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Legality
| Format | Legality |
| 1v1 Commander | Legal |
| Archenemy | Legal |
| Canadian Highlander | Legal |
| Casual | Legal |
| Commander / EDH | Legal |
| Commander: Rule 0 | Legal |
| Custom | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Highlander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Leviathan | Legal |
| Limited | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Planechase | Legal |
| Quest Magic | Legal |
| Vanguard | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
Archfiend of Despair
Creature — Demon
Flying
Your opponents can't gain life.
At the beginning of each end step, each opponent loses life equal to the life that player lost this turn. (Damage causes loss of life.)
77hi77 on
I BEG YOUR F@CKING PARDON??!!! - Razaketh
2 weeks ago
Profet93 I completely forgot about Ugin, the Ineffable! And he makes my expensive mana rocks that much cheaper, great shout, thank you!
Fair point about this not being close to cEDH, I more meant in vibes. That the strategy is to burst out of the gates, ramp, then tutor for the wincon (which comes out of nowhere like an infinite combo, even though it's not). I can't speak too much about it though because I never keep up with cEDH decks enough to know where the similarities are.
Ugin is going in, the only two targeted artifact removal spells I know of in mono black are Phyrexian Tribute and Gate to Phyrexia, I'll probably grab the cheaper of the two and toss it in there. The other thing I'm looking at is swapping the targeted creature removal, because a lot of it is sorcery speed, my Maybeboard has the instant speed versions I'm grabbing next time I go card shopping.
I would absolutely love to hear you recommendations! I don't love stax or infinite combos. At least, not easy infinite combos. I want Exquisite Blood in the deck for the life gain, but I won't get Sanguine Bond for example. If it takes some effort and thought to set up, I don't mind that. Similar for stax, I don't want to shut the game down for anyone, but I'm okay with making it a bit harder. For example, one of the decks I face the most in my pod is Gollum, Obsessed Stalker, which is completely shut down by both Archfiend of Despair and Plague Drone, both are in the deck, but they're creatures and easy to deal with. This was meant to be a mean deck but I'm a big ol' softie.
For budget, this is the deck I'm willing to spend on, I'm okay with a couple of $20 cards, or if you've got a lot of suggestions then let's say $5/card.
Again, thanks so much!
Pheardemons on
Mishra's Relentless Horde
1 month ago
Phyrexian Reclamation was there as a way to get the token generatros back like Krenko, Mob Boss. I do understand the potential of taking it out.
War Cadence has not been tested as it is the newest addition. I liked the idea of politicing. Plus, it was a win condition giving my creatures essentially unblockable. I'll think about it.
Vedalken Orrery is one of those cards I include in almost all of my decks. It is always a good choice. However, I do understand the fact that this deck usually wins on my turn in combat, so it may not be NEEDED here.
Because I have Wound Reflection and Archfiend of Despair I was debating on City on Fire. It rarely wins the turn it comes down and it tells the whole table what I'm about to do on my next turn. Granted, blocking creatures still triple damage.
Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin was another one that has been kind of subpar. If I can get it down turn two or three it is a powerhouse. Late game it's pretty bas as it has small attack and is required to attack.
MightyPox on
Demon Till Your Dreams Come True
4 months ago
Hi Rocketman! How is it going?
Nice to see your Rakdos primer is still active and updated!
I appreciate the new section about Rakdos Game Theory!
Haven't played Magic for some time now but my buddy and I will be getting back at it soon.
In preparation for that I went through the Rakdos-coloured demons on Gatherer and saw that there are new demons to consider for the deck.
Bloodletter of Aclazotz
We can always use effects like Archfiend of Despair/Fiery Emancipation, so this one's really good.
My deck does most of it's damage during my turn anyhow. Definitely adding it to the deck.
Infernal Sovereign
An effect in the vein of Recycle/Null Profusion on a 6/6 flying, trampling demon may help us in a pseudo combo turn.
I'm usually always playing a land and/or spell each turn or drawing/filtering cards in other ways so skipping the draw step is not a great set back. Not sure about this one but will be testing it.
Bringer of the Last Gift
Living Death is one of my favourite cards in this deck and here it is stacked on a 6/6 flying demon.
The only draw back is that it has to be cast for which is a steep price as most of the expensive demons are reanimated. Only Hellcarver Demon may cheat it into play.
