Thrash Unreal

I took  this from an Against Me! song. And what we have here is a shamans deck.

2 Sapling of Colfenor
3 Ashling the Pilgrim
2 Flamekin Harbinger
4 Taurean Mauler
4 Wolf-Skull Shaman
4 Rage Forger
2 Fulminator Mage
2 Vexing Shusher
3 Deathgreeter

4 Hit // Run
3 Cauldron Haze
2 Dark Banishing

6 Mountain
1 Jund Panorama
4 Savage Lands
2 Swamp
2 Forest
4 Darigaaz's Caldera
4 Jetmir's Garden

2 Titania's Boon

Let's put some +1/+1 counters on things and swing, right? Make extra wolves, and see what can be done!

Well. Quite a lot, really. So let's have at it.

Grimlock

A long time ago, I saw a relationship between Fecundity and Mortuary. At least I think I did. It might've been a combo pointed out in a print magazine, just to give readers a sense of how long ago we are talking. However, G/B is one of my favorite combos and letting that pass by was not going to happen.

3 Wall of Blossoms
2 Bottle Gnomes
3 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Quagmire Druid
3 Sadistic Hypnotist
3 Fume Spitter
2 Blastoderm
2 Woodripper
3 Bone Shredder
4 Skullmulcher
2 Vulturous Zombie
4 Fecundity
4 Mortuary
6 Swamp
2 Volrath's Stronghold
4 Llanowar Wastes
7 Forest
4 Blooming Marsh

Now, there are probably some obvious issues here. The first is that the creature selection is ancient, and inconsistent on top of that. That is a space with easy improvement. 

However, the elephant in the room is this; I have a two card combo that 1) Doesn't win the game and 2) doesn't do anything to the board when it arrives. That is a problem--sort of.

I'm not going to lie to ya: I like this combo enough that I'm keeping the deck. It's too much fun as a concept for me to get rid of. This means that I'm already accepting that it isn't going to be a A tier deck. B if I'm lucky. 

But maybe I can get it to a good B+. Heck, creatures are good enough now that A- might even be possible. 

And of course this is named after the leader of the Dinobots.

You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar But I Feel Like A Millionaire

Woof. This is a great song for a mess of a deck. 

3 Thopter Foundry
3 Sword of the Meek
4 Sapphire Medallion

1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
2 Magister Sphinx
3 Sharding Sphinx
4 Stormscape Familiar
4 Etherium Sculptor
1 Sharuum the Hegemon
1 Sphinx Sovereign

3 Oblivion Ring
2 Engineered Plague

1 Spinal Embrace
4 Thirst for Knowledge

6 Island
4 Seat of the Synod
2 Vault of Whispers
2 Ancient Den
1 Plains
2 Arcane Sanctum
4 Esper Panorama
1 Swamp
2 Dromar's Cavern

So, the original deck idea came from one that was using Time Sieve in order to take multiple, if not infinite turns. 

Where's the Time Sieve, my dude?

But OK fine: I don't have Time Sieve. Budget combo with Sword of the Meek and Thopter Foundry isn't a terrible idea. 

Why is there all this other stuff? I get the idea: I was thinking that four copies of Sapphire Medallion would make it easy to ramp into cards like Sharuum. 

But even if they are, what is Sharuum getting back for me? 

So, there's a bunch of work to do here. 

Lurker 2-Son of Night

 But we're just gonna shorten this to Lurker 2. 

4 Jet Medallion

1 Nightmare
1 Myojin of Night's Reach
1 Bringer of the Black Dawn
2 Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
1 Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
1 Ihsan's Shade
1 Reiver Demon
1 Visara the Dreadful
2 Magus of the Coffers
1 Maga, Traitor to Mortals
3 Twisted Abomination
1 Stronghold Overseer
4 Scion of Darkness
1 Phyrexian Obliterator

4 Dark Ritual

21 Swamp
2 Cabal Coffers

3 Forced March
3 Drain Life
2 Corrupt

The premise behind this one was to make a big mana/Black legends deck. Obviously, there's a whole lot that can be updated from here, but I'd like to try and keep the premise going-including keeping the Jet Medallions if I can. 

