Conjurer's Closet

Artifact

At the beginning of your end step, you may exile target creature you control, then return it to the battlefield under your control.

Discussion (51)

hejtmane on Yasova Dragonclaw help

1 week ago

My basic advice for Yasova been playing her a long time she was my 3rd commander I built and i still tweak her as stuff comes out

Sacrifices outlet Ways to remove hexproof/shroud Then keeping the creatures Bazaar Trader Conjurer's Closet and Thassa, Deep-Dwelling there are a few more one time use blink effects that work make sure they don't say owner Ramp/Draw I could make her faster with faster mana

Just encase you ask yes you can trade with yourself with bazaar traderthat is what makes it so juicy but you can also use him as a political tool

Yes I mispelled the deck name on purpose Thiefing

GrimlockVIII on Torgaar's Toryaa!

1 week ago

Yo finding a way to flicker this guy would be nuts.

Conjurer's Closet and cards like Undying Evil come to mind.

Mana_Mythic_Legendary on Pursuing Perfection, Part 8: Rakdos …

2 weeks ago

Brothers, sisters, and assorted non-binary siblings, welcome to the riot! You like throwing waves of frothing, hasty lunatics at your opponent AND profiting when said lunatics die? We got you! You like watching the world burn and don’t mind getting caught in the flames? We got you! You like anarchy? The purge movies? Gender reveal parties? We got you! Rakdos is the proud home of those who take pleasure at the expense of others, the sort of people who like to mix Skittles and M&Ms in the same party bowl. If that sounds fun, then just you wait: in the house of red and black, that sort of misbehavior is only the appetizer.

Haste and sacrifice. Vampirism and burn. Discard in both barrels. This is a beautifully synergistic color pairing that belongs in the same league as peanut butter and chocolate. Heath Ledger’s joker undoutably played a rakdos deck: things like Havoc Festival, Last One Standing, and Sire Of Insanity are all up the clown’s alley. There are a number of themes we can cover here, but as usual we’re settling for three: Discard, WAAAAGH, and Pain. As always, please bear in mind that the point isn’t a discussion of the competitive but rather as a celebration of the thematic.

Discard

This is both red’s primary draw resource and a uniquely black removal technique. Combining those aspects makes for a deck that both ruins opponent’s hands and digs through your own cards at shocking speed. Granted, you won’t have a big hand, but who cares? Suddenly you've got an overpacked graveyard at your black-hearted beck and call. Red self-mill and black reanimation, people, with just a naughty touch of haste. Discard a pile of hate and then pitch said pile straight into combat. You won’t be sorry.

A regular teddy bear, Chainer’s second coming is a real treat for anyone who left their graveyard hate at home. Haste on a stick is only a perk: suddenly your graveyard is only as full as you want it to be, and probably full of friendly, group-huggy things like Ravenous Chupacabra or Combustible Gearhulk. Yes, the table will certainly love you and your unending, undying deck of unbearable hellbeasts. Undoubtably.

Ok, this guy is horrifying, as you would expect of the king of Grixis. Anyone not running tokens is going to be mighty twitchy about seeing this guy hit the field, and who needs a hand anyway? Rakdos evidently loves empty hands, and rewards you for ensuring that particular misery has company. Consider, if you will, the fulsome, vicious suite of cards tied to poking those who discard. Consider Experimental Frenzy. Consider all the madness cards you could play (or, you know, just play Anje Falkenrath instead). And, if you get tired of the simple gains synergy can win you, you can always Demonfire someone.

THIS. This is neat. Leave aside the look on the face of that certain someone who steals everything on the board. Pay no mind that Seize the Day and all it’s red cousins can make Blim an unholy terror. Forget that you can pass off Demonic Pact, Grid Monitor, and whatever other obnoxiousness you can think of. None of that matters, no. This, for all you glorious nutters out there, is an excuse to finally play Nuisance Engine. That’s the takeaway here.

WAAAGH

Anyone can run tokens or big creatures, but only in Rakdos do you find the conjunction of boardwide haste and sacrifice. Harnessing right, proper WAAGH energy means not just drowning opponents in a tide of zippy little shits but also capitalizing on all that death to cause even more mayhem. Did you ever want to hold a bundle of fireworks, light them all at once, and watch whatever you point them at turn into a smoking, shredded pile of giblets? Here’s the lighter, fellas.

