Painful Truths

Sorcery

Converge — You draw X cards and you lose X life, where X is the number of colors of mana spent to cast Painful Truths.

Discussion (51)

NeonEndymion on The Ur-Dragon

2 days ago

I actually like Syphon Mind over Painful Truths . But if you're really looking to keep your overall CMC down, the latter is probably better. For my list I just want one big/bomby draw spell and don't mind sorcery speed or exactly one higher CMC draw spell.

I'm still OK with Teneb, the Harvester , as the ability to target a creature in any graveyard is relevant both to help put you ahead and for yard hate—or you can reanimate one of your own key pieces. If I were to go more all-in on a reanimation plan, I'd probably cut him for Animate Dead , though. The 6/6 body isn't irrelevant, as is the case with the overcosted Bladewing the Risen , which I feel you need to be able to reanimate and blink to make work (and even then . . . meh).

As my playgroups have powered down things a bit, I cut Vandalblast , mainly b/c I haven't been coming across as much fast rock ramp or hard Stax, and cut it in favor of another creature board wipe. Been seeing more dork/creature value engine packages lately. Another meta call.

I think the overall tension is that if you really want to keep optimizing slots w/ cEDH staples, you'd probably want to play a tutor/counter/removal/draw heavy Scion of the Ur-Dragon deck with cleaner win-con lines and, like, Worldgorger Dragon and Animate Dead combo lines. Otherwise I feel like it's easy to get caught in a trap of trying to lean into doing too many things and not doing any of them consistently well?

My gameplan is often to try to win via "fair magic" (going somewhat wide and swingin' with Dragons, 1994 Timmy style, while Jund'ing opponents out with value stapled on to them in the meantime/beforehand), with the combat combos or mass reanimation combos as backup wincons vs the primary line.

Vlasiax on The Ur-Dragon

2 days ago

Good point on land drops but I'm not sure what cards besides wheels we can run to draw many more cards per turn. I wish there was something similar to Night's Whisper - maybe Painful Truths should find its way back there?

SideBae on Alela, control-aggro

1 week ago

Hey! So I have some suggestions: feel free to ignore any/all of them.

1. There's a reason Ponder and Preordain are banned in Modern, and it's because they're stupid-good cards. Being able to dig you to what you need and past what you don't for one blue mana is a REALLY powerful effect, even if the cards themselves may not look as powerful as they are. I highly suggest including them. I like that you're already running Brainstorm , though I think running two+ more fetches would be ideal; you don't want to get locked with two dead cards on top of your deck.

2. I do not think Path to Exile is good in EDH. Ramping your opponent in a format with everyone trying to do busted things is rarely anything short of a bad idea, and is frequently dangerous. (Note that your Ashiok, Dream Render does not stop opponents searching off YOUR spells.) As I see it, you may be better off just running another card-draw spell, which would dig you to more potent removal; I suggest Painful Truths . Three-mana: draw-three is a hard rate to beat, and I've been very impressed with it in my Tasigur, the Golden Fang list.

3. You have some good artifact ramp, but I think it can be improved. I really like that all your rocks are two or less mana -- three-mana mana-rocks are simply not good enough a lot of the time, especially with a four-mana commander. Unfortunately, a lot of the best ramp in EDH is very expensive: Mana Crypt and Mox Diamond come to mind. I do have some other suggestions though. Consider at least a few of the following: Talisman of Dominance , Talisman of Hierarchy , Talisman of Progress , Fellwar Stone (which is admittedly a worse Arcane Signet , but still good), Mind Stone , Everflowing Chalice and/or Thought Vessel .

4. Whir of Invention is a card you may wish to consider. It can grab your Bolas's Citadel late-game, but more importantly it acts as a to-battlefield tutor for things like your Cursed Totem or Skullclamp . Also, it's instant speed.

