Runo Stromkirk

Legendary Creature — Vampire Cleric

Flying

When this enters the battlefield, put up to one target creature card from your graveyard on top of your library.

At the beginning of your upkeep, look at the top card of your library. You may reveal that card. If a creature card with converted mana cost/mana value 6 or greater is revealed this way, transform this.

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 (12)

UltimateRoxas40 on Krothuss - From Below and Beyond

3 months ago

Looks like a fun deck! I always appreciate any deck that makes you start chanting to the Great Old Ones haha! I've been meaning to make a Runo Stromkirk  ^Flip deck at some point, so I'll keep this deck in mind when I get around to it.

You've got a good suite of self-Mill/top-deck manipulation and Reanimate cards, but I think you're running too many mana rocks, especially the two Diamonds. You could probably get away with replacing those two. You could probably replace at least one of those with something like Tidal Terror, which gets you an Island and a CMC 6 relevant creature into the graveyard.

Depending on budget availability, something like Entomb or Unmarked Grave would also be really handy to get a specific creature into the graveyard to reanimate or trigger Runo.

Extract from Darkness is another card I'd suggest, both for function and flavor! It self-mills and you can get something BIG back from any graveyard onto your field.

A final suggestion would be Elder Deep-Fiend. It's both an Eldrazi and an Octopus, so it plays into both your big creature groups, you can sacrifice another creature to make it cheaper (and thus have a target in your graveyard to reanimate later), and has Flash, so you can tap down four permanents whenever you cast it.

These suggestions come from some of the cards that I've put aside in my deck-building binders for whenever I build my version, but overall, you've got a good deck with a solid strategy!

UltimateRoxas40 on It was Lier! In the West Vale Abbey! With the...!

3 months ago

I completely agree, Vorthos is such a fun way to build commander decks. My Lovecraftian deck is Eldritch Captain of the Deep [Lovecraftian Primer], but I'm also stockpiling cards to build a Runo Stromkirk  ^Flip sea monster deck as well, since he's too good of a Lovecraftian cultist to ignore haha. Shadows over Innistrad and Eldritch Moon are actually the sets that brought me back into Magic for the third time, and I've been playing/trying to keep up ever since.

FolkOccult on It was Lier! In the West Vale Abbey! With the...!

3 months ago

UltimateRoxas40 Thanks! I've been playing for a long while, and have come to a time in my life where the challenge of constructing a proper Vorthos library is the fun I get out of playing this game. To hear of your involvement with an HP Lovecraft deck reminds me of when I'd made one back in Eldritch Moon's release for standard, tons of fun. Those 60 card formats are awfully satisfying to fulfilling these vorthos 'challenges' so to speak. I plan eventually on creating a color pie deck for each pair and using Runo Stromkirk  ^Flip as the commander to specifically play a role in a Lovecraft inspired deck. I totally recommend taking a look at Halana and Alena, Totally Just Roommates as a fairly consistent Innistrad-only library. Feel free to link your finished deck in the comments, I'd love to see it and allow others who may enjoy this deck to enjoy yours as well!

Deddo on Sultai Sea Monsters

3 months ago

Neat deck. Black is so good for sea monsters. I would reccommend Runo Stromkirk  ^Flip and Gyruda, Doom of Depths

FauxFaux on Card creation challenge

3 months ago

C'hugath, Despot of Dreams {5}{U}{U}{B}{B}

Legendary Creature - Avatar Kraken Horror

Cleric offering: (You may cast this card any time you could cast an instant by sacrificing a Cleric and paying the difference in mana costs between this and the sacrificed Cleric. Mana cost includes color.)

Fear

At the beginning of your endstep, exile a card from each opponent's hand. You may cast a spell from among cards exiled this way without paying their mana costs. If you cast a spell this way, it cannot be countered.

6/8

"Slumbering in the depths of the sea and mind, true horror lies."

