Stromkirk Occultist

Creature — Vampire Horror

Trample

Whenever this deals combat damage to a player, exile the top card of your library. Until end of turn, you may play that card.

Madness {1}{R} (If you discard this card, you may cast this for this card's instead of putting this into your graveyard.)

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

Discussion (51)

DrukenReaps on How do you create card-draw …

2 years ago

I'd be careful about having too much card draw that is reliant on your deck working. Having draw that just draws because it draws is often going to turn a game from not going well to being a little better.

In that vein I recommend Endless Atlas , Necropotence , Greed , Phyrexian Arena

To be more on theme the following work well Theater of Horrors , Stromkirk Occultist , Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion , Azra Oddsmaker , Anje's Ravager , Greven, Predator Captain

Take a look at a similar but more established commander for ideas too Kardur, Doomscourge

And there might be better options here than what I listed as I was mostly looking through my madness deck for some things to fit your needs Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant

I generally recommend around 15 card advantage total but you can go significantly lighter when your commander draws.

catmaster0 on Edgar Markov, More like Edgar in Progress

4 years ago

A few relatively cheap options for the deck.

Possible 1 drop vampires Duskborne Skymarcher Falkenrath Gorger Stromkirk Noble Viscera Seer

Possible 2 drop vampires Asylum Visitor Cordial Vampire Cruel Celebrant Falkenrath Exterminator Kalastria Highborn Legion Lieutenant Martyr of Dusk Oathsworn Vampire Ruthless Cullblade Stromkirk Condemned Vampire Interloper

Possible 3 drop vampires Anje's Ravager Forerunner of the Legion Kheru Mind-Eater Mathas, Fiend Seeker Stromkirk Occultist

Possible 5 drop vampires Champion of Dusk Malakir Bloodwitch Vona, Butcher of Magan

Removal Oust Journey to Nowhere Oblivion Ring

LordBlackblade on

4 years ago

Alright, let's get down to it! Anje Falkenrath is relatively new and I'm not yet sold on her validity as a vampire commander. My primary hang up is the overall weakness of madness as a mechanic. It is still critically underrepresented on cards, and of those that do exist only a handful are actually any good. I'm not saying it can't be done, just that I am skeptical that it can compete with existing vampire archetypes.

Mana Base Show

I like to start with the mana base in any deck I look at as it is (in my opinion) most crucial in the smooth operation of a deck. To start, your land count looks good, right about the sweet spot for a deck of this type. That said, there are a few sub-optimal choices in lands I would like to point out.

Cut

• Bloodfell Caves
• Cinder Barrens
• Great Furnace
• Vault of Whispers

I try and avoid tap lands at all costs if possible. When running a low-to-the-ground deck like this, the loss of tempo from a tap land can be more damaging than the loss of color availability. In addition, I would discourage the use of artifact lands unless you are going for a specific artifact theme. This is simply because artifact lands are easier to destroy than regular lands and aren't worth the risk with literally no benefit in this particular list.

Add

• Ancient Ziggurat
• Blood Crypt
• Bloodstained Mire
• Graven Cairns
• Luxury Suite
• Path of Ancestry
• Unclaimed Territory
• Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

I feel that any of these lands would be strong adds to your list. While some of the cards are a bit on the pricey side, I do feel they would improve the flow and power level of the deck.

Creatures Show

Vampires are usually pretty aggressively costed and there are a literal bevy of them to choose from. The key is choosing the cream of the crop to run in a singleton format.

Cut

• Bloodcrazed Neonate
• Bloodhall Priest
• Bloodsworn Steward
• Erdwal Ripper
• Falkenrath Reaver
• Heir of Falkenrath  ^Flip
• Incorrigible Youths
• Markov Crusader
• Stromkirk Mentor

Many of these creatures are either too costly or too under-powered for this format. It is important to remember that in EDH, efficiency is key. I would discourage playing any creature that falls short of the formula (Power+Toughness)/2=Converted Mana Cost (e.g. A 2/2 for two mana or better) unless it is especially crucial for your deck to function.