My first thought: cut Stronghold Overseer (shadow OR flying, I do not need both), Bring of the Black Dawn, Myojin of Night's Reach (I can do better for 8 mana now), Ob Nixilis (there really isn't enough land to make this worth my time), Corrupt (same problem), and Scion of Darkness.

That's ten cards that I can replace to make a better deck. Let's go.

Paranoid Android

 Alright, so I abandoned a deck because I said I had an idea. That idea starts with this deck, which wants to do some recursion things with artifacts and is named after a Radiohead song.

2 Chromatic Sphere
1 Dispeller's Capsule
2 Executioner's Capsule
4 Pyrite Spellbomb
2 Skeleton Shard

2 Extruder
4 Disciple of the Vault
2 Nova Cleric
3 Perilous Myr
3 Gorilla Shaman
2 Junk Diver
3 Myr Retriever
3 Salvage Titan

4 Shrapnel Blast

4 Ancient Den
4 Glimmervoid
4 Great Furnace
1 Swamp
4 Mountain
4 Vault of Whispers
2 Plains

First, we have the classic old me deckbuilding problems of trying to solve every problem: Nova Cleric, Executioner's Capsule, Gorilla Shaman. Next, for a three color manabase, there just isn't enough versatility there. Glimmervoid is a neat card, but there's just too much pressure on that card alone to solve all the mana issues. 

Now, obviously I think I can do much better than before--and it might all be due to Weapons Manufacturing. 

Kingbreaker

 Once upon a time, I had an idea. This is what I turned it into.

Named after The Armed's song, thanks to Rebecca for the song idea. 

3 Dark Confidant
4 Tifa Lockhart
4 Veteran Explorer
3 Voice of Victory
3 Elvish Reclaimer
2 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Scythecat Cub

2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Fatal Push
4 Crop Rotation
3 Berserk

2 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Forest
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Bojuka Bog
2 Plains
4 Ghost Quarter
1 Temple Garden
1 Bayou
1 Godless Shrine

4 Cabal Therapy
3 Scale Up

This is what I ended up going with. It took some refining, as I didn't have Berserk to start with. Turns out you can do a lot with this deck just using cards like Royal Treatment.  

However, I really wanted this to work, so I started cannibalizing other decks for a Bayou, and I happened to open a Godless Shrine from my Edge of Eternities pre-release!

With an appropriate level mana base, I want to test this out. 

Note: no posts until the 25th, I'm out of town!

Bruticus

 Are you ready for a weird one? This one, named after the most brutal Combaticon, is coming from the wayback machine, as you can see by the card choices.

3 Anvil of Bogardan
4 Necrogen Spellbomb
4 Noetic Scales

4 Guiltfeeder

4 Gibbering Descent
4 Oppression
3 Seal of Fire
3 Megrim

4 Dead // Gone
3 Skeletal Scrying

1 Keldon Megaliths
4 Tainted Peak
4 Mountain
12 Swamp
2 Rocky Tar Pit

1 Demonfire

Obviously, there are some very old cards here! But for people who don't see how the deck works, the idea is to use Noetic Scales to keep creatures off the table, and Guiltfeeder to freely attack and do outsized levels of damage.

Oppression is there to help keep cards out of my opponent's hand, and then there's some removal to take care of the early creatures, and Skeletal Scrying to draw me cards and help me find what I need. 

Gibbering Descent is probably the glory of cool things, but we shall see!

Peaches

"Movin' to the country...."

3 Ronin Warclub

4 Will-o'-the-Wisp
3 Throat Slitter
1 Higure, the Still Wind
2 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
3 Mistblade Shinobi
2 Okiba-Gang Shinobi
4 Escape Artist
3 Cavern Harpy
1 Thalakos Sentry
3 Dauthi Horror

4 Standstill

3 Into the Roil

4 Polluted Delta
8 Swamp
8 Island
4 Choked Estuary

As a result of me tweaking Weapon of Choice, I had to snag some Cavern Harpies from this deck--so why not give it an entire facelift!

