Vampiric Tutor

Vampiric Tutor

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Search your library for a card, then shuffle your library and put that card on top of it. You lose 2 life.

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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Highlander Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Premodern Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Unformat Legal
Vintage Legal
Casual Legal
Custom Legal
Quest Magic Legal

Latest Decks as Commander

Vampiric Tutor Discussion

Vargasprox on Wilhelt Zombie Midrange

2 weeks ago

Possible changes in this deck:

removing: Grave Titan, Nim Deathmantle, Death Baron, Ashnod's Altar

adding: Vampiric Tutor, Windfall and two lands.

Grubbernaut on New Format: Supplemental?

2 weeks ago

I can safely say we're going to need a banlist.

UB Necro - Supplemental Format

Twin - Supplemental Format

Turns - Supplemental

Other archetypes that jumped out at me: Najeela/Derevi, stax, MLD, lands (dark depths/vesua/thespian's stage/crop rot), burn, delver, grixis control. Likely bans off the top of my head: Lotus Petal, Rite of Flame, Ancient Tomb, Tinker, Necropotence, Mystical Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Imperial Seal, Demonic Tutor, Mox Diamond, Dark Ritual, Sol Ring, Mana Drain, probably more.

I'd be down for some of this degeneracy on spelltable if someone wants to play this week.

solterranean on Lathril (94%) let’s get 95!

3 weeks ago

If you're looking to speed the deck up, I'd consider adding: Elves of Deep Shadow, Birds of Paradise, Wild Growth, Utopia Sprawl, Boreal Druid, Elvish Pioneer and the all-mighty Deathrite Shaman. For those, I'd look at cutting: Kodama's Reach, Rampant Growth, Elfhame Druid, Farhaven Elf, Jaspera Sentinel, Llanowar Visionary, and Springbloom Druid. Selvala, Heart of the Wilds is an amazing card, just not sure if it belongs here, maybe replace it with Elvish Guidance. There's also always Heritage Druid,

And hey, if you've got a Gaea's Cradle, Crop Rotation is a must (and its slower cousin, Sylvan Scrying, which also makes Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx a good add. More ($$$$) lands to consider would be: Cavern of Souls and Yavimaya Hollow. Other utility lands you might want to check out would be: Emergence Zone, Nurturing Peatland, Castle Garenbrig, and Wirewood Lodge.

If you've got the funds and are looking to get those last few % points in your ramp package, take a look at: Carpet of Flowers and Jeweled Lotus.

For card advantage, yeah I agree that Glimpse of Nature and Oakhame Adversary are good options, along with Sylvan Library, Necropotence, and Dark Confidant if you've got the $$ and looking to get as close to 100% as possible. Regal Force is a non-elf that's essential in elf decks. Some other options would be: Pact of the Serpent and Elvish Visionary. In terms of tutors, definitely consider: Chord of Calling, Eldritch Evolution, and maybe even Woodland Bellower and Fauna Shaman. Decks closer to CEDH would probably include: Vampiric Tutor, Diabolic Intent, and Survival of the Fittest. Also, Eternal Witness might be too good to not include, along with Noxious Revival. Patriarch's Bidding is a cheaper Haunting Voyage.

Card advantage cards you could consider cutting would be: Twinblade Assassins and Silhana Wayfinder.

In terms of removal, I think you'd want: Assassin's Trophy, Abrupt Decay, Nature's Claim and/or Force of Vigor, and Deadly Rollick. I also like Golgari Charm in more casual metas.

For elf synergy, along with Elvish Champion, I'd take a look at: Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Immaculate Magistrate

For utility, consider: Autumn's Veil, Veil of Summer, Vitalize, and the non-elves Scryb Ranger and Temur Sabertooth. Concordant Crossroads seems really good with Lathril too.

Hope this helps! Happy brewing

griffstick on How Did EDH Become So …

3 weeks ago

Vampiric Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Demonic Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Rhystic Study, Necropotence, Cyclonic Rift, Doubling Season, Anointed Procession, Parallel Lives, Mana Vault, Mana Crypt, Archfiend of Despair, Sword of Feast and Famine, Triumph of the Hordes, Edgar Markov, Gaea's Cradle, Cabal Coffers, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, The Scarab God, Dockside Extortionist, Deflecting Swat, and many more.

PlanetBob on Eat. Sleep. Slime. Repeat.

1 month ago

Those are some good suggestions and my group does play Planechase and Archenemy regularly to spice things up, they can be great fun. I've debated making this into a Commander deck because my group likes it allot and I only have two decks for it. But I'm not a huge fan of the format myself which is where the black and golgari colored maybes came from, So I don't think I'll ever pull that trigger.

Predator Ooze is in because it usually lasts until mid game and works as a really good early game shield (plus it's one of my cards because of the art work) but I agree about the other smaller ones. I think I agree with your assessment of Aeve, Progenitor Ooze and swapping it for another Consuming Blob would probably be the best move. Parallel Lives does allot of good work for this deck, especially with Ochre Jelly. Even more so if I slot in a Biogenic Ooze.

The rest are some real food for thought and I'll be considering them if I ever decide to do a shake up this old deck. As an aside I've also considered discussing using proxies with my group because there are some cards I'd love to try out but definitely can't afford, such as Gaea's Cradle, Cavern of Souls and Vampiric Tutor. I was looking at some from Taurus Proxies but they're currently taking a break of some sort.

multimedia on Olivia, Crimson Bride Commander

1 month ago

Hey, you're welcome. Some more advice is streamline the creatures, reduce down to the best creatures you want to reanimate with Olivia and the best support to make that happen. Consider a toolbox concept with tutors and more looting? Streamlining will help to cut the redundancy that you don't need from creatures. By cutting many high CMC creatures for lower CMC reanimation enablers this also reduces the mana curve which is very high right now at 4.5.

The idea is the enablers help to find the better high CMC creatures you want to reanimate with Olivia/get them into your graveyard. Since the enablers are less mana then you can realistically cast them, hopefully before you cast Olivia. By reducing the mana curve then you could cut some lands: 1x Swamp and 1x Mountain.

Example of streamline current creature base (cuts number of creatures in half):

  • Master of Cruelties
  • Port Razer
  • Rune-Scarred Demon
  • Burning-Rune Demon
  • Rakdos the Defiler
  • Dragon Mage
  • Archon of Cruelty
  • Balefire Dragon
  • Sepulchral Primordial
  • Meteor Golem
  • Noxious Gearhulk
  • Flayer of the Hatebound

The other creature spots would be for support.

  • Yahenni, Undying Partisan
  • Chainer, Nightmare Adept
  • Solemn Simulacrum
  • Falkenrath Aristocrat
  • Gravebreaker Lamia

Rakdos the Defiler and Archon of Cruelty are better than the other high CMC creatures here who can make opponents sac permanents/creature. Dragon Mage is better than the other high CMC creatures here who draw cards. Sepulchral Primordial makes all the other creatures who reanimate and gain control of opponent creatures redundant. Meteor Golem and Noxious Gearhulk are better than the other creatures who can destroy a creature and Noxious gains life. Balefire Dragon is better than other creatures who do damage to opponent creatures.

With a higher budget these are some changes to consider for more help to setup Olivia:

These changes are cutting some high CMC creatures to add tutors and/or more looting. I offer more advice in another comment if you're interested. Would you like me to continue?

DrkNinja on Ninja fury

1 month ago

Ok so I didn't check to see if any of these were in the deck already but... here's my list of suggestions!

It's a lot of cards so...

Again some of these may be cut worthy but off the cuff this is what I came up with. Also I didn't include any ninjas... I figure they are easy enough to find

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.

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