Culling Ritual

Sorcery

Destroy each nonland permanent with converted mana cost/mana value 2 or less. Add {B} or {G} for each permanent destroyed this way.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Alchemy	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
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
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (47)

jsnrice on Atraxa, Grand Unifier

4 weeks ago

Deck Title: Ascension Through Unity – Atraxa cEDH Food Chain

Commander

Atraxa, Grand Unifier
Color Identity: {B}{G}{U}{W}

---

Introduction

Welcome to Ascension Through Unity, a competitive EDH build centered around Atraxa, Grand Unifier, the ultimate value engine and a uniquely powerful commander that bridges midrange resilience with combo potential. This list leverages the raw card advantage of Atraxa’s ETB trigger to dig for win conditions, interaction, and fast mana — all while supporting a Food Chain combo core.

This deck is tuned for high-level pods and aims to win fast, interact precisely, and grind smart when necessary.

---

Win Conditions

Primary Wincon:
- Food Chain + Eternal Scourge / Misthollow Griffin / Flesh Duplicate
Infinite creature mana via Food Chain and one of the exile-recurring creatures.
→ Cast Atraxa, Grand Unifier, dig for Thassa's OracleGC or Tainted Pact / Demonic Consultation combo.

Backup Wincons:
- Thassa's OracleGC + Tainted Pact / Demonic Consultation
- Finale of Devastation for lethal with infinite mana
- Displacer Kitten combos with The One RingGC, Teferi, Time Raveler, or mana rocks for infinite value/actions

---

Notable Synergies

• Atraxa, Grand Unifier ETB + Displacer Kitten: Abuse blink triggers for maximum card filtering and pseudo-storm turns.
• Food Chain + Exile creatures: Efficient engine for infinite mana into Atraxa chains.
• Talion, the Kindly Lord + low-cost spell density = passive draw engine.
• Drannith MagistrateGC, Opposition AgentGC, Orcish Bowmasters: Stax elements that don’t disrupt our own lines.
• Archivist of Oghma, Esper Sentinel, Mystic Remora, Rhystic StudyGC: Passive card draw galore.

---

Staples and Interaction

This deck plays nearly every blue interaction spell you’d expect: - Free Countermagic: Force of WillGC, Force of Negation, Pact of Negation, Mindbreak Trap, Flusterstorm
- Removal: Swords to Plowshares, Abrupt Decay, Chain of Vapor, Toxic Deluge, Culling Ritual
- Tutors: Vampiric TutorGC, Demonic TutorGC, Worldly Tutor, Enlightened TutorGC, Imperial SealGC

And it runs every relevant fast mana: - Mana Crypt, Lotus Petal, Chrome MoxGC, Mox DiamondGC, Mox Opal, Mana VaultGC, Ancient TombGC

---

Why Atraxa?

While many commanders offer value, Atraxa’s Grand Unifier trigger is uniquely broken in a deck like this. With a proper build, she can hit: - A creature (e.g. Eternal Scourge, Deathrite Shaman)
- A non-creature spell (e.g. Demonic Consultation)
- An instant (e.g. Swan Song, An Offer You Can't Refuse)
- A sorcery (e.g. Finale of Devastation)
- An artifact (e.g. Sol Ring)
- An enchantment (e.g. Rhystic StudyGC)
- A planeswalker (e.g. Teferi, Time Raveler)

This makes Atraxa a one-card value engine that refills your hand and pivots you into a win turn with proper sequencing.

---

Power Level & Goals

This deck is firmly cEDH (power level 9.5–10). It’s built for pods where interaction is heavy, turns are fast, and wins are clean.

You’ll thrive if: - You can protect Atraxa, Grand Unifier for at least one trigger
- You pilot your combo lines efficiently
- You mulligan aggressively for interaction or ramp

---

Mulligan Strategy

Look for: - Turn 1–2 dorks/rocks + tutor
- Food Chain + exile creature opener
- Strong card draw pieces + interaction
- Always mull away clunky high-CMC hands

---

Weaknesses

• Susceptible to Drannith MagistrateGC (unless we remove it)
• Hate for graveyard/exile recursion (Rest in Peace, etc.)
• Heavy counterspell matchups if we stumble on mana

---

Closing Thoughts

Atraxa, Grand Unifier doesn’t just unify card types — she unifies power, control, and combo under one elegantly devastating package. Whether you’re tutoring with efficiency or slamming a turn 4 Food Chain win, this deck rewards mastery and punishes hesitation. Perfect for cEDH players who love versatility and inevitability.

---

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you want a sideboard package or metagame tweaks.

nbarry223 on Viga-BOOM! (Primer + SB Guide)

4 months ago

I do really want to fit in Culling Ritual still, but other than that, fairly happy with where the deck is at now. I do need to go through and update the deck description with all the new lines and things like that since the unbanning of Green Sun's Zenith.