Note to future me; first change -2 Cavern Harpy +2 Silver-Fur Master

Blackened Disease

From the mad minds of YouTube, I present this:

4 Slaughter Specialist
3 Varchild's War-Riders
3 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Varchild, Betrayer of Kjeldor
2 Clackbridge Troll
4 Exsanguinator Cavalry

4 Trespasser's Curse
4 Illness in the Ranks

4 Lat-Nam's Legacy
2 Cathartic Pyre
4 Hero's Downfall

4 Forbidden Orchard
5 Swamp
5 Mountain
1 Swiftwater Cliffs
1 Dismal Backwater
1 Island
1 Evolving Wilds
4 Sulfurous Springs

3 End the Festivities

Let's see where this takes me. I named this after the killer Dukatalon song, because it links so nicely with Illness in the Ranks.

It Sucks To Suck

The name took me longer than I thought it would, but eventually I was hooked by this masterpiece from the latest Striker album.

3 Currency Converter
4 Mox Diamond

3 Hazoret the Fervent
4 Fury
4 Stalactite Stalker
2 Rix Maadi Reveler
3 Troll of Khazad-dûm
3 Blood Scrivener
3 Avatar of Discord

4 Animate Dead
1 Seal of Fire

3 Dangerous Wager

8 Swamp
8 Mountain
4 Raucous Theater

3 Molten Collapse

So what's up with this? Why is it so different from the first list?

My first discovery was that Grief was in a BW deck and I wanted to keep it there. Similarly, Resurrection is elsewhere and the next cheapest thing was Animate Dead. But as options go, that isn't bad!

The Blood Scrivener has been a nice card. It isn't perfect, but as a solid turn two drop that then helps feed me do what this deck wants to do, I'm pleased with it so far. 

Avatar of Discord is there because at the last time of writing, I didn't have Carnage Interpreters. Apparently that card gets released tomorrow and I have no idea if it's good. It seems good but so does a 5/3 flier on turn 2, which is something this deck can do.

Molten Collapse doesn't have an excuse. That card should almost certainly be Terminate or Kolaghan's Command.  Bedevil might also fit, and I probably have copies of all of these cards somewhere.

While searching Moxfield.com for ideas, I saw someone using Seal of Fire to contribute to their Stalkers and I thought one wouldn't be a bad idea.

So that's why I'm with this list for now and I'm looking forward to seeing how it does!

The Retired: 99 Problems

I know I haven't written about this deck yet, but I was doing some research on the "Moggwarts" deck, trying to take it from its Pauper combo state to a more powerful one and was stuck here:

99 Problems

4 Skirk Prospector
2 Goblin Matron
2 Murderous Redcap
3 Putrid Goblin
1 Pashalik Mons
2 Munitions Expert
2 Sling-Gang Lieutenant

4 Cathartic Pyre
4 First Day of Class
3 Poison the Cup

4 Foreboding Ruins
4 Canyon Slough
5 Swamp
9 Mountain

3 Night's Whisper
4 Duress
4 Unearth

Sideboard

SB: 4 Overmaster

Except...I have a deck that uses Goblin tribal in a silly way. When I realized this, I began to really look at the two decks and see if I could combine them to do an aggressive thing with a combo finish. Why not, right? If most of the time I'm just attacking for silly amounts of damage, that's fine! But if things stall out then screw it, go all in on a combo finish.

However, what Bonecrusher really wants to do is flood the board with goblins and goblin tokens to activate Skirk Fire Marshal, hopefully with a Mogg Fanatic out.

99 Problems on the other hand is wanting to make sure a First Day of Class is cast with a sac outlet and a Persist creature of some sort, to generate infinite damage or mana. The direction I was taking it was to try and draw as many cards as I could in order to do the combo consistently and quickly. 

These premises don't jibe together.

