Diabolic Revelation

Sorcery

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Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	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
Modern Beyond Horizons	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (43)

DreadKhan on Maga, Draining the Swamp

6 months ago

I think the general 'rule' around here is to never bring up politics in an existing discussion (or use it to harass people in their own spaces) because it's super off topic and poisons the well so to speak. I've got political decks (generally lefty stuff) and haven't had too much trouble, and I've seen people with some pretty right wing stuff that is acceptable on here.

In light of the present election I took another look at Maga, Traitor to Mortals and I was a bit surprised to realize (as you did) that it's a fairly playable card to build around. The card's name is objectively hilarious now, so I do wonder if it'll be a fun card to build, seeing this list illustrates the potential, but I have a few ideas that might be worth a look!

This might sound weird, but are you sure you want stuff like Exsanguinate and Torment of Hailfire? Ditto for Sanguine Bond stuff, I think you should leave in Exquisite Blood (it's amazing with your Commander), but I feel like making this a combo deck will make it much less fun to play (obviously ymmv, just my thoughts!). Anyways, your Commander already gives you an outlet for big mana, and with all your ramp it should be fairly easy to eliminate an opponent; have you thought about some Flash sources, maybe Emergence Zone and/or Vedalken Orrery? If Maga has Flash you can potentially hold up enough mana to eliminate an opponent that is about to win (or simply eliminate you!). I'd rather play against that than Torment of Hailfire!

I rarely regret including stuff like Night's Whisper and Sign in Blood, these can do a lot of work. I don't think I'd bother with the Fallen Empires one, but Subterranean Hangar is a fairly good card if you want to store mana, I look at it as a ramp card instead of a land. I'm not sure if it's too much of a hassle, but Diabolic Revelation is a pretty crazy tutor if you dig out more than 2 cards. Maybe War Room? Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief is a great sponge for extra mana, she can remove creatures (including blockers) and then hit the opponent like a truck. Morbid Opportunist can draw a decent number of cards. Once Maga is out either Scavenged Brawler or Mask of Griselbrand can offer a lot of value for mana, maybe Shadowspear? I don't know if you have enough Demons to make Liliana's Contract a viable win con (though TBH I think it's a reasonable one because it's so telegraphed, and more decks can interact with it) but it's also a good card draw effect. I can't decide if Mandate of Abaddon is worth it, if Maga is big he just wipes out EVERYTHING except himself, so he can probably kill a player the turn you play Mandate and swing.

Hope these ideas help!

DreadKhan on My Vampire Deck

7 months ago

Just at a glance, if I was you I'd probably hack out Bloodthirsty Aerialist, this is too small of a payoff in a Commander game IMHO, Defiant Bloodlord is a literal mountain of Mana (unless you've got a doubler out it's hard to cast a 7 drop), he's also redundant with your Commander to an extent. I'm guessing it's a pet card but I don't like Eternal Thirst. The various and sundry Murder effects (3 mana to kill 1 creature) are pretty awful in my experience, but mono-Black makes it a bit harder to eschew cards like this. I've mentioned a few removal options below for you to consider, hopefully something will fit in!

I feel like I should mention Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, it's $$$ but it's a pretty good card in a Black deck that wants to use some utility lands. Maybe Expedition Map, finding a land for 3 mana is really good if you've got Urborg or Coffers out, being able to get the other one can be helpful. With your Discard payoffs I think you could justify a Geier Reach Sanitarium, the dig can be nice if you've drawn an otherwise 'meh' hand but have enough mana to want to keep it. I feel like I'd switch out Wedding Invitation for Tome of Legends, you certainly want to cast your Commander and he can give EVERYONE Lifelink. I feel like if you've got this many 'big mana' sources in here you could switch out Diabolic Tutor for the much, much flashier Diabolic Revelation, I love it in a weird Rakdos list that often ends up with too much mana, if you can cast it for 9 or more you're just getting a bespoke hand! The other option I'd consider switching out Diabolic Tutor for is Rune-Scarred Demon, mostly because it gives you a fairly big blocker to help you survive when you find your win con, but IMHO Revelation is way more fun (it's also a gorgeous foil). You might try out Decree of Pain over In Garruk's Wake, the card draw is usually VERY good, and sometimes you actually need an instant speed -2/-2 effect to kill a token army before the opponent can resolve their Craterhoof. I'm lowkey shocked to see you're not running a War Room in here, I think it's certainly worth a look. If you're fine with combos and already have Bolas' Citadel in here, maybe Sensei's Divining Top and Aetherflux Reservoir as a back up combo? Top and Citadel are amazing, as is Reservoir with Citadel, but all 3 should win on the spot. Now that I think about it you could probably benefit from Reservoir even without the other two, if your deck is working correctly you're probably at a solid life total and can threaten to 1-shot someone with the Reservoir.

