Make It Work
Deck Help forum
Posted on March 20, 2025, 11:05 a.m. by BabyK
I searched for weeks to find a copy of Ketramose just so I could make the deck and for some reason, it just isn't working. No really, I've run multiple games with the deck and it just does....nothing. Absolutely nothing. I've only had a single game where Ketramose even managed to become a creature. I'm not sure what I'm lacking. Please assist
New Dawn (Not Twilight)
Commander / EDH
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wallisface says... #3
At a glance, you’re running a bunch of spells that destroy things instead of exile them, which feels wrong to begin with.
You’re also missing lots of obvious cards that work amazingly with Ketramose, like Relic of Progenitus which draws you 4 cards in a single turn.
March 20, 2025 3:37 p.m.
I think that at this point the deck list doesn't have a solid plan for ending the game. It has Gray Merchant of Asphodel but doesn't have a focus on building up your black devotion to really make it hurt your opponent when it lands. Torment of Hailfire could be a game-ender but without any big mana ramp in the deck it will be pretty late in the game before it can really do damage. I think that, going by the list, the deck's default is to try to play a control game by using Ketramose to cantrip a bunch of exile-based removal to help your big fliers get through. Ketramose is a strong card draw engine but you've focused so much on triggering it with removal spells that you haven't planned out a solid winning strategy or combination of cards.
Maybe the deck could be shifted into more of a Blink deck? BW has all sorts of good ETB effects for generating value and tokens. Cards like Teleportation Circle, Conjurer's Closet, and Eldrazi Displacer could be the core engine cards of the deck alongside Ketramose.
There are also a variety of creatures that let you exile cards from graveyards. Withered Wretch is pretty efficient since its ability is only 1 mana and it only removes one card, giving you more opportunities to draw cards off of Ketramose.
March 21, 2025 6:35 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #5
Relic of Progenitus doesn't draw 4 cards in a turn. Ketramose says "Whenever one or more cards are put into exile from graveyards..." since it is a single effect exiling from multiple graveyards it is 1 Ketramose trigger. If it said "...from a graveyard.." it would count each graveyard individually.
Still a great card for a Ketramose deck since it is 1 mana artifact that taps to draw a card with Ketramose on the battlefield. It is a draw engine though, not burst draw. I think that making some cuts to add in Relic of Progenitus and similar repeatable exiles as engines with Ketramose would go a long way to feeling like your deck is "doing the thing".
Depending on budget good repeatable draw engines with the commander could be:
Necropotence is a good draw engine as well and would let you get Ketramose online at will. And Triumph of Saint Katherine seems like a good value piece.
March 24, 2025 7:47 p.m.
wallisface says... #6
Gidgetimer Relic of Progenitus most-certainly does draw 4 cards in a turn, as shown below:
Card 1: The Ketramose trigger that is created from its first tap ability that states ”Target player exiles a card from their graveyard”.
Card 2: The Ketramose trigger that is created from paying the cost from the second ability, which exiles relic, aka ”, Exile this artifact“.
Card 3: The Ketramose trigger that is created from that second ability actually resolving - ”Exile all graveyards.”
Card 4: the last 3 words of Relics second ability resolving, which reads ”Draw a card”.
Icbrgr says... #2
Well what's the plan? Is the commander supposed to be a win condition or an engine? Eternal Scourge may be a great enabler for this commander to draw cards?
March 20, 2025 2:55 p.m.