The other thing I noticed about Bonecrusher is that IT isn't even consistently doing what I want. Making a bunch of goblin tokens is not what a card like Goblin Ringleader is for. 

My dilemma is that I think using Skirk Fire Marshal is a funnier way to win a game, but the combo engine of 99 Problems is a proven quantity. 

One other issue is that there are more goblins and generators in Black than White. Keeping Bonecrusher as a R/W deck is probably not the way to go. White gives me some excellent removal and the ability to activate SFM at any life total, if I have an Angel's Grace. But the synergies in Black are really too good to gloss over.

So I'm just gonna smoosh these together-against what is probably the better judgement of everyone-and see what happens. 

Commander Tune Up: Kaalia of the Vast

Instant 1 Wrecking Ball 1 Mortify 1 Terminate 1 Master Warcraft 1 Sulfurous Blast 1 Cleansing Beam 1 Comet Storm 1 Return to Dust 1 Bathe in Light 1 Orim's Thunder 1 Congregate 1 Path to Exile	Artifacts 1 Lightning Greaves 1 Sol Ring 1 Orzhov Signet 1 Rakdos Signet 1 Boros Signet 1 Darksteel Ingot 1 Armillary Sphere 1 Tenza, Godo's Maul
Enchantment 1 Stranglehold 1 Pyrohemia 1 Vow of Duty 1 Vow of Lightning 1 Vow of Malice 1 Righteous Cause 1 Soul Snare	Sorcery 1 Earthquake 1 Akroma's Vengeance 1 Diabolic Tutor  1 Evincar's Justice 1 Syphon Flesh  1 Syphon Mind  1 Into the Maw of Hell
Lands 1 Command Tower  1 Barren Moor  1 Forgotten Cave  1 Rakdos Carnarium  1 Orzhov Basilica  1 Boros Garrison  1 Secluded Steppe  1 Bojuka Bog  1 Akoum Refuge  1 Evolving Wilds  1 Rupture Spire 1 Molten Slagheap  8 Swamp  8 Plains 8 Mountain  1 Haunted Fengraf  1 Terminal Moraine	Creatures 1 Oros, the Avenger 1 Tariel, Reckoner of Souls  1 Basandra, Battle Seraph  1 Bladewing the Risen  1 Malfegor 1 Angel of Despair  1 Mordant Dragon  1 Mana-Charged Dragon  1 Akroma, Angel of Fury  1 Anger  1 Deathless Angel 1 Angelic Arbiter  1 Voice of All  1 Shattered Angel 1 Serra Angel  1 Kokusho, the Evening Star  1 Reiver Demon  1 Dread Cacodemon  1 Rune-Scarred Demon  1 Requiem Angel  1 Moonveil Dragon  1 Krav, the Unredeemed  1 Regna, the Redeemer  1 Archfiend of Despair  1 Stormbreath Dragon 1 Sylvia Brightspear  1 Khorvath Brightflame

 SB: 1 Kaalia of the Vast

I've been teaching my friend Rebecca to play Magic, and with that has come an education on how Commander works. She decided she wanted to build a Commander deck and Kaalia was one of her choices, so I thought I'd let her take mine for a spin. 

After the games were over, I recognized that I really hadn't done anything to Kaalia and that this deck could be incredibly powerful. Far more powerful than what it is. I also noted that, unlike my version on Cockatrice (which I pasted in here) my paper version has two copies of Bladewing the Risen. So let's give this a tune up. 

The Retired: Creeping Death

 I haven't touched this deck since Urea's Block and it shows, right?

2 Skull of Orm
3 Smokestack
3 Chimeric Sphere

2 Opal Acrolith
1 Opal Archangel
2 Opal Champion
2 Opal Gargoyle
1 Opal Titan
1 Lurking Evil
2 Lurking Skirge
4 Tainted Aether

3 Mortify
4 Dark Ritual

3 Tainted Field
1 Serra's Sanctum
7 Plains
9 Swamp
4 Godless Shrine

2 Wrath of God
4 Vindicate

A very old notion for a control deck, this one wanted to use removal coupled with creatures that weren't always creatures to overwhelm the opponent. Sweep the board with Wrath of God, use Vindicate and Mortify to take out everything else

The trick is that a card like Opal Acrolith needs my opponent to do something for me to get a win condition. That might work in a Limited environment, especially when the card works with the others around it. In an environment with a bigger card pool, those necessities can leave me cold.