Neotrup on Splash Lasher token has reminder …

4 months ago

Tokens do not have a mana cost unless the effect creating them assigns a mana cost (such as by making it a copy of an object with a mana cost). Any object without a mana cost (including lands and cards like Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar) has a mana value of 0. You'll notice Culling Ritual doesn't say anything about the mana cost of permanents, rather the mana value. A mana cost of {0} is different from not having a mana cost, but both give a mana value of 0. Just like a mana cost of {1} is different from a mana cost of {U}, but both would give a mana value of 1. This is also why Culling Ritual specifies nonland, because otherwise it would destroy lands despite not having a mana cost, because the mana value is 0.

202.3a The mana value of an object with no mana cost is 0, unless that object is the back face of a transforming double-faced permanent or is a melded permanent.

Regarding nothing not being a mana cost, that is correct. Memnite shares a mana cost with Ornithopter, but Dryad Arbor does not share a mana cost with Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar since neither of them have one. I think the only cards that care about this difference are Killer Cosplay and Richard Garfield, Ph.D., neither of which are black boarder legal.

TypicalTimmy on Splash Lasher token has reminder …

4 months ago

So, followup question.

What becomes the default now?

Do tokens inherently now have a mana cost of {0} unless otherwise stated?

In a pedantic sense, a mana cost of {0} is different from no value. One could make the argument that {0} is a numerical value representing the lack of information contained within a set.

• If I have 5 apples and 6 oranges, how many bananas do I have? 0. I have no bananas contained within my set of fruit.

Then again, saying it has no cost means that anything which would impact {0}-costs won't be seen. As an example, Culling Ritual hits everything with mana value 2 or less. If some tokens now have values and some do not, how are the ones inherently created without it handle this? Do the tokens created with Krenko, Mob Boss die to it?

Because now you potentially open up this can of worms;

• Your tokens die, too.
• No, they don't.
• Mana value 2 or less. Your tokens have {0}.
• No, they don't have a mana value.
• Right, that's zero. Less than one.
• No, it's undefined. There isn't one.
• But they are zero!
• Show me where it says zero on the card!
• THEY ARE ZERO
• They don't list themselves as enchantments, do they? Because THEY AREN'T ENCHANTMENTS!
• We aren't talking about Enchantments!
• Exactly! We are dealing with part of an identity. My tokens HAVE NO MANA VALUE AS THEIR IDENTITY

Because, realistically speaking...

Undefined =/= Zero

They are not synonymous with each other...

Gleeock on Should I Keep Font of …

7 months ago

This is why I want to see some more viable "punish low cmc" cards come around :) ... I've absolutely torched playgroups with a simple Culling Ritual

Master_J on Froggin Time!

11 months ago

OUT: Cultivator Colossus, Selvala, Heart of the Wilds, Fyndhorn Elves, Elves of Deep Shadow, Vampiric Tutor, Not Dead After All, Bala Ged Recovery  ^Flip, Demonic Tutor, Lightning Greaves, Greater Good

IN: Zopandrel, Hunger Dominus, Shakedown Heavy, Hunted Bonebrute, Tear Asunder, Nature's Claim, Culling Ritual, Nature's Lore, Arcane Signet, Unnatural Growth, Underground Mortuary

Trying to work out some kinks in this deck. I find myself without big boys to sac to the 'Rog sometimes. Also, upping the land count a little instead of using dorks that will die to Culling Ritual.

I may also come to regret pulling out the tutors, but I never know what to look for that will help me win immediately, so out they come for now.

DatShepTho on Gitrog landfall in construction

11 months ago

Other suggestions:

Noose Constrictor

The Mending of Dominaria

Gaea's Blessing

Zuran Orb

Skull Prophet

Satyr Wayfinder

Cabal Initiate

Loamcrafter Faun

Roiling Regrowth

Centaur Vinecrasher

Llanowar Elves

Elvish Mystic

Fyndhorn Elves

Wild Mongrel

Stitcher's Supplier

Grisly Salvage

Shigeki, Jukai Visionary

Doom Whisperer

Genesis Wave

Price of Fame

Sewer Nemesis

Lord of Extinction

Uurg, Spawn of Turg

Worm Harvest

Drown in Filth

Culling Ritual

Dread Return

Diabolic Tutor

Broken Bond

Languish

Summer Bloom

jarncards on vaal hazak

11 months ago

Three Visits Open the Way Nature's Lore are better ramp

Second Harvest, Culling Ritual, Return of the Wildspeaker, Garruk, Primal Hunter, Beseech the Mirror, Moment's Peace, Obscuring Haze, Spore Frog, Darkness, Constant Mists