Please no Bojuka Bog

Commander / EDH* BG (Golgari) Combo Infinite Combo Midrange Multiplayer Toolbox

jnmc2013

Creature (41)

• 1x Acidic Slime
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Carrion Feeder
• 1x Caustic Caterpillar
• 1x Corpse Augur
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Elves of Deep Shadow
• 1x Elvish Mystic
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Farhaven Elf
• 1x Fauna Shaman
• 1x Fleshbag Marauder
• 1x Fyndhorn Elves
• 1x Grim Flayer
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest
• 1x Melira, Sylvok Outcast
• 1x Merciless Executioner
• 1x Midnight Reaper
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Plaguecrafter
• 1x Protean Hulk
• 1x Puppeteer Clique
• 1x Putrid Goblin
• 1x Razaketh, the Foulblooded
• 1x Reclamation Sage
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Satyr Wayfinder
• 1x Sepulchral Primordial
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Shriekmaw
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Spore Frog
• 1x Springbloom Druid
• 1x Viscera Seer
• 1x Wood Elves
• 1x Woodfall Primus
• 1x Yavimaya Elder
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat

Land (36)

• 1x Barren Moor
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Blooming Marsh
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Crypt of Agadeem
• 7x Forest
• 1x Golgari Rot Farm
• 1x Grim Backwoods
• 1x High Market
• 1x Llanowar Wastes
• 1x Nurturing Peatland
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 7x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Wood
• 1x Temple of Malady
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Tranquil Thicket
• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills
• 1x Woodland Cemetery

Instant (5)

• 1x Abrupt Decay
• 1x Assassin's Trophy
• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Windgrace's Judgment

Commander (1)

Artifact (7)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Birthing Pod
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Thought Vessel

Sorcery (6)

• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Decree of Pain
• 1x Dread Return
• 1x Living Death
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Victimize

Enchantment (4)

• 1x Attrition
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Evolutionary Leap
• 1x Grave Pact

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Maybeboard

Enchantment (2)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Mirri's Guile

Land (1)

• 1x Myriad Landscape

Creature (2)

• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1x Rune-Scarred Demon

Artifact (1)

• 1x Mesmeric Orb

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I started with a basic plunder the graves deck from commander 2015.

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Creature (37)
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Satyr Wayfinder
1 Viridian Emissary
1 Wall of Blossoms
1 Viridian Zealot
1 Lotleth Troll
1 Korozda Guildmage
1 Blood Bairn
1 Phyrexian Rager
1 Skullwinder
1 Wood Elves
1 Eternal Witness
1 Corpse Augur
1 Centaur Vinecrasher
1 Bloodspore Thrinax
1 Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
1 Shriekmaw
1 Indrik Stomphowler
1 Kessig Cagebreakers
1 Banshee of the Dread Choir
1 Phyrexian Plaguelord
1 Acidic Slime
1 Mycoloth
1 Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest
1 Vulturous Zombie
1 Great Oak Guardian
1 Champion of Stray Souls
1 Extractor Demon
1 Thief of Blood
1 Pathbreaker Ibex
1 Cloudthresher
1 Butcher of Malakir
1 Eater of Hope
1 Scourge of Nel Toth
1 Caller of the Pack
1 Terastodon
1 Verdant Force
Sorcery (10)
1 Mulch
1 Victimize
1 Primal Growth
1 Ambition's Cost
1 Sever the Bloodline
1 Barter in Blood
1 Rise from the Grave
1 Spider Spawning
1 Overwhelming Stampede
1 Dread Summons
Instant (6)
1 Altar's Reap
1 Tribute to the Wild
1 Golgari Charm
1 Grisly Salvage
1 Putrefy
1 Wretched Confluence
Artifact (7)
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
1 Golgari Signet
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Thought Vessel
1 Bonehoard
1 Eldrazi Monument
Enchantment (1)
1 Diabolic Servitude
Land (38)
1 Command Tower
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Golgari Guildgate
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Grim Backwoods
1 High Market
1 Jungle Hollow
1 Polluted Mire
1 Slippery Karst
1 Tainted Wood
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Vivid Grove
1 Vivid Marsh
13 Swamp
12 Forest

Next I cut all the cards that just seemed bad and replaced them with cards that seemed like they were auto-includes in the deck.

