Mask of Griselbrand

Legendary Artifact — Equipment

Equipped creature has flying and lifelink.

Whenever equipped creature dies (is put into the graveyard from the battlefield, tokens are put into the graveyard before they cease to exist), you may pay X life, where X is its power. If you do, draw X cards.

Equip {3} ({3}: Attach this to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery. This card enters the battlefield unattached and stays on the battlefield if the creature this card is attached to leaves the battlefield.)

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Pre-release	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Standard	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (28)

Optimator on Goblin Shenanigans (The Secret of Kiki Jiki)

14 hours ago

A bunch of card-draw cards you will want to note for any future shake-ups:

Moldervine Reclamation, Dark Prophecy, Species Specialist, Skullclamp, Village Rites, Deadly Dispute, Liliana, Dreadhorde General,

Collective Unconscious, Shamanic Revelation, Ohran Frostfang, Korvold, Fae-Cursed King, Culling Dais

Colossal Majesty, Phyrexian Reclamation, Phyrexian Arena, Slate of Ancestry, Herald's Horn,

Greed, Erebos, God of the Dead,

Mask of Griselbrand, Fecundity, Guardian Project, Idol of Oblivion, Coveted Jewel, The Deck of Many Things

Painful Truths, Harmonize, Night's Whisper, Sign in Blood, Read the Bones, Reforge the Soul, Wheel of Misfortune,

Damnable Pact, Ambition's Cost, Ancient Craving, Syphon Mind, Minions' Murmurs, Necrologia,

Return of the Wildspeaker, Soul's Majesty, Rishkar's Expertise, Peer into the Abyss

I would skew toward permanents (for Kodama) and higher mana values (for Vial-Smasher)

DreadKhan on thantis and the boys

1 week ago

I don't think Thantis should leave home without Rite of the Raging Storm, this way everyone has stuff to swing as your opponents, but nobody has extra vs you, but it also should work with Garruk's Uprising. Akroan Horse is another so-so source of bodies that get better with supporting buffs. I am always surprised at how much work War Cadence can do in a meta with lots of attacking, it can even play like a Stax effect if the board is pretty big, because you can turn any swing into an unblockable one at instant speed. Mask of Griselbrand is a pretty impressive equipment in practice, Flying is great evasion, Lifelink is a great ability on a large creature and that much card draw can change a game's outcome very easily.

If you're looking seriously at cards like Assassinate, I feel I should point out that it's a Sorcery and has targeting limitations. If you want to run sorcery speed removal then I strongly recommend Make an Example and Phyrexian Purge, both of those are quite a bit better. I think you could also look at Beast Within and Road / Ruin, both are very useful spells, offering versatility of effect.

Have you drawn Nikya in many games yet? I feel like with only 31 creatures in the 99 that you'll not want to cast him very often, it'll interfere with your other spells.

I'm not sure that Dragon Whelp is a very reliable Commander card, it's not that much less mana than a Shivan Dragon, and it's a much worse card. I would note that most people who play Shivan Dragon in Commander are playing it as a pet card, there are other better cards you could play. I think you could just play something like Avatar of Fury even, it's janky but it's very easy for it to cost 2 mana later game, or maybe Cavalier of Flame if you want something pricier.

Since Thantis can get pretty big, I suspect anything like Return of the Wildspeaker or Rishkar's Expertise would be pretty solid in here.

I'm not sure how much of a target Thantis ends up being, but Angel's Trumpet is a nice back up option that does something similar.

DreadKhan on Abaddon Let Chaos Reign

2 weeks ago

I have a Chaos deck, maybe a few of the cards would work here too? I'm a huge fan of Exquisite Blood, even if you play it without the combo, the effect has big synergy with your Commander's ability, and it helps keep you alive when you're ahead. Another enchantment that works with Esquisite Blood (and your Commander) is Rite of the Raging Storm, this is often good for damage and it makes everyone else play way more cautiously (because anyone but you can be stuck taking 15 damage in a cycle if they can't handle the tokens). Rite itself likes a number of other cards that might work here too, one really sneaky one is Mask of Griselbrand, Lifelink is useful (and stacks with Blood), Flying is useful, and the card draw can be very powerful, obviously this is hilarious with Rite since you can equip the token with the Mask, at which point it's probably getting in for damage and when it dies inevitably you can draw 5 cards. It seems like a good piece of gear for your Commander especially. Berserkers' Onslaught is a funny card sometimes, you do need some kind of board, but even your Commander is openly terrifying with Double Strike. Another card that Rite and your Commander both would love is Dauthi Embrace, Shadow is really good evasion (you might look into Dauthi Voidwalker as well, very useful dual purpose card). Scavenged Brawler is a creature I'm testing in that deck atm, it seems good, offering a useful body that can be 'scavenged' when a wipe happens. If your deck doesn't run combos and is in Black Protection Racket can be a source of life loss for your Commander, your average MV is probably high enough to matter, it can also give cards. It will never give you any lands or 0 MV cards, so it's not a perfect card. Make an Example is a generically good card in my experience, you always get (at minimum) each opponent's most problematic creature. Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep and Shizo, Death's Storehouse are two cards that might help your Commander out, and they're untapped lands, very few drawbacks to those!

