Yawgmoth Aristocrats

Commander / EDH Aristocrats Competitive Counters Mono-Black Multiplayer Value Engine

_Strix_

Ramp (17)

• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Jeweled Lotus
• 1x Lotus Petal
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Mox Opal
• 1x Culling the Weak
• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Jet Medallion
• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Bontu's Monument
• 1x Pawn of Ulamog
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Pitiless Plunderer
• 1x Sifter of Skulls

Tutors (8)

• 1x Entomb
• 1x Imperial Seal
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Mausoleum Secrets
• 1x Unmarked Grave
• 1x Grim Tutor

Thinner (4)

• 1x Memnite
• 1x Ornithopter
• 1x Phyrexian Walker
• 1x Shield Sphere

Recursion (2)

• 1x Nim Deathmantle
• 1x Yawgmoth's Will

Enchantment Removal (1)

• 1x Feed the Swarm

Fodder Generator (13)

• 1x Bloodsoaked Champion
• 1x Gravecrawler
• 1x Tenacious Dead
• 1x Genesis Chamber
• 1x Nether Traitor
• 1x Oathsworn Vampire
• 1x Reassembling Skeleton
• 1x Blight Mound
• 1x Bridge from Below
• 1x Desecrated Tomb
• 1x Tormod, the Desecrator
• 1x Ogre Slumlord
• 1x Open the Graves

Outlet (8)

• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat
• 1x Ayara, First of Locthwain
• 1x Bastion of Remembrance
• 1x Nadier's Nightblade
• 1x Relic Vial
• 1x Falkenrath Noble
• 1x Vindictive Vampire

Undying (6)

• 1x Butcher Ghoul
• 1x Treacherous Pit-Dweller
• 1x Geralf's Messenger
• 1x Evernight Shade
• 1x Sightless Ghoul
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed

Card Draw (2)

• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Bolas's Citadel

Artifact Removal (1)

• 1x Gate to Phyrexia

Protection (1)

• 1x Imp's Mischief

Commander (1)

Lands (30)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Blast Zone
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Castle Locthwain
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 18x Swamp
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Urza's Saga
• 1x Volrath's Stronghold
• 1x War Room

Lifegain (4)

• 1x Deathgreeter
• 1x Dross Harvester
• 1x Gate to the Afterlife
• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir

Creature Removal (2)

• 1x Blowfly Infestation
• 1x Nest of Scarabs

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Feel free to order the list via card type if you prefer not to see it categorized via card role.

Now has a whopping 1912 different combinations that result in a combo win!

Special thanks to everyone who helped me create this!

COMBOS

Combos Without Yawgmoth

COMBO 1 (PHYREXIAN ALTAR + CREATURE TOKEN GENERATOR + RECURRER + OUTLET): Phyrexian Altar + Open the Graves/Pawn of Ulamog/Sifter of Skulls/Desecrated Tomb/Genesis Chamber/Tormod, the Desecrator/Ogre Slumlord/Blight Mound + Reassembling Skeleton/Bloodsoaked Champion/Tenacious Dead/Oathsworn Vampire + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Vindictive Vampire/Grim Haruspex/Nadier's Nightblade

COMBO 2 (PHYREXIAN ALTAR + CREATURE TOKEN GENERATOR + OATHSWORN VAMPIRE + AETHERFLUX RESERVOIR): Phyrexian Altar + Open the Graves/Pawn of Ulamog/Sifter of Skulls/Desecrated Tomb/Genesis Chamber/Tormod, the Desecrator/Ogre Slumlord/Blight Mound + Oathsworn Vampire + Aetherflux Reservoir

COMBO 3 (ASHNOD'S ALTAR + PLUNDERER + RECURRER + OUTLET): Ashnod's Altar + Pitiless Plunderer + Reassembling Skeleton/Bloodsoaked Champion/Tenacious Dead/Oathsworn Vampire + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Vindictive Vampire/Grim Haruspex/Nadier's Nightblade

COMBO 4 (ASHNOD'S ALTAR + PLUNDERER + OATHSWORN VAMPIRE + AETHERFLUX RESERVOIR): Ashnod's Altar + Pitiless Plunderer + Oathsworn Vampire + Aetherflux Reservoir

COMBO 5 (NETHER TRAITOR + COLORED-MANA SAC OUTLET + CREATURE TOKEN GENERATOR + OUTLET): Nether Traitor + Phyrexian Altar/(Ashnod's Altar + Pitiless Plunderer instead of phyrexian alter) + Pawn of Ulamog/Sifter of Skulls/Desecrated Tomb/Genesis Chamber/Tormod, the Desecrator/Ogre Slumlord/Open the Graves/Blight Mound + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Vindictive Vampire/Grim Haruspex/Nadier's Nightblade

