Chainer, Dementia Master
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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy 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
Planechase Legal
Premodern Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Chainer, Dementia Master

Legendary Creature — Human Minion

Nightmare creatures get +1/+1.

, Pay 3 life: Put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. That creature is black and is a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types.

When Chainer, Dementia Master leaves the battlefield, exile all Nightmares.

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Made_Compleat on daddy... something's crawling under the bed...

1 year ago

GodzSoldier, I'll definitely try Cut Your Losses. Seems like a fun way to get a lot of value. Thanks for the suggestion!

Also, have you tried Chainer, Dementia Master? Your deck has a low density of nightmares and he creates nightmares (and therefore mill) while giving you a mill payoff.

Made_Compleat on He sees you when you're sleeping [Umbris EDH]

1 year ago

TheMeadiator, I've played a few matches with this deck, and it's pretty casual. Umbris doesn't mill that many cards, but it can get big really fast. Some unblockable synergy might actually make this deck more powerful.

The deck is great against slower builds because they often loose to either a big Umbris or a lot of mill. Against control, it's not great, but winnable. I'm not really sure about aggro. It can certainly win without Umbris, which is pretty nice. Bribery is one of the cards that's pretty good in my playgroup but might be worth cutting for more value. But then again, 5-mana blightsteel is pretty hard to argue with...

I've checked your deck out, and it looks really neat! I'll post a comment on it in a bit.

seshiro_of_the_orochi, Sewer Nemesis is a really cool card. However, I'm loath to cut Chainer, Dementia Master in part because I don't actually have that many nightmares that matter in the 99 and he can get a ton of value off Umbris. That said, I'll consider cutting him. I haven't had that many games where he's been out, so I'll make a decision when I have more data.

Thank you so much for the suggestion!

Mazera on Horrifying Nightmares

1 year ago

Hey! Made_Compleat I actually just got a Ashiok, Dream Render from my local store since they had the chibi secret lair version but wasn't exactly sure where to slot them till you said Runo Stromkirk  Flip being kind of iffy, I just slapped him in because I already had him and he sort of fit the bill but he'll get the replaced by this. I really like Chainer, Dementia Master but I proxied him just to test it out and he gets sacked almost immediately every time because my group noticed the drawback. Chainer's Torment was really cool; in the first draft of this deck I had that with Profane Transfusion to get 2 FAT horrors on the field but the mana cost was too much to really pull this combo off and decided against it. Thanks for the suggestions!

Made_Compleat on Horrifying Nightmares

1 year ago

Hey! I love this deck. A few suggestions:

Runo Stromkirk  Flip is a bit of a nonbo with Umbris, Fear Manifest, as he isn't a horror when he ETBs and doesn't exile when he transforms. Thus, he's won't ETB as a horror to get that sweet sweet value. He also doesn't really synergize with the horror tribal theme. Likewise, the Shapeshifters in the deck like Evil Twin don't synergize, as they're not horrors and don't have changeling. Dauthi Voidwalker runs into the same issue, but it is pretty good so I wouldn't cut it.

A funny card in the deck would be Chainer, Dementia Master. He creates nightmares from your opponent's yard, which then exile more cards with your commander. However, he does come with the drawback of exiling all Nightmares when he dies. He's still totally worth it, though. Angel of Suffering do be silly. She might not be the best, but she's just kinda funny in the deck. The same goes for Bitter Ordeal, which, like all cards from Future Sight, is just kinda nifty. Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver ain't a bad card in this context, nor is Ashiok, Sculptor of Fears. Nightmare weaver is better, but both are pretty good in this context. Ashiok, Dream Render is pretty deece as both a Stranglehold and a exile-based mill engine, and she also completes AshiokTron (tm). To compleat the "Not good, just funny" cycle, Chainer's Torment. Is it an absolutely awful card? Yes. Is it hilarious? YES. Phyrexian Rager is pretty nice as well.