Cultural Exchange is a Blue Chaos feeling card I love, I can't decide if you've got enough tokens/creatures you don't care about to make it work, but if you can trade off some small stuff for the best stuff on board then you're doing good I think. I guess it doesn't say anything about untapping, so you can use it to open someone up to attack by trading away all their blockers for already tapped creatures in a pinch. Mass Diminish seems worse than stuff like Sudden Spoiling and Polymorphist's Jest (both great cards though!), but the ability to cast it twice is big, and the effect weirdly lasts a turn cycle, this can help eliminate 2 players sometimes.

Since you probably want your Commander out most of the time, have you considered Stubborn Denial? It's not Fierce Guardianship, but I find Guardianship to be obnoxious.

My final ideas are War Tax and War Cadence, Cadence can easily make your stuff unblockable if people are tapped out, Tax can make it very hard for people to attack in draw out games, but Cadence is probably the better fit.

DreadKhan on Unlimited Fodder, Kardur the Doomscourge budget

1 month ago

Angel's Trumpet might do some work in here? It's a source of Vigilance that also does damage to decks that won't swing (and make them unable to block). Goblin Diplomats can also force them to swing, if you consistently have the better board this can win games easily. If you know people are going to attack and you want their board to survive (or you want yours to survive swinging) you can try War Cadence, this is a sneaky enchantment that's easy to underestimate since you can activate it during anyone's turn.

If you expect other people's stuff to die, there is Kothophed, Soul Hoarder that can draw a bunch of cards. This can be extra good if your meta is fairly spiky, as this draws off of any sacrifice effect your opponent's use... this can also kill you technically vs a treasure (or other infinite sacrifice based combo). Mask of Griselbrand is pretty good with decks that expect to lose creatures a lot while attacking, Lifelink and evasion are sweet, cards are even better I find, this card is amazing with Rite of the Raging Storm (as are Berserkers' Onslaught and Exquisite Blood actually, not sure if they're within your budget).

If people play lots of non-basic lands vs you then Dwarven Miner and Dwarven Blastminer are disturbingly strong. Volcanic Offering can also torch 2 lands and 2 creatures in many matches. If people avoid non-Basics then these are bad cards, so beware.

Really random, but if you expect your opponent's stuff to be dying, you can use Grave Betrayal to steal them, letting you swarm them the next turn.

If you tend to have tokens that aren't very impressive, Hell's Caretaker can turn one into any creature in your graveyard by tapping.

DreadKhan on Misappropriation of funds

1 month ago

Not sure if Springleaf Drum would work in here? Your Commander comes out quite early and doesn't tap to use his ability, also useful if you steal a creature or make a small token.

If you end up using Tymaret's ability a fair bit, some Lifelink might be nice since it's damage, Mask of Griselbrand seems like a fit (great if your Commander dies a lot), possibly Basilisk Collar. Either of those is also quite good with Rite of the Raging Storm, and if it's not killed you can sacrifice the token with your Commander each turn (same if a 5/1 trample is useless otherwise). Another great sacrifice source could be Ophiomancer (but it's a bit pricey), or Ogre Slumlord, which can make a ton of bodies in some matches. Sifter of Skulls is a budget pawn of ulamog, not sure if you want both (but I think I would).

If you're using Crux of Fate, I feel like you should consider Sarkhan the Masterless, it's Dragon tokens will dodge the wipe, and he can make you harder to attack if you have a few Dragons out.

If you like a land that can make a creature, there are also Kher Keep and Springjack Pasture, both make 0/1s, but they are technically bodies.

It's an old/weird card, but Kyren Negotiations has some synergy with your Commander, it turns any creatures you have out into damage sources, even if they can't attack, handy to use before sacrificing something maybe?

Whenever I see Whisper, it makes me think of Hell's Caretaker, Caretaker is more awkward timing-wise, but it's also only 1 for 1. I really love Coffin Queen, especially to reanimate opponent's stuff, but she is a bit pricey.

Since your Commander is a Zombie, have you thought about using Gravecrawler? If you have enough support, you could make your Commander into an infinite combo, but I think even if you just cast Gravecrawler 2 or 3 times a turn you're probably not doing too badly? The fact that it's not a token means it'll work with Pawn or Sifter of Skulls, and Bog Initiate can turn their mana into Black, so you can recast Gravecrawler at least. Defiler of Flesh can also help recast Gravecrawler (or any other Black permanent).

DreadKhan on King of the Rats

3 months ago

Have you considered a Mask of Griselbrand in here? it loves creatures with high power that are likely to die in combat.

