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GREETINGS!
“Perfection is at hand. You have been freed of weakness and made compleat.”
-Sheoldred, Whispering One
OVERVIEW
Behold my
K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
cEDH combo build designed to trigger
Doomsday
as quickly as possible, as the day of compleation cannot arrive soon enough.
The objective is to summon K’rrik on turns 1-3 and harness him to pay life instead of mana, allowing me to cast
Doomsday
or other infinite combos and win in a single turn. To achieve victory I must carefully monitor my life total, as life is my most precious resource.
WIN-CONS
Infinite Flux
Requires
K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
+
Aetherflux Reservoir
on the battlefield, plus:
Leshrac's Sigil
(to cast and bounce it repeatedly by paying life with K’rrik, gaining infinite life with Flux, then killing each opponent with Flux), or
Gravecrawler
+
Carrion Feeder
(to cast Crawler with K’rrik and sac Crawler repeatedly with Feeder, gaining infinite life with Flux, then killing each opponent with Flux), or
Bolas's Citadel
+
Sensei's Divining Top
(to use K’rrik to cast the Citadel for 3 mana and 6 life, cast the Top from the top of the deck for 1 life repeatedly using the Citadel, gaining infinite life, then killing each opponent with Flux)
I can also use
Insidious Dreams
to stack any of the cards mentioned above, then use a draw spell to draw into them (especially
Necropotence
, which enables me to draw the entire combo, assuming I can pull it off during my next turn). For example, I can use Dreams to stack the Citadel, Flux, and Top on my library, then use a draw spell to draw into Citadel, cast it, then trigger the infinite combo. This requires at least 6 mana if K’rrik is in play.
Infinite Devotion
Requires
K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
on the battlefield, plus
Buried Alive
targeting
Chainer, Dementia Master
,
Carrion Feeder
, and
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
. Then I reanimate Chainer using one of many possible reanimation spells (
Animate Dead
,
Corpse Dance
,
Dance of the Dead
,
Goryo's Vengeance
,
Necromancy
,
Reanimate
,
Shallow Grave
, or
Yawgmoth's Will
).
Next I use Chainer’s ability, paying 3-9 life to return Gary to the Battlefield, draining each opponent of 7 life. Then I use Chainer to return Feeder to the battlefield, paying another 3-9 life. Then I sac Gary with Feeder, pay 3-9 life to return Gary to the battlefield with Chainer, draining 8 more life per opponent, and so on, draining infinite life and killing each opponent.
This also works without Buried Alive if 1 or more of these cards (Chainer, Feeder, or Gary) are in my hand or grave, plus a reanimation spell if necessary, and I can draw/tutor for any missing pieces.
If Chainer is removed,
Corpse Dance
using buyback is a more costly substitute if I also control
Blood Celebrant
. The Celebrant is a mana generator with K’rrik in play (3-life per black mana), so I can pay the colorless costs of spells like Corpse Dance which K’rrik cannot pay with life.
Doomsday Piles
There are 3
Doomsday
piles which consist of the combos described above. Using Doomsday is only possible if K’rrik is on the battlefield, and I have enough mana and life to spend with K’rrik (typically at least 2 lands, 3 mana, and 22 life - the more lands I can sacrifice with
Zuran Orb
, and the more mana I can generate, the more life I have to execute the combo). K’rrik can also be used to attack or block and generate life via lifelink, but it could be too risky to lose him in combat.
Winning on the same turn I cast Doomsday also requires a way to draw into at least the first card of the pile (
Barren Moor
(cycled),
Cling to Dust
,
Razaketh's Rite
(cycled),
Sensei's Divining Top
,
Scroll Rack
,
Sign in Blood
, or
Tainted Pact
). This means winning on the same turn as Doomsday costs additional mana and/or life. Before casting Doomsday, the math must check out so I’m guaranteed to win.
The key to each pile is leading with
Bolas's Citadel
, to enable me to spend life to cast the next four cards in the pile. Next,
Zuran Orb
is necessary to sac my lands and generate additional life. Alternatively, mana can be generated with
Dark Ritual
or
Rain of Filth
instead.
