Madame Meren's Grave Pact (Meren of Clan Nel Toth)

Commander / EDH* BG (Golgari) Reanimator

newtontke

Lands (38)

• 1x Blooming Marsh
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Command Beacon
• 1x Command Tower
• 9x Forest
• 1x Foul Orchard
• 1x Golgari Guildgate
• 1x Golgari Rot Farm
• 1x Grim Backwoods
• 1x High Market
• 1x Hissing Quagmire
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Jungle Hollow
• 1x Llanowar Wastes
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 9x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Wood
• 1x Temple of Malady
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip
• 1x Woodland Cemetery

Reanimate (5)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Phyrexian Delver
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Victimize

Ramp (4)

• 1x Golgari Locket
• 1x Golgari Signet
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Wood Elves

Hexproof (3)

• 1x Champion's Helm
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots

Tutors (10)

• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Eldritch Evolution
• 1x Pattern of Rebirth
• 1x Razaketh, the Foulblooded
• 1x Rune-Scarred Demon
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Survival of the Fittest
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Worldly Tutor

Death (9)

• 1x Butcher of Malakir
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Fleshbag Marauder
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Merciless Executioner
• 1x Plaguecrafter
• 1x Shriekmaw
• 1x Windgrace's Judgment

Outlets (7)

• 1x Altar of Dementia
• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Attrition
• 1x High Market
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 1x Spawning Pit
• 1x Viscera Seer

Utility (4)

• 1x Bane of Progress
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Triskelion
• 1x Walking Ballista

Lambs (2)

• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Spore Frog

Commander (1)

Fillers (9)

• 1x Altar of Dementia
• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Deadbridge Chant
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Golgari Grave-Troll
• 1x Perpetual Timepiece
• 1x Satyr Wayfinder
• 1x Stinkweed Imp
• 1x Underrealm Lich

Finishers (6)

• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1x Massacre Wurm
• 1x Protean Hulk
• 1x Sepulchral Primordial
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One

Tokens (5)

• 1x Abhorrent Overlord
• 1x Avenger of Zendikar
• 1x Izoni, Thousand-Eyed
• 1x Mitotic Slime
• 1x Thragtusk

---

Maybeboard

Other (24)

• 1x Aether Snap
• 1x Awakening Zone
• 1x Commune with the Gods
• 1x Deathreap Ritual
• 1x Dread Return
• 1x Grave Titan
• 1x Grisly Salvage
• 1x Jarad's Orders
• 1x Living Death
• 1x Maelstrom Pulse
• 1x Mindslicer
• 1x Natural Order
• 2x Necromancy
• 1x Noxious Gearhulk
• 1x Noxious Revival
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Rise of the Dark Realms
• 1x Stitch Together
• 1x Strionic Resonator
• 1x Summoner's Pact
• 1x Symbiotic Wurm
• 1x Terastodon
• 1x Yavimaya Hollow

---

This is my upgraded Meren of Clan Nel Toth EDH deck. It has been through a ton of improving, it plays really consistantly, and is really fun to pilot. It is currently one of my favorite and most competitive EDH deck. All comments are appreciated!

-----Within the cycle of 2015 Commander decks Meren is unique in the fact that at some point her experience counters cap out and become irrelevant. At the very most 16 experience counters would be the most you would ever need ( Draco ). After that, all additional experience counters are useless. Meren makes up for this by making the most of each and every experience counter. With Meren I feel like I am racing to get to 6 or 7 XP Counters and then I am set. With enough outlets and self-sacrificing creatures I could possibly get to my XP goal within two turns.

---

*Lambs are creatures that happily sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

Lambs-(3)

- Sakura-Tribe Elder - A free to sac creature that keeps my mana growing.

- Spore Frog - Sacs for free and can protect me from the scariest person at the table once each turn.

- Vampire Hexmage - Sacs for free and can take any planeswalker with her. Walkers can be a problem for Meren if they stack up since most removal only deals with creatures.

*Outlets are cards that allow me to killer my own creatures for assorted advantages.

Outlets-(8)

- Altar of Dementia - A free sac outlet that fills my yard! Sign me up!

- Ashnod's Altar - A free sac outlet that ramps me! Sign me up AGAIN!

- Attrition - A sac outlet for a reusable Doom Blade effect. Adding this made it possible to remove my one time use force-sac effects.

- Birthing Pod - Colorless and phyrexian spells always make any multi-colored deck just a little more consistent since even two color decks occasionally run into mana issues. Pod is probably the most versatile outlet in my deck but I still waffled on whether or not to run it since I am typically anti-tutor in EDH. In the end it was just too versatile to pass up.

- High Market - A wonderful addition the basic Meren product. A free outlet that taps for mana and gains me a little life.

