Bontu's Monument

Legendary Artifact

Black creature spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.

Whenever you cast a creature spell, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Freeform	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Historic Brawl	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Modern Beyond Horizons	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (49)

theNeroTurtle on Ratatouille, the Movie - Let's Cook

6 months ago

clayperce what would you take out to place in Bontu's Monument?

clayperce on Ratatouille, the Movie - Let's Cook

6 months ago

theNeroTurtle -
No, you were right ... well, at least about the creatures I mentioned! Unless they're hiding behind the text boxes, we've got no rats in any of the 7x Cryptghast or 2x Species Specialist printings.

All that said, Bontu's Monument was my only real rec'.

Cheers!

clayperce on Ratatouille, the Movie - Let's Cook

6 months ago

Oooh, a new theNeroTurtle deck hit the Latest tab!!!

Seriously, this looks hilariously fun ... big +1 from me!

Only thing I can think to recommend is maybe Bontu's Monument.

And though the mana values are probably higher than you're looking for, I'm going to mention these anyways, just in case: Crypt Ghast for general value, Species Specialist for card advantage, and Vanquisher's Banner for another anthem.

GL;HF with the rats!!!

Hybrow on Heart of Black Coal - Ayara ETB trigger EDH

1 year ago

Hey Profet93, thanks so much for the view and suggestions

Jet Medallion I originally had in deck, but found that the ramp didn’t help in my {B} {B} {B} commander, and quite a few of the spells I play over and over don’t have any colorless costs, so I swapped it out for Bontu's Monument, which had the bonus of doubling my commanders ability.

Bubbling Muck – I don’t love the one-time use of it. Would take the space of something that I can use again and again in this deck.

Cabal Stronghold – I think this is a carryover from before I had a coffers. I could easily swap it out for Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. I actually have one sitting in a binder not getting used.

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx – Of all the lands, this is the one I like the most. I checked and there isn’t one in my binder, but I do have sitting in a for-fun The Colossal Dreadmaw deck. Would probably swap out Castle Locthwain. The draw is nice but find I don’t generally need it.

Deserted Temple is ok, but I don’t have mana doublers and other than coffers (and I guess now Nythos there isn’t really anything I need to untap.

Thespian's Stage and Vesuva – I am not a huge fan of the copy lands, V in particular enters tapped, which I hate. And they are both dependent on me having something that is worth copying, which isn’t always the case.

Contamination – If I had a different playgroup, this would be an automatic add, but my friend group doesn’t love playing mass land hate. A Strip Mine is fine, but something that shuts down another player completely, we generally don’t play just to keep everyone having fun. Infernal Darkness is kinda the same thing, so going to pass.

Imp's Mischief I just checked, and I do not own one, but am going to have to add it to my next buy list. Mono-coloured decks have some real blind spots and having a quazi-counter available would be great.

Skullclamp is going to go on a sidelist for this deck for a while. My mono-red Purphy relies on it for draw, but so far with Ayara hasn’t really needed the extra draw very much.

Carnival of Souls – I did have this one in an early build of this deck, but with my wincon being Plague of Vermin this wouldn’t work, and I feel like in a 4-player game I am going to lose more life than I can afford.

Thanks again for the suggestions. I have already added the two lands.

Czarnian90 on Hellegion, Shadows and Flames (Raphael)

1 year ago

Commander Update: Shadows Rise, Flames Burn

After several games against tough opponents, I’ve made a few changes to the deck and, more importantly, swapped the commander of the Hellegion. The Balrog, Durin's Bane is still very much part of the deck—playing him as a commander was fun and flavorful, but I wanted a leader who can impact my board more directly and help set the pace of the game. The Balrog remains a force of nature, and having him lurking in the deck, ready to be unleashed, still feels great. I believe he’ll continue to be a major threat even when he's not always leading the charge.

Raphael, Fiendish Savior steps in as the new commander, supporting the game plan more consistently. He helps stabilize the board, buffs my army, and sets the stage for the Balrog’s arrival. I run several cards that can fetch him straight from the deck—Blood Speaker, Demonlord Belzenlok, Rune-Scarred Demon, Icon of Ancestry, Ob Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted, and others—so even as a lurking horror, he’s never too far away.

I also added more damage-dealing spells for better control and direct pressure on opponents. Beyond classics like Devil's Play, Terminate, and Dreadbore, I’ve added Hell to Pay and Rakdos's Return to punish hands and boards alike. On top of that, I doubled down on devil token synergy and death-triggered burn effects. These little fiends now serve not just as blockers or sac fodder, but as a win condition on their own—especially when paired with Raphael’s lifelink boost. Every dying devil becomes pain for the enemy and healing for me.

