I wanna be the evil archenemy
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Aug. 13, 2024, 4:11 p.m. by Emrys_Praetor_of_Dementia
For the past year I've been playing the Sworn to Darkness precon and the warhammer mono black precon as well and I really fell in love with the color and I wanna start brewing with other colors.
So far I only built mono-black deck and most of them requires the table to 3v1 my ass to the ground and I really enjoy the archenemy feeling.
Keeping black at the center of the deck what colors could I use for a two and even 3 color deck to keep that archenemy theme going?
DarkKiridon says... #3
Grixis are the archenemy villainous types. Blue/Black/Red if you want to do 3 color.
August 13, 2024 4:46 p.m.
Crow_Umbra says... #4
I think Red/Black is a great core to have as a component of "evilness". The third color gives you different flavors of villainy.
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Malik, Grim Manipulator - Especially if the Universes Beyond version isn't your cup of tea.
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Extus, Oriq Overlord Flip/Awaken the Blood Avatar Flip - For a different flavor of Evil Wizard that isn't Grixis.
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Anhelo, the Painter / Lord Xander, the Collector - If you want a different flavor of Grixis beyond "Evil Wizard". From having played Anhelo, he's a weird mix of spellslinger and Aristocrats that kinda pushes and pulls between the archetypes.
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Henzie "Toolbox" Torre - Henzie is more amoral than evil in lore. From consistently playing against my best friend's Henzie deck, this is definitely a commander that can consistently become the arch enemy of games. Highly recommend him for how explosive he can be.
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Laughing Jasper Flint - Play a bunch of Outlaws and twirl your imaginary mustache. Olivia, Opulent Outlaw adds white and all the support and excellent removal options from it.
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Prosper, Tome-Bound
- Prosper seems more like an amoral Warlock, than actually evil. Regardless, Prosper has quite a reputation, and can turn into an archenemy at tables. I used to play him, and didn't expect him to get nearly as much Treasure and Impulse/Exile play support as he did since his debut. He could also be a value piece in Jasper Flint or Olivia, since Warlocks are Outlaws. -
Jon Irenicus, Shattered One - Another different flavor of Evil Wizard. Can be a fun kind of evil depending on the creatures you donate to your opponents.
Just a handful of options I can think of off the top of my head.
August 13, 2024 5:13 p.m.
White is the true evilest color
Drannith Magistrate Serra Ascendant Grand Abolisher Archon of Emeria Silence Smothering Tithe Farewell Rest in Peace Cataclysm *list* Humility
Red does have a lot more raw combo potential esp. when paired with black/blue. But once you start building like that you're getting into cEDH territory. All depends on the sort of deck you want to build. If you want to keep the flavor of your mono black i.e. reanimate-y combo-y sacrifice-y, with the insidious ability to tutor and win out of nowhere, I'd say Golgari or Rakdos are probably the best colors you could expand into. In general 1 or 2-color will have waaaaayyy more options in terms of specific commander synergies, as well as more powerful effects from your commander in general. (whereas more colors give you more flexibility and power ceiling, from using a wider card pool, but I think this can often make decks feel more generic). Green compliments black really well with its resilient ramp, creature+land tutors to assemble combos, and more flexible removal. While Rakdos decks are often insanely aggressive and stompy, with some of the scariest reanimation targets. Though you can also build them to be more focused on attrition, board control, and prison effects. On the other hand if you wanted to be more controlling and oppressive, you'd probably want to be Dimir, Esper, or Grixis--or WURB which I believe is the most popular cEDH color combo. Hope that helps and good luck building!
August 13, 2024 5:31 p.m.
I'll amend that, I don't mean to imply that any grixis deck with combos is cEDH. But those colors do give you access to the most powerful combos like Thassa/Consult and Breach/Freeze, which I really wouldn't expect to see outside of a cEDH table. There are still tons of ways to build Grixis at mid-high power.
August 13, 2024 5:54 p.m.
griffstick says... #7
(Referring to the post) This is such a great question.
I think Black White is best. Use Karlov of the Ghost Council
You could also do red blue black. It's got the true enemy colors of Nicole Bolas.
August 13, 2024 9:41 p.m.
What type of evil do you want to be?
Fanatical, harsh dictator who crushes any dissent before it starts:
Manipulative mastermind who forces everyone to serve them while removing thoughts of betrayal:
Classic evil, commanding demons or undead armies, theft, lies, and murder:
Violent, bloodthirsty destroyer who lives by sword and flame:
Social Darwinist who believes that power only belongs to those strong enough to take it and hold it:
Of course, these colors can mix and match. is a strong villain color set, as mentioned above. This creates an unpredictable sociopath who's loyal to nobody and willing to do anything for power, up to and including torture and brainwashing. Even can be evil, as a tyrant who punishes any sign of weakness with death, and denies all individuality and self-worth in their subjects.
