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The Rumble of Scientific Triumph

Commander: Rule 0* Aristocrats Casual Custom Exile Midrange Multiplayer Sacrifice WUB (Esper)

fragarach97

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Creature (27)

Instant (7)

Land (37)

Enchantment (8)

Commander (1)

Commander: Bondrewd, The Sovereign of Dawn

Artifact (11)

Sorcery (9)

The Sovereign of Dawn "Ah, welcome to Ido Front. It is not very often that I have guests, please, make yourself comfortable. My Umbra Hands will prepare a room for you, fellow White Whistle. But, I must ask... what brings you to my humble abode today? If you wish to make your Final Dive into The Abyss, then I'd be happy to accommodate you once the proper paperwork is filed."

"Oh I see! You're here to aid in my research? How marvelous! Then please, follow me and allow me to give you a tour of the facilities. I will warn you that my work is not for the faint of heart... but the next cycle of two-thousand years approaches, and the work we do here is vital for our continued existence as humans. So please, make yourself at home, my friend, let me guide you through our labs and tell you of the work I do here as The Sovereign of Dawn."

Bondrewd, for those of you wondering, is from an anime/manga series called Made In Abyss. It's a difficult series to recommend since the writer is a creep and every once in a while decides to remind you of that, but if you can separate art from artist (and overlook some of the weird shit the author puts in his series) then it's a fantastic watch/read that truly one-of-a-kind.

Bondrewd in particular is one of the antagonists of the series, and he is one of the most fascinating ones I've ever seen in all media. He does such horrible things, but does so while truly loving and caring the people he does wrong to, remembering each of their names, their dreams, their likes and dislikes, in a sense honoring the fact that he sacrifices them to progress human understanding of The Abyss.

Yet the things he does are undeniably horrific and he causes pain beyond imagining, but never out of any cruelty or sadism. He willingly sacrifices people, even sacrificing himself to his own research, yet he is polite, charismatic, and genuinely cares. Always does The Sovereign of Dawn remember their names. His love for the children he experiments on and exposes to fates worse than death is entirely genuine, yet he sacrifices them anyways because he cannot fathom that everyone else isn't as self-sacrificing as he is.

Does that sounds weird and contradictory? Yes it does! But that's what makes Bondrewd such a fascinating character and one of the greatest antagonists I have ever seen. He feels love, yet unlike us 'love' is not the highest on the list of his emotional priorities, scientific discovery in the name of preventing disaster is at the top... and he will give up anything to achieve it, be that innocents, the guilty, and even himself.

"Shakko. Etam. Sumiko. Puel. You see, Aubade, they all have names."

"Really now? It is you who have chosen it to be this way. ...Oh, so it was not deliberate then. Regardless, I cannot say that I am happy about you destroying the ground beneath our feet. That light of yours might be a little too dangerous."

"Now we can test both your light and my precious masterpieces! Please, show me what you can do. Show me everything..."

"The cartridges are one of my proudest developments, but in truth they are merely a step to truly overcoming the Curse of the Abyss. They are intended to displace the curse off of oneself and into that which is contained within... worry not, I'll teach you the specifics of making them later."

The "cartridges" of this deck are the cards intended to serve as the sacrificial lambs that propel the deck to greater heights. They are, in a sense, the things that I like to sacrifice to Bondrewd (FOR SCIENCE!) or any of my other sacrifice outlets.

Aura Thief- "He is one of my newest Umbra Hands, and so far has made quite the name for himself! Some relics put up for auction are not yet ready to leave The Abyss... and I must study them carefully first. Thus, you could say he's a part of my... acquisitions department."
Even without the combo with Enchanted Evening, when I sacrifice this thing to Bondrewd I still get to steal every other enchantment on the board, which is often more than good enough without gaining control of literally every single permanent.

Cavalier of Dawn/Cavalier of Gales/Cavalier of Night- "The Burial Shroud are the combat arm of The Umbra Hands. Considering all the dangers of The Abyss, it is good practice to have patrols running on not only the fifth, but the fourth layer as well. My Burial Shroud have saved very many Black Whistles with their prowess. Should Ido Front come under assault... well, they also make for adept combat bodies for me to use with Zoaholic should it come down to it."
I love the concept of cycles in Magic, and this is among my favorites. They're all really strong, great ETB abilities and great effects that replace themselves in some way or get you advantage when they die, both of which are things Bondrewd likes. Dawn takes out problematic non-land permanents, Gales gets me card advantage, Night pops creatures... I love all these things. Also Cavalier of Dawn? Serving The Sovereign of Dawn. It's perfect.

