Volrath the Risen
Commander / EDH
SCORE: 583 | 231 COMMENTS | 112860 VIEWS | IN 203 FOLDERS
It's over 200 —May 20, 2015
Volrath has broken 200 votes!!!
Here are some big updates to go with it!
- Lightning Greaves -
- CHAINS OF MEPHISTOPHELES -
Blightsteel has been upgraded with the newest shiniest chrome exterior money can buy. Proving itself as a powerful and game ending tool time after time, Blightsteel earned a spot in Volrath the first time he hit the field. Some consider him a strict upgrade to Darksteel Colossus, but I'll never agree (In fact, I have gotten more kills from Darksteel) But the two brothers belong together, wreaking the kind of havoc only colossi can.
LIghtning Greaves are an inescapable staple of the format. The speed and protection they grant for 2 mana is undeniably powerful. Swiftfoot Boots have also made their presence known, and in a Voltron deck are arguably better. I have had games hinge on the one mana that Swiftfoot costs to equip, but I have also had them hinge on being able to target my commander while the Greaves were attached. Such is the price of power, and the all powerful Greaves are shining like lightning.
Chains of Mephistopheles is here to slam decks that want to draw big. Shutting down control players for 2 mana, the chains can also feed Volrath's own Graveyard. Its undercosted power can single-handedly take decks out of the game.
But that isn't all...
- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre -
This Eldrazi Titan is amongst the best tools for Volrath. In mono-black, it has the power to destroy enchantments and artifacts upon being cast. It also has built in protection from black's own board wipes (mostly). As a standalone beat-stick it is infamously powerful. Being fed to Volrath ensures your opponent is dead or about to die. Additionally, tossing it in the yard can get you a needed spell or artifact back into tutor territory.
But why all the foils? Some people are not fans of foiling out their cards, and I can understand. It is expensive and logically it doesn't improve your deck in any mathematical way. In my opinion, showmanship is an undervalued part of the game, and what good is winning if you don't win in style?
Nice build, +1 from me. Blightsteel Colossus and It that Betrays have CMC 12 though.
January 15, 2014 2:34 a.m.
linksdeity says... #3
Lordoffuriness,
I just bought an Abhorrent Overlord , very nice combo and synergy with Sheoldred, Whispering One and all the other necro. Lux Cannon looks like fun, I'll be checking it out soon, thanks for the tip!
Chilbi,
Thanks for the +1, and I got the CMC's fixed! :D
January 15, 2014 9:02 a.m.
iceiceiceMTG says... #4
+1 for a badass commander, including some of the coolest magic cards ever Draco and Hypnox takes serious balls but i think this deck has enough functionality to make it work
January 16, 2014 4:50 p.m.
namesallgone says... #6
Have you ever thought of Haunted Crossroads ? It acts as a second Volrath's Stronghold .
January 17, 2014 2:17 p.m.
linksdeity says... #7
Thanks, iceiceiceMTG and DSherwin
namesallgone, I used to run it, but it is a little slow and I don't want too much redundancy there.
One card I am seriously considering is Necropolis Regent
Swing for tons of damage with Volrath, and get that many counters added to his printed 6 damage, or just feed it to Volrath for that 6 CMC. Also works great with all of the big beaters in the deck. I just need to find a slot for it...
January 18, 2014 10:30 p.m.
linksdeity says... #9
Hatred might also be coming back from an earlier build
January 23, 2014 2:03 p.m.
sillystrings says... #10
+1 for the amount of work you've placed into this. Stealing some ideas for my Vela Evasion deck!
January 24, 2014 1:10 a.m.
linksdeity says... #11
Thanks, sillystringsI hope you use what you've learned here to kill many things :)
January 24, 2014 2:54 p.m.
il play with this on cockratice to see what it needs i like the idea =)
January 27, 2014 9:37 p.m.
it has NOOOOOOO DRAW POWER OMG ITS REALLY SLOW TOO =/ and wheres the life gain from all the life lose? maby corrupt or a x spell to gain life
January 28, 2014 4:40 p.m.
linksdeity says... #15
Sorry to hear that it didn't work out for you.
This deck has little trouble setting up to kill within five turns, so I'm not sure where the issue with speed came from. There should also be plenty of draw engines and tutors.
I hope you'll try it out some more and see what it can really do.
January 28, 2014 6:48 p.m.
CaptainBeefArms says... #17
I play tested this list on OCTGN i didn't really have any problems with draw power, maybe because my main EDH deck is mono black and i have no problem spending all my life to draw cards. Graveborn Muse and Phyrexian Arena are great card draw for only 1 life, Erebos, God of the Dead is an indestructible Greed and both go really well with Scroll Rack . low on cards then then tap sack a Snow-Covered Swamp with Lake of the Dead pay the 10 life for Greed draw 5 cards if you don't like them Scroll Rack for 5+ more cards. speed wise the games i played i was able to set up turn 5-6 kills most of the time, it really depends on the speed and type of the other decks you're playing against, is it the fastest no but its definitely not slow.
January 28, 2014 7:50 p.m.
I'd suggest replacing your Expedition Map with a Wayfarer's Bauble , other than that this deck is pretty cool
January 30, 2014 3:52 p.m.
linksdeity says... #19
Thanks, sonnet666 :D
The Expedition Map is mostly used to land tutor for utilities like Rogue's Passage , Hall of the Bandit Lord , or Winding Canyons
I can see how the Wayfarer's Bauble would add to the mana ramp though, and that's always a good thing! Thanks for suggesting it.
January 31, 2014 8:29 a.m.
Baleful Force has a high CMC for discard and gives you card advantage should you opt to cast him.
Champion's Helm because hexproof is always nice.
Myr Battlesphere isn't a bad card to cast also with a high CMC.
And Sculpting Steel because you have some nice artifacts to copy.
February 1, 2014 1:39 p.m.
linksdeity says... #21
Nice suggestions all around, Midwest
I especially like Baleful Force and think it will find its way into the main deck very soon! Thanks :)
February 2, 2014 10:12 p.m.
linksdeity says... #24
The life gain from Whip of Erebos is very nice, but the "exile creature" clause is what caused it to be removed form an earlier build.
Triassic Egg works so well because it can hit hand and graveyard, and when it happens it will either be free or cost 3 colorless.
It's a good suggestion, and might find a place in a future build! :)
February 7, 2014 7:26 p.m.
+1 just for using Volrath the Fallen . I'd give you another +1 for making the deck extremely awesome too. It's easy to see you put a lot of time into this, and I am totally blown away. I really can't think of any suggestions, are there any outstanding problems with the deck?
Lordoffurriness says... #1
Lux Cannon for more artifact and enchantment hate. also a good combo you can use is Sheoldred, Whispering One and Abhorrent Overlord , sacrifice the demon itself for its effect and then return it to play thanks to sheoldred. youll have blockers/attackers every turn.
January 15, 2014 2:26 a.m.