Cruel Ultimatum

Sorcery

Target opponent sacrifices a creature, discards three cards, then loses 5 life. You return a creature card from your graveyard to your hand, draw three cards, then gain 5 life.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Block Constructed	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
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (49)

DreadKhan on unthinkable apocalypse

1 year ago

I'm not certain the Commander has enough explosive power to consistently win vs 2 decks, but I have very good results in 1 v 1 with my Rakdos deck, and it often has spare cards by the end of the game, be it wipe or removal, because the deck just runs so much of those, with lots of the removal hitting more than 1 target (I love stuff like Phyrexian Purge, Fire Covenant, Make an Example, and Volcanic Offering can each be a terror of a card, and a deck running all of them has lots of pinpoint removal that will clear lots of stuff out. Ashes to Ashes and Reckless Spite also exist fwiw, and if you aren't certain you'll have creatures out, Tergrid's Shadow can do a bit of work, as can Plaguecrafter or Demon's Disciple, cards Sedris can recur for 2B even. Another value card is Dredge the Mire, which can cheat in the 3 worst creatures in people's graveyards, note certain creatures will kill you if you control them, so check before playing! Necromantic Selection not only clears the field, it also gives you back the best thing, this is extra juicy if you use some sort of Indestructible creature(s) that won't die. If you consistently have a fairly big creature, or one with Deathtouch and Lifelink, Chandra's Ignition is one sided by definition, one of many cards that shines brightly with Basilisk Collar (which is also very good with Jaya Ballard, Task Mage or even good old Banshee, Jaya's 6 damage wipe really is amazing if you've got Collar on her, though it'll kill her too). If you expect to have multiple opponents, Goad is a very strong effect, Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant is potentially pretty solid, lots of card draw. There is also Kardur, Doomscourge that will force everyone's hand. Spectacular Showdown is a great card if you've actually got a board of your own to finish people off, keep in mind that on your next turn, you not only won't have been attacked by any pre-existing creature, everyone else will have swung for the fences with Double Strike, and they will likely have nothing left to defend with, making your Double Strikers very effective. Another Goad source that is great with a creature heavy board is Agitator Ant, which is hilarious a lot of the time. If you're using Goad effects, War Tax can let an opponent have a way around them, if there is a tax to attack Goad fails, and War Cadence is absolutely devastating with Goad, even a tax of 1 to block can make blocking impossible for weenie decks, and you can use either on anyone's turn.

As you've got access to Blue, there are a few non-Rakdos tricks you can use, the most hilarious I know of is Mass Diminish, note that it lasts until your next turn and have a good laugh. There is also Sudden Spoiling, which is powerful but lasts for that turn, or Polymorphist's Jest, which is similarly a 1 turn solution. I use Mass Diminish more aggressively, to make a player hyper-vulnerable to attackers (and make them unable to counter attack), getting two casts is just savage. Visions of Duplicity can create some chaos with it's two casts, Cultural Exchange is obscene if someone else has better creatures. Bident of Thassa is glorious if you want both of it's effects, forcing people to attack is incredibly mean, and this doesn't require you to run a weenie like Goblin Diplomats, but that's also a fun card fwiw. If you're going to run Oriq Loremage, you might slip in a huge creature to Unearth, something like Dragon Tyrant can be huge and not break the bank, Double Strike and Firebreathing are really good together, and you won't have to pay the upkeep with Unearth, he's dead before that matters.

I was looking at your land count and average Mana Value and I think you probably are running too few lands at this point, it's very tempting to cut them, but 30 is probably too few for a MV that is over 2.5. You might get away with adding 2 mana ramp, but I'd still aim for at least 36 lands (or MDFCs that count as a land, you probably already have the best two MDFCs in those colours, but people also run Malakir Rebirth  ^Flip) to ensure you can consistently cast stuff. There is a smattering of ways you can run less lands/ramp, but these all come with downsides, but in Grixis you can run 4 solid Bounce Lands, Dimir Aqueduct and Guildless Commons should be in here as well if you want a lower land count, these let you hit another land drop when you draw them. You might also run stuff like Thran Dynamo or Worn Powerstone to help you hit higher MVs sooner, ramping by only 1 mana feels bad compared to hitting a land drop most of the time, there is also Gilded Lotus, but hitting 5 mana can be rough. Coalition Relic can charge for 1 turn, Skyclave Relic is super versatile/rugged, and Everflowing Chalice can be huge if you want, 6-10 mana is absurd but sometimes comes up. Cantrips like Ponder and Preordain are also good at digging for a land, but I know in Talrand it stings pretty bad when you Preordain and don't find a land and I needed one. As for some cards to remove, I'll take a look, but if I'm trying to build a deck that can handle attention, I look first at cards that will hurt only 1 player, unless that card will almost certainly end that player, either right away or in a few turns.