Leshrac Pile:
-
Bolas's Citadel
(paying 3 mana and 6 life to cast)
-
Zuran Orb
(to enable me to sacrifice lands and gain 2 life per land)
-
Aetherflux Reservoir
(paying 4 life to cast - enables infinite life gain once Sigil is bounced)
-
Lion's Eye Diamond
,
Mox Diamond
,
Chrome Mox
, or
Lotus Petal
(upon casting I gain 4 life due to Flux, plus 1 life if I used cantrip to draw into the pile - the ramp artifact is used pay for Sigil’s casting and/or bounce ability to minimize life loss from K’rrik)
-
Leshrac's Sigil
(upon casting I net 1 life, or 2 if I used a cantrip to draw into the pile - I then play and bounce Sigil repeatedly (paying 4 life) until I gain infinite life with Flux, then kill each opponent with Flux)
Crawler Pile:
-
Bolas's Citadel
(paying 3 mana and 6 life to cast)
-
Zuran Orb
(to enable me to sacrifice lands and gain 2 life per land)
-
Aetherflux Reservoir
(paying 4 life to cast - used to gain infinite life once Crawler is cast repeatedly)
-
Carrion Feeder
(upon casting I net 3 life due to Flux, plus 1 life if I used a cantrip to draw into the pile)
-
Gravecrawler
(upon casting I net 4 life due to Flux, plus 1 life if I used a cantrip to draw into the pile - I sac Crawler to feeder, cast Crawler from the grave repeatedly by paying 2 life, then repeat until I gain infinite life with Flux, then kill each opponent with Flux)
Devotion Pile:
-
Bolas's Citadel
(paying 3 mana and 6 life to cast)
-
Zuran Orb
(to enable me to sacrifice lands and gain 2 life per land)
-
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
(paying 5 life to cast - Gary then drains at least 8 life from each opponent - I play Gary third because often I will need life before casting the next two cards, but the order is flexible)
-
Carrion Feeder
(paying 1 life to cast - Feeder is used to sac Gary)
-
Chainer, Dementia Master
(paying 5 life to cast - I use Chainer to return Gary to the battlefield using K’rrik by paying 1-3 mana or 2-6 life, then I drain at least 11 life from each opponent with Gary, then I sac Gary with Feeder, and so on, until I kill each opponent)
Stolen Thassa’s Oracle
If I have
Praetor's Grasp
(or
Opposition Agent
in response to an opponent’s fetchland or tutor) and
Tainted Pact
in hand, and my opponent is running blue and I suspect
Thassa's Oracle
(or
Laboratory Maniac
) as a win-con, I can use Grasp/Agent to steal it and win the game with
Tainted Pact
(naming a random card not in my deck and exiling my library). I can also use Grasp along with Doomsday with this pile:
Oracle Pile:
-
Bolas's Citadel
(paying 3 mana and 6 life to cast)
-
Zuran Orb
(to enable me to sacrifice lands and gain 2 life per land)
-
Lion's Eye Diamond
(to pay for
Thassa's Oracle
later)
-
Mox Diamond
,
Chrome Mox
, or
Lotus Petal
(to pay for the 1 colorless mana in Grasp)
-
Praetor's Grasp
(cast with a ramp artifact and 4 life, and targeting an opponent’s
Thassa's Oracle
or
Laboratory Maniac
. I then cast the Oracle/Maniac with mana from
Lion's Eye Diamond
for the win, since I have no remaining cards in my library)
STRATEGY
Opening
To summon K’rrik as soon as possible for a minimum of 4 mana, I must seek out a combination of
Ancient Tomb
,
Blood Pet
,
City of Traitors
,
Cabal Ritual
,
Crystal Vein
,
Dark Ritual
,
Gemstone Caverns
,
Grim Monolith
,
Jet Medallion
,
Jeweled Lotus
,
Lotus Petal
,
Mana Crypt
,
Mana Vault
,
Mox Diamond
,
Mox Opal
,
Peat Bog
, and
Sol Ring
in my opening hand.
I must also start with one or more combo pieces, or a way to draw or tutor for what I need. Aggressive mulligans are critical. If I think I can pull it off, I will seek out
Doomsday
first.
