A Dance of Death

Commander / EDH* BG (Golgari) Multiplayer

EnderA

Creature (36)

• 1x Acidic Slime
• 1x Ageless Entity
• 1x Avatar of Woe
• 1x Butcher of Malakir
• 1x Darksteel Sentinel
• 1x Dawntreader Elk
• 1x Diligent Farmhand
• 1x Duplicant
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Farhaven Elf
• 1x Fertilid
• 1x Glissa, the Traitor
• 1x Harvester of Souls
• 1x Hex Parasite
• 1x Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
• 1x Krosan Tusker
• 1x Lotleth Troll
• 1x Magus of the Abyss
• 1x Manor Gargoyle
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Necroplasm
• 1x Nighthowler
• 1x Pharika, God of Affliction
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Sepulchral Primordial
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Sylvok Replica
• 1x Vampire Nighthawk
• 1x Viridian Emissary
• 1x Vorapede
• 1x Wall of Roots
• 1x Wickerbough Elder
• 1x Wood Elves
• 1x Woodfall Primus
• 1x Yavimaya Dryad
• 1x Yeva, Nature's Herald

Land (36)

• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Golgari Guildgate
• 1x Golgari Rot Farm
• 1x Grim Backwoods
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Llanowar Wastes
• 1x Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Sapseep Forest
• 1x Scrying Sheets
• 12x Snow-Covered Forest
• 6x Snow-Covered Swamp
• 1x Svogthos, the Restless Tomb
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Treetop Village
• 1x Volrath's Stronghold
• 1x Woodland Cemetery

Enchantment (7)

• 1x Death Pits of Rath
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Last Laugh
• 1x Lurking Predators
• 1x Mirri's Guile
• 1x Spreading Plague
• 1x Unspeakable Symbol

Instant (1)

• 1x Noxious Revival

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Decree of Pain

Commander (1)

Artifact (17)

• 1x Birthing Pod
• 1x Bonehoard
• 1x Cauldron of Souls
• 1x Crystal Ball
• 1x Darksteel Ingot
• 1x Darksteel Plate
• 1x Explorer's Scope
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Loxodon Warhammer
• 1x Nevinyrral's Disk
• 1x Plague Boiler
• 1x Scroll Rack
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Well of Lost Dreams
• 1x Whip of Erebos

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Maybeboard

Creature (20)

• 1x Anowon, the Ruin Sage
• 3x Courser of Kruphix
• 1x Creakwood Liege
• 2x Deathbringer Regent
• 1x Deathrite Shaman
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Hua Tuo, Honored Physician
• 1x Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper
• 1x Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
• 1x Lord of Extinction
• 1x Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
• 1x Reclamation Sage
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker
• 1x Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
• 1x Soul of New Phyrexia
• 1x Vulturous Zombie

Artifact (9)

• 3x Batterskull
• 1x Deathrender
• 1x Necrogen Spellbomb
• 1x Oblivion Stone
• 2x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Vedalken Orrery

Enchantment (2)

• 1x Grim Feast
• 1x Pernicious Deed

Instant (1)

• 1x Gaze of the Gorgon

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Maelstrom Pulse

Land (1)

• 1x Phyrexian Tower

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This deck uses Sapling of Colfenor as repeated card advantage. It uses spells-on-a-creature and mass removal that she is immune to, it ensures that a desired card be on top of the library, and takes advantage of the minor life gain. It fully encourages creatures to die. Thus the Dance of Death.

Many of the creatures in the deck are essentially spells that count as creatures. For example, Krosan Tusker is cycled for land-search + draw without ever hitting the board. Acidic Slime is both versatile spot removal and a threatening defensive creature. Dawntreader Elk, Diligent Farmhand, Farhaven Elf, Fertilid, Sakura-Tribe Elder, Solemn Simulacrum, Viridian Emissary, Wood Elves, and Yavimaya Dryad each grab a land and put it into play, serving as permanent mana acceleration regardless of any board sweepers, while counting as a creature for Sapling of Colfenor to take off the top of the deck. Plus, it has a few cards to ensure that Sapling of Colfenor reveals a creature: Crystal Ball, Scroll Rack, Sensei's Divining Top, and Mirri's Guile, Volrath's Stronghold, .

The deck also features various mass removal. Cards like Nevinyrral's Disk, Plague Boiler, Death Pits of Rath, Last Laugh, Spreading Plague, Butcher of Malakir, Magus of the Abyss, and Necroplasm can each take out many threats while leaving Sapling of Colfenor untouched. (Adding Damnation, Oblivion Stone and/or Pernicious Deed would enhance it, but they are each quite expensive.)

To enhance the deck's resilience to removal (including its own removal), it has several protective or recursive cards. Volrath's Stronghold is extremely efficient - using it before attacking with Sapling of Colfenor will guarantee revealing a creature. Cauldron of Souls, Darksteel Plate, Whip of Erebos, Eternal Witness, Gleancrawler, Glissa, the Traitor, Harvester of Souls, and Mikaeus, the Unhallowed each serve this purpose.

It also wields other self-sacrificial effects, most notably Birthing Pod, which takes full advantage of the enter the battlefield/death triggers. This also combines well with the recursion, especially Cauldron of Souls and Mikaeus, the Unhallowed.

Lastly, it of course brings win-conditions. Svogthos, the Restless Tomb, Loxodon Warhammer, Unspeakable Symbol, Ageless Entity, Avatar of Woe, Butcher of Malakir, Duplicant, Vorapede, Lotleth Troll, Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, Nighthowler, Sepulchral Primordial, and Woodfall Primus can each end the game if given the chance.


The "Maybeboard" is the cards that I'd love to have in the deck but are too expensive. Note that I try to forgo tutors, unless they are limited in scope and have particularly good synergy (Treefolk Harbinger and Birthing Pod meet those exceptions), because they degenerate the format (as do infinite combos, which I likewise avoid). Hence no Liliana Vess, Vampiric Tutor, or Worldly Tutor.

Date added	10 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	6 - 0 Mythic Rares 41 - 0 Rares 17 - 0 Uncommons 17 - 0 Commons
Cards	99
Avg. CMC	3.81
Tokens	Enchantment Snake 1/1 BG, Phyrexian Germ 0/0 B
Folders	Classic Commander