Then with cards like Lurking Evil, I could end up paying a ton of life for a sizable creature with evasion-but no protection. It can be chumped by the smaller fliers out there, and eaten alive by not just removal, but cards like Murktide Reagent. 

So let's let it go. 

The Retired: Super-Charger Heaven

 Named after the White Zombie banger, we have:

4 Wonder

4 Oath of Scholars
4 Zombie Infestation

4 Boomerang
3 Counterspell
4 Circular Logic
4 Aether Burst

1 Underground River
6 Island
3 Dimir Aqueduct
5 Swamp
4 Fetid Pools
4 Sunken Hollow

2 Upheaval
3 Infest
1 Decree of Pain
4 Crippling Fatigue

So what's up here? Well, the goal is to use Zombie Infestation to ensure that my hand size is always smaller than my opponent's. That way, Oath of Scholars always triggers, ensuring that I have more cards to pitch to Zombie Infestation. 

Then big brain play is to have 8 mana available, cast Upheaval, then Zombie Infestation, then pitch the hand for all the zombies, and win. And if that doesn't happen, there's always making flying zombies with Wonder. 

The problems were: 1) there was no ramp, so getting to 8 mana meant waiting 8 turns (Dimir Aqueduct aside). 2) I don't have any other sources of card draw aside from the Oath, so the deck is extremely reactionary, without a way to filter through my cards to get what I want or need to get out of a pickle. 

Because either I've got Oath/Infestation out and I'm winning. Or I don't and now I need 8 mana to get to what I need. This is not going to be a successful deck. Plus, since I need to discard my answers to stay in the game, and cards like Crippling Fatigue, while useful still put pressure on my life total.

So you're getting retired; maybe this combo can be useful in a different deck, and maybe it's worth salvaging at a future date! But for now, going to put Super-Charger Heaven away.

Trash Truck

 I'm going to have two versions of this deck, the first is the one I will revert back to:

2 Elixir of Immortality

2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
3 Magus of the Wheel
2 Shocker
2 Tourach, Dread Cantor
3 Glint-Horn Buccaneer
3 Orcish Bowmasters

2 Waste Not

3 Dream Salvage
4 Terminate

10 Mountain
8 Swamp
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Rakdos Carnarium 

3 Liliana of the Veil

4 Reforge the Soul
4 Burning Inquiry

This is the fun take on the deck. The manabase isn't set for a tournament build, Shocker is clearly not up to snuff when it comes to power, Elixir of Immortality is me trying to hedge against decking, a situation that is 99% unlikely to happen, and Terminate, as great of a card as it is, needs to be a stronger removal spell. These are just a few of the small details that I'll want to change to shift this from my kitchen table deck to one for an event.

But hopefully you can see the core of the deck, using Tourach, Dread Cantor, Glint-Horn Buccaneer and Waste Not to give me rewards for discarding, while Orcish Bowmasters and Sheoldred the Apocalypse provides rewards for the drawing portion of Burning Inquiry, Reforge the Soul and Magus of the Wheel.

Is this some jank? Hell yes. But it's synergistic jank. 

The second take on Trash Truck is what I'm taking to the Mox events starting on the 28th, and I'll go over the changes to the deck, along with a Sideboard, on Thursday.

Black Silence/White Noise

I don't remember where the title for this deck came from, exactly. It was a song, and Fuz suggested it-a search reveals a Black Silence White Noise album, and a song from Dark Tranquility: White Noise Black Silence. I suppose either is possible!

