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FINISHING UP WHAT I STARTED

A while back I wrote about a bunch of decks that I had started but for one reason or another had never really gotten around to making them ready for prime time.  The article was called Unfinished Ideas, and it featured 4 decks that were all a little bit different from one another. They may have been goofy, or junk, or whatever, but they were sort of forced to remain on the bench.  Funky to play and all, but still not good enough for a real article.

Well I was trying to think of a new deck idea recently using demons.  You know, those fun guys with horns that like to play games with you and Liliana, making a Promise of Power, but with a price.

Why hello there!  How can I help you disembowel your enemies today?

All of a sudden I remembered that I had already started down this route a while ago!  That's right, good old Sol'kanar and his demon buddies.  I hadn't actually picked up the deck in a while, but I figured I could brush it off and make it more competitive.  And here we are.

DON'T BE A SLAVE TO THE DEMONS!

So as I mentioned in that earlier article, the deck was meant to be based around the demon tribe, using one of Bennie Smith's Green/Black decks as its basis.  I figured that if you used Grixis colors, you could mess around with some of the more powerful demons while keeping things to sacrifice to them.  Let's take a look at the list as originally published:

 

You can take a look at the original article to see what I said about it, but in discussing the issues with the deck I noted 3 main problems.  The first was that many of the demons weren't that scary.  Second, lack of card draw.  Finally, it needed more board control elements.  With these thoughts in mind I took the deck out for a little test run to see how it played.  All 3 of the issues that I mentioned were still problems, but one of the most enlightening observations I made is that a lot of demons are just dudes.  Seriously, there isn't a whole lot to them.  Sure they may fly, and be large and trampley, but they really don't affect the board a whole lot.  This is opposed to some of the other large fliers you see, like Akroma or dragons that have cool "enters the battlefield" effects.  Simply put, there isn't a whole lot to most demons.

Yes, even you big guy.

That's when I realized that I had sort of become a slave to my theme.  I was putting a lot of time and effort into making a demon deck, trying to figure out how to keep the guys fed, when what I really should have been doing was making a good deck with a demon theme.  The difference is subtle, but trust me, it's there.  Sure, it's nice to pump out a bunch of demons and go to town sometimes, but that's just a brute force tactic with not a whole lot to back it up.  I wanted to make sure that I had other ways to attack opponents other than just through high cost creatures.

So it was time to put on my surgical mask, cut away the fat and make the deck stronger.  Of course, I still wanted it to be fun to play with and have a few goofy interactions.  I also wanted to use some cards that I may not have used much in the past, and drop a surprise or two.  All this while keeping in mind the problems that I was having with the deck, while making sure that the deck still felt "demony."  Let's take a look at the changes I made.

Creatures:
Out - Aeon Chronicler, Ashen Ghoul, Bone Shredder, Duplicant, Grave Titan, Halo Hunter, Krovikan Horror, Lord of the Pit, Malfegor, Oona, Queen of the Fae, Pawn of Ulamog, Pestilence Demon, Reiver Demon, Stronghold Overseer, Woebringer Demon
In - Abyssal Persecutor, Bloodgift Demon, Butcher of Malakir, Carnifex Demon, It that Betrays, Ob Nixilis, the Fallen, Phyrexian Metamorph, Rakdos the Defiler, Reaper from the Abyss, Rune-Scarred Demon, Sygg, River Cutthroat, Urabrask the Hidden - All right, so this is where the majority of the changes took place.  Aeon Chronicler was slow card drawing that cost a decent amount of mana to get going.  Ashen Ghoul and Krovikan Horror came out because I thought I had enough graveyard recursion with Nether Traitor, Bloodghast and Reassembling Skeleton.  Bone Shredder and Duplicant were both removal that I found was typically inefficient, and decided to go another route.  Grave Titan, Oona, Queen of the Fae and Pawn of Ulamog were all there for their token making ability, but became unnecessary.  Halo Hunter, Lord of the Pit, Stronghold Overseer and Woebringer Demon just didn't do enough for me.  Malfegor was a tough cut, but pitching my entire hand was really tough to come back from without a massive card draw influx immediately afterwards, so I had to let him go.  Pestilence Demon was good, but he just cost too much, and there were already a lot of creatures at the top of the curve.  Unfortunately for Reiver Demon, he has to be cast from your hand in order to get his effect.  This will become important later, as you will see.

