The Lich

Commander / EDH CommanderFun

SCORE: 96 | 110 COMMENTS | 31744 VIEWS | IN 54 FOLDERS


Sup Liches! —Dec. 25, 2013

So I've heavily altered the creatures since the last update. There are less, of course, but I think the roster, as it is, is pretty good. Every guy in there has a very good reason for being there, so overall I'm happy with it. Myojin of Night's Reach is the big "I don't know" at this point. He's expensive as hell to cast, but having the hand-removal is nice as well as an alternate indestructible target for Pariah. I may switch him out some other time for a different discard option if he becomes too difficult.

Tons of removal now with Mortify, Vindicate, and of course Swords to Plowshares as new arrivals. Looking at the deck now, I can't believe I got on with so few removal options in the first place. Also, I've got the hand control added with thoughtsieze and biter ordeal to remove-the-removal before it ever gets to Lich... particularly that pesky Krosan Grip.

Lastly I'm trying to boost my mana base a bit to make it just... well.. better. So I took out a swamp and put in a a mana rock. Gilded Lotus is what I chose for the meantime to see if it will work well for me. If not I'm considering the signet or Coalition Relic or something...

Lastly, other additions include Phyrexian Arena (duh... why wasn't that there before?) and, my new surprise favorite, Faith's Shield. (So much protection for just the 1 white... especially at 0 Lich-life)

That's the deck as she stands.

CommanderFun says... #1

I need help dealing with Krosan Grip right now. Perhaps discard mechanics?... Thoughtsieze or Wit's End maybe? or even Unmask , or Myojin of Night's Reach ... or just putting Indestructibility back in...

December 8, 2013 10:09 p.m.

Aelorith2117 says... #2

December 8, 2013 10:14 p.m.

YerpyMoose says... #3

Thoughtseize would probably be the best option.

December 8, 2013 10:14 p.m.

Aelorith2117 says... #4

also Soul Conduit !

December 8, 2013 10:18 p.m.

YerpyMoose says... #5

Unlife makes it actually easier to kill this deck, and conduit is outclassed by Repay in Kind .

December 8, 2013 10:22 p.m.

CommanderFun says... #6

Thanks YerpyMoose. I agree it seems the best option. I wonder if I need more hand control in the deck in general? too bad it doesn't have blue like you have too or Forbid would be amazing. Thanks for taking care of Phyrexian Unlife and Soul Conduit for me. Also, Aelorith2117, if I wanted an extra "survival under zero life redundancy" or whatever, I'd go with Soul Echo and then use the effects I have in place to not take damage (Solitary Confinement , Delaying Shield , Pariah .... etc etc).

I had considered Soul Conduit before. I even had Reverse the Sands in here too once. However, I enjoy the current win conditions in this deck the most.

December 9, 2013 1:25 a.m.

CommanderFun says... #7

Btw YerpyMoose. I feel much more in control of Ivory Tower now that I have the Eldrazi shuffle. I may have to rescind my earlier concerns about it. drawing 39 cards from it on the turn after I played Lich today pretty much secured the game. (I had Penance and Skirge Familiar on the field with Ulamog in hand... no power in the 'verse could make me draw out... 2 pts for talking in "Firefly")

December 9, 2013 1:32 a.m.

CommanderFun says... #8

trying out some hand-control mechanics...

  • -1 Beseech the Queen , +1 Thoughtsieze - Gotta do something about the UG removal and counters in my playgroup... driving me nuts.

  • -1 Phyrexian Obliterator , +1 Myojin of Night's Reach - The Obliterator is amazing... and really puts people on edge and I like what he does for me on the board. It's just beautiful when I can get a Pariah on him... but I'm seeing if Myojin can do more for me. Pariah is still great on an indestructable creature, I don't have much flying in the deck, and no Krosan Grip or counters to worry about when no one else has a hand... but he's a tough sucker to cast... gotta get those mana rocks out.

December 9, 2013 6:41 p.m.

CommanderFun says... #9

oh... I'm dumb... Myojin of Night's Reach is not flying...

December 9, 2013 6:46 p.m.

CommanderFun says... #10

New idea for dealing with pesky removal cards: Jester's Cap ... (or maybe even Memoricide or Cranial Extraction )... what do you think of these over straight up discard like Thoughtsieze? I'm at least considering them over Angel's Grace right now, as they may do a better job at keeping me in the game. I find that angel's tends to only get played if I need one more turn to get my Lich combo set up, and not having it will keep it more with the "flavor" anyway. Also Dimir House Guard works with all of these new options... which would be nice to do some "house cleaning" of my opponents' removal cards if I have Volrath's Stronghold on the board too by continually tutoring for removal.

