Crypt Ghast

Creature — Spirit

Extort (Whenever you cast a spell, you may pay {WB}. If you do, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain that much life.)

Whenever you tap a swamp for mana, you may add {B} to your mana pool (in addition to the mana the land produces).

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Block Constructed	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
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (48)

TheoryCrafter on Mono-Black Liliana Tribal

1 month ago

Font of Agonies is a must for any deck relying on paying life to cast spells. I have it in my K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth deck and can kill a surprising number of creatures if both are kept on the battlefield long enough.

There's no guarantee you can get K'rrik on the battlefield soon enough to make a difference. That's why I recommend finding a spot for Defiler of Flesh to give you an increase in chances of having the ability to pay life instead of mana.

Also, Crypt Ghast, while legal in mono-black decks, can lead other players with the mistaken impression that it isn't legal due to the extort cost.

Tainted Remedy is very flavorful for a Liliana deck, but unless you add more cards that allow your opponents to gain life(including, but not limited to, Grollub and Triskaidekaphobia), or in a play circle where lifegain is well utilized, it's mostly a dead card. If you wish for an alternative I'd recommend Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose.

As for benefitting from Graveyard recursion, may I suggest Syr Konrad, the Grim? Get this on the battlefield with the Gravecrawler/Phyrexian Altar combo and it's an Insta-win.

Have you considered Liliana's Caress with all the discard in your deck?

That's all for now. Thank you for reading me out. I hope this helps. Happy Hunting!

CoarselyRefined on Sheoldred's Dream Drainer

2 months ago

Something be mindful of, not every card is designed to be the most powerful, game-breaking card in the game and, as such, optimizing around a certain card or mechanic is not always going to be the most competitive. There is also something to be said for balance. When I brew my decks I usually try to go by the 8×8 theory as a starting point. That doesn't mean I stay true to an 8×8 build but it helps when starting, for balance.

That said, K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth might be good in this as it allows you to do more with the life you're gaining. An alternate to having Crypt Ghast et. al. on the field.

Tergrid, God of Fright  ^Flip will be huge in this when you get to play things your opponents had to pitch to their graveyards. Similar in feel would be Lorcan, Warlock Collector but that only nets creatures.

Glacial Chasm could be interesting here as well, especially when paired with Season of the Witch but you'd need a lot of life to see it pay off. While thinking in this space, it might be neat to include some things like Elixir of Immortality to just loop your yard back into your deck for more draw-drain/gain shenanigans. This would also take the place of not having a max hand size. Something your opponents might not expect.

The reason I suggested Necropotence by the way is that it gives you an opportunity to NOT draw, which mid-to-late game might be handy to keep from decking yourself. I'll also suggest Yawgmoth's Bargain in the same space.

Aetherflux Reservoir can be handy if you're up against a deck that leans into not having a lot of life.

I'd also say that limited cards like Dark Betrayal are a no for me. Sure, it's one mana removal but if your opponent(s) play decks that don't have access to black then it's a dead card. Instead run something like Hero's Downfall it's more expensive but it allows you to target any color creature and even planeswalkers.

Are you familiar with the Gatherer website? It allows you to search by different metrics and really let's you explore the depths of what Wizards has printed over the decades.

legendofa on I'm gonna cleave you

3 months ago

Maybe some more big mana enhancements, like Crypt Ghast, High Tide, Dark Ritual, or Burnt Offering. You have a lot of 5-7 mana spells, and Rise of the Dark Realms is up at 9 mana. TheJerryCan's suggestion of Ashnod's Altar is solid.

Right now, this deck has only nine permanents below 3 mana. This might be contributing to the feeling of having no board presence; I would expect this deck to start establishing a solid board at turn 4 at the earliest. Gravecrawler, Champion of the Perished, Bladestitched Skaab, Nightscape Familiar, Stitcher's Supplier, Mire Triton, and Undead Butler are all low-mana options, and the last three help kickstart your milling.

multimedia on Infectious Invasion

3 months ago

Hey, good start. To help with deck building add 36 lands, even just basic Swamps to start, to see how many deck spots you have left to fill? How about the name Infectious Invasion?

Other areas to help improve gameplay are more ramp sources and more draw sources. Sheoldred is 7 mana you'll want ramp to consistently cast her as well as cast many high mana cost infect creatures. Dark Ritual, Defiler of Flesh and Culling the Weak are good, but consider more?

• Sol Ring
• K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
• Crypt Ghast
• Bubbling Muck
• Arcane Signet
• Plague Myr
• Bontu's Monument

Black does well with mana efficient draw for the cost of life or a permanent. Weatherlight Compleated looks to be powerful, but slow and Phyrexian Rager is subpar, consider more draw?

• Braids, Arisen Nightmare
• Phyrexian Arena or Underworld Connections
• Morbid Opportunist: with Sheoldred it triggers to draw on each player's upkeep if that player has a creature to sac.
• Thorn of the Black Rose: the monarch is draw a card at your end step.
• Night's Whisper
• Sign in Blood
• Read the Bones
• Deadly Dispute

Infect gives poison counters to players when any type of damage is done by the creature with infect, not just combat damage. Vindictive Vampire when it has infect gives each opponent a poison counter when a creature you control dies.

Good luck with your deck.

bushido_man96 on Lord Xander Taxing your Deck

4 months ago

Crypt Ghast looks like a cut, unless you plan to add an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, I don't see it being worth including here.

Tibalt's Trickery seems odd here, too, especially when you have access to straight counterspells in {U}. Why run the risk of what Trickery might drum up if you don't have to? If you are running it for the mill effect, it really doesn't seem worth it.

Solemn Simulacrum seems like another cut. You're running plenty of ramp already, and there are better ways to draw card in {UB}.

On a side note, this deck seems like an absolute nightmare to play against.

legendofa on mono-black flicker

5 months ago

1hko Aha! A classic trap!

I apologize for the dramatics, but Crypt Ghast is completely legal under a mono-black commander. Reminder text does not affect a card's color identity, and the hybrid {WB} symbol is entirely reminder text. If the card was written without the reminder text, there would be no {W} symbol anywhere on the card.

1hko on mono-black flicker

5 months ago

Crypt Ghast is illegal in this deck because it has White in its colour identity. Maybe go for Nirkana Revenant instead.

clonalselection on Spirit of the Night Demon tribal

7 months ago

Has this deck been in your rotation for 9 years? Awesome! I have my own love bug that just won't quit: The Red Terror: Akroma's Manifesto

Some tricks that might help:

• Geode Golem, Command Beacon, or Netherborn Altar could help get your commander onto the field faster (the latter two with things like Quicksilver Amulet).

• I rely on heavy mana rocks (Thran Dynamo & Gilded Lotus) for CMC-heavy decks; always nice when they stick!

• Similarly, Nirkana Revenant and Crypt Ghast seem to help with mono black ramp.

• Semblance Anvil can sometimes serve as a second Urza's Incubator if you can part with a demon from your hand.

• K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth might be on theme, with cost reduction and lifelink.

• Big dumb pumpers Hedron Matrix, Hatred, Blackblade Reforged, and Commander's Plate make the commander threat outrageous. The latter also gives Spirit of the Night protection from all colors.

• Other than that, dirty mono black tricks like Imp's Mischief, Withering Boon, maybe Simulacrum always have a place!