Syphon Mind

Sorcery

Each other player discards a card. You draw a card for each card discarded this way.

Discussion (50)

Profet93 on Crippling Fear

1 week ago

I always try to reply whenever you post a comment/reply back, life circumstances permitting. Options for you include....

1. Night's Whisper - Another sign in blood, although you can't target your opponent with it (I actually use it as a wincon in my mono black deck, Necro + Profane Transfusion + Sign in blood, lmao)
2. Syphon Mind - Costly to cast but draw 3 each opponent discard one is nice. Also 3 generic mana is nice to cast more devotion heavy cards (like sign in blood)
3. All Is Dust - Idk the ruling with Tegrid but I'm assuming it works like Meren, it see's everything dying so you get back all the things sacrificed. Moreover, this acts as another way to interact with enchantments (notably, rest in peace which destroys your deck as it exiles graves). I know it's expensive in CMC and $ but worth it if you find yourself troubled against pesky enchantments you can't interact with or if you just want another wipe. While it's not low to the ground as you wanted, its still something to take under serious consideration.
4. Mana Vault - Could sub for moxdiamond. Idk if you want this or if your deck needs it, but Turn 2 Tegrid can make people afraid....very afraid, cue evil laughter
5. Cavern of Souls - I see you run boseju but no cavern? How much blue is in your meta? I know your commander is your only G-d type, but it could also work for humans if needed. Its not needed of course, but I would hate for my commander-centric deck to be without a commander, you know?

unstable_anomaly on I Have A.D.D.

3 weeks ago

+1 Nice list, love the name. Some suggestions if I may:

It's imperative to get Kaalia out as soon as possible and start swinging. That being said I would suggest removing all of your three mana and higher rocks for two mana rocks. Smothering Tithe is a great card, but it's slow in a Kaalia build and is always a lightning rod for removal. I recently pulled it from my own list and haven't missed it since.

Seems like you have plenty of angels/ dragons/ demons to maybe not run out of gas, but I have to wonder with only 4 draw spells? Maybe the amount of tutors you have can help make up for this? Either way, I would recommend adding more draw spells to keep the hand full.

A couple of these are in you maybeboard, but some cards you might wanna try: Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx / Burning-Rune Demon / Necropotence / Syphon Mind / Harvester of Souls / Robe of Stars / Darksteel Plate / Serra's Emissary / Whispersilk Cloak / Teferi's Protection / Strionic Resonator.

Feel free to take a look at my Kaalia build on my page if your interested. Always love seeing another Kaalia build. Cheers.

Profet93 on THE NECROGEN PROJECT

1 month ago

+1

Cabal stronghold seems weak given your many non-basics and the fact you're running lake of the dead.

Contamination and Infernal Darkness can help give you a turn or 2. Do note that contamination shuts off mass mana effects, symmetrically, such as coffers, nykthos, cradle, etc.... while infernal darkness does not.

While more of a slightly jank suggestion, Crucible of Worlds in conjunction with fetchlands could prove useful. Having a constant stream of land drops, being able to utilize your LD as well help offset lake of the dead. I see your Liliana plays a similar role, while providing flexibility as removal. I find Liliana weak, whether its swapped with any of the above or something to help offset black's weakness of artifact/enchantment removal such as Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, nev disk or Oblivion Stone.

If someone casts Declaration of Naught, Nevermore, etc... you're SOL.

Syphon Mind can be helpful as well. Each opponent discard 1, you draw 3, for 4 mana. Pretty helpful

trippy_mcfly on Mono Black Death Plague

2 months ago

Cool deck. I'm here to offer some suggestions after you pointed me here from your other deck.

Tergrid, God of Fright  ^Flip is a powerful commander and generates insane advantage in 4-player games. Let's take a look at this deck and see what it is doing, and then streamline it. I see three main objectives of this deck:

1 - RAMPING.

