Magus of the Abyss

Creature — Human Wizard

At the beginning of each player's upkeep, destroy target nonartifact creature that player controls of their choice. It can't be regenerated.

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 (51)

Andramalech on Squee_Spirit_Guide

2 years ago

All right Squee_Spirit_Guide. It's time for the build-around challenge! When I crafted the list for Balaam__ I hand selected things I believed would interest them.

And without further ado, I introduce the "Martyr or Magus" challenge? Will you pick...

Martyr?

• Martyr of Sands
• Martyr of Frost
• Martyr of Bones
• Martyr of Ashes
• Martyr of Spores

Magus?

• Magus of the Tabernacle
• Magus of the Disk
• Magus of the Jar
• Magus of the Bazaar
• Magus of the Mirror
• Magus of the Abyss
• Magus of the Wheel
• Magus of the Scroll
• Magus of the Vineyard
• Magus of the Candelabra

So do these creatures intrigue you? We have plenty of options for building possibilities, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on other ideas if this falls short.

DaringApprentice on Every Rose Has Its Thorns V2

2 years ago

Here are some suggestions:

Utility Lands: Bojuka Bog, Hagra Mauling  ^Flip

Ramp: Arcane Signet, Sword of the Animist, Burnished Hart, Canoptek Wraith, Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion, Sifter of Skulls, Solemn Simulacrum

Card Draw: Laelia, the Blade Reforged, Morbid Opportunist, Keep Watch, Breya's Apprentice, Moonveil Regent, Smothering Abomination, Reconnaissance Mission, Necrologia, Future Sight, Kothophed, Soul Hoarder, Will Kenrith, Harvester of Souls, Ruin Grinder, Deepfathom Skulker, Sandstone Oracle

Targeted Removal: Rapid Hybridization, Wild Magic Surge, Terminate, Resculpt, Reality Shift, Forbid, Daring Apprentice, Transmogrifying Wand, Ravenous Chupacabra, Chaos Defiler, Glorybringer, Mystic Confluence, Necron Deathmark, Reaper from the Abyss, Rowan Kenrith, Curtains' Call, Duplicant, Meteor Golem

Board Wipes: Nevinyrral's Disk, The Phasing of Zhalfir, Whelming Wave, Ixidron, Blood on the Snow, Deathbringer Regent, Necromantic Selection

Synergy: Ghoulish Procession, Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia, Drana, Liberator of Malakir, Blight Mound, Braids, Arisen Nightmare, Fleshbag Marauder, Gravelighter, Irenicus's Vile Duplication, Magus of the Abyss, Anowon, the Ruin Sage, Ruthless Winnower, Ogre Slumlord

Threats: Quietus Spike, Elturel Survivors, Relentless Assault, Gratuitous Violence, Sarkhan the Masterless, Westgate Regent, Precursor Golem, Necropolis Regent, Walk the Aeons, Combustible Gearhulk, Embercleave, Sharding Sphinx, Angrath's Marauders

DaringApprentice on Are You Sure You Want to Do That? V2

2 years ago

I'm well, hope you are, too! I don't have quite enough time as I thought I might to go through an in-depth suggestion process, but I've put the highlights below:

Fixing Lands: Path of Ancestry, Exotic Orchard, Caves of Koilos, Vivid Meadow, Vivid Marsh, Vivid Crag, Thriving Heath, Thriving Moor, Thriving Bluff, Citadel Gate, Black Dragon Gate

Utility Lands: Bojuka Bog, Hagra Mauling  ^Flip, Sanctum of Eternity

Card Draw: Morbid Opportunist, Smothering Abomination, Necrologia

Targeted Removal: Wild Magic Surge, Chaos Warp, Oblation, Mortify, Vindicate, Mangara of Corondor, Transmogrifying Wand, Nahiri, the Harbinger, Curtains' Call

Board Wipes: Out of Time, Kaya's Wrath, Depopulate, Shatter the Sky, Nevinyrral's Disk, Sublime Exhalation

Selective Board Wipes: Slaughter the Strong, Divine Reckoning, Cataclysmic Gearhulk, Sculpted Sunburst, Single Combat

Synergy Cards: Braids, Arisen Nightmare, Magus of the Abyss, Anowon, the Ruin Sage, Ruthless Winnower, Ogre Slumlord