As for additions, Abyssal Persecutor is just an efficient beater, and I was worried about his drawback with the amount of sacrifice effects I was running.  Bloodgift Demon is good card draw, while Carnifex Demon is a more efficient although less powerful version of Pestilence Demon.  I am going to be running a decent amount of sac effects, so Butcher of Malakir seems like a good fit.  It that Betrays is a goofy card that would seem to go well with Rakdos the Defiler so I added them both just for giggles.  Ob Nixilis can get big fast, but needs to have the mana base re-worked just for him.  Reaper from the Abyss is a solid card with a bunch of death running around, while Phyrexian Metamorph is just good all around.  Sygg can help a little with card draw, Rune-Scarred Demon is awesome, and Urabrask is just a bomb that causes problems for lots of decks.

Artifacts:
Out - Dimir Signet, Gilded Lotus, Mimic Vat, Proteus Staff, Rakdos Signet, Sword of Light and Shadow, Venser's Journal
In -  Crucible of Worlds, Darksteel Ingot, Nim Deathmantle, Quicksilver Amulet - I kept only one Signet, as they typically got blown up a bunch.  I kept Izzet Signet because it used both of the minor colors required in the deck, as I usually always had Black mana.  Gilded Lotus just cost too much for its effect.  Mimic Vat is good but didn't seem to fit the deck.  Proteus Staff was originally to both get rid of opposing generals as well as get rid of out of control demons, but I always forgot that I had to use it at sorcery speed.  Long time readers know I hate to think, so out it goes.  Sword of Light and Shadow was in for its recursion ability, but after having it Acquired against me more than once I decided to yank it.  Finally, although Venser's Journal is a fun card, I found that I always wanted to use the mana on other stuff.

 

Crucible of Worlds is a great addition, and not only for making Ob Nixilis huge.  People love blowing up Coffers and Urborg, and the Crucible helps get those cards back.  The Deathmantle is great for getting back cards when you sac them, as well as for providing evasion.  The Ingot is an indestructible form of accel.  Finally, Quicksilver Amulet works great for getting high cost creatures like demons into play on the cheap.  Of course, it costs 8 mana to drop your first creature, but at least it can be spread out over 2 turns.  The Amulet has worked very well so far.

Planeswalkers:
No Change - Nicol Bolas is still a huge bomb, and that isn't going to change.  And I have been very happy with Crazy Sarkhan.  Killing off your Solemn Simulacrum and getting a dragon in return is tons of fun!  Both of these guys are worth inclusions.  I considered adding Karn Liberated, but another 7 drop wasn't necessary for this deck

Enchantments:
Out - Animate Dead
In - Grave Pact, Infernal Tribute, Phyrexian Reclamation - Animate Dead is fine, but I wanted something that I could use more than once.  Therefore it gets replaced by Phyrexian Reclamation.  Grave Pact goes in for creature control.  Finally, Infernal Tribute has proven to be a solid addition.  It works as a sacrifice outlet to keep your guys and other cards from getting exiled.  It can be used late game with Bloodghast and company for card draw.  It is just an underutilized card, and I have been happy with it.

 

Instants:
Out - Mana Drain
In - Into the Core, Intuition, Stroke of Genius, Vampiric Tutor - Mana Drain was originally in mostly as an accelerant.  However, many of the cards are very color intensive, so I took it out for better stuff.  I found that I needed a little extra artifact destruction so Into the Core seemed like an appropriate addition.  I was originally going to go for Blue Sun's Zenith, but the color requirement was too high.  I found that the ability to cast Stroke of Genius at instant speed was worth the trade off of paying the cheaper price for something like Mind Spring.  Finally, Intuition has been amazing, and I'm surprised it has taken me this long to use this card.  If you want cheap critters to come back into play, just pick Bloodghast, Reassembling Skeleton, and Nether Traitor.  If you want a specific artifact, pick Academy Ruins, Petrified Field and the artifact.  You can do the same for creatures with Volrath's Stronghold.  It gets even better when you have Phyrexian Reclamation or Academy Ruins already in play.  Just a versatile card.

