Sifter of Skulls

Creature — Eldrazi

Devoid (This card has no colour.)

Whenever another nontoken creature you control dies, create a 1/1 colourless Eldrazi Scion creature token. It has "Sacrifice this creature: Add {C}." (Dying is being put into the graveyard from the battlefield.)

Combos

• Pitiless Plunderer + Sifter of Skulls
• Bog Initiate + Sifter of Skulls + Teysa Karlov

Tokens

• Eldrazi Scion 1/1 C

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
Historic Brawl	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Modern Beyond Horizons	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (50)

DreadKhan on Ghave It All I Got

1 year ago

Not sure if you're looking for any new ideas, but since I thought of a few I thought I'd mention, in case you can find them! Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest and One with the Kami would be very good in here, and are very good together. If you also have something like Pawn of Ulamog or Sifter of Skulls you can turn any sacrificed non-token creature into a colourless mana (as well as a token creature). Pitiless Plunderer and Chatterfang, Squirrel General are both very good together and very good with your Commander. Jade Mage can make Saprolings for only 2G, and Ant Queen can make a 1/1 insect for only 1G. Skullclamp is really good value if you have a lot of 1 toughness tokens, paying 1 and killing your token to draw 2 feels great. Welcoming Vampire is a nifty option if you can make a token on each opponent's turn, as is Bennie Bracks, Zoologist. Soltari Champion is a neat anthem that is really hard to block, and Soltari Visionary is a handy way to cripple any Enchantment heavy decks, because very few decks can block Shadow creatures. With your counter theme you might use Incubation Druid, it's great value if you can cheaply get a counter on it. Ordeal of Nylea is good ramp if you can cheat some counters to speed it up.

Shield_of_Aiur on Minthara Sacrifice Machine

1 year ago

I've run decks like this before (albeit with green as well), they can sometimes get pretty tough to edit or improve once you make your initial roster. I can't help you choose what to swap in/out or with what, especially since this isn't a color combo I'm 100% familiar running, but I have some recommendations to expand your maybeboard...

Overall, Daxos the Returned would be a good way to take additional advantage of and further feed your experience counters, though I'm unsure if it fits the deck strategy itself 1:1.

There are any number of cards that can take advantage of a sacrifice engine, some mainstays in decks I made a while back (and since scrapped) would be Smothering Abomination, Sifter of Skulls, Blood Artist, and Zulaport Cutthroat, though countless more exist for sure, and these are all single cards.

I also would point you towards "Emerge" cards (such as Distended Mindbender), co-opting your opponent to sacrifice things as well (such as with Voldaren Pariah  ^Flip, Rankle's Prank, etc), and even some stat balloons like Elenda, the Dusk Rose (or DIY a stat balloon with Sadistic Glee).

Personally, some good supporting cards might be Shadows of the Past, Black Market, Moonlit Wake, and Inheritance, though these are just some examples of directions you could go in.

Lastly, I encourage you to take a look at some of the more recent sets in general, especially Wild of Eldraine's "Bargain" mechanic. It might have a good amount of synergy here.

DreadKhan on That's Why it's Called Murder, not Mukduk

1 year ago

If there are decks in your meta that aren't good at blocking, then Rite of the Raging Storm is very scary. It is also a constant source of tokens that are never coming your way. Another Enchantment that can provide lots of bodies is Elemental Mastery, Mastery can make a small army of tokens that are both very good sac fodder and decent chump blockers if you're desperate.

I'm not sure if it's too awkward to make work, but Haakon, Stromgald Scourge is a decent recursion piece, allowing you to recast knights from the graveyard (including Haakon). All in all probably not as good as Gravecrawler, but better than many recursion options since there are many 1 mana Knights/Changelings. Another interesting recursion option that might work in here is Hell's Caretaker, this can turn a chump into the best creature in your graveyard on your upkeeps.

Any reason you're not running Pitiless Plunderer? It has pretty good synergy with your Commander, but also with stuff like Mayhem Devil (and maybe something like Marionette Master, which also works with any artifact creatures). Pawn of Ulamog and Sifter of Skulls both work with any recursive creatures to help generate mana. Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder is a really weird token generator that synergizes well with Gravecrawler or Haakon, providing you an extra body for each cast, helping them go infinite.

It's pretty janky, but Lagomos, Hand of Hatred is a neat repeatable tutor that also makes a token each turn. Another janky card that might do some work in here is Mask of Griselbrand, the buffs can be useful, but the card draw is the real perk, very good in a deck with lots of sacrifice outlets as a weirder Skullclamp. Dream Devourer is a surprisingly good jank 'ramp' source in Black, this also can protect your cards from discard effects by clearing your hand (and still letting you cast the stuff later).

Azoth2099 on 100 cards for Meren

1 year ago

Oh man, speaking of Sidisi, Undead Vizier & Razaketh, the Foulblooded - Diabolic Intent is another no-brainer here.

Blood Pet & Basal Thrull are also greats recs, y'all! Those Eldrazi Token generators reminded me to mention Sifter of Skulls as well.

Not sure how I forgot to mention this in my 1st post, but Proliferate bangs here. Consider Plaguemaw Beast, Unnatural Restoration, Yawgmoth, Thran Physician, Karn's Bastion, Contagion Clasp, Contagion Engine & Evolution Sage.

Also, a word of warning: there is no way to keep Meren of Clan Nel Toth ultra-casual. Her nature as a Reanimator steers her to higher power levels than casual pods aim for. You'll see what I mean as you continue to refine your decklist!

