Ob Nixilis, Black Mana Ramp

Commander / EDH Mono-Black

VDJ

Creature (38)

• 1x Archfiend of Depravity
• 1x Ascendant Evincar
• 1x Big Game Hunter
• 1x Burnished Hart
• 1x Cadaver Imp
• 1x Caustic Crawler
• 1x Crypt Ghast
• 1x Doomed Necromancer
• 1x Erebos, God of the Dead
• 1x Guul Draz Overseer
• 1x Hangarback Walker
• 1x Hedron Rover
• 1x Hedron Scrabbler
• 1x Helldozer
• 1x Hell's Caretaker
• 1x Josu Vess, Lich Knight
• 1x Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet
• 1x Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
• 1x Leaden Myr
• 1x Liliana's Shade
• 1x Magus of the Coffers
• 1x Massacre Wurm
• 1x Nirkana Revenant
• 1x Noxious Gearhulk
• 1x Phyrexian Obliterator
• 1x Phyrexian Rager
• 1x Pilgrim's Eye
• 1x Plague Myr
• 1x Pontiff of Blight
• 1x Reiver Demon
• 1x Royal Assassin
• 1x Rune-Scarred Demon
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Squelching Leeches
• 1x Visara the Dreadful
• 1x Walking Atlas
• 1x Walking Ballista

Land (38)

• 1x Arch of Orazca
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Cabal Stronghold
• 1x Esper Panorama
• 1x Everglades
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Grixis Panorama
• 1x Jund Panorama
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 20x Swamp
• 1x Terrain Generator
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Vesuva
• 1x Volrath's Stronghold

Instant (4)

• 1x Aphotic Wisps
• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Go for the Throat
• 1x Withering Boon

Sorcery (4)

• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Grim Discovery
• 1x Imperial Seal

Commander (1)

Artifact (13)

• 1x Armillary Sphere
• 1x Crucible of Worlds
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Ghirapur Orrery
• 1x Journeyer's Kite
• 1x Lashwrithe
• 1x Loxodon Warhammer
• 1x Renegade Map
• 1x Seer's Sundial
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Ward of Bones
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Night Dealings

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Liliana of the Dark Realms

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Maybeboard

Creature (7)

• 1x Abhorrent Overlord
• 1x Champion of Stray Souls
• 1x Dark Hatchling
• 1x Harvester of Souls
• 1x Manakin
• 1x Patron of the Vein
• 1x Reaper from the Abyss

Artifact (3)

• 1x Eternity Vessel
• 1x Gauntlet of Power
• 1x Helm of the Host

Instant (1)

• 1x Culling the Weak

Enchantment (2)

• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Wound Reflection

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Plague Wind

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When I was reading the lore for Zendikar (because of Wizard's Plane Shift series), I found **Ob Nixilis**, and wanted to see what his card was like. Thus, I found Ob Nixilis, the Fallen, and my deck theme was made.

The deck has a heavy focus on mana ramp, which is surprisingly sustainable in a black deck with the help of friends like Magus of the Coffers and Nirkana Revenant, with some added land fetch (Liliana's Shade, Liliana of the Dark Realms, plus assorted artifacts).

The game gets going once Ob Nixilis hits the field: each land you drop saps a bit of enemy life and buffs up the commander. Once mana is plentiful (and it will be), the deck has a fairly effective control routine. Black provides ample spot removal options (Royal Assassin, Noxious Gearhulk, Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet, Visara the Dreadful, Big Game Hunter all do a passable job here).

The biggest focus here is moving lands into play. Tutor Ghirapur Orrery early on to empty your hand quicker. But once you have the commander out, Crucible of Worlds is the best card to pull out, so you can drop Evolving Wilds, Marsh Flats, Bloodstained Mire, etc., over and over. Various creatures (Caustic Crawler, Sheoldred, Whispering One, Reiver Demon, Archfiend of Depravity) keep the enemy from getting too strong, and some obvious recursion protects VIP critters.

This deck combines a few elements you don't often see in black mana, resulting in a mono-black mana-ramp/control deck, which is (I hope) kind of unique.

As always, criticism, advice, and upvotes are all appreciated. Happy gaming!

Date added	6 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 0 Mythic Rares 36 - 0 Rares 14 - 0 Uncommons 19 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.63
Tokens	City's Blessing, Emblem Liliana of the Dark Realms, Phyrexian Germ 0/0 B, Thopter 1/1 C, Vampire */* B, Zombie 2/2 B, Zombie Knight 2/2 B