As for removal, they cost a bit of life, but you can easily afford it so maybe Ashes to Ashes and Reckless Spite? I've always liked Cannibalize, it's exile on top of everything, including being a potential buff if you need 2 more damage from a swing. I've heard only good things about Curtains' Call, it's busted in a 4 player game. Do or Die and Make an Example are both impressive cards, even if they are Sorceries they can cripple an opponent, though Make an Example is IMHO the Gold Standard of sorcery speed removal for creatures, it gets around almost any protection and always removes at worst the creature you most want gone from EACH opponent, that's insane value for only 4 mana. There is also Wicked Pact *list*, it's not a 'great' card but the art is cool on some versions, and it's still a 2 for 1. TBH I don't think I'd run more than 2 removal spells that only hit non-Black creatures, but one or two is rarely a problem in my experience. Feed the Swarm is a pretty wild colour break, this lets you blow up an Enchantment, something Black normally can't do, this can save your bacon sometimes. It's a bit of a weird card, but Transmogrifying Wand is a criminally underplayed card, removing 1 creature isn't great value, but the 2nd and 3rd creature feels pretty amazing. Just thought of one of my old favourites for any big mana deck with Black in it, Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief is removal on a flying stick that is incredibly powerful late game.

Nunu312 on Calling All Doctors!

7 months ago

While I might like to suggest Maskwood Nexus... I don't actually think it helps you considering the lack of non-doctor creatures. It may still be useful though for pushing you over the line to reach 13.

Three Tree City is a card that might be good though.

K-9, Mark I is really good. Your board state is very important to you so forcing people to pay just a little extra to interfere with it might help you edge out a game. But at the same time, several of the doctors have to attack to activate their abilities and this will help them not die when the do so. Psychic Paper and can also do something rather similar, but might also get you that extra doctor you need. Brotherhood Regalia is another similar card.

I like where you're going with Glasspool Mimic  ^Flip, but it wont bypass legendary. Instead Sakashima the Impostor and Sakashima of a Thousand Faces can both help get around this. Even if they aren't also land.

Similarly Mirror Box is good... but doesn't synergise with what you're doing as you don't have many duplicators for it to work with. I feel like you were going a bit more for Helm of the Host?

All in all though, these are just minor tweaks, the question is what part of the game does this deck operate around? Many of the doctors are spread over a lot of the game, which leads to them being quite unfocused. But I feel you are bringing this towards being a very upkeep centric deck? The question is how to maximise that. It will help Gallifrey Stands go off, but will also help your suspended cards and other triggered effects.

Lithoform Engine could help you in several ways, duplicating doctors, but also duplicating the trigger effect of Gallifrey Stands. While not quite as useful, Annie Joins Up will also double the triggers on your doctors. Roaming Throne is also a trigger doubler... though it's a little dull because it's in every bloody deck now.

Paradox Haze similarly gets you that extra upkeep, but it falls into the problem that a lot of such things do... One extra upkeep per turn is good, but a turn is a long time. While it may be the best option, a way to get creatures into play might be a better slot in your deck?