---

I'd love to see a set of Eldritch inspired horror legends or cards in general. I know we have Innistrad to thank for the "Classic" Horror archetypes, i.e Vampires, Undead, Werewolves, however with Runo Stromkirk  ^Flip, we see a different side of it too. Maybe there can be a plane with Eldritch Horrors as the focus. Let your creativity flow!

Mazera on Horrifying Nightmares

7 months ago

Hey! Made_Compleat I actually just got a Ashiok, Dream Render from my local store since they had the chibi secret lair version but wasn't exactly sure where to slot them till you said Runo Stromkirk  ^Flip being kind of iffy, I just slapped him in because I already had him and he sort of fit the bill but he'll get the replaced by this. I really like Chainer, Dementia Master but I proxied him just to test it out and he gets sacked almost immediately every time because my group noticed the drawback. Chainer's Torment was really cool; in the first draft of this deck I had that with Profane Transfusion to get 2 FAT horrors on the field but the mana cost was too much to really pull this combo off and decided against it. Thanks for the suggestions!

Made_Compleat on Horrifying Nightmares

7 months ago

Hey! I love this deck. A few suggestions:

Runo Stromkirk  ^Flip is a bit of a nonbo with Umbris, Fear Manifest, as he isn't a horror when he ETBs and doesn't exile when he transforms. Thus, he's won't ETB as a horror to get that sweet sweet value. He also doesn't really synergize with the horror tribal theme. Likewise, the Shapeshifters in the deck like Evil Twin don't synergize, as they're not horrors and don't have changeling. Dauthi Voidwalker runs into the same issue, but it is pretty good so I wouldn't cut it.

A funny card in the deck would be Chainer, Dementia Master. He creates nightmares from your opponent's yard, which then exile more cards with your commander. However, he does come with the drawback of exiling all Nightmares when he dies. He's still totally worth it, though. Angel of Suffering do be silly. She might not be the best, but she's just kinda funny in the deck. The same goes for Bitter Ordeal, which, like all cards from Future Sight, is just kinda nifty. Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver ain't a bad card in this context, nor is Ashiok, Sculptor of Fears. Nightmare weaver is better, but both are pretty good in this context. Ashiok, Dream Render is pretty deece as both a Stranglehold and a exile-based mill engine, and she also completes AshiokTron (tm). To compleat the "Not good, just funny" cycle, Chainer's Torment. Is it an absolutely awful card? Yes. Is it hilarious? YES. Phyrexian Rager is pretty nice as well.

I hope that you find these suggestions helpful!

DreadKhan on unthinkable apocalypse

10 months ago

I'm not certain the Commander has enough explosive power to consistently win vs 2 decks, but I have very good results in 1 v 1 with my Rakdos deck, and it often has spare cards by the end of the game, be it wipe or removal, because the deck just runs so much of those, with lots of the removal hitting more than 1 target (I love stuff like Phyrexian Purge, Fire Covenant, Make an Example, and Volcanic Offering can each be a terror of a card, and a deck running all of them has lots of pinpoint removal that will clear lots of stuff out. Ashes to Ashes and Reckless Spite also exist fwiw, and if you aren't certain you'll have creatures out, Tergrid's Shadow can do a bit of work, as can Plaguecrafter or Demon's Disciple, cards Sedris can recur for 2B even. Another value card is Dredge the Mire, which can cheat in the 3 worst creatures in people's graveyards, note certain creatures will kill you if you control them, so check before playing! Necromantic Selection not only clears the field, it also gives you back the best thing, this is extra juicy if you use some sort of Indestructible creature(s) that won't die. If you consistently have a fairly big creature, or one with Deathtouch and Lifelink, Chandra's Ignition is one sided by definition, one of many cards that shines brightly with Basilisk Collar (which is also very good with Jaya Ballard, Task Mage or even good old Banshee, Jaya's 6 damage wipe really is amazing if you've got Collar on her, though it'll kill her too). If you expect to have multiple opponents, Goad is a very strong effect, Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant is potentially pretty solid, lots of card draw. There is also Kardur, Doomscourge that will force everyone's hand. Spectacular Showdown is a great card if you've actually got a board of your own to finish people off, keep in mind that on your next turn, you not only won't have been attacked by any pre-existing creature, everyone else will have swung for the fences with Double Strike, and they will likely have nothing left to defend with, making your Double Strikers very effective. Another Goad source that is great with a creature heavy board is Agitator Ant, which is hilarious a lot of the time. If you're using Goad effects, War Tax can let an opponent have a way around them, if there is a tax to attack Goad fails, and War Cadence is absolutely devastating with Goad, even a tax of 1 to block can make blocking impossible for weenie decks, and you can use either on anyone's turn.