The notion, at the time, was to create a taxing White deck with Black disruption. The disruption of an early game would allow for late game effects to take over. Effects like Pillory of the Sleepless would whittle down the life total while Windburn Muse would keep my opponent at bay and provide me with an attacker that's difficult to block.

But this is using some old tech, and White's taxation cards have changed. Let's see what I started with.

4 Shrieking Grotesque
4 Spelltithe Enforcer
3 Windborn Muse
3 Silent Specter
2 Noble Templar
2 Twisted Abomination
4 Chancellor of the Annex

4 Phyrexian Arena
4 Pillory of the Sleepless

3 Disenchant

8 Swamp
10 Plains
4 Silent Clearing

1 Mind Shatter
1 Pulling Teeth
3 Persecute

There are some obvious shifts that need to be made here. Mind Shatter is so clearly a filler card, and Disenchant effects really belong in the sideboard. In addition, White has better taxation effects, and while I have a place in my heart for Persecute, that card is really a card for the Commander format. Games generally move too quickly in 60 card matchups for Persecute to do what I hope it does, namely ravage the opponent's hand. 

Then, there's cleaning up that manabase a little: Noble Templar and Twisted Abomination are from a simpler time. So let's get to work.  

Next Up

Ed. note: this was posted out of order, but it's written up and I am trying to clear some of the back catalog so I can resume a schedule again. So I'm using it, instead of just blowing it up. Sorry!

I suppose it's time to get back on track! I'm going into the wayback machine for this one but: Last time we checked in, I was thinking that this deck needed some revision and  Tipsy and high, I wrote myself a note about what to do with my changes to the War Ensemble deck. 

Agent of the Fates could be in a deck that wants to blink its creatures-Grief, etc-and be happy. Mono B? Prob. no.

That's the note I wrote, anyway.

OK. Why did I mention Grief? Because of this deck that I stumbled across. It's a Modern deck and that's fine. I don't know that anything I'm thinking of would be Legacy deck per se, unless I added in lands that would only be legal in Legacy. 

Hm. Which, actually, might be worth considering, due to cards like Phyrexian Tower. How many copies of that card do I have? Three, as it turns out. I'm as surprised about this as anyone! But hey, I'm not upset to have copies of a $30 card. 

The next question is: Do I already have a deck that wants to work these themes? Because I'm not opposed to building a new deck but if you've followed this blog for awhile, you know that I've got a LOT of decks. Most of them are subpar. C grade wondering if they will ever get called up to the big leagues. 

Don't get me wrong, I like having fun with C grade decks. But I'm also trying to turn a corner and build decks that hew to their vision. Weird decks are fine, so long as they are focused. 

Which is why when my brain was asking: Hey, could this be a blink deck and use effects like Essence Flux? 

Which, let's face it: is cool. Blue is still an incredibly strong color. 

But the deck I'm taking inspiration from gains bonuses from dies triggers. 

So let's loop back. Do I have a deck that cares about dies triggers? If I do, is it worth updating or should I just start over? 

After a review of my decks, I recognized that there was a series of decks that did mine this theme: W/B. But my W/B decks went in particular directions: there was the Omnitell deck, the Enduring Renewal deck (storm), and the tribal cleric deck. All doing very different things.

Then there was this:

Abominus

3 Adarkar Valkyrie
3 Auramancer
3 Aven Riftwatcher
4 Capashen Unicorn
2 Herald of Serra
4 Pit Keeper
4 Shriekmaw
3 Sheoldred, Whispering One

3 Haunted Crossroads
4 Promise of Bunrei

3 Orzhov Basilica
8 Plains
8 Swamp
4 Isolated Chapel

4 Skulltap

Now we're talking.  

Abominus: Gestalt

Reflecting on the decklist I was one thing I can say that I'm pleased about is that it IS pretty focused. Multiple copies of cards, not a lot of filler, and I can tell that there is a theme that it wants to adhere to. 

And then there's Herald of Serra. 