Nevertheless I will try this one out, maybe in place of Patriarch's Bidding.
Scourge of the Skyclaves
This one has been around for a while now and most of the time it will be : everybody loses half of his or her life.
In an earlier iteration of the deck I ran Havoc Festival which was nice because it speeds up things and my opponents would lose the life before me and not simultaneously.
Still for this deck I'm always looking for demons that do "crazy things" and maybe one day I will test this guy.
Concerning The Balrog of Moria: I read that you had this one on and off your deck and I think I like it.
All of it's abilities are relevant to us. If I find space for him I will test him for sure!
I read through your change log/Rakdos Game Theory/user comments and I understand that you emphasize playing the commander and therefore divert slightly away from the demon-theme.
While I think that your success proves you right, I just can't bring myself to cut a lot of demons from this deck - I'm a flavour freak on this one. :D
I'm really light on Rakdos protection (Tibalt's Trickery, Lightning Greaves and Not of this World are the only ones right now). Maybe if I could find room for Bolt Bend and Deflecting Swat I could see myself casting Rakdos more often.
On the other hand: since I've been playing this deck 1vs1 most of the time, connecting with Rakdos is devastating for my opponent and almost always leads to victory.
I also had situations when I had the mana to cast Rakdos very early in the game but had also options to do crazy stuff that could potentially win me the game.
Albeit risky I mostly tried the crazy things because this is my only deck that can do this kind of thing - the Rakdos thing. :D
I'm looking forward on reading what you think about the demon suggestions I made in this post!
Mattio38 on
Reanimator?! I Barely Vohar!
7 months ago
This looks like a very cool deck! I was recently trying to build something like this. If I read your description it plays really well? Don't you find yourself playing too few removal and ramp? And can you keep up with your recursion against the removal of all opponents??
Possible suggestions could be: Razaketh, the Foulblooded; he's big and he can tutor your next plan. Archfiend of Despair it's just a nasty beater. Maybe the The Scarab God for even more reanimation? And I figured if your commander gets stolen or let's say turned into an 3/3 Elk (Yes Oko, we've all been there) cards that do the same are for example Krovikan Sorcerer and Rona, Herald of Invasion  Flip Sorry, you've asked for cuts. I really can't help you with that yet...
Rocketman988 on
Demon Till Your Dreams Come True
9 months ago
77hi77 Yep, you’re pretty close with your summary of the game plan! I’d amend the summary statement to: We play cards that maximize the potential of our boardstate and we’re making sure our opponents' board states are as slim as ours.
Ritual effects are strong in the list because they allow the deck to efficiently generate resources beyond what Rakdos the Defiler lets us maintain on board with lands. Lands are more important in the deck UNTIL you reach a saturation point of draw/loot/lands in the deck where you consistently have 3 on board by turn 3. After that, the value of ritual effects increases significantly, since we’d prefer to top deck those instead. For my deck, 34 lands was that number, but each person should adjust their list depending on the efficiency and quantity of draw and loot cards played. If there were more cards like Lotus Vale, Treasonous Ogre, and Rakdos, Lord of Riots, I would play those over ritual effects because they are mana dense, repeatable sources of advantage instead of guaranteed temporary effects.
I changed the summary statement to say “cards that maximize the potential of our boardstate” because it better captures the breadth of effects we want. Rituals maximize the potential of limited on board mana resources, and likewise we want cards that do the same thing for other deck functions. Cards like Fiery Emancipation and Archfiend of Despair multiply the value of our creatures and damage effects, which also means they also increase the value of reanimation spells as a result. Moraug, Fury of Akoum turns land drops into “free” extra combat spells, adding more value to drawing lands in the deck. Mizzix's Mastery doubles the use of instants and sorceries, etc. Make each non-demon card add as much value as you can!
With my list, I tried to create a deck that could match pace with other optimized high power lists, which meant prioritizing getting Rakdos and other resource denial pieces out asap, so that’s why I don’t run cards like Nyx Lotus and Gilded Lotus, even though they fit the kind of cards that are perfect for Rakdos (and are much better than rituals). You have to ask yourself what the speed of the tables you play at is to see if you can afford the time to set up higher value boardstate options.
DemonDragonJ on Commander Masters Previews and Speculation
9 months ago
Previews for this set have officially begun! Does anyone else have anything to say about them?
