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 Painful Truths.

Discussion (51)

Lanzo493 on Ramp, Curse, Treasure, Ultimatum, PROGENITUS

2 days ago

Cool deck. Progenitus is a difficult card to handle. Since you're new to the commander format, I'll just give some general tips before saying more specific stuff.

The kings of EDH are card advantage and mana ramp. If you can do both, you'll probably win. Because a large portion of decks go towards these two categories, as well as spot removal and boardwipes and other interaction, commander decks don't have as many creatures as other formats do. Yes, your deck is creature light, but not terribly light either.

I would get rid of the curse cards altogether. They're only able to affect one opponent, which is an inefficient way to hurt people in a multiplayer format. The way I build my decks is with the intent to face off multiple people at once. Sometimes, I build my decks knowing that I'll be targeted by several opponents, so I just make my deck explosive enough to kill 1 opponent out of nowhere. Dealing with 2 enemies is easier than 3, anyway. But with a less cutthroat build, you'll be looking towards your opponents for help with a common enemy, so politics are important. Curses don't mesh well with that.

Niv-Mizzet Reborn just won't get you many cards. You don't have many 2 color cards, so he'll almost always get you nothing.

Bearer of the Heavens will hurt you as much as everybody else. It'll still kill your commander. It's no fun to restart a game from scratch like that.

Some great cards on a budget I would recommend are Faeburrow Elder, Firemind Vessel, Hedron Archive, Painful Truths, and probably some more creatures. Since you're running 5 colors, you can run whatever you want as long as it doesn't have too many pips of a single color. Unless it's Fiery Emancipation. That card's busted. One hit kill with your commander.

Lightningtow on Edgar Markov (competitive)

2 weeks ago

It seems like maybe you should run cards like Read the Bones, Night's Whisper, or Painful Truths to refill your hand with more vamps instead of burn spells like Lightning Strike. Yeah, it could double as removal, but it seems like a one-shot 3 damage to a person with 40 life wouldn't work as well as getting a few more vampires.

Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, but it seems prudent to me.

abby315 on Kathril

2 weeks ago

Black is going to be your best color for drawing cards. I'd replace Harmonize with Painful Truths, and you might also want to find room for some of these:
Night's Whisper
Recycle (great for dumping cards in your GY too)
Lifecrafter's Bestiary
Phyrexian Arena

There are higher-power options like Sylvan Library and Necropotence available to you, but I think the above options are good for a budget/casual build.

DemMeowsephs on Plague Archer Kelsien

3 weeks ago

Of course, I'd love to help!

They almost all seem like pretty worthy cuts to me, with the exception of maybe one or two, but that is just what I think. The Void Beckoner thing to give Kelsien deathtouch is smart I really like that, so definitely add it. It's always good to have Magus of the Wheel sort of effects if you aren't in blue, card draw is very important, so add that too.

The Kaya's Ghostform and Gift of Immortality effects are also good to have in any voltron type deck, and the same goes for Reconnaissance, and Temur Battle Rage. If you like the recon ability you might like Maze of Ith too, which can also target your opponent's creatures, or just help out Kelsien. So yes those are all good cards to add as well.

Deflecting Swat is great allowing you to double Kelsiens ability and target two creatures which makes it certainly worthy. If I understand the cards rulings correctly, you could even use it to chose new targets on one of your removal spells, which is a great option, or even just stop your opponents from harming Kelsien, and instead turning their effect around back at them.

I would playtest Sword of the Animist because when I use it, it works a bit too slow for me, and plus you only run one of each basic land, and the sword only searches for basics. Yes it would be good for those three attacks (if you don't have basics in your hand or on the battlefield already), but you also have Prismatic Vista, and if you add more basics JUST for this effect it seems to me there's just way too many hoops to jump through to make it work. If you still like it definitely keep it, that's just what I think. If you don't end up adding it though, I would try using Smothering Tithe because it's an amazing card and one of the best white cards ever printed. Painful Truths is good too but if you are deciding between that and Smothering Tithe I think you should add smothering tithe first and then maybe try to add a way to add it afterwards. Read the Bones might be something to consider as well.