5. If you want to run things like Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite or Consecrated Sphinx , I suggest you think about a reanimation package. In general, these duders will be tough to cast, and being able to cheat them into play will give you a competitive advantage. Entomb and Buried Alive are the best ways to bin your targets (though there are others, like Liliana of the Veil or your maybe-board Frantic Search ), and you can then use spells like Animate Dead , Dance of the Dead , Necromancy , Reanimate or Unburial Rites to profit for less mana than usual. Intuition is a fun (if not cheap) card to pair with Unburial Rites and some reanimation targets, thought the precise pile may be tough to determine. Also, due to your colors, you may even consider Dreams of the Dead . The cumulative upkeep can be tough, but if you run something like Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur then you'll be able to do your damage within a turn-cycle or so, and the upkeep won't matter.

6. Your mana curve is pretty consistently low. I think you should at least playtest Counterbalance , since you already have the Sensei's Divining Top . Counterbalance does tend to be a high variance card, and it may end up being more of a preference-call than a meta-call. But I like it, so I figured I'd mention it.

7. I'm not sure how good Hushbringer is, since it stops your Skullclamp from triggering... You may be better off with just a Spirit of the Labyrinth or such.

8. Depending on how often you get to five mana, Divine Visitation could be a win-condition in itself in this deck. Making a 4/4 every time you cast an artifact or enchantment seems... good.

9. Mystic Remora is good. In less-experienced metas, it is often an Ancestral Recall ; even if people know that it's better just to wait it out, Mystic Remora will still buy you time to develop your board and make land-drops while opponents try to outlast it. Being one mana was a mistake, but it's here, so what the hell.

Right. That's all I got. Good luck!

SideBae on

1 week ago

Hey man! I got some suggestions. Feel free to ignore any/all of them:

1. There's a reason Ponder and Preordain are banned in Modern, and it's because they're good. I highly suggest running both in any blue deck -- they may not look like much, but being able to dig to what you need and past what you don't for one mana is a deal I'll take any day. You're running a good number of fetch lands, so Brainstorm is one you may want to add in there as well.

2. I don't know what your meta is like, but in general people need to draw a bunch of cards to win the game. Narset, Parter of Veils brings back thoughts of when Leovold, Emissary of Trest was legal... I think almost any blue deck should run her, especially since if you run Windfall (I think you should), she can win you the game. Or your Wheel of Fortune .

3. I don't know how this deck plays, but I suspect you'll have at least one or two creatures out at a time. If you do, Azra Oddsmaker can be a good source of card-advantage; Edric, Spymaster of Trest is similar, though better if you have dorks (see (5)). Painful Truths is another favorite of mine, as are Treasure Cruise , Dark Confidant , Dig Through Time and Thirst for Knowledge . Faithless Looting can also be pretty good.

4. A lot of decks run a lot of artifact ramp. Dack Fayden is a great way to capitalize on that, and if you run Notion Thief (which also pairs with your Windfall ), targeting your opponent with Dack's +1 can produce a four card swing.

5. Dorks. You're in green, so you have access to the best ramp in the game, aside from Sol Ring (which I think you should run). I highly suggest including any/all of the following in addition to your Deathrite Shaman : Birds of Paradise , Elves of Deep Shadow , Orcish Lumberjack , Llanowar Elves , Fyndhorn Elves , Elvish Mystic , Bloom Tender , Arbor Elf ... Though they may not be 'dork'-ramp, I've also been impressed with Utopia Sprawl and Wild Growth , not least because these double the mana from Arbor Elf . If you end up running Edric, Spymaster of Trest , the dorks will draw you cards when you're not using them for mana.

6. If you're looking for the best way to generate infinite mana with your general, I think Isochron Scepter with Dramatic Reversal is the best way. You'd need to run either artifact ramp or dorks (I highly advise the latter), but it's a pretty busted combo and I think you should put some ramp in anyway. This lets you draw your deck with Thrasios, Triton Hero and then win through Torment of Hailfire or the like.

7. Another way to win, if you do end up running dorks, is Craterhoof Behemoth . Pair this with Natural Order for instant fun.

8. Green Sun's Zenith can grab your Azusa, Lost but Seeking and your Ramunap Excavator , as well as Dryad Arbor on turn one (if you end up running Dryad Arbor ).