I am very glad to see that The Immortal Sun is finally being reprinted, so it shall now be affordable, and the reprint of Archfiend of Despair likely means that I shall now be able to obtain a foil copy of it for a reasonable price.
I am not happy to see Cyclonic Rift or the free spells from Ikoria reprinted (i.e., Deadly Rollick or Obscuring Haze), but I am very glad tos ee the confluence cycle being reprinted.
I am glad to see the medallion cycle be reprinted, but I actually would like to see the familiar cycle (i.e., Sunscape Familiar, Nightscape Familiar, and so forth) be reprinted, at some point, as well.
fluffyeel on
F*** Kevin
9 months ago
I don't see the problem with this deck. Not at all. However, I have some suggestions to make it even more "fun" for Kevin:
- The Filth and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth combo seems like a fun addition. Not only do I recommend Urborg (and, for that matter, Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth in general for decks, but this one means your creatures won't be getting blocked. (Good luck to your opponents!)
- For more things that bring friends with them, you could also think about Junji, the Midnight Sky and Priest of Fell Rites as other reanimators; I get good mileage out of them. Athreos, God of Passage is a sacrifice pay-off I've found to be quite noxious for some people to deal with, and I also quite like Yawgmoth, Thran Physician as a sacrifice outlet.
- Yosei, the Morning Star, Archon of Cruelty, Archfiend of Despair, Questing Beast, The Gitrog Monster, Thalia and The Gitrog Monster, and Kogla, the Titan Ape are nice payoff creatures I recommend. Drana and Linvala and Linvala, Keeper of Silence can also be supremely annoying for your opponents to try to deal with, which is also why I highly recommend them.
- Sylvan Library would combo extremely well with Underrealm Lich and Abundance, but it can be an expensive card cost-wise.
- If you do find your mana ramping to quite high totals, Genesis Wave is well worth considering.
- In decks like this, I still don't feel comfortable without some pinpoint removal tools. My favorites are Vindicate, Anguished Unmaking, Assassin's Trophy, and Swords to Plowshares, but this can be also dependent on your playgroup. I might also recommend the typical suite of tutors (for you, Enlightened Tutor, Worldly Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Diabolic Intent, and Expedition Map would be at the top of my list), but that's maybe less important.
- Field of the Dead is a close-to-auto-include for me in a deck like this, but don't get it just for this.
fluffyeel on
I will have no friends anymore
9 months ago
Ooh, wheel punishment fun. Here are some thoughts of varying budget levels:
- Memory Jar is a great wheel effect, and comboing with Sheoldred means 14 damage right off the bat. You could also think about Teferi's Puzzle Box, cheaper-price wise and is effectively a wheel every turn. (I use this to great effect in my Nekusar, the Mindrazer EDH.)
- Wound Reflection and/or Archfiend of Despair will multiply damage and life loss, and not just from Sheoldred. (Use them both for extra fun!)
- In terms of board wipes, The Meathook Massacre, Toxic Deluge, Damnation, and Oblivion Stone are all within color and all very brutal. Living Death is a bit of a strange boardwipe, but can be quite handy. Murderous Rider is also good for pinpoint removal with an upside., and Aether Snap might also be useful depending on your playgroup.
- Tutors are good things to get your stuff, but many that I would recommend (Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, and Imperial Seal) are price-wise quite high. Diabolic Intent and Grim Tutor, however, are much less expensive, though, and recently reprinted, so maybe worth a thought.
- If reanimating is a thing you want to do, The Cauldron of Eternity is maybe worth a thought.
- Field of Ruin and Demolition Field are good pinpoint land removal tools that don't really cost you anything. (Because there are some lands that need to die.) You could also use Fabled Passage, Prismatic Vista, Evolving Wilds, and Terramorphic Expanse as other land fetches to also load up your graveyard for whatever shenanigans you plan (and for deck thinning).
- Snugglemuffin–er, Phyrexian Obliterator is great in any mono-black deck. Not only is it cute and adorable, but it's very hard to deal with.
- If you can have a reliable source of sacrificial victims (eg. Reassembling Skeleton or Bloodghast, for instance), Contamination is maybe worth a thought. Your opponents will "love" you forever when their lands only tap for one black mana at a time.
| Have (1) | metalmagic |
| Want (2) | zachi , midget_overlord |