Sorceries:
Out - Ashes to Ashes, Exsanguinate
In - Living Death, Praetor's Grasp, Wheel of Fortune, Twisted Justice:  While there is something to be said for exiling creatures, I am hoping that Ashes to Ashes won't be as necessary with the Grave Pact effects that are now in the deck.  And while the deck can occasionally make a lot of mana with Cabal Coffers, it doesn't necessarily need to win that way, so out Exsanguinate goes.  In their place we get Living Death, which can deal with indestructible creatures and get all our fatties back into play.  Twisted Justice hits those players that like to use Uril and other equipment based Commanders hard, while drawing cards.  Wheel of Fortune can draw cards and screw up the carefully crafted hands of opponents.  Finally, Praetor's Grasp is just solid all around, getting a piece of accel like Sol Ring in the early game, or picking up an answer like All is Dust in the late game.

Lands:
Out - Dreadship Reef, Exotic Orchard, Island, Mikokoro, Center of the Sea, Minamo, School at Water's Edge, Miren, the Moaning Well, Mountain, Phyrexian Tower, Reliquary Tower, Rupture Spire, Shizo, Death's Storehouse, Spinerock Knoll, Tectonic Edge, Temple of the False God, Tolaria West
In - Academy Ruins, Arid Mesa, Command Tower, Flooded Strand, Hall of the Bandit Lord, Marsh Flats, Misty Rainforest, Petrified Field, Reflecting Pool, Strip Mine, 3 Swamp, Wooded Foothills - So the biggest changes are getting rid of a bunch of the legendary lands, and adding the Zendikar fetchlands.  I also added Academy Ruins, as it is very useful, especially for recurring cards like Expedition Map.  Petrified Field is good for getting back specialty lands for when Crucible isn't available.  I added a few extra Swamps for those times when I have Coffers and Urborg, and someone blows up Urborg, so that Coffers can still produce a decent amount of mana.  And since a lot of my guys are large, giving them haste with a card like Hall of the Bandit Lord is helpful.  

And here is where we ended up:

 

So let's look at the goals and see how I did.  I got rid of some of my demons that weren't doing enough for me, and replaced them with demons that were either more cost efficient, or more useful.  For card draw, I included Bloodgift Demon, Stroke of Genius, and Infernal Tribute.  I also included Academy Ruins to get back Skullclamp when it eventually gets destroyed, and Intuition to dump killable creatures into the graveyard.  And Twisted Justice has hit the occasional large creature as well.  Finally, in terms of destruction, Grave Pact and Butcher of Malakir have been added to deal with creatures, while Praetor's Grasp and Into the Core do yeoman's work for blowing other stuff up.

The trick of the deck is to play it like a control deck.  You don't want to come out guns blazing, because people are really, really scared of demons.  It doesn't matter if they don't do a whole lot, but I garnered a lot of hate playing this deck, even more than when I was playing with Omnath a while back.  I'm not sure exactly what the issue was, but I always seemed to have a target on my head.  Like, even when there were clearly bigger threats on the board and I had nothing going on.  Just dropping Reaper from the Abyss would send people into seizures.  Oh well, I guess that's what happens when you bring the dark forces into play.

The deck isn't seriously competitive, but it can hold up well when not ganged up on early.  There are a couple of powerful plays that can set off alarm bells though.  Playing Academy Ruins with Oblivion Stone in the graveyard is mana intensive, but can keep the board clear.  The same goes for Kagemaro and Volrath's Stronghold.  Plus, Strip Mine and Crucible of Worlds sets people of as well, even if you promise only to hit cards like Sunhome or Reliquary Tower.  All of these are dangerous traps to fall into, even if you think that you are going to use it judiciously.

The goofiest combo is the It that Betrays or Prince of Thralls along with Rakdos the Defiler.  It's pretty goofy, but it's fun if it works.  I was thinking about adding All is Dust, but I just couldn't find the room.  It would really mean getting rid of another demon, and I didn't want to do that.  If you really wanted to push this angle you could take out some more demons and add some tutors.

The average CMC of the deck is just under 4.1, which isn't bad.  The main problem with the deck is getting stuck with a bunch of demons in your hand, and no mana to cast them.  But you should be ok for the most part.  So how does it do?  Let's find out!

THE GAME:  FIGHT!

I had a hard time getting 4 person games for some reason.  I was always getting into 3 person games, and the occasional 5 person game.  So I'm going to show a 3 player game, something I don't remember doing before.  Here's to change!