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Banshee of the Dread Choir out, this card just isn't very good, most of the time my opponents will have bigger creatures than it and will just block the myriad tokens. Grave Pact in, this card is broken, if I'm ever sacrificing creatures, than your opponents just don't get creatures.
Korozda Guildmage out, the first ability isn't relevant at all really and the second ability is to expensive. Dictate of Erebos in
Blood Bairn out, this deck doesn't want to be doing combat "chip damage" in the early turns it just dosen't really accomplish anything. Attrition in, this is a much better sac outlet. Spot removal is good and this is as much spot removal as is needed.
Centaur Vinecrasher out, this might be good if there was more self mill in the deck but fankly there just isn't. Birthing Pod in. This deck already want to run a lot of creatures with etb and death triggers, which is great with pod and it's a great sac outlet that lets me find a win surprisingly fast.
Cloudthresher out, do I really have a problem with wenie flier decks in edh? Thragtusk in. This card is everything I want in a creature in this deck: etb trigger, death trigger, body that trades easily in combat.
Eater of Hope out. this card is overcosted for what it does, there are many better seven drops than this Solemn Simulacrum in. This is similar to Thragtusk but with different effects.
Caller of the Pack out, it vexes me why a seven drop than dies to every removal spell imaginable with no etb or death trigger is wanted in this deck. Sepulchral Primordial in. This card great on its own, and especially when you can recur it with meren. everybody is playing big stuff in edh so you're bound to hit some pretty great targets.
[[verdant ]force]] out, yes you might get a couple of tokens before this is removed, but its fundamentally weak the way that caller of the pack is Viscera Seer in, one of the easiest way's to sac creatures including itself for experience.
Vulturous Zombie out, my opponents creaures arent the ones in the death cycle. Necropotence in. read this card.
Primal Growth out, this card isn't how I want to sac creatures. Awakening Zone in. free sac each turn, sign me up.
Ambition's Cost out this deck doesn't need help with card advantage. From Beyond in
Tribute to the Wild out. come on wotc. Spore Frog in. in the early turn this can be sacced for little to no value to bring my experience up and nobody wants to get their attack fogged (or frogged should I say) so in the late game this can stop multiple players from attacking you and encourage them to attack other players.
Rise from the Grave out, Sensei's Divining Top in. this card is broken. end of story. Sever the Bloodline out this is way to expensive for spot removal in commander and its singleton so the upside isn't very relevant.Swiftfoot Boots in. Meren is a huge target and I need to protect her, also great with Pathbreaker Ibex

Card Upgrades: Some of these cards aren't bad but there are clearly better cards that can fill their slots in their deck.

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Altar's Reap out, Disciple of Bolas in. Disciple gains life and probably drawing way more cards, but more importantly is a creature and thus can be recurred with Meren.
Overwhelming Stampede out, Craterhoof Behemoth in. Having this sort of effect on a creature is much more powerful especially in this deck and if you can reccur it over and over again it becomes a very strong win condition.
Barter in Blood out, Fleshbag Marauder in. This being a creature is key, because making all opponents sac a creature every turn like this can with Meren is backbreaking especially against decks that want to function on very few creatures such as Narset, Enlightened Master or Mizzix of the Izmagnus because they won't be able to keep their commander in play.
Mycoloth and Bloodspore Thrinax out. Merciless Executioner, and Sidisi, Undead Vizier in. The problem with these devour guys is that they are extremely weak to spot removal. They don't really do anything until the next turn and in a four player edh game they're just not going to make it back to my turn a lot of the time, and you sacrificed two creatures for nothing, which even in this deck usually isn't good. Sidisi has an immediate affect and tutors are really powerful especially if I can use them over and over again.
Thief of Blood out, Vampire Hexmage in. While the universal counter removal is cool, there might be counters I might want to keep, or there might not be any counters at all theif of blood is just miserable unless there are 4+ counters that you are removing. Hexmage can sac itself and gives you much more control over the effect. You can also just use it with Meren to build up your experience for free.
Viridian Zealot out, Caustic Caterpillar in. One less mana, one less power, much better card.
viridian emmisary out, Yavimaya Elder in. Elder gives more card advantage and can sac itself.
Wretched Confluence out Seasons Past in. Seasons Past is a much better way to generate card advantage through the graveyard than Wretched Confluence
Scourge of Nel Toth out, Dread Return in. Dread return is great in this deck because it's a sac outlet that works from your graveyard, so is Scourge of Nel Toth, but I don't like paying mana for this effect and being able to reccur Craterhoof Behemoth and Sepulchral Primordial is huge.

