Ashes to Ashes
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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
Oathbreaker Legal
Oldschool 93/94 Legal
Pauper Legal
Pauper Duel Commander Legal
Pauper EDH Legal
Planar Constructed Legal
Planechase Legal
Premodern Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Ashes to Ashes

Sorcery

Exile two target nonartifact creatures. Ashes to Ashes deals 5 damage to you.

TheMadRocketeer on Silence Is Golden

5 months ago

Looking at the list, I think it needs some adjustments before I play it for the first time. There are things in the list that are peripheral to the main game plan and could be swapped out for more consistency. I think my first need is for more removal.

Some candidates for swapping out include:

Some candidates for swapping in include:

Apoptosis on All my life

6 months ago

Cut the following: Ashes to Ashes Athreos, God of Passage Basilisk Collar Blood Baron of Vizkopa Divinity of Pride Drana's Emissary Fiendslayer Paladin Killing Wave Merciless Eviction Pontiff of Blight Silverblade Paladin Soldier of the Pantheon Sorin, Solemn Visitor Terashi's Grasp Thought Vessel Wingmate Roc

DreadKhan on My Vampire Deck

9 months ago

Just at a glance, if I was you I'd probably hack out Bloodthirsty Aerialist, this is too small of a payoff in a Commander game IMHO, Defiant Bloodlord is a literal mountain of Mana (unless you've got a doubler out it's hard to cast a 7 drop), he's also redundant with your Commander to an extent. I'm guessing it's a pet card but I don't like Eternal Thirst. The various and sundry Murder effects (3 mana to kill 1 creature) are pretty awful in my experience, but mono-Black makes it a bit harder to eschew cards like this. I've mentioned a few removal options below for you to consider, hopefully something will fit in!

I feel like I should mention Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, it's $$$ but it's a pretty good card in a Black deck that wants to use some utility lands. Maybe Expedition Map, finding a land for 3 mana is really good if you've got Urborg or Coffers out, being able to get the other one can be helpful. With your Discard payoffs I think you could justify a Geier Reach Sanitarium, the dig can be nice if you've drawn an otherwise 'meh' hand but have enough mana to want to keep it. I feel like I'd switch out Wedding Invitation for Tome of Legends, you certainly want to cast your Commander and he can give EVERYONE Lifelink. I feel like if you've got this many 'big mana' sources in here you could switch out Diabolic Tutor for the much, much flashier Diabolic Revelation, I love it in a weird Rakdos list that often ends up with too much mana, if you can cast it for 9 or more you're just getting a bespoke hand! The other option I'd consider switching out Diabolic Tutor for is Rune-Scarred Demon, mostly because it gives you a fairly big blocker to help you survive when you find your win con, but IMHO Revelation is way more fun (it's also a gorgeous foil). You might try out Decree of Pain over In Garruk's Wake, the card draw is usually VERY good, and sometimes you actually need an instant speed -2/-2 effect to kill a token army before the opponent can resolve their Craterhoof. I'm lowkey shocked to see you're not running a War Roomfoil in here, I think it's certainly worth a look. If you're fine with combos and already have Bolas' Citadel in here, maybe Sensei's Divining Topfoil and Aetherflux Reservoir as a back up combo? Top and Citadel are amazing, as is Reservoir with Citadel, but all 3 should win on the spot. Now that I think about it you could probably benefit from Reservoir even without the other two, if your deck is working correctly you're probably at a solid life total and can threaten to 1-shot someone with the Reservoir.