In addition impact is crucial. Bloodhall Priest for example is fairly costed, but doesn't do enough to advance your board state for the cost.

In

• Champion of Dusk
• Cordial Vampire
• Dusk Legion Zealot
• Malakir Bloodwitch
• Stromkirk Occultist
• Twilight Prophet
• Vicious Conquistador

These creatures are all what I would describe as impactful or highly efficient. When I mean impactful, cards like Malakir Bloodwitch make a big splash when they hit and are still relevant after the fact due to their efficient bodies. In terms of efficiency, Vicious Conquistador can put in a lot of work in the early game as a cheap, go-wide card.

Instants Show

In general 1-1 removal and "small" damage are not that great in EDH. Shoot for cards that are either modal a la Rakdos Charm or hit multiple targets such as Anger of the Gods or any board wipe (obviously most of these effects are sorceries rather than instants). Vampiric Fury seems just okay. Again in EDH these are just okay and are usually superseded by repeatable and/or static effects.

Out

• Fatal Push
• Fiery Temper
• Lightning Axe
• Lightning Bolt
• Sorin's Thirst

I don't have any good tips for adds here, but I would encourage you to look for modal or mass effect type cards for this category.

Sorceries Show

Honestly, these seem fine. I would urge you to add some more card draw. Things like Night's Whisper and Read the Bones are pretty solid choices.

In

• Burning Inquiry
• Cathartic Reunion
• Night's Whisper
• Read the Bones
• Tormenting Voice

These all seem like good choices to me and many of them double as potential madness triggers essentially negating their downsides.

Artifacts Show

Most of these are pretty standard; however, there are a couple that don't really fit your plan that I would personally cut.

Out

• Basilisk Collar
• Eldrazi Monument
• Rakdos Cluestone

Basilisk Collar is a solid equipment, but this is neither a voltron nor combo build that can effectively utilize it. I like Eldrazi Monument for its power; however, you lack the ability to produce enough fodder to sustain it long-term. Finally, Rakdos Cluestone is simply outclassed by other mana rocks, most notably my suggestion Talisman of Indulgence .

In

• Herald's Horn
• Talisman of Indulgence

Herald's Horn is just a good card in any tribal deck and I would highly recommend it!

My overall impression is that you've got a decent base here, but have made several choices that I see a lot of new EDH players make in their early decks. In general, you could use more card draw and I would encourage you to take a look at EDHREC or other vampire decks on here for inspiration in terms of what kinds of effects truly shine in EDH versus other formats.

LordBlackblade on more

5 years ago

I'm going to lay it all on the table here to make my train of thought as clear as possible, and back up my statements with source material. I spent way too much time on this already, so I might as well post it!

Here's a Scryfall search showing all creatures with the Vampire subtype. Of them, thirteen (a mere 5.8% of all vampires) have an additional race subtype. Of those thirteen, three are undead Vampires ( Vampire Revenant , Nirkana Revenant , and Skeletal Vampire ), four are from the Eldritch Moon block and are Vampire Horrors ( Weirded Vampire , Voldaren Pariah  ^Flip, Stromkirk Occultist , and Stromkirk Condemned ), and four were printed before the Grand Creature Type Update (hencefore GCTU) ( Vampiric Dragon , Vampire Hounds , Mirri the Cursed , and Irini Sengir ). The final two are Aetherborn Vampires from Kaladesh ( Yahenni, Undying Partisan and Gifted Aetherborn ).

All of this points to Vampires with two races being the vast minority (again 5.8%) of all Vampires ever printed. Aside from the pre-GCTU Vampires, they all have set-specific reasons for having two racial subtypes or are undead (which seems counter intutive as I've always considered Vampires to be undead already...but I digress).

Here again (for posterity) is the link to the GCTU Announcement. This clarifies what the stance is or R&D in their approach to creature subtypes. From the article, "...we implemented the "race class" model for Magic creatures..." This establishes a baseline for every single MTG creature from September 2007 onward. Elf Druid, Human Warrior, Zombie Knight, etc. This is a framework for card design.