Tutors
To find missing combo pieces during my turn, I can use
Beseech the Queen
,
Dark Petition
(to gain 3 mana to cast Doomsday),
Demonic Tutor
,
Dimir Machinations
(to transmute into Doomsday),
Grim Tutor
,
Razaketh's Rite
(for cheap cycle),
Shred Memory
(to transmute into Sigil),
Tainted Pact
, and
Wishclaw Talisman
, each of which tutor for a card and place it directly in my hand.
The lesser tutors
Imperial Seal
,
Insidious Dreams
, and
Vampiric Tutor
are also useful, but I need a cantrip or
Bolas's Citadel
to access the combo piece immediately.
I have optimized the deck for
Tainted Pact
by only running 1 of each card, so Pact can always find the card I search for.
Inventors' Fair
can also be sac’d if I have enough artifacts to search for an artifact I need.
To enable reanimation combos and place creatures in my graveyard, I use
Buried Alive
,
Entomb
, and
Final Parting
(choosing Chainer in hand and Gary in the grave, or Feeder in hand and Crawler in the grave, or Reanimate and Vilis).
Note that I never use
Wishclaw Talisman
unless I know I can win the turn I use it.
Protection
Depending on the play-style of my opponents, I can delay going for the kill and protect my combo pieces with
Lightning Greaves
(to prevent targeted removal of K’rrik and possibly enabling early game hasted attacks),
Conqueror's Flail
(to completely prevent the opponent from acting my turn),
Defense Grid
(not as good as the Flail, but still useful),
Imp's Mischief
(to redirect a counterspell at itself),
Infernal Darkness
(the cumulative upkeep is minor to lock down non-black players),
Cavern of Souls
(naming Minion for counterspell protection for K’rrik and Chainer), and
Boseiju, Who Shelters All
(to protect my Yawg’s Will, tutors, or removal spells from counterspells), and
Emergence Zone
(to enable me to cast combos at the end of an opponent’s turn, once they’ve tapped out). Against control decks, I wait to pull the trigger on Doomsday or another combo until I have at least some sort of protection.
Recovering Combo Pieces
K’rrik is absolutely critical to the deck’s strategy, since this build cannot pull off combos fast enough without him.
Command Beacon
allows me to bypass the commander tax if K’rrik dies one or more times. I K’rrik dies, I would rather send him straight to my hand, rather than risk him hitting my graveyard to reanimate later. I have encountered
Rest in Peace
too often to risk K’rrik entering my graveyard. If K’rrik is stolen, I can tutor for
Homeward Path
and break the spell.
If a combo piece is removed, I can either abandon the combo or try to return its pieces to my hand or battlefield. If Citadel, Flux, or Top are destroyed by an opponent, I can tutor for
Buried Ruin
and use its ability to return the artifact to my hand. If Chainer, Crawler, Feeder, or Gary are killed, I can tutor for a reanimation spell and restore the combo.
Yawgmoth's Will
is also a great way to re-cast combo pieces and recycle Buried Ruin for a second use.
Removal
Thoughtseize
and
Inquisition of Kozilek
provide early game disruption and artifact/enchantment hate, plus
Blast Zone
is
Ratchet Bomb
disguised as a land. I want to prevent my life from being consumed by enemy creatures, so I’m running both targeted creature removal including
Deadly Rollick
(free exile with K’rrik),
Drag to the Underworld
(cast for only 4 life with K’rrik),
Feed the Swarm
(to destroy a problematic enchantment),
Font of Agonies
(to rapidly rack up counters as I spend life and destroy multiple creatures, for only 1 mana and 2 life per creature), and area removal including
Force of Despair
(to stop combo creature token wins), and
Damnation
and
Toxic Deluge
(to wipe the board if necessary).
For graveyard hate, I am running
Bojuka Bog
,
Cling to Dust
and
Shred Memory
, which is minimal, but my focus is on triggering Doomsday or another combo before my opponents can pull off their own graveyard-based combos.
Other Combos
I am running only one of each card so that I can use
Tainted Pact
to win the game with
Thassa's Oracle
.
Peer into the Abyss
is amazing, as it allows me to draw half of my deck and use cheap mana sources and K’rrik to put together any combo I can find. It could be considered a win-con on its own.
The combo of
Vilis, Broker of Blood
in the grave and
Reanimate
allows me to draw 8 cards after I lose 8 life. Villis synergizes with K’rrik and allows me to draw many cards as I spend life, but I have to be careful so that I won’t deck myself or spend too much life.