This is pretty much a primary objective of any commander deck, since if your only source of mana is playing one land per turn, you're going to fall way behind. Your main ramping plan for this deck is to double lands, using Cabal Coffers, Cabal Stronghold, Caged Sun, Crypt Ghast, Extraplanar Lens, Gauntlet of Power, and Nirkana Revenant. This is super cool and probably a pretty strong plan. We want to try to maximize this plan. How can we do that?

All of these cards want you to load up on basic swamps, which you did. We want to make sure we are playing a basic swamp every turn. Solemn Simulacrum is definitely a worthwhile add. Liliana of the Dark Realms is very helpful and I'm happy to see her in this deck. Often times Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is a worthwhile add for decks with Cabal Coffers. I think it is worth it here. Although you yourself don't have many non-swamps that will benefit from Urborg, you are likely going to be stealing people's lands with Tergrid, and counting those as swamps will be helpful for you.

How else can we keep getting swamps onto the battlefield to power up this strategy? Card draw. The more cards in your hand the higher the chance you will have a swamp to play every turn. Night's Whisper and Sign in Blood are great for this. Disciple of Bolas is solid too. Dread Presence loves swamps and is a must-add. I would add Phyrexian Arena, which is great card draw for you. Necropotence, one of the craziest cards in the game, is also a worthwhile addition. Not as good but worth consideration are Yawgmoth's Bargain and Null Profusion. Two other well-known card draw machines in black are Dark Confidant and Bolas's Citadel. You have some costly spells in your deck, so they might be a bit of a liability. If you want to include them, Sensei's Divining Top pairs very well with them.

Just because you are mainly ramping with land doubling doesn't mean there isn't room for other ramping as well. You have Black Market, which I have never personally tested, but is probably decent. Black has some explosive, single-turn ramp with Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, and Culling the Weak. These cards would do well in letting you get out expensive plays ahead of schedule, mainly Tergrid. Artifact ramp is also great in any deck. I would add Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, Jeweled Lotus, and Jet Medallion. I would consider adding even more artifact ramp as well. Getting down Tergrid as early as turn 1 or 2 is just so good.

2 - SACRIFICE AND DISCARD.

Once you have Tergrid out, sacrifice and discard become powerful effects that let you take control of your opponent's permanents. This is insane advantage and if left unchecked for very long will win you the game. Syphon Mind while Tergrid is in play not only puts you up 4 cards in comparison to each opponent (since they each went down 1 and you went up 3), but also could net you 3 more cards if they discard permanents that then go onto your field. That's insane. Let's take a look at all the cards you have that enable Tergrid:

SACRIFICE:

Archfiend of Depravity - A one-sided, almost board wipe that repeats every turn? Pretty solid. Getting the creatures onto your field with Tergrid? That is nuts. The one issue is that some commander decks won't have that many more than 2 creatures on the field when this comes down, and if they do, then this card and/or Tergrid become a big target, but if you survive the turn, this and your commander will put you ahead so far.

Butcher of Malakir - Similar to Archfiend. If this guy sticks around for a bit, you're going to be at such an advantage. It costs 7 which is a bit high and very vulnerable to something like Mana Drain, so I wouldn't be super upset if you cut it, but it is great with Tergrid.

Gatekeeper of Malakir - This guy only costs three and steals a creature if Tergrid is on the field. Love it.

Phyrexian Obliterator - If someone is dumb enough to deal damage to this guy, then you're getting a lot of their permanents! I don't love this card for you. People will just leave it alone and then you just hit someone for 5 each turn or leave up a blocker, which is a bit slow.

Sheoldred, Whispering One - Similar to Archfiend. If this guy sticks around for a bit, you're going to be at such an advantage. It costs 7 which is a bit high and very vulnerable to something like Mana Drain, so I wouldn't be super upset if you cut it, but it is great with Tergrid.

Torment of Hailfire - Expensive and liable to be countered but if it resolves then you will get a ton of value!

Dictate of Erebos - I like it. Let's say you have 10 mana. Cast Tergrid, then somebody goes to kill him. Flash this card in. Now, you at least get 3 of your opponents creatures on the way out!

