No Pain No Gain - Vilis, Griselbrand's Brother

Commander / EDH Combo Control Infinite Combo Midrange Mono-Black

Langass

Sorcery (17)

• 1x Beseech the Queen
• 1x Black Sun's Zenith
• 1x Bubbling Muck
• 1x Crux of Fate
• 1x Dark Petition
• 1x Decree of Pain
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Exsanguinate
• 1x Finale of Eternity
• 1x Mutilate
• 1x Night's Whisper
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Repay in Kind
• 1x Tendrils of Agony
• 1x Torment of Hailfire
• 1x Toxic Deluge

Enchantment (10)

• 1x Bitterblossom
• 1x Black Market
• 1x Bloodchief Ascension
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Dreadhorde Invasion
• 1x Exquisite Blood
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Leyline of the Void
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Sanguine Bond

Instant (12)

• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Dismember
• 1x Geth's Verdict
• 1x Go for the Throat
• 1x Hero's Downfall
• 1x Imp's Mischief
• 1x Liliana's Triumph
• 1x Murder
• 1x Ob Nixilis's Cruelty
• 1x Shred Memory
• 1x Sudden Spoiling
• 1x Tainted Strike

Creature (11)

• 1x Crypt Ghast
• 1x Erebos, God of the Dead
• 1x Grave Titan
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Magus of the Coffers
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Nirkana Revenant
• 1x Puppeteer Clique
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Triskelion
• 1x Walking Ballista

Land (34)

• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Cabal Stronghold
• 1x Mortuary Mire
• 28x Swamp
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Commander (1)

Artifact (12)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Blasting Station
• 1x Bolas's Citadel
• 1x Caged Sun
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Jet Medallion
• 1x Mindcrank
• 1x Nim Deathmantle
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Vedalken Orrery
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble

Planeswalker (3)

• 1x Liliana of the Dark Realms
• 1x Liliana Vess
• 1x Sorin Markov

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Maybeboard

Artifact (1)

• 1x Blasting Station

Creature (1)

• 1x Triskelion

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This is my favourite deck to play with in my casual meta. The longer the game goes on, the more I feel the game plays into my hand. This deck is definitely midrange to late-game play. I absolutely love Erebos, God of the Dead against life gain decks, and his card draw engine is one of my favourites. Black is probably my favourite of all the colours.

Wincons

To win the game I often try to drill it home via infinite wincons. These consist of:

1. Opponents take 1 damage or 1 card hits their graveyard = Infinite Mill via Bloodchief Ascension + Mindcrank
2. Opponents take 1 damage = They All Die! via Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond
3. Infinite Zombies Tokens = Board Wipe or Die! via Ashnod's Altar + Grave Titan + Nim Deathmantle
4. Take all creatures from graveyards and swing = Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Puppeteer Clique + sac outlet this actually also can give you infinite generic mana or black mana via Ashnod's Altar or Phyrexian Altar
5. Infinite Generic/Black Mana = Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Nim Deathmantle + Workhorse + sac outlet
6. Infinite Black Mana (with 6 swamps available) = Magus of the Coffers + Umbral Mantle or Magus of the Coffers + Sword of the Paruns .. then all you need to do is sink the mana into something like Walking Ballista (I guess you all die), Nirkana Revenant (what's this amazing mana + huge hitter?!), Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief (opponents basically can't have creatures + beats their faces), Torment of Hailfire (opponents wipe their boards and die) or my personal favourite, Exsanguinate (everybody dies and you gain all their health).

In the Meantime...

The main strategy of this deck is mana, mana and more mana. I know some of the combos seem away from that, but I love to have alternate wincons so people don't know what to deal with first. Honestly, I am considering getting rid of the Workhorse infinite mana because I don't like the 4 slots needed for it (let me know your opinions). When I'm waiting on my combos to appear, I love playing Wound Reflection , or getting a creature out with Dictate of Erebos and/or Grave Pact . Wound Reflection just makes my opponents die that much faster, and if you chuck it out with Sorin Markov you can just insta-kill somebody; alternatively if you have a decent amount of devotion play a Gray Merchant of Asphodel . It also goes really well with Exsanguinate (probably one of my favourite things to do]. Dictate of Erebos and Grave Pact just give me protection from people swinging at me.

Let me know what you guys think, or what you think I should change! Opinions are super welcome!

Date added	5 years
Last updated	4 years
Key combos	Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond Bloodchief Ascension + Mindcrank Ashnod's Altar + Grave Titan + Nim Deathmantle Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Puppeteer Clique Magus of the Coffers + Umbral Mantle Magus of the Coffers + Sword of the Paruns Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Nim Deathmantle + Workhorse
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 39 - 0 Rares 12 - 0 Uncommons 11 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.50
Tokens	Emblem Liliana of the Dark Realms, Faerie Rogue 1/1 B, Zombie 2/2 B, Zombie Army 0/0 B
Folders	EDH, Vilis