Color philosophy is a hobby of mine, so if you'd like my interpretation of any other color set villainy, please ask!
August 14, 2024 12:31 a.m.
After actually reading your question, here's the villainy of the 2-3 color sets.
: Corrupt authority, usually political or religious; organized crime; hierarchy enforced rigidly and ruthlessly. Mechanics and themes include life gain, taxes and denial, and versatile removal.
: Mastermind and spy with backup plans for their backup plans; trickery, manipulation, and indirect conflict; assassination and attacking weak points. Mechanics and themes include mill, a wide array of evasion, and Control Magic effects.
: Violent, brutal, and sadistic; enjoys causing pain for its own sake; fear tactics. Mechanics and themes include high damage output, payments of life and/or cards for resources, and stealing and sacrificing.
: Master poisoner; draws power from death and decay; leadership by the strongest. Mechanics and themes include recursion, hard-to-kill creatures, and buffs based on graveyards.
: police state with secret enforcers; forced conformity; spreads fear and paranoia through laws and manipulation. Mechanics and themes include hard control, setting restrictions, and casting spells from outside the hand.
: self-proclaimed justice; vengeful vigilante; chaotic arbiter of life and death. Mechanics and themes include controlling the flow of combat, protection from your own damage, and steady aggressive pressure.
: necromancer; fanatic for an evil cause. Mechanics and themes include reanimation, strong defenses, and lots of +1/+1 counters.
: unpredictable sociopath who's loyal to nobody and willing to do anything for power, up to and including torture and brainwashing. Themes and mechanics include lots of card draw and filtering, punishment effects, and applying pressure in many directions (mill, damage, discard, removal, etc.).
: willing to do anything to perfect themselves; cunning strategist putting up a brutish front. Mechanics and themes include collecting and using everything (life total, deck, cards in hand, etc.) as a resource, strong and evasive creatures, and wars of attrition.
: Savage, ruthlessly violent barbarian; capricious and self-indulgent hedonist. Mechanics and themes include lots of big creatures, applying pressure quickly and aggressively, and Food and Treasure tokens.
Which one of these sounds most appealing?
August 14, 2024 1:16 a.m.
Crow_Umbra says... #10
Really spot on with your summaries legendofa. It's fun seeing how the flavor of the mechanics within each color combo really build up the identities you summed up. Semi-related, but Dice Try has some fun color pie flavor analysis videos.
This was a fun question Emrys_Praetor_of_Dementia. Recently my best friend and I were chatting about commanders he and I tend to gravitate to more for flavor, and we both agreed that we tend to prefer more evil to amoral, or menacing ones. We don't really find the typically "heroic" or "good" characters to be as fun or interesting anymore lol. Similarly, we both enjoy being archenemy whenever we can manage to pull it off.
August 14, 2024 1:28 a.m.
Last_Laugh says... #11
- Marchesa, the Black Rose. She's typically played in 1 of 2 ways: temporary theft (that becomes permanent with Marchesa's ability) and/or etb/death triggers. The deck is very resilient... alternate sources of +1+1 counters and a sac outlet make your board very difficult for your opponents to interact with.
Her main weaknesses are effects like Rest in Peace that mess with graveyards, Solemnity, decks like Omnath, Locus of Rage that can do lots of noncombat damage to your face, lots of non-destroy wraths, and enchantments in general thanks to Grixis colors.
August 14, 2024 1:34 p.m.
RiotRunner789 says... #12
Stax is the most outrageous villian and azorius (Blue/White) loves stax.
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV or Lavinia, Azorius Renegade with effects like Mana Vortex, Winter Orb, Rest in Peace, Peacekeeper, Meekstone, and Armageddon will keep everyone begging for resources.
Or you could play Urza, Lord High Artificer and be the only one not affected by Static Orb
.
August 14, 2024 3:48 p.m.
FormOverFunction says... #13
A true villain cuts straight to the colors. If you play cards like Deathgrip and Justice (HINT: which have words like “red” and “green” in their text) its impossible for you not to be seen as the archenemy. Maybe even in the parking lot outside.
[evil voice]: Embrace the old ways. The dark ways.
World_Peace says... #2
Any of the combinations involving green are good at grinding out value and can potentially suppress multiple opponents, but you will lose to graveyard hate. Here's one of my decks you could browse for ideas.
https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/arise-minions/
August 13, 2024 4:41 p.m.