Hidetsugu and Kairi- "Such problematic creatures... this so-called 'Hidetsugu' and 'Kairi' have moved against Ido Front before, but now I have managed to capture and bind them with Far Caress. Rest assured, my Shakers keep them properly pacified with the curse of the fifth layer. I can even weaponize them when required."
It's a second copy of Cavalier of Gales that can also hit one of my spells for free... and if that just so happens to be an extra turns spell then BOY OH BOY!

Kokusho, the Evening Star/Yosei, the Morning Star- "Such fascinating creatures, aren't they? They have a reciprocal effect upon their deaths that function much like the curse does. I've found my cartridges effective at offsetting their own, however two are usually expended each time. They can also be properly plied to act on my behalf..."
I'm a fan of the classics, and it's hard to get more classic than the Kamigawa dragons. Kokusho for drain, Yosei for locking someone down for an entire turn, time-walking them... I love these little guys. Kokusho I've used a lot of as a win condition in my Scarab God deck, but Yosei definitely feels a bit more niche.

Bitterblossom- "My my, they're such adorable little trouble-makers, aren't they? I'm quite fond of them myself, though Guiera finds them obnoxious. They're like rambunctious little children, so I don't mind letting them be provided they don't touch any of the delicate machinery."
Pure Sparagmos fodder. Give me a body each turn to blast a creature into oblivion. Heck, Skullclamp them too for card advantage.

Hatching Plans- "And this is R&D, where all my best plans are hatched."
It says draw three cards on it. What more am I supposed to say?

Smothering Tithe- "I have to fund my experiments down here somehow. Sometimes it's through selling relics and my inventions, but sometimes providing a simple tax for my services can bring a surprising amount of revenue."
Yeah ramping is cool and all, but you ever feed the tokens to Sparagmos to machine gun away problem artifacts?
"You have questions about the Umbra Hands? I suppose you could say that they are my research assistants. Many of them I have recruited to my aid from my rare trips to the surface, generally when I go to acquire more research material. Some, however were initially sent to kill me! I am very glad that I was able to convince them otherwise, however."

The Umbra Hands work on Bondrewd's behalf, helping him conduct some of his darkest experiments... or some just manage the day-to-day runnings of Ido Front. Here, however, I am using them to represent the sacrifice outlets of this deck.

Carrion Feeder- "Ugly little bottom feeder, isn't it? One of the scavengers present on the fifth layer, they're a nuisance. That said they do serve as a natural means of disposing of some of our waste and byproducts."
Ah, our second copy of Viscera Seer, even if it's listed first. He eats things so I do things with them when they die. Moving along.

Teysa, Orzhov Scion- "One of my personal protegees, Teysa is such a bright child. I mostly have her running the financial backend for Ido Front, but she's very responsible when I ask her to watch my daughter Prushka for me, she even calls her 'Auntie Teysa'! Isn't that adorable? ...Oh you're surprised I have a child? I shall have to introduce you later, she's very kind. Her name means 'the flower of dawn'."
While the creatures she sacrifices have to be white, that's honestly not that big of an issue since the payoff for doing so is nasty, and Bondrewd is one of the things she can sacrifice anyways, after which he can Zoaholic himself back with a spirit. Combos off with Darkest Hour, which is especially oppressive and is one of the big win states of the deck.

Viscera Seer- "He is one of our anatomy specialists and is generally one of the first I bring new specimens I find in The Abyss to when I want to know how they work. His work may seem small, but his role is vital in understanding The Abyss."
This is the guy you tell Carrion Feeder not to worry about. Yes yes I know Carrion Feeder can get bigger, he can also get chumped by a 0/1 Plant token while Seer can dig me to my win conditions.