I hope that you find these suggestions helpful!

zAzen7977 on K'rrik the Masochist

1 year ago

Hey theyounghansolo, I have a lot of experience playing K’rrik competitively and I have a few suggestions to help you improve your competitiveness:

ssteves1069 is spot on, Chainer, Dementia Master is crucial to this deck’s functionality. Since his ability is an activated ability, it bypasses Rule of Law and counterspells, which are this deck’s greatest weakness. To use Chainer, you need a proper sacrifice outlet like Dimir House Guard or Razaketh, the Foulblooded. Once you have Chainer, Guard/Razaketh, and Gray Merchant of Asphodel on the board, you’ve assembled an infinite combo and drain each opponent to death. You can also accomplish this with Buried Alive and Necrotic Ooze.

Final Parting targeting Reanimate in hand and Vilis, Broker of Blood in the grave usually wins you the game. Scheming Symmetry should never be run in a competitive setting since you are likely providing an opponent with a combo piece or counterspell.

Beacon of Unrest is too slow, I’d replace it with Shallow Grave. Recurring your artifacts is not critical to your strategy.

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse has the same functionality as Aetherflux Reservoir, but is a creature and can be reanimated. She pairs perfectly with Vilis. Plus Shelly and Peer into the Abyss either gains you lots of life or usually eliminates another player.

To be continued…

Tur on Hidden Power - Mono-Color - …

1 year ago

Hello everyone! This will be a forum post for a "Commander - Hidden Power" series. My goal is to show relatively inexpensive cards which are often overlooked by commander players in semi-competitive and casual play. (This post is not designed for competitive play.) If you enjoy the topic, please upvote the post or provide positive feedback and I will consider creating similar posts.

The powerful cards I plan on discussing are mono-color cards which are strong with big mana in commander.

I will provide one card per mono-color identity. These cards will not include x-spells nor multi-color identity spells. (I.e. no Torment of Hailfire nor Zacama, Primal Calamity)

It is obvious that big mana is a huge part of semi-competitive play. Whether it is from ramping through creatures, artifacts, enchantments, instants, sorceries, or lands. Big mana is pretty fun. Mana doubling effects from lands are especially useful. In this article, I'll be focusing on mana doubling from lands, but other ways to generate big mana are always possible

Here are some common big mana effects for each mono-color identity:

This is not an all inclusive list as Mana Flare, Heartbeat of Spring, Keeper of Progenitus, Sword of Feast and Famine, et cetera would work just as well. In each mono-color identity the artifacts Caged Sun, Gauntlet of Power, and Extraplanar Lens can be used, however the black and green color identities have an advantage for mono-color double mana effects. Furthermore, green contains cards such as Seedborn Muse, Awakening, and Wilderness Reclamation which allow for more interactions.

Well, let us begin in WUBRG order!

White: Sacred Mesa

This card is relatively unused. According to EDHREC, Sacred Mesa is played in 1511/849227 (0%) decklists and is under one dollar. You'd be surpized how powerful this card is with double mana. Imagine making some number of pegasus at instant speed as either blockers or attackers for your next turn. (The upkeep cost can be paid by making a summoning sick pegasus during your turn.) Not to mention power and toughness buffing effects are ideal with Sacred Mesa, examples include Dictate of Heliod, Cathars' Crusade, Caged Sun, or Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite.

It is often compared to Luminarch Ascension because they have similar effects. Yes, it makes a 4/4 angel instead of a 1/1 pegasus.

However, Luminarch Ascension has many downsides:

  • You have to have four quest counters to use the ability. (That is, you have to not lose life during an opponents turn four times.) This creates a huge target on your life total and you'll see it surely chip away.
  • Bounce effects, such as Cyclonic Rift really mess it up. Welcome back to square one!
  • Common cards, such as Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider prevent quest counters from even occurring. Vampire Hexmage or Hex Parasite are also options to remove the counters.

Sacred Mesa is way more versatile and does not have such downsides. Not to mention is it only three mana, ideal for Sun Titan recursion.