Grave Pact - I like this as well. You can't flash it in, but if you put this card on the field, then people will have to kill this before Tergrid comes down or else end up giving you their creatures.

The Eldest Reborn - Immediate impact with Tergrid on the field, pretty good value on its own. Definitely a keep.

DISCARD:

Liliana, Defiant Necromancer - You need to flip her first, but once flipped she is great.

Syphon Mind - Great.

Torment of Hailfire - Expensive and liable to be countered but if it resolves then you will get a ton of value!

The Eldest Reborn - Immediate impact with Tergrid on the field, pretty good value on its own. Definitely a keep.

... and that's it. We need more cards that are busted with Tergrid! The following would be great adds to your deck: Smallpox, Dark Deal, Liliana's Triumph, Plaguecrafter, Soul Shatter, Mire in Misery, Innocent Blood, Vona's Hunger, Death Cloud, Burglar Rat, Demon's Disciple, Fleshbag Marauder, Elderfang Disciple, Liliana, Waker of the Dead, Bottomless Pit, Fraying Omnipotence, Rotting Rats, Cunning Lethemancer, Merciless Executioner, and a personal favorite: Smokestack.

Notice that all of these cards are typically even trades (ex: I play Elderfang Disciple, going down 1 card, everyone else goes down 1 card.) These aren't great on their own since it costs you mana to do so, and, in the case of discard and sacrifice, the opponent gets to choose an asset that they are least upset to get rid of, making them actually below-even trades. However, they become insanely busted with Tergrid. (ex: I play Elderfang Disciple, going down 1 card in hand for a measly 1/1. But, I get a Carpet of Flowers, basic plains, and Birds of Paradise on my field? Now that's an amazing play). Therefore, the ones that are recurring are better, since they give you more chances to make sure they resolve while Tergrid is on the field. (ex: I play Cunning Lethemancer and my opponent kills Tergrid. Later in the turn I play Tergrid again, albeit for 7 mana now due to commander tax. Next turn, with the Lethemancer trigger, I get some great value!)

Here are some other cards that work well with Tergrid, although they only target one opponent: Sudden Edict, Hellish Rebuke, Pharika's Libation, Diabolic Edict, Duress, Thoughtseize, Hymn to Tourach, Chain of Smog, Despise, and Divest.

Notice that in the absence of Tergrid, these cards are negative trades. They set you and an opponent back by putting you both down one card. The other two opponents are left untouched. Seeing them early in the game is not particularly helpful since you'd rather spend the early game ramping. They are great and slowing down whoever is winning, but at the expense of your own board. There is a trade-off here, since these can be leveraged politically. "Each opponent discards a card"" can give you tons of value with Tergrid on the field but makes you 3 enemies. "Target opponent discards a card"" gives you not as much value in general but you can leverage this to make someone else the common enemy or make a deal with a player ("if you don't attack me next turn I won't target you with my Duress"). Things like Duress can also target specific cards, which is an added benefit for you and an added detriment to the opponent.

I would run some from each category, probably with an emphasis on maximizing Tergrid value.

3 - DRAIN AND GAIN.

Blood Artist and other cards gain you one life and drain your opponent one life. This is cool and certainly an interesting archetype of a deck. It doesn't synergize with Tergrid particularly well. I personally would not use this strategy at all in this deck and maximize the Tergrid plan. However, Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond is an awesome combo and an unexpected way to finish the game for you while people are busy dealing with Tergrid. If you want to keep this, I would trim some of the other cards, such as Exsanguinate and maybe Underworld Dreams.

