Bloodfell Caves

Land

Bloodfell Caves enters the battlefield tapped.

When Bloodfell Caves enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life.

: Gain or .

Discussion (51)

LordBlackblade on

1 month ago

Alright, let's get down to it! Anje Falkenrath is relatively new and I'm not yet sold on her validity as a vampire commander. My primary hang up is the overall weakness of madness as a mechanic. It is still critically underrepresented on cards, and of those that do exist only a handful are actually any good. I'm not saying it can't be done, just that I am skeptical that it can compete with existing vampire archetypes.

Mana Base Show

I like to start with the mana base in any deck I look at as it is (in my opinion) most crucial in the smooth operation of a deck. To start, your land count looks good, right about the sweet spot for a deck of this type. That said, there are a few sub-optimal choices in lands I would like to point out.

Cut

• Bloodfell Caves
• Cinder Barrens
• Great Furnace
• Vault of Whispers

I try and avoid tap lands at all costs if possible. When running a low-to-the-ground deck like this, the loss of tempo from a tap land can be more damaging than the loss of color availability. In addition, I would discourage the use of artifact lands unless you are going for a specific artifact theme. This is simply because artifact lands are easier to destroy than regular lands and aren't worth the risk with literally no benefit in this particular list.

Add

• Ancient Ziggurat
• Blood Crypt
• Bloodstained Mire
• Graven Cairns
• Luxury Suite
• Path of Ancestry
• Unclaimed Territory
• Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

I feel that any of these lands would be strong adds to your list. While some of the cards are a bit on the pricey side, I do feel they would improve the flow and power level of the deck.

Creatures Show

Vampires are usually pretty aggressively costed and there are a literal bevy of them to choose from. The key is choosing the cream of the crop to run in a singleton format.

Cut

• Bloodcrazed Neonate
• Bloodhall Priest
• Bloodsworn Steward
• Erdwal Ripper
• Falkenrath Reaver
• Heir of Falkenrath  ^Flip
• Incorrigible Youths
• Markov Crusader
• Stromkirk Mentor

Many of these creatures are either too costly or too under-powered for this format. It is important to remember that in EDH, efficiency is key. I would discourage playing any creature that falls short of the formula (Power+Toughness)/2=Converted Mana Cost (e.g. A 2/2 for two mana or better) unless it is especially crucial for your deck to function.

In addition impact is crucial. Bloodhall Priest for example is fairly costed, but doesn't do enough to advance your board state for the cost.

In

• Champion of Dusk
• Cordial Vampire
• Dusk Legion Zealot
• Malakir Bloodwitch
• Stromkirk Occultist
• Twilight Prophet
• Vicious Conquistador

These creatures are all what I would describe as impactful or highly efficient. When I mean impactful, cards like Malakir Bloodwitch make a big splash when they hit and are still relevant after the fact due to their efficient bodies. In terms of efficiency, Vicious Conquistador can put in a lot of work in the early game as a cheap, go-wide card.

Instants Show

In general 1-1 removal and "small" damage are not that great in EDH. Shoot for cards that are either modal a la Rakdos Charm or hit multiple targets such as Anger of the Gods or any board wipe (obviously most of these effects are sorceries rather than instants). Vampiric Fury seems just okay. Again in EDH these are just okay and are usually superseded by repeatable and/or static effects.

Out

• Fatal Push
• Fiery Temper
• Lightning Axe
• Lightning Bolt
• Sorin's Thirst

I don't have any good tips for adds here, but I would encourage you to look for modal or mass effect type cards for this category.

Sorceries Show

Honestly, these seem fine. I would urge you to add some more card draw. Things like Night's Whisper and Read the Bones are pretty solid choices.

In

• Burning Inquiry
• Cathartic Reunion
• Night's Whisper
• Read the Bones
• Tormenting Voice

These all seem like good choices to me and many of them double as potential madness triggers essentially negating their downsides.

Artifacts Show

Most of these are pretty standard; however, there are a couple that don't really fit your plan that I would personally cut.

Out

• Basilisk Collar
• Eldrazi Monument
• Rakdos Cluestone

Basilisk Collar is a solid equipment, but this is neither a voltron nor combo build that can effectively utilize it. I like Eldrazi Monument for its power; however, you lack the ability to produce enough fodder to sustain it long-term. Finally, Rakdos Cluestone is simply outclassed by other mana rocks, most notably my suggestion Talisman of Indulgence .

In

• Herald's Horn
• Talisman of Indulgence

Herald's Horn is just a good card in any tribal deck and I would highly recommend it!

My overall impression is that you've got a decent base here, but have made several choices that I see a lot of new EDH players make in their early decks. In general, you could use more card draw and I would encourage you to take a look at EDHREC or other vampire decks on here for inspiration in terms of what kinds of effects truly shine in EDH versus other formats.