As for removal, they cost a bit of life, but you can easily afford it so maybe Ashes to Ashes and Reckless Spite? I've always liked Cannibalize, it's exile on top of everything, including being a potential buff if you need 2 more damage from a swing. I've heard only good things about Curtains' Call, it's busted in a 4 player game. Do or Die and Make an Example are both impressive cards, even if they are Sorceries they can cripple an opponent, though Make an Example is IMHO the Gold Standard of sorcery speed removal for creatures, it gets around almost any protection and always removes at worst the creature you most want gone from EACH opponent, that's insane value for only 4 mana. There is also Wicked Pact *list*, it's not a 'great' card but the art is cool on some versions, and it's still a 2 for 1. TBH I don't think I'd run more than 2 removal spells that only hit non-Black creatures, but one or two is rarely a problem in my experience. Feed the Swarm is a pretty wild colour break, this lets you blow up an Enchantment, something Black normally can't do, this can save your bacon sometimes. It's a bit of a weird card, but Transmogrifying Wand is a criminally underplayed card, removing 1 creature isn't great value, but the 2nd and 3rd creature feels pretty amazing. Just thought of one of my old favourites for any big mana deck with Black in it, Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief is removal on a flying stick that is incredibly powerful late game.

Kootaroo on Glissa the Traitor

1 year ago

I know last updated 4 years ago at the time of leaving this comment. still thought id maybe leave a suggestion or two. before I say anything Id like to say the glissa deck you have seems fun and is very different than mine. that isnt a bad thing i enjoy seeing alternate takes. she is/was my first commander deck i built as well.

Jhoira's Toolbox, by no means do I hate this card. might I suggest Welding Jar. Jhoira's cost 2 to cast, then another 2 to regenerate a target. Welding jar is 0, and Sac to Regen target. the obvious downsides and benefits are that Jhoira doesnt have to sac itself to regenerate. however it is specific to artifact creatures. Welding jar targets any artifact.

Doom Blade, i would replace with Assassin's Trophy. either or is fine imho.

Some cards i would suggest maybe but i dont have any replacement ideas would be, Grist, the Hunger Tide, Casualties of War, Ashes to Ashes, Grisly Salvage, Skullclamp.

by no means do you have to listen to any of my card suggestions as i said above i have no recommendations for what to remove for those cards. just some food for thought.

i used to run Triskelion in my deck i dont anymore tho. Myr Battlesphere is another card i used to run but took out as well. neither of them are bad by any means. i just removed them arbitrary reasons.

side note, it always makes me happy to see Disciple of the Vault. dont see that card too much these days!

sergiodelrio on New commander rules makes my …

1 year ago

^^ @Caerwyn I recommend casting your Ashes to Ashes targeting the above creatures ;) ^^

They came to the wrong neighbourhood

I will then cast Soothing Balm

EchoSpice on The Dark Brotherhood - Rogues & Riches

1 year ago

Profet93 HA! I had like a 30 minute argument With a guy at work about Ashes to Ashes. His point was I didnt have any possible way to get around indestructible, so I eventually caved and added it. Id absolutely replace it for something that removes indestructible and still gives that death trigger. Honestly , I don't like Attrition much either, and would replace that too. Good comment!

Crow_Umbra on Michigone

2 years ago

Hi there! I thought I'd try my best to answer the questions you left for me on my wall. I mostly play the "typical" 4-person EDH pod, with the occasional 5 person game here or there. All of my decks are built with a multi-player setting in mind. To answer your other questions as best as possible:

  • 1 - What is my win rate with Isshin? - This is something I haven't kept close track of, unfortunately. In the past year, I've played at least 20 games with the deck, so I'd have a rough guess that it's won about 25% of the games it has played, and threatened wins another 15-20% of the time, but couldn't quite close it out for one reason or another. My primer has some game logs in the long list of updates if you want to try to read through those. I tried to capture the summary of some of my more memorable games, win or lose.

  • 2 - How do you win with Isshin in multiplayer? - Damage, whether combat or group slug/drain damage. Any aggro or damage based strategy has to find a way to pump out at least 120 damage over the course of a game, or capitalize on openings made by other decks in peoples' defenses. My Isshin deck wins by making swarms of tokens, and antheming them up with Battle Cry, Melee, or some other static power/toughness boost. The times I've won with combat damage, was typically off the back of Iroas, God of Victory because I had a board that could swing away and was hard to block. This is why I also have the damage effects of Purphoros, God of the Forge, Mishra, Claimed by Gix  Meld, Commissar Severina Raine, Impact Tremors, and Brutal Hordechief. The group damage and combat damage help each other out. They both soften up your opponents and help make each other more viable. These damage effects also help you get "around" blockers.

