Death in the Brambles

Commander / EDH BG (Golgari) Casual Multiplayer Ramp Reanimator

Lil_Kalki

Creature (37)

• 1x Acidic Slime
• 1x Artisan of Kozilek
• 1x Beastcaller Savant
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Bloodgift Demon
• 1x Brawn
• 1x Creakwood Liege
• 1x Duplicant
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Fyndhorn Elves
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Hornet Queen
• 1x It That Betrays
• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1x Krosan Tusker
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Massacre Wurm
• 1x Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest
• 1x Mindslicer
• 1x Mycoloth
• 1x Rune-Scarred Demon
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Savra, Queen of the Golgari
• 1x Seedborn Muse
• 1x Shriekmaw
• 1x Sifter of Skulls
• 1x Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Spike Weaver
• 1x Spore Frog
• 1x Vampire Hexmage
• 1x Viscera Seer
• 1x Vulturous Zombie
• 1x Yavimaya Elder
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat

Land (38)

• 1x Barren Moor
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Crumbling Vestige
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 9x Forest
• 1x Golgari Rot Farm
• 1x High Market
• 1x Jungle Hollow
• 1x Llanowar Reborn
• 1x Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Spawning Bed
• 10x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Wood
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Tranquil Thicket
• 1x Vivid Grove
• 1x Vivid Marsh
• 1x Woodland Cemetery

Enchantment (7)

• 1x Attrition
• 1x Awakening Zone
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Exploration
• 1x From Beyond
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Survival of the Fittest

Commander (1)

Artifact (11)

• 1x Altar of Dementia
• 1x Birthing Pod
• 1x Cauldron of Souls
• 1x Claws of Gix
• 1x Golgari Signet
• 1x Nevinyrral's Disk
• 1x Seal of the Guildpact
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak

Sorcery (4)

• 1x Decree of Pain
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Kodama's Reach

Instant (2)

• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Krosan Grip

---

Cursed be those who meander in the underbrush, for they shall inherit the dust.

~~~

This deck began as a Skullbriar deck that would have benefited from having Mazirek as the commander. The theme was sacrificing creatures to reap the rewards of such an action en masse. And then I switched it over to Meren to reap that benefit more as a reanimator deck.

The games I usually have with this deck generally have a trajectory of priority:

Step 1: get ahold of Spore Frog or Spike Weaver ASAP (Weaver is better if one has the XP to make use of it, otherwise Spore Frog will always contribute to XP), then bring out Meren and either, both hardcast.

Step 2: abuse the everloving crap out of the cutest frog in Magic, or the Weaver, while adding to your XP - if Weaver is the choice, then you can do more reanimation at the same time!

Step 2 (Aside): Sacrifice the Spore Frog when you know a heavy assault is directed at you. If you need to choose between a few 1/1s or 2/2s swinging at you, or a more relevantly-positioning assault at your life total, hold back on the Frog for a little bit as long as you know you can afford it.

Step 3a: When you need to, sacrifice things to engines in order to get the most out of your deck and graveyard, as well as deny much value from the opposing players' fields and decks. Survival of the Fittest, Birthing Pod, Tortured Existence, Altar of Dementia, and Attrition can all accomplish parts of this. Viscera Seer is also helpful for this if need be.

Step 3b: All the time while applicable, profit from the side effects of sacrificing what needs to be sacrificed. Grave Pact, Dictate of Erebos, Grim Haruspex, and Zulaport Cutthroat are key in things like that.

Step 4: Bring forth the biggest/most things you can bring out. While oftentimes It That Betrays is a beautifully juicy option, sometimes it is better to rezz Hornet Queen so you can have more critters and more death triggers for later if you need them.

Step 5: By now, most of the players have exhausted their resources aggressively trying to stop your process, and by now they have all had huge issues with it. Now is the time when you aim to win. Swing where applicable, and assess the threats properly, and victory will be yours.

If you'd like a TL;DR, it's "Protect, then Serve".

~~~

Shiplog (AKA a changelog to implement once the cards are shipped):

Everything is ship-shape!

Date added	8 years
Last updated	6 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	2 - 0 Mythic Rares 40 - 0 Rares 23 - 0 Uncommons 15 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.71
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Eldrazi Scion 1/1 C, Eldrazi Spawn 0/1 C, Experience Token, Insect 1/1 G w/ Flying, Deathtouch, Morph 2/2 C, Saproling 1/1 G, Worm 1/1 BG
Folders	Golgari