Drana's Emissary

Creature — Vampire Cleric Ally

Flying

At the beginning of your upkeep, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.

Discussion (51)

Azeworai on Life Drain - EDH

3 weeks ago

Alright, I have some suggestions. Now, never have I dipped in the complot of nocent life-gain, but I do see some follies withal the current decklist.

So, ramp and card draw are necessities of any commander strategy. I typically play decks that dump their hands aggressively, thus I have far more draw than normal. Around 34 slots grant me card advantage and 11 slots are for ramp. Here, you have four cards of ramp and five cards of draw. Granted, one of the draw engines is your commander, but that's six-mana afore it does so.

Furthermore, there are plenty of cards in here that just lack reach. Ajani's Sunstriker is horrid to draw turn 8 and onwards. It may be aggressive betime in the match, yet it is outclassed far too quickly.

So, what I'd cut due to card quality: Agent of Masks, Ajani's Sunstriker, Drana's Emissary, Fog Bank, Goldenglow Moth, Grim Guardian, Night Market Lookout, Oreskos Sun Guide, Pride Guardian, Servant of Tymaret, Wall of Essence, Elixir of Immortality, Fountain of Renewal, Narrow Escape, Spell Pierce, and Mana Leak.

Alright, same drill but I wish to offer some substantiation afore I denunciate these.

1. Coastal Piracy is a very potent card in decks possessing cheap, evasive creatures. This deck does not, thence I would advise ablating it; merely too inutile.

2. Sinister Possession and Stab Wound, no matter how much I love the Wound, are easily removed. A sacrifice outlet just negates this effect. The Possession in particular doesn't seem to do anything against certain creatures. Chainer, Dementia Master or Oracle of Mul Daya just don't oft attack or block. Even if, it is a mere two damage. Sure, it may stack quickly, but there are better ways to do so.

3. Condescend is just outclassed so quickly. Counterspells above two mana must do something potent, and this is potentially more. Scrying 2 is fine, but that also doesn't do much.

4. I have never seen Dramatic Rescue ere now, but I know not why it would be run. Just put in a Swords.

5. Dismiss into Dream is sweet, but this deck cannot deem to hent much from it.

Lovely! Now upon what I would add.

Given that the curve is rather high, I'd add Pristine Talisman; Arcane Signet; the talismans of dominance, progress, and hierarchy; Orzhov, Azorius, and Dimir signet; Mind Stone; and Worn Powerstone. This should grant you later plays far earlier in any match.

Unto thee, benison in card draw. Painful Truths is one I much enjoy. Sign in Blood or Night's Whisper are cheap and efficient. Phyrexian Arena and Underworld Connections go in quite a few decks. Well of Lost Dreams is just splendid. Fact or Fiction is never bad. Dawn of Hope is slow but on-theme. Erebos, God of the Dead seems all too perfect due to its static and activated abilities. Dream Trawler is awfully enticing for gameplans such as this. Lastly, Unfulfilled Desires is a hidden gem that I play in any deck that produces blue and black mana.

Of course, just some efficient engines and finishers. Debt to the Deathless and Exsanguinate are each nocent once resolved. K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth could also be fine, but lacking depending on your hand, for it cares only if the cost is black. Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord fetches fallen utility creatures from the yard and proffers much in life-gain. Aetherflux Reservoir does much in murdering everyone, too.

I'd recommend some more wraths in this deck. Fumigate is perfect, Merciless Eviction or Austere Command deal with those pesky artifacts efficiently, Elspeth, Sun's Champion is never bad, Supreme Verdict is fine though pricey, or Kaya's Wrath is always lovely. Take your pick.

Okay, now for some other upgrades on the basics of the deck. Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Abolish, Return to Dust, Murderous Rider, Anguished Unmaking, Despark, Hero's Downfall, Reality Shift, Generous Gift, Pongify, Rapid Hybridization, and Heliod's Intervention all remove permanents efficiently and at instant speed. Vindicate is fine but a sorcery.

As options for better counterspells, Absorb, Counterspell, Negate, Countersquall, and Dovin's Veto are all cheap whiles bearing value at all moments in the game.

Finally, some more life gain payoffs as consideration: Authority of the Consuls has oft shut down my strategies, Ajani's Pridemate gets far too large, Blind Obedience does something similar, Divinity of Pride and Serra Ascendant are giant threats in their own right, Bloodthirsty Aerialist does the same, Propaganda and Ghostly Prison make opponents pay to deal damage, Soul Warden and Soul's Attendant are early drops that allow for quite a bit of life to be gained, Archangel of Thune is always potent, Vona, Butcher of Magan is spicey, Angel of Vitality bolsters your engine, Boon Reflection doubles it, Twilight Prophet can get out of hand, Beacon of Immortality puts you heavensly ahead, Ajani, Strength of the Pride can win games on its own, and Felidar Sovereign demands an immediate answer.