Austin_Smith_of_Cards on Repanse De Lyonesse (Syr Gwyn Knight Tribal)

4 months ago

Some of the most critical components for this list to increase the amount of is mana ramp and card advantage, and increasing the quality of some of the removal; you generally want 10 in each category.

Top contenders that synergize with Knights and Equipment are Danitha Capashen, Paragon, Sword of the Animist, Sword of Hearth and Home, Forging the Tyrite Sword, Boros Signet, Orzhov Signet, and Rakdos Signet for ramp, Armored Skyhunter, Akiri, Fearless Voyager, Stormfist Crusader, and Mask of Griselbrand for card draw.

Cards worth cutting would be: Armored Ascension, Recumbent Bliss, Bond of Discipline, Duress, Integrity / Intervention, one of each basic land, Crashing Drawbridge, and Moon-Blessed Cleric to make room for the essentials.

DreadKhan on Grimgrin - Needs your Help

4 months ago

When I was testing out your deck, I definitely noticed mana issues, you probably want a mix of a couple more lands and some mana rocks. There is the odd mana dork you could use, none generally as good as a Green one. I always like Dreamscape Artist in a Dimir deck that makes use of the graveyard, it's actual Harrow so the lands are entering untapped, making the ramp a bit better than it might usually be. With a 5 mana Commander I think I would run Sol Ring, especially without Green, there is also Talisman of Dominance and Dimir Signet that are solid. A really solid 3 mana rock is Skyclave Relic, it can be a 3 drop or a big (and versatile) efficient 6 drop. Not sure if you need all of those, but I think you want some of those ramp options. TBH, you might also lower your average Mana Value, you're well over 3, which might be a tad high for 33 lands in a reasonably competitive deck. A couple handy utility lands that are nice with Voltron decks include Witch's Clinic, Shizo, Death's Storehouse, and Tyrite Sanctum. Sanctum is a bit weird, but getting Indestructible on your Commander will probably feel pretty good. There are also some MDFCs that aren't bad in Black, you could replace one of your 2 mana Black removal creature removal with Hagra Mauling  ^Flip, risking 4 mana to remove something (with no restriction though) is harsh, but it's also a land which feels incredible in a lower land count deck. I hear Malakir Rebirth  ^Flip is also very good, especially with a Voltron Commander.

I also noticed that the deck seemed to not excel at clearing the board of threats/problems, this can include combo pieces or Voltron creatures. From a competitive standpoint, if you expect to play against decks that are 7s or above you probably want at least a couple more solid counters, it's hard to know which to run because actual Counterspell costs UU, which is hard to hold up obviously, but Swan Song and Negate might not be versatile enough, but I think any or all of those would make the deck more functional. Niche removal like Ravenform, Resculpt and Feed the Swarm are also worth a look, you never know when you'll need to tutor up an answer for either of those types, and being able to hit a creature is also useful, fwiw Black isn't great at exiling creatures. I see you only have 1 Planeswalker in here, have you thought about Liliana, Death's Majesty? She's got some synergy with Zombies for sure, and offers a potential wipe.

A tutor that might fit in here that you're not running is Final Parting, which is clunky at 5 mana but it also offers a two for 1 tutor, so even if it's a lot of mana it does a lot of work. I'm not sure how many cards you're that desperate to get into the graveyard, but Final Parting finds 2 of 3 pieces for Gravecrawler combos in my Meren deck, very handy if I have one in hand already.

Pretty tough finding stuff that sticks out for being suboptimal in this list! Here are a few I suspect could be upgraded: Reassembling Skeleton is a Skeleton. The recursion aspect is not particularly good at 2 mana for a non-Zombie body, with a max of one on board at a time. Undead Alchemist might do something sometimes, but I feel like it's a bad interaction with a lot of your deck, it's terrible with Living Death type stuff obviously, and if someone is close to death, this gives them way more life. Call to the Grave seems potentially iffy, you run some very good non-Zombies, and you can't sac a token instead to it, it eats only non-Zombies. Kindred Discovery seems questionable potentially, it negatively interacts with any combo that uses a zombie entering or dying repeatedly since you have to draw, this can also make you unable to swing with a huge zombie army, which seems agonizing without at least throwing in something like Capsize. More curious than certain, but do you often have 1 toughness things to work with Skullclamp? Any Zombie at 1 toughness is buffed by your lords, and the tokens you make are 2/2s iirc? If you ask me, unless you have a source of 1 toughness bodies I'm missing, you could instead run Mask of Griselbrand, it can draw cards too (sometimes way more), both require a sac outlet, and it offers real utility in combo by offering evasion and lifelink. I would run any of the removal I mentioned over Doom Blade and Go for the Throat, I feel like the versatility and some offering exile has an edge. For Tragic Slip, do you get stuck without a sac outlet very often, this seems like an unnecessary complication to have on your removal, but at least it can hit Indestructibles? IMHO if you can afford it run Deadly Rollick, this will also exile stuff without as harsh a requirement (I'd rather have the downside of 4 mana vs removing only x/1s).