Dr. Meandeck

Commander / EDH Combo Competitive Control Multiplayer Primer UBR (Grixis)

fossil

Instant (33)

• 1x Ad Nauseam
• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Cabal Ritual
• 1x Chain of Vapor
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Demonic Consultation
• 1x Dispel
• 1x Dramatic Reversal
• 1x Fire Covenant
• 1x Flusterstorm
• 1x Force of Will
• 1x Frantic Search
• 1x Gush
• 1x High Tide
• 1x Impulse
• 1x Into the Roil
• 1x Intuition
• 1x Lim-Dul's Vault
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Mental Misstep
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Negate
• 1x Pact of Negation
• 1x Pyroblast
• 1x Reality Shift
• 1x Snap
• 1x Spell Pierce
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Thought Scour
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Winds of Rebuke

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Dack Fayden

Land (28)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Badlands
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 8x Island
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Tarnished Citadel
• 1x Underground Sea
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Volcanic Island
• 1x Watery Grave
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Artifact (15)

• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Isochron Scepter
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Lion's Eye Diamond
• 1x Lotus Petal
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Mox Opal
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Dominance
• 1x Talisman of Indulgence

Commander (1)

Sorcery (16)

• 1x Dark Petition
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Doomsday
• 1x Gamble
• 1x Gitaxian Probe
• 1x Imperial Seal
• 1x Merchant Scroll
• 1x Night's Whisper
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Timetwister
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Unearth
• 1x Wheel of Fortune
• 1x Windfall
• 1x Yawgmoth's Will

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Copy Artifact
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Necropotence

Creature (3)

• 1x Dark Confidant
• 1x Laboratory Maniac
• 1x Notion Thief

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Maybeboard

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Massacre
• 1x Rolling Earthquake
• 1x Sleight of Hand
• 1x Thoughtseize
• 1x Vandalblast

Instant (2)

• 1x Abrade
• 1x Muddle the Mixture

Creature (2)

• 1x Baral, Chief of Compliance
• 1x Snapcaster Mage

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Dr. Kess Meandeck, PhD

She's the one they call Dr. Meandeck
She's the one that makes control alright

Section 1 - Introduction

Hello friends, my name is fossil and I am a competitive EDH player, brewer, and content creator. You can find my other work here:

mtgfossil.wordpress.com

This deck is my newest and best creation! Welcome to Dr. Meandeck, a Kess, dissident mage control deck with a combo finish inspired by this Stephen Menendian deck:

http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/legacy-type-1-5/developing-legacy/598905-deck-meandeck-maniac-doomsday

Dr. Meandeck is a control/combo deck focused on playing a slower game so that we can consistently have protection when we combo off. The main win condition is Doomsday, although we have a few other ways to get to the win. We differ from other Grixis decks in that we do not utilize Aetherflux Reservoir, Paradox Engine, or some traditional storm lines (for example, Mind's Desire). We also utilize Intuition in ways no other deck can. Dr. Meandeck also differs from other Kess Control-ish decks in a few key ways:

1. We are not a dedicated Reanimator/Splinter Twin style deck.
2. We've chosen not to use Back to Basics or Blood Moon due to their conditional use and so that we can run Rainbow Lands and in matchups where we don't expect land hate can fetch UB lands early. While our mana base is not as greedy as some of the 4 or 5 color decks in the format, some of our spell requirements such as Necropotence, Doomsday, and Ad Nauseam in particular are at odds with our desire to play early U-based interaction.
3. I've included the Unearth Doomsday strategy as I believe the flexibility it offers with Kess is unparalleled in the format. We still have access to traditional lines, but the protection piles offered by Thought Scour are available to no other commander.
   

Section 2 - Win Conditions

Doomsday

I will only be covering piles which are unique to Kess. These piles will assume she is in play. For some of the more typical/Kessless Doomsday piles please refer to the Doomsday primer written by Sleepy and Rev here:

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/the-edh-doomsday-primer/

If you are a new Doomsday pilot I highly recommend you familiarize yourself with these piles before playing the deck.

On to the Kess piles! That's what we're here for right?

With Thought Scour as our opener we can pile

Labman
Gush
Lotus Petal
Pact of Negation/Force of Will
Unearth

or

Labman
Pact of Negation
Gush
Lotus Petal
Unearth

These are but a few options. The piles are very flexible based on what you have in hand because of Kess's ability. Note that you can pay the alternate cost of casting Gush, so these piles cost 0 mana and have a free protection spell included. Also of note is that with an additional cantrip in hand we can use Winds of Rebuke in a similar manner to Thought Scour.