In addition, Abominus wants to focus a recursion that is very mana intensive. Most of the cards want to bring creatures from the graveyard to my hand. While that isn't all bad, it doesn't mesh well with an Agent of the Fates concept. Cutting 10 cards and swapping 10 in isn't the way. Even if the themes are starting to cozy up.

So what to do?

Maybe something like this:

Abominus

2 Sheoldred, Whispering One
4 Grief
4 Solitude
4 Agent of the Fates
3 Doomed Traveler
3 Shambling Ghast
2 Adarkar Valkyrie
2 Martyr of Dusk

3 Feign Death
3 Undying Evil
3 Village Rites
1 Blessed Defiance
3 Path to Exile

3 Orzhov Basilica
7 Plains
6 Swamp
4 Isolated Chapel
3 Phyrexian Tower

That is quite a leap from the original. 

If you've been following a long for awhile and have a pretty good memory, you might see a resemblance between this and the B/W Scam deck I was running in March. That's because this was the template I built it off of.

(I'm trying to get caught up with some decks so apologies for some wayback machine moments.)

Since then, I've refined a few things and learned from the experience of being in tournaments. The deck looks like this now:

4 Grief

4 Solitude

4 Agent of the Fates

3 Shambling Ghast

3 Phalanx Leader

3 Hunted Witness

2 Flickerwisp

2 Massacre Girl

3 Feign Death

3 Undying Evil

3 Path to Exile

3 Ephemerate

3 Orzhov Basilica

7 Plains

6 Swamp

4 Isolated Chapel

3 Phyrexian Tower

This list also isn't quite accurate. I've been testing Drivnod, Carnage Dominus and a Liesa, Forgotten Archangel in the Flickerwisp slots. So far, it's been interesting, though Drivnod has mostly generated some rules questions than expected-but the 8/3 was also a body my opponent couldn't ignore. That didn't suck!

I like where it's at for now, with the acknowledgement that it's been a bit depowered. There's still a deck here, and I'm enjoying it. 

Commander: Daxos the Returned

Bringing Daxos the Returned out of the dugout for a cleanup. 

Instant	Artifacts 1 Wayfarer's Bauble 1 Lightning Greaves 1 Orzhov Signet 1 Thought Vessel 1 Crystal Chimes 1 Orzhov Cluestone
Enchantment 1 Phyrexian Reclamation 1 Seal of Cleansing 1 Banishing Light 1 Cage of Hands 1 Karmic Justice 1 Vow of Duty 1 Fallen Ideal 1 Seal of Doom 1 Vow of Malice 1 Aura of Silence 1 Grasp of Fate 1 Shielded by Faith 1 Phyrexian Arena 1 Underworld Connections 1 Daxos's Torment 1 Marshal's Anthem 1 Dictate of Heliod 1 Sigil of the Empty Throne 1 Necromancer's Covenant 1 Profane Procession/Tomb of the Dusk Rose 1 The Eldest Reborn 1 Call for Unity	Sorcery 1 Ancient Craving 1 Gild 1 Dawn to Dusk 1 Righteous Confluence 1 Open the Vaults 1 Deadly Tempest 1 Death Grasp
Lands 1 Barren Moor 1 Command Tower 1 Evolving Wilds 1 Ghost Quarter 1 New Benalia 1 Orzhov Basilica 1 Orzhov Guildgate 1 Rogue's Passage 1 Scoured Barrens 1 Secluded Steppe 1 Tainted Field 1 Temple of the False God 1 Terramorphic Expanse 1 Vivid Marsh 1 Vivid Meadow 11 Plains 13 Swamp	Creatures 1 Oreskos Explorer 1 Karlov of the Ghost Council 1 Underworld Coinsmith 1 Burnished Hart 1 Bastion Protector 1 Ghostblade Eidolon 1 Kor Sanctifiers 1 Monk Idealist 1 Mesa Enchantress 1 Nighthowler 1 Corpse Augur 1 Fate Unraveler 1 Ajani's Chosen 1 Doomwake Giant 1 Celestial Ancient 1 Celestial Archon 1 Herald of the Host 1 Banshee of the Dread Choir 1 Thief of Blood 1 Treasury Thrull 1 Sandstone Oracle 1 Silent Sentinel 1 Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts 1 Exquisite Archange

I've done a little mussing about with this one, but never really taken it to town. So here's a chance to put some eyes on it. There's been a couple sets with enchantment themes that have come up and the introduction of Sagas as a card type are new, I believe, since Daxos the Returned was printed. Hopefully that means there are some opportunities to have some fun!

