zAzen7977
Wandering Monk -
On June 11, 1963, Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc self-immolated during the height of the American occupation of Vietnam. He chose to die peacefully and serenely as his body slowly turned to ashes, showing that if one has control over one’s mind, the physical body and all other material illusions fade away - ego, pain, and fear disappear into the void. May he be an example to all of us during these dark times.
Greetings!
I've been playing MtG off and on for over 20 years. is my favorite color, Zombies are my favorite tribe, and Modern is my favorite format. My hobby is tinkering with competitive builds which utilize the strongest aspects of - Control, disruption, graveyard interaction, reanimation, sacrifice, etc.
I avoid playing online and own my decks in paper, with the exception of the latest Kaldheim cards. Nothing beats sitting down, handling real cards, and playing against a live human being!
I’m a big fan of Kaldheim - I really enjoy the Norse mythology theme and the mechanics featured in new cards. I’ve come up with several new deck concepts:
THE NIGHT KING COMETH (Sultai Snow Zombies KHM) (Finally viable zombies in standard! This deck features self-mill and the new Kaldheim cards Narfi, Betrayer King , and Egon, God of Death Flip).
TERGRID’S TORTURE CHAMBER (Mono-Black Control KHM) (focusing on discard effects and the “8-Rack” of Tergrid, God of Fright Flip and Liliana, Waker of the Dead ).
SHEPHERDS OF THE FALLEN (Orzhov Angel Reanimator) (concept focusing on self-mill and reanimation, featuring the new Renegade Reaper and Shepherd of the Cosmos ).
LILIANA’S EMBRACE (Rakdos Reanimator KHM) (I’ve been running this deck for a couple rotations. This latest iteration focuses on reanimation and features Archfiend's Vessel and Liliana, Waker of the Dead ).
I also recently updated my 2 cEDH decks:
TINYBONES: TINY PUNISHER (Mono-Black Stax) (featuring Tinybones, Trinket Thief and focusing on hand-discard and graveyard exile, now with Tergrid, God of Fright Flip), and
KAALIA'S CATACLYSM (Mardu Aggro Stax) (my hybrid aggro/stax build featuring Kaalia of the Vast . I picked up a Kaalia pre-con many years ago and the deck has evolved over the years into the beast it is now).
The format I play most is Modern, and the decks I am currently running are:
TWIN LILIANA CONTROL (Ultimate Black Devotion) (the most brutal and reliable Modern deck I own - essentially Mono-Black devotion featuring Phyrexian Obliterator and splashing White for removal),
KAMIKAZE SHADOW RACK (Suicide Black) (the most fun of all my decks because it puts both players on a timer and requires great skill to pilot - 10 Rack featuring Death's Shadow ),
FEAR FACTORY (Esper Zombie Tribal) (my most reliable zombie aggro variant which functions against graveyard hate - featuring Aether Vial and Skaab Ruinator ),
GRAVE BLASTER (Sultai Reanimator) (an explosive and unpredictable self-mill zombie variant that annihilates decks with no graveyard hate - featuring Vengevine ),
SCOURGE BOLT (Mardu Suicide Burn) (an aggro-burn variant designed to utilize Scourge of the Skyclaves and Death's Shadow ),
FULLMETAL ALCHEMISTS (Blightsteel Combo) (for when I want to relive my old Tinker days - featuring Kuldotha Forgemaster and Blightsteel Colossus ), and
AURELIA’S AVENGERS (Boros Angel Tribal KHM) (I designed this build for my wife to compete against my Black decks, and it’s very effective - featuring Resplendent Angel and Aurelia, the Warleader ).
Recently I also updated my Legacy Reanimator deck:
GRISELBRAND REBORN (Mardu Reanimator) (which can consistently reanimate Griselbrand on turns 1 or 2 and win via Children of Korlis and Tendrils of Agony ).
So far I have designed 8 decks which have reached #1 on T/O, plus 10 other decks which have broken top 20. I appreciate any comments or suggestions! My decks have improved over the years thanks to the great suggestions from fellow T/O users.
I am also happy to help if you have any questions for me!
Said on
KAALIA'S CATACLYSM (Mardu …...
#1
Hey XinZhao, that’s a good question. I have been hesitant to run Necropotence because it can be hard to reach the 3 black mana necessary to cast it. I used to run it in an earlier version of this deck and often drew it at the wrong time. But since you mentioned it, I cut Aven Mindcensor (replaced by Opposition Agent ) to make room for Necropotence and give it another try.
March 2, 2021 6:15 a.m. Edited.
Said on
ULTIMATE TINKER (Tinker …...
