necropotence + phyrexian unlife
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on June 7, 2017, 5:52 a.m. by Geralf_Cecani
I'm making a Zur the Enchanter deck that tutors for both Necropotence and Phyrexian Unlife , and then draws into Repay in Kind. However, I'm unsure whether you can continue to exile cards from your library after you hit zero life. Can you?
EDIT: And if you can't, could you suggest cards that could help me draw Repay in Kind? I'm working on a budget (I already own Necropotence). Black and blue tutors are usually really expensive, and white doesn't do sorceries. An alternative to tutors is life gain, that could allow me to draw the rest of my library (e.g. Resolute Archangel ). Does anyone have suggestions that could go in?
You achieve this way easier by playing ad nauseam and angel's grace
June 7, 2017 7:02 a.m.
Geralf_Cecani says... #5
Zur the Enchanter is a commander that can tutor for the two enchantments. They both have a CMC of 3. He just has to swing twice. This deck is based around the classical Ad Nauseam modern deck, but without the advantage of having 4 copies in a deck of only 60 cards. The Phyrexian Unlife/Necropotence combo is a lot less effective than the Angel's Grace/Ad Nauseam combo, but I can be assured of getting them onto the battlefield at least turn 6 or so.
June 7, 2017 7:11 a.m.
The answer to your question is no.
With Necropotence and Unlife on the field you can draw as many cards as your life total without losing, but no more. Necropotence asks you to pay life, and, if you have 0 or less life then you cannot pay that cost. The difference here with Ad Nauseam, is that the life loss is a consequence of drawing the card and not a requirement to do so.
You still get to draw upward to 20+ cards in a fine tuned Zur deck, but you better make sure to hit your Demonic Consultation or you are screwed!
sonnet666 says... #2
This should be in the Q&A section.
And no. Paying life is not damage. You cannot pay life you do not have.
June 7, 2017 6:44 a.m.