Keeper of the Dead

Creature — Human Wizard

(Black), Tap: Destroy target nonblack creature controlled by an opponent with at least two fewer creature cards in his or her graveyard than you.

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
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (5)

LastEdegy on Jarad vod Savo

4 years ago

wow! thanks guys for all the suggestions! I have been so busy, and haven't update much of this deck since early this year.. I will update this deck this weekend, with all the good suggestions you have given..

@king-saproling - thanks for the suggestions! I will consider those..

@casual_competitive - I'm not much of a 2 card auto win combo kind of player, especially since i already have Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord + Phyrexian Devourer in the deck.. but thanks for the suggestion!

@VEILofAUTUMN - thanks! I might add one of them, it depends on playtesting, since either of them are creatures.. maybe Deadly Rollick..

@vileplume23 - hmm.. these are good on indestructible creatures, but i can't target threats like Ravenous Chupacabra.. i'll consider those.. thanks!

@backdoorbonus - that's a cool new card! affect other players too.. i might add that! thanks for the suggestion!

@cakes25 - it's an instant graveyard fill, but it might be too slow and too random of a card recursion.. but thanks!

@TRANSFORMERS159 - thanks for the suggestions.. however, i have considered those before and it's just to slow for me since those are sorceries compared to Grapple with the Past & Grisly Salvage..

@Cloud777 - Lotleth Giant only affects one opponent, and it's hard to cast or cost higher life to Reanimate, but i might consider Doomgape.. it can be lifegain on a stick.. thanks!

@masayoshishido - Doomed Necromancer can be a cheap creature recursion, Keeper of the Dead will depend on the consistency of creatures on my graveyard, Gemrazer is good on certain situations bu can be vulnerable to single target removals that can kill gemrazer and the mutated creature, Altar of Dementia might be reconsidered.. thanks for all the suggestions!

@antlers12 - Gamekeeper might be a dud, since it needs to die then it needs to have enough noncreature cards to fill a bit of the graveyard and i don't have a lot of sac outlets.. also, creatures in the graveyard is needed for the gameplan of the deck, it might be counterintuitive to mill noncreature cards with Gamekeeper.. but Skull Prophet is a definite inclusion! thanks!

@sigiledwatch - ohh.. true, however putting things in my graveyard can be card draw in a way that's why i don't put a lot of card draws.. but i get what you mean, i might consider some of those cards.. thanks!

@mylene800 - i have considered Ghoultree before, though i'm not sure how it would be good.. i would playtest it again with the changes i would make, and check if it's worth as an inclusion.. however, Hydra Omnivore might be meh in the deck.. 6 mana, 8/8 creature that needs to connect for the best results might be hard in turns 4-6 earliest.. not having trample is not good.. but thanks for the suggestions!

@megantrongriffin13 - both Fiend Artisan and Necrotic Wound are great new changes in the deck! I'll check about Sheoldred, Whispering One.. It might not be a salty preator card, on my playgroup.. thanks!

@lola82600 - yeah! i was excited on adding some of those to my edh decks as well! I will definitely include Bala Ged Recovery  ^Flip and Tangled Florahedron  ^Flip! not sure about Agadeem's Awakening  ^Flip, depends on playtesting if the price of the card versus being useful game ender or just a land most of the time.. I'll consider Nissa of Shadowed Boughs too! Thanks for the suggestions!

masayoshishido on Jarad vod Savo

4 years ago

Gemrazer and Keeper of the Dead are also good removal on a creature, but the latter might be hard to find since it's an old card. Doomed Necromancer can be a sacrifice outlet on a creature with recursion, or you can go with the Altar of Dementia edh staple.

TrackerD on Meren: The Re:build

7 years ago

I would suggest more ramp. Ideally ramp on creatures that sacrifice themselves, yeah? Diligent Farmhand, Dawntreader Elk. Or some fatties who can help ramp/fix early like Krosan Tusker, Shefet Monitor which can cycle to draw you a card, plus either get a land to hand or to the battlefield, all while giving you a bigger body in the grave ready for Meren to use the effect again from hand or straight to the battlefield. Nothing can compare to Sakura Tribe-Elder and Wood Elves, but these guys help you stay creature heavy, feed into synergies, and helps you get to your ~49 mana/ramp sources. I would say you could cut 1-2 basics if you add in diligent and dawntreader at least. I have you at 49.

I don't know how much you like Primal Growth. It's pretty efficient if you are sacrificing a creature a lot of the time and that's feeding into your synergy, and there's even a card like Viridian Emissary who needs to be sacrificed to be useful, but I personally don't run either of those cards just because I'm in Karador (and tutor up Meren) with only 6 basic lands total. Instead I run more self-mill and include the new Ramunap Excavator, with cards like Splendid Reclamation, and Far Wanderings which is always 3 mana for 3 basics. Sure there is more risk in self-mill (make your opponents graveyard hate better) but I find that's less common than not having a sac outlet (Viridian Emissary) and/or needing my only blocker to avoid being beat up on early (Primal Growth). That being said, I think those two can definitely work better for you than me, but I would really like to say how well Splendid Reclamation has done for me, often netting 5+ lands even if cast early (turn 4-6). I feed that engine by using more cards like Ash Barrens, Myriad Landscape, the fetchlands (proxies lel- I hate expensive lands), and unfortunately some G/W lands that you can't run, but also stuff like Gather the Pack, Commune with the Gods, Crop Sigil (This can net you back a land on it's own), Drown in Filth which is removal as well.

These effects can also be found on creatures Mindwrack Demon is a beater and delirium is easy to achieve. Splinterfright, Sewer Nemesis are big X/X beaters who enable themselves to get bigger, Grim Flayer filters your draws and stocks your yard. Of course the dredge spells, four of which I find good enough to run Golgari Grave-Troll, Golgari Thug, Stinkweed Imp, and Life from the Loam. For a bonus when you run this much grave interaction you can use this nifty old creature Keeper of the Dead, oh you'll also want ways to get cards back from your graveyard besides Eternal Witness (my main target often being Splendid Reclamation) I would recommend adding Den Protector, Hag Hedge-Mage, and Greenwarden of Murasa. I find these to be generally better than Magus of the Will unless you've already got 10+ mana.

From your Maybelist I would definitely recommend Fleshbag and Merciless Executioner. Maybe Ashnod's Altar although I find Altar of Dementia to be even better without any infinite mana combos. Grave Pact is of course a house.

Some other random cards I think are include worthy, mostly cards that remove opponents stuff: Caustic Caterpillar, Avatar of Woe, Deathrite Shaman, Reclamation Sage (how could you cut this? lol), Shadowborn Demon. Possibly Oversold Cemetery, Undertaker for more recursion. Hell's Caretaker, Doomed Necromancer, Sheoldred, Whispering One, Animate Dead, Necromancy, Phyrexian Delver for recursion to the battlefield. Fauna Shaman, Traverse the Ulvenwald, Rune-Scarred Demon, Evolutionary Leap, Survival of the Fittest, Jarad's Orders for tutors.

Snacrifice on Budget Jarad, about 20 dollars

8 years ago

Always love budget decks!

You should check out Keeper of the Dead and Deglamer

Instead of Death Frenzy, you could run Infest or Biting Rain or Drown in Sorrow for a lower curve, though you lose the lifegain. Greenseeker is better than terramorphic for fetching lands, so is Silverglade Pathfinder.

Undertaker gives you more recur as well and lets you shuffle creatures in your graveyard to your hand. Hope you like the suggestions!

Postmortal_Pop on

8 years ago

Keeper of the Dead, Soot Imp, Stronghold Assassin can help combat other decks and you don't have to worry much about them