As you've got access to Blue, there are a few non-Rakdos tricks you can use, the most hilarious I know of is Mass Diminish, note that it lasts until your next turn and have a good laugh. There is also Sudden Spoiling, which is powerful but lasts for that turn, or Polymorphist's Jest, which is similarly a 1 turn solution. I use Mass Diminish more aggressively, to make a player hyper-vulnerable to attackers (and make them unable to counter attack), getting two casts is just savage. Visions of Duplicity can create some chaos with it's two casts, Cultural Exchange is obscene if someone else has better creatures. Bident of Thassa is glorious if you want both of it's effects, forcing people to attack is incredibly mean, and this doesn't require you to run a weenie like Goblin Diplomats, but that's also a fun card fwiw. If you're going to run Oriq Loremage, you might slip in a huge creature to Unearth, something like Dragon Tyrant can be huge and not break the bank, Double Strike and Firebreathing are really good together, and you won't have to pay the upkeep with Unearth, he's dead before that matters.

I was looking at your land count and average Mana Value and I think you probably are running too few lands at this point, it's very tempting to cut them, but 30 is probably too few for a MV that is over 2.5. You might get away with adding 2 mana ramp, but I'd still aim for at least 36 lands (or MDFCs that count as a land, you probably already have the best two MDFCs in those colours, but people also run Malakir Rebirth  ^Flip) to ensure you can consistently cast stuff. There is a smattering of ways you can run less lands/ramp, but these all come with downsides, but in Grixis you can run 4 solid Bounce Lands, Dimir Aqueduct and Guildless Commons should be in here as well if you want a lower land count, these let you hit another land drop when you draw them. You might also run stuff like Thran Dynamo or Worn Powerstone to help you hit higher MVs sooner, ramping by only 1 mana feels bad compared to hitting a land drop most of the time, there is also Gilded Lotus, but hitting 5 mana can be rough. Coalition Relic can charge for 1 turn, Skyclave Relic is super versatile/rugged, and Everflowing Chalice can be huge if you want, 6-10 mana is absurd but sometimes comes up. Cantrips like Ponder and Preordain are also good at digging for a land, but I know in Talrand it stings pretty bad when you Preordain and don't find a land and I needed one. As for some cards to remove, I'll take a look, but if I'm trying to build a deck that can handle attention, I look first at cards that will hurt only 1 player, unless that card will almost certainly end that player, either right away or in a few turns.

A few to consider removing (I may be missing why you have them in, so user discretion is advised or something): Archive Trap, Outpost Siege, Palace Siege, Ponder, Preordain, Haunting Echoes, Cruel Ultimatum (this seems insanely hard to cast, and hits only 1 player, unless you can copy it I'd run Captive Audience if I want to hose one player hard), Cranial Extraction, Cormela, Glamour Thief, Kess, Dissident Mage, Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger, Lobber Crew, Loyal Subordinate, Nekusar, the Mindrazer, Obeka, Brute Chronologist, Phenax, God of Deception, Runo Stromkirk  ^Flip, Spear Spewer, and Thermo-Alchemist.Some maybe cards include Angrath, Captain of Chaos, and Cryptolith Fragment  ^Flip (for another land, maybe a better rock, there is Thought Vessel, but fixing is sweet in Grixis).

Hope some of this is helpful!