COMBO 6 (COLORED-MANA SAC OUTLET + GRAVECRAWLER + ZOMBIE ON FIELD + OUTLET): Phyrexian Altar/(Ashnod's Altar + Pitiless Plunderer instead of phyrexian alter) + Gravecrawler + Butcher Ghoul/Geralf's Messenger/Sightless Ghoul/Tormod, the Desecrator/Mikaeus, the Unhallowed/Bridge from Below(in grave)/Open the Graves + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Vindictive Vampire/Bontu's Monument/Grim Haruspex/Aetherflux Reservoir

COMBO 7 (BONTU'S MONUMENT + OATHSWORN + COLORED-MANA SAC OUTLET): Bontu's Monument + Oathsworn Vampire + Phyrexian Altar/(Ashnod's Altar + Pitiless Plunderer instead of phyrexian alter)

COMBO 8 (COLORED-MANA SAC OUTLET + OATHSWORN + MEDALLION + OUTLET): Phyrexian Altar/(Ashnod's Altar + Pitiless Plunderer instead of phyrexian alter) + Oathsworn Vampire + Jet Medallion + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Vindictive Vampire/Grim Haruspex/Aetherflux Reservoir

COMBO 9 (DOUBLE MANA ON SAC + NIM DEATHMANTLE + GERALF’S MESSENGER): Ashnod's Altar (or Phyrexian Altar coupled with either a Pitiless Plunderer, Sifter of Skulls or Pawn of Ulamog) + Nim Deathmantle + Geralf's Messenger

COMBO 10 (DOUBLE MANA ON SAC + NIM DEATHMANTLE + UNDYING CREATURE + OUTLET): Ashnod's Altar (or Phyrexian Altar coupled with either a Pitiless Plunderer, Sifter of Skulls or Pawn of Ulamog) + Nim Deathmantle + Butcher Ghoul/Treacherous Pit-Dweller/Evernight Shade/Sightless Ghoul + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Vindictive Vampire

COMBO 11 (DOUBLE MANA ON SAC + NIM DEATHMANTLE + MIKAEUS + ANY 1 NON-HUMAN, NON-TOKEN CREATURE+ OUTLET): Ashnod's Altar (or Phyrexian Altar coupled with either a Pitiless Plunderer, Sifter of Skulls or Pawn of Ulamog) + Nim Deathmantle + Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Any 1 extra non-human, non-token Creature on field + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Relic Vial/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Vindictive Vampire

Combos Involving Yawgmoth

COMBO 12 (YAWG + BOLAS'S CITADEL + AETHERFLUX RESERVOIR): Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Bolas's Citadel + Aetherflux Reservoir

COMBO 13 (YAWG + UNDYING + UNDYING + OUTLET): Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Butcher Ghoul/Geralf's Messenger/Evernight Shade/Sightless Ghoul + Butcher Ghoul/Geralf's Messenger/Evernight Shade/Sightless Ghoul + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Relic Vial/Vindictive Vampire/Deathgreeter/Dross Harvester/Gate to the Afterlife

COMBO 14 (YAWG + CREATURE TOKEN GENERATOR + UNDYING + OUTLET): Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Nest of Scarabs/Pawn of Ulamog/Sifter of Skulls/Open the Graves/Bridge from Below(in grave)/Genesis Chamber/Tormod, the Desecrator/Ogre Slumlord/Desecrated Tomb/Blight Mound + Treacherous Pit-Dweller/Butcher Ghoul/Geralf's Messenger/Evernight Shade/Sightless Ghoul + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Relic Vial/Nadier's Nightblade(all players lose life equally)/Vindictive Vampire/Deathgreeter/Dross Harvester

COMBO 15 (YAWG + NEST + INFESTATION + OUTLET + ANY ONE SPARE CREATURE): Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Nest of Scarabs + Blowfly Infestation + 2 spare 1/1 creatures on field + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Relic Vial/Nadier's Nightblade/Vindictive Vampire/Deathgreeter/Dross Harvester

COMBO 16 (YAWG + MIKAEUS + ANY 2 NON-HUMAN, NON-TOKENS + OUTLET): Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Any 2 extra non-human, non-token Creatures on field + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Relic Vial/Vindictive Vampire/Deathgreeter/Dross Harvester/Gate to the Afterlife