A few to consider removing (I may be missing why you have them in, so user discretion is advised or something): Archive Trap, Outpost Siege, Palace Siege, Ponder, Preordain, Haunting Echoes, Cruel Ultimatum (this seems insanely hard to cast, and hits only 1 player, unless you can copy it I'd run Captive Audience if I want to hose one player hard), Cranial Extraction, Cormela, Glamour Thief, Kess, Dissident Mage, Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger, Lobber Crew, Loyal Subordinate, Nekusar, the Mindrazer, Obeka, Brute Chronologist, Phenax, God of Deception, Runo Stromkirk  ^Flip, Spear Spewer, and Thermo-Alchemist.Some maybe cards include Angrath, Captain of Chaos, and Cryptolith Fragment  ^Flip (for another land, maybe a better rock, there is Thought Vessel, but fixing is sweet in Grixis).

Hope some of this is helpful!

Alesamuel on Jodah Big Spell

1 year ago

I would recommend some of the Eldrazi titans, such as Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger as some big top end bombs. Some ramp creatures wouldn't go amiss either, such as Birds of Paradise, and Dryad of the Ilysian Grove.

In terms of Instants, Sorceries, and Enchantments, getting some more of the Ultimatum cycle (Brilliant Ultimatum, Cruel Ultimatum, Emergent Ultimatum) might be a good idea, and Sunbird's Invocation would be a good idea too if you are casting such big CMC cards.

Another recommended addition would be Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh as it is just a straight up good card for the colour and big mana theme.

I'd recommend replacing the tapped tri-lands (Arcane Sanctum, Crumbling Necropolis, Frontier Bivouac, Jungle Shrine, Mystic Monastery, Nomad Outpost, Opulent Palace, Sandsteppe Citadel, Savage Lands, and Seaside Citadel) with the shock land cycle (Blood Crypt, Breeding Pool, Godless Shrine, Hallowed Fountain, Overgrown Tomb, Sacred Foundry, Steam Vents, Stomping Ground, Temple Garden, and Watery Grave) as they are easier to fetch for or find with ramp spells.

Final notes: Give the deck a little more of a creature focus, having as few as you have right now you'll find there is very little to hit with your reanimation, but other then that, good job on the first draft! looking forward to see how it plays out!

ElPared on Best Fae of Wishes Targets?

1 year ago

The insteresting part of Fae of Wishes to me is actually the "discard two cards" part.

With that in mind, if you wanted to go REALLY crazy, I'd use it with Spellweaver Helix. The Fae lets you discard sorceries early, so you have easy targets for the helix. Then you sideboard singletons of all of your sorceries (so you never run more than 3 maindeck), and use her to wish for copies of the imprinted cards so you can trigger the helix easily.

For example: You start with Fae of Wishes, Spellweaver Helix, Cruel Ultimatum, and Raven's Crime. You play the Fae early, then bounce her by discarding the ultimatum and raven's crime, then you play Spellweaver Helix to imprint those two cards. Then you send her on an adventure and wish for Raven's Crime from your sideboard, which you use to also cast Cruel Ultimatum for free.

Throw in Strionic Resonator for even more shenanigans (you can copy both the imprint trigger, and the casting trigger on a Helix with it).

tylorlilley on Parnesse Politics

1 year ago

I think Spelltwine doesn't work with your commander, because you are copying the cards and casting them instead of copying the spell. If that's right than Mizzix's Mastery and Arcane Bombardment also wouldn't work, sadly. Maybe they are good enough to keep anyway? Not sure. Cards with the Cipher mechanic are also so close to working but I don't think they do. This is actually kind of hard to brew around! Ugh, God-Eternal Kefnet wouldn't work either, ew.

Immolating Gyre and Volcanic Vision are really good boardwipes in a spells-y deck... as is Cyclonic Rift, which you definitely should still run. In fact, all the overload spells are pretty sweet here, since they only target things you don't control, so if you copy them opponent's can't even pay the 4 life to hit one of your things. Makes Vandalblast and friends possibly worth it.

Radiate is such a fun card that could do some real crazy things here! Shoutout to Radiant Performer as well.

Sublime Epiphany and Volcanic Offering Might not be good enough here.

I really like Narset's Reversal, Split Decision, and the demonstrate cards in this deck! Obviously Twinning Staff is fun here too.

It will be interesting to see if Lithoform Engine or Pyromancer's Goggles will be good enough here (I like Primal Amulet  ^Flip). Maybe more spells that copy spells are better than these chunkier repeatable ones? Things like Galvanic Iteration or Reiterate if you like the buyback better. Or Increasing Vengeance for the beefier flashback. Hell, if its politics Bonus Round could be really fun. Chef's Kiss is a newer one that I forgot about

Maybe this is the kind of deck where Thrilling Encore shines?