Now I actually have to start testing the deck for real, the first thing I noticed in testing is that the deck was missing a coherent plan and there were still great cards that I felt belonged in this deck that I hadn't been able to make room for. I had a decision to make I could go for a sacrifice heavy "aristocrats" type deck with cards like Zulaport Cutthroat, Smothering Abomination, Grim Haruspex, Blisterpod, and Ashnod's Altar. I could go for a "stax" type deck where I deplete everyone else's resources while reccuring mine with cards like Pernicious Deed, Smokestack, The Abyss, Winter Orb, and Tangle Wire. I could go for a combo deck with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, Triskelion, Necrotic Ooze, Phyrexian Devourer,Altar of Dementia, Melira, Sylvok Outcast, and Puppeteer Clique. I could go for for a deck that just tries to reccur etb effects over and over again with cards like Hornet Queen, Elvish Visionary, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Rune-Scarred Demon, and Catacomb Sifter. Or I can go for a self-mill or "dredge" strategy, which is ultimately what I decided on going for but first I cut all the cards that were performing badly for cards I thought deserved a spot.

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Wall of Blossoms out, this card doesn't die very easily, I would rather play elvish visionairy and that card just isn't that powerful.
Phyrexian Rager out, same deal.
Lotleth Troll out, this is not how I want my creatures to go to the graveyard. If I use this with Meren I counteract the card advantage I am trying to gain.
Skullwinder out. This card will almost always give one of your opponents back an extremely powerful card that they wouldn't have normally had access to. I have access to my entire graveyard anyway, I don't need this to give me a card back. It also discourages people from attacking you, which is actually bad a lot of the the time because blocking is one of the best "sac-outlets" there is.
Wood Elves out. There are many better ramp cards.
Indrik Stomphowler and Acidic Slime out, We have Caustic Caterpillar and Terastodon already doing this effect, and because of Meren I will never need more than one, so in a self-mill deck that goes through most of its library every game, I probably only need two copies of this affect.
Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest out. This is a great card and if I had gone the combo route, this would be in it 100%, but in a deck where the main point of creatures is to be sacrificed, it doesn't make sense to buff all of them, the only time I really want to attack, is with creatures that are giant anyway.
Dread Summons out, this is only going to be good of you poor 8+ mana into it, and by that time, there are so many better things you could be doing and the self mill isn't that relevant because you probably already have a bunch of creatures in your graveyard.
Champion of Stray Souls out. This is too mana intensive, weak to removal, and expensive for my liking. most of the time I keep my better creatures on the battlefield and if not, I have other ways to get them back.
Great Oak Guardian out. Nobody is going to walk into 6 open mana from a green black deck, there just aren't that many things you can have and they are all terrible for the attacking player. This is also just kinda bad with Meren.
Diabolic Servitude out. There isn't enough super broken fatties in my deck to make this better than just waiting until I have more experience counters. Spider Spawning out. the truth is, making a bunch of spiders doesn't do that much toward progressing my gameplan. yes it's good with Craterhoof Behemoth, but you don't get as many spiders as you might think and it dosen't interact with Meren at all.
Mulch out, 4 cards just isn't very many.
Bonehoard out having one big guy just doesn't really do very much in this deck.
evolutionairy leap in another sac outlet that generates card advantage.
Toxic Deluge in. I need a wrath in this deck because creatures going to my graveyard isn't very bad for me and I get lot's of experience, it's nice to have a release valve for when things get out of hand. In the early game I can use this on x=3 so it doesn't kill Meren but all the other guys die.
Entomb in. Need I explain?
Whisperwood Elemental in. This card is a hidden gem in this deck, a lot of people think of this card as a 4/4 that makes a 2/2 every turn. But in addition to that it is also a creature that can sac itself, and it sacs for an ability that synergies great with the rest of the rest of the deck and offers protection from board clears. Gray Merchant of Asphodel in, this is a great win condition in this deck. it is especially great with Necropotence and Grave Pact it can often deal upwards of 8 damage to all opponents and gain you 24 life, reccuring this guy every turn kills very fast, while in the mean time putting you way out of range. Elvish Mystic, Birds of Paradise, Fyndhorn Elves and Llanowar Elves in. ramp is vital in edh and normally, playing spell based ramp like Nature's Lore, Kodama's Reach and explosive vegetaion is better because creatures just don't stick around. But in this deck these guys are key to starting the engine going because they are one-drops which is the first thing you can bring back to the battlefield with Meren, so logically, they are the first things you want to sacrifice and they ramp you, so it's easier to get to bigger spells faster.