---

So, now that we know what the 3 objectives are, and have maybe cut the third, we have a bit more of a plan. I've suggested adding some card draw and mana rocks for ramp, and tons more Tergrid synergy. What are the cuts? I would say anything that doesn't fit in with the objectives, so basically any card I haven't mentioned already, unless it gives great value on its own. I'll go through some:

Demonic Tutor and Vampiric Tutor are incredible cards and provide great value. Diabolic Tutor, Scheming Symmetry, and Shrouded Lore are worse tutor effects and should probably be moved to the maybe board. Sudden Spoiling is interesting and stops somebody from comboing off on their turn so is probably worth it. Reanimate is good value and should probably stay, same with Animate Dead. Demonic Vigor protects creatures but not Tergrid, unless you want him going to your hand. This is risky but probably fine. I could see him getting countered and then removed from your graveyard which puts you back majorly, but I could also see you avoiding commander tax. Worth looking into. Undying Evil is strictly better since it has instant speed and keeps him on the field. We might also want to protect him with Lightning Greaves or Swiftfoot Boots

Coffin Queen is too expensive and vulnerable. Drana, Liberator of Malakir is cool for aggressive strategies and can help you close out the game but is out of place in this deck. Falkenrath Noble is an overcosted Blood Artist. Gonti, Lord of Luxury is a value creature that if you can get his ETB many times, which your deck can't really do. Grave Titan isn't worth it in this deck. Gravedigger is fine but might be a bit slow. Helldozer is probably not worth it unless you want to pick on somebody lol. Korlash, Heir to Blackblade is not worth it. Massacre Wurm might not be worth it. Nighthowler isn't worth it. Opposition Agent is always a good add. Phage the Untouchable is too slow and vulnerable. Sepulchral Primordial might not be worth it. Skirsdag High Priest is probably not worth it. Syr Konrad, the Grim is not worth it. Wight of Precinct Six is not worth it. Tainted Strike is not worth it. Lashwrithe is not worth it. That's about 15 cuts right there.

Props to you for building Tergrid and having an interesting ramp strategy. I think if you go more in on the Tergrid plan by cutting unrelated cards for cards that ramp or are good with Tergrid then your deck will be a lot more reliable. After all, the most fun part of this deck is going off with Tergrid!

Hope this helps.

unstable_anomaly on Kaalia of The Vast

2 months ago

This is a very nice Kaalia of the Vast build. Quite possibly one of the best I've seen on the site actually. Well done. I notice quite a few similarities with my own build Fear, Faith, and Fury. I think the only difference really being mine is possibly a bit more defensive while yours is a bit more offensive.

I played a game last night where I was able to steal an opponents Bolas's Citadel with my Hellkite Tyrant and then proceeded to win the game with it because I already had my own Necropotence in play. Great combo those two. Now begins the painstaking process of deciding what to cut from my list to add a Bolas's Citadel.

A couple cards you're running I've been wanting to playtest myself (Liesa, Forgotten Archangel / Lyra Dawnbringer / Sower of Discord / Utvara Hellkite) how's your experience been with these? Have you found them to be worth a slot in the deck?

Now some recommendations if I may... you seem to be running quite a few cards that will protect Kaalia of the Vast, but one vital one your missing is Robe of Stars. This is essentially a repeatable Teferi's Protection specially for your commander, and with the amount of ramp cards you have, shouldn't ever be an issue to activate. Seems like you may be somewhat lacking in card draw (personal preference probably, I tend to run more than most ppl), but some additions you might like Harvester of Souls / Indulgent Tormentor / Syphon Mind / The Immortal Sun. I also noticed in a previous comment you removed some extra combat spells, but some nice extra combat on a stick would come in the form of Scourge of the Throne.

Apologies for the long comment, this is just one of my all time favorite commanders, so I get excited whenever I see another great list. Again, very well done. Cheers

Strangelove on Carth, Knight of Farron Keep

4 months ago

+1!

Above are all great suggestions! (expensive tho)

I would run 38 lands and 10-12 ramp that are all cmc 2 to see turn 3 Carth most of the time.

The enchantments feel odd to me. I'd cut them.

-1 Cunning Rhetoric -1 Pestilence -1 Sandwurm Convergence -1 The Eldest Reborn

-1 Vivien's Grizzly... too mana intensive -1 Vengeful Pharaoh... if you're not milling this, its not worth

Cut some boardwipes. Think about how often you want to cast them in a game. I'd run 4.