I want to be clear, its a guideline, not a hard and fast rule. In general, they wanted to keep it simple as part of the New World Order of MTG which you can find in an article here. While the article doesn't explicitly state that creatures typing is part of the NWO, it can be inferred from it that simplicity is important in MTG going forward. With that in mind it only makes sense that they would try very hard while designing cards to keep to the "race class" system for both consistency and simplicity. Are they never going to print a card with two races? Of course not, as you mentioned Frilled Mystic and as I mentioned Vorel of the Hull Clade . Wizards isn't afraid to work outside their own general guidelines if it suits their purposes, fits with the lore (this one is important for this argument), and doesn't unbalance the game.

By your argument, every Vampire would have the "Pre-Vampire-Race Vampire Class" e.g. Elf Vampire Druid, Human Vampire Warrior, Vampire Zombie Knight. Could they do it? Sure, but it goes against R&D's stated goal for what they want for MTG going forward by adding needless complexity (and letterhead) to cards.

Your example of Ahn-Crop Invader brings up an interesting point though and I have a thought about it. Let's use some cards with current links as examples. For you side I produce Marauding Boneslasher . A Zombie Minotaur 'Race Race" just like your example. For my side I produce Merciless Eternal . A Zombie Cleric "Race Class." I think what this shows is that when Wizards does put two races on a card it is unlikely be two "Common" races. E.g. Zombie Human, Elf Goblin, etc., unless there are extreme circumstances (Looking at you Vorel). Again I think it comes back to complexity. If every undead or mutated creature had to state its pre-death/mutation type, there'd be way too many of the core tribes in the game. The vast majority of Vampires and Zombies were originally humans judging from their art. By giving cards like that the Human subtype, Humans as a tribe would become overly powerful simply from having a large pool to draw cards from. Keeping the number of races/classes on a card to a minimum could potentially be balance related.

tldr:

1) Multi-Race Vampires are small percentage of all Vampires ever printed.

2) Wizards wants to consistent in its product and has chosen the "Race Class" model for subtypes

3) Wizards wants to keep the game simple when possible. Extra subtypes go against this and as such are only used when crucial mechanically (e.g. Horrors for the Eldritch Moon block) or from a lore perspective (e.g. Yahenni, Undying Partisan )

LordBlackblade on None

5 years ago

So I posted my big response here by accident. Since I'm here anyway I just wanna say that for what its worth, I see where you are coming from and agree with you 100%!

Darth_Savage on Tibalt's revolution (super budget)

5 years ago

This deck has some odd card choices... For starter you aren't running the best red madness card Fiery Temper, replace Alchemist's Greeting and Avacyn's Judgment. You are running Senseless Rage which gives your opponent an easy 2-for-1 when they remove the creature, maybe Stromkirk Occultist or Reckless Wurm to give you an additional threat. I'm not sure why Falkenrath Reaver is here either, nobody would play the Grizzly Bears, when you have options like Furyblade Vampire, Falkenrath Exterminator or Bloodcrazed Neonate. Last thought, If you dropped Doubling Season and ran Volt Charge, Contagion Clasp or Tezzeret's Gambit, proliferate would probably get the job done... Still, you have the beginnings of a deck that could be fun, so I wish you luck with your brew.

hkhssweiss on Bloodbath

5 years ago

Hey TheErebos!

Alright so cards off the top of my head to definitely keep for the vampires.