"So what do I do? Lean more into group slug, i.e. put in Impact Tremors? Lean away from wipes and focus on ramp and draw? More protection for my creatures?"

These are all generally good ideas. Adding in more ramp and draw can help your deck with consistency, especially for staying gassed up in the mid-late game. While board wipes are helpful, I've found that sometimes it can get annoying to reset the game too many times. At some point someone has to win, and wiping the board 3+ times in a single game can make it tedious instead.

  • 3 - "Is it mean/distasteful to eliminate the player that is the biggest threat, then finish off everyone else? Am I a bully?*" - Personally, I don't think so. I guess it depends on how well you know the people you are playing with. If the "threat" you eliminated has a deck that consistently pops off if it isn't dealt with, then I don't think it's wrong for them to sit one out. I've been a similar position numerous times with Isshin where I'll eliminate the player that might be the biggest threat to me specifically or could be the biggest threat to the table. If I become archenemy of that game, then so be it. Being archenemy can be fun, and it can be a compliment. Congrats, your deck is now the Big Bad Scary Thing. This is a game, and someone has to win each match up. Yes, EDH is supposed to be a "casual format", and that means a variety of different things to players, but after all is said and done, someone has to win. Ideally it can be you.

  • 4 - "As the only deck in the meta with a robust removal suite..." - I will address the rest of the statement you left, but woof, it sounds like the group you played with this time around was maybe very casual? I found that when some of my friends first started playing EDH, they didn't run a whole lot of removal, often to their own detriment. As one friend and I like to echo, "removal wins games". I think you were correct in removing the Ghired's Anointed Procession, but left their other enchantment alone so they could have fun. Ideally, you shouldn't have to be the "Removal Police" and manage every threat you have the capability to. I typically use my removal to A) Address threats most pressing to me B) Address threats that are most detrimental to the table, but will buy me some good will and time to build afterwards. You can utilize removal for achieving parity as you see fit. In terms of this being a good strategy, I think a better question is more about was a fun game environment created? Being "Removal Police" is fun for some and not as much for others. Eventually, everyone else around the table might have to reconsider running more removal to stay relevant and interactive in games, if that's the type of play they want.

  • 5 - "Board wipes made our games longer" - Going back to what I said a couple paragraphs up "While board wipes are helpful, I've found that sometimes it can get annoying to reset the game too many times" - I personally run 2 wipe effects in each deck. Most of my removal is single target, or can hit multiple things, but isn't quite a board wipe (Wear / Tear, Dismantling Wave, Grasp of Fate, Ashes to Ashes, or Druid of Purification). This is all personal choice though.

  • 5.1 "How do I recover more quickly after a board wipe than my opponents? Do I need more card draw? Do I need more protection to keep my creatures around? " - Card draw is always more helpful. Upping the amount of card draw is typically helpful. The tricky part is tuning the type of draw utilized and finding the balance that feels right for you. For me I have about 14 effects in my deck that can draw cards in either cantrip single instances, in multi-card bursts, or in consistent but slow manners. It takes plenty of playing to see what feels right for you. I also run about 11 different effects that protect my board. I've found that Flawless Maneuver and Teferi's Protection have saved my board and kept them in tact enough to maintain momentum the times I've successfully pulled them off. Clever Concealment is a new option that is especially good in token decks. Scapegoat is another cool and cheap option for token decks, and also lets you redeploy your board strategically. I also keep my overall average CMC of my deck as low as I can, so in the event that I don't have a protection effect, but have drawn into plenty of material, I can play cheaply costed creatures and removal/interaction/protection while everyone else is still rebuilding.