Is Stunning Reversal here to try and copy and save other people with?? Seems like it may not be good enough when you have access to blue for card draw/protection anyway.

I've found the expertise cycle (Baral's Expertise, Yahenni's Expertise, maybe not Kari Zev's Expertise) to be really fun with spell copying, since they in turn let you cast more spells themselves.

I wish, as I always do, that Cloven Casting wasn't soooo bad. Or like, any of the cards with Replicate. Those would be so perfect. Maybe Shattering Spree is good enough but I think it isn't. Ugh, that makes me think about how you're definitely supposed to play storm cards in this deck. Are there any storm cards that aren't miserable? Mind's Desire maybe...

Is Charmbreaker Devils good enough?

Wild Ricochet is an oldie but maybe enough of a goodie here with the copying theme?

Harmonic Prodigy since your commander is a wizard isn't a terrible idea...

Humble Defector might be too cute.

Gotta have Rakdos Charm! Honestly there might be other charms that are worth it to like Crosis's Charm, but definitely Rakdos Charm.

Cruel Ultimatum is the ultimate chunky spell and you're even in the right colors for it!

Also Chaos Warp is still good enough as universal instant speed removal and kind of fun/politics-y as well

wallisface on Bolas Grixis Control

2 years ago

Some thoughts:

• ditch Cruel Ultimatum and Dark Intimations. They cost faar too much mana and are generally bad cards. You already have plenty-enough high-mana cards in your 3 bolos planeswalkers, so try keep the rest of your casting costs reasonable.

• As far as replacing those 5 cards mentioned above, i’d first suggest bringing in the 2 Cryptic Command in your sideboard. After that i’d suggest adding one more each of Gurmag Angler, Thoughtseize, and Inquisition of Kozilek.

• Countersquall and Remand aren’t great here, as the first is situational and the second doesn’t actually stop the opponent doing what they need to. I’d suggest to replace them with a playset of Counterspell, and a single Archmage's Charm.

plakjekaas on Personal Play moments you are …

2 years ago

Overcoming Cruel Ultimatum being cast targeting me three times in a single game, with a mono White deck. I had nothing but lands, an Extraplanar Lens, a Land Tax, a Skybind and my commander, Heliod, God of the Sun. Note that the Cleric Tokens you create, are Enchantment Creature Tokens, and they trigger Skybind. I was able to blink every problematic permanent that threatened me, even though I had no hand and was pretty low on life. After 5 turns of desperate chump-block-blink-stalling, I found a Sun Titan from the top, and was able to grind it out from there. The lifegain of Authority of the Consuls really kept me alive through that. Feels like my most deserved win ever ^^

chessdude13 on Interaction with Rielle, the Everwise …

2 years ago

I have Rielle, the Everwise out on the field and cast Drastic Revelation . What will happen?

A) Do I draw cards equal to my discarded hand? B) Do I draw cards equal to my discarded hand + 3?

I used Cruel Ultimatum ruling as a guide. Base on drastic revelation, I discard my hand first and Rielle sees this discard first and is waiting to be put on to the stack. Then I draw 7 and finally discard 3. Since the discard 3 is the second instance of discard Rielle would not see this. So I would assume A.

The second question to this is what ruling does this fall under? I seem to not be able to find it in the comprehensive rules.

lagotripha on Budget Living Lore Control *Added MDFC*

2 years ago

I spend a while trying to get a Living Lore / Spellweaver Helix deck built around Raven's Crime / Breaking / Entering working, but losing Faithless Looting killed it, and the split cards rule shifts messed with it more. Its a cool idea that wasn't quite there.

One of the big things I learned was that Cruel Ultimatum loops win games, but getting to the point where a living lore hits your opponent is pretty hard. I had some more success once I looked to use it to cast Time Warp and ran some delve spells in Logic Knot and Temporal Trespass . Big creatures win games. Time walking a gurmag angler is incredible when your opponent doesn't realise you have 4 turns banked up, but the whole deck starts feeling like a pile of cards - lots of hands that are almost good but nothing that really works well together.

Efreet Flamepainter and the discard for a treasure tokens offer a set of eight four drops and cards that ramp to it and pay off in the graveyard, with Torrential gearhulk as another couple, but building for that is going to be a little tricky - treasure tokens and fast mana means that getting them on the battlefield leaves you less cards to keep them alive and run the rest of the deck.

Finding a way to make living lore's comparatively bulky body and love of high CMC spells in the graveyard will pull the deck in weird directions - I hope you have fun hunting down ones that work. Who knows- perhaps its a deck that casts Shape Anew for Torrential Gearhulk . All I know is making it good is gonna get weird.