December 15, 2013 3:13 p.m.

YerpyMoose says... #11

Not Memoricide , but Sadistic Sacrament , Dimir Machinations and Bitter Ordeal are all great. Sacrament is relevant in EDH and pre/post WoW + Familiar combo, Machinations is a Cmc3 tutor as well as possible badness filter (not the best, but something), and Ordeal is scary at first but becomes absolutely ridiculous post WoW + Familiar Combo (alt win-con, opponents have no deck).

Cap is ok, somewhat recurrable. Eh if many people (2+) are running Grips.

December 15, 2013 6:24 p.m.

CommanderFun says... #12

@YerpyMoose, Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction. all those are better than memoricide and Cap.

New Thoughts:

Bitter Ordeal is now a must after seeing the combo opportunities. It may even pair well with other things like Insidious Dreams or Sickening Dreams as well if I were to add one of them.

Sadistic Sacrament would be great too if I could fit it in. It would also work with skirge and WoW since they would make it easy to do the trigger.

These are both great options for dealing with threats. I have lots of removal already and its doing well, but these add the control that this deck needs without forcing me to add blue...

These may be more useful to me than several things in the deck. Myojin of Night's Reach since she costs so much? I haven't used her yet but she seems a little too "win big". Guardian of the Gateless also hasn't been helping me soon enough in the game either. Peacekeeper does a better job at saving me than guardian anyway... but peacekeeper does get destroyed really quickly... (I'm thinking aloud if you can't tell)

Also Angel's Grace could be a spot that could serve as something more useful. Each time I've used it it would only save me from losing up until that turn ends (from a Naturalize on Lich ... since grip won't let me cast it), and if there's nothing keeping me alive with 0 or less life then I'm a goner when the turn's over. Considering Faith's Shield as it's replacement. In my play group, I think it would save me from more than Angel's Grace would since it would save Lich and potentially prevent damage to me as well (or targeting with something devastating like Bribery for my Eldrazi... which has happened... swords to plowshares went it right away after that game)

These are the thoughts that are stirring in my head atm.

I've also considered givng Grinning Demon the axe... but its just pretty damn good to have a 6/6 on turn 4 and to not really care about the life-loss.

December 15, 2013 11:45 p.m.

YerpyMoose says... #13

Guardian of the Gateless seems extraneous with the Bitterblossom tokens, possible combat locks, and various ways to prevent damage in the deck.

The (Myo - Ji - n) isn't as good as Phyrexian Obliterator , but hates on multiplayer hands well (5/2 briefly indestructible isn't bad either). Iffy on this, may need more testing.

Grace always seemed to me like something to prevent combo players from going off and ending the game, not as a mechanism to prevent game loss (Platinum Angel 's area). With game loss being a disease in Magic, prevention (Faith's Shield ) is often better than treatment with possible side effects (Angel's Grace ). Consider the nocebo effects of Grace only lasting a turn! Untap, you lose the game, greener pastures, et cetera.

Grinning Demon has cool art.

December 16, 2013 12:19 a.m.

CommanderFun says... #14

I don't play against much big combo. Yes I love obliterator too... it seemed the best switch at the time to just test Myojin. If I were to do it again, I'd switch the Guardian of the Gateless in a heartbeat. if someone could combo with Repay in Kind like me then I would definitely have a grace in hand for that game.

Made the following switches

And

December 16, 2013 12:44 a.m.

CommanderFun says... #15

swapped Bloodgift Demon for Myojin for now (both pretty costly for their benefit, and myojin's is more needed atm)... but once I get a Dark Tutelage or if I can trade for my friend's Bob then... well then we'll see.

December 16, 2013 12:52 a.m.

CommanderFun says... #16

@YerpyMoose btw, amazing analogy for Faith's Shield vs. Angel's Grace ... I may get to use the protection aggressively for the unblockable win also... maybe... unblockable death's shadow and kagemaro seem pretty fun.

December 16, 2013 12:56 a.m.

CommanderFun says... #17

Thinking I went overboard with the switch-outs. Taking out Sadistic Sacrament until I feel I need the extra push. Also Bloodgift Demon aint comin back... Phyrexian Arena has that slot covered nice.

December 17, 2013 12:22 a.m.

CommanderFun says... #18

attempting a drop of the land count by 1 to include a mana rock. Seeing if Gilded Lotus is too much right now, but otherwise i'm open to other options for ramp... even Expedition Map could be fun.

December 17, 2013 12:27 a.m.

chilbi says... #19

Easy +1 here, that's the kind of stuff that EDH exists for. Keep it up, mate!

December 17, 2013 1:26 a.m.