You may have noticed I just cut 15 cards and added only 8 at this point I also cut 3 lands, that left me with 10 spots open for self mill based cards.

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The best way to self mill is through the dredge mechanic all the way back from Ravnica: City of Guilds. Life from the Loam, Golgari Thug, Golgari Grave-Troll, Stinkweed Imp in. These cards offer an easy, repeatable mill option, while also being legitimate cards. Life from the Loam is an absolute powerhouse card advantage engine, and to use it the most effectively we want cycle lands and fetchlands. Do you know what other card is great with self mill and cycle and fetch lands? You guessed it. It everyone's favorite frog.
The Gitrog Monster in. ALL HAIL THE HYPNOTOAD!
Shambling Shell in. This is a lesser known dredge card, but it's extremely powerful with Meren because it can sac itself. I don't really like small, "one-shot" self mill, because it takes so much of it make a big difference, with the exception of Grisly Salvage, which is a good card selection spell in it's own right and when it comes with something else.
Deadbridge Chant in. This is a good example of this, it's a self mill effect that comes with a powerful enchantment that generates card advantage and can randomly cheat creatures into play.
Mindwrack Demon in. You will nearly always have delirium after you play this so it's already a great body with an upside, but it also has an etb ability that can be reccured with Meren.
Crawling Sensation, and Nyx Weaver in, these do a great job at filling up your graveyard because of how slow edh is.

At this point I have talked about every card i have added to the deck, so I will explain the cards I chose to keep from the precon deck and why I chose to keep them.