Mana_Mythic_Legendary on Pursuing Perfection, Part 3: Mono-Black …

3 years ago

This was hard, extremely so: this was very nearly sixteen commanders. Black is well-suited to stand alone, and there are so, so many good choices that I’ve developed a newfound respect for anyone who tries to top ten black. This is almost my favorite color, and while it may be limited in dealing with anything not a creature, graveyard, or a card in hand, good GOD can it deal. All the tutors, all the kill spells, creatures of the night, what music… Sorry, it’s easy to go full Dracula in this area of the pie. In summary, I’ve a lot more to say on this subject than the colors we’ve already covered. However, as always in this project, the point is to celebrate three thematic elements, not drool over all the ludicrous power in this necrotic slice of the pie. Today we’re limiting ourselves to three pervading archetypes: life, death, and graveyard manipulation.

Life

White is a respectable powerhouse in this arena, but black takes center stage with undeniably better style. Whereas white just gains it, playing black means treating your life total as just one more resource to use, abuse, and exploit. Vampirism, folks, and not the glittery sort either. Cruel, properly thirsty vampirism, all about chugging opponents like cheap beer. And if you enjoy masochistic chicaneries that trade life for cards, removal, mana, and eventually victory, look no further.

This guy. This glorious, ludicrous guy. General damage? Check. Lifelink? Check. Game-warping mechanic? Great big ol’ hissing, honking, ball-biting check. A peak, high performance example of boom/bust gameplay. Just be sure to draw as many cards as you can and pray that you find quality lifegain to patch the holes you’ll be blowing in yourself.

Here’s the thing: in mono-black, whenever you gain life it’s at someone else’s expense. An effect that doubles said expense? Please and thank you. board wide Lifelink? Also yes. Throw down some grunts, swipe right, and watch your peanut gallery of jerks like the Blood Artist heckle opponents to death.

You know what’s a great defense, command damage notwithstanding? A huge life total. This is partly why red struggles in EDH: hard to beat down someone with piles of life and a few choice defensive options. In some ways it’s just as hard to vampire them to death. You know who doesn’t care? Erebos. Old Erebos is singularly unimpressed by new Heliod’s jank, and happy to sweeten the deal with reliable draw for a modest fee of mana and life.

Death

The past few years have seen respectable creature removal cropping up even in blue and green. White has oodles of fantastic board wipes, and red can hose everything down with direct damage. But compared to black, they’re all posers. Shrinking creatures, sacrifice and discard are all primarily black stables. Toxic Deluge laughs at your indestructible legions. Grave Pact is amused by your shroud, and will bury you in it. This is the color of Go for the Throat, Diabolic Edict, and Tragic Slip. When black comes for your minions, you better have a mountain of solutions, otherwise the only way to save said minions is to take them off the field yourself.

Spoiler alert: three of the Kamigawa ascendants are going to feature in these articles, and Kuon is the meanest (since the blue one got banned, anyway). I speak from gleefully shameless experience here. For the low, low price of three creatures and a modest downpayment of another every turn, black sacrifice stax can be yours. Add fun things like Magus of the Abyss, Dread Return, and Fleshbag Marauder and all his rude, rude cousins. Trust me on this: Kuon is, if you’ll pardon the pun, enchantingly nasty.

Very few things like boardwipes. However, provided they’ve had a snack first, Yahenni likes them just fine. An affordable commander with a sac outlet (indestructibility on a stick :D) who actively rewards slaughtering anything that could block? Sold! Throw in Fallen Ideal. You won’t be sorry.

In my last article I referred to blue as the heavyweight champion of yoink, but that’s not to say there aren’t other colors in the ring. Forcing opponents to sacrifice creatures and discard cards are both black staples, and boy howdy does Tergrid reward such misbehavior (though the adorable Tinybones, Trinket Thief may be more a discard fiend's speed). If tokens aren’t in the local meta, this will change that.

Graveyard Manipulation

Green shares a bit of this glory: there’s a pervasive theme in green of both exiling and returning cards to the hand from there. BUT… Black is still the unequivocal graveyard color, leaving the charge in both filling and emptying it, especially of creatures and onto the field. Bojuka Bog. Animate Dead. Living Death. Green may have some good tricks here, but few so dirty as an Entomb followed by Reanimate. So, so dirty. I saw it only once, but it was a turn two Terastodon. Once was enough.