But there is also another two problems all decks have, mana and getting the right cards. Firstly, mana. You have a lot of expensive cards and you want to be able to cast all of them. Lotus Petal is good... but I don't see it being better than a normal mana rock as you have no ability to recurse it for free. Herald's Horn would probably be better as it can remove about 25% off the cost of all your important cards, and lets you take a peek for them. Leyline of the Guildpact can help with mana fixing, though wont actually set you ahead, as would Three Tree Mascot (which also counts as a doctor). Patchwork Banner is a newer mana rock that helps buff your guys a little. Mirari's Wake is also a solid mana doubler, if a little expensive.

Kinnan, Bonder ProdigyGC is also very cheap and solid, though works better if you have more mana rocks.

You've got a bit of recursion from The Eighth Doctor, which is more likely to turn up due to your commander, but that means that you can take advantage of the search lands. It would require changing out a lot of the land you do have, but if you use the typed dual lands like Canopy Vista or Godless Shrine (because you may need 1 mana more than 2 life), you can search for them and then recurse the search land like Flooded Strand (which could search for any dual land as long as it's part plains or part island). If you want to find what land works like this it's best to google mtg land or some such, there are whole websites dedicated to it. Considering you're running 5 colours, Bloom Tender and Faeburrow Elder can also help supercharge your mana.

As for getting cards, I feel like you've got a decent search to get the doctors, but you are a little lacking in turn to turn draw. This often means you'll end up sitting in a game with only one card to play a turn and that's not fun. The One RingGC is another groan worthy staple for how good it is (and therefore in everything), but only really relevant if you're running proxies. Collector's Vault is something I'm fond of, while it wont give you card advantage, it's cheap and you don't really mind discarding doctors anyway. Sylvan Library is also insanely powerful.

A lot of the search you do use is really expensive as well. Conflux and Diabolic Revelation are good... but they each cost a huge amount of mana, after which you still have to actually cast the cards. These are things that might help you on turn 10+ without a lot of acceleration. Instead something to get your creatures directly onto the battlefield like Victimize or possibly Pyre of Heroes.

Anyway, that's enough from me for now. Remember, look for cards that get you to your win conditions. Omniscience is great, but only if you can cast it AND if you've got the cards to play AND they are cards that lead you to victory. Perhaps 1 mana per turn or 2 cards might have been more useful.

DreadKhan on bungo

11 months ago

I'm not super familiar with Zombie decks (and have zero experience with Crime decks), but I think I can spot a few cards that you could probably cut for something better. Brain Pry seems like it'd be embarrassing to cast, I'd cut this unless you want actively bad cards (I keep them in some decks so I know when I'm drawing truly awful, but it's very suboptimal). Crippling Fear seems pretty small when there is Kindred Dominance and even Necromantic Selection, either of these is a much bigger, beefier effect. Diabolic Tutor is not a very good card IMHO, if you have access to large amounts of mana potentially (and you do from multiple sources) Diabolic Revelation is a much bigger, better effect, I like to run it with Emergence Zone. Gravestorm is a pretty uneven card if your Commander isn't out, I'd cut this for Phyrexian Arena, your Commander comes out late and resolving Arena on turn 3 feels amazing, if you miss 2 or 3 free cards you might not even be able to cast Gisa. I feel like I'd run Sadistic Hypnotist over Cabal Therapist, even at 5 mana the effect is so much stronger. I might be missing something with Hunted Bonebrute, it's not a Zombie, and Hunted Horror exists, offering a much stronger political play. I usually like Keen Duelist, but your MV might not be high enough to support this kind of effect, in general you should be regularly walloping your opponent with huge MV stuff to justify this. I guess if you throw in Kindred Dominance and/or Necromantic Selection Duelist gets a bit better, but your MV probably needs to be closer to 4 or this will just give free cards to opponents unless your Commander is out (and people are going to be wiping you a lot I suspect). Unless you throw an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in I don't know if Oblivion Sower is good enough, ymmv. If you already have it by all means keep it in, but I feel like Urza's Incubator is not a very good card in here? You have a lot of {B} mana requirements, and your zombies aren't especially big overall, I'd switch this for Sceptre of Eternal Glory if possible.