That's all from me! Have a lovely day.

Oh, and I suppose I'll put a deck of my own here. Let the Nightmare Go On.. is a constant favourite of mine and The Lands Restored offers commensurate enjoyment.

Thank you and farewell.

Ziu on How much life do I have? I stopped counting.

2 months ago

I like the list! It is comparable to a Lifedrain deck with Athreos, God of Passage as commander that I recently created. You focus on lifegain instead but I think both decks are fun and interactive to play. Three things I noticed: 1) Focussing on gaining life, Daxos, Blessed by the Sun may fit better for you than Suture Priest. 2) Instead of Drana's Emissary there are lots of options that potentially provide more than one trigger per round (e.g. Blood Artist, see my decklist). 3) I have read that the infinite combo of Sanguine Bond and Exquisite Blood does not let you win the game as long as you cannot interrupt the infinite triggers (e.g. by destroying one of them).

Feedback/Likes on my deck appreciated :)

xSKINCOLLECTORx on Teysa is the True heir to the Orzhov Throne

4 months ago

-Drana's Emissary +Giver of Runes

Roo182 on Karlov/Sorin Blessed

4 months ago

Update - I added Vizkopa Guildmage and took out Drana's Emissary

Arktaurous on Edgar Markov Vampires

4 months ago

Great deck!

I would swap Vampire Cutthroat with Vampire of the Dire Moon because deathtouch is handier than skulk.

I would get Dark Impostor in there. You could swap out Stromkirk Condemned,Vampire Hexmage, or Vampire Nocturnus. More than half your deck isn't black cards so Vampire Nocturnus might not be as handy not to mention showing your opponent your next draw is not usually advantageous.

Purphoros, God of the Forge is kinda expensive for a chance at extra damage. Consider Brutal Hordechief; relative same cost but more bang for your buck. Along with Sanctum Seeker and say Foul-Tongue Shriek you could be doing a ton of damage.

I would swap Basalt Monolith out for Ashnod's Altar. A lot more mana production, a lot more synergy with other cards in the deck, less expensive, more utility est.

I think you really need some card draw in there but I'm not sure how to make those changes. You could use cards like Oathsworn Vampire as a way to sacrifice a creature for cards like Altar's Reap, Carnage Altar,Costly Plunder, Dredge, Merciless Resolve, Morbid Curiosity, Phyrexian Vault, Reprocess, Skulltap, or Vampiric Rites.

Idol of Oblivion could get you some extra card draw with all of Edgar's token generation.

Cliffhaven Vampire, Defiant Bloodlord, and Epicure of Blood are all worthy of consideration.

Drana's Emissary is also nice to have early game.

LordBlackblade on Karlov/Sorin Blessed

4 months ago

And it looks like spoilers don't work in comments, at least not for me! So much for keeping things neat. Anyway, here's what I wanted to say:

Cuts

Lands

• Esper Panorama - Seems unnecessary in a two color deck. If you build it right, color fixing should never be a problem

• Geier Reach Sanitarium - You have access to better card draw effects in black

• Kabira Crossroads - One time life gain doesn't make up for coming in tapped

• Memorial to Folly - This one is just okay. The effect is alright, probably not worth losing a land for in my opinion

• Orzhov Guildgate - I personally avoid tap lands like the plague, they slow you down to much in my opinion

• Radiant Fountain - One time life gain doesn't make up for this not producing colored mana

• Scoured Barrens - See Kabira Crossroads

Enchantments

• Curse of Fool's Wisdom - This really screws over one opponent, but what you should be shooting for is stuff that does "splash damage" so to speak, remember, you will usually have three or more opponents in a game.

Artifacts

• Armillary Sphere - This one is just okay. Ensures you hit land drops, but doesn't boost you

• Bontu's Monument - I don't feel like you're running enough creatures for this effect to pay off

• Fountain of Renewal - "On your upkeep" effects seem really powerful, but on a multiplayer format, your upkeep happens less often relatively speaking. It's not terrible for the cost, but I'm sure we can do better

Sorceries

• Final Parting - I don't think you have enough graveyard interaction to make this better than other tutors

Creatures

• Drana's Emissary - See Fountain of Renewal

• Ranger of Eos - This can only snag four of your creatures. Granted those creatures are pretty good for your strategey, but I personally don't think it is worth it

Instants

• Murder - There are definitely better kill spells we can find

• Ray of Distortion - Not bad, you're definitely getting that choice is key in EDH; however, I think there are a couple better options to choose from

Adds

Enchantments

• Ashes of the Abhorrent - Deathgreeter in enchantment form. Also hoses some graveyard strategies

Artifacts

• Sun Droplet - This card is a sleeper! Not that it says each upkeep, helping you stack those sweet, sweet Karlov triggers

• Talisman of Hierarchy - I love the talismans. Great rocks in any multicolor EDH deck in my opinion

Sorceries

• Read the Bones - One of my favorite black draw spells. Card selection plus draw is generally very powerful

• Syphon Mind - A critically underplayed draw spell in my opinion. Puts you up quite a few cards on each opponent

Creatures

• Blood Artist - This guy does work in so many situations. Usually an auto-target in most metas, that just goes to show how powerful the effect is

• Cliffhaven Vampire - If you're going to run Sanguine Bond, you should consider this guy too

• Deathgreeter - A lower-aggro Blood Artist. Most people won't mind the life gain, and Karlov can get swol

• Divinity of Pride - Similar to Serra Ascendant, big beater for cheap plus lifelink!

