Oh well.
Tyrant of Discord
could be a long turn. Roll a dice to kill something, if it isn't a land do it again. It only happens when it enters the battlefield, so it's too bad we can't Sneak it onto the field really cheap, sacrifice it, then bring it back and sacrifice it again... Rats.
The next category, and it's a big one, is Reanimation. Again, I limited the number of one time use effects for maximum value.
Speaking of one time use effects, Stitch Together has always been a sentimental favorite. Threshold is basically guaranteed, but early on it may be of more value to bring something back to your hand. With Sneak Attack for example, one mana to play and attack with any big creature and then two mana to put it back into my hand allows me to use that one mana to play and attack and sacrifice again. Depending on board state that could be better than just putting it back out.
Morgue Burst
is a much more expensive one of, but it also goes back to hand for use with Sneak Attack while also dealing direct face damage. Most of the big creatures are either 5 or 6 power, so that's Burn and Return right there. The high cost does come into play later as well.
Kolaghan's Command is a flexible one of that also allows you to pick off an Artifact or force a Discard. The 2 damage is probably the least likely to get used, but it's there. Again, this brings back to the Hand so it works very well with Sneak Attack.
Strands of Night has a bit of cost to it with 2 life and a Swamp on the line, but you can do it as many times as you need to and whenever you need to. Straight to the field untapped has value written all over it.
I replaced this with Palace Siege because I found myself not able to pay the cost and sacrifice the Swamps as needed. Coming back to play is great, but I like the free nature of Palace Siege as it is much more reliable. It does work beautifully with Sneak Attack so I can replay and attack with a fatty every turn for just one red mana. Upgrades.
Mortuary Mire made the list because it is built onto a land. It guarantees your next draw is a creature of some value and allows you to do whatever it did once a second time.
Cauldron Dance
is, well, absurd. With the rest of the deck doing what it does, this card has no drawback. Normally you'd be losing a big creature from your hand but at least you get to attack with it first, but you also get to put a creature from your Graveyard back in your hand AND you get to attack with it first. This card should set in motion the beginning of the end.
Grimoire of the Dead
is, well, even more absurd. All graveyards? All of them? By the time this puppy is ready to bust open the Graveyards should be ripe full of creatures. Gross. Just gross.
Bone Dancer
is a good little thief. He's small and very blockable, but an opponent left without a defense is going to be giving you free creatures. Cute little scamp, ain't he?
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni is also a good thief, except this master thief gets to choose what he steals and he still gets to get his damage through AND she can regenerate. Sneak Attack has an interesting synergy with Ink-Eyes. Sneak in a big Flyer with a nice ETB effect and attack with it. When it goes unblocked because your opponent either doesn't have a creature or can't Reach, Ninjutsu old Ink-Eyes in their place to still deal 5 damage but also steal a creature. Wait a minute, the creature you were supposed to sacrifice was returned to your hand! I guess it'll live to Sneak another day.
Lord of the Void isn't exactly reanimating a previously dead creature like the rest of these cards. No, instead it forces 7 cards out of existence and then rips one back onto the battlefield under your control. Jeez guy, calm down.
Scion of Darkness does exactly what Ink-Eyes and Bone Dancer do except without any tricks. It's just a 6/6 with Trample that has a pretty good chance of hitting it's target.
Sheoldred, the Whispering One was already discussed, but she is worth discussing more because she is disgusting.
The last category on the list is Value cards and Finishers. There is enough overlap here to lump them together. I guess I'll start with creatures.
Ashenmoor Liege
buffs all of your other creatures and has a nice blowback to your opponent if they go to remove him. Not exactly a finisher, but for the cost it's a nice drop.
Avatar of Woe is a classic. 10 creatures in all graveyards just means you can't get her down for only 2 mana too soon, but she'll be ready for battle soon enough. Tap to kill? If you really need to...
Balefire Dragon is just stupid. The big way to get around all the sacrificing and whatnot is to figure out how to flood the board with tokens. Dead, burnt to a crisp, tokens. I like it.
Brood of Cockroaches
is a good stand in when forced to sacrifice something every turn and you don't have a token generator. Things don't always play out in the order we want them to, but this is a good supplement. It also works as a fine chump blocker that mixes well with Grave Pact.
Chancellor of the Dross
is great in the opening hand but also is a great creature to exploit with all the Sneaky Attacks since it has both Flying and Lifelink. That life gain will matter, especially when all Havoc breaks loose.
Deathbringer Thoctar has obvious synergy with all the dying going on, but also has a great finishing move by throwing all those counters at your opponents life total like a javelin. The awesome part about this guy against a bunch of tokens is that he can remove a counter to kill a 1/1 which puts a counter back on him. Blood Artist agrees that doing this against even your own army of 1/1 creatures is a fun way to gain life while killing someone.
Hellhole Rats
is an interesting choice, isn't it? Well, it can put creatures into your opponents graveyard while harming them and then allowing you to steal them away later with other things. It can also dump a creature into your own graveyard that you may be planning some shenanigans with. Who knows.