Let's hope, anyway. B/W tokens is a long standing archetype, so I'd be interested in seeing if I can make something work here. 

Commander: Szadek, Lord of Secrets

 A quickie for a Monday! I want to get this deck ready for Thanksgiving too, since Jason's more into Commander these days and...well, he's gonna run mill.

So let's also Szadek, Lord of Secrets.

Instant 1 Brain Freeze 1 Dismiss 1 Ray of Command 1 Induce Paranoia 1 Mystical Tutor 1 Archive Trap 1 Deflection 1 Darkness 1 Vampiric Tutor 1 Grisly Spectacle	Artifacts 1 Whispersilk Cloak 1 Bösium Strip 1 Lightning Greaves 1 Dimir Signet 1 Charcoal Diamond 1 Keening Stone 1 Helm of Obedience 1 Sky Diamond 1 Sol Ring 1 Altar of Dementia 1 Trepanation Blade 1 Dimir Locket 1 Ring of Evos Isle
Enchantment 1 Diplomatic Immunity 1 Jace's Erasure 1 Pendrell Mists 1 Propaganda 1 Control Magic 1 Betrayal 1 No Mercy 1 Pestilence 1 Leyline of the Void 1 Memory Erosion 1 Fraying Sanity	Sorcery 1 Denying Wind 1 Mind Funeral 1 Psychic Drain 1 Flux 1 Sleight of Hand 1 Traumatize 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Syphon Flesh 1 Deny Reality 1 Dregs of Sorrow 1 Mind Grind 1 Tasha's Hideous Laughter 1 Maddening Cacophony 1 Fractured Sanity 1 Dread Summons 1 Pilfered Plans 1 Cut Your Losses
Lands 1 Dimir Aqueduct 1 Maze of Ith 13 Swamp 17 Island 1 Jwar Isle Refuge 1 Barren Moor 1 Lonely Sandbar 1 Waterfront District 1 Dismal Backwater 1 Nephalia Drownyard	Creatures 1 Nemesis of Reason 1 Raven Guild Master 1 Scalpelexis 1 Belltower Sphinx 1 Geth, Lord of the Vault 1 Sewer Nemesis 1 Riddlekeeper 1 Consuming Aberration 1 Fleet Swallower 1 Sire of Stagnation

This is the latest version of the deck. 

The problems with the old one: the lands could be better, Hinder is old, bad tech-and the deck was revolving around it as a combo piece with Tunnel Vision-, Altar of Dementia doesn't have enough targets (though it is pretty cool to get in extra mill with Szadeck) and there are some clearly better cards to utilize now for milling than there used to be! Cards like Millstone are just too slow for Commander.

What I changed:

Dreadship Reef

Bottomless Vault

Duskmantle, House of Shadow

Extractor Demon

Thrashing Wumpus

Netehrborn Phalanx

Dizzy Spell

Tunnel Vision

Spell Crumple

Millstone

Hinder

Mindcrank

Cabal Ritual

Brainspoil

Dimir Inflitrator

Shred Memory

Tunnel Vision

What went in:

Nephalia Drownyard

Dismal Blackwater

Waterfront District

Ring of Evos Isle

Dimir Locket

Cut Your Losses

Fraying Sanity

Pilfered Plans

Dread Summons

Grisly Spectacle

Sire of Stagnation

Fractured Sanity

Trepanation Blade

Fleet Swallower

Maddening Cacophony

Tasha's Hideous Laughter

Is it good? mmmmmm Probably not. But we'll have some fun testing!