I’ve now included four versions of Ob Nixilis — yes, it’s a bit much, but each fills a unique role. This one Ob Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted punishes card draw and bolsters removal. Tibalt, Rakish Instigator is still here too, classic devil support: fueling tokens and preventing opponents from healing the damage my demons and devils dish out. They don’t live long, but if timed right, their impact is massive.

I’ve also added some recursion (Oversold Cemetery) and a spicy alternate wincon in Liliana's Contract.

Some bigger demons were swapped out for stronger synergy or pure flavor—welcome Asmodeus the Archfiend, Balor, Kardur, Doomscourge, and others to the Hellegion.

Sadly, a few cards had to go — Imskir Iron-Eater, Archfiend of Sorrows, some regenerating skeletons, and a handful of artifacts are no longer marching with the legion.

I still have a few cards waiting on the bench—Burn Down the House, Rakdos Keyrune, Doom Whisperer, Overseer of the Damned, Skirsdag High Priest, Spawn of Mayhem, Breath of Malfegor — and I’ll be testing space for them soon.

In the long run, I’d love to add some heavier hitters and staples like Kindred Dominance, Altar of Shadows, Bontu's Monument, Krav, the Unredeemed, Rite of Belzenlok, Demonic TutorGC, Sudden Spoiling, Grave Pact, Dark Prophecy, Attrition, Vilis, Broker of Blood, Razaketh, the Foulblooded, Pestilence Demon, Lord of the Void, Archfiend of Depravity, and especially Karlach, Fury of Avernus.

We’ll see where the Hellegion marches next—and who joins, or falls, along the way.

Necramus on Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Zul Ashur)

1 year ago

Goldberserkerdragon that specific example:

I go first.

t1: Swamp + Gravecrawler

t2: Swamp, Stitcher's Supplier, Sol Ring

t3: Swamp, Bontu's Monument + Dark Ritual + Warren Soultrader

No one actually got a t4, and I was the only one that got a t3. Turn 1 was mostly mana rocks or playing value tap lands, like the Surveil lands. Turn 2 was people mostly playing their ramp. The blue guy in the pod did hold up counter magic but funnily used it to stop the guy that played right after him to squash his Mana Vault. So, I shot my shot and no one had an answer. Like I said, people don't really see tribal zombies and think, "Oh, I should hold up interaction so they don't win on t3 or t4." That's part of the benefit :)

The pod was me, Urza, Lord High Artificer, Sigarda, Font of Blessings and Godo, Bandit Warlord.

SlayaZes on Necromancy Aristocracy

1 year ago

multimedia Thornbite Staff is the most powerful combo piece in the deck, Ghoulcaller Gisa requires tapping and sacing a creature as a cost, after which the staff will untap her. This lets you dump all your mana into her to make zombies, also it goes infinite when combined with cards like Pitiless Plunderer or Gravecrawler + Bontu's Monument. Now Warren Soultrader while not infinite with this combo by it self, it is still good value.

multimedia on Necromancy Aristocracy

1 year ago

Hey, those are good changes since Warren Soultrader is an infinite sac combo with Gravecrawler + Bontu's Monument, this gives you a wincon without needing to attack.

Three cuts to consider are Bad Moon, Stoneforge Masterwork and Gruesome Fate since these cards do nothing without having creatures in your control and even then I don't think they are needed. Now that you may be adding Soultrader then I don't think you need Fate. Fate could potentially be a wincon if you can't attack with your Zombie horde, but now Soultrader combo can be the nonattacking wincon and you don't need a Zombie horde to win.

For other cuts to consider, some of the lesser removal spells Murder, Poison the Cup, Assassin's Ink since the others you have here are better. Next cuts could be switching recursion Ghoulcaller's Chant, Cemetery Recruitment, Stitch Together for more lower mana cost reanimation. Stitch could be reanimation, but not in the early game where you want it.

You could cut two cards that are only good with Gisa Thornbite Staff (is there a combo here with Staff that I don't see?) and Patriar's Seal, replacing them with more haste enablers. The haste enablers are good with Gisa plus they can protect her, but also with any creature you reanimate as well as protecting Soultrader when combo.

Other cuts to consider could be some of the lesser creatures Gempalm Polluter, Nested Shambler, Death Tyrant for some better reanimation targets. Consider cutting the 3-4 drop ramp Heraldic Banner, Nyx Lotus for draw?

Feed the Swarm can be an important removal spell for mono black since it can remove an enchantment. Vile Mutilator can be reanimated and it makes each opponent sac an enchantment as well as a creature. Bubbling Muck with 30x Swamps could produce a lot of mana on your turn. If you want more ramp then Muck/Mind Stone/Jet Medallion are good options.