RulerofNight44 on Rakdos rather Aggro

1 month ago

This list seems sweet. I've been playing various Rakdos and Gruul aggro decks over the past standard rotation and enjoying a fair amount of success. I think the first thing to improve the list would be to cut Vampire of the Dire Moon in favor of Fanatical Firebrand or Gutterbones . Since you don't really have vampire synergy and are looking to kill as quick as possible, those creatures are generally more efficient at doing that. You also might want to look to improve the curve by cutting a few 3 drops in favor of a few two and one drops. Personally, I'd include something like Rix Maadi Reveler or Fireblade Artist . As for what three drops to cut, that's up to you. I'd also prefer running Dragonskull Summit over the Bloodfell Caves and Blast Zone . Your sideboard actually looks great as is, though I'd maybe cut the planeswalkers in favor of Blood Sun , Alpine Moon , or two more copies of Legion's End to deal with Field of the Dead + Scapeshift if you see that cropping up in whatever meta you play in. Overall though, the list seems great and I'll be trying something similar myself very soon.

DasTree on Mardu Lifecycle Show

2 months ago

I like the direction it heads, but I think the land base is a little light for a 3 color deck. Wouldn't 24 lands be better? And it shouldn't almost be a 1:1:2 ratio to & ?

What about going 4x Godless Shrine , 4x Isolated Chapel , 4x Blood Crypt , 4x Dragonskull Summit , 4x Sacred Foundry , 2x Bloodfell Caves , 2x Temple of Silence

Anyway, +1 the deck for me

bradc1988 on

2 months ago

This deck playtested pretty slow for seemingly not much payoff, I think an easy drop is the 4x Bloodfell Caves , you can't afford having a land coming in tapped. You'd be better off with 4x Bloodstained Mire or 4x Prismatic Vista .

You don't really have any interaction either apart from a few pings from Boggart Shenanigans and conditional creatures, I don't think I've seen a Goblin deck before without at least a playset of Goblin Grenade and/or Lightning Bolt

Gattison on Auratocracy

4 months ago

I would try dropping the 2x Bloodfell Caves in favor of another each of Scoured Barrens and Wind-Scarred Crag . With 50% of your deck being white, you always want or something else. Also, consider losing a Swamp and a mountain in favor of either 2x Secluded Steppe 1x Polluted Mire and 1x Smoldering Crater , because I also think you need some draw.

I feel like a full playset of Impact Tremors should be in this deck, maybe by going down to 3-of on some of your other enchantments. Either that or Hissing Iguanar ... or replace Bogardan Dragonheart and use them both! Which is what I would do. But I love Impact Tremors too much so....

Apostle's Blessing should be in your sideboard, btw.

I know it's not an enchantment, but also consider squeezing in some Altar's Reap s somewhere, because draw.

Gobo_bot on PAUPER REANIM8R

4 months ago

I like, but I think it's trying to be a bit too fast and all in, would 100% cut Akki Drillmaster because a 3 mana haste enabler that dies to most removal in pauper isn't great, Gurmag Angler is a good beater and occational reanimation target. Divest and Exhume do not go well together, I would replace divest with Duress as you are attempting to take their interaction (counters/removal) and you already play the biggest creatures in pauper. I would also cut some number of removal spells for a full 4 Shred Memory as it it copies 5-8 of Exhume and is great in the mirror. Final point would be adding the last Bloodfell Caves and maybe a Rakdos Carnarium or Evolving Wilds / Ash Barrens as mana screw is a real problem with this deck

eliakimras on Elemental Fun

6 months ago

May I suggest you Crumbling Necropolis , Frontier Bivouac , Opulent Palace , Savage Lands , Jungle Shrine , Murmuring Bosk , Sandsteppe Citadel , Seaside Citadel , Vivid Grove , Vivid Crag , Vivid Creek , Rupture Spire , Transguild Promenade , Gateway Plaza , Exotic Orchard , Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse

instead of

Bloodfell Caves , Cinder Barrens , Dismal Backwater , Forsaken Sanctuary , Foul Orchard , Graypelt Refuge , Highland Lake , Jungle Hollow , Rugged Highlands , Scoured Barrens , Stone Quarry , Submerged Boneyard , Swiftwater Cliffs , Timber Gorge , Tranquil Cove , Wind-Scarred Crag and Woodland Stream .

I think it will increase the consistency of finding your colors. You can even lower your land count to 39 this way.

mythologyman22 on My LGS's #1 hated deck

6 months ago

Maybe a few more dual lands like Akoum Refuge , Bloodfell Caves , Dragonskull Summit or Foreboding Ruins ? Besides that, this looks like a mean but fun deck (in a good way). Good job!