If I have a
Lion's Eye Diamond
in play and cast
Yawgmoth's Will
, I can sac the Diamond in response to the casting of Yawg’s Will, so that I gain 3 mana and the Diamond resolves before Yawg’s Will can exile it. Then I can use Yawg’s Will to cast the Diamond from the grave one last time for 3 additional mana.
EXCLUSIONS
Mike and Trike/Ball
I am on the fence with running Mike and Trike/Ball (the infinite combo of
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
and
Triskelion
or
Walking Ballista
) or
Victimize
. Mike and Trike are expensive mana-wise (especially Trike, which cannot be cast with life using K’rrik, and eats up a lot of life to cast with Citadel). Without
Buried Alive
and Victimize or another reanimator spell, both Mike and Trike are hard to cast on their own. Ball also requires a sac outlet like
Carrion Feeder
to go infinite. Regardless, Mike and Trike are an effective 2-card combo, and can be used in a
Doomsday
pile like this one:
-
Bolas's Citadel
(paying 3 mana and 6 life to cast)
-
Zuran Orb
(to gain 2 life per sac’d land as necessary)
-
Buried Alive
(paying 3 life to cast - targeting
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
and
Triskelion
.)
-
Victimize
(paying 3 life to cast, then sac’ing K’rrik to reanimate both Mike and Trike. Next I use Trike to ping an opponent once and itself twice, killing itself. But Trike has undying and returns to the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter, so then I ping the opponent twice and itself twice, killing itself. This continues forever until each opponent dies.
- The fifth card is unnecessary.
Ball can replace Trike in a Doomsday pile, but requires a sac outlet like Feeder and costs 4 additional life:
-
Bolas's Citadel
(paying 3 mana and 6 life to cast)
-
Zuran Orb
(to gain 2 life per sac’d land as necessary)
-
Carrion Feeder
(paying 1 life to cast - to sac Ball later)
-
Buried Alive
(paying 3 life to cast - targeting
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
and
Walking Ballista
.)
-
Victimize
(paying 3 life to cast, then sac’ing K’rrik to reanimate both Mike and Ball. Next I sac Ball to Feeder. But Ball has undying and returns to the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter, so then I ping an opponent once and sac it to Feeder. This continues forever until each opponent dies.
Creature Sac
I avoid creature sacrifice effects like
Culling the Weak
,
Sacrifice
, and
Diabolic Intent
, because I run very few creatures other than K’rrik and I very rarely want to sac him.
Scheming Symmetry
Giving another player any card they want on their next turn with
Scheming Symmetry
is usually a bad idea unless I can win the turn I cast it, as my opponent can immediately tutor for a response to Doomsday or complete their own combo before me.
Dark Confidant
Since this build is so focused on spending life efficiently, I’ve cut
Dark Confidant
. With cards with high mana values like
Peer into the Abyss
,
Vilis, Broker of Blood
, etc, it is too risky to run Bob.
Volrath’s Stronghold
I prefer
Command Beacon
over
Volrath's Stronghold
, since I’m worried about graveyard hate, and against a control player it is likely that I will lose K’rrik one or more times. Besides K’rrik, I would rather reanimate creatures in my graveyard than return them to my hand with Stronghold.
BUDGET OPTIONS
There are several options if someone wants to build a budget-friendlier version of this deck. Lots of cheaper options on the Maybeboard can be substituted for the most expensive cards. While obviously the deck will lose a lot of speed, as long as the core combos are present, the deck will play essentially the same way.
Expensive tutors like
Imperial Seal
,
Demonic Tutor
,
Tainted Pact
, etc. can be excluded in favor of
Diabolic Tutor
,
Razaketh's Rite
,
Scheming Symmetry
, and one-drop cantrips like
Aphotic Wisps
,
Cremate
, etc.
Expensive mana rocks can be swapped with cheaper ones like
Arcane Signet
,
Fellwar Stone
, and
Mind Stone
.
Expensive lands can be swapped for multiple swamps and
Cabal Stronghold
. There is no need to run only 1 of each land if you aren’t running
Tainted Pact
.
This deck is a work in progress and I want to make it as competitive as possible. Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Thanks for reading!