Demonic Consultation

One alternate route to victory stolen directly from my experience playing Food Chain Tazri (WARNING: GREATNESS AT ANY COST AHEAD) is to Demonic Consultation for any card (highly recommend Totally Lost or Stangg) not in the deck, then attempt to draw a card from your empty library with Labman in play.

For extra spice, if you don't have Labman you can Consultation for Labman with Kess in play, then Demonic Consultation AGAIN with Kess's ability (this time for Stangg) and cantrip for the win. Note that if you hit Labman in the top six, you will exile your library and likely have time to go get food before the next game! Win-win.

Dramatic Scepter

The backup-backup plan is to Dramatic Scepter with Top, draw deck and win. In the event that Labman is exiled, we will use Copy Artifact on Isochron and imprint with Swan Song, make infinite birds by casting Flusterstorm and Swanning all the copies.

Section 3: How to Play

The main goal of the deck is to control the board early and allow a line to victory to open up. This deck's top decks are super live because of the value offered by Kess - Ponder can look 6 cards deep, Merchant Scroll can get you Force of Will and Dramatic Reversal, Demonic Tutor gets you both Doomsday and Thought Scour.

Early game focus on dealing with the decks that can race you - hold up mana for dealing with Flash, tax effects that we cannot easily play through (such as Grafdigger's Cage), or early wheels when we have a good hand.

Mid to late game this deck is about accruing value through the use of Kess. Double up our tutors, double up our cantrips, and eventually reach a point where through sheer card advantage we are able to set up one of our wins.

Remember that the reason to play this deck is not because of the speed or resilience of the combos, but rather because of the ability to consistently ensure wins with protection. The less all-in you play this deck, the better. Our lategame can compete with any other deck in the meta, be patient early game and remember the stax decks can be your friend.

Section 4: Intuition

Intuition is a great card but great holy magey dissidence is it amazing in Kess. Here are some things you can do with Kess in play in a variety of situations (depending on board state/resources):

We'd Like To End the Game Now, Is That OK? Tier:
- Yawgmoth's Will, Doomsday, Gitaxian Probe
- Demonic Consultation, Laboratory Maniac, Unearth

Our Opponent Has Cast Flash, Can I Have a Counter? Tier:
- Ad Nauseam, Yawgmoth's Will, Force of Will

I Don't Have The Mana To Win Tier, Can I Have 28 Cards Please?:
- Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Wheel of Fortune (go get yourself a Notion Thief!)

Section 5: How to Adapt This List to Your Meta

Despite my agonizing over this specific 99, I must acknowledge it might not be perfect for you. It can't be! It's prepared for a little bit of everything, but I've got a quick guide on how to adjust it:

Creature-Heavy Meta
- Add - Toxic Deluge, Massacre, Pyroclasm, Kozilek's Return
- Remove - Muddle the Mixture, Dispel, Reality Shift

Large Amount of Greedy Manabases
- Add Blood Moon, Back to Basics, basic lands
- Remove City of Brass and other Rainbow Lands

Section 6 - In Closing

I would like to thank many people from the cEDH and playEDH discords for helping me brew this deck:

Soos and lilbrudder for the original Kess DD Moonclasm deck this was based on:
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/skeletors-moonsday/

Labman Dan for suggesting the Dramatic Scepter package be included.

imoc, neosloth, Shaper, Sigi, asm, Reversemermaid, BigLupu, Lerker, biopower (and anyone I forgot!) for card suggestions and listening to my whining about how hard cuts were.

I really hope you enjoy playing this deck, I believe it has the strength to be a real part of the meta and not a flash in the pan brew. It has diverse, sometimes seemingly endless lines and has the flexibility for its ceiling to scale with the skill of the pilot, a quality I personally find very appealing in a deck. Happy Doomsday-ing!

-fossil

Top Ranked	Achieved #12 position overall 6 years ago
Date added	6 years
Last updated	6 years
Exclude colors	WG
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	7 - 0 Mythic Rares 43 - 0 Rares 17 - 0 Uncommons 24 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	1.86
Tokens	Bird 2/2 U, Emblem Dack Fayden, Manifest 2/2 C
Folders	cEDH - Competitive Casual & cEDH, Primers, kess, Retired: Kess, Kess, Kess, Dissident Mage, cedh, cEDH, Build Ideas
Based on	Dr. Meandeck 1.0 fossilarm EDH