• Adaptive Automaton
• Blood Artist
• Bloodcrazed Paladin
• Bloodghast
• Bloodline Keeper  ^Flip
• Captivating Vampire
• Drana, Liberator of Malakir
• Drana's Emissary
• Forerunner of the Legion
• Indulgent Aristocrat
• Kheru Mind-Eater
• Legion Lieutenant
• Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle
• Metallic Mimic
• Mirror Entity
• Pulse Tracker
• Rakish Heir
• Sadistic Hypnotist
• Sanctum Seeker
• Stromkirk Captain
• Stromkirk Occultist
• Twilight Prophet
• Vampire Hexmage
• Vicious Conquistador
• Viscera Seer
• Yahenni, Undying Partisan

Now moving on to the card types, for anthem/doubling/synergy token effects:

• Anointed Procession
• Cathars' Crusade
• Coat of Arms
• Door of Destinies
• Herald's Horn
• Legion's Landing  ^Flip
• Obelisk of Urd
• Radiant Destiny
• Shared Animosity
• Stensia Masquerade
• The Immortal Sun
• Urza's Incubator
• Vanquisher's Banner

Now going for the interaction suite:

• Anguished Unmaking
• Boros Charm
• Crackling Doom
• Faith's Reward
• Fire Covenant
• Path to Exile
• Swords to Plowshares
• Teferi's Protection
• Vandalblast
• Zealous Persecution

Now for card draw engines:

• Dark Confidant
• Erebos, God of the Dead
• Grim Haruspex
• Mentor of the Meek
• Mind's Eye
• Phyrexian Arena
• Skullclamp
• Slate of Ancestry
• Smothering Abomination
• Underworld Connections
• Vampiric Rites

No good deck is left without tutors as well:

• Demonic Tutor
• Enlightened Tutor
• Gamble
• Vampiric Tutor

So far those cards are to be considered, sort through the cards and we can refine them to a playable deck list. Add in 36 lands to start, I feel that eventually we can cut it down to 34-35 since Markov will run a low curve. The basic lands should be good along with the basic multicolor mana base like Command Tower, Reflecting Pool, Mana Confluence, Exotic Orchard, City of Brass, the shock lands (Godless Shrine, Blood Crypt, Sacred Foundry), and also the painlands for now (Battlefield Forge, Caves of Koilos, Sulfurous Springs).

Let me know when you update it!

KaloShin on Purphoros, God of Tokens

5 years ago

Love Purphoros, figure I'd share some of my findings from when I'd play him. When I put Purphoros together, felt like I really ran out of fuel too fast, so I changed up my mana rock and creature selection.

Mana Rocks : Hedron Archive Commander's Sphere Mind Stone (You're already using it figured id just put all of my ideas out) Coveted Jewel

The principle i'm applying here is I'm red, I run out of cards due to my low CMC, so at all points i need to be able to convert my field into more fuel. The last one Coveted Jewel is pretty easy to protect in such a crazy token deck as well.

Other Draw Effects : Prophetic Flamespeaker usually results in two cards, as he has double strike. Both him and Stromkirk Occultist are great, as youre trying to win via damage anyway. Commune with Lava Do Commune with Lava before your turn starts, usually in response to someone moving to their end step. Nets you a bunch of toys next turn. Vance's Blasting Cannons  ^Flip Worse than outpost siege, but from my perspective I just dont care, as I want to draw cards lol.

I noticed there's not a lot of super strong removal or instant speed stuff so I figured I'd drop a few cards for those as well.

Volcanic Offering Volcanic offering in multiplayer usually results in two threats removed, and two lands removed. Seismic Strike (Assuming you just have lands, its 3 mana for 3 damage, and it gets better as time goes on.) Chain Reaction The majority of reds field wipes kind of suck, so im not sure how else to help you here. Less conditional than Aligned Hedron Network, and will hit very hard since you're a token based deck. Starstorm Instant speed, cycling, really good! Disaster Radius and Volcanic Vision are one sided. The last one lets you recur usually a good token spell as well, though ill admit its one of the weaker suggestions.

Although Purphoros is really, really strong against restrictive enchantment decks, I run a lot of enchantment removal and when you run against an azorius deck trying to ruin fun, i always wish I had them in my mono red decks.

Scour from Existence Every time I've cast this, it's saved me. As weird as it sounds and yes its 7 mana, but there are so many times I've been playing where I wished I had this or chaos warp, admittedly Chaos Warp is better, but you can only run one of them :(. Unstable Obelisk Meteor Golem He triggers purphoros too!