This is a bit out in left field, but can you imagine if you have Zombie Trailblazer out with your Commander and an Amulet of Vigor? That's infinite, right? Not sure if you want infinites or not, just wanted to mention it (because it'd be a sweet combo because you'd still need Haste or your Altar of Dementia, so it'd still be a 'look out next turn!' thing at 3 cards).

Generally I'd say discard effects are a lot less powerful the less of them you use, but I get that you want to commit crimes in here, perhaps you could look into repeatable removal sources? Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief is a budget card that can commit a crime for BB, and if you have extra mana you can also pump Drana while killing off Blockers. You might also try out Transmogrifying Wand, this can commit 3 very useful crimes, 2/4 vanillas are about as useful as floppy carrots in Commander, especially compared to 3 of the best creatures on the board (which you can reanimate I guess, since it's a Destroy effect). There is always good old Royal Assassin, this is SO MUCH better than Urza's Glasses in practice, and it's only BB more to make a gigantic impact on the board.

Here's some stuff you might consider adding, Night's Whisper is a very good low-to-the-ground card draw effect, as is Sign in Blood, both can help you get your Commander out on time more consistently. Sign can even be used to finish off a vulnerable opponent in a pinch. You also might be curious about War Room and Bonders' Enclave, both are lands that can draw, very useful with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.

Sorry if I missed some synergies, I like the idea of this deck but am a bit agog at how much this Commander can do if properly supported, Ward seems like major overkill! Have fun out there!

DemonDragonJ on Mind Over Matter

11 months ago

I have replaced Diabolic Revelation with Rune-Scarred Demon, which increased the average converted mana cost of this deck from 3.85 to 3.89, but that increase is deceptive, since I would need to spend at least 7 mana on the former card to truly receive value from it, and I also am very fond of demons, so I am very pleased with this decision.

DemonDragonJ on Diabolic Revelation or Rune-Scarred Demon?

11 months ago

Most of the users here seem to be suggestion that I use the demon, and I agree with them, but I simply wished for reassurance, so I shall make that change, since Diabolic Revelation is a nice card, but I would need to spend at least 2 mana, ideally at least 3 mana, on {X} to truly receive good value from the spell, which may leave me with no mana to cast any of the cards that I find, whereas the demon shall provide me with a sizeable creature for attacking and blocking while I wait for my next turn, on which I can cast the card that I found, presuming that I do not have sufficient mana to cast it, on the same turn that I find it.

RiotRunner789, my Sen Triplets deck does not have major focus on reanimating creatures, as it is a control deck, so I shall need large and powerful creatures to protect myself while I assemble my forces and then finish off my opponents, once I have sufficiently established my presence in the game.

Niko9 on Diabolic Revelation or Rune-Scarred Demon?

11 months ago

Hmm, I think in general I'd say Rune-Scarred Demon is better, but in your deck you have a lot of interaction and a lot of cards that are good for specific situations, and I actually think Diabolic Revelation might be better to set up multiple plays, or get something to counter another player and something to further your board at the same time.

I almost hate to suggest it because it may be too mean, but what do you think about something like Overburden or Mana Breach to load up opponent's hands with lands? Expel from Orazca is a favorite card of mine and might also work, return a card you want to play with Sen, or if in ascend, then it's brutal because you remove a threat and screw up their next draw.

Also, there's no way it works, but Patron of the Moon doesn't work with Sen Triplets does it? It does say your hand, so I assume you can't play lands with patron from an opponent's hand, but maybe? It would just be a fun play to bounce lands back to their hand and then jam them out on your field. Doubt it works, but hey, the patron kami's will get their day!

RiotRunner789 on Diabolic Revelation or Rune-Scarred Demon?

11 months ago

How many times has Diabolic Revelation netted you 3+ cards? Did you win the same or next turn? How many times has it been a dead card or only netted 1 or 2 cards?

7 mana is also a lot for a tutor. Does your deck have decent recursion? Can you play Entomb then Reanimate?

In a vacuum, I'd go with the demon but personally I'd play a mana rock or some synergy piece over expensive tutors.