COMBO 17 (YAWG + MIKAEUS + ANY 1 NON-HUMAN, NON-TOKEN CREATURE + CREATURE TOKEN GENERATOR + OUTLET): Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Any 1 extra non-human, non-token Creature on field + Nest of Scarabs/Pawn of Ulamog/Sifter of Skulls/Open the Graves/Bridge from Below(in grave)/Genesis Chamber/Tormod, the Desecrator/Ogre Slumlord/Desecrated Tomb/Blight Mound + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Relic Vial/Nadier's Nightblade(all lose life equally)/Vindictive Vampire/Deathgreeter/Dross Harvester

COMBO 18 (YAWG + PLUNDERER + RECURRER + COLORLESS MANA GENERATOR + OUTLET): Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Pitiless Plunderer + Nether Traitor/Reassembling Skeleton/Bloodsoaked Champion/Tenacious Dead/Oathsworn Vampire + Pawn of Ulamog/Sifter of Skulls + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Relic Vial/Nadier's Nightblade/Vindictive Vampire/Deathgreeter/Dross Harvester/Gate to the Afterlife

COMBO 19 (YAWG + PLUNDERER + OATHSWORN VAMPIRE + COLORLESS MANA GENERATOR + AETHERFLUX RESERVOIR): Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Pitiless Plunderer + Oathsworn Vampire + Pawn of Ulamog/Sifter of Skulls + Aetherflux Reservoir

COMBO 20 (YAWG + ZOMBIE ON FIELD + PLUNDERER + GRAVECRAWLER + OUTLET): Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Butcher Ghoul/Geralf's Messenger/Sightless Ghoul/Tormod, the Desecrator/Mikaeus, the Unhallowed/Bridge from Below(in grave)/Open the Graves + Pitiless Plunderer + Gravecrawler + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Relic Vial/Vindictive Vampire/Bontu's Monument/Nadier's Nightblade/Deathgreeter/Dross Harvester/Gate to the Afterlife/Aetherflux Reservoir

COMBO 21 (YAWG + OATHSWORN + BONTU'S MONUMENT + PLUNDERER): Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Oathsworn Vampire + Bontu's Monument + Pitiless Plunderer

COMBO 22 (YAWG + OATHSWORN + MEDALLION + PLUNDERER + OUTLET): Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Oathsworn Vampire + Jet Medallion + Pitiless Plunderer + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Relic Vial/Nadier's Nightblade/Vindictive Vampire/Deathgreeter/Dross Harvester/Gate to the Afterlife/Aetherflux Reservoir

COMBO 23 (YAWG + DOUBLE MANA ON SAC + NIM DEATHMANTLE + UNDYING CREATURE + OUTLET): Yawgmoth, Thran Physician with any two of either a Pitiless Plunderer, Sifter of Skulls or Pawn of Ulamog + Nim Deathmantle + Butcher Ghoul/ Geralf's Messenger/Evernight Shade/Sightless Ghoul + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Relic Vial/Bastion of Remembrance/Vindictive Vampire/Nadier's Nightblade/Deathgreeter/Dross Harvester/Gate to the Afterlife

COMBO 24 (YAWG + DOUBLE MANA ON SAC + NIM DEATHMANTLE + MIKAEUS + ANY 1 NON-HUMAN, NON-TOKEN CREATURE+ OUTLET): Yawgmoth, Thran Physician with any two of either a Pitiless Plunderer, Sifter of Skulls or Pawn of Ulamog + Nim Deathmantle + Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Any 1 extra non-human, non-token Creature on field + Zulaport Cutthroat/Falkenrath Noble/Blood Artist/Relic Vial/Ayara, First of Locthwain/Bastion of Remembrance/Vindictive Vampire/Nadier's Nightblade/Deathgreeter/Dross Harvester/Gate to the Afterlife

FAQ

So how does this strategy win?

The simplest way to explain it is "A + B = Win, where A is a deathloop and B is a payoff from the deathloop". There are many combos outside of creating deathloops, but the majority are this way. Aristocrats are fantastic at deploying this strategy.

What is this Yawgmoth list?

This is a Yawgmoth Aristocrats deck, with a heavy leaning into Aristocrats combo. Like gitrog, the deck is not meant to win faster than our opponents can, but to be incredibly resilient to interaction as almost all our combos are creature based. This strategy loves to sit in blue pod-compositions as most creatures are hard to deal with when playing blue. Strengths of this strategy are that it is incredibly resilient, that it preys upon green decks (like Yawgmoth naturally does) and is very resistant to counterspells (and surprisingly boardwipes too as yawgmoth sacs everything in response, getting a full grip). Weaknesses of the deck strategy are turn 1/2 Ad Naus decks and Tergrid (the bane of all Yawgmoths, but thankfully Tergrid isnt really cEDH playable).