In this game I am going up against Grimgrin, Corpse-Born and Kaalia of the Vast.  My first hand only has one land, so I send it back for a 5 lander that has Bloodghast and Helm of Possession as well.  I draw Expedition Map on the first turn, and cast it, sacrificing it for Command Tower the next turn.  On the third turn Kaalia plays Phyrexian Tower, and I play Bloodghast.  I'm hoping to steal Kaalia and use her to drop some demons into play, but Grimgrin drops Mimic Vat, and Kaalia plays Homeward Path.  Kaalia plays Font of Mythos to help out with Grimgrin's mana problems.  Kaalia plays her Commander, but I'm able to play Helm of Possession and Strip Mine the Homeward Path before stealing her.

 

Of course, Kaalia immediately follows that up with Damnation.  I play a morphed Liege of the Pit and Solemn Simulacrum, while Kaalia Diabolic Tutors for Reliquary Tower, then plays her own Mimic Vat.  I play Urabrask and spread the love around, knocking Grimgrin to (27) and Kaalia to (29).  I have to discard at the end of my turn, and let Loxodon Warhammer go because I have Academy Ruins in play.  Grimgrin plays Leyline of Anticipation.

Kaalia has a big turn 8, first using Return to Dust to exile my Helm of Possession and Grimgrin's Leyline, then using Into the Core to exile my Solemn Simulacrum and Sol Ring.  She also plays Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.  I decide that this is a good time to use the Academy Ruins to put Expedition Map back on the top of my library.  I use the Map to get Cabal Coffers and play it, using the extra mana to cast Oblivion Stone and use it to wipe the board, then play Sygg, River Cutthroat.  Grimgrin plays a couple of zombies, and Kaalia gets her hasty Commander into play (Anger in the yard and Lightning Greaves) and attacks me, bringing along Scourge of Kher Ridges for the ride, knocking me down to (29).

Kaalia also has Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion in play, and I don't want to get hit that hard by a dragon.  So I Demonic Tutor for Crucible of Worlds, play it, and finally play Strip Mine again.  This leads to a discussion about my ability to repeatedly Strip Mine people, and I say that it's pretty much only for Sunhome.  My opponents don't believe me though.  I follow it up by playing Phyrexian Arena and my Commander.  Grimgrin plays Phyrexian Metamorph, copying the Noxious Ghoul he already has in play.  He plays another zombie, killing Kaalia and Sygg, then attacks me with his team.

On Kaalia's turn she activates the Scourge enough times to wipe the board of other creatures.  She follows that up with Oblation, getting rid of my Crucible of Worlds and ending the eternal Strip Mine threat.  I get attacked with the Scourge, knocking me to (20).  On my turn I use Academy Ruins to grab Loxodon Warhammer from my graveyard.  I play Ob Nixilis, then Polluted Delta, sacrificing it for another land and making Ob Nixilis 9/9, hitting Kaalia with the damage.  Then I play my Warhammer, equipping my demon with it and Lightning Greaves, and attack Kaalia, knocking her down to (3).

Grimgrin plays Damnation, then Lord of the Undead.  Kaalia plays Tariel, Reckoner of Souls, attacks me, then uses Tariel's ability to grab Noxious Ghoul from Grimgrin's graveyard.  On my turn I target Kaalia with Cruel Ultimatum, killing her and getting Ob Nixilis back from my graveyard.  I play ON again, play a land, equip him with Warhammer and Greaves, and hit Grimgrin again, knocking him to (13).  He doesn't have an answer, and I win on the next turn.

CONCLUSION

So the deck is a bunch of fun to play.  Unfortunately it is hurt pretty hard by graveyard hate, so you have to watch out for that.  But with some card draw you should be able to deal with your graveyard getting wiped out at least once.  In addition, you can occasionally run into mana problems with the deck as well.

Like I said, this deck received a decent amount of hate out of nowhere, before I had any sort of goofy recursion or hurting people with anything.  I actually had people call it a "money deck," something I haven't heard in a while.  If you really wanted to make the deck more competitive, you should take out some of the higher casting cost creatures and add more tutors.  I don't think this is necessary though.  And the deck is competitive enough to face the hate as is.  And it's worth the hate to beat down with the forces of evil!

I hope you guys enjoyed the deck. Next week I'm planning on submitting my Dark Ascension Overview, so keep a look out for it.  Until next time!

Leviathan, aka Tarasco on MTGO
mrmorale32 at yahoo dot com

CONQUEROR & COMMANDER ARCHIVE