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Sol Ring: This is the best card in edh and if it isn't in any edh deck you make, you are making a grave mistake.
Skullclamp: this card is insane with all the elves, but moreover in a deck where you want to sacrifice creatures, this just draws so many cards.
Sakura-Tribe Elder: This is the best creature in the game that can sac itself.
Satyr Wayfinder: Similar to Mindwrack Demon but better effect on a worse body.
Golgari Signet: mana rocks are great.
Thought Vessel: It is very easy to endup over maximum hand size in this deck ala Seasons Past Life from the Loam The Gitrog Monster, Disciple of Bolas, Necropotence, Yavimaya Elder, or Corpse Augur
Lightning Greaves, better Swiftfoot Boots
Eternal Witness: this can almost act like a tutor in a self-mill deck.
Victimize: sacrificing creatures to bring creatures back is what this deck is all about.
Golgari Charm: protection from wraths, enchantment removal, and token hate all in one!
Grisly Salvage: best one shot self mill spell ever, i'm still not sure if it's good enough.
Corpse Augur: this counts itself so it will always draw at least 1 card, but most of the time draws 5+ cards.
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord: this is a sac outlet, huge creature and wincon all in one.
Shriekmaw: in the early game I evoke this to bring up my expereince and as the game progresses I can use it as reccuring spot removal.
Phyrexian Plaguelord: This is a sac outlet that also can sac itself.
Kessig Cagebreakers: this is just too many wolves, and even if they die in combat it brings up my experience.
Eldrazi Monument the downside here isn't really even a downside, its insane with cards like Awakening Zone and From Beyond and even without those saccing a creature isn't a big deal.
Pathbreaker Ibex: this card just wins games especially with lighning greaves and swiffoot boots.
Extractor Demon: self mill and sacrificing are what this card and this deck is all about.
Butcher of Malakir: Grave Pact on a stick.
Terastodon: Nasty Terasty is back, and ready to be reccured until all your opponents have is elephants.

The manabase

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I'm not going to talk about why you want to run cards like Overgrown Tomb in a green black deck, but I will talk about the utility lands.
Westvale Abbey  : this isn't actually a very high cost to pay in this deck and even though ormendahl, the profane prince isn't as good as it is in standard, but it is very much worth it to summon him if you can.
Grim Backwoods: this is one of the worst sac outlets in the deck, but sometimes you need it.
High Market: Being able to sac creatures for free of a land is a great way to start the experience flowing.
Reliquary Tower: see Thought Vessel
Dakmor Salvage: dredge on a land is obviously very good for this deck.
Crypt of Agadeem: this land will come into play tapped in the early game and by the late game it can add 4+ mana and is well worth it.
Cycle Lands:Slippery Karst, tranquill thicket, Barren Moor, Polluted Mire. Normally i would only run Barren Moor, and tranquill thicket, but in a deck with Life from the Loam, and The Gitrog Monster, I want as many cycle lands as I can get.

Cards that are out of my price range

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Bayou, Crucible of Worlds, Demonic Tutor, Liliana of the Veil, Mana Crypt, Marsh Flats, Misty Rainforest, Phyrexian Tower, Survival of the Fittest, Twilight Mire, Vampiric Tutor, Verdant Catacombs, Volrath's Stronghold.

Eldritch moon update!

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Eldritch moon was a great set for this deck because of the delirium mechanic, and this deck suddenly got a lot more evil :)
Grim Flayer: this card is great. This will nearly always be a 4/4 and almost always be able to connect multiple times if you play it on turn 2. This kinda pushes my self-mill over the top, so i cut the last one-time self mill card.
Grim Flayer in, Grisly Salvage out.
Crop Sigil: people underestimate how many cards this will mill if it's played on turn one. It is one of the best ways to get creatures in the graveyard early, and when your graveyard is full enough, you can sac it to buyback whatever you want. I was playing with Extractor Demon and the board got wrathed and I decided to to mill myself for 50, which was stupid on my part, because I ended up getting milled out, which even though it was my fault makes me sick whenever I draw Extractor Demon.
Crop Sigil in, Extractor Demon out.
Emrakul's Evangel: This card is amazing. It lets me sac all of my wenie dudes in the early game than reccur this and the guys I sacced, generating experience better than any other card in the deck, because the creatures I'm saccing are giving me larger creatures. I have a lot of self mill effects so I cut the worst one that was still the deck.
Golgari Thug out, Emrakul's Evangel in.
Butcher of Malakir has been underperforming for me. It's really just an easier to kill Grave Pact, that costs more
Butcher of Malakir out.

The end

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As promised this is the promised end, I promise.
The last card from eldritch moon that I want in the deck is Emrakul, the Promised End

Date added	8 years
Last updated	4 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	5 - 0 Mythic Rares 40 - 0 Rares 22 - 0 Uncommons 19 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.25
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Experience Token, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Morph 2/2 C