Reanimator decks got you down? Here’s a bone, friends. Stealing your opponent’s guys is one thing. Exiling said guys when their owners wipe your stolen board is another. Chainer doesn’t like choices. Chainer likes it all. And Chainer, above all else, loves to break your opponent’s heads with their own toys.

Convinced I like Kamigawa yet? I used to play this janky beast in a standard spirit deck. These days, my thoughts run first to a big pile of Shadowborn Apostle and assorted demons, but that’s just the easy first on the list of tricksy things up Shirei’s sleeve. Again, Blood Artist and friends. Again, deeply unhappy opponents.

Here’s horror for you. Anyone who doesn’t admit to a healthy bout of nervousness when this guy hits the field is a liar (or playing Orbs of Warding). Coming or going, yours or theirs, killed or milled or discarded, if the graveyard is involved then the good syr gets his ping. Have yourself a time with any number of silly combos and tactics: your opponents are guaranteed a Tortured Existence.

And, for my personal favorite...

I ran Marrow-Gnawer for a time, but offloaded it when I realized that I was bored by the deck. A few years later I built Kuon, who quickly became infamous in my playgroup. However, aspects of the deck that I particularly enjoyed were better served when I switched to this villainous wench. With a decent draw effect (especially with Thornbite Staff) and an imminently breakable ping engine, Ayara is BRUTAL with proper support. Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder. Army of the Damned. And the game-winning monstrosity itself, Plague of Vermin. Revel in countless bodies to exploit as only black can and watch your opponents die of Ayara’s approval.

That's it for this round. Thoughts and questions are welcome. I hope you enjoyed it, and will come back next week for Red!

Prior Articles:

Mono-White

Mono-Blue

Vash13 on Meren's Gravediggers (Green/black staxx hell)

4 years ago

If your going for a meren stax build there are some fun cards to consider, Sheoldred, Whispering One is a power house for you and against your opponents, Necropotence should be in every black deck, Grave Pact/Dictate of Erebos both lock out your opponents nicely with all the sacing you intend, Life from the Loam does lots of work in any graveyard deck, if you still want combos and to lock Melira, Sylvok Outcast pairs well with many cards to create grave stax combos such as Woodfall Primus, Puppeteer Clique are good ones to control your opponents graveyard and boardstate, Sadistic Hypnotist can help control their hand, Magus of the Abyss is also fun since everyone has to sac then it can sac itself just to have meren return it at turns end, (on the issue of mana real quick tho since you have all the other mana dorks you might as well pick up an Elves of Deep Shadow to complete.) Combo all this with all the free sac outlets you can find like Altar of Dementia/Ashnod's Altar type cards. well there are others but I think you get the idea, meren works really well with the creature and sac based stax not so much as with the more classic stax requiring tapping and cost shenanigans, tbh meren can be played in lots of different ways, hopefully some of this helps :)

dbpunk on Why Are Empress Galina and …

4 years ago

Tbh theres also better, cheaper alternatives to both.

For Tsabo you have Isochron Scepter and any 2 or 1 mana instant kill spell at 2, you can use Magus of the Abyss, etc. Hell for the same effect nearly exactly, you have Avatar of Woe, which is usually a two drop when you cast it.

For Gallina, literally anything that lets you take control of a creature will do it. Theres plenty of spells that let you steal a creature without paying , and for her mana cost exactly and 1 less power you can use Beguiler of Wills.

Vash13 on

4 years ago

Sheoldred, Whispering One, Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, Triskelion,Phyrexian Devourer, Grave Pact, Necrotic Ooze, Magus of the Abyss, Black Sun's Zenith, Necromantic Selection, I think would all play nicely here plus many more since mike is the key to tons of mono black combos, but wow what a crazy commander, it almost reads "whether I win or not, you won't like me" lol

Snickles@EDH_only on Card creation challenge

4 years ago

Gix, First Praetor

Legendary Planeswalker - Gix

At the begining of each players turn, they sacrifice a non-artifact creature.

+2: Put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target non-artifact creature. that creature becomes an artifact in addition to its other types.

-8: Each opponent gains an emblem with "whenever a card is put into your graveyard from anywhere, you lose 2 life, and each player without an emblem gains 2 life."

4

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a mix of Ashnod's Transmogrant, Magus of the Abyss, and Bloodchief Ascension, feels kinda neat.

make a white card that draws, but on-flavor for white