Dark Ritual

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Discussion (51)

Optimator on Blood Diamonds

3 days ago

Thanks for the advice, ThoAlmighty!! This deck is one of my new decks built almost entirely out of cards on-hand. I bought the Venser's Journal, Gilded Lotus, and kind of bought the Torment of Hailfire and Exsanguinate for it and had the rest of the good (and bad) cards already in my collection in need of a home. As such, plenty of the card choices are not ideal or optimized. In a sense, this is a budget deck not looking for big-time upgrades yet. I'm aware that Deathgreeter and Falkenrath Noble don't synergize with my deck at all but they are just incidental lifegain and as early-game blockers. Definitely filler for now. Deathgreeter might have enough utility (in my meta) for his cost to stick around until I get something great for lifegain, such as Twilight Prophet or Exquisite Blood etc. I was thinking about replacing the noble with Ivory Tower since it's old and janky and one of those "works almost nowhere except this commander" cards. I want to play more games and see how important lifegain ends up being to me. Some decks run a shitload and some run almost none.

I've played five games now and in the three games where I played Ambition's Cost and/or Ancient Craving they have worked out. Ideally they smooth out my mid-game and draw me into more lands, ramp, and answers/removal to get up to Vilis. So far they have done so. I also don't have a ton of free-life-payment cards like Doom Whisperer so they serve as passable refueling for Vilis. More games will surely give me insight but for now I like them.

So far the ramp has worked out all right but I had an eye to add more already. I have twelve pieces (13 if you count Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx... oh to have a Cabal Coffers too!! Just gotta wait for Commander Legends). I usually have 7-10 in my decks so this is still feels like a good, high amount. I used to have Bubbling Muck and Dark Ritual in the ~105-card prototype but they were late cuts, reducing my overall ramp-card count without replacement. Five games isn't a huge sample size, to be sure, so I'm gonna feel it out some more before I make swaps. I would definitely add Thought Vessel as an early upgrade. I was also thinking of swapping the Leaden Myr for a mana rock that doesn't die to all my wraths.

Thanks again for your comments!

DemMeowsephs on Queen Marchesa - The One True Love

6 days ago

Hey there mate! From what I see, you have all three shock lands (Pay 2 on ETB), all the filter lands (Pay X/Y get combination) and the check lands (ETB tapped unless X/Y). These are all great lands, but I think almost everything else can get a nice sweet upgrade. Note some of my suggestions may not be in your budget

• Blackcleave Cliffs
• Concealed Courtyard
• Inspiring Vantage
• Bloodstained Mire (Budget: Rocky Tar Pit
• Marsh Flats
• Arid Mesa
• Sulfurous Springs
• Caves of Koilos/Silent Clearing
• Battlefield Forge/Sunbaked Canyon
• Luxury Suite
• Vault of Champions
• Spectator Seating
• Ancient Tomb
• Prismatic Vista (A better Evolving Wilds)
• City of Brass
• Mana Confluence
• Reflecting Pool
• Strip Mine/Wasteland (A better Ghost Quarter)
• Gemstone Caverns

• Glacial Chasm (For Pillowfort?)

• Now I know that is quite a lot, but don't worry- I have an idea. I personally believe all of the following could and should be cut for some of the suggestions below, as you progress with your deck. Akoum Refuge, Bloodfell Caves, Evolving Wilds, Ghost Quarter, Nomad Outpost (Maybe Savai Triome instead?), Opal Palace, Scoured Barrens, Smoldering Marsh (it's only good in decks heavy with basics), Wind-Scarred Crag, etc!

• For ramp, Lotus Petal, Land Tax, and Dark Ritual can be pretty fun too.

• Hope this helps! If you like my suggestions be sure to support some of my decks (Double Trouble EDH *PRIMER*). Anyways though, hope this helps, good luck on your deck, and have a great day! Happy tapping!

Goblin_Guide on Goblin_Guide

1 week ago

Week of 09222020 Combo

This one is from my new deck Munch. It involves two cards and is super erratic and you might die in the process, sooo ... basically no downsides!

Spoils of the Vault + Death's Shadow.

It doesn't actually need to be Shadow, it can be anything that wants you to have a low life total, but I like it best.

Cast Spoils, naming Death's Shadow. Go until you hit it. Cast it. Sometimes it's tiny because it was already the top card of your library (or straight up dies because you still have 14+ life); sometimes you die before casting it; but the best feeling is getting a T1 11/11 Death's Shadow with a Dark Ritual and getting a Carnophage friend along with it. Admittedly, you now die to Lightning Bolt, sooo ... eh, forget it, no one plays that card, right?

SueMe on Shirei

1 week ago

Yoyoyo ThatOneGuyAI!

I'd start by cutting the low-impact creatures such as:

Tattered Mummy, Shambling Goblin, Serrated Scorpion, Orzhov Enforcer, Myr Sire, Festering Goblin, Doomed Dissenter, and Deathgreeter.