Now for the graveyard recursion, I am a bit confused. (Brought Back/Unearth). You don't have too many three cmc creatures, so I don't understand why you'd include Unearth, unless you are using it for Kelsien. If you do use them for Kelsien, you'd have to put him into the graveyard instead of the command zone. If you do this and someone plays something common like Bojuka Bog, Kelsien is gone forever. It could be good in some situations, but putting Kelsien in the graveyard can be pretty risky, especially with all the Bojuka Bogs running around these days. The same goes for Brought Back, but even more so. You'd have to have two mana open which is not always the case, and it would have to be something put there THIS turn, making the card worthless if it wasn't that turn. Its still a good card in some situations I suppose, but if you are using it for Kelsien its risky, and if you aren't there are much better cards to include in your deck in my opinion. If you do still like these graveyard recursion effects, maybe include Call of the Death-Dweller that way Kelsien gets deathtouch as well. Let me know if there is something I am missing.

The two final cards are the removal spells, Vindicate and Crush Contraband. Vindicate is amazing, nothing else to say there. Crush on the other hand is kind of pricy, yes it exiles up to two things which is great, but I feel like there are better things. Also keep in mind, if you exile something it does not usually count as dying, and won't trigger Kelsien IF I AM correct, which I may not be, so I would look into that. Sorry I'm not too good on the rulings :). However there are many more great effects that could replace crush, like Mortify, Utter End, etc. Teferi's Protection is AMAZING and I would run it in your deck, maybe instead of crush if you can.

In the end that is my take on the maybeboard, I'm not sure if it helps or gives any insight, but I hope it does! Let me know if it helps and what you think. Cheers.

Azeworai on Goo Galore

1 month ago

Here are a few more: Frantic Search, Fact or Fiction, Unfulfilled Desires, Forbidden Alchemy, Windfall, Skull Prophet, and Painful Truths.

keizerbuns on Nice board you have there, it would be a shame...

1 month ago

ilovemydoghisnameistuna maybe I could try out a few Commune with Natures in place of the Painful Truths and see if that works better. And having something like Bond of Revival might not be too bad to have in my sideboard. Thanks for the suggestions!

Destroyerbirb on Nice board you have there, it would be a shame...

1 month ago

keizerbuns Very nice deck! The only edits I would make would be to swap the 4x Painful Truths for 4x Night's Whispers.

+1 from me!

Azeworai on Micromancy

1 month ago

Well met, young callant! I have some suggestions with your names on them. Such a strange coincidence.

You'll need Black Lotus, this verson of Sol Ring, perhaps a dual land or two...

Jests aside, let's do this.

So, I see budget, I see counters, I see mill. Let's start with mill.

One does not simply play a graveyard deck bereft of the following: Satyr Wayfinder finds some lands whiles stocking the bin. Grisly Salvage is morbidly efficient, finding creatures and lands. Winding Way does the forenamed, whereupon it sometimes betrays you (Don't look it in the eye). Grapple with the Past brings stuff back and loads the bin. It feels great. Funeral Rites is fine and straight-forward. Ransack the Lab is cheap whiles bearing efficacy.

If you're feeling betaken to your graveyard chicanery, Perpetual Timepiece does an absolutely lovely job of stocking the bin.

Backup versions of the commander's ability are evermore a cruciality. Sevinne's Reclamation is great, as with Sun Titan. "Six mana?! :(" you say. "It's worth it! :D" I respond.

A little more on the affluent side, but The Gitrog Monster, Ramunap Excavator, and Dread Return could be worth inclusion, for they are quite splendid.

Ahem. DEATH'S OASIS?! It mills, it fills, and eventually it kills. Moreover, it is three to cast, thusly on-theme.

Okay, now counters!

(I've never built any counter-themed decks. You have been warned.) Upon my presaged failures, all I have to proffer is Inspiring Call and Armorcraft Judge. Take it or leave it.

Unto the intrinsic:

Let us protect thine commander! Selfless Spirit is out of budget yet amazing, Saffi Eriksdotter is of a similar role, and Dauntless Bodyguard, along withal Selfless Savior, are budget options for choice.

Ramp, ramp, ramp. I care not that your curve is low, ramp! Rampant Growth, Nature's Lore, Edge of Autumn, ilka of these are fantastic.

There are two routes in commander decks (when playing fairly); a low-curve with a foison of card draw or a higher curve with less card draw. Low-curve = more card draw. I'd add Painful Truths, Sign in Blood, Funeral Rites, Ransack the Lab

I am biased, but I put Once Upon a Time in literally all of my green decks. 'Tis most lovely each time I cast the gest.

And therefrom is the finis of my comment. Fare thee well and may fortune betide!