Skullclamp- "Ah now that is one of my personal inventions. It interfaces directly with the neural network of the creature it's linked up to and provides us with a rough sketch of its nervous system. Of course it is good practice to properly pacify the creature you're using it with before doing so, which brings me to our next contraption..."
I don't even really need an endless stream of X/1s to get good use out of this, since I can sac whatever I want to draw off of to Bondrewd anyways so it has a pretty wide band of application.

Ashnod's Altar- "...the altar! Or that is what some have taken to calling it. In truth, it's actually a relic I discovered just two years after becoming a White Whistle. It ingrains in the memory of the dissector a detailed view of the insides of whatever you're dissecting. Marvelous, isn't it? That said what you're dissecting actually needs to be able to fit on the altar, so it doesn't work for everything we study."
Do I... really need to explain Ashnod's Altar? The answer is no, no I do not.

Bondrewd, The Sovereign of Dawn- "Me? I'm flattered you take such an interest in me personally, but I assure you that my mission is that same as yours. What we have before us is the greatest mystery of our world, and it's up to us to solve it."
Card advantage and removal each combat, and he refuses to stay dead. Go ahead. Kill him. He'll just keep coming back. Bondrewd's immortal so long as Zoaholic is intact, and last I checked you can't exactly interact with that in a card game.
"There is a saying about how when you stare into the abyss, it shall soon stare back at you. Indeed, I can see what they mean, but this is hardly anything to be feared. After all, that is our purpose here; to learn about this place and prevent the coming disaster. Yet, it is strange, yet beautiful, that the key I have found in obtaining the abyss' blessing is love. It is a matter of love."
Love These are the integral interactions that serve as key components of the deck, or as our win conditions.

Aura Thief + Enchanted Evening - "My Sparagmos, Gangway, and Zoaholic were once due to be auctioned off, you know. What a terrible thing that would have been, don't you agree? They have proven vital to my research thus far and would have been misused on the surface. Sometimes several dangerous relics slip through the cracks, however and need to be... repossessed."
Steal all the things! If you hate Insurrection then you'll hate this, because it's Insurrection on steroids and available as early as turn five.

Darkest Hour + Teysa, Orzhov Scion - "Not only is Teysa a talented book-keeper and accountant, but she's very much a vital part of Ido Front's defensive network. She always comes through in our darkest hours."
Provided I can assemble three white creatures, then I can keep the field clear of other creatures indefinitely. It's particularly handy since we can sacrifice Bondrewd, then he can Zoaholic back on the next upkeep in the body of one of her spirits.

Sheoldred, Whispering One + Yosei, the Morning Star + Bondrewd, The Sovereign of Dawn- "Restraining subjects is a complicated procedure at times, should they prove less than cooperative you are free to borrow one of the Sparagmos to remove whatever is making it difficult, provided that doing so does not kill them. Let's start simple, however, and move slowly on to more complicated creatures."
This effectively locks one player completely out of the game by denying them all their resources and the ability to untap them. This is particularly nasty as a way to win once it boils down to a 1v1 scenario, and unless your opponent pulls off a miracle, it's curtains. Any other sac outlet can work, I just choose Bondrewd to represent here because he's awesome and I want him to know how much we appreciate him.

"Well, that concludes our tour of the facilities for now. Rest assured, my fellow White Whistle, you shall not be an Umbra Hand to me but the truest of true partners in my research. I understand if you have questions, and my door is always open to answer them. We shall get to the bottom of this grand mystery we call The Abyss, both figuratively and literally. For now, we must prepare for the coming disaster. Join me, my friend..." Let us witness the dawn "...let us witness the dawn together."

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Revision 2 See all

(1 year ago)

+1 Anguished Unmaking main
+1 Archivist of Oghma main
+1 Ashnod's Altar main
+1 Aura Thief main
+1 Baleful Strix main
+1 Bitterblossom main
+1 Black Market Connections main
+1 Blood Artist main
+1 Bloodghast main
+1 Carrion Feeder main
+1 Cavalier of Dawn main
+1 Cavalier of Gales main
+1 Cavalier of Night main
+1 Chasm Skulker main
+1 Counterspell main
+1 Countersquall main
+1 Cyclonic Rift main
+1 Darkest Hour main
+1 Day of Judgment main
+1 Diabolic Intent main
and 58 other change(s)