Budget Monster Codex [Primer]

Commander / EDH Budget Combo Cycling Living End Primer Reanimator Theme/Gimmick

Icaruskid

Creature (37)

• 1x Angel of the Ruins
• 1x Archfiend of Ifnir
• 1x Architects of Will
• 1x Avatar of Slaughter
• 1x Colossal Skyturtle
• 1x Craterhoof Behemoth
• 1x Curator of Mysteries
• 1x Deadshot Minotaur
• 1x Desert Cerodon
• 1x Dragonlord Kolaghan
• 1x Flame-Kin Zealot
• 1x Generous Ent
• 1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
• 1x Glassdust Hulk
• 1x Greater Sandwurm
• 1x Horror of the Broken Lands
• 1x Imposing Vantasaur
• 1x Krosan Tusker
• 1x Lurching Rotbeast
• 1x Monstrous Carabid
• 1x Oliphaunt
• 1x Pathbreaker Ibex
• 1x Rampaging Hippo
• 1x Rampaging War Mammoth
• 1x Ridge Rannet
• 1x River Serpent
• 1x Ruin Grinder
• 1x Street Wraith
• 1x Striped Riverwinder
• 1x The Balrog of Moria
• 1x Timeless Dragon
• 1x Titanoth Rex
• 1x Troll of Khazad-dum
• 1x Void Beckoner
• 1x Waker of Waves
• 1x Windcaller Aven
• 1x Winged Shepherd

Land (31)

• 1x Canyon Slough
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Crumbling Necropolis
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Festering Thicket
• 1x Fetid Pools
• 1x Fiery Islet
• 1x Forest
• 1x Glittering Massif
• 1x Horizon Canopy
• 1x Irrigated Farmland
• 1x Island
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Nurturing Peatland
• 1x Plains
• 1x Scattered Groves
• 1x Seaside Citadel
• 1x Sheltered Thicket
• 1x Silent Clearing
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Sunbaked Canyon
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Temple of Abandon
• 1x Temple of Deceit
• 1x Temple of Enlightenment
• 1x Temple of Epiphany
• 1x Temple of Malady
• 1x Temple of Malice
• 1x Temple of Plenty
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Waterlogged Grove

Commander (1)

Sorcery (18)

• 1x Anger of the Gods
• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Burst of Speed
• 1x Careful Study
• 1x Compulsive Research
• 1x Faithless Looting
• 1x Living Death
• 1x Living End
• 1x Merciless Eviction
• 1x Overmaster
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Preordain
• 1x See Beyond
• 1x Solve the Equation
• 1x Stream of Thought
• 1x Thrilling Discovery
• 1x Tormenting Voice
• 1x Unmarked Grave

Instant (13)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Consider
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Faithful Mending
• 1x Frantic Search
• 1x Mental Note
• 1x Opt
• 1x Quicken
• 1x Scout's Warning
• 1x Thirst for Knowledge
• 1x Thought Scour
• 1x Thrill of Possibility

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Maybeboard

Creature (3)

• 1x Gloomfang Mauler
• 1x Mirrorshell Crab
• 1x Urabrask the Hidden

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Serene Remembrance

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Codie, Vociferous Codex is a centuries-old tome of mystical knowledge that has become self-aware.

Intro

Codie, Vociferous Codex is a fun build-around commander that wants to play sorceries and instants but not permanents. To meet that challenge, this deck uses looting spells, self-mill, and creatures with cycling to fill the graveyard so the cascade-like ability of Codie finds & casts Living End to reanimate all the monsters!

Effectively a board wipe and mass resurrection spell in the command zone, Codie is a walking, talking, little book of BIG chaos that shreds through it's own library to reanimate monsters onto the battlefield.

How to Play

1. Use loot spells, self mill, and cycle cards to fill the graveyard with creatures.
2. Activate Codie, Vociferous Codex.
3. Play a spell with 1 mana value. Codie's ability casts Living End as it is the only spell in the deck that costs 0. Living End returns all creatures in the graveyard to the battlefield.
4. Attack with superior creature power.
   Note: Living Death is an alternative to steps 2-3 above.

Why play this deck

• You prefer taking advantage of all zones of play, especially the graveyard.
• You like winning with creature power.
• You enjoy high velocity decks that build to a single explosive turn.
• Playing powerful creatures without paying their high mana costs is some of the best fun in the game.
• Monsters are your jam!

Why not play this deck

• You dislike using the graveyard as a resource.
• You believe combat damage is boring, even if it's 1000 damage in a single nuclear strike.
• You prefer straightforward aggro.
• You hate Godzilla.

Priority Creatures

"An angel, a beast, and a dragon walk into a bar..."

For those creatures that do not have cycling, this is the order of importance for maximum damage. Get these in the graveyard as soon as possible.

1. Craterhoof Behemoth \ Pathbreaker Ibex
2. Dragonlord Kolaghan \ Flame-Kin Zealot
3. Gisela, Blade of Goldnight \ Avatar of Slaughter

It's typical to have 10+ creatures in the graveyard with a starting average power of 5. That's 50 damage. Then add 5 more damage per creature thanks to Craterhoof Behemoth for an additional 50 damage. Then double that 100 total damage for Gisela, Blade of Goldnight and double it again for Avatar of Slaughter. Now add in a haste enabler like Dragonlord Kolaghan and your monsters are swinging with haste and trample into a largely open battlefield for 400 damage!

Remember that you don't need all of these creatures. Dragonlord Kolaghan, Avatar of Slaughter, and enough cycled creatures will do 120 damage into an empty battlefield which is enough to win.

Living End Support

Usually there are ways to just play Living Death if Living End is not in the library. But sometimes it's still the best path to return Living End to library and activate Codie to win.

Cards like Amass the Components, Brainstorm, and See Beyond can return Living End back into the library from your hand while Stream of Thought can do the same from the graveyard.

Strengths

1. Consistent without being overpowered.
2. Plays into aggressive metas by having mass exile in the command zone.
3. Can be lethal without a single tutor.
4. Novel way to win with beat down.

Weaknesses

1. Graveyard hate.
2. Counterspells.
3. If mass reanimation can't win the game, there is no plan B.

Every deck has weaknesses that help keep power balanced and leave room for other decks to have fun at the table. However, if any one of these are showstoppers for you, then there are answers like additional permanent removal, running your own counterspells, and alternative win conditions such as Approach of the Second Sun, respectively.

Card Choices

• Removal spells that exile were exclusively chosen so as to avoid more opponent creatures returning to the battlefield when Living End or Living Death are played.
• There is a Godzilla theme in the basic lands from Secret Lair Godzilla Lands and cycling creatures from the Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths Godzilla variants like Void Beckoner and Titanoth Rex. This is a fitting theme as the King of the Monsters should feature in any monster build.
• There is also a Yargle Secret Lair theme in Opt, Swords to Plowshares, and Anger of the Gods for extra monster flavor.

Top Ranked	Achieved #2 position overall 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Combo 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Multiplayer 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Reanimator 4 years ago
Date added	5 years
Last updated	2 months
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	3 - 0 Mythic Rares 46 - 0 Rares 14 - 0 Uncommons 32 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	4.24
Tokens	Food, Timeless Dragon 4/4 B, Treasure
Folders	edh, Deck that I want to build that aren't mine., Deck Inspiration, Five Color God Stuff, Deck idea's, EDH, Decks I'd like to try, Inspiration, Favs, Decks that i like