Azoth2099 on

1 year ago

toxicsunshine22

Hey dude! Gonna try to keep this brief and not go down a brewing rabbit hole lol.

Have you considered extra combat phases? Your Commander's strategy obviously hinges upon you being able to attack with it, so doing it multiple times a turn is the way to go imho.

Although I wouldn't go overboard with it, there are a few worth thinking over such as Aggravated Assault, Combat Celebrant, Breath of Fury (extra good if you're running creatures that want to be sacrificed on your way to drawing cards via your Commander, Cathodion for example), Seize the Day, Savage Beating & World at War.

Creatures that sacrifice themselves could also be great, stuff like Ball Lightning, Groundbreaker & Lightning Skelemental can do a lot of damage. Blood Pet, Goldhound, Reckless Barbarian, Generator Servant, Tinder Wall, Wild Cantor & Basal Thrull draw and ramp you at the same time, which is pretty neat. Eldrazi token generators like Sifter of Skulls, From Beyond & Awakening Zone can help you keep that engine running in longer games. Haywire Mite, Caustic Caterpillar &Cankerbloom draw, control the board and replace their presence on your own board for a great rate.

There are a few value pieces worth thinking about as well, like, Pitiless Plunderer & Korvold, Fae-Cursed King.

Lastly, you need a lot more mana dorks, my guy. As many as possible.

Sorry for being so long-winded! Cheers!

DreadKhan on Misappropriation of funds

2 years 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 Korvold Sacrifice

2 years ago

I assume you're trying to keep this on a lower budget, so this post will lean into cards that are cheaper, probably ~$5 or less. I feel like something like Pawn of Ulamog, or Sifter of Skulls, or even Ogre Slumlord? Bodies off of creatures dying that can also die is pretty on theme.

A great source of fodder can be Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder, but if you play anything too big he'll just die. You really want some infinite and free sac outlets if you use him, but there are a few of those around that aren't too costly, including Viscera Seer, Carrion Feeder, Woe Strider, and Sadistic Hypnotist. There is also Dimir House Guard, which can also serve as a tutor for anything that's 4 mana if you already have better sac outlets on board. Another creature that interacts fairly well with your Commander is Prossh, Skyraider of Kher, who can make some bodies for you/provides a free sac outlet.

Not sure how often you attack, but Jolene, the Plunder Queen, Grim Hireling and Professional Face-Breaker can all generate treasures for you to sacrifice as needed. These are good cards with creatures that are hard to block, such as Shadow creatures, though Gruul has no Shadows afaik and Black has mostly Dauthi that aged poorly and the pricey Dauthi Voidwalker, I have been known to run Dauthi Slayer and Dauthi Marauder here and there, Dauthi Horror is also reasonably cost effective in it's own way. There are a few more out there if you like the concept of creatures that can't block or be blocked.

You might like Mimic Vat, the bodies can be useful while having some synergy with the Commander.

Since Korvold can easily get over 10 power and has evasion, have you considered Tainted Strike to help him one-shot people? 10 Infect damage kills any opponent, regardless of life total. Also good with a Trample source obviously, Garruk's Uprising, Primal Rage (or Rancor?) or Blossoming Bogbeast are all affordable and playable sources. Obviously not important if people rarely run fliers in your area.

I could point out some good candidates for replacement in your list if you'd like.

Hope some of this is helpful!

DreadKhan on Mishra, Claimed by Gix

2 years ago

A few things that might help, I'm hoping I've understood what you're looking for!

Viscera Seer is among the best sac outlets ever printed at only B, but the most popular altars are all really pushed, Phyrexian Altar, Ashnod's Altar and Altar of Dementia. Ashnod's is probably the best, but Phyrexian is still very good. Skullport Merchant is great on a budget, if you want a recursive body some of the better options are Gravecrawler, which only needs a Zombie and can easily go infinite with a lot of things, and Haakon, Stromgald Scourge who lets you recast any Knights, which also includes Changelings but most importantly lets you loop the same 1 drop Knight. These sorts of cards also like Pitiless Plunderer, Pawn of Ulamog and Sifter of Skulls, and any colourless sources can benefit from Bog Initiate. Nether Traitor can let you get an extra sacrifice for each Black mana you have to match a dying creature. If you usually have a cheap sacrifice outlet, Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder can make a ton of bodies for you. Another recursive body that can offer some ongoing value is Silversmote Ghoul, you just want a way to gain a bit of life, so something like your Exquisite Blood or Whip of Erebos can help ensure you gain enough. Ogre Slumlord is a decent source of bodies if you have some ways to kill enemy creatures, the nice thing is that once the Slumlord gains some steam, you're pretty tough to attack on the ground. Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs can make bodies that discourage people from swinging at you. Really bad in some ways, but Bloodsoaked Altar can make weenies into beefy demons, plays well with token generators obviously.

If you expect to have medium size creatures die, Mask of Griselbrand can draw a reasonable number of cards, it can also gain you decent life while offering evasion. There are very few downsides to running this card in my experience, even in a deck that doesn't run many creatures your Commander can wear it.

Blade of Selves would be funny if you ever get your Commander melded, when you swing you get a copy of your meld for each opponent (though you only get the ETBs before they die unfortunately).

War Room is a very good land to look at, maybe Bonders' Enclave if you think you can get a big enough body out consistently. Agitator Ant can help ensure you have a big enough body fwiw, the effect can get very out of hand though if you lack wipes.