9. Reflecting Pool is an often-chromatic land you may wish to consider, and Exotic Orchard is frequently at least a tri-land. I may be missing something, but running Strip Mine and Wasteland to pair with your Crucible of Worlds and Ramunap Excavator seems... good.

10. You're running two artifacts (three, if you run the aforementioned Sol Ring ): You should give strong consideration to things like Collector Ouphe (if you don't like the Isochron Scepter loop) or even a janky Energy Flux . These'll make sure opponents don't do nasty things with their own Isochron Scepter while hardly touching you. Also, things like Ancient Grudge or By Force are powerful magic cards.

11. Spell Snare is a counterspell you may want to consider, as it counters a wide range of frequently played cards in EDH like Demonic Tutor , Cyclonic Rift (overloaded or not), Winter Orb , all the talismans/signets, Counterspell , Mana Drain , Arcane Denial , Sylvan Library , Chains of Mephistopheles , Abeyance , Baleful Strix , Nature's Lore ... Also, if you're in an Ad Nauseam -heavy meta (I sure as hell am), consider things like Dispel to keep those decks in check.

12. Lim-Dul's Vault , Dark Petition and Mystical Tutor are some tutors you may wish to consider.

13. If your meta is blue-heavy (most are), consider some second-order countermagic. Things like Veil of Summer and Vexing Shusher can both make sure your spells resolve. Similarly, Carpet of Flowers is a good way to get free mana from blue opponents, and Pyroblast tends to be good as well.

14. Personally, I've found Mystic Remora to be better than Rhystic Study , if only because it is one mana. People are way less likely to pay four mana than one, and in less experienced metas people tend to let you pull off an Ancestral Recall or two in two-ish turn cycles. In more experienced metas, Mystic Remora slows the game down as your opponents wait for it to go away and you just make sure you hit your land-drops.

15. Multi-for-ones are pretty important in a format with three opponents. Fire Covenant has been a favorite piece of removal in my meta since it'll clear out opponents' creatures while leaving yours untouched. Hull Breach and Decimate are also good, although it is important to bare in mind that Decimate requires a bunch of different targets in order to be castable. Windgrace's Judgment and even Casualties of War are also good.

16. If you want to go deep into magic history, there's another way to make infinite mana in your colors in addition to (6): Worldgorger Dragon . Entomb , Buried Alive or Faithless Looting to the graveyard this mo-fo, then cast Animate Dead , Necromancy or Dance of the Dead targeting him, and BOOM you win. (In case you aren't familiar with the combo, Animate Dead returns Worldgorger Dragon to the battlefield, and then Worldgorger Dragon triggers to exile Animate Dead . Animate Dead leaving then makes you sacrifice Worldgorger Dragon , bringing back Animate Dead and then Worldgorger Dragon ... rinse and repeat. Tapping your lands for mana in between each exile trigger yields infinite mana. WARNINGS: 1. You need a second creature in a graveyard to end the loop, or the game is a draw; 2. If someone Nature's Claim s your Animate Dead while the Worldgorger Dragon is entering the battlefield, you lose everything and you're boned. So make sure either your opponents are out of mana/counterspells or you've got your own protective backup.)

I think that's all I got. Good luck!

multimedia on Atraxa Life Gain

1 week ago

Hey, interesting budget version of Atraxa.

Atraxa is your best source of life gain with her lifelink because the damage she does to a player is also Commander damage. She already has evasion (flying) meaning you're most likely going to be gaining life when she attacks. Gaining life while at the same time potentially killing your opponents. I would focus more on Atraxa and beefing her up which then in return makes cards that benefit from gaining life better. Counters are a fine way to beef up Atraxa because they also interact with her proliferate. Consider including more ways to get counters on Atraxa?

Cards within the budget to consider adding:

Counter Engines

• Hadana's Climb  ^Flip
• Forgotten Ancient
• Evolutionary Escalation
• Orzhov Advokist

Ancient, Escalation and Advokist are repeatable sources of counters to put on Atraxa. Even though Escalation and Advokist put counters on an opponent's creature Atraxa is still going to be bigger and more powerful. These cards and Ancient can beef up Atraxa quickly. A big reason to add Climb is Winged Temple of Orazca . It's a win condition land with Atraxa.