#2
Hey ClockworkSwordfish, I meant to respond earlier. Thanks for the brilliant suggestion! Mana Crypt is strictly better than Thran Dynamo , I swapped those out. Now this deck is even more likely to achieve a turn 1 Tinker.
February 25, 2021 10:44 p.m.
Said on
TINYBONES: TINY PUNISHER …...
#3
Hey Nyrmak and theindigoeffect, you bring up really important points about how to distribute discard effects in multiplayer games. The trick is reading the room and knowing which players to antagonize and when. If you attract too much hate, one or more players will gang up on you and it will be difficult to handle them all simultaneously.
Ultimately the goal is to use as little mana as possible to kill each player. To do that you want each player to have 0 cards in hand, so you can do 10 damage to each player with Tinybones for a single activation cost. Unless other players are constantly drawing cards with card effects, organically each player should eventually run out of cards in hand as they play lands and spells.
Once you trigger Tinybones once, each player will suddenly realize you are the biggest threat on the table. So ideally you want to set up the board to lock it down before you pull the trigger. Ideally you’ll want to start the game or tutor for permanents that make each player discard every turn, including Anvil of Bogardan , Bottomless Pit , Necrogen Mists , Chains of Mephistopheles , Oppression , Words of Waste , and Liliana of the Veil (although she is easier to remove). Other non-permanent options for making each opponent discard are Vicious Rumors , Delirium Skeins , and retracing Raven's Crime . All this discarding during each player’s turn will allow you to draw lots of cards with Tinybones. Once each player is down to only a few cards in hand, that’s when you target individual players with the most cards with discard spells to get them down to 0 cards. Once your opponents are forced to top-deck every turn, it will usually be too late for them to escape.
Obviously this is easier said that done, but that’s what makes this deck so fun to pilot!
February 20, 2021 6:52 p.m.
Said on
TERGRID’S TORTURE CHAMBER …...
#4
SaintFinni, thank you for your suggestion! I’ll take your advice and swap Heartless Act for Poison the Cup . Foretell is more useful than I realized initially because Liliana, Waker of the Dead and Rankle, Master of Pranks discard my own cards, and foretell allows me to cast from exile. Please let me know how it goes for you on Arena!
February 12, 2021 7:01 p.m.
Specialties
Modern - Mono-Black
Decks
TINYBONES: TINY PUNISHER (Mono-Black Stax)
Commander / EDH
SCORE: 76 | 60 COMMENTS | 5849 VIEWS | IN 21 FOLDERS
KAALIA'S CATACLYSM (Mardu Aggro Stax)
Commander / EDH
SCORE: 26 | 12 COMMENTS | 2558 VIEWS | IN 11 FOLDERS
LILIANA’S EMBRACE (Rakdos Reanimator KHM)
Standard
SCORE: 49 | 30 COMMENTS | 6873 VIEWS | IN 13 FOLDERS
FEAR FACTORY (Esper Zombie Tribal)
Modern
SCORE: 19 | 13 COMMENTS | 2003 VIEWS | IN 4 FOLDERS
GRAVE BLASTER (Sultai Reanimator)
Modern
SCORE: 36 | 18 COMMENTS | 2301 VIEWS | IN 8 FOLDERS
ULTIMATE TINKER (Tinker 2.0)
Casual
SCORE: 1 | 4 COMMENTS | 113 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER
THE NIGHT KING COMETH (Sultai Snow Zombies KHM)
Standard
SCORE: 14 | 13 COMMENTS | 2025 VIEWS | IN 2 FOLDERS
SCOURGE BOLT (Mardu Suicide Burn)
Modern
SCORE: 27 | 20 COMMENTS | 1377 VIEWS | IN 8 FOLDERS
| Finished Decks | 21 |
| Prototype Decks | 2 |
| Drafts | 0 |
| Playing since | Visions |
| Points | 490 |
| Avg. deck rating | 33.55 |
| T/O Rank | 103 |
| Helper Rank | 136 |
| Favorite formats | Standard, Legacy, Commander / EDH, Modern |
| Suppressed formats | Unformat, Heirloom, Vintage, Pauper, Casual, Limited, Frontier |
| Good Card Suggestions | 44 |
| Last activity | 1 day |
| Joined | 2 years |
DemonDragonJ says... #1
I am not familiar with Dream Theater, but I have definitely heard of them, and I know that most musicians hold them in very high regard.
Also, if the forum will allow it, I may add a third quote to my profile, one that I feel is very appropriate for the current political situation.
February 6, 2021 11:37 p.m.