Why no Ad Nauseam?

Yawgmoth Aristocrats aims to jam as many combo pieces as possible for maximum redundancy. This means that the average cmc will definitely be a little too high to deep dive for the win. That said, we run our own brand of Ad Nauseam in this strategy, albeit 1 mana more and sorcery speed in Bolas's Citadel. Citadel essentially takes over the naus slot as it is a 1 card combo here (we run 30 lands, but have 30 creatures with many of them which recur for multiple sacs) and our Yawgmoth is easily able to sac creatures to get rid of lands off the top (acting as a sensei's divining top).

Why no Necropotence?

TBA

Why no Opposition Agent, Mindslicer or Contamination?

As incredible as Opposition Agent is, he takes up a precious slot. His cut was more an issue with gameplan; Yawgmoth Aristocrats wants to progress its own win, rather than disrupt our opponents. Cutting Agent hurts as it truly is amazing, but winning due to combo redundancy is even more amazing. The same philosophy was applied to Mindslicer and Contamination which are also incredibly potent disruptive cards, but ultimately dont give us the win.

Why no Bloodghast, Bitterblossom or Ophiomancer?

The list has become so combo dense that Bloodghast being cut to add even more combo pieces resulted in achieving a win quicker than simply digging for more combo pieces via saccing him. Bitterblossom and Ophiomancer were cut too for the same reason; they were replaced with combo pieces to add that critical mass of combo pieces this win strategy loves. Fetchlands were then cut too as there was no longer a need to run them (Bloodghast was the last true synergy with them). Better to cut the fetches with Opposition Agent, Archon of Emeria and Blood Moon running around.

Why no Toxic Deluge?

Whilst Toxic Deluge can be a huge blowout, there is generally a lot less creatures on board when you're playing Yawgmoth. His natural tendency to put -1/-1 counters all over the place often made boardwipes largely unecessary and we simply prefer to play another combo piece instead to go for our own win. All this, coupled with the fact that aristocrats is very creature based meant we hurt our own board quite a lot. In the end Cutting Deluge made perfect sense.

Why no Necroskitter?

It's basically a noob trap to put it bluntly. The card seems great in theory but in reality it just comes out way too late. On top of this, it takes up a precious slot where instead of taking opponents dorks we could be running a combo piece and simply going for the win.

What do you usually put to the graveyard with Entomb and Unmarked Grave?

In the early game, Entomb and Unmarked Grave are usually used to get Gravecrawler, Bloodsoaked Champion, Nether Traitor, Oathsworn Vampire or Reassembling Skeleton as they are combo pieces that also double up as pseudo card advantage. Usually, you grab the one you need most based off of which combo you're going to attempt first/easiest. Bridge from Below is used most often in the mid to late game, and especially if you've already got a steady source of card draw going already as it arguably has the most amount of combo incorporation overlap.

How does Blowfly Infestation + Nest of Scarabs work?

The simple explanation is this; despite Blowfly Infestation and Nest of Scarabs having different triggers, when a 1/1 dies to a -1/-1 counter, state-based actions must be checked first before anything is put onto the stack. The 1/1 creature goes to the grave and then Blowfly Infestation triggers too. As you now control both triggers at the same time, you put them on the stack how you want.

To kick start the combo, all you need is 2 spare creatures, a Yawgmoth on field and Blowfly Infestation + Nest of Scarabs followed by an outlet for the deathloops. Start by saccing both of the spare creatures to put a -1/-1 on Yawgmoth twice; basically replacing both of those creatures with 1/1 scarabs. From there, sac one more scarab twice more, putting two more counters on Yawgmoth, killing him. This creates a 1/1 scarab to be put on the field and a -1/-1 to be spread. You must put both on the stack so put the -1/-1 spread trigger targeting the single scarab you have left, followed by the creation of another scarab on top of it on the stack. The new scarab's creation will resolve first. Rinse and repeat back and forth between the two tokens using the outlet to get payoff from the deathloops.

Date added	3 years
Last updated	2 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 0 Mythic Rares 38 - 0 Rares 24 - 0 Uncommons 9 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.29
Tokens	Bat 1/1 B, Construct 0/0 C, Eldrazi Scion 1/1 C, Eldrazi Spawn 0/1 C, Human Soldier 1/1 W, Insect 1/1 B, Morph 2/2 C, Myr 1/1 C, Pest 1/1 BG, Rat 1/1 B, Treasure, Zombie 2/2 B