Valentin, Mono Black(ish)

Commander / EDH BG (Golgari) Infect Jank Lifelink

BrassLord

Creature (19)

• 1x Crypt Ghast
• 1x Daemogoth Titan
• 1x Dauthi Voidwalker
• 1x Deathrite Shaman
• 1x Deity of Scars
• 1x Fiend Artisan
• 1x Filth
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
• 1x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
• 1x Maralen of the Mornsong
• 1x Ophiomancer
• 1x Opposition Agent
• 1x Phyrexian Obliterator
• 1x Rotting Regisaur
• 1x Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
• 1x Torgaar, Famine Incarnate
• 1x Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire
• 1x Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Blood Tribute
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Feed the Swarm
• 1x Grim Tutor
• 1x Living Death
• 1x Mind Twist
• 1x New Blood
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Toxic Deluge

Artifact (14)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Bolas's Citadel
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Honor-Worn Shaku
• 1x Lashwrithe
• 1x Mox Amber
• 1x Nightmare Lash
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Strata Scythe
• 1x Sword of Hearth and Home
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Tome of Legends
• 1x Whip of Erebos

Land (36)

• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Cabal Stronghold
• 1x Castle Locthwain
• 1x Field of Ruin
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Maze of Ith
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 26x Swamp
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Sorin Markov

Commander (1)

 ^Flip

Instant (11)

• 1x Cabal Ritual
• 1x Culling the Weak
• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Deadly Rollick
• 1x Hatred
• 1x Imp's Mischief
• 1x Malakir Rebirth  ^Flip
• 1x Noxious Revival
• 1x Tainted Strike
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Withering Boon

Enchantment (8)

• 1x Bitterblossom
• 1x Exquisite Blood
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Sanguine Bond
• 1x Unspeakable Symbol
• 1x Wound Reflection

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Maybeboard

Creature (32)

• 1x Archfiend of Despair
• 1x Bloodline Keeper  ^Flip
• 1x Boneyard Lurker
• 1x Canker Abomination
• 1x Cavalier of Night
• 1x Clackbridge Troll
• 1x Creakwood Liege
• 1x Daemogoth Woe-Eater
• 1x Deathless Knight
• 1x Doomgape
• 1x Gleancrawler
• 1x Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
• 1x Hunted Nightmare
• 1x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1x Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
• 1x Mindslicer
• 1x Necropolis Regent
• 1x Necrotic Ooze
• 1x Nether Traitor
• 1x Noxious Hatchling
• 1x Order of Midnight
• 1x Rankle, Master of Pranks
• 1x Raving Dead
• 1x Sapling of Colfenor
• 1x Search for Blex  ^Flip
• 1x Stalker Hag
• 1x Tree of Perdition
• 1x Uncle Istvan
• 1x Undead Gladiator
• 1x Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire
• 1x Witch of the Moors

Sorcery (20)

• 1x Arterial Flow
• 1x Awaken the Erstwhile
• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Damnable Pact
• 1x Exsanguinate
• 1x Final Parting
• 2x Fraying Omnipotence
• 1x Kindred Dominance
• 1x Mind Shatter
• 1x Mutilate
• 1x Peer into the Abyss
• 1x Pest Summoning
• 1x Plague of Vermin
• 1x Pox
• 1x Skull Storm
• 1x Smallpox
• 1x Torment of Hailfire
• 1x Twilight's Call
• 1x Worm Harvest

Instant (7)

• 1x Burnt Offering
• 1x Cabal Ritual
• 1x Culling the Weak
• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Demonic Gifts
• 1x Foul Renewal
• 1x Szat's Will

Planeswalker (3)

• 1x Liliana of the Dark Realms
• 1x Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord
• 1x Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools

Enchantment (13)

• 1x Attrition
• 1x Bridge from Below
• 1x Court of Ambition
• 1x Cover of Darkness
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Dragon Shadow
• 1x Enslave
• 1x Gift of the Deity
• 1x Inner Demon
• 1x Mortuary
• 1x Oath of Druids
• 1x Pattern of Rebirth
• 1x Phyrexian Arena

Artifact (11)

• 1x Birthing Pod
• 1x Captain's Claws
• 1x Commander's Plate
• 1x Grafted Wargear
• 1x Heirloom Blade
• 1x Key to the City
• 1x MImic Vat
• 1x Mask of Memory
• 1x Pestilent Cauldron  ^Flip
• 1x Sword of Body and Mind
• 1x Well of Lost Dreams

Land (7)

• 1x Deserted Temple
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Memorial to Folly
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Smoldering Marsh
• 1x Terrain Generator
• 1x Verdant Catacombs

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My take at a mono black Valentin list with a few added Golgari hybrid mana cards to add a little spice!

By running Valentin as the commander, we have a low CMC lifelink commander with partial evasion that also has an inherent added graveyard hate/token generation built in! I've tried to include cards in the deck that can capitalize on most of these abilities. Cards like Lashwrithe and Nightmare Lash allow our commander to grow while the lifelink offsets the equip cost. To pair along with that, Hatred and Unspeakable Symbol allow us to go "all in" on an early win via commander damage at little cost, as the life lost will be gained back with the lifelink.

Some of the spicy creatures we have "unique" access to due to the commander's G color identity are Fiend Artisan Deathless Knight Doomgape Daemogoth Titan and Deity of Scars, most of which are powerful heavily black devotion creatures requiring work around in the form of sacrificing creatures or cards from our hands. To balance this, I've tried to add a small token generation package with Bitterblossom and Ophiomancer.

Mox Amber works well with our low CMC commander, giving us heavily needed black mana at zero cost.

Our path to winning outside of combat damage is halving life totals and doubling up that damage. Wound Reflection makes any of the half life total cards a winning condition. Sanguine Bond and Exquisite Blood are there as a backup.

A few notable cards that are included are New Blood and Blood Tribute, as the cost of these cards is offset by our ease of access to a vampire in the command zone.

Suggestions welcome! Trying to make the deck better!

Top Ranked	Achieved #51 position overall 2 years ago Achieved #39 position in Commander / EDH 2 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Lifelink 2 years ago
Date added	3 years
Last updated	2 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	14 - 0 Mythic Rares 44 - 0 Rares 9 - 0 Uncommons 5 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.14
Tokens	Faerie Rogue 1/1 B, Pest 1/1 BG, Phyrexian Germ 0/0 B, Snake 1/1 B, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	Commander Decks, DECKS I LIKE