Lightning Reaver
is there to clean up. Wipe the board or just keep it clear to pave a little path for this guy. Every time he hits one person he follows up by hitting everyone. Each time gets a little worse. All you have to do is attack the person without blockers or does not have a black/artifact creature to block with.
Magmatic Force does his thing during each upkeep, not just yours. In a four person game thats 12 damage every time around at whatever creature or player you want. It seems really good with Havoc Festival since you get to choose the order in which they happen. Lose half of your life and then take 3 damage, please.
Master of Cruelties shouldn't be allowed. "...life total becomes 1"? If you can't sacrifice a creature on your next upkeep then you'll take two damage and die, won't you? Aw.
Mortivore should get out of hand in size. Of course this depends on how many creatures everyone is playing, but they certainly will be dying a lot. Regenerate makes this guy tough to deal with and he should be able to deal some crazy damage.
Stalking Vengeance is pure Value that can totally finish the game one player at a time. Sneak in a fatty, it dies at the end of the turn and deals even more damage. The board gets wiped? Nobody would be that stupid... Sacrifice a creature to Anowon or Defiler of Souls? Ok, take a bunch of damage.
Vicious Shadows does this too except it works every time any creature dies, not just yours. It's based on hand size which should be plentiful since playing creatures and spells have serious repercussions for your opponents. Put them both together and this Lime and this Coconut just won us the game.
Ambition's Cost and Ancient Craving are the same card. Pay 4 and 3 life to draw 3 cards. Kind of boring, but usually never going to be a bad play.
Shadows of the Past
is a much more efficient and repeatable means of digging through your library. Creatures die all the time.
Anger of the Gods is to deal with widespread tokens and/or elves. Can't let those little buggers get out of hand.
Bitter Revelation goes through the top four cards and lets you put what you want in the graveyard into the graveyard and what you want in your hand into your hand. Value.
Blightning is an early game crack to the dome that is meant to disrupt the early game plans. Discarding two cards at that stage of the game can dramatically mess up some plans, especially since they are likely from the opening hand the first turns of the game were decided based on those cards. Hymn to Tourach is a better card for one less mana, but if you are going to play red and black and discard isn't your main game plan then you play Blightning.
Blood Tithe
is important because it should gain you 9 health which will be important later and possibly as a finisher when Havoc happens. It could also save your life.
Choking Sands
deals with pesky non-basic lands like Maze of Ith or even Westvale Abbey
. You can also kick a player while they're down if they are short on mana to give yourself some competitive edge.
Poison the Well
does the same thing for the same reason.
Crack the Earth
is a solid move right from the first turn of the game. Especially if you went last.
Din of the Fireherd
can be truly devastating for whatever opponent that might be ahead of you. It's at a minimum going to cause them to lose one creature and one land, but probably going to cause them to lose a lot more than that. It doesn't suck that you also get a 5/5 token out of the deal.
Dreadbore is for killing Planeswalkers, don't waste your time killing a creature.
Rakdos's Return
is a more of a "spend enough mana to kill someone" sort of card than a "spend enough mana to empty someone's hand" sort of card. It can be used as either.
Skull Rend
is a nice group slug sort of card. The damage is sort of negligible depending on when it happens, but the two cards at random can really screw over your opponents.
Sorin Markov is essentially six mana to bring someone down to 10 life. The other skills are alright, but that's not what it's there to do. If he lives for three turns, you do get to put someone at 10, dome another something for 2, and then put another person at 10. Good luck, but with all the creature killing that may actually happen.
Baneful Omen is the reason for all the expensive choices. Well, not the only reason, but it's a good one. Since you get to scry so much with Shadows of the Past, you can pretty much choose how much damage everyone is going to take at the end of your turns. Watch out for removal.
Havoc Festival will cause table flips. This burns down everyone at an alarming rate. It can't kill, but it does bring everyone closer to the brink of death every turn.
Polluted Bonds is nice to have out at any stage of the game, but the earlier the better to keep yourself nice and alive. People will want you dead, this helps slow that down.
Quest for the Gravelord is another cheap and easy means of getting yourself a 5/5 creature and is one of just two cards that you can play on your first turn.
Sneak Attack makes everything in the deck better by enabling cheap combos like described before. This card is much more useful than originally intended and synergizes with basically every single creature in the deck.
Breath of Malfegor
is a table finisher. It doesn't do nearly as much good to just cast this whenever. It is absolutely best served when people are getting nearer and nearer to death.
Hero's Demise
says "screw you" to anyone else's Commander. Of course there are probably other Legendary things that will show up, but it is there to simply make your opponent's Commander cost 2 more mana.
That pretty much sums up all of the cards and what they do. The MVP in each category would probably be:
Nastiest Black Creature - Sheoldred, Whispering One
Nastiest Red Creature - Stalking Vengeance
Nastiest Gold Creature - Deathbringer Thoctar
Nastiest Sorcery -
Din of the Fireherd
Nastiest Enchantment - Havoc Festival
Nastiest Card Overall -
Grimoire of the Dead
Most Useful Card - Sneak Attack