- Phyrexian Tower - Just like High Market except it gives when I sac a creature. This card is great but way overpriced for what it is. One of the thousand cards that is in desperate need of a reprint.

- Spawning Pit - A Sac Outlet is good enough on it's own even if it didn't give me more creature fodder later to make my Meren engine get to the 5-8 mana it needs to really get going. This rivals Ashnod's Altar in it's effectiveness.

- Viscera Seer - Seer is the only sac outlet that is attached to a creature. As such, she can be brought back as much as needed.

Tutors-(12)

-----I'm not a fan of straight tutors since they make each game just a little too consistent. Too much consistency becomes annoyingly predictable. Despite that, Meren draws so much hate and requires things to line up in just a certain way that I have made an exception in this particular build. I also make an effort to draw different threats/answers when I am able to mix up how similar each game is to one another.

- Birthing Pod - Like I said in my "Outlets" section this is too versatile to pass up and fits this deck like a tailored suit.

- Demonic Tutor - The original art for this is some of the best art in the history of magic that just happens to be on one of the best cards in the history of magic. It is probably the most iconic black card ever. has Lightning Bolt , has Counterspell , and has Demonic Tutor !

- Diabolic Intent - The fact that it sacs a creature makes me feel like it has 2x's the synergy of a basic Tutor.

- Eldritch Evolution - Pretty much a nerfed Diabolic Intent that can only target creatures, but at least the tutored creature goes straight on board.

- Green Sun's Zenith - Basically just a second copy of every Green creature in my deck, and it can fetch a Protean Hulk to end the game if all works out.

- Pattern of Rebirth - With all of the sac outlets in my build this gets boosted to a whole other level of good.

- Razaketh, the Foulblooded - Tutoring once can change the course of a game. Razaketh lets me tutor over and over again and his 8/8 Flampling body can become a pretty good beatstick in a pinch.

- Rune-Scarred Demon , - Sidisi, Undead Vizier - Tutors attached to creatures means easily recursive tutor effects.

- Survival of the Fittest - High cmc creatures clogging my hand become useless at times. This card solves that issue and tutors me a better creature. The $40 price tag keeps too many players from trying it but I got lucky and picked it up for $20. After playing with it I realized that it is worth the high price. It is banned in most formats for a reason.

- Worldly Tutor - Instant speed Tutor allows me to set up a card the end step before my turn and minimize the chance for responses for my enemies.

Tokens-(5)

-----Nothing feeds one of my outlets like a fresh batch of token fodder. While I never expect to attack with a token army, they do make great blockers and work great with all of my sac outlets. Plus, at some point, I will manage to feed them to Westvale Abbey   and summon Ormendahl, Profane Prince .

- Abhorrent Overlord - The attempt at a drawback, in the form of a forced sac during my upkeep, only helps me further my goal. The fact that the harpy tokens fly will always be helpful.

- Avenger of Zendikar - Pretty much a EDH staple for a reason. I have created 15 tokens in one turn in my Mayael deck with this. I am unlikely to do that with one ETB in this deck, but I can sac it and bring it back for possibly even more than 15 tokens total each turn.

- Hornet Queen - is a steep price to pay but I do get 5 flying creatures who all have deathttouch. One of the best defensive creatures of all time.

- Mitotic Slime - 7 creatures for seems like good value even without the ability to bring back the slime again and again.

- Thragtusk -Only nets me 1 Token but it also gains me life and I like both of those things.

Utility-(7), Hexproof-(4) & Ramp-(2)

-----Utility

- Bane of Progress - Meren eats opposing creatures for breakfast with the numerous forced sac effects. But, while all of those are dying; artifacts and enchantments tend to pile up. This rectify's that in one fell swoop.

- Beast Within - Kill anything for a tiny drawback. I have destroyed my own creature with it only to sac the 3/3 token to get two XP triggers when I was desperate for them.

- Eternal Witness - One the top 3 cards in the deck. Always good and always a good topdeck.

- Spike Weaver - Spike Weaver's counters remove at will for free and can provide a force field to protect me between turns or sac immediately for an XP counter.

- Triskelion - 1 out of 2 creatures that combo (along with Walking Ballista + a Outlet) with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed to infinite combo kill all of my opponents.

- Walking Ballista - Ballista is basically a second way to combo off with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed IF I already have a sac outlet on board.

-----Hexproof -Every piece of protection is meant for Meren. Giving her hexproof/shroud goes a long way towards a win.

- Aspect of Mongoose - Shroud < Hexproof but it does return itself to my hand.

- Champion's Helm - This replaced Alpha Authority and Canopy Cover . The fact that it survives creature wrath effects made it more valuable as the number of those effects increased in my meta.

