Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher
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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander 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
Planar Constructed Legal
Vintage Legal

Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher

Legendary Creature — Vampire Soldier

Flying

Whenever a player sacrifices a permanent, put a +1/+1 counter on Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher and you gain 1 life.

Whenever Carmen attacks, return up to one target permanent card with converted mana cost/mana value less than or equal to Carmen's power from your graveyard to the battlefield.

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Last_Laugh on Question Regarding Stacking Triggers

3 months ago

So I have Isshin, Two Heavens as One, Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher (w/ 2x +1+1 counters), and Hero of Bladehold equipped with Anduril, Narsil Reforged (w/ cities blessing) in play and Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation  Flip in my grave.

I attacked w/ Carmen and Hero of Bladehold. Am I able to stack my triggers so that Carmen gets 2 counters (from Anduril) making her 6 power so I can return Ojer Taq, then 12 tokens enter from 2x Hero triggers, then 2nd Anduril trigger, and then the 2 battle cry triggers?

Matso on Karlov Midrange

6 months ago

You might consider Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher.

king-saproling on enchant me enchant you

6 months ago

It's not a bad list at all, but if you want to go with vampires plus lifegain subtheme there are better choices of commanders (Astarion, the Decadent, Amalia Benavides Aguirre, Vona, Butcher of Magan, Elenda, the Dusk Rose, and Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher are solid options. There are tons of other good options too).

If you're heart-set on Athreos, I would drop the vampire/lifegain themes and go with creatures that have sac effects (e.g. Westfold Rider, Cathar Commando, Bounty Agent, Priest of Fell Rites, Stronghold Assassin, Necrotic Sliver, Burnished Hart, Dauthi Voidwalker) plus cards with reanimation abilities (e.g. Bishop of Rebirth, Celestine, the Living Saint, Custodi Soulcaller, Redemption Choir, Sun Titan, Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher, Athreos, Shroud-Veiled, Breathkeeper Seraph, Court of Ardenvale, Gift of Immortality).

Crow_Umbra on

8 months ago

No prob! Isshin is one of my favorite commanders, he's a lot of fun to play.

Although it is also a combat damage trigger like the Ancient Dragons, I do recommend Professional Face-Breaker. At 3 cmc, she's much more accessible, & she rewards you for going wide, which most Isshin decks tend to want to do. She compliments the Treasure production you already have in your deck.

No worries, totally understandable. My meta tends to lean more aggro & Go-Wide, so Goad stuff feels like it gets more mileage in that context. Mass Goad feels like it buy a turn by deflecting aggro away, & leaves everyone else more open to subsequent attacks since attackers are tapped out. The times I've played Breena, she tends to get huge, & the rest of the table tries to benefit from her as much as possible. Breena can also load up +1/+1 counters on Krenko and Anim Pakal.

I meant to add in my last comment, but I think Sun Titan or Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher could be potential replacements for Kroxa and Kunoros. K&K need a deeper investment into your graveyard to benefit from them.

Ankle Shanker and Vault of the Archangel could also be worth a look as death touch anthems. Ankle Shanker was replaced by Taunt from the Ramparts in my deck, but first strike & deathtouch are hard to pass up. Shanker is good on its own without needing Isshin.

Crow_Umbra on BUSHIDO, DIGNIFED

10 months ago

Hi there, happy to see another Isshin player. I've been playing Isshin since he debuted, but more so as a tokens go-wide deck. Regardless, I do have a few suggestions, based off your primer description and to try to fit your theme:

  • Conjurer's Mantle could be a decent fit to both your equipment and Samurai subthemes, and also works with Isshin's attack trigger.

  • Goblin War Drums or Rising of the Day could be potential replacements for Crash Through. War Drums will help give you some evasion for your attacker(s), and Rising can add a bit more speed to which you can attack.

  • Since you already have them in your Maybe Board, you could maybe replace Sword of the Animist with another mana rock like Talisman of Hierarchy, Talisman of Conviction, Talisman of Indulgence, or Fellwar Stone. I played Sword of the Animist quite a bit, but it felt slow for what it can do with Isshin, since you have to pay 4 total mana to cast and equip it, then attack. It requires more set up than a straight up mana rock, if you're looking for more early game velocity.

  • Similarly, I think you could probably replace Commander's Sphere and/or Boros Locket with some of the mana rocks I mentioned in my bullet above. The activation cost on Boros Locket is kinda color-intensive for a 3 color deck, and at that point is essentially 7 total mana to draw 3 cards.

  • I'd recommend checking out Soul Partition as a potential replacement to Dispatch. Soul Partition can hit a variety of targets, and also double as protection for one of your creatures.

  • I think Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher or Sun Titan could be potential swaps for the Rakshasa, mostly because they open up your options for Recursion, and both work with Isshin.

  • It's a newer card and pricier card, but Roaming Throne could be an option to get even more triggers out of Isshin and your other Samurai.

  • Captain's Claws, Inquisitorial Rosette, Anduril, Flame of the West, and Anduril, Narsil Reforged are all excellent equipment options for Isshin.

  • Although they are a bit group-huggy in certain regards, Breena, the Demagogue and Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant are both pretty fun draw options for Isshin. Karazikar would also be helpful to turn some attention away from you, and Breena can help grow your board.

  • Lastly, Dolmen Gate and Reconnaissance are both awesome board protection effects, especially for a deck ore reliant on single attackers. Reconnaissance can protect your attacking board from unfavorable blocks, and act as a pseudo-vigilance anthem. This EDHREC article dives into a bit more detail into how the timing works for removing your creatures from combat. Reconnaissance is also discussed in a recent episode of EDHRECast.

I hope these suggestions are helpful. I'm down to discuss more suggestions if you're up to it. Best of luck with your deck and its future games.

DemonDragonJ on Fires of Purgatory

10 months ago

I have replaced Treasury Thrull with Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher, which reduced the average converted mana cost of this deck from 3.82 to 3.81, since she is more flexible than is the thrull.

DemonDragonJ on Reap what is Sown

10 months ago

I have replaced Treasury Thrull with Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher, which reduced the average converted mana cost of this deck from 3.94 to 3.92, since she is more flexible than is the thrull.