  • 5.2 "when is the right time in an aggro deck to play a board wipe?" - This requires more nuance and playing IRL to determine what feels right to you. I typically board wipe when someone else is building a bigger board than me, and is out-pacing me in that regard, but I have things in hand to quickly rebuild with afterwards, or have a protection effect to spare my board from my own wipe. It also depends on the types of wipes you are playing. White has a ton of options such as Promise of Loyalty, Slaughter the Strong, Retribution of the Meek, Vanquish the Horde, Farewell, Austere Command, and By Invitation Only to name a few. I've found it can be helpful to maybe have 1 wipe that is somewhat asymmetric, usually by presenting each player a choice on what they get to keep. This is a double edged sword since.... people get a choice on what they get to keep. While this may not solve the threat you were looking to eliminate, this may at least make things more manageable. I know Ruinous Ultimatum is a popular option because of how one-sided it is, but the restrictiveness of the mana cost can be annoying. Isshin doesn't necessarily win in 1 big flashy play that seemingly comes out of nowhere, like a combo deck might, but does build up a board presence and aggro momentum over a few turns. If you can continue to build and maintain a momentum, and add in more damage modifiers or Impact Tremors effects, it may then open up the opportunity for a big alpha strike turn, or a turn where you make a bunch of tokens with krenko tin street king pin because it stuck around long enough and you also have Impact Tremors and/or Hellrider and will either make a metric ton of goblins when Krenko swings, or you already have a metric ton of goblins to swing with for Hellrider.

Ultimately this is about finding what is most fun and engaging for you to play, and balancing that out with what is fun for your group. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same definition of fun. Some people will think its unfun or boring to get token swarmed or killed with Impact Tremors, and that's okay.

Takeaways:

  • Definitely add more draw and ramp. Cut down your mana curve and on splashy, but inconsistent effects where possible.

  • Running robust removal and interaction is helpful, but don't think you have to be "threat/parity police" because of it. Other people can choose to step up their removal/interaction suites too. Less board-wipes can be a good thing.

  • A variety of board protection effects will help you maintain the momentum you are building. A lower mana curve helps you go into aggro mode faster, and hopefully rebuild more quickly after wipes. Ideally, this also helps leave a little mana leftover for your Clever Concealments, Boros Charms, and other protection effects.

  • Group Slug and combat damage help each other out and make each other more viable. You are trying to land 120 damage around the table to take out 3 other players, so ideally you should maximize your damage output and find what works best for you, and what is most fun and dynamic for you.

Best of luck and hope you continue to have fun playing this awesome commander.

DreadKhan on tBZ_Garna-Bloodfist

2 years ago

I suspect cards like Rite of the Raging Storm would probably work in here, you'd either get in for 5 each turn or get a card, and nobody else can swing at you with the tokens/changelings. Since you can also use Goblin Bombardment after a creature has dealt damage, you can kill any creature before combat actually ends, so you'd still get the card even if they let the creatures hit them. Any token generator that would ever be worth using is probably good in here too, even Orochi Hatchery could draw a lot of cards if people have to block. The best way to force people to block would be any kind of power buff that is global, I like Berserkers' Onslaught in Red, double damage also works well with any other buffs you can add. I guess there is stuff like Judith, the Scourge Diva too. The effect is pretty clunky, but with your Commander Captive Audience looks a lot better, those tokens are much more valuable, and it still usually a death sentence for one player.

Zulaport Cutthroat is a great Aristocrat to look at, I usually don't bother with it but at your budget maybe Butcher of Malakir can be a real nuisance, as can Ogre Slumlord if you're losing lots of non-tokens. If you find yourself running more wipes/removal, Sangromancer can generate a lot of life.

Not sure if they're within your budget, but Fire Covenant and Phyrexian Purge can both clear a ton of other people's stuff. Make an Example might be the best sorcery speed removal effect ever printed, it's non-targeted and uses sacrifice, but you choose the piles that die so you always hit what you need to hit with it. Ashes to Ashes/Reckless Spite can clear a couple bodies. In Rakdos I feel like you want some of the following, Feed the Swarm, Chaos Warp and Wild Magic Surge to deal with awkward permanent types.

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