Draw and Tutors

• Eladamri's Call
• Mystic Remora
• Open the Armory : tutor for Greaves/Boots.
• Brainstorm
• Painful Truths

Ramp

• Faeburrow Elder
• Fellwar Stone
• Birds of Paradise or Paradise Druid
• Crystalline Crawler

Ramp that can make any color of mana is very helpful when playing four colors with a budget manabase. Adding more of it lets you ramp into Atraxa faster.

Value from Gaining Life

• Crested Sunmare
• Resplendent Angel
• Well of Lost Dreams

Sunmare and Resplendent are repeatable sources to make big tokens when you gain life. Resplendent is very good with Lyra Dawnbringer . Well is good when you're consistently gaining life, turning that life gain into drawing cards.

Lands Upgrades

• Llanowar Wastes
• Yavimaya Coast
• Sunken Hollow
• Prairie Stream
• Canopy Vista
• Woodland Cemetery
• Sunpetal Grove
• Opal Palace
• Ash Barrens

The Pain lands (Llanowar, Coast), Battle lands (Vista, Sunken, Stream) and Check lands (Woodland, Sunpetal) are upgrades for the Bounce lands. The Battle lands are good with Basic lands and Farseek to be able to search for a dual land. The Check lands are good with the Basic lands and the Battle lands. If you cast Atraxa with Opal then she ETB with a counter on her ready to proliferate.

---

Cards to consider cutting:

• Azorius Chancery
• Dimir Aqueduct
• Dromar's Cavern
• Golgari Rot Farm
• Orzhov Basilica
• Selesnya Sanctuary
• Simic Growth Chamber
• Thespian's Stage
• Myriad Landscape
• Ill-Gotten Inheritance
• Lawmage's Binding
• Spirit Loop
• Witching Well
• Ageless Entity
• Arvad the Cursed
• Basilica Bell-Haunt
• Bloodbond Vampire
• Elderwood Scion
• Vampire of the Dire Moon
• Horizon Chimera
• Evra, Halcyon Witness
• Elite Guardmage
• Deathsprout
• Scour All Possibilities

Good luck with your deck.

SideBae on Corrupt Aristocracy (Ertai)

1 week ago

Hey man! I always like Esper. Here're some suggestions; feel free to ignore any or all of them:

1. In your description, you say you need help with win conditions. I think it's important to keep in mind, if you don't already, that too many win conditions will actually hinder your deck. This is because with more discrete combos, you raise the number of 'dead' draws in your deck; drawing half of two combos that don't go together makes Jac a sad boi. So while I do agree you could use more win conditions, I think only adding another one or (maybe) to is probably the best route.

2. In the spirit of (1), you may find that having a powerful reanimation package can be one of the secondary win cons you're looking for. Tidespout Tyrant used to be one of the top reanimation targets in legacy (maybe it still is -- I don't understand that format anymore), and running him will let you draw Animate Dead sans Leonin Relic-Warder and still have a good shot at winning.

3. To that end, you should run Entomb and Buried Alive . Tutoring to the 'yard not only puts your Leonin Relic-Warder right where you want him, but also your Sheoldred, Whispering One /any other reanimation targets you may want. There're some other reanimation spells to consider, some that work with Leonin Relic-Warder and some that don't. Consider: Reanimate , Exhume (if you wanna get spicy), Dance of the Dead and/or Unburial Rites . Unburial Rites is one of my favorite cards, especially since you can tutor it with Entomb .

4. I think Path to Exile is strictly worse, in EDH, than Swords to Plowshares . Ramping an opponent in a format where everyone is doing busted stuff is dangerous, but giving them six or more life points may be irrelevant, especially since this seems to be a combo deck.

5. Your Brainstorm is good, but it'd be better with more shuffle effects in your deck. While Prismatic Vista and the other generic fetches (see Marsh Flats , etc.) can be very expensive, slow fetches like Flood Plain and/or Bad River are fine alternatives.