I like your sac-outlets that can protect themselves through Shirei (e.g. Viscera Seer/Thoughtpicker Witch/Fume Spitter), and I'd try to avoid the ones that don't have that particular interaction: Nantuko Husk/Carrion Feeder.

Cards I would add in: Altar of Dementia, Plagued Rusalka, Dark Ritual, Feed the Swarm (enchantment removal in black), Agadeem's Awakening  ^Flip, Kaervek, the Spiteful (allows you to protect Shirei), and Liliana's Steward.

multimedia on Zagras EDH Deck

1 week ago

Hey, nice start on budget. Kyle_Winter gave you some good advice to help the party. My advice is to help the manabase, ramp and draw.

First, you don't need 42 lands, that's overkill for your deck. 36 lands should be fine. Consider cutting some lands for more ramp sources? Budget lands and ramp to consider adding:

• Dragonskull Summit
• Smoldering Marsh
• Rakdos Signet
• Dark Ritual
• Foreboding Ruins
• Opal Palace
• Rakdos Carnarium
• Ash Barrens
• Grixis Panorama
• Jund Panorama

Consider cutting some basic lands for these lands?

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Ramp can be a problem with Rakdos because these colors lack lots of options, but one way to help to not miss land drops is to play low mana cost draw. Cards like these can replace ramp because for a low mana cost they can help to draw into lands or party members who then act like ramp to cast Zagras.

• Read the Bones
• Night's Whisper
• Thrill of Possibility

Repeatable draw sources are best in Commander because they can potentially give you value throughout the entire game. With Zagras cards that give you value who are party creatures or when you attack/do combat damage are options:

• Azra Oddsmaker
• Magus of the Wheel
• Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion
• Mask of Memory
• Asylum Visitor
• Valakut Exploration
• Underworld Connections

Oddsmaker and Mask are nice with Zagras because he has flying.

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Some advice about game play. I would keep the mana curve very low because you want to assemble a party for Zagras as that's what makes Zagras a mana efficient and potentially good Commander. The lower the mana curve the easier it will be to have two or more party members on the battlefield to help to cast Zagras. In fact, for your deck I would end the curve at Dagger Caster and Drana, the Last Bloodchief as these are abilities and effects at the top that go well with Zagras. I would limit the four drops to very few.

Roving Keep is an example of a creature you don't need because it's high CMC and doesn't help the party or have interaction with Zagras. Zof Consumption is an example of a spell that you don't need even though if you want can play it as a tapped land. Consumption for six mana is not worth what it does.

I offer more advice about what cards to cut. Would you like more advice?

Good luck with your deck.

Wasabi413 on Gain life, lose friends

1 week ago

Valengeta I think I got it fixed pretty well. Replace Smothering Tithe with Kambal, Consul of Allocation, Authority of the Consuls, or Land Tax if playing in a 1v1 otherwise keep it for multi-player. Take out Crypt Incursion and replace it with whatever if need be, though I think it works well against most decks, especially since I have Day of Judgment and Wrath of God. Could swap some stuff out if I needed to like Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant  ^Flip but I think overall it's a lot better. Could use some more utility lands if I want though I don't its super necessary. I would put it as modern but Dark Ritual isn't modern legal and there's no real good replacement for it so I think I'll leave it as legacy for now. I'd love too hear about what you think! Thank you for all the suggestions, it really helped a lot!

Daveslab2022 on Battlebox White Tokens

1 week ago

Cards that only give you life are a complete waste.

Look at the very first cycle magic ever had Lightning Bolt Dark Ritual Ancestral Recall Giant Growth and Healing Salve

Every single one of these cards has seen competitive play EXCEPT healing salve. Because some life for a card is never worth it.

Let’s say your facing down an army of creatures. You have 16 life and they have 18 damage. Sure that card saves you a turn, but so would any blocker, or removal spell.

Just gaining life is not a good effect.

Lanzo493 on Selvala (cEDH)

1 week ago

Allosaurus Shepherd would be awesome in this deck. One of the best answers to Island ever printed. I think Ashaya, Soul of the Wild could pull a lot of work in this deck, too. It's gigantic for its mana cost, and it even combos with Quirion Ranger and Scryb Ranger for infinite mana while protecting you against Cyclonic Rift. With the number of fetches you're running, Dryad Arbor would work great. It's useful tech against sacrifice effects and is a good turn 1 Green Sun's Zenith target. My last comment is just a thought, since I don't know how well your deck runs, but Scale Up could be your green version of Dark Ritual, especially if you use it the first time you untap with Selvala.

I would keep Worldly Tutor. You never know when you need to tutor for Walking Ballista because you have no outlet for infinite mana, or games when you need Craterhoof Behemoth to win, or tutoring any number of other cards for other reasons.