Blue: Compulsion

It is very rare to see this wonderful card. According to EDHREC, Compulsion is played in 1000/945324 (0%) decklists and is under one dollar. Having an activated draw ability with very little downside on a blue enchantment is insane. Ideal when paired with Teferi's Ageless Insight or Thought Reflection. There are a few cards which have a similar effect, such as Triskaidekaphile or Kefnet the Mindful without having to discard a card, but having a two mana activation is much more versatile. I suppose that an argument could be made with Training Grounds, but that is too much just to make the Kefnet the Mindful ability more cost effective. Furthermore, discarding a specific card like Echo of Eons, Wonder, or a shuffle Eldrazi such as Kozilek, Butcher of Truth has some nice synergy. (In fact, it should be played in most bant enchantress decks, such as the commander Tuvasa the Sunlit. Replenish for life!)

Black: Chainer, Dementia Master

This is a wonderful card, but a little pricey compared to the previous two cards. According to EDHREC, Chainer, Dementia Master is played in 6344/983251 (1%) decklists and is approximately ten dollars. Yes, we all know that you can abuse Chainer, Dementia Master with Gray Merchant of Asphodel or Kokusho, the Evening Star with sacrifice outlets such as Phyrexian Altar. Suppose we don't want to abuse this card into the ground is it still just good card? Yes. We can fill up or graveyard with Buried Alive or Entomb and get back a creature card, or we can grab a creature card from an opponents graveyard. It can also be used to interrupt graveyard combos, such as Aristocrats by using the ability on an opponents Butcher Ghoul with the undying trigger on the stack.

Red: Scourge of Kher Ridges

An extremely powerful and undervalued card. According to EDHREC, Scourge of Kher Ridges is played in 1005/912333 (0%) decklists and is under three dollars. If you're able to untap with Sourge of Kher Ridges and double mana, your opponents are going to have a rough time. As you can put multiple activations on the stack, it provides you with a very high on-board presence. Even within a response to removal. I've heard players complain that Scourge of Kher Ridges dies too quick to removal and my answer is "from your opponents perspective it needs to die before you're able to untap". Ideal with lifelink (and deathtouch) equipment such as Basilisk Collar or Shadowspear.

Green: Kamahl, Fist of Krosa

Typically unseen in play. According to EDHREC, Kamahl, Fist of Krosa is played in 4786/880991 (1%) decklists and is approximately five dollars. It is odd how unused Kamahl, Fist of Krosa is compared to Ezuri, Renegade Leader when they basically have the same effect. Overrun as an activated ability which is stackable multiple times. I agree that Ezuri, Renegade Leader is better in elf tribal decks, however Kamahl, Fist of Krosa is great in most big mana decks. Ideal for wide aggro. Tall aggro will gain the benefit of trample. If you don't have extra creatures you can animate your lands as 1/1 attackers, correction 7/7 attackers. (Pretty interesting because these attackers get around Cyclonic Rift, they're lands.) You can also get some payback by animating your opponents lands in response to a creature board wipe. (From that reasoning it can be paired with cards such as Ascendant Evincar and Crovax, Ascendant Hero to destroy opponents lands through animation.)

All in all, these are relatively unused cards which have a lot hidden power with big mana. If your deck is mono-colored and designed for big mana spells or abilities, think about giving these cards a chance. See if they work well for you and your playgroup.

hootsnag on Athreos White Black Undying Evil

1 year ago

I decided to leave Chainer, Dementia Master out. I feel my newest additions are more for what the deck does or wants to do. I considered Beacon of Unrest but I don't think I want to cut anything for it. Perhaps Bontu's Monument?

hootsnag on Athreos White Black Undying Evil

1 year ago

I was considering adding Chainer, Dementia Master to help steal other people's creatures after I killed all creatures on the board. Not a 100% sold on the idea but it would be interesting. I agree with Lux Cannon being out of place a little. I will cut it. Karn Liberated is included just for good removal or to potentially restart the game if I find myself in a really bad situation. I will cut By Invitation Only also. Next update is coming soon.

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