Painful Truths
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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy Legal
Arena Legal
Block Constructed 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
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Painful Truths

Sorcery

Converge — You draw X cards and you lose X life, where X is the number of colours of mana spent to cast this spell.

Crow_Umbra on Isshin for a Fight

2 months ago

I think one easy swap that you could make that also potentially helps with the dilemma of adding in Chivalric Alliance is swapping either Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire or a basic Plains for Minas Tirith.

I've been okay so far at 35 lands. I can understand running Mass Hysteria for the mana efficiency, but giving your opponents' creatures haste runs the risk of benefiting other aggro strats, and activated tap abilities. Rising of the Day gives 17 of your 29 total creatures (including Isshin) that little additional buff.

My quick suggestions for cuts or swaps:

  • Swap either Brave the Sands or Fervent Charge for Flowering of the White Tree. Again, 17 of your 29 creatures get a couple decent buffs, and all your other creatures get a consistent +1/+1. Fervent Charge only buffs when you attack.

  • I think you can cut Revenge of Ravens for similarly stated reasons as Emberwilde Captain. Or, you could flat out swap with Marchesa's Decree if you really want to keep the effect, but still squeeze in another draw opportunity.

  • You can likely cut Vampiric Rites as you were thinking, especially if you end up adding Minas Tirith, which feels like a middle ground to Vampiric Rites & Chivalric Alliance in terms of getting the draw. Idk what land destruction is like in your meta, but Minas Tirith is also a bit more removal resistant.

  • Painful Truths can be a potential cut, or perhaps swap with Professional Face-Breaker. Face-Breaker is a combat damage trigger, but is still something you can benefit from since you want to go wide & hit face anyways.

  • More of a meta call, but you can maybe cut Vandalblast and/or Damn. I've been cutting back on board wipes in my more aggro decks in favor of more targeted removal, draw, or creatures.

  • Inquisitorial Rosette could be another cut. I've personally moved away from this card & Captain's Claws. I think they got phased out for additional creature slots. If you like it as a menace anthem, then Goblin War Drums is also an option. Ultimately up to you though.

Optimator on Goblin Shenanigans (The Secret of Kiki Jiki)

3 months 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)

Dani3377 on Grixis Dragon Control

5 months ago

Did you see this one: Temple of the Dragon Queen.

Something that I'm noticing is that there isn't much to fuel the graveyard other than Consider.

The Opt + Dragonlord's Prerogative or Memory Deluge or Painful Truths package makes just as much sense.

Crow_Umbra on

6 months ago

Have you had a chance to play the deck irl, or play-test it much? 28 lands and 19 creatures seem kinda low, even with all the mana rocks. If it works well for you, then no worries. In regards to draw options for Isshin, I'd recommend some of the following:

  • Skullclamp is great, especially with any 1/1 tokens you may produce.

  • Plumb the Forbidden is a personal favorite, especially in response to board wipes or creature theft. This is one of my favorite draw spells in my Isshin deck, especially with a board of tokens.

  • Braids, Arisen Nightmare can force opponents into tough spots, depending on what you sacrifice. The fact that Braids is a "may" ability allows for scaling as needed.

  • Tocasia's Welcome & Idol of Oblivion are options for more (creature) token focused builds.

  • Breena, the Demagogue & Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant are both fun and interactive options. Breena especially can add a fun political wrinkle to games, as opponents may let her stick around until its too late.

  • Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor is another "political" draw engine that incentivizes attacks around the board.

  • Professional Face-Breaker & Tymna the Weaver are both options that reward you for going wide and connecting. I like Face-Breaker just a little more since she has built-in evasion.

  • Deadly Dispute and Painful Truths are additional options.

  • Lastly, Scapegoat, Dolmen Gate, and Reconnaissance are additional mana efficient board protection effects. I can't recommend Reconnaissance enough, as it acts as a pseudo-Vigilance anthem, and can remove your creatures from combat after they've already dealt damage. A bit more of an explanation here.

I hope these suggestions are helpful. Best of luck in your brewing and playing.

Crow_Umbra on Isshin, Two Heavens as One

6 months ago

Solid looking deck! Have you had a chance to play it irl yet? In looking at your deck, I have a few suggestions:

  • Thundering Raiju might not be the best fit, mostly since you don't have many other means of making your creatures Modified with either +1/+1 counters or equipment. I'd suggest checking out Tectonic Giant as a potential swap. It's a little slower since it lacks Haste, but has some useful modes, one of which deals damage to each opponents.

  • Speaking of Haste, I'd suggest getting in some more Haste anthems, especially you have some higher CMC creatures which would otherwise be sitting ducks. I'm currently running Fervor, Ogre Battledriver, and Urabrask the Hidden in my Isshin deck. I like that Battledriver and Urabrask have some additional bonuses.

  • If you need more draw, I think Breena, the Demagogue could do a lot of work, and could be a potentially better fit than Phyrexian Dragon Engine  Meld. I know Dragon Engine has the cool factor of melding with Mishra, but Breena can draw a ton of cards, especially since opponents are less likely to remove it due to benefitting from it. It definitely makes games more dynamic with the added political layer. She can also be a source of counters if you decide to keep Thundering Raiju.

  • Plumb the Forbidden is another great draw spell, especially if you make creature tokens or want to have gas in response to a board wipe. Painful Truths is another solid option, and Gruesome Realization has some decent modal options.

I hope these suggestions are helpful. Best of luck with Isshin, I hope you have fun piloting him! He's my favorite commander of the past year, hands down.

Crow_Umbra on Assaulting Horde

6 months ago

Happy to see another Isshin deck around. Have you had a chance to play the deck much irl? I have a few suggestions if you're open to them:

Breena and Karazikar are both gas for Isshin lists. They can make games much more political since opponents cam benefit, but you should benefit more. Opponents may be less likely to remove them right away due to that dynamic.

My Isshin deck is more token Swarm focused, but Plumb the Forbidden is a great response to boardwipes, since your creatures would die anyways.

Hope the suggestions are helpful. I'd be down to chat if you would like any more feedback.

soul_knightmare on Mardu Kelsien Pingers EDH 2023

6 months ago

Once you get deathtouch on a pinger you already have a form of removal so I don't think you need 16 pieces of removal unless you are playing against cedh decks. You could cut it down to 10 and use those spots for card draw. I'd go with Night's Whisper, Hostile Negotiations, Painful Truths, Light Up the Stage, and Underworld Connections. Those last two combo very well with your pinger and untap strategies. I also don't think seven auras/equipment is enough to justify the inclusion of Sram, Senior Edificer. In your average game he won't draw more than one or two cards so you're much better off playing a draw spell.

soul_knightmare on Takhisis, Empress of Krynn

6 months ago

The deck looks a little light in card draw/ ramp. I would cut the creatures to below 30 and add in cards like Fellwar Stone, Boros Signet, Phyrexian Arena, Painful Truths, Night's Whisper, and Hostile Negotiations

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