Jon Irenicus' Gifts

Commander / EDH Counterspell Demons Horror UB (Dimir)

Bibanul

Land (33)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Clearwater Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Darkwater Catacombs
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Fabled Passage
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Island
• 1x Island
• 1x Island
• 1x Island
• 1x Island
• 1x Island
• 1x Morphic Pool
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Shipwreck Marsh
• 1x Sunken Ruins
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse
• 1x Underground River
• 1x Underground Sea
• 1x Urza's Saga
• 1x Watery Grave

Enchantment (4)

• 1x Heartless Summoning
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Teferi's Ageless Insight

Creature (24)

• 1x Abyssal Persecutor
• 1x Archfiend of the Dross
• 1x Asmodeus the Archfiend
• 1x Changeling Outcast
• 1x Desecration Elemental
• 1x Drinker of Sorrow
• 1x Ebon Drake
• 1x Flesh Reaver
• 1x Gonti, Lord of Luxury
• 1x Greater Harvester
• 1x Hellcarver Demon
• 1x Hostage Taker *f-etch*
• 1x Master of the Feast
• 1x Opposition Agent
• 1x Phyrexian Negator
• 1x Phyrexian Soulgorger
• 1x Plague Reaver
• 1x Rotting Regisaur
• 1x Rust Elemental
• 1x Shadowborn Demon
• 1x Steel Golem
• 1x Taniwha
• 1x Thought Eater
• 1x Vashta Nerada

Artifact (13)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Jet Medallion *f-etch*
• 1x Jeweled Lotus *f-etch*
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Lotus Petal *f-etch*
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Sapphire Medallion *f-etch*
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Dominance

Commander (1)

Instant (20)

• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Cyclonic Rift *f-etch*
• 1x Dark Ritual *f-etch*
• 1x Deadly Rollick *f-etch*
• 1x Evacuation *f-etch*
• 1x Fading Hope
• 1x Fierce Guardianship *f-etch*
• 1x Flusterstorm
• 1x Force of Negation *f-etch*
• 1x Force of Will
• 1x Keep Safe
• 1x Mana Drain *f-etch*
• 1x March of Swirling Mist
• 1x Mystic Reflection
• 1x Negate *f-etch*
• 1x Redirect
• 1x Slip Out the Back
• 1x Stifle
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Vampiric Tutor

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Bribery *f-etch*
• 1x Demonic Tutor *f-etch*
• 1x Irenicus's Vile Duplication
• 1x Persist *f-etch*
• 1x Praetor's Grasp

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Maybeboard

Creature (3)

• 1x Serendib Efreet
• 1x Sower of Temptation
• 1x Wretched Anurid

Instant (1)

• 1x Snuff Out

Artifact (1)

• 1x Neurok Stealthsuit

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Leyline of Anticipation

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The purpose of this deck is to gift opponents some of the meanest and nastiest creatures in the game, goad them and have them fight your enemies, while you sit back, draw cards and enjoy the show. As such, the deck works best in a 3+ players format. This deck is quite commander-reliant and as such, it employs counter-spells, phasing out and return-to-hand mechanics to protect Jon Irenicus and his minions.

Strategy:

• You'll be trying to ramp up and get your commander out on turn 3 (2 if you're a bit lucky). With Irenicus on the table and a few counter-spells and/or phasing out cards in hand to protect him, you'll either play your cheaper, unblockable creatures (Changeling Outcast and Vashta Nerada) or, if mana allows it, some of your bigger horrors and demons, which your opponents won't be able to defend against during the early game. Either way, once you give them away with your commander's ability, you'll have a nice draw engine, further reinforced by Teferi's Ageless Insight and Rhystic Study;
• The constant inflow of cards, corroborated with the choice of counter-spells and phasing out instants, should help slow down your opponents' strategies; soon thereafter, they'll start sacrificing stuff and their life totals will drop, as your creatures (which they control, but are goaded so can't attack you) will create mayhem on the battlefield;
• As the game progresses, take advantage of the deck's sub-theme i.e. stealing stuff from others (for example, combo pieces or game finishers) using Hostage Taker, Opposition Agent, Gonti, Bribery and Praetor's Grasp. Try to steal creature cards with good ETB effects; once the effects resolve, give them back to your opponents with your commander's ability - they won't be able to attack you and you'll draw cards, so don't worry about it;
• Against non-black decks, tutor Asmodeus and gift him; it will prevent those decks from drawing cards altogether!

Win-cons:

• You can tutor Archfiend of the Dross, copy it using Irenicus' Vile Duplication or Mystic Reflection, then pass everything to your opponent(s). The copies enter the battlefield with no oil counters, so unless they have responses (and bear in mind, you should also have counter-spells in hand), they're out of the game on their upkeep;
• You can use Homeward Path to gain control of your creatures during late game; sure, you'll suffer a little, but they're big, bad beasts which can hurt your opponents more than they hurt you.

Tip: if you're in big trouble, tutor Abyssal Persecutor and hand it to your most problematic opponent. That should keep them on the hook, at least for a while.

In my opinion, this is a highly enjoyable deck with unique (if somewhat salty) mechanics, which will most certainly be remembered by your opponents.

Date added	2 weeks
Last updated	1 week
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	13 - 0 Mythic Rares 53 - 0 Rares 16 - 0 Uncommons 6 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.57
Токены	Bird 2/2 U, Construct 0/0 C, Copy Clone