Treasure tokens. Nuff said.

There are a number of nasty combos here that I’d rather not spread. I’ll just say that long ago, I played many, many depressing games against a Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund deck. There was self-milling involved, and Living Death. Evidently, someone decided what the deck needed, rather than burning, was fewer moving parts. That someone deserves a long, interesting life in all the worst ways.

This guy makes me laugh. The idea of ruining the table’s carefully laid plans to off you and instead throwing them into combat with each other is absolutely hilarious. It’s like a Fog designed by someone with pyromania-by-proxy syndrome, and that second block of text the equivalent of throwing gasoline on an already burning house. Get a Conjurer's Closet in there and watch the fun.

Pain

Forget destroy effects. Those are too easy. Direct damage. -X/-X. -1/-1 counters. Life loss. All of the nastiness you can fling at opponents and creatures is under the umbrella of this color pairing. If you like blasting the unholy hell out of your opponents and their minions, this is the arsenal you’re looking to plunder. Stuff like Blasphemous Act, Toxic Deluge, or Orcus, Prince of Undeath will leave a smoldering crater of a battlefield, across which you’ll doubtless be stepping with appropriate gribbliness. Or launching that demonfire we talked about. Whatever works.

Ah, the original Mr. Stop-Hitting-Yourself. I’ve had my eye on this guy for over a decade. Do I own the deck? No. Do I intend to? Again, no. But the prospect here is so, soooo satisfying to think about. To hell with infinite combo fruitwaffles. Damned be those green jackasses ramming X cost spells down the table’s collective throat. Kaervek’s mean, but keeps it clean. Like, nuclear fire sterile clean, and the best part? It’s all self-inflicted!

We really can’t talk red-black without discussing demon himself (hehehe). This guy’s been piloting one of my decks for years, and for good reason. The lord of riots likes to pass out rewards for smacking people. Do you like to be rewarded for smacking people? I do. Rewarded with free things... Eldrazi things. Eldrazi things that tutor more things (Conduit of Ruin), reanimate more things (Artisan of Kozilek), or… well, you can always go for broke and just ruin someone else's things (Void Winnower). Run artifacts, like Hangarback Walker. Run X drops, like Maga, Traitor to Mortals. Run anything you like. Run everything you like. Just have fun running them for next to nothing.

-1/-1 counters, magic’s analogue for injury and agony. We really shouldn’t talk red-black without talking about Wither, the Everlasting Torment of a keyword that was a precursor to the dark days of Infect. It’s safe to say we all have opinions, for good or ill, about Infect’s place in commander. That said, if you want to play with -1/-1 counters and aren’t fond of green or dealing with those opinions, Scorpy’s first line of text makes this guy an overwhelmingly safe bet. Rocking crap like Black Sun's Zenith is the easy answer: let’s make this fun, discard a crapload of cards, and watch your opponent’s boards melt into obscene card advantage while your Archfiend of Ifnir giggles in the corner.

And for my personal favorite...

There is an unfortunate element of “screw you in particular” to Xantcha: declaring open season on somebody’s life total sends a particularly unpleasant message. This is another commander that, laying aside the card advantage, doesn’t bolster your deck, which makes for an interesting challenge. I’ve said it before, one hallmark of a good deck is the capability of functioning without its commander… though if you build this hateful beast, I suggest you pack lots and lots of ramp. Just ‘cause.

That's it for this round. Thoughts and questions are welcome. I hope you enjoyed it, and will come back next week for Gruul!