6. In addition to your Brainstorm , I cannot recommend Ponder and it's lil' brother Preordain highly enough. These two may not look like much, but being able to dig to what you need and past what you don't for one mana is a pretty great feeling. I run them in all my blue decks, and (with very limited exceptions) always like drawing them.

7. You've got some pretty good rocks, but there're ways to improve your ramp base. I've been very impressed with the talismans ( Talisman of Dominance , Talisman of Hierarchy and Talisman of Progress ) as slightly-better signets, and it's important not to discount Thought Vessel , Everflowing Chalice or Mind Stone .

8. You have some very powerful artifacts: Bolas's Citadel , Thornbite Staff , and Lifeline all seem like game-changers in this deck. Consider running Whir of Invention to get them out when you have the mana. Reshape or, if you're rich, Transmute Artifact are also good. Non-to-battlefield tutors, like Demonic Tutor , Enlightened Tutor or Vampiric Tutor are good, but expensive; like with fetch lands, there're other, more accessible options. Consider Diabolic Tutor , Lim-Dul's Vault , Beseech the Queen and/or Dark Petition , which are all fine tutors in themselves.

9. If you don't have fundamental issues with counter-magic, you should run some -- it'll protect you and your combo. Gold-standard counters ( Force of Will and Mana Drain ) are expensive AF, but you can consider other perfectly powerful options as well. Counterspell is good, and I've been very impressed with Spell Snare (which counters an overload-ed Cyclonic Rift REALLY nicely). If you've got Ad Nauseam players like me in your play ground, Dispel can be a worthy inclusion; Dovin's Veto is another combo-breaker for high-power tables.

10. You may wish to have access to some more card-draw. Some cards to consider: Dig Through Time , Treasure Cruise , Fact or Fiction , Painful Truths , Phyrexian Arena , etc.

11. To return to (1-3), you may want Aetherflux Reservoir as another win condition since it combos so nicely with Bolas's Citadel . If you can get a Sensei's Divining Top in the mix, things get nutty pretty quick.

Right. That's all I got. Good luck!

SideBae on Alela, aristocrat trickster *HELP PLEASE*

2 weeks ago

I have a few more suggestions, looking at this again:

1. I think Swords to Plowshares is a lot better than Path to Exile . The reason I say that is because life is a lot less of a consideration in a format like EDH, but ramping your opponent is often actively dangerous.

2. Like Painful Truths , Dig Through Time and Treasure Cruise should be on your radar. Idk how fast your deck typically fills its graveyard, but I suggest at least running Treasure Cruise . It can get you back in the game rather fast. Also consider Fact or Fiction .

3. Narset, Parter of Veils is a POWERHOUSE in EDH these days, especially if you can pair her with a Windfall . This combo is well worth two card slots. Similarly, Ashiok, Dream Render is a real piece of work in many EDH games, though it tends to be better at tables that run a lot of fetch lands.

4. If you have a spare $12 to spend on lands, I highly recommend Mana Confluence as a means to smooth out your mana... it acts as a second City of Brass .

5. If you're thinking of running Distant Melody , I think Slate of Ancestry is probably a lot better.

6. If your meta is as filled with combo decks as mine is, you may have luck with a Rule of Law .

7. Depending on your personal level of sadism, pieces of MLD may be on the table in this deck. Consider Armageddon and (if you have a few spare organs) Ravages of War , as well as Cataclysm . Because of Cataclysm 's oldschool wording, it requires people to sacrifice their planeswalkers... just saying.

Cypher35 on Alela, aristocrat trickster *HELP PLEASE*

2 weeks ago

king-saproling, I appreciate all the suggestions! Some of them are a bit out of my price range, like the Cavern of Souls , or aren't necessary for how I want the deck to function, but there's a lot of cards here that I hadn't even considered! Do you have any suggestions as to what I should take out?

SideBae, I agree, my ramp suite is a bit weak, and I think those suggestions should help! Entomb is a fun card, and frankly I hadn't even thought of tutor-to-graveyard cards before your suggestion, but frankly I see Buried Alive as better because of its versatility and cheaper, price, but I appreciate the suggestion! I didn't even know what Painful Truths did, and it's so much better than I realized! I appreciate the comment!