- Lightning Greaves / Swiftfoot Boots - These two are basically EDH staples.

-----Ramp

- Sol Ring and Golgari Signet - Sol Ring and all applicable Signets are auto-includes in every EDH deck I have.

*Fillers are cards that put other cards into my graveyard.

Fillers-(7) and Reanimation-(4)

-----Fillers - Altar of Dementia - A free sac outlet that fills my yard! Sign me up!

- Buried Alive - Great card! I usually target Eternal Witness and some combination of Spore Frog , Fleshbag Marauder / Merciless Executioner , and a either Butcher of Malakir or a "Finisher" of some sort.

- Entomb - SOOOO efficient that it seems unfair at times.

- Satyr Wayfinder - Any strategy that revolves around the Graveyard has two worries going into any game: 1. Filling the graveyard early game to make use of it as fast as possible and 2. Recovering and refilling the Graveyard if/when it get forcibly exiled or shuffled back into the deck.

- Deadbridge Chant - High on the curve but it fills the yard with a reasonable amount of cards all by itself and gives me another recursion tool besides Meren.

- Golgari Grave-Troll , - Stinkweed Imp - Versatility is this deck's middle name; and these two creatures embody all the things that and Graveyard deck hopes to be. Hell, the constructed graveyard strategy is named after the Dredge mechanic printed on these cards. Golgari Thug and Life from the Loam didn't quite make this build, but both would be worthy inclusions in any Graveyard deck.

-----Reanimate

- Animate Dead - While returning creatures from my graveyard is nice, getting the best option out of any players graveyard opens up so many more options.

- Mikaeus, the Unhallowed - a great mass-Reanimator that always me to put a Combo in the deck disguised as a great utility creature.

- Phyrexian Delver - Reanimate on creature body means Meren can take advantage of this effect over and over.

- Reanimate - and some life points to bring back any creature is a good deal and can be an efficient way to win quickly. A Turn-1 pays for Sol Ring. Turn-2 leaves you with potential to tap the Ring for Spawning Pit and to use pay for Entomb targeting Protean Hulk in order to use Reanimate to bring back the Hulk. You can then sac the Hulk and combo off for the Turn-2 win.

- Victimize - While this only targets creatures in my graveyard; it gets two of them...for .

*Death includes cards that will cause just that...death. To my opponents hopefully.

Death-(8)

- Fleshbag Marauder , - Merciless Executioner , - Shriekmaw , - Slum Reaper - kill and forced sac-effects attached to creatures put in work in a Meren deck and can be looped to keep the board clear of creatures if Meren stays alive.

- Butcher of Malakir , - Dictate of Erebos , - Grave Pact - "Grave Pact" effects make this deck become oppressive. They are all all-stars in this deck.

- Damnation - My only board-wipe.

Finishers-(6)

- Gray Merchant of Asphodel - After the success I had with Kokusho, the Evening Star I immediately bought Gray Merchant online. Gaining life is so crucial in Meren since people target me early and often trying to push me out before I start pseudo-board-wiping by looping one of my forced sac-effect creatures with Meren.

- Kokusho, the Evening Star - 1. Drop Kokusho + 2. sacrifice Kokusho + 3.Reanimate Kokusho with Meren on my end step + 4.Re-sacrifice Kokusho before my next end step = My favorite win condition most games. I like to think of Kokusho as the same Dragon that is pictured in the Meren card art.

- Massacre Wurm - Gets rid of most tokens/utility weenies and hurts some opponents really badly just by resolving.

- Protean Hulk - This guy can fetch me up so many different answers, but is mostly a Combo engine. If I manage to sac my Protean Hulk I can fetch Phyrexian Delver and Viscera Seer . This means 2 things: 1. I can bring back Protean Hulk with Delver, and 2. I have a Sac Outlet on board. So I can then sac Protean Hulk again to get Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and Walking Ballista to Combo off.

- Sepulchral Primordial - when I first read this card during my search for Meren's 99 I had one immediate thought..."Well that's going in!"...and I have never second guessed it since.

- Sheoldred, Whispering One - This card is pretty much the whole plan of this deck summed up in one single card. Of course it should go in here.

Date added	8 years
Last updated	5 years
Exclude colors	WUR
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 39 - 0 Rares 18 - 0 Uncommons 14 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.79
Tokens	2/2 C Artifact Creature Spawn, Beast 3/3 G, Experience Token, Harpy 1/1 B, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Insect 1/1 BG, Ooze 1/1 G, Ooze 2/2 G for Mitotic Ooze, Plant 0/1 G
Folders	Commander, edh, cEDH, Meren Clan of Nel Toth, 2 Color