Prior Articles:

Dimir

Azorius

Green, with links to the other mono-colors

Ardees on Zirilan Red Passion

1 month ago

Easy to place in:

• Valakut Awakening  ^Flip --> Mountain
• Kazuul's Fury  ^Flip --> Mountain
• Command Beacon --> Mountain
• Bonders' Enclave --> Mountain
• War Room --> Mountain

More ramp:

• Arcane Signet
• Cursed Mirror
• Heraldic Banner

To consider:

• Molten Echoes
• Flameshadow Conjuring
• Dragon Mage
• Goldspan Dragon
• Strionic Resonator
• Deflecting Swat
• Thousand-Year Elixir
• Conjurer's Closet
• Battlemage's Bracers

CrispedAlloy on Flicker Fun Time

1 month ago

Haven't really been following recent release but AFR has given us Teleportation Circle, which is a strictly better Conjurer's Closet

GrimlockVIII on Nihiloor, Mafia Kingpin

1 month ago

Not sure if this helps, but Vantress Gargoyle provides a cheap body with a high power that makes it easier to control your opponent's creatures with Nihiloor in the early/mid game.

Also Thassa, Deep-Dwelling acts as a second Conjurer's Closet on a stick with indestructible and the ability to tap opponent's creatures on the side.

Lanzo493 on I Can't Pronounce My Commander's Name

1 month ago

I would suggest removing Teleportation Circle and Kaya's Ghostform because they don't seem to work correctly.

I don't think Teleportation Circle works how you think it does. If you're using it to have something like Conjurer's Closet, I would remove it. If you blink a stolen creature, you'll lose control of it unlike with the closet (or with Thassa).

Same thing with Kaya's Ghostform. If you're using it to steal a creature permanently that Merieke took, it won't work. Before the creature dies, it will go under its owner's control, causing the aura to fall off of it. Then it dies and it won't come back to you.

PlutoniumWedding on Pinball wizard

1 month ago

Hey!

Golos really embodies Timmy edh in that sense of 'I don't care what I'm casting as long as it's big and flashy!', doesn't he? :D

I have a few ideas and comments, in no particular order.

Expropriate seems like it would be one of the big ones for a bit more pay-to-win oomph.

I think Field of the Dead is amazing in Golos decks, since your five colour edh land base is unlikely to contain many duplicate names. It's not the wincon it apparently was in... Historic? But it generates a very steady stream of chump blockers. It's apparently still like $10, though.

Emergent Ultimatuming up a board wipe and Fated Return sadly only works if Golos for some reason is already in the graveyard, since you cast the two spells immediately and will need to choose targets for Fated Return before the wipe resolves. You can of course get some other big thing that's died during the course of the game.

The flat damage spells (Sorin's Vengeance, Searing Wind) seem weak - they only impact the game if someone is already at 10 or less life, and even then only if they're currently the threat. I'd look to those if you need to make cuts for higher quality cards.

Rise of the Dark Realms and Clone Legion are a few ways to get instant boards. Both work very well if you can sneak in an Eternal Witness (or Archaeomancer) as they can recur the little creature for infinite fuel, even though you're of course unlikely to cast either more than once per turn.

Omniscience is a great way to get all the fat spells in your hand to actually be useful. It's wonderful if you get it off of Golos, but perfectly OK to hard cast before emptying your hand of bombs.

I know you're mostly going for instants and sorceries - is there a reason for this? You don't have to have one, but there are a lot of nice permanent bombs that fit the Golos playstyle, like Etali, Primal Storm, Debtors' Knell, Worldspine Wurm and Mind's Dilation. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon is a boardwipe that spares Golos and sticks around as a nuisance and possibly even a long-term threat.

Another great card with Golos is Illusionist's Bracers. Twice the madness.

Given the deck's reliance on Golos himself, I'd think it almost mad not to run some protection, such as Lightning Greaves, Darksteel Plate, Swiftfoot Boots, Hammer of Nazahn etc. Counterspells would be an option, but it's so sad to flip them with Golos...

Since Golos ramps on ETB, flicker cards like Teleportation Circle, Soulherder, Conjurer's Closet and Thassa, Deep-Dwelling can each get you one free land every turn, not limited to basics. Running all of them is probably... A different deck. One or two might be nice.

If you do go with that approach, you have lots of options, like Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth + Cabal Coffers for lots of mana, The World Tree, Cascading Cataracts and Crystal Quarry for fixing, or utility lands like Maze of Ith and Mystifying Maze. Since these are lands that are perfectly fine to draw on their own, this takes up a lot less deck space than it might initially seem like.

I hope I've given you some ideas at least!