For planeswalkers I like to run each one that makes a token or reanimates a creature.

I'm a fan of +1 Elephant Grass.

And more draw! Stuff like Syphon Mind, Read the Bones, Night's Whisper, maybe even Ancient Craving, Harmonize, etc.

Oakhame Adversary and Ohran Viper are decent rattlesnakes.

jakethewhale007 on Chainer, Dementia Master Big Mana and Reanimator

5 months ago

Looks like a fun list! I have a Chainer deck on my profile if you wanna check it out. I've been playing him for a few years now, but I'm still working out some of the pending changes to my list.

Card draw to consider: Night's Whisper is a second sign in blood, and worth running as efficient card draw. Ransack the Lab has also felt really good. Treacherous Blessing has been worth the life loss (almost) every time I play it. Syphon Mind is decent, too. I also am not a fan of Reliquary Tower because usually you want to be discarding down to hand size to drop reanimation targets in the GY. I'd look at Castle Locthwain or basic swamp in its place.

Removal: Defile , Dismember , Feed the Swarm , and Force of Despair are all great to think about. I'd run any of these over Murder and probably Doom Blade.

Sac Outlets: I'd cut Nantuko Husk and Phyrexian Ghoul, as their effects aren't that great while costing 3 cmc. At 3 cmc, I'd prefer Woe Strider and Yahenni, Undying Partisan .

Ramp: Dark Ritual is a classic and probably worth running. Myriad Landscape is slow, but generally has pleased me when I see it. Nirkana Revenant is another source of big B mana. Expensive to cast, but cheap if you are reanimating it. Expedition Map gets you Cabal Coffers or Urborg.

Finally, I'm not sure that Liliana, Untouched by Death is pulling her weight here. Hope that is helpful :)

Profet93 on Artificer-in-Chief: Maga, Traitor to Mortals (MB)

6 months ago

Deserted Temple - Untap coffers, nkythos or thawing glaciers (for extra use/ramp)

Profane Transfusion > Soul Conduit. Splits the difference of 12 mana soul conduit (6 to cast and activate) and doesn't telgraph your plays. Also, Mirror Universe is worth mentioning given you have no budget, but I digress...

Rings of Brighthearth - Draw with top, extra activation of PW abilities. If you add fetches (that go well with top btw), you can use rings to ramp further. Lastly, Rings + Deserted Temple + Coffers = Infinite black mana. It's a bit of a stretch given your current list, but worth mentioning.

Necropotence > Underworld connections - Same CMC, can give you a major boost to give you best chance of finding the card/combo or tutor you need. It works very well with profane transfusion (or soul conduit for that matter).

Cavern of Souls - Naming commander. If you drop all your mana into it just for the blue player to say NO, then you're gonna have a bad time.

Imp's Mischief - As you only have 1 instant, opponents will know not to fear instant speed interaction. Be sure to keep them on their toes and bluff with mischief. It counters counterspells, and redirects targetted removal, draw, extra turns and more! So much utility.

Lili and Ob Nix walkers are both weak for their CMC and impact. I would swap with more draw or interaction.

Feed the Swarm - Enchantment interaction

Oubliette - Commander removal and watch black and red players cry. Or just regular removal

Hero's Downfall - Removal that hits walkers

Dismember - Cheap interaction

The remaining suggestions are less impactful but worth noting...

Mind Twist - Its random discard that also acts as counterspell bait.

Night's Whisper - Draw

Sign in Blood - Slightly harder to cast than above but can be used as such..... Necro to 1 life, profane transfusion, then cast sign in blood on opponent (night's whisper doesn't target but easier to cast)

Read the Bones - The ease of cast, scry 2 is nice. Although I'm biased since it was my first foil since coming back to MTG, again, I digress...

Syphon Mind - Lastly, potentially the best option. 4 mana, draw 3, each opponent discard a card. Dependent on # of opponents, fuels opposing reanimator, but usually a solid card.

I would love to hear your thoughts on each suggestion.