• Vizkopa Guildmage - See Cliffhaven Vampire

Instants

• Return to Dust - Gives you options and can snag two cards for one. Considered a staple in some circles

(I've been on this site a long time and I still haven't figured out the quirks of coding on here all that well!)

LordBlackblade on Karlov/Sorin Blessed

4 months ago

I took a gander. Honestly, not bad for you first list!

Here are some adds that might be worth considering. I know multimedia already recommended some of these, but here is my take:

Adds Show

Enchantments

• Ashes of the Abhorrent - Deathgreeter in enchantment form. Also hoses some graveyard strategies

Artifacts

• Sun Droplet - This card is a sleeper! Not that it says each upkeep, helping you stack those sweet, sweet Karlov triggers

• Talisman of Hierarchy - I love the talismans. Great rocks in any multicolor EDH deck in my opinion

Sorceries

• Read the Bones - One of my favorite black draw spells. Card selection plus draw is generally very powerful

• Syphon Mind - A critically underplayed draw spell in my opinion. Puts you up quite a few cards on each opponent

Creatures

• Blood Artist - This guy does work in so many situations. Usually an auto-target in most metas, that just goes to show how powerful the effect is

• Cliffhaven Vampire - If you're going to run Sanguine Bond, you should consider this guy too

• Deathgreeter - A lower-aggro Blood Artist. Most people won't mind the life gain, and Karlov can get swol

• Divinity of Pride - Similar to Serra Ascendant, big beater for cheap plus lifelink!

• Vizkopa Guildmage - See Cliffhaven Vampire

Instants

• Return to Dust - Gives you options and can snag two cards for one. Considered a staple in some circles

Here are my cut recommendations to make room for upgrades/changes:

Cuts Show

Lands

• Esper Panorama - Seems unnecessary in a two color deck. If you build it right, color fixing should never be a problem

• Geier Reach Sanitarium - You have access to better card draw effects in black

• Kabira Crossroads - One time life gain doesn't make up for coming in tapped

• Memorial to Folly - This one is just okay. The effect is alright, probably not worth losing a land for in my opinion

• Orzhov Guildgate - I personally avoid tap lands like the plague, they slow you down to much in my opinion

• Radiant Fountain - One time life gain doesn't make up for this not producing colored mana

• Scoured Barrens - See Kabira Crossroads

Enchantments

• Curse of Fool's Wisdom - This really screws over one opponent, but what you should be shooting for is stuff that does "splash damage" so to speak, remember, you will usually have three or more opponents in a game.

Artifacts

• Armillary Sphere - This one is just okay. Ensures you hit land drops, but doesn't boost you

• Bontu's Monument - I don't feel like you're running enough creatures for this effect to pay off

• Fountain of Renewal - "On your upkeep" effects seem really powerful, but on a multiplayer format, your upkeep happens less often relatively speaking. It's not terrible for the cost, but I'm sure we can do better

Sorceries

• Final Parting - I don't think you have enough graveyard interaction to make this better than other tutors

Creatures

• Drana's Emissary - See Fountain of Renewal

• Ranger of Eos - This can only snag four of your creatures. Granted those creatures are pretty good for your strategey, but I personally don't think it is worth it

Instants

• Murder - There are definitely better kill spells we can find

• Ray of Distortion - Not bad, you're definitely getting that choice is key in EDH; however, I think there are a couple better options to choose from

ZendikariWol on

6 months ago

This is two different decks fighting each other for space.

One deck is BW Ally lifegain/rally. For that, you want to be running Bloodbond Vampire, Drana's Emissary, Kalastria Healer (which absolutely wins games), Zulaport Cutthroat, maybe Lantern Scout.

The other is Mono-White lifegain. Ajani's Welcome, Daxos, Blessed by the Sun, Authority of the Consuls, Archangel of Thune, Ashes of the Abhorrent for the sideboard, maybe Linden, the Steadfast Queen, Lone Rider  ^Flip, perhaps, as a finisher, Nyx-Fleece Ram is stunningly potent against fast creature decks, in a similar vein to the also-pioneer-legal Wall of Essence.

I think your first step in making improvements to this deck is deciding which of these your deck wants to be.