Lie, Steal, Cheat, and SURVIVE!

Commander / EDH* LeMonado

SCORE: 94 | 62 COMMENTS | 14111 VIEWS | IN 44 FOLDERS

Chasm Skulker and Toothy —Dec. 1, 2018

Filigree Familiar has long since been on the chopping block for me, but I refused to cut it. The card was WAY too dependent on Dethrone; it was essentially the ONLY way to get more than one use out of the fox, and even then you weren't that far ahead by doing so. In the end, what does the fox say? It says "man I wish I was Solemn Simulacrum..." Familiar is being replaced with Toothy, Imaginary Friend. The card turns into a massive beater on its own all while ditching dependence on Dethrone and refilling our hand once it is answered. It's basically a second copy of Bloodtracker.

On the other hand, Hanweir Garrison is amazing, and should NOT be overlooked. It's usually possible to attack someone who doesn't have creatures or to attack the highest life total to pump out the tokens. Why is it being cut then? Well, the deck has been entered a new phase. A new phase of diversification...

• Dark Prophecy
• Falkenrath Noble
• Chasm Skulker

Enter Chasm Skulker, and the new direction the deck is taking. There have been so many cards printed that slot into multiple roles, giving us flexibility in how we pilot the deck. We can sac a bunch of Squids to grow the Skulker, draw cards from Haruspex effects, sac the Skulker to make Squids, THEN sac the Squids on the next turn to repeat the loop. That's not only safer, but also more powerful than what a big bomb like Thraximundar, Blood Tyrant, or Wurmcoil Engine could have accomplished. Attacking is also no longer a necessity, but we can do it as well as ever before, possibly even better. Imagine in that combo if we had attacked with 6-8 tokens with Dethrone...now that's a lotta damage! It also makes us less-dependent on having Marchesa, as we get value even when our creatures don't return at the end of the turn. The deck is straight gas no matter how you split it.

This deck is only going to get better. In just the last year Wizards has printed such staples as Midnight Reaver, Toothy, Imaginary Friend, Plaguecrafter, Hostage Taker, Bloodtracker, Arguel's Blood Fast  ^Flip, Captivating Crew, Herald of Secret Streams, Guildmages' Forum, and Forge of Heroes! That's a TENTH of my current list! This is a great time to jump on the bandwagon of the aggro, combo, valuetown deck that is Marchesa, the Black Rose.